"DEMFEST" All Day On MSNBC

MSNBC page banner for today, October 24, 2006. "Just two weeks from the most important election of our time" --- the overriding theme of the day. Image Credit: Copyright 2006 MSNBC

"DEMFEST" All Day On MSNBC

So I wake this morning, as I am accustomed to do. Start the coffee, catch a little breakfast, flip on the computer, and watch a little Don Imus In The Morning on MSNBC. The day starts out pretty much normal.

Imus ends and up pops an all day broadcast anchored by David Gregory. This just isn't any MSNBC broadcast ... but a special broadcast production day entitled "Decision 2006 Battleground America".

David begins the day by reviewing what one will be watching, that an interview with Senator Jack Murtha will be coming up shortly but first let's go to Richard Engle in Baghdad, Iraq.

After ten minutes of how ugly things are in Iraq and parsing the words of the commander after a news conference … David Gregory interviews Jack Murtha for a full fifteen minutes, without any counterpoint, unless one wants to count David Gregory as a counterpoint.

All of the time this is going on, the scroll at the bottom of the screen reads -

NOW ON MSNBC: DECISION 2006 BATTLEGROUND AMERICA ON MSNBC *** IN THE SENATE, DEMOCRATS NEED ONLY TO WIN 6 SEATS TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE CHAMBER *** WATCH CHRIS MATTHEWS ON HARDBALL ON MSNBC’S “POLITICS DAY” DECISION 2006 AT 3 PM; CHRIS WILL INTERVIEW NED LAMONT FOR THE HOUR *** POLLS SHOW DEMOCRATS POISED TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE CONGRESS – ONLY 15 SEATS NEEDED TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE CHAMBER ***

Strewn all throughout the broadcast, graphics of the United States highlighting each state that is in play pops-up just like on election day coverage tracking the polls as if the election was happening right now … and then the talking heads that include Howard Dean, Tim Russert, some pollster, photos of the contested candidates with their respective poll percentage numbers (ahead/behind).

MSNBC’S Decision 2006 Battleground America is really one big “DEMFEST” – check it out, it’s fun, it’s lopsided, and it’s politics here and now in 2006. If you leave the room, don’t forget to turn off the TV.

Oh, by the way, it took over an hour and a half since the beginning of the program, the first person in politics, who is not a democrat or a journalist (democrat), is Elizabeth Dole. She is being interviewed by the second hour anchor, Campbell Brown.

Sample question to Dole: “Why are people like Dewine (R) in trouble of losing his seat?”

Graphics pop-up on the screen showing the layout of the Senate Chamber floor with the caption “Democrats Need Only To Win 6 Seats To Take Control”

It’s a “DEMFEST”! What an orgy!

Okay, now Campbell Brown announces that “After the break, we will go to New Jersey where Republicans have a chance to take back a seat” … this offering after only one hour and forty-five minutes of broadcast time – incredible!

The Corrosive Nature Of E85 And Standards Clash

The E-85 sticker on the inside of the gas tank flap shows that it's compatible with the fuel. Image Credit: Robert Becker

The Corrosive Nature Of E85 And Standards Clash

We are told over and over that we are in a war ... and that one of the reasons Islamo-Faschist hate our way of life is due to the amount of influence we exert to get our hands on the oil Islamic countries control in order to fuel our way of life.

One strategy put forth to aid in reducing our dependence on foreign sources of oil is to blend the fuel with greater amounts of renewable sources of fuel known as Ethanol (fuel made from cellulose laden vegetation).

The blend, known as E85 - 85% Ethanol and 15% Gasoline - is more corrosive on things that it comes in contact with than straight Gasoline. This potential corrosiveness has held up the approval and certification of pumping mechanisms that deliver fuel to our cars from the Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL).

This from "About UL" on the UL website -

Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is an independent, not-for-profit product-safety testing and certification organization. We have tested products for public safety for more than a century.

Since our founding in 1894, we have held the undisputed reputation as a leader in product-safety testing and certification within the United States. Building on our household name in the United States, UL is becoming one of the most recognized, reputable conformity assessment providers in the world. Today, our services extend to helping companies achieve global acceptance, whether for an electrical device, a programmable system, or an organization's quality process.

Basically, without the UL certification for safety, insurance companies and fire response entities will not allow E85 fuel stations to be built. Worse, without certification, E85 stations may be shut down.

Excerpts from the Lincoln Journal Star -

Underwriters Laboratories monkey-wrenches E85 stations
By Lincoln Journal Star staff and wire reports - The Detroit Free Press and Journal Star reporter Art Hovey contributed to this report - Saturday Oct 21, 2006

The legal operating status of some filling stations selling E85, the blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, is under question since Underwriters Laboratories, the product safety testing group, said it has no timetable for approving E85 systems.

That’s created confusion around the country and could slow the spread of E85 stations, to the dismay of state and local governments, farmers, ethanol promoters and environmental groups.

The lack of the UL seal for filling station pumps carrying E85 means at least some of the roughly 1,000 stations that carry ethanol fuel may be violating fire codes, and new stations that want to install E85 systems in some states would need waivers from local or state fire marshals.
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Ethanol advocates said they hope to clear the air soon. In Nebraska at least 10 new E85 stations are on the drawing board, according to Todd Sneller, administrator of the Nebraska Ethanol Board.

State fire marshal inspections have sufficed so far for the 29 existing E85 stations in Nebraska, Sneller said, regardless of the absence of a UL listing.

“We expect certainly this will have some impact on newly installed equipment,” Sneller said Friday. “We are not certain if it will have any effect on already installed equipment.
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UL seals show up on thousands of products from toasters to turbines, and a UL listing is a requirement for filling stations under most fire codes. But on Oct. 5, UL announced it was suspending its listings for any fuel system that handled E85.

John Drengenberg, UL’s manager of consumer affairs, said the group had certified some parts of a fueling system as acceptable for alternative fuels but had not taken a close look at E85 until May, when a supplier applied for a UL listing for an entire dispenser — the pump and nozzle.

Drengenberg said as UL began to examine the system, it realized it needed more information about how ethanol reacted over long periods of time with parts made from certain metals.

