Code Pink is sponsoring events on March 8 which is International Women's Day to say Women Say No To War.

Here are some of the events that have been planned.

CodePink LA is sponsoring the following event on March 12:

In honor of International Women's Day on March 8th; CODEPINK women all over the world are organizing actions and saying NO to war! Check out this hysterical cartoon Cheney's Got a Gun (click here) and get fired up to celebrate International Women's Day with CODEPINK Los Angeles.

Add your voice to the global call and join us in Los Angeles on March 12th. Thousands of us will stand together at the Arlington West Memorial and represent the world uniting to say NO to war. Artist John Quigley is creating another one of his powerful aerial images for us on a canvas so big it will take a helicopter to capture it all; each time we have done this it has made the front page of the paper. To see past images check out www.codepinkla.org.

One week before we march on the 3rd anniversary of the war, let’s create something very beautiful, something that will go around the world, something to touch hearts, an experience full of magic and community. JOIN US!!! Here's how you can get involved:

Be a part of the image: Sunday, March 12th, 2pm to 4pm. Santa Monica Beach, just north of the pier next to the Arlington West Memorial. Sign up below & let us know that you'll be in the image on March 12th. Be sure to tell us what country you'll be representing & we'll put you on the map! Bring friends. Sign up as a team leader & commit to bringing at least 5 people with you. Your friends will thank you for inviting them out for a fun & memorable Sunday afternoon.

Join the planning team for March 12th. Embrace your inner producer and be a part of the team organizing for March 12th.

Become a Co-Sponsor. Add your organization as a co-sponsor for this event. We'll include your group on all materials while you spread the word.

Support creating this experience with a donation.

Donate your talent. Musicians, artists, performers and creative minds needed to help make this a fun and interesting event.
Donate your time. We'll need lots of volunteers on the day of March 12th to help with creating image, set up, clean up and everything else we'll be doing to pull this together.
Donate your money. Help us cover the cost of bringing Faizi Al-Araji, an Iraqi mom whose son was illegally imprisoned, to share her story here in Los Angeles. Contribute here.

Click here & sign up to let us know that you'll be a part Women Saying NO To War in Los Angeles on March 12th.

For more information about March 12th go to www.codepinkla.org or contact Tiffany at tiffany@codepinkalert.org or (310) 827-4320.

To find out more about other International Women's Day CODEPINK events or to sign the call go to: www.womensaynotowar.org

Saying NO to war = Saying YES to peace! See you on Sunday, March 12th!

This event is sponsored by: CODEPINK Women for Peace, Gold Star Families for Peace, Arlington West, ICUJP, Iraq Vets Against the War, Veterans for Peace, Marcy Winograd - 36th District Congressional Peace Candidate to Unseat Jane Harman, Military Out of Our Schools (CAMS), Palisadians for Peace, ANSWER LA, The Levantine Cultural Center & www.minjok.com

Friday, March 3rd, Noon:

Student Anti-war Protest at UCSD

Student leaders from UCSD are organizing a massive anti-war protest at the school on March 3 on La Jolla Village Drive, at the edge of the campus.

La Jolla Village Drive and Gilman Dr

UCSD DEMS ucsddems@ucsd.edu

That evening there will be a panel discussion at the Price Center Theatre at UCSD. Panelists will be former State Department official Anne Wright, Cindy Sheehan, John Amato of Crooks and Liars, and David Swanson from Afterdowningstreet.org. Here's a link to a flyer with further info.

There will be a San Diego Party for Progressives on March 4 from 7:30-10:00 at the Balboa Park Club. Proceeds will benefit Activist San Diego. Special guests will include Cindy Sheehan and Jon Elliott. Music by Liquid Blue. Here's the info from the Activist SD website:

When the wolves are running the country, it is difficult to pause to celebrate our successes. But we must do so. Black history month reminded us of all those historical heroes who took a noble stand for justice and equality. Activist San Diego believes we need to celebrate those who still pursue the lofty goals of peace, justice, democracy and social equality, those who are forging progress towards a new society.

ASD’s party for progressive is such a celebration with conscious music by Liquid Blue and a series of activist awards to our local heroes – specifically those groups and individuals who have made a big difference in the last year. Please join Cindy Sheehan and other leaders; come celebrate with us on March 4th at our annual gala event. We’ll have dancing, food, spirits, culture and activist awards at the Balboa Park Club Room. 7:30 – 10 PM, ARRIVE EARLY. Tickets on sale on-line now. Also WE NEED VOLUNTEERS! 619-528-8383

Hi there! Recovery is proceeding on pace. I can type. For a bit. And I returned to work.

Since the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq is approaching, there are several events coming up over the next couple weeks. Here's one:

Share your Visions of Peace and Justice with the thousands of people who will gather on March 18 in Balboa Park.

The Peace Wall will be an extended display of art, text, handwritten comments, statistical and political analyses, pictures, crafts, etc. from individuals young and old and organizations from around San Diego County on all aspects of the Iraq War/Occupation and peace and nonviolence in general. Each contributor to the Peace Wall is responsible for putting up and taking down their sections.

If you would like to have your wall listed in the March 18 Activists Directory contact Kelly King's email: Kelly_King_@hotmail.com

For ideas on how to easily make a section of wall from a cardboard box, see below.

Sections of wall do not have to reflect peaceful subject matter. All peace and justice issues are welcome. For example, Individuals or groups are creating sections of wall on the following topics:

Picasso's Guernica adapted to Iraq
Children and Nonviolence
The Death Penalty
Protest at the White House; add your message of protest to a mural of the White house
San Diego Peace Candidates and the Peace Score Card (voting history of Congress Members on the war)
Picasso's Child with a Dove
Diego Rivera's La Siesta
Genocide-Rwanda and Sudan

Suggestions for wall topics:

Immigration/ The Border
Free Trade/Human Rights
Civil-Rights and the War, including the "Un-Patriot Act"
Impeachment
Repeal of the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" Policy in the Military
Reproductive justice
Labor and the Peace Movement (or Women and the Peace Movement or the Students As a Peace Movement, etc.)
Defense Budget Issues - the Cost of the War
How Parents Opt Out of the Provisions of the "No Child Left behind Act"
Comparison of Exit Strategies
History of the Peace Movement

The Peace Wall is a Project of SDCPJ and the San Diego Puppet Insurgency. For More information or for Help creating and building your section of the Peace Wall contact Antonia at antonia@davisworld.com or 619-265-1199.

Use a large box with a wide base so it can easily stand on it's own and provides you with 4 working surfaces
A box with little depth can be cut to open out "theater style" The open "doors" will keep the box from falling over.
A box can also be cut to open like a book. the "covers" open holding the display upright. Cardboard pages can be added for more display surface and further stability.

Another new link in the blog roll... The Notion of the Nation.

I added a link to the blog roll to Al Rodbell's blog. He's local, and I found his blog by way of an email from a mutual friend/acquaintance.

His most recent post is regarding Cindy Sheehan's arrest before the SotU address. At least the DC police have apologized to her.

CodePink's most recent campaign is a global call for peace called "Women Say No To War". Please sign the call at the CodePink web site.

From Women Say No to War:

Women are mobilizing women around the globe to call for an end to the occupation and the violence in Iraq. With the majority of people in Iraq, the U.S., the U.K., and around the world opposing this war, now is the time for women to step forward and make our opposition more visible and vocal.

With the launch of Women Say No To War Campaign, we are asking women around the world to sign on to the Women’s Call for Peace. We hope to obtain a minimum of 100,000 signatures by International Women's Day on March 8, 2006, when US and Iraqi women will deliver these signatures to leaders in Washington DC and women around the world will deliver them to US embassies.

Women's Call for Peace: An Urgent Appeal

We, the women of the United States, Iraq and women worldwide, have had enough of the senseless war in Iraq and the cruel attacks on civilians around the world. We've buried too many of our loved ones. We've seen too many lives crippled forever by physical and mental wounds. We've watched in horror as our precious resources are poured into war while our families' basic needs of food, shelter, education and healthcare go unmet. We've had enough of living in constant fear of violence and seeing the growing cancer of hatred and intolerance seep into our homes and communities.

This is not the world we want for ourselves or our children. With fire in our bellies and love in our hearts, we women are rising up - across borders - to unite and demand an end to the bloodshed and the destruction.

We have seen how the foreign occupation of Iraq has fueled an armed movement against it, perpetuating an endless cycle of violence. We are convinced that it is time to shift from a military model to a conflict-resolution model that includes the following elements:

* The withdrawal of all foreign troops and foreign fighters from Iraq;
* Negotiations to reincorporate disenfranchised Iraqis into all aspects of Iraqi society;
* The full representation of women in the peacemaking process and a commitment to women's full equality in the post-war Iraq;
* A commitment to discard plans for any foreign bases in Iraq;
* Iraqi control of its oil and other resources;
* The nullification of privatization and deregulation laws imposed under occupation, allowing Iraqis to shape the trajectory of the post-war economy;
* A massive reconstruction effort that prioritizes Iraqi contractors, and draws upon financial resources of the countries responsible for the invasion and occupation of Iraq;
* Consideration of a temporary international peacekeeping force that is truly multilateral and is not composed of any troops from countries that participated in the occupation.

To move this peace process forward, we are creating a massive movement of women - crossing generations, races, ethnicities, religions, borders and political persuasions. Together, we will pressure our governments, the United Nations, the Arab League, Nobel Peace Prize winners, religious leaders and others in the international community to step forward to help negotiate a political settlement. And in this era of divisive fundamentalisms, we call upon world leaders to join us in spreading the fundamental values of love for the human family and for our precious planet.