Peace of the Action Event Schedule

Sixty-five congress members, including 60 Democrats and 5 Republicans, voted to end the occupation of Afghanistan on Wednesday. But 356 congress members, including 189 Democrats and 167 Republicans voted to keep the war going. This creates a better opportunity than you might think. But we have a lot of work to do, and it is the work of rebellion and resistance. We can take a moral stand now, or we can doom our children and the world to suffering. There are no other choices, and waiting for others to lead us is not a moral option.

Be part of Peace of the Action: http://peaceoftheaction.org

During the week of March 13-21, we will have regularly scheduled non-violence training, teach-ins and outreach during the day and in the evenings, we will be having: "dining with a dose of reality."

Our special programs:

Monday, March 15: Kevin Zeese (national director of voters for peace) and Dr. Margaret Flowers (single-payer activist) speak about the importance of always linking the u.s. war economy to the collapse of the rest of the economy and how we need to end the wars to have positive social programs here at home.

Tuesday, March 16: ex-CIA agent, Ray Mcgovern, talks about the importance of keeping Rachel Corrie's dream alive on the anniversary of her murder while trying to protect palestinian's homes from destruction.

Wednesday, March 17: David Swanson (after downing street) and Debra Sweet (national director of world can't wait) speak about the importance of holding u.s. war criminals accountable - from the top down. Entertainment by Banjer Dan.

Thursday, March 18: Cindy Sheehan speaks about the importance of ramping up the anti-war movement to perform courageous and committed acts of civil resistance.

Friday, March 19: some of us will be leaving camp to go down to Charlottesville, Va to protest war criminal, john yoo, who is speaking at university of virginia (from: 1pm to 6pm) and we will be making signs and getting ready for the march on dc sponsored by answer.

Saturday, March 20: march on dc - meet at camp at 10am and we will be going together to the white house for the march - after the march, our friend, cynthia mckinney, will be visiting us at camp.

Sunday, March 21: pota day off: on our "day off" we will be protesting at the aipac (american-israel public affairs committee) convention at the dc convention center from 8am to about 8pm. War criminals, Tony Blair and Benjamin Netanyahu will be speaking at the conference.

Monday, March 22: our actions begin (stealth-info will be given at camp).

On January 22, 2010 the Cheyenne River Sioux reservation in South Dakota was buried in a snow and ice storm that compromised the reservation's water and electric supply systems. With 3,000 power poles broken and 15,000 Native American people without water or electricity, the reservation declared a disaster for the entire area on January 28, 2010.

Utilities have been restored to most of the reservation as of February 10, 2010. Two areas are still experiencing power outages with no estimate on when repairs will be completed, and the Blackfoot region in the southeast corner of the reservation is still inaccessible to the crews for water testing.

Immediate needs for the reservation are:
Manpower - to make deliveries to people who are unable to get to town for supplies.
Clerical Manpower - to assist in processing paperwork for emergency utility payments.
Basic Necessities - Blankets, Staple Foods, Canned Goods
Baby Care Items - Diapers, Formula, Baby Blankets

For volunteer information: contact Belinda Aungie, Disaster Information Officer at (605) 964-1313.
To send relief supplies: Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, PO Box 590, 2001 Main Street, Eagle Butte, SD 57625.

Should you decide to volunteer your time in the Manpower areas there are two motels available in Eagle Butte, South Dakota:

Harding Motel
Hyw 212 North, Eagle Butte, SD, 57625
605-964-2449
15 rooms
$48.15 - $52.97 per night based on double occupancy

Cheyenne River Hotel
Hyw 212 South, Eagle Butte, SD 57625
605-964-8888
40 rooms
$63.26 - $109.72 per night based on single occupancy (add 5.00 per additional person)

By David Meieran
Campaign to Close Guantanamo and End Torture Bulletin

42 Arrested at US Capitol in Day of Action
to Denounce Obama's Broken Promises on Guantanamo

Washington, DC: In a dramatic protest, 42 activists with Witness Against Torture were arrested this afternoon at the U.S. Capitol. Most of the arrestees had been fasting since January 11th.

The protest, which comes on the eve of the since-voided deadline President Obama had set for closing the prison camp at Guantanamo, was part of nationwide set of actions today that included dozens of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans lobbying Congress; a campaign by human rights organizations - with the support of the rock superband, Coldplay - to flood Twitter with the "CloseGitmo" message; and, a press conference held by retired Generals at the National Press Club.

Those arrested on the Capitol steps held banners reading "Broken Promises, Broken Laws, Broken Lives." Inside the Capitol, 14 activists performed a "memorial service" for the three men whose deaths at Guantanamo in 2006 were initially reported as suicides and callously described as "acts of asymmetrical warfare" by military officials. New reports provide strong evidence that the men may have been tortured to death at a CIA secret prison in Guantanamo.

The ceremony brought the names of the men - Salah Ahmed Al-Salami, Mani Shaman Al-Utaybi and Yasser Talal Al-Zahrani - into the Capitol Rotunda, where deceased presidents have lay in state. "We perform this ceremony to recognize the humanity of those whose lives have been broken by our government's policies of torture and indefinite detention," says Jerica Arents of Chicago, Illinois, one of those arrested in the Capitol.

Witness Against Torture has called for an immediate, independent investigation of the deaths, as it has called for the criminal investigation of all those who allegedly designed, executed, and carried out torture policies.

Most of the 42 arrested at the Capitol did not carry identification, taking instead the names of men at Guantanamo through arrest and processing. "Taking the name of Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif is a necessary and real way of bringing his story to Congress," says Joshua Brollier, a co-coordinator with Voices for Creative Nonviolence in Chicago, Illinois. "Adnan was tortured and continues to be held after eight years without charge or trial. It boggles the mind and breaks the heart. It's time for Congress and the Obama administration to make and fulfill a plan for his release." Brollier and others from Voices will continue in Washington through February 2, participating in the Peaceable Assembly Campaign to pressure Obama administration and Congress to explore alternatives to U.S. militarism.

The actions at the Capitol followed a march of "Guantanamo prisoners" dressed in orange jumpsuits and black hoods that began at the White House and stopped at the Supreme Court before going to Capitol grounds, home to the U.S. Congress. "Congress has played a horrible role in refusing to check the power of the president and in supporting torture," commented Matt Daloisio of New York City, a Witness Against Torture organizer. "But it was important to pass by all of the government institutions that have failed to uphold justice and protect the rule of law."

Members of Witness Against Torture began a Fast for Justice on Monday, January 11 - the date in 2002 when the first men were brought to Guantanamo under the Bush administration's "war on terror." One-hundred fifty people from around the country joined the 12 day fast, which will end on Friday, January 22, the promised day for Guantanamo's closure.

"We were so hopeful last year," says Christine Gaunt, a grandmother and third generation farmer from Grinnell, Iowa, who was arrested at the Capitol. "But Obama has broken his promise to close Guantanamo. I am acting today because I am horrified and ashamed that this illegal prison continues to exist, and that those responsible for torture have not been held to account. I am using my body to demand that my government stop the insanity of torture and illegal detention."

Witness Against Torture is a grassroots movement that came into being in December 2005 when 24 activists walked through Cuba to the Guantanamo base to condemn the prison camp and torture policies. Since then, it has engaged in public education, community outreach, and non-violent direct action.

For photos, videos and to learn more visit, http://www.witnesstorture.org.