<ChicagoMayDay> Upcoming Anti-War / Pro-Justice Events

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Upcoming Anti-War / Pro-Justice Events

~ More details are below ~

 

Thursday, May 27 -- For the sake of Gaza----we can't wait!  Emergency Response Protest, 12 Noon until 2 PM, Israeli consulate in Chicago, 111 E. Wacker Drive (just east of Michigan Avenue & Wacker Drive).

 

Thursday, May 27 -- Protest Chicago Visit of Venezuelan Coup-Plotter, 5 PM at the Intercontinental Hotel, 505 N. Michigan, Chicago. 

 

Thursday, May 27 & Saturday, May 29 – World premiere of new film featuring Chicago anti-war activist Juan Torres -- "Drugs and Death in Bagram."  6:30 PM - 9:30 PM, DePaul University-Lincoln Park Campus, Schmitt Academic Center, 2320 N. Kenmore Avenue, #154.  FREE!!

 

Saturday, May 29 – “Nullify SB 1070 - Todos Somos Arizona,” rally and short march against Arizona racist SB 1070 – 12 noon, corner of 18th Street /Loomis / Blue Island.

 

Wednesday, June 2 – No Dancing on Gaza’s Grave!  Protest against Israel's participation in the Chicago Sister City International's (CSCI) Consular Corps Ball.  5:30 PM, Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan Ave.

 

Friday, June 4 – “From Chicago to Abu Graib,” a public meeting with the Coalition Against Torture.  7 pm to 8:30 pm – Schmitt Academic Center, DePaul 2320 N. Kenmore

 

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Thursday, May 27 –  For the sake of Gaza----we can't wait!  Emergency Response Protest, 12 Noon until 2 PM, Israeli consulate in Chicago, 111 E. Wacker Drive (just east of Michigan Avenue & Wacker Drive). 

 

**PLEASE BRING PALESTINIAN FLAGS, BANNERS, POSTERS**

 

We are writing to you with an urgent appeal. The Free Gaza flotilla is on its way to Gaza. Unlike previous Free Gaza boats, this flotilla includes large vessels, will be carrying substantial amounts of reconstruction supplies, medical supplies, and school supplies, and 800 passengers from 50 countries. It cannot afford to fail. This is an opportunity to denounce the inhumanity of Israel's three year long siege and running. Israel said it will stop the boats from reaching Gaza, they have done it before and they can do it again: http://bit.ly/9JCCyS

 

We can not wait until something happens before we mobilize. If we are to be helpful in this effort, we need to begin support activities immediately. 

 

If the convoy has already been attacked or blockaded, our demonstration will be a powerful protest.  If it has not yet arrived, our demonstration will be a demand that it be allowed to pass in peace. 

 

Every time someone sends a letter from here, it will email AND fax 150 Israeli Embassies and Consulates worldwide:

http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/6207/t/6210/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3142

 

Please the petition:

http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/6207/t/6210/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=775

 

Endorsing organizations (in formation): Palestine Solidarity Group-Chicago, International Solidarity Movement-Chicago chapter, United States Palestinian Community Network, Chicago Coalition Against War and Racism (CCAWR), CodePink-Chicago, International Socialist Organization (ISO), Chicagoans Against Apartheid in Palestine (CAAP), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at DePaul University,End the Occupation, Northern Illinois, M20 Coalition ,The Palestine Working of the Center for Theology and Social Analysis in St. Louis, Albany Park-North Park- Mayfair Neighbors for Peace and Justice, National Association of Muslim American Women (NAMAW), Jewish Voice for Peace - Chicago.... 

