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American Policy Center

Here's what I found. As usual, I hid the article text (this time in footnotes). Just edit this section to read: Cla68 (talk) 00:51, 31 March 2010 (UTC)

• LEFT, RIGHT TO PROTEST QUEBEC TALKS; Security Tight At Summit; Julie Smyth. National Post. Don Mills, Ont.: Aug 18, 2007. pg. A.4
• Would Jesus Drive a Gas Guzzling SUV? BOB MIMS. The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah: Jun 23, 2001. pg. C.2
• Advocates push reparations to descendants of slaves; John Bacon. USA TODAY. McLean, Va.: Feb 5, 2001. pg. 03.A
• Conspiracy du jour; , Lars-Erik Nelson. Las Vegas Review - Journal. Las Vegas, Nev.: Jun 12, 1998. pg. 17.b
• American Policy Center Urges Senate to Defeat Careers Act Bill, U.S. Newswire. Washington: Apr 1, 1998. pg. 1.

• Goode, Stephen. "Conservative activist DeWeese keeps fighting for freedom." Insight on the News 5 Jan. 1998: 31+.

• You don't need to have the urls to use them as refs. I expect that most of these articles are not available online anywhere. Notice that most of the refs I used here don't have urls. Cla68 (talk) 23:35, 31 March 2010 (UTC)

I thought you had to have a url so people would know the info was verifiable? Cool, thanks a lot :-) mark nutley (talk) 23:41, 31 March 2010 (UTC)

• I can remember a time when, to look up old magazine or newspaper articles, one had to trek on down to the library and look at microfishe. Contrary to popular belief, the Internet has not replaced the library. Even access to Infotrac or NewsStand doesn't fix it, as those two databases only go back to around 1990. Cla68 (talk) 23:43, 31 March 2010 (UTC)

Hockey stick illusion

Looks to be a good start to me. I have written a GA on a book here. Some suggestions:

• You should scan the book cover and use that as the image in the infobox. Check the image in the book article I link to above for the appropriate license tag.
• Try to write a Background section on the hockey stick controversy and what previous role the book's author had (if any) in it.
• Expand the synopsis to three or four medium-length paragraphs. Make sure the synopsis does not appear to be accepting what the book says as fact. The reader should not be able to tell what side you are taking on the book's veracity and validity.
• The reception section probably shouldn't reference blogs like Watts Up. Newspaper and magazine articles, book reviews, and opinion columns are fine. If any negative reviews of the book are out there in RS, those should be included also, either all first or last in the section. I can check the databases if you like for any.
• You should format the references correctly and fully, like what was done in the DeSmogBlog or the Glimpse article. Cla68 (talk) 06:13, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the advice, with regards to negative crits, i`m damned if i can find one, and i have tried. I`ll follow your suggestions and give you another shout when i think tis done. Thanks a lot mark nutley (talk) 07:59, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

Mark, you might be surprised at how quickly negative opinions of this book will appear in the article once you've posted it. I'll do an Infotrac and ProQuest search to see what I can turn up. Cla68 (talk) 04:10, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

Hi after reading the above, if I can add my two pence worth, I started The Real Global Warming Disaster which is in a similar vein. I'm currently redoing the synopsis on my sandbox page. Zulu Papa 5 pointed out this which I think should be extremely useful in terms of what WP expects in terms of non-fiction books. I wish I had seen it before I wrote the original synopsis, which came in at 1500 words and just got hacked out time and time again by various editors. A frustrating experience, after spending a whole weekend writing it. But it seems to me (and I'm still learning the ropes myself) that if you abide by this then it will pre-empt a lot of criticism. Jprw (talk) 10:52, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

Thanks Jprw, i think i have followed those guidelines fairly closely, and am redoing the ref`s as cla suggested. Feel free t opop over and edit anything you think i might have wrong :-) mark nutley (talk) 11:13, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

A parting note before I remove your talk page from my watchlist - stop using blogs. Blog reviews of books are not notable. Hipocrite (talk) 12:32, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for your advice Hipocrite, is a blog review not notable even if the person writing the blog is? mark nutley (talk) 12:44, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages currently doesn't regard blogs as reliable sources, even if the blog owner has a Misplaced Pages BLP. Cla68 (talk) 23:20, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

But don't we also have to make the distinction between, say, George Monbiot in the Guardian and DeSmogBlog, and Watts up with That and James Delingpole in The Telegraph? Monbiot and Delingpole could be viewed as columns "nicknamed" blogs. Jprw (talk) 06:32, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

OK, I didn't find anything else in Infotrac or NewsStadn that you don't already have. Cla68 (talk) 05:24, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

I took out the blog ref`s and added a bit more t ot he background, i think it is ready now for mainspace and would appreciate you guys giving it the once over before it goes out there, thanks :-) mark nutley (talk) 07:40, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

How can I view it -- do you have a link (obviously I'm missing something basic). Jprw (talk) 14:07, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

Forget it the penny's dropped. Seen it -- good job. Jprw (talk) 15:14, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

Outcome of Misplaced Pages:General sanctions/Climate change probation/Requests for enforcement#Marknutley

Outcome of Misplaced Pages:General sanctions/Climate change probation/Requests for enforcement#Marknutley:

• Marknutley is blocked for 48 hours for incivility. Marknutley is restricted to one revert per 24 hour period to any article in the probation area until 2010-10-01. - 2/0 (cont.) 19:35, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

