<div>BETHESDA, Md. (BUSINESS WIRE, February 1, 1999) - The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued five-year recertifications to USEC Inc.'s subsidiary, the United States Enrichment Corporation, for the two uranium fuel enrichment plants it manages in Paducah, Kentucky and near Portsmouth, Ohio.</div>
<br>
<div>These certificates, signed January 29, represent NRC's conclusion that there is adequate assurance that both plants comply with NRC's safety, safeguards and security requirements.</div>
<br>
<div>The initial NRC certificates of compliance for the two plants were issued in November, 1996. The recertifications are for a five-year period.</div>
<br>
<div>"We are pleased with the performance of both the Paducah and Portsmouth plants this year, not only with regard to NRC regulatory compliance, but also in the areas of production, efficiency and meeting customer demands. We will continue to strive for even better performance in the coming year," said James H. Miller, USEC Executive Vice President. "This has been a significant year for USEC's plants with the privatization of USEC and the transition to operating in a new regulatory environment under the NRC," said Miller.</div>
<br>
USEC Inc. is the world leader in production and sale of uranium fuel enrichment services for commercial nuclear power plants. A global energy company with customers in 14 countries, the Company's operations involve approximately 5,000 people. With headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, the Company manages production plants in Kentucky and Ohio and is developing an advanced laser enrichment technology in California.
Subject: (abolition-usa) Subcritical nuke test "Clarinet" to be exploded 2/9/99
Date: 08 Feb 1999 07:10:44 -0800
Good Morning Friends,
We have just received word that the Department of Energy plans to explode its sixth subcritical nuclear weapons test "Clarinet" at the Nevada Test Site on Tuesday, February 9, 1999.
"Clarinet" is a Lawrence Livermore test. The DOE says it consists of 3 packages containing 145 grams of chemical explosives and 170 grams of plutonium. (We do not know if each package would contain this amount or if this is the total amount of explosives and plutonium involved. If any one has more information we would appreciate it.
We are having a meeting today to figure out what our response can be. We will let you know what we plan.
Thanks for being out there and doing the good work that you all do!
Subject: (abolition-usa) Request for Legal Information
Date: 08 Feb 1999 10:58:18 -0800
Hello Friends,
Susi Snyder and myself, Reinard Knutsen, are scheduled to appear in Federal Court in Las Vegas on Wednesday, February 17, to face charges of:
Disturbance ( 41 CFR 101.20.305 Conduct on government property which created or obstructed the performance of Government operations.)
and Nonconformity (41 CFR 101.20.304 Nonconformity with direction during a demonstration.)
that resulted from our September 8th nonviolent lock down action at the Las Vegas Federal Building to bring attention to the U.S. subcritical nuclear weapons testing program. We have already had our pre-trial hearing where we plead not guilty to the charges and consolidated our separate cases into one.
This is our first time appearing in a Federal Court so we would appreciate any advice on what to expect.
We plan on arguing:
Technically we are not guilty of obstructing the Federal Building since our action did not block any access to the Federal Building and we had no criminal intent at the time.
That our action falls within our first amendment rights
Our Necessity defense follows that we were upholding Nevada State Law by trying to stop the further contamination of our groundwater by plutonium.
We were upholding international law
specifically,
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
1996 ICJ ruling on illegality of preparations for nuclear war
1948 Nuremburg principles
1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
If any body has any advice it is greatly appreciated. It is unfortunate that we are involved in so many important projects at the moment that we can not spend a whole lot of time preparing for this case. But we do what we can.
Subject: (abolition-usa) 2/9 Actions to stop the subcritical nuclear tests
Date: 08 Feb 1999 23:01:46 -0800
Hello Friends,
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced plans to conduct a subcritical nuclear weapons test, code named "Clarinet" for Tuesday, February 9, 1999. The last Nevada Test Site radio transmission reported that everything was in place and they would be ready by 9am Tuesday. We believe that the Test will be conducted around 10am U.S. Pacific Standard Time. This test will take place on Western Shoshone land.
This will be the sixth subcritical nuclear test in the US since the beginning of the test series in 1997. Subcritical tests help fan the flames that continue the cold war mind set (Russia took up the "challenge" by detonating 5 subcriticals in 1998). These tests also threaten the international ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
SUBCRITICAL TESTING MUST BE STOPPED!