“We looked at it very carefully and we found this issue of the corrosiveness of ethanol,” Drengenberg said. “We’re going to hold back until we get all the questions that came into our minds answered.”
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Sneller said he was not aware of city codes in Nebraska that may demand a UL listing.

“It may be more of an issue with insurance policies,” Sneller said.

The issue has certainly caused confusion, Sneller acknowledged.
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On Thursday, there was supposed to be a new E85 initiative announced by the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Governors Ethanol Coalition and private sector partners, Sneller said, but now that’s in doubt.

“The National Ethanol VehicleCoalition has worked very closely with UL for more than a year on this very matter,” Sneller said. “That process was considered to be nearly complete and approval to be imminent, so there’s a great deal of confusion about what prompted this adjustment and a number of efforts under way to get more preicise answers from the UL about why this occurred at this time.”
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Here, in California, this becomes a none issue, issue - of the four stations statewide that carry E85 ... only one is open to to the general public (the other three are on US Government/Military facilities).

At MAXINE, we STILL believe we are at war! Appearently, this war has to be fought not just in Iraq and Afghanistan, but here at home as well.

Digital "Flu" Hits The MP3 World

Hyundai HY-6611 MP3 Player - When it comes to an all-in-one MP3 player, the Hyundai HY-6611 MP3 Player definitely fits the bill. It comes at a decent price too. It plays both WMA and MP3 files and also works as a 1GB USB flash memory drive. It can also be used as a voice recorder and receive FM radio transmissions. It comes in a standard package that includes a good pair of ear buds, USB extension cable, neck strap, user manual, installation CD and an alkaline battery. Image Credit: Adrian's Rojak Pot - Hyundai

Digital "Flu" Hits The MP3 World

Just last month, I was at Fry's and choose to purchase one of these USB "stick" MP3 players. The form factor and size impressed me as well as the price.

I got home, opened the package, excited to get started with the experience of digital music, I placed the software CD-ROM disc in the drive - Good To Go!

BAM! - up pops a Trojan Horse Virus alert from my security software.

Man, what a bummer.

I took everything back for a full credit and purchased a known brand in the hopes of getting into the digital music game.

Box of Kleenex - Image Credit: binghamton.edu

It turns out that this just isn't a problem with lesser known or off brand products that are entering the marketplace.

This from CNET News -

Windows virus worms onto some Apple iPods
A small number of the video media players have been shipped with the RavMonE virus, the company warns.
By Ina Fried - Staff Writer, CNET News.com (CNET News.com's Joris Evers contributed to this report.) - Published: October 17, 2006, 2:05 PM PDT - Last modified: October 17, 2006, 2:28 PM PDT

Apple Computer warned on Tuesday that some of its latest iPods have shipped with a Windows virus.

The company said that a small number of video iPods made after Sept. 12 included the RavMonE virus. It said it has seen fewer than 25 reports of the problem, which it said does not affect other models of the media player, nor does it affect Macs.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company apologized on its Web site for the problem, but also used the opportunity to jab at Microsoft, its operating system rival.

"As you might imagine, we are upset at Windows for not being more hardy against such viruses, and even more upset with ourselves for not catching it," Apple said on its site.

The iPod Photo - Comes in two versions, a 40GB model which sells for $499 and a 60GB version that sells for $599. Both weigh 6.4 ounces, are 2.4 x 4.1 x 0.75 inches in size (slightly thicker and heavier than the regular 40GB iPod), and have a battery life of 15 hours (which is 25% better than the 4G iPod). Also comes with an AV cable for hooking up to a TV for slideshows. Image Credit: engadget.com

Apple Vice President Greg Joswiak told CNET News.com that the virus was discovered last week and said the company has been working around the clock since then to discover the root cause of the problem. Joswiak said it was traced to a particular Windows machine in the manufacturing lines of a contract manufacturer that builds the iPods for Apple. The company declined to name the maker.

"It's more important to say we now have processes in place to make sure this won't happen again," Joswiak said. "Very few units actually went through that particular station, fortunately."

The company said that computers using a current antivirus software and with default settings should detect and remove RavMonE, as it is an identified virus. It is urging iPod users without such protection to install antivirus software.

Apple said that the video iPods now being made are virus-free. It introduced the latest generation of iPods last month.

Antivirus company McAfee listed the iPod threat as a low risk, but gave it the rating of "low/profiled," which the company said applies to viruses that "appear to be low risk, but warrant additional monitoring because they have attracted media interest."

Joswiak said the virus does not affect Macs or the iPod itself. As for Windows machines, Joswiak said the virus "does not cause data damage but can lower the security of the computer" and said it should be removed. Apple points to various antivirus firms' Web sites, including McAfee, Microsoft and Symantec, as places consumers can get antivirus software if they don't already have it.

Apple said that there was no intentional placement of the virus on the iPods. "You can rest assured of that," he said.
Reference Here>>

I purchased a SanDisk Sensa 140 c from COSTCO and it is a gem ... Oh!, and no viruses.

The World Speaks To North Korea Unanimously

North Korean soldiers walk on the waterfront at the North Korean town of Sinuiju, opposite the Chinese border city of Dandong, northeastern China, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2006. The U.S. and Japan said they want a vote Saturday by the U.N. Security Council on a resolution imposing punishing sanctions on North Korea for its claimed nuclear test and demanding the elimination of all its nuclear weapons. Last-minute changes sought by Russia and China were accepted and the vote on resolution #1718 passed unanimously. Image Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

The World Speaks To North Korea Unanimously

Today, the world, through the UN Security Council, voted unanimously (15-0) to hit North Korea with further sanctions following the nuclear test that North Korea conducted earlier this week.

Among other sanctions, luxury items are banned to be sold to any North Korean entity trying to purchase them in the world markets.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il downs a drink during a toast with a South Korean media representitive Kum Chang-Tae in Pyongyang, North Korea Saturday August 12, 2000. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il loves his fancy food. But will he have to start eating more kimichi and less caviar if a U.N. resolution passes banning the sale of luxury goods to North Korea? Image Credit: AP Photo/Yonhap

Kim Jong Il as depicted in the movie - "Team America World Police" Image Credit: Paramount Pictures

John Bolton, the US Secretary to the UN, was able to successfully show a united front by the world body against nuclear proliferation.

