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From: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com (abolition-usa-digest) To: abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: abolition-usa-digest V1 #426 Reply-To: abolition-usa-digest Sender: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk abolition-usa-digest Tuesday, March 6 2001 Volume 01 : Number 426 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 03 Mar 2001 19:51:10 -0800 From: Andrew Lichterman <alichterman@worldnet.att.net> Subject: (abolition-usa) russian subcritical controversy again The New York Times March 4, 2001 Dispute on Russian Tests Divides Nuclear Experts By WILLIAM J. BROAD with PATRICK E. TYLER or half a decade, Russia has conducted what it says are nonnuclear tests under the ground of an Arctic island, as the United States says it does beneath the Nevada desert. But the tests have caused bitter divisions among intelligence officials and nuclear analysts in Washington. Some have concluded that Russia is lying and is instead detonating small nuclear blasts; other experts say that charge is reckless and probably wrong. "This question," one intelligence analyst said, "is tearing the community into pieces." Beyond the dispute is the question of what, if anything, to do if Russia is lying. Led by Republicans, the Senate rejected the global ban on nuclear explosions and it is unclear whether the United States would now accuse Russia of violating it. Paradoxically, the rejected test- ban treaty had provisions for inspections by which the United States could have sought to examine the Russian test site. Still, Russia's truthfulness is relevant since underground tests serve to perfect new kinds of nuclear warheads. President Clinton was briefed on the dispute shortly before he left office and the Bush administration is reviewing it, federal scientists and officials said. The White House offered no view. "We're not going to comment on intelligence matters," said Mary Ellen Countryman, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council. Russia strongly denies any deception and says the tests comply with permitted practice. And some federal experts called the charge most likely false, saying the evidence is weak and the analyses flawed. The intelligence analysts behind the charge have a history of suspecting the worst of Russia, and in one case of embarrassing the United States by accusing Moscow of conducting a nuclear blast that turned out to be an earth tremor. Such analysts have criticized the test ban treaty as hard to monitor. Moreover, the nuclear scientists who are taking part in the analyses often oppose bans on testing weapons they have designed, and some have argued for renewed American testing. But both sides are said to agree that Moscow is doing more at the Arctic island, Novaya Zemlya, than it has acknowledged. "It's certain," a federal official said, "that the announced activity doesn't tell the whole story." A positive outcome of the current dispute, said a senior federal science adviser, could be more intrusive means of verification at the nuclear test sites of both sides, which might cut through the fog of suspicion. "These are examples," he said, "of why we need more transparency." The silence at most of the world's nuclear test sites comes after a half century of explosions in which new and old designs were checked to see how well they worked. The ban on such tests seeks to curb arms developments and races. To diplomatic acclaim, President Clinton signed the test ban in 1996 after championing its adoption. It allows small tests in which nuclear materials are thrown together as long as the experiments have an energy output equal to zero. In other words, "zero yield" experiments are to produce absolutely no burst of nuclear energy, however tiny, and are widely agreed to have no use in designing new warheads. The dispute centers on an inherently tricky area of test-ban verification in which nuclear blasts have yields too small to produce the kind of powerful shock waves that distant nations can track easily as faint rumbles in bedrock. Because of that, the debate tends to turn on sketchy evidence, worst-case scenarios and skeptical retorts. Russian officials, in denying any violations of the ban, said military scientists on Novaya Zemlya are doing nothing more than simple experiments far too weak to represent an atomic blast. In an interview, the head of the development and testing of nuclear weapons at Moscow's Atomic Energy Ministry, Nikolai P. Voloshin, said "We are not violating the treaty, absolutely." Russia says it is doing so-called subcritical tests that are allowed under the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which 160 nations have signed. While so far unratified, the ban is mostly observed in practice; Moscow has pledged to abide by its rules. Subcritical explosions use nuclear fuel like plutonium in small discharges that stop short of producing a self-sustaining chain reaction that releases any nuclear energy. But some federal intelligence analysts charge that Russia is engaging in a type of outlawed test known as hydronuclear. In those tests, metallic bomb parts are thrown together explosively, liquefying (thus the hydro) while releasing small amounts of nuclear energy. The tests stop short of a large blast, releasing perhaps a millionth of