Where are the Palestinian Gandhis?

A Presentation by Pam Bailey

Please join us Friday evening September 9th at 7:00 at the Empress Theater to hear and see Journalist Pam Bailey’s presentation concerning nonviolent resistance in Gaza.

Sponsored by North Star Veterans for Peace and the Alaska Peace Center; free of charge, donations welcome.

The Gaza Strip has been much in the news these days, particularly in the wake of the attempts by the Freedom Flotilla to break the siege imposed by Israel, now in its fourth year. But what often gets lost in the midst of all the noise are the voicesof the Palestinians living in Gaza — the individuals who survived the invasion of 2008/9and have gone on to not only rebuild their lives, but to find even more creative ways of non-violently resisting the attempts to snuff  out their dreams.

Pam Bailey, a DC-based peace activist and journalist, has lived in and worked in Gaza for 8 months over the past two years — most recently earlier this year, in the midst of the “Arab Spring”. She has returned with a series of videos that document the stories of some of the youth who are speaking out through art, blogging, demonstrations and entrepreneurship. Come hear Pam’s description of “living Gaza,” and see one of these video pro files, shot at the height of the revolutions sweeping the region.

It’s fair to say that summer holds for many of us myriads of opportunities and distractions. Some of these are chores, some fun, some spiritual, and some sundry. It’s fair to say one of these is the Tanana Valley State Fair and the opportunity to meet new interesting folks while promoting Peace by staffing the Alaska Peace Center Booth.

Volunteers are needed to set up and staff the Alaska Peace Center booth at the Tanana Valley State Fair Friday Aug. 5 – Sat. Aug. 13, 2011.

Preferred times: 12 – 3, 3-6, 6-10 [noon to 10pm]

Please let us know what days, dates, and time periods you can help, and if you are interested to helping set it up on the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 2nd, or take it down after 10pm Saturday, Aug. 13th.

If you haven’t read this message from Anna Godduhn of the Fairbanks Coalition for Peace and Justice please do. Then consider taking part in the activities described below. Please forgive me if this is duplicate info.

Wage Peace,

rob mulford

John Yoo, author of “the torture memo” will be guest to the Alaska Bar Association Conference this week.  Don’t let the legitimization of torture go without challenge.  If you think torture is wrong, please say so – with a sign at the Yoo events, with a sign in your car window, or with a letter to the editor. If you happen to have an orange jumpsuit, now is the time! (You will not be alone).

Summary of events: (First two closed to public; protesters should remain on public property, along sidewalks):

Thursday, May 5 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., Awards Banquet: Alaska Bar Association Keynote Address, John Yoo: Crisis and Command: Presidential Power from Washington to Bush

Friday May 6, 8:30 AM to Noon, Princess Hotel: Carlson Center,Feature Program, John Yoo and Steve Wax: The Balance Between Security and Civil Liberties in Wartime.

Friday, May 6 at 6:30 p.m, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fairbanks, across the street from the Princess: UU Debriefing, Steve Wax (Federal Public Defender). Kafka Comes to America: Potluck, lecture and discussion. All welcome!

Ester Republic Blog

More from Deirdre Helfferich of the Ester Republic:

Torture enabler coming to Fairbanks: We See Yoo!

As you can tell by the title of my post, I am in no way neutral when it comes to the crime committed by John Yoo, who enabled the torture of prisoners by the United States through his vile legal opinion for the Bush Administration. He has sullied the term “lawyer,” and it is astonishing to me that he is still licensed to practice law. There is a warrant for his arrest for war crimes in Spain. (More information.)

Perhaps a little review of the history would be helpful. First, here’s a definition of torture under US legal code:
(1) “torture” means an act committed by a person acting under the color of law specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions) upon another person within his custody or physical control; Note that those who conspire to commit torture are subject to the same punishment as those who actually do the torture:
(a) Offense.— Whoever outside the United States commits or attempts to commit torture shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both, and if death results to any person from conduct prohibited by this subsection, shall be punished by death or imprisoned for any term of years or for life.
(b) Jurisdiction.— There is jurisdiction over the activity prohibited in subsection (a) if—
(1) the alleged offender is a national of the United States; or
(2) the alleged offender is present in the United States, irrespective of the nationality of the victim or alleged offender.
(c) Conspiracy.— A person who conspires to commit an offense under this section shall be subject to the same penalties (other than the penalty of death) as the penalties prescribed for the offense, the commission of which was the object of the conspiracy.

John Yoo wrote the infamous “Torture Memo” that provided the Bush Administration with the justification it needed to commit torture. The memo was eventually rescinded, but the man who authored it continues to defend it, and several others he wrote. By inviting John Yoo to speak at the convention, the Alaska Bar Association has, in effect, legitimized his position. It gives the appearance that he’s seen not as a criminal of the very worst kind running around loose on a convoluted technicality; instead, he is a respected scholar with a defensible viewpoint. That is detestable, and shameful. And the United States government, our CURRENT administration, continues to try to get the whole icky business swept under the rug. I think the good people of Fairbanks need to get their feet on the street and protest the abomination that this man enabled, and protest the fact that he is out, free, and on the lecture circuit.

See also this link.

Anna Godduhn