Not a fan of billboards in general, including local illegal ones, but this story did catch my eye:(Thanks to Liberty Underground for the news tip)The Republican Convention is expected to begin tomorrow. True Blue Minnesota had plans to erect a billboards showing video images of Guantanamo detainees and the Iraq war, for the benefit of Republican delegates. The state’s lieutenant governor, however, denied the permit and True Blue was going to court on Friday to pursue the matter. 

The following is a media release from the Green Party of Michigan:GREEN PARTY OF MICHIGANhttp://www.migreens.orgFor Immediate Release:Tuesday, August 19, 2008Contacts:John Anthony LaPietra, Media Coordinator, Fred Vitale, State Coordinator, McKinney/Clemente Campaign, 313-580-4905, freddetroit@sbcglobal.net, chair@migreens.orgCynthia McKinney, U.S. presidential candidate of the Green Party, visits MichiganDetroit, Michigan – Cynthia McKinney, Green Party presidential candidate, and a member of the first ever in history all women of color ticket to appear on ballot lines across the country, will visit Detroit August 30 – September 1. See http://www.gp.org.The Green Party of Michigan will be hosting a Press Conference for Ms.McKinney, August 30, 7 pm, International Institute, 111 E. Kirby, Detroit. The Press Conference will be followed by a Rally with other Green Party federal, state and local candidates at 7:30 pm at the same location, the International Institute, 111 E Kirby. The event is open and free to the public.Ms. McKinney will deliver a key policy speech on the elimination of poverty at the National Welfare Rights Union Awards Dinner, August 31, 6:30 pm at St. Paul of the Cross Retreat House, 23333 Schoolcraft, Detroit. (See http://www.mwro.org.The Green Party of Michigan welcomes Cynthia McKinney to Michigan. She will lead the Green Party 2008 Slate joining our other GP candidates including Harley Mikkelson for U.S. Senate, Rev. Edward Pinkney for Congress in the 6th district, currently unjustly incarcerated in Hiawatha Prison, and many Congressional, state and local candidates.Cynthia McKinney is a six-term former Congresswoman from Georgia who quit the Democratic Party on her birthday in 2007 because the Democratic Party no longer represented her values. She joined the Green Party, campaigned for its presidential nomination and was nominated in Chicago at the Green Party National Convention, July 12, 2008. http://www.votetruth08.comDuring her time in Congress, Cynthia McKinney:•consistently opposed funding for bloated military and secret intelligence budgets;•introduced Articles of Impeachment for George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Condoleezza Rice;•introduced, championed, and passed in the U.S. House the Arms Trade Code of Conduct, prohibiting the sale of arms to known human rights abusers;•passed legislation to extend health benefits for Vietnam War veterans still suffering the health effects from exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange.She currently serves on an International tribunal on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and on the Brussels Tribunal on Iraq. She is participating in War Crimes prosecutions in Spain, and is working with the Malaysian Peace organization to criminalize war.Cynthia McKinney’s long-time advocacy for poor people and her recent participation as a Commissioner in the Truth Commission for Water Rights held in Detroit May 3 prompted anti-poverty leaders to invite her as the guest speaker for the Awards Dinner at the National Welfare Rights Union Retreat.Currently on the ballot in over 20 states, with the possibility of several more, the Green Party presidential ticket is breaking new barriers in American politics with the Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente campaign. The campaign has also gotten 14 of the required 20 states for matching federal funds in the primary season which ends for us September 4.The McKinney/Clemente campaign offers a profoundly pro-people, anti-corporate program for this election. Ms. McKinney will not only bring all the troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan, but from every country where troops are stationed. She will reduce significantly the bloated Pentagon budget and spend money here at home. She supports an immediate moratorium on foreclosures. She wants to convert the prisons for profit into money spent on education. She supports universal, single-payer healthcare.Ms. McKinney chose Rosa Clemente, hip-hop activist and scholar, as her running mate (see www.rosaclemente.com). Ms.Clemente brings strong credentials to this third party race. She is a founder of the Hip-Hop Convention, a community activist and a scholar.

