[Peace] The Tide is Turning - - Seize the Moment! (fwd)

[patton paul]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: SUN, 12 JAN 2003 19:38:32 -0400
From: VoteNoWar at InternationalAnswer.org
Reply-To: Info at VoteNoWar.org
To: ppatton at uiuc.edu
Subject: The Tide is Turning - - Seize the Moment!

"With the U.S. government moving closer to war with Iraq,
thousands of demonstrators, some pushing strollers and
walking dogs, took to the streets of downtown Los Angeles
Saturday to voice their protest," begins Saturday's
Associated Press dispatch (January 11, 2003).

"'Here, take a picture of my sons' first protest,' Maria
Negrete, 27, goaded relatives as waves of people streamed by
in a festival-like atmosphere.

"A mother of three small children, Negrete echoed the views
of many accidental activists who said although a war with
Iraq might be inevitable, they weren't going to sit back
without a nonviolent fight.

"'There are going to be children like mine who will die for
oil, which I think is crazy, stupid and dumb,' Negrete said.
'So I brought my sons, who are just as beautiful as any in
Iraq.'" (Excerpts from the rest of the article are below.)

It is obvious from the demonstration yesterday in Los
Angeles, and other mounting world-wide protest, that our
actions now can be decisive in stopping this war from
happening. A convergence of powerful opposition is causing
the tide to turn.

The Bush juggernaut towards war is being confronted by its
first major obstacle in the form of massive popular
opposition to the war drive that is forcing foreign
governments to alter their public support for the Bush
Administration's plans.

If we seize the moment the people of the U.S. can be the
most potent deterrent to war. We must change the political
climate in the United States by making mass anti-war
sentiment visible and vocal with a physical presence and
force that cannot be ignored.

Our movement is growing rapidly and in addition to the hard
work of thousands of volunteers this could not be happening
without the generous financial contributions of many of you.
You can make a tax deductible contribution to support the
anti-war movement either online by credit card or by mailing
a check, by going to http://www.VoteNoWar.org/donate.html
now.

With the clock ticking towards the January 27 inspectors'
report to the U.N., and under extreme pressure from the
anti-war movement in Europe, Britain and France have this
week publicly told the administration that they are not
ready to support an attack on Iraq. A poll out late last
week reported that 77% of the French oppose an attack on
Iraq. (AP dispatch January 9, 2003). The Turkish government,
confronted by nationwide opposition to a U.S. war, is
fearing the political consequences of allowing the U.S. to
use Turkey as a staging ground for an invasion from the
North.

Next Saturday, January 18th tens of thousands of people
will take to the streets of Washington, D.C. and San
Francisco to stop the Bush Administration, demanding No War
Against Iraq. If you haven't purchased a bus ticket, please
contact your local organizing center. If you are planning on
coming but haven't talked to your friends and neighbors
about coming with you, now is the time to do so.

- - For a downloadable Jan 18th flyer in pdf format, visit
http://www.internationalanswer.org/pdf/0118natl.pdf .
- - For your local organizing center, or to find bus
transportation, visit http://www.internationalanswer.
org/campaigns/j18/j18contacts.html#transp .

We want to thank all who have been volunteering -- from
organizing busses and car caravans, to handing out leaflets,
to collecting signatures on the People's Anti-War Referendum.
And to those who have been able to make a donation to
support this work, thank you - your dollars are making these
demonstrations happen. If you haven't contributed we ask for
your support to help make these upcoming actions successful.
To make a tax deductible contribution click please goto http:
//VoteNoWar.org/donate.html. If you have contributed, we
are asking you to help again if at all possible.



Thousands in LA Protest Possible War
Sat Jan 11, 754 PM ET

By SANDRA MARQUEZ, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES - With the U.S. government moving closer to war
with Iraq, thousands of demonstrators, some pushing
strollers and walking dogs, took to the streets of downtown
Los Angeles Saturday to voice their protest.

"Here, take a picture of my sons' first protest," Maria
Negrete, 27, goaded relatives as waves of people streamed by
in a festival-like atmosphere.

A mother of three small children, Negrete echoed the views
of many accidental activists who said although a war with
Iraq might be inevitable, they weren't going to sit back
without a nonviolent fight.

"There are going to be children like mine who will die for
oil, which I think is crazy, stupid and dumb," Negrete said.
"So I brought my sons, who are just as beautiful as any in
Iraq."

The demonstration came a day after the Bush administration
issued a massive deployment order to send about 35,000 new
troops to the Persian Gulf region. Famed Vietnam War veteran
Ron Kovic, who uses a wheelchair, led the protesters.

Others lending their celebrity to the cause included Martin
Sheen, star of NBC's "West Wing," and pop singer Jackson
Browne. ...

Kovic, whose autobiography "Born on the Fourth of July,"
was made into a movie, predicted the protest would mark the
start of "one of the greatest anti-war movements in the
history of the United States."

Additional demonstrations, timed to coincide with the
upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, are
scheduled to take place in San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
, next Saturday.

"I and others are entering a deployment order for citizens
of this country to go to the streets and to protest in mass,
" Kovic said.

Standing nearby, retired school teacher Bill Payne, 65,
said he had not participated in anti-war protests during the
Vietnam era. But his feelings about activism changed over
the years, prompting him to drive two hours from his home in
Yucaipa.

"I don't want to see any kids killed. That's it. That's all
there is to it," he said. "No kids in Iraq killed, no kids
any place killed."

But he said the U.S. war machine might be unstoppable.

"I am sure that (President Bush) is going to start his war
anyway," he said. "I hope that he is getting stronger and
stronger messages all the time that there are more and more
people who really don't want this thing to happen."

Many of the signs at the protest appeared to be directed at
the president.

"Mr. Bush, don't repeat your daddy's mistakes," read one.

"Bush is the real terrorist," said another.

"Bush, we are not your cattle," read a piece of white cloth
hanging from a green rake.

Oscar Sanchez, an art student from El Salvador, found a
creative way to express his dissent and belief that the
conflict was being driven by oil.

Trailing behind his bicycle was a large military tank made
of cardboard.

The names of two oil companies and the words "Just Married"
were emblazoned on the make-believe military craft.

"By making it out of cardboard, I am showing that it can be
discarded," Sanchez said.

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