JoanWile's blog

POLICE BACK OFF FROM GRANDMOTHERS AS THE GRANNY PEACE BRIGADE OCCUPIES LINCOLN CENTER

JoanWile — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:53:51 +0000

Culture seekers streaming through Lincoln Center Tuesday evening, Oct. 18, were undoubtedly surprised to see a tableau not usually seen at the arts complex. Approximately 60 members of the Granny Peace Brigade and their followers formed a semi-circle around the fountain located in the midst of the plaza surrounded by the Koch Theatre (home of the New York City Ballet); the Metropolitan Opera House, and Avery Fisher Hall.

AFGHAN PEACE YOUTHS FEEL HOPELESS: SAY CONDITIONS WORSENING

JoanWile — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:26:51 +0000

By Joan Wile, author, "Grandmothers Against the War: Getting Off Our Fannies and Standing Up for Peace" (Citadel Press)

On Sunday, Aug. 21, I had the privilege of speaking via conference call with several young people from the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers. It was the occasion of what they have termed the "Global Day of Listening," during which the kids spoke with supporters and sympathizers all over the world for approximately 5 and a half hours.

WAKE UP, AMERICA! YOUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE!

JoanWile — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 19:51:49 +0000

by Joan Wile, author, "Grandmothers Against the War: Getting Off Our Fannies and Standing Up for Peace" (Citadel Press, '08),

composer-lyricist, "Seven Ages of Woman" and other theatre musicals

WHAT ELSE DO WE NEED TO MAKE IT CLEAR

THAT DOOMSDAY IS GETTING PERILOUSLY NEAR

OUR SAFETY NET IS TORN TO SHREDS

TAX BREAKS ARE GIVEN TO CORPORATE HEADS

WHILE WE ON THE BOTTOM AND IN THE MIDDLE

LOSE MORE EACH DAY WHILE THE LEADERS FIDDLE

WE'RE MAKING WAR ALL OVER THE PLANET

THOUGH OUR CITIZENS DAILY URGE, "PLEASE BAN IT"

SOLDIERS AND CITIZENS ARE DYING FOR NAUGHT

SO BOMBS AND GUNS CAN BE PROFITABLY BOUGHT

JOAN'S DAILY DOGGEREL RE CURRENT EVENTS

JoanWile — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 16:49:50 +0000

Joan Wile, founder of Grandmothers Against the War, and author, "Grandmothers Against the War: Getting Off Our Fannies and Standing Up for Peace" (Citadel Press, '08), as well as an award-winning ASCAP lyricist and composer, recently launched "Daily Doggerel Re Current Events" online. Joan is writing a short poem (observing the mandatory 140-character cap) every day on Facebook and Twitter about current events as they unfold. "It's a good mental exercise to write a poem within those constraints...maybe it will help stave off Alzheimer's," the 79-year-old songwriter said. "At least I'm not posting sleazy photos of myself."

Here are the first six:

JoanWile - Thursday, June 2
PALIN, A TWIT/BACHMAN, A DUNCE/AN EMPTY SUIT, MITT/ALL BRAINLESS RUNTS/WHAT A BUNCH OF CRETINS/KEEP EXPOSIN' THEM IN YOUR TWEETIN'S.

JoanWile - Friday, June 3
JOBLESSNESS RISING/BENEFITS DIPPING/COMPANIES DOWNSIZING/ ECONOMY'S SLIPPING/BOEHNER IS CLUELESS/WE'LL ALL WIND UP SHOELESS

BROOKLYN HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS STATE THAT THE WAR IN IRAQ WAS A CRIME

JoanWile — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 02:10:10 +0000

It was a well-used music room in a slightly beat-up ancient school in Brooklyn. Approximately 20 kids piled in. They appeared to be all Latino and African-American. They were seniors about to graduate. We were told by their teacher, Stephen, that every single one was going on to college, some with full scholarships.

