[NV Greens] Fwd: [usgp-dx] U.S. Green Party News Circulator for 3/21/05-3/28/05

[Paul Etxeberri]

>
>
>
>U.S. Green Party News Circulator for 3/21/05-3/28/05
>
>For more Green Party news go to http://web.greens.org/news/
>
>*****************************************************************************
>
>1) CALIFORNIA: OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL SEEKS DISCIPLINARY ACTION
>AGAINST FEDERAL EMPLOYEE FOR HATCH ACT VIOLATION
>2) IRELAND: PROVIDING FACILITIES FOR US FORCES ILLEGAL, SAYS SARGENT
>3) IRELAND: MINISTER TO HIKE WILD SALMON MAXIMUM, SAY GREENS
>4) ENGLAND: CALL FOR NEW ASYLUM POLICY
>5) WALES: GREENS BLAST NIGHT WORK
>6) NEW ZEALAND: ELECTORAL COMMISSION FUNDING NEEDS TO REFLECT MMP:
>GREENS
>7) CANADA: FEDERAL LEADER OF GREENS PREDICTS PARTY WILL WIN SEATS IN
>NEXT ELECTION
>8) ENGLAND: GREENS SHOW FLAG AT MAST FORUM
>9) NEW ZEALAND: NEW ZEALAND DISMISSES AS STUNT PASSPORT OFFER TO ISRAELI
>NUCLEAR WHISTLEBLOWER
>10) SWEDEN: SWEDES WANT VOICE IN EU CONSTITUTION
>11) NEW ZEALAND: BROADCAST VIEWS AIRED
>12) NEW ZEALAND: MP PUSHES FOR RESEARCH
>13) AUSTRALIA: NAURU AND CHRISTMAS ISLAND DETAINEES SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO
>AUSTRALIA - GREENS PARTY
>14) IRELAND: CUTS MAY AFFECT CUSTOMER SERVICE
>15) IRELAND: GREENS PROPOSE BILL TO CLOSE DOWN REPUBLIC'S SIX FUR FARMS
>16) ENGLAND: CALL TO BAN BIRD TRADE
>17) NORTH CAROLINA: N.C. BALLOT THRESHOLDS REDUCED IN APPROVED HOUSE
>BILL
>18) NEW MEXICO: L.A. STUDY GROUP PANEL ON TUESDAY
>19) NEW ZEALAND: MATHERS SELECTED
>20) NEW YORK: PEACE GROUP HOLDS FORUM ABOUT COSTS OF WAR
>21) IRELAND: FUR FARM BAN IS RULED OUT
>22) IRELAND: 'THIRD WORLD' CONDITIONS AT HALTING SITE
>23) IRELAND: FG 'WON'T NEGOTIATE' WITH GREENS OVER LIVE EXPORTS
>24) GERMANY: GERMANY'S RED-GREEN ALLIANCE LOSES ITS LUSTRE: SPECULATION
>IS RIFE THAT THE COALITION OF SOCIAL DEMOCRATS AND GREENS THAT HAS RULED
>SINCE 1998 MAY BE AT RISK, SAYS BERTRAND BENOIT
>25) ENGLAND: NEW APPROACH TO ROAD ROUTE
>26) UTAH: BYU-AREA GROUP USES BAKE SALE TO REPRESENT GENDER GAPS
>27) IRELAND: TDS ROW OVER PROBE
>28) IRELAND: F30M CIVIL TRAVEL BILL
>29) WISCONSIN: HOUSING, DEVELOPMENT AT ISSUE ON WEST SIDE; 2005 SPRING
>ELECTION: MADISON DISTRICT 10
>30) IRELAND: GREEN PARTY OUT TO SAVE THE SALMON
>31) CANADA: STRATEGY TO PAIR NDP, GREEN PARTY VOTES ADVOCATED BY SMALL
>GROUP: COALITION URGES 'PROGRESSIVES TO WORK TOGETHER' TO DEFEAT THE
>LIBERALS
>
>*****************************************************************************
>
>1) US Fed News; March 21, 2005
>
>CALIFORNIA: OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL SEEKS DISCIPLINARY ACTION AGAINST
>FEDERAL EMPLOYEE FOR HATCH ACT VIOLATION
>
>WASHINGTON -- The Office of Special Counsel issued the following press
>release:
>
>The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has filed a complaint for
>disciplinary action against Jeffrey Eisinger, a Small Business
>Administration (SBA) employee in Fresno, California for violation of the
>Hatch Act. Mr. Eisinger, an SBA attorney and an official of the Fresno
>County (CA) Green Party, is charged with engaging in political activity
>on behalf of the Green Party while on duty in his government office
>building, in violation of the Hatch Act. OSC filed the complaint with
>the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) on January 13, 2005.
>
>The OSC complaint alleges that from approximately the fall of 2001 to
>September 2004, Eisinger used his government office equipment to receive
>and send more than 100 e-mails, draft documents, and have telephone
>conversations in support of the Green Party and its candidates. It
>further alleges that Eisinger knew that the Hatch Act prohibited federal
>employees from engaging in political activity while on duty or in a
>government building. The complaint alleges that at the time of his
>prohibited activities, Eisinger was a state committee member and an
>elected county council member of the California Green Party.
>
>Special Counsel Scott Bloch said, "Our federal system depends upon the
>public knowing that partisanship on the job is not permitted. No
>employee may use his or her federal office as a staging ground for
>partisan political activity."
>
>The Hatch Act prohibits federal executive branch employees from engaging
>in political activity while on duty, in any room or building used for
>official duties by an individual employed or holding office in the U.S.
>government, while wearing a uniform or official insignia identifying the
>office or position of the employee, or using any vehicle owned or leased
>by the government. Political activity has been defined as activity
>directed toward the success or failure of a political party, candidate
>for a partisan political office or partisan political group.
>
>The OSC provides advisory opinions on the Hatch Act and also enforces
>the provisions of the Act by filing petitions for disciplinary action.
>Employees who are charged with violations are entitled to a hearing
>before the MSPB. Under the Act, the presumptive penalty for a violation
>is removal from federal employment. However, upon a unanimous vote of
>its members, the MSPB can mitigate the penalty to no less than a 30-day
>suspension without pay. Employees have the right to appeal the MSPB's
>decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
>
>*****************************************************************************
>
>2) The Irish Times; March 21, 2005
>
>IRELAND: PROVIDING FACILITIES FOR US FORCES ILLEGAL, SAYS SARGENT
>
>by Deaglan de Breadun
>
>Ireland: The Government was breaking Irish and international law by
>providing facilities at Shannon for US forces on their way to Iraq,
>Green Party leader Trevor Sargent told a meeting of anti-war protesters
>outside Leinster House on Saturday.
>
>He claimed Shannon was being used, not just as a transit facility for US
>troops and arms, but possibly also for conveying torture victims to
>places such as Guantanamo Bay in "covert operations" by US agencies.
>"The Irish Government is breaking its own word and its own law."
>
>He added that, under the Criminal Justice (UN Convention Against
>Torture) Act 2000, any person landing on Irish soil who was suspected
>of, or had any information about, complicity in torture anywhere in the
>world had to be arrested and questioned. He asked the crowd: "Is that
>happening?" and the response was "No".
>
>His party had been told in the Dail by the Minister for Foreign Affairs
>that permission for landing and overflights was normally granted to
>foreign military planes, provided the aircraft in question was "unarmed,
>does not carry arms, ammunition or explosives, and does not form part of
>a military exercise or operation". He asked the crowd: "Does anybody
>believe that?" and was answered with shouts of "No".
