Joan Baez in Strasbourg: No real "Greens" in Low-Rhine nor Baden-Württemberg ?!

- A fact is a fact : There are no more real "Greens" in the French Bas-Rhin department (at least as far as Strasbourg is concerned), nor at the neighbouring Baden-Würtemberg German Länder !

Indeed, True "Greens", the original, Historic Environmentalist, Alternative movement, notoriously stood up for protection of Nature, (f.ex. Trees, Landscapes, pure Oxygen, etc), including for the Human natural Genome (being traditionally keen on BioEthics), as well as for Freedom, against violations of Free Speech, Censorship, etc., and/or against Oppressive regimes all over the World, while also traditionally supporting Renewable and other Modern Science-supported Energy Sources, non-polluting and Environment-Friendly.

But today, how can anyone dare call himself a "Green", (without attempting to mislead and manipulate People with False appearances and unfounded claims : a kind of False Publicity, punished by Law), if he doesn't give a damn whether, or not, some corporate bureaucrats prepare to cut down a small Wood (the only existing among many Families' Homes), destroy a beautiful Hill, and  censor critics suppporting the inhabitants' Right to preserve their Freedom of Access in existing Green Areas around their Homes, threatened to be lagely destroyed ? Particularly if this is added even to favoritisme vis a vis some notoriously Oppressive Regimes, as f.ex. that of Turkey, many times condemned by ECHR until now for particularly grave and serious Violations of Human Rights, the obviously "False denomination" of "Greens" should normally be changed for something much more faithfully corresponding to the Facts..

Joan Baez' personal characteristics make it crystal clear, throughout all key points :

 

- Just 1 week before arriving in Strasbourg, Baez was awarded a special Human Rights Prize by famous NGO Amnesty International for her life-long personal contribution to the struggle for Freedom and Democracy both in the USA and Worldwide, (including the ephemeral foundation of a new Human Rights organization named "Humanitas").

- Pointing at a possible Renaissance of a new Humanist, protest, creative/original wave, the Mythic Folk Song Legend expressed recently her "Concern with Obama", criticizing as "silly" the too early attribution of a Nobel Peace Prize (by the Oslo Committee headed by Strasbourg-based CoE's Secretary General Thornbjorn Jagland) , and emetting the hypothesis that the inexperienced young US President (only 4 Years Senator from Chicago before his November 2008 Election facing the pragmatic non-charismatic, old .. from the Republican side, who had just out-manoeuvered the only Charismatic GOP Candidate, a revelation of the 2007-2008 Primaries, former Arkansas Governor and Priest, currently TV presentator, Mike Huckabee) has "fallen into a Trap".

In this regad, Baez is one of the rare living and acting 1960ies Folk Legends,  standing together with .."Chicago Song" (a premonitory, 1968 written song by Graham Nash (of the famous "Crosby, Still, Nash and Young"), when protesting People classed with Horse-mounted Policemen hitting with Clubs, etc. at the Democratic Party's congress, chaired then by controversial former US vice-President Johnson, who aggravated the Military Intervention in Vietnam, etc., after the Murders of John and Robert Kennedy), recently revitalized by "Pink Floyd"'s David Gilmour since 2009  in a vain appeal to current EU President Obama to free Informatecian Gary McKinnon.

+ By another astonishing "coincidence", Steve Jobs, Apple's inventive founder, reportedly a Joan's friend since the 1970ies, launched revolutionary "Ipad2" (for the 1st time with 2 Cameras able to Film "live" Events, on politics or music, etc), simultaneously in 25 Countries (including France and Germany) precisely on March 25 : I.e. the same day Joan Baez kicked off her Europe Tour in France in Strasbourg's "Europe Zenith"...

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 * But, even more pertinently for the issues raised in this paper : Joan Baez, is also a famous Defender of Nature, and in particular Trees, even with the commitment of her own person and body, specially when they represent an important Social/Human issue : F. ex., after reportedly having slept overight in a "Tree-House" among Farm Trees defended by in-City farmers trying to stop Mass Expulsion from a Land Owner who had augmented the price of the land that they cultivated, Baez also strongly supported Buterfly Hill, a young girl's fight to protect a Tree (named "Luna" by a group of Environmentalists) from being cut down by a local company, in Redwood, California : Hill lived and slept almost a Thousand of Days on that Tree until she succeeded to save it. Moreover, until recently, Baez had got the habbit to personally sleep overnight on a Tree, looking right in front of the Stars, at the garden of her Home, from where she suddenly fell and was slightly wounded, for an unclear cause, just last Autumn 2010, shortly after her scheduled venue in Strasbourg had been earlier anounced in public.