the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. Experts agree that hydronuclear tests can have some use in the design of new nuclear arms, although the extent is debated. The intelligence team that says Russia is lying includes Lawrence Turnbull, a Central Intelligence Agency analyst, and Charles Craft, a Sandia National Laboratory analyst, officials said. Mr. Craft leads a panel of the Joint Atomic Energy Intelligence Committee, a group that represents the nuclear views of many federal agencies. The two, officials added, form the core of a group within the intelligence community that believes that it has evidence that Moscow is going over the hydronuclear line in an effort to develop new kinds of nuclear arms. Part of the team's evidence, a federal official said, centers on highly sensitive intelligence sources that are seen as giving Washington a clearer view into Moscow's activities on Novaya Zemlya. Neither Mr. Turnbull nor Mr. Craft responded to requests for comment. Officials said the State Department is skeptical of the accusation and has written formal rebuttals. The differing sides in the dispute are trying to influence the formal process by which the federal government periodically makes judgments about secret foreign activities. This National Intelligence Estimate seeks to describe the likely state of development in the Russian nuclear program. Fueling mistrust, officials said, is the sheer bustle on the hilly island, a seemingly barren place about 500 miles long and 500 miles east of Murmansk, inside the Artic Circle. They said American surveillance has observed a flurry of experimental work as well as Russian planes and ships ferrying supplies and nuclear crews back and forth. "There's lots of interest, activity and money involved," said a top federal science adviser. "So you can understand why people are suspicious." Mr. Turnbull and his allies have a history of faulty analyses. In August 1997 they told the White House that the Russians might have conducted an underground test at Novaya Zemlya. But after seismic experts challenged that assessment, the C.I.A. retracted that finding and said the tremor was actually a nearby undersea earthquake. "They've got an ax to grind and are still trying to save face from that," said one federal science adviser. Defenders of Mr. Turnbull note that Russia has often cheated on arms-control treaties, and that top Russian experts are arguing for new nuclear arms. In Moscow, Viktor N. Mikhailov, a former minister of atomic energy who still wields much power, has been quoted as advocating "a new generation of super precise nuclear weapons." But Frank von Hippel, a physicist at Princeton University who advised the Clinton administration on the nuclear test ban, said he had heard rumors of the intelligence dispute and considered the violation charge irresponsible. "As far as I can tell," he said, Washington has no evidence "that would prove that the Russian activities are any different than those that the U.S. conducts at the Nevada test site." If the intelligence team's finding becomes the American view, it might stir a political storm. Even though the Senate in 1999 rejected the test ban by a vote of 51 to 48, the United States is currently conducting no nuclear tests, and weapons experts said the perception of a Russian violation could erode or end support for testing restraint. Many arms-control experts see small nuclear tests such as those allegedly being done by Russia as too small to be militarily significant, and argue that branding Russia as a test- ban violator on the basis of slim evidence poses more risks than benefits. But some intelligence analysts argue that Moscow over the decades has learned to tease so much information from small tests that the secretive work could produce new classes of nuclear arms. Federal experts said the dispute does not appear to be politically motivated or timed to the change of administrations. Novaya Zemlya is covered with snow and ice most of the year. Starting in 1955, Russia conducted more than 100 nuclear blasts there, the last in October 1990. Since 1995, Russia has used the remote wilderness for what it says are permissible underground experiments to maintain the reliability of its nuclear arms. From last August through October, Russia announced a series of small tests there. Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company - -- Andrew Lichterman Program Director Western States Legal Foundation 1504 Franklin St. Suite 202 Oakland, CA 94612 USA phone: +1 (510) 839-5877 fax: +1 (510) 839-5397 web site: www.wslfweb.org - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" 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: Mon, 05 Mar 2001 13:31:51 -0500 From: Kevin Martin <kmartin@fourthfreedom.org> Subject: (abolition-usa) Alliance for Nuclear Acoountability's DC Days 2001 - --------------521A5299F468332BA42FD715 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Please forward to appropriate contacts, and apologies for duplicate postings. THE ALLIANCE FOR NUCLEAR ACCOUNTABILITY'S ..... DC DAYS 2001!! NUCLEAR ACCOUNTABILITY TO PROTECT OUR FUTURE April 29 - May 2 2001 Join activists from around the nation for four days in Washington DC focused on the Nuclear Weapons Complex. This is a unique opportunity to meet with members of Congress and government officials, and to learn how to effectively voice