From Green Party Watch. See the videos.

Somebody at the National Asian Peace Officers Associationconference this week didn’t want their members to hear fromanti-prohibitionist cops. LEAP wants to know who and why.http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/549/LEAP_barred_from_asian_cops_meeting

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATEShttp://www.gp.orgFor Immediate Release:Wednesday, August 27, 2008Contacts:Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.orgStarlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.orgThe Green Imperative: A strong social safety net for all Americans, including quality health care regardless of ability to pay, employment, age, or prior medical conditionVideo: Cindy Sheehan endorses Cynthia McKinney for PresidentPart 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOZlpLmL7wkPart 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRNA6nnT2OYVideo: Cynthia McKinney discusses major issueshttp://www.youtube.com/user/RunCynthiaRunhttp://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=RunCynthiaRunMs. McKinney on the Democratic Party: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpYlQx2MLuwWASHINGTON, DC — Green Party leaders challenged the media and campaign hype of the Democratic National Convention by comparing the positions taken by Barack Obama and Joe Biden with the Green presidential nominees, Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente.”McKinney’s track record has been one of leadership and fighting for people. Obama’s track record has been all style and little substance,” said Jody Grage, treasurer of the Green Party of the United States.”On health care, the social safety net, and other major economic issues, Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente are far more in tune with the ideals of most voters than the Democratic candidates are. This is why Rosa Clemente, in her vice-presidential nomination speech at the Green National Convention in July, talked about the Green Imperative — the need for a major party that represents We The People. The corporations already own two parties,” Ms. Grage added.(Video of Rosa Clemente’s speech at the 2008 Green National Convention:http://exposureroom.com/members/cseeman.aspx/assets/5fdf9d0aaaf14906a216223f42fb33fb/)Greens compared Ms. McKinney’s record in Congress to Mr. Obama’s. Ms. McKinney, in her six terms as Georgia member of the US House, established national leadership on foreign policy, the environment, and human rights. Mr. Obama, in his single US Senate term, has shown no comparable national leadership on any major issues.”If Cynthia McKinney isn’t invited to the debates, millions of Americans won’t know that there’s a presidential candidate and a political party that stand for their own needs and ideals,” said Jill Bussiere, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States.Health Care ReformCynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente– support Single-Payer National Health Care (Medicare For All: see http://www.pnhp.org), which would provide all Americans with quality health care regardless of ability to pay, employment, age, or prior medical condition. Single-Payer will remove HMOs and insurance firms from control over health care, give Americans choice of health care provider, provide no-cost or low-cost prescriptions based on need, and ease the burden on physicians and other health care providers. Under Single-Payer, working people will pay for less for coverage, and no American will go bankrupt because of health care costs.Video clips: Cynthia McKinney speaks on Single-Player health care and racial health care disparitieshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEHd4lRVUuUMore on health care: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEHd4lRVUuUHealth, the environment, and the economy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVNTOa8owQQBarack Obama and Joseph Biden– reject Single-Payer. They favor reforms that fall short of universal care, fail to reduce the high costs that Americans pay for health care compared to the rest of the world, and leave HMOs and insurance firms in control over health care. The HMO and insurance industry profits by excluding people from coverage and limiting treatment for those who are covered. Mr. Obama has taken major contributions from corporate HMO, insurance, and pharmaceutical contributors (http://www.opensecrets.org).Labor & Economic JusticeCynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente– oppose ‘free trade’ agreements and unelected international trade authorities (NAFTA, CAFTA, WTO, GATT, ‘Fast Track’, etc.) that give corporate power and profit priority over labor rights and environmental protections; Ms. McKinney has voted against these agreements and advocates withdrawal. – support democratic workplaces and repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act (restrictions on union organizing).– support human rights protections and amnesty for undocumented immigrants, an end to raids, and tearing down the border wall. They call the flood of new immigrants a result of economic policies and agreements (e.g., NAFTA) that impoverish people and drive them across borders.– favor a strong safety net for middle- and low-income working people and families, with support for Main Street (small businesses and local economies) instead of Wall Street, and a massive transfer of federal funding from military contract and war spending to human needs.Video: Cynthia McKinney on labor and corporations http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meyaVgkWV2gMs. McKinney on the economy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQJaj5hyFH0Barack Obama and Joseph Biden– support amended ‘free trade’ agreements and unelected international trade authorities; Mr. Biden voted for many such agreements and for ‘Fast Track’ presidential trade authority.– are silent on Taft-Hartley. The Democratic Party has failed to deliver for working people despite Election Year endorsements from unions.– Favor immigration reform but Mr. Obama voted yes on the border wall and more border policing and surveillance.– support many economic policies that favor the wealthy, major corporations, and Wall Street, with limited aid for poor and middle-income Americans. Mr. Obama has praised the 1996 Welfare Reform Act signed by Bill Clinton, which severely hurt millions of Americans, especially women, during the recent economic downturn, and supports Bush-agenda ‘faith-based’ initiatives. Mr. Biden helped draft the 2005 bankruptcy bill that gave credit-card companies and other financial institutions greater power over Americans facing economic difficulties. See “Obama is flat-out kicking McCain’s ass when it comes to Wall Street contributions” (”Candidates for Sale” by Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone, August 21, 2008,http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/22210615/candidates_for_sale)MORE INFORMATIONGreen Party of the United States http://www.gp.org202-319-7191, 866-41GREENFax 202-319-7193Green candidate database for 2008 and other 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-electionsCynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente ‘Power to the People’ Campaign for the White Househttp://votetruth08.com/http://www.runcynthiarun.orgCynthia McKinney on videohttp://www.youtube.com/user/RunCynthiaRunhttp://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=RunCynthiaRunSpeech in Denver, August 24: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPxgcjOjUEcMusic video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx1NPlQjkqo2008 Green National Convention, July 10-13 in Chicago, Illinois http://www.greenparty2008.org

