Catholic Workers Arrested at U.S. Strategic Nuclear & Space Command (& other Anti-War NVDA Updates)

by Elaine Fri Dec 30, 2005 22:10

not sure who took them.

4 Line Crossers: McCaslin, Gallagher, Espeland and Cordaro

Line Crossers at gate

by Update Fri Dec 30, 2005 22:54

After heading to the M16 buiding in an unsuccessful search for wise men at the home of British Intelligence, the Pax Christi * London Catholic Worker headed to Parliament to read the names of the dead in the forbidden zone.....


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4562380.stm

by Update Sat Dec 31, 2005 02:03

http://www.jonahhouse.org/F&RDec05_Pentagon.htm

by Global Call - Global Call to Action Sat Dec 31, 2005 13:22

Contact: [email protected]
Global Call to Action
Voluntown, CT, USA
Our website: http://www.aglobalcall.org/

From:
* Nobel Peace and Literature Laureates
* Cindy Sheehan and other peace and human-rights activists
* Religious leaders of various traditions
* Prisoners of conscience
* Former government ministers
* Poets, authors, journalists

(Please see end of this message for the full list of signers and their
identification)

We, the undersigned, invite peace-makers throughout the world to participate in an international campaign of massive, nonviolent civil
resistance to stop the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. These actions could be organized to include both non-violent civil resistance and legal demonstrations.

The killing of tens of thousands of civilians, the wounding of perhaps 100,000 or more people, the torture and murder of prisoners in U.S. custody—these and other realities of the occupation are evidence of the massive state terrorism being perpetrated against the people of Iraq. At the same time, we mourn the deaths of over 2,300 soldiers of the “coalition forces,” while we denounce the lies (weapons of mass
destruction, ties between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda) proclaimed in an effort to justify the invasion.

First Date of International Actions: Monday, March 19-20, 2006, the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. The subsequent days of action are specified below.

The Actions

Some would participate in legal demonstrations while others would stage sit-ins, die-ins, and other nonviolent methods of blocking “business as usual” at government buildings or installations (including military bases and recruiting centers) or at corporate offices of war profiteers in the U.S., Great Britain, and other countries which are taking part in the deadly and unjust military occupation of Iraq. For these governments, “business as usual” is the business of violence, death, and exploitation. It must be blocked and stopped by responsible citizens.

Peace-makers in countries whose governments are not at war in Iraq could consider U.S. or British embassies, consulates, military bases, or appropriate corporate offices as sites for legal demonstrations and nonviolent civil resistance.

Examples of Possible Actions

A group could sit down in the entrance of a U.S. or British government installation in any country, refusing to leave when the U.S. Marines or
other security agents order them to disperse. They could insist on having a meeting with the ambassador or the officer in charge of the
military base, or they could wait for a clear statement from Washington, D.C., or from London of the date when all their soldiers will be withdrawn from Iraq.

If those doing civil resistance are not able to enter U.S. or British property, they could sit down on the street or sidewalk in front of the building or base, or they could lie down in a “die-in” representing the
victims of the war. In any case those involved in civil resistance might be carried out of the building or away from the entrance and arrested by the police.

We invite people to think of other creative forms of civil resistance and to share these ideas with us so that we can pass them along to others. (For instance, people in the U.S. might consider the local offices of their U.S. Senators and Representatives among the potential sites for non-violent action.)

All of this could happen in the presence of the mass media and in conjunction with a large legal demonstration very close to the same site.

The impact of these actions on public opinion, the mass media, and governments would come from their sheer quantity and geographical diversity, on the same day, as well as from the clarity of their
message and the disciplined nonviolence of the tactics. As this invitation spreads through the internet and other media, we expect that
hundreds of actions could be held in scores of countries around the world, all with the same purpose—to demand an end to the violent
military occupation of Iraq.

