The Clarion Issue

Kashmir. The name brings many things to the minds of Americans. To some it is a place where excellent wool is produced for expensive sweaters. To others it is an exotic valley nestled at the foot of the Himalayas. To rock aficionados it is the title of Led Zepplin's second most popular song. Today, Kashmir is a major point of contention between two new nuclear powers, Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan.

Kashmir is a province in northwestern India. The province originally covered over 85,000 square miles. It is crossed by two mountain ranges, the Himalayan and Karakorams. The Indus River, which flows out of Tibet, runs northwest through Kashmir before it turns southwest into Pakistan. Another river, the Jhelum, a tributary of the Indus River, runs south of the Indus and forms a fertile valley known as the Vale of Kashmir. Most of the people, agriculture, and industry in Kashmir are located in the Vale.
Prior to the British withdrawal from the subcontinent in 1947, Kashmir was an independent principality ruled by the Hindu Maharaja Hari Singh. After the division of the subcontinent into Hindu India and Moslem Pakistan, the Maharaja tried to establish Kashmir as an independent state, but when Pakistani Moslems invaded Kashmir to force the primarily Moslem state to join Pakistan, Hari Singh made Kashmir part of India. War broke out in India and in 1949 the United Nations negotiated a cease-fire and established a truce line. Part of the cease-fire agreement was to be a referendum on the issue of Kashmir's future; however, one third of Kashmir (the northwest) was de facto part of Pakistan.

In the early 1960s India and Pakistan tried to negotiate the Kashmir problem. China took the Aksai Chin area of northeastern Kashmir from India in the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Pakistan ceded an area along the Chinese border to China. In 1965 war broke out between Pakistan and India over the situation in Kashmir. The 1965 conflict ended in status quo.

By the late 1990s India and Pakistan had developed nuclear weapons. Today India has an army of over one and a half million men (including reserves) while Pakistan has an army of a little over a million (reserves included). Both countries have a reasonable air force and navy, and they possess short and medium range missiles. In early 2002 both countries mobilized along the disputed border areas in Kashmir after terrorist attacked the Indian Parliament in New Delhi.

The terrorist attacks in New Delhi, which occurred in December 2001, have been traced to Islamic terrorists inside Kashmir who have ties to and draw support from Pakistan. While Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf has attempted to curb the terrorist cells working from inside Pakistan, his efforts have failed to defuse the situation. The recent kidnapping and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl has demonstrated to the world that the Pakistani Government does not have total control of the country. In general the two nations will rattle their sabers along the border for a while and eventually the situation will simmer down to a dull stew until another crisis or assassination aggravates the tensions in the area.

The problem, however, continues to be the religious tension in the area, or is it? The fact remains that the vote promised in 1949 by the UN has never occurred. At this point the rump (what is left after three partitions) of Kashmir is 64% Islamic and 32% Hindu. The religious areas are concentrated and could be divided and annexed by majority vote to the respective states. However, most Kashmir experts agree that if presented the option of independence, most Cashmeres would opt for independence, as was the original intention of the Raja in 1947.

Perhaps the idea of an independent Kashmir, with Hindus and Moslems living side by side, will teach the people of the Subcontinent that peace an important key to prosperity. If Kashmir were allowed independent status it would become a small Himalayan state like Nepal and Bhutan. With the vale, wool, and tourism, Kashmir could be a prosperous state. The recent religious violence in India and the political instability in Pakistan are all the more reasons for Kashmir to go it alone as an independent country. With the politics of India and Pakistan out of the way, the local population could build a modern state where people worship as they wish and work together, Hindu and Moslem alike, as they have for 1000 years, in a modern, developing nation. That is what Gandhi envisioned for the entire subcontinent.

Unless you have been incommunicado in Margaritaville, a Brazilian Rainforest, or on one of the poles, you know about the collapse of Enron and the theft of the employee's retirement funds by the top managers of the company. The top Enron officials engaged in insider trading, selling off millions of dollars of their Enron stock while not allowing the company employees to sell their Enron stock from their Enron 401K plans.