Forwarded by the Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org*Press Advisory* *For immediate release*Contact: John Judge, 202-584-1021, press-secretary@runcynthiarun.orgWashington, DC — Rosa Clemente, the recently nominated vice-presidential candidate running with former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney on the Green Party ticket, will join Ralph Nader, Matt Gonzalez, Val Kilmer, Sean Penn, Cindy Sheehan, Tom Morello, Jello Biafra, Nellie McKay, and Ike Reilly at the “Open the Debates” Super Rally on Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. at the University of Denver Magness Arena in Denver, Colorado.Green Party and other third party and independent candidates in the 2008 presidential race have been consistently excluded from national and local debates, including progressive Congressman Dennis Kucinich from national media debates. The Green Party is demanding that presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney to be included in the upcoming Google and YouTube debates in New Orleans.”It is critical for the Hip Hop generation and young people, among whom only one in fourteen vote or participate in elections, and who see the current two-party system as antiquated and unable to address their issues, to be able to hear other alternatives at all political debates so they can have informed voter choice and become engaged in real democracy. The Green Party ticket represents something my generation can vote for, not just an alternative, but an imperative. This push to have third party and independent voices in national and local debates helps all of us to make democracy work,” Clemente noted.The Denver Super Rally, organized by independent candidate Ralph Nader is being held to coincide with the Democratic National Convention. A second Super Rally is planned for Minneapolis on September 4th at Orchestra Hall during the week of the Republican National Convention. The Super Rallies will be part of an outpouring of protest in Denver and Minneapolis against the two corporate controlled parties and their policies of perpetual militarism and war, at the expense of the necessities here at home.”Our focus at the Denver Super Rally will be to expand the debates beyond just two parties,” Nader said. “It’s an issue of central concern to many Americans and extends far beyond any one candidate. It is a first amendment matter of speech, petition and assembly during a Presidential election for both the candidates and the voters.”For more information see:http://www.votetruth08.org/http://www.rosaclemente.com/http://www.allthingscynthiamckinney.com

http://www.truthout.org/article/dc-voting-rights-plight-drowned-out-din-denverDavid Nakamura, The Washington Post: “The day did not start well for the activists from the District. Armed with buttons, bumper stickers and postcards, they took to the downtown streets here to sign up compatriots in their fight to win the District a seat in Congress.”

