Rebel Priest Joins Ploughshares Vigil

by Elaine Mon Oct 03, 2005 23:25

Amazing what you can do with a piece of cardboard. No excuses.

Is There Anyone In The Country Who Doesn't Know About This?

Liberated?

The Financial Costs Are Not The Biggest Price Paid For This War

Use The Garda To Stop US Criminality At Shannon Airport

The Last Of The Leaflets, Get Yer Leaflets Here

by Ciaron - Ploughshares/Catholic Worker Tue Oct 04, 2005 00:58 087 918 4552

Since starting this weekly vigil in 2002 against Irish participation in U.S. invasions of Afghanistan & Iraq we have been joined by all sorts of wonderful people from wonderful places. None so more than Fr. Bill Bichsel SJ who joined us this week from the Catholic Worker community in Tacoma, Washington U.S.

77 year old Bill is a card carrying member of the
"International Workers of the World" and joined the
Jesuits in 1946. He was ordained in Berlin 1959,
before the wall went up! He was radicalised through involvement in the anti-Vietnam War movement in Boston in the 1960's and later with the United Farm Workers on the west coast in the 1970's.

Bill was first imprisoned in 1976 for nonviolent
resistance to the nuclear first strike Trident
submarine base at Bangor, Washington. Each sub carries 24 missiles, each missile carries 8 warheads...each has 20 times the payload of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Bill was first imprisoned in Lompoc Federal Prison (the one Leonard & Christopher Boyce managed to escape
from!)

Bill was later imprisoned in the Federal Prison in
Sheridan, Oregon for a of 18 months for nonviolent
resistance at the School of (Americas) ..org in Fort ,Georgia. trains government death squads from Latin America. The federal prison is in full view of the Jesuit seminary where he previously spent four years as a seminarian. "It was a goodpreparation!", Bill stated.

The Tacoma Catholic Worker community, where Bill lives, works with the homeless and provides for those with mental illness and daily for other homeless folks to showers, clothing, mail drop off & phone service.

Thanks Bill for dropping by!

by Elaine Tue Oct 04, 2005 01:20

If you are in the vicinity of the US Embassy this week, then feel free to drop by and join Asia. Vigiling outside the Embassy between 8 and 9 am every morning for the next two weeks.
War is always a defeat for Humanity.

Photos courtesy of Asia

Fr Bill And Asia

Fr Bill Bichsel SJ

by PSP Typo Correction Tue Oct 04, 2005 10:54

Bill was imprisoned for 18 months for trespassing at the "School of the Americas", Ft. Benning Georgia. More background on the school at the following link
www.soaw.org.

Leonard Peltier, Native American activst, escaped from Lompoc Prison but was captured after 5 days.

by Patrick Tue Oct 04, 2005 11:08

Great work!! Bertie et. al. can be sure the war will never go way as long as ye are still around.

by A Tue Oct 04, 2005 15:57

Anarchy Cafe Benefit for Pit Stop Ploughshares
THURSDAY 6TH OCTOBER
in THE LIBERTY BELL,
Francis St. off Thomas
at 8:00pm. Admission €5/€3

by FEIC Tue Oct 04, 2005 16:59 Derry

ACT OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE VICTIMS OF THE ARMS TRADE AND WARS
Saturday October 8th 2005 , Raytheon, Branch Road, Derry.

Almost one year ago, on Friday 19 November 2004, FEIC carried out the digging of a symbolic grave at Raytheon, Derry. During the protest, large numbers of white ribbons and flowers were tied to the railings which run along the perimeter of the Raytheon plant. A large stone marker, with the words, 'Fallujah 2004' was left to mark the grave. Flowers and candles were left in an act of solidarity with the people of Fallujah. Within two days, every single ribbon, flower and candle had been removed. The grave marker has been taken away dozens of times in the last year although members of FEIC continue to replace it.

It's clear that Raytheon in Derry were unnerved by the protest and threatened by white ribbons, flowers and candles. The people who make Tomahawk Cruise missiles and boast about the lethality of their product are unable to countenance the sight of simple symbols of peace.
It is no surprise that the dead of Fallujah are not respected by arms manufacturers: that a memorial to their suffering should be desecrated like this is simply another example -- were one needed -- of the primacy of profit over humanity. Those killed by the arms trade and as a result of conflict all over the world are afforded no dignity, either in life or death.

Desecration of memorials to them is an attempt to erase their memory and the memory of what happened to them from our consciousness. We ask you to resist this and to remember those numberless, nameless dead this Saturday. Please brings stones, markers, flowers, candles, white ribbons or whatever method you chose to remember those dead. If you wish to bring materials to remember specific incidents, you are very welcome.

by Update Wed Oct 05, 2005 01:08

LINK....

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/world/iraq