From: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com (abolition-usa-digest) To: abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: abolition-usa-digest V1 #10 Reply-To: abolition-usa-digest Sender: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk abolition-usa-digest Tuesday, August 18 1998 Volume 01 : Number 010 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1998 08:58:02 -0700 From: nukeresister@igc.org (Jack & Felice Cohen-Joppa) Subject: (abolition-usa) Dan & Sachio out of prison Dear Friends, This word from Colorado: To everyone's suprise Dan and Sachio were released on a PR bond and will be staying in Colorado Springs until trial, but will be able to visit their respective homes with approval of the pretrial caseworker... A grand jury is being empaneled to investigate and the charges will likely be increased at a September 3rd hearing. Peace, Felice P.S. Anyone who wants a copy of the upcoming Nuclear Resister, due out at the end of the month, which will include the story of this and LOTS of other Hiroshima & Nagasaki actions and more, send a snail mail address and we'll get one to you. There are currently more than 30 people in prison for School of the Americas and anti-nuke actions... - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1998 11:22:27 +0100 From: "Sally Light" Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) Dan & Sachio out of prison Please send Nuclear Resister to: Sally Light, 825 Kains Ave., #H, Albany, CA 94607. Thanks, Sally Light (I work for Tri-Valley CAREs in Livermore, CA, as its Nuclear Weapons & Waste Program Analyst). - ---------- > From: Jack & Felice Cohen-Joppa > To: abolition-usa@lists.xmission.com > Subject: (abolition-usa) Dan & Sachio out of prison > Date: Thursday, August 13, 1998 4:58 PM > > Dear Friends, > > This word from Colorado: > > To everyone's suprise Dan and Sachio were released on a PR bond and will > be staying in Colorado Springs until trial, but will be able to visit > their respective homes with approval of the pretrial caseworker... A > grand jury is being empaneled to investigate and the charges will likely > be increased at a September 3rd hearing. > > Peace, > Felice > > P.S. Anyone who wants a copy of the upcoming Nuclear Resister, due out at > the end of the month, which will include the story of this and LOTS of > other Hiroshima & Nagasaki actions and more, send a snail mail address and > we'll get one to you. There are currently more than 30 people in prison > for School of the Americas and anti-nuke actions... > > > > - > To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" > with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. > For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send > "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1998 14:06:51 -0700 (PDT) From: Tracy Moavero Subject: (abolition-usa) vermont info Alice, Don't know if you've seen this Tracy Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 13:08:34 -0700 (PDT) To: nirsnet@igc.apc.org From: Michael Mariotte Subject: August Actions/New England Nuclear Free New England Campaign: Rally, Action Camp, Workshops The Nuclear Free New England Campaign is gaining momentum. Summer highlights include a mass rally on August 22 in Brattleboro, VT and the Northeast Action Camp in nearby Dummerston from August 21-27, including nonviolent direct action at Vermont Yankee August 27. We expect these to be among the largest anti-nuclear events of the past decade and we hope to see you there! RALLY AUGUST 22 Confirmed speakers at the August 22 rally on the Brattleboro Commons include: Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield, from Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. David Dellinger, long-time nonviolence activist and Chicago 7 alumnus. Grace Paley, noted author and activist Ed Smeloff, former Chairman of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, now at the PACE Energy Project Harvey Wasserman, author, activist and senior advisor to Greenpeace Karl Grossman, author of The Wrong Stuff, Power Crazy, and others; video producer The Panther Players, Vermont's comedy/political radio troupe goes live... Dr. Ernest Sternglass, well-known radiation scientist Debby Katz, President, Citizens Awareness Network Michael Mariotte, Executive Director, NIRS Maria Mendez, Sierra Blanca Legal Defense Fund Dave Rapaport, Executive Director, Vermont PIRG Michael Colby, Executive Director, Food & Water Joseph Gainza, VT Nuclear Weapons March And Waffles The Clown, musicians, and much more! ACTION CAMP WORKSHOPS This is a PARTIAL list of workshops scheduled for the Action Camp. This list is not complete--there are many more not listed here--and is subject to change. A more complete list is posted on NIRS' website (www.nirs.org). Utility Restructuring Strategy Session (Sunday, August 23) Harvey Wasserman, Ed Smeloff, Bob Backus, Michael Daley, Mary Lampert, and more... Organizing Electric Co-ops Roy Morrison, Bob Walker, Jennifer Gutshall Nonviolence for Social Change David Dellinger, Joanne Sheehan, War Resisters League Nuclear Power 101 Dave Lochbaum, Union of Concerned Scientists; Paul Gunter, NIRS; Rosemary Bassilakis, CAN Guerilla