From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Mon Nov 1 08:46:42 2004 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Mon, 01 Nov 2004 13:46:42 +0000 Subject: {news} Nancy Burton in the Fairfield Minuteman Message-ID: Stripp challenged in battle for 135th district Fairfield Minuteman, October 14, 2004 by Bill Bittar Attorney Nancy Burton stood before a map in her Green Party campaign headquarters in the Georgetown Business & Professional Center on Redding Road Friday afternoon. With a pen, she pointed to the location of the Millstone nuclear power plant near New London and to the Indian Point plant on the Hudson River in New York State. "They are terrorist targets," Burton said. "The terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center flew right over Indian Point, and it came out in the Congressional 9/11 investigation that they had considered Indian Point as a target. That would have obliterated the entire New York metropolitan area and New England as well." Burton, of Redding, has been trying to close down both plants since 1999. She said the Indian Point nuclear plant is within 30 miles of Easton and Redding and within 25 miles of Weston. The lifelong Democrat recently registered in the Green Party to challenge longtime incumbent, Republican John E. Stripp of Weston, as representative of Connecticut's 135th District, which covers Easton, Redding and Weston. Burton, a public crusader, is running on an environmental platform. Stripp, 66, who has supported environmental issues, including casting votes in favor of the historic Kelda lands and Trout Brook Valley purchases, preserving thousands of acres of open space, said he welcomes the challenge. "It's the American way," Stripp said. "Everyone is entitled to run if they so choose and I'm ready to run a vigorous campaign." Burton, 55, who accused Stripp of ducking her requests for a debate, said, "I'm in it to win." But Stripp said the late start of Burton's campaign made it harder for a third party to plan a debate. "We did a meet-and-greet with the League of Women Voters in Weston last Sunday," Stripp said, "and I was there and she was there." Stripp criticized Burton's plan to shut down the nuclear plants. "One of the problems is that 46.7 percent of Connecticut's power comes from those two nuclear plants," he said. "If we close them down, we'll need more 345 kilovolt lines running all over the place to get energy." He added he supports energy conservation, using his vote for the Clean Car Act, eliminating sales tax on hybrid vehicle purchases, as an example. Who's who? Stripp is vice president of Fairfield County Bank Corp. He has also had senior lending and corporate financial positions with commercial banks, including Citicorp and several Connecticut banks. The former Weston Board of Finance chairman was a House ranking member (Republican leader) on the Banks Committee. Stripp has lived in Weston for over 40 years, and he and his wife Judy have two grown children and four grandchildren. In addition to being an advocate for acquiring open space, Stripp has stood for lowering taxes. Stripp said people should vote for him because of "my experience, my knowledge of the legislative process, and my ability to use that knowledge to help the 135th district and the people that live there. "I will continue to fight to protect our ecology and continue the fight to mitigate cell phone towers and ensure that the 354 kilovolt power lines coming through the district are underground instead of overhead," Stripp said. Burton and her husband William H. Honan, the former culture editor of the New York Times, have three grown children. They moved to Redding from New York in 1984. A former court reporter for the Associated Press, Burton has taken on nuclear power plants and corruption in the judicial system in her law practice. One of her clients was the Green Party, which asked her to be their candidate this year. Among her accomplishments, Burton won a week-long temporary restraining order shutting the Millstone Unit 2 nuclear reactor down during the winter flounder spawning season. Burton also formed the Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone. She said the two nuclear power plants near the district could be shut down because they are only needed when there is a shortage, adding the Millstone plant does not directly serve Fairfield County at all. She won a string of victories against high-density zoning developments in the state before running into trouble three years ago. On Nov. 2, 2001, Judge A. William Mottolese issued an order barring Burton from practicing law in the state for five years for allegedly misleading a group of Monroe residents opposed to a housing plan into signing on as plaintiffs in a lawsuit to stop the development. Burton denied the charge, adding she has never had a client complaint in her 20 years of practicing law. Burton, who is still licensed to practice law in New York state and on the federal level, said she had made enemies by taking on the nuclear power industry, and fighting against racial and gender discrimination, as well as fighting for the environment. "The unforgivable act was breaking the taboo against reporting judicial misconduct," she said, "and having done that I suffered the ultimate retaliation. I was expelled from the club of Connecticut attorneys for five years, based on hokey, contrived and malicious attacks meant to silence me as a public advocate." Environmental issues Burton, whose campaign slogan is "clean air, clean water, clean government," said Stripp "consistently votes in favor of big business, big insurance and big utilities." If elected, she said she would push to have all legislators' votes posted on the Internet. Stripp said he voted for legislation that required the state's six highest polluting power plants - known as the sooty six - to operate with "tougher" environmental standards by reducing mercury emissions and other pollutants. He also said he worked to ensure that those plants are only used when needed as surplus power during peak periods. Burton believes state legislators, including Stripp, should have clamped down on the dirty plants sooner. She accused Stripp of voting against an earlier bill to clean up the plants and a bill requiring powerful 345 kilovolt power lines running through residential areas to be buried underground. "We do about 500 bills a year," Stripp countered. "I have to look at them. I did vote to clean up the sooty six. She knows that. I would certainly have voted to bury the lines." Burton also accused Stripp of voting against House Bill 5344, requiring nutritious lunches in the state's public schools. Stripp said he voted against an earlier version because there were too many unfunded mandates, before voting in favor of an improved version that came down from the Senate. "I think the problem is she doesn't have a good grasp of the legislative process," Stripp said. The desk in Burton's campaign office is lined with artificial sunflowers. "The sunflower stands for clean, renewable energy and respecting nature and the limitations of the plant," she explained. If re-elected, Stripp promised to focus on indoor air quality problems, which he said intensified with reports of mold problems at Samuel Staples Elementary School in Easton. "I view it as one of the top priorities in the next few years," he said. The veteran legislator recalled the $6 million state appropriation to preserve Trout Brook Valley in Easton and of the $85 million state purchase of development rights on pristine acreage owned by the Kelda Group, a water company. "I feel that mat's ground that I hold," he said of protecting the environment. As a selectman, Stripp said he had teamed up with then Weston First Selectman George C. Guidera in buying the development rights to the Devil's Den Nature Preserve. Stripp had also served as chairman of the Weston Land Acquisition Committee for two years. "I would advocate harder," Burton said of land preservation, "and I would have more results at the end of the day. I would fight for farmland preservation, which is an issue in Easton. I would make it possible for all the farms in the district to remain farms forever with a helping hand from the state." Though Stripp said he is strong on environmental issues, he added he also believes in offering incentives to attract business to the state. He said being "business friendly," and keeping the tax rate down leads to job growth. Improving travel Stripp said opening up Connecticut's congested highways should be worked on in a variety of ways. He said he supported Governor M, Jodi Rell's providing funds to buy used rail cars to upgrade Metro North's commuter line as well as buying new cars. Last winter, commuters suffered several delays when train cars broke down in the snow and some cars did not have heat. "When the cars on the commuter line are better, more people ..will use it," Stripp said. "We have to make it convenient, on- time and reasonably comfortable." These measures would get more cars off of 1-95 and the Merritt Parkway, according to. Stripp, who said the Merritt becomes clogged when motorists try to avoid the highway. "We're the gateway and choke point for all of New England going to Maine, Boston, New York and Providence," he said of 1-95. Tax advantages could be offered to companies with convenient car pooling programs, and the Bridgeport ferry and more buses should be utilized, according to Stripp. In addition to adding more lanes in some places, Stripp said he will continue to support the project creating a barge terminal in Bridgeport that could free up some 1-95 congestion coming through New Jersey and New York. Currently, ships anchor in Port Elizabeth, N.J., and containers on dollies are loaded onto trucks enroute to Connecticut, according to Stripp. Burton attributes the problem to overdevelopment. "We're going to have increased congestion and choking due to rapid overdevelopment," Burton said. Burton said she had led a moratorium drive in Redding 10 years ago to halt new developments until the town zoning commission could enact "appropriate restrictions." "There was support," she said. "But the first selectman would not support it. The quality of life in this district will spiral downward as overdevelopment occurs. That's bad for our communities and bad for business." _________________________________________________________________ On the road to retirement? Check out MSN Life Events for advice on how to get there! http://lifeevents.msn.com/category.aspx?cid=Retirement From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Mon Nov 1 08:49:04 2004 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: 1 Nov 2004 05:49:04 -0800 Subject: {news} (no subject) Message-ID: Sierra Club endorses Burton Date: Mon, 01 Nov 2004 13:48:30 +0000 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Sierra Club endorses Burton The Redding Pilot, October 28, 2004 The Connecticut Chapter of the Sierra Club has announced its endorsement of Nancy Burton?s candidacy for the office of State Representative, her campaign has announced. The organization selected Ms. Burton as one of 19 candidates for the state House of Representatives it has endorsed in the 2004 election campaign. ?The election of 2004 is in many ways the most significant election in the recent history of our democracy both on the state and national levels,? the Connecticut chapter stated in its announcement of endorsements. ?The endorsement process of the Connecticut Chapter of the Sierra Club has accordingly attempted to reflect our responsibility to endorse candidates for public office that we believe will truly champion the environmental issues that our organization, by consensus, represents,? the statement read. The Sierra Club Connecticut Chapter applied the following criteria for endorsement: ?1) the candidate?s overall environmental record and platform, as measured by their history of public service, public statements, responses to Club questionnaires; (2) the candidate?s performance on environmental issues as an incumbent, if the candidate is an incumbent running for reelection; and (3) the candidate?s prospect of winning the election, or at least mounting a credible campaign.? The Sierra Club is the nation?s oldest, largest and most influential grass-roots environmental organization with 700,000 members nationwide. ?I am deeply honored to win the endorsement of the Connecticut Chapter of the Sierra Club, an organization I respect for its commitment to environmental activism,? Ms. Burton said. ?I have devoted a career in public interest law to protecting the environment,? she added. ?I agree with the Sierra Club that clean energy programs create jobs and reduce costs for consumers,? Ms. Burton said. ?We can jump-start the Connecticut economy by promoting new technologies to achieve these clean-air objectives.? Ms. Burton said she would help forge new coalitions in Hartford "to fight for common-sense solutions.? As an environmental attorney, Ms. Burton said she has waged many successful campaigns and legal actions which have resulted in land preservation and better protections of the air and water. She helped save the scenic Horsebarn Hill at the University of Connecticut Mansfield campus from a corporate development in a sensitive watershed area. Ms. Burton said she also brought an action that exposed the Georgetown sewage treatment plant as causing pollution of the Norwalk River above levels that existed prior to installation of the plant. During the past five years, Burton has spearheaded efforts in the state to shut the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant in Waterford and replace it with clean renewable energy sources. She won a week-long injunction that kept Millstone Unit 2 closed during the spring spawning season of an indigenous fish species. A listing of some of Ms. Burton?s accomplishments appears at www.voteburton.org. Ms. Burton is challenging Republican incumbent John Stripp in the race to represent the 135th District, which includes Redding, Weston and Easton. _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Mon Nov 1 08:50:25 2004 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Mon, 01 Nov 2004 13:50:25 +0000 Subject: {news} Burton gets her political signs back up Message-ID: Burton gets her political signs back up by Susan Wolf pilot at acorn-online.com The Redding Pilot, October 28, 2004 Nancy Burton, the Green Party candidate in the 135th state Senate District race, has been successful in getting her signs restored at six locations in town. Ms. Burton was issued a cease and desist order by Zoning Enforcement Officer Tom Gormley on Sept. 30 at the behest of the Zoning Commission. He ordered her not to place any future political signs on town property or in public rights-of-way and to remove any signs that were in them. Mr. Gormley told her she could have political signs of any kind on personal property or on anyone else's personal property with their permission, but not on public property. Zoning Commission Chairman Frank Taylor removed one sign, Mr. Gormley the others. Ms. Burton went to Danbury Superior Court for a temporary restraining order to get her signs back up. Ms. Burton said in a prepared release that by allowing others to place signs at these locations to promote events and commerce, the town "established a public form and could not, consistent with the First Amendment, ban political signs such as mine." When she appealed to the Zoning Commission and the first selectman "to no avail," Ms. Burton said she sought judicial relief, but "expressly waived seeking monetary damages against the town." Town Counsel Michael LaVelle, who represented the town, said it was not a case "to determine the constitutionality of the Redding zoning reg8lations, but merely an application to retain the status quo (keeping the signs up) in the form of a temporary restraining order. Judge Douglas C. Mintz, who presided over the proceedings, questioned why the town had unilaterally removed the signs without notice to Ms. Burton. He said the order didn't even allow the 10 days required by the town's own regulations. Mr. LaVelle said the cease and desist order was on property that the town controlled. He added the issuance was not out of line "as a general practice." Mr. LaVelle said on Friday that Mr. Gormley's action in removing the signs was his customary practice when he felt a sign was interfering with the public right-of-way or was on public property. He added the judge asked him by what legal authority could the zoning enforcement officer do this. Mr. LaVelle said he had no prior court decision to give the judge but cited zoning regulations and a state statute "which I felt was a constitutional basis for the zoning enforcement officer's action. I argued he did act with legal authority." Legal remedy According to Mr. LaVelle, he argued that the town didn't need to be in court in the first place because Ms. Burton had a legal remedy at her disposal--to file an appeal with the town's Zoning Board of Appeals. That action would have resulted in an immediate stay of the cease and desist order, and would have allowed her to put her signs back up, he said. He told the judge that the zoning board hearing would not take place until after the election, so the signs could stay up until the election in any case. Ms. Burton said she has been burdened because she's a candidate running for public office "and the time is running very short?and now the town is asking me to burden myself further to prepare an application, to spend money because there's a filing fee?" She also said the application could not grant her the relief she sought. Judge Mintz said the relief she was seeking, to have the court declare the cease and desist order null and void, "?is absolutely something that the ZBA can do." The judge, according to the transcript, said the zoning board could not declare the political sign regulation unconstitutional, but it is not something the court would do either on an application for a temporary restraining order. On such an application, he said, "I would never reach the level of saying definitely that this regulation is unconstitutional." However, he said there is "reasonable likelihood that the plaintiff would prevail in her claim that the regulation is unenforceable because of it being unconstitutional." The judge later said he was not happy the town took Ms. Burton's signs down. Political signage, he added, "?it's the basis of our freedoms. It's a basic of our, you know, elections." He said he agreed with Ms. Burton that for every second her signs weren't up, "she's being harmed in her political campaign." Conditional order The judge did not issue a temporary restraining order but did issue "a conditional order" that allowed Ms. Burton to immediately put her signs back up, for 24 hours, until she filed an appeal with the Zoning Board of Appeals, an action she later took. Had she not filed the appeal, the judge said then his order would be gone and the signs would have to come down. ?This is a victory for my campaign. This is a victory for the First Amendment. This is a victory for the people,? Ms. Burton said in a prepared release. In her release, Ms. Burton said Mr. Taylor testified that in his 27 years of service on the Zoning Commission, where he has never had an opponent, he had only personally removed one political sign, and it was hers. "I am running against an opponent, who like Mr. Taylor, is unaccustomed to electoral challenge, " said Ms. Burton. On Monday, Mr. Taylor said that in 27 years, nobody had put a political sign on town property "or in a position where I thought it was potentially a hazard because it was next to road signs." Also, he said, the town did not have political sign regulations until recently. Mr. Taylor added that he has taken down other signs over the years. As for his running unopposed, Mr. Taylor said he would be happy "to put my record of commitment and support of the community up against hers any day. If she wants to run against me for the Zoning Commission, I would be happy to engage her in this electoral competition." During the hearing, said Mr. Taylor, the judge did raise a number of valid points "about the imprecision of our regulations." Most importantly, said Mr. Taylor, is the need for a definition of right-of-way since this varies from road to road. Even before the court action, the commission had scheduled a public hearing on at least one change to the political signs ordinance, which now prohibits signs going up more than 60 days in advance. The change would not limit the time. In her release, Ms. Burton said the judge had ordered an "expedited hearing." Mr. LaVelle said that was not the case. The judge requested last Tuesday, he said, a hearing as quickly as possible; Mr. LaVelle said schedules were rearranged to allow for the court hearing on Thursday of this same week. The judge "was very complimentary of the town's cooperation to get this done in such an expeditious manner," said Mr. LaVelle. Mr. LaVelle also explained the rationale behind the commission's political signs regulations. He said the town's regulations are set up to list what is permissible, making anything not listed prohibited. The Zoning Commission was not trying to ban political signs, which he said would be unconstitutional, but rather to include them and make them permissible. The Supreme Court, he added, has said there can be some time, place and manner limitations. For instance, signs may not be placed in such a way as to become a public hazard. In her release, Ms. Burton said she took a risk in seeking judicial relief "to vindicate my First Amendment rights, and at the same time yours. Not all judges in our state honor their high calling. I could have been turned away even though my case was unimpeachable." _________________________________________________________________ Get ready for school! Find articles, homework help and more in the Back to School Guide! http://special.msn.com/network/04backtoschool.armx From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Mon Nov 1 09:14:38 2004 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Mon, 1 Nov 2004 09:14:38 -0500 Subject: {news} Fw: Cracks in the Empire: Compilation of insiders who have criticized Bush's Iraq policy Message-ID: <08ab01c4c01d$1fe8c6b0$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> ----- Original Message ----- From: Scott Harris Subject:Cracks in the Empire: Compilation of insiders who have criticized Bush's Iraq policy Please disseminate this article widely. When reproducing this article on the Web or in print, we ask that you include proper attribution and inform the authors how this piece is used. Contact: betweenthelines at snet.net Cracks in the Empire: Compilation of insiders who have criticized Bush's Iraq policy http://www.btlonline.org/btlthosewhotold.html By Anna Manzo and Scott Harris When U.S. Defense Department analyst Daniel Ellsberg leaked the "Pentagon Papers" to the press during the Vietnam War, the 47-volume Defense Department internal study of the U.S. role in Southeast Asian conflicts over three decades was classified top secret. The documents chronicled the lies and deceit employed by government officials to justify U.S. military intervention in the region's wars. Ellsberg -- a strong supporter of the Vietnam War who later became a committed opponent -- faced felony charges that could have put him in prison for 115 years. Those charges were dismissed in 1973 on grounds of governmental misconduct, which led to the conviction of several White House aides. The targeting of Ellsberg was an important factor in the impeachment proceedings against President Richard Nixon. Today, numerous Washington insiders are speaking out against what they allege are Bush administration violations of the public trust: most notably, the justifications cited for pre-emptive war in Iraq. In turn, high-level officials -- former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, former White House counter-terrorism chief Richard Clarke, former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and former United Nations weapons inspector Scott Ritter -- and others have become victims of smear campaigns reportedly directed from the White House. Compelling charges of secrecy and deception are leveled by former Nixon aide John Dean. In "Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush," the former counsel to the president-turned whistle-blower reminds us that no one died in the Watergate scandal. Dean, whose testimony helped convince the House Judiciary Committee to vote for articles of impeachment against his former boss, charges that George Bush is guilty of impeachable offenses. As Election Day draws near, presented here is an alphabetical, annotated list of several prominent government insiders -- many of them Republicans -- who have spoken out against President Bush's decision to launch the Iraq war his administration's conduct in managing the conflict. Rand Beers, former anti-terrorism adviser to President George W. Bush, and now John Kerry's homeland security adviser. He said the administration is "underestimating the enemy;" has failed to address terrorism's root causes; and that difficult, long-term issues at home and abroad have been avoided, neglected or shortchanged and generally under-funded. The Iraq war created fissures in U.S. counterterrorism alliances, he added, and could breed a new generation of al Qaeda recruits. Source: "Former Aide Takes Aim at War on Terror," Washington Post, June 16, 2003. Doug Bereuter, retiring Republican Nebraska congressman who broke ranks with his party, reversed his earlier stance, saying the military strike against Iraq is a "mistake," and blasted a "massive failure" of intelligence before the war. Source: "Retiring GOP congressman breaks ranks on Iraq," CNN, Aug. 18, 2004 Robert L. Black, a retired Ohio judge of Hamilton County Common Pleas Court and the Ohio First District Court of Appeals, stated publicly that he believes the "Republican party candidate's record has a history not only of repeated violations of the key principles underlying our democracy, but of the core values of the Christian faith to which he claims commitment." Black says he will refuse to support his lifelong Republican party in the re-election of the incumbent president. " Source: A Republican Declares His Independence," The Cincinnati Enquirer, Oct. 13, 2004 Hans Blix, former U.N. chief weapons inspector in Iraq and author of "Disarming Iraq." Two weeks before attacking Baghdad, the U.S. unsuccessfully pressured him to tell the Security Council that Iraq was violating UN resolutions. He said that if inspections had continued, Iraq may have proven its lack of banned weapons. He also says the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq had failed tragically in its aim of making the world a safer place and succeeded only in stimulating terrorism. Sources: "U.N. Inspector Writes of Pressure From U.S. on Iraq: Blix's Book Said He Was Challenged About Arms Assessment on Eve of Last Report to Security Council," Washington Post, March 9, 2004. "Blix Says Iraq War Stimulated Terrorism," Reuters, Oct. 13, 2003 Paul Bremer, former U.S. official appointed by Bush to govern Iraq after the invasion, said that the United States made two major mistakes: not deploying enough troops in Iraq and then not containing the violence and looting immediately after the ouster of Saddam Hussein. Source: "Bremer Criticizes Troop Levels," Washington Post, Oct. 5, 2004 John Brown, foreign service officer in Eastern Europe and Moscow, was the second career U.S. diplomat who resigned to protest the Bush administration's Iraq policies. The 22-year veteran said the Bush administration is pursuing a narrow-minded strategy, jeopardizing relationships with long-time allies around the world. Source: "Second Foreign Service officer resigns in protest over Iraq," The Government Executive, March 12, 2003. Vince Cannistraro, former CIA head of counter-terrorism and member of the National Security Council under Ronald Reagan. He said, "These have been an extraordinary four years for the CIA and the political pressure to come up with the right results has been enormous, particularly from Vice President Cheney. I'm afraid that the agency is guilty of bending over backwards to please the administration. George Tenet was desperate to give them what they wanted and that was a complete disaster." Source: "The CIA 'Old Guard' Goes to War with Bush," The Telegraph/UK, Oct. 11, 2004 Richard A. Clarke, former White House counter-terrorism chief. Clarke helped shape U.S. policy on terrorism under President Reagan and the first President Bush, then served under President Clinton and the current President Bush. He said that in the aftermath of Sept. 11, President Bush ordered him to look for a link between Iraq and the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, despite being told there didn't seem to be one. His book, "Against All Enemies," is critical of the administration's early emphasis on removing Saddam Hussein from power; downplaying of al Qaeda's threat prior to 9/11; and diverting military resources to a war in Iraq, instead of fighting al Qaeda in Afghanistan. In response, the administration called the career public servant an "opportunist." Sources: "Clarke's Take on Terror," 60 Minutes, March 30, 2004; "A White House Adept at Revenge," The Associated Press, March 27, 2004. Robin Cook, a former British foreign minister under Tony Blair. Resigned and wrote a book saying the threat of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction was over-exaggerated. Source: "Cook Denies Saddam was Threat," The Guardian/UK, June 17, 2003 John Dean, former counsel to President Nixon, dared to tell him in 1973 that the web of lies surrounding the Watergate break-in of the Democratic Party headquarters had formed "a cancer on the presidency." Dean sees a worse scenario in the Bush White House. Sources: "Bush Puts a 'Cancer on the Presidency' - Watergate Insider calls this White House 'Scary'" Los Angeles Times, March 30, 2004; "Ex-Nixon Aide John Dean Tells Bill Moyers that Bush Should be Impeached," NOW with Bill Moyers, April 2, 2004 Marie deYoung, a former Army chaplain who audited accounts for Halliburton's subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root. After complaining of waste and fraud to her superiors to no avail, she says there was no effort to hold down expenses because all costs were passed directly on to taxpayers. DeYoung produced documents detailing alleged waste on routine services: $50,000 a month for soda, at $45 a case; $1 million a month to clean clothes - or $100 for each 15-pound bag of laundry. Source: "New Halliburton Waste Alleged," MSNBC, July 1, 2004 Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change, 27 retired diplomats and generals -- including Arthur Hartman, former ambassador to the Soviet Union; Admiral Stansfield Turner, former director of the CIA; and General William Crowe, one-time chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- have signed a statement declaring that George W. Bush's foreign policy has harmed U.S. national security and that his administration must be defeated in the 2004 presidential election. Many served under Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Source: "Diplomats & Military Commanders for Change," www.diplomatsforchange.com Fifty-two former diplomats signed a letter to British Prime Minister Tony Blair regarding their deepening concern with the policies which have followed on the Arab-Israel problem and Iraq, in close cooperation with the U.S.. Signers included Francis Cornish (ambassador to Israel 1998-2001); Sir James Craig (ambassador to Saudi Arabia 1979-84); Richard Muir (ambassador to Kuwait 1999-2002); Sir Crispin Tickell (British permanent representative to the UN 1987-90); Sir Harold Walker (ambassador to Iraq 1990-91). Source: "Doomed to failure in the Middle East: A letter from 52 former senior British diplomats to Tony Blair," The Guardian, April 27, 2004 Charles Duelfer, chief U.S. weapons inspector with the Iraq Survey Group, reported that Iraq had no stockpiles of biological, chemical or nuclear weapons before the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion and that Iraq's nuclear capability had decayed, not grown since the 1991 war. Source: "Report concludes no WMD in Iraq," BBC News, Oct. 7, 2004. Sibel Edmonds, former FBI translator. Told the 9/11 commission that well before Sept. 11, 2001, the bureau had detailed information that terrorists were likely to attack the U.S. with airplanes. Sources: "We Should Have Had Orange or Red-Type of Alert in June/July of 2001," www.Salon.com, March 26, 2004; "Lawyers Try to Gag FBI Worker over 9/11," Independent/UK, April 26, 2004 Jay Garner, the U.S. general abruptly dismissed as Iraq's first occupation administrator after a month in the job. Garner said he fell out with Bush's circle because he wanted free elections and rejected an imposed privatization program: "My preference was to put the Iraqis in charge as soon as we can, and do it with some form of elections ... I just thought it was necessary to rapidly get the Iraqis in charge of their destiny." Source: "General Sacked by Bush Says He Wanted Early Elections," Guardian/UK, March 18, 2004 Katharine Gun, a British government linguist who leaked an e-mail purportedly from U.S. intelligence services asking for help to spy on U.N. ambassadors. She faced a two-year prison term for charges filed under the British Official Secrets Act; the charges were dismissed. Sources: "GCHQ Translator Cleared Over Leak," BBC, Feb. 25, 2004; "U.S. Stars Hail Iraq War Whistleblower," Observer/UK, Jan. 18, 2004 Chuck Hagel, Republican senator of Nebraska, criticized the GOP party line of "staying the course in Iraq." He said that "crisp, sharp analysis of our policies is required" to avert a prolonged engagement similar to Vietnam. He said in a CBS "Face the Nation" interview, "We're in deep trouble in Iraq" and that it would take "probably two years" to get an Iraqi army and police force up to speed to secure the country. He said in 2002 that he could think of no historical case where the U.S. succeeded in an enterprise of such gravity and complexity as regime change in Iraq without the support of a regional and international coalition. Sources: "Republican discord in the Senate," The Boston Globe, Sept. 22, 2004; "CIA Analysis Holds Bleak Vision for Iraq's Future," The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Sept. 16, 2004 Bill Harlow, former CIA spokesman who resigned with former director George Tenet, acknowledged that recent CIA leaks had been made from within the agency to undermine the Bush administration with a battery of damaging leaks and briefings about Iraq. "The intelligence community has been made the scapegoat for all the failings of Iraq. It deserves some of the blame, but not all of it. People are chafing at that." Source: "The CIA 'Old Guard' Goes to War with Bush," The Telegraph/UK, Oct. 11, 2004 David Kay, former Bush administration chief weapons inspector sent to Iraq to find evidence of weapons of mass destruction. Resigned saying he didn't believe Saddam Hussein's government had large-scale weapons production programs in the 1990s. Source: "Ex-Arms Hunter Kay Said No WMD Stockpiles in Iraq," Reuters, Jan. 23, 2004. John Brady Kiesling, a former political counselor at the U.S. embassy in Athens, Greece, and first career U.S. diplomat to resign in protest of the Bush administration's Iraq policies. He wrote, "We have begun to dismantle the largest and most effective web of international relationships the world has ever known. Our current course will bring instability and danger, not security." Source: "Diplomatic Offensive," TomPaine.com, March 14, 2003. Karen Kwiatkowski, a retired lieutenant colonel formerly assigned to the Pentagon's Office of Special Plans. Wrote an article revealing how "Defense Department extremists suppressed information and twisted the truth to drive the country to war" in a plan that was never made public. Source: "The New Pentagon Papers" Salon.com, March 10, 2004 Larry Johnson, former CIA analyst and State Department Office of Counterterrorism official, also a registered Republican who contributed financially to the 2000 Bush campaign. Said the White House smear campaigns against former officials -- Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, and Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill -- were mild compared to the vicious assault against Clarke. Source: "The War on Clarke," TomPaine.com, March 29, 2004 Richard Lugar, Indiana Republican senator and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said so little Iraq reconstruction money has been spent due to the "incompetence in the administration." He said at a hearing, "Our committee heard blindly optimistic people from the administration prior to the war and people outside the administration -- what I call the 'dancing in the street crowd' -- that we just simply will be greeted with open arms. The nonsense of all that is apparent. The lack of planning is apparent." Sources: "Republican discord in the Senate," The Boston Globe, Sept. 22, 2004; "CIA Analysis Holds Bleak Vision for Iraq's Future," The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Sept. 16, 2004 Tom Maertens, former U.S. State Department deputy coordinator for counterterrorism. Described the Bush administration smear campaign against Clarke and confirmed Clarke's charges that the Bush administration ignored the threat from al Qaeda and instead chose to fight "the wrong war" by attacking Iraq. Source: "Clarke's Public Service," by Tom Maertens, Star Tribune, March 28, 2004 John McCain, Arizona Republican senator, who on a Fox Network interview, criticized the serious mistakes of not having enough ground troops sent into Iraq and said that Bush perhaps is not as straight with the American people "as we'd like to see." Source: "Republican discord in the Senate," The Boston Globe, Sept. 22, 2004 Ray McGovern, a retired CIA analyst. Said outgoing CIA Director George Tenet took the fall for faulty intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, the motivation behind Bush's Iraq war policy. The policy was predicated on a neoconservative strategy to use military force to gain dominant influence over oil-rich Iraq and to eliminate any possible threat to Israel's security. He also described how former Ambassador Joseph Wilson's public denouncement of Bush administration claims that Iraq had attempted to buy uranium from the African nation Niger for their nuclear weapons, led to the White House outing of Wilson's wife as a CIA operative. The public disclosure is a felony. Sources: "Taking the Fall for Iraq," Miami Herald, June 7, 2004; "Critics Question Credibility of FBI Investigation into White House Leak Exposing CIA Operative," Between The Lines, Week Ending Oct. 17, 2003. Roger Morris, a retired diplomat who quit over Nixon's invasion of Cambodia, sent out a call to Americans on the front lines of the Foreign Service, asking them to resign from the Bush administration, which Morris describes as "the worst regime by far in the history of the republic." Source: "A Call to Conscience," Common Dreams.org, May 25, 2004 National Intelligence Council, said Bush disregarded intelligence reports that prior to the invasion of Iraq a war could unleash a violent insurgency and rising anti-U.S. sentiment in the Middle East. Sources: "Bush Ignored Warnings on Iraq Insurgency Threat Before Invasion: Intelligence suggested country faced years of tumult," the Guardian/UK, Sept. 29, 2004; "CIA Analysis Holds Bleak Vision for Iraq's Future," The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Sept. 16, 2004 Paul O'Neill, former Bush administration treasury secretary. He said in his book, "The Price of Loyalty," that 10 days after the inauguration -- eight months before 9/11 -- there was a "conviction" in the administration that Saddam Hussein was a "target" for removal. Source: "Bush Sought 'Way' To Invade Iraq," by CBS News, Jan. 11, 2004 Kevin Phillips, a one-time Republican strategist. Wrote in his book, "American Dynasty," that "[T]he Bush family has used all its resources to create a political dynasty that has gained the White House to further its family and ideological agenda, which would have horrified America's founding fathers. They, after all, led a revolution against a succession of royal Georges." Phillips also discusses the involvement of Prescott Bush and his father-in-law with Nazi-era German holding companies and how they