GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATEShttp://www.gp.orgFor Immediate Release:Tuesday, July 6, 2010Contacts:Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.orgStarlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.orgInspired by Ms. Alghanee’s life and work, Greens reaffirm support for reparations for the descendents of slavesGreen Party Speakers Bureau: Greens available to speak on justice, human rights, and related topics:http://www.gp.org/speakers/index.shtmlGreen Party Black Caucus: http://www.gp.org/caucuses/black/index.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, mourning the recent death of Njere Akosua Aminah Alghanee (’Sister Courage’), national co-chair of National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA,http://www.ncobra.org), reaffirmed the party’s dedication to reparations for the descendents of enslaved Africans in the United States.On June 24, Njere Alghanee had just returned from the US Social Forum in Detroit with plans to attend the annual meeting of N’COBRA in New Orleans the next day when her life was taken in a tragic auto accident. June 24, 2010 was her 58th birthday.”The Green Party, especially the party’s Black Caucus, has had a strong alliance with N’COBRA and has supported the demand for reparations. We send our condolences and solidarity with Sister Courage’s family, friends, and fellow leaders in N’COBRA. We honor her leadership,” said Alfred Molison, candidate for Houston City Council, District C (http://votealfred.com).Members of the Green Party in attendance at the US Social Forum and the Green Party’s Annual National Meeting in Detroit heard the news on June 25. The Detroit meeting began a process of considering revisions to the Party’s national Platform; including an amendment offered by the Georgia Green Party and the Green Party Black Caucus on which Ms. Alghanee had been consulted, to strengthen language supporting reparations already in the Green Party Platform (http://www.gp.org/platform/2004/socjustice.html#999024).During the Green Party’s 2009 national meeting in Durham, North Carolina, the party’s Black Caucus hosted a workshop presentation by the International Commission of N’COBRA, as part of “United Voices for Reparations.” Members of the Black Caucus joined N’COBRA at the Congressional Black Caucus conference in September, 2009, during which Njere Alghanee, commenting on apologies offered by Congress, said “It’s not enough to say sorry, you’ve got to do sorry.”Ms. Alghanee worked hard to promote HR 40, the bill introduced each year by Congressman John Conyers (D-Mich.) calling for a study of reparations.”It would be fitting for the US Congress to honor Njere by getting HR 40 out of committee and to the floor for a vote. That would answer the call by Njere to ‘do sorry’ and not just apologize for the crime against humanity that enslaved millions of people of African descent for hundreds of years in the United States,” said Theresa El-Amin, North Carolina Green and Black Caucus member who was elected national co-chair of the Green Party during the Detroit meeting.Ms. El-Amin represented the Green Party at services for Njere Alghanee, which were held on Friday at Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in Stone Mountain, Georgia, and Saturday at the Shrine of the Black Madonna in Atlanta. For more information about the services and a bio of Ms. Alghanee, visit “In Memory of Mama Njere” (http://www.mamanjere.com).During the July 3 celebration of the life of Njere Alghanee, Iyalosa Fulani Nandi Sunni-Ali comforted family and friends with the report of her last conversation with Ms. Alghanee on June 24. She remembered how happy Njere was on June 24, her 58th birthday and the day of her passing. The New Afrikan Women’s Organization, of which Njere was a member, offered a rousing tribute to Njere that brought people to their feet.The Green Party endorses a broad platform providing reparations for centuries of slavery and discrimination, citing destruction of identity, the theft of labor, lynch mob terrorism, de jure Jim Crow, the denial of jobs, education, housing and political rights, with current public policy still driven by a white supremacist ideology justifying COINTELPRO repression of liberation movements, police-state terrorism, and mass incarceration profiting the corporate prison industry.”It is with great respect, humility, appreciation and gratitude to have had the opportunity to be a member of N’COBRA since the early 1990s along with our beloved Revolutionary Warrior, Sister Queen Njere Alghanee. We in the Green Party Black Caucus are determined to work with N’COBRA to lift up the legacy of Sister Queen Njere Alghanee and her call for Reparations Now!” said Morgan Moss Jr., treasurer and former co-chair of the Green Party Black Caucus (http://www.gp.org/caucuses/black/index.php).”Sister Njere Alghanee’s work on reparations is comparable to other contemporary Black women such as Ms. Hlengiwe Mkhize, former chairperson for the South Africa TRC Reparations and Rehabilitation Committee. It is imperative that we in the Green Party support the mission of N’COBRA. That mission is to win full reparations for Black African descendants of enslavement residing in the US and its territories for the genocidal war against Africans that created the transatlantic slave trade, Jim Crow and continues to injure African people in the areas of education, health care, mass incarceration and access to living wage jobs. I pledge to continue my work with and support of N’COBRA in the spirit of Queen Mother Njere Alghanee,” said Cynthia McKinney, 2008 Green Party nominee for President of the United States and former Congresswoman from Georgia.”The effects of racial discrimination, which included federal and state government policies such as residential redlining and segregated schools, services, and accommodations as well as bias by private businesses and employers, continue to this day. Passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other laws prohibiting discrimination have not erased poverty, despair, and other injuries caused by centuries of racism. Reparations are a matter of basic justice,” said Farheen Hakeem, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States and Green candidate for Governor of Minnesota (http://www.farheenhakeem.org).Njere Alghanee worked hard to eradicate poverty, transform the lives of those who survive so that they might also thrive, and create safety and affirm the humanity and autonomy of those victimized by men’s violence. She was a producer at Radio Free Georgia [WRFG 89.3 FM] and a leader in the movement to secure reparations for slave-descendants, chairing N’COBRA.”She brought a sense of urgency to our work and has left us a legacy and set an example of civic engagement that challenges us as we must now go on without her leadership,” said Hugh Esco former state-wide candidate for the Georgia Green Party who also serves on the Executive Committee of Caucasians United for Reparations and Emancipation (http://www.reparationsthecure.org). Mr. Esco knew Ms. Alghanee since the early 1990s when they worked together with the Up and Out of Poverty Now Network (supported by the Atlanta Greens) and when she served on the staff of Georgia Citizens Coalition on Hunger.”I know how much our Atlanta community will miss her. But her death has helped me to understand how much Sister Njere’s shining light will be missed across this country and around the world,” Mr. Esco added.The Green Party held its 2010 Annual National Meeting from June 24 to 27 at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan — where Ms. Alghanee graduated from college, near where she grew up in the New Afrikan Independence Movement in Detroit. For more information about the services and a bio of Ms. Alghanee, visit “In Memory of Mama Njere” (http://www.mamanjere.com).For video clips and news about the Green Party’s national meeting, visit the party’s home page (http://www.gp.org) and Live Stream site (http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus).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/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.”

