Saturday, April 18, 2015

Protests are important, but, the vote has to count. We all mean it and make a vote more valuable than gold.

We have to vote our conscious and stand up for those principles. We witnessed how a democracy can devolve into a plutocracy when money replaces votes as in the USA with Voter ID and the dismantling of The Voting Rights Act. The devolution of the American democracy should be an example for the world to realize every citizen is important when their vote counts. A vote should never be dismissed as unnecessary or frivolous. It is the only means a citizen has to be important enough to matter.

Global citizen 2015 was an incredible show of solidarity. End poverty and the threat of the Climate Crisis by 2030. It is a very solid movement now; it enforced the need to be voters as well as activists.

All the values put forward at this event were traditional American values at one time. We need to finish what we started.

This article illustrates the solidarity American citizens have with their European friends. We don't want TPP or TIPP. NAFTA failed. CAFTA failed. Notably with Cuba it takes leadership to bring about productive trade negotiations and break down barriers that define any impetus to war. The regional economic methodology isn't a good one.

April 16, 2015
By Chris Harris

...A huge alliance of groups (click here) have come together to organise a global day of action (#A18DoA) against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
The European Union and US began official talks nearly two years over creating the world’s biggest trade zone.
The ninth round of negotiations are set to get underway in New York on Monday, April 20.
TTIP proponents say it will make both regions richer than ever, because by removing trade barriers and harmonising standards it will be easier to buy and sell goods and services.
Critics highlight a number of areas where they fear the harmonising of trade standards will see US practices imported into Europe, such as food, health and the environment.
A statement on globaltradeday.org, which is co-ordinating promotion of the protests, reads: “​​We, civil society organisations, trade unions, farmers, youth, women, indigenous movements and grassroots activists from across the world, are calling for a Global Day of Action on 18 April 2015 to stop free trade and investment deals and promote an economy that works for people and the planet.
“For the last decades, secret trade and investment agreements have been pushed by corporations and governments, damaging our rights and the environment....
Global Citizen 2015 "Earth Day Concert" (click here).

There is a film right now about glacier melting.

On the National Mall. (click here) The stage is between the Ellipse and the Washington Monument, just south of Constitution Avenue. The grounds have three access points: Jefferson Drive and 15th Street NW, 17th Street and Independence Avenue SW, and 17th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Parking is limited; your best bet is to take Metro to the Federal Triangle or Smithsonian stations.