Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Four LA Catholic Workers among 292 Arrested

LOS ANGELES--Four members of the LA Catholic Worker were among the 292 people arrested in the early Wednesday morning raid on the Occupy Los Angeles encampment in City Hall Park. LACW's Jeff Dietrich, Martha Lewis, Mike Wisniewski and Ross Weaver were arrested as part of the 75 people in a "peace circle" in the center of the camp that saw over 500 of the 1400 police in full riot gear descend on them from various directions within city hall. They, as with many others were held handcuffed for nearly five and one-half hours before being processed. All were held under $5000. bail in very harsh conditions at LAPD's Metro Detention Center for 63 hours. With the full help of the National Lawyers Guild, Jeff, Martha and Ross (among hundreds of others) were released on OR with an impending court date. Mike, one of the last five people to be released Friday evening after the court was unable to handle all those arrested and held for court appearance because of priors, was released with charges dropped, though he had priors.  The LACW began serving hot meals to Occupy LA three days each week beginning in week two of the two month occupation, after the health department raided Occupy LA's food tent and removed stoves and other items used to cook their own meals.

Though the media portrayed the early morning raid as "peaceful" without police brutality, the contrary was true. Several acts of excessive force and brutality were prevalent, both on the streets and in the camp, with several people shot with rubber bullets and beaten with batons, while one bus load of over 40 people were held in handcuffs for over 11 hours without food, water, or toilet access.  People had to urinate on their seats while police took long Starbuck coffee breaks and laughed at those on the bus.

For more info contact:
Michael Wisniewski
LACW web page:

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Rita Corbin Dies, 81

by Claire Schaeffer-Duffy

Taken on Rita's 80th birthday. Photo by Bob Fitch.
Artist Rita Corbin, whose tender line drawings graced the pages of Catholic Worker journals for decades, died Nov. 17 from injuries suffered in a car crash. She was 81.

Corbin decided early in life to become an artist, choosing to major in art while attending Cathedral High School in New York City.

"The school was keen on turning out secretaries," she said, "but I refused to learn to type. I knew I didn't want to go into business on pure instinct, I guess. I needed a major and art appealed to me the most."

For Corbin, the artistic endeavor could not be separated from one's political and religious consciousness. She considered the work of the artist to be "a real struggle to bring some kind of form and feeling out of the materials one uses and the society one lives in."

Corbin's society included the natural world as well as the poor. Both were frequent subjects of her illustrations. Her etchings and pen and ink drawings of trees, flowers and birds have been described as lyrical celebrations of nature. Her figurative work has been likened to that of German painter, printer and sculptor Kathe Kollwitz.

Unassuming in demeanor, Corbin was a prolific artist. Over the course of her life, she produced a voluminous and expansive body of work that explored a variety of styles and subject matter. Much of this art was created while Corbin was living in pacifist collectives and raising children. She donated a lot of her work and later said, "In retrospect, maybe I shouldn't have given away so much to people who could pay for it. It's not fair to other artists for me to work entirely for free."

Her artwork enjoyed wide-ranging publication. Corbin's images appeared in Commonweal, Harvard Theological Review, several pacifist magazines and numerous Catholic and liturgical publications. She illustrated books, including Thomas Merton's Ishi Means Man, painted a mural in Chicago and annually produced Christmas cards and a calendar.

But Corbin is best known for her countless contributions to The Catholic Worker newspaper first published in New York in 1933. She, along with liturgical artist Ade Bethune and illustrator Fritz Eichenberg, formed what one editor of The Catholic Worker referred to as the "Holy Trinity" of artists whose work shaped the look and feel of the newspaper during its formative years.

Rita Corbin's famous depiction of the Works of Mercy.
Her now-famous etching contrasting the Works of War with the Works of Mercy was emblematic of the Catholic Worker movement's commitment to Christian pacifism and solidarity with the poor. It has been reproduced in Catholic Worker journals all over the country.

Editors described her as a most agreeable and responsive artist, able to produce images in a timely manner.

"If we said we needed something for the newspaper, Rita would do it. She understood the importance of the work," said Patrick Jordan, a former editor of The Catholic Worker and now managing editor of Commonweal.

