FLORIDA PEACE GROUPS RALLY AGAINST IRAQ, AFGHANIS-TAN AND PAKISTAN WARS; BLAST BANKS and BAILOUT

Uncertainty Over Obama Motivates Antiwar Protesters; Calls for More Domestic Spending and Citizen Control

 

MELBOURNE, FLORIDA,  Friday, April 3, 2009:    150 antiwar protestors in Melbourne, Florida on Saturday, March 28th, representing over 50 Florida antiwar and social justice groups, criticized America's policies and President Obama's ongoing and delayed war in Iraq, plus the U.S.'s increasing aggression in Afghanistan and continuing bombings in Pakistan. 

The protestors also blasted the banks and wall street bailouts over the pending financial collapse of the country, and called for more domestic spending on health care, education, jobs and the need for "citizen control in place of corporate power."

Civic activist Brian Moore, wearing two hats on behalf of the NatureCoast Coalition for Peace and Justice from the west-central part of the state, and representing the Florida Socialist Party as well, spoke in the beginning of the march at the Front Street Park in Melbourne.  Moore acknowledged that the protest group in Melbourne was smaller than had come out under President Bush's  Administration, but applauded the group for continuing its efforts to "stand up for principles," and "to keep the pressure on the Obama Administration."   Moore observed that the Obama election victory has caused some antiwar activists "to hesitate and wait-and-see" if Mr. Obama would keep his word about ending the Iraq War.

The NatureCoast peace group was represented by Jan Kalnbach, Peggy Moore, BetteJo Indelicato, Rob (a Vietnam Veteran), and possibly others.  Several members of the Florida Socialist Party from Ft. Lauderdale also attended and were active at the event: Marc Lucietti and Jim Sanders.   Coordinators of the Saturday event were Jeff Nall and his colleague, Bill ?, of the "Patriots for Peace" group in Melbourne.

In Moore's brief 5-minute address to the group, he reminded the protestors that people from his own political party were active in the southeast corner of the state of Kansas from the early years of 1895 through 1915, and published the largest weekly magazine in the country, with over 750,000 issues.  According to historians, that small and distant location became the center of socialist activity around the world.  Eugene V. Debs, Joseph Conrad, Sinclair Lewis and Helen Keller wrote for the publication during that period.  It was shortly afterward that the Socialist Party opposed World War I, and continued advocating the social issues of child labor laws, women's suffrage, social security, worker's compensation, collective bargaining, and more.  

Moore urged the protestors "not to be discouraged by the smaller numbers, because it was the "principle" that was at stake, and "we were doing the right thing at the right time" to further social causes.  The civic activist reminded the group historically, the smaller socialist party stood for unpopular issues, which became the fabric of nation in later years, plus it gained almost a million votes in two competitive presidential elections in the early 1900's.

Moore urged the antiwar group to "continue its opposition" to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, opposing the continuing bellicose actions in Pakistan and the Israeli siege of Gaza and the Palestine region.  He also promoted, from his socialist position as chair of the state party, to "advocate a radical systemic change" of our economic system where "citizens take more control of setting policies" and "citizens run the country's economic system through their participation and control of cooperatives, credit unions and state-run banks."

Moore ended his remarks by recommending a coordinated Florida antiwar protest of the Raytheon Corporation at its Orlando headquarters in the late spring or early summer and asked the groups to consider participating.

There appeared to be only one member of the press in attendance (see Florida Today story and photos below). There was a contingent of Libertarians at the park and city hall promoting the 9/11 governmental conspiracy theory, plus interviewing protestors and opinion on the free-market system.  Moore was interviewed, but pooh-pooed the free-market system as people putting their "blind trust in a faulty illogical system which rewards only the few at the expense of the many."

The two groups Moore represented will be holding successive antiwar demonstrations in Weeki Wachee (Hernando County) this Saturday, April 4th, at 10 AM; and the Florida Socialist Party will hold its antiwar rally in Miami on May Day, May 1st.

Pictures and an article of the Melbourne demonstration follows below:
                                                                                    
                                                                                     ---END--- 

 http://search.floridatoday.com/sp?aff=1100&skin=100&keywords=jeff+nall&x=15&y=14

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Marchers seek to focus on home

Peace rally demands an end to war, more money for domestic issues

BY KEYONNA SUMMERS
FLORIDA TODAY
MELBOURNE -- Colorful banners, speeches, music and food were among the sights and sounds Saturday at a peace rally and march calling for an end to war in Iraq and Afghanistan and more focus on domestic issues, such as jobs, hunger, education and health care.
"We want to make this country a much better place to live and to represent the needs of people everywhere," said Bill Burton, co-organizer of the Florida March for Peace, which organizers estimate attracted about 150 people representing 67 organizations from 10 cities from Atlanta to Miami.
"And we think we can do it," Burton said, adding that the main focus is to change both foreign and domestic policy. "We just need the masses of people to stand up."
March for Peace started at Front Street Park in Melbourne and ended at Melbourne City Hall, where organizers served pasta, meatloaf, beans, rice and bread to area homeless and hungry individuals.
Mark Weaver, the host of a political Internet radio show that bears his name, cited homelessness as one of the areas where he believes United States dollars "wasted" on war would be better spent.
"That's money that should be spent to prevent our economy from collapsing amid a depression and spent to pay our debts and to fund all these other needs we do have, like preschool education, hunger, rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure," said Weaver, 58, of Miami.
Rockledge High student Ayasia Telesca, 15, pointed to budget cuts at her own school as an example.
"We're losing so much funding for schools. At my school we're losing six to eight teachers," she said.
Sixty-four-year-old New Jersey resident B.J. Wagner, who attended the rally with her parents who live in Melbourne, said that if the U.S. is going to spend money overseas, it should be spent "doing peaceful things," such as helping them build schools and create jobs.
Co-organizer Jeff Nall said the demonstration was especially relevant as we approach the anniversary of the death of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., to whom President Barack Obama is often compared.
King, who famously opposed the Vietnam war, was shot on April 4, 1968.
"Many of us here voted for Barack Obama, but we are not satisfied with his supporting the Afghanistan war," Nall said. "We're here because we want a fundamental change in consciousness, an end to militarism and the only kind of militarism we want is a war on poverty."

 

Website Designed and mantained by Webpye