Activism

The Constitution Project is holding a panel "Congress vs. the President: The Scope and Limits of Congressional Oversight Powers" on July 16th. Details and RSVP here.

Want to do something this July 4 that is REALLY different, full of fun, warmth and community and a TRUE evocation of Independence Day's meaning? Something right here in an accessible part of Manhattan, AND no ants (or very few)!

I am referring to our Third Annual Reading (aloud) of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence in Central Park's glorious Strawberry Fields where the spirit of John Lennon resides. This event, hosted by the eminent civil liberties attorney, Norman Siegel, and a group of his most grateful clients, the Granny Peace Brigade, is unique in the United States, we believe, and really not to be missed. Read more, Map.

Stand Against President Obama's Proposed Indefinite Detention Regime | Amnesty International

Recently, reports surfaced that President Obama is drafting an executive order that would authorize a regime of indefinite detention without charge. Indefinite detention without charge is one of the most egregious of all human rights violations and is a hallmark of dictatorships and authoritarian regimes the world over. A handful of White House lawyers are now attempting to erase a bedrock principle of American justice by the stroke of a pen, without even the fig leaf of congressional approval. There's a clear alternative, and that is standard American justice: either charge detainees and give them a fair trial in US federal court, or release them. We need you to help change President Obama's mind–he needs to hear that millions of Americans care enough about this issue to speak out. Send the email or—even better—use our sample letter to write your own.

Eric Mann will host "Voices from the Frontlines" discussion of the Obama administration's direction thus far: Change that was promised or a presidency in trouble? Guests: Bill Fletcher Jr. and David Swanson. Monday, July 6th, 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. PT (7:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET). Listen live at http://KPFK.org and later to the archived audio at http://www.thestrategycenter.org/radio

Send Evidence of Torture to the DOJ | ACLU

We've uncovered more than 100,000 pages that show both that hundreds of prisoners were tortured in U.S. custody, and that the torture policies were devised and developed at the highest levels of the Bush administration -- yet there remains debate on whether or not the government will hold those who authorized torture accountable.

Make sure Attorney General Holder sees the evidence. Send him a selection from the thousands of pages of government documents that the ACLU has uncovered, and demand that the Justice Department appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate. Read more.

"THE ASCENDENCY of OBAMA..." and the Continued Need for Resistance and Liberation"

A D I A L O G U E b e t w e e n CORNEL WEST & CARL DIX and the Continued Need for Resistance and Liberation"

JULY 14, TUESDAY, 7:00 pm

Harlem Stage at Aaron Davis Hall
150 Convent Ave at W. 135th Street

CORNEL WEST is one of America's most provocative public intellectuals and has been a champion for racial justice since childhood. His writing, speaking, and teaching weave together the traditions of the black Baptist Church, progressive politics, and jazz. The New York Times has praised his "ferocious moral vision." Dr. West currently teaches at Princeton University.

CARL DIX is a longtime revolutionary and a founding member of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA. In 1970 Carl was one of the Fort Lewis 6, six GI's who refused orders to go to Vietnam. He served two years in Leavenworth Military Penitentiary for this stand. In the aftermath of the 1985 bombing of the MOVE house in Philadelphia, Carl initiated the Draw the Line statement, a powerful condemnation of the attack. He co-founded the October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality in 1996. Carl coordinated the Katrina hearings of the 2006 Bush Crimes Commission. Map & More

EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATION
Against Israeli Piracy & Kidnapping
Free Cynthia McKinney and all kidnapped human rights workers!

WEDNESDAY 4-6 PM

at the

ISRAELI MISSION - Consulate General of Israel in New York Map
800 Second Avenue
(Second Avenue @ 43rd St.)
New York City, NY 10017
(212) 499-5000

• Free Gaza Live - provided GPS updates.
• Twitter Updates: Free Gaza Twitter; IsraelConsulate Twitter
• Dublin Protest Tomorrow
• ABC News: Israeli Navy Commandeers Gaza Aid Boat
• al Jazerra Report: Israel stops aid ship to Gaza
• CBS News: Activist: Israeli Navy Turns Back Gaza Aid Boat
• China View: AL Chief condemns Israeli offensive on "Spirit of Humanity"
• CNN: Israel navy intercepts boat with ex-U.S. Rep. McKinney
• Fox News: Cynthia McKinney Demands Immediate Release After Her Gaza-Bound Boat is Seized by Israeli Navy
• Huff Po: Cynthia McKinney On Board Gaza Aid Boat Intercepted By Israeli Navy
• Int'l JPost: Free Gaza boat stopped by Navy
• Jordan Times: Peace activists set sail for besieged coastal enclave
• MSNBC: Israeli navy commandeers Gaza aid boat
• Palestine Telegraph: The Spirit of HUMANITY's 21 and the Spirit that Preceded it
• Reuters: Israeli navy takes control of activist ship to Gaza
• Flicker gallery containing pictures of the boats and the deplorable conditions being endured by the Palestinian people.

Last night, Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel.

By Free Gaza Team

[23 miles off the coast of Gaza, 15:30pm] - Today Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (see below for a complete list of passengers). The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel.

By Alan McConnell

[Editor's note: Like anyone who runs a website or is involved in political activism, I am frequently sent idiosyncratic proposals to save the world with a new and different approach. Most of them, like this one, probably won't quite do that. Most of them, like this one, have plenty of merit, however, as one approach among many. Feel free to send in your own. --DS]

Dear David,

Yesterday you asked that I send you E-mail with my thoughts on your and my activities. This is that E-mail. It has grown to exorbitant length. And I am afraid that it must be more than a little critical. I am sorry for this, for I realize that in our political views of the present scene, plus our hopes for the future, you and I probably don't differ very much. I ask you to be aware of this as I discuss your tactics and contrast them with mine. I shall find plenty of fault with yours, and point out the failures as well as successes, of what I do.

Meet With Congressional Candidate Marcy Winograd Today at Eco-Fest, Today, 1-6 PM. Details & Map

Westside Progressives Picnic

Join Marcy Winograd & Friends for a picnic in the park tomorrow noon to 4 PM, where Marcy will be a featured speaker and will talk about the economy and health care. Hear the latest on the congressional campaign and how you can get involved right now. Map, RSVP, & More.

The San Diego Public Library will host a screening of A Senseless Death. This new film by Raymonde Provencher tells the little known story of "green card soldiers"-young, non-citizen soldiers and Marines struggling to achieve, the so-called, "American Dream"-who were among the first casualties of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Read more, Map.

Dahr Jamail writes:

It is important to draw our attention to this article by my co-recipient of the 2008 Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, Palestinian journalist Mohammed Omer. Please find call to action at the end of this article.-DJ

A Journalist Beaten -- One Year Later
by Mohammed Omer | Agence Global

June 26, 2008 is a day I will never forget. For the events of that day irrevocably changed my life. That day I was detained, interrogated, strip searched, and tortured while attempting to return home from a European speaking tour, which culminated in independent American journalist Dahr Jamil and I sharing the Martha Gellhorn Journalism Prize in London -- an award given to journalists who expose propaganda which often masks egregious human rights abuses.

I want to address the denials from Israel and the inaccurate reporting by a few journalists in addition to requesting state of Israel to acknowledge what it did to me, prosecute the members of the Shin Bet responsible for it and put in place procedures that protect other journalists from such treatment.

Since 2003, I’ve been the voice to the voiceless in the besieged Gaza Strip for a number of publications and news programs ranging from The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs to the BBC and, Morgenbladet in Norway as well as Democracy Now! These stories exposed a carefully-crafted fiction continuing control and exploitation of five-million people. Their impact, coupled with the reporting of others served to change public opinion in the United States and Europe concerning the dynamics of Israel and its occupation of Palestine .

After receiving the Martha Gellhorn prize I returned home through the Allenby Bridge Crossing in the Occupied West Bank between Jordan and Israel. It was here I was detained, interrogated, and tortured for several hours by Shin Bet and border officers. When it appeared I may be close to death an ambulance was called to transport me to a hospital. From that day my life has been a year of continued medical treatments, pain -- and a search for justice. Read more.

UNIVERSAL SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH CARE FORUM

10:00 am - 1:00 pm (Doors open 9:30am for coffee, bagels etc.)
Proponents of Senator Mark Leno's California Senate Bill 810 and U.S.Congressman John Conyers' HR 676 in the House of Representatives will come together to discuss their positions and other options, and then participate in a question and answer dialogue. More and Map

Daytona Beach, FL - On Thursday evening, June 25th, 2009, at the CODEPINK of East Central Florida weekly antiwar demonstration, members of the Central Florida chapter of Veterans For Peace, the Florida chapter of Military Families Speak Out, and the Orlando chapter of WeAreChange Florida took to the streets in Daytona Beach to participate in the National Torture Accountability Action Day.

The action in Daytona Beach coincided with similar events taking place in cities and towns all across the United States, along with an all-day rally in Washington, DC sponsored by AfterDowningStreet.org and many other peace and social justice groups in the AfterDowningStreet.org Coalition, as a public call from the people of America for U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate the U.S. government's practice of illegal torture. See photos under the fold.

In an act of nonviolent Civil Resistance, 11 activists participated in a “Die In” in front of the U.S. Justice, in Washington, D.C., on the afternoon of Thursday, June 25, 2009.

The protesters were demanding a meeting with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to urge him to appoint a “Special Prosecutor for Torture.” Their purpose: To hold accountable to the supremacy of the Law, certain members of the Bush-Cheney Gang, including ex-President George W. Bush, Jr. and V.P. Dick Cheney, who are suspected of authorizing torture on numerous detainees, in violation of the Geneva Convention, International Law, the Nuremberg Principles and the U.S. Constitution.