your concerns about nuclear weapons, cleanup, health and nuclear waste policies. ANA's DC Days begins with a day-long, in-depth training on issues and skills that will help you be a more effective advocate. The next three days are devoted to meetings with Members of Congress, key Administration officials, and their staffs. In addition, join us for a pizza party Monday night and an award reception on Capitol Hill Tuesday night to honor members of Congress, activists and others for their work on nuclear weapons and waste issues. Dates: DC Days runs from Sunday, April 29 through Wednesday, May 2, 2001. Check ANA's Web Site for more details and to register! http://www.ananuclear.org ANA's DC Days Coordinator: Kathy Crandall (202-833-4668) Fax: (202-234-9536) E-mail: kathycrandall@earthlink.net Registration: Registration forms are due on April 6. There is a registration fee of $60 to help us defray the costs of expenses. Your registration includes the Sunday Training and lunch, briefing packets, attendance at lobby visits, Tuesday evening's reception, snacks at the DC DAYS headquarters and use of the office equipment there. There are separate tickets for a Monday night pizza party, sold for $10 each. To obtain registration information, please contact Kathy Crandall at (202-833-4668) or by e-mail at kathycrandall@earthlink.net - --------------521A5299F468332BA42FD715 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit <!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> <tt>Please forward to appropriate contacts, and apologies for duplicate postings.</tt> <tt>THE ALLIANCE FOR NUCLEAR ACCOUNTABILITY'S ..... DC DAYS 2001!!</tt> <tt>NUCLEAR ACCOUNTABILITY TO PROTECT OUR FUTURE</tt> <tt>April 29 - May 2 2001</tt> <tt>Join activists from around the nation for four days in Washington DC</tt> <tt>focused on the Nuclear Weapons Complex. This is a unique opportunity to</tt> <tt>meet with members of Congress and government officials, and to learn how</tt> <tt>to effectively voice your concerns about nuclear weapons, cleanup,</tt> <tt>health and nuclear waste policies.</tt> <tt>ANA's DC Days begins with a day-long, in-depth training on issues and</tt> <tt>skills that will help you be a more effective advocate. The next three</tt> <tt>days are devoted to meetings with Members of Congress, key</tt> <tt>Administration officials, and their staffs.</tt> <tt>In addition, join us for a pizza party Monday night and an award</tt> <tt>reception on Capitol Hill Tuesday night to honor members of Congress,</tt> <tt>activists and others for their work on nuclear weapons and waste issues.</tt> <tt>Dates: DC Days runs from Sunday, April 29 through Wednesday, May 2,</tt> <tt>2001.</tt> <tt>Check ANA's Web Site for more details and to register!</tt> <tt><a href="http://www.ananuclear.org">http://www.ananuclear.org</a></tt> <tt>ANA's DC Days Coordinator: Kathy Crandall (202-833-4668)</tt> <tt>Fax: (202-234-9536) E-mail: kathycrandall@earthlink.net</tt> <tt>Registration: Registration forms are due on April 6. There is a</tt> <tt>registration fee of $60 to help us defray the costs of expenses. Your</tt> <tt>registration includes the Sunday Training and lunch, briefing packets,</tt> <tt>attendance at lobby visits, Tuesday evening's reception, snacks at the</tt> <tt>DC DAYS headquarters and use of the office equipment there. There are</tt> <tt>separate tickets for a Monday night pizza party, sold for $10 each. To</tt> <tt>obtain registration information, please contact Kathy Crandall at</tt> <tt>(202-833-4668) or by e-mail at kathycrandall@earthlink.net</tt></html> - --------------521A5299F468332BA42FD715-- - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" 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: Mon, 05 Mar 2001 17:43:44 -0800 From: Joan Russow <jrussow@coastnet.com> Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) Urgent! Sign-on request from our Russian enviro colleagues Please sign me on Joan Russow (Phd) Global Compliance Research Project 1230 St. Patrick St Victoria, B.C. V8S 4Y4 CANADAAt 01:10 PM 02/28/2001 -0500, you wrote: >Please sign us on, Marylia. > >Ellen Thomas >Executive Director > >PROPOSITION ONE COMMITTEE >P.O. Box 27217, Washington, DC 20038 USA >202-462-0757 (phone) | 202-265-5389 (fax) >http://prop1.org | prop1@prop1.org > > *** > > BAN ALL RADIOACTIVE BOMBS >* depleted uranium, fission, neutron * > >Online Petition! - http://www.PetitionOnline.com/prop1/petition.html >Write Letter to Congress about HR-2545 - http://prop1.org/prop1/letter.htm >Depleted uranium keeps on killing! - http://prop1@prop1.org/2000/du/dulv.htm >NucNews - >http://prop1.org/nucnews/briefslv.htm > > >- > To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" > 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. > > - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" 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: Mon, 05 Mar 2001 17:44:20 -0800 From: Joan Russow <jrussow@coastnet.com> Subject: (abolition-usa) update on Abolition 2000 treaty Dear Alice I have just resigned as leader of the Green Party of Canada. I have just run in two consecutive federal elections in Canada and have not kept up on what is happening with Abolition 2000's proposal for a treaty to be signed by the members States of the UN. All the best JOan At 09:04 PM 02/28/2001 -0500, you wrote: >Hi Bruce--I'm thrilled that you all did