Green Party Peace Network (GPPN)

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Green Party Peace Network — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 03:34:19 +0000

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Before you enlist….

Green Party Peace Network — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:07:50 +0000

….watch this video:

Tell your school board a thing or two about ASVAB testing in schools.

Green Party Peace Network — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:01:05 +0000

Forwarded from Maryland Green Party member Pat Elder who is very active in the United for Peace and Justice Anti-Recruitment Campaign

The Green Party Platform Section on Education contains this statement: “The Leave No Child Behind Act must be repealed, especially the section that gives the military access to student records.”

Tue, 22 Jan 2008

We held a spirited demonstration yesterday at the corporate headquarters of Lockheed Martin in suburban Washington to honor Dr. Martin Luther King and to draw attention to Lockheed’s insidious record. Lockheed produces the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS). Each MLRS can fire up to 12 rockets at
once, and each rocket contains 644 M77 submunitions, or cluster bombs. Each
bomblet can kill up to a 12 foot radius. The damn things don’t all explode
and innocent children are regularly killed by these devices produced by my
Lockheed neighbor..

I helped to organize the event and 30 of us proceeded to the empty compound
where we were met by 26 heavily armed police officers assembled at the front
gate of the weaponeer. We made brief speeches invoking the memory of the
slain civil rights leader and we noted that Bush administration officials
defended the use of cluster munitions at the U.N. last week.

It was a brief protest. After all, it was cold and no one was listening
anyway. Then it hit me.

I walked away from the demonstration with two heavily-bundled activists
carrying their signs about Lockheed and the war and I asked them if they’d
received my emails about sending a letter to their school board about the
ASVAB. They’d received the emails but they were uncomfortable about sending
the letter. I couldn’t decipher exactly why they were so reluctant to get
involved in this campaign. These are folks who have been arrested on
several occasions because of their passionate beliefs, but felt
uncomfortable about sending a letter to their school board. One told me she
felt she didn’t understand the nuances of the issue sufficiently to take a
stand that way. The other said he wasn’t “one to send letters.” When I
explained that the work was already done and all they had to do was click on
a few links to familiarize themselves with the issue, they both responded
that they were more comfortable sticking with the street protests.

O.K.

When are people gonna get it? I participated in that event because it felt
good and I got off carrying a sign with a great MLK quote. There’s
something deeply ingratiating about street demonstrations, but they’ve not
been effective in stopping this war. Counter recruitment is different
because we are being effective. We are being successful.

I posted this ASVAB LETTER TEMPLATE a week ago and I received two emails
from people who promised to send letters to their school boards. C’mon! We
can break the back of the ASVAB as a recruiting tool if folks on this list
would send the letter to their school superintendents and school boards.
You don’t even have to risk arrest! Please, set aside a half hour and study
this. Then, send a letter to your superintendent and school board. For
more on the ASVAB, see: http://www.nnomy.org/> www.nnomy.org and
click on ASVAB.

- Pat Elder
—————

ASVAB LETTER TEMPLATE
Your organization
Your Town, US
DATE

Superintendent of Schools
Address

Dear Superintendent ___________________:

We are writing to ask you to protect the privacy of students in the ________
Public Schools who take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery,
(ASVAB).

Although ___________ Public School System promotes the ASVAB as a voluntary
“Career Exploration Program” administered to juniors and seniors, the US
Army Recruiting Command’s School Recruiting Program Handbook says the
primary purpose of the ASVAB is to provide military recruiters “with a
source of leads of high school juniors and seniors qualified through the
ASVAB for enlistment into the Active Army and Army Reserve.” See page 6:
http://www.usarec.army.mil/im/formpub/REC_PUBS/p350_13.pdf>
http://www.usarec.army.mil/im/formpub/REC_PUBS/p350_13.pdf

Unless a school district takes measures to protect student privacy, the data
from the ASVAB is automatically forwarded to military recruiting services.
This practice runs counter to the opt-out provision of Section 9528 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and we believe may violate (insert
your state) law regarding student privacy.