The Arthur Andersen accounting firm, responsible for Enron's bookkeeping, has now been indicted for shredding documents of importance to the Enron investigation. The documents destroyed by the Andersen firm prevent the Justice Department and Congressional investigations from obtaining relevant information about Enron's hiding of debt in off the books companies and the falsification of Enron's profits.

The Andersen firm claims it is unfair for an entire company to be blamed for the actions of a "few" managers, even though the actions were clearly contrary to what any legitimate accounting firm or agency would consider normal procedure. The Andersen employees were ordered to destroy Enron's records and told to work overtime if necessary to accomplish the total destruction of the documents. This was a clear case of destruction of evidence by the Arthur Andersen firm.

The document shredding and subsequent indictment of the Arthur Andersen firm has caused many of Andersen's clients to move their accounting elsewhere. The Andersen firm has poisoned its clients' faith in the reliability and integrity of their service.

If Arthur Andersen is so reliable, then why was the firm deceiving Enron? Andersen handled both the accounting and financial consulting for Enron. Did Enron executives and management totally understand, authorize, encourage, and allow all of the procedures used by Arthur Andersen? Will we ever know the truth of what happened? Probably not, but maybe, just maybe we can find out.

How can we discover the truth?

Andersen is losing big clients and corporations due to their own actions with Enron. If Andersen wants to remain afloat as a viable business or solvent enough to merge with another top accounting firm, then they must come forward and completely clean on the Enron mess. The firm's officials must be willing to testify fully and completely; unlike the Enron officials and former officials who either lie, forget relevant facts under oath, or just plain take the fifth and refuse to testify.

After all, what truths could they reveal and how worse could they be than the speculations based on what little we know to be true? Time will tell; hopefully, Arthur Andersen will too!

Social Security. Should You Worry?
By Dave Green Back to Top
The Social Security System has been in force for over 70 years and since its inception a day has not gone by where there wasn't discussion on the merits of how Social Security is administered. A politician is guaranteed press time and sound bites on all major networks and cable channels just by mentioning the words "Social Security" and adding a few lines of political talk.

So, to answer my own question of "Should you worry? If you are relying solely on Social Security to be your retirement nest egg and have no other retirement investments - Yes. If you currently have other retirement investments, (as long as they are not ENRON stock) and are comfortable with the way your financial advisor is handling your accounts then - Probably - No. To find out what your elected officials are planning in changes to the Social Security System read on.

In the last couple of years, the rhetoric to do something about Social Security has picked up an enormous amount of steam due to the fact of the baby boomer generation is beginning to retire. As we all know Social Security is a "pay as you work/go" system: 7.65 percent of your paycheck goes to FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act), your employer pays the same amount. If you are self-employed, the individual covers the total amount of 15.5 percent. Now, the money you "voluntarily" contribute is not invested in anyway for your retirement, it is paid out in benefits to currently retired individuals. This is where we have a problem; actually we have a couple of problems.

- The number of workers who contribute to the Social Security System has been
shrinking since 1945.
- Medical advances have increased the average age of individuals living in
retirement.
- More individuals are taking the option of early retirement. (at reduced benefits)

So you can deduce that with fewer individuals contributing to Social Security, more individuals retiring than there is money to pay them, sooner or later the system will go broke. If you listen to the emotional rhetoric that comes from inside the beltway you will worry. If you can get past the emotion, do some researching, or just read on, you will find out what is in store for you in the way of Social Security.

The Social Security system will not go broke; no politician will allow that to happen. Besides there is enough money in the system to guarantee full benefits to all retirees until 2038 even if no improvements or any changes are made. The changes that are being talked about are very interesting and are worth taking a long hard look at while they are in their infancy.