>
>Cllr Larry O'Toole (SF) said: "We will rid this world of tyrants like
>Bush and Blair." He added: "Comrades, it is very important today to send
>out a clear message to the Dublin Government: Shannon must be closed off
>to US warplanes." As long as international solidarity remained,
>"imperialism is doomed".
>
>Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins said he supported the right of the Iraqi
>people to armed resistance against US occupation: "We do not, however,
>support every action, nor every policy of every group that is in the
>opposition. It would not be an advance for the working people of Iraq
>if, at the end of this, we had a regime that mirrored Egypt or other
>Arab dictatorships, where working class people are kept in bondage ."
>
>Mr Fahad Ansari, president of the Federation of Islamic Student
>Societies of Ireland, said it was important to "vocalise our support"
>for the Iraqi resistance.
>
>Ms Glenda Cimino, representing a group of US anti-war activists in
>Ireland, said when the war started: "We told them it was wrong, we told
>them it was illegal, we told them they would get no easy victory, and we
>were right on everything."
>
>An estimated 700 demonstrators marched from Parnell Square to Molesworth
>Street, outside the gates of Dail Eireann, led by a group wearing orange
>jumpsuits and chained together, highlighting the situation of prisoners
>in Guantanamo Bay.
>
>Mr Mick O'Reilly, an official with the Amalgamated Transport and General
>Workers' Union, told the crowd they should be "absolutely delighted"
>with the turnout, as he had once marched in O'Connell Street against the
>Vietnam War with only 13 other people.
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>3) The Irish Times; March 21, 2005
>
>IRELAND: MINISTER TO HIKE WILD SALMON MAXIMUM, SAY GREENS
>
>by Derek Evans
>
>Angling Notes: Minister of State at the Department of Marine Pat the
>Cope Gallagher is about to set a wild-salmon commercial catch maximum of
>139,900 fish, well above the maximum number of 97,000 recommended by
>marine scientists, according to Green Party marine spokesman Eamon Ryan
>TD.
>
>Allowing an extra 42,000 fish to be caught could push the salmon into
>extinction on certain Irish rivers, he says.
>
>For decades, governments have received scientific advice to cease
>indiscriminate drift netting and instead manage river systems on an
>individual catchment basis. "This advice has been ignored and instead
>the Government has set up a management system whereby fishermen are
>given a total allowable catch each year and tags which they apply to
>each fish," he says.
>
>The Atlantic salmon is under threat for many reasons, including climate
>change, pollution and predation. Commercial driftnets along the
>southwest seaboard, however, account for the largest quota of our wild
>salmon. This catch is indiscriminate and makes no allowance for salmon
>bound for rivers on the south and east coasts. Here, conservation limits
>are below sustainable levels and in a state of crisis.
>
>Recognising this crisis, the standing scientific committee of the
>National Salmon Commission (NSC) issued a report in November last
>stating no more than 124,300 fish should be caught (97,000 by nets and
>some 27,300 by rod anglers). At a meeting of NSC last month, fisheries
>boards and fishing industry representatives voted for a larger quota for
>netsmen of 139,900 fish. This unsustainable catch level is likely to be
>approved by the Minister within the next few weeks.
>
>"The Green Party is calling on those interested in saving the Atlantic
>salmon to call on the minister to outline ways of buying out the drift
>nets from 2006 onwards and, in the meantime, to adhere to scientific
>advice on maximum catch for this season," says Ryan.
>
>The permanent closure of the Usk drift-net fishery announced recently in
>the Welsh Assembly brings about the permanent cessation of drift-netting
>off Uskmouth and includes a suite of new bylaws which effectively
>terminates all remaining mixed-stock salmon net fisheries in Wales.
>
>The announcement marks the end of a process that began in 1996 with the
>introduction of the Usk Drift Nets, Net Limitation Order (NLO). This
>order meant no new licences would be issued for a period of 10 years,
>thereby ensuring a gradual phasing out of netting at the mouth of the
>Usk River.
>
>In 2000, the Wye and Usk Foundation and United Usk Fishermen's
>Association reached a financial settlement with the netsmen to buy out
>their licences for a season. Within the terms of the NLO, this
>effectively ended all legal drift netting in the Severn estuary.
>
>The Welsh Environment Agency bylaw secures the deal for good and will
>ensure salmon saved can now successfully breed in the rivers Usk, Wye
>and Severn. Estimates suggest this action has already saved more than
>1,000 salmon a year within the five-year time span.
>
>Welcoming the announcement, Peter Gough, Environment Agency Wales, said:
>"This closure demonstrates the benefit of public-private partnerships
>and it is pleasing the improved protection afforded to salmon was
>facilitated by a negotiated agreement between netting and angling
>interests."
>
>A mild sunny day greeted anglers on opening day on the River Slaney, Co
>Wexford, last Thursday week. Low water levels (about 18 inches below
>normal) failed to deter the large contingent. Some had gathered from
>first light at Enniscorthy Bridge in the hope of catching the first
>salmon of the season.
>
>However, it was noon before Frank Thornton of Enniscorthy and District
>Angling Association landed the first fish from the Ballinapark beat,
>just below Bunclody. The springer of 5.443kg (12lb) fell to a black and
>gold 7g rubber tail, and the second time for Thornton to land a salmon
>on opening day, according to fisheries inspector Josie Mahon.
>
>In total, 14 were caught on opening day - two at Clohamon Bridge and the
>remainder at Strahart, Clobemon and Enniscorthy.
>
>The Blackwater Lodge fishery in Co Waterford has recorded eight fish
>since opening day. However, with some good runs spotted and the weather
>warming up, prospects look good for the coming weeks, according to
>proprietor Ian Powell. Rods and accommodation are still available. To
>book, contact info at ireland-salmon-fishing-net.
>
>On the Drowes River in Co Donegal, low water levels resulted in only two
>salmon for the week. Brian Carty landed one of 5.443kg (12lb) from the
>Eel Weir Pool on a duckfly imitation fly and John Ford recorded the best
>fish of the season so far, a beauty of 7.257kg (16lb) on a shrimp from
>Kelly's Ground.
>
>The Moy system produced 11 salmon including three upstream of the weir
>in Ballina, on worm. On the East Mayo Anglers' Water, John McDonagh,
>Galway, had a 4.990kg (11lb) salmon at the Long Bank, and Jimmy
>Kilcoyne, Charlestown, one of 4.082kg (9lb) on a spinner. Cloongee
>Fishery; the outflow from Lough Cullin above the railway bridge; Pontoon
>Bridge and Lough Conn accounted for the remaining six.
>
>Free fishing continues on the Ridge Pool until the first salmon is
>caught.
>
>Around the fisheries
>
>Annamoe Trout Fisheries, Co Wicklow: As water temperature begins to
>rise, fish are turning to the more traditional flies such as Iron Blue
>Duns, Wyckhams Fancy and Bloody Butchers.
>
>Local angler Mick Francis had three rainbows averaging 2.495kg (5.5lb)
>and season ticket holder Tommy McDonnell caught four on wormfly. (Tel:
>0404-45470.)
>
>Maynooth Fisheries, Co Kildare: Sinking lines brought just rewards to
>Colin O'Sullivan with six fish, using egg flies and boobies, and Ben
>Heeley, a further seven on various coloured lures.
>
>On the carp lake, Colin Flynn, Conor O'Regan and Sean Doogan notched up
>six notable mirrors over 9.072kg (20lb) and one common carp of 7.257kg
>(16lb). (Tel: 01-629 3202.)
