[Peace] Fwd: Tens of thousands March on the Pentagon!

[Morton K. Brussel]

A report on the protests, in Washington and elsewhere this weekend,  
and attempts by the police to hinder the gathering.

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition" <ANSWER at InternationalANSWER.org>
> Date: March 18, 2007 7:31:12 PM CDT
> To: brussel4 at insightbb.com
> Subject: Tens of thousands March on the Pentagon!
> Reply-To: "A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition" <ANSWER at InternationalANSWER.org>
>
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> Tens of Thousands March on the Pentagon
> Riot Police Block Buses and Deny Access to People Coming to the  
> Demonstration
>
>
> On the way to the Pentagon, March 17
>
> Congratulations to everyone who made it through the snow and  
> freezing rain to get to Washington and join together in the tens of  
> thousands and March on the Pentagon!
>
> Led by a contingent of Iraq war veterans, active-duty service- 
> members, Gold Star families, and veterans from other past and  
> present wars, the demonstration received a large amount of media  
> coverage. CNN has featured the demonstration, which the report  
> described as a march of tens of thousands, in its rotation since  
> yesterday. The major French newspaper, Le Monde, ran a significant  
> article under the headline, "More than 50,000 People Protest  
> Against the War in Iraq," about the March on the Pentagon as the  
> U.S. component of the world-wide protests marking the beginning of  
> the fifth year of the war against Iraq. The rally was broadcast  
> live on C-span and Al-Jazeera and received wide-spread media  
> coverage. C-span will be replaying the rally, checkhttp:// 
> www.cspan.org/ for times.
>
> The March on the Pentagon was not a solitary action but one of more  
> than 1,000 protests that will take place in the U.S. between March  
> 17 and March 20. In Los Angeles, the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition called  
> a demonstration that drew 50,000. Maxine Waters was one of many  
> speakers and music was provided by renowned Ozomatli, Jackson  
> Browne and Ben Harper.
>
> The ANSWER demonstration on March 18 in San Francisco drew 40,000  
> protesters and filled 15 blocks of Market Street, a six-lane avenue.
>
> The March on the Pentagon took place the day after a severe winter  
> snow and sleet storm suddenly hit northeastern states that  
> prevented many buses from traveling, 700 fights from taking off,  
> and thousands of cars from reaching the March. Motorists were  
> advised throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic region to stay  
> off the road. The large turnout at the demonstration was all the  
> more significant given the hardships people had to endure to  
> participate in the activity. People marched to the Pentagon and  
> stayed as long as they could braving 20 mile-an-hour winds and a  
> windchill factor into the teens.
>
>
> The front banner for the March on the Pentagon
>
> A great thank you is owed to the committed volunteers who endured a  
> torrential downpour of freezing rain though Friday night to help  
> set up the assembly and rally sites. People stayed overnight with  
> the equipment and then began working again at 5:00 am in complete  
> darkness. The assembly area had become a lake on March 16 and  
> filled with mud by the time the march stepped off. The windchill in  
> the early hours was not far above zero.  At the rally site the  
> large tents and canopies blew down. Volunteers continued to work  
> long hours after the rally ended to take-down, pack, clean the  
> entire area and unload trucks. The anti-war movement is growing  
> both numerically and its organizational capability and the tireless  
> work of volunteers forms the core of this success.
>
> The lead banner of the march demanding US Out of Iraq Now was  
> carried by Cindy Sheehan, Cynthia McKinney, Jonathan Hutto co- 
> founder of Appeal for Redress, Mahdi Bray, Executive Director of  
> the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, Salt Lake City  
> Mayor Rocky Anderson and youth and students in the anti-war movement.
>
> Pentagon Prevents Immortal Technique and Others from Joining the Rally
>
>
> Police at the March on the Pentagon
>
> The Pentagon and Virginia State Police, many clad in riot gear,  
> wearing gas masks and wielding batons, blocked people coming from  
> the subway/metro who wanted to attend the demonstration. They also  
> blocked buses from accessing the Pentagon in contravention of the  
> agreements reached in the permit. This required people to walk  
> nearly two miles to get to their buses following the rally.
>
> Many people who came to the rally after it had begun - some who had  
> seen the huge march at a distance as it crossed over the Memorial  
> Bridge across the roadways and wanted to then join the activity -  
> were blocked by the Pentagon and the police from entering the rally  
> site through a maze of misdirection, road closures and threats of  
> arrest at multiple different locations. The ANSWER Coalition worked  
> to get people in, and ANSWER organizers and our attorneys went to  
> the site of sudden police confrontations and shutdowns, but many  
> people were still unable to get in including the hip-hop artist  
> Immortal Technique who was scheduled to perform.
>
> Like so many other people, the hip-hop artist Immortal Technique's  
> travel plans to get to the demonstration, seemed so daunting as to  
> be virtually impossible. But due to his determination and his  
> resourcefulness, he found a way to overcome cancelled flights and  
> frozen roads. Although he rebooked flights in order to land in  
> North Carolina, personally rented a car and drove it to Washington,  
> D.C., the Pentagon and law enforcement blocked him from coming into  
> the rally where he was going to perform. We urge everyone to read  
> Immortal Technique's compelling account -- which is both a  
> narrative and a political commentary. Immortal Technique's message  
> below should be read and circulated to your e-mail address book and  
> to e-mail lists everywhere.
>
> Message from Immortal Technique:
>
> "First and foremost I would like to congratulate the organizers of  
> ANSWER and in specific Brian, Amelia, Peta, and Sarah and the many  
> others who reached out to me and who I saw make a powerful  
> statement today. I am not a big fan of marches and rallies because  
> I have always believed that the system must be attacked  
> economically above all. But, if coordinated well, they can effect  
> change and remind people that this war is still costing lives and  
> no matter who the father of Anna Nicole's Baby is or who wins the  
> next season of American Idol or what new song is on the radio,  
> people are dying, both from this country and in massive numbers in  
> the Iraqi Civil War. March 17th, even with all the problems we  
> faced, was a success in reminding people of the insurmountable  
> evidence of corruption, self righteous moral depravity, and  
> dishonesty present within our government... Because we have issue  
> with the administration we should not be painted as people who  
> despise their country. If I am not pleased with a book I read or a  
> movie I watch that doesn't mean I hate the concept of film in  
> general or that I take issue with printed literature on a whole.  
> The administration presently tries to attach itself to the idea of  
> America as if they were the far right standard by which all should  
> be judged by as Americans. This White House after all just concerns  
> itself with the well being of its stock holders, make-shift  
> praetorian guard of politicians and political contributors. Click  
> to see the rest of Immortal Technique's message.
>
>
> A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
> http://www.answercoalition.org/
> info at internationalanswer.org
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