This is ridiculous. How can a group claiming to be targetting global (economic) inequality *not* stand in clear and visible opposition to the coming onslaught on Iraq? the economic motives beind the war are clear-- as are the political ones-- which, not by coincidence, resemble those of the IMF, WB, and other US global institutions/policy: namely, the control of a country which posesses a sizeable population and immense water and oil resources. exploitable people, water, and oil- how is this not related to global capitalism? I wouldn't be surprised if one of the signs of "democracy" in the post-saddam iraq is a nike sweatshop. then will the summit hoppers jump on the bandwagon? i'm not an expert on the "mob glob"-- although i've heard that it's full of sectarians like the ISO and reformist NGO-types. but to not oppose the war at a time like this is insane. as citizens of the empire we bear a tremendous responsibility for the coming travesty in Iraq.
And what the hell is a "pro-war activist concerned with global inequality?"
where have you met such strange specimens?
yes, the lives at stake in the AIDS pandemic in Africa, or in global poverty in general, are far more, quantitatively, than those at stake in Iraq. But are you interested in the "quantification of suffering?"
below are some key actions that people can plug into this weekend in DC. there is a desperate and urgent need to express a mass unwilligness and noncompliance to go along with this imperialist adventure.
NO BLOOD FOR THE GLOBAL OIL-IGARCHY
The Middle East and South Asia and people from those areas have become the main target of Bush’s war on terrorism. The death and destruction caused by over a decade of sanctions and war on Iraq and decades of occupation of Palestine are not enough for Bush. He wants to see more innocent blood spilled to ensure US control of the vast oil reserves of the Middle East. A new war on Iraq will give Israel an even freer hand in its war on Palestinians. Such a war will also heighten anti-Arab/anti-Muslim racism here at home and lead to the rounding up of more innocent people from the Middle East and South Asia. That’s why we must act now and stop this war before it starts. We call for VISIBLE RESISTANCE!
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 RESIST THE WAR ON IRAQ*
Americans spent a decade buying and selling, believing in the free unchecked market, only to wake up and discover that they were being bought and sold by their CEOs. Now a group of ex-CEO's: Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld are trying to sell the American people a war that would destabilize the Middle East and the world. This mad drive for war has been opposed by every country in the world with the exception to Britain and Israel. This war is about oil, pure and simple, and the mantra of "security" that we have heard every day since September 11, 2001 has turned out to mean securing oil contracts in Iraq.
As the world leaders cave in to this war drive and try to rewrite recent history to make us forget yesterday's opposition, we need to MAKE OUR RESISTANCE VISIBLE. We call on all people who care about Global Justice to join a variety of activities, either as individuals or affinity groups, on Friday September 27th which can begin to make resistance to a new war on Iraq visible:
7:00 AM: Join the banner drops (BYOB - Bring Your Own Banner) and leafleting at metro stations around the Capital. Suggested stations: Metro Center, Union Station, Dupont Circle, U Street/Cordoza and Gallery Place Chinatown. Make your own banner and/ or signs and leaflet at a metro station of your choice.
9:00 AM: Join the "Beating the Anti-War Drums" Percussion Protest at Freedom Plaza, 14th and Pennsylvania, NW
10:00 AM: Participate in a mass "Die-In" at Freedom Plaza (14th & Pennsylvania, NW). Bring placards with names of Iraqis, Palestinians, and even Americans whose lives will be endangered if this war goes through. Line the streets and the die-in with the banners.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 PARADE OF US AID: IMF/WB PROTEST FEEDER MARCH*
US “aid” pays for the Caterpillar bulldozers destroying Palestinian homes in the Occupied Territories. US “aid” pays for the Apache helicopters terrorizing Colombian farmers. The US government pays for the F16s that regularly bomb Iraqi and Afghan civilians. The corporations that build this military hardware are paid with our tax money, and make huge profits off this human misery.
US military “aid” terrorizes and destroys lives, homes, and communities in the name of “peace” and “stability.” US-controlled institutions like the IMF and World Bank destroy public healthcare, education, and utilities, in the name of “globalization”. These institutions and the US military are two heads of one system that protect the power and privilege of a minority of people at the expense of the majority. Capitalist globalization is expanded and reinforced with US guns, tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets so multinational corporations can secure access to cheap labor, resources, markets, and increase their profits.
On the eve of the second anniversary of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, we march in solidarity with Palestinians struggling against the US funded Israeli occupation and for a free Palestine! We march in solidarity with Colombians, Iraqis, Afghanis, and the millions of other innocent people around the world terrorized by US weapons and military. We march for a Global Justice Intifada.
10:30 AM: Gather at DuPont Circle, Connecticut and P Streets, NW
11:00 AM: March down Connecticut to the Caterpillar office at 1818 Connecticut Ave, NW, then to the White House on the way to the Mobilization for Global Justice Rally at the Sylvan theater (on the Mall behind the Washington Monument)
Please bring one or more of the following props for the march:
-Signs or puppets portraying US funded weaponry marked with the corporation that manufactured them, as well as the price tag. Examples: GE's Apache helicopters, Lockheed Martin F16s, and Caterpillar bulldozers. (DO NOT bring anything that the police could say was mistaken for an actual weapon, ie nothing the size and shape a real gun)
-Large red and white bull’s-eye targets with the nationalities (Palestinians, Afghani, Iraqis, Colombians, etc.) of people terrorized by US “aid” written in the middle.
-Banners, Palestinian flags and kaffiyas.
Sponsors: SUSTAIN, Justice Action Coalition of UMBC, Hopkins Students for a Free Palestine, Left Turn, Anti-Capitalist Convergence, Students for Justice In Iran
For more information or if you want to endorse call (866) 860-9311 or email visibleresistance at mutualaid.org
*Please Note: The Parade of US Aid will be a LEGAL, PERMITTED march so that everyone, including families and noncitizens, can have a safe space to demonstrate their dissent. The anti-war on Iraq actions on Friday the 27th will only have two permitted and legal components: the banner drops and leafleting at the metro stops (as long as there are less than 25 people involved not permit is required) and the part of the die-in that takes place in Freedom Plaza which we will be obtaining a permit for.
[This is not meant to be a comprehensive listing of all the anti-war activities taking place during the weekend. The following are two such events taking place on Sunday, September 29:
9:00 am-1:00 pm > -> A teach-in and training sessions will be held about the history and current situation in Iraq and the skills needed to organize in opposition. (Location to be announced). Contact: Mark Cimino, Mobilization for Global Justice, (202) 271-7990.
2:00 pm > -> A march against the war on Iraq starting in Dupont Circle, (Massachusetts & Connecticut Aves., NW), going north on Massachusetts, stopping at key embassies (Britain, Japan, Turkey, Egypt), and ending with a rally outside Vice President Dick Cheney's house at the Naval Observatory. Contact: Mike Zmolek, National Network Against War in Iraq at www.endthewar.org]
--- Marc Rodrigues Voicemail: 866.206.9067 x4217 Students for a Free Society: http://qcsfs.tripod.com
"Why should there be one standard for one country, especially because it is black, and another one for another country, Israel, that is white?.. the attitude of the United States of America is a threat to world peace." -Nelson Mandela