i’m on the wrong coast to attend. fingers and toes crossed you and your talk are well received at harvard law.

i hope to read the diary about your experiences there next week.

You go, Heather. Your passion is more than admirable.
All the best.

Heather,
I can’t be there, wish I could.
Godspeed.

this is one of the mosttouching diaries I have read

Heather - I will be there, and sending you good energy! Look for a red cape. In what building and room in the Harvard Law School will you be speaking?

Heather,

I wish I could be there. I wish you peace in your memories of Dan. Thank you for doing this. I will send a link to this diary to a friend (and Vietnam vet) who might be able to attend.

This is great news Heather. So glad you get a chance to keep telling the story of your Dan, think of all the young minds you will open. Wonderful news. Please write a follow-up for us.

wish I could rec. this more than once.

The Torture Next Door - you have made this a little more real for all of us.

You are doing to shine next Monday. surely all the eloquence in this diary will come forth and you will do Dan proud - and make a big difference on this tragic issue.

thank you

many thanks Heather - when you speak out for Dan, you speak out for many others as well.

I will be there in spirit Heather. Thanks for all your hard and loving work.

Hugs to you, Heather. Thank you so much for doing this.
Please everyone, Digg this post.

Heather, i will make it a point to be there.

There in spirit as well, Heather… here, take this with you…

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Heather}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Heather, you will be speaking for so many others, and I wish I could be there to honour you and your Dan. I’m writing from another country and I’m writing through tears, but I am so grateful for your voice, and I hope you continue to raise it for us all.

From Reuters:
Texas grand jury indicts Cheney, Gonzales of crime
Wed Nov 19, 2008 2:49am EST
HOUSTON (Reuters) - A grand jury in South Texas indicted U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and former attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Tuesday for ”organized criminal activity” related to alleged abuse of inmates in private prisons.

The indictment has not been seen by a judge, who could dismiss it.

The grand jury in Willacy County, in the Rio Grande Valley near the U.S.-Mexico border, said Cheney is ”profiteering from depriving human beings of their liberty,” according to a copy of the indictment obtained by Reuters.

The indictment cites a ”money trail” of Cheney’s ownership in prison-related enterprises including the Vanguard Group, which owns an interest in private prisons in south Texas.

Former attorney general Gonzales used his position to ”stop the investigations as to the wrong doings” into assaults in county prisons, the indictment said.

God bless, Heather, from Dresden, Germany where a whole city has healed from massive fire bombing and at the synagog the first rabbis in Germany since 1931 were ordained two years ago. may the suffering in your family convince those who will have the power to change the laws be convinced, that torture degrades anyone who does it, no matter what their motives, that any country that approves of torture will ultimately fall.

What infuriates me the MOST is that the people responsible for making the decision to use torture on ANYONE apparently will never be held responsible for those actions.

The current administration will throw around the term, “crimes against humanity” as related to other, but then ignore that term when it applies to them.

I’m not a Christian, but my consolation is that the folks responsible for these acts will ultimately be judged by powers much greater than any on earth.

((((Heather))))

I’m stuck out here on the other coast, unfortunately. I did take the liberty of reprinting half this article at my place, though. Is there an FDL e-mail address that people can use to contact you after the comments close?

I’ll be there Chacounne, since I’m in that city on business on the date will b no bother. I’ll be the bald fella standing in the back of the hall or perhaps the foyer smoking a cig on the break, and pleased to meet you. My late sweetheart’s brothers were soldiers and one lost to the Vietnam war so you can count I’ll be there to hear you and good luck with your talk.

Bravo Heather!

You, and Dan, do your country a great service. The shame of our descent into torture as a country is unbearable. Thanks for taking a step in the right direction.

We don’t need a new improved better law, Geneva is very specific and was broken on purpose.
Jesus said ‘that you do to the least among you ,that you do unto me”
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you and he wasn’t talking to a bunch of white guys.

Never thought we would be at this time and place after what Vietnam did to us all. Peace be with you.

God bless you and give you strength. You speak for humanity.

Thank you for your loving gift to all of us in Dan’s name, Heather. Will be with you in spirit. Too many still need your voice to be heard.

Would that politicians would hear your words as well as these fortunate law students and we who share the blogosphere here.

Blessings and Peace to you Heather. And for your Dan and all those who have suffered at the hands of their fellow humans. May your message ring loudly that there will be a time when no one come from such hatred and fear that they allow or participate in the horror of torture.
In Atlanta pray/writing.

Thank you for speaking out, Heather. We are with you.

All my sympathy to you. And if it’s not on your agenda I’m not going to criticize, but I hope your speech will include a call for those responsible for U.S.-sponsored torture to face criminal charges.

I have disliked this Administration, for it’s actions and inaction since its election, but specifically hated it and its Quislings for the moral decay in the intelligence community and our armed forces engendered by its torture policy, and the populous that feels if the US does it, it is not only legal, but moral.

Somehow though, while feeling the pain (I’m a big time empathizer) of innocent victims (even those few terrorists actually captured) tortured by the US and its agents and allies, I didn’t truly connect the continuing and suffering of family and friends of the interned and disappeared. Heather, your simple statement in paragraph two, for some reason shook me to the core, tears welling in my eyes.

