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abolition-usa-digest    Saturday, December 4 1999    Volume 01 : Number 229




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

Date: Mon, 29 Nov 1999 14:17:39 +1000
From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Keeping The Pentagon Busy: Fax Campaign Starting to Hit Home

Dear All,

There are two parts to this message - An article published in the Boston
Globe last week, posted by Bill Santlemann, which in spite of inaccuracies
gives an excellent series of reasons to keep on sending faxes to Defence
Secretary Cohen, Clinton, Yeltsin, and Sergeyev (order of priority should
be Cohen, Sergeyev, Yeltsin, Clinton) - and a series of emails from Amy
Hadden, which detail conversations between her and one Ed Hirsch in the
Pentagon.

The conversations seem to suggest that we are making headway of some kind,
and that the fax campaign should we should therefore keep right on faxing,
noting the EP resolution as we do so.

Finally I append the alert I did last friday, with sample letters and free
faxing website.

You can fax defence secy Cohen on [phone],
You can fax Clinton on [phone],
You can fax Yeltsin/Sergeyev on [phone],

You can fax for free on  http://www.fax4free.com

*If you are an organisation* and want to sign a large sign- on letter,
please sign the letter to Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton that is being
periodicaly faxed to them on
 http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html

Please distribute this as far and wide as you can.


Y2K LONG SHOT: US-RUSSIAN NUCLEAR WAR

By John Donnelly, Boston Globe staff.

WASHINGTON -- It would be the world's most extreme Y2K computer glitch.

As improbable as it may be, the possibility of a mistaken launch of nuclear
missiles just as the world celebrates the new millennium has antiatomic
activists pushing anew for *disarmament* of all US and Russian nuclear
missiles.

US officials say flatly that Y2K computer problems will not cause any
accidental launch of a nuclear missile.

But arms control specialists cannot completely rule out a Y2K doomsday
scenario, which could start with computer malfunctions in Russia that cause
early-warning systems to give erroneous indications of a missile attack.

Then, under this hypothetical scenario, Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin
could order the activation of the country's "dead hand" system, which ensures
nuclear retaliation in case an attack kills the entire Moscow leadership.
Next, the Y2K bug could shut down the communication between Russia's central
command and the dead hand computer apparatus, which would proceed to launch
missiles on the basis of the false indications of an incoming attack.

And that, according to some disarmament activists, could bring nuclear
holocaust as Russia sends hundreds of nuclear missiles toward the United
States.

Much would have to go wrong for such a cataclysmic event to occur, but such
technical and human error is not absolutely out of the question, some arms
specialists warn.

Earlier this year, to add another layer of safety to prevent an accidental
launch, President Clinton and Yeltsin created a joint Y2K control room at
Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs. There Russian and US officials
will sit side-by-side beginning in late December to minimize the chances of a
Y2K-triggered false alarm.

But the scenario described above is based on a "Dr. Strangelove"-like system
that exists in Russia, notably the dead hand computer program, which remains
in the hands of Moscow despite the joint command center in Colorado.

And the scenario comes against a backdrop of rising Russian anger against the
United States, the most recent point of conflict occurring last week in
Clinton's pointed criticism of the war in Chechnya. Pentagon officials say
Russia has embarked on a campaign of nuclear muscle-flexing to show its
displeasure, including a recent test of two submarine-launched missiles and
Russia's threats to send nuclear bombers to Cuba and Vietnam.

But an ongoing worry persists around Russia's deteriorating and incomplete
early-missile warning system, underscoring the dangers of having an estimated
5,000 Russian and US nuclear missiles on a hair-trigger -- Y2K or no Y2K.

While the missiles are no longer targeted on cities and nuclear sites, they
are loaded with guidance systems that, on the United States side, can be
programmed in as little time as 10 seconds, literally a flip of the switch
and then two computer keystrokes, analysts said.

"Even if the Y2K risks are low, it's important for people to appreciate the
overall risks here," said Bruce Blair, a Brookings Institution senior fellow
and a recipient this year of a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant," who has
written extensively about possible doomsday nuclear scenarios, including the
dead hand possibility.

In the view of Blair and others, Y2K is a unique event, and thus the threat
cannot be calculated.

"It is inestimable," Blair said. "Anyone who claims to know the probability
of Y2K early-warning failure in Russia is pulling it out of thin air."

In recent months, US and Russian officials have tried to assure the public
that Y2K poses no risk of a nuclear shoot-out.

Following a federal government report on the Y2K problem earlier this month,
the White House said in a  statement: "Y2K problems will not cause nuclear
weapons to launch themselves. Nuclear weapons launch requires human
intervention."

A Pentagon official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the worries
of Y2K problems with Russia's nuclear system "have gotten blown way out of
proportion. We expect minor glitches in Russia, nothing of great severity."

At the Colorado center, American officials will share data from the US global
early warning network.