Call President Clinton and demand that this nuclear insanity must stop right now! (202) 456-1111
Department of Energy Washington DC Headquarters (202) 586-5000
In Nevada, Tuesday, February 9th:
We will be having a Prayer Ceremony lead by Corbin Harney at the gates to the Nevada Test Site beginning at 9am. This is 60 miles north west of Las Vegas on Hwy 95 at the Mercury exit. A Nonviolent Direct Action will take place. Come early to join affinity group discussions.
A protest vigil will be held 4pm - 5pm at the Foley Federal Building, 300 S Las Vegas Blvd. Bring your signs, drums and remember, we need to gather in as many numbers as possible to carry off a spirited, noisy, yet nonviolent event. Tell your friends, family, neighbors to join us. Call (702) 647-3095 for more information.
In the Bay Area (San Francisco CA):
A demonstration will be held on Tuesday, February 9, to protest continuing nuclear weapons development by the US. Bechtel manages the Nevada Test Site where the detonation will take place. Where: Bechtel Corp. HQ, 50 Beale St., San Francisco, 1 block south of
Market St., near the Embarcadero BART station. When: Noon, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 1999 The test was designed by weaponeers at Livermore Lab and its parts transported to the test site. The demonstration will be conducted along nonviolent guidelines. A "risk arrest" is possible for those wishing to do one. Bring: Banners, signs, puppets, "rad" suits and whatever other creative props you desire. For more information about this event please call Tri-Valley CAREs
(Communities Against a Radioactive Environment) <<http://www.igc.org/tvc/> - is our web site, please visit us there! (925) 443-7148 - is our phone
There will also be demonstrations in Japan, etc.
If any one is able to organize solidarity vigils or events please let us know so that we can include it in our media work.
Subject: (abolition-usa) Subcritical "Clarinet" conducted at 1:58 pm PST 2/9
Date: 10 Feb 1999 08:10:44 -0800
Dear Friends,
We are sad to announce the completion of the sixth U.S. subcritical nuclear weapons test at the Nevada Test Site since the program was begun in 1997. This test involved 6 ounces of plutonium and was exploded at 1:58 pm U.S. PST on Tuesday.
Darwin Morgan, Department of Energy (DOE) spokesperson, said " The primary objectives of Clarinet were to observe the speed and surface effects of the plutonium as it blew apart when shocked by the energy from detonating chemical-high explosives." (This plutonium is left 680 feet in the ground dangerously near groundwater that has already been found to be contaminated with plutonium and tritium from past nuclear explosions.) Morgan said Tuesdays experiment will help expand the knowledge base that scientists from the national Laboratories are developing under the stockpile Stewardship Program, a key element of the DOE's $6.2 billion defense budget the Clinton administration has requested for next year.
Corbin Harney, a Newe (Western Shoshone) elder, who's land was stolen to create the test site and other military bases, began a prayer ceremony at 9am. People from Healing Global Wounds, Shundahai Network, Alliance of Atomic Veterans, Nevada Desert Experience and other groups maintained a vigil all morning at the Mercury gates to the test site. Nine people were arrested for blocking the road at around the same time that "Clarinet" was exploded. They were cited for trespass and released. Later that afternoon others gathered in front of the Las Vegas Foley Federal Building for a small but spirited protest vigil.
We hope to hear reports from the actions that took place at the Bechtel Headquarters in San Francisco and elsewhere. Thank you especially to our friends at Tri Valley CARES for organizing that event with such short notice. We in Nevada continue to be inspired by your dedication.
Thank you to every one involved in the important work of nuclear abolition around the world. Peace.
Subject: (abolition-usa) Re: subcritical tests in two states
Date: 10 Feb 1999 08:20:40 -0800
Thank you Greg for reminding us that the subcritical testing program involves much more then just tests at the Nevada Test Site. Just as "Clarinet" was deplorable, so too are all the ongoing nuclear weapons design, testing and production programs. We look forward to continuing to highlight these links and commit to working to end nuclear testing where ever it takes place. Thank you for your important work at Los Alamos. Peace, Reinard
At 04:02 PM 2/9/99 -0700, you wrote:
>I am not sure if the following message went out successfully this
>morning. Please forgive me if you get two or more copies.
>
>Dear colleagues all--
> Today's subcritical test "Clarinet" in Nevada is deplorable.
