Reckoning with Torture -- click image to view videos

Among reports, memos, and letters at our “Reckoning with Torture” program April 12 at the University of Vermont were testimonies, through videos, from Guantanamo detainees.

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Following the events of Sept. 9, 2001, the United States launched a “war on terror” — a war against an enemy ill-defined and tied to no geographic place. The tactics employed by the U.S. government to wage the war ranged from conventional combat to espionage. They also included torture, a fact denied by the government at the time but since confirmed in thousands of pages of documents obtained by the ACLU through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. On Monday, April 12, librarians, lawyers, professors, students, writers, and others will read from recently released secret documents — memos, declassified communications, and testimonies by detainees at Guantanamo and elsewhere.

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Want to talk about civil liberties as you munch your lunch?

The Ilsley Public Library in Middlebury and the ACLU-VT have teamed up to sponsor a four-part reading and discussion series that looks at what happens when challenges to liberties arise and how the liberties are protected. The discussion series begins Feb. 17 and runs through May 19.

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The ACLU is facing a major shortfall this year due to a single past donor’s losses in financial markets. The story is well-known, and the fear is real that the important work we do will have to be trimmed. That’s a danger to civil liberties. As the well-known political commentator Glenn Greenwald noted in a recent post on Salon.com, “It is not hyperbole to say that, over the past decade, there has been no organization more important to the United States, the Constitution, and basic political liberties than the ACLU.” Here’s the full Greenwald post:

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As the end of the year approaches, consider donating to the ACLU. ACLU memberships also make nice gifts to others you know are interested in civil liberties issues. For general information on giving and memberships, click here. To make a tax-deductible gift online, click here. To learn more about the ACLU’s work in 2009, link to this You Tube video. (Please note that by playing this video, You Tube will place a long-term cookie on your computer. Please see You Tube’s privacy statement on their web site to learn more.)

New items — including a Concept2 indoor rowing machine — have been posted on our eBay auction site. The proceeds from the sale of these donated items help fund our education and legal programs. Details.

New items will be posted shortly on our eBay auction site. The proceeds from the sale of these donated items will help fund our education and legal programs. Watch for the link soon!

Arlo Guthrie returns to Burlington’s Flynn Theater, this time with his family, on Thursday, Nov. 19. The ACLU has a block of special tickets that includes a benefit reception, where you can meet Guthrie after the show. Help the ACLU and hear some great music! Details.

The ACLU-Vermont’s annual meeting is Saturday, Oct. 31 at the Capitol Plaza in Montpelier. Featured speaker is Anthony Marro, an award-winning investigative journalist, retired Newsday editor, and Rutland native. He’ll address the question, “Who holds government accountable when there are no more newspapers?” (more…)