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Gold9472
07-18-2006, 07:14 PM
www.911courage.org

ESCALATE NOW
Translate Courage into Power with Nonviolent Civil Disobedience.

Calling all 911Truth activists who want to make a real and lasting difference.

We can set a new record for the most states involved in a coordinated civil disobedience action on the same day.

THE MEDIA WILL HAVE TO COVER ITS SCALE AND CONTENT.

If we successfully invite calm, orderly, nonviolent civil disobedience arrests in 24 states on the same day, we will set an all-time record for such coordinated protests that will be hard for the media to ignore. The action we propose is simple, safe and civilized, just flyer a suburban mall theater where it is prohibited when Oliver Stone's movie opens in August. Stone's personal plot perspective is not important. The crucial point is that the audiences will be large and care about the issue, and the opening day hype will draw lots of media cameras to record our gesture and perhaps our comments, too.

When checking which malls would arrest us for leafleting, we will also find some that allow these activities, opening up new venues for 9/11 education and outreach. Other grassroots political activists can also use these venues to expand their own activities, and gradually turn these consumerist complexes into democratic information centers as well.

Many local groups can be started or enlarged around regular leafleting at
such theaters.

In our action day leaflet we would call for the Editor in Chief of some large local daily paper to promise readers he/she will either investigate the hard questions about 9/11 or else resign.

Penalties will vary, but most people can get arrested without serving time. If that's the only way you can risk arrest, a local lawyer can confirm your chances of getting off with a fine or having the case dropped after 3 or 6 months if you don't get arrested again.

We consulted a movement attorney and he feels the law is moving away from arrests in such situations. This means stiff penalties are even MORE unlikely. Many theaters would decline to arrest or remove leafleters, and issue a ban and bar letter instead. Those who receive these letters could choose to get arrested simply by going back.

Those who wish to maximize the impact of their effort can try to convince a jury to find them not guilty (often referred to as jury nullification). Others can try to use their trials to win the right to leaflet in malls and expand First Amendment freedoms for everyone. Still others can plead guilty and serve time in an attempt to touch people's hearts and show the government they are not afraid to stand up for truth. This last option is the Gandhian model.

I am open to repeating Gandhi's plea to the judge, "If you believe in what you're doing, give me the stiffest sentence you can. If you don't believe in what you're doing, resign."

Everyone can follow their conscience on which plea they will make. The only common requirement is that you do not deny that you were there or what you did.

Our leaflet can have the same well-crafted nationally uniform statement on the front side, and a personal statement on the back.

It is crucial to make sure that the theater, its employees, and police all understand that they have nothing to fear physically from your action or intent. We are issuing a moral challenge, not a physical one. We will need prior written agreement from each arrestee to follow our nonviolent guidelines. This is an attempt to protect the action and the group from those acting in bad faith.

We will need the participation of many other 9/11-truth activists to support those who will invite arrest.

Volunteers will be needed to help with legal leafleting at theaters which allow it. Also, coordinated efforts will be needed in media work, legal assistance, and personal support for arrestees.

We are now seeking people willing to help make this important and overdue statement. If you are at all interested in exploring this option, please send us contact information including the geographical area where you would like to risk arrest. No commitment is needed yet. Since a primary goal is to set a new record for such arrests (the current record being 23 states, including DC, during the 2003 actions against the Iraq invasion, you would not have to commit until we have volunteers from at least 24 states on board.

Personally I have engaged in nonviolent civil disobedience more than twenty times, including a 1982 anti-nuclear power leafleting/trespass arrest in New Hampshire for which I served four months in jail.

We will organize using conference calls and/or a listserv. Please contact me if you have any interest.

Seize the Time! David Slesinger dslesinger@alum.mit.edu

Tonya
07-18-2006, 07:20 PM
I can't get www.911courage.org (http://www.911courage.org) to open correctly. And 911blogger seems to be down too. Is this just me or is anyone else having these problems?

Gold9472
07-18-2006, 07:22 PM
I can't get www.911courage.org (http://www.911courage.org) to open correctly. And 911blogger seems to be down too. Is this just me or is anyone else having these problems?

It was up a minute ago. A lot of 9/11 sites are having problems as of late. Mine was down for a day.

casseia
07-18-2006, 07:46 PM
I am very skeptical of demonstrations whose point is getting arrested for publicity. I was arrested about half a dozen times back in the eighties, tried (and acquitted) once, so I know whereof I speak, at least somewhat. If getting arrested is a possible risk, that's one thing -- if it's the goal, that's another, and one that can get really messy and absurd.

Gandhi didn't do stuff to get arrested -- he did stuff (like march to the sea to make salt) that was necessary.

I certainly do plan to do something around the opening of the Oliver Stone movie, however. I just don't think it needs to be illegal. Someone needs to convince me if they think that's the case.

