March 20: The World Still Says No to War!

[bluetrianglescott]

Any NC/SC/VA/TN YW'ers who are interested hit me up and I'll send you information (including ride info) for the Fayetteville demonstration.

http://www.unitedforpeace.org/articl...ist=sub&sub=45

March 20: The World Still Says No to War

Over 250 U.S. Events Planned
Protests in More Than 50 Countries
Over 500 Groups Endorse Call to Action
• Join List of Endorsers
• List Your March 20 Event
• Receive Mobilization Updates

Momentum is building around the world for the Global Day of Action against War and Occupation on March 20, the one-year anniversary of the U.S. bombing and invasion of Iraq.

On that day, people on every continent will take to the streets to say YES to peace and NO to pre-emptive war and occupation. Joining with growing numbers of military families and soldiers, we will call for an end to the occupation of Iraq and Bush’s militaristic foreign policies, and highlight the linkages between the occupations of Iraq and Palestine. March 20 will be the first time the world's "other superpower," as The New York Times described us, will take center stage since February 15, when more than 15 million people across the globe expressed their opposition to Bush's looming war on Iraq.

The March 20 Global Day of Action has been endorsed by the Global Assembly of the Anti-War Movement, the World Social Forum, and the 3rd Hemispheric Forum Against the FTAA. A vast and diverse array of organizations worldwide are hard at work mobilizing for the day.

In the United States, there will be a massive protest in New York City plus dozens of local and regional demonstrations across the country, including a major protest in Fayetteville, NC, the home of Fort Bragg.

Politically, the U.S. protests will also take on the domestic impact of Bush's foreign policies—what some people call "the war at home." We will express the growing opposition to the USA PATRIOT Act, which has authorized political arrests, indefinite detentions, domestic spying, and religious and racial profiling. We will call for an end to the mass detentions and deportations of innocent immigrants in the name of fighting terrorism. We will say no to massive military spending amidst vast cuts in vital domestic social and economic programs.

HAVE YOUR GROUP ENDORSE MARCH 20
Click here or call UFPJ (212-868-5545) to let us know your group is on board.

BEGIN PLANNING LOCAL MARCH 20 ACTIONS
Bring together local groups to plan March 20 actions in your community. Be sure to list your plans on our calendar so we can help publicize your event to the media and to people in your community.



March 20 Outreach Materials
Spread the word about the March 20 mobilization with these outreach materials from United for Peace and Justice, designed so they can be adapted to any community that is organizing a March 20 event.

March 20 Endorsers
View the growing list of groups that have endorsed the March 20 mobilization.

Calendar of March 20 Events
A calendar of local and regional March 20 events.

March 20 New York City Mobilization
Information and resources for the major March 20 protest being planned for New York City, including outreach materials, ride board, and housing board.

[sandra]

Los Angeles March and Rally
This Saturday
March 20, 12 noon
Hollywood & Vine
Global day of action
on the first anniversary of the
U.S. bombing and invasion of Iraq
Bring the troops home now!
End colonial occupation
from Iraq to Palestine and everywhere!
Money for jobs, health care, housing & education
not for war & occupation!


Initiators and endorsers include: A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War &
End Racism) Coalition; Al-Awda, the Palestinian Right to Return
Coalition; Arab Muslim American Federation; Free Palestine Alliance;
Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation; Muslim Student Association;
National Lawyers Guild; Mindullae; BAYAN; ADC-LA/OC; International
Action Center; CAIR-LA; Latino Movement USA; Garment Workers' Center;
Korean Americans for Peace; Women in Black-LA; Coalition for World
Peace; Office of the Americas; South Asian Network; Ron Kovic; Rev.
Richard Byrd; Rev. Louis Chase; Global Women's Strike; Los Angeles
Greens; U.S. Labor Against the War-LA; Veterans for Peace LA & OC and
many more

i am interested in going to this - and will probably drag a few other yw'ers with me. please pm me if you would like to join us. otherwise, KPFK will be covering this if you can't make it.

