Vol. 2, No. 7
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
_________________
GREEN NEWS
CALIFORNIA: Click on the link at <http://www.gp.org>
to listen to the January 29 debate in Sacramento between Green
presidential candidate Peter Camejo and author and journalist Norman
Solomon. The topic of the debate was 'Should Greens Run for President in
2004?'
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: DC Statehood Greens sharply
criticized the 'Interagency Task Force on Lead in Water' established by
the Mayor and DC Council to investigate the DC Water and Sewer Authority (WASA)
and its handling of lead contamination in the city's plumbing. The task
force includes no consumer advocates or independent environmental or
health experts. WASA neglected to replace more than 1,200 lead service
lines in 2003, possibly exposing thousands of DC residents to lead
contamination, and failed to inform residents about the risks of dangerous
lead levels. Statehood Greens called for emergency measures, emergency
availability of lead-free bottled water, filters, and replacement of lead
pipe service lines.
More:
http://www.dcstatehoodgreen.org
http://www.lobbyline.com/dcwater/
FLORIDA: The Green Party of Florida is urging the
Florida Legislature to add printers to touch screen voting machines that
provide a 'voter verified paper record' (VVPR) which enables a manual
audit. Greens, Kevin Aplin (Melbourne) and Martine Zundmanis (St.
Petersburg), testified twice before the Florida Senate Committee on Ethics
and Elections in the last month. Martine Zundmanis has a twenty-year
professional background in software systems development. There are two
bills in draft form, one for Florida House and one for Florida Senate,
that will mandate the VVPRs.
More: contact Martine, (727) 867-0751, yndmeeup@yahoo.com
or Kevin, (321) 837-1081, thecitizen@cfl.rr.com
INDIANA: Clark Field from Evansville has been endorsed
by the Indiana Green Party to run for the US House of Representatives,
District 8, in Indiana. More: http://www.indianagreenparty.org
MAINE: Members of the Maine Green Independent Party
will gather throughout the state to caucus, with at least 70 caucuses
planned to begin the process of choosing the Green 2004 presidential
nominee. The caucus meetings will continue up until the deadline of March
19. More: http://www.mainegreens.org
MARYLAND: Takoma Park is about to become the first city
to pass a formal resolution in favor of a paper trail for electronic
voting machines and to demand that residents be permitted to vote on paper
ballots; other Maryland towns are considering similar resolutions.
The Takoma language was drawn from a national GP resolution now under
consideration. A statewide protest is planned for the March 2 primary;
voters from all parties (Republicans, Democrats, Greens) and from several
different counties have signed up on the protest petition. More: http://www.TrueVoteMD.org
MASSACHUSETTS: Here's a link to video footage of the
January 29 Green Presidential Candidates Forum at the Harvard Institute of
Politics: http://iopforum.harvard.edu:8080/ramgen/fr012904greenparty.rm
NEW MEXICO: Two Greens filed petitions to run for
Congressional District 1 on February 10. Jeremy Brown and Abraham
Gutmann were both certified by the Bureau of Elections after turning in
well over the 77 required signatures. Both have run previously as Green
candidates and both have served on the state's Green Council. Brown
pointed out that Dems have shown no inclination of a willingness to work
in coalition with Greens; Gutmann has said that if he wins the Green
nomination, he would probably bow out in favor of the Democrat nominee.
The primary election is June 1. More: http://www.nmgp.org
VIRGINIA: The Green Party of Virginia is holding its
annual Activism Networking Dinner on March 6. See the schedule of events
below.
NATIONAL: Dr. Jonathan Farley has announced his
candidacy for the Green presidential nomination. On Monday, February 16,
Dr. Farley participated in a Green presidential candidates' debate
sponsored by the University of Minnesota College Greens, the Green Party
of Minnesota, and the 5th Congressional District Greens at the University
of Minnesota.
NATIONAL: A petition drive to convince Peter Camejo to
seek the Green Party's presidential nomination has collected over several
hundred signatures from Greens and progressives around the country in a
little over two weeks. http://www.petitiononline.com/pcfp1234/petition.html
NATIONAL: The Green Party, Ralph Nader, and other
plaintiffs from across the political spectrum filed suit on February 11
charging the Federal Election Commission with failing to act on their
complaint seeking to decertify the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD)
as sponsor of the presidential debates in 2004, alleging that the CPD is a
partisan group controlled by the two major parties and acts to benefit
them exclusively. More: http://www.gp.org/press/pr_02_11_04.html
NATIONAL: Citing the fall in incomes, benefits, and
living standards for millions of working Americans, Greens blasted
President Bush's $2.4 trillion FY2005 budget plan and called for a drastic
reordering of economic priorities. National Green leaders said that
current policies, including Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy and attacks on
wages, benefits, and the social net, are driving more and more working
people into poverty. Read the Green Party's national release at http://www.gp.org/press/pr_02_10_04.html
see also <http://www.abolishpoverty.org>.
