[Shasta-plus] FW: [usgp-coo] U.S. Green Party News Circulator for 2/14/05-2/21/05
Peggy Lewis
pegola@greens.org
Sun, 20 Feb 2005 14:33:25 -0800
FYI
-----Original Message-----
From: natlcomvotes-bounces@green.gpus.org
[mailto:natlcomvotes-bounces@green.gpus.org]On Behalf Of Andy Parx
Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2005 1:13 PM
To: USGP Dx; USGP CC
Subject: [usgp-coo] U.S. Green Party News Circulator for 2/14/05-2/21/05
U.S. Green Party News Circulator for 2/14/05-2/21/05
For more Green Party news go to http://web.greens.org/news/
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1) JAPAN: ENVIRONMENTALISTS DISCUSS ENERGY MATTERS IN KYOTO
2) IRELAND: LABOUR URGED TO ESTABLISH COALITION PACT BEFORE ELECTION
3) NEW ZEALAND: GREENS CAMPAIGN MANAGER WILL ALSO STAND AS CANDIDATE
4) IRELAND: NO WAY BACK ON KYOTO DEAL
5) TENNESSEE: POLITICAL HAPPENINGS
6) IRELAND: DO NOT BUY OUT OF KYOTO: GREENS;
7) IRELAND: ALTERNATIVE COALITION OPTION 'TOO UNSTABLE'
8) GERMANY: GERMANY: FISCHER SAYS VOLMER DECREE NOT TO BLAME FOR VISAS GIVEN
TO UKRAINIANS
9) JAPAN: AUSTRALIA'S GREENS LEADER WAGES ANTI-LOGGING CAMPAIGN IN JAPAN
10) GERMANY: GERMAN FM BREAKS SILENCE OVER PROSTITUTE SMUGGLING AFFAIR
11) NEW ZEALAND: PYLONS - BUILD SMALLER AND CLOSER TO DEMAND
12) JAPAN: JAPAN FIRMS TAKEN TO TASK OVER TASMANIA LOGGING
13) NEW ZEALAND: IN POLITICS, THE LOOK IS WHAT MATTERS
14) TAIWAN: EVENT LISTING FOR FEB. 16 IN TAIWAN
15) AUSTRALIA: AUSTRIA "MILES AWAY" FROM MEETING KYOTO TARGETS - GREENS
16) ENGLAND: FIVE AND COUNTING FOR POLL
17) CANADA: GREENS WITH ENVY ABOUT PARLIAMENT
18) GERMANY: GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO TESTIFY TO PARLIAMENT IN VISA
SCANDAL
19) ENGLAND: SOCIETY: ENVIRONMENT: ECO SOUNDING
20) ENGLAND: GREENS CHOOSE UNIVERSITY RESEARCHER
21) AUSTRIA: AUSTRIAN COURT ORDERS SLOVAKIAN NUCLEAR STATION TO CONFORM TO
SAFETY NORMS
22) IRELAND: GREENS CALL FOR ACTION TO CUT CARBON EMISSIONS
23) ENGLAND: JOINT DEMO OVER PET FOOD
24) ENGLAND: NEW CANDIDATE IN MAYORAL RACE
25) PORTUGAL: A LOOK AT PORTUGAL'S POLITICAL SYSTEM
26) MEXICO: MEXICO'S GREEN PARTY ONCE AGAIN CITED FOR LACK OF INTERNAL
DEMOCRACY
27) GERMANY: SCHROEDER PARTY EYES SORELY NEEDED WIN IN GERMAN STATE POLL
28) IRELAND: DRAMATIC EVENTS 'NEED A DECISIVE EXPLANATION'
29) KOSOVO: KOSOVO GREENS CALL FOR POWER PLANT TO BE SHUT DOWN
30) NEW ZEALAND: PM SHOULD 'PUT UP HER HAND' FOR HIGH SPEED TRIP
31) NEW ZEALAND: GREEN PARTY LOOKING FOR AORAKI CANDIDATE
32) NEBRASKA: EBAY BIDS DONATED TO GREEN PARTY
33) AUSTRALIA: GREENS ARE RED HERRINGS
*******************************************************
1) The Japan Times; February 12, 2005
JAPAN: ENVIRONMENTALISTS DISCUSS ENERGY MATTERS IN KYOTO
by Eric Johnston
KYOTO - Green-party politicians and activists from around the
Asia-Pacific region gathered here Friday for a three-day conference to
discuss regional issues, ranging from renewable energy to human rights.
The 100 international delegates from 23 countries will also provide
advice to their Japanese counterparts, who will formally establish a new
group of local green-party candidates and supporters Sunday with the aim
of eventually creating a national green party that would field
candidates for the Diet.
"We have to build the Japanese green party at the local level. Ideally,
we'd like to have enough support to be able to win 10 Diet seats in the
next general election," said Kiyoshi Matsuya, an independent prefectural
assemblyman from Shizuoka Prefecture.
While no names have been suggested as possible green-party candidates
for the Diet, Kiyomi Tsujimoto, the disgraced former House of
Representatives lawmaker from the Social Democratic Party, has long
expressed a need for a national green party.
Tsujimoto failed to gain a seat in last year's House of Councilors
election but is involved in nongovernmental organizations working on
green-party issues.
She is expected to attend meetings at the conference on Saturday.
At Friday's session, however, the focus was on promoting renewable
energy.
Although the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions is due to take
effect Wednesday, fossil fuels remain the main source of energy for
countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and a major political obstacle to
governments adopting policies that promote renewable energy.
"We need a 60 percent to 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gases to
effectively combat climate change, which is perhaps the biggest crisis
facing humanity today," said Senator Bob Brown of the Australian Green
Party. "Yet we are up against the might of the coal lobby, and the
Asia-Pacific region, led by the U.S., China, India, and Australia, is
the center of the world's coal industry."
Mie Asaoka of the nongovernmental organization Kiko Network noted that
in Japan's case, there is a long way to go before it can meet its Kyoto
Protocol target of bringing greenhouse gas emissions down to 6 percent
below 1990 levels.
"There has actually been an 8 percent increase in carbon dioxide
emissions from 1990 levels, which means Japan would have to reduce
emissions by 14 percent to meet the Kyoto Protocol target," Asaoka said.
"But there is no clear strategy for emission reduction, and no effective
policy mechanisms like monitoring schemes or carbon taxes."
Japan has tried to introduce renewable energy sources like solar and
wind power but with very limited success. Tetsunari Iida, of the
Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies, said that renewable energy
initiatives in Japan have fallen victim to political infighting and
strong opposition from Japan's utilities.
"Energy politics in the Diet is still controlled by politicians who wish
to stick with nuclear energy and fossil fuels," Iida said. "The
political debate in The Liberal Democratic Party over energy is
controlled by the electricity utilities, while the debate in the
Democratic Party of Japan is controlled by the trade unions in the
utilities. Both groups are hostile to greatly expanding renewable energy
resources."
On Saturday, the focus will shift from energy to human rights issues,
specifically the legal rights and protection of minorities in Asia.
For Japan, which has no laws in place to protect ethnic minorities,
despite pressure from the United Nations to enact legislation of this
kind, much of the discussion will focus on securing and protecting the
rights of ethnic Koreans and Ainu.
