Entries from October 2007 ↓

“If there were no photographs, there would be no Abu Ghraib,” a guard stationed at the infamous detention facility commented.

Host a “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib” house party: http://86days.amnestyusa.org

Images are the only evidence for an American conscience that the unimaginable horrors of Abu Ghraib were real. Host a “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib” house party as November’s “86 days” campaign action and help educate your community about this tragic truth.

Through extensive interviews and documentation, “Ghosts of Abu Graib” demonstrates that the President and his senior advisors are responsible for the abuses at the prison.

When Congress passed the Military Commissions Act one year ago, the U.S. abandoned its core founding principles. The Administration continues to give a green light to policies that place guilt before innocence, imprisonment without charge, and fear above all else. When a government sanctions the use of torture tactics, it disposes of justice and the rule of law, and thereby, discards our freedom.

Join with Amnesty advocates in new ways each month to call attention to these violations as a part of our “86 days” campaign. Invite your neighbors and help educate your community by hosting a special screening of the documentary “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib”. Witness how poor policies against the “war on terror” breed tragedies like the human rights abuses at Abu Ghraib.

http://86days.amnestyusa.org

Images shouldn’t be the only proof of Abu Ghraib’s existence…our conscience reminds us that Abu Graib exists when the principals of decency and democracy do not.

In solidarity,
Kevin Spidel
Campaign Manager, Denounce Torture
Amnesty International, USA

Marshall Adame

What has become of American government? What has become of us?

Politics in America has always been a “them” and “Us” sort of event. We have so many different outlooks and avenues of expression and thought. Political philosophy, social engagement, citizen responsibility to government, as opposed to government obligation to its citizens, political correctness and how it effects our societal morays and values is today, as always, wonderfully debated and the list goes on; yet somehow those differences have helped to make us the great people we are, which has in turn forged the social Democratic miracle America still is today.

Opposing thought and spectrums, with a shared love of county, liberty, freedom and rule of law have been the hallmark of American political discourse. We all love this county and our opposing thoughts, with few exceptions, have never really challenged that principle.

I still hold back the tears when I hear the Marine Corps hymn and unashamedly jump to my feet and stand at attention when old glory passes;…. And yet something has changed. Something has begun to change us as a people….Even I have changed.

Fear has gripped us as a nation. Tragically, some of that fear is of design by our own President and those Republicans and Democrats who abide his course. President Bush displays an almost total disregard for the “Rule of Law” in America while praising the repressed peoples in the world for seeking it in their own society. Continue reading →

The Business Journal of Phoenix - by Mike Sunnucks Phoenix Business Journal

Two Roman Catholic priests were sentenced to five months each in federal prison for trespassing on Fort Huachuca, the U.S. Army base in Southern Arizona.

The Revs. Louis Vitale, 75, and Steve Kelly, 58, both from California, entered the installation last year to deliver a protest letter. They worry about interrogation techniques being taught at the Army Intelligence Center there, and that base commanders have ties to Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison.

The U.S. Army denies charges that torture techniques are being taught at the Arizona fort.

A number of defense contractors also have operations in and around the Arizona base, which is southeast of Tucson, near Sierra Vista.

The two priests pleaded “no contest” to the trespassing charge.

Habeas Funeral (White House),
originally uploaded by kspidel.

We did! Here are some photos from our White House action today. Find out more and take action http://86days.amnestyusa.org

100_0852,
originally uploaded by kspidel.

If you want to know more about the work I do within Amnesty…. go see this movie this weekend. We had the privilege of meeting two of the actors for a screening on the Hill this week with members of Congress. It was an impressive film and right on as far as the issue is concerned. Please go watch this film this weekend. Send me your thought on the comment section of this post after you watch it. - paz, ks

One year ago today, Congress passed the Military Commissions Act. With it, founding principles of the U.S. Constitution were discarded in the name of fighting terror. The Act made it lawful to hold prisoners indefinitely without charge or trial, to assume guilt before innocence, to blur the definition of torture, and to use information obtained through brutal treatment as “evidence.” Other governments, including the British during America’s founding, have tried to exert control in similar ways. It didn’t work then and it doesn’t work now.

Is America safer when we undo the Constitution? Those with first-hand experience of torture, such as Senator John McCain, believe it is not only wrong but counter-productive. This and other abuses erode America’s moral standing in the world. Strong evidence suggests that they even serve as a recruiting tool for those using terror and provide convenient cover for anyone else abusing human rights.

Making the world a safer place requires consistent and universal respect for human rights. Join Amnesty International in insisting that Congress return America to its core constitutional principles of justice by overturning the Military Commissions Act, granting fair and timely trials, treating detainees humanely and reinstating habeas corpus - the right to challenge one’s detention in court.

Strengthen America’s commitment to human rights and the rule of law. It’s up to people like us to demand it. Take action at http://www.amnestyusa.org

Though he referred specifically to the gay non-discrimination bill, Rep. Barney Frank made an impassioned plea for realism among activists that could be applied to the war, the environment or any other major issue of the day. He warned that imperfect legislation can help millions of people, unless “ideologically committed single-issue groups” are given a veto.

Pissed? Do something!