Anti-War Movement: No Racist War
Anti-War News
To Arab ears, speech was just a war whoop 1/30/03 IHT: "Those Arabs actually paying attention to the speech found troubling both the lack of damning evidence against Baghdad and the lack of any articulated plan for postwar Iraq, leaving them bracing for yet another American misadventure in a region they think has seen too many."
War jitters in Europe - Stock markets take a collective dive 1/30/03 IHT: "While the buildup to a possible invasion has shaken confidence on Wall Street, sending stock prices back to October levels, the damage is far worse on European bourses. In London, share prices have plunged nearly 12 percent in less than a month, and now they are trading at prices not seen in more than seven years. In Paris, they have fallen 7 percent this year; in Frankfurt, 6 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average, by contrast, has fallen 2.7 percent since Jan. 1."
Anti-war protesters announce Feb. 15 rally for `millions' 1/29/03 San Jose Mercury News: "Anti-war protesters on Wednesday predicted "literally millions" of people in New York, San Francisco and more than 30 international cities would march the weekend of Feb. 15 against war in Iraq."
In Wyoming, Farewells Full of War Worries 1/29/03 Washington Post: "But support for the war is not universal here. "I think [President] Bush is trigger-happy," said Lee Jones, a Rock Springs businessman who showed up to say goodbye to his best friend. "Would it hurt to wait a while? Then maybe these guys wouldn't have to go at all."
Others found it dubious to send local Guard units overseas for a war that could trigger more terrorism at home. "If we go to war, there might be stuff right here," said Mary McCann of Big Piney, who wept profusely as her son Tye, 19, waved a sad farewell from the pale blue Army bus. "Then you're going to say, 'why don't we have any National Guard to protect us?' "
Antiwar movement swells, still searching for its voice 1/28/03 CSM: "Pittsburgh represents average America. It's not a city that's been known for protests. It's not been a hotbed of political activism," says Tim Vining, executive director of the Thomas Merton Center, a 30-year-old peace and justice group and an event sponsor. "We're demonstrating ... that this war has hit a nerve with average Americans who are not usually quick to take to the streets to make their views known."
A journey to the heart of Middle America 1/28/03 Independent, UK: "The war is not playing well in Peoria at all, and neither, for that matter, is the rest of the President's agenda – all of which provides a worrying backdrop for President Bush as he prepares for today's key State of the Union address… On the form, he asks in a quiet, unassuming way – he is a quiet, unassuming man – whether people are for or against the war, whether they feel the US is justified in going it alone to oust Saddam Hussein or if it should act only with the blessing of the United Nations Security Council. So far, he has received 150 responses, more than 90 per cent of them opposed to war without UN backing."
Desert Caution - Once 'Stormin' Norman,' Gen. Schwarzkopf Is Skeptical About U.S. Action in Iraq 1/28/03 Washington Post: Norman's dad was Kermit Roosevelt's bag man, bringing $1 million to the Shah's forces in Iran in 1953, and even he is against this war - "The general who commanded U.S. forces in the 1991 Gulf War says he hasn't seen enough evidence to convince him that his old comrades Dick Cheney, Colin Powell and Paul Wolfowitz are correct in moving toward a new war now. He thinks U.N. inspections are still the proper course to follow. He's worried about the cockiness of the U.S. war plan, and even more by the potential human and financial costs of occupying Iraq."
Marchers' message: Give peace a chance 1/26/03 Pittsburgh Post Gazette: "Police estimated the crowd at 1,500 to 2,000, and organizers put the crowd size as high as 5,000. By any count, the march was likely Pittsburgh's largest anti-war protest in 30 years, although non-political events, such as the March for Jesus, have drawn far larger crowds."
Iraq Resources 1/26/03 Press Action: "With a looming war on Iraq, it would be useful for activists and citizens to have at hand various Iraq-related links, articles, and books to learn about Iraq and its people, the Persian Gulf War, and more important to refute the claims of the War Party."
The World Says No to War - Saturday, February 15th 2003 Noon 1/26/03 United For Peach: "Saturday, February 15th will be a world-wide day of action against the Bush Administration's proposed war on Iraq. Protests are already being planned in Amsterdam, Antwerp, Athens, Bangkok, Barcelona, Belfast, Berlin, Berne, Brussels, Cairo, Copenhagen, Dublin, Glasgow, Helsinki, Istanbul, London, Manila, Oslo, Paris, Ramallah, Rome, Skopje, Stockholm, Tallinn, Tokyo, Vienna, and Warsaw.
