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abolition-usa-digest     Wednesday, August 2 2000     Volume 01 : Number 351




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

Date: Tue, 01 Aug 2000 19:48:45 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: Action Alert: CWC in Danger

Dear Friends,
It may seem out of place to post this action alert to save the Chemical
Weapons
Convention on our abolition mailing lists.  But it's clear that if chemical
weapons become a threat in the world because of US failure to live up to its
agreements for Chemical weapons disarmament, then the neanderthals in the US
Congress will have all the more reason to say we need nukes to defend against
weapons of mass destruction--which is now the recently expanded
Clinton/Gore US
policy for when nuclear weapons may be used.  So all things are connected, and
if you're so inclined, please let the Congress know that we want to honor our
promises to Russia on Chemical weapons disarmament.  Don't let's give  these
guys (and gals) and military contractors, who are itching for a fight with
Russia, an excuse to resume the nuclear arms race.  Many thanks.  Alice Slater

>Date: Tue, 01 Aug 2000 18:06:00 -0400
>Subject: Action Alert: CWC in Danger
>To: [e-mail]
>From: [e-mail] ([e-mail])
>
>Write/call your Representative and Senator to save the Chemical Weapons
>Convention!  The Defense Appropriations Conference committee deleted the
>Administration's $35 million request last month to support Russian chemical
>weapons destruction under the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR or
>"Nunn-Lugar") program.  The House Armed Services Committee has also deleted
>the funds and ordered the program "closed out"  (HR 4205, Sec. 1301).
>Fortunately, the Senate Armed Services Committee has supported the program
>under certain conditions (S 2549, Sec. 1208).
>
>If US support for Russian chemical weapons destruction stops, the Duma is
>likely to withdraw from the CWC, thereby endangering the entire CWC regime.
>Ask your Senator and Representative to have the House recede to the Senate
>in the Defense Authorizing Conference next month, thereby allowing the
>program in the Russian Kurgan region to move forward.
>________________
>Paul F. Walker, Ph.D.
>Legacy Program Director
>Global Green USA
>1025 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 300
>Washington, DC 20005-6303
>202-879-3181; -3182 fax
>[e-mail]
>www.globalgreen.org
>
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]
http://www.gracelinks.org

GRACE is a member of Abolition 2000, a global network for the elimination
nuclear weapons.

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

Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 20:26:53 +1000
From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Press Release from Mayak

PRESS-RELEASE from the All-Russian Anti-nuclear camp 2000, near "Mayak"
plutonium producing and reprocessing
plant, Chelyabinsk/Ural region

Chelyabinsk, August 1, 2000

RADIATION DANGER ON THE ROAD BETWEEN TWO OF RUSSIA'S BIGGEST CITIES
Scientists discovered undeclared highly contaminated spots close to
plutonium facility

Scientific group headed by the Novosibirsk University' specialists
discovered high levels of radiation by the
road where thousands of cars running every day between two large cities of
Russia - Chelyabinsk and
Ekaterinburg. Chelyabinsk with its over million population is the closest
big city to famous "Mayak"
plu-tonium producing and reprocessing facility where the USSR' largest
nuclear accident happened in 1957.
Ekaterinburg is the 3th largest city of Russia and the capital of Ural region.

On July 28, scientific group based in the Anti-nuclear camp near "Mayak"
facility inspected the area of
Toskino village, in 60 km to the west from Chelyabinsk, by the bridge over
Techa river. Group took ground and
water samples for detailed analisys.

Anti-nuclear camp made a statement today on discovered levels of radiation
near Toskino. According to the camp
spokesperson, "there is no dount that high level of radiation caused by
"Mayak" facility. Radio-active
contamination on the bridge over Techa river is 10 times higher compared to
the background level (200 mkR/h).
10 meters far of the bridge there is a little marsh formed by the river
with radioactive con-tamination up to
3000 mkR/h.  In spite of the extreme dangerous for people radioactive level
at the bridge and near the river
and thousands autos passing the road every day there are not warning signs
there. The radioactive level in the
reed growth near the river is 1500 mkR/h. Anti-nuclear camp notifies that
radioac-tive level in a case of fire
in the reed grows able to grow quickly and cause extremely dangerous
situation in the nearest regions. It was
also discovered that near Toskino village many inhabitants and passing the
road drivers often use the river
water for drinking."

Activists of the anti-nuclear camp installed warning signs at the bridge:
"Attention! Higher radioactive
level: 3000 mkR/h" and "Techa - the most radioactive river in the world".
The signs of radioactive dan-ger
were installed on hard surface and bridge railings. The cause of so grave
radioactive pollution of the river
and of its banks is "Mayak" plant radioactive release. About 2,76 million
Ci of liquid radioactive
wastes were released into the opened water system of Techa-Iset-Tobol
rivers during 1949-1951 and yet unknown
amount of waste in the next 50 years. After that the mostly contaminated
localities were reset-tled to
relatively safe parts around Chelyabinsk. Still, several villages are
situated near the river.and the
inhabitants of the region pick up mushrooms and berries at that
radioac-tive area and use water of Techa river
for their household needs. There are not warning signs anywhere in the region.

