Author Archive for Jack & Felice

from Voices for Creative Nonviolence

by Brian Terrell

“What happened to us was a shakedown by gangsters wearing police uniforms and judges’ robes, not for the sake of justice, but to maintain the civic infrastructure behind the glittering façade of Las Vegas with dollars squeezed out of its poorest citizens.”

“The degree of civilization in a society,” wrote the Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky, “can be judged by entering its prisons.” As a frequent visitor to Nevada in recent years, I have often been surprised by the cultural diversity and spiritual richness that can be found in Las Vegas. Still, I think that Dostoyevsky was right. A more accurate assessment of the degree of civilization in Las Vegas and for the broader society that the city claims to be “The Entertainment Capital” of can be made by entering the cells of the Clark County Correctional Center than by going to the top of the Stratosphere, cruising the Strip or even by taking in a Cirque du Soleil show.

Photo by Leonard Eiger of three men blocking traffic onto the Bangor Trident base during their nonviolent direct action.

from Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action

See report and photos of the trial, including court statements, here.

Thirty-five people were present on May 7 at the demonstration against Trident nuclear weapons at the Bangor submarine base. Five demonstrators attempted to block the main highway entrance into the base and three demonstrators were arrested.

At around 3:30 pm on Saturday, three demonstrators entered the main highway and briefly blocked traffic on the federal side of the Main gate at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. The three demonstrators carried an illustration of Fr. Daniel Berrigan, revered anti-war and anti-nuclear weapons priest, with a statement by Fr. Berrigan, “Know where you stand and stand there.” The three also carried a colorful banner with symbols linking nuclear weapons and climate change.

from the Los Angeles Catholic Worker

Three Catholic Workers were sentenced to federal prison on April 21 for their nonviolent action at Vandenberg Air Force Base on August 8, 2015. Jeff Dietrich (Los Angeles Catholic Worker) and Dennis Apel (Guadalupe Catholic Worker) each received a four month sentence, and David Omondi (Los Angeles Catholic Worker) received a 2 month sentence. The men are required to self-surrender on different dates in early May.

Protesters who blockaded London arms trade fair acquitted after judge sees evidence of illegal weapons on sale

The judge said there was compelling evidence that illegal arms were on sale at DSEI

from the Independent

by Jon Stone

There is compelling evidence that arms were illegally being sold at the world’s biggest arms fair which takes place in London, a judge has ruled.

Stratford Magistrates Court on Friday acquitted eight anti-arms trade protesters who tried to disrupt Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEI) last September.

The Bangor Eight defendants in front of the courthouse

from Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action

by Leonard Eiger

Eight peace activists stood trial On Friday, April 1, 2016 in US District Court on charges of trespassing onto a US nuclear weapons base.

On August 10, 2015 the eight activists crossed the blue line onto Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, which represents the largest operational concentration of nuclear weapons in the US arsenal, in an act of nonviolent civil resistance. Some staged a die-in, spreading ashes around others’ bodies on the asphalt, while two members of the group attempted to deliver a letter to the base commander (CLICK HERE to read the letter) urging him to uphold international law regarding nuclear weapons.