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>4) The Gloucester Citizen; March 21, 2005
>
>ENGLAND: CALL FOR NEW ASYLUM POLICY
>
>A Green Party councillor has called for an end to the "bidding war" of
>immigration policy. Martin Whiteside, a Stroud district councillor and
>the party's prospective Parliamentary candidate, called for an asylum
>policy based on tackling conflict and human rights abuses in refugees'
>countries of origin.
>
>And he condemned the "bidding war" in which Labour and the Conservatives
>are "trying to outdo each other on who can boast the nastiest policies".
>
>"The debate has been distorted so that we are now more concerned about
>kicking people out of the country than understanding why they need to
>stay," he said.
>
>"Greens are committed to protecting refugees and exposing the myths
>pedalled by the major parties.
>
>"What we need are more honesty and immigration systems that work."
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>5) South Wales Evening Post; March 22, 2005
>
>WALES: GREENS BLAST NIGHT WORK
>
>Working night shifts can seriously damage your health, according to
>Green Party campaigner Martyn Shrewsbury. The Swansea-based leader of
>the Greens in Wales said there was a lot of evidence that night working
>damaged people's health.
>
>"There is a night working epidemic in Wales which has spread to Swansea
>through our community's growing number of night-time jobs," he said.
>
>"I think 24-hour drinking will add to these jobs, but my main concern is
>the tendency of large supermarket chains to cause increasing numbers of
>people to work at night.
>
>"This applies to all supermarkets - not just those that are open 24
>hours a day - as they all depend on long-distance night movements of
>heavy goods vehicles for deliveries.
>
>"This is extremely damaging to health." Mr Shrewsbury, who is fighting
>Swansea West in the coming election, said research suggested that night
>working was more damaging to health than smoking 20 cigarettes a day,
>and that working nights increased coronary heart disease by 40 per cent.
>
>****************************************************************************
>
>6) New Zealand Press Association; March 22, 2005
>
>NEW ZEALAND: ELECTORAL COMMISSION FUNDING NEEDS TO REFLECT MMP: GREENS
>
>Wellington, March 22 - Electoral Commission airtime and funding needs to
>recognise MMP rather than continue traditions established under
>first-past-the-post, Green Party co-leader Rod Donald says.
>
>Today the Green Party made a submission to the second and final day of
>the commission's hearing into who gets what share of the $ 3.2 million
>election campaign broadcast funding and air-time.
>
>Twenty-three political parties are making claims.
>
>The Green Party repeated its earlier view that the current allocation
>system should be ditched in favour of one where parties are funded after
>elections based on what vote they got. Parties could borrow/fund-raise
>for advertising but then have money for the following campaign.
>
>However, if the current system was to remain Mr Donald said criteria --
>such as votes at the last election, the number of MPs a party has and
>indications of public support such as opinion polls and party membership
>-- should be stuck to.
>
>The big issue is really what should happen to National because in the
>past they got the same funding as Labour but if you apply the criteria
>as they are written there is no way in the world National should get the
>same money as Labour,'' Mr Donald told NZPA.
>
>He said National's performance at the last election and current polling
>should see it get significantly less than the $ 617,331 allocation (the
>same as Labour's) that it got. In the 1999 General Election the two
>major parties got $ 606,659 each.
>
>The old two-party club is at play,'' Mr Donald said.
>
>The Green Party recommended to the commission that a separate category
>be set up for National between Labour and significant third parties. It
>also said party votes should be used as the criteria assessing previous
>elections as they were the votes that decided the number of seats each
>party got.
>
>Mr Donald strongly protested that Labour and National were represented
>on the commission but smaller parties were not.
>
>It's a hangover from first-past-the-post where National and Labour used
>to have virtually all the seats in Parliament and they had a big input
>into how the money should be allocated.
>
>I don't think any political party should be on the commission -- it's
>just not acceptable for the poachers to be the gamekeepers.''
>
>Mr Donald said the commission was more than capable of doing the
>allocation without having any politician on it''.
>
>In its submission ACT said there was no reason for Labour and National
>to get the majority of radio and television advertising time.
>
>There is growing anecdotal evidence that the Electoral Commission is
>committed to preserving the status quo of the two old parties when they
>polled only 63 percent between them at the last election,'' the
>submission said.
>
>We confidently predict this election's allocation will be monstrously
>wrong again.''
>
>New Zealand First said under MMP third parties were increasingly
>important but funded had lagged behind the changes.
>
>The Maori Party indicated it would like air time on the Maori TV not
>just TVNZ and TV3 as it was committed to expressing its message in
>Maori.
>
>The submission noted Maori Television was an important way of redressing
>marginalisation of the Maori voice and specific funding should be
>available for using it.
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>7) National Post (f/k/a The Financial Post) (Canada); March 22, 2005
>
>CANADA: FEDERAL LEADER OF GREENS PREDICTS PARTY WILL WIN SEATS IN NEXT
>ELECTION
>
>Pointing to gains made by the Green party in recent federal and
>provincial elections, the leader of the federal wing of the party
>predicted yesterday the Greens would have members of Parliament the next
>time Canadians go to the polls. "We will elect MPs in the next federal
>election," Jim Harris said, adding the party's seats would most likely
>come from British Columbia ridings.
>
>The Green party -- long-time members of the political fringe -- received
>almost 600,000 votes in June's federal election. Moreover, in a
>byelection in Ontario last week, the Greens received the support of 10%
>of voters. Mr. Harris said if the party can capture between 7% and 8.5%
>of the popular vote in the next federal election the Greens could carry
>multiple ridings.
>
>****************************************************************************
>
>8) The Gloucester Citizen; March 22, 2005
>
>ENGLAND: GREENS SHOW FLAG AT MAST FORUM
>
>Stroud was represented at a mast awareness forum which brought together
>interested parties from around the country. Philip Booth, a spokesperson
>for the Gloucestershire Green Party was among those who attended the
>day, hosted by the North Dorset Green Party.
>
>Those present included a representative from the Government's regulatory
>body, the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), independent
>scientists, planning experts, lawyers, landowners, campaigning groups,
>councillors, police and fire service personnel and many others.
>
>Mr Booth said the latest research about masts and mobile phones was "far
>from comforting." He said the forum heard more about the introduction of
>the new Home Office police TETRA communications system and the
>additional costs to taxpayers.
>
>"This untested and possibly dangerous technology is being planted among
>us ... in complete disregard for the fears of ordinary people," claimed
>Mr Booth.
>
>"Worse still we are paying vast sums of money for an inferior system,"
>he said.
>
>Clive Chamberlain of the Dorset Police Federation, who spoke from the
>audience at the forum, raised concerns about the rapidity of the roll
>out and said: "I dislike myself and colleagues being used as guinea
>pigs." The forum also tackled the issue of planning permission for
>mobile phone masts and raised concerns about the health of young
>children who use mobile phones.
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>9) Associated Press Worldstream; March 22, 2005
>
>NEW ZEALAND: NEW ZEALAND DISMISSES AS STUNT PASSPORT OFFER TO ISRAELI
>NUCLEAR WHISTLEBLOWER
>
>The government on Wednesday dismissed a Green Party call to grant a New
>Zealand passport to an Israeli whistleblower as a stunt, saying he
>wouldn't be able to make use of it to leave Israel.
>
>Mordechai Vanunu served 18 years in an Israeli prison after revealing
>that the nation had developed nuclear weapons. He is currently charged
>with breaching an order preventing him from speaking to foreign
>journalists. He also is barred from leaving Israel, where officials have
>said they fear Vanunu may have more nuclear secrets to share.