Anti-nuclear camp near "Mayak" was established on July 23 in 3 km from the
"Mayak" site and Karachay lake
which for over 50 years serves as dump site for nuclear waste of facility.
More then 60 representa-tives if
environmental, scientific and human rights organizations from Russia,
Latvia, Slovakia, Austria, Germany, USA
are working in the camp. The camp makes its set as educational and
agitation work among the inhabitants,
mainly about the health' consequences of radioactive contamination. The
camp demands from local authorities to
improve the social protection of inhabitants  - victims of radioactive
contamination - and to reject the plan
of foreign nuclear waste' import for dumping and storing at "Ma-yak" site.
Campers were warmly welcommed by
the authorities of several villages around the camp site, while Chelyabinsk
regional government and "Mayak"
facility' press-service blamed activists for lack of cooperation with
nuclear industry.

For more information
Call the camp press-service: [phone] - Vladimir Slivyak, Call the
camp' representative in Chelyabinsk:
[phone] or 357163 - Eduard Meylah. Camp' emergency phone:[phone]
E-mail: [e-mail] or watch camp chronicles at:
http://www.ecoline.ru/antinuclear



PRESS-RELEASE
All-Russian Anti-nuclear camp 2000, near "Mayak" plutonium producing and
reprocessing plant (Chelyabinsk/Ural
region/Russia)

Chelyabinsk, August 2, 2000

RADICAL PROTEST IS NECESSARY. TO TAKE PLACE ON THURSDAY
Participants of the Antinuclear camp near 'Mayak' nuclear complex consider
the position of the authorities
unacceptable/subject to protest

On Thursday, August 3, in the center of Chelyabinsk the radical protest
action will take place in order to
call to the authorities of Chelyabinsk region to reject plans of importing
foreign nuclear waste, to improve
the social protection of local residents living in radioactively
contaminated areas, and to begin the real
rehabilitation of such areas. Meeting point for journalists is the central
post office, at 1.00. p.m.

The action is organized by the Antinuclear camp near 'Mayak' nuclear
complex, in which about 60
representatives of environmental, scientific, human rights' organizations
from Chelyabinsk, Tomsk,
Novosibirsk, Moscow, Voronezh, Kaliningrad and other cities of Russia as
well as other countries are
participating at the moment. This summer, activists striving to draw
attention to the bad living conditions of
the residents of areas of Chelyabinsk region, heavily contaminated with
radioactivity, gathered in the annual
antinuclear camp. Due to this reason the camp was established in Argayash
district, where radioactive
contamination is still not recognized officially. This allows the
government to refuse compensating the damage
caused upon the local residents by 'Mayak' operation and to response to the
legal requests of the district's
citizens.

At the same time, instead of the efforts focused on supporting the harmed
people, on the side of Chelyabinsk
authorities the astonishing uniting on efforts directed to make 'the
radioactive problems' even worse may
observed. All the branches of the regional authorities have joint in the
willingness to make big money on
importing the foreign nuclear waste. From the point of view of the
antinuclear camp participants, the
authorities must direct funds, both of the region budget and of the
'Mayak', toward solving problems related
to the radioactive contamination that already exist, while the aggravation
of the radioactive waste problem,
that still has no solution, means radioactive catastrophe for the future
generations in Chelyabinsk region and
in other regions of Russia. Moreover, importing of nuclear waste from
abroad will benefit the businessman at
the Russian Ministry of atomic power (Minatom), but not the federal or
local budgets or social and
environmental programmes.

Instead of publicizing the information on the radioactive contamination
discovered, the authorities are trying
to hide it and pressing other citizens to stop their public and
journalistic activities. On Friday, July 28,
during the visit to Muslyumovo village on the Techa river in Chelyabinsk
region, Russian-German group of
journalists of ZDF (German TV company) was arrested. The arrest was ordered
by Gilyazov, the head of the
police of Kunashak district, and conducted by the group of policemen of
Ozersk town (where 'Mayak' is
located), Muslyumovo village and Kunashak town without any explanation, in
the area that is open for visiting
and moving without any special permission.

The Anti-nuclear camp participants consider necessary to carry out more
radical expression of their protest,
as the activities of the Chelyabinsk authorities are damaging interests of
their own voters and, indirectly,
interests of all citizens of Russia.

