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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 #478 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, October 9 2001 Volume 01 : Number 478 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 7 Oct 2001 13:25:48 -0700 From: marylia@earthlink.net (marylia) Subject: (abolition-usa) May the Families be Heard More than ever... May the Families be Heard from Tri-Valley CAREs' October 2001 newsletter, Citizen's Watch =92 Greg's parents, Phyllis and Orlando Rodriguez - Our son Greg is among th= e many missing from the World Trade Center attack... our government is heading in the direction of violent revenge, with the prospect of sons, daughters, parents, friends in distant lands dying, suffering, and nursing further grievances against us. It is not the way to go. It will not avenge our son's death... Let us grieve. Let us reflect and pray. Let us think about a rational response that brings real peace and justice to our world. (from an unpublished letter to the New York Times) =92 Deora's parents, Derril Bodley and Deborah Borza - We must not retaliate in kind as if our cause allows us to... Let this passing be a start of a new conversation that is all-inclusive, tolerant of people's beliefs, that includes everyone's God, that includes everyone of color and provides a future for all mankind to live and harmony and respect. (from the 9/22 SF Chronicle. Deora died on flight 93 in Pennsylvania.) =92 Craig's wife, Amber Amundson - My husband, Craig Scott Amundson, of the U.S. Army lost his life in the line of duty at the Pentagon on Sept. 11 as the world looked on in horror and disbelief. Losing my 28-year-old husband and father of our two young children is a terrible and painful experience. His death is also part of an immense national loss and I am comforted by knowing that so many of you share my grief. But because I have lost Craig as part of this historic tragedy, my anguish is compounded exponentially by fear that his death will be used to justify violence against other innocent victims. I have heard angry rhetoric by some Americans, including many of our nation's leaders... Your words and imminent acts of revenge only amplify our family's suffering... (from a letter published in the 9/25 Chicago Tribune) =92 Abe's nephew, Matthew Lasar - In his speech at the National Cathedral memorial service, President Bush praised an unnamed man "who could have saved himself" but instead "stayed until the end at the side of his quadriplegic friend." On Sept. 27, Lasar spoke publicly: That man was my uncle, Abe Zeimanowitz. I mourn the death of my uncle, and I want his murderers brought to justice. But I am not making this statement to demand bloody vengeance... I do not feel that my uncle's compassionate, heroic sacrifice will be honored by what the U.S. appears poised to do. (from a 9/27 advisory by the Institute for Public Accuracy.) Tri-Valley CAREs is putting these and other statements on Mac and PC disks. If you would like a copy, please call us. Around the World, Lift Every Voice from Tri-Valley CAREs' October 2001 newsletter, Citizen's Watch =92 UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan - Making progress in the areas of nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament is more important than ever in the aftermath of last week's appalling terrorist attack on the United States. The States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) agreed last year that this challenge could not be overcome by halfway measures. Indeed, they concluded that "the total elimination of nuclear weapons is the only absolute guarantee against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons." Regrettably, several important treaties aimed at nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear disarmament or nuclear reductions still await entry into force. It is vitally important for the world community to continue its efforts to implement the commitments already made and to further identify the ways and means of achieving nuclear disarmament as soon as possible. (from a 9/17 message to the International Atomic Energy Agency.) =92 Statement of the Afghan Women's Mission - [W]e strongly urge the United States government and its allies not to carry out military attacks on Afghanistan in retaliation for these violent acts. Afghanistan is a country devastated by more than two decades of war... When the fundamentalist Taliban regime took over most of Afghanistan in 1996, the situation only worsened for Afghans... Afghans have been suffering the results of extreme war, poverty, disease, hunger, lack of education, health care and shelter for too long, Afghans comprise the second largest refugee group in the world today... To attack Afghanistan now would be to attack a weak and defenseless people. (from a 9/13 press release.) =92 Nobel Peace Laureate and co-founder of Peace People, Maired Corrigan Maguirre, Northern Ireland - We understand the depth of feelings of loss and pain but we would appeal that there be no retaliation. Violence serves no purpose. Violence solves no problems. Retaliation would mean the future deaths of many more people. This would, in turn, add to an increasing sense of fear, anxiety, and hopelessness, being felt around the world. (from a 9/12 statement.) =92 Professor of physics at Quaid-e-Azam University in Pakistan, Pervez Hoodbhoy - If the lesson is that America needs