Ingrid Betancourt, First Green President?

How often did you hear that on the saturation coverage of her rescue along with other workers? I didn't hear it once on the telly.

Colombians Mull Betancourt Presidency - AP - 05 Jul 08

"Colombia's traditional two party system — pitting the Liberals against the Conservatives — fractured badly after Uribe, a former Liberal, ran as an independent in 2002. Betancourt also left the Liberals and formed the 'Green Oxygen' party. Since then, however, Uribe's conservative coalition has become immensely popular, and Santos, a former Betancourt ally in the Liberal Party, is among many politicians who joined Uribe.

When elected in 1998, Betancourt was considered the most popular senator in Colombia. When she ran for president, she was pushing for a referendum to fight corruption by reconstituting Congress. It was a quixotic campaign at the time, but congressional corruption remains a problem: 10 percent of the 268 lawmakers are behind bars, and another 10 percent are under investigation for alleged collusion with right-wing death squads. The majority are Uribe allies.

Betancourt's approval rating was just 24 percent in a December 2001 Gallup survey, but that soared to 71 percent in a March poll, just behind Uribe, whose rebel crackdown has put him consistently in the 70th percentile."

Ingrid Betancourt, First Green President?

How often did you hear that on the saturation coverage of her rescue along with other workers? I didn't hear it once on the telly.

Colombians Mull Betancourt Presidency - AP - 05 Jul 08

"Colombia's traditional two party system — pitting the Liberals against the Conservatives — fractured badly after Uribe, a former Liberal, ran as an independent in 2002. Betancourt also left the Liberals and formed the 'Green Oxygen' party. Since then, however, Uribe's conservative coalition has become immensely popular, and Santos, a former Betancourt ally in the Liberal Party, is among many politicians who joined Uribe.

When elected in 1998, Betancourt was considered the most popular senator in Colombia. When she ran for president, she was pushing for a referendum to fight corruption by reconstituting Congress. It was a quixotic campaign at the time, but congressional corruption remains a problem: 10 percent of the 268 lawmakers are behind bars, and another 10 percent are under investigation for alleged collusion with right-wing death squads. The majority are Uribe allies.

Betancourt's approval rating was just 24 percent in a December 2001 Gallup survey, but that soared to 71 percent in a March poll, just behind Uribe, whose rebel crackdown has put him consistently in the 70th percentile."

Greening Without the Greens

I liked the quote about famous - at least in Canada -Tommy Douglas. Douglas was noted as the "The Greatest Canadian" in a 2004 televised contest by his fellow Canadians. He was also a leader of the fascinating Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF).

Green, Green, Green. But Where is the Mention of the Green Party - Globe and Mail (CA) - 06 Jul 08

"[Canadian Green Party leader] Elizabeth May has had her thunder stolen. Call it the great green robbery. Carbon tax? Green shift? They were hers – until the Liberals moved in. Now green plans are the talk of the country. But no one's talking about her party.

'I mean, every time I open up a newspaper, I see green, green, green,' she said. 'But where is the mention of the Green Party?'

Indeed, while her Greens are doing all right, registering about 10 per cent in the polls, not much momentum has come their way of late. But while she regrets the lack of attention, Ms. May, who's a bit funky, sees no reason to shake off her links with the Liberal Party. 'If you're asking me if the Green tax shift, which is our idea, has been stolen by the Liberals for the election, I don't know and I don't really care. As a party, we're at a point in our evolution that's not far off where Tommy Douglas was when Canada got health care, as advocated by a party not in power.'

And so 'what matters is that we get changes. It doesn't matter if we're the party that does them or that gets the credit. We're probably going to do very well in the next election because Canadians like the fact that we feel that way.'

Ms. May was speaking after flipping pancakes with Miss Alberta at the Calgary Stampede. She once ran a restaurant, her family business in Cape Breton. 'So I know what I'm doing. I'm the only party leader who has cooked pancakes for a living.'"

Greening Without the Greens

I liked the quote about famous - at least in Canada -Tommy Douglas. Douglas was noted as the "The Greatest Canadian" in a 2004 televised contest by his fellow Canadians. He was also a leader of the fascinating Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF).

Green, Green, Green. But Where is the Mention of the Green Party - Globe and Mail (CA) - 06 Jul 08

"[Canadian Green Party leader] Elizabeth May has had her thunder stolen. Call it the great green robbery. Carbon tax? Green shift? They were hers – until the Liberals moved in. Now green plans are the talk of the country. But no one's talking about her party.

'I mean, every time I open up a newspaper, I see green, green, green,' she said. 'But where is the mention of the Green Party?'

Indeed, while her Greens are doing all right, registering about 10 per cent in the polls, not much momentum has come their way of late. But while she regrets the lack of attention, Ms. May, who's a bit funky, sees no reason to shake off her links with the Liberal Party. 'If you're asking me if the Green tax shift, which is our idea, has been stolen by the Liberals for the election, I don't know and I don't really care. As a party, we're at a point in our evolution that's not far off where Tommy Douglas was when Canada got health care, as advocated by a party not in power.'

And so 'what matters is that we get changes. It doesn't matter if we're the party that does them or that gets the credit. We're probably going to do very well in the next election because Canadians like the fact that we feel that way.'

Ms. May was speaking after flipping pancakes with Miss Alberta at the Calgary Stampede. She once ran a restaurant, her family business in Cape Breton. 'So I know what I'm doing. I'm the only party leader who has cooked pancakes for a living.'"