[News] Torture: As American As Apple Pie

[News at freedomarchives.org]

Both in Iraq and Palestine

Torture: As American As Apple Pie

With the confirmation of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General and the 
nomination of John Negroponte to be Director of National Intelligence, the 
Bush Administration has moved torture out of the shadows and made it as 
American as Apple Pie.

It is now time for us to put the spotlight on torture and take empowering 
direct action to make it stop.

Now is the time to visit our senators' offices all over the country and to 
honor them with The 2005 Apple Pie Award in recognition of their hard work 
of moving torture into the mainstream of American life. Details to come 
shortly!



Begin Today

Today is the day we must all begin to take empowering direct action across 
the country to defend those rights, because sadly, we have begun the fourth 
year of the arbitrary detention and torture of more than 600 men and boys 
at Guantánamo. In the face of international condemnation, including a 
recent report from the International Red Cross, the Bush administration 
continues to defend its policies.

The pictures from Abu Ghraib and elsewhere in Iraq and Afghanistan have 
horrified us, and a steady stream of reports and witnesses have alerted us 
to the fact that these are not the acts of a "few bad apples" but that 
illegal detention and torture are part of a strategy that has been 
conceived and approved at the highest levels of the administration.

Donald Rumsfeld called the continued detention of the roughly 550 
Guantánamo prisoners without charges a "security necessity, and I might add 
it is also just plain common sense." A now silent John Kerry once called 
for Rumsfeld's resignation. It's now time for us to take direct action.

Alberto Gonzalez, while serving as White House counsel, was one of the 
architects of a policy that defended the Guantánamo detentions and argued 
that "quaint" provisions of the Geneva Conventions regulating the treatment 
of prisoners of war could be set aside. The Senate has now confirmed him to 
serve as Attorney General. It's now time for us to take direct action.

Let's make our voices heard and our presence felt across the country with 
one clear message: "This is not who we want to be." We will not remain 
silent, we will not pay for torture, we will not support our government's 
illegal acts. Now is the time for us to break our silence and to take 
direct action!

This site provides some ideas and some simple organizing tools. It provides 
a place for you to see what others are planning and to discuss your own 
idea. Let's get organized and move in thousands of empowering direct 
actions that will create a giant wave across the country!

Organize, and get the tools you need to participate in an empowering direct 
action!

    * <http://www.stoptorturenow.org/site/organize.php>Plan and Organize 
beginning now.

    * <http://www.stoptorturenow.org/site/actions.php>Start or Join an Action.

    * <http://www.stoptorturenow.org/site/tools.php>Get Tools like shirts, 
wristbands and flyers.

    * <http://www.stoptorturenow.org/site/issue.php>Read background 
information and browse the news archive.

    * <http://www.stoptorturenow.org/site/letters.php>Spread the Word to 
anyone you can think of.




Help Build a Direct Action Movement

Beginning today, let's organize locally throughout the United States to end 
the illegal imprisonment at Guantánamo and the use of torture as part of 
United States policy. We encourage you to join a local affinity group in 
your area or to help organize one. We also invite you to join our mailing 
list and be part of the online conversation. Learn more: 
<http://www.stoptorturenow.org/site/organize.php>Organize


A Gathering Force

Would you like to include your local affinity group as a public sponsor of 
this action to STOP TORTURE NOW? Would you like to add you own name to a 
list of sponsors?

If so, write to us at 
<mailto:sponsor at stoptorturenow.org>sponsor at stoptorturenow.org.

We will be adding names and links to other groups and organizations as we 
receive them


The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
www.freedomarchives.org 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20050302/b3a804d9/attachment.htm>