to assert its military might, then the future will be as grim as can be... Ultimately, the security of the United States lies in its re-engaging with the people of the world, especially with those it has previously harmed. (from Black Tuesday: The View From Islamabad 9/16.) =92 Amnesty International statement - Governments must take strong action against racist attacks directed at the Muslim, Asian and Middle Eastern populations in their countries, whether they are citizens or foreigners. You cannot claim to speak in the name of freedom if those on your territory do not feel equally protected. Governments are using the "war on terrorism" to introduce draconian measures to limit civil liberties... they must be resisted. (from the 9/26 statement of the international secretariat.) =92 The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, speaking from India - While I express my sympathy, I have appealed to the U.S. president not to respond with more violence as violence is not an appropriate answer... Only nonviolent means can counter terrorism in the long-term. (from Reuters news service 9/17.) =92 Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, USA - The Pope has called for "peaceful negotiations and dialogue" in the current crisis... Some have rushed to portray us who are opposed to the Bush administration's plans as naive and lacking realism. But... it is we who are the realists and those who would rush to war and escalate the cycle of violence are completely out of touch with reality and the lessons of history. (Statement 10/1.) Many additional statements are available on disk from Tri-Valley CAREs. 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: Sun, 7 Oct 2001 13:41:26 -0700 From: marylia@earthlink.net (marylia) Subject: (abolition-usa) Tactical nukes not ruled out Dear colleagues: Part of our campaign must be to get the U.S. to forswear the use of nuclear weapons. Read on... Not Ruled Out by Marylia Kelley from Tri-Valley CAREs' October 2001 newsletter, Citizen's Watch Japan's Kyodo News reported on Sept. 19 that the U.S. Defense Dept. "has recommended to President George W. Bush the use of tactical nuclear weapons as a military option to retaliate for last week's terrorist attacks..." The recommendation appears intended to deter terrorists, analysts told the news service. On ABC's "This Week" shortly after the attacks, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld refused to rule out the use of tactical nuclear weapons. More recently, Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and neutron bomb designer Sam Cohen have been quoted in various media discussing a possible U.S. nuclear retaliation. Tactical nuclear weapons often contain specialized characteristics like dialable (variable) yield and earth-penetrating ability. We have been working to cut off the further development of these weapons precisely because they are the most likely to be considered "usable" by our government. The lesson here is that until all nuclear weapons are abolished, their use again in anger remains a real possibility. We must act to prevent it. 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: Mon, 08 Oct 2001 08:40:28 +0100 From: Sally Light <sallight1@earthlink.net> Subject: (abolition-usa) Re: [abolition-europe] OCT 13 PROTEST REPORTS AND MORE Dear All, I just want to mention that at the vigil on 9/26 at the federal building in Las Vegas to protest that day's detonation of yet another "subcritical" nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site, the first since the tragic events of 9/11, we were surprised at the support we received from the public passing by! Las Vegas is not a place where most people seem to care about such things as a general rule, but there were many drivers who gave us smiles & friendly honks, waves, thumbs up and the peace sign. Of course, there were some who ignored us or disagreed with us, but the degree of support was remarkable. We were delighted, to say the least! I have been feeling all along that many people - not necessarily the activists or people part of the peace movement until now, but just folks - are going through some kind of major reevaluation of the kind we would appreciate. Peace, Sally Light Executive Director Nevada Desert Experience Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space wrote: > Frineds, > > We were on the street yesterday in Gainesville protesting the war and > actually getting a better response from the public than I had expected. > Some pro-war people came with big American flags and were yelling "Kick some > Taliban ass!" The war-dogs are fired up for sure. I am hurting over all > this. We all need each other in times like this. > > We are getting reports that local interest in the October 13 actions is > growing reapidly because of the war. In your media work please let them > know that there are now 110 actions in 19 countries planned (and likely more > before Saturday.) > > Please send us, via e-mail, reports on your actions (and digital photos if > possible) so we can post them on our website. Either send them to us at > globalnet@mindspring.com or directly to our webmaster at > dave@webbjeff.free-online.co.uk > > While standing on the street yesterday my sign read "Militarism is an > Addiction." Our nation, our world, is indeed addicted to military spending > and violence. Thank god that there are people like all of you bringing some > sanity and messages