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abolition-usa-digest      Monday, August 16 1999      Volume 01 : Number 165




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

Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 20:44:12 +1000
From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Y2K NUKE DE-ALERTING ARTICLES

John Hallam
=46riends of the Earth Sydney,
17 Lord street, Newtown, NSW, Australia,
=46ax(61)(2)9517-3902 ph (61)(2)9517-3903

[e-mail]    http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd

THE FOLLOWING ARE ARTICLES FROM THE TIMES OF LONDON BY BASIC
(BRITISH-AMERICAN SECURITY INFORMATION COUNCIL) AND THE GUARDIAN BY HANNAH
MIDDLETON.


http://www.peg.apc.org/~guardian/guardian/965y2k.htm

The Guardian August 4, 1999

Y2K and the threat of global nuclear catastrophe


by Dr Hannah Middleton

Year 2000 (Y2K) problems are likely to affect the computer systems that
coordinate strategic nuclear weapons systems. Many respected experts are
warning that due to Y2K problems these systems, both in the US and Russia,
pose an unacceptable risk of accidental nuclear war. The immediate stakes
are so high, and the potential for global catastrophe so clear, that
mutually verified de-alerting in the face of the Y2K computer problem must
take precedence over all other considerations of politics and national
security.

The largest, oldest, and least Y2K compliant computerised systems in the
world are those that are part of the communications, command, control and
intelligence functions of the strategic nuclear weapons complexes of Russia
and the US.

The US Y2K compliance program for strategic nuclear weapons is not expected
to be anywhere near complete by December 1999. Similarly, the Russian
strategic nuclear weapon system will be subject to massive Y2K problems.

The Y2K problem

The Y2K problem is buried in millions of lines of software code that use
two digits to represent four-digit years. That will lead some software
around the world to read "00" not as 2000, but 1900, and possibly cause
computers to crash or issue false data. No one knows for sure what will
happen.

The biggest fear is that, even in modernised nations that have been working
to lessen the impact of Y2K, a cascading effect will occur.

A US Senate Y2K panel reported that: "The interdependent nature of
technology systems makes the severity of possible disruptions difficult to
predict.

An audit of one US nuclear reactor, conducted by the US Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, revealed that a single nuclear power plant had 1,304 separate
software items and embedded chips affected by the Y2K bug.

In the worst-case scenario, even systems that are Y2K compliant will be
infected with the Y2K bug as a result of their connection to non-compliant
systems. They, in turn, will contaminate others.

The nuclear hair-trigger

Both the US and Russia continue to keep the bulk of their nuclear missiles
on high level alert. Within just a few minutes of receiving instructions to
fire, a large fraction of the US and Russian land-based rockets (which are
armed with about 2,000 and 3,500 warheads respectively) could begin their
25-minute flights over the North Pole to their targets.

Less than 15 minutes after receiving the order to attack, six US Trident
submarines at sea could fire about 1,000 warheads and several Russian
ballistic missile submarines could launch between 300 and 400.

In sum, the two major nuclear weapons states are ready to fire a total of
more than 5,000 nuclear weapons at each other within half an hour.

Both powers operate a "launch on warning" policy, with nuclear forces in a
constant state of readiness to launch nuclear weapons on the mere warning
of an attack.

The rushed nature of the process, from warning to decision to action in 15
minutes or so, risks causing an apocalyptic mistake. The possibility of
accidents is made worse by the Y2K problem.

US bases in Australia

At the stroke of midnight on December 31, inhabitants of the small Pacific
islands will become the first people to enter the year 2000. They will be
followed by the first industrialised countries =97 New Zealand, Australia
and Japan.

American officials will be watching to see how the Y2K phenomenon affects
them, to find out what happens when modern, computer-reliant nations cross
into the new millennium?

The US military will be watching what happens at its military facilities in
Australia since any malfunctions in its nuclear command and control system
will show up first in the US bases, especially the ballistic missile launch
detection and other satellite intelligence collection systems at Pine Gap,
and the Trident submarine communications transmitter site at North West
Cape.

