U.S. Concentration Camps Housing Children In Conditions Of Torture Where Some Die #nobabyprisons

Copley Plaza, Boston, June 26, 2019  Photo credit: Faith Ninivaggi, Reuters

While I've been busy organizing resistance to climate-killing weapons of mass destruction, the news has been full of horrifying accounts of migrant children jailed, kept from their families, and neglected to the point of death. My husband has been calling our congressional delegation from Maine every day demanding that they visit the centers, close them down, and reunite the children with their families.

It terrifies me that by paying federal income taxes (deducted from my salary as a school teacher) I am complicit in these racist,  for-profit schemes of death dealing.

Soon I will retire, and I will have more opportunity to resist paying those taxes. And more time to organize and participate in resistance.

Copley Plaza, Boston, June 26, 2019  Photo credit: Charles Krupa, Associated Press

Yesterday employees at Wayfair furniture walked off the job protesting the fact that the corporation profits from child detention. They were supported by hundreds in the streets in Boston.

As reported by Joey Garrison in USA Today:

"We don't want our company to profit off of children being in concentration camps," said Madeline Howard, 29, a project manager at Wayfair, who has worked there six years and emceed the event. 

"We want them to have a code of ethics that blocks orders like this from happening again."

Wayfare's owners have said they donated a large sum to the Red Cross, but they won't cancel the contract to supply beds to yet another concentration camp under construction in Texas. Wayfare's employees say another walkout could be in the works. (Maybe a trip to Boston is in my summer plans.) 

"We do care" is a reference to the First Lady touring the Mexico-U.S. border last year wearing a jacket that read, "I really don't care, do U?"

Last year a few times I donated to support activist Patricia Okoumou of Staten Island. She made several famous climbs -- one up the Statue of Liberty's base, two up the Eiffel Tower, and one up Southwest Key which operates several detention center in Texas -- to call attention to the horrors of children in concentration camps.

Okoumou marching before her Statue of Liberty climb, NYC, August 6, 2018     Photo credit: Alex Hollings

She is now being harassed by GoFundMe threatening to withhold $20k donated by her supporters to help her continue her work. Allegedly, because she posted an update that she is pregnant. 

Last year, U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gornstein sentenced her to harsh conditions of release saying that she was supporting herself by profiting from her activism.

Okay if General Dynamics profits off the detention centers, war ships and other death dealing though, right? Because that's the American Way. (General Dynamics could well be the poster child for the ugly, ugly mess we're in.)



These are the values of our government: ok to profit from jailing toddlers in squalid conditions, not ok to "profit" from objecting to those jails in a way designed to attract publicity.

Okoumou has opened a new account at Patreon.

Meanwhile there is the brouhaha in the corporate press because Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted on Instagram, "The United States is running concentration camps on our southern border."

Some have objected to the use of Holocaust language to describe these detention centers but others, notably Japanese-Americans who were sent as families to camps during WWII, have agreed. 

Interviewed by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez on Democracy Now!, psychotherapist Satsuki Ina, who was born in an internment camp in California, had this to say:

the reality that this is happening again is causing many of us to recognize that this is an injustice that is discussed in the same way...that we were a threat to national security, that we were an unassimilable race of people, that we were a threat to the economy of the United State... 

Captivity trauma is known to have lifelong effects on children growing up, and results in depression, and anxiety, and post-traumatic stress (PTSD).

Some of Patricia Okoumou's posts sound like she has PTSD, too. She can't sleep for worrying about children in cages. A lot of us are feeling that way, and we can't figure out what to do about the evils perpetrated by our government, with our money, allegedly in our name.

So we'll go to the streets. Here are events coming up in Maine, one organized by a young mom who was arrested with me protesting the Pentagon's climate crimes at contractor General Dynamics last week. 

Hi lovely family, friends, community members and hopefully beyond.

I've been feeling a mix of emotions especially sadness as I learn each day about the escalation of horrific and dehumanizing treatment of people, notably children in "detention" aka torture camps. I feel powerless, relying on my elected officials to take my calls seriously and do something as quickly as needs to be done. What more can I do way up here in Maine to make this stop fast!

