THE LONG RIDE

Mary Beth (MB) and I got on the train in Boston on Sunday morning at 6:40. We stayed at her brother John’s house in Boston the night before and her aunt Debra picked us up early at his house to take us to the train station.

As Debra dropped us off at Boston South Station the fog was still hanging in the air making it a moist morning. Many homeless people were sleeping at the entrance to the train station, reminding me of India where hundreds of people would pack themselves up against each other on the train station ramps.

Outside of New Haven, CT the train sat idly on the tracks for some time and we later learned that we had to give one of our locomotives to another train whose engine had died.

All through New England there are legions of empty old faded red brick factories with boarded-up or broken windows. An old friend from American Beach in Florida, MaVynee Betsch, called them ruins. (American Beach was the only black owned beach in the Southeast during segregation and there were once thriving hotels, juke-joints, BBQ pits, and more. Since integration the beach was largely abandoned and had fallen into ruin. Rich white golfing communities began to surround the decaying American Beach and wealthy white women, power walking on the beach, would complain to MaVynee about the “run down” buildings. MaVynee told one woman, “You white folks travel all the way to Europe to see the ancient ruins, well these are our ruins.”) Indeed they are.

Entering Philadelphia and Baltimore poor black neighborhoods were strikingly reminiscent of Latin American poverty zones.

The signs of disinvestment and disintegration of the human and physical infrastructure of the nation are quite visible from a seat on Amtrak.

Just about the only thing sparkling new that I saw from my seat on the train was the razor wire surrounding a jail just yards from the railroad tracks.

By the time we got to New York City our train was running so far behind that it was clear we’d miss our transfer to our Florida-bound train in Washington DC. Suddenly the Amtrak porter ordered us to grab our belongings and he led us up one stair and down another to a faster train on a neighboring track. Once we had made the move MB and I discovered we had forgot our food, which had been stored under our seat, and I had left our cell phone in the seat pouch. I hope whoever found it will handle our calls.

I was reading the new book JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died & Why it Matters by James Douglass. I heard about it from Bishop Thomas Gumbleton at our Global Network conference in Omaha last April.

The book outlines the CIA’s key role in the Kennedy assassination and gives detailed evidence that JFK’s behind the scenes communications with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev about ending the Cold War, and his documented efforts to begin U.S. troop withdrawals from Vietnam, had inflamed the military industrial complex against him.

It becomes evident that the resulting coup d’ etat has put on-going control of our government in the hands of a “secret government” – as we see today with Bush-Cheney.

The unseen government within our government is full of CIA operatives who work throughout the bureaucracy but swear loyalty, not to the American people, but to the shadow government - which basically translates to the corporate powers who now run everything.

These powers tell Bush-Cheney they want Iraq’s oil and then the mission is carried out. They say they want to cut social programs so they can build more big ticket, high-tech, weapons and it gets done. They want an Iran attack - it gets done. I highly recommend the book.

It puts the 2008 “elections” in perspective as we now see Obama head toward the right. Does the shadow government “allow” anyone to get a major party nomination for president who has not been fully vetted and shaped?

We arrived into Jacksonville, Florida this morning about 1-½ hours late and Al Geiger was waiting for us. Al took us to his family farmhouse where for three generations his Quaker family has maintained the homestead. Model T cars and trucks are stored in a weather worn barn, birds of all varieties swoop down onto the feeders just outside the kitchen window – as I write this I am watching a red-bellied woodpecker chase away other birds. Daughter Wendy Clarissa tells me she reads this blog regularly so I thought I’d say a special hello to her today. Wendy is a long-time devotee of the civil rights and non-violence movements.

Tonight others from the Jacksonville area will come here to the Geiger farm and we will all pile into Al’s Honda van for the 50-minute drive south to St. Augustine. This evening a huge potluck supper and celebration will happen to honor the life of Peg McIntire. In the meantime a nap and a shower are in order for MB and I.

I realize I miss seeing the moss hanging from the trees.

AROUND THE HORN

The image above is a fishing boat in Laos made of Vietnam war-era fuel tanks from U.S. war planes. It's a good example of turning swords into plowshares. Isn't it reassuring to know that we left the people of Southeast Asia some nice gifts in return for enduring our massive bombing of them?

I'm starting work on our next Space Alert! newsletter. Yesterday I sent emails out to various people asking them if they wanted to write articles. Now I have to start working on the bits that I will write and then will have to make the tough choices on selecting the photos from the zillions that I have to choose from. But once it is done and in the mail I am always happy as a lark.

Speaking of birds, my Baltimore Orioles are now 39-36 and just won a big game last night in Chicago. People predicted they would be the worst team in baseball this year but so far they are leading the league in come from behind wins. Last night was another heart stopper, a 7-5 win. I watch the games on the Internet. I only pass this on because I know you all care so much.

Leaving in a few minutes with Mary Beth for points north. We'll stop to visit our friend Maureen for lunch in Lincolnville and then up to Brooksville tonight for dinner at the home of artist Robert Shetterly. Rob has become quite regarded for his inspiring work to do portraits of Americans Who Tell the Truth. Tonight Rob, and another friend Dud Hendrick, are organizing a showing of the video American Blackout and we want to be there. I highly recommend watching it if you have not already done so. Tells the inside story about stolen national elections in 2000 and 2004 and at the same time weaves in the remarkable story about Cynthia McKinney's work to expose the election fraud and her own struggles to remain in Congress as she was over and over again targeted by the power structure for daring to speak out. Heavy stuff.

This weekend MB and I go to a wedding at the Cape in Massachusetts (our housemate Karen's son is getting hitched) and then we take a 24-hour train trip all the way to Florida on June 29 so we can attend the June 30 memorial service in St. Augustine for Peg McIntire who recently died. Practically everyone we know in Florida will be there so it will be quite a party - and in true Peg form she insisted on lots of red wine being served.

Summer in Maine is approaching with alternating warm days, cool nights, and rain which our garden is enjoying. Our peas are doing well, my tomato plants are looking real good, and we have more lettuce than we can eat. Our short growing season is a challenge but people here love their gardens and it is a real tradition that when you visit a friend you must always first inspect their garden and lavish it with much praise!

WE LOVED GEORGE CARLIN

I was sad to hear that George Carlin died. He was one of the great political comedians who made a career of doing a sociological study of how the American people think and are controlled. He was a master of language.

Take a couple of minutes and watch this classic Carlin bit on The Owners of the Country.

He told the truth and the people loved him. What more could a person do with their life than that?

Rest in peace George. We will miss you.

JUNE 22 PHOTOS AND AN EMAIL FROM THE COLONEL

Menwith Hill U.S. Spy satellite base in England

Folks met in Brunswick, Maine on the town green for an hour of sign holding, writing letters to Condi Rice (who goes to the Czech Republic on July 10 to sign the Star Wars radar agreement), and we closed with a circle and everyone shared why they had come. Most of those in the photo fasted on June 22.

New York City

Blue Hill, Maine

Rome, Italy


Albuquerque, New Mexico out in front of Kirtland A.F.B. for an all-day fasting camp.

St. Paul, Minnesota

In dozens of cities all over the world the June 22 global day of fasting brought people out onto the streets in creative displays of solidarity with the 70% of the people in the Czech Republic who are working hard to reject U.S. plans to deploy a Star Wars radar facility in their country.

Thousands of signatures were gathered for the petition at http://www.nonviolence.cz/
In many places statements were written on paper plates to Secretary of State Rice and will be sent to her before her visit to Prague in early July.

You can find many more photos, and reports, at this web site.

At the end of the day I received an email from Col. Robert Suminsby, Jr. in which he said, "The point I made, and will continue to make, is that the country is on an unsustainable course. The growth of entitlement spending, left unchecked, will eventually crowd out all other parts of the federal budget."

Col. Suminsby worries that people like me are taking a fixed position of ”hands off entitlement spending”........"You see, I’m prepared to make sacrifices to fix national problems. I think others should expect to make sacrifices as well," he said.

I want to assure the Colonel that I too am ready to see "sacrifices" made for the good of the nation. I'd like to see the $14 billion of month we are wasting in Iraq and Afghanistan brought home to build rail systems, solar, and windmills. I'd like to not see us attack Iran. I'd like to see an end to tax cuts for the rich and the corporations. I want an end to the NSA's "warrantless wiretapping" of American citizens and people all over the world. I'd like to see at least a 50% cut in military spending for starters. (Just yesterday an article was sent around about the increases in funding for the Pentagon's high-tech black "secret" budget. I'd like to see the black budget shut down.) I'd like to see the 750 plus U.S. military bases around the world shut down.

Living at a time where we face increasing corporate media consolidation many of us have to rely on email, websites, and blogs to get our messages out to the general public. Newspapers are now in dire financial straits, in part, because people rely on the Internet as their primary source of information.

Col. Suminsby concluded his email to me by saying, "There’s precious little difference between you and any number of right-wing blowhards on talk radio…on either end of the ideological spectrum, if you insist on creating your own version of someone’s position and then attacking it, you’ll succeed only in making yourself feel good, and convincing those who already agreed with you."

I would thank Col. Suminsby for sending me the email. He should know that increasing majorities of the people in the U.S. and around the world are now quite uncomfortable with the escalating U.S. military empire. There is a growing backlash against U.S. militarism both here at home and abroad.

I noticed that the Colonel is soon to be transferred to Germany. I lived there in the mid-1960's when my Air Force father was stationed in Wiesbaden. One day our middle school class was taken to the Rhine River to view the ruins of a castle. The tourist guide informed us that the stone slab we were standing on had once been the barracks of Roman soldiers. I remember wondering to myself, "What were those soldiers doing so far from home?" Even at that young age I intuitively understood that empires are a contradiction and in time can not stand. They are destined to fall.

In our case the U.S. empire is now collapsing. One clear sign is that in the U.S. there is growing competition for the federal tax dollar. Will we fund the Pentagon or social progress? We can't serve two masters.

It appears that the debate will go on.

THANKS FOR THE CALL COLONEL - WELL MAYBE NOT

At 10:30 a.m. this morning I had a phone call from the base commander at Kirtland A.F.B. in Albuquerque, New Mexico. And it's a Sunday.

