From Washington to Scotland, dog owners beware of the microchip. If it sounds to good to be true, it is. Chips are dangerous in more ways than one. Y’all here in the US pay attention. The words are precisely the same as the documents I obtained under Public Disclosure. We just had similar language adopted here in Snohomish County.

All dogs may have to be microchipped
HAMISH MACDONELL SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR (hmacdonell@scotsman.com)

MINISTERS are considering the compulsory microchipping of all dogs as part of a range of measures to crack down on dangerous breeds, The Scotsman has learned.

Plans have been drawn up by the SNP MSP Alex Neil to update and reform the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act, which banned a number of breeds, including pit bull terriers.

Kenny MacAskill, the justice secretary, said he was willing

to back Mr Neil’s plans, either by giving support to a private member’s bill or by introducing legislation, if that proved to a better way of dealing with the problem.

Mr Neil’s proposals include:

• Changing the emphasis from the current ban on certain breeds to penalising owners of any dog not kept under control.

• Introducing the mandatory microchipping of all dogs, so owners can be traced, and penalising owners who have dogs without chips.

• Making it an offence to have a dangerous dog in any place, including in the home, an area not covered fully by the current legislation.

He has the support of leading animal welfare organisations, including the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Advocates for Animals and the Kennel Club. All of these bodies believe the current legislation on dangerous dogs is not working.

Mike Flynn, chief superintendent of the Scottish SPCA, said: “The current legislation is badly worded; it’s not understood by the law enforcers and not implemented properly by the courts.”

Mr Neil and the animal welfare campaigners want to change the emphasis, moving away from “breed to deed” – penalising the owners of any dangerous dog rather than banning and destroying pit bull terriers and other specified breeds.

Mr Flynn said what was needed was a range of hefty fines for dog owners and the introduction of banning orders, preventing unsuitable owners from owning dogs again.

Compulsory microchipping would help because it would allow the authorities to keep track of all dogs, preventing some owners from denying any knowledge of their dangerous pets.

Mr Neil said he was delighted to have the Executive’s backing, adding that he was keen to work with MPs in the Commons who are also looking at this issue, to establish if there is a way of co-ordinating legislation in both parliaments.

He said the recent tragedy in St Helens, when five-year-old Ellie Lawrenson was killed by her uncle’s dog, showed the current laws were not working.

“The 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act was rushed through in an hysterical atmosphere and it was badly drafted and there are several areas where we can improve it,” he said.
WHAT THE ACT OUTLAWED

THE Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 was introduced in response to a series of attacks by aggressive and uncontrolled dogs, particularly on children. MPs reacted to public concern, but there is now a general consensus among animal welfare groups that the legislation was badly drafted.

The act banned four breeds of dog: pit bull terriers , the tosa, the dogo Argentino and the fila Brasileiro. It was made illegal to own these dogs – unless courts made a special exemption – or breed, sell and exchange them

We have breaking news, straight from the USDA comes a transcript from JOHANNS commemorating with appreciation and a US Postal Service Stamp series for the pollinators in our midst.

Link

Have you heard the latest Plague of the Week commercial? The Department of Health created a Dragnat script where the law enforcement finds a nasty mosquito at a ladies home. Let the brainwashing commence. This type of propaganda can subtly desensitize you into accepting imagery of law enforcement with disease eradication unless you choose to turn the offending media off. This is only the beginning. Place the Gatekeeper between yourself and the media.

You can check it out yourself:

West Nile  Dragnet

 Dept. of Health Mosquito PDF Link

From the trenches,
Celeste

Here is your Emergency Alert System advisory….

Keep alert and take extreme caution when turning over your personal information to anyone.

Here are the latest USDA enslavement statistics:

Link

From the trenches,
Celeste

ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION (AHRP)
Promoting Openness, Full Disclosure, and Accountability
http://www.ahrp.org and http://ahrp.blogspot.com

FYI

Bloomberg News reports that despite a federal law requiring government
agencies to provide documents to citizens filing a request under the Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) requests about drug and food safety hazards are
pilling up at the FDA.

Indeed, the FDA is the worst among all government agencies in failing to
comply with FOIA requests:
Bloomberg reports that at the end of fiscal 2006, the FDA’s 20,365 unfilled
requests for information exceed the totals for the departments of Defense
and Justice: the Defense Department backlog is 18,216; and the Justice
Department FOIA backlog is 8,004

Researchers, consumer groups and individuals say the delays limit their
ability to alert the public to food and drug dangers and to hold the FDA
accountable.

Among the examples cited: Claudia Krcmarik can’t get documents about her
father-in-law’s death during a medical study.
“It is important information that we need to tell this story,” said
Krcmarik, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, who wants to know how her father-in-law
was given an overdose in an FDA- regulated clinical trial before he died in
2002. “That information should be available, and it should be timely. What
we wanted to avoid is this happening to anyone else.”