Nuclear accident

The greatest concern is that Y2K will cause malfunctions in the early
warning network and command-and-control system of the nuclear weapon
states, leading to an accidental or mistaken launch command.

The fallibility of these early warning systems has been demonstrated by
false alarms and even the accidental transmission of launch codes which
have occurred at both US and Russian nuclear missile installations, caused
by computer error or misinterpretation of data.

On January 25, 1995, for example, a Russian radar warning system detected a
rocket launch off Norway.

A ballistic missile launched from a US submarine in those waters could hit
Moscow within 15 minutes, so an alert message was sent up the command chain
all the way to Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who for the first time in
an emergency activated the "nuclear briefcase" carried by Russian leaders.

The unidentified "missile" turned out to be a US weather probe launched by
the Norwegians.

Eliminating the risk

The risk of accidental nuclear war, however small, is not a risk the planet
and humanity should be subjected to.

And the risk can be eliminated by taking nuclear weapons off hair-trigger
alert.

The Canberra Commission, organised by the Australian Government in 1996,
strongly recommended that strategic nuclear missiles be taken off hair-
trigger alert as a first step toward the elimination of nuclear weapons.

Whether it is seen as a first step to elimination of nuclear weapons, or as
a simple commonsense measure to ensure that we do not greet the new
millennium with global nuclear catastrophe, de-alerting makes good sense.

If strategic nuclear weapons are taken off alert, accidental nuclear war
between the US and Russia cannot happen. De-alerting will cost nothing and
it can improve the atmosphere of trust between the nuclear powers. It can
be implemented by simple executive order.

There should be a "safety first" approach to Y2K and nuclear arsenals.

The only responsible solution is for them all to be taken off alert status,
preferably with the decoupling of nuclear warheads from delivery vehicles.
All strategic and tactical nuclear weapons should be placed in a status in
which at least hours and preferably days would be required to launch them.

World-wide campaign

The danger that a Y2K-related computer malfunction could trigger an
accidental global nuclear war has impelled more than 170 international
peace, environmental, anti-nuclear, trade union, and church groups to write
to Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton, demanding that strategic nuclear weapons
be taken off their current hair-trigger launch status over the Y2K period.

The letter is being released on Hiroshima Day in Sydney, Adelaide,
Auckland, Moscow, London, New York, San Francisco, Toronto, and Costa Rica.

You can help

Write to Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, asking him to make
representations to Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin to take strategic nuclear
weapons off hair-trigger alert during the Y2K rollover period.

Back to index page

http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/99/08/07/timopnolt01007.html?21=
4624
9


August 7 1999 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Nuclear dangers of Year 2000

>From Mr Paul Swann and others

Sir, This year's commemoration of Hiroshima Day, August 6, falls just
147 days before the Year 2000 com- puter rollover. We share the concerns
of many people and groups worldwide who are calling for the de- alerting
of nuclear weapon systems during the critical rollover period.

No one can guarantee that the mil- lennium bug will not cause failures
in the computer systems that control the nuclear arsenals. The British
American Security Information Council (BASIC) warns that there is
sufficient risk of an accidental or mistaken launch of nuclear weapons
to warrant standing down the current "launch-on-warning" status. A
letter to this effect has been signed by representatives of many
millions of people and is being sent to Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin
today.

There are also concerns that the world's 433 civil nuclear reactors may
be vulnerable to computer system failures. A "World Atomic Safety
Holiday" campaign being launched today calls for nuclear reactors to be
taken off-line from December 1 until the computer crisis is over.

We urge all nuclear countries to adopt a safety-first policy to ensure
that the new millennium begins with neither an accidental nuclear war
nor another Chernobyl.

Sincerely,

PAUL SWANN,
National Co-ordinator, Y2K Community Action Network,

PATRICK GREEN,
Senior Energy, Nuclear and Climate Campaigner, Friends of the Earth,

BRUCE KENT,
Vice-President, CND,

TOM McDONALD,
Analyst, BASIC,

14 Beacon Hill, N7 9LY.
[e-mail]
August 6.

Copyright 1999 Times Newspapers Ltd.

