ftp.xmission.com/2014.06.ftp.xmission.com.tar/ftp.xmission.com/pub/lists/abolition-usa/archive/v01.n465

Internet Message Format | 2001-09-14 | 45KB

From: [e-mail] (abolition-usa-digest)
To: [e-mail]
Subject: abolition-usa-digest V1 #465
Reply-To: abolition-usa-digest
Sender: [e-mail]
Errors-To: [e-mail]
Precedence: bulk


abolition-usa-digest   Saturday, September 15 2001   Volume 01 : Number 465




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

Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 11:09:59 -0400
From: [e-mail] (by way of ASlater <[e-mail]>)
Subject: (abolition-usa) Advocates of Missile Defense

Dear Friends,
Here's what we're up against, although September 11th may have changed this
equation.  Alice

National Journal News Service:  LOBBYING: The Missile Defense
Brigade Not too long ago, defense industry lobbyists thought President Bush
had a good shot at winning from Congress the $8.3 billion that he wants for
missile defense spending next year, despite a host of political objections
and technological questions about the program.  But that was before last
month's gloomy news about the budget and the eroding federal surplus. Now,
these lobbyists are girding for a much tougher appropriations fight than
they had expected. Pentagon contractors are tapping veteran outside defense
consultants and new lobbying recruits-including grassroots specialists and
public relations firms-as part of a fall offensive to help enlist more money
for the missile shield project.  Further, conservative groups that have long
dreamed of, and advocated the need for, a national missile shield are
revving up their own lobbying and advertising efforts to boost the industry
efforts.  With Democrats primed to attack the President's request in part on
fiscal grounds, missile defense promoters acknowledge it will be difficult
to boost spending on the program by 57 percent next year, as Bush wants.
"The sale hasn't been made yet to the American public," said former Rep. Bob
Livingston, R-La., who runs the Livingston Group and lobbies on the issue
for Raytheon Co. "All of this has to be sold on the heels of the tax cut."
Livingston, who chaired the House Appropriations Committee, said that
"industry has an obligation to help build the case for missile defense" by
strongly supporting the Administration's budget numbers in the upcoming
appropriations struggle.  Boeing Co. is working hard in support of the
Administration. As the prime contractor on the missile shield program-which
so far has involved only research and development, not procurement-Boeing
has a big stake in the outcome. To deliver its message to Capitol Hill and
the public at large, Boeing recently tapped two of K Street's premier
lobbying and public affairs shops. Bonner & Associates Inc. hopes to build
public support through grassroots work, while Powell Tate is handling the
overall PR drive. Both firms declined to comment on the campaign, as did
Boeing.  Boeing also recently hired Alan Myer, who helped write President
Reagan's famous speech in 1983 that launched the "Star Wars" initiative.
Myer helped prep five scientists to deal more effectively with the media.
The scientists appeared in May at a Washington news conference to counter
press coverage that had focused on missile defense critics and their
concerns.  Meanwhile, Raytheon-besides deploying Livingston to visit old
buddies on the Appropriations panel-has done joint inside-the-Beltway
advertising with TRW on one component of the missile defense shield that the
two companies are developing together. Raytheon was also one of the few
defense firms to support a June symposium on missile defense that was held
at Valley Forge, Pa. The event drew some important officials, including Lt.
Gen. Ronald Kadish, the director of the Defense Department's Ballistic
Missile Defense Organization; and Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., the chairman of
the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Readiness.  Like other
contractors, Raytheon is following a two-pronged strategy. It is backing the
Administration's overall budget request while lobbying to save the line-item
funding for the specific components that bring business to the company,
including Raytheon's radar system.  Industry lobbyists are focusing
especially hard on the Republican-controlled House, which, they say, has to
at minimum support the Administration's numbers. The Democratic-controlled
Senate is likely to try to cut deeply into Bush's $8.3 billion request.  The
battle between those who want missile defense and those who don't will be
complicated by the more pessimistic budget projections, says Livingston, who
was a big advocate for missile defense when he served in Congress. "It's a
new budget dynamic, but it's not necessarily a straitjacket," he said.  A
number of conservative groups are conveying similar messages to Capitol Hill
and constituents outside the Beltway, and these groups are stepping up their
advocacy to help the Administration realize one of the Right's
long-cherished dreams.  In recent months, Frank J. Gaffney Jr., a Pentagon
official in the Reagan Administration and one of the country's leading
champions of missile defense, has been hosting a weekly conclave in which
conservative allies share information and discuss lobbying strategies. Among
the most active participants in this new coalition, called Americans for
Missile Defense, have been the American Conservative Union, Americans for
