Popcorn and beans, depleted uranium and Raytheon

By Brenda Norrell

In Tucson, peace vigils expose the most censored issues in the world, including the United States use of drones for random assassinations, drones which are killing civilians in mass. The United States use of depleted uranium and radioactive weapons ranks among the top most censored issues in the world.

These vigils have exposed the role of Fort Huachuca Army Intelligence Center in southern Arizona in Abu Ghraib torture and the production of the School of Americas torture manuals used in Central and South America.

Besides being the hub of the US Border Patrol, whose agents target with abuse Indigenous Peoples and all people of color, Tucson is home to Raytheon Missiles. Raytheon is a war profiteer with a manufacturing plant on the Navajo Nation's commercial farm, where popcorn and beans are grown.

While maintaining peace vigils in Tucson, Felice and Jack Cohen publish the Nuke Resister. The current peace vigils expose Davis Monthan Airforce Base and Raytheon Missiles.

"Air National Guard troops at Davis-Monthan AFB are deeply involved in the rapidly developing phenomena of robotic warfare, remotely piloting UAV's (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) that are firing Hellfire missiles and killing more civilians than targeted ‘terrorists' in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan," Nuke Resister states.

"A-10 warplanes that train out of Davis-Monthan AFB are responsible for the vast majority of radioactive ammunition - estimated at well over 400 tons - used in Iraq since 1991. The Guardian newspaper in Britain recently reported on an Iraqi study that confirms Iraq is littered with high levels of nuclear and dioxin contamination, including depleted uranium, resulting in greater rates of cancer and birth defects near sites. See http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/22/iraq-nuclear-contaminated-sites

"And while the Pentagon continues to deny any risk from depleted uranium weapons and thus refuses to help Iraq locate and decontaminate affected areas, the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons reported this winter that, ‘It has emerged that the United States is seeking alternatives to depleted uranium for the future development and production of medium caliber bullets for its armed forces...' and that while the military procurement agency is ‘not willing to single out a single reason for the policy change, [it] indicated that environmental considerations were a factor...'
See http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/307.html

Raytheon Peacemakers demonstrate against war and those who profit from it. Raytheon Missile Systems is the most profitable division of the war profiteer. With its headquarters and largest factory in Tucson, Raytheon Missile Systems employs about 12,000 of our Southern Arizona friends and neighbors, Nuclear Resister reports.

For more than a decade, Raytheon has hailed Tucson as the Missile Technology Capital of the World - a center for lethal innovation and cutting-edge killing for profit. From Standard Missiles to Star Wars "kill vehicles", Mavericks and AMRAAMs, microwave crowd control beams and pilotless drones, cluster bombs and cruise missiles - it's all made here, some even sold to friends and foes of friends alike.

Popcorn, beans and Raytheon Missiles
The Navajo Nation continues to have a Raytheon Missiles manufacturing plant on its commercial farm, Navajo Agricultural Products Industries, NAPI, south of Farmington, N.M, on Navajo land in northwest New Mexico.On NAPI land, where commercial food products are grown for major companies, NAPI has a Raytheon Missile plant.

This was one of the issues censored by Indian Country Today before I was terminated as a longtime staff reporter in 2006. Indian Country Today forbid me from writing about the Raytheon Missile factory on NAPI, even researching this, while NAPI was negotiating a food trade deal with Cuba. The question remains as to what is being manufactured by Raytheon Missiles and if any toxins are produced which contaminate NAPI farmland, where food is grown that ends up on grocery shelves.

This was one of many issues censored by Indian Country Today. Censored News was created as a result of this censorship.

Raytheon continues as a war profiteer, producing weapons for profit to kill humanity, including Indigenous Peoples.

When Navajo Nation council delegates vote on the Raytheon Missiles factory lease, where is the practice of the Navajo Beauty Way, the way of life of living in beauty and harmony with all Created things?

Schedule for Tucson Peace Vigils:

http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2010/06/tucson-peace-vigils-drones-depleted.html

Photo: US drone used along US/Mexico border.