[Shasta-plus] U.S. Green Party News Circulator for 8/25/03-9/1/03

Peggy Lewis pegola@greens.org
Tue, 2 Sep 2003 21:02:35 -0700


Subject: [usgp-coo] U.S. Green Party News Circulator for 8/25/03-9/1/03


U.S. Green Party News Circulator for 8/25/03-9/1/03

For more Green Party news go to http://web.greens.org/news/

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1) CALIFORNIA: GREEN CANDIDATE USES CAPITAL TOOLS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
2) GERMANY: GERMANY MAY RELAX RESTRICTIONS ON ARMS SALES TO TURKEY
3) CANADA: WAITING: DOES BALLOT BECKON?
4) WALES: RATHER SURPRISED
5) ENGLND: COST OF DRUGS SWOOP
6) CONNECTICUT ; NADER TO HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR GREEN PARTY
7) CALIFORNIA: VOTE GREEN
8) LITHUANIA: LITHUANIAN CONSERVATIVES TO BOYCOTT LUKOIL'S PETROL
STATIONS IN PROTEST AGAINST THREAT TO CURONIAN SPIT
9) NEW YORK: PAUL GLOVER, GREEN GIANT
10) NEW ZEALAND: LATE CASH BLOWS IN FOR WINDFLOW TECH
11) CALIFORNIA: INTERVIEW WITH GREEN PARTY CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL
CANDIDATE
12) ENGLAND: TELL US WHERE YOU STAND, MP
13) ENGLAND: MAJORITY WANT NEW BRIDGE
14) CALIFORNIA: BERKELEY GRAD PLAYS THE GREEN CARD
15) CALIFORNIA: CAMEJO UNVEILS LIBERAL BUDGET PLAN
16) WALES: GREEN ENERGY FOR SHELTERS
17) MINNESOTA: CAMPAIGN FINANCE BOARD DISMISSES COMPLAINTS AGAINST PAWLENTY
18) IRELAND: GREEN TD CALLS FOR EPA HEAD TO RESIGN
19) ENGLAND: GREEN PARTY PREDICTS MAJOR CAPITAL GAINS;
20) CANADA: SECOND CANDIDATE DECLARES FOR WATERLOO'S WARD 2 SEAT
21) ENGLAND: GREEN PARTY BLASTS MPS BACKING FLUORIDE
22) NEW MEXICO: GREEN PARTY OPPOSES CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
23) WALES: GREENS ARE FOR ALL SORTS
24) WALES: TOP GREEN SEES RED

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1) The Sacramento Bee; September 1, 2003

CALIFORNIA: GREEN CANDIDATE USES CAPITAL TOOLS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

by Herbert A. Sample

OAKLAND -- Peter Camejo, the Green Party's gubernatorial recall
candidate, was kicked out of UC Berkeley for his anti-war agitation in
the 1960s, ran for president as a socialist in the mid-'70s, criticized
U.S. military involvement in Central America in the '80s and today
advocates higher taxes on the wealthy.

Yet Camejo, as founder and chairman of a well-respected firm that
manages hundreds of millions of dollars in financial investments, can
match stocks-and-bonds chitchat with the most capitalistic of Wall
Street brokers. He once competed in that most socially rarified of
Olympic sports, sailing, along with his father, then a wealthy land
developer in South America.

As conflicted as all that may seem, this jumble of life experiences and
ideological pursuits has woven together into an unassuming, soft-spoken,
thoroughly leftist 63-year-old who wants to be the first Green Party
governor.

"Think about where the Green Party was four years ago," Camejo said
during a recent lengthy interview. "The image was long-haired guys,
hugging trees, you know, '60s hippies that never changed, that really
care about the Earth and the environment, and (are) almost irrelevant to
reality.

"That was the image of the Greens at first, and that's changing," added
Camejo, who also was the Green Party's nominee for governor last year.
"I know that the campaigns that I've done have helped to change that."

Green Party officials heartily agree. "Green types often have an allergy
to money," said Beth Moore Haines, a party spokeswoman. "Greens first
need to know how to get it and then use it well to promote the ideas
that are important to them. And Peter has been an ambassador for that
kind of thinking."

Peter Miguel Camejo was born in New York City while his mother visited
her parents, who had been deported for criticizing Venezuelan leader
Juan Vicente Gomez.

After his parents divorced, Camejo and his mother moved to Long Island
when he was 7. His father, Daniel Camejo, remained in Venezuela and in
the 1970s built South America's first condominium complex.

The young Camejo would spend summers with his dad, playing soccer and
socializing with peasant workers.

"I saw these people as people," Camejo said. "They all had jobs, skilled
jobs. In America, they would own their own homes. They'd have a car. But
in Venezuela, they had nothing. ... They lived in little hovels. ... I
was very moved by all of this."

When he turned 16, Camejo said, he vowed to help the poor and to take no
advantage of his privileged ancestry. But he has remained close to his
ideologically conservative dad, and the two sailed for Venezuela in the
1960 Rome Olympics, finishing out of medal contention.

Later that decade, Camejo joined civil rights marches in the southern
United States, attended MIT briefly and then the University of
California, Berkeley. There, as a member of the student senate, Camejo
organized and led large student protests against the Vietnam War. That
earned him an expulsion in 1967 for "illegal use of a microphone."

A friend sold him on the notion of joining Merrill Lynch as a salesman,
and curious about capital markets, he took the San Francisco job. Soon,
he was a top performer.

He said he later quit when the firm refused to sponsor an AIDS benefit.
An unhappy experience with another brokerage prodded Camejo and several
associates in 1987 to establish an investment firm dedicated to
"socially responsible investing" -- or "SRI," as it is sometimes called.

In short, to SRI adherents cigarette makers are completely out, organic
food producers and solar energy firms are almost always in. Oil
companies are closely scrutinized, and other businesses are screened to
weed out those that, for example, regularly violate environmental laws,
are sued for sexual or racial discrimination, or commit financial
improprieties.

Camejo's firm, Progressive Asset Management Inc., has been a "visionary"
in the field, said Doug Wheat, director of SRI World Group, which
conducts research on socially responsible investing.

Bob Dreizler, a Sacramento consultant with the brokerage Protected
Investors of America, said that while Camejo might have been a bit too
admiring of SRI, the strategy generally works.

Progressive Asset Management oversees close to $1 billion in
investments, said Camejo, who is the firm's chairman, though he sold a
controlling interest in the Oakland-based company several years ago.

In its 16 years, the firm was found to have violated National
Association of Securities Dealers rules once and was fined $3,500 in
1995. Camejo himself was fined the same amount by NASD in 1996. Camejo
portrayed both cases as inconsequential, the result of complex and
conflicting guidelines.

Camejo also spread the SRI gospel to the financially conservative Contra
Costa County Employees Retirement Association, which handles about $2.5
billion in retirement funds for 16,200 workers and retirees.

While trustees initially resisted putting funds into SRI investments,
Camejo, an appointee to the board, used solid data and composed
arguments to win them over, recalled Richard Cabral, a 25-year board
member. And the investments are performing well, he added.

Camejo "brought people together, showed results, and opened up people's
eyes, and that's how we moved in that direction," Cabral said. "He
definitely was progressive. ... But he wasn't a really extreme type of
person."