Theater and Banner Making (August 25) Bread & Puppet Theatre Radiological Monitoring & Weather Sam Miller, Linda Downing Women and the Wars of Contamination Debby Katz, Rosemary Bassilakis, Monica Rhodes Three Mile Island Consequences Mary Osborne Leadership Development Skills Diane Russell, Institute for Conservation Leadership Media Training Linda Pentz, Safe Energy Communication Council Researching Your Local Nuke & Engaging the NRC Jim Riccio, Critical Mass; Jonathan Block, attorney. Health Investigations and Public Participation Diane Quigley and Seth Tuler, Childhood Cancer Research Institute Nuclear Waste 101-"Low-Level"/102-High Level Diane D'Arrigo, Mary Olson, NIRS Beating the Texas-Vermont-Maine Compact Diane D'Arrigo, Maria Mendez Canvassing 101 Kim Medeiros, Jennifer Gutshall, Dave Kotker DIRECT ACTION On Thursday, August 27, there will be a nonviolent direct action at the Vermont Yankee reactor. Participants will identify the scene of the crime and will serve a citizens' warrant. Nonviolence training is required for arrest participants and will be provided at the camp. For more information on the August 22 Brattleboro rally, contact Nuclear Information and Resource Service at 202-328-0002, nirsnet@igc.org For details/preregistration/logistics on the Action Camp and August 27 civil disobedience at Vermont Yankee, contact Citizens Awareness Network at 413-339-5781, can@shaysnet.com - --------------8237667F74BD959B99A26FA4-- ****************************************** Tracy Moavero Peace Action International Office 866 UN Plaza, Room 4053 New York, NY 10017-1822 USA Tel.: +1-212-750-5795 Fax: +1-212-750-5849 Email: paintl@igc.apc.org Web: www.webcom.com/peaceact Peace Action is a member of the International Peace Bureau & Abolition 2000: A Global Network for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 14:25:00 -0400 From: Norm Cohen Subject: (abolition-usa) tmi 20th anniversary Norm Cohen wrote: > from: Norm Cohen, Coalition for Peace & Justice/UNPLUG Salem Campaign > to: abolition usa activists who work on nuke power & nuke weapon > production: > > I understand that march 28th, 1999 is the 20th anniversary of the tmi > debacle & I was wondering what is being planned or considered for that > date. What I would like to see is one big event at 3 mile that date & > nationally coordinated actions on the 26/27th at nuke power & nuke weapon > production sites nationwide. Are we looking to do a repeat of the no-nukes > concert, even if smaller? has anyone talked to jackson browne, bonnie > raitt, bruce, etc, the performers from that concert? Is there > consideration of setting up an ad hoc national coordinating committee for > this anniversary? > I'm not in all the loops, so if these ideas are already being worked > on, great. If not - who is planning what, what are your reactions to these > ideas, what should the no-nuke community be doing? > And good luck to CAN and their encampment & protest event coming up > next week. > > Peace > Norm Cohen > Executive Director > Coalition for Peace & Justice > PO Box 2344, Cape May NJ 08204 > 609-886-7988 > South Jersey Coordinator, UNPLUG Salem Campaign. - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 15:12:00 EDT From: Subject: Fwd: (abolition-usa) Dan & Sachio out of prison This is a multi-part message in MIME format. - --part0_903121920_boundary Content-ID: <0_903121920@inet_out.mail.aol.com.1> Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII I think Amanda is talking about a post from the Nuclear Resister, not one that I sent. My hunch is that this list is small enough that (I hope and pray) one of you can get back to her. Peace, David - --part0_903121920_boundary Content-ID: <0_903121920@inet_out.mail.aol.com.2> Content-type: message/rfc822 Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Content-disposition: inline From: LeftyGyrl@aol.com Return-path: To: DavidMcR@aol.com Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) Dan & Sachio out of prison Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 11:42:03 EDT Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit I'd like to get a copy of that newsletter you were talking about.... Here's my address (try not to stalk me, though I know it'll be difficult) Amanda Highfield 87 Friendly rd. Hicksville, NY 11801 - --part0_903121920_boundary-- - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 20:28:48 -0400 From: Peace through Reason Subject: (abolition-usa) Titan Explosion photos website http://www.flatoday.com/space/explore/uselv/titan/a20.htm Titan IV-A rocket explosion photos _______________________________________________________________________ * Peace Through Reason - http://prop1.org - Convert the War Machines! * _______________________________________________________________________ - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 20:22:08 -0700 (PDT) From: Nevada Desert Experience Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) vermont info Dear Tracy, August 14, 1998 Looks like a great event. You must be expecting hundreds. Please share with abolition usa how it goes next week. We had about 70 folks at the Nevada Test Site for our annual August Desert Witness, Aug. 6-9. Sincerely, David Buer, ofm Nevada Desert Experience - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1998 11:24:13 -0400 From: "Ross Wilcock" Subject: RE: (abolition-usa) NucNews: Titan Explosion and Cassini (Kaku quotes) ABC 8/13/98 Do we have any assurance that the satellite in question here was not powered by Pu238 power packs? Did what fell into the sea include any such material? Ross Wilcock - -----Original Message----- From: owner-abolition-usa@lists.xmission.com [mailto:owner-abolition-usa@lists.