I'm just not a big fan of antagonizing parties that are not directly involved. The local cop is not responsible for 9/11, and me forcing him to strain his back by carrying me off from the mall is not likely to make him sympathetic to the cause.

Thoughts?

casseia
07-18-2006, 07:48 PM
Oh my God. Fox is featuring a couple whose twins were initially frozen embryoes (and who are opposed to stem cell research -- so I certainly hope they didn't leave any on ice -- 'cause they're preborn babies) and they named the kids WINSTON and SMITH.

Gold9472
07-18-2006, 07:51 PM
I am very skeptical of demonstrations whose point is getting arrested for publicity. I was arrested about half a dozen times back in the eighties, tried (and acquitted) once, so I know whereof I speak, at least somewhat. If getting arrested is a possible risk, that's one thing -- if it's the goal, that's another, and one that can get really messy and absurd.

Gandhi didn't do stuff to get arrested -- he did stuff (like march to the sea to make salt) that was necessary.

I certainly do plan to do something around the opening of the Oliver Stone movie, however. I just don't think it needs to be illegal. Someone needs to convince me if they think that's the case.

I'm just not a big fan of antagonizing parties that are not directly involved. The local cop is not responsible for 9/11, and me forcing him to strain his back by carrying me off from the mall is not likely to make him sympathetic to the cause.

Thoughts?

I don't think they're asking to do anything illegal... are they?

Gold9472
07-18-2006, 07:51 PM
Never mind... "just flyer a suburban mall theater where it is prohibited when Oliver Stone's movie opens in August"

Gold9472
07-18-2006, 07:52 PM
This site is up now.

Gold9472
07-18-2006, 07:53 PM
I'm going to get Dave Slesinger to come here, and answer a few questions...

Tonya
07-18-2006, 08:00 PM
Casseia:

I am with you on your thoughts about arrest being the goal. I believe there are much wiser ways of getting out our information. Ways that won't turn people off to our cause and detract from the importance of the caues itself.

Personally, However, although I don't agree with that manner of getting attention, I do respect those that wish to go that route. It is just not what I believe to be the most effective way in gaining support amongst the masses. I fear it labels us as radicals and that is not the case. We are not radicals. We are Americans that give a damn about the truth.---Hell, maybe that is radical now-a-days!

casseia
07-18-2006, 08:03 PM
When checking which malls would arrest us for leafleting...
Many theaters would decline to arrest or remove leafleters, and issue a ban and bar letter instead. Those who receive these letters could choose to get arrested simply by going back.
If you are at all interested in exploring this option, please send us contact information including the geographical area where you would like to risk arrest.

I looked at 911courage and did not find it persuasive -- I also can't imagine why they want to organize it via conference call.

casseia
07-18-2006, 08:10 PM
Tonya,

Thank you for your response. I'm trying to figure out if I could even support such an action. It is all about getting the information out and actively including a very politically diverse group of people in a common cause, and I'm just not seeing an action specifically aimed to getting arrested as necessary to get the information out. Back in the eighties, we had no choice but to try and enlist the help of the MSM to get the word out, and the way to do that was to get a group of aging hippies and punk kids together and go sit in at Republican Party headquarters, for example. Now we have options.

And like I say, some things might be done that would involve the risk of arrest (civil disobedience-style -- I am absolutely not for anything violent or even destructive to property) that would have a point other than arrest.

Yizzo
07-18-2006, 08:24 PM
911blogger.com is not working

****im not going to have an anxiety attack..but im getting close to it****
that or im going to hurt someone if it doesnt come back up

casseia
07-18-2006, 08:37 PM
Yizzo: chill pill. It was down for several hours one day last week and then it came back just fine (although I'd like to know if they know what caused it.) Anxiety attack would be premature.

And whatever you do, don't bug Jon Gold about it.

Gold9472
07-18-2006, 09:28 PM
Here's what Dave Slesigner had to say...

The person who raised reservations about the action made very good points. Besides raising issues about 9/11, especially that the major dailies need to address the hard questions of 9/11, is to change sterile apolitical malls into places where people can respectfully raise important issues of the day for discussion. Many people will leaflet legally. Any theater in a big city abutts a sidewalk where leafletting is legal. Soime malls already allow 9/11 leafletting.

The dimension that is not usually addressed about nonviolent civil disobedience is that it's about courage. So many citizens are afraid to consider that their government could be that evil.

I'm glad you raised the point about policemen's backs. We may require in the guidelines that everyone arrested should fully cooperate by walking where they are told to walk, giving their real name, etc.

werther
07-18-2006, 10:01 PM
when is this movie coming out anyway?

Gold9472
07-18-2006, 10:02 PM
This weekend?

werther
07-18-2006, 10:11 PM
I just found something that said August 9th. Yeah I don't have a tv so when it comes to movies I really don't know a damn thing. I thought he was just starting to shoot this movie ..lol