Throughout the past three decades, Camejo developed his professional
acumen but did not ignore his ideology.

He was the Socialist Workers Party's presidential candidate in 1976 and
appeared then on an FBI list of party activists the agency considered
dangerous. He was nearly arrested in Colombia three years later on his
way to assist a progressive presidential candidate in Peru.

More recently, he has helped build the Green Party to the point where it
can boast of three local officeholders in San Francisco. Camejo, who
recently moved with his wife and two children from Walnut Creek to
Folsom, garnered 5.3 percent of the vote in last year's gubernatorial
election -- the highest statewide total ever for a Green candidate.

He is highly respected and well-liked by party officials, in no small
part because his is not the image of a leftist radical.

"He looks like a businessman," said Medea Benjamin, the Green nominee
for U.S. Senate in 2000. "The fact he is a broker gives him a particular
credibility when it comes to finances. He knows what he's talking about
around money, which not a great deal of Greens can do."

Eric Leenson, president and CEO of Progressive Asset Management, thought
his co-founder would do well as governor, "in the sense of assuming
responsibilities, putting in the time and surrounding himself with
capable people who are far more experienced in the day-to-day matters."

Camejo would have to learn to work with the Democratic and Republican
powers in the Legislature, and he'd have to find aides who knew the
system, Leenson said, adding "he knows how to find the right people."

Camejo's statement of economic interests, which all candidates must
file, lists investments of at least $426,000. His annual income from
salaries and commissions falls between $100,000 and $1 million -- which
is as detailed as the statements get.

"Peter only typifies a large community of Greens who are in the
mainstream business world, who are not just lower-to middle-class but
also who have been successful in their life," said Ross Mirkarimi, a
Green Party activist in San Francisco.

But one would never know of Camejo's financial status listening to him
claim that the state budget is in a bind because the wealthy pay too
little in taxes, and that poor Californians are suffering the brunt of
budget cuts in education, medical care and other public services.

"Our problem is not that our taxes are too high," he said.

It is Proposition 187, though, that really agitates the normally placid
Camejo. The 1994 initiative sought to bar public services to
undocumented immigrants but was largely overturned by the courts. Latino
voters still are riled by the measure, and they will punish Republican
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who supported it, Camejo contends.

"He's an immigrant himself, but he has no sympathy, obviously, for our
people," Camejo said recently. "He would have our children thrown out of
school."

It is not just politics that animates Camejo, said those who know him.
He is never without ideas, they say, and discussions with Camejo prove
it, as when he recently spent several minutes eagerly describing to a
reporter how assumable mortgages could spur installation of home solar
power units.

"He will spew forth ideas, 16 per paragraph," said Bill Sokol, a pension
fund lawyer and friend. "He's a super-energetic person who never stops
talking about his ideas."

Camejo's recent political alliance with independent Arianna Huffington
was the result of one of those brainstorms. The idea alarmed Green Party
officials at first, but they warmed to the plan after discussing it with
the two candidates.

Despite the dreamy visions of some Greens of a progressive capturing the
Governor's Office in October, Camejo does not carelessly spout
predictions of victory.

Rather, he sees his campaign as simply a step in his party's effort to
become a force in state politics. And he's comfortable with the thought
that he is, therefore, likely just a transitional figure for the Greens,
not the chosen one who can actually win a statewide
contest.

"I think what we're doing at the Green Party today is exactly what we
need to do," Camejo said. "That is to build an organization that fights
for these values and its principles. We're not after some quick,
short-term victory."

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2) Agence France Presse; August 30, 2003

GERMANY: GERMANY MAY RELAX RESTRICTIONS ON ARMS SALES TO TURKEY

Duesseldorf -- German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said his country
may soften restrictions on arms exports to Turkey ahead of a visit next
week by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan, the Handelsblatt
newspaper said in its issue to be published Monday.

Fischer is head of the coalition government member Green Party, which
helped lead opposition to sales of arms to Turkey and other countries it
deems not to respect human rights.

"We have refused (sales of tanks to Turkey) until now, but we will have
to re-examine the question if the reality changes, taking the new
situation into account," Fischer said, alluding to a recent spate of
reforms undertaken by Ankara to improve its credentials for joining the
EU.

"Turkey is working seriously and intensively to further open the door to
membership in the European Union," he added.

Berlin adopted its current arms export guidelines in 2000.

The Greens subsequently opposed the sale of a German Leopard 2 tank to
Turkey on a trial basis, a move German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder
pushed through.

Fischer's statements mark the first time he has indicated he would not
oppose re-examining the restrictions on arms exports to Ankara,
Handelsblatt said.

Turkey has been a candidate for EU membership since 1987.

EU leaders are to assess the mainly Muslim country's progress in
December 2004 before deciding whether to open membership talks.

The International Federation for Human Rights said last month that
despite the Turkish government's commitment to reform, torture,
disappearances and extra-judicial killings of the Kurdish minority still
go unpunished.

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3) The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario); August 30, 2003

CANADA: WAITING: DOES BALLOT BECKON?

by Stacey Ash

When you think of political parties in Ontario, three come easily to
mind -- the ruling Progressive Conservatives, the opposition Liberals,
and the New Democratic Party which held power a decade ago.

But according to Elections Ontario, at least 10 registered parties make
up the provincial political scene, ranging from the extreme left-wing
Communist Party of Canada to the extreme right wing Family Coalition
Party.

Six plan to run candidates locally once a provincial election is called.

The environmental Green Party will run at least two candidates in
Waterloo Region, while the faith-based, anti-abortion Family Coalition
Party has three nominated candidates in the region....

...THE LOCAL CANDIDATES

WATERLOO-WELLINGTON

PC Ted Arnott*

Liberal Deborah Whale

NDP Richard Walsh-Bowers

FCP Gord Truscott

Green Al Strong

CAMBRIDGE

PC Gerry Martiniuk*

Liberal Jerry Boyle

NDP Pam Wolf

FCP Al Smith

Green Michael Chownyk

GUELPH-WELLINGTON

PC Brenda Elliott*

Liberal Liz Sandals

NDP James Valcke

FCP Allan McDonald

Green Ben Polley

PERTH-MIDDLESEX

PC Bert Johnson*

Liberal John Wilkinson

NDP Jack Verhulst

FCP Pat Bannon

Green John Cowling

Freedom Robert Smink

HURON-BRUCE

PC Helen Johns*

Liberal Carol Mitchell

NDP Grant Robertson

Green Shelley Hannah

*Incumbent

...Green Party of Ontario
Leader -- Frank DeJong
Number of Ontario seats held -- 0
Maintains its original focus on environmental issues. Also supports a
single public-education system, electoral reform and a shift from income
taxes to consumption taxes.

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4) South Wales Evening Post; August 30, 2003

WALES: RATHER SURPRISED

I'm rather surprised to read that Selina Poulett (Postbox, August 27)
finds the public statements of the Green Party's Martyn Shrewsbury so
offensive. Personally, I find it refreshing to see a fellow political
activist who like myself is not obsessed with focus groups or image and
actually has something of substance to say on a range of important
issues - such as GM foods, traffic congestion, nuclear power,
fluoridation of our water supplies or the war on Iraq.