I think about the pain I would feel if my two-year-old was taken from me. Who will comfort him when he cries? Who will change his diapers and keep him clean? Who will protect him from those who harm? I'm crying again now thinking about what the answer is for these detained kids. I am feeling a strong need to take the time to process this tragedy of dehumanization.

WHAT IF WE ALL JUST STOPPED TOGETHER and put our collective energy towards these children and their families?

Here is what I propose: at 11:00am, JUNE 28 we all just STOP. Maybe for an hour, maybe for half and hour, maybe for 10 minutes if you would otherwise get fired. Maybe we can join in common spaces (Congress Square Park, our places of work, our parks) or maybe just be alone. Can we all just stop together and feel this? Can we cry together? Can we say, "yes this is really happening" and feel it? Maybe we can collectively hold the a banner above our heads (the original hashtag) that reads, "REUNIFY DETAINED KIDS NOW". We will be in Monument Square if anyone wants to join us there.

Then I propose we all COLLECTIVELY GIVE. Get out an actual piece of paper and pen/pencil, and write something for these kids (or parents). Maybe a poem, short story, prayer, hope for them, etc. You can share it or not but whatever it is, put some loving energy into it. I'm not sure what we can do with all these papers. Any ideas? Maybe we burn them and send all of that love into the sky?

And finally, do a BRAINSTORM about what you/your community can do. Maybe it's calling elected officials (again). Maybe you work for a newspaper and you can print this story front and center everyday? Maybe you have sweet art skills and can make something cool that would generate attention. I honestly don't know but would feel better thinking about it with more people. How can we keep our attention locked on reuniting these children as quickly as possible and ensuring their and their families' safety?

Thanks to all who join me this Friday, June 28 at 11:00a.
Love,
Ashley and Dan

PS this picture is of me and my sister swinging my two-year-old who is laughing and having the childhood EVERY kid should have.

https://www.facebook.com/events/2298006317117115/


Finally, here's a link to events all over North America being coordinated for Friday, July 12. There are currently three listed for Maine: Lewiston, Westbrook (next to Portland) and Presque Isle. And a fourth, in Augusta, has an event listed on Facebook.

And here's a link to a Facebook event for a weekly vigil in Waterville, Maine. Thanks Mary Dunn for organizing this. https://www.facebook.com/events/349937269025576/349938469025456

Hey @SenCollins, @SenAngusKing, @ChelliePingree & @RepGolden, What Part Of #ClimateEmergency Do You Not Understand?

Asphalt melting in New Delhi as reported in The Telegraph, UK yesterday. Photo credit: EPA/HARISH TYAGI

People are already dying in droves from heat that cannot sustain human life, especially in places that lack air conditioning that, ironically, hastens global heating.

For weeks now India has been reeling under extreme heat.

Today, this headline caught my eye: "'Hell is coming' Western Europe braces for it's hottest weather since a 2003 heat wave killed 15,000 people in France" says Alexandra Ma reporting for Business Insider.

And this one on how climate emergency is exacerbating the humanitarian emergency of people fleeing violence in Central America: "Seven Migrant Deaths Reported In 'Extreme Heat' At U.S. Border" by Andrew Hay in U.S. News & World Report. Among the dead were an infant and two toddlers. WTF?!!!

Yesterday I saw this news: "Canada's military feeling the strain responding to climate change" by Darren Major and Salimah Shivji in CBC News.

So, my question to Maine's congressional delegation -- Senator Susan Collins, Senator Angus King, Representative Chellie Pingree and Representative Jared Golden -- is this: What part of climate emergency are you not understanding?


Yes, I know that money talks and that regular people have long since lost any meaningful voice in our so-called democracy. But, aren't you worried about life on the planet for your own families?

Young mother Ashley Bahlkow was arrested along with me and 20 other people this week demanding that Bath Iron Works (BIW) convert from building war ships to addressing climate catastrophe bearing down on us.

Here is her explanation of why she, her partner and their 2 year old were in attendance as the four of you were inside "celebrating" the "christening"[sic] of yet another war ship built with U.S. tax dollars to make General Dynamics (which owns BIW) very, very wealthy.




