Code Pink Journals CodePINK Journals

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

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Nellis AFB Day 2, Last Stop before Creech!




We arrive at Nellis a good 20 minutes late due to traffic and a pottie stop! Tons of press and the awesome Las Vegas Peace Community folks, from Pace E Bene, Nevada Desert Experience, WILPF, and other CodePINKers are also protesting, awaiting our arrival!





We join everyone with our banners and signs, and begin singing and chanting.

Several CodePINKers speak on the bullhorn spreading our message of NO DRONES and NO SURGE to the press, the police who have begun to arrive in large numbers, and the passers-by. The press stick around, interviewing Cindy and others, taping our singing and chanting.

We make the local news around Las Vegas!

We urge soldiers again to RESIST, REFUSE, DON'T GO! Many hear; hopefully many will heed as well.



Even though the police are now lined up in great numbers along the frontage road - a good 30 feet from where we are demonstrating - they make no attempt to approach us or to tell us we are on 'visitor' land! We ignore them, they stand guard.



Ft Irwin Day 2, 3rd stop!

We are sad and subdued entering Ft. Irwin. We have dropped Cindy off at a 50's dinner in Barstow. She can not face going to Ft. Irwin, the last place she visited her son before he was killed.

We continue to the base as it is on our schedule and we're hoping press and others might be meeting up with us there. The road is desolate, not a building or home anywhere to be seen, just wide open desert and mountains. We are climbing up and up and up.

We get to a fork in the road - trucks are prohibited on one side, cars only on the other side. Just beyond on the left, is the parking lot for 'visitors'; and farther beyond that on the right is the wall proclaiming the name of the base we are approaching. This time there are 2 large tanks facing into the desert!

The wind has kicked up again - not as bad as Travis, but we do struggle to get our banners in place. This road is very well traveled compared with the two other bases we were at.

A soldier pulls over to the side of the road. His girl friend sits in the passenger seat, a very small, very sad smile on her face. He leans out the window and asks if we accept donations. Then he says in an emotion-laden voice "Thank you". He takes the letter we have written and we tell him to check out the resources on the back.



We are much heartened by his gesture, and saddened as he is going to Afghanistan very shortly. We proceed to the tanks and our rage, our helplessness, our sadness for this soldier's predicament, not to mention what is in store for Afghans should our president go forth with his horrific surge, erupts as we climb all over these most horrific and terrifying machines of terror, death, destruction.

We want to paint the tanks hot pink like they did in England a few years ago; we want to stuff flowers into the end; we want to disarm disarm disarm disarm every bloody weapon western mentality has 'created'.

We cannot make a fast getaway so we are happy with just getting our picture taken!



The military police arrive as we are loading banners and signs onto the truck and getting into the bus. They willingly take our letter to soldiers, promising to spread it around the base.

We're on time, on schedule to arrive at Nellis by 5:00pm. We pick up Cindy, fill up, and head on out!

Barstow Day 2 and 2nd stop!

We think this will probably be our most deserted base! The entrance is stuck under the freeway and surrounded by very primitive asphalt roads that are in dire need of resurfacing.

And this, like other bases we've protested at during this trip, does not seem to attract many demonstrators. When we start chanting at approaching cars full of soldiers "RESIST" "REFUSE" "DON'T GO", several people come out the little motel that is on the hill opposite us.

But the base is being well used we discover, as several cars approach and go in while we are there. People respond mostly open-mouthed and unsure, even though our signs and banners are quite plain!



On occasion we get a smile, a wave, a peace sign. And the military police come up too to let us know we need to move 10 feet to behind the yellow post. Everything past the post - including the road that turns just before the gate to the golf course or some such place - is military land!

There is no press in Barstow. We've called the TV stations and discovered that Barstow doesn't have any TV stations. For a town as big as it is, about 30,000 folks, it's amazing how little press there is. The newspaper office is closed on weekends, only open 9-5 M-F!

We leave a message for them that there are about 20 people standing outside the base, protesting the SURGE against Afghanistan! Hopefully, they will report after the fact.

Off to Ft. Irwin!

Edwards AFB! Day 2 1st Stop

All photos by Meg Whitaker-Green! THANK YOU MEG!

We spent the nite at a little but clean motel on the way to Edwards AFB. We all shared rooms at it turned out to be way too cold to sleep on the bus or truck.

The morning dawned crisp and sunny, not too cold and off we went to Edwards! We entered a 10 mile road toward the base and stopped at that wall we now recognize as the marker to identify the bases

There was a large parking area there and PRESS was waiting! We were thrilled to be out in the middle of no where with press and NO police!

We got out all our banners and set up close to the road so we could greet traffic.

We took the sign greeting soldiers every day and spelled out the truth: not "Warriors supporting Warriors" but "Warriors supporting death, destruction, violence especially against children"


And WE are the REAL WARRIORS

We saw one police car being driven by a military person with the public police sitting in the driver's seat. The local press guy told us the military and local police cooperate with each other. I guess!

The press interviewed Cindy and spoke with several of us as well.



We chanted and sang, acknowledged several waves and a peace symbol - plus a few folks that were half-way there to peace!!!

Kathy, our press diva, has been handing out our press packet to any press who shows up and is collecting their contact info! (see 11/27 for press info).

Although traffic is light, we stay there for our hour, making our mark, being seen, being heard, being acknowledged.