Saturday, February 6, 2010, 10 AM-3PM (SNOW DATE: Saturday, February 13, 2010, Same Time and Place)
Universalist-Unitarian Church, 69 Silver St., Waterville (corner of Elm and Silver, two long blocks from downtown Concourse)
Agenda: 10 AM-noon — Workshops for resisters/supporters
Workshop A: “Whats, Whys, Hows of WTR”
Workshop B: Counseling/supporting current resisters
Noon-1 PM — Potluck Lunch, Bring Food to Share
1-3 PM — Planning for Tax Day Meeting — plan for April 15 and before actions, evaluate fall national strategy meeting, promoting WTR in a war environment, Maine War Tax Funds for Life report, etc.
On Ash Wednesday, February 12th, 1997, 6 people boarded and disarmed an Aegis destroyer, the USS Sullivans, DDG 68, at Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine. The group, Phil Berrigan (now deceased), Susan Crane, Fr Steve Kelly, Steve Baggerly, Mark Colville and Tom Lewis (now deceased) spent over 3 ½ years in federal prisons for this disarmament action. Since that action in 1997 Maine’s peace activist community has gathered every Saturday during Lent and Advent, at every launch and christening to speak truth to power; to begin the process of disarmament through conversion; that it is time to stop building weapons of mass destruction not only in Maine but everywhere.
The lead ship in the Aegis program, the Arleigh Burke, DDG 51, was launched in September 1989. In June 2010 Bath Iron Works will christen DDG 111 bringing to a total of 60 Aegis destroyers of which all but two are currently active. Over half have been built at Bath Iron Works. Each ship carries 56 nuclear capable Tomahawk missiles. With a warhead of 200 kt every ship can carry over 720 Hiroshima’s or Nagasaki’s. The death and destruction ensconced in these numbers is unacceptable.
It was unacceptable yesterday, it is unacceptable today and will be unacceptable tomorrow. We have always asked about the spiritual and moral consequences of building weapons of mass destruction not only in Maine but anywhere yet we always bump up against the economics of the military-industrial complex, the lucrative contracts and employment that coexists within these contracts. We have called for conversion from weapons of war to products for peace.
For example, the wind farm at Mars Hill Maine is using wind turbines built at a converted shipyard in Denmark. Recently BIW has announced they will consider building components for wind turbines. What and how much of a commitment there will be is very questionable as BIW is the lead builder of an additional 11 or 12 Aegis destroyers for FY 2010 thru 2015 plus the 3 Zumwalt (DDX-1000) ships. At 1.3 billion dollars for every Aegis and double for the Zumwalt, the shipyard employs some 4,000 to 5,000 skilled workers and is one of the drivers of Maine’s economy thus there is no real discussion about conversion. Conversion will only come through cutbacks in naval procurement even thou there is much extant data indicating better economic growth with non-military production. Bath Iron Works sits in a very unique position to become an innovator for alternative energy production systems. It has the skilled labor force ready to build them and the facility available to build them on. All that is lacking is the moral fortitude to say “enough is enough” and begin the conversion from building weapons of mass destruction to building solar or wind power systems.
“As people of hope, we cry out with the earth and all of her humble creatures for justice and peace through disarmament. We believe that by disarming ourselves and by stopping the production of the machines that wage war, we may be able to find a path to healing all of the damage we have created.” (George & Maureen Ostensen, Smilin’ Tree Disarmament Farm)
More info: Larry Dansinger, Maine WTR Resource Center (207) 525-7776 • rosc [at] psouth [dot] net
Directions from I-95 (north or south): Take I-95 to Exit 127, Waterville/Oakland. Follow Kennedy Memorial Drive (Routes 11 and 137) toward downtown Waterville (turn left at the bottom of the ramp if coming from the north, turn right at bottom of ramp if coming from the south). Take Kennedy Memorial Drive (four lanes, traffic lights, and shopping centers galore!) toward downtown. Road swings to the left and becomes Silver Street. Follow it to the first (I think, might be second) traffic light, corner of Silver and Elm Streets.. Church is on the left. Park in lot or on the street.
Directions from coastal Maine:Take Route137 to Winslow. Follow 137 (not Business 137) from outside Winslow across the bridge to Waterville. Route 137 comes out at a traffic light where Kennedy Memorial Drive turns into Silver Street. Turn right at that light onto Silver Street. Follow it to the first (I think, might be second) traffic light, corner of Silver and Elm Streets. Church is on the left. Park in lot or on the street
