December 5, 2004
Indoor Solidarity Rally with Haiti in NYC
initiated by the Emergency Campaign to Support the Haitian People, the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition and the Haiti Support Network
January 20, 2005
Counter-Inaugural Demonstration
in Washington DC
initiated by the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
March 19/20, 2005
Global Day of Coordinated Actions
on the 2nd Anniversary of the
"Shock and Awe" Invasion of Iraq
initiated by antiwar organizations worldwide
including the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition in the United States
October 16, 2004
Immigrant Rights March
in Los Angeles
call supported by A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition
October 17, 2004
Million Worker March
in Washington DC
call supported by the A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition
We will demand:
1) US Out of Iraq Now, End the Occupation - Bring the Troops Home Now
2) End Colonial Domination from Palestine to Haiti, and Everywhere
3) Health Care, Education, Housing, and a Job at a Living Wage Must be a Right!
The people of this country, in cooperation with the people of the world, have built a mass worldwide movement since October 2002, when the first massive antiwar demonstrations took place. In that movement lies the hope that the imperialist war drive can be challenged. Do not count on the politicians who contest with each other, not about principle, but about who would be more effective in winning the war of aggression against Iraq. The antiwar movement must be in the streets in the coming weeks and months - building a politically independent movement. It is this movement of global solidarity that poses the only real obstacle to the forces of militarism and corporate domination, and that prioritizes meeting human needs and embraces self-determination.
Bush's monstrous invasion and occupation of Iraq is now entering the appalling next stage. A reign of terror has been inflicted on Najaf, Sammarah, Sadr City in Baghdad, Fallujah and other areas outside of the political control of the occupying forces.
Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell and others are guilty of war crimes. The world is disgusted as the carnage is unleashed from AC-130 gunships and by missile attacks on densely populated city streets. Wedding parties destroyed by air attack, the grim pictures of the bodies of children and other civilians being removed from the rubble of buildings destroyed by what the Pentagon press office always calls "precision bombings against known terrorist hideouts," torture and brutality. This is the essence of Bush's plan to proceed with "democratic elections."
And what is Kerry's response on Iraq? "We are talking about winning, not leaving," Kerry told us in the first presidential debate. We, along with a growing number of military families and soldiers, are insisting that the troops be brought home now. More than 1,050 GI's are dead and thousands wounded - many with horrendous life-altering injuries - in this criminal war.
In Palestine, more than 100 Palestinians have been massacred in a matter of days by Ariel Sharon's offensive in refugee camps in Gaza. You'd hardly know about it from the U.S. mass media. Do Bush and Kerry have a different view about this U.S.-financed slaughter? They only try to compete with each other by their grandiloquent declarations in support of Israel's actions - including the construction of the hideous apartheid wall. We must stand with the people of Palestine including support for their right of return.
In Haiti the death toll has risen to more than 3,000 from the aftermath of Hurricane Jeanne. The Bush administration's stooge government did nothing to help the people. They did not prepare for, order or assist in an evacuation of people at risk. Instead they have focused their energy on arresting hundreds of supporters of deposed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The disaster caused by the Hurricane is "man-made." It is the consequence of decades of neo-liberal policies imposed on the country by the U.S. and the IMF that have resulted in, among other problems, massive de-forestation, leaving the country vulnerable to catastrophic flooding. What has Kerry done to provide an alternative to Bush on Haiti? Absolutely nothing.
The massive outpouring of the renewed antiwar movement needs your continued help to support these upcoming activities. Organizing buses, printing hundreds of thousands of leaflets and posters, phonebanking, mass mailings - these vital tasks take funds. The generosity and self-sacrifice of those who believe in the importance of building this movement has made all the difference in the past years. We are creating the only real, viable force that can challenge the political stranglehold exercised by the warmakers.
You can make a donation online through a secure server by clicking here. Credit card donations made online are not tax deductible. To make a tax deductible credit card donation, call 202-544-3389. You can also make a tax deductible donation by writing a check to A.N.S.W.E.R./AGJ and sending it to A.N.S.W.E.R., 1247 E St. SE, Washington DC 20003.
Reminder
Next weekend - Saturday, October 16 & Sunday, October 17 - is the weekend of action for immigrant and labor rights. The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition is supporting both of the demonstrations taking place this weekend.
Regional March and Rally for Immigrant Rights: On Saturday, October 16, gather at 12 noon at Olympic and Broadway in Los Angeles - Nearly ten years ago, on October 16, 1994, the Latino immigrant community and its allies convened and held the largest ever mass march and rally by Latinos in the history of the United States. The main issue then was the movement to defeat Proposition 187, which aimed to deny basic human services and constitutional and labor rights to immigrants. That historic march united the Latino community and their allies like never before and unleashed a rise in the political consciousness of millions of people in California and throughout the rest of the country. To commemorate that historic march is important. We must also elevate the level of struggle to win full rights for undocumented workers and their families at this critical time. This call for a demonstration on October 16, 2004, was initiated two years ago by a pro-immigrant coalition led by Latino Movement USA & Hermandad Mexicana Nacional on October 22, 2002, during the rally held at the Immigrant Rights March in downtown Los Angeles.
Million Worker March: On Sunday, October 17, gather at 12 noon Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC - According to the Million Worker March Committee, "This mobilization is being proposed in response to the attacks upon working families in America and the millions of jobs lost during the Bush administration and with the complicity of Congress." The march is also calling to Bring the Troops Home Now. It was initiated by The International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 10 and endorsed by many labor, community and activist organizations. Click here for logistical information (directions, maps, housing, etc.).
War Crimes in Iraq
From the Independent UK
Take them out, dude: pilots toast hit on Iraqi 'civilians'
By Andrew Buncombe
Washington DC
October 6, 2004
The Pentagon said yesterday it was investigating cockpit video footage that shows American pilots attacking and killing a group of apparently unarmed Iraqi civilians.
The 30-second clip shows the pilot targeting the group of people in a street in the city of Fallujah and asking his mission controllers whether he should "take them out". He is told to do so and, shortly afterwards, the footage shows a huge explosion where the people were. A second voice can be heard on the clip saying: "Oh, dude."
The existence of the video, taken last April inside the cockpit of a US F-16 fighter, has been known for some time, though last night's broadcast by Channel 4 News is believed to be the first time a mainstream broadcaster has shown the footage.
At no point during the exchange between the pilot and controllers does anyone ask whether the Iraqis are armed or posing a threat. Critics say it proves war crimes are being committed.
A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
http://www.ANSWERcoalition.org
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