Archive for June, 2009

Third Retruthment Demo at Times Square Military Recruiting Center

Friday, June 26th, 2009

The Granny Peace Brigade returned to Military Island to raise questions and provide answers about the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We were joined this week by a tourist from Chicago…

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…Sophie (on the left) who happened by and stayed with us for a big chunk of time holding up her end proudly.

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Thanks Sophie!

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The number of US troops killed in these wars goes up every week. The number of Iraqi and Afghan civilians killed in these wars goes up every week.

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Attention must be paid.

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Bev busy retruthing.

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This young woman’s brother is now serving in Iraq. She thanked us and said she’d ask her grandmother to join us.

Photos: Caroline Chinlund
Captions: Eva-Lee Baird

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June 19th At The Military Recruiting Center

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

Our banner is unfurled, we’re asking “how much?” and signs give the facts.  Note that the policeman is on guard by the recruiting center door.

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This gives you the big picture; not everyone in the chairs is vegging, though.  We got a lot of good conversation passing out our fact-full fliers.  The Mom of the kids on the left picked up the photographer’s dropped pack of fliers and thanked the Grannies for being there.

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The cost of war.?  Too much

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Note the taxi-driver is taking our literature.

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The recruiters in the background weren’t feeling our power at this moment.

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As Molly advances, the recruiters go into action.

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We were getting some media attention. The young man had just had his picture taken with Edith and her sign, was on his way to being interviewed.

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For the finale, a picture framing the entrance.  This recruiting center needs retruthment! Bring that soldier home NOW.

- Caroline Chinlund: photos and text
for the Granny Peace Brigade

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More Money For War, More Grannies in the Street

Friday, June 19th, 2009

To their shame our Congress has passed the 106 billion dollar war funding bill. The Senate voted 91 to 5 and the House voted 226 to 202 to fund further slaying of innocents. The Granny Peace Brigade is hitting the streets.

Friday, we were back on Military Island in front of the Times Square recruiting center with our signs and chants:
“HOW MUCH?”
“HOW MANY?”….
….and carrying signs with answers about the cost of war. With great sorrow we had to change a sign – the number of US troops killed. We know with dread that we will soon be changing the number of Iraqis killed. These numbers do not go down.

To start we lined up facing the people in beach chairs on Broadway, each of  us holding a question or an answer. We took turns stepping forward in Q&A pairs while handing out flyers with more facts about the cost of war – a touch of reality amidst the eruption of hype that is Times Square.

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After showing the questions we read names of the dead to our lounging audience.  When we moved our line across the island to face traffic on 7th Avenue one cab driver after another thanked us – some passengers did too. The pace of pedestrians was dizzying throughout our little peace-ballet, but even so, many passers by gave heartfelt thanks and even the occasional hug.

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With guidance from our choreographer we are working to have an effective demonstration in this difficult space.

That Armed Forces “Career” Center has got to go.

There were three new signs this week:
“WHAT CAN YOU DO?”
“CALL YOUR SENATOR OR REPRESENTATIVE”
“JOIN A PEACE GROUP”

Do you have a suggestion for a sign? Email us at grannypeace@gmail.com.
-Eva-Lee Baird & Phyllis Cunningham
for the Granny Peace Brigade
Photos: Eva-Lee Baird

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A FEW FACTS ABOUT THE COST OF WAR

Friday, June 12th, 2009

“How many?  we chanted today in front of the so-called Armed Forces Career Center at Times Square. Some of the signs we carried said:

HOW MANY?
U.S. TROOPS DEAD?
IRAQI CIVILIANS KILLED?
TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES?
SOLDIER SUICIDES?
STARVING IRAQI CHILDREN?
IRAQI REFUGEES?

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In turns we stepped forward to compose a single question.

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Our flyers provided answers.

In the whirlwind of Times Square with its flashing lights, flowing (or not) traffic, and tourists agape it is not easy to get attention, but our choreography worked. People stopped and stared, took flyers, and many thanked us. Taxis drivers hollered helpful advice. Hey, we’re in New York.

We plan to be back throughout the summer and hope you will join us. Check our website for dates and times.

In peace always,
- Eva-Lee Baird
for the Granny Peace Brigade

See a great slide show of the event here.

P.S.
That sign in the upper left corner of the second photo is on top of the Armed Forces “Career” Center. What the %#$& are they preparing for?

Posted in Demonstrations, Grass Roots Action | 1 Comment »

De-Fund JROTC Rally at City Hall

Thursday, June 11th, 2009

The rain clouds passed and the sky cleared just as the De-Fund JROTC Rally on the steps of City Hall began. NY1, FOX News and WBAI were on hand to record our message and 25 peace activists from several organizations held signs and banners. The message was as clear as the sky  No taxpayer funding for the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corp (JROTC) program. JROTC is a program designed by the military, instructed by the military and serves the interest of the military. The JROTC program is where the military begins to gain the hearts and minds of our youth. The NY City Council must eliminate the $2.4 million funding for this program and re-allocate the monies to educational programs that better serve our students. Funding this program is a misuse of taxpayer money.

Elaine Brower, Military Families Speak Out, read a letter she wrote to the Mayor and Council Members describing her son’s experience with JROTC in his high school.  It was profound and moving. The letter detailed the indoctrination of a child and the general militarization of youth in the program. Cheryl Wertz, Peace Action NY State, spoke about the misuse of $2.4 million slated for JROTC programs, and the military approach to social and political change in the curriculum.

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Photo: Eva-Lee Baird

City Council Member Robert Jackson, Chair of the Education Committee, emphasized his support for the elimination of funding for JROTC and his responsibility to be heard in the education committee and budget hearing on this issue.  He energized us to move forward with our efforts to work toward the elimination of the program from NYC high schools. We were honored that he participated in the rally, added his support, and acknowledged our commitment to working for peace and justice.

Note: You can still call your City Council member and demand that allocation of funds for JROTC be eliminated from the education budget for FY2010. (more info) Keep the issue on the table and pressure from the constituents.  The budget will be returned to the Mayor’s office in two weeks.

Peace,
- Barbara Harris
for the Granny Peace Brigade

Posted in Counter Recruitment, Demonstrations, Grass Roots Action, Legislative | No Comments »

The GPB, The NYPD, The US Armed Forces Career Center and Beach Chairs?

Monday, June 1st, 2009

We arrived at Times Square to find the NYPD all lined up as our welcoming committee, so it appears the word was out that the Granny Peace Brigade was back at the Times Square Recruitment Center. For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to check this out yet, there is something supremely surreal about seeing people collapsed into beach chairs in the hurly burly of Times Square, especially with those horrific images of marauding and murder beaming out from the Recruitment Center. Welcome to New York, folks!

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This is not fertile ground for a phone-a-thon, especially one that targets the JROTC program in NYC schools — too many tourists and the vibe is all wrong.  However, in spite these factors, there are extraordinary opportunities to be had in this location. And all was not lost yesterday.  While the number of phone calls were few, some people did stop to engage and one handsome young man came back to get extra literature to take back to his office. We met some stateside visitor from as far away as California and they all were disturbed about the presence of JROTC in their local schools.

As for what is next — well, dear friends, it is time to start your creative engines. Mayor Mike has reconfigured our stage,

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so if we want a place on it, we gotta get cracking.

The Friday Crew

- Fran Sears with Barbara H, Barbara W, Bev, Caroline, Edith, Eva-Lee, Jenny, Joan P, Lillian P
Photos: Caroline Chinlund

Posted in Counter Recruitment, Grass Roots Action, Legislative | No Comments »