TODAY'S ISSUE
Oscars for 2006 challenge world with movies that matter
By James J. Murtagh, M.D.
Special to GwinnettForum.com

[Editor's Note: Film buff James Murtagh of Atlanta (Druid Hills)has spent 20 years as an Intensive Care Unit physician at a major Southeast hospital. Murtagh is also a founder of the medical ethics consulting group "Team Integrity." Murtagh recently chaired a Congressional forum "The Health Integrity Project," as reported in Time magazine in collaboration with Tom Devine at the Washington Government Accountability Project.--eeb]

MARCH 7, 2006 -- "This is the year that Hollywood rewarded rule-breakers," Paul Haggis said.

Indeed, 2006 was a record breaking year for movies with a social conscience, and the 2006 Oscars underscored such movies as The China Syndrome, Erin Brockovich, All the President's Men, and Casablanca in rapid fire tribute to movies that really changed our world. These were films honored not only for being great classics, but also as films that have changed the world.

George Clooney announced unabashedly he was glad he is out of the mainstream. "We are the ones who talked about AIDS when it was just a gay disease," he said. "This group of people -- I'm proud to be part of this academy, proud to be part of this community, proud to be out of touch."

Later, Rachel Weisz paid tribute to the people who are willing to risk their own lives to fight for justice. "They are greater men and women than I."

Diana Ossana quoted "To send light into the darkness of men's hearts-such (is) ... the duty of the artist."

Oscar host Jon Stewart, America's leading anti-establishment comic, was a perfect choice to honor films of 2006.

Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck focused on Edward R. Murrow's fight against McCarthyism. North Country depicted whistle blowing in Minnesota mines. The Constant Gardener is a terrific John LeCarre story about whistle blowing against pharmaceutical companies. The Smartest Guys in the Room depicted the debacle at Enron.

True, the movies honored by Oscar were not the biggest moneymakers of the year. Some have criticized movies for taking on controversial issues. Others believe that movies should be an escape.

George Clooney and Steven Spielberg were asked if they were afraid to take on these types of films. Their response was "we would be afraid not to."

Conservatives complain liberals make too many movies. But, conservatives have plenty of money, and plenty of conservative movie stars, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Steve Martin.

The fact is, conservatives are great at making action or fantasy features, but have a hard time filming reality-based movies. Is there really any serious way to film a movie to defend McCarthy? Or to defend the mining companies in North Country? Or to defend Enron, or the pharmaceutical companies on The Constant Gardener? Or to defend torture, wiretapping, election fraud, or corporate stealing?

The fact is, not every story has two sides. And often, when the seemingly extreme movie becomes a classic, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, it becomes mainstream and embraced appropriately by all political persuasions.

Will any of this year's fine films achieve classic status? Only time will tell. But regardless, the public is the real winner from these honest, tough and searing stories.

We are fortunate that our finest filmmakers put the truth before profit in 2006. And that many got recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by gaining an Oscar!

ELLIOTT BRACK
Recycling ink cartridges can save time and help environment
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com

MARCH 7, 2006 -- Pay close attention and perhaps you¹ll find out how to save money in buying ink for your computer's printer, fax or copy machine.

Brack

Though I'll admit being skeptical at first, after walking through the 1,000th worldwide location of Cartridge World this week, we now feel a little better about re-cycling our old printer heads for the printers. And it can mean less junk for the landfills.

Lawrenceville resident Nancy McGill has opened her second Gwinnett location on Plesasant Hill Road. She and husband Windell explained the operation of the franchise, and made believers out of us.

Now understand that the key cost in operating your printer is the ink, not the machine itself, which is low-ball cheap. What the manufacturers want to do is to hook you into using their printer, so that they can make money on you when they sell you replacement ink, at a high price. People say it's akin to the Gillette approach, making the razor inexpensive, to profit on the blades.

The savings, says Nancy, is approximately 50 percent when you buy re-cycled ink, as opposed to paying office supply dealer price for new cartridges.