Rita Corbin's famous depiction of the works of mercy, seen in Catholic Worker communities across the country.Jordan said Corbin "had a way of picturing the poor that was obvious it wasn't from afar. ... There was one picture she drew of a woman at the [Catholic Worker] soup kitchen standing beside a dining room table where someone had scrawled, 'Joy, Joy, Joy.' Rita caught that detail. For a journal that didn't use photographs, she conveyed a great deal with a certain clarity that worked very well for a newspaper."

Writer and publisher Robert Ellsberg, who edited The Catholic Worker in the late 1970s, praised Corbin's regard for the natural world.

"A lot of the famous Catholic Worker artists like Bethune and Eichenberg brought a heavy, narrative approach to the paper," he said. "Rita always brought a more celebratory and decorative approach that came out of the [Catholic Worker] farming communities. Her images from nature reflected as much of a concrete dimension of the Catholic Worker movement as those depicting the Houses of Hospitality."

Indeed, Corbin said she considered some of her best art to be her drawings of nature and the poor, "those on the fringes of society, the same kinds of people Christ came to heal and teach."

Born May 21, 1930, in Indianapolis, Corbin was the youngest daughter of Carmen and Hubert Hamm. The family was very poor and traveled throughout the country while Hubert Hamm, an organist, played for magic shows.

After graduating from Cathedral High School, Corbin remained in New York to pursue training in art. She was awarded a scholarship to Franklin School of Professional Art, a three-year advertising school, then later studied with Hans Hoffman, a master of abstract expressionism. She also took classes at the Arts Student League of New York City.

But Corbin said much of her artistic education came from wandering through New York's galleries and parks, simply observing.

Upon graduating from advertising school, Corbin was offered a job at an agency, which she declined. When later asked if she regretted refusing a potentially lucrative career, Corbin said, "What I do is kind of commercial, but I have control. I consider myself an artist illustrator, not a fine artist, not a commercial artist."

Corbin first visited the New York Catholic Worker on New Year's Day in 1950. Like many before her, she was immediately recruited to help in the kitchen. She made friends with the Catholic Workers and kept coming back to their home on the Lower East Side to attend Friday night meetings, bake bread, serve soup, support a strike or demonstrate against the city's civil defense drills.

"The Catholic Worker was my school, my education," she once said.

The Catholic Worker first published Corbin's art in 1954. Two years later she married Marty Corbin, a Catholic intellectual. For 10 years, the couple lived in Glen Gardner, N.J., in an intentional community founded by pacifist Dave Dellinger.

As artist and writer, the Corbins contributed to Liberation, a radical, pacifist monthly. Conditions in Glen Gardner were very tough. The Corbins lived in an un-insulated chicken coop. Their firstborn, a son, died in infancy, the first of many losses in Corbin's life. Three daughters were also born in Glen Gardner.

In the mid-'60s, the family moved to the Catholic Worker farm at Tivoli, N.Y. Marty Corbin edited The Catholic Worker. A son and another daughter were born.

After spending 10 years at Tivoli, the Corbins relocated to Montreal, where Marty taught English at a local college. Rita separated from her husband four years later, and with her children, moved back to the United States. She lived in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., then Weston, Vt., where she became art director of Growth Associates publishers, then Worcester, Mass., where she studied printmaking with artist activist Tom Lewis.

At the time of her death, Corbin was living in Brattleboro, Vt., near her five children and grandchildren.
Once asked what advice she would give to young artists, Corbin said, "Keep working at it. It doesn't come easy. It's very fulfilling. A lot of young people think in terms of jobs and not vocations. It's very schizophrenic."

Source:
http://ncronline.org/news/people/rita-corbin-catholic-worker-artist-dies-81


Claire Schaeffer-Duffy, a freelance writer, lives and works at the SS Francis and Therese Catholic Worker of Worcester, MA. She and husband, Scott, co-founded the community in 1987.

New Hope Catholic Worker Farm and Agronomic University Offers Craft Event

Join New Hope Catholic Worker Farm and Agronomic University for a weekend of craft sharing, prayer, music, food, fun, and fellowship (sledding, star gazing, dancing) January 11-17, 2012 (MLK weekend).

