Posted by Esperanza from 66-52-14-42.lsan.dial.netzero.com (66.52.14.42) on Saturday, February 08, 2003 at 5:48PM :
Dear VoteNoWar member:
The response to the call to action for a week of anti-war resistance February 13-21 has been amazing. We have heard from people all around the country who are planning to participate in demonstrations, rallies, student walk-outs and teach-ins. The VoteNoWar People's Anti-War Referendum is an integral part of the activities planned for this week-long mobilization. (See below, to list your local activity.)
On February 15th and 16th there will be demonstrations throughout the world in response to the appeal made by the European peace movement. From San Francisco and Los Angeles to Chicago to New York City and in dozens of other cities around the U.S. there will be large protests. Coming on the heels of the January 18 demonstrations of 500,000 in Washington and 200,000 in San Francisco it is clear that the anti-war movement is gaining momentum and growing stronger.
As George W. Bush makes his pronouncement that "the game is over," and demands that the U.N. issue support for him to bomb, invade, and occupy Iraq, it is incumbent upon all of us to do all we can to stop this madness. The growing anti-war sentiment in the U.S. and around the world can hold back the war machine.
More and more People's Anti-War Referendums arrive every day on-line and in the mail -- from envelopes to big boxes --as new voices register their opposition to a war of aggression against Iraq. VoteNoWar members have collected signatures at peace rallies, in their places of worship, on campuses and in highs schools. Participants in the Global People's Anti-War Referendum have come from all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and countries spanning the world including the Philippines, South Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Colombia, Canada, Thailand, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Nigeria, Korea, China, Russia, Morocco, Guatemala, El Salvador, Iceland, Puerto Rico, Australia, Costa Rica, India, Pakistan, Nicaragua, every state in Mexico and every country in Europe. Recently we received thousands collected by students from Atlanta and from New York, thousands more from a church in Chicago. A special thank you to the Japanese peace activists who have just sent in seventeen thousand signatures that were collected in conjunction with peace demonstrations in Japan on January 18.
We are happy to announce that we are almost at the 800,000 mark. So far, 790,000 people have participated in the VoteNoWar campaign. We know that many organizations and people still have boxes of signatures in their offices and homes and we encourage you to send them in to the People's Anti-War Referendum, 1247 E. Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003.
Nearing the One Million Mark
During the week of February 13-21 many groups are planning to focus on building the VoteNoWar campaign. By working hard during the next days and weeks, we are confident that we can reach the one million mark by February 21. We know that for the million people that participate in the campaign, there are tens of millions more who support our efforts for peace. The VoteNoWar campaign has also been a catalyst to bring the anti-war message into thousands of communities and has in turn stimulated the growing anti-war protests sweeping the country and the world. To download a pdf version of the People's Anti-War Referendum suitable for copying and distributing, click here. To tell up to five friends about the website with an automatic email inviting them to join the campaign, go to the VoteNoWar home page. Or, click here to add a graphic button link to the referendum on your or your organization's web site.
Tell us about your activities for the week of anti-war resistance, February 13-21, by filling out our local activity web-based form so we can be sure they are listed and others in your community can learn about and attend the events. We are encouraging everyone who can travel to one of the major protests near you, including New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles to do so. We know that many cannot travel and are already organizing local protests on February 15 or 16. To download a color pdf flyer for the week of resistance, click here.
In solidarity,
All of Us at VoteNoWar.org
-- Esperanza
-- signature .
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