Tax Reform, and the S.A.F.E. Foundation.  David Keene, the chairman of the
ACU, says that Gaffney, who runs the conservative Center for Security
Policy, approached his group about holding regular sessions to boost the
coalition's effort. "Our job is to coordinate," said Keene.  Americans for
Missile Defense operates a Web page of briefing materials and has launched a
drive to raise about $1 million to help underwrite a radio, print, and
television ad blitz in selected congressional districts and in Washington.
"The idea that we shouldn't go down this road goes against the grain" of
most Americans, Keene argued. "It's really a question of focusing
attention."  Kevin Generous, the president of the S.A.F.E. Foundation, a
nonprofit that promotes military programs, said his group is trying to raise
money for a multimillion-dollar ad effort aimed at increasing public backing
for the deployment of a missile defense shield. "Our focus is to build
support outside the Beltway," he said. Generous said that Rep. Weldon had a
hand in getting the group going in late 1998 when he suggested that a
grassroots effort would be useful. Weldon serves on the S.A.F.E. board and
has arranged meetings between the group and other lawmakers, such as Rep.
Bud Cramer Jr., D-Ala. S.A.F.E. sponsored the May press conference at which
the five pro-missile defense scientists, along with Weldon, defended the
feasibility of a missile shield to protect the United States.  Generous,
who's also a consultant with the Plexus Consulting Group in Washington, said
he is trying to recruit other constituencies, including labor unions and
celebrities, to aid the cause. He noted that the nation's leading aerospace
union-the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace
Workers-supports higher funding for missile defense. A source close to the
union said it is working side by side with industry during visits to Capitol
Hill.  Further, Generous boasted that his group's board has something of a
secret weapon in the person of Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, a former guitarist with
the rock groups the Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan who has been an outspoken
advocate for missile defense systems.  Baxter said he's trying to woo
celebrities from the music world and other quarters to support the cause.
Baxter has some experience in the defense area, having served as a paid
consultant for a few companies that have financial stakes in the missile
defense business, including California-based General Atomics. The guitarist
also said he has been an informal adviser to congressional leaders on the
issue, such as Reps. Weldon and Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., and Sen. Jon
Kyl, R-Ariz.  Baxter visits the Washington area with some regularity. He is
on the board of regents of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, an
Arlington, Va.-based technology policy shop, and he has also been an
occasional government consultant.  The musician isn't shy about touting his
role in the missile defense effort. "Perhaps the biggest contribution I can
make is to keep the lines of communication open between government, the
military, and industry," he said. By way of explanation, Baxter said that
"stove piping"-a term that refers to one hand not knowing what the other is
doing-"is a real problem in the national security game."  The other side in
the debate isn't quiet, either. Liberal groups have stepped up their efforts
to curb spending on missile defense and to oppose any unilateral move by the
Administration that would abrogate the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty,
the keystone to arms control efforts. Some 14 groups belong to the Coalition
to Reduce Nuclear Dangers, including such stalwarts as the Council for a
Livable World, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Physicians for Social
Responsibility.  In the fight to trim President Bush's funding request, the
liberal groups are pinning their hopes on the Democratic-controlled Senate.
John Isaacs, the president of the Council for a Livable World, said he would
like to raise about $2 million for a national advertising campaign, but
knows that won't be easy. Meanwhile, the council has produced a 180-page
briefing book on the issue for House members and staff, and has started an
e-newsletter, Shield of Dreams, to spread information inside and outside
Washington about the risks of moving too quickly with a missile defense
shield.  These critics argue that although $143 billion has been spent to
date on missile defense research and development, the technology still
doesn't work properly. And they contend that it's dangerous and unnecessary
for the United States to unilaterally abandon the ABM Treaty.  "We're trying
to trim the funds from $8.3 billion," Isaacs said. "The aim is to unify the
[Senate] Democrats around a single position." In particular, the liberal
groups want to block funds requested by the Administration to build a
missile test facility at Fort Greely, Alaska. The plan for Fort Greely would
"violate the ABM Treaty," he said.  Isaacs and other opponents don't see
much hope in the House, given the GOP's strong ideological commitment to the
missile defense issue. "It's a religious issue with so many Republicans that
it will be hard to break GOP members away," Issacs said.  George C. Wilson
of National Journal News Service contributed to this story.  Peter H. Stone
National Journal

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.

