Ms Roberts hits on something important here:

The "peace movement" or "anti-war movement" has devolved into a number of disparate organizations and individuals who unilaterally devise tactics and take actions w/o consideration whether these tactics and actions can have some chance of success, can move the program forward, or what some of the consequences may be.

Clearly, these things are being done out of frustration and failure. As Mr Roberts says, Code Pink cannot be faulted for its consistent hard work, creativity, courage and risk-taking.

But unless "the movement" develops a leadership core that will begin to act in a more coordinated manner and begin to develop strategies that have some effect on meeting objectives and begin to change the power flows that are destroying this planet, we are in deep, deep shit.

We must DO SOMETHING. Always. But we must use our limited resources and energy and power to do things that grow the movement. It's not about 15 minutes on the news, feeling better after a "great action," or assuaging guilt. It's about building and using power to make things better.

Thanks to Ms Roberts for clarifying this from an organizer's point-of-view.

"It's one thing to play a joke on the media, but not such a good idea to play a joke on your fellow peace organizers and supporters."

They also duped Democracy Now, which ran the story as straight news and then had to do a correction. If it's worth thinking about whether it's a good idea "to play a joke on your fellow peace organizers and supporters," it's worth thinking about whether it's a good idea to play a joke on alternative media - on which we all rely - that makes them look bad. And it's also worth considering one's reputation with and relationships with mainstream media, which is not monolithically awful and which has good people in it trying to do good things, sometimes successfully, with important consequences. It was ABC News, for example, that broke the story of a US official in the embassy in Bolivia trying to use Peace Corps volunteers and a Fulbright Scholar for spying, leading to the recall of that official from Bolivia.

I love Code Pink, I have no desire to harsh on them. But if you're going to consider this question, there's no reason to exclude relationships with media from the same consideration.

Peace "movements" that have anything whatsoever about them that looks odd or silly to average working folks are always in danger of mere failure or worse--negative backlash. We can recall, for instance, that the Vietnam war went on for a long time after people first went to San Francisco and put flowers in their hair. For all its good intentions, the name Code Pink itself was not the best choice for broad public acceptance now, and playing media jokes is plumb nuts for advancing their cause.

To me, the best possible thing that an Iraq war peace movement could do is to always talk as much about the Iraqi civilian casualties as we talk about our own military losses. There is never any way for anyone to belittle or make fun of that (so long as the numbers quoted are not grossly inflated so as to be easily discredited).

"Peace" is good, except it always overlooks the question: on whose terms? Certainly the GOP wants peace, and they will kill everyone in Iraq to get it.

Class Act-
News Alert! It's the Democrats war, now. The GOP and the Dems have worked together on this. Whoever doesn't know that, is not paying the slightest bit of attention.

It seems to me party affiliation is like religion, myth flies in the face of reality. I really do think if/when the Dems take the presidency, keep control of the House, they will continue to occupy Iraq - unless, of course, the Iraqis manage to overtake the Green Zone and rid their country of these invaders. The Dems and the GOP are working for the same money.

what i found interesting is that roberts did not question or check the validity of the "press release". does press release mean truth? where was the good journalism of checking facts? i see no difference in this press release and the white house press releases. tj april is right. this highlights the need of core leadership with strategies and objedtives

I'm so sorry that you "never received the email with those next steps, so [you] didn't see the full picture of their strategy."

I agree that all jokes should come with a laugh track (or at least a sign that lights up reading "Applause" or something) so that we can know the appropriate next steps upon hearing a joke. Perhaps these laugh-track-prompting signs could be subdivided into categories of intensity, so that we can tell when an "chuckle" would be more appropriate than a "cackle" or a "guffaw." Of course, these signs might also necessitate other signs to indicate when the applause/laughter/cackles/guffaws are sufficient and it's time to stop, but I say let's build and cross that bridge (face-to-face, of course, for you can't build bridges on the phone or email) when we get to it. Let's not be so daunted by the possibility of having to create follow-up "cease laughter" signs that we don't create "start laughter" signs.

