MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Green Party on Saturday refused to back Ralph Nader in his independent run for the White House, a move that could reduce his chances of being a factor in this year's election.

Delegates to the half-million-member party's presidential convention voted to nominate party activist David Cobb, a California lawyer who led the delegate count going into the meeting.

On the second round of voting, Cobb captured 408 delegates, more than the 385 needed to gain the nomination.

"What you have here before you are working class people who have demonstrated that it is possible to build a political party on principles and values -- without corporate money and without selling out," he told a lively crowd after he won the nomination.

"Ralph Nader has had more influence on my life than anyone who is not a direct relative. I am a lawyer because of Ralph Nader. Without Ralph Nader, this nomination wouldn't have happened," Cobb added.

Nader had not sought the party's nomination but said he would have accepted either that or an endorsement as a possible route to getting on the ballot in 22 states and the District of Columbia. The party earned those ballot positions as a result of its showing in 2000 when Nader headed its ticket.

The consumer rights advocate just days ago chose veteran Green Party politician Peter Camejo as his vice presidential running mate in an attempt to attract support from the party.

As an independent, Nader has been trying to consolidate support from third parties as well as disaffected Democrats and Republicans. He had already been endorsed by the Reform Party, giving him potential access to ballots in seven states where it won access.

Losing the Green Party's support could make it all the more difficult for him to get on the ballot in every state. He has been trying to round up signatures in as many states as possible and Democrats have indicated they will scrutinize those efforts and challenge them when validity questions arise.

In choosing Cobb, the Greens picked a candidate who spent the last eight years visiting 40 states, working at the grass-roots level to build ties between environmental and labor movements.

As the Green candidate in 2000, Nader drew 2.7 percent of the popular vote, but Democrats saw him as a spoiler who sapped strength from former Vice President Al Gore in battleground states, including Florida, where Nader drew 97,488 votes.

Gore won the popular vote nationally but lost the weighted electoral college vote -- and the election -- to President Bush, losing Florida by 537 contested votes.

MILWAUKEE, June 25 - They're back. Sporting anticorporate buttons, peace bandannas and tie-dyed shirts, the members of the Green Party of the United States - whose support of a Ralph Nader candidacy four years ago many believe cost Democrats the White House in 2000 - are in the midst of another national convention

TEL AVIV - When Israeli soldiers opened an exhibit this month documenting some of their own misdeeds while serving in the tense West Bank city of Hebron, they caused a brief stir.

At a photographic institute in Tel Aviv, the soldiers, all recently discharged, offer video testimony of gratuitous harassment and abuse of Palestinians, like firing tear gas just to get a reaction. Hanging on the wall are dozens of car keys confiscated from Hebron residents, a punishment both common and unauthorized, soldiers say. And a photo taken by a soldier shows graffiti, presumably written by civilians, which reads, "Arabs to the gas chambers."

The United States has spent more than $126bn on the war in Iraq, which will ultimately cost every American family an estimated $3,415, according to a new report by two thinktanks.

I rarely send a mail to a large audience, but the possibility of mandatory drafting for boys and girls (age 18-26) starting June 15 2005, is something, I
believe, everyone should know. This litteraly affects EVERYONE since we all have or know children that will have to go if this bill passes.

If there are children in your family, READ this.

Every summer since the invention of the jet, Ireland has been invaded by Americans. The country of "a hundred thousand welcomes" regularly opens its arms to its transatlantic cousins, whose investment has fueled its economic boom.

But this weekend's visit by George Bush, the US president, has turned tradition on its head. Irish lawyers have signed a petition against Mr Bush and suggested he should be arrested as soon as he arrives. Clerics have questioned the president's morals and the leader of the Irish senate has boycotted a US embassy dinner to mark his visit. Anti-war protesters say they are being censored by a government desperate to keep a lid on demonstrations. The terrorism risk has resulted in the biggest security operation in the country's history

Progress Report for Net Censors

By Julia Scheeres | Also by this reporter Page 1 of 1

10:58 AM Jun. 22, 2004 PT

For voicing his opinion online, 40-year-old activist Du Daobin was charged with subversion earlier this month and sentenced to four years of house arrest, becoming one of more than 60 cyberdissidents currently detained by the Chinese government.

NEW YORK - Director Michael Moore’s controversial documentary “Fahrenheit 9/11” turned on the box office heat in its first day in theaters breaking single-day records at the two New York City theaters where it played.