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abolition-usa-digest      Monday, April 19 1999      Volume 01 : Number 115




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

Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 11:56:14 -0700
From: "David Crockett Williams" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) WILL THE TRUE OPPRESSORS PLEASE STAND UP!

A truly significant resource for the global anti-nuclear, peace,
environment, and justice movement exists in the website of the White House
Peace Park Vigil, which has ongoing continually since 1981 on the Lafayette
Park sidewalk across the street from the White House, http://www.prop1.org
A recent article distilled from information presented in recent public
demonstrations regarding the war in Yugoslavia is copied below.  The article
on the webpage referenced contains several useful links and graphics not
reproduced in the ascii format below and are worth checking out.

http://www.prop1.org/protest/serbia/9904.serbialv.htm

WILL THE TRUE OPPRESSORS
PLEASE STAND UP!


PUBLIC EXPRESSIONS


ALBANIAN MESSAGE ---------------------- SERBIAN MESSAGE [links]


PEACE & FREEDOM-LOVING ANTAGONISTS


On the First Amendment front lines in Lafayette Park we are privileged to
witness a daily stream of supplicants bringing their pleas to the White
House, the seat of World Domination. Thus, regarding the present
Serbian/Albanian/Kosovar disturbance, in Lafayette Park we've had an
opportunity to listen to both sides in the field.



THE AGREEMENT TO DISAGREE IN THE BALKANS


If there is one thing which President Clinton, Serbian President Milosevic,
as well as the head of every NATO member-state agree upon, it is the concept
of national sovereignty. Moreover, each of the aforementioned heads of state
also pays lip service to "the rule of law." In fact, the UN Charter, an act
of "International Law" to which the USA, Serbia, and all NATO members are
signatory, provides that "The (UN) is based on the principle of the
sovereign equality of all its Members." Under these universally-accepted
political fictions, a sovereign nation is a free, independent entity
entitled to administer the territory within its domestic control. Thus, from
the perspective of people who subscribe to the political fiction of the
nation state, determining who the real Nazis are must begin from the
question: "Who is the actual aggressor upon whose national sovereignty?"


On the other hand, "fighting words," in a legal sense, refers to language
intended to incite violence. Today US news media reports are using "Hitler,"
"Nazi," "genocide," "ethnic cleansing," and "free Kosovo" as fighting words.
Meanwhile, news media in Serbia and many other countries are likening US
President Clinton to "Hitler," referring to NATO as the "Nazi American
Terrorist Organization," and claiming that NATO military actions against
Serbia have nothing to do with a "free Kosovo," but are actually genocide as
a means of ethnic cleansing intended to subjugate Europe to the economic
interests of the United States.



Two Illustrative Examples of Sovereign States




       Figure 1                       Figure 2

Figure 1 depicts the sovereign state known as USA, the black lines represent
domestic political fictions known as the "various separate states."
Together, these various domestic states form the the greater national
sovereign state. The lines separating the USA from the sovereign states of
Mexico and Canada represent the demarcation points between "the rule of law"
of each sovereign state. In the case of the USA there is (1) Federal Law
[operating under authority of the U.S. Constitution], which regulates the
entire sovereign state, and (2) State Law, which is subservient to Federal
Law, but which regulates the territory within each of the separate domestic
states.


Similarly, in Figure 2 the red line depicts the territorial area which is
internationally recognized as the sovereign state of Serbia. As with the
USA, Serbia is composed of various separate states, highlighted in yellow
and orange. As in the USA, while maintaining a certain degree of autonomy,
the various separate Serbian states are ultimately ruled by provisions of
the Serbian Constitution.



For a thousand years Serbians have considered the territory of Kosovo to be
the cradle of Serbian culture, oriented toward the Greek Orthodox Church. In
the late 14th century armies of the Ottoman Turk empire, oriented toward
Islam, defeated Serbian forces at the Battle of Pristina. Nontheless, Serbs
continued to comprise the majority of the Kosovar population ... until after
World War II, when Albanians seeking a better life began streaming northward
into Kosovo.