Frankly, I wish there were more politicians like Martyn Shrewsbury in
Wales.

Perhaps if we had more politicians willing to say something of substance
on issues that really matter to ordinary people the turnouts we get in
elections would not be as dismal as they currently are.

Leigh Richards
Spokesman Swansea Branch Welsh Socialist Alliance

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5) The Gloucester Citizen; August 29, 2003

ENGLND: COST OF DRUGS SWOOP

Add up the cost of 20 officers over four to five weeks and compare it
with the amount of drugs captured from the 13 people arrested (perhaps a
few hundred pounds?). Add to this the cost of each arrest and holding
them in custody.

We have had over 30 years of this policy which has filled our prisons
(costing how much?), increased crime on our streets and against our
homes (costing how much?), alienated generations of our youth (costing
how much?), created massive social upheaval, produced huge costs in
policing and court costs.

The problem continues to get bigger and the Government continues to
increase the sentences and the costs to each of us. All of this is
fuelled by media sensationalism with no sense of perspective.

Before prohibition was imposed on us there was the world renowned and
envied "British Model".

This resulted in a few hundred heroin users around the country
prescribed heroin by a few much maligned doctors.

There are now millions of illegal drug users exposed to a lottery of
arrest and criminalisation.

Most lead productive working lives.

Prohibition creates crime in many ways and clearly benefits no one.

Drug users are created, we pay.

The courts are filled, people get criminalised, people die, our homes
are burgled, our cars are broken into and our taxes rise and rise.

Prohibition has failed and crime associated with addictive drug use
would be reduced if the right help was readily available. It is time for
a rational debate that looks at the true costs of our current policies.

Bryan Meloy
Gloucester Green Party

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6) Hartford Courant (Connecticut); August 29, 2003 Friday

CONNECTICUT ; NADER TO HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR GREEN PARTY

Hartford--Former Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader will
speak at a party fund-raiser Saturday at the City Steam Brewery, 932
Main St., Hartford. The 17 Green Party candidates on local ballots this
fall also are scheduled to attend.

Nader's topic is "The Loss of Civil Liberties Under the Patriot Act."
Suggested donation for the 3-to-5 p.m. event is $30.


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7) Modesto Bee; August 29, 2003

CALIFORNIA: VOTE GREEN

On Oct. 7, I am voting for Peter Camejo of the Green Party. Camejo
promises to stop the cutbacks in state government programs, especially
aid to education. He favors a state-sponsored medical insurance program
to cover those who do not have health insurance, regardless of income
level.

As the far political right loses its bid to grab the governorship in
this election, the list of progressive serious candidates is slim
because the Democratic Party wishes not to face reality. Camejo is a
moderate progressive with a great personality who cares about the common
citizen.

Daniel Marsh
Modesto

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8) Baltic News Service; August 28, 2003

LITHUANIA: LITHUANIAN CONSERVATIVES TO BOYCOTT LUKOIL'S PETROL STATIONS
IN PROTEST AGAINST THREAT TO CURONIAN SPIT

Vilnius -- Lithuania's opposition Homeland Union (Lithuanian
Conservatives) invites Lithuanian nationals to boycott LUKoil's petrol
stations for ten days in September in protest against the company's
plans to pump oil in the Baltic Sea near the Curonian Spit.

"We see that repeated appeals to Russia's government institutions gave
no results; therefore we invite Lithuanian public, political parties,
public organizations and all those who love their native country and
want to protect their motherland and its seashores to take part in
ten-day protest action Nida -Yes, Lukoil -No!" the Conservative party's
press release reads.

According to the Homeland Union, the protest action will be a
continuation of the boycott of LUKoil's petrol stations initiated by the
Green party earlier this summer....

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9) Syracuse New Times; August 28, 2003

NEW YORK: PAUL GLOVER, GREEN GIANT

by Walt Shepperd,

In 1991 Paul Glover invented money. "I understood long ago, when there
was a presumed collision between economics and the environment, the
environment had to give way," the Ithaca resident and community
organizer reflects. "Economics trumped everything and therefore an
environmentalist could take center stage in the economic realm by
printing money."

He called what he printed "local tender" and assuming it was illegal at
the time, he recalls, was part of the fun. Called Ithaca Hours, Glover's
bills were a half-inch narrower than traditional American greenbacks, a
quarter-inch taller and significantly more colorful. Instead of dead
presidents, the images on the bills were of salamanders and babies,
beetles and maps of the Cayuga Lake basin. "Thousands of people, 12
years later, have traded millions of dollars worth of this money," he
notes now.

The success of Ithaca Hours and his launching of the Ithaca Health Fund,
an alternative health-insurance plan available to individuals for $100 a
year, and the Whole Ithaca Stock Exchange, a mutual enterprise system
for community development, landed Glover on the Green Party's search
list for a 2004 presidential candidate. "They sent out a letter to 40
people, inviting us to consider being a candidate," he says. "Only three
people responded. I responded not with any expectation to actually
become the candidate but to contribute to the primary discussion of the
Green message for 2004."

Ralph Nader, the Green candidate in 2000, responded to the call and will
probably be favored to carry the party's banner at its national
nominating convention in Milwaukee in June, where the decision will be
made. But the spirited, sometimes cumbersome, democratic process most
American Greens insist upon will probably create meaningful involvement
for others who have since expressed interest: Texas lawyer David Cobb,
whose down-home, preacher-style speeches can make a political rally feel
like a revival; Lorna Salzman from Long Island, a former head of New
York Friends of the Earth; and Cynthia McKinney, an African-American who
lost her Atlanta congressional seat when the Democrat Leadership Council
campaigned against her because she was critical of Israel's treatment of
Palestine.

Howie Hawkins, who organized the Syracuse Green Party and co-founded the
national party in 1984, lauds Glover's efforts. "He's not that old,"
Hawkins observes of the 56-year-old Glover, "but he's like an elder
statesperson for Ithaca's progressive community."

For Hawkins, the ideal Green ticket for 2004 would be Nader for
president and McKinney for vice president. "Those are the ones who can
command the public attention," he says. "McKinney is the poster child
for what Democrats do to their progressives. Nader has the
organizational capacity to raise millions of dollars, which the others
can't."

Says Glover of his anticipated contributions to the primary debate, "My
emphasis would be on the practical programs which we could help
establish at the grass-roots level, within every bio-region, and
ultimately nationally, by which basic needs are met. The highest quality
of food produced to strengthen small farm economies. To process the
maximum of food produced within a region locally. To retain maximum
value added from that processing. To decrease our dependence on
automobiles to near zero by reviving municipal and urban rail. Providing
safe and separate bike lanes and bike paths. By decentralizing the
production and need for fossil fuels, shifting to solar, wind and, most
particularly, insulation. The best fuel is no fuel. The least need for
fuel makes us most secure."

Glover will definitely walk his talk by campaigning without a car. He
flirts with the idea of strolling across the country to spread his
message to Greens: "I walked from Boston to California in 1978 in 61/2
months. But my likelier intent is to campaign by Amtrak. You can meet
most of America from the back of a train. It's urgent for national
security that we revive rail systems. I would go by rail, by bus, by
bike and on foot."

