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Newsletter of the Green Party of Ohio
Vol. III, No. 2 – March 18, 2003
(This newsletter distributed to 3,027)
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FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE
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1) JOIN THE GREEN PARTY
2) U.S. AND TWO ALLIES ABANDON EFFORT TO OBTAIN U.N. APPROVAL
3) TOLEDO PROTESTORS ARRESTED
4) PENTAGON SEEKS PERMISSION TO POLLUTE
5) 200,000 PROTESTORS CONVERGE ON WHITE HOUSE
6) LIBRARIES POST PATRIOT ACT WARNING
7) THE WAR OF MISINFORMATION HAS BEGUN
8) AMERICAN PROTESTOR KILLED IN GAZA
9) MISCELLANEOUS NEWS ITEMS
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1) JOIN THE GREEN PARTY
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850 Ohio citizens have registered as members of the Green Party of Ohio (GPO).
Add your name to the list at:
http://www.ohiogreens.org/membership/.
Join the Green Party of Ohio today by completing the form at:
http://www.ohiogreens.org/membership/register.html
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2) U.S. AND TWO ALLIES ABANDON EFFORT TO OBTAIN U.N. APPROVAL
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The United States, Britain and Spain withdrew a draft resolution today that declared Iraq in violation of United Nations weapons mandates - a move that almost certainly paved the way for a United States-led military strike against Saddam Hussein's regime.
Adding to increasing indications that war with Iraq is imminent, President Bush planned to address the nation at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The president is expected to present the rationale for abandoning the diplomatic process and to brace Americans and the world for the onslaught of war.
More: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/17/international/17CND-NATI.html
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3) TOLEDO PROTESTORS ARRESTED
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At 11:00 a.m. on Monday, March 17, at the military recruiting offices at 550 S. Reynolds Rd. in Toledo, members of the Northwest Ohio Peace Coalition (NWOPC) protested the Bush administration’s plans for war with Iraq, by peacefully sitting down and blocking entrances to the offices. Mike Ferner, a Vietnam-era Navy veteran and participant in the sit-down, said, “we are supporting our troops the best way possible, by demanding our government bring them home safely and immediately—before they participate in the horrors of war.”
About 24 people were arrested at about noon. All local news media were present when the first 14 people, men and women, young and not so young, many representing the Northwest Ohio Peace Coalition were hand cuffed and walked, carried or dragged into paddy wagons and put under arrest by Toledo Police because they had been sitting and blocking doorways. Approximately 10 more arrests were made some time later when the activists, lead by Ferner walked from the second, previously blocked door, and sat and blocked the main entrance into the South Reynolds strip mall parking lot.
The Green Party of Northwest Ohio: http://www.nwohiogreens.org/
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4) PENTAGON SEEKS PERMISSION TO POLLUTE
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The Pentagon is quietly seeking exemptions from some of America's main environmental laws, which would give the military free rein to dump spent munitions, pollute the air and poison endangered species at its bases without risk of liability for any damage.
The proposal, slipped into the fine print of the 2004 military budget last week, is enraging environmentalists and some senior figures on Capitol Hill, who say the Pentagon is taking shameless advantage of the 11 September attacks and the looming war against Iraq to wriggle out of its responsibilities to public health and the country's natural heritage.
More: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=386524
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5) 200,000 PROTESTORS CONVERGE ON WHITE HOUSE
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Tens of thousands of US anti-war protesters converged on the White House in Washington yesterday as campaigners around the globe staged scores of marches, rallies and peace vigils against an attack on Iraq.
The White House protest was expected to draw more than 200,000 people from about 100 cities across the United States. The largest protests outside the US were held in Paris, Athens and Tokyo. There were smaller demonstrations in other capitals, such as Moscow, Cairo and Christchurch, New Zealand, and low key protests in the UK as well.
In Paris, more than 50,000 protesters, underlining popular support for President Chirac's threat to veto a UN-backed war, converged on the Place de la Nation and held up a vast US flag daubed with a Nazi swastika and the words "killers and criminals".
Smaller demonstrations were staged in Marseilles, Lyon and Toulouse, while in Athens, about 20,000 marched on the American embassy, carrying banners which read "No to the barbarism of the war".
More: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=387598
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6) LIBRARIES POST PATRIOT ACT WARNING
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Along with the usual reminders to hold the noise down and pay overdue fines, library patrons in Santa Cruz are seeing a new type of sign these days: a warning that records of the books they borrow may wind up in the hands of federal agents.
The signs, posted in the 10 county branches last week and on the library's Web site, also inform the reader that the USA Patriot Act "prohibits library workers from informing you if federal agents have obtained records about you."
"Questions about this policy," patrons are told, "should be directed to Attorney General John Ashcroft, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 20530." Library goers were swift to denounce the act's provisions.
"It's none of their business what anybody's reading," said Cathy Simmons of Boulder Creek. "It's counterproductive to what libraries are all about." "I'm not reading anything they'd be particularly interested in, but that's not the point," said Ari Avraham of Santa Cruz. "This makes me think of Big Brother."
More: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/03/10/MN14634.DTL
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7) THE WAR OF MISINFORMATION HAS BEGUN
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By: Robert Fisk
All across the Middle East, they are deploying by the thousand. In the deserts of Kuwait, in Amman, in northern Iraq, in Turkey, in Israel and in Baghdad itself. There must be 7,000 journalists and crews "in theatre", as the more jingoistic of them like to say. In Qatar, a massive press center has been erected for journalists who will not see the war. How many times General Tommy Franks will spin his story to the press at the nine o'clock follies, no one knows. He doesn't even like talking to journalists.
