From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Mon Aug 1 09:54:40 2005 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2005 09:54:40 -0400 Subject: {news} PRESS RELEASE: Green Congressional Cand./Playwright Bill C. Davis Opens Campaign with "Green Dialogues" in Kent, Sat., August 6 Message-ID: <043501c596a0$909980c0$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> BILL C. DAVIS/CONGRESS 2006 CAMPAIGN http://www.votebillc.org For Immediate Release: August 1, 2005 Contacts: Justine McCabe, 860-354-1822, justinemccabe at earthlink.net Tom Sevigny, 860-693-8344, capeconn at comcast.net PLAYWRIGHT BILL C. DAVIS OPENS "DIALOGUES" IN KENT Green Congressional Candidate Begins Citizen Conversations in the 5th District Bill C. Davis opens Green Campaign for Democracy with a public reading of "Green Dialogues," invites fellow citizens to "step in and step up" to work for the common good. Kent, CT - Litchfield County playwright Bill C. Davis invites the public to a reading of his "Green Dialogues" on Saturday, August 6, 8:00 P.M., Kent Town Hall, just off Main St. (Rte. 7), Kent. Using the "Dialogues" as a signature campaign tool, Green Party Congressional Candidate Davis calls on fellow citizens to take back their government from unrestrained corporate interests that finance elections and increasingly determine policy. "Representative government is on the auction and chopping block." Mr. Davis said. "If we tell the world and ourselves that we are government of, by and for the people, then that's what we have to be." Mr. Davis, well-known for plays like "Avow," "Dancing in the End Zone," "Wrestlers" and the Broadway hit, "Mass Appeal," which became a film starring Jack Lemmon, regularly writes political and cultural essays for the internet news service CommonDreams.org. Dissatisfied with the growing merger and hidden agendas of the two main political parties, Mr. Davis joined the Green Party. "The campaign will take no corporate money. We oppose the current electoral system that underwrites reckless policies motivated by corporate dictates rather than the needs of the people. We urge voters in the 2006 election for our national representatives to be guided by the voting records of incumbents and sources of campaign contributions of all candidates. We also ask citizens to participate in helping to frame and promote the priorities for the infrastructure of the Fifth District - priorities that will improve the health and well-being of ourselves, our environment and our neighbors." Mr. Davis wrote his "Dialogues" to encourage ongoing conversation and debate among citizens as a way to enliven and transform a system that seems to have lost active citizen participation. "Is the bounty of this country dedicated to the common good? It's a question we need to ask daily," he said. "We've chosen August 6-Hiroshima Day-to initiate these conversations. Our Green Campaign seeks to transform this day from symbolizing the destructiveness of human invention into one marking a reach for the opposite--for life in every sense." Mr. Davis continued, "Instead of military violence, insults to the environment and short-sighted expansion, we seek peaceful conflict resolution, promotion of wellness, safe water, air and food-federal support of mass transit and renewable energy, publicly-funded health insurance and a sustainable environment for everyone now and for future generations. We look to engage American creativity in the political process. If we see government as an art form as well as a business, the rewards for all citizens will be self-evident and energizing. " The Bill C. Davis Campaign invites others to gather with him under the banner of the Green Party to begin the protracted and difficult grassroots effort of taking back government from those who have appropriated it for purposes that increasingly marginalize and jeopardize the people they are meant to serve: "We are a group of American citizens who feel we've lost contact with our government, our future and the future of all children. Standing on the sideline is not possible anymore." -END- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Mon Aug 1 14:45:55 2005 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2005 14:45:55 -0400 Subject: {news} Letters needed to Danbury News-Times, "Playwright bears Green Party flag in 5th District race" Message-ID: <055201c596c9$407e2950$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> Dear All, Please write letters to the Danbury News-Times in response to their article below about the opening of Bill C. Davis/Congress canpaign in the 5th Congressional District, a seat now held by Republican Nancy Johnson. Please thank the paper for their attention to Bill's campaign. Let them know that peace and justice-seeking people have had it with the corrupt politics of our government; that we're tired of their spending our hard-earned tax dollars to fund war in Iraq, the occupation of Palestinians and the destruction of the environment while so many Connecticut residents go without health care, good schools and living wages; and that we need publicly-funded political campaigns and democratic reforms. Please write to op-ed editor Mary Connolly at: mconnolly at newstimes.com Thanks, Justine McCabe Green Party of CT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://news.newstimeslive.com/story.php?id=73281&category=Politics Danbury News-Times 2005-07-31 Playwright bears Green Party flag in 5th District race By Jody Minalgo SPECIAL TO THE NEWS-TIMES Did you hear the one about the Republican father, Democratic mother and their son who registers for the Green Party? You will if you go to a campaign appearance by Bill C. Davis, who is running for the Fifth District congressional seat. Davis, a professional playwright, doesn't intend to give campaign speeches. Instead, he plans to recruit actors and produce performances of the "Green Dialogues," a series of short plays he's writing about political issues. "It's comedic in tone, but issues definitely get discussed," said Davis. "It might keep your interest better than a politician droning on and on." He hopes the dialogue in the plays will explore all sides of issues. "Most political problems are dilemmas and it takes the will of the people to decide which direction to go," he said. Davis hopes to follow the plays with open discussion forums. That, he said, will help him "really get a view of where the public is and what they stand for. We'll discuss things like organic farming and universal health care. I have a lot to learn and we can all learn together." The fifth district includes a large swath of western, northern and central Connecticut. It ranges from Danbury north to the Massachusetts border and then west to Meriden. In the Danbury area, Bethel, Brookfield, Newtown, New Milford and New Fairfield are in the district. So are Waterbury and New Britain. The latter is the home base of the incumbent congresswoman, U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson, a Republican now serving her 12th term. Two Democrats have shown interest in challenging Johnson. One is state Sen. Chris Murphy of Cheshire, who is the co-chairman of the legislature's public health committee. The other is J. Paul Vance Jr., president of the Waterbury board of alderman. The Green Party is most closely associated with Ralph Nader, who ran for president under the party's banner in 2000. But the party, which has a pro-environment, pro-consumer, pro-feminist platform frequently runs candidates for lower offices and has won seats on town councils in some places. Davis, 53, is a resident of the Terryville section of Plymouth, just north of Waterbury. He has no political experience. But his claim to fame is that he is an accomplished playwright. He's best known for the play "Mass Appeal," about an experienced priest and a rebellious seminary student, which was made into a 1984 movie starring Jack Lemmon and Charles Durning. Davis has also written several other plays that appeared on Broadway and other places throughout the country. Davis said it was through his career as a playwright that he got involved with politics. He was writing essays for the political Web site, commondreams.org, when Thomas Sezigney who ran for office in Hartford under the Green Party banner, got in touch with him and urged him to run. "In a way, it's the last thing that I want to do. But that's also kind of what qualifies someone to do it," said Davis. "The population has become too passive. I think the time has come to get more activated. For me, running for office is not an ambition, it's a citizen's service, which is why I feel I make an ideal candidate. I think it's important that everybody steps up and runs for office." Despite the novelty of plays being performed during campaign appearances, some political observers give Davis little chance of getting noticed, much less winning. "I'm picturing people with long hair up in the hills," said Gary Rose, a Sacred Heart University political science professor, on hearing about Davis's unconventional campaign ideas. Rose said third parties can play a role in spreading ideas. And he said third-party candidates can influence close elections; some observers think Nader siphoned off enough votes from Al Gore to cost the Democrat the presidency in 2000. But Rose said that Johnson has a stranglehold on the district and it's unlikely that a Democrat could run close enough to Johnson for Davis to be a factor. "The campaign doesn't seem to have a lot of appeal," Rose said of Davis. "It will probably be a campaign that goes unnoticed." Like many Green Party candidates, Davis will not accept campaign donations from corporations. And he will support other parts of the Green Party's platform. "Those are things like social justice, ecological wisdom, non-violence, diversity, gender equity," said Davis, who also opposes the war in Iraq. His other issues? "The government should get behind people who want to retrofit their house to solar, so a house could produce more energy than it consumes. I'd love to see the federal government create a fund for that," Davis said. The playwright said he doesn't have to win to consider his candidacy a success. If people who watch his plays look at politics - and politicians - a little differently when it's all done, Davis will be happy. Politics should be "about humanity and human beings and not just cogs and wheels," he said. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: adlog.php?bannerid=428&clientid=710612&zoneid=72&source=Politics-Page2&block=0&capping=0&cb=75a882c87b597098cbed274bed2b3b49 Type: application/octet-stream Size: 43 bytes Desc: not available URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Mon Aug 1 21:43:14 2005 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 02 Aug 2005 01:43:14 +0000 Subject: {news} Darek Shapiro in Stamford Times Message-ID: THE STAMFORD TIMES Green Party candidate enters mayoral race By A.J. O'CONNELL Staff Writer A fourth candidate entered Stamford's mayoral race this week, quietly announcing his intention to run on Thursday, July 21. The announcement comes in the wake of the buzz caused by Tuesday's GOP convention and Democrat announcements. Darek Shapiro, 52, a local architect and outspoken proponent of clean energy, is petitioning the state to run as the Green Party's candidate. He will be championing environmental issues such as energy conservation, affordable housing for middle class citizens and an increased emphasis on mass transportation within the city of Stamford. "Very simply, the major issues are not being addressed," he said. Shapiro acknowledges his issues are not hot ones for a local campaign--for the most part, the other candidates are talking about the tax rate, their track records and the city's schools. "I'm trying to create a green movement in this city," he said. The city's environmental record has only come up in this campaign when Mayor Malloy touted the city's dedication to the acquisition of open space, green energy and pointed to the 2005 Climate Champion that the city received from global warming agency Clean Air-Cool Planet in June. Shapiro blasted the mayor on Thursday, saying that while there is a dedication to the environment in the city, it doesn't come from Malloy but from some of the people who work for him. "What he calls a great environmental track record is the fact that an intern did a study on where energy could be saved in the city," he said. "The mayor got an award for what the intern did." As a mayoral candidate, Shapiro said he will endorse creating more jobs and housing for middle class citizens in Stamford, both of which are disappearing from the city. He is also endorsing lower energy costs and suggests the city look into a study being done with environmental agency, Energy Star. The study uses energy management techniques and equipment to reduce the amount of electricity or fuel used to power a building. According to Shapiro, the study has reduced the energy use of buildings by five to 25 percent. He also cited the need for new power lines and cleaner energy, such as the solar energy. "The incentives (to use clean energy) are here already," said Shapiro, who said the Connecticut Clean Energy fund has offered to play half the cost for grid-tied solar panels that can be used to power buildings. Shapiro also wants to clear up the transportation problem which has plagued southern Connecticut. He supports cleanly-fueled public transportation and what he calls intramodal transportation, a system that would allow bicyclists to get special cars that would allow them to bring their bikes on the train. The Green Party courted Shapiro, a former Democrat, to represent them in this year's race as the first member of their party to run for Stamford mayor. Shapiro readily accepted, officially joining the Green Party on Wed., July 20. "It's a question of where you can do the most good," he said. "The Democrats already have a capable candidate. I just think I can do a better job." According to David Bedell, secretary of the Green Party of Fairfield County, Shapiro is now in the process of collecting 183 signatures on a petition that will allow him to get on the ballot. This petition must be filed with Donna Loglisci, the town and city clerk, by Aug. 10, according to the Secretary of the State's Office in Hartford. Shapiro joins two other political newcomers in challenging the current mayor, Dannel Malloy, for the office he's held for 10 years. Malloy, a Democrat, was already running against Republican Chris Munger and unaffiliated candidate Achille Fiore. It is the first time he has run against more than one opponent. During the last election, Malloy ran for office unopposed. Malloy, who is also seeking to run for governor, has said he welcomed all opponents to the race and is looking forward to debating them on any of the issues. Shapiro, a native of New York City, has worked in Stamford for the past six years. He currently lives in North Stamford with his wife Crystal. Like Malloy's two other challengers, Shapiro has never run for office before and freely admits it will be difficult for him to win. His primary goal, however, is not to win but to gain attention for the issues he represents. "Most people would agree that I don't have much of a chance but I'm not just running to win, I'm running to tell people about the real issues," he said. From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Mon Aug 1 23:26:24 2005 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 02 Aug 2005 03:26:24 +0000 Subject: {news} Playwright bears Green Party flag in 5th District race Message-ID: http://news.newstimeslive.com/story.php?id=73281 2005-07-31 Playwright bears Green Party flag in 5th District race By Jody Minalgo SPECIAL TO THE NEWS-TIMES Did you hear the one about the Republican father, Democratic mother and their son who registers for the Green Party? You will if you go to a campaign appearance by Bill C. Davis, who is running for the Fifth District congressional seat. Davis, a professional playwright, doesn't intend to give campaign speeches. Instead, he plans to recruit actors and produce performances of the "Green Dialogues," a series of short plays he's writing about political issues. "It's comedic in tone, but issues definitely get discussed," said Davis. "It might keep your interest better than a politician droning on and on." He hopes the dialogue in the plays will explore all sides of issues. "Most political problems are dilemmas and it takes the will of the people to decide which direction to go," he said. Davis hopes to follow the plays with open discussion forums. That, he said, will help him "really get a view of where the public is and what they stand for. We'll discuss things like organic farming and universal health care. I have a lot to learn and we can all learn together." The fifth district includes a large swath of western, northern and central Connecticut. It ranges from Danbury north to the Massachusetts border and then west to Meriden. In the Danbury area, Bethel, Brookfield, Newtown, New Milford and New Fairfield are in the district. So are Waterbury and New Britain. The latter is the home base of the incumbent congresswoman, U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson, a Republican now serving her 12th term. Two Democrats have shown interest in challenging Johnson. One is state Sen. Chris Murphy of Cheshire, who is the co-chairman of the legislature's public health committee. The other is J. Paul Vance Jr., president of the Waterbury board of alderman. The Green Party is most closely associated with Ralph Nader, who ran for president under the party's banner in 2000. But the party, which has a pro-environment, pro-consumer, pro-feminist platform frequently runs candidates for lower offices and has won seats on town councils in some places. Davis, 53, is a resident of the Terryville section of Plymouth, just north of Waterbury. He has no political experience. But his claim to fame is that he is an accomplished playwright. He's best known for the play "Mass Appeal," about an experienced priest and a rebellious seminary student, which was made into a 1984 movie starring Jack Lemmon and Charles Durning. Davis has also written several other plays that appeared on Broadway and other places throughout the country. Davis said it was through his career as a playwright that he got involved with politics. He was writing essays for the political Web site, commondreams.org, when Thomas Sezigney who ran for office in Hartford under the Green Party banner, got in touch with him and urged him to run. "In a way, it's the last thing that I want to do. But that's also kind of what qualifies someone to do it," said Davis. "The population has become too passive. I think the time has come to get more activated. For me, running for office is not an ambition, it's a citizen's service, which is why I feel I make an ideal candidate. I think it's important that everybody steps up and runs for office." Despite the novelty of plays being performed during campaign appearances, some political observers give Davis little chance of getting noticed, much less winning. "I'm picturing people with long hair up in the hills," said Gary Rose, a Sacred Heart University political science professor, on hearing about Davis's unconventional campaign ideas. Rose said third parties can play a role in spreading ideas. And he said third-party candidates can influence close elections; some observers think Nader siphoned off enough votes from Al Gore to cost the Democrat the presidency in 2000. But Rose said that Johnson has a stranglehold on the district and it's unlikely that a Democrat could run close enough to Johnson for Davis to be a factor. "The campaign doesn't seem to have a lot of appeal," Rose said of Davis. "It will probably be a campaign that goes unnoticed." Like many Green Party candidates, Davis will not accept campaign donations from corporations. And he will support other parts of the Green Party's platform. "Those are things like social justice, ecological wisdom, non-violence, diversity, gender equity," said Davis, who also opposes the war in Iraq. His other issues? "The government should get behind people who want to retrofit their house to solar, so a house could produce more energy than it consumes. I'd love to see the federal government create a fund for that," Davis said. The playwright said he doesn't have to win to consider his candidacy a success. If people who watch his plays look at politics ? and politicians ? a little differently when it's all done, Davis will be happy. Politics should be "about humanity and human beings and not just cogs and wheels," he said. From greenpartyct at yahoo.com Fri Aug 5 17:18:53 2005 From: greenpartyct at yahoo.com (Green Party-CT) Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2005 14:18:53 -0700 (PDT) Subject: {news} REMINDER- TONIGHT-"NUCLEAR WAR AND NUCLEAR POWER- WHERE ARE WE NOW?" EVENT Message-ID: <20050805211853.91717.qmail@web81408.mail.yahoo.com> HARTFORD GREEN PARTY PRESS RELEASE- for immediate release- July 19, 2005: Contact: Tim McKee(860) 643-2282 or (860) 324-1684 "Nuclear War and Nuclear Power- Where Are We Now?" On the anniversary of the dropping of the Nuclear bombs on Japan, a free showing of the movie "The Atomic Cafe" and a talk back about NEW "Smaller' Nuclear Bombs for use in the Middle East War and U.S. tax subsidies dollars for Nuclear Power will be held. On The event will be held on Friday, August 5, at 7 p.m. at the Hartford Green Party office, at 418A New Britain Avenue, in Hartford, CT. The event will be held free of charge and is sponsored by the Hartford Greens, and all are welcome. Free will donations will be accepted to cover the cost of the event. Light refreshments will be served. The 1982 movie "The Atomic Cafe" is a documentary film that is both fast paced, funny and very, very scary. Using real footage from the Forties, Fifties and Sixties and propaganda terms explores the "Duck and Cover" mentality and the "Safe Use" of Nuclear power before the Chernobyl Disaster killed thousands . For further information, the public is invited to call: (860) 324-1684 =========================================================== THE GREEN PARTY OF CONNECTICUT is the third largest political party in CT. The Greens are also the third largest political party in the US, with 220 Greens officeholders in 27 states. Over 80 countries in world have Green Parties. Wangari Maathai, the 2004 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is Kenya's assistant minister for environment and an elected Green Party member. =========================================================== National Committee member from Connecticut: Tim McKee (860) 324-1684 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Sat Aug 6 07:43:40 2005 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2005 07:43:40 -0400 Subject: {news} Fw: "The Hiroshima Cover-Up" Message-ID: <049501c59a7c$17a7eaf0$0502a8c0@JUSTINE> The Hiroshima Cover-Up By Amy Goodman and David Goodman 08/05/05 "Baltimore Sun" -- --- A STORY THAT the U.S. government hoped would never see the light of day finally has been published, 60 years after it was spiked by military censors. The discovery of reporter George Weller's firsthand account of conditions in post-nuclear Nagasaki sheds light on one of the great journalistic betrayals of the last century: the cover-up of the effects of the atomic bombing on Japan. On Aug. 