Fair enough, however was my request to continue to work on my current wips not taken into account? Can we not do what we did the last time i was blocked and i do not edit any articles in the probation area? mark nutley (talk) 19:40, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

If you want a conditional unblock to work in your userspace only for the duration, I'd be happy to do that. I don't think 2/0 would mind, although we can wait for his response. MastCell  19:48, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

Thanks mastcell, that is all i require, to be able to continue working on my wips. 2/0 was cool with this deal the last time he blocked me so hopefully he still will be :-) mark nutley (talk) 19:51, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

 unblocked to work in userspace I like it when people add content - good luck. - 2/0 (cont.) 22:13, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

I cleared an autoblock - please use {{adminhelp}} if anything weird happens. - 2/0 (cont.) 22:16, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

Non Free Files in your User Space

Hey there Marknutley, thank you for your contributions! I am a bot alerting you that Non-free files are not allowed in the user or talk-space. I removed some files that I found on User:Marknutley/Sandbox. In the future, please refrain from adding fair-use files to your user-space drafts or your talk page.

• See a log of files removed today here.

• Shut off the bot here.

• Report errors here.

Thank you, -- DASHBot (talk) 00:00, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

I didn't know that fair use images couldn't be in userspace. I guess you'll have to wait until you post the article to add the book cover image. Cla68 (talk) 04:12, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

I actually got permisson from the publisher to use the image, i`ll wait till i hear back from the permissions guys mark nutley (talk) 17:49, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

Orphaned non-free media (File:The_hockey_stick_illusion.jpg)

Thanks for uploading File:The_hockey_stick_illusion.jpg. The media description page currently specifies that it is non-free and may only be used on Misplaced Pages under a claim of fair use. However, it is currently orphaned, meaning that it is not used in any articles on Misplaced Pages. If the media was previously in an article, please go to the article and see why it was removed. You may add it back if you think that that will be useful. However, please note that media for which a replacement could be created are not acceptable for use on Misplaced Pages (see our policy for non-free media).

If you have uploaded other unlicensed media, please check whether they're used in any articles or not. You can find a list of 'file' pages you have edited by clicking on the "my contributions" link (it is located at the very top of any Misplaced Pages page when you are logged in), and then selecting "File" from the dropdown box. Note that all non-free media not used in any articles will be deleted after seven days, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. Melesse (talk) 03:50, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

This is not OK....

I will protest release of unblocking of you in the future. You got a conditional unblock to work in your userspace only for the duration (48 hours). Despite this - i see that not even 24 hours later - you broke this. And has continued to do so later, including several edits in article space --Kim D. Petersen (talk) 21:08, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

I am sorry Kim, the last unblock was under the provision i did not edit articles under the probation, i assumed this unblock was under the same terms. If i have broken this agreement it was not intentional at all. And that diff from article space is an article i had just put into main space, i saw the typo and fixed it straight away, is that so wrong? mark nutley (talk) 21:14, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

You are not supposed to touch article space at all (or any talk-space except your own). Simple as that. And that is not the only edit you've made in article space during the period. This is certainly not a move from your user space. --Kim D. Petersen (talk) 21:18, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

(edit conflict)

Fair enough kim, the Cao Yong article would more than likely have been deleted by now if i had not helped out on it. It is a very interesting tale which i came across on recent change patrol, rather than prod it for deletion i figured i could help it survive. It is no-were near the probation area and i actually thought i was doing some good. Do what you think is right, i know i have kept my word which was to not edit any articles in the probation area, and i am sorry if you think what i have done is wrong. mark nutley (talk) 21:23, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

BTW it was a move from my user space

That unblock really was intended for the sole and express purpose of letting you work in your userspace, as indicated by my unblocking comment (Unblocked to work in userspace) and notation to your block log, (to work on userspace drafts). I apologize for not noticing and mentioning this when you comment at Alex Harvey's talk page. No real harm done, I suppose, and the block would have expired by now anyway ... but please be more careful. Thanks, - 2/0 (cont.) 22:02, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

Actually I saw the Cao Yong edit and I felt it was borderline given the conditions of the unblock, though I didn't say anything because it was unrelated. Since then you've gotten involved a bit in the CC articles, which I agree (with Kim) is inappropriate. In the future, be more careful when extended a courtesy like this. ATren (talk) 22:14, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

At everyone, i am truly sorry for this misunderstanding. I thought this unblock was the same as the last one, which was not to edit articles in the probation area. And yes i know i did that twice but it was me who actually put that article under the probation :-). Again i am sorry for making this mistake, it was unintentional, i do not want people to think my word is not good. mark nutley (talk) 22:53, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

KENNEDY NEWTON

What makes you think that it is vandalism? Theresa Knott | token threats 00:09, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Asking what is the cure for a headache and flu, seems like vandalism to me mark nutley (talk) 00:10, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Generally speaking, asking a question at a desk for asking questions isn't usually considered vandalism. I have reverted you. Theresa Knott | token threats 00:15, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

No worrys, i`m new to RC patrol, i`ll pay closer attention. Sorry about that mark nutley (talk) 00:16, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Notification of declined speedy deletion nomination

