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Today marks the 5th Anniversay of Guantanamo Bay. Guantanamo Bay is known as a US base/prison/ torture chamber in Cuba. "On January 11, 2002, the first 20 detainees in the “war on terror” arrived, hooded and shackled, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Today, close to 400 men remain there without charge, unable to challenge the lawfulness of their detention before federal court." The US plans on charging only 70 of these detainees. Amnesty International and other people all over the world have held protests today and in the weeks leading up to today protesting the US's blatent lack of respect for human rights and to stop the abuse and torture of detainees.

I rarely write about anything political here, but since I experienced part of this non-violent protest, I felt it is was relevant. Just before Christmas I was doing errands with DK around Sunset Plaza. While walking on the street we noticed a person in an orange jumpsuit and black cloth on their head walking toward La Cienega. I assumed it was someone protesting the death penalty because the black cloth on their head was identical to the ones I've seen during executions. It was a creepy sight. Seeing things in real life and not on TV or in movies is jolting. People who were eating at the row of cafe's were laughing nervously or whispering to each other. Later on, while we were waiting to have brunch at Doughboy's, the same person walked by. I was annoyed that I couldn't figure out what the person was protesting yet awed by how effective this lone person was at making me think. I was reminded that one person really can make a difference.

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