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EVENTS/IDEAS
(more
to come)
The possibilities
are endless, collective and individual
IDEAS
WEAR A DUCT TAPE ARMBAND FOR PEACE ON MARCH 5
In order to make participation in the Moratorium visible, we will all wear duct tape armbands throughout the day on March 5th and thereafter.
The band can be worn plain or enhanced with a globe
symbol (pinned or painted on) and/or a brief slogan such as NO WAR IN IRAQ, NO WAR IN OUR NAME, NO WAR FOR OIL, or simply NO WAR. We want people to see the armbands wherever people congregate: on the streets, subways and buses, churches, and (if you must go) school and workplaces.
HOW TO MAKE AN ARM BAND USING DUCT TAPE:
1) Cut two strips of duct tape: one 12" long, one 13" long (longer if you
think the circumference of your winter coat sleeve is larger)
(2) Put 13" strip, face down on table
(3) Place 12" strip face up, on top
(4) Pick up, make a circle, use 1" of exposed tape to close the circle - this allows some adjustment to reduce the size
(5) To secure the armband on your coat, use a NION globe pin or other peace pin of your choice.
SUGGESTION: Buy a roll of silver duct tape and share it with friends. Or, have them share the cost, get together to make peace and arm bands
Light a Candle for Peace:
Much has been made of the fact that this anti-war movement consists of people of every age and walk of life. Such being the case, many of us who are parents of young children can't march in Manhattan on a week-night (especially if we don't live in the city) I wish to suggest, for those of us who can't join in the march, we light a candle for peace in a front window of our homes.
EVENTS - Alabama
Huntsville
My name is ____ and I live in Huntsville, Al. My daughter ___ is a
senior at Lee High School here in Huntsville and her government class
attempted to participate in the walk out today. The Principal pulled the
plug on the action. He said that after consulting with the school board
attorney that he felt that by allowing the students to walk out, it would
like the school system taking a position. It is my belief that by not
allowing the students that wished to participate in the walk out the
school did take a position. The Principal also threatened them with suspension if they walked out anyway. Say, have you seen my democracy?
Atlanta
Create Your Own Peace Corner!
For March 5th in Atlanta, Not In Our Name has called for No War Zones II:
Create your own peace corner once again. For those who are not familiar with this activity it will be held from 4pm-6pm on as many intersections as
possible throughout the metro area. This was extremely successful on Jan.
27th when we covered 50 intersections with more than 500 people! We would
like to double that number this time! It is simple to create your own No War Zone at an intersection near where you work or live - just get a few friends or co-workers, make some signs and let your message be seen! You can be as creative as you would like at your peace corner - last time there were drummers at some, street theater at others.
To be listed we need to have a commitment that you will be at the
intersection 15 minutes early and be able to stay the entire time. We would
also like to encourage you to contact us to pick up a No War Zone packet.
Please notify us by e- mail if you would like one. You can also pick them up at our Monday discussion group at the Java Monkey 7:30pm, Decatur Square. Of course, everyone is encouraged to start a No War Zone in their area but we can only list those that we have commitments for, so that no one shows up at an empty corner at 4pm. After the event we would like everyone to write in about their intersection, whether or not it was on the list, so that we can give a full report on how many intersections and people participated.
Participants from all intersections will be gathering at the Mediteranian
Grill afterwords around 6:45pm.
Definite commitments so far:
1. Glenwood Ave and 2nd Ave in Decatur
2. Courtland and Ellis St downtown Atlanta
3. Briarcliff and Ponce de Leon
4. N.Druid Hills and Clairmont
5. 701 W. Howard at Friends Meeting House in Decatur
6. Pleasant Hill and I-85 in Gwinnett
7. Houston Mill and Clifton near Emory
8. North Ave and Peachtree in midtown
9. 10th St and Piedmont
10. N Decatur Rd and Scott Blvd.
11. N. Druid Hills and La vista
12. N. Decatur Rd and Oxford at Emory Village.
13. N. Decatur Rd and Clairmont
14. Marietta and Peachtree at Five Points downtown Atlanta
15. Front Entrance to the Mall of Ga (Buford) on Hwy 20.
(skiman1115@netzero.net or (770) 256-1086 for more info)