Hi Marknutley, just dropping by to let you know that I've removed the speedy deletion tag you placed on Little Parents, Big Charlie. Please see the rationale given here. Feel free to PROD if you still think the article should be deleted however. Cheers, Jeffrey Mall (talk • contribs) - 13:42, 5 April 2010 (UTC) (edit conflict) :No worrys mate, i used a db-nocontext instead, i have to get used tot all these tags for RC patrol :) mark nutley (talk) 13:47, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Eclipse Entertainment

This is not, in any shape or form, a no-context CSD. Can you tell what the article is about? Yes. So it has context. Ironholds (talk) 13:46, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Thought that tag was for content. not context. Still getting used to the tags for rc patrol, soty to have wasted you time mark nutley (talk) 13:49, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Fair does; ditto with Little Parents, Big Charlie. Note that the content tag is for no content, not just a short article. Ironholds (talk) 13:55, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Julian Limoti page

Sorry I changed your tag. No hard feelings? *_____^ Salvio ( ) 21:19, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Not at all,  :) mark nutley (talk) 21:21, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Rollback

Copy of my comments at WP:PERM I've added the flag. I'm going to AGF on this as you have been blocked only 6 weeks ago for edit warring. However I don't see why we should hinder those who want to fix up content by denying them tools to do so. I would note that if you use rollback for edit warring it'll be removed and probably not regranted. Pedro :  Chat  07:21, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Thank you, rest assured it will not be used for edit warring, i have learnt my lesson with respect to that :-) mark nutley (talk) 10:19, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

The Real Global Warming Disaster as a good article nominee

Hi Mark Nutley,

I have nominated The Real Global Warming Disaster as a good article nominee. As someone who has not contributed to the article (or at least has made a very insignificant contribution), but who would I assume have an interest in this subject, I am writing to ask you if you would be willing to review it. Thanks in advance for your help, and at the same time I'll understand if you're too busy. All the best, Jprw (talk) 08:05, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Mark -- thanks for your comments. Could you visit the good article review page and post them there? I'm trying to compile pro/anti comments to get a fair picture. Cheers, Jprw (talk) 13:14, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

No worrys mate, but i can`t see it here ? Am i looking in the wrong place? mark nutley (talk) 13:31, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Good != Featured. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 13:40, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Speedy deletion declined: Dharmapala of Sri Lanka

Hello Marknutley, and thanks for patrolling new pages! I am just letting you know that I declined the speedy deletion of Dharmapala of Sri Lanka, a page you tagged for speedy deletion, because of the following concern: The article makes a credible assertion of importance or significance, sufficient to pass A7. You may wish to review the Criteria for Speedy Deletion before tagging further pages. Thank you. (talk→ BWilkins ←track) 12:12, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Re:Peer Review

Do you mean WP:Peer review? If so, you should follow the procedures at that page to list it for review. I would also recommend exploring WP:GAN. WP:GAC, WP:WIAFA, the pages linked from those two, and WP:MOS are good for getting an idea of what the article needs to be like to pass FAC. You'll also find some good models at WP:FA under the appropriate category. From a quick look at the article, I'd say you should work on expanding it using reliable secondary sources. You'll also want to improve the pages compliance with the Manual of Style - citations need consistent formatting, article must adhere to WP:NPOV...all those details that can sink a nomination. Cheers, Nikkimaria (talk) 20:23, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for your input, looks like i have some reading to do :) mark nutley (talk) 20:33, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Speedy deletion contested: Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia

Hello Marknutley, and thanks for patrolling new pages! I am just letting you know that I contested the speedy deletion of Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia, a page you tagged for speedy deletion, because of the following concern: The article is not about a person (or any of the other things that A7 applies to). You may wish to review the Criteria for Speedy Deletion before tagging further pages. Thank you. Theleftorium 20:26, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages talk:Good article nominations#Talk:The Real Global Warming Disaster/GA1

Hi, I'd like to draw your attention to this discussion that I've just initiated. Pyrotec (talk) 20:33, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Yes, you seem to be one of at least three editors, asked to review it (I've found another two so far). Unfortunately, from what you have added to the review so far, I'm not convinced that it is going to be a "fair review". That may seem unfair, and perhaps it is, but you choose to write the words that you put into the review: and that is what my judgement is based on. I have the review on my watch list, as will others: but you still have the chance to do a good review. Pyrotec (talk) 20:55, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

You have taken on the role of Reviewer, that is what you did when to opened the review (see WP:GAN and Misplaced Pages:Reviewing good articles). You may not like what William M. Connolley added to the review, but he is entitled to add comments, the same as anyone else. You, as Reviewer, do not need to take notice of what anyone else adds to the review (including me). However, your decision (if you get it wrong) can be challenged (at WP:GAR); and overturned, if uphelp. That is not intended as a threat - you just don't appear to know the process and you seem to have dropped yourself into the "fire". I do suggest that you get help from someone that knows the process - I'm hardly likely to be seen as unbiased. Pyrotec (talk) 21:18, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

I have removed my review until i have read up on how to actually do it properly mark nutley (talk) 21:41, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Mark, I just wanted to say thank you for your level-headed responses and ultimate decision to study up on GAC before taking on your first review. Assessing articles for GA is a very gratifying process, but it does take some time to get used to the criteria, editor/nominator expectations, and all that good stuff. Hopefully you'll want to give it a try sometime in the future. :) If you have any questions, let me know. María (habla conmigo) 22:24, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