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Peace through Reason Sent: Thursday, August 13, 1998 3:41 PM To: abolition-usa@lists.xmission.com; nukenet@envirolink.org Subject: (abolition-usa) NucNews: Titan Explosion and Cassini (Kaku quotes) ABC 8/13/98 http://www.abcnews.com/sections/science/DailyNews/rocket980812.html An unmanned Titan IV-A rocket carrying an estimated $1 billion government payload explodes seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral this morning. (Duffin McGee/Reuters) $1 Billion Satellite Destroyed Rocket Explodes at Launch By Michael J. Martinez ABCNEWS.com Aug. 12 - U.S. Air Force officials remain baffled after an unmanned Titan IV-A rocket exploded 40 seconds into flight this morning. No one was injured, but the $1 billion spy satellite payload was lost. The Titan IV is the same type of rocket that lifted the NASA's Cassini space probe into orbit last October, despite protests that an explosion like today's could have scattered the 72 pounds of plutonium aboard Cassini over a wide area. On board today's rocket was a secret payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, a once-secret arm of the U.S. intelligence community charged with deploying spy satellites. The lost payload, which contained no radioactive substances, reportedly cost $1 billion. The Air Force did not release any other details about the payload, and a spokeswoman at the reconnaissance agency declined comment. "My initial thought is, 'we're hurt.' This is a sad day for the United States Air Force," Brigadier General Randy Starbuck told a news conference after the blast. Destruction Over the Atlantic Starbuck said there had been no indication of any problem until the rocket pitched over just before the blast. Videotape of the brief flight showed the Titan's nose apparently pitching downward just before the rocket's self-destruct program activated. "Oh, no," the launch commentator said as the rocket exploded. "It appears we've had a malfunction." According to the spokeswoman, mission control sent its own destruction commands to the rocket two seconds after the first signs of trouble in order to be sure the rocket was completely destroyed and would not harm anyone. The rocket, launched at 7:30 a.m. EDT, blew up at 20,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean. To protect populated areas, Titans aren't launched unless winds are blowing away from the coast, ensuring that any debris or fumes from an explosion won't reach land. The Air Force says all of the debris fell into the ocean. Starbuck warned anyone who came across debris from the rocket or its ultra-secret cargo to keep away. The sound of the explosion, heard as two separate booms, set off car alarms as far away as Cocoa Beach, 10 miles away. Journalists and observers near the launch site were immediately hustled onto buses and evacuated after the explosion. Plagued by Problems The mission was originally scheduled for late July, but was postponed so workers could repair torn insulation on the rocket's second stage. Today's launch was also delayed more than an hour due to fueling problems. The Air Force says it has no idea what happened, but that a panel of investigators will be appointed to look into the incident. The 204-foot-long, 1,900-pound Titan IV-A is powered by two solid-fuel rocket boosters and first- and second-stage liquid-fuel engines. Depending on its configuration, the Titan IV rocket costs anywhere from $177 million to $230 million. The rocket, according to NASA figures, has a 5 percent failure rate, but remains the unmanned rocket of choice for deep-space probes and heavy payloads due to its power. Previous Questions The Titan IV failure rate came into play last year, when concerns arose during preparations for the launch of the Cassini space probe, designed to study Saturn and its moons. Florida residents and environmentalists feared the plutonium in Cassini's batteries could contaminate residential areas if the spacecraft exploded during launch. According to NASA, plutonium is the only viable way to power deep-space probes, which operate too far away from the sun to tap solar energy. Despite the protests, Cassini was successfully launched on Oct. 15, 1997. It recently gained speed from the gravity of Venus, and is now heading around the Sun. It is expected to pass within 500 miles of Earth some time next year, and will reach Saturn in 2004. On Aug. 2, 1993, another Titan IV mission, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and carrying another secret government payload, failed due to a problem with one of its solid rocket motors. A problem with similar solid rocket motors aboard the shuttle Challenger