Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Border Lawless



(this is being posted since Neebish Island is right on the Canadian border.)

ACLU Assails 100-Mile Border Zone as 'Constitution-Free'
The government has long been able to search people entering and exiting the country without need to say why, which is known as the border search exception of the Fourth Amendment.

After 9/11, Congress gave the Department of Homeland Security the right to use some of its powers deeper within the country, and now DHS has set up at least 33 internal checkpoints where they stop people, question them and ask them to prove citizenship...

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Monday, October 20, 2008

Wood Heating

Hope you have your woodpile ready for winter. Here's some information for those of you who spend the winter on Neebish Island. See: Expert Advice for Wood Heating

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Thursday, October 16, 2008

Night Shining - Don't Do It

Saw this in the Boatnerd News section:
Ship Shiners Asked to Stop
10/02:
On September 22 The Evening News, Sault Ste. Marie reported that a Coast Guard official said an outbreak of nighttime ship shinnings around three critical turns in St. Mary's River channels are more a case of ignorance than criminal intent. Complaints of high-powered shore lights directed at passing ships have come from ships near Barbeau, Mission Point and the Sawmill Point area of Neebish Island. The Coast Guard suspects that boatwatchers are wielding hand-held spotlights to look over passing ships, unaware of the hazard the lights pose to ships and crew. Very dangerous at any point in night passage, the strong spotlights are especially hazardous in close-quarters channels like the lower St. Mary's. At the moment, the Coast Guard is only interested in seeking cooperation by keeping the lights off the ships, and not interested in filing charges and prosecuting.

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Monday, October 13, 2008

Tugboats Are Dirty

See: Study: Soot-spewing ships pollute environment

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Friday, October 10, 2008

Rumors of Property Owners In The Southwest Buying Great Lakes Land

(Here's a story I was reminded of with the recent passage of the Great Lakes Compact)

Last Novemeber a company by the name of Asset Holding LLC based in Arizona sent letters to landowners in Chippewa county. My family received one of these letters. See: Officials advise owners to be wary of Arizona property “offers”

Then in Decemeber the same thing happened to property owners in northern Wisconsin. See: Asset Holding Preditory [sic] land purchase offers Scottsdale Arizona

Do not be fooled. The company doing this is trying to scam property owners. See: Beware of the Property Tax Lien Scams

It could just be a run-of-the-mill financial scam. But I've heard something else from people in the know. Another possibility is that it is a front to gain water-access rights to Great Lakes basin water. If people from the arid southwestern state of Arizona were to buy up waterfront properties in the upper Great Lakes then they may try to craft a legal argument for moving water from the Great Lakes to their property in the desert. Just a thought...

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Jackson County Cougar

From the Freep.com: If it wasn't a cougar, what was it?

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Great Lakes Cleanup Bill Reauthorized

Bush signs bill to clean waters that feed into Lakes

And an example of why this matters - Pollution is personal: Author blames cancer on county's toxic shoreline

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Wednesday, October 08, 2008

News About The Upcoming Kinross Ethanol Plant

As when I first mentioned this, an ethanol plant relates to Neebish Island in the sense that it could impact the local economy so I thought I'd post this latest news.

Mascoma Secures $49.5 Million in DOE and State of Michigan Funding for Cellulosic Fuel Facility

But as usually happens when the government mandates a means rather than the ends it turns out cellulosic ethanol is not that great of a solution.

New Life Cycle Study Concludes That Biomass for Ethanol Is Not the Most Advantageous Energy and Emissions Use of the Feedstock

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Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Wolf News

Court: Great Lakes wolf returns to endangered list

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