A Sustained, Growing Campaign

The second International Day of Nonviolent Civil Disobedience to End the military occupation of Iraq will be May 1, May Day, the International Day of the Worker—an occasion for massive demonstrations in all countries where working class struggle is celebrated and kept alive. The impact of the war on the poor and working class of the world could be emphasized.

The third International Day of Nonviolent Civil Disobedience to End the Military Occupation of Iraq will be August 9, 2006, the 61st anniversary of the U.S. nuclear bombing of Nagasaki, Japan—to demand an end to U.S. proliferation of nuclear weapons of mass destruction and an end to the U.S. state terrrorism in Iraq.

The fourth International Day of Nonviolent Civil Disobedience to End the Military Occupation of Iraq will be Sept. 11, 2006, the 5th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the U.S.—to commemorate and deplore that horrible act of violence and to denounce the terrorist violence which the U.S. government is inflicting on Iraq under the false pretense of the “war on terrorism.”

If necessary, we will continue with the International Days of Nonviolent Civil Disobedience to End the Military Occupation of Iraq. The fifth could be on Dec. 10, 2006, International Human Rights Day.
(The Day itself, Dec. 10, falls on a Sunday, which would be appropriate for legal demonstrations. Groups doing civil resistance or civil disobedience actions at government installations may choose Monday, Dec. 11, when these offices will be open. This is similar to the situation of March 19-20.)

Path to Action

If you are interested in discussing this proposal with us, please contact [email protected] (It is possible that by making this initial contact you may be putting yourself in some legal jeopardy).

If you express interest in implementing thisproposal, our Coordinating Committee could put you in touch with others from your country, region, or city who have also expressed interest to explore possibilities for collaboration.

We would be willing to support the local grassroots organizing efforts according to the needs of the individuals and groups in these areas.

Contact us if you would like any guidance or assistance. As we develop our contact list, we will send out update information and other information to assist you and your group in the planning of your actions.

The Number One message of every action would be: End the military occupation of Iraq. This emphasis must be clear if the many actions in
many places are to have a profound impact on the public and governments. Local or national organizers may wish to present one or
two related issues or demands, with the main focus staying on ending the military occupation of Iraq.

Our Coordinating Committee will send out a brief sample statement which could be used with each action. Groups are free to express their demands and motivations in religious language or not, as they see fit.


Spreading the Word

We ask individuals, groups, and organizations around the globe to endorse this Call and to send it out to their mailing lists and to the media. Groups which are not committed to participating in the actions of civil resistance could simply transmit our Call.

We hope that this global call will be a part of a sustained grassroots campaign to end the violent occupation of Iraq. Through our Coordinating Committee, we would be happy to support grass-roots efforts to this end and to work with others in organizing nonviolent civil resistance around the world.

Some persons and organizations may choose to organize legal demonstrations (without any component of civil resistance) on the days
we have proposed. We would request that they inform us of the legal demonstration they are planning, and that they inform their local media. We will also inform international media about the actions planned.

As for those who are planning civil resistance in their locality, if you are proposing this publicly prior to your action, please inform your local or national media and please let us know so that we can
inform the international media.

If you are not making this public before your action, please inform us as soon as the action takes place so that we can report it as one of many actions in various parts of the world.

Thanks for your kind consideration of this proposal.

Sincerely,

(Signers are from 16 countries. In some cases organizational affiliations are for personal identification purposes only.)

Gary Ashbeck
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Jonah House

Father Daniel Berrigan, S.J.
New York, NY, USA
Catholic priest, author, lecturer, peace activist

Father Roy Bourgeois, M.M.
Columbus, Georgia, USA
Catholic priest; founder, School of the Americas Watch

Father Ernesto Cardenal
Managua, NICARAGUA
Catholic priest; poet, sculptor, former Minister of Culture of
Nicaragua

Bishop Pedro Casaldáliga
Sao Felix de Araguaia, BRAZIL
Retired bishop of Catholic diocese of Sao Felix
Theologian, author

