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abolition-usa-digest     Wednesday, April 14 1999     Volume 01 : Number 112




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

Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 11:06:43 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: Deadline for Supplemental Sign-on Letter

>Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 09:57:48 -0400
>Subject: Deadline for Supplemental Sign-on Letter
>Priority: non-urgent
>X-FC-MachineGenerated: true
>To: [e-mail]
>X-FC-Forwarded-From: [e-mail]
>From: [e-mail] ([e-mail])
>
>The deadline for last minute sign-ons for the FY 1999
>supplemental spending bill letter is COB today, April 14.
>
>The letter and list of organizations that have signed on thus far
>can be found below.
>
>- Patrick Lester, CHN
>
>
>
>
>April 14, 1999
>
>
>
>Dear Conferee:
>
>We, the undersigned organizations, urge you to drop the offsets
>affecting low-income and other vulnerable populations that are
>contained in the Senate's version of the FY 1999 supplemental
>spending bill. Specifically, we ask that you drop proposed budget
>authority cuts affecting Section 8 housing, the food stamp
>program, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
>
>Today, one in five children in America lives in poverty, as
>opposed to one in seven 25 years ago. The Census Bureau reports
>that 34 million Americans are moderately or severely hungry or in
>families so economically marginal that parents are taking steps
>like skipping meals so children can eat. More than five million
>families pay over half their incomes for housing, leaving little
>or no income for other basic needs like food and health care.
>Given the urgent needs of so many people in this country, there
>is simply no valid justification for cuts targeting low-income
>and vulnerable populations. Funds needed by America's poor must
>not be diverted to other purposes in this supplemental
>appropriation, or at any other point in the budget process.
>
>While emergency spending is often necessary, as in the case of
>assistance to victims of Hurricane Mitch, it is not necessary for
>Congress to offset such spending with cuts in vital domestic
>programs. We urge you to drop these offsets from the final
>emergency spending package that you send to the full House and
>Senate for their consideration.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>
>
>Alliance for Children and Families
>American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
>American Ethical Union, Washington Ethical Action Office
>American Friends Service Committee
>American Public Health Association
>The Arc
>Bread for the World
>Campaign for America's Future
>Center for Community Change
>Center for Law and Social Policy
>Center for Women Policy Studies
>Children's Defense Fund
>The Children's Foundation
>Child Welfare League of America
>Christian Children's Fund
>Church Women United
>Coalition on Human Needs
>Communications Workers of America
>Food Research and Action Center
>Friends Committee on National Legislation
>Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE)
>Jesuit Conference
>Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs, ELCA
>McAuley Institute
>National Alliance to End Homelessness
>National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE)
>National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
>(NAACP)
>National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems
>National Association of WIC Directors
>National Council of La Raza
>National Health Care for the Homeless Council
>National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition
>National Low Income Housing Coalition
>National Neighborhood Coalition
>National Priorities Project
>National Puerto Rican Coalition
>National Women's Law Center
>NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
>NISH
>OMB Watch
>RESULTS
>Surface Transportation Policy Project
>United Church of Christ, Office for Church in Society
>Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
>Volunteers of America
>WAND
>Welfare Law Center
>Wider Opportunities for Women
>
>48
>
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Patrick W. Lester
>Senior Program Associate
>Coalition on Human Needs
>1700 K Street, NW
>Suite 1150
>Washington, DC  20006
>
>Phone: [phone]
>Fax:   [phone]
>Email: [e-mail]
>
>
>
>----
>You are currently subscribed to chn2 as: [e-mail]
>To subscribe or unsubscribe contact Michele Friedman at
><[e-mail]>. If you are subscribing please indicate your name,
>organization, phone, fax and email address.
>
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.
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 "help" to the same address.  Do not use quotes in your message.

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

Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 11:10:06 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: Meatpackers to test-market irradiated hamburger meat

As if we didn't have enough nuclear waste already!!