such a good job. We're just going to >keep building the links. I have a call in to Jerry Mander to ask him what's >next to make sure we're included. love, Alice > >At 04:15 PM 02/26/2001 -0500, you wrote: >>Alice, >> >>I wanted to thank you for making it possible for Karl & I to speak at the >>IFG event at Hunter College. >> >>I think our space panel went real well. I spent alot of time tabling >>before/after it and got lots of good comments from folks. Then our >>workshop on Sunday also was well received. >> >>We picked up lots of new contacts and I'm sure the issue will now be given >>more play within globalization efforts. >> >>Thanks for your confidence and support. >> >>Bruce >> >> >> >> > >- > To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" > 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. > > - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" 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: Mon, 5 Mar 2001 18:29:20 -0700 From: Carah Lynn Ong <admin@abolition2000.org> Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) update on Abolition 2000 treaty - --============_-1228280334==_ma============ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" Dear All, In response to Joan's recent message about the progress of Abolition 2000, below is an Abolition 2000 update, which will be mailed to member organizations very shortly. Best, Carah Ong ABOLITION 2000 UPDATE Abolition 2000 Review and Strategy Meeting From 17-20 November, a Global Citizens' Assembly for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons was held in Nagasaki, Japan. The Assembly had several unique features in that it was the last antinuclear NGO conference of the 20th century and was held in the last city bombed by an atomic weapon. Antinuclear non-governmental organization leaders from around the world joined world citizens to generate a new vision for the 21st century based on activities and experiences of the past. At the conclusion of the Assembly, the enclosed Nagasaki Appeal was adopted. As part of the Nagasaki Meeting Abolition 2000 also held a Review and Strategy Meeting prior to the conference and Abolition 2000 activities were also introduced and discussed during the formal plenary and workshop sessions. Adoption of Amendment to Abolition 2000 Statement and Petition In October 2000, the Abolition 2000 Coordinating Committee (ACC) put forward a proposal to Network Members participating on the various abolition listserves to amend the Abolition 2000 statement and asking for input prior to the Review and Strategy Meeting in Nagasaki. After consulting with the Global Council, the ACC proposed the deletion of the phrase "by the year 2000" from the Abolition 2000 Statement with a footnote explaining that this was removed in the year 2000. Many email messages from member organizations were received prior to the conference in Nagasaki agreeing to the proposed changes. Those in attendance at the Review and Strategy Meeting adopted by consensus the proposed amendment to both the Abolition 2000 Statement and Petition. The meeting agreed to amend the A2000 statement and the A2000 petition to remove the words "by the year 2000" in the paragraph calling for negotiations on a nuclear weapons convention. The full text of the amended statement and a new petition is enclosed with this Mailing. The Atomic Mirror presented the Abolition 2000 Report Card "Must Try Harder" to the meeting as an overview of what the Network had achieved since it was created. This, and the annual Report Cards for 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000, are available on the Abolition 2000 Website at: http://www.abolition2000.org/reports/reportcard2000.html For a hard copy contact the Atomic Mirror at: P.O. Box 220 Port Hueneme, CA 93044 tel: 805 985 5073 fax: 805 985 7563 email: info@atomicmirror.org Developing the Network: * There is a need for better methods of rapid information sharing and dissemination as well as more translation into different languages of Network materials and issue updates. * The Network and its members should issue expressions of global solidarity to organizations and movements working on similar or connected issues. (See enclosed Abolition 2000 Message of Support to the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace in India.) * The Network needs better coordination of actions and activities. * The Network needs more Regional Contacts who are active in order to stimulate Network actions and information sharing, particularly in regional languages. * The Network needs to maintain both a simple message in order to create a critical mass as well as an expertise in nuclear issues. * The Network needs to maintain a balance between head and heart. Ideas for Action: * The Network should use and support mechanisms, like the NPT, already in place to apply pressure on both the NWS and the NNWS. * The Network should promote the Nuclear Weapons Convention (NWC) and use it as a tool to outreach to the media and general public. * Ballistic Missile Defense is currently a hot topic and the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space also acts and should be supported as the Abolition 2000 Working Group on this subject. * The Network should continue to explore the idea of an International Control Regime. There is currently an Abolition 2000 Working Group in development on this