Antiwar Film Festival at ArtWalk

(click to add comments, esp. if you attended!)
Meeting Resistance 11 am
Taxi to the Dark Side 12:45 pm
War, Inc. 3 pm
Body of War 5:10 pm

Sunday, October 19th
11 am until 7 pm
Topping Room
Foster Library
651 E. Main St., Ventura
$10 suggested donation

SPECIAL APPEARANCE:
Grace Loh
Co-producer of War, Inc.

• Grace Loh will answer questions about the film War, Inc. after the film's viewing at 3 pm.

For more information, contact Ventura County Committee to Stop the War:
805-641-1789
vcstopthewar@gmail.com

BACKGROUND

Ventura County Committee to Stop the War was formed in March of 2007 to organize education and activism with various groups and individuals throughout the county. Members of the group support GI resistance and engage in counter-recruitment in opposition to aggressive military recruitment of youth.
http://vcstopthewar.blogspot.com

Body of War is an intimate and transformational feature documentary about the true face of war today. Meet Tomas Young, 25 years old, paralyzed from a bullet to his spine - wounded after serving in Iraq for less than a week. The film is his coming home story as he evolves into a new person, coming to terms with his disability and finding his own unique and passionate voice against the war.
Produced and directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro.
http://www.bodyofwar.com/

Meeting Resistance asks, "What would you do if America was invaded?" and raises the veil of anonymity surrounding the Iraqi insurgency by meeting face to face with individuals who are passionately engaged in the struggle, and documenting for the very first time, the sentiments experienced and actions taken by a nation's citizens when their homeland is occupied. Voices that have previously not been heard, male and female, speak candidly about their motivations, hopes and goals, revealing a kaleidoscope of human perspectives. Featuring reflective, yet fervent conversations with active insurgents, Meeting Resistance is the missing puzzle piece in understanding the Iraq war.
Directed by Steve Connors and Molly Bingham.
http://meetingresistance.com/

Winner of the Oscar for documentary feature, Taxi to the Dark Side is a gripping investigation into the reckless abuse of power by the Bush Administration. A documentary murder mystery that examines the death of an Afghan taxi driver at Bagram Air Base, the film exposes a worldwide policy of detention and interrogation that condones torture and the abrogation of human rights. This disturbing and often brutal film is the most incisive examination to date of the Bush Administration's willingness, in its prosecution of the "war on terror," to undermine the essence of the rule of law. The film asks and answers a key question: what happens when a few men use the wartime powers of the executive to undermine the very principles on which the United States was founded?
Directed by Alex Gibney.
http://www.taxitothedarkside.com/taxi_trailer.htm

In War, Inc., John Cusack recreates his role as a hitman, delivering a hilarious performance in this political satire set in Turaqistan, a country occupied by an American private corporation run by a former U.S. Vice President (Dan Ackroyd). In an effort to monopolize the opportunities the war-torn nation offers, the corporation's CEO hires Hauser (Cusack) to assassinate a Middle Eastern oil minister. Also stars Hillary Duff, Marisa Tomei, Joan Cusack and Ben Kingsley.
Directed by Joshua Seftel. Written by Mark Leyner, Jeremy Pikser and producer John Cusack.
http://www.firstlookstudios.com/films/warinc/

Folk artist against the war in Oxnard

David Rovics
singer-songwriter
in concert

$10 suggested donation
(no one turned away for lack of funds)

Monday, August 18
7 pm
North Oxnard Methodist Church
2300 West Gonzales Road, Oxnard, CA 93030

David Rovics has been called the musical voice of the progressive movement in the United States. Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman has called him "the musical version of Democracy Now!" Since the mid-90's Rovics has spent most of his time on the road, playing hundreds of shows every year throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Japan. He and his songs have been featured on national radio programs in the US, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Denmark and elsewhere. He has shared the stage regularly with leading intellectuals (Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn), activists (Medea Benjamin, Ralph Nader), politicians (Dennis Kucinich, George Galloway), musicians (Billy Bragg, the Indigo Girls), and celebrities (Martin Sheen, Susan Sarandon). He has performed at dozens of massive rallies throughout North America and Europe and at thousands of conferences, college campuses and folk clubs throughout the world. He has loads of MP3's available for free download on his website, www.davidrovics.com, along with CDs, links, etc. More importantly, he's really good. He will make you laugh, he will make you cry, and he will make the revolution irresistible.