of peace during times like this. > > I know there are lots of people listening and watching us. They know deep > in their hearts that this madness is not the way to solve conflicts. Let > our October 13 actions speak to them. > > Best wishes to all. > > Bruce K. Gagnon > Coordinator > Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space > PO Box 90083 > Gainesville, FL. 32607 > (352) 337-9274 > http://www.space4peace.org > globalnet@mindspring.com > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> > FREE COLLEGE MONEY > CLICK HERE to search > 600,000 scholarships! > http://us.click.yahoo.com/Pv4pGD/4m7CAA/ySSFAA/xbTolB/TM > ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > abolition-europe-unsubscribe@egroups.com > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ - - 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, 8 Oct 2001 10:47:27 -0500 From: "Boyle, Francis" <FBOYLE@LAW.UIUC.EDU> Subject: (abolition-usa) "Dissenting Voices"(Against War):Al-Ahram This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand this format, some or all of this message may not be legible. - ------_=_NextPart_001_01C15010.87DDBF80 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable =20 Dissenting voices Many Americans are having second thoughts about the war hysteria = gripping the US, writes Jihan Alaily from Washington<?xml:namespace prefix =3D o = ns =3D "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> 4-10 October,2001 =20 Americans are beginning to ponder the rationale behind fighting a war = in which the outcome is not only uncertain, but guaranteed to see many = innocent lives taken. Many did not find solace in US President George W Bush's statement to Congress in which he warned that "the course of this = conflict is unknown, yet its outcome is certain."=20 On Saturday and Sunday thousands took to the streets in Washington DC = in peace marches and rallies that brought together a m=E9lange of ordinary Americans, political activists, students, local human rights = organisations and anarchists. They were protesting the coming war and heightened = anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiments in the wake of the 11 September attacks on = New York and Washington.=20 Banners and signs read "Don't dishonor the dead by killing in their = name" and "An eye for an eye makes the world blind". The demonstrations were = the biggest so far of many protest gatherings across the country that have increasingly reflected a concern over the ethics and morality of the = coming war. Some speakers and protesters at the rallies questioned not only = Bush's management of the crisis but his legitimacy to govern.=20 "Both want war, both unelected" one poster read alongside pictures of = Bush and Osama Bin Laden. As thousands marched toward Capital Hill on = Saturday, many were chanting "No War in our name, Islam is not to blame". Many speakers denounced the racial profiling of Arabs, Muslims and Asians = that gained added legitimacy after the 11 September attacks. One African = American speaker noted how "There was no racial profiling of white guys with = crew cuts after the Oklahoma City bombing," a reference to convicted bomber Timothy McVeigh.=20 Other speakers warned against the trampling over of the Bill of Rights = and other civil liberties on the path to increased security. Policy analyst Phyllis Bennis explained increasing vocal outcry against the war as the result of the lack of any transition period between grief and war. "The people are beginning to resent not being given time to mourn," she = said. "We were rushed through the mourning into a war build-up" she said.=20 Coverage of the weekend rallies and other anti-war gatherings, vigils = and student activism on campuses across the country have largely been = ignored by the drum-beating mainstream media, or buried in obscure places inside newspapers. The participation of anarchists who advocate the = destruction of the capitalist system was highlighted in media coverage in an effort to drown the legitimate concerns of the many more ordinary Americans. Similarly, TV footage gave prominence to the marginal incidents of = violence involving the anarchists at the rally on Saturday.=20 Public opinion polls indicating that 90 per cent of Americans surveyed support the coming war have been extensively quoted by media voices in newspapers and on TV. Mary Lou Greenburg, a self- declared communist = and feminist who came from New York to attend the DC peace demonstrations, acknowledged that the findings represent some sentiments among the = public, but cautioned against sweeping generalisations. "The message of those = polls is generally to tell the people what they should be thinking."=20 Citing the writings of philosopher and linguist Noam Chomsky, Greenburg talked about the role of the corporate media in the US in "controlling = the public mind" and mobilising community opinion in favour of vapid, empty concepts, like Americanism.=20 The national media watch group FAIR has criticised what it sees as the = many media voices that have enlisted in the administration's push towards = war. FAIR founder Jeff Cohen noted that CBS anchor Dan Rather seemed "more soldier than reporter" on a popular late-night talk show when he = endorsed the war drive.