Just get your arses there, we need as many people to show Phoney and Bush that they were wrong then and they have been proved wrong now......

Headlines this morning:L "President Bush rules out Iraqi involvement in the attacks on the US, but says al-Qaeda and Saddam are linked"

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE MAKE THE EFFORT OR THIS NIGHTMARE WILL NEVER END

Please, Please, Please... converge at Parliament Square and not in a park... bring Central London to a standstill with a mass of opposition and give the warmongers and their Law Enforcement henchmen something to worry about?

Gosh, the world powers must be quaking in their boots at the thought of the coming show of strength of the mighty STWC. Just think of all the wear and tear on the tarmac! Could bring down the government!

Seriously, we've had almost two million march in Feb and we've seen just what a difference that made. The government doesn't care about public opinion (which was at it's peak then, not now) and the fact is that it doesn't have to care about public opinion. We have no democracy - that should be clear by now - and no amount of marching is going to change that.

Only direct action, reclaiming our lives and building an alternative to the current system can hope to facilitate any real long term change.

We've got to be more imaginative than marching.

However, marches are a great place to sell papers...

NATIONAL GRASSROOTS CONFERENCE : 26th - 28th SEPTEMBER
Organisers Link:  http://www.j-n-v.org/

DATE: Fri 26 - Sun 28th Sept. Make The Most Of The International Demo!
VENUE: Conway Hall. Red Lion Square. London. MAP BELOW:
 http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?X=530500&Y=181500&scale=10000
TAX: £10 waged / £5 unwaged in advance OR £12 / £7 on the door.
SEND YOUR BOOKINGS: Grassroots Anti-War Conference, 29 Gensing Rd, St. Leonards on
Sea, East Sussex TN38 0HE. Cheques payable to 'JNV'.

ACCOMMODATION AVAILABLE: Crashpad accommodation is available on Fri & Saturday nights: £3 Fri night, £3 Sat night, or £5 for both. You will need a sleeping bag & roll mat.

CONTACT & PROGRAMME DETAILS BELOW: Tel: 0845 458 3116
Email:  network@j-n-v.org Or  tom.hay@enfieldstw.org.uk

FRI 26th SEPT: 7:00pm-9:00pm: US & UK activists look back on the record so far. Chaired by Bruce Kent (Movement for the Abolition of War). Speakers from Campaign for Accountability of American Bases & Reclaim the Bases.
Links:  http://www.caab.org.uk/ &  http://www.reclaimthebases.org.uk/
Related Links:  http://www.fairfordpeacewatch.com &  http://www.j-n-v.org/

SAT 27th SEPT: 9:30am-12:00noon: Workshops for sharing skills & experiences. 12:00noon-5:00pm: INTERNATIONAL DEMONSTRATION.
Assemble Hyde Park @12 Noon. March to Trafalgar Square.

SUN 28th SEPT: 9:30am-4:00pm:  More Workshops. JNV Network: Building
the anti-war network. Plenary: Where next for the anti-war movement?

WORKSHOPS INCLUDE: Anti-war Campaigning in `Dead' Times ~ Sharing Local Experiences ~ Creativity & Culture in Anti-War Campaigning ~ Defendants' Meeting: Activists's Experiences of Court ~ Building & Strengthening Local Groups ~ Presswork & Alternative Media Skills ~ Developing Nonviolent Direct Action ~ Writing Effective Letters
(voices in the wilderness uk) ~ Anti-War Electoral Action ~ War & the Environment ~ Getting Better At Arguing Against The War (Milan Rai) ~ The Politics of Opposing War & How To Prevent The Next War.
To offer a workshop, please call or email JNV.
Tel: 0845 458 3116 Email:  network@j-n-v.org Or  tom.hay@enfieldstw.org.uk

ALSO: Anti-War videos, including first-showing-in-the-UK footage of the Iraq Peace Team before & during the war. Delicious veggie food, & spontaneous networking.

SPEAKER FROM US GRASSROOTS ANTI-WAR NETWORK:
The National Network to End the War Against Iraq, a grassroots peace network, is sending a speaker over to share their ideas, experiences and perspectives. An amazing opportunity to hear from the heart of the US anti-war movement.
Related Link:  http://www.endthewar.org/

Marches are also a great place for first-timers to discover the level of opposition to the war that is out there and for all of us to *demonstrate* (hence the word) that it is more than just a "lunatic fringe" who feel strongly.

That is if enough people turn up of course, rather than sitting around in a haze of worldly cynicism feeling smug and elitist 'cos you only believe in direct action.

Direct action PLUS public demonstrations PLUS positive publicity PLUS an alternative media PLUS pressure on the politicians is what will make a difference.

Its not an either/or situation, all y'all purists out there!

Demonstrate! Educate! Agitate!

Don't come on the demo. Go and do your direct action things on your own, and leave the masses to us! Your ideas would only confuse them...

I agree that there are many ways to to progress to change and that we should not get stuck in one mode of operating and should support a diversity of action. However, it seems to me that a march now will not attract mass numbers and that many who go will simply be left feeling it was a waste of time. We have done marching! I've done marching!
This government has shown it doesn't listen, now it must go and marching is not going to do the job. What will? I don't know, but I am certain that marching is not the answer, not this time.

Marching is a numbers game. It's a form of lobbying a government that has no interest in our opinions.

Come on, let's get out on the streets. Unless people have anything particularly better to do on that particular Saturday afternoon. It's better than sitting around on our arses. And there's a libertarian block (see www.u75.org) for all you red and black flag wavers :-)