Ann Wright: The Warmth Of Solidarity #NODAPL #FreeGaza

Ann Wright (center) at JFK Airport with supporters after being deported from Israel
this month for attempting a humanitarian mission to Gaza.

Just back from detention in Israel, arrested in international waters on the "Women's Boat to Gaza" (read her report here), activist Ann Wright went directly to North Dakota to join those facing militarized police attacks that have included dogs and pepper spray. 

It can sometimes seem like Ann Wright is everywhere in the struggle for justice. Since retiring from the State Department in protest of the Iraq war in 2003, this Veteran for Peace has devoted her life to what she describes as "the warmth of solidarity."

In North Dakota Ann joined in the resistance to corporate takeover of the water supply under tribal lands of the Standing Rock Sioux. She went to stand shoulder to shoulder with water protectors like Dr. Sara Jumping Eagle who has been arrested, strip searched and slapped with a restraining order for engaging in peaceful resistance to running an oil pipeline through the watershed that supplies millions in the U.S.



From Camp Casey in Texas to Hawaii (where she hails from) to Jeju Island, South Korea, Ann can be found in the struggle for justice in the face of corporate government.

Ann Wright with Father Mun Jeong Hyeon of the
Catholic Church Solidarity to Make Peace on Jeju Island

This month we are lucky enough to have her in Maine for a speaking tour that begins tomorrow, October 28, in Brunswick. Her full schedule:

Saturday, October 29 Curtis Public Library, Brunswick, noon
Saturday, October 29 Belfast Free Public Library, Belfast, 4pm
Sunday, October 30 Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine, Bangor, 3pm
Sunday, October 30 Blue Hill Library Blue Hill, 6:30pm
Tuesday, November 1 State Street Church, Portland, 7pm

The title of her talk, "Never Silent Until Our Sisters Are Free," comes from a song that the international band of women on the boat to Gaza sang about the suffering of Palestinian women and their families under Israeli occupation.


You won't want to miss hearing from Ann. 

We can't rely on the corporate media to tell us what is happening in the world, but we can rely on Ann Wright and activists like her to bring us real news.

 Ann Wright at the University of Hawaii to greet President Obama as he arrived
to promote militarization to Pacific Island leaders in September.

The (Exceptional) American Way Inspires Resistance All Over The Planet

Photo credit: Roger Leisner, Maine Paparazzi

Meet Jason Rawn, the youngest member of the Zumwalt 12, arrested for civil disobedience in the street outside General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works shipyard on June 18.

Jason recently returned to the U.S. from participating in protests of U.S. military presence in Okinawa that look like this:

Photo credit: Reuters via Irish Times, "Huge protests at U.S. bases after Japanese woman's murder" June 19, 2016

Much of Jason's recent trip to Asia was also spent in solidarity actions, including planned arrests to block ongoing construction in Gangjeong Village, Jeju Island, South Korea. The Bath action on June 18 was in solidarity with the resistance group whose soft coral reef was entombed in concrete by South Korea's Navy working under the direction of the Pentagon to port large warships such as the Zumwalt class destroyer. 

Photo credit: Jason Rawn

Here's Jason being arrested by South Korean police for civil disobedience outside the navy base on Jeju Island:

Photo credit: Jason Rawn

As you can see from these photos, Jason has the gear and the determination for civil disobedience to resist militarism in every season. Here we see a banner displayed by activists on Jeju with Jason's trademark slogan, Dive$t from the Pentagon:

Photo credit: Jason Rawn

I have followed Jason's posts from Jeju and Okinawa these past several months with interest. He often highlighted the creative components of resistance there including performances, songs and visual displays.