For more information:
Call the camp press-service: [phone] - Vladimir Slivyak, Call the
camp' representative in Chelyabinsk:
[phone] or 357163 - Eduard Meylah. Camp' emergency phone:[phone]
E-mail: [e-mail] or watch camp chronicles at:
http://www.ecoline.ru/antinuclear



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

Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 10:32:44 -0500
From: Kevin Martin <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Los Alamos Action for Abolition August 7 - 9

FYI, here's an announcement for next week's conference and demonstration
at Los Alamos, organized by Peace Action New Mexico and a host of peace
and justice groups.  I'll be there, hope to see you, too!

Kevin Martin
Director, Project Abolition

THE LANL 2000 - ACTION FOR ABOLITION

RALLY & PROTEST ON AUGUST 9TH - 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
ASHLEY POND IN LOS ALAMOS
Colorful rally, musical guests, famous speakers and a great
non-violent civil action.

CONFERENCE ON NUCLEAR ISSUES
AUGUST 7th AND 8th,IN SANTA FE, N.M.

Rally and non-violent civil action at New Mexico's nuclear weapons
factory,
Los Alamos National Laboratory.  There are many good reasons why this
year's
rally will greatly surpass the attendance of last year's rally, which
was the
largest in Lab history.  People are more concerned today about the
threat of
accidental or deliberate nuclear disaster than at any time since the
height
of the Cold War.  During the past year there have been major and very
public
setbacks in the world-wide effort to abolish nuclear weapons.  The
public
outcry has increased exponentially with an overwhelming demand that the
U.S.
government work for peace, not for the multinational weapons
manufacturing
corporations.

1.  Last year's partisan defeat of the ratification of the nuclear
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)  by the Senate weakened the
leadership
position of the United States in an area of deep concern to the vast
majority
of people in the world.  This Treaty was overwhelmingly supported by
U.S.
voters and its defeat further undermined people's confidence in their
elected
Representatives in Washington.  This public policy failure also sent a
bad
signal, though accurate, to the rest of the world.  Spokespeople around
the
world wrote that the U.S. believes international treaties are only for
others
to abide by, even though President Clinton signed the Treaty at the
United
Nations.  This was the first time in U.S. history that a Treaty,
although
signed, came to a vote in the Senate and failed to be ratified.

2. The Russian ratification of the CTBT and the START II Agreement last
month
shows very clearly that the Right Wing faction of the House and Senate
are
radically out of step with the times and with the will of the public.
The
hawkish determination of Senator Jesse Helms and others to continue the
policies of the Cold War is extremely irresponsible.  U.S. citizens have

shown overwhelmingly that they want to redirect obscene Pentagon and
Department of Energy spending on military arms and weapons of mass
destruction to domestic programs for universal health care, improved
public
education and environmental cleanup.

3.  Although negotiations have now begun on the START III agreement,
there
appears little hope that the U.S. will follow the Russian willingness to

destroy their nuclear weapon capability. In fact, U.S. officials seem to
be
encouraging the Russians to keep all their missiles on alert in an
effort to
get them to agree to changes in the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

4.  The abrogation of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty by
deploying a
National Missile Defense (NMD) by the U.S. is conceivably the most
destabilizing of all the current U.S. plans.  This "Son of Star Wars"
has
proven to be a fraud and a failure in all the tests performed thus far.
It
will cost, even in a limited deployment, at least $60 Billion and in a
more
grandiose version an estimated $120 Billion.  However, it is admitted by
the
government that NMD, even if eventually successful, would theoretically
only
protect the U.S. from a very limited type of nuclear missile.
Additionally,
in all probability, this type of nuclear missile would not be used by
the
much vaunted and feared 'rouge states'.  NMD is yet another way to
transfer
tax money to private military sector corporations instead of to the
public
sector where it is badly needed.

5.  Although the U.S. has recently recommitted to the Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT) , Article 6 of which calls for the abolition of all nuclear

weapons, there has been no timetable established for nuclear weapons
abolition. Other nations see this as a publicity stunt to blunt some of
the
harsh criticism rightly leveled at the U.S. by most of the nations in
the U.N.

6.  The accelerated planned production of the vital plutonium parts,
called
'pits', for nuclear weapons, is now being scheduled for Los Alamos
National
Lab.  This was the mission of Rocky Flats in the past.  Rocky Flats has
been
hopelessly contaminated and shut down for safety violations.

We need your help to make "LANL 2000-Action for Abolition" a
high-profile
message to the policy makers in Washington D.C. and to our allies around
the
world who, like us, want a safe, nuclear-free world.