I'm sorry but I've pre-empted your review and marked the nomination as GA not issued. (You and/or the nominator can object at WP:GAR, but I hope not). I wish you well with your own article and any GAN nominations and/or reviews that you may choose to do in the future. In my oppionion, this is not a review that you (with I think no experience of the process) should have been asked to do - expecially by the Nominator. Pyrotec (talk) 08:26, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

Rebel Magazine

Hi! I declined the G11 for Rebel Magazine, because I don't think the article is exclusively promotional despite the evident conflict of interest. You may want to consider taking it to AfD instead. Regards, Jafeluv (talk) 07:07, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

Na, let her try and save it. I`ll look it over again in a few days and see how it looks mark nutley (talk) 07:09, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

Nguyen

I want to delete those incorrect infomation from the Nguyen article.

This surname is not originally Chinese. So, there is no point to put some Chinese legends here. Plus, there is no way to prove the correctness of some unknown legends. People might have some misunderstandings that 40% Vietnamese are Chinese which is not true. Nguyen is a Vietnamese surname, NO Chinese.

This article is about Nguyen, a Vietnamese surname. So, there is no point to put some notable Ruan people here. List the notable Ruan people in a Ruan article, please. Notable Ruan people has nothing to do with Nguyen article. Ducdung (talk) 15:24, 7 April 2010 (UTC+8)

Speedy deletion declined: Faye Fang Keaw

Hello Marknutley. I am just letting you know that I declined the speedy deletion of Faye Fang Keaw, a page you tagged for speedy deletion, because of the following concern: The article makes a credible assertion of importance or significance, sufficient to pass A7. The article's claim of four albums and "songs that have topped the Thai charts" is enough - to pass A7 claims don't have to be sourced. I have added a "primarysources" tag. Regards, JohnCD (talk) 11:27, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

PS - looking at the history I see you were not the original tagger. The CSDHelper script I used was not intelligent enough to tell that. I have let him know. Cheers, JohnCD (talk) 11:29, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

Conor kavanagh CSD/AFD

Hi, just to let you know I've sent Conor kavanagh to AFD if you're interested (discussion here). The creator of the article had removed the CSD tag you'd placed himself, but it wouldn't qualify as A7 anyway; playing for Leeds United is an assertion of importance. Regards, --BelovedFreak 12:42, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

Decline Speedy on Owen Thomas (Playwright)

I have declined speedy deletion by WP:CSD#A7 on Owen Thomas (Playwright). This is because the article does indicate why its subject is important or significant, this is a lower standard than notability and does not need references. I have replaced with WP:BLPPROD thanks for highlighting the article though. Polargeo (talk) 10:50, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

I have also declined Hussein Dabbas for similar reasons. Polargeo (talk) 12:05, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

Please self-revert on WUWT

This will be the last time i courtesy notice you, you are supposed to keep watch on 1RR yourself. is not an acceptable way around it, in fact it could be considered WP:GAMING. If you've gone off-line during this, then i'm afraid that i am going to use the enforcement board - since you we're aware that you may have broken 1RR. --Kim D. Petersen (talk) 17:25, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

Actually i was unsure which is why i posted. This is pathetic, i fix the article, which you should have done instead of slapping tags on it and not i have to revert the fix, how stupid is that? mark nutley (talk) 17:27, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

You're also on civility parole. Do you consider the above civil? William M. Connolley (talk) 17:35, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

(edit conflict)Sorry - but while things may be "stupid" - it is the position into which you've put yourself. Good advice here: If you are in any way uncertain about whether your actions will break your restrictions - then don't do it, and ask someone first. --Kim D. Petersen (talk) 17:36, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

@WMC yes it is civil, care to point out how it is not? @ Kim, good advice indeed, cheers mark nutley (talk) 18:10, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

recent events

First, do not abuse the vandalism charge -- that is reserved for destructive edits with clear intent, and is almost never leveled at long term users.

Second, how is this a BLP vio? I don't think there is any argument that it is, but I'm wondering what your thinking was.

As for the edit by WMC, it was clearly wrong, maybe actionable. I'm raising it now and may file a request. ATren (talk) 00:14, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

Calling an identifiable living person a right-wing(nut) is a blp violation it is typical of the ha hom attacks made against people skeptical of AGW. What make`s me think it is? the fact that your not meant to insult identifiable living people makes me think it is a blp violation mark nutley (talk) 06:35, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

Oops, I missed the edit summary. Sorry. ATren (talk) 10:45, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

Unfinished business

William M. Connolley (talk) 07:54, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

