More Kristof, afloat in ANWR

What Price Drilling?
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, Alaska — In March, Interior Secretary Gale Norton described this area as a "flat white nothingness" that could best be used as an oil spigot.

I thought about that as I rafted down a river here, a giant grizzly bear on my left and a herd of caribou on my right. A bit earlier, I had cooked lunch with my backpacking stove on a sandbar as four musk oxen, huge buffalo-like creatures, observed me as intently as I watched them.

A bush pilot set two friends and me down on a sandbar on Saturday just north of the Brooks Range, and since then we've been rafting and hiking through this wilderness, perhaps the wildest place left on earth. I want to understand this land — whose future is hotly debated, mostly by people who haven't seen it — and figure out whether it should be opened to Big Oil.

Here on the ground, it's obvious that this refuge, far from being a barren wasteland, is actually teeming with wildlife, even as winter begins. At one spot, I saw grizzly and wolf tracks side by side, a tribute to the way this South Carolina-sized refuge preserves a patch of America as it was before Europeans arrived.

Moreover, the animals seem completely unused to humans. The first time we spotted a distant herd of caribou, we hauled in our raft downwind and crept up silently. Finally the caribou spotted us, and immediately approached for a closer look. They seemed to be trying to determine whether we were pitifully deformed caribou, and I think the females were encouraging the males to ask us for directions to the rest of the herd as it headed south.

The same thing happened when we sailed our raft as close as we dared to the first musk ox we saw, which came in for a closer look and called its pals to share the excitement. This land is truly an Arctic Serengeti.(more)

The envelope, please.

Kim Jong Il's Reelection as Chairman of NDC of DPRK Proposed

Pyongyang, September 3 (KCNA) -- It is the absolute intention and firm will of all the members of the Workers' Party of Korea, officers and men of the People's Army and people of Korea to build a great prosperous powerful socialist nation and achieve independent reunification of the country and the final victory of the revolutionary cause of Juche under the Songun banner, with leader Kim Jong Il in the van of revolution. Deputy Kim Yong Nam said this in his speech on the first agenda item of the First Session of the 11th Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea held on Sept. 3.
He courteously presented to the session a proposal of the Central Committee and the Central Military Commission of the WPK for reelecting Kim Jong Il chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK.
Invariably entrusting Kim Jong Il with the chairmanship of the NDC of the DPRK is a manifestation of the firm revolutionary faith of the army and people of Korea to accomplish the revolutionary cause of Juche to the end, firmly united around him and an expression of the absolute trust of them who clearly realized his greatness in the long revolutionary struggle, he said, and went on:
Thanks to Kim Jong Il's energetic ideological and theoretical activities and tested leadership, the immortal Juche idea and the original Songun idea, the embodiment of the idea, were formulated and a radical turn has been brought about in the cause of building the Party, revolutionary armed force and state.
His Songun politics has set up a milestone of national reunification common to the nation and opened a phase of an epoch-making turn in development of inter-Korean relations for the first time in the history of its division and unprecedentedly strengthened the international position and authority of the country by remarkably expanding the external relations of the Republic as it is a genuine patriotic and independent policy, he pointed out, and continued:
To re-elect Kim Jong Il to the top post of our state is the supreme requirement of our revolution and the earnest and solemn request of all the Korean people and the progressives who strive to make the 21st century a century of a great prosperous powerful nation and a century of victory in the human cause of independence.
Our army and people, conscious of the important mission of the times given by history, will faithfully strive to carry out the revolutionary cause of Juche pioneered on Mt. Paektu to the last, build a great prosperous powerful socialist nation in this land, reunify the country and speed up the cause of global independence, holding Kim Jong Il in high esteem as the supreme leader of our Party, State and revolutionary armed forces.

