From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Thu May 19 09:20:02 2011 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Thu, 19 May 2011 09:20:02 -0400 Subject: {news} Joseph Massad, " The Future of the Arab uprisings" Message-ID: <439224290FE14EE7ACD380589853E4A2@JUSTINE> Prof. Massad provides a great summary of US/West's role in subverting Middle Eastern democracy since WWII. Justine http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/05/201151885013738898.html The future of the Arab uprisings The US, with its allies, has already begun plans to subvert the Arab Spring to save its own regional hegemony. Joseph Massad Last Modified: 18 May 2011 20:41 The US and its Arab allies are scrambling to control the outcome of the Arab Spring in a way that will prolong their regional dominance [GALLO/GETTY] A specter is haunting the Arab world - the specter of democratic revolution. All the powers of the old Arab world have entered into a holy alliance with each other and the United States to exorcise this specter: king and sultan, emir and president, neoliberals and zionists. While Marx and Engels used similar words in 1848 in reference to European regimes and the impending communist revolutions that were defeated in the Europe of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, there is much hope in the Arab world that these words would apply more successfully to the ongoing democratic Arab uprisings. In the case of Europe, Marx ended up having to write the Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon in 1852 to analyse the defeat of the 1848 revolution in France. He explained how revolutions could overthrow an existing ruling class but would not necessarily lead to the rule of the oppressed. He analysed the process by which Louis Napoleon was able to hijack the revolution and proclaim himself emperor, restoring monarchy to republican and revolutionary France, as his uncle Napoleon Bonaparte had done before him to the glorious French Revolution of 1789. Since the end of World War I, European powers and the United States have appointed and removed Arab kings at will. Their actions were always taken to ensure the persistence of these dictatorial monarchies, rather than their removal, and to strengthen Euro-American control and hegemony over the region. The only seeming exception to this rule was the French removal of King Faisal from the throne of Syria in 1919, ending the short-lived Syrian independence, only for the British to extend to him the throne of Iraq, which he assumed that same year, with the inauguration of British rule in that country. This Euro-American power would include the granting of Abdullah the throne of Jordan in 1921 and the removal of his son King Talal from it, replacing him with his own son Hussein in 1952-53. The French would dethrone Mohammed V of Morocco in 1953 but would restore him again in 1955 when opposition to his removal weakened their control. The British would remove Sultan Said bin Taymur in 1970 and replace him with his son Sultan Qabus, who was better able, with the help of the Iranian Shah, the Jordanian King, British and American military support, to quell the republican revolution in Dhofar. Even the palace coup of 1995 by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani of Qatar to oust his father, Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad al Thani, and replace him, received American support and enthusiasm, as it was carried out to strengthen, rather than weaken, the Qatari monarchy. Imperialism and orientalism Since World War II, but more diligently since the mid 1950s, the United States has followed two simultaneous strategies to exercise its control over the Arab peoples across Arab countries. The first, and the one most relevant to Arabs, was based on the early US recognition and realisation (like Britain, France, and Italy before it) that Arabs, like all other peoples worldwide, wanted democracy and freedom and would struggle for them in every possible way. For the United States, this necessitated the establishment of security and repressive apparatuses in Arab countries, which the US would train, fund, and direct in order to suppress these democratic desires and efforts in support of dictatorial regimes whose purpose has always been and continues to be the defense of US security and business interests in the region. These interests consist principally in securing and maintaining US control of the oil resources of the region, ensuring profits for American business, and strengthening the Israeli settler-colony. Much of this was of course propelled by the beginning of the Cold War and the US strategy to suppress all forms of real and imagined communist-leaning forces around the world, which included any and all democratic demands for change in the region. This strategy, which was formalised in the Eisenhower Doctrine issued in 1957, continues through the present. The Eisenhower Doctrine, issued on 5 January 1957, as a speech by the US president, declared the Soviet Union, not Israel or Western-supported regional dictatorships, as the enemy of the people of the Middle East. To neutralise president Gamal Abd al Nasir's wide appeal across the Arab world, Eisenhower authorised the US military "to secure and protect the territorial integrity and political independence of such nations, requesting such aid