[eDebate] anti-war hunger strike underway

[Jake Stromboli]

sean penn, susan sarandon and others know the letter from the birmingham 
jail and the need for disobedience gadflies:

http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-iraq-usa-protest.html&OQ=_rQ3D1&OP=4a51f7e9Q2F.sSE.cQ200J8Q20Q20Q5Cw.8SBQ5CS8J.Q5DSsJ.Q5DSsJrQ3C8Q271rBJQ27rb8Q20Q5CSJQ5CQ25Q51Q5CjQ3F

Anti-War Protesters Begin July 4 Fast
    Reuters


    Monday 03 July 2006


    Washington - About 150 protesters sat in front of the White House on 
Monday to savor their last meal before starting a hunger strike that some 
said will continue until American troops return from Iraq.


    The demonstration marking the Independence Day holiday was organized by 
CodePink, a women's anti-war group that called on volunteers to abstain from 
eating for 24 hours from midnight on Monday.


    Some protesters said their fast would continue beyond July 4th.


    Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq, said she 
would drink only water throughout the summer, which she said she would spend 
outside President George W. Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas.


    "This war is a crime," Sheehan told a crowd of clapping, cheering 
protesters. "We represent millions of Americans who withdraw their support 
from this government."


    The demonstrators crouched in the muggy evening next to a piece of pink 
plastic, spread down the road as a table and table-cloth in one. It was 
covered with wilted pink sunflowers and plates of vegetarian curry, white 
rice, and beans.


    The demonstration aimed at highlighting the costs of the war, in which 
more than 2,500 U.S. soldiers and thousands of Iraqis have died, said 
CodePink spokeswoman Meredith Dearborn.


    "We have to put our own lives on the line, and I'm willing to do that," 
said activist Diane Wilson, who pledged to fast until the United States 
withdraws from Iraq.


    Dearborn said 2,700 other activists nationwide, including actors Susan 
Sarandon and Sean Penn, would work as a relay team passing the fast daily 
from one to another.


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