> Please be reminded, however, that the NTS subcritical tests are not
>the only ones being conducted. I am truly sorry to say that Los Alamos
>National Laboratory has once again begun an open-ended series of
>FULL-SCALE implosions of COMPLETE nuclear weapons primaries, made with
>Pu-242. These explosions take place in two-inch-thick tanks, which cost
>only about $40,000 and are used just once. The tanks are permanently
>deformed, and shrapnel penetrates up
>to an inch deep into the specially tough steel, developed for the hulls
>of submarines and for naval armor. The very costly Pu-242 must be
>cleaned out of the tank by some poor schmuck and reprocessed, at least
>as much as possible. DOE is proud to say this is all completely safe.
>The implosions are photographed with high-speed X-rays at LANL's PHERMEX
>facility, and the data compared with today's best implosion models. The
>capabilities of this dual
>approach--supercomputer modelling plus direct observation--are very
>high. As the title of one classified memo about LANL hydrotesting plans
>dating from the 1980s put it, "Production-quality data without NTS."
> This much has been admitted; there could however be much more to the
>story. We just don't know. We do not know how many such tests have
>been conducted in modern times (not many, we think); how many are to be
>conducted; what safety procedures are used; whether they wrap the tanks
>with duct tape first (just a joke), etc. The program is called
>"Apaloosa," and the Pu-242--the use of which most LANL scientists still
>believe to be a classified fact,
>though the cat is now out of the bag--is called "Cider."
> Since the utility and principles behind these experiments can be
>readily understood by many people, DOE Defense Programs was at one time
>arguing alongside the DOE Office of Declassification that their
>existence should be unclassified. Indeed, it was a DP official who
>recently confirmed the use of Pu-242 to the press. *****The DOE office
>that argued against declassification was the Office of Nonproliferation,
>presumably because they best understood the
>difficulties these full-scale, exact-replica tests could pose for the
>perceived universality of the CTBT.*****
> We have working drawings of the current vessels, and photographs of
>older, apparently-used vessels (judging by the radioactive tags)--which
>you can see for yourself at the plutonium facility if you come here.
> In addition to these tests, a program of flyer plate experiments
>involving Pu-239, similar in principle to the first subcritical test
>"Rebound," has begun at LANL. We have not compared the pressures
>generated in these tests to the NTS experiments; presumably they are
>smaller. The flyer plates are just 3 mm in diameter, and they are
>driven by a laser. They can be repeated in just a day. Also, flyers
>are being accelerated by a gas gun at the
>plutonium facility, which has just recently begun operation again.
> All these tests are gearing up to facilitate certification of a new
>warhead for the Trident system, a process due to either end (or to
>begin; there is ambiguity) in about 2003 at this lab. If LLNL's
>pit-reuse design is chosen instead, there will be no new-pit
>manufacturing requirement, and LANL could possibly lose hundreds of
>millions of dollars, if not billions, in manufacturing upgrades and
>operating expenses for the new pits, depending on complex
>other factors. Livermore, however, would then have a major new-system
>design and stewardship "contract." The race to drain more content from
>the CTBT has significant financial prizes to the winners.
From: Nuclear Age Peace Foundation <wagingpeace@napf.org>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Thoughts on Strategy
Date: 10 Feb 1999 18:01:52 -0800
Dear Friends,
Here are a some thoughts on principles related to strategy for a U.S. Abolition Campaign.
1. It should be focused on the goal of abolition and on specific steps along the way (de-alerting, No First Use, no further deployment of missile defense, CTBT ratification, etc). We must be careful and clear about not confusing any one step toward the goal with the goal itself.
2. It should be multi-layered, aimed at both decision-makers, the media, and the public. All efforts should be aimed at particular outcomes that are synergistic. For example, the public should be asked to press decision-makers for specific outcomes.
3. It should be segmentable so that different groups in the campaign can take responsibility for accomplishing clearly defined sub-goals within the campaign.
4. It should have agreed upon symbols and slogans for a large PR campaign.
5. It should have high profile military, political and celebrity spokespersons capable of getting the message out to the country as a whole.
6. It should be so compelling that even politicians and policy-makers will not be able to hold back the public demand for this progress on abolition.
7. It should try to forge links with political leaders and supportive countries as the landmines campaign did so successfully.