But distrust lingers, even at the joint command center. US officials will not
share everything from the early-warning network for fear of giving away
secrets to the Russians, and the Russians have rejected US requests to set up
another joint Y2K control center in Russia because of their own wariness of
giving away intelligence secrets.

Ill feeling has gradually built up between the two nation's militaries since
the early euphoria following the breakup of the Soviet Union. It deepened
among the Russian military hierarchy in recent months with the expansion of
NATO eastward to include three more countries; with NATO's war against Serb
forces in Kosovo; and with US intentions to build a national missile defense
system that would violate the antiballistic missile treaty.

Five US arms control specialists, some working for the Clinton administration
or Congress and some at universities, have said recently that their contacts
in Russia have dried up because Russian intelligence agents have told
scientists to cease contacts with Americans.

In the last month, the possible Y2K threat has galvanized many antinuclear
activists, including Helen M. Caldicott, author Jonathan Schell, and former
arms negotiator Paul Nitze, who have called on Clinton in full-page newspaper
advertisements to "de-alert" thousands of nuclear missiles. De-alerting
literally means taking missiles off high alert, removing the hair trigger by
dismantling missile components.

Last summer, Representative Edward J. Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat,
introduced a resolution calling for immediate de-alerting of nuclear missiles.

But US and Russian officials have rejected the idea. US Defense Secretary
William S. Cohen said in Moscow recently that de-alerting was "off the table."

The obstacles, according to Pentagon officials and arms control specialists,
lie in verification and lack of trust.

"As long as the US and Russia see each as potential adversaries, this is
going to be the situation" of missiles on hair-trigger, said Theodore A.
Postol, a MIT professor of science, technology, and national security policy.
"That will also be the situation if one side sees itself as vulnerable to a
damaging strike."

That now would be Russia, because its nuclear forces are "extremely
vulnerable to a US strike," Postol said. Many Russian nuclear missiles are
either in silos or are collected together in corrugated steel buildings,
making them a possible lucrative target in a nuclear war. Many US nuclear
missiles, in comparison, are on submarines, which can evade detection.

A US arms control official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said
de-alerting would be extremely difficult in practice because of the
difficulty of verification. "You have to imagine all sorts of shenanigans
there would be over verification," the official said. "Once you mention the
word 'verification,' the idea loses some of its attractiveness."

But for some arms control analysts, there seems little reason to keep so many
missiles on high alert a decade after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

"What's the threat? Does anyone think there is going to be a
bolt-out-of-the-blue attack?" said Joseph Cirincione, senior associate at the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington think tank. "Does
anyone believe that the Russians would do this for some reason, that they
would try to do a preemptive strike? I think it's just insane at this point."

Blair, the Brookings analyst who has had extensive contacts with Russian
counterparts, said while both the United States and Russia find a preemptive
strike scenario "bizarre," the issue cannot be totally dismissed because of
Russia's rising distrust of the United States.

Asked if the Y2K doomsday scenario, which has been so roundly dismissed by US
officials, was cause for losing sleep, Blair did not respond reassuringly.

"Why should you sleep at night? Why should you sleep if nobody knows? Maybe
you need a sleeping pill," he said. "You can hope and trust that the
probability is extremely small. But we certainly don't know that."


PENTAGON RESPONSE TO CALLS TO DE-ALERT
_ _ _ _ _
>
>Message 1 - Nov 20:
>
> Tom:
>     I hope this finds all of you well.  For your information, yesterday
>morning I received a call from Ed Kirsch at the PENTAGON, of all places,
>in response to a letter I wrote to President Clinton about placing nuke
>weapons on de-alert status.  Ed and I spoke for about 45 minutes.  He
>said on more than one occasion that "no nuclear weapons will be launched
>as result of Y2K problems" or "no nuclear weapons will be accidentally
>launched."  I was surprised that a government official would issue that
>precise of a statement since most of the time, gov't is non-committal
>with its "neither confirm nor deny" stance.  I don't believe that this
>was a bogus call since I didn't send a copy of the letter anywhere else.
>Perhaps there is some sort of reassurance available that nukes will not
>go off after all...  He told me that missiles in silos and subs have
>been de-targeted.  I think I know what that means; but, will contact Ed
>again for verification before I broadcast it to others.  I doubt that
>nukes will be placed on de-alert status by New Year's; but, I urge
>people to continue writing in favor of it.  Perhaps it will eventually
>de-stall START talks and ratification of START II in Russia...
>     If you would like more details about the conversation, feel free to
>ask.  It was interesting.  I assume Ed is calling lots of people but I'm
>not sure what the criteria is for receiving a call.  I mean, I don't
>know if he is calling everyone who writes in or what.
>
>Thanks.  Amy Hadden Marsh, Glenwood Springs, Colorado <[e-mail]>
>
>_ _ _ _ _ _
I had another conversation with him today re: the
>EC's decision to put nukes on de-alert status.  Pentagon guy says that
>this will not influence Clinton's decision because it would take more
>than the EC.  Namely, Russia.  It seems that if Russia does, the U.S.
>might.