16. Chamblee-Dunwoody and Peachtree Ind. Blvd.
17. Oak and Mountain View (Snellville)
18. Capitol Steps (Poets 5-6)
In the works, still need commitments:
1. Moreland and Euclid in Little 5 Points
3. Krog and Edgewood in Cabbagetown
4. Lee St and Ralph D Abernathy in the West End
5. Freedom Parkway and Ponce de Leon
6. Freedom Parkway and Boulevard
7. Monroe and Piedmont
8. Buford Hwy near Fiesta Plaza
California
Interfaith Communities for Justice and Peace, Los Angeles, CA:
A large, diverse, interfaith group will gather at the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 5. Since it is Ash Wednesday in the Christian tradition, our ceremony will be around the symbolism of ashes - from ashes to ashes - from birth to death. Spokespersons from many sacred traditions will briefly share how they see the proposed Iraq War obliterating sacred life and sacred nature: Buddhist, Jew, Hindu, Sufi, Muslim, Christian and Native American. Ashes will be spread on individuals who desire to show their repentance for any complicity in acts of our government in the deaths of war. People who will participate in acts of civil disobedience will mark the federal properties with ashes in symbolism of the federal government's complicity in the killing of innocent people in the tragedy of war.
Students in Orange County, CA
Students and teachers in High Schools, Colleges and Universities
across Orange County will be staging a walk out to protest the war
against Iraq. They will be meeting with other community residents and
workers in Orange County at the Ronald Regan Federal Courthouse - 411 West 4th St. Santa Ana, CA - from 1-3 PM to join together in a massive Anti-War protest. You are invited to join us as we say in loud and clear voices: Stop the war on Iraq & Afghanistan, No Racist Scapegoat, No Racial Profiling of student's on/off campus, No Military Recruitment on Campus, Money for education, health care, and jobs
Endorsed & brought to you by: Avalon Club at Saddleback College, UCI Students Against War, Orange County Revolutionary Collective (OCRC), Orange County Peace Coalition (OCPC)
Black Armbands
The Orange County Student Alliance is reviving the practice of wearing black arm bands (from the Vietnam-war era), only this time, they have a white peace symbol on them as well, to make them more visible.
Black cloth armbands will be more re-usable than duct tape - you will
be able to wear it every day at all times (which is the idea).
Peoples' Nonviolent Resistance Coalition, Oakland, CA:
Peoples' Nonviolent Resistance Coalition is inviting
everyone to meet at the Pillars at Lake Merritt on Wed. March 5th at 5
PM for a candle light vigil. Bring a candle. At 5:30 PM we will walk
together to a location to be determined, to discuss our moratorium actions and to begin to have the conversation about what we DO want (we know we don't
want war, but what does a just and peaceful world look like and what do we
need to do to help make it happen). We will share a light meal together as
well. We also invite you during this day, to make a gesture of reconciliation
with someone in your own life.....
Los Angeles
More than 35 schools will be participating in March 5, either through walk-outs or other actions. After walking out, students will converge at five different locations, the closest place near them. At 4:00 P.M. there will be an evening convergence at the Westwood Federal Building. At 6:00 P.M. people will begin marching from the Westwood Federal Building to the Veteran Cemetery, through Westwood Village and then to the UCLA campus where there will be a
Dead Prez concert at 8:00 P.M.
There will be traveling teams who will be doing outreach to certain
schools. If you would like your school to be one of them please call: the
NION Student and Youth Committee, 323-462-6263.
The following schools have confirmed they will be walking out:
San Fernando HS, Cal Arts, Venice HS, Grant HS, Marlborough HS, Dorsey HS, Crenshaw HS, Cleaveland, Belmont HS, Roosevelt HS, Bell HS, Montebello HS, ELAC(East LA College), Garfield HS, Glendale Community College, Pasadena HS, Glendale HS, Hamilton HS, Santa Monica Community College, Sylmar HS, Thomas Jr High, Fullerton Jr College, Pacific Palidades HS, Windwa HS, Crossroads HS, Archer, New Roads HS, Fairfax High, Marshall, Laces High, Beverly Hills High, Saint Johns Basco, Occidental College, Claremont College, UCLA, Beverley Hills HS
Los Angeles
I would like to walk my daughter out of her elementary school on March 5th and would love to set up a table outside of the school Monday and Tuesday to inform and encourage other parents and staff to do the same. I will need literature and banners and signs. Please call me during the weekend so I can set up Monday morning in front of the school to start word of mouth.
From a business owner in Los Angeles
I have decided that what I will do for March 5th is close my business for the day. I closed my business for an hour on Jan. 27th and found another store owner in the neighborhood who already had a Not In Our Name globe poster on his shop window. Together we organized a march on Larchmont (the main street in our neighborhood) that day for an hour. We are going to expand our activities on March 5th. I will have a garage sale out front with all of the proceeds going to NION. We will hand out flyers during the day in our neighborhood, letting people know about the garage sale and our opposition to the war on Iraq. We will also have a march with the NION globe posters and hand made signs and banners on Larchmont at lunchtime. I will flyer my neighbors and businesses before March 5th calling on them to join us.
"We will look long and far before we find a good writer who is also a blind patriot." --Norman Mailer
Canada
This is a fantastic action!
I will call Bush's office again and call my PM too (I am Canadian). Let us keep up the struggle. Surely we will prevent this war working together like this. In solidarity.
Chicago
Check out Chicago's own Moratorium site mar5.chicagohumanist.org for a complete list of Chicago events or call (773) 250-7721.
Build A Human Chain of Resistance
Another idea for action on March 5th that would make good visual impact and allow people who do not feel able to absent themselves from work to get involved. Call for office and retail workers, customers etc. to come out of their buildings at noon and link hands to form a chain of resistance along the sidewalk and around buildings. It could become a regular event to designate resistance and allow office workers etc. to show their position / solidarity. If there was enough support it also would be a good visual image for the media rather than an individual act that can go unnoticed. Thanks for all your work!
Evanston, IL
On March 5th, I'm taking my boys (8 & 5) out of school and taking the
train to DC where we will join www.codepink4peace.org for activities leading up to the International Women's Day vigil around the White House.
Chicago Student Moratorium
To Stop the War We Want Money for Books, Not Bombs
Converge Downtown 4:30 pm
Over 19 schools confirmed:
University of Illinois at Chicago-Student Strike!! Oak Park
River Forest HS-Walkout-Student Strike!! Evanston Township
HS-Student Strike!! University of Chicago-Student Strike!!
University of Chicago Lab School-Walkout Columbia
College-Teach-in/Rally Street Theatre DePaul
University-Teach-in/Rally? College of Dupage-Rally and Mock
Funeral March Northwestern-Speak out/rally Lane Tech
HS-Speak out/rally, Lake Forest College-organizing
contingent to convergence downtown Harold Washington-Speak
out! Northeastern-Speak Out! St Xavier HS-Speak Out!
Whitney Young HS Elgin Community College Roosevelt
University Lincoln Park HS
COLUMBIA COLLEGE - ontheground.okcancel.org/caaw
Columbia College teach-in & speak-out: IRAQ and THE WAR ON TERRORISM
An all day teach-in/speak-out/discussion featuring: Raymond Lotta ("America in Decline"); Paul Street (Chicago Urban League, Z Mag); Kevin Clark (medic in Occupied Territories); Regina Wellner (Columbia Professor of Middle East History); John Stevenson (Columbia Professor of Philosophy); various student speakers.
10:00AM - 4:00PM in THE RESIDENCE CENTER (Plymouth Dorm Lounge) 731 S. Plymouth Court (one block west of State St. and between Harrison & Polk. closest CTA stop: Harrison Red Line.)
Creative arts against war: THE BOMB & THE GENERAL
Anti-war street theater performance by students of columbia college. 11am on michigan avenue (between 600 & 624 s. michigan). various times and places on campus and around chicago. volunteers are needed on the day of the performance! please email us or just show up. ontheground@okcancel.org
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
http://nowar.quadrate.org
Walk Out -- with a Teach-in to be held from 2:30 to 4:30
(Check out the link -- this action is supported by many,
many instructors as well as many, many students)
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LAB SCHOOLS -- Student Strike!!
Walk Out -- Students from the University of Chicago Lab Schools will be joining students at the University of Chicago for a teach in at 2:30 and then join the convergence downtown
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
Professors will be bringing their classes to a teach-in from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm organized by Students for Social Justice.
(UIC is shutting down for three hours for the Teach-In according to Neighbors for Peace)
11am-2pm Cardinal Room (3rd floor above escalators) Chicago Circle Center (CCC) 750 S. Halstead
So far we've confirmed: Jeff Guntzel, from Voices in the Wilderness; Christine Boardman, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73; Rene Maxwell, from the Chicago Coalition to Protect Public Housing; Jaime Daniel, UIC Professor of English; David Ranney, retired UIC Professor in the Center for Urban Economic Development; a UIC student from the Phillipine Solidarity Committee; someone from the Palestine Solidarity Group; and Christine Geovanis, from Hammerhard Press and the Chicago Independent Media Center.
