It was once called Armistice Day

It was the day the killing stopped, 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of November, 1918. The killing had included 10 million soldiers and some 7 million civilians.

I first ran this piece on November 11, 2015. I will keep running it until there is no need to run it ever again.

At the front, there was no celebration …

From the account of Colonel Thomas Gowenlock, an American intelligence officer on the front line that November morning:

“All over the world on November 11, 1918, people were celebrating, dancing in the streets, drinking champagne, hailing the armistice that meant the end of the war. But at the front there was no celebration. Many soldiers believed the Armistice only a temporary measure and that the war would soon go on. As night came, the quietness, unearthly in its penetration, began to eat into their souls.

Continue reading “It was once called Armistice Day”

GPFL Donates $200 to Ahmad For 58 in Dec 19th 2017 Special Election

This month the Green Party of Florida donated $200 (10% of our available funds) into “Shaking up Tallahassee” with our endorsed candidate Ahmad Saadaldin in the December 19th special election for Florida House District 58. Many Greens from across Florida have also joined in supporting this campaign with their own money and volunteer efforts. If you haven’t joined the fight for People, Planet, and Peace over Profit in 2017 now is the time!

Learn More & Volunteer:

https://ahmadfor58.com/

Donate:

https://www.launchgood.com/project/fund_the_political_revolution_in_florida#!/

Interact & Connect:

https://www.facebook.com/AhmadFor58

200 Sustainers for 12 Goals by 2020

1.) Double Registered Greens in Florida to 16,000

2.) Start 15 new Local Chapters (5 a year)

3.) Field a Full Slate of Candidate’s (State-Wide, Congress, State Legislative, County Commissioner, School Board, Sheriff, Mayor, City Council, Soil & Water Districts)

4.) Develop and Maintain State-Wide network of Phone/Text bankers, and canvassers for campaigns through the 10 More Votes App (or other identified platforms.)

5.) State-Wide Constitutional Amendments by the GPFL (Rank Choice Voting, Electoral College Reform, $15 minimum wage, Civilian Police Oversight Boards at the State/County/City levels)

6.) County Charter Amendments on above issues to address at a Local Level if we are unable to address at a State Level.

7.) Peer 2 Peer Conflict Resolution App

8.) Op-Ed/Newspaper Writers (Letters to Editors/Paid Opinion piece placements)

9.) Community Outreach (Community Events/Tabling/Materials & Resources)

10.) Community/Organizational Coalition Building (Faculty Forward, Black Lives Matter, Equality Florida, Unions, NAACP, ACLU, Planned Parenthood)

11.) Issue Advocacy to promote Systemic Change (Medicare4All, Banking Reform, Modern Monetary Theory, Israeli & Fusil Fuel Divestments)

12.) Digital Infrastructure Capacity Development (GPFL Software, Nation Builder, Loomio, other proposed and approved upgrades to our Website or Digital Office Space.)

In order for the Green Party of Florida to turn these 12 Goals into 12 Realities by 2020 we need 200 Sustainer Donors of $10 a month or more so that the Green Party of Florida has the resources necessary to achieve these goals. You can take a stand towards putting People, Planet, and Peace over Profit in Florida every month at www.gpfl.org/Donate To sign up for a re-occurring monthly donation scroll down to the bottom of the page and there is our PayPal donation form. Select your donation amount and then check the box marked “I would like this donation to automatically repeat each month.” Then fill in the rest of your information which the GPFL must collect for Campaign Finance Reporting purposes and click submit!

Green Party Hosts Campaign Training School in Central Florida!

Green Party of the United States prepared candidates and their teams for
successful campaigns in Orlando, Florida this past weekend!

Approximately 25 participants traveled from various parts of Florida to participate.

Orlando, Florida– (October 14 -15, 2017) GPUS and GPCFL, is excited to inform everyone of
the accomplishment of the Campaign Training School. The presenters for the weekend were Erin
Fox (MI), Hillary Aisenstein Kane (PA), and Karen Morian (FL). Each Presenter facilitated
and interactively engaged participants. Also, the class was broken up into workshop style
modalities and encouraged questions and dialogue.

The GPUS team presented topics such as: Why Run for Office 101? Goal Setting for your
Campaign, Voter Targeting & Voter ID, Building a campaign Infrastructure, and many more
essential topics. Also, each Facilitator conveyed through their instruction the importance of
Movement/Party Building.

The next Campaign Training School will be sometimes next year. However, the goal of the next
class will be to have those who attended this past training to teach and train as well in their local
areas and state.

The GPFL is working on editing video content recorded at our workshop and will make that content available through our website in the near future. The GPFL also Live-Streamed some session on our Facebook page which you can watch here.

Robin Harris
GPCFL CO-Chair/FL Delegate

Ahmad Saadaldin Endorsement

Green Party of Florida Endorses Ahmad Saadaldin in the Florida House of Representatives District 58 Special Election

The Green Party of Florida proudly endorses the campaign of Ahmad Saadaldin for Florida House of Representatives in the District 58 Special Election. .

His campaign calls for repairing the broken political system with independent action to reimagine Florida as a State that supports quality education, supports worker’s rights through the Fight for 15, and addresses the need for action on climate change to protect Florida and her citizens.

www.AhmadFor58.com

www.facebook.com/AhmadFor58

Green Party of Florida calls for Peace Treaty Process on Korean Peninsula

Green Party of Florida calls for a Peace Treaty Process on the Korean Peninsula

August 24, 2017

The Green Party of Florida joins the United States and South Korean Green Parties in calling for a political and diplomatic solution to the Korean War instead of further militarization of the situation. Green Parties across the world have called for global nuclear disarmament and a transfer of military funding to humanitarian programs including the fight against climate change.

Further escalation of military tensions on the Korean Peninsula does nothing to honor the sacrifice of the more than 35,000 United States service members who have already given their lives, or the more than 100,000 service members wounded in action in the Korean War. The Green Party of Florida remembers the over three million global citizens whose lives have already been ended by this conflict. The Green Party of Florida acknowledges the plight of the citizens of North Korea, who remain among the world’s poorest and most internationally isolated.

The Green Party of Florida demands that the United States government exhaust all diplomatic and political solutions to the Korean War before threating a return to open and active hostilities. The Green Party of Florida supports a suspension of U. S. and South Korean joint military exercises on the Korean Peninsula that serve only to make North Korea feel threatened and do not advance the cause of peace. The Green Party of Florida supports a return to the United Nations Security Council plus China sponsored Peace Treaty Process with the goals of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a Peace Treaty which ends the Korean War and provides both North and South Korea with a peaceful road map to future success and prosperity.

“Warning, I Choose The Politics Of Courage, Not Fear!”

By: Christoph L. Rocker 2/24/15

Recent news reports warn that the terror threat level is up and shopping malls may be a target, yet, in the next breath, the newscasters claim the public should feel safe enough to shop. Why such contradictions? Who is deliberately creating this fear? Is it a coincidence that just this week Congress battles over whether or not Homeland Security continues to receive funding?

Citizen Four, the Oscar winning documentary portrays whistle blower Edward Snowden as self-sacrificing. Collecting the award, Poitras, flanked by journalist and collaborator Glenn Greenwald, said: “The disclosures of Edward Snowden don’t only expose a threat to our privacy but to our democracy itself. When the decisions that rule us are taken in secret we lose the power to control and govern ourselves.”

In an interview with him last year Snowden claims that the NSA’s surveillance is so entrenched that he wishes he would have blew the whistle earlier. All it will take is a “major incident” to enact a policy with a flick of a switch to create “turnkey tyranny.”

This is the politics of fear and the endless war on terror in our new Orwellian Surveillance State in action. Does anyone else see this as more than coincidental, that they may be making stuff up in order to get more funding? Is it possible they are feeding us bits of intelligence and spinning it in order to keep us in fear and our money in their coffers? Or is this the media’s doing?