- -
 To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "[e-mail]"
 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
 For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send
 "help" to the same address.  Do not use quotes in your message.

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

Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 11:47:20 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: CIA CONNECTIONS COME HOME TO ROOST

>X-Sender: [e-mail]
>X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.0.2
>Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 22:32:29 -0400
>To: (Recipient list suppressed)
>From: Sal Mangiagli <[e-mail]>
>Subject: CIA CONNECTIONS COME HOME TO ROOST
>To: [e-mail]
>X-Loop-Detect: 1
>
>FYi
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space"
><[e-mail]>
>To: <mailto:Undisclosed-Recipient:;@mindspring.com>
>Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2001 11:39 AM
>Subject: BIN LADEN & HIS CIA CONNECTIONS COME HOME TO ROOST
>
>
> > [Note that the date on this story is August 1998, by MSNBC's International
> > Editor]
> >
> > Bin Laden comes home to roost His CIA ties are only the beginning of a
> > woeful story
> >
> > By Michael Moran MSNBC
> > http://msnbc.com/news/190144.asp?cp1=1
> >
> > NEW YORK, Aug. 24, 1998 -  At the CIA, it happens often enough to have a
> > code name: Blowback. Simply defined, this is the term that describes an
> > agent, an operative or an operation that has turned on its creators. Osama
> > bin Laden, our new public enemy Number 1, is the personification of
> > blowback. And the fact that he is viewed as a hero by millions in the
> > Islamic world proves again the old adage: Reap what you sow.
> >
> > BEFORE YOU CLICK on my face and call me naive, let me concede some points.
> > Yes, the West needed Josef Stalin to defeat Hitler. Yes, there were times
> > during the Cold War when supporting one villain (Cambodia's Lon Nol, for
> > instance) would have been better than the alternative (Pol Pot). So yes,
> > there are times when any nation must hold its nose and shake hands with
>the
> > devil for the long-term good of the planet.
> >
> > But just as surely, there are times when the United States, faced
> > with such moral dilemmas, should have resisted the temptation to act.
>Arming
> > a multi- national coalition of Islamic extremists in
> > Afghanistan during the 1980s - well after the destruction of the
> > Marine barracks in Beirut or the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 - was
> > one of those times.
> >
> > BIN LADEN'S BEGINNINGS
> >
> > As anyone who has bothered to read this far certainly knows by now, bin
> > Laden is the heir to Saudi construction fortune who, at least
> > since the early 1990s, has used that money to finance countless
> > attacks on U.S. interests and those of its Arab allies around the
> > world.
> >
> > Osama bin Laden's network
> >
> > As his unclassified CIA biography states, bin Laden left Saudi Arabia
> > to fight the Soviet army in Afghanistan after Moscow's invasion in
> > 1979. By 1984, he was running a front organization known as Maktab
> > al-Khidamar - the MAK - which funneled money, arms and fighters from the
> > outside world into the Afghan war.
> >
> > What the CIA bio conveniently fails to specify (in its unclassified
> > form, at least) is that the MAK was nurtured by Pakistan's state
> > security services, the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI,
> > the CIA's primary conduit for conducting the covert war against
> > Moscow's occupation.
> >
> > By no means was Osama bin Laden the leader of Afghanistan's
> > mujahedeen. His money gave him undue prominence in the Afghan
> > struggle, but the vast majority of those who fought and died for
> > Afghanistan's freedom - like the Taliban regime that now holds sway
> > over most of that tortured nation - were Afghan nationals.
> >
> > Yet the CIA, concerned about the factionalism of Afghanistan made
> > famous by Rudyard Kipling, found that Arab zealots who flocked to aid the