led to the shuttle's destruction in 1986. The reconnaissance agency's last successful launch, also using a Titan IV, was on May 8. The rocket that exploded today was the last of that particular model scheduled for launch. The Air Force introduced last year an improved version of therocket. What If This Had Been Cassini? The Cassini mission to Saturn was one of the most unpopular missions in the history of NASA, not because of the destination, but because of the plutonium power cells on board the probe. Members of the scientific community, Florida residents and environmentalists all criticized the probe's use of deadly nuclear material, and were concerned about the Titan IV's poor safety record. "The failure rate of any rocket is anywhere between 1-in-70 and 1-in-100," says Michio Kaku, a theoretical physicist at New York's City University. "With the Titan IV, it's about 1-in-20. Needless to say, the bugs have not been ironed out." Kaku and other Cassini opponents thought NASA was taking too big a risk with the Titan IV, which launched Cassini successfully on Oct. 15, 1997. The damage estimates from a potential Titan-Cassini explosion ranged from 120 deaths over 50 years to hundreds of thousands of deaths relatively quickly, all due to radiation exposure. Kaku says he hopes today's explosion makes NASA and the Air Force confront the risks of using the Titan IV. "There are some bureaucrats who want to play Russian roulette with these rockets," Kaku says. "Bureaucrats can't repeal the laws of physics." * Peace Through Reason - http://prop1.org - Convert the War Machines! * - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 06:51:09 -0400 From: Peace through Reason Subject: (abolition-usa) Re: Pu238 on Titan? A very good question. I thought it was a little fishy the way they whisked all their military personnel out of there asap, and now they've cordoned off a huge section of the sea that's off-limits while they look for debris. Not that that would do much good.... Ellen Thomas At 11:24 AM 8/15/98 -0400, Ross Wilcock wrote: > >Do we have any assurance that the satellite in question here was not powered >by Pu238 power packs? >Did what fell into the sea include any such material? > _______________________________________________________________________ * Peace Through Reason - http://prop1.org - Convert the War Machines! * _______________________________________________________________________ - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 20:59:46 -0700 (PDT) From: Loring Wirbel Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) Re: Pu238 on Titan? Ellen and List: While I would not TOTALLY discount the possibility of Pu power sources for Advanced Vortex, the bulk of studies done by Federation of American Scientists, Jeff Richelson, and others have shown pretty conclusively that no U.S. spy satellites presently use a radioactive power source or an RTG. There were two reasons the area off Cocoa Beach/Canaveral was cordoned off: short-term, there was a real toxic threat from human handling of rocket-fuel-tainted parts. Longer term (and perhaps more important in the military's eyes), the way that the 320-foot antenna of Advanced Vortex wraps around the Inertial Upper Stage in an automatically-unfurlable helix umbrella configuration, is considered one of the most highly classified pieces of information in the U.S. government. The Pentagon doesn't want to risk citizens seeing even tiny pieces of what Vortex looks like. Loring Wirbel PPJPC/CPIS Colorado Springs lwirbel@igc.apc.org - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1998 12:20:42 -0400 From: Peter Weiss Subject: (abolition-usa) [Fwd: FYI: Sub-Continent Requires 'Nuclear Education'] This is a multi-part message in MIME format. - --------------447F150B87E6D1740F2F0B71 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit - --------------447F150B87E6D1740F2F0B71 Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline >From stree Wed Aug 12 11:45:31 1998 Return-Path: Received: from pppe-68.igc.org (stree@pppe-68.igc.org) by igc3.igc.apc.org (8.8.8/8.8.8) with SMTP id LAA02841; Wed, 12 Aug 1998 11:45:21 -0700 (PDT) Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 11:45:21 -0700 (PDT) Message-Id: <2.2.16.19980812144537.5d9ff286@pop.igc.org> X-Sender: stree@pop.igc.org X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Pro Version 2.2 (16) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To: fdove@worldcom.nl, mraskin@igc.org, petweiss@igc.org, PBENNIS@compuserve.com From: Sanho Tree Subject: FYI: Sub-Continent Requires 'Nuclear Education' DISARMAMENT-SOUTH ASIA: Sub-Continent Requires 'Nuclear Education' By IPS Correspondents LONDON, Aug 7, 1998 (IPS) - In an editorial in this week's British Medical Journal, Professor Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta from the Aga Khan University in Pakistan laments the growth of the nuclear arms race in the sub-continent. ''The enormous costs of nuclear weapons must be weighed against the abysmal state of human development and health in South Asia,'' he says. Professor Bhutta, who is head of paediatrics and child health at the University, notes that the region is home to over half of all the