Children who sit for the ASVAB are required to sign a “Privacy Statement”
that gives permission to the military to use private information and test
results for recruiting purposes. See DoD Form 1304-5AS:

http://www.nnomy.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_weblinks&task=vie
w&catid=205&id=49>
http://www.nnomy.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_weblinks&task=view&catid=20
5&id=49

This form is usually signed by students without the consent of their
parents, a practice that may run counter to (your state’s) laws that protect
the privacy rights of minors. (See this brief by the National Lawyers
Guild, Los Angeles Chapter.)

http://www.nlg-la.org/Final ASVAB Memo.pdf>
http://www.nlg-la.org/Final%20ASVAB%20Memo.pdf

In the last year, three of the nation’s largest school systems, Montgomery
and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland and the Los Angeles Unified School
District have taken steps pursuant to military regulations that allow for
the administration of the test but preclude test data from falling into the
hands of military recruiters.

The U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command identifies 8 options schools
have regarding the administration and release of ASVAB information. These
options range from Option 1, which permits test results and other student
information to be released to military recruiters without prior consent, to
Option 8, which requires active consent to release the ASVAB test results
and private information. School officials typically cite the importance of
ensuring student privacy when selecting Option 8. Inaction on the part of a
school system will cause the military to automatically select Option 1.

The Montgomery district requires students to have a signed parental
permission form to take the test.

See USMEPCOM Regulation 601.4 Personnel Procurement Student Testing Program
25 July, 2005, pages 12 & 13 for an explanation of the various options
available to public school systems:
http://www.mepcom.army.mil/publications/pdf/regs/r-0601-004.pdf>
http://www.mepcom.army.mil/publications/pdf/regs/r-0601-004.pdf

Sincerely,

Greens back Indian Trust lawsuit against Interior Department over billions in broken obligations, mismanaged funds, and appropriated natural resources

Green Party Peace Network — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:06:05 +0000

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

WASHINGTON, DC — Green Party leaders and candidates expressed support for an ongoing class-action lawsuit to force the US Interior Department to account for billions of dollars owed to Native Americans since the late 19th century.

“Since the 1880s, the US government has failed to make good on its promise to provide Native Americans payment for mining, oil and gas extraction, timber, and grazing on their homelands. It’s time for the US to reverse hundreds of years of broken treaties and stolen resources, account for the breach of Indian Trust obligations, and restore honesty,” said Rodger Jennings, Green candidate for Congress in Illinois (12th District) .

Filed in 1996, Cobell v. Norton (later renamed Cobell v. Kempthorne) addresses funds belonging to about a half million Native Americans and their heirs. In 1999, Judge Royce Lamberth held Clinton Administration officials (especially Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin) in contempt of court for stonewalling, destruction of documents, and misrepresentations before the court.

More recently, the US Court of Appeals sided with the federal government and removed Judge Lamberth from the case, rejecting the judge’s findings of evasion and malfeasance and his charges of racism.

The Bush Administration is now taking steps to limit the government’s liability and to ensure that only 1.3% of the trust accounts are reconciled, which means only a tiny fraction of those covered under the trust plan might see some form of restitution.

Greens, calling on the Bush Administration to honor the financial debt of the US government to Native Americans, also expressed frustration with the White House’s recent violations of treaties and agreements.

“Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne is taking action to limit drastically the scope of payments owed to Native Americans. He’s trying to get his department off the hook on its obligation to account for the historical theft of billions of dollars when white-owned firms were allowed to profit from natural resources on Indian land. His actions are consistent with the Bush Administration’s refusal to honor numerous treaties signed by the US, from the Kyoto Accords to the Geneva prohibitions against torture,” said Rebecca Rotzler, an Alaskan Native, a former co-chair of the Green Party of the United States, and an elected Green.