=20 Appallingly little attention has been devoted in the mainstream media = to obtaining justice through international law and UN sanctioned = processes. Many experts of international law insist that the Bush administration = has yet to present evidence to substantiate its claim that this is an act = of war - -- not a crime against humanity.=20 Francis Boyle, the renowned professor of international law at the = University of Illinois College of Law, said: "Even if the Bush administration were = to publicly provide clear and convincing evidence that Mr Bin Laden and = his organisation were somehow behind the terrorist bombings in New York and Washington, the United States government would still have no valid justification or excuse for committing acts of war against Afghanistan. = Both the United Nations Charter of 1945 and the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928 absolutely require the United States to exhaust all means for the = peaceful resolution of this dispute. So far the Bush administration has not even begun this legally mandated process."=20 Boyle, who helped resolve the dispute between the US, the UK and Libya = over the handling of the Libyan suspects in the Lockerbie bombing case, = believes that the 1971 Montreal Sabotage Convention, which was invoked in the Lockerbie crisis, is directly relevant in the current crisis. The same convention, he says, "provides a comprehensive framework for dealing = with the current dispute between Afghanistan and the United States."=20 Clearly, Professor Boyle's views are not common. An appearance on the = Fox News Channel with the right-wing pundit Bill O'Reilly on 13 September = seems to have branded Boyle an undesirable guest. After the show, in which he argued for presentation of evidence, for authorisation from the = Security Council and for adherence to the rule of law, Boyle has not been = invited again to speak on any prime-time news programmes.=20 Pleas for nonviolence have largely been dismissed as pacifist claptrap. Among those cautioning against the war is the African American Reverend Graylan Hagler, pastor of the Plymouth congregation of the United = Christ Church in DC. Reverend Hagler has led many pro- peace and interfaith meetings and has spoken out against what he calls "a US foreign policy organised around a need to dominate [rather] than to cooperate." The reverend believes that the message he is getting from his parishioners = is one calling for tolerance and peace. "This is not reflected in the = media," he says, adding, "The media has editorialised, ideologised and has conditioned the people into blind hysteria."=20 The voices of dissent are growing by the day. It is not clear, however, = to what extent they can impact the course of the war as American aircraft carriers continue to arrive in the Persian Gulf. As the anticipated war fails to discriminate between the alleged terrorists and the innocent, = it will be even harder for those Americans I saw at the anti-war rallies = to make sense of what they inscribed earlier on their signs: "I would like = to be able to love my country and justice at the same time."=20 =A9 Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg <mailto:weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg>=20 =20 Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954(voice) 217-244-1478(fax) fboyle@law.uiuc.edu <mailto:fboyle@law.uiuc.edu>=20 =20 =20 - ------_=_NextPart_001_01C15010.87DDBF80 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META HTTP-EQUIV=3D"Content-Type" CONTENT=3D"text/html; = charset=3Diso-8859-1"> <META content=3D"MSHTML 5.00.3018.900" name=3DGENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV> <H1 style=3D"BACKGROUND: white; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Dissenting = voices</H1> <SPAN=20 style=3D"COLOR: #003333; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Many Americans are having = second=20 thoughts about the war hysteria gripping the US, writes Jihan = Alaily from=20 Washington<?xml:namespace prefix =3D o ns =3D=20 "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" = /><o:p></o:p> <SPAN=20 style=3D"COLOR: #003333; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">4-10=20 October,2001<o:p></o:p> <SPAN=20 style=3D"COLOR: #003333; FONT-FAMILY: = Arial"> <o:p></o:p> Americans are = beginning to=20 ponder the rationale behind fighting a war in which the outcome is not = only=20 uncertain, but guaranteed to see many innocent lives taken. Many did = not find=20 solace in US President George W Bush's statement to Congress in which = he warned=20 that "the course of this conflict is unknown, yet its outcome is = certain." On Saturday and = Sunday=20 thousands took to the streets in Washington DC in peace marches and = rallies that=20 brought together a m=E9lange of ordinary Americans, political = activists,=20 students, local human rights organisations and anarchists. They were = protesting=20 the coming war and heightened anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiments in = the wake=20 of the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington. Banners and signs = read "Don't=20 dishonor the dead by killing in their name" and "An eye for an eye = makes the=20 world blind". The demonstrations were the biggest so far of many = protest=20 gatherings across the country that have increasingly reflected a = concern over=20 the ethics and morality of the coming war. Some speakers and protesters = at the=20 rallies questioned not only Bush's management of the crisis but his = legitimacy=20 to govern. "Both want war, = both=20 unelected" one poster read alongside pictures of Bush and Osama Bin = Laden. As=20 thousands marched toward Capital Hill on Saturday, many were chanting = "No War in=20 our name, Islam is not to blame". Many speakers denounced the racial = profiling=20 of Arabs, Muslims and Asians that gained added legitimacy after the 11 = September=20 attacks. One African American speaker noted how "There was no racial = profiling=20 of white guys with crew cuts after the Oklahoma City bombing," a = reference to=20 convicted bomber Timothy McVeigh. Other speakers = warned against=20 the trampling over of the Bill of Rights and other civil liberties on = the path=20 to increased security. Policy analyst Phyllis Bennis explained = increasing vocal=20 outcry against the war as the result of the lack of any transition = period=20 between grief and war. "The people are beginning to resent not being = given time=20 to mourn," she said. "We were rushed through the mourning into a war = build-up"=20 she said. Coverage of the = weekend=20 rallies and other anti-war gatherings, vigils and student activism on = campuses=20 across the country have largely been ignored by the drum-beating = mainstream=20 media, or buried in obscure places inside newspapers. The participation = of=20 anarchists who advocate the destruction of the capitalist system was = highlighted=20 in media coverage in an effort to drown the legitimate concerns of the = many more=20 ordinary Americans. Similarly, TV footage gave prominence to the = marginal=20 incidents of violence involving the anarchists at the rally on = Saturday. Public opinion = polls=20 indicating that 90 per cent of Americans surveyed support the coming = war have=20 been extensively quoted by media voices in newspapers and on TV. Mary = Lou=20 Greenburg, a self- declared communist and feminist who came from New = York to=20 attend the DC peace demonstrations, acknowledged that the findings = represent=20 some sentiments among the public, but cautioned against sweeping=20 generalisations. "The message of those polls is generally to tell the = people=20 what they should be thinking." Citing the writings = of=20 philosopher and linguist Noam Chomsky, Greenburg talked about the role = of the=20 corporate media in the US in "controlling the public mind" and = mobilising=20 community opinion in favour of vapid, empty concepts, like Americanism. = The national media = watch group=20 FAIR has criticised what it sees as the many media voices that have = enlisted in=20 the administration's push towards war. FAIR founder Jeff Cohen noted = that CBS=20 anchor Dan Rather seemed "more soldier than reporter" on a popular = late-night=20 talk show when he endorsed the war drive. Appallingly little = attention=20 has been devoted in the mainstream media to obtaining justice through=20 international law and UN sanctioned processes. Many experts of = international law=20 insist that the Bush administration has yet to present evidence to = substantiate=20 its claim that this is an act of war -- not a crime against humanity. = Francis Boyle, the = renowned=20 professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of = Law,=20 said: "Even if the Bush administration were to publicly provide clear = and=20 convincing evidence that Mr Bin Laden and his organisation were somehow = behind=20 the terrorist bombings in New York and Washington, the United States = government=20 would still have no valid justification or excuse for committing acts = of war=20 against Afghanistan. Both the United Nations Charter of 1945 and the=20 Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928 absolutely require the United States to = exhaust all=20 means for the peaceful resolution of this dispute. So far the Bush=20 administration has not even begun this legally mandated process." Boyle, who helped = resolve the=20 dispute between the US, the UK and Libya over the handling of the = Libyan=20 suspects in the Lockerbie bombing case, believes that the 1971 Montreal = Sabotage=20 Convention, which was invoked in the Lockerbie crisis, is directly = relevant in=20 the current crisis. The same convention, he says, "provides a = comprehensive=20 framework for dealing with the current dispute between Afghanistan and = the=20 United States." Clearly, Professor = Boyle's=20 views are not common. An appearance on the Fox News Channel with the = right-wing=20 pundit Bill O'Reilly on 13 September seems to have branded Boyle an = undesirable=20 guest. After the show, in which he argued for presentation of evidence, = for=20 authorisation from the Security Council and for adherence to the rule = of law,=20 Boyle has not been invited again to speak on any prime-time news = programmes.