CalTV Coverage of Stand Against Poverty

A big thanks to CalTV, UC Berkeley's online TV station, for covering our Stand Against Poverty event!

Irene Khan and Larry Cox at Berkeley!

Are you really bummed you couldn't attend Tuesday's event at USF featuring Irene Khan (Amnesty Secretary General) and Larry Cox (Executive Director Amnesty USA)? Fear not! Both speakers are coming to Berkeley tomorrow (Thursday) night to speak about Amnesty’s new Demand Dignity campaign, which fights global poverty by working to strengthen recognition and protection of the rights of the poor.

If you're interested in attending, join a group of Amnesty members at 7:00 p.m. on Sproul Plaza, right at the corner of Bancroft and Telegraph. Check out the event details:

"The Unheard Truth: Poverty and Human Rights": Irene Khan, Amnesty International's Secretary General
Introduced by Mitch Jeserich, KPFA Radio Producer

Thursday, October 29th at 7:30pm
First Congregational Church (2345 Channing Way at Dana, Berkeley, CA)

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door

See you there!

Shock Doctrine, California Style: Naomi Klein's Lecture at UC Berkeley

Naomi Klein, author of No Logo and The Shock Doctrine, discussed the concept of the shock doctrine and the current financial crisis in California during the Mario Savio Memorial Lecture today at UC Berkeley.

After giving a brief nod to Chelsea Chee and Timothy DenHerder-Thomas (the recipients of this year's Mario Savio Young Activist Awards), as well as the participants of the September 24th walkouts, Klein proceeded to define the shock doctrine with an example. Three months after the levees of New Orleans broke, free-market advocate Thomas Friedman wrote an op-ed column in which he claimed the disaster presented an opportunity for converting the desolated public schools in New Orleans into private schools. Soon enough, it happened. The 5 charter schools occupying New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina multiplied into 40 post-Katrina, and the teachers' union that existed before the hurricane was largely disbanded after their union contract was shredded. In fact, a staggering total of 32 free-market "solutions" were presented for New Orleans, among which included breaking unions, converting New Orleans into a tax-free enterprise zone, distributing vouchers for private schools, and replacing public housing with mixed-use housing.

At this point, Klein spells out the definition of shock doctrine: using shocking situations to push through legislation that would not be passed under normal circumstances. The shock doctrine is, as she states, a "democracy-avoidance strategy."

Klein transitions to the current Californian crisis with a short excerpt from a documentary that highlights Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's strong free-market ideals and the numerous struggles and frustrations caused by public funding cuts: "If you don't want to lead the government," one irate woman says to a state panel, "stand aside and let someone else who does." Klein notes that one-third of teachers in Santee were laid off while the state is still giving millionaires 6-figure tax cuts. She also addresses the letter sent out by University of California President Mark Yudof yesterday, calling the fee increases discussed in the letter a "physical embodiment of a great injustice."

Klein then delves into the topics of banks, debt, and the prospects the UC system. She notes how Goldman Sachs's bonus payment last year, around $23 billion, is roughly equal to the current debt in California. The 2 critical situations creating the debt, Klein explains, were the collapse of a tax base and the transformation of private sector debt (belonging to banks) into public sector debt. She emphasizes that when people are not present to fight for their communities, as was the case of New Orleans where residents were provided one-way trips to other areas of the country, public spaces are eroded. However, she notes that the current situation in the UC system may be the opposite of the shock doctrine, where, instead of passing legislation when the community is panicking and disbanding, legislators and UC officials are actually uniting an opposition group with their extreme proposals. Klein offers hope for activists here in Berkeley, observing that the UC system, "...for all their flaws, [is] the embodiment of what you are fighting for."

In the spirit of the lecture series and as a tribute to Mario Savio, the great Free Speech Movement activist, Klein concludes her lecture with the uplifting sendoff, "You can win this thing, because this is a Mario moment!"