While some Greens argue that the party should be looking for
cross-endorsements with major parties to actually get people elected who
will promote the Green agenda, Glover feels strongly about his party's
function. "The early role for a third party is the priority of getting
new ideas before the public," he insists. "That's historically been the
role of third parties. Many things now accepted as normal policy were
advanced by third parties: the Socialist Party with welfare, the
eight-hour day, Social Security and Medicaid, all proposed by a bunch of
radicals who were considered dangerous at the time. Votes for women.
When Virginia Woodhouse ran as the first woman candidate for president
in 1876 on a platform of votes for women, she was lampooned by
{editorial cartoonist} Thomas Nast as the devil. It's an old story. New
ideas are always considered dangerous. Everything that we assume is
normal around us today was once a wild idea."

Hour Town

Even the vaunted progressive community of Ithaca took some convincing
before the idea of Glover's new currency caught on. He recalls, "I began
by waving Xerox prototypes at my friends, telling them, 'This is going
to be money. We'll trade it with each other. Sign up here.' When I got a
list of 90 pioneers, I published their offers and requests, initially a
hybrid of a barter and a monetary system."

Based on a guaranteed backing in human activity, Ithaca Hours notes
proclaim "Time is Money" and "In Ithaca We Trust." Each note "entitles
the bearer to receive {a number of hours or fractions of an hour of}
labor or its negotiated value in goods or services." One aim of the
program, Glover adds, is to recycle the wealth of the community within
the community.

"Initially, it was a tough sell," he says. "But I specialize in selling
things people never heard of. Asking for people to give me $100 each for
the Health Fund was very difficult for the first few years, but now
people are joining readily because for $100 a year, it's a very good
deal."

The Ithaca Health Fund now has 600 members who can make claims for
health-care delivery, depending on how long they have been a member, for
up to $3,000 a year for a growing list of services including broken
bones, an emergency appendectomy, third-degree burns, stitches,
vasectomy and tubal sterilization, programs to quit smoking and several
dental services.

Glover started the Health Fund in 1997 after discovering that $50
million a year leaves Cayuga County for health insurance. "What could we
do with $50 million a year," he muses. "Our aim is to create a clinic
system. Socializing medicine from below in a non-bureaucratic and
member-owned manner. We make payments anywhere in the world with any
health-care provider. It's a matter of being prudent. We are not feeding
investors. We are not building giant buildings, nor are we paying CEOs.
We do not have a bureaucracy. We're not only trying to help people with
no health insurance--that's 60 million Americans--we're trying to prove
that HMOs {health maintenance organizations} are not needed. We usually
pay overnight. It's a work in progress. We've only had one our of 600
members max out in a year."

Although his ideas might seem wild when first proposed, Glover's
programs have all been based on extensive research. Often investigation
for one program leads to an idea for another. "I had written a
comprehensive survey of Ithaca's fuel supply system in 1988," he notes,
"with maps, diagrams and extensive text showing the sources of Ithaca's
fuels, how they're brought here and used and how we could refashion all
our regional fuel systems. Based on that I got a grant from the Fund for
Investigative Journalism, which was intended to enable me to do a
similar study of Ithaca's money supply system. I steeped myself in
conventional economic theory and compared and contrasted and got
distracted and fascinated by all these cool things that could be done to
make a community wealthy and to enrich the lives of average people."

The only thing missing from his visionary equation, however, was the
money. "Dollars are designed to seek maximum profit," he explains. "They
have no other job. They come to town, shake a few hands and then leave
to buy rainforest lumber, fight wars, do any number of degrading things.
I thought if we had our own money which we controlled, we could apply it
in a targeted manner to strengthen nonprofit organizations in our
community, many of which were losing federal funding at that time. We
could invest in strengthening local agriculture. We could even fund the
government. Members of the school board have just asked me for a copy of
my pilot program proposal by which the school district could be
significantly funded with local currency."

Glover now also attends Ithaca Chamber of Commerce meetings to network
with some of the more than 600 businesses within a 20-mile radius of
downtown Ithaca. He based the system on the premise that one hour of
labor is worth $10 in American currency. "Our national currencies are
backed by next to nothing," he maintains, "not by silver or gold, but by
the extraction of raw materials faster than they can be replenished, by
the exploitation of the cheapest labor available, by full faith in
credit and our nation's rusting industry, depleting soil, polluted water
and air."

Initially a linkage of people in the area who shared a concern about the
environment and about social justice, Glover projects Ithaca Hours will
eventually grow to link nationwide to the fullest range of goods and
services that people living in an ecological society would need.

He also sees his system as a key to job creation. "There are millions of
jobs to be created by literally rebuilding American cities, rebuilding
American suburbs and rebuilding farm economies such that they are
sustainable," he says. "Most Americans are urban. There are millions of
jobs to be made and trillions of dollars to be made for those motivated
singularly by profit by rebuilding cities such that neighborhoods are
productive to the maximum extent possible. People can have their own
food, fuel and services, enjoy work and have more time to relax with
family. They should have their needs met within trolley and biking
distances, strolling distances. Deliberately rebuilding the United
States as an intentional community, yet one where people will have even
more privacy and more access to the extent of socializing that they
prefer. New kinds of housing which incorporates a greater flexibility.
Where streets are so safe that people will be glad to send their kids
outdoors."

In the process, Glover claims, poverty could be eliminated and the
educational system revolutionized. "Poverty is not merely having too few
dollars," he observes, "it's having insufficient networks. Rather than
merely demanding higher wages, we should be demanding more control of
the local economy as well as creating mutual aid networks which meet our
needs without relying on the profit treadmill. We would have less of an
emphasis on schooling and more on inculcating a lifelong enthusiasm for
learning to be applied to the skills of community management."

Radical Plan

Glover credits President Lyndon Johnson with turning him toward
radicalism and driving him toward his lifelong passion for the
organization and management of communities. "I was 18 when I got a draft
notice in 1965," he says. "I had been the kid who made sure the American
flag was flown every July 4th. But growing up in Ithaca, I had begun to
wonder and to think things that weren't on network television. So I went
away and got a degree in marketing at Mohawk Valley Community College in
Utica, then completed a degree in city management at Santa Monica
(Calif.) College, where I worked for several years starting an
organization called Citizen Planners of Los Angeles, dedicated to
democratic ecological urban design. Not utopias that float in the air
out of reach but real practical, step-by-step, totally refashioned urban
America."

After eight years, however, he came to describe LA as "an entirely
featureless nightmare," and returned to his hometown in 1979. "Ithaca is
the scale of community that is emotionally coherent to me," he explains.

Glover, married twice and without any children, describes himself as a
social entrepreneur working out of his house. "The streets are my main
office," he says. "I've been a vegetarian for 32 years. I don't ride in
cars. I don't own anything. I rent an apartment paid entirely by Ithaca
Hours. I consider myself wealthy if I can appreciate the beauty of the
day."

Asked to list his role models, as the "headliner," he cites Green
primary rival Nader. He is quick to recite a laundry list of sources
documenting that Nader's candidacy in 2000 did not cost Democrat Al Gore
the presidential election.