President George W. Bush established a commission to strengthen Social Security and gave these objectives to the commission as a guideline to follow when they develop a working plan.
1. Modernization must not change Social Security benefits for retirees or near retirees.
2. The entire Social Security surplus must be dedicated to Social Security only.
3. Social Security taxes must not be increased.
4. Government must not invest Social Security funds in the stock market.
5. Modernization must preserve Social Security's disability and survivors' components.
6. Modernization must include individually controlled, voluntary personal retirement accounts, which will augment the Social Security net.
(The President's Commission to strengthen Social Security final draft report.
December 11, 2001)

(I would like to clarify one item in the objectives. When you read the term "near retirees" that means anyone 55 years old or older.)

In December of 2001, the commission prepared a report for publication in which they outlined three models for reforming Social Security. The following is a description of one of the three reform models that the commission developed. I will offer my explanation of what the commission is trying to say following the description.

"Reform Model 3 - illustrates how the Social Security system could be brought to financial sustainability while maintaining currently scheduled benefits and existing wage replacement. Under this model, actions taken to balance the traditional Social Security system would be a combination of changes in the rate of benefit growth and commitments to new revenue sources. Specifically, the growth rate of benefits would be linked to the increasing life span of Americans while allowing workers to continue to choose when to retire. Workers would have the opportunity to receive a match of 2.5 percent (up to $1,000 annually) of their payroll taxes if they chose to contribute an additional 1 percent of their payroll base (a contribution that would be subsidized by a refundable tax credit.) In addition, Model 3 envisages new sources of tax revenue dedicated to Social Security. These extra contributions and new revenue sources would allow participating workers to receive expected benefits exceeding those available under the current system and to maintain current replacement ratios of benefits to wages.

The plan is progressive, since additional protections against poverty are provided for low-income workers and survivors. This is accomplished by adapting the traditional Social Security benefit formula in several ways, including providing a higher benefit for below-average income widows, reducing the benefit formula for high wage earners, and adding a minimum benefit for low wage earners. Expected benefits payable to a medium earner electing an account under this plan would be 88 percent above benefits currently paid to today's retirees by 2052. At the end of the valuation period, the personal account system would hold $2.4 trillion (in today's dollars), the result of new savings as well as the added worker contributions. Additional temporary transfers from general revenue would be needed to keep the Trust Fund solvent from 2028-2057."

Now this is what I believe Model 3 is actually saying in layman's terms. What I have deciphered from this model is the commission is stating that if workers contribute an extra 1 percent of their wages, (and receive a tax break at the end of the year by doing this, plus receive a matching contribution from the government), and then delay the time when they choose to retire they will receive more benefits at their final retirement date. Now the model also states that workers will still have the option to retire when they choose, but you can bet that the benefits that will be received will be somewhat less than if they decided to work and invest in Social Security for a longer period of time. The only thing that I could not find out was how long this "time" would be. I hope I cleared up what the commission was trying to say for you.

The reason I choose this model to discuss is because the other two were just smoke screens that any report puts up to direct the attention of the reader to the area that the draftees really want to focus on. In this case Model 3 is the one they think (believe) that the President will accept.

In conclusion, I would like to say that this is not the only plan being discussed inside the beltway of Washington, D.C., there are a number of plans, ideas, and reports that are in the works, but a discussion of those must wait for another time. So before I go, I want say thank you for reading, and watch for future updates on our Social Security system in the Clarion Issue.

State Representative Hans Dunshee of Snohomish, Washington, has proposed the renaming of Jefferson Davis Highway (Hwy 99) which runs from the Canadian border to Vancouver, Washington, located on the Columbia River. Dunshee, a Democrat, wants to remove the Davis Memorial marker at the Canadian border that was placed there in 1940 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The Vancouver City Council removed a similar marker from a park in Vancouver at the end of the highway in 1998.
The highway name and markers commemorate the work of Davis as a statesman prior to his becoming President of the Confederacy in 1861. As Secretary of War from 1853-1857, Davis established several forts in the area and helped develop roads and railroads in the area to support the forts and the inhabitants of the territory.