The conference is expected to conclude Sunday with the establishment of
a formal Asia-wide network of green party politicians and candidates.
*************************************************************
2) Irish Independent; February 12, 2005
IRELAND: LABOUR URGED TO ESTABLISH COALITION PACT BEFORE ELECTION
THE leader of the country's biggest trade union has urged the Labour
Party, Fine Gael and the Green Party to enter talks on the formation of
an alternative coalition pact in advance of the next general election.
The call by Siptu president Jack O'Connor was carefully qualified with a
warning that many of his members would prefer to deal with Taoiseach
Bertie Ahern than Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, who, he said, had made no
effort to form links with trade unions.
Last night, Mr O'Connor's speech was seen as offering the Labour Party a
strategy to overcome internal differences on electoral strategy.
Some members, including front-benchers such as Brendan Howlin, have
serious reservations over the strategy being pursued by party leader Pat
Rabbitte, based on providing an alternative with Fine Gael and possibly
the Green Party. They favour keeping options on a deal with Fianna Fail
open.
Mr O'Connor called on party members who favour a Fianna Fail coalition
to accept the reality that this is not a real option before the next
election, since Fianna Fail and the PDs are firmly wedded.
The Siptu chief, a lifelong Labour Party member, was implicitly critical
of the strategy used in the last general election when the party opted
for a "go it alone" approach, leaving open the option of a deal with
Fianna Fail or Fine Gael and other parties.
The outcome of that strategy, he told a party meeting last night, was
painfully obvious after the election. Although the Siptu leader
acknowledged that it was the Fine Gael, Labour and Democratic Left
coalition that helped lay the foundations for the economic boom, he
expressed concerns about the policy platform of Fine Gael and its
leader, Enda Kenny.
A real electoral platform would have to include a universally accessible
public health service, a comprehensive affordable housing policy and a
new Department of Labour and Social Affairs to promote radical
improvements in the working environment.
Meanwhile, the Green Party has hit back at Fianna Fail claims that, if
in government, it would be bad for Irish farming, claiming Fianna Fail
administrations presided over departure of 70,000 farmers from the land
in the last 50 years, writes Aideen Sheehan.
Party leader Trevor Sargent said many members were farmers who believed
the only sustainable future for farm families was based on green
thinking.
The party was pleased that CAP reforms were giving farmers freedom to
farm without mountains of red tape, and called for the conversion of the
closing Carlow sugar plant to ethanol production.
Brian Dowling Political Correspondent
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3) New Zealand Press Association; February 14, 2005
NEW ZEALAND: GREENS CAMPAIGN MANAGER WILL ALSO STAND AS CANDIDATE
Wellington, Feb 14 - The Green Party has appointed an election campaign
manager who is also standing as a candidate.
Australian-born Russel (crct) Norman stood for the party in the Rimutaka
electorate in the 2002 election.
He has held a number of jobs with the Greens including as a researcher
in the Greens' parliamentary office, executive secretary to Green MP Sue
Bradford, and out-of-Parliament secretary for Green MPs Keith Locke and
Nandor Tanczos.
Mr Norman says he was active in the Australian Greens in 1995-96. He has
lived in New Zealand since 1997 and joined the New Zealand Green Party
that year.
****************************************************************
4) The Mirror; February 14, 2005
IRELAND: NO WAY BACK ON KYOTO DEAL
IRELAND must not renege on Kyoto treaty commitments, the Green party
said yesterday.
With the international treaty coming into effect on Wednesday,
spokesman Molly Walsh said: "The Government should not be attempting to
buy its way out of our Kyoto Protocol commitments."
She said the environment minister should introduce a carbon tax,
promote wind energy and reduce car use by investment in public
transport.
The Kyoto Protocol was agreed more than seven years ago. Ireland agreed
to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels to 60million tonnes
by 2008. Current output stands at around 67million tonnes.
************************************************************
5) Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee); February 14, 2005
TENNESSEE: POLITICAL HAPPENINGS
...* Knoxville Green Party -- Monthly discussion group will be 2 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 20, at The Golden Roast, 825 Melrose Place. For information
call 865-523-6775.
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6) Irish News; February 14, 2005
IRELAND: DO NOT BUY OUT OF KYOTO: GREENS;
by Louise Hogan
THE Irish government must not be allowed buy its way out of its
commitments to the Kyoto international treaty to combat climate change.
Young Green Party members said environment minister Dick Roche must
work to cut harmful emissions by introducing a carbon tax, promoting
wind energy and reducing car dependency through investment in public
transport.
Ahead of the Kyoto Protocol coming into effect later this week, Molly
Walsh, deputy chairwoman of the youth party, warned: "The government
should not be attempting to buy its way out of our Kyoto Protocol
commitments."
Ms Walsh and Young Greens chairman Pat Barrett launched the group's
Valentine's campaign postcard, 'I Love Kyoto', which will be handed out
across the country to encourage people to force the Environment
Department into action.
The protocol is set to come into force this Wednesday - more than seven
years after the international treaty was adopted.
However, the government has already allocated a sum of e1 million (GBP
700,000) in last December's budget for the purchase of carbon credits
during this year to compensate for its failure to cut Ireland's high
greenhouse gas emissions.
The Environment Department has confirmed that it will spend around e185
million (GBP 127 million) in purchasing the credits between 2008 and
2012.
Green Party TD Ciaran Cuffe said climate change has already become a
reality and the government must improve Ireland's appalling record in
tackling the issue.
"It is a case of very little done and a lot more to do as far as the
Irish government is concerned, " Ms Walsh said.
"The time to act is now, not later. We are therefore calling on the
government to play its part in the fight against global warming through
actively reducing our carbon emissions."
***********************************************************
7) Irish Independent; February 14, 2005
IRELAND: ALTERNATIVE COALITION OPTION 'TOO UNSTABLE'
THE difficulties of the opposition parties in constructing an
alternative government were becoming "increasingly obvious", Enterprise,
Trade and Employment Minister Micheal Martin said last night.
His comments came after Green Party leader Trevor Sargent ruled out
going into coalition with either Fianna Fail or Sinn Fein in the near
future, saying Sinn Fein was not yet a constitutional party.
Mr Sargent said on RTE radio's 'This Week' programme: "There haven't
been parties that are prepared to work with us. That's something that's
going to need to be dealt with after the next election. When it comes to
coalition though, it is going to require that other parties recognise
some of the crises this country faces.
"I wouldn't see a coalition with Sinn Fein in the foreseeable future,
certainly the way they are going at the moment. The reality is that
Fianna Fail would not be in the running at the moment for a coalition
with us."
Mr Martin said later: "Policy differences between Fine Gael and Labour
on taxation, neutrality and social partnership are significant enough to
raise serious doubts as to the stability of any alternative
administration.
"However, when the Greens are added to the cocktail, the Rainbow option
appears even more incoherent and volatile. "There are simply too many
issues where these parties are opposed to each other," he said.
