Over 180 Pictures from 125 Protests around the World on February 15/16, 2003
http://www.punchdown.org/rvb/F15/
Another group of Protest Pictures
 http://www.hyperreal.org/~dana/
 
 

"Seniors for Peace" Peace March Experiences Date:       Mon, 17 Feb 2003 20:05:20 -0800 From:     lynda  <lynda7711@ > Ho Tomas, Didn't go to the whole March, rather went on a bus with Marilla, Lewis and the crowd from the Redwoods, who by the way, have been having peace demonstrations every Friday for the past several weeks... each of those demonstrations has rallied more people. Last week Frieda Engel (Lew's mother) said there were 150.  They had all gotten together and had made signs, and someone donated a bus so as many as wanted could go. The turnout was good and there were a few teenagers as well as one munchkin about 6 years old in the group.  Marilla brought her guitar and we all sang peace and freedom songs on the way over. The bus driver was great - very enthusiastic about the cause and being able to help the elders get there. We parked near the Civic Center and walked a couple of blocks so that we were standing at the intersection where all the Marchers approached the rally site.  I don't know if you can picture this, but there was Frieda and a friend of hers - Frieda had brought her walker which has a seat. Both of them had signs on - Frieda's said "Seniors for Peace".  Her friend was sitting on the walker seat and Frieda was standing behind with her sign draped over her chest, an American flag in her hand, a big patch over one eye (which she has now lost and will be having surgery on it to remove it later this month) and she was in her glory. She's been demonstrating and a serious activist for peace for her whole life.  Just about everyone who approached that intersection who had a camera took their picture. She must have had dozens of pictures taken.  I'm sure someday a picure of her will show up in some anthology. Where we stood there was a great spirit, people of all ages, colors, and walks of life and it was peaceful. We really couldn't make out what was being said at the rally, eventhough we were close - the sound is so difficult, but we talked to a lot of people and read all the signs.  We were very encouraged by the huge turnout around the world that had occurred on Saturday - it's really something how people are showing up. We spent several hours and then returned to our bus, somewhat tired, but fulfilled, especially for the honor of having been with the elders who shared our commitment to the cause.  We resumed singing songs like "Imagine" when the driver approached our home destination, we kicked in with a round of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow". It's the kind of day all our generations should have together regularly without this horrible threatening danger hovering in order to incent us, but that being said, it was wonderful coming together. May there be peace and love between all peoples. Love, Lynda

A letter to the London Observer  from Terry Jones (ex Monty Python). I'm really excited by George Bush's latest reason for bombing Iraq: he'srunning out of patience. And so am I! For some time now I've been really pissed off with Mr Johnson, who lives a couple of doors down the street.  Well, him and Mr Patel, who runs the health food shop. They both give me queer looks, and I'm sure Mr Johnson is planning something nasty for me, but so far I haven't been able to discover what.  I've been round to his place a few times to see what he's up to, but he's got everything well hidden. That's how devious he is. As for Mr Patel, don't ask me how I know, I just know - from very good sources - that he is, in reality, a Mass Murderer. I have leafleted the street telling them that if we don't act first, he'll pick us off one by one. Some of my neighbours say, if I've got proof, why don't I go to the police? But that's simply ridiculous. The police will say that they need evidence of a crime with which to charge my neighbours. They'll come up with endless red tape and quibbling about the rights and wrongs of a pre-emptive strike and all the while Mr Johnson will be finalising his plans to do terrible things to me, while Mr Patel will be secretly murdering people.  Since I'm the only one in the street with a decent range of automatic firearms, I reckon it's up to me to keep the peace. But until recently that's been a little difficult. Now, however, George W. Bush has made it clear that all I need to do is run out of patience, and then I can wade in and do whatever I want! And let's face it, Mr Bush's carefully thought-out policy towards Iraq is the only way to bring about international peace and security. The one certain way to stop Muslim fundamentalist suicide bombers targeting the US or the UK is to bomb a few Muslim countries that have never threatened us.  That's why I want to blow up Mr Johnson's garage and kill his wife and children. Strike first! That'll teach him a lesson. Then he'll leave us in peace and stop peering at me in that totally unacceptable way.  Mr Bush makes it clear that all he needs to know before bombing Iraq is that Saddam is a really nasty man and that he has weapons of mass destruction - even if no one can find them. I'm certain I've just as much justification for killing Mr Johnson's wife and children as Mr Bush has for bombing Iraq. Mr Bush's long-term aim is to make the world a safer place by eliminating 'rogue states' and 'terrorism'. It's such a clever long-term aim because how can you ever know when you've achieved it? How will Mr Bush know when he's wiped out all terrorists? When every single terrorist is dead? But then a terrorist is only a terrorist once he's committed an act of terror. What about would-be terrorists? These are the ones you really want to eliminate, since most of the known terrorists, being suicide bombers, have already eliminated themselves.  Perhaps Mr Bush needs to wipe out everyone who could possibly be a future terrorist? Maybe he can't be sure he's achieved his objective until every Muslim fundamentalist is dead? But then some moderate Muslims might convert to fundamentalism. Maybe the only really safe thing to do would be for Mr Bush to eliminate all Muslims? It's the same in my street. Mr Johnson and Mr Patel are just the tip of the iceberg. There are dozens of other people in the street who I don't like and who - quite frankly - look at me in odd ways. No one will be really safe until I've wiped them all out. My wife says I might be going too far but I tell her I'm simply using the same logic as the President of the United States. That shuts her up.  Like Mr Bush, I've run out of patience, and if that's a good enough reason for the President, it's good enough for me. I'm going to give the whole street two weeks - no, 10 days - to come out in the open and hand over all aliens and interplanetary hijackers, galactic outlaws and interstellar terrorist masterminds, and if they don't hand them over nicely and say 'Thank you', I'm going to bomb the entire street to kingdom come. It's just as sane as what George W. Bush is proposing - and, in contrast to what he's intending, my policy will destroy only one street.