The Kentucky-born Davis began his political career in 1843. Before 1843 Davis had attended West Point where he graduated in 1828. He served in the U.S. Army from 1828 till 1835. In 1843, Davis was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat from Mississippi. Davis served as a colonel in a Mississippi volunteer regiment during the Mexican War from 1846-1847. At the Battle of Buena Vista he fought all day although he had been wounded in the foot. In 1847 the Governor of Mississippi appointed Davis to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate, and Davis won a full term to the Senate in 1850. Davis supported the ideas of Southern leader John C. Calhoun during the debates over the Compromise of 1850.

President Franklin Pierce appointed Davis Secretary of War in 1853. Davis worked hard to develop the American West. He sent engineers in search of the best routes for railroads to link the East with the West. Davis enlarged the army and introduced new infantry tactics and weapons. He even experimented with the use of camels in the arid sections of the nation. In 1857, Davis was reelected to the U.S. Senate from Mississippi. He resigned from the Senate in 1861 when Mississippi seceded from the Union.
Davis did not attend the Montgomery Convention in where the Confederacy was organized. He received word of his interim election as President of the Confederacy at his Mississippi home, Brierfield, in early February 1861. Davis was elected to a full six-year term in late February 1861. Davis did not want to be President; he considered himself a military man and wanted a position in the army.

Jefferson Davis has received a lot of criticism as Confederate President and may not have been the best choice for the position. Criticisms of Davis as President include his interference in military affairs and his inability to work with political leaders such as Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens and the governors of the various Southern states.
Davis was imprisoned after the Civil War and charged with treason. He never stood trial and was released in 1867. He died in 1889.

Jefferson Davis' accomplishments as a military figure, Secretary of War, and leader in the building of a western infrastructure certainly merit having a highway named after him. Leave the marker at the Canadian border and restore the marker at the end of the road in Vancouver, Washington. After all, it was a farsighted Jefferson Davis who helped develop the area.

After being nailed by a Daisy Cutter bomb, Osama bin Laden made his way to the Pearly Gates. There he is greeted by George Washington. "How dare you attack the great nation I helped conceive!" yells Mr. Washington, slapping him in the face.
Patrick Henry comes up from behind. "You wanted to end the Americans liberty so they gave you death!" Patrick Henry then punches him in the nose and draws blood.James Madison comes up next and says, "This is why I allowed for the Federal Government to provide for the common defense!" and drops a large weight on Osama's knee.Osama receives similar assaults from freedom loving men such as John Randolph of Roanoke, James Monroe, and 65 other men who had the same love of liberty, freedom and America. As bin Laden withers on the ground, Thomas Jefferson picked him up and hurled him back toward the gate where he was to be judged. As Osama waited for his final journey toward a very hot destination, he screamed " this is not what I was promised." An angel then replied, "I told you there would be 72 Virginians waiting for you. What did you think I said?"

AND

An old hillbilly farmer had a wife who nagged him unmercifully. From morning to night (and sometimes later) she was always complaining about something. The only time he got any relief was when he was out plowing with his old mule. He plowed a lot.
One day when he was out plowing his wife brought him lunch in the field. He drove his mule into the shade, sat down on a stump, and began to eat his lunch. Immediately, his wife began haranguing him again.Complain, nag, nag; it just went on and on and on. Suddenly, the mule lashed out with both hind feet, caught her smack in the back of her head, and killed her dead on the spot.
At the funeral several days later, the minister noticed something rather odd. When a woman mourner would approach the old farmer, he would listen for a minute, then nod his head in agreement; but when a man mourner approached him, he would listen for a minute, then shake his head in disagreement. This was so consistent, that the minister decided to ask the old farmer about it. After the funeral, the minister spoke to the old farmer. He asked him why he nodded his head and agreed with the women, but always shook his head and disagreed with all the men.The old farmer said, "Well, the women would come up and say something about how nice my wife looked, or how pretty the dress was, so I'd nod my head in agreement."
"And what about the men?" the minister asked. The old farmer replied, "They wanted to know if the mule was for sale."

