Berrigan House

MAY 1: ROBERT NAIMAN SAYS DRONE POLICY CAN CHANGE WITH CITIZEN PRESSURE

Protesters gathered on May 1 outside the Iowa Air National Guard Base, the site of a planned drone command center.

Video of Robert Naiman’s talk in Des Moines:

Naiman is special guest of IA peace groups for vigil and lecture as U.N. investigates US drone policy

DES MOINES - (CPM News Services) Robert Naiman, founder of Just Foreign Policy and frequent contributor at Huffington Post, spent time with Iowans Wednesday in two events to draw attention to the possibility that a drone command center may be placed at the Iowa Air National Guard’s 132nd Fighter Wing near the airport.

The morning event drew media as 40 people protested in front of the facility where a drone base may be placed. Several signs opposed drones in Iowa, raising legal and moral questions and saying that this could make Iowans vulnerable.

DM Reg, May 1, 2013
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20130501/NEWS/130501015/military-drone-use-in-U-S-

Ciaron O’Reilly on “Dissident Island” March 15, 2013 (excerpted).

“NO DRONES IN DES MOINES,” SAY PROTESTORS

DES MOINES, January 23, 2013 - (Catholic Peace Ministry news services) Despite the bitter winter cold, more than 20 activists gathered Wednesday morning at the Iowa Air National Guard’s 132nd Fighter Wing Headquarters located at Des Moines International Airport to protest the installation of a new drone unit there. The new unit, authorized by the recently-passed military spending bill (National Defense Authorization Act), will replace the Guard’s F-16 unit. (See “Drones to replace F-16 fighter jets over DM” Dec 19, 2012 Omaha World Herald http://www.omaha.com/article/20121219/NEWS/712209937)

Training for Peacemaking - “Ain’t Gonna Study War No More!”

Des Moines Catholic Workers Julie Brown, Aaron Jorgensen-Briggs and Jessica Reznicek with Fr Peter Dougherty at Michigan Peace Team.

From December 12 - 16, three members of the Des Moines Catholic Worker community attended a nonviolence training at Michigan Peace Team in Lansing, MI. Training attendees learned and practiced non-violent communication skills, co-counseling, active listening, Third Party Non-violent Intervention (TPNI) techniques, and other peacemaking tools.

Two of those who attended—Julie Brown and Jessica Reznicek—will be joining an MPT delegation to Palestine this January. Check our Rachel Corrie Project page for more info.

Vigil for Bradley Manning at Camp Dodge

MORE PHOTOS

On Tuesday, November 27th, eleven citizens, members of Veterans for
Peace Chapters # 161 & #163 and the Methodist Federation for Social
Action, stood at the entrance to Camp Dodge in Johnston, Iowa, in
solidarity with Bradley Manning. Similar events throughout the US were
being held in support of the whistle-blower who has been imprisoned
for almost three years and is only now about to be heard in public.

In solidarity with the Bradley Manning Support Network
http://www.bradleymanning.org/activism/protest-at-fort-meade-recruiting-centers-nationwide-to-demand-fair-treatment-for-bradley

For more info contact:
Gil Landolt - Pres. DM VFP
peacevet@hotmail.com
515 333-2180

UPDATE: Four Occupy the World Food Prize Activists Sentenced to Jail Time

Des Moines, IA (October 19, 2012) – Four activists with the Occupy
the World Food Prize campaign were arrested yesterday as they
attempted to enter the Iowa State Capitol building during the World
Food Prize Laureate Award Ceremony, an event closed to the public. The
four activists—Frank Cordaro, 61, Julie Brown, 34, Eddie Bloomer, 65, and
Jessica Reznicek, 31—were charged with misdemeanor trespass and sentenced to 30 days, 30 days, 15 days, and 15 days, respectively.

Five Activists Arrested at World Food Prize Site

Des Moines, IA (October 18, 2012) – Five activists with the Occupy the
World Food Prize campaign were arrested yesterday when they attempted
to bring their protest inside the World Food Prize building during the
first of two award ceremonies held this week.

“Making the case for civil disobedience this year at the World Food Prize” by Frank Cordaro - DMCW

Dear friends, fellow Catholic Workers and P&J activists;

As most of you know, I been a life long advocate for direct action /
nonviolent / civil disobedience since the 1970’s. Back in the 1980’s I
was active in the Rural/Family Farm Crisis. I helped spear head
efforts to incorporate civil disobedience in the progressive rural /
family farm organization’s public protest in our efforts to stop
forced foreclosures on “Family Farm” (see: “Why CD is needed in Rural
Crises attached doc.)

