Alberto Gonzales Files -june city complete qxp washingtonspark org-city june10th2005

8/14/2019 Alberto Gonzales Files -june city complete qxp washingtonspark org-city june10th2005

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cityWashington Spark / Issue no. 4 / June 10, 2005

11 Law

12 Housing & Homelessness

13 Health

14 Calendar

CITY SECTION WASHINGTON SPARK / JUNE 10, 2005

By Abebe Feleke and Selamawit Legesse

with notes from Mead Notkin

Thousands of Ethiopians in the D.C

metropolitan area staged a thunderous

demonstration outside the State

Department on May 26 calling for the

US to seriously monitor and save the

election process in Ethiopia, which, they

said, was marred by wide ranging fraud,

rigging, irregularities and tampering by

the incumbent regime in Ethiopia.

Some demonstrators who support

the Coalition for Unity and Democracy

(CUD) and United Ethiopian

Democratic Forces (UCDF), the two

main opposition parties contending for

power, accused the ruling party,

Ethiopian Peoples RevolutionaryDemocratic Front (EPRDF) of trying to

cling to power by stealing the election

results. Other demonstrators simply

wanted to see free and fair elections in

Ethiopia.

The demonstrations chided the

regime for an early claim of victory,

before ballot counting, and for deliber-

ately delaying the announcement of pro-

visional results. Some Ethiopians who

were at the rally took this opportunity to

renounce ethnic division amongst them-selves.

Participants of the rally, representing

every sector of the Ethiopian

Community, presented a letter expressing

their concern to Anne Simon, Ethiopia

Country Officer with the State

Department. Simon acknowledged the

demonstrators and stated that the United

States is watching the election process

very closely.

Chairman of the 2005 Ethiopian

National Election Coordinating task

force Mr. Solomon Bekele said to the

Washington Spark, "Currently, opposi-

tion supporters and ballot observers are

being abducted, intimidated, harassedand imprisoned by the authorities with

the harmful objec-

tive of obstructing

the election result."

He further stated

that the state media

has muzzled the

views of the opposi-

tion by imposing a

ban on their press

releases and activi-

ties, while only

allowing the regime

to propagate its basis

and out right lies.

One of the par-

ticipants in the

demonstration, Mr.

Eskender

Alemayehu, said thatAmerica should

stand for Ethiopian

people. "President George Bush, in his

second term inauguration speech, prom-

ised for those of us who are living in

tyranny and hopelessness, that the

United States of America would not

ignore our oppression or excuse our

oppressors." Mr. Eskinder went on, say-

ing, "USA and the rest of the interna-

tional community should warn the ruling

party to avert full-scale violence by invit-ing rival opposition groups to dialogue."

The elections generated tremendous

excitement in Ethiopia, a nation of 71

million in which 25 million were regis-

tered to vote and of those 90 percent

turned out on election day. They were

left with enormous tension and frustra-

tion pending the finalization of the ballot

counting.

The demonstrators also condemned

Ethiopian government's imposition of a

state of emergency in Addis Ababa and

its surroundings for a month after the

May 15 election as an illegal action to

cover up the forcible alteration of the

election result in favor of the govern-ment. Mr. Solomon Bekele told the

Washington Spark that the task force

would keep conducting its peaceful

struggle. "In addition to our effort here

in the US, we are committed to express

our problem

so that we

can see the

formation of

legal govern-

ment which

is loyal to the

rule of law.

We are plan-

ning to coor-

dinate similar

demonstra-

tion in

London,

Rome,

Stockholm,

Paris, and in

other major

cities of

Europe."

There are some international observer

teams in Ethiopia, including European

Zenebech Tadesse, 70, of

Silver Spring Maryland, par-

ticipating in her first political

demonstration Thursday in

front of the State

Department. Supporters of

the opposition party areprotesting possible tallying

fraud by the ruling EPRDF

party in this week's national

election in Ethiopia, the

third in the nation's history.

Official election results

expected Monday. Photo By

Mead Notkin

Ethiopians Call for Free and Fair Elections

Organizers of the

rally address the

crowd. Photo

Courtesy of

www.ethiopia

first.com

Edited by y Selamawit Legesse and Mead Notkin

Union, African Union, and Carter

Center, who are monitoring the whole

process. The EU observer's mission

expressed "regret" at the way Ethiopian

Electoral Board was counting and releas-

ing votes as well as the bias of the only

government owned broadcasting media

in treating news and press releases relat-

ed to the election in favor of the ruling

party.

On May 19, the Carter Center

released a report on the organization's

observation of the Ethiopian election.

