KILLER DRONES, CLIMATE CHANGE AND JOBS

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Campaign Bulletin #10; April 12, 2014
By Nick Mottern

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By the time you read this, the protest at the launching of the new destroyer “Zumwalt” in Bath, ME, will be ending, with a potluck supper at the Unitarian Church in Brunswick. But I am mentioning it because Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power, in his announcement of the protest, below, is making an argument appropriate to the U.S. killer/surveillance drone program as well as the Zumwalt. Here is a link describing the Zumwalt: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-04-02/the-navys-newest-destroyer-is-a-drone

Here is Bruce’s statement:

Connecting the Dots in Maine: April 11-12 Events Update

This weekend Maine Veterans for Peace, and other sponsors, will hold three events in our state to make public the issue of the US military 'pivot' into the Asia-Pacific. This pivot is being used to provocatively surround China and Russia as 60% of US forces move into that region. Vital in this pivot will be naval forces, many of which are built at Bath Iron Works.

Remembering the call to work within our 'bio-region' the issue of the Navy's April 12 ceremony in Bath thus looms crucial for our collective movements. The ‘christening’ of the new $4 billion Zumwalt ‘stealth’ destroyer ought to be connected to climate change and growing cutbacks in social spending.

At this very moment USM (University of Southern Main) students are in the streets protesting faculty lay-offs and cuts of entire programs, while climate change activists are stepping up their local efforts to arouse the public about our warming Mother Earth. To all of our movements the public appears tranquilized in the face of these mounting crises.

The US ‘pivot’ is all about control of declining resources on the planet. In order to be successful the Obama team has stepped up military escalation and confrontation that benefits the agenda of the resource extraction corporations. Not only is this strategy highly expensive, but also it dramatically exacerbates the already massive carbon footprint the US has. In fact the Pentagon has the largest carbon boot print on the planet today, and during the development of the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate the US military’s boot print had to be waived as a relevant issue in order for the US to agree to sign on. There can be no doubt that warships equal global warming.

How do we end the US addiction to military production in our local communities?

Unless the workers at BIW (Bath Iron Works) feel that people across Maine share their desire to "build something more positive" then little movement toward real conversion is possible. Jobs are key... there must be public discussion about how we convert BIW and protect jobs. By connecting the issue dots we can help create an alternative strategy that reduces spending on militarism, helps end wars for oil, lowers our national carbon boot print, and creates 'products' like needed commuter rail systems at BIW. This difficult but crucial undertaking is our greatest challenge.

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218. Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs