For the Media
MARCH 19
Journalists covering March 19th in San Francisco should contact Michael (510-846-0490) or Blake (415-308-3343).
You can view the media advisory for this action by clicking here and the Media Reference Guide by clicking here.
DIRECT ACTION TO STOP THE WAR
http://www.actagainstwar.net
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 19, 2008
CONTACT:
Blake McConnell, 415 308 3343
Michael Reagan, 510 846 0490
PRESS RELEASE
Nonviolent Direct Actions Throughout San Francisco
Mark 5th Year Anniversary of the Iraq War
Group that shut the city down 5 years ago again targets war profiteers and politicians with nonviolent civil disobedience and other creative protests
SAN FRANCISCO – At least 143 people were arrested in direct actions throughout San Francisco today. Demonstrators engaged in acts of peaceful civil disobedience to protest the 5th anniversary of the United States’ invasion of Iraq. San Francisco was one of more than 300 U.S. cities to resist the tragic and costly war and occupation. Coordinated by the group Direct Action to Stop the War (DASW), Bay Area residents from all walks of life participated in nonviolent direct actions targeting corporations and government officials that are profiting from or supporting the war.
At 7:30 a.m., peaceful civil disobedience began. War machine tours of shame featuring the Brass Liberation Orchestra visited San Francisco war profiteers. A bike brigade, organized by Bikes not Bombs, cruised the streets in support of the actions. Also starting at 7:30 a.m., students from five University of California campuses blockaded the UC Regents meeting, chaining their necks to entrance doors using bicycle u-locks and resulting in 12 arrests. Organized by the Free the UC Coalition, students demanded an end to the UC’s management of the nation’s nuclear weapons facilities, as well as increased funding for education and an end to the war. At 8:00 a.m. another group of protesters chained their necks to Federal Reserve Building on Market, shutting the building down for an hour. A spokesperson said they targeted the Reserve to highlight the financial interests behind the war in Iraq. At around 8:00 a.m. the Global Exchange Affinity Group, in collaboration with others, was successful in shutting down the Chevron offices on California Street. 13 were arrested when demonstrators blockaded the front entrance and the parking lot and staged a sit-in inside the building.
Several hours later at Kearney and Market 25 members of the DASW “War Machine Tour of Shame” were arrested after police tore through a banner spanning the length of the street during a die-in in the intersection. Throughout the morning dozens of street performers dressed in white jumpsuits and black hoods staged ten “stillness disturbances”, in which they froze in place for several minutes at a time inside the Westfield mall and the cable car turnaround at Powell and Market. At 11:00 the City Lights Bookstore co-sponsored “Words Against War” featured readings by author Rebecca Solnit, performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña, and MC James Kass of Youth Speaks.
At noon the Iraq Moratorium led a die-in outside of Diane Feinstein’s office at Market and Montgomery. Approximately 60 people were arrested by police, including Daniel and Patricia Ellsberg, Father Louis Vitale and Bill Simpich. “We are targeting Senator Feinstein because she continues to support the war by voting in favor of supplementary war funding appropriations, and because she chaired the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee from 2001 through the end of 2005, awarding lucrative contracts to companies owned by her husband, Richard Blum,” explained Bill Simpich, an organizer with Iraq War Moratorium.
Members of Act Against Torture staged a blockade in support of the die-in on Market Street. 20 people were arrested in their support blockade. Dressed in Guantanamo style orange jumpsuits, black hoods, and chains, Act Against Torture had earlier staged street theatre inside Neiman Marcus and the Embarcadero Bart Metro Station.
At 5 p.m., the day’s activities were capped by a march and rally of thousands of people at Civic Center Plaza organized by the A.N.S.W.E.R coalition.
“We want San Franciscans to stop and think about the damage that our government has done to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. Five years of war and destruction is far more than any people should have to bear, and we need to hold accountable the government leaders and corporations that have let this go on for way too long – or even want it to continue because they’re making a killing off the war,” said Michael B Reagan, an organizer with Direct Action to Stop the War.
“Speaker Pelosi has neglected her election mandate – and the will of the people of San Francisco – to immediately and unequivocally end the war. Her inaction allows San Francisco corporations to continue to reap millions of dollars in profit from the death and devastation in Iraq,” said Adrian Wilson, a DASW organizer.
Today’s protests highlighted the human cost of the war – which includes more than 1 million dead Iraqis* and 3,900 dead U.S. soldiers – as well as the loss of nearly $2 trillion that could have been spent on basic human needs rather than death and destruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. Demonstrators used sit-ins and blockades of building entrances targeting the offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and war profiteering companies such as Bechtel, Chevron, the Carlyle Group and URS Corp.
DASW is a decentralized network of individuals and organizations committed to an immediate and unequivocal end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today’s actions were in solidarity with the students who protested the University of California Regents’ meeting nearby, with those who are protesting at the Marine Recruiting Center in Berkeley, and with the acts of civil disobedience in Washington, D.C., organized by United for Peace and Justice.
For more information about the San Francisco action, see http://www.actagainstwar.net. For a list of actions throughout the United States, including a massive nonviolent civil disobedience planned for Washington, DC, see http://www.5yearstoomany.org/.
