[Iowa-dx] IAGP February 2008 Newsletter

[Richard Johnson]

Iowa Green Party Newsletter
February 29, 2008 (Almost)
Edited by: Rick Johnson (panther78 AT gmail DOT com)

This edition is a bit low on content for the month.  There were a couple
of folks who promised pieces for the newsletter, but I did not receive
them.  Also, it is late being published due to a death of a young member
of our church community.=20=20

The deadline for the next newsletter is March 25, 2008.  Also remember,
I can't include 'em if you don't send 'em!
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IGP now on Facebook
by Jim O'Loughlin

The Iowa Green Party now has a group page on the Facebook social
networking site.  It is open to all interested Facebook members at:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=3D8678357882.

The advantage of a Facebook page is that it provides a central location
for news, photos, videos, and discussion, and it can be a good tool for
outreach to not-yet-Greens. It can also help you keep in touch with
friends through the Mini-Feed feature.

I'm impressed by the nice bit of automatic formatting the site does if
you have a video you'd like to share.  A clip from the video pops up
automatically next to the description, as in the case of the Cynthia
McKinney video currently posted on the page.

Of course, if we were designing Facebook ourselves, we would have done a
few things differently. Facebook's privacy settings are not always clear
and can lead to unintended revelations. For example, if you send "email"
through Facebook it is private, but if you write on someone's "wall,"
not only is that information public but a notification of what you've
written is sent out to your "friends."  So, I've gotten notifications
when people are flirting with one another and an update on my minister's
dating status. More than I want to know.

Facebook privacy settings can be easily altered, but it is difficult to
know exactly what information you are sharing. A good article on this
issue appeared in The Nation a little while ago and can be found at:
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080107/melber.

If the social networking bug has bitten you, please consider joining the
group and adding your two cents to the page.=20
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Iowa Green Party Annual Meeting Announced

Plans have been made for the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Iowa Green
Party.  This year's meeting will take place in Iowa City on Saturday,
May 17 at the Iowa City Public Library.  The tentative start time for
the meeting is 3:00 PM in the public meeting room.
-----

>From the Green Party national website
Greens urge economic pressure and cutoff of all military aid to Israel
as Gaza situation worsens=20
GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Monday, March 3, 2008

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

Demanding an end to illegal occupation of Palestinian lands, Greens urge
widespread grassroots support for the Palestine BDS (Boycott,
Divestment, Sanctions) Campaign

Greens blast Clinton, Obama, and McCain for uncritical support of Israel
despite mounting crimes

WASHINGTON, DC -- Calling the Siege of Gaza an international emergency,
the Green Party is urging Congress to reject President Bush's FY2009
budget request for $2.55 billion in Foreign Military Financing for
Israel, and reiterated the call for a cut-off of all US military aid to
Israel.

"The Siege of Gaza is an ongoing atrocity, with mounting civilian
casualties, especially children, killed and maimed by Israeli Defense
Forces," said Holly Hart, secretary of the Green Party of the United
States and member of People for Justice in Palestine, responding to the
mass killing of Palestinians during the past weekend. "Greens are
demanding an end to the siege and to the occupation of Palestinian
lands, to Israel's collective punishment of Palestinians, and to
targeted assassinations, all of which violate international law."

Greens noted that the death toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli
forces has doubled since the Annapolis peace talks sponsored by the US
in November 2007. In some areas of the West Bank, home invasions by IDF
since January 1 have resulted in the kidnapping and detention without
charges of nearly 400 civilians, including children. 1.5 million Gazans,
mostly refugees from Israel in 1948, live in an open-air prison, unable
to exit, and with electricity, fuel, and water under Israeli control.

"Peace talks are a sham as long as Israel refuses to discuss the
construction of new housing units for Jewish settlers throughout
occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank," said David J.
Kalbfleisch, a Green congressional candidate in Illinois' 10th district
<http://www.electdave.org>. "Israel must meet its obligations under U.N.
security council resolution 242."