 ----- Original Message -----
From: Amy Hadden Marsh <[e-mail]>


Subject: a guy from the Pentagon...

...called me this morning.  His name is Ed Kirsch.  He works in the
Y2K department or whatever they call it.  We spoke for about 45 minutes
about Y2K and the reasons it's okay not to be prepared. (I declined to
 tell him that I have been preparing for over a year.)  He originally
called because I had written Clinton about placing weapons on de-alert
 status.  I had also added that I was not reassured just because a few
 Russians and Americans would be sitting next to each other in Colorado
 Springs on New Year's Eve watching screens to see if weapons had been
launched.

Mr. Kirsch was an interesting fellow and a pretty real guy.  He said on
more than one occasion, that no nuclear weapons will be launched as result
of Y2K glitches. He also said that in order for the U.S. to
take weapons off de-alert status, Russia would have to do that,too.

He  said that there is nothing that U.S. citizens could do to help that to
occur at this point.  He also stated that missiles in silos and subs have
been de-targeted; but, until START II is ratified in Russia, de-alert
status probably won't happen.

He mentioned your name and I asked him how he knew you.
 Apparently, he had spoken with you on the phone when you were in DC.

At any rate, I thought it was interesting that the U.S. Gov't is spending
 money, and most likely lots of it, to contact each person who has
 written in about Y2K concerns.  I think more people should write in so
 it will keep Mr. Kirsch busy.
>
>_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

SO KEEP RIGHT ON FAXING! HERE IS FRIDAYS ALERT INCLUDING SAMPLE LETTERS AND
FAX FOR FREE WEBSITE:

EUROPE SAYS TAKE 5,600 WARHEADS OFF ALERT. 35 DAYS TO Y2K, KEEP FAXING!

Sorry for double posting - but please spread this message far and wide.

Dear All,

There are now just 35 days until the Y2K 'rollover'.

There's not much time to get 5,600 warheads off alert.

Last Thursday (18 November), the European Parliament passed a resolution on
Y2K nuclear` reactors and nuclear weapons, in which it asked for nuclear
forces to be taken off alert over the Y2K rollover period, as well as for
reactors to be shut down.

We need to keep the faxes that have been rolling in to Cohen, Clinton, and
Yeltsin, coming! There are signs from the Pentagon that they are being
forced to respond!

There are currently 3,600 Russian warheads and 2000US warheads on
permanent, 24- hour, 'hairtrigger' alert. (this is simply the warheads in
silo- based missiles and does not include submarine or bomber or other
weapons.)

These warheads can be launched at 15-20 minutes notice.

The UK on the other hand, has recently moved the 'notice to fire ' for its
warheads, from minutes to days.

We are asking the US and Russia to do likewise.

'De-Alerting', as it is called has now been called for by the 1996 Canberra
Commission, by the Tokyo Forum, by two resolutions of the United Nations
General Assembly last year and by the same resolutions again this year, by
the Australian senate, and now by the European Parliament. A resolution by
Rep. Edward Markey has gathered 71 co- sponsors.

There are signs that the Pentagon may be feeling the impact of your faxes -
so keep faxing!

Do Please write to Cohen, Clinton, and Yeltsin, something similar to the
letters below if you haven't already done so (or even if you have).

If you are an organisation and want to sign a large sign- on letter, please
sign the letter to presidents Yeltsin and Clinton that is being periodicaly
faxed to them on
 http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html

(I strongly suggest that you don't use these letters word for word but
customise them or paraphrase, and shorten.)

The fax numbers have all been tried many times and work. The Russian fax
number is very slow.

You can fax defence secy Cohen on [phone],
You can fax Clinton on [phone],
You can fax Yeltsin on [phone],

You can fax for free on  http://www.fax4free.com

2)You can sign on to the electronic petition,  coordinated by NAPF.
It's at Http://www.napf.org/abolition2000/intlpetition.html


1)SAMPLE LETTER TO COHEN/CLINTON

(This is for individuals to sent to Us Secretary for Defence Cohen and
President Clinton. You can also post it to The White House, 1600
Pennsylvania Ave, Washington DC.)


TO:
WILLIAM COHEN, US SECRETARY OF DEFENCE,
[phone],

PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON,
WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON, US,
[phone], [phone].


Dear President Clinton and Secretary for Defence Cohen,
I am writing  to urge your administration to take US nuclear forces off
'hairtrigger alert' even if only during the Y2K rollover period.

As you will be aware, the European Parliament recently voted to ask you and
President Yeltsin to do as the UK has already done, and de-alert nuclear
weapons.

It is particularly disturbing that Secretary Cohen has been reported as
having stated in Moscow some time ago that de-alerting of nuclear forces is
'off the table' as a stability building measure. You have also been quoted
as saying  that 'The better course is reduction, limiting the number of
weapons, and establishing shared early warning centers'.

