Resistance in the Streets While Bush Spoke at the UN

While Bush was speaking at the UN on Tuesday, deriding what he considers the “brutal regimes” of the world (while his that has made torture legal, invaded and occupied two countries with one million people dead, and is making plans to attack a third country), about one thousand people were outside the UN in protest. A sea of orange filled the plaza, with a contingent marching in wearing the orange jumpsuits and hoods that Guantanamo detainees are forced to wear everyday, as well as a plethora of orange bandanas, flags, clothes, etc. From the stage, speakers called attention to the growing threat of Bush launching a war on Iran and the urgent need for this to be stopped by massive resistance. The crowd consisted of a high number of youth and students from high schools and colleges in NYC who had (correctly) decided that showing the people of the world that we oppose this war criminal was more important than attending class.

The protest was organized by The World Can’t Wait – Drive Out the Bush Regime together with War Resisters League, Code-Pink, Granny Peace Brigade, Students for Democratic Society, Iglesia San Romero de Las Americas, Movement for a Democratic Society-NYC.

The authorities clearly did not like this showing of resistance, cutting off the sound permit an hour early. When a dozen people sat down on a sidewalk just over the police barricade in an act of civil disobedience, police arrested them.

They also arrested three who have been active with World Can't Wait who weren’t part of the civil disobedience but protested the arrests and they were held overnight and have been slapped with more serious charges. The defense of these three will the focus of future postings.

After the rally, hundreds of people took off down the sidewalk for an un-permitted march through Manhattan. Flanked by a troop of police on motorcycle, on foot, and in vans, there was a spirit of defiance to this march. Marching all the way from the UN to Washington Square Park (about 45 blocks!), the busy streets of Manhattan were greeted by chants of “This country is too quiet / I want to hear you scream: / The world can’t wait – drive out the bush regime”, “Taser this: Fuck Bush”, and “Come out, resist, throw up your fist”. While the march never quite made it out into the streets (and maybe had more than hundreds come out, it could have), it did certainly bring a spirit of resistance to the streets of NYC that is much needed. A good time was had by all.

Make a generous donation - see box on left of screen.

It cost thousands of dollars to make this powerful action happen and most of it still needs to be raised to pay the bills. Please give generously.

Tuesday, September 25 - Take to the streets when criminal Bush comes to the UN!

All Out Mobilization for powerful protest actions on September 25 when Bush speaks at the UN!

When Bush speaks at the United Nations Tuesday, to tell the world the United States is a permanent presence in the Middle East and to drum up support for attacking Iran, there must be a powerful and defiant resistance out in the streets that makes clear our intent to stop the whole disastrous course Bush is taking the world.

Converge at the UN beginning at 8:30 am for a whole morning of protests.

Make sure to WEAR ORANGE to the protests, and cover NYC in orange that day to show a sea of visible opposition to Bush and everything he represents.

Join with World Can’t Wait-Drive Out the Bush Regime, the War Resisters League, Code-Pink, Granny Peace Brigade, student organizations including Columbia Coalition Against the War and Students for Democratic Society, Iglesia San Romero de Las Americas, Movement for a Democratic Society-NYC, National Lawyers Guild - NYC chapter, Center for Constitutional Rights, Troops Out Now Coalition, Stop War on Iran Committee and many more in a broad range of bold and determined actions (more below) including:

Rally at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 47th Street & 1st Avenue
Speakers will include Cindy Sheehan and Ret. Col. Ann Wright

And come that evening at Judson Memorial Church, for an
Emergency Forum: Threat of U.S. Attack on Iran & Our Responsibility to Stop It
with Chris Hedges, Cindy Sheehan, and Sunsara Taylor. (more info below)

Commit to wear Orange!
The color orange means that we stand against torture, tyranny and war crimes. Wear it to the rally. Wear it every day. Wear an orange ribbon or button or armband.Ask your friends and neighbors to express their views: "Declare It Now--Wear Orange!" Spread the word!
Join an orange jumpsuit contingent that will act throughout the day on the 25th. E-mail your commitment to wear a jumpsuit to orangejumpsuits@worldcantwait.org.
Take orange to the streets on the 25th!
Hang orange flags from your windows.
Wrap the streets in orange.
Ask your favorite stores to put orange in their windows, including the orange poster for the 25th actions.