>Meatpackers to test-market irradiated hamburger meat
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Meatpackers are hoping that America is ready for beef
>basted in gamma rays as they prepare to sell irradiated meat to the
>public.
>
>Interest in irradiation, used to curb food-borne illnesses, has grown
>since
>recent contamination scares, including last summer's recall of 25 million
>pounds of ground beef feared contaminated with E. coli bacteria.
>
>The process has been used for years on limited amounts of produce, spices
>and
>poultry, but the irradiation of red meat was just approved by the federal
>government in February.
>
>Now, meatpacking giants IBP Inc and Excel Corp. are planning for the first
>test-marketing of irradiated ground beef later this year or early next
>year,
>after the government approves rules governing meat irradiation.
>
>``We'll have to let people know that the technology is safe and that if
>they're looking for that added measure of safety, they may very well want
>to
>try this,'' Excel spokesman Mark Klein said Tuesday.
>
>``I've tasted it,'' he said. ``I couldn't tell the difference between the
>treated and untreated'' beef.
>
>During irradiation, meat is subjected to low-level doses of gamma rays or
>electron beams.
>
>Scientists agree the process is safe in food. But antinuclear groups have
>opposed the procedure if it involves gamma rays and some health advocates
>worry that using irradiation might reduce other safety techniques such as
>proper handling and plant sanitation.
>
>Even irradiated meat is subject to contamination if it is mishandled after
>treatment.
>
>IBP and Excel said they will test-market beef irradiated by a system being
>built in Sioux City, Iowa. They have not identified the test markets, but
>the
>meat will have to be labeled as having been irradiated.
>
>Titan Corp. of San Diego will build and operate the so-called ``E-beam
>system,'' which is specifically designed to electronically irradiate
>ground
>beef, Titan president and chief executive office Gene W. Ray said. The
>system
>will only use electron beams.
>
>Ray believes the electron beam process is superior to gamma ray
>irradiation
>because the technology is easier and cheaper to implement. Both, he said,
>are
>equally safe.
>
>``It's as safe eating food that has been pasteurized with radiation as it
>is
>eating food that has been cooked with microwave ovens,'' he said. ``And we
>do
>that all the time.''
>
>
>
>Copyright 1999 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
>not
>be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
>
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: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 12:03:52 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) [Fwd: [SAJA] Satis Nambiar condemns NATO aggression]

>Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 11:50:23 -0400
>Subject: [Fwd: [SAJA] Satis Nambiar condemns NATO aggression]
>To: [e-mail]
>From: [e-mail] ([e-mail])
>
>Alice:
>
>FYI
>
>Amardeep Assar
>-----------------------------------------
>Nambiar: NATO is Guilty for Humanitarian Disaster
>                      April 13, 1999
>
>                      New Delhi, April 13, 1999 (Tanjug) - Indian
>                      general Satis Nambiar, who was the
>                      commander of UN peace forces in Bosnia in
>                      1992 and 1993, condemned criminal NATO
>                      aggression on Yugoslavia saying that western
>                      military alliance is responsible for humanitarian
>                      disaster.
>
>                      General Nambiar also said that NATO action
>                      against sovereign and non-aligned Yugoslavia
>                      is a violation of UN charter and that it presents
>                      a threat to world peace.
>
>                      Reflecting on his engagement in peace forces, Nambiar
>explained that his
>                      withdrawal from Bosnia mostly resulted from the fact
>that NATO there
>                      started taking the leading role instead of the UN.
>
>                      "I wasn't prepared to stay there under those
>circumstances. NATO was
>                      deeply involved and conducted military operations in
>Bosnia under the
>                      cover of UN, which resulted in disapproval of many
>officers," he said.
>
>                      Nambiar pointed out that NATO intervention raises
>many
>questions
>                      regarding India and developing countries, because it
>designates many
>                      dangers, in the first place, humanitarian one.
>
>                      Stressing that his observations are based on his
>personal experience,
>                      Indian general warned about the destructive effects
>of
>western media that
>                      are persistently defending all the actions of their
>countries.
>
>                      "Since the world can watch only reports from CNN and
>BBC, and the
>                      press-conferences from NATO briefings, it is clear
>that West is trying to
>                      blame Yugoslavia for everything. From my own
>experience in Bosnia I
>                      can tell you that the mayor objective of western
>electronic media is to
>                      present only political views of their governments.
>Let's not delude
>                      ourselves with the freedom of media in "the greatest
>democracy of the
>                      world", said Nambiar.
>
>                      They are doing it now too, Nambiar says, persistently
>showing pictures of
>                      Albanian refugees in order to accuse Yugoslavia
>although it is obvious that
>                      NATO is responsible for that, or actually the
>persistent bombing of
>                      western alliance forces.
>
>                      "While the world grieves over 'innocent Albanians' no
>one pays attention
>                      to Serbian refugees from Croatia," says Nambiar
>adding
>that NATO
>                      carries most of the responsibility for humanitarian
>disaster on Kosmet,
>                      while the rest of the world is responsible in as much
>as it "doesn't raise its
>                      voice against this unilateral military intervention."
>
>                      "Pressure on Yugoslavia to sign the draft of the
>agreement in Rambouillet
>                      under the threat of bombs is a violation of Vienna
>convention," says
>                      Nambiar.
>
>                      Asking the question - where does this lead
>international affairs, Nambiar
>                      says that the perspective "at least for the shorter
>period is gloomy"
>                      because UN are "weak and inefficient" and the western
>world, led by
>                      America insists on "imposing its norms" to the rest
>of
>the world.
>
>                      "Sovereignty and territorial integrity are no longer
>sacred, because
>                      secessionist movements in the world initiated by
>terrorist activities are
>                      becoming a formula for the destruction and breaking
>up
>of sovereign
>                      states," says Nambiar.
>
>                      He stressed that US citizens and NATO members are
>responsible for
>                      what their leaders are doing, adding that he believes
>people "will sooner
>                      or later force their governments to reconsider their
>policy and regard
>                      world values with more responsibility".
>
>
>
>
>
>--------------------------------
>This is the SAJA discussion list.  Subscription and help requests
>should be sent 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.

- -
 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: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 13:53:38 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: News:  Cdn. Senate calls for Nuclear Review at NATO Summit

>Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 11:23:29 -0400
>Subject: News:  Cdn. Senate calls for Nuclear Review at NATO Summit
>Priority: non-urgent
>X-FC-MachineGenerated: true
>To: [e-mail], [e-mail],
> [e-mail], [e-mail],
> [e-mail]
>X-FC-Forwarded-From: [e-mail]
>From: [e-mail] ([e-mail])
>
>Friends,
>I am distributing this on behalf of Doug Roche.  Kindly distribute
>through other listservers.  And congratulations and thanks to you Doug!
>
>Bev Delong, Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
>
>.
>PRESS RELEASE
>
>        On April 13, 1999, the Senate of Canada unanimously adopted
>Motion
>No. 128, introduced by Senator Douglas Roche, without a vote.  The
>Motion
>states:
>                "That the Senate recommend that the Government of Canada
>
>urge NATO to begin a review of its nuclear weapons policies at
>the  Summit Meeting of NATO on April 23 to 25, 1999."In speaking during
>the debate on the Motion in the Senate on March 23rd
>Senator Roche indicated that at the upcoming NATO Summit three important
>
>documents will be presented:  a new Strategic Concept; a Communiqu=E9 that
>
>would present NATO's policy agenda; and a vision statement on NATO's
>future
>purpose and mission.  Indisputably, "NATO is the greatest military
>alliance
>in the history of the world and it is now about to celebrate its
>fiftieth
>anniversary.  Canada has consistently made a great contribution over the
>
>years and thus it is perfectly appropriate for Canada, as an important
>member of NATO, to press for this review."
>
>"The point at issue is that nuclear weapons in NATO have lost their
>military
>value and are being kept for their political value."
>
>The intention of the Motion is that leaders will instigate a review of
>nuclear weapons policies at the time of the summit.
>
>Senator Douglas Roche, O.C.
>Tel:  [phone]
>Fax [phone]
>Email:  [e-mail]
> =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: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 11:20:07 -0700
From: "David Crockett Williams" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fw: Wire: Will NATO Hit Serb Nukes??

