Monday, March 22, 2010

Protests around the country

Thousands of demonstrators protested the seventh anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq on Saturday in a march through downtown Washington. Many expressed concern that health care and the dismal economy have begun to overshadow the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
[. . .]
"A huge part of the antiwar movement has been focused on the Bush administration and its policies in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Brian Becker, national coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition, which organized the march. "Bush is gone. Millions of people thought his exit would mean an end to these wars. Instead, after one year of real-life experience, they're far from ending."

The above is from Katherine Shaver's "D.C. antiwar march draws thousands on seventh-anniversary of Iraq invasion" (Washington Post). Also reporting on DC's action is Kosta Harlan (Fight Back!):

Military veterans gave a powerful condemnation of the occupation, and two speakers with Military Families Speak Out and Iraq Veterans Against the War ripped their dog tags and badges off of their uniforms and threw them off the stage, in a symbol of their rejection of the immoral, unjust, and criminal occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Many of the protestors were youth and new to the antiwar movement, and are committed to rebuilding a broad movement to force the United States to withdraw from Afghanistan and Iraq.


As noted Saturday, I attended the San Francisco rally (as did Ava and Jess) and Daniel Ellsberg was among the speakers:

Daniel Ellsberg: . . . 40 years ago, 41 years ago, in 1969, there was a group and a movement called the moratorium. And they called it the moratorium rather than call it a "general strike" because that seemed too inflamatory. But what it was was, like today, demonstrations all over the country being counted not just in one city. There was 75,000 in indeed in San Francisco, 100,000 in New York. But here were ten here, twenty there, a thousand there, all over the country adding up to 2 million. And the difference was that it was on a weekday. They took off for the day for this so it really was a general strike. They thought it had no effect. They were wrong, the people who ran that and the people who took part in it. Nixon had threatened the North, through Russia and China, that he was going to escalate on November 3, 1969. He was threatening and planning to use nuclear weapons. And, also, as well, to invade Laos and Cambodia, North Vietnam, hit the dikes, hit Hai Phong, All the things that he did do later in the invasion of North Vietnam.

Sunday saw the people of Seattle stand up agains the ongoing wars. Melissa Allison (Seattle Times) reports that they gathered "near Westlake Center . . . before marching for an hour through downtown streets." While, according to AP, the people of Raleigh were apathetic as indicated by the lethargic Chris Skidmore who "sipped a drink on the artificial lawn" and stated, "Honestly, with everything that's going on in my personal life, it slipped my mind." AP notes that Albuquerque saw over 100 (local estimates are 120) gathered to protest the continued wars on Saturday. Jake Begun (Badger Herald) reports that Madison, Wisconsin saw 200 gather Saturday for rally:

Wisconsin AFL-CIO President David Newby spoke at the rally about the lack of an organized opposition to the war in Iraq and the expansion into Afghanistan.
"Once that war began, too many of us became silent," Newby said.
Newby added the cost of the war in both economic numbers and in terms of the cost of American, Iraqi and Afghani lives was too high for individuals to sit by while hundreds of billions of dollars are used to fund what he characterized as "a war of choice, not of necessity".
According to Newby, the nearly $1.5 billion that have gone towards the wars from Dane County alone could have provided healthcare to one million citizens for two years or totally eliminated tuition at the University of Wisconsin for four years.

Charles Purnell (Daily Titan) reports on the Los Angeles action:

Cal State Fullerton student Tamara Khoury, 20, was a lead organizer and stage manager at the anti-war protest and peace march.
Khoury is also a member of Act Now to Stop War and Racism (A.N.S.W.E.R.), the organization that put on the event. Formed September 14, 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, A.N.S.W.E.R. has grown to encompass branches in nearly every major city across the country and has organized some of the largest demonstrations in recent years, including the annual March 20 multi-city marches.
Hollywood Boulevard and Vine was the meeting point for the protesters and organizers. The rally began one block away on Ivar Avenue at noon.


