Pit Stop Ploughshares at Dublin's Four Courts, Nov 19th

by Ruairi - Donegal Peace Group/ Tue Nov 18, 2003 13:22 muscailt at yahoo dot com

Folks, once again I cannot join you in physical solidarity but we will be doing local media on your case and indeed our thoughts and prayers will be with you all.

Despite all the knocking, sniping, division etc., the CW5 remain among the more courageous, active, committed and inpiring activists in our tired country.

Whatever happens in the courts of this banana republic you have paved the way for new ideas, new actions and a new Ireland.

ONWARDS!

by Drbinoche Tue Nov 18, 2003 22:46

Enjoy soap and try not to drop the soap!!!

Oh and try not to get in peoples way tomorrow when you are blocking O Connell Street, it will get even more people against you.

by Ciaron Tue Nov 18, 2003 23:28

Why so longY It's always flattering to have a stalker, no matter how mediocre the wit! The Brisbane Catholic Worker from whence I sprung have been making self managed vegetarian based soap for over 20 years....in our soap there are "live bosses or dead animals".

by Phuq Hedd Wed Nov 19, 2003 01:33

the reluctant soldier, the voice of reason is making a funny little joke about prison rape. Nice to see you reveal yourself in your true colours. "Don't drop the soap!" ha ha.

It's sad that you choose to post compulsively attacking people that are doing something worthwhile and to make light of institutionalised sexual violence.

I can only hope that there's an explanation for your perversity such as: you are very young or have had some very traumatising sexual experiences. Otherwise your wilful self-portrayal as a weak, vicious fool indicates a harder to solve problem. Good luck with that.

by Fintan Lane - IAWM and Cork Anti-War Campaign Wed Nov 19, 2003 01:39 087 1258325

Can't make it to the vigil myself because of other commitments, but best of luck! Solidarity greetings from de real capital.

by Ciaron - Dublin Catholic Worker Wed Nov 19, 2003 03:09

The theme of our pre-court vigil is solidarity with anti-war resisters. We will post solidarity letters from the GPO on the way to court. Here are some folks we encourage y'all to wirte to. They were arrested trespassing at the School of the America's, Ft Benning, Georgia, USA.

Last year, 10,000 folks gathered at SOA on the anniversary of the massacre of 6 Jesuits, a Salvadoran mother and daughter on Nov. 16th '89. The eight, like Bishop Romero were slain by graduates of SOA

This year the resistance gathering is on Nov 22 & 23. Last year 70 of us gathered in solidarty at the US Embassy in Dublin while the trespassing was going down in Georgia. We wre hoping to repeat that but our bail conditions etc, have retsricted us.

Consider wrting a postcard or letter to....

Jeremiah Matthew John
#91324-020
Federal Prison Camp
PO Box 33
Terre Haute, IN 47808
Projected release date: January 18, 2004




Charity Ryerson
#91335-020
Pekin FCI
PO Box 6000
Pekin, IL 61555-6000
Projected release date: January 18, 2004

*Check out the SOAW website for background

by Ciaron - Dublin Catholic Worker Wed Nov 19, 2003 03:18

*Crossing the line at the School of Americas pretty much guarantees you a 6 month prison sentence.

Fr. Joe Mulligan was imprisoned for two years in the 1960's for the "Milwaulkee 14" nonviolent raidon a draft board where thousands of draft cards were destroyed.

Throughout the '80's & much of the '90's he worked in Managua, Nicaragua. I met him in Washington DC shotly after the '89 massacre of the Salvadoran Jesuits... he had collected some of the bloodstained earth from the murder scene, bringing it to DC, mixed it with blood we had donatyed and poured it on the White House.......

Why I Will Cross the Line

Father Joe Mulligan's Call to Action

Father Joseph E. Mulligan is a Jesuit priest from Detroit who has been working in Central America for many years. His ministry includes Christian base communities, people with disabilities, and volunteers and students from the U.S.

Father Joe will cross the line this year to call for the closure of the SOA. If you will cross, please send your statment to info@soaw.org

Dear Friends, I would like to invite you to consider doing civil disobedience as part of the protest against the School of the Americas in Columbus, Ga., on the weekend of Nov. 21-23.

One of my main reasons for opposing the SOA is the integration of Latin American troops into the military strategies and operations of the U.S. government. SOA is a symbol and instrument of this. Now troops from Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic have joined U.S. soldiers in Iraq, which I find very sad and ironic. It is especially ironic in the case of Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, since those countries were occupied by the U.S. military in the early 20th century.

Of course, this year the anti-SOA demo will be an occasion to express opposition to the invasion and the current occupation of Iraq as well as the growing militarism of the U.S.

Last year I was very impressed and moved by the anti-SOA demo, not only by the numbers (8,000 or so) but by the quality of the whole event and the people involved. The Ignatian Family events were especially good: a teach-in one day, with a Mass that night with about 2,000 people under a big circus tent. One could feel a real mixture of spirituality, faith, joy, peace, and Christian commitment on the one hand -- with the clear commitment to justice and peace on the other.

I was also delighted to see quite a few religious, ministers, and priests there and to renew acquaintances with many of them as well as with other friends. I understand that one minister, one priest, and 9 Catholic sisters took part in the civil disobedience -- among the 90 or so who did so.

This November two other Jesuits and I plan to "cross the line." I would like to ask you and others, particularly sisters, ministers, rabbis, and priests, to seriously consider doing it. I think a group of us participating in that way would be of great support and encouragement to others who are doing civil disobedience and would also strengthen all the thousands of others who will be on hand. And it would add to the public impact.

Thanks for your kind consideration.

Sincerely,

Joe Mulligan, S.J.

by Drbinoche Wed Nov 19, 2003 20:03

"the reluctant soldier, the voice of reason."

I don't believe I ever claimed to be a reluctant soldier, in fact I am anything but a reluctant soldier. I would rather say I am someone who realises that soldiers are needed. I never claimed to be a reluctant soldier, I have no idea where you would even get that from. I also never claimed to be the voice of reason, I would say that I am someone who disagrees with many people on this site, but yet I am still attempting to understand where you are all coming from as you have beliefs I cannot understand.

Nice to see you reveal yourself in your true colours.

Yes my true colours. You are right this is how I feel about everyone and everything. You mean to tell me at no stage in your life have you ever said anything of this type. I doubt it, just because you may not have posted it here does not mean that you are guiltless. Either way, yeah I do find it amusing. Its my right to find it amusing. I would doubt if Phuq Head would feel so bad if I was to say that I think GW Bush should be raped in prison or that any of the current american government, of whom he hates so vehemently, should be treated in such a manor. In fact if it were to happen I doubt if you would even comment.

"It's sad that you choose to post compulsively attacking people that are doing something worthwhile and to make light of institutionalised sexual violence."

I find it sadder that you attack anyone who attempts to try to understand your beliefs. I will admit I may not have always been as understanding as I could be, but one of the first posts I ever made I believe you attacked me outright. I have no problem with your ideas and your beliefs, but you are now playing the part of the victim. Stick to one side and stay with it. But you see I don't see em as doing something worthwhile, I see em as wasting their time, my time, the courts time, the governments time, and a hell of alot of energies, for their beliefs which a large proportion of the country do not necessarily agree with. I have no problem with them protesting and not agreeing with the government, but I don't think they did anything spectacular or worthy of praise.

"I can only hope that there's an explanation for your perversity such as: you are very young or have had some very traumatising sexual experiences. Otherwise your wilful self-portrayal as a weak, vicious fool indicates a harder to solve problem. Good luck with that."

Once again anyone who doesn't agree with you or voices something you disagree with, MUST be young and naive or have had something to force em that way. Well Ill tell you now, I am not young, I am not naive and I have never had any form of sexual abuse in my life. I just don't agree with their beliefs and am quite frankly annoyed at Ciaron wasting everyones time trying to get people to protest at anything he says. He has done nothing great and I DO hope he and all of the others get a nice hefty prison sentence to make em think a bit. I doubt it would do any good, but at least it would keep em out of my face and out of my way when I am attempting to get to work in the mornings. However, in all likelihood it would just turn em into a set of martyrs for people who share their misguided beliefs. Thus wasting more of our times and the time of the public, with whom you are inevitably beginning to annoy.

by Larry Burns Thu Nov 20, 2003 08:52

I agree with everything you said there, you really have these malcontents sussed out. They're just a bunch of students who never adjusted to life outside campus - I guess that was their traumatic experience.

So, they live in a world where:

America = root of all evil

Saddam's terrorists + Palestinian homicide bombers = a cause worth shouting about

Capitalism = Makes people poorer (yeah right, tell that to the Chinese).

Marxism = the solution to all the world's problems (igoring the fact that it has repeatedly failed).

North Korea + Cuba = Model states we all should copy, but we don't want to live there just yet.

Well, it sure beats reality.

by a brother Sat Nov 22, 2003 22:42 USA

Larry, I guess you just don't know what you are talking about.

Catholic Workers are not Marxists.

But even your anti-marxist knee-jerks are wrong.

I do believe that China still subscribes to what they call a "chinese form of socialism".

And how did marxism fail in China? Before the Marxist took over, China was a feudal, colonized country mired in mass poverty. Life expectancy has been increased and infant mortaility has been slashed. Now it is one of the coming super-powers of the world.

Argue with the facts, Larry, and not your willful ignorance.

You may need to care about the real facts, Larry, since the real object of the US wars in the Middle East is to secure the area in preparation for an eventual showdown with the emerging Chinese superpower.

And that other long-winded bullshitter... wishing that someone be raped is bad karma, man.