[MGP-Announcements] MGP E-mail Update - 11/18/02

[announcements-admin at massgreens.org]

MA Green Party E-mail Update -- 11/18/02
=========================================================

To the Mass. Green-Rainbow Party:

Now that the elections are behind us, it would be great for people to
focus on getting all the Green-Rainbow locals and committees up and
running. See below for information on how to join the groups that will
be working to expand our political power in the Commonwealth in the
weeks, months, and years to come.

There are also efforts being made to implement Instant Runoff Voting
right here in Massachusetts. I've included contact information for two
of the individuals working on that effort. Hopefully, Green-Rainbow
Party members will be active in advancing legislation for IRV.

As always, individuals should forward event information to
pkeaney at massgreens.org so that I can get it into the update for you.

Patrick Keaney
MGP Communications

=========================================================
(Items in this e-mail update do not necessarily represent official MA
Green Party views or positions)

1. Statewide Instant Runoff Voting Efforts
2. Mass. Green-Rainbow Committees -- Members Needed
3. "Enemies of the State?": 11/19 *Tonight* (Cambridge)
4. Class Acts Theater Troupe New Member Night: 11/19 *Tonight*
(Cambridge)
5. Movements: 11/20 (Boston)
6. Solidaridad Colombia: 11/20 (Northampton)
7. BU Greens Show "Bread and Roses": 11/21 (Boston)
8. Wal-Mart National Day of Action: 11/21 (Springfield)
9. Shoestring Players Perform to Benefit MGRP: 11/22-24 (W. Mass.)
10. In Defense of Human Rights: 11/22 (Northampton)
11. Make A Contribution to Support the MGP

If you know anyone who would be interested in receiving these e-mail
updates, send them to: http://www.massgreens.org to subscribe.

=========================================================
1. STATEWIDE INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING EFFORTS
=========================================================

Hello,

I'm hosting a study group meeting THIS TUESDAY, November 19th, at 7pm in
Clinton, MA.  Please forward this to anyone who might be interested.
Contact me at (978)733-1999 or zee at clintongreens.org if they need
directions.

I'm intending on putting together some preliminary content for
http://www.massirv.org over the weekend, and coming up with a reading
list for people to prepare themselves for Tuesday.  There is current
legislation in both Alaska and Vermont.   I have hardcopies, and
will put out a list of links over the weekend.  If you can do a net
search, and gather any info you can about IRV, please bring it on
Tuesday.  It would be specifically useful to research
existing implementations of IRV, such as in Utah, Maine, Ireland, and
Australia, problems they may have encountered, and reactions.

It would also be useful for you to be familiar with chapter 54, sections
77 and 78 of the Massachusetts General Laws
    (http://www.state.ma.us/legis/laws/mgl/gl-54-toc.htm)
and other nearby relevant sections.

thanks,
-Rich

********************************************************

To bring you briefly up to date, the text of the proposed IRV
legislation is being finalized and should be ready long before the
filing deadline of December 4.  Between now and the end of the year, we
should be giving thought to lobbying legislators after the New Year
(Reps. Story and Wolf did not think it was necessary to lobby
legislators now) and as to how best to educate the public about IRV.  I
suspect that we will plan a meeting for
sometime in January to organize and strategize.

In the meantime, please reach out to your friends, neighbors,
colleagues, family, etc. about IRV (the word is already spreading around
the state); feel free to continue to send my e-mail around, or offer
your own words regarding why we should implement IRV in Massachusetts.
IRV is an idea that people from across the political spectrum should
embrace, so be sure to reach out to Democrats and Republicans, Greens
and Libertarians.  The broader and deeper the voice, the stronger it
will be.  As a reminder, in whatever correspondence you send out, please
be sure to point folks to my IRV e-mail and web addresses:

IsupportIRV at attbi.com
and
http://IsupportIRV.home.attbi.com/

Thank you again for your support.  I look forward to sending you more
news in the not too distant future.

Jim Henderson

=========================================================
2. MASS. GREEN-RAINBOW PARTY COMMITTEES -- MEMBERS NEEDED
=========================================================

The Working Committees of the Green-Rainbow Party are looking for new
members. Please visit the Green-Rainbow Party website at
http://www.massgreens.org/Committees to find out what committees exist
and whom to contact to get involved. These committees are responsible
for the continued growth of our party -- please try to make involvement
in one of these groups a priority.

=========================================================
3. ENEMIES OF THE STATE?
=========================================================

Tuesday, November 19
REVOLUTION BOOKS
1156 MASS AVE, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138
(617) 492-5443

PRESENTS:
Enemies of the State? The Rights of Non-Citizens in the "Nation of
Immigrants", 1798 to post-9/11

A Talk by Prof. Daniel Kanstroom, Immigration Law, Boston College Law
School on the History of U.S. Immigration Policy in Times of War and
Crisis and the Impact of the "USA Patriot Act"

7 pm at First Parish Unitarian Church, 3 Church St., Harvard Square
$5 Donation
revbooks at angelfire.com

=========================================================
4. CLASS ACTS THEATER TROUPE NEW MEMBER NIGHT
=========================================================

Tuesday, November 19
Class Acts Theater Troupe
New Member Night!
7:30 to 9:30 pm
Porter Exchange Building, 1815 Mass Ave (in Porter Square) Room 403

Do you believe that the arts are a crucial part of social change work,
both in the streets and on stage? Do you want to create theater that
pushes for social change, and have fun doing it? Then come check out
Class Acts!