*************************************************************
8) BBC Monitoring Europe – Political; February 14, 2005
GERMANY: GERMANY: FISCHER SAYS VOLMER DECREE NOT TO BLAME FOR VISAS
GIVEN TO UKRAINIANS
Berlin (ddp): Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, Alliance 90/Greens, has
assumed the political responsibility for the so-called Volmer Decree
facilitating the issuance of visas to foreigners applying for entry into
Germany . Speaking ahead of a Greens party council meeting in Berlin on
Monday 14 February , Fischer said "I stand here in defence of my staff."
He assumed "the political responsibility" for possible faults and
mistakes made by his staff and I am "ready anytime" to answer questions
to a committee "at the earliest time possible".
However, based on the facts it was "not acceptable" to blame the Volmer
Decree for events in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev where hundreds of
Ukrainians appeared to have improperly procured tourist visas for the
purpose of working in Germany , Fischer said. Main responsibility lies
with visa proceedings that were initiated by the previous government
under former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Christian Democratic Union (CDU),
Fischer noted.
Fischer, at the same time, attacked the Union because of the way it
acted in the Bundestag investigating committee. "The political
intentions are obvious," Fischer said. The minister pointed out that the
Union held a different view in the responsible Bundestag committees when
the so-called Volmer Decree was first issued.
Fischer emphasized that he received many letters, including from Union
representatives, asking him to decide in favour of the freedom of travel
whenever in doubt in an individual case. "After all, you cannot say that
red-green opened the borders to criminal refugees smugglers," Fischer
emphasized. "All that will have to be closely examined and in great
detail," he said with a hint to the committee that will investigate the
issue.
*********************************************************
9) Agence France Presse – English; February 14, 2005
JAPAN: AUSTRALIA'S GREENS LEADER WAGES ANTI-LOGGING CAMPAIGN IN JAPAN
Australia's Greens party leader Bob Brown took his anti-logging campaign
to Japan Monday, saying its paper companies' imports of Australian
woodchips were rapidly destroying native forests in Tasmania.
"What is happening in Tasmania is so unnecessary. We live in a world
where forests are rapidly diminishing everywhere," Brown told a Tokyo
news conference.
Earlier the Australian senator tried to hold meetings with Japanese
paper firms Oji Paper, Nippon Paper Industries and Mitsubishi to discuss
the logging issue but they turned down his request for talks.
In separate letters to Brown, the Japanese companies said they declined
his invitation due to a pending lawsuit against him and other
environmental activists by Australia's biggest forestry firm Gunns Ltd.
for "corporate vilification" and disruption of logging operations.
Some 80 percent of woodchip exports from Tasmania's native forest
logging operations are shipped to Japan. Oji, Nippon Paper and
Mitsubishi are Gunns' big customers, according to Brown.
"There are huge, mature plantations of eucalyptus around the world.
There is no need to cut down Tasmania's wild and ancient forests," Brown
said.
"We want Japanese people to see these forests alive and vertical, not
dead on a log truck heading toward an export wharf to Japan," he said,
claiming some 85 percent of people in Tasmania also want the logging to
stop.
He said Tasmania gets back only a fraction of the proceeds which Gunns
Ltd. earns from selling woodchips.
"Economically, it makes no sense, except to Gunns Ltd. Environmentally,
it is absurd," Brown said. "What is legal is not necessarily ethical."
Tasmania has the world's tallest hardwood forests with trees reaching
nearly 100 meters (330 feet). But each year an average of 20,000
hectares (49,400 acres) of native forest are cleared and burned for
logging, according to the Greens.
Brown accused Australian Prime Minister John Howard of doing nothing to
"slow down or stop this destruction."
Brown is also in Japan to take part in ceremonies Wednesday marking the
coming into force of the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty on global warming
accepted by all major industrialized countries except Australia and the
United States.
*************************************************************
10) Agence France Presse – English; February 14, 2005
GERMANY: GERMAN FM BREAKS SILENCE OVER PROSTITUTE SMUGGLING AFFAIR
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer went on the offensive Monday
against charges his ministry opened the borders to drug and prostitute
traffickers from eastern Europe, in a scandal the opposition hopes will
topple the country's most popular politician.
Fischer told reporters staked outside his Greens party headquarters that
he accepted the blame for any "mistakes" made after his ministry in 1999
eased conditions for citizens of the former Soviet bloc to get German
visas.
"I carry the political responsibility for possible oversights or
mistakes by my staff," said Fischer, who is also deputy chancellor.
"That is the responsibility of a minister."
But Fischer lashed out at the conservative opposition, which he accused
of launching a campaign against him, saying that the initial
liberalization of the visa rules had been introduced on their watch.
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's center-left government came to power in
1998.
Schroeder, who owes his re-election in 2002 to the strong showing of
Fischer's Greens party, said he would stand by his minister.
"Joschka Fischer has my full trust and my full support," Schroeder told
reporters before a meeting of his Social Democrats (SPD).
"If the opposition believes it can topple the foreign minister, it is
sorely mistaken."
Conservatives say the 1999 edict helped "hundreds of thousands" of
illegal immigrants from eastern Europe -- Ukraine in particular -- to
enter the country on tourist visas between 2000 and 2003, many of them
with the help of organized crime networks.
They have seized on the issue as an long-sought opportunity to weaken
Fischer.
"Mr Fischer apparently closed his eyes to massive visa abuse by women
forced into prostitution, illegal workers and criminals," Christian
Democratic Union leader Angela Merkel said in Sunday's issue of the
mass-market daily Bild.
"That endangered the security in our country and enabled inhumane
circumstances," she added, demanding that Fischer stop "ducking"
responsibility.
A conservative parliamentary leader, Michael Glos, went as far as to
brand Fischer a "pimp" in a debate late last year before apologizing,
while another right-wing deputy, Eckart von Klaeden, blasted Fischer as
a liar Monday.
Following the resignation Friday of his former deputy, Ludger Volmer,
over the scandal, several conservatives are now calling for Fischer's
head.
Fischer returned early Saturday from a nine-day tour of Australia, New
Zealand and Southeast Asia during which he refused to comment on the
brewing affair in Berlin.
In that time, the scandal has taken on a life of its own and threatened
to engulf the Greens and Fischer, who consistently ranks as Germany's
most liked politician due to his frank style, colorful biography and
media-friendly brief.
It also comes ahead of an important election in the northern state of
Schleswig-Holstein in which the SPD and the Greens will have to struggle
to hold onto power.
Fischer said Monday he was prepared to face a parliamentary
investigation launched by the conservative opposition to probe the
scandal.
But he warned he had copies of letters from conservative deputies from
the period in question urging him to ease the visa restrictions for
former communist countries to encourage business contacts, help exchange
students and reunite families.
The Greens argue that although the looser rules may have been exploited
by criminals, the loopholes have long since been plugged.
They also say that the liberalization ultimately fostered an opening in
societies still closed years after the fall of the Berlin Wall -- such
as Ukraine -- that culminated in budding democratization.
*************************************************************
11) The New Zealand Herald; February 15, 2005
NEW ZEALAND: PYLONS - BUILD SMALLER AND CLOSER TO DEMAND
The new 400-kilovolt, $500 million line proposed through the Waikato
will not promote renewable forms of energy such as windpower, argues
Jeanette Fitzsimons. Instead, she predicts its construction will lead to
"a rush of large-scale building of new coal-fired stations".
