Code Pink vows to stay in Berkeley and fight until the Marines leave... Marines say, "We're not leaving"

The anti-war group Code Pink has been trying to shut down the Marine recruiting office in Berkeley for months. Monday, Code Pink organizers said they will keep protesting until the Marines leave Berkeley. But the Marines say they are not leaving. Cybercast News Service:

As pro-war, flag-waving counter-protesters set up camp in Berkeley, Calif., on Monday, an anti-war activist told Cybercast News Service that her organization intended to demonstrate against the city's Marine recruitment center until it was abandoned.

"We're staying here until the Marines decide to respect the people of Berkeley and what we want in our city," Zanne Joi, a spokesperson for the anti-war group Code Pink, said in an interview.

"We're a city of peace. We've always voted against this war, as a council and as a people."

Since the Code Pink bizarros don't have regular jobs, they have plenty of time to block the entrance, hold up signs, deface the front of the recruiting office, and generally act like lefties.

Code Pink has been holding regular demonstrations in front of the recruitment center since October, with activities as diverse as dancing, yoga, juggling lessons, and public kissing meant to show opposition to the Marines, according to Joi.

The organization has dubbed its protests "How Berkeley Can You Be?" to show a contrast between the military's traditions and their city's counterculture.

Joi said protesters camped in front of the recruitment center number, on average, between 15 and 30 each day, and as high as 200.

Meanwhile, motor-bikers from the pro-military group Eagles Up descended on Berkeley on Saturday to counter-protest with American flags in hand.

The new arrivals verbally clashed with Code Pink activists, although confrontations were reportedly peaceful and respectful.

Joi said her organization appointed diplomats to converse with Eagles Up members, although many of the bikers were demanding that Code Pink leave Berkeley altogether.

"It felt like the same kind of disrespect for the people of Berkeley when they came to our city as when the Marines came ... that they feel like we don't have the right to decide what happens in our city," she said.

For their part, the Marines say they won't leave, despite the harassment. Which is their nature, because Marines don't cut and run. I'm hoping the brass in DC are following developments in Berkeley and are determined outlast the Code Pink protesters.
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