CRITICAL CONDITION

Last night in London, a gang of thugs stopped the flow of traffic, making it impossible for ambulances, fire trucks and other emergency vehicles to pass - not to mentions thousands of Friday night partiers to get to their destinations. They call themselves Critical Mass, but more like critical massacre in reality. No wonder that they have had problems with the police over the years, and some motorists have just been so frustrated after dealing with them - and having their cars damaged - that they have tried to drive right through. Two wrongs each claiming to be right. So bad it is that other cyclists have started counter demonstrations to combat the combative image that critical mass gives to cyclists by blocking traffic. In the UK they pick the last Friday of the month to make other peoples' lives miserable. I watched as these anarchists got their way last night, and the Met tried to reason with them, but this was just about impossible. Their stupid antics have been supported by Tony Juniper of Friends of the Earth, but no surprise, he had no time for hemp. FoE has an office in London where they - get this - use polluting vehicles to preach their nonsense - but it's OK for them - and that's not even getting into how many flier miles Juniper et al. have racked up flying around the earth they claim to love so much.

Personally I love cycling, I do not even own a car or have a licence - so my green/cycling credential go a bit further than Juniper and the critically deranged idiots I saw last night. Once again, the police earned respect for their treatment of the situation - they managed to get them to moev on and did not make any arrests. Another aspect to it all was the fact that most, if not all, massers, were foreigners, and seemed to relish the havoc they were making in Britain; one I talked to at length was full of hate and had no vision whatsoever, typical for many of these pseudo-environmental groups. If Juniper et al. had any concern for their Brits and the need to keep the roads clear for emergency vehicles they would not support this nonsense. Critical Mass has been around for over a decade and has achieved very little - there are real concerns about the state of the road, sewer girds and other impedimentia in the bike lanes, etc., but these are resolved by due civil process. I urge real environmentalists to boycott these thugs and find a pro-cycling group that does not act so dangeously and selfishly.

NOVEMBER SELECTION

As Americans mull over which chad to punch on that first Tuesday of November this leap year, a real candidate runs for office. Forget the GOP man and his sidekick, hockey mom, who has more experience blowing away polar bears than sitting in Congress (none of the latter to be precise); forget the Obama Hussein donkey candidate, who has at least some experience in DC, and forget the other candidates, especially Ralph. Go for the GREEN.
Cynthia McKinney, with whom I was privileged to spend a week with in London, is a matronly woman with a real sense of what is going on. It was she who asked Rumsfeld about the missing $2.3 trillion...and since that day, she has been made an enemy of, blacked out by the press whores who whitewash the theft that it so rife in Washington.
We can look forward to a US President who is not scamming money, who is not (like 40,41 & 43) the subject of paedophile investigations, who is not a Skull & Bones member, who is not into big business, but who is a real statesman, and has a real agenda.
Even if your vote does not get her in, it sends a message, and that needs to be heard. If the GREENS get 5% of the vote it will mean a serious victory for the party. The change from Nader, a man who never served in public office, to a person who has spent about 20 years in office, was a good move for the party and means that they can be taken a lot more seriously. McKinney's tour in London showed she has real diplomatic and speaking skills. She thrilled the audience at Friends House, the historic venue in North London, and held court well in enemy territory, such as the James Whale show (a particularly unpleasant UK shock jock who has recently had his radio licence revoked by the communications authorities). She also spoke at the Green Party UK festival in Brockwell Park and held a conference at the Friends of the Earth HQ. The people who met her, from Tony Juniper of FoE, to Mark Anslow of the Ecologist to Baroness Jenny Tonge were well impressed with her.
Her stance on the treatment of US soldiers is also a very strong point, she is the only candidate to take a stance on the DU issue. Presciently, she asserts that the people who got us into this mess, referring to Iraq, cannot be trusted to take us out. Or to take care of the soldier who they messed up with DU by giving lucrative contracts to companies that use this nuclear waste product. They make the money, our boys pay the price. That's how it works, but McKinney is vocal about changing this - and her record reflects this - look at this issue in the 109th Congress and see how she stood out from the crowd and stood up for those in uniform. The others betrayed the military on this - look at their voting records. So voting for those who vote against proper treatment of the soldiers is, it could be argued, a step away from treason. A strong military is essential, and we are currently looking at a decline in morale and enlistment. For those who care about this issue, McKinney is the candidate.
And of course, for those who want to see America growing hemp, McKinney is the candidate. She would help the likes of Dave Monson in North Dakota to get his legal rights, which his fellow GOP members have failed to do.
But, sadly, we may get Obama or McCain. I would vote for neither. I fear for America's future if they get in.
For more information on Cynthia, check out her site, www.allthingscynthiamckinney.com or click flags to see previous posts on this blog.