=20 Pleas for = nonviolence have=20 largely been dismissed as pacifist claptrap. Among those cautioning = against the=20 war is the African American Reverend Graylan Hagler, pastor of the = Plymouth=20 congregation of the United Christ Church in DC. Reverend Hagler has led = many=20 pro- peace and interfaith meetings and has spoken out against what he = calls "a=20 US foreign policy organised around a need to dominate [rather] than to=20 cooperate." The reverend believes that the message he is getting from = his=20 parishioners is one calling for tolerance and peace. "This is not = reflected in=20 the media," he says, adding, "The media has editorialised, ideologised = and has=20 conditioned the people into blind hysteria." The voices of = dissent are=20 growing by the day. It is not clear, however, to what extent they can = impact the=20 course of the war as American aircraft carriers continue to arrive in = the=20 Persian Gulf. As the anticipated war fails to discriminate between the = alleged=20 terrorists and the innocent, it will be even harder for those Americans = I saw at=20 the anti-war rallies to make sense of what they inscribed earlier on = their=20 signs: "I would like to be able to love my country and justice at the = same=20 time." <SPAN=20 style=3D"COLOR: #003333; FONT-SIZE: 8.5pt; LETTER-SPACING: 2.25pt">=A9 = Copyright=20 Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved<o:p></o:p> <SPAN=20 style=3D"COLOR: #003333; FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; = LETTER-SPACING: 2.25pt"><A=20 href=3D"mailto:weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg">weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg</A><o:p></= o:p> <o:p></o:p></DIV> <DIV>Francis A. Boyle</DIV> <DIV>Law Building</DIV> <DIV>504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.</DIV> <DIV>Champaign, IL 61820 USA</DIV> <DIV>217-333-7954(voice)</DIV> <DIV>217-244-1478(fax)</DIV> <DIV><A=20 href=3D"mailto:fboyle@law.uiuc.edu">fboyle@law.uiuc.edu</A></DIV>= <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV></BODY></HTML> - ------_=_NextPart_001_01C15010.87DDBF80-- - - 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, 09 Oct 2001 11:35:06 -0500 From: Lisa Ledwidge / IEER <ieer@ieer.org> Subject: (abolition-usa) IEER: Pollution from Nuclear Waste Dumping Endangers Largest Aquifer in Western U.S. - --=====================_10882729==_.ALT Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable NEWS RELEASE RADIOACTIVE AND CHEMICAL POLLUTION FROM NUCLEAR WASTE DUMPING ENDANGERS=20 SNAKE RIVER PLAIN AQUIFER, LARGEST AQUIFER IN WESTERN U.S. More than one ton of plutonium is in shallow dumps Energy Department "Clean-up" Program Plagued by Poor Priorities, Inaction Washington, D.C., October 9, 2001: Nuclear waste dumped at the Idaho=20 National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is polluting the= =20 Snake River Plain aquifer, the primary source of drinking water for 200,000= =20 people, according to a new report. Poison in the Vadose Zone: An=20 examination of the threats to the Snake River Plain aquifer from the Idaho= =20 National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, by the Institute for=20 Energy and Environmental Research (IEER), warns that this important water=20 resource faces further contamination from the migration of long-lived=20 radionuclides and hazardous chemicals from nuclear weapons production=20 wastes buried at the site. The Snake River Plain aquifer is the largest=20 unified aquifer in the western United States and the most important=20 underground water resource in the northwestern U.S. Poison in the Vadose=20 Zone is the first report to comprehensively compile and analyze the=20 available data on the threat posed by plutonium and other transuranic=20 materials to the Snake River Plain aquifer. "For fifty years, nuclear weapons production has resulted in large=20 quantities of radioactive and hazardous chemical waste being injected=20 directly into the aquifer, discharged into surface ponds, or dumped into=20 shallow pits and trenches," said Dr. Arjun Makhijani, principal author of=20 the report and president of IEER. "These contaminants pose a serious threat= =20 to the lifeblood of the region, the Snake River Plain aquifer." According to the report, official US government data indicate that more=20 than one metric ton of plutonium, packaged in nothing more than cardboard=20 boxes, wooden boxes, or 55 gallon drums, was dumped into shallow trenches=20 on the site in the 1950s and 1960s. Rain, snow, and occasional flooding of= =20 the trenches have already caused migration of some radioactive and=20 hazardous materials towards, and in some cases into, the aquifer. Evidence= =20 has existed for more than 25 years that these long-lived radionuclides are= =20 migrating through the vadose zone to the aquifer much faster than= anticipated. "Sound scientific work indicating threats to the Snake River Plain aquifer= =20 has long been ignored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)," stated=20 Michele Boyd, co-author of the report and IEER's global outreach=20 coordinator. "Plutonium and americium have been detected in the vadose=20 zone, which is the unsaturated area between the ground surface and the=20 aquifer, and in the aquifer since the 1970s. Plutonium is moving through=20 the vadose zone to the aquifer thousands of times faster than assumed by a= =20 wait-and-see policy that dominates DOE's approach to clean-up of these= dumps.