From: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com (abolition-usa-digest) To: abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: abolition-usa-digest V1 #465 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 Saturday, September 15 2001 Volume 01 : Number 465 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 11:09:59 -0400 From: JGG786@aol.com (by way of ASlater ) Subject: (abolition-usa) Advocates of Missile Defense Dear Friends, Here's what we're up against, although September 11th may have changed this equation. Alice National Journal News Service: LOBBYING: The Missile Defense Brigade Not too long ago, defense industry lobbyists thought President Bush had a good shot at winning from Congress the $8.3 billion that he wants for missile defense spending next year, despite a host of political objections and technological questions about the program. But that was before last month's gloomy news about the budget and the eroding federal surplus. Now, these lobbyists are girding for a much tougher appropriations fight than they had expected. Pentagon contractors are tapping veteran outside defense consultants and new lobbying recruits-including grassroots specialists and public relations firms-as part of a fall offensive to help enlist more money for the missile shield project. Further, conservative groups that have long dreamed of, and advocated the need for, a national missile shield are revving up their own lobbying and advertising efforts to boost the industry efforts. With Democrats primed to attack the President's request in part on fiscal grounds, missile defense promoters acknowledge it will be difficult to boost spending on the program by 57 percent next year, as Bush wants. "The sale hasn't been made yet to the American public," said former Rep. Bob Livingston, R-La., who runs the Livingston Group and lobbies on the issue for Raytheon Co. "All of this has to be sold on the heels of the tax cut." Livingston, who chaired the House Appropriations Committee, said that "industry has an obligation to help build the case for missile defense" by strongly supporting the Administration's budget numbers in the upcoming appropriations struggle. Boeing Co. is working hard in support of the Administration. As the prime contractor on the missile shield program-which so far has involved only research and development, not procurement-Boeing has a big stake in the outcome. To deliver its message to Capitol Hill and the public at large, Boeing recently tapped two of K Street's premier lobbying and public affairs shops. Bonner & Associates Inc. hopes to build public support through grassroots work, while Powell Tate is handling the overall PR drive. Both firms declined to comment on the campaign, as did Boeing. Boeing also recently hired Alan Myer, who helped write President Reagan's famous speech in 1983 that launched the "Star Wars" initiative. Myer helped prep five scientists to deal more effectively with the media. The scientists appeared in May at a Washington news conference to counter press coverage that had focused on missile defense critics and their concerns. Meanwhile, Raytheon-besides deploying Livingston to visit old buddies on the Appropriations panel-has done joint inside-the-Beltway advertising with TRW on one component of the missile defense shield that the two companies are developing together. Raytheon was also one of the few defense firms to support a June symposium on missile defense that was held at Valley Forge, Pa. The event drew some important officials, including Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish, the director of the Defense Department's Ballistic Missile Defense Organization; and Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., the chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Readiness. Like other contractors, Raytheon is following a two-pronged strategy. It is backing the Administration's overall budget request while lobbying to save the line-item funding for the specific components that bring business to the company, including Raytheon's radar system. Industry lobbyists are focusing especially hard on the Republican-controlled House, which, they say, has to at minimum support the Administration's numbers. The Democratic-controlled Senate is likely to try to cut deeply into Bush's $8.3 billion request. The battle between those who want missile defense and those who don't will be complicated by the more pessimistic budget projections, says Livingston, who was a big advocate for missile defense when he served in Congress. "It's a new budget dynamic, but it's not necessarily a straitjacket," he said. A number of conservative groups are conveying similar messages to Capitol Hill and constituents outside the Beltway, and these groups are stepping up their advocacy to help the Administration realize one of the Right's long-cherished dreams. In recent months, Frank J. Gaffney Jr., a Pentagon official in the Reagan Administration and one of the country's leading champions of missile defense, has been hosting a weekly conclave in which conservative allies share information and discuss lobbying strategies. Among the most active participants in this new coalition, called Americans