This from AP via Yahoo! News -

U.N. adopts resolution against N. Korea
Associated Press - 4 minutes ago

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on Saturday to impose punishing sanctions on North Korea for its claimed nuclear test, declaring that its action posed "a clear threat to international peace and security."

The vote came after the United States, Britain and France overcame last-minute differences with Russia and China.

A former South Korean intelligence agent wearing North Korean military uniform stands next to a picture of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as he says he wants to go to North Korea to destroy the North's nuclear weapon during an anti-North Korean rally in front of Defense Ministry in Seoul, Friday, Oct. 13, 2006. As key Security Council members neared agreement on a resolution on North Korea, a new U.S. draft resolution was proposed that would authorize non-military sanctions against the country for its claimed nuclear test. Image Credit: AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man

The resolution demands North Korea eliminate all its nuclear weapons but expressly rules out military action against the country - a demand by the Russians and Chinese. The Americans also eliminated a complete ban on the sale of conventional weapons; instead, the resolution limits the embargo to major hardware such as tanks, warships, combat aircraft and missiles.
Reference Here>>

UPDATE - additional information from Associated Press -

Security Council OKs N. Korea sanctions
By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer

North Korea immediately rejected the resolution, and its U.N. ambassador walked out of the council chamber after accusing its members of a "gangster-like" action which neglects the nuclear threat posed by the United States.

The U.S.-sponsored resolution demands that the reclusive communist nation abandon its nuclear weapons program, and orders all countries to prevent North Korea from importing or exporting any material for weapons of mass destruction or ballistic missiles. It orders nations to freeze assets of people or businesses connected to these programs, and ban the individuals from traveling.

The resolution also calls on all countries to inspect cargo leaving and arriving in North Korea to prevent any illegal trafficking in unconventional weapons or ballistic missiles. The final draft was softened from language authorizing searches, but was still unacceptable to China — the North's closest ally and largest trading partner - which said it would not carry out any searches.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said North Korea's proclaimed test "poses one of the gravest threats to international peace and security that this council has ever had to confront."

"Today, we are sending a strong and clear message to North Korea and other would be proliferators that there will be serious repercussions in continuing to pursue weapons of mass destruction," he said, in what appeared to be a clear warning to Iran whose nuclear ambitions come before the Security Council again next week.

North Korea's U.N. Ambassador Pak Gil Yon countered by blaming the United States for forcing the country to conduct a test because of its "nuclear threat, sanctions and pressure."

"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is ready for talks, dialogue and confrontation," Pak said. "If the United States increases pressure upon the Democratic People's Republic of Korea persistently, the DPRK will continue to take physical countermeasures considering it as a declaration of war."

South Korean ambassador to the U.N. Choi Young-Jin, right, speaks during a security council meeting Saturday, Oct. 14, 2006 at the United Nations. The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on Saturday to impose punishing sanctions on North Korea for its claimed nuclear test, declaring that its action posed 'a clear threat to international peace and security.' Image Credit: AP Photo/Julie Jacobson

North Korea has made similar threats in the past, and has also said it might conduct a second nuclear test in response to U.N. sanctions.

The vote came after the United States, Britain and France overcame last-minute differences with Russia and China during what the Russian ambassador called "tense negotiations."

The resolution demands North Korea eliminate all its nuclear weapons but expressly rules out military action against the country, a demand by the Russians and Chinese. Bolton warned Pyongyang, however, that if it continues pursuing nuclear weapons, the U.S. would seek further measures.

The Security Council condemned the nuclear test that North Korea said it conducted on Oct. 9. It demanded that North Korea immediately return to six-nation talks aimed at persuading Pyongyang to dismantle its weapons program without precondition.

It also imposed sanctions for the North's "flagrant disregard" of the council's appeal not to detonate a nuclear device and demanded that North Korea "not conduct any further nuclear test or launch of a ballistic missile."

"This action by the United Nations, which was swift and tough, says that we are united in our determination to see to it that the Korean peninsula is nuclear-weapons free," President Bush said.

South Korea's Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, who was chosen on Friday to become the next U.N. secretary-general, said in an interview with The Associated Press that the council's resolution "sends a very strong, clear and unified message to North Korea."
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John Bolton, for his part, appropriately compared the North Korean U.N. ambassador to Nikita Krushchev and his action of defiance in the UN chamber - the taking off his shoe and pounding it on the desk to draw attention (October 1960) - after he (the North Korean) walked out of the UN council chamber after reading his prepared statement and accusing its members of a "gangster-like" action.

Robot Photojournalism: Space Rover Photographs Land Rover

This image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity near the rim of "Victoria Crater." High Res (large format) Photo Link. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/UA - Reconnaissance Orbiter

Robot Photojournalism: Space Rover Photographs Land Rover

The fruits of our public monies should be more available and broadcast with greater saturation. These images can be found at the NASA website but the "Fourth Estate" is doing our society a dis-service by not broadcasting these images on a regular basis.


From an altitude of 170 miles, the orbiter could see the Opportunity rover from above. In the inset, the small line extending to the lower right from the rover is the shadow of the mast on which the rover's cameras are mounted. Image Credit: NASA

This from NASA -

Victoria is an impact crater about 800 meters (half a mile) in diameter at Meridiani Planum near the equator of Mars. Opportunity has been operating on Mars since January, 2004. Five days before this image was taken, Opportunity arrived at the rim of Victoria, after a drive of more than 9 kilometers (over 5 miles). It then drove to the position where it is seen in this image.

Shown in the image are "Duck Bay," the eroded segment of the crater rim where Opportunity first arrived at the crater; "Cabo Frio," a sharp promontory to the south of Duck Bay; and "Cape Verde," another promontory to the north. When viewed at the highest resolution, this image shows the rover itself, wheel tracks in the soil behind it, and the rover's shadow, including the shadow of the camera mast. After this image was taken, Opportunity moved to the very tip of Cape Verde to perform more imaging of the interior of the crater.