..and not citizens…

A coalition of local activist groups plans to hold a parade in Richmond thisSaturday, May 1, to commemorate May Day. On March 16, 2010, Fellow WorkerKenneth Yates, one of the event organizers, submitted a parade permitapplication to Sgt. Selander of the RPD Special Events Division. Accordingto the relevant city ordinance (Chapter 102, Article X of the City Code,pertaining to Assemblies, Demonstrations, and Parades), the police shouldhave responded within five days. Instead, nearly a month went. On April 14,Sgt. Selander informed Mr. Yates that, in order to receive a parade permit,his group would have to pay for two off-duty police officers. According toAttorney Rebecca K. Glenberg of the Virginia ACLU, who has been in touchwith both Mr. Yates and Sgt. Selander on this matter, the city code does notinclude any authority for the police to impose such a requirement.*PLEASE NOTE: * whether things work out or not, the rally and parade willstill happen.  It will just have to happen on the sidewalks and not thestreets. We do have a permit for both the rally and the sidewalks.Sign the letter here:http://www.change.org/petitions/view/free_speech_for_richmonds_may_dayDear Mayor Dwight C. Jones and Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood:I am writing to protest the fact that the Richmond Police Department isattempting to deny a parade permit to organizers of a Richmond May DayParade planned for this coming Saturday, first by failing to respond to theorganizers‚ permit application within the time limit imposed by city law,and second by demanding that the organizers first agree to hire two off-dutypolice officers, a requirement not included in the relevant city ordinance.I urge the City of Richmond to do the right thing, respect the FirstAmendment right to peacefully assemble and immediately grant the paradepermit.Sincerely,Cc:The New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press, Richmond Free Press,Richmond Voice The Virginia Defender, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Style Weekly,WRIR, Richmond-area Clear Channel radio stations, WTVR Channel 6, WRICChannel 8, NBC Channel 12, May Day 2010 Richmond Organizing Committee