The Center reported that it "deployed 50

international observers from 17 countries

to seven regions." The preliminary state-

ment indicates that the Carter Center

found that "some irregularities in proce-

dures did occur, the most notable being

that ID cards were not always checked.

While officials consistently asked for

voter cards, they failed to be equally dili-

gent on the presentation of ID docu-

ments... ballots were not all counted and

marked before openings. Limited

accounts of underage voting were

reported."


2/6

By Pete Perry

Three Washington peace and justice

activists will soon be returning to DCSuperior Court to learn their verdict in a

trial stemming from a February 9 protest

at the US Supreme Court.

The three were protesting the abuse

of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay,

Afghanistan and Iraq, and the confirma-

tion of Alberto Gonzales as attorney

general. Gonzales is the author of a gov-

ernment memo stating the U.S. govern-

ment was not beholden to the Geneva

Convention on the treatment of prison-

ers of war when detaining individuals in

the "War on Terror."

David Barrows, Pete Perry and

Mitchell Potts were initially charged with

unlawful entry when they refused to leave

the lower steps of the Supreme Court.

The government, however, changed

the unlawful entry charge, which requires

a jury trial, to a violation of a 1949 law

prohibiting certain kinds of protests and

11

CITY SECTION

Law

Activists Challenging Guantanamo and Gonzales, Still Seek Justice

Recent reports in the media have con-firmed that sadistic, blatant, and wantoncriminal abuses (Taguba Report) havebeen committed against Iraqi detainees byU.S. personnel.

TASSC calls on the United Statesgovernment to:

Ensure the protection of all itsdetainees from any form of torture or ill-

treatment. Release all documents in its posses-sion related to abuse of Iraqi detainees andmake public all subsequent reports ofinvestigations upon their completion.

TASSC calls on Congress to pledge that allhearings on this subject will be open to thepublic.

Please contact your representatives andsenators and urge them to insist on publicdisclosure of all documents related toabuse of Iraqi prisoners.

U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121For the White House Comment Line:202-456-1111.The Presidents email address is:[email protected]

Please contact Harold Nelson with yourinformation: [email protected]

Members of the DC Anti War Network protest the confirmation of Alberto Gonzales

as U.S. Attorney General outside the Supreme Court.

Photo Courtesy of Brendan Hoffman

WASHINGTON SPARK / JUNE 10, 2005

By Michael Shiferaw

Edited by Mead Notkin

From an email, Tuesday, June 7

Let me tell you what I know about the

elections in a manner as free of bias as Iam capable. The official report of the

electoral board is still pending while com-

plaints of fraud are being investigated.

The board is forming committees com-

posed of both the complaining parties and

the accused at the disputed stations, and

international observers have been invited

to monitor the process. The official elec-

tion results will be announced after the

board has made a final determination on

the complaints. If the complaining parties

are not satisfied with the fairness of the

investigation, the board has declared they

are free to pursue their claims in court.

The tentative results have the EPRDF

with 301 of the 524 seats in parliament,

enough to form a government, and the

opposition with approximately 170 seats,

but both parties are claiming victory. The

outcome of the election will be deter-

mined by the investigation, the assessment

of the foreign observers, and whether the

competing parties accept the result or not.At present there is a heavy air of stress and

tension in Addis Ababa, and people are

afraid.

In terms of the unofficial result, the

organizational structure of the govern-

ment is such that each administrative

region is autonomous. In the capitol city

of Addis Ababa, one such autonomous

region, the opposition has won all twenty-

three seats in congress. In fact, the oppo-

sition has won a majority of seats in most

of the larger cities. The EPRDF has con-

ceded this and declared that it is ready to

hand over power when the time comes.

This means the capitol is to be adminis-

tered by the opposition while the federal

government is to be headed by the

Observer's Notebook: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

rallies on the property of the US

Supreme Court, four days before the trial

began on May 2. The new charge, from

US Title 40, Section 6135, has a lessermaximum penalty and therefore did not

call for a jury trial.

"By switching the charge so soon

before the trial, the government put us at

a disadvantage," said pro-se Defendant

Potts. "We were preparing for a jury trial.

Through this entire process the gov-

ernment has acted in bad faith."

If convicted, the defense plans to

challenge the law as a clear violation of

the US Constitution's First Amendment

during the appeal process.

During the protest, Barrows and

Potts took part in street theater, by por-

traying themselves as torture victims

wearing black hoods, sitting in stress

positions with their hands behind their

backs. Perry stood next to them holding a

sign and asked onlookers if this type of

treatment was justice.

