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abolition-usa-digest      Tuesday, April 13 1999      Volume 01 : Number 111




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

Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 12:24:38 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: Appeal by the Serbian NGOs

>Date: Mon, 12 Apr 1999 01:00:00 -0400
>Subject: Appeal by the Serbian NGOs
>Cc: [e-mail],
> [e-mail]
>From: [e-mail] ([e-mail])
>
>Forwarded to:
>abolition-europe
>abolition-caucus
>ippnw.campaign
>ippnw-deutschland
>
>Sorry for those who receive this message repeatedly, but it is VERY
>important.
>Xanthe
>
>APPEAL BY THE SERBIAN NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
>
>
>Deeply disturbed by NATO destruction and the ordeal of Kosovo Albanians,
>
>we, the representatives of nongovernmental organizations and trade union
>
>"Nezavisnost" (Independence), strongly demand from all those responsible
>
>for this tragedy to immediately create ground for the renewal of the
>peace process.
>
>The most powerful military, political and economic powers of the world
>are for two weeks incessantly killing people and destroying not only
>military but also civilian objects, blowing up bridges and rail tracks,
>factories and heating plants, warehouses and basins... At the same time,
>
>in fear of the bombing campaign and military actions by the regime and
>the KLA, hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians are, in an
>unprecedented exodus, forced to leave their devastated homes and look
>for salvation in the tragedy and uncertainty of fleeing.
>
>It is obvious that this is a road to catastrophe, and the peaceful and
>fair solution to the Kosovo problem through international mediation we
>have supported for years, today seems more distant than ever.
>
>The past activities of our organizations in the field of
>democratization, development of a civil society and acceptance of FR
>Yugoslavia into all international institutions have been under constant
>pressure and intimidation by the Serbian regime.
>
>We, as members of civil society associations have courageously and
>nationally fought against war and nationalistic propaganda and in
>support of human rights. We emphasize that we have always raised our
>voices against the repression against Kosovo Albanians and demanded the
>respect of their liberties and guarantees for their rights. We have also
>
>requested the return of the autonomy of Kosovo. We stress that the only
>connection and cooperation of Serbs and Albanians during all these years
>
>has been preserved among civil society institutions.
>
>NATO military intervention has undermined all results we have achieved
>and endangered the very survival of the civil sector in Serbia.
>
>Faced with the tragic situation we have found ourselves in, and in the
>name of human ideas and values, as well as in accordance with all our
>past activities, we are demanding:
>
>- immediate stop to the bombing campaign and all armed movements;
>- resuming of the peace process with international mediation at the
>regional Balkan and European level, as well as in the framework of the
>United Nations;
>- share of responsibility between the European Union and Russia and
>their contribution to the peaceful solution of the crisis;
>- end of the ethnic cleansing process and immediate return of all
>refugees;
>- support to the citizens of Montenegro to preserve peace and stability,
>
>solve serious consequences of the refugee catastrophe and resume with
>the democratic processes that are underway;
>- we demand that the Serbian and international media inform the public
>in a professional manner and not spur media war, incite interethnic
>hatred, create irrational public opinion and glorify force as the
>
>ultimate accomplishment of the human mind.
>
>We cannot meet these demands by ourselves.
>
>We expect from you to support our demands and in your initiatives and
>actions help their implementation.
>
>
>* Association of Citizens for Democracy, Social Justice and Support to
>Trade Unions
>* Belgrade Circle
>* Center for Democracy and Free Elections
>* Center for Transition to Democracy-ToD
>* Civic Initiatives
>* European Movement in Serbia
>*Forum for Ethnic Relations, and Foundation for Peace and Crisis
>Management
>* Group 484
>* Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
>* Student Union of Serbia
>* Union for Truth about Antifascist Resistance
>* United Branch Trade Unions NEZAVISNOST
>* VIN-Weekly Video News
>* Women in Black
>* Yu Lawyers Committee for Human Rights
>* EKO Centar
>
>In Belgrade, April 6, 1999
>
Alice Slater
Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE)
15 East 26th Street, Room 915
New York, NY 10010
tel:  [phone]
fax:  [phone]
email:  [e-mail]

GRACE is a member of Abolition 2000, a global network working for a treaty
to eliminate nuclear weapons.