Since the breakup of Yugoslavia into the separate sovereign states of
Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro, age-old Albanian/Serbian ethnic unrest has
resurfaced in Kosovo. Albanians, with an average of seven children per
marriage, versus two per Serbian marriage, have become a majority of the
population. Because they were the minority, Serbian Kosovars suffered the
brunt of Albanian Kosovar persecution, with instances of deadly violence and
forced removal from their homes. Anti-Serb persecution was mainly carried
out by a loose confederation of armed Albanian groups calling itself the
"Kosovan Liberation Army" (KLA).



After Serbian Kosovars complained to the federal government about their
treatment at the hands of the KLA, the Serbian government declared the KLA
to be "terrorists," and increased its police forces in Kosovo. As the KLA
escalated its campaign to secede from Serbia, Serbia deployed military
troops to the area.


In contrast, as can be seen from Figure 1, the USA wasn't always all the
territory it is today. For example California, Arizona, Nevada, and most of
Colorado, New Mexico and Texas were taken by military force from Mexico or
Native Americans.


Although there has always been a considerable Mexican population, lately
northward migration has increased the number of Mexicans living in
California. It is estimated that Mexicans will be the majority in California
sometime in the not so distant future. Imagine that, angered by perceptions
of economic, police, and linguistic oppression, the Latino majority decides
that they want to be recognized as "Mexicans," and demand "freedom for
California." As evidenced by its Civil War, US history teaches that the
federal government will use sufficient deadly force to "protect the Union."
Given those considerations, it is reasonable to assume that the US
government would not permit a simple state majority of Latinos to secede
California from the Union.


As can be seen in a comparison of Figures 1 & 2, the US state of California
abuts the foreign sovereign state of Mexico, much as the Serbian state of
Kosovo abuts the foreign sovereign state of Albania. By way of analogy,
let's hypothesize that elements of the Latino majority of California,
disgruntled by the Federal refusal to concede an independent sovereign state
of "California," organize a Californian Liberation Army (CLA) to "fight" for
the "liberation of California." The CLA will be working on a shoestring
budget, therefore, CLA actions are likely to be low cost bombings, attacks
on police officers and the like, because that's about all terrorists can
afford.


Unfortunately, when sovereign states are forced to confront terrorism,
things tend to get messy. How would the peace-loving, democratic government
of the USA meet a campaign of CLA terrorism? Perhaps it would begin with
local law enforcement agencies, as with MOVE in Philadelphia, 1984.
Probably, once the insurrection proved beyond control of local forces, the
government would escalate, first sending in crack ATF and FBI SWAT teams, as
in Wounded Knee (Native Americans), Waco ("extremist" Christians), or Ruby
Ridge. Finally, if absolutely necessary, the national guard, Delta Force,
attack helicopters, and military hardware sufficient to quell the
disturbance would be deployed. Although those tactics are essentially the
same as those used by the Serbian government in Kosovo, it is unlikely that
if confronted by a CLA uprising in California the US would welcome NATO
airstrikes on Washington, DC, or Sacramento.



GENOCIDE


Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defines "genocide" as "the use of
deliberate, systematic measures toward the extermination of a racial,
political, or cultural group." Genocide was an apt description of the
Hutu/Tutsi conflicts in Rwanda, where hundreds of thousands were killed,
but, of course, NATO did nothing to resolve that disagreement.


Notwithstanding the fact that both Serbian and KLA fighters have been
involved in the killing of military and civilian opponents, simply because
not enough people have died, the word "genocide" is not an appropriate
description of either Serbian nor Albanian actions in Kosovo. Many Serbians
claim that NATO's deliberate, systematic bombing of both Serbia and Kosovo
qualifies as an act of genocide, particularly if NATO is using depleted
uranium weapons. NATO probably disagrees with that assessment.



ETHNIC CLEANSING


Comparing the Albanians bent on seceding from Serbia to the hypothetical
revolt of Mexicans in California, one can only expect that at the "peace
talks," the US government would take a position to the effect, "Sure, you're
free to be Mexicans, but if you want to be Mexicans you have to go across
the line into Mexico, but you have to leave California here, because
California is US territory."


Maybe the CLA would not accept the US offer to let them return to Mexico in
peace. Perhaps the CLA would insist that California was "Mexican," and that
they were committed to a "Free California." In that event, perhaps, rather
than just killing any Californian who no longer wished to be a US citizen,
the US would be pursuing a more humanitarian solution by just giving them
free transportation to Mexico. Certainly, such a "humanitarian" solution
might be protrayed as "ethnic cleansing."