During the trial pro-se defendants

Barrows and Perry testified they had the

good faith belief that their actions were

legal: petitioning a redress of grievances

as stated in the First amendment. Since

the matter they were protesting had to do

with the violent maltreatment of prison-

ers, a clear violation of the USConstitution's Eighth Amendment, they

felt the proper place to express them-

selves was on the property of the

Supreme Court.

US Attorney Miriam Valloy ques-

tioned the intentions of the pro-se defen-

dants. "With civil disobedience you will-

fully break a law and face the conse-

quences."

During her May 4 judgment, Wynn

agreed with the defense that the first

clause of the statute, mentioning parades,

processions and assemblages, did not

apply to the three activists.

The second clause of Section 6135

remains in question. The law states onecannot "display a flag, banner or device

designed or adapted to bring into public

notice a party, organization, or move-

ment" while on the property of the

Supreme Court. Wynn said in her opinion

the sign and the two black hoods were

devices designed to further an issue, or

movement.

"We were not promoting any move-

ment, we were asking the court to uphold

the Constitution," Barrows said. "The

anti-torture movement in this country

ended with the passage of the 8th

Amendment in 1789."

Another witness in the three-day trial

was Harold Nelson, a member of the

Torture Abolition and Survivors Support

Coalition (TASSC), which is planning a

large rally to draw attention to the use of

torture of various governments around

the globe on June 26 in Lafayette Park.

More information can be found on the

group's website at www.tassc.org.

Barrows, Perry and Potts are sched-

uled to appear before Judge Wynn June

30 at 2:30 p.m. at 500 Indiana Avenue.

EPRDF. This is not a normal and easy

practice for a country like ours. The oppos-

ing parties are so at odds that it seems

unlikely they will be able to cooperate and

hold the nation together for the next five

years. It's uncertain if the nation willremain intact, let alone move towards a bet-

ter future. I say this from what I see in the

attitudes of the leaders of both parties,

especially from the opposition that seem to

want all the cake or none at all. The oppo-

sition and their supporters seem irrational-

ly bitter towards the EPRDF, so that peace-

ful coexistence may be difficult if not

impossible to achieve.

Right now we are waiting for the conclu-

sion of the investigations and the

announcement of the official result.

[Prime Minister] Meles has banned demon-

strations in order to prevent violence from

breaking out and events from spinning out

of control. The opposition claims the

prime minister has violated their constitu-

tional right to protest, and are even going

to court to sue him.

In the latest news the situation is deteri-

orating. On June 6, four hundred univer-

sity students protesting and shouting

through the fence of their campus weredetained by the police. There is a state of

agitation and excitement in the city.

Violence seems a real possibility, and the

police are on the alert to maintain order

and control. People do not seem to take

this positively. The city is so full of sol-

diers that it is reminiscent of life under the

Derg, the ruling committee from 1974 to

1987. Our future now hinges on how the

electoral process plays out and whether

both sides will accept the result.

Michael Shiferaw is a writer and architect liv-

ing in Addis Ababa. He is the author of a

recent study on the legendary Ethiopian poet and

novelist, Tsegaye Gabremedhin.


3/6

Business Journal, HUD deemed the pro-

gram ineffective. The DCHA states on

their website that Hope VI was remark-

ably successful.

The changes in Housing Production Trust

Fund usage would make it possible for

developers to use local money in this man-

ner.

Creating affordable housing is only a

first step. There are still major barriers for

eligible people to apply and obtain the

housing that will be made available

through the Trust Fund.People who want to apply for housing

can go to the Client Placement Division,

located at 1133 North Capitol Street NE,

Suite 178, between 8:30am-3:45pm

Monday-Thursday.

But there are problems for people

applying who live in shelters, transitional

housing, or are homeless on the street.

Applicants should expect to be on a long

waiting list, and the DCHA will not

inform applicants how long they can

expect to wait. Where an applicant stands

on the waiting list is determined by many

factors.

The District of Columbia Housing

Authority has waiting list selection prefer-

ences for certain situations. Indicating apreference affects where you are placed on

12 Housing and Homelessness

CITY SECTION WASHINGTON SPARK / JUNE 10, 2005

More Affordable Housing On The Way

By Allison Barnett

Steps toward developing more afford-

able housing in DC are finally being taken.

According to Director of Non-Profit

Housing and Economic Development

Amanda Huron, housing activists, the

Mayor and the City Council are planning

to change the Housing Production Trust

Fund to make developing affordable hous-

ing in DC more efficient and large scale.

The Trust Fund is there for developers

to use to build affordable housing, and istargeted to the residents with the greatest

housing needs, Huron told the

Washington Spark.

