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abolition-usa-digest    Wednesday, August 26 1998    Volume 01 : Number 012




----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 14:57:51 EDT
From: <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Part of a dialogue on Terrorism, State & Otherwise

I am sending out my response to a post from someone on the Left (for whom I
have, generally, substantial respect, as well as frequent disagreements).
I've left his first name -- the world is filled with Jim's - but deleted
anything else, though a copy, of course, goes to him.  Copies go to several
people and a couple of lists -- the issues involved in this are not going
away.

Fraternally,
David McReynolds

Jim,

I will wait for your response when you return from your (well deserved)
holiday.  People can disagree on whether Clinton did this because of Monica.
I think that is so obvious I am a little surprised it isn't a kind of a
"accepted wisdom."  However . . . we can certainly disagree on that.  And
still come back to the central issues.

I agree with your points on the governments in Sudan and Afghanistan.  I never
was enthusiastic about the religious fighters against the Soviets because
while I thought the Soviets should not have invaded Afghanistan, I didn't see
much light at the end of that tunnel and thought we should have kept well out
of it.  (Aside from clear condemnations of the Soviet invasion.)

This is one more case of CIA chickens coming home to roost.  I'm disturbed
(pretty genuinely) by a couple of things.  One is people of your sharpness
buying into the need for the bombings -- whether Monica was involved or not.
Let's leave Monica out entirely.

Clinton and his advisers seem to be giving us an ideal reason for maintaining
the security state -- using the Islamic demon as the reason.  The fact that
our most terrible terrorism came from a young soldier who had seen action in
the Gulf (and said, in a letter to his sister which predated the bombing and
his arrest and trial, that he had been asked in his application to the Special
Forces or whatever that elite group was to take part in domestic drug running
and terrorism for the CIA).

Terrorism is a very hard thing to strike back at and sometimes to define.
Lockerbie was terrorism.  But what about the Reagan attack on Libya?  (And I
stood on the ground in Tripoli and saw where the smart bombs landed -- not
only in Gadaffi's home, where his daughter was murdered, but at the French
Embassy, and on the block were a 3 story apartment building, nowhere near any
official building or military target, has been taken out with the loss of life
of everyone living there.)  The attack on the military barracks in Lebanon was
not responded to -- unless Grenada was Reagan's response.  And what terrorism
justified the slaughter of the Bush invasion of Panama?  Or was that not a
kind of "State Terrorism" of its own?  Or am I wrong in opposing the heavy
loss of civilian life there and questioning US motives in that raid?

We have yet to make a response to the attack on US troop barracks in Saudi
Arabia.  (One logical response would be to get our troops out - I would have
hoped that socialists and even some liberals would agree that NO nation has
the right to foreign military bases outside its own borders, and certainly not
the virtually endless string of bases the US has -- and I'd hope that this
wasn't simply a "pacifist" position but something central to the most
democratic kind of socialism.)

No, what I sense in watching good people fall in line on this is a real
feeling of what it must have been like (sorry, but it fits) in Nazi Germany
before the lights went out.  We ask from this great distance in time why so
few opposed Hitler.  Each time here - Grenada, Libya, Panama, Iraq, we find
the people the US brutalizes are nasty themselves so a key chunk of the Left -
DSA in this case and the liberals just to your right -- keep quiet, or even
become active supporters.

This was, of course, exactly what happened in the early days of the Vietnam
War when the Tonkin Gulf Resolution could sail through with only two
dissenting votes in the Senate.
Clinton and his advisers are unable in reality to deal with terrorism because
it is a hard thing to deal with.  The Israelis have won every battle but never
won this war.  The Irish (or the British troops) have enough sense not to bomb
some Catholic village near Dublin when a terrorist bomb goes off in Northern
Ireland.  (Better sense than the Israelis have -- they always seem quite proud
of their ability to bomb villages they allege contain terrorists.)

There are times when terrorism cannot be dealt with on an immediate basis.
And in those cases it is so tempting for the US to simply use its massive
weapons and hit someone -- anyone.  It scores points with its domestic
opposition.  None of us like to oppose such actions because which of us can
support terrorism or want to seem in any way sympathetic to it?  On Panama, as
an example, Noriega was a terrible person (that he was "our own terrible
person" only made him the more terrible, in my view) so who could defend him?
But the kids that Bush killed were not terrible.  They hadn't lived long
enough to do anything.

Jim, when you say that it is a bad sign when I mention Hitler, I have to say
it is a bad sign when, in closing, you refer to the regimes that were hit --
as if we didn't agree on the nature of those regimes, or as if that explained
or justified anything.  It is always a bad sign when in defense of an illegal
or immoral act the criminal argues that the victim was at least as unpleasant.