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima; three days later, Nagasaki was hit. Gen. Douglas MacArthur promptly declared southern Japan off-limits, barring the news media. More than 200,000 people died in the atomic bombings of the cities, but no Western journalist witnessed the aftermath and told the story. Instead, the world's media obediently crowded onto the battleship USS Missouri off the coast of Japan to cover the Japanese surrender. A month after the bombings, two reporters defied General MacArthur and struck out on their own. Mr. Weller, of the Chicago Daily News, took row boats and trains to reach devastated Nagasaki. Independent journalist Wilfred Burchett rode a train for 30 hours and walked into the charred remains of Hiroshima. Both men encountered nightmare worlds. Mr. Burchett sat down on a chunk of rubble with his Baby Hermes typewriter. His dispatch began: "In Hiroshima, 30 days after the first atomic bomb destroyed the city and shook the world, people are still dying, mysteriously and horribly - people who were uninjured in the cataclysm from an unknown something which I can only describe as the atomic plague." He continued, tapping out the words that still haunt to this day: "Hiroshima does not look like a bombed city. It looks as if a monster steamroller has passed over it and squashed it out of existence. I write these facts as dispassionately as I can in the hope that they will act as a warning to the world." Mr. Burchett's article, headlined "The Atomic Plague," was published Sept. 5, 1945, in the London Daily Express. The story caused a worldwide sensation and was a public relations fiasco for the U.S. military. The official U.S. narrative of the atomic bombings downplayed civilian casualties and categorically dismissed as "Japanese propaganda" reports of the deadly lingering effects of radiation. So when Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter George Weller's 25,000-word story on the horror that he encountered in Nagasaki was submitted to military censors, General MacArthur ordered the story killed, and the manuscript was never returned. As Mr. Weller later summarized his experience with General MacArthur's censors, "They won." Recently, Mr. Weller's son, Anthony, discovered a carbon copy of the suppressed dispatches among his father's papers (George Weller died in 2002). Unable to find an interested American publisher, Anthony Weller sold the account to Mainichi Shimbun, a big Japanese newspaper. Now, on the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings, Mr. Weller's account can finally be read. "In swaybacked or flattened skeletons of the Mitsubishi arms plants is revealed what the atomic bomb can do to steel and stone, but what the riven atom can do against human flesh and bone lies hidden in two hospitals of downtown Nagasaki," wrote Mr. Weller. A month after the bombs fell, he observed, "The atomic bomb's peculiar 'disease,' uncured because it is untreated and untreated because it is not diagnosed, is still snatching away lives here." After killing Mr. Weller's reports, U.S. authorities tried to counter Mr. Burchett's articles by attacking the messenger. General MacArthur ordered Mr. Burchett expelled from Japan (the order was later rescinded), his camera mysteriously vanished while he was in a Tokyo hospital and U.S. officials accused him of being influenced by Japanese propaganda. Then the U.S. military unleashed a secret propaganda weapon: It deployed its own Times man. It turns out that William L. Laurence, the science reporter for The New York Times, was also on the payroll of the War Department. For four months, while still reporting for the Times, Mr. Laurence had been writing press releases for the military explaining the atomic weapons program; he also wrote statements for President Harry Truman and Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson. He was rewarded by being given a seat on the plane that dropped the bomb on Nagasaki, an experience that he described in the Times with religious awe. Three days after publication of Mr. Burchett's shocking dispatch, Mr. Laurence had a front-page story in the Times disputing the notion that radiation sickness was killing people. His news story included this remarkable commentary: "The Japanese are still continuing their propaganda aimed at creating the impression that we won the war unfairly, and thus attempting to create sympathy for themselves and milder terms. ... Thus, at the beginning, the Japanese described 'symptoms' that did not ring true." Mr. Laurence won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the atomic bomb, and his faithful parroting of the government line was crucial in launching a half-century of silence about the deadly lingering effects of the bomb. It is time for the Pulitzer board to strip Hiroshima's apologist and his newspaper of this undeserved prize. Sixty years late, Mr. Weller's censored account stands as a searing indictment not only of the inhumanity of the atomic bomb but also of the danger of journalists embedding with the government to deceive the world. Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now!, and David Goodman, a contributing writer for Mother Jones, are co-authors of The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media That Love Them. Copyright ? 2005, The Baltimore Sun -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Mon Aug 1 13:37:02 2005 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2005 13:37:02 -0400 Subject: {news} Danbury News-Times, "Playwright bears Green Party flag in 5th District race" Message-ID: <04eb01c596bf$a16c81d0$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> Dear all, Please write letters to the Danbury News-Times in response to their article below about the opening of Bill C. Davis/Congress canpaign in the 5th Congressional District, a seat now held by Republican Nancy Johnson. Please thank the paper for their attention to Bill's campaign. Let them know that peace and justice-seeking people have had it with the corrupt politics of our government; that we're tired of their spending our hard-earned tax dollars to fund war in Iraq, the occupation of Palestinians and the destruction of the environment while so many Connecticut residents go without health care, good schools and living wages; and that we need publicly-funded political campaigns and democratic reforms. Please write to op-ed editor Mary Connolly at: mconnolly at newstimes.com Thanks, Justine McCabe Green Party of CT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://news.newstimeslive.com/story.php?id=73281&category=Politics Danbury News-Times 2005-07-31 Playwright bears Green Party flag in 5th District race By Jody Minalgo SPECIAL TO THE NEWS-TIMES Did you hear the one about the Republican father, Democratic mother and their son who registers for the Green Party? You will if you go to a campaign appearance by Bill C. Davis, who is running for the Fifth District congressional seat. Davis, a professional playwright, doesn't intend to give campaign speeches. Instead, he plans to recruit actors and produce performances of the "Green Dialogues," a series of short plays he's writing about political issues. "It's comedic in tone, but issues definitely get discussed," said Davis. "It might keep your interest better than a politician droning on and on." He hopes the dialogue in the plays will explore all sides of issues. "Most political problems are dilemmas and it takes the will of the people to decide which direction to go," he said. Davis hopes to follow the plays with open discussion forums. That, he said, will help him "really get a view of where the public is and what they stand for. We'll discuss things like organic farming and universal health care. I have a lot to learn and we can all learn together." The fifth district includes a large swath of western, northern and central Connecticut. It ranges from Danbury north to the Massachusetts border and then west to Meriden. In the Danbury area, Bethel, Brookfield, Newtown, New Milford and New Fairfield are in the district. So are Waterbury and New Britain. The latter is the home base of the incumbent congresswoman, U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson, a Republican now serving her 12th term. Two Democrats have shown interest in challenging Johnson. One is state Sen. Chris Murphy of Cheshire, who is the co-chairman of the legislature's public health committee. The other is J. Paul Vance Jr., president of the Waterbury board of alderman. The Green Party is most closely associated with Ralph Nader, who ran for president under the party's banner in 2000. But the party, which has a pro-environment, pro-consumer, pro-feminist platform frequently runs candidates for lower offices and has won seats on town councils in some places. Davis, 53, is a resident of the Terryville section of Plymouth, just north of Waterbury. He has no political experience. But his claim to fame is that he is an accomplished playwright. He's best known for the play "Mass Appeal," about an experienced priest and a rebellious seminary student, which was made into a 1984 movie starring Jack Lemmon and Charles Durning. Davis has also written several other plays that appeared on Broadway and other places throughout the country. Davis said it was through his career as a playwright that he got involved with politics. He was writing essays for the political Web site, commondreams.org, when Thomas Sezigney who ran for office in Hartford under the Green Party banner, got in touch with him and urged him to run. "In a way, it's the last thing that I want to do. But that's also kind of what qualifies someone to do it," said Davis. "The population has become too passive. I think the time has come to get more activated. For me, running for office is not an ambition, it's a citizen's service, which is why I feel I make an ideal candidate. I think it's important that everybody steps up and runs for office." Despite the novelty of plays being performed during campaign appearances, some political observers give Davis little chance of getting noticed, much less winning. "I'm picturing people with long hair up in the hills," said Gary Rose, a Sacred Heart University political science professor, on hearing about Davis's unconventional campaign ideas. Rose said third parties can play a role in spreading ideas. And he said third-party candidates can influence close elections; some observers think Nader siphoned off enough votes from Al Gore to cost the Democrat the presidency in 2000. But Rose said that Johnson has a stranglehold on the district and it's unlikely that a Democrat could run close enough to Johnson for Davis to be a factor. "The campaign doesn't seem to have a lot of appeal," Rose said of Davis. "It will probably be a campaign that goes unnoticed." Like many Green Party candidates, Davis will not accept campaign donations from corporations. And he will support other parts of the Green Party's platform. "Those are things like social justice, ecological wisdom, non-violence, diversity, gender equity," said Davis, who also opposes the war in Iraq. His other issues? "The government should get behind people who want to retrofit their house to solar, so a house could produce more energy than it consumes. I'd love to see the federal government create a fund for that," Davis said. The playwright said he doesn't have to win to consider his candidacy a success. If people who watch his plays look at politics - and politicians - a little differently when it's all done, Davis will be happy. Politics should be "about humanity and human beings and not just cogs and wheels," he said. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: adlog.php?bannerid=428&clientid=710612&zoneid=72&source=Politics-Page2&block=0&capping=0&cb=75a882c87b597098cbed274bed2b3b49 Type: application/octet-stream Size: 43 bytes Desc: not available URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Mon Aug 1 17:53:10 2005 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2005 17:53:10 -0400 Subject: {news} "Study cites seeds of terror in Iraq, War radicalized most, probes find" Message-ID: <05b101c596e3$69262fa0$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> '''The president is right that Iraq is a main front in the war on terrorism, but this is a front we created,' said Peter Bergen, a terrorism specialist at the nonpartisan New America Foundation, a Washington think tank." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING Study cites seeds of terror in Iraq War radicalized most, probes find By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff | July 17, 2005 WASHINGTON -- New investigations by the Saudi Arabian government and an Israeli think tank -- both of which painstakingly analyzed the backgrounds and motivations of hundreds of foreigners entering Iraq to fight the United States -- have found that the vast majority of these foreign fighters are not former terrorists and became radicalized by the war itself. The studies, which together constitute the most detailed picture available of foreign fighters, cast serious doubt on President Bush's claim that those responsible for some of the worst violence are terrorists who seized on the opportunity to make Iraq the ''central front" in a battle against the United States. ''The terrorists know that the outcome [in Iraq] will leave them emboldened or defeated," Bush said in his nationally televised address on the war at Fort Bragg in North Carolina last month. ''So they are waging a campaign of murder and destruction." The US military is fighting the terrorists in Iraq, he repeated this month, ''so we do not have to face them here at home." However, interrogations of nearly 300 Saudis captured while trying to sneak into Iraq and case studies of more than three dozen others who blew themselves up in suicide attacks show that most were heeding the calls from clerics and activists to drive infidels out of Arab land, according to a study by Saudi investigator Nawaf Obaid, a US-trained analyst who was commissioned by the Saudi government and given access to Saudi officials and intelligence. A separate Israeli analysis of 154 foreign fighters compiled by a leading terrorism researcher found that despite the presence of some senior Al Qaeda operatives who are organizing the volunteers, ''the vast majority of [non-Iraqi] Arabs killed in Iraq have never taken part in any terrorist activity prior to their arrival in Iraq." ''Only a few were involved in past Islamic insurgencies in Afghanistan, Bosnia, or Chechnya," the Israeli study says. Out of the 154 fighters analyzed, only a handful had past associations with terrorism, including six who had fathers who fought the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, said the report, compiled by the Global Research in International Affairs Center in Herzliya, Israel. American intelligence officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, and terrorism specialists paint a similar portrait of the suicide bombers wreaking havoc in Iraq: Prior to the Iraq war, they were not Islamic extremists seeking to attack the United States, as Al Qaeda did four years ago, but are part of a new generation of terrorists responding to calls to defend their fellow Muslims from ''crusaders" and ''infidels." ''The president is right that Iraq is a main front in the war on terrorism, but this is a front we created," said Peter Bergen, a terrorism specialist at the nonpartisan New America Foundation, a Washington think tank. Foreign militants make up only a small percentage of the insurgents fighting in Iraq, as little as 10 percent, according to US military and intelligence officials. The top general in Iraq said late last month that about 600 foreign fighters have been captured or killed by coalition forces since the Jan. 30 Iraqi elections. The wider insurgency, numbering in the tens of thousands, is believed to consist of former Iraqi soldiers, Saddam Hussein loyalists, and members of Iraq's Sunni Muslim minority. But the impact of the foreign fighters has been enormous. They are blamed for the almost daily suicide attacks against US and Iraqi forces and have killed thousands of civilians, mostly members of Iraq's Shia Muslim majority. Their exploits have been responsible for much of the headline-grabbing carnage recently, contributing to the slide in American public support for the war. There have been nearly 500 car bombings since the US-led coalition handed over sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government one year ago, US military statistics indicate. In the last two months, car bombs and suicide attacks have killed nearly 1,400 people, according to the Associated Press. Bush has cited foreign fighters as a reason for continued US military operations in Iraq. His argument, repeated often, is that ''the world's terrorists" have chosen to make their stand in Iraq. ''Some may disagree with my decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power, but all of us can agree that the world's terrorists have now made Iraq a central front in the war on terror," Bush said in a radio address last month. Foreign fighters were found to be like Saud Bin Muhammad Bin Saud Al-Fuhaid, according to Obaid's research, to be published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington this summer. Described as in his early 20s, Fuhaid blew himself up March 24, three days after he entered Iraq from Syria, according to newspaper accounts and interviews with his family. Obaid found little evidence Fuhaid was an extremist before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Like many of the young men from Saudi Arabia who make up the majority of the foreign fighters, the student at Imam University in western Riyadh was not initially a radical jihadist, according to information gleaned from Saudi newspaper accounts and intelligence operations. In fact, he apparently almost changed his mind. Fuhaid