Feature Archives

On January 10 2004, 11am-5pm at St Boniface Church DASW is hosting an assembly to take stock of the past year?s actions, strengthen its network and sculpt plans of action for 2004.
In 2003 DASW brought together many of activists,organizations and affinity groups in the strongest creative direct action resistance against the invasion of Iraq within the US. When the US invaded, 20,000 of protesters shutdown the San Francisco Financial District ( 1 2 ).
As the invasion continued and became an occupation, DASW coordinated actions linking corporate power and profit, the Bush Administration?s empire building policies, and the war's impact on local communities. Bechtel, ChevronTexaco, SSA, APL ( protests at Oakland docks:  1   2 ), Autonomy Corporation, Carlyle Group, Lockheed Martin and the Pacific Stock Exchange were among the targets.

12/29/2003: A soldier who was in the U.S. military during the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War says that before President G.H.W. Bush visited the troops in Saudi Arabia, enlisted men and women who would be in Bush's immediate vicinity had their rifle and pistol ammunition taken away from them. This was supposedly done to avoid "accidents." But it was also clear to people on the scene that Bush and his corporate handlers were somewhat afraid of the enlisted people who Bush would soon be killing in his unsuccessful re-election campaign. TIME Magazine's "Person of the Year" for 2003 draws attention to the role that mass resistance by enlisted people has played in sabotaging Wall Street's wars.
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Iraq 12/27/03: One of the biggest rebel attacks occurred today, injuring at least 172 mostly civilians, and killing 13 people. The occupation gets messier by the day as Iraqi homes continue to be searched by U.S. soldiers, thousands of civilians are in detention centers, entire neighborhoods are sealed off with barbed wire, and bombs rock Baghdad continuously. Civilian casualties are mounting as the U.S. claims it is going after insurgents that are continuing to kill U.S. troops.When the U.S. invaded Iraq amid protests worldwide and disregarding the popular dissent from US citizens, we must wonder how long the occupation will continue and what will be the consequences.
Activist Dispatch From Iraq | DASW Assembly | Electronic Iraq | Baghdad Blogger | Occupation Watch | Wildfire Iraq Updates

The War On the World
Last weekend on March 19th and 20th, people from all parts of the US and world took to the streets to voice opposition to the Bush administration's lies and bloody oil war. A year has passed, and instead of celebrating an anniversary, many people are calling attention to the fact that the war is still wreaking havoc at home and abroad. While Gen. Tommy Franks of the US Central Command has affirmed that "(the Army) doesn't do body counts", the world has been watching and counting and is truly horrified. With an estimated 10,000 Iraqi civilians dead and at least 583 soliders killed in Iraq to date, the people of the world continue to express outrage at the US's illegal bid for control of Iraq's oil fields at any cost. Speaking of cost, this "quick" and "efficient" war has turned out to be one of the most expensive in modern US history, diverting billions of dollars from social and educational services. Video
Told by the Army that they would only be in Iraq for several months, many soliders continue to express anger and frustration at an ever-delayed homecoming, bordering on two years for many, and forced protection of companies like Haliburton, who are better armed than the soliders themselves. Soldiers like Stephen Funk and Brandon Huey continue to desert the immoral war, while Camilo Mejia, the first veteran of the Iraq war to apply for conscientious objector status, awaits the verdict of the US Army regarding his five month absence from the war.
With the Bush administration continuing to dodge inquiries into their knowledge of 9/11 and capitalizing off of the misery of victim's families in order to fuel a re-election campaign, the government still has not provided any concrete proof that Iraq was a threat to US lives or in possession of weapons of mass destruction.
Afghanistan continues to suffer, as media attention has been drawn to Iraq, and the world vehemently disagrees with Bush's assertions that they are safer. Press freedoms also continue to be hijacked, with Middle East reporters detained and tortured by US forces.
San Francisco has been the backbone of the antiwar movement, capturing the imaginations of the world and inspiring hope that a different world is possible. -AUDIO-

Resistance Lounge II : New Year's Eve Benefit Party for DASW
El Rio, San Francisco 8PM - 2AM
Words to inspire, music to make you perspire. Conscious spoken word will set the stage for Aphrodesia's unbeatable live Afro-Cuban funk grooves. Proceeds benefit Direct Action to Stop the War (DASW). Join with your activist community in celebrating the victories of the past year and ushering in a better world!

DASW was one of the groups that helped shut down San Francisco when the Iraq war started ( 1   2 ) and helped to organize protests at Bechtel, Chevron-Texaco, Lockheed Martin and the Oakland Docks ( 1   2 ).

12/14/2003: Two thousand people attended the memorial service for Father Bill O'Donnell Sunday night at the Berkeley Community Theater. Afterwards, the procession made it's way to St. Joseph the Worker Church.

Arrested nearly 230 times for civil disobedience, walking picket lines, and protesting injustice near and far, Father Bill O’Donnell was memorialized this evening by friends. Those who addressed the two thousand people who gathered in the Berkeley Community Theater Sunday included Martin Sheen, Father Roy Bourgeouis (School of the Americas Watch), Dolores Huerta (United Farm Workers), and Congresswomen Barbara Lee and Nancy Pelosi. Afterwards, the procession made its way to Father Bill’s church St. Joseph the Worker. Father Bill’s black pickup led the way carrying his UFW flag-draped pine coffin.

Photos: 1   2 | Audio: 1 | Who He Was: 1   2

12/13/2003: On Saturday, around one hundred people took to the streets of Fresno to demand an end to the war in Iraq. The "Bring the Troops Home" march was organized by Peace Fresno.
Photos