When: Monday, September 15, 2014, from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. (Vigil During AFA $310 per plate banquet)
Where: Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, 201 Waterfront St., National Harbor, MD 20745. We will meet for the vigil at the corner of Waterfront St. and St. George Blvd., directly across from the Gaylord National Resort.
Sponsored by: Dorothy Day Catholic Worker
For more info contact: Art Laffin, 202-360-6416
War should always scandalize the faithful…Think of the children starving in refugee camps, these are the fruits of war. And then think of the great dining rooms, of the parties held by those who control the arms industry, who produce weapons. Compare a sick, starving child in a refugee camp with the big parties, the good life led by the masters of the arms trade.
Pope Francis
February 25, 2014, Mass at the Vatican’s Santa Marta Chapel
This is an invitation to please join with the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, with peacemakers from Pax Christi Metro D.C.- Baltimore and other groups to protest the annual Air Force Association(AFA) “Arms Bazaar.” Please come and bring a friend. And please spread the word and post this wherever you can.
The U.S. power structure, backed by weapons contractors participating in the AFA Arms Bazaar, is engaged in direct military intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan, continues its military support for the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, threatens Russia over its involvement in the Ukraine, proceeds with its military “pivot” in the Asia-Pacific to contain and threaten China, and wages unrelenting killer drone attacks in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. The Pentagon is also increasingly militarizing its police forces at home. We urgently need, more than ever, to nonviolently resist all war and violence–from Iraq, Afghanistan and Gaza to Ferguson, NYC and D.C., and witness for peace and justice. Together, let us continue to do all we can to establish the Beloved Community and create a world free of nuclear and conventional weapons, war, racial hatred and oppression.
Please join this important vigil and say YES to Life and a resounding NO to the war profiteers. We must not let this Arms Bazaar go unaddressed.
At a Glance
Air and Space Conference and Technology Exposition (From the Air Force Association Web Site)
If your focus is the defense or aerospace industries… if you are doing or want to do business with the Air Force, its members or its prime contractors… this is the place to be!
The Air Force Association’s Annual Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition is the premier event for defense focused aerospace industry. Get face to face with key decision makers from the US as well as international Air Forces, DoD, Congress and the industry giants who need the products and services your company provides.
These folks assemble yearly at AFA’s AIR & SPACE CONFERENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EXPOSITION to discuss hot topics, the future of airpower, and the latest technology advancements. Make sure you are there – your competitors surely will be.
Top shelf attendees expect top shelf speakers and Air & Space delivers just that. The speaker lists for recent events have included the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Why Protest?
The Air Force and some 150 arms contractors taking part in the AFA Air & Space Conference and Technology Expo, what we call an “Arms Bazaar,” have played a prominent role in U.S. warmaking. These arms contractors, like Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon are profiting from war and literally are making a killing! But that’s not all. The Air Force and numerous arms dealers are committed to U.S. nuclear/military superiority and militarizing and controlling space.
The U.S. continues to be the preeminent military superpower in the world and, along with Russia, a leading arms dealer. Foreign military sales by the U.S. reached an estimated $60 billion in fiscal 2012. Worldwide weapons sales by the United States tripled in 2011, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service. U.S. arms sales to both developed and developing nations reached $66.3 billion in 2011, up from $21.4 billion in 2010.
According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report issued this spring, the costs of the Pentagon’s major weapons systems have ballooned nearly half a trillion dollars over their initial price tags and some 80 programs have averaged schedule delays of more than two years. The U.S. military’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is the costliest ever weapons system. The GAO has said the cost per plane has risen to $135 million per plane, and the program overall will cost taxpayers around $400 billion. The Pentagon has ordered 2,457 planes overall.
From September 15-17, the AFA will host more than 45 forums that will address how the U.S. can refine its warmaking and remain the preeminent military superpower on earth and in space. Secretary of Defense(War) Chuck Hagel is among the featured speakers. During the three days, there are two major banquets. On September 15, as the AFA holds a $310 per plate banquet honoring outstanding airmen, a nonviolent vigil will be held outside the Gaylord National Resort to decry this scandalous Arms Bazaar.
Who will give voice to the victims who have suffered and died in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere as a direct result of U.S. warmaking, and weapons, like the Drone ”Predator” and “Reaper” war planes, produced by the arms contractors participating in the Arms Bazaar? In the name of God who calls us to love and not to kill, it’s time to end this Arms Bazaar! It’s time to repent of U.S. war crimes and make reparations to all victims of U.S. warmaking. It’s time to bring all the war money home, alleviate poverty, meet urgent human needs, and save our environment. It’s time to end construction of a new U.S.-backed naval base on Jeju Island in S. Korea that will serve as a U.S. military outpost to threaten and contain China. It’s time to disarm and eliminate all weapons–from chemical and nuclear weapons to killer drones, end all U.S. military intervention and abolish war. It’s time to end systemic racist violence and the militarization of the police at home. It’s time to practice nonviolence. Please join this important vigil, and say Yes to Life and a resounding No to the war profiteers.
Directions from Downtown D.C., Parking and Meeting Place
Take 395 South (off of New York Ave. or Constitution Ave. at 9th St. NW) Merge onto 295 South via exit on left (crossing into Maryland) – 7.4 miles. Take the exit toward National Harbor. Take ramp to National Harbor Blvd. Bear left on National Harbor Blvd. and go two blocks to St. George Blvd. Make a right on St. George Blvd. Go to one block before Waterfront St. and look for street meter parking. Also St. George Parking Garage is on right in case you can’t find street parking (just past the cross street called Mariner Passage). The garage is one block before Waterfront St., where the Gaylord National Resort is located. We will meet for the vigil at the corner of Waterfront St. and St. George Blvd. on the sidewalk in front of the Gaylord National Resort
If you are coming from Maryland or Virginia use Map Quest for the most precise route to the Gaylord.
Public Transportation
If you would like to use public transportation, take the Green Line to Branch Ave. Get off at Branch Ave. and take the NH1 National Harbor bus line. This bus takes you to the corner of St. George Blvd. and Waterfront St. across from the Gaylord National Resort. Call tel:202-637-7000 and select “ride guide” for best directions. Or go WMATA web site.