subject. * There was interest from the participants at the Nagasaki meeting to support Secretary General Koffi Annan's proposal for an International Conference on Nuclear Dangers. * The Network should explore and support regional conferences (among national governments) in order to create preconditions for a broader international conference on nuclear abolition. * The Network should approach nuclear weapons abolition in terms of a step towards general and complete disarmament. * The Network should initiate and support speaking tours on the NWC in various countries. Staff Changes: Carah Ong, who has served as the Abolition 2000 Coordinator since 1998, has accepted a position with Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF). NAPF will pledge the equivalent of one day per week of Carah's time to answer queries, edit the Grassroots Newsletter and continue to maintain the A2000 database and website. The Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE) has agreed to fund the position of an Outreach and Development Coordinator for the Network for one year who will work out of the New York office of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. (see attached job description). The Outreach and Development Coordinator will be managed by the ACC. The ACC will also develop a forward looking proposal for funding for a fulltime coordinator matching the location of the successful candidate with the location of an organization willing to host the office. What your group can do: * Use the amended petition to raise the profile of Abolition 2000 * Plan activities for the Abolition 2000 Week of Action from March 1 to 8 this year * Generate lots of letters to your government with a copy to Koffi Annan in support of the UN Secretary General's Millennial Summit call for an International Conference on the issue of nuclear abolition. Enclosed is a copy of the draft letter, which was sent to him by the Abolition Coordinating Committee. Please copy Carah Ong with anything you, your organization or your individual members send. * Let your members know about our Working Groups and see if any are interested in representing your organization on the various Working Groups in the Network. September 1, 2000 Honorable Kofi Annan Secretary General United Nations 38th Floor New York, NY 10017 Dear Secretary General Kofi Annan, We are writing to you on behalf of Abolition 2000, a global network to eliminate nuclear weapons. Abolition 2000, which was formed at the time of the 1995 NonProliferation Treaty Review and Extension Conference, has grown to a network of over 2,000 organizations and municipalities in 95 countries. Enclosed is a copy of the Abolition 2000 Statement, the founding document of the Network, with its eleven-point program for the complete and verifiable elimination of nuclear weapons. We strongly support your proposal for a global conference on nuclear disarmament. We see this as a pragmatic and necessary step to break the current deadlock in nuclear disarmament efforts and to forward the commitment made at the recent NonProliferation Treaty Review Conference for "an unequivocal undertaking by the nuclear weapons states to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals..." The Abolition 2000 Global Network will actively lobby governments before, during and after the Millennium Summit for a global conference on nuclear disarmament. Please let us know if there are any specific ways in which we can help you furthering this goal. With very best wishes. Sincerely, The Abolition 2000 Coordinating Committee - --============_-1228280334==_ma============ Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" <!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <html><head><style type="text/css"></style><title>Re: (abolition-usa) update on Abolition 2000 treaty</title></head><body> <div>Dear All,</div> <div> </div> <div>In response to Joan's recent message about the progress of Abolition 2000, below is an Abolition 2000 update, which will be mailed to member organizations very shortly.</div> <div> </div> <div>Best,</div> <div>Carah Ong</div> <div> </div> <div>ABOLITION 2000 UPDATE Abolition 2000 Review and Strategy Meeting From 17-20 November, a Global Citizens' Assembly for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons was held in Nagasaki, Japan. The Assembly had several unique features in that it was the last antinuclear NGO conference of the 20th century and was held in the last city bombed by an atomic weapon. Antinuclear non-governmental organization leaders from around the world joined world citizens to generate a new vision for the 21st century based on activities and experiences of the past. At the conclusion of the Assembly, the enclosed Nagasaki Appeal was adopted. As part of the Nagasaki Meeting Abolition 2000 also held a Review and Strategy Meeting prior to the conference and Abolition 2000 activities were also introduced and discussed during the formal plenary and workshop sessions. Adoption of Amendment to Abolition 2000 Statement and Petition In October 2000, the Abolition 2000 Coordinating Committee (ACC) put forward a proposal to Network Members participating on the various abolition listserves to amend the Abolition 2000 statement and asking for input prior to the Review and Strategy Meeting in Nagasaki. After consulting with the Global Council, the ACC proposed the deletion