PINKtank

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:         CONTACT:
Nancy Mancias, CODEPINK RNC coordinator, 415-342-6409
Jodie Evans, co-founder, 310-621-5635
Jean Stevens, national media coordinator, 508-769-2138

CODEPINK to “raise a ruckus” at Republican National Convention in St. Paul!

WHAT: CODEPINK to bring peace message, hard questions to RNC
WHEN:  Aug. 30 to Sept. 4
WHERE: Republican National Convention, St. Paul. CODEPINK meeting space: The Black Dog Cafe, 308 Prince St., St. Paul

ST. PAUL/MINNEAPOLIS – For the past five days, the leading anti-war group CODEPINK made headlines from The Denver Post, Salon.com to the Washington Times with their vivacious, creative peace message  at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. At this week’s Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities, nearly 100 members of the women-initiated group will make more headlines with vibrant demonstrations, creative costumes, songs, banners and hard questions for delegates and politicians gathered there. Some of our major events include:
On Sunday, Aug. 31:
*From 1 to 2 p.m., CODEPINK members will march, ride pink peace bikes, sing and rally down Nicollet Mall to Loring Park in Minneapolis, in the Liberty Parade 2008, a nonpartisan musical celebration of shared values – liberty, freedom, justice and free speech. (For more details, visit http://www.libertyparade2008.com/site/).
*From 5 to 7 p.m. they will host the “Reclaiming the Constitution” event at the RNC’s Civic Fest at the Convention Center at 1301 2nd Ave. S. They’ll carry an enormous paper Constitution – carried by several people at once — and celebrate freedom of speech by saying “Dissent is Patriotic!” “We Want A Peace Candidate!” “Close Guantanamo!” “Restore Habeus Corpus!” and “I Miss America!”
*At 9 p.m. CODEPINK will host its “They Spy, They Lie, We Pay, They Profit!” protest outside the AT&T  Salute to Screen Actors Guild at the Fine Line Music Cafe at 318 First Ave N. Minneapolis. We’ll protest Republicans passing of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillence Act (FISA) that gave telecoms like AT & T (unconstitutional wiretapping and access to our communications without a warrant. (We’ll host this again 8 p.m. Weds. outside an AT & T event at Brit’s Pub at 1110 Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis).
On Monday, Sept. 1:
* At 7:30 a.m., CODEPINK will “drop” huge banners with “Build Bridges, Not War!” messages off of the overpasses over highway 94E and 35E, perfectly timed for when Republican delegates are bussed through to St. Paul to the Excel Center.
* At 11 a.m. CODEPINK will host the a “Pro-Life, Pro-Democracy” pink rally within the anti-war march and rally at the Assembly at Cass Gilbert Memorial Park (at Cedar St and Sherburne Ave.) in St. Paul. They will march to the Xcel Center at 1 p.m. Their parade will be non-confrontational, with puppets, colorful props and banners meant to inspire curiosity and hope for change.
On Tuesday, Sept. 2:
*At 7:30 a.m., CODEPINK will “Pink Slip” McCain on Wabasha bridge in St. Paul.
*At 9 a.m., the “Peace Builder” team in hard hats and tool belts will construct” a cardboard and fabric platform for peace and security. They’ll carry it down Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis.
*At 7:30 p.m., they will stage a protest with the Rainforest Action Network, Oil Change and other groups outside a Big Oil fundraiser at Epic Entertainment, at 510 1st Ave. N Minneapolis, to demonstrate against the Republican’s devotion to the interest of Big Oil companies instead of the American people. Wearing yellow “Support Our Oil Companies” ribbons, waving “Freedom Flags” (flags with the logos of the major oil companies) and showering our fellow delegates with millions of “Oily Dollars, ” CODEPINK will mock Republicans support for more oil wars, surging gas prices and obscene profits for Big Oil, drilling everywhere regardless of consequences, and “no” to clean and renewable energy funding.
On Wednesday, Sept. 3:
*At 10 a.m. Wednesday, in full costume, CODEPINK will host a “Women Say No To War Pageant” at 5th St. and Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis, right outside the Republican National Committee’s “welcome rally” for John McCain.
On Thursday, Sept. 4:
*At 1 p.m., wearing in pink police uniforms, peace “gardeners” gear, “pink slips,” and formal “I Miss America” gowns, CODEPINK will raise a ruckus to “Bust McCain” around Peavey Plaza, near the delegate hotels.
*At 5:30 p.m., CODEPINK members and friends will form a human peace sign in Harriet Island Park (Plato Blvd.) in St. Paul, to be photographed from the sky as a beautiful, living art image. It’ll be as powerful as our “Make Out Not War” image created at the DNC (view it here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/codepink-dnc-make-out-not_b_121533.html).

For more CODEPINK RNC events, and to check for updates, please visit our online DNC and RNC calendar, updated frequently, here: www.codepinkalert.org/conventioncalendar

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