This view is a portion of an image taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on Oct. 3, 2006. The complete image is centered at minus7.8 degrees latitude, 279.5 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 297 kilometers (185.6 miles). At this distance the image scale is 29.7 centimeters (12 inches) per pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects about 89 centimeters (35 inches) across are resolved. North is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:30 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 59.7 degrees, thus the sun was about 30.3 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 113.6 degrees, the season on Mars is northern summer.

Images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment and additional information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are available online at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/main/index.html or http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/.
Reference Here>>

Layers of 'Cabo Frio' in 'Victoria Crater' - This view of "Victoria crater" is looking southeast from "Duck Bay" towards the dramatic promontory called "Cabo Frio." The small crater in the right foreground, informally known as "Sputnik", is about 20 meters (about 65 feet) away from the rover, the tip of the spectacular, layered, Cabo Frio promontory itself is about 200 meters (about 650 feet) away from the rover, and the exposed rock layers are about 15 meters (about 50 feet) tall. This is an approximately true color rendering of images taken by the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during the rover's 952nd sol, or Martian day, (Sept. 28, 2006) using the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell

This from ABC News –

Earthlings Invade Mars
U.S. Probes Send New Images of Martian Surface
By NED POTTER

Oct. 6, 2006 — "NASA is in the process of taking over Mars," said Steven Squyres, the principal investigator for the two rovers Spirit and Opportunity, which have been exploring the Martian surface for more than two years.

"Today is day 960 of Opportunity's 90-day mission," he said today at a Washington news conference. The rovers have gone far beyond their expected lifetimes, and NASA has had to come up with money to keep funding its support team on Earth.

Now the rovers have been joined by a new ship, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which is circling the planet at an altitude of 170 miles and sending back its first images. They are so detailed that in one, the Opportunity rover appears as a small, dark triangle, perched on the edge of a crater.

A dark line extends from the triangle. Scientists said it is the shadow of the mast on Opportunity's top deck that carries most of its cameras.

This part of Victoria crater has been nicknamed Cape Verde. Scientists would like to sample it closely, but after more than two years in the Martian cold, the rover is showing signs of wear. "We are not going to do a leisurely tour of this crater," said Steve Squyres, the principal investigator, "because our days are numbered." Image Credit: NASA

Sandy Desert in the Martian Cold

Opportunity has been exploring a vast, sandy plain on Mars, and its operators back on Earth say they're amazed it's still operating. It's gotten stuck in the sand twice; one time they had to spin the wheels for six weeks to get it free.

There is no way to tow it free. Mars is currently about 240 million miles from Earth.
The crater at which Opportunity has now arrived is called Victoria. It is about a mile wide, and Squyres said it offers a great chance to see beneath the upper layers of soil.

"What an amazing time for space exploration," said Jim Bell, Squyres' long-time partner on the rover project. Bell and Squyres, both scientists at Cornell University, first proposed the Mars rovers in 1987.

Opportunity will now probe the cliffs that surround Victoria crater. But after 960 days on Mars, it is showing signs of wear. One of its wheels won't turn, and its batteries are harder to charge.

"We are not going to do a leisurely tour of this crater, because our days are numbered," Squyres said.

Please take a look at the newest pictures HERE.
Reference Link>>

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity reached the rim of "Victoria Crater" on Sept. 27, 2006, during the 951st Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work in the Meridian Planum region of Mars. Opportunity drove 9.28 kilometers (5.77 miles) in the explorations that took it from "Eagle Crater," where it landed in January 2004, eastward to "Endurance Crater," which it investigated for about half of 2004, then southward to Victoria.

This map of Opportunity's trek so far is overlaid onto images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. Victoria is about 800 meters (one-half mile) in diameter, or about five times wider than Endurance and 40 times wider than Eagle. The scale bar at lower right shows the length of 800 meters (0.50 mile). North is up.

The following gives the Earth date for the sol number on the image at right: Sol 58 was Mar. 24, 2004 Sol 315 was Dec. 12, 2004. Sol 446 was Apr. 26, 2005 Sol 654 was Nov. 25, 2005 Sol 833 was May 28, 2006 Sol 898 was Aug. 3, 2006 Sol 952 was Sept. 28, 2006 + High resolution version Image Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS/Ohio State University

Fence First Forces Persevere - Finally!

President Bush speaks in Scottsdale, Ariz., Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2006 where he signed the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act. From left are, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, the president, Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz., and Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz. Image Credit: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Fence First Forces Persevere - Finally!

Whadda-U-Mean Washington don't listen to da' little guy.

Back in March, you had illegals a marchin' and makin' noise (you know, flyin' mexian flags n' hangin' the American flag upside-down and all).

Today, near election time, ya' have Dubya a signin' a 700 mile fence bill without any provisions for dealin' with the 12 million illegals that are here - First Things First, that's what MAXINE would always say!

Mexican nationals peer through the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border at Border Field State Park in San Ysidro, Calif., on Aug. 24. Image Credit: Sandy Huffaker / Getty Images file

Excerpts from AP via Yahoo! News -

Bush signs homeland security bill
By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer Wed Oct 4, 2:47 PM ET

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - President Bush on Wednesday signed a homeland security bill that includes an overhaul of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and $1.2 billion for fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border to stem illegal immigration.

Standing before a mountainous backdrop in Arizona, a state that has been the center of much debate over secure borders, Bush signed into law a $35 billion homeland security spending bill that could bring hundreds of miles of fencing to the busiest illegal entry point on the U.S.-Mexican border.

Bush said enforcement alone will not stop illegal immigration, and urged Congress to pass his guest worker program to legally bring in new foreign workers and give some of the country's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants a shot at U.S. citizenship.

"The funds that Congress has appropriated are critical for our efforts to secure this border and enforce our laws, yet we must also recognize that enforcement alone is not going to work,"
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Among other things, Bush said the homeland security funding bill deploys nuclear detection equipment to points of entry, raises safety security standards at chemical plants, provides better tools to enforce immigration laws and provides vehicle barriers, lighting and infrared cameras to help catch illegals trying to cross the border.

Members of the 116th Construction Equipment Support Company of the Utah National Guard extend a wall, 06 June 2006 along the US border with Mexico, a few miles from the border crossing point at San Luis, Arizona. The US Senate approved late 29 September 2006 a bill that calls for building a fence along the US-Mexican border to stem the flow of illegal immigrants. Image Credit: ROBYN BECK / AFP/Getty Images

"It's what the people in this country want," Bush said. "They want to know that we are modernizing the border so we can better secure the border."