Photo credit: Jason Rawn
Singers lift spirits at naval base resistance on Jeju Island

Photo credit: Jason Rawn
Artists at work on Jeju Island

The role of artists in lifting the spirits and supporting the solidarity of resistance movements cannot be overstated. It, too, finds a parallel in Maine where those arrested on July 18 held a banner created by the Artists Rapid Response Team (AART!) of the Union of Maine Visual Artists:

Photo credit: Regis Tremblay from "One More Warship: Remarks at the Launching of a Stealth Destroyer" by Dud Hendrick in Common Dreams, June 20, 2016

Photo credit: Roger Leisner, Maine Paparazzi

Another of the Zumwalt 12, artist Russell Wray, created and displayed a sculpture entitled "Maka the Dolphin" and a banner as beautiful as it is clear about why to resist the militarization of our oceans. Many children who passed by the display in Bath on June 18 remarked with excitement about the lovingly rendered dolphin.

Photo credit: Regis Tremblay of Rosie Tyler Paul harmonizing with singer-songwriter Mike Hasty in Bath.
From "More Photos From 'Stealth' Destroyer Protests at BIW in Maine" by Bruce Gagnon in Organizing Notes, June 18, 2016

As is evident from the reflection in Jason's sunglasses at the beginning of this post, the photographers who document resistance actions are another integral part of the movement resisting militarization. I have credited many of them here but it would be difficult to note them all; no matter what the corporate press in the U.S. lead you to believe, there are many of us working to resist the Pentagon's encroachment on our natural resources, our financial resources, and on innocent people around the planet. 

One more photographer whose contributions I'll note is Jenny Gray, who provided some of the most compelling photos of the civil disobedience sit-down action to block Washington Street in Bath:

Photo credit: Jenny Gray

Photo credit: Jenny Gray. Note Russel Wray in the dolphin hat he created for the occasion.

Can you find Jason Rawn in this photo? He's right there amid his blessed community of those not afraid to speak out and act out for peace. This is his rightful place and he often looks the happiest there. Let's join him.

“I’m Not Sure How The Destroyer Addresses Terrorism, Exactly”

Civil disobedience in progress at General Dynamics in Bath, Maine on July 18.

For the first time at the christening[sic] of a warship in Bath, Maine, civil disobedience was part of the protests. Barred from entering with other members of the public at the last "christening" of a destroyer, protesters yesterday decided to block the busy street directly in front of the gate where some of them were denied entrance last time around. 

During the arrest process a police officer told them, "You all are the conscience of the community."

The Zumwalt 12 after being arrested for blocking the road in front of General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works shipyard June 18.
Back row, L to R: Jason Rawn, John Morris, Bruce Gagnon, Joan Peck, Brown Lethem, Connie Jenkins, Dud Hendrick
Middle: George Kehoe-Ostensen Front: John Peck, Tarak Kauff, Cynthia Howard & Russell Wray

VFP member Peter Morgan had the quote of the day, telling the Portland Press Herald (PPH) about a warship that cost $4.1 billion to build: "I’m not sure how the destroyer addresses terrorism, exactly."

Possibly because the Bath Police Department put out a press release about the arrests, several corporate media outlets covered the protests. (Reporters have told protesters in the past that they are not "allowed" to re-enter the shipyard if they step outside to report on the scores of people calling for an end to building weapons of mass destruction at BIW.)

Twelve arrests outside BIW christening Saturday

Wiscasset Newspaper

12 protesters arrested outside USS Michael Monsoor destroyer ...
WGME

Protesters arrested at gates of BIW before christening ceremony
Times Record (subscription)

Protesters arrested outside destroyer christening at BIW
Bangor Daily News

The PPH's coverage of the protests read:

Not everyone who traveled to BIW on Saturday was there to celebrate the christening of a new Navy destroyer. A group of about 30 protesters held a rally just outside the shipyard to draw attention to concerns such as the human and financial costs of wars, and the U.S. military’s contributions to pollution and global warming. 

Twelve protesters were arrested after they blocked Washington Street in front of the shipyard’s south gate, Bath police said. The protesters were from Maine Veterans for Peace and the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, police said. 

The dozen – all from Maine except for one man from Woodstock, New York – sat down in the road and refused to move, at which point they were arrested and charged with obstructing a public way. Police said the protesters were cooperative and were released on their personal recognizance after booking, with a court date of Aug. 2. 

