Worldwide peace action this Saturday, Jan. 18

[access]

This Saturday, January 18th, there will be protests all over the world calling for the United States to not enter into war with Iraq. Major protests are planned for Washington DC and San Francisco, but there will be protests in most major U.S. cities, as well as in Japan, Egypt, Europe, Indonesia, Russia and more. I believe that right now that it is important to visibly demonstrate how many of us do not agree with our current foreign policy and relationship with Iraq.

If you are in the Bay Area: Meet at 11:00 at Mission and Embarcadero to make signs (paints and poster board will be there). Then at 12:00 noon, meet in front of the Ferry Building (at the end of Embarcadero) to march (look for the signs about silent protest!). Please note that people at the protest in October found that public transportation took much longer then usual because of all the protesters, and this protest will definitely be larger. Plan accordingly and leave early so that you arrive on time!

If you are not in the Bay Area: find or plan a protest in your area, and bring at least ten friends/colleagues/neighbors/strangers! One online resource is www.unitedforpeace.org (http://www.unitedforpeace.org/)

Why January 18th?
January 18 commemorates both the twelfth anniversary of the first Gulf War, as well as the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King publicly condemned the U.S. War in Vietnam, and believed that it was impossible to successfully wage a war on poverty at home while waging a war of aggression abroad. The thousands who are coming to Washington D.C. and San Francisco honor Dr. King and his legacy by opposing a criminal war in Iraq - this time not in Vietnam, but in the Middle East - and demanding instead that these hundreds of billions of dollars earmarked for war instead be spent on jobs, education, housing, health care and to meet human needs.

We also join with people all over the world who mourn the loss of Phillip Berrigan who devoted his life to courageous opposition to militarism and war. Phil Berrigan put his body on the line in the struggle to call attention to the inherently evil nature of weapons of mass destruction produced by and for the US military industrial complex. In addition to honoring Dr. King, we intend to make the January 18 march a living tribute to Phil Berrigan's life and legacy.

What should you bring?
Bring snacks and water, and wear comfortable shoes since you'll be standing and walking for several hours. Rain and changeable weather are possible, so bring appropriate gear to protect either from the sun, rain, wind, cold, or other elements. Most important, bring your friends/neighbors/colleagues/family members!

[Warren]

big day tommorow. i'm surprised with a board that seems like its seemingly full of fans of, "conscious" hip hop no one has replied to this thread. :( :confused:

..see yall heading down to sf tommorow

[tgone]

don't fret! I'm a "concious hiphop" fan that cares! I went to a protest in Seattle yesterday and I'm going to one on Saturday. Keep posting the events!

[Yum Yummy]

I just watched footage from several protests on Satelite T.V.

They showed Italy, France. Turkey, Russia, Syria, Japan.......SO many people were at those dementrations i actually cried watching it.......PEACE....for real.

[Mad Squirrel]

No one even replied to my POST about the "Protest in DC." I guess that's not the kind of stuff "underground hip hop heads" like to talk about.

I caught up with SAGE there. Providence was representin'.

I think more of you people should get involved in this kind of stuff. I can't tell you how intoxicating it is to be surrounded by so many people all coming together for a good cause.

[Mad Squirrel]

It's CRAZY. For the second straight DC anti-war protest, the New York Times stated that "TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE CAME OUT."

During the MARCH it was reported on a Loud speaker that an independent organization that calculates numbers of people at these kinds of rallies estimated half a million people. And I can assure you that this was MUCH MUCH MUCH larger than any Virginia Tech Football Game I have ever been to.

this is no accidental oversight. Especially when last time (after October 26th) I think both the NYTimes and NPR had to issue a correction a few days later. (these corrections probably appear on the back page of section G)


This just goes to show how much you cannot trust any of the information you receive.

[access]

The LA Times used that phrase "tens of thousands" in the lead paragraph, but deeper in the story they use the figure of "200,000" - I looked at it quickly before coming here this morning, so I don't have the exact quote. But there was an obvious discrepancy within their own story.

