Journeying in 2011

A steady stream of activities resisting nuclear weapons has been occurring here in the northwestern United States and the west! On November 2ND, 2009 five people entered Sub Base Banger, port for the Trident Nuclear Submarine 20 miles from Seattle Washington, and approached the section holding the weapons before being apprehended. As they had cut through three fences while pouring their blood on the ground, dropping sun flower seeds, they ended by praying and singing. The five are known as the Disarm Now Plowshares. Over 200 Plowshares actions have occurred since 1980 in Europe and the United States. A few people have given years of their lives to prevent nuclear wars and accidents, related to what Archbishop Hunthausen called the Auschwitz of Puget Sound, i.e. Sub Base Bangor. The Disarm Plowshares were sentenced on March 28Th and are now serving terms of two to fifteen months plus probation time.

Another action occurred at Sub Base Bangor on Martin Luther King's birthday commemoration, February 15Th. Six persons were arrested attempting to speak to the base commander. They were arraigned for trespassing April 6Th, as the Federal Government has decided to raise the stakes from warnings to legal jeopardy.

Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action sponsored this action and will conduct the next action on May 6th for Mother's Day.

Underlying all this resistance is dual response of the United States government to the United Nations efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons through tne Nonproliferation Treaty. While the US speaks to supporting the treaty, the Pentagon is constructing new facilities to produce the next generation of nuclear weapons in Tennessee, Kansas and New Mexico.

I attend the events at Sub Base Bangor and the related legal events and Celebrations of Hope. Also, I attended the Pacific Life Community's retreat at Sunnyvale, California. After a day of reflection, interactions and study of Lockheed Martin, we vigil at the entrance to the corporate site. Several persons were arrested for entering the property (owned by the US government, leased to LM.) Lockheed Martin has 36 billion dollars in government contracts for this fiscal year, the largest military contractor. Lockheed Martin also produces the Trident Missile. Read William Hartung's Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex.

Now, we have the tsunami/earthquake caused damage to the Fukushima nuclear power complex in Japan. The radiation circles the earth, immerses in the waters, and soaks the earth, descended from the first Atom Bomb and the first plutonium nuclear bomb dropped on Japan. Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility displayed the effects of Hanford Nuclear Reservation called "PARTICLES ON THE WALL." Download a copy: www.healthworldpress.org.This is a combined art and science display.

While I feel immersed in this ethos, I also feel soaked in the Middle East events and realities. But, my garden, my spiritual/social studies keep me somewhat steady.

Effects of Walk

Yesterday, October 2nd, we celebrated Gandhi's birthday and my 70th (which is October 11th) with a dramatic presentation of the Foot Prints For Peace walk. I incorporated dance, which was my first action at Faslane Royal Navy Trident Base, as well as scenes and information about the walk itinerary, much of which is on this blog. Now, I share a few facts I did not know while walking.

1. The radiation from Sellafield accumulates on the beaches and sands in concentrations at estuaries. Alpha radiation clings to sand particles. Radiation extends on average for 1000 kilometers inland from the sea. The alpha and DU radiation which enters the body interacts with chemicals and the DNA producing serious effects. This simplistic statement is clearly described by Chris Busby (Statement of Chris Busby in Relation to the Millstone Reactors and Their Effect on Local Health in Populations Living Near the Sea and River Estuaries, March 26th, 2001) and Bill Adamson (The Problem With Nuclear (Part I) November 17th, 2006.)

2. DU radiation from the March 2003 Shock and Awe bombing of Iraq reached England seven to nine days after the bombing. Chris Busby reports that censors were set up around Aldermaston and recorded the radiation. This was 2400 miles from Bagdhad!

3.www.corecumbria.co.uk reports that the "Number of Radioactive Finds on Local Beaches has doubled in a month." 17/7/07 These recordings were taken at the time we walked through the Sellafield and other areas.

Anyone have a radiation detector? My body feels funny.

Heading inland

From Broughton. We just arrived after a walk over the "mountains" in England's national park on a beautiful cool and windy day. The sights are truly wonderful looking out toward the Irish Sea and the Isle of Man. The park is different than I expected, since sheep were grazing everywhere. the mountains remind me of the peaks of the Rockies, round and green grass. We enjoyed the hike as we now enter the inland, heading for Yorkshire in a few days. We are informed that it is "alluvial" there to use Duncan's word. Severe flooding with four deaths. I hope the worst is over when we arrive.

Yesterday was blustery to say the least as we hiked around the Sallafield area, past their nuclear waste storage site near the beach and into a military weapons testing sight. We hiked several miles toward a town, when we ran into a closed pedestrian bridge. Seven mile detour would be required to get around, making a 20 mile day! No way. After overcoming our fears of nuclear radiation which is everywhere, we walked onto the broad mud flats and across the river. If the tide had been in, we would have needed a boat. Needless to say, we were cold and some of us with wet feet. At a cafe, we thought warm soup would be the ticket. The reality of a three pound price (six US dollars) convinced us otherwise. Then, our local Sallafield reject, Duncan, came to the rescue. He seems to know everyone, including the owner of the cafe, whom he convinced to give the nine of us soup! Rescued in more ways than one.

We hiked the rest of the day through an area with serious warning signs about nuclear radiation and unexploded bombs, then through some local farms where trials led us to our destination. St Mary's Catholic Church hosted us a second night despite objections from locals who don't like Greenpeace! Thank you Marilyn.

Hattie joined us from Vermont for two weeks. She has made nuclear radiation and power her basic issue. Her avid advocacy and concerted study convinced us if we weren't already that it's worse than you could expect it to be...everywhere there are nuclear power plants. Every group needs a Hattie. I don't have all her info with me, but check www.core.org (?). Peace