Monthly Archive for August, 2015

Thanks to Leonard Eiger for sending these articles.

The following articles articulate the rich history of nonviolent resistance that took root in the Pacific Northwest beginning in the 1970s. The first two articles are by Matt Dundas, and were originally published in the Antiwar and Radical History Project-Pacific Northwest, based at the University of Washington, Seattle (http://depts.washington.edu/antiwar/nukes_dundas1.shtml). The other articles are by Terry Messman, and were published in Street Spirit, a publication of the American Friends Service Committee, San Francisco Bay Area (thestreetspirit.org). All articles were recently published together at the Satyagraha Foundation for Nonviolence Studies (satyagrahafoundation.org/). Here is a link to an additional article by Brian Casserly, “Confronting the U.S. Navy at Bangor, 1973-1982,” also published in the Antiwar and Radical History Project (http://depts.washington.edu/antiwar/nukes_casserly.shtml).

Sue Clark being arrested at the Albany Federal Building. Photo by Marcia Hopple

This is what Democracy looks like:  Albany rally and sit-in at the Federal Building to support the Nuclear Deal with Iran

from Waging Peace/Women Against War

by Mickie Lynn

On Wednesday, August 26, 2015, about 70 people gathered outside the Leo O’Brien Federal Building in Albany, New York as part of a nationwide series of vigils and rallies that happened at different times of that day in different cities. In most cases they were organized by a coalition of national groups (60 Days to End the War), supported by many members of local peace and justice groups.

by Joy First

Voices for Creative Nonviolence engaged with a number of Wisconsin peace groups to organize an 8-day 90-mile walk across southwest Wisconsin from August 18-25. The purpose of the walk was to call attention and make connections between the militarized police violence at home and the military using violence abroad through drone warfare and by other means. In both cases the victims are people of color, which forces us to reflect on the systemic racism of our society.

The walk began at the City/County/Jail complex in Madison on August 18. Dane County has one of the highest rates of racial disparity of any county in the country on many issues, including when it comes to incarceration – hence starting the walk at the jail. In fact, in order to make the prison population match the general population in Dane County, we would need to release 350 Black people. This is horrific, especially when we understand that so many people of color are in jail for nonviolent crimes and crimes of poverty that could better be solved by more positive interventions. It is up to all of us to stand up with our brothers and sisters and proclaim that “Black Lives Matter!”

Fr. John Dear

Bob Dylan and America’s 70-Year Nuclear Nightmare

from The World Post/Huffington Post

by John Dear

A few years ago, Bob Dylan gave a powerful interview to Rolling Stone. The editor asked about his recent music, but also about our political predicament and how we got into this global mess. Dylan seemed a bit cantankerous — forgive me, Bob! — and kept hemming and hawing.

“What gets in your blood?” the editor asked.

“The whole culture,” Dylan answered.

What do you mean? What are you saying? the editor asked. He kept pushing Dylan to explain where rock and roll came from.

Finally, when push came to shove, Bob Dylan gave the definitive answer.

Hiroshima.

from Jane Stoever

On August 9, at about 7 a.m., Fr. Carl Kabat splashed red paint on a National Security Campus sign at the new Kansas City nuclear weapons plant.

“The deed is done,” Kabat told lawyer Henry Stoever in a call at 7:19 a.m. “I came to the back gate—there was a car (a guard’s car) at the main gate. Two guards are coming.” Kabat said something about splashing paint on a sign and then hung up, reported Stoever. “He sounded happy,” added Stoever.