From Crawford, Texas To O'Connell Street - No To The War

by Elaine Tue Aug 16, 2005 00:42

... then you're just stupid or you don't care. How else can you react when you know something's so unfair when the men of the hour can kill half the world in war or make them slaves to a superpower and then let them die poor"
- Ani DiFranco

A Peaceful Queue Forms

Alone Under A Tree Another Man Commiserates

No Worries Ciaron, That Guard Behind You Is Minding The Bike!

'Indifference Is A Disease Of The Spirit. It Is Premature Death.' Anton Chekhov

We Will Be The First Against The Wall (of silence) Before The Revolution Comes

by Elaine Tue Aug 16, 2005 00:48

... is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing."
- Raymond Williams

Passers By Check Us Out 'We Are Always Longing For Visions Of Beauty. We Are Always Dreaming Of Unknown Worlds.' Maxim Gorky

'Cosantoiri Siochana' Swing By To Say HI

Solidarity From Margaret, Who Travelled From Wexford To Help Out

Justin Morahan (Peace People) and Colm Roddy

Kathleen From Texas and Margaret From Gorey, Co. Wexford

by Elaine Tue Aug 16, 2005 00:53

that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it's the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead

Good Time For A Reunion. Mick, Mark and Laurence (Fairview Against The War) Together Again!

Damien And Colm Show How Its Done

Colm's Sign Says It All

by Ciaron - Pit Stop Ploughshares/Dublin Catholic Worker Tue Aug 16, 2005 14:02 087 918 4552

This weeks vigil was once again focused on the death of Jean Charles de Menenez executed by London Met Police with seven shots to the head at Stockwell tube station. A book of condolences initiated by Gustavo at a vigil outside the British Embassy was left under a tree on O'Connell for folks to sign.

Meanwhile Cindy Sheehan maintains vigil outside a ranch in Crawford, Texas,demanding to meet with George W who spun the lies that sent her soldier son to his death in Iraq. George refuses to meet with her, she will follow him to the White House if has failed to do so before the end of his holiday at the ranch.

We are connected by our friends Vietnam Vet/Plowshares activist Peter De Mott and Catholic Worker Teresa Grady who have traveled from Ithaca, New York, to join Cindy Sheehan and others at the vigil outside George W ranch.

Peter & Teresa are part of the St.Patrick's Day Four www.stpatricksfour.org who go to trial mid-Sept on 4 felonies for a sit in at their local military recruitment centre on St. Patrick's Day 2003. This nonviolent direct action took place a few days before George W launched the air war over Iraq. The four had gone to trial in 2003, ending in a hung jury. They heard no more
until three of the group were to depart for the Pit
Stop Ploughshares trial in Dublin in march. The FBI raided the four defendant's house charging them with a felony of interfering with a federal officer" by occupying the office. This was multiplied to four felonies at their first appearance in Binghampton NY. The Prosecutor also argued that the travel of three of the defendants should be restricted to the district of the court because "they had been in Ireland involved in ongoing criminal activity" (by attending the Pit Stop trial)!

The death of Jean Charles de Menenez has been written off by the Blair government as merely collateral damage of their war. Like many such deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan the death of Jean Charles was shrouded in lies by the state now exposed. As The Observer noted this past weekend "Jean Charles wasn't wearing a
heavy jacket. He used his card to get into the
station. He didn't vault the barrier. And now the
police say their are no CCTV pictures to reveal the
truth....the police are now saying that most of the
cameras were not working. It has also been suggested that officers did not identify themselves properly before shooting de Menezes seven times in the head.(Observer Aug 14th)"

The book of condolences will now be left at the
Amnesty International coffee shop in Temple Bar for folks to sign, it will be mailed to Jean Charles parents in Brazil when filled. Gustavo is setting up a website and producing a poster for distribution. Irish human rights activist Caoimhe Butterly has connected with the Jean Charles cousins
who he was sharing an apartment with and friends. All these folks want to grieve this death and also challenge the "shoot to kill" policy once wielded covertly in the north, now mainstreamed. The shoot to kill death of Harry Stanley in London a couple of years has special significance for Irish people. Harry, a Scotsman and a carpenter, was carrying home a table leg under a blanket in the rain from his workshop. He called into a pub to escape the weather and have a drink. When he left the pub someone called the police and said someone with an Irish accent was acting
suspiciously. The armed response unit arrived did not ask for him to surrender or lay down his table leg - just shot him dead.