> > Afghans were easier to "read" than the rivalry-ridden natives.
> > While the Arab volunteers might well prove troublesome later, the
> > agency reasoned, they at least were one-dimensionally anti-Soviet for now.
> > So bin Laden, along with a small group of Islamic militants from Egypt,
> > Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria and Palestinian refugee camps all over the Middle
> > East, became the "reliable" partners of the CIA in its war against Moscow.
> >
> > WHAT'S 'INTELLIGENT' ABOUT THIS?
> >
> > Though he has come to represent all that went wrong with the CIA's
> > reckless strategy there, by the end of the Afghan war in 1989, bin
> > Laden was still viewed by the agency as something of a dilettante - a rich
> > Saudi boy gone to war and welcomed home by the Saudi monarchy he so hated
>as
> > something of a hero.
> >
> >  America strikes back
> >
> > In fact, while he returned to his family's construction business, bin
> > Laden had split from the relatively conventional MAK in 1988 and
> > established a new group, al-Qaida, that included many of the more
> > extreme MAK members he had met in Afghanistan.
> >
> > Most of these Afghan vets, or Afghanis, as the Arabs who fought there
>became
> > known, turned up later behind violent Islamic movements around the world.
> > Among them: the GIA in Algeria, thought responsible for the massacres of
> > tens of thousands of civilians; Egypt's Gamat Ismalia, which has massacred
> > western tourists repeatedly in recent years; Saudi Arabia Shiite
>militants,
> > responsible for the Khobar Towers and Riyadh bombings of 1996.
> >
> > Indeed, to this day, those involved in the decision to give the
> > Afghan rebels access to a fortune in covert funding and top-level
> > combat weaponry continue to defend that move in the context of the
> > Cold War. Sen. Orrin Hatch, a senior Republican on the Senate
> > Intelligence Committee making those decisions, told my colleague
> > Robert Windrem that he would make the same call again today even
> > knowing what bin Laden would do subsequently. "It was worth it," he
> > said.
> >
> > "Those were very important, pivotal matters that played an important role
>in
> > the downfall of the Soviet Union," he said.
> >
> > HINDSIGHT OR TUNNEL VISION
> >
> > It should be pointed out that the evidence of bin Laden's connection
> > to these activities is mostly classified, though its hard to imagine
> > the CIA rushing to take credit for a Frankenstein's monster like
> > this.
> >
> > It is also worth acknowledging that it is easier now to oppose the
> > CIA's Afghan adventures than it was when Hatch and company made them in
>the
> > mid-1980s. After all, in 1998 we now know that far larger elements than
> > Afghanistan were corroding the communist party's grip on power in Moscow.
> >
> > Even Hatch can't be blamed completely. The CIA, ever mindful of the need
>to
> > justify its "mission," had conclusive evidence by the
> > mid-1980s of the deepening crisis of infrastructure within the Soviet
> > Union. The CIA, as its deputy director William Gates acknowledged
> > under congressional questioning in 1992, had decided to keep that
> > evidence from President Reagan and his top advisors and instead
> > continued to grossly exaggerate Soviet military and technological
> > capabilities in its annual "Soviet Military Power" report right up to
> > 1990.
> >
> > Given that context, a decision was made to provide America's
> > potential enemies with the arms, money - and most importantly - the
> > knowledge of how to run a war of attrition violent and well-organized
> > enough to humble a superpower.
> >
> > That decision is coming home to roost.
> >
> >
> > [Michael Moran is MSNBC's International Editor]
> >
> >
> >
> > Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
> > PO Box 90083
> > Gainesville, FL. 32607
> > [phone]
> > http://www.space4peace.org
> > [e-mail]
>
>
>Sal Mangiagli
>54 Old Turnpike Road
>Haddam, CT 06438
>[phone]
>

