Saint Paul, MN – Local leaders of the Twin Cites peace and justice movement announced their planned march route here at a June 7 press conference. The massive demonstration on Sept. 1, 2008 will coincide with the Republican National Convention. A large map of the march route was displayed.

Jackson Heights, NY- The Queens office of U.S. Representative Joseph Crowley (D-NY) was the site of a picket May 4 as constituents called for the congressman to introduce legislation to cut off funding for the war in Iraq and to impeach Bush and Cheney for war crimes. Picketers chanted, “Hey Joe Crowley, what are you waiting for? Impeach Bush and stop the war!” and other chants while circling and beating drums. A coffin standing on the sidewalk represented the growing number of U.S. troops and Iraqis killed in the war in Iraq.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following call for demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. We urge all anti-war and progressive organizations to endorse the protest.

St. Paul, MN – Anti-war activists confronted police officials here, April 20, resubmitting permit applications for demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. In addition to resubmitting the permit applications, Jess Sundin of the Twin Cites-based Anti-War Committee delivered officials a letter challenging their contention that no permits will be considered until six months before to the RNC.

In the face of recent moves by Democrats in Congress, the anti-war movement needs to reject both fuzzy timelines and continued funding for the war in Iraq. We need to insist on the demand, “U.S. out now!” Nothing less will do.

“Stop the war, yes we can! SDS is back again!” This was a popular chant heard around the country as students in high schools and colleges walked out of classes, held rallies, marches, teach-ins and other creative actions in response to the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) call for national coordinated student actions on March 20, the fourth anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War. The call was put out by SDS groups that met at the School of the Americas protest last November, where 100 students from 20 campuses voted unanimously to make March 20 a national day of student action against the war. Those 20 schools quickly became 83, as colleges and high schools from the Northeast to the Midwest, from West Coast to the South, signed on to the call.

At colleges and high schools across the country, students are building for a day of protests on March 20 against the U.S. war in Iraq. Students at more than 60 schools have protests planned on that day, in the largest coordinated day of student anti-war protests in years. A press release for the March 20 actions says, “In the space of just three weeks, over sixty campuses have signed onto the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) call to action—from Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Grand Rapids, Michigan; from high schools in central North Carolina to the west coast campus of UC Santa Barbara; from urban centers of Chicago, Boston, New York, and Los Angeles to rural campuses of Tennessee and Iowa—and in dozens of places in between.”

Chianciano, Italy – An historic conference with leaders of the Iraqi national resistance was held here last week. It was the first time that representatives of the Iraqi resistance have been able to speak in the West. Organizers had previously attempted to hold the conference in the fall of 2005, only to have the Italian government withhold visas from the Iraqi participants after intense pressure from the United States government. The scope of the conference extended beyond Iraq to include the resistance movements in Palestine and Lebanon, as well as representatives from the antiwar and liberation movements in countries from around the world.

St. Paul, MN – Since the announcement that the 2008 Republican Convention would take place in Saint Paul, Twin Cities anti-war organizations and others have been making plans to hold protests against the U.S. war on Iraq. Progressive activists from around the country are coming to the convention to speak out against the war. Permit applications and payments were submitted in October 2006. After holding the applications for five months, St. Paul officials are now saying they don’t want do deal with the issue until next year. This does not work.

Washington D.C. – On March 17, tens of thousands of people braved unseasonably cold weather and strong winds to march against the U.S. occupation and war in Iraq. This national protest marked the fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and also commemorated the 40th anniversary of the historic 1967 march on the Pentagon against the Vietnam War. The 1967 Pentagon march is widely seen as representing the shift 'from protest to resistance' against the Vietnam War. The March on the Pentagon this year also aimed to express the need for an escalation from protest to resistance in order to stop the U.S. war in Iraq.

Tuscaloosa, AL – Over a dozen students from the Tuscaloosa chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), wearing ‘bloody’ t-shirts, staged a die-in March 6, lying sprawled on concrete in the hot sun for over half an hour to draw attention to the massive number of casualties in the Iraq war. Students gave speeches over a megaphone, calling on their fellow students to stand up and speak out against the war.

Atlanta, GA – Georgians will mark the fourth anniversary of the American invasion of Iraq by demanding, “Not one more death, not one more dollar.” Activities in various parts of the state will include delivery of petitions to congresspersons, a ‘constituent teach-in’ for Georgia’s U.S. senators and numerous street demonstrations, faith vigils and campus actions.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following call for a March 20 national day of student and youth protest against the war in Iraq.

What began as a student strike to protest the war in Iraq quickly escalated on Feb. 15, as over a thousand students at the University of California-Santa Barbara took to the streets and completely shut down California Highway 217 for over two hours. After a standoff with law enforcement and the arrest of two protesters, the crowd marched back to campus and demonstrated in front of the chancellor’s office to confront university officials about the school’s involvement with the war effort.

Response to Bush’s State of Union Speech

Jess Sundin is a leading member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization. She traveled to Iraq in 1998 and has played a important role in the Twin Cities anti-war movement since then. We interviewed her after the State of the Union address, where President Bush attempted to bolster support for his plans to expand the war in Iraq.

Bloomington, MN – Youth Against War and Racism (YAWR) activists were disciplined here Jan. 10 for educating their fellow students at Thomas Jefferson High School. They distributed literature and did guerilla theater to advertise for the Jan. 11 international day of protest to shut down the U.S. prison for ‘terror suspects’ at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The student activists decided to mobilize for the Minneapolis demonstration and to table at their high school the day before the protest to increase awareness about the torture, abuse and lack of due process for detainees at Guantanamo.

Protesters looking for change in 2007

St Paul, MN – New Year’s Eve, an evening typically shared and celebrated with our loved ones was overshadowed this year as the death toll of U.S. soldiers serving in the Iraq war reached 3000. About 300 protesters gathered in Minneapolis at the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue Bridge that spans the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and St. Paul on the evening of Jan.1. It was one of 300 other organized events across the country.

Minneapolis, MN – On January 14, a jury found a group of seven anti-war protesters not guilty of trespassing at a Minneapolis National Guard recruiting office last March. The charges stemmed from an incident that was part of a series of demonstrations organized to mark the 5th anniversary of the U.S. war in Iraq. On March 27, 2008, hundreds rallied and marched against the war on the University of Minnesota campus. That afternoon, a group of protesters organized by the Anti-War Committee attempted to enter the National Guard recruiting center located on the second floor of 825 Washington Avenue SE. After finding the doors locked and police waiting, they remained in the hallway and continued their demonstration. Police informed them that “the building owner doesn't want you here,” but they refused to leave. Sixteen people were arrested for trespassing.

Vast numbers of Iraqis responded angrily to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed between the United States government and their local allies in the Green Zone. The SOFA will provide a legal basis to continue the U.S. occupation of Iraq when the United Nations Security Council mandate for the occupation expires on Dec. 31, 2008. Hundreds of thousands protested before the agreement was signed and protests are set to continue as the SOFA legislation heads to the puppet parliament for final approval. The Iraqi resistance has also intensified its attacks on the U.S. occupation in response to the agreement.

Chapel Hill, NC – Six students were arrested at Congressman David Price’s office Feb. 17 for holding a sit-in against the Iraq war. 40 people held a picket line outside while the students locked arms and occupied the office, demanding that Price vote against Bush’s Iraq war supplemental funding bill and oppose any aggression, including military action or sanctions, against Iran. Similar actions are taking place across the country in a campaign of pressure on Congress to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq.