NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #1/NN_1993_1.iso/spool/misc/activism/progress/9763

Text File | 1993-01-04 | 11.3 KB | 270 lines

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Path: sparky!uunet!paladin.american.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!wupost!mont!pencil.cs.missouri.edu!rich
From: [e-mail] (Rich Winkel)
Subject: Information on Military Research on Campus (autopost)
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If you contact the organization below, you can get a free listing of
the military contracts on your campus!!

This service is being operated with the assistance of the MIT
Initiative for peace.  If you would like to help out by looking into
the contracts at your school and helping out activists with the
information you find, you may also call the number below (617)
354-9363.

Rich Cowan, MIT Initiative for Peace (617)  253-0399

##################################################################

   ===============================================================
   War Research Information Service/ University Conversion Project
   ===============================================================
     P.O. Box 748      Cambridge, MA 02142     [phone]


      % Are you concerned about your university's involvement in
      the war effort?

      % Would you like a free list of the military contracts at
      your school?

      % When does a campaign questioning Department of Defense
      (DOD) ties work best?

      % Do you need assistance evaluating the uses of military-
      sponsored research?

      % Are your efforts to question research hampered by "academic
      freedom" arguments?

      % Can you distinguish a grant from a contract?  a C.V. from a
      Work Unit Summary?


If you've been asking any of these questions, then the War Research
Information Service (WRIS) may be able to help.  Established in
January by activists connected with military research struggles at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, WRIS is a helpline,
clearinghouse, and referral service for campus anti-war activists.  It
is your way of accessing the collective experience of dozens of
activists who have initiated campaigns at SUNY/Buffalo, MIT, the
University of Massachusetts, the University of British Columbia, the
University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, and other schools.

To use the service, simply call the number below and tell us what
university you are from.  If you agree to be a WRIS contact for your
school and give your name, address, and phone number, we will send you
a free packet containing a list of government research and facilities
contracts at that school.  You will also get 20 pages of information on
"decoding" the printouts and organizing your campus.  If your school
already has a WRIS contact, we will put you in touch with that
contact.  It's that simple.

You can also write us to get information or to give us some.  The
War Research Information Service will list your organization and
publicize your discoveries through alternative press services such
as the New Liberation News Service, student activist networks, and
other media.  Special investigations can be made for journalists,
time and resources permitting.

Remember, a tape machine will answer your call 24 hours a day.  A 2-
minute call only costs about a quarter at night rates.  If you do
call, here are some pointers on and excerpts from the information
provided:

1.  The packets you will receive contain a list of 1989 contracts
for your school plus three articles, by Roger Kerson of University
of Michigan, Rich Cowan of MIT, and Prof. Charles Schwartz of UC
Berkeley.  This should get you started.  The lists we provide say
nothing about new research contracts started in 1990 or 1991.

2.  The lists we provide include many non-Department of Defense
(DoD) agencies as well as DoD ones.

3.  Investigating local military research may not be the most useful
tactic at your school; it works best at elite schools which are
receiving the most DoD funds.   For other schools, campaigns
questioning military company recruiting or ROTC (WRL), curriculum
bias (USSA), or investments (PSRU) may be more appropriate.  (See
resource list below.)  ROTC will be listed on the printouts as
"Tuition/Reg/Memb fees."

4.  In addition to information, WRIS contacts can provide direct
student organizing experience so that you will have an idea what to
do once you get some information about your school's military ties,
and a list of organizations with ideas for concrete alternatives to
military research.

5.  The contract lists provided do not tell you the research topic,
department, or principal investigator's name.  To obtain more recent
and complete information, you must ask university or government
sources, using the leverage of open information laws, petitition
drives, or the threat of direct action.  Also:  we recommend that
you purchase a "Step by Step" guide to using the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) available for $3 from the American Civil
Liberties Union, 122 Maryland Ave. NE, Wash., DC (202)  544-1681.

6.  "Basic Research" (abbreviated as RB RESS on the printouts) is
not necessarily "neutral."  "Basic Science" funded by DoD emphasizes
performance requirements needed for long-range DoD plans.  DoDUs
own brochures (see below) advertise this fact.

7.  For the US-Iraq war, two very important technologies in addition
to chemical weapons are cluster bombs and fuel-air (aerosol vapor)
explosives, which may be used by the US in a ground war to kill
hundreds and thousands of troops instantly.  Iraq may have
indirectly acquired the latter through Honeywell, a US weapons
contractor.  Other info on US arming of Iraq:  Villiage Voice,
12/18/90, WSJ 12/7/90, Frontline transcript 9/11/90, New Republic,
Middle East Report 1/91, Readers Digest 1/19/91.

