Lost Lama

Sept. 7, 2005

LOST LAMA: Members of TIBETmichigan have asked Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos to help find the missing Panchen Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet.
Gedun Choekyi Nyima was born on April 25, 1989 and was officially proclaimed as the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama, who died unexpectedly after delivering an anti-Chinese government speech. The young Panchen Lama is presently the youngest political prisoner in the world.
DeVos reportedly has many contacts with the Chinese government as a result of his business dealings there with Amway (now Alticor). Democrats have criticized him for outsourcing 1,400 Michigan jobs to China.
“You are in a special position to help locate and free the kidnapped Panchen Lama,” states an appeal from TIBETmichigan, which hasn’t had a response from the DeVos camp.

POT’S PECKING ORDER: TC’s Coalition for Compassionate Care circulated medical marijuana petitions in August for a ballot proposal on the next election. The ballot question asks whether lowest law enforcement priority should be given in TC for marijuana possession or delivery by caregivers; and possession, delivery or use by medical patients.

NMEAC (Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council) is celebrating its 25th anniversary on Oct. 28 at the Hagerty Center in TC. The watchdog group of citizen activists got its start in 1980 and has since been involved in virtually every environmental battle in the region, including the Crystal River controversy, Hartman-Hammond Bridge, Big Rock Nuclear Power Plant, and a failed plan for a mini-mall in downtown TC, among others.