Christian Base Communities
SPAIN

Patricia Clark
Nyack, NY, USA
Executive Director, Fellowship of Reconciliation

Comité Oscar Romero de Madrid
Madrid, SPAIN

Mairead Corrigan Maguire
Belfast, NORTHERN IRELAND
1976 Nobel Peace Laureate
Co-founder of Peace People

Susan Crane
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Jonah House

Father John Dear, S.J.
Cerrillos, New Mexico, USA
Catholic priest, peace activist, author

Rev. Richard Deats
Nyack, NY, USA
Former Executive Secretary and Fellowship Editor, Fellowship of
Reconciliation

Marie Dennis
Washington, D.C., USA
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Pax Christi International

Father Miguel d'Escoto, M.M..
Managua, NICARAGUA
Catholic priest; Foreign Minister of Nicaragua 1979-1990 Proponent of Nonviolent Evangelical Insurrection against Imperialism

Xavier Dias
Ranchi, Jharkhand, INDIA
Editor of Adhikar, a monthly Hindi bulletin for communities affected by mining.

Dorothy Day Catholic Worker
Washington, D.C., USA

Jim and Shelley Douglass
Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Mary's House Catholic Worker

Bishop Thomas Gumbleton
Detroit, Michigan, USA
Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit Pastor of urban parish, author, lecturer, peace activist

Father G. Simon Harak, S.J.
New York, New York, USA
Catholic priest; Anti-Militarism Coordinator, War Resisters League

Jennifer Harbury and Sister Dianna Ortiz
Washington, D.C., USA
Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International

Hartford Catholic Worker Community
Hartford, CT, USA

Father Francois Houtart
Louvain la Neuve, BELGIUM
Catholic priest; Prof. Emeritus of the Catholic University of Louvain;
Member of the International Council of the World Social Forum

Jonah House Community
Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Judith Kelly
Arlington, Virginia, USA
Mid-Atlantic Regional Associate, Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service
Prisoner of conscience in the movement against the School of the
Americas

Kathy Kelly
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Voices for Creative Non-Violence

Eric LeCompte
Washington, DC, USA
SOA Watch Event Coordinator

Jerimarie Liesegang, PhD
Hartford, CT, USA
Queer activist
Director, Conn. TransAdvocacy Coalition

Madrid Committee of Solidarity with Black Africa
Madrid, SPAIN

Danny Malec
Voluntown, CT, USA
Global Call to Action

Father Regino Martínez, S.J.
Dajabón, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Catholic priest; Coordinator of Border Solidarity

Liz McAlister
Baltimore, MD, USA
Jonah House

Edel Mihm
Saarbruecken, GERMANY
Journalist

Father Uriel Molina Oliú
Managua, NICARAGUA
Catholic priest; theologian, founder and former director of Centro
Antonio Valdivieso, Managua

Father Ismael Moreno, S.J.
El Progreso, Yoro, HONDURAS
Director of the Reflection, Research and Communication Team (ERIC)

Father Joseph E. Mulligan, S.J.
Managua, NICARAGUA
Catholic priest working with Christian Base Communities; writer, peace activist

Mary Novak
Voluntown, Connecticut, USA
Global Call to Action

Michael O’Grady, S.J.
Cambridge, Mass., USA

Adolfo Perez Esquivel
ARGENTINA
1980 Nobel Peace Laureate

Harold Pinter
London, ENGLAND
2005 Nobel Literature Laureate

Ted Schmidt
Toronto, Ont., CANADA
Editor, Catholic New Times

Ramón Sepulveda Velez
PUERTO RICO
Community Organizer

Cindy Sheehan
Berkeley, California, USA
Peace Mom; Mother of Army Spc. Casey A. Sheehan, who was killed in Iraq on April 4, 2004;
Founder of Gold Star Families for Peace;
Cindy camped at George Bush’s ranch in August, 2005, demanding to speak with the president.

