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abolition-usa-digest    Saturday, November 4 2000    Volume 01 : Number 399




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

Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2000 15:23:54 -0500
From: Kevin Martin <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Play the DontBlowIt flash game!

Electronic activism from our friends at DontBlowIt.org...

Dear Friends,

Got a minute? Play the DontBlowIt flash game and see what kind of future
we=92re creating for our kids. Check this out:

http://www.DontBlowIt.org/kflash

Got 20 more seconds? Send it along to your friends!

The Presidential Campaign is About the Future, Right? Then why isn't
anyone talking about the 36,000 nuclear weapons that exist today =96 and
that thousands of them are ready to be launched in minutes? The U.S.
arsenal alone has the equivalent of 150,000 Hiroshima-sized bombs,
costing taxpayers $30 billion a year!

Enough is enough!  We can do something to reduce nuclear weapons and
create a safer future.

Play the DontBlowIt flash game, then send your free postcard telling the
presidential candidates =93Don=92t Blow It!=94

http://www.DontBlowit.org/kflash

Please pass this on to your friends, and encourage them to pass it on as
well.  It=92s a fun way to learn more about nuclear dangers and to make
your voice heard.
For our kids=92 future, help make nuclear weapons a thing of the past!
If you don't have web access, just email [e-mail] for email
instructions.

Thanks,

Laura Kriv
DontBlowIt.org
[e-mail]

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

Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2000 14:32:10 -0500
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: Republicans Criticize DOE Waste

>Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2000 12:22:32 -0500
>Subject: Republicans Criticize DOE Waste
>Priority: non-urgent
>X-FC-MachineGenerated: true
>To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
>From: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
>
>   Though the report is clearly partisan, I suspect it contains a large
>quantity of truty.
>
>     REPORT: ENERGY DEPT. WASTED $3.4B ON CLEANUP TECHNOLOGY
>              Associated Press -- November 1, 2000
>                       by H. Josef Hebert
>
>    WASHINGTON (AP) - The Energy Department has wasted much of the $3.4
>billion it has spent over the last decade on developing new technology
>for cleaning up nuclear weapons waste, says a report of the House
>Commerce Committee's Republican majority.
>    The report, released Wednesday, said the DOE's Office of Science and
>Technology has "squandered hundreds of millions of dollars on
>technologies that have not proved useful" in the massive cleanup effort.
>    Congress created the technology development program in 1989 in hopes
>that it would help the government deal with the environmental legacy
>left from a half-century of nuclear bomb making.
>    The cleanup and restoration is expected to cost almost $200 billion
>and take more than 70 years to complete.
>    Carolyn Huntoon, DOE's assistant secretary for environmental
>management, called the science and technology development program
>essential to the long-term cleanup effort and disputed claims that the
>program has not produced results.
>    "One out of five research and development projects have resulted in
>a viable technology being used by the department," she said in a
>statement in response to the Commerce Committee staff finding. The
>report was compiled by staff members of the committee's Republican
>majority with no participation by Democratic members.
>    Another senior department official, speaking on condition of
>anonymity, admitted that much of the early funding did not produce
>immediate payoffs in the highly complex cleanup effort that in many
>cases requires technology that is not readily available.
>    But the official insisted "we've turned the corner" with development
>of about 180 technologies that have been commercialized as a result of
>the DOE science and technology program, with many going into actual
>cleanup efforts.
>    This official cited, as examples, a new technology expected to save
>$3 billion in the cost of cleaning up contaminated groundwater at the
>Fernald weapons site in Ohio and a "sludge washing" technology expected
>to save $5 billion at the Hanford weapons facility in Washington state.
>    Nevertheless, the Commerce report said that if the nearly 1,000
>technologies developed by the program, few have yet been put to use.
>    It cited 80 technologies funded through the DOE program to try to
>deal with the cleanup of 177 tanks of toxic and hazardous waste at
>Hanford, perhaps the most perplexing and dangerous cleanup challenge
>facing the government.
>    Based on a survey by the committee last March, the 80 commercially
>available technologies "have provided no significant use for
>characterizing or stabilizing the Hanford tank wastes ... and are
>unlikely to be useful in the future."
>

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

Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2000 14:21:09 -0700
From: Suzanne <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) CCNS Search: Executive Director


Notice:

CCNS, an established environmental/anti-nuclear non-profit organization, is
seeking an Executive Director with a degree in the sciences, economics, law,
business, or an environmental-related field to begin in January, 2001.  An
understanding of the nuclear weapons production complex and history of the
Department of Energy's nuclear programs is a plus.