Greens: Cynthia McKinney deserves to participate in the Sept. 18 presidential debate in New Orleans

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATEShttp://www.gp.orgFor Immediate Release:Monday, August 25, 2008Contacts:Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.orgStarlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.orgGreen Party leaders cite McKinney’s advocacy of the rights of Katrina survivors and criticism of government response to the disaster, saying she will speak for displaced and excluded people of New Orleans if invited to the debateGreens seek an end to presidential debates limited by arbitrary criteria to the two corporate party candidates; pollsters’ omission of McKinney amounts to manipulation of the presidential race and censorship of the McKinney-Clemente campaignCynthia McKinney’s speech in Denver, August 24: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzoiIQSanx4WASHINGTON, DC — Green Party leaders called for the organizers of the September 18 presidential debate in New Orleans to admit other candidates along with the Democratic and Republican nominees, including Green nominee Cynthia McKinney.The debate sponsors, Google and You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p6Iwu4xMaY), require a 15% showing in three national polls to determine which candidates may participate in the debate.”Cynthia McKinney deserves a place in the New Orleans debate. Any presidential candidate who has qualified for enough ballot lines to achieve the necessary electoral votes to win to be elected — regardless of poll numbers — has earned a place in the debates. The 15% threshold is being used to exclude all candidates outside of the corporate party nominees, John McCain and Barack Obama,” said Cliff Thornton, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States.”Ms. McKinney is more than just the candidate of a viable and growing party. She has played a special role in the movement to help survivors of the 2005 hurricane disaster in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region. No other presidential candidate can talk about the needs of those who’ve been displaced or otherwise affected by Katrina the way Ms. McKinney can. Their concerns will be missing from the debate if Cynthia McKinney isn’t invited,” added Mr. Thornton.Cynthia McKinney will appear on enough state ballots for an Electoral College victory, should she win in all these states. For the same reason, Greens also support the inclusion of independent candidate Ralph Nader, Libertarian Party nominee Bob Barr, and Constitution Party nominee Chuck Baldwin in the New Orleans debate.Green Party leaders said that, since pollsters are generally omitting Ms. McKinney in their research, the poll numbers are showing dishonest and manipulated results, with the McKinney-Clemente campaign effectively censored from major media coverage of the race.”Voters deserve to know about all the names they’ll see on the ballot on Election Day, and to know which candidate best represents one’s interests and ideals. It’s time to end debates limited to candidates approved by sponsoring corporations and pollsters,” said Green Party co-chair Sanda Everette.Greens are appealing to New Orleans area community organizations as well as women’s, student, and human rights groups to join the demand for Cynthia McKinney’s inclusion in the New Orleans debate.Greens note that Ms. McKinney, a member of the US House (Dem-Ga.) at the time of the hurricane, has been intimately involved in the post-Katrina survivors’ issues, and that she:Joined the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina, despite the Democratic Party leadership’s call for Democratic members to boycott the committee.http://katrina.house.gov/index.htmLed a congressional delegation to the site of the devastation, arranged for survivors to testify before the Commission, and inserted a 75-page supplement in the Final Report of the Katrina Commission exposing many problems not otherwise addressed.Introduced the first legislation concerning the clean-up toxicity in the region and restoring the homes of displaced residents.http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_bills&docid=f:h4197ih.txtTracked hundreds of bills and worked closely with other members of Congress on drafting combined legislation that addressed many survivor issues.Led a march across the bridge to Gretna, Louisiana, with people displaced by Katrina who had been refused passage during the hurricane; introduced a bill to deny funding to the Gretna police department because of its role in turning away thousands of hurricane survivors, mostly African Americans, at the Crescent City Connection bridge. Ms. McKinney was the only member of Congress to join the November 7, 2005 march.http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_bills&docid=f:h4209ih.txt.pdfhttp://www.saveourwetlands.org/blockbridge.htmlContinues to works actively with the Reconstruction Party, a local political party in New Orleans, and in support of displaced residents’ right of return and other survivor issues.http://www.cwsworkshop.org/katrinareader/node/525MORE INFORMATIONGreen Party of the United States http://www.gp.org202-319-7191, 866-41GREENFax 202-319-7193Green candidate database for 2008 and other 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-electionsCynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente ‘Power to the People’ Campaign for the White Househttp://www.runcynthiarun.orgCynthia McKinney on videohttp://www.youtube.com/user/RunCynthiaRunhttp://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=RunCynthiaRunSpeech in Denver, August 24: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzoiIQSanx4Music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx1NPlQjkqo“An Opportunity to Open Presidential Debates” By John Nichols, The Nation, July 6, 2008http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters/334812http://www.greenchange.org/article.php?id=29102008 Green National Convention, July 10-13 in Chicago, Illinois http://www.greenparty2008.org