ENRUN - 1) A mad dash to the outhouse. 2) A large Texas cooperation that wound up in the outhouse.

ENRUN/TRA/GE/DEE - 1) When the person engaged in an enrun does not make it to the outhouse. 2) When the entire Enrun cooperation commoded (imploded) on itself.

ENRUN STOCK SIR/TIF/KIT- Worthless pieces of paper destined to replace the
Sears Catalog in the outhouse.

DOC/Q/MUNT SHRED'EN- folding the Sears Catalog or the Enrun Stock Sir/tif/kit
several times in the outhouse to make the paper softer.

KENNY BOY or KENNY BOB- The nickname Pres'dunt Bush gave to the CEO of
Enrun when he was handing out hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republicans before the Enrun Tra/ge/dee. Now that he and Enrun are broke, it is Mr. Lay. Kenny Boy is now known as the "poster boy for cash'n carry governmunt".

TAKEN' THE FIFTH - 1) Get'en some "store bought liquor" that comes in a fifth instead of white lighting or moonshine that comes in plastic gallon milk jugs. 2) Not answering questions in Court or in a Congresh'nul hyearin'due to fear of self- discrimination (incrimination).

CONGRESH'NUL HYEARING - A bunch of old fart Congressmun who sit around on
TV and ask the same questions over and over to some other old fart "witness" who refuses to answer their questions and keeps "Taken' the Fifth." The Congressmun seem upset because Kenny Boy and the other Enrun officials will not be able to donate any more money to their campaigns.

Southern Domains is busy at work with several items this month. First Franklin Sutton has started posting a weekly column at www.ColquittCo.Com, which the Clarion Issue now has as a direct listing. Mr. Sutton is an Ellenton, Georgia, farmer and businessman. He spent several terms in the Georgia legislature and most recently was chairman of the Colquitt County Commissioners. At this time, it is possible for readers to post their own comments to Mr. Sutton's articles.

The largest circulation Celtic monthly publication in the United States, The Family Tree, is edited by Beth Gay at the Ellen Payne Odum Genealogy Library, in Moultrie, Georgia. It has been on the Web for about 12 months and it too will shortly have a link from the Clarion Issue.

Eclectic sociologist from Valdosta, Georgia, Emory L Warrick Sr., has put up a large archive of his various writings at www.ColquittCo.Com and it will soon have a link from the Clarion Issue. The current format of the articles is a little difficult, but by late fall, there should be an easier format and the ability for people to post their own comments. Mr. Warrick is a fairly opinionated writer and tends sometimes to arouse the need for people to reply.

Don't forget free southern email is available at www.southerndomains.com , and the Clarion Issue archives can be found there also. We'll see ya on the web.

The North Carolina race for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the retirement of long time Senator Jessie Helms has began in earnest. Elizabeth Dole, the wife of former Senator Bob Dole, is the front runner for the Republican nomination. While Elizabeth Dole had lived in Kansas with her husband she is a North Carolina native. Mrs. Dole plans to down play the "carpetbagger" label that her closet rival Jim Snyder has attempted to use against her. Mrs. Dole spent the formative years of her life in North Carolina, including attending and graduating from Duke University.

Mrs. Dole has served as chief of the American Red Cross, Secretary of Transportation under President Reagan, and as Secretary of Labor under President Bush (41).

Elizabeth Dole began her Senatorial Campaign with a rally at Catawba College on February 23. She entered the gym to the sounds of John Mellencamp's song "Small Town."

FLORIDA'S FROSTBITE FUGTIVE THREATENS LAWSUIT OVER LOST TOES Back to Top

A convicted sex offender from Florida who was on the lam in Maine has threatened to sue law enforcement officials for several toes he lost to frostbite in late February. Harvey Taylor, 48, complains that law enforcement officials did not locate him fast enough as he hid out in the Maine woods of Penoscot County. As a result he suffered frostbite and lost several toes on his left foot. The Maine authorities were seeking Taylor on at least three outstanding sex offender warrants from Brevard County, Florida.