Demand Accountability for Torture

After September 11, the U.S. has changed dramatically, including its policy and stance on torture.

From the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act (Uniting and Strenghtening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act) to Military Commissions Act of 2006, the U.S. has taken steps backwards from its pre-9/11 era.

Now, one may argue that the post-9/11 era gives us no choice but to resort to torture. However, torture lowers the credibility of U.S. and prevents individuals from cooperating with the U.S. How can the U.S. call for action in improving human rights globally when it detains individuals without a trial and tortures to receive intelligence?

At the Speakers' Panel last Wednesday, former interrogator Matthew Alexander noted that the qualities that make a good person are the same as the qualities that make a good interrogator. Torture is unnecessary. Rather than obtaining valuable information, the image of U.S. is tainted by such brutal tactic.

To take action:

• Call the White House (M-F 6AM – 2PM PST): 202-456-1414
• Leave this message:
  Hello, my name is ___ and I live in ___. I’m calling to urge President Obama to respect the law and:
  --ensure that an independent commission of inquiry into torture is set up;
  --ensure that anyone who broke the law is prosecuted
  --and ensure that victims receive legal remedy.
  Thank you.

For more information:

• Guantanamo Fact Sheet
• Military Commissions Act of 2006
• USA PATRIOT Act
• Bush Torture Memos Released by Obama (Huffington Post)

Stand Against Poverty: Take Action Now

A HUGE thank you to everyone who came to Stand Against Poverty... it was a great event, and I hope you were as inspired by our awesome speakers as I was!

I wanted to post the links to the petitions that we wrote at the event here, for those of you who couldn't make it to the event:

MDG #1: Fight Poverty and Hunger:
The facts:
► Approximately 1.02 billion people in the world are hungry (http://www.one.org/c/us/issue/185/).
► In Southern Asia, 46% of children under 5 were underweight in 2006 (http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Static/Products/Progress2008/MDG_Report_2008_En.pdf#page=11)
► The global food crisis may push 100 million more people deeper into poverty (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/poverty.shtml)

What you can do: Speak out about agricultural subsidies and unfair trade rules
“One of the biggest issues in development today is the massive subsidy that rich countries provide to their agricultural sectors. These subsidies depress world prices for agricultural commodities and make it impossible for poor farmers in the Third World to make a living. To make the matter worse, the G-8 countries also have high tariffs on Third World products.” (source: lecture supplement, IAS 115). One way that you can do something about the global food crisis as a resident of a G-8 country is to write to your representatives and senators about this issue.

Read more about different perspectives on the food crisis and what you can do:
Food First, http://www.foodfirst.org/
US Working Group on the Food Crisis: http://www.usfoodcrisisgroup.org/
One Campaign, Food Security in Focus: http://one.org/c/us/hottopic/3118/

Write to your senators and Representatives:
Barbara Lee
1301 Clay Street Suite 1000-N
Oakland, CA 94612

Dianne Feinstein
One Post Street, Suite 2450
San Francisco, CA 94104

Barbara Boxer
1700 Montgomery Street, Suite 240
San Francisco, CA 94111

MDG#5: Reduce Maternal Mortality
More than half a million women die each year from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth – one every minute. Most of these deaths could have been prevented. The complications are largely unpredictable, but they can be treated. Millennium Development Goal 5 seeks to cut maternal mortality by 75 per cent from 1990 levels by 2015. However, very few countries are on track to reach this target. In sub-Saharan Africa, where the problem is most acute, progress has been negligible.

