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<font size=3><br><br>
</font><font size=6>Both in Iraq and Palestine<br>
</font><h3><b>Torture: As American As Apple
Pie</b></h3><font face="arial" size=2>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 <b>American as Apple
Pie.<br><br>
</b>It is now time for us to put the spotlight on torture and take
<b>empowering direct action</b> to make it stop.<br><br>
Now is the time to visit our senators' offices all over the country and
to honor them with <b>The 2005 Apple Pie Award</b> in recognition of
their hard work of moving torture into the mainstream of American life.
Details to come shortly! <br><br>
<br>
</font><h3><b>Begin Today</b></h3><font face="arial" size=2>Today is the
day we must all begin to take <b>empowering direct action</b> across the
country to defend those rights, because sadly, <b>we have begun the
fourth year of the arbitrary detention and torture </b>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.<br><br>
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 <b>illegal detention and torture</b> are part of a
strategy that has been conceived and approved at the highest levels of
the administration.<br><br>
<b>Donald Rumsfeld </b>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. <b>It's now time for us to
take direct action.<br><br>
Alberto Gonzalez</b>, 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. <b>It's now
time for us to take direct action.<br><br>
</b>Let's make our voices heard and our presence felt across the country
with one clear message: <b>"This is not who we want to be."</b>
We will not remain silent, we will not pay for torture, we will not
support our government's illegal acts. <b>Now is the time for us to break
our silence and to take direct action! <br><br>
</b>This site provides <b>some ideas and some simple organizing
tools.</b> 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!<br><br>
Organize, and get the tools you need to participate in an <b>empowering
direct action!<br><br></b>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.stoptorturenow.org/site/organize.php">Plan and
Organize</a> beginning now.<br><br>
<li><a href="http://www.stoptorturenow.org/site/actions.php">Start or
Join an Action</a>.<br><br>
<li><a href="http://www.stoptorturenow.org/site/tools.php">Get Tools</a>
like shirts, wristbands and flyers.<br><br>
<li><a href="http://www.stoptorturenow.org/site/issue.php">Read</a> background information and browse the news archive.<br><br>
<li><a href="http://www.stoptorturenow.org/site/letters.php">Spread the Word</a> to anyone you can think of.
</ul><br><br>
<br>
</font><h3><b>Help Build a Direct Action Movement</b></h3><font face="arial" size=2>Beginning today, <b>let's organize locally throughout the United States</b> 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 <b>join our mailing list</b> and be part of the online conversation. Learn more: <a href="http://www.stoptorturenow.org/site/organize.php">Organize</a> <br><br>
</font><h3><b>A Gathering Force</b></h3><font face="arial" size=2>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?<br><br>
If so, write to us at <a href="mailto:sponsor@stoptorturenow.org">sponsor@stoptorturenow.org</a>.<br><br>
We will be adding names and links to other groups and organizations as we receive them<br><br>
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<font size=3 color="#FF0000">The Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br>
(415) 863-9977<br>
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