International Climate Action Day Storms into San Francisco

Saturday marked a day of unprecedented international climate actions by activists in 181 countries who are building momentum to inspire political leaders to take substantial steps towards climate reform at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December.

In the Bay Area of California, cyclists from as far away as Arcadia descended upon Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco in the culmination of the kickoff. City Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, urged people to push their municipal and state legislatures to take aggressive action to reform climate regulation, regardless of what the international community does (or does not) do.  A consistent fighter for green legislation in one of the greenest cities in the country, Mirkarimi most notably initiated the anti-plastic bag initiative which has since spread internationally.

The international day was spearheaded by the group 350.org and supported by numerous environmental activist groups, including GreenPeace. The number 350 represents the parts per million of carbon dioxide emissions that the atmosphere can bear if we want to avoid runaway global warming.

Diverse Communities Team UP to Clean UP in San Francisco

On a uniquely beautiful August day in San Francisco, a handful of community , government, job training groups and neighborhood volunteers joined to tackle the grit on the urban face of the 5th district.

Festooned with rakes, brooms, shovels and garbage bags, over 300 people fanned across the widely dispersed neighborhoods of the most socially and economically diverse District 5. Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi was on hand to celebrate and put some muscle in. A number of interviews help show the varying community threads that make up the fabric of San Francisco.

Climate Activists Make Use of the Windy City’s Power

Great piece of action from these serious environmentalists who hoisted up 6 wind turbines in downtown Chicago to demonstrate that they wanted wind power to come to their windy city. The turbines have already been taken down, but was nonetheless inspiring. According to Greenpeace USA, a passing Chicago woman pointed out the turbines to her kids and said, “This is your future”.

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Software and Sustainability in the Spotlight

Creator of the technology which formed the backbone of the wiki, Ward Cunningham, interviews Eduardo Jezerski talking about his work launching agile software laboratories devoted to sustainable innovation to humanitarian ends in this video.

Largest Protest Against Coal in Front of D.C.’s Power Plant

“I think any time you have 2,500 people willing to take action and risk going to jail to stop a coal plant, it’s a good thing,” Michael Brune of the Rainforest Action Network told Grist as the protest wrapped up. “And I think what’s quite clear is that we have more momentum than ever to start shutting down coal plants around the country.”

read more | digg story

AR Rep Carroll Attempts to Take God Out of Politics

Newly elected Arkansas House Representative Richard Carroll has wasted no time digging into the archaine “isms” of Arkansas’ state politics. First was the bill to extend the petitioning period for ballot access from a mere 60 to a still challenging 90 days. Then, on February 11, he introduced a bill to remove the language from the state’s Constitution which prohibits a declared atheist from holding public office or testifying as a witness.

Article 19 Section 1 : No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this State, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any court.

Wednesday was the last day members of the 87th General Assembly could file a bill for purposes of proposing a constitutional amendment. The Bill has been referred to the Committee on STATE AGENCIES & GOVT’L AFFAIRS.

• Carroll’s State Legislator Page
• Great background article on Carroll
• Godless Geek’s list of State Constitution with restrictive language
• Nice article on Progressive Democrat and Green Party alliance
  

Bill Moyers Hosts Critics of Cloistered Political Press

Bill Moyers recently interviewed two progressive journalists, Glenn Greenwald and Jay Rosen, who are counting Obama’s first days in D.C. with a sharp eye on the political opinion makers who drive so much of the story we all consume. Listen to the full show.

Greenwald suggested that the media’s treatment of the Daschle nomination provides an example of how complicitly it perpetuates business-as-usual conduct in Washington D.C.. The media missed the real story. While it focused on Daschle’s tax problems, it said nothing of how the retired Congressman has capitalized on his former office by providing legislative consulting to wealthy individuals and large corporations, including those in the health care industry.

“Most people consider that to be corruption. That’s what Barack Obama called it when he ran,” said Greenwald. “Yet, to members of the media, who have spent their lives in Washington, who are friends and colleagues of the people who are engorging themselves on this corrupt system, that is just the way of life. It’s like breathing air or drinking water.”

Rosen said that the Washington media players are part of a broken system intent upon keeping themselves relevant in order to maintain a career. “I think there’s a tendency for Washington journalists to see everything converging towards the political game that they are themselves masters of…The reason you won’t see an Amy Goodman of “Democracy Now!” on “Meet the Press” is that it would discredit the narrative that’s been building up for a long time.”

