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PDF versionCatholic activists arrested at Kansas City nuclear weapons facility
Aug. 17, 2010
Activists at the construction site for the new Kansas City, Mo. nuclear weapons plant prepare to be arrested for civil disobedience Aug. 16.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Singing choruses of “we shall not be moved” while scattering sunflower seeds, 14 activists were arrested here Aug. 16 after blocking an earth moving vehicle on the site of a proposed nuclear weapons manufacturing facility.
The acts of civil disobedience came at the end of a three-day conference which drew peace activists here from around the nation. The efforts were aimed at building awareness of and resistance to the construction of the weapons plant, which will replace an existing plant here.
The new plant, which will make non-nuclear parts for nuclear weapons, is set to be the nation’s first new major nuclear weapons production facility in 32 years.
Before their arrest the protestors walked onto a soybean field being plowed by several earth moving vehicles as part of the plant building preparation effort. The group, walking in a single file, held hands; some carried large signs. They approached and surrounded one of the vehicles, forcing the driver to stop her work, and eventually leading 20 other vehicles to halt theirs as well.
After about a 45 minute shut down, police arrived, announcing the protesters had two minutes to leave the privately-owned grounds. The flurry of activity stopped all work at the site for over an hour.
In a statement to the press before they began their action, the activists called the new facility a “crime against peace” and a “crime against humanity.”
This is the second time that people have been arrested for civil disobedience to the plant in two months. On Aug. 6 a local activist, Jane Stoever, was sentenced to eight hours of community service for having blocked the entrance to the current facility, known simply as the Kansas City Plant. Her action took place in June.
Currently a part of the Bannister Federal Complex, located about 13 miles south of the city’s downtown area, the Kansas City Plant is responsible for the production and assembly of approximately 85 percent of the non-nuclear components for the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The plant is due to be relocated in 2012 to the “more modern facility.”
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a division of the U.S. Department of Energy, has said the new facility will carry an estimated price tag of $673 million for construction and $1.2 billion over the next 20 years.
Activists Joshua Armfield and Gina Cook of Kansas City, Mo. link arms while blocking a construction vehicle working on the new Kansas City Plant facility Aug. 16.
Coming from 15 states and three countries by bus, train, airplane, and caravan, anti-nuclear activists gathered here to attend the weekend conference leading up to the civil disobedience in a local Methodist church.
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Recalling her 30 years working at the current site of the nuclear weapons facility, Barbara Rice told those in attendance that she had lost count of how many of her colleagues had died of cancer after 110 passed away from various kinds of the illnesses.
While she said she couldn’t prove that the deaths were related to chemical exposure at the current facility, Rice remembered one instance when a pipe burst at the plant and her supervisors told her to “go home immediately and destroy her clothes.”
At the same event, Jay Coghlan, executive director of the watchdog group Nuclear Watch New Mexico, said the new plant in Kansas City is only one of several projects underway to increase U.S. nuclear weapons production capability.
Coghlan said that while the international community thinks the U.S. is working towards nuclear disarmament, "the reality is that we’re building 3 new sites: one to process uranium, one to process plutonium, and one to create the non-nuclear parts of the weapons such as triggers and fuses.”
The three sites Coghlan referred to are the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and the new Kansas City Plant.
While the new facility in Kansas City is expected to continue production of non-nuclear parts for nuclear weapons, the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement Project at Los Alamos plans to increase U.S. capability to produce plutonium pits, the core of a nuclear weapon, according to Coghlan. Meanwhile, the facility at Oak Ridge plans to reinvest in its capability to produce uranium components for the weapons.
In the original proposal for the Kansas City project, CenterPoint Zimmer LLC — the company which won the bidding process to design and build the plant for the NNSA — said the new facility would simply modernize operations for nuclear weapons parts production while ensuring the continued employment of “a minimum of 2,100 workers at the campus in good ‘quality jobs.’ ”
The day before the arrests the activists visited the two Kansas City Plant sites for prayer and reflection.
After walking with the rest of the activists on the side of a busy street where the current plant is located, Japanese native-born Mercedarian Sr. Filo Hirota told those gathered that she envisioned a new world order in which the “principle of nonviolence is translated into the way how the world is organized.”
Hirota, who is the international relations officer for the Catholic Council for Justice and Peace of the Episcopal Conference of Japan, asked in a prayer following her brief talk for an economy “that creates communion in equal and just relationships.”
Arriving in a caravan at the field where the new facility for the nuclear weapons plant is under construction, activists came together there near idle bulldozers where they blessed the land and asked forgiveness in view of its future use.
Tom Kascoli, a Native American of Apache and Navajo background, blessed each of the assembled, waving an eagle’s feather over a burning sage stick while chanting a prayer in his native tongue.