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Baden-Wurttemberg : from "Stuttgart 21", to BioEthics,  Turkey, etc.

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- 1) The biggest 2011 Electoral Controversy at the nearby Laender notoriously is the "Stutgart 21" project, aiming to develop a High Speed-Train Network largely operating Underground around the Capital of Baden-Wurtemberg, so that inhabited Natural Landscapes can be preserved at Ground level (including some Forest areas and many Trees), while also boosting High-Tech.

Since this project saves several Gardens, Trees and Forests around Stuttgart, while also adding a New "Green" Park in the City, and accelerates fast Train links allover the surrounding area, and mainly on the Strategic EU Axis "Paris - Strasbourg - Stuttgart - Munich - Wienna - Budapest" High-Speed Train Network, generally known as "Magistrale", i.e. boosts Environment-Friendly Train, instead of CO2-polluting Cars, normally, real "Green"/Environmentalist Parties should be glad to support it.
But in 2011's Baden-Wurtemberg it's exactly the Opposite that is, curiously, happening : Our so-called "Greens" block High-Tech underground Railway links, preferring de facto to keep CO2 polluting Cars, damage the natural Landscape, cut Trees and reduce Forests, etc...

The pretext is purely ..Financial : "Stuttgart 21 costs too much money" for the Taxpayers, they invariably say, when asked by "EuroFora", without realizing that this is a typically .. "Liberal" reasoning, which has nothing to do with real "Greens"/Environmentalists..
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However, in Baden-Würtemberg it looks even worse :

- 2) F.ex.  among nowadays "Greens", gathered at their Historic, founding city of Freiburg, many (and even official members, specialized journalists, etc) ignore even the fact that their party was founded there...

- 3) BioEthics notoriously was a landmark concern for German "Greens" in the good old days, when they suddenly emerged in the mainstream political arena out of the blue (i.e. since the beginning, up to EuroMP Hlitrud Breyer and others, etc).
But now, astonishingly, the notoriously growing Technocratic Dangers against the Natural Human Genome are hardly mentioned among the current party's members, not even at the top ! ((See NewsReports by "EuroFora" from the spot,  during the recent Party's National Congres in Freiburg).

On the contrary, it's only the ChristianDemocrat CDU/CSU party which brought up to the Agenda, with "hot", open Debates among delegates , such topical BioEthical issues, as, f.ex., against reported Risks for Eugenism via the preimplantation genetic screening, etc., which were recently debated in Baden-Würtenberg, (See "Eurofora"s NewsReport from the spot).

- 4) Real "Greens"/Environmentalists are everywhere against CO2 pollution, notoriously pushing towards any High-Tech solution might find any new possible ways to reduce CO2 and invent other, innovative and Climate-friendly Energies.
But, when it comes to March 2011 Baden-Wurtemberg La    ender's Election, things change a lot :

- F. ex., EU Parliament's Green Group co-President, German "Green"  MEP Rebecca Harms, when asked by "EuroFora" about her view on a Pioneer Scientists' project to transform harmful C02 Pollution into a "Future Fuel" and New Materials, (See relevant "EuroFora"s earlier Publications from Strasbourg and Brussels), instead of rejoicing, on the contrary, looks sceptical, suspicious, curiously against :  - "I suspect that this might be a pretext to try to justify CDU/CSU-FDP's Carbon capture and storage plans", she reacts, referring to another current Controversy, mainly in Germany, between EU Commission's plans to fight against CO2 Pollution and protect Climate by stocking CO2 underground, to which "Green" Parties are usuallly opposed, arguying mainly that nobody knows yet whether Long-term Carbon Storage underground might end up by harming Natural Environment. So, ... "let them Prove it !", she simply replied on the Pioneer Scientific Researchers' project, which asks EU support for RST tests during the EU "2050" Climate protection long-term Plan..

On the contrary, ChristianDemocrat/EPP origin, EU Energy Commissioner, Gunther Oettinger from Germany, when he was recently asked a similar question by "EuroFora" on the "CO2-Future Fuel" Scientific Project (See supra), agreeingw also that it may alleviate fears of some People (as f.ex. NGO "GreenPeace", etc) about Long-term Storage of CO2 underground, by making it possible to be later retrieved from the ground and recycled for useful purposes, (See earlier"EuroFora's NewsReports). Particularly after the current Japan and Libya Crisis, which showed how Nuclear power and/or Oil/Gas can be unreliable and/or excessively volatile as market prices react to events, it becomes "certainly interesting" to "examine (also) that possibility", i.e. of inventing, through Scientific Research, ways to recycle CO2 into a "Future Fuel",  Oettinger acknowledged.

- 5) Last, but not least, current "Green" party's  position favoring Turkey's notoriously controversial and unpopular EU bid, is obviously at variance with the Traditional, real "Green" stance, from their Historic Founding era, when real Human Rights and Democracy respect led them to fearlessly denounce any Gross and Sustematic Violations by any Oppressive Regime in any 3rd Country, including, notoriously, by the Turkish Authorities, (already often condemned by ECHR for numerous serious Violations.

It's also a Fact that former "Green" Chief of the 2000ies, and former Foreign Minister, Joshka Fischer,  has been recently ...hired by this same Turkish Government, in order to try to make Publicity for an Old and Controversial, too Expensive, and too Risky Gas Pipeline project "Nabucco", (threatened by Earthquakes, violent Conflicts, "Vetos" frequently abused by Ankara, but also by .. lack of sufficient Gas to transport), which has recently started to be out-paced by various other, much more competitive alternatives, (f.ex. Russia's "South Stream", Romania-Georgia-Azerbaidjan-Hungary-Bulgaria's AGRI, Natural Liquefied Gas' See and River Transport networks, etc). Given also that one of the current "Green" Chiefs in Germany is even a directly Turkish 1st generation immigrant, who was granted a Job in the German Public sector (to deal with ... other Turkish immigrants !), Nationality, an Eligible Political post, etc., in .. less than 7 or 8 Years only after his arrival (!), i.e. Mr. Ozdemir, (earlier mixed up with a series of Scandals as former assistant of former "Socialist" Minister of Defence, Rudolf Sharping, who was obliged to resign at 2002), obviously excludes any eventual claim of "Objectivity" or "Neutrality" vis a vis Turkey's a.o. such notoriously oppressive regimes in now-a-days "Greens", unless they change...

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Similar (even if not identical) Facts observed on the French side of Rhine river :

 - Obviously can't be a Real "Green"/pro-Nature Environmentalist, anyone who, instead of protecting Trees, Forests, beautiful Green Areas and Landscapes, at least those to which local People are attached and struggle to defend in inhabited areas, on the contrary, shows total indifference et doesn't give a damn, going even as far as to persistently threaten them to be .. Cut down, destroyed and replaced by ... Concrete surrounded with Metallic Barriers brutally Excluding People from any Free Access to their initially "Open" Green areas, near their Family Homes, threatened to become closed, Fenced .. Car-Parkings and/or Gray Guarded areas full of Concrete and closed metallic Fences excluding all Inhabitants of an already heavily Urbanized area from any really "Green" space near their Homes, threatened to be condemned to survive in the middle of a Jungle of Concrete, cut off from any previously easy to access Green space, but now risking to be surrounded by aggravated CO2 and Noise Pollution by Doubled or Tripled Car-Traffic !..        

                                
But that's precisely what is happening, here and now, at the Heart of Europe, eve of Local Elections, astonishingly in a City where a "Socialist" Municipality doesn't keep a Majority but only thanks to a big so-called "'Green" Party, whose representative, Alain Jund, was repeatedly informed by the affected Inhabitants, both orally and by writting, of all those Threats, without doing absolutely Nothing to protect at least the threatened Trees, Forest, green Landscape, abandoned to disappear by voluntary Destruction..

