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Mark Your Calendar! Join in! An
international day of public demonstration on Saturday, March 20,
2004, the anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq, is being
organized by United for Peace and Justice (www.unitedforpeace.org) and
International A.N.S.W.E.R. (www.internationalanswer.org). Call to Action: The world Still Says No to War Theme: Lend a Hand for Peace & Related Issue Suggestions Sign/Slogan Suggestions Iowa Groups Attending/Participating/Endorsing March 20 Events Coordinated Local Events - Times/Locations/Formats Des Moines Parade Information Des Moines Rally Information Transportation to Des Moines Maps of Des Moines, Drake & Parade Route Fact Sheets How Can I Help Lend a Hand for Peace? Make a Tax-Deductible Donation - Help Defray Costs of Organizing! Print a Flyer About the March 20 Events (PDF Format)! On Saturday, March 20, 2004,
the first anniversary of the invasion of
Iraq, people around the world will join together to demand: "End the
Occupation - Bring the Troops Home Now!" Money for jobs,
education, health care and housing - Not war! Stop the attacks on
civil rights, civil liberties, our environment and our future!
In the U.S., major demonstrations are planned in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and many other cities. Many tens of thousands of others are planning to coordinate smaller events. People everywhere will express support for the right of the Iraqi people to self-determination without condition. Since the invasion began, tens of thousands of Iraqi people have been killed. Thousands of U.S. and British soldiers have been killed or wounded. Soldiers have been sent to kill and be killed for a war that was based on lies and fraud perpetrated by the Bush administration. The Iraqi people are resisting the occupation - they want the foreign soldiers occupying their country to leave. Growing numbers of U.S. soldiers and their families are calling for the troops to be brought home NOW. Peace and justice groups are coordinating events across Iowa for March 20 as part of this worldwide protest. Iowa PSR is working with the American Friends Service Committee, STAR*PAC, Iowans for Peace, Women for Peace, and other Iowa peace and justice groups to organize a good response in Iowa. We will hold a colorful, family friendly Peace Parade leading to a massive rally in Des Moines that afternoon. We seek a peace that affirms life, freedom, and self-determination through peaceful means. Parade participants will assemble on the Drake campus at 12:30 and begin the 2 mile parade route at 1:00 PM. A rally featuring Tom Hayden will being immediately after the parade in Parents Hall of the Olmstead Center at 2:30. Buses are being arranged from Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Iowa City and may be arranged from other cities as well. Local events are being held March 18 and 19 to allow for travel time to Des Moines on March 20 (entries below). The March 20 Parade and Rally will call for money for jobs, housing, health care and education, not for war and occupation. We will demonstrate on March 20 to demand an end to the Bush administration's "Endless War" plans for global domination, and call for an end to U.S. intervention, occupation and threats against Korea, Colombia, Afghanistan, Haiti, Cuba, Iran, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Syria, the Philippines and elsewhere. To see what other groups around the nation are planning, check the United for Peace and Justice web page: (www.unitedforpeace.org/calendar.php?caltype=17). Let us know about any ideas, concerns or questions you may have. Be sure to register your event with Iowa PSR and on the United for Peace and Justice web site. Theme: Lend a Hand for Peace & Related Issue Suggestions Iowa’s coordinating theme
will be “Lend a
Hand
for Peace.” The focus of all the events in Iowa will be on the
huge cost of the Iraq war and occupation, and the link to growing unmet
local needs-- housing, education, health care, etc. Visually
powerful activities designed to generate media attention are
critical. At most local events, items will be collected to meet
local needs. We will of course also mourn the lives lost in
the war.
At the very least, to follow the theme of “Lend a Hand for Peace,” all participating individuals and groups are being asked to trace the outlines of hands of supporters (preferably card stock), have them sign their hand prints, note their city, and organizational affiliation, if any. All the prints collected from around the state will be attached to a ribbon and used on buses, in the parade, and around the rally stage. The signed hand cutouts will represent all those who are lending a hand, including those who cannot attend specific events. At the end of the event all the hands will be boxed and sent to Washington, DC. To create and strengthen Parade entries in Des Moines, groups are asked to consider aligning with concerned religious, environmental, veteran, labor, and/or service groups from their local area. We would like to hear about any ideas you have to organize a local event and/or contribute to the Des Moines parade on the international day of protest. Suggestions already made for Iowa include: * Collect school supplies to donate to your local school. Education funding is so poor that one Iowa City School has asked students each to bring a ream of paper to school. * Collect food or clothing for local shelters, food banks, or soup kitchens. Public funding for these activities has been preempted by tax cuts and massive expenditures on the military. * Collect cash and other donations for free medical clinics. Remember, 43 million Americans have no health coverage yet are expected to support massive military expenditures. Additional related issues to focus on include, but not limited to: 1. The cost of the war and resulting poor economy, lost jobs, weakened infrastructure and social safety net, 2. The illegal nature of the war, unilateral action without provocation; 3. Poor, hypocritical treatment of our veterans and soldiers; 4. The recent changes to the medicare bill, lack of access to health care in general; 5. The environment, support for unsustainable and polluting fossil fuels which led to the war (the military, and war create the greatest share of environmental pollution); 6. The PATRIOT ACT, erosion of civil liberties in the name of war on terrorism 7. SMART Security, an alternative national security stressing multilateralism, rule of law, abolition of all weapons of mass destruction 8. Corporate ties, billionaires, war profiteers 9. US support for and complicity in the occupation of Palestine. These are a few suggestions for signs/slogans found on the web. There are many more ideas all over the web. We are not promoting or endorsing any particular subset, these are just provided to help get interested folks thinking. Please avoid inflammatory or crude language. 