It’s not too late to decide to bring friends and meet others at tomorrow’s “Don’t Hate/Legislate” Rally on Capitol Square.The General Assembly will be in town to consider gubernatorial vetoes and recommended amendments.Equality Virginia, the Virginia Organizing Project, People of Faith for Equality in Virginia, the LGBT Caucus of the Democratic Party, Log Cabin Republicans of Virginia and many other groups and organizations are holding a “Don’t Hate/Legislate” rally at the Capitol to push for changes in the state Code to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.Speakers will include Senator Donald McEaching, sponsor of SB 66, Delegate Adam Ebbin, first out gay member of the House of Delegates and more.We’ll be gathering at the Bell Tower on Capitol Square at 11am!  Plan to arrive around 10:45am so that the Rally can start on time promptly at 11am.  Be sure to wear red!Help us show the members of the legislature that Virginians want them to change the law to make discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity against the public policy and law of Virginia!Come and learn what you can do between now and the 2011 General Assembly Session to help make that happen.It’s not too late to plan to be there!See you tomorrow!Directions:The Bell Tower is located on Capitol Square in Richmond at the intersection of E. Franklin and 9th Street.  Directions to the Capitol and maps of available nearby parking can be found on the Capitol visitor’s website.

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

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATEShttp://www.gp.orgFor Immediate Release:Thursday, February 25, 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 urges a program for millions of new public works jobs and financial security for Americans instead of Wall Street handoutsGreen Party Speakers Bureau: Greens available to speak on economic policy, racial justice, and related issues: http://www.gp.org/speakersWASHINGTON, DC — Green Party leaders said today that Democratic and Republican politicians are pursuing fiscal agenda, including responses to the subprime mortgage crisis, that amount to an “economic war” on Black and Latino/a people across the US.Greens especially criticized President Obama, whose bailouts for Wall Street firms have done little to provide economic security for those who were among his most enthusiastic supporters in the 2008 election.Derek Grigsby, chair of the Detroit Green Party and member of the Green Party Black Caucus (http://www.gp.org/caucuses/black/index.php): “The Green Party demands an end to the ‘two party’ economic war on Black people and Latinos and on working and poor Americans of all races. Instead of Wall Street bailouts, we need assistance for those who’ve lost their homes and jobs. Millions of new jobs can be created through public works in conservation, retrofitting and greening houses and infrastructure, and expanded public transportation. We need to cancel the wasteful war on drugs, end racially biased sentencing and other criminal justice system disparities, and abolish private ownership of prisons. Black, Latino, and poor Americans have been made fodder for the private prison industry, which profits by filling up cells. We need reparations for the descendents of slaves, recognizing the hundreds of years of stolen labor and post-slavery exploitation and discrimination. We must immediately call an end to the murderous escapades in Iraq and Afghanistan and bring our sons and daughters home now. These steps would lead to an economic recovery that benefits all Americans, and show the rest of the world that we practice what we preach!”Tony Affigne, Green Party National Committee delegate from Rhode Island, Latino community activist: “Outside of the Green Party, few politicians want to recognize racial economic disparities and how they’ve been aggravated by the current financial crisis. In September, the unemployment rate for Blacks was 15.7%; the underemployment rate for Blacks was 23.8 percent and for Latinos 25.1%. The poverty rate for Black children is nearly 35%. But Democrats and Republicans in the White House and Congress are resisting the necessary massive public works program necessary to