Outgoing Mexican President Vicente Fox, who has spent his six-year term lobbying for a new guest worker program and an amnesty for the millions of Mexicans working illegally in the United States, has called the barrier "shameful." He compares it to the Berlin Wall.
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Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., a senior member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said the homeland security spending bill does not improve screening of cargo carried on passenger planes, does not provide money to buy and install advanced explosive-detection equipment and does not include strong enough security requirements to protect against a terrorist attack on chemical plants.

"There are nightclubs in New York City that are harder to get into than some of our chemical plants," Markey said.
Read All>>

California, The Land Of Fruits, Nuts, & CHEESE

Sophie Horton, right, of Chicago tried on a cheesehead hat with her friend Alex Marohn, far left, of Sheboygan, Wis., from among many shapes, including top hat, cowboy hat, fireman’s hat, sombrero and crown. Image Credit: Andy Manis for The New York Times

California, The Land Of Fruits, Nuts, & CHEESE

Yes!, That’s right, CHEESE.

We all know the old impressions about California – There are no seasons … Land of fruits and nuts … Earthquakes … Hollywood … Wine … Convertibles … Surfin’ … San Francisco … Smoothies … Starlets … Car chases … Fires … Celebrity murder trials – Well, you get the idea!

As a matter of fact, California’s sixth ranking in world economies is fueled by agriculture, lending some weight to the expression “Land Of Fruits & Nuts” … and now “The Golden State” will soon be crowned as the the nation’s major cheese producer.

The expression “The Golden State” may now become even more true as it is bathed in the golden glow of chedder!

Excerpts from The New York Times -

Wisconsin’s Crown of Cheese Is Within California’s Reach
By MONICA DAVEY - NYT - Published: September 30, 2006

MONROE, Wis. — In a small yellow building tucked into rolling fields of corn and cows, men in aprons and rain boots stand guard over two enormous vats of thick white goop, no longer milk but not yet Muenster cheese.

People have toiled in these rooms, foggy with the smell of warm milk, for 116 years, which helps explain why Ivan Gobeli spits out an expletive at the predictions that California will soon overtake Wisconsin as the nation’s top cheese producer.

Graphic Credit: The New York Times
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As if California’s capture of the top milk production title more than a decade ago was not demoralizing enough for Wisconsin, which still proclaims itself America’s Dairyland right on its license plates, the cheese crown is now at serious risk, too, perhaps changing hands as early as next year. Last year, Wisconsin made 2.4 billion pounds of cheese, while California crept ever closer, finishing with 2.14 billion pounds — triple the amount it made 15 years ago.

For Wisconsin, this is more than a simple battle over a commodity or a listing in an obscure federal agriculture publication. Cheese is the state’s history, its pride, its self-deprecating, sometimes goofy, cheesehead approach to life.

“Cheese really is part of our identity,” said Terese Allen, a former president of the Culinary History Enthusiasts of Wisconsin who writes about the state’s culinary folklore. “Cheese is the perfect illustration of the Wisconsin personality — casual, fun people who like to make fun of things, including ourselves.”

And so, by turns, the prospect of California’s dominance has sent Wisconsinites into various stages of cheese grief: denial (cows like cold weather, they say, and the hot West Coast climate will never produce the tasty pastures grown for them around here); condescension (many of California’s top cheese-making minds were imported from Wisconsin, they say); and, eventually, resigned indifference (it is the taste, the quality, they conclude, not the quantity of cheese that should matter most).

Wisconsin’s long affair with cheese began when its wheat crop faltered. In the mid-19th century, farmers realized that depleted soil and insect infestations made raising cows more manageable, and the state’s many immigrants from places like Germany and Switzerland, who brought cheese-making methods from the old country, got to work.
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Still, Wisconsin, which had overtaken New York in cheese production by 1910, has continued to reign as the nation’s largest and proudest producer. (New York is now fourth, and Idaho is third.)

Wisconsin boasts the nation’s only “Master Cheesemaker” certification, for its most accomplished veteran makers (there were 47 as of April) and one of the earliest cheese-making education programs, at the University of Wisconsin.

But in recent decades, California began expanding its milk and cheese production at an astonishing pace. Signs of the growth began popping up all around: 21 awards to California cheeses in the prestigious American Cheese Society competition in 2002, for example, and a $21-million-a-year national advertising blitz starring talking “Happy Cows” from California, including images of a seemingly miserable cow making a break from a snowy, blustery field for sunnier pastures out West and the slogan, “Great cheese comes from happy cows.”
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Happiness notwithstanding, dairy economists predict California will win. Even John T. Umhoefer, the executive director of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, a group more than a century old and devoted to advocating for its producers, quietly concedes the point. “They won’t roar by us, but they will pass us,” Mr. Umhoefer said.

This is where indifference has begun to seep in, and - perhaps by way of defense - a new battle emerges.

Around Wisconsin, to the news of California’s rising dominance, cheese makers say they are turning their focus to high-priced specialty, artisan and organic cheeses that take more time to produce, cheeses like Asiago, feta and blue cheese, and those with names newly dreamed up.

“We’re moving on from this whole quantity thing,” said Jeanne Carpenter of the state’s Dairy Business Innovation Center, who said specialty cheeses now accounted for 15 percent of the state’s production, up significantly from five years ago. “Where Wisconsin is going to make its mark now is in the quality of the cheese.”

Roger Godfrey, right, owner, and his two sons, Dan, left, and Mike, flipped block forms of Muenster cheese at Franklin Cheese Factory near Monroe, Wis. The forms have to be flipped every half hour for several hours. The state’s cheese makers worry that California will soon overtake Wisconsin as the nation’s top cheese producer. Image Credit: Andy Manis for The New York Times
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A spokeswoman for the California Milk Advisory Board, Nancy Fletcher, said new research there showed that the state was not just cranking out chunks of mozzarella: 11.3 percent of California’s cheese is of the fancy, specialty persuasion, Ms. Fletcher said, and the state now creates 250 varieties of cheese.

