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Featured news by and for the local community
News :: International Relations
Another "Historic Day" Looms in Iraq
29 Jan 2005
Yet another "historic day" will dawn in war-weary Iraq on January 30 as elections take place. The national elections scheduled for January 30 are indeed a watershed moment for Iraq, and the palpable enthusiasm of prospective Iraqi voters in the face of equally palpable physical danger is not to be dismissed. Yet ambient assumptions about the significance of the contests are facile and faith-based. In the US, The Troops Out Now Coalition encourages you to hold protests and press conferences in your localities on either Sunday Jan. 30, the day of the “elections” in Iraq, or Monday, Jan. 31. The purpose for doing this is to keep the antiwar movement and the rest of society focused on the real need: the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all U.S. occupation troops,News :: Environment
Global Warming is Twice as Bad as Previously Thought
27 Jan 2005
The greenhouse effect could be far more severe than experts had previously predicted, according to results from the world's biggest climate-modelling study. In the worst-case scenario, doubling carbon-dioxide levels compared with pre-industrial times increases global temperatures by an average of more than 11 ºC. The report makes ten recommendations for G8 nations to take the lead on curbing global warming. "The greatest barrier to enacting these steps in the U.S. is the reluctance of public officials to step on the toes of industry, especially energy corporations. The Bush administration has drafted energy policy in secret consultation with corporate lobbyists" said the Green Party of the US.News :: Elections & Legislation
Pataki's Budget Slashes Health Care, Ignores Education Ruling
27 Jan 2005
Education and health care will be two of the major points in dispute in the 2005-06 State Budget. The Governor proposed billions of dollars in cuts in Medicaid, Family Health Plus and other health care programs, while ignoring the recent court decision requiring several billion dollars in extra funding for education. He wants to block grant welfare spending to the counties, and cut funding for CUNY and SUNY while enacting a tuition increase.News :: Elections & Legislation
Protests Mark 2nd Inauguration of President Bush
21 Jan 2005
Cheryl Bellus writes: "I'm writing this from DC all comfy in my new Ben's Chili Bowl sweatshirt after spending the day in DC for the inaugural protests. It was chilly today but nothing like the 1/18/03 DC march or 2/15/03 in NYC. According to ANSWERS, "Over 10,000 protestors from around the country converged on John Marshall Park in Washington DC today bringing a powerful antiwar messae." From DC Indy Media - The dreams of the faithful who came to honor the Christian crusaders were shattered today amid chants and tear-gas, when what was expected to be a grand victory march down Pennsylvania Avenue descended into an embarassing public spectacle for the president that temporarily brought his motorcade to a complete hault. With all eyes on Washington, DC, viewers across the nation and around the world were treated to parade images of waffing smoke and pepper spray, as police battled protesters right on the inaugural motorcade route.Announcement :: Animal Rights : Children & Education : Civil & Human Rights : Crime & Police : Drugs : Elections & Legislation : Environment : Gender & Sexuality : Globalization : Housing : International Relations : Labor : Media : Miscellaneous : Peace : Prisons : Protest Activity : Right Wing : Urban Development
Mark Dunlea to do Reading from Madame President on Saturday, Jan. 22, 1 PM, Market Block Books, 290 River St., Troy
21 Jan 2005
Local activist and author Mark Dunlea will do a post-inauguration reading from his first novel Madame President: The Unauthorized Biography of the First Green Party President on Saturday, Jan. 22nd at 1 PM at Market Block Books, 290 River St. Troy (corner of 3rd St., near City Hall). He will also talk about "Where do We Go From Here" following the 2004 presidential election. Dunlea's novel imagines what would have happened if a Green had been president on September 11, 2001. "This book provides hope to those who want to build a world based on peace and justice. Another world is possible," added, Medea Benjamin, cofounder of Code Pink and Global Exchange.News :: Elections & Legislation
Citizens Rally in Albany for Legislative Reform
08 Jan 2005
(Updated)
Close of a hundred New York residents braved icy conditions to gather in the well of the Legislature on Thursday to demand legislative reform. The groups were led by the Brennan Center, which released a report last year calling the NYS legislature the most dsyfunctional in the country. A few hours after the rally, the Democrats and Republicans in the Assembly took an initial step by jointly announcing a series of changes in their rules that fell short of what the groups are looking for. Reform groups say there is some strengthening of the committee process. In the Senate, the Democrats claim the Republican rule changes actually hurts the minority.Announcement :: Elections & Legislation : Protest Activity
Jan. 10th, Troy: CLEAN ELECTIONS MOP CREW to Protest Bruno’s Fundraiser
07 Jan 2005
The CLEAN ELECTIONS MOP CREW will Protest Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno’s Fundraiser on Monday Jan. 10th 5:30pm, Franklin Plaza, 4th St & Grand St, Troy. Concerned Citizens with Mops, Brooms, buckets and signs will assemble outside Sen. Joe Bruno’s $1,000 a plate fundraiser, calling for Clean Money/Clean Elections Campaign Finance Reform. “Corporate lobbyists paying $1,000 to shmooze with politicians – how much is this going to cost taxpayers in Corporate Welfare?” said Irene Miller, President of New York Citizens for Clean Elections. "Grandpa Al Lewis used to make it easy for people by spelling out what a campaign contribution all too often really is - a bribe. We have the worst government that money can buy. The corruption with Haliburton in Iraq, with Enron in our utility bills, the huge corporate welfare payments doled out by Senator Bruno, all that is fueled the campaign contributions. Lobbyists and special interests are trooping up today to Troy to fork over $1,000 to buy access and favors. Wall Street knows that a campaign contribution is still the investment with the most obscene rate of return," stated Mark Dunlea of the Capital District Greens.