- -
 To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "[e-mail]"
 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
 For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send
 "help" to the same address.  Do not use quotes in your message.

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

Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 12:59:29 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: Wise words from the past

>From: "Tanya Dawkins" <[e-mail]>
>To: <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
<[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
<[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>,
>        <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>
>Subject: Wise words from the past
>Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 05:46:44 -0400
>X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200
>X-Loop-Detect: 1
>
>Glad you're OK.  Thought I'd pass this along.
>Dear SOTP Friends:
>
>Through violence you may murder a murderer, but you can't murder murder.
>Through violence you may murder a liar, but you can't establish truth.
>Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can't murder hate.
>Darkness cannot put out darkness.  Only light can do that....
>
>Difficult and painful as it is, we must walk on in the days ahead with an
>audacious faith
>in the future.  When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of
>despair, and when
>our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that
>there is a
>creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains
>of evil, a
>power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays
>into bright
>tomorrows.  Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it
>bends toward
>justice.
>
>Martin Luther King, "Where do we go from here?", August 1967
>
>Keep in touch and keep the faith,
>
>Tanya
>

- -
 To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "[e-mail]"
 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
 For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send
 "help" to the same address.  Do not use quotes in your message.

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

Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 14:39:25 -0400
From: David Culp <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) S.J. Res. 23, "Authorization for Use of Military Force"

FRIENDS COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL LEGISLATION

Legislative Advisory on S.J. Res. 23, "Authorization for Use of Military
Force"
September 14, 2001, 2:45 p.m. EDT

The House is now considering a resolution (S.J. Res. 23) to authorize the
use of U.S. armed forces to retaliate for the attacks on the U.S. earlier
this week.  It contains the following very troubling provision:


"Section 2. (A) That the President is authorized to use all necessary and
appropriate force against nations, organizations, or persons he determines
planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred
on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order
to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United
States by such nations, organizations or persons."


We at the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) believe that this
provision would give far too broad an authority to the President and future
presidents.  We raise the following concerns:

*  Should not Congress retain the authority to determine where and with whom
the United States military forces shall go to war?

*  Would this permit the President to send U.S. military forces into any
sovereign country where the President has identified co-conspirators?  For
example, if an organization was found to be harbored in Toronto, Canada, and
Canada did not accede to demands to take specific actions demanded by the
U.S., is the President authorized to send in U.S. troops anyway?  How will
other countries--U.S. allies and foes alike--respond to this
extra-territorial extension of U.S. law and war powers?

*  How will the President determine who poses a future risk of attack?  Will
the search for potential enemies include monitoring the activities of all
who dissent?  What are the safeguards to protect the rights of assembly and
free speech of individuals and organizations that may oppose the policies of
the present or future administrations?

*  Congress is extending this authority to the President permanently.  What
checks on Presidential authority should Congress retain?

We at FCNL believe that war and vengeance are not the answer to the horror
and violence of these attacks.  War, destruction, and hatred between peoples
are what the perpetrators of these heinous crimes apparently seek. The U.S.
should not give them what they want.  If the U.S. declares war, the
hijackers and their supporters will have won.

This is not a time for precipitous military action.  Rather, it is a time
for quick action by U.S. law enforcement agencies and close cooperation with
governments around the world to identify and capture those who aided and
abetted in the commission of these atrocities, and to bring them to justice
before a court of law.  The United States must not stoop to the level of
violence, vengeance, and hatred exhibited by those who carried out this
week's heinous attacks against innocent civilians.


Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers)
245 Second Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C.  20002-5795
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Web site: www.fcnl.org

We seek a world free of war and the threat of war.
We seek a society with equity and justice for all.
We seek a community where every person's potential may be fulfilled.
We seek an earth restored.
- --FCNL Statement of Purpose

- -
 To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "[e-mail]"
 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
 For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send
 "help" to the same address.  Do not use quotes in your message.

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

Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 16:29:29 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: no_to_nato Sign online "Global Appeal for 'No more violence!'"