Jonathan Nack (Indybay Media) reports on the San Francisco action:

Several thousand marched and rallied Saturday in downtown San Francisco against the wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. On this first day of Spring, the anti-war movement demonstrated some signs of revival with one of the larger protests in recent years.
The mobilization was notable not only for it's greater size, which organizers estimated at 5,000, but also for it's diversity. The crowd was both younger and more multiracial.
The protest marked seven years since the invasion of Iraq and was part of a national day of action which included marches in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, as well as a number of smaller actions across the country.

While all of this went on, there were so many silences. Were? Are. Democracy Now! is a piece of s**t. Today they spend the first half-hour giving voice to the powerful as one politician after another gets to speak. Didn't they speak with their votes? Well, as Ava and I pointed out Sunday, Amy Goodman's never really about the people as evidenced by the fact that when Glass-Steagall was repealed . . . she was chasing the 'news' of Area 51 in Nevada. Thankfully, not all are Goodys. Yesterday, Bob Schieffer (Face The Nation, CBS News -- link has text and video) commented on the anniversary of the start of the Iraq War:

Washington has always been a one-story town. And for the last few weeks - months, really - the story has been health care reform. It's all we've been talking about.
Which is probably one reason a rather important anniversary passed almost without notice: March 19.
Ring a bell? Probably not. But March 19 was the seventh anniversary of the Iraq invasion, which began our longest war.

Joan Wile is the author of Grandmothers Against the War. She and Edith Cresmer are members of the Granny Peace Brigade and they wrote the following regarding the NYC action:

New York City's Seven Years Too Many Coalition
Protests the Iraq War on Its Seventh Anniversary
by Edith Cresmer, Granny Peace Brigade,
and Joan Wile, author: "Grandmothers Against the War" (Citadel Press 2008)
On March 20, 2003, the United States invaded Iraq, a country that posed no threat and that had done us no wrong. The invasion was justified by then-President George W. Bush on the basis that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction which it was ready to launch against us. These lies ultimately led
to the deaths, maiming and displacement of millions of innocent Iraqi civilians, and the deaths, maiming and mental breakdowns of thousands upon thousands of U.S. and allied troops engaged in this great folly.
On Saturday, March 20, 2010, a beautiful, unseasonably warm day, the eighth year of our occupation of Iraq began. Although we are told that officially we are no longer fighting there, that we have pulled back our forces, nevertheless our soldiers continue to die there. And, so do many more Iraqis.
It is way past time for us to pull out, and yet we remain. Why?
To commemorate the end of our seven years of illegal and immoral attack and occupation of Iraq, a compendium of 10 New York City peace groups called the Seven Years Too Many Coalition gathered at the Times Square Recruiting Center to protest the continuation of the war and to call for the end of all wars.
Cheryl Wertz, Exec, Director of Peace Action New York State (PANYS) introduced the speakers -- Councilwoman Gale Brewer, and Vietnam vet Chaplain Hugh Bruce of Veterans for Peace. They discussed some of the terrible effects of war on people at home -- lost jobs, libraries, fire companies, and teachers -- and even worse effects on the people of Iraq and on our G.I.s.
Literature was handed out with facts about the terrible results and the absurdity of war.

Demonstrators chanted: What is the cost of War? How Many? and How Much?

And answered Too Many, too Many . . . and Too Much, too Much.


The Seven Years Too Many Coalition (here featuring the Granny Peace Brigade) chanting questions and answers at the Times Square Recruiting Center March 20 (photo by Masahiro Hosoda)

Demonstrators wore signs with the answers: Killed to date: American soldiers - 4,382; Coalition Soldiers - 4,700; Iraqi civilians - 95,606-to 104,304; Journalists - 140.

Wounded to date: U. S. soldiers - 31,616; NYS soldiers - 1,669.

Displaced Iraqis: 4,900,000.

Spent in Iraq to date: $712 Billion. Spent by NYC: $25 Billion

The Raging Grannies then led the demonstrators in songs of passion against war. Using well known songs with new words, they sang out such gems as:

War is not the way, my boys, War is not the way ….(to the tune of "Anchors Aweigh")

and

In this New York City, it’s such a damn pity, They’re taking our children, to fight in the War.... (to the tune of ____________)

The Raging Grannies and other demonstrators singing at the Times Square recruiting center March 20 (photo by Masahiro Hosoda)

But, this was a two-day demonstration. The day before, on March 19, we stood in front of the Chambers Street recruiting center, laughingly officially named the Army Career Center. Some career, isn't it, to be taught to kill and to look forward to being blown up in a foreign land we have no business being in?