The Green Party co-leader says that once the line is built, the
economics of new, polluting coal stations in the South Island will
improve, prompting more to be built. She says the plan smacks of 1950s
thinking, although she agrees that a reliable national grid is
essential. "There's no doubt at all that if we want wind we need a grid.
Whether you need a grid with more capacity than we've got now is a
different question," she says. "A 21st century, environmentally-friendly
energy policy would have smaller power stations, mostly using renewable
energy sources, closer to demand with fewer line losses; local grids
linked by a national grid no more powerful than we have now; and much,
much less energy waste."
Other forms of energy will soon be available, says Ms Fitzsimons. Waste
wood from new wood-processing industries in Northland can be used for
co-generation. Excess power will be fed back into the grid. It will be a
renewable source of power where it is needed, north of Auckland. Within
10 to 20 years, generation from wave and tidal power should also be
coming onstream, she says. Opponents of the new 220km Waikato
transmission line have also pointed to the need for more power stations
closer to Auckland and growth areas north of the city.
One station, a 19-megawatt windfarm planned for the Awhitu Peninsula
south of Auckland, was turned down for resource consent last year, after
objections about what it would look like and the effect on horses.
State-owned power company Genesis is appealing the decision to the
Environment Court.
***********************************************************
12) The Japan Times; February 15, 2005
JAPAN: JAPAN FIRMS TAKEN TO TASK OVER TASMANIA LOGGING
by Eric Johnston
KYOTO - Despite promises from Japanese corporations to halt logging in
Tasmania's ancient forests, destruction of giant eucalyptus trees and
one of the world's most unique ecosystems continues, a member of the
Australian Green Party warned Sunday.
Bob Brown, a senator since 1996 and one of Australia's most well-known
environmental activists, has been fighting to stop the logging of
Tasmania's giant eucalyptus trees, which can soar to more than 90 meters
in height and are often more than 18 meters in diameter.
The trees, in Tasmania's Styx Valley, protect a diverse ecosystem on the
forest floor, including many rare and endangered plants and animals.
Scientists estimate there could be hundreds of undiscovered species
living in the forest, while the more romantically inclined wonder if the
Tasmanian tiger, supposedly extinct since 1936, might still be lurking
in remote areas of the valley.
"Each year, 5 million tons of Tasmanian forest are logged and turned
into wood chips that are sold to paper mills in Japan, South Korea and
China," Brown said. Only trees more than 85 meters tall are protected.
Mitsubishi Paper Mills Ltd., Oji Paper Co., and Nippon Paper Industries
Co. purchase nearly 90 percent of that amount from Gunns Ltd., the
Australian company that does the actual logging. There is currently a
suit, in which Brown is involved, against Gunns to halt the logging.
Last year, in a letter to international environmental nongovernmental
organizations, Mitsubishi Paper promised to stop buying Tasmanian wood
chips. Brown, however, said that promise has yet to be carried out.
Brown wrote to all three firms in mid-January, seeking a meeting this
week in Tokyo.
In their written replies, Nippon Paper President Takahiko Miyoshi and
Oji Paper public relations manger Masayuki Yada turned him down, saying
that due to the current lawsuit against Gunns, it would not be
appropriate to meet.
A letter from Minoru Akita, general manager of Mitsubishi Paper's
environmental and social responsibility office, also said a meeting
would be declined because of the lawsuit, although he requested that
Brown keep the firm updated by mail of any materials he thought they
would be interested in.
"Logging is incredibly wasteful. Figures from the Australian government
show that as little as 4 percent of Tasmania's public forests actually
end up as sawn timber," Brown said. "The entire ecosystem is being
destroyed for the benefit of a few Japanese companies."
Various government and media-sponsored polls show that 70 percent to 80
percent of Australians oppose the logging.
International pressure on the three Japanese companies to halt their
purchases is meanwhile growing.
Since 2002, more than 100,000 e-mail messages have been sent to the
three companies urging them to cease logging, in response to an
international campaign organized by entities that include Greenpeace,
according to the environmental watchdog.
*************************************************************
13) The Evening Standard (Palmerston North, New Zealand); February 15,
2005
NEW ZEALAND: IN POLITICS, THE LOOK IS WHAT MATTERS
IT looks like the old good-cop, bad-cop routine in the pre-election
jostling which has broken out between the Green Party and Labour. For
that was quite a broadside Greens co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons fired at
the Government, when she lambasted it for losing its heart, soul and
social conscience. That doesn't leave a lot. However, Greens leader
number two, Rod Donald, was considerably more upbeat at the weekend when
he noted that "political reality" dictated that if the Greens wanted to
get anything done they would have to either join the Government in any
post-election arrangement -- assuming Labour won -- or at least work
closely with it. All of which also assumes, of course, that the Greens
gain the minimum 5 percent of the vote that they need to survive in
Parliament.
The latest poll has the Greens at 4 percent, which in the absence of the
party holding an electorate seat, is curtains. The same goes for ACT at
the other end of the ideological spectrum, which leaves New Zealand
First, United Future and the Maori Party as the only coalition
possibilities, provided they hang onto the seats they currently possess.
The thought of Winston Peters as "kingmaker" once more must be giving
both Helen Clark and Don Brash nightmares after the post-1996 debacle,
so for National it looks like Peter Dunne or bust, while Labour has the
added option of Tariana Turia. Miss Clark's big problem though is that
unlike Dr Brash, she doesn't get to pick her ministers -- caucus does
that for her.
However, it is a fair bet that if she is re-elected and George Hawkins
is similarly chosen again, the police minister will be found something
else to do by the prime minister, for the allocation of jobs is still
something that is within her ambit. In fact she would probably win more
than she would lose by dumping Mr Hawkins now on the grounds that he is
manifestly not up to the task, not when he keeps on making gaffes such
as arguing women are more afraid of speedsters than personal violence.
The vision of police preferring to hand out roadside tickets than
respond to an emergency call for help is, fairly or not, now indelibly
etched on the public mind. And Miss Clark, more than most, surely knows
that in politics, it is perceptions that make or break you at the
polling booth.
One more thing: The question of whether ward committees in Palmerston
North should remain nominally independent of the city council or have
half of their membership appointed by a council triumvirate will be a
litmus test of the meaning of grassroots democracy. The very existence
of the ward committees was up for grabs last year when the council
surveyed public opinion on them. In the event the council voted to keep
them, a decision which would seem to indicate people saw some value in
their continued existence.
Debate on the committees has largely revolved around their cost to the
ratepayer and what their functions should be. There is also the
no-small-matter of how representative they are, for sometimes they have
given the appearance of being a haven for disgruntled former councillors
or unsuccessful candidates. On the other hand, it could also be said
that such committees are a valuable outlet for street-level ratepayer
worries that will not necessarily find a forum or a voice anywhere else.
Maybe they are toothless because they have only recommendatory powers,
but the old "use it or lose it" admonition would seem to be appropriate
nevertheless.
***********************************************************
14) Central News Agency – Taiwan; February 15, 2005
TAIWAN: EVENT LISTING FOR FEB. 16 IN TAIWAN
Taipei, Feb. 15 -- The following are important events scheduled to take
place Wednesday, Feb. 16:
09: 00, The weekly Cabinet meeting will be held at the Executive Yuan.