>
>Green lawmaker Keith Locke said last weekend that Vanunu should be
>offered a New Zealand passport offer "in recognition of his continued
>persecution for exposing Israel's nuclear weapons program."
>
>"The last thing that would help Mr. Vanunu in his current situation
>would be for a country like New Zealand to publicly offer him a passport
>as a political gesture," Foreign Minister Phil Goff told the New Zealand
>Press Association. "There will be no practical effect of it in the sense
>that Mr. Vanunu would be unable to take up the offer."
>
>Relations between Israel and New Zealand chilled after two suspected
>Israeli intelligence agents were convicted, imprisoned and deported from
>the South Pacific nation last year after pleading guilty to passport
>fraud.
>
>New Zealand suspended all high-level political and diplomatic contacts
>with Israel, demanding an explanation and a public apology for the
>affair, in which the alleged Mossad agents tried to illegally acquire a
>New Zealand passport.
>
>Goff said earlier this month that Israel had initiated contact over the
>issue and diplomatic negotiations to resolve it were continuing. New
>Zealand recently refused a visit by Israeli President Moshe Katsav over
>the dispute.
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>10) UPI; March 23, 2005
>
>SWEDEN: SWEDES WANT VOICE IN EU CONSTITUTION
>
>STOCKHOLM -- More than 100,000 Swedes signed a petition urging a
>referendum on the European Constitution, the European Union Observer Web
>site reported Wednesday.
>
>"In my opinion, it is a fantastic result and one of the biggest
>collections of names ever in Sweden," said the Green Party's Peter
>Eriksson.
>
>The petition had more than 120,000 names and was handed to the
>government Tuesday.
>
>The Swedish government is in direct consultations with the European
>Union on the document, however, and the EU Observer said it was unlikely
>to change its policy.
>
>"The government believes, together with the broad majority in the
>Parliament, that the changes are not so big that a referendum should be
>held to re-examine the referendum in 1994," said Democracy Minister Jens
>Orback. "It's also about respecting referenda."
>
>Most Swedes favored joining the EU in a 1994 referendum.
>
>****************************************************************************
>
>11) The Southland Times (New Zealand); March 23, 2005
>
>NEW ZEALAND: BROADCAST VIEWS AIRED
>
>by Haydon Dewes
>
>WELLINGTON-- LABOUR has the support of the Green Party in its bid to
>wrest the lion's share of the $ 3.2 million fund for party political
>broadcasting this election.
>
>But others parties are fiercely fighting for a more equal distribution
>of the funds, including NZ First and the Maori Party which believe they
>deserve the same as Labour and National.
>
>An Electoral Commission committee yesterday heard submissions from the
>major political parties yesterday to help it decide how to distribute
>the broadcast funding and airtime. As expected, Labour party president
>Mike Williams, secretary Mike Smith and organiser Jenny Michie urged the
>five commissioners to consider giving it a much larger share of the
>funds by applying the criteria that includes a consideration of the
>party and electorate vote at the last election results.
>
>But it was left red-faced after revealing its membership was 48,609,
>when it was forced to admit there could be some "double-up" of counting.
>
>Mr Williams confirmed it was possible to have three memberships but said
>it was unlikely members would want to pay more than one fee and doubted
>such double-ups would reduce its membership much. It presented weighted
>statistics that suggested Labour should get 45.9 percent of funds as
>opposed to National's 33.1 percent.
>
>A similar approach was taken in 1996 when National was given 26 percent
>of the allocation while Labour got 21 percent.
>
>But in 1999 and 2002 the commission opted to give both parties an equal
>share, which National general manager Steven Joyce argued was more
>appropriate for two parties competing to be the core of the new
>Government.
>
>The committee is expected to make rule in mid-April.
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>12) The Press (Christchurch, New Zealand); March 23, 2005
>
>NEW ZEALAND: MP PUSHES FOR RESEARCH
>
>Green MP Sue Kedgley is calling for research into chemicals found in
>pesticides, cosmetics and common household products -- which she
>believes could contribute to breast cancer.
>
>"The cumulative effects of all these daily exposures could pose a
>significant risk to women. The Government cancer control strategy
>completely fails to address the issue," she said yesterday. Some experts
>believed the oestrogen- mimicking chemicals found in household products
>could contribute to cancer, alongside accepted lifestyle factors such as
>smoking, drinking alcohol and a high-fat diet.
>
>The Green Party has developed a breast cancer prevention strategy and is
>asking the Government to adopt it.
>
>****************************************************************************
>
>13) PacNews; March 23, 2005
>
>AUSTRALIA: NAURU AND CHRISTMAS ISLAND DETAINEES SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO
>AUSTRALIA - GREENS PARTY
>
>23 MARCH 2005 CANBERRA (Pacnews) --- Australia's Greens Senator Bob
>Brown says Federal Cabinet must consider bringing long-term detainees on
>Christmas Island and Nauru to mainland Australia.
>
>"Some of Australia's longest term detainees are on Nauru with 48 adults
>and 6 children locked up since 2001. On Christmas Islands, there are 32
>(28 adults and 6 children)," Senator Brown said. "The discussion by
>federal cabinet of long term detainees must consider those outside
>mainland Australia as well as those behind the razor wire at places like
>Baxter. "Now that the Prime Minister has become directly involved in
>rolling back this cruel and inhumane system, he should bring back all
>those on Nauru and Christmas Island for processing here as a prelude to
>releasing them into the Australian community.
>
>"The brutality of the offshore detention centres has shamed this
>country. Meanwhile, Australia has softened its tough immigration
>detention rules and is expected to free some long-term detainees, ending
>a seven-year policy designed to deter people smugglers and stop the flow
>of refugee boats to Australia.
>
>The changes will head off a rift within the conservative government
>after disaffected MPs publicly complained about the harsh treatment of
>people locked up in the Baxter detention camp in the arid mid-north of
>South Australia state. Conservative Prime Minister John Howard said the
>changes would affect only a small number of long-term detainees who had
>their asylum claims rejected but who were unable to return to their home
>country.
>
>"We think it's a sensible way of dealing with this limited number of
>cases," Howard told reporters. Refugee advocates said the changes did
>not go far enough and they called on the government to scrap its
>detention centres and policy of locking up illegal arrivals. "Piecemeal
>releases from detention or temporary visa arrangements are not good
>enough," Amnesty International spokesman Graham Thom said in a
>statement. In 2001, Howard ordered military commandos to storm a
>Norwegian cargo ship to stop it landing more than 430 asylum seekers.
>
>The ship had rescued them from a sinking Indonesian boat at Australia's
>remote Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island. Australia's navy now
>regularly patrols the northern coastline and Australia has funded
>detention camps in Papua New Guinea and the remote Pacific island nation
>of Nauru to prevent illegal arrivals from reaching its shores to claim
>asylum... (THROUGH ASIA PULSE)
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>14) The Irish Times; March 23, 2005
>
>IRELAND: CUTS MAY AFFECT CUSTOMER SERVICE
>
>by Laura Slattery
>
>The news that Bank of Ireland is to axe 2,100 jobs as part of a
>restructuring programme has led to accusations that the cuts will
>compromise customer services.
>
>"Job cuts of this scale cannot but affect the quality of services
>offered by the bank, both in terms of type of services offered and, more
>significantly, their geographical spread," Green Party spokesman for
>Finance Dan Boyle commented.
>
>For Brendan Howlin, Labour Party spokesman for Enterprise, Trade and
>Employment, the announcement reinforces the public perception that Irish
>banks are putting commercial greed before customer interests.
>
>"Increasingly customers will conduct their banking with faceless
>individuals down a telephone line rather than enjoy face-to-face
>interaction with staff about their finances," he said.