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 To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "[e-mail]"
 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
 For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send
 "help" to the same address.  Do not use quotes in your message.

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

Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 12:30:22 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: WIPP Call to action

>Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 10:17:41 -0400
>Subject: WIPP Call to action
>To: [e-mail]
>From: [e-mail] ([e-mail])
>
>Here is a call to action in New Mexico and Colorado.  If you received an
>earlier version, please disregard it and use this one.  Circulate as
>widely as you like. Please consider what role you can play in this.
>Nuclear waste is the Achilles heal of the nuclear industry.  We can stop
>it.  I think now is the time.  We can build a movement around WIPP.  The
>immediate significance is to stop a precedent-setting environmental
>disaster in the making.
>The larger significance has to do with ending nuclear bomb production
>and
>bringing a little more democracy into our common life.  Dream and act!
>I just published an op-ed on the alternative to WIPP.  If you want a
>copy
>let me know, preferably by e-mail.  <[e-mail]>
>
>PS:  The following came yesterday from Scott Myers-Lipton, who teaches
>at St Mary's College in Calif.:  "I have read your letter--very
>convincing.
>As a student of the Civil Rights, I am well aware that when a colleague
>and respected elder puts out "a call", the person "called" responds.  Is
>that what you are asking?  If it is, I am prepared to respond to your
>call.
>Just tell me when and where to show up for duty."
>
>STOP  WIPP
>
>HALT TRANSPORT OF PLUTONIUM-LADEN WASTE TO WIPP
>
>NO MORE DUMPING OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE IN THE ENVIRONMENT
>
>A CALL TO ACTION
>
>IF YOU OPPOSE PLUTONIUM IN THE ENVIRONMENT
>YOU ARE NEEDED IN NEW MEXICO AND COLORADO NOW!
>
>*  DOE has begun shipment of plutonium-laden waste from Los Alamos to
>WIPP,
>the world's first site for deep geologic disposal of rad waste.
>*  Plutonium remains radioactive for 240,000 years; one speck in the
>body
>may result in cancer, damage to the immune system, genetic defects.  Any
>quantity of this material in the environment constitutes a permanent
>danger.
>*  Waste at WIPP may eventually contaminate surface soil and water.
>*  Over 35 years DOE intends to send 38,000 truckloads of
>plutonium-laden
>waste to WIPP -- in Colorado 2 to 3 shipments per day on I-25 for 35
>years
>(2,500 from Rocky Flats; the rest from Idaho and Washington).  One
>accident
>that breaches a container could permanently contaminate an area.
>*  The transport container has not been tested for extreme heat or
>impact.
>*  WIPP's opening sets a precedent for the opening of Yucca Mountain.
>*  Some WIPP space is reserved for waste to be generated from future
>bomb-making; one purpose of WIPP thus is to make continued bomb-making
>possible.
>*  The waste intended for WIPP should be isolated from the environment
>at
>sites of generation in monitored, retrievable state-of-the art storage.
>*  This approach keeps options open and allows for a national dialogue
>to
>develop a scientifically credible, publicly acceptable nuclear waste
>policy.
>
>YOU'RE NEEDED.  GET NONVIOLENCE TRAINING.  DO SUPPORT WORK.
>PARTICIPATE IN DIRECT ACTION IN NEW MEXICO NOW.
>PREPARE FOR ACTION ALONG ROUTE FROM COLO. & IDAHO LATER.
>
>IF YOU CAN'T TAKE ACTION, GIVE FUNDS AND TIME.
>
>NEXT TRUCKS TO WIPP FROM LOS ALAMOS:  APRIL 8, 15, 22, 29.
>
>Trucks are now moving to WIPP from Los Alamos.  Next they'll move from
>Rocky Flats and Idaho National Lab, then from Hanford, Savannah River,
>Livermore, Oak Ridge, and all the other sites.  What's done now in New
>Mexico can later be implemented elsewhere.
>
>For more information contact:
>New Mexico WIPP Action, Santa Fe, 505-984-8321 (effective 4-8-99)
>Rocky Mountain Peace & Justice Center, Boulder, 303-444-6981 (4-6-99)
>
>LeRoy Moore, Ph.D.
>Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center
>P. O. Box 1156, Boulder, Colorado 80306-1156 USA
>Phone [phone]; FAX [phone]
>E-mail address effective March 1, 1999:  [e-mail]
>
Alice Slater
Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE)
15 East 26th Street, Room 915
New York, NY 10010
tel:  [phone]
fax:  [phone]
email:  [e-mail]

GRACE is a member of Abolition 2000, a global network working for a treaty
to eliminate nuclear weapons.