09: 30, The Green Party will present petitions to the Executive Yuan.
10:00, The Taiwan Climate Protection Federation will hold a news
conference on the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol at the National
Taiwan University Alumni Hall....
*************************************************************
15) Wiener Zeitung via BBC Monitoring International Reports; February
15, 2005
AUSTRALIA: AUSTRIA "MILES AWAY" FROM MEETING KYOTO TARGETS - GREENS
The Greens have harshly criticized Austria's climate policy ahead of the
coming-into-force of the Kyoto Protocol on Wednesday (16 February).
Austria was "miles away" from meeting the Protocol's targets on
greenhouse gas reduction, Eva Glawischnig, the party's
environmental-policy spokeswoman, warned.
>From an international point of view, 16 February was "a real day to
celebrate", Glawischnig said. After a long and tiring fight, the Kyoto
Protocol, which aims at cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 5.2
per cent from 1990 values by the year 2012, is to finally come into
force tomorrow.
Yet, Austria was moving further and further away from the set targets.
At the moment, the deviation was "more than 30 percentage points", and
the country's performance was, by and large, "simply sad", Glawischnig
said. Transport Minister Hubert Gorbach, in particular, "distinguished
himself as the new climate killer with his initiative for increasing the
speed limit to 160 km/h". Even today, road traffic was producing 23m
tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is 80 per cent more of greenhouse gasses
than in 1990. A higher speed limit would increase fuel consumption and
emissions by another 23 per cent, the Greens official added.
Developments in the sphere of energy supply were also worrying: The
larger use of coal has led to a 20-per cent growth in emissions.
The Greens therefore called for a national emergency plan of measures,
especially in the areas of transport and energy supply.
**************************************************************
16) Wellington Weekly News; February 16, 2005
ENGLAND: FIVE AND COUNTING FOR POLL
With a General Election looming, it looks as if there could be at least
five contenders for the marginal Taunton seat. The latest to throw her
hat into the ring is UK Independence Party candidate Helen Miles, a
former teacher. She is set to line up against sitting Tory MP Adrian
Flook, Andrew Govier (Labour), Jeremy Browne (Lib Dem) and Dawn
Stephenson (Green Party)....
************************************************************
17) Ottawa Citizen; February 16, 2005
CANADA: GREENS WITH ENVY ABOUT PARLIAMENT
If the federal Green Party wants the privileges of elected office, it
should get somebody elected. That's what Ottawa Liberal MP Marlene
Catterall says, and she's right.
The Greens have written to Speaker Peter Milliken, arguing that the
582,247 votes the party got in last year's election make it worthy of
office space in a parliamentary building and of having occasional
questions asked of ministers on its behalf.
The Greens are already benefiting from a policy change that sees parties
get taxpayer funding proportionate to their vote totals in the last
election (just over $1 million for the Greens), but their leader Jim
Harris wants more. With a parliamentary office comes an office budget
and access to perks such as magazine subscriptions, all plenty useful
for research and promoting the party.
The Green Party wants to have proportional representation in Canada; Mr.
Harris often points out that, if seats were allotted according to vote
share, the Greens would have nine members of Parliament.
That's true, but irrelevant. For now, at least, Canada has a
first-past-the-post system, so as interesting a player as the Greens
have become with their business-oriented environmentalism, Mr. Harris is
making a category error. Parliament's facilities are supposed to be used
for governing, not politicking, and the Greens don't have anyone in
Parliament. The visibility and resources that come with an office in
Parliament might help a party politically, but that's not an
entitlement.
Luckily, Ms. Catterall (and MPs from other parties) recognize this, and
so does Mr. Milliken, who hasn't responded to Mr. Harris's letter. Good.
For their part, the Greens should recognize that the way to get into
Parliament is to win a seat in an election, not to enter through a side
door.
************************************************************
18) The New York Times; February 16, 2005
GERMANY: GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO TESTIFY TO PARLIAMENT IN VISA
SCANDAL
by Richard Bernstein
BERLIN, Feb. 15 -- Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, facing a widening
scandal involving visas for Ukrainian crime figures and prostitutes,
said Tuesday that he would testify before a special parliamentary
commission investigating the matter, but he refused to make any public
comments.
Mr. Fischer, a member of the leftist Green Party and by a considerable
margin Germany's most popular political figure, has been confronting
what commentators here are calling the party's worst political scandal
in the six years it has been part of the so-called Red-Green governing
coalition.
The Greens, through Mr. Fischer, are accused not just of allowing an
influx of criminals and prostitutes but also of failing to stop the
abuses after learning of them.
In a statement on Monday, Mr. Fischer accepted what he called
''political responsibility'' for mistakes that may have been made by
German consulates in Ukraine, which is said to have issued thousands of
visas to criminals, members of people-trafficking gangs and prostitution
rings from 2000 to 2002.
But his comment provoked a largely critical response on Tuesday, with
one newspaper in particular, Rheinische Post, citing a Foreign Ministry
document that, the newspaper said, showed that Mr. Fischer knew about
the problem a year earlier than he has acknowledged.
''To what extent was Green ideological blindness really responsible for
damaging German interests because it simply ignored countless
warnings?'' asked Die Welt, a conservative paper. ''And how much
personal influence does the foreign minister have to admit to?''
The scandal arose about three weeks ago when opposition politicians,
who are preparing for a regional election on Sunday in
Schleswig-Holstein, began publicizing the visa reports and blaming the
center-left government for looking the other way as criminals and
prostitutes got tourist visas for Germany.
The scandal took its first victim on Friday when Ludger Volmer was
forced to step down as the Green Party's foreign affairs spokesman. Mr.
Volmer, who was then a deputy foreign minister, signed the regulations
that eased visa restrictions for Ukrainians in 2000.
But since then opposition leaders, supported by some of the press, have
continued pressing for Mr. Fischer to disclose exactly when he first
learned of the abuses and when he took measures to stop them.
''The public has a right to know exactly what role the minister
responsible played in the arrival of organized criminals from Eastern
Europe,'' said Edmund Stoiber, the conservative leader of Bavaria. He
stopped short of demanding that Mr. Fischer resign, but other opposition
leaders have said he should step down.
Mr. Fischer has defended himself in part by saying the visa regulations
for Ukraine were put in place by the conservatives when they controlled
the government before 1998.
''It's not as if criminal people-trafficking began under Red-Green,''
Mr. Fischer said as the scandal brewed earlier. ''It's not as if forced
prostitution began with Red-Green. It's not as if there were not
considerable pressure from the previous government.''
Mr. Fischer's spokesman, Walter Lindner, said in a telephone interview
on Tuesday that the affair had been blown out of proportion. ''If there
has been any abuse of the system, it has been stopped,'' he said. ''And
abuses also took place under the former government. With three million
visas every year, there's no guarantee that we can stop misuse
altogether.''