became useful resources for the CIA during the Cold War. Source: "American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush," Viking, 2004 Scott Ritter, the former lead inspector for the U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM) Concealment and Investigations team in Iraq for seven years and a registered Republican. He opposed the war before it was launched, saying Iraq posed no threat to the U.S. He also said Saddam Hussein's secular government was the antithesis of an Islamic fundamentalist, anti-American regime and had no links to the Sept. 11 attack. He blames senior officials in the Bush administration -- ideologues in pursuit of global hegemony -- for a war in Iraq that the "president elected to fight under false pretense." Source: "The Iraq War and The Bush Administration's Pursuit of Global Domination," Counterpoint, WPKN Radio, Sept. 15, 2003. Michael Scheuer (originally "Anonymous,") a 22-year veteran CIA official, serving in a senior counterterrorism post and who headed the special office to track Osama bin Laden and his followers from 1996 to 1999. He has written a book, "Imperial Hubris," in which he warns that the U.S. is losing the war against radical Islam and that the Iraq invasion has played into the enemy's hands. Sources: "Book by C.I.A. Officer Says U.S. is Losing Fight Against Terror," New York Times, June 23, 2004; "Bush told he is playing into Bin Laden's hands," The Guardian/UK, June 29, 2004; "CIA Felt Pressure to Alter Iraq Data, Author Says Agency analysts were repeatedly ordered to redo their studies of Al Qaeda ties to Hussein regime, a terrorism expert charges," the Los Angeles Times, July 1, 2004; "Boston Phoenix' IDs 'Anonymous' CIA Officer," Editor & Publisher, June 30, 2004 Security Scholars for a Sensible Foreign Policy, a nonpartisan group of experts in the field of national security and international politics. Over 725 foreign affairs specialists in the United States and allied countries have signed an open letter opposing the Bush administration's foreign policy and calling urgently for a change of course. Source: www.sensibleforeignpolicy.net Gen. Eric Shinseki, former Army chief of staff. He was criticized by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz after he told Congress in February 2003 that the occupation could require "several hundred thousand troops." Sources: "Ex-Army Boss: Pentagon Won't Admit Reality in Iraq," USA Today, June 3, 2003; "The High Costs of War with Iraq: The Administration Plays Russian Roulette with Our Economy," CommonDreams.org, March 1, 2003. Clare Short, Britain's former international development secretary. She resigned from Prime Minister Tony Blair's government in protest after the Iraq invasion, and said she saw transcripts of conversations clandestinely recorded in UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's office. Source: "UK Spies Bugged UN Chief, Claims Short," The Independent/UK, Feb. 26, 2004 Tami Silicio, and her husband, David Landry, employees of Pentagon contractor Maytag Aircraft. They were fired because they "violated Department of Defense and company policies by photographing and releasing for publication, images of the flag-draped caskets of American servicemen and women being returned to the United States," defying a Bush administration ban on public dissemination of such photos. Source: "Bush Afraid to Let American People See Deadly Reality of Needless War," Niagara Falls Reporter, April 27, 2004 Greg Thielmann, former chief of the U.S. State Department's bureau of intelligence and research (INR) and aide to Secretary of State Colin Powell. He told journalist Sydney Blumenthal, "Everyone in the intelligence community knew that the White House couldn't care less about any information suggesting that there were no WMDs or that the UN inspectors were very effective." Source: "How Bush Misled the World," by Sydney Blumenthal, The Age, Feb. 6, 2004 Mike West, a Halliburton labor foreman in Iraq, was paid $82,000 a year but claims he never had any laborers to supervise. "They said just log 12 hours a day and walk around and look busy," he said. "OK, so we did." Source: "New Halliburton Waste Alleged," MSNBC.com, July 1, 2004 Thomas White, former Army secretary. He said in May 2003 that senior defense officials "are unwilling to come to grips" with the scale of the postwar U.S. obligation in Iraq. A series of public feuds with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld led to his firing. Source: "Ex-Army Boss: Pentagon Won't Admit Reality in Iraq," USA Today, June 3, 2003 Andrew Wilkie: former Australian Office of National Assessments intelligence analyst. He resigned, arguing that based on U.S. and other intelligence information he saw, there was no justification for war on Iraq. Source: "Australian Government Rocked by Resignation of Anti-War Official," InterPress Service, March 12, 2003 Joseph Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador. He investigated and refuted the White House claim that Iraq tried to buy uranium in Niger for a nuclear weapons program, and later publicly accused the White House of ignoring his findings. His wife, Valerie Plame, was then outed by columnist Robert Novak as a covert CIA operative, reportedly by a White House leak. Wilson believes the case, now before a grand jury, will reveal that the White House exposed his wife's identity to punish him and intimidate other critics from going public. Sources: "CIA Leak is Big Trouble for Bush," The Nation, Sept. 29, 2003; "Former Envoy Talks in Book About Source of C.I.A. Leak," New York Times, April 30, 2004. Ann Wright, a career Foreign Service officer and Army Reserve colonel. The day of the invasion of Iraq, Wright resigned from the State Department in protest over several foreign and domestic Bush administration policies. She accused the administration of shunning the need for international cooperation on the Iraq issue and of "leaving the organizations [particularly the United Nations] in tatters that we have helped build." Wright also criticized the curtailment of civil liberties in the U.S. since the Sept. 11 attacks. Source: "Diplomat Resigns to Protest War," www.govexec.com, March 21, 2003 Anthony Zinni, former commander-in-chief of U.S. Central Command, has co-written a book with Tom Clancy, "Battle Ready." He criticizes the handling of postwar Iraq and the abuses of the U.S. military: "In the lead-up to the Iraq War and its later conduct, I saw at a minimum, true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility, at worse, lying, incompetence and corruption." Sources: "Chaos Under Heaven, and More to Come," Inter Press Service, Jan. 25, 2004; "Battle Ready" book review, Publisher's Weekly. Anna Manzo and Scott Harris are producers of Between The Lines radio newsmagazine, www.btlonline.org, heard on more than 35 radio stations in the U.S, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. An earlier version of this article was published in the Summer 2004 print edition of the magazine Toward Freedom, www.towardfreedom.com. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Mon Nov 1 18:50:15 2004 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Mon, 01 Nov 2004 23:50:15 +0000 Subject: {news} negative editorial in Yale Daily News Message-ID: Today's YDN came down pretty hard against Joyce Chen. I don't know enough about Joyce to refute it; I had thought of the race as a contest between two progressives--the kind we'd like to see everywhere. An accompanying article (quoted below) presents Joyce's case for challenging Toni Walker. David Bedell http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=27074 TALES OF THE CITY | ALYSSA ROSENBERG Published Monday, November 1, 2004 Little merit in Joyce Chen's bid for Hartford Tomorrow on Election Day, going to the polls in New Haven might seem anticlimactic. Connecticut will, barring an electoral miracle, go to John Kerry and John Edwards, Sen. Chris Dodd will be re-elected easily, and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro is facing a nominal challenge from Richter Elser, whom she easily dispatched in 2002. But for students registered to vote at their off-campus addresses in Ward 2, Election Day offers the opportunity to make a real difference in a state election of critical importance: the race between incumbent State Rep. Toni Walker, a Democrat, and her challenger, Ward 2 Alderwoman Joyce Chen '01, a Green. In past elections, the New Haven Greens have successfully pushed the Democratic Party to the left on issues like the environment and campaign finance. New Haven Advocate Associate Editor Paul Bass credited the party with "having revolutionized New Haven's political agenda" going into the 2003 city elections. But in the context of this strategy, it is ludicrous to choose Rep. Walker as a target. New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr. made sense; he is now a considerably more liberal Democrat than he was at the beginning of his time in office. But Representative Walker is one of the most talented, committed and progressive members of New Haven's delegation in Hartford. She is a champion of economic justice and has had the courage to challenge some of Yale's more disappointing community policies. She is a strong advocate of both gay rights and a woman's right to choose. There is simply no good reason for the Green Party to be challenging her -- if the issues are what truly matter to the Greens in this election. But despite Rep. Walker's stances, someone is spending a lot of money to try to throw her out of office. Alderwoman Chen's campaign literature is glossier, more professional and significantly more expensive than the photocopied sheets she distributed last fall in her aldermanic re-election campaign. The large posters bearing her image that have appeared in the Dwight-Edgewood neighborhood make the blue-and-red lettered signs she used in 2003 look homemade by comparison. Clearly, she is not financing this campaign by herself. So someone else must be investing heavily in keeping this vanity race alive. It seems odd, though, that the Greens would choose Alderwoman Chen as the standard-bearer to carry their progressive banner to Hartford. It is hard to deny that she is committed to her constituents. But as a member of a party whose 10 key principles include a commitment to "consciously confront -- barriers such as racism and class oppression, sexism and heterosexism, ageism and disability, which act to deny fair treatment and equal justice under the law," Alderwoman Chen has made some curious decisions. The choice that has received the most attention was her vote against the Domestic Partnership Amendment in 2003, a ballot accompanied by a number of negative comments about the gay and lesbian community. It is deeply troubling that Alderwoman Chen abandoned her own party's principles of social justice; it is even more problematic that the party continues to support her in the face of this hypocrisy. On the state level, moreover, her stance against equal rights could do some real damage. While Alderwoman Chen's vote against the Domestic Partnership Amendment doomed a limited measure, it is difficult to legislate discrimination on a local level. Every year, however, the General Assembly debates efforts to erase the rights and protections Connecticut's gay and lesbian couples already have, and to prevent them from ever achieving legal equality. Rep. Walker has consistently and strongly opposed these efforts; replacing her would be a real loss in the fight for equality. Sadly, it seems that this is a price the New Haven Green Party is willing to pay to elect a state representative. For a party truly invested in equality, sending another discriminatory vote to Hartford would be an unacceptable cost. More in line with Green Party principles is Alderwoman Chen's dedication to community organizing and economic progressivism. But she still does not have Representative Walker's record or experience, and in recognition of that, every major union in Connecticut has endorsed Representative Walker. Yale's unions, who were Alderwoman Chen's most important allies in her 2003 re-election campaign, have also sided firmly with Rep. Walker, recognizing a vision that extends beyond both the city of New Haven and economic issues. It's unfortunate that Alderwoman Chen's campaign, which has mostly launched shallow, vague allegations at Rep. Walker, has taken up time and energy that could have been better spent elsewhere this election season. Luckily, the choice should be clear for Yale students when they head to the Ward 2 polls on Tuesday: Toni Walker's experience, commitment to economic and sexual equality, and dedication to her district make her the only viable candidate in this race. Alyssa Rosenberg is a junior in Silliman College. Her column appears on alternate Mondays. --------------------------------------------- Joyce's side is given in an accompanying article by Marcel Przymusinski: http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=27059 City sees few close elections Statewide, two House races remain tight, but few upsets are likely in New Haven BY MARCEL PRZYMUSINSKI Staff reporter ... In a local election, Ward 2 Alderwoman Joyce Chen '01, a Green, has challenged popular incumbent state Rep. Toni Walker, a Democrat. Chen's critics have questioned her motives for running against Walker, who is seen as one of the most liberal members of the state legislature. Chen, who upset an incumbent Democrat to win her seat in the Board of Aldermen, said that unlike Walker, she is independent of "party bosses." Chen criticized Walker's decision not to support some of her constituents against DeStefano when he decided to bulldoze 124 affordable housing units in Walker's district in order to build a school. "I think the bottom line is that there are a lot of initiatives she has not taken up over the years," Chen said. "And there were a number of cases in which she had an opportunity to intervene for the community." Walker did not respond to calls last week. _________________________________________________________________ Is your PC infected? Get a FREE online computer virus scan from McAfee? Security. http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963 From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Mon Nov 1 21:41:47 2004 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 02 Nov 2004 02:41:47 +0000 Subject: {news} David Cobb in Yale Daily News Message-ID: http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=27062 Published Monday, November 1, 2004 Cobb brings his campaign to Conn. Green Party candidate focuses on building party, helping lower-ballot candidates BY JESSICA MARSDEN Contributing Reporter Although polls show that Connecticut's seven electoral votes will likely go to Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry '66, Green Party candidate David Cobb brought his campaign to New Haven Friday, the latest of a number of campaign appearances in the state. Cobb, a longtime party activist, and his running mate Patricia LaMarche are pursuing a "safe states" strategy. They campaign only in states where either Kerry or President George W. Bush '68 are projected to win by a significant margin. At the same time, they campaign heavily for Green Party candidates for local offices. In an interview with C-SPAN, Cobb said his campaign was oriented towards the future of the Green Party rather than a successful presidential campaign. "The goals of the Cobb/LaMarche campaign have been consistent and clear: to grow and build the Green Party," he said. Cobb said he was also campaigning for election reform that would provide more opportunities for third parties. Women's suffrage, the direct election of senators, and Social Security were originally championed by independent parties, he said. "The ballot access laws of this country are more draconian and more restrictive than any other industrialized country," he said. Instant-runoff voting would improve the system and make multiparty democracy more viable, Cobb said. The system allows voters to rank their candidate preference so that if no candidate gets a majority in the initial count, second and third choices can be considered. In an interview with the News after he appeared on C-SPAN, Cobb contrasted his campaign with that of Ralph Nader, who ran as the Green Party's candidate in 2000 and is running as an independent in this election. "On Nov. 3, Ralph Nader's campaign is over," he said. "We'll still be here, getting ready for the next election cycle." Cobb also criticized the Nader campaign over allegations that Nader has accepted money and grassroots support from Republicans who believe he will steal votes from Kerry. "If I ever found out there was a Republican effort to get me on the ballot somewhere -- I would denounce it," he said. Edward Dunar '08, the campus coordinator for the Nader campaign, said that the allegations were unfair because Republicans share values, like fiscal conservatism, with Nader. "It's not anybody's right to question intent," he said. On C-SPAN, Cobb said if he were elected, his priorities would include universal health care, a living minimum wage and strong environmental legislation. "The most important things that you'd see is a crash course to implement the existing technologies that exist for genuine sustainable energy," he said. "Remember that it's our addiction to oil that's actually underlying this war, and of course we know that it's causing global warming." To end what he called a "war for oil," Cobb proposed a five-step plan to withdraw American troops from Iraq by appealing to the United Nations and other Arab nations. Emily Biesecker '08 said she voted for Cobb and LaMarche in Indiana because she feels the Green Party platform is more aligned with her views than that of either major party. But she said that realistically, she hopes Kerry will win the election. "I do think at this time it is very important to choose the better of two evils," Biesecker said. But many Yale students said they do not know who David Cobb is, or that they are confused about the platform of the Green Party. "I thought it was mostly about environmental issues," Joshua Batson '08 said. _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! hthttp://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Mon Nov 1 21:46:16 2004 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 02 Nov 2004 02:46:16 +0000 Subject: {news} pro-Cobb op-ed in New London Day Message-ID: http://www.theday.com/eng/web/news/re.aspx?re=5F6FDF0F-839D-4912-B1D5-E06E0E0CCC68 Green Party's Cobb Anti-war Candidate By BOB BOBIER Published on 10/31/2004 Contrary to the portrait painted in a recent guest column in The Day of a solitary presidential candidate opposing the war in Iraq, four of the six candidates on Connecticut's ballot call for an immediate end to the war: Green Party candidate David Cobb, Libertarian Michael Badnarik, Constitution Party candidate Michael Peroutka and independent Ralph Nader. Connecticut voters who want to end this war and prevent similar ones in the future would do best by investing their votes in the Green Party. That's because the Green Party is the only party which embraces non-violence as a core value and whose platform addresses the root causes of the war in Iraq. By now, most Americans would agree with the long-held Green Party position that the Iraq invasion was based on lies and deception. There were no weapons of mass destruction, no Al Qaeda links and the Iraqis are greeting our soldiers not with flowers, as was predicted, but with deadly ambushes. Our country's foreign policy is opportunistic at best and morally bankrupt at worst. The U.S. embraced Saddam Hussein as an ally and turned a blind eye while he used weapons of mass destruction on his own citizens. Whether it's Saddam Hussein, Manuel Noriega or the Taliban, the U.S. coddles oppressive regimes when it serves the government's interests and attacks them when they have outlived their usefulness. With friends like the U.S. State Department, who needs enemies? Foreign policy in a Green Administration would end the support of corrupt and brutal dictatorships and the U.S.'s role as the largest arms merchant in the world. Greens would focus on providing developing countries with medical and agricultural assistance instead of bombs and weapons. For a fraction of what our country is spending to destroy Iraq, we could be addressing the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Besides being the right thing to do, this would vastly improve America's stature in the world and address the root causes of terrorism?hopelessness, despair and disgust with our government's militarized approach to diplomacy. Reducing our dependence on foreign oil would have an enormously positive impact on our foreign policy, environment and economy. Our nation's record-setting trade deficit and disproportionate contribution to global warming are directly related to the massive importation and combustion of fossil fuels. Developing renewable energy sources at home, such as wind, solar and biodiesel, would create millions of jobs; reduce pollution, global warming and the trade deficit; and remove a major temptation for the hawks in Washington to go to war. In the short term, the best thing we can do is to immediately remove our troops from Iraq and replace them with an international peacekeeping force composed of Arabic-speaking troops from neighboring countries. To prevent the further looting of Iraq, all crony contracts awarded to Halliburton and other foreign companies profiting from the misery of the Iraqi people should be rescinded. Sen. Kerry, who supports the continued occupation of Iraq, is heavily favored to win Connecticut's electoral votes. Because the presidential election is determined by the Electoral College on a state by state basis and not by national popular vote, the people of Connecticut can vote their conscience for Green Party candidates David Cobb and Patricia LaMarche without fear that their vote will keep George W. Bush in the White House for another four years. Send a message on Election Day that you want to bring our troops home now. Vote for peace and invest your vote in the fastest growing political party in America: Vote Green Party. Vote for Cobb-LaMarche. Blair Bobier is the media director for the Cobb-LaMarche campaign. ? The Day Publishing Co., 2004 _________________________________________________________________ Is your PC infected? Get a FREE online computer virus scan from McAfee? Security. http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963 From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Mon Nov 1 23:59:51 2004 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 02 Nov 2004 04:59:51 +0000 Subject: {news} David Bedell in Stamford Advocate Voter Guide Message-ID: http://scnispecialsection.kattare.com/marketplace/pages/164.jpg Write-in candidate enters registrars race David Bedell, a write-in candidate for the Green Party, is challenging the two major party candidates to become a registrar of voters in Stamford. Democrat Alice Fortunato and Republican Lucy Corelli are both running for their second, four-year term. OFFICE SOUGHT: Registrar of Voters NAME: David Bedell PARTY: Green Party, write-in candidate OCCUPATION: Director of educational programs at Sabin Vaccine Institute in New Canaan AGE: 42 ADDRESS: 12 Ardsley Road EDUCATION: Master?'s in English from University of Alabama; bachelor?'s from Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pa. PUBLIC SERVICE: Registering voters since 1986 through Project VOTE, Chester, Pa.; taught citizenship and English classes to aspiring U.S. citizens in Bridgeport and New Haven; member of Connecticut Green Party since 1996, secretary of Fairfield County chapter since 2002 PRIORITIES: Ensure every Stamford citizen is allowed to vote; voter-verifiable paper trail for electronic voting machines in Stamford; encourage resident immigrants to apply for U.S. citizenship PERSONAL: Single ? _________________________________________________________________ Get ready for school! Find articles, homework help and more in the Back to School Guide! http://special.msn.com/network/04backtoschool.armx From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Tue Nov 2 00:08:19 2004 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 02 Nov 2004 05:08:19 +0000 Subject: {news} David Cobb in Danbury New-Times Message-ID: http://news.newstimes.com/story.php?id=66251 2004-10-31 Third parties hope to change policies By Fred Lucas THE NEWS-TIMES David Cobb managed to get nine votes for president. Well, not real votes. This was a mock election at Westshore Middle School in Milford. He won the limited support after speaking to about 200 eighth-graders. Cobb, the Green Party's nominee for president, swung through New Haven, Bridgeport and New London hoping to build support. But as the mock election results foretell, he's not running to win. "It doesn't matter if we get 2 percent or 3 percent or 1 percent of the vote," Cobb said in an interview with The News-Times. "We are growing the movement. We have already achieved every objective. We are a larger, stronger and better organization." Connecticut is among the 28 states where Cobb is on the ballot. He is joined by Libertarian Party candidate Michael Badnarik, Concerned Citizens Party candidate Michael Peroutka and independent candidate Ralph Nader, who ran under the Green Party banner in 2000. None of the candidates expects to win. At the same time, they say a vote for any one of them is not wasted. They say they give voters unhappy with major party candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry a chance to vote their conscience. "I'm not a spoiler. I am just giving people the opportunity to vote for liberty," said Badnarik, the Libertarian nominee who is on the ballot on 48 states. "The only wasted vote would be for a candidate you can't respect." The Green Party started out as a pro-environment party. But Cobb's platform is more varied. His top priorities are to bring troops back from Iraq, establish a universal health care system and establish energy independence through more public transportation and solar energy. Cobb, 41, of Eureka, Calif., has raised just $150,000 for the campaign, compared to the tens of millions that Kerry and Bush have raised. He said election reform is needed so third parties can have a chance to win. "We need to change to runoff voting and eliminate the argument of a wasted vote," he said. The runoff proposal would allow voters to cast a first, second and third choice for president. If no candidate gets 51 percent or more, a voter's second choice would be counted. No president since George H.W. Bush in 1988 has received 51 percent of the vote. Nader ? who won 3 percent of the national vote as the Green Party candidate four years ago ? has received the most national media attention of all the third party candidates. That's because he has been a scapegoat among many Democrats who feel he handed the election to Bush in 2000 by taking votes from Al Gore. The Winsted native chose not to run on the Green Party this year, and instead opted for an independent candidacy and built a coalition of third party endorsements. He is on the ballot in only 30 states this year. Nader, who has been a liberal consumer advocate since late 1960s, is focused on cracking down on corporate crime and withdrawing troops from Iraq. Like Nader, most of the minor party candidates argue that there is actually little difference between the two major parties. Badnarik, 50, a computer programmer from Austin, Texas, said Bush and Kerry are alike in supporting some gun control measures. He also said neither wants to take on the Internal Revenue Service, which he said abuses taxpayers. "Millions of young people are worried about the draft," Badnarik said. "If they all vote for me, I could win. If 80 million gun owners vote for me, I could win. If everyone who hates the IRS votes for me, I could win." He has raised more than $1 million for the campaign. He said he would scrap the USA Patriot Act, a law that relaxes restrictions on law enforcement investigating criminals. It was designed to help the country capture terrorists. The Libertarian Party is one of the oldest third party movements in the United States. The party opposes big government, and isn't clearly on the right or left. The party supports abortion rights, legalization of drugs and gun rights. It opposes social welfare programs. Despite emphatic denials from both major party camps, Badnarik said either candidate would institute a military draft, which he called "involuntary servitude." He said both candidates support staying in Iraq long term. "Bush wants to be the war president. John Kerry wants to send battalions to Sudan," he said. "You would have to have a draft." Peroutka, the Concerned Citizens Party candidate, also ranks bringing the troops home as a top priority. John Adams, the nation's second president, "said our job is not to search for the monsters to destroy," Peroutka said. He said the war is creating terrorists, and a better way to protect the country is to secure the borders. "We are the only party that believes illegal immigration is illegal," Peroutka said of the Concerned Citizens. Peroutka, 52, of Millerville, Md., is on the ballot on 37 states and has raised about $650,000. He said his campaign is about honoring God, defending the family and restoring the republic. The party, founded in 1992, focuses on culturally conservative issues. "I want to end the national disgrace of abortion and stop the shed of innocent blood," Peroutka said. "By executive order, I could stop funding planned parenthood and stop the distribution of RU-486(the abortion pill)." He called on residents of Danbury to set the record straight on "the greatest lie perpetrated on the American people ? the perversion of the idea of separation of church and state." Peroutka traces the separation of church and state doctrine to a letter President Thomas Jefferson wrote to a group of Danbury Baptists in 1802. In the letter, Jefferson assured the Baptists that the young country would not recognize a national religion or denomination. "The wall of separation was to protect the church from the state," he said. "It doesn't mean you can't talk about God in public, or you can't pray at a football game or have invocation at a graduation." Chris Kukk, political science professor at Western Connecticut State University, doesn't see any third parties having much of an effect this year. "A lot of Democrats voted for Nader in 2000 because they didn't see a difference" in Bush and Democrat Al Gore, both of whom ran as moderates, Kukk said. "You won't see the same movement this year for Nader because the country is so polarized." Before Nader, Texas businessman Ross Perot won 19 percent of the vote in 1992 and 8 percent in 1996 when he ran for president. Former Alabama Gov. George Wallace was the last third party presidential candidate to win Electoral College votes. A onetime segregationist, he carried a number of southern states in 1968. Before that Theodore Roosevelt, after skipping a term as president, bolted from the Republican Party to run on the Progressive Party in 1912 and got 88 electoral votes. Kukk said the Electoral College system ? which rewards only the candidate that wins the popular vote in each state ? prevents third parties from affecting individual elections. But the parties can influence future politics. "One of the two major parties usually absorbs the ideas of a third party," Kukk said. The Green Party's Cobb said it was third parties that first pushed for the end to slavery, women's right to vote, social security and child labor laws. "In all of American history, it has always been third parties that make a difference," he said. Peroutka, of the Concerned Citizens Party, said nothing will change unless voters speak out. "If you keep voting for the lesser of two evils, you just get more evil," he said. "You will never get what you want unless you vote for what you want." Contact Fred Lucas at flucas at newstimes.com or at (203) 731-3358. _________________________________________________________________ Don?t just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/ From capeconn at comcast.net Tue Nov 2 15:19:33 2004 From: capeconn at comcast.net (Tom Sevigny) Date: Tue, 2 Nov 2004 15:19:33 -0500 Subject: {news} Fw: [usgp-media] U.S. Green registration at all-time high entering November 2nd elections Message-ID: <005201c4c119$44f226c0$1906a543@sevigny8wcbjrd> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Feinstein" To: Sent: Tuesday, November 02, 2004 6:46 AM Subject: [usgp-media] U.S. Green registration at all-time high entering November 2nd elections > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > U.S. Green registration at all-time high entering November 2nd elections > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > With many states updating their voter registration totals with the most > up-to-date pre-election numbers, national Green Party voter registration > now stands at an all time high of > > 311,350 in 22 States > > > For state-by-state totals see > > http://web.greens.org/stats/ > > > _______________________________________________ > usgp-media mailing list > usgp-media at lists.gp-us.org > http://lists.gp-us.org/mailman/listinfo/usgp-media > From cpr101 at hotmail.com Wed Nov 3 11:37:38 2004 From: cpr101 at hotmail.com (Christopher Reilly) Date: Wed, 03 Nov 2004 11:37:38 -0500 Subject: {news} Did the CT Green Party lose it's Presidential ballot line? Message-ID: According to the Hartford Courant's web site, Cobb got .61% of the vote. Since that was less than 1% of the vote, I believe that means that the CT Green Party has lost it's presidential ballot line. If I'm correct on this (and I hope I'm not) then in 2008 the CT/GP would need to collect 7,500 valid signatures in order to run someone for president. _________________________________________________________________ On the road to retirement? Check out MSN Life Events for advice on how to get there! http://lifeevents.msn.com/category.aspx?cid=Retirement From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Wed Nov 3 23:30:08 2004 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Thu, 04 Nov 2004 04:30:08 +0000 Subject: {news} RE: Did the CT Green Party lose it's Presidential ballot line? Message-ID: I believe Chris is right--this was not surprising. Here are the full results that Chris refers to: http://network.ap.org/dynamic/files/elections/2004/general/by_state/pres_sen_gov/CT.html?SITE=CTHARELN&SECTION=POLITICS Connecticut President - 759 of 759 Precincts Reporting Name Party Votes Pct Bush, George (i) Rep 686,923 43.99 Kerry, John Dem 847,666 54.29 Nader, Ralph PEC 12,708 .81 Badnarik, Michael Lib 3,252 .21 Cobb, David Grn 9,449 .61 Peroutka, Michael CC 1,505 .10 I suppose Cobb supporters and Nader supporters can justifiably accuse each other of "spoiling" the ballot access, and I did worry about this myself when Nader was petitioning. (Question: why didn't Nader petition for a Reform Party ballot line? Would it have been a good thing or a bad thing if the Reform Party had regained ballot access in CT?) All in all, however, I think it was worth losing ballot access just to have 2 progressive candidates running in the state. Cobb, Nader, and VP candidates LaMarche and Camejo all toured CT during the campaign, inspiring voters. Nader gave a great speech last night on CSPAN. David Bedell IRV - Instant Runoff Voting - IRV - Instant Runoff Voting - IRV - Instant Runoff Voting - IRV - Instant Runoff Voting - IRV - Instant Runoff Voting - IRV - Instant Runoff Voting - IRV - Instant Runoff Voting - IRV - Instant Runoff Voting - IRV - Instant Runoff Voting - IRV - Instant Runoff Voting - IRV ----- Original Message ----- Date: Wed, 03 Nov 2004 11:37:38 -0500 From: "Christopher Reilly" Subject: {news} Did the CT Green Party lose it's Presidential ballot line? To: ctgp-news at ml.greens.org According to the Hartford Courant's web site, Cobb got .61% of the vote. Since that was less than 1% of the vote, I believe that means that the CT Green Party has lost it's presidential ballot line. If I'm correct on this (and I hope I'm not) then in 2008 the CT/GP would need to collect 7,500 valid signatures in order to run someone for president. _________________________________________________________________ FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar ? get it now! http://toolbar.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/ From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Wed Nov 3 23:42:42 2004 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Thu, 04 Nov 2004 04:42:42 +0000 Subject: {news} CT candidate results Message-ID: I've updated the election results for our candidates at http://www.greens.org/elections Aaron, can you copy the CT candidate results from that site to ctgreens.org? In brief, the results are (in order of percentage): Joyce Chen: State House of Representatives - 1405 votes, 27.28% Nancy Burton: State House of Representatives - 1649 votes, 17.9% Mike DeRosa: State Senate - 2050 votes, 11.36% John Amarilios: State Senate - 2799 votes, 9.53% Calvin Nicholson: Registrar of Voters - 2618 votes, 8.34% Thomas J. Sevigny: State Senate - 2371 votes, 5.06% Ralph Ferrucci: U.S. House of Representatives - 7174 votes, 2.6% Colin Bennett: State Senate - 1069 votes, 2.35% David Bedell: Registrar of Voters - 8 votes, 0.021% David Albano: State Senate - 0 votes, 0% I'll check again when the SotS has final results posted. I've learned that the write-in mechanism on our voting machines is another impediment to democracy. I would have gotten at least 10 votes if everyone had figured out where the write-in windows are. _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! hthttp://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ From embrancato at netzero.com Thu Nov 4 07:31:09 2004 From: embrancato at netzero.com (Elizabeth M. Brancato) Date: Thu, 04 Nov 2004 07:31:09 -0500 Subject: {news} CT candidate results In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <418A210D.3080808@netzero.com> Congratulations to all candidates! Your energy and commitment are a gift to all of us in Connecticut--Green or not. It is my fondest wish that you all run again, and that the Green Party of Connecticut is able and willing to help you. Thank you for all your work. You make me proud to be Green. Elizabeth Brancato David Bedell wrote: > Connecticut Green Party - Part of the GPUS > http://www.ctgreens.org/ - http://www.greenpartyus.org/ > > to unsubscribe click here > mailto://ctgp-news-unsubscribe at ml.greens.org > I've updated the election results for our candidates at > http://www.greens.org/elections > > Aaron, can you copy the CT candidate results from that site to > ctgreens.org? > > In brief, the results are (in order of percentage): > > Joyce Chen: State House of Representatives - 1405 votes, 27.28% > Nancy Burton: State House of Representatives - 1649 votes, 17.9% > Mike DeRosa: State Senate - 2050 votes, 11.36% > John Amarilios: State Senate - 2799 votes, 9.53% > Calvin Nicholson: Registrar of Voters - 2618 votes, 8.34% > Thomas J. Sevigny: State Senate - 2371 votes, 5.06% > Ralph Ferrucci: U.S. House of Representatives - 7174 votes, 2.6% > Colin Bennett: State Senate - 1069 votes, 2.35% > David Bedell: Registrar of Voters - 8 votes, 0.021% > David Albano: State Senate - 0 votes, 0% > > I'll check again when the SotS has final results posted. > > I've learned that the write-in mechanism on our voting machines is > another impediment to democracy. I would have gotten at least 10 > votes if everyone had figured out where the write-in windows are. > > _________________________________________________________________ > Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's > FREE! hthttp://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ > > > To be removed please mailto://ctgp-news-unsubscribe at ml.greens.org > _______________________________________________ > CTGP-news mailing list > CTGP-news at ml.greens.org > http://ml.greens.org/mailman/listinfo/ctgp-news > > ATTENTION! > The information in this transmission is privileged and confidential > and intended only for the recipient listed above. If you have > received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by > email and delete the original message. The text of this email is > similar to ordinary or face-to-face conversations and does not reflect > the level of factual or legal inquiry or analysis which would be > applied in the case of a formal legal opinion and does not constitute > a representation of the opinions of the CT Green Party. The > responsibility for any messages posted herein is solely that of the > person who sent the message, and the CT Green Party hereby leaves this > responsibility in the hands of it's members. > > NOTE: This is an inherently insecure forum, please do not post > confidential messages and always realize that your address can be > faked, and although a message may appear to be from a certain > individual, it is always possible that it is fakemail. This is mail > sent by a third party under an illegally assumed identity for purposes > of coercion, misdirection, or general mischief. > > CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: If you have received this e-mail in error, > please immediately notify the sender by e-mail at the address shown. > This e-mail transmission may contain confidential information. This > information is intended only for the use of the individual(s) or > entity to whom it is intended even if addressed incorrectly. Please > delete it from your files if you are not the intended recipient. > Thank you for your compliance. > > To be removed please mailto://ctgp-news-unsubscribe at ml.greens.org > > From TDayan at aol.com Thu Nov 4 15:53:47 2004 From: TDayan at aol.com (TDayan at aol.com) Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 15:53:47 EST Subject: {news} CT candidate results Message-ID: <27.65c47c3e.2ebbf0db@aol.com> David, I could NOT find out how to write-in, and with hour-plus lines, didn't feel I could ask - plus...my husband was the poll director, and he had no idea! Indeed, another impediment. But, congratulations to all you very brave Greens - job well done! But the press is only mentioning Nader's returns - what about all the rest, much less Cobb? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Fri Nov 5 14:12:21 2004 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2004 14:12:21 -0500 Subject: {news} G.Palast: Kerry Won Message-ID: <0cf801c4c36b$60d511f0$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> Kerry Won. . . Greg Palast November 04, 2004 Bush won Ohio by 136,483 votes. In the United States, about 3 percent of votes cast are voided-known as "spoilage" in election jargon-because the ballots cast are inconclusive. Drawing on what happened in Florida and studies of elections past, Palast argues that if Ohio's discarded ballots were counted, Kerry would have won the state. Today, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports there are a total of 247,672 votes not counted in Ohio, if you add the 92,672 discarded votes plus the 155,000 provisional ballots. So far there's no indication that Palast's hypothesis will be tested because only the provisional ballots are being counted. Greg Palast, contributing editor to Harper's magazine, investigated the manipulation of the vote for BBC Television's Newsnight. The documentary, "Bush Family Fortunes," based on his New York Times bestseller, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, has been released this month on DVD . Kerry won. Here are the facts. I know you don't want to hear it. You can't face one more hung chad. But I don't have a choice. As a journalist examining that messy sausage called American democracy, it's my job to tell you who got the most votes in the deciding states. Tuesday, in Ohio and New Mexico, it was John Kerry. Most voters in Ohio thought they were voting for Kerry. At 1:05 a.m. Wednesday morning, CNN's exit poll showed Kerry beating Bush among Ohio women by 53 percent to 47 percent. The exit polls were later combined with-and therefore contaminated by-the tabulated results, ultimately becoming a mirror of the apparent actual vote. [To read about the skewing of exit polls to conform to official results, click here .] Kerry also defeated Bush among Ohio's male voters 51 percent to 49 percent. Unless a third gender voted in Ohio, Kerry took the state. So what's going on here? Answer: the exit polls are accurate. Pollsters ask, "Who did you vote for?" Unfortunately, they don't ask the crucial, question, "Was your vote counted?" The voters don't know. Here's why. Although the exit polls show that most voters in Ohio punched cards for Kerry-Edwards, thousands of these votes were simply not recorded. This was predictable and it was predicted. [See TomPaine.com, "An Election Spoiled Rotten," November 1.] Once again, at the heart of the Ohio uncounted vote game are, I'm sorry to report, hanging chads and pregnant chads, plus some other ballot tricks old and new. The election in Ohio was not decided by the voters but by something called "spoilage." Typically in the United States, about 3 percent of the vote is voided, just thrown away, not recorded. When the bobble-head boobs on the tube tell you Ohio or any state was won by 51 percent to 49 percent, don't you believe it ... it has never happened in the United States, because the total never reaches a neat 100 percent. The television totals simply subtract out the spoiled vote. Whose Votes Are Discarded? And not all votes spoil equally. Most of those votes, say every official report, come from African-American and minority precincts. (To learn more, click here.) We saw this in Florida in 2000. Exit polls showed Gore with a plurality of at least 50,000, but it didn't match the official count. That's because the official, Secretary of State Katherine Harris, excluded 179,855 spoiled votes. In Florida, as in Ohio, most of these votes lost were cast on punch cards where the hole wasn't punched through completely-leaving a 'hanging chad,'-or was punched extra times. Whose cards were discarded? Expert statisticians investigating spoilage for the government calculated that 54 percent of the ballots thrown in the dumpster were cast by black folks. (To read the report from the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, click here .) And here's the key: Florida is terribly typical. The majority of ballots thrown out (there will be nearly 2 million tossed out from Tuesday's election) will have been cast by African American and other minority citizens. So here we go again. Or, here we don't go again. Because unlike last time, Democrats aren't even asking Ohio to count these cards with the not-quite-punched holes (called "undervotes" in the voting biz). Nor are they demanding we look at the "overvotes" where voter intent may be discerned. Ohio is one of the last states in America to still use the vote-spoiling punch-card machines. And the Secretary of State of Ohio, J. Kenneth Blackwell, wrote before the election, "the possibility of a close election with punch cards as the state's primary voting device invites a Florida-like calamity." But this week, Blackwell, a rabidly partisan Republican, has warmed up to the result of sticking with machines that have a habit of eating Democratic votes. When asked if he feared being this year's Katherine Harris, Blackwell noted that Ms. Fix-it's efforts landed her a seat in Congress. Exactly how many votes were lost to spoilage this time? Blackwell's office, notably, won't say, though the law requires it be reported. Hmm. But we know that last time, the total of Ohio votes discarded reached a democracy-damaging 1.96 percent. The machines produced their typical loss-that's 110,000 votes-overwhelmingly Democratic. The Impact Of Challenges First and foremost, Kerry was had by chads. But the Democrat wasn't punched out by punch cards alone. There were also the 'challenges.' That's a polite word for the Republican Party of Ohio's use of an old Ku Klux Klan technique: the attempt to block thousands of voters of color at the polls. In Ohio, Wisconsin and Florida, the GOP laid plans for poll workers to ambush citizens under arcane laws-almost never used-allowing party-designated poll watchers to finger individual voters and demand they be denied a ballot. The Ohio courts were horrified and federal law prohibits targeting of voters where race is a factor in the challenge. But our Supreme Court was prepared to let Republicans stand in the voting booth door. In the end, the challenges were not overwhelming, but they were there. Many apparently resulted in voters getting these funky "provisional" ballots-a kind of voting placebo-which may or may not be counted. Blackwell estimates there were 175,000; Democrats say 250,000. Pick your number. But as challenges were aimed at minorities, no one doubts these are, again, overwhelmingly Democratic. Count them up, add in the spoiled punch cards (easy to tally with the human eye in a recount), and the totals begin to match the exit polls; and, golly, you've got yourself a new president. Remember, Bush won by 136,483 votes in Ohio. Enchanted State's Enchanted Vote Now, on to New Mexico, where a Kerry plurality-if all votes are counted-is more obvious still. Before the election, in TomPaine.com, I wrote, "John Kerry is down by several thousand votes in New Mexico, though not one ballot has yet been counted." How did that happen? It's the spoilage, stupid; and the provisional ballots. CNN said George Bush took New Mexico by 11,620 votes. Again, the network total added up to that miraculous, and non-existent, '100 percent' of ballots cast. New Mexico reported in the last race a spoilage rate of 2.68 percent, votes lost almost entirely in Hispanic, Native American and poor precincts-Democratic turf. From Tuesday's vote, assuming the same ballot-loss rate, we can expect to see 18,000 ballots in the spoilage bin. Spoilage has a very Democratic look in New Mexico. Hispanic voters in the Enchanted State, who voted more than two to one for Kerry, are five times as likely to have their vote spoil as a white voter. Counting these uncounted votes would easily overtake the Bush 'plurality.' Already, the election-bending effects of spoilage are popping up in the election stats, exactly where we'd expect them: in heavily Hispanic areas controlled by Republican elections officials. Chaves County, in the "Little Texas" area of New Mexico, has a 44 percent Hispanic population, plus African Americans and Native Americans, yet George Bush "won" there 68 percent to 31 percent. I spoke with Chaves' Republican county clerk before the election, and he told me that this huge spoilage rate among Hispanics simply indicated that such people simply can't make up their minds on the choice of candidate for president. Oddly, these brown people drive across the desert to register their indecision in a voting booth. Now, let's add in the effect on the New Mexico tally of provisional ballots. "They were handing them out like candy," Albuquerque journalist Renee Blake reported of provisional ballots. About 20,000 were given out. Who got them? Santiago Juarez who ran the "Faithful Citizenship" program for the Catholic Archdiocese in New Mexico, told me that "his" voters, poor Hispanics, whom he identified as solid Kerry supporters, were handed the iffy provisional ballots. Hispanics were given provisional ballots, rather than the countable kind "almost religiously," he said, at polling stations when there was the least question about a voter's identification. Some voters, Santiago said, were simply turned away. Your Kerry Victory Party So we can call Ohio and New Mexico for John Kerry-if we count all the votes. But that won't happen. Despite the Democratic Party's pledge, the leadership this time gave in to racial disenfranchisement once again. Why? No doubt, the Democrats know darn well that counting all the spoiled and provisional ballots will require the cooperation of Ohio's Secretary of State, Blackwell. He will ultimately decide which spoiled and provisional ballots get tallied. Blackwell, hankering to step into Kate Harris' political pumps, is unlikely to permit anything close to a full count. Also, Democratic leadership knows darn well the media would punish the party for demanding a full count. What now? Kerry won, so hold your victory party. But make sure the shades are down: it may be become illegal to demand a full vote count under PATRIOT Act III. I used to write a column for the Guardian papers in London. Several friends have asked me if I will again leave the country. In light of the failure-a second time-to count all the votes, that won't be necessary. My country has left me. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Fri Nov 5 18:18:58 2004 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2004 18:18:58 -0500 Subject: {news} Fw: [al-awda-CT] Important events this weekend in CT and MA Message-ID: <0d8401c4c38d$d3fdd7d0$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mazin Qumsiyeh" To: ; Cc: ; Sent: Friday, November 05, 2004 5:51 PM Subject: [al-awda-CT] Important events this weekend in CT and MA Saturday, November 6th at 4:00 PM Yale Bookstore, 77 Broadway, New Haven Reading and Book Signing At the by Prof. Bassam K. Frangieh Anthology of Arabic Literature, Culture, and Thought From Pre-Islamic Times to the Present --Audio CD Included-- This is the first comprehensive reader in the United States to represent the literary and cultural history of the Arabs from pre-Islamic times to the present. This is an essential work for the students of the Arabic language. It covers the works of the great Arab authors throughout the ages including: pre-Islamic poetry and prose; selections from the Qu'ran; writings from the Golden Age of the Arabs in prose, poetry, philosophy, and mysticism; works from the neoclassical, modernist, and metaphorical schools; discussions of cultural, literary, critical, and political movements of the present day; and vocabulary lists, a list of idioms and notes, a set of questions about the text, and two glossaries. This book not only introduce students to the entire sweep of Arabic intellectual, political, and cultural thought but also gives examples of how this thought is expressed, offering important insight into the Arab mind. Bassam K. Frangieh teaches in the Department of Near East Languages and Civilizations at Yale University. ============ Saturday November 6, 2004, MIT, Building 10, Room 250. Cambridge, Mass, DUAL OCCUPATIONS Conference http://web.mit.edu/arab http://www.tari.org/Events/conference_dual_occupations.htm ================ Sunday November 7, 2004 at 5 PM 809 North Lakeview Rd, Orange, CT Potluck Dinner and meeting including planning large event/banquet for December 4th Palestine Right to Return Coalition and affiliated groups in CT =========== Sunday, Nov. 7 12:30 PM corner of Hudson and Buckingham, Hartford, CT Veterans Parade for Peace The Hartford Bring The Troops Home Now Committee bringthetroopshomenow at comcast.net *Solidarity marchers are encouraged to read the VfP statement of principles available at www.veteransforpeace.org _________________________________________________________________ On the road to retirement? Check out MSN Life Events for advice on how to > get there! http://lifeevents.msn.com/category.aspx?cid=Retirement > > > > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> > $9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. > http://us.click.yahoo.com/J8kdrA/y20IAA/yQLSAA/XgSolB/TM > --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> > > Join Us! 2003 is Al-Nakba Awareness and Al-Awda Activism Year. > http://Al-Awda.org > > Contact your representatives and elected officials: use > http://congress.cfl-online.org/ > > For other ways to help, see http://BoycottIsraeliGoods.org > > Views are those of their owners. To subscribe to Al-Awda Connecticut, > please send a blank message to: > Al-Awda-CT-subscribe at yahoogroups.com. > > To unsubscribe, send a blank message to: > Al-Awda-CT-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com. > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/al-awda-CT/ > > <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > al-awda-CT-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com > > <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > > From edubrule at sbcglobal.net Fri Nov 5 22:52:06 2004 From: edubrule at sbcglobal.net (edubrule) Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2004 22:52:06 -0500 Subject: {news} Iraq speakers New Britain and West Hartford Friday Nov. 12 Message-ID: <009d01c4c3b4$1e70e020$5386f504@edgn2b574u14bi> For RELEASE: contacts: Kathy Hucks or Rich Sivel West Hartford Citizens for Peace & Justice 860 231 7428 or 860 558 9436 kath4cats at hotmail.com or rich.sivel at comcast.net (AFSC) National Speaking Tour stops in CT on Friday, November 12, 2004 "Challenging the War: The Human Cost" Speaker: Rick McDowell, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Representative in Iraq "BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T SECURED THE PEACE, THE U.S. AND ITS ALLIES LOST THE WAR," MCDOWELL HAS SAID. "THE U.S. PRESENCE IS THE REASON FOR THE INCREASING VIOLENCE. PEOPLE NEVER KNOW WHEN THEY LEAVE THEIR HOME IF THEY WILL EVER RETURN." 10:30 a.m. * Mary Trotochaud, AFSC representative in Iraq, will join her husband Rick at Beillin Hall, Student Center CCSU, New Britain, CONTACT: PROF. SADANAND NANJUDIAH, Sadanand at ccsu.edu (PHYSICS DEPT.) & 6:30 p.m. * WEBSTER HALL, West Hartford Public Library, 20 South Main Street, WH Rick McDowell, longtime Middle East Activist returning from Iraq as humanitarian aid worker for AFSC. Rick will share his experiences with an Iraqi society destroyed by three wars, economic sanctions, and years of a brutal regime. "IRAQ IS A DEBILITATED COUNTRY WITH A SHATTERED INFRASTRUCTURE, CRUMBLING SCHOOLS AND ALMOST NONEXISTENT HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICE SYSTEM," RICK SAYS. "THE VAST MAJORITY OF IRAQIS WANT THE SAME THINGS WE WANT: PEACE, SECURITY, JOBS, HEALTH CARE, EDUCATION FOR THEIR CHILDREN, THE ABILITY TO HOPE AND DREAM. INCREASINGLY, THEY ARE LOSING HOPE." This event is sponsored by American Friends Service Committee, CT Coalition for Peace & Justice, Central Connecticut State University Progressive Student Alliance, and West Hartford Citizens for Peace & Justice. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Wed Nov 10 09:09:17 2004 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 09:09:17 -0500 Subject: {news} Fw: GREEN RELEASE Greens call Kerry concession premature, foresee more Dem retreats Message-ID: <002001c4c72e$de06b0e0$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES http://www.gp.org For Immediate Release: Monday, November 8, 2004 Contacts: Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-487-0693, mclarty at greens.org Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576, nallen at acadia.net GREENS CHARGE KERRY'S CONCESSION BROKE HIS PROMISE THAT EVERY VOTE BE COUNTED, WARN OF DEMOCRATIC SURRENDER TO BUSH'S 'MANDATE' Will Zell Miller be the model for Democrats in the next four years?, ask Greens. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Greens joined numerous Democrats in criticizing John Kerry's quick concession to President Bush in light of thousands of uncounted and obstructed votes and wide discrepancies between counted votes and exit polls. "Mr. Kerry wanted to avoid a repeat of the 2000 Florida debacle, but in conceding quickly he broke his promise to make sure every vote was counted," said Ben Manski, Wisconsin Green and co-founder of the No Stolen Elections! campaign. "The widespread reports of election tampering, voting machine breakdowns, intimidated and blocked voters, electioneering phone calls that spread misinformation, and voters misidentified as felons made it necessary in 2004 to count and verify every vote and make sure the election wasn't compromised. Regardless of whether Democrats retreat, Greens demand that every vote be counted." Noting that Ken Blackwell, Ohio Secretary of State and a long-time Republican politician, had already been the target of numerous complaints about voter obstruction, Greens said that partisan bureaucrats should be removed from the responsibility of counting votes. The Green Party of the United States has endorsed measures to ensure fair and accurate elections, including an auditable paper ballot trail for every vote. The votes of at least a third of the U.S. electorate are currently unverifiable, because of the lack of a paper ballot trail. A state-based index of news articles compiled by Demos detailing obstruction of voters, miscounting of votes, and voting machine breakdowns can be found at . Greens said that Mr. Kerry's quick concession portends other Democratic surrenders to President Bush's supposed 'mandate'. "Despite the rhetoric about 'healing', the Bush Administration is already claiming a mandate to enact its radical ideology," said Jody Grage Haug, co-chair of the Green Party. "Equally dangerous is that the leadership of the Democratic Party will see the Bush victory as a motivation to retreat even further from the party's willingness to fight for working people and issues important to progressive voters." Greens recall that one of the legacies of the Reagan years was the establishment of the Democratic Leadership Council. DLC members Bill Clinton, Al Gore, party chair Terry McAuliffe, and others persuaded their party to abandon national health insurance and other Democratic positions, embrace Reagan planks like 'welfare reform' and space-based missile defense, and make numerous other concessions to corporate lobbies. "The model for the Democratic Party's future might be Zell Miller," said Nan Garrett, member of the Georgia Green Party. "Greens are the only party offering a sane alternative to bipartisan consensus behind Bush's radical neocon agenda." MORE INFORMATION The Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org 1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404 Washington, DC 20009. 202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN Fax 202-319-7193 2004 Green candidates and election results http://www.greens.org/elections Beyond Voting Campaign http://www.beyondvoting.org November 3rd Democracy Movement http://www.nov3.us/ ~ END ~ From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Wed Nov 10 09:27:54 2004 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 09:27:54 -0500 Subject: {news} Fw: LAST CALL FOR COMMENTS ON BUSH STAR WARS PLAN CORRECTION! Message-ID: <006f01c4c731$78278f80$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> ----- Original Message ----- From: Peter Magistri Subject: RE: LAST CALL FOR COMMENTS ON BUSH STAR WARS PLAN CORRECTION! DOD did a terrible slight-of-hand: the "no action alternative" allows all work to continue. The comments from individuals should instead reflect that the current "no action alternative" is insufficient, and the PEIS must be re-written. Jonathan Parfrey PUBLIC COMMENTS NEEDED ON PENTAGON STAR WARS PLAN http://www.acq.osd.mil/mda/peis/html/public.html#peis The Bush administration's Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is now calling for public comment on their Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the Ballistic Missile Defense System. Public comment is due by November 17, 2004. People from all countries are urged to send comments. (See below for details.) The PEIS analyzes the potential impacts to the environment as MDA proposes to develop, test, deploy, and plan for their new Star Wars plan. The PEIS considers three options: Alternative 1, missile defenses without space-based weapons. Alternative 2, missile defenses with space-based weapons. Alternative 3, no action. Conceptually, the Star Wars plan under review would be a layered system of weapons, sensors, Command & Control, Battle Management, and Communications; each with specific functional capabilities, working together to "defend" against all classes and ranges of threats in all phases of flight. Multiple "defensive" weapons would be used to create a layered system of multiple intercept capabilities. WRITTEN COMMENTS: Written comments regarding the PEIS should be sent to MDA BMDS PEIS, c/o ICF Consulting, 9300 Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA. 22031 or e-mailed to mda.bmds.peis at icfconsulting.com by November 17, 2004. We encourage people who live outside the U.S. to also send comments. KEY POINTS TO MAKE: (Please use your own words) 1) This new Star Wars program as outlined in the PEIS will be destabilizing thus creating new momentum to move the deadly and dangerous arms race into the heavens. This will create more global instability. 2) Testing and deployment of weapons in space will create massive amounts of new space debris making the environment of space even more contaminated and thus unavailable for future space flight. 2) This new Star Wars plan will be extraordinarily expensive requiring massive cuts in health care, education, public services, and environmental clean-up. 3) The likely use of nuclear power for eventual space-based weapons would be an environmental disaster. 4) Space-based weapons, described in the PEIS as being "defensive", could easily serve an offensive purpose as outlined in the Space Command's Vision for 2020 that says the U.S. will "deny" other nations the use of space. 5) Toxic rocket exhaust pollution is now contaminating the Earth and punching a hole in the ozone layer. This plan would dramatically expand these polluting launches. 6) For all these reasons we believe the "No Action Alternative" is insufficient and the entire PEIS should be rewritten. Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space PO Box 652 Brunswick, ME 04011 (207) 729-0517 (207) 319-2017 (Cell phone) globalnet at mindspring.com http://www.space4peace.org Jonathan Parfrey Executive Director | Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles 617 South Olive Street, Suite 810 | Los Angeles, California 90014-1629 (213) 689-9170 x107 | (213) 689-9199 fax | (310) 261-0832 cell parfrey at psr.org | www.psr.org -----Original Message----- From: Chercurt at aol.com [mailto:Chercurt at aol.com] Sent: Monday, November 08, 2004 9:01 PM To: ardarling at snet.net; billytedford at yahoo.com; Casellar at mail.ccsu.edu; ccorcoran at addressingservices.com; chasse at ccsu.edu; clairebobkatz at earthlink.net; Cleahkap at aol.com; cyiamouyiannis at ccc.commnet.edu; davidmbrown77 at earthlink.net; douglasshansen at hotmail.com; edsavage15 at yahoo.com; Ericstamm at aol.com; erin.clark1 at comcast.net; Fwoodiel at yahoo.com; gregory at spearreport.com; holder at hartford.edu; hraisz at comcast.net; IREJPC at aol.com; janetconley1 at comcast.net; justinemccabe at earthlink.net; kath4cats at hotmail.com; makingfun at msn.com; maremomc at yahoo.com; mark.overmyer-velazquez at uconn.edu; marlaludwig at yahoo.com; Marpat4t at aol.com; martin.wittmann at sbcglobal.net; MECC at comcast.net; MimsBworth at aol.com; ModelT1918 at aol.com; MOOREPJM at YAHOO.COM; mokus.home at excite.com; Moraithon at aol.com; nferst at ix.netcom.com; peeveewindsor at earthlink.net; rich.sivel at comcast.net; rlion at netzero.net; sarah.hambrick at snet.net; sarahs862 at cox.net; tyounger at cclu.org; wcoste at iremm.com; worldlytraveler at lycos.com; yousman at hartford.edu Subject: Fwd: LAST CALL FOR COMMENTS ON BUSH STAR WARS PLAN FYI -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Wed Nov 10 10:08:08 2004 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 10:08:08 -0500 Subject: {news} JOIN US DEC. 4, Benefit for Palestinian Children's Theater; Dinner & A Movie: A CULTURAL EVENING FOR PALESTINE Message-ID: <009d01c4c737$16f462a0$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> Dear CT Greens, Please help us support our affiliate, Al-Awda-CT, on December 4, for an evening to benefit the Palestinian Al-Rowwad Children's Theater. Among this Theater Troupe's aimis is to " Distract children from the heavy atmosphere of war and violence surrounding them and engage them in peaceful activities. (About Al-Rowwad Children's Theater http://www.artistsnetwork.org/news13/news614.html) After a super dinner prepared by Oliva Cafe, there will be a showing of feature film Rana's Wedding, the 2003 recipent of Human Rights Watch International Film Festival's Nestor Amendos Prize. Hope you all can join us for this cultural celebration. For tickets, contact me or numbers listed below. Peace, Justine McCabe 860-354-9773 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Al-Awda-CT, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, presents: Dinner & A Movie: A CULTURAL EVENING FOR PALESTINE Members of Al Rowwad Children's Theater from Aida Refugee Camp Please join us for an evening of Palestinian culture! Saturday, December 4 at 6 p.m. First Church of Christ 190 Court Street, Middletown, CT Tickets: $20 per person; $10 students and children under 12 ? Middle Eastern food prepared by New York Times' five-star chef/owner of Oliva Caf?, New Preston ? A screening of the award-winning Palestinian film Rana's Wedding ? Doorprizes, silent auction of Palestinian arts, crafts, and olive oil All proceeds will benefit the U.S. 2005 summer tour of Al Rowwad Children's Theater from Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem. Reservations and tickets are available by calling 860-536-4640, 860-824-7636, or by sending a check to Palestine Right to Return Coalition, P.O. Box 1172, Orange, CT 06477-7172. Seating is limited! Please reserve early! Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, is a registered charitable and educational nonprofit organization. Donations are tax deductible. For more information, go to www.al-awda.org. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: clip_image002.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 8017 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: clip_image004.gif Type: image/gif Size: 527 bytes Desc: not available URL: From capeconn at comcast.net Wed Nov 10 15:50:53 2004 From: capeconn at comcast.net (Tom Sevigny) Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 15:50:53 -0500 Subject: {news} Fw: American Democracy Message-ID: <00aa01c4c766$f8365b40$1906a543@sevigny8wcbjrd> ----- Original Message ----- From: Anna Callahan To: anna at annacallahan.com Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 3:42 PM Subject: American Democracy Dear all, I have never before written a letter to all my email contacts, but I believe this is the most important issue I have seen in my life so far. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, an Independent, Libertarian, Reform, or Green, you should be concerned if our country does not have free and fair elections. A lot of evidence is being discovered showing that the election held on Nov 2, 2004, was not a fair election. In one precinct in Ohio's Franklin County, 638 people cast ballots. Yet, George W Bush got 4,258 votes to John Kerry's 260. In reality, Bush only received 365 votes. That means Bush got nearly 3,900 extra votes. And that was just in one small precinct. This in a state that Bush officially won by only 136,000 votes. Now, questions are being raised across the state of Ohio. In Fairview Park, twelve miles west of downtown Cleveland, only 13,342 people were registered voters there, but they cast 18,472 votes. In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, the County's website shows its 29 precincts had more votes than voters. In fact, it wasn't just a handful. It registered a whopping 93,000 more votes than voters. Democracy Now is my favorite investigative news source. I encourage you to watch this morning's report on this issue on their website (Make sure you get the news for Nov 10). *If you want to watch the entire hour-long segment, including information on the 5,000 innocent detainees being held since 2001 (against both our Constitution and the Geneva Convention), visit: http://www.democracynow.org/streampage.pl *If you want to watch only the segments on the election, please visit: http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/11/10/1536254 and click on "Listen to segment", "Watch 128 stream" or "Watch 256 stream". *If you are reading this and it's not Nov 10, you can look at the bottom of the www.democracynow.org main page for recent shows. If it is more than a few days after Nov 10 and you still want to see the program, click on "browse archives by date" on the left-hand side of the home page. Thank you, Anna Callahan -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timmckee at sbcglobal.net Fri Nov 5 15:11:36 2004 From: timmckee at sbcglobal.net (Tim McKee) Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2004 12:11:36 -0800 (PST) Subject: {news} (AP)Voting machine error gives Bush 3, 893 extra votes in Ohio Message-ID: <20041105201136.48490.qmail@web81107.mail.yahoo.com> Voting machine error gives Bush 3,893 extra votes in Ohio - JOHN McCARTHY, Associated Press Writer Friday, November 5, 2004 (11-05) 10:59 PST COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- An error with an electronic voting system gave President Bush 3,893 extra votes in suburban Columbus, elections officials said. Franklin County's unofficial results had Bush receiving 4,258 votes to Democrat John Kerry's 260 votes in a precinct in Gahanna. Records show only 638 voters cast ballots in that precinct. Bush's total should have been recorded as 365. Bush won the state by more than 136,000 votes, according to unofficial results, and Kerry conceded the election on Wednesday after saying that 155,000 provisional ballots yet to be counted in Ohio would not change the result. Deducting the erroneous Bush votes from his total could not change the election's outcome, and there were no signs of other errors in Ohio's electronic machines, said Carlo LoParo, spokesman for Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell. Franklin is the only Ohio county to use Danaher Controls Inc.'s ELECTronic 1242, an older-style touchscreen voting system. Danaher did not immediately return a message for comment. Sean Greene, research director with the nonpartisan Election Reform Information Project, said that while the glitch appeared minor "that could change if more of these stories start coming out." In one North Carolina county, more than 4,500 votes were lost in this election because officials mistakenly believed a computer that stored ballots electronically could hold more data than it did. And in San Francisco, a malfunction with custom voting software could delay efforts to declare the winners of four races for county supervisor. In the Ohio precinct in question, the votes are recorded to eight memory locations, including a removable cartridge, according to Verified Voting Foundation, an e-voting watchdog group. After voting ends, the cartridge is either transported to a tabulation facility or its data sent via modem. Kimball Brace, president of the consulting firm Election Data Services, said it's possible the fault lies with the software that tallies the votes from individual cartridges rather than the machines or the cartridges themselves. Either way, he said, such tallying software ought to have a way to ensure that the totals don't exceed the number of voters. County officials did not return calls seeking details. Matthew Damschroder, director of the Franklin County Board of Elections, told The Columbus Dispatch that on one of the three machines at that precinct, a malfunction occurred when its cartridge was plugged into a reader and generated a faulty number. He could not explain how the malfunction occurred. Damschroder said people who had seen poll results on the election board's Web site called to point out the discrepancy. The error would have been discovered when the official count for the election is performed later this month, he said. The reader also recorded zero votes in a county commissioner race on the machine. Other electronic machines used in Ohio do not use the type of computer cartridge involved in the error, state officials say. Meanwhile, in San Francisco, a glitch occurred with software designed for the city's new "ranked-choice voting," in which voters list their top three choices for municipal offices. If no candidate gets a majority of first-place votes outright, voters' second and third-place preferences are then distributed among candidates who weren't eliminated in the first round. When the San Francisco Department of Elections tried a test run on Wednesday of the program that does the redistribution, some of the votes didn't get counted and skewed the results, director John Arntz said. "All the information is there," Arntz said. "It's just not arriving the way it was supposed to." A technician from the Omaha, Neb. company that designed the software, Election Systems & Software Inc., was working to diagnose and fix the problem. URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/11/05/politics1149EST0515.DTL --------------------------------- ?2004 Associated Press var _l=677742648;var pub_click_url = '';var _isaclick=1;var _ta = (document.domain).split("."); var psd= (_ta.length >1 ? 