There are a couple of pretty central issues behind this.  One is that everyone
(except a handful of us on the Left) is now winking about assassination.  I
thought this country, of all countries, would have learned that you don't wink
at, conspire at, or take part in assassination.  (If only, for the most
bizarre of reasons, because the Begin you wanted to hang yesterday becomes the
head of State, or the Arafat you wanted to assassinate yesterday becomes the
"partner" with whom you must negotiate.)  This is, unhappily, the case in
Afghanistan where US/Pakistan support has given us a regime which is now
shipping heroin out of the country -- to us -- and providing sanctuary for
terrorists.  And now we think we can solve things with an assassination?  Yet
I've seen several posts (and even the NY Times op ed of some months ago in
which Clinton's former young aide suggested we murder Saddam) in which there
is a wistful wish we could handle things as effectively as Mossad (as if
Mossad in fact was very competent)!

Second, there is a real problem in unilaterally deciding the US can hit across
national borders without a legal case.  What is the United Nations for?  What
is the World Court for?  Is it OK to launch these strikes simply because we
are powerful?  In that case, count me out -- that isn't the kind of world I
want to build.  That way lies the "end justifies the means and my heavens look
where we have ended up, with a Gulag" world.

As a pacifist I oppose all military action -- and so it is easy to write off
anything I say after I've said that.  But I would hope all socialists and at
least a handful of liberals would share my questions about political
assassination, about the unilateral use of deadly force, and about -- central
point -- the danger of this security state now lifting up "Islamic terrorists"
as the basis for continuing a regime which has not given us greater security
but does keep the security state fully employed.

Am I the only person who notes that immediately after our decision to smash
terrorism and insure our safety that everything -- every airport, every police
force, etc., goes on double alert?  So who feels safer?

I respect your views enough to hope you can talk me out of my dark mood.  But
as it stands, the longer I watch which way this wind is blowing, the darker my
mood.

Fraternally,
David McReynolds


<< Subj:     Re: Clinton's bombing of Sudan and Afghanistan: time for resignation
 Date:    8/21/98 6:48:07 PM Eastern Daylight Time

 To:    [e-mail]

 Well, I strongly disagreed with your post in response to Leo --
 it's always a bad sign for you when you start talking about Nazis, by
 the way;)
 but I'm on my way to a three-day vacation in my country place, so I'll
 wait to respond until Monday night.  This business will go on for a while,
 and we may know more by then anyway.
 The nub of my point, as Monty Python would say, was that Clinton's
 personal troubles had nothing to do with this -- he acted as any
 conceivable President of the US would have acted.  That doesn't mean he
 was right; it just means that personalizing this onto him is a diversion
 from debating the policy itself.  This is part of a long-standing
 struggle between the US and its allies and a variety of Islamic groups
 opposed to them, and I think you did the question a disservice by glomming
 onto Monicagate -- if you have an alternate policy put it forward.  And
 remember that the governments in question here are the Khartoum regime which
 is committing genocide on its black citizens, the Taliban in Afghanistan,
 and terrorists who were willing to kill or wound thousands of African
 bystanders to get 15 Americans.





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------------------------------

Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 15:28:31 -0700 (PDT)
From: Loring Wirbel <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re:  (abolition-usa) Part of a dialogue on Terrorism, State & Otherwise

David M:
    Thank you for your principled stance on the bombings issue.  While
we can always point to what dangerous characters the bin Laden group
is comprised of, it seems far more successful to do the kind of
community ostracizing that the citizens of Dundalk did to the so-called
"Real IRA", than to bomb the bejesus out of someone.  If we look at
Khartoum, Africans and Arabs in that city have traditionally hated each
other, yet they were marching arm in arm, denouncing the U.S.  And
Cohen and Albright and Berger think the U.S. gained ground in promoting
its interests there???!!!
     I am as puzzled as you that people who would identify themselves
as progressives could even BEGIN to justify those bombings.  Madeleine
made very clear during the Aug. 20 press conference that the U.S. will
not consider any claims of sovereignty when pursuing its interests, and
basically considers the planet its own to play with.  People who
provide this even tacit support are supporting a unipolar superpower
who insists on playing zero-sum, king-on-the-mountain games.

Loring Wirbel
CPIS/PPJPC
Colorado Springs

[e-mail]



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------------------------------

Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 10:15:12 -0400
From: Peace through Reason <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) NucNews: Nuclear Plant Highest Taxpayer, MD 8/13/98 Wash Post

Here's a telling quote from the Washington Post 8/13/98,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-08/13/013l-081398-idx.html

         ... But Krug, Mister and Frazer said giving a retroactive tax
              break to residents would hurt the county next year when
              it tries to convince lawmakers in Annapolis that it will
              be financially devastated by deregulation of the electric
              utilities.

