ENGLAND - Six Arrested Marking & Blockading 10 Downing St. on 10th. Anniversary of the War on Afgha

by 10 years Mon Oct 10, 2011 11:16

Every day since the start of the Afghan War, a dedicated group of Corvallis protesters have waged the battle for peace

Almost every day at 4:50 p.m., Ed Epley fires up his 1961 Volkswagen microbus and heads downtown for his standing 5 o'clock appointment.

Epley is a regular member of the daily peace vigil outside the Benton County Courthouse, and he

doesn't want to be late. He knows the others are counting on him to pull up to the curb in his ancient VW, the back piled high with protest signs.

"That's not what I intended the bus's last days to be," Epley admitted. "But that's pretty much all I use it for is to store the signs."

It's probably not how he envisioned spending his retirement, either. But for the 74-year-old Epley and a dozen or so other dedicated regulars, the vigil has been an integral part of their lives for the past 10 years.

Not all of them make it to every protest. Some days, there might be as few as two or three people to hold down the fort. But there's always someone there to carry a placard, flash the peace sign and wave to passing drivers.

Every single day.

The way Epley sees it, people of conscience have to stand up for what they believe is right.

"It's part of the responsibility, I think, of citizens."

3,655 days and counting

The protest began on Oct. 7, 2001, the day the United States started bombing Afghanistan in the opening salvo of the war on terror. More than 50 local peace activists gathered on the sidewalk in front of the courthouse, the city's most conspicuous government building, to express their disapproval.

For an hour - from 5 to 6 p.m. - they held their ground, brandishing their protest signs as the evening commuter traffic streamed past on Northwest Fourth Street. Then they packed up their placards and went home.

Some of them came back the next day to do it again. And every day since then - 3,655 and counting - the vigil has been held to mark what has now become the longest-running war in U.S. history.

They've endured the taunts of angry motorists and survived a series of counterdemonstrations staged across the street to "support the troops."

They've outlasted the administration of George W. Bush, the president who launched the war, and the Taliban regime he sent troops to Afghanistan to overthrow.

They've witnessed the execution of Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi strongman toppled in a second U.S.-led war, and the killing of Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader who ordered the 9/11 strikes.

Along the way, the Corvallis protest appears to have become the longest-running daily anti-war observance in the country.

"They've probably got it hands down, as far as I know. I don't know any other daily vigil in the country that's been going on this long," said Peter Bergel, executive director of the Portland-based Oregon PeaceWorks.

"It's a remarkable testament to the tenacity and commitment of the folks who organize it."

ARTICLE CONITNED................
http://democratherald.com/news/local/article_6bee7541-e....html

by Shannon Mon Oct 10, 2011 12:10

Around 50 people gathered in Shannon on Sunday October 9th to remember the tenth anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan by the US. Thousands of Afghan civilians have been killed since the invasion on Oct 7th 2001, and millions have been displaced from their homes. Corruption is rife, and the country has no effective infrastructure.

The protestors called on the Irish government to end its support for the failed occupation of a country that has had three decades of armed conflict. Ireland has been involved from the start, with over 600 US troops a day still going to and from Afghanistan through Shannon Airport.

Full report available at: http://www.shannonwatch.org/blog/decade-war-remembering...ctims.

by D.C. Pepper Sprayed Mon Oct 10, 2011 15:48 Washington D.C. USA

Protesters pepper sprayed at the National Air & Space Museum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=...nyUI#!

Protesters Pepper Sprayed in DC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=...DKmes

Opednews.com: protesters pepper sprayed at Air Space Museum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=...ect=1

The above 3 youtube links from the below e-mail:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: David Swanson

Pepper-Sprayed for Peace

By David Swanson
http://warisacrime.org/pepper

I've been coughing and vomiting, and my head aches from pepper spray.
I'll post videos and photos of why at the link above.

We intended to hold signs and sing inside the Smithsonian Air and
Space Museum, protesting its promotion of unmanned drones, missiles,
and bombs, including its sponsorship by and promotion of weapons
corporations. We don't have any museums promoting health coverage or
education or retirement security.

We had marched from the Freedom Plaza and McPherson Square
occupations, taking over the streets of DC. The museum knew we were
coming. Some of our group got in and dropped a banner. Hundreds of
us did not. Instead, we were greeted at the door with cans of pepper
spray.