********************************************************
19) The Guardian (London) - Final Edition; February 16, 2005
ENGLAND: SOCIETY: ENVIRONMENT: ECO SOUNDING
by John Vidal
Cross bars: Ken Livingstone is being super nice to non-motorists this
year. In a letter to Darren Johnson and Jenny Jones, London's two Green
party assembly members, he says that £700,000 will go to new cycle
parking in all schools, there will be £1.8m for children's cycle
training, £14.8m for cycle paths, and he will be pushing for London
Underground to switch to renewable electricity. Most interestingly, he
is also giving £50,000 to the resident groups opposed to the £450m east
London bridge so they can better make their case at the public inquiry.
Is Mayor Ken taking a risk here? Perhaps not. Leading transport
campaigner John Stewart reckons that of the hundreds of inquiries held
into new national roads in the past 20 years, only one - the Hereford
bypass - has ever found in favour of the objectors....
**************************************************************
20) Coventry Evening Telegraph; February 16, 2005
ENGLAND: GREENS CHOOSE UNIVERSITY RESEARCHER
THE WARWICK and Leamington Green Party have announced their candidate
for the forthcoming General Election.
University of Birmingham researcher, Dr Ian Davison, was elected by a
postal ballot last week.
The 42-year-old, from Milverton Crescent West, Leamington, has been
active in Green politics for more than 20 years.
He said: "Whenever you vote for the Green Party, you help to push
social justice, the environment and peace up the political agenda and
help the Green Party win future elections."
He and his partner Kay have lived in Leamington for the last eight
years with their two children, aged ten and 14, who attend Milverton
Primary School and North Leamington College.
The Green Party consider Warwick and Leamington as its heartland and
have stood in the constituency regularly, although it stepped aside to
allow a Socialist Alliance candidate to stand in 2001.
Elsewhere, a Green Party candidate will be chosen to contest the safe
Tory seat of Stratford, but there will be no further candidates standing
in Warwickshire or Coventry.
********************************************************
21) Agence France Presse – English; February 16, 2005
AUSTRIA: AUSTRIAN COURT ORDERS SLOVAKIAN NUCLEAR STATION TO CONFORM TO
SAFETY NORMS
VIENNA -- An Austrian tribunal said Wednesday it has ruled that Slovakia
should guarantee safety standards at its nuclear power plant at Mochove,
some 140 kilometres (86 miles) east of Vienna.
The Vienna regional court confirmed that it has ruled in favour of the
spokeswoman of the opposition Green Party, Eva Glawischnig, who brought
a complaint in 1998 that the plant constituted "a danger to the people
and the property" of neighbouring Austria.
It ruled that the management of the power plant, Slovenske Elektrarne
(SE), should assure that safety at the plant "by taking the necessary
measures to ensure that radio-active leaks do not occur again," ORF
public radio reported.
"This means that either the plant should conform to safety norms or it
should be shut down," Glawischnig said Wednesday. "This is made very
clear by the ruling."
She said the ruling set a precedent because it was the first time in the
history of the European Union that a court has ruled that a nuclear
plant in one country could pose a danger to the people of another.
Glawischnig said "there was not a shadow of a doubt" that the ruling
should be obeyed by Bratislava.
"In commercial matters a Slovakian company is obliged to implement a
court ruling handed down against it in Vienna, this is an everyday
occurrence," she said.
"But is good to see that now this also applies to the nuclear industry,"
she added.
In Bratislava, a spokesman for SE, Dobroslav Chrobak, said that the
company intends to appeal the ruling but did not say before which court
it planned to take the matter.
Daniela Kissig, an expert in international law at the University of
Graz, said "it is highly unlikely that SE will bow to the demands of a
foreign court."
"The Slovak authorities could argue that shutting down the plant, even
temporarily, would interfere with public order because it could leave
part of the country without electricity," she said.
Austria banned nuclear energy following a referendum on the subject in
1978, which the government lost.
The country is unhappy about the fact its neighbours operate nuclear
power plants close to its borders and that it has no control over them.
Last May, just after Slovakia and nine other states joined the European
Union, Austria strongly criticised plans to build two new reactors at
Mochove, calling it an "insult".
But in Slovakia, where public opinion is in favour of using nuclear
power for electricity, the opposition has warned the government that it
would amount to "high treason" if it did not proceed with building the
two new reactors.
In October, Austria again signalled its outrage when Slovakian Economy
Minister Pavol Rusko said that he wanted to delay the closure of a
Soviet-era reactor at the nuclear power plant at Jaslovske Bohunice from
2006, as stipulated in the country's EU accession treaty, until 2008.
Reactors one and two at the plant together produce 22.6 percent of
Slovakia's electricity, and should respectively be shut down by 2006 and
2008, according to the treaty.
In 2000, tension arose between Vienna and Prague because the Czech
Republic started its nuclear plant at Temelin, some 60 kilometres from
the Austrian border.
Ecologists have taken the matter to the European Court of Justice.
*********************************************************
22) Irish Independent; February 17, 2005
IRELAND: GREENS CALL FOR ACTION TO CUT CARBON EMISSIONS
THE Green Party yesterday called on Environment Minister Dick Roche to
immediately take action to cut carbon emissions in Ireland.
As the international Kyoto climate change agreement took effect, the
Greens called for better planning and reduced car dependency by
investment in public transport.
Welcoming the coming into force of the Kyoto Protocol Trevor Sargent TD,
Green party leader, described it as "a small but vital step in tackling
climate change".
"The potentially catastrophic effects of unfolding climate change cannot
be underestimated," he said.
"Even as we speak scientists worldwide are pleading for a cut of 60-80pc
in current CO2 emissions according to the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change."
The Kyoto Protocol had the modest aim of a 5.2pc global reduction in
1990 CO2 levels by 2012.
The generous derogation given to Ireland allows for an increase of 13pc
by 2012.
We are falling far short of this target as greenhouse gas emissions are
now 25pc above the 1990 levels.
Treacy HoganEnvironment Correspondent
***********************************************************
23) The Gloucester Citizen; February 17, 2005
ENGLAND: JOINT DEMO OVER PET FOOD
Green Party members from Gloucester will be joined by members of animal
rights group Peta at a city demonstration on Saturday. The groups will
urge shoppers not to buy Iams pet foods, after a Peta (People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals) investigation said the company had been
conducting animal experiments in the US.
They will be handing out leaflets outside the Sainsbury's supermarket
in Northgate from 11am.
A spokeswoman for Iams, Judith Russell, said: "We are transparent about
how we carry out our feeding studies and recommend that people visit
www.iamstruth.com if they would like to see our policies and practices."
***********************************************************
24) Doncaster Free Press; February 17, 2005
ENGLAND: NEW CANDIDATE IN MAYORAL RACE
THE RACE for the Mansion House is hotting up, with a third candidate
confirming his intention to stand in May's mayoral elections.
Richard Rolt was named as the Green Party's candidate at a recent public
meeting, joining current mayor Martin Winter (Labour) and the Community
Group's Coun Jessie Credland on the list of confirmed candidates.
With the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats also certain to join the
fray, and rumours of at least one independent candidate preparing to
stand, voters could be faced with a crowded ballot paper on May 5.
Mr Rolt, a firefighter by trade, believes his lack of previous council
experience would work in his favour if elected because a lack of
"political baggage" would help him speak for ordinary people.
He said: "A theme of this campaign is that I speak to so many people
out and about in Doncaster about so many things.