Class Acts is a radical performance troupe that creates guerilla art,
pushes limits, and works as part of broader movements for social
change.  Participants should expect to cultivate their skills in a
trusting community, reflecting personal experiences. We wish to dissolve
the curtains separating political art from our lives.

For more information, directions, or anything else, please e-mail
classactstheater at hotmail.com, or call Laura at 617-354-5455 or Matt at
617-482-4471 x23.

People of color, women, LGBT folks, and people with disabilities are
particularly  encouraged to come.

=========================================================
5. MOVEMENTS
=========================================================

Wednesday, November 20
What's Up Magazine and Boston's IndyMedia Center are putting on
Movements, an event unifying artists and activists in an effort to
promote peace and justice. The night will feature MCs, Deejays, and a
film in a burst of revolutionary sights and sounds.

The Acts:
7:30-8:30 BLACKOUTBoston (spoken word)
10:00-10:45 Sines of Life (Electro Hip Hop)
10:45-11:45 SHUMAN  (hip hop)

Resident Deejays:
Molotif Soundfall (Noisy, experimental beats),
Selectress Irie-la (Conscious Reggae)
Benyamin (Hip Hop)
DJ Ray (breakbeats)

Film by Indy Media Center at 7:30.  GET THERE EARLY!!

Where: The Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center at Villa Victoria, 85 West
Newton Street in the South End (Green Line to Copley or Orange Line to
Back Bay, Straight down Dartmouth, Right onto Tremont, Left onto West
Newton)

Admission: $6.00  Proceeds go to What's Up Magazine and Indy Media
Center

Time: 6-12am (food by Food Not Bombs will be served at 6pm)

For more info, call Whats Up at 617-267-1575.

http://www.whatsupmagazine.org
http://www.boston.indymedia.org

=========================================================
6. SOLIDARIDAD COLOMBIA
=========================================================

Wednesday, November 20
7pm - Solidaridad Colombia video showing
First Churches, corner of Main and Center, Northampton
"Colombia: The State of the Union" highlights the Coca-Cola lawsuit and
anti-union oppression
"Coca Mama: The War on Drugs" takes us inside the war on drugs exposing
the myths which the US uses to help it perpetuate Plan Colombia.  All
welcome!
http://www.westernmassAFSC.org/colombia

=========================================================
7. BU GREENS SHOW "BREAD AND ROSES"
=========================================================

Thursday, November 21
The BU Green Party will be showing the film "Bread and Roses" following
a guest speaker from SEIU. This is a free event and open to everyone.

"Bread and Roses" (2000) is a great film about two latina sisters
working for a cleaning company. The sisters lead the fight for the right
unionize. This is both an event to reflect upon the recent janitor
strike, as well as an introductory course in labor struggles in America.

When? Thursday, November 21 @ 7pm
Where? Boston University, College of Arts and Science, room 224
(725 Commonwealth Ave; B Train on the Green Line to "BU East/Central"
stop. )

BU's Students Against Sweatshops is co-sponsoring this event.

Contact:
Tammy Owens
bugreens at yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/bugreens

BU Green Party
www.geocities.com/bugreens

=========================================================
8. WAL-MART NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION
=========================================================

Thursday, November 21
4-7pm, JUSTICE @ WAL-MART NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION
Wal-Mart, 1105 Boston Rd, Springfield  http://www.walmartdayofaction.com

November 21st is the national day of action against Wal-Mart and there
will be an action in Springfield, and the United Food and Commerical
Workers is willing to charter a bus to take people from UMass to
Springfield and back, if we get enough people signed up. Buses will
leave UMass at 3:30. If you are interested and would like a spot on the
bus, please tell Eve Weinbaum: weinbaum at lrrc.umass.edu

Event activities will include:  speakers, music, balloons for the kids,
a cadre of "shoppers" who will go into Wal-Mart wearing union t-shirts
(we support Wal-Mart workers) and shop for supplies for a local (and
unionized) battered women's shelter.  UFCW provides everything -
including money to shop with!  Finally they will have pizza and soda for
all who come.  They are working with other unions and faith-based and
community groups to do a big event calling for Wal-Mart to be a
responsible employer.

=========================================================
9. SHOESTRING PLAYERS PERFORM TO BENEFIT MGRP
=========================================================

The Shoestring Players a local theater company composed of political
'actor-ists' will be giving five performances of Shakespeare's Richard
the Third this month starting Saturday the 16th. All donations will go
to the Greens.

