[Feb 23] NO To NEW TRIDENT launches Wool against Weapons(Fwd)

[아름드리 나무]

(Fwd by Leonard Eiger) Seeing Pink??? Don't worry; The NO To NEW  TRIDENT campaign is launching with Wool against  Weapons, a project in partnership with our colleagues    in the United Kingdom.  Check it out an join the fun!!!

 

 

Seeing PINK???  Don't try to adjust your screen's color! And no, we at the NO To NEW TRIDENT campaign haven't gone off the deep end.  Well yes, we've definitely jumped right in (chest deep) some choppy waters.  After all, it's no small task trying to defund a wasteful, destabilizing $100 billion nuclear weapons project.  We are, however, up to the task, and Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action is moving forward to build a movement to scrap New Trident.

There has been no public discussion or debate about the need for a new generation of ballistic missile submarines.  The government has simply said that we need to maintain our strategic nuclear deterrent; it's as simply as that (don't they wish???). So the Navy and corporate "defense" contractors are currently in the research and development phase of the project to build 12 replacement subs. There is still time and a number of opportunities to chip away at this project, and ultimately scrap it altogether, refocusing that $100 billion on human needs - including health care, education and crumbling infrastructure.

We are creating many opportunities for you to get involved in this important work. Since we're launching in the middle of Winter, our thoughts turned to warm, wooly things. We thought it would be fun to work with our colleagues over in the United Kingdom who are working to scrap their government's plans to build its own new fleet of Tridents, which will carry US-built Trident ballistic missiles. That's where Wool against Weapons comes in.  

Our colleagues in the United Kingdom have devised a wonderful and crazy plan to stage a nonviolent direct action protest involving 7 miles of pink wool.  That's right 7 (SEVEN) miles!!!!!


 

Wool against Weapons is a project to draw people’s attention and get them active against the replacement of Trident in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

 

Peace activist and knitter Jaine Rose hatched a plan with Angie Zelter from Action AWE (a UK based grassroots peace campaign dedicated to banning nuclear weapons) to get a huge crowd of knitters and crocheters together to knit a massive knitted Peace Scarf to run between the Women’s Peace Camp at the nuclear weapons facilities at Aldermaston and Burghfield in Berkshire. The project is supported by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).

It will be one big old woolly protest against the U.K’s ongoing involvement with nuclear weapons, and the money their Government is intending to spend in 2016. Then on August 9, 2014 people will unroll this beautiful (7 mile long) woolly scarf, and have a day of fun and funky guerrilla wool-fare as we yarn bomb the route between these two sites.

After the work is done, the scarf will be taken down and re-purposed in to blankets for local hospices, and refugees in war zones. Nothing wasted!!!  

NO To NEW TRIDENT is participating in Wool against Weapons. We want to send a section of scarf to be joined with theirs in solidarity and common cause. Before we ship our section of the scarf to the UK we plan to use it here in some creative (and subversive) ways to make a serious statement about our government's plans to spend $100 billion on a useless nuclear weapons system.

We invite knitters across the country to participate in Wool against Weapons. And what better time to get started than this cold and snowy (depending on where you live) time of year. Norman Rockwell has nothing on this - a warm fire, a cup of tea, and knitting (or crocheting) away in the rocking chair.

You don't have to be a knitter to get involved.  You can spin or dye wool for the project.  You can buy some wool for a knitter to use.  You can share information about the project with family, friends, co-workers, social organizations and beyond. 

Here are all the details to get started.

You can knit or crochet 1 unit (or more if you are able) that will then be put together with other units to build the scarf.

Knitting & crocheting dimensions: 1 unit = 39.5" long x 23.5" wide (100cm long x 60cm wide)

You can use any stitch and any wool.  Suggestion - approx. 80 - 90 stitches wide - dk size 7 needles/4.5mm with approx. 100 rows - use a tape measure, it really varies! crochet dk chain approx 75 st
 

You can use any color of pink.



Send your finished unit(s) to:

Wool against Weapons
c/o Leonard Eiger
PO Box 1115
North Bend WA  98045

All of this information, as well as regular updates, is posted at the "Wool against Weapons" page at NO To NEW TRIDENT.  Check it out an bookmark it.

Click here to see photos of some of the wonderful pieces submitted by knitters in the UK. We invite you to submit digital photos of your pieces before sending them off.  We will share them on a special page.  Email your photos to subversivepeacemaking@gmail.com. You can also post them at our Facebook page at NO To NEW TRIDENT. And, you can email questions to me (Leonard Eiger) at this same address.

Wool against Weapons website (UK) 

We can make a difference, and it IS possible to stop New Trident.  It will, however, take a huge groundswell of support for our effort.  Spread the word, get involved; stay tuned for the next stages of our work to say NO To NEW TRIDENT and YES to LIFE!

With Warm & Wooly Thanks to All,

Leonard