June 9, 2005 - Half Moon Bay, CA Book Event and Counter-Recruitment Action | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On June 9, members of Coastside Peace and local CODEPINKers made a big pink splash in the small city of Half Moon Bay, located on the Pacific Ocean between Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Women took action against the repeated attempts of military recruiters to lure students into the Army by handing out brochures about military myths and pencils that read "Dying in combat is not a job opportunity" outside Half Moon Bay High School. Most students were very appreciative and receptive, while some young men were very vocal in their pro-war, pro-Bush sentiments. The group migrated to the corner of Highway 92 and Main Street and vigiled for 3 hours during rush hour traffic. The book reading event at Moon News was very well attended and featured an audience dotted with bright pink. Alli Chagi-Starr spoke about the importance of arts activism and the upcoming Art in Action youth camp this summer. Nancy Schaub gave a wonderful introduction for Medea, including the story of Medea's recent infiltration into Condoleza Rice's speech in San Francisco. Medea emphasized the importance of a clear exit strategy for the US occupation of Iraq, and highlighted the various ways that the local community could increase their involvement in the peace movement, including stepping up local counter-recruitment efforts, getting local officials and individuals to sign onto the petition to bring the California National Guard home, and joining one of the Global Exchange/CODEPINK reality tours, especially the upcoming travel challenge to Cuba. The Progressive Democrats of Sonoma tabled at the event as well and distributed leaflets about the Downing Street Memo. CODEPINK wishes to thank Carol, Mark, and Lisa at Moon News for holding the book event, creating such a warm and inviting atmosphere, and providing the authors with delicious local pizza before the event.
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