THE HANDSTAND
june 2005
House passes two Kucinich
Amendments on Biofuel "We can grow our way out of
this energy crisis"
Requesting
Feasability Study of Mustard Seed Biodiesel
"Mr. Chairman, this is a noncontroversial amendment which authorizes a National Academy of Science study on the feasibility of mustard seed as a feedstock for biodiesel.
"Now, mustard seed has many advantages over other feedstocks, including higher oil content, it is easier to grow in colder and drier climates of the U.S., and the conversion process leaves behind an organic pesticide and herbicide. Initial research studies by the University of Idaho and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have shown favorable results.
"Now, Mr. Chairman, mustard seed has roots deep in all cultures, and it is specifically mentioned in the Bible. I want to read you a passage from Mark which will show the recognition of mustard seed as a crop that deserves recognition here.
"Mark, in the fourth chapter, talks about the Kingdom of Heaven, and says: ’It is like a mustard seed, which when sewn in the Earth is less than all the seeds that be in the Earth. But when it is sewn, it groweth up and becometh greater than all the other herbs and shooteth out great branches.’
"So something that was understood in the intelligence of the world thousands of years ago needs once again to be recognized, because what we have here is a crop that gives a great potential. And we know that farmers are key to eliminating our dependency on foreign oil and that we can grow our way out of this energy crisis. That is one of the reasons I am offering this.
"Mark is not the only place where mustard seed is mentioned. We are told that if we have faith as a grain of mustard seed, we can move mountains. Well, this is an opportunity for us to show not only faith in the good will of this House to help America take an important step towards sustainable energy, but also faith in alternative energy and faith in our own Nation. I think that we can take this opportunity to give farmers a chance for growing options for biomass feedstocks. It is imperative that we find those feedstocks that will eliminate our dependency on foreign oil as soon as possible.
"So, again, to the chairman, this is a noncontroversial amendment. It would authorize the National Academy of Sciences to study the feasibility of mustard seed as a feedstock, and I would certainly appreciate the support of the committee and of the House."
The vote on Amendment No. 25 was taken by electronic device and passed with 259 ayes, 171 noes, and 4 not voting.
Increase Pilot Programs to Invest in Alternative Fuel Vehicles
"Now, we are offering this amendment because we believe that farmers and our urban centers can work together to eliminate our dependency on oil. Farmers grow biomass feedstocks that can be processed locally to supply nearby cities such as Cleveland and Toledo."
"We can grow our way out of our
energy crisis; and farmers growing biomass feedstocks
that can be processed locally to supply, in our case,
nearby cities such as Cleveland and Toledo can help us do
that. They will benefit with new and more stable markets;
our fuel supply is home grown, thus reducing our
dependence on foreign oil; fuel prices are reduced; and
the air we breathe is cleaner."
by : Floor Speech
Monday 25th April 2005
Operation Matador:
Learning the Neo-Words of Serial Wars
From C. E. Carlson
Our Marines are off on Operation
Matador, another Fallujah, and this time in Western Iraq,
out of sight of the world. Several much-filtered,
bloody stories are coming back. Anywhere from 30 to
300 Iraqis are being killed for every Marine lost,
depending on what story you choose to believe.
America's few deaths are cause to mourn; I mourn with the
mothers of the dead, because I know each death is
unnecessary.
The "friendly fire" death of pro-football's Pat
Tillman was deliberately and flagrantly lied about by the
Army even as hero ceremonies were being conducted in his
name. They went so far as to destroy his personal
effects to hide the truth. Tillman died because he
was fooled by the very military he sought to serve. If
any good can come of Tillman's death or that of Rachael
Corrie, who was crushed under a Caterpillar dozer
probably given to Israel by our government, that good can
only be if the truth comes out about them, causing
millions to think. Let it be so.
The gulf between Pat Tillman and Rachel Corrie is
important to recognize. Miss Corrie understood her
cause...she even knew the risk and she still stood in
front of the bulldozer that was about do destroy a
family's home. Poor Pat Tillman may never have
known that he was being risked without a cause. Had
Tillman ever spoken to Rachael Corrie, or to any one of
our readers who understands our Serial Wars, his story
might have had a different ending. Reaching college
students and youth with our message is a matter of life
and death for some of them, especially the youth inside
churches that support our serial wars in the Mideast.
How do we know what "our boys" are doing in the
USA's private wars, in which we have no real allies
except the pit bull on a long leash, Israel? The
truth is, "our boys" can do anything they want
to the people of Iraq. We will not know about most
of the unnecessary brutality until they start spilling it
to their respective psychiatrists years from now.
Israelis shoot children at will, one or two per week, and
are never accountable. We do know about Abu Ghraib
and isolated incidents that have been reported. If
we are to deduce what is taking place, we must understand
the language of deceit. We must decode the
propaganda words of the "Embedded" journalists,
the media's term for controlled journalists assigned to a
specific military unit and under the command of someone
in the unit. No wonder our news is controlled;
there is no competition for the truth. Here are a few
Neo-words.
"INSURGENT" is a convenient propaganda
word. It sounds like a foreign invader surging into
the country, does it not?
"In-surg-ent." But it means "an
uprising from within." "Look it up,"
as Yogi used to say. "INSURGENT" is defined as
a hometown boy fighting a guerilla war for his turf; one
who rises up against civil authority. We Americans
are the foreign invaders and the Iraqis are the local
patriots. Understand that and you know why they
fight back so desperately: it's their property that is
being taken. If Arabs from other countries are helping
the uprising that should surprise no one; they all know
they are next on the war list.
"SUICIDE BOMBER" is another new Iraqi
propaganda word. We associate "suicide"
with mentally deranged, or sinful, for it is a sin to
destroy a life God created in both Islam and
Christianity. But the human special delivery
bombers of Iraq are not committing "suicide."