The recent Europarliament vote clearly puts de- alerting back on the table.
De-alerting of nuclear forces was strongly recommended by the Canberra
Commission in 1996 and then by the Tokyo Forum,  as a way to develop
strategic stability and build trust between the US and Russia. It has also
been incorporated into last year's  and  this years text of the New Agenda
Resolution in the UN General Assembly. It has also been reccommended by a
resolution specifically on the subject passed by last years General
Assembly and by this years First Committee on Reduction of Nuclear Dangers.
In addition it has been the subject of two resolutions passed by the
Australian Senate on 12 August and 20September, and finally it has been
clearly requested by the European Parliament. It is also the subject of
congressional resolution H.Con Res177 put by Edward Markey, and most
recently, the City of Berkley has asked for it.

These measures are not in competition with each other. All of them -
reductions in the number of weapons, the establishment of shared early
warning centers and de-alerting - are  vital to the reduction of tension
and the establishment of strategic stability.

This is particularly the case in view of the uncertainties posed by the
millennium date change (Y2K).

As you are well aware, the largest and oldest computer system complexes in
the world are those that control nuclear weapons systems.

The very nature of the Y2K problem makes it impossible to be sure
everything has been fixed until well into the new year.

Russia has, until recently, made little effort to even  acknowledge the Y2K
problem, let alone fix it. It is therefore quite possible that Russian
computerized control systems are not Y2K compliant and that they will
experience widespread failures during the Y2K rollover period.

Even more disquieting is the fact that that the Russians have constructed
the system known as 'Perimeter', or the 'dead hand'. This system seems to
include additional ways in which Y2K failure might lead to an accidental
launch.

The establishment of a Y2K strategic stability center in Colorado is
certainly an advantageous move and an absolutely essential one.

However, it does not entirely remove the danger of an accidental launch of
nuclear weapons.

The fact that the Center is scheduled, as far as we the public are aware,
to come into operation only on December 27th, four days prior to the
rollover, is far from reassuring. A four day delay will render it useless.

Similarly, the center itself will depend on the availability of
ultra-reliable hotlines between it and Moscow. The  Y2K vulnerabilities
recently discovered in six of the seven hotlines  on which US/Russian
communications depends, are also cause for deep concern.

If nuclear weapons are removed from a status in which they can be launched
within minutes, and placed in one which would require at least days to
launch, the risk of an accidental missile launch induced by Y2K or other
errors in command and control systems will be virtually eliminated.

This  has been done by the UK, which has moved the 'notice to fire' for its
missile forces from minutes to days.

In taking De-alerting 'off the table', the United States is making a
serious error. Failure to take nuclear forces off hairtrigger alert over
the Y2K 'rollover' period is an error that has the potential of causing
unthinkable consequences.

The probability of this may be low,  but it  will never be zero as long as
nuclear forces remain on hair-trigger alert.

In a previous administration, President Bush took strategic bomber forces
off alert. We urge you to do this with all US nuclear forces.

(SIGNED)
etc.

2)SAMPLE LETTER TO YELTSIN/DEFENCE MINISTER SERGEYEV

THIS SAMPLE LETTER IS FOR YOU PERSONALLY TO FAX, CUSTOMIZED AS YOU FEEL
BEST, TO YELTSIN AND DEFENCE MINISTER SERGEYEV. PLEASE DO FAX IT AND SEND
IT NOW.

You can also post it to Boris Yeltsin, C/O The Kremlin, Moscow - but its
really too slow. A single A4 page fax will cost you about a dollar.

PRESIDENT BORIS YELTSIN,
IGOR SERGEYEV,  RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTER,
[phone],

'Dear Defence Minister Sergeyev and President Yeltsin,

I am writing to convey my deep concern that Y2K-related computer failures
in the command and control systems for nuclear weapons may lead to an
accidental nuclear war.

I am aware that both Russia and the US have taken this problem seriously
enough to establish a joint strategic stability center in Colorado.
However, I am very much concerned that this facility will come into
operation only by 27th December 1999, so that a delay of just four days
will make it useless.

I am also very much concerned that Y2K problems have been found recently in
six out of seven of the 'hotlines' that would be used if a crisis of any
sort arose over the Y2K rollover period.

I am aware that there have been a number of occasions when either the US or
Russia have mistakenly believed that the other nation was in the process of
launching a nuclear attack.

With 3,600 Russian warheads on 700 missiles and 2,000 US warheads on 500
missiles, with each side capable to launch within roughly 20 minutes, this
must never be allowed to happen, either over the Y2K 'rollover', or at any
other time.

The use of 5,600 warheads would certainly mean the end of what we call
civilization, would likely mean the end of the human race and could
possibly mean the end of all life.

I therefore urge both you and the United States, to place all your nuclear
forces in a status in which at least days not minutes, would be required to
launch . The United Kingdom has, I understand, already done this.