[amanda]

i really wish i would have made it out to the san francisco protest down market. but in all seriousnes i didnt have the money to travel that far and had to stay locally. but the SF and DC protests looked solid. and as far as the media goes, i am not at all suprised that they would quote less people in attendance than the number that was really there. but im glad to see that so many people do care about our world and the politics of our country. this is such an emotional time for our country and the world, and to see so many people of different ages, backgrounds, and countries coming together to try to prevent this war is amazing, and it really feels good to be out there and see people in the news in other places out there as well. and were all saying, fuck your war and fuck you mr bush. everyday i am reminded why i cried when it was finally declared that bush would be our next president and not gore. his mistakes and wrong doing are going to affect us for along time, probably even the rest of our lives.
Iraq is not your ranch, Mr Bush!

[tgone]

yea, it's not just the media though. Ari Fleischer was talking about how "most Americans" are supportive of a war in Iraq and only a few are protesting. Hmm...

I think there are a lot of people who are against the war, but not that many are actively voicing it. Some people aren't in the position to feel like they HAVE to protest. They don't feel threatened by the war, they just don't enjoy the idea of it. But I have a feeling that once war starts and they see/hear about the filth and wickedness of the war, it may stir up the quiet Americans.

[S...]

I attended one in Fort Collins about 2 months back. (they have one every Saturday at noon... in fact, i think UnitedForPeace has links to details). I gotta admit, i was more or less a bystander than anything else. It was my first protest, so i just lamped in the cut and took it all in. There was a grip of energy though..... and alot of points were touched on. definitley was a learning experience for me.

[Warren]

Originally posted by tgone
yea, it's not just the media though. Ari Fleischer was talking about how "most Americans" are supportive of a war in Iraq and only a few are protesting. Hmm...

i was listenin to kpfa on the way to the protest and davey d pointed out how bush and friends handle their business in a concise and calculated manner. all the drama currently surrounding roe v. wade and affirmative action wasn't brought up just to push his platform, but it also served as a smokescreen to downplay the build-up for last saturday (and the troop build-up) -- talk about killin' three birds w/one stone. but saturday was dope as hell. and i had no idea that mr. lif now calls the bay area his home.

[Dr. Kris Knacker]

yeah, and to think, this yahoo is callin tha shots (well kinda)


http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid48/p2a9678e8ade35894f328c56fb6d4a15d/fcc0711a.jpg

:confused: :confused:

[tgone]

ahh! that photo is even worse than the one with the binoculars! Well, maybe...

[Dr. Kris Knacker]

Originally posted by tgone
ahh! that photo is even worse than the one with the binoculars! Well, maybe...


i dont know if i've seen that one?

[tgone]

Originally posted by Dr. Kris Knacker
i dont know if i've seen that one?

http://w1.236.telia.com/~u23603342/bush_1.jpg

you be the judge!

[Mad Squirrel]

Media covers massive D.C. (and world) Anti-War protests, discounts numbers - Backflash: NPR and the NYT later issued apologies for their drastic undercounting of the Oct. 26 D.C. Anti-War protest - later admitted to be between 100,000 and 200,000 in size "...It was not as large as the organizers of the protest had predicted. They had said there would be 100,000 people here. I'd say there are fewer than 10,000"(NPR's Nancy Marshall) Last saturday's D.C. AntiWar protest received far more media coverage but a similar discounting of the numbers. IndyMedia (above link) provided numbers more in line with D.C. Police statements. Many media outlets ran the same AP news feed. [NYT, NPR , CNN, ABC, AP] and claimed..."Thousands" or "tens of thousands" of protesters. But in the words of those who witnessed it (as I did - 2.5 times size of Oct. 26 protest, from what I saw): 'D.C. police chief Charles Ramsey said, "It's one of the biggest ones we've had, certainly in recent times." U.S. Capitol Police chief Terrance Gainer said, "I know everyone is skittish about saying a number, but this was big. An impressive number." A C-SPAN cameraman I spoke to spent the entire protest on the roof of a cargo truck just to the side of the stage. He told me that he had covered dozens of protests in his time, and that the crowd on Saturday was the biggest he had ever seen.' (story) and organizers claimed 500,000 marched in DC meanwhile, a new poll shows support for a war on Iraq is slipping in the US and also dropping at the UN.

-from Metafilter.com

[mf sw]

I went to the one in SF. It was good. I thought the police were going to start clubbing people though but I think the event ended without incident, at least I didnt see any violence when I was there.

[notknowin]

i was in sf to. for me it was very cool, so many heads feeling the same confusion, so many different people with the same concerns. i digthe factthat people really believe in "if your feeling it then support it"
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