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URL: From timmckee at sbcglobal.net Sun Nov 7 12:11:14 2004 From: timmckee at sbcglobal.net (Tim McKee) Date: Sun, 7 Nov 2004 09:11:14 -0800 (PST) Subject: {news} (PRESS RELEASE)CONNECTICUT GREENS ADD NEW VOTERS IN LOCAL, STATE RACES Message-ID: <20041107171114.86109.qmail@web81110.mail.yahoo.com> Connecticut Green Party Headquarters 418A New Britain Avenue, Hartford, CT Press Release- for immediate release- November 7, 2004 Contact: Mike DeRosa, State Co-chair, (860) 956-8170 or (860) 919-4042 Tim McKee, GP spokesperson, (860) 643-2282 or cell (860) 324-1684 CONNECTICUT GREENS GAIN IN LOCAL AND STATE VOTERS NATIONAL NUMBERS- 63 WINS IN 2004, 212 ELECTED GREENS IN U.S. HARTFORD, CT- The Green Party of Connecticut said today that despite its lower numbers for the Presidential Race, the Green's local and state voting numbers improved in 2004. The Greens also announced it would discuss these results and the Presidential election in a state wide public forum on called "WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?" Saturday, Nov. 13, 11 AM to 2 PM.First Church Of Christ, 190 Court Street,( off Main Street at Court) in Middletown, CT. Tim McKee, a spokesperson for the Greens, said the forum is free, open to the public, and is a good way to find out what the Green Party is all about. Discussions will address the Greens local, state and national agenda after the election including improving the election process, national health care, stopping the war in the Middle East and other important issues. On the national front, McKee explained "We gained in local elections across the country and we had a split in the Presidential race. David Cobb was the Green Party Presidential nominee and many Greens also worked for Ralph Nader running as an Independent. We had almost 3 million votes for Nader as the Green Presidential candidate in 2000, with Cobb getting 105,590 votes and Nader with 394,821 and perhaps tens of thousands more UNCOUNTED write in votes still to be added later. In CT, Nader received 12,978 with Cobb getting 9,564. With the Greens being divided into three camps on the Presidential race, one saying no candidate at all and defeat Bush at all cost, Cobb backers using a "Smart states" race pushing hard in lopsided states that were sure things for either Bush or Kerry, and Nader Greens wanting "all out" race again. McKee said the Presidential results are like a sports term, "we are in a rebuilding cycle". But despite lower Presidential numbers, on a national level we ran 432 races across the country with 63 WINS in 2004, McKee said. "We now have 212 elected Greens in 27 states, a great start for a new political party!" McKee added "In the District of Columbia, we won 6 of the 12 races we were in and other local races were very promising for the future, too!" In Connecticut, McKee explained Calvin Nicholson ran for the Registrar of Voters in New Haven proving that can Greens add voters. Nicholson was running for second place or better, because both the Democrat Party and Republican Party are guaranteed a paid Registrar of Voter in New Haven under the law. But the Democrats and Republicans totals were stagnant and had almost the exact vote totals from 2000 and 2004 races, while Nicholson ADDED 2,618 new voters to the race. The figures for 2000 are: Rae Tramentano (R)-,143, Sharon Ferrucci (D)- 24,345. The 2004 figures are:Tramentano(R)-4,300,Ferrucci (D)- 24,460 and Nicholson (G)- 2,618. In other examples, Nancy Burton, a lawyer who ran for the first time as a Green for the State House said "My first campaign for public office began a short two months ago. I consider capturing one out of every five votes for a progressive third party, never before on the ballot, in such a short time, as an exceptional achievement. My campaign brought into focus the menace of nuclear power and what can be done to rid the state government of pervasive corruption. My primary purpose has been served." Tom Sevigny ran for State Senator again and endorsed by the Hartford Courant. This time he received 1,000 more votes than 2002. Mike DeRosa running as a State Senator got 2,050 votes in the 1st district CT senate contest (south Hartford and Wethersfield). Mike got 859 votes in Wethersfield and 1,191 votes in Hartford. This represents a 410 vote increase over his 2000 run for the same CT senatorial seat (a 25% increase). Ralph Ferrucci ran for Congress in the Third District against Incumbent Democrat Rosa DeLauro in race with little news coverage and that was lopsided. Despite Ferrucci sometimes being left out of some stories, pictures and voter guides, his campaign did better than the last Green candidate (Charles Pillsbury, 2002) in the more "working-class" towns: Ansonia, Derby, East Haven, Naugatuck, Prospect, Seymour, Shelton,Stratford and Waterbury. Numbers for Green Party candidates: Joyce Chen: State House of Representatives - 1405 votes, 27.28% Nancy Burton: State House of Representatives - 1649 votes, 17.9% Mike DeRosa: State Senate - 2050 votes, 11.36% John Amarilios: State Senate - 2799 votes, 9.53% Calvin Nicholson: Registrar of Voters - 2618 votes, 8.34% Thomas J. Sevigny: State Senate - 2371 votes, 5.06% Ralph Ferrucci: U.S. House of Representatives - 7174 votes, 2.6% Colin Bennett: State Senate - 1069 votes, 2.35% David Bedell: Registrar of Voters (last minute write in-uncounted as of now ) David Albano: State Senate (last minute write in- uncounted as of now) #end of release# Other contact numbers:Tom Sevigny, (860) 693-8344 Ralph Ferrucci, (203) 430-9342 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Fri Nov 12 08:31:47 2004 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 08:31:47 -0500 Subject: {news} Haaretz "Missing Arafat" Message-ID: <033701c4c8bb$f5bc3b90$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> Dear all, A very interesting overview of Yassir Arafat and implications of his passing from Israeli journalist and peace activist Uri Avnery. Justine --------------------------- http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArtVty.jhtml?sw=Missing+Arafat&itemNo=500556 Missing Arafat By Ari Shavit Uri Avnery is unshaken in his belief that Yasser Arafat was a giant, and a partner for Israel - its only opportunity, in fact, which Israel missed. The angry young men in Jenin don't care about Abu Ala or Abu Mazen. In effect, Sharon and Bush have left the field to bin Laden. Uri Avnery has accomplished quite a lot in his 81 years. He fought for the pre-state underground group Lehi, then in the War of Independence in the "Samson's Foxes" unit, he wrote the most important real-time books about that war ("In the Fields of the Philistines" and "The Other Side of the Coin"), he was the editor of the weekly magazine that changed the face of Israeli journalism (Ha'olam Hazeh), he established the political movement that shaped the face of the Israeli left ("Ha'olam Hazeh - Koah Hadash"), he was one of the leading spokesmen of Arab-Israeli culture. However, above all, Uri Avnery performed one crucial political act: He brought Yasser Arafat into our lives. In 1974, Avnery became the first Israeli to start conducting talks with Arafat's representatives. In 1982, he was the first Israeli to meet with and interview Arafat. In 1994, he sat at Arafat's side when the Palestinian leader returned to the Gaza Strip. For 30 years, Avnery was the most enthusiastic espouser of the Arafatist political option. Even when others on the left despaired of the chairman and abandoned him, Avnery continued to make pilgrimage to the Muqata, Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah. Even during the most trying times he acted as Arafat's human shield and advocate. Loyally, tenaciously, at risk to his life, the radical Israeli journalist fought the battle of the leader of the Palestinian national movement. Avnery is an emphatically unemotional person. Rational, cool, precise. Always carefully turned out, always elegant, always that lingering German accent. But on Tuesday night, when the Palestinian leadership admitted the rais [head] was dying, the drama of Arafat's death suddenly gripped him. In the living room of his Tel Aviv home, Avnery looked sadder and more vulnerable than ever. At times it seemed that true human grief was welling up in his metallic-blue eyes. One great mistake Uri Avnery, as someone who was close to Arafat, don't you feel that there is something humiliating about the way death came to him? Avnery: "Regrettably, Suha [Arafat's wife] did not meet the test of history. She was Arafat's great mistake. He married her in a moment of weakness, when he suddenly, after all, wanted to be a family man. But that desire passed very quickly in the light of the opposition the marriage aroused. People couldn't understand why the man who was married to the revolution suddenly got married. And not to a Muslim Arab woman, but to a Christian. To a modern woman, an outsider, a blonde. He realized he had to keep his distance from her and she remained bitter. The result was the end we have just seen, which was not appropriate and which definitely hurts me. Very much so. Arafat deserves something different. But in a few weeks all this will be forgotten; what will remain is a death that carries huge symbolic value. "In the final analysis, what will enter Palestinian history is that the person who led them for almost 50 years died abroad. Like most of the Palestinian people. And what will be enshrined in the Palestinian and Arab national myth is that the leader of the liberation movement died on the brink of Palestinian independence, but without entering it. That will take on symbolic significance that will intensify from year to year, like the stature of Arafat himself." What you are saying, then, is that Arafat will be remembered as the Palestinian Moses, nothing less. "There is a great similarity to the death of Moses, who removed a people from slavery and led its march to freedom for 40 years, almost exactly like Arafat. There is also a similarity in the fact that Arafat too reached the gate of the Promised Land, saw it from afar but did not enter it. I have been thinking about that a great deal in the past few days. The symbolism here is very great, and because of it the dead Arafat will be even stronger than the living Arafat." Do you really believe that Arafat was a giant historic leader? "A giant. Yasser Arafat will be remembered as one of the greatest leaders of the second half of the 20th century. He is sometimes compared to Nelson Mandela. But Arafat's task was a thousand times more difficult than that of Mandela, who spent 28 years in prison and so remained totally untainted by external struggles and internal struggles and of any association with terrorism. And in the end, he received an existing state. One day he was the leader of a liberation movement, the next day he was president. "Arafat, in contrast, received a widely scattered refugee people, all of whom were living under Arab dictatorships. A nation whose leadership was pursued by the secret services of half a dozen countries, including Israel. As a result, Arafat was compelled to lie, sometimes to this Arab leader, sometimes to that one. He had to resort to ambivalence and needed the ability to maneuver. That ability is perhaps one of his most prominent qualities. "Arafat also had to create a state ex nihilo. To establish a state where there was no infrastructure, no economy, no instruments of government. And he had to bridge the tensions between the veteran leadership from Tunisia and the young local leadership. And between Christians and Muslims. Between woman and men. Between hamulas [clans]. Between refugees and residents of the territories. He had to hold that whole package together, almost on his own, under unbelievable conditions. And he succeeded. He also succeeded in not giving in. He stood up to Clinton and [former Israeli prime minister Ehud] Barak and did not capitulate. So there is no doubt in my mind that he will become one of the major heroes of Arab history. He will enter the pantheon of symbolic Arab heroes, like the Caliph Omar and like Salah a-Din." Do you really think so - when, after all, he was only the leader of a quite problematic national movement of a small Arab nation? "That small nation became the symbol of the entire Arab world. Because the Arab world today is in a humiliated state. Its whole thrust is against Western expansion. When an 18-year-old in Cairo or Riyadh or Damascus looks around today for a figure to cling to, he sees only Arafat. Every Arab who feels the humiliation of the Arab nation identifies with Arafat as a person who was not vanquished. As a person with courage and who, contrary to all the vilifications, remains untainted. In all these senses Arafat is completely different from all the other leaders in the region. He towers above the ugly and wretched images of people like Mubarak, Abdullah or Assad. In fact, the only figure that competes with the image of Arafat is Osama bin Laden. And the two of them represent polarities in the Arab and Muslim world. "Arafat was religious, yes, but his leadership was secular. He represented an essentially secular national movement. He represented Arab nationalism in a European format. Bin Laden, in contrast, represents anti-national Islamic fundamentalism which rejects Arab nationalism just as Haredi [ultra-Orthodox] Judaism rejects Israeli nationalism. Therefore, both Israel and the United States made a terrible mistake by not entering into an alliance with Arafat. Because henceforth all the Arab revolutions will be fundamentalist in character, whereas Arafat was the last chance for the victory of Arab nationalism in the Western format. He was the last barrier to the extremist Islamic forces." I'm not sure I follow that - could you elaborate? "The greatest danger facing Israel is the danger of Salah a-Din: of a counter-Crusade in which the Arab world unites under the Islamic banner. That is a true existential danger for Israel. Arafat was the total opposite of that, both in the small Palestinian arena and as a symbol for the entire Arab world. So, as the Egyptian thinker Mohammed Sid Ahmed said, if Arafat didn't exist, Israel would have had to invent him. Arafat was a natural partner to ensure Israel's future. But we behaved foolishly. We broke him. We didn't understand that he was a critical element in the wall against fundamentalism. We didn't understand that Arafat was the only counter-pole to bin Laden, his associates and his successors." Are you arguing, then, that the anti-Arafat policy adopted by Prime Minister Sharon and President Bush was calamitous? "Sharon is an ignorant man and so is Bush. That is the connection between them. They are both appallingly primitive people who are incapable of grasping broad historical contexts. The joint effort by the two of them to break Arafat represents historical shortsightedness of a-historic people. People who do not understand history and do not live history. Both of them have effectively left the field to bin Laden. By Bush's destruction of Iraq and by the fact that the two of them broke Arafat, they have inflicted a disaster on both America and Israel. But America will be able to cope. Even if the result is the destruction of another hundred towers and the transformation of the United States into a fascist dictatorship, America will ultimately recover and be healed. For Israel, though, this is an existential problem. In breaking Arafat we made a historic mistake, which we will probably not be able to rectify." Gentle and warm Let's leave the judgment of history for a bit. You met Arafat dozens of times and spent hundreds of hours with him. What sort of person was he? "Arafat is always a surprise for everyone who meets him for the first time. How so? In that the gap between his television image and reality is astonishing. First of all, the beard. On television it always looks like it's a two-day growth. But in reality the beard is groomed, black and white, part pepper and part salt. Then the eyes. On television they look a bit mad, a bit fanatic. In reality, though, they are exactly the opposite: very gentle, even feminine. "All in all, Arafat is a very gentle person. His hands are gentle, his body language is gentle. And he is a very warm person. Very much so. Filled with empathy. Because of that he has an incredible capacity to forge personal contact. He is direct, informal, emotional. He is not a person of abstract ideas but of feelings; not analytical but intuitive. Much of his dialogue takes place not in words but in gestures. He is very fond of gestures. "He had a phenomenal memory and he was an incredibly quick study. He could grasp a situation in a thousandth of a second. At the same time, he was definitely not an intellectual person. I don't think he read books. I don't think he read at all. He is one of those leaders for whom synopses are prepared. But he had a tendency to go into great detail. And he had the ability to make bold decisions with lightning speed. Because of those two traits he found it difficult to delegate powers. He was always very centralistic. He kept his cards close to the chest. When you saw him sitting with Abu Mazen and Abu Ala, they were like small children in comparison. He was the one who decided. He alone decided. That's why I think he is irreplaceable. There is no one else in the Palestinian arena who is capable of making decisions as he did. "He had a sense of humor. He liked to joke. Sometimes he joked at the expense of his aides. But he wasn't pretentious and he wasn't remote. He let people interrupt him and correct him. The atmosphere he created was that of a Hasidic leader in his court. "In the last analysis, I think his most outstanding trait was his total identification with his role. He himself, Arafat, was the Palestinian war of liberation. Hence the feeling that he cannot be replaced. That only he could do it. And there was also the feeling of personal providence when he miraculously survived the crash-landing of his plane in the Libyan desert. Like Arik Sharon, Arafat was totally convinced he held the fate of his people in his hands. But unlike Sharon, who is the most secular of the secular, in Arafat that sense always had a religious dimension. In that sense he truly was a believing Muslim." Were the two of you genuinely close? "There was complete mutual trust. I will give you one example. When we met in Tunis, he did not cover his head. I have a photograph in which he is seen without a head covering, peeling an orange for me. And doing it meticulously, totally focused on that. But without the kaffiyeh, and looking very much like his brother. Arafat know I would not publish that photo. He knew that even though I was a journalist I would never publish anything that should not be published." Historic concessions Is Arafat's death natural or did Israel have a part in it? "Conspiracy theories always spring up in situations like this. I don't have a conspiratorial mind, but sometimes conspiracy theories turn out to be right. What I can say in the way of personal testimony is that when I saw him, just three weeks before he took sick, he was healthy. More healthy than I had seen him in the past. "One thing is certain: Israel is to blame for holding him for two and a half years in two or three rooms without air and without sun. Even a convict who is condemned to death has the right to an hour's walk in the prison yard every day. Arafat, though, did not leave the Muqata building for years. Israel is responsible for that. It is responsible for not allowing a 75-year-old person to walk at all for a long time." Did Sharon want to kill him? "Without the slightest doubt." Do you have suspicions? When a person has a sudden, inexplicable collapse in these conditions, suspicion is automatic. But I have no proof one way or the other. I can only tell you that Arafat was convinced Sharon wanted to kill him. He talked a lot about that." So in the end General Sharon vanquished General Arafat after all? "I don't think so. The dead Arafat vanquishes the living Sharon." What do you mean? "Two things. Twenty years after Sharon is gathered unto his forefathers, no one will remember him. In contrast, Arafat will be remembered even in another hundred years and five hundred years. Maybe even a thousand years. Every Arab remembers Salah a-Din eight hundred years after his death. They will remember Arafat, too. "But there is something else, too, more immediate. The heritage that Arafat is leaving after him will prevent the Palestinian people from capitulating to Sharon's plan. It is precisely by his death that Arafat is consolidating the boundary of the Palestinian concessions. Now no Palestinian leader will dare to cross that boundary. The dead Arafat will not permit the concessions that the living Arafat might have made." Did Arafat really make any concessions? Did he really internalize the idea of two states and all that entails? "Arafat made two historic concessions: He recognized Israel and he recognized the Green Line. In doing that he accepted our presence here as legitimate and gave up 78 percent of the territory that constituted pre-1948 Palestine. Those are monumental concessions. Every additional concession beyond them was actually impossible. Nevertheless, at Camp David, Arafat made three more concessions. He agreed to a limited exchange of territory, he agreed to accept the Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and he agreed to Israeli control of the Western Wall. But those concessions were made orally, not in writing, and his successors will find it very difficult to implement them." In other words, we are going back to the situation of "to the last inch," to the Green Line itself? "I think so. That's what happened with Sadat and also with Hafez Assad. Do you see an Arab leader who will be able to concede what Arafat did not explicitly concede? There is no doubt that a compromise on the Temple Mount is now impossible." If so, what can we expect now? Will Abu Mazen and Abu Ala be able to stabilize the situation? Will they be able to reach some sort of settlement with Israel? "I have known Abu Mazen for 20 years and Abu Ala for 15 years. They are both good people, honest and decent. But if you are a young Palestinian in Jenin with a rifle and you hear their names, your reaction is, `Who are those guys, anyway? Who are they to tell me what to do?' So their authority will be very superficial. It's possible that for the time being they will get support, because the Palestinian people does not want a civil war. The trauma of the 1930s is engraved deep in their memory. But this quiet will necessarily be temporary. It will disappear the moment the leadership makes some sort of decision. That is the real problem of Abu Mazen and Abu Ala: They will not be able to make decisions." Fundamentalist wave So what you are saying is that Arafat's death is liable to open the gates of hell? "Two or three good people who are somehow trying to hold one another's hand and create a human chain that will prevent this development are not a solution. So I foresee two possibilities. The one that frightens me more is a fundamentalist wave in the Arab world that will wash over the Palestinian people. That is the most serious concern. But the timetable for that development is not clear. The Islamic revolution might break out in another 20 years or it could break out tomorrow morning. It might break out in Saudi Arabia or Egypt but it could also break out in Gaza or Ramallah. There's no way to know. "There is also another possibility, of a more immediate character. Already today the Shin Bet [security service] is telling us that there are hundreds of Palestinians who are ready to become suicide bombers on any given day. That is the case with Arafat still here, with his restraining influence. But without Arafat there won't be five or six militant organizations but 50 or 60, or maybe 500 or 600. And no one will be able to control them. There will be no restraining entity to curb them. A chaotic situation of that kind will be terrible for the Palestinians first of all. But it will also make the lives of Israelis hell." Aren't you completely ignoring the fact that the man was a terrorist? "I was a terrorist, too. When I was 16, if my commander in Lehi had given me an explosive belt I would have taken it and I would have blown myself up amid civilians without any problem. So I don't have a sentimental attitude toward this matter of terrorism. I understand what violence is. And I know that a nation that is not offered a political solution resorts to violence. Therefore it was always clear to me that Arafat would resort to all means to realize the longings of the Palestinian people. He was not a violent person. I think he was a nonviolent person. But it was always clear to me that, as a national leader, he would resort to violence if the road of peace was blocked for him. I find that self-evident." Don't you think that there was something especially violent in the Arafatist struggle? Wasn't there something pathological in the way the Palestinian national movement used violence, killing women and children? "The only pathology is that allegation. The Algerians, for example, killed only civilians. Half a million people were killed in the war for Algeria. Immediately after the liberation 200,000 people were executed as collaborators. A million French citizens were expelled within days. So in comparison to the FLN, the war fought by the PLO is almost sterile. The Mau-Mau in Kenya also went from farm to farm, slaughtering families of whites. Not to mention Malaysia. And the Kurds. And the Irish. There is nothing exceptional in the Palestinians' methods of combat." What about the suicide bombers? What about Arafat's talk of a million shaheeds - martyrs for the cause - marching on Jerusalem? "I take a realistic view of that phenomenon. I ask myself two questions. Was there any other way? Could Arafat have prevented it? My answer to both questions is negative." And the tragedy of Camp David? Does Arafat not bear any responsibility at all for the collapse of the peace process? "It is Ehud Barak who bears that responsibility. Barak is the arch-idiot of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He is also the arch-criminal. A normal statesman, a statesman who is not a psychopath, would not say after the failure of the conference that there is no partner. He bears the main responsibility for the terrible loss of human life in the past few years. He is worse than Sharon." You are generally a very critical person. Yet when it comes to Yasser Arafat you have no criticism at all. Did you never have any doubts of any kind about him? Did you never suspect that he might be using you? "Of course he used me. I was perfectly aware of that. In various situations it was convenient for him to have an Israeli like me by his side. But, after all, that is why we met: so we could used each other for the cause that both he and I believed in." Did you love him? "I don't think love is the right word. But there was quite a deep connection between us." Did you admire him? "I held him in very high regard. As a human being, too. I like patriots. I hate traitors. And the fact that Arafat is a great Palestinian patriot went a long way toward determining my attitude toward him. We never talked about this, but underlying our relationship was the fact that we both knew what it is to kill as part of a national struggle. We both did that. He gave orders that caused the death of Israelis, and I was an Israeli soldier who killed Arabs. But in some way we met at the midpoint between the two armies. Like those soldiers in the First World War who came out of their trenches on Christmas Eve and celebrated together and then went back and killed one another." Is there any connection between the fact that in 1948 you took an active part in the expulsion of Arabs and the destruction of Arab villages, and your later need to link up with Yasser Arafat? "Definitely, definitely. I am very much aware of the fact that the State of Israel, which I helped establish, is built on a terrible historic injustice. I also know what I did in the war. I do not deny what I did in the war. And when I meet a Palestinian I always ask what village he is from. That is a totally compulsive question for me. And the response I get often mentions the name of a village in the conquest of which I took part, and I remember how it looked immediately after the conquest, when the stoves were still burning and the food on the table was still hot. "Yasser Arafat is connected with this because he had pathos. He embodied the pathos of the Palestinian situation. I had an emotional closeness with that pathos. Because I, too, like Arafat, do not really have a private life. I have no life outside political life. And I see the pathos of this conflict. I see the two nations holding each other by the throat, unable to let go, not willing to relax their hold. And I want to undo that embrace of death." Did you really think Arafat was a partner to that? Did you really think that he would be the person to end the conflict? "It would have been possible to conclude matters with Yasser Arafat. Believe me, it could have been concluded. And I knew how. I knew what the conditions were. I am absolutely convinced that a person like me could have sat with Arafat for a month and emerged with a peace agreement. That is why I now have a feeling of a terrible missed national opportunity. I was certain he would live another 10 years. And for the past four years he sat here and we let the time go by. We let the opportunity go by. We lost an opportunity that will not recur. It is a terrible loss." Final words If you had a chance to hold a farewell conversation with him in Paris, what would you say to him? "I would say a few things. I would tell him, You are a great leader. You did something for your people that no one else did. And I would say to him, Rest in peace. If he would wake up for a second and tell me that the thanks to him the Palestinian people will reach the land of peace and plenty, that might ease death for him." Is there a sentiment of "farewell, friend"? "Yes, absolutely. He is a sentimentalist, you know. When he was getting into the helicopter and blew kisses to the masses, Rahel [Avnery's wife] didn't like it. She thought it was ridiculous. But I thought otherwise. Because he already knew he wouldn't come back. That this was the end. And the kisses he blew to his people symbolically was his farewell. People who were there had tears in their eyes." Are there tears in your eyes, too? "I never cry. I didn't cry when my father died. I didn't cry when my mother died. But if I were a crying person, I would cry." You are generally a very cold person, but in the past few days the grief suddenly grabbed you, didn't it? "Without any doubt. We did so much together. And an emotional bond was formed that isn't easy to describe. So yesterday I found myself quoting what Hamlet said about his father: `He was a man, take him for all and all, I shall not look upon his like again.'" So that is the feeling now? Missing him? "When Issam Sartawi [an adviser to Arafat who held talks with Israelis in the 1970s] was assassinated, [Austrian chancellor Bruno] Kreisky told me, `It is very tragic when a friend dies, because at my age one doesn't make new friends.' And now a friend has died. But beyond that, I know there will not be another like him. There will not be another with whom I will have the same relationship. We will go on working. We will work with the new Palestinian leadership. But it won't be the same thing. The world without Arafat will not be the same world. Not for Israel and not for me." Uri Avnery and Yasser Arafat in Beirut, summer 1982. "Underlying our relationship was the fact that we both knew what it is to kill as part of a national struggle." (Photo by Anat Sargosit) Top Articles -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com Emergency Gaza Relief Fund - Please Contribute Now http://www.al-awda.org/urgentemergencygazarelieffund/ ================================================================= We need your support to do our work. To find out how you can make a tax-deductible donation to Al-Awda, please go to: http://www.al-awda.org/donatenow/ ================================================================= Al-Awda's Website: http://www.al-awda.org ================================================================= Contact your representatives and elected officials: use http://congress.cfl-online.org/ --------------------------------------------------------------- For other ways to help, see http://BoycottIsraeliGoods.org ---------------------------------------------------------------- Unless indicated otherwise, all statements posted represent the views of their authors and not necessarily those of Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition. ================================================================= Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Media/ b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Al-Awda-Media-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Fri Nov 12 09:50:10 2004 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 09:50:10 -0500 Subject: {news} SF Chronicle: In Arafat's Aftermath by George Bisharat Message-ID: <039c01c4c8c6$e8fcfbf0$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> "As Yasser Arafat has died, so die the hopes for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict." http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/11/12/EDG6O9PI251.DTL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Arafat's aftermath - George E. Bisharat Friday, November 12, 2004 As Yasser Arafat has died, so die the hopes for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Contrary to the belief held in the United States and Israel, Arafat worked tirelessly toward the "peace of the brave" and the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. It was precisely because Arafat was such a dogged proponent of compromise with Israel that the Israeli government worked so hard to destroy him. Here are the concrete realities Arafat and his people have faced over the last five decades: In 1948, Israel expelled more than 700,000 Christian and Muslim Palestinians so that Jews would be a majority in the new Jewish state. Hundreds of Palestinian villages were razed so that Jewish-only towns could be established. Israeli forces seized 78 percent of British Mandate Palestine, and with it, Palestinian homes, businesses, and lands, providing the rudiments of the new Israeli economy. Rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes or receive compensation and support for resettlement, reaffirmed annually since 1948 by the United Nations, have been consistently denied by Israel. Palestinian refugees and their offspring now number around 4 million people. Today, a Jew from anywhere in the world can become an Israeli citizen, while Palestinian refugees who still hold the keys to their stolen homes cannot so much as visit. Palestinians who remained in Israel in 1948, and who now number 1.2 million, face daily discrimination in all walks of life, including housing, education and allocation of government services. In the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 3.5 million Palestinians live under a harsh Israeli military occupation now in its 38th year. With no control over their daily lives, Palestinians have witnessed the emergence of what a recent U.N. report describes as "an apartheid regime" that is "worse than the one that existed in South Africa." Palestinian land is routinely confiscated to allow Jewish-only settlements to grow. Jewish settlers -- whose numbers doubled during the so-called Oslo "peace process" to 430,000 -- enjoy ample water supplies while Palestinian crops parch in the sun. Seven hundred Israeli army checkpoints choke movements of people, separating Palestinian kids from school, pregnant mothers from hospitals and relatives from their families. In the face of all this, Arafat reconciled his people to historic compromises: By officially recognizing Israel in 1988, Arafat tacitly abandoned the rights of the Palestinians of Israel, consigning them to permanent third-class citizenship in a state defined as one "for the Jews." By accepting the possibility of a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip - - 22 percent of British Mandate Palestine -- Arafat abandoned more logical and equitable territorial divisions, such as an equal share for each people, or one proportionally based on population size. By repeatedly signaling that Palestinian refugees' rights of return need only be to the new Palestinian state, Arafat gave up their truest remedy: return to the homes and communities from which they had fled or been expelled. Still, Israel wanted more: further territorial concessions in the West Bank, near-total control of Jerusalem and terms that would have rendered the Palestinian "sovereignty" a fiction. Even Arafat's legendary skills of persuasion could not disguise the truth from his followers: This was surrender, not peace. That is why he could not accept U.S. and Israeli dictates in Camp David. That is why Israel since has so determinedly set about destroying Arafat and the institutions of the Palestinian Authority. Political uncertainty, even turmoil, may now ensue among Palestinians, although early signs suggest an orderly transition of power. Soon, new leaders, wary of the mistakes of their predecessor, will emerge. If truly representative of the interests of all Palestinians, they will be far less yielding than Arafat. They would be, moreover, properly suspicious of any negotiations brokered by the United States, which has abandoned any pretense of neutrality and openly aligned itself with Israel. Palestinians will ultimately face the reality that, in the face of Israeli determination to permanently control much of the West Bank, true peace is not forthcoming at any time in the near future. Israel will continue to evolve toward an acute form of neo-apartheid, enabled by virtually unlimited U. S. military and diplomatic support. Salvation will be found only in a broad- based, international movement to bring equality to all people in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim. That may be a struggle of generations. George E. Bisharat is a professor of law at Hastings College of the Law, and writes frequently on law and politics in the Middle East. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From edubrule at sbcglobal.net Fri Nov 12 12:07:57 2004 From: edubrule at sbcglobal.net (edubrule) Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 12:07:57 -0500 Subject: {news} chapter reps: minutes excerpt--what Chris Reilly said at October SCC meeting Message-ID: <000801c4c8da$53fb4b60$c486f504@edgn2b574u14bi> Chapter reps to the SCC: I have pasted below the section of the minutes of the October 2004 SCC meeting that relate to the question of reimbursing Chris Reilly. (I have not yet finished the rest of the minutes of that meeting.) Chris explained what happened at that meeting. Chris told me that these minutes accurately tell what he said. Yet to be considered by the SCC is the question of reimbursing Chris for payments he made related to the Hartford office rent. This minutes excerpt contains much information which relates to this question. --Ed ------------------------------------ Minutes--October 26, 2004 SCC meeting, Fisk Hall Unreimbursed expenditures of Chris Reilly. The Executive Committee requested that Chris make a presentation to the SCC tonight on his unreimbursed expenditures. During his presentation, Chris responded to the questions raised in the Women's Caucus proposal on those unreimbursed expenditures (Appendix 1). That proposal includes the following questions: "1) why Chris Reilly, founder of the GPC and former treasurer, did not communicate the presence of the loans to at least two of the co-chairs (Tom and Justine), despite his obvious knowledge of GPC process; "2) why Chris wasn't repaid (if the loans were regarded as short-term and 'informal' by Bruce and Chris) once there was income from a fundraising letter; "3) why half of the rent for the Hartford office wasn't paid by the Hartford chapter, even if the SCC half was paid through a loan from Chris." Chris passed out an Excel spreadsheet listing expenditures he made and for which he has not been reimbursed. The spreadsheet lists 17 expenditures; the earliest is dated 4/1/03 and the latest is dated 3/12/04. Six of the expenditures are rent payments for the Hartford office. The rent payments range from $150 to $800 and total $2,650. Ten of the expenditures are for envelopes, postage, or printing. They range from $6.29 to $370 and total $855.82. Finally, there is a $35 check made out to Network Solutions for domain registration renewal for the CTGP website. The total of the unreimbursed expenditures is $3540.82. Chris passed around, for viewing by all SCC attendees, a cancelled check, cash register receipt from OfficeMax, receipt from the US Postal Service, or similar documentation for each of the seventeen entries on the spreadsheet. Tim, the facilitator, asked if any attendees had any questions relating to the receipts and cancelled checks that Chris had passed around--no one did. Chris said that the November 14, 2000 SCC meeting had decided that the state party would pay half the rent and half the utilities for the Hartford office. At this time the rent was $400 per month. For months after that the CTGP treasurer wrote a check for the entire rent for the office and made an accounting entry for the Hartford chapter's half of the rent (this accounting entry was made in the Hartford chapter's "setaside" account, also known as the "chapter balance"). During this period Chris sent the treasurer a reminder that the rent was coming due, the treasurer sent Chris the check, and Chris brought the check to the landlord. Then in February 2003 Bruce Crowder was elected treasurer. In early April 2003 Chris learned from Bruce that the rent hadn't been paid for two months. Due to problems with bank paperwork, Bruce had been unable to sign CTGP checks. Bruce agreed that Chris should pay two months' rent ($800--March and April), and Chris did this. Later the landlord informed Chris that they had received a $400 check from Chris Nelson, the former treasurer, so that the $800 paid by Chris became rent for April and May. Chris straightened out the problems at the bank with the paperwork. Chris said that in 2000 the CTGP had raised over $25,000, including nearly $9,000 from the annual fundraising letter. In 2001 almost $15,000 had been raised, including close to $10,000 from the letter. But in 2002, after Chris had stopped being treasurer, a fundraising letter did not go out. Thus in early 2003, when Bruce took over the treasurer position, the party checking account held only $2000 or less. It required about $2,000 in postage and printing costs to mail the annual letter, so Chris proposed paying the office rent for a month so that CTGP funds could be used for the mailing. Some progress was made toward putting together the maiing--Ed Savage worked on merging the chapters' lists. The next month Chris e-mailed Bruce and again offered to pay the office rent. Chris distributed an excerpt from the minutes of the 7/21/03 Executive Committee meeting. Chris' handout included, in part, the following: 5. Hiring of staffperson(s). A proposal submitted by Tim McKee to the Executive Committee is appended .... The Executive Committee will need to write a job description ... Due to the Connecticut Green Party's low bank account balance, it would make sense to hire this person, perhaps, as an independent contractor, though reservations were expressed as to whether progressive organizations should be using independent contractors .... The Executive Committee would post the position opening/job description .... The Executive Committee would interview candidates and make a recommendation as to hiring to the SCC. ... A proposal will be submitted by the Executive Committee to the July SCC meeting. 