The DC Housing Authority (DCHA)

plans to build hundreds of mixed-income

apartments in the Sheridan Terrace prop-

erty over the next two and a half years.

There are many more under construction

right now that will be completed in the

next few years, according to Huron.

The changes to the Trust Fund will help

get these affordable housing projects fin-

ished sooner, and to create many more.

The problem with the Trust Fund right

now is that the Department of Housing

and Community Development is notori-

ously known for being inefficient, and theavailable funds for developers were not

being spent, Huron said. But there is a

new director now who will get things on

track and bunches of people are working

to reform the way the department works.

The changes being made to the depart-

ment, as well as to the Housing

Production Trust Fund usage, are especial-

ly important because there will no longer

be federal funding for large scale afford-

able housing projects in 2006.

Huron said that the Department of

Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

is eliminating Hope VI, a program

designed to tear down distressed buildings

and redevelop them with affordable hous-ing. According to the Washington

Edited by Allison Barnett

To become a Friend of the Trust Fundand endorse the Housing Production TrustFund, email [email protected]

To donate to Unity Health Care andHealthcare for the Homeless, go towww.unityhealthcare.org

the waiting list only. It does not

guarantee that you will be

offered housing assistance,

states the DCHA website.

While people are on a waiting

list, they are offered no support

and are expected to continue to

be homeless. Even if a person isliving in a shelter, many have

limitations on the number of

days they are permitted to stay.

Organizations like

Healthcare for the Homeless,

part of Unity Health Care Inc.,

are aware of these realities and

provide services to those in

need. By driving a mobile unit

around DC and stopping at

various sites, Healthcare for the

Homeless tries to reach as

many as they can.

Starting around 6:00pm

Monday through Thursday, and

Fridays starting at around8:00am, the van can be found

in the streets of Washington

providing medical care and

referrals, the Unity Health

Care website states.

Driver Everett Delph said the program

helps people obtain health insurance,

provides social services, and does any-

thing to support the homeless. We

should reach out to the homeless

because there is a lot of it out there.

Manager of Health Care for the Homeless John Craig and driver Everett Delph work provide health

services from their Unity Health Care Mobile Unit on 24th and G. Photo by: Allison Barnett 2004


4/6

increasing abstinence-only programs.

However, increased international fundingto the Global Fund would insure that itremains the strongest independent fund-

ing source for the problem of AIDS, TBand Malaria in developing countries.

Estimates published in the journal

Science suggest that $9-12 billion is need-ed each year to address HIV/AIDS, tuber-culosis and malaria. The Global Fund cur-

rently sponsors and closely monitors over300 programs with an estimated 100 pro-grams to be added during the course of

this year.

and the health of those in the rest of the

world, Gates continued. I am here to

talk about how the world, working togeth-er, can dramatically reduce this inequity.

Never before, have we had anything closeto the tools we have today to both spreadawareness of the problem and discover

and deliver solutions.The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,

founded in January 2000 from the merger

of the William H. Gates and GatesLearning Foundation, seeks to promotegreater equity in the areas of global health,

education and public libraries. TheFoundation has donated over $1 billion ingrants to the United Negro College Fund,

$750 million to The Vaccine Fund and$126.5 million to the International AIDS

13

CITY SECTIONWASHINGTON SPARK / JUNE 10, 2005

Public Health

Gates Foundation Increases Global Health Funding,

Highlights Where Progress Needs to be Made

Approximately six million people die each

year due to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and

malariatranslating to over 16,000 needless

deaths each day.It is estimated that 45 million people will

become infected with HIV/AIDS between

2002 and 2010. 29 million of these new

infections can be prevented with adequate

access to prevention and treatment pro-

grams.

In 2003, 8.8 million people fell ill with TB,

2 million people died.

Malaria killed at least a million people in

2004with 90% of these fatalities children

and 90% from Sub-Sahara Africa.

Donate to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,

Tuberculosis

and Malaria.

http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/donate/

Or in writing payable to:

United Nations Foundation

Attn: Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB &

Malaria

Dept. 344

Washington, DC 20055-0344

By Justin Orndorff

At the opening session of the WorldHealth Organizations annual assembly

March 16, Bill Gates advocated for the worlds historical chance to eradicateserious diseases. On behalf of the Bill &

Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates,founder of Microsoft and recent honoraryknight, promised to more than double his

funding, to total $450 million, in order tocombat 14 major health challengesincluding improving child vaccines, creat-

ing new vaccines, controlling disease-transmitting insects, improving nutritionand drug treatment and improving techno-

logical conditions in developing countriesfor more accurate and helpful health ITfor patient records.