For further information please call 505-986-1973



Suzanne Westerly
Acting Executive Director
Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety
107 Cienega St.
Santa Fe, NM  87501
[phone];   FAX [phone]
CCNS Hotline:  [phone] (local); 1-800-456-8863
[e-mail]
http://www.nuclearactive.org

t


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

Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 23:38:51 -0800 (PST)
From: [e-mail] (marylia)
Subject: (abolition-usa) tvc files 2 FOIA lawsuits

Greetings friends and colleagues.
As many organizations have trouble getting DOE and other agencies to
respond appropriately to Freedom of Information Act requests, I thought you
might be interested in this news release about the two FOIA suits we filed
today. The outcome of these two cases could have national implications.
Read on ...
 Peace, Marylia

for immediate release, November 2, 2000
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION NOT SO FREE AT ENERGY DEPARTMENT:
AGENCY VIOLATES LAW, KEEPS UNCLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS SECRET

LIVERMORE LAB "WATCHDOG" ORGANIZATION FILES 2 LAWSUITS TODAY;
CASES TO SET PRECEDENT WITH NATIONAL IMPLICATIONS AS PLAINTIFFS
ASK COURT TO RULE ON PATTERN OF ABUSE

LIVERMORE -- Today, Tri-Valley CAREs filed two lawsuits in federal court in
San Francisco against the Dept. Of Energy (DOE) for failing to provide
records requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

One of the two cases involves the National Ignition Facility (NIF), a
nuclear weapons design project under construction at the Livermore Lab.

On September 1, 1999, Tri-Valley CAREs requested all documents involving
the NIF "Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) management meetings." ICF is the
nuclear fusion method to be used at the NIF mega-laser.

It was at the monthly ICF meetings that NIF's rapidly-slipping schedule and
other technical problems were discussed between managerial staff at
Livermore Lab, Los Alamos Lab, Sandia Lab and DOE Headquarters, among
others.

Marylia Kelley, Tri-Valley CAREs' Executive Director explained, "It
follows, therefore, that the records from these meetings should shed some
light on the question of who knew what when about NIF's spiraling costs,
unresolved technical difficulties and schedule delays. This is unclassified
information to which the public has a right."

Under FOIA, the DOE had 20 days to respond.

"Instead, more than a year has passed while DOE has, in essence, thumbed
its nose at the law," said Kelley

First, DOE wrote Tri-Valley CAREs saying that it would not produce the ICF
managers' meeting notes taken by DOE and weapons lab personnel. The
Department claimed that the notes were not government business; that they
were the personal property of the employees-as if the meeting notes were
the same as grocery lists compiled on the employees' off-duty hours.

Tri-Valley CAREs appealed this decision to the DOE's Office of Hearings and
Appeals. The Office ruled that DOE had not adequately justified its
decision to withhold the meeting notes, and therefore remanded the matter
back to DOE for further consideration. DOE, however, proceeded to merely
reaffirm its earlier decision not to produce the notes.

Tri-Valley CAREs' suit challenges DOE's decision, and asks the court to
find the agency in violation of the law - and to require the release of the
meeting notes. Further, the suit seeks to command the DOE to produce
numerous, additional documents listed in the group's 1999 FOIA request that
the agency has similarly kept hidden from the public.

The group's second FOIA lawsuit, also filed today, involves documents
outlining a DOE plan to shift various nuclear weapons activities around the
country. This proposal, dubbed the mega-strategy by DOE, would dramatically
increase the plutonium work load at Livermore Lab.

Under the mega-strategy, Livermore  would take over the weapon re-design
work for the W80, a nuclear warhead originally developed at Los Alamos with
both sea and air-launched versions. Moreover, under this proposal Livermore
Lab would take over the entire nuclear stockpile plutonium pit surveillance
program from Los Alamos Lab. Both of these changes would result in more
plutonium coming to Livermore.

"The DOE has shrouded this plan in darkest secrecy, not because of genuine
national security concerns but, rather, to circumvent the community's right
to know," charged Kelley.

On September 15, 1999, Tri-Valley CAREs filed a FOIA request for all
documents pertaining to the DOE's so-called mega-strategy in order to
assure an adequate public understanding of the proposal. Again, more than a
year has elapsed since the FOIA request was filed-and DOE has still not
provided a single responsive document. The lawsuit asks the court to compel
production of the requested records.

