A few things you can do.

[ebonlock]

If you're interested I've included a forward from a friend with some really good suggestions for ways you can act to protest President Bush's plans to initiate an invasion of Iraq.




The Bush Administration's blueprint for war in Iraq starts with
a strategy code named "Shock and Awe." Their plan is to launch
an unprecedented bombing campaign involving more cruise missiles
and other bombs in the first day than were used in the entire
1991 Gulf War. The theory is that they will "shock and awe" Iraq
into immediate surrender. The reality is that large numbers of
Iraqi civilians will die for the sins of their government, a
government they have no power to change.


There is another way. Clearly inspections and containment are
working. California Peace Action supports the position of many
governments, and in particular many members of the UN Security
Council, that Colin Powell's presentation to the UN built the
case for supporting stronger inspections and giving more time to
the UN to multilaterally disarm Iraq.


He did not make the case for the massive bombing of a major
city.


IN THE NEXT TEN DAYS THERE ARE FOUR CRUCIAL THINGS YOU CAN DO:

Demonstrate:

On February 15th there will be demonstrations in cities
worldwide, from Cape Town to New York, from Tokyo to Cairo.
There will also be demonstrations in cities throughout
California including Sacramento, Los Angeles, Fresno, and Santa
Rosa.


On February 16th, there will be a massive demonstration in San
Francisco.


To find out about the demonstration closest to your California
community or the major demonstration in San Francisco, check out
the list of local peace organization's by following the links
from the home page at our web site:
http://www.californiapeaceaction.org/


For more information, or for information about actions in other
states visit United For Peace and Justice, a nationwide
coalition of organizations including Peace Action, at
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/


At the February 16th demonstration in San Francisco, there will
be a large contingent of families with children marching
together, under the banner Families Say No to War. For more
information, e-mail
Parents@CaliforniaPeaceAction.org


Volunteer:


Volunteers are urgently needed for these demonstrations. To get
involved as a volunteer with these demonstrations or to march
with a Peace Action contingent contact:


Southern California - Erin@CaliforniaPeaceAction.org
Northern California - Eric@CaliforniaPeaceAction.org
Sacramento/Yolo Peace Action - sypeaceact@jps.net


Contact Your Elected Officials:

City councils across the country have begun passing Resolutions
opposing a war with Iraq. Please support the current effort to
pass a resolution in the Los Angeles City Council by making a
call today! Contact the council President, Alex Padilla at (213)
847-7777 as well as your City Council member.


For contact information or to find out who your council member
is go to:
http://cityofla.org/ and type your address into the 'My
Neighborhood' section.


For more information or if you would like to gather petition
signatures in the districts of Wendy Greuel, Tom LaBonge, Alex
Padilla, or Janice Hahn, please contact
Danielle@CaliforniaPeaceAction.org


Senate Resolution 32, a new resolution put forth by Senator Ted
Kennedy (D-MA) and Senator Robert Byrd (D - WV) on January 29,
calls on the President to support UN inspectors and to obtain
further approval from Congress before using military force
against Iraq without the broad support of the international
community.


As the administration moves closer to war against Iraq, it is
important that you call Senators Boxer and Feinstein and tell
them to support this attempt to restrain the President.

Capitol Hill Switchboard - (800) 839-5276

Senator Dianne Feinstein - (202) 224-3841
feinstein.senate.gov/~feinstein

Senator Barbara Boxer - (202) 224-3553
boxer.senate.gov/contact


Donate:

Raising the voice against the war takes money. We want to
provide maximum financial support to the upcoming
demonstrations. We also need support for the printing of flyers,
posters, brochures, etc. If you can help support the anti-war
effort, please contribute at
http://www.californiapeaceaction.org/


--

--
To reach your Representative or Senators call the Capitol Hill
switchboard at
1-800-839-5276 or 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to their
office.

Find out who your Representative is:
http://www.house.gov/writerep/

If you are not in California, identify your senators here:
http://www.senate.gov/


Please send this email to your friends!

Contribute to California Peace Action
by visiting
http://www.californiapeaceaction.org/giving/giving.htm

Subscription Information
To subscribe to Peace Action Alerts, send email to:
AlertMe@CaliforniaPeaceAction.org
To unsubscribe, send email to:
DeAlertMe@CaliforniaPeaceAction.org

For fact sheets and articles visit:
http://www.CaliforniaPeaceAction.org/

Comments

[centerfire.livejournal.com]

The point I am making is that action, like dissent, is in and of itself morally neutral. The fervence with which you articulate your point of view is, at the end of the day, immaterial: if you have a coherent argument, then you have a coherent argument; if your argument is asinine, then your argument is asinine.

The American Nazis who marched in Skokie years ago weren't brave men willing to stand up for their principles. They were adherents of a blood-soaked and hateful political philosophy, nothing more and nothing less.

If you can show me that your friends were more representative of the protesters, over the weekend, than these guys (http://www.right-thinking.com/comments.php?id=P508_0_1_0), then I will forthrightly withdraw my characterizations of the protests and the protesters. If you can show me that the protests were by and large serious, sober affairs where a coherent and moral case against war was made, then I will even make a post in my own LJ to the effect of thanking the protesters for their role in facilitating healthy, intelligent public debate on this important issue.

But quite frankly I don't think you can make that case. I've reviewed literally hundreds of news reports on the worldwide protests, and it seems fairly clear that there was little if any "conviction, concern, and purpose" on display; mostly it was lot of naked partisanship and/or reflexive anti-Americanism and/or geopolitical obtuseness.

At that, I absolutely do feel justified throwing stones. I hope most other people would, too, because I don't think it's healthy for a society to suffer fools gladly.

[danielmedic.livejournal.com]

The American Nazis who marched in Skokie years ago weren't brave men willing to stand up for their principles. They were adherents of a blood-soaked and hateful political philosophy, nothing more and nothing less.

The truth is, unfortunately, that they were both. Good is not always courageous, nor is evil always cowardly; and the evil can have an intensity to their convictions which the good seldom match. Too bad -- the world would be a better place if this were not so.