I also agree with Robert Naiman that every press release should come with a disclaimer in ALL CAPS, BOLD typeface alerting its recipient not to take everything at face value. We can't expect busy people like Democracy Now! producers to check their facts--they're only human, after all. Fact checking is for journalism students, not working journalists.

And Daniel David--you're right. We must take on the appearance of warmongers if we are to have the warmongers heed us. Let's suppress our own values and customs, start wearing blue and brown--that's the way to end war and injustice and bring back an appreciation for simple beauty--yes, I say you're on to something ol' chum!

Marya Roberts talks about modeling a complete vision of the future. How complete do you want to make that? Shouldn't we leave a little leeway, a little room for input from the people of the future? Or do we, sitting here now, know what's best for them then.

I can't believe I'm sticking up for the Pinkertons. Let a thousand pies fly. We need more skylarking, as Kurt Vonnegut told the graduating class of Bennington College in 1970.

Do not take the entire world on your shoulders. Do a certain amount of skylarking, as befits people of your age. "Skylarking," incidentally, used to be a minor offense under Navel Regulations. What a charming crime. It means intolerable lack of seriousness. I would love to have a dishonorable discharge from the United States Navy--for skylarking not just once, but again and again and again.

Just try to stay informed and think for yourself. I think that's the best opportunity that society has period.

The left must make sure that it never displays a sense of humor. Any attempts at displaying a sense of humor must be roundly criticized.

Actually, the last thing we need is core leadership. The various groups that at times claim to lead the peace movement have been the biggest source of problems.

In today's environment, there are several good reasons not to do this.

Leaders can be corrupted. When you rely on a central leadership, there's always a risk it can be co-opted or corrupted. 2004 where the 'leadership' of the peace movement decided to abandon all its successful momentum to that point in order to back a pro-war, corporate-bought Democratic candidate for President is a prime example of the dangers. The 'peace movement' per se seems to have never recovered from that mistake.

Also, our opponents deliberatrely practice 'decapitation attacks'. Any leaders of the 'peace movement' who aren't co-opted would be vulnerable to this. These can range anywhere from slander campaigns to create divisions to arresting leaders on trumped up charges to the days when the Black Panther leaders were openly murdered by the police.

Also, we really don't have any mechanisms to choose this leadership. It just doesn't seem possible to have an election. So, what we usually get is a bunch of self-appointed blowhards.

And, as a corrallary we don't have anyways of replacing such self-appointed leaders. They seem to be perpetual leaders of the peace movement once they self appoint themselves. So, even though its been incredibly obvious that we need new leadership ever since the 2004 debacle, there's no mechanism to do this.

To me, we need to follow a much more de-centralized model. Local groups who can stay active and quickly respond, and who just loosely coordinate around a common goal ... ending these wars. This has been a much more successful model that was very common a few years back around some of the anti-WTO, anti-world bank protests. This is a much more flexible model. It allows different groups to try things, and mistake by some groups isn't as painful as when some self-appointed leadership makes a bad mistake like cancelling the anti-war movement for a year to try to elect a pro-war Democrat to office. And its much more impervious to the sorts of attacks that our enemies will launch against our leaders should the peace movement ever stop seeming like an ineffectual joke.

I'm with you COMarc---if people haven't yet figured out what "core leadership" looks like take a gander at the consolidation of a single unifed message as exemplified by Corpstream media, the bought and paid for politicians in Washington and elsewhere, and their entourage of lobbyists. Now there's speaking with ONE VOICE!!!

Ignoring them may be the only option we have left. There IS safety in numbers and our grassroots efforts need to be like a peaceful insurgency against the entrenched corporate interests that run this country and the world. They still need us to prop up their kabuki theatre and keep it afloat. They need consumers of whatever bullshit products they produce---many of which begin as lies and then materialize into more solid products we don't need and could just very well kill us in the end.