against overt armed aggression from any nation controlled by international communism." In contrast with its actual anti-democratic policies around the world, the US has always insisted on marketing itself as a force for global democracy. In line with this public relations campaign, the second strategy the US used to advance its anti-democratic policies in the Arab World was the importation of European orientalism, which acquired a central place in post-war US academia. State Department funding assisted by funding from private foundations would solidify orientalist research that asserted that Arabs and Muslims were incompatible with democracy and that more often than not they love and prefer dictatorial rule and that it would be culturally imperialist for the US to impose democracy on them, leading to the conclusion that it would be best to uphold their dictatorial rulers whose repressive policies, we are told, are inspired by Islam and Arab culture. Between the billions spent on repressing the Arab peoples and the millions spent to explain academically and in the American media the need to repress them, this two-pronged US strategy in the region since World War II has been coming apart at an accelerated rate since January 2011, a development that continues to cause panic in the Obama White House and manifests in the incessant fumbling of his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, who is much despised across the Arab world. If president Jimmy Carter infamously declared on the eve of the Iranian Revolution in December 1977 that the Iran of the Shah was "an island of stability in one of the most troubled areas of the world", Hillary Clinton would declare Mubarak's Egypt as "stable" days before he was overthrown. Subverting democracy The anti-democratic US campaign in the region started with the first coup d'?tat the US sponsored when it overthrew democratic rule in Syria in 1949 and was soon followed by the restoration of the Shah in neighbouring Iran in 1953 in a CIA-sponsored coup that overthrew the government of prime minister Mohammed Mossadegh and suppressed the democratic movement in Iran. As the US was following similar strategies elsewhere in its expanding empire, especially in Guatemala where it sponsored an anti-democratic coup against the reform government of Jacobo Arbenz and unleashed a wave of terror that murdered hundreds of thousands of Guatemalans for the next four decades, it formalised its new strategy in the Arab world through the Eisenhower Doctrine. Soon after, the US went into high gear suppressing democracy in the region, starting with intervention in Lebanon on the side of right-wing sectarian forces in 1957, moving to engineer the palace coup launched by the young King Hussein against the democratically elected parliament the same year in Jordan, and proceeding to help the Baath party assume power in 1963 in Iraq and massacre thousands in the process. The defeat of Nasir in the 1967 war was followed by US support for the most repressive Sudanese regime ever under Jafar Numeiri and the suppression of the revolution across the Arabian Gulf in the early seventies with the assistance of the Shah's forces and the Jordanian army, which stabilised the region for US oil profits and began the road to secure Israel's supremacy. In the meantime, the removal of Arab monarchies from power and replacing them with republics would take place through the mechanism of military coups, which, unlike Euro-American interventions, had much popular support. Beginning with the removal of King Farouk of Egypt in 1952 by the Free Officers, the removal of Arab monarchies would proceed with the overthrow of the Iraqi King and the Hashemite royal family in 1958, the Yemeni monarchy in 1962, and ended with the overthrow of the Libyan monarchy in 1969 by Gaddafi. All other Arab monarchies have persisted, with massive American, French, and British financial, economic, military, and security support, despite a number of threats to these thrones over the decades. While only two monarchies survive outside the Arabian Peninsula, which only managed to lose its Yemeni monarch, all other Arab regimes have a republican form of government. The US-Saudi axis The ongoing uprisings in the Arab world today, as is clear to all observers, do not distinguish between republics and monarchies. Indeed, in addition to the republics, demonstrations have been ongoing in Morocco, Jordan, Oman, and Saudi Arabia (and more modestly in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates), despite the brutal suppression of the major Bahraini uprising by a combined mercenary force dispatched by the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council led by Saudi Arabia. The situation in Arab countries today is characterised as much by the counter-revolution sponsored by the Saudi regime and the United States as it is by the uprisings of the Arab peoples against US-sponsored dictatorial regimes. While the US-Saudi axis was caught unprepared for the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings, they quickly made contingency plans to counter the uprisings elsewhere, especially in Bahrain and Oman, but also in Jordan and Yemen, as well as take control of the uprisings in Libya (at first) and later in Syria. Attempts to take control of the Yemeni uprising have had mixed results so far. Part of the