_______________________________________________





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

Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 11:20:22 -0400
From: "Lachlan Forrow" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Possible Exhibits from Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (HPMM)

To: Abolition 2000/USA
From: Lachlan Forrow

As described below in the message below from Sachiyo Oki, staff member of
IPPNW-Japan, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum staff have been interested
in placing exhibitions of articfacts, photographs, etc. from their
collection in several cities during the year 2000.  They had hoped to have
cities selected by this August 6, but it seems that they are still
entertaining proposals.  They are clearly particularly interested in the
possibility of an exhibition in New York, especially if this could be done
at/with the U.N.

Please let me know if you are interested.


- -----Original Message-----
From: Sachiyo Oki (JPPNW) [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 1999 11:04 PM
To: Lachlan forrow
Cc: [e-mail]
Subject: Re the A-bomb exhibit


August 11, 1999

Dear Dr Lachlan Forrow,

I suppose you heard from your staff member Beth Amis about her trip to
Hiroshima. She, Dr. Yokoro and I met with Mr Hideaki Naito, Deputy
Director of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (HPMM), and Mr Masayuki Kubo,
Associate Director of HPMM, and discussed the possibility of holding
the Atomic bomb exhibit in USA in connection with Symposium 2000.

As you might already know they can provide two kinds of the A-bomb exhibit
for those who wish to hold it in their cities. One is a large scale exhibit
and the other is a small scale one. As for the large scale, they will ship
artifact, large panels, videos etc. at their own expense. But, a sponsor is
required to secure the exhibit. So, in this sense, a very well protected
musium may be the best. Last year, the large exhibit were held in India,
Pakistan, in US (at Tufts Univ.) and drew quite a public attention. As for
the small scale, materials such as Beth brought back, --small sized panels
and videos-- will be provided. In this case, of course security is not a big
problem.

HPMM had already asked various cities in the world about the possiblity of
holding a big scale exhibit when we visited them, but had not received very
many positive replies. When Beth mentioned the city name of New York, they
seemed very interested. And they said they would have to decide which city
they were going to lend artifact and etc. for the next exhibit and submit a
budget soon.

I am sure you remember that you and I visited HPMM in the summer of 1995
after the Hiroshima conference just before you left Hiroshima. You wanted to
hold the exhibit tour in major cities across USA and they wanted IPPNW to be
a sponsor for the exhibit in USA, but this idea did not realized due to
financial constraint.

I understand, as Beth mentioned in her last e-mail, it would be extremely
difficult for you to explore this possibility all by yourself in a short
limited time, but I think we should respond to HPMM somewhat as they were so
kind and sincere during the meeting.

This is just my naive idea, but would't it possible for us to hold a large
scale exhibit at the UN building in New York ? I suppose there are some
halls or rooms for exhibitons in the UN building. Do you think there will be
too a strong opposition from nuclear weapons states ? Or is there even a
little possibility ?

By the way, Dr Yokoro went to Belgrade with two other Hiroshima doctors for
a medical support and will be back on Aug. 17.

I am looking forward to your response soon.

Sincerely yours,

Sachiyo Oki, JPPNW


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

Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 17:14:25 -0400
From: peter weiss <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) Possible Exhibits from Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (HPMM)

Cooper Union is hosting, in December, an exhibit called "The Crimes of
the Wehrmacht", produced by a progressive research institute in Hamburg.
The idea was to dispel the myth that genocide and other crimes were
committed only by the SS, SA and Gestapo. The exhibit has been very
controversial in Europe, where it has circulated for over two years. So
Cooper Union may be receptive to the idea of displaying Hiroshima
artifacts in 2000.
                PeterWeiss