We were joined at the beginning of this week's vigil by a crew traveling up from Wexford and at the end by Dutch parliamentarian and anti-war activist Krista Van Velzen. Krista had recently been part of a parliamentary delegation visiting Dutch troops in
Afghanistan and Iraq. News comes through this morning that 16 suspected Taliban have been shot in Afghanistan, while 17 Spanish troops die there in a helicopter crash. The headline of today's Mirror screams "Ireland will be Bombed", as consequence of the militarization of Shannon Airport in the service of the U.S. war machine indiscriminately in Iraq and Afghanistan. The wars that Shannon Airpport are servicing escalate and expand the bodies passed off as collateral damage mount.



When the Pit Stop Ploughshares disarmed
in February of 2003, we acted to save the lives of
Iraqi people, U.S. troops and the people of Shannon Airport. We return to trial October 24th. at the Four Courts. We will maintain an anti-war vigil at the GPO, O'Connell St every Monday 4pm-6pm.

by an imcer Tue Aug 16, 2005 14:43

Thanks

More on Cindy Sheehan Here: Please add stuff if interested.


http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=71395
"A woman called Cindy Sheehan whose son was killed in Iraq is galvanising anti-war opinion in the USA to an arguably greater extent than any previous anti-war protests. She is camped at the side of the road with a small (growing) number of accomplices at Bush's ranch in Crawford (Waco) Texas for the last couple of days and is demanding Bush meet her and explain a few things to her."

by The Bush Tribunal Tue Aug 16, 2005 21:16

Bush: "Sorry to Oil the Napalm, Carpet Bombings, and Death Squads but Oil comes first."

by St. Pats Four Tue Aug 16, 2005 23:52 Ithaca, NY, USA

http://www.binghamtonpmc.org/newswire/display/1233/index.php

by St Pat's Four Tue Aug 16, 2005 23:58 Ithaca, NY, USA

http://www.stpatricksfour.org/?page=home

by Davey Wed Aug 17, 2005 00:15

Dear friends,

for those of you looking for more information in English about the Ploughshares action that was carried out by Turi last week at Woensdrecht
airbase in the Netherlands, I've made a rough translation of a press release, newsletter and a couple of article from the Dutch press.

I'm sorry for any mistakes in the translations,

Also, please note that the contact person, Mariette, doesn't speak much English...
in peace,
david

15th August 2005

Press Release

Quick-trial for peace activist after disabling two F-16s

At 10:50 am, on 1st September, peace activist Turi Vaccaro will appear before the court in Breda.
In commemoration of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 60 years ago, Turi disabled two F-16 bombers on Woensdrecht airbase. The damage runs into millions of Euros.
The action was a ploughshares action, based on the bibical prophesy of Isiah “And they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and learn war no
more”.

Turi Vaccaro brought the hammer used in the action from Assisi. St Francis of Assisi inspired him to live a very sober life, with respect for
people and the environment. For this reason, the action was carried out very carefully, to ensure that no-one felt threatened.

On the Volkel airbase, 20 nuclear weapons are stored, each of which has a power 14 times the Hiroshima bomb. The F16s that are regularly brought to Woensdrecht for maintenance have the task of carrying and dropping nuclear weapons. Atomic weapons are weapons of mass destruction, and in contravention of international law.

Turi Vaccaro is concerend about the future of his daughter and all other children on the planet, and with this disarmament action he has shown this with more strength than he could have using words.

ADDRESS OF PLOUGHSHARES ACTIVIST TURI VACCARO
Turi Vaccaro
HvB De Boschpoort
Nassausingel 26
4811 DG Breda

COURT CASE OF PLOUGHSHARES ACTIVIST TURI VACCARO
Thursday 1 september
10.50 uur
Politierechter
Sluissingel 20
Breda

by itv news Wed Aug 17, 2005 00:56

8.25PM, Tue Aug 16 2005

ITV News has obtained secret documents and photographs that detail why police shot Jean Charles De Menezes dead on the tube.

The Brazilian electrician was killed on 22 July, the day after the series of failed bombings on the tube and bus network.

The crucial mistake that ultimately led to his death was made at 9.30am when Jean Charles left his flat in Scotia Road, South London.

Surveillance officers wrongly believed he could have been Hussain Osman, one of the prime suspects, or another terrorist suspect.

By 10am that morning, elite firearms officers were provided with what they describe as "positive identification" and shot De Menezes eight times in the head and upper body.