The company takes your old cartridge, and gives you a re-filled unit off the shelf, with no waiting. Then they will re-fill yours, and sell it to someone else. In replacing the ink, first they use a centrifuge to fling out all the old ink. Then with a special unit they pull a vacuum on the old cartridge, and fill it with ink. Then for each cartridge, they test it in one of their many printers to make sure it works. (There were 25 different printers in their test room in Duluth. "Our Lawrenceville store has more printers," Windell said.

All too often, the McGills say, most of us seek to drain the very last bit of ink out of the cartridge. But when that happens, the electronic connection between cartridge and computer heats up, which shortens the life of each cartridge.

Therefore, Windell says, "You must be smart in your printer use. Just as when your automobile says you are low on gas, when your computer says the printer fluid is low, immediately change cartridges. And that will extend the life of you cartridge."

The McGills also re-cycle not only printer ink units, but the larger cartridges for laser printers, faxes and copy machines. Each one of them takes about 15 minutes to re-cycle, says Richard Brown, lead laser technician. We watched him as he expertly re-built a laser toner cartridge. "The key is taking it apart completely, and cleaning it," Richard says. "We want to do it right the first time, for we want you to use it, and then return here when you run out again." Richard even rebuilds color laser toner cartridges, resulting in more savings.

All in all, the printer ink business has turned a corner, with the proliferation of re-cycling outlets for cartridges. The good news is that it can save money for those owning printers, too!

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For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: http://www.gwinnettforum.com/about/sponsors.htm

FEEDBACK
3/7: Can anyone stop our country giving away American jobs

Editor, the Forum:

Last week President Bush, was 'explaining' to us citizens, (while giving a speech in India), that he is "Delighted" in careers-jobs-positions being sent overseas, especially to India!

Why? To help those in India have "employment" so that they can better their life. Actually, it¹s for the purpose of finding someone who will take away someone's job here in our country. When recruiting on college campuses, I saw with my own eyes career fairs go from being a huge ballroom full of US companies in 1999-2000, to being 50 percent less in 2003!!

The very jobs that those in India will now have used to be done by American workers, at wages that kept their community and country going!

Is there anything that anyone in our Congress can do to stop this Administration giving away the United States of America? We might also ask is there anything anyone can do to keep our borders more secure!

God Bless America. We certainly need him on our side.

-- Deborah Seay Willis, Peachtree Corners

3/7: Says press should publish those offending cartoons

Dear Gwinnett Forum:

I'm writing to say that, as a member of the media in a free society, you have a RESPONSIBILITY to publish the controversial cartoons on Islamofascism.

I can understand the indignation of having your religion, and your religious leaders, portrayed in unflattering, even blasphemous, ways by secularists in the mainstream media. It happens to Christians all the time in America and Europe.

But indignation is NEVER an excuse for violence. And threats of violence need to be "resisted" in free nations. And the best form of resistance to Islamofascist threats here? PUBLISH THE CARTOONS!

As freedom-loving people, we need to resist the Islamofascists on ALL fronts. In solidarity with the people of free Europe and in support of the concept of freedom of the press, you need to publish the Danish cartoons.

-- Roy F. McCreary, Dacula

Dear Roy: Thanks, Roy. Er, sure. Get someone else to go first.--- eeb

NOTABLE
Firm wins contract to install bus shelters by spring

Gwinnett County bus shelters are going to get covered. And it won't cost the county government anything, a report from the county indicates.

Providing the shelters will be American Transit Display Systems of Atlanta. The company was awarded a contract for the work by the Gwinnett commission,

The company will erect the shelters at no cost to the county. They will also install and upkeep the bus shelter. The company will sell advertising for placement on the shelters.

Company officials say that they expect the first shelters to be installed this spring. The award calls for a minimum of 50 shelters in 2006, with another 100 shelters to be installed after the first 50 are installed.

Lawrenceville authority works to see county seat flourish

Downtown development authorities traditionally tend to existing and growing commerce and revitalization in downtown areas in order to ensure a successful business-living environment. Lawrenceville's Downtown Development Authority, established in the '80s, is no exception. It seeks to help the county seat flourish as a Mecca in one of the fastest growing counties in the country.