Joanne Sheehan
Norwich, Connecticut, USA
Chair of War Resisters’ International
War Resisters League/New England coordinator

Father Eugene Toland, M.M.
BOLIVIA

José María Vigil
PANAMÁ
Teólogo

Dr. Stellan Vinthagen
Goteberg, SWEDEN
Department of Peace and Development Research

Rabbi Arthur Waskow, director
Philadelphia, Pa., USA
The Shalom Center

Rev. Phil Wheaton
Takoma Park, Maryland, USA
Episcopal priest; Committee of Indigenous Solidarity, Zapatistas of
Washington, D.C., USA

Workers’ Vanguard Communities
SPAIN

Rev. Bill Wylie-Kellermann
Detroit, Michigan, USA
United Methodist Pastor; writer
Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education

Father Francisco Xammar, S.J.
Tarragona, SPAIN
Catholic priest; International Christian Secretariate of Solidarity with the Peoples of Latin America (SICSAL)

Celeste Zappala
Philadelphia, Pa., USA
Mother of Sgt Sherwood Baker, killed in action in Iraq on April 26, 2004;
Member, Gold Star Families;
United Methodist

by Jonah Sat Dec 31, 2005 23:06

http://www.jonahhouse.org/images/index3.htm

by Micah - Plowshares Sun Jan 01, 2006 01:35

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO ON THE EVE OF ANOTHER WAR AGAINST THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ.....Early in the morning on January 1, 1991 Moana Cole, a Catholic Worker from New Zealand, Ciaron O’Reilly, a Catholic Worker from Australia, and Susan Frankel and Bill Streit, members of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker in Washington, D.C., calling themselves the Anzus (Australia, New Zealand and U.S.) Plowshares, entered the Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, NY.

After cutting through several fences, Bill and Sue entered a deadly force area and hammered and poured blood on a KC-135 (a refueling plane for B-52’s) and then proceeded to hammer and pour blood on the engine of a nearby cruise missile armed B-52 bombers that could be used in the Middle East. They presented their action statement and an indictment to base security who encircled them moments later.

Simultaneously, Moana and Ciaron entered the base at the opposite end of the runway, and made a sign of the cross with blood on the runway, spray-painted "Love Your Enemies - Jesus Christ," "No More Bombing of Children in Hiroshima, Vietnam, Iraq, or Anywhere!" and "Isaiah Strikes Again." For approximately one hour they hammered upon the runway chipping at two sections, one being nearly 5 feet in diameter, before they were detained.

The B52 that was nuclear armed and on scramble alert was grounded and did not fly for the next two months. In the middle of a mass mobilisation of bombers & fighters from the base the runway was shut down for two hours.

In their action statement they declared that they came together from three different countries to reclaim the acronym from the ANZUS Treaty and create a "new pact for peace, which is the way of the Lord." They also asserted they were acting to prevent war in the Persian Gulf and called upon people to nonviolently resist war and oppression. In their indictment they cited the U.S. government for war crimes and violations of international law.

All four were indicted on January 9th on federal charges of conspiracy and property destruction and faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. After being held in jail for over two months, they accepted pre-trial release on March 6th. They went to trial in Federal Court in Syracuse in May and were convicted by a jury.

On August 20th, they were sentenced to twelve months in prison and ordered to pay $1800 in restitution. After serving 10 months Bill and Sue were released from prison in mid-June 1992. Moana and Ciaron were released in late June on bail pending a deportation hearing. In October 1992, Moana returned to New Zealand following her court-ordered voluntary deportation. Ciaron returned to Australia on April 7th following his deportation hearing on March 29

Griffis Air Force Base was closed, the nuclear weapons removed and the music festival "Woodstock '99" was held on the site.

Moana Cole is now a mother and lawyer with Maori Legal Aid in New Zealand

Bill Frankel Streit is a father of 3 and a recent participant in the Witness Against Torture walk on Guatanamo Bay witnesstorture.org
Bill has served further prison time for nonviolent resistance and visited Iraq to protest the genocidal sanctions during the '90's.