But articulating issues and getting them publicized in the 2004 primary
debates with Nader and others, Glover anticipates, will be complicated
by the Patriot Act response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"Look at the present situation in Iraq," he says. "If the president gave
an honest speech he'd say, 'We did it again, suckers. We told you we
were going to invade a country for noble reasons, to liberate the
people, to protect us from weapons of mass destruction. But now your
kids are dead and we've got the oil.' "We will challenge the American
people to be discerning. Growling appeals to smash enemies are more
popular when people feel economic insecurity, frustration with their
jobs, loss of buying power, loss of status, anxiety about their kids'
education, about their health insurance, about their old age. Then it's
a great way to distract the public, to let people blow off steam without
challenging the source of the problem."

Glover claims perspective on the source of current problems from his
formal studies and community organization work. "America is already
extraordinarily vulnerable to attack," he says. "Our infrastructure, our
centralized technologies make it easy, I won't say how easy, but I have
a degree in city management. There's no such thing as homeland security
which does not incorporate as a prime feature the promotion of a better
way of life abroad. At the same time, the cities are being rebuilt and
the wealth of the nation is being put into genuinely strengthening the
republic, making America available as a decent heritage for future
generations, we need to be promoting what we're doing as a new American
example all over the world. Already the American example is being
broadcast in the most humble houses in the most remote places on the
globe through sitcoms and game shows. The consumer fever and the lust
for what we have is a virus spread globally. Rather we should be
spreading an enthusiasm for building unprecedentedly beautiful cities."

For those who ask what label to apply to his economics, Glover suggests
"mutual enterprise system." "It's a system which respects enterprise but
links it to the responsibility to community," he says. "Mere profit will
destroy even the rich. They cannot barricade themselves far enough from
a planet whose air is being poisoned and water is unfit and whose people
are so desperate they will climb over those fences. Greens in general
have that faith in America that we think Republicans and Democrats have
abandoned. When conservatives don't conserve and liberals don't
liberate, Greens become centrists because we directly address the
central concerns of average Americans for clean and abundant food, for
safe and comfortable housing, for creative work, for top-quality health
care and education, for time to enjoy family life and for time to relax
secure in their old age."

While an attempt to duplicate the Ithaca Hours model in the Westcott
Nation in the mid-1990s proved unsuccessful, the more than 800
alternative currencies now in circulation around the world lend
credibility to the future of Glover's efforts. "Argentina has several
million people trading in local currency since their inflation went
through the roof," he notes. But to a degree, for Glover the future is
already here: "Ithaca Hours are real money. They are just as taxable as
U.S. dollars and it's illegal to counterfeit them."

************************************************************************

10) The Christchurch Press; August 28, 2003

NEW ZEALAND: LATE CASH BLOWS IN FOR WINDFLOW TECH

by Paul Gorman

Windflow Technology's $ 5.5 million money-raising venture to pay for the
construction of up to six new turbines closes tomorrow.

Chief executive Geoff Henderson was reluctant yesterday to judge how
much the renounceable rights issue for the Christchurch firm's existing
shareholders had so far raised. "I'll hold my fire on that. But quite a
lot's been coming in in the last few days -- we've got a last- minute
rush."

Last Friday, Mr Henderson estimated "well over the $ 1 million mark" had
been received, although he said then it was difficult to be more
specific.

The one-for-one rights issue at 200c a share has been for its 470
shareholders, who include Green Party co- leader Jeanette Fitzsimons,
British backer Teddy Goldsmith, and Earl Hagaman, owner of Scenic Circle
Hotels. The Green Party's pension fund also has a stake.

The issue is renounceable with those shares not taken up being offered
to the public.

Mr Henderson said Windflow had its sights set on trading on the lightly
regulated NZAX market. The company's shares currently trade on the Stock
Exchange's unlisted securities market.

The money from the rights issue would be used to construct up to six
wind turbines for the company's first commercial wind farm, and would
take Windflow to the "next level".

************************************************************************

11) CNN; August 28, 2003

CALIFORNIA: INTERVIEW WITH GREEN PARTY CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL
CANDIDATE

GUESTS: Peter Camejo

ANCHOR: Judy Woodruff

The Green Party's candidate in the recall election for California
governor, Peter Camejo, discusses his chances for victory.

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Checking more of the day's developments in
the California recall, former L.A. Olympics organizer Peter Ueberroth is
invoking the memory of the '84 Games with the first of what he's calling
Carry the Torch for Peter Issue Forums. The town-hall-style meeting in
wrapped up just a short time ago. Ueberroth took questions from about 50
to 60 people who have preregistered on his Web site.

Arianna Huffington held a news conference with reporters today in
Sacramento. Just yesterday, Huffington took the politically risky step
of proposing changes to some of the tax provisions created by the
popular Proposition 13.

Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante today proposed state regulation of
gasoline. Bustamante said the oil companies should be regulated because
they are guilty of what he called irresponsible price-gouging.

Well, with me now to talk more about the California recall race is Peter
Camejo. He's the Green Party candidate in the recall election for
California governor.

First of all, Mr. Camejo, "L.A. Times" poll last week, it had Cruz
Bustamante at 35 percent, Arnold Schwarzenegger at 22 percent, several
others. You were down there, I think, seventh on the list with 1
percent. How are you going to translate that into victory?

PETER CAMEJO, GREEN PARTY, CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Well, the
Green Party's been growing continuously over the last five years. I got
5.3 percent statewide. We got over 10 percent in the north. We beat the
Republicans in the whole area of the Bay area. We have more and more
people elected every year. We're up to 65 elected officials in
California.

The problem with those polls is, they're likely voter polls that only
cover 20 percent of the population; 80 percent are not included in those
polls. And the 80 percent that are not included is where our strength
is, which is people of color. Those polls are 80 percent white, even
though the white population in California is 45 percent.

WOODRUFF: So you're saying those other people are going to turn out to
vote.

I want to ask you about your positions vs. Lieutenant Governor
Bustamante. The two of you seem to agree on a number of things, from
abortion rights to same-sex unions, and I could go down the list. What
about the argument that, even if you're just taking a few percentage
points away from him, you could end up costing the Democrats the
election and handing it to a Republican?

CAMEJO: Well, the problem is that, in California, we tax the average
person a lot more than we tax the rich people; 99.9 percent of the
people of California pay a higher tax rate than Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I'm alone in calling for the 5 percent richest people, whose income has
risen 100 percent in the last seven years, that they pay the same as the
average Californian. That would balance the budget. I'm calling for a
fair tax. That's the difference between us and all the other candidates,
including Bustamante, who I do agree that he has come up with some good
proposal. And some of them, I'm going to support. In fact, all the
candidates...

WOODRUFF: So 5 percent richest people would pay what tax?

CAMEJO: We want to increase people above $200,000 by 2 percent and
people who are making over $500,000 5 percent, which would bring them
and the actual taxes they pay to about the same as what the average
taxpayer is paying in California. The poorest 20 percent pay 11.3. The
richest 1 percent are paying 7.2.

WOODRUFF: And you're saying that would help make up the $8 billion
budget deficit?

CAMEJO: We would have a surplus.

Also, the corporations used to pay 14 percent. They now pay 7 percent.
We haven't assessed their properties in almost 20 years, over 20 years.
If we did that, that would bring in $3 billion more. I today announced a
whole plan for how to balance our budget. And, in fact, we could have a
surplus, as we should have.