News :: Media : Miscellaneous : Protest Activity : Urban Development
Citizens Organizing for Cable Access in Troy
05 Jan 2005
Time Warner will soon raise cable rates by another 5% or more, quoting the familiar company line that higher costs are responsible for the increase. Don't believe it! The fact of the matter is that Time Warner Cable is an unregulated monopoly, and that like any unregulated monopoly they raise rates whenever their market research show they can get away with it. There's not much municipalities can do about rates, but they certainly can help cable customers get more for their money. The entire subject of the public access requirements in cable franchising, which Time Warner has aggressively and successfully resisted locally for years, consistently falls off the radar screen--yet it is here that municipalities can realize millions of dollars of benefits and savings for their citizens in addition to the intangibles of media literacy training, multi-media education, and increased non-commercial programming choices. Unfortunately, the long time negotiations between the City of Troy and Times Warner other their franchise agreement has ground to a halt.
Interview :: Prisons
Letters from Prison
04 Jan 2005
Following are excerpts from writings I’ve been sent by prisoners. I host a radio program called Voices from the Prison Action Network, a production of Indymedia Radio on WRPI Troy, 91.5 FM on Wednesday mornings at 8am. I read these on my December 29 show. Several of these letters are about parole, which is a big issue among prisoners who are eligible for parole. Others are more personal. Most prisoners hunger to communicate with the outside world, and I present these writings in support of their need. They will be back on the streets someday, and we need to find ways to support their successful return to the community , not just for their benefit, but for ours also.
News :: Elections & Legislation
Anti-Poverty Groups Call for Universal Health Care, Job Creation,Closing Corporate Tax Loopholes
04 Jan 2005
Sixty anti-poverty advocates at the 16th Annual People’s State of the State Rally said that decades of tax cuts and handouts for wealthy New Yorkers and large corporations has resulted in long lines at emergency food programs, a huge increase in the number of working poor households and millions of New Yorkers without access to affordable housing or health care. Meanwhile, a dozen county Executives came to the Capitol to push for a cap on local contributions to the Medicaid program.News :: Elections & Legislation
Cong. Conyers Seeks Democratic Senator to Join in Electoral College Challenge
31 Dec 2004
Representative John Conyers, ranking minority member of the House Judiciary Committee, will object to the counting of the Ohio Electors from the 2004 Presidential election when Congress convenes to ratify those votes on January 6th. Conyers declares that he will be joined in this by several other members of the House. Rep. Conyers is taking this dramatic step because he believes the allegations and evidence of election tampering and fraud render the current slate of Ohio Electors illegitimate. In Ohio, David Cobb of the Green Party is back in court, saying that Ohio failed to follow the law in the first recount.News :: Elections & Legislation
Public Citizen Asks Justice Department to Probe House Majority Leader
30 Dec 2004
Public Citizen today asked the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a formal investigation of possible violations of federal anti-bribery statutes by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) and former Rep. W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-La.), as well as executives and lobbyists for the Kansas-based Westar Energy, Inc. Substantial evidence, especially newly-released documents from a House ethics committee investigation, suggests a possible scheme using campaign contributions to buy political favors worth millions of dollars to Westar Energy and its executives.Previous Page | 1 | ...2 | ...7 | ...12 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | ...28 | ...33 | ...38 | ...43 | Next Page