"The DOE has exhibited a 'pattern and practice' of not responding to FOIA
requests in the manner prescribed by statute. Routinely, DOE has failed to
fulfill Tri-Valley CAREs' FOIA requests, and those of other organizations
and individuals, within the allotted timeframe," explained noted New Mexico
attorney Steve Sugarman.

"The DOE's conduct frustrates Tri-Valley CAREs' efforts to educate the
public regarding major activities at the DOE's Livermore Lab and throughout
the nuclear weapons complex," Kelley added.

Therefore, in both lawsuits, Tri-Valley CAREs also asks the judge to issue
a court order appointing a Special Counsel to investigate DOE's pattern of
failing to comply with the law. The Special Counsel would then determine
whether disciplinary action is warranted, and against whom. "A positive
ruling could set a precedent with national implications," said Sugarman.

Tri-Valley CAREs was forced to bring a similar FOIA lawsuit in 1998. Only
after the group filed a complaint did DOE begin to produce the requested
documents. Attorney Steve Sugarman handled the 1998 case for the
organization, and is lead attorney in the two current actions.

 "Tri-Valley CAREs should not be in the position where it has to file
lawsuits in order to obtain public information," Sugarman noted. "The
Freedom of Information Act was enacted specifically so organizations like
Tri-Valley CAREs would have free access to documents that disclose the
operations of the government. These two lawsuits are intended to vindicate
the public's right to stay informed about this country's nuclear weapons
programs and to understand the impact of those programs on their lives."

- -- 30 --

The two lawsuit complaints filed today are available on Tri-Valley CAREs'
website at http://www.igc.org/tvc

Marylia Kelley
Tri-Valley CAREs
(Communities Against a Radioactive Environment)
2582 Old First Street
Livermore, CA USA 94550

<http://www.igc.org/tvc/> - is our web site, please visit us there!

[phone] - is our phone
[phone] - is our fax

Working for peace, justice and a healthy environment since 1983, Tri-Valley
CAREs has been a member of the nation-wide Alliance for Nuclear
Accountability in the U.S. since 1989, and is a co-founding member of the
Abolition 2000 global network for the elimination of nuclear weapons, the
U.S. Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and the Back From the Brink
campaign to get nuclear weapons taken off hair-trigger alert.



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

Date: Fri, 03 Nov 2000 09:35:39 -0500
From: Ellen Thomas <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) NucNews 00/11/3 -  Daybook; Presidential Candidates; Activist Announcements

Washington Times Daybook, November 3, 2000, Agence France Presse=20
http://www.washtimes.com/national/daybook-2000113212849.htm

    Third-party vice-presidential debate =97 2 p.m. =97 American=
 University's
history department presents a 90-minute debate among third-party
vice-presidential candidates. Location: National Press Club, 14th and F=
 streets
NW. Contact: 202/251-7014.

- -- PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

- - George W. Bush -=20
http://www.GeorgeWBush.com - http://64.92.133.170/Calendar.asp

Friday, November 3 - MICHIGAN AND WEST VIRGINIA
Victory 2000 Rallies                 =20
11:00 a.m. - Cornerstone University, 1001 East Beltline Avenue, NE, Grand
Rapids, Michigan, [phone]                       =20
        1:50 p.m. - Saginaw Valley State University, Ryder Center, 210 Ryder
Center Road, University Center, Michigan 48710 - [phone]       =20
        7:30 p.m. - Morgantown High School, 109 Wilson Avenue, Morgantown,=
 West
Virginia

- - Al Gore -=20
http://www.algore2000.com/
Saturday, November 4, 2000
        Washington, DC
        10 a.m. - Rally in Freedom Plaza, motorcade to Meridian Hill /
Malcolm X
park

- - Ralph Nader -=20
http://www.votenader.org/campaignevents.html
 Friday, November 3 -
        Los Angeles, CA
        5:00pm - 7:30pm - Buffet Supper with Ralph Nader,  Home of Ken and
Dottie Reiner, 1455 LaPerla Avenue Long Beach, CA  Please RSVP to
mailto:[e-mail]=20
        8:00pm - Nader Super Rally=20
 With Special Guests Phil Donahue, Patti Smith, and more
 Long Beach Arena, 300 E. Ocean Blvd.
 Ticket & Volunteer Information=
 http://www.votenader.org/superrallies.html#LA