There were three sets of entrance doors. I was among the first to
open the third set of doors. A guard shook a can of pepper spray in
front of me and demanded that we back out. But a dozen feet away at
the second set of doors, people were staggering out and collapsing in
pain, having been pepper sprayed in the face. I started to go toward
them, but began coughing and vomiting. A lot of people were effected,
directly or -- like me -- indirectly by the pepper spray.

It is not true that we assaulted the police. Nobody was accused of or
charged with that. I didn't hear about it until later from the media.
A young woman named Thi Le was told she'd be charged with assaulting
a police officer after she was pepper sprayed and handcuffed, but they
switched the charge to disorderly conduct and released her a few hours
later.

It is not true that they only pepper sprayed one person. Many people
were pepper sprayed.

It is not true that the crowd dispersed. The guards locked the doors
and closed the museum. We had not planned to close the museum but to
demonstrate and leave. With the museum closed and one of our own in
custody, we held a rally on the steps as more people made their way
over from Freedom Plaza to join us. We were there for hours.

We will be here for as long as it takes.
Congress comes back to this town on Tuesday.
We're ready.
We're nonviolent.
We're not scared.
We're not discouraged.
We're not fooled.
We've got demands as clear as a blue sky:
Occupy Wall Street
Occupy K Street
Occupy Everything
And Never Give it Back!

by Nevada Arrests Mon Oct 10, 2011 16:04 Nevada, USA

Catholic Workers Protest Nuclearism & Drones in Nevada

(Las Vegas, NV, USA) About 100 people held an interfaith Sunday service at
the entrance to Nevada's nuclear testing grounds this morning. After
the prayers, the group walked towards the Nevada National Security
Site (NNSS, formerly called the Nevada Test Site). At 11:30am 37 men
and 22 women were arrested there by Nye County Sheriffs.

Upon release, many of the nuclear abolitionists then went to Creech
Air Force Base (CAFB), where 18 were arrested at 3:00pm by Clark
County police (names listed below in detail).

The activists at both locations were arrested for the same reason of
praying for peace at these two locations in historical Shoshone and
Paiute territory. Most of the arrestees affiliate with the
international Catholic Worker movement, started in 1933 by Dorothy Day
and Peter Maurin.

Over 200 radical pacifists from around North America swelled the ranks
of local activists because of the international Catholic Worker (CW)
gathering in Las Vegas October 7 and 8
http://www.lvcw.org/gathering2011.htm Today's CW antinuclear,
anti-drone demonstrations mark the 10th tragic anniversary of the US
invasion of Afghanistan. CAFB is the headquarters of the USAF's 432nd
Air Wing of Predator and Reaper drones which operates armed remotely
piloted aircraft in various foreign countries. The NNSS continues to
support the country's nuclear weapons programs, has a mandate to
restart full-scale nuclear bomb tests within two years if so ordered
by the President, and receives and stores radioactive waste on land
that belongs to the Western Shoshone Nation.

Those arrested at CAFB, awaiting release from jail and prosecution, are:
Matt Campbell (24) from Arizona
Huntley Hoffman (25) from Arizona
Nancy Mancias (41) from Arizona
Betsy Lamb (72) from Arizona
Fr. Jerry Zawada, (74) ofm from Arizona
John Heid (56) from Arizona
Toby Blome (56) from California
Mike Wisniewski (62) from California
Christine Nelson (64) from California
Fr. Louis Vitale, ofm (79) from California
Mary Moody (47) from Iowa
Brian Terrell (56) from Iowa
Rosalie Riegle (74) from Michigan
Rebecca Lambert (28) Minnesota
Theo Kayser (21) from Missouri
Robert Majors (24) from Las Vegas, Nevada
Jim Haber (49) from Las Vegas, Nevada
Rachel Winch (27) from Wisconsin

For more info and updates contact:
Brian Terrell brian AT vcnv.org, Catholic Worker,
-----

Statement from Las Vegas Catholic Worker Gathering
(On the 10th Anniversary of the U.S. Bombing and Invasion of Afghanistan)

We Catholic Workers from around North America gather in Las Vegas on
this 10th anniversary of the U.S. bombing and invasion of Afghanistan
with the theme “From Empire to Servanthood.” We renounce all
war-making as a affront to the God of Creation and we reject the false
gods and religion of Empire that dominate our national spirit. We call
on our church and nation to join us in repenting for the violence the
U.S. has inflicted, and make reparations to all of its victims at home
and in Afghanistan as well as in Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere.
At this critical point in history, when we face unending wars, nuclear
perils, occupations, and economic collapse, when human life and
creation itself has become so devalued and killing has become the
norm; when greed, exploitation, racism and discrimination are at the
heart of social injustice; when our earth and environment is
endangered as never before; we recommit ourselves to the God of
creation that calls us to revere all life as sacred, and to resist the
way of violence, oppression, and empire.