for Missile Defense, have been the American Conservative Union, Americans for Tax Reform, and the S.A.F.E. Foundation. David Keene, the chairman of the ACU, says that Gaffney, who runs the conservative Center for Security Policy, approached his group about holding regular sessions to boost the coalition's effort. "Our job is to coordinate," said Keene. Americans for Missile Defense operates a Web page of briefing materials and has launched a drive to raise about $1 million to help underwrite a radio, print, and television ad blitz in selected congressional districts and in Washington. "The idea that we shouldn't go down this road goes against the grain" of most Americans, Keene argued. "It's really a question of focusing attention." Kevin Generous, the president of the S.A.F.E. Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes military programs, said his group is trying to raise money for a multimillion-dollar ad effort aimed at increasing public backing for the deployment of a missile defense shield. "Our focus is to build support outside the Beltway," he said. Generous said that Rep. Weldon had a hand in getting the group going in late 1998 when he suggested that a grassroots effort would be useful. Weldon serves on the S.A.F.E. board and has arranged meetings between the group and other lawmakers, such as Rep. Bud Cramer Jr., D-Ala. S.A.F.E. sponsored the May press conference at which the five pro-missile defense scientists, along with Weldon, defended the feasibility of a missile shield to protect the United States. Generous, who's also a consultant with the Plexus Consulting Group in Washington, said he is trying to recruit other constituencies, including labor unions and celebrities, to aid the cause. He noted that the nation's leading aerospace union-the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers-supports higher funding for missile defense. A source close to the union said it is working side by side with industry during visits to Capitol Hill. Further, Generous boasted that his group's board has something of a secret weapon in the person of Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, a former guitarist with the rock groups the Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan who has been an outspoken advocate for missile defense systems. Baxter said he's trying to woo celebrities from the music world and other quarters to support the cause. Baxter has some experience in the defense area, having served as a paid consultant for a few companies that have financial stakes in the missile defense business, including California-based General Atomics. The guitarist also said he has been an informal adviser to congressional leaders on the issue, such as Reps. Weldon and Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., and Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. Baxter visits the Washington area with some regularity. He is on the board of regents of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, an Arlington, Va.-based technology policy shop, and he has also been an occasional government consultant. The musician isn't shy about touting his role in the missile defense effort. "Perhaps the biggest contribution I can make is to keep the lines of communication open between government, the military, and industry," he said. By way of explanation, Baxter said that "stove piping"-a term that refers to one hand not knowing what the other is doing-"is a real problem in the national security game." The other side in the debate isn't quiet, either. Liberal groups have stepped up their efforts to curb spending on missile defense and to oppose any unilateral move by the Administration that would abrogate the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the keystone to arms control efforts. Some 14 groups belong to the Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers, including such stalwarts as the Council for a Livable World, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Physicians for Social Responsibility. In the fight to trim President Bush's funding request, the liberal groups are pinning their hopes on the Democratic-controlled Senate. John Isaacs, the president of the Council for a Livable World, said he would like to raise about $2 million for a national advertising campaign, but knows that won't be easy. Meanwhile, the council has produced a 180-page briefing book on the issue for House members and staff, and has started an e-newsletter, Shield of Dreams, to spread information inside and outside Washington about the risks of moving too quickly with a missile defense shield. These critics argue that although $143 billion has been spent to date on missile defense research and development, the technology still doesn't work properly. And they contend that it's dangerous and unnecessary for the United States to unilaterally abandon the ABM Treaty. "We're trying to trim the funds from $8.3 billion," Isaacs said. "The aim is to unify the [Senate] Democrats around a single position." In particular, the liberal groups want to block funds requested by the Administration to build a missile test facility at Fort Greely, Alaska. The plan for Fort Greely would "violate the ABM