Saturday, November 4 -
        Miami, FL
        4:00pm - 5:00pm - Press Conference, Radisson Center
 711 NW 72nd Ave. (at intersection of 826 & 836), [phone]
        5:30pm - 6:30pm - Rally
 Radisson Center, 711 NW 72nd Ave. (at intersection of 826 & 836), (305)
261-3800

Sunday, November 5 -
        Washington D.C.
        1:00 pm - Nader Super Rally, MCI Arena, 7th St., NW,With Special=
 Guests
Phil Donahue, Michael Moore, Randall Robinson, Danny Glover, Patti Smith,
Barbara Ehrenreich, Cornel West, Adam Yauch, and Rev. Raylan Hagler. Ticket=
 &
Volunteer Information http://www.votenader.org/superrallies.html#DC
        5:00pm - 7:00pm - Reception with Ralph Nader and Citizen's Committee
members Patti Smith and Phil Donahue, Fado Irish Pub, 808 7th Street NW.=
 Please
RSVP to mailto:[e-mail]=20

- -- ANNOUNCEMENTS --

- - Dec. 2-3 Conference of Women for Responsible National Security, the=
 kickoff
event of a 2-year campaign of public education on nuclear weapons issues=
 that
Peace Links will be doing. Many other groups are involved as co-sponsors -
WAND, WILPF, PSR, etc., etc. Unfortunately, the event is costly ($150
registration fee), although there are scholarships available - just contact
Charolett Baker at D.C. Peace Links at [phone], ext. 14, or
<mailto:[e-mail]> for details.  [From: Sally Light
<mailto:[e-mail]>]

- - Re: Dick Cheney and DU -=20
This quote, posted on DULINK at:
http://www.homepage.jefnet.com/gwvrl/du_link.htm
and originally found by Dan Fahey, should be attributed to Brent Scowcroft,
former National Security Advisor: "Depleted uranium is more of a problem=
 than
we thought when it was developed. But it was developed according to=
 standards
and was thought through very carefully. It turned out perhaps to be wrong."
(Brent Scowcroft, former National Security Advisor to President Bush, from a
British documentary titled "Riding the Storm," which aired on ITN TV, CH. 4,=
 in
the United Kingdom on January 3, 1996).  [From: Chris Kornkven
<mailto:[e-mail]>]

- - FREEDOM OF INFORMATION NOT SO FREE AT ENERGY DEPARTMENT:
Agency violates law, keeps unclassified documents secret.  Two lawsuit
complaints filed November 2, 2000 are available on Tri-Valley CAREs'
website at http://www.igc.org/tvc. [From:  Marylia Kelley
mailto:[e-mail]]

- - Bush and Gore positions on top issues
USA: November 3, 2000 Reuters
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=3D8792
...=20
Defence:
        Gore would move ahead cautiously to examine limited missile defence
programme, streamline Pentagon and work for steady increase in military
spending. Would end "Don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuals in=
 military
and allow homosexuals to serve openly.
        Bush would increase funding on high-tech weapons systems, increase
defence spending, give military personnel better pay and conditions. On=
 missile
defence, he would pursue ambitious programmes to protect the United States=
 and
allies from rogue nations, even if that meant withdrawing from=
 Anti-Ballistic
Missile Treaty with Russia. Would retain "Don't ask, don't tell."
...
Environment:
        Gore supports the Kyoto global warming treaty, would encourage new
energy technologies and provide tax breaks to companies and individuals
switching to environmentally friendly homes, cars and businesses. Would
preserve Alaska's Arctic Wildlife Preserve.
        Bush opposes the Kyoto treaty, would give tax breaks for ethanol
use and
supports state efforts to reduce pollution from coal-fired power stations.
Supports opening Alaska reserve toil and gas exploration.
...    =20
Foreign policy/trade:
        Gore backs free-trade agreements and international cooperation=
 through
the United Nations, supports the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
        Bush backs free trade but opposed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and=
 would
withdraw from Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty if necessary to pursue missile
defence. Would reduce U.S. military involvement in international=
 peacekeeping,
take a tougher stance toward China, backs close defence ties with Taiwan.=
 Has
questioned U.S. military role in Bosnia.

