Summer 2021 IN THIS E-BULLETIN 45 MONTH PRISON SENTENCE FOR DRONE WAR WHISTLEBLOWER DANIEL HALE THREE ARRESTS AT GERMAN NUCLEAR WEAPONS BASE AUSTRALIAN WEAPONS EXPO DISRUPTED BY 37 ARRESTS OVER 6 DAYS WOMEN BLOCKADE TRIDENT BASE IN SCOTLAND FOR 11 HOURS PROTESTERS CITED AT BANGOR TRIDENT BASE MOTHER’S DAY ACTION FIVE MEN ARRESTED AT […]
Monthly Archive for July, 2021
Photo from disruptlandforces.org
From late May into June, the seven-day Festival of Resistance outside the Brisbane (Australia) Convention Center was an organizing cauldron. More than 300 participants cooked up public education events and a smorgasbord of nonviolent direct actions to confront Land Forces 2021, the largest international weapons exposition in the Southern Hemisphere.
Over the previous year, community organizing in anticipation of the arms bazaar was led by Wage Peace, a group dedicated to “disturbing war and militarism in Australia.” Organizers brought many diverse constituencies from radical youth, Quaker grannies, Aboriginal leaders, refugees, veterans and more into the action planning. During the six months leading up to the events, protests were held at several Brisbane area weapons manufacturers.
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Photo by Dietrich Gerstner
Stop the next disaster before it happens – abolish nuclear weapons!
On Monday, July 19, six peace activists from the U.S., the Netherlands and Germany began a nonviolent action at 11 a.m. under the motto “Stop the next catastrophe: No Nukes! Stop the next catastrophe – Abolish nuclear weapons!”. They began to dig a tunnel with the goal of reaching the runway of the Büchel air base in order to stop flight operations. They were accompanied by several supporters with banners, who reinforced their action with songs and short speeches.
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Daniel Hale – Codepink photo
On July 27, Daniel Hale was sentenced to 45 months in prison, having pled guilty in April to one count of violating the Espionage Act.
The 33-year-old Air Force veteran first spoke out publicly against drone warfare in 2013, and later shared government documents that blew the whistle on secret watchlists, targeted drone killings, and other abuses in the “War on Terror.” The information Hale shared revealed gross human rights violations in the preparation of target lists for deadly attacks where 90% of the people killed were not the intended targets. In 2014, his home was raided by the FBI. Documents and electronic devices were seized, but he was not arrested until May, 2019. He was charged with five counts of violating the Espionage Act. Hale changed his plea last March, days before his scheduled trial.
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Halfway House to Nowhere by Martha Hennessy July 18, 2021 My past month was filled with a great spiritual struggle. Thank God for the cell phone that has connected me to my little Lectio group, interviews, and the Catholic Worker Zoom round table discussions. Living with others here is also a special time. Sometimes there […]
The Discernment Of Spirits, In MDC Brooklyn by Mark Colville July 8, 2021 Friends, loved ones all – It is impossible to adequately express my gratitude for the hundreds of beautiful letters I’ve received here during the past month… No, really, it’s impossible. You see, my efforts to answer most of […]
Photo by Nick Mottern. An image of Daniel Hale is projected on a D.C. building on June 26, 2021.
The whistleblower acted on behalf of the public’s right to know what is being done in its name.
by Kathy Kelly
July 6, 2021
“Pardon Daniel Hale.”
These words hung in the air on a recent Saturday evening, projected onto several Washington, D.C. buildings, above the face of a courageous whistleblower facing ten years in prison.
The artists aimed to inform the U.S. public about Daniel E. Hale, a former Air Force analyst who blew the whistle on the consequences of drone warfare. Hale will appear for sentencing before Judge Liam O’Grady on July 27th.
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