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RQ#98 - OnlineDownload RQ #98 as a PDF - complete issueIndividual sections posted onlineRQ#98 Home PageGrassroots News RoundupThinking About a Twenty-Year Plan, by StarhawkLove Parade v. Peace MarchPagan Cluster Joins DC ActionsBuilding a Daily Spiritual Practice,
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Guantanamo Bay - A Modern GulagWorld opinion and human rights organizations have roundly condemned the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay. In January 2006, the new German Chancellor, moderate Angela Merkel, became the latest leader to condemn the United States for practices at the prison and call for its immediate closure. As with our longtime coverage of protests at the School of the Americas in Georgia, which has trained military police for repressive dictatorships throughout the hemisphere, RQ joins other alternative media in shining the light of public awareness on the hideous abuse of government power at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. Hunger strikers tied down and fed through nasal tubesDavid Rose of The Observer (London) reported in early 2006 that a "growing number of prisoners on hunger strike at Guantánamo Bay are being tied down and force-fed through tubes pushed down their nasal passages into their stomachs to keep them alive." Prisoners routinely experience bleeding and nausea, according to a sworn statement by the camp's chief doctor, seen by The Observer. The number of hunger strikers has almost doubled since Christmas, to 81 of the 550 detainees. Many have been held since the camp opened four years ago this month, although they not been charged with any crime, nor been allowed to see any evidence justifying their detention. London attorneys Allen and Overy, who represent some of the hunger strikers, have lodged a court action in California asking for an order that the state medical ethics board investigate the doctor involved for 'unprofessional conduct' for agreeing to the force-feeding. Article 5 of the 1975 World Medical Association Tokyo Declaration, which US doctors are legally bound to observe through their membership of the American Medical Association, states that doctors must not undertake force-feeding under any circumstances. However, the lawsuit may never be heard. Around new year 2006, President Bush signed into law a measure removing detainees' right to file habeas corpus petitions in the US federal courts, meaning that although they are held in a U.S. prison, the 550 prisoners have no civil rights.
What Can You do?Contact Amnesty International, which is working for the rights of political prisoners around the globe - visit www.amnesty.org Guantánamo a Gulag, says AmnestyBritain and the United States are betraying the cause of human rights in pursuit of their "war on terror," Amnesty International says in its annual report published in May. Irene Khan, Amnesty's general secretary, accused the two governments of condoning torture and violating the Human Rights Act at Guantánamo Bay, Iraq, and elsewhere. To see the report and to follow Amnesty International's human rights work, visit www.amnesty.org
Quick NotesNuclear Relapse in Central Europe - in the Nuclear Monitor, published by the Nuclear Information and Resource Center of Washington, DC. "While many look to France, Finland, and the US for the first signs of a possible nuclear resurgence," NIRS says, "few are aware of the push forward the nuclear industry is trying to make in Central Europe." Contact www.nirs.org, (202) 328-0002. US Bio Defense, Bio Offense - in Citizen's Watch, published by the TriValley CAREs of Livermore, CA. "The line between 'biodefense' and offensive bioweapons development is exceedingly thin. Programs to create new bioweapons often involve experiments to genetically modify and aerosolize pathogens." Contact www.trivalleycares.org, (925) 443-7148. Coal Plant Shot Down - in the Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination Clearinghouse Newsletter, published in Lake, MI. "The city planning commission received a standing ovation when it voted to strike down plans for a coal bruning power plant... Hundreds of people from across the region gathered at various public meetings in recent months to speak for or against the $700 million project." Contact cacceco@yahoo.com, (989) 544-3318. We are the Sacrifice: Coalfield Citizens Speak Out for Protecting Water, Homes - in Balancing the Scales, published by Kentuckians for the Commonwealth in London, KY. "KFTC members spoke out passionately and forcefully at a public hearing, defending their homes, their communities, and their future. 'Let's be honest. We are the sacrifice to be able to turn on the lights,' said Randy Wilson of Clay County. 'Our streams, our lives, our mountains - we are the sacrifice.'" Contact (606) 878-2161. RQ's website carries highlights of grassroots news, and links you to community and regional organizations working for a safer, healthier planet. Who knows - the next story could come from your backyard. Want to recommend a grassroots story to RQ? Email us at quarterly@reclaiming.org, or mail a copy of the newsletter to RQ, PO Box 14404, San Francisco, CA 94114. Grassroots groups - exchange with RQ! Email us at quarterly@reclaiming.org
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