Another lost referendum

Chavez Concedes Venezuela's Constitutional Reform Lost in "Foto Finish"
December 3rd 2007, by Venezuelanalysis.com
Caracas, December 3, 2007 - Venezuela's National Electoral Council Announced at 1:15am that the No vote against the President's constitutional reform proposal lost 49.3% to 50.7%, with 45% abstention. Chavez conceded that the reform proposal lost "for now."

The vote was divided into two blocks, whereby the first block included Chavez's 33 proposed article changes and the second block included changes proposed by the national assembly. The second block lost with a slightly higher margin, with 51.0% for "No" to 49.0% for "Yes". From


Well spoke to soon, sorry to hear the Venezuelan referendum has gone the wrong way, of course this was about empowerment and direct democracy which is why the world's media were so hostile.

But despite the set backs it is important to keep struggling on for social justice and real democracy.

The US juggernaut still has a lot of power and still demands resistance.

But at least if you can get on the Americans for Chavez site have a look

This website is dedicated to promoting the Bolivarian Revolution currently underway in Venezuela and it's primary author, President Hugo Chavez. Unlike most world leaders - like those in Washington D.C. - that simply say they support their people and then either ignore or exploit the vast majority of them, President Chavez actually "puts his money where his mouth is" and shows what a government CAN do when it actually cares about its people. As American citizens we feel it is time for a Bolivarian Revolution - democratic & peaceful - in the United States as well. Feel free to explore around our site to learn more and see how President Chavez has not only provided tangible real-world aid to his own people, but also to poor citizens of the United States, which is much more than one can say for our own government.

Here

Chavez wins referendum

You would think this vote abolished elections if you read the mainstream media, just means candidates can run again for president....no term limits in the UK for example for PM, although Gordon Brown is in more trouble over corporate donations!

lots of good stuff in referendum, lots of direct democracy stuff...my friend in Caracas mailed me with the news an hour or so ago noting 'have just come from filming the vote in the barrio...my well-placed sources are saying 7-10 point win for chaves (the yes vote)'



Reuters says the same here
Three exit polls showed Chavez won by between six and eight percentage points in a vote where turnout was low, the two sources said.

If confirmed, it would be by far the slimmest victory margin in the career of a man who wants to rule for life and turn the major oil exporter into a socialist state.

Most pre-vote opinion surveys predicted a close vote on a package of constitutional changes that the opposition and even some former longtime allies say is authoritarian.

The reforms would allow Chavez to run for reelection indefinitely, control foreign currency reserves, appoint loyalists over regional elected officials and censor the media if he declares an emergency.

Pollsters had said a low turnout would favor Chavez, who activated a state-backed get-out-the-vote campaign against an underfunded, fragmented opposition. The left-wing leader, a fierce critic of the United States, has never lost a national vote and had predicted he would win by at least 10 points

Spiked equals corporate

It is no accident that Spiked once organized a conference with Hill-Knowlton on “The Future of Energy” that not surprisingly included Joe Kaplinsky, a Spiked online contributor, musing that “a crisis mentality overplays the actual problem of global warming; and on the other hand, this sensitivity to risk limits our ability to explore energy alternatives.” Just like Zbigniew Jaworowski, he believed that Chernobyl had “led to an increase in public sensitivity rather than an actual increase in risk, yet it hindered the nuclear option dramatically.”

Although the people involved with Spiked are by no means as nutty or as dangerous as Larouche, they agree with the American cult that the environmentalist movement is a threat to progress

More on the arch anti greens spiked online, who oddly evolved fromthe Revolutionary Communist Party here

NATIONAL MARCH FOR GLOBAL CLIMATE JUSTICE
as part of a Global Day of Action.
Organised by the Campaign against Climate Change
Join the London Islamic Network for the Environment at the march:

Date: Saturday 8th December

"Disasters have spread throughout the land and sea,
because of what the people have committed.
He thus lets them taste the consequences of some of their works,
that they may return (to the right works)”
(Qur’an 30:41)

Schedule:
10.30am: Meeting time of the London Islamic Network for the Environment For more info on how to join LINE supporters, including a link to streetmap: http://lineonweb.org.uk/Action/Events/events2007/climate%20demo_Dec_2007.htm
12 noon: Assemble Millbank for main march [Westminster Tube]
2.30pm: Rally at US embassy: Speakers include Chris Huhne MP, Michael Meacher MP, Caroline Lucas MEP and George Monbiot.