Juvenal says"

"And Daniel David–you're right. We must take on the appearance of warmongers if we are to have the warmongers heed us. Let's suppress our own values and customs, start wearing blue and brown–that's the way to end war and injustice and bring back an appreciation for simple beauty–yes, I say you're on to something ol' chum!"

Problem is, we're evidently not "ol' chums"--because I didn't say or suggest anything even remotely close to what you're attributing to me. You satire/derision guys just don't get it on serious matters like war protesting. You get respect from voters by being respectful. You pour on the satire, the jokes and the over-the-top stuff and you set your own cause back---never even knowing what the heck you did.

"We can recall, for instance, that the Vietnam war went on for a long time after people first went to San Francisco and put flowers in their hair."

While I was too young in 1967 to run away to hyper-cool California (from boring Fairfax, VA), The Scott Mckenzie song, writtten by the John Phillpis of the Mamas and the Papas, sure brings back some memories...

San Francisco (Flowers in Your Hair)

If you're going to San Francisco
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
If you're going to San Francisco
You're gonna meet some gentle people there

For those who come to San Francisco
Summertime will be a love-in there
In the streets of San Francisco
Gentle people with flowers in their hair

All across the nation such a strange vibration
People in motion
There's a whole generation with a new explanation
People in motion people in motion

For those who come to San Francisco
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
If you come to San Francisco
Summertime will be a love-in there

If you come to San Francisco
Summertime will be a love-in there...

But Mr. David, wasn't the Vietnam war ended when huge numbers of more strident versions of the same objectionabe pot-smoking flower children, converged on Chicago and DC from 1968 to 197O's, producing a real threat that governing the populace would be come untenable without acceeding with their demands?

BTW how old are you - you attitudes of the 1960's seem to be little more than stereotypes, just like Obama.

Thanks Daniel David and COMarc. Well said. We should be mentioning Iraqi casualties every time the US casualties are discussed. And the dencentralized left is a safer place to be coming from, especially given the surveillance capabilities and lethal intentions of the opposition.

I thought fact-checking was a basic for anyone in a position of leadership or about to take action based on unconfirmed information in an e-mail. Guess not.

Code Pink should have put their follow-up suggestions at the bottom of the original message, and not in a separate e-mail which probably got caught in someone's spam filter.

If this is the level of thinking of peace movement leaders, then perhaps we have yet another factor in why outrageous imperial ventures continue unabated.

I see no evidence of a peace MOVEMENT. I see recognition that what is going on in Iraq has cost us a bundle, and killed Americans, and even some concern over the Iraqis, those dead, maimed, displaced, etc.

I see communication of the concerns that have been recognized, mainly about the cost, sometimes about dead Americans, and last about the Iraqis. I see congress pretty much paying lip service to these concerns. I see voters have McCain, the Bush wannabee running neck and neck with either Obama or Hillary in the polls.

Now, maybe people are protesting in the streets or on campuses, but it's not being covered well. Of course, we do see protests over Tibet, so I guess MOVEMENT is fine when it is to address what some other country is said to be doing.

What I do see evidence of is a majority of people that have basically said, "well, so long as I am ok, whatever". And thats what they will get.

Lets imagine what "whatever" might be. Perhaps something like outlined below, from 1999, read the rest if you dare. Not saying it's true, but it gives you pause since events of the last 9 years have made something like it possible to pull off.

"1. The master computer in Brussels has previously completed the composition of MASTER FILE 666, with the names of those selected as
Global Elites. These families and individuals of unique genetic status
have been or will be notified at the appropriate time and according to
need, as deemed appropriate by the Committees of the Grand Supreme
Lodge. The following plan is now approved by the all the Committees of
300 and the Luciferian Grand Supreme Lodge of Illuminized Freemasonry.

2. The worldwide distribution of "smart cards" has begun. These will be
initiated in the US through the encrypted encoding of driver's licenses.
A preliminary version will contain a computer chip with minimum
essential codified information. These will be offered to the surviving
worker non-Elites. The Elites will be granted a Platinum version with
much greater versatility, so that national currencies may be phased out
and eliminated.