- - Contamination at Russian nuke weapons plant 'staggering'
By IAN TRAYNOR, The Guardian, November 02, 2000
http://insidedenver.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=3DRADIOACTIVE-11-02-00&cat=3DAS
        MOSCOW - Radioactive contamination of rivers around a top-secret
nuclear
weapons complex in Siberia has reached "staggering" levels, the worst ever
monitored, and is out of "rational control," a joint team of Russian and=
 U.S.
radiation monitors said Thursday.

- - Can anyone give a source for the following Einstein quote? "The Splitting=
 of
the Atom has changed everything except our modes of thinking, and thus we=
 drift
towards unparalleled catastrophe." [From: George Farebrother
<mailto:[e-mail]>]

- - Follow-up Story:
"New Agenda" Sets the Disarmament Agenda=20
        The New Agenda resolution was overwhelmingly adopted on 1 November=
 by a
vote  of 146 to three with eight abstentions: an obvious and unequivocal=20
endorsement. All of NATO (except France) voted yes. The US, UK and China are=
 in
the "yes" column; Russia and France abstained.=20
        The three "no" votes are from the non-NPT NWSs - India, Israel and
Pakistan.   =20
        The eight abstainers are: Bhutan, France, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Mauritius,  Monaco, Russia, Uzbekistan. Most are countries closely tied to
Russia, France  or India.
        This overwhelming vote serves the dual goals of bringing the NPT
consensus  onto the broader international stage and solidifying the New
Agenda's role in  nuclear disarmament deliberations. In short, this is the=
 new
agenda. =20
        Several delegations, including the US and UK, said they were judging
First  Committee resolutions this year by the light of the 2000 NPT Review=
=20
Conference Final Document. In explaining their votes, the US said the NPT =
=20
Document "is our guiding light for nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament=
=20
efforts" and the UK said First Committee drafts "should faithfully reflect =
 the
letter and spirit" of the NPT agreement.
        Amb. Robert Grey of the US said the draft "recognizes that nuclear=
=20
disarmament is a process that requires pragmatic proposals in a step-like=20
process, not political calls for impossible goals. We view the resolution in=
=20
this context, including the rather unclear and ambiguous operative paragraph=
=20
18, which should not be construed as in any way limiting the ways and means=
=20
available to pursue our shared goals."
        Paragraph 18 is the one that calls for "the underpinnings of a
universal
and  multilaterally negotiated legally binding instrument or a framework=20
encompassing a mutually reinforcing set of instruments."=20
        Amb. Ian Souter of the UK said, "We considered it particularly
important
that  resolutions emerging from this committee should faithfully reflect the
letter  and spirit [of the NPT Conference]... With that in mind, we are=
 pleased
to  have been able to vote in favor of this resolution. As we made clear in
May,  the United Kingdom is unequivocally committed to the global=
 elimination
of  nuclear weapons. We welcome the fact that the 2000 NPT Review Conference=
=20
endorsed the package of measures that are reflected in this resolution -=
 many=20
of which the United Kingdom has undertaken nationally."
        In explaining their abstentions, China said the draft should have=
 been
"more  explicit" on issues including preserving the ABM Treaty, no-first-=
 use,
and  the lead role that should be taken by the major nuclear powers in=20
disarmament; France said the text "does not fully satisfy the need for=20
fidelity" to the NPT consensus.=20
        There were two separate votes on paragraphs. PP 15, welcoming the
Final=20
Document of the NPT Conference, passed 151 to three (India, Israel, =
 Pakistan),
with one abstention (Cuba). OP 16, also on the NPT, passed 151 to  zero with
four abstentions (Cuba, India, Israel, Pakistan).
        OTHER DRAFTS
        The Japanese/Australian draft on "A path to the total elimination of
nuclear  weapons" (L.39/Rev. 1) was adopted 144 to one (India) with 12
abstentions  (including China, France, Russia and Pakistan). The abstainers
complained had  multiple complaints, largely stemming either from the way=
 the
draft  interprets the NPT Final Document or that it does not go far enough:
the  draft "departs markedly from the [NPT] consensus" (France); it
"selectively  cites provisions from the Final Document which violate the
fragile balance of  interests" in the Document (Russia); the text "have=
 certain
inadequacies"  such as the failure to reject deterrence (China); and it=
 places
"inordinate  emphasis on non-proliferation and not on nuclear disarmament"
(Pakistan).=20
        The ABM resolution (L.2/Rev. 1) was adopted 78 to three (US, Israel
and=20
Micronesia), with 65 abstentions. Abstainers pretty much split the=
 difference=20
on the issue: yes, we think the ABM Treaty should be preserved (in other=20
words, we don't like BMD), but no, it's not the business of non-states =
 parties
to tell states parties what to do with their treaty. Since the US  allies=
 could
easily have joined the US in voting no, we can look at this vote  as a=
 ringing
lack of endorsement for the US missile defense plans.
        The US has always opposed this resolution. Amb. Grey said the draft
has=20
"basic flaws" and that it "remains based on the premise that preserving and=
=20
strengthening the ABM Treaty is incompatible with amending it." He added,=20
"Questions about the ABM Treaty are for the Treaty parties to resolve. That=
=20
process will only be hindered by having the General Assembly take sides."
        Germany, speaking on behalf of 30 abstaining countries (NATO plus),
said
such  an issue "should have the support of the parties to the Treaty... We
have  underlined the need for consensus on this resolution. We regret that=
 it
was  not possible for the parties to reach an agreement, and we encourage=
 them
to  continue their discussions on the issue. We attach great importance to=
 the=20
ABM Treaty as a cornerstone of strategic stability, contributing to the=20
broader disarmament and arms control process."
        Sweden gave an interesting addendum to this debate. Originally it=
 had
signed  up on the German statement, but withdrew in favor of a separate
statement.  While aligning itself with that group of states, Sweden said it
"does not  share the overriding preoccupation with 'strategic stability'
expressed in  the resolution. The concept of strategic stability is closely
linked with  cold war doctrines which... should in Sweden's view not be the
sole basis for  disarmament and non-proliferation in the post-cold war era."
This was the  only time in the five weeks of the First Committee that any=
 state
challenged  this new catchphrase.
        The resolution on the Fissile Materials Cut-Off Treaty talks (L.49/
Rev.
1)  was adopted by consensus. The revised text dropped the idea of=
 completing=20
negotiations within five years, thus aligning the draft with the language of=
=20
the CD consensus.
        Go to http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org for the revised texts,=
 voting
charts,  other resolutions and full texts of some of the explanation of=
 votes.=20
[2 November 2000 - Jim Wurst, UN Coordinator Middle Powers Initiative and
Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy - From: John Burroughs
<mailto:[e-mail]>]