We must force Obama to investigate and prosecute those who promulgated and carried out these policies, otherwise extremism will spread, and the US will pay for this far into the future not to mention the effect on our moral compass.

Peace

I would view it as seperating the wheat from the chaff. It allow the wheat to grow and yield a larger harvest.

Good luck Heather and I hope that your words insert themselves into the hearts of the listeners.

It’s wonderful that there will be at least 3 of us with you on Monday. Please, though, I count 15 buildings on the Law School map. In which of them will you speak, and in what room? Or is there a number that we may call for specifics? Many thanks!

Heather, we send our thoughts and gratitude from Southern Arizona. This past Sunday, November 16, more than 200 people protested at the main gate of Fort Huachuca,home of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center where interrogators are trained. The Fort has a long history of complicity in U.S. crimes of torture.

Three protesters crossed the street and entered the Fort to deliver messages to base Commander Major General John Custer and his soldiers, opposing the cruel treatment and abuse of detainees from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. They were taken into custody, and later released after being given “ban and bar” letters. This is different from the 2 previous years, when crossers carrying the message were arrested, convicted and sentenced to terms in federal prison ranging from 2 to 6 months.

We’re at tortureontrial.org if you’d like to read more. Thank you for the work you are doing.

I can’t believe that you actually need to go to Harvard (or anywhere else in this country for that matter) and argure AGAINST torture.

What a shithole this country is in and has become.

I, too, am very moved by your diary Heather. I wish I could be there in person and I hope you will share your speech in a later diary. I pray that your words will provide or add the passion to some analytical minds and give them courage to advocate for those with no voice.

Bless you for your work on behalf of Dan, the detainees, and others who have had their liberty wrongfully stripped away.

Heather, i called over to the Law School looking for info re which building, and they had no info on this activity - Which entity there is sponsoring? Thanks, Kathryn

{{{{{Heather}}}}}}}

Being able to hear your voice on this issue is and has been a privilege. There are not many people who can take such difficult experiences and craft something positive from them.

Godspeed.

Thank you for all you do. This longtime firepup has read your work many times and I consider it a privilege to know you.

Heather give em hell at Harvard. The Law School at Harvard needs to come out strongly against torture. Our country was not founded on torture and torture must be made illegal again. This administration crossed the line by using it to get what turns out to be false information. They must be brought to justice or this will always be a stain on our Country’s soul.
Good luck Heather and may they listen with wide open minds and ears.

Wonderful, Heather. Your audience will be so well-informed. Please report back with a YouTube of the event if possible.

((((((((((((((((((Greenharper))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Thank you very much. I look forward to meeting you.

We’ll be in Pound Hall, room 332.

Hugs,
Heather

(((((((((((((((((((((greenharper)))))))))

My apologies for the delay in getting back to you. Today ended up being one of “those” kind of days, where everything seems to take five times as long as it usually does, then class this evening.

We’ll be in Pound Hall, room 332.

Looking forward to meeting you,
Hugs,
Heather

((((((((((((((((((((Suzanne))))))))))))))))))))))

Thank you so much.

Maybe one of these I’ll speak in Portland or Eugene; you never know ?

I’ll be sure to let the firepups know if the video works out and we get it up on YouTube. Even if it doesn’t, I’ll be sure to let you guys know how it went.

Hugs,
Heather

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Newtonusr))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Thanks so much.

Hugs,
Heather

(((((((((((((((((((((SunnyNobility)))))))))))))))))))))))

Thank you so much. I wish you could be there too.

Hugs,
Heather

((((((((((((((((((((((((((Perris)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Thank you, that means a lot.

Hugs,
Heather

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Jim White)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Thank you, I wish you could be there too. Thank you very much for passing it on to your friend. I hope we get an opportunity to meet.

Hugs,
Heather

((((((((((((((((((((((((Elliot))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Thank you so much. I will absolutely follow up, hopefully with video.

Hugs,
Heather

(((((((((((((((((((((cb12)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Thank you so much. You’re very sweet. Making it concrete it absolutely what this is all about. Helping people to see that these are real live human beings, who love and laugh and cry, just like every human being does.

Hugs,
Heather

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((Kathryn))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Thank you very much for coming. I’m looking forward to meeting you.

The group is called:
The Anti-Torture Group of the Harvard Law Student Advocates for Human Rights. We’ll be in Pound Hall, room 332.

Hugs,
Heather

((((((((((((((((((((((Kiwi Jackson)))))))))))))))))))))))))))

I’m so sorry for your loss. I appreciate their service very much.

Thank you for coming. I’m looking forward to meeting you.
The building and room number are up above. Hopefully, they will be fairly easy to find.

Hugs,
Heather

Thanks! See you at the Harvard Law School, Pound Hall, Room 332, on Monday, 24 November, at 12 noon. Sorry that you had one of those days!

It’s appalling that human beings still torture. It’s heartening, though, to know that some Harvard Law students are willing to devote precious time to facing this, and to hearing from you.