Kim Jong Il Reelected Chairman of DPRK National Defence Commission

Pyongyang, September 3 (KCNA) -- The first session of the 11th -term Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea reelected leader Kim Jong Il chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK. The session solemnly declared at home and to the world that it reelected Kim Jong Il, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and supreme commander of the revolutionary armed forces who has performed immortal feats to be recorded in the history of the country forever and glorified the DPRK as the everlasting country of the great sun, chairman of the NDC of the DPRK, reflecting the unanimous will and desire of all the servicemen and the people.
The historic moment Kim Jong Il has been reelected chairman of the NDC of the DPRK all the deputies to the SPA and the participants in the session broke into stormy cheers of "Hurrah!" overwhelmed with unbounded emotion, jubilation and ardent reverence.
It is the greatest honour and happiness of the servicemen and the people of the DPRK and a great auspicious event of the country and the nation to have reelected Kim Jong Il to the highest post of the state.
This is an expression of the absolute support and trust of all the servicemen and the people in him, who has turned the country into an ideologically and politically strong country and a military power, consolidated the single-hearted unity of the leader, the Party, the army and the people as an unbreakable one, created a new history of prosperity of the country with his Songun revolutionary leadership and made an immortal contribution to accomplishing the cause of independence against imperialism.
And this marks a great event strikingly demonstrating the firm will and faith of the servicemen and the people of the DPRK to resolutely meet all challenges of the imperialists and reactionaries and foil their moves to isolate and stifle the DPRK, firmly defend the security of the country and the sovereignty of the nation and build a great prosperous powerful socialist country on the land without fail under the experienced and seasoned leadership of Kim Jong Il.

85 witha 13 year daughter. In Alaska, we call that normal.

Ex-lobbyist, deal maker Lew Dischner dies at 85
A FORCE: Criminal conviction overshadows successes for working people.


By RICHARD MAUER
Anchorage Daily News

(Published: September 3, 2003)

Lew Dischner's death is "the passing of a true legend in our state," Greg O'Claray, labor commissioner, said.

Lew Dischner, one of Alaska's most powerful lobbyists until he went to prison in the 1980s North Slope corruption scandal, died at his home in Portland, Ore., early Monday morning of a heart attack.

At 85, his death came just days before a birthday celebration to mark 100 years in the combined ages of himself and his 13-year-old daughter, Molly, both born on Sept. 7.

Dischner, a trained carpenter and born deal maker, arrived in postwar Alaska when opportunities -- and inequities -- abounded. He became a force for organized labor, the Inupiat people of the North Slope and the Filipino communities in Southeast Alaska. An old-school, rough-edged, blue-collar working man, he was still giving advice to government officials late last year.

"I spoke to Lew just after I became commissioner," said Greg O'Claray, labor commissioner in Gov. Frank Murkowski's Cabinet and a former official of the Seafarer's and Marine Engineers unions. "He said keep your head down, kid, stay loyal to your boss, and do what's right for working people. That was Lew. Actually, he said, 'Keep your head down and your ass up,' but you probably can't print that."

O'Claray said Dischner was "one of the pillars of the state" whose accomplishments on behalf of working people and minorities were overshadowed by his criminal conviction in 1989, for which he served five years in federal prison.

"It's the passing of a true legend in our state," he said.(more)

I couldn't feel more honored

Our deepest gratitutde goes to Mr. Taylor for selecting US, of all people in the world, as a worthy partner in this important endeavour. Stay tuned. Oh yeah: This MUST begin with a big, wet, Sic!

MR CHOKI TAYLOR.
taylortay@post.cz

STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL

YOUR KIND ATTENTION IS HIGHLY REQUIRED PLEASE.

