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Across the country, June 2009 groups are focusing on ending the US torture state.
The National Religious Coalition Against Torture has events for June, Torture Awareness Month
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 Journey to Asylum
1:00 PM–5:00 PM, at St. Anthony’s Outpatient Center at Carillon in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Uwe Jacobs, PhD, Clinical Director for Survivors International in San Francisco, California, will present promising practices in conducting psychological evaluations for affidavits and expert testimony for asylum seekers. Contact Ann Marie Winter at (727) 450 7283 or awinter@gcjfs.org for more information. Thursday, June 25, 2009–Torture Accountability Action Day Washington DC: Organized by: A coalition of the following organizations: Action Center for Justice, After Downing Street, Amnesty International, Coalition for Peace Action, CODE PINK, Consumers for Peace, Democrats.com, Historians Against the War, IndictBushNow, National Accountability Network, National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, NJ Peace Action, NJ People’s Organization for Progress, Peace Action, Progressive Democrats of America, The Torture Abolition Survivors Support Coalition, US Labor Against War, Veterans for Peace, Washington Peace Center, We Are Change LA, Witness Against Torture, World Can’t Wait
Torture Accountability Action Day 9 AM, tabling begins
11:00 AM–12:00 Noon, Speakers and Rally 12:00 Noon, March to the Department of Justice Some participants will engage in nonviolent civil resistance, risking arrest, if AG Holder refuses to appoint a Special Prosecutor. See http://tortureaccountability.webs.com for more information. If your organization would like to sponsor the event, go to http://tortureaccountability.webs.com/contactus.htm (see more below)
San Francisco CA: Jim Haynes: Do It Yourself Ethics Complaint, 6/25 11am
Press conference at the State Bar office in San Francisco when we file all of the complaints. Join us: California Bar Association, 180 Howard St., SF.
Tell State Bar: Torture Lawyers Should Not Be Practicing Law in California. As General Counsel for the DOD under Donald Rumsfeld, Wm. "Jim" Haynes crafted legal memos for some of the most heinous torture techniques authorized by Bush. He now works for Chevron in San Ramon and is licensed by the California State Bar. The SF National Lawyers Guild Committee Against Torture filed an ethics complaint against Haynes with the bar and has crafted a simple form so you can file your very own! You don’t need to live in California to file a complaint.
CODEPINK wants to file hundreds of individual ethics complaints, so please join in! This is VERY SIMPLE. You just need to fill in your name, address, phone number, and signature on the complaint and mail it to the SF National Lawyers Guild address shown at the bottom of the complaint. Get the complaint here www.nlgsf.org/news/view.php?id=109
Boston/Cambridge: Organized by: Susan Serpa Tausif Paracha, whose uncle has been detained in Guantanamo since 2003 http://www.freeparachas.org/ For more information, see http://warcriminalswatch.org or contact Susan Serpa at 617-599-5195. Washington DC: Organized by: TASSC International 2:00–3:30 PM: Congressional Human Rights Commission Hearing with TASSC–Panel of Survivors will address the Need for Accountability Cannon Building, Room 340, Washington DC Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) will chair the hearing, during which four survivors from TASSC will testify. http://tassc.org/index.php?sn=309 Washington DC: Organized by: TASSC International Friday, June 26, 2009–UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture Washington DC: Organized by: TASSC International Conference: "Torture Never Again!" 9:15 AM: Morning Panel I: "Torture in Our Backyard"
11:15 AM: Morning Panel II: "Torture Never Again" 2:30 PM: Afternoon Panel I: "Truth, Justice and Accountability" 4:00 PM: Afternoon Panel II: "Torture, Women and Children of Survivors http://tassc.org/index.php?sn=309 San Jose CA: Organized by: San Jose Peace Protest to Target Jeppese
11:30 AM March from Caltrain Station–65 Cahill St.
