[Peace-discuss] Re: Minnesota: 250 Protest, 28 Arrested At Anti-Depleted Uranium Demo

[Herself]

It is in the proud and honorable tradition of Civil Disobedience that one
expects ‹ even invites ‹ arrest. One purposely violates a civil or criminal
statute to draw attention to an injustice, a cruel or destructive behavior
or a violation of someone's rights. Breaking the law and the ensuing arrest
serves to draw media and public attention to those injustices, etc., being
protested. 

The event of a trial if pleading "not guilty" is also a possible way to
bring the evils of the thing protest to the public light.

One of the possibilities is that the enforcement officer(s) may so respond
to such action that they are unable to comply with the system and arrest
them, as happened to Ghandi.

One does not expect to do acts of civil disobedience and not be arrested.
That's why it is a brave thing to do. That's why it gets attention, thereby
causing public focus on an issue that one is otherwise unable  to change.

Bless those who put their fates on the line for such acts. They risk their
safety, their freedom, their health, their jobs and even their relationships
in some cases. However, outrage for their arrest can hardly be justified,
when that is part of the plan.

In peace and solidarity ~ Sharon

> From: Dlind49 at aol.com
> Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2003 07:25:34 EST
> To: peace-discuss at lists.groogroo.com, matt.bisbee at mail.house.gov
> Subject: Fwd: Minnesota: 250 Protest, 28 Arrested At Anti-Depleted Uranium
> Demo
> 
> Another action that needs support from the world community.
> 
> 
> doug 
> 
> DEPLETED URANIUM: Dr. Doug Rokke, Major, USAR, former Gulf War I DU team
> health physicist and DU Project Director
> 
> 
> Gulf War I was the first significant use of DU in combat with at least 320
> tons of DU munitions contamination left on the battlefield. During 1995 and
> 1996, the U.S. Marines fired DU munitions in Okinawa then did not tell the
> Japanese Government for over one year.   During 1995 the U.S. military fired
> at least 10000 rounds of DU munitions in Serbia followed by at least 31000
> rounds of DU munitions into Kosovo and Serbia during 1999. Astonishingly, the
> U.S. Navy fired DU on Vieques, Puerto Rico to prepare for Kosovo attacks in
> willful violation of U.S. and international law and have ignored adverse
> health effects and environmental contamination to avoid liability.
> 
> Verified DU exposure adverse health effects include: (a) Reactive airway
> disease, (b) neurological abnormalities, (c) kidney stones and chronic kidney
> pain, (d) rashes, (e) vision degradation, night vision losses, and catarcts
> (f) gum tissue problems, (g) lymphoma,  (h) various forms of skin and organ
> cancer, (I) neuro-psychological disorders, (j) uranium in semen, (k) sexual
> dysfunction, and (l) birth defects in offspring.
> 
> Since the Gulf War, the cover-up of adverse health and environmental
> consequences has been the objective of U.S. Department of Defense officials
> so that they can always use DU in combat. The cover-up started with the
> infamous Los Alamos memorandum sent to our team in Saudi Arabia during March
> 1991.  This memo told us to be sure that we should only report our findings
> so DU munitions could always be used.  IN OTHER WORDS LIE! A letter sent to
> General Leslie Groves during 1943 is even more disturbing.  In that
> memorandum dated October 30, 1943, senior scientists assigned to the
> Manhattan Project suggested that uranium could be used as an air, water, and
> terrain contaminant.  According to the letter sent by the Subcommittee of the
> S-1 Executive Committee on the "Use of Radioactive Materials as a Military
> Weapon" to General Groves (October 30, 1943) inhalation of uranium would
> result in "bronchial irritation coming on in a few hours to a few days".
> This is exactly what happened to those of us who inhaled DU dust during
> Operation Desert Storm and in U.S. soldiers in the Balkans. The subcommittee
> went on further to state that "Beta emitting products could get into the
> gastrointestinal tract from polluted water, or food, or air.  From the air,
> they would get on the mucus of the nose, throat, bronchi, etc. and be
> swallowed.  The effects would be local irritation just as in the bronchi and
> exposures of the same amount would be required. The stomach, caecum and
> rectum, where contents remain for longer periods than elsewhere would be most
> likely affected.  It is conceivable that ulcers and perforations of the gut