We're waiting to hear back from UIC Political Science professor Valerie Johnson, UIC English professor Betty Resnikoff, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson who was optimistic about speaking during our last communication on Friday
afternoon.
The teach-in will be moderated/facilitated by Eric Peters, UIC graduate student and a member of Students for Social Justice; Amy Schneidhorst, UIC graduate student and member of Students for Social Justice, and one other UIC student who we're awaiting confirmation from.
The teach-in will be followed by a Speak-Out, being organized by UIC No War, in the Lecture Center Plaza quad from 2-4pm.
UIC students, faculty, and staff will then join with the citywide convergence in Federal Plaza at 4:30pm. Hope to see you all there! It's really shaping up to be something extraordinary.
ELGIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Elgin Community College (main campus), Student Resource Center, 1700 Spartan Drive
Teach-In Speakers: Barry Romo, Vietnam Veterans Against the War; Aaron, Gulf War Veteran
Faculty: Bill Pelz, Dr. David Burke, Sr. Patricia O'Brien, Jackie Kaufman
OAK PARK RIVER FOREST HIGH SCHOOL
Walkout second period, speakers/poetry/music
EVANSTON TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL
Feb. 27, at a faculty meeting, the Superintendent of the high school, Dr. Alan Alson, informed the faculty of the upcoming walkout and sanctioned it by saying that the school will respect the students' 1st amendment rights
On Wednesday, March 5 when the intercom calls for the start of the pledge of allegiance (roughly 9:45AM), Evanston Township High School Students will walk out of class and march around the outside of their 3600 student school in protest against a war in Iraq. Youth for Social Action www.social-action.org and members of the Campus Anti-War Network organized the walkout and will lead the march with drums, megaphone, and a 12 foot banner reading "Money for Schools Not for War."
DePAUL UNIVERSITY
Vigil & Indoor Rally -- 11:30 to 1:30 Student
Center Atrium (the Student Center is at Kenmore & Belden)
Connecticut
Wethersfield, CT
Our group, Wethersfield CT Peace and Justice is sponsoring a WHITE RIBBONS FOR PEACE campaign in our high school....white ribbons will be made available to students and teachers so they can wear them on March 5th. Principal M. Moore suggested this as a nonviolent way to raise awareness with the hopes of stimulating dialogue in the classes, hallways, and kitchen tables of our townspeople.
Florida
Hi, my name is Bani Ogando
I live in Florida, I'm 15 (today) and I'm fasting for peace. I'm contacting you guys because I usually go to your sites, read your books, get your e-mail, whatever. I need your help. I need the media's attention, and I need you (being the media and all) to help me get the mainstream's attention. Help me please!
Georgia - Atlanta
Rice University
Hi, I wanted to put an event we're having on wednesday at Rice Univeristy
in Houston on your website list. Rice for Peace and Rice Students for
Progressive Activism are sponsoring a walk-out from class and a rally for
peace at 11:40 AM through lunch in the academic quad. Speakers include Dr.
Bob Buzzanco (from U of H), Dr. Alastair Norcross (Rice), Ben Ratner,
Hannah Hawk and members of the Rice Slam Poetry team. We will also be
selling green Rice for Peace t-shirts for $7. For more information,
contact: albrecht@rice.edu
Maine
Hi, My Name is Rose
I am 17 and I am an anti-war activist. I just received word on the march 5th "walk-out" since I would be in school, I think that making signs and walking out to the intersection of our school and the highway would be excellent. Since it is a little short notice, do you have any ideas as to how I could get the word out to a large number of students with out "ruining" the suprise? Sorry, suprise is a bad word, but if the administration found out they would definately try to stop it. I feel it is better to hit them with it as a suprise. I plan to call in the local news crews so I hope to get a large number of people in the community. Thanks!
Hoping to stop war peacfully, Rose
New York
Rally Outside Councilmember's Gioia's Office
There will be a rally outside Gioia's office Wednesday, March 5. (Gioia is on the cultural affairs committee and has opposed the anti-war resolution. His is a key vote!) His office is on the north side of Queens Blvd near 47th street. Call Anne Eagan if you have any questions at 718.482.0170.
The rally will start around 8:30 a.m. and will probably include a mock funeral. Flyers will be passed out at the subway.