US-Saudi strategy has been to strengthen religious sectarianism, especially hostility to shiism, in the hope of stemming the tide of the uprisings. This sectarianism targets not only Iran but also Arab shias in Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and even in Oman and Syria, while simultaneously encouraging anti-Christian zealotry in Egypt. The Sadat and Mubarak regimes encouraged anti-Christian zealots for decades. Part of the ongoing counter-revolutionary efforts is to resuscitate these sectarian forces to break Egyptian unity and bring about chaos. If the Eisenhower Doctrine insisted in 1957 that the Soviets, not Israel, were the main enemy of the Arab peoples, today the US insists that it is Iran and shiism who are their main enemy. With the US and Saudi-led suppression of the people of Bahrain, the hope is that this American-sponsored sectarian hatred and encouragement of sunni Arab chauvinism would in one swoop render Iran (and not the Arab dictators, their Israeli ally, or their US sponsor) the enemy of Arabs, if not the only enemy of Arabs, and delegitimise at the same time the uprisings in countries with a substantial number of Arab shiites. The US sponsored this project several years ago with limited success. It would be best articulated by Jordan's King Abdullah II, who warned in 2004 of a "shia crescent" threatening the region. The US and the Saudis are hoping that it could be more successful today. The French and the British have continued to play important neo-colonial roles in the region, economically, militarily, and in the realm of security "cooperation". They have strengthened their position by increasing their security and diplomatic "assistance" to their allies among Arab dictators. The US-supported repression in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, Jordan, Morocco, Algeria, and in the United Arab Emirates goes hand in hand with the Euro-American-Qatari intervention in Libya to safeguard the oil wells for Western companies once a new government is in place. The hijacking of the Libyan uprising and the defection of Gaddafi's governing elite of politicians overnight to the side of the "revolutionaries" not only casts more than one shadow of suspicion on those claiming to lead the Libyan uprising against Gaddafi's horrific dictatorship, but also on the Western powers who were Gaddafi's major allies in the last decade until their recent defection. The situation today is one of a struggle between the formidable US-Saudi axis, which is the main anti-democratic force in the region, and the pro-democracy uprisings. The US-Saudi strategy is two-fold: massive repression of those Arab uprisings that can be defeated, and co-optation of those that could not be. How successful the second part will be depends on how co-optable the pro-democracy forces prove to be. While it is true that revolutionaries make their own history, as Karl Marx famously put it, "they do not make it just as they please; they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly encountered, given and transmitted from the past." Guarding against the co-optation of the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions is the hope of all Arabs today. The US-Saudi axis will use every mechanism at its disposal to do so, not least of which will be the forthcoming elections in Egypt and Tunisia. The great Arab hope is that Tunisia and Egypt will write a new Revolutionary and Democratic Manifesto for the Arab peoples. The concern and the fear remain, however, that we may end up with less of a Communist Manifesto and more of an Eighteenth Brumaire. Joseph Massad is Associate Professor of Modern Arab Politics and Intellectual History at Columbia University in New York. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent Al Jazeera's editorial policy. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: listen_en_uk.gif Type: image/gif Size: 243 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 201151894358675734_20.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 270503 bytes Desc: not available URL: From rstuller at snet.net Wed May 25 23:44:46 2011 From: rstuller at snet.net (Ronna Stuller) Date: Wed, 25 May 2011 23:44:46 -0400 Subject: {news} Re: SCC Meeting Location and agenda for meeting - hope this works In-Reply-To: <000001cc1b31$d6b84610$8428d230$@net> References: <549772.17919.qm@web45115.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> <738803.11625.qm@web45113.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> <000001cc1b31$d6b84610$8428d230$@net> Message-ID: GREEN PARTY OF CT STATE COORDINATING COMMITTEE MAY 31, 2011 MORY'S 306 YORK STREET, NEW HAVEN, CT. 6:30 PM AGENDA (90 MINUTES) APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PRIOR SCC MEETING 5 min. 1. FINANCES TREASURER?S REPORT 2 PROPOSED BUDGET FOR BALANCE OF 2011 (REQUIRES ACTION) 18 Proposed budget Redesign Website $ 3,000.00 Online Database $ 3,000.00 Press/Communications $ 5,000.00 Green Times $ 1,800.00 Electoral Action $10,000.00 Membership Drive $ 4,000.00 Misc./Contingency $ 3,200.00 TOTAL: $30,000.00 2. TRANSITION REPORT KRAYESKE ON NEED FOR NEW INFRASTRUCTURE 15 KANE ON RECORDS 1 REILLY ON TREASURER?S OFFICE 5 3. INVENTORY OF PARTY ASSETS BY STULLER 10 4. BY-LAWS DISCUSSION NEED TO ADOPT ROBERTS? RULES OF ORDER (CURRENT EDITION) 5 NEED FOR ASSISTANT OR DEPUTY TREASURER 5 NEED FOR REVISED SCC PROCEDURES AND SCHEDULING 15 5. CHAPTER REPORTS 15 6. COMMITTEE REPORTS. 