For further details, background information, and recent news on Cobell v. Kempthorne, see:

Indian Trust: Cobell v. Kempthorne
http://www.indiantrust.com/

“Interior again shifts duty to account for Indian trust,” Indianz.com, December 5, 2007
http://www.indianz.com/News/2007/006198.asp

Justice Department documents
http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/cobell/

Findlaw page
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=DC&navby=case&no=025374A

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193

Green Party News Center
http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml

Green Party Speakers Bureau
http://www.gp.org/speakers

Green candidate database for 2007 and other campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml

Media credentialing
http://www.gp.org/committees/media/kit.shtml
~ END ~

North Carolina Green Elected to School of the Americas Watch Board of Directors

Green Party Peace Network — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:29:48 +0000

Gray Newman, member of the North Carolina Green Party, has been elected to the School of the Americas Watch Board of Directors.

Newman has been active with the SOAW for a number of years and attends the Close the School of the Americas event each November.

In addition to his sate party, Newman contributes to the Green Party of the United States by serving on the Green Party Peace Action Committee (GPAX) and participating in the Green Party Peace Network.

Newman also serves as Chairman and Election Board Supervisor on the Mecklenburg Soil & Water Conservation Board

Answers from a Green to a 14 year old on Voting

Green Party Peace Network — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 15:28:57 +0000

A 14 year old student recently interviewed Maine Green on Voting as part of her Civics class. The questions she asked:

1. What are some things you consider when you are choosing a candidate?

2. What are some things you would want the candidate to do or change after becoming president?

3. Do you think that one vote can make a difference and why?

4. Through all the years you’ve been voting how has the process changed?

5. What party do you belong to and why?

6. How long have you been voting and why?

And the answers that were given:

1. What are some things you consider when you are choosing a candidate?

The first things I look for are the candidate’s positions on the issues of the day. For example, what is the candidate’s position on the war in Iraq, universal healthcare for all American citizens, funding for public school and colleges, the environment, clean air, clean water? Should the government be spying on American citizens? Should our Bill of Rights be thrown out? Should Americans have the right to privacy without government interference?

And where does the candidate see the United States’ being 20 , 30, 50 years from now.

The original inhabitants of the United States….the American Indians never made a decision without asking themselves…What effect will this have on us seven generations from now. They thought and planned for the future.

2. What are some things you would want the candidate to do or change after becoming president?

The first thing that the new President of the United States should do is stop the war in Iraq immediately….The US spends $500,000 a minute in Iraq every day. Nearly 4,000 American soldiers have been killed and somewhere between 28,000 and 50,000 have been wounded, lost arms, legs, eyes, etc.

And nearly 100,000 Iraq men, women, and children have been killed. The cost to Americans growing up in the next 30 years will be over $2 trillion dollars.

There should be healthcare for every American man, woman, and child. Right now about 46 million Americans can’t afford to see a doctor or have a needed operation. Every other Western industrialized country has government paid health care for every citizen….England, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Italy, etc….The World Health Organization says that France has the best healthcare system in the world and it costs them a third less than healthcare costs Americans.

The United States has publicly funded schools, libraries, fire departments, police departments, highways….We have social security and Medicare. We should also have healthcare for everyone. The majority of Americans agree with that even if their taxes might be a bit higher.

The most important resource that any country has is its people. We should have the best educated people in the world. Our young people should have the very finest schools and teachers in the world. Students should have access to the best art and music programs available and the best science labs and physical education facilities.

Something else that should be changed is the way elections are run. Millions of dollars are spent on endless campaigns and people soon get tired of them.. In England and other countries political campaigns last just a month and a half or so. Also the campaigns should be publicly funded. Too much of the money comes from the large corporations and companies. And the candidate with the most money usually wins because he/she can afford a lot of television/radio/magazine/internet coverage.

3. Do you think that one vote can make a difference and why?

Yes, one vote can make a difference….Here are three examples:

In the 1854 election for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 7th District of Illinois, Democratic candidate James C. Allenbested got 8,452 votes and the Republican candidate William B. Archer gote 8,452 to 8,451. One vote changed who got elected.

Later in the 1882 election for U.S. House of Representatives in the 1st District of Virginia, Readjuster ( a political party that no longer exists) Robert M. Mayo defeated Democrat George T. Garrison 10,505 to 10,504.