______________________________________________________________

*   Peace Through Reason - http://prop1.org - Convert the War Machines!  *
        Online Petition - http://www.PetitionOnline.com/prop1/petition.html
            NucNews - Today and Archives -
http://prop1.org/nucnews/briefslv.htm
______________________________________________________________

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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: Fri, 03 Nov 2000 21:08:54 -0500
From: Ellen Thomas <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) NucNews 00/11/4 - Presidential Candidates; Activist Announcements

- -- PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

- - George W. Bush -=20
http://www.GeorgeWBush.com - http://64.92.133.170/Calendar.asp
Victory 2000 Rallies=20
        9:45 a.m. - Ford Field, 22051 Cherry Hill Road, Dearborn, Michigan,
[phone]=20
        12:20 p.m. - USX Hangar #8, Pittsburgh International Airport,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, General Aviation Side, Sylvia [phone] -
parking for the general public will be available in the extended term=
 parking
lots 9, 10, 11. Shuttle busses will be on site for transportation to USX=
 site.=20
        3:45 p.m. - Town Square, Keswick Village, Keswick Avenue, Glenside,
Pennsylvania=20
        7:20 p.m. - Drew University, Drew University Field House, 36 Madison
Avenue, Madison, New Jersey 07940=20

- - Al Gore -=20
http://www.algore2000.com/
Saturday, November 4, 2000
        Washington, DC
        10 a.m. - Rally in Freedom Plaza, motorcade to Meridian Hill /
Malcolm X
park

- - Ralph Nader -=20
http://www.votenader.org/campaignevents.html
 Saturday, November 4 -
        Miami, FL
        4:00pm - 5:00pm - Press Conference, Radisson Center
 711 NW 72nd Ave. (at intersection of 826 & 836), [phone]
        5:30pm - 6:30pm - Rally
 Radisson Center, 711 NW 72nd Ave. (at intersection of 826 & 836), (305)
261-3800