----

3) The London Islamic Network for the Environment (LINE) Monthly Forums:
ISLAMIC ENVIRONMENTALISM IN THE UK: PRESENT & FUTURE

Date: Sunday 9th Dec 2007
Time: 2.15 pm to 4.45pm
Venue: 4th Floor, Muslim World League, 46 Goodge Street, London, W1T 4LU (entrance on the corner of Charlotte Street); Nearest Tubes: Goodge Street (Northern Line), Euston Square (Hammersmith & City, Circle & Metropolitan Lines) & Warren Street (Victoria Line)

Facilitators:
Muzammal Hussain (LINE)
Elizabeth Chawdhary (LINE)

In the context of environmentalism in the UK, what are the changes that we each want to see in the world? And how might we get there? Come and join us for a participative journey of discovery, in which we will be exploring these simple, yet important, questions. This is a workshop-style forum in which we give space to express ourselves authentically, allowing for open dialogue. As usual, open to people of all faiths and beliefs and there is no charge.

Within the forum, we will also be hearing feedback on the national climate change march, as well as other events LINE has participated in.

Facilitator Bios:

Muzammal Hussain has an MA in Environment, Development and Policy and is the founder of LINE. Whilst building strong links with the wider environmental movement, he was amongst the first to mobilise the UK Muslim community on climate change and GM foods. Muzammal is also a medical doctor, has an interest in martial arts and has worked as a Journeywork therapist.

Elizabeth Chawdhary studied Drama (Applied) at Queen Mary University. She has volunteered at Spitalfields City Farm and with Greenpeace. Elizabeth has co-facilitated LINE forums, meetings, and workshops, and recently became the Support to the Chair. She is trained in Forum Theatre, which is a tool for debating through theatre.

More info: LINE Website: http://www.lineonweb.org.uk ; or call LINE on tel: 0845 456 3960 (local rate)

__._,_.___

gig for karen

ANTI-racist, anti-war poet and singer Attila the Stockbroker will headline a Reinstate Karen Reissmann solidarity gig tonight (December 2).
Singer songwriter James 'Bar' Bowen and Manchester Irish comedian Sean O'Shaughnessy will be supporting
the veteran punk performer.
The gig is on Sunday December 2 at the Embassy Club, Rochdale Road, Harpurhey (opposite McDonalds), Manchester. Doors open 7pm. Admission £5 waged, £2 unwaged, and free to strikers.
http://www.myspace.com/reinstatekaren

Demo in support against US coup in Caracas

thanks to Nigel for this...

Comrades

Some of you may know that Venezuelans are going to the polls this Sunday
(2nd December) to vote on whether to approve the new constitutional
reforms.

For many months, there have been rumours that the local elite and the US
government might launch some kind of coup attempt around this time,
using sabotage and propaganda as a cover for direct intervention.

This week, a CIA memo has been discovered that confirms the existence of
just such a plan, which is code-named Operation Pliers. It details the
tactics that are being used, which include provoking violent uprisings
and refusing to accept the referendum result to working closely with
international news agencies and preparing the ground for military
invasion from Colombia or the island of Curaçao (respectively referred
to in the memo as the "green" and "blue" countries). Eva Golinger has
written about this revelation at
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/2914

It will undoubtedly be more difficult for the US to carry out this plan
now that it has been exposed. However, the dangers are still very great
and we are asking all supporters to be ever-more vigilant as Sunday
approaches. According to the plan, the three or four days following the
vote are especially critical. If it looks like they are getting away
with their accusations of fraud and Chávez is seen to be isolated
internationally, the opposition will be encouraged to escalate the
violence up to the point where the US military might step in.

On Sunday there will be a rally called by Hands Off Venezuela UK in
support of the constitutional changes and against US interference in
Venezuela outside Bolivar Hall, where the Venezuelan community in London
will be voting. from 5pm once the poll has closed.

The address of Bolivar Hall is 56 Grafton Way (off Tottenham Court Road)
W1, nearest Tube: Goodge Street.

In Solidarity

nigel Rolland

--
( One World. One Chance. | www.greenparty.org.uk )
Hasta la Victoria Siempre
( The War On Peace Report | www.democracynow.org )

Greens survive a split

Well the leader vote, 73% to 27% went through although sadly a few members including a councillor have resigned.

John P Johnson told me that his local party coordinater had resigned, he was upset by being cold called by Jim Killock prior to the vote, I think this kind of practice is bad but I fear it will continue in the future....hope I am wrong. Does piss people off!