3. Active Patriots, Christians, and all proponents of bigoted
nationalism who now survive are now to be placed under the new
tracking program, the selection of those of the preplanned slave
population for the granting of the SMART CARD. In addition, an
arranged economic collapse, with the crashing of financial markets
worldwide will soon follow, rendering all non-elites totally dependent
upon government for their survival, the economic crash having been
designed to wipe out bank accounts and investments leading to total
individual impoverishment. Property values will plummet, and all
residual private assets are to be seized by UN Forces and will revert
to ownership by the global collective in the future cashless society.

4. Major UN controlled military forces are now awaiting the call to
quell the anticipated riots and insurrection. In the chaos resulting
from the arrival of the "God Ship" with our Dark Angels from space,
there will be further economic collapse and the announcement of the
termination of welfare and social security, the acquisition of those
citizens ( mainly of the Black race and white North American and
European stocks) who are already known through postal surveillance and
via detection of the distribution and vicious e-mailing of
anti-globalist diatribes, will be accomplished expeditiously ."

Continued with link below

http://users.rcn.com/zap.dnai/nwo-004.htm

Sounds LIke a Classic YES MEN attempted stunt..

I think that "fake" actions that turn people's minds thinking about something different CAN be effective.

However.. the POWERS that be are entrenched and the masses are still way to cynical.

I can't see a light yet..

I don't know if Oprah will make a difference with Eckert Tolle or if some other group will finally make a difference.

It feels futile.

And I am way too idealistic

accepting that april fool item as fact is a sign of just how gullible, and humorless, so many on the "left" are or have become...it also shows how difficult it is to make fun of reality, given that hysterical idiocy is so rampant that if you try to ridicule it you risk having people actually believe that , say, the CIA and Bush and Cheney and international jews "did" 911, or whatever crackpot nonsense you put out there...the entire code pink demonstration thing has generally been treated as a joke in the bay area, so that news release struck me as the best thing they did...in fact, if they'd only done that, the organization would have done much better in the eyes of the general public...but obviously, not in some empty and humorless heads on the "left"
fs

Goodness no... an entire morning of "promot(ing) personal and social transformation for a peaceful world" lost. Does anyone take this stuff seriously? When are people going to wake up and realize that all that these types of non-profits do is allow intolerable people with a wicked sense of entitlement and zero practical skills to navel gaze all day and still make an upper middle class income so that they can buy their fancy tea and health food (usually while "interns" do all the real work for no pay).

If you want to change the world become a union or community
organizer - don't sit around in an air-conditioned office
talking about "bridging differences". If you want to raise
people's consciousness why not get a degree in statistics,
economics, or public policy instead of latin american lit.
Sheesh, give me a break.

I agree with Joshpac. It seems to me the reason why peace organizations are always on the fringe is, well.... because they ARE on the fringe. They're so intense, so righteous, so "above" us mere mortals. And, so many of them are comfortably middle class or rich. When middle America or the mainstream politicians start to agree with their cause, the peaceniks pick them apart, bit by bit. They seem almost gleeful about pointing out that Senator so and so didn't vote 100% their way for the past 20 years and therefore doesn't deserve the peace movement's support. The last time I looked, the MSM was reporting that this warmongering president has a less than 30% approval rating. Shouldn't the peace "movement" and its leadership be celebrating this fact? The majority of America has come around to their thinking.

COMarc,

Agreed. It's clear to me that Jane Fonda was either co-opted, a CIA plant, or somesuch designed to (a) resonate in Middle America as synonymous with the peace movement and (b) do extraordinarily stupid things.

These stupid things must achieve widening of a wedge between (a) returning soldiers and the peace movement, (b) a wedge between Joe Sixpacks and anti-war sentiment, (c) her domination (obfuscation) of the anti-war message in the corporate media, etc.

The peace movement is far, far, healthier as a leaderless hodge-podge of religious leaders, pacifists, ethicists, activists, intellectuals, ordinary people, young people, old people, returning soldiers, etc. There shall be no chopping off -- or co-opting -- the head of this movement because there is no head.