12:00 PM Noon Rally in fron of Jeppesen Office: 225 W. Santa Clara St. (Corner Almaden) in downtown San Jose On Friday, June 26, the International Day in Solidarity with Victims of Torture, protesters will return to rally in front of the office where Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen handles the logistics for the CIA torture flights. http://www.sanjosepeace.org/article.php/20090602121658330
Santa Clara CA: Organized by: Santa Clara County Refugee Forum (cosponsored by Asian Americans for Community Involvement and Survivors International Week of Healing) 7:30 PM, at First Presbyterian Church, 1140 Cowper St., Palo Alto, CA Berkeley CA: Our Himmlers, Eichmanns Unscathed as Obama Dithers: Why Is He Afraid of the Torturers? Featuring Ray McGovern
7:30pm, BFUU Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar St. @ Bonita, Berkeley. $5-$10 donation, Co-sponsors CODEPINK & Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Social Justice Committee. Ray McGovern was a CIA analyst for 27 years. He returned his CIA
"Intelligence Commendation Award" medallion in 2006 saying "I do not wish to be associated with torture". He cofounded Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity and works with "Tell the Word", the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC. See McGovern’s famous confrontation of Rumsfeld lying about Iraq WMD on Keith Olbermann: Plus: Jon Eisenberg, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs in the famous warrantless wiretapping case Al-Haramain v. Bush "I wonder whether Bybee feels guilty before God. He certainly has no business being a federal judge. His presence on the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals brings disgrace to that court. He should resign." Jon Eisenberg, San Francisco Recorder Updates on torture accountability campaigns from SF National Lawyers Guild Committee Against Torture, Amnesty International, CODEPINK, PDA, Veterans for Peace. Film clips from “Torturing Democracy.” Music: Carrie Gerendasy; "her singing is topical, relevant, downright gorgeous" Minneapolis MN? Organized by: The Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) Baltimore MD: Organized by: Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (ASTT) In Celebration of Strength 6:00 PM–8:00 PM An evening of survivor artwork at The Library Project art space located in Baltimore’s Historic Federal Hill. This catered event will feature wine, hors d’oeuvres, and music to help support client services. The gallery reception will take place from 6-8PM at 1401 Light Street, Baltimore, MD 21230.
See http://www.astt.org/calendar.html to order tickets or contact Joan Hodges (e-mail development@astt.org ) to find out more. San Francisco CA: Organized by: Amnesty International (cosponsored by Survivors International Week of Healing) Palo Alto CA: Organized by: the Council of Churches of Santa Clara County Torture is a Moral Issue Panel 7:30 PM First Presbyterian Church, 1140 Cowper St., Palo Alto, CA
Panelists: Ray McGovern (former CIA analyst, now with Church of the Savior in DC and Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity), Jean Maria Arrigo (social psychologist working to deter psychologists’ involvement in torture, and founder of Project on Ethics and Art in Testimony), Ben Daniel (pastor and internationally recognized writer of faith-based social and political commentary), David DeCosse (will moderate the panel; from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University), and John Crigler (will perform his oral history composition "Lament of an Army Interrogator") See here for more information. (Several organizations are sponsoring and cosponsoring both the panel and the conrerence.) Atlanta GA: Organized by: Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Gwinnett Saturday, June 27, 2009 Washington DC: Organized by: TASSC International 24-Hour Vigil Commemorating the U.N. international Day in Support of Torture Victims and Survivors
Lafayette Park (in front of the White House) For its 12th consecutive year, TASSC will hold a 24-Hour Vigil in Washington, DC, on Saturday, June 27, across from the White House. The Vigil will be attended by survivors of torture from around the world and supported by our many friends and colleagues.
http://www.tassc.org/ (The above info. is on the home page.) Palo Alto CA: Organized by: the Council of Churches of Santa Clara County 9:00 AM–5:00 PM, One-day Conference
First United Methodist Church 625 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto, CA Speakers: Terrence Karney (former Army Interrogator & Trainer), Carol Wickersham (Presbyterian minister, founder of No2Torture, and Beloit College Sociology Professor), Janet Alexander (Stanford Law Professor, expert in international and national security and terrorism), Banafsheh Akhalghi (Amnesty International), speaker from the Center for Survivors of Torture, Ray McGovern, Jean Maria Arrigo, and John Crigler
See herefor pdf flyer and www.councilofchurches-scc.org for more information. (Several organizations are sponsoring and cosponsoring both the panel and the conrerence.) Miami Beach FL: Organized by: Florida Center for Survivors of Torture UN Day picnic 11:00 AM–2:00 PM, at Haulover Park in Miami Beach
Florida Center for Survivors of Torture invites clients, family and friends to join us in honouring the resiliency and strength of all the survivors of torture worldwide. Contact Mitsouko Chatelain at (305) 805-5060 or mchatelain@gcjfs.org for more information. Kenver CO: Organized by: the Rocky Mountain Survivors Center (RMSC) 3:00 PM–6:00 PM, at the Bill Roberts School, 2100 Akron Way, Denver, CO (in Denver’s new
Stapleton area near Montview and Yosemite)
RMSC will host its annual event to commemorate the Day in Support of Victims of Torture to bring together survivors, community members, partner organisations and RMSC staff and board members to honour the courage and resiliency of survivors, remember those who did not survive, and call for an end to cruel and inhuman practices that violate human rights. A soccer game followed by an interfaith invocation will kick off the event, which will also include a celebration of the diverse backgrounds within the community, statements from partners and community members, music and a community picnic.
Contact Person Jennifer Wilson (e-mail jwilson@rmscdenver.org ) for more information. Sunday, June 28, 2009 Washington DC: Organized by: TASSC International 6:00 AM–"Light One Candle of Hope"
Lafayette Park, Across from the White House
TASSC will close the 24-Hour Vigil and invite interfaith communities to light a candle as a symbol of the light of truth and justice in a torture-free world. Candles will be lit at the end of the 24-Hour vigil on Sunday as a sign of hope for a torture-free world and for truth, justice and reconciliation in our world. Rallies Around U.S. To Demand Accountability for Torture
http://accountabili Thursday, June 25, 2009, has been designated Torture Accountability Action Day by a large coalition of human rights groups planning rallies and marches in major U.S. cities, including a rally in Washington, D.C.’s John Marshall Park at 11 a.m. followed by a noon march to the Justice Department where some participants will risk arrest in nonviolent protest if a special prosecutor for torture is not appointed. Events are planned in Washington, D.C.; San Francisco, CA; Pasadena, CA; Thousand Oaks, CA; Boston, MA; Salt Lake City, UT; Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; Las Vegas, NV; Honolulu, HI; Tampa, FL; Philadelphia, PA; and Anchorage, AK, with details available online: In Washington, D.C., groups will maintain literature tables from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at John Marshall Park, 501 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. A rally will begin at 11 a.m. with speakers including: With performances by Jordan Page, Tha Truth, and David Ippolito. Participants will march at noon to the Department of Justice, where some but not all of the participating organizations will engage in nonviolent resistance if the Attorney General has not yet agreed to appoint a special prosecutor for torture. (Some of the organizations sponsoring the day of rallies do not engage in civil disobedience. In Pasadena, Calif., at 12 p.m. PT citizens will submit a formal judicial misconduct complaint against 9th Circuit Judge Jay Bybee, former Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel: Courthouse steps, Chambers Courthouse, 125 South Grand Ave., Pasadena, CA 91105. Statement of Purpose: In order to enforce our laws and restore the free society that our forefathers envisioned, citizens must demand accountability for abuses of the laws pertaining to torture. In the tradition of the Civil Rights movement, change will not occur unless citizens stand up for their rights under the law. Torture Accountability Action Day Is Sponsored By: |
Is anybody passing through Pittsburgh or Greensburg heading towards DC for the rally. I could use a ride. I have a tent if necessary.