Join in Outreach plans:
The word needs to get out all over, with a "sea of orange".
Many are making plans, including:
Sunday, 1:00 Meet at Washington Square Park, wear Orange, for a hole afternoon of spreading orange/mobiling for action on the 25th around the area.
Churches everywhere should be having an "orange Sunday", contact us to join in making it happen.
Schools: Students are organizing at many campuses around the area, including Hunter, John Jay, Columbia. High school students need to be mobilized. Contact us to join with others at your school. Or meet at 11:00 am in front of Hunter West building, 68th and Lexington on Monday for a day of mobilization at that campus.

Join phone banking team!
We have the numbers of hundreds of interested people to call and enlist in various ways for the 25th and beyond. Contact us to join a phone banking crew.

Donate generously! Thousands of dollars is urgently needed:
For sound and stage, tens of thousands of flyers, and much more.
Donate on-line with PayPal or credit card (see left side of this page).

Pick up quantities of the flyer and miniposter and get them out everywhere!
Currently available at:
Revolution Books, 9 West 19th Street from noon to 7 PM
Office of Latin American and Caribbean Studies Department, John Jay College, 59th & 10th Avenue, 9 am to 5 PM.
If you can arrange other pickup locations, please contact us and we will include them here.
Or...

Download and distribute this flyer, pictured above widely!
English edition 2 copies per page, with back on Wear Orange: http://chapters.worldcantwait.org/nyc/BushUNSept25.pdf
Spanish edition 2 per page leaflet with back on Wear Orange:
http://chapters.worldcantwait.org/nyc/BushUNSept25(2topage)spanish.pdf English edition of 8 1/2 x 11 miniposter:
http://chapters.worldcantwait.org/nyc/BushUNSept25(2topage).pdf
Spanish edition 8 1/2" x 11 miniposter: http://chapters.worldcantwait.org/nyc/BushUNSept25spanish.pdf Student and special group organizing materials for special "feeder marches" and "feeder gathering points", we have version of the flyers and posters with an empty box at the bottom to insert your campus or your group's gathering point, etc. for the march. http://chapters.worldcantwait.org/nyc/BushUNSept25(students).pdf
NYC World Can’t Wait will be posting updates and further information here on plans and protests as they are developed. Keep checking this web site.

Banned In NYC!

“A belligerent President Bush comes to the United Nations to impress upon the world that the U.S. is in the Middle East to stay, that the war on terror will be endless, and to threaten a murderous war on Iran.”

This message is being censored. We’re calling on you to stand up to suppression of political dissent.

On Thursday Metro newspaper in NYC refused to run an ad headlined “Who is the Real Nuclear Threat” from the World Can’t Wait – Drive Out the Bush regime in its September 21 issue. The reason given by the publisher was that the content was “too inflammatory” for the prominent back page. On Friday, a second ad “One Million Dead in Iraq” was first rejected for placement on the September 25 back page explicitly because of its content. Then they offered placement on an inside page at a price almost four times higher than what was originally agreed upon.

This move by Metro is undoubtedly related to the “watch what you say” atmosphere created by the White House. Also on Thursday, George Bush said to the White House press, “I thought the [MoveOn] ad was disgusting. I felt like the ad was an attack not only on General Petraeus, but on the U.S. military. And I was disappointed that not more leaders in the Democrat Party spoke out strongly against that kind of ad. And that leads me to come to this conclusion: that most Democrats are afraid of irritating a left-wing group like MoveOn.org -- or more afraid of irritating them than they are of irritating the United States military. That was a sorry deal.”
Hours after Bush’s remarks , the Senate passed a resolution condemning the ad in The New York Times by MoveOn titled “General Betray-Us” (the ad predicted Petraeus would give the White House version in reporting on the troop surge in Iraq). Republican senators are threatening an investigation of The New York Times policy of offering discounts for stand-by advocacy ads.
This Senate condemned MoveOn for a paid ad which dissents from the ongoing war, but won’t censure George Bush, a proven liar, for repeatedly using falsified intelligence to justify the war on Iraq. Now there is another wave of White House propaganda geared to justifying a war on Iran. The major media repeated their lies about Iraq for years. And now they’re doing it all over again on Iran.

