The
tectonic plates beneath Earth's surface did not shudder and crumble.
The skies did not open and pulverize the earth with an unmatched fury.
The globe did not stop spinning on its axis.
And the people who occupy this dusty, fascinating part of the planet were not
swallowed whole.
Gay and lesbian couples were married in New Mexico last week, and life - for
better or worse, richer or poorer - went on.
Sure, the fevered forces on both sides of the same-sex marriage debate got
their chance to surface and shout when Sandoval County Clerk Victoria Dunlap
began issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian partners.
But their passion does not belong on the steps of the County Clerk's Office.
It really should make a stop in the Roundhouse, where the New Mexico Legislature
and Gov. Bill Richardson need to hammer out a definitive policy on same-sex
unions.
Leaving any ambiguity in the debate - a la Dunlap's quizzical
hey-I've-got-an-idea decision to issue licenses - means a heated, but ultimately
distracting, issue will continue to sidetrack a state that has plenty enough
things to worry about: poverty, education and water, to name but three.
Legislators, who always make time to consider vital issues of the day such as
cockfighting, clearly would rather sidestep the same-sex issue.
Their soft shoe needs to stop, beginning January when Legislature 2005 plays
at a Roundhouse near you.
And no, state Sen. Ramsay Gorham's call to hold a statewide election on
same-sex unions is not the answer, because, frankly, dealing with these issues
is why we have people like Gorham in the first place. They're elected to handle
the tough jobs.
Put the bill on the governor's call, send the legislation through committee
structure, have a vote, a veto or maybe even a signing ceremony. Whatever.
Let ¹em hash it out after they've handled the state's many other crises. Let
¹em battle to their hearts' content.
But don't leave something as dividing and distracting as same-sex marriage to
a county clerk in Bernalillo. Source: http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/opinions04/022404_opinions_edtue.shtml
A Superior Court judge has dismissed a total of 39 charges against
a dozen animal rights activists who protested outside the home of an insurance
industry executive.
The activists are linked to the group Stop Huntingdon
Animal Cruelty, or SHAC, which is trying to shut down Huntingdon Life Sciences,
a pharmaceutical company that tests on animals.
The activists, all
between the ages of 18 and 26, protested in August of 2002 outside the Boston
apartment of an executive for insurance brokerage Marsh USA, which at the time
did business with Huntingdon.
The attorney general's office brought
charges of extortion, threatening, stalking and conspiracy against the
activists, who chanted slogans outside the man's Back Bay home, where he lived
with his wife and son.
Judge Janet L. Sanders dismissed the charges
earlier this week, saying most of the activists' actions were constitutionally
protected free speech.
"We were ready to take this head on if the case
was not dismissed," said Lauren Gazzola, one of the defendants. "But we were
also confident that if the judge upheld the Constitution, they would be
dismissed."
The charges were a "political" attempt to chill the
Philadelphia-based group's activism, Gazzola said.
Marsh has since
stopped doing business with Huntingdon and "I know it was because of our
actions" both in Boston and at other Marsh locations, she said.
Charges
of criminal harassment and conspiracy to commit criminal harassment against two
of the defendants were not dismissed.
The attorney general's office
indicated that it would not appeal the decision, Gazzola said. A call to the
office on Saturday to confirm that was not returned.
Source: http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040221/APN/402210956
The European Union, Mexico and South Korea on Tuesday imposed an immediate ban on imports of U.S. poultry products after the discovery of bird flu in Texas, according to media reports.
Russia has stopped poultry imports only from Texas, according to media reports, and the Philippines also is weighing a ban.
<snip>
Source: http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2004/02/23/daily15.html
Philippines to ban Texas chicken, fighting cock imports
MANILA: Philippine agricultural officials are preparing an order banning chicken imports from Texas following an outbreak of avian flu in the US state, officials said Tuesday. Although very few chickens are imported from Texas, the ban will affect shipments of the state’s highly prized fighting cocks to the Philippines, where cockfighting is widely popular. Officials in the Bureau of Animal Industry did not say how many fighting cocks are imported from Texas each year. The Philippines, which so far remains free of bird flu, has already banned poultry imports from Delaware, Pennsylvania and all Asian countries. Four US states including New Jersey have confirmed outbreaks of a weaker strain of bird flu than the H5N1 virus that has killed 22 people in Asia.
Source: http://jang.com.pk/thenews/feb2004-daily/25-02-2004/world/w9.htm
Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/FlashNewsStory.aspx?FlashOID=15268
TEXAS AVIAN INFLUENZA CASE PROMPTS
CALL FOR EXTREME BIOSECURITY MEASURES FROM STATE POULTRY
GROWERS
State Veterinarian, Dr. Burke Healey, today ordered that Oklahoma close its borders to all Texas poultry after it was announced that the avian influenza found there last week was a highly pathogenic strain. The border will remain closed until it is determined the disease has been eliminated in Texas. Oklahoma animal health officials are also urging poultry owners to step up their biosecurity practices by avoiding introducing new birds to their flocks and limiting exposure to visitors.
Full Story Available At: http://www.state.ok.us/~okag/news-home.htm