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"Not at Home for the Holidays" Protest at Capitola Military Recruitment Center

by ~Bradley (bradley [at] riseup.net)
Santa Cruz County activists, including the Santa Cruz gaggle of the Raging Grannies, demonstrated for peace in front of the Military Recruitment Center in Capitola on December 15th. The last time the Grannies sang songs at the recruitment center on June 26th, they refused to leave the entrance of the Army recruiters after being denied entry into the building and were eventually arrested and escorted to the police station in handcuffs. This time around, the Navy and other branches of the military wanted to avoid dealing with the Raging Grannies, so they, "Closed on December 15th, 2007 in support of gathering CARE package materials to send to the Sailors who are unavailable to be home during the holidays."
war-toys_12-15-07.jpg
The following information was distributed on flyers to people who attended the demonstration or passed by on foot, and in same cases given to car passengers.

180,000 American troops are in Iraq or Afghanistan, dodging bullets and bombs. Thousands more are away from their families, on duty abroad. All of them are

Not at Home for the Holidays

3,900 American families have lost loved ones in Iraq. Over 28,000 have welcomed home wounded relatives, some have welcomed home wounded relatives, some of whom have even been asked to repay their sign-up bonuses and all of whom will be scarred for life. A CBS investigation revealed that

120 veterans commit suicide every week

2007 is the deadliest year yet for U.S. troops in Iraq: 885 dead so far, and 5,688 wounded. And don't forget the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi (and Afghani) dead, nor the four million refugees.

The World Needs PEACE

Each death, each wound, each trauma is a personal tragedy. And yet our government plans more. Iraqi government sources confirm that the U.S. plans to keep 50,000 troops permanently in their country. Neither their parliament nor our Congress has approved this, but the bases are already being built. The U.S. has 823 foreign military bases worldwide; its time to start closing them.

There is still talk of bombing Iran, even though it does not have a nuclear weapons program. Don't attack Iran!

Australia, Britain and Poland (our only fighting allies) are planning to cease combat in Iraq and to withdraw their troops. So should we. Iraqis and Americans agree: It's time to end this war.

Bring The Troops Home NOW!

What You Can Do

Learn what is really going on, both in the rest of the world and here in the U.S. Tell your friends, and tell Congress not to fund the war. Find out about the work of Activist Groups such as
United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) -- unitedforpeace.org
Iraq Veterans Against the War -- ivaw.org
Code Pink -- codepink4peace.org
After Downing Street -- afterdowningstreet.org and
DontAttackIran.org
Several websites collect and reprint important articles, for instance:
truthout.org, antiwar.com, truthdig.com

There is lots of news on the web, but always check the sources. Good information can also be found (often buried) in the New York Times and other major newspapers -- read them carefully and critically too.

Join us, every Friday, 5-6 P.M., at the weekly Vigils for Peace: in Santa Cruz at the Town Clock and at Pacific and Cooper, and in the Watsonville Plaza on Main Street, by the Plaza. Please become part of the peace community.

Most local actions are announced on the Santa Cruz Progressive Email List (SCPEL) -- Google SCPEL for subscription information. Check indybay.org/santacruz for local news and event listings.

Write, phone, email, send letters to the local papers -- be creative!

Call your Senators
Barbara Boxer: in D.C. -- 202 224 3553
in San Francisco -- 415 403 0100
Dianne Feinstein: in D.C. -- 202 224 3841
in San Francisco -- 415 393 0707
Call Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House:
in D.C. -- 202 225 1965
in San Francisco -- 415 556 4862
You can find contact info for all your Senators and Representatives at congress.org, you can call toll-free -- 800 839 5276.

This flyer was produced by Pete Shanks for People United for Peace (PUP). The statistics came from CBS, the Department of Defense, the New York Times, Refugees International, USA Today, and the Washington Post, among others. For detailed sources, email pete {at} wordsontheweb.com. 12/15/07
§Santa Cruz Raging Grannies
by ~Bradley
grannies_12-15-07.jpg
§Do We Support Torture?
by ~Bradley
torture_12-15-07.jpg
§Killed by War
by ~Bradley
fallen_12-15-07.jpg
§"Bill Motto" VFW Post 588 Santa Cruz, California
by ~Bradley
vfw_12-15-07.jpg
§High School Students for Impeaching Bush
by ~Bradley
impeach-bush_12-15-07.jpg
§Sherry
by ~Bradley
sherry_12-15-07.jpg
§Vrede
by ~Bradley
vrede_12-15-07.jpg
§Vote for Regime Change
by ~Bradley
regime-change_12-15-07.jpg
§Bring The Home Now!!!
by ~Bradley
francisco_12-15-07.jpg
§South Bay Mobilization
by ~Bradley
mobilize_12-15-07.jpg
A women wearing a South Bay Mobilization shirt gives a flyer (text printed above) to the passenger of a car driving down 41st Avenue in Capitola.
http://southbaymobilization.org
§Out Now
by ~Bradley
out-now_12-15-07.jpg
§You Can't Be All That You Can Be if You're Dead
by ~Bradley
think-dead_12-15-07.jpg
§Fuera "Army" de las Escuelas
by ~Bradley
fuera_12-15-07.jpg
School of the Americas Watch
http://soaw.org
§Buddhist Peace Fellowship
by ~Bradley
peace_12-15-07.jpg
Across the street from the Military Recruitment Center, activists hold signs for peace in front of a KFC and AW fast food restaurant.
§Corporate Media: KION 46
by ~Bradley
corporate-media_12-15-07.jpg
§Army... Closed
by ~Bradley
army-closed_12-15-07.jpg
§Navy... Closed
by ~Bradley
navy-closed_12-15-07.jpg
§Fresh Catch
by ~Bradley
fresh-catch_12-15-07.jpg
Photos displayed in the window of the Navy show local high school students who have signed up to join the Navy and "accelerate" their life. Recruiters are known for telling lies, but it would be more accurate to say the students have unfortunately signed up to join the Navy and "accelerate" their death.

The information listed under each photo was: name, guarantee, ship date, hometown, high school, and recruiter. The local high schools included Delta, Watsonville, Renaissance, Palma, Harbor, Aptos, Gilroy, San Lorenzo Valley, North Monterey County, Grace Davis, etc...
§Unavailable
by ~Bradley
unavailable_12-15-07.jpg
"Closed on December 15th, 2007 in support of gathering CARE package materials to send to the Sailors who are unavailable to be home during the holidays."
§More War
by ~Bradley
more-war_12-15-07.jpg
When I looked inside the Navy recruiter office, it did not look like they were, "gathering CARE package materials to send to the Sailors," rather, it looked like they were avoiding the Raging Grannies.
§Air Force... Closed
by ~Bradley
usaf-closed_12-15-07.jpg
song-book_12-15-07.jpg
The new Activist's Song Book with the Santa Cruz WILPF Raging Grannies. The cover photo was taken by Bob Fitch on June 26th, 2007, during the previous protest with the Raging Grannies at the Military Recruitment Center in Capitola.

Peace Advocates Arrested At Capitola Peace Demonstration
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/06/27/18430928.php
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by PEACE NOW!
FLYER: Download, Print and Distribute!
http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2007/12/16/not-home-for-holidays.pdf
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