Treaty," he said. Isaacs and other opponents don't see much hope in the House, given the GOP's strong ideological commitment to the missile defense issue. "It's a religious issue with so many Republicans that it will be hard to break GOP members away," Issacs said. George C. Wilson of National Journal News Service contributed to this story. Peter H. Stone National Journal Alice Slater Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE) 15 East 26th Street, Room 915 New York, NY 10010 tel: (212) 726-9161 fax: (212) 726-9160 email: aslater@gracelinks.org http://www.gracelinks.org GRACE is a member of Abolition 2000, a global network for the elimination 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 Sep 2001 11:47:20 -0400 From: ASlater Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: CIA CONNECTIONS COME HOME TO ROOST >X-Sender: smangiagli@pop.snet.net >X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.0.2 >Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 22:32:29 -0400 >To: (Recipient list suppressed) >From: Sal Mangiagli >Subject: CIA CONNECTIONS COME HOME TO ROOST >To: aslater@gracelinks.org >X-Loop-Detect: 1 > >FYi > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space" > >To: >Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2001 11:39 AM >Subject: BIN LADEN & HIS CIA CONNECTIONS COME HOME TO ROOST > > > > [Note that the date on this story is August 1998, by MSNBC's International > > Editor] > > > > Bin Laden comes home to roost His CIA ties are only the beginning of a > > woeful story > > > > By Michael Moran MSNBC > > http://msnbc.com/news/190144.asp?cp1=1 > > > > NEW YORK, Aug. 24, 1998 - At the CIA, it happens often enough to have a > > code name: Blowback. Simply defined, this is the term that describes an > > agent, an operative or an operation that has turned on its creators. Osama > > bin Laden, our new public enemy Number 1, is the personification of > > blowback. And the fact that he is viewed as a hero by millions in the > > Islamic world proves again the old adage: Reap what you sow. > > > > BEFORE YOU CLICK on my face and call me naive, let me concede some points. > > Yes, the West needed Josef Stalin to defeat Hitler. Yes, there were times > > during the Cold War when supporting one villain (Cambodia's Lon Nol, for > > instance) would have been better than the alternative (Pol Pot). So yes, > > there are times when any nation must hold its nose and shake hands with >the > > devil for the long-term good of the planet. > > > > But just as surely, there are times when the United States, faced > > with such moral dilemmas, should have resisted the temptation to act. >Arming > > a multi- national coalition of Islamic extremists in > > Afghanistan during the 1980s - well after the destruction of the > > Marine barracks in Beirut or the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 - was > > one of those times. > > > > BIN LADEN'S BEGINNINGS > > > > As anyone who has bothered to read this far certainly knows by now, bin > > Laden is the heir to Saudi construction fortune who, at least > > since the early 1990s, has used that money to finance countless > > attacks on U.S. interests and those of its Arab allies around the > > world. > > > > Osama bin Laden's network > > > > As his unclassified CIA biography states, bin Laden left Saudi Arabia > > to fight the Soviet army in Afghanistan after Moscow's invasion in > > 1979. By 1984, he was running a front organization known as Maktab > > al-Khidamar - the MAK - which funneled money, arms and fighters from the > > outside world into the Afghan war. > > > > What the CIA bio conveniently fails to specify (in its unclassified > > form, at least) is that the MAK was nurtured by Pakistan's state > > security services, the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI, > > the CIA's primary conduit for conducting the covert war against > > Moscow's occupation. > > > > By no means was Osama bin Laden the leader of Afghanistan's > > mujahedeen. His money gave him undue prominence in the Afghan > > struggle, but the vast majority of those who fought and died for > > Afghanistan's freedom - like the Taliban regime that now holds sway > > over most of that tortured nation - were Afghan nationals. > > > > Yet the CIA, concerned about the factionalism of Afghanistan made > > famous by Rudyard Kipling, found that Arab zealots who flocked to aid the > > Afghans were easier to "read" than the rivalry-ridden natives. > > While the Arab volunteers might well prove troublesome later, the > > agency reasoned, they at least were one-dimensionally anti-Soviet for now. > > So bin Laden, along with a small group of Islamic militants from Egypt, > > Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria and Palestinian refugee camps all over the Middle > > East, became the "reliable" partners of the CIA in its war against Moscow. > > > > WHAT'S 'INTELLIGENT' ABOUT THIS? > > > > Though he has come to represent all that went wrong with the CIA's > > reckless strategy there, by the end of the Afghan war in 1989, bin > > Laden was still viewed by the agency as something of a dilettante - a rich > > Saudi boy gone to war and welcomed home by the Saudi monarchy he so hated >as > > something of a hero. > > > > America strikes back > > > > In fact, while he returned to his family's construction business, bin > > Laden had split from the relatively conventional MAK in 1988 and > > established a new group, al-Qaida, that included many of the more > > extreme MAK members he had met in Afghanistan. > > > > Most of these Afghan vets, or Afghanis, as the Arabs who fought there >became > > known, turned up later behind violent Islamic movements around the world. > > Among them: the GIA in Algeria, thought responsible for the massacres of > > tens of thousands of civilians; Egypt's Gamat Ismalia, which has massacred > > western tourists repeatedly in recent years; Saudi Arabia Shiite >militants, > > responsible for the Khobar Towers and Riyadh bombings of 1996. > > > > Indeed, to this day, those involved in the decision to give the > > Afghan rebels access to a fortune in covert funding and top-level > > combat weaponry continue to defend that move in the context of the > > Cold War. Sen. Orrin Hatch, a senior Republican on the Senate > > Intelligence Committee making those decisions, told my colleague > > Robert Windrem that he would make the same call again today even > > knowing what bin Laden would do subsequently. "It was worth it," he > > said. > > > > "Those were very important, pivotal matters that played an important role >in > > the downfall of the Soviet Union," he said. > > > > HINDSIGHT OR TUNNEL VISION > > > > It should be pointed out that the evidence of bin Laden's connection > > to these activities is mostly classified, though its hard to imagine > > the CIA rushing to take credit for a Frankenstein's monster like > > this. > > > > It is also worth acknowledging that it is easier now to oppose the > > CIA's Afghan adventures than it was when Hatch and company made them in >the > > mid-1980s. After all, in 1998 we now know that far larger elements than > > Afghanistan were corroding the communist party's grip on power in Moscow. > > > > Even Hatch can't be blamed completely. The CIA, ever mindful of the need >to > > justify its "mission," had conclusive evidence by the > > mid-1980s of the deepening crisis of infrastructure within the Soviet > > Union. The CIA, as its deputy director William Gates acknowledged > > under congressional questioning in 1992, had decided to keep that > > evidence from President Reagan and his top advisors and instead > > continued to grossly exaggerate Soviet military and technological > > capabilities in its annual "Soviet Military Power" report right up to > > 1990. > > > > Given that context, a decision was made to provide America's > > potential enemies with the arms, money - and most importantly - the > > knowledge of how to run a war of attrition violent and well-organized > > enough to humble a superpower. > > > > That decision is coming home to roost. > > > > > > [Michael Moran is MSNBC's International Editor] > > > > > > > > Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space > > PO Box 90083 > > Gainesville, FL. 32607 > > (352) 337-9274 > > http://www.space4peace.org > > globalnet@mindspring.com > > >Sal Mangiagli >54 Old Turnpike Road >Haddam, CT 06438 >(860) 345-8431 > - - 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 Sep 2001 12:59:29 -0400 From: ASlater Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: Wise words from the past >From: "Tanya Dawkins" >To: , , , > , , , > , , > , , , > , , > , , > , , , > , , , > , , > , , > , , > , , , > , , > , , > , , > , , > , , > , , , > , , > , , > , , , > , , > , , , > , , , > , , > , , > , , , > , , , > , , , > , , >Subject: Wise words from the past >Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 05:46:44 -0400 >X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200 >X-Loop-Detect: 1 > >Glad you're OK. Thought I'd pass this along. >Dear SOTP Friends: > >Through violence you may murder a murderer, but you can't murder murder. >Through violence you may murder a liar, but you can't establish truth. >Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can't murder hate. >Darkness cannot put out darkness. Only light can do that.... > >Difficult and painful as it is, we must walk on in the days ahead with an >audacious faith >in the future. When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of >despair, and when >our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that >there is a >creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains >of evil, a >power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays >into bright >tomorrows. Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it >bends toward >justice. > >Martin Luther King, "Where do we go from here?", August 1967 > >Keep in touch and keep the faith, > >Tanya > - - 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 Sep 2001 14:39:25 -0400 From: David Culp Subject: (abolition-usa) S.J. Res. 23, "Authorization for Use of Military Force" FRIENDS COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL LEGISLATION Legislative Advisory on S.J. Res. 23, "Authorization for Use of Military Force" September 14, 2001, 2:45 p.m. EDT The House is now considering a resolution (S.J. Res. 23) to authorize the use of U.S. armed forces to retaliate for the attacks on the U.S. earlier this week. It contains the following very troubling provision: "Section 2. (A) That the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons." We at the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) believe that this provision would give far too broad an authority to the President and future presidents. We raise the following concerns: * Should not Congress retain the authority to determine where and with whom the United States military forces shall go to war? * Would this permit the President to send U.S. military forces into any sovereign country where the President has identified co-conspirators? For example, if an organization was found to be harbored in Toronto, Canada, and Canada did not accede to demands to take specific actions demanded by the U.S., is the President authorized to send in U.S. troops anyway? How will other countries--U.S. allies and foes alike--respond to this extra-territorial extension of U.S. law and war powers? * How will the President determine who poses a future risk of attack? Will the search for potential enemies include monitoring the activities of all who dissent? What are the safeguards to protect the rights of assembly and free speech of individuals and organizations that may oppose the policies of the present or future administrations? * Congress is extending this authority to the President permanently. What checks on Presidential authority should Congress retain? We at FCNL believe that war and vengeance are not the answer to the horror and violence of these attacks. War, destruction, and hatred between peoples are what the perpetrators of these heinous crimes apparently seek. The U.S. should not give them what they want. If the U.S. declares war, the hijackers and their supporters will have won. This is not a time for precipitous military action. Rather, it is a time for quick action by U.S. law enforcement agencies and close cooperation with governments around the world to identify and capture those who aided and abetted in the commission of these atrocities, and to bring them to justice before a court of law. The United States must not stoop to the level of violence, vengeance, and hatred exhibited by those who carried out this week's heinous attacks against innocent civilians. Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers) 245 Second Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002-5795 Tel: (202) 547-6000 Fax: (202) 547-6019 Web site: www.fcnl.org We seek a world free of war and the threat of war. We seek a society with equity and justice for all. We seek a community where every person's potential may be fulfilled. We seek an earth restored. - --FCNL Statement of Purpose - - 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 Sep 2001 16:29:29 -0400 From: ASlater Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: no_to_nato Sign online "Global Appeal for 'No more violence!'" >X-Sender: ad207@pop.ncf.carleton.ca >X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Light Version 3.0.6 (32) >Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 15:43:42 -0400 >To: no_to_nato@flora.org >From: Richard Sanders >Subject: no_to_nato Sign online "Global Appeal for 'No more violence!'" >Sender: owner-no_to_nato@flora.org >Reply-To: no_to_nato@flora.org >X-Loop-Detect: 1 > >Please forward this message to others: > >Global Appeal for 'No more violence!' > >In an effort to help mobilize global support for nonviolence, to try to >stop the cycle of violence and to avert war, a global appeal for peace is >now being circulated to thousands of organizations and activists all over >the world. Please join the list of endorsers of this appeal now! > >The text of the Global Appeal is reprinted below. > >To add your name to this urgent plea for peace, please go to > >Once there, fill in the form and follow the simple instructions. > >You can also help by circulating this message to friends, colleagues, >politicians, media, community leaders, organizations, appropriate >listserves and to others who you think will either support this appeal or >benefit from reading it. Thanks! > >In solidarity, >Richard Sanders, >Coordinator, Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT > >P.S. Here is a text copy of the global appeal: > >======================================= >A Global Appeal for 'No more violence!' > >Deeply saddened by the suffering and deaths of thousands in New York, >Washington and Pennsylvania, we, people of many different backgrounds from >around the world, join with millions of others to denounce these latest >acts of terror against innocent civilians. We believe that military >retaliation in response to this mass murder will only accelerate the cycle >of fear, anger and violence. > >We urge our political and religious leaders to heed our appeal for >nonviolence. We will not be swayed by calls to support further violence. We >will respond to cries for revenge with caring, calm and reason. Violent >retaliation and war will only lead to greater losses of life. This, in >turn, will only serve to breed more anger, hatred and terror. > >Instead, we support the rule of international law. The perpetrators of >these crimes, and all