On February 17th the King of Bahrain unleashed his police forces upon sleeping protesters, including women and children sleeping in their tents in Pearl Square in the middle of the capital. The King had not long ago apologized for his government’s recent murder of two peaceful protesters.

Under fire from rubber-coated bullets, concussion grenades and birdshot, protesters and their children fled down streets, ruthlessly pursued. The next day the King asserted that the armed forces had not attacked anyone. But he made no denial concerning his police. The police claimed that they had warned protesters to leave Pearl Square but reporters present dispute the word of the police; no warning whatsoever had been given before the firing of ammunition. The local hospital was filled with the injured and the dead. Scores of protesters are still unaccounted for. About 400 protesters who had gathered around the hospital, many directly concerned about loved ones, found themselves again surrounded by police.

In this island kingdom that still discriminates against its Shiite majority, the US has stationed its large naval headquarters and parleys favor with this shameless despot. The kingdom takes in much wealth from the American presence.

We who believe in democracy and honest government without hypocrisy must take a stand. That is why at noon on February 18th CODEPINK and friends gathered in front of the Bahrain embassy in Washington D.C. to call upon the Arab Kingdom of Bahrain to stop the brutal repression of peaceful protesters. There was an exceptionally large media turnout to cover the event, and they seemed impressed by our enthusiasm despite our small numbers. We decried the government of Bahrain for its murderous response to the protests, as well as its unabashed suppression of the basic rights of its citizens, such as the right to life, freedom of speech, and the freedom to assemble. We also criticized the lack of a strong condemnation from the Obama administration and the continuous presence of the U.S. Navy base in Bahrain.

Even though we received permission earlier in the day to deliver a letter to the Bahrain ambassador to the United States, no one from inside the embassy was willing to come outside and accept our letter. Although security said they would take it inside, we were determined to give it to someone who is actually from Bahrain, but after waiting for quite a while we ended up with no choice but to give it to one of the security people. It is unfortunate and bizarre that no one from the embassy was “authorized” to come out and speak with a small group of peaceful protesters for just a few minutes. Nevertheless, we got our message across with our large and colorful signs and banners. We held pink signs that said “SHAME SHAME ON BAHRAIN: NO MORE MURDERS” and “A MURDERER IS THE KING OF BAHRAIN”; we chanted rhymes such as “The people are rising, DICTATORS BEWARE! From Tahrir to Pearl Square, DICTATORS BEWARE!”

It is our hope that the U.S. government will stop supporting oppressive regimes, and instead take sides with the protesters in Bahrain and across the Middle East who are putting their lives on the line and bravely demanding the same rights that we hold so dear in our own Constitution.

Washington D.C. to celebrate the resignation of the Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak. There was a great showing of Egyptian Americans as well as others who came to express their solidarity with the peaceful Egyptian people who made this beautiful revolution possible.

Medea Benjamin and Tighe Barry from CODEPINK opened up the night with an incredible slideshow presentation of their experience in Cairo during the protests. They showed pictures that captured the rollercoaster of emotions felt by the Egyptian protesters: peacefulness and happiness, determination to achieve their goal, pain inflicted by Mubarak’s thugs, anger at Mubarak’s refusal to step down, and ultimately euphoria when he resigned. The pictures included many profound moments of solidarity the CODEPINK peace delegation had with the Egyptian people, sharing their moments of both joy and sorrow while celebrating their common humanity and desire for peaceful change. They also made it a point to mention the hypocritical policies of the United States government, which claims to strive for democracy throughout the world, yet sends billions of dollars in military aid to dictators like Hosi Mubarak.

After Tighe and Medea spoke, Hana Elhattab from the DC Egyptian Youth Organizers spoke for a few minutes about her personal connection to the events in Egypt. After her, Mokhtar Kamel from the Alliance of Egpytian Americans offered a few words about his take on the revolution. His talk was followed by one given by Hossam Mansour, a young man who played an instrumental role in facilitating the organization of local solidarity actions here in D.C., specifically in front of the Egyptian Embassy and the White House. This success of these events can be attributed largely in part to his adroit use of social networking tools, specifically Facebook, which reached out to hundreds of people and allowed CODEPINK to get in touch with him and plan events together.