The Foundation announced the increase

in funds earmarked for the GrandChallenges in Global Health, administered

by the National Institutes of Health, tosupport researching diseases which dispro-portionately affect members of develop-

ing nations. We are not doing enough todeliver the solutions we do have, and werenot spending enough to find the solutions

we dont have. As a result, millions of peo-ple die every year. This doesnt tell a flat-tering story about humanity, but the story

isnt over. In fact, the story is starting tochange, said Gates.

There is a tragic inequity between the

health of people in the developed world

Edited by Justin Orndorff

Vaccine Initiative. The Foundation has

contributed over $3.5 billion in grants toglobal health organizations.

In many cases, the global health situa-

tion has grown increasingly fragmentedand inaccessible over the past 15 years.

These rates have all increased in recent

decades due to many factorsamongthem the commodification of drinking

water and the gradual dwindling and

increasingly-expensive health care run bymultinational corporations (both affectingthe areas of prevention and treatment).

Each of these diseases can be prevented,but not without conscious change in thehearts and minds of policymakers, trade

organizations and the power of grassrootsorganizations.

One such partnership, The Global Fund

to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

(founded in 2001), has received over $4.7billion in funds guaranteed through 2008.

Despite the large sum, the Global Fundremains vastly in need of financial help.Many countries have followed suit with

the USs recent reduction in funds, whichcut its 2004 donation by $200 million fromthe previous years $550 million sum.

Other donors have not kept their wordafter initial pledges.

Despite the recent cuts, the US remains

the Global Funds largest contributorafact that may shackle the Fund to US pol-icy interests, particularly in areas dealing

with treatment for sex workers and

Sources, from page 8

5.. Khagendra Thapa, Ph.D., "On Nepal:Elected Criminals and Grand Corruption inPolitics," Peace Journalism, June 2005,http://peacejournalism.com/ReadArticle.asp?ArticleID=2692

6. Patrick Hogan, "Human Rights Crisis inNepal: the View of Dinesh Praisan,"Washington Spark, May 11, 2005,http://www.washingtonspark.org/page_images/May11th2005/World_May11th2005.pdf

7."Draconian Laws to Curb Media," KantipurOnline, 20May 2005,

http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=40615

8. Charles Haviland, "Nepal's Rising VigilanteViolence," BBC News, March 14, 2005,http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4346597.stm

9.Chitra Tewari, "India Delivers Arms toNepal,"Washington Times, May 14, 2005,http://www.washtimes.com/world/20050513-104752-5094r.htm

10.Somnath Ghimire, "100 Day Anniversaryof King Gyanendra's Executive Power,"Nepali Post, May 21, 2005,http://www.nepalipost.com/english.html#80

By Kirt Undercoffer

Nepal is the worlds only Hindu king-dom and is composed of various ethnici-ties and religious identities dominated by

the Hindu majority Newaris.Nepali identity begins with the Kirati

people in the 7th century BC. They estab-

lished a kingdom in the Kathmandu valleywhich continued until 200 AD.

200 AD saw the invasion of the

Licchavi from India, bringing Hinduism

which largely replaced Buddhism, andushered in a classical period of Nepalese

art and architecture.The Licchavi were succeeded by the

Thakuri dynasty circa 879 AD. Nepal

endured several centuries of invasionuntil the rise of the Malla dynasty, which

saw a renaissance of Nepali art and cul-

ture. Several independent city-stateswere established including Kathmandu

and Patan. The Malla dynasty reached it's

height in the 15th century.The rulers of Gorkha, west of the

Kathmandu Valley, conquered the Malla's

in 1768 and established Kathmandu as thecapital. They began a brief period ofexpansion ending in 1792 following their

defeat in an invasion of Tibet.

Following a brief war with the British,the 1816 Sugauli Treaty establishedNepal's present eastern and western

boundaries. Jung Bahadur seized powerafter 1846, establishing himself as

prime minister for life and taking the

title of Rana. The Ranas later becamehereditary and ruled from Kathmanduthough the following century.

With the British withdrawal from India

in 1948, the Ranas' lost their chief sup-port. Civil unrest followed eventually

resulting in the accession of KingTribhuvan as ruler in 1951. His govern-ment was comprised of Ranas and mem-

bers of theNepali Congress Party. King

Mahendra, successor to King Tribhuvan,

established a partyless system with theprime minister and a large percentage ofthe national assembly appointed directly

by the king.King Birendra assumed power in 1972

but continued the partyless system until

violent protests in 1989 prompted him todissolve his government, legalize the

political parties and invite the opposition

to form a government. This began the

serious establishment of democracy withthe Nepali Congress Party and the

Communist Party of Nepal sharing

most of the votes. Establishing democracyin Nepal has proven to be a difficult task,complicated by a poor economy, illiteracy

and an ethnically fragmented population.The Maoist rebellion, beginning in 1996

and concentrated in Western Nepal, posed

further challenges.

