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Stage of Engagement; Huge Success
by IMC Maritimes
Monday, Mar. 20, 2006 at 3:39 AM
March 19th, 2006
On Saturday, March 18th, to mark the 3rd Anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, artists, speakers, and peace activists congregated in Victoria Park to say "No" to the ongoing illegal occupation of Iraq and Coalition forces military involvement.
The Stop the War Machine Stage of Engagement, organized by the Nova Scotia Public Interest Research Group (NSPIRG), featured such popular entertainers as monolithic hip-hop performer Michael Franti of Spearhead. Local acts I.M.F. and the Sound and the Fury also performed.
Representatives from a coalition of community groups including Haiti Action Halifax, the Halifax Peace Coalition, Student Coalition Against War, Palestine Solidarity Society, and NSPIRG, expressed the need for a concerted opposition to corporate colonialism and unlawful military campaigns abroad.
Michael Franti, a singer and songwriter from California, livened up the crowd with his inspirational and empowering lyrics like "We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can't bomb it into peace". Franti recently returned from a peace mission to Iraq, Israel, and Palestine and produced a film about his journey. "Today we are in a war against war" says Franti, "and music is our power."
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