of the phrase "by the year 2000" from the Abolition 2000 Statement with a footnote explaining that this was removed in the year 2000. Many email messages from member organizations were received prior to the conference in Nagasaki agreeing to the proposed changes. Those in attendance at the Review and Strategy Meeting adopted by consensus the proposed amendment to both the Abolition 2000 Statement and Petition. The meeting agreed to amend the A2000 statement and the A2000 petition to remove the words "by the year 2000" in the paragraph calling for negotiations on a nuclear weapons convention. The full text of the amended statement and a new petition is enclosed with this Mailing. The Atomic Mirror presented the Abolition 2000 Report Card "Must Try Harder" to the meeting as an overview of what the Network had achieved since it was created. This, and the annual Report Cards for 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000, are available on the Abolition 2000 Website at: http://www.abolition2000.org/reports/reportcard2000.html For a hard copy contact the Atomic Mirror at: P.O. Box 220 Port Hueneme, CA 93044 tel: 805 985 5073 fax: 805 985 7563 email: info@atomicmirror.org Developing the Network: * There is a need for better methods of rapid information sharing and dissemination as well as more translation into different languages of Network materials and issue updates. * The Network and its members should issue expressions of global solidarity to organizations and movements working on similar or connected issues. (See enclosed Abolition 2000 Message of Support to the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace in India.) * The Network needs better coordination of actions and activities. * The Network needs more Regional Contacts who are active in order to stimulate Network actions and information sharing, particularly in regional languages. * The Network needs to maintain both a simple message in order to create a critical mass as well as an expertise in nuclear issues. * The Network needs to maintain a balance between head and heart. Ideas for Action: * The Network should use and support mechanisms, like the NPT, already in place to apply pressure on both the NWS and the NNWS. * The Network should promote the Nuclear Weapons Convention (NWC) and use it as a tool to outreach to the media and general public. * Ballistic Missile Defense is currently a hot topic and the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space also acts and should be supported as the Abolition 2000 Working Group on this subject.</div> <div> * The Network should continue to explore the idea of an International Control Regime. There is currently an Abolition 2000 Working Group in development on this subject. * There was interest from the participants at the Nagasaki meeting to support Secretary General Koffi Annan's proposal for an International Conference on Nuclear Dangers. * The Network should explore and support regional conferences (among national governments) in order to create preconditions for a broader international conference on nuclear abolition. * The Network should approach nuclear weapons abolition in terms of a step towards general and complete disarmament. * The Network should initiate and support speaking tours on the NWC in various countries. Staff Changes: Carah Ong, who has served as the Abolition 2000 Coordinator since 1998, has accepted a position with Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF). NAPF will pledge the equivalent of one day per week of Carah's time to answer queries, edit the Grassroots Newsletter and continue to maintain the A2000 database and website. The Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE) has agreed to fund the position of an Outreach and Development Coordinator for the Network for one year who will work out of the New York office of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. (see attached job description). The Outreach and Development Coordinator will be managed by the ACC. The ACC will also develop a forward looking proposal for funding for a fulltime coordinator matching the location of the successful candidate with the location of an organization willing to host the office. What your group can do: * Use the amended petition to raise the profile of Abolition 2000 * Plan activities for the Abolition 2000 Week of Action from March 1 to 8 this year * Generate lots of letters to your government with a copy to Koffi Annan in support of the UN Secretary General's Millennial Summit call for an International Conference on the issue of nuclear abolition. Enclosed is a copy of the draft letter, which was sent to him by the Abolition Coordinating Committee. Please copy Carah Ong with anything you, your organization or your individual members send. * Let your members know about our Working Groups and see if any are interested in representing your organization on the various Working Groups in the Network. September 1, 2000 Honorable Kofi Annan Secretary General United Nations 38th Floor New York, NY 10017 Dear Secretary General Kofi Annan, We are writing to you on behalf of Abolition 2000, a global network to eliminate nuclear weapons. Abolition 2000, which was formed at the time of the 1995 NonProliferation Treaty Review and Extension Conference, has grown to a network of over 2,000 organizations and municipalities in 95 countries. Enclosed