Heading to Boston for space protest

I am on a bus heading to the JFK Library in Boston for a protest today organized by Massachusetts Peace Action.

Raytheon and Boeing weapons corporations are sponsoring a 50th anniversary of the Moon landing gala at the JFK Library.

Mass. Peace Action writes:

Is President Kennedy’s vision for Space Peaceful or Warlike? Why are Raytheon, Boeing, and Draper Labs sponsoring this celebration?

Raytheon technology is playing a major role in militarizing space and turning space into still another base from which the President can launch war.

Meanwhile here on Earth:

- Raytheon and Boeing are selling bombs and other weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The Saudis and UAE are using these weapons to turn Yemen into a living hell.
- The Trump Administration and the Saudis are threatening war against Iran. If there is war, Raytheon and Boeing weapons will play a major role. Raytheon’s Tomahawk missiles will be used to initiate it.
- Draper Labs and Raytheon are major contractors for nuclear weapons. They will play a major role in the President’s $1.7 billion plan for new and upgraded nuclear weapons.

Is Raytheon’s sponsorship of this celebration consistent with President Kennedy’s vision of world peace about which he spoke at American University during the last months of his life?

“I have, therefore, chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived–yet it is the most important topic on Earth: world peace.

What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children–not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women–not merely peace in our time but peace for all time…..

So, let us not be blind to our differences–but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.”

I'm carrying a couple of Global Network space banners with me to join the protest that will run from 4-6:30 pm.

Earlier this morning I did a half-hour radio interview with a progressive station in Sarasota, Florida.  They invite me on from time to time and I appreciate being able to talk to listeners in that state where I lived for half of my life.

Bruce