Do you know that California got the most income ever in the last five
years, way above the norm? We should right now be sitting on about a $30
billion surplus. And Gray Davis lost it all, plus created a massive
deficit.

WOODRUFF: You have an interesting agreement I want to ask you about with
Arianna Huffington. And that is, whichever of the two of you has less
support as you get closer to Election Day is going to drop out and throw
support to the other one. It sounds like neither one of you is serious
about this campaign. How do you explain this?

CAMEJO: Well, no.

What is happening, again, is, the polls so far are showing you only
likely voters. And we haven't had the debates. On September 3, for the
first time in California history, a third party will be in the televised
debates. This is a big breakthrough happening because of the recall. The
mass people, the millions, will finally be able to hear what the Green
Party says and its position of fair taxes and social justice and peace
and democracy.

So this is a great opportunity for us. Arianna Huffington is saying many
of the same things I'm saying. I welcome her. We're friends. We're
working together. We're trying to get a message out. And we hope that
the voters will turn to us. And the only agreement we've made, really,
is that if either of us had a chance to win, the other would do whatever
they could to help that happen.

WOODRUFF: And you'll make that decision between now and Election Day?

CAMEJO: Yes, Judy, if the opportunity actually existed.

WOODRUFF: OK, Peter Camejo, thank you very much for talking to us, the
Green Party candidate for governor of California. We appreciate it.

CAMEJO: Thank you.

************************************************************************

12) The Gloucester Citizen; August 28, 2003

ENGLAND: TELL US WHERE YOU STAND, MP

I have to wonder if he has in fact been reading what he signs. First he
supports a Labour MP's motion calling for the fluoridation of water.
Then he signs a motion arguing that "the addition of medicines to public
water is a breach of their fundamental human rights" and that we should
"reject any proposals to amend legislation to permit the addition of
fluoride to public water supplies".

Politicians are notorious for wanting to be all things to all people but
this takes things further than most. Where does he stand? The Green
Party is in full agreement with the second motion. No one should be
medicated without their consent.

The fluoride that Blair hopes to add to our water is a toxic waste from
the fertiliser industry full of impurities not found in pharmaceutical
grade fluoride. Amazingly it has never been safety-tested for human
consumption.

Over 40,000 studies on fluoridation point to serious health risks. Most
countries have stopped fluoridation as they found no benefits.

Indeed rates of decay have not risen, but continued to decline in those
countries.

Philip Booth
Gloucestershire Green Party

**********************************************************************

13) North Devon Journal; August 28, 2003

ENGLAND: MAJORITY WANT NEW BRIDGE

Green party candidate, Mr Bown, is in conflict with the majority of the
people of North Devon who are desperate for work to commence on the
downstream bridge. It may not be the complete answer but it will reduce
the unacceptable congestion, strangling our economy, and reduce exhaust
pollution. The situation is so serious that jobs and our prosperity
depend upon it.

While I accept there will be disruption to the estuary wildlife during
construction the long term effect will be negligible. You only have to
look at the Torridge estuary and their 'new' bridge for evidence.

Even less understandable, is Mr Bown's desire to be part of our
democratic process in seeking election as an MP and MEP, when he clearly
is not prepared to accept the view of the majority who want the bridge.

Michael Pagram
Chairman UKIP
 Shorelands Road, Barnstaple

**********************************************************************

14) The San Diego Union-Tribune; August 28, 2003

CALIFORNIA: BERKELEY GRAD PLAYS THE GREEN CARD

by Jenifer Goodwin; Staff Writer

They came up with 65 signatures and about as much money as it takes to
buy a used Hyundai. Now, it's their turn to be

Unless you're one of them, the Greens can sound like excessively crunchy
types who'll tell you the sky will fall if you fail to recycle your
yogurt container.

But Peter Miguel Camejo, Green Party candidate for governor, seems to
have a bit more sense of humor. Take the recall, for instance. He has no
problem that the gubernatorial roster also includes a railway
switchman/brakeman, a retired meat packer and a custom denture
manufacturer.

"I believe in people having fun," Camejo says. "California is just
great. It does lots of serious stuff and has lots of fun. People all
over the United States are just jealous."

Camejo, who has two grown stepchildren, is a doting grandfather to his
stepson's two kids; the family lives around the block from him in
Folsom.

He is also the founder of Progressive Asset Management, an investment
firm that invests only in "socially responsible" ventures.

Would you permit an SUV to lead your motorcade?

No. I drive a hybrid.

Due to the California fiscal crisis, would you be willing to serve
Charles Shaw wine, better known as two-buck Chuck, at formal dinners?

I don't drink at all. And I'm the only person who lived in Berkeley in
the '60s and never smoked pot. I know I lose votes when I say it, but
it's true.

If you had to live in Chino or Chico, which would you choose?

(rim) Chico. It's in the middle of nowhere, there's a great university
and there are tons of Greens.

When was the last time you mowed your own lawn?

I didn't have a lawn most of my life. I was born into a wealthy family
in Venezuela. For a time my father was the largest developer of resorts
there. But I never took any money from my father. I never worked for him
and I lived in total poverty until I was 41 or 42. I worked for minimum
wage to organize workers in the garment district in New York. I don't
think anybody else running for governor has done that.

How much money do you need to have to be rich?

If you think of the middle class, the average income is about $48,000
per year per family. The amount you'd need to generate that is $1
million at 5 percent interest. To be considered wealthy, you have to
have at least twice that in assets, so $2 million. I would consider a
guaranteed pension an asset. If you have a pension of $40,000 a year,
that's the same as having an $800,000 asset.

There are eight national parks in California. Name them.

I'm terrible at memory. I don't even want to try.

(Answer: Channel Islands, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Kings Canyon,
Lassen Volcanic, Redwood, Sequoia, Yosemite)

Did you run for student body government in high school or college?

I ran for student government at Berkeley in 1967. I led an anti-war
student slate, and I personally won with the highest vote ever. They
expelled me the next day. The charge was I had spoken three months
earlier with an unauthorized microphone.

The state motto is "Eureka!" What's yours?

I'd like to restore California to the beauty that we once were. We're
down to 4 percent of our ancient forests.

If you had to sing in a karaoke bar, what would use choose as your song?

My favorite song is "La Virjen de la Macarena." It's a trumpet solo. I
used to play trumpet. When I was a teenager, I had a dance band.

Every August, President Bush goes on a "working vacation" in Crawford,
Texas. Where would you take yours?

San Diego. I love San Diego. And my daughter lives there.

What's your favorite drink at Starbucks?

Macchiato Decaf. It's espresso with foam on top. I have that everyday.


CORRECTION; August 30, 2003

A headline Thursday misidentified Peter Miguel Camejo, Green Party
candidate in the Oct. 7 California gubernatorial recall election, as a
"Berkeley grad." In fact, Camejo is not a graduate of the University of
California Berkeley. The Union-Tribune regrets the error.

***********************************************************************

15) Sacramento Bee; August 28, 2003

CALIFORNIA: CAMEJO UNVEILS LIBERAL BUDGET PLAN

by Herbert A. Sample

Oakland -- Green Party gubernatorial candidate Peter Camejo on Thursday
unveiled one of the recall campaign's most detailed and liberal
proposals, one he contended would lift California out of its budget
morass.