Rosen conjectures that Obama was probably a little surprised at the strength of the symbiotic relationship between political opinion makers and the political elite. “He is naturally a compromiser. And I think he’s going to be pulled between playing a savvy inside game and trying to mobilize anger from outside of Washington. He’s going to seesaw between these two things. “

“To members of the media, who have spent their lives in Washington, who are friends and colleagues of the people who are engorging themselves on this corrupt system, that is just the way of life. It’s like breathing air or drinking water. “

Both journalists optimistically agree that if Obama can hold fast to his early promises, the press corps will eventually adjust its narrative to embrace a more progressive story. However, Obama will not be able to do that without outside force. Citizen journalism and other internet social networks can shame the press corps into changing.

Here’s the complete transcript.

Glenn Greenwald is a constitutional lawyer turned journalist. His blog on Salon.com is one of the most influential on the internet. He’s written two best sellers: “How Would a Patriot Act?” about President Bush and executive power, and “A Tragic Legacy.” His most recent book is “Great American Hypocrites.”

Jay Rosen is a founder of the citizen journalism movement and is a professor of journalism at New York University, as well as a widely published writer and media critic. He created the popular blog called PressThink, subtitled “Ghost of Democracy in the Media Machine.”

GreenPeace of UK Greenwash of the Year Award Goes to…

United Kingdom’s Green Peace activists attempt to give the first annual Emerald Paintbrush Award to a company that has excelled in Greenwashing in this video. While the activists made it to the front desk of the award winner, British Petroleum (BP), they were hastily removed from the premises still holding the green award, the doors closed behind them.

The citation awarded BP for:

A multi-million dollar advertising campaign proclaiming its commitment to the earth, the sun and everything in between, and proudly announcing that the best way out of the energy “fix” is an energy “mix”.

In reality, the unnamed Tuxedo-clad activist said, BP had spent 93 per cent of its 2008 investment dollars in oil and gas exploration, drilling and distribution. Solar power received just $300 million dollar or just 1.3 per cent of BP’s total investment.

“So thanks must go to at this moment to BP senior staff, investment managers, strategists, and above all its advertising agency,” the jocular Green Peace representative concluded.

San Francisco Civil Rights Activists Hit the Streets on Issue of Same-Sex Marriage Ban

10,000 Civil Rights Activists Protest Same Sex Marriage Ban in San Francsico.

Nader Announces Open the Presidential Denver Super Rally

Currently shut out of the Presidential debates by the requirement thresholds set by the non-profit “Non-Partisan” corporation Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), veteran Presidential campaigner Ralph Nader has called for a Super Rally to be held on the Eve of presumptive candidate Barack Obama’s big night in Denver, Wednesday 27,2008.

The CPD requires that candidates poll at least 15% nationally, as measured by the average of five corporate media polls. In contrast, the League of Women Voters (LWV), who sponsored the debates of three Presidential cycles (1976, 1980, 1984) employed a 5% rule as measured by independent polls.

The LWV ceased to sponsor the debates in 1988, after the George Bush and Michael Dukakis campaigns drafted the first secret debate contract, a “Memorandum of Understanding” that dictated who got to participate and who would ask the questions. On October 3, The LWV 14 trustees voted unanimously to drop out of the debates, and issued the following press release:

The League of Women Voters is withdrawing sponsorship of the presidential debates … because the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter. It has become clear to us that the candidates’ organizations aim to add debates to their list of campaign-trail charades devoid of substance, spontaneity and answers to tough questions. The League has no intention of becoming an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public.

The organization Open Debates has criticized the CPD for awarding control of the debates to Democratic and Republican campaigns. It notes that the CPD’s Executive Directors are gaming lobbyist Frank Fahrenkopf and pharmaceutical lobbyist Paul Kirk. The debates are sponsored by multi-national corporations and their presence is quite visible during the televised debates.

Strict control of the poll threshold, particularly in conjunction with ballot access regulations, also instituted by the two major parties, assures that the Democrats and Republicans need not fear the invasion of dissident voices on the debate stage. However, disident voices do resonate with the public when provided the opportunity. Consider Governor Jesse Ventura who explains his surprising win thusly, “I was allowed to debate. I proved that you could go from 10 percent to 37 percent and win if you’re allowed to debate. Rest assured these two parties don’t want to ever see that happen again.”

Earlier this year, an organization called Science Debate 2008 had tried to convene a debate between then Democratic contenders Clinton and Obama and Republican McCain. No takers. Science Debate orgnizers then hoped that they might get to host an event in the fall. Obama has agreed to just three debates as controlled by the CPD. Perhaps the Science Debate 2008, Google and Open debates could get together and present a debate which allows for the 5 per cent threshold candidates. If Obama and McCain choose not to come, they must have their reasons, but at least we’d hear from the likes of Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin – maybe we can have some spontaneous dialogue that way. A novel approach to debate, spontaneity.

If you are interested in opening up the debates, you can e-sign this petition. If not for this election, than for the next.

League Of Women Voters Wikipedia Page
Open Debates
Science Debate 2008