 

THE GRINCH REVISITED    (with thanks to Dr. Seuss)    (C)2002 Doug Goodkin   The Whos down in Whoville liked this country a lot,    But the Grinch in the White House most certainly did not.    He didn't arrive there by the will of the Whos,    But stole the election that he really did lose.    Vowed to "rule from the middle,"    then installed his regime.    (Did this really happen    or is it just a bad dream?)    He didn't listen to voters,    just his friends he was pleasin'    Now, please don't ask why,    no one quite knows the reason.    It could be his heart wasn't working just right.    It could be, perhaps, that he wasn't too bright.    But I think that the most likely reason of all,    Is that both brain and heart were two sizes too small.    In times of great turmoil, this was bad news,    To have a government that ignores its Whos.    But the Whos shrugged their shoulders, went on with their work,     Their duties as citizens so casually did shirk.     They shopped at the mall and watched their T.V.     They drove their gas guzzling big S.U.V.    Oblivious to what was going on in D.C.    Ignoring the threats to democracy.    They read the same papers that ran the same leads,    Reporting what only served corporate needs.    (For the policies affecting the lives of all nations    Were made by the giant U.S. Corporations.)    Big business grew fatter, fed by its own greed,    And by people who shopped for the things they didn't need.    But amidst all the apathy came signs of unrest,    The Whos came to see we were fouling our nest.    And the people who cared for the ideals of this nation    Began to discuss and exchange information.    The things they couldn't read in the corporate-owned news    Of FTAA meetings and CIA coups.    Of drilling for oil and restricting rights.    They published some books, created Websites    Began to write letters and use their e-mail    (Though Homeland Security might send them to jail!)    What began as a whisper soon grew to a roar,    These things going on they could no longer ignore.    They started to rise up and fight City Hall    Let their voices be heard, they rose to the call,    To vote, to petition, to gather, dissent,    To question the policies of the "President."    As greed gained in power and power knew no shame    The Whos came together, sang "Not in our name!"    One by one from their sleep and their slumber they woke    The old and the young, all kinds of folk,    The black, brown and white, the gay, bi- and straight,    All united to sing, "Feed our hope, not our hate!    Stop stockpiling weapons and aiming for war!    Stop feeding the rich, start feeding the poor!    Stop storming the deserts to fuel SUV's!    Stop telling us lies on the mainstream T.V.'s!    Stop treating our children as a market to sack!    Stop feeding them Barney, Barbie and Big Mac!    Stop trying to addict them to lifelong consuming,    In a time when severe global warming is looming!    Stop sanctions that are killing the kids in Iraq!    Start dealing with ours that are strung out on crack!"    A mighty sound started to rise and to grow,    "The old way of thinking simply must go!    Enough of God versus Allah, Muslim vs. Jew    With what lies ahead, it simply won't do.    No American dream that cares only for wealth    Ignoring the need for community health.    The rivers and forests are demanding their pay,    If we're to survive, we must walk a new way.    No more excessive and mindless consumption    Let's sharpen our minds and garner our gumption.    For the ideas are simple, but the practice is hard,    And not to be won by a poem on a card.    It needs the ideas and the acts of each Who,    So let's get together and plan what to do!"    And so they all gathered from all 'round the Earth    And from it all came a miraculous birth.    The hearts and the minds of the Whos they did grow,    Three sizes to fit what they felt and they know.    While the Grinches they shrank from their hate and their greed,    Bearing the weight of their every foul deed.    From that day onward the standard of wealth,    Was whatever fed the Whos' spiritual health.    They gathered together to revel and feast,    And thanked all who worked to conquer their beast.    For although our story pits Grinches 'gainst Whos,    The true battle lies in what we daily choose.    For inside each Grinch is a tiny small Who,    And inside each Who is a tiny Grinch too.    One thrives on love and one thrives on greed.    Who will win out? It depends who you feed!