Re: Some personal observations and ideas for building a broader, more inclusive, and more mutual nuclear abolition campaign in the USA
Although I won't be able to join you this weekend in California, I'm keenly interested in the shape of our agenda and our discourse on the issue of nuclear abolition. I'm even more concerned that the communities whose voices aren't fully represented in the discussion- Third World people(s) and poor folk- have a significant " place at the table" that both influences our discussion and helps to build a campaign that addressed our own diverse concerns.
Clearly, the current configuration of nuclear abolition advocates doesn't represent the racial, ethnic, and/or class diversity of the USA population. ( I, for example, was the only Africanamerican who attended the October 9 abolition gathering in Chicago, and I didn't see, or couldn't identify, any Latino/a activists there either) Most identifiable abolition activists are middle-upper middle class white people, with the exception usually being some Native people who have organized successfully, especially against nuclear testing on Native land ( which is all of the Americas, in fact). Moreover, I'd venture to guess that nuclear issues don't show up on the agendas of major activist groups in communities of color, or at least in organizations that I can identify in the national Africanamerican community. A friend of mine, without sarcasm, told me once that Black people would deal with nuclear weapons once the problems of unemployment, substandard housing, corporate racism, e!
cono
mic deprivation, failed schools, police violence, crime, and drugs were out of the way.
I suspect that the abolition issue is not a high social or political priority for Third World peoples and organizations because, among other reasons
White abolition leaders and organizers have avoided building mutuality with Third World and working class people and organizations, leading those communities and organization to look at the abolition issue as a "white" and "elitist" thing
Abolition organizations generally lack critical masses of Third World-working class people in leadership positions who "push" the issue in a more inclusive, democratic way
Real information of the social cost of the nuclear age isn't known to, or has not been shared with, opinion shapers and policy makers in our communities, especially those with influence in media, religious, and public policy circles.
But nuclear abolition is an important issue- not just for the handful of people of color and working class folks who actually work on the issue, but to our broader constituents, too: not just because nuclear weapons are equal opportunity mass killers, but because the nuclear infrastructure itself had been maintained to our disproportional detriment ( and as our Western Shoshone brothers and sisters can testify, at the cause of our disproportional death and sickness).
At the clear risk of overstating the obvious, I maintain here that what is needed is a broad, popular abolition campaign that not only speaks truth to power, but that speaks it in a language and style that can capture and ignite our imaginations and address our real concerns not only for nuclear abolition, but for racial and economic justice as well.
SOME IDEAS FOR ABOLITION CAMPAIGN DEVELOPMENT WITHIN AND CONNECTED TO THIRD WORLD PEOPLES AND ORGANIZATIONS
1. Let's make creative use of the Abolition 2000 Resolution for Municipalities. I think that this resolution is a potentially powerful tool for putting the resolution before broader, more numerous constituencies. Remember, town/city councils in North American cities like Philadelphia, Trenton, New Jersey, and Pittsburgh have passed versions of the resolution, as well as dozens of towns and cities in the United Kingdom and Australia.
The proliferation of Black and Brown mayors, city managers, and predominantly Third World town councils throughout the United States, as well as "progressive" local governments, might make the revival of a cities campaign in the context of a broader abolition campaign a good thing to work on. ( In this regard, I'm encouraged by the fact the Detroit City Council passed a resolution last year
that called for an end to sanctions against Iraq and supported humanitarian relief efforts). We should organize working groups in various towns to develop popular education strategies and support an abolition resolution might support broader coalition-building efforts.
I'm willing to take on some leadership in developing and shaping this initiative, and I encourage some group to emerge from this meeting who could support this strategy possibly by re-drafting the Model Abolition Treaty 2000 resolution for Municipalities and developing appropriate background information for public education and study, and working on strategies for bringing the resolution to
the attention of more town/city councils, especially in cities and towns with large Third World and working class populations
2. Let's translate Abolition campaign materials into other languages ( Spanish comes to mind immediately), and writing styles. I remember. a successful campaign, some years ago, to get inner-city women to go for free screenings for breast and colon cancer at Harlem Hospital in New York City. One of the key ingredients in the information hand-outs was the fact that stuff was written for people with eighth-grade reading levels. This is not being presumptuous about who can read what, or a what level of "complexity". It does mean, though, that written material that successfully builds mass support for an issue needs to consider that most folks aren't scientists, activists, or scholars.
3. Let's develop a simple, powerful, and compelling piece of writing that makes the issue of nuclear abolition a racial and economic justice issue, too. Perhaps this Santa Barbara group could produce some people willing to work on this, and maybe produce it in the form of a brochure for mass distribution ( if something like this doesn't already exist. It may).
