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My Page: Jill Kuraitis

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Column

When Boise Weekly editor Rachael Daigle and its news editor Nathaniel Hoffman planned to cover the story of Holocaust denier David Irving coming to town, they went through a bit of intrigue.

“David Irving, who, for at least 50 years, has written sympathetic and revisionist books about Hitler and the Nazis, announced months ago on his Web site that he would arrive in Boise on Wednesday, July 15, as part of a 17-city Western and Midwestern book tour. But he never said where he’d be speaking, for fear of protesters showing up and disrupting the thing.”

Daigle and Hoffman spent that Wednesday afternoon trying to figure out where Irving would appear. A tip led Hoffman to Irving’s cell phone number and Irving told Hoffman to call back later for the location, but Daigle happened across Irving and his party before it was necessary. They were at the Red Feather Lounge on 8th Street.

Ethics in Business and Government

Last week’s Boise summit of the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region organization’s leaders and members was a forum for presenting research and new ideas about energy, land and water, economic development and more. It was a serious endeavor with hundreds of impressive minds who contributed, but it fell short of success.

Something was missing.

PNWER has a noble purpose, which is to form and implement a collective vision about the future of our region, consistently update and educate its members on the changes and innovations that affect common issues, and organize working groups, keeping everybody on track. It’s an impressive coalition, and the conference was one of the best I’ve seen in producing tangible plans with accountability checks and ways to measure results.

But whether it was mindset or neglect, the energy innovations track of the PNWER conference was strangely weak on proclaiming a fundamental concept about saving the planet: a sense of urgency and the ethical responsibility to respond in human terms. It was missing the bedrock “we must do this to rescue the earth and our children” – a statement of moral imperative that should come before, and with, talk of money and profit.

It was also alarmingly devoid of serious discussion about conserving energy instead of producing more of it. [more]

The Capture of an Idaho soldier

Fox News military analyst Ralph Peters said in an interview today that captured Idaho soldier Bowe Bergdahl is "collaborating with the enemy" on the released video, and strongly implies he should be executed by the Taliban and "save us a lot of legal hassles and legal bills." Here is the full transcript and video:

ULIE BANDERAS (FOX NEWS): "So when one of our troops is captured, how do we get him back? How do we get him back safely? Strategic analyst Lt. Col. Ralph Peters joins us now. Thank you so much for talking to us. When he was capture don June 30th, apparently Bergdahl was captured while he walked away from his U.S. base camp. Many people are emailing me, and asking, 'How can a soldier walk off from a base on his own? Wouldnt there always be another soldier with him? Wouldn't he be partnered with another person?' What can you tell us about that?"

RALPH PETERS: "Well, Julie, I was to stress first of all that we must wait until all of the facts are in until we make a final judgment. But nobody in the military that I've heard is defending this guy. He is an apparent deserter. Reports are indeed that he abandoned his buddies, abandoned his post, and walked off. We'll see what the ultimate truth of it is, but if he did, if he's a deserter at wartime, well, as one of my old platoon sargeants would say, he's in 'boku deep kimchi.' Now there's another problem Julie. On that video, he is collaborating with the enemy. Under duress or not--that's really not relevant--he's making accusations about the behavior of the military in Afghanistan that are unfounded, saying that there are no rules, he's lying about how he was captured, saying he lagged behind the patrol. Julie, I'll tell you, any 11th bravo infantrymen will tell you, that's not how it works. In a war zone, any soldier is aware of where all his buddies are. If it's a night patrol, you're sure aware of where the guy in front of you and behind you is. So we know that this private is a liar. We're not sure if he's a deserter. But the media needs to hit the pause button, and not portray this guy as a hero." [more]

Idahoans in the Military

UPDATE, Monday July 20 a.m. Maggie O'Mara and Doug Petcash of Boise NBC affiliate KTVB interviewed Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklazewski live this morning, who said, "There have been a couple of cases where those taken into custody by the Taliban have escaped - or in fact been released, or been rescued by us special operations forces. Again the bright note here is that there is no history of the Taliban taking a hostage, publicizing the fact that they have the hostage, making demands and then harming that hostage, that's the one bright note we have to probably end on today."

In a video interview posted on KTVB.com, Chief Deputy Gene Ramsey with the Blaine County Sheriff's office read a statement from the Bergdahl family. After thank the community for its support, the family wrote: "We ask for your continued respect for our need for privacy in this difficult situation." They also wrote they don't want to do anything that might "inflame" Bowe's captors.

The Department of Defense announced Sunday the identity of a soldier listed as Missing-Captured on July 3 while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, 23, of Ketchum [Pentagon error] Idaho, was declared Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) on July 1 and his status was changed to "Missing-Captured” on July 3.

Pfc. Bergdahl is a member of 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

A detailed story from John Miller, Idaho Associated Press, tells about how Bergdahl “vanished, just five months after arriving in Afghanistan.” [more]

The summer fun city

The huge second annual Idaho Green Expo, the yearly Twilight Criterium bike race, the famous Snake River Stampede rodeo, the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Movies Under the Stars – those are a fraction of the amazing lineup of summer activities this weekend in the capitol city.

Everything is in full detail at our site BoiseEvents.Net, but here’s a sample:

The Biggest

Idaho Green Expo
Saturday 10-7 Sunday 10-6
Boise Centre (on the Grove) 850 W. Front St.
The Expo is a free, two day celebration with a serious purpose: to continually foster the emergence of a new green economy - an economy that is sustainable, healthy, ethical and earth friendly. As a demonstration of how Green can be affordable, the 2009 Expo will feature SUSTAINABLE “U” – a large exhibit hall full of demonstrations on how you can easily green your home, your garden and even your office.