We do not know if the Metro publisher opposes in principle the content of these ads, or is reacting with cowardice to defending the principle of freedom of expression. We don’t know, but it doesn’t matter, ultimately, because the effect is the same. One of the few avenues to get the truth into the major media – buying advocacy ads—will be in effect closed down if publishers are afraid to sell space. The White House will be the strong-arm arbiter of what is acceptable in terms of political criticism.

What will the consequences be if publishers and political opinion makers back down on something so fundamental to protecting dissent in society…not to mention stopping the monstrous crimes that are being done by this government in our name? Where is society going if people do what they’re told and allow this?

Dan Rather raised the alarm this week about the danger to news reporting when he announced a lawsuit against CBS for firing him over his story about Bush’s phony military reserve career. He said, “You can't have freedom of the press if you're going to have large, big corporations and big government intruding and intimidating in newsrooms. The chilling effect on investigative reporting is going to be something we don't want to see."

World Can’t Wait has bought many ads in The New York Times, USA Today, and in local weeklies, including NY Metro, aimed at reaching the people who want stop what the Bush regime is doing. This ad focuses on making such opposition visible by organizing millions of people to declare it by wearing orange. We are fighting for space in the public sphere, and all our efforts indicate that there’s the basis to win this battle for ad space, including raising the necessary money. Another indication is the fact that MoveOn raised half a million dollars in one day from people who told them “don’t back down!”

Here is a message for you to send the publisher of The Metro :
We know you are feeling the chill of the threat to publishers because of the MoveOn ad.
1) If your reason for refusing to run the World Can’t Wait ad is just monetary, then shame on you.
2) If you have political objections to the content, we would like to know them.
3) If you are worried about the chill Bush is trying to send through the advertising world, and you want to stand up to it, there are thousands of us ready to support you.
Call the Metro Publisher Daniel Magnus 212-952-1500 to ask that they publish on Tuesday 9/25.

You can reach World Can’t Wait at 866 973 4463.

And, donate generously (see column to left on screen) to get these ads published in more newspaper.

Emergency Forum: Threat of U.S. Attack on Iran & Our Responsibility to Stop It

Presentation by Chris Hedges

Panel discussion with Chris Hedges, Cindy Sheehan and Sunsara Taylor
September 25th, 7:30 PM

Judson Memorial Church

55 washington Square South
(donation requested at door)

Where and when to Meet Sept 25 for "Arrest Bush!" Coffin Feeder Marches

Feeder lists get revised. Please keep checking for changes, corrections or newly approved add'l contact info. All below are Tuesday morning sidewalk coffin processions, needing no parade or sound permits, either marching to the Dag Hammarskjold protest by 9:30 or ending in a subway procession to the protest. Organizers ask we arrive ten minutes early to assemble coffins or assign procession roles. Carry extra water.

125th & St. Nicholas Ave.
7:30 or 7:45 a.m. Please check back about time. Meeting above A/D train station, then processing across 125th then south on Lexington or by train.

96th St. & Broadway
7:00 a.m., processing south on Broadway, pausing at 72nd & Broadway, 66th & Broadway, 59th & Broadway, then turning east onto 57th St. Contact: Ann Shirazi 917 670 1787

E. 68th & Lexington - Hunter College
Departing 8:00, in front of Hunter West Building.
To get to this location, take the 6 Train to 68th Street. [SW corner]
CUNY - Hunter Students for a Democratic Society
Contact: Freddy Bastone - WhiteRiotFred@aol.com
http://studentsforademocraticsociety.org/mailman/listinfo/sdsnyc_student...

