We invite you to join the Chicago Coalition to Close Guantanamo for our weekly vigil on Friday at 4:30-5:30 pm at Dearborn and Jackson!

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Bob Palmer

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Nov 22, 2013, 12:18:48 AM11/22/13
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We invite you to join the Chicago Coalition to Close Guantánamo for our weekly vigil on Friday at 4:30-5:30 pm at Dearborn and Jackson!

We are looking for folks to 
- Wear an orange jumpsuit and black hood which represent the men detained indefinitely in Guantánamo Bay Prison
- Hand out fliers to people walking by
- Engage people in conversation about the prison, policies and solutions to close Guantánamo!
- Hold a sign with the people in orange jumpsuits
- Come down to say hi, take a picture, make a post on Facebook/Twitter, etc.

Here is the info we'll be handing out this week:

Senate Paralyzed About Guantánamo—President Obama Needs to Act
November 22, 2013
 
Senators on Tuesday illustrated their paralysis over what to do with the Guantanamo Bay prison, voting down dueling bills to loosen and tighten restrictions on transferring detainees.
 
The result fails to significantly advance President Barack Obama's long-standing goal of closing the facility for terror suspects, but prevents rules from being inserted into the Senate's annual defense policy bill that would have made it even harder to try detainees in the United States or release them overseas….
 
An amendment to the defense bill proposed by Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John McCain, R-Ariz., would have eased the Obama administration's ability to detain and try suspects in the United States or release them overseas. But it fell eight votes shy of the 60-vote threshold needed for passage….
 
McCain read a letter from 38 former U.S. military leaders voicing their support. It called Guantanamo a "symbol of torture" and a recruiting tool for al-Qaida.
 
Earlier, an opposing amendment championed by Republican senators such as Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Saxby Chambliss of Georgia that would have made it even harder for Obama to move prisoners was defeated 55-43.
 
Excerpted from Miami Herald.  Read more at http://hrld.us/1dV6G8j.
 
However, President Obama already has the power waive restrictions Congress passed regarding transferring detainees to their home or other countries.  For political reasons, he has chosen not to exercise his powers.

181 Days Since President Obama’s Renewed Promise to Close Guantánamo: Only 2 Men Released as of November 22, 2013
 
·       164 men remain imprisoned.  155 of them haven’t been charged.
·       84 men have been cleared for release, most of whom have been imprisoned without charge for more than 11 years.
·       13 men have been on hunger strike for 289 days and are being force-fed.  This is in violation of Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by the U.S., which prohibits torture or cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment.

Find out more about efforts to end indefinite detention and torture by the U.S. Government at Guantánamo Bay.  Please sign petitions addressed to President Obama at the websites marked with a **.
 
**CLOSE GUANTÁNAMO: A group of lawyers, journalists, retired military personnel and concerned individuals who believe that Guantánamo undermines America's values and harms its national security. http://www.closeguantanamo.org
 
WITNESS AGAINST TORTURE: Formed in 2005, when 25 Americans went to Guantánamo and attempted to visit the detention facility. Once we returned from that journey, we began to organize more broadly to shut down Guantánamo. http://witnesstorture.org
 
**WORLD CAN'T WAIT: A national movement formed to halt and reverse the terrible program of war, repression and theocracy that was initiated by the Bush regime and continued and even intensified under President Obama. http://www.worldcantwait.net
 
ANDY WORTHINGTON: Investigative journalist, author, filmmaker, photographer and Guantánamo expert. http://www.andyworthington.co.uk
 
MIAMI HERALD: http://www.miamiherald.com/guantanamo/
 
IL COALITION AGAINST TORTURE: https://twitter.com/Illinois_CAT
 
Track the days since Obama’s promise at http://gtmoclock.com.
 
Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantánamo: World Can’t Wait, Witness Against Torture, White Rose Catholic Worker, Illinois Coalition Against Torture, Chicago Committee to Free the Cuban Five: www.facebook.com/ChicagoCoalitionToShutDownGuantanamo

Thank you for your support!
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