NATIONAL: Essential information about the Green Party's
2004 National Nominating Convention, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from June 23
to 28, 2004, and presidential candidates:
Reminder for all Greens running for public office: make
sure you're in the database at <http://www.gp.org/patience.html>.
E-mail your information and corrections using the form on the web or by
sending it to <juscha@greens.org>.
INTERNATIONAL: Greens from all over the world, in a
Global Greens Declaration dated February 23, 2004, are marking the second
year anniversary of the kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt with a plea to
Colombian President Uribe to comply with UN recommendations and open a
dialogue with the FARC, calling negotiation the only way out of violence
in Colombia. On February 23, 2002, FARC guerrillas in Colombia kidnapped
Ingrid Betancourt, Partido Verde Oxigeno de Colombia presidential
candidate, and Clara Rojas, her campaign manager and VP candidate, as they
traveled to San Vicente del Caguan to campaign.
More: http://web.greens.org/ingrid/free_ingrid.htm
http://www.globalgreens.info/
INTERNATIONAL: Green Parties from 31 countries plan to
establish a new European Green Party which will campaign in June's
European elections on a joint manifesto, with a unified publicity
campaign. The parties will launch the European Green Party at a conference
in Rome, February 20-22. More than 1,000 participants and eight observer
parties are expected to attend. Speakers will include Germany's foreign
minister, Mr Joschka Fischer, who will speak on "Europe as a Global
Player" on February 20, and the Co-Presidents of the Green/EFA Group
in the European Parliament, Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Monica Frassoni.
---------------------
UPCOMING EVENTS
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20: Green Party presidential candidate
David Cobb will visit South Bend, Indiana to give a talk, Room 251 in the
Administration Building on the Indiana University South Bend campus, 7-9
pm. Co-sponsored by the St. Joe Valley Greens and IUSB's Political
Science Club, which will provide refreshments at a reception afterwards.
More: http://www.iusb.edu/maps/drive.shtml
http://www.sjvgreens.org/
cobbweb@greens.org
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21: The Green Party of Michigan (GPMI)
will host a forum for Green presidential candidates, starting at 1 pm on
at the Ramada Inn & Conference Center in Flint. The forum will be a
feature event of GPMI's State Membership Meeting the same weekend, and
will lead into the start of the party's procedure for selecting 32
Michigan delegates to the party's national nominating convention in
Milwaukee, June 23-28. Candidates David Cobb and Kent Mesplay will
participate in the forum. Carol Miller and Lorna Salzman will provide
written statements for GPMI's quarterly tabloid 'Amber Waves of Green',
which will be released at the meeting. More: http://www.migreens.org
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21: 'Democratizing the Electoral
College', sponsored by the Electoral College Task Force of the DC
Statehood Green Party. 2-4 pm at the District of Columbia Public Library,
Lamond-Riggs Branch, South Dakota Avenue & Kennedy Street NE. How the
Electoral College preserves the infamous 3/5ths compromise of the
Philadelphia Constitutional Convention of 1787; how the Bush vs. Gore
(2000) ruling is grounded in the white redemptionist precedents of the
Reconstruction era Supreme Court. More information: (202) 541 - 6255
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3: Demonstration against the US
occupation and imposition of Shari'a (traditional Islamic law) in Iraq. 12
noon in front of the Federal Building in New York City, 26 Federal Plaza,
(near Chinatown; take the 6, N, R, J or M to Canal Street). The
secular Family Status Law that Iraqi women fought for and won in the 50s,
which gave them more rights and freedoms than enjoyed by any other women
in the Middle East, was abolished by the US-controlled Iraqi Governing
Council's Resolution 137, passed by secret vote on December 29. If Paul
Bremer approves Resolution 137, secular law will be replaced by Shari'a,
women will lose basic legal rights and protections, and Iraq will become a
repressive, misogynistic theocracy.
Contact: Emilce at <sowfiorg@hotmail.com>.
More: Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq
http://www.equalityiniraq.com/english.htm
http://www.peacewomen.org/resources/newvoices/OWFI.html
SATURDAY, MARCH 6: The Green Party of Virginia is
holding its annual Activism Networking Dinner in Richmond, with keynote
speakers Matt Gonzalez, president of the San Francisco Board of
Supervisors and 2003 Green candidate for SF mayor, and 2000 presidential
candidate Ralph Nader. Three Green presidential candidates will speak and
answer questions: Kent Mesplay, Lorna Salzman, and a representative of
David Cobb. Groups are invited to set up a table and be listed as a
co-sponsor of the event. Virginia Greens expect 250-300 attendees from
Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, and DC. (Visitors can
just attend the dinner if they choose.) More: 757-630-2669 (Dr. Jim Polk,
chair) http://www.vagreenparty.org
MARCH 19-21: Prairie Region Campaign School, at
Concepcion Abbey, Concepcion, Missouri (near Kansas City). Greens
interested in running for public office, working on a campaign, or
building electioneering skills are encouraged to attend. Cost to be
determined, probably around $80 for the weekend, including room, board and
tuition; some scholarships will also be available, based on need and
availability of funds. Preregistration, questions: Phil Huckelberry at
309-268-9974 or <huckelberry@softhome.net>.
