Columbus, OH Demo

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

An unusual amount of snow fell yesterday, and it was freezing cold 
today, too, but about 800 of us marched against the war on Iraq, 
starting from the Goodale Park at 11:45 AM, down High Street, to the 
Federal Building (@ 200 High St.) in downtown Columbus, OH.  During 
the march, we briefly took the street, until a dozen of cop cars came 
down on us.  Protesters were diverse -- from first-timers to seasoned 
religious leftists, from young anarchists (in a small militant bloc) 
to assorted socialists (ranging from DSA to RCP), from Greens to 
Muslim activists, etc.  We even had a tiny contingent of "puppies for 
peace," a couple of dogs wearing peace slogans.  We had papier-mache 
"Empty Warheads" of Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld (which, to be honest, 
did not look like them very much) and three big cardboard missiles 
with Bush's face printed on them, colorful banners and handmade 
signs.  As usual with any major day of action, I ran into many old 
friends -- including Justin Schwartz!  Yea!

Up in the Clintonville area (to the north of the Ohio State 
University campus area), additional 200 people ("Clintonville 
Families for Peace") gathered and rallied against the war.

Not shabby for the Middle of Middle America.
-- 
Yoshie

* Calendar of Events in Columbus: 
<http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html>
* Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/>
* Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osudivest.org/>
* Al-Awda-Ohio: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio>
* Solidarity: <http://solidarity.igc.org/>