Absent any clear examples of "genocide," in the present Serbian/Albanian
conflict, the most terrible accusation is "ethnic cleansing" -- wherein the
Serbians are putting dissatisfied Albanians on trains to Albania. One
Serbian wag asked, "Would you rather have them walk?"





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




An impartial assessment of the NATO/Serb/Kosovar conflict


To emphasize the impartiality of these observations on the
NATO/Serbia/Kosovar conflict, the author hereby declares a firm personal
commitment to the belief that the world would be a much more pleasant place
if humanity would abandon its faith in the political fiction of national
boundaries, and purge itself of any notion that military and/or police force
might be a "good" idea. This assessment begins from the premises that all
human beings are members of the human race, and concepts of ethnicity are
merely shortsighted, ego-centric misperceptions of reality. This declaration
is necessary to insure that the reader does not confuse "national
sovereignty," "military and/or police action," or "ethnic superiority" as
concepts endorsed by the author.

Thomas, April 8, 1999, Peace Park
Other Kosovo Demonstrations





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

Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 16:13:09 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: (abolition-usa) KOSOVO / STATEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN NGOs

<< Date:=094/16/99 10:27:38 AM Eastern Daylight Time
 From:=[e-mail] (sbiesemans)
 To:=[e-mail] (APRODEV / Heike Schneider), [e-mail]=20
(APRODEV/ Rob van Drimmelen), [e-mail] (CARITAS-EUROPA /=20
Anita vd Eynde), [e-mail] (Centre Nord Sud, Lisbonne),=20
[e-mail] (CIDSE/ Bob van Dillen), [e-mail] (COCIS=20
Bxl/Marzia Rezzin), [e-mail] ([e-mail]),=20
[e-mail] (Euronaid / C=E9cile Muller), [e-mail]=20
(Eurostep/main address), [e-mail] (Eurostep/Simon Stocker),=20
[e-mail] (Forum Jeunesse UE), [e-mail]=20
(Forum Jeunesse/Marisa Atienza), [e-mail] (Isabel Martinho),=20
[e-mail] (Margret/AEFJN), [e-mail] (MARY STOPES=20
INT/Costanza de Toma), [e-mail] (MOVIMONDO, Josita Profeta),=20
[e-mail] (MPDL,Irune Aguirrezabal,Bxl), [e-mail]=20
(SAVE THE CHILDREN / Diana Sutton), [e-mail] (SOLIDAR),=20
[e-mail] (SOLIDAR/skynet), [e-mail] (Stefania Petrosillo=20
- - CISP-Bxl), [e-mail] (UNA-Annalisa Rocco, Bxl.),=20
[e-mail] (UNITED for Intercultural Action), [e-mail] (wide),=20
[e-mail] (WIDE, Jo Brew), [e-mail] (Amnesty=20
Europe), [e-mail] (Dirk DRIJBOOMS / IDEA),=20
[e-mail] (EuroMed HR Network), [e-mail]=20
(FIDH/Caroline Stainier), [e-mail] (Human Right Watch, Brussels),=20
[e-mail] (OXFAM/Tricia Feeney), [e-mail]=20
([e-mail]), [e-mail] (ARCQ Pierre), [e-mail]=20
(BPI), [e-mail] ([e-mail]), [e-mail]=20
(Forum Vredesaktie), [e-mail] (pgahrton),=20
[e-mail] (Hans DIJKMAN), [e-mail] (IFOR),=20
[e-mail] ([e-mail]), [e-mail] (ISIS-Europe),=20
[e-mail] (Jim Forest), [e-mail] (Koen Moens),=20
[e-mail] (Licio Palazzini (ARCI)), [e-mail] (Nanni=20
SALIO), [e-mail] (QCEA), [e-mail] (SAFER WORLD),=20
[e-mail] (SERPAJ), [e-mail] (Tim Brown),=20
[e-mail] ([e-mail]), [e-mail] (War Resisters'=20
International), [e-mail] (Yannis Chryssoverghis)
=20
 -- [ From: Biesemans Sam * EMC.Ver #2.5.02 ] --
=20
=20
 PRESS RELEASE
=20
 Statement by the NGO-EU Liaison Committee (represensiting 900 NGOs of the 1=
5
 EU Members Sates)
=20
 * * * War and Humanitarian Crisis in the Balkans * * *
=20
=20
 Meeting as representatives of  organised European citizens committed to
 peace, development and democracy, we are appalled by the human and social
 disaster under way in the Balkans. Military and political forces are
 trampling on the rights of innocent people across the region and the rules
 of international law. Refugees, internally displaced persons, victims of
 ethnic cleansing and war crimes, civilian victims of bombing raids and othe=
r
 military actions have all been failed by the international community as wel=
l
 as their own government. Among the casualties is the emerging democratic
 civil society in Yugoslavia, undermined by the inevitable nationalist
 mobilisation in a society under military attack. Apart from the immediate