Peter Morgan of Veterans for Peace said he thinks the money spent on building Zumwalt-class destroyers could be put to better use, such as by helping those in need and repairing the country’s aging infrastructure. 

“I’m not sure how the destroyer addresses terrorism, exactly,” he said.

An excellent question. If the U.S. taxpayer is gulled into buying a $4.1 billion destroyer even as the infrastructure of Bath's own roadways crumbles and fails, it is usually justified by the endless so-called "war on terror." But an enormous destroyer capable of evading radar off the coast of Russia or China is of little use against insurgents employing terror tactics in Iraq or Syria. 

What a destroyer is for: provoking big nations that threaten U.S. global dominance -- and thereby making General Dynamics' owners even more obscenely wealthy.

No news outlets connected the dots between warships built in Bath and the destruction of sea life and fishing grounds halfway around the planet to port the behemoths. But I was pleased to be asked to read out the solidarity statement sent by the resistance community of Gangjeong Village on Jeju Island in South Korea.

Many from the peace community spoke or sang at Saturday's rally. Jorgen Ostensen, 17, told the crowd he has been joining protests of weaponized warships at BIW since age 1. He said during the closing circle that if Muhammad Ali were alive and in Maine, he thought Ali would have come to Bath to protest. I think so, too.

Arraignment of the Zumwalt 12 will be in West Bath District Court on August 2 at 1:00 pm. 

Join Global Days Of Action Against Military Spending #GDAMS April 5 - 18, 2016

Today I'm sharing a guest post from my friend Jason Rawn who is in South Korea with the Gangjeong Village resistance to destruction of their Jeju Island coastline by creeping militarism. You can read more about their struggle here. Their GDAMS action was on April 12.

I will be participating as a speaker at a GDAMS rally in Congress Square, Portland, Maine on Tuesday, April 18, 2016 at 11 am.

TEXT FOR A FLYER FOR GLOBAL DAYS AGAINST MILITARY SPENDING (GDAMS) April 5-18, 2016

Due to human-caused climate change, we must make huge changes in how we live very soon. The US military and its allies use the most fossil fuels and have the largest Carbon bootprint on the planet. 

Most of these fossil fuels are used in pursuit of more fossil fuels. There are also nuclear, biological, space, and conventional weapons, torture, surveillance, and many other harmful aspects of militarism to consider.

Activists around the world are organizing the Global Days of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS) from April 5-18. In 2015, 127 actions were held in 20 different countries. GDAMS is part of the International Peace Bureau's Global Campaign on Military Spending. The central question is, "Money for War...Or Human Need?" 

Here in Gangjeong, our action is to speak out and picket during our daily blockade of the navy base here. We will also conduct a poll to discover how local people would like to invest their hard-earned tax money. We ask people to examine their priorities and the long-term well-being of the planet and then use stickers to indicate  what types of projects and programs they value and want to fund. This is an adaptation of the "Penny Poll," a fun activity used by peace activists in the US to start conversations on the subject of divesting from war. 

These are the categories of projects and programs: 

• Peace: disarmament, conflict prevention and resolution, human security
• Sustainable development and anti-poverty programs
• Climate change and biodiversity loss - for mitigation, adaptation, bioremediation
• Public services/social justice, human rights, gender equality, and green job creation
• Humanitarian programs to support the most vulnerable groups

War Resisters League (WRL) calculates that the US will spend $1.357 trillion ($1,357,000,000,000) on war in 2017. WRL includes money spent on past war, including veterans' benefits and interest paid on debts from war spending. Other calculations are based solely on the annual federal budget and result in much smaller figures: $600 billion ($600,000,000,000), for example.

Precedents

There are numerous organizations around the world working to decrease the amount of tax money that is spent on war. These are a few of them: 

WRL (warresisters.org)

National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (nwtrcc.org)

National Priorities Project (nationalpriorities.org)

Voices for Creative Nonviolence (vcnv.org)

CODEPINK (CODEPINK.org)

Peaceworkers (peaceworkersus.org)

One of the biggest lies that governments and corporations tell is that war is good for the economy, that it creates jobs. While war does create some jobs, investing in peace creates far more jobs. 