4. Let's think about community media opportunities, like cable television ( and satellite) broadcasts, writing short pieces for newsletter distribution, Third World-oriented e-mail lists ( like Black Geeks online- no foolin', that's their name), guest columns from Third World abolition activists, trying to get the issue up and running on Black Entertainment Television, etc., etc). The list goes on. But maybe we can start with a strategic brainstorm at Santa Barbara about who in the information-dissemination/media community we might want to reach with compelling information about the imperative for nuclear abolition.
5. We should work on building mutual relationships with more established faith communities, including non-Christian ones. This is something that almost all of us have been talking about. It's pretty self-explanatory, I think.
These are some of my ideas, and not necessarily those of FOR. But I look forward to working with any of you who see potential in developing these ideas in the context of our work to rid the world of nukes! Peace and successful organizing to all.
saved as: C:// sbideas
--=====================_918760404==_
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Clayton Ramey ( Ibrahim Malik Abdil-Mu'id) coordinates the Peace and
Disarmament program of the Nyack, New York- based Fellowship of Reconciliation.
--=====================_918760404==_--
-
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.
Re: Some personal observations and ideas for building a broader, more inclusive, and more mutual nuclear abolition campaign in the USA
Although I won't be able to join you this weekend in California, I'm keenly interested in the shape of our agenda and our discourse on the issue of nuclear abolition. I'm even more concerned that the communities whose voices aren't fully represented in the discussion- Third World people(s) and poor folk- have a significant " place at the table" that both influences our discussion and helps to build a campaign that addressed our own diverse concerns.
Clearly, the current configuration of nuclear abolition advocates doesn't represent the racial, ethnic, and/or class diversity of the USA population. ( I, for example, was the only Africanamerican who attended the October 9 abolition gathering in Chicago, and I didn't see, or couldn't identify, any Latino/a activists there either) Most identifiable abolition activists are middle-upper middle class white people, with the exception usually being some Native people who have organized successfully, especially against nuclear testing on Native land ( which is all of the Americas, in fact). Moreover, I'd venture to guess that nuclear issues don't show up on the agendas of major activist groups in communities of color, or at least in organizations that I can identify in the national Africanamerican community. A friend of mine, without sarcasm, told me once that Black people would deal with nuclear weapons once the problems of unemployment, substandard housing, corporate racism, e!
cono
mic deprivation, failed schools, police violence, crime, and drugs were out of the way.
I suspect that the abolition issue is not a high social or political priority for Third World peoples and organizations because, among other reasons
White abolition leaders and organizers have avoided building mutuality with Third World and working class people and organizations, leading those communities and organization to look at the abolition issue as a "white" and "elitist" thing
Abolition organizations generally lack critical masses of Third World-working class people in leadership positions who "push" the issue in a more inclusive, democratic way
Real information of the social cost of the nuclear age isn't known to, or has not been shared with, opinion shapers and policy makers in our communities, especially those with influence in media, religious, and public policy circles.
But nuclear abolition is an important issue- not just for the handful of people of color and working class folks who actually work on the issue, but to our broader constituents, too: not just because nuclear weapons are equal opportunity mass killers, but because the nuclear infrastructure itself had been maintained to our disproportional detriment ( and as our Western Shoshone brothers and sisters can testify, at the cause of our disproportional death and sickness).
At the clear risk of overstating the obvious, I maintain here that what is needed is a broad, popular abolition campaign that not only speaks truth to power, but that speaks it in a language and style that can capture and ignite our imaginations and address our real concerns not only for nuclear abolition, but for racial and economic justice as well.
SOME IDEAS FOR ABOLITION CAMPAIGN DEVELOPMENT WITHIN AND CONNECTED TO THIRD WORLD PEOPLES AND ORGANIZATIONS
1. Let's make creative use of the Abolition 2000 Resolution for Municipalities. I think that this resolution is a potentially powerful tool for putting the resolution before broader, more numerous constituencies. Remember, town/city councils in North American cities like Philadelphia, Trenton, New Jersey, and Pittsburgh have passed versions of the resolution, as well as dozens of towns and cities in the United Kingdom and Australia.