Maternal Mortality in Sierra Leone
One in eight Sierra Leonean women die giving birth. Health care facilities are understaffed, lack basic equipment and medicines and are far from people's homes. Pregnant women and their families struggle to afford the costs of getting to a hospital and the costs of the care they would receive there.
Sierra Leone is recovering from 11 years of civil war, which ended in 2002. It will take time and a lot of outside help to rebuild what was anyway an underresourced health care system. But reducing maternal mortality is not impossible and should start immediately. Responsibility starts with the government: from the very top, the government must show its determination to tackle maternal mortality. Take action online: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&template=x.ascx&action=13162

Urge President Garcia of Peru to ensure access to maternal health care
Although Peru is a middle-income country, its maternal mortality rate is the second worst in South America. Low-income, rural, and indigenous women are most at risk. Peru has been a focus of the human-right-to-maternal-health community, and President Alan Garcia has promised better equity in maternal health funding. But he has yet to fulfill that promise.
Take action online: http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/sierra_leone/slpetition.php

Guinea/Sri Lanka Updates

Some updates on issues that we’ve discussed in the last few weeks:

Protests in Guinea: Following the brutal reaction by the military leadership on protesters (discussed in the meeting last week) leading Unions called for a two day general strike. That strike is now in its second day and has, so far, been widely acknowledged with the streets being reported as very quiet with many people staying at home. The Government still refuses to acknowledge the extent of the killings on September 28th, putting the death toll at about one third of what has been reported by the United Nations and Human Rights organisations.

In a condemnable development, the London Times reports ‘China is preparing to throw the junta in Guinea a lifeline in the form of a multibillion-pound oil and mineral deal, financed largely by soft loans. Such policies have already served China well with rogue and discredited regimes from Angola to Sudan. The move comes as the European Union, spurred on by France, the former colonial power, and the African Union are considering sanctions against Guinea if its young military leader, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, continues to renege on a deal to stand down in favour of free elections’.
I was considering that we should have a discussion in an upcoming week regarding what our attitudes are towards the ways that we should (or shouldn’t) adjust our economic relations with governments who violate the rights of their citizens.

Sri Lankan Camps: There has been (worringly) little news regarding any progress on the re-settlement of the hundreds of thousands of individuals displaced as a result of the civil war. Amnesty has today urged the Sri Lankan government to ‘respect the rights of all displaced people to liberty and freedom of movement; freedom of arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention.’ It observes that “Displaced people have not been allowed to seek alternative accommodations or start the process of rebuilding their lives. The Sri Lankan government continues to confine the displaced to closed camps, in crowded, uncomfortable and sometimes hazardous conditions.

I’ll post again as soon as there is more news on this issue.

Counter Terrorism With Justice Speakers Tour

Do you want to learn more about the torture methods used during the Bush Administration, the status of detainment camps at Guantanamo Bay, or the current US policy on torture? Come to Amnesty International USA's Counter Terror with Justice National Speakers Tour and learn from the experts!


What: AIUSA's Counter Terror with Justice National Speakers Tour
When: Wednesday, October 14 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: 215 Boalt Hall, Room 105

Featuring:
-Matthew Alexander (former military interrogator)
-Laurel Fletcher (co-author of UC Berkeley report “Guantanamo and its Aftermath")
-Banafsheh Akhlaghi (Western Regional Director of Amnesty International USA)
-Tom Parker (Policy Director on Terrorism, Counterterrorism and Human Rights at AIUSA)

RSVP at the Facebook event, and bring a friend!

Thank You Berkeley Project!

Today, a team of Amnesty International members participated in the annual Berkeley Project Day, along with hundreds of other Cal students. We had a great time helping out The Friends of Sausal Creek in Oakland. At the Joaquin Miller Park Nursery, we worked on creating and maintaining an engaging space for local environmental preservation.

A special thanks to site leader Nick! We all really appreciated our nicknames... well, we at least tried to pretend.

Check back soon for future community service opportunities!

Protests in Guinea

On Monday the 28th of September, protests erupted in Guinea's capital Canakry, following the indication by de facto leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara that, contrary to his original pledge, he would run for election in January 2010. Between 80 and 160 people were killed with at least 1200 thought to be injured. It has been further alleged that a number of women were raped by troops.