DEAR,

I AM MR CHOKI TAYLOR FROM LIBERIA, THE SON OF THE EX- PRESIDENT OF
LIBERIA. PRESNTLY MY COUNTRY IS ON SANCTION IMPOSED BY THE UNITED NATION,
SINCE THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAPRESIDENT (G.BUSH) HAVE ORDERED MY
FATHER (PRESIDENT CHARLES TAYLOR) FOR THE TIME BEING TO STEP DOWN FROM
POWER.HIS SWISS BANK ACCOUNT HAS BEING FROZENED BY THE UNITED NATIONS,
YOU MAY HAVE
HEARD FROM THE CNN OR BBC OR OTHER NEWS MIDIA. SO HE ASKED ME TO
CONTACT ANY RELIABLE FOREIGN INVESTOR WHO CAN INVEST SOME PART OF HIS MONEY
FOR HIM, SINCE HE is ASYLUMED IN NIGERIA AS THE PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA
VISITED HIM AND ASKED HIM TO GO TO NIGERIA FOR ASYLUM.MY FATHER HAVE
DISCLOSED TO ME THAT HE DEPOSITED THE SUM OF ( $ 120 MILLION US DOLLARS) IN
FOUR DIFFERENT COUNTRIES:(DUBAI-UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, LONDON,ECUADOR
AND SPAIN) PER EACH COUNTRY HE DEPOSITED $ 30 MILLION US DOLLARS.

AS result of my discrete search for a reliable foreign partner, Iam
delighted to confront you based on my believe that you could invest these
funds wisely. I now decided to write you as well as to let you know
that I need your assistance in helping me and my father to invest THESE
money in any lucrative venture of your choice. Prior to my conviction of
your capability to assist hence we shall go into partnership deal. I've
decided to move these funds to your country.

Infact, The funds where deposited with a certain security companies in
this four countries and the contents was falsefully disclosed as some
diamond and Africa art values which are very expensive to the knowledge
of the security companies. In the
agreement between my father and the security companies, it was
mentioned that a possible change of ownership is allowed, so I will fax you the
documents involved penden to which country you can be able to fly to as
soon as possible, in order to sign off the release of the fund to you
as the sub-owner, since you have to apply for the change of ownership as
soon as I have forward
the documents to you for further confirmation of the deposition of the
consignment that contained the funds. FOR your effort, 20% will be your
share as soon as the funds are release to you and you have to open a
bank account in each of this country to enable you pay the fund into each
account and have the money transfer to
your bank account in your country and 5% will be for any expenses that
we both may incur during the process of releasing these funds and the
rest percentage will be for me and my father.Hoping you will respond to
my call to assist us in investing this cash,this is 1000% risk free, as
I have taken proper care of every
arrangement. Feel free to assist please! MORE INFORMATION WILL BE GIVEN
TO YOU UPON YOUR REQUEST AND INDECATING YOUR INTERST IN HELPING US.
WISH TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON, SO AS TO EXPEDIATE ACTION IMMEDIATELY.
REOPEN AGAIN.

SINCERELY,

MR CHOKI TAYLOR.

And in Alaska we called this Legend a "Lobbyist"

Former commissioner, racketeer dies in Portland

By DAN JOLING, Associated Press Writer

ANCHORAGE (September 2, 7:15 p.m. ADT) - Lewis M. "Lew" Dischner, who served as Alaska's first state commissioner of labor and was convicted of racketeering after leaving office, died Tuesday in Portland, Ore. He was 85.

Dischner was at home with family when he died, said longtime friend Howard D'Spain of Mesa, Ariz. The cause of death was not immediately available.

Dischner was president of the Carpenters Local 1243 in Fairbanks before statehood and was a leader in the Teamsters Union. A longtime Democratic Party activist, he was appointed Department of Labor commissioner under Gov. Bill Egan, when Alaska became a state in 1959.

He later became a Juneau businessman and powerful legislative lobbyist for the North Slope Borough as oil dollars flowed into the borough from the recently constructed trans-Alaska pipeline and the borough attempted to provide 20th century services to people in the harsh Arctic.

In the North Slope Borough scandal, Dischner and his partner, Carl Mathisen, were convicted in 1989 on more than 20 felony counts of extortion, mail and wire fraud and racketeering. Dischner also was ordered to forfeit $5.8 million.

"Lew Dischner was a great man who just went astray at one point in his life," said Doug Pope, Dischner's Anchorage attorney. "Whether people will remember him that way I guess only history will tell.

"He was a great man who contributed to the growth and development of Alaska before he was ever charged with a crime."