Twilight Criterium
Saturday – find a spot on the route for the 3:00 "Kids Ride With Kristin Armstrong"; the 3:45 Junior Criterium; $4 - 6 pm the Men's Cat 2,3, and 4/5 races. Opening Ceremony is at 7:00; the Women's Pro takes off at 7:10; the Men's at 8:30.

This premier cycling event is designed to attract more people to cycling and bring people downtown. It’s turned into a truly exciting race with famous cyclists, including Olympians, from all over the world. Expect 15,000 spectators. [more]

The toxic waste problem

17,000 tons of mercury stored at the Idaho National Laboratory? Idaho Governor Butch Otter is flabbergasted.

“The first time I heard about it was when I read it in the newspaper,” Otter told Boise's KBOI radio this week. “I don’t know whether it is arrogance or ignorance at its worst.”

The INL is one of seven sites being considered for storage of up to 17,000 tons of mercury. Mercury exports will be banned in 2013, and the Department of Energy is required by law to have facilities ready to manage and store mercury by then.

But Otter said he would not let the federal government make Idaho its mercury dump. In a Thursday press release, Otter said he would do everything within his power to keep the U.S. Department of Energy from storing highly toxic elemental mercury at the INL.

"No one in our state government and no one in our congressional delegation was aware this was up," said Jon Hanian, Otter's spokesman, according to the Idaho Statesman.

To say that the governor is angry is no stretch, especially after he said, “If they want to put it in a desolate and useless place, they should put it on the Capitol grounds.”

Mercury exposure is extremely dangerous. A liquid metal, mercury can damage the central nervous system, endocrine system, kidneys and other organs, as well as the mouth, gums and teeth. Prolonged exposure can cause brain damage and death. Mercury and its compounds are particularly toxic to babies and pregnant women. The infamous poisonings in Minimata, Japan, in the 1950s and Iraq in the 1970s were from mercury, and hundreds of children born to exposed women afterward had serious physical and developmental defects. [more]

Stimulus Money

From the White House:

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced today that Idaho will receive up to $1,462,000 in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for its state-run rebate program for consumer purchases of new ENERGY STAR qualified home appliances. The new program underscores the Obama Administration’s commitment to make American homes more energy efficient, while helping to support the nation’s economic recovery.

“Appliances consume a huge amount of our electricity, so there’s enormous potential to both save energy and save families money every month,” said Secretary Chu. “These rebates will help families make the transition to more efficient appliances, making purchases that will directly stimulate the economy and create jobs.”

The new funding will be awarded to states and territories, through their energy offices, using a formula set forth in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Each state or territory is required to submit a plan that specifies which ENERGY STAR appliance categories will be included in their rebate program, the rebate level for each product type, how the rebates will be processed, and their plan for recycling old appliances. States and territories must first file an initial application expressing their intent to participate by August 15, 2009, followed by a full application by October 15, 2009. Approximately 10-25 percent of each award will be spent on administrative costs. [more]

Idaho Politics column

The Democratic National Committee has never been known for its Western orientation - a frustration for Democrats across the west for years.

It’s been tough for Rocky Mountain voters to identify with candidates with heavy Eastern support like Sen. John Kerry. Despite his vacation home in Sun Valley, Kerry has the eastern prep-school persona alien to westerners, and looked silly in costume-hunting gear.

Democrats who have run campaigns in the west will tell you stories of trying to get the right kind of support from the DNC, whose staffers are in glass-fronted offices in the swamp called Washington, D.C.. Many of them have never spent enough time in the west to understand – never mind appreciate – western Dems.

That’s why the story that about 100 DNC members and western Democratic leaders will meet in Coeur d’Alene August 7-9 for the Democratic National Committee’s 2009 Western States Caucus Conference is encouraging to Idaho Dems. The meeting has never been held in Idaho before. [more]

the impact of budget cuts

An hour’s drive northwest of Boise, Idaho, the small agricultural town of Parma is just one of several farming communities which face “restructuring” of extension programs connected with their local universities.

The University of Idaho’s Parma Research and Extension Center along with two or three others in the state was scheduled to close this year because of $3.2 million in legislatively mandated budget cuts.

But Wednesday, the university announced jointly with Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter that it will delay any decision to close the Parma Research and Extension Center, to “take additional time to conduct a more thorough review of the Research and Extension centers statewide,”
said U of I President M. Duane Nellis. Nellis has been president just over a week.

The review will analyze the cost-benefit ratio, sustainability and the impact of the work done in the statewide extension and research operation.

Part of the job descriptions of two of Parma’s professional staffers explain some of what extension centers do:
[more]

Trending Topics Overview

The near-demise of Micron Technology's chip fabrication plant and the more than halving of its workforce is yet another way Boise is changing, and it may fit into a national trend of fewer big employers and more small-to-medium businesses, and a sea-change in the nature and values of work.

According to some business analysts, these changes probably mean less job security and more young people and women in charge. From Time Magazine:

Ten years ago, Facebook didn't exist. Ten years before that, we didn't have the Web. So who knows what jobs will be born a decade from now? Though unemployment is at a 25‑year high, work will eventually return. But it won't look the same. No one is going to pay you just to show up. We will see a more flexible, more freelance, more collaborative and far less secure work world. It will be run by a generation with new values — and women will increasingly be at the controls.

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