Sunday, November 5 -
        Washington D.C.
        1:00 pm - Nader Super Rally, MCI Arena, 7th St., NW,With Special=
 Guests
Phil Donahue, Michael Moore, Randall Robinson, Danny Glover, Patti Smith,
Barbara Ehrenreich, Cornel West, Adam Yauch, and Rev. Raylan Hagler. Ticket=
 &
Volunteer Information http://www.votenader.org/superrallies.html#DC
        5:00pm - 7:00pm - Reception with Ralph Nader and Citizen's Committee
members Patti Smith and Phil Donahue, Fado Irish Pub, 808 7th Street NW.=
 Please
RSVP to mailto:[e-mail]=20

- - Super Rally March! "A dose of daily democracy."
        The Nader Super Rally will end at about 4:30 and a huge march for DC
Statehood will take place up to Malcome X Park on 16th Street. Along the way=
 we
will talk to voters we meet along the way about voting.=20
        Another rally organized by Arturo Griffiths of DC Statehood Green=
 Party
to get out the vote will then take place at the park.=20
        Please Make a Sign or banner and express your views!  [From: Adam
Eidinger <mailto:[e-mail]>]

- -- ANNOUNCEMENTS --

- - Al Gore on Nuclear Issues
Al Gore has a pretty strong pro-nuclear background. Some of this is=
 documented
on a new website (see below) about Al Gore's real record. Can anyone on this
list provide additional documentation on Gore and nukes? I've heard that=
 he's
in favor of the fast breeder reactor (I can only find evidence that his=
 father
was) and that he's in favor of nukes in space. [From: Mike Ewall
<mailto:[e-mail]>]

- - To: [e-mail]
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>=20
Subject: NucNews 00/11/3 - Presidential Candidates
        You listed Gore and Bush's position on certain issues. Here are=
 Ralph=20
Nader's:=20
        Nader would cancel all missile and space weapons work: Bush and Gore
would  continue space work. Bush would pull out of ABM; Gore would pull out=
 if
necessary (whatever that means--necessary to keep the wheels of the Star=
 Wars
contractors greased, probably.)=20
        Nader would support the CTB and an end to subcritical and virtual
tests.
Gore supports the CTB with $4.6 billion ($5.1 this year) per year for
subcritical and computer simulated virtual reality tests to enable our Dr.
Strangeloves to design new nuclear weapons. Bush does not support the=
 CTB.Nader
would cut military spending. Gore and Bush would raise it.
        Nader would cut arsenals to meet Putin's offer of 1500 and then go=
 to
1,000. He would then call on all countries to negotiate the abolition of
nuclear weapons. Bush and Gore won't even answer questions about this, when
asked in a Religious=20
Leader's Survey.=20
        Environment: Nader supports an end to nuclear power. Gore supports
having nuclear power classified as clean energy eligible for grants to
developing nations at the Kyoto hearings.=20

