We went to a booksale put on by Bonner General Hospital and bought a lot of old books cheap. One of these was My Autobiography, Charles Chaplin. It was a real moving story. Among many other aspects of his life, he was a British citizen who lived in America and who produced The
Great Dictator in the time of Hoover and McCarthy. I checked Richard Attenborough's film Chaplin, with Robert Downey, Jr. as Chaplin, out of the library too and was very moved by it. I have never seen The Great Dictator. It is a good time for people who have seen these videos to see them again. Chaplin went on vacation out of the country with his wife Oona O'Neill Chaplin, and was barred from returning by the government even though he had done nothing they could indict him for. It was a sad era in American history. The second thing I want to say is that Montana has been very brave in facing up to the introduction of transgenic wheat into our food system. Here is a post I received just now: * * * * * * * To those following the transgenic wheat issues in the West, there are four legislative bills being introduced in the Montana legislature this session which just began its once every two-year session. With Monsanto now formally applying for commercialization of transgenic(GMO) wheat, this legislative effort represents one of the few attempts in the nation to protect the United States wheat industry from the very possible economic and environmental disasters that the transgenic soybean and corn industries are continuing to experience. Bill numbers and brief overview follow: LC1555- A resolution of the Montana legislature essentially stating the "sense of the legislature" that transgenic (GMO) wheat should not be commercialized in the State of Montana until export markets to pacific rim states are secure and that the segregation of transgenic wheat from non-transgenic wheat can be accomplished. LC1065- A law to amend current seed labeling regulations, so that transgenic wheat seed will be clearly identified and planting restrictions (buffer zones, etc) will be clearly identified. LC1723- A law that will provide a certification process for the proposed introduction of transgenic wheat into Montana. This law will create an extensive economic, environmental and human health review by the MT Department of Agriculture with allowance for public comment, before transgenic wheat is allowed to introduced into the state of Montana. LC1578- A law that will provide that a company holding a patent to transgenic wheat variety must post a $20 million dollar bond prior to the release of that variety for commercial production in Montana. Essentially, his law will provide security for potential damages that may be caused to the wheat industry by the introduction of transgenic wheat. The full text of these draft bills can be downloaded off of the Montana legislature web site <http://laws.leg.state.mt.us/pls/laws03/law0203w$.startup>. You can also track the progress of this legislation on this site as well. Jeff Schahczenski Executive Director Western Sustainable Agriculture Working Group 3040 Continental Drive Butte, MT 59701 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.westernsawg.org 406-494-8636 " From the Grassroots to the Nation" * * * * * * * * * The third thing I'm concerned about is the gutting of every environmental law that we worked so hard to get passed. There will be limestone mining in the Everglades and oil and gas drilling in Yellowstone and the Greater Rockies. It's on the BioGems website at <http://www.savebiogems.org> I value this list/serve as a place where I can talk about these things. I surely will be sad to see my right to free speech go out the window. I love you all. Merla