SATURDAY, MARCH 20: Global Day of Action: The World
Still Says No to War. On the one-year anniversary of the U.S. bombing and
invasion of Iraq. Millions around the globe will take to the streets to
say YES to peace and NO to pre-emptive war and occupation. Joining with
growing numbers of military families and soldiers, United For Peace and
Justice and other groups will call for an end to the occupation of Iraq
and Bushs militaristic foreign policies. To endorse, e-mail m20endorse@unitedforpeace.org
or call UFPJ at
212-868-5545 to let UFPJ know your group is on board.
More: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=2136
SATURDAY, APRIL 24: Organizers have put out a worldwide
call for action for Mumia Abu Jamal on April 24, the anniversary of
President Clinton's signing of the notorious Effective Death Penalty Act
which has eliminated Habeas Corpus for death row inmates andmade it nearly
impossible for innocent people on death row to prove their innocence.
(It's also Mumia's 50th birthday.) More: http://www.mumia.org
215-476-8812 http://www.freemumia.com
------------------
GREEN ACTION
CALL CONGRESS
Call, fax, write a letter, or pay a visit
Contact information: Congressional switchboard: (202) 224-3121
-- US House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/
-- US Senate: http://www.senate.gov
Write a letter to the editor, a guest op-ed column, essay, or article
-------------------
-
You can send Senators a free fax urging them to
oppose Bush's energy bill through the following Public Citizen web
page: http://www.stopenergybill.org
More:
http://www.citizen.org/cmep
http://www.savebiogems.org/takeaction.asp?src=RR0401
(ready-to-send letter)
-
Tell Congress to oppose new rules that could
prevent the Drug Policy Alliance and other advocacy groups from
contacting their supporters about the political actions of federal
officials up for reelection. Proposals from the Federal Elections
Commission and Internal Revenue Service motivate members of Congress
to introduce and pass harmful drug policies while they are up for
reelection. The proposals could make it against the law for the
Alliance and similar groups to run ads in newspapers or send out
e-mail alerts about harmful policies.
Send a fax Congress at:
http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=15071&ms=irsfecaa
-
Call to Action: Lori Berenson's case before the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights in San Jose, Costa Rica is
tentatively scheduled for the first week in May. Call the White House
on Wednesdays and Thursdays to remind President Bush and other
officials of Lori Berenson's plight. Ask the U.S. Government to insure
Lori's release after the Court decision. Call the White House Hotline:
(202) 456-1111, press 0 or ask for the operator. Tell the operator
that Lori Berenson has been wrongfully imprisoned in Peru for over 8
years and that President Bush should use his authority to secure her
release.
More:
http://www.freelori.org
(English)
http://www.lorilibre.org
(Spanish)
---------------------
GOOD READS
Recommended articles, books, web sites
"Why I Ran: Reflections of a Green Alderman."
Article by John Halle, former Green Party Alderman in New Haven,
Connecticut. http://prorev.com/whyiran.htm
WhiteHouseForSale.org, a Web site created by Public
Citizen in conjunction with Texans for Public Justice. "Tracking the
influence of private money in the presidential campaigns. So far, donors
have given: Bush $142,380,000 / Dean $46,000,000 / Kerry
$30,275,000." http://www.whitehouseforsale.org
Lula and the Workers Party in Brazil. Book by Sue
Branford, Bernardo Kucinski, Hilary Wainwright (New Press, 2004).
Hardcover, 240 pages, $22.95. A good history of a party that has succeeded
by including a variety of ideological tendencies and movements under one
tent -- which should make Americans reflect about the poverty of our own
political imaginations.
Vestiges of War: The Philippine-American War and The
Aftermath of an Imperial Dream 1899-1999. Book edited by Angel Velasco
Shaw and Luis H. Francia (New York University Press, 2002). Paperback, 400
pages, $30.00. Review: "An extraordinary collection of literary,
artistic, and historical work which fills the huge gap in what Americans
know about their nation's relationship to the Philippines, in war and
peace. Vestiges of War faces that history squarely, honestly, and
unsparingly. Readers on both sides of the Pacific will find it an
immensely valuable contribution." -- Howard Zinn
Behind the War On Terror: Western Secret Strategy and
the Struggle for Iraq. Book by Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed (New Society, 2003).
Paperback, 368 pages, $16.95. Review: "Yes, yes, I know he
[Ahmed] is one of Them. But they often know things that we don't -
particularly about what we are up to." -- Gore Vidal http://www.globalresearch.org/
----------------------------------------
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