create jobs and reverse such figures, out of deference to corporate lobbies that prefer a desperate labor force. They promise a private sector miracle that isn’t going to happen. This amounts to a vicious bipartisan policy of inaction to help Americans most in need.”Alfred Molison, Green candidate for Houston City Council and member of the Green Party Black Caucus (http://votealfred.com): “President Obama and other leaders like to preach moral lessons to Black people while slashing the safety net and providing minimal assistance for homeowners and job-seekers. We’re seeing lots of blame on the alleged ‘cultural deficiencies’ of Black people, such as single-mother family statistics and ‘cycles of poverty’ rhetoric that ignores imposed economic factors and a justice system too eager to incarcerate Blacks. Meanwhile, the profits of financial corporations — including those responsible for the current crisis — are now underwritten by US taxpayers to the tune of nearly $24 trillion (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/20/bailout-may-cost-237-tril_n_241512.html). All Americans are becoming victims of the Democratic-Republican assault on working people and dedication to Wall Street’s economic elites, with Black people and Latinos suffering the worst.”Betty Davis, co-chair of the Green Party Black Caucus (http://www.gp.org/caucuses/black/index.php): “Blacks and Latinos were primary targets for lending corporations offering high-interest subprime loans, and were thus disproportionately hit by the subprime mortgage crisis. Blacks were especially vulnerable to such loans because they were denied the equity that whites have long enjoyed, a result of Federal Housing Administration redlining and racial discrimination in the granting of housing loans and mortgages during the mid 20th century. These policies have had profound effects on the finances of Blacks long after discriminatory practices were outlawed. The Center for Responsible Lending has found that, because of the mortgage meltdown, Latinos will have lost between $75 billion and $98 billion and Blacks between $71 billion and $92 billion in home-value wealth. The victims of subprime loans should be first in line for aid that restores financial stability and the ability to keep one’s home.”MORE INFORMATIONGreen Party of the United States http://www.gp.org202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN• Green candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml• Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml• Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers• Green Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-elections• Green Party Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyusGreen Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United StatesWinter 2010 issue now onlinehttp://gp.org/greenpages-blog~ END ~

If you’d like to see Virginia STOP putting people in jail for 
marijuana, then you need to send an email or two, and you need to do 
it TUESDAY!
Delegate Harvey Morgan, a Republican pharmaciust from Gloucester, 
has introduced HB1134 and HB1136. HB1134 will decriminalize 
possession, and reform penalties for other marijuana 
offenses. HB1136 will improve Virginia’s medical-marijuana law,
The decrim bill, HB1134, will be heard about 1pm on Wednesday the 
27th by the Criminal Laws subcommittee of the House Coiurts of 
Justice Committee. After these nine people vote on it, it will be 
heard again by the full Courts committee, which generally follows the 
recommendations of the subcommittee. Boiled down, this means that 
five people on the subcommittee can effectively KILL the bill, and 
they’ll be voting on Wednesday afternoon.
If you’d like to see the bill pass, you need to go to 
<http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+sub+H08001>, and 
send a short email to each person listed under “Membership” (Click on 
each name to see data and a mailto link). The email needs to arrive 
before noon on. Wednesday!
The message doesn’t need to be long, or elegant . . . it just needs 
to GET THERE. As a subjectline, I suggest “Support HB1134″. For 
details on the bill, go to 
<http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=101&typ=bil&val=hb1134>.