The documents and photographs confirm that Jean Charles was not carrying any bags, and was wearing a denim jacket, not a bulky winter coat, as had previously been claimed.

He was behaving normally, and did not vault the barriers, even stopping to pick up a free newspaper.

He started running when we saw a tube at the platform. Police had agreed they would shoot a suspect if he ran.

A document describes CCTV footage, which shows Mr de Menezes entered Stockwell station at a "normal walking pace" and descended slowly on an escalator.

The document said: "At some point near the bottom he is seen to run across the concourse and enter the carriage before sitting in an available seat.

"Almost simultaneously armed officers were provided with positive identification."

A member of the surveillance team is quoted in the report. He said: "I heard shouting which included the word `police' and turned to face the male in the denim jacket.

"He immediately stood up and advanced towards me and the CO19 officers. I grabbed the male in the denim jacket by wrapping both my arms around his torso, pinning his arms to his side.

"I then pushed him back on to the seat where he had been previously sitting. I then heard a gun shot very close to my left ear and was dragged away onto the floor of the carriage."

The report also said a post mortem examination showed Mr de Menezes was shot seven times in the head and once in the shoulder, but three other bullets missed, with the casings left lying in the tube carriage.

Police have declined to comment while the mistaken killing is still being investigated.

by Update Wed Aug 17, 2005 12:46

The Phoenix reported previously that 600 former RUC & 400 former Northern Ireland prison officers are also working as mercenaries in Iraq.....

http://www.uruknet.info/?p=14626&hd=0&size=1&l=x

by Update Thu Aug 18, 2005 00:09

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050817/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/iraq_us_military

by Update Thu Aug 18, 2005 00:18

http://www.itv.com/news/index_312121.html

by Voices London Thu Aug 18, 2005 00:26

Michael Nendick, who was arrested at the big demo.
outside Britain's military nerve centre at Northwood in January 2003, along with 60+ other folks. Following his guilty verdict (for highway obstruction) Michael appealed his case to the Crown Court, and only recently dropped a further appeal to the High Court (see www.wecanstopwar.org). Last Friday he
was sent to prison for non-payment of £420 in court fines and costs.

by via eeekkkk Thu Aug 18, 2005 02:27

the Reicht really has a problem.  it keeps going around the parents & people don't like it.  the armed forces ads that directly target parents.  & now confronting parents of dead American soldiers.
i thought the Reicht was PRO-FAMILY.
the 41% approval ratings that Bush has isn't a fluke.  People DO NOT LIKE him!
all this turmoil is boiling up & in about 6 months expect it to explode.  
i just hope it's not violent.  & no.  i'm not a conspiracy nut.  i don't think it will but it ain't gonna be pretty.  i'm just listening to people's mood, watching the way people drive, watching gas prices soar, watching the way people are nervous about their jobs, lives, families, iraq, etc...
the pressue is building & the Reicht doesn't know how to defuse it.
we need progressive leaders now b/c the Reicht will not do what's need to release the pressure.  we need people who will.

by do't just do something, stand there! Thu Aug 18, 2005 02:31

in a pick-up truck. No wait, that was a Wingnut freak. My bad. The White House staff at this point has probably spent more hours gathering up dirt on Cindy Sheehan than they ever extended looking for Osama bin Laden. The Book of Revelation is NOT a foreign policy manual.
by Dont Just Stand There on Wed Aug 17th, 2005 at 10:58:37 PDT

by Perry Jefferies Thu Aug 18, 2005 03:50

Mr. Northern:
I am a Veteran of the Iraq war, having served with the 4th Infantry Division on the initial invasion with Force Package One.
While I was in Iraq,a very good friend of mine, Christopher Cutchall,was killed in an unarmoredHMMWV outside of Baghdad. He was a cavalry scout serving with the 3d ID.Once he had declined the award of a medal because Soldiers assigned to him did not receive similar awards that he had recommended. He left two sons and awonderful wife. On Monday night, August 16, you ran down the memorial cross erected for him by Arlington West.

One of my Soldiers in Iraq was Roger Turner. We gave him a hard time because he always wore all of his protective equipment, including three pairs of glasses or goggles. He did this because he wanted to make sure that he returned home to his family. He rode a bicycle to work every day to make sure that he was able to save enough money on his Army salary to send his son to college. At Camp Anaconda, where the squadron briefly stayed, a rocket landed inside a tent, sending a piece of debris or fragment into him and killed him. On Monday night, August 16, you ran down the memorial cross erected for him by Arlington West.