 

Contact us at: ISMinC...@aol.com or 773-267-5198

Visit: http://www.freegaza.org/ and sign on to the newslist for updates

 

Thursday, May 27 -- Venezuelan politician Enrique Capriles Radonsky was mayor of the small, upper class Caracas sub-municipality of Baruta during the failed US-orchestrated April 2002 coup against the elected government of President Hugo Chavez. During the coup, Mayor Capriles did nothing to restrain, but participated in a mob which surrounded the Cuban embassy and threatened to storm the building. In violation of international law, he also demanded that the Cuban Embassy open itself up to inspection. In 2008 Capriles was elected governor of the State of Miranda where he has continued to oppose participatory democracy and poverty alleviation efforts of the national government.  He was invited to our city by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

 

It is an insult to the people of Venezuela for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs to give its Gus Hart award to this Venezuelan coup-plotter who has a proven contempt for Venezuelan democracy and international law. The Gus Hart award is supposed to be given to individuals who “make significant contributions in the areas of education, economy, health, business, reducing poverty, micro-finances, environment, international development, governance and society." Enrique Capriles Radonsky represents the very antithesis of what the award was created to recognize.

We call on all those who support the rights of the people of other nations to choose their own democratic governments without U.S. interference to protest the presence of Capriles Radonsky in Chicago.

 

Eva Golinger in “The Chavez Code,” the definitive work on U.S. involvement in the failed Venezuelan coup, refers to the role of Enrique Capriles Radonsky and his party Primero Justicia. In chapter 4, “IRI [International Republican Institute] Gives Birth to Primero Justica,” “Primero Justicia Assaults the Cuban Embassy” she writes,

“A vicious aggression, anti-Chavez extremists from both Venezuela and Cuba (residing in Venezuela) stormed the Cuban Embassy in the Baruta section of Caracas, destroying property, automobiles and cutting off access to electricity, gas and water going into the Embassy. Live on television, the aggressors threatened to kill the Embassy diplomats by ‘starving them’ and forcing them to ‘eat carpet,’ depriving them of water and food supply. Mayor Capriles Radonski, in charge of the municipal police, made no effort to stop the assault and in fact encouraged it by arriving at the scene and interacting with the aggressors.

“Capriles Radonski also violated diplomatic law by forcing entry inside the Embassy, where he attempted to persuade Cuban Ambassador German Sanchez Otero to turn in Vice President Diosdado Cabello and other Chavez Government officials the opposition believed were taking refuge in the Cuban Embassy. Though Ambassador Sanchez Otero permitted Capriles Radonski on the premises to engage in dialogue, he made clear that the actions were violating diplomatic law. The Primero Justicia mayor attempted to force a search of the inside of the Embassy by threatening the Ambassador that the situation would only worsen if a full search were not allowed.”

“OeCapriles Radonski and other leading Primero Justicia membersOemade frequent trips to Washington during the pre-coup period to visit IRI headquarters and meet with oficials in the Bush Administration.”

 

Info:  Stan Smith, Venezuela Solidarity Campaign (Chicago) 773-376-7521, , Justi...@juno.com, 773-250-3335

 

Thursday, May 27 & Saturday, May 29 – World premiere of new film featuring Chicago anti-war activist Juan Torres -- "Drugs and Death in Bagram."  6:30 PM - 9:30 PM, DePaul University-Lincoln Park Campus, Schmitt Academic Center, 2320 N. Kenmore Avenue, #154.  FREE!

 

Parking: reduced fee with validation Sheffield Parking Facility-2335 North Sheffield Avenue Clifton Parking Deck-2330 North Clifton Ave.

 

"Drugs and Death in Bagram" documents a Father’s Struggle to Expose US Military Cover-up of Soldier Son’s Death in Afghanistan

 

Documentary exposes little-known but widely practiced military cover-ups of soldier deaths in nine-year war.

 

“Drugs and Death in Bagram,” a new documentary film about a father’s quest for the truth about his soldier son’s death in Afghanistan, will premier in the United States in Chicago on Thursday, May 27 at 6:30 pm, with a second showing scheduled for Saturday, May 29 at 6:00 pm. Both screenings will be held at DePaul University's Building: Schmitt Academic Center (SAC) located at 2320 North Kenmore Avenue, #154.

 

The film documents six years of tireless struggle by Chicago immigrant Juan Torres as he seeks to learn the truth about his son’s death in Afghanistan in 2004. The Latino immigrant dared to challenge the United States military to uncover the truth about the mysterious death of his only son John. The film focuses on Juan Torres’ relentless pursuit of the real facts, even as they begin to point irrevocably to an extensive military cover-up and a preventable death.

 

While the case of John Torres is not the first in which the U.S. military has distorted the facts about deaths of its soldiers, the Torres case exposes little-known practices that have serious implications for thousands who have served in the field in that war – and serves as a cautionary tale for young people who are considering enlisting for the United States’ ‘good war’ in Afghanistan.

 

Army Specialist John Torres, an educated accountant with a promising career, was stationed on the U.S. military air-base in Bagram, Afghanistan. Two weeks before his scheduled military discharge, the Army notified John Torres’ father, Juan, that his son had committed suicide. “Drugs & Death in Bagram,” exposes the extensive effort the U. S. military undertakes to withhold information from families – and the tragic consequences of these cover-ups, which range from sweeping misinformation and a conspiracy of silence to the unnecessary death of soldiers in the wake of pharmaceutical corporate greed.

 

The fallout for families can be devastating. “My American Dream is over,” said Juan Torres, after discovering the truth behind the death of his son.

 

Filmmaker Shaun McCanna met Juan Torres in one of the many anti Iraq war demonstrations where Juan was a regular protester. As an independent documentary filmmaker and freelance journalist affiliated with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Juan’s story intrigued him so much that he invested 3 years to follow and document this unfolding and revealing story. “Drugs and Death at Bagram” is his latest documentary – and a must-see for military families and young people considering enlisting in the military. Both filmmaker McCanna and Juan Torres, will be present at both screenings and participate in discussion with audience members after the film is shown.

 

The film premier of “Drugs and Death at Bagram” is being co-sponsored by the Center for Latino Research at DePaul University and CAMI, Comite-Anti Militarización, a grassroots Latino counter-recruitment project to which Juan Torres belongs. The Film is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

 

Contact Information: (English) Maria G. 312 369-9294

(Spanish) Juan T. 773 550-4584

 

Saturday, May 29 – “Nullify SB 1070 - Todos Somos Arizona,” rally and short march against Arizona racist SB 1070 – 12 noon, corner of 18th Street /Loomis / Blue Island.

 

PROTEST in solidarity with our brothers and sisters from Arizona and DEMAND Obama to nullify the racist SB 1070 law. On May 29th at noon, RALLY at the corner of 18th st. and Blue Island Ave., in Pilsen, to share political speeches and cultural performances. At 2 PM, MARCH toward the PetSmart located on 1101 S. Canal Ave., Chicago.  PetSmart is an national company based in Arizona, to which we demand to dennounce SB 1070, or face BOYCOTT.

Join us in demanding amnesty for all undocumented workers, building
the immigrant rights movement, and in spreading the word about this
action.

RSVP via Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1618390103&ref=ts#!/event.php?eid=117401838298836&ref=mf

 

Friday, June 4 -- From Abu Ghraib to Chicago: Is torture U.S. policy?

FREE EVENT! REFRESHMENTS PROVIDED!

 

FEATURING:

Margaret Power - Professor, Historians Against the War

Mario Venegas - Chilean Torture Survivor under Pinochet

Mary Fabri - Senior Director, Kovler Center

Darrell Cannon - Torture Survivor, Burge and Tamms

Joey Mogul - Attorney, People's Law Office

Stephen F. Eisenman - Author, Abu Ghraib Effect

 

BIOGRAPHIES OF PANELISTS

MARGARET POWER, a professor of history at the Illinois Institute of Technology and a member of Historians Against the War (HAW), has edited the HAW publication Torture, American Style and has published several books and articles on Latin America, women, and gender. Margaret will provide a brief history of U.S. sponsored torture and facilitate the discussion.

 

MARIO VENEGAS, a survivor of torture under the Pinochet regime in Chile, is a research scientist as well as a member of Amnesty International Group 50 in Evanston/Rogers Park. Mario will link his experience in Chile to U.S. involvement in torture in Latin American countries, Guantanamo Prison, and the training of Latin American army officers at WHINSEC/SOA.

 

STEPHEN F. EISENMAN, a professor of art history at Northwestern University and a member of the Illinois prison reform organization, Tamms Year Ten, has published and lectured on the history of solitary confinement. Stephen will discuss the notorious photographs of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and suggest some reasons why they did not have a great impact upon U.S. public opinion concerning torture.

 

DARRELL CANNON, a Chicago Police torture survivor, was wrongfully convicted and served 23 years in prison before he was exonerated. He was incarcerated in Illinois' supermax control unit prison, Tamms Correctional Center, for 9 years where he was held in solitary confinement. Darrell will speak about the inhumane conditions of supermax prisons.

 

MARY FABRI, a clinical psychologist and Senior Director of Torture Treatment Services and International Training at Heartland Alliance Marjorie Kovler Center in Chicago, Illinois has worked with torture survivors since 1987. She provides national and international training and consultation on issues of torture and severe trauma, cross-cultural adaptations of care, and secondary traumatization. Mary will speak on the effects of torture both on individuals and communities.

 

JOEY MOGUL, a partner at the People’s Law Office, has worked for past the 13 years for justice in the Chicago Police torture cases, representing many of the torture survivors in their criminal and civil rights cases and presenting the cases to the UN Committee Against Torture in 2006. Joey will address various options for local, state, and federal ordinances/legislation that criminalizes acts of torture by law enforcement officials.

 

Wednesday, June 2 – No Dancing on Gaza’s Grave!  Protest against Israel's participation in the Chicago Sister City International's (CSCI) Consular Corps Ball.  5:30 PM, Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan Ave.

 

Reject business as usual with Israel and protest Israel's participating in the Chicago Sister City International's Consular Corps Ball!

 

Join the Palestine Solidarity Group-Chicago's protest of Israel's participation in the Chicago Sister City International's (CSCI) Consular Corps Ball. The CSCI will host an inaugural ball to mark the program's 50th anniversary, with honorary chairs Mayor Richard M. and Mrs. Maggie Daley. Join the Palestine Solidarity Group-Chicago's protest of Israel's participation in this event and say, "No business as usual with apartheid Israel!"

 

This action is part of our ongoing campaign calling on CSCI to drop Petach Tikva and Israel from its program. Heeding the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), the Palestine Solidarity Group-Chicago rejects an official relationship between the City of Chicago and the Municipality of Petach Tikva in Israel. Under the guise of promoting cultural and education ties, and with the false premise of a people-to-people program, Petach Tikva's inclusion in the Chicago Sister Cities International promotes Israel-US business ties while it simultaneously whitewashes Israel's occupation and human rights abuses.

 

Palestinian civil society leader in Israel and BDS advocate Ameer Makhoul, arrested by secret police at his home on 6 April 2010, is the latest Palestinian grassroots activist to be held and interrogated at Petach Tikva. It is bitterly ironic that the chairperson of the Chicago Sister Cities International's Petach Tikva program, Daniel B. Shure, is also president of the America Israel Business Chamber of Commerce, which earlier this year advertised on its website a "Fight Back Against the Boycott" to undermine the movement strugglers like Ameer Makhoul are being arrested and persecuted for leading.

 

So long as Israel continues to occupy Palestinian and Arab land, so long as Palestinian refugees are refused their right to return home, and so long as Palestinians are denied their right to self-determination, we demand that there be no business as normal with Israel.

Join the PSG's campaign, directly challenge Israel's supporters in Chicago, and demand real policy change!

 

TAKE ACTION: contact Leroy Allala - Sister City Program Executive Director (leroy....@cityofchicago.org, 312.744.1372) and demand an end to the Sister City partnership between Chicago and Petach Tikva!

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