Category Archives: war

Thanks to all who have already sent letters to Judge Wood regarding the sentencing of the Plowshares defendants. With no sentencing date yet set more letters are welcomed.

Letters should be sent to lead defense attorney Bill Quigley at the address below. He will compile them and distribute to various defendants’ attorneys for delivery to Judge Wood. The attorneys suggest it would be helpful to get these done by December 20 in order to get processed and delivered. Sentencing is expected to be in late January or possibly February.

The best letters are simple, polite, and tell good things about the person you are writing in support of.
The suggested format is as follows:
 
Date
Sender’s Name
Sender’s Address
 
Judge Lisa Godbey Wood
c/o Bill Quigley
Loyola University New Orleans Law Clinic
Campus Box 902
7214 St. Charles Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70118
 
Regarding Sentencing of: Mark Colville [or] Clare Grady [or] Martha Hennessy [or] Fr. Steve Kelly SJ [or] Elizabeth McAlister [or] Patrick O’Neill [or] Carmen Trotta  (or all seven of the Kings Bay Plowshares)
                     
Dear Judge Wood,
 
  Suggested outline for the letter:
    – Explain who you are.
    – Explain who you are writing about, how you know them, and what good they do for their
      community.

– Thank the Judge for reading your letter.

 
Signature and Title, if appropriate.
            _________________________________________________________________________

For more ideas and details for your letters of support, you can see the defendants’ biographies here. There are also a number of excellent recent media stories, listed by publication, on the defendants and the trial available on the front page Media Coverage box on the website.
If you are writing for the defendants individually you should know that they don’t want to ask for leniency. They see their time in prison as part of the witness but your letters can still attest to their good character.
 
Stay tuned for the sentencing date. Also, look for next steps on our website, Get Involved Page. Support ICAN’s Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and divestment campaigns from nuclear weapons manufacturers and other related issues.
Thank you for your attentiveness to the trial, your solidarity and support for the defendants and their families, and your focus on the issue of the abolition of nuclear weapons.
As Fr. Steve Kelly says, “The nuclear weapons won’t go away by themselves.” We do this work together.
In solidarity,
 

The Kings Bay Plowshares 7 Support Team

 

Please Donate
Thanks to your support, we have mobilized thousands of people around the world to speak out for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Please help with expenses, housing, and supporting defendants’ families following the verdict and the upcoming sentencing.
  • Send checks to: Plowshares, PO Box 3087, Washington, DC 20010
  • Donate online: GoFundMe 
Email: to Media Team: kbp7media@gmail.com

Pope Francis Calls Nuclear Weapons Immoral as Catholic Activists Face Jail For U.S. Nuke Base Action

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Peace activist Frances Crowe poses for a portrait Dec. 2, 2016 in her Northampton home.

Over the weekend, Pope Francis visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where the United States dropped the first atomic bombs in 1945, killing more than 200,000 people. Pope Francis said, “A world without nuclear weapons is possible and necessary.” The leader of the Cathoilc Church met with survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and declared the possession of nuclear weapons to be immoral. The Pope’s visit comes as a group of seven Catholic peace activists are awaiting sentencing for breaking into the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in Georgia on April 4, 2018. The activists, known as the Kings Bay Plowshares 7, were recently convicted of three felony counts and a misdemeanor charge for entering the base armed with hammers, crime scene tape and baby bottles containing their own blood.

Leaked Cables Show Depth of Iranian Influence in Iraq After U.S. Invasion “Shattered” the Country

Image Credit: The Intercept

An unprecedented leak of secret intelligence reports from inside the Iranian government has shed new light on how Iran has taken control of much of the Iraqi government in the wake of the 2003 U.S. invasion. The documents from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security were leaked to The Intercept, which then partnered with The New York Times on reporting the story. The leak includes 700 pages of intelligence documents from 2014 to 2015. The documents reveal that a number of Iraqis who once worked with the CIA went on to work with Iranian intelligence.

[submedia] New ‘A is for Anarchy’ Vid – What is Violence?

What is Violence?

After more than a year-long hiatus, we’re back with new installation of our A is for Anarchy series.  This time, we explore the question of violence – a concept that is often associated with anarchists… for better or worse.  We look at the ways that violence is hidden and encoded into the very structures of society, and the role that defensive violence can play in the struggle for liberation.

You can watch the video here:
https://sub.media/video/what-is-violence/

Looking to translate the video?  You can find the video on Amara or get in touch with us at trouble@sub.media.

Fundraiser Total: 43.5% of $2000 per monthAlso just a quick update on the fundraising front, where after nearly a month into our push, we’re slowly but surely inching towards the half-way mark.  Huge thanks to everyone who’s donated, or shared the link to our fundraising video!  If you haven’t kicked in yet, but have some cash to spare, you can make a one-time donation or sign up to be a monthly sustainer at sub.media/donate.

You can also help out our fundraising by purchasing some fresh subMedia gear at sub.media/gear.

That’s all for now

The Troublemakers @ subMedia

List help: <https://riseup.net/lists>

US F-16 fighter jet crashes into California warehouse!