Taylor was wanted for several probation violations on his conviction for sexual offenses of a minor child, which included lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor child. Other charges included sexual battery and sexual activity with a child in familiar custody. Taylor also had failed to attend his court mandated sex offender counseling secessions, had failed to keep a job, and failed to support his dependents.

Taylor was using a false social security card and an alias in Maine when Penoscot Deputies in Maine chased him into the woods. It was there in snow two to three feet deep that Taylor suffered the frostbite. Taylor was apprehended when he came out of the woods, unable to run.

Taylor is expected to be extradited to Florida where he is will face charges on the outstanding warrants and look for an attorney to handle his frostbite lawsuit.

It is not a new Bob Dylan song, but it conjures bizarre visuals that could have been designed and painted by Dutch Renaissance artist, Heiroymus Bosch. Apparently, a mentally ill and homeless Ft. Worth, Texas, man was allowed to bleed to death over a two to three-day period while lodged in the windshield of the car that hit him. Gregory Biggs, 37, was hit and propelled halfway through the windshield of a car driven by 25 year old Chante Mallard. Mallard, a nurse's aid, proceeded to drive home where she hid the car with Biggs stuck in the windshield inside her garage.

Biggs bleed to death over a period of several days while Mallard periodically checked on him and even apologized to him, according to her statements to the Ft. Worth Police. Mallard, her brother, and her boyfriend removed Biggs' body after he died and placed him in a park where he was later found. Forensic analysis of Biggs' body indicated that he would have lived if he had been taken for medical treatment soon after the accident. The autopsy showed that Gregory Biggs had no serious internal injuries.

Chante Mallard indicated that at the time of the accident she had been drinking and taking the drug 'Ecstasy.'
Mallard has been charged with murder and is out on bond. She can receive life in prison for the offense, and the people who helped move the body may face charges also. Mallard's attorney indicated that the charges were extreme and should be reduced to a case of failure to stop and render aid.

The body of Gregory Biggs was discovered in late October of last year.
The Clarion Issue wishes to dispel the rumor that Miss Mallard is considering suing the estate of Mr. Biggs for breaking and entering.

An escaped cow in Cincinnati, Ohio, became a media sensation after her daring get away from a meat-processing plant in Camp Washington, Ohio, on February 15, 2002. The cow obviously did not like the looks of the situation at Meyer Meats and bolted to freedom. The cow made its way to Mount Storm Park, a wooded park space in Clifton, Ohio, about a mile from the slaughterhouse. Here it managed to allude captors for 12 days. Law enforcement agencies that engaged in the hunt for the fugitive cow included the local police, Ohio State Police, and rangers from the Hamilton County Park System.

The cow, named Heidi by the local news media, was raised on the open range so she was used to foraging for food. Heidi, a 1,200-pound Charolais, is brownish white in color, which helped her blend in with the natural surroundings of the park. The cow was spotted from the air and was picked up using heat-sensing instruments, but she avoided capture for almost two weeks. Officials even tried to corral Heidi using food and a couple of other cows to trap Heidi, but the allusive Heidi refused to take the bait.
The public was totally behind the escaped cow. The owners promised to give her to a good home, and the mayor promised Heidi the keys to the city when the cow's ordeal was over.

Heidi was captured on February 26th when she was successfully darted and tranquilized by officers from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Heidi was unhurt during the capture but was described as "belligerent and cantankerous" after her capture. Several attempts to dart and tranquilize the cow had been unsuccessful during her 12-day adventure.
Heidi will live out her days in a good home. While the mayor never presented the fugitive bovine with the keys to the city, Heidi seems content with her new freedom and escaping the horrors of the slaughterhouse.

Local TV stations, including Channel 5 in Cincinnati, covered Heidi's escape and romp to freedom. Her story made "Good Morning America," "Today," and National Public Radio (NPR) and other major news programs.