is believed to have traveled through Syria to fight in Iraq, but once he arrived told his family he would be coming home instead, according to a death notice published in Saudi newspapers and posted on the Internet. ''However, during that time he met some friends of his who were going to Iraq and told him they were going to declare Jihad with their brothers in Iraq," the celebratory announcement said. ''It was at that moment that our martyr changed his mind and told them that he will go back to Iraq with them and called his parents to tell him he won't be going home." Obaid said in an interview from London that his Saudi study found that ''the largest group is young kids who saw the images [of the war] on TV and are reading the stuff on the Internet. Or they see the name of a cousin on the list or a guy who belongs to their tribe, and they feel a responsibility to go." Other fighters, who are coming to Iraq from across the Middle East and North Africa, are older, in their late 20s or 30s, and have families, according to the two investigations. ''The vast majority of them had nothing to do with Al Qaeda before Sept. 11th and have nothing to do with Al Qaeda today," said Reuven Paz, author of the Israeli study. ''I am not sure the American public is really aware of the enormous influence of the war in Iraq, not just on Islamists but the entire Arab world." Case studies of foreign fighters indicated they considered the Iraq war an attack on the Muslim religion and Arab culture, Paz said. For example, while the unprovoked attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, were largely condemned by clerics as violations of Muslim law, many religious leaders in Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations have promulgated fatwas, or religious edicts, saying that waging jihad in Iraq is justified by the Koran because it is defensive in nature. Last October, 26 clerics in Saudi Arabia said it was the duty of every Muslim to go and fight in Iraq. ''These are people who did not get training in Pakistan or Chechnya, [and they] ended up going to Iraq because they considered defending Iraq a must for every Muslim to go and fight," said Rita Katz, director of the Search for International Terrorist Entities Institute in Washington and an Iraq native. One indication that a heightened degree of Arab solidarity is a leading factor is that they are almost entirely Arabs and not Muslims from other countries, such as those who volunteered to fight in Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Chechnya. Another motivation, the studies and analysts contend, is the centuries-old struggle between the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam. All the foreign fighters are Sunnis, according to the analyses, and many of their targets are Iraq's majority Shia Muslims, who have gained political power in Baghdad for the first time in hundreds of years. Ali Alyami, director of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, said he believes the deep-seated Sunni-Shia rift among the world's 1.2 billion Muslims -- about 1 billion of them Sunni -- best explains the foreign-fighter phenomenon. He noted in an interview that US policy makers do not seem to grasp the historic conflicts within Islam that are playing out in the war in Iraq. ''To say we must fight them in Baghdad so we don't have to fight them in Boston implies there is a finite number of people, and if you pen them up in Iraq you can kill them all," said Bergen. ''The truth is we increased the pool by what we did in Iraq." Intelligence officials worry that some of ''Iraq alumni" will use the relationships they build on the battlefields of Iraq and return to their home countries as hardened Islamic terrorists. The CIA's National Intelligence Council concluded in a report earlier this year that ''Iraq and other possible conflicts in the future could provide recruitment, training grounds, technical skills, and language proficiency for a new class of terrorists who are 'professionalized' and for whom political violence becomes an end in itself." Bryan Bender can be reached at bender at globe.com. ? Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: bcom_logo_printerfriendly.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1676 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: spacer.gif Type: image/gif Size: 43 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: from_provider_globe.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1986 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: dingbat_story_end_icon.gif Type: image/gif Size: 49 bytes Desc: not available URL: From Ehscouts at aol.com Thu Aug 4 21:28:59 2005 From: Ehscouts at aol.com (Ehscouts at aol.com) Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2005 21:28:59 EDT Subject: {news} Halloween Bags and Yard Signs Message-ID: Make Halloween safer for the children in your community by giving out reflective Halloween Bags. Kids will love them, use them and even save them after the holiday. Parents will love them because they help protect their children. Help make Halloween safer for kids in your community by providing them with reflective Nieves For Mayor Halloween Bags that make them more visible at night. Special offer buy 1 get 1 free you can choose Haunted House design or Cat-O-Lantern design. Each bag cost $ 2.50 each. Please send your order to Nieves For Mayor Campaign 55 Brittany Farms Road #314 New Britain CT. 06053 On August 11th I will be receiving my Campaign yard signs. Please help me by placing a sign in front of your home. To get a sign pleases call me at 860-416-0298. Thank you! Miguel A Nieves "Donate to our Campaign and help us take Back New Britain" Miguel Angel Nieves New Britain Mayoral Candidate New Britain Green Party Co-Chairman www.hostinghelps.com/nbgreen _www.nieves.politicalgateway.com_ (http://www.nieves.politicalgateway.com/) _www.groups.yahoo.com/group/nievesformayor_ (http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/nievesformayor) _www.groups.yahoo.com/group/nbgreen_ (http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/nbgreen) Tel: (860) 832-8141 Tel: (860) 416-0298 Paid by Nieves for Mayor Campaign, Annette Alicea -Treasurer -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Sat Aug 6 07:31:45 2005 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2005 07:31:45 -0400 Subject: {news} Fw: "The Hiroshima Cover-Up" Message-ID: <045d01c59a7a$6d911740$0502a8c0@JUSTINE> The Hiroshima Cover-Up By Amy Goodman and David Goodman 08/05/05 "Baltimore Sun" -- --- A STORY THAT the U.S. government hoped would never see the light of day finally has been published, 60 years after it was spiked by military censors. The discovery of reporter George Weller's firsthand account of conditions in post-nuclear Nagasaki sheds light on one of the great journalistic betrayals of the last century: the cover-up of the effects of the atomic bombing on Japan. On Aug. 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima; three days later, Nagasaki was hit. Gen. Douglas MacArthur promptly declared southern Japan off-limits, barring the news media. More than 200,000 people died in the atomic bombings of the cities, but no Western journalist witnessed the aftermath and told the story. Instead, the world's media obediently crowded onto the battleship USS Missouri off the coast of Japan to cover the Japanese surrender. A month after the bombings, two reporters defied General MacArthur and struck out on their own. Mr. Weller, of the Chicago Daily News, took row boats and trains to reach devastated Nagasaki. Independent journalist Wilfred Burchett rode a train for 30 hours and walked into the charred remains of Hiroshima. Both men encountered nightmare worlds. Mr. Burchett sat down on a chunk of rubble with his Baby Hermes typewriter. His dispatch began: "In Hiroshima, 30 days after the first atomic bomb destroyed the city and shook the world, people are still dying, mysteriously and horribly - people who were uninjured in the cataclysm from an unknown something which I can only describe as the atomic plague." He continued, tapping out the words that still haunt to this day: "Hiroshima does not look like a bombed city. It looks as if a monster steamroller has passed over it and squashed it out of existence. I write these facts as dispassionately as I can in the hope that they will act as a warning to the world." Mr. Burchett's article, headlined "The Atomic Plague," was published Sept. 5, 1945, in the London Daily Express. The story caused a worldwide sensation and was a public relations fiasco for the U.S. military. The official U.S. narrative of the atomic bombings downplayed civilian casualties and categorically dismissed as "Japanese propaganda" reports of the deadly lingering effects of radiation. So when Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter George Weller's 25,000-word story on the horror that he encountered in Nagasaki was submitted to military censors, General MacArthur ordered the story killed, and the manuscript was never returned. As Mr. Weller later summarized his experience with General MacArthur's censors, "They won." Recently, Mr. Weller's son, Anthony, discovered a carbon copy of the suppressed dispatches among his father's papers (George Weller died in 2002). Unable to find an interested American publisher, Anthony Weller sold the account to Mainichi Shimbun, a big Japanese newspaper. Now, on the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings, Mr. Weller's account can finally be read. "In swaybacked or flattened skeletons of the Mitsubishi arms plants is revealed what the atomic bomb can do to steel and stone, but what the riven atom can do against human flesh and bone lies hidden in two hospitals of downtown Nagasaki," wrote Mr. Weller. A month after the bombs fell, he observed, "The atomic bomb's peculiar 'disease,' uncured because it is untreated and untreated because it is not diagnosed, is still snatching away lives here." After killing Mr. Weller's reports, U.S. authorities tried to counter Mr. Burchett's articles by attacking the messenger. General MacArthur ordered Mr. Burchett expelled from Japan (the order was later rescinded), his camera mysteriously vanished while he was in a Tokyo hospital and U.S. officials accused him of being influenced by Japanese propaganda. Then the U.S. military unleashed a secret propaganda weapon: It deployed its own Times man. It turns out that William L. Laurence, the science reporter for The New York Times, was also on the payroll of the War Department. For four months, while still reporting for the Times, Mr. Laurence had been writing press releases for the military explaining the atomic weapons program; he also wrote statements for President Harry Truman and Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson. He was rewarded by being given a seat on the plane that dropped the bomb on Nagasaki, an experience that he described in the Times with religious awe. Three days after publication of Mr. Burchett's shocking dispatch, Mr. Laurence had a front-page story in the Times disputing the notion that radiation sickness was killing people. His news story included this remarkable commentary: "The Japanese are still continuing their propaganda aimed at creating the impression that we won the war unfairly, and thus attempting to create sympathy for themselves and milder terms. ... Thus, at the beginning, the Japanese described 'symptoms' that did not ring true." Mr. Laurence won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the atomic bomb, and his faithful parroting of the government line was crucial in launching a half-century of silence about the deadly lingering effects of the bomb. It is time for the Pulitzer board to strip Hiroshima's apologist and his newspaper of this undeserved prize. Sixty years late, Mr. Weller's censored account stands as a searing indictment not only of the inhumanity of the atomic bomb but also of the danger of journalists embedding with the government to deceive the world. Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now!, and David Goodman, a contributing writer for Mother Jones, are co-authors of The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media That Love Them. Copyright ? 2005, The Baltimore Sun -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Mon Aug 8 22:19:31 2005 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2005 22:19:31 -0400 Subject: {news} Fw: Cindy Sheehan: "The Secret Service is Trying to Intimidate Us" Message-ID: <09f401c59c88$c7758420$0502a8c0@JUSTINE> As you may know, Cindy Sheehan, mother of Casey Sheehan who was killed in combat on 4/4/04 in Sadr City five days after arriving in Iraq, is holding a vigil/protest at the vacation home of President George W. Bush in Crawford, Texas. She refuses to leave until Bush speaks to her. Justine ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nancy Allen" To: Sent: Monday, August 08, 2005 7:39 PM Subject: [GPUS-PAX] Cindy Sheehan: "The Secret Service is Trying to Intimidate Us" This came to the Maine P&J list...you probably all have seen it...nancy ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joe Ciarrocca" To: Cindy Sheehan: "The Secret Service is Trying to Intimidate Us" Afterdowningstreet.org Sunday 7th August 2005 (06h18) Cindy Sheehan called After Downing Street moments ago at 10 p.m. ET to report that the Secret Service is trying to intimidate her and members of Gold Star Families for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, and Veterans for Peace into leaving their protest near Bush's Crawford, Texas ranch. This morning Cindy led dozens of protesters as close as they could get to the ranch; they were stopped by local police about five miles away. Cindy and others plan to stay there throughout Bush's five-week August vacation until he agrees to meet with her and other family members of soldiers killed in Iraq and answer their questions about the war. Throughout the afternoon and evening, however, the Secret Service has been telling protesters that if they stay there they may be hit by Secret Service vehicles. Cindy says, "They've told us this at least ten times. There isn't much room between the side of the road and the fence, and they go zooming by far over the speed limit." Cindy reports the Secret Service already ran a mother and her six year-old off the road. She believes the Secret Service's actions are a clear attempt to coerce her and the other protesters into leaving. Cindy and others are asking to meet with the Secret Service and local police to ensure the safety of everyone involved. In the meantime, she asks that anyone who can contact the media to alert them to the situation. If you are able to do this, media contact information can be found here. Please politely let them know what's been happening with the Secret Service, and encourage them to continue covering Cindy's efforts to meet with President Bush. http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/1208#comment Update from Celeste Zappala, Co-Founder of Gold Star Families for Peace, on Crawford I have received the following email from Celeste Zappala, co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace. She asked that I post it on Dailykos and to thank everyone for their support. I have just spoken to Cindy Sheehan at 5:05 pm. Her message: "Today is the begining of the end of the occupation of Iraq." She is feeling strong, people have been bringing her food and water. The police have been polite. She has decided to stay on the Prairie Chapel Road, which is one mile from the Ranch, until George Bush meets with her and tells the truth. She invites anyone who can to join her during the month of August for as long as they can. She urges them to bring camping gear. Also, there are two caravans coming in from Louisiana and from Dayton, Ohio now. Cindy says she knows from her travels that "people are fed up with this war and want to do something to stop it." Cindy asks that those who want to lend support to send donations to the Crawford Peace House which has been generously offering hospitialtiy. Code Pink is sending out a national call for its members to have a hunger strike until George Bush has an honest meeting with Cindy. Cindy's sister Dede has joined that hunger strike. Please keep Cindy and all of our folks in prayer. This is a stand for the honor and memory of our kids and the soul of our nation. peace be with you, Celeste Zappala Co-founder, Gold Star Families for Peace Mother of Sgt Sherwood Baker, KIA 4/26/04 Update [2005-8-6 18:47:46 by NYBri]: More from Cindy via Celeste. JUST NOW-6:13 p.m. Cindy just called again. TWO PEOPLE CAME OUT FROM THE RANCH TO TALK TO HER: JOE HAGEN, ASSISTANT WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF, AND STEVEN HADLEY, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR They told Cindy, George Bush really believed there were weapons of mass destruction, Saddam was a threat, the war in Iraq is making America safer, we are fighting in Iraq so they we don't have to fight terrorists here, and George Bush sincerely cares about the loss of the soldiers and their families. They had a twenty-five minute discussion as Cindy refuted these tired arguments, and reminded the men that she had met Bush last June and she had felt disrespected and belittled. She said to them "You are intelligent men, how can you believe what you are saying?" Cindy will continue to wait for an honest discussion with George Bush. For my part, I am proud that Cindy is standing up against these dreadful lies and the Bush ideology that has blinded so many from reality and logic. It's as if they keep saying these things it will become true. As Cindy pointed out to the representatives, since our kids were killed, the Downing Street memo and the 9/11 Commission report have been released which refutes these false claims. Yet here we are on August 6, 2005 and the President's men are still trying to convince American Mothers that their kids died for WMD and 9/11 links. It is not only insulting, it is madness. I will keep you posted as I talk to Cindy. _______________________________________________ Peace mailing list Peace at lists.gp-us.org http://lists.gp-us.org/mailman/listinfo/peace From greenpartyct at yahoo.com Tue Aug 9 07:53:15 2005 From: greenpartyct at yahoo.com (Green Party-CT) Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2005 04:53:15 -0700 (PDT) Subject: {news} Tom Sevigny voted in as National Co- Chair of Greens Message-ID: <20050809115315.7882.qmail@web81403.mail.yahoo.com> Due to a voting error at the Tulsa Convention, this news was delayed until now. hhart at blue.weeg.uiowa.edu wrote: Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2005 01:11:31 -0500 From: hhart at blue.weeg.uiowa.edu To: natlcomvotes at green.gpus.org Subject: [usgp-coo] SC Co-chair Election Results - UPDATE GPUS NC Delegates: A few days ago, the elections team that tabulated the results of the SC elections in Tulsa contacted the Steering Committee with the news that an error had been made in the way the tabulation was conducted. The team tabulated the votes using whole numbers, resulting in three co-chair seats being filled and one left empty. However, in looking over GPUS bylaws, Phil Huckelberry discovered that the bylaws specify tabulation using fractional tranfers, not just whole numbers. A re-tabulation using the proper counting method revealed that Tom Sevigny had actulaly won the fourth seat. Therefore, during tonight's conference call, the Steering Committee has determined Tom Sevigny to be the winner of the fourth SC co-chair position,. Congratulation, Tom! Holly Hart Secretary, GPUS _______________________________________________ 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/nc/documents/delegate_change.html For other information about the Coordinating Committee, see: http://gp.org/committees/nc/ =========================================================== THE GREEN PARTY OF CONNECTICUT is the third largest political party in CT. The Greens are also the third largest political party in the US, with 220 Greens officeholders in 27 states. Over 80 countries in world have Green Parties. Wangari Maathai, the 2004 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is Kenya's assistant minister for environment and an elected Green Party member. =========================================================== National Committee member from Connecticut: Tim McKee (860) 324-1684 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From greenpartyct at sbcglobal.net Tue Aug 9 20:03:11 2005 From: greenpartyct at sbcglobal.net (Green Party-CT) Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2005 17:03:11 -0700 (PDT) Subject: {news} (New