15 7. NEW BUSINESS. A. Ben Holden/Candidate nomination -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Thu May 26 23:54:39 2011 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Thu, 26 May 2011 23:54:39 -0400 Subject: {news} Re: [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] Re: SCC Meeting Location and agenda for meeting - hope this works References: <549772.17919.qm@web45115.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> <738803.11625.qm@web45113.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> <000001cc1b31$d6b84610$8428d230$@net> Message-ID: Dear all, Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the SCC meeting next Tuesday as I work until 7 pm. However, I do want to register a concern re: NEED TO ADOPT ROBERTS? RULES OF ORDER (CURRENT EDITION) The Green Party of the CT, in keeping with the Green Party of the US, has long rejected Roberts Rules of Order as an unnecessarily hierarchical way of facilitation and instead, uses modified consensus in all its decision making. Several year ago, in an effort to educate greens about this, the NW chapter hosted a daylong training on modified consensus with GPUS facilitator extraordinaire, Lynn Serpe from NY. Anyway, for those of you new to the GP, this is not a little issue, but significant in terms of process being the message. At some point, Judy Herkimer and I would be happy to provide an intro to this different way of making decisions. It is one where consensus is the goal, and votes are taken only when there is a blocking concern from someone in the group. Until then, I oppose the adoption of RRO for the GPCT. Best regards, Justine ----- Original Message ----- From: Ronna Stuller To: CTGREENSNEWSLISTERVE NEWS ; CT Greens News Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 11:44 PM Subject: [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] Re: SCC Meeting Location and agenda for meeting - hope this works GREEN PARTY OF CT STATE COORDINATING COMMITTEE MAY 31, 2011 MORY'S 306 YORK STREET, NEW HAVEN, CT. 6:30 PM AGENDA (90 MINUTES) APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PRIOR SCC MEETING 5 min. 1. FINANCES TREASURER?S REPORT 2 PROPOSED BUDGET FOR BALANCE OF 2011 (REQUIRES ACTION) 18 Proposed budget Redesign Website $ 3,000.00 Online Database $ 3,000.00 Press/Communications $ 5,000.00 Green Times $ 1,800.00 Electoral Action $10,000.00 Membership Drive $ 4,000.00 Misc./Contingency $ 3,200.00 TOTAL: $30,000.00 2. TRANSITION REPORT KRAYESKE ON NEED FOR NEW INFRASTRUCTURE 15 KANE ON RECORDS 1 REILLY ON TREASURER?S OFFICE 5 3. INVENTORY OF PARTY ASSETS BY STULLER 10 4. BY-LAWS DISCUSSION NEED TO ADOPT ROBERTS? RULES OF ORDER (CURRENT EDITION) 5 NEED FOR ASSISTANT OR DEPUTY TREASURER 5 NEED FOR REVISED SCC PROCEDURES AND SCHEDULING 15 5. CHAPTER REPORTS 15 6. COMMITTEE REPORTS. 15 7. NEW BUSINESS. A. Ben Holden/Candidate nomination __._,_.___ Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic Messages in this topic (1) Recent Activity: Visit Your Group Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest ? Unsubscribe ? Terms of Use. __,_._,___ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From westerfield at sysmatrix.net Fri May 27 15:34:29 2011 From: westerfield at sysmatrix.net (Michael Westerfield) Date: Fri, 27 May 2011 15:34:29 -0400 Subject: {news} Re: [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] Re: SCC Meeting Location and agenda for meeting - hope this works In-Reply-To: References: <549772.17919.qm@web45115.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> <738803.11625.qm@web45113.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> <000001cc1b31$d6b84610$8428d230$@net> Message-ID: For those of you who do not know me, I was Co-chair of the CT Green Party for one term, and serve in Windham as a Green Party Justice of the Peace and member (formerly Chair) of the Windham Conservation Commission. I have been Executive Director of the Willimantic Housing Authority for approximately the past 20 years. I agree with Justine's concern that adopting Robert's Rules of Order is not an appropriate action for the Connecticut Green Party to take, and that the entire foundation of the party is based on a non-hierarchical structure rooted in the consensus decision making process. Modified consensus evolved as the most functional way of ensuring that decisions could in fact be made in cases where limited opposition threatened to block necessary action. Although I am not currently active in the GP at the state level, I strongly support it's historic committment to grass roots decision making and believe that adopting Robert's Rules would be very detrimental to full, free, and equal participation of all GP members. Michael Westerfield On Thu, May 26, 2011 at 11:54 PM, Justine McCabe < justinemccabe at earthlink.net> wrote: > > > Dear all, > > Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the SCC meeting next Tuesday as > I work until 7 pm. > However, I do want to register a concern re: NEED TO ADOPT ROBERTS? RULES > OF ORDER (CURRENT EDITION) > > The Green Party of the CT, in keeping with the Green Party of the US, has > long rejected Roberts Rules of Order as an unnecessarily hierarchical way of > facilitation and instead, uses modified consensus in all its decision > making. Several