While demonstrations are taking place throughout the globe, JOIN US in New York City and San Francisco to show the depth and breadth of U.S. opposition to this war."
Gathering of New England Peace Activists on Saturday, February 22nd in Worcester 1/26/03 Worcester Peace Works: "Worcester Peace Works, a grass roots formation that came together after the events of September 11th, is convening a gathering of New England Peace Activists on Saturday, February 22nd in Worcester. The goal is to create a network, not a coalition, of peace and social justice groups that can better coordinate our efforts to maximize our political effectiveness."
Stocks Sink; Dow, S&P 500 at 3-Month Lows 1/24/03 Reuters: "Stocks tumbled to their lowest levels since October on Friday as the specter of a U.S. war against Iraq loomed over a market already spooked by the outlook for corporate profits during the rush of reporting season.
The blue-chip Dow, which lost a whopping 238 points, and the broad Standard & Poor's 500 index slammed to three-month lows, while the tech-packed Nasdaq smacked its lowest level this month. Wall Street has endured losses in five of the past six sessions."
More Than 1,000 Historians Announce National Antiwar Network 1/23/03 Ascribe: "At the 117th Annual Meeting of the American Historical Association in January, historians from more than forty colleges and universities agreed to form a new national network, "Historians Against the War." A committee was appointed to draft the following statement, which has been circulated for other historians to sign."
Anti-war movement grows louder, stronger 1/23/03 Detroit News: "So far, 42 cities across the nation have approved anti-war resolutions, including Detroit, Ferndale, Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo and Traverse City. At least 15 other Michigan cities are targeted by local activists working for the organization.
Municipalities say they are concerned that sending troops into Iraq would take a financial toll on the country when the economy's direction is uncertain and many state governments, Michigan included, are struggling with budget deficits that is translating into cuts to social programs."
Netanyahu nephew jailed for refusing national service 1/23/03 Times, UK: "Mr Ben-Artzi, 20, a mathematics and physics student at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, has been declared a “prisoner of conscience” by Amnesty International after losing a protracted struggle through the Israeli legal system to be declared a conscientious objector on the grounds of pacifism. His father, Matanya Ben-Artzi, the elder brother of Mr Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, claims that his son is being singled out because of the publicity surrounding his court case and because it coincided with a high-profile letter sent by 62 high school students to Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, in August last year refusing to serve and accusing the military of “acts of oppression” against Palestinians.
“He is being victimised because he is the initiator of a new movement which is very menacing to them. He is seen as a hero by his peers and a good part of them may follow suit,” Mr Ben-Artzi Sr and his wife, Ofra, told The Times last night. “The first time he was jailed we thought it was the usual thing, 90 days or so, but as it rolled along we realised that the army regards him as an enemy on the scale of the Palestinian resistance.”
Support For a War With Iraq Weakens 1/22/03 Washington Post: "Seven in 10 Americans would give U.N. weapons inspectors months more to pursue their arms search in Iraq, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll that found growing doubts about an attack on Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
In addition to the public's skepticism about military action against Iraq, the poll found that a majority of Americans disapproved of President Bush's handling of the economy for the first time in his presidency. The number of Americans who regard the economy as healthy has not been lower in the past nine years, and fewer than half supported the tax cut plan Bush has proposed as a remedy."
Massive Anti War Protest Held In Nation's Capital On Martin Luther King Weekend 1/21/03 Black World Today: "On Saturday, January 18th, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, between 200,000 and half a million people braved the numbingly cold weather and converged on Washington DC to tell the Bush administration that they vehemently oppose a war on Iraq. The protest was sponsored by the International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) Coalition and endorsed by thousands of organizations across the nation. The Washington Post called it "the largest anti-war demonstration here since the Vietnam era." … The demonstration began with a rally on the west side of the Capitol Building. Among the speakers who addressed the huge crowd were Congressman John Conyers; former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney; presidential candidate Al Sharpton; Brooklyn Council Member Charles Barron; Rev. Jesse Jackson; Rev. Herbert Daughtry, Pastor of Brooklyn's House of the Lord Church; Viola Plummer, head of the December 12th Movement and actresses Jessica Lange and Tyne Daly. A message from Congressman Charles Rangel was also read."
European Leaders Hear Anti-War Cry -- And Listen 1/21/03 Chicago Tribune: "After a weekend of anti-war demonstrations across the continent, political leaders in European capitals appear resolved to slow the Bush administration's drive toward a military confrontation with Iraq.
"We will not take part in a military intervention in Iraq, and that is exactly how our voting behavior will be in all international bodies," German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in a weekend speech.
