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23 July: Downing Street Memo 3rd anniversary

If pre-war intelligence was intentionally manipulated the world deserves to know. Over 150 events have been planned on 23 July across the United States by a giant coalition of veterans' groups, peace groups, and political activist groups, known as AfterDowningStreet.org, to campaign for the US Congress to begin a formal investigation into the revelations of the Downing Street Memo.

At least eight events will be hosted by or participated in by members of Congress. The office of Congressman Conyers in Detroit has organised a further 105 house parties through their website. In London, on Downing Street itself (2pm) a group of activists will perform a recreation of the Downing Street Memo as a Mad Hatter's Tea Party.

Check out the cool map, and see if there is an event near you.

For Immediate Release: July 14, 2005

Over 150 Events Planned on 3rd Anniversary of Downing Street Memo

Congressional Town Hall Meetings, Public Forums, Dramatic Recreations, House Parties, Rallies, and Study Circles on July 23, 2005

On July 23, 2005, events around the United States will mark the three-year anniversary of the meeting at #10 Downing Street in London, England, that was recorded in the now infamous minutes known as the "Downing Street Memo."

At least eight events will be hosted by or participated in by Members of Congress, including John Conyers in Detroit, Jim McDermott in Seattle, Barbara Lee in Oakland, Maxine Waters in Los Angeles, and Maurice Hinchey in New York. Congressman Charles Rangel will host an electronic town-hall meeting, answering questions from his New York constituents on the internet, from noon to 1 p.m., July 22. Congressman Xavier Becerra will host an event in Los Angeles on July 30, and Congressman Barney Frank in Boston on July 31.

Co-Founder of the After Downing Street Coalition, constitutional attorney John Bonifaz will speak at a town hall meeting on July 23rd in Northampton, Mass.

On July 23rd, in over 150 towns and cities, prominent speakers and ordinary citizens will hold public forums, perform dramatic recreations of the Downing Street meeting, and host house parties and study circles. Sixty-six events and counting are listed online at AfterDowningStreet.org. For details on events in any part of the country, see this map: http://heh.pl/&tm . Another 16 events on surrounding days are also listed on the site.

In addition, Congressman Conyers' office has organized 105 house parties through their website. See http://johnconyers.com/.

Conference Call for House Parties:
Congressman Conyers and former Ambassador Joseph Wilson will participate in a national conference call with house party attendees from 4 to 4:30 p.m. ET. For details, contact Jonathan Godfrey at 202-744-7441 or [email protected] .

Blogging All Day:
Bloggers will report on events from around the country during the day at www.afterdowningstreet.org

Action Across the Atlantic:
On July 23rd, at 2 p.m. GMT just outside the gates to Downing Street in London, England, a group of actors and activists will perform a dramatic recreation of the Downing Street Memo as a Mad Hatter's Tea Party. The event is being organized by members of Bedford Stop the War, a member of the Stop the War Coaltion, and of After Downing Street. For more information, contact Linda Jack at (44) 7793556099, or [email protected] .

E-Town Hall on the 22nd:
Congressman Charles Rangel's E-town hall meeting will begin at 1 p.m. ET on July 22nd. For more information, go to: http://www.house.gov/rangel

Agenda for National Day of Events:
The agenda at various of these events will include speeches, panel discussions, viewing of DVDs, dramatic recreations of the Downing Street Minutes, debates, writing postcards and letters to congress members and senators not present, writing letters to the editor, training participants in effective lobbying, honoring local fallen soldiers, and planning local marches and flyering campaigns – with such actions in some cases immediately following the event. Resources for these events have been made available by the After Downing Street Coalition at www.afterdowningstreet.org.

Participants around the country will be encouraged to
• promote coverage of the Downing Street Minutes by their local media,
• gather signatures on Congressman Conyers' letter to the President asking for explanations of the Downing Street Minutes (there are now 131 signatures by congress members and over 576,984 by U.S. citizens),
• promote support for a Resolution of Inquiry expected to be introduced in the House of Representatives,
• promote support for a Resolution expected to be introduced in the House of Representatives, which would create a select committee to investigate reports of a pre-war deal between the United Kingdom and the United States and evidence that pre-war intelligence was intentionally manipulated.
• lobby the Senate Intelligence Committee to conduct the investigation of pre-war intelligence that it has failed to follow through on.

Details for Each Event:
For details on events in any part of the country, see this map: http://heh.pl/&tm Here are a few:

Congressman John Conyers, Jr.
Wayne State University Law School Auditorium
Meeting Local Start Time: 2:00pm
471 W. Palmer Street
Detroit, Michigan 48202

Congresswoman Barbara Lee
Grand Lake Theatre
Meeting Local Start Time: 11:00am
3200 Grand Avenue
Oakland, California 94610

Congressmen Jim McDermott
Seattle Labor Temple
Meeting Local Start Time: 1:00pm
2800 First Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98121

Congresswoman Maxine Waters
Covenant Worship Center at Legacy Hall
Meeting Local Start Time: 12:00pm
425 South La Brea Avenue
Inglewood, California 90301

New York City Town Hall Meeting
Sponsored by The Nation and Democrats.com and Progressive Democrats of America
Speakers: Congressman Maurice Hinchey, former Congresswoman Liz Holtzman, Air America Radio host Randi Rhodes, and as moderator President of Democrats.com Bob Fertik.
New York Society for Ethical Culture
2 W. 64th St.
New York, NY

AfterDowningStreet.org is a rapidly growing coalition of veterans' groups, peace groups, and political activist groups, which launched on May 26, 2005, a campaign to urge the U.S. Congress to begin a formal investigation into whether President Bush has committed impeachable offenses in connection with the Iraq war.

CONTACT:
David Swanson [email protected] 202-329-7847
Jonathan Schwarz [email protected] 773-296-0838

July 15, 2005 in News related | Permalink

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