>
>Bank of Ireland said yesterday that about 500 of its staff will be
>redeployed from back-office to front-office functions, implying that the
>level of service in its branches will actually improve.
>
>However, 10 branches are to close under the EUR 120 million cost-cutting
>campaign. Bank of Ireland said many of these closures would be the
>result of the amalgamation of branches situated close to one another. It
>has not said where the branches earmarked for closure are located.
>
>Bank of Ireland currently has 261 branches in the Republic and 44 in
>Northern Ireland. Its main rival, AIB, has a network of 280 branches in
>the Republic and 60 in Northern Ireland.
>
>Beyond branch closures, it is difficult to say how the widespread job
>cuts at Bank of Ireland will affect customers. The bank is, however,
>promising more automation and seeking higher productivity from staff.
>There will be no changes to opening hours, according to a spokesman.
>
>By contrast, Bank of Scotland Ireland (BOSI) has said it will remain
>open for business six days a week when the first of the 52 ESB shops it
>acquired last week rebrands and opens its doors as a BOSI branch in
>November. And Danske Bank, the Danish financial institution in the
>process of buying NIB, is known for its early morning starts.
>
>As for the "faceless individuals down a telephone line", there will be
>fewer of these too.
>
>The 22 call centres Bank of Ireland operates will be streamlined and
>amalgamated into just four, facilitating centralised decision-making on
>credit applications. Some services will be outsourced but it is not yet
>clear which ones.
>
>The job cuts at the bank are the central plank of a strategy designed to
>enhance the bank's competitiveness. This strategy may result in lower
>charges for the bank's loyal customers. But many fear it is more likely
>to enhance profits, rewarding shareholders and senior management.
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>15) The Irish Times; March 23, 2005
>
>IRELAND: GREENS PROPOSE BILL TO CLOSE DOWN REPUBLIC'S SIX FUR FARMS
>
>by Michael O'Regan
>
>The Green Party yesterday called for an end to fur farming in a Private
>Members' Bill.
>
>The party said there were six mink farms, one of which also farmed
>silver and Arctic foxes, in the Republic, and they were killing 150,000
>animals annually.
>
>An opinion poll showed that nearly two in three Irish people believed
>that fur farming should be banned, according to the party.
>
>Moving the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Bill, 2004, Dan Boyle, (Cork South
>Central) said the principle of fur farming was inconsistent with ethical
>agricultural behaviour.
>
>He said the Bill was not about a prohibition on the sale or distribution
>of fur. "Consumers make those choices and, more often than not, they
>choose not to."
>
>He said similar legislation existed in Britain and elsewhere.
>
>"In the past, there has been a reluctance in this House to engage in
>innovative legislation. I think that stage has now been passed with the
>introduction of the smoking ban."
>
>Minister of State for Agriculture John Browne said the Government was
>opposed to the introduction of a ban on fur farming.
>
>"The Government considers fur farming to be a legitimate farming
>activity in this country, a view that is shared amongst the vast
>majority of member states of the EU."
>
>Mr Browne said that adequate care and attention must be provided for all
>animals on Irish farms.
>
>"In fur farming husbandry systems, the animals must be inspected
>frequently to safeguard their welfare.
>
>"Owners are obliged to keep records of any medicinal treatments given,
>and of the number of mortalities found at each inspection."
>
>He said it was worth noting that the recent reforms of the Common
>Agricultural Policy would lead to a strengthening of the position of
>animal welfare in EU agricultural policy.
>
>Tom Hayes (FG, Tipperary South) urged the Green Party to have a rethink
>on the issue, and expressed concern about the impact of the party's
>proposal on rural Ireland.
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>16) The Gloucester Citizen; March 23, 2005
>
>ENGLAND: CALL TO BAN BIRD TRADE
>
>A Stroud town councillor is calling on the Government to back calls for
>a ban on wild bird imports. Carol Kambites, of the Green Party, wants
>the import of wild birds as pets to be stopped to reduce the risk of
>sparking a flu epidemic which could cost thousands of lives.
>
>In a letter to Animal Welfare Minister Ben Bradshaw, she said: "The
>trade in wild birds threatens to spread flu and other avian diseases to
>people, livestock and wildlife, threatens the survival of some bird
>species and causes extreme suffering and high death rates among the
>captured birds."
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>17) The Associated Press State & Local Wire; March 23, 2005
>
>NORTH CAROLINA: N.C. BALLOT THRESHOLDS REDUCED IN APPROVED HOUSE BILL
>
>by Gary D Robertson
>
>RALEIGH -- Independent and third-party candidates would have an easier
>time getting onto North Carolina ballots - and staying there - under a
>measure approved Wednesday by a House committee.
>
>North Carolina has one of the highest barriers to ballot access for
>non-major party candidates in the nation - so high that a federal judge
>ruled last year that it placed an "unconstitutional burden" on
>unaffiliated candidates.
>
>A similar bill passed in the Senate in 2001 but failed on the House
>floor that year. This year, though, the judge's ruling may force
>legislators to make a change.
>
>The measure, approved by the House election laws committee with only a
>couple of no votes, would reduce petition requirements and give more
>access to diverse political views, supporters said.
>
>"It brings us in line with the rest of the states," said Barbara Howe,
>last year's Libertarian Party candidate for governor. "We want to give
>the voters of North Carolina the voices they want."
>
>Under the current law, third parties such as the Libertarians must
>collect 69,734 signatures - or 2 percent of the votes cast for governor
>in 2004 - to be able to field candidates in 2006 and 2008. Under the
>proposed legislation, that threshold would be reduced to 0.5 percent of
>the turnout, or 17,434 votes.
>
>Howe said the present requirement means that the party must pay people
>to collect signatures every four years, eating into party money that
>could otherwise be spent on actual campaigning.
>
>"A half a (percentage) point is reasonable figure," she said. "A
>committed group of volunteers can do that."
>
>The measure would also make it easier for third parties to stay on the
>ballot for each successive election cycle. Now, a party's presidential
>or gubernatorial candidate must draw 10 percent of the vote for the
>party to stay on the ballot; the legislation would reduce that to 2
>percent. Howe got 1.5 percent of the vote in 2004.
>
>The North Carolina Green Party has never met the current requirements
>and thus isn't officially recognized by the State Board of Elections.
>Nonetheless, about 950 voters in North Carolina cast write-in ballots
>for Green Party candidates for president, said Elena Everett, the
>party's chairwoman.
>
>Ed King of Pittsboro, a retired history teacher and Green Party
>supporter, told the committee that relaxing the ballot standards would
>allow people like himself to act on political values they believe aren't
>being expressed by the Democratic and Republican parties.
>
>"I think it's the way new ideas are introduced," King said.
>
>Candidates who want to run without affiliation or as an independent
>presently must collect signatures equal to 2 percent of all the
>registered voters in the state - presently 107,762 signatures - to get
>on the statewide ballot. The bill would reduce that requirement to 0.5
>percent of the gubernatorial turnout in the previous election.
>
>Legislators from both major parties spoke in support of the bill, saying
>it's time to expand competition for races from president on down to
>legislative and local races.
>
>Rep. John Blust, R-Guilford, said the latest round of redistricting has
>reduced the number of districts where incumbents face major-party
>opposition.
>
>"We ought to put ... some form of competition into the process," he
>said.
>
>Rep. Paul Miller, D-Durham, the bill sponsor, said Democrats aren't
>threatened by third parties. He's more hopeful about passage of this
>year's bill, which now must to go another committee.
>
>Although the lawsuit got legislators' attention, Miller said it's no
>sure thing the change will pass: "We've ignored things like that
>before."
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>18) Albuquerque Journal (New Mexico); March 23, 2005
>
>NEW MEXICO: L.A. STUDY GROUP PANEL ON TUESDAY
>
>AROUND NORTHERN NEW MEXICO
>
>The Los Alamos Study Group and Campus Greens are sponsoring a panel
>discussion, "The Sleep of Reason: Atoms for Peace and War," at 7 p.m.
>Tuesday at Cloud Cliff Bakery, 1805 Second St.
>
>Panelists include energy activist and former Green Party candidate David
>Bacon, study group director Greg Mello and special guest Rose Gardner of
>Citizens Nuclear Information Center of Hobbs.
>
>The event is free and open to the public. For information, contact the
>study group at (505) 265-1200 or www.lasg.org.
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>19) The Press (Christchurch, New Zealand); March 24, 2005
>
>NEW ZEALAND: MATHERS SELECTED
>
>by Mojo Mathers
>
>ASHBURTON -- Mojo Mathers has been selected as the Green Party candidate
>for the Rakaia electorate. --Press reporters and NZPA
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>20) The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York); March 24, 2005
>
>NEW YORK: PEACE GROUP HOLDS FORUM ABOUT COSTS OF WAR
>
>Students, professors and a former Green Party congressional candidate
>will talk about the costs of war in Iraq during a forum starting at 7
>p.m. today at the river's end bookstore in Oswego.
>
>The panel discussion is sponsored by the Justice for Peace Initiative
>and the Social Justice Club of the State University College at Oswego.
>Refreshments will be served.
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>21) The Mirror; March 24, 2005
>
>IRELAND: FUR FARM BAN IS RULED OUT
>
>THE Government has ruled out a nationwide ban on fur farming but said
>yesterday it may introduce stricter licensing laws.
>
>Junior Agriculture Minister John Browne said a Green Party Dail Bill to
>outlaw the industry was neither practical nor useful.
>
>Six mink farms in the Republic export EUR2million worth of fur each
>year.
>
>The Greens earlier claimed that animals were kept in cramped cages and
>gassed or electrocuted at six months.
>
>But Mr Browne said annual inspections by the Agriculture Department
>indicated that the animals were well cared for and slaughter techniques
>complied with EU regulations.
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>22) The Irish Times; March 24, 2005
>
>IRELAND: 'THIRD WORLD' CONDITIONS AT HALTING SITE
>
>by Lorna Siggins
>
>Galway City Council has been accused of presiding over "Third World"
>conditions at a Travellers' halting site on the city's north side.
>
>Green Party councillor Niall O Brolchain, who is chair of the city
>council's Traveller consultative committee, said it was unacceptable
>that electricity should not be available for residents at the
>Carrowbrowne halting site, located beside the city's old landfill on the
>Headford road.
>
>However the city council has said it is committed to upgrading the site,
>which will happen "in the near future".
>
>A resolution had been passed unanimously by the council before Christmas
>to provide electricity in advance of any upgrade, but no plan had as yet
>been drawn up for this, Cllr O Brolchain said on Tuesday.
>
>The issue was raised again at this week's city council meeting, but
>council officials had failed to provide adequate answers for the delay,
>he said.
>
>The condition of Carrowbrowne has been a long-running issue in Galway
>city, and was described as "disgraceful" over three years ago by Labour
>Party president and Galway West TD Michael D Higgins. Mr Higgins was
>informed in September 2001 that the National Building Agency had been
>asked to prepare draft plans to upgrade the facility, which was
>originally a transient site.
>
>Cllr O Brolchain said city officials had told him the site had suffered
>repeated vandalism in recent years.
>
>****************************************************************************
>
>23) Irish Independent; March 24, 2005
>
>IRELAND: FG 'WON'T NEGOTIATE' WITH GREENS OVER LIVE EXPORTS
>
>FIANNA Fail has called on Fine Gael to come clean on whether or not they
>would enter government with the Green Party.
>
>Deputy Government chief whip Billy Kelleher said Fine Gael consistently
>claimed to be on the side of rural Ireland. But while the party supports
>the live exports trade, the Green Party opposes it, he said.
>
>Mr Kelleher said FG parliamentary party chairman Tom Hayes had expressed
>concern about the Green agenda and the impact it would have on ordinary
>people in rural Ireland.
>
>"There are also serious differences of opinion between the two parties
>on the reformed Common Agricultural Policy and the Nitrates Directive,"
>he said.
>
>"The Green Party is staunchly opposed to the Irish tradition of one-off
>housing. This is another area in which the party's outlook is totally at
>odds with that of Fine Gael."
>
>But Fine Gael's agriculture spokesman Denis Naughten said it was time
>Fianna Fail TDs told Government colleagues to focus on agriculture
>instead of spending time on "nonsensical scaremongering".
>
>Fine Gael could stand over its agriculture policy and, in government,
>would be working to secure a viable future for farming, he added. "Fine
>Gael will consistently support the development of rural Ireland and the
>agri-food sector on their return to government after the next general
>election.
>
>"This Government is ignoring the collapse in farm incomes."
>
>Mr Naughten said Fine Gael had consistently said the live export trade
>was "a critical plank" of agriculture policy. It was "an element which
>is not open for negotiation under any circumstances, including
>negotiations for government".
>
>Senan Molony
>
>****************************************************************************
>
>24) Financial Times (London, England); March 24, 2005
>
>GERMANY: GERMANY'S RED-GREEN ALLIANCE LOSES ITS LUSTRE: SPECULATION IS
>RIFE THAT THE COALITION OF SOCIAL DEMOCRATS AND GREENS THAT HAS RULED
>SINCE 1998 MAY BE AT RISK, SAYS BERTRAND BENOIT
>
>by Bertrand Benoit
>
>Is the "red-green" alliance heading for an early demise? Gerhard
>Schroder, chancellor and Social Democrats' leader, and Joschka Fischer,
>foreign minister and head of the Green Party, were in Brussels yesterday
>to back reform of the stability pact, the services sector directive, and
>the Lisbon agenda.
>
>But in Germany the media were less concerned with the European Spring
>council than the possibility that the coalition of Social Democrats and
>Greens that has ruled Germany since 1998 may be falling apart.
>
>With most legislation requiring approval from the opposition-controlled
>Bundesrat, parliament's upper house, many Germans are asking whether the
>virtual grand coalition now ruling Germany should give way to a formal
>sharing of power between Mr Schroder's SPD and the right-of-centre
>Christian Democratic Union.
>
>Two events this week have triggered speculation about a grand coalition.
>First, an agreement to cut corporate tax, which the government and
>opposition clinched last Thursday. Second, on the same day, Heide
>Simonis, SPD premier of Schleswig-Holstein, failed to secure
>parliamentary backing for her red-green coalition after an election in
>Germany's northernmost state last month that left both SPD and CDU
>without a workable majority.
>
>Yesterday, the two sides began talks in Kiel for what is expected to be
>the fourth grand alliance in Germany's 16 states after Saxony, Bremen
>and Brandenburg.
>
>That would leave only North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous
>state, in red-green hands, and it goes to the polls in May.
>
>The SPD has ruled there for 39 years but opinion polls suggest it will
>be defeated this time. Should the CDU and SPD fail to agree on a
>coalition platform in Schleswig-Holstein, fresh elections would ensue,
>which the CDU and its Free Democratic ally look almost certain to win.
>
>If the SPD and Greens then went on to lose North Rhine-Westphalia, the
>conservative opposition would obtain a two-thirds majority in the
>Bundesrat and, with it, a veto on all the federal government's
>legislation; an unprecedented situation in postwar history.