In my blog yesterday I quoted Col. Robert Suminsby, Jr. about his belief that we need to get our priorities straight here in the U.S. when it comes to funding things like Social Security and Medicare instead of "aircraft and satellites."

"How could you know what I mean when I talk about our nations priorities?" the Colonel asked me in very unfriendly tones.

I tried explaining to him that I have a lifetime of experience listening to people in the military say that we should ramp up Pentagon spending. He was not in a mood to listen.

Instead the Colonel's voice escalated, similar to his desire to see the military budget take ascendancy over social progress in America. "I can see that you are not one who should be involved in deciding on our nation's priorities," he yelled at me. Then he hung up.

Wow. A call from the base commander one day after my blog quoting him appears. I don't get that kind of service very often.

Some background is in order here to help understand why the Colonel is hot under the collar.

A couple of months ago Colonel Suminsby made a speech to a group of community leaders in Albuquerque calling for a hard look at "entitlement programs" funding. His base paper reported on the event and that was supposed to be that. But Bob Anderson, Vietnam veteran and local organizer with Stop the War Machine, picked up the paper and was quick to notice the significance of the speech. Stop the War Machine went to the Albuquerque City Council and asked them to pass a resolution condemning the Colonel's statement. Then on June 15 the local newspaper ran a story on the Colonel's ideas called Kirtland Commander Fears for Air Force's Future.

I believe that the Colonel's statement is not just - how would the Air Force put it? - out of the blue. It is part of this recent larger public relations campaign the Air Force is calling - Air Force Above All.

You might have seen the TV commercials. High-tech space weapons images....you know USA über alles - that sort of thing. Watch this Air Force video to see for yourself.

The Air Force sees the writing on the wall. We can't have social spending and pay for Star Wars and new generations of massively expensive war planes. So they are programming the minds of the American people.

I guess the best thing about his call is that once again it has been confirmed that Pentagon brass are reading my blog. And they are not happy about it.

The Colonel likely does not know that I too was in the Air Force - from 1971 to 1974. What he does not understand clearly enough is that I no longer have to take orders from officers. You see I am a free man now.

So thanks for the call Colonel but I don't have to jump when you say jump. It's what they call freedom of speech and democracy.

Hope you like this blog entry as well. It's for you.

By the way, Colonel Suminsby is a native of Northeast Harbor, Maine.

STAR WARS OR SOCIAL PROGRESS - YOU DECIDE

It's all about two things - power and money. Star Wars technology will give the U.S. "control and domination" of space and the Earth below as the Space Command planning document Vision for 2020 has outlined. On the second point the aerospace industry acknowledges that Star Wars will be the largest industrial project in the history of the planet Earth - necessitating near total control of the federal budget by the Pentagon.

Recently Col. Robert Suminsby Jr., commander of Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico told community leaders that social spending is problematic because it is impacting the Air Force's ability to buy new high-tech weapons systems.

"As a military officer, my big concern is fixing Social Security and Medicare," Suminsby said. "If we don't fix [defund] those things, there won't be anything left for a defense budget."

"There needs to be a national debate over what our priorities are," Suminsby said.

On that last point Suminsby is correct - there needs to be a national debate. Except his vision of a national debate is different from ours. His vision is one where the military makes an order and the public and Congress snap to it and hand over the federal treasury to the Pentagon.

Our vision of a national debate is one that involves the grassroots citizens who talk about what real security means. Housing, food, education, energy, retirement, clean environment - these are the things that bring real security to the people. It's like two trains heading for a collision course. One train is called Star Wars and the other is called social progress. Which do you pick?

The global day of fasting to Stop Star Wars on June 22 is one important way for the public to become involved in this debate. All over the world the U.S. is dragging the "allies" into Star Wars and active resistance to the insanity of an arms race in space is growing. But we must do more - and it must be done over and over again.

Please don't think for a minute that after June 22 we can pack up our protest signs and go home. This issue of space warfare will be the defining issue of our time. Will there be money for social progress all over the world or will our corporate dominated governments move our taxes into the hands of the global war machine?

We must call for the conversion of the military industrial complex. This campaign to keep space for peace also must become a campaign to end the madness of war - either on Earth or in the heavens.

June 22 Fast List - Not including the hundreds named at http://www.nenasili.cz/en/701_homepage