Vigil for Peace at World Trade Center Site
12:00 Noon
Sponsored by WTC Witnesses United for Peace
Description: Were you near the WTC on Sept 11, 2001? Did you witness the destruction? Did the experience make you want world peace more than ever? If you too have pledged to stop a war that will make other people suffer as we have suffered, stand with WTC Witnesses United for Peace. Contact: wtcwup@hotmail.com
Cornell Univeristy, New York:
As a part of March 5th, we are publicizing the event as a strike from school, telling fellow students not to go to class, and having some professors cancel classes. We are holding a rally, a teach-in and a debate, as well as holding picket lines of students in front of major buildings.
EVENING CONVERGENCE, New York City:
WHAT: CANDLELIGHT MARCH FOR PEACE
WHEN: Wed., March 5, gather at 5:30PM
WHERE: Assemble at Hillary Clinton's office, 780 Third Ave. (47th & 48th)
BRING: Candles, signs and drums
Sponsored by: United for Peace and Justice NYC, NYC Forum of Concerned Religious Leaders, and Not in Our Name
We rallied on February 15 -- and NOW WE WILL MARCH IN PEACE to prevent this
war! Our march will be in conjunction with a national day of action,
including student actions taking place on over 300 campuses around the
country.
Senators Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer voted "yes" on the resolution to
send our country into war on Iraq. They must be held accountable! Let's show
them that New Yorkers say NO to war!
Join us for a legal candlelight march on the sidewalks of OUR city, led by
community, religious, political and labor leaders. We will begin outside
Hillary Clinton's office (780 Third Ave. @ 47th), proceed downtown past Chuck Schumer's office (757 Third Ave. @ 46th), and march peacefully from there to Washington Square Park for a candlelight vigil.
For more information, contact
Shirazny@aol.com or
Chomsky17@aol.com
Hunter College, New York City:
A Campus-Wide Teach-In on March 5, from 5-8 pm
Auditorium at Hunter College Brookdale Campus, 425 E 25th Street at 1st
Ave.
(Transit: M23 bus (East-West) or M15 (North, South) No. 6 train to 23rd Street at Park Avenue, walk East)
Sponsored by Concerned Hunter College Health Faculty, Students, and Staff
Topics:
Collateral Damage, Health, and the War in Iraq
The Effect of Sanctions Against Iraq
Current Debate on Smallpox Vaccinations
The Bush Admin., Reproductive Health, & Sexuality at Home & Abroad
Tax Cuts, Public Health Infrastructure, and Military Spending
Immigrants, Civil Rights, and Health
The Bush Administration and the Environment
Open Microphone-Reaction and Action
Speakers: Dr. Victor Sidel Co-Editor, War and Public Health, Distinguished University Professor of Social Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center; Dr. Ron Waldman, Director, Center for Forced Migration and Refugee Health and
recent visitor to Iraq, Columbia University School of Public Health; Ros
Petchesky, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Hunter
College, Dr. Nadia Marsh, Doctors and Nurses against War; Jeff Jones, Environmental Advocates and others.
For more information or flyers, contact: warandhealth@yahoo.com
Manhattanville College, Westchester, NY
We are having a teach-in on Student Strike day, here at Manhattanville College. We hope to have panels of faculty, students and it looks as if MP Paul Marsden will join us before going to some venue in Brooklyn. We will end with a candlelight vigil/march around the quad.
New York City:
Plan actions with your neighbors, your workmates, your organizations and
religious congregations. In the morning of March 5 we encourage people to
line sidewalks holding anti-war signs and banners and pass out anti-war
flyers at subway stops, military recruiting stations and other locations.
Several churches are planning special Ash Wednesday peace services. We also
encourage businesses and shops to close for the day or post No War signs.
Throughout the day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., flyers and sign-making materials
will be available at The Community Church, 40 East 35th st. (downstairs), between Park and Madison; and Judson Church, 55 Washington Square South. Come pick up flyers and hook up with others.
Drawn-In, New York City:
We invite artists and others around the world to gather on Moratorium
Day, March 5, in their local museums which exhibit ancient, near eastern
art. In New York, this action will take place from 9:30 to 5:30 in the Assyrian gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
We will respectfully draw with pencil on paper the art around
us, which was created as early as five thousand years ago in the land now
known as Iraq, where urban life and the written word originated.