1. Got WMDs? 2. 3 Million Jobs, The Largest Deficit Ever 3. Support Life [or, schools, jobs, veterans, ...] not War [or, occupation, military hardware, ...] 4. Bring Back Our Democracy; Stop Criminalizing Dissent 5. Support Our Troops: Bring in the U.N! 6. Don't Waive Your Rights While Waving Your Flag; and, Defend the Constitution! Repeal the Patriot Act! 7. Support the Troops for Real; let them come home 8. Money for Jobs, Health Care and Education, not for Wars and Occupations 9. War is sweet to those who haven't tasted it 10. Books Not Bombs 11. Time to ask: "How did we get into this mess, and why are we still in it?" 12. Healthcare, not Warfare 13. How Many Bodies per Gallon?, "_____ Dead, _____ Wounded" 14. Renewable energy & energy efficiency, not environment destroying oil, gas, or nuclear 15. Support Palestinian Self-Rule, End US Military Aid to Israel NOTE: RE: PALESTINE The U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq is part and parcel of the larger project targeting the Middle East. While the Bush administration spends $2 billion per week to occupy Iraq, it also spends $15 million each day to support Israel's war against the Palestinian people. Calling for liberty, right to return, and self-determination for the Palestinian people on March 20 is an important related political goal. JUST IN TIME FOR THE
MARCH 20
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF
ACTION
e-mail: uslaw@igc.orgAGAINST WAR & OCCUPATION USLAW HAS THREE NEW BUTTONS U.S. Labor Against War (USLAW) PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW TO GET THEM IN TIME FOR THE DEMONSTRATIONS. Place your order via email AND print out a copy and return with payment to USLAW P.O. Box 153, 1718 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036
Download
an order form from
the USLAW website at
http://www.uslaboragainstwar.org ORDER YOURS TODAY!!!
Iowa Groups Attending/Participating/Endorsing March 20 Events
Coordinated Local Events - Times/Locations/Formats Waterloo 11:15 am in rooms A & B of the Waterloo Public Library, 4th and Commercial A showing of the documentary: "Uncovered: the whole truth about the Iraq war" followed by a gathering on the west side of the library and a walk to Lincoln Park about six blocks to the east, where the rally will be from 1:00 until 3:00. The rally will include speakers, music, voter registration, information on ways to get active, etc. If the weather's bad, we'll stay in the library. Des Moines Parade Information Parade participants will assemble at 12:30 PM on the Drake Campus and will set out at 1:00 PM for the 2 mile walk that begins and ends just in front of the Olmstead Center. The rally begins as soon as the parade ends around 2:30. People will simply file into Parents hall as they arrive back from the parade. There will be music and entertainment as they fill into the building. See Maps of Des Moines, Drake and Parade Route! Rally Site: Omstead Center, Drake University Campus 29th & University, Des Moines - See Maps of Des Moines, Drake and Parade Route! Time: 2:30 PM Welcome: Mayor Frank Cownie Emcee: Iowa Representative Ed Fallon Speakers:
 Bus Transportation from Cedar Rapids: Bus leaves at 9AM on Saturday, March 20, 2004. Probable pickup point will be the Islamic Mosque on First Avenue SW, Cedar Rapids. The bus leaves Des Moines at 5 pm to be back at 7:30-8pm. For information on the "Peace Train" to Des Moines, contact: Robert Schultes by mail 9PO Box 2151 Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52406-2151) or phone (319-366-3194). The cost is $25. Bus reservations must be made in advance. To save a space, please send your check now. I will refund your check if you can't make the trip! Bus Transportation from Iowa City: The bus will leave the Iowa City Recreation Center at 10 am and return from Des Moines around 5 pm, arriving back in Iowa City by 7:30-8:00. The cost is $25 per person, but financial support is available for anyone not able to pay this amount. Bus reservations must be made in advance. Bus Transportation from Davenport: Len Adams from QC Action is organizing and in charge of this bus. Des Moines Map
 Drake Map  Parade Route Map  Military Spending (PDF) "Preventive" War, "Usable" Nukes, and Unilateralism (PDF) Veterans (PDF) High Schools & the Military (PDF) Health Care (PDF) Energy (PDF) Employment, Living Wages and Financial Security (PDF) Public Health, Environment and Industry (PDF) Gun Violence (PDF) Multilateral Humanitarian Assistance (PDF) The following projects and/or parade entries are being arranged/created by the listed participants. Each would appreciate assistance, if you can lend a hand, please contact one or more of the following: *Iowans for Peace–Collecting school supplies for Iowa City Schools, and materials for Shelter House. Contact: Lori Nelson. *Iowa PSR–Collecting funds and materials to support Iowa Free Clinics. Contact: Dr. Maureen McCue. *UNA–collecting money for land mine clearance in Iraq and elsewhere and/or UNICEF funds for Iraq relief efforts. Contact: Katy Hansen. *Women for Peace–collecting funds and materials for the Jane Boyd Community House and Community Health Free Clinic. Contact: Zeineb Mehdi. *West Branch People for Peace--collecting materials to help with each of the above projects. Contact: Pat Minor Nidey. Send Check to:
Iowa PSR 20 East Market St. Room 200 Iowa City, Iowa 52242 Indicate in the memo line,
Support March 20.
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