GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATEShttp://www.gp.orgFor Immediate Release:Wednesday, September 1, 2010Contacts:Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.orgStarlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.orgGreen Party Speakers Bureau: Greens available to speak on foreign policyhttp://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-foreign-policy.phpWASHINGTON, DC — The Green Party of the United States responded to President Obama’s Oval Office address to the nation on Tuesday, August 31, with a call for Americans who oppose the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to press for a complete withdrawal of US forces from both countries and a halt to attacks inside Pakistan’s borders.”When President Obama says we’re turning the page, we’re really moving to the next page of war without end. It would be a mistake for Americans who desire peace to let the President off the hook after Tuesday’s speech,” said Anthony Gronowicz, New York Green candidate for the US House, 7th Congressional District (Bronx/Queens, New York) and a member of the Green Party’s International Committee (http://www.gp.org/committees/intl).Green Party leaders listed reasons for renewed protest against the Obama Administration’s military policies:50,000 military personnel, rechristened non-combat ‘advisors,’ will remain in Iraq, along with a large number of private contractors (over 200,000 as of last month). The Iraq War has entered a new phase: occupation by largely mercenary forces to protect US interests, especially control over Iraqi oil resources. Skepticism remains that US combat in Iraq will cease, given the destabilization caused by the war. Past US ‘advisors’ in southeast Asia, Latin America, and other regions have been used for belligerent purposes (e.g., Vietnam, El Salvador) and regime change (Iran, Guatemala) rather than for peace.The Democratic White House and Congress have continued to pump up the military budget, while seeking cuts in human services. Until military spending is cut drastically and the money is redirected to human needs and action against global warming, President Obama’s stated goal of refocusing on domestic issues remains a hollow promise. (See “Greens call for a new kind of national defense: defense against catastrophic climate change,” Green Party press release, August 6, 2010, http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=336)The US owes the people of Iraq a sincere apology and recompense after an invasion launched in 2003 for false reasons: nonexistent WMDs, lies about nuclear materials and Iraqi involvement in the 9/11 attacks. The aim was to topple a murderous tyrant, but the US has not acknowledged its own role in propping up Saddam Hussein during the 1980s. The Iraq War resulted in hundreds of thousands of dead civilians, many more maimed, millions displaced, shattered infrastructure, and lingering effects from extremely toxic depleted uranium and white phosphorous weapons used by US forces.US troops who fought in the war and the families of those who gave their lives also deserve an apology and restitution including full health care for service members, especially for those who have suffered physical and mental trauma.President Obama has escalated the war in Afghanistan, expanding it into Pakistan, with thousands of civilian casualties. The US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, threats against Iran (and support for Israel’s threats), and military aid for Israel’s assaults on Palestinians have been interpreted by many nations as a greater war against Islam. (See “Greens urge Congress to pass the Kucinich-Paul bill for withdrawal of US troops from Pakistan, citing Wikileaks revelations,” Green Party release, July 27, 2010, http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=335)The threats against Iran demonstrate that President Obama has embraced the Bush-Cheney neocon doctrine of preemptive aggression against countries at peace with the US.The Obama Administration has refused to investigate and prosecute Bush-Cheney officials for abuses of power and war crimes: massive deception; manipulating intelligence; authorizing extraordinary rendition and torture. President Obama has maintained warrantless surveillance of US citizens, surpassed President Bush in his pursuit of whistleblowers, and added extra-judicial killing of targeted US citizens to the list of assaults on the US Constitution. Congress has not repealed or amended the USA Patriot Act.MORE INFORMATIONGreen Party of the United States http://www.gp.org202-319-7191, 866-41GREENGreen candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtmlGreen Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtmlGreen Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakersGreen Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-electionsGreen Party Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus“Another False Ending: Contracting out the Iraq Occupation” by Bill Quigley and Laura Raymond, Common Dreams, September 1, 2010http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/09/01-0Video clips from the Green Party’s 2010 Annual National Meeting, Detroit, Michigan, June 24-27http://www.gp.org http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyusGreen Pages:The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United Stateshttp://gp.org/greenpages-blog~ END ~

From Rethink Afghanistan.com:

July 2010 is the deadliest month of the war in Afghanistan so far for U.S. troops.It’s absolutely outrageous that the administration would continue to order U.S. troops to die for a war that the American people do not support. According to a recent CBS poll, most people want a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan and a plurality of people want our involvement ended in less than a year. Yet, President Obama continues to throw tax dollars and lives into a war that’s not making us safer and not worth the cost.

