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Glendale Peace Vigil issues press releases to call attention to our actions and issues in local newspapers. Here is an archive of the press releases we have issued in the past.
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Below is our local newspaper's article about a special event at the nearby peace vigil in Montrose.
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Glendale News-Press
Antiwar activists invoke John Lennon, Yoko Ono’s peace message of 40 years ago.
By Veronica Rocha
March 28, 2009
Demonstrators took turns lying on an inflatable mattress at the corner of Honolulu Avenue and Ocean View Boulevard on Friday while others passed out daisies and sang songs of peace in commemoration of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s 40th anniversary Bed-In for peace.
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Submitted by news on Sat, 05/09/2009 - 01:23.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 19, 2006
Contact: Glendale Peace Vigil volunteers Sharon Weisman, 818-248-4967, sharon@jetcafe.org or Nancy Kent, 818-242-4320
Glendale Peace Vigil To Host “Occupation: Dreamland” Film and Discussion about the U.S. Military Presence in Falluja
GLENDALE - The Glendale Peace Vigil will present the film “Occupation: Dreamland” at the Glendale Central Library, 222 E. Harvard Street on Friday, May 12. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. The film depicts U.S. service personnel trying to interact positively with Iraqi civilians despite a lack of language ability and appropriate cultural training.
Meleiza Figueroa, vigil volunteer and documentary film researcher, remarked, "Our government has sent thousands of young adults into the middle of a war in which their reasons for fighting are unclear or outright lies, in a land whose people and culture they don't at all understand. This film shows how some of the young soldiers start out with naturally thoughtful and inquisitive attitudes about why they're there, but as the occupation wears on, they become hardened and hateful against the Iraqi people in the face of increasing violence and frustration. It shows the distressing reality of the personal and psychological divisions that develop within people under these circumstances. It makes me want even more for this destruction to stop, for all of them to come home."
Lisa Lubow, vigil member and GCC history instructor adds, "I really urge people to see this haunting, hard-hitting documentary about of a squad of young American solders patrolling Falluja as the U.S. begins its military assault of that Iraqi city. You get a powerful sense of the difficulties facing these soldiers who, while believing it is important to respect U.S. military authority, also find it impossible to simply ignore the deadly impact of that authority on the war-torn people of Falluja. Coming on the tail of harsh criticisms by U.S. military officers of Rumsfeld's handling of the Iraq war, this award-winning film is a must-see for everyone."
A variety of community groups will have tables with information about their current action and items for sale such as books, DVDs and T-shirts. Admission is free although donations are welcomed, and are used to pay for renting the auditorium.
"It's just 10 days before the deadline to register to vote in the June 6th Primary so we're making sure voter registration and absentee ballot request forms are available May 12th," said vigil volunteer Sharon Weisman.
Quotes from the film's website www.occupationdreamland.com:
"Occupation: Dreamland recalls Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, except with real kids." - Adam Sternbergh, New York Magazine
“A respectful and determinedly nonpartisan portrait of regular guys…all doing their best to carry out inchoate orders in an untenable situation.”
– Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
“A grunt’s eye view of the current situation that needs to be seen, regardless of a viewer’s political persuasion.”- Ty Burr, Boston Globe
"The terrific Occupation: Dreamland, a fair-minded grunt's eye view of the war in Iraq that trusts the audience to draw its own conclusions."
- Joshua Land, Village Voice
The Glendale Peace Vigil gathers every Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the corner of Broadway and Brand to demonstrate peacefully for ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq now and for improving other unacceptable U.S. policy decisions.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 20, 2006
Glendale Peace Vigil To Host "Arsenal of Hypocrisy: The Space Program and the Military Industrial Complex" Film and Discussion about the Militarization of Space
GLENDALE - The Glendale Peace Vigil will present the film "Arsenal of Hypocrisy: The Space Program and the Military Industrial Complex" at the Glendale Central Library, 222 E. Harvard Street on Sunday, March 12. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. A variety of community groups will have tables with information, books, DVDs, T-shirts and opportunities to support their current actions. The film depicts the interconnections between the U.S. space program and multinational corporations. Admission is free although donations are welcomed, and are used to pay for renting the auditorium.
Vigil volunteer Nancy Kent encourages all Americans to pay attention to how their taxes are being spent: "We need to look at our government's long-range objectives. More people are starting to question this after the alarming news stories about the handling of the Katrina disaster, massive confusion about the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, warrantless wiretaps of Americans, the misleading information about the reasons to attack Iraq and mind-boggling overbilling by military contractors such as Halliburton. This film examines our space program in a way we don't hear on network TV."
"I'm concerned science is taking a back seat to weapons research," said Sharon Weisman, vigil volunteer. "It's exactly what President Eisenhower warned about over 40 years ago, the military-industrial complex," she added.
"JPL employs many people in the foothills who contribute to the space program to gain more knowledge of our surroundings. This film should appeal to them. We hope many come to share their insights with us during the discussion after the film. For example, we now know the fear described in the film of nuclear contamination from the Cassini Mission launch turned out to be unfounded," noted Bill Weisman, vigil volunteer and former JPL staff member.
The Glendale Peace Vigil gathers every Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the corner of Broadway and Brand to demonstrate peacefully for ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq now and for improving other unacceptable U.S. policy decisions.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 10, 2006
GLENDALE - The Glendale Peace Vigil presents the film “The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream” Friday, February 3 at the Glendale Central Library, 222 E. Harvard Street. Doors open at 7 p.m. A variety of community groups will have tables at the event with information, books, DVDs, T-shirts and opportunities to support their current actions.