              The Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant is the county's
              largest single taxpayer, providing about 20 percent of its
              tax base. Plant revenue is likely to dip after deregulation,
              and early projections show that the county would lose
              $3.6 million to $10 million a year in revenue.

              To grant a retroactive tax cut, the county would have to
              seek special legislation from the General Assembly.

This must explain why local governments are so silent about nuclear power
plants.  Shortsighted, aren't they?

Ellen Thomas
[e-mail]

_______________________________________________________________________

* Peace Through Reason - http://prop1.org - Convert the War Machines! *
_______________________________________________________________________

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------------------------------

Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 17:50:44 -0400
From: Peace through Reason <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) FWD: Low Level Radiation and Implications for Medicine and the Nuclear Industry--Symposium Sept. 26 & 27, 1998.

From: Jackie Kittrell <[e-mail]> via <[e-mail]>
8/24/98

Dear friends with radiation health interests:

I wanted to spread the word about a medical symposium to be held September
26 & 27, 1998 in New York City.  To attend this is a fairly expensive
proposition, with $100 (non MDs) for registration, as well as travel and
lodging and meals in NYC, but if you can manage it, it will be well worth
attending.  Dr. Bill Reid from Oak Ridge will be speaking as a physician who
has treated radiation and chemical damaged patients; other wonderful
scientists and MDs are expected too.  (see program below)  It is approved
for up to 12.5 CME credits as well.   It will be held at the New York
Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY  11937; sponsored by STAR and
the Foundation for Better Health Care.

I have been told by Dr. Caldicott that one of the sponsoring groups (STAR:
Standing for the Truth About Radiation) has little to no funds for
subsidizing travel.  It may be worth emailing or calling to check that.
Please contact:  Carrie Clark, [e-mail]; phone: [phone];
fax: 516: 324-2203.

- ------------------------------------

>From the brochure:
"The controversies surrounding debates about low-level radiation's effects
on human health are long-standing and unresolved.  Standard-setting bodies
have lowered recommended radiation protection standards over a half dozen
times since they were first established over 70 years ago, as new data and
new interpretations have called into question the standards formerly
perceived as "safe."

"This conference assembles those in the forefront of these debates, with
representation from health physics, epidemiology, the nuclear industry,
medicine, the activist community, and more.

" Recent data on low level radiation is making obsolete the radiation
standards derived from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Studies.  This conference
will address the medical and biological implications of this latest
scientific literature on low level radiation and the ramifications for the
nuclear industry.  With a forum for open debate and discussion, we hope to
move toward some resolution of the current regulatory dilemma.  Above all,
we hope to learn from each other."

Speakers in order of appearance (I used titles only when clearly given in
the brochure) and the title of their presentation:
Saturday, 9/26:
Dr. Donald Luria, M.D., Dept. of Preventative Medicine and Community Health,
New Jersey Medical School. "Potential Medical Consequences of Food
Irradiation."
Dr. Alice Stewart, M.D., FRCP, Dept of Public Health and Epidemiology,
University of Birmingham, "A-Bomb Survivors:  Reassessment of the Radiation
Hazard."
Dr. Hal Morganstern, PhD, Professor of Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public
Health, "Report of the Rocketdyne/Atomic Workers, Incidence of Maligancies."

Eric Wright, Medical Research Council at Harwell, Oxfordshire, "Low-Dose
Radiation and Genetic Damage."
Dr. Steve Wing, PhD and Dr. David Richardson, PhD, Department of
Epidemiology, UNC Chapel Hill, "Radiation and Mortality among Department of
Energy workers, with particular reference to current standards."
(panel discussion)

Carrie Clark, Doctoral candidate in History, SUNY Stony Brook, "Historical
Perspectives on the Nuclear Weapons and Power Industries with particular
reference to radiation exposures."
Jack Fix, Epidemiologist, Pacific Northwest Laboratory, "Dosimetry Program
at Hanford, Radiation Standards, and National Radiation Registry."
Dr. Greg Wilkinson, Professor of Epidemiology, University of Buffalo,
"Mutagenic and Carcinogenic Effects of Alpha Radiation."

