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April 8th, 2008
Good question Officer Bock….
And I thought I had identity issues.
April 8th, 2008
simple answer. homeland security is a joke and right now, any voice against the war is a threat to bush and his pit crew’s security. (but you knew that)
April 8th, 2008
One of these days these people will do the job they’re paid to and stop arsing around with things that don’t matter.
God I can’t wait for the election. We need some leadership in this country. We need our priorities set straight.
April 9th, 2008
I once got in big trouble at imigration! when asked what my buisness was in Ireland? I said home to see the mother! what isnt America home? jesus the guy ranted on for ten minutes if it wasn’t for my kids all three little yanks ,I think he would have turned me around.
April 9th, 2008
Has Bock been kidnapped by homeland security forces. No word from our scribe for a while. Perhaps another clandestine mission has arisen, so secret that on this occassion we can but hold our breath and pray to God/Allah for his safe return. The Jackel is rising, 14a sub b over and out.
April 9th, 2008
Wasn’t the pitstop ploughshares the group that damaged an american military aircraft? I’m not surprised they didn’t let him in. I think he should have kept his mouth shut until after he got past homeland security. And lads don’t knock homeland security. They’re doing a great job of keeping terrorism out of America.
April 9th, 2008
yobbah, it’s always hard to tell if sarcasm is present without the benefit of inflection and tone of voice, but just in case it wasn’t sarcasm, I’m not sure there is a real connection between a lack of terrorism in the US and the efforts of “Homeland Security”. For the record that term “Homeland” has made me puke ever since they started using it. Homeland. Fatherland. Motherland. They all remind me of Nazi propaganda.
Homeland Security has brought about such sweeping measures as the no-fly list. One name on that list is Robert Johnson. Every one of the thousands of Robert Johnsons in the US is given extra screening every time they try to fly. We now are on the lookout for Osama Bob Johnson.
Homeland Security is just a clever device to divert more money from the treasury into the hands of the law enforcement cartel. I’m not any safer. The US is not any safer. And the terrorists still hold (s)elected office in the US.
April 9th, 2008
Well,he DID admit to commiting a crime.I mean I know Homeland Security are not exactly popular but this fella did hand himself to them on a platter.
I’m kind of curious to know what other reaction he expected.
April 9th, 2008
Sorry if it was hard to tell if there was sarcasm in my tone. But what I have said is essentially correct. There has been no terrorist activity (so far and hopefully never) in America. Pity about the rest of the world however…..
On the other hand I think Damien Moran should have kept a little quieter about his activities here when chatting to/interrogated by the patriotic immigration chaps at American airports. He would have had a better chance getting through and making his way towards those anti war speeches he was to attend.
Imagine you were travelling with him. “Damien, don’t mention what you did in Shannon. Please. Hiya lads, here’s me passport, Shhh Damien shhh, just pretend you support the war, just until… no stop talking please, oh no….which flight back?”
April 9th, 2008
Maybe I misread what he said, but I thought he was acquitted.
April 9th, 2008
No ,you’re quite right.He did say he was acquitted but he also says
“I informed them about our action and acquittal with pleasure.”
Not the best move under the circumstances.
April 9th, 2008
Sure. He was bound to get kicked out. I know that. I just like the irony of an anti-war protester being considered a danger.
April 10th, 2008
Ah sure, to use a well worn, frayed, if not molested cliche, ’tis a crazy world we live in.
April 10th, 2008
Dear Bocktherobber readers,
To clarify a few things.
I didn’t run through the airport screamin ‘Gimme a hammer, gimme a hammer.’
I was invited to visit my brother in Virginia, to give a lecture in Colorado Springs and to attend and speak at an international conference and demonstrations at STRATCOM in Omaha (where they the Iraq , Afghan wars are run from; nuclear weapons and missile defence system are controlled there also).
“I informed them about our action and acquittal with pleasure.”
This was after I was detained. They already knew I had been arrested at Shannon for disarming military property. I helped them update their database by telling them that I was acquitted. They said they had no evidence of that.
The Irish embassy in Washington subsequently promised they would request Homeland Security to update their information.
Devin wrote: ‘he DID admit to commiting a crime’
I never did any such thing. I was charged with committing criminal damage to property and was acquitted unanimously by jury trial in Dublin circuit court in August 2006 after spending 6 weeks in jail, 3 1/2 years on bail, and having 3 trials (first 2 collapsed due to judges acting illegally - they had to remove themselves from the case due to their acceptance of showing bias against the the accused).
Of course I wasn’t really surprised that I was questioned. The same happened at the Israel/Palestine/Egypt borders for hours last year.
However, Europeans who have done similar actions in the US in the past and who were actually convicted and deported have since been let back in repeatedly, even in recent times.
Peace activists with multiple arrests and convictions from Europe are attending the conference I was due to attend yet had no problem getting in.
Given I had a return ticket and an invite I thought I might get in. Alas, I was gravely mistaken. However, the issue has turned out that far more people were able to hear about issues connected to freedom of speech, travel, anti-militarism than would have been the case had I met just a few hundred/thousand people in the US. But unfortunately I did not get to meet my brother and his family and may not get to for a very long time.
It seems like the US thugs who call themselves Homeland Security are so obsesses with not having had their vengeance fulfilled, that deportation was decided upon immediately after our acquittal to prevent US audiences hear us speaking.
Hope that answers some of the questions.
