Activism

"Less than a week before a Town Meeting Day vote on the future of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, a David-and-Goliath-style public relations war is heating up between the multibillion dollar corporation that owns the plant and a small group of volunteers who want the plant closed in 2012," writes Eesha Williams. "Nuclear Free Vermont, the citizens' group, is spending about $2,000 to distribute 'Vote Yes' yard signs to supporters, mail literature, and possibly air a handful of radio ads.

A new survey by Editor & Publisher magazine shows that "the growing rift at the United Nations and massive antiwar demonstrations around the globe appear to have had an impact. E&P now finds that a majority of top papers oppose any attack on Iraq without broad international support." Previous surveys in January also opposed President Bush's desire for a quick invasion, but pro-war editorials surged immediately following Colin Powell's presentation to the U.N. in early February.

The United for Peace and Justice coalition has secured a rally location for the New York city anti-war protest on February 15, announcing that "this massive, peaceful demonstration to stop the Iraq war will go forward no matter what. But in an outrageous attack on our civil liberties, Federal Judge Barbara Jones ruled ... that we may only hold a stationary rally. ... This fight is about far more than one protest march; it's about how much political space for dissent there will be in this country for the foreseeable future.

Since September 11, a number of pundits have tried to demonize dissent by equating it with support for terrorism. "But none has gone so far as to suggest an actual prosecution for treason simply for voicing one's political views - until now," writes Brendan Nyhan. In a February 6 editorial, the New York Sun begins by praising the New York City government for "doing the people of New York and the people of Iraq a great service by delaying and obstructing the anti-war protest planned for February 15.