Here are two articles about the events this week in the Johnson City Press:
- Occupy Areojet Movement Planned, Forum Focuses on Depleted Uranium's Usage and Safety, and
- Peacemaker Group Visits Jonesborough to Raise Awareness of Company's Depleted Uranium.
Depleted Uranium delegation collects samples to be examined for DU contamination, participates in press conference.
Christian Peacemaker Teams will be at the plant today from 11-5. Here is the announcement:
OCCUPY AEROJET:
A day of re-imagining Aerojet Ordnance without the manufacturing of Depleted Uranium weapons.
Open to all of the public!
Bring food, stories, drums, signs, concerns and questions to share. While your dogs are welcome, please consider leaving them at home for their own sakes.
- Where: Across the street from the Aerojet Ordnance plant: 1367 Old State Route 34, Jonesborough, TN
- When: 11am-5pm, Saturday October 29
- 11am: Re-imagining new jobs, products and layout of the Aerojet plant
- 1pm: Storytelling from local residents affected and concerned about the manufacturing of Depleted Uranium weapons in their neighborhood, as well as those who have encountered the DU in war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan
- 3pm: Organizing a clean up of Aerojet
- Why: To raise local awareness that Depleted Uranium weapons are being produced in our midst, as well as its effects on the battlefield on our own troops as well as the families of non-combatants. While we hold environmental and public health concerns for DU production, even more dramatic are the consequences for veterans and citizens exposed to DU particulates after its production.
For questions about Occupy Aerojet contact Heather Mitchell (CPT Representative) at 214-502-8035.
Organized by Christian Peacemaker Teams and local citizens concerned about Depleted Uranium munitions, this event is a follow-up to the forum co-sponsored by APEC at ETSU on Tuesday, October 25th.
Hope to see you there!
I love the idea of this, and I attended in years past. The Christian Peacemaking team, however, seems confused. They SAY they want people to join them, but when someone does, the team acts like they don't want them there, or simply acts like they AREN'T there.
ReplyDeleteA couple of years ago, they, through a local contact, put out a request to provide food and other items for the team, and to join them for a fellowship dinner. I arranged, through Concerned TN Citizens, to have most of their meals made for them, and for people to join the dinner. It was a disaster. They acted like it was a MASSIVE imposition, both at the dinner and at the demonstration.
Another year, they scheduled a week of activities at a farm across from Aerojet. CTNC again helped organize food, camping equipment, even musicians to entertain them during the week. At the last minute, the CPT cancelled all events accept the usual demonstration. They couldn't even give an explanation, nor could they be bothered to thank the people who had gone through the effort to arrange these things - and some they didn't even inform, so when they showed up with food, no one was there.
Another thing that bothers me about them is their use of graphic and gruesome photos of babies that were born with mind-boggling defects that they connect to the use of DU. It may be true, and it may be important to see those horrific figures, but in context, not on giant placards like the anti-choise folks use. It is extremely off-putting, and from my perspective, not helpful. There is no context. There are no statistics. There is no information other than the giant photos.
I am all for the discontinuation of the use of DU, and I am all for Occupying Aerojet. Just not with this group.
Just back from visiting them and then stopped by Occupy Johnson City's demo at Bank of America. Busy day for justice.
ReplyDeleteCPT was really great. I spoke with Cliff Kindy and others on the team and got a lot of good information about DU. That sucks that you had a bad experience. I was happy to see them, but then I didn't get involved in any hospitality details.
I took pics and will post them and a story soon.
It wasn't so much the hospitality issue as that they seemed to think they had ownership of the issue, and everyone else was "in the way."
ReplyDelete