>X-Sender: [e-mail]
>X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Light Version 3.0.6 (32)
>Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 15:43:42 -0400
>To: [e-mail]
>From: Richard Sanders <[e-mail]>
>Subject: no_to_nato Sign online "Global Appeal for 'No more violence!'"
>Sender: [e-mail]
>Reply-To: [e-mail]
>X-Loop-Detect: 1
>
>Please forward this message to others:
>
>Global Appeal for 'No more violence!'
>
>In an effort to help mobilize global support for nonviolence, to try to
>stop the cycle of violence and to avert war, a global appeal for peace is
>now being circulated to thousands of organizations and activists all over
>the world.  Please join the list of endorsers of this appeal now!
>
>The text of the Global Appeal is reprinted below.
>
>To add your name to this urgent plea for peace, please go to
><http://www.flora.org/coat/appeal/>
>Once there, fill in the form and follow the simple instructions.
>
>You can also help by circulating this message to friends, colleagues,
>politicians, media, community leaders, organizations, appropriate
>listserves and to others who you think will either support this appeal or
>benefit from reading it.  Thanks!
>
>In solidarity,
>Richard Sanders,
>Coordinator, Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT
>
>P.S. Here is a text copy of the global appeal:
>
>=======================================
>A Global Appeal for 'No more violence!'
>
>Deeply saddened by the suffering and deaths of thousands in New York,
>Washington and Pennsylvania, we, people of many different backgrounds from
>around the world, join with millions of others to denounce these latest
>acts of terror against innocent civilians. We believe that military
>retaliation in response to this mass murder will only accelerate the cycle
>of fear, anger and violence.
>
>We urge our political and religious leaders to heed our appeal for
>nonviolence. We will not be swayed by calls to support further violence. We
>will respond to cries for revenge with caring, calm and reason. Violent
>retaliation and war will only lead to greater losses of life. This, in
>turn, will only serve to breed more anger, hatred and terror.
>
>Instead, we support the rule of international law. The perpetrators of
>these crimes, and all other crimes against humanity, crimes against peace
>and war crimes, should be brought to justice. No individual, group or
>government should have immunity from international law.
>
>As we mourn for those whose lives were lost on September 11, 2001, we also
>mourn for all those around the world dying from the violence inflicted by
>terrorism, war or the lack of food, medicine, water and housing.
>
>Pledge of Nonviolence
>Standing firmly together, we will embrace nonviolence to stop the cycle of
>violence from spiraling even further out of control. We join in solidarity
>with others around the world to build our common security through
>disarmament, dialogue and social justice -- not through violent attacks and
>military might.
>
>We pledge ourselves to support nonviolence as the way towards a peace with
>justice.
>=======================================
>To sign this appeal, go to <http://www.flora.org/coat/appeal/>
>
>
>
>
>
>                          Richard Sanders
>       Coordinator, Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT)
>
>              A national peace network supported by
>           individuals and organizations across Canada
>
>          541 McLeod St., Ottawa Ontario K1R 5R2  Canada
>            Tel.:  [phone]      Fax: [phone]
>     Email: <[e-mail]>   Web site: <http://www.ncf.ca/coat>
>
>----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
> Help build opposition to NATO PA meetings in Ottawa, Oct. 5-8, 2001!
>                  Join the "no_to_nato" list serve:
> Send the message:  subscribe no_to_nato   to   <[e-mail]>
>Read the archives of our list serve <http://www.flora.org/coat/forum/>
>
>             Sign our "Global Appeal for 'No More Violence'"
>                 <http://www.flora.org/coat/appeal/>
>----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
>Unsubscribe by sending an email to <[e-mail]> with the following
command in the BODY of your message: unsubscribe no_to_nato
>

- -
 To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "[e-mail]"
 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
 For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send
 "help" to the same address.  Do not use quotes in your message.

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

Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 19:35:40 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: (abolition-usa) Re: [abolition-caucus] Towards a New Progressive Security Agenda

- --part1_d1.c78d5b6.28d3ee4c_boundary
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

The hearts of all of good will suffer when injustice is committed. Its scale=
=20
can never be measured and the cry of the innocent never fully understood. Le=
t=20
us take courage and stand stronger to address the causes the manifest in the=
=20
horrors we are seeing.

The blasts of the tragic airplane hijack attacks of September 11, 2001=20
awakens us to serious reflection. Yet, our hearts cry like the sirens wailin=
g=20
in ambulances carrying suffering casualties to hospitals. First, our hearts=20
deeply mourn the dead and feel for the losses felt by their immediate friend=
s=20
and families. They alone know the depths of grief. Second, we grieve for the=
=20
loss of humanity in the hearts of the perpetrators for whom only desperate=20
acts of irrationality appeared viable. Third, we emphasize how important a=20
shock this is to the peace and security of our nation. Rational sober=20
responses leading to greater justice and moral coherence will alone cure tha=
t=20
shock.

May God protect the souls of the departed and lead us, the living, to bring=20
about a world of greater hope and justice for the disenfranchised while=20
ensuring safety for the privileged. The duty to ensure that desperation does=
=20
not lead to even greater irrational destruction through the use of a nuclear=
=20
device has been heightened by this tragedy. It is imperative that there be a=
n=20
international cooperative security regime that will not allow fissile=20
materials to be in the hands of those who devalue life. It is imperative tha=
t=20
nuclear states set a credible example by working to rid the world of threats=
=20
to the innocent and immediately take nuclear weapons off alert status and=20
create an international inventory of fissile materials. Greater efforts in=20
working for real peace, nuclear disarmament and human security are needed no=
w=20
more than ever.=20

Now is the time to help. We must organize to:
1. Address the gross disparities of wealth on the planet and never demonize=20
any peoples, for the dehumanization of others is the precondition for=20
heartless killing.
2. Promote sustainable development so that people have hope and the=20
environment can continue to sustain human life
3. Promote cooperative security by:
a. working systematically to end reliance on the threat to use nuclear=20
weapons;
b. quickly creating an international=A0 inventory of fissile weapons grade=20
materials so that a terrorist cannot use a device that will destroy millions=
=20
of innocent lives and ensure the end of civil liberties by creating a=20
credible threat to national security;=20
c. make sure our civil liberties remain intact;
d. ratify the International Criminal Court and bring those who have committe=
d=20
a crime against humanity to international justice.=20