The proliferation of Black and Brown mayors, city managers, and predominantly Third World town councils throughout the United States, as well as "progressive" local governments, might make the revival of a cities campaign in the context of a broader abolition campaign a good thing to work on. ( In this regard, I'm encouraged by the fact the Detroit City Council passed a resolution last year
that called for an end to sanctions against Iraq and supported humanitarian relief efforts). We should organize working groups in various towns to develop popular education strategies and support an abolition resolution might support broader coalition-building efforts.
I'm willing to take on some leadership in developing and shaping this initiative, and I encourage some group to emerge from this meeting who could support this strategy possibly by re-drafting the Model Abolition Treaty 2000 resolution for Municipalities and developing appropriate background information for public education and study, and working on strategies for bringing the resolution to
the attention of more town/city councils, especially in cities and towns with large Third World and working class populations
2. Let's translate Abolition campaign materials into other languages ( Spanish comes to mind immediately), and writing styles. I remember. a successful campaign, some years ago, to get inner-city women to go for free screenings for breast and colon cancer at Harlem Hospital in New York City. One of the key ingredients in the information hand-outs was the fact that stuff was written for people with eighth-grade reading levels. This is not being presumptuous about who can read what, or a what level of "complexity". It does mean, though, that written material that successfully builds mass support for an issue needs to consider that most folks aren't scientists, activists, or scholars.
3. Let's develop a simple, powerful, and compelling piece of writing that makes the issue of nuclear abolition a racial and economic justice issue, too. Perhaps this Santa Barbara group could produce some people willing to work on this, and maybe produce it in the form of a brochure for mass distribution ( if something like this doesn't already exist. It may).
4. Let's think about community media opportunities, like cable television ( and satellite) broadcasts, writing short pieces for newsletter distribution, Third World-oriented e-mail lists ( like Black Geeks online- no foolin', that's their name), guest columns from Third World abolition activists, trying to get the issue up and running on Black Entertainment Television, etc., etc). The list goes on. But maybe we can start with a strategic brainstorm at Santa Barbara about who in the information-dissemination/media community we might want to reach with compelling information about the imperative for nuclear abolition.
5. We should work on building mutual relationships with more established faith communities, including non-Christian ones. This is something that almost all of us have been talking about. It's pretty self-explanatory, I think.
These are some of my ideas, and not necessarily those of FOR. But I look forward to working with any of you who see potential in developing these ideas in the context of our work to rid the world of nukes! Peace and successful organizing to all.
saved as: C:// sbideas
--=====================_918760632==_
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Clayton Ramey ( Ibrahim Malik Abdil-Mu'id) coordinates the Peace and
Disarmament program of the Nyack, New York- based Fellowship of Reconciliation.
--=====================_918760632==_--
-
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.
From: Peace Action - National Office <panukes@igc.apc.org>
Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) Thoughts on Strategy
Date: 11 Feb 1999 10:35:39 -0800 (PST)
Well done!
> From owner-abolition-usa@lists.xmission.com Wed Feb 10 18:03:30 1999
> X-Authentication-Warning: alpha.matrixinet.com: pm10-15.sba1.avtel.net [207.71.237.165] didn't use HELO protocol
> X-Sender: napf@silcom.com
> Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1999 18:01:52 -0800
> To: abolition-usa@lists.xmission.com
> From: Nuclear Age Peace Foundation <wagingpeace@napf.org>
> Subject: (abolition-usa) Thoughts on Strategy
> Sender: owner-abolition-usa@lists.xmission.com
> Reply-To: abolition-usa@lists.xmission.com
>
> Dear Friends,
>
>
> Here are a some thoughts on principles related to strategy for a U.S. Abolition Campaign.
>
>
> 1. It should be focused on the goal of abolition and on specific steps along the way (de-alerting, No First Use, no further deployment of missile defense, CTBT ratification, etc). We must be careful and clear about not confusing any one step toward t
he goal with the goal itself.
>
>
>
> 2. It should be multi-layered, aimed at both decision-makers, the media, and the public. All efforts should be aimed at particular outcomes that are synergistic. For example, the public should be asked to press decision-makers for specific outcomes.
>
>
> 3. It should be segmentable so that different groups in the campaign can take responsibility for accomplishing clearly defined sub-goals within the campaign.
>
>
> 4. It should have agreed upon symbols and slogans for a large PR campaign.
>
>
> 5. It should have high profile military, political and celebrity spokespersons capable of getting the message out to the country as a whole.
>
>
> 6. It should be so compelling that even politicians and policy-makers will not be able to hold back the public demand for this progress on abolition.