1. OTTAWA - The far right and far left will find common ground next week as representatives from both political spectrums protest the summit between Canadian, American and Mexican leaders in Montebello, Que. An ultra-conservative U.S. group calling itself the Coalition to Block the North American Union, made up of politicians and activists, as well as singer Pat Boone, will hold a news conference in Ottawa on Monday to oppose the two-day Security and Prosperity Partnership meeting of U.S. President George Bush, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Felipe Calderon of Mexico. Members of the group also plan on going to the meeting to voice their concerns about what they deem secretive talks. They tried, unsuccessfully, to book rooms at the high-end hotel where the meeting is being held under intense security. They will go along in an attempt to engage anyone in discussion about their opposition to the leaders, all of whom share conservative values. The group is to the political right of Mr. Bush. "When patriot Nathan Hale proclaimed, as he was about to executed by the British, 'I regret that I have but one life to give to my country,' he wasn't referring to Mexico or Canada," Mr. Boone, the American entertainer, said in a statement prepared for the news conference. "No. Nathan Hale was willing and ready to die for the dream called America, under a Declaration of Independence -- independence from the perversions of other nations." The coalition will make strange bedfellows with others protesting the summit, including the Green party and the People's Global Action Bloc, an activist organization that rejects capital-ism and all trade agreements. Howard Phillips, chairman of the U.S. coalition, said in an interview yesterday that he will not engage in any violent protests or street demonstrations but is travelling to Canada to find others interested in his cause. He is upset he will not have access to the meeting or the hotel -- all protesters will be kept away from the building and grounds but the demonstrations will be videotaped and shown inside the summit meeting. Mr. Phillips' group is opposed to a North American union and was against the North American Free Trade Agreement. It is concerned these meetings and agreements detract from each country's ability to achieve national independence and self-determination, he said yesterday. Mr. Phillips, who runs a public policy action group called Conservative Caucus and once worked for government agencies during the Nixon administration, said his other complaint is the "secrecy" of the talks. He said protesters with opposite political views to his own share his concerns about the loss of independence for countries -- and have for years -- and he welcomes them all to the battle against next week's discussions. "We share many of the concerns that people on the liberal side have on NAFTA, WTO, etc.," he said in a telephone interview. In a press release to be released on Monday, he states: "Our message is, 'President Bush, President Calderon, Prime Minister Harper, tear down the wall of silence and let the people see what you are scheming to do.' Behind closed doors, step by step, the leaders of Mexico, Canada, and the United States are setting the stage for, first, a North American Community and, ultimately, a North American Union (NAU), in which new transnational bodies would gain authority over our economy, our judiciary, and our lawmaking institutions ... Our message is similar to the one which Ronald Reagan delivered to Mikhail Gorbachev when he said, 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall.' " On Monday and Tuesday, the three leaders will be discussing issues around security and the economy, as well as timely matters such as the mass import of products from China following the recent toy recalls. This is an annual summit that began two years ago in Texas. The impetus was to expand NAFTA but that has become less of a focus following public opposition and protests. Mr. Phillips' coalition is made up of about 100 U.S. politicians and conservative public policy advocates. Tom DeWeese, president of the American Policy Center, and John McManus, president of the John Birch Society, will be at the Ottawa press conference, and Congressman Virgil Goode, Jr., the chief sponsor of House Concurrent Resolution 40, which opposes the North American union and "NAFTA Superhighway," will participate through video conference. Security at the summit will be tight with demonstrators being kept to two protest areas east and west of the hotel property to hold 2,000 people. Plenty of trees and fencing will separate them from the proceedings. Protesters initially expected a 25-kilometre security perimeter around the village, with checkpoints turning away vehicles with more than five passengers. However, RCMP Corporal Sylvain L'Heureux said no such plans are in place. Instead, a temporary reinforced fence is being installed near the permanent barrier that already surrounds the resort. The Quebec police force will also establish a 2.1-kilometre zone around the hotel. Even so, government officials say they want to ensure that summit participants can hear dissident voices without endangering their security. A four-year inquiry by Saskatchewan judge Ted Hughes into police behaviour at the raucous 1997 Asia-Pacific summit in Vancouver concluded that the RCMP must ensure that demonstrators can "see and be seen" by decision-makers. As at the 2002 G8 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., a video feed showing protesters will be streamed into the summit. jsmyth@nationalpost.com
