THE GANGRENE PARTY

The image left needs no intrduction, at least not on this site. However, it has taken years of explaining hemp to the UK Green Party to get them to take heed. The closest I got to any cooperation on the matter was a chat with their drugs spokesperson, Shane Collins, and that was somewhat between zero and sod all. I met the Greens again last Sunday at Brockwell Park in South London, where I was working as a PR person for Cynthia McKinney. They wanted to be in the picture with her, but they did not seem to know what that picture was. All the while I was curious about what was going to occur, as she was proposed by the US Green Party to be their presidential candidate. I worried that the UK Greens were not going to impress her. Sian Berry was nowhere in sight, Caroline Lucas, their MEP, did not show up, and there was no sign of Jenny Jones of the Greater London Assembly. The last time I talked with Jones, she was defending Tony Blair, and I have since considered her a born loser. Maybe it was best she did not show up. Among those who did, I cannot say anyone was very impressed. When we got into a discussion about hemp, which ought to be a top priority for the UK Greens, they told us basically we could get involved in their internal politics and maybe they would pay it some attention. I held my tongue, given that I was McKinney's host.

The next day, she dropped a bombshell in London, as she announced she was withdrawing her nomination from the party. In the next 48 hours or so, this was covered by her hometown paper in Atlanta, which noted that the Greens did not know of it first, and claimed they did not get the letter. I am not surprised. If they are so stupid they do not really do anything for hemp, they do not deserve to be called the Green Party. In fact, the GOP does more for hemp than this sorry party. Not that I am about to go out an vote for many of them either.

Whether McKinney withdrew her nomination because the scales fell from her eyes in London or not I do not claim to know. But I am happy she did withdraw, as she can now concentrate much more working with more well organised parties and individuals. As to hemp, she took the time to find out about it and is now back in the US with 3 hemp T shirts courtesy of Gav Lawson of The Hemp Trading Company. He hung out with her outside the US Embassy as she wore an orange jump suit in protest at the treatment of Guantanamo Bay prisoners. And, as one might guess, there was no sign of the Green Party.