- - 'Worst ever' radioactive leaks found in Siberia=20
Condemned weapons plants still spewing out poisons, say experts
 Ian Traynor in Moscow - The Guardian, Friday November 3, 2000=20
http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,391940,00.html
        Radioactive contamination of rivers around a top-secret Russian=
 nuclear
weapons complex in Siberia has reached "staggering" levels, the worst ever
monitored, and is out of "rational control", a joint team of Russian and
American radiation monitors said yesterday.=20
        Following a monitoring expedition in July and August to the closed
plutonium complex at Seversk, near Tomsk in western Siberia, the Russian and
American nuclear watchdogs said they had registered alarming levels of
radioactivity in tributaries of the River Ob, a key Siberian waterway.
        "We've never encountered such radiation. It's the worst=
 contamination
we've found," said  Sergei Pashchenko, a Novosibirsk professor and=
 atmospheric
pollution expert who headed the Russian side of the survey carried out by
Siberian Scientists for Global Responsibility and Government Accountability
Project.
        The director of the American  watchdog, Tom Carpenter, said: "We=
 were
shocked at the levels of contamination."=20
        The environmentalists said they found levels of caesium and
strontium-90
vastly exceeding  safety levels in the rivers Tom and Romashka close to the
"Siberian Chemical Complex", a sprawling facility established by the former
Soviet Union in the 1950s to make weapons-grade plutonium for warheads.=20
        But even more disturbingly, said Mr Pashchenko, plant life in the
rivers
contained high levels of phosphorus-32 which decays within a couple of=
 weeks,
meaning that the radioactive effluent was of very recent origin whereas the
strontium and the caesium could date back to the 1960s.=20
        "The phosphorus-32 is a very short-lived isotope and this means
they are
very fresh," said Mr Pashchenko.=20
        The closed nuclear town of Seversk is effectively a suburb of Tomsk,=
 a
city with a population of half-a-million in western Siberia. Seversk was=
 born
in 1949, at the very onset of the superpowers' nuclear arms race.=20
        It ranked among the top three sites for the manufacturing of
weapons-grade plutonium and uranium enrichment for the Soviet Union's=
 nuclear
arsenal throughout the cold war.=20
        The plutonium was manufactured from five nuclear reactors=
 commissioned
between 1955 and 1967. "They are very old reactors and very unsafe," said=
 Igor
Forofontov, radiation specialist with Greenpeace in Moscow.=20
        The three oldest reactors were  closed between 1990 and 1992, and,
under
a 1992 agreement  between Moscow and Washington aimed at halting plutonium
production, all five reactors should have been closed down by this year.=20
        But two reactors are still operating, providing heating and=
 electricity
to Tomsk. "The authorities have no intention of closing them," Mr =
 Forofontov
said.=20
        An explosion ripped through the plant in 1993 which resulted in=
 large
amounts of radioactivity being emitted. Mr Forofontov also said lethal=
 amounts
of radioactivity were leaking into the soil and the water in the region=
 because
of the practice of storing waste from the reactors in liquid form which is=
 then
pumped deep below ground.=20
        Last summer, the Russian monitors spent two months touring the most
sensitive nuclear materials production installations - one of the most
dangerous legacies of the Soviet era - at Chelyabinsk, Krasnoyarsk,
Novosibirsk, and Tomsk.=20
        But the environmentalists' findings in Tomsk were the most alarming.
"The nuclear waste is being piped straight into the environment," said Norm
Buske, one of the American researchers and an oceanographer and physicist.
"This has not been done anywhere in the world since the cold war."=20
        The monitors were unable to pinpoint the source of the pollution
because
they were not granted access to the secret plant. Mr Pashchenko and 10 of=
 his
colleagues were detained for six hours questioning by the FSB, the successor=
 to
the KGB, while carrying out research around Novosibirsk last summer.=20
        At Seversk they were told the town  was closed but that they could
carry
out research in the rivers a few miles away. The environmentalists found
contaminated fish with radioactivity more than 20 times the safety level,=
 they
said.=20

- - Tell the Candidates to get Off the Hair-Trigger!=20
        With less than a week to go in the Presidential election, the time=
 to
act is now!! We need you help to get messages to the next President of the
United States urging them to take nuclear weapons off of hair-trigger alert.
        The Back From the Back Campaign has gotten over 25,000 post cards=
 sent
to the Bush and Gore campaign headquarters telling them that, if elected,=
 they
should move quickly to get all nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert. As=
 you
know, there are some 5,000 nuclear weapons on hyper-alert status=97poised=
 for
launch at a moment=92s notice. This policy is an accident waiting to happen.=
=20
        Take look at our Flash file below and come to our new updated web=
 site
at http://www.backfromthebrink.org and send your own message to the
Presidential
candidates. And "flash" your friends. The more people that see this, the
message we will send to the candidates, and the less chance the missiles=
 will
really fly.
        PS =96 If you can=92t open the flash just press here:
http://backfromthebrink.policy.net/brinkfla.vtml
Ira Shorr  <mailto:[e-mail]>=20

- - Part three of the DU articles originally printed in Japan.=20
        The third part of a great series of articles on DU by Japanese=
 writer
Akira Tashiro are now available on the Web. This is the English translation=
 of
the articles Akira wrote for the newspaper, The Chugoku Shimbun, one of the
most popular newspapers in Japan. You can reach to them by clicking the
following address:=20
http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/abom/uran/index_e.html  [From: Tara Thornton
<mailto:[e-mail]>]

- - The NRC is taking comments until Nov. 17th regarding their report on=
 reusing
radioactive soil (see the bottom of the article). Thanks to Jeff Schmidt for
passing this info along.=
 http://ens-news.com/ens/oct2000/2000L-10-19-15.html.=20
[From: Mike Ewall <[e-mail]]




______________________________________________________________

*   Peace Through Reason - http://prop1.org - Convert the War Machines!  *
        Online Petition - http://www.PetitionOnline.com/prop1/petition.html
            NucNews - Today and Archives -
http://prop1.org/nucnews/briefslv.htm
______________________________________________________________

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