* Opinion Research Business, January 2008
- Sansome and Market: Press Liaisons and Media Spokespeople will be available all day. Contact Blake McConnell 415 308 3343 and Michael Reagan 510 846 0490
- 7:30am non-violent civil disobedience begins. War machine tours of shame leaving Sansome and Market throughout the day accompanied by the Brass Liberation Orchestra
- Bikes Not Bombs: Bikers will be leaving Justin Herman Plaza at 7:30, 9:00 and 11:00am to support the days actions.
- 10:00am Guerrilla Street Theater with legendary performer Keith Hennessy
- 11:00 am Words Against War Market and Montgomery. City Lights Bookstore co-sponsors an anti-war read-out featuring Jack Hirschman, SF Poet Laureate; Guillermo Gómez-Peña, performance artist; Rebecca Solnit, author and activist; and MC James Kass of Youth Speaks
- 12 noon Iraq War Moratorium action at Diane Feinstein’s office, Market at Montgomery
- Decentralized affinity group actions taking place throughout the day. Contact Blake McConnell or Michael Reagan for updates.
- 5pm Civic Center March and Rally organized by A.N.S.W.E.R.
- Participants will keep themselves informed of the day’s events through radio updates on 102.5FM, a “text mob,” and through the Indybay website.
DIRECT ACTION TO STOP THE WAR
http://www.actagainstwar.net
WEST COUNTY TOXICS COALITION
http://www.westcountytoxicscoalition.org/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2008
CONTACT:
Moira Birss, 734-834-2356
Mitch Anderson, 415-342-4783
MEDIA ADVISORY
Non-violent Land, Sea and Bike Blockade and Protest of Chevron Refinery to Kick Off National Anti-War Protests on Fifth Anniversary of Iraq Attack
Rally and nonviolent direct action at Richmond Refinery will target Chevrons war profiteering and toxic pollution of Bay Area community
WHEN: Saturday, March 15, 2008, 11 AM Rally; Nonviolent Direct Action, 1PM
WHERE: Rally begins at Judge G. Carroll Park, W. Cutting Blvd. & S. Garrard Blvd, Richmond; Nonviolent Direct Action at Chevron Refinery, 100 Chevron Way, Richmond
WHAT: Just days before the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, concerned Bay Area residents will tomorrow engage in peaceful civil disobedience aimed at the war profiteers who have helped shape the Bush administration’s disastrous foreign policy, using bicycles and “blockades” to stop stolen Iraqi oil from entering or leaving Chevron’s Richmond refinery for half a day.
Chevron, the US’s second largest oil company, processes more than one million barrels of crude oil from Iraq every month at its refinery in Richmond, California, allowing the company to profit as Iraqi men, women and children die and US taxpayers foot the bill for an unnecessary war that is costing trillions of dollars and the lives of thousands of US soldiers.
The Bay Area Peace Navy will set sail at 9am to begin Saturday’s events, and will sail through the bay until 11am, when a family-friendly rally at Judge G. Carroll Park will feature speakers, spoken word artists, and musicians. At 1pm participants, accompanied by musicians, bicyclists, puppets, and more, will march to the refinery, where some protesters plan to engage in acts of peaceful civil disobedience.
The protest at the Richmond refinery will kick off a series of nationwide anti-war demonstrations expected in some 300 cities. It also seeks to highlight the connection between the oil industry’s disregard for human rights at home and abroad; carcinogenic and asthma-causing emissions from the refinery are causing health problems among the people of Richmond. Despite this, the company seeks to expand the refinery to process more dirtier grades of oil, increasing the threat to community health in Richmond.
“In Richmond we pay with our health; in Iraq they pay with their lives; in Ecuador and Nigeria they pay with their human rights; and we all are paying with Global Warming. If you think the price of Chevron gas is too high, you’re right. It is time that Chevron pays for the loss of lives and environmental damage,” said Dr. Henry Clark, of the West County Toxics Coalition.
So far, independent experts have estimated that the war in Iraq has cost the lives of more than one million Iraqis* – in addition to the official US statistics regarding the loss of 3,900 US soldiers – as well as costing US taxpayers approximately $2 trillion, according to a recent report released by Nobel Prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz.
“We are gathering on March 15th because Chevron is profiting from the blood spilt in Iraq, from the hospitalization of children in our communities here at home, and from continuing to promote oil consumption despite everything the scientists are telling us about the gathering impacts of global warming. Chevron must be held to account,” said Jess Bell, organizer with Direct Action to Stop War.
WHO: Sponsors of the Chevron rally and direct action include Direct Action to Stop the War, Greenaction, West County Toxics Coalition, Amazon Watch, Richmond Progressive Alliance, Richmond Greens, Community Health Initiative, Communities for a Better Environment, Global Exchange, and Rainforest Action Network.
Speakers at the rally include Henry Clark of West County Toxics Coalition, Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin, and Jessica Tovar from Communities for a Better Environment. Performers include DJ Jermiah and Afrobeat Nation, DJ Zeph and Azeem, spoken word artist Ariel Luckey, and the Raging Grannies.
For more information about the Richmond action and the 5th anniversary action on March 19, see http://www.actagainstwar.net. For a list of actions throughout the United States, including a massive nonviolent civil disobedience planned for Washington, DC, see http://www.5yearstoomany.org/.
*Opinion Research Business, London, 2007