Everyone is invited to participate in the audience discussion following the film. “The documentary films we show are thought-provoking, but some people think the best part of the evening is the political opinions and experiences we hear from local people during the audience discussion,” said Glendale Peace Vigil volunteer Nancy Kent.
“At our November 2005 event, more people than ever spoke to the volunteers at the community group tables before the film,” said Glendale Peace Vigil volunteer Sharon Weisman, who will be at the Glendale Education/Social Justice Advocates table at this February 3 event to offer literature with balanced information for students and parents about choosing a military career.
Admission is free. Donations are welcomed, and are used to pay for renting the auditorium. Refreshments available.
The Glendale Peace Vigil gathers every Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the corner of Broadway and Brand to peacefully demonstrate for ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq now and for improving other unacceptable U.S. policy decisions.
The website http://www.endofsuburbia.com describes the film:
Since World War II North Americans have invested much of their newfound wealth in suburbia. It has promised a sense of space, affordability, family life and upward mobility. As the population of suburban sprawl has exploded in the past 50 years, so too has the suburban way of life become embedded in the American consciousness. Suburbia, and all it promises, has become the American Dream.
But as we enter the 21st century, serious questions are beginning to emerge about the sustainability of this way of life. With brutal honesty and a touch of irony, The End of Suburbia explores the American Way of Life and its prospects as the planet approaches a critical era, as global demand for fossil fuels begins to outstrip supply. World Oil Peak and the inevitable decline of fossil fuels are upon us now, some scientists and policy makers argue in this documentary.
The consequences of inaction in the face of this global crisis are enormous. What does Oil Peak mean for North America? As energy prices skyrocket in the coming years, how will the populations of suburbia react to the collapse of their dream? Are today's suburbs destined to become the slums of tomorrow? And what can be done NOW, individually and collectively, to avoid The End of Suburbia?
Hosted by Barrie Zwicker. Featuring James Howard Kunstler, Peter Calthorpe, Michael Klare, Richard Heinberg, Matthew Simmons, Michael C. Ruppert, Julian Darley, Colin Campbell, Kenneth Deffeyes, Ali Samsam Bakhtiari and Steve Andrews. Directed by Gregory Greene. Produced by Barry Silverthorn.
GLENDALE - The Glendale Peace Vigil adds a feature to "Back-to-School Fridays": information on another military recruitment tool being developed. Details from the Leave My Child Alone! website, (A Family Privacy Project of Working Assets, Mainstreet Moms, and ACORN) explain that the Pentagon's Joint Advertising and Marketing Research & Studies Office (JAMRS) is collecting name, address, phone number and other data on Americans age 16 to 25 to be used for military recruitment direct marketing.
When parents of minors or adult students included in the database ask to have their information taken out, their data is moved to a "suppression file" which is used to block the information from being sent to the recruiters. The file is updated daily and forwarded to Armed Services monthly. This aggregate of personal information is being managed by a private company, BeNow.
Forms to mail in to opt out of the JAMRS Recruitment Database and more information is available on the Leave My Child Alone! Website. GPV members will also have forms available during the weekly Friday 5 to 7 p.m. vigils at the corner of Broadway and Brand. Forms to request privacy from military recruiters for your child's high school directory information will continue to be available at the vigil.
GLENDALE - The Glendale Peace Vigil held a kick-off for "Back-to-School Fridays" August 26 at Broadway and Brand, their usual rally site. A new "Kick Military Recruiting Myths" sign detailing how a recruiter's promises differ from reality was unveiled. Vigil volunteers explained to parents of high school students that the federal No Child Left Behind Act requires high schools to give student names, addresses and phone numbers to military recruiters unless a parent writes a letter to the school requesting privacy.
Vigil co-founder Julianne Spillman says, "I don't believe that American citizens understood what President Bush meant when he coined the expression 'No Child left Behind!'. I think most of us thought he was saying, "We will not let any child grow up without an education, or food, or clothing, or shelter!" I don't think we realized that it was an implication that they would ALL be sent to war, to kill or be killed! In that case, the first children to be sent to war should be the children and grandchildren of those who started the war! If they made that the rule, I'm sure we'd have a lot less war and a lot more diplomacy."
Glendale Unified School District schools will accept the request for privacy, known as 'opting out', on any form, even a phone call. As a convenience, Peace Vigil members will make pre-printed forms available during the weekly Friday 5 to 7 p.m. vigils at the corner of Broadway and Brand. The deadline to opt out in the GUSD is September 30.
Some of the demonstrators took advantage of the occasion to pose for a group photo with a display of military recruiting information developed for future events and some of their usual protest signs.
GLENDALE - The Glendale Peace Vigil will kick-off "Back-to-School Fridays" at 6:30 p.m. August 26 to remind parents of high school students that, along with all the other preparations, there's one more thing to consider: requesting student privacy from military recruiters. The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires high schools to give student names, addresses and phone numbers to military recruiters unless a parent writes a letter to the school requesting privacy. Nancy Kent, Glendale resident, noted the deadline for Glendale Unified School District is September 30. Free forms that can be used for this will be available during the weekly Friday vigils at the corner of Broadway and Brand.
Bill Weisman, vigil volunteer from the La Crescenta part of Glendale, added, "Having a form makes it easier, but parents can write the request on any piece of paper and send it to the school's principal." Forms are available in English, Spanish, Armenian, Korean and other languages in the "Parents" section of the website www.lausd.net.
Distribution of the forms to request privacy for your children's records will continue on Friday evenings throughout September.