A warehouse employee recorded a video of the crash site aftermathA warehouse employee recorded a video of the crash site aftermath

An F-16 fighter jet has crashed into a warehouse near a base outside Los Angeles, leaving the pilot and workers on the ground with minor injuries.

The pilot ejected before impact, and the small fire that broke out was quickly suppressed by the building’s sprinkler system.

The US Air Force says five people on the ground were injured. They have not confirmed if ammunition was onboard.

One warehouse worker captured the aftermath in a Facebook post.

“That’s a military airplane in our building,” Jeff Schoffstall said in his mobile phone video.

“So the turbines are spinning, there’s no roof on the building so you’re looking through the roof, the walls are gone,” he continued.

A hole in the warehouse roof was filmed by news helicoptersA hole in the warehouse roof was filmed by news helicopters

The crash happened at about 15:45 local time (23:45 GMT) outside the March Air Reserve Base in Perris.

“It just shook the whole building,” employee Baldur Castro told CBS, adding that one worker had been knocked to the ground.

According to the Air Force Reserve, the jet was based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and was flying a training mission for the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

The pilot's parachute was located in a nearby fieldThe pilot’s parachute was located in a nearby field

 

Tough Week For Contestants | The Grumpy Man's Guide to ...

“Wrongway Feldman.” (Gilligan’s Island, 1964)

Free “Endless Wars” sticker from moveon.org

Click here or on the image below to get your free “Endless Wars” sticker now.

Two weeks ago, Congress took the historic bipartisan step of reasserting its constitutional war powers to end U.S. participation in the illegal, inhumane, Saudi-led war in Yemen—a war that has killed 85,000 children and is pushing millions to the brink of starvation.

Trump vetoes bill to end US involvement in Yemen war

Congress had earlier voted to invoke the War Powers Resolution to try and stop US involvement in a foreign conflict.

Trump vetoes bill to end US involvement in Yemen war
Aid groups estimate as many as 60,000 civilians have been killed in the war [Abduljabbar Zeyad/Reuters]

President Donald Trump has vetoed a bill Congress passed to end United States military assistance in the Saudi Arabia-led war in Yemen.

In a break with the president, Congress voted for the first time to invoke the War Powers Resolution to try and stop US involvement in a foreign conflict.

But Trump vetoed the measure on Wednesday with the Congress lacking the votes to override him.

“This resolution is an unnecessary, dangerous attempt to weaken my constitutional authorities, endangering the lives of American citizens and brave service members, both today and in the future,” said Trump in a statement.

House approval of the resolution came earlier this month on a 247-175 vote. The Senate vote last month was 54-46.

Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Washington DC, said at least two Democratic congressmen were calling to override the veto.

“Members of the Congress are also angry that the Trump administration is continuing with the pattern of never-ending war around the world without getting the express permission of the Congress first.

“The question now, can the Congress figure out how to reverse the veto and have this resolution take effect in a couple of weeks’ time,” she said.

Saudi-UAE coalition have launched more than 19,000 air raids across Yemen [File: Mohamed al-Sayaghi/Reuters]

The UAE hails the veto

Congress has grown uneasy with Trump’s close relationship with Saudi Arabia as he tries to further isolate Iran, a regional rival.

Many legislators also criticised the president for not condemning Saudi Arabia for the killing of a Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who had been critical of the kingdom.

Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last October and never came out. Intelligence agencies said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was complicit in his murder.

Vetoing the measure is an “effective green light for the war strategy that has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis to continue”, said International Rescue Committee (IRC) president and CEO David Miliband.

“Yemen is at a breaking point with 10 million people on the brink of famine. There are as many as 100 civilian casualties per week, and Yemenis are more likely to be killed at home than in any other structure.”

The US provides billions of dollars of arms to the Saudi-led coalition fighting against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.

Since 2015, the US has provided the aerial refuelling of jets, reconnaissance, targeting and intelligence information to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in their campaign against the Houthi rebels who unseated the Saudi-backed government in Yemen.

The UAE has hailed the veto, adding that the decision is both “timely and strategic”.

“President Trump’s assertion of support to the Arab Coalition in Yemen is a positive signal,” Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said on Twitter early on Wednesday.

Aid groups estimate as many as 85,000 children starved to death [File: Hani Mohammed/AP Photo]

‘Humanitarian crisis’

Saudi Arabia and a coalition of Arab governments have launched more than 19,000 air raids across Yemen.

“There are 22 million souls at risk of dying, of being killed. Maybe not of being shot, but being starved to death or dying from medical problems for which they can receive no medicines,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer previously told reporters.

“It is a humanitarian crisis. I would refer to it in even more draconian terms because I think it’s such a conscious effort by both sides to put these people at risk,” he added. “It is necessary for us to act.”

The fighting in the Arab world’s poorest country also has left millions suffering from food and medical care shortages and has pushed the country to the brink of famine.

Air raids by the Saudi-UAE coalition have hit civilians, hospitals and water treatment facilities. Aid groups estimate as many as 60,000 civilians have been killed in the war and as many as 85,000 children starved to death, with millions more “one step away from famine“.