Good, I see that CD allowed my post to go through. Had I mentioned "general stee-rike", General S. Tee Rike, or General Stryke, I suppose that Soros (or whoever is really funding CD) would have a conniption.

"...Adaptability is a prime requirement for life to survive."..."Creative anarchy is the path to survival in this universe." (Frank Herbert, Chapterhouse: Dune, p. 384)

It's much more important to make common cause with all people than to use the antiwar movement to promote the Left, something I sometimes see happening. If that means allying with libertarians and wearing suits, so be it. This is not about your right to your identity, it is about ending militarism.

And speaking of militarism, the antiwar message should include a vision of a society not dominated by militarism; not just a 'get out of Iraq' message but a serious explanation of how military spending diverts both public as well as private investment from life sustaining pursuits such as health and energy solutions.

Oh, and a sense of humor.

There should be no more "left" or "right". Can someone tell us which is which today? Why don't we drop those bullshit wedge-metaphors (designed to split populist movements), and go directly to rich vs. poor, warlike vs. peaceful, scientific vs. irrational/dishonest, powerful vs. powerless?

Humor is worth pointing out as well. Anyone with a cult-like personality flat-line, devoid of animation, no inflection, laugh, smirk, smile, etc. should be suspect. A CIA plant? Or just a potted plant? You decide.

What is a grown up? In the negative sense, it could be someone grown rigid, out of touch with feelings, authoritarian, etc. In the positive sense, it's someone who is maturing well, who can integrate, question, lighten up, think outside the box, see more of the whole picture, constrain their ego, reach out, set boundaries.
I've never met Maryam, but I can say from reading this that Maryam is a grown up. Hey,
I can laugh and play. I can see the beauty of the absurd in confronting the empire. No one is doing what Code Pink is doing in the heart of the capital. If I were doing that
every day, I'd do something stupid once in a while too. So thanks, C.P. thanks, Maryam. But C.P., no more practical jokes. I didn't like it either.

Did anyone else get the CodePink "Conyers puts impeachment back on the table" April fool's email? I have to admit I got excited for a second, but as soon as I began to read it, it was so over the top it became clear it was a gag (and said so on the bottom - with encouragement to keep up the pressure to make it a reality). In today's world, being polite, respectful and "normal" gets you zilch when the media is co-opted by the other side. The only way to get attention (and thus exposure to the masses to squash this perception that "there is no peace MOVEMENT") is to be bold, astonishing, creative and out there. And FYI - CodePink always, always, always gives voice to the million+ Iraqis killed in this conflict, and the 2M+ displaced. It is not just about Iraq, but social justice and peace everywhere. If you go on their website, you can see photos of them at the recent hearings dressed up as Iraqi women with blood on their hands and cards around their necks with the name of an Iraqi child killed in the conflict.

Its a stupid joke.

But then again the whole N.I.M.B.Y. campaign against the Marine recruitment center is pretty stupid when there's no military draft, so what did I expect?

Conducting actions that can only really have a positive effect after several rounds of reverberation is a very "message in a bottle" way to think about any political movement.

If you're to the point of faking press releases to reflect some kind of success and then hoping people think about "how to make that vision a reality" you've become truly desperate.

The strange and Ironic thing to me is that Anti-War sentiment amongst the populace is at an all time high, but the Anti-War "movement" acts as if they are alone in the wilderness.

Interesting.

Perhaps -jsc- was right earlier, perhaps the over-identification of peace organizations with "left" politics is involved with this odd disparity?

-matti.

The PEACE candidates are Green Party Cynthia McKinney, Independent Ralph Nader, GOP Ron Paul, Libertarian Mike Gravel.

As long as the leaders of the peace movement support Democrats, the peace movement is nothing but a trap, or a circle jerk.

Democrats are NOT the peace party!

Protesting recruiters on a campus like Berkeley that is famous as a nuclear development is missing the mark. Protest Berkely for it's part in developing WMD, taking federal money during war time.

