National TV Ad Campaign to Heat Up
U.S. Torture Investigations

Provocative TV Ads Urge
Attorney General Eric Holder to Do His Job -
Uphold Laws, Our Constitution, and Appoint Special Prosecutor
to Investigate Officials Who Condoned Torture

NEW YORK, NY August 5, 2009 - A national television ad campaign - to
push for Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor -
rolls out this week with 30-second commercials, to be aired during The
Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, Countdown with Keith
Olbermann, and The Rachel Maddow Show.

Launched in San Francisco, the TV ads will then be aired in other major
media markets, such as New York, Washington DC, Atlanta, Dallas,
Chicago, and Los Angeles, among others. The San Francisco-Oakland-San
Jose airing schedule is below.

“Mr. Holder swore to support and defend our Constitution. It’s time for
him to live up to that oath. Torture is morally repugnant. It’s
un-American. It’s illegal,” says NYC singer-songwriter and political
activist David Ippolito, the ad campaign’s spokesperson, who wrote
“Resolution (The Torture Song).”
.
A majority of Americans want a federal investigation into the treatment
of detainees by government personnel, according to a Gallup and ABC
News/Washington Post poll, conducted in April.

“Violations of U.S. and international law have taken place. The evidence
is in clear public view,” says Cynthia Papermaster, Director of the
National Accountability Network http://accountability4torture.com/, an umbrella coalition of
political, human, and civil rights organizations. “These ads are aimed
at inspiring Americans to participate in correcting this illegal and
shameful situation by phoning and emailing the Attorney General.”

“It’s a very simple and necessary way to preserve our democracy from
tyranny,” she continues, “and to have the resolution our country needs
to go forward without the terrible shame of what has been done in our
name.”

The TV ads can also be watched online at:  thatguitarman.com

Justice for Cheney:  Prosecute was the winning slogan.

By popular demand our witness against torture in front of Prof. John Yoo’s Berkeley home has gone weekly. Every Sunday afternoon from 4-6 PM there is a protest in front of John Yoo’s house in Berkeley. Come to 1241 Grizzly Peak Blvd. (map url below) to join our peaceful, lively gathering. Light refreshments, banners, posters, flyers and chalk provided.

Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=1241+Grizzly+Peak+Blvd,+Berkeley,+CA+94708&sll=37.579413,-95.712891&sspn=31.862429,79.013672&ie=UTF8&ll=37.889943,-122.251418&spn=0.00779,0.01929&z=16&iwloc=A

KPFA interviewed our own Cynthia Papermaster live at Grizzly Peak.  The interview begins at 25 min 34 secs:

CODEPINK joined the Alameda Peace Network for a fabulous, fun-filled Fourth of July parade in beautiful Alameda.  We had clowns, a kazoo band, a pink “float” and Lady Liberty.  Alameda loves CODEPINK and there was much enthusiastic cheering and applause.   We had a picnic on the beach afterwards.  Mark  your calendars for next year, because this parade was the most fun I’ve had since I-don’t-know-when.

This wonderful parade with a small-town feeling is one of the largest in the USA. CODEPINK has joined the Alameda Peace Network in the parade for three years now and has a wonderful time promoting peace and dressing up very very pink, including our vehicles and bicycles. The crowd cheers and flashes peace signs at us all along the route.

Pink Paraders will meet up at 9:00am on Lincoln Ave. at Walnut Street. We are parade entry #112. Look for the pinked-up pickup truck and Dozo the Clown. Marchers can take turns riding on the truck. Bring your pinked bicycles too!

Our theme this year:
“YES, WE CAN! PRESIDENT OBAMA: END THE WARS AND BRING ALL OUR TROOPS HOME SAFELY”

Other messages we could have:
“JOBS AND HEALTHCARE– NOT $14 BILLION/MONTH FOR AFGHAN WAR!”
“STOP KILLER DRONES IN AFGHANISTAN”
“INDICT CHENEY FIRST”

Don’t forget water, sunscreen and a hat. It’s about a 3 mile walk and takes about 2 hours. Bring something to share for a fun picnic at Alameda beach afterward.

Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=lincoln+ave.+and+walnut+st.+alameda+ca&sll=37.770986,-122.24659&sspn=0.016283,0.038581&ie=UTF8&ll=37.768306,-122.243371&spn=0.016284,0.038581&z=15

Thursday, June 25, 2009

11am  Multiple State Bar Ethics Complaints Against Wm. “Jim” Haynes; Press Conference, State Bar, 180 Howard Street, SF. SF National Lawyers Guild Committee Against Torture
As General Counsel for the Pentagon under Donald Rumsfeld, Haynes authored legal strategy for some of the most heinous torture techniques authorized by Bush. Haynes now works for Chevron.  To file your complaint against Haynes go to www.nlgsf.org/news/view.php?id=109 print, sign & mail to SFNLG address on complaint.

12 Noon   Rally, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
Bye Bye Bybee: Dismiss, Impeach, Disbar, Prosecute “Torture Judge”, with Ray McGovern, 27-yr. veteran of the CIA, Amnesty Int’l, CODEPINK, PDA, Veterans for Peace, SF National Lawyers Guild Committee Against Torture, National Accountability Network, singer Betsy Rose

1:00 p.m. Submit Judicial Misconduct Complaint Against Judge Bybee with 9th Circuit

“Even according to the Administration for which he once worked, Bybee wrongfully counseled that cruel illegalities were perfectly legal. Experts in the law of war say his memo is evidence suggesting he participated in a war crime. In light of these facts, why does Bybee remain on the federal bench?”  John W. Dean, former counsel to President Nixon.

Events are taking place in Washington DC, San Francisco, Pasadena, Seattle, Portland, Honolulu, Salt Lake City, Charlotte, Anchorage

Forum: “Our Himmlers, Eichmanns Unscathed as Obama Dithers:  Why Is He Afraid of the Torturers?”

Thursday, June 25, 7:30 pm
Forum: “Our Himmlers, Eichmanns Unscathed as Obama Dithers:  Why Is He Afraid of the Torturers?”
BFUU Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar Street @ Bonita, Berkeley. $5-$10 donation, Co-sponsors CODEPINK & Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Social Justice Committee

Special Appearance by Ray McGovern
Ray McGovern was a CIA analyst for 27 years. He returned his CIA “Intelligence Commendation Award” medallion in 2006 saying “I do not wish to be associated with torture”. Ray is a superb speaker, incredibly well informed, and provocative. He helped found Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, 67 former professionals. He now works with “Tell the Word”, the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC. His famous confrontation with Donald Rumsfeld caught lying about WMDs in Iraq is shown here on Keith Olbermann:
www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/20060507_olbermann_highlights_mcgovern_…

“I don’t want my grandchildren, of whom I have six now, coming up to me
when they’re old enough and saying, ‘Grandpa, you worked for the CIA.
What was it like torturing people?’ I would say I didn’t torture
people, and they would say as the German kids say to their parents,
‘What did you do to stop it?’” Ray McGovern

Plus:
Jon Eisenberg represents the plaintiffs in the famous warrantless wiretapping case Al-Haramain v. Bush in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
“I wonder whether Bybee feels guilty before God. He certainly has no business being a federal judge. His presence on the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals brings disgrace to that court. He should resign.” Jon Eisenberg, letter to the San Francisco Recorder

Updates on torture accountability campaigns: SF Lawyers Guild Committee Against Torture, Amnesty International, CODEPINK, PDA. Veterans for Peace
Film clips from “Torturing Democracy”
Music by Carrie Gerendasy, a “superb musical wonder… her singing is topical, relevant, and downright gorgeous.”

Other Torture Accountability Events

Friday & Saturday, June 26 & 27 in Palo Alto
TORTURE IS A MORAL ISSUE

PANEL: Friday, June 26, 7:30pm, First Presbyterian Church, 1140 Cowper St., Palo Alto
Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst now with Church of the Savior; Jean Maria Arrigo, PhD, social psychologist; Rev. Ben Daniel  pastor & writer of faith-based social commentary; David DeCosse – Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, SCU; Terrence Karney, former Army Interrogator & Trainer
CONFERENCE: Saturday, June 27, 9am-5pm, First United Methodist Church, 625 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto.   Torture Survivor Personal Testimony; Rev. Carol Wickersham, founder of No2Torture; Terrence Karney, former Army Interrogator & Trainer; Banafsheh Akhlaghi, Amnesty International;Janet Cooper Alexander, Stanford Law Professor, Rita Nakashima Brock, theologian and activist PLUS more from McGovern & Arrigo, Workshops, Multifaith Worship, Strategies for Action
Suggested donation for Friday $5-15; freewill offering on Saturday; no one turned away for lack of funds.

Sponsored by the Council of Churches of Santa Clara County, National Religious Campaign Against Torture, No2Torture, Network for Spiritual Progressives & many others.

June 28, 2-5 p.m.
John Yoo’s Home
1241 Grizzly Peak Blvd., Berkeley

CODEPINK and others will gather at John Yoo’s home to ask him to apologize to the world, and especially to the victims of inhumane treatment and torture who suffered because Yoo advised Cheney and Bush that torture was legal.

As a lawyer in the DOJ Office of Legal Counsel Yoo produced unethical and shoddy legal memos providing legal advice and cover to Bybee, Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld, Rice,Tenet —“unethical” because Yoo advocated breaking the law and “shoddy” because the memos were so ineptly crafted that they were repudiated and rescinded– for harsh interrogation techniques they were already using on detainees. A man named Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi was tortured in an attempt to get intelligence linking al Qaeda to Saddam Hussein, in order to justify the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. A bipartisan report by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence found that al-Libi “lied [about the Iraq link] to avoid torture.” Thus Yoo’s bad legal advice directly assisted Cheney and Bush in making the false claims that lead us into the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, which in turn has lead to hundreds of thousands of deaths and injuries, displaced populations, and has cost billions of dollars we could have spent instead on health care, environmental protection, education, housing and infrastructure. Yoo has made the world less safe for everyone, and he should apologize.

John Yoo should be dismissed from his teaching post at University of California Law School, he should be disbarred, and he should be investigated and prosecuted for complicity in torture.

“I ask you, out of a concern for justice, a concern for humanity, and a concern for our reputation as a university, to dismiss Professor John Yoo from membership in our university.” UC Professor Brad DeLong to U.S. Law School Dean Christopher Edley.

John Yoo is the former DOJ Office of Legal Counsel lawyer who wrote unethical and shoddy legal opinions saying that “enhanced interrogation techniques” were legal, contrary to U.S. and international law.
CODEPINK Golden Gate went up to John Yoo’s house today in the Berkeley Hills. We unfurled a bright pink banner and got our flyers ready for anyone who might be curious about why we were standing in this unlikely place for a protest. Grizzly Peak Blvd. is a main thoroughfare through the Berkeley Hills, there’s no sidewalk directly in front of Yoo’s house, and the traffic goes whizzing by, but we made a colorful contrast to the grey day and quite a few people gave us a “thumbs up”, honked, stopped and rolled down car windows for a flyer and to chat, or stopped while walking or biking to give us encouragement. There was no sign of Yoo or his wife Elsa.
We decided to return in June and July, and in August we’ll welcome Yoo back to UC and pay a visit to Law School Dean Edley to request Yoo’s dismissal.

Add your name to the campaign to disbar Yoo and other “torture lawyers”: http://www.velvetrevolution.us/torture_lawyers/index.php

Next dates for “Yoo Witness Against Torture and Accountability” at 1241 Grizzly Peak, Berkeley: Sunday June 28, 4 p.m.; Sunday July 26, 4 p.m.

John Yoo Protest and Witness Against Torture

2-5 p.m. Sunday, May 31, 2009
1241 Grizzly Peak Blvd. in Berkeley
Google Map
Rides from North Berkeley BART: 510-333-6097

John Yoo wrote legal memos for Bush’s Office of Legal Counsel saying that “enhanced interrogation methods” weren’t legally torture. As a result, torturers were able to get al-Libi to lie and say that Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein were working together. That lie was used to justify the illegal, immoral invasion and occupation of the sovereign country of Iraq , were hundreds of thousands have died, been displaced, and suffered enormously. Thousands are locked up and treated in humanely, and many innocent victims of our “war on terror” have been swept up and jailed indefinitely. John Yoo must be held accountable. He must be fired from his job at UC Law School, disbarred, and prosecuted for the felony of complicity in war crimes. Torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners are illegal under U.S. and international law.

Article in the “Berkeley Daily Planet” about this action