Join In: Freeway Blogging for Peace Commemorating 5th Anniversary of Iraq Invasion, 4 p.m. Thursday, March 20, Hwy 59 Bridges

Event Description:

Activists across the country are marking the 5th anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Iraq with activities spanning several days. Join the Houston freeway bloggers 4-6 p.m. Thursday, March 20, on the Hwy 59 bridges and show your allegiance with the majority of Americans who want peace and an end to the Iraq occupation. Approximately 6000 vehicles pass under these bridges in each direction, EACH HOUR during the period we'll be there, so you WILL be noticed. If you don't have a sign, come anyway, and help hold large signs that others have made, and wave to the traffic.

Here are photos from last year's demonstration: http://houston.indymedia.org/news/2007/03/57057.php

This year's will be even bigger, with more people and more groups. Refer your friends to this web page, or to the PAA home page at http://paa-tx.org

If you are with a group that wants to participate, please contact us! See below for e-mail address, and please include "Mar. 20" in the subject line.

Who's on which bridge

Several different groups are congregating on individual bridges, but you are welcome to come to any bridge. The bridges and groups from east to west are:

• Montrose: Progressive Action Alliance, Green Party
• Graustark: KPFT
  
• Mandell: Israel out of Palestine group
• Dunlavy: Houston Peace and Justice Center, Society of Peace
• Woodhead: 9/11 Truthers
  
• Hazard: Veterans for Peace, Military Families Speak Out, World Can’t Wait, Humans for Peace

For more information, please contact Cheryl at 713 641-4941 or 713 515-6370

Sign Suggestions:

• Lettering should be clear and at least 8 inches high to be read easily from the freeway.
• Don't crowd the letters together.
• Keep the message short, but make it a call to action message.
• More suggestions for sign making are on the PAA's freeway blogging web page at http://www.paa-tx.org/freeway_blogging (Scroll down to the bottom of that page.)

It may be windy so signs will be hard to hold. Make vents on the sign and get several people to help hold it.

Precautions:

• Don't block the sidewalk for pedestrians on the bridge.  Spread out along the fence, go to the other side, or go to a less crowded bridge. Besides being illegal, when the walkway is crowded, I have seen some pedestrians (people running and walking their dogs) go into the street and this puts them in danger from the vehicles.
• Do not attach anything (signs, flags, scarves) to the fencing or any place on the bridge. Do not slip poles or stakes or sticks through the chain link fence. There are signs warning about this at each bridge. Someone was issued an HPD ticket in relation to this last week. If you want to commit civil disobedience in regard to this issue, go ahead because it is very open to interpretation, but we can probably accomplish the same thing without attaching things to the fence, and save the energy it takes for civil disobedience for working on other issues.
• Do not put anything outside the fence. Don't even let items drape over or overhang. The police will stop that right away and, rightly so, because it endangers the people in the traffic if something should be dropped or become dislodged.
• Counter protestors. Don't respond to them. Shouting is no way to change opinions. Although it's been rare and they have been small in number during other freeway blogging events, we may have some counter protesters. If you feel endangered or threatened or see someone doing something dangerous, move away and call the police immediately. We will try to have a contact person on every bridge so that we can all be alerted.

Event Sponsor:
Progressive Action Alliance, Green Party, Code Pink, Houston Peace and Justice Center, Houston 911 for Truth, Humans 4 Peace,

Event Contact Name:
Bart Boyce

Event Phone Contact Information:
832-867-9960

Event Email Address:
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Event Website:
paa-tx.org

Event Fee:
Free