Showing posts with label DC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DC. Show all posts

Sunday, April 14, 2013

April Days of Action Against Drones: Protests at the CIA headquarters and the White House

The April Days of Action Against Drones continued this weekend with demonstrations targeting the agencies and policy-makers most directly responsible for drone assassinations: the CIA and the executive branch. 
  Pax Christi, a religious group devoted to peace, turned out to swell the ranks of those demonstrating in front of the CIA headquarters Saturday morning.


An image of a foreign victim of drone warfare stood as a stern
rebuke to those entering the headquarters on Saturday.
More photos from the CIA headquarters here. Join the demonstrators when they return Saturday, May 11th from 10 to 11:30 A.M.



The centerpiece of the day was a demonstration at the white house that began at noon, drawing massive crowds (see coverage on RT and PressTV plus more photos):
a simple equation: "DRONE STRIKES=WAR CRIMES"
A realistic Predator Drone model hovers ominously
over the seat of executive power.
"STOP KILLER DRONES"
A sea of yellow signs carrying
stark messages for President Obama.


"U.S. Drones Out of Africa, the Middle East, Asia & Everywhere."
An oft-repeated theme of the day emphasized the imperialistic
 overreach facilitated by drone warfare.
 

"ISRAELI DRONES OUT OF PALESTINE (AND Everywhere)"
Police attempted to prevent demonstrators from exercising
 their constitutional rights. A heated exchange ensued.
Authorities were powerless to stop demonstrators from
breaching the barricade of yellow "caution" tape.

Veterans for Peace

"DRONES KILL KIDS" 

Rev. Graylan Hager of
Plymouth United Congregational Church of Christ


The march ended with a die-in, in which bloody-shrouded people
 lay in white masks to bring home the impact of civilian casualties
 from drone warfare.

The Saturday demonstration was covered on PressTV, RT, and Liveleak.com. Simultaneously, demonstrators were making the anti-drone message heard in Boston.

Click here to receive e-mails about future anti-drone actions all around the country, and here to see the schedule of April Anti-Drone events around the country.




Friday, December 21, 2012

January 21: Protest Drones in DC on Inauguration Day

Spread the word and join us in the planning and participating!

“Let us realize the arc
of the moral universe is long,
but it bends toward justice”

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.


Friends,

We invite your organization to participate in the Arc of Justice Parade in Washington, DC, on Monday, January 21st, 2013.

Set to coincide with the Presidential Inauguration Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and the third anniversary of the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling, the Arc of Justice rally and parade will be a determined but hopeful expression of our concern and dissent against the wars, occupations, loss of civil liberties, overwhelming corporate and big money power over our lives, environmental degradation, and many other important issues mostly abused, ignored, or minimized by recent administrations and Congress.

It is a call to action to those in power and to those who would join us to create real change and to renew our drive to build a strong, cohesive peace and to build lasting justice and civil rights movements.

The parade route will begin at Meridian Hill Park (Malcolm X Park) with a rally from 9:00 to 10:00 AM. At 10:00 AM we will begin to proceed down 16th Street NW to K Street NW where we will disband, some to continue to the Inauguration area, the parade route, or back to the rally site.

We are inviting people and organizations working on issues around: 1. Human rights (here and abroad); 2. Truth justice, and accountability; 3. Military might, preemptive wars, and empire building; 4. The power of the corporations and the super wealthy; and 5.The degradation of our environment. If you are not already in a coalition with other people and organizations working in your general area, we see the weekend before Inauguration Day as an important time to meet and plan for the future. Please confer with your associates and let us know how we can help make your participation work.

Imagine if January 21st were a day where only the wealthy and elite, the bankers, the corporate profiteers, the war hawks, and the unquestioning supporters of those in office were the only people in sight, leaving the impression that the work is done and the decisions final.

We cannot stay home and hope and wait for change. With strong organizing, coalition building, and the creative drive of activists such as you, the vitally needed changes will become reality. This is why our voices and bodies are needed in the streets with the Arc of Justice Coalition on January 21, 2013, to recommit ourselves to creating a society based on justice for all.

Join us and let’s organize together! Please email us at arcofjustice2013@gmail.com and we will contact you with additional details. We welcome your assistance and support in outreach, media, logistical preparations, planning, and database building.

And SO important: Please forward this invitation to others people and organizations you know who may want to join us.

Let us work together to realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

Listen to our theme song at http://www.amycarolwebb.com/music-73.html . The lyrics begin “I will stand with you, will you stand with me? We will be the change that we hope to see” .

We hope that you will join us on January 21st in our continued effort to make Dr. King’s prophetic quote a reality.

Yours in peace,

Co-Chairs:

Malachy Kilbride
Peace & social justice activist affiliated with the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, Northern Virginians for Peace & Justice, Witness Against Torture, and the Bradley Manning Support Network

Joan Stallard
CodePink DC Coordinator, MoveOn DC Coordinator, Move to Amend, Coalition on Corporate Power, Bradley Manning Support Network, WILPF

Our email: arcofjustice2013@gmail.com

Or follow us on Twitter: @arcofjustice13