8.  A list of University profs on DoD advisory committees (Defense
Science Board, DoD-University Forum, Army Science Board, Air Force
Scientific Advisory Board, Naval Research Advisory Committee,
National Security Agency Advisory Committee, SDI Advisory Committee,
Jason Project, President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board,
etc.)  is located in Jonathan Feldman's Book, Universities in the
Business of Repression, published in 1989 by South End Press.
Updates to be compiled by WRIS.

9.  The columns in the contract lists provided, from left to
right, have the following meaning:

AMT - Dollar Amount received for  contract in F.Y. 1989 in
Thousands
CONT CITY - Where the Campus
is Located
CONTRACTOR - Name of Institution receiving funds        ST - State
where campus is located
CONTRACT NUMBER - Starts w/ F-Air Force, N-Navy, DA-Army, NAS-
Nasa, A-DOE, DT-Highway Admin, V-VA, M=DARPA or CIA
CONTRACT TYPE - C=Contract, E=Facilities Contract, H=Agreement
including Basic Agreement, A=Blanket Purchase Agreement, F=Delivery
Orders, K=Short Form Research Contr, B=Invitation for Bid,
D=Indefinite Delivery Contract, G=Basic Order Agreement,  L=Lease
Agreement, M=Purchase Order, N=Notice of Intent to Purchase,
P=Purchase Order, Q=Request for Quotation Manual, R=Request for
Proposal, S=Sales Contract, T=Request for Quotation Automated
PURCH OFF CITY - Where the Funding Organization is Located
        PURCH OFF NAME - Name of
Gov't Funding Org
POPCITY - City where research is actually conducted
PRODUCT OR SERVICE - What money is for:  "R&D", RProf. ServicesS,
ROTC RTuitionS.    Look out for the abbreviations B RES, EXPL DEV,
ADV DEV, OPSYS DEV which are levels of "mission-orientation":  Basic
Research, Exploratory Development, Advanced Development, Operational
Systems Development.  Call DOD (below) for more information.
S I CLASSIFICATION - An "Industry" grouping for each contract.


10.  Other Helpful Organizations and Researchers:


        CRG, Committee for Responsible Genetics Q19 Garden St., Cambridge,
MA  02138    (617)  868-0870 info about biological warfare!
        UAID, University Anti-Intervention and Disarmament Project Q 110
N. King St., Northampton, MA  01060  (413)  585-0814
        WRL, War ResisterUs League Q  339 Lafayette St., NY, NY  10012
(202)  228-0450.  Publishes ROTC dismantling kit.
        PSRU, People for a Socially Responsible University Q #23 Carriage
Shops, 233 N. Pleasant St., Amherst MA 01002  [phone]
        USSA ,  US Student Association, 1214 14th St. NW, Washington, DC
20005  (202)  347-USSA          ACCESS  info line (202)  785-6630
        CDI, Center for Defense Information Q 1500 Mass. Avenue NW, Su. 24,
Washington, DC  20005   (202)  862-0700, chem & other weapons info
        --->  Lynn Snyder (215)  386-5566, Eric Goldhagen [phone] ,
Matt Nicodemus [phone], Randy Viscio [phone]
        DoD, Deputy Director for Defense R&E (Research and Advanced
Technology)  DDDRE(R&AT)   (703)  695-3042,  Research & Laboratory
Management,  [phone] (ask for Broad Agency Announcements)
Public Affairs Q (703)  697-5737 , main number  [phone]


As of February 1, WRIS had contacts at the following schools, most
of which are engaged in DOD research

Antioch College
Brandeis University
Brown University
Carleton College
Carnegie-Mellon University
Clark University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Duke University
Georgetown University
Harvard University
Howard University
Ohio University
Illinois State
Marshall University
New York University
Northeastern University
Rice University/ U of Houston
Rutgers University
SUNY - Stony Brook
SUNY - Albany
SUNY - SASU
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
University of Kentucky, Louisville
University of Louisiana
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
University of Minnesota, Duluth
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis St. Paul
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
University of Texas, Austin


Big DOD research players who we need contacts from include:


Johns Hopkins University
Penn State University
Georgia Tech
University of California Berkeley
University of California Los Angeles
University of California San Diego
University of Southern California
University of Washington
University of Dayton
Utah State University
New Mexico State University
University of New Mexico
University of Massachusetts
Purdue University
University of Wisconsin
University of Ohio
University of Florida
##################################################################
Originally posted:
From: thistle%ATHENA.MIT.EDU
Mon, 18 Feb 91 12:04:37 CST,
to ACTIV-L (see below),

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