Ron Paul rEVOLution is now in the stages of planning a rally or march on Washinton in July. Not one person there is for the war. That is what is uniting them. But those who will not unite because they have closed monds, and are bigots, unwilling to change the statis and would rather leave it as it is to bitch and blame all day everyday...they will be voting for a candidate that talks about leaving Iraq and planning on going into Iran.

Why not use the Yes Men techniques to point out things that are absurd in an outrageous way, not some bland lie? More people can be recruited by fun than facts - the 60's were actually a blast.

So sorry to hear that Democracy Now was duped.

Anybody who gets duped by anything on April 1 is an idiot.
Just because the Preznut is below 30% approval doesn't mean squat if he's still in power, unchallenged and unimpeached. Just because a majority of citizens are against the war, it means nothing if a sneering Cheney can say "So?" and get away with it...we are a bunch of feckless sheep with leaders in Congress eatin' at the pig trough...There is no Movement...just a motley bunch stumblin' around with no power and no direction waiting for the election of a savior...PAH! I'm fed up with the whole buncha youse. No unity, no leadership, no agreement on tactics--not even non-violence...

blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

funeocons,I got the "Coyers Impeachment back on the table" April fools e-mail.I wanted to believe,but was taken in only long enough to get a little pissed off.So I e-mailed them how "cruel" the joke was.I don't think it was in very good taste but Code Pink is a great bunch.We have to cut them some slack.
Rather than a strong central core to the peace movement,I prefer to picture it like a bundle of sticks,wrapped with the organization of common dreams,and goals,and needs. peas

The humorless Daniel David comments:

"We can recall, for instance, that the Vietnam war went on for a long time after people first went to San Francisco and put flowers in their hair."

-----
Anybody who got "duped" by Code Pink ON. APRIL. FOOL's. DAY. -- which is a GREAT name -- ought, it seems, to just be quiet about it.

And a little reality on ending the war in Viet Nam might be in order: it stopped when the troops started fragging their officers in such numbers that the professional soldier-cult was in danger of running OUT of 'em.

And, for all the nasty-nice "peace" pronouncements from over-serious liberals, that's probably what will end THIS imperial adventure.

It's certainly an argument FOR a draft . . .

The humorless Daniel David comments:

"We can recall, for instance, that the Vietnam war went on for a long time after people first went to San Francisco and put flowers in their hair."

-----
Anybody who got "duped" by Code Pink -- which is a GREAT name! -- ON. APRIL. FOOL's. DAY. ought, it seems, just to be quiet about it, and learn (for next year, when the stupid mideast assault will still be going on, thanks to the gutless Democratic "leadership" and its pussy-footing candidates) to be a little CAUTIOUS about taking things sooo seriously, for at least one day a year.

And a little reality on ending the war in Viet Nam might be in order, too: it stopped when the troops started fragging their officers in such numbers that the professional soldier-cult was in danger of running OUT of 'em. That, and the few "bring the war home" folks who actually DID try to do just that.

And, for all the nasty-nice "peace" pronouncements from over-serious liberals who aren't going to do one darn thing about it, that's probably what will end THIS imperial adventure.

It's certainly an argument FOR a draft . . .

What's up with the Newspeak, Maryam? You had plenty of I statements, action steps, and creating space, all while claiming "a rounded perspective." My favorite part was the whole having a "dialogue" bit, as opposed to just plain talking. Speak plain English if you want to communicate. Your choice of words sounds like double-talk and BS. You could be talking about the weather and plenty of people would distrust you.

Navarro is correct in bringing up fragging. To my knowledge, only one incident happened before the second ground invasion and the guy who did it is in prison for life. He was not permitted to mount a legitimate legal defense for murder.

While conscription played a role in fragging, it must be remembered that US casualties in Vietnam were far higher than they now are in Iraq or Afghanistan. Fragging was primarily done to remove incompetent officers who got there men killed. These days, few US troops die, at least compared to their killing.

George Washington survived Gen. Braddock's disastrous expedition against Fort Duquense, it is believed because fragging removed Braddock from command.