And closer to home in 1977, Vermont State Representative Sydney Nixon declared the winner by one vote, 570 to 569 ;however, Mr. Nixon resigned when the State House determined, after a recount, that he had lost to Robert Emond, 572 to 571. There are dozens more examples in US history of how one vote made a difference in who got elected.

Whether the vote made a difference in public policy and the laws that were or were not passed is another matter. But a single vote meant a lot to the folks who lost or won the election.

4. Through all the years you’ve been voting how has the process changed?

I’ve been voting since 1964, and there have been significant changes. The two biggest changes were brought about by television and the huge amounts of money spent on campaigns. Candidates have public relations experts who sell them to the public as if they were soap or soda or cars. The candidates are taught to dress just right and say the right things and look just right.

Millions upon millions of dollars are now spent on political campaigns for public relations teams and television coverage and travel expenses, buses, trains, and airplanes.The candidates also have so called experts to advise them on what to say and not to say…This all takes money.

If you are a good looking person with 200 million dollars you might have a good change on getting elected president no matter what you stand on the issues might be. If you are an unattractive person without a lot of money your chances of getting elected are not good….even if the majority of the people in the country agree with you on the issues. Unless you can afford to get your face on television all the time you don’t have a chance.

An example might be Dennis Kucinich the congressman from Ohio. He does not have the money that candidates like Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Barak Obama, Senator John McCain and other candidates do so the news media….newspapers, television, radio…do not take him seriously even though the vast majority of Americans agree with him on the war in Iraq and universal healthcare.

If the campaign season were only 6 weeks long and all the candidates had public funding….if they had basically the same amount of money each…we would have a better democracy.

5. What party do you belong to and why?

I was a Democrat for many years, but now I am a member of the Green party and a delegate to its national convention. I left the Democratic Party when I failed to see that they were any different from the Republicans. Democrats traditionally were the party of the workers in this country. They fought for higher wages, better working conditions, and healthcare. Recently they have become too much like the Republicans who traditionally were the party of big business, the bosses, and the very rich. I see very little difference between those two parties now.

I became a Green because I believe in the following

1. Every human being deserves a say in the decisions that affect their lives and not be subject to the will of another.

2. All persons should have the rights and opportunity to benefit equally from the resources afforded us by society and the environment. A small group of people should not have all the wealth while the workers who produce the wealth get much less. The head of a company should not get hundreds of times more pay than a worker does.

.3. Human societies must operate with the understanding that we are part of nature, not separate from nature. We must maintain an ecological balance and live within the ecological and resource limits of our communities and our planet.

4. It is absolutely essential that we develop effective alternatives to society’s current patterns of violence. I believe we should to demilitarize, and eliminate weapons of mass destruction, without being naive about the intentions of other governments. We should learn to talk to the leaders and the people of other countries. After all we all share the same planet.

6. I believe that it is essential to create a vibrant and sustainable economic system, one that can create jobs and provide a decent standard of living for all people while maintaining a healthy ecological balance. A successful economic system will offer meaningful work with dignity, while paying a living wage which reflects the real value of a person’s work.

7. We have inherited a social system based on male domination of politics and economics. Females in this country still make less money than their mail counterparts even though they women do the exact same job as the men. That is not fair or just.

9. I believe it is important to value cultural, ethnic, racial, sexual, religious and spiritual diversity, and to promote the development of respectful relationship among people everywhere. What you believe and hold to be the truth is just as important as what I believe.

10. All of our actions and policies should be motivated by long-term goals. We seek to protect valuable natural resources, safely disposing of or “unmaking” all waste we create, while developing a sustainable economics that does not depend on continual expansion for survival. For example, why hasn’t there been long term planning for alternatives to oil and coal. The oil supply on the earth will not last forever…It may run out in the next 50 years.

An example of why I dropped out of the Democratic Party and why I see little difference between Democrats and Republicans is this. I dropped out of the Democratic party a number of years ago because the Democrats are not a serious party any more.