2. In an age of increasing Christian activism over global warming, the question begs asking, even if tongue-in-cheek: Would Jesus drive a gas-guzzling Sports Utility Vehicle? Americans -- and Utahns, as a quick glance at any Interstate 15 rush hour attests -- love the giant versions of the four-wheel drive luxury trucks. Even as gasoline prices flirt with the $2 mark, there seems no shortage of the vehicles, despite their 9 to 12 miles per gallon performance. But if He were with us today on Earth, several Salt Lake area clergymen said, the carpenter from Nazareth would not drive an SUV. "No, no, no. Jesus would not drive an SUV," declares the Rev. David Henry, pastor of Wasatch Presbyterian Church. "Maybe an older Toyota Corolla, if he needed a car to visit someone in the hospital. Otherwise, he'd probably have a UTA pass or ride a bicycle." The Rev. Steve Klemz, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, has a more pedestrian view of the Savior: "I don't think Jesus would be driving any vehicle; he would be hitchhiking." The Rev. Steven Epperson, pastor of the South Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, surmises that Jesus would be none too pleased at the sight of his followers behind the wheels of such "symbols of conspicuous consumption. "He'd probably scratch his head and wonder about a people so outspoken about their patriotism, and yet haven't their SUVs and their consumption of gas and petroleum made the U.S. even more vulnerable to importation of oil?" But when it comes to patriotism, Tom DeWeese, president of the American Policy Center, an ultra-conservative advocacy group based in Herndon, Va., has no problem with Jesus settling into the well- appointed leather bucket seat of, say, a $47,000 Lexus LX470 4x4. "He would try to get the best transportation possible and go to Washington, D.C., and throw all those money-changers out," DeWeese quips.
3. The Nation The African-American community must develop a unified plan to push for reparations from the United States for the descendants of slaves, said leaders of the National Reparations Convention, which was wrapping up Sunday in Chicago. "America would not be the America it is today without slavery," said Dorothy Tillman, an organizer of the event. "I think America can deal with the shame." Advocates of reparations believe that compensation is owed for the unpaid labor of slaves as well as other forms of institutional racism. Various groups have put the cost of reparations at anywhere from $1 trillion to $10 trillion or more. Opponents of reparations note that no former slaves or slave owners remain alive. The cost of the Civil War and civil rights legislation should be deducted from reparations, as that "so- called debt has long since been paid," wrote Tom DeWeese of the American Policy Center. More efficient traffic lights coming to power-starved L.A. Los Angeles County will replace 5,000 red lights in traffic signals with new equipment that consumes far less electricity. Many cities have experimented with the technology, but interest is increasing because of California's energy shortage, said Virginia Lew of the California Energy Commission. The signals' red incandescent bulbs will be taken out in favor of longer-lasting light-emitting diodes, or LEDs. Although they cost much more, the diodes use less power. LEDs can run $75 and up; an ordinary bulb goes for $1 or $2. A standard 8-inch stoplight uses 69 watts; the new lights use about 7 watts. County officials say they are replacing only the red bulbs because the technology for red LEDs has been around for years, leading to cheaper prices, and because red lights are used more. The red bulbs in traffic signals are lit 59% of the time, compared with 38% for green lights. County officials expect to recoup within two years the $700,000 it will cost to install the new equipment. Freon leak in cargo hold interrupts flight to London A British Airways Boeing 747 en route from Houston to London with 175 passengers and crew made an unscheduled landing when fumes were reported in the cabin. One passenger was taken to a hospital because of nausea. Authorities found a box in the cargo hold leaking a Freon- based gas after the jet landed at Baltimore-Washington International Airport Saturday, airport spokesman John White said. The passenger's condition was not released. After the source of the fumes was discovered and removed, the flight continued to London. Coast Guard sued after ship runs aground off Oregon Owners of a freighter have sued the Coast Guard for $96 million, saying navigational charts omitted warnings about unsafe conditions in the waters where the ship went aground and broke apart. The freighter New Carissa went aground in a storm Feb. 4, 1999, on the north spit of Coos Bay, Ore. About 70,000 gallons of the fuel oil that powered its engines spilled into the ocean. A Coast Guard report has faulted the ship's operators, saying the captain dropped anchor as a storm was approaching, using only one anchor and not letting out enough anchor chain. Wen Ho Lee may face more questions from government The federal government is considering seeking court approval to question former Los Alamos nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee, 61, again because of concerns that he may have sought to help Taiwan's weapons development, The Washington Post reported. The newspaper quoted sources as saying that answers Lee gave during 60 hours of questioning in November and December raised new questions about his relationships with nuclear scientists from Taiwan and China. The government has been looking into the possibility that Lee may have accumulated numerous nuclear weapons secrets from computers at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico with the intention of aiding Taiwan, the country of his birth. Taiwan has long feared an attack from communist China, the Post reported. Lee agreed to that interrogation as part of a plea deal in September that ended the government's criminal case against him. He was accused of illegally downloading nuclear secrets at Los Alamos. He worked there from 1979 through 1999.