After the speakers CODEPINK awarded several organizations with Pink Badges of Courage for their part in the Egyptian struggle. These groups included Amnesty International, Al Jazeera, and Human Rights Watch. Before the awards were even finished, the Arabic music was blasting and people were out of their seats singing and dancing in celebration.

Congratulations Egypt!

From 1 p.m. May 9 through 1 p.m. March 10 in D.C.’s Lafayette Park, CODEPINK and others will host a full schedule of events, including a children’s fair, a “Mothers Say No to War” march around the White House, presentations from women of war-torn countries, teach-ins and workshops Saturday afternoon and a concert by independent rocker Melissa Ivey that evening. On Sunday, CODEPINK will host a powerful interfaith service, creative actions and more. Invited speakers include feminist leader Gloria Steinem, Nobel-winning Iranian human rights activist Shirin Ebadi and retired state official Col. Ann Wright.

“We are witness to the expanding violence around the world, women’s voices are missing, yet they pay the biggest prices,” said Jodie Evans, CODEPINK co-founder. “They lose their children, their home, their family, are abused and left to put it all back together. Still they are not in the decision making, they are not at the negotiating table. We must shed light on this and change it, beginning with this incredibly powerful vigil to honor the call of Mother’s Day.”

The vigil, with co-sponsors including The National Organization of Women (NOW), MADRE, and the Feminist Peace Network, will also include a radical act of knitting, or “knittivism.” Women all over the country submitting knitted squares to be stitched into a banner to stretch over the White House fence that will read, “We will not raise our children to kill another mother’s child.” (See more events in the calendar listed below).

“I truly believe women, organized and mobilized, can be a formidable, powerful force in the movement toward a world free of war,” said Cynthia Benjamin of New York, whose son is serving in Iraq. “To speak truth to power, I’ll join CODEPINK for Mother’s Day to work toward a more just and peaceful planet.”

All festival events are inspired by the original purpose of Mother’s Day, born in 1870 out of abolitionist Julia Ward Howe’s Mother’s Day Peace Proclamation. Howe, horrified by the devastation of the Civil War and the death of America’s men, wrote the Proclamation to call on America’s women to gather together to “promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace.” Some events will address the affect of war and occupation on women, specifically that of women in Iraq and Afghanistan, due to U.S. war.

The event will be filmed and broadcast live by The Real News network. Many CODEPINK groups nationwide will host solidarity Mother’s Day events to honor women living within occupation worldwide.

24-hour vigil schedule (tentative, more details to come)

Saturday, May 9
1 to 2:30 pm: Event Kick-off and Scavenger Hunt!

2:30  to 5 pm : Quilting Bee/Radical Knitting, Singing and Circling the White House in Pink
We’ll bind knitted squares, knitted by women across the country, to form a quilt with the message “We will not raise our children to kill another mother’s child” to string on the White House fence. Then we’ll circle the White House in a children’s march for peace!

5 to 6:30 p.m. : Learning Circles and Story-telling
Women are invited to participate in teach-ins that will educate and inspire us to create the world we want to live in. Meanwhile, kids can enjoy story-telling sessions.

7:30 pm to 10 pm : “Women’s Voices From War Zones” and Singer-Songwriter Melissa Ivey
Afghan, Iraqi and Pakistani women will share their perspective as women living under occupation and offer ideas for change. Indie singer-songrwriter Melissa Ivey will then take the stage to rev up the crowd.

Sunday, May 10
2  to 4 a.m. – Activist Training Workshops and Hula-Hooping with Co-founder Medea Benjamin
Guests will learn valuable skills for creative protest, media outreach, local group coordinating, strategizing to end war, and more. Renowned clown Patch Adams will lead “What     is your love strategy?” and co-founder Medea Benjamin will host a hula-hooping session.