The European Parliament has recently called on both the US and Russia to
de-alert nuclear weapons and to place them in a state similar to that in
which the UK has placed its weapons. The recent Europarliament vote clearly
puts de- alerting back on the table. De-alerting of nuclear forces was
strongly recommended by the Canberra Commission in 1996 and then by the
Tokyo Forum,  as a way to develop strategic stability and build trust
between the US and Russia. It has also been incorporated into last year's
and  this years text of the New Agenda Resolution in the UN General
Assembly. It has also been reccommended by a resolution specifically on the
subject passed by last years General Assembly and by this years First
Committee on Reduction of Nuclear Dangers. In addition it has been the
subject of two resolutions passed by the Australian Senate on 12 August and
20September, and finally it has been clearly requested by the European
Parliament. It is also the subject of congressional resolution H.Con Res177
put by Edward Markey, and most recently, the City of Berkley has asked for
it.

The immediate stakes are so high and the potential for global catastrophe
is so great, that mutually verified de-alerting of nuclear forces in the
face of the Y2K computer problem must take precedence over all other
considerations of political and national security.'
(Signed)
etc.

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
http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html




>




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

Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1999 09:23:03 -0800
From: "David Crockett Williams" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) "Green" Nuclear Waste Remediation Methods

Below is the response of leading new energy scientist Hal Fox to two leading
members (<[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>)of the science
advisory panel to California Governor Gray Davis considering alternative
nuclear waste disposal ideas in an apparent new initiative to open Ward
Valley, CA, as a nuclear waste dump http://www.llrw.org/llrwscimembers.html
.  Fox is also head of the Institute for New Energy in Utah which has held
numerous conferences about new energy technologies to replace nuclear and
fossil fuel power (eg, cold fusion, zero-point energy devices, low energy
nuclear reactions, etc.)  see http://www.pakrak.com/ine

Please also email these panel members and Governor Davis
<[e-mail]> to urge their consideration of the below "onsite
nuclear remediation" alternatives to the "mobile Chernobyl" plan of shipping
radioactive wastes across country for burial at Ward Valley, Yucca Mountain,
et al.  Paying attention to the new science behind these LENT (Low Energy
Nuclear Transmutation) technologies also means more awareness of new energy
technologies to replace nuclear and fossil fuel power.

For more information on the efforts to Save Ward Valley, contact:

Molly
Save Ward Valley
107 F Street
Needles, CA  92363
ph. 760/326-6267
fax [phone]

http://www.shundahai.org/SWVAction.html
http://earthrunner.com/savewardvalley
http://www.ctaz.com/~swv1
http://banwaste.envirolink.org
http://www.alphacdc.com/ien/wardvly4.html
http://www.greenaction.org

Global Peace Walk 2000 will be stopping at Ward Valley for second occupation
anniversary gathering February 12-13, 2000, en route from San Francisco to
Washington DC to the United Nations in New York City.
http://www.globalpeacenow.org

For further discussion of new energy technologies and links for technical
info, see Global Emergency Alert Response
http://www.angelfire.com/on/GEAR2000


From: Hal Fox <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail] <[e-mail]>
Cc: [e-mail] <[e-mail]>;
[e-mail] <[e-mail]>; [e-mail] <[e-mail]>;
[e-mail] <[e-mail]>; [e-mail]
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail] <[e-mail]>;
[e-mail] <[e-mail]>; [e-mail]
<[e-mail]>
Subject: Scientific Panel List - Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal
Date: Tuesday, November 30, 1999 1:19 AM

Date:  22 November 1999
From:  Hal Fox <[e-mail]>
To:  "David Crockett Williams" <[e-mail]>
Cc:   "Eugene Mallove - IE Mag." <[e-mail]>,
       "Gary Vesperman" <[e-mail]>,
       <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
        "Save Ward Valley" <[e-mail]>,
        "*Global Peace Walk Project" <[e-mail]>,
        "Shundahai" <[e-mail]>,
        "Peace through Reason" <[e-mail]>

Subject: Scientific Panel List - Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal

Dear Friend David Crockett Williams,

Here are some of the issues for the treatment of low-level radioactive
wastes:

1.  The biggest danger for low-level radioactive wastes comes from the
political damage.  Few citizens want anything radioactive moved through or
stored
in their community.  Fortunately, there are on-site treatments for such
radioactive wastes as described below.

2.  One method of treatment is "phyto-remediation" or remediation by
using plants.  The plants are grown in the radioactive soil or in the soil
in which the
radioactive low-level waste is buried.  Plants take up and store the
radioactive materials in roots or stems.  Then the plant material can be
carefully burned (without the release of smoke) and the ashes disposed of
properly.  The hemp-producing plants and sunflowers (among others) have been
shown to be effective.  There is some literature on this topic.  The
applications are best for soils (such as around Chernobyl) that have been
contaminated.  This process can concentrate some of the radioactive
materials and reduce the overall local radioactivity.

3.  Soil treatment is another method.  It has been found (especially in
Japan near the two areas where U.S. atomic bombs were exploded) that the
degree of
radioactivity in many soils reduced much faster than predicted by nuclear
physicists.
This type of handling of radioactivity needs further scientific treatment to
determine the type of organisms that might optimize the handling of
low-level radioactive wastes.