malnourished children in the world. In view of the high infant mortality and a lack of basic facilities for health and education, he finds the diversion of scarce economic resources to weapons of mass destruction incongruous, he writes in the current issue of the prestigious medical weekly, published Friday. Professor Bhutta suggests that the only way to ensure that a nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan never occurs is to educate the population in its true horrors and the human costs that such a programme could entail. He condemns the ''widespread euphoria and jingoism witnessed in the streets of Delhi and Islamabad'' in the days following the nuclear tests last May. However, he says that in recent weeks this has given way to ''introspection and the beginnings of a real debate on the implications of a nuclear arms race in the subcontinent''. While ''the genie of nuclear capability in both countries has been well and truly let out,'' he says, this must not be allowed to lead to a nuclear arms build up. Bhutta gives ''several compelling reasons why such a programme in the subcontinent may not serve as a deterrent to war but greatly enhance its risks and costs''. Drawing any analogy with the US and USSR is ''misguided'', he insists, as neither India nor Pakistan have the technology or resources to put in place safeguards and early warning systems. ''Even if such fail safe systems were available, contiguous borders and missile delivery times of under 10 minutes, coupled with fragile democracies and volatile political systems make the effectiveness of such systems highly questionable.'' He notes that the Cold War was ''fraught with numerous instances of near miss accidents'' and despite assurances there has bee ''significant radiation leakage'' from accidents involving nuclear weapons and production facilities in the West. He says it is ''debatable if the fragile economies of India and Pakistan could sustain better weapons control and monitoring systems''. But more important than this is the cost of a weapons programme for countries with poor and inadequate health systems. Of every 1,0000 children born in these countries, at least 80 will not survive for one year while up to 33 per cent of all newborn infants are of low birth weight. Under these circumstances the diversion of scarce resources into weapons production is unacceptable. ''Since the nuclear explosions, India's defence budget has already been increased by 10 per cent and Pakistan has imposed a 10 per cent tax surcharge to meet increasing defence needs,'' he points out. ''These allocations have led to an unfortunate but predictable reduction in the existing meagre allocations to health and education.'' Bhutta notes that few of the people who celebrated in the streets following the explosions really understand the horrors of nuclear war. He recalls that according to calculations made over 35 years ago, the impact of a 20 megaton ground burst nuclear device on Boston in the US would kill 2.1 million people immediately, while a further 500,000 would be at risk of dying from their injuries. ''With large urban population living in highly inflammable and flimsy shanty towns, the casualty rates in comparable cities of India and Pakistan would inevitably be much higher.'' It is estimated that an exchange of even much smaller 20 kiloton bombs would cause the immediate death of 1.2 million people. ''Neither side would be immune to the effects of even a limited nuclear exchange: a truly mutually assured destruction.'' The only way to ensure that this does not happen, says Bhutta, ''is by educating the populace and opinion leaders to the true horrors of nuclear conflict and the human costs of embarking on an expensive and futile programme of weapons building''. He points out that ''in a subcontinent teetering on the brink of a nuclear abyss'' rapprochement between India and Pakistan is possible only through ''pragmatic confidence building measures'' and ''by publicising the views of the many proponents of peace on both sides of the border''. He urges politicians in both countries ''asserting their right to rub shoulders with global nuclear superpowers'' to understand that ''true nuclear capability only comes with the necessary nuclear responsibility a responsibility to their impoverished, destitute and sick populations''. Nor are the superpowers blameless. They can hold no high moral ground ''with their continued nuclear weapons programmes and pitifully slow disarmament process''. He says that ''surely some of the blame for recent events in south Asia lies at their doorstep.'' In view of their failure to set a proper example, he insists, ''it is imperative that international sanctions against India and Pakistan do not add to the misery of millions of children and poor people in the subcontinent, who will undoubtedly bear the brunt of such measures.'' (END/IPS/JMP/RJ/98) ******************************************************************* HOME: WORK: Sanho Tree Institute for Policy Studies 1801 16th St., NW, #505 733 15th St., NW, #1020 Washington, DC 20009-3363 Washington, DC 20005-2112 202/234-6854 (voice) 202/234-9382 ext. 266 (voice) 202/234-7952 (fax) 202/387-7915 (fax) stree@igc.apc.org www.ips-dc.org ******************************************************************* - --------------447F150B87E6D1740F2F0B71-- - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1998 13:51:36 -0700 (PDT) From: Tracy Moavero Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) vermont info David, At 08:22 PM 8/14/98 -0700, you wrote: >Dear Tracy, August 14, 1998 >Looks like a great event. You must be expecting hundreds. Please share >with abolition usa how it goes next week. We had about 70 folks at the >Nevada Test Site for our annual August Desert Witness, Aug. 6-9. > Sincerely, David Buer, ofm > Nevada Desert Experience > Congrats on the successful Desert Witness. Just to clarify, I actually am not working on the Vermont action- AFSC is. I was just passing along info. I hope AFSC sends some updates. All the best, Tracy Moavero ****************************************** Tracy Moavero Peace Action International Office 866 UN Plaza, Room 4053 New York, NY 10017-1822 USA Tel.: +1-212-750-5795 Fax: +1-212-750-5849 Email: paintl@igc.apc.org Web: www.webcom.com/peaceact Peace Action is a member of the International Peace Bureau & Abolition 2000: A Global Network for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 10:24:51 -0400 From: Peace through Reason Subject: (abolition-usa) NucNews: Utah Needs Help! Okay, folks, what grass-roots action can help these people? Isn't there something about States' rights in the Constitution? et in dc prop1@prop1.org - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ------ http://www.mercurycenter.com/premium/front/docs/themis14.htm State, Envirocare fail in bid to keep N-waste out of Utah 08/15/1998 By Joey Haws Deseret News staff writer Attempts by the state and Envirocare of Utah to keep low-level radioactive waste from going to a processing plant in Blanding have failed. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel turned down the Aug. 7 request for a temporary stay of the NRC's decision to allow the White Mesa Mill to receive, process and dispose of uranium bearing material from a nuclear weapons plant in Tonawanda, N.Y. Judge Peter B. Bloch ruled that the state's request came too late to be considered, citing the request for a stay should have been filed no later than July 23 according to federal code. The NRC granted the license amendment on June 23, allowing International Uranium Corp., owner of the White Mesa Mill, to haul the tailings across the county to Utah. While the state's request was being considered by the NRC, shipments of 25,000 cubic yards of waste continued to go to the mill. "The judge basically threw the case out on a technicality," said Bill Sinclair, director of the Utah Division of Radiation Control. Representatives for the state and IUC held a prehearing teleconference on the same day the licensing board received the state's request, but after negotiations lasted through Tuesday, the parties reported "that further negotiations would not be fruitful." Bloch's ruling only keeps the state from preventing the uranium shipment from happening. The state and the mill will go before the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel for a hearing on the case, assuming the panel decides that the state has the right to challenge the NRC decision. Sinclair said the Army Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for the cleanup of the Tonawanda site, will give the state detailed information on the contents of the waste that's on its way. "We'll just have to wait and see what happens," Sinclair said. "The Army Corps of Engineers is committed to supplying us the information we needed to know how hazardous the waste is." Sinclair expects the "information blitz" to come in by Monday. The state still has to make additional filings next week before a hearing date can be scheduled, but both the mill and the state expect it soon. IUC President Earl Hoellen said he was gratified by the ruling. Hoellen also confirmed Friday that possibly 150 tons of the uranium material have already been received at the White Mesa Mill. Hoellen said shipments are being received almost daily at the mill. Reprocessing is not expected to begin until sometime in September. _______________________________________________________________________ * Peace Through Reason - http://prop1.org - Convert the War Machines! * _______________________________________________________________________ - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 15:33:15 -0400 From: ASlater Subject: (abolition-usa) Action Alert/Renewable energy Dear Friends, Our Abolition 2000 statement recognizes that nuclear weapons and nuclear power are "inextricably linked". With India and Pakistan having gone nuclear, and North Korea threatening to do so, it is critical that alternative energy solutions be promulgated. Yet forces in the US Congress threaten to decimate even the modest efforts being made to develop safe alternatives. Please take a moment to respond to the Action Alert below. Peace, Alice Slater >X-UID: 000e5859 >Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 10:30:09 -0400 >Subject: >To: nirsnet@igc.apc.org >From: nirsnet@igc.apc.org (nirsnet@igc.apc.org) > >Hi