Lachlan Forrow wrote:
>
> To: Abolition 2000/USA
> From: Lachlan Forrow
>
> As described below in the message below from Sachiyo Oki, staff member of
> IPPNW-Japan, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum staff have been interested
> in placing exhibitions of articfacts, photographs, etc. from their
> collection in several cities during the year 2000.  They had hoped to have
> cities selected by this August 6, but it seems that they are still
> entertaining proposals.  They are clearly particularly interested in the
> possibility of an exhibition in New York, especially if this could be done
> at/with the U.N.
>
> Please let me know if you are interested.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sachiyo Oki (JPPNW) [mailto:[e-mail]]
> Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 1999 11:04 PM
> To: Lachlan forrow
> Cc: [e-mail]
> Subject: Re the A-bomb exhibit
>
> August 11, 1999
>
> Dear Dr Lachlan Forrow,
>
> I suppose you heard from your staff member Beth Amis about her trip to
> Hiroshima. She, Dr. Yokoro and I met with Mr Hideaki Naito, Deputy
> Director of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (HPMM), and Mr Masayuki Kubo,
> Associate Director of HPMM, and discussed the possibility of holding
> the Atomic bomb exhibit in USA in connection with Symposium 2000.
>
> As you might already know they can provide two kinds of the A-bomb exhibit
> for those who wish to hold it in their cities. One is a large scale exhibit
> and the other is a small scale one. As for the large scale, they will ship
> artifact, large panels, videos etc. at their own expense. But, a sponsor is
> required to secure the exhibit. So, in this sense, a very well protected
> musium may be the best. Last year, the large exhibit were held in India,
> Pakistan, in US (at Tufts Univ.) and drew quite a public attention. As for
> the small scale, materials such as Beth brought back, --small sized panels
> and videos-- will be provided. In this case, of course security is not a big
> problem.
>
> HPMM had already asked various cities in the world about the possiblity of
> holding a big scale exhibit when we visited them, but had not received very
> many positive replies. When Beth mentioned the city name of New York, they
> seemed very interested. And they said they would have to decide which city
> they were going to lend artifact and etc. for the next exhibit and submit a
> budget soon.
>
> I am sure you remember that you and I visited HPMM in the summer of 1995
> after the Hiroshima conference just before you left Hiroshima. You wanted to
> hold the exhibit tour in major cities across USA and they wanted IPPNW to be
> a sponsor for the exhibit in USA, but this idea did not realized due to
> financial constraint.
>
> I understand, as Beth mentioned in her last e-mail, it would be extremely
> difficult for you to explore this possibility all by yourself in a short
> limited time, but I think we should respond to HPMM somewhat as they were so
> kind and sincere during the meeting.
>
> This is just my naive idea, but would't it possible for us to hold a large
> scale exhibit at the UN building in New York ? I suppose there are some
> halls or rooms for exhibitons in the UN building. Do you think there will be
> too a strong opposition from nuclear weapons states ? Or is there even a
> little possibility ?
>
> By the way, Dr Yokoro went to Belgrade with two other Hiroshima doctors for
> a medical support and will be back on Aug. 17.
>
> I am looking forward to your response soon.
>
> Sincerely yours,
>
> Sachiyo Oki, JPPNW
>
> -
>  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.



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

Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 20:38:41 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: (abolition-usa) Rep. Edward Markey's Resolution for De-Alerting

Representative Edward Markey, of Massachusetts, today released the following
text of his Resolution concerning de-alerting of nuclear missiles to the
Metro-Boston Committee to De-Alert Nuclear Weapons, with permission to
publish it here on the Internet. Rep. Markey is the first US Congressman to
take such a stand on the urgent question of missile de-alerting. He would
like to encourage other members of Congress to join him as cosponsors.

William F. Santelmann, Jr., for the
Metro-Boston Committee to De-Alert Nuclear Weapons

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress that nuclear weapons should be taken off
hair-trigger alert.

