(1) I am under the impression that the screening of war footage on

the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica has been more then a one-time event. Is that so, if so why?

Sam> The Santa Monica Video Outreach group has organized an event on the Third

Street Promenade almost every week since mid-October. We go out every week

because we are committed to bringing attention to the changing shape of

American foreign policy, specifically in terms of its commitment to the use

of violence to resolve international disputes.



Mystery Person>With all the warmongering around the world, several people amongst us feel an urgent need to promote compassion and thoughtfulness amongst the general public.

(2) If not, have you done it elsewhere?

Sam> We have not done our video outreach elsewhere, but we are hoping to set up a sister group in another Los Angeles area location.

Mystery Person> We have yet to establish the outreach on an ongoing basis in other locations. We have experimented with it. We will need more equipment before we can commit to doing it in more locations on an ongoing basis. But, we do have some plans that we are working on, that we will update you about in

due course of time.

(3) How have you gotten away with doing the screening, is it permitted?

Sam>As to the question of getting out and setting up on Third Street, that is

officially tolerated. The only possible problem could be the amount of noise

our sound system generates, so we try to respect reasonable decibel limits.

Mystery Person> There are no specific laws prohibiting this form of free communication. One of our volunteers who used to a vegetarian outreach with the same equipment was forcibly shut down once several months ago, on the basis that the screen was violating the allowed dimensions of any equipment that could be used on the promenade. The vegetarian activists knew all along that the main problem they had was with the graphic footage that was being shown

that was completely protected by laws protecting free speech. They followed

up with the police with a little help from legal experts, and though the

issue wasn't completely resolved, the activists continued to do the

outreach in the following weeks (they were on a once every two weeks

schedule) and apparently the police have wisely chosen to not harass them

again about the screen dimensions.

(4) Who else works with you on this project?

Mystery Person> Quite a few people volunteer on an ongoing basis. We do the outreach as the Coalition For World Peace http://CoalitionForWorldPeace.org/ .

Sam> A ragtag group of a half-dozen.

Leone> That's the regulars, but more people drop in to help



(5) What footage do you show and why?

Mystery Person>We show various kinds of footage related to Peace. Some that we would like to mention are:-

Images of innocent victims of the recent US bombings in Afghanistan to tune

of Imagine by John Lennon and some other peace promoting songs. We hope

that the images leaves a lasting impression on the people who see it, and

will make them a little more resistant to all the war mongering, and maybe

help them understand why they need to become active peace activists.

Videos about the last Gulf War and the subsequent impact of economic

sanctions against Iraq. We hope that this will help people see through

George Bush's 'Axis Of Evil' speeches, and not approve of bombing the

innocent people in Iraq on a much larger basis than is currently happening.

A flash animation about an alternative comedic State of The Union speech by

George Bush. A little humor can go a long way with a lot of people at the

promenade.

Some stuff on how liberty and justice that was once upon a time known to be

the essence of America is being degraded further and further by the current

Bush administration.