Dr. Meryl Nass* keeps asking for records she thinks will show an anthrax
vaccine is dangerous. The American Bakers Association’s request for a paper
on the safety of imported honey has languished.

Nass, a doctor in Bar Harbor, Maine, said she has treated patients who
suffered harmful side effects from the anthrax vaccine. She requested

The Pennsylvania Ag Department cut a quick deal with Mr. Landis. We will see if they if their intentions are with integrity and honorable.

Link

Here is the latest:

A NAIS update from
Mary-Louise Zanoni
Canton, New York
315-386-3199

Settlement in Landis v. Wolff; Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture agrees farmer not required to obtain federal premises ID number

According to a settlement agreement presented to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, June 26, 2007 (copy attached), the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) has agreed that it will not require duck farmer James Landis to obtain a federal premises identification number in order to participate in the PDA’s avian-influenza flock monitoring program.
The PDA has also agreed that it will rescind any federal premises ID number that it may have already assigned to Landis.

As mentioned in a June 22, 2007 Associated Press article on the Landis action (http://ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=522028), the PDA has also indicated it will “contact other farmers to ensure that they know that participation in the federal program is not mandatory.”

Landis is represented by Lancaster, Pennsylvania lawyer Leonard G. Brown, III, of the firm of Clymer & Musser, 717-299-7101.

The Alliance Defense Fund’s press release about the settlement is below.

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4162

Pa. Dept. of Agriculture quickly settles lawsuit involving Mennonite farmer Officials will not force farmer represented by ADF-allied attorney to obtain unnecessary ID number in light of his religious beliefs Tuesday, June 26, 2007, 10:00 AM (MST) | ADF Media Relations | 480-444-0020

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Officials with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture have agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by an Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney on behalf of farmer James Landis. The department had attempted to force Landis to submit to having a federal identification number in order to continue to do business, in violation of Landis’ religious beliefs.

“The government should not force people to violate their religious beliefs–especially when accommodating the person poses no hardship to the government,” said ADF-allied attorney Leonard Brown of the law firm Clymer & Musser. “We are pleased that the government has agreed to make this reasonable accommodation out of respect for Mr. Landis’ religious beliefs.”

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture agreed to not require Landis to obtain a federal premise identification number in order to continue to do business. Additionally, the department has said it will be notifying all farmers that they do not need to register for the federal identification program.

Landis, a Mennonite, raised ducks on his Lebanon County farm for export in live bird markets in New York for the past 20 years. He voluntarily participated in the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s avian influenza monitoring program as a requirement for selling flocks into the live bird market system. But this year, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture added a new requirement, mandating that each person register for a federal identification number for enrollment in the monitoring plan (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4161).

In April, Landis received a letter from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture regarding the new requirement, notifying him that he must register for the federal premise identification number, in violation of Landis’ religious beliefs, or face exclusion from the New York live bird market. Now the agency says it will not force Landis and others to apply for the number.

“The settlement agreement is not just a victory for Mr. Landis; it is a victory for all farmers and for people of faith in this country,” said Brown. “Government must respect the freedoms guaranteed by their state constitutions and the law.”

A copy of the settlement agreement filed at the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania in the case Landis v. Wolff can be read at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/LandisSettlement.pdf.

ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.

www.telladf.org

Note: Facts in ADF news releases are verified prior to publication but may change over time. Members of the media are encouraged to contact ADF for the latest information on this matter

From the trenches,
Celeste

Reporter Cookson Beecher at Capital Press is covering the pending Pennsylvania lawsuit.

Take a moment and leave your comment at: www.capitalpress.com

From the trenches,
Celeste

A NAIS update from
Mary-Louise Zanoni
Canton, New York
315-386-3199

Friday, June 22, 2007

Landis v. Wolff, first court challenge to NAIS premises ID

Today the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ordered that a hearing on petitioner’s request for a preliminary injunction be held on Thursday, June 28, 2007, at 9:30 am, in Courtroom Number One, Fifth Floor, Irvis Office Building, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The petitioner, Mennonite farmer James Landis, has been notified by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) that he would no longer be allowed to sell the ducks he raises at his Lebanon County farm to their usual markets in New York as of July 1, 2007. The PDA is trying to compel Mr. Landis to accept a federal NAIS Premises ID number for his farm. Mr.
Landis has a religious objection which prevents him from accepting the federal premises ID number and he faces the loss of his family’s livelihood because of the PDA’s actions.

The PDA has been trying to compel farmers to accept federal premises ID numbers despite the fact that a bill to require premises registration failed to become law during the 2005 session of the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
At the federal level, the USDA maintains that its premises ID program is “voluntary.”

Mr. Landis is represented by Leonard G. Brown, III, Esquire, of the firm of Clymer & Musser, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 717-299-7101.

A copy of the court’s order is attached.
Update Link

From the trenches,
Celeste

Here ya go! The first lawsuit against the NAIS has been filed in Pennsylvania. Go Pennsylvania go!!!! Many more are sure to be filed as the mandatory adoption of this purported unconstitutional program intensifies.

