Ploughshare Activist, Special Branch, Irish Army & Garda Assemble at Shannon as Condi Takes Off!

by DCW Wed Aug 16, 2006 13:58 087 918 4552

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/77905

by Ploughshares Support Wed Aug 16, 2006 14:28 087 918 4552

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/77924

by Brize Wed Aug 16, 2006 18:08

Peace Camp has been established at Brize Norton, site of departure for most British troops heading for Iraq. see link.....

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/08/347930.html?c=on...53884

by Coilín Wed Aug 16, 2006 19:46

to fly by on the day the "Would You Believe" crew were scheduled to be filming Damien at Shannon Airport.

Bringing the hero and the villain together is a prerequisite for any kind of dramaturgy, even in documentary film-making, so it was extraordinarily generous of her to turn up to supplement the usual crowd of uniformed extras hanging around in the transit lounge.

Did the kind people at Aer Rianta tip her off that the camera crew would be there? Or did her intelligence people find out? Either way, it just goes to show how efficiently the world works. ;-)

Best,
Coilín.

by Seán Ryan Wed Aug 16, 2006 22:37

It'll be interesting to see how RTE portrays all this.

They've a history of either ignoring or spinning anything to do with our complicity in illegal acts of genocide.

Thank God I don't have a license.

by Plougshares Support Wed Aug 16, 2006 23:37

Images from Shannon

North American Airlines US Troop Carrier in Shannon Yesterday

Irish Army Providing Security for Aircraft

by Ciaron - Ploughshares/Catholic Worker Thu Aug 17, 2006 11:57 087 918 4552

It's quite a circular thing, Damien being down at Shannon with the "Would You Believe" crew yesterday.

I first came in contact with Damien from him seeing a "Would You Believe" documentary on my good self broadcast in the second half of 2002.

I had arrived in Dublin just before the Dame St. RTS Mascareeee. I somehow ended up on police liason with Treena Lenthall, a Catholic Worker who had moved to Dublin 6 months before and who was active with RTS. We were in Pearse St. with Robocop's dad as desk seargant negotiating abvout the folks who ad already been arrested, when the cops kicked off in Dame St. Reinforcements rushing out with batons and eventually victims limping in with head injuries etc.

I had put out a "Dublin Catholic Worker" newsletter for the May Day and was treated with general suspicion as I attempted to distribute it to the bright young things of RTS. I had started to vigil solo at the GPO against Irish complicity in the war on Afghanistan. I was contcated by a young U.S. student Mike who wanted to volunteer at the CW soup kitchen (that didn't and still doesn't exist!)...so the two of us continued to vigil against the war on a Monday and then take the long gridlocked bus journey back to Ballyfermot where I was house sitting & dog sitting and have some food and a liturgy.
I remember the other 3 who would come weren't christian Buddhist Danny, Situationist Fergus and action faction RTS er Cathy.

Dan Berrigan, a legendary figure of our movement in the U.S. wrote to me. He was coming to Ireland did I want him to give a talk. I think 80 year old Jesuit Dan was imagining a fireside chat. Over 1,000 people turned up to hear Dan, Fr. John Dear SJ and myself speak at Belvedere College ( we - Afri/DCW- had to move it from the Royal Dublin as the phone response was overwhelming!). There were so many people we had to turn them away. People had driven from Cork and Derry and Galway to hear the legendary Dan Berrigan.

RTE's WYB crew were there and wanted to do a doc on Dan. He politely refused and said he was in Ireland for a short holiday. They then approached me. I replied "I didnt hae much of life at that time!" I remember the 2nd. day of filming the guy saying "You're the only member of the Dublin Catholic Worker" aren't you?" I said "That's why it is singular not plural!"

The show had to go on and it did. i rember part of the doc is me sitting on the edge of the wing sculpture/pond at Shannnon and saying "So far we have come down here to pray for peace, to witness for peace, but we may have to come down and resist here!". The hangar where we were to do our disarmament action 6 months later was only a short distance away.

Damien saw the braoadcast and made contact from the seminary. He volunteered t make a banner for a solidairty demionstration we were doing with LASC at the U.S. Embassy on the Nov 16th.anniversary of 6 Jesuits being slain by graduates of the "School of the Americas" www.soaw.org

I met Deirdre a couple of weeks before the demonstration. Karen came over for a holiday at that time. Nuin turned up on new Years day and we were all in jail together by Feb 3rd.

So thank you "Would You Believe" for bringing us together...

Below is the link to that original 2002 show (If anyone knows where the laminated placard I'm pictured holding is, I'd really like to get it back....sentimental value!")

http://www.rte.ie/tv/wouldyoubelieve/24102002/thisweek.html

by Nicholas McMurry Fri Aug 18, 2006 12:16

Would it be a good idea to hand out flyers to any US service personel that can be found in Shannon or Ennis, saying that Ireland will welcome soldiers gone AWOL?