In the 1990s we had turmoil, Green 2000 constitution and I must admit my energy went into my kids, my phd and a bit of direct action but the Party eventually became re energised.

this is from Green Left Weekly



FEATURES
British Greens survive a split

30 September 1992
At the annual conference of the British Greens, several prominent party activists walked out. Most of the press went with them. On the eve of the conference, well-known environmentalist Sarah Parkin publicly resigned her position as the party's chairperson. Despite this and the media obituaries, FRANK NOAKES last week discovered the party alive and discussing the way forward in Wolverhampton. A number of prominent party members spoke with him about the problems and the possibilities for the party.
In her letter of resignation, Sarah Parkin states, “I have been forced to the conclusion that the Green Party has become a liability to green politics. Instead of being a standard bearer, the Green Party, as it is now, only provides its detractors with regular proof of its unfitness to contribute to the rapidly evolving green political debate.” Parkin intends to remain a member, for the time being, of what in her view is an obstacle to green politics.
Since then, fellow green luminary Jonathon Porritt, who remains a member “largely out of nostalgia rather than anything else”, has joined Parkin in running a media campaign against the Greens. Porritt went so far as to address the conference of the Liberal Democrats -- a party that strongly favours the free market and nuclear weapons -- urging it to fill the “vacuum” left by the Green Party.
The media have been merciless: its two favourite green people versus a mob of radical ratbags -- no contest. So the Green Party is pronounced dead, and the press coverage is designed to bury it and radical green ideas alongside it. Ironically, this year's conference attracted more delegates than the past two, with more than 500 registrations.
It is true that party membership has declined, from around 20,000 in 1990 to just over 8000 today. It is also true that the party's vote tumbled from a high in the 1989 European parliamentary elections of 15% to about 1% in April's general election. But several of the personalities who have attacked the party in recent months have been part of the leadership of the party, even if only in a de facto capacity -- often appointed by the media.
Derek Wall, a radical green and unsuccessful candidate for the position vacated by Parkin, believes these people have a lot to answer for. “They got their constitution at last year's conference; they elected an executive, of which nine out of the 11 were strong supporters of their faction, Green 2000. What seems to have happened is that they've overplayed their hand. They haven't managed the party well; membership has fallen sharply, finances have fallen sharply, and even in an election year, when the Green Party usually gains new members, it hasn't. Basically they haven't been able to produce any kind of effective party, as promised, and they've pulled out in great bitterness. “You've got to remember that they have been running the party for a year and basically it hasn't worked. They've said it hasn't worked because of a subversive minority, which is the left and so on and so forth, when in fact they've simply imploded.”
Green 2000 encouraged unrealistic expectations -- Green government by 2005 for instance -- which it could not live up to. But while the leadership has singled out one section for blame, a recent authoritative report suggests objective factors are a central problem.
The detailed study of the Green Party, prepared by a team from the Strathclyde University, states: “It is difficult to see what more the Party could have done to avoid its decline in the opinion polls, its media presence, and its membership base”.
One of the main reasons that the Greens in Britain have failed to emulate the success enjoyed by many of their counterparts on the continent is the blatantly undemocratic, first-past-the-post voting system here. This has denied the party a media profile afforded to parliamentarians, and the financial benefits accruing from such electoral success.
The Strathclyde report concludes: “The British Greens are thus likely to continue their existence in a position of political marginality for the time being. While they are unable to change the electoral context which disadvantages them so severely by their own action, their mere survival as an entity allows them to wait for more promising opportunities in the future.” Some were not prepared to wait, in “marginality”, any longer.
In many respects, the illusions of a quick and easy road to influence, and eventually power, lie at the heart of the problems that have beset the Green Party. The British Greens are not alone in facing this problem.
However, there is much that is positive for the party. Its vote is better than in 1987, and its membership, much the same as in that year, makes it the largest progressive party in England and Wales.
The party went through a surge in votes and membership in 1989-90 and has since returned to its former position. Most of the members who failed to renew were not active within the party.
Derek Wall is very positive about the Greens' future. Like many other activists, he sees the resignations as an opportunity for the membership to regain control. “I think the party will become a lot more imaginative, a lot more radical. Over the last year there's grown up quite a large direct action movement in Britain: Earth First!, green anarchists, mass action against rainforest timber imports and against new roads etc. I am hoping and expecting that the Green Party will get a lot more involved with it and will knit its electoral strategy with direct action.”
One reflection of new initiatives was an informal meeting that decided to ask the party to seek closer relations with the trade union
And the prospects for the Green Party? Wall answers: “It's the Gramsci thing of pessimism of the intellect and optimism of the will. The party isn't dead, it's not dying, it's got thousands of members. But having said that, given the objective circumstances and the electoral system, it's going to be very difficult.”

From: Archives, Green Left Weekly issue #73 30 September 1992.