CONFERENCE ON NUCLEAR ISSUES:
WHERE:  Temple Beth Shalom, 205 E. Barcelona St. in Santa Fe, N.M.
WHEN:  August 7th and 8th  12:00 Noon- 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.- 9:00
p.m.
CONTACT:  Peace Action New Mexico  505.989.4812 or [e-mail]

RALLY/PROTEST:
WHERE: Ashley Pond in Los Alamos, in the center of the town.
WHEN:  Wednesday, August 9th, 2000  10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.
CONTACT:  Peace Action New Mexico  505.989.4812 or [e-mail]

COALITION PARTNERS

Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice* Citizen Action to Clean-up
Sandia
Lab* Citizens for Alternatives to Radioactive Dumping (CARD)* Concerned
Citizens for Nuclear Safety (CCNS)* Eastern Navajo Dine Against Uranium
Mining (ENDAUM)* First Nations North & South* N.M. Green Party*
International
Depleted Uranium Study Team (IDUST)* Los Alamos Museum Project (LAMP)*
Los
Alamos Peace Project* Loretto Community* Nuclear Watch of New Mexico*
Peace
Action New Mexico* People for Peace* TEWA  Women United* Water
Information
Network (WIN)




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

Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 10:03:54 -0700
From: "David Crockett Williams" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) your message for Global Peace Walk 2000

- --------------------sponsor's message--------------------------
Join The Legal Revolution for equal justice under the law!
Free Legal Resource Center -- National Legal Protection Plans
http://www.prepaidlegal.com/go/dcwilliams
Your website's {Legal Resource Center} link to this url will help
support Global Peace Walk 2000 - and increase your site traffic.
A customized link gives your website an internet revenue stream.
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------


Global Peace Walk 2000 wants to carry your message to DC and the UN:

Living On The Globe With All Our Friends

We need your message on your survival issue problems and solutions for the
Global Peace Walk 2000 to carry on to Washington DC and to the United
Nations.  This spiritual walk offers to unite all survival issue messages,
and all of humankind, in our great cry to the heavens for "Global Peace
Now!" as a universal human resolve.  These messages will be delivered to the
US Government in Washington DC (October 10-11), and to the United Nations
for its 55th anniversary October 24th to help inaugurate the UN Decade of
Creating a Culture of Peace for the 21st Century while marking the mid-point
of the UN Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples.

We have already received many such letters, messages, and proclamations of
support from such diverse issues, organizations and people as New Mexico
Governor Gary Johnson and Senator John McCain, from convicted felons
such as Leonard Peltier and Ira Einhorn, from the Nuclear Age Peace
Foundation, Nuclear Abolition 2000 Network, Friends of The Earth,
Greenpeace, Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC), National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), San Francisco
Mayor Willie Brown, Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, President Clinton,
Vice President Gore, and many many more.   (see some in postings at
http://www.egroups.com/group/global-peace-walk)

We want your important survival issue messages, represented and referenced
for the walk to carry on its way, empowered by its prayer for "Global
Peace Now!" as a universal human resolve.  Please fax signed copy (on your
letterhead if available) to me at 561-658-2735.  Please subscribe to above
list to submit email copy for public archive, and to receive updates on
walk's progress
towards gathering a million people in DC Oct9. (you can select "view at
website" for walk updates if you do not want to receive occasional emails
from this local coordinators list)

This walk from San Francisco will begin again on August 15th, after its
delegation returns from taking part in the Sundance in South Dakota,
from St. Louis where a coordinating team is now organizing events for
August 12-15 while staying at the City Recreation Center kindly offered
by the City of St. Louis which hired two overtime city workers to open
the facilities for the walkers' use for two weeks (pool, indoor stage,
room for 300 to stay).

Until then the walkers may be reached in the evening at the phone number on
their voicemail where you may also leave a message for the coordinators
415-267-1877.

Walk coordinator Crispin Clarke says, "if you know good people who want to
join the walk, tell them to 'meet me in St. Louis' asap".

The American Spiritual Revolution begins August 15th, the 55th anniversary
of the end of World War II, with the call for a Global Peace Treaty to, as
John McCain says in his support letter for walk, "end war forever" -- a
treaty
idea that the walk will be offering along the way to DC and to the UN.

To help activists and friends raise funds for their families and good
projects such as Global Peace Walk 2000, our General Agency Service is
offering the opportunity for their association with either or both of two
large and rapidly growing national firms to help them develop a profitable
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from your current employment by converting personal expenses to home-based
business deductions and exemptions.  We can even help you convert your hobby
into a profitable home business.

For more information, please email me or call me at my home number
below.

If you received this message from an email discussion list, please respond
to me directly, off list, at email address below.

Living On The Globe With All Our Friends,

David Crockett Williams, C.L.U.
Tehachapi, CA   661-822-3309
[e-mail]
Chartered Life Underwriter
Activist - Chemical Physicist

Global Peace Walk 2000
http://www.globalpeacenow.org
Updates/Voicemail 415-267-1877

Global Emergency Alert Response
http://www.angelfire.com/on/GEAR2000

General Agency Services
http://www.angelfire.com/on/GEAR2000/genagency.html
And Home-Based Business Networking Systems

Join the Legal Revolution for equal justice under the law
Free Legal Resource Center -- National Legal Protection Plans
http://www.prepaidlegal.com/go/dcwilliams

