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by Dave Schwab

Green Party calls Monsanto a top risk to public health and the environment, urges a moratorium on genetically modified food crops

May 17, 2013 in Ecological Wisdom & the Environment

green party earthflowerMarch Against Monsanto planned for May 25 in cities throughout the world

WASHINGTON, DC — Green Party leaders said today that biotech giant Monsanto and other powerful biotech companies and agribusinesses are wreaking havoc with the environment, exploiting farmers, and endangering the health of plants, animals, and humans throughout the world.

“Monsanto has gained enormous political power in the U.S., with its tentacles wrapped around Congress and the Obama Administration,” said Nancy Allen, former co-chair of the Green Party of the United States and Maine Green Independent Party, and organic small farmer for 40 years. “The reckless introduction of GMOs [genetically modified organisms] into agriculture is turning small farmers into serfs under Monsanto’s control, damaging biodiversity, and yielding crops that pose health risks to consumers, as well as livestock and plant populations.” Read the rest of this entry →

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by Dave Schwab

Canadian Greens break through in British Columbia

May 15, 2013 in International Greens

p andrew weaver teamFrom the Huffington Post:

The Green Party has finally broken through at the provincial level and will form a presence in British Columbia’s new government.

Andrew Weaver won the riding of Oak Bay – Gordon Head with 3,489 votes. It marks the first time that a member of the Green Party has been elected to B.C.’s legislature.

“We didn’t split the vote, we are the vote in Oak Bay – Gordon Head,” said Weaver during his victory to a crowd of supporters Tuesday evening. Read the rest of this entry →

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by Dave Schwab

Operation Green Jobs – Cheri Honkala to march on US Chamber of Commerce

May 10, 2013 in Social & Economic Justice

2012 Green Party Vice Presidential candidate Cheri Honkala and the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, together with Shut the Chamber and organizer Carl Gibson, will march with long-term unemployed Americans from Philadelphia to Washington DC from May 18-24 to demand investment in green jobs. From Shut the Chamber:

What are the most dire issues we face? If you’re like most Americans, you’d probably say the climate crisis and the jobs crisis. So why is Washington so obsessed with budget cuts and fossil fuels? Don’t ask members of Congress who have been purchased by corporate lobbyists, ask the ones with the receipts: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce. We’re leading a march of the long-term unemployed from Philadelphia, PA to Washington, DC directly to the Chamber’s front door.

Even while the US Chamber of Commerce has the word “JOBS” hung on the front of their building, they’ve been working overtime to lobby for job-killing austerity policies that punish the poor to cushion the rich. They’ve been spending millions to bring about the approval of the catastrophic Keystone XL pipeline while remaining silent on green energy programs that would save the climate and create jobs. So from May 18th to May 24th, a group of Americans who have been the hardest hit by the recession will march on the US Chamber of Commerce, holding them accountable for buying off Congress. Read the rest of this entry →

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by Dave Schwab

Stay out of Syria, says Green Shadow Cabinet Foreign Affairs branch

May 8, 2013 in Peace & Non-Violence

p leah bolger Statement of Leah Bolger, Secretary of Defense and David Swanson, Secretary of Peace, of the Foreign Affairs Branch of the Green Shadow Cabinet:

The Obama administration has seemingly painted itself into yet another military corner by announcing that use of chemical weapons by Syria would constitute a red line that would mandate military action on the part of the United States. Now we are hearing reports that the red line may have been crossed, and some prominent officials are calling for the U.S. to step up its aid to the rebels and/or impose a no-fly zone. Proponents of military action such as Secretary of State John Kerry and hawkish Senator John McCain seem to think that the U.S. can sort out the “good guys” in the Syrian civil war, and use U.S. military assets to help the rebels take down the Assad government.p david swanson

U.S. military involvement in Syria could only make things worse. Syria does not need a “no fly” zone. It needs a “no weaponizing” zone. The White House and its allies need to stop arming one side of a civil war, and to persuade Russia to stop arming the other. Further escalating the violence will result in nothing that could outweigh the damage of that violence.

The Netanyahu government in Israel has just raised the ante in this precarious situation by conducting air-to-ground missile attacks against Syria, undoubtedly with the tacit approval of the United States. Allowing Israel to attack Syria without consequences is not only the sanctioning of a crime; it also allows momentum to develop for greater violence and pushes peaceful resolution further out of reach. Diplomacy must be actively pursued before it is too late. Read the rest of this entry →

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by Dave Schwab

UK Green Party celebrates gains in local elections

May 8, 2013 in International Greens

From the UK Green Party:

p Natalie BennettTHE GREEN Party is today celebrating steady progress across the country in county and unitary elections, with the party having a new presence on six councils (Warwickshire, 2 councillors; Essex, 2; Surrey 1, Cornwall 1, Devon 1, Kent 1) and numbers doubling on Worcestershire County Council (to two) and Bristol Council (to four).

Green Party leader Natalie Bennett said:  “I would like to thank all those who worked tirelessly on the campaign with huge amounts of energy and commitment. We were encouraged all through the campaign to receive such a good response. We started this campaign with the aim of spreading much more widely across the country, winning seats on councils on which we had not previously been represented, and we’ve achieved that aim.” Read the rest of this entry →

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by Gregg Jocoy

South Carolina Green wins just under .5% in special congressional race

May 8, 2013 in General

South Caronlina Green Party stalwart Eugene Platt was unable to secure much in the way of press coverage, and was excluded from the only debate between after the Republican and Democratic nominations were finished. Despite being the only veteran in the race, and despite almost 30 years in elected office in the state, Platt was kept out of a debate sponsored by AOL owned “Charleston Patch” held at The Citadel.

The Democrats ran Elizabeth Colbert-Busch against disgraced former Governor Mark Sanford, famous for disappearing from the state to visit his paramour in Argentina. Colbert-Busch is the sister of Steven Colbert. Sanford beat Colbert-Busch by a 10 point margin.

The author of this report also submitted an article to Yahoo! Voices, which they have published. A link to that article is here.

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by Dave Schwab

Rochester Green Party announces slate of city candidates

May 3, 2013 in Local Elections

From the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle:

The local Green Party announced a first-ever slate of city candidates on Wednesday, hoping to break Democrats’ grip on City Hall and the school board.

rochester green slate bannerOthers have run for local office. But this is the first year that the Green Party fielded a slate of city candidates: Alex White for mayor; Drew Langdon, David Atias and Dorothy Paige for City Council; and Lori Thomas for school board.

White is the most recognizable Green, a small-business owner and past candidate for City Council and, more recently, for mayor. Read the rest of this entry →

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by Dave Schwab

VIDEOS: Green campaign school in NYC

May 2, 2013 in National Greens

green campaign school vidFrom Jill Stein for President:

Our spring wave of Green Campaign Schools are done, and thanks to you, nearly 500 people took part in our regional trainings across the country, in Minnesota and Massachusetts, Oregon and Texas, New York and California. Thanks to Craig Seeman, we have videos of a number of the sessions at the New York City campaign school, and have provided those for viewing and showing on our website.

Yes, knowledge is power. Please help spread the power by viewing and sharing these videos:

Read the rest of this entry →

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by Dave Schwab

May Day statement from Green Shadow Cabinet Immigration Secretary Gloria Meneses Sandoval

May 1, 2013 in Social & Economic Justice

Statement of Gloria Meneses Sandoval, Secretary of Immigration, for the Green Shadow Cabinet on May Day, 2013:

Gloria Meneses SandovalMay 1, 2013

The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 (S. 744), is an 844 page document presented by the so-called “Gang of 8” – consisting of four Democrats and four Republican Senators. The actual name of this bill should be the Border Militarization, National ID, Corporate and Prison Subsidy, and Family Separation Act. In place of full citizenship, this Act attempts to stabilize and maintain the second-class status of non-citizen immigrants.

The immigrant communities have long been waiting for real reform and took their cause to the streets in the 2006 May Day Marches that took place throughout the United States. The immigrant population focused on the 2008 and 2012 elections with the, “Yesterday we marched, today we vote” slogan, and a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was introduced by President Obama in August of 2012, netting him 73% of the Latino vote, as well as significant numbers of Asian, African-American, and Caucasian voters.  And while DACA became a short-term work option for some Dreamers – those whose families can afford an average $500 to $1,000 for each family member that qualifies – it resulted in no adjustment of permanent status. In DACA’s first year, the Obama administration deported 400,000 immigrants, nearly as many as have applied for the DACA program itself.

This International Workers Day, as marchers across the United States again demand full and equal rights for immigrant workers, including the right to unionize, we agree and call for a moratorium on all detentions and deportations, an end to the separation of families, the renegotiation of NAFTA and CAFTA and other international policies that have produced an unparalleled international migration, and for citizenship, not second-class status, for all working people in this country. It is time to ensure, protect, and prioritize the human rights and needs of all migrants and all people living in the United States and beyond. Inclusion, not exclusion!

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by Dave Schwab

Patch excludes Green candidate from SC-1 congressional debate

April 26, 2013 in Congressional Campaigns

Eugene Platt

From the Charleston City Paper:

Patch, AOL’s online local news platform, will host a debate between candidates for South Carolina’s District 1 House seat on Monday at the Citadel, but only two of the three candidates will be present. Republican Mark Sanford will square off against Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, but Green Party candidate Eugene Platt was not invited to the debate.

S.C. Patch Political Editor Shawn Drury, who will be a panelist at the debate, says Patch followed the guidelines of the Commission on Presidential Debates and only invited “the two candidates who are polling at 15 percent or greater.” According to an analysis by the Center for Public Integrity, the Commission on Presidential Debates is “a largely secretive tax-exempt organization, created and run by former chairmen of the two major parties, funded by a small group of unidentified major donors, and designed, it seems, to exclude nearly all third-party candidates.”

Platt, who has referred to the mainline political parties as “corporate parties” in interviews, sent an e-mail to Drury Tuesday night asking to be included in the debate. In the e-mail, which he forwarded to the City Paper, Platt had this to say: Read the rest of this entry →

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by Dave Schwab

Green Party urges passage of Wall Street transaction tax

April 25, 2013 in Social & Economic Justice

green party earthflowerFrom the Green Party of the United States:

WASHINGTON, DC — The Green Party of the United States is calling for passage of legislation to impose a “Wall Street transaction tax,” which will stabilize the stock market, discourage reckless ‘casino’ trading, and generate revenue.

Green Shadow Cabinet: http://www.greenshadowcabinet.us

Rep. Keith Ellison’s (D-Minn.) has introduced such a bill, titled the “Inclusive Prosperity Act” (http://ellison.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=907&catid=86).

As Ralph Nader noted in his endorsement of the bill, “A small financial transaction tax of 0.5 percent or less – depending upon the financial instrument being taxed – could produce hundreds of billions of dollars annually, perhaps as much as $350 billion. This revenue could be generated from a tax that would be minuscule – half a penny or less on each dollar of the transaction value.” (https://www.facebook.com/ralphnader/posts/559074687456801) Read the rest of this entry →

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by Dave Schwab

Jill Stein and Green Party announce Green Shadow Cabinet: “Another government is possible”

April 25, 2013 in National Greens

p jill steinFrom Jill Stein and the Green Party:

Green Shadow Cabinet Begins Operations This Week
Green Shadow Cabinet: http://www.greenshadowcabinet.us

Dr. Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala, the 2012 Green Party presidential and vice-presidential nominees, marked the beginning of Earth Week by announcing a new Green Shadow Cabinet that will serve as an independent voice in U.S. politics, putting the needs of people and protection of the planet ahead of profits for big corporations. The Cabinet will operate in the tradition of shadow cabinets in other countries, such as the United Kingdom and France, responding to actions of the government in office, and demonstrating that another government is possible.

The Green Shadow Cabinet, which is viewable at www.GreenShadowCabinet.US, includes nearly 100 prominent scientists, community and labor leaders, physicians, cultural workers, veterans, and more (http://greenshadowcabinet.us/members), and will provide an ongoing opposition and alternative voice to the dysfunctional government in Washington D.C.. It is organized into six federal branches: Democracy, Economy, Ecology, Foreign Affairs, General Welfare, and Justice. Topics include the economy, environment and climate change, health and general welfare, democratization, rights of workers, wages and labor, community power, closing military bases, ending wars for resources and restoring the rule of law. Among the top priorities will be advocating for full employment through a Green New Deal (http://www.jillstein.org/green_new_deal) and confronting climate change and the ecological crisis through a program of creating a carbon-free and nuclear free energy economy.

In honor of the launch of the Green Shadow Cabinet, members have issued public statements for Earth Week. These are available for republication at http://greenshadowcabinet.us/statements

Jill Stein (http://greenshadowcabinet.us/member-profile/8580) said, “We are announcing this alternative government on Earth Day to emphasize the importance of confronting the climate crisis and also to show how it is interrelated with the economy, energy and the quality of life for all people. We will be urging policies that have the support of the American people. We’ve brought together leading analysts, experts and spokespeople on all the critical issues faced by the country and will provide a place where concerned citizens and journalists can come for independent and popular perspectives on the issues of the day.” Read the rest of this entry →

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by Dave Schwab

Illinois Greens win in five local races

April 23, 2013 in State Party News

From the Green Party of Illinois:

p jessica bradshawWhile most of Tuesday’s elections were officially nonpartisan, Illinois Green Party members competed in elections across the state, with five candidates winning their races, based on unofficial results. If these wins hold, the ILGP’s number of officeholders statewide would grow to 10.

The big win of the night belongs to Green Party member Jessica Bradshaw, who appears to have been elected to Carbondale City Council in a hard-fought nonpartisan race. In the 12-candidate race for three city council seats, Bradshaw came in third and earned 677 697 votes, or 15.59%, with 100% of precincts reporting, according to unofficial returns.

“We knocked on over 4,000 doors in just a few months,” said Bradshaw. “It was hard work, but it showed that the way to win is by getting to know, and listening to, the people.” Read the rest of this entry →

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by Dave Schwab

Jill Stein: Obama budget throws American people under the bus, gives the rich a free ride

April 12, 2013 in Social & Economic Justice

Jill_Stein_432Jill Stein, the Green Party’s 2012 presidential candidate today condemned the recently released Obama 2014 budget proposal, issuing the following statement:

“Despite his campaign promises to protect Social Security and make the economy fair, Obama’s budget throws the American people under the bus. And it gives the economic elite a free ride on that same bus that’s running us over.

Specifically, this budget swaps the painful $1.2 trillion in sequester cuts for a different, but equally painful, new package of cuts worth the same amount. As part of these new cuts, the President is leading the charge to roll back Medicare and Social Security – the “Grand Bargain” with ruthless corporate Republicans that Obama has promoted for years. There is nothing grand about dismantling the crown jewels of the New Deal and the Great Society. Read the rest of this entry →

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by David Doonan

Eugene Platt vs. celebrity candidate & philandering ex-Governor

April 8, 2013 in Congressional Campaigns, Local Elections, State Party News

 

Eugene Platt

Eugene Platt

Get ready for the most television-driven Congressional race of 2013. In one month, voters will go to the polls in the South Carolina Special Election featuring a disgraced former Governor against an unknown, inexperienced sister of a popular Comedy Central host. But there is a third option – the Green Party’s Eugene Platt. And he’s serious, experienced and credible.

A native of Charleston, Eugene Platt is a retired Federal Civil Service employee. He’s also the son of a South Carolina Naval shipyard worker and a veteran US Army paratrooper. He’s nobody’s push-over. And unlike his two opponents in next month’s Special Election to replace newly-appointed US Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), Platt has spent the last 20 years serving his local community as an elected member of the James Island Public Service District Commission. In fact, he’s the Green Party’s only elected official in the state.

… read the full story …

For more information on Eugene Platt, visit VotePlatt.com.

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