A Village in Texas Has Lost its Idiot Subject:    FW: protest signs  Date:          Mon, 17 Feb 2003 14:15:30 -0800  From:        "Lexi R...."  For those of you who weren't able to attend  - - or bravely battled the weather in other places that actually have winters - bit of humor: below you'll find a smattering of slogans on signs at the huge peace rally/war protest in SF yesterday.  A bit of humor goes a long way in these desperate times. The creativity and ingenuity of people attending - not just posters, but costumes, paper maiche figures, skits etc. is as uplifting as being with such a wealth of diverse, like minded and peaceful folks. Bush is Proof Empty Warheads Can Be Dangerous A Wartime Budget Leaves Every Child Behind Drunken Frat Boy Cowboy Drives Country into Ditch, Starts War for Coverup This War Brought to You by the Letter Dubya (with a picture of Big Bird) George, Get Sober NOW! Bad Plan, Dude! Bush is Old Texas Whoa, Cowboy Stop Mad Cowboy Disease Axle of Evil (with a picture of an SUV) How Did Our Oil Get Under Their Sand? How Many Lives Per Gallon? Draft SUV Drivers First I Asked for Universal Health Care and All I Got Was a Lousy Stealth Bomber I'd Just Like an Ordinary Spring We Want Smart People, Not Smart Bombs Little Minds Make Big Wars Make Hydrogen, Not War Choke on This   (under a picture of a peace-sign-shaped pretzel) Have Another Pretzel Fighting for Peace Is Like Fucking for Virginity Give Brains a Chance Remember when Presidents Were Smart and Bombs Were Dumb? Bush Can't Even Find the Problem, Much Less Fix It And You Thought He Was Pro-Life? Saddam and George: Use Your Words Peace is an Active Verb Nice People Against Icky Stuff If You're Not Outraged, You're Not Paying Attention They're Selling War, We're Not Buying What Would Gandhi Do? I Love My Country, I'm Ashamed of My Government Support Our Troops, Bring Them Home The World Is My Country Regime Change Begins at Home Duct and Cover You Can Only Bomb to Pieces, Not to Peace Impeach the Global Village Idiot War Begins with Dubya Military Intelligence Isn't Earth to Bush: No War

 

Wage Peace Judyth Hill   Wage peace with your breath.   Breathe in firemen and rubble,    breathe out whole buildings    and flocks of redwing blackbirds.    Breathe in terrorists and breathe out sleeping children    and freshly mown fields.    Breathe in confusion and breathe out maple trees.    Breathe in the fallen    and breathe out lifelong friendships intact.    Wage peace with your listening:    hearing sirens, pray loud.    Remember your tools:    flower seeds, clothes pins, clean rivers.    Make soup.    Play music,    learn the word for thank you in three languages.    Learn to knit, and make a hat.    Think of chaos as dancing raspberries,    imagine grief as the outbreath of beauty    or the gesture of fish.    Swim for the other side.    Wage peace.    Never has the world seemed so fresh and precious.    have a cup of tea and rejoice.    Act as if armistice has already arrived.    Don't wait another minute.  ©Judyth Hill (not Mary Oliver?)  "You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake." Jeanette Rankin (1880-1973) First woman elected to US Congress

Which Path? TOOLS FOR PEACE $$$$ TOOLS FOR WAR 11 Blankets for refugees $100 11 hand grenades 3-day training for 160 youth in peace building $4,000 1 rocket launcher Enroll 2 children in Head Start $14,000 1 cluster bomb 2 home health aides for disabled elderly $40,000 1 Hellfire missile  Associate Degree training for 29 RNs $145,600 1 Bunker-buster guided bomb Rent subsidies for 1,000 families $586,000 1,000 M-16 Rifles Annual salary/benefits for 15 RNs $763,000 1 minute war in Iraq Improve, repair, modernize 20 schools $46 million 1 hour war on Iraq WIC program nutrition for 200,000 families $130 million 7 unmanned Predator drones Eradicate polio worldwide $275 million 3 tests of missile defense system Best vaccinations for 10 million children worldwide $350 million 6 Trident II missiles Childcare for 68,000 needy children $413 million Amphibious Warfare Landing Ship Program 7,000 units of affordable housing $494 million 1 year military aid to Colombia Prevent cuts to education programs (FY2003) $1.1 billion 1 day of war on Iraq Minimum support to save Amtrak train service $1.2 billion 2 months U.S. war force in Afghanistan Annual salary/benefits for 38,000 elementary teachers $2.1 billion 1 Stealth bomber Double federal funding for mass transit $12 billion 1 year cost of war in Afghanistan (2001/2002) Healthcare coverage for 7 million children $16 billion 1 year nuclear weapons program Save 11 million lives worldwide fighting infectious diseases $38 billion 1 month U.S. current military spending

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