>
>In private, some SPD members of parliament say Mr Schroder would have no
>choice but to negotiate a joint legislative platform with the CDU in
>order to govern until the 2006 general election.
>
>"The Schleswig-Holstein SPD is under great pressure to make
>concessions," says Hans-Peter Bartels, an SPD MP from Kiel. "But I think
>they can reach an agreement because common ground is easier to find at
>the regional level."
>
>Yet even if a grand coalition can be formed in Schleswig-Holstein and a
>two-thirds conservative majority in the Bundesrat averted, would Mr
>Schroder survive a debacle in North Rhine-Westphalia?
>
>"I think he would," says Christine Scheel, a Green MP. "But I do think a
>defeat could spark a witch-hunt, and the SPD could come looking for
>culprits among the Greens."
>
>Tension between the two partners is palpable, driven by what Ms Scheel
>calls "nervousness" in the SPD because of high unemployment and
>disastrous opinion polls.
>
>The latest nationwide survey, by Forsa for Stern magazine this week,
>gave Mr Schroder's party 29 per cent of the votes against 46 per cent
>for the conservatives.
>
>The Greens, too, have become vulnerable since a scandal about relaxation
>of visa issuance rules in eastern Europe broke out this year, hurting Mr
>Fischer, the foreign minister and Green party figurehead.
>
>Oblivious to the fact that Mr Schroder owes his mandate to the strong
>Green performance at the last general election, some SPD MPs have
>accused their allies of pursuing ideological goals.
>
>Environmentally friendly energy, the end of discrimination at work and
>tough regulations on genetic engineering, all Green priorities, are not
>only economically damaging, they argue, but disconnected from the
>people's chief concern: unemployment.
>
>Mr Bartels warns against bickering: "Those who complain about the Greens
>must ask themselves whether life would be easier with the CDU as a
>coalition partner."
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>25) Essex Chronicle; March 24, 2005
>
>ENGLAND: NEW APPROACH TO ROAD ROUTE
>
>by John Peachey
>
>Campaigners against a suggested new A120 between Braintree and Marks Tey
>have come up with their own suggestion - leave it where it is. The £220m
>new road, which could be ready by 2013, is intended to improve links
>between the north-east of the county and Stansted Airport.
>
>Angered by the Highways Agency's refusal to suggest more than one route
>for the proposed new road, the Green Party thinks the best idea is to
>use the line of the existing road. They say it would be fine if it was
>turned into a dual carriageway and had by-passes around Bradwell and
>Marks Tey.
>
>More than 50 people at a public meeting last week heard Green councillor
>James Abbott say the idea: would eliminate through traffic in those
>villages could be completed quicker would destroy less countryside.
>
>He also suspected that the Highways Agency might have another motive in
>mind for routing their proposed road through disused Rivenhall Airfield,
>which has been controversially designated a future major waste disposal
>site by Essex County Council.
>
>He said: "The county council has been working with the Highways Agency
>to come up with this route, so we are very concerned that a new road
>through the airfield will be the trigger for a massive amount of
>industrial development there." The proposed road would create two
>streams of traffic - one on the new and one on the old A120. The Agency
>admits it would also leave Bradwell and Marks Tey suffering from an
>estimated 12,400 vehicles a day.
>
>The Green suggestion would mean by-passes would be built at the same
>time as the improvement to the existing A120, relieving the villages of
>through traffic.
>
>Highways Agency spokeswoman Kelly Logan said all possible routes had
>been examined and the one which offered the most benefits economically
>and environmentally was chosen.
>
>She said: "We still need feedback from the public so we can take on
>their comments. The southern route is not set in stone, but we believe
>it is the best for a number of reasons." The campaigners have the
>backing of Braintree MP Alan Hurst, who said: "The Highway Agency's
>suggestion for a single route is like Henry Ford saying his cars were
>available in any colour you liked - so long as it was black." He hoped
>something positive would come out of the public consultation period,
>which ends in June.
>
>What do you think? Drop us a line at The Essex Chronicle, Westway,
>Chelmsford CM1 3BE, or email "mailto:letters at essexchronicle.co.uk"
>class="lblue">letters at essexchronicle.co.uk See Letters P17
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>26) University Wire  (Brigham Young U); March 25, 2005
>
>UTAH: BYU-AREA GROUP USES BAKE SALE TO REPRESENT GENDER GAPS
>
>by Daniel Baker
>
>PROVO -- By way of a simple bake sale, the Greeley Green Party is
>looking to raise awareness about sexual inequality and victims of
>assault.
>
>"Were still living in a society that is very unequal," said Brigham
>Young University junior history major Jason Ginn, who is also a Green
>Party member.
>
>The group set up shop outside Ross Hall Wednesday and set the prices on
>their various goodies differently for men and women, to represent the
>disparity in pay between the sexes in today's society.
>
>For example, the cost of a Rice Crispy during the bake sale treat for a
>man was 25 cents and $1 for a woman.
>
>According to the volunteers, white women make 72.2 cents for every
>dollar a white man earns in today's work place. Black women make 64.6
>cents and Hispanic women make 52.2 cents for every dollar a male earns.
>
>The money raised from the fundraiser will be donated to the Greeley
>Assault Survivors Advocacy program.
>
>"The message is more important than the money," junior English major
>Gabriel Guerrero said.
>
>The volunteers are part of a chapter of the national Green Party and
>plans to work with Habitat for Humanity in the near future.
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>27) The Mirror; March 25, 2005
>
>IRELAND: TDS ROW OVER PROBE
>
>OPPOSITION TDs yesterday slammed the revelation that the Dunne Inquiry
>into child organ retention will not have completed its work when it
>finishes.
>
>Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny asked would it honour the commitment of
>former Health Minister Micheal Martin to set up a statutory inquiry if
>the Dunne Inquiry did not reach a satisfactory conclusion.
>
>John Gormley of the Green Party claimed the inquiry, which has cost
>EUR20million, was "yet another debacle by the Department of Health".
>
>****************************************************************************
>
>28) The Mirror; March 25, 2005
>
>IRELAND: F30M CIVIL TRAVEL BILL
>
>by Bob Roberts
>
>PUBLIC servants claimed more than EUR30million in travel expenses last
>year, new figures revealed yesterday.
>
>But civil servants defended the sum and said the bills were legitimately
>needed to fund the staff's mileage and travel expenses.
>
>But opposition politicians slammed spending as excessive and demanded
>the Government intervened to cut the cost of funding state departments.
>
>Green Party spokesman Ciaran Cuffe said: "I am flabbergasted.
>
>"In these days of email, we should be looking at cutting down on travel
>and do a lot more of our work electronically."
>
>Sources yesterday revealed the Justice Department was top of the list
>after claiming expenses of EUR10.7million last year.
>
>The Garda accounted for EUR7.2million, the courts EUR1.3million and the
>Prison Service EUR1.2million.
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>29) The Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin); March 25, 2005
>
>WISCONSIN: HOUSING, DEVELOPMENT AT ISSUE ON WEST SIDE; 2005 SPRING
>ELECTION: MADISON DISTRICT 10
>
>by Judith Davidoff
>
>Longtime west side Ald. Ken Golden is fresh off one of the most
>significant victories of his 16 years on the City Council: helping to
>secure an agreement to bring a grocery store to Monroe Street.
>
>He is also facing the most organized challenge of his tenure from
>Christopher Kratochwill, who is endorsed by the Four Lakes Green Party
>and Progressive Dane.
