Town Hall AGAINST GITMO North - 10/12 & 10/13

[Jennifer_MI]

A group from the Standish area are conducting a town hall in Rochester to inform SE Michigan about the dangers presented by the proprosal to house GITMO detainees in the Standish, MI prison. Folks, this proposal MUST be stopped. Please try to attend this event, or at least share the information with as many people as you can. We need to show the governor and our lovely senators that we will NOT tolerate this in Michigan.

What: Townhall against Gitmo detainees in Michigan
When: Monday, October 12th, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Rochester High School, 180 S. Livernois, Rochester Hills, MI

Second Location/Date Added

LANSING AREA
Okemos, MI
Tuesday October 13
7:00 PM at Kinawa Middle School
1900 Kinawa Dr.
Okemos, MI 48864

Here is the press release:

Michigan Coalition to Stop GITMO North
MICHIGAN NEEDS TOURISTS, NOT TERRORISTS

ROCHESTER TOWN HALL MONDAY ON POSSIBLE GITMO DETAINEE MI TRANSFER

For Immediate Release
October 8, 2009
Contact: Kelly Kimball (989-718-3059); Dave Munson (989-737-1814); Linda Brenner (248-505-8055)
State Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop will join nationally renowned terrorism expert Peter Leitner and Gitmo authority Lt. Col. Gordon Cucullu at a town hall Monday night (Oct. 12) at Rochester High School addressing the possible transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to Michigan. The forum will be moderated by WJR radio host Frank Beckman. It begins at 7 PM in the school auditorium and is open to the community.

The citizen information meeting is being presented by the Michigan Coalition to Stop Gitmo North, a grassroots organization of citizens from across the state concerned about the potential risks of relocating Gitmo terror suspects to the soon-to-be-shuttered prison in Standish. The coalition will also be hosting a program in Okemos on Tuesday night and a legislative briefing at the state capitol earlier in the day.The group hosted the first town hall in Standish when it learned the site was on the federal government’s short list of facilities to house detainees the Administration wants to move to US soil.

“Although Standish residents will be most immediately impacted, this is an issue of monumental importance for all citizens of Michigan. We should all be concerned about security considerations and the negative impact this will have on our state economy,” said Kelly Kimball, former Arenac County Commissioner and a coalition leader.
“With everyone in Michigan fixated on our state’s budget and the nation fixated on health care reform, it is critical this issue get the same attention, so it doesn’t fly under the radar until it’s too late and federal officials force this decision upon us,” Kimball said.

State Senator Bishop, whose district includes Rochester, will provide an update on the latest action the state legislature has taken on the matter. Following state hearings in both chambers, the senate voted unanimously to pass a resolution calling on the federal government to declassify information on the backgrounds of the detainees and their conduct while at Gitmo. The senate also requested authorization for a fact-finding trip to Gitmo. A similar request initiated by US Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan was denied. Just this past week, both the US Senate and US House voted to deny funding to close Gitmo and transfer detainees to the US.

Headlining the panel will be Lt. Col. Gordon Cucullu, former Army Special Forces and author of “Inside Gitmo: The True Story behind the Myths of Guantanamo Bay.” The book is based on extensive research backed by five visits to the Gitmo detention facility. He served in Vietnam as a Green Beret and on high level staffs at the Pentagon and State Department. He is a frequent guest contributor and commentator to major media outlets.

Dr. Peter Leitner, will address broader state and national security implications of the President’s intent to move Gitmo detainees to the US. He is the president of the Higgins Counterterrorism Research Center and served as the principal expert on terrorism issues within the Defense Technology Security Administration of the Department of Defense.

Three community leaders from Standish, including the chief steward of corrections officers, will present a local perspective of why their town is ill-suited to house Gitmo detainees and the negative impact it would have on the region and state. Several other elected officials, including Governor Granholm, have also been invited.

[Stacia Lemon]

Is this the coalition group Jen?

[Elizabeth G]

yes, this is the MI Coalition to Stop GITMO North, and I am one of them! Thank you Jennifer, for the shout out.. we a re also doing one in Okemos the next night, Tuesday Oct 13, at 7PM at the Okemos Middle School, same format, diff location.

[Tina M. Waldrep]

Elizabeth, I was wondering if you've been following this thread? I was curious about Pete Hoekstra. See my post from Oct 5.

[Jennifer_MI]

I received the information from one of the organizers, Kelly, but have not received permission to use her name yet. I just wanted to get the information out as soon as possible. Elizabeth, may we use your name as a contact?

[Tina M. Waldrep]

Has this coalition invited Rep Pete Hoekstra to any of these town halls? He's on the House intelligence committee and knows all about these detainees and has lead the way for Mich in the US congress to fight this potential disaster for our state. I bet he'd come to a meeting to educate and wake people up with the scarey facts. If he is coming to speak anywhere, please tell me where.

[Elizabeth G]

The MI Coalition for Stop GITMO North has been working along with Hoekstra's staff since the beginning in August... he was asked to attend, but his schecule in DC wouldn't allow him to come to these two town halls this week. He's a leader on the Senate Intelligence Committee too- which makes him an authority on this stuff...

[ERIKA FRICKEL]

Good idea about inviting Hoekstra, for one thing he is so knowlegdeable about it and two, he'll draw a large crowd.

[Elizabeth G]

Jennifer,

Yes you can use my name with this thread about GITMO North... I'm one of the original members, and sitll helping with logistics~ sorry this post is late, was out of state this last weekend.

[Elizabeth G]

Thank you Janice, for this report; I could not attend! Gordon Cucullu is a true patriot. He is someone who knows exactly who these detainees are, and he really worked miracles to get to be here with his schedule.