It all came brilliantly clear to me last night while I was watching “Big Sugar” a documentary on the sugar industry broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Company. This documentary surely would not be shown in the United States.

Two Cuban brothers Alfonso and Pepe Fanjul run over 70% of the sugar industry in the US. They have a 250,000 acre sugar plantation in the Dominican Republic. The workers there have to cut at least a ton of sugar cane daily in order to earn two dollars which they use to buy a small bag of rice for their
families to eat. They have one meal a day and the children mainly eat sugar cane as their daily diet. Can you imagine what your teeth would look like after a constant diet of just sugar? No meat, no vegetables, no milk, no bread, no eggs.

Basically this is slavery…yes…right here in 2008. But this is the best part!!

One brother Alfonso is the token family Republican. He is best buddies with Jeb and George Bush. Pepe is the token family Democrat. He is best friends with Bill Clinton. For their investment of $465,000 in politics the brothers get back over $50,000,000 in subsidies from the United States government As a result we in the US pay three times as much for sugar as folks do in Canada or Europe. You may have noticed that Life Savers are now made in Canada because Canadian companies buy their sugar from Cuba which charges less for the sugar.

When Al Gore was Vice President he gave a speech in Florida suggesting a one cent tax on sugar in order to pay for the cleanup of the Everglades which the sugar folks use as their industrial toilet, Pepe called
straight to the White House and talked to the Democratic President Bill Clinton. And Clinton told Gore to forget about the one cent tax on sugar.

So while people debated if John Kerry was electable or whether this Democrat or this Republican should run. It didn’t really make a difference because if you have the money you have a better chance to participate in politics.We don’t have a democracy; we have an auction. The highest bidder wins.

6. How long have you been voting and why?

I have voted in every election since 1964. Actually I voted earlier than that. I was elected vice president of the student council at Gorham High School in 1957. And in 1958 I was elected president by a vote of 102 to 10…and there were two candidates running against me. I even voted absentee when I was a patient in a hospital.

I vote because I find politics to be interesting. Everything is political. The price of gas, the price of clothes, the price of cars, the books you are allowed to read, the television shows you are allowed to watch are all political decisions. There are also politicians who would like to determine who you are allowed to love, whether or not you can have an abortion, which religion you should belong to……Any decision that affects the public in anyway is basically a political decision.

I am not interested in sports unless I know the people playing so politics takes the place of sports for me.

And one last thing. Public policy is too important to be left to just one day of voting every four years. Every day there are things that good citizens can do to make life better for themselves, their parents, and their future children. People can become aware of the important issues by reading books and discussing things with other people.

And when you have opinions…write letters to the editors of local newspapers, visit your Congresspeople and Senators’ offices, join organizations that share your views on the issues. For example, besides being a member of the Green Party, I belong to the War Resisters League, War Tax Resistance, the American Civil Liberties Union, Veterans for Peace, Military Families Speak Out, and the Eastern Maine Peace and Justice Center.

Joining groups and organizing other people can make an impact of your local politicians.

Years ago a group of people went to the White House to meet with President Franklin Roosevelt to discuss with him an issue they were concerned about. When they were about to leave President Roosevelt said,”I agree with you 100%. Now your job is to go out there and put pressure on me to do the right thing.”

By pressure he meant…write letters, organize, hold vigils, march in the streets if need be.

And the best thing you can do politically is to get involved and run for office yourself some day. And it doesn’t have to be for president….run for a town office or a state office. Remember Michael Moore got elected to his school board when he was a senior in high school.

UPDATE: Campaign 2008: A PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE THAT MATTERS

Green Party Peace Network — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 12:31:35 +0000

Two more candidates will join this debate!

