Al's Morning Meeting

The Fred Phelps Westboro gang threatened to protest with the message "Hokies in Hell" at a student's funeral in Georgia this weekend. But it struck a deal with talk-show host Mike Gallagher to talk on the radio tomorrow for three hours instead of protesting at all 32 funerals. See this note from Gallagher.

Thousands of college students have signed petitions against Phelps on Facebook. (See the petition, which had more than 42,000 names when I last checked.)

Over the weekend, the Anti-Defamation League said white supremacists are also jumping at the opportunity to spread hate:

"Extremists are using the Virginia Tech shootings to spread a message of hate against immigrants, particularly Asians," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director. "They are using the shooter's Asian ethnicity as an excuse to pile on hate against Asians, Blacks, Jews and immigrants. It is yet another example of how the neo-Nazis and haters are seeking to create an atmosphere of divisiveness around the immigration debate and to engender fear of minority groups living in America."

Some white supremacists groups have posted virulently anti-immigrant, racist and anti-Semitic videos on YouTube, the popular mainstream video sharing site, with deceptive titles such as "Virginia Tech Shooting Update" that make them appear as if they were legitimate news clips dealing with the aftermath of the shooting.

Every year, the Southern Poverty Law Center publishes a map of the spread of hate groups.

Al's Morning Multimedia

The Collegiate Times has done an outstanding job covering the Virginia Tech story on the Web. Take a look at all the multimedia, including videos, graphics and galleries.

Whatever you do, look at The Collegiate Times' print edition. Do not miss Friday's front page. Outstanding.

A Pill to End Menstrual Periods

The New York Times says that next month, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve a birth-control pill that would eliminate a woman's menstrual period. But the story says women don't seem as interested as drug companies thought they would be.

Thefts Force New Scrap Laws

A pound of copper is worth about $1.75 at your local scrap yard. A pound of brass could bring $1.50. A pound of aluminum is worth about 50 cents.

Now, iron prices are rising.

Those high metal prices are the magnet that have lured so many thieves to steal everything from cell-tower bases, grave markers, aluminum siding from houses, wiring from houses, manhole covers to air conditioners. Just click here to see some of the open cases around the country right now. In some places, lawmakers are considering new scrap laws.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that legislators want to make it a felony to steal more than $500 worth of scrap metal:

Hard hit by scrap-metal thieves are builders, who find homes under construction vandalized, and utility companies, who find their substations ransacked. Just this week, three people were arrested outside Savannah and charged with stealing 700 pounds of copper from a Georgia Power substation. Police estimate the copper was worth $1,700.

Recycling companies themselves are sometimes burglarized for their metals.

Georgia legislators, who are considering a bill this session to stiffen penalties for scrap theft, have been told the crime can be deadly. A man was electrocuted while pulling metal components from an electric substation, after he apparently grabbed a live, high-voltage wire, said state Sen. Seth Harp (R-Columbus), the bill's sponsor.

Last year, it was copper and brass that thieves wanted. But now, iron prices are rising, and that makes manhole covers attractive. Steal a manhole and you have a big dangerous hole in the road.

Recyclers are sometimes victims. The AJC story says it is often difficult to figure out what is stolen and what it legitimately recycled:

"The challenge is that legitimate scrap and stolen materials are nearly identical," [Bryan ]McGannon, [spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries,] said. "It would be like me giving you two $5 bills, then having you tell me which one is stolen."

The AJC story continues:

Recognizing their role in stopping thefts, metal recyclers are trying to work with police more closely, said Maria Zack, a lobbyist for auto and scrap recyclers, and a coalition of almost 40 other utility, homebuilding or telecom companies who have an interest in the legislation.

For almost 10 years, the state has required recycling companies to get a copy of a peddler's driver's license. Now recyclers are forming coalitions to work with police, Zack said, and trying to stop repeat offenders.

"The recyclers actually came up with this bill," she said. "We want to crack down on the crime."

Frank Goulding, vice president of marketing for Newell Recycling in East Point, said with $300 million in annual sales, the company can't afford to be cavalier about the way it conducts business.

If police issue a bulletin describing a particular metal theft, it's immediately sent to the employees who operate the scales, and are among the first to see the incoming metals.

Beyond police alerts, some items ought to be instantly recognized as stolen, he said.

"If an individual came in with a sewer cover," he said, "we wouldn't buy it."

Here is what the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries recommends [PDF] to its members in order to minimize the risk of buying stolen material.

Recycling Beer Kegs

The beer industry is over a barrel. When you buy a keg of beer, you have to put down a deposit for the keg, which is made of nickel, chrome and stainless steel. But the key is worth more in scrap than the retailer collects as a deposit. So, there is a problem brewing: People are stealing and recycling kegs. The recycling industry is telling members [PDF] not to buy kegs. Last year, The Wall Street Journal reported that the problem is particularly acute in England, where the British Beer and Pub Association estimates that a quarter-million kegs were liberated in the country in 2005.

Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends upon the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and inaccuracies found will be corrected.