Dr. Otto Raabe, President, Health Physics Society, Institute of Toxicology
and Environmental Health, "Three Dimensional Models of Radiation Risk."
Dr. Richard Clapp, PhD, Associate Professor, Environmental Health, Boston
University, School of Public Health, Environmental Health Division,
"Incidence of Malignance in Populations adjacent to the Pilgrim Nuclear
Reactor."
Dr. Myron Pollycove, MD, Professor Emeritus of Laboratory Medicine and
Radiology, University of California School of Medicine, San Francisco;
Visiting Fellow, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, "Molecular Biology,
Epidemiology, and Low-dose Radiation."
Tony Mazzochi, Presidential Ass't, Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers
International Union.
Thurman Wenzl, Research Industrial Hygenist, NIOSH, "Possible Impacts of
recent Radiation Research on Adequacy of Standards and Guidelines."
(panel discussions)

Evening Dinner

Sunday, 9/27
Dr. Helen Caldicott, MD, President Emeritus, Physicians for Social
Responsibility, "Fallout Studies."
Dr, Arjun Makhijani, PhD, President of the Institute for Energy and
Environmental Research, "Environmental Effects of Nuclear Weapons Production
and Testing."
Bernie Goldstein, Director, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences
Institute, "CRESP: A Stakeholder based Approach to Risk Assessment for
Radionuclide Contamination at DOE Sites."

Dr. Marvin Resnikoff, PhD, Senior Associate, Radioactive Waste Management
Associates, "Mobile Chernobyl, Casks Temperatures, Volability, and Isotopes."
Steve Frishman, Geologist, Technical Policy Coordinator, Nevada  Agency on
Nuclear Projects, "Political and Technical Strategies re: Yucca Mountain."
Don Hancock, Director, Nuclear Waste Safety Program, Southwest Research and
Information Institute, Albuquerque, "Carlsbad and Transuranic Wastes."
Diane D'Arrigo, NIRS, "Below Regulatory Concern and Radioactive Metal
Recycling."
Mary Olsen, NIRS, "MOX Fuel and Food Irradiation."
(panel discussion)

William Arkin, Consultant to NRDC "Post Cold War Nuclear Weapons,
Stewardship, and Counterproliferation."
Jonathan Schell, Author, Fate of the Earth, "The Case for Abolition."

Admiral Gene Carroll, USN, Ret., Deputy Director, Center for Defense
Information, "The Military Route to Abolition of Nuclear Weapons."

Dr. Helen Caldicott, MD, President Emeritus, PSR, Summary and Closing.

Possible Sunday additions:  Dr. William Reid, MD, Oak Ridge; Dr. Asaf
Duracovic, MD, PhD, FACP











The Tennessean's articles on the human health effects of toxins in
Oak Ridge, Tennessee:  http://www.edge.net/~lgreen/oakridge/toxic1.htm

Jacqueline O. Kittrell
General Counsel
American Environmental Health Studies Project, Inc.
6328 Strawberry Plains Pike
Knoxville, Tennessee  37914
423.522.1139
[e-mail]




_______________________________________________________________________

* Peace Through Reason - http://prop1.org - Convert the War Machines! *
_______________________________________________________________________

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 To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "[e-mail]"
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------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 19:32:39 -0400
From: "William F. Santelmann, Jr." <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) First meeting of Lexington (MA) Committee for Abolition 2000

A meeting to organize the Lexington (MA) Committee for
Abolition 2000 will take place Wednesday, August 26, 1998,
at 7:30pm in the Lexington United Methodist Church, 2600
Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA.

The Committee's goal is to place an Abolition 2000
Resolution question on the town ballot for the spring of
1999. A petition drive is proposed to alert and educate our
citizens to the present danger as well as to qualify for
inclusion on the ballot.

>From all indications, it will be a tough battle for us! We
would like to hear from other groups engaged in the same
battle in your own towns and cities. We will share our
experiences with you!

William F. Santelmann, Jr.
[e-mail]
30 Fairlawn Ln
Lexington, MA 02420-2715


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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 13:58:00 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) ACTION ALERT/Tritium: Bill responds

