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Members of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union are proceeding with plans for a work stoppage at 29 West Coast ports on May 1 to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, despite the fact that union leadership has withdrawn its request to waterfront employers that they accommodate closure of the ports. Planning for the protest began in February when the Longshore Caucus, the highest decision-making body for the 25,000 members of the longshore division within the ILWU, overwhelmingly approved a resolution in support of a day of protest. According to its contract, the ILWU is entitled to schedule a...

(shirt says, "I'm with stupid." "I'm with Satan") (note the banner for Ron Paul in the background)

WASHINGTON - Activist Cindy Sheehan was arrested Wednesday as she led about 50 protesters to a White House gate Wednesday to deliver anti-war petitions she said were signed by 80,000 Americans. Before she was arrested, she joined the protesters in hailing the outcome of Tuesday's elections and chanting "Stop the War" outside the gate.

Jane Fonda Declines War Protests 30 minutes ago Jane Fonda says she would like to tour the country and speak out against U.S. involvement in Iraq, but her controversial history of Vietnam War protests leaves her with "too much baggage." "I wanted to do a tour like I did during the Vietnam War, a tour of the country," the Oscar-winning actress said Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America." "But then Cindy Sheehan filled in the gap, and she is better at this than I am. I carry too much baggage." Sheehan, whose soldier son, Casey, died in Iraq in 2004,...

03-20) 08:10 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- As many as 75 protesters are gathered at an intersection in downtown San Francisco this morning, promising "acts of civil disobedience" to mark the third anniversary of the Iraq war and to denounce the Bush Administration's policies. The protesters, calling themselves Act Against Torture, are gathered outside the offices of Sen. Dianne Feinstein at Montgomery and Market streets. A large contingent of San Francisco police is standing by, and some of the protesters are threatening to block the intersection.

CRAWFORD, Tex., Nov. 26 -- Dancing to reggae music and hugging her supporters, Cindy Sheehan led an anti-Iraq war rally Saturday at a one-acre campsite adjoining the ranch where President Bush is spending his holiday weekend. As in August, when she galvanized attention and made headlines for days with similar protests, there were songs and speeches and demonstrators holding signs reading "Bring the Troops Home" near the main entrance of the 1,600-acre ranch where Bush has been vacationing since Tuesday. Unlike then, when hundreds came from all over the country for major events at the two campsites named after...

Well I was going to put this into some other thread but things have been moving so fast that it is going to be lost and I have been encouraged to give it one of its own. So since this is the first time I've posted like this, I hope I do it all right. I was feeling really frustrated by all the conflicting accounts of how many people were at the anti-war/anti-everything related or not related to Bush protest, that I decided to try to get a closer number based on the picture that came from Reuters of the...

Margaret Johnson, 54, came to the District yesterday to remember her 29-year-old son and honor his sacrifice. Clutching a photograph of Army Capt. Christopher Johnson, the American Gold Star Mother said she couldn't be more proud of him. "He did make a difference in this world; I don't care what anyone says," said Mrs. Johnson, of Excelsior Springs, Mo. "I am here to speak for my son. I am here to support him. He knew the cost of freedom and that it was not free, and he volunteered to go to Iraq anyway." A member of the 25th Infantry Division...

STOP THE NEXT WAR NOW: A DAY OF REFLECTION, PLANNING AND ACTION September 11th 2005 12:15 pm box lunch/discussion, All Saints Church, Pasadena call 626 683-9004 for information 7:00 - 9:30 pm: Panel Discussion Immanuel Presbyterian Church 3300 Wilshire Blvd. (at Berendo, East of Vermont) ICUJP, CODEPINK, KPFK and PCU present Medea Benjamin – Global Exchange, CODEPINK, (recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize) Ray McGovern – former CIA analyst; founder -Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity) Tom Hayden – former California State Assemblyman; co-author of the Port Huron Statement) Eisha Mason – Executive Director, the Center for the Advancement...

George Galloway and Jane Fonda are to appear at Northwestern Law School on Monday, Sept. 19, 7pm. The Program is call "George Galloway's Stand Up and Be counted: No To War and Occupation 2005 Tour." The cost is $10-$100, sliding scale. It's sponsored by The New Press, National Council of Arab Americans, International Socialist Review, and the Center for Economic Research and Social change. There isn't a website, but you can call 773.551.5780 for info. Details to follow; email pwchicago@sbcglobal.net if you're in for a counter-demonstration.