We were invited guests for a special occasion on June 2 -- Carol Huston, an active member of the Granny Peace Brigade; Alicia Godsberg, currently Executive Director of Peace Action New York State; Hugh Bruce, a Vietnam veteran member of Veterans for Peace, and me, founder of Grandmothers Against the War.

BROOKLYN HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS RALLY AGAINST THE AFGHAN WAR -- PROVE THERE CAN BE A YOUTH PEACE MOVEMENT

JoanWile — Fri, 20 May 2011 04:00:52 +0000

The day was downcast, but the wonderful high school seniors from Brooklyn Collaborative School standing in the rain on Fifth Avenue were not. You could say they were upcast. They were living proof that daring and principled teachers could raise their students' consciousness about the material and political costs of our current wars and integrate them into the anti-war movement.

It was the morning of May 18. About 8 or 9 kids, all Latino and African American, had joined the Grandmothers Against the War weekly vigil at Rockefeller Plaza. Their Social Economics teacher, Stephen Simons, thought it would make a good field trip to supplement their class discussions regarding the question: was the Iraq war a just one?

SURPRISE!! THERE IS, TOO, AN ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT! IT'S JUST THAT THE TEA PARTY GETS ALL THE MEDIA COVERAGE

JoanWile — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 22:45:37 +0000

You'd think there is a huge Tea Party group in the U.S. and virtually no opposition. But, that is strictly a myth created and perpetuated by the media. To the contrary, there is an alive and well anti-war movement composed of people from all over the country. One wonders why the media seems so intent on promoting the Tea Party and ignoring the probably larger but less visible peace movement.

THREE MEMBERS OF THE GRANNY PEACE BRIGADE GIVEN FIRST CLARA LEMLICH AWARD IN HONOR OF 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF TRIANGLE FIRE

JoanWile — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 17:24:31 +0000

As part of the week-long commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirt Factory fire of March 25, 2011, the first Clara Lemlich Award was presented to thirty older women on March 21 in a ceremony at the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation. Three of the recipients are members of the legendary anti-war group, the Granny Peace Brigade. The Award was given "in celebration of unsung activists."

The members of the Granny Peace Brigade receiving the Award were Marie Runyon, 96; Lillian Pollak, 95, and Joan Wile, 79. Another Granny Peace Brigader, actress-activist Vinie Burrows, presented the Awards.

JOIN THE END THE WAR PROTEST IN NEW YORK CITY MARCH 19 IN COMMEMORATION OF ATTACK ON IRAQ 8 YEARS AGO

JoanWile — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 22:00:59 +0000

by Joan Wile, author,
"Grandmothers Against the War: Getting Off Our Fannies
and Standing Up for Peace" (Citadel Press)

It's encouraging to see the people uprisings abroad and in our own country. The Egypt revolt really sparked something, and, on its revolutionary heels, the workers of Wisconsin came to life and fought Gov. Walker's efforts to strip them of their rights. People in other states being subjected to the same onslaught rose into action, also. It seems as if we might be on the cusp of meaningful fightback in the U.S. against the new robber barons who don't give a damn about you and me but are only interested in swelling their over-bloated portfolios to even greater obscene proportions.

PEACE LOVERS, LET'S END THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN AND THE OCCUPATION OF IRAQ...NOW!!!

JoanWile — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 20:57:10 +0000

by Joan Wile, Founder, Grandmothers Against the War
and author, "Grandmothers Against the War:
Getting Off Our Fannies and Standing Up for Peace" (Citadel Press)

The massive protest in Wisconsin got me thinking. Why can't we do the same to end the war in Afghanistan and the occupation of Iraq? There are millions of people in the U.S. who urgently want these wasteful, tragic and unjustified conflicts concluded immediately and all troops and armaments brought home. Imagine how quickly we could begin to fill our desperate domestic needs -- schools could be built; affordable or free health care could be made available to all citizens; people could be put back to work; highways and bridges could be repaired, and hundreds of other economic-induced problems could be solved.