London Day)Green Party slate for Council, School Board in New London Message-ID: <20050810000312.33537.qmail@web81401.mail.yahoo.com> Featured in Region Green Party Slate Named For Council, School Board New London By KATE MORAN Day Staff Writer, New London Published on 8/9/2005 The Green Party announced Monday it will run two candidates for the City Council and one for the Board of Education. Robert Stuller, a software writer who serves on the Conservation Commission, and Andy Derr, a carpenter who specializes in historical restoration, make up the council slate. Derr is the former chairman of the city's Historic District Commission. Kenric Hanson of Ocean Avenue is running for the Board of Education. He has volunteered on the school district's science curriculum committee, the curriculum standards committee, and as a math and literacy tutor. Stuller said Monday that the party is emphasizing development based on revitalization, rather than the tearing down of older neighborhoods such as Fort Trumbull. ?We want to change the style of development in the city from the clear-cut philosophy that hasn't worked,? Stuller said. ?We need to start doing infill development, preserving our neighborhoods by upgrading the homes instead of leveling them.? ? The Day Publishing Co., 2005 =========================================================== THE GREEN PARTY OF CONNECTICUT is the third largest political party in CT. The Greens are also the third largest political party in the US, with 220 Greens officeholders in 27 states. Over 80 countries in world have Green Parties. Wangari Maathai, the 2004 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is Kenya's assistant minister for environment and an elected Green Party member. =========================================================== National Committee member from Connecticut: Tim McKee (860) 324-1684 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From embrancato at netzero.com Wed Aug 10 20:06:13 2005 From: embrancato at netzero.com (Elizabeth M. Brancato) Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 20:06:13 -0400 Subject: {news} Letter to Editor Message-ID: <42FA9675.40508@netzero.com> This letter was published today in my local newspaper (the Register Citizen). Please take whatever action you can to support Cindy Sheehan. If you like, please feel free to use my letter, or any part of it, to write to your own local newspaper. She may just be right when she says that this is the beginning of the end of the war. How great! Elizabeth Brancato From embrancato at netzero.com Wed Aug 10 20:07:16 2005 From: embrancato at netzero.com (Elizabeth M. Brancato) Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 20:07:16 -0400 Subject: {news} Re: Letter to Editor In-Reply-To: <42FA9675.40508@netzero.com> References: <42FA9675.40508@netzero.com> Message-ID: <42FA96B4.1070203@netzero.com> Sorry, here's the letter: Dear Editor, As I write this, a brave, bereaved American mother is in her second day of waiting outside the president's ranch, in Crawford, TX, to speak with him. She wants to know why her son, Casey, died. She asks "What is the 'noble cause'" that over 1800 of our children have died for? She is determined to stay until her questions are answered. Cindy, who co-founded Gold Star Families for Peace (www.gsfp.org), along with representatives of Veterans for Peace (www.veteransforpeace.org), Vietnam Veterans Against the War (www.vvaw.org), and Iraq Veterans Against the War (www.ivaw.net) journeyed to Crawford Saturday morning and began their march to the president's ranch. They have been harassed and intimidated, but they have persevered, and people from all over the country are traveling to Texas to join them. Others, who cannot go to Texas, have begun a fast in support of their cause. Cindy has said, about her "occupation" of Crawford, TX, "The beginning of the end of the occupation of Iraq was on August 6, 2005, and in, of all places, Crawford, TX." Please express your support of this effort and the effort to stop the killing of our children, however you can. Contact any of the organizations listed above. Write to the President, and to your members of Congress. Write to this newspaper. Stand with your area Peace group, in their regular vigils. Bring our troops home. Now. Elizabeth M. Brancato Elizabeth M. Brancato wrote: > This letter was published today in my local newspaper (the Register > Citizen). Please take whatever action you can to support Cindy > Sheehan. If you like, please feel free to use my letter, or any part > of it, to write to your own local newspaper. She may just be right > when she says that this is the beginning of the end of the war. How > great! > > Elizabeth Brancato > From greenpartyct at yahoo.com Thu Aug 11 11:05:12 2005 From: greenpartyct at yahoo.com (Green Party-CT) Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2005 08:05:12 -0700 (PDT) Subject: {news} (GREEN PARTY PRESS RELEASE) GREENS SUPPORT CINDY SHEEHAN'S VIGIL Message-ID: <20050811150512.4289.qmail@web81409.mail.yahoo.com> PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ANY LIST SERVES YOU MAY BE ON GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES http://www.gp.org For Immediate Release: Wednesday, August 10, 2005 Contacts: Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty at greens.org Starlene Rankin, Media Committee, starlene at greens.org, cell phone 916-995-3805 Rebecca Rotzler, Peace Action Committee Co-chair, 845-255-3122, rebelrot at yahoo.com GREEN PARTY'S PEACE ACTION COMMITTEE ISSUES STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF CINDY SHEEHAN'S PROTEST VIGIL IN CRAWFORD, TEXAS WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Peace Action Committee of the Green Party of the United States (GPAX) has issued a statement of support for Cindy Sheehan, co-founder of Gold Star Families For Peace, in her vigil near the vacation home of President George W. Bush in Crawford, Texas. The text of the statement follows below. Ms. Sheehan is the mother of Casey Sheehan, who was killed in combat in Sadr City in 2004, a few days after arriving in Iraq. Over 1,800 U.S. troops and tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have been killed in the U.S. invasion and occupation. Greens called Ms. Sheehan's protest a unique challenge to all Americans to speak out against the Bush Administration's betrayal of the trust of the American people and reckless disregard for American and Iraqi lives. "The Bush Administration betrayed the trust of the American people, especially those serving in the armed forces in Iraq, when it launched a war based on fraudulent premises: WMDs that didn't exist, forged evidence of nuclear weapons deals, deceptive claims that Saddam Hussein colluded with al-Qaeda," said Jody Grage Haug, GPAX member and co-chair of the Green Party of the United States. "We must also hold Democrats responsible, since many of them supported the war and who joined with Republicans in surrendering Congress's constitutional power to declare war to the White House in October, 2002." Text of the GPAX statement: The Peace Action Committee of the Green Party of the United States applauds and supports the brave protest vigil taking place at the vacation home of President George W. Bush in Crawford, Texas by Cindy Sheehan, mother of Casey Sheehan who was killed in combat on 4/4/04 in Sadr City five days after arriving in Iraq. We insist that President Bush meet with Ms. Sheehan and other individuals who have firsthand experienced the pain of a profound loss resulting from the current invasion and occupation of Iraq. Our leaders should not hide from the reality of these grave losses resulting from a war based on unsubstantiated pretenses. The Peace Action Committee agrees with Cindy's quote: "Bring Our Troops Home IMMEDIATELY." MORE INFORMATION 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 Green Party Peace Action Committee http://www.gp.org/committees/peace/ Gold Star Families For Peace http://www.GSFP.org "Every Mother's Son" By William Rivers Pitt, truthout.org, August 8, 2005 http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/080805I.shtml ~ END ~ =========================================================== THE GREEN PARTY OF CONNECTICUT is the third largest political party in CT. The Greens are also the third largest political party in the US, with 220 Greens officeholders in 27 states. Over 80 countries in world have Green Parties. Wangari Maathai, the 2004 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is Kenya's assistant minister for environment and an elected Green Party member. =========================================================== National Committee member from Connecticut: Tim McKee (860) 324-1684 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Sat Aug 13 00:37:26 2005 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2005 04:37:26 +0000 Subject: {news} Bill C. Davis in Litchfield County Times In-Reply-To: Message-ID: (The 5th district includes most of Litchfield County as well as Danbury, Waterbury, Meriden, and New Britain) http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15018544 08/11/2005 County Playwright Announces Congressional Run-in Dialogue By: E.L. Lefferts KENT-At a Green Party meeting Saturday in Kent Town Hall, playwright Bill C. Davis, who is best known for the Broadway hit "Mass Appeal," fully admitted that his challenge to Fifth District Congresswoman Nancy Johnson wouldn't be typical. "For lots of reasons I'm a very unique candidate," he said, "but I think that's what the country needs." And in truly unique fashion, Mr. Davis announced his 2006 congressional run and introduced his platform by premiering a play he wrote titled "Green Dialogues." The action of the drama takes place in a kitchen, occupied as the play begins by Lester and Evelyn, a fictional married couple that were wonderfully played Saturday by real married couple, writer William Kinsolving and poet Susan Kinsolving. The pair has just learned that their son, Devon, also nicely performed by Rob Richnavsky, registered with the Green Party. Through these characters, Mr. Davis introduces Green Party issues he feels strongly about, and counters the arguments of Republicans through Lester's character and of Democrats though Evelyn. "The thought of talking in speeches just isn't where my brain goes," Mr. Davis said, explaining why he wrote the play. "I think in dialogue. It was a natural response to how I would communicate these ideas, and I thought it would be more engaging as a piece of theater." Among other issues, "Green Dialogues" expresses Mr. Davis' feeling that ingenuity and inventiveness are natural resources that are largely neglected in the U.S. Devon, an inventor, tells his parents, "... I'll return the favor one day and support you, maybe." "With what?" Lester asks, "The royalties from all your inventions?" "No," Devon replies with equal sarcasm, "with all the money I'll have from my private Social Security investment fund." On prescription drugs, Devon tells his parents, "Rob got those tics-like Tourrette's-and Mark became a complete insomniac, and Greg, well, I don't think he had a learning disability, he had a great imagination and he was bored with the teacher." Differing opinions on gay marriage are also discussed. Evelyn declares, "civil unions-fine-but that's enough for now." Lester claims to be, "One hundred percent opposed to any of it," and Devon says, "Being gay is neutral. It's a simple variation of the human experience, and part of being human, for some people, is to be married." The play further touches on the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib, campaign finance reform, global warming and the subject nearest and dearest to Mr. Davis' heart, renewable energy sources. "Don't worry, Mom," Devon says at the conclusion of "Green Dialogues," "I'm staying. I'm not a big fan of indignant exits. You and Dad need me too much. I will stay under this red and blue roof until it has been retrofitted to solar." "Ooh, and a green roof will solve everything," sneers Lester. "It will be a start, Dad," Devon replies. "Mass Appeal" is a play about a young idealist who chastises a popular priest for offering a faith that asks little of its believers. Devon in "Green Dialogues," and by extension, Mr. Davis, also advances the notion that making moral choices is not easy. "If I don't vote for what I believe in then that would be a wasted vote," Devon tells his mother when she claims he'll throw his vote away on the Green Party. It's not enough for Mr. Davis to pull a lever in a voting booth, though. Unhappy with what he's seen happening in Washington D.C., the playwright decided that it was time to stop complaining and step in to the fray. That's something he came to understand when he was at Emerson College in Boston, where he roomed with the son of a "hotshot television director." Excited by his father's commanding nature, the son described waiting in line with his dad at the airport. Impatient with the slowness of the line, the father elbowed his way in front of the 10 people standing ahead of him and demanded that the ticket taker allow him to board. The airline employee declined, and the father caused a scene, calling in the manager to get the employee in trouble. Ultimately the father got his way. "I think that kind of personality-that's what we're in the grips of now," Mr. Davis told the audience, "And why didn't the ten people standing on line do anything about him? ..." How serious a challenge Mr. Davis may be to Ms. Johnson is yet to be seen. The congresswoman was elected in 1982, and she wields a lot of power as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and as chairman of the Health Subcommittee. But Mrs. Johnson, according to Mr. Davis, has become "prototypical" of many congresspersons. They become "double agents" for the companies from whom they garner campaign dollars. "Everyone is left questioning, whom are you representing?" Mr. Davis said. "I see the government as a sort of immune system that should protect people from corporate thugs." His candidacy offers an "opening for citizens in the Fifth District to pursue a forward vision," Mr. Davis, who lives in Plymouth, explained. "A new way of looking at their place in the country and their place in this national infrastructure." President John F. Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." Mr. Davis says, "I ask, 'What can you do with your country?'" The next step, according to the playwright, will be to hold a series of forums on green issues, and issues important to the Fifth Dstrict. He is also contemplating a video recording of "Green Dialogues" that would play on public access channels and he said he'd tweak the drama to accommodate different venues. One version could be an interracial marriage or a Hispanic couple, he said. "So many political decisions happen in the kitchen before dinner, instead of dinner, after dinner...," Mr. Davis commented. "I'll add to the play as events unfold." More information about Mr. Davis and his campaign can be accessed via the Web site www.votebillc.org. ?Litchfield County Times 2005 From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Mon Aug 15 22:06:37 2005 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 02:06:37 +0000 Subject: {news} Darek Shapiro in Saturday's Advocate In-Reply-To: <20050816013454.37186.qmail@web30002.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Not front page, but still good coverage! Stamford Advocate, 8/13/05: Mayoral hopeful shares his vision By Doug Dalena Staff Writer STAMFORD - Darek Shapiro hardly stopped talking for nearly two hours Thursday night. Dressed in a gray suit, red tie and wire-rimmed glasses, he stood, barely containing his enthusiasm, and delivered his vision of the future of Stamford. The 52-year-old architect and candidate for mayor accepted the Green Party nomination for the city's top job from about 25 members of his party gathered at Tidbit, the Bank Street bar and restaurant. Shapiro spent nearly two hours engaged in individual conversations and gave an acceptance speech that described specific goals for Stamford. His goals include: ? a city-run cooperative health-care system based on greatly increased preventive care and examinations, which he said would cost residents no more than their current medical care, but would reduce costs for medical crises caused by lack of early diagnosis; ? legalizing the city's abundance of accessory apartments, also called in-law apartments, which Shapiro said would add to the tax rolls, allow better safety enforcement and regulation, and alleviate the shortage of affordable housing; ? a comprehensive shuttle and jitney system to bring commuters downtown and to other business centers to reduce pollution and traffic congestion; ? revamping building and zoning codes, and city incentives for developers, to encourage more energy-efficient buildings that produce at least 20 percent of the energy they use. "This is not something we should do," he said of his energy-efficiency proposal. "We have no choice." An architect who specializes in energy-efficient homes and small commercial buildings, Shapiro founded the 2010 Clean Energy Committee, which lobbied the Board of Representatives to pass legislation to purchase 20 percent of Stamford's energy from nonpolluting sources by 2010. Pledging to work with businesses, Shapiro said his job would be convincing them "green also means profit." Mayor Dannel Malloy, a Democrat running for re-election in November, has boasted of the clean energy resolution and accepted an environmental award on the city's behalf partly because of it. In his only reference to Malloy during Thursday's nominating meeting, Shapiro said the mayor was doing an "OK" job. "It's not good enough," he said, speaking of problems with health-care access, affordable housing, pollution and traffic congestion. "We're not in an OK time. We're in a very challenging time." Calling high taxes a symptom of the city's dependence on a building boom that he said would disappear soon, Shapiro said he would work to rebuild Stamford's economy and tax base on a foundation of clean energy and transportation. Shapiro did not need the Green Party endorsement; he collected more than the 182 signatures needed to qualify for the ballot, equal to 1 percent of votes cast in the 2003 municipal election. By endorsing Shapiro, the party has the opportunity to qualify for automatic nominating status if he gets more than 1 percent of the vote in November's election. That status gets the party's endorsed candidate on the ballot in the next election without having to petition as Shapiro did. "It was a big response," he said of the 220 signatures he collected from registered voters whom he approached during the past several weeks, which he said helped him understand what residents are concerned about. "It actually is an excellent exercise, and an important exercise." Shapiro said he plans to hear from more voters throughout the campaign during public forums which he plans to hold at the Government Center. The party also endorsed David Bedell for constable, and Trish Haines Dayan, a psychotherapist who has lived in the city for more than 30 years, for the Board of Education. From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Tue Aug 16 04:17:05 2005 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 08:17:05 +0000 Subject: {news} Cote falls 15 votes short of ballot for constable In-Reply-To: Message-ID: (Drat and double-drat. But we're doing a recount to make sure.) The Norwalk Hour, 8/13/05: Cote falls 15 votes short of ballot for constable The Green Party hopeful said he would not take the write-in route By A.J. O?CONNELL Hour Staff Writer NORWALK--Andrew Cote, who was nominated by the Green Party as a candidate for constable, will not make it onto the ballot this year. Although the Green Party collected 186 signatures for Cote, the Norwalk Town Clerk's Office said that many of the signatures were not valid. "A lot of them were not registered voters," said Jill Champaigne, an assistant town clerk. "You have to be registered when you sign the petition." According to Champaigne, 143 of the signatures collected on Cote's petition were valid. He needed 158 to get onto the ballot. The news came as a blow to Cote, who returned on Thursday after spending two months in Iraq. Green Party secretary David Bedell, who was in charge of collecting Cote's signatures, said that Cote would still be able to run for constable as a write-in candidate, but Cote said that he would rather not take that option. "It looks like I won't be on the ballot this year," he said. Cote, who is the son of a Norwalk firefighter and the brother