According to a study by the Political Economy Research Institute at UMASS Amherst, investing in clean energy projects, healthcare, and education produces 50-138% more  jobs per billion dollars. And these are sustainable jobs that support long-term prosperity and regeneration, not short-term exploitation of people and planet.

By redirecting our tax money away from war and into human needs, we can make changes and create a world of dreams, not nightmares.

Corporate Government's Ugly Face Links #Jeju Island, South Korea And Maine

Photo by Ellen Davidson of Father Mun surrounded by police outside the navy base construction site on Jeju Island

A news dispatch from South Korea by Mainer Dud Hendrick of Veterans for Peace came via email. It's inspiring and also ominous. 

I was particularly struck by the efforts of corporation Samsung to collectively punish a village fighting to preserve natural resources and their traditional fisheries from destruction by militarization. It reminded me of the Trans Pacific Trade treaty (TPP) which, if adopted, would allow corporations to punish anyone interfering with their "right" to profit.

Photo by Dud Hendrick

Friends, 

Unbelievably, we're on our last day here in Gangjeong Village on Jeju Island, Korea.  It has been an emotional five days, as we have been given a crash course on the crime being perpetrated on this coastal community.  The completion of the base is nearly a fait accompli--the government is projecting that it will be completed in the coming year.  Having been here in April of 2013 and remembering the status of the base then has made this visit all the more disturbing--at the same time it has been uplifting.    

Photo of VFP delegation, provided by Dud Hendrick (front row, on right)

The protest has been continuing virtually non-stop for over 8 years, testimony to the depth of the passions the base has ignited.  During my first visit it was already clear that it would take a miraculous turn of events to stop the project.  Then I was impressed by the resolute dedication of the protesters; a conglomeration of Gangjeong villagers at the helm along with other Jeju islanders, mainland Koreans, and international activists. The resolve now goes way beyond "impressive."  One observation is that the leadership, a diverse array of characters,  seems to have remained stable.  Many of those who played critical roles in 2013 and prior---even going back to 2008--continue to do so. The rank and file come and go, but many, particularly the young, have stayed for years.   

Others, like a few in our 13-person delegation have returned several times--the most notable being Bruce Gagnon who you might say has been adopted by the village and Ann Wright, the famed peace activist and former U.S. Army colonel and foreign service diplomat who resigned her position in opposition to the Iraq war.  Bruce is deserving of the village's high regard that he is accorded--having visited five times and being, probably, the single person whose work has most brought Gangjeong to the world's attention. (My note: you can read Bruce's report back here.) 

An ironic twist--Samsung, the primary contractor on the project is attempting impose a hefty fine on the village of Gangjeong in penalty for all the delays caused by the protests.

 During our visit we have been honored to have received briefings from some of the prominent leaders who have provided the inspiration behind this enduring resistance:

Photo by Dud Hendrick of Ann Wright of Veterans for Peace with Father Mun Jeong Hyeon of  the Catholic Church Solidarity to Make Peace on Jeju Island

Father Mun Jeong Hyeon, the iconic leader of the protest, was awarded the 2012 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights.  The founder of Catholic Priests' Organization for Justice in opposition to South Korean dictatorships, he conducts the daily mass at the naval base gate and is generally the point person in protest from dawn 'til dusk.  He has been a leading voice against the U.S. military presence in Korea for decades. 

Father Mun contributed his $50,000 Gwangju (cash) Prize to the anti-naval base campaign.  He is a strong proponent of reunification between North and South Korea and sees the U.S. as the primary obstacle preventing that dream, embraced by many Koreans, from becoming reality.

You can read more on how to support the struggle to save Jeju Island from U.S. Navy destroyers and other warships here on the website Save Jeju Now. 

