Global Network Coordinator Embarks on West Coast Speaking Tour

Recognized by artist Robert Shetterly in his series Americans Who Tell the Truth, Bruce Gagnon, an international peace organizer and activist, will embark on a 30-day west coast speaking tour that will take him from San Diego, California to Bellingham, Washington. The 24-city trip will run from April 1-30.

Gagnon, who coordinates the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space from Bath, Maine, will help local communities explore and confront the reality of the Pentagon’s drive for “full spectrum dominance.” He will discuss the impact that our expanding militarism has on our natural ecosystems and our economic crisis at home. From Maine to Jeju Island, South Korea his indefatigable studying, traveling, and organizing has shown how the Pentagon’s intent to control the planet on behalf of corporate globalization has moved from land to sea to air to space pouring our natural and fiscal resources into escalating war-making and violence.

Gagnon’s assessment is: “The Pentagon will send our kids off to foreign lands to suppress opposition to corporate globalization. How will we ever end America’s addiction to war and violence as long as our communities are dependent on military spending for jobs? We must vigorously work to convert the military industrial complex to decentralized sustainable technologies like wind-power, solar, and mass transit.”

His talks will challenge communities to discuss the strategies behind President Obama’s “pivot” and expanding U.S. militarism in the Asia-Pacific region; current U.S. space technology strategy; the need to promote the conversion of the military industrial complex to sustainable production to mitigate climate change; the 2012 elections, and what Americans can do about corporate domination of Congress.

Gagnon concludes, “U.S. foreign and military policy today is all about control of declining natural resources around the world. The Pentagon is restarting the Cold War by surrounding Russia and China with so-called ‘missile defense’ systems that are actually key elements in U.S. first-strike planning. We do have a real problem today and it is called climate change. We can’t afford the pay for endless war that only benefits the mega-corporations and further pollutes our planet. During this speaking tour I intend to share a spirit of determination and non-violent resistance with people throughout the west coast. We need to make a collective demand across this nation and around the world. We are tired of war, tired of corporate domination, and determined to take back our governments. The future generations depend on our courage and our success.”

Gagnon intends to use Amtrak trains and buses for most of the west-coast travel during this tour.

You can view Gagnon’s full travel schedule at http://space4peace.blogspot.com/2012/03/west-coast-speaking-tour-schedule.html

Help Save Jeju Island and Stop U.S. Global Military Expansion!

The struggle continues against the construction of a naval base on Jeju Island, Republic of Korea that would service US Navy Aegis destroyers that hold Raytheon’s missile “defence” systems. South Korean peace activists argue that the base will build-up offensive military systems in North East Asia, undermining security and prompting military responses from China and North Korea. Villagers also oppose the base because of the loss of farm land, where they have grown rice, garlic, tangerines, and more on the fertile land. The base will destroy the local environment, including coral reefs named by UNESCO as key environmental treasures. The Navy intends to pour concrete over the rocks and marine life to make wharfs for the Aegis destroyers.

International attention to the plight of the villagers is increasing every day. The Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space held its annual meeting on Jeju Island in February. Foreign activists are teaming up with local ones to protest the base in the United States and in Korea. For some updates, please see Bruce Gagnon’s blog, for example, People keep coming to Gangjeong.Also see a recent article by Robert Redford, The Battle for Jeju Island: How the Arms Race is Threatening a Korean Paradise.

Action: The Global Network notes that South Korean corporation Samsung is the lead contractor building the Navy base on Jeju, and calls on activists to boycott Samsung.

In addition, please view this appeal from the international team in Gangjeong Village:

Dear friends and supporters of the struggle against the Jeju naval base project,

On March 7, the first blasting the coastal rock, known as “Gureombi” has begun in while the government and the navy exercised its power in Gangjeong village and villagers and peace activists were hauled by the police. There was expected to carry the explosives by land but the navy handled sea freight, not to take the road that were blockaded by the villagers and activists. People who were determined to defend the Gureombi were immensely shocked. The navy announced that 43 tons of explosives will be used for blasting the Gureombi and it will takes from 3 to 5 months according to the weather. There have been daily nonviolent direct actions and other forms of struggles for saving Gureombi every day since the first blasting progressed. More than 60 people were already arrested and the numbers of arrests continue to occur as well. There has been an increase in cases of police misconduct and human rights frequently violated. Professor Yoon-mo Yang who was arrested for obstructing police in carrying out their duties is now on his 35th day of hunger strike as of March 13 while inside the prison. The Jeju government demanded on temporal reservation on construction but the Ministry of the National Defense didn’t have an attitude accepting this demand at all.

We ask you to support to our efforts to save the Gureombi and resist the naval base on Jeju Island. Take some time to write letters of complaint to the government and the navy planners and please distribute this appeal among your friends or in your local group.

