Category: Action

As explained in this diary, the Obama DOJ is delaying  habeas corpus for Mohammed Jawad, a 22-year old Afghan national captured as a teenager 6 years ago & imprisoned at Guantánamo. The Obama DOJ decided to not modify Bush’s motion to dismiss or hold in abeyance until after a military trial. Only Obama has halted all military proceedings, which may not recommence for at least 120 days.

Jawad is a good case for Obama to start distancing himself from Bush.  There is no allegation that Jawad is a member of al-Qaeda or the Taliban, that he committed terrorism or ever had critical intelligence.  This is the “first war crimes trial against a child soldier (pdf file) in the history of the civilized world.”  Yet, a military judge has already tossed the “torture-tainted evidence against Jawad” in a case of regular criminal justice crimes, like attempted murder.  

David Swanson has put together an extensive and thorough “To Do List” for the current and critical issues we’re dealing with, in terms of accountability and war crimes, specifically, torture.  

“Complete Recipe for Accountability: Just Add Sweat

By David Swanson  2-11-2009

Congressman John Conyers has proposed extending statutes of limitations on Bush-Cheney crimes. Help make this happen.

Note: I originally posted this last year but the problem is still the same so I thought I’d post it again. Some of the dates are wrong and some links may not work but it should still give you a overview of this pressing moral crises and how we can help.

“None of us is truly free while others remain enslaved. –Archbishop Desmond Tutu

This Christmas people around the world celebrate. But take some time to think about the problems of the world. For example. Think about this.

27 Million People Live in Slavery.

Even today our fellow humans live enslaved. That’s why I am a abolitionist. And despite being Jewish. I am making a Christmas wish and goal to end slavery. 2007 marks the 200 year anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in Britain so what a better year to make a commitment to end slavery? Thankfully we can take simple steps to help end slavery. Keep on reading to learn how.

We have built it….will they come?

They will if they know about it! If you want to get involved or stay involved in the Citizens Petition: Special Prosecutor for Bush War Crimes, the work that needs to be done now is getting the petition in front of as many eyes as possible.

Here is a link to a text file of the petition https://www.docudharma.com/uplo… All you have to do is Copy and Paste it into an e-mail.

Below the fold is the promotional e-mail I have been sending out. You can also e-mail me and I will send you the HTML for either the petition or the promo mail.

First please mail it to your Senators and Representatives. And don’t forget to ask them to sign it!

Next, we can mail it to the media, here is FAIR’s Media Contact List

And then the blogs, here is Technorati’s list of the Top 100 Blogs. But please mail it especially to the blogs that YOU read and like. Most blogs have a Contact Us link somewhere on their site. Don’t worry about repetition, the more mails that blogs get, the more it will become apparent that this is a ‘hot issue’ and will cover it.

Social Networking sites, such as Facebook, My Space….as well as Digg and Reddit etc. I have a big hole in my knowledge about these sites, so any help and suggestions as to using them to get the petition out is very welcome!

Update! Google produces a Digg link….go Digg!

Finally, your personal e-mail contacts…send it to everyone you know!

Thanks for the effort, in just two days the petition is up to 2343 signers! Just about anyone who sees it and has the two minutes to sign it…..probably will! So every mail you send out is important. Thank You all for your efforts towards bring these War Criminals to Justice!

Please go to Democrats.com and sign the petition!

Dear Attorney General Designate Holder,

We the undersigned citizens of the United States hereby formally petition you to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute any and all government officials who have participated in War Crimes.

These crimes  are being euphemistically referred to as “abusive interrogation techniques” by such respected figures as Senator John McCain. These are euphemisms for torture. Torture is a War Crime. Waterboarding is a War Crime. The CIA has admitted waterboarding detainees. Recently, Vice President Cheney has brazenly admitted authorizing the program that lead to waterboarding, other forms of torture too numerous to list, and ultimately, the deaths by homicide of detainees.

As Major General Antonio Taguba, the Army general who led the investigation into prisoner abuse at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison has stated:

“After years of disclosures by government investigations, media accounts and reports from human rights organizations, there is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes. The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account.”

The Washington Post recently summarized the Senate Armed Services Committee Report on detainee treatment thusly:

A bipartisan panel of senators has concluded that former defense secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other top Bush administration officials bear direct responsibility for the harsh treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, and that their decisions led to more serious abuses in Iraq and elsewhere.

We the undersigned citizens demand a full and thorough investigation immediately upon your taking office. This investigation should be pursued no matter where it may lead and no matter what the political implications may be. To this end, we remind you that you work not on behalf of or for the President or the Congress, but for the People of the United States of America and for Justice itself.

The United States is a representative democracy. The actions of our government officials are done in the name of its citizens. War Crimes have been committed in our name. Torture has been done in our name. The only way to clear our name of War Crimes is to repudiate them through the aggressive prosecution of each and every person involved to the full extent of the law through the appointment of a Special Prosecutor.

.

Please go to Democrats.com and sign the petition!