> followed by death could be produced, even without an general effects from
> radiation".  
> Today, while medical problems increase medical care is denied or delayed for
> all uranium exposed casualties while United States Department of Defense and
> British Ministry of Defense officials continue to deny any correlation
> between uranium exposure and adverse health and environmental effects.  They
> contend that they can spread radioactive waste (uranium 238) in anyone's
> backyard without cleaning it up and providing medical care.  Their arrogance
> is astonishing!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As the Army's DU expert (1991- 1995) my conclusions and recommendations
> were that: (1) All DU contamination must be removed and disposed of to
> prevent future exposures.  (2) Specialized radiation detection devices that
> detect and measure alpha particles, beta articles, x-rays, and gamma rays
> emissions must be acquired and distributed because standard radiation
> detection equipment will not detect DU contamination.. (3) Medical care must
> be provided to all DU casualties. (4) All individuals who enter, climb on, or
> work within 25 meters of any DU contaminated equipment or terrain must wear
> respiratory and skin protection. (5) DU contaminated and damaged equipment or
> materials should not be recycled to manufacture new materials or equipment.
> (6) All individuals who may encounter DU must complete specialized education
> and training.
> Even though Department of Defense directives have required medical care,
> education and training, and environmental remediation for years: (1) Medical
> care has not been provided to all DU casualties.  (2) Environmental
> remediation has not been completed. (3) Contaminated and damaged equipment
> and materials have been recycled to manufacture new products. (4) Training
> and education has only been partially implemented. (5) Contamination
> management procedures have not been distributed and implemented.
> 
> Today, all citizens of the world must raise a unified voice to ban the
> future use of depleted uranium munitions and force the leaders of those
> nations that have used depleted uranium munitions to recognize the immoral
> consequences of their actions, provide medical care to "all" DU casualties,
> and complete environmental remediation. And to cite a famous quotation: "AND
> A CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM".  But if the children are sick or dead and the
> citizens of the world permit this to continue then there will not be a child
> who can fulfill the prophecy and lead us to peace.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> From: Rick Rozoff <r_rozoff at yahoo.com>
> Date: Thursday, April 3, 2003 3:00 AM
> To: r_rozoff at yahoo.com
> Subject: Minnesota: 250 Protest, 28 Arrested At Anti-Depleted Uranium Demo
> 
> http://www.mndaily.com/new_site/article.php?id=5473
> 
> The Minnesota Daily
> April 3, 2003
> 
> 28 arrested at Alliant while protesting depleted
> uranium weapons
> By Joe Mahon
> 
> 
> -?It?s always the hope that you would be able to act
> out in a democracy and hold your community and
> businesses responsible and not get arrested, but I
> did, and I?m glad I did it.?
> Those arrested face up to three months in prison or a
> $700 fine. 
> 
> 
> Protesters staged an act of civil disobedience at
> Minnesota?s largest military contractor Wednesday
> morning. 
> The action at Alliant Techsystems in Edina, Minn., led
> to 28 arrests. 
> 
> Approximately 250 people participated in the protest.
> Not all protesters participated in civil disobedience,
> which consisted of trespassing on the grounds of
> Alliant?s corporate headquarters.
> 
> ?We?re sort of an inspection team looking for weapons
> of mass indiscriminate destruction,? said Marv
> Davidov, a longtime activist and organizer of the
> action, during instructions to participants.
> 
> ?The officials at Alliant Tech were not very proactive
> in their response to our inspection,? said Michael
> Brown, a University philosophy graduate student who
> participated in the action and was arrested.
> 
> Brown said his mother Katie, who currently teaches
> philosophy at the University, also took part in the
> incident. 
> 
> The trespassers carried a letter to Chairman and Chief
> Executive Officer Paul David Miller asking to examine
> records on production of depleted uranium weapons.
> Upon entering, they were arrested.
> 
> Activists claim depleted uranium shells, frequently