Whereas accidental or mistaken launch of a nuclear missile could devastate a
city, and launch of a nuclear force could wreak worldwide destruction;

Whereas the United States and Russia currently maintain thousands of nuclear
weapons on "hair-trigger" alert, such that they can be fired within minutes;

Whereas in several incidents false signals of missile attacks have triggered
a process in which national leaders had to decide in only a few minutes
whether to fire nuclear weapons;

Whereas the failure of computers to recognize the year 2000 date change could
infect command, control, communications, and intelligence systems, causing
false signals or blank monitoring screens;

Whereas Russian monitoring and control systems are deteriorating;

Whereas a massive preemptive attack attempting to destroy the nuclear weapons
capability of either Russia or the United States is extremely unlikely, and
mutual measures to slow the firing of nuclear weapons would make a preemptive
strike even more difficult;

Whereas much of the nuclear force of each country, including submarines at
sea and mobile land-based missiles, is almost invulnerable and thus would
preserve retaliatory ability through a nuclear attack, making immediate
firing of weapons unnecessary;

Whereas President Bush in 1991 ordered a unilateral stand-down of United
States strategic bombers and de-alerted some missiles, and Soviet President
Gorbachev quickly reciprocated with similar actions, improving bilateral
relations and national security;

Whereas removing further missiles from hair-trigger alert would help
alleviate recent tensions between Russia and the United States; and

Whereas there are several ways that land and submarine based weapons could be
temporarily disabled, with times ranging from minutes to weeks in order to
reactivate them: Now, therefore be it

RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (THE SENATE CONCURRING), That it is
the sense of the Congress that---

1) the United States, Russia, and other nuclear powers should negotiate an
agreement to take all of their nuclear weapons off of high-alert status in
order to decrease the risk of accidental or mistaken firing of nuclear
weapons;

2) to further such an agreement, the United States should immediately take
off of hair-trigger alert as many of its nuclear weapons as is feasible and
consistent with national security, and should encourage Russia to reciprocate;

3) the Department of Defense and the State Department should study methods to
increase further the time needed to launch all nuclear missiles and study the
effect these actions would have on nuclear deterrence, relations with other
recognized nuclear powers, the international nuclear nonproliferation regime,
and other aspects of national security; and

4) the President should expedite the establishment of a United States-Russian
joint early-warning center to ensure accurate detection of any missiles and
effective communication in the even of a false alarm, computer malfunction,
accident, or diplomatic crisis, as set forth in the "Joint Statement on the
Exchange of Information on Missile Launches and Early Warning", agreed to in
1998, and should facilitate the establishment of a temporary center before
the end of 1999 that could address any problems which might arise due to the
failure of computers to recognize the year 2000 date change.

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

Date: Thu, 12 Aug 1999 16:35:42 +1000
From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) AUSTRALIAN SENATE UNANIMOUSLY PASSES Y2K NUKES RESOLUTION

John Hallam
Friends of the Earth Sydney,
17 Lord street, Newtown, NSW, Australia,
Fax[phone] ph (61)(2)9517-3903

[e-mail]    http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd

Dear All,
The resolution that managed to pass unanimously through the Australian
senate was unfortunately, not as good as it should have been- both the ALP,
and the overnment, very predictably, tried to water it down drastically.

The resolution, specifically, lacks a committment to de-alerting.

However, it 'notes' that the Canberra Commission reccommended de- alerting,
as well as various resolutions of UNGA doing so.

What is however, quite stunning is that the government voted at all for ANY
Y2K weapons related resolution whatsoever.

That is in itself extraordinary.

What I now propose to do is to get Australians to fax foreign minister
Alexander Downer and shadow foreign minister Brereton, asking them to adopt
as policy,


AUSTRALIAN PEACE COMMITTEE
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH
SENATE UNANIMOUSLY PASSES Y2K NUCLEAR WEAPONS MOTION

The Senate today unanimously passed a motion moved by Democrat Senator Lyn
Allison, that calls on the nuclear weapons states to develop measures to
eliminate the risk of the accidental use of nuclear weapons over the Y2K
rollover period.

The motion comes  after the release of a letter to Yeltsin and Clinton
signed by 271 groups worldwide including 22 Australian Parliamentarians,
Friends of the Earth International and Greenpeace International, calling
for the de-alerting of nuclear weapons in accordance with the
recommendations of the Canberra Commission of 1996.