 needs of refugees and other victims, massive resources will be needed to
 rebuild after the destruction which has taken place.=20
=20
 As European Union citizens, we are deeply concerned by the failure of
 European Union foreign policy to protect human rights and the right to peac=
e
 for all people in the region. We are also concerned by the way in which
 humanitarian principles are being undermined by the confusion of political
 and humanitarian objectives.
=20
 People's rights cannot be safeguarded as long as war continues. Military
 action can never be the ultimate solution to human rights violations.
 Therefore we demand an immediate return by all sides to the peace process:
 in particular we call on the EU to support the efforts of the UN Secretary
 General to resolve the crisis. Equally,  we demand the immediate cessation
 of war crimes and ethnic cleansing. Peace, and the creation of supportive
 conditions for civil society in Yugoslavia and throughout the region, are
 basic preconditions for reconstruction and reconciliation.
=20
 Looking to the future, we demand the democratisation of  the system of
 international governance to stop future politically-created disasters. We
 call on the international community to start this democratic approach now,
 in the search for a political solution to the conflict. In particular, we
 call for a strong and effective European Common Foreign and Security Policy
 with conflict prevention and the protection of basic rights among its key
 principles. Only in this way will the European Union work for people as wel=
l
 as economic goals. We call on the UN to play its central  role in preventin=
g
 and resolving crises, including reform of its decision making procedures to
 make them workable. We call for cooperation with the international bodies
 dealing with war crimes, and the refusal of impunity for those responsible.=20
=20
 Meanwhile we appeal to the international community  and in particular to th=
e
 European Union, all sides in the conflict and the neighbouring governments
 to give absolute priority  to protecting the human rights of all civilians
 and maintaining humanitarian standards. We call on politicians and the medi=
a
 to refrain from inflammatory statements that demonise whole population
 groups.
=20
 We demand a rapid and flexible humanitarian response to meet the needs of
 the refugees and protect their rights, with special awareness of the needs
 and rights of women, children and older people.  A humanitarian corridor an=
d
 safe zones are also needed. Governments, the EC and other bodies must
 provide rapidly a high level of assistance. The relief effort must work via
 civil society and must include appropriate coordination between the
 different actors. EU member states must be ready to provide asylum for
 refugees, while working for their safe return to their homes. Massive
 investment will also be needed for postwar reconstruction in  Yugoslavia,
 Albania and FYROM when circumstances permit. This investment must be
 provided in addition to, not at the expense of, assistance to developing
 countries.
=20
 Brussels, 16  April 1999=20
=20
 _____________________
=20
 --
 _____________________________________________
 Sam BIESEMANS
 Press and European Parliament Relations
 Liaison Committee of Development NGOs to the EU
 square Ambiorix 10
 1000 Brussels
 tel.: 0032 -2 - 7438785 (direct)
 tel. sec.: 0032 - 2 - 7438760
 GSM (Mobile phone): 0032  (0) 477268893
 fax. :[phone]
 E-Mail: [e-mail]
 Web site: http:/www.oneworld.org/liaison
 _____________________________________________









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

Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 11:30:44 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) Fwd: Michael Moore on Kosovo

Dear Dorrie,
Out application was reviewed and we were told that we have to be in business
for three years before receiving approval.  So, I guess this September we'll
try again.  Thanks for the kind words.  Regards,
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: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 12:00:57 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) NATO Summit