- -----Original Message-----
From: Carol Moore <[e-mail]>
To: Peace list from <[e-mail]>
Date: Wednesday, April 14, 1999 9:48 AM
Subject: Wire: Will NATO Hit Serb Nukes??


>http://news.stocksmartpro.com/ss-news/CX1640756.html
>
>Wednesday April 14, 8:14 AM (EST)
>
>Yeltsin worried at possible ecological disaster in Balkans.
>
>
>MOSCOW, April 14 (Itar-Tass) - President Boris Yeltsin worried over a
>possibility of an ecological disaster in the
>Balkans as a result of NATO air raids on Yugoslavia, Itar-Tass learned
>on Wednesday from presidential press
>secretary Dmitry Yakushkin.
>
>He explained Yeltsin's anxiety by the fact that two research nuclear
>reactors are located close to Belgrade, while
>several nuclear power plants operate around Yugoslavia.
>
>"Assessments by experts are very disquieting: air raids can entail a
>fallout not only for Balkan but also for other
>European countries bordering on the conflict zone," the press secretary
>said.
>
>He noted that this problem was discussed by the president as well as
>secretary of the Russian Security Council and
>director of the Federal Security Service Vladimir Putin at their meeting
>on Tuesday.
>
>"The president is now very concerned over a possibility of an ecological
>disaster in the Balkans in connection with
>the NATO strikes," Yakushkin continued. He noted that the threat of an
>ecological disaster in the Balkans under the
>influence of the NATO strikes is "one of new aspects of the situation in
>the Balkans which is now studied by the
>Russian president".
>
>bur/leb
>
>


- -
 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: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 14:31:27 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: (abolition-usa) Satis Nambiar condemns NATO aggression

In a message dated 4/14/99 12:05:44 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[e-mail] writes:

<< Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 11:50:23 -0400
 >Subject: [Fwd: [SAJA] Satis Nambiar condemns NATO aggression]
 >To: [e-mail]
 >From: [e-mail] ([e-mail])
 >
 >Alice:
 >
 >FYI
 >
 >Amardeep Assar
 >-----------------------------------------
 >Nambiar: NATO is Guilty for Humanitarian Disaster
 >                      April 13, 1999
 >
 >                      New Delhi, April 13, 1999 (Tanjug) - Indian
 >                      general Satis Nambiar, who was the
 >                      commander of UN peace forces in Bosnia in
 >                      1992 and 1993, condemned criminal NATO
 >                      aggression on Yugoslavia saying that western
 >                      military alliance is responsible for humanitarian
 >                      disaster.
 >
 >                      General Nambiar also said that NATO action
 >                      against sovereign and non-aligned Yugoslavia
 >                      is a violation of UN charter and that it presents
 >                      a threat to world peace.
 >
 >                      Reflecting on his engagement in peace forces, Nambiar
 >explained that his
 >                      withdrawal from Bosnia mostly resulted from the fact
 >that NATO there
 >                      started taking the leading role instead of the UN.
 >
 >                      "I wasn't prepared to stay there under those
 >circumstances. NATO was
 >                      deeply involved and conducted military operations in
 >Bosnia under the
 >                      cover of UN, which resulted in disapproval of many
 >officers," he said.
 >
 >                      Nambiar pointed out that NATO intervention raises
 >many
 >questions
 >                      regarding India and developing countries, because it
 >designates many
 >                      dangers, in the first place, humanitarian one.
 >
 >                      Stressing that his observations are based on his
 >personal experience,
 >                      Indian general warned about the destructive effects
 >of
 >western media that
 >                      are persistently defending all the actions of their
 >countries.
 >
 >                      "Since the world can watch only reports from CNN and
 >BBC, and the
 >                      press-conferences from NATO briefings, it is clear
 >that West is trying to
 >                      blame Yugoslavia for everything. From my own
 >experience in Bosnia I
 >                      can tell you that the mayor objective of western
 >electronic media is to
 >                      present only political views of their governments.
 >Let's not delude
 >                      ourselves with the freedom of media in "the greatest
 >democracy of the
 >                      world", said Nambiar.
 >
 >                      They are doing it now too, Nambiar says, persistently
 >showing pictures of
 >                      Albanian refugees in order to accuse Yugoslavia
 >although it is obvious that
 >                      NATO is responsible for that, or actually the
 >persistent bombing of
 >                      western alliance forces.
 >
 >                      "While the world grieves over 'innocent Albanians' no
 >one pays attention
 >                      to Serbian refugees from Croatia," says Nambiar
 >adding
 >that NATO
 >                      carries most of the responsibility for humanitarian
 >disaster on Kosmet,
 >                      while the rest of the world is responsible in as much
 >as it "doesn't raise its
 >                      voice against this unilateral military intervention."
 >
 >                      "Pressure on Yugoslavia to sign the draft of the
 >agreement in Rambouillet
 >                      under the threat of bombs is a violation of Vienna
 >convention," says
 >                      Nambiar.
 >
 >                      Asking the question - where does this lead
 >international affairs, Nambiar
 >                      says that the perspective "at least for the shorter
 >period is gloomy"
 >                      because UN are "weak and inefficient" and the western
 >world, led by
 >                      America insists on "imposing its norms" to the rest
 >of
 >the world.
 >
 >                      "Sovereignty and territorial integrity are no longer
 >sacred, because
 >                      secessionist movements in the world initiated by
 >terrorist activities are
 >                      becoming a formula for the destruction and breaking
 >up
 >of sovereign
 >                      states," says Nambiar.
 >
 >                      He stressed that US citizens and NATO members are
 >responsible for
 >                      what their leaders are doing, adding that he believes
 >people "will sooner
 >                      or later force their governments to reconsider their
 >policy and regard
 >                      world values with more responsibility".
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >--------------------------------
 >This is the SAJA discussion list.  Subscription and help requests
 >should be sent 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.









- -
 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: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 14:31:44 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: (abolition-usa) ACTION ALERT: NATO'S "ASTONISHING" RADIOACTIVE WEAPONS

In a message dated 4/14/99 11:09:54 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[e-mail] writes:

<< Subject:      [FAIR-L] ACTION ALERT: NATO'S "ASTONISHING" RADIOACTIVE
WEAPONS
 To: [e-mail]


                                  FAIR-L
                     Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
                Media analysis, critiques and news reports




  ACTION ALERT: NATO'S "ASTONISHING" RADIOACTIVE WEAPONS

  On April 1st, ABC's Nightline did a segment that criticized the
  one-sided coverage of the war--on Serbian TV.  Reviewing supposedly
  absurd claims, ABC aired what it described as "this astonishing claim"
  from a Belgrade news account:

  "They even use radioactive weapons...which are forbidden by the Geneva
  Convention."

  Astonishing, perhaps--but is it true?  The fact is, the United States
  is using radioactive weapons against Yugoslavia--and this threatens to
  have health consequences in Kosovo for decades to come.

  The weapons in question are anti-tank shells and bullets made of
  depleted uranium (DU), a toxic, radioactive byproduct of nuclear
  fission. Favored for their ability to destroy tanks, this ammunition
  is carried by such U.S. forces as A-10 Warthogs and Apache
  helicopters, both of which received substantial media attention when
  introduced into the war.