Deeply Appreciative of All Who Work for All,=20
Jonathan Granoff
President of the Global Security Institute

- --part1_d1.c78d5b6.28d3ee4c_boundary
Content-Type: text/html; charset="ISO-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<HTML><FONT FACE=3Darial,helvetica><FONT  SIZE=3D4>The hearts of all of good=
 will suffer when injustice is committed. Its scale can never be measured an=
d the cry of the innocent never fully understood. Let us take courage and st=
and stronger to address the causes the manifest in the horrors we are seeing=
.
<BR>
<BR>The blasts of the tragic airplane hijack attacks of September 11, 2001 a=
wakens us to serious reflection. Yet, our hearts cry like the sirens wailing=
 in ambulances carrying suffering casualties to hospitals. First, our hearts=
 deeply mourn the dead and feel for the losses felt by their immediate frien=
ds and families. They alone know the depths of grief. Second, we grieve for=20=
the loss of humanity in the hearts of the perpetrators for whom only despera=
te acts of irrationality appeared viable. Third, we emphasize how important=20=
a shock this is to the peace and security of our nation. Rational sober resp=
onses leading to greater justice and moral coherence will alone cure that sh=
ock.
<BR>
<BR>May God protect the souls of the departed and lead us, the living, to br=
ing about a world of greater hope and justice for the disenfranchised while=20=
ensuring safety for the privileged. The duty to ensure that desperation does=
 not lead to even greater irrational destruction through the use of a nuclea=
r device has been heightened by this tragedy. It is imperative that there be=
 an international cooperative security regime that will not allow fissile ma=
terials to be in the hands of those who devalue life. It is imperative that=20=
nuclear states set a credible example by working to rid the world of threats=
 to the innocent and immediately take nuclear weapons off alert status and c=
reate an international inventory of fissile materials. Greater efforts in wo=
rking for real peace, nuclear disarmament and human security are needed now=20=
more than ever.=20
<BR>
<BR>Now is the time to help. We must organize to:
<BR>1. Address the gross disparities of wealth on the planet and never demon=
ize any peoples, for the dehumanization of others is the precondition for he=
artless killing.
<BR>2. Promote sustainable development so that people have hope and the envi=
ronment can continue to sustain human life
<BR>3. Promote cooperative security by:
<BR>a. working systematically to end reliance on the threat to use nuclear w=
eapons;
<BR>b. quickly creating an international=A0 inventory of fissile weapons gra=
de materials so that a terrorist cannot use a device that will destroy milli=
ons of innocent lives and ensure the end of civil liberties by creating a cr=
edible threat to national security;=20
<BR>c. make sure our civil liberties remain intact;
<BR>d. ratify the International Criminal Court and bring those who have comm=
itted a crime against humanity to international justice.=20
<BR>
<BR>Deeply Appreciative of All Who Work for All,=20
<BR>Jonathan Granoff
<BR>President of the Global Security Institute</FONT></HTML>

- --part1_d1.c78d5b6.28d3ee4c_boundary--

- -
 To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "[e-mail]"
 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
 For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send
 "help" to the same address.  Do not use quotes in your message.

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

Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 09:53:05 +0100
From: Sally Light <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Las Vegas Weekly's article about NDE protestor's arrest

Friends,

This is the first of at least two Las Vegas papers' picking up the story

of Erik Thompson's arrest last Hiroshima Day at the Test Site.  We
should see the "Mercury" paper's article soon.

Peace..

Sally

Sally Light
Executive Director
Nevada Desert Experience

http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/2001_2/09_13/news_upfront1.html

Protestor in the pokey

'Trespasser' prosecution is first in a decade

By Kate Silver ([e-mail])
    Photo by Kate Silver

For the past decade, thousands of protestors at the Nevada Test Site
have been detained in
a desert-surrounded pen for trespassing charges. After a few hours, the
"prisoners" are
always cited and released, causing some of them to refer to these
actions as "ceremonial
citings."

That is, until Aug. 6 of this year.

A group of protestors from Nevada Desert Experience, a faith-based
organization opposed
to nukes, was at the site to commemorate the 56th anniversary of the
1945 atomic bombing
of Hiroshima.

