There is an interesting anti-war presentation at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY this evening.
St. Pat's Four to Talk About Iraq War Protest, Torture
April 14, 2008
"Four activists whose protest against the war in Iraq landed them at the center of a national free-speech debate will talk about their experience at 7 p.m. on April 17 in Shineman Chapel House on the Hartwick campus. The talk is free and the public is welcome to attend.
"Daniel Burns, Teresa Grady, Clare Grady, and Peter De Mott will talk about their actions and examine the events surrounding their protest and its legal outcomes as part of “Bloodshed: The St. Pat’s Four—Catholic Workers Challenge the Morality of Torture and War.” They also will discuss the Iraq War and recruiting efforts, as well as torture at Guantanamo Bay.
"The four were arrested in March 2003 after pouring their own blood on a military recruiting facility in Ithaca, NY in protest of the war in Iraq. They were acquitted of felony conspiracy charges in September 2005, and although they had earlier been convicted of damage to government property and entering a military station for an unlawful purpose, their federal acquittal was seen as a setback for President Bush’s attempts to crack down on dissent.
" 'After being acquitted at the state level, they were prosecuted federally and received various prison terms up to six months for their protest,' Professor of Sociology Katherine O’Donnell said. 'They have also been involved in anti-Guantanamo actions and are long-time peace activists.'
"The St. Patrick’s Four case is significant in that it was the first federal conspiracy case against anti-war activists since the Vietnam War."
This is being sponsored by Hartiwick College's Sociology, Women's & Gender Studies, and Latin American - Caribbean Studies Programs. For more information, see:
http://www.hartwick.edu/x23185.xml