Drew Wilson charges dropped and other items

Drew Wilson, Worcesterite and friend of this blog, was arrested September 1, 2008 in St. Paul in connection with the Republican National Convention. Yesterday, he and 6 others were the first RNC arrestees to get to the trial phase. The charges against him sounded pretty bogus, and sure enough they were dropped:

. . . Judge Michael Fetsch decided that no reasonable jury could find the defendants guilty even if all the testimony from police was accepted as true. The defendants did not have to present any defense and charges can not be re-filed in the future.

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Let’s celebrate by listening to Drew’s account of the arrest, from 508 #57: click here to download the mp3.

(Also: Very short Star-Tribune article.)

Continue reading “Drew Wilson charges dropped and other items”

Day 3 in DC

Glenn Greenwald:

Barack Obama will have spent his first several days in office issuing a series of executive orders which, some quibbling and important caveats and reservations aside, meet or actually exceed even the most optimistic expectations of civil libertarians for what he could or would do quickly . . . .

His Guantanamo order exceeded the expectations of most of us here. Alcohol is prohibited at the temple except for “special celebrations”–and this was deemed a fit occasion.

Even with beer, it was hard to get in the mood. The (beginning of the) end of a terrible situation isn’t normally joyous, but rather a time for sober reflection, and so today’s White House vigil was a prayerful memorial, spent remembering what’s happened at Guantanamo, and what is happening at this minute. People dressed as detainees broke character, took off their hoods, and read passages by or about the detainees. We began and finished with prayers.

Matt Vogel was working the crowd, and thought many of them “got it”:

Bud Courtney reads:

Many have talked about prosecution of US war crimes as being part of a “truth and reconciliation” process. With this memorial, I think we are exploring what non-judicial means we can employ to heal the scars. A good start.

I haven’t seen anything better on the dawning of the “Obama era” than this typically great clip from Jay Smooth:

Day 2 in DC to close Guantanamo and end torture

I’m a little sad this morning–the intensity of the fast is over, the house is getting less crowded as people head home, and the little community we formed is in the past.

On the other hand, I’m excited that Obama is signing an executive order today closing Guantanamo within the year, and asking the Secretary of Defense for a report in 30 days about conditions that might violate the Geneva Conventions.

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We’ll continue our presence in DC, to remind people that the detainees are still in there, whatever papers are signed today, and that the executive order leaves open the possibility that they’ll be there another year. There’s been a lot of discussion about what other small, immediate steps Obama can take to improve the situation of these men. We’re waiting to see what exactly Obama signs, and what other statements he makes.

Fast for Justice: Day Nine

Tomorrow morning we break our nine-day fast in McPherson Square at dawn, amidst thousands of others gathered to celebrate the promise of peace on Inauguration Day.

Folks are out shopping for food; when they get back, we’ll cook up a good vegetable soup for breakfast.

Many things have not gone as planned this week–but then so many things have gone better than planned. This afternoon, we had another “unexpected Obama moment.” After our day’s vigiling, we stepped off the bus, and a minute later the road was shut down:

The more I hear about yesterday’s vigiling at the Inauguration Concert, the more bummed I am that I missed it. Sounds like the concert-goes were just super-positive about the message. And I missed this, which even on YouTube brings a tear to my eye:

When I was hiking, and things got tough, I sang this verse to myself:
Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back;
This land was made for you and me.
—Woody Guthrie

Guantanamo fast: Day 7

Today I’m feeling better–not sick at all. Getting a little skinny, but fasting for 2 more days will be no big deal. Thinking of the scores of Guantanamo prisoners being force-fed, which only happens if they’ve stopped eating for 3 weeks or are below 85% of healthy weight. Fasting is easy, even a very positive experience, when surrounded by a large, supportive group. Stuck in prison, I’d imagine it would take a lot of despair to stop you from eating for so long.

We started the day with most folks attending mass, then went to the White House. We finished the day at Union Station with a children’s “Peace Train” mini-parade hoping to meet Obama at the station. (I think the kids had to leave before he arrived.)

Fast for Justice: Day Four

Today was the fourth day of our nine-day fast for justice for Guantanamo detainees. Well over a hundred people are now part of the fast, about a third of them in Washington, DC.

Today, as we marched to the National Press Club dressed as detainees, we learned that our photo was on page B1 of the Washington Post, illustrating an article about how activist groups are choosing to engage with Obama. The photo was taken during the very short time we were at Obama HQ.

In the Washington Post

At the Press Club there was a summit/press conference of “Major Human Rights Groups” discussing their proposed agendas for Obama’s first 100 days. We took part, with Matt Daloisio giving a couple short speeches. (Witness Against Torture is by no means a major human rights group, but I guess it’s clunky to title your press release “Major Human Rights Groups (And A Small Group Of Troublemakers) Meet in D.C.”)

Beth Brockman, at the beginning of todays’ public vigil:

So how am I holding up? I am still dog tired, and I think I’m getting sick. Let’s hope it’s just a touch of dehydration or something. I’m dreaming of eight hours’ sleep and a solid meal.

Fast for Justice Day 3: Obama HQ

At this point more than 100 people are part of a nine-day liquid-only fast to call for the closing of Guantanamo and speedy justice for the detainees. Today, those of us in DC demonstrated (very briefly) at Obama HQ. David Meieran shot this clip.

Spending several hours wearing a hood, walking and standing quietly amidst dozens of identical figures, was a big change from running around dealing with internet and multimedia stuff. Very prayerful.

Fast to close Guantanamo, Day 2

Obama is now saying that he would like to start closing the Guantanamo prison soon, but that it may take a really long time. As Spencer Ackerman says, “I could not be more confused now.”

I am doing pretty good on day 2 of the fast, and so are my fellow fasters. There are now more than 100 people fasting; we’ve posted some of their bios.

Four cups of fancy protein drink daily are not cutting it–this afternoon I felt like crap. A few cups of fruit juice fixed the problem. I’ll probably start mixing the protein drink with juice instead of water, and add a quart of juice daily on top of that. We’ll see how it goes. You’re going to have moments of lethargy while fasting, but if your regimen is causing problems on day 2, you’re not going to make it to day 9 without adjustments.

Video of yesterday’s kickoff event made it to several foreign news channels and was shown at least once on CNN. This Al Jazeera clip with Bud Courtney is a pretty good representation of what was going on:

One of my tasks is gathering video and blog posts from the fasters. There’s a large crowd, and a real diversity of thoughts on this thing. Anna Brown’s reflection is worth reading and touches on a spiritual/mystical angle of the fast. Maybe if energy and talent allow, tomorrow I’ll post something thoughtful myself.

Day −11 to close Guantanamo and end torture

100 Days Project to Close GuantanamoGreetings from the Nipponzan Myohoji Japanese Buddhist Temple in Washington, D.C.! This is the home base for the 100 Days Campaign to close the Guantanamo detention facility and end America’s policies of torture.

About a dozen people are here now, spackling the walls, making puppets, cooking, cleaning, e-mailing, shopping, plotting, and watching “Sesame Street.”

Many more will arrive in the next couple days for the procession and fast kick-off.

Paul and Hector build a puppet
One day soon, this will be a puppet. Photo: Jorge Aros.

McClatchy: 10 percent of Guantanamo detainees now being force fed:

As of Thursday, 30 of the 250 war-on-terror detainees were classified as hunger strikers, 25 of whom were being fed through tubes in their noses, said Navy Cmdr. Pauline Storum at Guantanamo.

Sunday’s readings include Isaiah 42:6-7:

I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

(Cross-posted to 100dayscampaign.org.)