Beth Adams (Greenfield, Massachusetts)
Lyn Adamson (Toronto, Canada)
Bittiandra Muddappa Aiyyappa (Mumbai, India)
Sven Andersen (Oviedo, Florida)
Bob Anderson (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Nancy Anderson (Las Cruces, New Mexico)
David Andersson (New York, New York)
Yolanda Andersson (New York, New York)
Dennis Apel (Guadalupe, California)
Eli Arlen (Brunswick, Maine)
Pat Arrowsmith (London, England)
Nancy Bartasavich (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Jean Basinger (Des Moines, Iowa)
John Baugher (Cape Elizabeth, Maine)
Patricia Crawford Berg (Staten Island, New York)
Joan Saks Berman (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Pat Birnie (Tucson, Arizona)
Benay Blend (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Maureen Block (Lincolnville, Maine)
Amaury Blondet (Mayagüez, Puerto Rico)
Rev. Bill Bliss (Bath, Maine)
Grace Braley (Portland, Maine)
Ivan Braun (New York, New York)
Sally Breen (Windham, Maine)
Kelli Brew (Gainesville, Florida)
Anna Maria Caldara (Bangor, Pennsylvania)
Maxine Caron (Byron Bay, Australia)
Sue Chase (Batesville, Virginia)
Aman Chauhan (India)
David W. Chipman (Harpswell, Maine)
Kathe Chipman (Harpswell, Maine)
Sung-Hee Choi (New York, New York)
Barbara Clancy (Stow, Massachusetts)
Lorna Clark (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Michael Connelly (Rochester, New York)
William Coop (Brunswick, Maine)
Jeremy Corbyn, MP (London, England)
Frank Cordaro (Des Moines, Iowa)
Margaret Willig Crane (New York, New York)
Nacyra Leila Gómez-Cruz (Veradera, Cuba)
Paul Cunningham (South Portland, Maine)
Hugh Curran (Surry, Maine)
Dave S. Cutler (Acton, Massachusetts)
Bob Dale (Brunswick, Maine)
Gail Daneker (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Robert Daniels II (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)
Larry Dansinger (Monroe, Maine)
Lynn DeFilippo (Nome, Alaska)
Katy Delau (Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada)
Galina De Roeck (Tucson, Arizona)
Christine DeTroy (Brunswick, Maine)
Tony Dickinson (Leeds, England)
Laurie Dobson (Kennebunkport, Maine)
Mary Donnelly (Peaks Island, Maine)
Mike Donnelly (Peaks Island, Maine)
Annie Dove (Whitby, England)
Chris Dove (Whitby, England)
Rev. Denis J. Dunn (Porter, Maine)
Aurel Duta (Bucharest, Romania)
MacGregor Eddy (Salinas, California)
Marjorie Swann Edwin (Santa Cruz, California)
Dan Ellis (Brunswick, Maine)
Lynn Ellis (Brunswick, Maine)
Corazon Valdez-Fabros (Manila, Philippines)
Dr Mrunalini Fadnavis (Nagpur, India)
Becky Farley (Damariscotta, Maine)
Jackie Fearnley (Goathland, England)
Yoriko Freed (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Sr. Barb Freemyer, RSM (Pueblo, Colorado)
Stacey Fritz (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Bruce Gagnon (Bath, Maine)
Lee Gagnon (Walpole, Massachusetts)
Sudhir Gandotra (India)
Joseph Gerson (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
Anne Gibbons (New York, New York)
Sr. Carol Gilbert (Baltimore, Maryland)
Starr Gilmartin (Trenton, Maine)
Arlyne Goodwin (Naples, Florida)
Holly Gwinn Graham (Olympia, Washington)
Marc Grambert (New York, New York)
Matt Gregory (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Kevin Hall (Dunedin, Florida)
Maggie Hall (Dunedin, Florida)
Luke Hansen (Chicago, Illinois)
Amy Harlib (New York, New York)
Faith Harmony (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Kate Harris (Belfast, Maine)
Alanna Hartzok (Fayetteville, Pennsylvania)
Dorothy Hassfeld (Brunswick, Maine)
Tom Hastings (Portland, Oregon)
Suzanne Hedrick (Nobleboro, Maine)
Sr. Valerie Heinonen, O.S.U. (New York, New York)
Jenny Heinz (New York, New York)
Joann Henderson (Florence Oregon)
Stuart Henderson (Florence Oregon)
Dud Hendrick (Deer Isle, Maine)
Tensie Hernandez (Guadalupe, California)
Nancy Hill (Stonington, Maine) June 19-24
Amanda Hoag (Bath, Maine)
Mair Honan (Portland, Maine)
Jackie Hudson, OP (Bremerton, Washington)
Kate Hudson (London, England)
Connie Jenkins (Orono, Maine)
Molly Johnson (San Miguel, California)
Vicki Johnson (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Sally Jones (Staten Island, New York)
Carla Josephson (Rio Rancho, New Mexico)
Sr. Mary Jude Jun, OSU (St. Louis, Missouri)
Egbert Kankeleit (Darmstadt, Germany)
Nona Keel (Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada)
Ian Keith (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Natalie Kempner (Woolwich, Maine)
Bruce Kent (London, England)
Ron King (Penobscot, Maine)
Tom Kircher (Biddeford, Maine)
Eva Kratzert (Altamonte Springs, Florida)
Jon Kreps (Appleton. Maine)
Judy Kugler (Marietta, Georgia)
Dr. Dharmendra Kumar (India)
Dr. R. C. Kushwaha (India)
Steve Landon (Waldhof, ON, Canada)
Larry Landry (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Joanne Landy (New York, New York)
Steve Larrick (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Isolt Lea (Gainesville, Florida)
Ed Lebon (Seoul, South Korea)
Louise Legun (Allentown, Pennsylvania)
Debbie Leighton (West Bath, Maine)
Jesse Lemisch (New York, New York)
Mary Dennis Lentsch (Oak Ridge, Tennessee)
Mark Lesseraux (New York, New York)
Dave Lewit (Boston, Massachusetts)
Bob Lezer (Freeport, Maine)
Mary Leonard, Mercy Associate (Pueblo, Colorado)
Suzanne Linton (White Bear Lake, Minnesota)
Gawain Little (Oxford, England)
Marie-Noel Lombard (Paris, France)
Matt Loosigian (Brunswick, Maine)
Tamara Lorincz (Halifax, NS, Canada)
Harry Loumeau (Tucson, Arizona)
Lew Lubka (Fargo, North Dakota)
Carla L. Rael-Luhman (Portales, New Mexico)
Eric Lynn (Walpole, Massachusetts)
Mahila Mahavidyalaya (Nagpur, India)
Deb Marshall (Little Dear Isle, Maine)
Rev. Sergio Samuel Arce-Martínez (Veradera, Cuba)
Helyne May (Windham, Maine)
Natasha Mayers (Whitefield, Maine)
Ed McCartan (Brunswick, Maine)
Geralyn McDowell (Troy, New York)
Laurie McGowan (Mochelle, NS, Canada)
Jane McKears (Birmingham, England)
Gloria McMillan (Tucson, Arizona)
Bernie Meyer (Olympia, Washington)
Karl Meyer (Nashville, Tennessee)
Carol Miller (Ojo Sarco, New Mexico)
John Miller (Blue Hill, Maine)
Peter Mitchell (Rochester, New York)
Damien Moran (Warsaw, Poland)
Ariana Mortello – 13 years old (Cape Elizabeth, Maine)
Ellen Murphy (Bellingham, Washington)
Michael Murphy (Omaha, Nebraska)
Nicole Myers (New York, New York)
Emiko Nagano (New York, New York)
Laurie Shade-Neff (Las Cruces, New Mexico)
Doctress Neutopia (Tucson, Arizona)
Max Obuszewski (Baltimore, Maryland)
Agneta Norberg (Stockholm, Sweden)
Nancy O’Byrne (St. Augustine, Florida)
Nancy Oden (Jonesboro, Maine)
Rev. Gerald Oleson (Bangor, Maine)
Jon Olsen (Jefferson, Maine)
Sr. Elaine Lopez Pacheco, RSM (Pueblo, Colorado)
Jeanne Pahls (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Nana Paldi (Fairbanks, Alaska)
James Palmer (Stetson, Maine)
W. B. Park (Altamonte Springs, Florida)
Rosalie Tyler Paul (Georgetown, Maine)
Terrence E. Paupp (San Diego, California)
Vincent Pawlowski (Tucson, Arizona)
Jewel Payne (Davis, California)
Lindis Percy (Harrogate, England)
Ricardo Peres (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Ilze Petersons (Orono, Maine)
Magda Philips (Whitby, England)
Tina Phillips (Brunswick, Maine)
Sr. Ardeth Platte (Baltimore, Maryland)
Laray Polk (Dallas, Texas)
Peter Pollard (York, England)
Bonnie Preston (Blue Hill, Maine)
Robert Rabin (Vieques, Puerto Rico)
Robert Randall (Brunswick, Georgia)
Susan Ravitz (Easton, Pennsylvania)
Phyllis Reames (Portland, Maine)
Kim Redigan (Dearborn Heights, Michigan)
Dennis Redmond (New York, New York)
Ward Reilly (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
Lilly Rendt (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Carla Rensenbrink (Topsham, Maine)
John Rensenbrink (Topsham, Maine)
Megan Rice (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Linda Richards (Corvallis, Oregon)
Emily Ricketts (Tucson, Arizona)
V. Bruce Rigdon (Chicago, Illinois)
Tim Rinne (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Bill Rixon (Freeport, Maine)
Judy Robbins (Sedgwick, Maine)
Peter Robbins (Sedgwick, Maine)
Chris Rooney (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Ellen Rowan (Deer Isle, Maine)
Jane Sanford (Belfast, Maine)
Deb Sawyer (Portland, Maine)
Janae Schewe (Orono, Maine)
Jason Schewe (Orono, Maine)
Lois Schreur (Union, Nebraska)
Nicole Scott (Shoreline, Washington)
Barbara Calvert Seifred (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Stan Serafin (Corrales, New Mexico)
Dr. Rajesh Sharma (India)
Robert Shetterly (Brooksville, Maine)
Ymani Simmons (Leicester, North Carolina)
Ms. Samm Simpson (Dunedin, Florida)
Father River Sims (San Francisco, California)
Robert M. Smith (Swarthmore, Pennsylvania)
Gareth Smith (Byron Bay, Australia)
Cathy Stanton (Melbourne, Florida)
Janie Stein (Salina, Kansas)
Melissa D. Stewart (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Tom Stinnett (Riegelsville, Pennsylvania)
Tom Sturtevant (Winthrop, Maine)
Dr. Pawan Sudhir (India)
Mary Beth Sullivan (Bath, Maine)
Wayne Sumstine (Tucson, Arizona)
Silvia Swinden (London, England)
Nancy Tate (Riegelsville, Pennsylvania)
Arun Thankur (India)
Rev. Dr. Donald C. Thompson (Bradenton, Florida)
Don Thompson (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Sally-Alice Thompson (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Cynthia Tiedeman (Omaha, Nebraska)
John Tiedeman (Omaha, Nebraska)
Don Timmerman (Park Falls, Wisconsin)
Fran Truitt (Blue Hill, Maine)
Steve Tumolo (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Meredith Tupper (Springfield, Virginia)
Carol Urner (Portland, Oregon)
Juha Uski (Roskilde, Denmark)
Eric Verlo (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Karen Wainberg (Bath, Maine)
Peter Menard-Warwick (Davis, California)
William Watts (San Francisco, California)
Dave Webb (Leeds, England)
Sytske Weidema (New York, New York)
Margaret Weitzmann (Potsdam, New York)
Chris Wells (New York, New York)
Elaine Wells (Omaha, Nebraska)
Mark Welsch (Omaha, Nebraska)
Jeanne Wheeler (Oahu, Hawaii)
Pat Wheeler (Deer Isle, Maine)
Molly Willcox (Westport, Maine)
Keith K. Williams (Windham, Maine)
Lynda Williams (Santa Rosa, California)
Mariah Williams (Liberty, Maine)
Loring Wirbel (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Michael Wisniewski (Los Angeles, California)
Peter Woodruff (Arrowsic, Maine)
Dr. Yogender Yadav (India)
Jerry Zawada, OFM (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Carolyn Ziffer (Bangor, Maine)
John Zokovitch (Gainesville, Florida)
Laurie Zolas (Bronx, New York)

Please sign the petition at www.nonviolence.cz

NOT AS FUNNY AS IT SEEMS

CITIZEN RESISTANCE IN CZECH REPUBLIC INSPIRES US

We heard this morning that the Democrats in the U.S. Congress had cut a deal with the Republicans to give Bush another $162 billion for the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. On top of that billions more will be appropriated for Star Wars "research and development" for the 2009 budget. The military industrial complex has taken control of the Congress.

The citizen resistance in the Czech Republic, and now sweeping across Europe and beyond, is a model that should inform and inspire people - particularly those of us living in the belly of the beast, in the good ole USA. We should end our illusions that some shining knight on a white horse (a new president) will ride in and rescue us from this military dictatorship that we now live under. In fact our rescue will only come from our own non-violent resistance.

One heartening example is the growing list of people who will be fasting to Stop Star Wars on June 22. We deeply appreciate all those who have committed to join the hunger strike that day. Please remember that we want you to do more than just fast. We need you to sign the Czech citizens petition at http://www.nonviolence.cz/ and to write a letter to your local newspaper explaining the issue. We ask you to share this email with your personal list so that we can spread the message far and wide. Thanks for your support.