- -
 To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "[e-mail]"
 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
 For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send
 "help" to the same address.  Do not use quotes in your message.

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

Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 12:31:18 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: US: Corporate Buyout of NATO

>Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 09:43:24 -0400
>Subject: US: Corporate Buyout of NATO
>Priority: non-urgent
>X-FC-MachineGenerated: true
>To: [e-mail]
>From: [e-mail] ([e-mail])
>
>This article appeared in today's Washington Post.
>
>Kelly Barber,
>Jeanette Rankin Intern
>*********************************************************
>
>Count Corporate America Among NATO's Staunchest Allies
>
>                  By Tim Smart
>                  Washington Post Staff Writer
>                  Tuesday, April 13, 1999; Page E01=20
>
>For many Washingtonians, the NATO military alliance's upcoming
>50th-anniversary bash may end up being notable only for nightmare traffic
>tie-ups. For a few companies, though, the summit could be the ultimate
>marketing opportunity.=20
>A handful of top-drawer U.S. companies -- including heavyweights such as
>Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. as well as upstarts such as
>Nextel Communications Inc., a McLean-based wireless communications firm
>-- will be the gathering's hosts and as such will get to showcase their
>wares and schmooze with top military and political leaders from 44
>nations at events taking place throughout the District.
>
>A dozen companies have paid $250,000 apiece in cash or "in-kind"
>contributions for the privilege of having their chief executives serve as
>directors of the NATO summit's host committee. The group is a
>private-sector support system raising $8 million to finance the April
>23-25 event.
>
>While company representatives express disdain at the notion they will be
>lobbying NATO officials for business, many of the firms on the host
>committee sell precisely the kinds of products most in demand by the
>emerging economies of Eastern and Central Europe -- which include NATO's
>newest members and some prospective additions. Ameritech, for instance,
>is interested in running international phone networks. United
>Technologies Corp. views emerging or developing countries as a big
>potential market for its Otis elevators and Carrier air-conditioning and
>heating units. Both Ford and GM have auto plants throughout Europe. Their
>target audience? Heads of state and key cabinet ministers from the 19
>NATO members, accompanied by leaders from 25 nations that make up the
>Partnership for Peace, countries with aspirations to join the alliance.
>The guests will be accessible for the kind of low-key lobbying and wining
>and dining customary at such international gatherings. About 1,700
>dignitaries are expected to attend -- along with a media contingent of
>3,000.
>
> "The business community was in it from Day One," said Alan John Blinken,
>a former U.S. ambassador to Belgium and investment banker who is heading
>the host committee. "In a lot of these cases, they came to us -- we
>didn't solicit them."
>
> A second tier of firms, including Washington powerhouse law and lobbying
>firms Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, and Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard,
>McPherson and Hand, are members of the committee. Other companies, such
>as Eastman Kodak Co. and missile manufacturer Raytheon Co., are
>participating but taking a less public role. And more are still being
>courted. "They're actually wooing our CEO right now," said Gerald Robbins
>of 3Com Corp.'s Washington office. The communications networking company
>has a contract with NATO to supply equipment for the military alliance's
>AWACS surveillance and control planes that are being flown over Kosovo.
>"NATO is a big customer," Robbins said.
>
>Some host committee members, including Nextel, also hope to attract the
>attention of top U.S. government officials at the summit. The company is
>providing almost 2,000 of Motorola Inc.'s I-1000 combination cell phone
>and two-way radios to visiting foreign dignitaries and members of the
>State Department's summit staff. Four hundred of the $299 phones will be
>embossed with a special anniversary emblem.
>
>Hungary, one of NATO's three newest members, held a reception last week
>at its embassy here, where Nextel's general manager, Nick Sample, proudly
>displayed one of the phones. Beaming, he told of how the product had
>recently been added to the General Services Administration's list of
>approved merchandise, allowing government purchasing officers to order
>the wireless communications gear. Having Nextel phones widely available
>to high-level bureaucrats as well as foreign heads of state is the kind
>of marketing that can only be labeled as priceless.
>
>For the guests, it's free, as Nextel is providing the phones gratis.
>"We've had quite a few inquiries already from the FBI, the State
>Department and the CIA," Sample said.
>
>Corporate support for the NATO summit is an outgrowth of the active role
>many U.S. companies, particularly defense contractors such as Lockheed