4.  Many life forms have the ability to perform limited amounts of
nuclear processes.  The work of Kevran and Komaki should be considered.  See
the paper by Dr. John O'M. Bockris (retired distinguished professor at Texas
A&M) in the issue of the Journal of New Energy, being sent to the printer
this week (vol 4, no
2).

The above citations should be carefully considered in two ways:
a.  There should be more interest in finding ways for on-site handling
of radioactive wastes.
b.  There should be more government funding made available for
optimizing the many findings of biological mechanisms that can handle or
transform
radioactive substances.

There are specific micro-organisms that can exist in quite high levels
of radioactivity.  However, almost no effort has been made to study the use
of life forms
to transmute radioactive elements into stable elements.  The current (but
incorrect)
scientific model does not allow for any type of transmutation of radioactive
elements to
stable elements except by high-energy means.  That current scientific model
is
no longer valid.  There have been several international conferences on
low-energy
nuclear reactions.  In our own laboratory, we are working on techniques for
the
stabilization of high-level radioactive wastes.  We have been successful
with radioactive elements dissolved in liquids and are now obtaining
equipment to work in
low-pressure environments with pulverized solid fuel pellets.

Best personal regards,  Hal Fox, editor, Journal of New Energy

P.S.  As one of the better informed scientists in the area of
amelioration of radioactive materials, I would be pleased to appear
before the committee.  My fees and travel expenses are modest.





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

Date: Wed, 1 Dec 1999 01:01:43 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Jack & Felice Cohen-Joppa)
Subject: (abolition-usa) Support for Vanunu Needed NOW

From the International Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu
December 1, 1999
International Prisoners for Peace Day

***LETTERS, EMAILS AND FAXES FROM AROUND THE WORLD NEEDED NOW, CALLING FOR
MORDECHAI VANUNU'S IMMEDIATE, UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE FROM PRISON***

PLEASE POST AND SHARE WITH OTHERS


On November 24, Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot published parts of the
trial protocols and investigation material in the case of nuclear
whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, following the release for publication of
more than 1,200 pages of material by the Jerusalem District Court. This
material has been secret for the past 13 years, since Vanunu was kidnapped
and tried in camera.  The published articles include details of his
kidnapping, testimony of Shin-Beit interrogators, and much more information
related to the case.  As a result of the publication of this information,
public discussion has been raised in Israel about Israel's policy of
secrecy on nuclear issues in general , and about the Vanunu case in
particular.

SOMETIME - PROBABLY IN THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO - VANUNU WILL HAVE A PAROLE
BOARD HEARING.  THE EXACT DATE IS NOT YET KNOWN.  HE HAS ALREADY SERVED
OVER TWO-THIRDS OF HIS 18 YEAR SENTENCE, AND SO IS ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE.
PLEASE SEND LETTERS, FAXES AND EMAILS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO THE FOLLOWING
OFFICIALS, ASKING FOR HIS UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE FROM PRISON.

Prime Minister Ehud Barak
3 Kaplan St.
Hakirya, Jerusalem 91007
Fax:  + 972 2 566 4838
Email: [e-mail] and/or [e-mail]

Yossi Beilin
Minister of Justice
29 Salah al-Din
Jerusalem 91010
 Fax : + 972 2 628 5438
Email:  [e-mail]

Shlomo Ben-Ami
Minister of Public Security
P.O. Box 18182
Jerusalem
 Fax: + 972 2 581 1832


Thanks to people with the Israeli campaign to free Vanunu for translating
the Yediot Ahronot articles into English.  Translated articles can be found
at the following website:
http://www. nonviolence.org/vanunu
Background information on the Vanunu case can also be found there and at
http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk

***As new light is shed on the case of Mordechai Vanunu and demands for his
release are intensifying in Israel and abroad, please remember to send
Mordechai Christmas and New Year cards.  If these are mailed now, they
might reach him in time for the holidays. His address:
Mordechai Vanunu
Hashikma Prison
PO Box 17
Ashkelon
Israel



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 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 2 Dec 1999 21:57:50 -0500
From: "Esther Pank" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Messages

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

- ------=_NextPart_000_001C_01BF3D10.46ED6F80
Content-Type: text/plain;
    charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

I have not received any e-mail from this list for several weeks.  =
Perhaps my new address has not been changed.  It is [e-mail].

- ------=_NextPart_000_001C_01BF3D10.46ED6F80
Content-Type: text/html;
    charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Diso-8859-1" =
http-equiv=3DContent-Type>
<META content=3D"MSHTML 5.00.2314.1000" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>I have not received any e-mail from =
this list for=20
several weeks.  Perhaps my new address has not been changed.  =
It is=20
[e-mail].</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>

- ------=_NextPart_000_001C_01BF3D10.46ED6F80--


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 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 16:22:17 -0800
From: "David Crockett Williams" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Legislative Action Center -- WorldNetDaily (http://congress.nw.dc.us/wnd/)

This looks like a very useful website address to include in various
progressive issue appeals for folks to be able to easily access their
congresspeople, state legislators, and local and national news media.

http://congress.nw.dc.us/wnd/


Write to Congress
    Get Info   Send Message
Enter your ZIP Code and click "Search".
* Put our Write to Congress sticker on your site, click here. *



 Guide to Congress
Search Congress by name, state, committee, or leadership directory.


 Guide to States
Complete guide to state legislators and governors in all 50 states.

Guide to the Media

Enter your ZIP Code and click "Search" to find contact information for media
organizations in your area, or view our complete Media Guide.



Issues and Legislation
Important issues - recent votes, current bills and more.


click headline or scroll with arrows





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 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: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 17:51:19 +1000
From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) 27 DAYS TO GO AND STILL 5,600 WARHEADS ON ALERT - PLEASE FAX FOR DE-ALERTING

27 DAYS TO GO AND STILL 5,600 WARHEADS ON ALERT - PLEASE FAX FOR DE-ALERTING

Dear All who are concerned about the safety of our planet,

How you react to this email really makes a difference to the safety of this
planet on Dec 31.

As December 31 draws closer you'll get a lot more of these.

PLEASE don't just delete or write back asking me to take you off the list -
this really is important and it really is something on which you can make a
difference.
Please distribute this as far and wide as you can! Get all your friends to
do it!

At only 27 days from the Y2K rollover, the largest, oldest, and
poitentially least Y2K compliant computer systems in the world are still
those that control the 2000US warheads and the 3,600 Russian warheads in
land- based silos, that are kept on 24 hour a day hairtrigger alert.  So
far there has been no indication that they will be removed from alert.
However there are many little indications that your faxes to Cohen,
Clinton, and Yeltsin are having an effect, and that people in the pentagon
are noticing.

The Canberra Commission, the Tokyo Forum, four resolutions in the United
Nations General Assembly (two last year two this year), two motions in the
Australian Senate, and a resolution carried on Thursday 18th Nov by the
European Parliament have all called for them to be taken off alert.

Please write to US defence secretary William Cohen, President Clinton, and
to Russian Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev, asking them to take nuclear
weapons off hairtrigger alert at least over the Y2K 'rollover' period.

Defence Secretary Cohen's fax number is [phone]
President Clintons fax number is [phone]
Yeltsin/Sergeyev's fax number is [phone].

Faxing a single A4 page should not cost you more than a dollar.

You can fax for free on  http://www.fax4free.com

*If you are an organisation* and want to sign a large sign- on letter,
please sign the letter to Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton that is being
periodicaly faxed to them on
 http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html

Sample letters to Cohen/Clinton and to Sergeyev are below. Do please
customise and abbreviate.



1)SAMPLE LETTER TO COHEN/CLINTON

(This is for individuals to sent to Us Secretary for Defence Cohen and
President Clinton. You can also post it to The White House, 1600
Pennsylvania Ave, Washington DC.)


TO:
WILLIAM COHEN, US SECRETARY OF DEFENCE,
[phone],

PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON,
WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON, US,
[phone], [phone].


Dear President Clinton and Secretary for Defence Cohen,
I am writing  to urge your administration to take US nuclear forces off
'hairtrigger alert' even if only during the Y2K rollover period.

As you will be aware, the European Parliament recently voted to ask you and
President Yeltsin to do as the UK has already done, and de-alert nuclear
weapons.

It is particularly disturbing that Secretary Cohen has been reported as
having stated in Moscow some time ago that de-alerting of nuclear forces is
'off the table' as a stability building measure. You have also been quoted
as saying  that 'The better course is reduction, limiting the number of
weapons, and establishing shared early warning centers'.

The recent Europarliament vote clearly puts de- alerting back on the table.
De-alerting of nuclear forces was strongly recommended by the Canberra
Commission in 1996 and then by the Tokyo Forum,  as a way to develop
strategic stability and build trust between the US and Russia. It has also
been incorporated into last year's  and  this years text of the New Agenda
Resolution in the UN General Assembly. It has also been reccommended by a
resolution specifically on the subject passed by last years General
Assembly and by this years First Committee on Reduction of Nuclear Dangers.
In addition it has been the subject of two resolutions passed by the
Australian Senate on 12 August and 20September, and finally it has been
clearly requested by the European Parliament. It is also the subject of
congressional resolution H.Con Res177 put by Edward Markey, and most
recently, the City of Berkley has asked for it.

These measures are not in competition with each other. All of them -
reductions in the number of weapons, the establishment of shared early
warning centers and de-alerting - are  vital to the reduction of tension
and the establishment of strategic stability.

This is particularly the case in view of the uncertainties posed by the
millennium date change (Y2K).

As you are well aware, the largest and oldest computer system complexes in
the world are those that control nuclear weapons systems.

