The Chronicle-Herald: May our top newsmaker

December 31, 2008 by admin
Filed under Green Party Media

May our top newsmaker

Green beats Somebeachsomewhere by a nose

By JOHN GILLIS Staff Reporter, The Chronicle-Herald

It was a decision not to put Elizabeth May on television that
ultimately made her the most compelling Nova Scotian of the year.

The leader of the federal Green party, who won a spot in the leaders
debates but no seats in the October election, was selected by editors
and readers of The Chronicle Herald as the newsmaker of the year.

The runner-up, an unaccustomed position for a horse that won 14 of 15
harness races in 2008, was Nova Scotia-owned pacer Somebeachsomewhere.

The Schooner Stables product won hearts, all but one of his career
races and more than $3.3 million in earnings for his owners.

He’s now retired and will live out his days as a desirable stud.

Ms. May, meanwhile, will soldier on as a party leader with no seat in
the House of Commons, trying to build on the small gains she and the
Greens made in 2008.

The 54-year-old former director of the Sierra Club of Canada was
already making waves early in 2008 for her plan to challenge
Conservative heavyweight Peter MacKay in his long-held Central Nova
riding in an expected federal election.

And just before Parliament was dissolved, the Green party gained its
first MP when Blair Wilson, an Independent and former Liberal, joined
the fold.

But when that election was called and a group of television executives
said Ms. May would not be allowed to take part in two leaders debates
the New Democrats and Conservatives threatened to pull out if she
was allowed in the snub provoked a backlash among citizens of all
political stripes.

In a letter to the editor of this newspaper, Sheila Rowe of East Ferry
wrote: "Elizabeth May and the Green party should be included in all
debates and should be given equal and unbiased media coverage. Keeping
her out is an affront to democracy."

Ms. May’s exclusion from what was seen as an old boys’ club, whose
members were Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, then-Liberal
leader Stephane Dion, Jack Layton of the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois’
Gilles Duceppe, rubbed a lot of Canadians the wrong way.

The reaction was such that within days Mr. Layton and Mr. Harper
withdrew their objections to Ms. May’s participation in the debate.
The networks then announced she could sit at the table.

Ms. May directly credited that swell of public opinion for opening the
door to the debate.

"This is a tonic for citizen engagement in the election process. This
says to Canadians: when you care about your country and you care about
democracy in a very non-partisan way, you can make change."

Pre-election polls showed the Green party running at 12 per cent as
Ms. May embarked on a cross-country whistle-stop rail tour.

Pundits agreed she held her own and scored some points in the debates.
Bluenoses were pleased she used that platform to raise several Nova
Scotia issues.

Come election day, the Green party took just under seven per cent of
the popular vote and was the only party to increase its actual number
of votes compared to the 2006 election. But that didn’t translate into
a parliamentary breakthrough.

Ms. May lost Central Nova to Mr. MacKay by a wide margin and none of
the other 305 Green candidates won their seats.

"I’m not going to pretend I’m not disappointed . . . but we still
attained the highest level of public support of the Green party," she
said.

Toward the end of the year, Ms. May joined other opposition parties in
criticizing Mr. Harper’s plan to cut government funding to political
parties. In the ensuing political crisis, she backed a proposed
Liberal-NDP coalition and said she would accept a Senate appointment
in order to play a role in a Liberal-led government.

Both fans and detractors nominated Ms. May as newsmaker of the year.

"She has stimulated curiosity where there was indifference, patriotism
where there was apathy and energy where there was lethargy," Kathy
Dodds wrote in an email.

Johnsiesta left this comment on thechronicleherald.ca: "Elizabeth May
sabotaged the Green party on behalf of the Liberals and is now
promoting herself as a Senate appointment from the Liberals (as an
obvious reward for stalling the inevitable growth of the Greens)."

Those who bet on the horse were uniformly glowing in their comments.
"It’s Somebeachsomewhere, ‘hands down,’ ‘going away,’ ‘in a walk,’ ‘by
a country mile,’ as we say at the track!" wrote Paul Robinson.

Commentor scrowell said others in the news could learn a thing or two
from the colt: "He has proven himself with his actions without saying
a word . . . too bad our politicians would not take his lead and speak
more by their actions and not so much with their mouths!"

Many a reader thought Independent MP Bill Casey was a stud in 2008, too.

"The Right Honourable Bill Casey," Sailor Man said on
thechronicleherald.ca. "He is the only politician in Ottawa worthy of
the name."

And a reader using the name ABM (Anyone But MacDonald) wrote, "He is
the only person in Parliament today that has guts and determination to
say what is right for his constituency, his province . . . and
country."

Canadian Idol runner-up Mitch MacDonald got enough votes to show, if not wi
n.

Other newsmakers nominated by readers included Mr. MacKay, Halifax
Mayor Peter Kelly, Nova Scotian soldiers in Afghanistan and the
firefighters who battled blazes in the Porters Lake area.

Prominent crimes in 2008 prompted readers to nominate 12-year-old
murder victim Karissa Boudreau and her mother, Penny Boudreau, who is
accused of the crime, and Jimmy Melvin Jr., whose release from custody
in November set off a spate of shootings. The convicted drug dealer
was himself shot in early December.

The Chronicle-Herald: May our top newsmaker

Tags:

Green Party Calls For U.N Buffer Zone and Stabilization Plan in Gaza

December 31, 2008 by admin
Filed under Green Party Media

Leave a Comment

In light of the serious escalation in violence between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza region and what appears to be an intractable political stand-off, the Green Party is calling for an immediate cessation of the violence and for leadership from "The Quartet" (U.S. Russia, E.U. , U.N.) to begin negotiations with all parties to establish a comprehensive stabilization plan and buffer zone around Gaza.

Already 1,400 people have been injured and 375 killed in Gaza and 5 in Israel by Israeli air-strikes and Hamas rockets and emergency services in Gaza are overwhelmed by the continuing violence. Children are especially vulnerable to the psychological terror of repeated air-strikes and rocket attacks. A recent Queen’s University study has identified the children of Gaza – which comprise almost half the population of the territory – as heavily impacted psychologically by war trauma.

Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May commented, "It is time for political leaders in the region and from influential nations outside the region, to seriously collaborate in ending a tragedy that is a lose/lose proposition for everyone regardless of any perceived short-term gains.

Stage One of a Gaza Area Stabilization Plan would include:

1) An immediate end to all hostilities and the establishment of a sustainable cease-fire arrangement.

2) The deployment of U.N. Peace-Making forces within a Neutral Buffer Zone who assume the responsibility for ending missile attacks on Israel using a combination of political, policing and technical means and methods.

3) The establishment of a Green Economic Development Area and Agricultural/Water Research Institute at the Egyptian/Gaza border which would be developed in collaboration with the Egyptian government – initial stage would be on Egyptian side – and with long-term financial and technical support from the international community.

4) Increased support for primary and secondary education infrastructure and resources as well as significantly enhanced medical and psychological treatment capacity.

5) Re-open border crossing points under U.N. oversight to allow continuous access of humanitarian supplies into Gaza.

Green Party of Canada International Affairs Critic Eric Walton added "because of the intense and chronic nature of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict it is likely that a sustainable peace process will require a multi-track approach that simultaneously addresses state security, economic development, environmental protection and human security concerns."

Contact:

Michael Bernard

Communications Officer

Green Party of Canada

613-562-4916 ext. 244

Green Party Calls For U.N Buffer Zone and Stabilization Plan in Gaza

Tags:

The economic impact of systems returning to balance

December 31, 2008 by admin
Filed under Green Party Blogs

Leave a Comment

…This was just one of those thoughts that came into my mind types of deals…

So please bear with me as I try to word it out properly…This IS a blog after all…

I think we will all agree that the human body, nature, and the Universe exist in ways that maintain a balance between various systems within… Hold that thought…

Think of what happens when you put things into your body…Into the environment…That would not otherwise be there is it were not for your intervention…

The respective systems react in some sort of way…Whether good or bad is not really relevant right now…

Ultimately in our world these changes in the environment/our bodies can certainly be tied to a cost of some sort. There is definitely an economic impact of some type…Agreed? If for example we do something that alters the temperature of the environment, there would certainly be more or less demand for heating/cooling… Now hold that thought..

What if we were more innovative about the way we did things. What if we minimized our effect on these systems, would be not also minimize the economic impact of our actions?

Isn’t it better to live in harmony with systems and approach them with care…

This way we minimize disruption and can better predict what happens economically?

Especially in with the Global market we now have. Your thoughts/insight are most appreciated. I’m sure one of you can recommend a book for me to read…

How much could we save in health care dollars if we were more preventative and holistic in the way we approached our bodies… Garbage in = Garbage out I think….

The economic impact of systems returning to balance

Tags:

The economic impact of systems returning to balance

December 31, 2008 by admin
Filed under NDP Blogs