Torture

Shut Down the School of the Americas

from SOAW.org

November 18-20, 2011: Thousands of social justice activists from across the Americas will occupy the main gates of Fort Benning, Georgia to call for an end to U.S. militarization and for the closure of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly the School of Americas.

Phil Gates' Op-Ed in the Arizona Republic:

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2011/09/05/20...

From NRCAT:

The World Council of Churches (WCC) will be web streaming the plenary sessions and special events of the upcoming International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC). The video streams will be live from the Mona campus of the University of West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica, where the convocation is being held, beginning Wednesday 18 May.

Training Day: March 25th. Special training for Presbyterians:
Compassion Peace and Justice: Church Models that Work
Location: New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, Washington, DC

On November 19 - 21, thousands of people will converge on Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia to pressure Congress and the White House to close the "School of Americas" training facility.

The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship will be there! Plan to join us for educational (and fun!) workshops and the deeply moving Sunday morning vigil. We have reserved a block of rooms, and are arranging transportation from the Atlanta airport for those arriving Friday morning and leaving Monday afternoon.

Plan to attend the Presbyterian Breakfast on Saturday, November 20, from 7 - 9 a.m. at the Holiday Inn North, where we will enjoy fellowship with Presbyterians from around the country. The cost is $10 for a full breakfast ($5 students), and reservations are required.

A great video of a great event!

Thank you to Andrew Patterson for his wonderful videography work!

By Carol Wickersham and Tom Driver

Many people think that under the present Administration the US has stopped sponsoring torture, but this is not so. Worse, public approval of the occasional use of torture has edged upward over the past year. According to a Pew poll released December 3, half of Americans now say that the use of torture against suspected terrorists in order to gain important information can either often (19%) or sometimes (35%) be justified. This is the first time in over five years of polling by Pew Research on this question that a majority has expressed these views. Another 16% say torture can be justified "rarely." Only 25% say it can "never" be justified. Still worse, an earlier Pew poll documented that the more frequently people attend church the more likely they are to find torture acceptable.