Our prayers are with those involved for favor and wisdom. May we all be diligent in our efforts to defeat this draconian program.

Read on:Link

From the trenches,
Celeste

We don’t live in Colorado but they are putting up a valiant effort to oppose mandatory NAIS in their state. They say chickens come home to roost, so what happens to Colorado could happen to our state. We need to remain vigilant and steadfast in our resistance to this draconian program. Guard against apathy, take 10 minutes and get INVOLVED to help 4 H and FFA kids! This is a great home-school project to take on.

State-Wide Coalition Urges CSU’s Cooperative Extension To Return To Its Mission of Education and Outreach

The Colorado Coalition Opposing Mandatory 4-H and FFA Premises Registration has confirmed that Colorado State University’s Cooperative Extension Service will conduct a review of its mandatory 4-H premises identification policy following the Colorado State Fair this year, but the institution has stipulated that the review does not mean the policy will be rescinded. Incoming Director of Extension, Dr. Debra Young, will be responsible for conducting the review. Young will replace Dr. Marc Johnson, who currently serves as Interim Director.

On March 28, 2007 Colorado State 4-H Director Jeff Goodwin issued a directive to Colorado County Extension Agents indicating that all Colorado 4-H livestock project animals (beef and dairy cattle, sheep, swine, goat, poultry, llama and horse) must have a premises registration for participation in 4-H and FFA projects after October 1, 2007. The decision to implement state wide mandatory premises registration for 4-H youth in Colorado was an arbitrary decision made in September 2006 by the 4-H Livestock Task Force, which was comprised of 15 to 20 county extension agents. The State 4-H Director and Dr. Marc Johnson agreed.

“The time to seek input from Colorado 4-H families about the decision to mandate premises registration for youth was before the directive was issued, not after the fact,” commented John Reid, Ordway, CO, Chairman of the Coalition. “The 4-H families directly impacted by this decision were not permitted to participate in the decision-making process, signaling a significant disconnect between the land grant university and its constituents. The coalition urges Colorado State University administrators to leave participation in premises registrations as a voluntary program, as it is on the federal level. ”

“The National Animal Identification System (NAIS) will have no effect on preventing animal disease, since it will only be called into use after a disease outbreak,” noted Reid. “The Livestock Act of 2005 equips the State of Colorado with the appropriate mechanisms to implement mandatory premises registrations and animal identification in the event of a disease outbreak,” continued Reid.

“Learning institutions, like our land grant universities, should be using precious resources to educate future producers about animal health disease controls and mitigation and proper animal management techniques. University resources being spent on the premises registration issue would be much more effectively used to educate 4-H youth about animal disease causes, prevention, risk mitigation and food safety, and we urge Cooperative Extension to develop such a curriculum for 4-H. ”

In a letter dated June 1, 2007 to Colorado County Commissioners, Dr. Marc Johnson stated,

“4-H is an educational program for youth which is based on experiential learning. 4-H establishes contest rules to provide fair and safe learning experiences which transmit knowledge and principles which last long beyond the county or state fair event…laws do not currently require record keeping, meat quality assurance training, premises registration, or the wearing of closed-toe shoes, but all of these items are in 4-H livestock contest rules to provide learning of business practice, product quality, public health and safety related to livestock production. Presently there is a small portion of the public opposed to premises registration of livestock as a national policy; this group is using 4-H youth to advance their political action. This debate should stay in the public policy arena rather than in the non-political, non-policy arena of youth educational events.”

Reid responded saying, “Dr. Johnson is correct that this issue should remain in the public policy arena rather than being mandated by Cooperative Extension for youth events. The university’s action to implement mandatory premises registration for 4-H youth put this debate squarely in the arena of youth education events. He is incorrect when he describes those opposed as a ‘small’ group. The action taken by Colorado State University’s Cooperative Extension is widely viewed as predatory exploitation of youth rooted in an effort to enhance the number of livestock premises registered in Colorado. The meat quality assurance program is certainly an educational program that youngsters benefit from. It does not, however, require the enrollment of private property as a prerequisite for participation.”

“One has to wonder why, with a new Director of Extension taking over later this summer, Colorado State University administrators have chosen to saddle this person with such a controversial and unpopular mandate,” continued Reid. “It would have been much wiser to let the new appointee come into her position and permit her to seek appropriate public input. One has to ask, who benefits from this decision and what’s the rush. The coalition urges Colorado State University’s Cooperative Extension Program to get back to its mission of education and outreach.”

Individuals or organizations wishing to join the Colorado Coalition Opposing Mandatory 4-H and FFA Premises Registration should contact John Reid at 719/446.5210

Or, if you need you would like to know what or how Washingtonians can help call or e-mail Celeste Bishop 360-568-8175, elisheva@w-link.net.

From the trenches,
Celeste