Sue Frankel-Streit, with her husband Bill and 3 children, lives and works on "The Little Flower Catholic Worker Farm" in Virginia. She was part of the actions at the Pentagon and IMF this past week.

Ciaron O'Reilly awaits the third Pit Stop Ploughshares trial in Dublin on July 5th. 2006 for disabling a U.S.Navy war plane at Shannon Airport www.peaceontrial.com

by Micah Sun Jan 01, 2006 01:39

http://www.jonahhouse.org/images/pages/10%20Hallibillion%20operative,%20Sue,%20enforces%20toll%20collection_jpg.htm

by Micah - Plowshares Sun Jan 01, 2006 01:45

http://www.witnesstorture.org/node/161

by Micah Sun Jan 01, 2006 01:50

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0101/S00019.htm

by Update Mon Jan 02, 2006 07:34

The retreat itself was rewarding and powerful. About 60 people participated
with a good mix of veterans of these retreats and people quite new to them. A rich mix.

Presentations:
During the opening session, Steve Kelly S.J. gave a reflection on the theme of the retreat reminding us of why we gather and how
important is reflecting and acting together.

On Dec. 28, some of the people who travelled to Cuba shared the experience, each making observations and sharing experiences with the slides that Scott Langley prepared and showed.

On Dec. 29, some of the St. Patrick's Four and their grown children shared the trial experience and their sense of what they
face from the courts as individuals, families and community. That evening Robin Hahnel gave a presentation on the economics of
globalization pinpointing the International Monetary Fund as the institution most responsible for the oppression and suffering of so many people in so many poor nations around the globe. He highlighted the absolute importance of resistance and public
witness against these institutions.

Actions:
On Dec. 28, we went to the Pentagon arriving by 7:00 a.m. and focused our resistance at the south entrance. Ten people - arriving first - mounted the pedestrian walkway. Two hung a banner facing the south parking lot; the others blocked the entrance at the check point. They were able to impede access for some 10 - 15 minutes before being forceably removed. Instead of making arrests, the police chose to impel all down the stairs to join the body of the protest. It was well orchestrated with readings, song, and
attempts to leaflet employees. We ended by processing to the Metro entrance and having our closing circle there.

On Dec. 29, we went to the White House and set up a moving presence highlighting the horror of torture. Six of us dressed in orange jump suits and black hoods and either stood tied to the fence of lay hog-tied on the ground. A seventh took the infamous position on the box, hooded and draped in black with wires coming from her body. We read testimonies of torture victims and called
for an end of torture in all its forms. Ten were arrested for refusing to vacate the "picture post card zone." All face the court on March 15th.

On Dec. 30, we went to the new IMF building and staged a street theatre. Hallibillion had privatized the sidewalk. All poor peoples had to pay a toll to use the sidewalk. Participants in the theatre combined solid political analysis with humor that effectively exposed some of the IMF policies. Others held banners and posters trying to communicates some of the worst aspects of that institution.

by Update Mon Jan 02, 2006 07:37

http://www.jonahhouse.org/F&RDec05_WH.htm

by Update Tue Jan 03, 2006 12:58

The two men convicted for painting the words "no war" on the Sydney Opera
House are facing court action again to prevent them auctioning the equipment
used to paint the sign.

Police confiscated the paint can and two brushes and are seeking the court's
approval to destroy the items.

Last year, Will Saunders and David Burgess spent six months in jail for
painting the slogan on one of the sails of the Opera House on the eve of the
invasion of Iraq.

They are now trying to sell the items and say the proceeds will go to Iraq's
Mother and Child Hospital at Basra.

The matter will go before a Sydney court later this month.

by Update Tue Jan 03, 2006 19:39

http://www.sydneyoperahousenowar.org/

by Update Tue Jan 03, 2006 23:52

http://www.sydneyoperahousenowar.org/pictures.html