More Income, Less Taxes (phone me for details)
Tax Relief System lowers taxes, increases income
http://www.thetaxpeople.net
888-302-9737 Toll-free 5minute recorded intro

Science and Technology in Society and Public Policy
http://www.egroups.com/group/dcwilliams

The Vision of Paradise on Earth
http://www.angelfire.com/on/GEAR2000/vision.html

Leonard Peltier & Presidential Campaigns
http://www.egroups.com/group/williams-peltier



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 To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "[e-mail]"
 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 10:50:45 -0800
From: Abolition 2000 <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) The Sunflower Newsletter No. 39 August 2000

The Sunflower Newsletter No. 39 August 2000

Free monthly on-line newsletter of the
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

The Sunflower
August 2000 (No. 39)

The Sunflower is a free, monthly e-newsletter providing educational
information on nuclear weapons abolition and other issues relating to
global security.  Back issues are available at
Http://www.wagingpeace.org/sf/index.html

I N   T H I S   I S S U E


HIROSHIMA/NAGASAKI

NUCLEAR MATTERS

ANTI-BALLISTIC MISSILE SYSTEMS

ACTION ALERT

NUCLEAR INSANITY

RESOURCES

EVENTS  for the year 2000 are now listed at
Http://www.wagingpeace.org/calendar/events_current.html

><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><><><>< ><>< ><>< ><><

*********************************
HIROSHIMA/NAGASAKI
*********************************

"I continue traveling around the world because I don't want anyone in this
world to ever experience what I have experienced."
Miyoko Matsubara,
Survivor of Hiroshima

Fifty-fifth Anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

    Throughout the world, the 55th anniversaries of the bombings of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki will be commemorated on 6 August and 9 August,
respectively.  It is a time for reflection of the awesome and awful power
that destroyed these cities and now holds the future of humankind at risk
of annihilation.  Many people would prefer not to look back at these tragic
events, but it is for the future that it is important to remember the past.
To remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki is a first and important step toward a
commitment to eliminate nuclear weapons from the world.  The clear vision
of the hibakusha -- the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- has been
that "Human beings and nuclear weapons cannot co-exist."  We must choose:
A nuclear weapons free future, or a future without humans.

><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><><><>< ><>< ><>< ><><

Message from Mayor of Hiroshima

    On 1 July 2000, Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba wrote:

    "Based on its experience of 55 years ago, the City of Hiroshima
has, as you know, sought continually to inform the world regarding the
cruel tragedy of the atomic bombing.  We have protested all nuclear testing
by all nations and have consistently appealed for the total abolition of
nuclear weapons.

    Nevertheless, with only a few months remaining in the 20th century,
vast stockpiles of nuclear weapons remain on Earth, nuclear disarmament by
nuclear powers proceeds little if at all, and it seems we will enter the
21st century with no clear vision or commitment to eliminate these heinous
weapons.

    Hiroshima believes it vital, in the control or resolution of
international conflicts, to put our faith in the fairness and virtue of the
human race as a whole and resolve our differences peacefully through
dialogue, not through military force.  It is this belief that led me, in
the Peace Declaration I offered at our August 6 Peace Memorial Ceremony
last year, to express again our absolute determination to abolish nuclear
weapons and achieve lasting world peace."

**************************
NUCLEAR MATTERS
**************************

Appeal to End the Nuclear Weapons Threat to Humanity

    The upcoming edition of the Waging Peace Journal, published by the
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, will include a special section on the Appeal
to End the Nuclear Weapons Threat to Humanity.  The Appeal is signed by
former presidents, admirals, actors and 35 Nobel Laureates.  It begins, "We
cannot hide from the threat that nuclear weapons pose to humanity and all
life.  These are not ordinary weapons, but instruments of mass annihilation
that could destroy civilization and end all life on Earth."

    Queen Noor al Hussein, the recipient of the Foundation's "World
Citizenship Award" for 2000 and Patron of the Landmine Survivors Network,
is a signer of the Appeal.  Queen Noor states, "The sheer folly of trying
to defend a nation by destroying all life on the planet must be apparent to
anyone capable of rational thought.  Nuclear capability must be reduced to
zero, globally, permanently.  There is no other option."

    A copy of the Appeal is available at the Foundation's website:
Http://www.wagingpeace.org

><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><><><>< ><>< ><>< ><><

Colin Powell on History's Dust Bin

    In his recent speech to the Republican National Convention in
support of George W. Bush, retired General Colin Powell stated, "The sick
nations that still pursue the 'fools gold' of tyranny and weapons of mass
destruction will soon find themselves left behind in the dust bin of
history.  They are investing in their own demise as surely as the Soviet
Union did by investing in the Red Army."  General Powell did not specify
which "sick nations" he was referring to, but among those continuing to
develop and rely upon weapons of mass destruction (for example, nuclear
weapons) are the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, which
of course includes the US.

