via email forwarded from local ai coordinator:

From: Juan Melendez

Subject: Please let ai members know that I will be sharing my story of
supreme injustice as innocent man who spent nearly 18 years on
Florida's death row in Seattle/Tacoma and Lacey, October 1-3:

Dear Amnesty International Coordinator:

Can you please help publicize the following events. I've included
below a little bit about my story and some testimonials to give folks
a sense of the powerfulness of my talk. I am also available to speak
at a middle or high-school in Seattle on Wednesday, October 1, so if
you know of any teachers or student ai groups which might be
interested in bringing me to speak at their school, please let them
know that I am available. A new book has just been published
containing my story as well as the stories of 4 other death row
exonerees. See Execution's Doorstep.

October 3: Talk at St. Martin's University, Lacey, Wa. at 4:00
p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
location update: It seems that Juan Melendez will be at the Worthington Center.

My name is Juan Roberto Melendez. I spent seventeen years, eight
months and one day on Florida's death row for a crime I did not
commit. (Voices United for Justice)

I went to Arlington Northwest at Heritage Park today. I helped set up headstones and did some photography too. I am going to post some of those photographs, and set up a flickr embed to display some more. The whole set can be found here: Arlington Northwest Iraq War Memorial 2008

Arlington Northwest

There were many hands to help set up the memorial, but it still took about 5 hours just to get all the markers in place. Here's a statement published by the Veterans for Peace Rachel Corrie Chapter (VFP 109) about the Memorial:

WHY WE PRESENT THE ARLINGTON NORTHWEST MEMORIAL



Veterans for Peace presents the traveling Arlington Northwest Memorial Display and Vigil to support our troops, their families, and our community.


I lined up for this photograph after the regularly scheduled Friday evening Percival Landing peace vigil. The vigil is sponsored by the Olympia F.O.R.. The Friday afternoon/evening vigil has been ongoing on a weekly basis for almost 10 years (since November 1998.)

A similar weekly vigil occurs on Wednesdays from 12 o'clock Noon until 1 pm at the corner of Capitol Way and Legion Avenue, Sylvester Park. The Wednesday vigil has been ongoing weekly for over 28 years, since March 5th, 1980.

Here's me in the picture.

Photo and sign by Glen Anderson of the Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation.

Insist that public officials tell the truth.

Stop the war! and...

Create a culture of peace, justice, nonviolence and sustainability!

more information about the t-shirt, including how you can purchase your own: Bush Lied: They Died

I came across this news article in my scan of the news this morning. In it we find that if you insult Islam in the wrong place you will find yourself in court fighting for your life.

The effect this had on me was to appreciate our nation and culture for allowing all points of view, and the freedom to

express these views, with out fear.

Afghan journalist sentenced to death

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080123/ap_on_re_as/afghan_journalist_death_penalty

"KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan journalist sentenced to death for distributing an article that allegedly violated Islam is actually being punished for reporting by his brother about abuses by northern warlords, a media group said Wednesday."

More here.