Camejo, who heads an investment brokerage firm he founded, called for
strikingly higher income tax rates on Californians who earn more than
$500,000 a year, changing Proposition 13 to allow reappraisals of many
corporate properties and tax cuts for low-wage earners.

He also proposed restoring hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to
K-12 and higher education spending and rescinding fee increases for
state university and community college students.

In all, the tax hikes would raise an additional $24.1 billion a year,
and the new spending and tax cuts would cost $5.1 billion, Camejo
asserted. That would leave California with a $19 billion surplus if the
changes were to be applied to the state's current spending plan, he
added.

"We have a crisis," Camejo said. "At least (the wealthy) should pay what
the average person pays, and that would balance the budget."

Camejo's plan mirrors in part that of another ideological progressive,
independent Arianna Huffington, who described her budget proposal on
Wednesday. Some of its elements, particularly the increase in taxes on
the wealthy and a reassessment of business property, also are similar to
a plan unveiled last week Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, the only prominent
Democrat vying to replace Gov. Gray Davis in the Oct. 7 recall election.

But Camejo's approach is markedly different from that of Republican
Arnold Schwarzenegger. The actor has not disclosed a specific strategy,
though he has said taxes should be raised only in emergencies, spending
should be capped by law and the state budget audited.

Schwarzenegger also has said he would repeal the $4 billion hike in
vehicle license fees, though he has not detailed how he would account
for the lost revenue.

State Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, also has not offered a
detailed plan but has centered his campaign on rescinding the license
fee and cutting spending. And GOP businessman Peter Ueberroth has said
he would call a special legislative session on the budget, implement a
tax amnesty program that would raise $6 billion and push for increased
federal dollars.

Davis early this year proposed a number of structural changes to the
state's fiscal policies, but they were essentially ignored by the
Legislature.

Officially, the current state budget is balanced after the governor and
legislators wrangled over how to close a two-year, $38 billion deficit.
But authorities expect another shortfall of $8 billion to appear next
year.

Camejo, though, contended that the budget should never have fallen into
deficit. He derided Davis' budget policies, accusing the governor of
increasing spending at double-digit rates and projecting further rises
while cutting taxes on the wealthy.

"The level of incompetence and fiscal irresponsibility displayed by the
governor is truly remarkable," Camejo said.

Davis spokesman Peter Ragone defended the governor's budget and fired
back at Camejo.

"The level of ignorance here is astounding and shows why this recall has
become a circus, not a solution," Ragone said. "Every analyst of any
caliber made it clear that the governor's budget proposals this year
were the most fair and most balanced around."

Camejo said he would raise state income tax rates, from 9.3 percent to
14.3 percent, for persons making at least $500,000 annually, which would
generate an estimated $12 billion.

He also would raise rates by 2 percentage points for earners making
between $200,000 and $500,000 a year, producing $2 billion. The effect
of those increases on individuals would be partially offset by the
deduction of state income taxes on federal tax returns.

The state would gain $2.9 billion by altering 1978's Proposition 13 and
reappraising some land owned by businesses. Such a move, though, may
require voter approval.

Camejo also called for rescinding over four years the recently approved
tripling of the vehicle license fee and state sales tax rates, which he
said hit the poor disproportionately.

On the spending side, Camejo would restore $405 million in cuts to K-12
education and after-school programs. He also would rescind $665 million
in cuts to the budgets of the community college, California State
University and University of California systems while canceling student
fee increases.

**********************************************************************

16) South Wales Evening Post; August 28, 2003

WALES: GREEN ENERGY FOR SHELTERS

The Green Party is calling for wind and solar powered bus shelters
across South West Wales. The party wants to see them installed in
Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire after the success of a
scheme in Scotland.

Adshell put up the shelter, which uses green energy for its lights, in
Motherwell.

Penny Kemp, the Green party's environment spokeswoman, said: "We
congratulate Adshell and we urge local and national government to start
getting really serious about the green energy revolution." She said the
drive for renewable energy must be expanded.

"We need building regulations that require new and existing buildings to
make the most of active and passive solar energy, wind energy where
appropriate, and of course cutting-edge energy conservation measures,"
she said.

"We need to forge ahead rapidly with making every house, every school,
every public building and factory as energy efficient as this new bus
shelter by mid-century."

**********************************************************************

17) The Associated Press State & Local Wire; August 27, 2003

MINNESOTA: CAMPAIGN FINANCE BOARD DISMISSES COMPLAINTS AGAINST PAWLENTY

by Brian Bakst, Associated Press Writer

St. Paul -- The state campaign finance board declined Wednesday to take
action against Gov. Tim Pawlenty over consulting work a political
supporter paid him to do while he was running for governor. But the
board left one allegation for a county attorney to review.

In resolving most issues in complaints filed by the DFL and Green
parties, board members said they had no probable cause to believe that
the $4,500 a month Pawlenty earned from ally Elam Baer found its way
into the Republican candidate's campaign account. If it had, it could
have violated campaign giving laws.

Pawlenty said in a news release that the decision affirms of his belief
that he did nothing wrong.

"It is my sincere hope that today's ruling - and dismissal of the
partisan and personal allegations leveled against me - will put an end
to this summer's overheated political rhetoric so we can continue to
address the important issues facing Minnesota," Pawlenty said.

The board consists of three Republicans, two DFLers and one Independence
Party member. Two of them - a DFLer and a Republican - were appointed by
Pawlenty and the rest were named by former governors.

The board deferred action on one facet of the DFL complaint - whether
the payments to Pawlenty through Baer's pay-phone company constituted
corporate contributions. It will be referred to the Dakota County
attorney for further review.

Corporate contributions to candidates are prohibited in Minnesota.

"This is far from over," said DFL Party Chairman Mike Erlandson. "We
look forward to and hope that the Dakota County attorney will do a full
investigation."

Separately, Green Party members have asked the Ramsey and Hennepin
county attorneys to look into the same questions.

"We welcome non-partisan and thoughtful reviews," Pawlenty said...

**********************************************************************

18) The Irish Times; August 27, 2003

IRELAND: GREEN TD CALLS FOR EPA HEAD TO RESIGN

by Louise Geaney

Calls have been made for the director general of the Environmental
Protection Agency, Dr Mary Kelly, to resign following her remarks in a
newspaper article that domestic incinerators would be built throughout
Ireland.

Green Party Cork South Central TD, Mr Dan Boyle - in whose constituency
it is proposed to locate a national toxic waste incinerator at
Ringaskiddy - called for Dr Kelly to consider her position and said the
remarks called into question the impartial role of the EPA. In a
newspaper interview, Dr Kelly was reported to say "we will get domestic
waste incinerators, beginning with the Indaver project in Meath where
planning approval has been secured, though a judicial review is
awaited".

According to Mr Boyle, the role of the EPA should be to make
environmental needs paramount and that the comments of the director
general "compromised that role and has undermined public confidence in
the processes the EPA is involved in. Dr Kelly's remarks are grossly
partial toward the incineration industry and appear to be more helpful
toward meeting their commercial needs rather than upholding proper
environmental standards".