"What we want to do is look at the real quality of life issues that
will increase people's happiness."
Announcements from the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives about the
identities of their candidates are expected by the end of this month,
although nominations will not officially open until April 1.
*********************************************************
25) Associated Press Worldstream; February 17, 2005
PORTUGAL: A LOOK AT PORTUGAL'S POLITICAL SYSTEM
Facts and figures about Sunday's parliamentary election in Portugal.
VOTERS: There are 8.8 million registered voters out of 10.3 million
people in Portugal, according to the Electoral Commission. Turnout in
the last general election in 2002 was 62 percent. The highest turnout
was in 1979 with 87.5 percent.
PARLIAMENT: The 230-member single-chamber legislature is called the
Assembleia da Republica. Members are elected by popular vote to serve
four-year terms.
CANDIDATES: Eleven parties have presented candidates but only the four
main parties - the Social Democratic Party, the Popular Party, the
Socialist Party and the Left Bloc - and a Communist Party/Green Party
coalition, which currently hold seats in Parliament, are represented in
all districts.
POLITICAL SYSTEM: Parliamentary seats are distributed under the Hondt
system of proportional representation. President Jorge Sampaio, a
Socialist, invites the party gathering most votes to form a government.
The head of state has veto power over the Cabinet appointees but rarely
uses it.
CURRENT GOVERNMENT: Social Democrat Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopes
heads a conservative coalition with the Popular Party led by Defense
Minister Paulo Portas. Santana Lopes was not elected. He replaced
then-prime minister Jose Manuel Barroso in July 2004 who left to become
European Commission president. President Jorge Sampaio called an early
general election after dissolving Parliament on Dec. 10, 2004, because
he lacked confidence in the four-month-old government.
THE PARTIES: Results from the 2002 general election:
Social Democratic Party: 105 seats or 40.1 percent.
Socialist Party: 96 seats or 37.8 percent.
Popular Party: 14 seats or 8.7 percent.
Communist/Green Party coalition: 12 seats or 6.9 percent.
Left Bloc: 3 seats or 2.7 percent.
*************************************************************
26) Associated Press Worldstream; February 17, 2005
MEXICO: MEXICO'S GREEN PARTY ONCE AGAIN CITED FOR LACK OF INTERNAL
DEMOCRACY
Mexico's highest electoral court threw out the internal statutes of the
small Green Party, a political dynasty largely dominated by one family,
and ordered the group on Wednesday to reform itself and elect new
leaders within six months.
It was the second time in as many years that electoral authorities have
ruled the party's statutes were undemocratic and ordered the party to
reform them.
Since its founding in 1986, the Gonzalez family and relatives have
dominated the party's top leadership posts. Like other parties, the
group receives millions of dollars in government campaign financing.
The tribunal found that terms for the party's leadership posts -
currently between six and 12 years - were too long, and should be
reduced to three years, the government news agency Notimex reported.
The court also said candidates for party posts should be given more than
the current limit of three days to register for internal elections, and
that internal oversight and watchdog committees should be elected by the
membership, not appointed by party leaders.
In 2003, following complaints by members who said they had been excluded
from party deliberations, the court struck down internal statutes that
basically kept the party under the control of its founder and his son.
In 2004, the Federal Electoral Institute approved a new set of rules
submitted by the Greens, but the court threw out those rules Wednesday.
In a statement written prior to the ruling, the party said "our new
statutes are on the level of international political parties, and are
more democratic and participative than those of some others."
It said the court "should not convert the Green Party into any old
democratic experiment it pleases ... we will not allow ourselves to be
treated as laboratory mice."
In 2004, the party's president, Jorge Gonzalez Martinez, was seen in a
secret video discussing a US$2 million bribe.
The videotape showed Gonzalez Martinez offering to speak with officials
in the then Green Party-governed resort of Cancun about permits for two
development projects in the area.
The Greens were the junior partner in Fox's historic presidential
victory in 2000, but later broke away to form alliances with the
Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which holds the largest bloc
in Congress and the largest number of governorships.
**************************************************************
27) Agence France Presse – English; February 17, 2005
GERMANY: SCHROEDER PARTY EYES SORELY NEEDED WIN IN GERMAN STATE POLL
by Deborah Cole
BERLIN -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats (SPD)
hope to halt a marathon losing streak in a state poll Sunday and use the
momentum for a strong early start to the 2006 national campaign.
The vote in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany pits the popular
current premier Heide Simonis, a Schroeder ally, against the
conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in what is shaping up to
be a neck-and-neck race.
The formidable, quick-witted Simonis leads the state in a coalition with
the ecologist Greens party in an alliance mirroring Schroeder's own team
in Berlin.
That constellation makes the race an even more potent test for
Schroeder's fortunes just as the SPD is clawing its way back from
historic lows in the polls as anger over his tough labor market reforms
subsides.
Analysts say the SPD is likely to claim about 40 percent of the vote
against about 37 percent for the conservatives, who are in disarray at
the national level and fielding a lacklustre candidate.
One factor that could help the CDU would be a weak showing for the
Greens, who are embroiled in a scandal at the national level threatening
to engulf their most high-profile member, Foreign Minister Joschka
Fischer.
The affair involves a 1999 edict loosening visa restrictions for eastern
Europeans.
The change was intended to allow greater cultural and business exchange
with the former Soviet bloc but opened the door to widespread abuse by
criminal networks that smuggled in drug dealers, illegal workers and
women forced into prostitution.
If the issue diminishes Fischer's strong popularity, the Greens could
pay a price at the polls.
But Green state environment minister Klaus Mueller said he felt
confident the party would emerge Sunday unscathed from the scandal.
"If you admit your mistakes, people accept that. Joschka has done that
very well," Mueller said....
************************************************************
28) Irish Independent; February 18, 2005
IRELAND: DRAMATIC EVENTS 'NEED A DECISIVE EXPLANATION'
by Senan Molony
THE Taoiseach and Minister for Justice are being updated on a regular
basis on the developments in the Garda operation against Provisional IRA
money laundering.
Bertie Ahern and Michael McDowell are being careful to avoid making any
public comment in advance of possible criminal charges being brought
against some or all of those detained.
But Opposition parties insisted last night that the dramatic events in
Dublin and Cork required Sinn Fein to answer serious questions.
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte described the Garda seizure of huge amounts
of cash and the subsequent arrests as an astonishing development. "While
we await more details, it is of extreme concern that the Garda operation
was specifically directed at IRA money laundering," the Labour leader
said.
It seemed the events were particularly significant in the context of the
Northern bank robbery, he said, and in light of subsequent denials by
IRA and Sinn Fein. "I trust that many of the questions that people are
asking about today's events will be answered in due course."
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the arrests and reported involvement of
a member of Sinn Fein raised grave questions for the party "in view of
Sinn Fein's repeated denials of Sinn Fein or IRA involvement in any
criminal activity". He said: "The leadership of Sinn Fein must make an
immediate statement on this development and on its relationship with
those involved. In particular, it must clarify whether any of the people
involved acted in an official capacity for Sinn Fein in last June's
elections."
Green Party chief Trevor Sargent said: "At a time when it was thought
the Good Friday Agreement was at its lowest ebb, these arrests give even
more cause for concern.