German Defense Minister Peter Struck said that a "yes" vote by Germany was "no longer conceivable."
In Paris, senior French officials said that France will use its seat on the Security Council and all of its influence to restrain U.S. militarism."
Oil Shouldn't Be the Only Reason for Opposing This War 1/21/03 Counterpunch: "Furthermore, talk is continuing to mount in Israel of "transfer," that is, expelling the Palestinians in the West Bank to Jordan, leaving the West Bank open to total takeover by the Israelis. This transfer is an integral part of the Middle East transformation that the peace movement seems not to want to talk about. If the war comes, the peace movement's present silence on the subject will also make it easier for Israel actually to carry out the process of "transfer." "
US peace protesters flaunt wit and wealth 1/20/03 Times, UK: "With his dental practice and expensive hobby as a Napa Valley vineyard owner, Mr Hampton was aware that he did not fit the financial profile of the average peace-march protester, but he said that President Bush’s determination to wage war on Iraq had prompted him to act. “It’s outrageous what Bush is doing,” he said. “I’ve never seen so much propaganda foisted on the American people, it’s an insult to our intelligence.”
Mr Hampton was not the only business-class radical at the march. Thousands of other members of California’s famously affluent middle class also joined in."
Surfing Television News For Antiwar Demonstrations 1/19/03 Intervention Maganzine: "So that’s it. Nothing shocking, nothing out of the ordinary, certainly nothing great. If the viewer searched, he or she could find some decent coverage, but most received little information and not very good reportage.
Yet, when this coverage is compared with the previous anti-Iraq war protests in New York in October, in Washington and California in December, the coverage was a significant improvement. The media are realizing that they must cover the growing antiwar movement, that it is a power evolving, that it is a legitmate story.
It is now time for the movement to wise up, to present its message in a way that will expand its numbers and the media coverage. It needs to get serious about drawing in the powerful American middle class, it needs to get serious about seeking good media coverage."
World's Capitals See Antiwar Protests 1/19/03 Newsday: "Activists in Tokyo carried toy guns filled with flowers, one banner at a Moscow rally read "Iraq isn't your ranch, Mr. Bush," and anti-war protesters in Paris shouted, "Stop Bush! Stop war!" ... A Jan. 12 poll in the Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper showed 76 percent of those surveyed didn't want French troops to take part in a U.S.-led operation."
Crowds denounce war - From coast to coast, protesters assail possible U.S. military action against Iraq. 1/19/03 Sacraamento Bee: "In San Francisco, demonstrators filled the nearly two miles along Market Street between the Embarcadero and City Hall, many of them carrying signs, pushing baby strollers or chanting anti-war slogans. Organizers estimated that 200,000 attended the event; San Francisco police set the number at 50,000… The estimate of the crowd protesting in Washington, D.C., was set at 500,000 by organizers. Police there did not provide their own figure, but said Saturday's attendance was larger than the 100,000 who participated in an anti-war rally in October."
Crowd Estimates: 30,000 to 500,000 1/19/03 Washington Post: "I know everyone is skittish about saying a number," said U.S. Capitol Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer. "But this was big. An impressive number."
Portland: More Than 20,000 Attend Peace March 1/18/03 AP: "More than 20,000 people marched through downtown Portland Saturday to protest a possible war in Iraq in one of the city's largest peace rallies ever."
NEW YORK TIMES DOES ABOUT-FACE ON OCTOBER 26 ANTI-WAR COVERAGE 1/18/03 International Answer: Published around 10/30/02, this details the storyof how mass anger in the US over a NYT article belittling antiwar protests led to a rewriting of the story, something sorely needed in the case of Cuba and its counterterror spying on the Miami Mas Fea.
WEEK OF ANTI-WAR RESISTANCE February 13-21 1/18/03 International Answer: "There have been two important calls for coordinated global mass action: one on January 18 that is anchored in the U.S. anti-war movement and another on February 15 that is anchored in the European movement." Expect also some media denunciations of how International ANSWER is a WWP communist front group.
Antiwar protesters march by thousands in U.S. cities 1/18/03 NYT: Washington - "The rally was sponsored by the peace group International Answer. Two hours into the Washington march, swarms of other demonstrators were assembled along the San Francisco waterfront and heading toward Market Street downtown. That rally, also organized by International Answer, drew tens of thousands from as far away as Missoula, Mont., and Alberta. Among the protesters was a caravan of environmentalists in electric cars with signs that read, "Go solar, not ballistic," and the Stroller Brigade, a group of Bay Area parents pushing their children through the crowds."