And so, the war for cheese prominence rages on, and Wisconsin’s identity crisis looms.

A few here suggest Wisconsin might be wise to begin considering substitute symbols — something tied more, perhaps, to the state’s vast production of cranberries, ginseng or brats, as bratwurst is known from Eagle River to Beloit.

If the term “cheesehead” was originally meant to convey some negative bumpkin image that outsiders (often from Chicago) had of those from Wisconsin, many who lived here, in turn, embraced it, defiantly chuckling at themselves. Foamation, the company in St. Francis that began manufacturing cheesehead hats in 1987 (and later ties, earrings, crowns, key chains, magnets and toilet seats), is having one of its busiest selling seasons in years.

A new generation is buying the items, said an employee, Denise Kaminski. “When you drive through Wisconsin, what do you see but cheese?” she said. “It’s who we are, and that’s not going away.”
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But before we get a little to "Cheese-Heady" about our new found status, we in California must remember ... we are also the land of the e. coli Spinach Scare!

Best ID Security May Not Be Just Biometric

Entrust IdentityGuard is carried or worn around the neck of the individual. Image Credit: Entrust, Inc. via Avisian publications

Best ID Security May Not Be Just Biometric

Specific identification of an individual short of a DNA make-up can be achieved through many identification processes. A large investment has been made in systems based on biometric access, radio based proximity information exchange, and video software that can recognize individuals through data mining identifiers associated with ones face ... or body type.

Maybe the best identification solution to implement can also be one of the simplest. Maybe the easiest way to insure the identification of an individual is to rely on a two step authentication process that requires the individual, after entering a password, to interact with the process via a matrix matching grid that uses the individual's brain.

Oh, and by the way, this security solution is inexpensive and simple to implement.

Excerpts from CR80News -

Grid-based two-factor authentication comes to campus cards
Sweden’s Goteborg University deploys a visual challenge and response solution from Entrust
By Andy Williams, Contributing Editor, CR80News - Monday, September 25 2006

You log in with your password, then you're met with another screen with the following: A3, F4, J5. No, you're not playing Bingo. It's part of an authentication system created by Dallas, Texas-based Entrust. To supply the correct answers to A3, F4 and J5, you need a grid supplied by the company. It's a security solution that one Swedish university has chosen to protect its student records.

Entrust IdentityGuard "X-Y" matrix grid pad. Image Credit: Entrust, Inc. via Avisian publications

"Grid authentication is about an X-Y coordinate lookup system," said Steve Neville, senior manager of ID products and solutions for Entrust, Inc. a secure digital identity provider. "It's like reading a map and it's about being able to respond to the random challenges of a coordinate on a grid."

To help prevent attacks on student data and protect the records of its 60,000 students and faculty while facilitating access for authorized parties, Goteborg University in Sweden recently implemented Entrust's IdentityGuard.
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A cost-conscious option for multi-factor authentication

The two-factor authentication system requires a password, plus the grid that's often printed on the back of a student's or faculty member's identification card, said Mr. Neville. It's a standard student card that's usable not only for identification but for other things, like accessing foodservice.
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Either way, the grid is useless without the password and the password useless without the grid. The grid is the 'something you have' and the password is the 'something you know' in the multi-factor authentication scenario.
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"We wanted an authentication solution that would provide strong security but also would be easy to use for our students and faculty and also be economical to manage," said Sven-Elof Kristenson, IT manager at Goteborg University. "Because we can combine the Entrust IdentityGuard grid authentication capability with the identity cards we already issue to our students and faculty at the beginning of the school term, it fit seamlessly into our existing system and will give us the ability to make even more services available online for everyone."

The university also chose IdentityGuard because its grid authentication capability can be used to access records, file storage, reports, e-mail and calendar functions, said Mr. Neville. "It was a natural choice for stronger authentication. Ease of integration and usability also were factors that led to the decision to implement Entrust IdentityGuard."

Entrust IdentityGuard matrix grid pad information as it is applied to a computer log-in screen. Image Credit: Entrust, Inc. via Avisian publications

Adding 'machine fingerprinting' to the grid authentication

"ID Guard in and of itself is a platform for authentication," said Mr. Neville. It comes in six different flavors-authentication options --- ranging from the non-intrusive like machine fingerprinting and grid authentication to one-time password tokens, he added.

"One of the reasons Goteborg liked grid authentication is that it also delivers the flexibility to input other types of authentication. Inside our license model we don't force them to track which authentication they're using. They can choose which ones they want to use to protect student data," said Mr. Neville.

A risk can be assigned to student data to determine the type of authentication needed, he added. "It can be a simple process, like this type of information requires the grid and machine authentication. For students, the grid is totally fine because they're roaming around," said Mr. Neville.

ID Guard is a "software server based product that can also provide strong authentication for remote access," he added.
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"When they (Goteborg University officials) were looking at security solutions, they were very sensitive to cost and how much change would be required. They looked at ID Guard as a very attractive solution versus one that could only be deployed to faculty alone because of the cost. It was also something they found very unique and something they could trust."
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The 15% Solution - Really!, Right Now! - The Case For E15

The Rev. Bart Muller of Brighton refuels at a rare ethanol pump at a Citgo in Dearborn Heights. Image Credit: John T. Greilick / The Detroit News

The 15% Solution - Really! ... Right Now! The case for E15.

Lately, we all have been confronted with the realization that our dependence on foreign oil puts our county and our culture in real peril.

We have fascist monotheistic Muslim leaders and communistic dictators standing up in the chambers of the United Nations deriding our way of life without any power to back up their claims other than that they supply our nation with oil to fuel our free way of life.

Further, the radical Muslim world uses the resources gained through the sale of oil to our country to declare war and attack it with out provocation.

Some call for a boycott of Citgo as a reaction to statements made by Hugo Chavez at the UN, and others claim that we should all go out and purchase hybrid technology or flex-fuel automobiles - Right Now! – to place a dent in the flow of monies to these fascist monotheistic Muslim enemy forces that want to spread their influence on our freedoms and growth in our way of life.

Here is a strategy we can implement - Right Now! – through legislation without much increase in the investment and additional impact to our existing infrastructure.