    Fortunately, these countries recently agreed at the 2000
Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference "to accomplish the total
elimination of their nuclear arsenals...."  If these countries do what they
have again promised to do and cease to pursue the "fools gold" of nuclear
weapons, perhaps they will not end up in the "dust bin of history."  On the
other hand, if these nations continue to rely upon nuclear weapons, they
may put the entire world into history's dust bin.  Surely, General Powell
is correct in pointing out that by investing in nuclear weapons, states are
"investing in their own demise."  It was true for the former Soviet Union,
and is just as likely to be true for the US.

><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><>< ><><><>< ><>< ><>< ><><

President Putin Dismisses Six Generals

    President Vladimir Putin of Russia fired six general on 31 July
2000.  The six generals were viewed as allies of Igor Sergeyev, Defense
Minister, who has been in an on-going public quarrel with Anatoly Kvashnin,
Chief of the General Staff.

    The six generals who were fired served under Sergeyev in the
Defense Ministry bureaucracy and include:  head of radioactive, biological
and chemical defense Stanislav Petrov, head of anti-aircraft forces Boris
Dukhov, procurement chief Anatoly Sitnov, artillery and rockets chief
Nikolai Karaulov, head of funding and trade Alexander Zobnin and press
service head Anatoly Shatalov.

    The dismissals come after a failure to resolve an internal dispute
over whether the country should concentrate its limited resources on
nuclear or conventional weapons as well as how nuclear forces should be
controlled.  Kvashnin wishes to consolidate nuclear forces under a single
command as the US did in 1992 under Strategic Command, while Sergeyev and
allies wish to maintain a split command structure.  An RTR television show
recently reported that Sitnov, one of the generals who was dismissed,
criticized the Russian government for spending too little on new weaponry
and said that Russia's conventional forces will fall behind other armies
within ten years.
(Reuters, 31 July 2000)

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Downside to Technology:  Scientists Conduct First 3D Nuclear Weapons Test

    For the first time ever, scientists from the US were able to
reproduce a three-dimensional simulation of detonations that produce the
explosive output of thermonuclear weapons.  The simulations allow the
scientists to follow the activity of a thermonuclear warhead on a computer
as it explodes, which previously could only be done by an actual
underground test.

    Scientists have been developing simulation testing since the US
halted underground testing in 1992.  Scientists argue that computer
simulation testing is needed to refurbish aging nuclear warheads in order
to maintain reliability and safety.  However, the US still conducts
"subcritical" nuclear weapons tests at the Nevada Test Site, just north of
Las Vegas.  The controversial subcritical tests are detonated underground
using explosives and fissile material, but they are not considered a full
nuclear weapons test because no nuclear chain reaction occurs.  Both
Subcritical testing and simulation testing will allow the US to proceed
with new nuclear weapons development and improvement.

    The simulation programs are part of the Department of Energy's
"Stockpile Stewardship" program, which has an annual budget of nearly $5
billion.  The supercomputers are housed at the nation's laboratories -- Los
Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico and Lawrence
Livermore Laboratory in California.  Each laboratory is expected to receive
a new generation of supercomputers in the next five years.  The
supercomputers will allow scientists to conduct virtual tests of every
existing and new nuclear weapon and view reenactments of accidents.  Bob
Weaver, a leader of the Los Alamos team, stated, "The ability to
computationally simulate each of these components individually will allow
us to simulate an entire nuclear explosion in three dimensions, which is
the goal of the [Energy Department computer] program."
(Washington Post, 22 July 2000)

***********************************************
ANTI-BALLISTIC MISSILE SYSTEMS
***********************************************

"Why is public debate mired today in a dual between deterrence and defense,
with scant attention to missile disarmament?"  --Jayantha Dhanapala

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China and Russia Issue Joint Statement on Anti-Missile Systems

    On 19 July 2000, Presidents Vladimir Putin of the Russian
Federation and Chairman Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China
issued a joint statement on ballistic missile defense systems.  Recent
developments in US plans to deploy the controversial National Missile
Defense (NMD) and Theater Missile Defense (TMD) systems prompted the joint
statement.

    In particular, the statement noted deep concerns for US plans to
deploy the NMD system, which would violate the Treaty on the Limitation of
Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems (ABM Treaty) of 1972.  The statement
reaffirms the ABM Treaty as the "cornerstone of global strategic stability
and international security and the basis of the structure of key
international agreements on the reduction and limitation of strategic
offensive weapons and on the non-proliferation of mass destruction
weapons."  The joint statement warns that amendment or abrogation of the
ABM Treaty that would trigger a new arms race and "turn back positive
trends in global politics."  Also the statement notes that implementing
plans for a NMD system will "have most serious negative consequences for
the security of not only Russia, China and other countries, but also for
the security of the USA itself and for global strategic stability in the
world as a whole."

