Dee DePass, Corporate Kiss-Ass Reporter for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune Among right wing Minnesotans, the Strib is known as "The Red Star of the North", but in actuality, it's nothing more than a provincial wire service filter/corporate kissup generator. Sorry, Catherine. I know there are a lot of good people on staff (such as yourself), but it's the truth. In a front page article, business reporter Dee DePass plays the role of dutiful,fawning scribe to Alliant Techsystems CEO Don Murphy. She quotes, "They have tried and constantly want to meet with me. And I just say there is no point. It certainly is not going to change their mind," said Murphy, wearily shaking his head. "No, I can never communicate with them. Because [they are] people who are so insulated from the realities of the world, so unappreciative of those who are making sacrifices for them so they can do their protest and do their café latte ... . "These people have been protesting whatever the protest of the day is since I was in college. ... If it weren't depleted uranium [a key concern of the protesters], it would be something else." Alliant officials can tick off a list of the protesters' errors: Depleted uranium? Only one Alliant product uses it, a 120mm tank shell that is intended for use only against other tanks. Cluster bombs? Alliant hasn't made them since about 1995. Land mines? Same thing. Read It: Are these really errors on the part of protestors, or are these facts in dispute? If she read her own paper, Dee DePass would realize that, on at least one point, the Alliant officials are blowing smoke up her ass; her deep, deep, ass. published January 22, 2005 in the Star Tribune: Alliant's remote mines to be tested in Iraq The U.S. Army will test in Iraq a new remote-control weapon developed by Alliant Techsystems Inc. and Textron Inc. that lets soldiers control minefields, including repelling intruders without killing them. The Matrix system uses a laptop computer to remotely control both lethal M-18 claymore munitions and nonlethal M-5 modular crowd-control devices, which contain rubber pellets, Army spokesman Frank Misurelli said. Alliant and Textron, based in Providence, R.I., won a $54 million contract in 2002 to begin developing the weapon system in a 50-50 joint venture.