>
>Kratochwill said he decided to take on the veteran alderman from
>District 10, which includes parts of Monroe Street and Regent Street as
>well as Allied Drive, to make sure all residents in the diverse district
>are heard.
>
>"District 10 is bigger than Dudgeon-Monroe," said Kratochwill, who, like
>Golden, lives in the Monroe Street area.
>
>Kratochwill said residents in the Allied Drive area, for instance, don't
>feel Golden has been receptive to their concerns about Gary Gorman's
>redevelopment plans for the Supersaver site on Verona Road.
>
>Kratochwill said many residents in the area make just 12 to 14 percent
>of the Dane County median income and, as such, won't even be able to
>afford even the "affordable" apartment units that will be targeted at
>people making 30 percent of the median income.
>
>Golden said it's impossible to build new housing that would be
>affordable to people making 15 percent of the county median income.
>
>He also noted no one will be relocated to make way for the new project.
>
>"We're creating new housing in the area," he said. "No one is getting
>moved out."
>
>Golden, who is endorsed by the Dane County Democratic Party and Mayor
>Dave Cieslewicz, said developers won't build if they can't reap a
>profit, and suggested more needs to be done to improve area residents'
>incomes.
>
>"The city has some minimal responsibility there, but it's much more of a
>state function," said Golden, citing services offered by the Department
>of Commerce and Department of Workforce Development.
>
>Golden said he is motivated to seek another term on the council to wrap
>up projects that are in the works.
>
>"I have a list of things I want to finish," he said.
>
>Golden said he wants to see the Monroe Commons project through to
>fruition and continue, as chair of the Metropolitan Planning
>Organization, overseeing plans for the proposed expansion of the West
>Beltline/Verona Road intersection.
>
>He said he also wants to be part of the discussion over the future of
>commuter rail and streetcars in Madison and restrictions on so-called
>"big box" developments.
>
>Kratochwill said he would work to find creative ways to help calm
>traffic in his district, especially on Nakoma Road, Odana Road, Regent
>Street and Seminole Highway.
>
>He said he would also step up efforts to prevent runoff into Madison's
>lakes and to explore using tax incremental financing for affordable
>housing projects.
>
>Kratchowill said he'd also like to see a reduction in emissions from the
>Madison Gas and Electric plant.
>
>"It's one of the dirtiest coal-fired power plants in the nation," he
>said.
>
>Ken Golden
>
>Age: 57
>
>Profession: Manager, state Community Integration Program for people with
>disabilities
>
>Family: Married, three children
>
>Political experience: Sixteen years on City Council; past chairman of
>Dudgeon-Monroe Neighborhood Association's transportation committee
>
>Chris Kratochwill
>
>Age: 29
>
>Profession: Advertising consultant for Verizon
>
>Family: Long-term partner
>
>Political experience: One-year terms as corresponding secretary and
>co-treasurer of the Wisconsin Green Party
>
>E-mail: jdavidoff at madison.com
>
>GRAPHIC: Photos of Ken Golden and Chris Kratochwill. TCT Graphic
>District 10
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>30) Belfast Telegraph; March 25, 2005
>
>IRELAND: GREEN PARTY OUT TO SAVE THE SALMON
>
>by Michael Drake
>
>Countryside Alliance Ireland has thrown its weight behind the Green
>Party's campaign to save the Irish Salmon.
>
>"We have been supporting the Stop Irish Drift Nets Now campaign since
>its conception and have campaigned tenaciously to make the Irish
>Government aware of the dangers and possible extinction that is facing
>the Atlantic Salmon," a spokesperson said yesterday .
>
>"The greatest threat of extinction comes from the fact that drift nets
>are still being used and approved by government to maintain a tradition
>that is unsustainable.
>
>"With salmon numbers returning to our rivers drastically low we need
>government to introduce conservation measures now that will provide a
>future for one of our national fish."
>
>The Green Party campaign will start on March 30 in Dublin on the
>Millennium Bridge crossing the Liffey.
>
>Countryside Alliance Ireland, which is a rural campaigning organisation,
>claims to reflect the views of more than 30,000 people throughout
>Ireland.
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>31) The Vancouver Sun (British Columbia); March 26, 2005
>
>CANADA: STRATEGY TO PAIR NDP, GREEN PARTY VOTES ADVOCATED BY SMALL
>GROUP: COALITION URGES 'PROGRESSIVES TO WORK TOGETHER' TO DEFEAT THE
>LIBERALS
>
>by Doug Ward
>
>A small Victoria-based group called the Broad Coalition is urging New
>Democrats and Greens to vote strategically in the May 17 provincial
>election to defeat the B.C. Liberals.
>
>The group wants supporters of the NDP and Green party to vote for one of
>the "progressive" parties in designated ridings.
>
>The Broad Coalition's website is promoting online vote pairing, in which
>Green supporters in various ridings would vote NDP if NDP voters in one
>or two specified ridings agreed to vote Green.
>
>"What we are trying to do is provide an option for progressive voters
>who are concerned about vote splitting," said coalition spokeswoman
>Susan Clarke.
>
>"People don't want a repeat of the 2001 election and so we are really
>responding to the need for progressives to work together."
>
>Activists in the NDP and Green party work together at the community
>level, Clarke said. "It's only during campaigns that people end up
>suddenly focusing on differences rather than similarities."
>
>Clarke said the Broad Coalition will endorse a number of NDP candidates
>in key ridings and one or two Green candidates.
>
>"That would create a sense of fairness and of cooperation."
>
>Betty Muller, a New Democrat with the Broad Coalition, wants a
>six-to-one vote split with Greens voting NDP in six ridings and New
>Democrats voting Green in Powell River-Sunshine Coast, the riding of
>Green party leader Adrienne Carr.
>
>Muller said her group is appealing directly to the grassroots of each
>party because the leadership of both parties has ruled out any formal
>cooperation.
>
>It's uncertain whether the Broad Coalition has enough of a profile to
>influence voters in either party.
>
>Political analyst Bill Tieleman said he has never heard of the Broad
>Coalition.
>
>"Nobody I know NDP-wise, or Green-wise, is even talking about it. The
>Broad Coalition would seem to be very narrow."
>
>Tieleman, an NDP activist, said the Greens have little chance of an
>electoral breakthrough.
>
>"The Greens may have been a spoiler in half a dozen ridings last time
>but the Greens didn't displace the NDP as a first or even second choice
>in the ridings formerly held by the NDP."
>
>Tieleman said the Greens only finished second in a few ridings where the
>Liberals won with huge majorities.
>
>Nevertheless, Tieleman said, "the NDP needs to siphon away some of that
>Green support -- absolutely."
>
>According to a poll released two weeks ago by Ipsos-Reid Corp., 46 per
>cent of British Columbians say they would vote for the Liberals if an
>election were held tomorrow, compared 39 per cent who say they'd vote
>for the to the NDP. The Greens sat at 12 per cent.
>
>"If the New Democrats could pull five or six per cent of the 12 per cent
>of the Greens, they would be basically in a dead heat with the Liberals
>and who knows what would happen?"
>
>Carr said the Broad Coalition's strategy is "too late" to have any
>impact.
>
>"The Green Party was open to this idea originally but was flatly turned
>down by the NDP. And the New Democrats have committed themselves to a
>full slate and so have we."
>
>Carr also said the Broad Coalition's proposal to support NDP candidates
>in about six ridings and Green candidates in one or two was "lopsided."
>
>***************************************************************************
>
>NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
>distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
>in receiving the included information for research and educational
>purposes.
>
>For more Green Party news go to http://web.greens.org/news/
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Paul Etxeberri

"Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow"   ---Chateaubriand