  Ironically, only the day before Nightline's broadcast (3/30/99), ABC
  World News Tonight had reported the same "astonishing" news that
  Serbian TV had: Describing the A-10, ABC's John Martin noted that "it
  could pierce any armor by firing depleted uranium bullets at 3,900
  rounds a minute."

  But depleted uranium has received almost no sustained media attention.
  One of the few reporters to discuss the substance, Kathleen Sullivan
  of the San Francisco Examiner (4/1/99), reported that Pentagon
  spokesman Kenneth Bacon refused to answer questions about its use by
  A-10s, saying operational details were "verboten from this podium."

  Nonetheless, the health risks posed by inhaling the dust from depleted
  uranium, as well as the contamination of the physical environment,
  have raised the concerns of numerous public health and veterans rights
  groups.

  The World Health Organization is still studying the high cancer rates
  that plague southern Iraq, where much of the fighting during the Gulf
  War took place. Likewise, DU's possible role in causing or
  exacerbating Gulf War Syndrome is still a topic of fierce debate.

  CBS's Mark Phillips recently presented in-depth reporting on the
  possible health effects of DU in Iraq (12/1/98, 12/10/98).  Since the
  U.S. began using DU in Yugoslavia, however, no network has returned to
  the subject.

  ***
  ACTION: Please contact national and local media and urge them to
  investigate the use of depleted uranium as a weapon in Yugoslavia.
  During the Gulf War, activists raised questions about the potential
  consequences of DU, but these issues were not explored until
  inexplicable illnesses began showing up in U.S. veterans and Iraqi
  children.  This pattern should not be repeated in Kosovo.


  ABC-- Nightline
  mailto:[e-mail]

  CBS News
  mailto:[e-mail]

  For more media contacts, go to
  http://www.fair.org/media-contact-list.html

  For more on the current war in Yugoslavia, go to
  http://www.fair.org/international/yugoslavia.html
  >>


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

Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 16:25:35 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: More info on the church leaders' meeting with the PM

Dear Friends,
Is anyone in our network working specifically on outreach to US religious
leaders?  See the accomplishments in Canada, below.  Regards, Alice  Slater
>Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 16:03:10 -0400
>Subject: More info on the church leaders' meeting with the PM
>Priority: non-urgent
>X-FC-MachineGenerated: true
>To: [e-mail]
>X-FC-Forwarded-From: [e-mail]
>From: [e-mail] ([e-mail])
>
>Regarding tomorrow's meeting with the PM, here is the content of the media
>release which was sent out today.
>
>Regards,
>
>Grant.
>
>
>Church leaders, Prime Minister discuss Kosovo, nuclear weapons
>
>A delegation of church leaders representing the Canadian Council of
>Churches
>and major Canadian churches will meet with Prime Minister Chr=E9tien on=
 April
>15th to discuss important security and defence policy issues. There will be
>two major topics on the agenda: the military intervention in Kosovo, and
>Canada=92s policies concerning nuclear disarmament. The latter item is a
>follow-up to the Canadian Church Leaders=92 1998 Statement on Nuclear=
 Weapons
>and occurs as the government is considering its response =AD due next month=
 =AD
>to the recommendations contained in the Standing Committee on Foreign
>Affairs and International Trade=92s December 1998 report Canada and the
>Nuclear Challenge.
>
>Members of the church delegation will include: Archbishop Barry Curtis,
>President, Canadian Council of Churches (CCC); Janet Somerville, General
>Secretary, CCC; Rev. David Pfrimmer, Chair, Justice and Peace Commission,
>CCC; Most Rev. Michael G. Peers, Primate, Anglican Church of Canada;
>Monsignor Peter Schonenbach, General Secretary, Canadian Conference of
>Catholic Bishops; Carol Dixon, Clerk, Canadian Friends Service Committee;
>Bishop Seraphim, Orthodox Church of America (Canada Diocese); Rev. Stephen
>Kendall, Principal Clerk, General Assembly, Presbyterian Church in Canada;
>Virginia Coleman, General Secretary, United Church of Canada; and Ernie
>Regehr, Director, Project Ploughshares.
> =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.