War Uncertainty Weighs on Economy 1/18/03 NYT
Protestors Flood Arab, Islamic Capitals, Slam U.S. War Plans 1/18/03 Palestine Chronicle: Bahrain - "MANAMA - As hundreds of thousands of anti-war activists were gearing up for massive demonstrations across the globe Saturday, January 18, angry demonstrators flooded the streets of Arab and Islamic capitals Friday, January 17, to protest the U.S. war rhetoric and military build-up in the Gulf."
Americans Against Iraq War Protest in Washington 1/18/03 Reuters: "Protesters carrying placards reading "Regime Change Starts at Home" and "Would Jesus Bomb Them?" began assembling early despite 20 degree F (minus 6 Celsius) on the National Mall in Washington. Their numbers continued to grow even as the first speaker took the stage at 11 a.m., as a thick, long line of people streamed onto the Mall."
Protesters pack streets for anti-war rally 1/18/03 SF Chronicle: "Singers Joan Baez and Bonnie Raitt performed for the crowd, which police estimated at 50,000 and organizers pegged at more than 200,000. By either estimate, it was among the largest of a series of anti-war protests across the country."
Let's make money, not war, say US protesters 1/17/03 Times, UK: "IF GEORGE BUSH looks out of the Oval Office window tomorrow he will probably see the biggest peace demonstration in Washington since the Vietnam War.
But he will not see hippies or long-haired peaceniks. He will be looking instead at a huge cross-section of Middle America: doctors, corporate lawyers, chief executives, lorry drivers, nurses, military families, grandmothers, even families of September 11 victims. And they won’t be burning the American flag. They will be carrying it with pride."
Chicago Resolution Opposes War on Iraq 1/16/03 AP: "Thursday to oppose a pre-emptive military attack on Iraq unless the country is shown to be a real threat to the United States."
'I'm an ex-marine recruiting human shields' 1/16/03 BBC: "I'm hoping to recruit hundreds of volunteers en route to Iraq and my goal is thousands. After we leave London on 25 January, we go to France, then Holland, Germany and Switzerland before heading towards Baghdad."
Judge tosses protest charges 1/16/03 St Petersburg Times: "TAMPA -- Calling the state's case "a stretch," a Hillsborough judge Wednesday tossed out charges against eight antiwar activists arrested for blocking the road outside MacDill Air Force Base."
400 in city march for peace 1/15/03 Democrat & Chronicle, Rochester
A Real Patriot - Standing Up to the School of the Americas 1/14/03 Counterpunch: "Ryerson, who twice attended previous SOA protests without being arrested, says civil disobedience is a vital component of a movement that has come as close as five votes away from having the U.S. House of Representatives stop funding for the SOA's successor. "There are all sorts of different resources we are using in this effort: While we are getting arrested, there is a bill going through Congress every year [most recently H.R. 1810, which counted Rep. Julia Carson (D-Indianapolis) as one of its 112 co-sponsors]. Thousands of people are writing letters, and of course there is the mass mobilization every November.
"But civil disobedience is often more necessary than we think it is. Education is probably the most important and hardest step in any kind of effort to make social change, and civil disobedience really helps with the education piece," she says. "If I wasn't going to prison, I wouldn't be doing this interview with a newspaper. I have friends and family who have never been politically active at all who are now incredibly mobilized. Multiply that by 96, the number of people arrested this past November, and that's enormous."
Clevelanders rally in Push for Peace as war cry grows 1/13/03 Cleveland Plain Dealer: "The "Voices Against the War" rally was billed initially as an effort by Greater Cleveland's black community to unite in opposition to the war. But nearly as many whites as blacks came to cheer impassioned pleas for peace from politicians, clergy and activists."
Small-town US against war 1/13/03 Herald Sun, Australia: "The townsfolk, for whom Washington DC, let alone Baghdad, seems a world away, are not ready for war on Iraq. They question Bush's motives, wonder about the strength of his evidence, remember Vietnam, and fear the consequences may reach their doorsteps."
Iraq links cancers to uranium weapons
U.S. likely to use arms again in war 1/13/03 SF Chronicle: "In an interview on Saturday, Rokke said of his own health: "I'm trashed." He said that Pentagon officials routinely tell him and others who were contaminated in the gulf theater that the elevated levels of uranium in their bodies are "just coming out of our diets."