 Cynthia McKinney~Ralph Nader~Jared Ball~Kent Mesplay

Kat Swift~Jesse Johnson

Hosted and moderated by

Cindy Sheehan along with

Aimee Allison

Matt Gonzalez

Gayle McLaughlin

Ross Mirkarimi

Mark Sanchez

Sunday, January 13, 2008

HERBST THEATER
Veteran’s Memorial Bldg.
401 Van Ness Ave.(opposite City Hall)
San Francisco
(3 blocks from Civic Center BART)

YOURFUTUREYOURPLANETYOURPARTY
register GREEN

$10–25 donation (sliding scale)

Sponsored by the Green
Party of Alameda County, the San Francisco Green Party and the Sacramento County Green Party

For more information:
www.acgreens.org/debate (510) 644-2293

Greens Protest The Exclusion Of Antiwar Candidates From Democratic And Republican Primary Debates

Green Party Peace Network — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 03:52:12 +0000

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

Barring of Kucinich, Gravel, and Paul amounts to censorship of candidates whose positions are unacceptable to the Democratic and Republican parties, major media, and their corporate sponsors, say Greens

First Green presidential candidates’ debate set for San Francisco on Sunday, January 13

WASHINGTON, DC — Green Party leaders and candidates protested the exclusion of Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel, and Ron Paul from primary presidential debates sponsored by major news organizations.

Greens noted that Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Gravel, and Mr. Paul hold strong positions against the Iraq war and other Bush policies, in agreement with most Americans but contrary to the positions of other Democrats and Republicans running for the White House.

Mr. Kucinich, like the Green Party, favors single-payer national health care, unlike his fellow Democratic presidential candidates and the major media, which rely on corporate campaign contributions and advertising dollars from insurance firms, HMOs, and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Mr. Kucinich was excluded from an ABC TV debate on January 5.

The six candidates for the Green Party’s presidential nomination, all of whom oppose the war, will be featured in upcoming Green debates. The first debate will take place in San Francisco on January 13 <http://www.gp.org/press/pr-state.php?ID=9>. The nomination will be decided at the Green Party’s 2008 national convention, July 10-13 in Chicago.

Jody Grage, treasurer of the Green Party of the United States: “In democratic elections, voters have a right to be informed about all the candidates whose names they’ll see on the ballot. Fox and ABC TV have violated the public interest and their licenses to use the publicly owned airwaves. They’re acting like the official news bureaus of dictatorships.”

Jason Wallace, peace activist, Iraq War veteran, and Green candidate for Congress in Illinois (11th district) <http://www.electwallace.us>: “It’s no accident that Kucinich, Gravel, and Paul — the most vocal opponents of the Iraq invasion — are getting shut out of the debates. While the Democratic and Republican parties and big media conglomerates try to close down serious public discussion over the Iraq war, the Green Party’s ‘Peace Slate’ will continue to represent the opinion of most Americans, whom poll after poll have shown oppose the war. On Election Day 2008, the only truly antiwar candidates on the ballot will be from the Green Party or another third party or will be independent.”

Rodger Jennings, Green candidate for Congress in Illinois (12th District) <http://www.rodgerjennings.org>: “The Democratic and Republican parties and media companies like Fox and ABC have censored the opinions of the majority of Americans, who want to see a quick end to the Iraq War. It’s revealing that Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee won in Iowa. Among the frontrunners within their respective parties, they’ve been the most critical of President Bush’s foreign policies. But Mr. Huckabee has only criticized the Bush Administration’s strategic blunders in Iraq, rather the war itself. While Mr. Obama has opposed the war, he only favors a vague and delayed timetable for partial withdrawal of troops, which suggests that the occupation will continue in some form regardless of which Democratic frontrunner might be elected in November. Mr. Obama has also added his voice to the military threat against Iran, and says nothing about holding the Bush Administration and war profiteers accountable for their crimes. Unfortunately, voters are being denied the chance to hear the real antiwar candidates and are being told that Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel, and Ron Paul shouldn’t be taken seriously.”

John Walsh, Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party delegate to the Green Party’s National Committee: “In recent elections, the Commission on Presidential Debates, the corporate-owned body controlled by the two established parties, has only allowed Democratic and Republican presidential candidates and has barred Green, independent, and other candidates from participating. We urge all Americans — especially those who oppose bipartisan warhawk policies on Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran — to speak out in demand of fair elections and election coverage, and inclusion of all qualified candidates in the debates, regardless of their positions or party memberships.”

