The Peace, Justice & Globalization Conference was held in Eugene this weekend, and was well-attended by both Eugene residents and people from elsewhere. Among the workshops and panel discussions scheduled for the Friday-Sunday event were two peace marches. The first, on Friday night, started at the McDonald Theatre, where Spearhead played a concert as part of the conference opening. The next, on Saturday, took place during the lunch break, and went to the U of O stadium, where the Ducks were playing a home game. Participants on this march chanted, "War sucks, go Ducks!" in a creative attempt to meke their anti-war message palatable to sports fans.

The peace movement in Eugene has been quite active since the Sept. 11 attacks on the East Coast; besides various rallies and marches, people have been holding daily vigils on the steps of the Federal Courthouse. Corporate media outlets in Eugene have been ignoring these events for the most part, which some media-watchers claim is part of an overall pattern of downplaying the great number of people involved in the peace movement not only in the U.S. but around the world.

Incidentally, the Ducks were defeated on Saturday, in their first home game loss in four years. No word yet on whether the peace movement has been blamed.

From the newswire: [ "War sucks, go ducks!" | Photos ]

More information: [ Global Indymedia: "Peace & Justice" feature | protest.net: peace rallies around the world | NYC Indymedia: Media Analysis | University of Oregon: Ducks game schedule ]