[Joshua J. McElwee is an NCR staff writer. His e-mail address is jmcelwee@ncronline.org.]
Editor's Note: For more photographs from the event Aug. 16 take a look at the slideshow below.
"her supervisors told her to
"her supervisors told her to “go home immediately and destroy her clothes"
Maybe she was just a bad dresser.
Uncas, this is an issue that
Uncas, this is an issue that I take very seriously. But, it did catch me off guard and I did enjoy the laugh you provided for me. A little humor relief is good and healthy, so thank you.
I note that Uncas' comment
I note that Uncas' comment has received a tolerant reply. I suppose that the comment is a bit funny.
Yet - all too often, defenders of a bad cause - (such as chemical or radioactive pollution being covered up by authorities) - use humour to trivialise the issue, and deflect attention away from the victim of injustice, and on to their own narcissistic style.
The joke didn't work for me.
What do the Kansas and
What do the Kansas and Missouri bishops think of all of this?
What do the Kansas and
What do the Kansas and Missouri Bishop think of all this? A better question might be why weren't they part of it?
Yes, epecially considering
Yes, epecially considering the Church´s teaching, which they keep claiming that they teach regardless of the consequences. I´m am very sorry to say that I fear that it is just another selection from their own cafeteria beliefs. It just becomes more and more difficult to think of them as honest, consistent leaders.
Interesting that co-founder
Interesting that co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement mentioned that folks wondered what the Vatican was saying about our bombing of Japan in August 1945. She wrote the following:
Mr. Truman was jubilant. President Truman. True man; what a strange name, come to think of it. We refer to Jesus Christ as true God and true Man. Truman is a true man of his time in that he was jubilant. He was not a son of God, brother of Christ, brother of the Japanese, jubilating as he did. H went from table to table on the cruiser which was bringing him home from the Big Three conference, telling the great news; "jubilant" the newspapers said. Jubilate Deo. We have killed 318,000 Japanese.
That is, we hope we have killed them, the Associated Press, on page one, column one of the Herald Tribune says. The effect is hoped for, not known. It is to be hoped they are vaporized, our Japanese brothers, scattered, men, women and babies, to the four winds, over the seven seas. Perhaps we will breathe their dust into our nostrils, feel them in the fog of New York on our faces, feel them in the rain on the hills of Eaton.
Jubilate Deo. President Truman was jubilant. We have created. We have created destruction. We have created a new element, called Pluto. Nature had nothing to do with it.
The papers list the scientists (the murderers) who are credited with perfecting this new weapon. Scientists, army officers, great universities, and captains of industry-all are given credit lines in the press for their work of preparing the bomb-and other bombs, the President assures us, are in production now.
Everyone says, "I wonder what the Pope thinks of it?" How everyone turns to the Vatican for judgment, even though they do not seem to listen to the voice there! But our Lord Himself has already pronounced judgment on the atomic bomb. When James and John (John the beloved) wished to call down fire from heaven on their enemies, Jesus said:
"You know not of what spirit you are. The Son of Man came not to destroy souls but to save." He said also, "What you do unto the least of these my brethren, you do unto me.
Sarah Cool--thanks so much
Sarah Cool--thanks so much for reminding us that there have been "voices crying in the wilderness" in our church
And surely our church now flounders about in wilderness when so few bishops would be comfortable with what you've said and what our saints have said. I originally asked what the bishops of Kansas and Missouri thought of this.
By their silence their answer is "blowing in the wind", not to be heard by anyone but heard in the deep recesses of their souls--
Dear Sarah Cool: After you
Dear Sarah Cool:
After you have expressed your deep feeling aobut what the Vatican said about Truman, I hope you really go and find out the horrible histories of how mnay millions of Asians - Chinese especially, Koreans, Taiwanese, Philipines etc... suffered excruciating atrocities, cruelties and unhuman treatments by the Japanese imperial monarchy and colonialistic domination. I some how learned that the Japanese emperor wanted to surrender and declare it unconditional but the war-minded worriors generals disagreeded and committed suidsidies.
War is two sides stories, blaming une side only is unfair.
May never be war again and peace be for ever!
Spoken like a 9-yr old. "he
Spoken like a 9-yr old. "he started it". We are responsible for our own actions, as individuals and as a nation
I think your response begs
I think your response begs the question of whether or not the use of nuclear weapons on Japan at the end of WWII fell within the rubrics of Just War Theory.
Would the actual cost in human life have been greater if the bombs were not dropped? I tend to think that it might have been worse.
Have you ever seen the work
Have you ever seen the work of photographer Dorothea Lange on the American-Japanese inernees and the disgusting way they were treated during WW2 in the USA?