One of my Soldiers was Henry Bacon. He was one of the finest men I ever met. He was in perfect shape for a man over forty, working hard at night. He told me that he did that because he didn't have much money to buy nice things for his wife, who he loved so much, so he had to be in good shape for her. He was like a father to many young men in his section of maintenance mechanics. They fixed our vehicles with almost no support and fabricated parts and made repairs that kept our squadron rolling on the longest, fastest armor advance ever made under fire. He was so very proud of his son-in-law that married the beautiful daughter so well raised by Henry. His son-in-law was a helicopter pilot with the 1st Cavalry Division, who died last year. Henry stopped to rescue a vehicle belonging to another unit on what was to be his last day in Iraq. He could have kept rolling - he was headed to Kuwait after a year's tour. But he stopped. He could have sent others to do the work, but he was on the ground, leading by example, when he was killed. On Monday night, August 16, you took it upon yourself to go out in the country, where a peaceful group was exercising their constitutional rights, and harming no one, and you ran down the memorial cross erected for Henry and for his son-in-law by Arlington West.

Mr. Northern - I know little about Cindy Sheehan except that she is a grieving mother, a gentle soul, and wants to bring harm to no one. I know little about you except that you found your way to Crawford on Monday night in August with chains and a pipe attached to your truck for the sole purpose of dishonoring a memorial erected for my friends and lost Soldiers and hundreds of others that served this nation when they were called. I find it disheartening that good men like these have died so that people like you can threaten a mother who lost a child with your actions. I hope that you are ashamed of yourself.
Perry Jefferies, First Sergeant, USA (retired)

by eeekkkk Thu Aug 18, 2005 03:56

Over 300 in Brighton NY (4.00 / 7)
Which is a suburb of Rochester.  All three local tv stations were there and lots of honking cars with people waving and making the peace sign.  All in all a very moving and succesful event!
"Do Iraqi children scream when the bombs fall if no one is in the White House to hear them?" Bernard Chazelle
by dmac on Wed Aug 17th, 2005 at 18:01:53 PDT

by Damien Moran Thu Aug 18, 2005 04:09

For Last weeks vigil report and photos see:

www.geocities.com/dublincatholicworker

by Update Thu Aug 18, 2005 11:43

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050818/ap_on_re_us/peace_mom

by Elaine Thu Aug 18, 2005 22:32

Aug 18, 2005

"As they do every week, the protesters displayed 4-foot-tall photos of
each Iowa soldier killed in Iraq in front of the U.S. Military
Entrance and Processing Station at 2500 University Ave. in West Des
Moines."

Frank Cordaro, founder of the Des Moines Catholic Worker community and an ardent anti-war protestor, said Sheehan is anything but a pawn, and may spark something of a revolution among those against the war.
"She has touched a nerve with Americans who question the war," he said.

"She is a vehicle for people to hold George W. Bush accountable in telling him to talk straight and get us out of there," Cordaro said.

Frank Cordaro

Vigil 17 08 05

Vigil 17 08 05

by Mary Anne - St. Patricks Four Support Thu Aug 18, 2005 23:59 Ithaca, N.Y., USA

Mother's Grief & Civil Disobedience Connect the Dots
The St. Patrick's Four, the Camden 28, Cindy Sheehan and Betty Good (Betty's testimony-below)
August 14th, 2005


To take that lovely boy and to tell him, 'You are fighting for your country'...How stupid can you get? 'He was fighting for his country.' Can anybody stand here and tell me how he was fighting for his country...? -- Betty Good, 1973 Source: Testimony in the Trial of the Camden 28

"People have asked what it is I want to say to President Bush. Well, my message is a simple one. He's said that my son -- and the other children we've lost -- died for a noble cause. I want to find out what that noble cause is." -- Cindy Sheehan, 2005 Source: Huffington Post

"And I'm proud of my son because he didn't know [about war.] We should have known, but he didn't know... I can't understand what we're doing over there. We should get out of this. But not one of us, not a one of us, raised our hands to do anything about it. We left it up to these people [the Camden 28], for them to do it. And now we are prosecuting them for it. God...." -- Betty Good, 1973 Source: Testimony in the Trial of the Camden 28

"There is too much at stake to worry about our own egos. When my son was killed, I had to face the fact that I was somehow also responsible for what happened. Every American that allows this to continue has, to some extent, blood on their hands. Some of us have a little bit, and some of us are soaked in it." -- Cindy Sheehan, 2005 Source: Huffington Post

Teresa Grady came across Betty Good's testimony from 1973 as she was simultaneously preparing to fly out to Crawford, TX to support Cindy Sheehan and doing pre-trial background research. Teresa, one of the St. Patrick's Four, is being tried for conspiracy (and other charges) on Sep 19th in Binghamton federal court for an act of civil disobedience. Oddly enough Betty Good's testimony is from her father's, John Grady's, federal trial in 1972. He was a draft board raider and a member of the Camden 28.