CRAWFORD, Texas - A woman whose son was killed in Iraq returned to Texas Wednesday to resume her anti-war protest near President Bush's ranch after a weeklong absence to care for her ailing mother. About a dozen protesters who have continued the peace vigil picked up Cindy Sheehan at the Waco airport Wednesday afternoon, six days after she flew to Los Angeles when her 74-year-old mother suffered a stroke. "This is where I belong, until Aug. 31, like I told the president," Sheehan said at the airport before driving about 20 miles to the Crawford site. Sheehan began her vigil...

VACAVILLE, Calif. - A caravan proclaiming support for U.S. troops began a tour through California on Monday and stopped in the hometown of Cindy Sheehan, the anti-war mother who gained national prominence during a vigil outside President Bush's Texas ranch. Conservative activists and military families embarked on a tour they are calling "You don't speak for me, Cindy!" and are planning rallies in several California cities before heading to Crawford, Texas. "It's time to lay down the anger. We need to continue to uphold those people over there, to uphold those men and women with their boots on the ground,"...

I received the following email from SoldiersPrayingMom who has posted her son's (Freeper jmpmstr4u2) emails to her on FreeRepublic. Note that the letter in this article is not from Greg to SoldiersPrayingMom as she would never even consider joining the anti-war movement! I thought this entry from the Urban Legends Reference Pages at snopes.com might interest you: Letter from a soldier son to a Mom contemplating joining the war protest. Hi Swordmaker, This is a very good example of how a mother should respond, even if this son did not perish in Iraq, that I know of, what he has...

Why Did the AFL-CIO Self-Destruct? The 96th Convention of the American Federation of Musicians — a unit of the AFL-CIO — gathered in Las Vegas July 17-20. I wasn’t there; but I have seen the write-up of the public meetings described in International Musician, the flagship periodical of the AFM. I wanted to “file a report” on these proceedings. So in the interest of full disclosure, I need to give some background here. My husband has been a member of the AFM since he was 16 years old; but then he’s a fulltime working musician, and having a union card...

It was the summer of 1972 and John Kerry's group, the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, was in the midst of an anti-war march through the streets of downtown Gainesville. ... I was disgusted to see that they were not only carrying the American flag upside down, they were carrying the flag of the communist Viet Cong as well. ...The freedom to protest is an important one. ...However, we did not go into harm's way to allow our fellow citizens to help our enemy. ...Now, we have some new Hollywood military experts. The latest is comedian Bill Maher, who made...

The Denver Freep yesterdat was one of the most interesting experiences of my life. I organized it just a few days before, and with the Fort Collins Freep so well planned, not too many Freepers came. I was alone for most of the hour I demonstrated. I had brought two UN Flags. One I had cut up and made UN toilet Paper rolls and handkerchiefs, and the other I desecrated with my boots before the rally with dirt from my raspberry patch. When I showed up, I set up right at the foot of the Capitol steps in Denver. I...

The next time a liberal friend insists there is no contradiction between supporting the troops and opposing the war, before speaking, consider whether Stacy Bannerman and Karen Houppert are prime examples of why your friend may be wrong.Bannerman opposes the war in Iraq. She is a pacifist. She is married to a Washington Army National Guard soldier now deployed to Iraq.Bannerman's idea of supporting the troops: “The best way to support our troops is to bring them home from this reckless, ill-conceived war based on lies. Help President Bush to honor his pledge to end world tyranny: get the United...

Got what follows from a homeschool discussion group I belong to: Hi Everyone -- Sorry about the cross-posting, but this should be a pretty cool educational event. Disclaimer -- I am only posting this to let homeschooling families know of a great educational opportunity. Nothing more, nothing less. Please do not make this a big political thread -- that's not the intention. I am a firm believer in "Take what you want and delete the rest". I'm 100% flame proof. Former President Bill Clinton will be speaking with John Kerry at LOVE Park, 16th and JFK Blvd in Center City...

(CNSNews.com) - White powdery or granular material found by mail sorters has prompted several bio-terrorism scares in four states and London since January. Local businesses have also been hurt by the scares. In one case, a Boston flower shop was partially shut down for half of Valentine's Day. The culprit in all those cases was not anthrax, as some feared -- but an anti-war protest campaign called Rice for Peace. The Rice for Peace campaign urges people opposing military action in Iraq to send envelopes containing rice to high-level government officials with the message, "If we are going to send...