The city's master plan, which covers 860 acres, was approved last fall and includes the:

* encouragement of medium to high-density residential neighborhoods,
* construction and refurbishment of several parks, and
* development of commercial and mixed-use projects in the downtown area.

The Lawrenceville Downtown Development Authority is chaired by Mike Reedy, while Marie Beiser is vice chairman, Kathy Monroe is secretary and Carter Gorman is treasurer. Other on the Authority are Alan Richardson, Danny Gravitt and Scott Frye, members-at-large.

RECOMMENDATION
State of Fear, by Michael Crichton

Let me highly recommend Michael Crichton's novel, State of Fear. While the story line is fiction, the author lives up to his reputation using factual research as the backdrop for his story telling. The bonus is the provocative observations included by the author following the story's conclusion. It is very entertaining and thought provoking, and might cause you to rethink your position on global warming, Asian bird flu and other yet as unnamed threats to the world as we know it.

-- Patrick Malone, Snellville

• An invitation: What Web sites, books or restaurants have you enjoyed? Send us your best recent visit to a restaurant or most recent book you have read along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus what book you plan to read next. --eeb
  
  

GEORGIA TIDBIT
Elberton granite monument continues to baffle people

One of the most intriguing granite monuments ever erected stands in Elbert County, near the South Carolina border. The Georgia Guidestones dominate the highest elevation in the county. The Georgia Guidestones were unveiled on March 22, 1980.

Like ancient Stonehenge, the modern Guidestones serve as a celestial clock of sorts, recording the passage of time through special features. Unlike Stonehenge, however, the Guidestones contain a written message for humanity. The general layouts of the two sites are also different from one other. While Stonehenge is arranged in a circular manner, the Guidestones are positioned in an "X" pattern, with each line of the axis oriented toward specific areas of the moon's annual rotation around the Earth.

The Guidestones' mysterious origins go back to the summer of 1979, when a man calling himself R. C. Christian came to Elberton in search of both a granite firm to execute his design for a monument and a suitable site for the construction of it. The man admitted that "Christian" was a pseudonym, chosen because it represented his own beliefs and those of the organization that planned and funded the project. To this day, Christian's real name and the true identity of his organization are unknown. Christian claimed that he chose Elbert County because of its abundant supply of granite, the rural nature of its landscape, and its relatively mild climate, and because some of his ancestors had once lived in the region.

Joe H. Fendley Sr., president of the Elberton Granite Finishing Company, was initially shocked when Christian first explained his plan to build a gigantic granite monument inscribed with wisdom for the ages, suggestions or directions that would lead humanity into an "age of reason." Christian also informed Wyatt C. Martin, president of Granite City Bank, of his hope that other conservation-minded groups in the country would later erect even more stones to form an outer ring around the central structure. He told Martin that he wanted the monument to be erected in a rural area, away from crowds and tourists.

Meanwhile, Fendley put his laborers to work on the structure, which consisted of four massive blue granite slabs, one center stone (known as the Gnomen stone), and a capstone. When finally completed, the monolithic structure weighed 119 tons and contained 951 cubic feet of granite. The structure also supported more than 4,000 sandblasted characters and letters, each averaging about four inches in height. Christian and Martin selected a five-acre plot in the middle of a cow pasture, approximately seven miles north of Elberton and eight miles south of Hartwell, with a commanding view to the east and the west, on which to build the monument. The area chosen was in close proximity to what the Cherokee Indians called "Al-yeh-li A lo-Hee,"‹the center of the world.
(to be continued March 10.)

• To access the Georgia Encyclopedia, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
  
  

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Frederick the Great and his thoughts on the military

"If soldiers were to begin to think, not one of them would remain in the Army."

-- Frederick the Great (1712-1786), via Marshall Miller, Lilburn

• Another invitation: What's your favorite saying? Share with others through GwinnettForum. Send to elliott@gwinnettforum.com.
  

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