I find this argumet
I find this argumet troubling. It basically says that as long as there is justification we can involve ourselves in evil. The Church says that we cannot use evil means to solve the problem of evil.
What the Vatican said about
What the Vatican said about Truman? Oops. I didn't mean to imply that I'm Catholic, nor do I have any idea what the Vatican or the Bishops said or would say about anything, especially Truman ... sorry for the confusion, but I simply said that I thought it was interesting that Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement, said that folks wondered all the way back in 1945 what the Vatican would have said about dropping nuclear bombs on innocent people. I guess you really didn't read my post?
Sarah: I suspect you are too
Sarah: I suspect you are too young to remember that time. I was a little boy, but have clear memories of the stories told by my older cousins, and their friends, about fighting the fanatical Japanese in the Pacific and on the islands, and I even knew one man who survived the Bataan Death March. In later years I met an elderly Chinese who survived the Rape of Nanking. He still screamed all night at what he saw and remembered. The stories they all told were of violent and cruel zealots willing to fight to the death, and take even their own people with them. I believe millions would have died if we tried to take Japan in a conventional assault.
I remember clearly when the bomb was dropped, and Pres. Truman was not the only one jubilant. The whole country was jubilant. The end was in sight and the war was ending. The boys and girls would be coming home.
It's hard to understand all that today, as there is nothing comparable - unless we learned Al Queda was holding a symposium in the Sahara Desert - and I'd vote to drop the bomb on them too.
How did the comment section
How did the comment section to this article turn into a complaint session about the bishops? Can't we just laud the work of these brave activists without having to fret about the hierarchy? If progressive Catholicism is going to sustain its voice over the longterm, it will have to present its message in an affirmative light, rather than always falling back into the position of being a foil for the big, bad authority figures.
timbevmusser on Aug. 17,
timbevmusser on Aug. 17, 2010.
You stated:
"What do the Kansas and Missouri Bishop think of all this? A better question might be why weren't they part of it?"
----------------------------------------------------
You are absolutely correct! They should all have been out there and also should have gotten themselves arrested as well.
They should teach by modeling Christian action, not just in word, but in deed. But I guarantee you----there won't be a peep out of any of the Bishops in these states---on this issue---there will be silence.
Isn't it strange that the US
Isn't it strange that the US wants to stop nuclear development in other countries like Iran and North Korea, but we seem to think it OK for us to develop as much as we want. We should be setting an example of reducing nuclear weapons.
I've never been so proud to
I've never been so proud to be a Catholic as when I read articles like this one.
Developing further the
Developing further the comment by Anonymous that while we oppose nuclear weapons development in other countries, we continue to develop our own instead of setting an example. You must understand, what we do is OK, because we are the "good guys" ... we, the only nation to use the atomic bomb, TWICE on civilian cities. If we had any moral backbone, the whole country should be crying out, "STOP!" rather than being misled by fear, the Pentagon, and the military-industrial complex, which does provide jobs. Aren't there better areas to create jobs? I strongly recommend John Dear's book Transfiguration.
It's important for people to
It's important for people to understand that this has to do with the NEW generation of nuclear weapons that are purposefully SMALLER and therefore more USEFUL, i.e. likely to be used. That fact alone is hugely destabilizing in a geopolitical situation that was founded on weapons that were so large and powerful that no one would use them.
Not so anymore.
And the US continues to forswear any statements that it will not be the FIRST to strike others.
Isn't it also strange that
Isn't it also strange that the farming community has not done anything to protect the land against such perverted use of it?
Isn't it also strange that we as a nation haven't heard much about it, save for the vigilant eye of NCR?
I am afraid to say that the
I am afraid to say that the farmers are usually mystified as to how this happens...or they are giant agribusinesses who, well, are just as tied in to the military-industrial complex. There is so much petroleum in traditional pesticides and fertilizers, let alone used to till the fields, that connections and security to the middle east seems natural.
The family farmers who do exist are good people, who ask good questions. But the ones I've met ask them quietly. They see the change that comes in the land, and it comes not from shouting and yelling and making a scene, but of waiting for the seasons to change. They have enough trouble, enough worry, enough want. They have enough to do nine months of the year, and they need the rest that comes in the last three to get up and do it again.
Help! How do I gst my
Help! How do I gst my comments posted. They seem to be as sane as the others.
sure would be nice to see
sure would be nice to see lefty peace and justice types giving this kind of demonstration where people are actually dying...in droves...at abortion clinics. We will not hold our breath.
Well, God help us if we have
Well, God help us if we have a nuclear war, or mishap ... folks will be dying in droves ... 100s of 1000s at a time.
"Lefty peace and justice
"Lefty peace and justice types" do demonstrate at abortion clinics.
I know I certainly do. War
I know I certainly do.