Both the letter and todays Senate motion are in response to deep concerns
that have been aired by Bruce Blair of the influential Brookings
Institution, the Federation of American Scientists,  and the
British-American Security Information Council, that Y2K-related computer
malfunctions in the massive and ancient computer complexes that control US
and Russian nuclear missiles could pose an 'unacceptable risk of accidental
nuclear war'.

According to Friends of the Earth nuclear campaigner John Hallam,
"The  resolution moved by the Democrats and now passed unanimously, calls
on the Australian Government to continue to encourage the efforts being
made by nuclear weapon states to develop measures to eliminate any risk of
the accidental use of nuclear weapons'."

"It also makes specific reference to the 1996 Canberra Commission
recommendation that all nuclear forces be taken off hairtrigger alert."

"We welcome the fact that there is now a parliamentary consensus that there
is actually  a potential problem. As such the resolution represents
progress and is to be welcomed.  However, it is clear that many people on
both sides of the parliament have their heads stuck firmly in the sands of
deterrence."

"There is one way in which the risk of accidental nuclear war can be
completely eliminated. That is by taking nuclear weapons and forces off
hairtrigger alert, as the Canberra Commission, and a number of UN
resolutions, have recommended."

According to Irene Gale of the Australian Peace Committee,
"As long as nuclear weapons are not taken off alert, some 5000 nuclear
warheads are 24 hours a day in readiness to be launched within 20-30
minutes. If that ever happens, it really will be the end of the world -
certainly for civilisation, possibly for all human life."

"Y2K- related computer malfunctions provide a small but still significant
chance that this could happen. It's a risk that the planet as a whole
should not be subjected to. Taking nuclear weapons off alert will eliminate
that risk. We call on the government to implement the Senate resolution by
making the recommendations of the 1996 Canberra Commission policy, and
urging the nuclear weapon states to implement them."

Contact: John Hallam, 02-9517-3903 h9810-2598
Irene Gale A.M., 08-8212-7138, Ron Gray, 08-8364-2291



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

Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 02:12:24 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: (abolition-usa) Aid workers/Journalists warned about DU, but not refugees

I pass this on for the info of someone who had asked about DU.

Peace,
David McReynolds

<< Subj:     Aid workers/Journalists warned about DU, but not refugees
 Date:  8/14/99 12:59:28 AM Eastern Daylight Time
 From:  [e-mail]
 To:    [e-mail]

 Depleted uranium effects in Balkans to be probed
 WebPosted Fri Aug 13 14:05:57 1999
 NAIROBI -  The United Nations is investigating possible human health
problems
 caused by depleted uranium weapons used in the Balkan war, the BBC said
 Friday.

 Depleted uranium, which is 1.7 times as dense as lead, allows bullets and
 shells to pierce armour. NATO has said it was used by American "tankbuster"
 aircraft during the war in Kosovo.
 The UN is currently considering whether to send a team to the region to
 assess any impact. It has already sent experts to evaluate the environmental
 impact of the various Balkan conflicts, which have gone on for most of the
 1990s.

 Depleted uranium is mildly radioactive, and NATO says the weaponry fall-out
 does not lead to health problems.

 But many others think the substance, which burns and sprays dust on impact,
 has a long-lasting health impact. They say that inhaling or ingesting the
 dust particles can cause cancer.
 The U.S Army's own Environmental Policy Institute has warned that depleted
 uranium poses chemical and radiological risks. Many veterans of the 1991
Gulf
 War have charged that the substance made them sick.

 Aid workers and journalists working in Kosovo have been warned about coming
 into contact with depleted uranium, the BBC said, but refugees returning to
 the former war zone have been given no advice.