AP Story

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATEShttp://www.gp.orgFor Immediate Release:Tuesday, July 27, 2010Contacts:Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.orgStarlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.orgObama’s plan to send US troops into Pakistan will turn the war into a greater regional conflict; 2008 Green presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney leaves on Bike4Peace 2010 cross-country tourGreen Party Speakers Bureau: Greens available to speak on foreign policy:http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-foreign-policy.phpVideo clips from the Green Party’s 2010 Annual National Meeting, Detroit, Michigan, June 24-27http://www.gp.org http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyusWASHINGTON, DC — Green Party leaders and candidates are urging Congress to pass House Resolution 301 to remove US forces from Pakistan. The privileged resolution was introduced by Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-Oh.) and Ron Paul (R-Tex.), who said that President Obama’s plans for an increase of US troops in Pakistan violate the 1973 War Powers Authorization (http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/07/23-7).The Green Party supports an end to the US war on Afghanistan, which the Obama Administration has escalated by deploying more troops and ordering air attacks across the border in Pakistan. The party opposes the current war escalation supplemental bill and all proposals to increase war funding.2008 Green Party presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney is currently participating in Bike4Peace 2010 (http://b4p.bbnow.org), a cross-country bicycle ride (San Francisco to Washington, DC) from July 24 to September 22 to protest the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and “demonstrate the bicycle as a transformational tool to solve the problems of Climate Change, Oil Wars, the Health Crisis, and the Economic Crunch.”"The secret files published by Wikileaks show that the White House and Pentagon know the Afghanistan War is a disaster, with hundreds of civilians killed, illegal military operations, and fears that Pakistan and Iran are assisting the Taliban. President Obama’s plan to send troops into Pakistan will turn the invasion of Afghanistan into a wider regional war,” said Cecile Lawrence, Green Party candidate for the US Senate from New York (http://www.cecilelawrence.org).Greens compared the military files exposed by Wikileaks to the Pentagon Papers, which revealed that the Johnson White House had deceived the public and withheld important information about the Vietnam War. Green leaders asserted that the Afghanistan War is weakening rather than improving security for Americans.”Mr. Obama is repeating the reckless and illegal policies of the Bush-Cheney Administration. His refusal to consult Congress about expanding the war, in violation of the War Powers Resolution, proves that he has learned from his predecessors that he can overstep his power with impunity. That’s why the Kucinich-Paul resolution is so important — it holds the White House to at least some standard of accountability,” said Darryl L.C. Moch, DC Statehood Green Party candidate for DC City Council at-large and member of the Green Party Black Caucus (http://www.gp.org/caucuses/black/index.php).Green Party leaders said that the election of a few Greens to Congress would establish an uncompromised antiwar bloc, which would demand quick withdrawal of all troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, oppose funding for the wars, and support reductions in military spending.”President Obama’s escalations of the Afghanistan War, as well as the ongoing Iraq War and abuses like the use of torture at Guantanamo and other sites, should spark a mass revival of the antiwar movement. Americans who voted for the Obama-Biden ticket because they wanted peace should stop making excuses for the Democrats and all the broken promises of change,” said George Martin, Wisconsin Green, member of the Green Party Black Caucus, and former national co-chair of United for Peace & Justice (http://www.unitedforpeace.org).”As candidate for the US Senate from New York, I offer my strong support for House Resolution 301,” said Colia Clark (http://www.coliaclark.org). “It’s time the Congress heard the words of the late Dr. King who asserted that ‘America is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.’ It’s time the US Congress take strong measures to end the US practice of carrying wars to other parts of the world in the name of democracy and world peace. We must withdraw all troops from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and other parts of the world. We must reinvent American democracy as one of peace.”See also “Wikileaks: Massive Leak of Secret Files Exposes Truth of Occupation”, The Guardian, July 25, 2010 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/series/afghanistan-the-war-logs).MORE INFORMATIONGreen Party of the United States http://www.gp.org202-319-7191, 866-41GREENGreen candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtmlGreen Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtmlGreen Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakersGreen Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-electionsGreen Party Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyusVideo clips from the Green Party’s 2010 Annual National Meeting, Detroit, Michigan, June 24-27http://www.gp.org http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyusGreen Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United Stateshttp://gp.org/greenpages-blog~ END ~

We have to go to the British media for the news:

Soldier charged over leaked video of attack

From Liberty Underground News:Greenwald says “Perhaps Manning should have tortured people or criminally eavesdropped on Americans as he leaked these documents; then he could have availed himself of that sweet Presidential protective shield.”