=94 While the threat to the Snake River Plain aquifer from the buried wastes=20 increases, the DOE has focused on transporting "stored" transuranic wastes,= =20 which are kept in relatively secure conditions indoors at INEEL, to the=20 Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. "Insufficient resources are being devoted to cleaning up of the buried=20 transuranic wastes at INEEL," said Gary Richardson, Executive Director of=20 the Snake River Alliance, a nuclear watchdog group of INEEL. "The DOE is=20 essentially playing a shell game by moving wastes from INEEL to WIPP so=20 that more waste can be shipped to INEEL. The DOE's Environmental=20 Management Program has wasted enormous sums of money on poorly designed=20 projects for managing buried wastes. Meanwhile, the DOE is continuing to=20 dump wastes into unlined pits and trenches. A culture of denial seems=20 deeply embedded in the DOE with regard to the threat posed by buried= wastes." Paul Schwartz, Director for Water Policy of Clean Water Action, in=20 welcoming the report said, =93Activists and policy-makers should pay far= more=20 attention to the threat posed to the purity of critical water supplies in=20 the United States by past radioactive dumping. Clean Water Action is=20 certainly going to do so. There is no room for complacency when it comes=20 to plutonium and americium.=94 The DOE buried more plutonium containing waste at INEEL than at any other=20 nuclear weapons site. Direct injection of radioactive and hazardous=20 substances into the Snake River Plain aquifer and dumping of wastes into=20 percolation ponds resulted in plumes of pollutants like strontium-90,=20 iodine-129, and TCE in the aquifer. Some areas under the site are=20 contaminated at levels far above the Safe Drinking Water standards set by=20 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. While these standards do not=20 apply to the water under INEEL, they do indicate the severity of the=20 problem of water pollution due to past waste dumping and the need for= clean-up. "The combined threat from the radioactive and hazardous chemicals in the=20 buried wastes is enormous," continued Beatrice Brailsford of the Snake=20 River Alliance. "Severe contamination of the Snake River Plain aquifer=20 would have serious consequences for the health of the people and economy of= =20 Idaho. The Snake River Plain aquifer is the only source of drinking water= =20 for 200,000 people in southern Idaho and a major source of irrigation water= =20 for regional crops and fisheries. The produce grown in Idaho is eaten=20 throughout the United States and in many other countries, including Japan,= =20 Canada, and Mexico. Idaho=92s trout farms, which rely on the groundwater,= =20 produce 75 percent of the commercial rainbow trout eaten in the U.S." The report recommends that: =B7 buried wastes be recovered from the dumps and processed in order= to=20 stabilize them for storage, =B7 all shallow land burial of radioactive wastes be stopped, =B7 the vadose zone be remediated to the extent possible, and =B7 a more vigorous groundwater monitoring program be implemented. "This will not be a simple project and will need to be carried out=20 carefully, with due regard for worker safety," said Dr. Makhijani. "But it= =20 is a project that is essential for protecting the health of the Snake River= =20 Plain aquifer and also for security. If site control is lost, the dumps=20 would be a potential nuclear weapons mine since they contain more than 200= =20 nuclear bombs worth of plutonium.=94 For further information, contact: Arjun Makhijani (301) 270-5500 Beatrice Brailsford (208) 234-4782 Bob Schaeffer (941) 395-6773 Copies of the full report are available upon request. Portions of the report are available on-line:=20 http://www.ieer.org/reports/poison/toc.html - --30-- Lisa Ledwidge Outreach Coordinator and Editor, Science for Democratic Action Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER) 2104 Stevens Ave. South | Minneapolis, MN 55404 USA phone: (612) 879-7517 | fax: (612) 879-7518 ieer@ieer.org | http://www.ieer.org=20 - --=====================_10882729==_.ALT Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <html> <div align=3D"center"> NEWS RELEASE RADIOACTIVE AND CHEMICAL POLLUTION FROM NUCLEAR WASTE DUMPING ENDANGERS SNAKE RIVER PLAIN AQUIFER, LARGEST AQUIFER IN WESTERN U.S. More than one ton of plutonium is in shallow dumps Energy Department "Clean-up" Program Plagued by Poor Priorities, Inaction </div> Washington, D.C., October 9, 2001: Nuclear waste dumped at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is polluting the Snake River Plain aquifer, the primary source of drinking water for 200,000 people, according to a new report. Poison in the Vadose Zone: An examination of the threats to the Snake River Plain aquifer from the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER), warns that this important water resource faces further contamination from the migration of long-lived radionuclides and hazardous chemicals from nuclear weapons production wastes buried at the site. The Snake River Plain aquifer is the largest unified aquifer in the western United States and the most important underground water resource in the northwestern U.S. Poison in the Vadose Zone is the first report to comprehensively compile and analyze the available data on the threat posed by plutonium and other transuranic materials to the Snake River Plain aquifer. "For fifty years, nuclear weapons production has resulted in large quantities of radioactive and hazardous chemical waste being injected directly into the aquifer, discharged into surface ponds, or dumped into shallow pits and trenches," said Dr. Arjun Makhijani, principal author of the report and president of IEER. "These contaminants pose a serious threat to the lifeblood of the region, the Snake River Plain aquifer." According to the report, official US government data indicate that more than one metric ton of plutonium, packaged in nothing more than cardboard boxes, wooden boxes, or 55 gallon drums, was dumped into