June 2001 saw the massacre of theNepaili royal family by Crown Prince

Dipendra in an alleged family dispute overthe queen's disapproval of Dipendra's girl-friend. Dipendra was nominally king for

two days until he died of self-inflictedwounds. Consequently Prince Gyanendra,brother of King Birendra ascended to the

throne. King Gyanendra has dissolved thegovernment at least twice and seems tohave had even less success with quelling

the Maoist rebellion than his brother. Oflate the Maoists have extended their

war sporadically into 74 of Nepal's 75

districts, while essentially establishing con-trol of seven districts.

A Brief History of Nepal


5/6

14

WASHINGTON SPARK / JUNE 10, 2005CITY SECTION

JUNEJUNE CCiittyy CCaalleennddaarr

Our calendar is just the tip of the iceberg!

This calendar may include listings from the following websites:Activist Events: Karibu Books:http://activistevents.org http://www.karibubooks.com/Metro DC Committee of Correspondence: Washington Peace Center:http://www.dccofc.org http://www.washingtonpeacecenter.orgDC Calendar of Events: The Abolitionist Action Committee:http://app.calendar.rrc.dc.gov/directory.aspx http://www.abolition.orgDC Independent Media: Politics and Prose:http://dc.indymedia.org/ http://www.politics-prose.com/U.S. Campaign for Burma: D.C. Caribbean Carnical:ht tp :/ /www.uscampaignforburma.org ht tp :/ /www.dccaribbeancarnival .com

Capital Pride: Provisions Library:http://www.capitalpride.org/flash/index.html http://www.provisionslibrary.org

Provisions Library Hosts Workshopby PEN

Provisions is proud to announce this year'sDHARMA AND DIVERSITY workshop, June10-12, 2005. The workshop is entitled CultureClash: Journeys Out to the World & Down tothe Self, and features Literary Award WinnerFaith Adiele, English Professor at the University

of Pittsburgh and author ofMEETING

FAITH: The Forest Journals of a BlackBuddhist Nun. To register contact:

Provisions Library1611 Connecticut Ave NW, Wash DC, 20009

202-299-0460

Official Capital Pride 2005Opening Party at CobaltFriday June 10, 10 p.m.-3 a.m

Come let loose and be proud, with a few hundredof your friends! Featuring music all night by

world-famous DJ DAVID KNAPP (Roxy/Twilo

/Limelight/NYC/Atlanta) and hosted by Miss

Lena Lett and Miss Capital Pride 2005. .. 21+ w/ID, cover. For more information visit:

www.cobaltdc.com and ww.madtizzy.com

DC Premiere of the New Film:22/8: The Jeff Luers Story

Saturday June 11, - 7pm

$5 donation to benefit Jeff LuersIn Solidarity with the June 10-12 Weekend ofResistance for political prisoner Jeff "Free" Luers:

www.freefreenow.orgJune 2005 marks the five-year anniversary of

Oregon environmental political prisoner, Jeff"Free" Luers. Jeff was sentenced to more than 22years in prison for burning three Sport Utility

Vehicles (SUVs) at a car dealership in Eugene,Oregon, and on attempted arson charges. Jeff setfire to SUVs to call attention to climate change

and to protest oil wars and environmentaldestruction. He was well-known to law enforce-

ment because of his involvement with nationalforest protection (starting an occupation of acontroversial old-growth timber sale in 1998),

anti-police brutality activism (documenting ram-pant police abuse in Eugene), free food programsin a local park and his teaching of self-defense to

women. Since his imprisonment, Jeff has contin-ued to be extremely active in prison and fight

oppression with his words and inspiration.

Annual Capital Pride ParadeSunday June 12, Washington Park.

Line Up 9:45 AMStep Off at 11:30 AM.This year's Parade will be even bigger! This year's

parade route starts at Sprague Place, goes out toWashington Avenue, down to Lark Street, all the

way to Madison Avenue, onto Willet Street andback into the park at Hudson Avenue at which

time a full day of celebration will begin at the fes-

tival grounds. Come watch the parade and thenjoin us in Washington Park immediately after for

the start of ourAnnual Pride Festival.