Our strongest witness was in Harlan IA in 1987 - see:
*30 min. documentary “Ending the Silence; Civil Disobedience and the
Farm Crisis” A 30 min. documentary of a farm protest in Harlan IA in
March 1987 where 19 people got arrested.
https://vimeo.com/49445856
*Related documents to video:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frank_cordaro_and_the_dm_catholic_worker/sets/72157631533871300/

Sadly, the use of direct action / nonviolent / civil disobedience was
not embraced by most of the progressive rural / family farm
organizations in the 1980’s and a moment in history was lost. We find
ourselves 25 years latter less equip to address the now global death
grip that the Corporate World Food System has forced on to the planet.

Invitation to Occupy the World Food Prize!

“Where else can you combine the ‘back to the land’ Peter Maurin side of the Catholic Worker movement to the ‘militant pacifist’ Ammon Hennacy side of our beloved movement!!!”

Dear CWers and Iowa peace and justice folks:

We want to invite you to come to Des Moines and join us and many others in a five-day Occupation of the World Food Prize (http://www.worldfoodprize.org/ - spend a few minutes on this web page and you will understand why this prize needs to be occupied!).

Using our experience from this winter’s Occupy the IA Caucus campaign, we hope to direct the public discourse about our Global World Food System through the use of direct action & nonviolent civil disobedience.

To this end, the DMCW community plans to close down our usual hospitality work to host fellow CWers and peace folks who come to DM for the Oct 16-20 events and need hospitality. A calendar of events can be found on our website: http://occupytheworldfoodprize.com

Catholic Workers Occupy Tour Bus to Protest Frac Sand Mining

On the morning of October 3, 2012, Catholic Workers from Des Moines and Minnesota occupied the roof of a passenger bus destined for a day-long tour of frac sand mining sites, declaring “Our Tragedy is not Your Tourism!” The seven activists were arrested and charged with unlawful assembly, then released later that day.

Local news covered the story:

August 16, 2012

Catholic Worker and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement staffer David Goodner discusses the recent Paul Ryan protest with talk radio host Ed Fallon on the Fallon Forum.

August 15, 2012

Frank Cordaro of the Des Moines Catholic Worker comments on the Paul Ryan State Fair protest:

Word out in the right-wing airways and blogs is that the hecklers that showed up at the Paul Ryan speech at the IA State Fair Monday outmuscled the Ryan staffers by using strong-arm tactics to win the political space in front of the stage. That is not what happened.

The Ryan staffers were not caught by surprise. They were very much prepared. They spotted us ‘would-be hecklers’, had a planned reaction and immediately put it in practice at the first sign of any disturbance. They were closely followed by the secret service and state police, with a few pro-Ryan members of the audience joining the ruckus.

If anyone used strong-arm tactics, it was the Ryan people and not the hecklers as the below video links of the event clearly show.

Aug 15, 2012

“Ryan’s policies aren’t ‘Iowa nice’: An open letter to the Republican V.P. candidate from a stump speech attendee and concerned Iowan by Cherie Mortice, Salon.com Aug 15, 2012

http://www.salon.com/2012/08/15/ryans_policies_arent_iowa_nice/singleton/

(Cherie Mortice is a retired school teacher and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI) Action Fund member from Des Moines, IA.)

Attention Congressman Ryan: I am one of the women you said must not be from Iowa or Wisconsin because we did not sit back quietly, respectfully and smile and say nothing while you lied to us during your first solo stump speech as a vice presidential candidate at the Iowa State Fair earlier this week. Actually, I am from Iowa. I grew up here. My parents are from here. I have taught school here, in Des Moines, for 40 years.

August 13, 2012

CATHOLIC WORKERS JOIN IOWA CCI IN PROTEST AT RYAN FAIR SPEECH

Paul Ryan’s budget plan is not good for folks like me,”said Cherie Mortice, a retired public school teacher from Polk County.

Des Moines, Iowa —

Six Des Moines Catholic Workers joined members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Action Fund (CCI Action) in disrupting GOP Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan’s speech at the Iowa State Fair Monday to protest the Romney/Ryan budget plan that would privatize Medicare and cut spending in order to pay for even more tax cuts for corporations and the super-rich.

August 13, 2012

VETERANS FOR PEACE MARCH AT STATE FAIR

flickr slideshow

Eight Vets for Peace, including two Des Moines Catholic Workers, marched
in this year’s Iowa State Fair ‘Vet’ parade Monday, August 13… above link to slide show

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