Possible crafts include: Soap Making, Candle Dipping, Fiber Arts, Cheese-making/Dairy Processing, Bicycle Maintenance, Sewing Machine Primer, Wool Spinning, Block Printing, and Wooden Glasses Demo.

Space is limited--no charge to participate (free-will offering accepted, of course)

Contact Mary Kay by phone, 563-556-0987 to RSVP.

New Hope CW Farm & Agronomic University
6697 Mitchell Mill Rd.
La Motte, IA 52054

The New Hope Catholic Worker Farm was started in 2001 and is on 33 acres in a beautiful valley just south of Dubuque, Iowa. They have a half acre in vegetables and fruits, a milking cow, a flock of chickens and turkeys, as well as bees. New Hope’s mission is to pursue the ideal of the "worker-scholar" that Peter Maurin discussed. They host periodic school sessions for those seeking alternative education in a farm context. Please contact them if you would like to be notified of such events.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Dale Farm Fighting Back after Failed Eviction Bid



Update from Zelda Jeffers [zeidyj@hotmail.com]

Zelda Jeffers arrested,
Hovefields eviction 2010
Legal observers including me, Zelda Jeffers, continue to visit Dale Farm to monitor the way Basildon Council and the bailiffs they employ are behaving since the violent eviction reported earlier. Some people, often only one at a time, are staying on site in harsh conditions. They help the rest of us who visit get in. Entering is not easy, security guards hassle people and you have to have a high visibility jacket and hard hat as well as give your name to enter land that belongs to the Travellers who have welcomed our presence and support. 
Two chalets which had bats in them have been removed although the bats are protected. There will be legal challenges but it seems difficult to get any action as things proceed. 
We are noting down the diggers and dumpers moving earth, rubble and rubbish from plots to make what is called bunding, that is levees of earth, around plots. The court has put limits on what the bailiffs can do they have to leave fences and walls, there is no mention of this bunding. It is aimed at keeping the Travellers off the land, but three families can still legally live on their plots. They have been moved off while the land is dug up and it is unclear how they will get back. 
Septic tanks have been broken and sewage leaked into the pools that have grown inside the bunding. The electricity is off and the generators which have been provided often stop working. The site, once a vibrant and welcoming community is now desolate, unhealthy and ugly. A dirty rotten result of a dirty rotten system.The residents and those who have left and are searching for somewhere to live would welcome your prayers.
 --------------------------------------------------

Dale Farm Fighting Back after Failed Eviction Bid

Nov. 8, 2011 Dale Farm toilet and wash place
By Grattan Puxon

After a hugely expensive but futile bid to drive them out of Dale Farm, Tory-leader Tony Ball turned around last week and advised homeless Travellers to seek residence permits through proper channels.

Rising to this challenge, residents will put their case to a public inquiry on Tuesday (22 Nov) for the establishment of an alternate mobile-home park at nearby Laindon. They are also want brown-field land at Gardiners Lane for a second siteoth locations belong to the Homes & Communities Agency, a Government quango which earlier offered them to Basildon for this purpose. Tony Ball turned down the offer.

While formal planning consent is sought for only a dozen permanent plots at Laindon, Travellers are requesting the go-ahead to set up 60 temporary pitches to meet immediate emergency needs as winter weather sets in.

Nov. 8, 2011, Dale farm, bunding plot 27 and beyond
No surprise that Ball rejected the Laindon development. However, the grounds for refusal, like much else, were bungled by the council. Basildon got the land area wrong and claimed the plan is subject to regulations which do not in fact apply to this site of under one hectare. As a result the appeal could be a walkover.

More than 50 properties have been destroyed on the Dale Farm estate. But the number of caravans is now higher than before the eviction. Residents are living alongside mud-filled craters, with no electricity supply. Many have taken refuge on legal plots. Newly arrived caravans are packed on the estate roads as families come home for Christmas.