Folks! Please take action now and distribute far and wide. > >URGENT ACTION ALERT > >August xx, 1998 > >Issue: Opponents in Congress have been trying to cut renewables >funding. Now they are pressuring the Department of Energy (DOE) >to dismantle much of the institutional base of support for renewable >energy by placing restrictions on contracts and grants. As a result of >DOE responses to this pressure, the Solar Energy Industries >Association laid off most of its staff on August 14, and a number of >other organizations may soon be forced to do the same. > >Action: Write a letter to new Department of Energy Secretary Bill >Richardson urging him to stand strong and maintain DOE support >for renewable energy organizations. > >Background: Over the past several years, renewable energy and >energy efficiency supporters have been able to rally both Democrats >and Republicans in Congress to support these programs. Now, a >small number of powerful opponents in Congress are seeking to >eliminate or weaken the very organizations that are involved in >research and public education on renewables. > >The House and Senate have each passed their own version of the >Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which includes funding for >renewable energy research, development, and commercialization >programs. Each version of the bill is accompanied by a bill report. >The bill report is not legally binding, but it provides guidance to the >Department of Energy (DOE) on how lawmakers want the money >to be spent. > >This year, both the House and Senate bill reports include a section >called "Inappropriate Use of Appropriations" that apparently is >intended to discourage the Department of Energy from providing >funding to renewable energy trade associations and organizations. >(See full language at the bottom of this alert.) The report language >does not refer specifically to renewables. In fact, it could be >interpreted to refer to any DOE contractor. > >However, our opponents have focussed their attention on >renewables thus far and have not indicated an intention for this >language to affect trade associations and organizations associated >with other energy technologies (such as nuclear, fossil, and fusion). >The language would further restrict collaborative research, >development, and commercialization efforts with industry, and >grants to small research organizations and projects, as well as the >trade associations. Organizations working on energy efficiency may >also be affected, since they are in the same program at DOE and are >also disliked by our opponents. > >This restrictive language has already had a chilling effect on DOE's >actions. A number of trade associations and non-profit >organizations have not yet received the DOE grants that they were >awarded for the current fiscal year, even though the restrictive >language is for fiscal year 1999. > >We need to send a loud, clear message to the Department of Energy >that it must stand firm. If DOE responds by allowing some >renewable energy groups to go out of business, our opponents will >become stronger and bolder, while we will become weaker. We >have majority support in both chambers of Congress for renewables >in general. This small but powerful minority must not be permitted >to destroy our institutional base of support. > >Please write a letter to DOE Secretary Bill Richardson, on behalf of >your organization or company if possible. I suggest that you both >fax and mail your letter to DOE Secretary Bill Richardson, and >send a copy to Vice President Al Gore. See sample letter below. > >Additional actions for those who wish to do more: > >1) Forward this alert to other friends of renewable energy. >2) Call your contacts at the Department of Energy. If they say, >"Don't worry, we can work around this language," ask them, >"Then why hasn't DOE released current year (fiscal year 1998) >funds to many sustainable energy organizations? It appears to us >that this language is already having a chilling effect." >3) If your US Senator or Representatives are sympathetic to >renewables, send them a copy of your letter and ask them to talk to >their colleagues on the House or Senate Energy and Water >Development Appropriations Committee. > >Sample letter: > >The Honorable Bill Richardson >Secretary >US Department of Energy >1000 Independence Avenue SW >Washington, DC 20585 > >Dear Secretary Richardson: > >[If you are writing on behalf of a membership organization >or coalition, say so, and list the number of members you have.] > > I am writing to express my concern about language in the >Energy and Water Appropriations bills that is apparently intended >to sharply reduce Department of Energy grants to organizations that >produce and disseminate research and information about renewable >energy and energy efficiency. While the language does not mention >renewable energy specifically, its authors have focussed on >renewables and efficiency. The chilling affect of this language has >already caused DOE program managers to withhold funds that had >been promised to a number of organizations for the current fiscal >year (1998). > > I urge you to immediately work with the Energy and