We don’t always get what we expect. We knew, well in advance, that five men in PeaceWorks would cross the property line May 31, Memorial Day, at the National Security Campus, the Kansas City, Mo., plant that makes parts for nuclear weapons. Done. We knew they’d be briefly arrested and processed. Done. An arraignment was set for July 1, via videoconference. But—surprise—Judge Martina Peterson said our five should come to court in person Aug. 11 to speak to a different judge.
To Kansas City, Memorial Day 2021
By Amrita Burdick City of Fountains, Are you weeping, This day of remembrance? What seeds have grown to harvest From the “blighted” soybean field You purchased and leased To build nuclear arms to destroy? Oh, you say, “But we never use them. Nuclear weapons are just for deterrence.” These weapons steal the funds Needed to … Continue reading To Kansas City, Memorial Day 2021
Trial date pending for some Memorial Day line-crossers
On the tenth anniversary of PeaceWorks-KC's annual Memorial Day peace witness, five members of the PeaceWorks-KC family “crossed the line” and were arrested for trespass at the National Security Campus, where more than 80 percent of the parts for the U.S. nuclear arsenal are made or procured. The resisters’ action helped the 70 or so in attendance re-frame what the weapons plant truly is: a Global Insecurity Factory.
Video covers PeaceWorks-KC’s Memorial Day peace witness
Combining photos and video, Tom Fox rolled onto YouTube an 8-minute glimpse of PeaceWorks-KC’s 10th annual Memorial Day peace witness.
Cosponsors assail war, nuclear weapons
For the first time, PeaceWorks-KC this year asked several groups to cosponsor its Memorial Day observance and share reflections. Theodore John, of Veterans for Peace, said, "I've seen the destruction of conventional war. I can't imagine a nuclear war."
Memorial Day event: ‘We spoke truth, we cried, we witnessed, we rejoiced’
This Memorial Day was the first time I was able to join PeaceWorks-KC at the National Security Campus, where non-nuclear parts are made for nuclear weapons. It was our 10th annual event there. I was moved by the experience.
Why are Jim, Tom, Brian crossing the line Memorial Day?
As people prepare to cross the property line at the Kansas City National Security Campus (NSC) on Memorial Day, they’ve put pen to paper to say why. Here are some reflections from Jim Hannah, Tom Mountenay, and Brian Terrell.
KKFI podcast spreads word of Memorial Day witness for nuke-free world
On May 25, the KKFI (90.1 FM) Radio Active Magazine featured PeaceWorks-KC leaders discussing the May 31 Memorial Day walk and rally in Kansas City, Mo., for a nuclear-weapon-free world.
Nuke-plant protester champions civil resistance
Jordan Schiele is at odds with his judge. She has found Schiele guilty of trespass. Schiele considers his action justified as civil resistance. The judge sentenced Schiele, and 14 co-defendants, to community service and a fine for what she calls trespass at the National Security Campus, KC’s new facility (since 2014) for making parts for nuclear weapons. The defendants, on Memorial Day in 2019, crossed the property line at the NSC, opposing the weapons manufacturing and the deaths of hundreds of employees at Bannister Federal Complex—deaths caused by contaminants there from the old nuke-parts facility.
Carney takes hope from ‘everyday people creating a new narrative’
“We’re living in very dark times,” Charles Carney told 20 persons at the entry to the new nuclear weapon parts plant in Kansas City, Mo. “It’s easy to forget this grassroots movement.”