From RPEC :

ohn McCutcheon and Susan Greenbaum will perform a benefit concert in celebration of the Richmond Peace Education Center’s 30th anniversary on Saturday evening, July 24. The show will be held at 7 p.m., at the VCU Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, 922 Park Ave.John McCutcheon is a world renowned musician and composer who has recorded more than thirty albums and has been nominated for six Grammy awards. He is also the author of children’s books and essays. McCutcheon’s most recent release, Sermon on the Mound, tells stories and draws lessons from America’s national pastime. He is a virtuoso musician, an acknowledged master of the hammered dulcimer, as well as a dozen other instruments, including, guitar, autoharp, banjo and piano.This year, the Peace Center also welcomes Richmond’s favorite singer-songwriter Susan Greenbaum. Susan won the Smithsonian Songwriting Competition in October, 2009, and recently won the Celebrity Maestro contest sponsored by the Richmond Symphony. She has independently released four CDs.Tickets for the concert cost $20 for adults, $10 for students, with a maximum of $50 per family. To purchase or reserve tickets:visit http://www.facebook.com/l/3ac89umzEBsBsEjbCw17p9lsNeA;www.rpec.org,email tickets@rpec.org,or call the RPEC office at 232-1002.Tickets will also be available at the door.

From Liberty Underground News:

 The Hill reports this morning that Senator Joe Lieberman is upset that some of our troops feel the rules of engagement in Afghanistan must be relaxed.  Lieberman appears to believe that if more Afghani civilians were killed, Afghanistan might achieve its true purpose, to be safe for US troops.  Apparently the long term goal there is to make Afghanistan safe for US troops above all else, so if rules of engagement are relaxed further, the population of Afghanistan may be severely decimated, since occupation forces don’t appear to be very welcome by the majority Pashtun people, who may be in the way of such progress as this.It sounds very much like Lieberman’s view of Israeli settlements eternally expanding.  Perhaps the settlements will eventually reach Afghanistan.Thanks to the fog of corporate media, most Americans have no idea what the purpose of our troops is in Afghanistan, hearing such zany right wing crap about the war 24/7, blaring from their TV.While Lieberman was making his pitch for more human rights violations in Afghanistan on Fox News yesterday, his sidekick Senator John McCain was calling for a longer war on ABC News.  McCain wants no withdrawal date, just eternal war, like that successful Vietnam War plan.“I know enough about warfare,” he said. “I know enough about what strategy and tactics are about.”  Sure John, like when you dropped bombs on civilians in North Vietnam.  But corporate media don’t talk about such things, keeping the masses as ignorant as possible with an unchallenged National Security State viewpoint.

From UrbanSurvival.com :“Where’s My Change?” Department

Apparently, you and I may not be the only people wondering if the present occupant of the WH is a short-change artist.  Both houses of Congress are planning to debate the war(s).… you know, the one(s) that we were promised would be over?

Excerpt from excellent column:

The problem is not NATO, Karzai, or Pakistan, they’re doing exactly what they’re supposed to do. You might reason that Karzai and Pakistan’s military despots aren’t good choices for allies, but that misses the point. They are the strategy. And that strategy is the problem, not action or lack of action from our allies.You’re going to see this meme more and more in the coming weeks and months. As we see from Derrick’s reporting, the military is well aware that it’s failing big time in Afghanistan. So rather than admitting our COIN strategy is a flaming wreck, look for the blame to fall on our allies. Folks who talk about the relationship between the Taliban and Pakistan will be elevated, so look forward to [re-]learning old factoids like Pakistan’s ISI helped create the Taliban and so forth. The White House will continue to pretend to be outraged and confused with Karzai, even though they know full well he’s corrupt and illegitimate. And of course, the US will continue to gripe that NATO allies won’t send more troops, even though it’s the non-military development projects that work.Don’t fall for it. You can demand that congress block any more funding for the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Cut off the COIN strategy at its source, the money. You can demand that congress abandon Karzai and push for free and fair elections in Afghanistan, so that the central government has legitimacy. You can demand that the US engage with and empower the elected civilian government of Pakistan, rather than military despots like General Kayani. And you can demand they support non-military projects like our allies, Canada. Don’t let them get away with pushing the blame off, the problem lies squarely with the US war.And you can end it. Join us on Rethink Afghanistan’s Facebook page and collaborate with the tens of thousands of others around the country working to bring this war to an end.