Excerpts from the The Detroit News -

15 percent ethanol fuel is best bet
Sam R. Simon - The Detroit News

We often hear about beating high gas prices and breaking the bonds of Big Oil through increased production of E85 fuel, which is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Greater use of ethanol certainly will decrease our national thirst for oil. Alternative fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol are important vehicles in our drive toward energy independence, and Michigan is helping lead the way.

This state is part of the growing national commitment to these renewable fuels. All of us should recognize their role in a stronger economy and cleaner environment. But rather than anoint E85 as the sole solution, we should cruise before we race.

In the short term, E15 is the best option because that 15-percent ethanol blend can be dispensed today from existing pumps and can safely power nearly every car.

Few service stations currently are able to sell E85, with just a dozen or so in our state and fewer than 1,000 nationwide. Moreover, automakers must make time-consuming, costly commitments to build flex-fuel vehicles.

Billions of dollars and many years are needed to convert retail fuel networks for E85, even with government subsidies. Adding that new product requires $60,000 to $100,000 in updated pumps and new storage tanks at each service station. Also, it will take many years to expand the nation's ethanol production to the point where E85 can be readily available. The E15 blend with 85-percent gasoline, by contrast, can flow now.
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It's no coincidence that Michigan is at the center of this growth industry. With an ideal combination of agricultural resources, automotive technology and research expertise, our state provides a natural base for America's greater use of alternatives to fossil fuels made from petroleum. We are extending Michigan's tradition of auto industry innovations with 21st century fuel research and development. As a participant in Michigan's fuel industry for 30 years, I'm excited about the future. My company began blending biodiesel last year and is an investor in the Michigan Biodiesel LLC plant that begins production soon in Bangor.
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State government is helping as well with recently passed legislation that decreases the tax on alternative fuels and gives economic incentives to encourage service stations and fuel plants to sell more renewable fuel.
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Alternative fuels blended here plant the seeds for lasting environmental, economic and energy security benefits. By embracing fuels made from home-state corn and soybeans, lawmakers nourish our state in important ways. The mass expansion of renewable fuels production will benefit us in years to come as E85 and biodiesel become cornerstones of our energy strategy. But as we look toward the future, let's also take advantage of today's opportunity and offer incentives for the immediate use of E15 fuel.
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Allmendinger Stalls Frenchie At Road America

AJ Allmendinger at Road America during Saturday qualifying. Photo Credit: Anthony Kent, USA LAT Photographic

Allmendinger Stalls Frenchie At Road America - Scores 5th Win Of The Season

Sebastian Bourdais will just have to wait to clinch this year's series championship and to capture bragging rights to three championships in a row.

Said AJ Allmendinger in the post race interview after notching his fifth win for Forsythe Racing this season, "I just wasn't going to let the Frenchman clinch the championship here on American soil."

Now, The Champ Car World Series takes its act "down-under" to Surfers Paradise, Australia (October 20 - 22, 2006) for the season's penultimate run before the season ending race in Mexico City (November 10 - 12, 2006).

This UPDATE from The Sports Network -

Allmendinger wins at Road America

Elkhart Lake, WI (Sports Network) - American A.J. Allmendinger captured Sunday's Grand Prix of Road America. The No.7 Forsythe Championship Racing driver crossed the finish line 0.674 seconds ahead of Bruno Junqueira.

The victory was the Allmendinger's fifth of the season and fifth of his Champ Car career and keeps him in the championship race.

While pole winner Dan Clarke took the green flag and smartly led the field through the first lap, an accident behind him brought out the caution flag even before the drivers had taken a second turn. Will Power, Bruno Junqueira and Jan Heylen were involved.

Sebastien Bourdais and Will Power lead into turn 3 the field at the start of Qualifying. Photo Credit: Leland Hill, USA LAT Photographic

On lap four, Charles Zwolsman went to the lead past Clarke, but he didn't get to enjoy the top spot for long as two-time series champion Sebastien Bourdais went flying by the No.34 Lola.

By lap seven, the Frenchman's lead was more than three seconds over Clarke, who had fought his way around Zwolsman. Six laps later the margin was almost nine seconds as Bourdais was setting a torrid pace.

But a caution flag brought on by a Power accident in turn one, quickly eliminated Bourdais' huge lead.

When they went back to green, Bourdais jumped on second-place Allmendinger. By lap 22, the margin was five seconds and his laps were more than two seconds better than the second-place car. The lead was up to 12 seconds when rookie Juan Caceres spun to bring out another caution flag.

Everyone pitted and while Bourdais took a full load of fuel, both Justin Wilson and Allmendinger "short-filled" to get out in front the points leader. Bourdais came back on track in fifth place behind the two "short-fill drivers" and Bruno Junqueira and Nelson Philippe who stayed out.

Suddenly, Bourdais's race car wasn't working as well as earlier and he was stuck behind his two closest championship challengers - Wilson and Allmendinger. He was still behind them with 15 laps to go.

Justin Wilson - Photo Credit: Phillip Abbott, USA LAT Photographic

The two leaders plus Wilson made their final pit stops leaving the race lead to Allmendinger and Bourdais. But they too had to make a final stop so unless they could build a sufficient margin, they would still have to pass cars for the win.

Allmendinger made his pit stop on lap 41, but Bourdais stayed out. The American got out in front of Junqueira for fourth place.

When would Bourdais stop and where would he return to the track?

Bourdais held more than 31 seconds on Allmendinger and Junqueira after 43 laps. The Frenchman finally made his stop on lap 44 and returned to the track about 100 yards ahead of the competition.

Now he only needed to hold him off for seven laps.

But on cold tires Bourdais couldn't hold off Allmendinger. The American went flying by Bourdais. So did Junqueira.

Katherine Legge – “Warriors In Pink” livery. Photo Credit: Phillip Abbott, USA LAT Photographic

It should have been a great battle down the stretch between those three drivers, but with six laps to go, Katherine Legge slammed the wall at "The Kink" (the fastest corner on the track) sending her car into a million pieces and bringing out a full-course caution. After one lap, officials brought out the red flag halting the race with four laps to go.

She was "awake and alert" as they put her in the ambulance for the ride to the medical center and amazingly she was on her feet and waving to the crowd just a few minutes later.

The race finally resumed with two caution flag laps leaving just two laps for "racing" but there really wasn't much competition over the last eight miles. Allmendinger cruised to win unchallenged and kept his slight championship hopes alive.

Bourdais, Oriol Servia and Wilson completed the top-five.

Bourdais remains the championship leader with two races remaining in the season. He has a 58-point margin over Allmendinger and 67 over Wilson.
Reference Here>>

Where Wealth, Environmentalism, And Nationalism Collide

The view of the countryside around Ushuaia, Argentina - the southernmost city in the world. Image Credit: PBase

Where Wealth, Environmentalism, And Nationalism Collide

Argentina is a very large country with tremendous assets and beauty. The problem is that due to the type of leadership the country is based on, most of the citizens believe their only opportunity lies in the country’s main city and capitol, Buenos Aries.

The Government, unfortunately, does not view land ownership and stewardship in the way we in the United States view it – an opportunity to enrich oneself as one enriches the community.

One only has to look to Mexico to get an idea as to how Argentina views property ownership – it’s a Latin based view as opposed to a Christian based view. In short, control by a few as opposed to growth and control through individuals working for the betterment of a community.

Excerpts from The Washington Post -

Argentine Land Fight Divides Environmentalists, Rights Advocates
By Monte Reel - Washington Post Foreign Service - Sunday, September 24, 2006; Page A01

CONCEPCIÓN, Argentina -- From a flat patch of tree-studded savannah, the gaze stretches for miles: across a small pond where a marsh deer stops to drink, and over swampy wetlands where herons gingerly high-step.

Above it all, a small airplane drones. At the controls is Douglas Tompkins, an American who owns everything underneath him, paid for from the millions he earned as the founder of the North Face and Esprit clothing lines.

"It's an amazing piece of land," Tompkins said shortly after landing. "Extremely rich with biological diversity."

American Douglas Tompkins has donated some of his land in Argentina and Chile for parks. Photo Credit: Twp Photo

Now, many Argentine officials and social activists want to confiscate the property he says he bought to create an ecological preserve. They think that he and other wealthy foreigners who have bought enormous swaths of the Argentine and Chilean countryside are trying to wrest control of a continent under the guise of environmental preservation.

"We believe this is a new way of trying to dominate the South American countries," said Araceli Mendez, a congresswoman who represents this region and sponsored legislation last month that would expropriate Tompkins's land. "It is dangerous for the defense of our national security to have the concentration of so much land in the hands of foreigners."

Since the 1990s, the relatively cheap and expansive acreage of Argentina has attracted millionaires in search of unspoiled estates, including household names such as Ted Turner and Sylvester Stallone. But last month, Argentina's undersecretary for land and social habitat declared war on such land purchases with one highly symbolic act: He marched onto Tompkins's land, cut down a fence and called for the expropriation of the property.

Days later, he stood alongside the ambassadors of Venezuela and Bolivia -- two countries that recently have implemented measures to redistribute land from wealthy estate owners to the poor -- and made his intentions even clearer.

"We want to tell everyone: We're going to continue cutting down fences," said Luis D'Elia, the government secretary. "What is more important, the private property of a few, or the sovereignty of everyone?"
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Not only do these battles pit South American nationalism against foreign investors, they are drawing a bold line between two activist movements -- environmentalists and social justice advocates -- that are often grouped together under the same "progressive" label.
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The Catholic Church joined the chorus this month, issuing a 128-page document that warned against the "foreign-ization" of Argentine territory. Environmental groups, such as the Argentina Wildlife Foundation, have generally backed Tompkins.

"The social justice movements have been extremely poor at understanding ecological effects of their actions -- they're not green movements," said Tompkins, 67. "Concern about things like topsoil, which is the most valuable part of the land and often suffers under agrarian reform, is not being heard through the din of the need for the social redistribution of land. But that redistribution, for those who are not capable of handling it, will be a terrible blow to the future."

Since 1990, Tompkins and his wife -- Kristine McDivitt, the former chief executive of the Patagonia outdoor clothing company -- have bought about 4.7 million acres in Chile and Argentina. Their strategy is to identify properties in danger of ecologically damaging development, buy them, then create private parks that they eventually turn over to the local governments.

In Chile, they bought a large swath of land on the southern coast, creating a private park that they eventually turned over to the Chilean government to create the Parque Pumalin, which is roughly the size of Yosemite National Park. They did the same thing with the Monte Leon National Park on Argentina's side of Patagonia. Last year, they donated about 210,000 acres to Chile to form part of the Corcovado National Park.
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"They're shooting at the guy -- the only guy, practically, from the private sector -- who is buying land and then nationalizing it!" said a fired-up Tompkins, eating a bowl of granola for breakfast in the living room of the ranch house he keeps on the property.

Argentines, he said, don't understand his style of philanthropy. When he talks about eventually donating the land to the government, they suspect a catch. D'Elia has publicly hinted that he believes Tompkins is an agent of the U.S. government. That his property sits near the Guaraní aquifer -- the third largest source of fresh water in the world -- has raised suspicions that he is trying to gain control of South America's water supply. Some say that a U.S. military base about 450 miles away in Paraguay is indirect evidence that Tompkins and the U.S. government might be working together.
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Tompkins traces the beginnings of the discontent to an American style of land management that is resented here -- specifically, his efforts to hold his neighboring landowners to environmental standards.

He recently financed a legal case against a local forestry company trying to build a dike through wetlands. It was the kind of environmental complaint that is made every day in the United States, but not in a region of Argentina where private ranch owners -- or estancieros -- have held most of the political power for centuries.

"Suddenly they see someone come in and say, 'Hey, what about the rules?' " Tompkins said. "That sort of galvanized people into action against me."
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Tompkins, meanwhile, continued working on his property, overseeing projects such as the clearing of eucalyptus trees -- a non-native species that he is trying to replace with vegetation naturally found in the area.

"The Argentine government should look very carefully not at what passport someone carries," Tompkins said, "but at how they behave economically and ecologically."
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The way we see it here at MAXINE ... Tompkins is only trying to pursue a "Purpose Driven Life".