As we hear the cry of the suffering and the poor of our country and
world, we demand that all resources being squandered for weapons and
war be instead spent to meet urgent human needs.

As the U.S. government continues its immoral and illegal occupation of
Afghanistan and Iraq, and its murderous drone attacks, especially in
Pakistan, we recall the words of Dorothy Day regarding U.S. war-making
during World War II:

"We are at war, a declared war, with Japan, Germany, and Italy. But
still we can repeat Christ's words, each day, holding them close in
our hearts, each month printing them in the paper... We will print the
words of Christ who is with us always, even to the end of the world.
"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those
who persecute you ...” In The Catholic Worker we will quote our Pope,
our saints, our priests. We will go on printing the articles which
remind us today that we are all called to be saints, that we are other
Christs, reminding us of the priesthood of the laity...We are still
pacifists. Our manifesto is the Sermon on the Mount, which means that
we will try to be peacemakers."

Yes, we are still pacifists. In the name of Jesus who calls us to love
unconditionally and be peacemakers, we call on all followers of Jesus
to embrace and practice the Gospel of Nonviolence. We urge our church
leadership to break their silence and prophetically proclaim Christ's
gospel by calling the entire nation to repent for the war crimes we
have committed. We invite them and all followers of Jesus to join us
in making the following appeal to the political, military and economic
power structure of our nation:

--end all U.S. war-making and and military intervention throughout our
world, especially in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Pakistan.

--stop all drone attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen.

--stop demonizing Arabs and Muslims.

– and the US backed Israeli occupation of Palestine and support
self-determination for the Palestinians.

--disarm and abolish all conventional, biological, chemical and nuclear weapons.

--close and/or convert all nuclear and conventional weapons
facilities, military bases, and military training centers like the
SOA/WHINSEC.

--stop the U.S. militarization of space.

--convert our war-based economy to one centered on serving the common
good, alleviating poverty and protecting the environment.

--initiate an equitable redistribution of the earth's resources.

--work to reverse global climate change and bring about environmental justice.

--cultivate respect for the health of the land that feeds us and
honors the people that lived on it before us.

--end the practice of torture.

--close the Guantanamo U.S. military prison, the Bagram prison in
Afghanistan, all secret black sites and detention centers, and end
indefinite detention.

--end all ROTC training programs at all levels in Catholic and public schools.

– and we must end the “war on the poor” at home by: abolishing the
death penalty, ending the practice of mass imprisonment, stopping
prisons for profit, providing housing, jobs, adequate food and health
care for ALL, taking down the wall on the US/Mexico boarder and
insuring and protecting human rights of all immigrants.

Mindful of all political prisoners, including those Catholic Workers
and other resisters imprisoned for acts of peacemaking, we commit
ourselves to nonviolently resist all forms of state-sanctioned
violence and oppression. In our efforts to come out of and resist
U.S. Empire we concluded our weekend gathering by doing nonviolent
direct actions at the Nevada Nuclear Test Site and at Creech AFB, a
center of U.S. drone warfare. In solidarity with sisters and brothers
around the world calling for an end to political repression, corporate
domination and militarism, we seek to build a new society in the shell
of the old. We commit ourselves to help create the Beloved Community
where all God's people can live together in peace with justice.

by Gallipoli Barracks Mon Oct 10, 2011 18:08 Gallipoli Barracks, Enogerra, Brisbane, Australia

VIDEO (15 mins)

Catholic Worker liturgy outside of Gallipoli Barracks,Brisbane, before arrests of Jim Dowling, Sean O'Reilly, Cully Palmer, Christel and Andy for blockading the gates. Australian troops deploy regularly from the barracks to the War on Afghanistan

See http://youtu.be/H3xujqGMv6Y

**Report from Catholic Worker blockade of Gallipolli Barracks, Brisbane, Australia
by Jim Dowling, Peter Maurin CW Farm

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2011/10/486393.html?c=on...73917

by Assange/ Pilger Tue Oct 11, 2011 12:50

As consequence of being busted at Downing St. on Friday morning we were informed, as we we were released from the police station before midnight, that we are banned from Westminster until we report back on Nov 1st. So we missed the anti-war rally in Trafalger Square on Saturday. Here are some gret speeches from John Pilger and Julian Assange
Ciaron

Video of John Pilger (journalist & documentary maker) speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQiGJs0fpxU
"For such journalists there are two types of humanity in war.. there are worthy victims and unworthy victims.."

Video of Julian Assange (founder of WikiLeaks) speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwc_pua0hT8
"War by media.. Let us ask ourselves what is the average death count attributed to each journalist?"

MORE PHOTOS AND VID ON THIS LINK.....
http://www.inminds.co.uk/antiwar-8oct2011.php

by from Kathy Kelly Thu Oct 20, 2011 19:57

October 20, 2011

In Kabul, Afghanistan’s beleaguered capitol city, a young woman befriended me during December of 2010.  She was eager to talk about her views, help us better understand the history of her country, and form lasting relationships.  Now, she is too frightened to return a phone call from visiting westerners.  The last time I saw her, during the spring of 2011, she was extremely anxious because, weeks earlier, U.S. Joint Special Operations Commandos (JSOC) had arrested her brother-in-law. The family has no idea how to find him. Once, someone working for the International Commission of the Red Cross called the family to say that he was still alive and in the custody of the International Security Assistance Forces, (ISAF).  Numerous families in Afghanistan experience similar misery and fear after night raids that effectively “disappear” family members who are held incommunicado and sometimes turned over to Afghan National Police or the dreaded National Directorate of Security, (NDS).

An October 22, 2011 New York Times report about the findings of UN researchers who interviewed 324 Afghans detained by security forces, found that half of those who were in detention sites run by the NDS told of torture which included beatings, twisting of genitals, stress positions, suspension, and threatened sexual assault.  Of the 324 interviewed, 89 had been handed over to the Afghan intelligence service or the police by U.S./NATO international military forces.

ARTICLE CONTINUED.....
http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/10/20/the-wrong-occupa...tion/

by Update Thu Dec 08, 2011 16:39

Martin in Custody, Chris Charged, Maya, Ben, John, Ciaron NFA'd for Downing St. Action on 10th. Aniversary on the War on Afghanistan

Legal action results from the NVDA taken at Downing St.on Oct 7th. 2011 marking the 10th. anniversary of the war on Afghanistan

VIDEO (3 mins)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEwd0KfBD7I
BACKGROUND ARTICLE
https://london.indymedia.org/articles/10350

This morning Chris Cole and Fr. Martin Newell were formally charged at West End police station with "criminal damage". They have been given a court date at Westminister Magistrates at 10 a.m. on Dec. 19th. 2011 . Police have decided to take "no further action" on four others arrested in the October action - Maya Evans, Ben Griffin, John Lynes and Ciaron O'Reilly 

Martin was taken into custody this morning on an old warrant relating to nonviolent anti-war resistance. He is presently being held at the West End/ London police station and will be taken to a court for sentencing on the old warrant today or tomorrow. At the present time we have no further word from the police on Martin.

Martin is a member of the London Catholic Worker http://londoncatholicworker.org/ which combines the work of hospitality for destitute refugees with nonviolent anti-war resistance. Martin has previously served 8 months in prison for his participation in the Jubilee Ploughshares 2000 nonviolent disabling of the nuclear convoy vehicle en transit from Aldermaston to Faslane

http://www.craftech.com/%7Edcpledge/brandywine/plow/web...0.htm

In June 2011, Martin was found guilty of charges relating to a 2010 action at Aldrmaston

article/97610?search_text=catholic+worker+aldermaston

by Updated Thu Dec 08, 2011 20:51

Martin remians in custody. He will appear in Thames Court Bow Friday morning

by Maya jailed Fri Mar 02, 2012 12:07 Hastings, England

Maya Evans was jailed on Wednesday for nonviolent resistance to the war on Afghanistan - blockade of Northwood HQ in 2009
http://peacenews.info/blog/6658/jailing-maya-evans