NH #495: Nuclear Pacifists Sentenced to Prison: Kings Bay Plowshares 7

Nuclear Pacifists – the Kings Bay Plowshares 7, 6 of whom have now been sentenced and imprisoned for their non-violent protest against the Trident nuclear submarines at the Kings Bay Naval Base in Georgia

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This Week’s Featured Interview:

  • Nuclear pacifists – Anti-nuclear, anti-war – the Kings Bay Plowshares 7. In 2018, these Catholic Peace Activists performed a non-violent action to protest the nuclear weapons aboard Trident nuclear submarines at the Kings Bay Naval Base in Georgia, 38 miles from Jacksonville, Florida. They were arrested, tried, and found guilty on three felony counts and one misdemeanor. Now, all but one has been sentenced. In this Nuclear Hotseat SPECIAL ENCORE presentation, we talk with Martha Hennessey and Patrick O’Neill about the Plowshares Movement, their religiously-based dedication to peace, how the Kings Bay action was planned and executed, and what happened the night they did it — April 4, 2018, the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s death. Then we learn what has happened to them since the trial.

    On October 24, 2018, all seven were found guilty of three felony charges and one misdemeanor, which could lead to 20 or more years of imprisonment for each of them. Sentencing has been delayed almost two full years because, according to them, it’s an extension of the cruelty with which the government has treated them, and punishment that cannot be claimed as “time served” once they are sentenced.  Originally recorded on February 14, 2020.
    NOTE: I’m not often moved to tears by my Nuclear Hotseat interviews, but this one really got to me.  We all deserve to be Nuclear Pacifists.

 

Numnutz of the Week (for Outstanding Nuclear Boneheadedness):

Do you really want to be carrying around a piece of radioactive nuclear reactor waste in your pocket, up close and personal with your reproductive organs? 

 

LINKS:

PLACE, DATE
Dear ____:

We contact you in your role as a former Olympic athlete, a role model and an activist. As you know, the Olympic Summer Games are due to take place in Japan in 2021 with a year’s delay due to the Coronavirus pandemic. What you may not know is that the Japanese government is planning to use the Games to promote nuclear energy and to distract attention from the plight of the people living in the regions irradiated by the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe, which began in 2011 and continues until today.

The symbolic first competitions have been moved from Tokyo to Fukushima City, just 50 km (31 miles) from the crippled nuclear reactors, to demonstrate that the city and region have fully recovered from the nuclear disaster and that nuclear energy and radiation are not as dangerous as many people believe.  But Fukushima has not recovered and radiation is indeed posing a continued hazard to the people living in the irradiated areas.  Many of these are upset that the Olympic Games are co-opted for the promotion of nuclear energy and the cover-up of the dire consequences of the nuclear disaster.

In addition, the cherished Olympic Torch Relay is going to start near the nuclear reactor and will pass through highly irradiated towns and villages, where just recently, independent researchers have detected numerous radioactive hot-spots near the proposed route.

We are not advocating for a cancellation of the games, but are calling on the Olympic Committee and the Japanese government to acknowledge the continued suffering of the people in the irradiated regions and to refrain from holding the opening competitions and the torch relay in Fukushima. We stand in solidarity with all those affected by radioactivity in Japan and oppose any attempt to use the Olympics to portray a false normality in the affected regions.

As a renowned Olympic athlete, a role model and an activist, we are asking for your support for our campaign ”Tokyo 2020 – The Radioactive Olympics“ and invite you to get in touch with us so that we can discuss ways in which you can support our cause.

Please also visit our website to learn more about us and our campaign:
http://www.radioactive-olympics.org

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Hoping to hear from you,

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