SODaPOP’s Kickoff!
Wednesday, November 7, 7:00 pm.
Place: Chet Guinn's Old Fire Station, 1041 8th Street, Des Moines, IA. (one block west of the downtown Holiday Inn at the extreme south end of the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) parking lot.)
Kathy Kelly,
"What have we done to the people of Iraq?"
Well-known peace-maker and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Kathy Kelly recently returned from living with Iraqi refugees in Amman, Jordan. Kelly's speech will be followed by a discussion of the occupation of campaign headquarters of pro-war candidates the next day.
Thursday, November 8, 9:00 am.
Place: Chet Guinn’s Old Fire Station
Nonviolence Training*
*This training is required for all who are considering risking arrest.
Thursday, November 8, 12:30 pm.
Nollan Plaza, downtown Des Moines
Rally
The SODaPOP kickoff rally will be followed immediately with occupations of campaign headquarters around the Des Moines metro area.
Seasons of Discontent:
A Presidential Occupation Project (SODaPOP) will launch November 7, 2007.
SODaPOP's mission is to introduce nonviolent direct action against the war in Iraq into the presidential election process. Activists from around the nation are encouraged to journey to Iowa to "occupy" the Iowa campaign headquarters of presidential candidates (both Democrats and Republicans) who do not pledge to concrete plans for complete withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Iraq. We may also challenge these candidates as their public appearances around the state without regard for arbitrary "free speech zone" restrictions that may be established by candidates, parties, police or the Secret Service.
Tell us you’re coming!
Contact Voices for Creative Nonviolence
773-878-3815, or info@vcnv.org
Need a place to stay?
There are a number of area hotels nearby. For those who need free accommodations, the Des Moines Catholic Worker community will provide hospitality, mostly floor space but some beds will be available. If you have special needs be sure to contact the DMCW before hand.
Contact DMCWer Mona Shaw, 515-243-0765, 319-621-4646 (cell), or monashaw@aol.com, to arrange accommodations.
More events will be announced soon!
Voices for Creative Nonviolence
Iowa Occupation Project
www.schoolformoralcourage.com/iowaoccupation project.html
Des Moines Catholic Worker Community
www.desmoinescatholicworker.org
Join Voices for Creative Nonviolence, the Iowa Occupation Project and other Peace Makers in the run-up to the Iowa Caucuses in Des Moines, Iowa, in a nonviolent direct action campaign to end the war in Iraq.
Peace Needs You in Iowa!
November 7, 2007, - January 14, 2008
“World peace through nonviolent means is neither absurd nor unattainable. All other methods have failed. Those of us who believe in this method can be voices of reason, sanity, and understanding amid the voices of violence, hatred, and emotion. We can very well set a mood of peace out of which a system of peace can be built.”
Martin Luther King, jr.
