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With incredible 2010 victories for the Green Party in the UK and in Australia, and an early breakthrough in 2011 in Germany on the heels of Japan’s Fukushima disaster, the Global Greens seem poised to break through the corporate political chatter.

In Canada, the Green Party received just under 1 million votes in the 2008 federal elections, qualifying it for nearly $2 million/year in public financing. That was because of the inclusion of Green Party leader Elizabeth May in the debates. This time around, the political class has successfully excluded her from the debates, despite an ever-strengthening party with a Green Party candidate for Member of Parliament in every single electoral district (“riding”). And despite the citizens of Canada paying $2 million a year to the Greens in public financing.

Remarkably, Canada’s public television didn’t go along, and invited Elizabeth May to their debate. All the other candidates refused to participate. The 30-minute “debate” can be viewed in 3 chunks (linked below), and I can only imagine this shameful exclusion will help the Greens in Canada break through more impressively than ever before:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Oh Canada!

Continue reading Green Party on verge of global breakthrough?
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Every year I start my garden early by using solar cloches made from 2 liter plastic bottles.  These three cloches were planted with seed in the last week of March and first week of April, respectively, with tomato and basil, cucumber and dill, and zucchini in planting Zone 6A, eastern Massachusetts.

The ring of bottles are filled with water to store solar heat during the day and the central bottle has its bottom cut out and pressed into the soil to protect the growing seeds.

Continue reading Recycled Solar Garden Cloche
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Tuesday, April 12 · 2:00pm – 5:00pm

2400 JFK Federal Building

15 New Sudbury St.

Boston, MA

Called by Beyond Coal Massachusetts

Take 30 minutes of your time and bring a handwritten note in support of clean air to drop by Senator Brown’s office. We will be greeting people outside his office form 2-5:00 PM on Tuesday, April 12th before you go upstairs to Senator Brown’s office to let him know Massachusetts wants him to vote for clean air.

You will meet volunteers outside before going through security inside and ultimately upstairs to the Senator’s office. We strongly recommend you bring a handwritten letter in support of clean air initiatives. Ideas for letters and clean air facts can be found at www.sierraclub.org/coal/ma

Continue reading Drop by Senator Brown’s Office
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A friend sent this to me.  I do not know if it is genuine, actually from the Ise Shrine and oracle, but the sentiments are real and, as with chicken soup, it couldn’t hurt.

A Japanese Monk Sent this Prayer Request

The damage of the earthquake in Japan is devastating. Unable to cool down the reactor, we are facing a possibility of nuclear plant explosion [hydrogen explosions, not nuclear like a bomb]. Please join our prayer. Feel free to forward this prayer request to anyone. It would be great if more people can pray.

Here is a translation of a message/oracle from the Ise Shrine in Japan:

After sunset we need strong power of prayer.

Please let me deliver the message to as many as possible.

We can stop this earthquake with our prayers, but right now the nuclear

plant is in danger.

Please heal the suffering, sadness, anger, worry about nuclear plants.

Please do not think that this accident will bring justice.

Please care for each other.

The energy toward conflict and fight is also fueling the things happening right now.

Please stop the conflict and stop the fight and change the worrying voice to the power of prayer.

Please pray that as many people as possible can be saved.

We will be O.K.

If our hearts start connecting with each other the earth will be healed.

There are the sounds/vibrations that can release the karma of earth.

Anyone who can make a prayer sound, anyone who can do reiki,

anyone who can do long distance healing,

please direct your energy to the center of Japan .

The exact location is above the Hachiro gata, Akita Prefecture .

If you can sing, please sing.

Humming is fine too.

Let the earth listen to the sound.

Please send gratitude to the earth.

If mother earth wakes up, everything will stop.

The word Song/Sing writes in Japanese Kanji – small possibilities

support a big lack.

Please send your prayer to the Earth to wake up the Spirit.

I will be in meditation after the sunset.

I will pray for the light shining in the sky even in the darkness.

May everyone be safe.

Thank you for supporting my heart at this very difficult time.

Gratitude for our life.

Fuma

Continue reading Fukushima: Prayers and Petitions
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Why, after 30 years, are German Greens finding success in regional elections? In a recent article in the Guardian newspaper, Cem Özdemir, one of the  party’s  co-chair has an interesting thesis: the Greens are increasingly recognized as grownups able to address the most pressing issues in a way other parties can not.

In the past, surveys show, people liked the Greens but didn’t vote for them because they feared the party wouldn’t have the brain and muscle to run the country. This perception has changed over the last few years.

Http://bit.ly/g8uSvZ

What has lead to that change in perception?

Continue reading In Germany, Green is for grownup
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Tax reform gets a hearing in Western Mass.

The above is about a forum recently held in Western Mass concerning the budget and options to increase revenue.  I think many people have gotten up to date on the “Act to Invest in our Communities” which is basically a weaker version of the tax fairness proposals Nat, Jill, Scott, Rick, Mark, and the GRP promoted and argued for during the 2010 elections and before.  More on the legislation here.

There are a few points I want to make in regard to the strategy outlined in that article, and I know other have made these points before and perhaps more strongly.

Continue reading Tax reform, the State Legislature, and Practicing Sustainable Rudeness