> used as antitank weapons in the first gulf war, are a
> cause of health problems such as birth defects in Iraq
> and the much-disputed ?Gulf War Syndrome.?
> 
> The U.S. military used more than 100,000 depleted
> uranium shells during the first war. Upon impact, some
> material is vaporized and can be harmful if inhaled.
> 
> Wednesday?s protest featured a speech by Carol
> Nauheimer, whose son served on cleanup operations in
> Kuwait after the war and later died of leukemia she
> believes was caused by exposure to depleted uranium.
> 
> When she visited her son in the military hospital,
> Nauheimer said, ?He told me, ?Remember, mom, I know
> this started in that desert.? ?
> 
> Friends for a Nonviolent World member Phil Steger, who
> has visited Iraq several times and toured hospitals,
> claimed the incidence of leukemia in Iraq is up 600
> percent to 1000 percent since 1991.
> 
> ?Depleted uranium most clearly violates international
> law that we?ve signed onto,? Brown said.
> 
> A statement issued to the media by Alliant read,
> ?(Alliant) does not produce or process depleted
> uranium ? material. We do, however, produce one round
> that is (depleted uranium) capable. The (depleted
> uranium) material ? is provided by the government.?
> 
> Alliant has produced more than 15 million such shells.
> The company has also stated depleted uranium is not
> dangerous because of its radioactivity but rather
> because of its toxicity as a heavy metal.
> 
> Aside from the controversial depleted uranium shells,
> Alliant makes other weapons and products for the
> government. 
> 
> Alliant is the Pentagon?s largest ammunition producer
> and its sole provider of small-arms ammunition for
> rifles. 
> 
> The company also produces half the medium-caliber
> rounds used in larger guns.
> 
> With the acquisition of Thiokol Propulsion in 2001,
> Alliant became the major producer of solid fuel
> rockets, used in many varieties of missiles as well as
> for NASA. 
> 
> The company also produces precision munitions such as
> global positioning system-guided bombs. Along with its
> rocket business, this makes missile defense a major
> growth opportunity for the company, according to
> investor information on its Web site.
> 
> The company also produces cluster bombs, a target of
> peace groups since the Vietnam War because many go
> unexploded and can injure civilians.
> 
> Alliant also produced antipersonnel land mines in the
> past, though it no longer does so.
> 
> Overall, Alliant is the 25th-largest contractor for
> the U.S. Defense department, receiving $674 million in
> contracts for 2002. The company totaled $1.8 billion
> in sales in 2002 and expects to do $2.1 billion for
> fiscal year 2003.
> 
> Alliant started in 1991 when Honeywell spun off its
> weapons business after the end of the Cold War. Prior
> to that, Honeywell had been a target of protesters
> since the Vietnam War era.
> 
> Davidov began the ?Honeywell project? in 1968 and has
> conducted weekly vigils at Alliant?s headquarters
> since 1996. 
> 
> The vigils do not usually include civil disobedience,
> but Wednesday?s action was organized in response to
> the new war and Nauheimer?s wish to speak out.
> 
> Nauheimer?s daughter Wendy was among those arrested
> Wednesday. 
> 
> The actions were marked by restraint by both
> demonstrators and Edina police, who have become used
> to the protests at Alliant.
> 
> ?I want to stress that the police are not the issue
> here,? Alliant action member Tom Bottolene said,
> addressing those preparing for the action. ?When we
> focus on them, we lose focus on Alliant.?
> 
> ?It was a lot more ho-dunk than I thought it would
> be,? said Christine Gamm, who graduated last spring
> from the College of St. Benedict and St. John?s
> University in peace studies.
> 
> ?It?s always the hope that you would be able to act
> out in a democracy and hold your community and
> businesses responsible and not get arrested, but I
> did, and I?m glad I did it,? Gamm said.
> 
> Those arrested face up to three months in prison or a
> $700 fine. Davidov said in all the years he?s been
> protesting at Honeywell and Alliant there have been
> 2,700 arrests, but those arrested typically only
> receive community service or a small fine.
> 
> ?Civil disobedience is never pleasant, people do it as
> an act of conscience and the Minnesota Constitution
> protects acts of conscience,? Brown said.
> 
> 
> Joe Mahon covers University neighborhoods and welcomes
> comments at aname at mndaily.com
> 
> 
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