Our goal is to call attention to all of the civilizations which have
flourished in Mesopotamia under so many names and cultures: Sumer,
Babylonia, Assyria, the Arab/Muslim Abbasid Empire and contemporary Iraq.
This is a peaceful vigil, made in protest against US foreign policy under
George W. Bush. If someone asks what we are doing, we will speak quietly
with them and explain our position, then continue to draw. We will keep in
mind the intention: to pay homage to this land, culture and people, which
our government is planning to destroy. We are deeply concerned about an
imminent threat to human life, and to the memory and history embedded
in all of Mesopotamia, modern Iraq.
Please spread the word to everyone you know anywhere who is an artist
or a lover of art! If this action takes place in other cities, please let
us know all about it, and if you have pictures, we would love to see them.
Note: The Metropolitan Museum of Art only allows us to draw with
pencil on paper, so don't bring pen and ink. You can use cameras, but
not flash. If the Near Eastern galleries are closed, we will convene in
the Islamic rooms.
Met Event Committee, Artists Against the War aawnion@hotmail.com
Williamsburgh, NY
Performances/Guest Speakers/Video Screenings
When: 2pm - 8pm
Where: Northsix located @ 66 N. 6th Street (Wythe & Kent) in Williamsburgh, BKLYN
Cover: Suggested Donation
Music & Vibes: Anti-Balas, Hangar 18 (Definitive Jux), Beans (Ozone), Magus (Magus NYC), Dj Rekha (Basement Bhangra), Dj Ras Kush (Black Redemption Sounds), Dj Ese (Definitive Jux)
Speakers: Maya (Not In Our Name), Amy Goodman (WBAI "Democracy Now!"), Benita Hussain (Viscera), Michael Ratner (Center for Constitutional Rights), Michael Smith (National Lawyers Guild)
Video Screenings by Off Center Productions & Rooftop Films
For more info: voiceyours.egenius.com
Supported by: Definitive Jux, GMP, Not In Our Name, Off Center Productions, Rooftop Films, Triple 5 Soul, Clamour Magazine, Egenius
Directions:
Subway: L train to Bedford ave. Walk west (towards Manhattan skyline) on North 6th Street 3 blocks.
Car from Manhattan: Get off at first exit on Williamsburg Bridge. Veer right and proceed down Broadway. At second traffic light, turn right onto Berry Street. Continue on Berry for 12 blocks. Take a left onto North 6th Street. Continue on North 6th for 2 blocks.
From West and South: Brooklyn-Queens Expressway East to Metropolitan Avenue exit. Take left at first traffic light. Immediately veer right at next traffic light onto North 6th Street. Continue on North 6th for 7 blocks.
From North: Brooklyn-Queens Expressway West to Metropolitan Avenue exit. After exiting, proceed 3 blocks and turn right onto North 6th Street. Continue on North 6th for 7 blocks.
SUNY-Oswego, NY
I am faculty advisor to SUNY-Oswego's student group, "People Opposing War." I wanted to announce that this group is encouraging a walkout from classes on March 5 and sponsoring a rally (Hewitt Union, Main Lounge, 11am-2pm). We join others in solidarity for peace and justice.
Upstate New York
The general idea is a day of guerilla theater. Enter classrooms during lectures, administrative offices, cafeterias (courage!), etc. and read a speech (about a minute long.) The basic idea of the speech is that you (or your group) are/is part of the Iraqi peace team and the place you are in is Iraq, and the audience you are addressing is Iraqi. The speech as we composed it is as follows. If you don't like any (or all!) of it, just change it!
"People of Iraq. As you know, you are in grave danger. The government of my country has amassed hundreds of thousands of troops on your shores and plans a massive military strike in the coming days or weeks. Many tens of thousands of you will most likely die. You will never see your assailants, since they will fly planes loaded with bombs and drop them on you from
tens of thousands of feet above the ground.
I am a member of a recently formed coalition called the Iraqi Peace Team. I am an American citizen and have come here with that coalition in the desperate hope that my government, valuing my life but not yours, will not bomb this location if they know that I am here. I will remain here come what may. If my government bombs you, I will die with you. I ask nothing in return. My sole aspiration is that my presence here may play some small role in saving your lives from the slaughter my government plans to bestow
upon you."
And then you walk out (shrowded, of course, in massive applause!)
Some further ideas we had were:
1. to read it in groups
2. to wear a strip of duct tape over our mouths and take it off right before we read and put it on afterwards.
