Hey Tom! I'm glad to see you hooking up with the Food Not Bomb kids!
They are a great group of brave dedicated kids!! I worked with them at
the G-8 Summit protest several years ago when everything was strange.
They showed "moxy" and I know you'll be in good hands! expect an e-
mail soon.
Here's some craziness from that demo:
June 2004 Savannah Georgia G-8 Summit
from the Savannah Morning News:
"Federal Police spent about 10 hours constructing fencing around
federal buildings. About 20 people conducted an impromptu
demonstration in Franklin Square between 1 and 2 p.m.
An unattended backpack, spotted in City Market about 3 p.m., caused
Savannah police to temporarily close down some areas. Later in City
Market, federal police thought some young men in their 20s were
watching them, so they asked permission to search their vehicle.
Inside, they found a bag of marijuana. Authorities began blocking a
few major downtown streets Sunday, including a portion of Whitaker
Street. More restrictions are to be in place today."
----------------------------------------
~~~A beautiful Sunday in the square.
Food Not Bombs-Savannah began the day by cooking food at the Blue
House and then heading to Franklin Square to pass out beans and rice
to the homeless there - something FNB has done uninterrupted for 3
years.
This Sunday however, was a little different.
With the G-8 Summit days away and President Bush expected to arrive
that evening, the security surrounding Franklin Square was extremely
tight. Roving bands of soldiers in Humvees and tanks patrolled the
area, while streets were blocked off and high security fences were
constructed around Federal buildings.
Arriving at the square with our pots of beans and rice we were greeted
by 500 patrolling soldiers, 20 Secret Service agents, hoards of the
world's media and ......oh yea..... three homeless guys looking for a
meal. Kelly Gaskins, the organizer of the G-8 CounterProtest had
schedualed a news conference at the same time as our feeding. Not only
were we unaware of the news conference to take place, but Kelly Gaskin
arrived an hour late which meant we had to entertain and babysit the
world's Media until Kelly and her crew finally showed up.
The three homeless guys we were feeding became freaked out by the
Media and the military presence and left.
Nobody from the Media was interested in our beans and rice....
The news conference was interrupted suddenly by a heavy downpour of
rain and everybody fled the square to meet up again upstairs at a
nearby restaurant. One of the homeless men, in his rush, had left a
empty backpack behind......
A little side note about Vinnie Van Go-Go's - a popular restaurant
across from the square. The owner gave an interview in the local paper
weeks ago about how he was planning to keep his restaurant open during
the G-8. Most businesses and restaurants had already boarded up their
windows and left town.
But not Vinnie's.
Not today.
Not until gun toting soldiers rushed into the restaurant and cleared
out the place because of a BOMB THREAT!!!! All hell broke loose until
it was discovered the "bomb' was an empty backpack one of the homeless
men had left at the square..... Sunday in the Square during a "State
of Emergency".... and the G-8 Summit hasn't even begun..
http://peacewhilewarrages.blogspot.com