Framework Panel Four: Artist as Activist

Friday June 16, 6:00pm-8:00pmProvisions Library

Light refreshments. This event is free and open tothe public. Please join us. Transformer, in partner-

ship with Provisions Library, is pleased to presentArtist as Activist - a panel discussion focusingon the artists, artwork and curatorial themes of

two current exhibitions:We Could Be Heroes

May 21 - June 25 at Transformer, and

On the Subject of WarMay 4 - June 26 at Provisions Library.

Global Protests at EmbassiesTwo days before the "arrest yourself" events on

June 19th, we are calling on individuals andgroups around the world to organize mega-

protests in front of embassies of Burma's militaryregime. Where possible, we call on individuals andgroups to conduct peaceful civil disobedience

aimed at disrupting the activities of theembassies.

In Washington, DC activists will "deliver" 6,000birthday cards (in honor of Aung San Suu Kyi's60th birthday) signed by people living in the

United States to Aung San Suu Kyi. If theembassy refuses to accept the cards, we may leavethem in a ceremonious heap on the front steps.

http://www.uscampaignforburma.org

The Autobiography of Medgar EversFriday June 17, 6:30 pm

Karibu BooksThe Mall at Prince George's

Myrlie Evers-Williams along with ManningMarable will discuss and sign The Autobiographyof Medgar Evers. Medgar Evers was one of the

greatest leaders of the civil rights movement - andfor that, he was assassinated. This June marks the42nd anniversary of his death. There has been

much written on Martin Luther King, Jr. andMalcolm X, but until now, Medgar's story, in his

own voice, has not been told.

Hiroshima/Nagasaki Never Again!The Nagasaki-Hiroshima Peace Committee

is conducting their third annual essay contestto send a national capital area youth to represent

the Committee at the World Conference

Against the Atom and Hydrogen Bombs in

Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan.The Committee has been working since 1980 tobreak the silence about the tragedy that tookplace in 1945, when our own government explod-

ed two atomic bombs on the Japanese at the endof World War II.

The Committee seeks a mature youth (age 17-26).He or she must compete in an essay contest bysubmitting a 700 - 1,000 word essay emphasizing

our message of Hiroshima/Nagasaki NeverAgain! Abolish Nuclear Weapons!"The deadline is June 20, 2004. The person cho-

sen as delegate will have all travel and otherexpenses covered and will give several talks

and/or speeches on the subject. The Please sendessays and correspondence c/o:

John Steinbach

7615 Lake DriveManassasVA 20111

(703)369-7427

SMITHSONIAN

FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL11am.-5:30pm daily

5:30pm-9pm evening events

A celebration of contemporary living traditions.The Festival typically includes daily and evening

programs of music, song, dance celebratory per-formance, crafts and cooking demonstrations, sto-

rytelling, illustrations of workers' culture, and nar-rative sessions for discussing cultural issues. TheFestival encourages visitors to participate - to

learn, sing, dance, eat traditional foods, and con-verse with people presented in the Festival pro-

gram. www.folklife.si.edu/CFCH/folklife

DC Caribbean Carnival

Banneker Park

$5 admission, Parade freeDC Caribbean Carnival is one of the fastest grow-ing Carnivals in North America.To date, all of the participating groups have been

local to the DC Metropolitan Area, comprising ofrepresentatives from every Caribbean country.The carnival has enjoyed support from several

local, national and family-owned businesses. Thehighlight of the Carnival is the annual parade,

which includes twenty-two colorful bands of mas-queraders accompanied by the sweetest, mostinfectious music, will be dancing up a storm down

Georgia Avenue from Missouri Avenue, NW toBanneker Park, NW across from the campus ofHoward University.

www.dccaribbeancarnival.com

STARVIN' FOR JUSTICE 2005

12th Annual Fast & Vigilto Abolish the Death Penalty,at the U.S. Supreme Court

9:30pm - Last Supper: The Last Supper will takeplace at "Taverna The Greek Islands," which is

located at 305 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, just downthe street from the Library of Congress, and onlythree blocks from SCOTUS. They know who we

are, they like us, we have a reservation, we canorder off the menu again this year, there will beplenty of choices for vegetarians, and to quote the

boss, "We will take care of you." Plan to spend $8to $15, not including drinks.

http://www.abolition.org

ERIK SAAR and VIVECA NOVAKINSIDE THE WIRE

Politics and Prose

5015 Conn. AveNW, Wash DC 20008(Penguin Press, $24.95)

Army sergeant Erik Saar's description of the sexu-al interrogation tactics used on prisoners at

Guantanamo shocked the world when it wasleaked to the Associated Press in January. In col-

laboration with journalist Viveca Novak, Saardetails his experience as an enthusiastic volunteerin the War on Terror who witnessed torture and

abuse at the prison camp.