In case you're not on Facebook and thus the See more link doesn't work for you, here's her entire statement as a screenshot:

Shouldn't you as Maine's elected officials care about alienating a young voter like Ashley? 

Or have you already decided it's game over?

Thirteen year old Anna Siegel told us in Portland last Friday that she blew out the candles on her cake this year and thought about the 11 years remaining until human extinction is irreversible. None of you showed up to our news conference for the Conversion Campaign, but you can still watch it on YouTube. Anna leads the Youth Climate Strikes movement in Maine, in case you didn't know.





I'll be honest. Based on your past performance, I don't hold out much hope for your leadership. But I will keep trying in every way I can think of to sound the alarm: turn the ship of state around now, before it's too late.

Here's a great article to ponder: "US military is a bigger polluter than as many as 140 countries -- shrinking this war machine is a must" 

by Benjamin Neimark, Oliver Belcher and Patrick Bigger on The Conversation. 

You are part of the problem every time you vote for another bloated Pentagon budget. A BIG part of the problem. Wake up!

Report Back From Jail Support For The 9 Incarcerated Members Of BIW Arrest Group #Inouye22

The No Bail Nine after their release June 24, 2019

Yesterday Mark and I spent the afternoon witnessing the Kafkaesque incarceration of nine of our friends who refused to pay a $60 bail commissioner's fee following arrest at Bath Iron Works on Saturday, June 22. All were calling for conversion of General Dynamics' BIW shipyard to building climate solutions rather than making the climate emergency worse by building yet another carbon belching war ship.

Our first stop was the district court in West Bath where we met up with jail support coordinator Peter Morgan. He had been there at 8am only to learn that the hearing would occur at 1pm. 

Our nine defendants -- Jim Freeman, Sadie Fulton, Bruce Gagnon,  Ken Jones, Natasha Mayers, George Ostensen, Dixie Searway, Mary Beth Sullivan, and Russell Wray -- appeared via video feed from the Two Bridges Jail Facility, a private for-profit jail used by Sagadahoc County.

Probably the presiding judge and the assistant district attorney could see them clearly, but from our vantage point in the front rows they appeared as nearly unrecognizable distant figures in jail-issued clothing. It was an alienating experience for us and, they later reported, for them. It was also the first time the men and women had seen each other since Saturday.

We could hear their voices pretty clearly through the video feed. After Jim Freeman entered his "not guilty" plea for the charge of obstructing a public way, Judge Matthews asked the assistant DA: if the charges were going to be dropped anyway couldn't they agree to just dismiss the charges right then and there? (Charges were dropped after a similar arrest of 25 people on April 27 at BIW).

South Gate of BIW, June 22, 2019 just before some arrests for obstructing a public way. Photo credit: Mike Donnelly

The assistant DA said that his boss, DA Natasha Irving, did intend to prosecute some of those arrested on June 22.

More on that later. (Our stellar attorney, Logan Perkins, advises that we should know in a week whom the DA intends to prosecute.)

So, the assembly line hearing rolled on. George Ostensen attempted to state what he was pleading not guilty to, but was silenced by Judge Matthews and threatened with contempt of court if he did more than enter his plea. 

All were released on personal recognizance with no bail fee required -- which is what all of us had asked for in the first place, before the State of Maine ran up a big bill incarcerating nine people for three days.

Next we were off to Two Bridges which is about 9 miles away in Wiscasset. The facility seemed quite new as Mark, Peter and I sat in an entirely empty waiting room with no human beings visible. All the workers were behind one way mirrors which we could see through only by pressing our noses up against the glass.



Eventually we were told the prisoners would exit from an outside door, so we moved to a picnic table in sight of the door. By now we numbered five having been joined by Martha Spiess and Melody Shank.

Many happy reunions then occurred up until 5pm or so when the last prisoner was finally released. 

The No Bail Nine had spent their time well, connecting with prisoners mostly in for drug and alcohol related offenses they could not afford the bail fee for, mixed in with a few accused murderers both male and female.

The Nine reported that they were greeted warmly by the other prisoners who had read of their arrests the Portland Press Herald article (a reprint of the Times Record's weekend story). "Are you these guys?" they asked holding up a copy of the PPH.

