politics for the 99%

Published on Dissident Voice, by Medea Benjamin, Jan 22, 2015.

On January 23, Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, a campaign to end U.S. military and economic warfare, will begin a three-month jail sentence in federal prison for a protest against drones (also known as “unmanned aerial vehicles”) at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. I had a chance to interview her before she had to turn herself in … //

… MB: Can you tell us about Whiteman Air Force Base and what you did that resulted in this three-month sentence?

• KK: A squadron at Whiteman, which is in Knob Noster, Missouri, operates weaponized drones over Afghanistan, which has been an epicenter of drone warfare. Whiteman Air Force Base won’t disclose information about the results of these drone strikes, but we, as American citizens, should have the right to know what is being done in our name.
• I have spent a lot of time in Afghanistan, living with young people who have been victimized by our drones, young people who fled to Kabul and are too frightened to go back home to visit their own relatives, young people who see a future filled with prolonged and agonizing warfare.
• We wanted to bring their grievances to the commander at Whiteman. So I crossed a line onto the base. A symbolic action for people in Afghanistan is breaking bread together, so I carried a loaf of bread and a letter to the commander asking how many people were killed by Whiteman Air Force Base on that day.
• I took one or two steps over a line. Then I was arrested.
• When I went to trial, the military prosecutor told the judge, “Your Honor, Ms. Kelly is in grave need of rehabilitation.” But I think it’s our policy that’s in grave need of rehabilitation. We’ve already spent $1 trillion on warfare in Afghanistan and will be spending another $120 billion. The Pentagon wants $57 billion for this year alone. We’re squandering resources that are sorely needed at home and abroad to solve extremely serious problems our world is facing, problems like the climate crisis and global poverty.

MB: When you crossed the line into the Whiteman Base, did you know that you would be facing such a long sentence? Crossing the line at some bases, and even CIA Headquarters, has resulted in a small fine.

• KK: My colleague Brian Terrell had previous crossed onto Whiteman Air Force Base and received a six-month sentence. I faced the same judge so I was pretty sure that I would get six months as well. When he only gave me three months, I was actually surprised. I certainly don’t think I did anything criminal; I’m proud of what I did. But I expected the penalty would be higher, and wondered if the judge wanted to look good for a change.

MB: So I take it that means you would do it again?

• KK: Oh surely, yes. I think it’s important to take these issues directly to the place where the grievance is occurring, and that’s certainly these military bases.
• I also think it’s important to take these issues to all three branches of government. I love it when CODEPINK goes into the halls of Congress or challenges President Obama, because it’s crucial to pressure the executive and legislative branches. But we have to target the judicial branch as well. We have to try every lever and keep on insisting that the Constitution protects our right to express our grievances.

MB: In early January, you fasted and protested with Witness Against Torture to call for the closing of the Guantanamo prison, including a protest at the home of former vice president Dick Cheney. How do you feel knowing that the people making these policies aren’t held accountable, but you’re heading off to jail? … //

… (full interview text).

(Medea Benjamin (medea@globalexchange.org) is cofounder of CODEPINK: Women for Peace and Global Exchange.org. Read other articles by Medea on Dissident Voice).

Links:

Denver teen convicted of trying to join ISIS gets 4 years in prison, on Russia Today RT, Jan 24, 2015;

Super Mario, sharing risks and gains in a new constellation, on RWER Blog, by merijknibbe, by Erwan Mahé, Jan 23, 2015: The monetary order of the Eurozone is far from perfect, as we all know. But are historical changes going on? Will a new equilibrium between centralisation and decentralisation emerge? Read all about it …;

Head of US state media put RT on same challenge list as ISIS, Boko Haram, on Russia Today RT, Jan 23, 2015;

How technology could end illegal fishing, 2.26 min, uploaded by The Economist, Jan 23, 2015: There is a good chance that one fish in five sold in a store or served in a restaurant has been caught illegally … (my comment: this is valuable if in the same time you regulate that big fishing companies no more steal small fishermaen’s income / poor population’s food – Heidi);

Decades of Suspicions: Did German Companies Aid Syrian Chemical Weapons Program? on Spiegel Online International, by Gunther Latsch, Fidelius Schmid and Klaus Wiegrefe, Jan 23, 2015:  Government documents and information from the Assad regime indicate that German companies may have helped Syria produce chemical weapons over the course of decades. So far, the Merkel administration has shown no willingness to investigate …;

Bunch of Criminals, on The Automatic Earth, by Raul Ilargi, Jan 23, 2015: I was going to start out saying yesterday was the saddest day in Europe in 50 years, or something like that, because of the insane and completely nonsensical largesse the ECB permits itself to launch, aimed at once again saving a banking system, but which will not only not help the European people, it will make things even much worse than they already are. Which is also, lest we overlook that ‘detail’, entirely thanks to the ECB/EU/IMF Troika …;

Debt Rattle, on The Automatic Earth, by Raul Ilargi, Jan 23, 2015;

Egypt – elusive consensus, on Al-Ahram weekly online, by Gamal Essam El-Din, Jan 22, 2015: The heads of 20 political parties are in the process of forging a national electoral list;

After Charlie Hebdo, on Al-Ahram weekly online, by David Tresilian in Paris, Jan 22, 2015: In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo killings, there are signs of increasing Islamophobia in Europe;

U.S. Seeking a Stronger World Media Voice, on NYT, by Ron Nixon, Jan 21, 2015: Broadcasting Board of Governors Names Chief Executive;

How states regain their monetary sovereignty, on Current Concerns, by Francis Gut, Jan 14, 2015;

What the Charlie Hebdo Execution Video Really Shows, on Global Research.ca, by Jonathan Cook, Jan 13, 2015: I have few conclusions to draw about what the significance of this video is in relation to the official story. That is not why I am posting it … // … This isn’t meant to raise technical, or gruesome, details of the case. It is to suggest that western journalists do not report fearlessly and independently when they examine events being narrated by official sources. They mostly regurgitate information on trust, because they trust the authorities to be telling the truth. They do the same when the acts of official enemies are being examined – they again turn to official sources on their side. In short, most journalists have no critical distance from the events they are reporting on our behalf …

Water on Earth predates Sun, meaning our life originated elsewhere – study, on Russia Today RT, Sept 26, 2014

American broadcasters see RT as major challenge, want to try to compete, on Russia Today RT, Aug 14, 2014;

… and this:

Making Chocolate chip cookies, on Al-Ahram weekly online, by Moushira Abdel-Malek, Jan 22, 2015.