The very nature of the Y2K problem makes it impossible to be sure
everything has been fixed until well into the new year.

Russia has, until recently, made little effort to even  acknowledge the Y2K
problem, let alone fix it. It is therefore quite possible that Russian
computerized control systems are not Y2K compliant and that they will
experience widespread failures during the Y2K rollover period.

Even more disquieting is the fact that that the Russians have constructed
the system known as 'Perimeter', or the 'dead hand'. This system seems to
include additional ways in which Y2K failure might lead to an accidental
launch.

The establishment of a Y2K strategic stability center in Colorado is
certainly an advantageous move and an absolutely essential one.

However, it does not entirely remove the danger of an accidental launch of
nuclear weapons.

The fact that the Center is scheduled, as far as we the public are aware,
to come into operation only on December 27th, four days prior to the
rollover, is far from reassuring. A four day delay will render it useless.

Similarly, the center itself will depend on the availability of
ultra-reliable hotlines between it and Moscow. The  Y2K vulnerabilities
recently discovered in six of the seven hotlines  on which US/Russian
communications depends, are also cause for deep concern.

If nuclear weapons are removed from a status in which they can be launched
within minutes, and placed in one which would require at least days to
launch, the risk of an accidental missile launch induced by Y2K or other
errors in command and control systems will be virtually eliminated.

This  has been done by the UK, which has moved the 'notice to fire' for its
missile forces from minutes to days.

In taking De-alerting 'off the table', the United States is making a
serious error. Failure to take nuclear forces off hairtrigger alert over
the Y2K 'rollover' period is an error that has the potential of causing
unthinkable consequences.

The probability of this may be low,  but it  will never be zero as long as
nuclear forces remain on hair-trigger alert.

In a previous administration, President Bush took strategic bomber forces
off alert. We urge you to do this with all US nuclear forces.

(SIGNED)
etc.

2)SAMPLE LETTER TO YELTSIN/DEFENCE MINISTER SERGEYEV

THIS SAMPLE LETTER IS FOR YOU PERSONALLY TO FAX, CUSTOMIZED AS YOU FEEL
BEST, TO YELTSIN AND DEFENCE MINISTER SERGEYEV. PLEASE DO FAX IT AND SEND
IT NOW.

You can also post it to Boris Yeltsin, C/O The Kremlin, Moscow - but its
really too slow. A single A4 page fax will cost you about a dollar.

PRESIDENT BORIS YELTSIN,
IGOR SERGEYEV,  RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTER,
[phone],

'Dear Defence Minister Sergeyev and President Yeltsin,

I am writing to convey my deep concern that Y2K-related computer failures
in the command and control systems for nuclear weapons may lead to an
accidental nuclear war.

I am aware that both Russia and the US have taken this problem seriously
enough to establish a joint strategic stability center in Colorado.
However, I am very much concerned that this facility will come into
operation only by 27th December 1999, so that a delay of just four days
will make it useless.

I am also very much concerned that Y2K problems have been found recently in
six out of seven of the 'hotlines' that would be used if a crisis of any
sort arose over the Y2K rollover period.

I am aware that there have been a number of occasions when either the US or
Russia have mistakenly believed that the other nation was in the process of
launching a nuclear attack.

With 3,600 Russian warheads on 700 missiles and 2,000 US warheads on 500
missiles, with each side capable to launch within roughly 20 minutes, this
must never be allowed to happen, either over the Y2K 'rollover', or at any
other time.

The use of 5,600 warheads would certainly mean the end of what we call
civilization, would likely mean the end of the human race and could
possibly mean the end of all life.

I therefore urge both you and the United States, to place all your nuclear
forces in a status in which at least days not minutes, would be required to
launch . The United Kingdom has, I understand, already done this.

The European Parliament has recently called on both the US and Russia to
de-alert nuclear weapons and to place them in a state similar to that in
which the UK has placed its weapons. The recent Europarliament vote clearly
puts de- alerting back on the table. De-alerting of nuclear forces was
strongly recommended by the Canberra Commission in 1996 and then by the
Tokyo Forum,  as a way to develop strategic stability and build trust
between the US and Russia. It has also been incorporated into last year's
and  this years text of the New Agenda Resolution in the UN General
Assembly. It has also been reccommended by a resolution specifically on the
subject passed by last years General Assembly and by this years First
Committee on Reduction of Nuclear Dangers. In addition it has been the
subject of two resolutions passed by the Australian Senate on 12 August and
20September, and finally it has been clearly requested by the European
Parliament. It is also the subject of congressional resolution H.Con Res177
put by Edward Markey, and most recently, the City of Berkley has asked for
it.

The immediate stakes are so high and the potential for global catastrophe
is so great, that mutually verified de-alerting of nuclear forces in the
face of the Y2K computer problem must take precedence over all other
considerations of political and national security.'
(Signed)
etc.

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
http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html





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

End of abolition-usa-digest V1 #229
***********************************

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