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Saturday, July 21, 2007

The Morning News

posted by on July 21 at 8:43 AM

by Rebecca Tapscott

It’s raining cats and dogs: The National Weather Service predicts 1 to 2 inches of rain in the Seattle area, and the possibility of local rivers flooding.

Voter fraud in King County: Officials investigate possible voter fraud in 2006 election.

Liebmanville: Henry Liebman now owns 40 acres of Seattle’s Sodo neighborhood, making city officials, Port commissioners and labor leaders uneasy.

Local news consumed by violent crime: Seattle PI website (and the Seattle Times, just not linked here) reports on rape, police chases, murder, and kidnapping.

Schmaneva Convention: Bush approves new torture methods, which some believe violate the Geneva Convention.

A New Cash Crop: Conservative, Republican farmers in North Dakota lobby to legalize growing hemp—not for moral reasons, but because it could make them rich.

India elects president: Pratibha Patil, the country’s first female president, was elected this morning by 65.82% of votes cast by national lawmakers and state legislators.

Unrest within: Pakistan’s supreme court ruled that the President’s suspension of the chief justice earlier this year was illegal—raising questions about his ability to continue the presidency.

North Korea maintains nukes: Negotiations to disarm North Korea failed this week. Negotiators plan to resume talks in September.

Russian government censors itself: Russia’s foreign minister retracts his US-critical article, claiming the editors of Foreign Affairs magazine changed his writing to the point of censorship. The magazine denies his claim.

RSS icon Comments

1

What would "moral reasons" for growing hemp include?

Posted by Fnarf | July 21, 2007 9:50 AM
2

Good question, Fnarf.
Anyway that article was really interesting. Poor North Dakotan farmers. They look at the farms just north of the border and see them thriving and making money on an extremely versatile and marketable crop... But they are up against the DEA now... I wish them luck.

Posted by Jamey | July 21, 2007 10:17 AM
3

The Cash Crop article seemed to completely leave out what hemp can be used for.

I think that would have compelled/augmented that side of the argument a lot more.


I thought hemp crops could be limited to the plant sex without the buds. Hmm.

Posted by fun shaped | July 21, 2007 10:34 AM
4
... new torture methods, which some believe violate the Geneva Convention

um, I'm pretty sure everyone believes (except Bush and Gonzalez) that all torture methods violate the Geneva Conventions, by definition.

How about, "Bush approves new interrogation methods, which some believe constitute torture and violate the Geneva Convention"?

Posted by lostboy | July 21, 2007 11:12 AM
5

July 19, 2007
Cpl. Brandon Craig, a 25-year-old Fort Lewis soldier from Earleville, Md., died Thursday when an improvised explosive device struck his vehicle in Husayniyah, Iraq.

October 2002
\"Say Yes To War\" Dan Savage

Posted by In other news | July 21, 2007 11:40 AM
6

The nytimes article about efforts to legalize industrial hemp in North Dakota puts the lie to efforts by Savage, Mudede and others to paint the urban rural divide in black and white. There are surprises outside the "urban archipelago", like a bunch of conservative North Dakota farmers taking on the Drug Enforcement Agency's ridiculous prohibition on production of industrial hemp. You can't get much other than a headache by smoking it, but its a great source of fiber and oil seeds. I work with both the politicians mentioned in the story. It takes a lot more political courage to work on issues like hemp legalization and renewable energy legislation in a place like ND than a place like Seattle. But the spirit that led to great progressive movements like the coop movement and prairie populism are still alive in places like this. Ideologues from the right and the left stand in the way of progress in cities and in the country. Wherever you live, it takes practical minded people to move the world in the right direction.

End of sermon

Posted by zorak | July 21, 2007 11:57 AM
7

If farmers would be allowed to grow weed for recreational use, and the government taxed it like alcohol or tobacco, we would have a lot less financial troubles.

Posted by elswinger | July 21, 2007 12:47 PM
8

Fnarf, we're gonna hogtie you to a circle of pious dreads while they pass around a greasy chillum and talk about how Mother's healing herb can save the planet, then you come tell us about the moral reasons to grow hemp... But seriously, hemp is a nifty crop. It actually enriches the land where it's grown, rather than strip it like cotton or tobacco, and it grows quickly and sells for a sizable profit, which benefits poor farmers.

Posted by Dominic Holden | July 21, 2007 1:06 PM
9

Oh, and I was trying to make fun of hippies, not you. Your question is a good one.

Posted by Dominic Holden | July 21, 2007 1:13 PM
10

That's cool. Dom.

Posted by Fnarf | July 21, 2007 6:03 PM

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