4 to 7 a.m. : Pink Pajama Party!
All are invited to stay energized (and awake) with a pink scavenger hunt, hula-hooping, yoga, singing, and more!

7 a.m. to 8 a.m. : Walter Reed Peace Delegation flower delivery
A delegation of women will deliver hundreds of roses to mothers at Walter Reed Hospital visiting their children, demonstrating their support.

9  to 10 a.m. : Interfaith Service
To honor all the mothers that have been victimized by the war in Iraq, we will sing, chant, dance and listen to women from Goddess, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Unitarian traditions.

10  to 11:30 a.m. : Children Peace Wishes
Little Friends for Peace, a non-profit peace education program for children, will lead the children in sharing their wishes for peace.

12:30 to 1 p.m. : Closing Ceremony of Roses to the White House
All participants will deliver roses to the White House.

For more information, please call Jean Stevens, national media coordinator, at 508-769-2138 or email at jean@codepinkalert.org, or Jodie Evans, at 310-621-5635 or Jodie@codepinkalert.org

Today I joined Medea Benjamin, Blaine Clark, Leslie Angeline, Jay Marx, David Swanson, Cindy Sheehan and Bev Rice at the incredible Capitol Power Plant mass action today at the Capitol Plant in Washington, protesting its “clean coal,” timed with the incredible PowerShift 2009 Conference that began Friday night.

(Here’s me, Desiree, Leslie, and Medea with economic theorist and environmentalist Wendell Berry last night…)

We started at 12:30 p.m. at the rally behind the Rayburn building with thousands of activists.  We met up with fellow activist and actress Daryl Hannah to be on her team for the day.

John Quigley, who has produced CODEPINK’s famous aerial images, joined in and we marched with our favorite green team Rainforest Action Network.

The spirit is high  – we just finished circling the power plant leaving a team of hundreds at each entrance we passed.  We are now at the main entrance listening to journalist and environmentalist Bill McKibben, Bobby Kennedy and environmentalist Terry Tempest Williams.  We are here bringing the pink “War is not green!” message!

(Here’s Blaine with Mike Klein and Mike Brune of Rainforest Action Network)

Check out more photos here!

It was 11 a.m. this morning in our CODEPINK house here in Washington when we heard that Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was going to be speaking at the National Press Club.  “We gotta go,” was our immediate response.

Even though we had a full plate preparing for our inauguration actions, we rounded up a few CODEPINKers and our “Stop the Killing in Gaza” banners, made a few quick signs, grabbed our bullhorn, wrapped up in warm clothes and headed out for the Club.

One of our better dressed women tried to get inside, but was stopped by a security guard. The rest of us gathered outside (view photos here), chanting “Stop the Killing in Gaza: Ceasefire NOW!,” singing “Peace Saalam Shalom,” and interacting with journalists and passersby. When Israeli security guys started to appear, together with DC police, we knew the Foreign Minister was approaching.

Suddenly, cars of full of Federal Agents screeched up and jumped out, their machine guns ready. It felt like occupied Palestine! Then a caravan of big black vans with tinted windows sped into the garage, delivering Ms. Livni like a royal guest. We shouted out to her to stop killing children and denounced the Israeli war crimes.

We decided to wait until the press conference was over so we could protest the Foreign Minister as she departed. Given the FREEZING cold, we waited in the nearby coffee shop. At 2 p.m. we resumed our positions.

This time, the police had sent for reinforcements to “protect” the war criminal from the eight
peace protesters. There must have been some 20 policemen zooming up in their cars and motorcycles, pushing us out of the way. As usual, we refused to move where they wanted us to, and managed to let the Foreign Minister know just how we felt.

When are the police going to arrest the warmakers and protect the peacemakers???

But last night over a dozen CODEPINK activists from around the country gathered here and we celebrated our being together again at the PINK house.  We broke bread, made banners, talked about the amazing outcome of today’s action and and I was left wondering about all those college students who saw the most amazing thing at the Israeli Embassy earlier that day. 