China, the home of fine porcelain, has won the right to host the World Toilet Society's (WTS) 2004 Summit on Toilets. Coming on the heals of Beijing's selection as the host of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, the selection of The Peoples Republic of China to host this prestigious summit has China flush with pride.

While China is notorious for the poor conditions of its public toilets, the Chinese have made the revamping of over 740 toilets in Beijing and other tourist sites a major priority before the arrival of the world for the 2008 games. The city has plans to spend over 240 million yuan (over 245 million dollars) on toilet improvements in the next two or three years. The improvements will include more privacy, modern facilities and fixtures, and better sewer systems.

Of course the world cannot wait to see the innovations in toilet design and fixtures the Chinese have to offer. Imagine the Ming Throne Room or the Chang Loo complete with various scenes of dragons, turtles, and mountains awaiting you as you sit to dump the Chinese lunch you had while watching the decathlon events in beautiful downtown Beijing. You can visit Tianamen Square and use the Chairman Mao Crapper, a red toilet complete with toilet paper imprinted with the text of The Quotations of Mao Tsetung on the front side, and the names of dissident enemies of the revolution and Falun Gong members on the back.

You will want to make sure you follow the entire Summit on Toilets in 2004 as the Clarion Issue is making plans to enter a toilet in the show. The toilet, to be known as the Dalai Lama Loo, will register a nonviolent protest after it is used. When the user pushes the handle it will not flush. The Clarion Issue speculates that 10,000 Dalai Lama Loos around Beijing in 2008 would have more effect on Chinese policy than all the Free Tibet bumper stickers on all the SUVs in America.

While the protest may seem a little asinine, the Clarion Issue does not want the world to be lured into thinking that the Chinese Government is anything less that the repressive and intolerant agency that it really is. Modern toilets or not, Olympics or not, the Chinese stifle the religious, political, and economic activities of the people of China.

A recent survey of citizens in the Irish Republic shows that the Irish are more likely to visit the local pub than to attend church. Attending church is not seen as being important in Ireland; however, attending the pub for a pint or two once a week is viewed as a necessity.

The survey also indicated that the more wealth an Irishman acquires, the less frequently he attends church. Church attendance is much better in the countryside where there is less wealth than in the cities where an economic boom has occurred over the last ten years. The age of private clubs, cell phones, and fancy automobiles has come to the land of St. Patrick. Older people seem to attend church on a regular basis more so than the younger people, according to the survey. However, almost everyone drops in on the local pub.

The survey was conducted by Mintel Ireland, and included about 2000 Irish.Perhaps the one thing this survey demonstrates is that most people feel better confessing to their bartender than to their priest.

On February 24, 2002, the world witnessed the Closing Ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics. Thank God for small miracles. The 2002 Olympics, held in the People's Republic of Salt Lake City, were tainted with scandal from the start. From the bribery scandal during the selection process to the tainted judging of several skating events during the games, the world has questioned the Olympic ideal and the fairness of the games. Of course, two Gold Medals in Cross-Country Skiing were rescinded due to drug use. The winter games designed to unite the world through sports and the spirit of fair competition has only left the world with uncertainties.

There were great moments during the games. The U.S. hockey team defeated the Russians to advance to the gold medal round. This mirrored the U. S. victory over the Russians during the 1980 Olympic games. The Canadian female hockey team overcame major odds to win the Gold Medal. There were great ice skating races, great ski jumps, and tremendous speeds during the luge, the skeleton and the bobsled. Several speedskaters earned medals in several sports. Even the sport of curling, new to the Olympic games, generated excitement as the Norwegian team defeated the Canadians for the gold medal.

But all of these events are sports... i.e. the winner is the player or team that goes the farthest or fastest, scores the most points, or crosses the finish line first. Of course there may be a question or two about the officiating, but the officials or the referees only make sure the race is run fairly or that the rules of the game are obeyed. They do not or should not have a real say in the winner of the sport. In a sport the contestants know who won, and they know when they were beat. The scoreboard says so. The fastest wins the race, and the team with the most points wins the game. That is true of sports.