They are warriors. Suicide has a clear definition;
it means taking your own life for the specific purpose of
ending your life. There is not a shred of evidence
that the sacrificial bombers of Baghdad (or Gaza) want to
die.
We hear about one or two of these bombers every
day. Tragically, they often blow up other Iraqis
who are seeking police jobs in the new government
dictated to rule them. A Bomber's willingness to
kill their fellow countrymen stuns us. We need to
understand the motives of anyone so determined. We
wonder who these people with the bombs are and what fires
them, and we are never told. Have you ever heard
the name of even one Human Bomber ...his life, family,
beliefs and associations?
In occupied Palestine the Human bomb's parents can expect
a quick visit from the Israeli Defense Forces, usually
with a bulldozer close behind. Surely our leaders
know who some of these dead warriors are. To my
knowledge not one family member of an Iraqi bomber has
been interviewed. Why not? It's pretty
obvious, our media wants us to think of the Human Bomb as
a non-person, or maybe a subhuman, demented and
suicidal. Never are they shown as persons with a
mission. We do not need to approve of what they do
to understand it. Some of us will never forget the
Buddhist monks who burned themselves to death in front of
TV cameras in Saigon to protest our presence there.
There could be no doubt about their motives, and we were
soon gone.
The Human Bombs of Iraq are following in the
footsteps of the warriors from Philistia who learned that
hand-carried bombs were their only remaining weapons
after 55 years of being strangled in confinement and
humiliation at the hands of the American equipped
invading Israelis. The Iraqis have the advantage of
Pakistan's experience; they have no illusion of obtaining
independence from their conqueror without winning it.
Our "Serial Wars" are three quarters of a
century down the road to utter destruction of our once
magnificent economy. If we want to understand this,
we must start by learning the true meaning of the words
the American Press gives us with our morning coffee and
ten o'clock news.
Here is a start for We Hold These Truths' new dictionary
of Serial Wars: The real meaning of the Neo-Words:
INSURGENT: A local indigenous Iraqi man or woman
willing to fight for his property and freedom
SUICIDE BOMBER: The most feared fighting warrior on
earth, serious enough to risk almost certain death to
kill or frighten his enemy.
OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM: Palestinian repression
applied to Iraq. It convinces more and more people
every day that the Human Bombers are right.
OPERATION MATADOR: Military term for a fair bullfight in
which an Apache shoots the bull in his pen with a missile
IMBEDDED REPORTER: The US military's
"version" of what happened.
Feel free to contribute your favorite Neo-Words to the
list.
- end
www.straitgateministry.org
| 'This Is Not
Right' June 1, 2005 By Kevin Reece http://www.komotv.com/news/printstory.asp?id=37150 DES MOINES - Cecilia
Beaman is a 57-year-old grandmother, a principal
at Pacific Middle "This is not right," she told us. It's not right!" This past weekend she and several other chaperones took 37 middle school students to a Heritage Festival band competition in California. The trip included two days at Disneyland. During the stay she made sandwiches for the kids and was careful to pack the knives she used to prepare those sandwiches in her checked luggage. She says she even alerted security screeners that the knives were in her checked bags and they told her that was OK. But Beaman says she couldn't find a third knife. It was a 5 1/2 inch bread knife with a rounded tip and a serrated edge. She thought she might have lost or misplaced it during the trip. On the trip home, screeners with the Transportation Security Administration at Los Angeles International Airport found it deep in the outside pocket of a carry-on cooler. Beaman apologized and told them it was a mistake. "You've committed a felony," Beaman says a security screener announced. "And you're considered a terrorist." Beaman says she was told her name would go on a terrorist watch-list and that she would have to pay a $500 fine. "I'm a 57-year-old woman who is taking care of 37 kids," she told them. "I'm not gonna commit a terrorist act." Beaman says they took information from her Washington drivers license and confiscated and photographed the knife according to standard operating procedure. She says screeners refused to give her paperwork or documentation of her violation, documentation of the pending fine, or a copy of the photograph of the knife. "They said 'no' and they said it's a national security issue. And I said what about my constitutional rights? And they said 'not at this point ... you don't have any'." KOMO News did reach a spokesperson with the Transportation Security Administration for comment. They said they did not have record of Beaman's confrontation but did admit that TSA screeners are, by design, becoming more strict. Despite continued warnings to passengers, TSA screeners say travelers continue to bring banned items in their carry-on luggage. Knives, guns, and other weapons are found and confiscated daily. Fines issued for knives and other sharp objects range from $250 to $1,500. Fines issued for firearms discovered in carry-on luggage range from $1,500 to $7,500. The TSA web site also indicates firearms violations will be referred for potential criminal prosecution. The same site does not propose the same criminal referral for knives like the one Cecilia Beaman was carrying. "This is not the way my country should be treating me," she said. My concern is that if that's the way they're treating American citizens I would hate to think how they're treating other people. It's crazy." The TSA reminds travelers that is has the authority to impose civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation. "TSA needs the help of the traveling public in reducing the number of prohibited items brought to airport screening checkpoints," reads the Sanction Guidelines section of the TSA web site. "TSA recognizes that most passengers who carry prohibited items do so without any ill intent. TSA does not impose fines on the vast number of passengers who inadvertently carry prohibited items. Dealing with any prohibited item, however, adds time to the screening process both for the traveler who brought the item and for other travelers as well." You
can find a complete list of banned items, range
of fines levied for violations, and information
on how to plead your case with the TSA at www.tsa.gov. |
School in
Des Moines, and as of Sunday is also a suspected
terrorist. 