3. record the whole thing on a boombox (buy one from walmart in the morning and take it back at night -- save the receipt!)and just play it to the class/office, etc. You could add a line at the beginning for dramatic effect like: "I do not speak your language so have had my message translated and recorded for you. People of Iraq..."
I guess the basic idea is that, when you address someone as someone else (i.e. address non-Iraqi students/workers/bus riders... as Iraqis), to some extent, however slight, they believe it. So perhaps this could provoke some kind of imagining of what it would be like to be about to be bombed...
Well, whatever you do, good luck tomorrow!
CITYWIDE RESISISTANCE FESTIVAL (w/music
& poetry)
7:30 p.m. at Cathedral of St John the Divine.
Info: 212-477-0351, religiousforum@hotmail.com 626-683-9004, icujp@pacbell.net
INT'L DAY OF POETRY AGAINST THE WAR.
7:30 p.m. Open reading for pro-peace poets.
At Bkln Ethical Culture 53 Prospect Pk West & 2nd St.
Info & Updates: 646 473-8935, 212-969-8058, www.unitedforpeace.org, www.nyspc.net,
www.notinourname.net
THE COLORS OF THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT
7:30 p.m. Leading Experiences in Organizing with:
Bhairavi Desai (Taxi Workers Alliance), Larry Hamm (Peoples Organization for Progress) & others TBA.
At Brecht Forum, 122 W 27th St, 10 fl. $6/$8/$10 donation.
Info: 212-242-4201, info@brechtforum.org
Ohio
Adelphi University
Hello, My name is Cristen Bradshaw and I am one of the organizers for the Books not Bombs campaign at Adelphi University. We are currently in a discussion about the economic ramifications of the war and it is going very well. The students on this campus are extremly interested in what is going on and are having a heated debate as we speak. We are going to be here until 5 pm and then are having a candle light vigil at 6pm. Just wanted to give you an update.
Northeast Ohio
Here is a list of some of the activities designed and organized by creative
and determined people in Northeast Ohio. You can join in any of these, or
plan your own.
We will have a live phone line open on Wednesday, March 5 from 6:30 am to 6:30 pm. 216-431-6070. Call in to hook up with activities throughout the day and report in on how your action went. And don't forget to take
pictures! You can also get a complete schedule of activities at
www.geocities.com/nion_cleveland
East Side morning:
6:30 am:
Banner Hangings at 6 locations! Meet at Amy Joy Donuts at Mayfield & Richmond
7:00 am:
Hold signs at the following intersections:
*Lee & Harvard (meet at 6:30 am at Burger King)
*Cedar & Fairmount
*Fairmount & Warrensville
*Mayfield & Warrensville
*Richmond & Cedar
*Richmond & Chagrin
West Side morning:
Banner hangings:
*6:40am at W. 117th & I-90
*7am at Clark & W. 14th
7:00 am:
Hold signs at the following intersections:
*Clark & W. 14th
*Clifton & Baltic
*Fulton & Denison
*Lorain & W. 44
11:00 am:
West Side Market, signs & leafletting
Noon:
*CWRU student Walkout, meet at Baker Building, Adelbert & Euclid
*Akron action--gather at Unitarian Universalist Church, 3300 Morewood Rd,
Fairlawn, then March to Summit Mall for Vigil
*gatherings at Old Arcade & Tower City
1pm:
Youth protest at Lakewood Armed Forces Recruiting Station, 15608 Detroit
3pm:
*Youth Convergence on Public Square (all welcome!)
Late afternoon:
*Convergence on Senator Voinovich's downtown office
*freeway bannering on the innerbelt
4pm:
Ash Wednesday Mass At the Sisters of St Joseph, followed by Peace Vigil,
3430 Rocky River Dr. near Kamm's Corners
7pm:
*Blue Triangle Network Solidarity Night, Algebra Teahouse 2136 Murray Hill
Rd
*Teach-In "Why War With Iraq?" Cleveland Heights Library on Lee Rd.
Pennsylvania
Numerous Events in Philadelphia
* Cultural Event 10:00 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. - Art Museum
* Temple Rally (at Bell Tower on campus) 12 Noon March to City Hall by 1:00 p.m.