(NB: Sent out via CodePink listserv)

Action is going on NOW, if you are local PLEASE GET OUT IN THE STREETS!

They need local NYC based support, if someone wants to cut and paste this to the Orange Beelzebub or any other forum by all means do so.

From: m burgess

Date: Thu, Dec 18, 2008 at 4:09 PM

Subject: activists needed: 65 fifth ave (between 13 & 14th)

Last night, the NSU students took over the cafeteria in the building at 65 5th avenue (between 13 and 14). This morning, the administration prevented anyone from entering the building. Things got ugly when the police arrived with NSU Present Kerrey. (Only one student was arrested.) The cops have come and gone and come back again. After closing off the building, the admin finally let people withh ids back in. CLearly, they’re stumped about what to do. Civil Rights people, lawyers, press are here. The international action center is here. The students need more numbers to protest in front of the building. They’re calling for anti-war groups for support. The faculty (senate, all divisions and union of part-time faculty) overwhelmingly support No Confidence in Kerrey or Vice Pres J. Murtha, and the students are speaking to this and to larger issues, namely Kerrey’s support of the war, socially irresponsible investments and requesting removal of L-3 Communications chair from the NSU executive board. Please spread the word. The students are doing a nice job. They plan to stay until conditions are met. They could reallly use some support out front this afternoon, and into the night!

New School Building Occupied

To members of Campus Antiwar Network

Ian Chinich

Today at 12:54am

I am currently sitting inside a barricaded room with a large number of students at the New School. The students have occupied the building and are refusing to leave until their demands are met. They want the resignation of the director of L-3 Communications from their board of governors in addition to stopping tuition increases, and divulging investment information.

We need support. We need food… we need media support… we need help spreading the word… we need you to occupy your schools and your work places… A number of students from other schools in the area have come to help us hold this space.



So far the police have not forced their way in….. security has padlocked the fire escape to prevent more of us from getting in…a security guard attempted to enter over our barricades in the front to listen in but he was surrounded…… we are holding our ground and we are holding out…. we shall see what happens in the morning…

Come to 14th street and 5th ave….. NOW!!!!…

NY Times coverage here.

Some videos:

This morning all charges were dropped against the Hempstead 15, members of Iraq Veterans Against The War and their supporters who were accused of disorderly conduct for an act of civil disobedience they engaged in on October 15th during the last Presidential debates at Hofstra University in NY.

Nick Morgan (center) was trampled by a mounted policeman’s horse, and there will be a lawsuit. The vets are very grateful for everyone’s support.

I am guessing there will be a more formal announcement made in the future, but for now those of you who really deserve it can contemplate the thousand words embodied in these happy smiling faces, and know that by REALLY being there to support these troops you helped get some justice done today.

Thank you.

Thanks are due to Docudharma for putting the Hempstead 15 action alert up on their front page, but that alert will now need to be modified slightly. 🙂

It is with joy that I pass on the following announcement from Matthis Chiroux:

From The People’s E-mail Network (“The Pen”):

Congress Must Debate The Implications Of A Bush Self-Pardon

Many people have been asking us, “Could Bush actually pardon himself?”.  Would it be despicable?  Sure it would.  Would it be shameless and cowardly?  Yes, that and that too.  But all those adjectives fit Bush like O.J.’s glove before it shrunk from being soaked completely in blood.  Which means he is absolutely is planning on doing it.

And only impeachment could stop it.  We need to talk about this.  We need Congress to talk about this.  And Congress is in session this week, so we need you to speak out this week while there is still time.

Impeach Now Action Page:  

Tens of thousands of you submitted the action page on this last week.  Do it again.  Please speak out again while we still can.  There is already a drum beat in the right wing media calling on Bush to pardon his whole administration.  Only our voices can raise the price of such action so that there would be real consequences.

We have not given up, and will never give up hope on justice.  We will be taking delivery of another huge shipment of the “Impeach Both!!!” caps that are still so popular.  But this might be the last batch.  So if you want to demonstrate your support for impeachment, please request yours now from the return page of the action page submission.

Impeach Now Action Page

Will Congress now act?  That is not the yardstick of the worth of our activism.  We speak out because we must speak out, whether we are heeded or not.  Let history record that we spoke out until the last minute to the eternal shame of those who did not.  Because when enough of us speak out at once, the worst thing that can possibly happen is that we are building the progressive base for the REAL change of the future.

So Bush most certainly is planning on pardoning himself.  And all the right wing lock down ideologues in the corporate controlled media will call it “healing”.  Let’s all make nice with war criminals?  Shall we all make nice with the gang rape of our economy, our environment and our Constitution?  We think not.

And one more thing.  You know that come January 20th the right wing will start calling for the impeachment of our new president, over a endless litany of the most ridiculous of trivial trifles.  In fact it has already started even though he has not even taken office.  If they are so hot on impeaching someone, let them speak out now, when it truly is called for, or shut the hell up in 65 days.

Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours, and forward this alert as widely as possible.

There’s more!