Closed entrance gates, Dale farm, Oct. 29, 2011
The cost to tax-payers of Basildon’s botched policy of ethnic-cleansing is rising weekly. Initially, the bill for the police-led assault on the estate was put at £18m. Now a woebegone Tony Ball is besieged not only by fresh legal action and claims for compensation, but a demand for an apology from a British MEP.

Members of parliament from all parties are backing Essex MEP Richard Howitt’s demand that Ball say sorry for the physical force used to eject him when he attempted to speak to media about his opposition to the eviction.

In the words of Martin Schultz, German leader of the l85-member socialist group, this was a deliberate and sinister interference with freedom of speech. The European Parliament is protesting to the UK Government about it, adding to earlier Dale Farm-related interventions by the UN and Amnesty International.

Sheridan protest in front bulldozer, Dale Farm, 2006
With a test-case due in the High Court mid-December, it could be that Basildon will find itself ordered to build pitches for the Dale Farm homeless. All who qualified turned down council houses and are pressing instead for the 62 pitches the council was supposed to provide by 2011 under regional planning.

Illegal over-enforcement, a common practice when evicting Gypsies, is another major accusation faced by Tony Ball’s administration. A High Court judge is likely shortly to be asked to review evidence that the council has breached an agreement limiting the scope of the clearance.

Scores of compensation claims are currently in preparation, ranging from a broken washing machine to serious personal injury. Some legal properties allegedly incurred massive damage. Finally, a complaint over the way riot police stormed the barricaded estate using 50,000 volt barb-firing taser guns is likely to keep Dale Farm in the headlines for months to come.

Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker


Bishop Tom Gumbleton

When: Friday, December 16, 2011, at 7:30 p.m.

What: Bishop Tom Gumbleton will preside at a Mass of Thanksgiving for the DDCW.  Light refreshments will be served following the Mass.

Where: Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, 503 Rock Creek Church Rd., NW. Washington, DC. 20010. For more info call: 202-882-9649















Dear Friends,

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker (DDCW). In 1981, a Trinitarian brother came to see Fr. Dick McSorley, S.J., and told him that the Trinitarians were considering giving a house they owned to the Catholic Worker in memory of Dorothy Day. At that time, the house, where Day stayed on at least several occasions, was being used by the Trinitarian religious order for their seminary students. Fr. McSorley graciously accepted this amazing gift, and thus the DDCW was established. Tom Siemer, Monica Siemer and Pat Cassidy were among those who joined Fr. McSorley to form the first community. Since then hundreds of people, Catholic Workers and formerly homeless families, have lived here.

For thirty years the DDCW has served as a house of hospitality for mostly single moms and their children from D.C., the U.S. and around the world. It has also been a school where those, inspired by the Catholic Worker vision, have learned about community, solidarity, Gospel nonviolence, resistance, patience, compassion, forgiveness and so much more. It has been a place where many have come face to face with their weaknesses, and have experienced pain and joy, hardship and hope. Despite many difficulties and challenges along the way, God's amazing grace has been profoundly evident, enabling the DDCW to reach this special anniversary.

As current members of the DDCW, we are most grateful to all those who have contributed, in a myriad of ways, to help make the DDCW what it is today. Every person who has lived at the DDCW has made a significant contribution to the house and community over these thirty years. And we are so deeply thankful to those who have spiritually and monetarily supported the DDCW. Without the participation and support of numerous individuals and parishes over the years, we would not have been able to keep the house going and continue our ministry.

Like so many Catholic Worker houses, we face financial challenges, especially regarding repairs and maintenance of our house, originally built in 1898. We so appreciate whatever prayerful and monetary support you can offer, as well as your direct participation in the work of the house.

As we approach the season of Thanksgiving and Advent, we truly give thanks for the blessing you are to our community and to our world. We continue to live and act in the hope that the Word became flesh and dwells among us, that with God all things are possible, and that Jesus has forever overcome the world.

With gratitude,

Kathy Boylan, Art Laffin and Colleen McCarthy, Amber and Kevin Mason, Mike Walli

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Rita Corbin Dies


From: Claire Schaeffer-Duffy <theresecw@aol.com>
Date: Fri, Nov 18, 2011 at 8:55 AM

Dear All,

The much-loved artist Rita Corbin whose line drawings graced the pages of so many of our Catholic Worker journals died last night. She was 81 years old. The blood clot in her leg that was detected on Wednesday did not respond to medicine. By yesterday, doctors were advising the family to prepare for the worst.

 All five of her children were present for her passing, thank God.  Some of us from the Catholic Worker community were also able to sit with them for a little and to bid our farewells to a woman who gave concrete witness to Peter Maurin's bold and audacious claim that we are "co-creators with God."

A service for Rita is scheduled for Dec. 3rd. but aside from date I have no other details. Will try to keep folks apprised once we know.  You can also contact Stephanie Salasin, partner of Martin Corbin, Rita's son directly. She is kindly helping the family with arrangements: steph.salasin@gmail.com

I posted a small announcement on NCR Today:


Earlier story:


Friday, November 18, 2011

16-year anti-death penalty vigil in Boise Continues

Boise protesters say the state shouldn't be in the business of killing.

By Anna Webb

Most Wednesdays, for the past 16 years, retired Bishop Kelly High School chemistry teacher Henry Krewer has stood vigil against the death penalty in front of the old post office in Downtown Boise.

Once he forgot to bring along his various anti-death penalty signs. It didn’t matter. Everyone knew why he was there.

“Idaho people should realize that giving the state the right to take a person’s life is giving up a lot,” said Krewer.

Boiseans Susan Dittus, center, and Mia Crosthwaite, right, join Henry Krewer, 
second from left, in the Idahoans Against the Death Penalty vigil Wednesday
at 8th and Bannock streets.
Often other members of Idahoans Against the Death Penalty join him for the weekly noon-hour vigils. But sometimes, Krewer, with his familiar Hemingway-esque beard and watch cap, stands alone.
The crowd was bigger than usual Wednesday. With the execution of convicted killer Paul Ezra Rhoades scheduled for 8:10 a.m. Friday, about seven people stood with Krewer holding signs such as “Capital punishment is the most premeditated of murders.”

Idaho hasn’t executed a prisoner against his will since 1957. But with Rhoades’ execution scheduled for Friday, the state’s power to kill will go from theoretical to real.

“Now it’s a whole different ballgame,” said Krewer.

The new death chamber at the Idaho Maximum Security Prison and what Krewer calls “trained personnel” versed in administering lethal injections will only ease the way for more deaths, he said.

“To me, the execution isn’t about Rhoades,” said Judy Mimken, who joined Wednesday’s protest.
“If the government kills someone in Saudi Arabia, people can blame it on the king. It’s different in a democracy. If someone is killed by the state, he’s killed by me,” said Mimken.

HAUNTED BY WAR

Krewer, 78, joined the progressive anti-war Catholic Worker movement as a young man in his native New York.

His “respect for human life” has kept him standing for his cause for close to two decades. He was just a kid during World War II, but the war’s loss of life and images of wartime prison camps haunted him.

“I had nightmares from them. I couldn’t understand how people could do that to other people,” he said.

Krewer is Catholic, but Idahoans Against the Death Penalty is ecumenical, counting Lutherans, Buddhists and others among its supporters.

Representatives from the group, including Buddhists who plan a meditation on the morning of the execution, will be standing vigil outside the prison gates Friday morning, along with other death penalty opponents, such as the ACLU of Idaho.

ON THE CORNER OF 8TH AND BANNOCK

Krewer doesn’t get too many comments from passers-by during his Wednesday vigils, though people sometimes stop to talk.

“We’re kind of like the woodwork, we’ve been on that corner for so long,” said Krewer.

At least one person this week disagreed with the anti-death penalty group.

“I believe in capital punishment,” said Boisean Eldon Anderson. “I believe in the Second Amendment, too. If everyone had a concealed weapon, there’d be a lot less” people like Rhoades.

Krewer and the others hope Rhoades will get an 11th-hour stay of execution. But regardless of what happens Friday, they say they will continue the vigils.

Source:



Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Rita Corbin Seriously Injured, Grandson Perishes in Car Accident.

