Results tagged “cindysheehan”

Peace activist Cindy Sheehan was found guilty, along with three other women, of trespassing at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. In March, Sheehan and three other women, Melissa Beattie, Susan Benjamin and Patricia Ackerman, were arrested after they tried to deliver a petition to Peggy Kerry (yes, sister of Senator John Kerry), who is the liaison for NGO's. Kerry refused to meet with them, believing their tactics, which included appearing with 100 members, were a publicity stunt. At the time, the U.S. Mission said, "We invited her in to discuss her concerns with a U.S. Mission employee. She chose not to come in but to lay down in front of the building and block the entrance. It was clearly designed to be a media stunt, not aimed at rational discussion," while organizing group Women Say No to War said the mission refused to send someone to meet the women. The women read the petition aloud while sitting on the sidewalk and were then arrested.

Gothamist is getting reports from all over that the anti-war protest currently going on down Broadway is a shockingly large one. Though it is only supposed to go from Union Square down Broadway to Worth Street, we're hearing reports of protesters backing up all the way to Madison Square!

Michael Malice, Evil Genius, Editor, Overheard in New York, Subject, Ego & Hubris: The Michael Malice Story

While the NYPD may have been a little less arresty during the last Critical Mass, they are still making sure anti-war protesters are being put in their place. For instance, today Cindy Sheehan, the mother whose grief of her son's death in the Iraqi War has turned her into a high-profile anti-war symbol, was arrested outisde the American Mission to the United Nations. We realized this when we were looking at Yahoo News - check out these photographs of Sheehan being hauled away by New York's Finest. While Sheehan may have been breaking the law by blocking the entrance to the mission, the NYPD did give her what she probably wanted - moments where she seems to be dragged away humiliatingly.

On March 20th this year, the 3rd Anniversary of the US Invasion of Iraq, a group of artists will come together for the Bring 'em Home concert. Michael Stipe, Bright Eyes, Public Enemy frontman Chuck D, Rufus Wainwright, Steve Earle, Fischerspooner, Peaches and Devendra Banhart will join forces for the event which will benefit the Iraq War Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace.

As the country mourned the 2,000 soldiers who have died in Iraq since 2003, Cindy Sheehan, the mother who has turned her grief over her soldier son's death into a public anti-war crusade, is telling people not to support Senator Hillary Clinton. Sheehan told the AP, "I believe that any candidate who supports the war should not receive our support. It doesn't matter if they're Senator Clinton or whoever." Essentially, Sheehan feels that Clinton has made decisions that will be politically tenable, versus of moral conviction, as the junior Senator considers higher office. The NY Times points out that at the same time as Sheehan's comments, Clinton proposed that oil companies should develop alternative fuels, a "politically potent issue." It should be interesting to see which candidates Sheehan does support, especially with midterms coming up next year.

Rick Burnley, Poet/Activist

Grieving mother turned anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan cleared things up and said she was "roughed up" by a supporter, not the police, when a rally was broken up at Union Square on Monday night. Her assistants had pulled her out of the fray quickly when the cops descended. However, Sheehan did say that police force seemed "pretty excessive" over an audio permit equipment issue. The organizer did actually apply for a permit, but was denied because a five-day waiting period was needed. Okay, folks, keep this in mind for your impromptu gatherings: Plan them five days-plus in advance. Sheehan's group capped off this issue by saying she didn't want to speak about this, as it's "really about the war."

Cindy Sheehan, the mother who camped outside of George Bush's "Western White House" to demand he discuss her son's death while serving in the Iraq War, had been in town since Sunday, giving anti-war speeches to hundreds of people. But yesterday, her planned speech at Union Square was cut short by the NYPD who seized the audio equipment of event organizer Paul "Zool" Zulkowitz. The police say that Zulkowitz didn't have a permit to use a sound device and was given a summons. According to Indymedia reports, 60-70 people chased the police and chanted, "Police out of the park" and "Who's f-cking park? OUR f-cking park!" Sheehan was hustled out of the park quickly.

- And in this update about the closest baby panda to NY, aka the little guy in DC at the National Zoo, it looks like his eyes are open!