 --
 To unsubscribe, send email to [e-mail]
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  >>

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

Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 02:04:05 -0700 (PDT)
From: Timothy Bruening <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Re: Fwd: HAZARDS OF LOW LEVEL RADIOACTIVITY

At 02:23 PM 4/20/98 -0500, you wrote:

>AN OVERVIEW
>HAZARDS OF LOW LEVEL RADIOACTIVITY
>
>Low level radioactivity includes the on-going amount of radiation
>released from the everyday operation of the world's 433 nuclear power
>plants, plus leaks and accidents.
>
>(1) INFERTILITY
> Radiation causes infertility. The global fertility rate has dropped
>nearly half since 1955.

With the world's population at 6 billion, placing an unsustainable strain on
Earth's ecosystems, a reduced fertility rate sounds like a good thing.

Rest of article munched.


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

Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 15:02:46 +1000
From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) U.S., Russia urged to lower missile alert for Y2K

John Hallam
Friends of the Earth Sydney,
17 Lord street, Newtown, NSW, Australia,
Fax[phone] ph (61)(2)9517-3903

[e-mail]    http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd

THIS IS HOW REUTERS WASHINGTON REPORTED THE 'BILL & BORIS' DE- ALERTING LETTER.

www.Drudgereport.com featured this article today!  Friends in high places :-)
=========
U.S., Russia urged to lower missile alert for Y2K

 Updated 6:53 PM ET August 12, 1999

 By Jim Wolf

 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Citing the risk of an accidental nuclear war,
activists are pressing the United States and Russia to take nuclear
missiles off
hair-trigger alert during the technology-challenging year 2000 rollover.

 A network of international groups announced a drive this week to try to
persuade President Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin to "stand down"
the approximately 2,500 nuclear-armed missiles now poised on each side for
 immediate firing.

 Standing down the missiles means adding steps before they can be fired.
The idea is to give commanders more time to make sure they are acting on solid
 information, not scrambled data caused by a computer glitch.

Rep. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, introduced a sense of the
Congress resolution last week calling for the "de-alerting" of as many
U.S. nuclear weapons "as is feasible and consistent with national security."

 "Today the Russian command-and-control system is decaying," Markey said.

 He said the so-called Y2K bug in computers not programmed to recognize
the year 2000 made the date change a particularly dangerous period.

 The stated fear is that Y2K-related computer glitches could cause the
Russians in particular to conclude they are under attack, triggering mistaken
retaliation. Russia acknowledges that it lags far behind the United States
overall in
making its systems ready for 2000 changeover.

 Friends of the Earth, an Australian environmental group, spearheaded an
effort to send a letter to Clinton and Yeltsin that was signed by 271 groups,
including Greenpeace International.

 "If Y2K breakdowns produce inaccurate early-warning data, or if
 communications and command channels are compromised, the combination of
hair-trigger force postures and Y2K failures could be disastrous," the
groups said in their letter.

 They added that there should be a "safety-first" approach to Y2K and
nuclear arsenals.

 Alice Slater, president of the New York-based Global Resource Action
Center for the Environment and a U.S. coordinator of the letter campaign, said
activists were organizing grass-roots efforts in many countries to
highlight the issue.

 "In a sense, Y2K is a crisis and an opportunity," Slater said in a
telephone interview.

 She described the current drive to de-alert missiles temporarily as a
"first step" in a larger effort to ban nuclear weapons altogether.

 The Pentagon has invited Russia to send military officers to a proposed
temporary joint "early-warning center" in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to avoid
any possible missile-launch miscues as the new century dawns. But Russia
has not
responded since the U.S.-led NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, its ally, earlier
this year.

 Bruce Blair, a former U.S. nuclear missile launch officer who analyzes
targeting issues at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said the Y2K
glitch
itself could not cause accidental missile firings because people had to
make the
ultimate decisions on both sides.

 But he said permanently de-alerting all or most nuclear missiles made
sense in the post-cold War world as a safety precaution.

 "Yeltsin's the last person you'd want to wake up in the middle of the
night with a request for permission to launch" on what might be a false
alarm, he said.






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

Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 02:27:50 -0700 (PDT)
From: Timothy Bruening <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Depleted Uranium Resolutions

Does anyone have any sample resolutions about Depleted Uranium?


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

Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 08:41:41 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: FOE Y2K Letter Makes Reuters

Dear Friends,
I think we have to keep the momentum going!  Please list to this caucus what
you are doing in your country to bring the de-alerting issue to your
government's attention.  In the US, how will we get sign-ons for the Markey
resolution and a Senator to introduce a similar resolution in the Senate.
Please note, that while Markey calls for unilateral de-alerting consistent
with
US security needs to encourage Russia to take similar steps, he calls for this
as a means to enter negotiations with Russia on total verifiable dealerting of
all nuclear weapons.  Regards, Alice

>Date: Thu, 12 Aug 1999 19:41:42 -0400
>Subject: FOE Y2K Letter Makes Reuters
>To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
>From: [e-mail] ([e-mail])
>
>www.Drudgereport.com featured this article today!  Friends in high
>places :-)
>=========
>U.S., Russia urged to lower missile alert for Y2K
>
>  Updated 6:53 PM ET August 12, 1999
>
> By Jim Wolf
>
> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Citing the risk of an accidental nuclear war,
>activists
> are pressing the United States and Russia to take nuclear missiles off
>hair-trigger
> alert during the technology-challenging year 2000 rollover.
>
> A network of international groups announced a drive this week to try to
>persuade
> President Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin to "stand down"
>the
> approximately 2,500 nuclear-armed missiles now poised on each side for
> immediate firing.
>
> Standing down the missiles means adding steps before they can be fired.
>The idea
> is to give commanders more time to make sure they are acting on solid
> information, not scrambled data caused by a computer glitch.
>
> Rep. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, introduced a sense of the
> Congress resolution last week calling for the "de-alerting" of as many
>U.S. nuclear
> weapons "as is feasible and consistent with national security."
>
> "Today the Russian command-and-control system is decaying," Markey
>said.
>
> He said the so-called Y2K bug in computers not programmed to recognize
>the
> year 2000 made the date change a particularly dangerous period.
>
> The stated fear is that Y2K-related computer glitches could cause the
>Russians in
> particular to conclude they are under attack, triggering mistaken
>retaliation. Russia
> acknowledges that it lags far behind the United States overall in
>making its
> systems ready for 2000 changeover.
>
> Friends of the Earth, an Australian environmental group, spearheaded an
>effort to
> send a letter to Clinton and Yeltsin that was signed by 271 groups,
>including
> Greenpeace International.
>
> "If Y2K breakdowns produce inaccurate early-warning data, or if
> communications and command channels are compromised, the combination of
>
> hair-trigger force postures and Y2K failures could be disastrous," the
>groups said
> in their letter.
>
> They added that there should be a "safety-first" approach to Y2K and
>nuclear
> arsenals.
>
> Alice Slater, president of the New York-based Global Resource Action
>Center
> for the Environment and a U.S. coordinator of the letter campaign, said
>activists
> were organizing grass-roots efforts in many countries to highlight the
>issue.
>
> "In a sense, Y2K is a crisis and an opportunity," Slater said in a
>telephone
> interview.
>
> She described the current drive to de-alert missiles temporarily as a
>"first step" in
> a larger effort to ban nuclear weapons altogether.
>
> The Pentagon has invited Russia to send military officers to a proposed
>temporary
> joint "early-warning center" in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to avoid
>any possible
> missile-launch miscues as the new century dawns. But Russia has not
>responded
> since the U.S.-led NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, its ally, earlier this
>year.
>
> Bruce Blair, a former U.S. nuclear missile launch officer who analyzes
>targeting
> issues at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said the Y2K glitch
>itself could
> not cause accidental missile firings because people had to make the
>ultimate
> decisions on both sides.
>
> But he said permanently de-alerting all or most nuclear missiles made
>sense in the
> post-cold War world as a safety precaution.
>
> "Yeltsin's the last person you'd want to wake up in the middle of the
>night with a
> request for permission to launch" on what might be a false alarm, he
>said.
>
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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 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
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------------------------------

End of abolition-usa-digest V1 #165
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