Dischner negotiated with oil companies to ensure that only Joint Crafts Council members were hired for construction of the trans-Alaska pipeline, according to his family and friends, and during the 1970s arranged for high school seniors to serve as pages in the Legislature to expand their knowledge of state government.

But his public service record was forever tainted after his conviction for bribing former North Slope Borough officials with gifts and trips, then using their influence over borough contracts to win kickbacks from contractors.

Dischner and Mathisen were convicted of corrupting the North Slope Borough government during the administration of Mayor Eugene Brower between 1981 and 1984.(more)

In Alaska we call this "Lobbying"

Strip Club Manager Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Repeal 'no Touch' Nude Dancer Ordinance
By Seth Hettena Associated Press Writer
Published: Sep 2, 2003

SAN DIEGO (AP) - A strip-club manager admitted taking part in a scheme to buy influence from three San Diego city councilmen in an effort to repeal a city ordinance prohibiting nude dancers from touching patrons.

John D'Intino, the 56-year-old manager of Cheetahs, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud as part of a deal with federal prosecutors.

D'Intino admitted in court that he conspired with his boss, club owner Michael Galardi, and others to funnel campaign contributions to councilmen Ralph Inzunza, Charles Lewis and Michael Zucchet to repeal the city's "no-touch" law.

He said that the city's "no-touch" law was hurting business at Cheetahs. A proposal to have the City Council reconsider the law never made it onto the agenda of a council committee.

Galardi and the three councilmen have pleaded innocent.

"Mr. D'Intino has accepted responsibility for his own wrongdoing and is looking forward to moving on with his life," his attorney, Geoffrey Morrison, said outside court.

D'Intino, the first of the group to reach a plea deal, agreed to be held without bond pending sentencing.

In court, D'Intino said he directed his employees to write checks to various City Council candidates and then reimbursed them to disguise the source of the money.

D'Intino also dropped off thousands of dollars in contributions at a Zucchet fund-raiser.

As part of a separate indictment, D'Intino also pleaded guilty to weapons charges.

An almost sensible op-ed peice from the New York Times on ANWR

A Grizzly's-Eye View of a Refuge That Oil Drillers Covet
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, Alaska

As I write this, I'm huddled in a tent on the tundra of the wildest part of America, about 175 miles above the Arctic Circle in the last great wilderness virtually untouched by humans other than Eskimos and Indians.

This fate of this wildlife refuge is to be decided by politicians in Washington in perhaps the most contentious debate about the environment today. Supporters of oil drilling make much of the fact that almost none of those who insist on protecting this refuge have ever seen it or ever will, and they sometimes argue that it is a frozen wasteland — even though their own visits consist mostly of staring down through the windows of a plane.

So I decided to visit for a week — boots on the ground, or snow — and backpack and raft through this pristine land now up for grabs. Assuming that my satellite-telephone batteries hold out, I'll write about what the land is really like — and, on the way, make up my own mind about drilling.(more)

School is back in session

So lets look at some of the (gasp) philosophy that underlies "modern" education.
First, give a read to Dewey's Pedagogic Creed, the schoolteachers version of the Hippocatic oath. Except, in Dewey's Creed, the School Teacher DOES NOT vow to "do no harm..."

Then take a gander at the webpage of former New York Ciy teacher John Taylor Gatto.
Gatto offers the followng view of Dewey's Creed:

School is a religion. Without understanding the holy mission aspect you’re certain to misperceive what takes place as a result of human stupidity or venality or even class warfare. All are present in the equation, it’s just that none of these matter very much—even without them school would move in the same direction. Dewey’s Pedagogic Creed statement of 1897 gives you a clue to the zeitgeist:

Every teacher should realize he is a social servant set apart for the maintenance of the proper social order and the securing of the right social growth. In this way the teacher is always the prophet of the true God and the usherer in of the true kingdom of heaven.

What is "proper" social order? What does "right" social growth look like? If you don’t know you’re like me, not like John Dewey who did, or the Rockefellers, his patrons, who did, too.