The drama goes on at a Symbolic area : In an Historic show-case of France's initial Political Will, since the De Gaulle and Pompidou era of the 1960ies-1970ies, based on World-famous Architect Le Corbusier's ideas, to use Modern and imaginative Urbanism  in order to help protect and socially integrate "fragile" People and Families with many Children, Students, etc., by offering them a quiet, open, healthy, Natural and "Green" living space, full of Oxygen, Sunlight, Trees and safe pedestrian pathways, without dangerous, polluting and noisy Cars ever entering in the centre of each Grouping of Family Homes, but only running outside, in a dispersed and rarefied way, so that the Inhabitants' children, housewives, old and young people, etc. can stay, walk and meet eachother quietly inside their open and protected Green squares, hills, etc., at the shade  of many Trees, small Woods or Forests, etc : The famous "Mailles"  of HautePierre (aka : "High Stone") in Strasbourg's North-Western area, facing the OberHausBergen small Mountainous area, there where the former EU Parliament's President, and f. French Prime Minister, Pierre Pflimlin, had reportedly dreamt to build a "European" quarter, due to host all EU/CoE/ECHR, etc. Euro and PanEuropean Institutions (See relevant "EuroFora"s earlier Publication).

But, after several Years of Crisis, Local Policy errors, abandonments, etc., the  former "Show-case" was scandalously transformed into a rather Poor Neighborhood, with risks of racial/Ethnic Segregation and/or Social Appartheid, etc., until the current French Government recently decided to exceptionally invest large sums of Money in order to Fund some big Urbanistic operations due to renovate and revive the HautePierre quarter's quality of life for its present and future inhabitants. A main pat of that Financial package was even placed, explicitly, under the banner of Natural "Environment" protection and promotion, ("Grenelle de l' Environemment")...

Instead of using this exceptional financial opportunity (mainly funded by the National Government) in order to saveguard and/or develop Healthy, Natural "Green" areas able to promote a much needed Qualiy of everyday Life in that Historically Symbolic Quatet of HautePierre, however, on the contrary, an unnamed yet, shady Lobby interfering inside the current "Socialist-Green" Local Municipality, ( not so much its well-known, elected political Leaders, but rather someone hiding behind a kind of Communautaristic and/or other way to interfere behind the scenes, in a quite Anti-Democratic way, practically throwing to the waste-basket all popular consultations, in order to stubbornly push, blindly, a pre-fixed plan with unknown real aims), persists to ... Cut even the rare remaining Trees ;  Demolish the most beautiful open Landscape : a unique "Green" Hill with a Modern Architecture-designed Bridge, which allows, from the Heigh of ist Top, a rare Overview of the Horizon up to Sunrise ;  Destroy a quiet, clean and popular Pedestrian Pathway between the local School and that Hill, full of shady Trees, Flowers, etc., which unites 3 Christian Churches (and soon a Mosquee) along one and the same prolonged, safe "Green" Path ;  Block more than 50% of the existing "Green" area (in fact, all its Best parts : The  Top of the Hill, the Pathway, the Biggest Trees, etc) behind Metallic Fences hindering all Inhabitants to have Free Access to the Green Spaces near their Family Homes, as they did in the Past and until now ;  impose a thick and large layer of Gray Concrete at the area where Trees will be cut, Green Grass and Flowers deracinated, and Metallic Fences set up ; add a ...Car Parking (one more, in a quarter full of Car Parkings !) inside the currently "Green" area ; surround that Group of Family Homes with a Double sens Car and Bus Traffic, inevitably augmenting more than X200% Air Pollution, Noise, accidents' Risks, etc. ; and even ... Cut off this obviously targetted Group of Family Homes from any other "Green" area, by  demolishing a unique pedestrian pathway, a small "tunel" surrounded with Trees, bushes, Flowers, etc, built under the road, which Historically unites the Inhabitants (particularly Children, old People, etc) with a small Green Wood located at another, neighbouring Quarter, (known as "the Small Wood"), where the poor, affected Inhabitants might, at least, try to partially escape the Hell of gray Concrete, Metallic Fences, blocked pathways, aggravated Car Traffic Pollution, Noise and Dangers of accidents, etc., which threatens to surround their Family Homes ! ...