For those of you planning to attend the De-Nuke NATO rally on Friday, April
23, Washington, DC, 10:00am, on the Mall, Constitution and 14th St., and
for those of you who are considering it, here's some background.  I really
hope we can get a big turn out down there.  Also, note the part about
corporate sponsors of NATO.  An earlier news item reported that
corporations such as Raytheon and Lockheed were paying $250,000 a pop for
the privilege of "sponsoring" and hawking their wares to all the potential
armaments buyers.  What a world!  Peace, Alice Slater

NATO Official Washington Summit home page:
http://www.nato50.gov/

THE CHALLENGE OF PLANNING FOR THE WASHINGTON SUMMITS

By Ambassador Robert H. Frowick State Department Coordinator for the NATO
Summit
12 March 1999 NATO Publications
http://www.nato50.gov/text16.htm

(Ambassador Frowick responds to questions on planning and logistics for the
Summit events, to be held April 23-25 in Washington.)

Q: What are the Washington Summits, why are they being held in Washington,
and who will attend?

Ambassador Frowick: The NATO 50th Anniversary Summit events will represent
the largest gathering of world leaders ever to take place in Washington.
NATO will be celebrating its remarkable success over the past half century
and making commitments to deal effectively with the challenges of the next
century. It is appropriate to center the Summit sessions in Washington's
Mellon Auditorium, where the North Atlantic Treaty was signed on April 4,
1949. Leaders of 44 countries, their Foreign and Defense Ministers, and
military Chiefs of Staff will be present for these important events.

Q: What is the formal schedule of events for the summits, and what kinds of
special celebrations are planned to mark NATO's 50th anniversary?

A: The overall program will commence with a Commemorative Event on April 23
to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Alliance. It will take place at the
Mellon Auditorium. A NATO Summit working session will take place on April
24 with the participation of the leaders of all 19 member countries of the
new NATO. On Sunday, April 25, the 19 NATO leaders will hold the first
formal meeting ever with the highest ranking leaders of 25 NATO partner
countries in a Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council Summit. The program also
will include a NATO-Ukraine Commission Summit event, and possibly a
NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council session as well. Beyond these official
meetings, there will be a large number of official social events,
Congressional receptions and other programs being arranged, in particular
to honor the three newest members of the Alliance -- the Czech Republic,
Hungary, and Poland.

Q: What are the major themes expected to be addressed at the NATO Summit?

A: The major themes for the Summit are: "Safeguarding Freedom,"
"Celebrating Democracy," "Strengthening Partnerships," and "Meeting the
Challenges of the 21st Century."

Q: What does the United States hope the Summit will accomplish?

A: The United States government expects the Summit to honor NATO's
extraordinary record of accomplishments over the past 50 years and to chart
an effective course for meeting the complex challenges that will face the
new NATO in the next century.

Q: How many media representatives are expected to be in Washington to cover
the Summits? What kinds of arrangements have the organizers made to handle
the Summit press corps?

A: Up to 3,000 media representatives are expected to be present for the
event. Elaborate preparations are under way for establishment of an
effective media center in the International Trade Center, adjacent to the
Mellon Auditorium, for extensive coverage of the April 23 Commemorative
Event, the NATO and EAPC Summits, and for press conferences.

Q: The Host Committee is playing an important role in helping to plan and
organize the Summits. Would you please explain what the Committee is and
what contributions it is making to the success of the Summits?

A: The Host Committee, which includes CEOs (Chief Executive Officers) of
several prominent American corporations, will contribute significant sums
of cash and in-kind donations to help defray Summit costs, co-host Senior
Officials' Receptions at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and the
National Building Museum, and organize some other important social events
as well.

Q: What are the major challenges faced by the organizers of an event of
this magnitude?

A: There are three main challenges in organizing the Summit program --
substantive, administrative, and communications outreach. Substantive tasks
include work on a new Strategic Concept, with due attention to growing
European responsibilities through a European Security and Defense Identity
initiative, confronting the problems of weapons of mass destruction, and
carrying forward an Open Door program to prepare others for eventual entry
into the Alliance. Administratively, the challenges involve extensive site
preparation, complex transportation, lodging, and communications
arrangements, and due attention to security. The communications outreach
effort will have to convey to the public an in-depth picture of the Summit
events in particular and the current stage of the evolution of NATO in
general.

Q: Are there other events planned for the Summit participants following the
April 23-25 meetings?