The call for Dr Kelly's resignation was supported by lobby group Cork
Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment (Chase), which has maintained a
determined campaign against the proposed incinerator at Ringaskiddy.

"We know that incineration is a high risk and outmoded waste management
option, and are shocked that the EPA is formally endorsing it. Dr
Kelly's comments directly contradict EPA policy on a number of grounds,"
a spokeswoman for Chase said.

**********************************************************************

19) Morning Star; August 27, 2003

ENGLAND: GREEN PARTY PREDICTS MAJOR CAPITAL GAINS;

The Green Party predicted yesterday that it is set to make major gains
in next year's elections for the London Assembly and the European
Parliament.

Media spokesman Spencer FitzGibbon said that the party's autumn
conference in Lancaster next month would "mark a forum for determined
planning toward next year's electoral success."

The party achieved its best-ever results this year, winning 53 seats in
the English local and Welsh Assembly elections and seven seats in the
Scottish Parliament.

Mr Fitz-Gibbon said: "The conference will see big changes in the Green
Party's leadership team as part of our major shake-down for nine months
of sustained campaigning toward June, 2004."

Conference highlights will include appearances by London Mayor Ken
Livingstone, communication workers' union CWU general secretary Billy
Hayes and Civil Service union PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka.

**********************************************************************

20) The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario); August 27, 2003

CANADA: SECOND CANDIDATE DECLARES FOR WATERLOO'S WARD 2 SEAT

Waterloo -- Judy Greenwood-Speers is running for the Ward 2 seat on
Waterloo city council.

This is the veteran environmentalist's third campaign in municipal
politics. The seat is held by Coun. Dave Roeder, who hasn't announced if
he will seek re-election.

Speers is a registered nurse, businesswoman and activist for the Green
Party of Canada. "You won't lose me on the numbers, and I do think
outside the box," said Speers yesterday.

The other registered candidate for Ward 2 is Angela Vieth. Vieth is
active in the Communities in Bloom, and Nations in Bloom programs for
the city.

**********************************************************************

21) UK Newsquest Regional Press - This is Lancashire; August 27, 2003

ENGLAND: GREEN PARTY BLASTS MPS BACKING FLUORIDE

The Green Party has condemned North West MPs who they say are ignoring
human rights by voting for water fluoridation.

Now the party is urging members of the public to write to their MPs
urging them to uphold people's rights to refuse unwanted medication.

The party came under attack last week from the British Dental
Association when it published its report Truth Decay: Challenging New
Labour's propaganda on water fluoridation written by Manchester-based
member of the Green Party's national executive Dr Spencer Fitz-Gibbon.

But the party say that apart from the potential health risks and the
growing worldwide uncertainty about whether fluoridation reduces tooth
decay or not fluoridation breaches long-established medical ethics and
the European Convention on Human Rights and Medicine.

MPs will make their views known when they vote on the issue on September
8.

Dr Spencer Fitz-Gibbon said: "If your doctor medicated you without your
consent they would face severe disciplinary action. It's appalling that
these MPs intend to vote to allow people to be medicated against their
will."

The report warns fluoride has been linked with cancer.

**********************************************************************

22) The Associated Press State & Local Wire; August 26, 2003

NEW MEXICO: GREEN PARTY OPPOSES CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

By Barry Massey, Associated Press Writer

Santa Fe -- The state Green Party opposes a proposed constitutional
amendment that would increase spending out of a state permanent fund.

Green Party officials joined Tuesday with state Land Commissioner Pat
Lyons at a news conference to urge New Mexicans to reject a proposal
that would increase the yearly pay out from the so-called Land Grant
Permanent Fund.

Gov. Bill Richardson advocates the proposal along with a coalition of
education and business groups. Supporters say the extra money from the
proposal can help pay for newly enacted school improvements, such as a
plan for raising salaries of public school teachers.

David Bacon, the Green candidate for governor in 2002, said the state
should focus on building the size of the permanent fund because it
derives its revenues from a dwindling natural resource, mainly oil and
natural gas production on state trust land.

The permanent fund is intended to provide a source of revenue for the
educational and other needs of future generations of New Mexicans, Bacon
and Lyons said.

Bacon said that increases in natural gas prices might help fuel growth
in the permanent fund in the short term but "then it will drop like a
stone" when production tapers off and prices fall.

"So this is really the time ... that we have to really put the brakes on
that temptation to get into the permanent fund and really, really save
it and try and grow it any way we can," said Bacon.

Royalties from minerals production are a main source of revenues for the
permanent fund along with interest earnings on fund balances.

The Green Party also opposes a proposed constitutional amendment that
would create a secretary of education who would be appointed by the
governor. The state Board of Education would be eliminated as the
policy-making authority for public schools.

Lyons said he supported the proposed education secretary amendment,
which is advocated by Richardson.

The two constitutional amendments are on the ballot of a Sept. 23
special election. Early voting started this week.

**********************************************************************

23) South Wales Evening Post; August 26, 2003

WALES: GREENS ARE FOR ALL SORTS

It's Fine to criticise the Green Party and its leading figures like
Martyn Shrewsbury (Postbox, CJ O'Connor, 19.8.03). But it's strange to
see sniping remarks about the "mixed bag" of Mr Shrewsbury's concerns.

After all, he and the Green Party are in politics, and will naturally
have an opinion on any issue of public interest.

And it's patently absurd to accuse Mr Shrewsbury and the Greens of being
"anti nearly everything".

Greens are for all sorts of things that would make life better for
people in Wales and Britain as a whole, such as: tax reform to
redistribute wealth downwards; free higher and further education; energy
conservation measures that would cut people's fuel bills; renewable
energy production that would help tackle climate change and create more
jobs than either nuclear or fossil fuel energy; the restoration of
manufacturing industry to Wales and the UK as a whole (with suitable
environmental protection, of course); a revolution in public transport;
and countless other positive initiatives intended to promote social
justice, stable economics and environmental sustainability.

And, of course, a libertarian approach to people's individual lives,
including those same-sex partnerships which CJ O'Connor unfortunately
"cannot accept". Same-sex partnerships do no one any harm, but do enrich
the lives of the individuals concerned.

In a society where people adhere to so many versions of so many faiths -
or to none - surely the civilised thing to do is for the state to forbid
only those things that demonstrably cause harm.

Freedom to express oneself in a manner that harms no one else is one of
the basic things the Green Party is for.

Dr Spencer Fitz-Gibbon
Green Party National Executive London

**********************************************************************

24) South Wales Evening Post; August 26, 2003

WALES: TOP GREEN SEES RED

The Wales Green Party has called for 30mph traffic limits to be cut to
20mph in an attempt to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on the
road. Newly selected Green Euro-election candidate Martyn Shrewsbury,
who lives in Swansea, said: ''About 70 per cent of drivers break the
speed limit.

''And for much of the time they are getting away with it,'' he insisted.

''But meanwhile, around Welsh cities there is a climate of fear in which
both pedestrians and cyclists are frightened to compete with the car.

''This policy is about slowing the speed of traffic and saving lives -
as well as restoring the sense of community within the urban
environment.''

**********************************************************************

NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and educational
purposes.

For more Green Party news go to http://web.greens.org/news/





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