Dublin GPO Mon.4pm-6pm Vigil - U.S. Military Out of Shannon, Iraq & Afghanistan!

by Steve Baggarly - Norfolk CW Wed Oct 15, 2008 04:50 Norfolk, Virginia, USA

For Photos go to:
http://behindthelinespoetry.blogspot.com/2008/10/oceana....html

Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, Virginia, hosted its
fiftieth annual air show this weekend. Oceana is home to F-18 Hornets
and Super Hornets which are deployed on aircraft carriers stationed at
Norfolk Naval Base. This year's show, dubbed "A Legacy of Excellence,"
is one of over 200 air shows taking place across the country this year
from March to November.

Air shows are the US Military's hottest community relations and
recruiting tool. Many take place on military bases that are opened to
the public for the occasion, others at local airports or fair grounds.

At Oceana, attendees were dazzled by active duty fighters, bombers,
transports, and spy planes, as well as historical and stunt aircraft,
displayed both on the ground and in speed-filled, eardrum-shattering
air demonstrations. Booths sponsored by defense contractors lauding
the next generations of military aircraft under development offered
pencils, stickers, and glossy photos of sleek futuristic war planes.

With local radio stations playing rock and country music, lines of
concession stands, and picnicking areas, the show was an intentionally
family affair as the endless stream of strollers attested. Also on
hand were small Naval river craft crowded with kids behind the machine
guns, a rack of M-4 and M-16 rifles and Army issue shotguns for
visitors to handle, an opportunity for small children to lay in the
grass with a sniper's rifle and peer through its sights, and a virtual
Army experience in which groups of people embark on their own
company-sized Army mission. But the Navy's Blue Angels precision
flying team and the other military aircraft were the stars of the
show.

Unmentioned anywhere was the sole purpose for the existence of all the
assembled high-tech weaponry on display. Nowhere was their killing
vocation acknowledged. Nowhere was the reality of the people under the
bombs even whispered; the deafening explosions, the quaking earth, the
fear, the chaos, the smoke and fire, the loss of homes, jobs,
utilities, and resources, the burning of flesh, the spurting of blood,
the pain and shock, the blinding, maiming, and crippling, the loss of
limbs, the deep psychological trauma, the soul-rending howls of new
orphans and widows. Nowhere was mentioned the inherently
indiscriminate nature of airstrikes; that every time a bomb bay door
opens or a wing launcher is fired that civilians, innocents, and
children are as likely as anything to be blown to shreds. Nowhere were
the photos of decapitated or blood-drenched Iraqi and Afghan children.

Nowhere was posted the definition of war crimes. Contniued...
http://behindthelinespoetry.blogspot.com/2008/10/oceana....html

by 8 busted Thu Oct 16, 2008 22:15

Eight peace activists who were part of a group protesting a bombing
and strafing competition for fighter jet pilots were arrested at
Salina Municipal Airport on Wednesday for trespassing.

"The war in Iraq is unjust, immoral and illegal," Frank Cordaro, a
former Catholic priest, told a group of about 45 activists at the
rally at the airport. "Those are the words of Pope John (Paul) II."

The arrests were the anticipated response to civil disobedience that
was months in the planning. The spot where protesters were arrested
had been worked out in advance so as to minimize disruption at the
airport and ensure there was no violence. Activists who decided to get
arrested wore armbands Wednesday to help police positively identify
them.
Continued.....
http://www.salina.com/news/story/Arrests101608-clone

by Ploughshares Fri Oct 17, 2008 05:23 Las Vegas, Nevad, U.S.A

The Las Vegas Sun

THIS PLACE:
Still hoping for peace on Earth
North Las Vegas Franciscans dedicated to abolishing nuclear weapons

Fri, Oct 10, 2008 (2 a.m.)

On a side street in one of the bleakest neighborhoods in the Las Vegas
Valley, a small residential lot is distinguished by three old barracks
from Nellis Air Force Base.

There's no sign explaining who lives here, but the vehicles out front
offer some clue. The side of an aging Winnebago is painted with the
message, "Abolish Nuclear Weapons." And the bumper stickers on an old
Dodge minivan call for peace on Earth. Signs of an earlier era, it
seems.

A knock on the door brings out a 71-year-old man in a white polo
shirt, khakis and a pair of running shoes.

Meet Father Jerry Zawada, a Franciscan friar who has been living on
the property for two years.

The Catholic order has owned the property for about 30 years. Today it
doubles as headquarters for the Nevada Desert Experience, an
interfaith effort aimed at stopping the production of nuclear weapons.

Zawada's history with Las Vegas goes back to 1987, when as a protester
he was arrested for trespassing at the Nevada Test Site. It was one of
more than 100 pinches for his roles in nonviolent protests.

The most recent arrest came last year at Fort Huachuca, an Army base
in Arizona that protesters link to the teaching of abuse or torture
techniques. Part of Zawada's sentence was 500 hours of community
service.

Continued......

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/oct/10/still-hopin...arth/

by sea otter Fri Oct 17, 2008 07:14

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/16/afg...-nato

"...the US government spent 10 times more on every sea otter affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill than it does in "condolence payments" to Afghans for the killing of a family member, perhaps that shouldn't come as a surprise."