Camara took power in a bloodless coup in 2008 following the death of the President. Events were condemned by, amongst others, the African Union, European Union, United States and former colonial power France. His premiership appeared, at its genesis, to have popular support but has since been marked by eccentric displays of power, corruption, nepotism and close relations with individuals linked to the drugs trade.

'Amnesty International is calling for an international commission of inquiry to investigate. (It) also called for an immediate halt to all supplies of security and police equipment to the Guinean government until it has taken practical steps to prevent violations by the security forces and has brought those responsible for Monday's acts to justice.'

Some particularly shocking accounts of the protests:

“The soldiers ripped the skirts off the women, leaving them naked. They hit them with truncheons and Kalashnikovs. I saw two soldiers throw a woman on to the ground and publicly rape her in view of the demonstrators. I was afraid. I saw a soldier rape a naked woman with his truncheon.”

“A young person, aged about 18, wearing a Lacoste t-shirt and blue jeans, fell, other people trampled him underfoot, he tried to get up, he hit the ground and moved his head. A soldier asked for him to be ’finished off’ and another soldier took out a dagger and cut his throat.”

Source: Amnesty International USA (also see for Amnesty's response)

Other sources for information on the protests and their historical context:
The protests: BBC, Guardian
Historical context: BBC, CIA World Factbook
Recent developments: Guinea opposition rejects unity bid, Guinea protests 'will continue'

Stand Against Poverty

“We will spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty, to which more than a billion of them are currently subjected. We are committed to making the right to development a reality for everyone and to freeing the entire human race from want.” -Millennium Declaration

Join Amnesty International, and more than 116 million people worldwide, as we stand up against global poverty!

What: Stand Against Poverty at UC Berkeley
When: Friday, October 16 at 5:00 p.m.
Where: 145 Dwinelle Hall

Featuring:
-Keynote speaker Ananya Roy
-Ari Derfel on food security
-Cal Slam poetry
-The youth performers of Destiny Arts Center
-A panel of student and community organizers
-Interactive discussions on the Millennium Development Goals
-Information on how to get involved and take action
-And MORE!

Refreshments will be served. Be sure to wear red (this one time only) in solidarity!

Take Action for Prisoners of Conscience

Did you know that Amnesty International has worked to free over 40,000 prisoners of conscience? You can help be a part of this--write letters for prisoners of conscience (people who have been imprisoned for their beliefs) at http://www.amnestyusa.org/individuals-at-risk/priority-cases/page.do?id=1106638. Some of the cases you can write letters for include:

• Shi Tao, who used his Yahoo! email account to send a message to a U.S.-based pro-democracy website. In his email, he summarized a government order directing media organizations in China to downplay the upcoming 15th anniversary of the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy activists. Police arrested him in November 2004, charging him with "illegally providing state secrets to foreign entities." Authorities used email account holder information supplied by Yahoo! to convict Shi Tao in April 2005 and sentence him to 10 years in prison.
  
• Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has worked to bring democracy to Myanmar. She has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years.
  
• Karin Amer, a blogger who was sentenced to four years in prison for the "crime" of publishing material on the internet that was critical of Islam and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
  

You can also work to protect human rights defenders such as Justine Masika Bihamba, who works for a women's human rights organization in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Because of her work, she and her family have been threatened and assaulted.

Letter writing is an important way to make a difference, and you can even write many of your letters online by following the links in this blog post.

Human Rights Defender at Risk: Justine Masika Bihamba

Targeted for her human rights work in Democratic Republic of Congo, Justine Masika Bihamba's children were tied up at gunpoint by six army soldiers; her two children were assaulted, and the 21 year-old daughter was sexually assaulted. No charges have been brought up against these soldiers.

Take action today and call on President Joseph Kabila:

1) to conduct a full and impartial investigation into the attack

2) to urge him to bring the perpetrators to justice

3) to provide immediate protection Justine Masika Bihamba and her family.

Background Information (Link)

Sample Letter (Link)