The Green Party has already called for an economic boycott and
divestment of Israel until the occupation is ended and full human rights
and equality are realized throughout historic Palestine, including
Israel <http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2005_11_28.shtml>, and recognition of
the right of return.

Green leaders, emphasizing the need for popular pressure on the US
government similar to the campaign against South African apartheid two
decades ago, have supported the efforts of Palestinian and Israeli peace
groups to seek negotiation and a halt to violence, and are urging
participation in the Palestine BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions)
Campaign .

The President's FY2009 request would enact a 9% increase over 2007
spending, and would be the first installment of a ten-year agreement
between the US and Israel, signed in August 2007, to increase military
aid by 25%, totaling $30 billion by FY2018.

The arms purchased through Foreign Military Financing are being used to
enforce Israel's 40-year military occupation and siege of the
Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, and for
violation of human rights in the Occupied Territories and against
civilians in Lebanon. Such use of weapons purchased with US money
violates of the Arms Export Control Act and Foreign Assistance Act.

"The Green Party has repeatedly called for an end to Israel's illegal
occupation, for enforcement of human rights laws consistently violated
by Israel, and for an end to all attacks against unarmed civilians by
either side," said Justine McCabe, co-chair of the party's International
Committee.

"Under the influence of AIPAC and other pro-Israel lobbies, John McCain,
Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama have bent over backwards to support
the Israel government and avoid criticism -- even as Israel warns that
it may invade and Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai threatens
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip with a 'holocaust.' If the national
debate on the Middle East is restricted to Democratic and Republican
positions in 2008, the crisis and the atrocities will continue
regardless of who wins the White House," Dr. McCabe added.


MORE INFORMATION

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

-----
>From our fellow Greens in Illinois....

McKinney Wins Illinois Primary
Former Congresswoman (D-Georgia) CYNTHIA MCKINNEY has won majority
support for President in the Green Party's statewide primary election in
Illinois, which was held February 5.
With 57% of the vote, McKinney did more than three times as well as her
next-ranking competitor, Howie Hawkins, who got 17%. Hawkins, a
co-founder of the Green Party of the United States, ran openly as a
place-holder for Ralph Nader, in case Nader should choose to run.
The other two candidates for President on the Green Party ballot in
Illinois =97 California air quality inspector Kent Mesplay and Morgan
State University professor Jared Ball (who dropped out of the race to
support McKinney) =97 received 14% and 12% of the vote respectively.
McKinney was the first African-American Congresswoman to be elected from
Georgia, serving in Congress from 1993-2003 and 2005-2007. She has been
an advocate for Hurricane Katrina victims and voters disenfranchised in
the 2000 and 2004 elections. Her campaign website is
www.runcynthiarun.org

-----
>From the Editor

The next issue of the newsletter will be the last of my three issues.=20
We are in need of another person who is willing to take the time to put
together this newsletter and distribute it to Greens in Iowa.=20
Communications has always been one of our challenges, and this
newsletter is an important tool in correcting that problem.

Along with that, I am also planning on stepping down as State Media
Coordinator at the upcoming state meeting in May.  I will have had the
position for two years, which is the usual term of office for such
positions, and I believe it is time to get some fresh blood into this
position.  The job description for the State Media Coordinator is
relatively simple:

1)Act as liaison between the state party and the GP National Media
Committee.  This involves participation on a couple of mailing lists, a
monthly teleconference, and helping keep people here in Iowa advised on
what is happening at the national level.
2)Prepare media releases as directed by the IAGP state officers or the
state committee and distribute them to a list of media outlets.  Many
times this simply involves using e-mail to distribute the releases, but
sometimes it may involve mailing or FAXing them.  We have a fairly
current address list, and I will make sure it is updated for the next
coordinator.
3)Offering input and suggestions on how to best publicize IAGP issues,
meeting, candidates, and electoral efforts in our state.

If you have any questions about either of these positions drop me an
e-mail at the address in the header of this newsletter.
Richard Johnson
Burlington, IA

Cthulhu 2008. Why vote for a lesser evil.