is a copy of the Abolition 2000 Statement, the founding document of the Network, with its eleven-point program for the complete and verifiable elimination of nuclear weapons. We strongly support your proposal for a global conference on nuclear disarmament. We see this as a pragmatic and necessary step to break the current deadlock in nuclear disarmament efforts and to forward the commitment made at the recent NonProliferation Treaty Review Conference for "an unequivocal undertaking by the nuclear weapons states to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals..." The Abolition 2000 Global Network will actively lobby governments before, during and after the Millennium Summit for a global conference on nuclear disarmament. Please let us know if there are any specific ways in which we can help you furthering this goal. With very best wishes. Sincerely, The Abolition 2000 Coordinating Committee </div> </body> </html> - --============_-1228280334==_ma============-- - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" 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: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 09:08:47 -0800 From: marylia@earthlink.net (marylia) Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) Urgent! Sign-on request from our Russian enviro colleagues Thanks! Peace, Marylia >--- Ellen Thomas <prop1@prop1.org> wrote: >> Please sign us on, Marylia. >> >> Ellen Thomas >> Executive Director >> >> PROPOSITION ONE COMMITTEE >> P.O. Box 27217, Washington, DC 20038 USA >> 202-462-0757 (phone) | 202-265-5389 (fax) >> http://prop1.org | prop1@prop1.org >> >> *** 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! (925) 443-7148 - is our phone (925) 443-0177 - 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. - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" 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: Tue, 06 Mar 2001 18:24:34 +0000 From: Sally Light <sallight1@earthlink.net> Subject: (abolition-usa) 49 arrested at NDE Lenten action at the Nevada Test Site Dear Abolitionists, Last Sunday, March 4, 2001, the final day of Nevada Desert Experience's 20th annual Lenten Desert Experience, about 60 people of different faiths came together at the Nevada Test Site's Mercury entrance (about 65 miles north of Las Vegas) to protest the "subcritical" nuclear tests and the many other nuclear-related activities that occur there. After a sunrise ceremony led by Corbin Harney, the traditional spiritual leader of the Western Shoshone people, followed by an interfaith Lenten service, the group processed silently to the gates. Most filed in twos, while about 15 formed a blockade across the road holding a banner. 49 decided to cross the line after Corbin Harney made an inspiring speech for the immediate closure of the Test Site and the return of the land to the Western Shoshone. After a brief time in the holding pen at that entrance, all 49 were cited for trespass and then released. The land where the Test Site sits is the traditional homeland of the Western Shoshone. In the 1950s, the US took that land, in violation of the Treaty of Ruby Valley between the US and the Western Shoshone, for nuclear weapons testing. Over 900 nuclear weapons tests have been conducted there, creating what some refer to as the "most devastated place on Earth." Although full-blown nuclear testing was ended at the end of the cold war, the US continues to conduct underground "subcritical" nuclear tests at the Test Site (these are detonations of high explosives along with fissile materials). Critics say these tests continue to radioactively contaminate the environment, endanger public health and safety, undermine the ongoing international ratification process of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and violate Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Since 1981, Nevada Desert Experience has held peaceful resistance actions at the Test Site, protesting the nuclear threat and supporting the claims of the Western Shoshone to the land. For two decades, Nevada Desert Experience has organized literally 1000s of people from all over the world for these spiritually-based protests. On the day before the protest, Bruce Gagnon, Coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space was the keynote speaker featured by Nevada Desert Experience as part of its 3-day Lenten Desert Experience. Bruce spoke about the "Star Wars" program now being developed by the US. His address also included information about the Test Site's possible role as the future site of a commerically-licensed space launch facility run by a private corporation - the Kistler Aerospace Corporation. For further information, please contact Nevada Desert Experience at (702) 646-4814, or (510) 527-2057. Sally Light, Executive Director Nevada Desert Experience Las Vegas Office: P.O. Box 46645, Las Vegas, NV 89114, (702) 646-4814. California Office: P.O. Box 7849, Oakland, CA 94601, (510) 527-2057. Web Site: www.NevadaDesertExperience.org Email: nde@igc.org - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" 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. ------------------------------ End of abolition-usa-digest V1 #426 *********************************** - To unsubscribe to $LIST, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe $LIST" 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.