shallow trenches on the site in the 1950s and 1960s. Rain, snow, and occasional flooding of the trenches have already caused migration of some radioactive and hazardous materials towards, and in some cases into, the aquifer. Evidence has existed for more than 25 years that these long-lived radionuclides are migrating through the vadose zone to the aquifer much faster than anticipated. "Sound scientific work indicating threats to the Snake River Plain aquifer has long been ignored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)," stated Michele Boyd, co-author of the report and IEER's global outreach coordinator. "Plutonium and americium have been detected in the vadose zone, which is the unsaturated area between the ground surface and the aquifer, and in the aquifer since the 1970s. Plutonium is moving through the vadose zone to the aquifer thousands of times faster than assumed by a wait-and-see policy that dominates DOE's approach to clean-up of these dumps.=94 While the threat to the Snake River Plain aquifer from the buried wastes increases, the DOE has focused on transporting "stored" transuranic wastes, which are kept in relatively secure conditions indoors at INEEL, to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. "Insufficient resources are being devoted to cleaning up of the buried transuranic wastes at INEEL," said Gary Richardson, Executive Director of the Snake River Alliance, a nuclear watchdog group of INEEL. "The DOE is essentially playing a shell game by moving wastes from INEEL to WIPP so that more waste can be shipped to INEEL. The DOE's Environmental Management Program has wasted enormous sums of money on poorly designed projects for managing buried wastes. Meanwhile, the DOE is continuing to dump wastes into unlined pits and trenches. A culture of denial seems deeply embedded in the DOE with regard to the threat posed by buried wastes." Paul Schwartz, Director for Water Policy of Clean Water Action, in welcoming the report said, =93Activists and policy-makers should pay far more attention to the threat posed to the purity of critical water supplies in the United States by past radioactive dumping. Clean Water Action is certainly going to do so. There is no room for complacency when it comes to plutonium and americium.=94 The DOE buried more plutonium containing waste at INEEL than at any other nuclear weapons site. Direct injection of radioactive and hazardous substances into the Snake River Plain aquifer and dumping of wastes into percolation ponds resulted in plumes of pollutants like strontium-90, iodine-129, and TCE in the aquifer. Some areas under the site are contaminated at levels far above the Safe Drinking Water standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. While these standards do not apply to the water under INEEL, they do indicate the severity of the problem of water pollution due to past waste dumping and the need for clean-up. "The combined threat from the radioactive and hazardous chemicals in the buried wastes is enormous," continued Beatrice Brailsford of the Snake River Alliance. "Severe contamination of the Snake River Plain aquifer would have serious consequences for the health of the people and economy of Idaho. The Snake River Plain aquifer is the only source of drinking water for 200,000 people in southern Idaho and a major source of irrigation water for regional crops and fisheries. The produce grown in Idaho is eaten throughout the United States and in many other countries, including Japan, Canada, and Mexico. Idaho=92s trout farms, which rely on the groundwater, produce 75 percent of the commercial rainbow trout eaten in the U.S." The report recommends that: =B7<x-tab> </= x-tab>buried wastes be recovered from the dumps and processed in order to stabilize them for storage, =B7<x-tab> </= x-tab>all shallow land burial of radioactive wastes be stopped, =B7<x-tab> </= x-tab>the vadose zone be remediated to the extent possible, and =B7<x-tab> </= x-tab>a more vigorous groundwater monitoring program be implemented. "This will not be a simple project and will need to be carried out carefully, with due regard for worker safety," said Dr. Makhijani. "But it is a project that is essential for protecting the health of the Snake River Plain aquifer and also for security. If site control is lost, the dumps would be a potential nuclear weapons mine since they contain more than 200 nuclear bombs worth of plutonium.=94 For further information, contact:=20 <dl> <dd>Arjun Makhijani <x-tab> </x-tab> &= nbsp; (301) 270-5500=20 <dd>Beatrice Brailsford (208) 234-4782=20 <dd>Bob Schaeffer <x-tab> </x-tab> &= nbsp; (941) 395-6773 </dl><div align=3D"center"> Copies of the full report are available upon request. Portions of the report are available on-line: http://www.ieer.org/reports/poison/toc.html - --30-- <x-sigsep></x-sigsep> </div> Lisa Ledwidge Outreach Coordinator and Editor, Science for Democratic Action Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER) 2104 Stevens Ave. South | Minneapolis, MN 55404 USA phone: (612) 879-7517 | fax: (612) 879-7518 ieer@ieer.org | http://www.ieer.org </html> - --=====================_10882729==_.ALT-- - - 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 #478 *********************************** - To unsubscribe to $LIST, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe $LIST" in the body of the message. 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