Antiwar Activists From Across U.S. Preparing for Weekend of Protests 1/13/03 Washington Post: "The same coalition that coordinated the October rally, International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), is organizing this week's protest. Brian Becker, an ANSWER spokesman, said it is too early to tell whether the crowd will be as big as or bigger than that at the previous march. But he said tens of thousands are planning to make the trip, as organizers from Texas to New York to Wisconsin arrange for charter buses, car caravans and flights to the District."
Winds of war, pleas for peace 1/4/03 St. Augustine Record: "Bush Cheney Rumsfeld - Axis of Oil"
CIA on Campus 1/3/03 cia-on-campus.org
It's Not Yesterday's Peace Movement 1/2/03 Alternet: "You don't need a weatherman to see that grassroots opposition to a U.S. war with Iraq is gathering fast. Today's peace movement already draws big protest crowds even before the shooting has begun, and its ranks are more diverse than the 1960s movement, which took a few years to grow. Fueling dissent is the perception that Bush's call for a unilateral first strike against Iraq is arbitrary.
Peace activists using technology nonexistent in the '60s – e-mail blasts, dedicated Web sites – are preparing a march in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 18-20, hoping for crowds even larger than October's demonstrations by tens of thousands in the nation's capital, San Francisco and other cities."
2003: Bush's "War On Terror" Faces Mounting Criticism, At Home And Abroad 1/1/03 Yahoo News: "At home and abroad, US President George W. Bush's "war on terror" was facing mounting criticism over fears that fundamental human rights and freedoms were being eroded. Actors, writers, lawyers, politicians, and millions of ordinary people worldwide have in recent weeks all questioned the no-holds-barred US policy which many fear will be counter-productive. Huge anti-war demonstrations have taken place in cities across the globe and more are planned for the new year, including a major one in Washington on January 18.
Spain's top anti-terror judge became the lastest to add his voice to the growing chorus of critics, warning Sunday of "the risk of a false system of security being put in place to the detriment of freedoms and rights. "The case of terrorists held in Guantanamo (the US base in Cuba), Afghanistan and Pakistan proves that security is trumping every other principle of justice or rights," said Baltasar Garzon said. Garzon, who has fought against Basque separatists in Spain, made a world name for himself when he led international efforts to prosecute former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet for war crimes."
 Alerts
University
of California Divestment from Israel Petition Website
Alojo! - acciones urgentes
: bilingual
- incluir su accion/post your activity
pax.protest.net for activities in your
city, around the world - list yours here.
Demonstrations for Peace : War
Resister's League's extensive listing of ongoing and punctual events in
the US and Canada
Boycott Israeli
Goods
Citizens for Legitimate
Government - nice listing of anti-Bush protests
IndyMedia UK - lots of antiwar marches over here!
Other IndyMedia sites across the US also list antiwar actions:
arizona atlanta austin boston buffalo chicago cleveland hawaii houston la madison maine minneapolis/st. paul new jersey nyc new
york capitol ohio valley philadelphia portland richmond rocky mountain san francisco bay seattle
st louis urbana-champaign
utah vermont dc
Stop US Tax-funded Aid to Israel
Now = SUSTAIN
Weekly meetings of the Berkeley Stop the
War Coalition
See also their web site at
www.berkeleystopthewar.org
Police photograph peace vigil crowd
, Worcester
Telegraph, Worcester MA, 10/11 - on orders from the FBI. Worcester Peace Works,
which organized the vigil, responded with some interesting tactics: 1) attempted to
get police ID, 2) publicized the J Edgar like event in the media and 3)
wrote a letter to the police "asking for an apology and demanding that
Worcester Peace Works be supplied with a list of groups that local, state
or federal agencies have photographed or put under surveillance in
Worcester since Sept. 11. It asks to be provided with a list of all agency
personnel who have been provided with Worcester police photos, files and
reports on Worcester Peace Works and for return of all photos, negatives
and files of vigil participants. And it asks for police protocols on an
officer's obligation to identify himself or herself when asked, and for a
copy of the policy on the circumstances under which “groups engaged in
free-speech activities are to be photographed by the Worcester Police
Department." This elicited evasional behavior from said police department
almost worthy of Bin Ladin himself.
Continuing Coverage -- The Hartford
18 - police riot brings shame to Hartford,
activists persecuted.
See
also our page on the Suppression of Dissent in the US
Civil Liberties
ACLU
Human rights now
National Lawyers Guild
The Emergency Campaign to Defend Dissent
and Advance Civil Rights
PATRIOT
Act - Analyses of Repressive Features
ACLU Legislative Analysis
Electronic Freedom
Foundation
AntiWar News Archive : 9/01 -
10/01 |