Greetings from Warsaw, Poland (where I flew from and reside).
April 10th, 2008
Who are the Irish Catholic Worker group?
April 10th, 2008
No idea.
April 10th, 2008
Found out. Looked up D Morans site. Some kind of Catholic-anarcho-peace movement.
Inherently contradictory but sure what isn’t these days.
April 10th, 2008
Who owned the military property at shannon?
April 10th, 2008
Do some research before you judge yobbah. It’s a 70 year old movement, started in the States. It’s anarchist in that each community is autonomous, no membership fees, board of management, don’t vote for State architecture that exploits the poor.
Just check out http://www.catholicworker.org and http://www.geocities.com/dublincatholicworker for more info. if you care. There is no Catholic Worker communities in Ireland at the moment but a number of people who have lived in communities in the US or have been influenced by it’s theology and praxis. In a nutshell, it is liberation theology at play in the first world.
Communities have shelters for homeless, refugees (Founder of Simon community based his shelters on the Catholic Worker model) where workers live alongside the marginalised members of society and help them to run the place for themselves rather than the top-down professional management run model that pervades Ireland and the west today.
They do not accept State funding generally but rather rely on ordinary people to donate or volunteers to do some work to cover the costs.
They’re some key aspects. Community living, working with homeless people, etc.
Another important element is working against war and all forms of exploitation that can be found in society.
Therefore, the Catholic Worker Movement has been central to all peace movements since the 30’s in the US. Catholic Worker Dave Miller was the first to burn his Vietnam draft card. Catholic Workers staged raids on recruitment and draft offices destroying documents that aided the US wage war against their own young and the people of Vietnam.
In terms of Christian anarchism start with reading Leo Tolstoy, Oscar Wilde, Jacques Ellul, Daniel Berrigan, Dorothy Day. The latter is the founder of the Catholic Worker, her case for sainthood is underway, though she herself commented before her death 30 years ago that she did not want to be dismissed so easily as to crowned a saint. In other words, anyone can enflesh the acts of mercy.
Participants in Catholic Worker Movement are people of all faiths or no faiths. It is open and tolerant of people from all backgrounds once they practice the nonviolent acts of mercy as can be found in the gospel of Matthew.
I am no longer a practicing Catholic, but I still align myself politically to the Catholic Worker Movement.
Sorry for the long comment Bock, but if people can’t be arsed doing a bit of research themselves then what can one do?
April 10th, 2008
Do they worship a biscuit?
April 10th, 2008
Sorry Damien you haven’t actually contradicted anything I’ve said. I said that it was a Catholic anarcho peace movement. Which part is untrue?
First of all as you have said it is Catholic and aims to make its founder a saint. It follows in particular the gospel of matthew.
Second it is, as you have outlined, anarchist in its communal approach and its apparent absence of centralised control.
Thirdly in your final paragraphs it is a peace movement as you have shown regarding Vietnam and again following the gospel of matthew.
The contradiction and tension in the movement is in the Catholic (extremely hierarchical, love of control, institutional) and the anarchist (anti-hierarchical, abhorrence of institutions, refrain of control).
That was my point.
April 10th, 2008
‘Which part is untrue?’
None, your bang on.
‘Inherently contradictory but sure what isn’t these days.’
I was responding to the one-line brush-off. It deserves at least a paragraph;)
‘Do they worship a biscuit?’
If it’s fair trade, then yes!
‘The contradiction and tension in the movement is in the Catholic (extremely hierarchical, love of control, institutional) and the anarchist (anti-hierarchical, abhorrence of institutions, refrain of control).
That was my point.’
Fair enough.
April 10th, 2008
There’s a worrying level of agreement here. It’s making me nervous.
April 10th, 2008
‘Who owned the military property at shannon?’
US Navy C-40A (Clipper) logistics plane. Hence the US military owned it, though constructed by taxpayers money, held in trust by the US gvt. who use it to help drive their war machine.
April 10th, 2008
‘There’s a worrying level of agreement here. It’s making me nervous.’
Which part racks your nerves? Would you rather I lambast you to keep the thread alive? No can do Bock, too much respect for you man and your comment was quite funny albeit cynical!
April 10th, 2008
That’s called humour, Damien. You’re mixing with too many Catholic anarchists.
April 10th, 2008
Damien, it’s like the phrase ‘War on Terror’ is contradictory….
You certainly affected that planes resale value at least!
April 11th, 2008
So you damage an american plane and expect tea and biscuits.American tax payers money.Did you waste the irish tax payers money with this also? court stuff and such.A Dublin jury trial means your still guilty in america.You broke there plane they wont let you play.
April 11th, 2008
As Catholic Anarchism has been introduced etc etc etc
April 12th, 2008
Otiose: Fuck off and set up your own site.
April 12th, 2008
I’m an American taxpayer and I’d just as soon my hard-earned cash wasn’t spent on the damn things in the first place. Here, Damien, have some tea and biscuits.
April 13th, 2008
I apologise Bock. I thought I was typing in a story linked to Cath-Anarcho which would be looked at first and then shown or rejected depending
April 14th, 2008
Otiose: Thanks. I came home and found an entire article posted in the comments. It isn’t that I have a problem with that, but people need space to express their views if they want to, and it can be overwhelming if it’s too long.
And I was drunk.
April 14th, 2008
Point taken Bock and pint well taken it seems.