A: Several events are planned to follow up the Summit. Some will involve
seminars to discuss Summit decisions and the future of the Alliance. Some
will be convened to celebrate NATO enlargement. Such events will take place
both in North America and Europe.

Q: What are some of the special events being planned for the spouses of the
Summit participants?

A: Mrs. Clinton is planning to invite the NATO leaders' spouses to
luncheons at the White House and Blair House. Mrs. Gore will organize a
luncheon for Ministers' spouses at the Vice President's residence. And Mrs.
Cohen will be hosting a luncheon at the Kennedy Center. There will also be
a special reception for spouses to honor efforts of "Race for the Cure" in
fighting cancer.

Latest Texts and Transcripts  Secretary of State Albright at NAC Brussels
Meeting on Kosovo, (4/12/99)
http://www.usia.gov/topical/pol/eap/albnac12.htm

Secretary of State Albright on "A New NATO for a New Century," (4/6/99)
http://www.usia.gov/topical/pol/eap/albrook.htm

Ambassador Alexander Vershbow on U.S.-Russian Relations, (3/25/99)
http://www.usia.gov/topical/pol/eap/versb325.htm

U.S. Ambassador to Sweden Lyndon Olson on "Reinventing Security in Europe:
NATO at 50 Years" (Lund, Sweden, 3/15/99)
http://www.usia.gov/topical/pol/eap/olson15.htm

NATO Accession Ceremony (Independence, Missouri 3/12/99)
http://www.nato50.gov/ceremony.htm

Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott on "A New NATO for a New Era"
(London, 3/10/99)
http://www.usia.gov/topical/pol/eap/talbot10.htm

JCS Chairman General Henry Shelton on "The Transatlantic Commitment"
(London, 3/8/99)
http://www.usia.gov/topical/pol/eap/shelt08.htm


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: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 12:22:36 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) depleted uranium coming to consumer goods

Dear Friends,
Here's some awful news.  Paducah is sitting with a literal mountain of
radioactive scrap metal which they are trying to use again in consumer
products.  The DOE "privatized" the Paducah plant, selling it off to the USEC
after it no longer was used to process uranium for the weapons complex.  This
has to be stopped!!  Regards, Alice Slater

>Date: Sat, 17 Apr 1999 21:32:19 -0400
>Subject: Radioactive Pork for Paducah
>Priority: non-urgent
>X-FC-MachineGenerated: true
>To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
>From: [e-mail] ([e-mail])
>
> SCHOOL EXPECTS TO BE HOME TO URANIUM HEXAFLUORIDE STUDY CENTER
>                        Associated Press
>                         April 17, 1999
>
>    PADUCAH, Ky. (AP) -- Paducah Community College expects to be the site
>of
>a new center for the study of commercial uses for depleted uranium
>materials
>from the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant.
>    Energy Secretary Bill Richardson says that by 2002, the U.S. Department
>of Energy will start building a facility to recycle the hexafluoride
>materials, now stored in 37,000 cylinders kept at the plant.
>    A new partnership between the University of Kentucky and Ohio State
>University is studying ways to use the recycled materials to create jobs.
>The $5 million center would be used to further that effort, Tom Osborne, a
>member of the Paducah Junior College board of trustees, said Thursday.
>    The plant, owned by the agency and operated by the U.S. Enrichment
>Corp., uses a gaseous-diffusion process to enrich uranium hexafluoride gas
>into a material used to produce nuclear fuel for power plants around the
>world.
>    The University of Kentucky has committed $2.2 million toward the
>project. The rest is being sought from the state and the Energy Department.
>              Bob Schaeffer, Public Policy Communications
>                73 Trowbridge Street, Belmont, MA 02178
>ph: [phone]  fax: [phone]  email: [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.
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------------------------------

Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 13:12:31 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: [csdgen] Threat of Ecological Catastrophe <--> NATO Bombings !!

>Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 11:09:47 -0400
>Subject: [csdgen] Threat of Ecological Catastrophe <--> NATO Bombings !!
>Priority: non-urgent
>X-FC-MachineGenerated: true
>To: [e-mail]
>From: [e-mail] ([e-mail])
>
>I received this message from Dmitar Lakusic <[e-mail]>
>Serbian Ecological Society, University of Belgrade, Faculty of
>Biology at approximately 3:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon April 18, 1999.
>[Nova Scotia time]
>
>The message speaks alarmingly of the bombing, in the early
>hours of the morning of April 18th at 1:00 a.m., in Pancevo,
>northern suburb of Belgrade, of a petrochemical complex which
>completely destroyed an Ammonia plant ("Azotara") and Vinyle
>Chloride Monomere (VCM) plant ("Petrohemija"). It notes  that a huge
>dark cloud of VCM appeared over the city of Pancevo - "a huge dark
>cloud [which] is spreading over the territory of SouthEastern
>Europe." The authors say  "we are faced with serious ecological
>catastrophe."
>
>To confirm this report I called the  University of Belgrade Phone #
>appended to their press statement to see if I could reach either of
>the authors of the statement. I was unable to reach either of them
>at that location but spoke with a  woman biologist who confirmed that
>the bombing had occurred about 20 kilometres north of  Belgrade last
>night in early hours of morning and she referred to it as a serious
>ecological catastrophe. She gave me Dmitar's Lakusic's home phone
>number and   I reached him a few moments later. He  also confirmed
>the bombing  but for further information he felt that I should be
>talking to his colleague - Associate Professor Radoje Lausevic.
>
>Minutes later I spoke at length with Radoje Lausevic, Associate
>Professor of Biology,  University  of Belgrade and he confirmed
>that at 1:00 a.m. April 18th  NATO jets bombed plants of the
>Petrochemical Complex in Pancevo.
>
>Professor Lausevic said  " Only one sure thing is that the whole
>petrochemical factory has  been destroyed. It was hit by at least
>three bombs.  I was at home about 3 kilometers away  and heard the
>sounds of explosion very well and saw the flames in the dark sky last
>night- a huge flame."
>
>He also confirmed that there had been an earlier bombing of an oil
>and petrol plant and  a second bombing in the early hours of the
>morning of April 18th of  another  plant in Novi Sad 100 kilometers
>north of Belgrade.  He said he hoped to speak to his colleague at
>Novi Sad University tomorrow about the bombing.  He also said that
>public health authorites were saying that the level of contamination
>was not dangerously high after this April 18th bombing in
>Pancevo but he could not confirm this. Professor Lausevic
>also likened this to the reports coming out of Chernobyl which said
>the same thing after the catastrophe there!!
>
>An Associated Press Report Sunday April 18 2:55 PM ET
>http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/ap/ap_headlines/story.html?s=v/ap
>/19990418/ts/yugoslavia_kosovo_658.html
>
>entitled NATO Steps Up Air War on Yugoslavia
>By GEORGE JAHN Associated Press Writer
>
>>>>From  BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP)  noted NATO launched its most active
>day of airstrikes Sunday in its assault on Yugoslavia, pummeling
>refineries,  bridges and dozens of other targets in what it
>claimed were ``highly successful'' operations.
>
>Specific references in the AP article to bombings in this  area  were
>as follows:
>
>Thick black smoke mixed with choking fumes rose above an area
>targeted by a NATO attack on an oil storage depot and nitrogen
>fertilizer plant in Pancevo, just six miles northwest of Belgrade.
>
>An immense fire also sent pillars of smoke into the sky after a strike
>on a refinery in Yugoslavia's second-largest city, Novi Sad.
>
>All the very best,
>Janet Eaton
>
>p.s. I particularly wished to confirm this report from the Serb
>Ecological Society  before forwarding it widely because of its
>alarming nature and also because I have been preparing and have ready
>to post an annotated list of internet communiques  received over the
>past two weeks which are about "Environmental Threats and Health
>Hazards" from the NATO bombings. Obviously I want to include this one
>as well !! je
>
>
>Dr. Janet M. Eaton,
>Educator, Researcher,
>Public Policy Consultant.
>Wolfville, Nova Scotia,
>CANADA
>[e-mail]
>
>---------------------------------------------
>
>
>------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
>Date:          Sun, 18 Apr 1999 20:01:23 +0200 (MET DST)
>To:            (Recipient list suppressed)
>From:          Dmitar Lakusic <[e-mail]>
>Subject:       VCM
>
>Return-Path: <[e-mail]
>Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 09:26:52 +0200
>From: Radoje Lausevic <[e-mail]>
>To: Dmitar Lakusic <[e-mail]
>Subject: VCM
>
>Belgrade, 18th April, 10:00
>
>VCM over our heads.
>We are faced with serious ecological catastrophe.
>
>Dr Slobodan Tresac, Director General of HIP PETROHEMIJA d.p. has
>announced:
>
>"It is my duty and obligation to inform the domestic and
>international public that on 15th April 1999 at 22:40 NATO forces
>heavily bombarded the plants of the Petrochemical Complex in Pancevo
>which were in regular operation.
>
>Installations and equipment of the Vinyl Chloride Monomer plant and
>Ethylene plant were directly hit. Indirectly, heavy and destructive
>explosions damaged the Chlor-alkali plant and Polyvinylchloride plant
>and buildings inside the complex as well as a large number of
>civilian houses and flats in the surrounding area.
>
>The fire broke out and huge quantities of toxic matters such as
>chlorine, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride monomer flowed out.
>The transformer stations were also heavily damaged and very toxic
>transformer oil flowed out.
>
>Unfortunately but unavoidably a large number of people were injured
>and intoxicated. At this moment we do not know the exact number of
>intoxicated and injured civilians who were evacuated.
>
>Due to the power failure and utilities and auxiliary fluids
>interruption a large quantity of combustible, explosive and toxic
>matters remained trapped in the equipment, installations and tanks.
>It will take a lot of time to drain and evacuate all those matters
>from the plants before the plants could be considered safe for a
>wide surrounding area.
>The plants have been heavily damaged and cannot be put in operation.
>
>According to all the terms and rules of warfare accepted and followed
>so far, the plants of chemical process industries of this type have
>never been military targets and objects of strikes. The range of
>products of "HIP Petrohemija" d.p. Pancevo is of extremely civilian
>nature and bombardment of these plants represents the worst war
>crime and it reveals genocidal intentions of the aggressor.
>Therefore, we call upon the petrochemical producers, licencors and
>engineering houses all over the world to raise their voice and warn
>those who give orders for bombing of the danger and catastrophic
>consequences which might be caused by bombing of this kind of
>plants."
>
>Heavily bombing of the plants of the Petrochemical Complex in Pancevo
>has been repeated last night (18th April, about 01:00). Ammonia plant
>("Azotara") and Vinyle Chloride Monomere (VCM) plant ("Petrohemija")
>has been destroyed completely. Huge dark cloud appeared over the
>city of Pancevo (northern suburb of Belgrade). The cloud is
>expanding in northwest direction.
>
>According to Encyclopaedia Britannica vinyl chloride, also called
>chloroethylene, a colourless, flammable, toxic gas belonging to the
>family of organic halogen compounds, is used principally in making
>polyvinyl chloride, an important synthetic resin.
>
>Vinyl chloride was first prepared in 1835 by the reaction of ethylene
>chloride with caustic potash; its slow transformation into a flaky
>solid when exposed to sunlight also was noted but not recognized as
>polymerization until many years later. An industrial process for
>making vinyl chloride from acetylene and hydrogen chloride in the
>presence of mercury (II) chloride was discovered early in the 20th
>century, but commercial production was not begun until World War II,
>when substitutes for natural rubber were required. The process based
>on acetylene has remained important in Europe, but in the United
>States vinyl chloride is commonly manufactured from ethylene
>chloride, either by heating it to temperatures of 480 -510 oC (900
>-950 oF) or by treating it with a dilute solution of caustic soda.
>Its chemical properties are similar to those of olefins, but, apart
>from its conversion to polymers, its only important reaction is that
>with hypochlorous acid, forming chloroacetaldehyde, which is used in
>making pharmaceuticals such as sulfathiazole. Prolonged exposure of
>humans and laboratory animals to vinyl chloride vapour has been
>linked to several forms of cancer.
>
>Huge dark cloud is spreading over the territory of SouthEastern
>Europe. VCM is over our heads. Who has rights to do that?
>
>Serbian Ecological Society
>Univ. Belgrade, Fac. Biol.
>Inst. Bot. & Bot. Garden "Jevremovac"
>Takovska 43, 11000 Belgrade, Yugoslavia
>Tel: [phone]
>Fax: [phone]
>
>M. Sci. Dmitar Lakusic, President
>[e-mail]
>
>Ass. Prof. Dr. Radoje Lausevic, Secretary
>[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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