List to date

Beth Adams (Greenfield, Massachusetts)
Bittiandra Muddappa Aiyyappa (Mumbai, India)
Bob Anderson (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Nancy Anderson (Las Cruces, New Mexico)
Dennis Apel (Guadalupe, California)
Pat Arrowsmith (London, England)
Nancy Bartasavich (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Jean Basinger (Des Moines, Iowa)
John Baugher (Cape Elizabeth, Maine)
Patricia Crawford Berg (Staten Island, New York)
Joan Saks Berman (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Pat Birnie (Tucson, Arizona)
Benay Blend (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Rev. Bill Bliss (Bath, Maine)
Amaury Blondet (Mayagüez, Puerto Rico)
Grace Braley (Portland, Maine)
Ivan Braun (New York, New York)
Sally Breen (Windham, Maine)
Kelli Brew (Gainesville, Florida)
Anna Maria Caldara (Bangor, Pennsylvania)
Maxine Caron (Byron Bay, Australia)
Sue Chase (Batesville, Virginia)
Aman Chauhan (India)
David W. Chipman (Harpswell, Maine)
Kathe Chipman (Harpswell, Maine)
Sung-Hee Choi (New York, New York)
Barbara Clancy (Stow, Massachusetts)
Lorna Clark (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Michael Connelly (Rochester, New York)
William Coop (Brunswick, Maine)
Jeremy Corbyn, MP (London, England)
Frank Cordaro (Des Moines, Iowa)
Nacyra Leila Gómez-Cruz (Veradera, Cuba)
Paul Cunningham (South Portland, Maine)
Hugh Curran (Surry, Maine)
Dave S. Cutler (Acton, Massachusetts)
Bob Dale (Brunswick, Maine)
Gail Daneker (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Robert Daniels II (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)
Larry Dansinger (Monroe, Maine)
Lynn DeFilippo (Nome, Alaska)
Katy Delau (Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada)
Christine DeTroy (Brunswick, Maine)
Mary Donnelly (Peaks Island, Maine)
Mike Donnelly (Peaks Island, Maine)
Chris Dove (Whitby, England)
Rev. Denis J. Dunn (Porter, Maine)
Aurel Duta (Bucharest, Romania)
MacGregor Eddy (Salinas, California)
Marjorie Swann Edwin (Santa Cruz, California)
Dan Ellis (Brunswick, Maine)
Lynn Ellis (Brunswick, Maine)
Corazon Valdez-Fabros (Manila, Philippines)
Dr Mrunalini Fadnavis (Nagpur, India)
Becky Farley (Damariscotta, Maine)
Jackie Fearnley (Goathland, England)
Yoriko Freed (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Sr. Barb Freemyer, RSM (Pueblo, Colorado)
Stacey Fritz (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Bruce Gagnon (Bath, Maine)
Lee Gagnon (Walpole, Massachusetts)
Sudhir Gandotra (India)
Joseph Gerson (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
Anne Gibbons (New York, New York)
Sr. Carol Gilbert (Baltimore, Maryland)
Starr Gilmartin (Trenton, Maine)
Arlyne Goodwin (Naples, Florida)
Holly Gwinn Graham (Olympia, Washington)
Matt Gregory (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Regina Hagen (Darmstadt, Germany)
Kevin Hall (Dunedin, Florida)
Maggie Hall (Dunedin, Florida)
Luke Hansen (Chicago, Illinois)
Amy Harlib (New York, New York)
Faith Harmony (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Kate Harris (Belfast, Maine)
Alanna Hartzok (Fayetteville, Pennsylvania)
Dorothy Hassfeld (Brunswick, Maine)
Tom Hastings (Portland, Oregon)
Suzanne Hedrick (Nobleboro, Maine)
Jenny Heinz (New York, New York)
Joann Henderson (Florence Oregon)
Stuart Henderson (Florence Oregon)
Dud Hendrick (Deer Isle, Maine)
Tensie Hernandez (Guadalupe, California)
Nancy Hill (Stonington, Maine) June 19-24
Amanda Hoag (Bath, Maine)
Mair Honan (Portland, Maine)
Jackie Hudson, OP (Bremerton, Washington)
Kate Hudson (London, England)
Connie Jenkins (Orono, Maine)
Molly Johnson (San Miguel, California)
Sally Jones (Staten Island, New York)
Carla Josephson (Rio Rancho, New Mexico)
Sr. Mary Jude Jun, OSU (St. Louis, Missouri)
Egbert Kankeleit (Darmstadt, Germany)
Nona Keel (Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada)
Ian Keith (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Natalie Kempner (Woolwich, Maine)
Bruce Kent (London, England)
Ron King (Penobscot, Maine)
Tom Kircher (Biddeford, Maine)
Judy Kugler (Marietta, Georgia)
Dr. Dharmendra Kumar (India)
Dr. R. C. Kushwaha (India)
Steve Landon (Waldhof, ON, Canada)
Larry Landry (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Joanne Landy (New York, New York)
Steve Larrick (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Isolt Lea (Gainesville, Florida)
Louise Legun (Allentown, Pennsylvania)
Debbie Leighton (West Bath, Maine)
Mary Dennis Lentsch (Oak Ridge, Tennessee)
Dave Lewit (Boston, Massachusetts)
Bob Lezer (Freeport, Maine)
Mary Leonard, Mercy Associate (Pueblo, Colorado)
Suzanne Linton (White Bear Lake, Minnesota)
Gawain Little (Oxford, England)
Marie-Noel Lombard (Paris, France)
Matt Loosigian (Brunswick, Maine)
Tamara Lorincz (Halifax, NS, Canada)
Harry Loumeau (Tucson, Arizona)
Lew Lubka (Fargo, North Dakota)
Carla L. Rael-Luhman (Portales, New Mexico)
Eric Lynn (Walpole, Massachusetts)
Mahila Mahavidyalaya (Nagpur, India)
Deb Marshall (Little Dear Isle, Maine)
Rev. Sergio Samuel Arce-Martínez (Veradera, Cuba)
Helyne May (Windham, Maine)
Natasha Mayers (Whitefield, Maine)
Ed McCartan (Brunswick, Maine)
Geralyn McDowell (Troy, New York)
Laurie McGowan (Mochelle, NS, Canada)
Jane McKears (Birmingham, England)
Gloria McMillan (Tucson, Arizona)
Bernie Meyer (Olympia, Washington)
Karl Meyer (Nashville, Tennessee)
Carol Miller (Ojo Sarco, New Mexico)
John Miller (Blue Hill, Maine)
Peter Mitchell (Rochester, New York)
Damien Moran (Warsaw, Poland)
Ariana Mortello – 13 years old (Cape Elizabeth, Maine)
Ellen Murphy (Bellingham, Washington)
Michael Murphy (Omaha, Nebraska)
Laurie Shade-Neff (Las Cruces, New Mexico)
Doctress Neutopia (Tucson, Arizona)
Agneta Norberg (Stockholm, Sweden)
Nancy O’Byrne (St. Augustine, Florida)
Nancy Oden (Jonesboro, Maine)
Rev. Gerald Oleson (Bangor, Maine)
Jon Olsen (Jefferson, Maine)
Sr. Elaine Lopez Pacheco, RSM (Pueblo, Colorado)
Jeanne Pahls (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Nana Paldi (Fairbanks, Alaska)
James Palmer (Stetson, Maine)
Rosalie Tyler Paul (Georgetown, Maine)
Terrence E. Paupp (San Diego, California)
Vincent Pawlowski (Tucson, Arizona)
Jewel Payne (Davis, California)
Lindis Percy (Harrogate, England)
Ricardo Peres (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Ilze Petersons (Orono, Maine)
Magda Philips (Whitby, England)
Tina Phillips (Brunswick, Maine)
Sr. Ardeth Platte (Baltimore, Maryland)
Peter Pollard (York, England)
Bonnie Preston (Blue Hill, Maine)
Robert Rabin (Vieques, Puerto Rico)
Robert Randall (Brunswick, Georgia)
Susan Ravitz (Easton, Pennsylvania)
Phyllis Reames (Portland, Maine)
Kim Redigan (Dearborn Heights, Michigan)
Dennis Redmond (New York, New York)
Lilly Rendt (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Carla Rensenbrink (Topsham, Maine)
John Rensenbrink (Topsham, Maine)
Megan Rice (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Linda Richards (Corvallis, Oregon)
Emily Ricketts (Tucson, Arizona)
Tim Rinne (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Bill Rixon (Freeport, Maine)
Judy Robbins (Sedgwick, Maine)
Peter Robbins (Sedgwick, Maine)
Chris Rooney (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Jane Sanford (Belfast, Maine)
Deb Sawyer (Portland, Maine)
Nicole Scott (Shoreline, Washington)
Barbara Calvert Seifred (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Stan Serafin (Corrales, New Mexico)
Dr. Rajesh Sharma (India)
Robert Shetterly (Brooksville, Maine)
Ymani Simmons (Leicester, North Carolina)
Ms. Samm Simpson (Dunedin, Florida)
Father River Sims (San Francisco, California)
Robert M. Smith (Swarthmore, Pennsylvania)
Gareth Smith (Byron Bay, Australia)
Cathy Stanton (Melbourne, Florida)
Janie Stein (Salina, Kansas)
Melissa D. Stewart (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Dr. Pawan Sudhir (India)
Mary Beth Sullivan (Bath, Maine)
Wayne Sumstine (Tucson, Arizona)
Silvia Swinden (London, England)
Arun Thankur (India)
Don Thompson (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Sally-Alice Thompson (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Cynthia Tiedeman (Omaha, Nebraska)
John Tiedeman (Omaha, Nebraska)
Don Timmerman (Park Falls, Wisconsin)
Fran Truitt (Blue Hill, Maine)
Steve Tumolo (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Meredith Tupper (Springfield, Virginia)
Carol Urner (Portland, Oregon)
Eric Verlo (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Karen Wainberg (Bath, Maine)
William Watts (San Francisco, California)
Dave Webb (Leeds, England)
Margaret Weitzmann (Potsdam, New York)
Elaine Wells (Omaha, Nebraska)
Mark Welsch (Omaha, Nebraska)
Jeanne Wheeler (Oahu, Hawaii)
Pat Wheeler (Deer Isle, Maine)
Molly Willcox (Westport, Maine)
Keith K. Williams (Windham, Maine)
Lynda Williams (Santa Rosa, California)
Mariah Williams (Liberty, Maine)
Loring Wirbel (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Michael Wisniewski (Los Angeles, California)
Peter Woodruff (Arrowsic, Maine)
Dr. Yogender Yadav (India)
Jerry Zawada, OFM (Las Vegas, Nevada)
John Zokovitch (Gainesville, Florida)
Laurie Zolas (Bronx, New York)

IT'S A GROWING CONCERN

(Click on the image to read it in full)

SUPPORT THE JUNE 22 DAY OF FASTING TO STOP STAR WARS

List to date

Beth Adams (Greenfield, Massachusetts)
Bittiandra Muddappa Aiyyappa (Mumbai, India)
Bob Anderson (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Dennis Apel (Guadalupe, California)
Pat Arrowsmith (London, England)
Nancy Bartasavich (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Jean Basinger (Des Moines, Iowa)
Patricia Crawford Berg (Staten Island, New York)
Joan Berman (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Pat Birnie (Tucson, Arizona)
Benay Blend (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Rev. Bill Bliss (Bath, Maine)
Ivan Braun (New York, New York)
Sally Breen (Windham, Maine)
Kelli Brew (Gainesville, Florida)
Anna Maria Caldara (Bangor, Pennsylvania)
Maxine Caron (Byron Bay, Australia)
David W. Chipman (Harpswell, Maine)
Kathe Chipman (Harpswell, Maine)
Sung-Hee Choi (New York, New York)
Lorna Clark (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Michael Connelly (Rochester, New York)
William Coop (Brunswick, Maine)
Jeremy Corbyn, MP (London, England)
Frank Cordaro (Des Moines, Iowa)
Paul Cunningham (South Portland, Maine)
Hugh Curran (Surry, Maine)
Dave S. Cutler (Acton, Massachusetts)
Bob Dale (Brunswick, Maine)
Gail Daneker (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Robert Daniels II (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)
Larry Dansinger (Monroe, Maine)
Lynn DeFilippo (Nome, Alaska)
Katy Delau (Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada)
Christine DeTroy (Brunswick, Maine)
Mary Donnelly (Peaks Island, Maine)
Mike Donnelly (Peaks Island, Maine)
Chris Dove (Whitby, England)
Rev. Denis J. Dunn (Porter, Maine)
Aurel Duta (Bucharest, Romania)
MacGregor Eddy (Salinas, California)
Marjorie Swann Edwin (Santa Cruz, California)
Dan Ellis (Brunswick, Maine)
Lynn Ellis (Brunswick, Maine)
Becky Farley (Damariscotta, Maine)
Jackie Fearnley (Goathland, England)
Yoriko Freed (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Sr. Barb Freemyer, RSM (Pueblo, Colorado)
Stacey Fritz (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Bruce Gagnon (Bath, Maine)
Lee Gagnon (Walpole, Massachusetts)
Anne Gibbons (New York, New York)
Sr. Carol Gilbert (Baltimore, Maryland)
Starr Gilmartin (Trenton, Maine)
Arlyne Goodwin (Naples, Florida)
Holly Gwinn Graham (Olympia, Washington)
Matt Gregory (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Regina Hagen (Darmstadt, Germany)
Kevin Hall (Dunedin, Florida)
Maggie Hall (Dunedin, Florida)
Luke Hansen (Chicago, Illinois)
Amy Harlib (New York, New York)
Faith Harmony (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Kate Harris (Belfast, Maine)
Alanna Hartzok (Fayetteville, Pennsylvania)
Dorothy Hassfeld (Brunswick, Maine)
Tom Hastings (Portland, Oregon)
Suzanne Hedrick (Nobleboro, Maine)
Jenny Heinz (New York, New York)
Dud Hendrick (Deer Isle, Maine)
Tensie Hernandez (Guadalupe, California)
Nancy Hill (Stonington, Maine) June 19-24
Amanda Hoag (Bath, Maine)
Mair Honan (Portland, Maine)
Jackie Hudson, OP (Bremerton, Washington)
Kate Hudson (London, England)
Connie Jenkins (Orono, Maine)
Molly Johnson (San Miguel, California)
Sally Jones (Staten Island, New York)
Carla Josephson (Rio Rancho, New Mexico)
Sr. Mary Jude Jun, OSU (St Louis, Missouri)
Ian Keith (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Natalie Kempner (Woolwich, Maine)
Bruce Kent (London, England)
Ron King (Penobscot, Maine)
Tom Kircher (Biddeford, Maine)
Judy Kugler (Marietta, Georgia)
Steve Landon (Waldhof, ON, Canada)
Larry Landry (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Joanne Landy (New York, New York)
Steve Larrick (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Isolt Lea (Gainesville, Florida)
Louise Legun (Allentown, Pennsylvania)
Debbie Leighton (West Bath, Maine)
Mary Dennis Lentsch (Oak Ridge, Tennessee)
Dave Lewit (Boston, Massachusetts)
Bob Lezer (Freeport, Maine)
Mary Leonard, Mercy Associate (Pueblo, Colorado)
Suzanne Linton (White Bear Lake, Minnesota)
Matt Loosigian (Brunswick, Maine)
Tamara Lorincz (Halifax, NS, Canada)
Carla L. Rael-Luhman (Portales, New Mexico)
Eric Lynn (Walpole, Massachusetts)
Natasha Mayers (Whitefield, Maine)
Ed McCartan (Brunswick, Maine)
Geralyn McDowell (Troy, New York)
Laurie McGowan (Mochelle, NS, Canada)
Gloria McMillan (Tucson, Arizona)
Bernie Meyer (Olympia, Washington)
Karl Meyer (Nashville, Tennessee)
John Miller (Blue Hill, Maine)
Peter Mitchell (Rochester, New York)
Damien Moran (Warsaw, Poland)
Ellen Murphy (Bellingham, Washington)
Michael Murphy (Omaha, Nebraska)
Doctress Neutopia (Tucson, Arizona)
Nancy O’Byrne (St. Augustine, Florida)
Nancy Oden (Jonesboro, Maine)
Rev. Gerald Oleson (Bangor, Maine)
Jon Olsen (Jefferson, Maine)
Sr. Elaine Lopez Pacheco, RSM (Pueblo, Colorado)
Jeanne Pahls (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Nana Paldi (Fairbanks, Alaska)
James Palmer (Stetson, Maine)
Rosalie Tyler Paul (Georgetown, Maine)
Jewel Payne (Davis, California)
Lindis Percy (Harrogate, England)
Ricardo Peres (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Ilze Petersons (Orono, Maine)
Magda Philips (Whitby, England)
Tina Phillips (Brunswick, Maine)
Sr. Ardeth Platte (Baltimore, Maryland)
Peter Pollard (York, England)
Bonnie Preston (Blue Hill, Maine)
Robert Rabin (Vieques, Puerto Rico)
Robert Randall (Brunswick, Georgia)
Kim Redigan (Dearborn Heights, Michigan)
Dennis Redmond (New York, New York)
Lilly Rendt (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
John Rensenbrink (Topsham, Maine)
Megan Rice (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Linda Richards (Corvallis, Oregon)
Tim Rinne (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Bill Rixon (Freeport, Maine)
Judy Robbins (Sedgwick, Maine)
Peter Robbins (Sedgwick, Maine)
Chris Rooney (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Deb Sawyer (Portland, Maine)
Stan Serafin (Corrales, New Mexico)
Robert Shetterly (Brooksville, Maine)
Ymani Simmons (Leicester, North Carolina)
Ms. Samm Simpson (Dunedin, Florida)
Father River Sims (San Francisco, California)
Robert M. Smith (Swarthmore, Pennsylvania)
Gareth Smith (Byron Bay, Australia)
Cathy Stanton (Melbourne, Florida)
Janie Stein (Salina, Kansas)
Mary Beth Sullivan (Bath, Maine)
Wayne Sumstine (Tucson, Arizona)
Don Thompson (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Sally-Alice Thompson (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
John Tiedeman (Omaha, Nebraska)
Don Timmerman (Park Falls, Wisconsin)
Fran Truitt (Blue Hill, Maine)
Steve Tumolo (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Meredith Tupper (Springfield, Virginia)
Carol Urner (Portland, Oregon)
Eric Verlo (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Karen Wainberg (Bath, Maine)
William Watts (San Francisco, California)
Dave Webb (Leeds, England)
Margaret Weitzmann (Potsdam, New York)
Elaine Wells (Omaha, Nebraska)
Pat Wheeler (Deer Isle, Maine)
Molly Willcox (Westport, Maine)
Keith K. Williams (Windham, Maine)
Lynda Williams (Santa Rosa, California)
Mariah Williams (Liberty, Maine)
Loring Wirbel (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Michael Wisniewski (Los Angeles, California)
Peter Woodruff (Arrowsic, Maine)
Jerry Zawada, OFM (Las Vegas, Nevada)
John Zokovitch (Gainesville, Florida)

Please send us an email at globalnet@mindspring.com if you would like to add your name to this list.

PEOPLE WORRIED ABOUT WINTER AHEAD

The hottest topic in Maine these days is the mounting cost of home heating fuel. The cost of home heating oil is actually going up faster than the cost of gasoline and Mainers largely heat their homes with oil. The northeast is the part of the country most reliant on heating oil.

The price per gallon of heating oil on June 9 was $4.459. The price last year on May 30 was $2.32 per gallon. You can imagine the cost to fill a 250-gallon tank.

The paper mill in Millinocket, Maine has announced it will soon close its doors due to the rising cost of oil.

Added to all this of course is the rising cost of food. On my trips to the local grocery store it is amazing that even a box of pasta has gone up more than 30 cents in recent weeks. That is not a good sign for me - the pasta lover.

Seriously though, poor and working class people are going to suffer this coming winter. Not only will they not be able to afford to fill the tanks in their cars, they also won't be able to fill their heating oil tanks. When that happens pipes begin to freeze and all hell starts to break loose. State and local governments are in no position to be of much help. Local churches don't have near the resources they will need to help either.

We are already seeing the results. Someone recently went into our basement and stole several hundred dollars worth of power tools that belong to one of our housemates. When people can't afford food and heating oil we will see more of this.

Living in the northeast puts us right in the middle of the decline and fall of America. Our roads have big potholes in them and the state has no money to repair them. Bridges all over New England are in dire need of repair but states, with their declining tax bases as corporations move jobs overseas, are in no position to fix them. If states try to raise taxes to deal with these problems then the public understandably howls in opposition.

Just today we ordered a second wood stove for our house figuring that we will have to keep our oil furnace down to about 52 degrees all winter and will need to heat as much as possible with wood. When I went to order two more cords of wood I found that the prices of even green wood are also rising and wood dealers are so backed up their waiting lists are 2-3 months long.

We are going to have to get another roommate in our house - making it five people in our intentional community and we are already predicting that we will be taking in people this winter who lose their homes because of the collapsing economy.

It was inevitable that the "American" way of life had to come back down to Earth at some point but what makes it all the worse is that the U.S. government is throwing away $14 billion a month in Iraq and Afghanistan which would go a long way in creating a solar, windmill, conservation, and rail transit society that could alleviate much of the suffering that is coming our way.

On the hopeful side everyone is talking about windmills and conservation these days. On the sad side though few people, outside of the peace movement, are regularly calling for conversion of the military industry complex so that we can free our nation's resources to deal with the coming storm.

Unless we cut military spending where in the world will the money come from to put a dent in the crippling cost of energy?

OBSERVATIONS FROM MARY BETH

By Mary Beth Sullivan

Written on Day 8 of her hunger strike - today is Day 9


It’s a strange feeling, to be on a hunger strike while sitting at home.

The whole purpose of the strike part of the hunger is to be working hard to attract attention, media, sympathy for the cause. But I’m not so comfortable drawing attention to myself. And, to be honest, beyond the two weeks of hour-long vigils we held when Bruce was striking, I’m not so sure what else to do. I wrote an op-ed and sent it off to the local Times Record. They should publish it sometime in the coming week. And the focus at this point is to encourage the one-day solidarity fast on June 22. Our local gathering on the mall in Brunswick will bring a good energy to us all, I am sure.

Meanwhile, I’ve been reflecting on an article that appeared in Z Magazine, and circulated around the internet recently: “Radar, Star Wars, & the Czech Republic” from May: http://www.zcommunications.org/zmag/viewArticle/17496 In it, Andre Vitchek brings us to the Czech Republic. It appears that he spent time walking through the countryside and interviewing people. He takes us to Brdy Highlands to visit with some of the residents of the local small villages near the proposed radar site. They have strong opinions. One small village (42 permanent residents) held its own referendum. One hundred percent were against the radar (and foreign troops) settling in just a couple miles from their homes. The area has a history of Nazi bases and Soviet missiles in their hillside. The mayor is quoted as saying, “We’ve had enough of foreign troops on our land and this time we are going to fight to the last drop of blood to prevent it from happening.”

There are other quotes from villagers that keep me motivated as I strike:

“…the naturally pristine Brdy Highlands are the source of drinking water for the entire Western part of the Czech Republic.”

“We are sick of living next to a pile of weapons belonging to foreign powers.”

“We love this land. All we are asking for is tranquility and peace and no foreign troops. But the Americans are already here; they are surveying the area, periodically and secretly.”

“Czechs have to finally be on their own. We were for too long under the military boots of others.”

“I have nothing against the American people, but I can’t stomach American expansionism.”

“The government has already invested several millions in a PR campaign…to convince Czech citizens that the base will be good for the country.”

“For several years, negotiations were done in secrecy.”

“…recently the Minister of Foreign Affairs suggested that the radar can be used as surveillance against Russia.”

Vitchek then quotes a reporter in the U.S. media: “The Czechs generally have been receptive to the idea of the U.S. installing missile-tracking radar southwest of Prague.”

Up is down. Down is up. Two-thirds of Czechs are opposed to this radar base; against any foreign base on their territory. The media at home tell us the opposite.

The article makes me want to walk the hillside; visit the local pubs; be near a people who, once again, the U.S. is pressuring its government to betray.

I am grateful for a populace that has not given up; for the creative nonviolent efforts that has sparked so much activity. Truth is such a powerful force.

I have no idea what the final outcome of this struggle of the Czech people will be. I am certain that the seeds it is planting are being nourished in fertile soil. May my hunger today offer a drop of water on those thirsty seeds.

THINGS HEATING UP IN EUROPE AROUND U.S. RADAR BASE

We heard from Jan Tamas (one of the original hunger strikers) this morning as he was returning to Prague from meetings at the European Union in Brussels. In his email Jan reported, "During the past three days we’ve met with a number of Members European Parliament (MEPs) including the vice-chairman of the EU Parliament Luisa Morgantini. Things are under way for a meeting of MEPs on July 9 in Strassbourg where I will also participate. It looks like there will be tens of MEPs participating! On this occasion we will deliver them the printed version of our online petition against the radar, which currently has more than 119,000 signatures. We would like this number to reach 200,000 signatures by that time, so please help us spread the word and let people sign the petition at http://www.nonviolence.cz/."

"But don’t let this success fool you, our opponents are going ahead with their plan. They have just announced last night that Condoleezza Rice will come to Prague to sign the treaty between the Czech and U.S. governments on July 10. So we should do all we can before that day!"

In another recent development from the Czech Republic, Greenpeace activists who have been occupying the site of the planned U.S. Star Wars radar base were detained on June 9 when military police cleared the area of their encampment. Five demonstrators, who had been sitting in tree platforms since April 28, were taken to the police station in Příbram. This action by the police indicates that the U.S. and Czech government wanted them gone from the base site before Condoleezza Rice returns to Prague on July 10.

Here in Maine, Mary Beth Sullivan is now on her 7th day of her solidarity hunger strike and we are continuing to promote the June 22 worldwide day of fasting to stop Star Wars. At this moment we have 44 people in Maine who have pledged to fast on June 22 and more are signing on every day. Just yesterday Mary Beth sent an Op-Ed to our local newspaper that will carry the names of our local fasters explaining our reasons for joining the fast on June 22. (Let me know ASAP if you would like to be on the June 22 fast list.)

I can't express strongly enough the need for maximum participation on June 22 and beyond as the U.S. presses hard to deploy so-called "missile defense" systems worldwide before the opposition builds to prevent this new arms race from becoming institutionalized. The aerospace industry for years has been encouraging the U.S. government to block negotiations at the United Nations on a new international treaty called PAROS - Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space. The Pentagon has long boasted that Star Wars will be the largest industrial project in the history of the planet Earth. All across the world we get reports that U.S. "allies" are being dragged into weapons in space technology programs and the result is that health care, education, and other human needs programs are being cut to enable these governments to afford joining the U.S. space weapons program.

As each of you join the June 22 fast please remember that this is a day of political activity. Be sure to take some kind of action on or before that day to let people in your community know why you are fasting. We've heard from folks in New York City that will hold an event at a public park; activists in Albuquerque will hold a day-long protest at an Air Force Base in their city; people in Maine will be holding actions in at least two different cities; and the list goes on. Even if you just write a letter to the editor or send an email to friends and family asking them to sign the on-line petition at http://www.nonviolence.cz/ at least do that.

Working together our voices become a global call for sanity and peace. Thanks for helping us make that happen.

June 22 Star Wars Fast List Growing

List to date

Beth Adams (Greenfield, Massachusetts)
Bob Anderson (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Dennis Apel (Guadalupe, California)
Ivan Braun (New York, New York)
Sally Breen (Windham, Maine)
Kelli Brew (Gainesville, Florida)
Anna Maria Caldara (Bangor, Pennsylvania)
Maxine Caron (Byron Bay, Australia)
David W. Chipman (Harpswell, Maine)
Kathe Chipman (Harpswell, Maine)
Sung-Hee Choi (New York, New York)
Michael Connelly (Rochester, New York)
William Coop (Brunswick, Maine)
Jeremy Corbyn, MP (London, England)
Frank Cordaro (Des Moines, Iowa)
Robert Daniels II (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)
Lynn DeFilippo (Nome, Alaska)
Christine DeTroy (Brunswick, Maine)
Aurel Duta (Bucharest, Romania)
MacGregor Eddy (Salinas, California)
Dan Ellis (Brunswick, Maine)
Lynn Ellis (Brunswick, Maine)
Becky Farley (Damariscotta, Maine)
Jackie Fearnley (Goathland, England)
Sr. Barb Freemyer, RSM (Pueblo, Colorado)
Stacey Fritz (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Bruce Gagnon (Bath, Maine)
Lee Gagnon (Walpole, Massachusetts)
Anne Gibbons (New York, New York)
Sr. Carol Gilbert (Baltimore, Maryland)
Starr Gilmartin (Trenton, Maine)
Arlyne Goodwin (Naples, Florida)
Holly Gwinn Graham (Olympia, Washington)
Matt Gregory (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Regina Hagen (Darmstadt, Germany)
Kevin Hall (Dunedin, Florida)
Maggie Hall (Dunedin, Florida)
Luke Hansen (Chicago, Illinois)
Amy Harlib (New York, New York)
Tom Hastings (Portland, Oregon)
Jenny Heinz (New York, New York)
Dud Hendrick (Deer Isle, Maine)
Tensie Hernandez (Guadalupe, California)
Nancy Hill (Stonington, Maine) June 19-24
Mair Honan (Portland, Maine)
Jackie Hudson, OP (Bremerton, Washington)
Kate Hudson (London, England)
Connie Jenkins (Orono, Maine)
Molly Johnson (San Miguel, California)
Carla Josephson (Rio Rancho, New Mexico)
Sr. Mary Jude Jun, OSU (St Louis, Missouri)
Bruce Kent (London, England)
Ron King (Penobscot, Maine)
Tom Kircher (Biddeford, Maine)
Steve Landon (Waldhof, ON, Canada)
Steve Larrick (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Isolt Lea (Gainesville, Florida)
Louise Legun (Allentown, Pennsylvania)
Debbie Leighton (West Bath, Maine)
Mary Dennis Lentsch (Oak Ridge, Tennessee)
Bob Lezer (Freeport, Maine)
Mary Leonard, Mercy Associate (Pueblo, Colorado)
Tamara Lorincz (Halifax, NS, Canada)
Carla L. Rael-Luhman (Portales, New Mexico)
Ed McCartan (Brunswick, Maine)
Geralyn McDowell (Troy, New York)
Laurie McGowan (Mochelle, NS, Canada)
Gloria McMillan (Tucson, Arizona)
Karl Meyer (Nashville, Tennessee)
John Miller (Blue Hill, Maine)
Michael Murphy (Omaha, Nebraska)
Sr. Elaine Lopez Pacheco, RSM (Pueblo, Colorado)
Jeanne Pahls (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Rosalie Tyler Paul (Georgetown, Maine)
Jewel Payne (Davis, California)
Ricardo Peres (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Sr. Ardeth Platte (Baltimore, Maryland)
Bonnie Preston (Blue Hill, Maine)
Kim Redigan (Dearborn Heights, Michigan)
John Rensenbrink (Topsham, Maine)
Megan Rice (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Tim Rinne (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Judy Robbins (Sedgwick, Maine)
Peter Robbins (Sedgwick, Maine)
Chris Rooney (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Deb Sawyer (Portland, Maine)
Robert Shetterly (Brooksville, Maine)
Father River Sims (San Francisco, California)
Gareth Smith (Byron Bay, Australia)
Cathy Stanton (Melbourne, Florida)
Janie Stein (Salina, Kansas)
Mary Beth Sullivan (Bath, Maine)
John Tiedeman (Omaha, Nebraska)
Don Timmerman (Park Falls, Wisconsin)
Fran Truitt (Blue Hill, Maine)
Meredith Tupper (Springfield, Virginia)
Carol Urner (Portland, Oregon)
Eric Verlo (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
William Watts (San Francisco, California)
Dave Webb (Leeds, England)
Margaret Weitzmann (Potsdam, New York)
Elaine Wells (Omaha, Nebraska)
Pat Wheeler (Deer Isle, Maine)
Molly Willcox (Westport, Maine)
Lynda Williams (Santa Rosa, California)
Mariah Williams (Liberty, Maine)
Loring Wirbel (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Michael Wisniewski (Los Angeles, California)
Jerry Zawada, OFM (Las Vegas, Nevada)
John Zokovitch (Gainesville, Florida)

ELECTIONS, PRISONS, AND COLONIALISM

It's election day here in Maine. A primary for an open Congressional seat is the big race as well as some local town elections. We will be sitting at the polls collecting signatures to repeal our state's decision to participate in Homeland Security's program called "Real ID". Real ID is part of the growing surveillance society to share every bit of electronic information about you with the military, police, and with the corporate business world. If we can collect 55,000 signatures in Maine during the next month or so we will force a statewide referendum on pulling Maine out of the national Real ID program.

There is little doubt that we are becoming a police state. We now have 2.3 million people in prison in the U.S. We lead the industrialized world in incarceration - 5-8 times more people in jail than other highly developed countries.

Black males in America are the largest percentage (35.4%) of the inmates now held in custody while 17.9% of Hispanic males are in jail.

The expense of maintaining this level of prison population is costing U.S. taxpayers more than $60 billion a year.

But why these high numbers?

Some years ago I arranged for Dr. Manning Marable (Professor of Public Affairs, Political Science, History and African-American Studies at Columbia University in New York City) to speak at a conference I organized in Florida. He talked about how black and Hispanic populations in the U.S. would become the majority in the U.S. in coming years. He stated that one strategy to maintain white minority control over the nation would be to increase the numbers of black and Hispanic's in jail thus helping to socially fragment their communities. Communities that become fragmented have a hard time participating in electoral politics. In some states today people who have been convicted of felonies (drug possession, etc) lose their right to vote for the rest of their lives. It's the old colonial strategy of divide and conquer.

Just this morning I learned that Rep. Tom Allen (D-ME) has challenged the signatures of Herb Hoffman who has collected the required number of petitions to place himself on the ballot in November for the U.S. Senate race. Rep. Allen is also running for the same Senate seat now held by the Republican Susan Collins and it is expected to be a tight race.

Rep. Allen (who has had me arrested twice for sitting in his office opposing his previous votes to fund the Iraq occupation) thinks he owns the electoral arena. He thinks that the Democrats "own" the votes of people like me and thus he sees it quite "normal" for him to throw obstacles in the path of Independent candidates like Herb Hoffman.

Rep. Allen was a Rhodes scholar and went to graduate school in Oxford, England at the program that South African racist Cecil Rhodes founded as a vehicle to train the minds of outstanding young students from around the world in the ethic of British imperialism.

Rhodes was an ardent believer in colonialism and was the founder of the state of Rhodesia, which was named after him.

Rhodes famously declared: "To think of these stars that you see overhead at night, these vast worlds which we can never reach. I would annex the planets if I could; I often think of that. It makes me sad to see them so clear and yet so far."

What Tom Allen (who we like to call Tom Collins) does not understand is that he has just sealed his fate with this dishonorable decision to attempt to block Herb Hoffman. Allen will get few votes from the anti-war community come November after this stunt.

VISIT FROM KOREAN FRIEND - JUNE 22 BUILDING

We had a visitor this weekend in Maine. Sung-Hee Choi, the South Korean activist who now lives in New York City, took the all night bus and arrived here early yesterday morning. Sung-Hee, who teaches art in New York, joined the solidarity hunger strike the same day I did and also fasted for 14 days.

We met Sung-Hee in 2004 when she came to Portland, Maine for our annual Global Network space organizing conference. She has attended each of our annual meetings since then and this year was responsible for arranging for the delegation from South Korea to come to Omaha for our StratCom event.

Each time Sung-Hee attends one of our events she video tapes the key speakers and puts the talks up on the Internet so anyone can view them. Again this year she did the same and you can see her work by clicking on this link: Annual conference dinner speeches.

Sadly for us Sung-Hee's work VISA runs out soon and she must return to South Korea on July 1. She will be a great loss to us here in the U.S. but she will remain active through the group Solidarity for Peace & Reunification of Korea (SPARK). Last year Sung-Hee arranged for SPARK to become a Global Network affiliate and it has been proposed that our 2009 annual space organizing conference be held in South Korea. SPARK is now discussing this proposal and we should have an answer in the next couple of months.

Mary Beth took my place on the hunger strike on June 7 and is doing well so far.

On a related matter there has been a great response to our invitation for people to join the Czech Republic call for a global day of fasting on June 22 in solidarity with their effort to say NO to the U.S. deployment of a Star Wars radar in their nation. Here is the latest list of people who have contacted me saying they will fast on June 22. Many people are now spreading the list far and wide and we are grateful for their support in promoting this important effort.

June 22 Fast List


Beth Adams (Greenfield, Massachusetts)
Bob Anderson (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Dennis Apel (Guadalupe, California)
Sally Breen (Windham, Maine)
Kelli Brew (Gainesville, Florida)
Anna Maria Caldara (Bangor, Pennsylvania)
Maxine Caron (Byron Bay, Australia)
David W. Chipman (Harpswell, Maine)
Kathe Chipman (Harpswell, Maine)
Sung-Hee Choi (New York, New York)
Michael Connelly (Rochester, New York)
William Coop (Brunswick, Maine)
Frank Cordaro (Des Moines, Iowa)
Lynn DeFilippo (Nome, Alaska)
Aurel Duta (Bucharest, Romania)
MacGregor Eddy (Salinas, California)
Dan Ellis (Brunswick, Maine)
Lynn Ellis (Brunswick, Maine)
Becky Farley (Damariscotta, Maine)
Sr. Barb Freemyer, RSM (Pueblo, Colorado)
Bruce Gagnon (Bath, Maine)
Sr. Carol Gilbert (Baltimore, Maryland)
Starr Gilmartin (Trenton, Maine)
Arlyne Goodwin (Naples, Florida)
Holly Gwinn Graham (Olympia, Washington)
Matt Gregory (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Regina Hagen (Darmstadt, Germany)
Kevin Hall (Dunedin, Florida)
Maggie Hall (Dunedin, Florida)
Luke Hansen (Chicago, Illinois)
Amy Harlib (New York, New York)
Tom Hastings (Portland, Oregon)
Jenny Heinz (New York, New York)
Dud Hendrick (Deer Isle, Maine)
Tensie Hernandez (Guadalupe, California)
Nancy Hill (Stonington, Maine) June 19-24
Mair Honan (Portland, Maine)
Jackie Hudson, OP (Bremerton, Washington)
Connie Jenkins (Orono, Maine)
Carla Josephson (Rio Rancho, New Mexico)
Ron King (Penobscot, Maine)
Tom Kircher (Biddeford, Maine)
Steve Landon (Waldhof, ON, Canada)
Steve Larrick (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Isolt Lea (Gainesville, Florida)
Louise Legun (Allentown, Pennsylvania)
Mary Dennis Lentsch (Oak Ridge, Tennessee)
Bob Lezer (Freeport, Maine)
Mary Leonard, Mercy Associate (Pueblo, Colorado)
Tamara Lorincz (Halifax, NS, Canada)
Carla L. Rael-Luhman (Portales, New Mexico)
Laurie McGowan (Mochelle, NS, Canada)
Karl Meyer (Nashville, Tennessee)
Michael Murphy (Omaha, Nebraska)
Sr. Elaine Lopez Pacheco, RSM (Pueblo, Colorado)
Jeanne Pahls (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Rosalie Tyler Paul (Georgetown, Maine)
Sr. Ardeth Platte (Baltimore, Maryland)
Bonnie Preston (Blue Hill, Maine)
Kim Redigan (Dearborn Heights, Michigan)
John Rensenbrink (Topsham, Maine)
Judy Robbins (Sedgwick, Maine)
Chris Rooney (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Robert Shetterly (Brooksville, Maine)
Gareth Smith (Byron Bay, Australia)
Cathy Stanton (Melbourne, Florida)
Janie Stein (Salina, Kansas)
Mary Beth Sullivan (Bath, Maine)
John Tiedeman (Omaha, Nebraska)
Don Timmerman (Park Falls, Wisconsin)
Fran Truitt (Blue Hill, Maine)
Meredith Tupper (Springfield, Virginia)
Carol Urner (Portland, Oregon)
William Watts (San Francisco, California)
Dave Webb (Leeds, England)
Margaret Weitzmann (Potsdam, New York)
Elaine Wells (Omaha, Nebraska)
Molly Willcox (Westport, Maine)
Lynda Williams (Santa Rosa, California)
Mariah Williams (Liberty, Maine)
Loring Wirbel (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Michael Wisniewski (Los Angeles, California)
Jerry Zawada, OFM (Las Vegas, Nevada)
John Zokovitch (Gainesville, Florida)

FINAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY FAST - FOR NOW

Day 14 of my solidarity hunger strike

Today is my last day, at least for now. I will rejoin the strike on June 22 for the day.

The cartoon above is the work of artist W. B. Park who lives in Altamonte Springs, Florida. Will Park is a friend of many years and his illustrations are throughout my book, Come Together Right Now. For years, while living and working in Orlando, Florida, I would regularly meet Will for lunch at various BBQ restaurants in the area and we’d sit and talk politics and try to make sense of our crazy country. Any leaflet or poster I needed artwork for he eagerly did.

Last night I got this message from Will, “Tomorrow night at midnight I begin a three day fast in solidarity with the courageous people of the Czech Republic. No more BBQ for a while.”

As you can see below, the list of people who have contacted me about joining the June 22 international fast against Star Wars is rapidly growing.

We’ve begun to brainstorm what we will do here in Midcoast Maine on June 22. The idea of an empty plate picnic has come up where we gather in the heart of Brunswick on the town green to share from our hearts with each other. People who are not fasting the whole day could skip the noon meal and join us as well. We could each speak about why we have joined the fast expressing our concern about how a space arms race is “stealing from those who are in need” as former president Eisenhower told the nation in 1961.

I must conclude my two-week hunger strike by thanking Jan Tamas and Jan Bednar in the Czech Republic and all those who have supported them during these recent days. The decision to do this strike by Jan and Jan was a beautiful spiritual undertaking. It was also a brilliant political strategy and I very much admire how they expanded the issue to Star Wars in general rather than just keeping it focused on the one radar facility in their country. They effectively opened the door to a larger constituency and have helped raise global consciousness dramatically. I’ve been doing this space weapons work for 25 years and have rarely seen a grassroots campaign bear such fruit. The entire support base behind Jan and Jan must be congratulated for top notch organizing.

To other organizers I hope this Czech campaign is a good lesson. It goes to show that when you take a positive, courageous, non-violent step forward it will be noticed and supported by others. Inspiration always draws energy and light. Build it and they will come.

But this campaign is far from over. There is still much work to be done to promote the June 22 day and to sustain that energy to block the U.S. deployment of “missile defense” interceptors in Poland and the radar in the Czech Republic. Then we, in the U.S., must get our Congress to defund Star Wars research and development. And we must all promote a new international treaty that would ban all weapons in space – from any country.

The aerospace and nuclear industries view space as a new market. They seek to establish mining colonies on the Moon and Mars and develop nuclear rockets to get to these planetary bodies. They intend to use military space systems to control the “pathway” on and off the Earth so that corporate interests will “dominate” space as they now do on our home planet.

Let June 22 be one giant step for humanity here on our beautiful spinning satellite called Madre Tierra.

June 22 Fast Names:

Beth Adams (Greenfield, Massachusetts)
Bob Anderson (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Dennis Apel (Guadalupe, California)
Sally Breen (Windham, Maine)
David W. Chipman (Harpswell, Maine)
Kathe Chipman (Harpswell, Maine)
Sung-Hee Choi (New York, New York)
Michael Connelly (Rochester, New York)
Frank Cordaro (Des Moines, Iowa)
Becky Farley (Damariscotta, Maine)
Sr. Barb Freemyer, RSM (Pueblo, Colorado)
Bruce Gagnon (Bath, Maine)
Sr. Carol Gilbert (Baltimore, Maryland)
Starr Gilmartin (Trenton, Maine)
Matt Gregory (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Regina Hagen (Darmstadt, Germany)
Tom Hastings (Portland, Oregon)
Dud Hendrick (Deer Isle, Maine)
Tensie Hernandez (Guadalupe, California)
Nancy Hill (Stonington, Maine) June 19-24
Ron King (Penobscot, Maine)
Tom Kircher (Biddeford, Maine)
Steve Landon (Waldhof, ON, Canada)
Steve Larrick (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Isolt Lea (Gainesville, Florida)
Bob Lezer (Freeport, Maine)
Mary Leonard, Mercy Associate (Pueblo, Colorado)
Tamara Lorincz (Halifax, NS, Canada)
Laurie McGowan (Mochelle, NS, Canada)
Michael Murphy (Omaha, Nebraska)
Sr. Elaine Lopez Pacheco, RSM (Pueblo, Colorado)
Jeanne Pahls (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Rosalie Tyler Paul (Georgetown, Maine)
Sr. Ardeth Platte (Baltimore, Maryland)
Bonnie Preston (Blue Hill, Maine)
Kim Redigan (Dearborn Heights, Michigan)
John Rensenbrink (Topsham, Maine)
Judy Robbins (Sedgwick, Maine)
Robert Shetterly (Brooksville, Maine)
Gareth Smith (Byron Bay, Australia)
Mary Beth Sullivan (Bath, Maine)
Meredith Tupper (Tampa, Florida)
Carol Urner (Portland, Oregon)
William Watts (San Francisco, California)
Margaret Weitzmann (Potsdam, New York)
Elaine Wells (Omaha, Nebraska)
Molly Willcox (Westport, Maine)
Lynda Williams (Santa Rosa, California)
Mariah Williams (Liberty, Maine)
Loring Wirbel (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Michael Wisniewski (Los Angeles, California)

LONG HISTORY OF SPACE ARMS RACE

Day 13 of my solidarity hunger strike


We had six people on the street today for my vigil in Brunswick. Only one more day for me before I hand the hunger strike over to Mary Beth Sullivan who will take my place.

I have begun to hear from folks who are going to join the one-day fast against Star Wars on June 22. I've decided to compile a list of people who contact me. Many more of course will be fasting all over the world that day. These are the names I know of so far:

Bob Anderson (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Dennis Apel (Guadalupe, California)
Sally Breen (Windham, Maine)
David W. Chipman (Harpswell, Maine)
Kathe Chipman (Harpswell, Maine)
Michael Connelly (Rochester, New York)
Becky Farley (Damariscotta, Maine)
Bruce Gagnon (Bath, Maine)
Starr Gilmartin (Trenton, Maine)
Matt Gregory (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Regina Hagen (Darmstadt, Germany)
Dud Hendrick (Deer Isle, Maine)
Tensie Hernandez (Guadalupe, California)
Nancy Hill (Stonington, Maine) June 19-24
Tom Kircher (Biddeford, Maine)
Isolt Lea (Gainesville, Florida)
Jeanne Pahls (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Judy Robbins (Sedgwick, Maine)
Robert Shetterly (Brooksville, Maine)
Mary Beth Sullivan (Bath, Maine)
Margaret Weitzmann (Potsdam, New York)
Mariah Williams (Liberty, Maine)

This morning I got an email from the group Stop the War Machine in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They are organizing to participate in the June 22 fast and will hold a day-long vigil at the gate of Kirtland Air Force Base in their city that day. Kirtland AFB is testing laser weapons for Star Wars and has many aerospace corporations located nearby doing the research and development work on these space weapons systems.

New Mexico has a long history with military space weapons work. Right after World War II former Nazi rocket scientists (100 of them along with 100 copies of Hitler's V-2 rocket) were brought to the New Mexico desert to create the U.S. military space program.

Maj. Gen. Walter Dornberger was in charge of Hitler's program and was one of those brought to the U.S. to work on these systems. It was Dornberger that had the "vision" to put orbiting battle stations in space. The former Nazi rocketeer went on to become Vice-President of Bell Aerospace in New York.

The proposed U.S. Star Wars radar deployment in the Czech Republic would be one key piece in this larger program of Pentagon "control and domination" of space. The Czech radar would help communicate with orbiting military satellites and give the U.S. the ability to launch first-strike attack on Russia. Nearby "missile defense interceptors" in Poland would then pick off any remaining retaliatory strike that Russia might fire.

This new arms race in space has long been in the making. The Pentagon clearly understands that whoever controls space will control the Earth below.

It is our job to stop them. Our taxes should be spent for health care, education, and dealing with climate change not creating a deadly and destabilizing arms race in the heavens.

June 22 will signify a day of education about Star Wars and global resistance to it. Please join us.

INVITING YOU TO FAST ON JUNE 22

Day 12 of my solidarity hunger strike

It's raining steadily outside today so we have cancelled my daily hunger strike vigil in Brunswick. Tomorrow should be better.

I got an email this morning from a friend in Maine who I knew when we both used to live in Florida. She is asking her friends to join her in the June 22 day of fasting in solidarity with people in the Czech Republic. A second friend in Maine wrote me saying he was going to fast that day as well. A woman from Gainesville, Florida wrote today to say she will strike from June 16-23.

I have to admit I love to eat. I love the preparation of food, the smells, and the joy of eating. In fact I like to eat just a bit too much. When it comes to pasta I have few boundaries. Seconds, thirds, you get my drift.

This hunger strike has been very hard for me but at the same time much easier than I would have expected. I don't think I could have ever come this far on my own. But having the inspiration of knowing that the strike is connected to something larger, something important that I really believe in, has made it almost easy for me at times.

There are some really good cooks in our intentional community house. Levi blows my mind with some of the Oriental fragrances he can whip up. Karen knows how to spice up a dish. Even Mary Beth, who denies that she can cook, was reluctant to share with me that she made herself one of my favorite pasta dishes last night.

Not having eaten in 12 days though has given me a chance to reflect on and appreciate how much we over eat. I've thought alot about how our culture has taught us that meal time is just another consumer experience when instead it is a spiritual practice. We've largely lost the sacred connection when we commodify our mealtimes.

If you decide to join this hunger strike against Star Wars on June 22, or even for longer, please just remember one thing. It is a political act. As you strike please find 1-2 things you can do to make public your reasons for acting. Write a letter to your newspaper, to the politicians, share your story with others, stand on a street with a sign, speak up at church or at a meeting and tell people what you are doing, climb to the top of the tallest building around and drop a 20-foot banner (just don't fall).

Your single act might seem small to you. Someone might say you are being silly or infantile - you are wasting your time. But just tell yourself that on June 22 you are connected to a beating heart around the world that confidently understands you are planting a good seed of consciousness. You are acting to prevent the next arms race before it happens.

We have nothing to lose except the sacred sky.

LITTLE BY LITTLE IT GOES

Day 11 of my solidarity hunger strike

I got an email from my sister in Iowa today. It said, "Am sending faxes to all senator offices that i can re your article. Love Joan." I about cried. This is my dear sister who is not by nature a political animal like me. She cares about what I do but is not one to usually get involved.

Also heard from four others saying today they are joining the hunger strike either very soon or on June 22 - in response to the Czech call for an international day of hunger strikes against Star Wars. One person told me he will take over for Mary Beth after she does her turn hunger striking.

David Occhiuto, who has an environmental radio show on WBAI in New York, got their news department to call me today for an interview. David will also have me on his show soon. This morning I was interviewed on Radio Prague.

Lots of people are forwarding our emails around and many have signed the on-line petition at http://www.nonviolence.cz/ So there is momentum.

You can watch this video from Prague on the change in strategy which is encouraging more people to join the hunger strike for a day or more.

We had 10 people in Brunswick at noon today on the street during a light rain. It was not supposed to rain that early so we didn't come prepared. Just as the rain increased in intensity a young man came running up from nowhere and handed two black umbrellas to us and then ran off. We watched where he went and discovered he had come from the Bull Moose Record store down the street from where we stand each day. People are paying attention.

I woke up this morning with the least amount of energy I've yet felt and a bit grumpy. Housemates though say that in spite of that I am keeping a good humor - which I am glad to hear them say.

The photo above is from South Korea. I put it here today as a reminder that "missile defense" deployments are not just happening now in Central Europe. The U.S. is pushing them planet wide and it is important that we understand the breadth of this issue.

There is much work yet to be done for all of us. Help us stay at it please.

Bon appetit