We displayed banners and signs and passed out literature there to the many students from a nearby high school and college walking by, and then moved down the street to the Marine Corps Career Center where we continued our rally.
The Seven Years Too Many Coalition in front of the Marine Corps Career Center Mar.19th
(photo by Masahiro Hosoda)
We ended our march at the site of the World Trade Center where the many visiting tourists, most from foreign countries, and nearby workers enthusiastically greeted us and received our fliers.
We earnestly hope that we will not have to demonstrate for an Eighth Year Anniversary of our continued occupation of Iraq.
President Obama, are you listening?
(Participating groups in the Seven Years Too Many Coalition:
CODE PINK NYC; Grandmothers Against the War; Granny Peace Brigade; Greenwich Village Coalition for Peaceful Priorities; North Manhattan Neighbors for Peace & Justice; NYC United for Peace & Justice ; NYC War Resisters League; Peace Action New York State; Veterans for Peace Chapter 34 NYC;
West Side Peace Action)

As I noted Saturday, I have no criticism for those who participated in NYC. I have nothing but scorn for those 'leaders' who failed to note the protests. I'm thinking of a homophobe, for example, who loses hundreds of female workers each decade because he's also a sexist, and he never noted the NYC action despite the fact that he was a big cry baby when no one wanted to join him in Time Square awhile back. Remember? Again, the 'leadership' in NYC has failed. Nothing but capons. Good for those who turned out and stood up. Again, Daniel Ellsberg:


Daniel Ellsberg: . . . 40 years ago, 41 years ago, in 1969, there was a group and a movement called the moratorium. And they called it the moratorium rather than call it a "general strike" because that seemed too inflamatory. But what it was was, like today, demonstrations all over the country being counted not just in one city. There was 75,000 in indeed in San Francisco, 100,000 in New York. But here were ten here, twenty there, a thousand there, all over the country adding up to 2 million. And the difference was that it was on a weekday. They took off for the day for this so it really was a general strike. They thought it had no effect. They were wrong, the people who ran that and the people who took part in it. Nixon had threatened the North, through Russia and China, that he was going to escalate on November 3, 1969. He was threatening and planning to use nuclear weapons. And, also, as well, to invade Laos and Cambodia, North Vietnam, hit the dikes, hit Hai Phong, All the things that he did do later in the invasion of North Vietnam.


There were actions around the country and it does make a difference. Even with the silences of so many alleged 'leaders,' it makes a difference. We'll note this from Debra Sweet's "Two Days Into the 8th Year of the Iraq War: What do we Do Next?" (World Can't Wait):

What are you being asked to give money towards, in this Anti-War Offensive fundraising drive? We have a plan to stop the war - but you are needed.

The We Are Not Your Soldiers tour is getting ready to hit schools in Ohio this weekend, with more requests coming in from Seattle, Massachusetts and Connecticut. This tour brings Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to the schools to talk to students about the on-the-ground reality of the wars and the need for students to stop military recruiters.
We want recruiters out now and we want to turn schools into hot spots of resistance, creating a situation where military recruiters are met with daily protest by the students themselves in all areas where they recruit. There is great need and a demand for this from teachers, parents and students. Watch some of the previous presentations:
Coming up soon, March 29th and March 30, Liz, a World Can't Wait activist, and Anthony Wagner, an Iraq War veteran, will be traveling from Chicago to Cleveland, Ohio, where they have been asked by teachers to reach out to 2 schools and at least 200 students. Then, on March 31, they have been asked to travel to Columbus, Ohio to speak in multiple classes to 110 students!


Bonnie notes that Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "The nail biter" went up last night. Reminder the three-day edition of El Spirito ends today (returns to just Sundays next weekend). It goes out shortly. (Ava and I just finished our column and Maria, Francisco and Miguel are selecting final photos of yesterday's march.)
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