Edward Snowden was a successful young man who gave up his comfortable life and career as a high level security analyst for the NSA in Hawaii to warn the American Citizens of the abuses of power he eyewitnessed. His greatest fear regarding the outcome for America, is that after hearing all that has been disclosed, the public will do nothing, that they will not force their Representatives to take a stand for their own interests. We need to support him and the sacrifices he has made on our behalf. We need to be heard by our Representatives!

After hearing all this hype in the news, I visited the National Terrorism Advisory System on Homeland Security’s website. I was expecting a color chart with red or at least yellow, but in 2011 they opted for a new system where anyone can sign up to receive alerts via email, Facebook or Twitter. I visited their Facebook page and could only find posts by Secretary Jeh C. Johnson telling the public how important they are to the DHS. There were no current alerts to be found anywhere.

To quote Noam Chomsky, “To stop terrorism, a good place to start is to stop participating in terrorism.” We export terrorism on a wholesale level, whereas “terrorists” fight with guerrilla tactics in Afghanistan, for example. Those terrorists are fighting a super power, who has invaded their country for oil and other selfish interests. Who has killed more innocent civilians in the war against terror since 9/11? I’ll let you answer that question.

On WFLA Sean Hannity radio show recently I heard right wing Christians fundraising for soldiers of fortune to go overseas and fight the evil empire. I find this reminiscent of the Crusaders who would do anything to instill fear in their blasphemous Muslim rivals.

Native Americans were dehumanized by colonialists and then the American government. This genocide occurred through propaganda to create a belief system with hatred and fear of the “savages.” The extermination of almost an entire indigenous population was all for greed, land, and power, not Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. It’s the same old song and dance. The question is, will we learn from history or be doomed to repeat it?

Instead of the politics of fear and hate, I choose the politics of courage & love. I exercise my right to free speech before it is lost forever to the warmongers and unfettered capitalism. It is the multinational corporations who are buying governments and taking away all of our rights and destroying our planet at an alarming rate!

Throughout all this talk, our young men and women are in a foreign country dying because private interests have convinced the public that it’s not about the oil but about the unethical, un-American, inhuman Muslim enemies. How many do we have to kill before it has been an “eye for an eye” for 9/11?

Why don’t we clean up all the organized crime and white collar corruption here in our homeland before we start trying to fix other cultural problem thousands of miles across the ocean? There is no money in it, that’s why. The KKK is alive and well in America. They still exist and can rise and become more visible if we allow fear mongers to continue these violent and defensive knee-jerk reactions. We are the pot calling the kettle black if we arc going to play on emotions and public sentiment.

Half of registered voters did not vote in the 2014 elections. We can change the world if we believe we can. You make a difference. Register Green today and vote! If you are not registered, register now! Choose the Green Party!

– Christoph L. Rocker

References:

c1- http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republicans-split-on-dhs-funding-edging-closer-to-partial-shutdown/2015/02/23/4b2de138-bb76-11e4-b274-e5209a3bc9a9_story.html
c2- www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republicans-split-on-dhs-funding-edging-closer-to-partial-shutdown/2015/02/23/4b2de138-bb76-11e4-b274-e5209a3bc9a9_story.html

c3a- (00:10:46) https://www.youtube.comlwatch?v=Hpvb-hln-ek c3b – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four

c3c – (00:11:32) https:llwww.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpvb-hln-ek

c4 (paragraph 13) – http:llwww.nytimes.com/201 5/02/23/us/mall-of-america-terrorism-threat-jeh-c-johnson.html?j=0

c5a – http://www.dhs.gov/how-do-i/check-national-terrorism-advisory-system-ntasc5b – https://www.facebook.comlhomelandsecurity c6 – https://www.youtube.comJwatch?v=kPj89C7bzOO

c7a – http://download.premiereinteractive.comlseanhannity/201 5/O2lSean%2oflannity%20-%2OFeb%2023%2020 I 5%20-%2OHour%203.mp3

c7b – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui9C6xVpVfO c7c – https://www.youtube.comlwatch?v=b51QFBZjN5M

c8a – http://election.dos.state.fl.us/voter-registration/voter-reg.shtml

c8b – http://gp.org/index.php

U.S. Women In Black: End U.S. Complicity in Israeli Occupation & War!