>Martin Corp. of Bethesda, have played in the move to enlarge NATO byond
>its traditional U.S.-Western Europe axis. U.S. defense companies lobbied
>hard in Congress in recent years to admit the former Soviet satellites
>Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic.
>
>"Companies like Lockheed Martin, for example, and all of them were active
>with me overseas," said former congressman Gerald B.H. Solomon, who
>headed a House task force appointed by former House speaker Newt Gingrich
>to push the membership issue.
>
>Solomon, now a private lobbyist, said he traveled throughout Eastern and
>Central Europe spreading the message that if the United States was going
>to be NATO's principal military power, supplying most of its high-tech
>weaponry, then U.S. defense firms should receive contracts to rearm the
>former Soviet states.
>
>"We wanted them to buy American," Solomon said.
>
>Corporate representatives say private-sector underwriting of an
>international meeting for sovereign nations is standard business practice
>these days, though the NATO event is a far bigger draw than other
>international get-togethers.
>
>"This is a very unique beast," said Sally Painter, a lobbyist for Tenneco
>Inc. on leave from the auto parts and packaging conglomerate while
>serving as chief operating officer of the host committee. Painter,
>previously a top aide to then-commerce secretary Ronald H. Brown, was
>involved in international business development for Tenneco. "These are
>global corporations that understand the role stability plays with
>investment. There's no quid pro quo at all."
>
>Jim Christy, vice president of government relations for TRW Inc., said it
>makes sense for companies, rather than the member nations, to foot the
>bill for such events.
>
>"Whether it's the [Group of Seven] summit in Denver or the Summit of the
>Americas in Miami, there are not government funds available," Christy
>said, noting that TRW Chairman Joseph Gorman was personally approached by
>Blinken on behalf of the host committee.
>
>"My chairman is public-spirited and agreed to do so," Christy said.
>
>TRW, though it has no contracts to provide products to NATO, is one of a
>handful of companies providing critical communications and defense
>supplies to the U.S. military. Along with donating $250,000 in cash to
>the summit, TRW is developing its World Wide Web site.
>
>"We were hit up for the Summit of the Americas" Christy said, adding that
>TRW did not contribute money for the meeting but built the summit's Web
>site for free.
>
>Blinken said that the expansion of NATO and the pro-Western tilt of
>countries formerly tied to the Soviet Union have created "major new
>trading partners" for the United States but that today the interest in
>new markets comes not only from arms merchants but also from a variety of
>technology firms, including Ameritech Corp., Lucent Technologies Inc. and
>Nextel.
>
>"Most of the companies are not companies you would have expected in the
>old day, companies selling bombs and missiles, what have you," Blinken
>said. "You've got communications companies."
>
>Yet a good number of the firms on the host committee sell weaponry.
>Although the economic crisis that spread throughout Asia and other parts
>of the world last summer has somewhat cooled their enthusiasm, new NATO
>members such as Poland and other countries such as Turkey are viewed as
>prime candidates for U.S. weapons. Poland has been considering new
>fighter jets from either Lockheed or Boeing Co.
>
>TRW's Christy said the summit was low on the radar of most companies just
>a couple of months ago, when the events committee made its first
>solicitations. But the fighting in Yugoslavia has focused attention on
>the gathering.
>
>"All of a sudden," he said, "now this is beginning to burnish a little
>into the consciousness."
>
>NATO Access
>
>Here are the 12 companies that have paid $250,000 to have an executive
>(in parentheses) serve as one of the directors on the NATO summit's host
>committee:
>
>                  Ameritech (Richard Notebaert)
>                  DaimlerChrysler (Robert Liberatore)
>                  Boeing (Christopher W. Hansen)
>                  Ford Motor (Jacques A. Nasser)
>                  General Motors (George A. Peapples)
>                  Honeywell (Michael R. Bonsignore)
>                  Lucent Technologies (Richard A. McGinn)
>                  Motorola (Arnold Brenner)
>                  Nextel Communications (Daniel F. Akerson)
>                  SBC Communications (Edward E. Whitacre Jr.)
>                  TRW (Joseph Gorman)
>                  United Technologies (George David)
>
>                  SOURCE: NATO Anniversary Summit Host Committee=20
>
>=A9 Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company
>___________________________________________________________________
>You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
>Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html
>or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
> =20
Alice Slater
Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE)
15 East 26th Street, Room 915
New York, NY 10010
tel:  [phone]
fax:  [phone]
email:  [e-mail]

GRACE is a member of Abolition 2000, a global network working for a treaty
to eliminate nuclear weapons.

- -
 To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "[e-mail]"
 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
 For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send
 "help" to the same address.  Do not use quotes in your message.

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

Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 13:29:29 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities Bus Tour

>Date: Mon, 12 Apr 1999 18:22:19 -0400
>Subject: Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities Bus Tour
>Priority: non-urgent
>X-FC-MachineGenerated: true
>To: [e-mail]
>X-FC-Forwarded-From: [e-mail]
>From: [e-mail] ([e-mail])
>
>
>Following is information on Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities
>(BLSP), which is a non-profit organization of 400+ business
>executives and senior military advisers working to increase
>domestic investment.  BLSP is planning a national bus tour,
>starting in Washington DC on April 14th,  that will deliver
>presentations on the need for increased domestic investment.  The
>tour schedule follows, along with a form to request a stop in your
>community and general information on BLSP.  For more
>information, please see the BLSP web site at
><http://www.businessleaders.org>.
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- -------
>
>Business Leaders, including Ben and Jerry's Co-Founder Ben
>Cohen, and Federal Budget Analysts to Launch National Bus Tour
>About Federal Spending
>
>Kickoff on the Mall to Feature the Money-Covered "U-Slice-the-Pie"
>Bus, a 15-Foot-High Infant Mortality Baby, and More
>
>What:   In an effort to educate Americans about the local impact of
>federal spending choices, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities
>and the National Priorities Project will launch their national "U Slice
>the Pie" bus tour, which will tour the nation for the next three years.
>
>At each stop on the tour, bus staff--using bright inflatable
>sculptures and other props--will lead citizens through a theatrical
>and educational presentation, including specific local data, of the
>impacts of federal spending priorities in their community.
>Information on 55 U.S. cities and every state will be available at the
>news conference.
>
>A U Slice the Pie performance, complete with the unique props will
>follow the event.
>
>Where:  The National Mall in Washington, DC, West Side of
>Third St, NW between Madison and Jefferson.
>
>When: The day before Tax Day, April 14, 12 Noon.
>
>Who: Ben Cohen, Co-founder of Ben & Jerry's, President Business
>Leadersfor Sensible Priorities (BLSP).  Greg Speeter, Executive
>Director, the National Priorities Project (NPP).
>
>There will also be a retired military officer and representatives from
>groups co-sponsoring the bus tour at the event.
>
>For more information contact:  Stacy Roth (NPP) at (413) 584-
>9556; or Andrew Greenblatt (BLSP) at [phone] ext. 24
>
>
>
>BUSINESS LEADERS FOR SENSIBLE PRIORITIES PRESENTS:
>        THE "U SLICE THE PIE" BUS TOUR
>
>        WHO ARE WE?
>
>Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities is a national, non-profit
>organization of 400+ business executives and senior military
>advisers.  Founded by Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry's, B.L.S.P.
>includes the CEO's of Hasbro, Phillips-VanHeusen, Newman's
>Own, Scientific American and other major corporations.
>
>        WHAT IS OUR GOAL?
>
>B.L.S.P.'s goal is to increase public investments in community
>programs that address education, health care and children's needs
>by shifting $40 billion annually from the Pentagon budget.
>
>        WHAT IS OUR GAME PLAN?
>
>B.L.S.P. will use creative marketing techniques to spread this
>message, including a bus tour that will travel the country delivering
>informative and entertaining presentations on budget priorities.  The
>crew is scheduled to hit the road on April 15th in Washington, D.C.
>and wrap up the first tour in November.
>
>The bus will travel to five cities each week, performing two shows in
>each.  The oral presentation will consist of a "U Slice the Pie"
>exercise where the audience will learn how our federal budget "pie"
>currently is allocated and then participate in an exercise to
>reallocate that budget according to their local needs.  The results
>of these presentations will be shared with the media.  Each
>presentation will be non-partisan, objective and inclusive so that
>people of all political leanings can hear our message.
>
>The bus tour will be a central facet of the B.L.S.P. campaign,
>allowing us to take our agenda into communities large and small
>across the country.  It is also designed to be a media event and
>generate local coverage that will reach a larger audience.
>Combined with the inflatable billboard sculptures it carries and an
>eye-catching paint-job, the bus is designed to provide both still and
>video photo opportunities-as well as substantive content for a local
>news story, feature story and national political story.  We will
>target the bus tour's audiences to reach key constituencies, before
>crowds ranging from 50-100 to larger conferences or meetings.
>
>        WHERE WILL THE BUS BE GOING?
>
>While the Bus Tour schedule is still fluid, the tour will kick off at a
>Washington, D.C. press conference on April 14th (the day before
>Tax Day).  Other dates we are working to build into our schedule
>include: the week ending 4/23/99 -- in Iowa; May 1st -- the
>Children's Defense Fund National Conference in Houston, Texas;
>June 1st -- the "Stand for Children" event in San Francisco.  We
>are looking for other events and conferences, as well as some
>smaller local venues.
>
>CONTACT US TO SCHEDULE A BUS STOP IN YOUR
>COMMUNITY:
>
>Dave Nelson / Bus Tour Director
>1016 North 4th Street
>Cottonwood, Arizona  86326
>Phone:  (520)  649-9328
>Fax:  [phone]
>Email:  [e-mail]
>
>SCHEDULE REQUEST FORM
>
>
>Name of group or
>organization:_________________________________________
>
>Contact
>name:_________________________________________________
>
>Mailing
>Address:______________________________________________
>
>______________________________________________________
>
>Day Phone:_________________________
>
>Evening phone:_____________________
>
>Fax #:_____________________________
>
>Email address:_____________________________
>
>Requested
>date(s):_____________________________________________
>
>Location of
>event:______________________________________________
>
>_______________________________________
>(Street, town/city, state/zip)
>
>Time of event:_______________a.m. / p.m. (circle one)
>
>Sponsoring
>organization:________________________________________
>
>Approximate # of
>attendees:_____________________________________
>
>Please summarize the theme(s) or message(s) that you hope to
>communicate or reinforce through your event(s) and how we might
>be able to add to your program.  (Attach extra paper if necessary
>and please indicate when you need a commitment by.  Also
>include any additional information such as flyers or brochures
>about your event or organization.  Thank You!!)
>
>For more information about our campaign, visit our Web sites:
>www.businessleaders.org      www.moveourmoney.org
>
>
>BUSINESS LEADERS FOR SENSIBLE PRIORITIES
>                 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
>
> * 3-year marketing and public relations campaign to redefine the
>national debate on federal spending priorities.
>
> * Reductions in unnecessary Cold War-era military spending;
>investing the savings in education, health and human needs here at
>home.  Our military advisors, including distinguished retired
>admirals and generals, concur that the $271 billion military budget
>can be cut 15% (or $40 billion annually) while maintaining the
>world's strongest armed forces.
>
>        WHAT'S NEW ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN
>
> * The membership of Business Leaders is novel, as are our
>techniques.  The public believes business people understand
>budgeting and investing scarce resources wisely.  That's why we
>believe that business leaders will be an effective new voice in the
>debate over federal spending priorities.
>
> * Unlike past efforts to cut unnecessary military spending, this one
