Mission statement for John Pope – June 2013
Bio Sketch
I’m a 48 construction worker from Palm Beach county Florida and I previously owned and operated a commercial dive business for 10 yrs. I’ve worked with my hands all my life and enjoy my main trade which is home renovation. I do carpentry, electrical, plumbing, tile, drywall, masonry, concrete and painting. Self educated and a fan of the study of Physics, Quantum Physics, Geology, Astronomy, Biology and Oceanography. I am just an ordinary blue collar guy of ordinary attributes and education who cares deeply about this country and it’s future and the health of this planet where our children and their children will live and work. I don’t just demand justice for us and our descendents but for every living thing on this planet. I care as much for an Afghani child as much as an American child. The suffering and poverty of this world could easily, in my estimation, be greatly reduced and eventually eradicated if we all work for justice. We cannot leave it up to those with power to do the right thing. They have shown us time and again that they will not if it is not in their best interest to do so.
I am deeply committed to making the world a better, cleaner, healthier and more just place to live. I have worked with Code Pink, Greenpeace, Earth First, and the Occupy Wall Street movement. The let us decide campaign, fighting the Keystone XL pipe line, and against drone assasination and of course the military industrial complex. Activism has become the predominant driving force in my life and I expect it to remain that way as long as injustice, war and environmental destruction exists. Just because there seems no end in sight doesn’t mean that we stop or hang up our boots it just increases the urgency with which we act..
by 
Hunger Striker's Blog
U.S. Faster in Solidarity w/Gitmo & Pelican Bay Prisoners
Foreground: EMT prepares the tool for the nasal intubation. Background: U.S. Embassy, Buenos Aires, Argentina Middleground:...agony awaits.
The feeding demo is extremely painful, yet it is done with consent. The long-term solidarity fast continues with nasogastric nourishment in front of U.S. governmental symbols of power. The twice-daily force-feeding of Gitmo hunger strikers is nonconsensual and therefore real torture by the standards sponsored by U.S. taxpayers and authorized by members of Congress who just raised the debt ceiling to nearly $17 trillion. President Obama's actions continue to belie his empty words "Close Guantánamo." As Commander-in-Chief, he could easily order an end to what the Pentagon refuses to call "forced-feeding." The force-feeding is premeditated relentless forced penetration of plastic into their innermost sacred cavities !
Andrés Thomas Conteris - fasted on water and coconut water with vitamin and electrolyte supplements. Solidarity fast began July 8, 2013 with 30,000 hunger striking California prisoners urging fulfillment of 5 Core Demands of the Pelican Bay supermax prisoners. Force-feeding protests began Sept. 6 & Sept. 25 in front of the White House & later in front of the Oakland Office of CA Dept of Corrections and Rehab (CDCR) to depict how prisoners in Guantánamo are tortured with force-feeding twice-daily and how CA prisoners as future hunger strikers have been threatened with a court order authorizing force-feeding. On Oct 4 and Oct 8 he was tube-fed in front of the U.S. Embassies in Montevideo, Uruguay and Buenos Aires, Argentina. On Oct 15 a similar protest took place in Santiago, Chile. On Friday, Oct 18 the feeding protest returns to Washington, DC outside a Federal Court hearing on the lawsuit challenging force-feeding in Guantánamo. He is now on a maintenance fast losing about 1 pound per week, unlike the 5 pounds/week the first 11 weeks. In January 2014 with the anniversary of Guantánamo on Jan. 11, the force feeding protests will recommence. Please spread the word.
U.S. Hunger Strikers who have suspended their fast
Diane Wilson - Water only 58 days (lost 48 lbs). Diane, co-founder of CodePink and member of Veterans for Peace, suspended her hunger strike on June 27, 2013 after detention following her arrest for scaling the White House fence the day before. She faced a jury trial in DC District Court on Sept. 5th, 2013.
S. Brian Willson - Suspended Hunger Strike on June 10, 2013 after 31 days on 300cal/day, when a car accidentally hit him. Supporters continue a vigil with a rolling fast, in Portland, OR.
Elliott Adams - Went 80 days on 300 cal/day from May 18, to August 4, 2013 losing 45 lbs. He is past President of Veterans for Peace.
Tarak Kauff - Ended fast on August 4, 2013 after 58 days on 300 cal/day since June 7. He lost 29 lbs. On Board of Directors for Veterans for Peace.
Cynthia Papermaster - After 84 days on 300 cal/day, Cynthia suspended her hunger strike on Sep. 6 which began June 15, 2013. Code Pink member, lost 35 lbs. The transfer of two Algerian prisoners on Aug. 29, 2013, inspired her to suspend her fast.
Collaborative of CloseGitmo.net Organizations
- Campaign for Alternatives to
- Meta Peace Team: "Pursuing peace
- Metta Center for Nonviolence
- NRCAT
Daily Updates
- Articles: GTMO Clock Marks 250 Days Since President Obama's Promise to Resume Releasing Prisoners from Guantánamo; 77 Cleared Men Still Held January 30, 2014
- Articles: Guantánamo: Where Being Cleared for Release Means Nothing January 26, 2014
- Articles: Video: Washington D.C. Protest on the 12th Anniversary of the Opening of Guantánamo January 16, 2014
