This article originally appeared on syracuse.com A commentary by Ron VanNorstrand “Are you crazy?” “Are you out of your mind?” My friends’ concerns were foremost in my mind as I boarded Turkish Air Flight 706 in December bound for Kabul, Afghanistan. Just a month earlier, the U.S. Department of State had warned citizens against travel to Afghanistan: “The security situation in Afghanistan is extremely unstable and the threat to all U.S. citizens in Afghanistan remains critical.” Although apprehensive, IContinue reading
Month: January 2016
Grandmother and Long-time Activist Joyce Ellwanger Guilty of Trespass in Wisconsin
Joyce Ellwanger was found guilty of trespassing by Judge Paul Curran in Juneau County court on Friday January 22, 2016. Though Curran never formerly pronounced a verdict saying Joyce was guilty, he said she trespassed and he imposed a sentence in another heavy-handed trial for the nine activists who were arrested at Volk Field in August 2015. Refusing our request to consolidate the cases, Judge Curran has already found Jim Murphy and Bonnie Block to be guilty. Jim spentContinue reading
Today Has Anyone Wept in Our World?
In July of 2013, Pope Francis visited the tiny island of Lampeduso off the coast of Italy. He offered mass on an altar made from a small wooden fishing boat which had brought refugees to the island. In a homily during the visit Francis said “Immigrants dying at sea, in boats which were vehicles of hope and became vehicles of death…. When I first heard of this tragedy a few weeks ago…I felt I had to come here today, toContinue reading
Relationships – Reflections on Refugees
As I put together this photo journal of an Iraqi father and his dear son seeking asylum in Finland, I found renewed hope in relationships. Relationships change our lives, and so, they change our world every day. As relationships are built on various aspects of love, they are powerful. If we build more and more relationships, they will be an alternative power to the abusive power of governments and corporations, and that’s when governments and corporations will become more obviousContinue reading
Being Where I Really Need to Be
Friday January 8 marked another day of flying to Washington, DC for a week of activism – again. I was feeling sad leaving my family for a week and not looking forward to what I knew I was going to have to do in speaking out against the crimes of our government. While in DC I stayed with my dear friend Malachy and his family and that is always a comfort to be in their home. Each day was filledContinue reading
Citizen Activists Arrested on U.S. Capitol Steps Urging President Obama to Deliver a Real State of the Union
CITIZEN ACTIVISTS ARRESTED ON U.S. CAPITOL STEPS URGING PRESIDENT OBAMA TO DELIVER A REAL STATE OF THE UNION HIGHLIGHTING INCOME INEQUALITY, MILITARISM, RACISM & CLIMATE CHAOS WHO: Members of the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance (NCNR) and associates have been speaking out against the illegal actions of the United States government since 2003. They have organized numerous actions across the country involving nonviolent civil resistance in order to speak out publicly against government policies. For example, on September 22,Continue reading
Surveillance and Surveys
In Kabul, where the Afghan Peace Volunteers have hosted me in their community, the U.S. military maintains a huge blimp equipped with cameras and computers to supply 24 hour surveillance of the city. Remotely piloted drones, operated by Air Force and Air National Guard personnel in U.S. bases, also fly over Afghanistan, feeding U.S. military analysts miles of camera footage, every day. Billions of dollars have been invested in a variety of blimps which various vendors, such as Raytheon, LockheedContinue reading
Wisconsin Anti-Drone Action: Five Months Later Activists Are in Court
Father Jim Murphy Sentenced to Five Days in Jail in Wisconsin for Anti-drone action Father Jim Murphy of Highland, WI was found guilty of trespass during a bench trial on January 4, 2016. With Judge Paul Curran presiding over the Juneau County proceedings we saw another miscarriage of justice in our continuing struggle to end drone warfare. Jim will be spending five days in the Juneau County jail after stating he would not pay a $232 fine. Jim wasContinue reading
Notes from Kabul
They have descended from homes built on the mountainside. Women sit together in the cemetery not to mourn but to wait for the duvet distribution to begin. When I approach them, each woman extends a hand in greeting. Some have the needed small stamped pieces of paper to receive two duvets but most don’t. One of the women tells me about the pain in her chest, her legs. She talks about the war. I listen to all the manifestations ofContinue reading