>is designed as a sustained, strategic, comprehensive campaign
>with a broad audience and a specific set of goals.
>
> * Through professional market research, public relations and paid
>advertising, Business Leaders will market this issue to the
>American public - giving voice to the people's beliefs and mobilizing
>Americans to action.
>
> * The focus will not be on Washington, D.C., but on the public who
>will see and hear our campaign in paid print, radio and television
>advertising; in news stories; on radio and television talk shows; in
>cartoons; in the popular culture of song, art, film and comedy; on
>the Internet; via a coordinated college campus campaign and
>through national membership organizations that share our vision.
>
> * These activities will create a national discussion of our
>government's spending priorities and offer mobilized citizens
>opportunities to make their voices heard to their elected
>representatives.
>
> * With the traction of an educated and mobilized public, we will
>take the campaign to Congress in 2001.
>To collaborate with Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, return
>the Menu for Collaboration (below) or contact Virginia Witt, Director
>of Constituency Group Relations, [phone] (ph) (202)543-
>2565 (fax) or [e-mail]
>Visit our NEW websites: www.businessleaders.org and
>www.moveourmoney.org
>
>
>  BUSINESS LEADERS FOR SENSIBLE PRIORITIES (BLSP):
>        HOW YOUR ORGANIZATION CAN GET INVOLVED
>
>BLSP is a national non-profit public education organization
>comprised of business leaders and military advisors, focused on
>the issue of federal budget priorities.  We invite your organization to
>collaborate with us.   This is a list of resources we can provide at
>your request, tailored to your organization's issues and
>constituency.  Please check the items you are interested in and
>return this form to Virginia Witt, Director of Constituency Group
>Relations, at [e-mail] or fax [phone]) or
>by mail (BLSP, 426 C Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002).  We
>will follow up. Thank you.
>
>__List my organization as a "National Collaborating Organization"
>of BLSP.
>
>Please provide me with the following BLSP resources:
>
>__Draft Policy Resolution on shifting $40 billion in federal
>investment from excess military spending to domestic investment.
> The language of the resolution can be adapted to your
>organization's needs and issue focus.  Deadline____________
>
>__Sample Newsletter Article tailored to your membership
>addressing federal budget priorities and the BLSP campaign.
>
>Publication______________________ Deadline_______
>Length of Article _______
>
>
>__ Graphic Box Illustrating Budget Tradeoffs in your issue area (for
>newsletters)
>Publication Name _________________________
>Deadline_________
>
>
>__ Graphic Web Site "Banner Ad" providing direct link between
>your group's web site and BLSP web site on budget priorities --
>www.businessleaders.org
>
>
>My organization is interested in exploring the following collaborative
>activities:
>
>__ Partnering with BLSP's "You Slice the Pie" National Bus Tour
>on budget priorities, which kicks off April 15, 1999 in Washington,
>D.C.
>
>__ Co-Authored Opinion Article on budget priorities by your
>organization's CEO and a BLSP member CEO.
>
>__ A Presentation by a BLSP CEO or senior military expert at your
>organization's national convention, conference or event.  Date and
>location____________________
>
>__ Use of BLSP television or print advertising or public relations
>team in spotlighting a joint message around budget priorities.
>
>Contact for Follow-up at Your Organization
>
>(Name)___________________(Title)_______________
>
>(Org.)_____________________
>
>(E-Mail) __________________
>
>(Ph)________________(Fax)____________________
>
>
>
>
>---
>You are currently subscribed to budgetgroups as: [[e-mail]]
>To unsubscribe, forward this message to
>[e-mail]
>
Alice Slater
Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE)
15 East 26th Street, Room 915
New York, NY 10010
tel:  [phone]
fax:  [phone]
email:  [e-mail]