>X-UID: 000e79a9
>Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 12:23:10 -0400
>Subject: Tritium: Bill responds
>To: [e-mail]
>[e-mail]
>[e-mail]
>[e-mail]
>[e-mail]
>[e-mail]
>[e-mail]
>[e-mail]
>[e-mail]
>[e-mail]
>[e-mail]
>[e-mail]
>[e-mail]
>[e-mail]
>Cc: [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail]
>From: [e-mail] ([e-mail])
>MIME-Version: 1.0
>Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
>
>To: Tritium trackers
>Fr: Lisa Ledwidge
>
>Below is a letter I received today from President Bill Clinton regarding
>the Administration's position on tritium and the Markey-Graham
>amendment.  No surprises, they still oppose the amendment.  The letter
>is apparently in response to the letter 65 organizations sent him on
>July 28, also attached below.
>
>As you know, the U.S. does not need more tritium to maintain a "credible
>nuclear deterrent."  Tritium can be recycled from excess or dismantled
>nuclear weapons, of which there are plenty.  Tritium production in
>civilian reactors would violate a long standing US nonproliferation
>tenet which separates military and civilian nuclear activities.
>
>I hope you will encourage your networks to take action in support of the
>Markey-Graham amendment which would prohibit the production of tritium
>in commercial nuclear reactors. We are trying to convince the Defense
>Authorization bill conference committee to include it in the final
>bill.  The committee will reconvene in early September so action is
>needed now.  You'll find an action alert below.
>
>Thank you very much.  Please let me know what you hear, and if you need
>more information.
>
>. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
>. Lisa Ledwidge                         .
>. Physicians for Social Responsibility  .
>. 1101 14th Street NW, Suite 700        .
>. Washington, DC  20005  USA            .
>. tel. [phone] ext. 222            .
>. fax [phone]                      .
>. http://www.psr.org                    .
>. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
>
>THE WHITE HOUSE
>WASHINGTON
>
>August 18, 1998
>
>Ms. Lisa Ledwidge
>Associate Director for Security Programs
>Physicians for Social Responsibility
>1101 Fourteenth Street, N.W., Suite 700
>Washington, D.C. 20005
>
>Dear Ms. Ledwidge:
>
>Thank you for your letter regarding tritium production. The
>Markey-Graham Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY
>1999 would prohibit the use of a commercial light water reactor for the
>production of tritium for use in United States nuclear deterrent
>elements.
>
>The Markey-Graham Amendment assumes that the use of such reactors to
>produce tritium is inconsistent with our nonproliferation policy. My
>Administration has extensively reviewed this issue and we have concluded
>that the use of a commercial light water reactor to produce tritium
>would not be inconsistent with U.S. nonproliferation policy, and that
>the Department of Energy should continue to pursue the reactor option.
>
>The United States must establish a reliable source of tritium to
>maintain a credible nuclear deterrent. My Administration is pursuing a
>dual-track strategy for tritium production that calls for the
>development of two technology options: use of a commercial light water
>reactor or the construction of a linear accelerator. We remain on track
>to make a final tritium technology decision by December 1998.
>
>The Markey-Graham Amendment, by prematurely terminating one of the
>tritium production options, prejudges the outcome of the tritium
>decision-making process, and would preclude a decision based on a
>careful and deliberate cost, technical and policy review of each option.
>Such a review is essential to ensuring that we continue to reliably and
>economically meet our security needs. For this reason, I oppose the
>Markey-Graham Amendment.
>
>Again, thank you for sharing your concerns with me on this very
>important issue.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Bill Clinton
>
>*******************************************************
>
>TRITIUM PRODUCTION IN CIVILIAN POWER PLANTS ENDANGERS NATIONAL SECURITY
>AND UNDERMINES U.S. NON-PROLIFERATION POLICY
>
>July 28, 1998
>
>The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton
>President of the United States of America
>The White House
>1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
>Washington D.C. 20500
>
>Dear President Clinton:
>
>On behalf of national, regional and local organizations representing
>hundreds of thousands of citizens nationwide, we strongly oppose
>Department of Energy (DOE) plans to utilize commercial nuclear power
>reactors to produce tritium for nuclear weapons.  In our view, this
>policy blurs the line between military and civilian nuclear power and
>sets a dangerous precedent.  In addition, further reductions in nuclear
>arsenals, which you have supported, would make this policy unnecessary.
>
>We write to urge your Administration to support the language of the
>Markey-Graham amendment to the FY99 Defense Authorization bill,