With fifty others, I had braved the cold and headed out to the Israeli Embassy to protest the killing of innocent people in Gaza.  When I jumped into the pink-mobile, I searched through the window for Rae running down the stoop in front of the CODEPINK  house but she was no where to be seen.  Running late, we began to pull away from the house and my heart dropped as I knew how important this particular rally was for her. Four years ago, almost to the day, Rae had met the Rabbi Arthur Waskow prior to the 2004 Inauguration and on that same day, Jodie Evans had hired Rae to come and work with CODEPINK.  A monumental day in Rae’s life and today, she was to have the opportunity, again with the inauguration of a new president looming, to meet again the Rabbi who was traveling from Philadelphia to speak at this rally.

The wind whipped through us all when we arrived at the Israeli embassy and even the hardened northerners were shivering as we lined up on the sidewalk next to another large group.  I mistakenly thought they too were protesters but found out they were students visiting DC and several of the embassies in DC with their political science classes from universities in MA, NY and VA. Someone began to sing “Peace, sahlom, shalom” and then Medea took the megaphone and began to speak to the students.

With a smile and her infamous lightness, she began asking them, “How many of you are from Boston? From Pennsylvania? From Connecticut?” Only a few responded, so she asked, “Well, where are most of you from?”  “New York!” shouted a young man in the back, and half of the heads turned, smiled and echoed, “New York!”  They were engaged.  She explained to them why we were there, to protest the killing in Gaza and asked if any were taking political science at their universities. Again, several responded yes and most all of them shook their heads.  They were listening.  She said, “Then you probably agree that our citizens have the first amendment right to protest and have their voices heard.  Today, we are protesting the killing of innocent people in Gaza and asking the Israelis to stop the bloodshed and call for a Ceasefire in Gaza.”

The long slow line of students was suddenly expedited and within a few minutes they were all ushered inside the compound, away from our dialogue or the opinions of the peacemakers from Witness to Torture, CODEPINK and the Shalom Center.  I began to worry about Rae, wondering if she had caught a train over or would make it to the embassy before the rabbi began to speak.  But alas, I did not see her when she slipped up in line with the students and entered the Israeli Embassy undetected by security. 
As we listened outside to the eloquent and heartfelt words of Rabbi Waskow, Father Jacek, Sister Anne Montgomery, Col Ann Wright, and Judy Cooke from Pax Christi, Anna Brown and Sherrill Hogen, all persons of honor, courage and wisdom, little did I know that Rae was inside listening to the Israeli ambassador, defending his countries brutal and horrific actions to the students within.

Later I heard the real story of Rae’s brave experience, sitting in the back of the room, listening to the rhetoric and lies spewing the condemnation on the Palestinians and the Iranians, stating he basically had no hope for a peaceful solution with either country.  The students were asked to write down their questions on note cards and when the time came to collect them, Rae stood up and asked to speak as she needed to leave early. Security had just stepped out and the aides were all busy collecting the cards so they didn’t notice that she was walking to the stage whereupon she handed him a white rose and asked him to call for a ceasefire on Gaza.  Earlier he had stated “Hamas wants death, Israel wants life,” so Rae asked him to support a life-affirming call to stop killing innocent civilians and stop demonizing the other side.

If Israel wants to be a model Jewish state, Rae said to the group, it should follow “tikkun olam”  — which means to repair the world, not further violence and aggression.  In responding to the ambassador’s comments on Iran, during which he said there is a basket of reasons to make Iran an enemy or to be afraid of Iran, Rae said while Iran may be developing a peaceful nucleur energy program, they are not making nuclear weapons.  Iran is home to the oldest jewish population in the world, a population that seeks peace with their brother and sisters in Israel. After speaking about Gaza, half of the room erupted into applause. After handing the ambassador the rose, he thanked her and she quickly left the compound knowing she had way too much to do for the inauguration weekend to risk being detained.

I’m not sure the penalty for infiltrating an Israel embassy, but I’m glad Rae made it out safely and I know those students must have been quite surprised at her speaking truth to power.