year ago, in an effort to educate greens about this, the > NW chapter hosted a daylong training on modified consensus with > GPUS facilitator *extraordinaire*, Lynn Serpe from NY. > > Anyway, for those of you new to the GP, this is not a little issue, but > significant in terms of process being the message. > At some point, Judy Herkimer and I would be happy to provide an intro to > this different way of making decisions. It is one where consensus is the > goal, and votes are taken only when there is a blocking concern from someone > in the group. > > Until then, I oppose the adoption of RRO for the GPCT. > > Best regards, > Justine > > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Ronna Stuller > *To:* CTGREENSNEWSLISTERVE NEWS ; CT Greens > News > *Sent:* Wednesday, May 25, 2011 11:44 PM > *Subject:* [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] Re: SCC Meeting Location and agenda for > meeting - hope this works > > > > > GREEN PARTY OF CT > > STATE COORDINATING COMMITTEE > > MAY 31, 2011 > MORY'S > 306 YORK STREET, NEW HAVEN, CT. > 6:30 PM > > > > *AGENDA (90 MINUTES)* > > ** > > ** > > APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PRIOR SCC MEETING > 5 min. > > > > 1. FINANCES > > TREASURER?S REPORT 2 > > > > PROPOSED BUDGET FOR BALANCE OF 2011 (REQUIRES ACTION) 18 > * Proposed budget* > Redesign Website $ 3,000.00 > Online Database $ 3,000.00 > Press/Communications $ 5,000.00 > Green Times $ 1,800.00 > Electoral Action $10,000.00 > Membership Drive $ 4,000.00 > Misc./Contingency $ 3,200.00 > TOTAL: $30,000.00 > > > > > 2. TRANSITION REPORT > > > > KRAYESKE ON NEED FOR NEW INFRASTRUCTURE > 15 > > > > KANE ON RECORDS > 1 > > > > > > REILLY ON TREASURER?S OFFICE > 5 > > > > 3. INVENTORY OF PARTY ASSETS BY STULLER > 10 > > > > 4. BY-LAWS DISCUSSION > > > > NEED TO ADOPT ROBERTS? RULES OF ORDER (CURRENT EDITION) 5 > > > > NEED FOR ASSISTANT OR DEPUTY TREASURER > 5 > > > > NEED FOR REVISED SCC PROCEDURES AND SCHEDULING > 15 > > > > 5. CHAPTER REPORTS > 15 > > > > 6. COMMITTEE REPORTS. > 15 > > > > 7. NEW BUSINESS. > > * A. Ben Holden/Candidate nomination > * > > > __._,_.___ > Reply to sender| Reply > to group| Reply > via web post| Start > a New Topic > Messages in this topic( > 2) > Recent Activity: > > - New Members > 1 > > Visit Your Group > MARKETPLACE > > Get great advice about dogs and cats. Visit the Dog & Cat Answers Center. > ------------------------------ > > Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get > the Yahoo! Toolbar now. > [image: Yahoo! Groups] > Switch to: Text-Only, > Daily Digest? > Unsubscribe ? Terms > of Use > . > > __,_._,___ > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Fri May 27 15:50:02 2011 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Fri, 27 May 2011 15:50:02 -0400 Subject: {news} No on using RRO Re: [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] Re: SCC Meeting Location and agenda for meeting - hope this works References: <771670753.62846.1306523964264.JavaMail.root@sz0014a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net> Message-ID: Hi Michele, I think you misunderstood me. I oppose using Roberts Rules of Order, as does the Green Party of the US, and heretofore, GPCT. Again, as David Bedell indicated in his post, GPUS' use of consensus/modified consensus was a very deliberate choice over RRO as a more democratic way of facilitating meetings and making decisions. Historically, it was incorporated early on in the formation. I urge that we keep modified consensus decision making. Regards, Justine ----- Original Message ----- From: Michele Larocque To: Justine McCabe Cc: wtcards at earthlink.net ; CTGREENSNEWSLISTERVE NEWS ; CT Greens News Sent: Friday, May 27, 2011 3:19 PM Subject: Re: [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] Re: SCC Meeting Location and agenda for meeting - hope this works Hello Everyone. I will be at the meeting. I agree with Justine, we should utilize Roberts Rules. That works for me. Michele Larocque ----- Original Message ----- From: "Justine McCabe" To: wtcards at earthlink.net, "CTGREENSNEWSLISTERVE NEWS" , "CT Greens News" Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2011 11:54:39 PM Subject: Re: [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] Re: SCC Meeting Location and agenda for meeting - hope this works Dear all, Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the SCC meeting next Tuesday as I work until 7 pm. However, I do want to register a concern re: NEED TO ADOPT ROBERTS? RULES OF ORDER (CURRENT EDITION) The Green Party of the CT, in keeping with the Green Party of the US, has long rejected Roberts Rules of Order as an unnecessarily hierarchical way of facilitation and instead, uses modified consensus in all its decision making. Several year ago, in an effort to educate greens about this, the NW chapter hosted a daylong training on modified consensus with GPUS facilitator extraordinaire, Lynn Serpe from NY. Anyway, for those of you new to the GP, this is not a little issue, but significant in terms of process being the message. At some point, Judy Herkimer and I would be happy to provide an intro to this different way of making decisions. It is one where consensus is the goal, and votes are taken only when there is a blocking concern from someone in the group. Until then, I oppose the adoption of RRO for the GPCT. Best regards, Justine ----- Original Message ----- From: Ronna Stuller To: CTGREENSNEWSLISTERVE NEWS ; CT Greens News Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 11:44 PM Subject: [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] Re: SCC Meeting Location and agenda for meeting - hope this works GREEN PARTY OF CT STATE COORDINATING COMMITTEE MAY 31, 2011 MORY'S 306 YORK STREET, NEW HAVEN, CT. 6:30 PM AGENDA (90 MINUTES) APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PRIOR SCC MEETING 5 min. 1. FINANCES TREASURER?S REPORT 2 PROPOSED BUDGET FOR BALANCE OF 2011 (REQUIRES ACTION) 18 Proposed budget Redesign Website $ 3,000.00 Online Database $ 3,000.00 Press/Communications $ 5,000.00 Green Times $ 1,800.00 Electoral Action $10,000.00 Membership Drive $ 4,000.00 Misc./Contingency $ 3,200.00 TOTAL: $30,000.00 2. TRANSITION REPORT KRAYESKE ON NEED FOR NEW INFRASTRUCTURE 15 KANE ON RECORDS 1 REILLY ON TREASURER?S OFFICE 5 3. INVENTORY OF PARTY ASSETS BY STULLER 10 4. BY-LAWS DISCUSSION NEED TO ADOPT ROBERTS? RULES OF ORDER (CURRENT EDITION) 5 NEED FOR ASSISTANT OR DEPUTY TREASURER 5 NEED FOR REVISED SCC PROCEDURES AND SCHEDULING 15 5. CHAPTER REPORTS 15 6. COMMITTEE REPORTS. 15 7. NEW BUSINESS. A. Ben Holden/Candidate nomination __._,_.___ Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic Messages in this topic (2) Recent Activity: a.. New Members 1 Visit Your Group MARKETPLACE Get great advice about dogs and cats. Visit the Dog & Cat Answers Center. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now. Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest ? Unsubscribe ? Terms of Use. __,_._,___ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Sun May 29 09:16:39 2011 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Sun, 29 May 2011 09:16:39 -0400 Subject: {news} Re: using RRO Re: [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] References: <771670753.62846.1306523964264.JavaMail.root@sz0014a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net> <726936.41519.qm@web45116.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4EFB49B25A63463C9460B73E340339DA@JUSTINE> Patricia, I appreciate your view. In fact, besides the fact that it is more egalitarian and less hierarchical, consensus can be quite efficient, especially once people get the process and there is a good facilitator. I don't want to belabor this, but the consensus/modified consensus way of making decisions is no less a part of the Green Party ethos than the 4 pillars/10 key values. That is, GPUS (and GPCT at least in the past) has been interested in changing the way decisions and power are shared as much as in the content of various GPUS policies. Thus, Greens would argue that the particular "route" to our goals does matter. Justine ----- Original Message ----- From: Patricia Kane To: Justine McCabe Cc: Ken Krayeske ; CTGREENSNEWSLISTERVE NEWS ; CT Greens News Sent: Friday, May 27, 2011 4:22 PM Subject: Re: using RRO Re: [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] Justine: Many organizations have used RRO because it was designed to facilitate a democratic process. Usually the people who don't like it don't take the time to learn how to use it. I'm sure we'll have a discussion on this proposal, but I for one would favor using RRO for a period of time and then re-evaluating the process to be used. Consensus is always desirable, but endless discussions can block action when needed. The SCC needs to be a place of action, not just discussion. I think there are many routes to the same goals. Patricia Kane ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Justine McCabe To: Michele Larocque Cc: wtcards at earthlink.net; CTGREENSNEWSLISTERVE NEWS ; CT Greens News Sent: Fri, May 27, 2011 3:50:02 PM Subject: No on using RRO Re: [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] Re: SCC Meeting Location and agenda for meeting - hope this works ? Hi Michele, I think you misunderstood me. I oppose using Roberts Rules of Order, as does the Green Party of the US, and heretofore, GPCT. Again, as David Bedell indicated in his post, GPUS' use of consensus/modified consensus was a very deliberate choice over RRO as a more democratic way of facilitating meetings and making decisions. Historically, it was incorporated early on in the formation. I urge that we keep modified consensus decision making. Regards, Justine ----- Original Message ----- From: Michele Larocque To: Justine McCabe Cc: wtcards at earthlink.net ; CTGREENSNEWSLISTERVE NEWS ; CT Greens News Sent: Friday, May 27, 2011 3:19 PM Subject: Re: [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] Re: SCC Meeting Location and agenda for meeting - hope this works Hello Everyone. I will be at the meeting. I agree with Justine, we should utilize Roberts Rules. That works for me. Michele Larocque ----- Original Message ----- From: "Justine McCabe" To: wtcards at earthlink.net, "CTGREENSNEWSLISTERVE NEWS" , "CT Greens News" Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2011 11:54:39 PM Subject: Re: [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] Re: SCC Meeting Location and agenda for meeting - hope this works Dear all, Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the SCC meeting next Tuesday as I work until 7 pm. However, I do want to register a concern re: NEED TO ADOPT ROBERTS? RULES OF ORDER (CURRENT EDITION) The Green