"Berkeley Says No to Torture" Week, October 10-16

I'm happy to announce that I will be participating with some great people during Berkeley's "Say No to Torture" week event, held mostly at the UC Berkeley campus. The week of activities was proposed via resolution by the Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission, which was passed by the Berkeley City Council on September 21, "making clear that the community finds it unacceptable for an American torture apparatus to remain operational while those responsible remain unaccountable."

Participants during the week of protests, readings, panel discussions, and film showings will include Barry Eisler, Jason Leopold, Andy Worthington, Marjorie Cohn, Ray McGovern, Justine Sharrock, Shahid Buttar, Mimi Kennedy, Adrianne Aron, Fr. Louis Vitale, and more. Sponsors of the various events include World Can't Wait, School of the Americas Watch (SOAW) East Bay/SF, National Lawyers Guild, Boalt Chapter (NLG-Boalt), Code Pink, Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Social Justice Committee, Progressive Democrats of America, Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute, and FireJohnYoo.org.

For more information, go to the website wesaynototorture.net. Also see the Facebook page here. Additionally, those interested should read Andy Worthington's post describing the importance of the event.

“Berkeley Says No to Torture” Week: EVENTS LIST

Sunday October 10, 2010, 7 pm: Author Readings and Discussion with Andy Worthington and Justine Sharrock.
Revolution Books, 2425 Channing Way, Berkeley.
Andy Worthington, author of The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison and Justine Sharrock, author of Tortured: When Good Soldiers Do Bad Things, read from their books and discuss Guantánamo, the “War on Terror” and the corrosive effect of torture on US soldiers as well as the Bush administration’s victims. Also see the Facebook page here.

Monday October 11, 7 pm: Screening of “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo.” Followed by Q&A with Andy Worthington.
Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar Street (at Bonita Avenue), Berkeley.
Andy Worthington, the co-director (with Polly Nash) of the documentary film, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo,” described by Time Out as “a strong movie examining the imprisonment and subsequent torture of those falsely accused of anti-American conspiracy,” attends the screening, and will talk and answer questions afterwards. This event is sponsored by Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Social Justice Committee.

Tuesday October 12, daytime, 11:00 am: Protest action against John Yoo.
UC Berkeley Law (Boalt Hall), on Bancroft at College Avenue.
Protest at the location where John Yoo teaches constitutional law and a second class every Tuesday. Sponsored by World Can't Wait and others.
Location: Boalt Hall, 2778 Bancroft Way (at College Ave.)

Tuesday October 12, evening, 6:30-8:00 pm: The Giant John Yoo Debate.
UC Berkeley campus. Location and time TBA.
Join the World Can’t Wait, lawyers, law students, and other surprise guests for a real debate about John Yoo’s theories and legal work defending torture.

Wednesday Oct 13, 12:00 noon: Protest Action – Say No to Torture
Banner, posters provided. Sponsored by CodePink
Location: Marine Recruitment Station, 64 Shattuck Square, 1/2 block south of University Avenue

Wednesday October 13, 2010, 4:30 pm: Defying Torture - The Art of Dissent.
UC Berkeley Art Museum Theater, 2621 Durant Avenue, Berkeley.
A conversation with Peter Selz, art historian and Professor Emeritus of Art History at UC Berkeley, and political artist Clinton Fein, famous for his series, “Torture,” based on the Abu Ghraib photos, along with artist Richard Kamler.

Wednesday October 13, 2010, 7:00 pm: Roundtable – Writers on Torture: Barry Eisler, Andy Worthington, Justine Sharrock.
University Lutheran Church, 2425 College Ave., Berkeley.
Barry Eisler, best-selling thriller writer and author of the new rendition- and torture-based novel Inside Out joins Andy Worthington and Justine Sharrock to discuss fact, fiction, the crimes of the “War on Terror,” and approaches to writing about these topics and disseminating them to the public. Moderated by Shahid Buttar (Bill of Rights Defense Committee).

Thursday October 14, 2010, 7:00 pm: Forum on Torture and the Law, Torture and Human Rights, with Marjorie Cohn, Andy Worthington, Shahid Buttar and Debra Sweet.
Boalt Hall, UC Berkeley Law, Rm 105, 2778 Bancroft Way
Marjorie Cohn (author and past President of the National Lawyers Guild), Andy Worthington (journalist, author and filmmaker), Shahid Buttar (Bill of Rights Defense Committee), and Debra Sweet (National Director, the World Can’t Wait) discuss torture, human rights and the law. Moderated by Ray McGovern.

Friday October 15, 2010, afternoon, 1:30-3:00 pm: Panel: Torture, Human Experimentation, and the Department of Defense
Jason Leopold (Truthout) interviews psychologist, blogger, and activist Jeffrey Kaye.
Location: Booth Auditorium, UC Berkeley Law, 2778 Bancroft Way (at Piedmont)

Friday October 15, 2010, afternoon, 3:00-4:30 pm: Panel: Psychologists and Torture.
UC Berkeley Law (Boalt Hall) campus, Booth Auditorium, UC Berkeley Law, 2778 Bancroft Way (at Piedmont).
With anti-torture psychologists Adrianne Aron, Ruth Fallenbaum, Adrianne Aron, Pierre LaBossiere, and Patricia Isasa. Co-sponsored by School of the Americas Watch (SOAW) East Bay/SF. See Psychologists for an Ethical APA for more information on psychologists’ opposition to the torture program implemented by the Bush administration.

Friday October 15, 2010, evening, 7:00 pm: Reckoning with Torture - An Evening of Conscience with Andy Worthington, Marjorie Cohn, Ray McGovern, Ann Wright, Mimi Kennedy, devorah major, Jeffrey Kaye, Fr. Louis Vitale, Renee Saucedo, Jason Leopold, Kathy Roberts, Abdi Soltani and more.
UC Berkeley Law (Boalt Hall) campus, Booth Auditorium.
“Reckoning with Torture: An Evening of Conscience” contains a powerful script, originated by the ACLU and American PEN Center, based on memos and testimonies from the “War on Terror,” which has been produced in New York and Washington, D.C., but has never before been performed on the West Coast. Guests including peace activists Ray McGovern and Ann Wright, Mimi Kennedy, devorah major, Jeffrey Kaye and Jason Leopold of Truthout will be joining “Berkeley Says No to Torture” Week regulars Andy Worthington and Marjorie Cohn to read these powerful texts. This event is sponsored by the Boalt Alliance to Abolish Torture (BAAT) and the National Lawyers Guild, Boalt Chapter (NLG-Boalt), and the performance will be followed by a reception with the readers and audience. For ticket sales/reservations please email.

Saturday, Oct 16, 7:00 pm: “Pedro and the Captain”
Dramatic reading from the play by Mario Benedetti, with Mark McGoldrick and Youseef Elias, directed by Angelina Llongueras.  Performed in honor of "Berkeley Says No To Torture" Week.
Fireside Room, Live Oak Community Center, 1301 Shattuck Avenue