The Nuclear Resister

Photo by Fumi Tosu

The Pacific Life Community returned to Washington state for their annual gathering, concluding with a blockade of the main gate into the Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. The base is the Pacific homeport of the Trident nuclear ballistic missile submarine fleet.

A two-day program at a nearby retreat center built on the legacy of now-retired Raymond Hunthausen. As Archbishop of Seattle in 1984, he declared that “Trident is the Auschwitz of Puget Sound.” Hunthausen’s wages were garnished when he publicly refused to pay the war tax percentage in protest.

Photo by Jessica Stewart

from Upstate Drone Action

Four drone resisters who had been arrested in 2015 at Hancock drone base – James Ricks, Daniel Burns, Brian Hynes and Ed Kinane – were found innocent of all charges at 11 p.m. at the Dewitt Town Court in New York. After deliberating for only about a half hour, the jury returned with a verdict of not guilty on all charges. Applause erupted in the courtroom upon the jurors’ announcement of the verdict. The four were charged with obstruction of government administration, disorderly conduct and trespass, and faced a year in jail. Following the rendering of the verdict, a juror approached Brian Hynes and said, “I really support what you are doing. Keep doing it.”

from Campaign Against Arms Trade, caat.org.uk

Early on the morning of January 29, Reverend Dan Woodhouse, a Methodist minister in Leeds, and Quaker activist Sam Walton entered BAE Systems’ Warton site in order to disarm warplanes bound for Saudi Arabia. Both have been arrested and are being held “on suspicion of criminal damage” in Blackpool.

Their actions are aimed at preventing BAE’s delivery of fighter jets to the Saudi government. The planes were due to be shipped from the base in the next few weeks. A Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out devastating airstrikes in Yemen since 2015, and international human rights organisations have condemned the bombings, with widespread allegations of war crimes.

From the New York Times

by Charlie Savage

January 17, 2017

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Tuesday commuted all but four months of the remaining prison sentence of Chelsea Manning, the Army intelligence analyst convicted of a 2010 leak that revealed American military and diplomatic activities across the world, disrupted Mr. Obama’s administration and brought global prominence to WikiLeaks, the recipient of those disclosures.

Witness Against Torture photo

100s DEMAND THAT GUANTANAMO BE SHUT DOWN

from Witness Against Torture

Clad in orange jumpsuits and Shut Down Guantanamo t-shirts, activists with Witness Against Torture (WAT) took over the Hart Senate Building on January 11 with a message for Senators, staffers, and the general public. They marked the 15th anniversary of the opening of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The message was “Shut Down Guantanamo,” “No Torture Cabinet” and “Hate Doesn’t Make U.S. Great.” These statements were painted on banners that activists dropped from a balcony and spread on the floor as 9 members of the group dressed in orange jumpsuits and black hoods held a die-in, mourning those Muslim men who died at Guantanamo without ever being charged with a crime. The nine, plus three others, were arrested by Capitol Police as supporters sang “Oh America, don’t believe their lies. Their politics of hate will destroy our children’s lives.” The balconies were crowded with onlookers as the action unfolded. One of the two who unfurled the “No Torture Cabinet” banner was also taken into custody.