The base is intended for warships such as the Zumwalt built in Maine at Bath Iron Works by General Dynamics; here, the Kennebec River ecosystem is disturbed by dredging so that the highly profitable ships can be moved out to sea and then to Jeju Island where a soft coral reef has been entombed in concrete to make a port for them.

How many public housing units could we have built with the money we spent on this thing?
Posted by Asher Platts on Thursday, December 10, 2015

Asher Platts, Managing Director of the Green Shadow Cabinet, posted this recent video of a $4 billion weapon of mass destruction moving through Portland's Casco Bay with the comment, "How many public housing units could we have built with the money we spent on this thing?"

Jeju Islanders recently heard bad news that the government also has plans to build an airport on their island, in an area considered sacred to agriculture. As reported by Sunny on the Save Jeju Island website: "This revelation came as a huge shocker for the Jeju Islanders, who had no say in the decision-making process."

South Korea's right-wing government, a close ally of the U.S., recently tried unsuccessfully to ban all demonstrations in order to suppress a growing mobilization of farmers, labor unions, and students on the mainland. Some responded to the government's ban on masks at demonstrations by making up as clowns and marching anyway on December 5 in Seoul.


What connects all this news is the theme of governments who represent corporate profits rather than their people. Democracy is a sham under such a system, and the police enforce corporate agendas rather than serving the public. Politicians in Maine like to call such arrangements "public-private partnerships" but fascism is more concise and accurate, and I know we must resist while we are still able. As Bruce Gagnon puts it, "Rattle your chains!"

Blue Angels War Planes Bullying South Korean #Gangjeong Villagers On #Jeju Island

Ever wonder where the Navy's Blue Angels jets go when they are not polluting the skies over North America for your "entertainment?"

This week they were in South Korea intimidating the villagers of Gangjeong who have kept up a spirited defense of their coral reefs, their fisheries and their way of life from creeping (and creepy) militarism. The South Korean Navy and the Samsung Corporation built a deep water port for destroyer ships the U.S. can use to threaten China. Now that it's nearing completion, here comes the U.S. Navy to bully the resistance fighters with low flyovers and ear splitting sounds effects. Fun eh?

In the words of eyewitness Bruce Gagnon, on August 26:

"a formation of Navy Blue Angel war planes came screaming over the village.  For the next 15 or so minutes they went back and forth directly over Gangjeong doing various stunts.  One of the stunts brought the planes very low in an ear splitting maneuver."

The Navy had already officially expressed its eagerness to get on with using other people's land for its evil purposes. On August 5 South Korean news site Yonhap reported:

"The U.S. Navy 7th Fleet really likes to send ships to port visit here in South Korea," Rear Adm. Lisa Franchetti said in a group interview following a change of command ceremony. "I think any ports that we have the opportunity to visit will be a great opportunity for our navy to do work together (with the South Korean Navy)."

Low flying jets are hardly the only form of intimidation. Many, many arrests and fines over the years have harassed those who opposed construction of the port. And the village collectively is about to be fined the equivalent of $20 million for obstructing and successfully delaying construction. You can call the South Korean Embassy in Washington DC and demand that they leave Gangjeong village on Jeju Island alone: (202) 939-5654. 

Meanwhile, back in the U.S. the Blue Angels are following a regular schedule of showing off their might two or three times a week to adoring audiences who have been trained to disconnect from what war planes are designed to do i.e. intimidate and kill people, mostly civilians.

From the Blue Angels website FAQs:

What are the major differences between the fleet model and the Blue Angel F/A-18? 

The Blue Angel F/A-18s have the nose cannon removed, a smoke-oil tank installed and a spring installed on the stick which applies pressure for better formation and inverted flying. Otherwise, the aircraft that the squadron flies are the same as those in the fleet. 

Each Blue Angel aircraft is capable of being returned to combat duty aboard an aircraft carrier within 72 hours.

Mainers will have an opportunity to join a protest organized by Veterans for Peace of the Blue Angels in Brunswick over Labor Day weekend. Join in if you think greenhouse gas emissions, noise pollution, bullying and "simulated bombing" are nothing to cheer about.