Party of the CT, in keeping with the Green Party of the US, has long rejected Roberts Rules of Order as an unnecessarily hierarchical way of facilitation and instead, uses modified consensus in all its decision making. Several year ago, in an effort to educate greens about this, the NW chapter hosted a daylong training on modified consensus with GPUS facilitator extraordinaire, Lynn Serpe from NY. Anyway, for those of you new to the GP, this is not a little issue, but significant in terms of process being the message. At some point, Judy Herkimer and I would be happy to provide an intro to this different way of making decisions. It is one where consensus is the goal, and votes are taken only when there is a blocking concern from someone in the group. Until then, I oppose the adoption of RRO for the GPCT. Best regards, Justine ----- Original Message ----- From: Ronna Stuller To: CTGREENSNEWSLISTERVE NEWS ; CT Greens News Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 11:44 PM Subject: [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] Re: SCC Meeting Location and agenda for meeting - hope this works GREEN PARTY OF CT STATE COORDINATING COMMITTEE MAY 31, 2011 MORY'S 306 YORK STREET, NEW HAVEN, CT. 6:30 PM AGENDA (90 MINUTES) APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PRIOR SCC MEETING 5 min. 1. FINANCES TREASURER?S REPORT 2 PROPOSED BUDGET FOR BALANCE OF 2011 (REQUIRES ACTION) 18 Proposed budget Redesign Website $ 3,000.00 Online Database $ 3,000.00 Press/Communications $ 5,000.00 Green Times $ 1,800.00 Electoral Action $10,000.00 Membership Drive $ 4,000.00 Misc./Contingency $ 3,200.00 TOTAL: $30,000.00 2. TRANSITION REPORT KRAYESKE ON NEED FOR NEW INFRASTRUCTURE 15 KANE ON RECORDS 1 REILLY ON TREASURER?S OFFICE 5 3. INVENTORY OF PARTY ASSETS BY STULLER 10 4. BY-LAWS DISCUSSION NEED TO ADOPT ROBERTS? RULES OF ORDER (CURRENT EDITION) 5 NEED FOR ASSISTANT OR DEPUTY TREASURER 5 NEED FOR REVISED SCC PROCEDURES AND SCHEDULING 15 5. CHAPTER REPORTS 15 6. COMMITTEE REPORTS. 15 7. NEW BUSINESS. A. Ben Holden/Candidate nomination __._,_.___ Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic Messages in this topic (1) Recent Activity: a.. New Members 1 Visit Your Group MARKETPLACE Find useful articles and helpful tips on living with Fibromyalgia. Visit the Fibromyalgia Zone today! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now. Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest ? Unsubscribe ? Terms of Use. __,_._,___ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From westerfield at sysmatrix.net Mon May 30 11:24:06 2011 From: westerfield at sysmatrix.net (Michael Westerfield) Date: Mon, 30 May 2011 11:24:06 -0400 Subject: {news} Re: using RRO Re: [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] In-Reply-To: <4EFB49B25A63463C9460B73E340339DA@JUSTINE> References: <771670753.62846.1306523964264.JavaMail.root@sz0014a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net> <726936.41519.qm@web45116.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> <4EFB49B25A63463C9460B73E340339DA@JUSTINE> Message-ID: I would argue that the consensus/modified consensus process is so central to the nature of the Green Party that if the Connecticut Green Party abandoned it in favor of Robert's Rules, then the group could no longer call itself a Green Party. At the very least, the decision to change would be so momentous that it should not be placed on a normal meeting Agenda, but should be the subject of serious discussion and every attempt would have to be made to give every CTGP member a chance to be involved in the discussion, before placing it on the Agenda for the annual party convention/annual meeting. Michael Westerfield On Sun, May 29, 2011 at 9:16 AM, Justine McCabe wrote: > > > ? > Patricia, > I appreciate your view. In fact, besides the fact that it is more > egalitarian and less hierarchical, consensus can be quite efficient, > especially once people get the process and there is a good facilitator. > > I don't want to belabor this, but the consensus/modified consensus way of > making decisions is no less a part of the Green Party ethos than the 4 > pillars/10 key values. That is, GPUS (and GPCT at least in the past) has > been interested in changing the way decisions and power are shared as much > as in the content of various GPUS policies. Thus, Greens would argue that > the particular "route" to our goals does matter. > > Justine > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Patricia Kane > *To:* Justine McCabe > *Cc:* Ken Krayeske ; CTGREENSNEWSLISTERVE NEWS; CT > Greens News > *Sent:* Friday, May 27, 2011 4:22 PM > *Subject:* Re: using RRO Re: [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] > > Justine: > Many organizations have used RRO because it was designed to > facilitate a democratic process. Usually the > people who don't like it don't take the time to learn how to use it. > I'm sure we'll have a discussion on this proposal, but I for > one would favor using RRO for a period of time and > then re-evaluating the process to be used. > Consensus is always desirable, but endless discussions can > block action when needed. The SCC needs to be > a place of action, not just discussion. > I think there are many routes to the same goals. > > Patricia Kane > > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Justine McCabe > *To:* Michele