GRACE is a member of Abolition 2000, a global network working for a treaty
to eliminate nuclear weapons.

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

Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 10:15:37 -0700
From: "David Crockett Williams" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) LA Times on Nuclear War Danger

- -----Original Message-----
From: Carol Moore <[e-mail]>
To: Peace list from <[e-mail]>
Date: Tuesday, April 13, 1999 9:01 AM
Subject: LA Times on Nuclear War Danger

http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore/C&C-news.html

> Los Angeles Times
> 4/13/99
>
> Cold War's End Leaves Danger of Nuclear War
> Russia's disintegration threatens our security more by inadvertence than
by
> design.
> By ROBERT SCHEER
>
> Back in the days of the Bush administration, Gen. Lee Butler, commander of
> the Strategic Air Command, would once a month go through a practice phone
> conversation with the White House concerning the end of the world.
>
>      "Gen. Butler, what is your recommendation?" the Bush stand-in would
ask
> upon receiving an alert from NORAD that the Soviets had launched a nuclear
> strike against the United States. Butler had to answer fast, because, in a
> real attack, the president would have had only 12 minutes to decide
whether
> to launch thousands of nuclear missiles in retaliation.
>
>      "Use them or lose them" would be the refrain running through Butler's
> brain, well-versed in elegant nuclear deterrence theories of ladders of
> escalation. "I had to say the words recommending the death warrant of tens
> of millions of people, of civilization--20,000 weapons on both sides
> exploding within 12 hours--knowing the planet can't withstand that."
>
>      It still can't. Butler, a 33-year military veteran who rose to be
> director of strategic plans and policy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is
> retired now, and the Soviet Union is but a memory. Yet what haunts him,
and
> what occasioned his rare willingness to be interviewed, is that the Cold
> War's end has increased, not decreased, the prospect of accidental nuclear
> war.
>
>      Twenty-thousand nuclear weapons left over from the Cold War still
stand
> poised for launching, and the MAD doctrine that guided them is very much
in
> force. Neither the U.S. nor Russia has abandoned nuclear war fighting as
the
> cornerstone of their respective national defense policies. "We still
target
> them with nuclear weapons on hair-trigger alert," Butler observed. "The
> world truly has been transformed, but what has not been transformed is our
> thinking about it."
>
>      Russia's political and economic disintegration now threatens our
> security more by inadvertence than by design, prompting key Cold War
> military establishment veterans like Butler to sound the alarm:
>
>      "The Russian command and early warning system is in a state of great
> decline; about two-thirds of the satellites they relied on for early
warning
> capability are inactive or failing. They're experiencing false alarms now
on
> almost a routine basis, and I shudder to think about the morale and
> discipline of their rocket forces. There are worrisome aspects to all of
> that. That's why people like myself are so puzzled and dismayed that our
> government won't even address the problem."
>
>      Addressing the problem requires bold leadership on nuclear
disarmament
> that's been sadly lacking in the Clinton years. There have been some
> cosmetic arrangements with the Russians as to nuclear safety and targeting
> issues but no real follow-up on arms control measures aggressively pursued
> by George Bush. Give credit where due: Bush recognized that the end of the
> Cold War permitted--nay, mandated--that the U.S. set an example by
reducing
> the size and lowering the alert status of its nuclear force.
>
>      As Butler recalls, "The single most important arms controls were
George
> Bush's unilateral measures back in 1991, which took all of the tactical
> nuclear weapons off the ships and brought many back from Europe, took the
> bombers off alert and accelerated the retirement of the Minuteman II
force.
> And Mikhail Gorbachev followed suit. It's ironic that today we have a
> Republican Congress that thwarts arms control progress, and yet it was a
> Republican administration that really moved the ball down the field."
>
>      Clinton has never been very interested in nuclear disarmament, and
> these days seems bent on alarming the Russian leadership by expanding
NATO's
> membership and military role in Eastern Europe, including a NATO-led war
> against Russia's neighbor, Yugoslavia. This has strengthened the hand of
> hard-line communists and nationalists who control the Duma, undermining
> chances for nuclear arms control progress. Those elements also point to
> Clinton's endorsement of the harebrained effort to revive the "star wars"
> Strategic Defense Initiative as further evidence that the U.S. is not
> committed to arms control.
>
>      Boris Yeltsin has his flaws, but humiliating him and undermining more
> moderate forces in Russia is the path of disaster. In 1995, Yeltsin was
> awakened in the middle of the night because one branch of his crumbling
> military had failed to inform another of prior knowledge of a Norwegian
> rocket launch, which they confused with a U.S. Trident missile.
Fortunately,
> this error was corrected before Yeltsin's 12 minutes of decision-making
> passed. No wonder Butler is concerned.
> - - -
> Robert Scheer Is a Times Contributing Editor.


- ----------------
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David Crockett Williams                661-822-3309
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*********************************************************
         The  Global  Peace  Walk 1999-2000
1999:   22APR Taos, NM, --->  Santa Fe 26APR
2000:  15JAN  San Francisco --> New York  24OCT
  19SEP* Washington, DC, Ceremony Rededicating
The Washington Monument as a Symbol of Peace.
*3rd Tuesday of September is annual opening of
UN General Assembly & International Day of Peace
           October 24th is United Nations Day
"GLOBAL PEACE NOW!" Global Peace Zone2000
Remove the scourge of war from future generations
   http://www.egroups.com/list/global-peace-walk
   FOR ONE HUMAN FAMILY:  Love All, Serve All
     *DC date subject to change by May 1, 1999




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

End of abolition-usa-digest V1 #111
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