The Nuclear Resister networks the anti-nuclear and anti-war resistance movement while acting as a clearinghouse for information about contemporary nonviolent resistance to war and the nuclear threat. Our emphasis is on support for the women and men jailed for these actions. This blog is the online companion to the quarterly Nuclear Resister newsletter, a more comprehensive chronicle. » Read more…
NATIONAL CALL IN DAY FOR PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE RAFIL DHAFIR
MONDAY, AUGUST 4 – 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST
On June 18th Dr. Dhafir was removed to a special housing (isolation) unit. The purpose of the national call in day is to get the warden to return Dr. Dhafir to the general population.
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by Ellen Barfield
With the two year anniversary of the Transform Now Plowshares action today, July 28, and with Megan, Greg, and Michael (MGM!) seeming to be stable at their prison assignments for now, it is a good time to review the action, the trial and sentencing, and the subsequent responsibility of all of us to support and move forward their work resisting nuclear weapons.
These hot, humid days of deep summer certainly bring back memories of being in hot, humid eastern Tennessee two years ago and beginning to travel Oak Ridge and Knoxville area roads which later became very familiar after so many visits for hearings, trial, and sentencing. When I took Megan’s first call from jail and heard her elation that they had gotten to exactly where they wanted and done all they had planned, it was clear the blessings of God or the universe had again supported the work of disarmament, as so often has happened with plowshares actions.
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OPEN LETTER FROM THE BROOKLYN METROPOLITAN DETENTION CENTER
from Sr. Megan Rice, on behalf of the Transform Now Plowshares
July 28, 2014
Our Dear Sisters and Brothers,
We send warm greetings and many thanks to all who actively engage in the transformation of weapons of mass destruction to sustainable life-giving alternatives. Gregory Boertje-Obed (U.S. Penitentiary, Leavenworth, Kansas) Michael Walli (Federal Correctional Institution McKean, Bradford, Pennsylvania) and I are sending you some of our observations and concerns on the 2nd anniversary of our Transform Now Plowshares action.
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To my dearest friends and comrades,
Brian Jacob Church
I want to thank you all for your never ending love and support for the three of us as we continue to resist this system of state oppression. The last two years have been a long, hard fought struggle, but finally, with trial done and sentences handed out, we’re on the home stretch.
I’m pretty sure I can say for all three of us that had it not been for the international showing of solidarity for our struggle, we would have been in a different, and much worse, situation. For me, this support has helped me both physically and mentally. You all have been most inspiring and uplifting, with constant reminders to stay strong and keep my head up. It has helped me stay focused and to remember why I resist in the first place. Please know that even if I may not have written back, that every letter and book I have received has been read and appreciated.
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Greg and Michele (on left) with Eric Johnson and Art Laffin at Knoxville Federal Courthouse in May 2013. Photo by Felice Cohen-Joppa
From Via Pacis, newsletter of the Des Moines Catholic Worker
Greg Boertje-Obed and Michele Naar-Obed are not new to the Plowshares scene. They met and married while living at Jonah House and being a part of the Good News Plowshares. Their child Rachel was born at Jonah House. Greg has done a total of five Plowshares actions and Michele has done two. Michele has spent close to three years working with Christian Peace Maker Teams in Iraq. For the past 11 years they have been members of the Duluth Catholic Worker community. Greg is currently serving a five-year sentence at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary for his participation in the Transform Now Plowshares. Michele is part of the new Hildegard Catholic Worker House in Duluth. She was one of the Des Moines St. Pat’s 7 and served 48 hours in our Polk County Jail. We asked them both to write for this issue of Via Pacis in hopes to highlight their faithful lives and need of support.
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At six o’clock in the morning on July 25, a group of local people from Plymouth, Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and beyond blocked the main Camels Head entrance into Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth, England in order to stop the refitting of the Vanguard nuclear submarines which carry and launch the Trident nuclear weapon missiles.
People used their own bodies and banners, as well as a car, to block the entrance into the base.
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photo by Edward Hogan, Shannonwatch
TWO INDEPENDENT TDS were arrested on the afternoon of July 22 at Shannon Airport.
Clare Daly and Mick Wallace were detained while attempting to inspect two US military aircraft.
Shannonwatch confirmed that the pair were on the tarmac, in a protest designed to highlight what they feel is lax inspection of US military movements through the County Clare airport.
The two were close to a Hercules C130 transport aircraft when they were spotted by Irish Defence Forces staff who were guarding the plane.
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Liz McAlister and Erica Brock
Order of Protection Delivered for the Children of the World
On July 23, eight Atlantic Life Community activists joined with Upstate Drone Action at the main gate of Hancock Air Base in Syracuse, New York. Hancock is the home of the 174th Attack Wing of the New York State Air National Guard. The 174th Attack Wing pilots weaponized MQ9 Reaper drones over Afghanistan – killing and terrorizing an uncountable number of civilians.
The eight delivered a People’s War Crimes Indictment to the Hancock chain of command by affixing it to the fence after it was refused by base personnel. Also delivered was an Order of Protection on behalf of the children of the world who are subject to U.S. drone surveillance and attack.
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UK nuclear weapons convoy
Just after midnight on July 11, a military vehicle convoy which included lorries carrying Trident nuclear bombs, passed through the center of Glasgow, Scotland. Four Faslane Peace campers were arrested when they blockaded the convoy for an hour close to Loch Lomond. One of the activists climbed atop the vehicles.
Francesco Bertozzi (23), Heather Stewart (29), Jamie Watson (32) and another peace camper were arrested and spent the weekend in jail until an initial court appearance. They then learned that only one of them is being prosecuted, for breaching the peace and resisting arrest.
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UPDATE: GRADY FLORES RELEASED ON APPEAL ON JULY 17 (scroll below for details)
Base’s Order of Protection Begs Judgement
On July 10, Mary Anne Grady Flores, grandmother of three, was sentenced to one year in prison for being found guilty of violating an order of protection. A packed courtroom of over 100 supporters was stunned as she was led away, and vowed to continue the resistance.
These orders of protection, typically used in domestic violence situations or to protect a victim or witness to a crime, have been issued to people participating in nonviolent resistance actions at Hancock Air Base since late 2012. The base, near Syracuse, New York, pilots unmanned Reaper drones over Afghanistan, and trains drone pilots, sensor operators and maintenance technicians. The orders had been issued to “protect” Colonel Earl Evans, Hancock’s mission support commander, who wanted to keep protesters “out of his driveway.”
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