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

Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 17:23:06 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: Russia, China oppose BMD

>Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 17:11:51 -0400
>Subject: Russia, China oppose BMD
>Priority: non-urgent
>X-FC-MachineGenerated: true
>To: [e-mail]
>X-FC-Forwarded-From: [e-mail]
>From: [e-mail] ([e-mail])
>
>14 April 1999
>
>Russia, China warn of new arms race over U.S. missile defense plans
>
>AP News Service
>
>MOSCOW (AP) _ Russia and China on Wednesday warned
>of a new arms  race if the United States goes ahead with plans
>to develop a  nationwide defense system against limited missile
>attack.
>
>The U.S. Senate recently approved a bill calling for
>construction of the defense system ``as soon as technologically
>possible.'' The
>Americans have grown concerned about the  possibility of attack from
>countries such as Iran, Iraq and North  Korea.
>
>Russian politicians have been unanimous in assailing the U.S.  plan to
>develop
>anti-missile defenses, saying the move would  violate the 1972
>Anti-Ballistic
>Missile treaty. Moscow strongly  opposes U.S. proposals to amend the treaty
>to allow for limited  missile defenses.
>
>Russian and Chinese military officials and diplomats who met in  Moscow to
>discuss the situation issued a statement saying the two  countries have
>serious
>concerns about the U.S. plans.
>
>``The fulfillment of these plans would violate the main  obligation under
>the
>ABM treaty,'' said the statement, circulated  by the Russian Foreign
>Ministry.
>
>Russia and China ``believe that undermining or violating the ABM  treaty
>would
>lead to a whole range of negative consequences: New  factors would appear
>that would be capable of destabilizing the  international situation ...
>and create
>conditions for the  resumption of the arms race,'' the statement said.
>
>Russia also contends the creation of a missile defense system  would put on
>hold any further nuclear weapons reductions.
>
>President Boris Yeltsin recently approved a bill by Russian  lawmakers that
>would make their approval of the START II arms  reduction treaty, which the
>United States is anxious to see  ratified, dependent on a U.S. commitment
>to
>the ABM treaty.
>
>Copyright 1999 AP News Service.
>
>--
>Bill Robinson, Project Ploughshares,
>Conrad Grebel College, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada  N2L 3G6
>Phone: [phone] x264  Fax: [phone]
>E-mail: [e-mail]
>http://www.ploughshares.ca
>
>Project Ploughshares is a member of the Canadian Network to Abolish
>Nuclear Weapons (http://watserv1.uwaterloo.ca/~plough/cnanw/cnanw.html)
>
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: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 13:07:46 -0600
From: "Robert Kinsey" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) Fwd: WIPP Call to action

For some strange reason I am receiveing two of every message you send out,
identically addressed.  Hope you can fix this.  Thanks for your work.
____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________
Bob Kinsey, Peace and Justice Task Force
United Church of Christ, Rocky Mountain Conference
[e-mail]
303-425-0348
"Two paths lie before us.  One leads to death, the other to  life."
Jonathan Schell
"Faith has need of the whole truth"  Teilhard de Chardin
"Jesus was non-violent.  Shouldn't Christians be?


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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.
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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 19:28:01 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: (abolition-usa) Military Industrial Complex

In a message dated 4/14/99 4:40:57 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[e-mail] writes:

<<
 The Washington Post - April 13, 1999

 COUNT CORPORATE AMERICA AMONG NATO'S STAUNCHEST ALLIES

 By Tim Smart

         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.
         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 beyond 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


 ------ >>


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

End of abolition-usa-digest V1 #112
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