Water >Appropriations Committees to eliminate this damaging language, >before the conference committee completes its reconciliation of the >House and Senate versions of the bill. I also urge you to support the >Senate appropriation of $367 million for renewable energy. A clear >majority of Congress supports renewable energy; a small minority >must not be allowed to disrupt DOE's programs in this area. > > Sincerely, > Your name and title > >cc: Vice President Al Gore > >Contact information: > >Bill Richardson, Secretary of Energy >US Department of Energy >1000 Independence Avenue SW >Washington, DC 20585 >Phone: 202-586-6210 >Fax: 202-586-4403 > >Vice President Albert Gore, Jr. >Old Executive Office Building >17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW >Washington, DC 20501 >Phone: 202-456-2326 >Fax: 202-456-7044 >Email: vice-president@whitehouse.gov > >The actual language from the reports that accompany the Energy >and Water Development Appropriations bills: > >HOUSE LANGUAGE > >INAPPROPRIATE USE OF APPROPRIATIONS > >The Committee continues to be very concerned about the >inappropriate use of contractors in the development of >budget requests and execution of Department programs. >The Committee has learned that certain contractors >have been reimbursed by the Department for the >following activities: answering the organization's >phones, faxes, and e-mails; updating web sites of the >organizations; getting industry together to develop >"consensus positions" on department programs; >conference calls with Department employees once a >month; publishing association journals and other >publications; and attending domestic and international >conferences to represent their industry members. These >contracts and grants are especially suspect >considering that they are routinely awarded >noncompetitively. > >While there may be instances where it is necessary for >the Department to procure the services of a contractor >for a specific task, it is inappropriate for the >Department to routinely fund the operating budget for >these outside groups. As a rule, the Department should >procure services from contractors in arms-length >arrangements. In cases where it is determined that a >specific service or product is needed and it is in the >interest of the Department to secure the service or >product through a grant or contract, the Department >should procure or award using competitive procedures. > >SENATE LANGUAGE >INAPPROPRIATE USE OF APPROPRIATIONS >The Committee has learned that funds made available to >the Department of Energy by previous appropriations >acts have been used to, among other things: pay for >members of industry associations and associated >entities to attend national and international >conferences, publish magazines, purchase association >membership information, conduct surveys of association >membership, place op-ed style articles in >publications, write talking points in support of the >Department's programs, and underwrite industry >conferences. > >The Committee has not included a statutory prohibition on these >activities because the activities themselves are not at issue; there >may be legitimate reasons for employees of the Department of >Energy or its management and operating contractors to undertake >the activities listed above. However, a distinction needs to be drawn >between employees of the Department of Energy or its management >and operating contractors who act on behalf of the Government and >other contractors whose predominant responsibility is not to the >Government. The Department and its management and operating >contractors should not contract with any other entity for the >performance of these or similar responsibilities, and, as a general >rule, appropriated funds should not be used, directly or indirectly, to >underwrite the expense of industry associations or associated >entities. > > >Anna Aurilio >U.S. PIRG > > > > >--- Internet Message Header Follows --- >Received: from igcb.igc.org (192.82.108.46) > by firstclass.jcca.org (FirstClass Mail Server v5.11) > transient id 122; 1:58:22 PM -0400 >Received: from igce.igc.org (igce.igc.org [192.82.108.49]) > by igcb.igc.org (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id KAA20024; > Tue, 18 Aug 1998 10:36:40 -0700 (PDT) >Received: from pppe-86.igc.org (nirsnet@pppe-86.igc.org) > by igce.igc.org (8.8.8/8.8.8) with SMTP id KAA22375; > Tue, 18 Aug 1998 10:30:09 -0700 (PDT) >Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 10:30:09 -0700 (PDT) >Message-Id: <2.2.16.19980818132633.7a0fe840@pop.igc.org> >X-Sender: nirsnet@pop.igc.org >X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Pro Version 2.2 (16) >Mime-Version: 1.0 >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >To: nirsnet@igc.apc.org >From: Michael Mariotte > > Alice Slater Global Resource Action Center for the Environment 15 East 26 St. New York, NY 10010 212-726-9161(tel) 212-726-9160(fax) - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ End of abolition-usa-digest V1 #10 ********************************** - To unsubscribe to $LIST, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe $LIST" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message.