Performance Schedule

Amherst Unitarian Society (next to Bart's)
Saturday 11/16
Sunday 11/17
Friday 11/22
Saturday 11/23

Montague Grange Hall
Sunday 11/24

All performances are at 7 p.m. Show runs approximately 3 hrs. with a
short intermission. Assistance is needed at the door and with publicity,
ie., postering/literature drops. Please contact Scott McGinley at
585-9211 or Jim Bosman at 586-7080 if you are interested in that.

=========================================================
10. IN DEFENSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS
=========================================================

Friday, November 22
7pm, Colombian Indigenous Leader speaks In Defense of Human Rights
Edwards Church, 279 Main Street (across from Academy of Music) in
Northampton

Luis Alfredo Acosta, a Paez indigenous leader and activist from the
Cauca region of Colombia, is a teacher and coordinator of the unarmed
and nonviolent Indigenous Guard of the Association of Indigenous
Leadership Councils of Nothern Cauca (ACIN).

There are about 3,000 Indigenous Guards; they are men and women of all
ages. Their responsibilities, which have been passed down by the
community’s elders, include the unarmed defense of life and community
rights, as well as the protection of Paeces from the violence of
Colombia’s 50-year internal conflict.  The creation of the Guard
reflects the Paez conviction that responding to violence with violence
only deepens the conflict. Thus far, the Guard has been able to prevent
the guerrilla and paramilitary forces from overtaking their communities.

=========================================================
11. ACTION TO STOP GMOs AT STAR MARKET/SHAW'S
=========================================================

CALL YOUR LOCAL SHAW'S SUPERMARKET & TELL THEM YOU DON'T WANT
GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD

October 26 - November 2 was a National Week of Action to Stop
Genetically Engineered Food at Supermarkets. Hundreds of concerned
people across the country headed out to their local supermarket to
express opposition to the dangerous genetic experiment taking place with
our food supply. Continue the momentum from the national week of action
and call your local store manager to him or her you do not want
genetically engineered food.

Sample Call:

Hi my name is ________.  I would like to speak with the store manager.
As a customer at Shaw's (Star Market) I want you to remove genetically
engineered ingredients from your store brand products.

Feel free to include the following info:
1. How much you spend each week at Shaw's (or don't spend since you
found out they use untested ge ingredients.)
2. Why you personally are concerned
3. Why you feel Shaw's should take action
4. Request for a face to face meeting to discuss your concerns

The top seven stores are those that were targeted by Safe Foods Campaign
Volunteers during the National Week of Action. Stores after that have
been targeted in the past by Safe Foods Campaign Volunteers and might
need a bit of a reminder. :)

Shaw's Supermarket - Wakefield, RI 401 792 9888
Star Market - Mt. Auburn St. Cambridge, MA 617-876-1450
Shaw's - East Providence, MA 401-431-9840
Star Market - Porter Sq. Cambridge, MA   617-492-5566
Star Market - Newton, MA  617- 964 -6825
Shaw's - Gold Star Blvd. Worcester, MA   508-852-7670
Shaw's - Main St. Bangor, MA   207- 942-9441

*************************
Other stores

Star Market - Hyannis, MA  508-775-3421
Star Market - Orleans, MA  508-240-1990
Shaw's - Wilmington, VT  802-464- 2161
Shaw's - Webster Sq. Worcester, MA  508- 754- 0876
Star Market - Allston, MA  617- 783-5878
Star Market - MIT Cambridge, MA  617- 494 -5250
Star Market - Prudential Boston, MA  617 -262- 4688
Star Market - Fenway Boston, MA   617- 267- 4684
Star Market - Dorchester, MA  617- 265 -1776
Shaw's - Revere, MA  781- 286 -3750
Shaw's - East Boston, MA  617 -567 -4116
Star Market - Belmont, MA  617- 489- 6540
Shaw's - Crantson, RI  401- 946-9720
Shaw's - North Providence, RI  401 -353- 2075
Star Market - Auburndale, MA  617- 965 -1793
Shaw's - Newburyport, MA   978- 462 -7121

The Safe Foods Campaign is project of Clean Water Fund. For more
information visit: http://www.cleanwaterfund.org/safefoods or call
617-338-8131 or 401-331-6972 or email lsetchell at cleanwater.org

=========================================================
12. MAKE A CONTRIBUTION TO SUPPORT THE MGP
=========================================================

We are solely supported by our membership and we need YOUR help to keep
us going!  In order to pay our staff, maintain an office that helps you
with your green organizing, and to continue supporting green candidates
we need your support!

There are many ways to donate:

   * Become a dues paying member for as little as $20 a year, $10
     student rate...
   * Become a monthly sustainer for as little as $10 a month online! (or
     contact the office if you would like to sustain for as little as
     $5, 978-688-2068)
   * Donate a one time amount anywhere from $5 up to $5,000

All this can be done online: http://www.massgreens.org/contrib.html or
by mailing a check made out to MA Green Party State Fund, PO Box 1311,
Lawrence, MA  01842

Thanks for your support!