War against the innocent is war against the innocent, wherever it happens, whoever is supporting it, whatever political expediency is used to defend it. Abortion and war are just two sides of the very same coin. Catholics are called to oppose the currency of violence against the innocent wherever it happens. I am proud of these folks and -- for the first time in quite a while -- unabashedly proud to call myself Catholic.
It always comes down to
It always comes down to this.....the only evil in the world is abortion! Although I too believe abortion is evil, I realize that there are other evils in the world. Life is not an either - or it is usually about all of the above!
God bless these courageous
God bless these courageous Catholic activists! Blessed are the peacemakers. Thanks for the Native American blessing, it's also returned to you on eagles wings. Did anyone find it ironic that the logo for the Dept. of Energy features other forms of energy? Also, deja vu, when the name "Honeywell" appeared: shades of the Vietnam era! So sad that unemployed in the area might sign on for a paycheck here. If my weather map is correct? Kansas City is a windy place (tornadoes, cyclones, etc) so why not build wind turbines?? Thank Mother Nature for the free sun and wind by using these gifts for the benefit of all people.
I cannot imagine a God who
I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own -- a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. Neither can I believe that the individual survives the death of his body, although feeble souls harbour such thoughts through fear or ridiculous egotisms. (Albert Einstein, obituary in New York Times, 19 April 1955)
My part in producing the atomic bomb consisted in a single act: I signed a letter to President Roosevelt, pressing the need for experiments on a larger scale in order to explore the possibilities for the production of an atomic bomb.
I was fully aware of the terrible danger to mankind in case this attempts succeeded. But the likelihood that the Germans were working on the same problem with a chance of succeeding forced me to this step. I could do nothing else although I have always been a convinced pacifist. To my mind, to kill in war is not a whit better than to commit ordinary murder. (Albert Einstein, 1952)
US signed the NPT but does
US signed the NPT but does not abide by it. Iran signed the NPT and does abide by it. Yet the US wants to stop Iran from having a nucler reactor for peacful electric generation at the same time it is building a new weapons factory? THIS SHOULD BE TOP OF THE NEWS!
It is unfortunate that most,
It is unfortunate that most, including most Christians, keep forgetting about their LAWFUL DUTY to REFUSE to support a society that is party to plans and preparations that are predicated on a will and capacity to commit mass murder.
Indeed, "The Tax Refusal" [ http://www.taxrefusal.com ] is, quite possibly, the only vehicle by which they and all others can meaningfully oppose and confront those who would have all others be abject supporters of their greed.
The time to stop the use of
The time to stop the use of weapons is before they are built.
Thank you Catholic activists!
Not one Pro-life and Family
Not one Pro-life and Family Values Bishop!!! Destroys their claim to Pro-life.
Haven't we all wondered why their was no Pro-life and Family Values when Bush and Cheney took us to their oil wars. Also destroys their claim of Pro-life. Riven with hypocrisy!!! Unlimited support for the GOP which only supports the life and economics of the1/2 - 1% Super Rich. Destroys their Family Values claim. Poverty equals abortion. Kind of destroys their claim of Pro-life. Supported St. Reagan's(patron saint of Trickle-Down, which is endless greed for the very few at the expense of the many) endless attacks on middle class working families. Destroys both of their claims to Pro-life and to Family Values.
Endless widespread poverty in the Catholic Latin countries, where their is no abortion, no Roe. Yet, their support for unlimited American Capitalism destroys their claim to Pro-life and to Family Values.
Scalia and his SCOTUS ruling for unlimited corporate election contributions in Citizens United v The Federal..., thus ending 100yrs of precedent. Destroys their claim of "no judicial activism, as they say was the case in Roe. Further destroys their claim of both Pro-life and Family Values.
I could go on for hours, but you get the idea. Do they??? Methinks NOT!!!
These activists prove there
These activists prove there is still a bit of sanity in this world. Many thanks to them.
Nonsense, nothing but
Nonsense, nothing but nonsense. A Native American "blessing" the crowd in a pagan rite. A Japanese nun praying for an economy that leads to "equal and just relationships" (read: Socialism at best, or Communism [Socialism's slower, dumber, and more violent little brother]). Protestors begging forgiveness from the land. Supposedly sane adults scattering sunflower seeds around a field and intentionally and unapologetically breaking the law.
To be honest, this sounds like something from the mind of Monty Python or Mel Brooks. Sadly it actually happened.
Well, to me, brother Joseph,
Well, to me, brother Joseph, it also sounds like something from the gospels of Jesus.
From all the way up here in
From all the way up here in Vancouver Canada (occupied Coast Salish Territory) I want to send a huge congrats on the amazing action, and let you know that it was juice for us up here! Keep it up!!!!!!!!!
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