other crimes against humanity, crimes against peace >and war crimes, should be brought to justice. No individual, group or >government should have immunity from international law. > >As we mourn for those whose lives were lost on September 11, 2001, we also >mourn for all those around the world dying from the violence inflicted by >terrorism, war or the lack of food, medicine, water and housing. > >Pledge of Nonviolence >Standing firmly together, we will embrace nonviolence to stop the cycle of >violence from spiraling even further out of control. We join in solidarity >with others around the world to build our common security through >disarmament, dialogue and social justice -- not through violent attacks and >military might. > >We pledge ourselves to support nonviolence as the way towards a peace with >justice. >======================================= >To sign this appeal, go to > > > > > > Richard Sanders > Coordinator, Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT) > > A national peace network supported by > individuals and organizations across Canada > > 541 McLeod St., Ottawa Ontario K1R 5R2 Canada > Tel.: 613-231-3076 Fax: 613-231-2614 > Email: Web site: > >----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- > Help build opposition to NATO PA meetings in Ottawa, Oct. 5-8, 2001! > Join the "no_to_nato" list serve: > Send the message: subscribe no_to_nato to >Read the archives of our list serve > > Sign our "Global Appeal for 'No More Violence'" > >----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- >Unsubscribe by sending an email to with the following command in the BODY of your message: unsubscribe no_to_nato > - - 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 Sep 2001 19:35:40 EDT From: JGG786@aol.com Subject: (abolition-usa) Re: [abolition-caucus] Towards a New Progressive Security Agenda - --part1_d1.c78d5b6.28d3ee4c_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable The hearts of all of good will suffer when injustice is committed. Its scale= =20 can never be measured and the cry of the innocent never fully understood. Le= t=20 us take courage and stand stronger to address the causes the manifest in the= =20 horrors we are seeing. The blasts of the tragic airplane hijack attacks of September 11, 2001=20 awakens us to serious reflection. Yet, our hearts cry like the sirens wailin= g=20 in ambulances carrying suffering casualties to hospitals. First, our hearts=20 deeply mourn the dead and feel for the losses felt by their immediate friend= s=20 and families. They alone know the depths of grief. Second, we grieve for the= =20 loss of humanity in the hearts of the perpetrators for whom only desperate=20 acts of irrationality appeared viable. Third, we emphasize how important a=20 shock this is to the peace and security of our nation. Rational sober=20 responses leading to greater justice and moral coherence will alone cure tha= t=20 shock. May God protect the souls of the departed and lead us, the living, to bring=20 about a world of greater hope and justice for the disenfranchised while=20 ensuring safety for the privileged. The duty to ensure that desperation does= =20 not lead to even greater irrational destruction through the use of a nuclear= =20 device has been heightened by this tragedy. It is imperative that there be a= n=20 international cooperative security regime that will not allow fissile=20 materials to be in the hands of those who devalue life. It is imperative tha= t=20 nuclear states set a credible example by working to rid the world of threats= =20 to the innocent and immediately take nuclear weapons off alert status and=20 create an international inventory of fissile materials. Greater efforts in=20 working for real peace, nuclear disarmament and human security are needed no= w=20 more than ever.=20 Now is the time to help. We must organize to: 1. Address the gross disparities of wealth on the planet and never demonize=20 any peoples, for the dehumanization of others is the precondition for=20 heartless killing. 2. Promote sustainable development so that people have hope and the=20 environment can continue to sustain human life 3. Promote cooperative security by: a. working systematically to end reliance on the threat to use nuclear=20 weapons; b. quickly creating an international=A0 inventory of fissile weapons grade=20 materials so that a terrorist cannot use a device that will destroy millions= =20 of innocent lives and ensure the end of civil liberties by creating a=20 credible threat to national security;=20 c. make sure our civil liberties remain intact; d. ratify the International Criminal Court and bring those who have committe= d=20 a crime against humanity to international justice.=20 Deeply Appreciative of All Who Work for All,=20 Jonathan Granoff President of the Global Security Institute - --part1_d1.c78d5b6.28d3ee4c_boundary Content-Type: text/html; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable The hearts of all of good= will suffer when injustice is committed. Its scale can never be measured an= d the cry of the innocent never fully understood. Let us take courage and st= and stronger to address the causes the manifest in the horrors we are seeing= .