    Although TMD is not prohibited by the ABM treaty, its deployment
would undermine global and regional security, particularly because the US
nuclear umbrella would be extended to Taiwan, which China considers a
renegade province.  Russia and China expressed "serious concern and
resolute protest" against plans to deploy a TMD system in the Asia-Pacific
region and warned that the "involvement of Taiwan in any form in the ABM
systems created by foreign states is unacceptable and will seriously
undermine stability in the region."
(Reuters, 18 July 2000)

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China Named "Real Reason" for Anti-Missile System

    Until recently, political figures cited "rogue states" (now called
"states of concern"), such as North Korea, Iran and Iraq as the reason for
deploying an anti-missile system.  However, on 26 July 2000 at a forum
hosted by the Heritage Foundation in Washington, Mr. Peter Brookes, the
principle adviser to the congressional committee on East Asian Affairs,
openly stated that the "real reason" behind deploying a missile shield is a
"perceived threat from China."

    China has already claimed that the proposed $100 billion missile
shield is an American attempt to contain its growing power in Asia.  Mr.
Brookes noted that the real issue involved China's future challenge to US
dominance in Asia and that "parity or near nuclear parity with the People's
Republic of China is not in the United States' interests."

    China fears the proposed National Missile Defense system (NMD)
would neutralize its small nuclear force and extend protection over Taiwan.
The US has thousands of intercontinental warheads in comparison to China's
20 long-range missiles capable of reaching the US.  Also, Russia and China,
as well as many NATO allies oppose NMD deployment because it will disrupt
the nuclear balance by making the US invulnerable to nuclear attack.  Both
Russia and China have also threatened a new arms race should the US proceed
with plans to deploy the NOD system.
(Sydney Morning Herald, 28 July 2000)

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Israel Calls-Off Radar Deal with China Under US Pressure

    Israel canceled a $250 million early warning radar sale to China on
12 July 2000 under US pressure.  Washington viewed the sale of the
sophisticated Phalcon system as a threat to Taiwan's security and
threatened to cut $2.8 billion in annual American aid to Israel if it
proceeded with the sale.  The US also claimed that the system could
jeopardize US forces in any future conflict with China.

    Although China did not immediately respond to the cancellation,
media headlines in China criticized the US as "a threat to world peace"
(China Daily).  An editorial in a Chinese paper called US actions "the
major cause of international disarmament setbacks".  The editorial also
noted, "What is most devastating to global disarmament and arms control is
the US attempt to deploy its National Missile Defense (NMD) system and
Theater Missile Defense (TMD) system.''

    Secretary of Defense William Cohen met with Chinese Defense
Minister Chi Hoatian in July 2000 to engage military dialogue, which had
been frozen since May 1999 when NATO bombs destroyed the Chinese embassy in
Belgrade.  The talks primarily revolved around Taiwan, which China regards
as a renegade province.  Cohen reaffirmed that the US did not support
independence for Taiwan and China made assurances of peaceful
reunification.
(Reuters, 12 July 2000)


********************
ACTION ALERT
********************

Earth Action Issues "Call for a Safer World"

    In a world where we depend on each other more than ever before, we
need a more effective and democratic United Nations to protect the
long-term interests of humanity as a whole.  Those shared long-term
interests include a life-giving planet, an end to war and hunger, and the
protection of basic human rights.  There are seven proposals contained in
the "Call for a Safer World" that, once implemented, will go far towards
creating the United Nations we need.

    The purpose of the "Call for a Safer World" is to demonstrate
world-wide support for a more just, democratic and sustainable
international system for the 21st century.  You are invited to sign the
"Call for a Safer World" as an individual, or if appropriate, on behalf of
an organization to which you belong.  The "Call for a Safer World is posted
on Earth Action's website, where you can sign it electronically
(Http://www.earthaction.org).

For more information, please contact:
Earth Action
30 Cottage Street
Amherst, MA  01002
USA
Tel:  [phone]
Fax:  [phone]
Email:  [e-mail]
URL:  Http://www.earthaction.org

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Congress Voted to Open School of the Americas Clone

    On 18 May 2000, Congress voted down the Moakly (MA), Scarborough
(FL), Campbell (CA), McGovern (MA) amendment to the Defense Authorization
Bill (HR 4205).  If passed, the measure would have closed the US Army
School of the Americas and set up a Congressional Task Force to assess the
impact of US military training on Latin American soldiers in the area of
human rights.

    By rejecting the Moakley amendment, Congress approved a
Clinton-Gore-Pentagon proposal to continue the SOA under a new name.  The
Defense Institute for Hemispheric Security Cooperation will be located in
Fort Benning, Georgia to train Latin American soldiers in commando tactics,
military intelligence, psychological operations and advance combat
techniques.

