• 

• May/June 2009

• Korea and Nebraska
  StratCom Comrades in Arms

• Taking an Economic ‘Wrong Turn’: How Our Chance to Build a Sustainable Economy Is Being Undermined

• Obama’s Changes in Military Policy Are Driven Less by Philosophy than by Economic Reality

• 

• April 2009

• We’re Never Getting
  Back to ‘Normal’

• Cut the Military Budget

• Catholic Workers Protest Omaha Archdiocese’s Support of StratCom

• Learning the Language
  of the Fields

• Still Pushing Booze on the Indians after All These Years

• 

• March 2009

• The Case for an Even Bolder Economic Stimulus

• IMMIGRATION Part III:
  It’s Time for a New Policy

• The Offensive Side of
  'Missile Defense'

• A Different Perspective
  on Whiteclay

• Mike Lux’s
  Progressive Revolution

• 

• February 2009

• IMMIGRATION Part II: A Brief History of U.S. Policy

• One China or Two?

• A Smash Hit

• 2009 Legislative Agenda

• NFP College Scholarship Contest

• 

• January 2009

• IMMIGRATION: Good Policy Takes More than Imagination

• World Opposes U.S. Space Weapons Stance

• ‘Yes We Can’ Close the School of Assassins!

• Paths to a New Energy Future

• 

• ARCHIVE

• 

StratCom’s Goal of Space Domination
Focus of the 2007 Annual Peace Conference

NFP

Download the APC Brochure pdf

U.S. Strategic Command’s mission of militarizing and dominating the heavens will be the focus of the 2007 Annual Peace Conference Saturday, October 6 in Omaha. In a back-to-back, ‘double-feature’ presentation, Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the “Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space,” and Emeritus Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit will jointly deliver the conference keynote address entitled, “StratCom’s Role in the Militarization of Space: An Update and Christian Response.”

Continuing a decade-long tradition of cooperation, this year’s event will again be co-sponsored by the University of Nebraska-Omaha School of Social Work and Nebraskans for Peace. The special focus on StratCom, however, has also garnered the 2007 Annual Peace Conference some notable out-of-state support. As part of the “Keep Space for Peace Week” commemoration hosted by the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, the October 6 gathering has been officially endorsed by United for Peace and Justice and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, as well as the Iowa Peace Network and the Omaha and Des Moines Catholic Worker Communities.

The day-long program will be held at First United Methodist Church, 70th and Cass Streets in Omaha, from 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Advance registration, which includes lunch, is $25 and Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available for Social Workers and Licensed Mental Health Practitioners. Registration materials will be available early this month, or can accessed either by contacting the NFP State Office or at the NFP website.

Between Bruce Gagnon and Bishop Gumbleton, a more qualified pair of presenters could not be found to address both the political and ethical implications of the new role StratCom has assumed in the wake of 9/11. A Vietnam-era veteran, Bruce Gagnon has spent more than 20 years organizing against the U.S. government’s effort to militarize and nuclearize space. Thanks to Gagnon’s particular interest in the transformation that has occurred at Strategic Command, the Global Network has chosen to hold its next annual conference in Omaha in April 2008 to spotlight the enhanced military threat StratCom now poses internationally.

Bishop Gumbleton, of course, is one of the best-known disarmament advocates in the world, who throughout his storied career has consistently warned of the dangers of nuclear weapons. In recognition of his lifelong commitment to the disarmament cause (including an arrest for civil disobedience at StratCom), Nebraskans for Peace honored him as a “Peacemaker of the Year” at the 1999 Annual Peace Conference when he was the featured speaker. At that time, however — two years before the 9/11 terrorist attacks — StratCom served solely as the headquarters for America’s nuclear deterrent and its, theoretically, ‘defensive’ mission. Today, as the nerve center for offensively waging the Bush/Cheney Administration’s “War on Terror” (with both conventional and nuclear weapons) and its stated goal of absolute space dominance, StratCom is an even greater danger to international law and world peace. As the theme of the 2008 Global Network conference bluntly asserts, StratCom today is “the most dangerous place on the face of the earth.”

In addition to the morning keynote address, the conference agenda will again feature an array of “Peacemaking Workshops” treating a variety of Peace & Justice concerns. There will be presentations on ending the Iraq occupation, the aerospace arms trade, renewable energy, immigration, Palestinian statehood, domestic violence, Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender civil rights, school anti-bullying efforts, Whiteclay, the death penalty and Nebraska political prisoner Ed Poindexter’s bid of exoneration.

Mark your calendars today for a full day of Peace & Justice activism on Saturday, October 6 in Omaha. This year’s program promises to be every bit as informative and satisfying as previous years. Both Nebraskans for Peace and the UNO School of Social Work hope to see you there.

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