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATEShttp://www.gp.orgFor Immediate Release:Monday, May 31, 2010Contacts:Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.orgStarlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.orgGreen Party Speakers Bureau: Greens available to speak on foreign policyhttp://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-foreign-policy.phpThe US Green Party’s 2010 Annual National Meeting, Detroit, Michigan, June 24-27http://greenpartymeeting2010.wordpress.comMedia credentialing page: http://www.gp.org/forms/mediaMore information: 1-866-41-GREEN, office@gp.orgWASHINGTON, DC — The Green Party of the United States condemns the attack by the Israeli navy on Gaza-bound humanitarian aid ships in international wates near Cyprus, which have left at least 19 human rights activists dead and at least 50 wounded.”The attacks on the aid boats is a criminal act of piracy and a deliberate provocation,” said Dr. Justine McCabe, co-chair of the Green Party’s International Committee (http://www.gp.org/committees/intl).”We demand immediate action from the US, including emergency orders from President Obama to cut off all aid to Israel. The policies of the US regarding Israel and Palestine up to now have convinced Israel that it can act with impunity in committing massacres and massive human violations against Palestinian civilians. These illegal and atrocious actions now include the murder of other countries’ citizens in international waters,” added Dr. McCabe, who recently returned to the US from Haifa, where she participated in a coalition of over 400 Jewish and Palestinian Israelis and internationals who met to promote the growing call for the one democratic state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.Israel had earlier threatened to seize the Freedom Flotilla ships and arrest the activists when they entered Gaza coastal waters, but instead executed a surprise maneuver at night in international waters that resulted in death and mayhem for nonviolent activists attempting to deliver 10,000 tons of supplies to the people of Gaza.2008 Green presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney has released a statement on the massacre (”Cynthia McKinney Mourns the Dead of the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: People of the US and the world must end Israeli impunity now!,” http://gp.org/cynthia/display.php?ID=36). Ms. McKinney, a former member of Congress from Georgia, was one of 21 human rights activists on board the Free Gaza relief boat seized by the Israeli navy in international waters when it tried to deliver medical and other humanitarian aid to Gaza in June 2009, in the wake of Israel’s invasion of Gaza.Ms. McKinney and the other activists were held in an Israeli jail for several days. See Green Party press releases issued between June 25 and July 14, 2009, on the party’s media page (http://www.gp.org/press.php).”The US government’s lack of response to the seizing of the Free Gaza boat and jailing of a former member of Congress was interpreted by Israel as a license for even more extreme illegal actions,” said Starlene Rankin, co-chair of the Lavender Green Caucus (http://www.gp.org/caucuses/lavender/index.php). “We urge all Americans who value justice, human rights, and peace to put pressure on the White House and on their Representatives and Senators to move right now to stop all aid to Israel and seek international condemnation of these acts.”"We also urge Americans to be wary of the justifications for Israel’s crimes that will come from politicians, media commentators, AIPAC, and other apologists for Israel. These justifications are meant to cover up atrocities, including yesterday’s murderous attack on the Freedom Flotilla,” said Ms. Rankin.MORE INFORMATIONGreen Party of the United States http://www.gp.org202-319-7191, 866-41GREENGreen candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtmlGreen Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtmlGreen Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakersGreen Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-electionsGreen Party Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyusRecent Green Party press releases on the Middle East“US Greens urge Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to reject Israel’s membership application until Israeli government observes international law and the rights of Palestinians” (May 20, 2010)http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=317“Greens: President Obama must press Israel to end East Jerusalem settlements” (April 4, 2010)http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=307The Free Gaza Movement http://www.freegaza.orgThe Green Party’s 2010 Annual National Meeting, Detroit, Michigan, June 24-27http://greenpartymeeting2010.wordpress.comMedia credentialing page: http://www.gp.org/forms/mediaMore information: 1-866-41-GREEN, office@gp.orgGreen Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United StatesWinter 2010 issue now onlinehttp://gp.org/greenpages-blog~ END ~

From Rethink Afghanistan:

Women’s rights under the U.S.-backed Karzai administration in Afghanistan apparetly include the right to a forced “medical” examination to see if you’re a prostitute, courtesy of the “vice and virtue” police. How do you feel about your tax dollars and military forces propping up a regime that does this to women? –

Beer, wine and women seized by vice police in Kabul restaurants raid