Sponsored by
Ventura County Committee to Stop the War
http://vcstopthewar.blogspot.com

To order tickets or for more information, call 805-641-1789 or email vcstopthewar@gmail.com.

Protest at Military Recruiting Center

Ventura County Committee to Stop the War
invites all groups and individuals to a

Planning Meeting to Protest the War
at a military recruitment center

Meeting:
Saturday, July 19
2 - 4 pm
Topping Room
Foster Library
651 E. Main St.
Ventura

Ventura County Committee to Stop the War is planning an antiwar protest at the Oxnard Armed Forces Career Center, 2347 N Oxnard Blvd. in Oxnard. We are hoping to have the protest the month of July. We are considering a press conference with street theater to emphasize the disaster of war that enlistees may face. Our goal is to permanently close the center through an ongoing campaign.

Already we have committed to reaching out on Friday, July 4th with a petition in opposition to military recruitment. Signatories endorse a general statement to opposition to military recruitment in their communities, with the option of adding their communities' names and types (college, high school, town, etc.). Please come to help organize for the Fourth of July outreach in downtown Ventura.

If your organization has an interest in participating in the protest, please consider sending a representative to this meeting. No one will be expected to commit any organization to any action; instead, protest planners can report to their groups important details of the meeting.

Contact VC Stop the War at vcstopthewar@gmail.com if you and/or your group would like to participate.

Film: "Soldiers Speak Out"

Friday, May 30
7 pm
Sunset iCafe, 2096 E. Main St.
Ventura

Soldiers Speak Out (28 min.) is a powerful, first-hand testament to the reality of the military experience, told entirely in the words of American veterans who have been to war and are now opposing it. We hear how they came to join the military, about their experiences in training and in war, and what led to the turning point when they decided they could no longer, in good conscience, participate in the war, or keep silent.

Ventura County Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) chapter president Cherish Hodge will be on hand to talk about IVAW and answer questions.

Email vcstopthewar@gmail.com for more information.

Commemoration for the war dead

5 pm MONDAY, March 24, 2008
Meet at Ventura City Hall, 501 Poli St., Ventura

• Rally at city hall, then
• March through downtown Ventura, and end with
• Candlelight vigil at the beach by the pier

Hosted by Ventura County Committee to Stop the War

Background:

The Associated Press has announced that 4,000 U.S. soldiers total have been killed in Iraq, with 2007 being the deadliest year.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080324/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

Ventura County Committee to Stop the War is hosting a commemoration for all the war dead because one life destroyed for an illegal and immoral war is one too many, let alone 4,000 U.S. soldiers' lives or up to 1 million estimated Iraqi lives. We join the majority of U.S. public sentiment against the occupation of Iraq by calling for an immediate withdrawal of all U.S. and allied forces from Iraq and Afghanistan.

For more information, email vcstopthewar@gmail.com or call 805-248-3640.
Website: http://vcstopthewar.blogspot.com

Fundraising Event

Music, Video, Speakers, Food

6-9 pm Wed., 3/19

Sunset Café

2096 E. Main St., Ventura

(across from Ventura High School)

Tickets: $20

Sponsored by
Ventura County Committee to Stop the War

Almost forty years ago, veterans of the Vietnam War gave public testimony to the war crimes and atrocities committed on behalf of the U.S. government. Now, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are repeating Winter Soldier for this war.

In order to help raise funds for this historic event, Ventura is joining with thousands of other communities to host a benefit event for soldiers against the war.

For more information,
call 805-279-9275 or email VCStoptheWar[at]gmail.com

Commemorate Iraq Deaths

Commemorate 4000 U.S. soldier deaths and the estimated million or more Iraqi deaths

Join us to commemorate and demonstrate against the war and killings of U.S. soldiers and countless, innocent Iraqis.

WHEN: The day after the 4000th U.S. soldier's death is announced.
WHERE: Ventura City Hall -- meet out front.
TIME: 5:00 PM
WHAT: After meeting up at City Hall, we plan to march through downtown to the Ventura Pier. There we will hold a candlelight vigil.

Check here for updates, and/or get email alerts by subscribing to iraq-casualties-commemoration-subscribe[at]googlegroups.com.

Call 805-248-3640 or email vcstopthewar[at]gmail.com for more information.

If you are a member or representative of another organization that is opposed to the war in Iraq, please notify others in your group and email us to let us know. If your group would like to co-sponsor this event, please email or call.