[moJo]

On Saturday, the SF protest starts at 11am at Dolores Park, and heads to the Civic Center. I'd go if I could.

There's a mini-protest marching down Market St. right now, right outside my building....

[moser]

Did anyone go? If so, how was it?

[nola]

Mine started with about 100 people and ended up with about 25 holding signs on corners. A couple of my favorites were 'W: Worst President Ever' and 'How about Pre-emptive Peace?'

[Bhodi_Li]

What about in other countries?

[bluetrianglescott]

About 1000 people marched in Fayetteville, NC, home of Fort Bragg. Fairly diverse crowd, many locals. The locals with whom I talked said that the press had completely ignored the buildup to the march, so it was far from being the "talk of the town". People from all over the eastern US--even from NYC, which was having its own demonstration that day. A guy I talked to from Philly who came with more northeasterners (we calls 'em "Yankees") said that he and the ones riding with him felt it more important to be in Fayetteville than NYC, even though it meant a 10-hour ride.

The streets were pretty deserted with the exception of two small counter demonstrations (totalling about 70 people) organized by freerepublic.com and from what I could tell consisted of a lot of out-of-towners claiming to speak for vets and active duty though clearly there were more of these on our side--Veterans for Peace and Military Families Speak Out were two of the convening groups for the demonstration. A contingent of veterans and military families led our march, though some vets just back from Iraq and family members of deployed service people mingled inconspicuously throughout the crowd. I guess they didn't want any particular attention paid to them. The vets and military families who spoke from the stage were prob. the most moving and articulate in their denunciation of this war, addressing many aspects of military life--serving oil interests, the chances of a new draft, supporting GIs who resist, and what it feels like to kill someone your own age, and knowing you'll never "get over it".

It ws a very positive event. I thought it was very significant that the counter-demonstration was so puny, and had to be organized by an out-of-town internet organization of Limbaugh "ditto-heads". Makes me think that support for this war is a hell of a lot thinner than we're led to believe, even inside the belly of the beast. Heard also from a local social worker who talks to lots of military wives every day that they have major questions about why this war is being fought. Meanwhile a puppet government is being set up in Iraq, the US' pit-bull Israel continues to murder Palestinians by the score, and more people are being used to kill and die for oil, with no end in sight--the best Kerry can promise is a "kinder, gentler" imperialism.

I hope more people start asking their questions out loud.

Originally Posted by Bhodi_Li

What about in other countries?

Here's a link to a round-up of reports from around the world.
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/articl...ist=sub&sub=45
Apparently there was even a demonstration in Baghdad. I'd be curious to know if you heard anything about it, and what you think of what's going on, and what other enlisted people over there are saying.

[Bhodi_Li]

Originally Posted by bluetrianglescott

Apparently there was even a demonstration in Baghdad. I'd be curious to know if you heard anything about it, and what you think of what's going on, and what other enlisted people over there are saying.

We heard about the demonstrations in Baghdad. It's fun because then they get violent and then terrorist attacks increase and then our soldiers die. So it's not really fun. 1st Armored Division has gotten bloodied very quickly and they are new to the theater.

Personally, I am tired of being here. I look forward to the day when we hand over this place to the Iraqi's. The average soldier feels the same way. We will continue to do our duty, but morale is not good in light of Richard Clark's latest revelations. To the soldiers, this says, "You're dying for nothing." That's not good. It makes soldiers apathetic and that results in carelessness out on the roads, which results in soldiers being sent home in body bags (which are now called remains pouches). So with that in mind, I would recommend that when talking to a friend/family member that is in Iraq, just use some discretion with how you phrase things. I'm not sensitive, but morale is definitely a factor for my soldiers.

[nola]

Another favorite was 'War is Stupid'. There were two pro-war counter-demonstrators saying war has solved things like slavery. While walking home past them, we shouted, "War sucks!" and "We outnumber you!"