BERNARDSTON, VT--Catholic Worker and well-known artist Rita Corbin's daughter was seriously injured in a car accident on Sunday, November 6.  Rita's 17-year-old grandson Daniel Bliss was driving.  Tragically, Daniel died in the crash.

Rita’s condition is said to be serious, but stable, and she is expected to survive.  She is currently in the ICU at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.

A gifted artist, Rita’s prints have been printed in a number of publications, including The Catholic Worker and Commonweal,as well as in publications by peace organizations such as the War Resisters League.

She was married to Marty Corbin, former editor of The Catholic Worker (who passed away in 2001). They raised their five children at the Catholic Worker Farm in Tivoli, NY, in the 1960s-70s. She now lives in southwestern New Hampshire, and her four youngest children and many of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren all live nearby in southeastern Vermont.



Monday, November 7, 2011

Protest, arrests at nuclear site cap war tax resisters conference

by Robyn Haas

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--Boil it down and war tax resisters have a simple strategy: Without taxes, the government can't buy guns and fight wars.

And, capping their annual conference this weekend with a protest outside the nation's first new nuclear weapons manufacturing facility in three decades, some 60 war tax resisters said yesterday that the government shouldn't be able to build such facilities either.

The protest, which saw five resisters arrested for acts of civil disobedience, was the latest in a series of actions organized to oppose construction of the some $1.2 billion nuclear weapons plant, known simply as the Kansas City Plant. 53 people were arrested last May in a similar action.

The arrests yesterday came after an hour-long gathering, which saw activists hold signs, sing songs, and listen to presentations from war tax resisters about their motivations for withholding their income taxes. Several of the signs read "No tax dollars for nuclear bombs."

Before their arrests, the five protestors linked elbows and walked up the driveway of the complex. As they crossed the property line, painted red on the ground, they were taken into custody by police officers.

In the speeches to the group, several protesters gave an idea of what motivates them.

Erica Weiland of Seattle said that the 17 resisters she had surveyed during the weekend had held back more than $359,000 in taxes and represented a total of over 400 combined years of refusing to pay.

She said she was “proud to be making a stand for peace and justice” by her own refusal.

Jim Hannah of Independence, Mo., called for “scrap-piling” rather than stockpiling of nuclear weapons. “How much death and destruction do we need?” Hannah asked.

Bill Ramsey of St. Louis, Mo., defined war tax resistance as “a way to deny American militarism the space they need to operate.”

Over the weekend, those gathered for the conference from across the country heard presentations from locals opposed to the construction of the nuclear facility. They also had the option to attend several sessions on war tax resistance across the country, and how to refuse to pay taxes legally.

Weliand and Hannah were in the group arrested Sunday. Joining them were Jason Rawn of Union, Maine; Kima Garrison of Portland, Ore.; and Catholic Worker Charles Carney of Kansas City, KS.

Weiland and Garrison were released on bond Sunday afternoon. Rawn, Carney, and Hannah were held overnight and are scheduled to be released on bond today. All five are due in court Jan. 17, 2012.

Source:

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Trial of Hancock 38 Drone Protestors Ends

Defendants wore blue scarves in solidarity with the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers.

SYRACUSE, NY--The trial of the Hancock 38 concluded late Saturday evening, November 5.  Closing arguments ended just before midnight ending five days of testimony at the Town of DeWitt Court House near Syracuse, NY. The verdict will be announced Thursday, December 1, at 5 pm. They had been charged with two counts of Disorderly Conduct.

At the anti-drone protest April 22, 2011,  activists from throughout the U.S. participated in a “die-in” at the main entrance of Hancock Air National Guard Base just outside Syracuse. The action symbolized the indiscriminate killing of civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan by hunter-killer reaper drones and protested the reaper in our midst and everywhere. The defendants also attempted to deliver an indictment focusing on the illegality of the drones to the base commander.  The indictment was taken from them and thrown to the ground.

In court, defendants testified to the horrific destruction caused by MQ 9 Reapers and other Unmanned Arial Vehicles used by the defense department in Afghanistan and numerous other countries where we are not technically at war.

Defendant Ellen Grady of Ithaca said, “Our intention was to uphold the law because we know war crimes are being committed at the base. The Nuremberg Principles obligate us to do something in order not to be complicit with the war crimes of our government.”   The Nuremberg Principles forbid wars of aggression, attacks on civilians and extrajudicial assassinations, all associated with drone warfare.

Videos of the closing statements at the trial can be viewed here.
  
------
A more detailed report of the trial is below.
------

The Trial of the Hancock 38 Drone Resisters
by Carol Baum of the Syracuse Peace Council

After five long days in court, closing arguments were heard in the Hancock 38 Drone Resisters trial on Saturday, November 5. But it’s not quite over – Judge Gideon will give the verdict on Thursday, December 1 at 5 pm at the Town of DeWitt Court House (5400 Butternut Dr., East Syracuse). Please come. Dates can change, so contact SPC for updates.

Tuesday, November 1 marked the first day of the trial of the Hancock 38 Drone Resisters, activists from upstate New York and beyond who participated in a “die-in” at the main entrance of Hancock Air National Guard Base just outside Syracuse last April. The action symbolized the indiscriminate killing of civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan by hunter-killer reaper drones and protested the reaper here and elsewhere. The defendants also attempted to deliver an indictment to the base commander focusing on the illegality of the drones; the indictment was taken and thrown to the ground.

Protesters from central and western New York assembled in front of the Syracuse
Federal Building  show support for the 38 on trial.
This was the first civil resistance action at Hancock since it became a major player in drone warfare over the last few years. Pilots stationed at the base fly drones over Afghanistan and it boasts of schools for training drone maintenance technicians as well as drone pilots and sensor operators.

In preparation for the trial the defendants made multiple court appearances, as they argued motions to join their cases together for a single trial (accepted) and for their defense to include testimony about the illegality of drone warfare, as well as the necessity of breaking a law in order to prevent something worse from happening (both denied). Eventually a court date was set and everyone was ready to go.

Several days prior to the trial, a new charge was added. The final charges were “obstructing vehicular or pedestrian traffic” and “refusing to comply with a lawful order of the police to disperse” (both low-level violations). Thirty-two people ended up going to trial – ten represented by lawyers and twenty-two representing themselves.

From the first moment, the defendants’ goal has been to put the drones on trial. The group argued that they were innocent of the “lawful order to disperse” charge because the order was actually not lawful. It contradicted the Nuremburg Principles, whichforbid wars of aggression, attacks on civilians and extrajudicial assassinations - all actions associated with drone warfare. Citizens have a duty to act where they can to prevent violations, even if the violations are committed by their government.
The defendants argued that the “obstructing vehicular or pedestrian traffic” didn’t hold up either because there was no vehicular or pedestrian traffic to obstruct. In preparation for the legal rally preceding the action, base security and police had shut down the main entrance and parked many police cars in the driveway – so the die-in there didn’t inconvenience anyone.

Ramsey Clark
A trial highlight was the appearance of former Attorney General Ramsey Clark as a witness. At a press conference before court, Ramsey stated, “Drones inherently violate the laws of the United States and international law,” and quoted from Dante’s Inferno: “The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of moral crisis, do not act.”

After the court spent more than two hours qualifying Ramsey as an expert witness in the principles of international law and defining what the precise scope of his testimony would be, Ramsey testified that the defendants’ actions were justified under international law as embodied in the Nuremberg Principles. Judge Gideon later asked Ramsey to address international law in relation to local action. Ramsey testified that the Nuremberg Principles are the ”supreme law of the land,” and that all courts at every level – federal, state and local – must act in the context of these principles.

Another highlight was the opening statements of the defense. From James Ricks, Jr. of Enfield, NY:
The evidence will show that it was not to engage in disorderly conduct but to uphold the law. The greatest laws we have are those which seek peace. The evidence will show any American … who commits specified crimes, including attacks against civilians, cruel or inhumane treatment, or who commits murder, or causes bodily injury onto others is subject to prosecution. The War Crimes Act defines war crimes as any grave breach of the Geneva Convention and therefore, individuals have a duty to disobey orders that could cause crimes against humanity.
From Martha Hennessy from Weathersfield, Vermont and the New York Catholic Worker:
As citizens of the United States we come to exercise our rights to freedom of speech, freedom of association and of peaceful assembly, and to petition our government for the redress of grievances Evidence will show our efforts to be a reasoned response in the face of violations of greater laws in contrast to the charges leveled against us. We are attempting to seek justice on behalf of voiceless victims.
 ________

Carol Baum did support work and attended the entire trial. For opening statements, video, media reports, etc., see peacecouncil.netand upstatedroneaction.org.

Email Carol at: carol@peacecouncil.net


Videos of Closing Statements of Hancock 38 Trial

Below is a list of videos taken of the closing statements of the Hancock 38 Drone Trial that ended November 6, 2011.  It is suggested that the videos be watched in order because the statements build on each other.


Video I
Attorney Sam Young, representing Kathleen Rumpf
http://youtu.be/QPOSseNiLF0


Video II
Defendant Brian Terrell

http://youtu.be/h2oXUJa0R_4


Video III
Defendant Pete Bianco
http://youtu.be/Z2Ntyi0IfYo


Video IV
Defendant Mary Anne Grady Flores
http://youtu.be/9ybtf6MPcf8


Video V
Defendant Harry Murray
http://youtu.be/cTlJHkrK7r4


Video VI
Defendant Elliott Adams
http://youtu.be/BjU7_kca4qw


Video VII
Defendant Danny Burns
http://youtu.be/x6xTS7RaGPg


Video VIII
Defendant Mark Scibilia-Carver
http://youtu.be/2taqQydaX_w


Video IX
Defendant Cynthia Banas
http://youtu.be/WJpGxt_Whzo


Video X
Defendant Jim Clune
http://youtu.be/aqUFKGe3iuo

Thursday, November 3, 2011

"The Life and Spirituality of Dorothy Day for Today" a retreat led by Martha Hennessy

Martha Hennessy will lead a retreat November 18th and 19th, 2011, at Anna Maria College, Paxton, Massachusetts.

Martha Hennessy, mother and grandmother, lives with her husband on a small farm in Vermont. Martha is the seventh grandchild of Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement. She works part time as an occupational therapist, and participates in resistance work against nuclear power and war, Guantanamo Bay Prison Camp, and the siege of Gaza. Writes Martha: "I am committed to the Catholic Worker tradition of welcoming the needy, celebrating the dignity of work and speaking out against war and injustice, all grounded on a foundation of prayer."

Mass will be offered Saturday morning at 9 AM and Sunday evening at 7 PM on campus.

Local accommodations are available for those traveling; please inquire for information.

Thanks to the generosity of the Sisters of Saint Anne of Saint Marie Province, the event is free, although free-will donations toward Martha Hennessy’s work will be gladly accepted!

Meals: Simple, delicious and affordable meals will be available in the nearby campus cafeteria

Sponsored by: The AMC Pastoral Ministry Program and the Sisters of Saint Anne of Saint Marie Province.

For more information on Martha, see: "Peace activist follows in Granny's footsteps" in The Toledo Blade,
and this link to Martha Hennessy's web page:

To register, please call Professor Michael Boover at (508) 849- 3431

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Trial Begins for 38 Arrested in April Drone Action

DEWITT, NY--November 1, 2011, marked the first day of the trial for those arrested in April, 2011, outside the main entrance of the New York Air National Guard’s base at Hancock Field, Dewitt, NY.  The trial is expected to last through the week at least.

The defendants are hoping to have international law included as part of their defense and to that end former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark will testify as an expert witness.  There are rides available from Ithaca and other cities.  There will be vigils at the Hancock Air National Guard Base gate and visits to Sen. Gillibrand and Shumer's office Tuesday before court and other events planned on the following days.

For more information contact:
Mary Anne Grady Flores: mpeder3926@comcast.net

Or
Syracuse Peace Council:  315-472-5478.
De Witt Town Court
5400 Butternut Drive
E. Syracuse, NY 13057-8509

Below is a video distributed by the defendants.


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