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Alfred, Global Day of Action to Close Guantánamo and End Indefinite Detention: Friday May 23, 2014 We received this from Witness Against Torture, and urge you to join in planning an action for May 23.  Large or small, these actions will be part of focusing peoples' attention on the year since Obama promised again to Close Guantanamo. On May 23, 2014, President Obama again promised to close the prison camp at Guantánamo. His pledge came in response to the mass hunger strike by men protesting their indefinite detention and to the renewed, global condemnation of the prison. Since Obama’s speech, only 12 men have been released. 154 remain, nearly all of whom have never been charged with a crime. 76 were cleared for release by the US government years ago. 56 men are from Yemen, the largest national group at Guantánamo, but they remain subject to an effective moratorium on their release based on their nationality. No one from Yemen has been freed since the May speech. And the Senate report on CIA torture has still not been made public. Up to 40 men at Guantánamo continue to hunger strike, and many are being subjected to forced feeding — a practice condemned by international human rights organizations, medical associations, and members of the US Congress. New lawsuits in US courts lay bare the extreme cruelty of the forced feeding at Guantánamo. To quell the public outcry against the prison, the US military in December 2013 stopped reporting the numbers of hunger strikers. More recently, it has classified their protest, in Orwellian fashion, as “long term non-religious fasting.” So far, demonstrations, fasts, and vigils are planned in Chicago, Raleigh, New York City, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Buffalo, and Boston. Details about the local actions (including a toolkit for how to plan your own) and other resources will be available soon. Please email if you are planning or need assistance planning an action in your community.  Facebook Event for May 23. The May 23 Day of Action is being coordinated by Witness Against Torture in collaboration with Amnesty International, Blue Lantern Project,Center for Constitutional Rights, CloseGitmo.net, Code Pink, London Guantanamo Campaign, National Religious Campaign Against Torture,Torture Abolition and Survivor Support Coalition, Veterans for Peace, World Can’t Wait, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, No More Guantanamos, and others. Torture is Mainstream Now David Swanson, advisor to War Criminals Watch writes: “As Rebecca Gordon notes in her new book, Mainstreaming Torture, polls find greater support in the United States for torture now than when Bush was president.  And it's not hard to see why that would be the case. “Fifteen years ago, it was possible to pretend the U.S. government opposed torture.  Then it became widely known that the government tortured.  And it was believed (with whatever accuracy) that officials had tried to keep the torturing secret.  Next it became clear that nobody would be punished, that in fact top officials responsible for torture would be permitted to openly defend what they had done as good and noble.” Continue reading... What About the Election in Afghanistan? U.S. mainstream media was focused, before and after the U.S. brokered elections in Afghanistan, on the "success" of Afghans getting to vote at all. After twelve years of U.S. occupation, preceded by British & Soviet occupations, civil war, and Taliban control, and when all candidates allowed to run are be definition compliant with the U.S. occupiers, who thinks this could be a "fair" election? Matthieu Aikins exposed the torture and extrajudicial killing led by the U.S., carried out by NATO coalition forces, Afghan forces, and specific U.S. military units in Afghanistan in his Rolling Stone piece The A-Team Killings.  He's gone outside of Kabul to learn what the election process means there: The Ghost Polls of Afghanistan Election Day in Afghanistan’s hinterlands Matthieu Aikins & Anand Gopal report for Harpers from rural Afghanistan: “It was becoming clear by then that two different narratives would emerge from the election. One would take place in Afghanistan’s cities — which enjoy relative security, a vibrant press, international observers, and a developed political process, all of which helped hold the vote accountable. The other would unfold in the insecure rural areas, which are contested between the government, the Taliban, and militias. There, the election would be largely invisible to journalists and other observers.” Continue reading... Protests to Stop the War on Women Abortion rights in the U.S. are in a state of emergency and headed for disaster. On April 11-12, there were events and actions across the country to stop this war on women. » Watch the video of the April 11 abortion rights emergency webcast » Pledge to Defend Abortion Rights and Defeat the War on Women Read more... View photos from dramatic actions in NYC, San Francisco, and other cities on StopPatriarchy.org: Share this message: World Can't Wait Conversation Thursday April 17 10pm EST/ 7 pm PST We are catching up with activists around the country this week.  Many different kinds of actions against the U.S. drone war. We'll be talking about why we are focusing on drones, and how to to hone our message to the general public.  Many April action reports are posted on knowdrones.com from military bases, campuses and communities. On May 15: Conversation with a Guantanamo lawyer as we prepare for protests May 23 to Close Guantanamo NOW. Register for dial-in details. 3 More Days — 3 More Sustainers Needed Now Your monthly commitment of $10 a month, or more, goes to work in raising people's sights, changing what they think is possible, and mobilizing people to take the kind of mass independent action that can stop the crimes of our government. Think about it...for the cost of a few cups of coffee you could invest in an organization that you know will stand its ground. You're only a click away — sustain today. All sustainers receive special quarterly newsletters. Sign up today and your first newsletter will arrive in May. Sustainers who give $25 a month or more will get a “Humanity and the Planet Come First” Tote Bag. Calendar of Events Thursday April 17 6:30 pm United University Church 817 West 34th Street Los Angeles.  A performance of a new theater work.  Voices from solitary confinement by Andy Griggs & Melvin Ishmael Johnson. Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace, Dramastage Qumran, and the Peace Center of the United University Church, USC Friday April 18 5-6 pm University of California Berkeley Law School. Join World Can't Wait outside of Boalt Hall, Bancroft Way at Piedmont Avenue, Berkeley CA. Protest challenging the promotion of "torture memo" author and professor John Yoo at the Law School.  See FireJohnYoo.org Saturday April 26 5-9 pm Judson Memorial Church 55 Washington Square South, New York City. Full Disclosure: An Honest Commemoration of the American War in Vietnam Sponsored by Veterans For Peace Iraq Veterans Against the War Camillo Mac Bica, Jeff ­Cohen, Patrick McCann, Michael McPhearson, George Packard, Susan Schnall, ­Margaret Stevens, Debra Sweet, and more Debra Sweet, Director, The World Can't Wait

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