of a local police officer, was one of four Green Party candidates who were nominated for office at the party's convention Thursday evening at Stamford?s downtown TidBit Lounge. Also nominated were environmental architect Darek Shapiro, who is running against Mayor Dannel Malloy in Stamford; Bedell, who is running to be a Stamford constable; and Trish Haines Dayan, a social worker who is running for the Stamford Board of Education. On Thursday evening, Shapiro greeted 20 of the party faithful with a speech extolling the virtues of a clean environment and criticizing Malloy?s environmental record in Stamford. ?I think the existing mayor is doing an okay job,? said Shapiro, addressing his supporters. ?It?s not good enough. We are not in okay times.? Shapiro, 52, pledged to clean up the city?s air, water, and natural spaces, while convincing downtown businesses to invest in clean energy. ?We need to show them how green also means profit,? he said. According to City Clerk Donna Loglisci, both Shapiro and David Bedell submitted petitions late Wednesday morning. Both collected more than the required 183 signatures and will be on the ballot. On the petition that will allow Shapiro to run for mayor and Dayan to run for Board of Education, the candidates collected 230 signatures. Bedell is also running for constable. On that petition, he collected 217 signatures. ?They did very well,? said Loglisci. The petitions were certified by Loglisci and the registrars of voters on Wednesday. Loglisci has 10 days to submit the petitions to the secretary of the state. The hopefuls will then receive letters from the state, telling them that they are official candidates. Bedell, a local cyclist who also accepted the Green Party nomination on Thursday, said that as constable, he will deliver writs and legal documents throughout the city by bicycle. ?A vote for me is a vote to take another car off the road,? he said. Dayan, who was not present, submitted a statement for the evening, promising to build grassroots involvement of parents in the school system and promote equal opportunities within Stamford schools. ?As a school board member,? she wrote, ? I would place emphasis on an administrative system that enables teachers to do their best work for the children.? This is the first time that the regional Green Party has put up mayoral candidate in Stamford. Many of those at the convention commiserated about how difficult it is for a third-party candidate to get noticed during election season. Patricia Kane, the local attorney who ran against Rep. James Shapiro in 144th district last November, echoed that sentiment. Petitioning candidates are often steamrolled by the major parties, which have deeper pockets and, according to Kane, are often politically beholding to their financial backers. ?That?s why I?m with the Green Party,? she said. ?Now the little guy has a shot,? said Bedell. A.J. O?Connell covers Stamford and can be reached at aoconnell at thehour.com From TDayan at aol.com Tue Aug 16 13:51:28 2005 From: TDayan at aol.com (TDayan at aol.com) Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 13:51:28 EDT Subject: {news} Re: [FairfieldCountyGreens] Darek Shapiro in Saturday's Advocate Message-ID: <1d8.4317faff.303381a0@aol.com> Should the writer be thanked? The greens have never before gotten good coverage. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From TDayan at aol.com Tue Aug 16 14:03:07 2005 From: TDayan at aol.com (TDayan at aol.com) Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 14:03:07 EDT Subject: {news} Cote falls 15 votes short of ballot for constable Message-ID: <144.4b86fd13.3033845b@aol.com> Great article, but wht a shame about Andrew Cote. I'm Emailing O'Connell to thank him. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From smderosa at cox.net Tue Aug 16 20:10:29 2005 From: smderosa at cox.net (smderosa) Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 20:10:29 -0400 Subject: {news} COME SEE: THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED THIS FRIDAY 8/19/05 7PM PROGRESSIVE MOVIE NIGHT, Hartford Green Party Office Message-ID: <20050817000147.RUWZ28616.eastrmmtao06.cox.net@userb649154f63> _____ THE RETURN OF THE PROGRESSIVE MOVIE NIGHT: WHAT MOVIE: THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED (76Min) WHEN: THIS FRIDAY 8/19/05 7:30PM WHERE: GREATER HARTFORD GREEN PARTY OFFICE, 418A NEW BRITAIN AVE., HARTFORD,CT ( www.mapquest.com ) (Next to the Roma Bakery) DON'T MISS THIS ONE! ONE OF THE BEST DOCUMENTARIES IN RECENT HISTORY, A REAL EYE OPENER! FURTHER INFO: On April 11th, 2002, Irish documentarians Kim Bartley and Donnacha O'Briain were in Venezuela, with the intention of making a movie about the nation's left-leaning democratic president, Hugo Chavez, whose support comes mostly from the country's impoverished, who make up 80% of the population (versus past leaders who were often supported by the country's big money minority, like the petroleum industry). Although they did accomplish that, the film took a seriously unexpected turn when the filmmakers found themselves in the heart of a coup d'etat, trapped in the president's palace as Chavez's right-wing oligarchic opposition overthrew the leader. Chavez was able to return to power within 48 hours, buoyed by public support, but this film captures those frightening moments and days in which a nation's political future was fought over using both bullets and manipulation of the media. Venezuela's television networks, all owned by oil companies except for the state channel which the coup brought down, reported distorted interpretations of the coup, as proven by this movie's footage, which was then picked up by international news organizations like CNN. This movie also addresses what the White House thought about this coup in the world's fifth largest producer of oil (providing 14% of the United States' petroleum). "This concise, riveting documentary is a first-hand view of the short-lived coup d'etat that failed to topple Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's left-wing president, who was elected by a landslide in 1998. More than a scary close-up look at the raw mechanics of a right-wing coup which took place in April, 2002, the film is a cautionary examination of the use of television to deceive and manipulate the public. The coup lasted 48 hours, until a popular uprising forced the government out of office. These events, witnessed first-hand generate the suspense of a smaller-scale "Seven Days in May." - Stephen Holden, The New York Times By Phil Villarreal ARIZONA DAILY STAR : Documentarians Kim Bartley and Donnacha O'Briain set out to make a simple profile of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Fate, serving as a meddling but very helpful producer, decided the Irish filmmakers would make a different movie: "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." Stuck amid the maelstrom of the short-lived Venezuelan coup of April 2002, Bartley and O'Briain kept their cameras running as the charismatic Chavez was run out of office for two days before a popular revolt spirited him back into power. The cameras, and by extension, we, are there in the Presidential Palace for the whole thing, and what emerges is a tense, rapid-paced political drama. Invisible hands align the powers of media, police and military in a battle of factions. Leaders squirm, grandstand and debate over helter-skelter strategy. Throngs of people in the street scream and shoot at one another. This stuff makes "The West Wing" look like a game of patty-cake. The film sets up Chavez, who was elected by a landslide in 1998, as a man of the people, bent on stripping the nation's vast oil wealth away from the super-elite and redistributing it to the underprivileged. Scenes showing a grinning Chavez reaching out to huddled masses and demurely addressing citizens on his public call-in television program are cloying enough to drift over into propaganda. Even with a skeptical eye, it's pretty clear to see that Chavez's enemies, which include the private media, the trade unions and big business, have it in for the man more because of greed than the political ideals they profess. The outright manipulation of the television stations is straight out of Orwell, with cheerleader reporters lauding the coup while refusing to mention the Presidential Guard's efforts to retake the mansion. Once Chavez's enemies take over, they disband the Supreme Court, the Attorney General's Office and the National Assembly, saying the takeover is in line with the will of the people, more powerful than any referendum. The film's not-so-subtle accusation is that the United States was probably behind the coup, since so many deposed leaders fled there afterward. The film explains that American leaders have come to rely on Venezuela as a cheap source of fuel, and were not pleased when Chavez sought to raise prices. Clips of smarmy U.S. national news broadcasts show public officials hinting that Chavez is in league with terrorists. Chavez, ever cool and composed, takes the coup in stride. For him, the capture is just another move in the ongoing chess game of South American politics. He can probably identify with his opponents, since in 1992, he led a failed coup of his own. Once Chavez returns to power, he gracefully refuses to run a witch hunt, and begs with his opponents to respect the Venezuelan constitution in the future. Regardless of the way you may feel about the man, it's nearly impossible to not be swept away by the movie's final moments, which recall "It's a Wonderful Life." A crowd of exuberant supporters circles Chavez and breaks into spontaneous song, screaming the joys of restored demo -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: revolutionwillnot.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 11577 bytes Desc: not available URL: From smderosa at cox.net Tue Aug 16 20:14:18 2005 From: smderosa at cox.net (smderosa) Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 20:14:18 -0400 Subject: {news} COME SEE: THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED THIS FRIDAY 8/19/05 7:30PM PROGRESSIVE MOVIE NIGHT, Hartford Green Party Office In-Reply-To: <20050817000147.RUWZ28616.eastrmmtao06.cox.net@userb649154f63> Message-ID: <20050817000527.RFYS21289.eastrmmtao01.cox.net@userb649154f63> THE RETURN OF THE PROGRESSIVE MOVIE NIGHT: WHAT MOVIE: THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED (76Min) WHEN: THIS FRIDAY 8/19/05 7:30PM WHERE: GREATER HARTFORD GREEN PARTY OFFICE, 418A NEW BRITAIN AVE., HARTFORD,CT ( www.mapquest.com ) (Next to the Roma Bakery) DON'T MISS THIS ONE! ONE OF THE BEST DOCUMENTARIES IN RECENT HISTORY, A REAL EYE OPENER! FURTHER INFO: On April 11th, 2002, Irish documentarians Kim Bartley and Donnacha O'Briain were in Venezuela, with the intention of making a movie about the nation's left-leaning democratic president, Hugo Chavez, whose support comes mostly from the country's impoverished, who make up 80% of the population (versus past leaders who were often supported by the country's big money minority, like the petroleum industry). Although they did accomplish that, the film took a seriously unexpected turn when the filmmakers found themselves in the heart of a coup d'etat, trapped in the president's palace as Chavez's right-wing oligarchic opposition overthrew the leader. Chavez was able to return to power within 48 hours, buoyed by public support, but this film captures those frightening moments and days in which a nation's political future was fought over using both bullets and manipulation of the media. Venezuela's television networks, all owned by oil companies except for the state channel which the coup brought down, reported distorted interpretations of the coup, as proven by this movie's footage, which was then picked up by international news organizations like CNN. This movie also addresses what the White House thought about this coup in the world's fifth largest producer of oil (providing 14% of the United States' petroleum). "This concise, riveting documentary is a first-hand view of the short-lived coup d'etat that failed to topple Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's left-wing president, who was elected by a landslide in 1998. More than a scary close-up look at the raw mechanics of a right-wing coup which took place in April, 2002, the film is a cautionary examination of the use of television to deceive and manipulate the public. The coup lasted 48 hours, until a popular uprising forced the government out of office. These events, witnessed first-hand generate the suspense of a smaller-scale "Seven Days in May." - Stephen Holden, The New York Times By Phil Villarreal ARIZONA DAILY STAR : Documentarians Kim Bartley and Donnacha O'Briain set out to make a simple profile of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Fate, serving as a meddling but very helpful producer, decided the Irish filmmakers would make a different movie: "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." Stuck amid the maelstrom of the short-lived Venezuelan coup of April 2002, Bartley and O'Briain kept their cameras running as the charismatic Chavez was run out of office for two days before a popular revolt spirited him back into power. The cameras, and by extension, we, are there in the Presidential Palace for the whole thing, and what emerges is a tense, rapid-paced political drama. Invisible hands align the powers of media, police and military in a battle of factions. Leaders squirm, grandstand and debate over helter-skelter strategy. Throngs of people in the street scream and shoot at one another. This stuff makes "The West Wing" look like a game of patty-cake. The film sets up Chavez, who was elected by a landslide in 1998, as a man of the people, bent on stripping the nation's vast oil wealth away from the super-elite and redistributing it to the underprivileged. Scenes showing a grinning Chavez reaching out to huddled masses and demurely addressing citizens on his public call-in television program are cloying enough to drift over into propaganda. Even with a skeptical eye, it's pretty clear to see that Chavez's enemies, which include the private media, the trade unions and big business, have it in for the man more because of greed than the political ideals they profess. The outright manipulation of the television stations is straight out of Orwell, with cheerleader reporters lauding the coup while refusing to mention the Presidential Guard's efforts to retake the mansion. Once Chavez's enemies take over, they disband the Supreme Court, the Attorney General's Office and the National Assembly, saying the takeover is in line with the will of the people, more powerful than any referendum. The film's not-so-subtle accusation is that the United States was probably behind the coup, since so many deposed leaders fled there afterward. The film explains that American leaders have come to rely on Venezuela as a cheap source of fuel, and were not pleased when Chavez sought to raise prices. Clips of smarmy U.S. national news broadcasts show public officials hinting that Chavez is in league with terrorists. Chavez, ever cool and composed, takes the coup in stride. For him, the capture is just another move in the ongoing chess game of South American politics. He can probably identify with his opponents, since in 1992, he led a failed coup of his own. Once Chavez returns to power, he gracefully refuses to run a witch hunt, and begs with his opponents to respect the Venezuelan constitution in the future. Regardless of the way you may feel about the man, it's nearly impossible to not be swept away by the movie's final moments, which recall "It's a Wonderful Life." A crowd of exuberant supporters circles Chavez and breaks into spontaneous song, screaming the joys of restored demo SPONSORED LINKS Political parties Check _____ YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS * Visit your group "HartfordGreens " on the web. * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: HartfordGreens-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service . _____ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: revolutionwillnot.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 11577 bytes Desc: not available URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Tue Aug 16 20:40:21 2005 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 20:40:21 -0400 Subject: {news} GREEN RELEASE Israel 'Disengagement Plan' will not bring peace, say Greens Message-ID: <0a5101c5a2c4$401e8980$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES http://www.gp.org For Immediate Release: Tuesday, August 16, 2005 Contacts: Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty at greens.org Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene at greens.org Justine McCabe, International Committee, 860-354-1822, justinemccabe at earthlink.net GREENS WARN THAT ISRAEL'S GAZA 'DISENGAGEMENT PLAN' WILL NOT BRING PEACE Adherence to international law, including Palestinian refugees' right of return, remains key, say Greens. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party leaders strongly criticized Israel's 'disengagement plan', calling it a disingenuous attempt to bypass peace negotiations based on international law. "Although Israel plans to dismantle its illegal settlements and military bases in the Gaza Strip, it will maintain control of all Gaza's borders, water, and electricity" said Stan Heller, Connecticut Green and Chairperson of the Middle East Crisis Committee. "Gaza will continue to be an open-air prison. Obviously, Palestinians would welcome the departure of Israeli soldiers and armed settlers. But as in the Oslo redeployments, the current 'disengagement plan' pretends to bring peace while continuing to prevent Palestinians from exercising their basic rights to self-determination, freedom of movement, and ability to develop their economy. Under international law, this is still occupation." Greens have joined numerous Israeli and Palestinian peace activists in calling for (1) an end to the illegal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank including East Jerusalem; and (2) the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their land. Research shows this can be implemented with little disruption to current Israeli population patterns. For example, about 78% of Israeli Jews reside on only 15% of the land, and over 90% of village refugees would return to empty sites. "How can there be peace when since 1948 over 6 million native Palestinians have lived as refugees -- the vast majority within a 60 miles of their former homes in Israel?" asked Justine McCabe, member of the party's International Committee. "In other, more recent ethnic conflicts, the U.S. and the international community have encouraged Bosnian, Kosovar, and Rwandan refugees to go home and live together with former enemies. Why are Palestinian refugees and Israelis any different?" In keeping with a long-standing body of human rights and humanitarian international law (U.N. Resolution 194; Article 13 of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights), the U.N. has announced a 'New Global Standard' demanding the return of confiscated refugee housing and property to refugees and internally displaced persons. Greens noted that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, while promoting the disengagement plan, has internally indicated that withdrawal from Gaza is key to consolidating Israel's dominance in the largely Palestinian-Israeli area of the Galilee (Jaleel), Negev (Naqub), and in Greater Jerusalem, the large settlement blocs and 'security zones.' Israel has requested 2.2 billion dollars in a direct grant from the U.S., to cover not only the costs of dismantling the few illegal settlements in Gaza but also for funds to 'develop,' i.e., 'Judaize' areas in Israel where most Palestinian-Israelis now live, including many of the 500+ destroyed villages to which Palestinian refugees would return. "In return for removing a tiny percentage of the over 400,000 settlers who are still living on confiscated Palestinian land, Israel expects American taxpayers to foot the bill and create more obstacles to real peace," said Jake Schneider, treasurer of the Green Party of the United States. "This misguided U.S. policy only decreases the security of Americans as well as Israelis and Palestinians." Greens cited warnings from some Jewish-Israeli peace activists, including Professors Ilan Pappe, Uri Davis, and Tamar Yaron, that the disengagement scenario may result in harm to Palestinian civilians as Israeli officials respond to what they regard as provocations by Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza. Professor Pappe said, "Confirming our worst fears, General Eival Giladi, head of the Coordination and Strategy Team of [Sharon's] office, went on record in print and on television to the effect that 'Israel will act in a very resolute manner in order to prevent terror attacks and fire while the disengagement is being implemented,' and that 'If pinpoint response proves insufficient, we may have to use weaponry that causes major collateral damage, including helicopters and planes, with mounting danger to surrounding people.' This scenario would be similar to what has already happened in the past -- a tactic that Ariel Sharon has used many times in his military career -- i.e., utilizing provocation in order to launch massive attacks." MORE INFORMATION 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 Green Party International Committee http://www.gp.org/committees/intl/ "Israel Decides to Keep Gaza Sealed off after Pullout. PNA: Israel Will Remain 'the Occupying Power' after Withdrawal" Palestine Media Center, August 9, 2005 http://www.palestine-pmc.com/details.asp?cat=1&id=956 "Withdrawal is a prelude to annexation: US hypocrisy is not new but Condi Rice has taken it beyond chutzpah" by Avi Shlaim The Guardian, June 22, 2005 http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/comment/0,10551,1511839,00.html "Peace is more than pacification" Discussion with Mazin Qumsiyeh over the Israel-Palestine conflict, over Gaza disengagement, human rights, as well as the moral imperative of the one state solution. Interview by Sabine Matthes in Junge Welt, August 13, 2005 http://www.qumsiyeh.org/peaceismorethanpacification/ (English) http://www.jungewelt.de/2005/08-13/028.php "A 'warning' from Israel that merits the world's attention" (editorial) The Daily Star (Beirut, Lebanon), July 27, 2005 http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?article_ID=17119&categ_ID=17&edition_id=10 U.N. Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. Fifty-sixth session: Item 4 of the provisional agenda. Final report of Mr. Pinheiro, Special Rapporteur on housing and property restitution in the context of the return of refugees and internally displaced persons http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G05/146/95/PDF/G0514695.pdf?OpenElement -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From smderosa at cox.net Tue Aug 16 22:17:51 2005 From: smderosa at cox.net (smderosa) Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 22:17:51 -0400 Subject: {news} COME SEE: THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED THIS FRIDAY 8/19/05 7:30PM PROGRESSIVE MOVIE NIGHT, Hartford Green Party Office Message-ID: <20050817020902.XGHV1571.centrmmtao06.cox.net@userb649154f63> THE RETURN OF THE PROGRESSIVE MOVIE NIGHT: WHAT MOVIE: THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED (76Min) WHEN: THIS FRIDAY 8/19/05 7:30PM WHERE: GREATER HARTFORD GREEN PARTY OFFICE, 418A NEW BRITAIN AVE., HARTFORD,CT ( www.mapquest.com ) (Next to the Roma Bakery) DON'T MISS THIS ONE! ONE OF THE BEST DOCUMENTARIES IN RECENT HISTORY, A REAL EYE OPENER! FURTHER INFO: On April 11th, 2002, Irish documentarians Kim Bartley and Donnacha O'Briain were in Venezuela, with the intention of making a movie about the nation's left-leaning democratic president, Hugo Chavez, whose support comes mostly from the country's impoverished, who make up 80% of the population (versus past leaders who were often supported by the country's big money minority, like the petroleum industry). Although they did accomplish that, the film took a seriously unexpected turn when the filmmakers found themselves in the heart of a coup d'etat, trapped in the president's palace as Chavez's right-wing oligarchic opposition overthrew the leader. Chavez was able to return to power within 48 hours, buoyed by public support, but this film captures those frightening moments and days in which a nation's political future was fought over using both bullets and manipulation of the media. Venezuela's television networks, all owned by oil companies except for the state channel which the coup brought down, reported distorted interpretations of the coup, as proven by this movie's footage, which was then picked up by international news organizations like CNN. This movie also addresses what the White House thought about this coup in the world's fifth largest producer of oil (providing 14% of the United States' petroleum). "This concise, riveting documentary is a first-hand view of the short-lived coup d'etat that failed to topple Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's left-wing president, who was elected by a landslide in 1998. More than a scary close-up look at the raw mechanics of a right-wing coup which took place in April, 2002, the film is a cautionary examination of the use of television to deceive and manipulate the public. The coup lasted 48 hours, until a popular uprising forced the government out of office. These events, witnessed first-hand generate the suspense of a smaller-scale "Seven Days in May." - Stephen Holden, The New York Times By Phil Villarreal ARIZONA DAILY STAR : Documentarians Kim Bartley and Donnacha O'Briain set out to make a simple profile of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Fate, serving as a meddling but very helpful producer, decided the Irish filmmakers would make a different movie: "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." Stuck amid the maelstrom of the short-lived Venezuelan coup of April 2002, Bartley and O'Briain kept their cameras running as the charismatic Chavez was run out of office for two days before a popular revolt spirited him back into power. The cameras, and by extension, we, are there in the Presidential Palace for the whole thing, and what emerges is a tense, rapid-paced political drama. Invisible hands align the powers of media, police and military in a battle of factions. Leaders squirm, grandstand and debate over helter-skelter strategy. Throngs of people in the street scream and shoot at one another. This stuff makes "The West Wing" look like a game of patty-cake. The film sets up Chavez, who was elected by a landslide in 1998, as a man of the people, bent on stripping the nation's vast oil wealth away from the super-elite and redistributing it to the underprivileged. Scenes showing a grinning Chavez reaching out to huddled masses and demurely addressing citizens on his public call-in television program are cloying enough to drift over into propaganda. Even with a skeptical eye, it's pretty clear to see that Chavez's enemies, which include the private media, the trade unions and big business, have it in for the man more because of greed than the political ideals they profess. The outright manipulation of the television stations is straight out of Orwell, with cheerleader reporters lauding the coup while refusing to mention the Presidential Guard's efforts to retake the mansion. Once Chavez's enemies take over, they disband the Supreme Court, the Attorney General's Office and the National Assembly, saying the takeover is in line with the will of the people, more powerful than any referendum. The film's not-so-subtle accusation is that the United States was probably behind the coup, since so many deposed leaders fled there afterward. The film explains that American leaders have come to rely on Venezuela as a cheap source of fuel, and were not pleased when Chavez sought to raise prices. Clips of smarmy U.S. national news broadcasts show public officials hinting that Chavez is in league with terrorists. Chavez, ever cool and composed, takes the coup in stride. For him, the capture is just another move in the ongoing chess game of South American politics. He can probably identify with his opponents, since in 1992, he led a failed coup of his own. Once Chavez returns to power, he gracefully refuses to run a witch hunt, and begs with his opponents to respect the Venezuelan constitution in the future. Regardless of the way you may feel about the man, it's nearly impossible to not be swept away by the movie's final moments, which recall "It's a Wonderful Life." A crowd of exuberant supporters circles Chavez and breaks into spontaneous song, screaming the joys of restored demo _____ YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS * Visit your group "HartfordGreens " on the web. * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: HartfordGreens-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service . _____ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: revolutionwillnot.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 11577 bytes Desc: not available URL: From smderosa at cox.net Thu Aug 18 21:02:47 2005 From: smderosa at cox.net (smderosa) Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 21:02:47 -0400 Subject: {news} REMINDER:COME SEE: THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED THIS FRIDAY8/19/05 7:30PM PROGRESSIVE MOVIE NIGHT, Hartford Green Party Office In-Reply-To: <20050817020902.XGHV1571.centrmmtao06.cox.net@userb649154f63> Message-ID: <20050819010255.UYTJ15624.eastrmmtao05.cox.net@userb649154f63> THE RETURN OF THE PROGRESSIVE MOVIE NIGHT: WHAT MOVIE: THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED (76Min) WHEN: THIS FRIDAY 8/19/05 7:30PM WHERE: GREATER HARTFORD GREEN PARTY OFFICE, 418A NEW BRITAIN AVE., HARTFORD,CT ( www.mapquest.com ) (Next to the Roma Bakery) DON'T MISS THIS ONE! ONE OF THE BEST DOCUMENTARIES IN RECENT HISTORY, A REAL EYE OPENER! FURTHER INFO: On April 11th, 2002, Irish documentarians Kim Bartley and Donnacha O'Briain were in Venezuela, with the intention of making a movie about the nation's left-leaning democratic president, Hugo Chavez, whose support comes mostly from the country's impoverished, who make up 80% of the population (versus past leaders who were often supported by the country's big money minority, like the petroleum industry). Although they did accomplish that, the film took a seriously unexpected turn when the filmmakers found themselves in the heart of a coup d'etat, trapped in the president's palace as Chavez's right-wing oligarchic opposition overthrew the leader. Chavez was able to return to power within 48 hours, buoyed by public support, but this film captures those frightening moments and days in which a nation's political future was fought over using both bullets and manipulation of the media. Venezuela's television networks, all owned by oil companies except for the state channel which the coup brought down, reported distorted interpretations of the coup, as proven by this movie's footage, which was then picked up by international news organizations like CNN. This movie also addresses what the White House thought about this coup in the world's fifth largest producer of oil (providing 14% of the United States' petroleum). "This concise, riveting documentary is a first-hand view of the short-lived coup d'etat that failed to topple Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's left-wing president, who was elected by a landslide in 1998. More than a scary close-up look at the raw mechanics of a right-wing coup which took place in April, 2002, the film is a cautionary examination of the use of television to deceive and manipulate the public. The coup lasted 48 hours, until a popular uprising forced the government out of office. These events, witnessed first-hand generate the suspense of a smaller-scale "Seven Days in May." - Stephen Holden, The New York Times By Phil Villarreal ARIZONA DAILY STAR : Documentarians Kim Bartley and Donnacha O'Briain set out to make a simple profile of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Fate, serving as a meddling but very helpful producer, decided the Irish filmmakers would make a different movie: "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." Stuck amid the maelstrom of the short-lived Venezuelan coup of April 2002, Bartley and O'Briain kept their cameras running as the charismatic Chavez was run out of office for two days before a popular revolt spirited him back into power. The cameras, and by extension, we, are there in the Presidential Palace for the whole thing, and what emerges is a tense, rapid-paced political drama. Invisible hands align the powers of media, police and military in a battle of factions. Leaders squirm, grandstand and debate over helter-skelter strategy. Throngs of people in the street scream and shoot at one another. This stuff makes "The West Wing" look like a game of patty-cake. The film sets up Chavez, who was elected by a landslide in 1998, as a man of the people, bent on stripping the nation's vast oil wealth away from the super-elite and redistributing it to the underprivileged. Scenes showing a grinning Chavez reaching out to huddled masses and demurely addressing citizens on his public call-in television program are cloying enough to drift over into propaganda. Even with a skeptical eye, it's pretty clear to see that Chavez's enemies, which include the private media, the trade unions and big business, have it in for the man more because of greed than the political ideals they profess. The outright manipulation of the television stations is straight out of Orwell, with cheerleader reporters lauding the coup while refusing to mention the Presidential Guard's efforts to retake the mansion. Once Chavez's enemies take over, they disband the Supreme Court, the Attorney General's Office and the National Assembly, saying the takeover is in line with the will of the people, more powerful than any referendum. The film's not-so-subtle accusation is that the United States was probably behind the coup, since so many deposed leaders fled there afterward. The film explains that American leaders have come to rely on Venezuela as a cheap source of fuel, and were not pleased when Chavez sought to raise prices. Clips of smarmy U.S. national news broadcasts show public officials hinting that Chavez is in league with terrorists. Chavez, ever cool and composed, takes the coup in stride. For him, the capture is just another move in the ongoing chess game of South American politics. He can probably identify with his opponents, since in 1992, he led a failed coup of his own. Once Chavez returns to power, he gracefully refuses to run a witch hunt, and begs with his opponents to respect the Venezuelan constitution in the future. Regardless of the way you may feel about the man, it's nearly impossible to not be swept away by the movie's final moments, which recall "It's a Wonderful Life." A crowd of exuberant supporters circles Chavez and breaks into spontaneous song, screaming the joys of restored demo _____ YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS * Visit your group "HartfordGreens " on the web. * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: HartfordGreens-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service . _____ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: revolutionwillnot.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 11577 bytes Desc: not available URL: From smderosa at cox.net Thu Aug 18 21:09:46 2005 From: smderosa at cox.net (smderosa) Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 21:09:46 -0400 Subject: {news} Reminder: COME SEE: THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED THIS FRIDAY 8/19/05 7:30PM PROGRESSIVE MOVIE NIGHT, Hartford Green Party Office In-Reply-To: <20050817000527.RFYS21289.eastrmmtao01.cox.net@userb649154f63> Message-ID: <20050819010953.WDYP12628.eastrmmtao02.cox.net@userb649154f63> _____ From: HartfordGreens at yahoogroups.com [mailto:HartfordGreens at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of smderosa Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2005 8:14 PM To: HartfordGreens at yahoogroups.com; ctgp-news-bounces at ml.greens.org; 'TollandGreens Yahoogroup'; 'GPCT'; 'CentralGP' Subject: [HartfordGreens] COME SEE: THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED THIS FRIDAY 8/19/05 7:30PM PROGRESSIVE MOVIE NIGHT,Hartford Green Party Office THE RETURN OF THE PROGRESSIVE MOVIE NIGHT: WHAT MOVIE: THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED (76Min) WHEN: THIS FRIDAY 8/19/05 7:30PM WHERE: GREATER HARTFORD GREEN PARTY OFFICE, 418A NEW BRITAIN AVE., HARTFORD,CT ( www.mapquest.com ) (Next to the Roma Bakery) DON'T MISS THIS ONE! ONE OF THE BEST DOCUMENTARIES IN RECENT HISTORY, A REAL EYE OPENER! FURTHER INFO: On April 11th, 2002, Irish documentarians Kim Bartley and Donnacha O'Briain were in Venezuela, with the intention of making a movie about the nation's left-leaning democratic president, Hugo Chavez, whose support comes mostly from the country's impoverished, who make up 80% of the population (versus past leaders who were often supported by the country's big money minority, like the petroleum industry). Although they did accomplish that, the film took a seriously unexpected turn when the filmmakers found themselves in the heart of a coup d'etat, trapped in the president's palace as Chavez's right-wing oligarchic opposition overthrew the leader. Chavez was able to return to power within 48 hours, buoyed by public support, but this film captures those frightening moments and days in which a nation's political future was fought over using both bullets and manipulation of the media. Venezuela's television networks, all owned by oil companies except for the state channel which the coup brought down, reported distorted interpretations of the coup, as proven by this movie's footage, which was then picked up by international news organizations like CNN. This movie also addresses what the White House thought about this coup in the world's fifth largest producer of oil (providing 14% of the United States' petroleum). "This concise, riveting documentary is a first-hand view of the short-lived coup d'etat that failed to topple Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's left-wing president, who was elected by a landslide in 1998. More than a scary close-up look at the raw mechanics of a right-wing coup which took place in April, 2002, the film is a cautionary examination of the use of television to deceive and manipulate the public. The coup lasted 48 hours, until a popular uprising forced the government out of office. These events, witnessed first-hand generate the suspense of a smaller-scale "Seven Days in May." - Stephen Holden, The New York Times By Phil Villarreal ARIZONA DAILY STAR : Documentarians Kim Bartley and Donnacha O'Briain set out to make a simple profile of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Fate, serving as a meddling but very helpful producer, decided the Irish filmmakers would make a different movie: "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." Stuck amid the maelstrom of the short-lived Venezuelan coup of April 2002, Bartley and O'Briain kept their cameras running as the charismatic Chavez was run out of office for two days before a popular revolt spirited him back into power. The cameras, and by extension, we, are there in the Presidential Palace for the whole thing, and what emerges is a tense, rapid-paced political drama. Invisible hands align the powers of media, police and military in a battle of factions. Leaders squirm, grandstand and debate over helter-skelter strategy. Throngs of people in the street scream and shoot at one another. This stuff makes "The West Wing" look like a game of patty-cake. The film sets up Chavez, who was elected by a landslide in 1998, as a man of the people, bent on stripping the nation's vast oil wealth away from the super-elite and redistributing it to the underprivileged. Scenes showing a grinning Chavez reaching out to huddled masses and demurely addressing citizens on his public call-in television program are cloying enough to drift over into propaganda. Even with a skeptical eye, it's pretty clear to see that Chavez's enemies, which include the private media, the trade unions and big business, have it in for the man more because of greed than the political ideals they profess. The outright manipulation of the television stations is straight out of Orwell, with cheerleader reporters lauding the coup while refusing to mention the Presidential Guard's efforts to retake the mansion. Once Chavez's enemies take over, they disband the Supreme Court, the Attorney General's Office and the National Assembly, saying the takeover is in line with the will of the people, more powerful than any referendum. The film's not-so-subtle accusation is that the United States was probably behind the coup, since so many deposed leaders fled there afterward. The film explains that American leaders have come to rely on Venezuela as a cheap source of fuel, and were not pleased when Chavez sought to raise prices. Clips of smarmy U.S. national news broadcasts show public officials hinting that Chavez is in league with terrorists. Chavez, ever cool and composed, takes the coup in stride. For him, the capture is just another move in the ongoing chess game of South American politics. He can probably identify with his opponents, since in 1992, he led a failed coup of his own. Once Chavez returns to power, he gracefully refuses to run a witch hunt, and begs with his opponents to respect the Venezuelan constitution in the future. Regardless of the way you may feel about the man, it's nearly impossible to not be swept away by the movie's final moments, which recall "It's a Wonderful Life." A crowd of exuberant supporters circles Chavez and breaks into spontaneous song, screaming the joys of restored demo _____ YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS * Visit your group "HartfordGreens " on the web. * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: HartfordGreens-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service . _____ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: revolutionwillnot.