4. By Lars-Erik Nelson New York Daily News Have you heard that the United Nations has taken over the Statue of Liberty? And that guards in blue U.N. uniforms are on duty at Glacier National Park and the U.N. flag flies at Yellowstone Park? Even the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, the symbol of American freedom, is supposedly under foreign control. "People are showing up at national park gates, asking for U.N. currency," says Interior Department spokesman Michael Gauldin. "They think it's part of a one-world-government takeover." Normally, the government would dismiss the rumors as paranoid fantasies, but in the past year, says Gauldin, they have spread into the public at large, fostered by talk radio, the Internet and a direct-mail fund-raising campaign. Park Service officials report that some rangers have been threatened. An Interior Department analysis says, "It would be wrong for the department to underestimate the intensity and severity of the problems associated with correcting the false and distorted information surrounding such charges." Example of the conspiracy rhetoric: "The very idea of the president or Congress giving up even one inch of American sovereignty to a group of international U.N. bureaucrats is something our founding fathers would have considered treason," says a fund-raising letter from Tom DeWeese of the American Policy Center of Herndon, Va. "But that's what is happening on millions of acres of parkland and historic sites like Independence Hall and the Statue of Liberty." Rep. Helen Chenoweth, R-Idaho, visited Independence Hall and reported, "Imagine my sadness to see embedded in the brick near the entranceway a large plaque declaring that this was not a symbol of America's freedom and liberty, was not owned, operated and maintained by Americans, but was rather a World Heritage Site subject to foreign control." Here is the one kernel of truth on which the conspiracy theory rests: 17 U.S. parks have been designated U.N. World Heritage Sites. It's an honorary designation. It does not mean any U.N. takeover, occupation or administration of the parks. It's as much a violation of U.S. national sovereignty as sending out those four-language UNESCO cards at Christmas. You can go to any park and look for yourself: You will find no U.N. flags, uniforms or personnel. No foreign troops are training in secret. And it is not a Clinton administration plot. The Statue of Liberty, for example, was designated a World Heritage Site by President Ronald Reagan. What drives the rumors? Some of the peddlers are just plain nuts, believers in every conspiracy theory that comes along. Once it was fluoridation of water, then the secret Chinese army in Mexico. Today it's the national parks. Some own land near the parks and fear that the World Heritage designation might somehow prevent them from developing their property. Plus, there are politicians like Chenoweth who pander to the lunatic fringe. The strategy is to undermine environmental laws by claiming they are part of a U.N. plot to steal U.S. sovereignty. The fringe also sees threats in a U.N. project called Man in Biosphere and a plan to designate "heritage" rivers. Fortunately, you can see for yourself. Go to a park. Look around. The worst you will find is that Ellis Island now belongs to New Jersey. Lars-Erik Nelson writes from Washington for the New York Daily News.
5. WASHINGTON, April 1 /U.S. Newswire/ -- In an attempt to stop passage of Senate bill 1186, the Workforce Investment Partnership Act," Tuesday the American Policy Center (APC) is barraging Senate offices with faxes, phone calls and hand-delivered letters demanding defeat of the bill. The Senate put this legislation of the fast track, but has delayed a vote on the bill after facing continued opposition from the American Policy Center and other "family groups." On Friday, in an effort to alleviate concerns over the bill, Senate sponsor Mike DeWine sent a letter to APC President Tom DeWeese to outline the reasons to support the bill. "We're not buying it," said DeWeese. "This bill is another effort by federal bureaucrats to restructure our public schools away from teaching basic academics to training children for jobs. We had hoped with a Republican Congress, the 'Careers Act' would be defeated since it will expand federal programs and cost more money for American taxpayers, but it is now being championed by Republicans. Although the bill has gone through a metamorphosis, we are continuing to oppose this legislation based on the following: -- S. 1186 is the final piece of the puzzle, with Goals 2000 and School-to-Work the other two efforts designed to change American schools from places of education to little more than job training centers. -- S. 1186 will give governors the power to appoint Workforce Development Boards that are designed to control local curriculum dictated at the federal level. -- S. 1186 creates a linked national, state and local workforce data bank by combining the computer data banks of the Department of Education, Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services. -- S. 1186 calls for Skills Certificates (job licenses) instead of diplomas which reduces children to "human resource" status. "Our response to Sen. DeWine and to all the senators who support this legislation is that legions of parents from across this nation who seek to return our schools to a sane, well-rounded, curriculum of basic academics have made a decision," said DeWeese. "No more. We will not allow a single new intrusion from the federal government to further enhance the restructuring of our schools. We have drawn a line in the sand and S. 1186 is that line."