Yet, there are many that confuse competition with sports. Competitions are judged. The winners are the ones who impress the judges with their abilities to perform the challenging moves of the event. The contestant puts together a challenging program to demonstrate his/her skills and his/her program and skills are judged against the other contestants doing the same thing. The problem arose when a French judge swapped her vote in the pairs skating competition in an effort to help French skaters during another judged event. The result was that an obviously flawless and better Canadian team was awarded the Silver Medal while the Russian team won the Gold Medal. The outrage of the world forced the Olympic Committee to investigate and correct the injustice. Now we have two pairs Gold Medallists.

The problem still remains that 4 of the 9 judges still voted for the flawed and mistake- ridden Russian pair. The world seems to have forgotten about this minor detail. The point is that a judged event cannot be a sport. Maybe the Olympics need to limit the events to sports with rules and obvious winners and losers. Of course, all figure skating, the half pipe, and other judged events would have to go and so would ABC's ratings. However, without skating the big money would leave the winter games and there would be no bribery scandals over site locations, no controversy over unfair judging, and the world would be left with assorted assassinations, civil wars, and Russian whining about the hockey officials to entertain us.

The millionaire boys of summer now return to the sports forefront. The ballparks all over America will soon be filled with the cracks of the bats, the cries of the hotdog vendors, and the cheers of the crowds. TBS will pipe the Braves into homes all over the nation, and Fox will do the Saturday games with all their whistles and bells. There will be baseball in Minnesota and Toronto as attempts to downsize baseball have failed over the winter. Now at last a game with a real winner and loser and whose rules we understand returns. Thank God for small miracles.

The single A Chicago Cubs affiliate, the Daytona Cubs, have offered a lifetime General Admission pass to anyone over the age of 18 that receives a Daytona Cubs logo tattoo. The official tattoo parlor for the Cubs tattoo is Tropical Tattoo in Ormond Beach, Fla.
The logo tattoo features a polar bear cub with sunglasses and a blue hat on backwards. Next to the cub is a red D underlined in black. According to a Daytona Cubs spokesman the fans with the logo tattoo become a walking billboard for the team, and "If we're permanent on your body, your body is permanent in our park." Pat Dorsten became the first fan to receive the lifetime pass by obtaining the $100 tattoo.

The Daytona Cubs press release did not indicate what would happen to the tattoo bearers' passes if the club moved or changed affiliates in the future.

A. The Gobi desert
B. In space between Mars and Jupiter
C. Death Valley
D. On the Moon
E. In the Australian Outback

Forth weekend Crawfish Festival at Woodbine, Ga.
A small town festival serving crawfish. Crafts, food, entertainment. Off I-95 between Brunswick, Ga And the Florida/Georgia boundary.
No city web site but some info on the dates can be found at
www.kingsbay.net and www.stmaryswelcome.com/events

Rose Festival in Thomasville, Ga.
Major festival showing Rose Gardens and flowers of this town in Southwest Ga. Thomasville, Ga. Is about 60 miles east of Valdosta, Ga. and 35 miles north of Tallahassee, Fla. Festival includes
a big Rose Parade, food, etc. Thomasville welcome center phone: (1-229-227-7099).
www.thomasvillega.com/festivals.htm

First weekend Sea Food Festival at Fernandina, Fla.
seafood festival with all types of seafood. Crafts and entertainment. (1-800-226-3542). On the coast north of Jacksonville, Fla.
www.shrimpfestival.com e-mail info@shrimpfestival.com

Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond Int'l Speedway at Richmond, Va.
www.nascar.com

Riverside Artsfest Bainbridge, Ga.
Local and top national artists are featured. Hwy. 84 in SW Ga.
www.bainbridgegachamber.com
click on festivals

Winefest in Helen,Ga
A celebration of great wine in the Georgia Alpine village.
www.helenga.org
e-mail info@helenga.org 800-858-8027