Natasha did art with many of the women, and managed to slip a copy of our Conversion Campaign literature into the reading room (see it here: front side & back side). She signed up to volunteer to teach art at the jail in the future. Many of the Nine emerged questioning why the state pays $150 a day to a for-profit facility with horrible mattresses and bad food -- which the other prisoners said had improved "since you all got here."

As we drove back over the bridge above BIW to return home, Sadie showed her feelings toward Maine's largest weapons manufacturer and major contributor to climate catastrophe bearing down on everyone.

Some compare organizing peace and justice types to herding cats. Certainly we are a strong-willed group who tend to think independently and come to our own conclusions. But, we are also an amazing team centered here in Maine with much appreciated folks "from away" joining in when they feel the spirit. Throughout yesterday I was on the phone and email with many supporters who were helping us connect the No Bail Nine with their vehicles or rides home. A lot of love was in the air!

We came home to find the good news that Bath's local newspaper, the Times Record, had updated their weekend story on the arrests and included lots of information from our Conversion Campaign news conference the day prior to the BIW civil resistance. They quoted BIW worker Patsy Messier who had sent a statement for me to read at the news conference: 

"BIW has the capacity with all the equipment and people who are already there for the conversion to happen pretty easily. All it would take is the will by the people."


Amen to that, sister.

47 Arrested In 8 Weeks Demanding: #ConvertBIW To Address #ClimateEmergency !

Members of the #Inouye22 being taken to jail  Photo credit: Sophia Bahlkow

Media coverage of our powerful Conversion Campaign news conference on June 21 was thin, but coverage is rolling in from both mainstream and alternative sources for our arrests on June 22.

And people ask what purpose it serves to be arrested.

They might well ask that of the 70 people reportedly arrested outside the New York Times the same day, demanding the mouthpiece of the wealthy cover climate as the emergency it is.

Supporter of Juliana v. U.S. youth climate lawsuit in Portland, Oregon June 4, 2019 Photo credit: Janet Weil

As of this morning, news of our arrest is trending in the Bangor Daily News' Most Popular list.

Here's a current list of coverage of our civil resistance.

The Common Dreams article is particularly rich as it offers context for the arrests -- remember when journalists did that? It also includes videos of some of our arrests as well as our press conference the previous day.


'Fund Climate Solutions Not Endless War' 22 Arrested Demanding US Build Windmills, Not War Ships  by Jon Queally, Managing Editor Common Dreams 6/23/19

22 BIW protesters arrested, charged; 8-week total of 47 by Liam Nee, News Center Maine 6/22/19

22 protesters arrested outside christening[sic] of destroyer at Bath Iron Works by Charles Eichacker, Bangor Daily News 6/23/19

Bath Police arrest 22 protesters outside BIW before war ship christening[sic] ceremony by Darcie Moore & Kathleen O'Brien, Times Record 6/22/19

Police arrest 22 protesters outside christening[sic] of warship at BIW by Darcie Moore Kennebec Journal & Waterville Morning Sentinel 6/22/19




(Note: The Portland Press Herald did run the Times Record article by Darcie Moore, but the PPH website has been down all morning so I can't share a link, only this photo my friend Maryellen Dunn sent me of the hard copy of the Saturday 6/22/19 edition.)

Bruce Gagnon of Global Network Against Nuclear Power & Weapons in Space being taken to jail. To order your Maine Natural Guard t-shirt and take the pledge to connect global heating to Pentagon carbon emissions, go here.
Photo credit: Sophia Bahlkow

Post-arrest press release, archived on Peace Action Maine's website (big thanks for media assists from Martha Spiess).

Video of our Conversion Campaign news conference the previous day, Friday, June 21, 2019 in Portland.

Jill Stein, Luke Sekera and Barry Dana after speaking at the Conversion Campaign news conference in Portland 6/21/19 Photo credit: Nickie Sekera

Jill Stein's archived video of the Conversion Campaign news conference where she and other Green Party US members spoke. Thanks to Jill for livestreaming our event on Facebook.

22 Protesters Arrested At General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works Demanding: #ConvertBIW To Address #ClimateEmergency

All arrest photos by Mary Donnelly

Twenty-two protesters who were blocking buses bringing guests to General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works shipyard were arrested today in Bath and charged with obstructing a public way.

“We engaged in civil resistance to underscore our conversion demand. BIW should be helping to solve the climate crisis, not building weapons that make the problem worse,”

said Mark Roman of Solon, one of those arrested.

The protests were part of an ongoing Conversion Campaign in Maine. Recent events include a news conference at the Portland Public Library on June 21 and presentation at Portland Pecha Kucha EARTH on June 6.

The first wave of arrests occurred near the south gate of the shipyard, the second wave at an off ramp of Route 1 near BIW, and the third wave at the north gate entrance. Bath Police Department, Sheriffs and State Police participated in the arrests. Those arrested were taken to the Sagadahoc County Sherrif's facility in Bath for booking rather than the Bath Police Department offices; an officer explained that the number of protesters arrested and booked there on April 27 had "overwhelmed" that facility.

On April 27, 2019 25 protesters were arrested and charged with obstructing a public way. Sagadahoc County District Attorney Natasha Irving did not prosecute and the charges were dropped; it was reported in the press that she considered the cases a drain on the limited resources of her staff.

Protest photos are mine

Organizations sponsoring the June 22 protests and resistance include Americans Who Tell the Truth, Citizens Opposing Active Sonar Threats (COAST), Durham Quaker Meeting, Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, Island Peace & Justice, Maine Independent Green Party, Maine Natural Guard, Maine Veterans for Peace, Maine War Tax Resistance Resource Center, Midcoast Peace & Justice Group, Pax Christi Maine, Peace Action Maine, Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine, Peace & Justice Group of Waldo County, PeaceWorks of Greater Brunswick, Peninsula Peace & Justice; and 350 Maine.

8am Bath Iron Works Action Today Following Vigil In Brunswick & News Conference In Portland Yesterday

A rush hour peace vigil in Brunswick yesterday gathered many of those waging the Conversion Campaign aimed at getting nearby Bath Iron Works to convert to building climate crisis solutions. 

Regular Bruce Gagnon observed that the many, many honks and friendly waves from passersby probably reflected growing concern that the U.S. is threatening attacks on Iran.

Besides the humanitarian catastrophe of another war, everyone on Earth should fear the greenhouse gas pollution that skyrockets when the Pentagon attacks.

That problem is already extremely bad.

Source: "Pentagon Fuel Use, Climate Change, and the Costs of War" Neta C. Crawford, Boston University June 12, 2019

Indeed, the Pentagon appears to be a major factor crashing the life support system for humans and others on the planet. 

Youth Climate Strikes leader Anna Siegel spoke at a news conference for the Conversion Campaign yesterday where told us that, when she blew out the candles on her 13th birthday, she thought: I have 11 years left.

Eleven years is an estimate of the interval until human extinction sets in. That is, if we continue down the path we're currently on.

It is for Anna and all the children and grandchildren that we will be in the streets outside General Dynamics' BIW shipyard today with this message:

#ClimateEmergency!

#convertBIW

Maine's Congressional Delegation Fails Climate Crisis Again, Votes For 'Writing Huge Checks To Boeing & Lockheed'

Jason Rawn at today's news conference in Portland, singing about flooding already underway 

Three dozen people came together to call for conversion of the Bath Iron Works shipyard to build solutions to climate emergency, but Maine's congressional delegation was nowhere to be found. Despite numerous invitations to Rep. Chellie Pingree (1st District) and Rep. Jared Golden (2nd District), not even a staffer for either politician put in an appearance.

Both Pingree and Golden had just voted for the most gargantuan Pentagon budget ever, $733 billion worth.

Their courageous colleague Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan accurately described the appropriations bill as "huge checks being written to Boeing and Lockheed Martin."

Some of those huge checks are for General Dynamics, too, which could explain why Pingree, Golden, Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Angus King stayed away from our Conversion Campaign presser in Portland this morning.

All four will no doubt again be the guests of General Dynamics, which owns Bath Iron Works, tomorrow at a celebration for the Arleigh Burke Guided Missile Destroyer Daniel Inouye.

Another carbon belching war ship the U.S. doesn't need, a weapon system allegedly built to address national security while ignoring the real security emergency facing us all: catastrophic climate change.

Dozens of us will be in the streets in front of the shipyard hoping to be glimpsed by our congressional delegation being whisked through the gates in limousines with tinted windows.

Green Party USA two-time presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein will be out in the streets with us after speaking today about the kind of representation that the people of the U.S. and especially the workers at BIW deserve. So will my husband and I and many of the speakers from today's news conference.

I'll have the full line up of speakers and excerpts of their remarks soon when video of the conference is posted.

Hope to see you at 8am on Washington Street near the north gate of BIW in Bath tomorrow, Saturday June 22, 2019.

A press release with more info on the event may be found here.

Bath Iron Works Warship June 22 Will Be Met With Protests, But D.A. Unlikely To Prosecute Arrests

Jason Rawn (foreground) and others blocking busses arriving for a warship celebration in Bath on April 27, 2019.  (Photo: Peter Robbins)

MEDIA ADVISORY: BATH IRON WORKS WARSHIP LAUNCH WILL BE MET WITH PROTESTS; D.A. UNLIKELY TO PROSECUTE PROTESTERS

Statewide peace and environmental  groups will gather to protest the “christening”[sic] of Arleigh Burke Guided Missile Destroyer Daniel Inouye (DDG 118) at General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works (BIW) shipyard on Saturday, June 22 at 8am.

During the last war ship launch on April 27, 25 protesters were arrested for obstructing a public way blocking a bus headed into the shipyard to join the celebration. District Attorney Natasha Irving declined to prosecute the 25 and is expected to do so if there are similar arrests on June 22. Irving has stated that she considers such cases a drain on the limited resources of her staff.

Currently there are 26 people signed up to engage in civil resistance on  June 22.

Mark Roman of Solon was among those arrested on April 27 out of concern for the Pentagon’s enormous carbon footprint. “The report by Prof. Neta Crawford published this month by Brown University’s Costs of War project counts greenhouse gas emissions since the start of the so-called war on terror in 2001,” said Roman. “The Pentagon is the biggest polluter on the planet, and climate emergency can no longer wait for this to be addressed. We should begin working to convert BIW now!”

Bill Nye clip begins at 18:19 of John Oliver's show. If embedded video does not play for you, see it on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/JDcro7dPqpA?t=18m19s

Bill Nye, science guy, has predicted the beginning of human extinction in as few as 15 years from now without drastic changes to fossil fuel use. More conservative scientists set the deadline at 50 years out.

Bruce Gagnon of Brunswick, a member of VFP who became an activist while in the Air Force during the Vietnam era, said, “Our real security needs as a nation are to urgently address climate change and plan for sea level rise that is already underway. How will this affect BIW’s shipyard in Bath? Continuing to build expensive, provocative and polluting weapon systems like Aegis destroyers ignores climate change as the biggest threat to our collective safety.” Gagnon has helped organize protests at BIW for the past several years. In 2018 he fasted for 37 days to oppose a tax giveaway by the state of Maine to General Dynamics.

Governor Janet Mills signed Maine’s Green New Deal into law this week. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Chloe Maxmin, provides funding for job training needed to convert industries which currently contribute to climate change and global warming.

“Making warships at BIW is not even a good jobs policy. Researchers have consistently found that investment of the same resources in sustainable energy solutions like commuter rail or wind turbines would produce many more jobs,” said Mary Beth Sullivan of PeaceWorks of greater Brunswick. “We need conversion of the BIW shipyard now.” Sullivan referenced the UMass Amherst study in 2011, “TheU.S. Employment Effects of Military and Domestic Spending Priorities: 2011Update” by Robert Pollin and Heidi Garrett-Peltier.

Organizations sponsoring the June 22 protests and resistance include Americans Who Tell the Truth, Citizens Opposing Active Sonar Threats (COAST), Durham Quaker Meeting, Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, Island Peace & Justice, Maine Independent Green Party, Maine Natural Guard, Maine Veterans for Peace, Maine War Tax Resistance Resource Center, Midcoast Peace & Justice Group, Pax Christi Maine, Peace Action Maine, Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine, Peace & Justice Group of Waldo County, PeaceWorks of Greater Brunswick, and Peninsula Peace & Justice.

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