Trident - the perspective from inside a police cell

"The base goes - we go" is the simple message I have to the policemen after they arrested me at 7 this morning for breach of the peace. More specifically for superglueing my hands to someone else's hands inside a plastic tube and then lying down in the road outside the north gate of Faslane nuclear naval base in Scotland to stop the workers getting in for shift change.
A little extreme some may say. Good times I say. Especially when a group of at least 50 students can co-ordinate themselves to blockade 5 locations simultaneously at 6.30am.

To me it is a clear and simple choice when it comes to Trident - No Thank You! I realise it is supposed to act as a deterrent and as protection against 'rogue states' etc etc. But to me there is just no reason good enough for them to be there because:
1) The renewal of Trident (just the renewal) is currently set to cost £25 billion money that could be spend on things like
- Providing 120,000 newly qualified nurses every year for the next ten years.
- Providing 60,000 newly-qualified teachers every year for the next twenty years.
- Providing 100,000 extra firefighters every year for the next ten years.
- Protecting 900 million acres of rainforest.
- Abolishing top-up fees for those at uni!
- Getting rid of a chunk of world debt/poverty
etc etc
2) If you have ever been to the Faslane or Couplort base you will know how much of a concrete and barbed wire monstrosity it is, especially in a setting as beautiful as the shores of Loch Long and Gareloch.
3) The man power, technology, time and money it takes to police and protect not just the bases but the surrounding area and the convoy that brings up new nuclear warheads from Burghfield is extortionate.
4) Having nukes creates massive distrust between us and other countries - particularly when the nuclear submarines haves names such as HMS Vengance,
5) We, as the voters and citizens of this country have no power or say over what the instructions are from the PM to the naval commander (when each new PM comes into power they write a letter on how to react in the event of a nuclear attack which is then sealed and given to the commander to open without anyone else seeing). Not very democratic I say.
6) Far from being a deterrent some may argue that a stockpile of nuclear warheads is more of a target.

Ok so I can;t think of anymore right now and in all honesty staring at the baby pink walls and blood red floor (calming colours I'm told) of my cell having eaten something that was supposed to pass for veg curry is not that conducive to the formation of a cogent argument. In all fairness they've been pretty good to us. We all joked and laughed while we were waiting to be processed (still heavily restrained of course - there are sum suspiciously finger-shaped bruises appearing), I am in a cell with 2 other offender from our group and they have fed and watered us as well as can be expected for "criminals".

It is a shame though - being here I miss the last 2 days of the Students Against Trident (Strident) summer camp - a series of workshops on anything from the NHS to Palestine to renewable energy to how to incorporate circus into blockading. It has been amazing to be able to camp in the woods eating lush home-cooked food right opposite the beach, the lock and rolling hills. I have learnt so much over the past few says - how to play various samba instruments, how to consensus decision make in a group of 120 and what happens when you get arrested. Moreover I've made some amazing friends from universities all over the country.

Ok so my allocated paper is running out and my "West Dunbartonshire community Safety Partnership" pencil is wearing down and I want to get back to banging samba rhythms on the walls with my feet in time with the inmates in the 3 cells next to ours (full of more of us rebellious students). Later people.