1. Call the Korean Embassy or organize demonstrations in front of the Korean Embassy in your country and let them know that Jeju does not want a naval base!

2. Write and mail to the President Lee Myung-Bak, Kim Kwan-Jin, South Korean Defense Minister and Woo Keun-Min, Island governor. Please refer to the mail address at:
https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:33867.7483820829/rid:c5c744865a7b372e77e36ea5fb216220

3.Sign the petitions on Avaaz ( http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_jeju/?vl), Care2 (http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/Save-Jeju-Island/) or other online sites urging South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak to stop construction of the military base! After signing please share the petition with your social network.

4. Contact the media in your country about this resistance to raise their awareness about the struggle.

5. Stay updated on the resistance by joining the "Save Jeju Island” and the “No Naval Base on Jeju!” Facebook pages. Follow the most recent developments on Twitter at #savejejuisland and #gangjung - then re-post.

6. Consider making a donation to support the international campaign to Save Jeju Island. 100% of your financial contribution will go directly to villagers on the ground waging peace against this dangerous militarization project.

Urgent request from Jeju Island

Please read and respond to this urgent plea from the people of Gangjeong Village on Jeju Island!

Dear friends,

Starting today, Gangjeong is in an emergency situation. Nearly 700 police have arrived from the mainland in Gangjeong village to monitor the blasting of Gureombi, the volcanic rock coastline, and the dredging of the seafloor. Not only will the marine life, including endangered crabs and coral reefs, be swept away, the blast has already impacted the fresh water springs that the majority of the island is dependent upon.

Though our numbers are small in the village, we will do our best to fight to stop the blast of Gureombi. It is still uncertain whether the Seogwipo Police will allow the Navy to blast Gureombi on Monday, when the Governor of Jeju Island is supposed to make his decision.

Please send an email to the Governor NOW asking him to please stop the blast of Gureombi.

Thank you for one minute of your time. We urgently need international solidarity NOW.

In peace and justice,

Gangjeong Village

Mr. Woo Keun-Min
Governor
The government of Jeju-do
312-1, Yeon-dong, Jeju-si, Jeju-do
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Fax: +82 64 710 3009
E-mail: jejumaster@jeju.go.kr

Call on Congress: Support Diplomacy with Iran!!!

Feb 15, 2012
Reps. Keith Ellison (MN) and Walter Jones (NC) have introduced the following bi-partisan sign-on letter, urging the Obama administration to "utilize all available tools of diplomacy to resolve the crisis over Iran’s nuclear program and prevent another costly war in the Middle East." 

Click here to get contact information for your senators and representative and then ask them to add their names to this critical sign-on letter.

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Dear Colleague,

Now that the international community has enacted the strongest sanctions against Iran to date, we must redouble our diplomatic efforts to achieve the transparency measures that will ensure Iran’s nuclear program remains a civilian one.

Without a corresponding diplomatic undertaking, pressure alone could lead to unintended and potentially devastating consequences, including war. Top U.S. national security officials have said that a military strike against Iran could lead to a regional war in the Middle East and attacks against U.S. interests.

While we acknowledge that progress will be difficult, we believe that keeping diplomatic channels open is the best way to avoid a new war and ensure that Iran does not gain a nuclear weapon. Please join us in sending this message to President Obama.

Sincerely,

Keith Ellison and Walter Jones

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Dear President Obama:

As tension with Iran continues to escalate, we urge your Administration to utilize all available tools of diplomacy to resolve the crisis over Iran’s nuclear program and prevent another costly war in the Middle East.

We have supported your Administration's efforts to unite the international community to bring about the strongest sanctions on Iran to date. Now, we must redouble our diplomatic efforts to achieve robust transparency measures that can verify Iran’s nuclear program is strictly a civilian one. Without a corresponding diplomatic undertaking, we are concerned that a lack of communication with Iran could lead to a dangerous escalation with potentially devastating consequences.

We hold no illusions about the abuses of the Iranian regime and are well aware that it rejected your previous diplomatic overtures. At the same time, we agree with most Americans that the United States should not enter a new war, just as we are finally ending two others. A military strike against Iran could lead to a regional war in the Middle East and attacks against U.S. interests. Even worse, such a strike would likely compel Iran to abandon the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, eject international inspectors, and rapidly pursue a nuclear deterrent.

Top military and civilian leaders have repeatedly issued warnings about the consequences of a military strike on Iran. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta cautioned that the United States “could possibly be the target of retaliation from Iran, sinking our ships, striking our military bases,” and that “would not only involve many lives, but I think could consume the Middle East in a confrontation and a conflict that we would regret.”

Former Israeli Mossad chief Meir Dagan made a similar prediction when he said that attacking Iran “would mean regional war, and in that case you would have given Iran the best possible reason to continue the nuclear program.”

Retired General Anthony Zinni said, “If you follow this all the way down, eventually I’m putting boots on the ground somewhere. And, like I tell my friends, if you like Iraq and Afghanistan, you’ll love Iran.”

To avoid war, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, called for the United States to utilize “any channel that’s open” for engagement with Iran, noting, “Even in the darkest days of the Cold War, we had links to the Soviet Union.”

We strongly encourage your Administration to pursue bilateral and multilateral engagement with Iran. While we acknowledge that progress will be difficult, we believe that robust, sustained diplomacy is the best option to resolve our serious concerns about Iran's nuclear program, and to prevent a costly war that would be devastating for the United States and our allies in the region.

Sincerely,

Members of Congress

[Source: http://fcnl.org/issues/iran/ellison-jones_letter_to_support_iran_diplomacy/]

Editor's Note:  How to prevent war with Iran, by Joshua Pollack, published by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on January 27th, focuses on the need for DIPLOMACY and PATIENCE>

OCCUPY: Leading with our Bodies

Dear Friends, Longtime peace activist and founder of the Des Moines, Iowa Catholic Worker is, once again, behind bars.  He has writtent a powerful reflection (which I share with you here) that provides a unique - and I would expect nothing less from Frank - perspective on taking the Occupy movement (and indeed every movement for peace and justice) into every nook and cranny of our society, including the jails and prisons.  In Peace, Leonard

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WHOSE JAILS? OUR JAILS!

by Frank Cordaro, February 2, 2012

It was bound to happen sooner or later. A person can't keep collecting trespassing convictions, get fined plus court costs and refuse to pay any fines before a judge will eventually send you to jail. My arrest at the state capitol Sunday night was my fifth arrest with Occupy Des Moines. I already plead guilty to two of those charges and was fined (which I will not pay in solidarity with the poor, who cannot). So after a long night in the Polk County Jail "fish bowl", Des Moines Catholic Worker and fellow Occupy Des Moines member Eddie Bloomer and I decided to take our chances when the jail court judge, who offered to roll all of our 3 outstanding trespass charges into one guilty plea. After reviewing our past records, the judge sentenced Ed to 15 days and me to 30 days in jail.

Just before sentencing, I told the judge it was a great honor and a privilege to be arrested at the state capitol standing up for free speech and everyday she gave me in jail only helped to enhance that honor and privilege...and I meant it.

The Occupy Wall Street movement is a social movement. And like all social movements, our ideas follow our bodies, whether we are occupying public space to exercise our free speech rights, or protesting in the streets at the G8/NATO, or risking arrest at presidential candidate offices. We lead with our bodies, willing to put a little human equity and personal sacrifice on the line for what we believe. We are what democracy looks like in a political system completely bought, owned, and scripted by the corporate elites - the 1 percent.

Not everyone who occupies or protests need risk arrest. And not everyone who risks arrest need go to jail. However, some of us do need to take our Occupy Wall Street movement into our jails and prisons.

Why? Because some of us need to embrace going to jail willingly to show we are not deterred by the state's treat of imprisonment. Because some of us need to stand in solidarity with the 2 million Americans caught up in our criminal justice system, the vast majority of whom are poor and people of color. Because some of us need to resist the criminal justice system that not only locks people up but also makes them pay for it too! The jail fee here at Polk County jail is $60 a day! Most criminal court cases never go to trial. They are little more than collection agencies for the state.

And we need to bring our spirit of occupation into the jails not as victims of the system, but as the able organizers that we are, leading with our bodies for the cause we believe in, the concerns of the 99 percent over the ill-got gails of the 1 percent.

WHOSE JAILS? OUR JAILS!

P.S.. 5 days into this 30 day sentence and I'm in a jail pod with 64 other inmates, most of them Hispanics awaiting deportation. By my lights, I'm serving easy time with good and decent souls. I'm here more or less by choice, and the system is far more severe to the very poor, blacks, and immigrants than it is to me...

P.S.S. Eddie and I could both use more commissary funds. If you'd like to contribute to our inmate accounts, here are a few options: http://www.polkcountyiowa.gov/media/161/deposits-directions-english.pdf

Do the (Military) Math: It doesn't add up!!!

Friends,

Most of us semi-old folks remember "new" math back in the good old days. Well now, thanks to that madcap cartoonist Mark Fiore, there's Military Math. If you're wondering how the Pentagon budget got to be so huge, Mark's got it all figured out. So, do the math (the Military Math that is)!!!

Peace,

Leonard