Teresa plans to give an excerpt of Betty's testimony to Cindy when she sees her later today. The parallels between these mothers' reflections on war, the loss of a son, and civic duty are remarkable...and stretch across the 33 years of time and two wars that separate them. Cindy will, undoubtedly, recognize the power of Betty's grief.

Betty Good was a mother of 10 children from rural Pennsylvania. Three of her sons, Paul, Robert and James were caught up in the struggles of the Vietnam era. Paul enlisted in the military and was killed in Vietnam. Robert and James were draft board raiders. Robert was one of the defendants (along with Teresa's father) in the Camden 28 case. The Camden 28 were charged with conspiracy to remove and destroy files from the draft board, FBI office, and the Army Intelligence office, destruction of government property, and interfering with the Selective Service system. If convicted, some of the indicted faced over 40 years in federal prison.

All the defendants of the Camden 28 were acquitted, except for one, Anita Ricci, whose family put pressure on her to cop a plea before trial.

Cindy Sheehan is scheduled to come to the Citizens' Tribunal for the St. Patrick's Four that will take place on the eve of the St. Patrick's Four conspiracy trial. She will give a testimonial there as Betty Good did so long ago at the trial of the Camden 28.

The St. Patrick's Four defendants face up to six years in federal prison and fines up to $250,000 for participating in a die-in at a marine recruiting office on March 17, 2003 -- two days before the invasion of Iraq. Their trial will be held in Binghamton federal court on September 19th.

Please help and take action to acquit the St. Pat's Four. Come to Binghamton, NY if you can on Sep 19th for the trial. Spread the word. Sign the letter of support for the St. Patrick's Four. Donate for their legal defense.
For details on the defendants and their case, go to http://www.stpatricksfour.org.

Read more excerpts from Betty Good testimony, and see Cindy Sheehan's blog.

Written by Katie Quinn-Jacobs with permission from Teresa Grady

Excerpts of Testimony Given by Betty Good in the trial of the Camden 28, Spring of 1973 (Camden, NJ)

"I really feel guilty -- I feel guilty that we have sat aside and let them take our boys. Mr. Zinn put it so beautifully when he said they are 'kidnapped', literally, and they are taken ten thousand miles away from home.


Most of them just kids that maybe haven't been more than 50 miles away from home. Like my son. He never owned a car, something he was looking forward to. Why should these lives be cut off for tin, rubber, and oil...?
"I feel Paul should be here. He should be enjoying life. He would be 25. He might be married and have a child. He wouldn't know what it was to hold his first son, like we did...maybe these middle-class Americans don't realize what these kids (the Camden 28) are trying to do. They are trying to show us where we're wrong...I certainly don't want to see my son (Robert) in prison for what he's done. But I'm proud of what he's done. He's done what we brought him up to do... We ought to be ashamed of ourselves. I know that I was. I am ashamed of the day I took my son (Paul) to that airplane and put him on. I'm ashamed of any pride that I had when the taps were played and I did have pride in my country.

"And I'm proud of my son (Paul) because he didn't know. We should have known, but he didn't know. A kid that never had a gun in his life, because we, like the Reilly's, never had a gun in our home. When I say we were taught non-violence... Our children were taught non-violence. That's exactly what I mean... To take that lovely boy and to tell him, 'You are fighting for your country'...How stupid can you get? 'He was fighting for his country.' Can anybody stand here and tell me how he was fighting for his country...?

"I can't understand what we're doing over there. We should get out of this. But not one of us, not a one of us, raised our hands to do anything about it. We left it up to these people (the Camden 28), for them to do it. And now we are prosecuting them for it. God..."

See Mother's Grief & Civil Disobedience Connect the Dots: The St. Patrick's Four, the Camden 28, Cindy Sheehan and Betty Good, discussing the historical parallels.

by Update Sun Aug 21, 2005 14:13

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050821/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/army_chief_interview