But the journalistic resources being laid down in the region are enormous. The BBC alone has 35 reporters in the Middle East, 17 of them "embedded" – along with hundreds of reporters from the American networks and other channels – in military units. Once the invasion starts, they will lose their freedom to write what they want. There will be censorship. And, I'll hazard a guess right now, we shall see many of the British and American journalists back to their old trick of playing toy soldiers, dressing themselves up in military costumes for their nightly theatrical performances on television. Incredibly, several of the American networks have set up shop in the Kurdish north of Iraq with orders not to file a single story until war begins – in case this provokes the Iraqis to expel their network reporters from Baghdad.
The orchestration will be everything, the pictures often posed, the angles chosen by "minders", much as the Iraqis will try to do the same thing in Baghdad. Take yesterday's front-page pictures of massed British troops in Kuwait, complete with arranged tanks and perfectly formatted helicopters. This was the perfectly planned photo-op. Of course, it won't last.
Here's a few guesses about our coverage of the war to come. American and British forces use thousands of depleted uranium (DU) shells – widely regarded by 1991 veterans as the cause of Gulf War syndrome as well as thousands of child cancers in present day Iraq – to batter their way across the Kuwaiti-Iraqi frontier. Within hours, they will enter the city of Basra, to be greeted by its Shia Muslim inhabitants as liberators. US and British troops will be given roses and pelted with rice – a traditional Arab greeting – as they drive "victoriously" through the streets. The first news pictures of the war will warm the hearts of Messrs Bush and Blair. There will be virtually no mention by reporters of the use of DU munitions.
More: http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0316-04.htm
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8) AMERICAN PROTESTOR KILLED IN GAZA
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Rachel Corrie, 23, a college student from Olympia, Wash., had been trying to stop a bulldozer from tearing down a building in the Rafah refugee camp. She was taken to Najar hospital in Rafah, where she died.
The protesters were in the house of Dr. Samir Masri. Israeli almost daily has been tearing down houses of Palestinians it suspects in connection with Islamic militant groups, saying such operations deter attacks on Israel such as suicide bombings.
Corrie was alone in front of the house as the protestors were trying to get the bulldozers to stop. According to witness, Corrie waved for the bulldozer to stop. She fell down and the bulldozer kept going. Others yelled to the bulldozer operator, but the bulldozer didn't stop at all. It ran over Corrie, and then it reversed and ran back over her.
Witnesses said Corrie was wearing a brightly colored jacket when the bulldozer hit her. She had been a student at The Evergreen State College in Olympia and would have graduated this year.
The Israeli military and the U.S. State Department had no immediate comment.
Rachel was a frequent guest by phone on the Pacifica program Flashpoints which originates at KPFA at 8:00 pm in Ohio.
Go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/16/international/16WIRE-MIDE.html for the article.
Pacifica Radio: http://www.pacifica.org
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9) MISCELLANEOUS NEWS ITEMS
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Less Meat, Less Pollution
People who eat less meat or no meat can expect to live significantly longer than those that eat more meat
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=570&e=9&u=/nm/20030310/sc_nm/health_meat_dc
Industrial-Scale Mortuaries
British officials secretly search for "Industrial-scale" mortuaries. They are preparing for a terrorist attack that could possibly (perhaps probably) occur as a result of the war with Iraq. Secrecy is important since government officials don't want to alarm citizens, and increase the anti-war sentiment. Citizen awareness is generally not useful.
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=385305
Second U.S. Diplomat Resigns
John Brown, 22-year veteran with the State Department, resigned on March 11, 2003 in protest over US policy toward Iraq
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/11/1047144951200.html
"Women's Voices in War Zones” Writing Contest
Eligibility: All women are welcome to participate; age and citizenship are no barrier. We are particularly interested in seeing work from writers, activists, students, and immigrants or refugees.
For more information, see http://www.wworld.org
Au Revoir To French food names
Lawmakers struck a lunchtime blow against the French and put “freedom fries” on the menu. And for breakfast they’ll now have“freedom toast.”
http://www.msnbc.com/news/883853.asp?vts=031120031550
The Dubya War Glossary
due process n. When George Bush decides a terrorist gets the process that he is due. See: unlawful combatant; torture.
War On Terror n. A comprehensive marketing strategy to ensure the reelection of George Bush in 2004, by embroiling the United States in war for decades to come. Replaces these previous campaigns: "Compassionate conservative," "Fiscally responsible," "Education President," "He's really not as dumb as he looks." Precedes "War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength."
Go to http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15372 to see more.
Global Alert Over Mystery Virus
Global health authorities are struggling to contain a mystery virus which has affected more than 150 people in a number of countries, killing at least nine.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2854281.stm
Hawks Circling For New Targets
Even as President Bush struggles against robust international opposition to launch a regime-toppling invasion of Iraq, some of the strongest and earliest supporters of military action against Saddam Hussein are already looking ahead to the next target.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/6284906p-7238632c.html
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The views expressed in this newsletter are those of the author or organization noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Green Party of Ohio.
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Copyright © 2003, Green Party of Ohio.
All rights reserved.
Paid for by the Green Party of Ohio PAC (OH1066)
Gina Ficociello, Treasurer
1427 Northstar Rd., Columbus OH 43212
Contributions to the Green Party of Ohio are not
deductible for federal tax purposes. This newsletter
is not authorized by any candidate or candidate
authorized committee.
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Green Party of Ohio
Email: secretary@ohiogreens.org
Web: http://www.ohiogreens.org
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