>
>
> 7. It should try to forge links with political leaders and supportive countries as the landmines campaign did so successfully.
Subject: (abolition-usa) "Nevada Sweethearts" to appear in Federal Court
Date: 16 Feb 1999 11:58:34 -0800
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 16, 1999
CONTACT: Susi Snyder or Reinard Kuutsen (702) 647-3095 or shundahai@shundahai.org
"NEVADA SWEETHEARTS" TO APPEAR IN FEDERAL COURT FOR NONVIOLENT ACTION TO STOP SUBCRITICAL NUCLEAR TESTING
(Las Vegas - SN) Two staff members, Susi Snyder and Reinard Knutsen, of Shundahai Network, an international anti-nuclear and indigenous support organization with an office in Las Vegas, will appear in Federal Court, to face charges stemming from a September 8th, 1998 nonviolent direct action known as the "Nevada Sweethearts Action".
The trial beginning, Wednesday, February 17, at 1:30 pm, takes place at the Foley Federal Building on 300 S. Las Vegas Blvd, where the two sweethearts celebrated their anniversary by locking themselves together on a ledge above the front entrance to bring public attention and pressure to stop the ongoing subcritical nuclear weapons program at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). "Bagpipe", the fourth subcritical test since 1997 was exploded on September 26. Since then two other subcritical tests "Cimarron" and "Clarinet" have been conducted at the test site.
"We did not break the law," says Reinard Knutsen. "We are in fact citizen enforcers of the law. The U.S. government is breaking international law by their continuing nuclear weapons programs and Nevada law by threatening our land and water with radioactive contamination and our people with cancer and sickness. It is necessary for us as U.S. citizens to do everything within our power to uphold the law and protect ourselves and our community."
"We are not the criminals here," declares Susi Snyder. "The DOE must be held accountable to the public for the destruction it is wreaking on our environment, our health, and our world. Only when the last nuclear weapon is dismantled, and the last nuclear power plant is decommissioned, and all of the world's nuclear wastes are stored in a safe and sane manner, will we end our vigilance!"
The two "Sweethearts" will use first amendment, international law, the Treaty of Ruby Valley, and necessity under imminent duress as some of their legal arguments during the trial to prove that they were upholding international, national and Nevada law by taking their nonviolent direct action.
Subcritical nuclear weapons tests use plutonium and high powered chemical explosives to study the physics of nuclear weapons material. These tests will help expand the knowledge base that scientists from the national Laboratories are developing under the Stockpile Stewardship Program, a key element of the Department of Energy's (DOE) 6.2 billion defense budget the Clinton administration has requested for next year. The plutonium is left 960 feet below ground dangerously close to the groundwater which has already been found to be contaminated by past nuclear tests. This groundwater flows out of the test site towards Amargosa Valley which depends on this water for its agriculture and dairy industries.
"This is poisoning our water," says Susi Snyder. "The deadly results of atomic testing have not been made clear to the people of this country, and the Stockpile Stewardship Program is another blanket the DOE is pulling over the eyes of the people."
Subcritical tests help fan the flames that continue the cold war mind set. Russia took up the "challenge" by detonating five subcriticals in 1998 and China reportedly has an ongoing subcritical program. Both India and Pakistan have conducted full scale nuclear weapons test last year citing frustration with U.S. hypcoracy through the continued U.S. nuclear testing program. These subcritical tests have created international outrage at U.S. hypocrisy and threaten the international ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
"We have tried for three years to stop this nuclear weapons programs by vigiling, writing letters and making phone calls to the White House and Congress, attending Department of Energy meetings and hearings," says Knutsen. "We took this nonviolent direct action because we were and continue to be under imminent duress. We felt like we had no other options but to put our bodies on the line to stop this nuclear nightmare that will effect people for generations to come."
NTS is within the boundaries of the Western Shoshone Nation known as Newe Sogobia. The Western Shoshone National Council (WSNC) has long been opposed to U.S. nuclear weapons and waste programs conducted within their territory outlined by the Treaty of Ruby Valley ratified by Congress in 1886. A resolution was passed by the WSNC in 1995 declaring their nation to be a nuclear free zone.
Anti-nuclear supporters and friends of the "Sweethearts" will gather in front of the Federal Building at 12:45 pm for a prayer vigil. The defendants and others will be available to answer questions before and after the trial.
