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Work 4 Peace,Hold All Life Sacred,Eliminate Violence! I am on my mobile version of the door-to-door, going town-to-town holding readings/gatherings/discussions of my book "But What Can I Do?" This is my often neglected blog mostly about my travels since 9/11 as I engage in dialogue and actions. It is steaming with my opinions, insights, analyses toward that end of holding all life sacred, dismantling the empire and eliminating violence while creating the society we want ALL to thrive in

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Round Table Strategies

Our Round Table last Monday was a huge success! We followed the Seneca Falls Womyn’s Peace Encampment format of beginning with Grounding, then Silence, followed by Mourning. We then introduced ourselves by throwing our Outrage onto the table and concluded with Empowerment, where we defined and chose our upcoming actions.

Around 50-60 amazing womyn participated and over 60 actions were brainstormed with womyn prioritizing and signing up to work on about 1/3 of the actions.

Below is the list of actions created at the Round Table. Each action has at least ONE CodePINKer committed to doing the action – she needs your help! We recommend holding SHORT 30 minute organizing sessions for each of these actions!

· Hold Our Ground for Peace DC Sept 11th - 21st: joining womyn who intend to go to DC and "hold the ground" surrounding Congress for Peace during the time Congress should be voting to end the war and occupation or not!

· Simultaneous Sister Actions in the Bay Area Sept 11th - 21st: standing in solidarity with DC womyn, we will "hold the ground" surrounding & blocking SF & Oakland Federal Building during the time Congress should be voting to end the war and occupation or not!

· Caravanning to Washington DC: driving as many vehicles as possible along 5 routes across the country, picking up more vehicles along the way. Kathy from San Francisco is donating her car for the caravan, and the CodePINK truck will join up also.

· "Hands across America": people stand, decked out in hot pink, holding hands along the side of the road, across overpasses, thru cities, from here to DC – even literally from here to DC if we get the numbers – inspired by folks from another country (sorry, I forget which one) where people actually held hands across their country!

· Adopting a Democrat: we "adopt" the district of a Dem that voted to fund war & offer our help organizing encampments, peace-ins, call-ins - whatever is needed in that community from now until the next vote; and do our own Call-in campaign to their offices!

· Camp-out Pelosi, Feinstein: keeping the pressure on both Pelosi and Feinstein to vote NO MORE FUNDS FOR war and occupation!

· Hold a House Party for “Hold Our Ground for Peace”: invite as many friends as you can host, have flyers & sign-up sheets available, show a documentary/film, get a speaker from CodePINK, raise money, awareness, and energy!

· GENERAL STRIKE! Organize your neighborhood, work school religious social place to STRIKE should Congress decide in September to turn their backs on the people of this country (not to mention Iraqis and the world), and not implement our Mandate for Peace. We MUST turn people’s outrage especially with the Democrats, into ACTIONS should Congress vote this way – 1st work day after vote.

· Guerilla Theater, songs, skits, fun: General “Betray-us” performance; make up various hard-hitting, funny, tragic skits, plays, vignettes, songs for raising consciousness, spreading information, getting folks signed up!

· Weekly Table/leaflet, at farmer’s markets, Solano Stroll, Mime Troup, Golden Gate Bridge: hand out action cards, flyers, help spread the word and get folks signed up for CodePINK by having a presence at events, fairs, etc.

· Weekly Womyn Write “Circle of Scribes”: gather with womyn over lunch and write one letter per week to the Editor for as many papers as possible!

· Motivate your friends to sign up for one or more of these actions: call 5 friends/allies and ask them to sign up for one or more of these actions. Call 510-524-2776 with your results!

· Welcome Troops & Mercenaries home & write to active duty soldiers: and convince them NOT to go back, hand out GI Rights Hotline cards, “Sir No Sir” dvds, Courage to Resist and other info giving them choices.

· Passionate Pink Weekly Freeway Bannering: expand the weekly Friday a.m. East Bay & Friday p.m. SF freeway overpass bannering to EVERY freeway overpass in the Bay Area – hold hand action too!

· Burma Shave Sequential Signs: make a series of ‘ burma shave’ type signs, hold them on freeway overpasses or along freeways, streets, hillsides, etc., temporary & permanent!

· Take over Media outlet, etc: Oaxacan-type demos banging on pots & pans “Country is going to pot; pan the man!”

· Vigils to bewail massive deaths in Iraq: use Walk in their Shoes with the Real Face of War, to bewail the deaths of 1,000,000 Iraqis.

· Join other demos already planned: Iraq Moratorium 3rd Friday every month BART Stations, Move-on Stand Up Action August 28th – flyer & spread the word there about our actions!

· Create enthusiasm for Kucinich: and inform Obama & Clinton of this support!

· 6:30pm Flix Nite at the Office: show good films as fund-raisers!

The following were ideas for actions that thus far have no one signed up for:

Stenciling, chalking messages for general public

Include vets and their needs in funding debate

Sponsor fellow activists going to DC, eg donate funds, air miles, etc.

Reveal US secret plans, Greg Palast BBC

Get our own 800 number for Pelosi

Predict the tactics of military heads

Engage our female luminaries, eg Starhawk, Caroline Casey