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193

Green Party News Center
http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml

Green Party Speakers Bureau
http://www.gp.org/speakers

Green candidate database for 2007 and other
campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml

Media credentialing
http://www.gp.org/committees/media/kit.shtml

Becoming “peace educators” instead of chest-thumping

Green Party Peace Network — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:00:20 +0000

Written by Maryrose Asher of the Green Party of Washington State

Wish it was as easy as blaming all our country’s problems on Bush and Cheney. For sure, we’ve had almost 30 years of Reaganomics, even through the Clinton years. But, unfortunately, this building of empire has gone on a lot longer than that. We aren’t going to be able to make this a better country, or have any impact on improving life for those on this planet, unless we change the dynamics of our whole economic/political system and the corruption that has permeated it. We all need to talk about the benefits of peace and a peace economy…through running for office as Cindy Sheehan is doing, in giving talks in churches, union halls, and classrooms. Become “preachers of peace” and educate others on how an economic system based on values, not profits, would benefit us all. Just show them a graph of how much money we spend on military as opposed to health, social programs, or science, and help them to “envision” peace and what good we could be doing with all that money that now goes to war and the weapons of war. THAT’S the way we are going to make a difference and bring lasting change. Let’s become peace educators.

Info can be found at:

http://www.globalissues.org/Geopolitics/ArmsTrade/Spending.asp#InContextUSMilitarySpendingVersusRestoftheWorld

Keep in mind data is for years 2005-2006.The peace lobby, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, calculates for Fiscal Year 2006 that most of the US tax payers money goes towards war:

Tabulated data here

Green Presidential Debate

Green Party Peace Network — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 12:14:01 +0000

Greens announce ‘A Presidential Debate That Matters’ Jan. 13; diverse ballot includes former Rep. Cynthia McKinney, Ralph Nader; Cindy Sheehan will co-moderate

GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA NEWS RELEASE

SAN FRANCISCO – The first, and only, live debate between candidates on the Green Party’s California ballot for President of the United States – featuring a former Democratic Party member of Congress, consumer protection icon, professor and environmental engineer – is scheduled here January 13, said John Morton of the Green Presidential Debate Committee.

The debate will be held Sunday, January 13 at 2 p.m. at the Herbst Theater/Veterans Memorial Building, 401 Van Ness Avenue.

Six-time Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney, longtime consumer advocate Ralph Nader – who is still an undeclared candidate, university professor Jared Ball and environmental engineer Kent Mesplay will participate in ‘Campaign 2008: A Presidential Debate that Matters.’

‘Peace Mom’ Cindy Sheehan – a former Democrat – will co-moderate the debate, along with co-hosts San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, KPFA personality Aimee Allison and former President of SF Board of Supervisors Matt Gonzalez. Sheehan is running as an independent Congressional candidate against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco.

The event is open to the public with a suggested donation of $10-25. For more information go to http://www.acgreens.org/debate.

The debate is sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County, the San Francisco Green Party, the Sacramento County Green Party and endorsed by the Green Party of San Mateo County.

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Contacts:
Crescenzo Vellucci, State Press Office, 916-996-1970, scramaddr(“comcast.net”,”greenparty-press”)greenparty-press@comcast.net
Sara Amir (Los Angeles), 310-270-7106, scramaddr(“earthlink.net”,”saraamir”)saraamir@earthlink.net
Dr. Bob Vizzard (Sacramento), 916.206 8953, scramaddr(“earthlink.net”,”thevizz”)thevizz@earthlink.net
Susan King (San Francisco), 415-823-5524, scramaddr(“mindspring.com”,”funking”)funking@mindspring.com
The Green Party of California
http://www.cagreens.org
P.O. Box 2828, Sacramento, CA 95812
Phone: (916) 448-3437
EMail: scramaddr(“greens.org”,”gpca”)gpca@greens.org

Last updated: 01/05/2008 (BH)