State

Climate Crisis coalitionists rallied with peace and poverty activists last night, braving an unexpected ice storm that laid a sheet of ice on roads and sidewalks.  With megaphones, signs and a flag of global Earth, 25 activists regaled holiday shoppers with parodied Christmas songs, asking them to "rethink" their consumptive habits.

Columbus joined the international community in urging the US to begin reducing carbon dioxide emissions.  Rallies across the country were held in solidarity with activists who demonstrated outside the Montreal Summit on Global Warming.

Holiday Hoppers received energy saving tips to reduce their personal contriubition to global warming. Tips included: plant a tree - which consumes CO2, instead of buying plastics that use oil to make and transport; drive 55 instead of the 65 mph maximum, and donate money to homeless shelters and food banks, instead of buying fabricated gifts.

City planners were urged to bring clean energy light rail to discourage auto use, and to provide tax rebates to hybrid car buyers.

Jackson, Washington, Harrison County Democratic Parties Endorse Strickland for Governor

Columbus, Ohio - The Strickland for Governor campaign today announced that Ted Strickland has won the endorsements of county Democratic Party organizations in Jackson, Washington and Harrison counties.

"We fully support Ted Strickland because he's always been there for us," said Rodney Smith, chair of the Jackson County Democratic Party.  "We know Ted's heart; we know what he stands for and that his integrity is impeccable. We can count on Ted's values and leadership to return Ohio to its rightful stature as a great state."

"Ted Strickland is the best man to lead Ohio," said Samuel Davis, Washington County Democratic Party Chair. "Ted has represented this area well for a long time. He has always done a good job and we know he'll do the same as governor. He's as honest and as hard working as they come."

On Tuesday, November 29, 2005, well-known Columbus attorney, author, and radio host Dr. Bob Fitrakis will announce his bid to be the next Governor of the State of Ohio.  The announcement will be made on the west side of the State Capitol building along High Street in Columbus starting at 12:30 pm.  Dr. Fitrakis has written several books and numerous newspaper columns on the irregularities and outright fraud that were rife during the last few elections in Ohio.  Winner of many community and journalism awards, he has been endorsed by the Green Party of Ohio and will be seeking the party's nomination as candidate for Governor next spring, along with two other fraudbusting veterans: Anita Rios (Lt. Governor) and Tim Kettler (Secretary of State).  Together they will spearhead the Green Party campaign to clean up the sleaze that has become so entrenched with the two major parties and their big money patrons.

US Enrichment Corporation (USEC) currently has an application with the NRC to build a new uranium enrichment facility at the Piketon PORTS site. Enriched uranium has a lower content of fissionable U235 than the highly enriched uranium formerly produced. Citizens have been told that this enriched uranium will be used for power plants only. This American Centrifuge Plant (ACP) would rely on a gas centrifuge process, which would not use as much electricity as gaseous diffusion. The old gaseous diffusion plant, currently on cold standby, was reported by citizen research to use as much electricity as the City of Los Angeles when it was in operation.

In July 2004, DOE issued approval for construction of a facility at the PORTS site that will convert highly reactive depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6, left over from the former gaseous diffusion process) to the more stable uranium oxide. Although this conversion would appear to be desirable, there are downsides to the operation. One is that the technology is unproven. Another is that large numbers of cylinders of DUF6 are being trucked to PORTS from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, for processing in a facility which is already 14 months behind schedule in its construction. DOE has estimated that the conversion facility, when operational, will take at least 25 years, working around the clock, to convert this DUF6 to uranium oxide. There are also large quantities of DUF6 at Paducah, Kentucky. Ohioans want to make every effort to ensure that our state does not become a defacto waste dump.

Pashenko found a spike of radon gas when he tested a PORTS sample over time. Buske reported that radium, not uranium, would be the source of radon of that quantity. Radium can be used as a powerful source of neutrons. Buske, an expert on nuclear weapons facilities and the politics surrounding the production of nuclear weapons, concluded that a probable explanation for radium in the sample is that the US is engaging in micronuclear neutron weapons research. If this is proven to be true, it would be a violation of the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty to which the U.S. is signatory.

Three years ago, the American Civil Liberties Union won a significant legal victory when a federal district court ruled that the state must follow strict due-process guidelines before sending prisoners to Ohio's only supermaximum-security in Youngstown. The number of inmates at the Ohio State Penitentiary dropped dramatically after a court-ordered review of individual cases determined that two-thirds of the prisoners did not meet the criteria for such restrictive confinement. "The supermax was built to hold 504 prisoners," reported Staughton Lynd, the ACLU's counsel on the case. "There are now roughly 250. So, you can say we've very nearly cut the population in half."

The future of Ohio's only supermaximum-security prison may hinge upon a related hearing's outcome.

With Saddened Hearts, We mourn the Loss of a Christian..A Giant..A Royal Knight..A Prince..A Gentleman..A Scholar..and Warrior...Mr Bill Moss..passed away today, Tuesday, August 2, 2005. He was a Columbus School Board Member for 20 years plus a host of Achievements.

I'm sure He's standing side by side with Malcolm X, Dr Martin Luther King, Johnnie Cochran, Ossie Davis and many other Outstanding Black Men who have Stood Up with Integrity..Showed Up..and Spoke Out with Truthfulness. His Light will Always Shine Brightly...and His Family, The Children, The Parents, and The Community will Surely Miss Him.

- Jamia Shepherd

Funeral home showing and funeral information will be available at: http://www.billmoss.org