>prohibiting the use of commercial nuclear reactors for the production of
>tritium.
>
>It has been the longstanding policy of the U.S. to separate military and
>civilian uses of nuclear technology.  We stand behind that policy and
>continue to believe that in this area, the US must make
>non-proliferation concerns paramount.  Plans to produce tritium in
>commercial reactors have already drawn international criticism; for
>instance, in response to concerns about the potential military
>applications of its second nuclear reactor, Egypt criticized the use of
>Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar reactor for "military purposes"
>(Arabic News, October 1997).
>
>Section 57e of the Atomic Energy Act forbids special nuclear material
>produced in a commercial reactor from being used "for nuclear explosive
>purposes."  While the definition "special nuclear material" does not
>include tritium, this technicality does not mask the fact that the DOE
>plans to use a source of civilian electricity as a source of material
>for nuclear weapons.
>
>Prohibiting the use of commercial reactors for tritium production will
>not, as DOE has claimed, jeopardize national security.  Other viable
>options exist, including a re-evaluation of the "need date" for tritium
>production.  The current U.S. time line for securing a new source of
>tritium is based on out-dated thinking in terms of the size of the U.S.
>nuclear arsenal; the DOE still bases its planning on a START I arsenal.
>Implementation of START II will delay the "need" for new tritium until
>at least 2011 because the tritium from the nuclear weapons being retired
>under the provisions of the START treaties can be recycled into the
>nuclear weapons slated to remain in the arsenal.  The lower nuclear
>force levels envisioned under the broad outlines of START III, which you
>successfully negotiated with President Yeltsin last year, will delay the
>"need" for new tritium even further into the 21st century.
>
>The United States does not need to move forward with a tritium program
>that has the potential to undercut longstanding non-proliferation
>policy.  Please prohibit the commercial reactor production of tritium:
>support the Markey-Graham language in the Defense Authorization bill.
>Please use the power of your office to support this language, which is
>so crucial to our national security, rather than to oppose it.
>
>Thank you very much for considering our views on this important
>matter.    Please direct correspondence to: Lisa Ledwidge, Physicians
>for Social Responsibility, 1101 14th St. NW, Suite 700, Washington DC
>20005, tel. [phone], fax [phone].
>
>Sincerely,
>
>NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
>
>Robin Caiola
>20/20 Vision
>
>Kay Camp
>Women's International League for Peace & Freedom
>
>Tom Clements
>Greenpeace International
>
>Scott Denman
>Safe Energy Communication Council
>
>Maureen Eldredge
>Alliance for Nuclear Accountability
>
>Bruce Hall
>Peace Action
>
>John Klotz
>Sierra Club Nuclear Waste Task Force
>
>David Krieger
>Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
>
>Lisa Ledwidge
>Physicians for Social Responsibility
>
>Michael Marriotte
>Nuclear Information Resource Service
>
>Christopher Ney
>War Resisters League
>
>Maurice Paprin
>Fund for New Priorities in America
>
>Jim Riccio
>Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy Project
>
>Dave Robinson
>Pax Christi USA
>
>Susan Shaer
>Women's Action for New Directions
>
>Edith Vallastrigo
>Women Strike for Peace
>
>Joe Volk
>Friends Committee on National Legislation
>
>Paul Walker
>Veterans for Peace
>
>Barbara Weidner
>Grandmothers for Peace International
>
>Peter Weiss
>Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy
>
>REGIONAL AND LOCAL GROUPS
>
>Bill Akin
>Tennessee Peace Action
>
>Sue Bailey
>Nashville Peace Action, Tennessee
>
>Mavis Belisle
>The Peace Farm ,Texas
>
>Patricia Birnie
>GE Stockholders for a Sustainable, Nuclear Free Future, Arizona
>
>Jacqueline Cabasso
>Western States Legal Foundation, California
>
>Francis Chiappa
>Cleveland Peace Action
>
>Clark Coan
>The Southwind Group, Kansas
>
>Vina Colley
>Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety and Security,
>Kentucky
>
>Van Crandall
>Sierra Club North Carolina
>
>Virginia Dollar
>Alternatives In Action!, Georgia
>
>Bruce Drew
>Prairie Island Coalition, Minnesota
>
>Dave Druding
>Peoples Action for a Safe Environment
>
>Marylin Elie
>The Indian Point Project, New York
>
>Eric Epstein
>Three Mile Island Alert, Pennsylvania
>
>Barbara George
>Women's Energy Matters,
>California
>
>Roxane George
>Flagstaff Opposed to Nuclear Transportation, Arizona
>
>Claire Greensfelder
>Plutonium Free Future, California
>
>Don Hancock
>Southwest Research and Information Center, New Mexico
>
>Ann Harris
>We The People, Inc
>Tennessee
>
>Erica Harrold
>California Peace Action
>
>Dawn Hawkins
>Wolf Creek Watchdog Group, Kansas
>
>Barbara Hickernell
>The Alliance to Close Indian Point, New York
>
>Daniel Hirsch
>Committee to Bridge the Gap, Washington
>
>Ralph Hutchinson
>Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, Tennessee
>
>Molly Johnson
>Save Ward Valley, California
>
>Judith Johnsrud
>Environmental Coalition on Nuclear Power, Pennsylvania
>
>Deb Katz
>Citizens Awareness Network, Massachusetts
>
>Marylia Kelley
>Tri-Valley CAREs (Citizens Against a Radioactive Environment),
>California
>
>Dan Kerlinsky MD
>New Mexico Physicians for Social Responsibility
>
>
>Jacqueline Kittrell
>American Environmental Health Studies Project, Tennessee
>
>Phillip Klasky
>Bay Area Nuclear Waste Coalition, California
>
>Paige Knight
>Hanford Watch, Oregon
>
>David A. Kraft
>Nuclear Energy Information Service, Illinois
>
>Mary Lampert
>Massachusetts Citizens for Safe Energy
>
>Lloyd Marbet
>Don't Waste Oregon
>
>Mark Marcoplos
>Orange County Greens, North Carolina
>
>Tom Marshall
>Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, Colorado
>
>Kevin Martin
>Illinois Peace Action
>
>David Lyons McBride
>Georgians Against Nuclear Energy
>
>Pamela S. Meidell
>Atomic Mirror/Earth Ways Foundation, California
>
>Greg Mello
>Los Alamos Study Group, New Mexico
>
>Richard Nielsen
>Citizen Alert, Nevada
>
>Richard Ochs
>Maryland Safe Energy Coalition
>
>Anu Pugalia
>Our Earth, University of Oklahoma
>
>Alfredo Quarto
>Mangrove Action Project, Washington
>
>Wendy Perron
>Physicians for Social Responsibility, New York
>City
>
>Peggy Prince
>Los Alamos Action Coalition, New Mexico
>
>Andy Reid
>The Pacific Party, Oregon
>
>Betty Schroeder
>Arizona Safe Energy Coalition
>
>Alice Slater
>Global Resource Action Center for the Environment Public Fund, New York
>City
>
>Gail Snyder
>Pikes Peak Justice and Peace Commission, Colorado
>
>Lynne Stembridge
>Hanford Environmental Action League, Washington
>
>Ellen Thomas
>Proposition One, Washington, DCKathy Thornton, RSM
>
>NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
>
>Judy Treichel
>Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force
>
>Amy Vas Nunes
>The Connecticut Green Party
>
>Chris Williams
>Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana
>
>Greg Wingard
>Waste Action Project, Washington
>
>
>cc:
>
>The Honorable Al Gore
>Vice President of the United States of America
>ATTN: Leon Furth
>Old Executive Office Building
>Washington D.C.  20501
>fax [phone]
>
>The Honorable Madeleine Albright
>Secretary of State
>ATTN: Lynn Davis and Robert Einhorn, Arms Control and International
>Security Affairs
>Department of State
>2201 C St. NW
>Washington, D.C.  20520
>fax [phone]
>
>The Honorable William Cohen
>Secretary of Defense
>ATTN: Franklin Miller, International Security Policy, and Franklin
>Kramer, International Security Affairs
>The Pentagon
>Washington, D.C. 20301
>fax [phone]
>
>The Honorable Bill Richardson
>Secretary of Energy Designate
>Forrestal Building
>1000 Independence Ave. SW
>Washington, D.C.  20585
>fax [phone]
>
>
>The Honorable John Holum
>Acting Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security
>Affairs
>Department of State
>2201 C St. NW
>Washington, D.C.  20520
>fax [phone]
>
>The Honorable Sandy Berger
>National Security Advisor
>ATTN: Robert Bell
>The White House
>1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
>Washington, D.C. 20500
>fax [phone]
>
>John Podesta, White House Chief of Staff
> fax [phone]
>
>Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee
>
>House National Security Committee, Defense Authorization Conferees
>
>The Honorable Thomas Daschle
>Minority Leader
>U.S. Senate
>Washington D.C.  20510
>
>The Honorable Richard Gephardt
>Minority Leader
>U.S. House of Representatives
>Washington D.C.  20515
>
>*******************************************************
>
>ACTION ALERT
>August 1998
>
>Ask Congress to
>STOP BOMB MATERIAL PRODUCTION IN COMMERCIAL REACTORS
>
>Capitol Switchboard:  202-224-3121
>
>The Department of Energy is set to make a decision on tritium production
>this year.  Tritium is a key component of modern nuclear weapons, the H
>in H-bomb.  Producing it in commercial reactors would violate a long
>standing US policy separating civilian and military nuclear programs.
>
>DOE's own documents have stated that using commercial reactors for
>tritium production "could tarnish an important symbol of US nuclear
>restraint..."  The House of Representatives wisely  included language in
>their Defense Authorization Bill that would prohibit the production of
>tritium in commercial reactors.
>
>But this language, called the Markey-Graham amendment, is at risk of
>being excluded from the final bill, which is now in House-Senate
>conference committee.  Timing of the conference may not be until
>September, but we believe that staff will be working out the difference
>in the bills this month.  I will keep you posted if the schedule
>changes.
>
>*** WHAT YOU CAN DO ***
>
>URGE MEMBERS OF THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE (LISTED BELOW) TO SUPPORT THE
>MARKEY-GRAHAM LANGUAGE IN THE DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL.
>
>202-224-3121 (Capitol Switchboard)
>
>The Honorable __________                The Honorable _______