Julia Buterfly Hill's TreeSit (See supra) reportedly was "next to a massive Mudslide caused by a MAXXAM/Pacific Lumber clearCut that destroyed and damaged over 30 homes in the town of Stafford, CA".

And by a coincidence, the "Bois de la Colline du Pont" (the "Wood the Hill with the Bridge"), is located near to another, flat "Small Wood" ("pétit bois"), where recently, the local municipality started to cut just 3 or 4 Trees only. But this was enough in order to provoke there (i.e. at the precise area where these 3 or 4 Trees were standing before they cut them) an astonishingly pesistent, ugly, and dangerous ... "lake" of dirty water, gathering mosquitos, smelling bad, etc., which didn't disappear but only when the Local Municipality spend even more money and time to fill the provoked gap with a pile of ugly soil, standing there irregular, ugly and empty, without any shape nor any tree, just to hinder dirty water from provoking Mud....      
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Not even a Popular Petition, supported by writting by many Inhabitants of the affected area, who vainly campain since 2009-2011 for the "Freedom of Access and Protection of Green Areas and Landscapes", focusing in particular to the emblematic, concrete example of the "Wood of the Hill with a Bridge" (aka : "Le Bois de la Colline du Pont"), which is the Biggest and most beautiful "Green" area still remaining throughout all the Haute-Pierre quarter (a Housing zone with more than 15.000 inhabitants), and on efforts to save, at least, its direct, safe Pedestrian subway link to a neighbouring "Small Wood", -(See supra), wasn't ever really taken into consideration by the Local Bureaucratic apparatus, while the Activists, members of the Local "consultative Council", who organized the local People, spread the Petition, and tried to kindly speek (with Facts and Logic Arguments) in its favor in Public Hearings, were notoriouly targetted, harassed, submitted to Personal Aggressions, grossly Insulted, frequently Censored, Threatened with exclusions, etc.

As if ...  defending  People's elementary Right to keep Free Access to a few Trees, a Wood on a small Hill with an Historic Monument sculptured at its top, giving a rare overview to the Horizon, to the Sunset, to an open Stary Sky, etc. that even groups of local Children spontaneously demonstrated asking Corporate Bureaucrats "Hands off from our Hill !", there where they are used to play with the Sun, Oxygen, Trees, as well as with Winter's Snow (See Photos), desperately trying to protect the only free access to a unique spot of Nature for an entire Poor Neighborhood with many Family Homes, otherwise surrounded and suffocated by gray Concrete, Pollution, Noise and Risks of Accidents, etc, would be a "Crime", instead of a Democratic and Social Duty..

Curiously, the only reaction from the so-called "'Green" party Municipal Officials, ("Key" to the current "Socialo-Green" governing coalition), until now, was to ... totally ignore that Popular Petition, avoid replying on the substance in crystal-clear Press Questions, and even omit to participate in the Local concultative Council's session due to discuss this "hot" Environmental issue... Moreover, when the Head of Strasbourg's "Green" Party, Alain Jund, had initially the good idea to organize a meeting for interested, active citizens, to participate in the preparation of the City's Legal Land occupation Plan (PLU), nevertheles, both the promoters of that Popular Petition (already signed by several Hundreds of People), and an experienced former Leader of a 20 Years older Petition, which has saved a neighbouring "Small Wood", as well as the President of an Associciation on "Quality of Life" in HautePierre who had gathered more than 6.000 signatures just a few years earlier, who had all been officially proposed to participate in a formal Consultative Procedure at Municipal level (i.e. at the level of the entire City of Strasbourg), were, suddenly excluded in practice from any participation, just after they proposed to include also the protection of, precisely, the "Wood of the Hill with the Bridge" (See supra) !

Hopefully, however, the current astonishing Facts and subsequent Political Findings as far as so-called "Green" Politicians' real stance is , will serve EU Citizens' informed choices, not only now, for this week-end's 2011 Elections to the "Bas-Rhin" (Lower Rhine) Department, and/or  to the German Baden-Würtemberg's Länder, but also into the forthcoming National 2012 and 2013 Elections in France and Germany respectively, as well as to the subsequent 2014 Municipal Elections, particularly in Strasbourg, EU Parliament and CoE's HQ...