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   The American Policy Center, located in Herndon, Va., is dedicated to the promotion of free enterprise and limited government regulations over commerce and individuals. To schedule an interview with Tom DeWeese, call Diana Banister at 703-739-5920.

6. 'Who said they could do that?' complained Tom DeWeese 30 years ago upon seeing all the tax deductions from his paycheck Thus began a life of activism most recently focusing on education and property rights. Talk with Tom DeWeese for any length of time and the image that begins to develop and won't go away is that flag of American revolutionary times that said, "Don 't tread on me." DeWeese, 48, is a longtime grass-roots conservative activist. He s president of the American Policy Center in Herndon, Va., and editor-in-chief of the DeWeese Report, a monthly newsletter that focuses on his policy centers two chief interests -- the low quality of American education and the assault on property rights. DeWeese tells Insight that his conservative activism dates back 30 years when he received his first paycheck and he took note of the deductions. "Who said they could do that? I didn't vote for it! " His quiet anger also is directed toward Republican legislators who don 't live up to their campaign promises. Among "in-your-face definitions" he offers in his newsletter is this one of a right-wing radical: "Those who believe what Republicans said on the stump during campaigns and who expect Republican incumbents to carry out ." Yet despite the momentum and potency of the liberal agenda in this country, DeWeese remains optimistic: "Why? Because every time the liberals win something, more people get fed up." Insight: You've been an activist for three decades, but what do you really think about politics? Tom DeWeese: There are some people who can tell you every single vote in every single precinct in America and they love it! They love the give, the push and the pull. I hate it. I am involved in politics because people won't leave me alone. They keep trying to take my money. They keep trying to take away my liberties. They keep trying to tell me what I need to do. I am just obstinate enough to keep saying no. I don't care if it's Republicans or Democrats -- if they're doing the wrong thing in my point of view, I will take action on it. I've fought more Republicans than Democrats during the last three years, obviously because they've been in power in the Congress. What is it that a Republican stands for? That's my question, and I think what's really a factor in what's happening in Washington is that you've got leadership that doesn't know what it wants. It wants to be popular and it doesn't want to stand up for what it supposedly believes in. You cannot get people in the grassroots to rally around slogans like "Kinda. Maybe. Sorta." This is the biggest gripe that I've had with the Republicans, and I won't let it go. If you believe your ideas are right, then they are worth fighting for. In the end, when the battlefield is bloodied with your troops and you have no choice, then let's talk about compromise. But don't do it on the first day of discussion! Insight: You've been particularly concerned about what you perceived as Republican pusillanimousness on environmental issues and how environmental issues are related to property rights. TD: They are afraid of the issue, because they've handled it so poorly and the Greens have run right over them. They believe the polls that say the majority of the American people support the Green agenda. I frankly don't dispute those polls. I won't dispute that you can take a poll and ask a question in a certain way and get a positive response from the American public that, yes, they want to protect the environment. You want to make the rivers clean? Of course. Do you want to make sure the air is clean? Guess what: I'll answer yes to that, too. If you put on top of the fact that the media literally black out any message that comes in opposition to the Green agenda, well, then you have the odds we're up against. The hysterical part of it is that our side is denounced as "the tool of big business," when the grassroots property movement is made up of people who are losing their homes, losing their jobs and these people have absolutely HO money. Yet every time one of these poor little ranchers or a guy working for the timber industry raises his hand, he somehow gets denounced as a "lackey of big business," and the unfair charge seems to take. Insight: You were very much concerned about what you saw as a dangerous Republican flirtation with Sen. Ted Kennedy's "Careers Act." TD: We have gone after the Republicans on this one because they are absolutely clueless when it comes to the agenda that's in place on education. What this bill does is give the federal government control over the curriculum, and it involves a combination of the Department of Education and the Labor Department. It's the final component of the school-to-work agenda, and what it does is it sets up "workforce development boards" which are appointed by the governor -- the state legislatures have no control -- and these workforce development boards take a look at what kinds of workers are needed to "fulfill" the workplace and they take a look at what kind of curriculum is needed to create that right kind of worker. Then they create that curriculum. It has nothing to do whatsoever with freedom of choice or with genuine education. It has a lot to do with the training of workers: It sets up schools as factories to produce worker bees for whatever agenda the workforce development board deems necessary. It is the agenda that's in place on education and is being driven by Hillary Clinton and Ira Magaziner and Ted Kennedy. In part, I'm against this because when you get people into a groove often they can't get out of it. When I was young, I worked for a couple of banks and I went to work for a loan department in a big department store, then went back to another loan company and, finally, I said, I can't stand this any more. I literally quit and walked out the door, and I started a kind of advertising company which grew into a door-to-door advertising-distribution company that still exists. I sold it eight years after I started it. I got out of the groove, and that's why I'm opposed to school-to-work programs: They put people into grooves -- and how are they to break free? Insight: Do you call yourself a libertarian? TD: Yes, because libertarians believe in liberty, whether it's a social issue or an economic issue. I have a problem with some folks who have a specific agenda, which really comes down to censorship: I don't want government in my pocket or my bedroom. I grew up believing in limited government and individual liberty. I started out from patriotism and knew these guys were just plain wrong. They were tearing down my country and I didn't like it. But it wasn't until later, when I got into the Young Americans for Freedom, that I began to get a sound basis for philosophy and understand the economics and the social issues that were involved in conservatism. I was state chairman of YAF in Ohio for seven years. I ran for the Ohio Legislature from the most liberal district in Columbus -- it included Ohio State University on one side and a welfare district on the other -- and lost. But I came closer to defeating the incumbent than any one ever had! After that, his new opponents kept coming back to me to ask how I'd done it, and I told them, go right into the neighbor hoods and talk directly to the people, tell them your program is better than his and show them that you're not the bogeyman he's making you out to be. Oh, yes, back in those early days we ran a little newsletter, The Majority Speaks, that came out when we had the money to get it out. Insight: You have written how bad education and the assault on property rights are related. TD: Yes. Why would anybody want to set up our schools so some kinds of students come out stupid? Look at the property-rights issue: They are taking our country and systematically restructuring this nation. They're wiping out your ability to own property. They literally are setting up areas where humans aren't allowed and turning communities into "urban clusters" and "human-habitat areas" -- their words, not mine. Watch the restructuring take place -- the cutback on technology, the cutback on everything that makes the American way of life the American way of life. You and I won't stand for it, as it begins to close down on us. But now they're in the classroom. It's blind propaganda on environmentalism. All industry is bad. Automobiles are bad. Consumption is bad. Hillary's not lying to you -- they're indoctrinating students in the classroom to be the global citizens of tomorrow! Insight: So where are we headed' if things don't change? TD: If you want to see where we might be headed, take a look at the former Soviet Union or any of those countries behind the Iron Curtain. When poverty takes over, there's no protection for the environment. You will see people cutting trees down in the stealth of night to get heat in their home. You will see animals disappear because people need food. Only in countries like ours, where you have time and money enough to sit around and think up this stuff, do you have all these fantastic schemes about how we have to arrange everything, everyone's lives, everyone's property, so that we have total control of the environment. RELATED ARTICLE: Personal Bio Thomas A. DeWeese: President, American Policy Center, Herndon, Va., and editor, the DeWeese Report, photo graphed at an earlier aye. Born: April 13, 1949; Newark, Ohio. Single. Education: Attended Ohio State University. Admired Figures: Winston Churchill; Ronald Reagan. Favorite Author: Tom Clancy. Ayn Rand "I've read everything she ever wrote." Favorite Movies: "Romantic movies, like Somewhere in Time. I haled The Lost World. Why? Steven Spielberg made a hero out of an Earth First! terrorist. I kept thinking, `Is he trying to make dinosaurs some kind of endangered species and say we need to stand up for their right to live?' I took great delight in the recent report that Earth First! end a bunch of their other buddies just sued Spielberg for building his Dream-works studio on land that had some endangered species. Just desserts, I said Now if they'll just go after Ted Turner!"