>US House of Representatives             US Senate
>Washington DC 20515                     Washington DC 20510
>
>Please act before Labor Day, September 7, 1998, when the full Congress
>is back in session.  Also, please let me know of any response you
>receive.  Thank you.
>
>. Lisa Ledwidge
>. Physicians for Social Responsibility
>. 1101 14th Street NW, Suite 700
>. Washington, DC  20005  USA
>. tel. [phone] ext. 222
>. fax [phone]
>. http://www.psr.org
>
>*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *
>
>TALKING POINTS ON TRITIUM
>
>==> Plans to produce nuclear weapons materials like tritium undercut our
>non-proliferation goals. The U.S. has long maintained a clear
>distinction between nuclear weapons work and commercial nuclear
>programs.  The US has tried to persuade  other nations to do the same.
>Violating this long-standing policy would set a dangerous precedent
>worldwide.
>
>==> In addition to non-proliferation concerns, using commercial reactors
>to produce tritium has serious  environmental and public health impacts.
>Tritium is extraordinarily difficult to contain.  Elevated tritium
>levels have already been found in the air and water around reactor
>sites.  Far from harmless, tritium contamination has been associated
>with a variety of public health problems including birth defects and
>cancers.
>
> ==> DOE's concern and time line for tritium production are based on
>out-dated thinking in terms of the size of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
>The DOE still bases its planning on a START I (Strategic Arms Reduction)
>arsenal. Implementation of START II - which has  been ratified by the
>U.S. Senate and is awaiting action in the Russian Duma - will delay the
>"need" for new tritium until at least 2011.  As we comply with START II
>we can recycle the tritium from the dismantled warheads to those slated
>to remain in the arsenal.   The lower nuclear force levels envisioned
>under the broad outlines of START III agreed to by President Clinton and
>Yeltsin last year will delay the "need" for new tritium even further in
>to 21stcentury.
>
>*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *
>
>CONFEREES - HOUSE
>
>Conferees for the House from the National Security Committee on the
>Defense Authorization Conference:
>
>Republicans:
>Spence (SC-Chair)
>Stump (AZ)
>Hunter (CA)
>Kasich (OH)
>Bateman (VA)
>Hansen (UT)
>Weldon (PA)
>Hefley (CO)
>Saxton (NJ)
>Buyer (IN)
>Fowler (FL)
>McHugh (NY)
>Watts (OK)
>Thornberry (TX)
>Chambliss (GA)
>Jones (NC)
>Pappas (NJ)
>Riley (AL)
>
>Democrats:
>Skelton (MO)
>Sisisky (VA)
>Spratt (SC)
>Ortiz (TX)
>Pickett (VA)
>Evans (IL)
>Taylor (MS)
>Abercrombie (HI)
>Meehan (MA)
>Harman (CA)
>McHale (PA)
>Kennedy (RI)
>Allen (ME)
>Snyder (AR)
>Maloney (CT)
>
>
>CONFEREES - SENATE
>
>All Senate Armed Services Committee members are on the Defense
>Authorization Conference:
>
>Republicans:                            Democrats:
>Thurmond (SC-Chair)                     **Levin (MI-Ranking member)
>Warner (VA)                             Kennedy (MA)
>McCain (AZ)                             Bingaman (NM)
>Coats (IN)                              Glenn (OH)
>Smith (NH)                              Byrd (WV)
>Kempthorne (ID)                         Robb (VA)
>Inhofe (OK)                             Lieberman (CT)
>Santorum (PA)                           Cleland (GA)
>Snowe (ME)
>Roberts (KS)
>
>
>**SENATOR LEVIN IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT TO CONTACT. He is the ranking
>minority member of the Defense Authorization Conference and we need his
>support to maintain the Markey- Graham language in the conference.
>Senator Levin spoke on the Senate floor in support for not limiting
>DOE's choice for additional tritium production.  By saying this, he is
>speaking in opposition to the Markey-Graham language.  If you have
>relatives or friends in Michigan, ask them to urge Senator Levin to
>support Markey-Graham.
>
>Senator Carl Levin
>459 Russell Senate Office Building
>Washington, DC  20510-1005
>tel. [phone]
>e-mail [e-mail]
>
>. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
>. Lisa Ledwidge                         .
>. Physicians for Social Responsibility  .
>. 1101 14th Street NW, Suite 700        .
>. Washington, DC  20005  USA            .
>. tel. [phone] ext. 222            .
>. fax [phone]                      .
>. http://www.psr.org                    .
>. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
>
>Thanks to Kimberly Robson of WAND and Brad Morse of ANA for helping with
>this alert.
>
>
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>Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
>Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 12:23:10 -0400
>From: Lisa Ledwidge <[e-mail]>
>Organization: Physicians for Social Responsibility
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>
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)

GRACE is a member of Abolition 2000: A Global Network for the Elimination
of Nuclear Weapons



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