Call your representative and express your concern and disappointment.  You
may contact your representative by dialing the Capitol Hill Switchboard at
[phone].  For more information, contact the SOA Watch at:
P.O. Box 4566
Washington, DC  20017
Tel:  [phone]
URL:  Http://www.soaw.org

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Washington Gathering to Free Vanunu

    A three-day conference, vigil and action in Washington, DC is being
held in September in support of long-imprisoned Israeli whistle blower
Mordechai Vanunu.  The events will take place 26-28 September 2000.  Among
the speakers will be Daniel Ellsberg, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, nuclear
resister Elizabeth McAlister, and Vanunu's adoptive parents Mary and
Nicholas Eoloff.  For detailed information, please contact:
US Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu
2206 Fox Avenue
Madison, WI  53711
URL:  Http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/

**************************
NUCLEAR INSANITY
**************************

The following quote by Robert A. McNamara, secretary of Defense under John
F. Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson, explains the rationale behind the
theory of "mutually assured destruction," which he conceived in 1961:

    "Bush doesn't put it this way, but he is really asking what the
United States needs minimally to achieve stability of deterrence.  To
answer this question, one needs to understand the basic intellectual
foundations of the mutually assured destruction concept:  There is no other
basis for stability of deterrence between two nuclear-equipped opponents
than the confidence on each side that they have the capability to absorb a
first strike from the other side with sufficient weapons surviving to
inflict unacceptable damage on the opponent when launching a second strike.

    When I developed this concept in 1961, I determined that the United
States needed 400 surviving warheads to deter the Russians from a first
strike.  How did we end up, then, with 15,000 on each side at the height of
the Cold War?  Because we didn't have enough spies, enough information, to
know their intentions.  We built up according to a worst-case scenario of
Soviet production capabilities down the road (which it turned out, exceeded
their intentions at the time).  And once they saw us building up more than
they thought we would, they responded in kind.  That is where MAD gave way
to an arms race."
(Interview appeared in the LA Times on 5 June 2000)


****************
RESOURCES
****************

"The Responsibilities of World Citizenship" by Queen Noor al Hussein is now
available from the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.  To order a copy, visit
the website at Http://www.wagingpeace.org or send a message of inquiry to
[e-mail].

William Hartung and Michelle Ciarrocca have a useful report on Star Wars,
highlighting fraud and corruption by missile defense contractors.  It's
titled "Nuclear Missile Deception:  Corruption and Conflicts of Interest in
the National Missile Defense Program."
http://www.worldpolicy.org/projects/arms/updates/nmdtitle.htm

Report on Hanford fire and plutonium releases into the air
http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/local/hanf134.shtml

"Time for a Missile Freeze" by Jurgen Scheffran will appear in the next
newsletter of the Economists Allied for Arms Reduction.  The article
explores and illuminates the idea of international missile control as an
alternative to national missile defense.  To receive an electronic copy of
the article, please contact:
Jurgen Scheffran  [e-mail]

"Hiroshima's Shadow" is a collection of writings on the denial of history
and the Smithsonian controversy.  The collection, edited by Kai Bird and
Lawrence Lifshultz, is now available from the Pamphleteer's Press.  To
order a copy, send a request to:
The Pamphleteer's Press
Box 3374
Stony Creek, CT  06405
Tel:  [phone], or [phone]
Fax:  [phone]
Email:  [e-mail]

"Hiroshima in Memorium and Today," a collection of memoirs by Hiroshima
survivors edited by Hitoshi Takayama.  Also includes essays by Arnold
Toynbee, Pope John Paul II, and F.W. de Klerk. 300 pp.  To Order:
Peace Resource Center, Wilmington College,
Pyle Center, Box 1183
Wilmington, OH  45177
Email:  [e-mail]

"Managing the US Nuclear Weapons Stockpile:  A Comparison of Five
Strategies," a report by Dr. Robert Civiak, provides the first
comprehensive review of alternatives to the US Dept. of Energy's
controversial plans for long-term maintenance of the US nuclear weapons
arsenal.  The report was released by Tri-Valley Communities Against a
Radioactive Environment (CAREs) and is available on their website at:
Http://www.igc.org/tvc

The Council for a Livable World has compiled quotes by political leaders
opposing the US National Missile Defense (NMD) program.  Comments include
present and former presidents and prime ministers in Europe, Australia,
Canada, Russia, and the PRC.
"Statements by Foreign Leaders Opposing National Missile Defense"
Http://www.clw.org/ef/nmdleaders.html

The "Litany of Remembrance for the Nuclear Age," by Pamel Meidell, was
delivered on Trinity Day, 16 July 2000, in Washington, DC.  A full copy of
the litany is available on the Abolition 2000 Global Network website at:
Http://www.abolition2000.org

********
Editor
********

Carah Ong


Carah Lynn Ong
Coordinator, Abolition 2000
PMB 121, 1187 Coast Village Road, Suite 1
Santa Barbara CA 93108

Phone [phone]  FAX[phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website http://www.abolition2000.org


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