Larocque > *Cc:* wtcards at earthlink.net; CTGREENSNEWSLISTERVE NEWS < > ctgreenparty at yahoogroups.com>; CT Greens News > *Sent:* Fri, May 27, 2011 3:50:02 PM > *Subject:* No on using RRO Re: [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] Re: SCC Meeting Location > and agenda for meeting - hope this works > > > > ? > Hi Michele, > > I think you misunderstood me. I oppose using Roberts Rules of Order, as > does the Green Party of the US, and heretofore, GPCT. Again, as David > Bedell indicated in his post, GPUS' use of consensus/modified consensus was > a very deliberate choice over RRO as a more democratic way of facilitating > meetings and making decisions. Historically, it was incorporated early on in > the formation. I urge that we keep modified consensus decision making. > > > Regards, > Justine > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Michele Larocque > *To:* Justine McCabe > *Cc:* wtcards at earthlink.net ; CTGREENSNEWSLISTERVE NEWS; CT > Greens News > *Sent:* Friday, May 27, 2011 3:19 PM > *Subject:* Re: [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] Re: SCC Meeting Location and agenda for > meeting - hope this works > > Hello Everyone. > > I will be at the meeting. I agree with Justine, we should utilize Roberts > Rules. That works for me. > > Michele Larocque > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Justine McCabe" > To: wtcards at earthlink.net, "CTGREENSNEWSLISTERVE NEWS" < > ctgreenparty at yahoogroups.com>, "CT Greens News" > Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2011 11:54:39 PM > Subject: Re: [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] Re: SCC Meeting Location and agenda for > meeting - hope this works > > > > Dear all, > > Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the SCC meeting next Tuesday as > I work until 7 pm. > However, I do want to register a concern re: NEED TO ADOPT ROBERTS? RULES > OF ORDER (CURRENT EDITION) > > The Green Party of the CT, in keeping with the Green Party of the US, has > long rejected Roberts Rules of Order as an unnecessarily hierarchical way of > facilitation and instead, uses modified consensus in all its decision > making. Several year ago, in an effort to educate greens about this, the > NW chapter hosted a daylong training on modified consensus with > GPUS facilitator *extraordinaire*, Lynn Serpe from NY. > > Anyway, for those of you new to the GP, this is not a little issue, but > significant in terms of process being the message. > At some point, Judy Herkimer and I would be happy to provide an intro to > this different way of making decisions. It is one where consensus is the > goal, and votes are taken only when there is a blocking concern from someone > in the group. > > Until then, I oppose the adoption of RRO for the GPCT. > > Best regards, > Justine > > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Ronna Stuller > *To:* CTGREENSNEWSLISTERVE NEWS ; CT Greens > News > *Sent:* Wednesday, May 25, 2011 11:44 PM > *Subject:* [CTGREENPARTYNEWS] Re: SCC Meeting Location and agenda for > meeting - hope this works > > > > > GREEN PARTY OF CT > > STATE COORDINATING COMMITTEE > > MAY 31, 2011 > MORY'S > 306 YORK STREET, NEW HAVEN, CT. > 6:30 PM > > > > *AGENDA (90 MINUTES)* > > ** > > ** > > APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PRIOR SCC MEETING > 5 min. > > > > 1. FINANCES > > TREASURER?S REPORT 2 > > > > PROPOSED BUDGET FOR BALANCE OF 2011 (REQUIRES ACTION) 18 > * Proposed budget* > Redesign Website $ 3,000.00 > Online Database $ 3,000.00 > Press/Communications $ 5,000.00 > Green Times $ 1,800.00 > Electoral Action $10,000.00 > Membership Drive $ 4,000.00 > Misc./Contingency $ 3,200.00 > TOTAL: $30,000.00 > > > > > 2. TRANSITION REPORT > > > > KRAYESKE ON NEED FOR NEW INFRASTRUCTURE > 15 > > > > KANE ON RECORDS > 1 > > > > > > REILLY ON TREASURER?S OFFICE > 5 > > > > 3. INVENTORY OF PARTY ASSETS BY STULLER > 10 > > > > 4. BY-LAWS DISCUSSION > > > > NEED TO ADOPT ROBERTS? RULES OF ORDER (CURRENT EDITION) 5 > > > > NEED FOR ASSISTANT OR DEPUTY TREASURER > 5 > > > > NEED FOR REVISED SCC PROCEDURES AND SCHEDULING > 15 > > > > 5. CHAPTER REPORTS > 15 > > > > 6. COMMITTEE REPORTS. > 15 > > > > 7. NEW BUSINESS. > > * A. Ben Holden/Candidate nomination > * > > > __._,_.___ > Reply to sender| Reply > to group| Reply > via web post| Start > a New Topic > Messages in this topic( > 1) > Recent Activity: > > - New Members > 1 > > Visit Your Group > [image: Yahoo! Groups] > Switch to: Text-Only, > Daily Digest? > Unsubscribe ? Terms > of Use > . > > __,_._,___ > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rstuller at snet.net Tue May 31 23:36:14 2011 From: rstuller at snet.net (Ronna Stuller) Date: Tue, 31 May 2011 23:36:14 -0400 Subject: {news} Asset inventory Message-ID: <65EB1BA3-6F74-4D44-B62B-5FBA54C72904@snet.net> Hi all, As promised at tonight's SCC meeting, I am attaching the beginnings of an inventory of CT Green Party assets - including the following general categories: money and materials; people and positions; education and outreach. There are A LOT of gaps, so it would be very helpful and highly appreciated, if you have information to add, if you'd get it to me to help complete the list. Thank you! Ronna -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: CTGP asset inventory.rtf Type: text/rtf Size: 9856 bytes Desc: not available URL: