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October 7 Actions for PEACE IN SPACE - Peltier Clemency: Human Rights Day, UN/NYC
1) Press Release from Global Network on October 7 Actions for PEACE IN SPACE
2) December 10 - Peltier March for Freedom - Human Rights Day - UN NYC
3) Clemency Update on the impact of telephone support for Leonard Peltier
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Editor's Note: Flyby News has often reported the complementary nature of human rights and star wars. The physical link between the two is Uranium, which has been seized from land legally, but unethically. Both October 7 and December 10 are times to make a difference at the right place at the right time.
1) Press Release from GlobeNet on October 7 Actions for PEACE IN SPACE
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST
OCTOBER 7 ACTIONS OPPOSE PLANNED STAR WARS PROGRAM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Bruce Gagnon (352) 337-9274
On October 7 an "International Day of Protest to Stop the Militarization of Space" will be held worldwide. Currently protest events are planned in 16 nations and in over 34 U.S. cities.
The October 7 actions are being organized by the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space and have been endorsed by organizations around the world.
President Clinton's recent decision to postpone deployment of National Missile Defense (NMD) was largely a result of recent testing failures and growing worldwide opposition to a new Star Wars program. "However,
elements of this new Star Wars program are still moving ahead," said Bruce Gagnon, Coordinator of the Global Network. "In the next few weeks, for example, the U.S. government will finalize plans for the testing of a space-based laser - a critical weapon in the Pentagon's scheme to 'control' space, and from the 'ultimate high-ground' of space to 'dominate' the Earth below."
"We won't rest for a moment," said Gagnon. "The October 7 protests represent the largest grassroots global expression against moving the arms race into space ever held. We will utilize Clinton's delay decision to expand our organizing and opposition. More people are getting involved every day."
October 7 actions include rallies and demonstrations in:
1. Adelaide, Australia
2. Albuquerque, N.M. (Lockheed Martin - Oct 6)
3. Amherst, MA (Oct 8)
4. Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD)
5. Asheville, NC (Downtown at Vance monument)
6. Baku, Azerbaijan
7. Bathe, Maine (Oct 5)
8. Beale AFB, CA (Space Command Radar Facility)
9. Berlin, Germany (Bundestag)
10. Brookfield, CT
11. Bucharest, Romania (American Embassy)
12. Buckingham Peace Fair (Bucks County, PA)
13. Cambridge, England
14. Cape Canaveral AFS, FL (Key Launch Facility)
15. Chicago, IL (Kluzynski Federal Building)
16. Colorado Springs, CO. (Space Command HQ)
17. Edwards AFB, CA (Flight Testing Center)
18. Flic en Flac, Mauritius
19. Fort Bragg, CA
20. France
21. Fylingdales, England (U.S. Radar Base)
22. Greece
23. Hartford, CT (Oct 4)
24. Holland, MI
25. Huntsville, AL (TMD Directorate)
26. Kalamazoo, MI
27. Kathmandu, Nepal (U.S. Embassy)
28. Kirtland AFB, N.M. (Key Laser Development Center - Oct 6)
29. Leicester, England
30. London, England (U.S. Embassy)
31. Los Angeles AFB, CA (Space-Based Laser Directorate)
32. Madison, WI
33. Mays Landing, NJ (Rep. Frank LoBiondo's office - Oct 6)
34. Menwith Hill, England (U.S. Spy Satellite Base)
35. Nevada Test Site
36. New York, N.Y. (Wall Street - Oct 6)
37. Northampton, MA
38. Osaka, Japan (Navy TMD Deployment Site)
39. Oslo, Norway (Parliament)
40. Pathanamthitta, India
41. Penn State University
42. San Francisco State University Planetarium (Cosmic Cabaret - Oct 6)
43. Schwaebisch Gmuend (Germany)
44. Seattle, WA (Boeing Corporation)
45. Seoul, Korea (TMD Deployment Sites)
46. Stockton, CA
47. St. Paul, MN (Lockheed Martin)
48. Sunnyvale, CA (Lockheed Martin)
49. Sydney, Australia (TMD testing expected in Western Australia)
50. Tokyo, Japan
51. Toronto, Canada (Oct 14 at U.S. Consulate)
52. Tucson, AZ (Raytheon)
53. Valley Forge, PA. (Lockheed Martin)
54. Vandenberg AFB, CA (Key Launch Facility)
55. Vancouver, Canada
56. White House, Washington DC
57. White Sands Missile Test Range, N.M.
Meanwhile, testing of the NMD system is scheduled to resume in January, 2001 from Vandenberg AFB in California. The Pentagon is also dangerously promoting Theatre Missile Defense (TMD) deployments in the Middle East and Asia which will provoke regional escalations of nuclear weapons development.
October 7 protest sites are still being added each day. To see the current list of actions, and worldwide sponsoring groups, check the Global Network's web site at: http://www.space4peace.org
Note: Media reps and others seeking the actual Pentagon plans for "control and domination" of space can obtain them by clicking on Space Command's web site at:
http://www.spacecom.af.mil/usspace/index.htm
# # #
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 90083
Gainesville, FL. 32607
(352) 337-9274
http://www.space4peace.org
globalnet@mindspring.com
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2) December 10 - Peltier March for Freedom - Human Rights Day - UN NYC
December 10 will mark the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The United Nations have recognized Leonard Peltier as a Human Rights Defender. We must insist that the US apply human rights to its original peoples. Please join the Leonard Peltier March for Freedom on Dec.10 in New York City at 9:30 a.m. (Exact location will be announced soon).
Please download and distribute fliers for the march posted at:
http://www.freepeltier.org/countdown_flyer1.htm#top
For more information on this, to see Leonard Peltier's artwork, or to order Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance, visit the LPDC website:
http://www.FreePeltier.org
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3) Clemency Update on impact of telephone support for Leonard Peltier
*Below is a letter from Attorney/Human Rights Advocate, Jennifer Harbury on the Peltier telephone campaign. The letter includes sample comments for your calls if interested. We received this information from the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee's listserve. To subscribe for their updates directly, send a blank message to < lpdc-on@mail-list.com >
UPDATE !!! WHITE HOUSE TELEPHONE CAMPAIGN
COUNTDOWN TO CLEMENCY
Dear Friends,
The White House telephone campaign has been going on now for a full year, and we are pleased to note that there are very real results from all of your hard work these last many months. A year ago, the White House operators were expressing surprise at hearing Leonard's name again, and many commented that it was a very old case and that they had not heard about him in years. Now they all recognize the name extremely wellEnd comment that it is high profile case. Nothing could be more important. Mr. Clinton is hearing you. At the same time, all our outreach has paid off in Washington D.C. networks outside the White House as wellEhereas last year some of the human rights groups were asking who Leonard Peltier isEow they all ask how to help. There are so many other signs too that things are headed in a positive direction. Your long efforts have been paying off.
KEEP IT UP THROUGH JANUARY 21, 2001!!!!
Our very best window for getting clemency for Leonard Peltier lies between election day in November, and Inauguration Day on January 21. The Democratic party will have carried out its campaign, and Hillary Clinton and Al Gore will have either won their offices or not. Either way, Mr. Clinton will not have so many reasons to avoid controversial issues. After that, we will have a long wait. Even if Gore wins, it will take him some time to learn all the facts and gain the political confidence to deal with this caseEprobably sometime in his second term. Leonard cannot wait this long. His medical condition puts him at risk for kidney failure, blindness and stroke. Time is running out.
We need daily calls to the White House from as many people as possible. Please focus ALL your calls there. The telephone number is 202-456-1111. We will let you know if we need additional calls to Janet Reno or to members of Congress. But for now, please ALL CALLS GO TO CLINTON!!! Try to begin organizing networks of friends for the calls, and assure that during the most critical time of all, CHRISTMAS WEEK, that the calls keep rolling in to the White House. We know we are asking a lot, but if Leonard at last goes free, we will all be able to rest at last, after one big celebration of course. At the very least, please call once a week on your regional call-in day: The northeast people call on Mondays. The southeast calls on Tuesdays, the mid-west and International calls on Wednesday, the northwest calls on Thursday and the southwest calls on Friday.
MESSAGE :
1. We demand clemency for Mr. Leonard Peltier, a Native American citizen who has now been imprisoned for nearly twenty five years. His immediate release has also been demanded by Amnesty International, Coretta Scott King, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the American Friends Service Committee, Nobel Laureate Rigoberta Menchu, the National Council of Churches, and many
others.
2. Mr. Peltier never received a fair trial of any kind. The witnesses have all admitted they were heavily coerced and intimidated by the FBI, and a ballistics test proving the bullet in question did not come from Mr. Peltier's weapon was concealed from the defense attorneys. The judge who denied him a new trial has written to support clemency for Mr. Peltier.
3. Mr. Peltier is long overdue for parole, and it is clear he will not be released until he confesses to a crime he did not commit.
4. Mr. Peltier has achieved a remarkable record of humanitarian achievements during his many years behind bars. Among other things, he sponsors and annual Chirstmas drive for toys and clothing for the children of Pine Ridge, he contributes his art to assist battered women's shelters and substance abuse programs, he has established a Native American scholarship program, collaborated in improving health care on the reservation, and adopted children in Guatemala and El Salvador through Childreach, amongst many other good deeds. His also received a human rights award from the Commission on Human Rights from Spain.
5. Mr. Peltier is now in deteriorating health. He suffers from a heart condition, high blood pressure and diabetes. He is blind in one eye due to poor medical care. He risks, in the future, blindness, stroke and kidney failure given the poor prison medical care and living conditions. TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR JUSTICE.
6. Mr. Peltier is a living symbol of U.S. repression against its Native citizenry. We must remember that 64 AIM supporters were murdered on Pine Ridge during that tragic period, and that the FBI was closely collaborating
with the GOONs carrying out the violence. The time has come to heal some of these old wounds. The time has come for the United States to show that it is worth to claim the position of leadership in world human rights affairs.
Call the White House Comments Line Today
Demand Justice for Leonard Peltier! 202-456-1111
Be in New York City December 10th
Peltier March For Freedom!
Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
PO Box 583
Lawrence, KS 66044
785-842-5774
www.freepeltier.org
To subscribe, send a blank message to < lpdc-on@mail-list.com >
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"Silence, they say, is the voice of complicity.
But silence is impossible.
Silence screams.
Silence is a message,
just as doing nothing is an act.
Let who you are ring out and resonate
in every word and every deed.
Yes, become who you are.
There's no sidestepping your own being
or your own responsibility.
What you do is who you are.
You are your own comeuppance.
You become your own message
You are the message."
Leonard Peltier
(Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance)
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