As stated on their website (http://www.womeninblack.org/en/vigil), Women in Black “is a world-wide network of women committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to injustice, war, militarism and other forms of violence.” Julia Aires, a founder of the Green Party of Florida, and former GPF co-chair, was also a founder (with Diane Kamleiter) of a Florida local WiB chapter, “Women in Black Gulfcoast.” Below is a statement co-authored by members of WiB Baltimore(MD), Union Square(NY) and Bay Area (CA).

U.S. Women In Black Say
U.S. Policy on Israel Must Change:
END U.S. COMPLICITY IN ISRAELI OCCUPATION AND WAR!

Israel’s massacre of Gaza civilians and massive destruction of homes, hospitals, schools and public works cannot be justified. The most recent attacks on Gaza have killed and injured many thousands of women, children, and non-combatant men. This tiny, impoverished territory, which Israel first occupied and over which it continues to exercise virtually total military control, has been described as “the world’s largest open-air prison.” Closed borders make it impossible for civilians fleeing Israel’s bombings to escape. Israel’s previous attacks and ongoing violations of international law and Palestinian human rights have increased the suffering immeasurably. Continue reading “U.S. Women In Black: End U.S. Complicity in Israeli Occupation & War!”

Beware of Israel

CAIR has emerged as a defender of the Muslim people in the United States in response to the backlash from the World Trade Center 9/11 attacks & to balance the intense lobbying of our Congress by AIPAC. One of their spokespersons co-hosted a show called True Talk on the community radio station here (WMNF) and this has given people in this part of the state a better vision of realities for Muslim-Americans. It’s not unusual for them to visit their relatives in the Middle East or other parts of the world during school vacations.

Such is the case of young Tariq Abu Khdeir, the 15-year-old Palestinian-American from Tampa who visited family in occupied Palestine. This trip became a nightmare for him & the rest of his family when his cousin, Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir, was abducted & burned alive by Israelis. Tariq, himself, was then severely beaten and held under house arrest. This all in revenge for 3 Israeli youths having been kidnapped & murdered ———— never mind that these 2 young men had nothing to do with that. Israel has encroached on Palestinian land for 60 years now & has made the daily lives of the Palestinians more torturous than we here in the US can imagine.

A vigil for Tariq was held here in Tampa on July 5th, ironically right after we here celebrate Independence Day, along with a massive phone call effort to the state department in DC.

Jennifer Sullivan
Tampa area Green

Jennifer has been a West Coast Florida activist for the Green Party, since 1996.

Eye Witness report from Gaza. At least 100 attacks through the night.

By Dr. Mona El-Farra
Gaza’s Ark 8 July 2014

Last night and while Israeli army forces launched military attacks all over Gaza, by sea, air and artillery shelling, hundreds of thousands of children were unable to sleep inside their roof tinned homes, clinging to their parents, crying, terrified. The shelling of last night was so strong and went through the tiny strip from north to south, east and west. At least 100 attacks took place.

In Gaza we do not have shelters to escape to, during the attack.

These attacks come on top of a deteriorating economic situation. Right now it is Ramadan, the month of fasting and an increasing number of families have difficulty to get basic food, survival is a constant fight.

Thousands of government employees could not reach banks to have their salaries. I know the salaries are affected by internal problems between Fatah and Hamas, but the outcome is severe hardship – in the meantime the bombs keep dropping on top of our heads. The feeling of insecurity throws its shadow against all the population. Continue reading “Eye Witness report from Gaza. At least 100 attacks through the night.”