On the Subject of WarLocation: Provisions Library

1611 Conn. Ave NW, Suite 200, Wash DC 20009202-299-0460

Closes June 26thHow much can we know about war?

This exhibition of contemporary art raises dilem-

mas of recording in pictures the atrocities andabsurdities of war. The artists not only document

war but lead us to confront our own relationshipto these horrifying realities.

Please send community announcements & event info to:

[email protected]

Due to space limits we can't guarantee that we can

print every item, but we'll try!

Annual Summer Film SeriesWednesdays June 9th to July 21st. 12:00 PM

Institute for Policy Studies,733 15th Street NW, Suite 1020

Foreign Policy In Focus is proud to announce its

annual summer film series.Generation X-Saddam.

A Film By Shelly Saywell,First Run/Icarus Films

Q&A with Anas Shallal, Iraqi Dissident and Co-

Founder of the Mesopotamia Cultural Society andPeace Cafe. This timely and eerily prophetic film

weaves together the lives of several Iraqis both

just before and just after the US-led war to toppleSaddam Hussein. Examines the historical implica-

tions of US foreign policy towards Iraq and howthe chaos following the war has impacted the livesof Iraqis from across economic, social, and politi-

cal spectrums. This a free event, with light refresh-ments. For more information, contact

Adam Waxman

[email protected]

The Sudan CampaignWeekdays at noon

2210 Mass Ave., NW

The Christian Solidarity International (CSI)demonstrations and arrests continue at SudanEmbassy. The Sudan Campaign calls for daily

demonstrations and nonviolent civil disobedienceat the Sudanese Embassy, 2210 Massachusetts

Ave., NW, in Washington, D.C. at noon to Stop

the Genocide and Free the Slaves. The demonstra-tions call for humanitarian intervention Darfur

and opposition to genocide in Sudan.Call 202-498-8644 or

www.darfurgenocide.org

Women in Black VigilEvery 3rd Wednesday 6:30-7 pm

Martin & Patrick Sts., Frederick, MD

WIB does a silent vigil mourning all violence thethird Wednesday of the month. Wear black, butbring no additional signs.

Call 301-834-7581 [email protected]

Picket At The Embassy Of HaitiWednesdays 12 noon - 1:30pm

Embassy Of Haiti

2311 Massachusetts Ave. NWDemocracy activists are under brutal attack inHaiti or in exile. Political prisoners fill the jails,

executed bodies fill the morgues and families flee-ing persecution sleep each night in a differentplace.

Free All Political Prisoners In Haiti!

Stop State Sponsored Terror In Haiti Now!Contact Epica at 202-332-0292,

or by e-mail at [email protected]

June 10

June 11

June 12

June 16

June 17

June 20

June 23-27 June 30-July 4

Ongo ing

June 29 - July 2

June 30

Clos ing

June 25 and 26

Edited by Jennifer Holder


6/6

15

CITY SECTIONWASHINGTON SPARK / JUNE 10, 2005

Photography

As DC Flickr regular John Windmuellerput it, what started as a hey, wouldn't itbe cool if... question has grown into areal event that's going to happen thanksto the enthusiasm, creativity, and work oflots of DC Flickr folks.

Flickrfor those not yet in the knowisan online photo management and sharingprogram that functions more like a cyber-space community of photography enthu-siasts, collectors of vacation snapshots,and everything in between. And the realevent is a photo exhibit (physical, not

virtual) featuring select works by abouttwo dozen regular members of the

Washington DC/Metro Area Flickrgroup, a club of sorts that is slowly butsurely expanding from the world of inter-net message boards to in-person meet-ups.

The Washington DC/Metro Area groupincludes about 340 members; the groupphoto pool is a repository of morethan 3000 photos that anyone can browseor search by key words. Its open to thepublic, so if you live in the DC area orhave some great photos of the area youdlike to share, log on and join in.

Target Opening Date: June 25, 2005;should remain up for viewing for abouttwo weeks.Location: El Tamarindo restaurant, 7331Georgia Ave. NW, Washington, DC

For more information: Erick, (202) 291-0525 Some of the photos in the exhibit

will be available for sale.For more information about Flickr or toopen a free account, visit www.flickr.com

Edited by Brendan Hoffman

T Street Traffic Light, Matthew Bradley

Photoblogger Groups

Debut in DC

Birds in Flight, Matt Billings

Naranja Mecanica, Erick Adali

The Mall, John Ulaszek

On the Potomac, Jennifer Foley

Alberto Gonzales Files -june city complete qxp washingtonspark org-city june10th2005

Documents

Transcript of Alberto Gonzales Files -june city complete qxp washingtonspark org-city june10th2005