The blasts of the tragic airplane hijack attacks of September 11, 2001 a= wakens us to serious reflection. Yet, our hearts cry like the sirens wailing= in ambulances carrying suffering casualties to hospitals. First, our hearts= deeply mourn the dead and feel for the losses felt by their immediate frien= ds and families. They alone know the depths of grief. Second, we grieve for=20= the loss of humanity in the hearts of the perpetrators for whom only despera= te acts of irrationality appeared viable. Third, we emphasize how important=20= a shock this is to the peace and security of our nation. Rational sober resp= onses leading to greater justice and moral coherence will alone cure that sh= ock.

May God protect the souls of the departed and lead us, the living, to br= ing about a world of greater hope and justice for the disenfranchised while=20= ensuring safety for the privileged. The duty to ensure that desperation does= not lead to even greater irrational destruction through the use of a nuclea= r device has been heightened by this tragedy. It is imperative that there be= an international cooperative security regime that will not allow fissile ma= terials to be in the hands of those who devalue life. It is imperative that=20= nuclear states set a credible example by working to rid the world of threats= to the innocent and immediately take nuclear weapons off alert status and c= reate an international inventory of fissile materials. Greater efforts in wo= rking for real peace, nuclear disarmament and human security are needed now=20= more than ever.=20

Now is the time to help. We must organize to:
1. Address the gross disparities of wealth on the planet and never demon= ize any peoples, for the dehumanization of others is the precondition for he= artless killing.
2. Promote sustainable development so that people have hope and the envi= ronment can continue to sustain human life
3. Promote cooperative security by:
a. working systematically to end reliance on the threat to use nuclear w= eapons;
b. quickly creating an international=A0 inventory of fissile weapons gra= de materials so that a terrorist cannot use a device that will destroy milli= ons of innocent lives and ensure the end of civil liberties by creating a cr= edible threat to national security;=20
c. make sure our civil liberties remain intact;
d. ratify the International Criminal Court and bring those who have comm= itted a crime against humanity to international justice.=20

Deeply Appreciative of All Who Work for All,=20
Jonathan Granoff
President of the Global Security Institute - --part1_d1.c78d5b6.28d3ee4c_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: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 09:53:05 +0100 From: Sally Light Subject: (abolition-usa) Las Vegas Weekly's article about NDE protestor's arrest Friends, This is the first of at least two Las Vegas papers' picking up the story of Erik Thompson's arrest last Hiroshima Day at the Test Site. We should see the "Mercury" paper's article soon. Peace.. Sally Sally Light Executive Director Nevada Desert Experience http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/2001_2/09_13/news_upfront1.html Protestor in the pokey 'Trespasser' prosecution is first in a decade By Kate Silver (silver@vegas.com) Photo by Kate Silver For the past decade, thousands of protestors at the Nevada Test Site have been detained in a desert-surrounded pen for trespassing charges. After a few hours, the "prisoners" are always cited and released, causing some of them to refer to these actions as "ceremonial citings." That is, until Aug. 6 of this year. A group of protestors from Nevada Desert Experience, a faith-based organization opposed to nukes, was at the site to commemorate the 56th anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Las Vegas resident Erik Thompson, 44, entered the fenced area surrounding the Test Site and was immediately confronted by Nye County sheriffs, who led Thompson to the 100-by-300-foot holding pen. Authorities later returned, offering to cite and release Thompson. He refused. They offered two more times. He remained steadfast. On the fourth refusal, Thompson told the officers to just take him to jail--he wasn't leaving the Test Site on his own. And that's just what they did. Though Thompson has protested at the site since 1984, and says he's been cited for trespassing