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 11577 bytes Desc: not available URL: From embrancato at netzero.com Thu Aug 18 21:51:49 2005 From: embrancato at netzero.com (Elizabeth M. Brancato) Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 21:51:49 -0400 Subject: {news} [Fwd: Women's Caucus Meeting] Message-ID: <43053B35.4000905@netzero.com> -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Women's Caucus Meeting Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2005 18:38:12 -0400 From: Elizabeth M. Brancato To: Green Party Announcements List , Green Party Listserve The Green Party of Connecticut Women's Caucus will be meeting on Saturday, August 20, 2005. The meeting will be held at the Wethersfield Public Library, 515 Silas Deane Highway, Wethersfield, CT, form 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. All are welcome to attend. From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Tue Aug 23 15:53:43 2005 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2005 15:53:43 -0400 Subject: {news} Fw: New Haven Poet/Activist staging a reading with music and poetry in New York City ( The Brecht Forum) Message-ID: <022301c5a81c$5e499b40$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> New Haven Poet/Activist staging a reading with music and poetry in New York City ( The Brecht Forum) ----- Original Message ----- From: Meg Scata To: actshare at lists.riseup.net ; ctunited4peace at lists.riseup.net Sent: Monday, August 22, 2005 10:55 PM Subject: [CTpeace-activists] New Haven Poet/Activist staging a reading with music and poetry in New York City ( The Brecht Forum) NOT TOO BE MISSED An original work by Paula Panzarella -New Haven Poet/Activist being staged in New York City Cast is made up of fellow New Haven Activists Please read and send widely NOT TOO BE MISSED ********************************************************************************************* In 2005, the rights to fair a trial, to organize into unions, to freedom of speech and of assembly are under attack by a government focused on war, anti-immigrant hysteria and the death penalty. The lessons of history can be a guide in understanding and changing the world. Outcry for Justice Poetry in the Struggle for Freedom of Sacco and Vanzetti created and directed by Paula Panzarella Saturday, August 27, 2005, 7:30 pm THE BRECHT FORUM 451 West Street (between Bank and Bethune Streets) New York, NY 10014 suggested donation: $6, $10, $15 For tickets, please contact The Brecht Forum phone: 212-242-4201, e-mail: mail at brechtforum.org For further information, please call 203-562-2798 or e-mail paulapanzarella at yahoo.com Poetry, music and commentary about immigrant rights, war, labor history and the death penalty are incorporated into this two hour dramatic reading about Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian immigrant anarchists and labor leaders who were executed by the State of Massachusetts in 1927 after having a trial marked by prejudice, prosecutorial misconduct, omission of evidence and blatant disregard for the rights of defendants. Cast: Marlene Buchanan, Joan Cavanagh, Stephen Kobasa, Frank Panzarella, Tony Rosso, Sylvia Forges Ryan, Glenn Stevens and Maggie Testa. With mandolin and guitar accompaniment. Outcry for Justice was initially produced in 2002 to mark the 75th anniversary of the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti. Since its debut performance of March 12, 2002, Outcry for Justice has been enthusiastically embraced. Performances include Long Wharf Theatre, Gateway Community Technical College, New Haven Colony Historical Society, Trinity College (Hartford), Oddfellows Playhouse (Middletown), and Theater for the New City (New York). Wherever Outcry for Justice is performed, the script is re-written using the history of the particular locale for resource material such as: newspapers from the 1920s, local union records, archives from Italian historical societies and interviews with people whose family members had a connection with the case. The interest in Sacco and Vanzetti remains wide and deep - not only is this case part of Italian American history, but it is also relevant to immigrants from other countries who have encountered the obstacles of racism and classism upon arrival in America. Supporters of this performance include the Phoebe Foundation and the Greater New Haven Labor History Association. Directions Trains: A, C, E or L to 14th Street and 8th Ave., walk down 8th Ave. to Bethune, turn right, walk west to the Hudson River, turn left. 1, 2, 3 or 9 to 14th Street and 7th Ave., get off at south end of station, walk west on 12th Street to 8th Ave., left to Bethune, turn right, walk west to the River, turn left. "I sought my liberty in the liberty of all; my happiness in the happiness of all." -- Bartolomeo Vanzetti Paula Panzarella, creator and director of Outcry for Justice: Poetry in the Struggle for Freedom of Sacco and Vanzetti, is a playwright, performance poet, freelance writer, and social justice activist from New Haven, CT. She is the editor of the three volume anthology "Poems on the Road to Peace: A Collective Tribute to Dr. King" (2002-2004), published by the Yale-Peabody Museum of New Haven, CT), the editor of "Voices Along the River," a poetry anthology published by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection in September, 2001, and the author of "Living from the Heart," her own collection of poetry published in June, 1999. She has been published in numerous literary journals and newspapers, hosted poetry venues throughout Connecticut, and received NEA funding for the December, 2003 performance of "Back in the Day," a component of "Lifting Voices, Quilting Lives," a New Haven Family Alliance project for inner-city youth. She is a member of the Artemis Rising women's poetry collective, the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, and the CT Commission on the Arts/Urban Artists Initiative program. Paula attended Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, for two years and has a BA in English Literature from Lewis and Clark College (Portland, OR). She is most recently published in the 2004 edition of "War, Literature & the Arts: An International Journal of the Humanities." Unless indicated otherwise, all statements posted represent the views of their authors and not necessarily those of CT united for peace. visit http://ctunitedforpeace.org for details on this group Contact your representatives and elected officials: use http://congress.cfl-online.org/ For other ways to help, see http://BoycottIsraeliGoods.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS a.. Visit your group "CTpeace-activists" on the web. b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: CTpeace-activists-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 greenpartyct at yahoo.com Tue Aug 23 16:50:15 2005 From: greenpartyct at yahoo.com (Green Party-CT) Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2005 13:50:15 -0700 (PDT) Subject: {news} (GREEN PARTY PRESS RELEASE) GREENS say MoveOn.org Should Listen to Members and Oppose the War Message-ID: <20050823205015.26428.qmail@web81407.mail.yahoo.com> Press Release MoveOn.org Should Listen to Their Members and Oppose the War. Tuesday, August 23, 2005 Contacts: Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty at greens.org Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene at greens.org While its members protest the Iraq occupation along with Cindy Sheehan, MoveOn.org itself favors continued occupation, say Greens. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party leaders are challenging MoveOn.org to support an immediate pullout of troops from Iraq. "MoveOn has done an admirable job of rallying people nationwide behind Cindy Sheehan's protest vigil in Crawford, Texas," said Rebecca Rotzler, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States and Deputy Mayor of New Paltz, New York. "But MoveOn itself has undermined such efforts by refusing to endorse an immediate end to the occupation of Iraq." Journalist Norman Solomon has noted that MoveOn declined to support a resolution from Rep. Lynn Woolsey stating that "the president should develop and implement a plan to begin the immediate withdrawal of United States Armed Forces from Iraq" and Rep. Barbara Lee's (D-Calif.) bill to block the establishment of permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq ("The Iraq Warand MoveOn", Common Dreams, August 18, ). Several Green Party members, including Ms. Rotzler (who also serves as co-chair of the Green Party's Peace Action Committee), Andrea Garland of New Orleans, and Mato Ska of Phoenix have traveled to Crawford to join Cindy Sheehan's vigil at 'Camp Casey' near Mr. Bush's ranch, while thousands of other Greens participated in support vigils across the U.S. on August 17. The Peace Action Committee issued a statement in support of the Camp Casey vigil , which Ms. Rotzler presented to Ms. Sheehan. "We challenge MoveOn to listen to its own membership, and take a stand against the invasion and continued occupation of Iraq," said Ms. Garland. Greens have rejected the claim of Democrats like Senators Hillary Clinton (NY) and Joe Biden (Del.) that the problem with the Iraq War is the Bush Administration's military miscalculations. "The invasion and occupation are crimes, based on deception about the motivations for the invasion, a radical ideology that embraces 'preventive war' -- condemned by international law after World War II -- and an oil grab," said Leenie Halbert, Louisiana Green and member of the party's International Committee. "This abuse of power was inevitable after most Democrats in October 2002 voted with Republicans to surrender Congress's constitutionally mandated power to declare war to the White House." MORE INFORMATION 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 Green Party Peace Action Committee http://www.gp.org/committees/peace/ Gold Star Families For Peace http://www.GSFP.org Office: PO Box 57065 Washington, D.C. 20037 Email: office at gp.org 202-319-7191 or toll-free (US): 866-41GREEN =========================================================== THE GREEN PARTY OF CONNECTICUT is the third largest political party in CT. The Greens are also the third largest political party in the US, with 220 Greens officeholders in 27 states. Over 80 countries in world have Green Parties. Wangari Maathai, the 2004 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is Kenya's assistant minister for environment and an elected Green Party member. =========================================================== National Committee member from Connecticut: Tim McKee (860) 324-1684 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From roseberry3 at cox.net Tue Aug 23 19:18:44 2005 From: roseberry3 at cox.net (B Barry) Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2005 19:18:44 -0400 Subject: {news} 8-30-05 SCC meeting at Middletown Public Library In-Reply-To: <20050726044744.SBOD15241.centrmmtao03.cox.net@BarbaraBarry> Message-ID: <20050823231849.GRZY9925.eastrmmtao04.cox.net@BarbaraBarry> 8-30-05 SCC meeting of the Green Party of CT Time: 7 to 8:30pm, 8-30-05 Location: Middletown Public Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown, CT Hubbard Room Phone: 860-347-2528 Facilitator: To Be Determined A. Preliminaries: 1. (2 minutes): Introductions/identify chapters, recruit timekeeper and stacker. 2. (1 minute): Identify people present who are NOT voting representatives. 3. (1 minute): Adopt ground rules. 4. (2 minutes): Approval of tonight's proposed agenda, additions and deletions. 5. (6 minutes): Comments and approval of 5-31-05, 6-26-05 and 7-26-05 SCC minutes. 6. (2 minutes): Comments and approval of April 26, 2005 SCC minutes. 7. (2 minutes): Comments and approval of March 2005 SCC minutes. 8. (15 minutes): Presentation of Treasurer's monthly report. B. Reports: 1. (2 minutes each): Chapter reports. 2. (10 minutes): U.S. Green Party representatives' reports by Tim McKee and Thomas Sevigny. 3. (5 minutes): Women's Caucus report. 4. (5 minutes): V.O.T.E.R. report from Mike DeRosa. 5. (2 minutes): legislative report from Mike DeRosa. 6. (5 minutes): 6-13-05 and 7-11-05 EC meetings from Barbara Barry. 7. (2 minutes): Strategy Committee. C. Presentation: 1. (20 minutes): Green Party of CT Restructuring Plan and Goals for 2005/2006: working draft by Kelly McCarthy and Aaron Gustafson. D. Proposal: 1: EC proposal: What: Have voting members sign-in on a sheet at each SCC meeting. Goal: To assist the Secretary with a count of voters, if votes are taken during the SCC meeting. 2: Shoreline Chapter proposal: PROPOSAL PRESENTER Shoreline Chapter CONTACT SHORELINE CHAPTER Lindsay Mathews, CO-CHAIR, 256 Shore Drive, Branford, CT 06405 (203) 488-3044 SUBJECT Request for funding for mailing to Shoreline constituents. BACKGROUND and PURPOSE As a result of the information provided to us by the speaker from CCAG at our June, SCC meeting, we would like to do a mailing and fundraising letter to our constituents to update them on the struggle for publicly financed elections in CT and to also use this mailing as a fundraiser. PROPOSAL We propose that the CT GP support this effort by funding this mailing. The mailing to 250 people would include: Copies: $44.73 (includes tax) a double sided flyer of facts/info given to us by CCAG a cover letter from our Chair Envelopes: $23.90 250, #10 envelopes $7.36 250, #6/3/4" envelopes 7.58 Tax @ 6% 8.96 Labels: $17.57 250, 2" x 4" $10.98 Tax @ 6.59 Postage: $150.60 250 at 60 cents each $150.60 Total Cost of Mailing: $236.77 Directions: www.mapquest.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From greenpartyct at yahoo.com Wed Aug 24 20:40:29 2005 From: greenpartyct at yahoo.com (Green Party-CT) Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 17:40:29 -0700 (PDT) Subject: {news} Bill C. Davis(Green Party candidate for Congress) asks "Is Pat Robertson Out of His Mind or In the Loop?" Message-ID: <20050825004029.97949.qmail@web81403.mail.yahoo.com> Published on Wednesday, August 24, 2005 by CommonDreams.org Is Pat Robertson Out of His Mind or in the Loop? by Bill C. Davis There is something not only rotten but seemingly deranged in the state of mind of Republican leaders. I would call Pat Robertson a Republican leader. He did well in a few Republican primaries back in 1988 until scandal hit the whole Evangelical enterprise, which Mr. Robertson assumed was a Bush Sr./Lee Atwater conspiracy. It seemed convenient, he thought, that the scandal hit just as he was hitting his stride. Reverend Pat made peace and perhaps a pact with the powers that be and currently has a direct line to the White House. He, with Jerry Falwell, claims to have helped make the double-barrel-two term Bush presidency possible. On Monday the iconic American Christian using the language of gangsters endorsed the assassination of Hugo Chavez so we could save 200 billion dollars. The assumption was that the only two alternatives to dealing with an elected leader who is critical of the military industrial complex running our country is to "take him out" or to wage a war. He presents the options and then chooses the less expensive one. One does pause to wonder if he is not a loose cannon but that the direct line to the White House runs both ways. If in fact Venezuela and Iran are considering an oil embargo against the US, this may not be a random Christian perspective from the baby- faced aw-shucks father figure for the consumers of sign-on-the-dotted-line religion. Could this be a request from the top? Either Mr. Robertson is truly out of his mind or he is "useful," a word that Rumsfeld loves to use. When asked about the comment Rumsfeld referred to Robertson as a "private citizen" and rather than condemn the comment he said, "private citizens say all kinds of things all the time. Next question." How would this endorsement of assassination from the giddy Evangelical be "useful" and to whom would it be useful? Does a holy Christian man rattling a saber make any sense to the essential logic of Christ? On the subject of sabers, rattling or penetrating, Christ said, if you live by the sword you die by the sword. But here is the most amazing, confounding thing Christ said - Love your enemy. This phrase means nothing to the most boisterous Christians like Pat Robertson. To them, this phrase is invisible. In their minds, it is a soft, silly lapse in the Savior's prescription for the salvation of the world. The Passion of Christ was a bloody canvas for paranoid sadism. The prime actors against Jesus, the alleged center of Pat Robertson's universe, were soldiers taking orders from the likes of Mr. Robertson. Pat Robertson sees an assassin and an army as legitimate functionaries in realizing his view of a safe and decent world. We can certainly paraphrase the question standing before the president in Crawford: "What noble cause did my son die for?" What noble cause will be served by Pat Robertson's Fatwa? In December 2000 the incoming administration declared Hugo Chavez a threat because he was selling oil to Cuba. And now, if Venezuela is going to block the sale of their nationalized oil to the U.S. what does that mean to a Christian leader? Does he have investments he's worried about? Does he believe Venezuela will be a conduit for terrorism and communism and anti-Christian principles? Does he want to make that case or would he prefer that his government "off" an elected leader who just happens to urge OPEC convert officially the standard of buying oil from the dollar to the Euro? Hugo Chavez speaks at length to his people over the TV - and he reads to them. One of his favorite authors to read to his people is Walt Whitman. At the Youth Conference in Caracas earlier this month he called the people of the U.S. ?brothers? to Venezuela. He embraced the traditions of Walt Whitman and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and gave them as examples of the progressive history of the U.S. Walt Whitman understood spirit and America. Pat Robertson contradicts both. One would think the FCC, under some aspect of the Patriot Act might revoke Robertson's license to broadcast. If he's out of his mind they might - if he's in the loop - they won't. Stay tuned. Bill C. Davis can be reached at billcdavis at billcdavis.com ### =========================================================== THE GREEN PARTY OF CONNECTICUT is the third largest political party in CT. The Greens are also the third largest political party in the US, with 220 Greens officeholders in 27 states. Over 80 countries in world have Green Parties. Wangari Maathai, the 2004 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is Kenya's assistant minister for environment and an elected Green Party member. =========================================================== National Committee member from Connecticut: Tim McKee (860) 324-1684 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Thu Aug 25 14:41:28 2005 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 14:41:28 -0400 Subject: {news} GREEN RELEASE Greens blast troop increases, delayed exit plans from Iraq Message-ID: <019d01c5a9a4$9b243820$0502a8c0@JUSTINE> GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES http://www.gp.org For Immediate Release: Thursday, August 25, 2005 Contacts: Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty at greens.org Starlene Rankin, Media Committee, starlene at greens.org, cell phone 916-995-3805 Rebecca Rotzler, Peace Action Committee Co-chair, 845-255-3122, rebelrot at yahoo.com GREENS BLAST TROOP ESCALATIONS AND DELAYED EXIT PLANS, CALL FOR IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ Greens announce an online petition against the war, criticize Democratic Party support for Bush's Iraq policy. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party leaders sharply criticized plans announced by the Pentagon to increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, and reiterated the party's call to begin withdrawing occupational forces from Iraq immediately. "We agree with Cindy Sheehan -- the only legitimate way to support our troops is to get them out of Iraq right now," said Andrea Garland, Louisiana Green who joined Ms. Sheehan at her Camp Casey protest vigil in Crawford, Texas. "This will be the demand of Greens participating in the September 24 rallies in Washington, D.C. against the occupation." The Green Party's Peace Action Committee (GPAX) announced an online petition urging the White House to end the occupation and supporting the Camp Casey vigil, at . GPAX recently issued a statement in support of Camp Casey , which national Green Party co-chair Rebecca Rotzler presented to Ms. Sheehan. Greens especially condemned statements from Democratic leaders supporting increased deployment, including Senators Hillary Clinton (N.Y.), Joe Biden (Del.) and John Kerry (Mass.). Greens also rejected the position of Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.), MoveOn.org, and others who favor a delayed withdrawal, including Sen. Feingold's call for removal of U.S. troops by December, 2006. "Greens do not demand that President Bush announce a plan to withdraw troops. We demand that the President issue an order to begin withdrawal now," said Sarah "echo" Steiner, sister of an Iraq War Veteran, co-chair of the Green Party of Florida, and GPAX member. "Another year of occupation will mean hundreds, perhaps thousands more U.S. troops dead and maimed; and tens of thousands more dead Iraqi civilians." Green Party leaders have called the Iraq invasion and occupation a catastrophe, noting that: . Between 25,000 and 100,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed in the war; the number of U.S. troops killed is approaching 2,000. . The Bush Administration now admits that secular democracy is unlikely in Iraq; possible civil war, further breakdown of vital infrastructure, and establishment a repressive, misogynistic Islamic theocracy threaten the Iraqi people. . Bush Administration officials, including the President, have not beenheld accountable for the litany of deceptive justifications for the invasion: nonexistent WMDs; forged evidence of nuclear weapons; fraudulent claims of conspiracy between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein and Iraqi involvement with the 9/11 attacks. . Shocking revelations of torture at Abu Ghraib mirror the White House'sown efforts to circumvent international and constitutional prohibitions against torture in Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere. . Terrorist attacks have increased in countries allied with the U.S. (most recently Britain, in July), as predicted by opponents of the war before the 2003 invasion. Vice President Cheney continues to call Iraq a "critical front in the war on terror"; Greens, in agreement with recent CIA and other intelligence studies, assert that the occupation itself has motivated further attacks on the West and violence within Iraq, and threatens U.S. security and international stability. . The costs of the occupation are causing social needs in the U.S. to go unmet; while President Bush preaches sacrifice -- presumably for families who have lost children, parents, and spouses in the war, and for soldiers given insufficient armor and other equipment; meanwhile, he has granted tax cuts for the wealthy and indulged Halliburton and other favored firms multibillion-dollar contracts allowing them to profit from the war. . The war itself is a crime, violating international covenants signed bythe U.S. against invasion of a nation on 'preventive' grounds; Hitler used preventive justifications (also fraudulent) for the German invasion of Czechoslovakia and Poland in 1939. "These charges are not Green opinion. They are statements of fact.They're the reason why the Green Party has called for Mr. Bush's impeachment," said Tom Siracuse of the West Side (Manhattan) Greens and Veterans For Peace, both of which are represented at the Camp Casey vigil. GPAX is urging Americans outraged by the Iraq venture to sign on to the Veterans For Peace petition for impeachment , which is also linked at the GPAX web page . MORE INFORMATION 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 September 24 protests against the war; related events in Washington, D.C. United For Peace & Justice http://www.unitedforpeace.org/fallmobe Operation Ceasefire http://www.opceasefire.org Gold Star Families For Peace http://www.GSFP.org ~ END ~ From karinlee1 at mindspring.com Fri Aug 26 23:42:25 2005 From: karinlee1 at mindspring.com (Karin Lee Norton) Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 23:42:25 -0400 Subject: {news} Bush's psychological state Message-ID: >Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 23:41:12 -0400 >To: Women's Caucus of the Green Party of CT >From: Karin Lee Norton >Subject: [Womens-caucus] Fwd: [IPJC] oval orifice = potty mouth >Cc: >Bcc: >X-Attachments: > >>From: Hayes Bethany >>To: womens-caucus at lisits.gp-us.org >>Subject: [Womens-caucus] Fwd: [IPJC] oval orifice = potty mouth >>Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 10:56:52 -0700 (PDT) >>X-ELNK-AV: 0 >> >>This is interesting----thought to pass it on. >>Bethany >> >>--- Branches magazine wrote: >> >>> To: novelty >>> From: Branches magazine >>> Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 10:33:19 -0700 (PDT) >>> Subject: [IPJC] oval orifice = potty mouth >>> >>> Go here for the source of the article with picture >>> of >>> Bush giving the finger as described. >>> >>http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7267.shtml >>> >>> From Capitol Hill Blue >>> >>> Bush Leagues >>> Bush's Obscene Tirades Rattle White House Aides >>> By DOUG THOMPSON >>> Aug 25, 2005, 06:19 >>> >>> While President George W. Bush travels around the >>> country in a last-ditch effort to sell his Iraq war, >>> White House aides scramble frantically behind the >>> scenes to hide the dark mood of an increasingly >>> angry >>> leader who unleashes obscenity-filled outbursts at >>> anyone who dares disagree with him. >>> >>> ?I?m not meeting again with that goddamned bitch,? >>> Bush screamed at aides who suggested he meet again >>> with Cindy Sheehan, the war-protesting mother whose >>> son died in Iraq. ?She can go to hell as far as I?m >>> concerned!? >>> >>> Bush flashes the bird, something aides say he does >>> often and has been doing since his days as governor >>> of >>> Texas. Bush, administration aides confide, >>> frequently >>> explodes into tirades over those who protest the >>> war, >>> calling them ?motherfucking traitors.? He reportedly >>> was so upset over Veterans of Foreign Wars members >>> who >>> wore ?bullshit protectors? over their ears during >>> his >>> speech to their annual convention that he told aides >>> to ?tell those VFW assholes that I?ll never speak to >>> them again if they can?t keep their members under >>> control.? >>> >>> White House insiders say Bush is growing >>> increasingly >>> bitter over mounting opposition to his war in Iraq. >>> Polls show a vast majority of Americans now believe >>> the war was a mistake and most doubt the President?s >>> honesty. >>> >>> ?Who gives a flying fuck what the polls say,? he >>> screamed at a recent strategy meeting. ?I?m the >>> President and I?ll do whatever I goddamned please. >>> They don?t know shit.? >>> >>> Bush, while setting up for a photo op for signing >>> the >>> recent CAFTA bill, flipped an extended middle finger >>> to reporters. Aides say the President often ?flips >>> the >>> bird? to show his displeasure and tells aides who >>> disagree with him to ?go to hell? or to ?go fuck >>> yourself. >>> >>> His habit of giving people the finger goes back to >>> his >>> days as Texas governor, aides admit, and videos of >>> him >>> doing so before press conferences were widely >>> circulated among TV stations during those days. A >>> recent video showing him shooting the finger to >>> reporters while walking also recently surfaced. >>> >>> Bush?s behavior, according to prominent Washington >>> psychiatrist, Dr. Justin Frank, author of ?Bush on >>> the >>> Couch: Inside the Mind of the President,? is all too >>> typical of an alcohol-abusing bully who is ruled by >>> fear. >>> >>> To see that fear emerges, Dr. Frank says, all one >>> has >>> to do is confront the President. ?To actually >>> directly >>> confront him in a clear way, to bring him out, so >>> you >>> would really see the bully, and you would also see >>> the >>> fear,? he says. >>> >>> Dr. Frank, in his book, speculates that Bush, an >>> alcoholic who brags that he gave up booze without >>> help >>> from groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, may be >>> drinking >>> again. >>> >>> ?Two questions that the press seems particularly >>> determined to ignore have hung silently in the air >> > since before Bush took office,? Dr. Frank says. ?Is >>> he >>> still drinking? And if not, is he impaired by all >>> the years he did spend drinking? Both questions need >>> to be addressed in any serious assessment of his >> > psychological state.? >>> >>> Last year, Capitol Hill Blue learned the White House >>> physician prescribed anti-depressant drugs for the >>> President to control what aides called ?violent mood >>> swings.? As Dr. Frank also notes: ?In writing about >>> Bush's halting appearance in a press conference just >>> before the start of the Iraq War, Washington Post >>> media critic Tom Shales speculated that ?the >>> president >>> may have been ever so slightly medicated.?? >>> >>> Dr. Frank explains Bush?s behavior as all-to-typical >>> of an alcoholic who is still in denial: >>> ?The pattern of blame and denial, which recovering >>> alcoholics work so hard to break, seems to be >>> ingrained in the alcoholic personality; it's rarely >>> limited to his or her drinking,? he says. ?The habit >>> of placing blame and denying responsibility is so >>> prevalent in George W. Bush's personal history that >>> it >>> is apparently triggered by even the mildest threat.? >>> >> > ? Copyright 2005 Capitol Hill Blue >>> > >Karin Lee Norton -- Karin Lee Norton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From TDayan at aol.com Sat Aug 27 12:42:27 2005 From: TDayan at aol.com (TDayan at aol.com) Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2005 12:42:27 EDT Subject: {news} Bush's psychological state Message-ID: <90.64cb5ccf.3041f1f3@aol.com> Thought you'd get a kick out of reading about the real W -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Sun Aug 28 17:50:09 2005 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2005 21:50:09 +0000 Subject: {news} Shapiro in 8/21 Stamford Times Message-ID: This article from the August 21 Stamford Times is basically a rehash of the article I posted about Andrew Cote from sister paper The Norwalk Hour, August 13. As an update on Andrew's petition attempt: I've found out he was only 10 signatures, not 15, short of the required 158. Tomorrow I'm getting the Norwalk voter list to see if there was any error in validating signatures. --David ------------------------------------------------------------------- Greens nominate Shapiro as candidate for mayor By A.J. O'Connell Staff Writer Darek Shapiro, an environmental architect and supporter of clean energy, has now officially tossed his hat into the mayoral ring. Shapiro officially accepted the nomination of the Green Party at their nominating convention on Thursday evening at the downtown TidBit Lounge on Bank Street. Close to 20 of the party faithful turned out to support Shapiro's nomination. ?I think the existing mayor is doing an ok job,? said Shapiro, addressing his supporters. ?It?s not good enough. We are not in okay times.? Shapiro, 52, who has criticized Mayor Dannel Malloy?s environmental record, pledged to clean up the city?s air, water, and natural spaces, while convincing downtown businesses to invest in clean energy. ?We need to show them how Green also means profit,? he said. Shapiro, who helped push through an ordinance that has pledged that the city will be using 20 percent clean energy by 2010, also promised to build more affordable housing, and address healthcare issues. The Greens? convention was more of a formality than anything else. As of the previous morning, both Shapiro and the regional Green Party secretary David Bedell, who is running for constable, had already qualified with the office of the City Clerk to appear on the ballot. According to City Clerk Donna Loglisci, both Shapiro and Bedell submitted their petitions late Wednesday morning. Both collected more than the required 183 signatures that will get them on the ballot. On the petition that will allow Shapiro to run for mayor and candidate Trish Haines Dayan to run for Board of Education, the men collected 230 signatures. On Bedell?s petition he collected 217 signatures. ?They did very well,? said Loglisci. The petitions were certified by Loglisci and the Registrars of Voters on Wednesday. Loglisci now has 10 days to submit the petitions to the Secretary of the State. The candidates will then receive letters from the State, telling them that they are officially candidates in the race. Bedell, a local cyclist who also accepted the Green Party nomination on Thursday, said that as constable, he will deliver writs and legal documents throughout the city by bicycle. ?A vote for me is a vote to take another car off the road,? he said. Dayan, who was not present, submitted a statement for the evening, promising to build grassroots involvement of parents in the school system and promote equal opportunities within Stamford Schools. ?As a school board member,? she wrote, ?I would place emphasis on an administrative system that enables teachers to do their best work for the children.? Not all of those nominated on Thursday will be able to get onto the ballot. Andrew Cote, who was nominated by the Green Party as a candidate for constable, will not make it onto the ballot this year. Although the Green Party collected 186 signatures for Cote, the Norwalk Town Clerk's Office said that many of the signatures were not valid. "A lot of them were not registered voters," said Jill Champaigne, an assistant town clerk. "You have to be registered when you sign the petition." Champaigne said that 143 of the signatures collected on Cote's petition were valid. He needed 158 to get onto the ballot. The news came as a blow to Cote, who had just returned on Thursday after spending two months in Iraq. Bedell, who was in charge of collecting Cote's signatures, said that Cote would still be able to run for constable as a write-in candidate, but Cote said that he would rather not take that option. "It looks like I won't be on the ballot this year," he said. This is the first time that the regional Green Party has put up mayoral candidate in Stamford. Many of those at the convention commiserated about how difficult it is for a third-party candidate to get noticed during election season. Patricia Kane, the local attorney who ran against Rep. James Shapiro in 144th district last November, said that it?s hard for a third party candidate to get recognition during a campaign. Petitioning candidates are often steamrolled by the major parties, which have deeper pockets and, according to Kane, are often beholden to their financial backers. ?That?s why I?m with the Green Party,? she said. ?Now the little guy has a shot,? said Bedell. A.J. O?Connell via e-mail at aoconnell@ thehour.com From greenpartyct at yahoo.com Tue Aug 30 08:07:33 2005 From: greenpartyct at yahoo.com (Green Party-CT) Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 05:07:33 -0700 (PDT) Subject: {news} REMINDER- STATE MEETING TONIGHT-all chapters please send leaders!! Message-ID: <20050830120733.42652.qmail@web81404.mail.yahoo.com> IF YOUR CHAPTER HAS NOT ATTENDED LATELY-PLEASE ASK IF SOMEONE CAN ATTEND- ANYONE MAY ATTEND ON THEIR LOCAL CHAPTER'S BEHALF 8-30-05 SCC meeting of the Green Party of CT Time: 7 to 8:30pm, 8-30-05 Location: Middletown Public Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown, CT Hubbard Room Phone: 860-347-2528 Facilitator: To Be Determined Preliminaries: (2 minutes): Introductions/identify chapters, recruit timekeeper and stacker. (1 minute): Identify people present who are NOT voting representatives. (1 minute): Adopt ground rules. (2 minutes): Approval of tonight?s proposed agenda, additions and deletions. (6 minutes): Comments and approval of 5-31-05, 6-26-05 and 7-26-05 SCC minutes. (2 minutes): Comments and approval of April 26, 2005 SCC minutes. (2 minutes): Comments and approval of March 2005 SCC minutes. (15 minutes): Presentation of Treasurer?s monthly report. Reports: 1. (2 minutes each): Chapter reports. 2. (10 minutes): U.S. Green Party representatives? reports by Tim McKee and Thomas Sevigny. 3. (5 minutes): Women?s Caucus report. 4. (5 minutes): V.O.T.E.R. report from Mike DeRosa. 5. (2 minutes): legislative report from Mike DeRosa. 6. (5 minutes): 6-13-05 and 7-11-05 EC meetings from Barbara Barry. 7. (2 minutes): Strategy Committee. Presentation: 1. (20 minutes): Green Party of CT Restructuring Plan and Goals for 2005/2006: working draft by Kelly McCarthy and Aaron Gustafson. Proposal: 1: EC proposal: What: Have voting members sign-in on a sheet at each SCC meeting. Goal: To assist the Secretary with a count of voters, if votes are taken during the SCC meeting. 2: Shoreline Chapter proposal: PROPOSAL PRESENTER Shoreline Chapter CONTACT SHORELINE CHAPTER Lindsay Mathews, CO-CHAIR, 256 Shore Drive, Branford, CT 06405 (203) 488-3044 SUBJECT Request for funding for mailing to Shoreline constituents. BACKGROUND and PURPOSE As a result of the information provided to us by the speaker from CCAG at our June, SCC meeting, we would like to do a mailing and fundraising letter to our constituents to update them on the struggle for publicly financed elections in CT and to also use this mailing as a fundraiser. PROPOSAL We propose that the CT GP support this effort by funding this mailing. The mailing to 250 people would include: Copies: $44.73 (includes tax) a double sided flyer of facts/info given to us by CCAG a cover letter from our Chair Envelopes: $23.90 250, #10 envelopes $7.36 250, #6/3/4" envelopes 7.58 Tax @ 6% 8.96 Labels: $17.57 250, 2" x 4" $10.98 Tax @ 6.59 Postage: $150.60 250 at 60 cents each $150.60 Total Cost of Mailing: $236.77 Directions: www.mapquest.com =========================================================== THE GREEN PARTY OF CONNECTICUT is the third largest political party in CT. The Greens are also the third largest political party in the US, with 220 Greens officeholders in 27 states. Over 80 countries in world have Green Parties. Wangari Maathai, the 2004 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is Kenya's assistant minister for environment and an elected Green Party member. =========================================================== National Committee member from Connecticut: Tim McKee (860) 324-1684 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Ehscouts at aol.com Tue Aug 16 22:15:40 2005 From: Ehscouts at aol.com (Ehscouts at aol.com) Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2005 02:15:40 -0000 Subject: {news} Rock Cats Free Seat Tickets Message-ID: <2b.79505923.3033f6f4@aol.com> Next Wednesday August 24th Nieves For Mayor Campaign will be sponsoring the Rock Cats Game. I have limited tickets available for free. If you will like to attende and will like to optain a free ticket pleases give me a call. There is only six tickets available so hurry and call me at 860-416-0298. The Nieves For Mayor yard signs have arrived. If you want a yard sign please let me know and I will reserve one for you. Thank you! "Donate to our Campaign and help us take Back New Britain" Miguel Angel Nieves New Britain Mayoral Candidate New Britain Green Party Co-Chairman www.hostinghelps.com/nbgreen _www.nieves.politicalgateway.com_ (http://www.nieves.politicalgateway.com/) _www.groups.yahoo.com/group/nievesformayor_ (http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/nievesformayor) _www.groups.yahoo.com/group/nbgreen_ (http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/nbgreen) Tel: (860) 832-8141 Tel: (860) 416-0298 Paid by Nieves for Mayor Campaign, Annette Alicea -Treasurer -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: