Category Archives: Uncategorized

Order 81: Mutant Seeds for Mesopotamia

Thanks to Paul Bremer, this is what “democracy” looks like in Iraq:

Mutant Seeds for Mesopotamia
By Andrew Bosworth, Ph.D.Uruknet,

One would think that Iraqi farmers, now prospering under “freedom” and “democracy,” would be able
to plant the seeds of their choosing, but that choice, under little-known Order 81, would be illegal. But first, it is important to set the context.

Most people have never heard of the infamous “100 Orders,” but they help explain why the majority of
Iraqis remain opposed to foreign occupation. The 100 Orders allow multinational corporations to basically privatize an entire nation, and this degree of foreign and private control has not been witnessed since the days of the British East India Company and its extraterritoriality treaties.

A few examples of the 100 Orders are illuminating: — Order 39 allows for the tax-free remittance of all corporate profits. — Order 17 grants foreign contractors, including private security firms, immunity from Iraq’s laws. — Orders 57 and 77 ensure the implementation of the orders by placing U.S.-appointed auditors and inspector general in every government ministry, with five-year terms and with sweeping authority over contracts, programs, employees and regulations. (1)

Back to one of the most blatant orders of all: Order 81. Under this mandate, Iraq’s commercial farmers must now buy “registered seeds.” These are normally imported by Monsanto, Cargill and the World Wide Wheat Company.
Continue reading

Mountaintop Removal – more reasons to get Jesse Johnson elected Governor of West Virginia

Mountaintop removal is a seroius and significant issue in our country that few people hear about. But no more. Thanks to Wes over at California Greening, I came across this:

This video brought tears to my eyes. Mountains are one of my loves. I grew up around the Blue Ridge Mountains. My children and grandchildren live around those mountains. Seeing how this affects people and all other life is heart wrenching. I live around some of the most beautiful mountains in the country and see how mountaintop removal for gold affects the area where I live. It’s a crime and a travesty to our planet.

Wes posts:
Last night, Bill Moyers asked his viewers to get involved in this issue. The following is from Bill Moyers Journal.

“There’s nothing make-believe about this. Remember these scenes of mountain top mining in West Virginia? Companies blow those mountains sky-high to expose the coal, then haul away tons of rock and debris and dump the waste into valley areas. To protect the quality of the water, they’re not supposed to pile the stuff within 100 feet of rivers and creeks.

But while we’ve all been obsessing over Sarah Palin’s posh makeover and Joe Biden’s latest gaffe, the coal companies have been lobbying the Bush administration to gut the rules even further, to allow them greater freedom to dump massive waste piles anywhere they want – including directly into the water.

Now, the Interior Department is one of those government agencies that’s practically been turned over to the industries it’s supposed to regulate. So as a parting gift, the President’s appointees at Interior have now officially proposed granting the coal companies their wish – to dump at will.

There’s a 30-day period for public comment and review before the proposal takes effect, so you can find out how to register your opinion – pro or con – at our site on PBS.org.”

So, if Moyers is asking for some action, then maybe the best action that we can take is to help Jesse get elected in any way that we can.

* You can donate to Jesse on his web site.
* You can help out with phone banking, even from here. (I need to get you the contact).
* You can do what I am doing, plant the seed of an upset on every blog where you can post. I even posted a call for his support on DailyKos without getting accused of being a troll.

Racism in this year’s elections more prevalent than ever

There are a lot of posts over at One Utah, many with real video footage, of rallies, interviews, and other events displaying racist behaviors towards Barack Obama.

This is very creepy and, as Cliff Lyon  states in one post,

….this is NOT the country ANY good American can be proud of. We MUST ALL PROTEST!

Now, I am really afraid for our country. ‘Whitey’ America is OUT OF CONTROL!

Rosa Clemente to be interviewed on Green Party Watch Radio today

Green Party Vice Presidential nominee Rosa Clemente has confirmed her appearance on Green Party Watch Radio today with Gregg Jocoy  from 3 to 3:30 PM EST. To listen live, or later if that is more convenient, simply click here.

Seriously Green

Seriously Green – The Movie
These pieces represent some of work in progress on the upcoming documentary “Seriously Green”
From:polidocproductions

During an era when it is fashionable to “Be Green”, what does it mean to be seriously Green? Our premise is that being seriously green goes way beyond buying recyclable products and composting. It is a political awareness of social and environmental justice and transparency in government. And while that work starts mostly by making demands upon our government within our own communities, without addressing the broken elements of our electoral system, change is too slow.

“”Seriously GREEN” takes an irreverent view of this election period, telling the unique story of the Presidential Candidates for the Green Party, who campaign on in relative obscurity and with little or no money. Through their personal stories, the audience begins to engage in the Green conversation in a new light. We use humor and juxtasposition to keep the audience interested in what many feel are dry subjects, like electoral and campaign finance reform, ballot access, environmentalism. While this is not an advocacy piece for the Greens, it does sympathize with the characters and endear them to the viewer, forcing us to ask ourselves the question “What is it to be Seriously GREEN”

Seriously Green Playlist:

Continue reading

Just Another Candidate for Governor or a Real Maverick?

This extensive interview is conducted and posted on OpEd News by Kevin Gosztola a student pursuing a career in documentary film.

Americans concerned with whether the GOP will steal the election or not have had their minds focused on early voting reports especially early voting reports coming out of West Virginia that show that votes, according to Wired News, are being flipped by ES&S voting machines (touch-screen machines with paper trails or optical-scan machines). The counties where reports have surfaced detailing vote flipping have been ordered by the state to recalibrate their machines. 

One West Virginia voter reported that vote flipping happened when voting for candidates in the governor, state senate, and state Supreme Court races.

In West Virginia, the governor of the state used to be the Secretary of State in charge of the voting machines. The governor, Democrat Joe Manchin, is now in a race against two candidates, state senator Russ Weeks, a Republican, and Jesse Johnson, a Mountain Party candidate (the Mountain Party is affiliated with the Green Party). Johnson was a 2008 Green Party presidential nominee.

I took some time to talk about voting problems and mountaintop removal, a central issue in West Virginia, with Jesse Johnson, who has been endorsed by Mike Gravel:

Continue reading

Greens on The Green Party

Joe Truss has posted this video on the Green Party  over at Green Change.
A thought provoking documentary created by members of the Green Party, in support of Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, Rosa Clemente and Matt Gonzalez. What is the Green Party? Who are the members? What is Independent Political Action? How is it different from the Democratic and Republican Parties? What next?

Green Party Races Around the Country

Green Party Watch and On the Wilder Side have been publishing posts about Green Party races to watch this election. I am reposting here from Green Party Watch – if there are others that need to be added, please help with the list!

GPUS:

  • Cynthia McKinney / Rosa Clemente – obviously!
  • Jesse Johnson – Mountain Party candidate for Governor of West Virginia – endorsed by the Sierra Club, participated in three gubernatorial debates, only candidate to oppose mountain top removal mining in West Virginia.
  • Rebekah Kennedy, Green candidate for the US Senate in Arkansas, is competing against Democratic incumbent Mark Pryor, with no Republican in the race. Despite numerous invitations, Sen. Pryor has avoided facing Ms. Kennedy in a candidates’ debate.
  • Gordon Clark, Maryland candidate for the US House (District 8, Rep. Chris Van Hollen’s seat), is receiving significant attention for his grassroots campaign against a powerful Democrat. (Mr. Van Hollen, though only in Congress five years, is Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.) Gordon raised more campaign funds (all individual) during the second quarter than any other candidate nominated for Congress by an alternative party in the US
  • Malik Rahim, Louisiana Green candidate for the US House (District 2), is co-founder of the Common Ground Collective, an organization that provides short-term relief to victims of hurricane disasters in the Gulf Coast region. Mr. Rahim is a former Black Panther and ran for New Orleans City Council in 2002 as a Green Party candidate. The election for the 2nd District US House seat will take place on December 6 instead of November 4 because of election delays caused by Hurricanes Gustave and Ike.
  • Ross Mirkarimi was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (District 5) in 2004 and is running for reelection. Mr. Mirkarimi has sponsored about 40 pieces of legislation addressing crime, making streets safer for pedestrians, improving efficiency of city departments, and the environment. He led efforts to promote medical marijuana clubs in San Francisco. In March 2007, he introduced legislation prohibiting large supermarkets and drugstores from providing customers with non-biodegradable plastic bags, making San Francisco the first city to regulate such bags. In June 2008, Mr. Mirkarimi sponsored a one-year pilot plan for solar rebate program that provides $1.5 million to nonprofit organizations and lower income residents for installing solar voltaic power on rooftops. He faces two opponents in the current election.

This is a great hi-light list, but there are so many more. Doing some brainstorming with Green Change, this list came up (in no particular order):

Continue reading

Democracy Now – hird-Party Candidates Nader & McKinney Respond to Final McCain-Obama Debate

Breaking the Sound Barrier: Third-Party Candidates Ralph Nader & Cynthia McKinney Respond to Final McCain-Obama Debate
from votetruth08.com
Democracy Now, October 16, 2008

For livestream version or audio: http://www.democracynow.org/2008/10/16/stream

Senators Barack Obama and John McCain met last night for the final debate before the November 4th presidential election, sparring over the economy, tax policy, negative campaigning, trade agreements, abortion and the educational system. As with the other debates, third-party candidates were not invited to participate. We break the sound barrier and hear from Green Party presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney and independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader.

Guests:

Cynthia McKinney, Green Party presidential nominee. Former Democratic congresswoman from Georgia.

Ralph Nader, Independent presidential candidate. He is a longtime consumer advocate and corporate critic.

JUAN GONZALEZ: Senators Barack Obama and John McCain met last night for the final debate before the November 4th presidential election. It was held at Hofstra University on Long Island in New York.

Prior to the ninety-minute face-off, police arrested fifteen protesters in a peaceful demonstration outside the university led by Iraq Veterans Against the War. One veteran, Nick Morgan, was hospitalized after being trampled by a police horse. Video shot at the scene showed Morgan lying on the ground by a pool of blood. The arrests took place less than an hour before Barack Obama and John McCain took the stage.

During the debate, the Iraq war was barely mentioned. The war in Afghanistan never came up. Instead, the two candidates sparred over the government’s plans to rescue the financial system, tax policy, negative campaigning, trade agreements, abortion and the educational system.

AMY GOODMAN: As with the other debates, third-party candidates were not invited to participate. But today on Democracy Now!, we will break the sound barrier by giving some of those candidates a chance to respond to last night’s questions.

Green Party presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney joins us in Atlanta, and independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader joins us on the phone. We invited Libertarian Party presidential nominee Bob Barr and Constitution Party nominee Chuck Baldwin, but they couldn’t join us. So, they will answer the same questions put to the major party candidates.
Continue reading

Cynthia McKinney appears on the Washington Journal, C-SPAN