I'm sure the airport would kick us out, but have I not heard that soldiers have been seen in uniform in Shannon town and Ennis?

by DM Sat Aug 19, 2006 01:53

That's an interesting idea. However since there's no draft everyone who is there made the decision to join up. But you very well might get a few people who want to pull out at the last minute. Even if you got one it'd be worth it since it'd make quite a pain in the ass for the courts to extridite him/her.

by Coilín Sun Aug 20, 2006 03:09 aat2004 at mail dot dk

I reckon the US government would probably just ignore any soldier who went AWOL here.

In fact, it wouldn't surprise me at all to discover that one or two had already done so. It's not as if the fence around the airport presents any kind of serious obstacle to a young soldier at the peak of physical fitness.

However, to the best of my knowledge, any soldier who is prepared to pay the price - e.g. in terms of lost wages and prospects for third-level education - can get a dishonourable discharge by simply going AWOL Stateside. The advantage to this is that you can stay at home with family and friends.

Since deserting soldiers are not liable to be persecuted on returning to the US, they are unlikely to be granted refugee status here. But if they had Irish ancestry, they might get citizenship. And if they had good social skills, they might get some kind of a job here, with or without the right papers, and I reckon they could live here for years without anybody bothering to question their status. After all, there are plenty of vacancies here, and plenty of sympathy, too.

While I think American soldiers should desert on conscientious grounds rather than participate in the ongoing destruction of Iraqi society, and while I think we should support them in every way we can if they desert in or around Shannon, I don't think it will prompt any kind of legal or political response from Washington.

Mind you, I'd like to be proven wrong on this!

Best,
Coilín.

by Jonah - Jonah House Resistance Community Sun Aug 20, 2006 09:52 Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for your prayers, letters, cards and visits while
I was in the Alexandria Detention Center these last 30 days. Your
suppport made my time easier, and brought encouragement to the other
women who were in the cell block with me.

While I was in the jail, several people wrote asking what I had
done at the Pentagon: The theme of the Holy Week Faith and Resistance
retreat was: Who are we betraying, arresting, torturing, and
crucifying today? On the morning of Holy Thursday about 40 of us
went to the Pentagon where Betsy Lamb, Brian DeRouen, and I were
arrested as we partially blocked a checkpoint by kneeling and
holding a banner that said, "No Torture, No War." Others hammered
nails into a life-sized wooden cross, and then a hooded person in an
orange jumpsuit stood as if crucified. We sang and prayed as workers
entered the Pentagon that morning, some visibly affected by our
witness.

The arraignment, trial, conviction and sentencing was July 21 in
from of Judge Buchanan and I was immediately taken to the Detention
Center. While I was inside the jail, I was struck by the continual
violence in the movies and TV shows that were constantly on in the
cell block. The theme of Violence as the Great Restorer of Order,
was replayed over and over again every hour. Walter Wink's
portrayal of the Myth of Redemptive Violence, (the good guy seems
to be losing to the bad guy, but then at the end, the good guy does
some great feat of violence, and order is restored) was in the
cartoons, the movies, the news and the detective novels available
to us. It's no wonder that people believe that we need better
nuclear weapons, an aggressive military, and more and newer bombs
and missiles.

And in the midst of this glorification of violence, I was
remembering Dr. Kings words: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness,
only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can
do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and
toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spirial of
destruction."

And so in the jail, while talking with jail ministers, guards,and other
prisoners, I risked being considered naive, impractical, and simplistic
by saying that I think Jesus meant it when he told us to love our enemies.
As I am coming out, I hear that Jeff Deitrick is going in. He has a
thirty day sentence for occupying Sen. Feinstein's office in L.A. He's
being held at the L.A. county jail, and we don't have an address for
him yet.

It is a joy to be here in the Jonah community. Carol is moving
carefully on her broken foot, Liz, Ardeth, Eden, Eta, Steve and Gary
are all working hard on all sorts of projects.

thanks again for all your support.
Peace,
Susan

Don't forget to visit our website www.jonahhouse.org

by Update Sun Aug 20, 2006 15:50

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060819/ap_on_re_us/old_sol...diers

by Update Mon Aug 21, 2006 19:24

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060821/wl_mideast_afp/ira...61513

by KK Tue Aug 22, 2006 08:26

During his sold out series of concerts at The Point Kris Kristoffersen dedicated his encore song "Don't Let the Basatards Get You Down!" to the Pit Stop Ploughshares while they were awaiting trial. It came from a pre-Iraq War2 album dealing with the sanctions. he has recently released this song "I Want Nothing But the Ending of this War!" Kristoffersen comes frmo a Texan military family, he flew military helicopters in the Vietnam War.

Song on link.........

http://gaelicstarover.blogspot.com/2006/08/i-want-nothi....html

by Update Wed Aug 23, 2006 08:24

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060823/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/m...ll_up