LUV News gives this report:Corporate media coverage is on the Democratic Convention’s inside in Denver, sponsored by corporate backers and lobbyists who are pouring millions of dollars into the affair in order to undermine the public interest on their behalf.  It is all scripted to inspire the party faithful, ignoring the bribery that keeps our government under the thumb of transnational investors and corporations that don’t give a damn about the country or its people, other than what they can steal from the treasury after their candidates win. Here is a message from the streets of Denver that addresses the public interest, completely ignored by the corporate media.  You may read the text, listen to it, or watch it on video from yesterday’s Democracy Now. It includes remarks from Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party candidate for president, peace movement leaders Colonel Ann Wright and Cindy Sheehan, American Indian leader Ward Churchill who lost his job at the U. of Colorado for speaking out against the illegal war in Iraq, and Ron Kovic (born on the Fourth of July) who said about the restriction of a “free speech cage”:             “We are struggling this week in Denver and battling in Denver not only to stop the            war in Iraq, but we are fighting for democracy. This is not only an antiwar movement;            this is becoming a democracy movement, as well. I did not give three-quarters of my            body in Vietnam in 1968, forty years ago, to be put inside of a cage. I’m going to speak.            I’m going to raise my voice against this war, and I refuse to be silenced.”Corporate media have headlined that a small number of protesters were arrested in China during the Olympic Games, but are largely ignoring the fact that protesters were hit with rubber bullets, pepper sprayed and arrested last night in Denver. Protesters refused to go into the “free speech cage” away from the convention site, set up for them in violation of the First Amendment, which guarantees citizens the right to peaceably assemble (without permission from the government, which now often grants that right only through permits, which they then deny, as in Denver).  Corporate media TV, where most people get their news, ignored last night’s protests, going with these top headlines, apparently thought to be more important: ABC News: “WATCH: Obama Look-Alike Lands in Denver” CBS News: “After Hours With Katie & Cyndi,” an interview by Katie Couric of pop star Cyndi Lauper’s take on the convention.CNN: ”Skimpy cheer skirts break dress code” FOX News:  “In-Flight Internet Comes With New Porn Monitors” Activists are calling for protests outside of the Denver Police Department Building at 1331 Cherokee Street this morning if all the protesters have not been released yet.  

FOCUS | Report: US-Led Airstrikes Kill 76 Afghan Civilianshttp://www.truthout.org/article/report-us-led-airstrikes-kill-76-afghan-civiliansSharafuddin Sharafyar, Reuters: “US-led coalition forces killed 76 Afghan civilians in western Afghanistan yesterday, most of them children, the country’s nterior Ministry said. The coalition denied killing civilians. Civilian deaths in military operations have become an emotive issue among Afghans, many of whom feel international forces take too little care when launching air strikes, undermining support for their presence. ‘Seventy-six civilians, most of them women and children, were martyred today in a coalition forces operation in Herat province,’ the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Coalition forces bombarded the Azizabad area of Shindand district in Herat province on Friday afternoon, the ministry said. Nineteen of the victims were women, seven of them men and the rest children under the age of 15, it said.”