close to 100 times, he'd never been taken to jail. He sees the outcome as an opportunity to go before a judge and garner attention for the issue. His hearing is Oct. 4. "I will certainly have some impact. If nothing else, than to make Nye County realize what they're doing," he says. "I would like to raise these issues in court, issues of how the United States is in violation of international law (by continuing nuclear tests)." Sounds like Christmas at Ground Zero to me. FALSE IMPRISONMENT Another issue in Thompson's case is how can he face trespassing charges when he holds a permit to protest on the land? As outlined by the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley, Nye County has no jurisdiction over the Nevada Test Site. The treaty states that the 1,863 acres of land belongs to the Western Shoshone Nation, which grants permits to protestors each year, allowing their presence on the Test Site. "One of the contentions we have with Nye County is that this is land that belongs to the Shoshone. That we have permits to come and go. And that we're here by invitation of the Shoshone," says Paul Colbert, office manager for Nevada Desert Experience. Nye County Sheriff Wade Lieseke sees ownership of the land differently. When asked about the protestors having Shoshone permits to protest on the land, Lieseke seemed to stifle his laughter. "Well, I guess that's their contention," he says. "The other contention is that they're on Department of Energy land and the Department of Energy runs the Nevada Test Site and we contract our services through the Department of Energy. The venue would be for a court of law to make that determination." FEDERAL CRACKDOWN Thompson's case has local activists worried about the future. "There's a trend now that the authorities are coming down very harshly compared to the past," says Sally Light, executive director of Nevada Desert Experience. "A few years ago I was arrested and put in the pen, held for a while and individually cited. I asked for the time frame that I'll hear from the court, and the police officer said I could go home and make the citation into a paper plane." Light fears those days are over. "The Bush administration is moving very quickly to consolidate a military posture in the world," she says. "We can't draw a single line of causation, but it's not beyond the realm of possibility." Since the Nevada Test Site is owned by the Department of Energy--it's federal land--Light fears the worst, citing the encounters at Vandenberg Air Force Base as evidence of the recent federal crackdown. The May Vandenberg protest resulted in 15 Greenpeace activists--Star Wars protestors--and two journalists facing felony charges of "conspiracy to violate a safety zone." If convicted, they'll face up to six years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. All this for a peaceful protest consisting of actions which, according to Light, "were all but ignored in the past." Another local activist who's witnessed this change in attitude is Susi Snyder, project coordinator for the Shundahai Network, an organization opposed to nukes that advocates the rights of indigenous people. About a year ago, Snyder was arrested and sent to jail for 16 days for what she calls "a simple line cross." A deputy insisted that she tried to bite him; Snyder says she was simply trying to reason with him (Las Vegas Weekly, "Continuing the Fight," Oct. 19, 2000). "I think security are very worried because Southern Nevadans are taking more action opposing Bush's policies, which include the possible resumption of nuclear weapons testing and Cheney's plan to ship waste out to Yucca Mountain," says Snyder. "People are ... willing to put their bodies on the line and make sure their voices are heard. The security people are worried about that." As well they should be, given the nuclear tests being performed at the Test Site, the possibility of nuclear waste coming to Yucca Mountain and the recent discovery of a military germ factory at the Nevada Test Site. Protestors could soon deluge the site faster than a mushroom cloud, and Snyder's convinced that a cop crackdown won't deter them. "It's to scare people away, but people won't be scared like that." - -30- - - 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 #465 *********************************** - 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.