Las Vegas resident Erik Thompson, 44, entered the fenced area
surrounding the Test Site
and was immediately confronted by Nye County sheriffs, who led Thompson
to the
100-by-300-foot holding pen.

Authorities later returned, offering to cite and release Thompson. He
refused. They offered
two more times. He remained steadfast. On the fourth refusal, Thompson
told the officers to
just take him to jail--he wasn't leaving the Test Site on his own. And
that's just what they did.


Though Thompson has protested at the site since 1984, and says he's been
cited for
trespassing close to 100 times, he'd never been taken to jail. He sees
the outcome as an
opportunity to go before a judge and garner attention for the issue. His
hearing is Oct. 4.

"I will certainly have some impact. If nothing else, than to make Nye
County realize what
they're doing," he says. "I would like to raise these issues in court,
issues of how the United
States is in violation of international law (by continuing nuclear
tests)."

Sounds like Christmas at Ground Zero to me.

FALSE IMPRISONMENT

Another issue in Thompson's case is how can he face trespassing charges
when he holds a
permit to protest on the land? As outlined by the 1863 Treaty of Ruby
Valley, Nye County
has no jurisdiction over the Nevada Test Site. The treaty states that
the 1,863 acres of land
belongs to the Western Shoshone Nation, which grants permits to
protestors each year,
allowing their presence on the Test Site.

"One of the contentions we have with Nye County is that this is land
that belongs to the
Shoshone. That we have permits to come and go. And that we're here by
invitation of the
Shoshone," says Paul Colbert, office manager for Nevada Desert
Experience.

Nye County Sheriff Wade Lieseke sees ownership of the land differently.
When asked about
the protestors having Shoshone permits to protest on the land, Lieseke
seemed to stifle his
laughter.

"Well, I guess that's their contention," he says. "The other contention
is that they're on
Department of Energy land and the Department of Energy runs the Nevada
Test Site and we
contract our services through the Department of Energy. The venue would
be for a court of
law to make that determination."

FEDERAL CRACKDOWN

Thompson's case has local activists worried about the future. "There's a
trend now that the
authorities are coming down very harshly compared to the past," says
Sally Light, executive
director of Nevada Desert Experience. "A few years ago I was arrested
and put in the pen,
held for a while and individually cited. I asked for the time frame that
I'll hear from the court,
and the police officer said I could go home and make the citation into a
paper plane."

Light fears those days are over. "The Bush administration is moving very
quickly to
consolidate a military posture in the world," she says. "We can't draw a
single line of
causation, but it's not beyond the realm of possibility."

Since the Nevada Test Site is owned by the Department of Energy--it's
federal land--Light
fears the worst, citing the encounters at Vandenberg Air Force Base as
evidence of the
recent federal crackdown.

The May Vandenberg protest resulted in 15 Greenpeace activists--Star
Wars
protestors--and two journalists facing felony charges of "conspiracy to
violate a safety zone."
If convicted, they'll face up to six years in prison and fines of up to
$250,000. All this for a
peaceful protest consisting of actions which, according to Light, "were
all but ignored in the
past."

Another local activist who's witnessed this change in attitude is Susi
Snyder, project
coordinator for the Shundahai Network, an organization opposed to nukes
that advocates
the rights of indigenous people. About a year ago, Snyder was arrested
and sent to jail for
16 days for what she calls "a simple line cross." A deputy insisted that
she tried to bite him;
Snyder says she was simply trying to reason with him (Las Vegas Weekly,
"Continuing the
Fight," Oct. 19, 2000).

"I think security are very worried because Southern Nevadans are taking
more action
opposing Bush's policies, which include the possible resumption of
nuclear weapons testing
and Cheney's plan to ship waste out to Yucca Mountain," says Snyder.
"People are ... willing
to put their bodies on the line and make sure their voices are heard.
The security people are
worried about that."

As well they should be, given the nuclear tests being performed at the
Test Site, the
possibility of nuclear waste coming to Yucca Mountain and the recent
discovery of a military
germ factory at the Nevada Test Site.

Protestors could soon deluge the site faster than a mushroom cloud, and
Snyder's convinced
that a cop crackdown won't deter them. "It's to scare people away, but
people won't be
scared like that."
- -30-







- -
 To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "[e-mail]"
 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
 For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send
 "help" to the same address.  Do not use quotes in your message.

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

End of abolition-usa-digest V1 #465
***********************************

-
 To unsubscribe to $LIST, send an email to "[e-mail]"
 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.