"The Green Party is calling for a full and frank explanation,
particularly from Sinn Fein, given that it is reported that a former
elected Sinn Fein representative has been arrested."
Mr Sargent said the arrest highlighted "more than ever" the liability
which the IRA is to the peace process. "It is not possible to maintain
an illegal standing army without recourse to criminal fundraising
activity," he said.
"Sinn Fein should know this from their association with the Farc in
Columbia, where kidnapping and drug-dealing is an integral part of
raising the money to pay and equip the Farc guerrillas. Amongst their
2,000 kidnapped victims is Green Party presidential candidate Ingrid
Betancourt."
****************************************************************************
29) Pristina via BBC Monitoring Europe – Political; February 18, 2005
KOSOVO: KOSOVO GREENS CALL FOR POWER PLANT TO BE SHUT DOWN
Prishtina Pristina , 17 February: The Kosova A power plant is the
largest polluter of environment, and as such it must be shut down,
officials of the Green Party of Kosova Kosovo PGjK said in a press
conference today.
PGjK chairman Daut Maloku said that the time has come for the Kosova A
to be shut down this year, "as its revitalization is impossible, be it
in technical-economic terms, in terms of environment, or in terms of
standards fulfilment," said Maloku.
He emphasized that it would be in interest of public health, and in
particular of the KEK Kosovo Energy Corporation employees. "It would
also save Kosova's budget from pouring the money," said Maloku.
Speaking on the recent political developments, Maloku said that his
party was against "the camouflaged decentralization" even in the
beginning of the year 2001.
Commenting the recent visit of Serbian President Boris Tadic, Maloku
said that it was a provocation against the people of Kosova, "made by
Serbia in cooperation with UNMIK UN Interim Administration Mission in
Kosovo ".
****************************************************************************
30) The Timaru Herald (New Zealand); February 19, 2005
NEW ZEALAND: PM SHOULD 'PUT UP HER HAND' FOR HIGH SPEED TRIP
The Prime Minister should put up her hand and take responsibility for
her high speed trip through South Canterbury last year which has seen
charges laid against six people, Green Party co- leader Rod Donald said
in Timaru yesterday.
The six, which include three local police officers, are due to reappear
in the Timaru District Court in April.
The incident occurred last August when the Prime Minister's Timaru
flight was cancelled and she needed to reach Christchurch to catch a
plane to Wellington to get there in time for a rugby match.
The local officers acted as lead driver for part of the journey, driver
of the security car following the Prime Minister's vehicle, and as a
passenger in the security car.
Mr Donald said part of being a good leader was taking responsibility.
"She should put her hand up and take responsibility whether it was her
decision or someone else's. That is what ministerial responsibility is
about."
However, Mr Donald said it would be "bizarre" to believe that a handful
of provincial policemen were speeding around the countryside with the
Prime Minister in tow without the knowledge of others. He said Miss
Clark set a bad example because everyone knows speed kills and it was
particularly bad when it was remembered how much effort had been put
into keeping speeds sown.
****************************************************************************
31) The Timaru Herald (New Zealand); February 19, 2005
NEW ZEALAND: GREEN PARTY LOOKING FOR AORAKI CANDIDATE
Wanted: one suitable candidate.
That is the wish of Green Party co-leader Rod Donald who was in Timaru
yesterday and hoping to find a suitable candidate for Aoraki for this
year's election.
Mr Donald said David Musgrave who had stood for the Aoraki Greens for
the past two elections was too busy with his business to stand this
year.
"He also said he prefers to do what we stand for rather than stand on a
soap box talking about it. That is why he was such a good candidate."
Mr Donald said the candidate they had lined up to take his place had
been given a job offer out of town that was too good to refuse and now
the branch was left without a prospect.
"It's not like we haven't been working, we have been and we prefer to
stand a committed candidate in every electorate.
"Our second choice is not too stand a candidate at all because we do not
stand cardboard candidates."
To apply, all you have to do is be or become a member of the Green party
and believe in and be committed to their policies.
Mr Donald said there were a number of issues the election would be
fought on. The oil situation was one of the most important.
"People and politicians have to be educated that the price of oil is
going to keep tracking up and when the New Zealand dollar falls we will
really notice the cost.
"That is why we have to start doing things to change the way we do
things in New Zealand and the Government has a window of opportunity to
do that now.
"Things like providing good public transport. We would really like to
have a candidate in Aoraki to get that message across."
Mr Donald said the Green Party got over 5 per cent of the Aoraki vote at
the last election and nationally its vote rose by 35 per cent. He said
they would like to raise it by that much again at this election.
****************************************************************************
32) Nebraska Journal Star February 19, 2005
NEBRASKA: EBAY BIDS DONATED TO GREEN PARTY
The Nebraska Green Party is $30 richer after someone from San Francisco
placed the final eBay bid on Kyle Stoner's letters.
Stoner is the 27-year-old Lincoln man whose Nov. 2 vote didn't count in
Cass County because of a county error. The error wasn't corrected in
time for 288 absentee voters to mail in their ballots.
To draw attention to the problem, Stoner auctioned letters he received
from the governor, secretary of state and county election officials,
apologizing for the error.
When bidding ended Friday at $35.10, he mailed the documents to the San
Francisco bidder and used PayPal to transfer the profits to the Nebraska
Green Party. Stoner said of all the people he contacted about the
election problem, the party was most sympathetic.
He's now waiting to hear if the American Civil Liberties Union of
Nebraska thinks his case merits action against Cass County. Stoner said
he'll pursue the issue "until I get satisfaction."
Green Party leader Steve Larrick was pleased to hear about the donation.
"Wonderful," he said. "Every great movement starts with one little
seed."
****************************************************************************
33) The Sunday Times (Perth, Australia); February 20, 2005
AUSTRALIA: GREENS ARE RED HERRINGS
by Matt Birney, Opposition police spokesman
IT is entirely understandable that people with environmental interests
might vote for the Greens next Saturday.
After all, they are the party of the environment, aren't they?
Well, their real platform makes only a vague reference to the
environment and the rest of their policies are an extraordinary mix of
fanatical diatribe and outright madness.
Some of the policies attributed to the Greens around the country are:
* Medicare funding for sex-change operations.
* Personal use of ecstasy, LSD, amphetamines and heroin to no longer
be a criminal offence.
* Changing the curriculum in primary schools to allow discussion about
lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender lifestyles and relationships.
* Capping the prison population at pre-1995 levels.
* Enshrining the rights of boat people in the Constitution.
* Capital-gains tax on the family home.
* Supplying marijuana at "approved venues".
* A tax on properties worth more than $1 million.
Some people think the Greens are just a group of well-meaning oddballs.
After considering their policies, however, I am moved to label them
dangerous fanatics.
The modern-day Green Party is little more than a safe haven for the
loony Left.
If the Greens get enough votes in their own right, they will no doubt
attempt to implement the above-mentioned lunacy under the guise of
democracy.
If they don't get enough votes in their own right, they intend to give
their preferences to Labor.
In other words, if you follow the Green how-to-vote card you will
actually be voting Labor.
One thing is certain: You won't be helping the environment by voting for
the Greens.
****************************************************************************
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