6. Fundraising. The annual fundraising letter (sent out in September last year) might bring in $2500 (a guesstimate). Perhaps, because of the low bank account balance of the Connecticut Green Party, postage could be spent on sending the letter initially to 1000 names. With donations received from this initial mailing, the rest of the names could be mailed to. Or a loan from a Party member could be sought for postage costs. Chapters should be encouraged to hold fundraisers, sharing revenues with the state. Chris pointed out, in particular, the sentence above which reads "Or a loan from a Party member could be sought for postage costs." Chris distributed an excerpt from the minutes of the June 24, 2003 SCC meeting. The attendees at that meeting included all members of the Executive Committee (co-chairs Mike DeRosa, Tom Sevigny, and Justine McCabe; secretary Ed DuBrule, and treasurer Bruce Crowder). Chris' handout included, in part, the following: 5 Treasurer's report. The Party bank account has holds $2,200; $1200 is owed in debt. In a typical month, there is $400 in operating expenses but only $300 comes in. Chris said that the $1,200 owed in debt referred to the rent payments he had made thus far. At this meeting, much to Chris' embarrassment, Mike publicly thanked Chris for paying the rent. Other minutes from this period also mention a debt in the Treasurer's report, Chris said, though a calculation may need to be made. Tom read the Treasurer's report in one of those minutes. Eventually a mailing was done to 1000 names. It had a poor financial return. It raised at most $1500 but cost nearly $1000 to do. No follow-up mailing was done. Therefore Chris did not ask for reimbursement at this time. Bob Eaton was elected treasurer in March 2004. By this time the office rent had risen to $500 per month. One of the rent checks on Chris' spreadsheet is for $150--Bob wrote a check for $350 and Chris wrote a check for $150. Ed DuBrule said that he had sent an e-mail to Bruce a few days ago, asking if Bruce could come to tonight's meeting, but received no reply. Bruce had told the Executive Committee previously that he is now very busy with graduate school and a new job. Ed said that he has multiple copies of an e-mail from Bruce relating to these matters which he could distribute. Question 1 above asks "why Chris Reilly ... did not communicate the presence of the loans to at least two of the co-chairs (Tom and Justine), despite his obvious knowledge of GPC process". Chris said there has never been clear process in the CT Green Party; there has been talk of putting together a policy-and-procedures manual, but no one has ever done it. (Elizabeth reminded us that the July 2004 SCC meeting passed a proposal on financial management.) Chris pointed out that he worked with the treasurer, Bruce, in these matters. Andy asked if Mike and Ed, who had been on the Executive Committee during these events, had known about Chris' spending his own money. Mike said that he had been generally aware of the situation. Ed said that he had been aware that there was a problem involving Chris' spending his own money, though he hadn't understood the details. Lynah said that the Executive Committee had failed in its responsibility to inform the SCC of the situation. Mike said that often in the past Greens spent thousands of dollars and were reimbursed later by the Connecticut Green Party. Chris agreed with this statement. Question 3 above asks " why half of the rent for the Hartford office wasn't paid by the Hartford chapter, even if the SCC half was paid through a loan from Chris." Chris said again that the Hartford chapter's share of the rent was paid for (in some sense) by an accounting entry in the "setasides" account (Hartford chapter balance). The Hartford chapter balance is now large and negative. Chris further noted that per an SCC decision, 30% of donations made to the CTGP are sent back to the chapter of the donor--the failure during 2003 to do a fundraising mailing which included Hartford chapter members had left the Hartford chapter low on funds. Chris said he hoped that a successful annual mailing could be done soon. He said, however, that he was concerned about the condition of the mailing list. The facilitator asked if the secretary could put into the minutes that Chris had addressed all the questions in the Women's Caucus proposal to the best of his ability. There were no objections to this request. Elizabeth said that the intention of the Executive Committee was that Chris should not have to spend his time at future SCC meetings addressing this issue; the hope was that all questions chapter members had could be addressed tonight. Chris had also explained the unreimbursed expenses at the August 2004 SCC meeting. The meeting turned to the proposal from the Executive Committee on partial repayment of Chris (Appendix 2). Mike, Ed DuBrule, and Elizabeth explained that this proposal divided Chris' unreimbursed expenses into two categories: expenses related to the rent payments for the Hartford office, and other expenses (envelopes, postage, printing, and website domain name registration). The Executive Committee feels that consensus may be reachable tonight on repaying Chris the "other expenses"; more discussion among SCC members and chapter members may be needed before consensus is reached on reimbursing Chris for the rent-related expenses. This proposal totals the "other expenses" ($890.82--see proposal) and proposes paying back Chris this amount at the rate of $74.24 per month for twelve months. SCC DECISION: By consensus the SCC passed this proposal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Appendix 1 Proposal on unreimbursed expenditures made by Chris Reilly Green Party Meeting Proposal Form PRESENTER (committee, chapter(s) or group of individuals) CT Green Party Women's Caucus CONTACT (name, address, phone number, email) Kelly McCarthy; 83 Treadwell St, Hamden, CT 06517; 203-230-9726; kelly.mccarthy at aya.yale.edu SUBJECT (10 words or less) Audit of loan to Chris Reilly and explanation from former treasurer Bruce Crowder. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE (100 words or less; include relationship, reasons and/or justification to the State Central Committee) One of the pillars of our party is accountability and transparency in all things; and, at the present, the SCC has been unable to reconcile the debt owed to Chris Reilly because the former treasurer, Bruce Crowder, has not provided any explanation for the situation. Even if Bruce is no longer active with the party, his actions are leaving the GPC heavily in debt and he shares in this responsibility. The Women's Caucus is proposing this audit so we minimize the possibility of similar incidents occurring in the future. PROPOSAL (200 words or less) We propose that the SCC request Bruce Crowder and Chris Reilly appear before the SCC at the next meeting in order to explain the history of the current GPC debt related to the Hartford office. We would like for them to reconcile: 1) why Chris Reilly, founder of the GPC and former treasurer, did not communicate the presence of the loans to at least two of the co-chairs (Tom and Justine), despite his obvious knowledge of GPC process; 2) why Chris wasn't repaid (if the loans were regarded as short-term and "informal" by Bruce and Chris) once there was income from a fundraising letter; 3) why half of the rent for the Hartford office wasn't paid by the Hartford chapter, even if the SCC half was paid through a loan from Chris. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix 2 Proposal from Executive Committee on partial repayment of Chris Reilly. Green Party Meeting Proposal Form PRESENTER (committee, chapter(s) or group of individuals): Executive Committee CONTACT (name, address, phone number, email): Elizabeth M. Brancato, 19 Smith Street, Torrington, CT 06790, embrancato at netzero.com SUBJECT (10 words or less): Partial repayment of Chris Reilly BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE (100 words or less; include relationship, reasons and/or justification to the State Central Committee): Chris Reilly has presented the Executive Committee with receipts for many expenses of the Party that he paid from his own funds during 2003. The Executive Committee has investigated and is satisfied that he paid the amounts that he is claiming. Because members of the SCC still have questions about some of the expenditures and whether or not they were authorized, no authorization to repay Chris has been approved. The Executive Committee believes that all the questions of the SCC should be answered before action to repay Chris can be taken, and we have taken steps to ensure that will happen. In the meantime, we believe there are some expenses that Chris paid that are not in dispute. Those expenses are: $ 35.00 Domain name $58.31 Envelopes $437.11 Postage $360.40 Printing $890.82 TOTAL PROPOSAL (200 words or less): We propose that the Connecticut Green Party repay Chris Reilly for these expenses, at the rate of $74.24 per month, to resolve this debt in one year. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From capeconn at comcast.net Fri Nov 12 15:37:25 2004 From: capeconn at comcast.net (Tom Sevigny) Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 15:37:25 -0500 Subject: {news} Fw: [usgp-coo] Cobb/LaMarche // Recount Ohio Message-ID: <012601c4c8f7$6b524e90$1906a543@sevigny8wcbjrd> Folks, The Cobb/LaMarche campaign and the Libertarian campaign have announced they will be filing for a recount of the votes in Ohio. This announcement has received major press coverage as you can tell from the below message. In order to successfully file, they need to raise $100,000. Money is already coming in from around the country. If you can spare some money, please make a donation to GPUS today! Thanks, Tom ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tony Affigne" To: Sent: Friday, November 12, 2004 11:05 AM Subject: Re: [usgp-coo] Cobb/LaMarche // Recount Ohio > Friends, > > The press coverage was very good. In one item I saw yesterday, Cobb and Badnarik were profiled on MSNBC, in a special report (on Keith Olbermann's "Countdown" show) featuring long shots of both the national Green Party's and Cobb/LaMarche's websites (showing a nice photo of David and Pat), and the "donate" buttons clearly visible. > > Here's a web link with more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240/ > > We were also helped by the way the story was framed yesterday, emphasizing that the Green and Libertarian candidates *wanted to demand a recount, but would have to raise $100,000 first. Perfect fundraising pitch, repeated in nearly every news account. > > Joe Trippi (Howard Dean's internet fundraising/organizing guru, remember?) argued yesterday that many people suspect Bush's re-election was rigged somehow, and are concerned enough to do something about it. > > The Green/Libertarian "Recount Alliance" will be the beneficiary of that energy, at least among any potential donors who heard the news. Sooner or later the Democratic Party may jump in, but for now, as far as fundraising for a recount challenge goes, we're the only game in town. > > Nice work, everyone. > > Tony Affigne > Providence, RI > Alternate > > > At 9:58 AM -0800 11/12/04, Dean Myerson wrote: > >The reaction to the media reports has been nothing short of astonishing. Funds are flowing into the campaign through website credit card donations at a rate far beyond anything the campaign ever received before election day. And we didn't even ask for them. But the asks will start today. At this rate, the $100K plus that is needed may be raised within days. > > > >So a campaign that was in the process of shutting down now is bringing staff back on, researching legal structure issues, designing a new website, planning to send David to Ohio, contacting the various vote/recount organizations, etc, etc and more etc. > > > >Cobb/LaMarche Green and Growing lives on! > > -- > > Tony Affigne > Green Party of Rhode Island > Co-Chair, International Committee > Green Party of the United States > _______________________________________________ > Natlcomvotes mailing list > To send a message to the list, write to: > Natlcomvotes at green.gpus.org > To unsubscribe or change your list options, go to: > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/natlcomvotes > > If your state delegation changes, please see: > http://gp.org/committees/cc/documents/delegate_change.html > > For other information about the Coordinating Committee, see: > http://gp.org/committees/cc/ From edubrule at sbcglobal.net Sat Nov 13 01:19:46 2004 From: edubrule at sbcglobal.net (edubrule) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 01:19:46 -0500 Subject: {news} CANCELED BY SNOW_Nv 13th "Thank You Candidates" Potluck Party / State wide meeting Message-ID: <012801c4c94b$5b4a1b50$7e80f504@edgn2b574u14bi> I saw notice of this event on the News listserve, but I didn't see the cancellation of the event on News, so I'm posting it. --Ed ----- Original Message ----- From: Tim McKee To: ctgp at lists.riseup.net Sent: Friday, November 12, 2004 2:45 PM Subject: [ctgp] CANCELED BY SNOW_Nv 13th "Thank You Candidates" Potluck Party / State wide meeting Ice and personal illness in my family has canceled this event for now-TIM MCKEE Contact: Tim McKee, 860-643-2282 We invite all Green Party backers, candidates and other who are just interested in the Green Party to our first "Thank You Candidates! and Where Do We Go From Here?" potluck luncheon and meeting. We want to hear from the candidates and "Thank Them" for running! We want to hear what went right.. wrong and ways to improve our local candidates campaigns! The funny little stories, endorsements and numbers.. and hopefully WINS! We have over 209 elected Greens and we will update you on: Local candidate races, Congressional races The Presidential Race (David Cobb and Ralph Nader results) First Church Of Christ, 190 Court Street,( off Main Street at Court) in Middletown, CT Sat. Nov. 13, 11 AM to 2 PM, It's the big room on the first floor, on the left side. Our second main agenda after lunch is "Where Do We Go From Here?" Kerry or Bush is President and what is their agenda? Voting reforms on the local level- we had a good start. Fighting Sprawl. Health Care Reform. Repealing the Patriot Act. THE WAR!!! YOU tell us! The event is free, but small donations will be accepted to cover the cost the room. No one will be turned away for lack of money. Please bring any cover dish, salads, drinks, or what ever you like. If you can not bring any dish, please pitch in with a little extra for the room cost Here are driving instructions from anywhere: Hartford, Cromwell and Points North: Take Route 9 South. At the second set of lights (exit #15 for Route 66 West) take a right on Washington Street. At the next light take a left on Main Street. Turn right at the next cross street, Court Street (just past Bob's Surplus). The church is half a block up on the right. Portland and Points East: Take Route 66 West over the Arrigoni Bridge. At the first light, continue straight (South) on Main Street. Counting that light as one, at the fifth light (just past Bob's Surplus) take a right on Court Street. The church is half a block up on the right. Haddam and Points Southeast: Take Route 9 North. At the first set of lights (exit #15 for Route 66 West) take a left on Washington Street. At the next light take a left on Main Street. Turn right at the next cross street, Court Street (just past Bob's Surplus). The church is half a block up on the right. Durham and Points Southwest: Take Route 17 North all the way to downtown Middletown, and take a left onto Main Street at the South Green. Counting that light as one, at the fourth light take a left on Court Street. The church is half a block up on the right. Meriden and Points West: Take Route 66 East all the way to downtown Middletown. Take a right onto Main Street. Turn right at the next cross street, Court Street (just past Bob's Surplus). The church is half a block up on the right. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Sat Nov 13 08:15:30 2004 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 08:15:30 -0500 Subject: {news} Fw: GREEN RELEASE Fallujah offensive risks turning Iraq intoVietnam, say Greens Message-ID: <055c01c4c982$d9f43c10$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES http://www.gp.org For Immediate Release: Friday, November 12, 2004 Contacts: Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-487-0693, mclarty at greens.org Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576, nallen at acadia.net FALLUJAH OFFENSIVE RISKS TURNING IRAQ WAR INTO VIETNAM WAR, SAY GREENS WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Greens warn that the Fallujah offensive, with heavy civilian casualties and destruction of infrastructure, has completed the transformation of the Iraq invasion into the Vietnam War. "The insistence that Iraq is better off without Saddam Hussein while killing between 10,000 and 100,000 Iraqi civilians has turned President Bush's rationale for the invasion into a grotesque joke," said Tony Gronowicz, a member of the International Committee of the Green Party of the United States and author. Greens said that heavy civilian casualties in Fallujah will turn more Iraqis against the U.S., especially in other Sunni cities, leading to a longer occupation and destroying hopes for democracy in Iraq. "Even if Operation Phantom Fury succeeds in suppressing the insurgency in Fallujah, the result may be more sympathy for the Iraqi resistance throughout Iraq, which can hardly be called a victory," said Justine McCabe, Connecticut Green and member of the International Committee. Greens noted the silence of Sen. John Kerry and other Democrats on the Fallujah operation. The Green Party has strongly opposed the invasion of Iraq, demanded an immediate end to the occupation, and called for support for U.S. troops by removing them from harm's way and returning them home. Greens also noted that: -- Estimates of Iraqi civilian deaths range from 10,000 (the British Foreign Secretary) to 14,000 to 100,000 (The Lancet). -- The U.S. occupation forces have prohibited Iraqi men between ages 14 and 60 from fleeing the city, a policy in violation of international law. -- The U.S. attack has destroyed one emergency hospital; U.S. military forces now occupy the city's only remaining hospital, blocking civilians from receiving medical attention. Bombs have been dropped on civilian neighborhoods and mosques targeted and destroyed. -- The attitude of invasion apologists suggests a dangerous mindset similar to "In order to save the village, we had to destroy it" in Vietnam. "Even if Fallujah has to go the way of Carthage, reduced to shards, the price will be worth it" -- former military officer and neo-con ideologue Ralph Peters, The New York Post, November 4, 2004 . --A major Sunni Muslim political party, the Iraqi Islamic Party, quit the interim Iraqi government and revoked its sole cabinet minister to protest the attack on Fallujah. Party head Mohsen Abdel-Hamid explained, "We are protesting the attack on Fallujah and the injustice that is inflicted on the innocent people of the city." -- In having announced the Fallujah attack well in advance of the operation itself, the Bush Administration gave insurgents time to prepare sufficient defense to place U.S. military personnel at great risk; the publicity for Operation Phantom Fury began before the attack -- especially before Election Day -- suggests that one of the operation's chief purposes was homeland political propaganda. -- Defense Secretary Rumsfeld continues to depict insurgents as extremists loyal to Saddam Hussein, when in fact the Iraq resistance ranges from Islamic groups that opposed the ousted dictator to Iraqi civilians who lost their businesses and jobs under the U.S. occupation after administrator Paul Bremer opened up Iraqi businesses and resources to foreign corporate ownership. "There's no doubt that decapitation of hostages by insurgents is atrocious, but the Iraqi people understandably don't see the mass killing of civilians by U.S. bombs as any less barbaric," said Peter LaVenia, chair of the Albany County, New York, Green Party and president of the Green Alliance. MORE INFORMATION The Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org 1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404 Washington, DC 20009. 202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN Fax 202-319-7193 2004 Green candidates and election results http://www.greens.org/elections ~ END ~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timmckee at sbcglobal.net Thu Nov 11 07:51:06 2004 From: timmckee at sbcglobal.net (Tim McKee) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 04:51:06 -0800 (PST) Subject: {news} Reminder- please pass along-Nov 13th "Thank You Candidates" Potluck Party / State wide meeting Message-ID: <20041111125106.94988.qmail@web81101.mail.yahoo.com> Contact: Tim McKee, 860-643-2282 We invite all Green Party backers, candidates and other who are just interested in the Green Party to our first "Thank You Candidates! and Where Do We Go From Here?" potluck luncheon and meeting. We want to hear from the candidates and "Thank Them" for running! We want to hear what went right.. wrong and ways to improve our local candidates campaigns! The funny little stories, endorsements and numbers.. and hopefully WINS! We have over 209 elected Greens and we will update you on: Local candidate races, Congressional races The Presidential Race (David Cobb and Ralph Nader results) First Church Of Christ, 190 Court Street,( off Main Street at Court) in Middletown, CT Sat. Nov. 13, 11 AM to 2 PM, It?s the big room on the first floor, on the left side. Our second main agenda after lunch is "Where Do We Go From Here?" Kerry or Bush is President and what is their agenda? Voting reforms on the local level- we had a good start. Fighting Sprawl. Health Care Reform. Repealing the Patriot Act. THE WAR!!! YOU tell us! The event is free, but small donations will be accepted to cover the cost the room. No one will be turned away for lack of money. Please bring any cover dish, salads, drinks, or what ever you like. If you can not bring any dish, please pitch in with a little extra for the room cost Here are driving instructions from anywhere: Hartford, Cromwell and Points North: Take Route 9 South. At the second set of lights (exit #15 for Route 66 West) take a right on Washington Street. At the next light take a left on Main Street. Turn right at the next cross street, Court Street (just past Bob's Surplus). The church is half a block up on the right. Portland and Points East: Take Route 66 West over the Arrigoni Bridge. At the first light, continue straight (South) on Main Street. Counting that light as one, at the fifth light (just past Bob's Surplus) take a right on Court Street. The church is half a block up on the right. Haddam and Points Southeast: Take Route 9 North. At the first set of lights (exit #15 for Route 66 West) take a left on Washington Street. At the next light take a left on Main Street. Turn right at the next cross street, Court Street (just past Bob's Surplus). The church is half a block up on the right. Durham and Points Southwest: Take Route 17 North all the way to downtown Middletown, and take a left onto Main Street at the South Green. Counting that light as one, at the fourth light take a left on Court Street. The church is half a block up on the right. Meriden and Points West: Take Route 66 East all the way to downtown Middletown. Take a right onto Main Street. Turn right at the next cross street, Court Street (just past Bob's Surplus). The church is half a block up on the right. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Mon Nov 15 15:15:42 2004 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 15:15:42 -0500 Subject: {news} [NB:Address change] DEC. 4th A Cultural Evening for Palestine: Benefit Dinner and award-winning, "Rana's Wedding" Message-ID: <009701c4cb4f$e3753220$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> Dear all, Join us to support Palestinian arts, the rebuilding of its civil society and peace! (Benefit for al-Rowwad Children's Theater: http://www.artistsnetwork.org/news13/news614.html) After a super dinner prepared by Oliva Cafe, there will be a showing of feature film Rana's Wedding, the 2003 recipent of Human Rights Watch International Film Festival's Nestor Almendros Prize.You can buy tickets from me or see information below. Seating is limited. (PLEASE NOTE Address change from earlier post) Justine ============================================= Al-Awda-CT, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, presents: Dinner & A Movie: A CULTURAL EVENING FOR PALESTINE Members of Al Rowwad Children's Theater from Aida Refugee Camp Please join us for an evening of Palestinian culture! Saturday, December 4 at 6 p.m. First United Methodist Church 24 Old Church Street, Middletown, CT Tickets: $20 per person; $10 students and children under 12 ? Middle Eastern food prepared by New York Times' five-star chef/owner of Oliva Caf?, New Preston ? A screening of the award-winning Palestinian film Rana's Wedding ? Doorprizes, silent auction of Palestinian arts, crafts, and olive oil All proceeds will benefit the U.S. 2005 summer tour of Al Rowwad Children's Theater from Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem. Reservations and tickets are available by calling 860-536-4640, 860-824-7636, or by sending a check to Palestine Right to Return Coalition, P.O. Box 1172, Orange, CT 06477-7172. Seating is limited! Please reserve early! Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, is a registered charitable and educational nonprofit organization. Donations are tax deductible. For more information, go to www.al-awda.org. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: clip_image002.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 8017 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: clip_image004.gif Type: image/gif Size: 527 bytes Desc: not available URL: From chapillsbury at igc.org Mon Nov 15 18:27:53 2004 From: chapillsbury at igc.org (Charlie Pillsbury) Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 18:27:53 -0500 Subject: {news} USGP Ad in tomorrow's NY Times (except CT, NJ & NY) Message-ID: <011f01c4cb6a$bc5e6010$6801a8c0@EXDIR04> Morning After ----- Original Message ----- From: Kara Mullen, Green Party of the US To: chapillsbury at igc.org Sent: Monday, November 15, 2004 4:54 PM Subject: Ad in tomorrow's NY Times Dear Friend, I have some exciting news for all fans of the Green Party. At long last, the New York Times finally found room to run our "Morning After Ad" in the Tuesday, November 16th edition of the paper. The ad will run in tomorrow's New York Times issue in all regions of the country outside metropolitan New York City. The ad will be a full-page ad in the news section and will reach 500,000 people in 48 states including upstate New York. "Sick of cleaning up after other people's parties?" asks the ad, which depicts the back ends of a donkey and an elephant. "Join the party that won't make a mess of things." The ad encourages citizens to "Register Green. Vote Green. Give Green." The advertisement will also mention the Green House parties which will be happening all over the country now through January. We encourage you to host a Green House party in your community. If you would like to host a Green House party during the holidays, sign up at www.gp.org/houseparty. This is a critical time to reach voters who may feel disenfranchised after the election. Perhaps they know that the time is now to stop supporting the two corporate parties who no longer have the interests of hard-working Americans close to their hearts. If you haven't yet registered Green, maybe now is the time. Sincerely, Kara Mullen, Fundraising Director PS: Stay tuned. Your monthly edition of GreenLine will arrive in your inbox this week. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Paid for by the Green Party of the United States PO Box 57065 Washington, DC 20037 866-41GREEN or 202 319 7191 Click to unsubscribe -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From capeconn at comcast.net Mon Nov 15 18:44:18 2004 From: capeconn at comcast.net (Tom Sevigny) Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 18:44:18 -0500 Subject: {news} Ohio will have a recount!! Message-ID: <010801c4cb6d$06431570$1906a543@sevigny8wcbjrd> Recount in Ohio A Sure Thing Green Party Campaign Raises $150,000 in 4 Days, Shifts Gears to Phase II WASHINGTON - November 15 - There will be a recount of the presidential vote in Ohio. On Thursday, David Cobb, the Green Party's 2004 presidential candidate, announced his intention to seek a recount of the vote in Ohio. Since the required fee for a statewide recount is $113,600, the only question was whether that money could be raised in time to meet the filing deadline. That question has been answered. "Thanks to the thousands of people who have contributed to this effort, we can say with certainty that there will be a recount in Ohio," said Blair Bobier, Media Director for the Cobb-LaMarche campaign. "The grassroots support for the recount has been astounding. The donations have come in fast and furiously, with the vast majority in the $10-$50 range, allowing us to meet our goal for the first phase of the recount effort in only four days," said Bobier. Bobier said the campaign is still raising money for the next phase of the recount effort which will be recruiting, training and mobilizing volunteers to monitor the actual recount. The Ohio presidential election was marred by numerous press and independent reports of mis-marked and discarded ballots, problems with electronic voting machines and the targeted disenfranchisement of African American voters. A number of citizens' groups and voting rights organizations are holding the second of two hearings today in Columbus, Ohio, to take testimony from voters, poll watchers and election experts about problems with the Ohio vote. The hearing, from 6-9 p.m., will be held at the Courthouse, meeting room A, 373 S. High St., in Columbus. The Cobb-LaMarche campaign will be represented at the hearing by campaign manager Lynne Serpe. A demand for a recount in Ohio can only be filed by a presidential candidate who was either a certified write-in candidate or on the ballot in that state. Both Green Party candidate David Cobb and Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik will be demanding a recount. No other candidate has stated an intention to seek a recount and no other citizen or organization would have legal standing to do so in Ohio. The Cobb-LaMarche campaign is still exploring the possibility of seeking recounts in other states but no decision has been made yet -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Mon Nov 15 21:52:44 2004 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 21:52:44 -0500 Subject: {news} Fw: GREEN RELEASE Greens launch post-election 'Morning After' ad campaign in NYT Message-ID: <00e101c4cb87$593f4a40$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES http://www.gp.org For Immediate Release: Monday, November 15, 2004 Contacts: Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-487-0693, mclarty at greens.org Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576, nallen at acadia.net GREEN PARTY LAUNCHES 'MORNING AFTER' AD CAMPAIGN Greens offer a cure for the Election 2004 hangover in a full-page New York Times ad on November 16. Downloadable PDF copy of the ad: http://www.gp.org/morningafter.pdf WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Green Party of the United States has launched its first-ever ad campaign with a full page ad to run in the New York Times on Tuesday, November 16. "Sick of cleaning up after other people's parties?" asks the ad, which depicts the back ends of a donkey and an elephant. "Join the party that won't make a mess of things." The ad encourages citizens to "Register Green. Vote Green. Give Green." "In the wake of the 2004 election, it's clear that America needs a strong independent, noncorporate party more than ever," said Jody Grage Haug, co-chair of the national party. "America can do better than widespread election fraud, ballooning deficits, massive job losses, and a disastrous war in Iraq that has made the world less safe." The full-page New York Times ad, a first for the Green Party, is an unusual choice for the noncorporate Greens. "We're reaching out with this campaign because the American people deserve to know that there are progressive political voices and choices in this country," said Kara Mullen, national fundraising director for the Green Party. "The Green Party is rolling up its sleeves in communities across the country to clean up the mess left by Democrats and Republicans." One such action has been undertaken by Green presidential nominee David Cobb, who recently announced his intention to file a formal demand for a recount of presidential ballots cast in Ohio, due to widespread reports of voting irregularites there. A series of Green election successes in 2004, including Maine Legislator John Eder and San Francisco Board of Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi, show that the Greens are building the party from the grassroots up. "We're growing in number, running better and stronger campaigns, and winning key elections across the U.S.," said Brent McMillan, the Green Party's national political director. Ms. Mullen said that the national Green Party will continue to place "Morning After" ads in other national publications to promote the party and raise issues that are not adequately covered by the American media. For a list of story ideas about Green Party election successes in 2004, visit . MORE INFORMATION The Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org 1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404 Washington, DC 20009. 202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN Fax 202-319-7193 ~ END ~ From capeconn at comcast.net Tue Nov 16 15:39:00 2004 From: capeconn at comcast.net (Tom Sevigny) Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 15:39:00 -0500 Subject: {news} Green Blitz! Help get the Green Party into the media, Nov. 17-19 Message-ID: <015c01c4cc1c$4ddbd660$1906a543@sevigny8wcbjrd> Folks, Here is how you can help the Green Party! Tom > GREEN BLITZ > Wednesday, Nov. 17 to Friday, Nov. 19 > > Write letters to the editor, guest op-ed column > submissions, articles, etc.! (Sample letter > below) > > Please forward this to all Greens and all Green > e-mail lists! > > > Dear Green Party members, > > We're launching an effort to make the most of the > press we're getting this week in connection with > the Ohio recount that the Cobb/LaMarche campaign > has undertaken, as well as the Green Party ad > placed in The New York Times on Tuesday, November > 16 . > We've already gotten some good coverage from > MSNBC.com and other media. > > We're inviting all members and friends of the > Green Party to help us out with a Green media > campaign from Wednesday, November 17 to Friday, > November 19. We're calling it 'Green Blitz' -- > we want to blitz the media with as many letters, > column submissions, and articles as possible > about the Ohio recount, the Green role in it, and > our principled defense of democracy. > > Here's what we're asking you to do: > > ==> Between Wednesday and Friday, write a letter > to the editor, a guest op-ed column, an article, > or an essay about the Ohio recount. Send it to > your local daily newspaper, weekly community > periodical, or monthly magazine. See below for > suggested 'talking points' about the Ohio > recount, a sample letter, and advice about > writing. > > ==> Post your letter, column, etc. on e-mail > discussion lists for other Greens to read. > Notify the Media Committee > if your submission gets published, so we can > circulate and archive it. > > ==> We challenge any Green who doesn't write a > letter, column, etc. during the Green Blitz to > make a donation of $25 or more to the Green > Party! Donate on line at: > https://secure.democracyinaction.org/dia/shop/Greens/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=26 > > Please join the Green Blitz, and help the Green > Party, either through your creativity or your > generosity! The more letters, columns, and > articles that get published, the more people will > see the Green Party as the beacon of hope in the > next four years. > > Thanks! > > Scott McLarty > Media Committee co-chair > > > //\\//\\//\\//\\//\\// > > > TALKING POINTS > Basic facts and suggestions for what to write > about the Ohio recount, Green involvement, and > Green dedication to democracy > > -- Two presidential candidates, David Cobb (Green > Party) and Michael Badnarik (Libertarian Party) > will formally demand a recount of the > presidential ballots in Ohio. The Ohio Green > Party and the Green Party of the United States > are cooperating with Mr. Cobb. > > -- The Ohio recount is necessary because of > documented voting irregularities: numerous press > and independent reports of voter intimidation, > mismarked and discarded ballots, problems with > electronic voting machines, and the targeted > disenfranchisement of African American voters. > > -- Cobb and Badnarik are demanding that Ohio > Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a > Republican who chaired the Ohio Bush campaign, > recuse himself from the recount process. > > -- Greens are demanding auditable paper ballot > trails to verify all votes cast on computer > voting machines. If the result of the Ohio > recount movement is the implementation of > auditable paper ballots, it will be a huge > victory for democracy. > > -- Most of the malfunctions allegedly favored > Bush; the exit polls gave accurate results for > Senate candidates, but not for the presidential > candidates. > > -- Greens aren't pushing for a recount because > it'll change the outcome of the election. (It > probably won't.) We're not fighting for John > Kerry. Greens are pursuing a recount because > it's the best way to ensure fair elections and > accurate vote counts now and in the future. The > integrity of the voting process is at stake: we > won't know what other problems there might be > with the election unless we recount. > > -- The Cobb and Badnarik campaigns have raised > the required recount fee for the recount, and are > now collecting money and volunteers for the > monitoring effort. To donate: > http://web.greens.org/c/cobb/supporters.cgi or > http://www.votecobb.org > > -- For the Democratic Party's leadership, the > lesson of the 2000 Florida scandal was that > controversy should be avoided, even if votes were > obstructed or uncounted. For the Green Party, > the lesson of 2000 is that we need to fight for > fair elections, the right to vote, accurate vote > counts, and the future of our democracy. > > -- The Green Party has consistently spoken out > for the right to vote and the right of every vote > to be counted, for investigation of obstructed > votes, and for auditable paper ballot trails to > verify all votes cast on computer voting > machines. Greens are also campaigning for clean > election options, Instant Runoff Voting, > abolition of the Electoral College, enforcement > of the 14th Amendment's guarantee of voting > rights. > > -- YOUR IDEA HERE > > > //\\//\\//\\//\\//\\// > > > Letters to the Editor > The Daily Newspaper > Tuesday, November 16, 2004 > > To the Editor, > > George W. Bush's reelection might not be in > doubt, but the votes cast by many voters in Ohio > and other states are, according to thousands of > complaints about obstructed votes, legitimate > voters who were disqualified, malfunctioning > computer voting machines, and other > irregularities in the 2004 election. > > The efforts of presidential candidates David Cobb > (Green Party) and Michael Badnarik (Libertarian) > to effect a recount in Ohio probably won't alter > the outcome of the 2004 election. But the > recount deserves support because it's the best > way to test and begin repairing the integrity of > our elections, and to ensure that every vote is > counted. > > If one result of the recount is auditable paper > ballot trails for all computer voting machines in > Ohio, it'll be a victory for all voters. > > For the Democratic Party's leadership, which > refuses to press for a recount, the lesson of > Florida in 2000 seems to be that controversy must > be avoided at all costs. For those of us in the > Green Party, the lesson is that we need to fight > for the right to vote, for accurate vote counts, > and for the future of our democracy. > > Joe/Jane Green > Mudville, USA > > > //\\//\\//\\//\\//\\// > > > ADVICE on writing a letter to the editor, column, > or article: > > -- The talking points are suggestions -- use as > many or as few of them as you like. Rewrite them > using your own words if you prefer. > > -- Be concise! Newspaper editors usually have a > 500 to 750 word limit on columns, and a 250 word > limit on letters. (Look it up on line before you > start writing, and make sure you follow all the > requirements.) A letter to the editor that's > four sentences long is a lot more likely to get > printed than one that's four paragraphs. > > -- Don't incorporate all the recommended talking > points. In a letter to the editor, it's best to > make one or two strong points. A column can > include a lot more information, but should still > focus on one or two points. Delete all > unnecessary words, especially phrases like "In my > opinion..." and "I think that...." Don't repeat > yourself. > > -- Be extremely clear and punchy in the way you > express yourself. Also, a letter or column that > includes a little humor or irony or says > something in a novel way is more likely to get > published. > > -- If you can personalize the letter or column > ("My nephew was sent to Iraq..."; "I'm one of 45 > million Americans without health insurance..."), > you'll increase your chances of getting > published. > > -- It often helps to reference an already > published article in the newspaper to which your > letter is addressed. > > -- Be specific; avoid abstractions. For > instance, "Greens support working people" and > "Greens support economic justice" are meaningless > -- Dems & Repubs say the same thing. Instead say > something like "Greens support living wages and > repeal of Taft-Hartley restrictions on workplace > organizing" or "Greens support the efforts of UAW > Local 27 to win better wages etc..." > > -- Be sure to mention the Green Party somewhere > in your letter or column, or mention that you're > a Green Party member, or mention a Green > candidate or officeholder. > > > MORE INFORMATION > > Cobb/LaMarche campaign http://www.votecobb.org > Ohio Green Party http://www.ohiogreens.org > Article on Ohio vote manipulation > http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2004/810 > Disparity between exit polls and vote counts > http://www.ilcaonline.org/freeman.pdf > Voting irregularities throughout the US > http://www.demos-usa.org/page196.cfm > Center for Voting and Democracy > http://www.fairvote.org > Beyond Voting Campaign > http://www.beyondvoting.org > November 3rd Democracy Movement > http://www.nov3.us > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Meet the all-new My Yahoo! - Try it today! > http://my.yahoo.com > > > _______________________________________________ > usgp-media mailing list > usgp-media at lists.gp-us.org > http://lists.gp-us.org/mailman/listinfo/usgp-media From karinlee1 at mindspring.com Tue Nov 16 20:17:45 2004 From: karinlee1 at mindspring.com (Karin Lee Norton) Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 20:17:45 -0500 Subject: {news} Fwd: Watch PBS FRONTLINE tonight, Tues, 9pm : Is Wal-Mart Good For America? Message-ID: > >Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 09:54:40 -0800 (PST) >From: angel wilson >Subject: Re: PBS FRONTLINE tonight, Tues, 9pm Wal-Mart >To: "Karin L. Norton" >X-ELNK-AV: 0 > > >Hola Karin, Just in case your members haven't heard >yet, tonight on your locat PBS station, at 9 pm is the >program, Is Wal-Mart Good for America?. It should >prove interesting for us all... Hope you can see it. DEB > From edubrule at sbcglobal.net Tue Nov 16 22:29:59 2004 From: edubrule at sbcglobal.net (edubrule) Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 22:29:59 -0500 Subject: {news} Sat. November 20 Central CT State University peace forum Message-ID: <002201c4cc5d$342b6320$8a95f504@edgn2b574u14bi> A statewide forum to discuss how to: End the Occupation of Iraq, Bring the Troops Home Now and Address the Human Costs of U.S. Wars in the Middle East 10am--Registration and tabling (see note below on tabling*) 11am--Keynote speaker: Bill Fletcher, Jr. is an important African American scholar, labor, and peace and justice activist. Fletcher is currently President of TransAfrica Forum 12:30pm--Strategy and Perspectives. A panel of representatives from: --national United for Peace and Justice --ANSWER --Not in Our Name --U.S. Labor Against the War --Campus Antiwar Network --Iraqi Veterans Against the War 2pm--Worshops on: --high school counter-recruitment --labor --veterans and military families --campus organizing --war and the environment --nonviolence as a strategy --connecting the dots: Palestine and Iraq --reaching beyond the choir: organizing neighborhood by neighborhood 5:30pm--Where do We Go From Here? A plenary to share post-election analyses and discuss proposals for winter/spring actions. Saturday, November 20, Student Center, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain CT More information: www.ctunitedforpeace.org Sponsor: CT United for Peace Host: CCSU Peace Studies Department *Note: the Green Party, like other organizations, has been invited to table. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From capeconn at comcast.net Wed Nov 17 13:03:59 2004 From: capeconn at comcast.net (Tom Sevigny) Date: Wed, 17 Nov 2004 13:03:59 -0500 Subject: {news} Fw: [usgp-media] COBB 2004 RELEASE: KUCINICH SUPPORTS OHIO RECOUNT Message-ID: <001401c4cccf$d060fc10$1906a543@sevigny8wcbjrd> ----- Original Message ----- From: Blair Bobier, Esq. To: blair at votecobb.org Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 10:31 AM Subject: [usgp-media] COBB 2004 RELEASE: KUCINICH SUPPORTS OHIO RECOUNT NEWS RELEASE For immediate release: November 17, 2004 Contact: Blair Bobier, Media Director at 541.929.5755 KUCINICH SUPPORTS GREEN PARTY DEMAND FOR OHIO RECOUNT Support for Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb's demand for a recount of the Ohio presidential vote continues to grow. Ohio Congressman and former presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich has joined a growing list of individuals and organizations calling for a recount. "I strongly support the request for a recount in Ohio," Kucinich said in a statement sent to the Cobb-LaMarche campaign. Kucinich said that a "recount is an appropriate response to officials who tried to suppress the vote" and that the "highly partisan activities of state election officials cast doubt on the integrity of the elections process." Cobb and Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik, who intend to file jointly for the recount, have demanded that Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican who chaired the Ohio Bush campaign, recuse himself from the recount process. "We need an election system and election officials we can trust. The problems in Florida in 2000 and the problems in Ohio in 2004 will repeat themselves in 2008 unless we do something about it. Our elections should be administered by an independent non-partisan commission, and not by the state chairs of the Republican presidential campaign," said David Cobb. The Secretary of State in Florida in 2000, Katherine Harris, was also the state chair of the Bush campaign and the person responsible for counting the presidential ballots. Kucinich's support of Cobb's recount demand comes on the heels of another prominent endorsement of this effort. On Monday, Common Cause, the National Voting Rights Institute, Demos, the Fannie Lou Hamer Project and People for the American Way Foundation issued a joint statement in support of the Cobb and Badnarik demand for an Ohio recount. Kucinich expressed his appreciation of the growing movement demanding accountability for the 2004 election. "Thank you to the Greens and all others whose support for a recount will rescue a shred of honesty in the conduct of the 2004 Ohio election," said Kucinich. The Cobb-LaMarche campaign is now in the process of recruiting volunteers and raising funds for monitoring the actual recount process which is expected to take place in early December. Volunteers and donors should visit the campaign website, http://www.votecobb.org, for more information. -30- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: clip_image001.gif Type: image/gif Size: 7951 bytes Desc: not available URL: From edubrule at sbcglobal.net Thu Nov 18 21:31:38 2004 From: edubrule at sbcglobal.net (edubrule) Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 21:31:38 -0500 Subject: {news} Executive Committee meeting Sunday 11/21 2pm Hartford office Message-ID: <004d01c4cde0$2e461610$aabff504@edgn2b574u14bi> The Connecticut Green Party Executive Committee (co-chairs, treasurer, and secretary) will meet Sunday November 21 at 2:00 pm at the Hartford office. Any Green is invited to attend Executive Committee meetings as an observer. ------------------------------------------------ The office is at 418-A New Britain Ave., Hartford. The office is just east of the intersection of Hillside Ave. with New Britain Ave. It's next to Roma's Bakery on the north side of New Britain Ave, across from Piolin Restaurant. The office phone is 860-524-9448. For a map, go to www.ctgreens.org; on the left of the homepage click on "Hartford" (Hartford chapter), then click where it says "click here for directions". If coming from the west on I-84: Take exit 44 (Prospect Ave.). At the end of the exit ramp are two stop signs--take a left onto a road (Caya Ave) that quickly brings you to Prospect Ave. Take a right onto Prospect Ave. **When Prospect Ave. meets New Park Ave. (you'll see a Crowley Chevrolet dealership) take a right onto New Park Ave. Take a left onto Flatbush Ave. (a Shell Gas Station and a Volkswagen dealership are on the corner of New Park and Flatbush). Travel past Hartford State Technical College (now a branch of Capital Community College) and you'll reach Hillside Ave (a small grocery store is on the corner of Flatbush Ave. and Hillside Ave). Take a right onto Hillside Ave. When Hillside Ave. intersects New Britain Ave. (see another small grocery store) take a left. The Greens office and Roma's Bakery can be seen on the left. If coming from the east on I-84: Take exit 44 (Prospect and Oakwood Avenues). At the end of the exit ramp you'll see Prospect Plaza (a shopping center that includes Home Town Buffet). Take a right onto Kane St. Take a right onto Prospect Ave. (a Shell Gas Station and a Burger King are at the corner of Prospect Ave. and Kane St.) Continue along Prospect Ave. until you reach New Park Ave (you'll see Crowley Chevrolet dealership). Then follow the directions at ** above. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From edubrule at sbcglobal.net Thu Nov 18 22:46:13 2004 From: edubrule at sbcglobal.net (edubrule) Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 22:46:13 -0500 Subject: {news} minutes October 2004 SCC meeting,part 1 of 3 Message-ID: <016201c4cdea$917f7ff0$aabff504@edgn2b574u14bi> Minutes--October 26, 2004 SCC meeting, Fisk Hall, Wesleyan University Attendees: 1. Central Connecticut chapter: Vincent Maruffi, Steve Krevisky 2. Fairfield chapter: Ed Friend 3. Hamden chapter: Aaron Gustafson, Francis Braunlich 4. Hartford chapter: Ed DuBrule (NV), Lynah (voting for Hartford chapter and for Women's Caucus), Mike DeRosa, Barbara Barry DeRosa, Chris Reilly (NV) 5. New London chapter: Andy Derr 6. Northwest chapter: Elizabeth Brancato 7. Shoreline chapter: Colin Bennett 8. Tolland chapter: Tim McKee (facilitator) NV=non-voting A quorum was not reached until 8pm. Reports were done from 7:15-8pm. A. PRELIMINARIES. The agenda item "Comments/approval of September SCC minutes" was not taken up. Treasurer's report (read by Ed DuBrule): "The filing with the state for the third quarter was completed last Thursday. "Our receipts were $260. $160 of that was from monthly contributions. Our total expenses were $190.60. $85 of that was for credit card processing. That number includes a $50 annual fee as well as $35 for the month. We also paid out $51 for the phone service at the office in Hartford and $51 for the electric service at the office in Hartford. Rounding out the expenses was $3 for the toll free phone number. "Coming up soon we will owe another $250 for rent on the office in Hartford. "Currently we have a balance of $1,318. "I want to thank Chris Reilly for doing the inventory for the assessment for the office in Hartford. This is due on November 1st and is required by the city of Hartford for determining property taxes on the office. "As always please consider being involved in the Fundraising and Budget Committees. "For more information on the CT Green Party Finances you can call me at 860 379-0632, email me at green at spazmo.com or look at this webpage: http://www.kirajoy.com/CTGP/CTGP_Treasurer.html "Bob Eaton CT Green Party Treasurer" Chris said that his inventory of the Hartford office showed $1800 (overall assessment) but with depreciation taxes will be levied on $539. Unreimbursed expenditures of Chris Reilly. The Executive Committee requested that Chris make a presentation to the SCC tonight on his unreimbursed expenditures. During his presentation, Chris responded to the questions raised in the Women's Caucus proposal on those unreimbursed expenditures (Appendix 1). That proposal includes the following questions: "1) why Chris Reilly, founder of the GPC and former treasurer, did not communicate the presence of the loans to at least two of the co-chairs (Tom and Justine), despite his obvious knowledge of GPC process; "2) why Chris wasn't repaid (if the loans were regarded as short-term and 'informal' by Bruce and Chris) once there was income from a fundraising letter; "3) why half of the rent for the Hartford office wasn't paid by the Hartford chapter, even if the SCC half was paid through a loan from Chris." Chris passed out an Excel spreadsheet listing expenditures he made and for which he has not been reimbursed. The spreadsheet lists 17 expenditures; the earliest is dated 4/1/03 and the latest is dated 3/12/04. Six of the expenditures are rent payments for the Hartford office. The rent payments range from $150 to $800 and total $2,650. Ten of the expenditures are for envelopes, postage, or printing. They range from $6.29 to $370 and total $855.82. Finally, there is a $35 check made out to Network Solutions for domain registration renewal for the CTGP website. The total of the unreimbursed expenditures is $3540.82. Chris passed around, for viewing by all SCC attendees, a cancelled check, cash register receipt from OfficeMax, receipt from the US Postal Service, or similar documentation for each of the seventeen entries on the spreadsheet. Tim, the facilitator, asked if any attendees had any questions relating to the receipts and cancelled checks that Chris had passed around--no one did. Chris said that the November 14, 2000 SCC meeting had decided that the state party would pay half the rent and half the utilities for the Hartford office. At this time the rent was $400 per month. For months after that the CTGP treasurer wrote a check for the entire rent for the office and made an accounting entry for the Hartford chapter's half of the rent (this accounting entry was made in the Hartford chapter's "setaside" account, also known as the "chapter balance"). During this period Chris sent the treasurer a reminder that the rent was coming due, the treasurer sent Chris the check, and Chris brought the check to the landlord. Then in February 2003 Bruce Crowder was elected treasurer. In early April 2003 Chris learned from Bruce that the rent hadn't been paid for two months. Due to problems with bank paperwork, Bruce had been unable to sign CTGP checks. Bruce agreed that Chris should pay two months' rent ($800--March and April), and Chris did this. Later the landlord informed Chris that they had received a $400 check from Chris Nelson, the former treasurer, so that the $800 paid by Chris became rent for April and May. Chris straightened out the problems at the bank with the paperwork. Chris said that in 2000 the CTGP had raised over $25,000, including nearly $9,000 from the annual fundraising letter. In 2001 almost $15,000 had been raised, including close to $10,000 from the letter. But in 2002, after Chris had stopped being treasurer, a fundraising letter did not go out. Thus in early 2003, when Bruce took over the treasurer position, the party checking account held only $2000 or less. It required about $2,000 in postage and printing costs to mail the annual letter, so Chris proposed paying the office rent for a month so that CTGP funds could be used for the mailing. Some progress was made toward putting together the maiing--Ed Savage worked on merging the chapters' lists. The next month Chris e-mailed Bruce and again offered to pay the office rent. Chris distributed an excerpt from the minutes of the 7/21/03 Executive Committee meeting. Chris' handout included, in part, the following: 5. Hiring of staffperson(s). A proposal submitted by Tim McKee to the Executive Committee is appended .... The Executive Committee will need to write a job description ... Due to the Connecticut Green Party's low bank account balance, it would make sense to hire this person, perhaps, as an independent contractor, though reservations were expressed as to whether progressive organizations should be using independent contractors .... The Executive Committee would post the position opening/job description .... The Executive Committee would interview candidates and make a recommendation as to hiring to the SCC. ... A proposal will be submitted by the Executive Committee to the July SCC meeting. 6. Fundraising. The annual fundraising letter (sent out in September last year) might bring in $2500 (a guesstimate). Perhaps, because of the low bank account balance of the Connecticut Green Party, postage could be spent on sending the letter initially to 1000 names. With donations received from this initial mailing, the rest of the names could be mailed to. Or a loan from a Party member could be sought for postage costs. Chapters should be encouraged to hold fundraisers, sharing revenues with the state. Chris pointed out, in particular, the sentence above which reads "Or a loan from a Party member could be sought for postage costs." Chris distributed an excerpt from the minutes of the June 24, 2003 SCC meeting. The attendees at that meeting included all members of the Executive Committee (co-chairs Mike DeRosa, Tom Sevigny, and Justine McCabe; secretary Ed DuBrule, and treasurer Bruce Crowder). Chris' handout included, in part, the following: 5 Treasurer's report. The Party bank account has holds $2,200; $1200 is owed in debt. In a typical month, there is $400 in operating expenses but only $300 comes in. Chris said that the $1,200 owed in debt referred to the rent payments he had made thus far. At this meeting, much to Chris' embarrassment, Mike publicly thanked Chris for paying the rent. Other minutes from this period also mention a debt in the Treasurer's report, Chris said, though a calculation may need to be made. Tom read the Treasurer's report in one of those minutes. Eventually a mailing was done to 1000 names. It had a poor financial return. It raised at most $1500 but cost nearly $1000 to do. No follow-up mailing was done. Therefore Chris did not ask for reimbursement at this time. Bob Eaton was elected treasurer in March 2004. By this time the office rent had risen to $500 per month. One of the rent checks on Chris' spreadsheet is for $150--Bob wrote a check for $350 and Chris wrote a check for $150. Ed DuBrule said that he had sent an e-mail to Bruce a few days ago, asking if Bruce could come to tonight's meeting, but received no reply. Bruce had told the Executive Committee previously that he is now very busy with graduate school and a new job. Ed said that he has multiple copies of an e-mail from Bruce relating to these matters which he could distribute. Question 1 above asks "why Chris Reilly ... did not communicate the presence of the loans to at least two of the co-chairs (Tom and Justine), despite his obvious knowledge of GPC process". Chris said there has never been clear process in the CT Green Party; there has been talk of putting together a policy-and-procedures manual, but no one has ever done it. (Elizabeth reminded us that the July 2004 SCC meeting passed a proposal on financial management.) Chris pointed out that he worked with the treasurer, Bruce, in these matters. Andy asked if Mike and Ed, who had been on the Executive Committee during these events, had known about Chris' spending his own money. Mike said that he had been generally aware of the situation. Ed said that he had been aware that there was a problem involving Chris' spending his own money, though he hadn't understood the details. Lynah said that the Executive Committee had failed in its responsibility to inform the SCC of the situation. Mike said that often in the past Greens spent thousands of dollars and were reimbursed later by the Connecticut Green Party. Chris agreed with this statement. Question 3 above asks " why half of the rent for the Hartford office wasn't paid by the Hartford chapter, even if the SCC half was paid through a loan from Chris." Chris said again that the Hartford chapter's share of the rent was paid for (in some sense) by an accounting entry in the "setasides" account (Hartford chapter balance). The Hartford chapter balance is now large and negative. Chris further noted that per an SCC decision, 30% of donations made to the CTGP are sent back to the chapter of the donor--the failure during 2003 to do a fundraising mailing which included Hartford chapter members had left the Hartford chapter low on funds. Chris said he hoped that a successful annual mailing could be done soon. He said, however, that he was concerned about the condition of the mailing list. The facilitator asked if the secretary could put into the minutes that Chris had addressed all the questions in the Women's Caucus proposal to the best of his ability. There were no objections to this request. Elizabeth said that the intention of the Executive Committee was that Chris should not have to spend his time at future SCC meetings addressing this issue; the hope was that all questions chapter members had could be addressed tonight. Chris had also explained the unreimbursed expenses at the August 2004 SCC meeting. The meeting turned to the proposal from the Executive Committee on partial repayment of Chris (Appendix 2). Mike, Ed DuBrule, and Elizabeth explained that this proposal divided Chris' unreimbursed expenses into two categories: expenses related to the rent payments for the Hartford office, and other expenses (envelopes, postage, printing, and website domain name registration). The Executive Committee feels that consensus may be reachable tonight on repaying Chris the "other expenses"; more discussion among SCC members and chapter members may be needed before consensus is reached on reimbursing Chris for the rent-related expenses. This proposal totals the "other expenses" ($890.82--see proposal) and proposes paying back Chris this amount at the rate of $74.24 per month for twelve months. SCC DECISION: By consensus the SCC passed this proposal. B. OLD BUSINESS AND PROPOSALS -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From edubrule at sbcglobal.net Thu Nov 18 22:46:32 2004 From: edubrule at sbcglobal.net (edubrule) Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 22:46:32 -0500 Subject: {news} minutes October 2004 SCC meeting,part 2 of 3 Message-ID: <016301c4cdea$920048b0$aabff504@edgn2b574u14bi> B. OLD BUSINESS AND PROPOSALS 1. Bylaws segment "4-1 Chapters" (Appendix 3). Referred to chapters by September SCC meeting (a step in the bylaws revision process). Discussion was brief due to the lateness of the hour. Francis said that the wording "three consecutive months" in section 4-1-C would be better than the current wording. Andy said he would rewrite the proposal incorporating this suggestion. 2. Bylaws segment "4-2 State Central Committee" (Appendix 4). Referred to chapters by September SCC meeting (a step in the bylaws revision process). Mike referred to section 4-2-B, which gives each chapter two voting representatives, and an additional rep for each 100 registered Greens residing in the chapter. He said that this would tend to lead to many small chapters. He wondered if a chapter that was successful in electing candidates should be entitled to more voting reps. Barbara said that she objects to many parts of the proposal. For example, it could make a difference when the list of registered Greens was obtained, because people switch parties before primaries. Towns might charge for voter lists, and this expense may be a burden on some chapters. Further discussion of the proposal was deferred to the next SCC meeting. 3. Proposal from Fairfield chapter on setting up Office Committee (Appendix 5). Eddie Friend presented the proposal. Echoing the language in the proposal, Eddie said that people from chapters that favor state funding of an office could come to a meeting of this committee and bring ideas for fundraising. People from chapters that don't favor state funding of an office could come with insurance information. Tim, Lynah, Mike, and Eddie wish to serve on this committee. SCC DECISION: the proposal was passed by consensus. 4. Proposal from Executive Committee on fundraising letter (Appendix 6). Mike presented the proposal. Aaron noted that he has created a website which contains many lists which might be useful in the mailing. SCC DECISION: proposal passed by consensus. C. REPORTS 1. Elections Committee and campaign reports. **Vincent said that about 7 Greens came to the convention which re-nominated Ralph Ferrucci; Ralph is now on the ballot. He did debates. **Aaron said that Calvin Nicholson asked for a debate with the two current New Haven registrars of voters but was turned down. Got Advocate article, interviewed by New Haven Register. **Mike said his candidacy has been endorsed by several organizations; got articles in Courant and Herald and WTIC radio interview. **Elizabeth said Tom Sevigny was endorsed by the Courant; it's a four-way race including a Working Families Party candidate. Tom debated on cable TV and has another debate coming up; he has campaigned at the town's transfer station (convenient place to meet voters in a semi-rural district). **Ed Friend said that Nancy Burton's candidacy has been reported in all three weekly newspapers; she's emphasizing environmental issues including closing the Millstone and Indian Point nuclear power plants. Film "Fatal Fallout" about an attack on Indian Point will be shown at Burton's campaign office. 2. Women's Caucus--Lynah reported that they will meet next month. 3. Executive Committee--plan mailing of fundraising letter (see "Proposals", below). Minutes of the October EC meeting were put on the News listerve last night. At that meeting Elizabeth Horton Sheff resigned from the CT Green Party. She is willing to work with us on issues of mutual concern. 4. Chapter reports **Tolland chapter (Tim): showed anti-WalMart movie; working on Vernon area development issues. Tim will organize a "thank-you candidates"/recap campaigns and "Where do we go from here?" potlunch luncheon and meeting for November 13. **New London chapter (Andy): have TV show (including Ralph Ferrucci discussing the Nader and Cobb campaigns); talking to Elizabeth Horton Sheff about the Sheff vs. O'Neill lawsuit; working on local elections and charter revision; Cobb will be at Connecticut College. **Fairfield chapter (Ed Friend): Cobb will be at Bloodroot Restaurant. **Northwest chapter (Elizabeth): Bob Eaton appeared on a local cable show sponsored by a peace group; discussed Cobb campaign. **Hamden chapter (Aaron): Working on new middle school issue (contaminated soil). Kelly McCarthy was on TV show on importance of voting, and plans to do more tapings. **Central Connecticut chapter (Vincent and Steve)--work on Ferrucci campaign; people favor action (such as vigils) not meetings. **Hartford chapter (Mike): save-the-office parties/movie nights, including Greg Palast movie on Florida elections and his latest movie on the Bush family's fortunes. 5. Report from US Green Party representatives--Tim reported that the national Party may take against Vermont and Nevada, whose Green Parties didn't put Cobb on the ballot. 6. VOTER--Mike hopes VOTER will again meet to work on minor party ballot access issues and ballot paper trail issues. The CT Secretary of State has declared her support for a paper trail but a call for proposals voting machines seems at odds with this. Tim said that the November 2 elections provide an opportunity for Greens to talk about such issues. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Appendix 1 Proposal on unreimbursed expenditures made by Chris Reilly -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From edubrule at sbcglobal.net Thu Nov 18 22:46:48 2004 From: edubrule at sbcglobal.net (edubrule) Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 22:46:48 -0500 Subject: {news} minutes October 2004 SCC meeting,part 3 of 3 Message-ID: <016401c4cdea$927ea070$aabff504@edgn2b574u14bi> Appendix 1 Proposal on unreimbursed expenditures made by Chris Reilly Green Party Meeting Proposal Form PRESENTER (committee, chapter(s) or group of individuals): CT Green Party Women's Caucus CONTACT (name, address, phone number, email) Kelly McCarthy; 83 Treadwell St, Hamden, CT 06517; 203-230-9726; kelly.mccarthy at aya.yale.edu SUBJECT (10 words or less) Audit of loan to Chris Reilly and explanation from former treasurer Bruce Crowder. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE (100 words or less; include relationship, reasons and/or justification to the State Central Committee) One of the pillars of our party is accountability and transparency in all things; and, at the present, the SCC has been unable to reconcile the debt owed to Chris Reilly because the former treasurer, Bruce Crowder, has not provided any explanation for the situation. Even if Bruce is no longer active with the party, his actions are leaving the GPC heavily in debt and he shares in this responsibility. The Women's Caucus is proposing this audit so we minimize the possibility of similar incidents occurring in the future. PROPOSAL (200 words or less) We propose that the SCC request Bruce Crowder and Chris Reilly appear before the SCC at the next meeting in order to explain the history of the current GPC debt related to the Hartford office. We would like for them to reconcile: 1) why Chris Reilly, founder of the GPC and former treasurer, did not communicate the presence of the loans to at least two of the co-chairs (Tom and Justine), despite his obvious knowledge of GPC process; 2) why Chris wasn't repaid (if the loans were regarded as short-term and "informal" by Bruce and Chris) once there was income from a fundraising letter; 3) why half of the rent for the Hartford office wasn't paid by the Hartford chapter, even if the SCC half was paid through a loan from Chris. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix 2 Proposal from Executive Committee on partial repayment of Chris Reilly. Green Party Meeting Proposal Form PRESENTER (committee, chapter(s) or group of individuals): Executive Committee CONTACT (name, address, phone number, email): Elizabeth M. Brancato, 19 Smith Street, Torrington, CT 06790, embrancato at netzero.com SUBJECT (10 words or less): Partial repayment of Chris Reilly BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE (100 words or less; include relationship, reasons and/or justification to the State Central Committee): Chris Reilly has presented the Executive Committee with receipts for many expenses of the Party that he paid from his own funds during 2003. The Executive Committee has investigated and is satisfied that he paid the amounts that he is claiming. Because members of the SCC still have questions about some of the expenditures and whether or not they were authorized, no authorization to repay Chris has been approved. The Executive Committee believes that all the questions of the SCC should be answered before action to repay Chris can be taken, and we have taken steps to ensure that will happen. In the meantime, we believe there are some expenses that Chris paid that are not in dispute. Those expenses are: $ 35.00 Domain name $58.31 Envelopes $437.11 Postage $360.40 Printing $890.82 TOTAL PROPOSAL (200 words or less): We propose that the Connecticut Green Party repay Chris Reilly for these expenses, at the rate of $74.24 per month, to resolve this debt in one year. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix 3 Proposed bylaws changes from BRPP committee (bylaws, rules, policies and procedures) [Submitted by New London chapter per e-mail of 9/13/04 from Andy.] 4-1. CHAPTERS 4-1-A. A local chapter shall consist of Green Party members from towns and municipalities within a contiguous geographic region. No chapter shall be larger than a County and none smaller than a single town with the exception of Campus Green organizations. 4-1-B. A local chapter may petition for affiliation with the State Central Committee upon having at least three meetings with five or more Green Party members in attendance at each of the three meetings. 4-1-C. A chapter may be declared inactive by a majority vote of the State Central Committee (SCC) if it has not met within the past three months. A chapter will automatically be declared inactive if it has not sent chapter representatives to the State Central Committee meeting for three months in a row. Inactive status will begin as of the third meeting. 4-1-D. The State Central Committee may vote to revoke a chapter's affiliation with the CTGP if that chapter has not met within the past 6 months. 4-1-E. An inactive chapter will be declared active again if it hold two consecutive monthly meetings monthly meetings with at least five members present and sends representatives to two successive state meetings. 4-1-F. Chapters that have had their affiliation revoked must re-petition the State Central Committee for affiliation once the requirements detailed in 4.1.B are met. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix 4 Proposed bylaws changes from BRPP Committee (bylaws, rules, policies and procedures). [From e-mail received from Tom 7/26/04; revised per 9/13/04 e-mail from Andy.] 4-2 STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE 4-2-A. The State Central Committee (SCC) shall be the final decision making body of the Green Party of Connecticut, and shall consist of democratically elected representatives from each affiliated local chapter. 4-2-B. Local chapters of the CTGP shall be represented at State Central Committee meetings accordingly : Each chapter is entitled to two voting representatives, and is also entitled to an additional representative for each 100 registered Greens residing in the chapter. Voter lists from an appropriate authority (either a town clerk or the Secretary of State) will be the final source in determining the count of a chapter's membership. If these are not obtainable the chapter shall be entitled to two voting representatives. 4-2-C. Caucuses for under-represented groups shall be entitled to one voting representative on the State Central Committee. Under-represented groups are defined as any grouping of Greens that has historically failed to gain adequate access to power in society at-large (i.e., women, African-Americans, youth, etc.). Caucuses shall be established by the State Central Committee. An individual attending an SCC meeting may cast multiple votes--one vote as a chapter representative and one as a caucus representative. 4-2-D. Representatives to the State Central Committee are responsible for disseminating information to their respective local chapters. They are also responsible for following the mandates of the local chapters they represent. 4-2-E. The modified consensus process will be used at State Central Committee meetings. In the event consensus cannot be reached, a vote will be taken with a simple majority being needed for passage of the proposal. Changes to the bylaws need a 66% majority for passage. 4-2-F. Quorum shall be required for votes taken at the State Central Committee meeting. Quorum shall be defined as representation (by at least one voting representative) of at least two-thirds of all active CTGP chapters, excepting Campus Green chapters and inactive chapters. 4-2-G. Chapters shall elect their representatives to the SCC once a year. Representatives shall be eligible for re-election. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix 5 Proposal from Fairfield chapter on setting up Office Committee CONNECTICUT GREEN PARTY PROPOSAL FORM PRESENTER (committee, chapter(s),or group of individuals): Fairfield County Greens CONTACT (name, address, phone number, email): Eddie Friend, P.O. Box 1747 Darien, CT 06820, 203-854-5900, Route12eddie at aol.com SUBJECT (10 words or less): Creation of Office Committee BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE (100 words or less; including relationship, reasons, and/or justification to the State Central Committee) The office space rented in Hartford has become a contentious issue which has disrupted the SCC. This committee would be charged with formulating a plan that would consider the feasibility of continuing to support the office space and the associated insurance issues PROPOSAL: (200 words or less) We propose that the Office Committee be formed to prepare a report to the SCC concerning the future of the office space in Hartford. The committee would have two main considerations. If the office is to remain open, how would it be funded? If the office were to be shut, how would the state party maintain the liability insurance that is necessary for chapters to hold events? This committee would recognize the need for a timely report and recommendation to be made to the SCC in order to resolve this issue. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix 6 Proposal from Executive Committee on fundraising letter. Green Party Meeting Proposal Form PRESENTER (committee, chapter(s) or group of individuals): Executive Committee CONTACT (name, address, phone number, email): Elizabeth M. Brancato, 19 Smith Street, Torrington, CT 06790, embrancato at netzero.com SUBJECT (10 words or less): Fund-raising Letter BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE (100 words or less; include relationship, reasons and/or justification to the State Central Committee): The Green Party of Connecticut is in need of funds. In the past, most of the operating funds of the Party have come from Fund-raising mailings. In the past they have raised about $3,000. to $6,000. Mike DeRosa has obtained the following quote for a mailing of 2,000 letters from American Mailing Services, New Milford, CT: 1. Download our database and setup format and printer. CASS certify the database. Insert pieces into #10 envelopes (one page, 8-1/2X11, folded). Direct address pieces, sort, tray/bag, tag and deliver to Post Office- $235.00 2. Postage - $420.00 3. Copy the 1-page letter and insert a small return envelope. - $200.00-$300.00 TOTAL - $855.00 - $955.00. The postage amount would be paid before the mailing went out, and the balance could be paid within thirty days. PROPOSAL (200 words or less): We propose that the SCC approve this expenditure, and that the mailing takes place the second week of November, 2004. ----------------------------------------------------------- If you have serious disagreements with the accuracy of anything written in these minutes, please contact the secretary, Ed DuBrule, at edubrule at sbcglobal.net or 860-523-4016. If your e-mail or letter is titled "I remember things happened differently" or "I remember that this also occurred", I will treat your e-mail or letter (or a summary of it) as an addendum to these minutes. Such e-mails or letters must be received within 4 weeks of the date of publication of the minutes to the News listserve to be considered addenda. Addenda are published to the News listserve and are considered part of the minutes. They are brought to the following month's SCC meeting (for distribution at the time the minutes are approved/disapproved); they are posted to the CT Green Party website as part of the minutes. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Fri Nov 19 19:47:06 2004 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2004 19:47:06 -0500 Subject: {news} CT GREENS Reminder: Extraordinary Peace Conference Saturday, 11/20, CCSU Message-ID: <044a01c4ce9a$75f2ac20$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> Dear CT Greens, Please try to attend this important peace conference tomorrow. There will be tabling for CTGP, and "green" representation in several workshops: Ana Lachelier will be speaking in "Fighting the Poverty Draft: How to Conduct Counter-Recruitment in the Schools"; Steve Krevisky is coordinator of "Labor Looms Large"; I'll be speaking in "Iraq and Palestine: Connecting the Dots, " chaired by NH Green Stan Heller. For details go to: www.ctunitedforpeace.org People need to see an "electoral alternative" to the undemocratic status quo. That's us. Peace, Justine ----- Original Message ----- From: The Struggle To: newhavengreens at yahoogroups.com ; Connecticut PeaceCoalition ; CTpeace-activists at yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, November 14, 2004 11:16 AM Subject: Extraordinary Conference How often do you get a chance to talk with leaders of all the major anti-war coalitions of the US. I've been at it for 22 years and I've never had the chance until now. Next Sat. Nov. 20 there's going to be a free all day forum at Central CT State University. Leaders from United for Peace and Justice, Answer, Not in Our Name and US Labor Against the War will be there. The keynote speech will be by Bill Fletcher Jr., an important African-American activist and head of the TransAfrica Forum. Also Mazin Qumsieyeh, founder of the Palestine Right to Return Coalition and a leader of the Iraq Vets Against the War. I'm going to chair a workshop at 2 "Iraq and Palestine, Connecting the Dots". There will be several other workshops, too. The Conference will take place at 10 on Sat. at Central Connecticut State Univeristy at the Semseters Hall in the Student Center. For more information see www.ctunitedforpeace.org --- Stanley Heller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From chapillsbury at igc.org Sat Nov 20 23:12:49 2004 From: chapillsbury at igc.org (Charlie Pillsbury) Date: Sat, 20 Nov 2004 23:12:49 -0500 Subject: {news} Calvin Nicholson featured in Green Party's national e-newsletter Message-ID: <001e01c4cf80$5d5cc1a0$841efea9@S0031616584> GreenLine: The E-Newsletter of the Green Party ----- Original Message ----- Sent: Saturday, November 20, 2004 6:23 PM NOVEMBER 2004 News Headlines Greens Emerge Front and Center For anyone interested in documenting the history of Green politics, 2004 would be a remarkable chapter. January kicked off with an unusual start for the Greens. Ralph Nader had just announced that he was running for President, but not on the Green Party ticket. The later point was lost on thousands of people, many of whom called or wrote to give us a piece of their mind. Meanwhile, the Greens struggled to discern what Nader's announcement meant for the Party. By the end of June, the die was cast when the party selected David Cobb (President) and Pat LaMarche (Vice President). After Cobb/LaMarche received the Presidential nomination at the Green Party convention in Milwaukee, they began a frenetic cross-country journey to rally the Green Party vote on November 2nd. Along the way they met inspired new Greens and supporters, angry Kerry supporters, and distracted, disgruntled Greens who supported Nader. Cobb/LaMarche joined other Green candidates in their campaign events and tried to boost support for local campaigns. What a journey. With a Green presidential vote splintered between Cobb, Nader and Kerry, it is no small feat that Cobb/LaMarche earned 107,000 votes and Greens emerged from November 2nd with more elected and registered Greens than in our history. Let's take inventory, shall we? More registered Greens than ever There are now more than 313,000 registered Greens in 22 states - a 10% increase since August of 2003. While we are not certain how many people identify as Green outside those 22 states, we know that about 511,000 people voted for Nader and Cobb in this election and just under 3,000,000 voted for Green Party candidate Nader in 2000. Therefore we can conclude: WOW!, We have a great opportunity here. Let's get busy. Sixty-four wins in 2004 Throughout the 2004 electoral cycle prior to November 2nd, Greens won 30 elections. On November 2nd, we won 34 elections, with a total of 64 wins for the year. We will launch the 2005 election year with 224 elected Greens in office, a 12% increase from January 2004. Maine Greens Are All That Some of the most exciting Green campaign stories come from Maine. In spite of re-districting and campaign smear tactics on the part of illustrious Democrats, John Eder won his seat in the Maine State Legislature against the "incumbent." Eder won 56% of the vote in a 3-way race. Eder has become a bit of a media darling as the "lone Green" in the house, but he nearly had the company of two other Greens on November 2nd. If you use the logic of the Democrats, 2 other Greens victories were stolen by Republicans. For example, the 263 votes that went to a Republican would have of course gone to Green Jeffrey Spencer (why, because we say so) and he would have beat the Democrat. Spencer received 43.9% of the votes in a 3-way race - just 29 votes shy of a seat in the house alongside John Eder. Elizabeth Trice and Pamela Cragin both pulled in close to 40% of the votes in their 3-way races. Perhaps if Maine had Instant Runoff Voting, John Eder would have had 2 Green colleagues in the legislature in 2005. Congratulations to the great candidates in Maine, including Ben Meiklejohn for retaining his School Committee seat. The Green Rush Hits California Greens win 15 seats in California, many of them for city councils. The big news is that the SF Board of Supervisors seat being vacated by Green Matt Gonzalez was replaced by Green Ross Mirkarimi. Mirkarimi is no stranger to the campaign process having worked on many other campaigns and elections in San Francisco. The other election victory in San Francisco elections was Instant Runoff Voting. More about that later. There Goes the Neighborhood! DC snuck in 6 wins for Advisory Neighborhood Commission seats. We're in on the ground floor now. And although Adam Eidinger lost his run for Shadow Representative, he received more DC votes than George W. Bush. Voters Choose Less Representation in Connecticut In the last issue of GreenLine, we highlighted Calvin Nicholson's race for Registrar of Voters in New Haven. Voters had everything to gain by voting for Calvin in the three-way race. If he beat the Republican or the Democrat, then all three got to serve - a win-win for everyone. But voters, happy with how the electoral process is happening in our country, opted for the status quo. Sorry Calvin, we would have voted for you if we lived in New Haven. __________ Thanksgiving Message Thanksgiving means a lot of different things to Americans, whether it is about family and loved ones or about honoring first nations. Many break from work and take a vacation (The "Deeper Shade of Green" article below might be a good read for those vacationers). For us, it is a time of gratitude. We'd like to offer thanks to the many Greens that have given their time, energy and financial support to the fabulous Green Party. It's been a courageous struggle this year, and many hard-working individuals made our survival possible through a tough year. The hard-working volunteers serving on our Coordinating Committee deserve many thanks. A special note of appreciation goes to the Steering Committee - they work extremely hard under very difficult circumstances and with very little resources. This nearly full-time job is done by volunteers, and a great deal is demanded of them. Thanks for your hard work (By the way, it's a different kind of hard work than the kind that George Bush talks about). There are many Greens completing tasks on various GP-US committees, including the Coordinated Campaign Committee, GreenPages editorial staff and Media committee, Bylaws and Accreditation, Platform, Diversity, International, Fundraising and Merchandise and Peace Action. Special thanks to the Annual National Meeting Committee for putting together our convention in Milwaukee. Our caucuses have had a big year as they've tried to work through their development and begin or complete their accreditation process. Thanks to all the staff and those individuals who have helped us with in-kind support, professional services and goodwill. And of course, thanks to our generous contributors who helped us to survive through a most challenging year. The best is yet to come! __________ Guest Column A Deeper Shade of Green by Janet Thomas Like most Greens I know, I always assumed I loved the earth. In nature, I was safe, silenced and, for a short while, serene. There was no accountability, no expectations, no demands. Being outside felt like an inside world, known only to me. It was intimate, private, mine. When I actually went back inside, into the indoors, it was there that I girded myself for battle, put on my armor of mind and intellect and prepared to meet "the world." For most of my life I lived this split. I "loved" nature when I was outside; when I was inside, there was no nature. It was a very fickle and selfish "love." It was hollow and superficial; it consumed and then abandoned. It held neither respect nor reverence. Perhaps one could call it lust. Yet for more than thirty years I'd been an activist for the environment-sometimes the human environment as in protesting the Vietnam War, sometimes the global environment as in protesting nuclear war. I wrote poems about trees and low tide; I wrote plays about a dying planet; I fought jet skis and won. I never completely turned my back on nature; but I never completely opened my heart either. I never really loved. This came home to me in 2000 when I was researching "The Battle in Seattle-The Story Behind and Beyond the WTO Demonstrations" (Fulcrum 2000). Like everyone else who was there during that week, I was overwhelmed most of all with love. Yes, there was violence and police abuse, but the love between and for one another was palpable and global. It was a great and passionate convening of the workers of the world-from South American indigenous farmers to Canadian pilots. And when it was over, my life was never the same. I woke up to my complicity in a world run amok. When we love, we don't consume the "other;" we don't do things that hurt the "other;" we can't; or it wouldn't be love. Suddenly my life seemed entirely based on exploitation and I never had a clue. It was while researching "Battle" that I started to realize that my relationship with nature was equally "clueless." During an interview/workshop with Project NatureConnect's Mike Cohen (he wrote a book about the WTO called "Einstein's World"), he asked us to go outside and find an attractive aspect in nature and ask consent to be there and then ask what it is we were to learn. Suddenly I was discerning and defining the interrelationship with all of life and with the way my psyche reflects and is reflected by the natural world. I saw myself as a child in the lap of nature; I saw how nature works incessantly to honor all life-even mine; and the way in which meaning and value, worth and wonder are inherent in every breath and molecule of existence. It was the beginning of a transition to real love, grown up love, a deep and sustaining, enveloping and defining passion. Just as on the streets of WTO Seattle, it was a love that woke me up and at the same time brought great solace. I could finally begin the searing process of growing up and waking up as a global citizen because the love of, and the love for, nature-in both place and people-deepened my life beyond measure. And just as real love for another wrenches us, sometimes to pieces, so does real love for nature. It breaks open our hearts and fills us with gratitude; it leads us back to the basics of natural belonging and away from the corporate consuming culture that defines our lives. In A Whale for the Killing, Farley Mowat writes, "Life itself-not human life-is the ultimate miracle upon this earth." We are not the miracle; we are part of the miracle. Reconnecting to this truth every day, in a way that sustains us individually and collectively is the challenge of these times. It is not just the ideas of things-the Green policies and politics of environmental activism-that will save us. It is from the feelings of reverence and respect for nature within us and within the environment that our actions will have the greatest resonance. It is in the celebration of our interdependence-whether we're out in the woods or out on the streets-that will gain us a future. It is love of life-all of life-that will draw people into the web of deep sustainability. And it is a very tender place; to be fully in our nature is to be fully open to shades of loss and grief as well as gain and glory. Getting to green is an ongoing journey of body, mind and soul; but to make brilliant its color and beauty it must be traveled through a landscape of love. And the deeper the love, the greener it gets. Janet Thomas is the author of "Battle in Seattle--The Story Behind and Beyond the WTO Demonstrations" (Fulcrum 2000). She has written books about hostel travel in the West and plays about abortion, sexual abuse, nuclear war, the Vietnam War and the war against the environment. She is currently at work on a new book: "Going Global--A Spiritual Guide: How to Save Yourself and the Rest of the Planet While You're At It." For further information about Project NatureConnect, go to: www.ninelegs.com. For special Green Party NatureConnect training call: 360-378-6313. __________ GREEN SPOTLIGHT: Kim O'Connor - Supervisor, Ochlockonee River Soil and Water District #3 Commissioner, Tallahassee Florida Kim O'Connor's campaign flyer Kim O'Connor turned the Soil and Water District race into a news story when she took on an appointed incumbent and created some opposition in what might otherwise have been a low-profile race. O'Connor impressed more than 56,000 voters and garnered 64% of the votes on November 2nd. O'Connor has been a long time activist but relatively new to the Green Party. Like many Greens, she was spurred to join the party during Nader's 2000 run. She found the 2000 Presidential election disturbing because environmental issues were not part of the national dialogue. She felt that these issues had to be brought to the table and that Greens could be effective in this manner. O'Connor pushed and pushed for Greens to run for local office so that many important issues could be discussed. She found that many Greens were afraid to run because they didn't feel they could win. O'Connor didn't feel that winning mattered as much as getting people to start talking about the important issues. After unsuccessfully trying to get others to run, O'Connor swallowed her own bait. With some experience running campaigns after law school, she thought she might be able to show other Greens how to run a winning campaign and inspire them to run in the future. When O'Connor chose her race, she even tried to make it fair. Three of the 5 seats were up and O'Connor looked up information about each of the candidates. One's experience was with storm water, the other was a scientist, the third an environmental lawyer. She decided to run against the lawyer to make the race lawyer vs. lawyer. O'Connor practiced law from 1979-1996. During this time she gained experience with land use issues with the Department of Transportation. In 1996, she was accepted to participate in a program to teach law in China. While there, she became seriously ill and returned to Tallahassee where she has since been on disability. In retrospect she feels certain that she had SARS, but it hadn't yet been identified at the time. O'Connor's doctor cleared her to work part-time and she feels she will have plenty of time to devote to her non-paying position on the Commission. O'Connor campaigned by printing up a very simple flyer (see photo inset) and made herself very visible. She attended environmental forums and candidate forums. She checked with everyone she knew to find out about any public meetings and other events she could attend. She also made herself visible in places where people mingled, such as popular lunch spots, where she shook a lot of hands and introduced herself to many people. She also attended a campaign training session run by the Supervisor of Elections. O'Connor felt that she'd tuned into a strong vibe - she felt people wanted to talk about the environment. She got the sense that people were really mistrustful of the government's ability to take care of the water supply. This sense guided her through her campaign. There was a moment, however, in her campaign when she doubted herself. She was attending a locally televised environmental forum waiting for her turn to speak. The forum, hosted by about 14 local organizations, featured panels of candidates seeking election - including congressional candidates. She looked out into the crowd and counted 26 people. She thought to herself, "Fourteen environmental organizations could only gather 26 people? "Am I wrong?" Have I just been griping to myself? Am I the only one that cares?" She sat there "thinking, thinking, thinking." It was only after the forum, when she was approached by many people who said that they'd seen her on television, that she received the affirmation that people did care. O'Connor is looking forward to taking office in January. She hopes to have a big party around inauguration time. She wants to network with other elected Greens in the country that are working on water issues. She also hopes to work on re-defining the districts so that regions and counties are working together on water issues. Her job will be to make sure that grant monies from a TAPP Educational Outreach Program are administered effectively, as well as to pursue other grants. O'Connor, a native Floridian, feels that potable waters should be of the highest quality possible, and that local lakes and rivers must be 100% protected. News In Brief: Chad Wins Re-election Bid, Hanging Chad, That is. Green Party Presidential Candidate David Cobb received enough support to file for a recount in the state of Ohio. In case you haven't heard, there is the possibility that Ohio is a deja?vu of Florida 2000. Between the lack of verifiable votes (those crazy computers), hanging chads and discarded provisional ballots, Ohio voters did not get all their votes counted. Although Senator John Edwards claimed on national television that "every vote would be counted," he forgot to add "not by us of course - we don't believe in democracy, just ask Ralph Nader. But you can count on the Green Party to fight for you." Cobb received more than $150,000 to support the recount. The next step is to wait for the ballots to be certified and then Cobb will file for a recount. Ohio will have a short time to complete the recount before the Electoral College is scheduled to vote. What tricks will the state of Ohio have up its sleeve to stop the recount? PS: Lots of Kerry campaign donors must be scratching their heads trying to figure out why John Kerry didn't spend $50,000,000 on trying to win the election. Oh, what wonderful things the Green Party could have done with that $50,000,000... For a very good article on the recount check out the "Greens Shame Dems" article in The Black Commentator. Green Party Gets Coverage in the New York Times The Green Party of the US ran its first full-page advertisement in the New York Times on Tuesday, November 16th. The goal of the ad was to remind disenfranchised voters that there is a credible alternative to the two major parties. We also figured out if we wanted to get coverage in the mainstream corporate media, we could pay them. The ad ran in all regions outside metropolitan New York City and potentially reached 500,000 people. The national office received a steady stream of inquiries and donations and many folks were directed to their local Green Party. __________ Instant Runoff Voting - At least democracy prevailed in some elections For Greens pushing for electoral reform alongside like-minded organizations, this election proved victorious. Voters hungry for electoral reform easily passed Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) measures (also known as ranked voting) in Vermont, Michigan and Massachusetts communities. Ranked-choice voting allows voters to rank their first, second and third choices, eliminating the need for costly runoff elections. If no candidate receives a majority of first-place votes in the first round of vote counting, the candidate with the least amount of first-place votes is knocked out of contention. Then, the second-choice picks of voters who selected the eliminated candidate are redistributed. The process of eliminating last-place candidates and redistributing votes -- moving on to third-choice picks if necessary -- continues until one candidate exceeds 50 percent of the vote. This type of voting levels the playing field for third party candidates and handily reduces the spoiler issue. Voters in Burlington Vermont eliminated the spoiler problem by passing IRV for their mayoral elections. Nearly 70% of the voters in Ferndale, Michigan voted to amend their city charter so that mayor and city council elections use IRV. Sixteen towns in Western Massachusetts passed a non-binding motion directing their state representative to support legislation or a constitutional amendment to use IRV in all elections for statewide office. IRV is on the move! Voters in San Francisco participated in their first election using IRV. Although they were only introduced to the new process in the midst of the year, those clever San Franciscans had few problems navigating through their first Instant Runoff election. Several other California communities kept a close watch on the election "experiment" as they consider implementing similar measures at home. Stay tuned: you can expect to hear about more IRV measures passed, particularly in communities with Green officeholders pushing for those reforms. __________ Join the Sustainer Program! Please consider joining our Sustainer Program. Your monthly donation to the GP-US means that we don't have to focus on fundraising for operating costs and can turn our attention to the crucial matters of building the fabulous Green Party. Please take this opportunity to show your love for the Greens every month! Top GP Accomplishments a.. We survived the "Anyone But Bush" ruffians and hooligans. You know who you are! b.. David Cobb attracts $150,000 to demand Ohio recount. c.. Mexican American Political Association endorses the Green Party. d.. Green Party wins the American Muslim Alliance 2004 Humanitarian Award. e.. Green candidates win 64 races in 2004 f.. Largest official gathering of Greens in America at the June nominating convention in Milwaukee. Green Stats to Share with Friends: a.. Number of Greens in office: 224 b.. Registered Greens: 313,186 c.. Total campaigns in 2004: 428 Highest office now held by elected Green: Rep. John Eder, Maine State House Check out our elections database for updates on 2004 election outcomes. Time to start thinking about 2005! Support us today! The "Anyone But Bush" campaign failed, so you can't use that old excuse anymore. It's time to come home to the Greens. Put your money behind the Greens! We're willing to take a stand for you! Green Party online shopping just got easier!? Visit our improved online store. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = All comments, feedback and content suggestions should be sent to: kara at gp.org. You've been reading Greenline, the free monthly e-newsletter of the Green Party of the United States. Subscribe for free at http://www.gp.org/. Click here to unsubscribe. Paid for by the Green Party of the United States -------------------------------------------------------------------- GreenLine is a monthly e-bulletin of the Green Party of the United States PO Box 57065 Washington, DC 20037 866-41GREEN or 202 319 7191 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From chapillsbury at igc.org Sun Nov 21 17:20:22 2004 From: chapillsbury at igc.org (Charlie Pillsbury) Date: Sun, 21 Nov 2004 17:20:22 -0500 Subject: {news} Fw: Invitation to Democracy fundraiser 12/12 Message-ID: <005401c4d018$4c323d90$6801a8c0@EXDIR04> Re: Democracy fundraiser 12/12My wife Allie and I are hosting this Democracy fundraiser (a/k/a a "don't mourn, organize" fundraiser) on Sunday 12/12 from 5-7pm to raise money for campaign finance reform initiatives primarily in the City of New Haven. Several of you have asked for more information, and some of you may even have received a hard copy of the invitation. If you have questions I can't answer, I will forward them to Daniel Weeks, who is working with me on this fundraiser. charlie ----- Original Message ----- From: D. Weeks To: Charlie Pillsbury Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 11:50 PM Subject: Re: Democracy fundraiser 12/12 Hard copy is in the mail, electronic version attached. Thanks, -d --------------------- Daniel M. Weeks DemocracyFund PAC Post Office Box 200483 New Haven, CT 06520 Tel + 203.500.9030 Fax + 270.514.0495 dweeks at democracyfund.com www.democracyfund.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Invitation_p2.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 207519 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Invitation_p1.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 230938 bytes Desc: not available URL: From timmckee at sbcglobal.net Tue Nov 23 15:17:23 2004 From: timmckee at sbcglobal.net (Tim McKee) Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 12:17:23 -0800 (PST) Subject: {news} (PRESS RELEASE) GP ACCREDITS WOMEN'S CAUCUS Message-ID: <20041123201723.66594.qmail@web81101.mail.yahoo.com> GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES http://www.gp.org For Immediate Release: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 Contacts: Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-487-0693, mclarty at greens.org Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576, nallen at acadia.net Nan Garrett, National Women's Caucus Spokesperson, 770-216-8632, 404-229-0626, ngarrett at greens.org WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Green Party of the United States announced the accreditation of the National Women's Caucus today, after the party's national Coordinating Committee granted the caucus a voting seat. "The National Women's Caucus is the first national organized effort for women in the history of the Green Party," said Maya O'Connor, Green Party Co-chair. "We are proud to announce and celebrate the overwhelming vote to seat the caucus and a great victory for women in the Party." The accreditation vote caps over two years of organizing to qualify for affiliation with the Green Party. Along with a vote on the National Committee, the National Women's Caucus will be able to send delegates to Green Party committees and enjoy access to many party resources. "Now that we're accredited, we have the fastest growing political party in the United States solidly behind us, as well as a platform that is bold for women," said Morgen D'Arc, co-founder and Co-chair of the caucus. The Green Party platform section on women's rights can be read at . "We will reach into the party to represent the needs and interests of women and reach outside to attract greater participation and collaboration," added Ms. D'Arc. "The Green Party recognizes the need to give voice, a vote, and the ability to affect policy to communities that have been historically oppressed, underrepresented, and disenfranchised," said Holly Hart, National Women's Caucus delegate to the Coordinating Committee and Co-chair of the party's Platform Committee. "Conditions for women are declining. We will bring issues to the table that aren't getting enough attention, such as the staggering poverty of single mothers, violence against women, equal pay, a living wage, and the continuing reality that women live without the security of constitutional equal rights." Caucus members have also spoken out for the rights and welfare of women in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other nations where women have been under threat of violence and repression. The Green Party of the United States includes feminism among its Ten Key Values . "Many Americans identify the Green Party with environmental issues," said Ms. D'Arc. "However, the National Women's Caucus, in emphasizing social justice and women's rights with an electoral imperative, will help to define the Green Party for people as well and as the only party that prioritizes and cares about women." The Black Caucus and Lavender Green Caucus (representing gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer Greens) have already been accredited by the Green Party. MORE INFORMATION The Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org 1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404 Washington, DC 20009. 202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN Fax 202-319-7193 National Women's Caucus http://www.gp.org/committees/women/index.html natlwomens-caucus at gp-us.org 2004 Green candidates and election results http://www.greens.org/elections http://gp.org/2004election/president2004.html search: elct News Release Home | Press var gAutoPrint = true; // Flag for whether or not to automatically call the print functionfunction printSpecial(){ if (document.getElementById != null) { var html = '\n\n'; if (document.getElementsByTagName != null) { var headTags = document.getElementsByTagName("head"); if (headTags.length > 0) html += headTags[0].innerHTML; } html += '\n\n\n'; var printReadyElem = document.getElementById("printReady"); if (printReadyElem != null) { html += printReadyElem.innerHTML; } else { alert("Could not find the printReady section in the HTML"); return; } html += '\n\n'; var printWin = window.open("","printSpecial"); printWin.document.open(); printWin.document.write(html); printWin.document.close(); if (gAutoPrint) printWin.print(); } else { alert("Sorry, the print ready feature is only available in modern browsers."); }} -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jherkimer at snet.net Tue Nov 23 15:19:35 2004 From: jherkimer at snet.net (Judith Herkimer) Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 15:19:35 -0500 Subject: {news} GP Announces Accreditation of Nat'l Women's Caucus Message-ID: <4de201c4d19b$380e16c0$70f73ccc@k8h9a3> GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES http://www.gp.org For Immediate Release: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 Contacts: Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-487-0693, mclarty at greens.org Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576, nallen at acadia.net Nan Garrett, National Women's Caucus Spokesperson, 770-216-8632, 404-229-0626, ngarrett at greens.org GREEN PARTY ANNOUNCES ACCREDITATION OF NATIONAL WOMEN'S CAUCUS WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Green Party of the United States announced the accreditation of the National Women's Caucus today, after the party's national Coordinating Committee granted the caucus a voting seat. "The National Women's Caucus is the first national organized effort for women in the history of the Green Party," said Maya O'Connor, Green Party Co-chair. "We are proud to announce and celebrate the overwhelming vote to seat the caucus and a great victory for women in the Party." The accreditation vote caps over two years of organizing to qualify for affiliation with the Green Party. Along with a vote on the National Committee, the National Women's Caucus will be able to send delegates to Green Party committees and enjoy access to many party resources. "Now that we're accredited, we have the fastest growing political party in the United States solidly behind us, as well as a platform that is bold for women," said Morgen D'Arc, co-founder and Co-chair of the caucus. The Green Party platform section on women's rights can be read at . "We will reach into the party to represent the needs and interests of women and reach outside to attract greater participation and collaboration," added Ms. D'Arc. "The Green Party recognizes the need to give voice, a vote, and the ability to affect policy to communities that have been historically oppressed, underrepresented, and disenfranchised," said Holly Hart, National Women's Caucus delegate to the Coordinating Committee and Co-chair of the party's Platform Committee. "Conditions for women are declining. We will bring issues to the table that aren't getting enough attention, such as the staggering poverty of single mothers, violence against women, equal pay, a living wage, and the continuing reality that women live without the security of constitutional equal rights." Caucus members have also spoken out for the rights and welfare of women in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other nations where women have been under threat of violence and repression. The Green Party of the United States includes feminism among its Ten Key Values . "Many Americans identify the Green Party with environmental issues," said Ms. D'Arc. "However, the National Women's Caucus, in emphasizing social justice and women's rights with an electoral imperative, will help to define the Green Party for people as well and as the only party that prioritizes and cares about women." The Black Caucus and Lavender Green Caucus (representing gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer Greens) have already been accredited by the Green Party. MORE INFORMATION The Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org 1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404 Washington, DC 20009. 202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN Fax 202-319-7193 National Women's Caucus http://www.gp.org/committees/women/index.html natlwomens-caucus at gp-us.org 2004 Green candidates and election results http://www.greens.org/elections http://gp.org/2004election/president2004.html ~ END ~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From edubrule at sbcglobal.net Wed Nov 24 01:37:37 2004 From: edubrule at sbcglobal.net (edubrule) Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 01:37:37 -0500 Subject: {news} agenda November SCC meeting,part 1 of 2 Message-ID: <002e01c4d1f0$5119fb70$8980f504@edgn2b574u14bi> Agenda--November 30, 2004 SCC meeting Time: 7-9pm Location: Wesleyan University, Fisk Hall, room 413 (if room 413 occupied, room 116 instead) Fisk Hall is located on the campus of Wesleyan University at 262 High Street, Middletown, CT. Take Rt. 9 to Exit 15 onto Rt. 66 West (Washington Street). Proceed uphill on Rt. 66 (Washington Street) for about 1/2 mile to the 4th traffic light and turn left onto High St. Fisk Hall is located at 262 High Street, 2 blocks down on the left at the 2nd traffic light (corner of High & College Streets). Parking: From High Street turn left onto College Street and turn left again into the parking lot located in back of the Fisk Hall. No parking permit is needed. Go to www.wesleyan.edu for a campus map. On the homepage click on "About Wesleyan", then click on "campus map". Select Fisk Hall in the drop-down list and Fisk Hall turns orange on the map. Facilitator: Tom Sevigny A. PRELIMINARIES 1. (2 minutes) Introductions/identify chapter reps, recruit stacker and timekeeper 2. (1 minute) Identify people present who are NOT voting reps (information needed by secretary) 3. (1 minute) Adopt groundrules (last page of this agenda) 4. (2 minutes) Approval of tonight's proposed agenda/additions and deletions 5. (2 minutes) Comments/approval of September and October SCC minutes 6. (5 minutes) Treasurer's report 7. (10 minutes) Guest slot (if a guest is present, he/she will speak here). B (5 minutes) SPECIAL DISCUSSION ITEM When December SCC meeting? --Hanukkah early in month (December 8) --Christmas Saturday Dec. 25. --Last Tuesday of month is Dec. 28 --First Tuesday of January is Jan. 4 C. OLD BUSINESS AND PROPOSALS 1. (10 minutes) Bylaws segment "4-1 Chapters" (Appendix 1). Referred to chapters by September SCC meeting (a step in the bylaws revision process). 2. (10 minutes) Bylaws segment "4-2 State Central Committee" (Appendix 2). Referred to chapters by September SCC meeting (a step in the bylaws revision process). 3. (5 minutes) Proposal on endorsing "A Cultural Evening for Palestine" (Women's Caucus) (Appendix 3) D. REPORTS 1. Chapter reports (1 minute each) AND presentation by Ralph Ferrucci (10 minutes) 2. (15 minutes) Elections Committee and campaign reports 3. (10 minutes) Executive Committee 4. (2 minutes) Fundraising Committee 5. (1 minute) Budget Committee 6. (1 minute) Office Committee 7. (5 minutes) Conflict resolution committees 8. (2 minutes) Communications Committee 9. (2 minutes) Diversity Committee 10. (2 minutes) Women's Caucus 11. (2 minutes) Bylaws, Rules, Policies, and Procedures Committee 12. (2 minutes) IT (Information Technology) Committee 13. (2 minutes) Voters' Rights Working Group 14. (5 minutes) Report from US Green Party representatives 15. (1 minute) VOTER E. DISCUSSION 1. (10 minutes) Planning/strategizing session for the state party in January. (Agenda item from Tom Sevigny, Andy Derr, Lindsay Mathews, Bob Eaton, Colin Bennett, and Kaye Ward.) F. ANNOUNCEMENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Appendix 1 Proposed bylaws changes from BRPP committee (bylaws, rules, policies and procedures) [Submitted by New London chapter per e-mail of 9/13/04 from Andy.] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From edubrule at sbcglobal.net Wed Nov 24 01:37:52 2004 From: edubrule at sbcglobal.net (edubrule) Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 01:37:52 -0500 Subject: {news} agenda November SCC meeting,part 2 of 2 Message-ID: <002f01c4d1f0$519ac430$8980f504@edgn2b574u14bi> Appendix 1 Proposed bylaws changes from BRPP committee (bylaws, rules, policies and procedures) [Submitted by New London chapter per e-mail of 9/13/04 from Andy.] 4-1. CHAPTERS 4-1-A. A local chapter shall consist of Green Party members from towns and municipalities within a contiguous geographic region. No chapter shall be larger than a County and none smaller than a single town with the exception of Campus Green organizations. 4-1-B. A local chapter may petition for affiliation with the State Central Committee upon having at least three meetings with five or more Green Party members in attendance at each of the three meetings. 4-1-C. A chapter may be declared inactive by a majority vote of the State Central Committee (SCC) if it has not met within the past three months. A chapter will automatically be declared inactive if it has not sent chapter representatives to the State Central Committee meeting for three months in a row. Inactive status will begin as of the third meeting. 4-1-D. The State Central Committee may vote to revoke a chapter's affiliation with the CTGP if that chapter has not met within the past 6 months. 4-1-E. An inactive chapter will be declared active again if it hold two consecutive monthly meetings monthly meetings with at least five members present and sends representatives to two successive state meetings. 4-1-F. Chapters that have had their affiliation revoked must re-petition the State Central Committee for affiliation once the requirements detailed in 4.1.B are met. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix 2 Proposed bylaws changes from BRPP Committee (bylaws, rules, policies and procedures). [From e-mail received from Tom 7/26/04; revised per 9/13/04 e-mail from Andy.] 4-2 STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE 4-2-A. The State Central Committee (SCC) shall be the final decision making body of the Green Party of Connecticut, and shall consist of democratically elected representatives from each affiliated local chapter. 4-2-B. Local chapters of the CTGP shall be represented at State Central Committee meetings accordingly : Each chapter is entitled to two voting representatives, and is also entitled to an additional representative for each 100 registered Greens residing in the chapter. Voter lists from an appropriate authority (either a town clerk or the Secretary of State) will be the final source in determining the count of a chapter's membership. If these are not obtainable the chapter shall be entitled to two voting representatives. 4-2-C. Caucuses for under-represented groups shall be entitled to one voting representative on the State Central Committee. Under-represented groups are defined as any grouping of Greens that has historically failed to gain adequate access to power in society at-large (i.e., women, African-Americans, youth, etc.). Caucuses shall be established by the State Central Committee. An individual attending an SCC meeting may cast multiple votes--one vote as a chapter representative and one as a caucus representative. 4-2-D. Representatives to the State Central Committee are responsible for disseminating information to their respective local chapters. They are also responsible for following the mandates of the local chapters they represent. 