Penn Station
Assemble by 7:30 a.m. at Penn Station LIRR ticket booth (under 8th Ave. near 33rd St.) Contact: Thomas Brinson 631 889 0203

Chelsea
Leaving promptly 8:30 a.m. from 137 W. 19th St. between 6th & 7th Aves (fourth floor buzzer). Please arrive early. Contact: Merry Conway 212.206.7467

West Village
Assemble by 7:30 a.m.: West 4th St. & Christopher St. at
Contact: Jenny Heinz 917 697 7602

Union Square
Assemble 7:45 a.m.: 14th St. & Broadway (NE corner) outside the small park across from Virgin Megastore 52 East 14th Street, i.e., across Broadway from the east edge of Union Sq. South Plaza steps. Contact: Joseph 646-467-4939.

Times Square 8:00 a.m. at recruiting station island betw. Broadway, 7th Avenue, 43rd St. & 44th St.
Contact: WRL 718-768-7306 or Donna 212 366 9279

Rockefeller Center Assemble 8:15 a.m. Fifth Ave. 49th St. & 50th St.
Contact: Granny Peace Brigade, Joanwile263@ aol.com, 917-846-0617

Staten Island Ferry Terminal, ferry arriving 7:30 a.m. with Cindy Sheehan; meet on sidewalk outside Whitehall St. Terminal. Contacts: Elaine B. 917.520.0767; Tom G. 347.524.5631.

Brooklyn Bridge walking all the way then coffin procession
6:30 a.m. Assemble at Tillary St & Adams St. a.k.a. Brooklyn Bridge Blvd. Contacts: Laurie Arbeiter 917.615. 6115; Joan Pleume 718.855.2581

Trains: A, C to High St. (exit Manhattan end of platform); #2, 3 to Clark St.-Brooklyn Heights; #4, 5 to Borough Hall; F to Jay St.-Borough Hall or take G to Hoyt-Schermerhorn & walk 6 blocks to meeting point. It's the bike/chair ramp where traffic enters bridge in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn Bridge then subway (Bklyn For Peace, formerly Brooklyn Parents for Peace)
Assemble 7:30 a.m. on Tillary St. between Cadman Plaza West & Cadman Plaza East for coffin procession over bridge to subway. Contact: David 201 259 6788

Get on the bus! Declare it Now - Drive Out the Bush Regime - Spread "Orange Resistance" at Troops Out Now September 29 March

Join World Can't Wait/Drive Out the Bush Regime
At the September 29th March on Washington to:

STOP THE WAR at home & abroad!
Troops Out Now!
Impeach Bush & Cheney for War Crimes

FLASH: As of Friday, Sept. 28th, we no longer have any tickets available.

Busses are full!

DECLARE IT NOW: WEAR ORANGE!

Do you want to see the Bush regime impeached and driven out?
DECLARE IT NOW: WEAR ORANGE!
The World Can’t Wait!
Drive Out the Bush Regime!

The urgent color of orange – the color that has been assigned to those detained and tortured with no due process in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib – must become the color of a gathering sentiment to drive Bush and Cheney from offi ce and reverse the whole direction they’ve taken this country.

The world demands that a determined and massive movement arise that cries out “enough” - of unjust wars and threats of further wars, of torture and endless imprisonment, of an encroaching police state with pervasive and permanent government spying.

Wearing orange is part of seizing the moral high ground and showing our collective determination to bring these crimes to a halt NOW! Declaring it now through a groundswell of people spreading orange everywhere – amplifi ed by the voices of prominent people and artists
wearing and promoting orange on TV, radio, and on stage at concerts – can break people out of this conundrum where millions are furious but still numbed inactive by the complicity of the loyal Democratic Party opposition.

From the Call to Drive Out the Bush Regime:
“We are talking about something on a scale that can really make a huge change in this country and the world. We need more than fi ghting Bush’s outrages one at a time, constantly losing ground to the whole onslaught. We must, and can, aim to create a political situation where
the Bush regime’s program is repudiated, where Bush himself is driven from office, and where the whole direction he has been taking society is reversed. We, in our millions, must and can take responsibility to change the course of history.” (go to www.worldcantwait.org for full
text and to join the tens of thousands who have signed this Call).

Orange means we’re are against torture, tyranny and war crimes!
Wear Orange and spread it!