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATEShttp://www.gp.orgFor Immediate Release:Wednesday, January 13, 2010Contacts:Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.orgStarlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.orgGreens support Asa Gordon’s action, calling it a demand for fair elections, voters’ rights, and racial justiceGreen Party Speakers Bureau: Greens available to speak on electoral reform and democracy:http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-democratic.phpWASHINGTON, DC — Oral arguments for a major voting rights civil action filed by Green Party leader Asa Gordon, originally scheduled to take place in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (No. 09-5142) on Thursday, January 14, 2010, has been canceled.Mr. Gordon can be contacted at 202 635-7926. Documents, links, and other materials related to the action are available online (http://www.electors.us). Mr. Gordon’s prepared oral argument, with an excellent brief summary of the civil action’s defense of the constitutional right to cast an equal and effective vote, is now posted online (http://mapxiv2usc6.free0host.com/ORAL-RAP.pdf).According to a court order issued on January 11, “The court concludes, on its own motion, that oral argument will not assist the court in this case. Accordingly, the court will dispose of the appeal without oral argument on the basis of the record and the presentations in the briefs. See Fed. R. App. 34(a)(2); D.C. Cir. Rule 34(j).”Gordon v. Biden seeks enforcement of the US Constitution’s ‘Mal-Apportionment Penalty’ (14th Amendment, Section 2), which mandates a reduction of a state’s presidential electors and congressional representatives (”the basis of representation therein shall be reduced”) if “the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States… is denied… or in any way abridged.”The civil action, Gordon v. Biden (formerly Gordon v. Cheney), addresses the antidemocratic mal-apportionment of Electoral College votes, voter dilution by race and/or party affiliation with the popular vote misrepresented by the winner-take-all system of allocating electoral votes.Mr. Gordon (http://www.gp.org/speakers/detail.php?ID=29), chair of the DC Statehood Green Party’s Electoral College Task Force and executive director of the Douglass Institute of Government, filed his civil action to protect the voting rights of presidential electors and the voters they represent in the US District Court (1:08-cv-01294) on July 28, 2008. His reply brief (http://mapxiv2usc6.free0host.com/APPELLANT%27S%20REPLY%20BRIEF_map.pdf) was filed with the court on November 6 and final brief submitted on November 27 (http://mapxiv2usc6.free0host.com/APPELLANT%27S%20FINAL%20BRIEF.pdf).The Green Party has supported Mr. Gordon’s civil action, calling it a demand for fair elections, for the right of every voter to have his or her vote counted in a national election, and for racial justice. For more information, see the Green Party’s December 21, 2009 press release announcing the originally scheduled oral arguments (http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=275).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/greenpartyusGreen Party press releases“Oral arguments for Green leader’s Electoral College Mal-Apportionment civil action (Gordon v. Biden) to be heard in court on Jan. 14, 2010″ (December 21, 2009)http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=275“Greens launch effort against Electoral College manipulation of presidential elections” (August 5, 2008)http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=85“Greens: Enforce 14th Amendment’s ‘Right to Vote’ Provision” (October 18, 2004)http://www.gp.org/press/pr_10_18_04.htmlGreen Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United StatesFall 2009 issue now onlinehttp://gp.org/greenpages-blog~ END ~

 Women in Afghanistan are choosing suicide to escape “their dire circumstances,” according to a new report issued by Canada’s Foreign Affairs Department. Even in the relatively peaceful region of Herat, over 80 women reportedly set themselves on fire in 2008.Consider women’s situation in Afghanistan. Last year, a law was passed that legalized marital rape, and although President Hamid Karzai temporarily withdrew it due to international outrage, he pardoned two men guilty of gang rape. Human Rights Watch found in one survey that an astonishing 87 percent of female respondents had undergone “forced marriage or at least one form of physical, sexual or psychological violence.” (HRW) In addition, according to the Afghan Penal Code, victims of rape can be penalized for adultery. 

Granted, Afghanistan is a pretty rough place, regardless, but Do the U.S. and other nations currently occupying Afghanistan have the responsiblity of securing women’s rights?Read the article by clicking here.