4-2-E. The modified consensus process will be used at State Central Committee meetings. In the event consensus cannot be reached, a vote will be taken with a simple majority being needed for passage of the proposal. Changes to the bylaws need a 66% majority for passage. 4-2-F. Quorum shall be required for votes taken at the State Central Committee meeting. Quorum shall be defined as representation (by at least one voting representative) of at least two-thirds of all active CTGP chapters, excepting Campus Green chapters and inactive chapters. 4-2-G. Chapters shall elect their representatives to the SCC once a year. Representatives shall be eligible for re-election. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix 3 Proposal on endorsing "A Cultural Evening for Palestine" Green Party Meeting Proposal Form PRESENTER (committee, chapter(s) or group of individuals): Green Party of CT Women's Caucus CONTACT (name, address, phone number, email): Justine McCabe justinemccabe at earthlink.net 860-354-1822 SUBJECT (10 words or less): Endorsing Al-Awda-CT sponsored event, "A Cultural Evening for Palestine," to benefit the Al-Rowwad Children's Theater, December 4, First United Methodist Church, Middletown. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE (100 words or less; include relationship, reasons and/or justification to the State Central Committee): In June, 2003, the SCC of the Green Party of CT voted to make the CT chapter of Al-Awda-the Palestine Right of Return Coalition-an allied organization. This designation includes supporting its activities/goals, which are consonant with our values and CTGP and USGP platform positions endorsing the legal and human right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. [This position was endorsed by CTGP on 2 occasions, October, 2000 and March, 2001. See USGP Platform on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: http://www.gp.org/platform/2004/democracy.html#310677; For the entire USGP Platform: http://www.gp.org/platform/2004/index.html] Palestinian civil society and economy are currently in ruins, as Israel's violent and illegal occupation continues into its 38th year. This event will be supporting Palestinian arts, an essential part of any peaceful society. Specifically, this event will benefit a US tour of the Al-Rowwad Children's Theater, whose members are residents of the Aida Refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. The Theater's aims include " Distract[ing] children from the heavy atmosphere of war and violence surrounding them and engage them in peaceful activities. (See http://www.artistsnetwork.org/news13/news614.html). After a dinner prepared by Oliva Cafe, there will be a showing of feature film Rana's Wedding, the 2003 recipient of Human Rights Watch International Film Festival's Nestor Almendros Prize. ================================== Al-Awda-CT, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, presents: Dinner & A Movie: A CULTURAL EVENING FOR PALESTINE [photo] Members of Al Rowwad Children's Theater from Aida Refugee Camp Please join us for an evening of Palestinian culture! Saturday, December 4 at 6 p.m. First United Methodist Church 24 Old Church Street, Middletown, CT Tickets: $20 per person; $10 students and children under 12 ? Middle Eastern food prepared by New York Times' five-star chef/owner of Oliva Caf?, New Preston ? A screening of the award-winning Palestinian film Rana's Wedding ? Doorprizes, silent auction of Palestinian arts, crafts, and olive oil All proceeds will benefit the U.S. 2005 summer tour of Al Rowwad Children's Theater from Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem. Reservations and tickets are available by calling 860-536-4640, 860-824-7636, or by sending a check to Palestine Right to Return Coalition, P.O. Box 1172, Orange, CT 06477-7172. Seating is limited! Please reserve early! Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, is a registered charitable and educational nonprofit organization. Donations are tax deductible. For more information, go to www.al-awda.org. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timmckee at sbcglobal.net Wed Nov 24 09:42:18 2004 From: timmckee at sbcglobal.net (Tim McKee) Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 06:42:18 -0800 (PST) Subject: {news} Greens and Nader fight sports stadium again(ALA CT's fight against Patriots boondoggle) Message-ID: <20041124144218.33198.qmail@web81102.mail.yahoo.com> http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20041123-102032-8681r.htm Baseball foes wage fight to the finish By S.A. Miller THE WASHINGTON TIMES Opponents to D.C. Mayor Anthony A. William's plan for a publicly financed baseball stadium in Southeast said yesterday they will not quit, al though their efforts are becoming as ineffective as those of the protester at the announcement of team's name on Monday. Ed Lazere of the No D.C. Taxes for Baseball group said members will continue to fight, although the mayor appears to have more than enough votes to pass legislation for a $435.2 million ballpark. "We are not giving up, because we think there is enough negative information out there and enough negative reaction to that information that we still think anything is possible," Mr. Lazere said. =0& (navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Windows 95")>=0 || navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Windows 98")>=0 || navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Windows NT")>=0)) {document.write('\n');document.write('on error resume next \n');document.write('plugin = ( IsObject(CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash.3")))\n');document.write('if ( plugin \n');}if ( plugin ){document.write('');document.write(' ');document.write(' ');document.write(' ');document.write(' ');}else if (!(navigator.appName & navigator.appName.indexOf("Netscape")>=0 & navigator.appVersion.indexOf("2.")>=0)){document.write('');}//-->on error resume next plugin = ( IsObject(CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash.3")))if ( plugin His comments come one day after Adam Eidinger disrupted a press conference on Monday at Union Station in which city and team officials announced that the name of the city's new team will be the Washington Nationals. Mr. Eidinger, a member of the D.C. Statehood Green Party, jumped on stage with a sign reading: "Stop the $614 million stadium giveaway." He shouted at the crowd: "This is a bad deal, people." Sports announcer Charlie Brotman, 76, nearlytoppled the lectern when he tried to drag Mr. Eidinger from the stage. Police promptly subdued Mr. Eidinger, and the festivities resumed. Mr. Eidinger was not charged with a crime. The ruckus over Mr. Williams' plan to publicly finance the stadium likely will continue from the first D.C. Council vote on Tuesday until the final vote scheduled for Dec. 14. Ralph Nader, consumer advocate and former independent presidential candidate, yesterday sent council members a letter urging them to conduct an independent analysis of the stadium costs before voting on the legislation. "The D.C. Council should be able to do better than the mess Mayor Williams left you with," Mr. Nader wrote. "Baseball owners can invest their own money in a new stadium if they see market opportunities." Supporters of the stadium plans say that no tax money is being diverted from other programs and that a Nationals ballpark will spur an economic renaissance in the depressed neighborhood surrounding South Capitol Street and along the Anacostia River waterfront. Mr. Lazere said his coalition will continue to hound council members, reiterating that the mayor gave away too much to lure a baseball team to the city. The city ends up with little more than rent for the stadium, he said, and the team gets all the money generated by baseball. "When you say those things to a public forum or to a council member, it raises concern or even outrage," Mr. Lazere said. "These are arguments that resonate and have resonated over the past months." Through protests and an aggressive media campaign, Mr. Lazere and other ballpark opponents succeeded in turning many residents against the public-financing plan. But they failed to erode majority support on the D.C. Council. Mr. Lazere said the group will target its final lobbying push at council members sympathetic to their cause. Mr. Williams, a Democrat, remains confident that seven of the council's 13 members support his plan, which would pay off as much as $500 million in stadium bonds with rent payments from the team owners, taxes on ballpark goods and a new tax on multimillion-dollar businesses. Before council Chairman Linda W. Cropp unexpectedly stopped a vote on the plan earlier this month, the mayor had lined up a slim majority to pass the legislation. Supporters are Democratic members Sandy Allen, Sharon Ambrose, Harold Brazil, Kevin P. Chavous, Jack Evans, Jim Graham and Vincent B. Orange Sr. Still, the Williams administration continues to shore up support. "We are not sitting on our hands," said city spokesman Chris Bender. "The discussions continue. I think people have for the most part staked out where they stand on this issue. I'm not necessarily sure anyone is going to move very much." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Wed Nov 24 20:26:05 2004 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 20:26:05 -0500 Subject: {news} Fw: USGP-INT This makes the Cuba embargo even more absurd Message-ID: <083801c4d28d$bc6d2df0$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> ----- Original Message ----- From: Michael Canney To: usgp-int Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 2004 7:57 PM Subject: USGP-INT This makes the Cuba embargo even more absurd The Financial Express Wednesday, November 24, 2004 Hu, Castro sign 16 economic cooperation agreements HAVANA, Nov 23 (AFP): Presidents Fidel Castro of Cuba and Hu Jintao of China signed 16 economic cooperation agreements, including a lucrative investment in Cuban nickel production, only hours after the HAVANA : Cuban President Fidel Castro (R) and China's President Hu Jintao confer Monday at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana. Hu is in a two-day state visit to Cuba. - AFP Photo third visit by a Chinese leader here began Monday. The visit was the final stop on Hu's first Latin America tour, which also took him to Brazil, Argentina and Chile, where he attended an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Hu was welcomed at the Havana airport by Defense Minister Raul Castro, the president's brother and the number two in the Cuban government. Hu then headed to the presidential palace for talks with Castro. There, Castro, recuperating from a broken knee, welcomed the Chinese leader with a "Viva China!" from his wheelchair before inviting Hu into the government palace for private talks. "We sincerely wish that the Cuban people march without surrender on the road to building socialism," the Chinese leader said. Hu said his "visit will achieve our goal of deepening our friendship and financial cooperation.." Both sides have hailed the importance of the 29-hour visit, which came as reformist China enjoys a booming economy, while Cuba, the only communist state in the Western Hemisphere, remains mired in a deep crisis. Castro already has made it clear he expected the visit to bring significant investments to the Caribbean island nation, whose economy has suffered a steady decline since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Only two hours after his arrival, Hu and Castro publicly signed 16 cooperation agreements, including one boosting the extraction of nickel from Cuba's top world reserve estimated at 800 million tonnes. The agreement calls for building an extraction facility that will produce 22,500 tons of nickel and cobalt per year. Other agreements signed by Hu and Castro favor the biotechnology, tourism, telecommunications, fishing, education and health sectors. On the sidelines of the presidential summit, representatives of 37 Chinese and about 60 Cuban companies met Monday to explore bilateral trade opportunities. "China today is an important partner for Cuba and represents almost 10 percent of our island's foreign trade," Cuba's Government Minister Ricardo Cabrisas said in his opening address at the First Sino-Cuban Investment and Trade Forum, held at a Havana hotel. The Chinese leader is expected to reiterate Beijing's rejection of the US embargo against Cuba, which US President George W. Bush further tightened in June, but their discussions on the future development of socialism are likely to remain private, as has been the case in past discussions between leaders of the two countries. The encounter is likely to have its share of tension, however, as Castro has rejected the path of reform China's leaders have followed for 25 years. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From capeconn at comcast.net Sun Nov 28 08:05:05 2004 From: capeconn at comcast.net (Tom Sevigny) Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2004 08:05:05 -0500 Subject: {news} Fw: [usgp-media] Ohio recount: update, financial report, timetable (from the Cobb campaign) Message-ID: <003601c4d54a$e13faf80$1906a543@sevigny8wcbjrd> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott McLarty" To: ; Sent: Saturday, November 27, 2004 6:16 PM Subject: [usgp-media] Ohio recount: update, financial report, timetable (from the Cobb campaign) > (From Lynne Serpe, Cobb campaign manager) > > Dear Friends, > > The Ohio Recount is moving forward! > > Here are updates on: > > 1. Volunteering opportunities > 2. Our financial situation > 3. A timetable of what's to come and what's > already happened > > > ================== > > > 1. Mobilizing Thousands of Volunteers > > We'll be mobilizing thousands of volunteers in > December to observe the hand recount in all 88 > counties in Ohio. A recount without Cobb-Badnarik > volunteer observers providing truly independent > oversight of the process will not provide > meaningful feedback on the problems or do much to > improve public confidence in the integrity of the > voting system. Please join us by completing our > volunteer form at http://www.votecobb.org > > > 2. Giving Thanks for Democracy > > Thanks to the generosity of thousands of small > donors coast-to-coast, the Green Party's > Cobb/LaMarche campaign has already raised > $250,000 toward the costs of the recount. > $113,600 has gone out the door already to pay the > State of Ohio's recount filing fee. > > We have been raising the money in phases, since > we didn't want to raise more until we were > certain the minimum needed was raised. Now that > we have completed our grassroots operation > planning, we estimate that the recount will cost > an additional $88,000 for training and staffing > costs (approximately $1000 needed in each of the > 88 Ohio counties). > > If you value democracy, and the attention that > this recount will bring to the many ways that > voting processes need to be improved in this > country, then please make a donation today by > going to http://www.votecobb.org > > > 3. Ohio Recount Timeline > > To keep you in the loop, here are past and future > dates related to the recount process: > > 11/10 Green Party Presidential candidate David > Cobb announces on KPFK radio that he and Michael > Badnarik of the Libertarian Party are considering > filing for a recount in Ohio. Hundreds of emails > pour in, encouraging the Green Party to take a > stand. > > 11/11 The Cobb/LaMarche campaign confirms their > intention to file for a recount in a public > statement and press release, and requests > donations to pay for the effort. > > 11/15 Common Cause, the National Voting Rights > Institute, Demos, the Fannie Lou Hamer Project > and People for the American Way Foundation issue > a joint statement in support of the Cobb-Badnarik > demand for an Ohio recount. > > 11/15 The Cobb/LaMarche campaign meets initial > fundraising goal of $150,000 (including the > $113,600 recount fee needed to file). > > 11/17 Attorneys on behalf of David Cobb and > Michael Badnarik deliver letters to each Ohio > county election director, asking them to prepare > for the recount. > > 11/18 Congressman Dennis Kucinich publicly > endorses recount efforts. > > 11/19 Cobb-Badnarik representatives deliver bond > to guarantee $113,600 recount fee to each of the > 88 Ohio county election directors. > > 11/20 Two Cobb/LaMarche campaign staff relocate > to Columbus, Ohio to work with volunteers on the > ground. > > 11/21 Cobb/LaMarche team meets second fundraising > goal, reaching $250,000 in eleven days. > > 11/21 Cobb-Badnarik lawyers file a request for an > expedited recount in federal district court in > Toledo, Ohio, so that a "meaningful recount" can > take place prior to the December 7th "safe > harbor" certification and December 13th meeting > of Ohio presidential electors > > 11/22 The Delaware County, Ohio Board of > Elections seeks a temporary restraining order to > block Green and Libertarian presidential > candidates from forcing a recount of the Nov. 2 > election results prior to December 1st. Their > request is granted by the judge. > > 11/22 Federal district court judge denies > Cobb-Badnarik request to expedite recount, saying > that Cobb and Badnarik do not face "irreparable > harm" if the recount doesn't take place until > after the December 7 date to certify presidential > electors, since they will not have any electors > anyway. > > 11/24 Over 1,000 volunteers have already signed > up to help on website at http://www.votecobb.org > but many more still needed. > > 11/28 The Reverend Jesse Jackson to hold rally in > support of recount and other efforts to > investigate and litigate voting irregularities in > Ohio. > > 12/01 Date by which most Ohio counties will have > certified their initial vote totals. > > 12/04 Citizen electoral reform groups organize a > rally to "Investigate all 88." > > 12/06 Date that Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth > Blackwell currently (as of 11/25) says he will > finally certify the vote. Then, as detailed in > Ohio Election law procedures, Cobb and Badnarik > will formally request a recount and Secretary > Blackwell will notify other candidates of their > right to have observers at the recount. Under > law, other candidates must have 5 days of notice > before the recount can start. > > 12/07 The "safe harbor" date by which > presidential electors in all 50 states must be > conclusively determined. > > 12/11 Earliest possible start date for the Ohio > recount, based on recent judicial ruling and > Blackwell's current timeline for certification of > the state vote. > > 12/13 Date by which, pursuant to Constitutional > mandates, Electoral College electors must meet to > cast their votes. This applies to Ohio and all > other states. > > > Again, we thank you sincerely for your interest > and participation in the Ohio Recount. With your > help, democracy will be served. > > Please be sure to volunteer, donate, and > circulate this email to your friends and family! > > Sincerely, > > Lynne Serpe > Campaign Manager > Cobb/LaMarche Ohio Recount > P.O. Box 693 > Eureka, CA 95502 > http://www.votecobb.org > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > All your favorites on one personal page - Try My Yahoo! > http://my.yahoo.com > _______________________________________________ > usgp-media mailing list > usgp-media at lists.gp-us.org > http://lists.gp-us.org/mailman/listinfo/usgp-media From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Sun Nov 28 11:28:00 2004 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2004 11:28:00 -0500 Subject: {news} Updates on Ukraine elections from USGP-International Committee members Message-ID: <0b2601c4d572$a1511490$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> Dear all, Below are comments by two USGP International Committee members on the elections in Ukraine. Those of Bahram Zandi (MD) are followed by a post by Richard Walton (RI). Peace, Justine ----- Original Message ----- From: bahram To: usgp-int at gp-us.org Sent: Thursday, November 25, 2004 11:06 PM Subject: USGP-INT My Ukraine visit Hi All, I was in Ukraine in between their two rounds of presidential elections. I visited the Green Party office in Kiev and met briefly with the president, Mr Kononov and the vice-president and international secretary, Mr. Kurykin. The Green Party of Ukraine had no candidates in this presidential elections, but they told me that even though they don't agree completely with Mr. Yuschenko (the pro-west candidate), they support him in this elections. Talking with other Ukrainians, I heard comments similar to Alexander's, Richard Walton's friend. bahram Richard Walton wrote: Hi: I'm sure many of you are puzzled but interested by the situation in the Ukraine. Today I received an analysis of the situation from a friend who lives in the Ukraine. Some years ago Aleksandr came to Bryant University on an international program and by great good fortune he got to stay with me for a month, including a Thanksgiving dinner with the same friends with whom I had dinner today. I wrote to Aleks asking what the hell is going on in the Ukraine, a country I visited two or three years ago, travelling across it, and Russia, with Aleks. So I have a particular interest. This is what he wrote. However, I should tell you that although Aleks has lived in the Ukraine for twenty or thirty years, he is an ethnic Russian, he believes Russian should be an official language in the Ukraine [now, as I understand it, only Ukrainian is and although the languages are quite close they distinct languages] and I think it is fair to say that he is at least somewhat a Russian nationalist. Also he lives in eastern Ukraine, a region with closer ties and with more Russian speakers, than the west which is largely Ukrainian and is looking to the west whereas the east looks toward Moscow. Indeed, Russian president Putin went to the Ukraine during the election campaign and made it plain that Russia preferred the guy who has now claimed victory amidst many claims of fraud. Aleks is an intelligent, fair and honest man but in times of nationalist fervor it would not be surprising if he were affected by his pro-Russian views. Nonetheless, he does raise some interesting points. I just hope the Western press is open-minded and fair when it addresses the complex situation in the Ukraine. Peace. Richard Walton. >Dear friend Richard, >You remember our trip across Ukraine... Nice country, not bad people. But >at that time though we talked much I didn't accent upon the fact that the >Ukrainian citizens to the West of the river Dnieper and the Ukrainian >citizens to the East of the ancient river consider themselves(in the >majority) as two peoples! >The first and the second rounds of the presidential elections 2004 in >Ukraine clearly demonstrated that fact. The Western regions voted in >favour of pro-Western Mr. Yushchenko (marked orange in the election map - >the color chosen by Mr. Yuschenko's team)and the part of the country >where I live now was in favour of the acting prime minister Mr. >Yanukovich(marked blue and white in the election map. These are two >colors of the Russian flag...). >I'm not going to deeply dig the historic well but I'd like to say that >during several decades of the Soviet power Governments of the Soviet >Union favoured great funds to build huge electric power stations >(including two of them which can be seen through the windows of my >apartment), metallurgical and automobile plants, a lot of coal and iron >mines. All this having been done to the great detriment of the Russian >Federation. I know exactly what I mean. >In early 70-s of the last century I crossed Russia in all directions and >saw dreadful poverty of the Russian countryside. I was shocked by the >wealthy look of Ukrainian villages, settlements and cities when I first >came to Ukraine in 1974. The Ukraine was the most prosperous republic >among the Soviet ones. >The wealth of this republic was mainly being grown in the Eastern part by >professionals and rank-and-file workers who were directed by the >Communist Party or came from Russia voluntarily. They were called >"enthusiasts". They had to live in terrible living conditions for many >years till their "objects started giving production for Motherland". >The share of the Eastern regions of modern Ukraine in the economy of the >country can be hardly overestimated. More than 2\3 of the national >product is produced on the left bank of the Dnieper. Naturally a great >number of plants, factories and so forth are closely connected with their >partners in Russia. >When the Soviet Union was ruined (yes, Passive Voice...) the majority of >the Ukrainian plants went bankrupt and came to a standstill. Only during >the last two years (the period of Mr. Yanukovich's primeministership) the >national economy felt fresh breath and started giving something for >people's living. >The metallurgical workers, the miners, the majority of the inhabitants in >the East of Ukraine clearly understand that the economic, social, >cultural and even family life would be seriously deteriorated by tearing >all those ties with Russia. That is why the majority of the population in >the Eastern regions is against those pro-Western politicians who does not >accordingly appreciate the role of the East in the historic development >of the country. >The people here do not understand why the Russian language became >officially second-handed in the country where 97% speak it as their first >or second native language. Why not two official state languages? The >acting president Mr. Kuchma had been elected the president of Ukraine >twice. His promise to make Russian the second state language in Ukraine >gave him the voices of the Eastern voters. He betrayed them twice. Now >Mr. Yanukovich declared the same ace... and people do hope to get the >right to think in their own native language which is hated by Western >Ukrainian nationalists many of whom are the members of Mr. Yushchenko's >team. >More and more people understand why Mr. Yushchenko pays a lot more >attention to the West. He has to work off the huge money sponsored to him >mainly by the American sources. >Does the US government consider him to be democratic after his wild >action of taking an oath on the Bible in the Ukrainian Parliament before >the final election results were officially announced by the >Constitutional Body? The Constitution was completely ignored by the man >who declared himself the only president of this poor-poor Ukraine. >Could this man be the guarantor of the basic country's law if he lacks >ordinary patience to wait till the official results announced by the >Central Election Body elected by the whole of the Parliament? Thus he >completely neglected the rights of fifteen million people (mine as >well)who preferred Mr. Yanukovich as the next president. >Could this man be a critically minded person of high sense of >responsibility if he follows all the provocative advice of his >she-assistance Mrs. Yuliya Timoshenko who is being officially looked for >by the Interpol for her international swindling? Now she squelingly >addresses thousands of Kievans, students and pupils of senior classes of >high schools as well as those grown-ups who rode to the center of the >capital from the western regions. She calls them to seize the official >building, post-offices and so on... The excellent example of the >politician-revolutionary who think that the more she provokes the >instability in the country the easier will be the reserve way to the >country of absolute democracy - the USA. American politicians would >easily forget about her economic crimes due to her "outstanding role in >opening the eyes of the Eastern barbarians to the Western democracy". >Divide the Slavs and rule. Divide the Slavs by their own hands. The only >thing needed in this case is money, better much money in the hands of the >definite pro-American politicians. People in the East of Ukraine see it. >They don't want to be replicas of characters of idiotic Hollywood >piff-paff and mad-sexy movies. >The historic memory of the Slavs determines the other way for the Earth's >civilization as a whole. It is not the way of boundless and senseless >consumerism but the harmless way of soul's development. >The American officials are used to apply two or even more standards to >the political situations in this or that country. It depends not on their >own honesty but only upon profitability of the event to the interests of >the ruling echelon of the American state. >It concerns the Ukrainian elections too. During the first round of the >presidential election there had been much more different violations in >the Eastern regions as well as in the Western ones. But the European and >American observers did not cry so loud as they do now when the quantity >of violations during the second round considerably decreased. >All this because in the first round pro-Western candidate led 0.5% After >the second round the candidate lagged 3% behind pro-Russian candidate. >About 5000.00 foreign observers closely watched the elections. It was >unprecedented. That shows how strategically important the Ukraine is in >the eyes of those politicians who dreams about the world of the one great >stars-and-strips gendarme able to praise and punish any country or any >people in any country according to its "divine" principles and "pure" >morals. >So, Richard, it turns out that the confrontation of the two high ranking >Ukrainian politicians during the presidential elections 2004 is only the >surface of the iceberg. And this iceberg is our little world - the Earth. >We turn it into iceberg by praising one God - material profit, by >enforcing one way of thinking to the whole of mankind. >Best regards, Richard. >Your Russian-Ukrainian friend, Aleksandr-Olexandr "The only way out of our crisis (terrorism) is to reduce the anger of the most rational, thus also reducing the constituency of the least rational." Sam Smith. "When they come for the innocent without crossing over your body, cursed be your religion and your life." Anon. But often quoted by Dorothy Day. -- ----------------------------------------------------------- "Richard Walton" ----------------------------------------------------------- --- | Sent via usgp-int | To unsubscribe, please send a message to usgp-int-request at gp-us.org | with ONLY unsubscribe in the message --- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Green Party of Ukraine.gif Type: image/gif Size: 3536 bytes Desc: not available URL: From capeconn at comcast.net Mon Nov 29 16:55:42 2004 From: capeconn at comcast.net (Tom Sevigny) Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 16:55:42 -0500 Subject: {news} Fw: [usgp-media] COBB 2004 RELEASE: GREEN PRES CANDIDATE FILES FOR RECOUNTS IN NEW MEXICO & NEVADA Message-ID: <016a01c4d65e$2bf47f10$1906a543@sevigny8wcbjrd> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Blair Bobier, Esq." To: "Blair Bobier, Esq." Sent: Monday, November 29, 2004 4:16 PM Subject: [usgp-media] COBB 2004 RELEASE: GREEN PRES CANDIDATE FILES FOR RECOUNTS IN NEW MEXICO & NEVADA > COBB/LaMARCHE 2004 > http://www.votecobb.org > > NEWS RELEASE > > For immediate release: November 29, 2004 > Contact: Blair Bobier, Media Director at 541.929.5755 > > GREEN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FILES FOR RECOUNTS IN NEW MEXICO & NEVADA > > David Cobb, the 2004 Green Party presidential candidate, today > filed official requests for a recount of the presidential ballots cast in > New Mexico and Nevada. > As he did in Ohio, Cobb filed the requests jointly with > Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik. > "The Green Party's dedication to protecting the integrity of the > election process has led me to file for a recount in both New Mexico and > Nevada. We want to ensure that every vote is counted and verify the > accuracy of the electronic voting machines, particularly those which produce > no paper trail," said David Cobb. > "It is absolutely critical that we verify the accuracy of > electronic voting machines. Voting without independent checks and balances > is a meaningless exercise. There is no reason why Americans should settle > for second-best when it comes to protecting our democratic rights," said > Cobb-LaMarche Media Director Blair Bobier. > The New Mexico presidential election was marred by reports of > voter suppression and problems with electronic voting machines. In Nevada, > the lack of paper trails or receipts for electronic voting machines is the > primary concern. In an unrelated legal challenge, an election contest case > will be heard today in Reno, Nevada, demanding a recount. The suit also > seeks to address allegations that people employed by Sproul & Associates, an > Arizona-based firm hired by the Republican National Committee, tore up and > discarded voter registration forms completed by Democratic voters. > For more information about the Cobb-LaMarche campaign and the > recount efforts in Ohio, New Mexico and Nevada, visit > http://www.votecobb.org. The website of the national Green Party is > http://www.gp.org. > > -30- > > > _______________________________________________ > usgp-media mailing list > usgp-media at lists.gp-us.org > http://lists.gp-us.org/mailman/listinfo/usgp-media > From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Mon Nov 29 17:54:39 2004 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 17:54:39 -0500 Subject: {news} Fw: [unitingforpeace] U.S. uses napalm in Fallujah Message-ID: <002601c4d666$6b189d40$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> Another horrific parallel to Vietnam. Justine ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Monday, November 29, 2004 4:49 PM Subject: [unitingforpeace] U.S. uses napalm in Fallujah U.S. uses napalm gas in Fallujah - Witnesses > Aljazeera - on-line > 11/28/2004 9:00:00 PM GMT > > > > The U.S. military is secretly using banned napalm gas and other > outlawed weapons > against civilians in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, eyewitnesses reported. > > > > Residents in Fallujah reported that innocent civilians have been > killed by napalm > attacks, a poisonous cocktail of polystyrene and jet fuel which makes the > human body > melt. > > > > Since the U.S. offensive started in Fallujah earlier this month, > there have been reports > of "melted" bodies which proves that the napalm gas had been used. > > > > "Poisonous gases have been used in Fallujah," 35-year-old Fallujah > resident, Abu > Hammad said. "They used everything -- tanks, artillery, infantry, and > poisonous gas. > Fallujah has been bombed to the ground." Hammad was living in the Julan > district of > Fallujah which witnessed some of the heaviest attacks. > > > > Other residents of that area also said that banned weapons were used. > Abu Sabah, said; > "They used these weird bombs that put up smoke like a mushroom cloud. then > small > pieces fall from the air with long tails of smoke behind them." > > > > He said that pieces of these strange bombs explode into large fires > that burn the skin > even when water is thrown on the burns. > > > > Phosphorous arms and the napalm gas are known to have such effects. > "People > suffered so much from these," Abu Sabah said. > > > > Fallujah "almost gone" > > > > Kassem Mohammed Ahmed, who fled Fallujah last week, said that he > witnessed many > atrocities committed by U.S. troops in the shattered city. "I watched them > roll over > wounded people in the street with tanks," he said. "This happened so many > times." > > > > Another Fallujah resident Khalil (40) said that "Fallujah is > suffering too much, it is > almost gone now." He added that refugees are in a miserable situation now, > "It's a disaster > living here at this camp," Khalil said. "We are living like dogs and the > kids do not have > enough clothes." > > > > In many refugee camps around Fallujah and Baghdad, people are living > without enough > food, clothing and shelter. Relief groups estimate that there are more > than 15,000 refugee > families in temporary shelters outside Fallujah. > > > > Blair under fire over the use of napalm > > > > On Saturday, Labor MPs have demanded that British Prime Minister > confront the > Commons over the use of the deadly gas in Fallujah. > > > > Halifax Labor MP Alice Mahon said: "I am calling on Mr. Blair to make > an emergency > statement to the Commons to explain why this is happening. It begs the > question: 'Did we > know about this hideous weapon's use in Iraq?'" > > > > Furious critics have also demanded that Blair threatens the U.S. to > pullout British forces > from Iraq unless the U.S. stops using the world's deadliest weapon. > > > > The United Nations banned the use of the napalm gas against civilians > in 1980 after > pictures of a naked wounded girl in Vietnam shocked the world. > > > > The United States, which didn't endorse the convention, is the only > nation in the world > still using the deadly weapon. From timmckee at sbcglobal.net Tue Nov 30 17:22:45 2004 From: timmckee at sbcglobal.net (Tim McKee) Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2004 14:22:45 -0800 (PST) Subject: {news} (PRESS RELEASE) CT GREENS PUSH FOR VOTING RECOUNTS Message-ID: <20041130222245.69274.qmail@web81101.mail.yahoo.com> PRESS RELEASE- Dec 1th, 2004- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: TIM MCKEE, CT GREEN PARTY SPOKESPERSON- (860) 643-2282 or cell 860-324-1684 Mike DeRosa, State Co-chair, (860) 956-8170 or (860) 919-4042 CT Cobb spokesperson:Tom Sevigny, State Co-chair, (860) 693-8344 Cobb National spokesperson: Blair Bobier, Media Director (541)929-5755 CT NADER SPOKESPERSON RALPH FERRUCCI (203)-430-9342 OR Nader National office- (202) 265-4000 CT GREENS PUSH FOR VOTING RECOUNTS 3 Presidential candidates have filed suit in Ohio, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Nevada HARTFORD, CT- THE GREEN PARTY OF CONNECTICUT CALLED TODAY FOR A FULL RECOUNT IN STATES WERE THE VOTING FOR PRESIDENT MAY HAVE BEEN CLOSE. The G.P. of CT joins the Green Party Presidential candidate David Cobb, Libertarian Presidential Candidate Micheal Badnarik in the Ohio, New Mexico and Nevada recount efforts and Independent candidate Ralph Nader in New Hampshire's recount effort. Tom Sevigny, a local spokesperson for the Cobb campaign said "The Ohio recount is necessary because of documented voting irregularities: numerous press and independent reports of voter intimidation, mismarked and discarded ballots, problems with electronic voting machines, and the targeted disenfranchisement of African American voters." He added Cobb and Badnarik are demanding that Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican who chaired the Ohio Bush campaign, recuse himself from the recount process. State Green Party Co-Chair Mike DeRosa said "Greens are demanding auditable paper ballot trails to verify all votes cast on computer voting machines. If the result of the Ohio recount movement is the implementation of auditable paper ballots, it will be a huge victory for democracy. Most of the malfunctions allegedly favored Bush; the exit polls gave accurate results for Senate candidates, but not for the presidential candidates". DeRosa leads a state coalition working to computer voting problems and ballot reform in CT called, CT VOTER. McKee explained "Greens aren't pushing for a recount because it'll change the outcome of the election. (It probably won't.) We're not fighting for John Kerry. Greens are pursuing a recount because it's the best way to ensure fair elections and accurate vote counts now and in the future. The integrity of the voting process is at stake: we won't know what other problems there might be with the election unless we recount". -- For the Democratic Party's leadership, the lesson of the 2000 Florida scandal was that controversy should be avoided, even if votes were obstructed or uncounted. For the Green Party, the lesson of 2000 is that we need to fight for fair elections, the right to vote, accurate vote counts, and the future of our democracy. -- The Green Party has consistently spoken out for the right to vote and the right of every vote to be counted, for investigation of obstructed votes, and for auditable paper ballot trails to verify all votes cast on computer voting machines. Greens are also campaigning for clean election options, Instant Runoff Voting, abolition of the Electoral College, enforcement of the 14th Amendment's guarantee of voting rights. #end of release# http://www.votecobb.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: