IN THE SHADOW OF PAVE PAWS

On Friday I drove south to Cape Cod, Massachusetts where I had been invited to speak after a showing of the documentary film Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space. Even though the new award-winning film is being shown worldwide a U.S. distribution deal has still not been signed.

The film's director made copies available to the Global Network for distribution during our recent Keep Space for Peace Week but this was a very limited series of showings. The screening on Friday night was organized by a group called Cinema Politica that is coordinated out of Montreal, Canada. Since the film is being widely distributed in Canada they sent it out to their local chapters who each week show a political film to local audiences.

The Cinema Politica chapter on Cape Cod (in Falmouth) is run by four men and women in their early 30's - young folks by my definition. They began the 90-minute Pax Americana screening at 7:30 pm and I never expected the 30 people in attendance to stick around long enough to hear me speak after the film was over. So I cut my words short and expected a couple of questions before people jumped up and left. Needless to say at 10:15 pm virtually everyone had remained and I ended the evening after having weaved in most of my key points which included inviting them to send representatives to the 2011 Global Network space organizing conference that will be held in Andover, Massachusetts in June.

The Space Command's PAVE PAWS radar is located near Falmouth on the Cape. PAVE is an Air Force program name, while PAWS stands for Phased Array Warning System. The radar is used to detect and track sea-launched and intercontinental ballistic missiles. The system also has a secondary mission of Earth-orbiting satellite detection and tracking.

Similar space radar tracking installations are located at Beale AFB in northern California (where I lived during my senior year in high school); Clear Air Force Station, Alaska; Fylingdales, England; and Thule, Greenland.

These radars have been upgraded in recent years for participation in the U.S. Space Command's Star Wars program. These radars play a key role in Pentagon first-strike attack planning that include the ever expanding "missile defense" program that is now being used to surround Russia and China.

About one-third of the folks who turned out to see the film on Friday night were younger than the usual grey hairs that come to most peace movement events. The organizers appear to be committed to continuing to introduce these issues to folks in their community.

In years past there was much organizing going on around the PAVE PAWS radar on Cape Cod, largely concerning the question of health affects. But things seemed to have slowed down in more recent times. My hope is that by coming to the Global Network conference in 2011 they will meet other activists who have similar radar facilities in their communities and not only learn more from each other but also find inspiration and energy after making contact with other activists.

Between now and June 2011 I hope to get out to meet more local peace groups in the New England region in hopes that they will want to send delegations to our annual space organizing conference.