* U of Arts Rally 12:00 Noon
* UPenn Rally Begins at 2:40 p.m. to march to City Hall by 4:00 p.m. (unaware of meeting place)
* Massive Convergence 4:00 PM City Hall
* Film Screening of documentary “Jenin, Jenin” at the International House (37th and Chestnut) 6:30 P.M
Washington State
Seattle, WA - CONVERGENCE & RALLY
2:00 P.M., WESTLAKE PARK (4th & Pine, downtown Seattle)
Co-Sponsored by Not In Our Name & Muslim Student Association Northwest.
Endorsed by Eastside Fellowship of Reconciliation, No War Against Iraq Coalition & Seattle A.N.S.W.E.R.
We encourage sign-holding at NOON and 5PM at WESTLAKE and call on all neighborhood groups to gather at their chosen NEIGHBORHOOD LOCATIONS for sign-holding at 5-6:30PM.
Local Contact: Not In Our Name Project-Seattle, seattle_notinourname@hotmail.com, 206-322-3813
Seattle, WA
United Students for Higher Education, Students Initiating Democracy in Education, Students for Fair Trade, the City Wide Student Anti-War Coalition are all endorsing and actively organizing for March 5th. We are organizing a walkout/march starting at SCCC, to downtown Seattle.
Washington State
Hello. My name is _____ and I was recently turned on to your website by a band called Anti-Flag. I am very opposed to this war. I have just been assigned to write an editorial in my school's newspaper about it. I have also took it upon myself to organize a student walkout on March 5. I
am trying to get as many people to join me in walking across the street
from my school and staying there protesting with signs. Thank you for making this website and letting the public know about these events. I am in the 8th grade attending Kilo Jr. High in Federal Way, Washington. I want people to know that youth have their own opinions and are not afraid to stand up for what they believe in.
Federal Way, Washington
Walk Out organized by an 8th grader at Kilo Jr. High school. This student reported: "I'm very opposed to this war. I hae just been assigned to write an editorial in my school's newspaper about it. I also took it upon myself to organize a student walkout on March 5th. Join me in walking across the street and staying there with protest signs. I want people to know that youth have their own opinions and are not afraid to stand up for what they believe in."
City-Wide Student-Led Walkout
And march being organized by Students for Fair Trade, United Students for Higher Education, Students Initiating Democracy in Education. Starts around 1pm, will hook up with the rally at Westlake in downtown Seattle.
Shoreline Community College
Anti-war students staging teach-ins and a walkout. Shoreline is a suburb in north Seattle, very multi-national student body.
The Evergreen State College
Is planning activities from 10am to midnight in support of the call from NION for the March 5th Moratorium. They will have a Peace Encampment, performances throughout the day, and student discussions, networking and strategizing. Sponsored by: SESAME (Students Educating Students About the Middle East); LASO (Latin American Solidarity Organization); UFP-TC:
(United for Peace- Thurston County) For more Info: (360) 867-6196 (TESC is located in Olympia, Washington - about 2 hours south of Seattle. This is the college where Mumia Abu-Jamal gave a commencement speech several years ago.)
Wisconsin
From Kickapoo Region
STUDENT WALK-OUT, March 5, 10:00 a.m. Assemble at the Vernon County Court House
10:00-11:00 a.m.- Speakers: Leah George, Guy Wolf, Joe Kensok and others
11:00-12:00 p.m. - Open Mic
12:00-12:30 p.m. - March to the Post Office
ALL are invited to join the students
POTLUCK/DISCUSSION with Jim Satterwhite
Sponsored by Kickapoo NION and the Kickapoo Friends Meeting (Quakers)
Kickapoo Exchange Food Co-op Community room - Gays Mills, 5:30 pm
Potluck followed by a discussion of the day's Moratorium activities (individual and collective) and what the next phase of conscience and resistance means to us (individually and collectively).
[Jim Satterwhite is a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams, an ecumenical initiative to support violence-reduction efforts around the world. He will be in the area to open a Friends-sponsored lecture series at the good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Viroqua the next night (March 6).]
Madison, Wisconsin
NION activists are planning big banners for March 5th, one of which will be hung on an overpass over the main thoroughfare by UW campus.
Everyone from Everywhere
A Teacher
Please add my name to your list. I plan to not work that day (I'm a teacher), and to encourage others to do the same.
Christian Fellowship
I have long wanted to see someone sponsor such a day as this. When we
can realize we can do it successfully, then we can do it again for other
causes. I am working on creating an activity at our local Christian fellowship. Thank you for doing this!
For more information contact:
Moratorium Committee
moratorium2003@yahoo.com
* 1-866-54NOWAR
www.moratoriumtostopwar.org
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