Free Republic

Bicycles instead of cars? Dense apartment clusters instead of single homes? Community rituals instead of churches? "Human rights" instead of religious freedom? The UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) which met June 3-14 [1996]in Istanbul, painted an alarming picture of the 21st century community. The American ways-free speech, individualism, travel, and Christianity-are out. A new set of economic, environmental, and social guidelines are in. Citizenship, democracy, and education have been redefined. Handpicked civil leaders will implement UN "laws", bypassing state and national representatives to work directly with the UN. And politically correct "tolerance"-meaning "the rejection of dogmatism and absolutism"...

Portland-based Ecotrust hopes the campaign will sell a new way of thinking about the environment Upstairs in Wieden + Kennedy's Portland advertising offices, Spencer Beebe finishes what he calls his "half-hour elevator speech." It's about the complexities of saving salmon and preserving forests while building a healthy economy -- ideas long-discussed within the conservation community. But Beebe is in trouble: His audience isn't tracking. Not even Dan Wieden, whose agency created award-winning campaigns for Nike, Coca Cola and others. Wieden finally breaks in: "I'm just a simple ad guy. So you have to speak sort of monosyllabically and slowly." Then,...