GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, July 2, 2009

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

Statement from Cynthia McKinney; Israel holds 'Free Gaza 21' in a prison in Ramla, Israel

• Cynthia McKinney calls WBAIX from Israeli prison: http://www.WBAIX.org http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkPvzSZRuDo

• Texas Greens will participate in a press conference on the Free Gaza 21 in San Antonio on Friday, July 3

WASHINGTON, DC -- Former US Representative and 2008 Green presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney has issued a statement on the seizure of the Free Gaza Movement's 'Spirit of Humanity' relief boat by Israeli gunboats in international waters on Monday.

Ms. McKinney and 18 other members of the 'Free Gaza 21' are currently being held in Givon prison in Ramla, Israel. Two of the Free Gaza 21 have been released.

Cynthia McKinney delivered the following statement by phone:

"We were in international waters on a boat delivering humanitarian aid to people in Gaza when the Israeli Navy ships surrounded us and illegally threatened us, dismantled our navigation equipment, boarded and confiscated the ship. All of us on board were then taken off the ship and into custody, and brought into Israel and imprisoned. Immigration officials in Israel said they did not want to keep us, but we remain imprisoned. State Department and White House officials have not effected our release or taken a strong public stance to condemn the illegal actions of the Israeli Navy of enforcing a blockade of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians of Gaza, a blockade that has been condemned by President Obama."

Dear Pittsburgh Councilmember,

I am writing to ask that the Pittsburgh City Council pass a resolution in support of Pennsylvania State Senate Bill 588, the proposed bottle recycling deposit legislation currently under consideration by the committee on environmental resources and energy.  The bill would provide for a bottle recycling deposit program similar to that of other states, such as New York and Michigan. Passage of this legislation would directly benefit Pittsburgh, the surrounding area, and the entire state of Pennsylvania and it deserves the full political support of City Council.

There are several clear and immediate benefits of such a program. States with deposit programs successfully recycle a greater proportion of beverage containers than states that rely solely on curbside recycling programs.  This type of program provides an incentive for residents to engage in local environmental clean up efforts, reducing street trash and helping to preserve our green spaces. It also relieves demands on municipal curbside pick up recycling programs while transferring costs of recycling from taxpayers to manufacturers.

This legislation, if passed, will help to promote Pennsylvania as a leader in environmental responsibility and conservation.  We hope that both you and the entire Pittsburgh City Council will lend your support to this effort.  Doing so is in the best interest of your constituents and is in keeping with the environmental values of the state of Pennsylvania.

The Green Party of Allegheny County stands in support of local efforts to oppose the existing policies of the G-20 Summit and will do everything in our power to help organize rallies, marches, and projects that are inclusive and planned as nonviolent in September 2009.

Based on official results of the
Nov 4th election, the Green Party of Allegheny County has regained minor party status within Allegheny County.

This is how it works:

Titus North, Green Party candidate for Congress (14th District;
all within Allegheny County) received:

23,214 votes (8.71%)

And, the highest winning candidate total for Allegheny:
Jack Wagner (Auditor General) = 442,486 Allegheny Co.votes
442,486 x 5% = 22,124

Titus exceeded 5% of Wagner's Allegheny County total so...

we made it!

Also, our candidates for the PA Legislature had impressive
results:

Mary E (Liz) Hughes (Green, 23rd District): 3948 votes; 13.21%
Liz's percentage is the highest Green Party result in PA for 2008.

Jonah McAllister-Erickson (Green, 21st District): 1891 votes; 7.18 %
Jonah's percentage & votes are an increase from his 2004 results;
significant for this year and the fact that it was a 3-way race.

Congratulations and Thank You to all Green candidates and volunteers in PA!

Allegheny County Election Results:
http://www.county.allegheny.pa.us/elect/200811gen/results.aspx

top: Titus North, Liz Hughes, Malik Rahim
bottom: Ceci Wheeler, Malik Rahim
(photos by Sandy Hazley)