From: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com (abolition-usa-digest) To: abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: abolition-usa-digest V1 #111 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, April 13 1999 Volume 01 : Number 111 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 12:24:38 -0400 From: ASlater Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: Appeal by the Serbian NGOs >Date: Mon, 12 Apr 1999 01:00:00 -0400 >Subject: Appeal by the Serbian NGOs >Cc: ippnw-deutschland@vlberlin.comlink.de, > abolition-caucus@igc.apc.org >From: cna@bih.net.ba (cna@bih.net.ba) > >Forwarded to: >abolition-europe >abolition-caucus >ippnw.campaign >ippnw-deutschland > >Sorry for those who receive this message repeatedly, but it is VERY >important. >Xanthe > >APPEAL BY THE SERBIAN NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS > > >Deeply disturbed by NATO destruction and the ordeal of Kosovo Albanians, > >we, the representatives of nongovernmental organizations and trade union > >"Nezavisnost" (Independence), strongly demand from all those responsible > >for this tragedy to immediately create ground for the renewal of the >peace process. > >The most powerful military, political and economic powers of the world >are for two weeks incessantly killing people and destroying not only >military but also civilian objects, blowing up bridges and rail tracks, >factories and heating plants, warehouses and basins... At the same time, > >in fear of the bombing campaign and military actions by the regime and >the KLA, hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians are, in an >unprecedented exodus, forced to leave their devastated homes and look >for salvation in the tragedy and uncertainty of fleeing. > >It is obvious that this is a road to catastrophe, and the peaceful and >fair solution to the Kosovo problem through international mediation we >have supported for years, today seems more distant than ever. > >The past activities of our organizations in the field of >democratization, development of a civil society and acceptance of FR >Yugoslavia into all international institutions have been under constant >pressure and intimidation by the Serbian regime. > >We, as members of civil society associations have courageously and >nationally fought against war and nationalistic propaganda and in >support of human rights. We emphasize that we have always raised our >voices against the repression against Kosovo Albanians and demanded the >respect of their liberties and guarantees for their rights. We have also > >requested the return of the autonomy of Kosovo. We stress that the only >connection and cooperation of Serbs and Albanians during all these years > >has been preserved among civil society institutions. > >NATO military intervention has undermined all results we have achieved >and endangered the very survival of the civil sector in Serbia. > >Faced with the tragic situation we have found ourselves in, and in the >name of human ideas and values, as well as in accordance with all our >past activities, we are demanding: > >- immediate stop to the bombing campaign and all armed movements; >- resuming of the peace process with international mediation at the >regional Balkan and European level, as well as in the framework of the >United Nations; >- share of responsibility between the European Union and Russia and >their contribution to the peaceful solution of the crisis; >- end of the ethnic cleansing process and immediate return of all >refugees; >- support to the citizens of Montenegro to preserve peace and stability, > >solve serious consequences of the refugee catastrophe and resume with >the democratic processes that are underway; >- we demand that the Serbian and international media inform the public >in a professional manner and not spur media war, incite interethnic >hatred, create irrational public opinion and glorify force as the > >ultimate accomplishment of the human mind. > >We cannot meet these demands by ourselves. > >We expect from you to support our demands and in your initiatives and >actions help their implementation. > > >* Association of Citizens for Democracy, Social Justice and Support to >Trade Unions >* Belgrade Circle >* Center for Democracy and Free Elections >* Center for Transition to Democracy-ToD >* Civic Initiatives >* European Movement in Serbia >*Forum for Ethnic Relations, and Foundation for Peace and Crisis >Management >* Group 484 >* Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia >* Student Union of Serbia >* Union for Truth about Antifascist Resistance >* United Branch Trade Unions NEZAVISNOST >* VIN-Weekly Video News >* Women in Black >* Yu Lawyers Committee for Human Rights >* EKO Centar > >In Belgrade, April 6, 1999 > Alice Slater Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE) 15 East 26th Street, Room 915 New York, NY 10010 tel: (212) 726-9161 fax: (212) 726-9160 email: aslater@gracelinks.org GRACE is a member of Abolition 2000, a global network working for a treaty to eliminate nuclear weapons. - - 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, 13 Apr 1999 12:30:22 -0400 From: ASlater Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: WIPP Call to action >Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 10:17:41 -0400 >Subject: WIPP Call to action >To: nirsnet@nirs.org >From: nirsnet@nirs.org (nirsnet@nirs.org) > >Here is a call to action in New Mexico and Colorado. If you received an >earlier version, please disregard it and use this one. Circulate as >widely as you like. Please consider what role you can play in this. >Nuclear waste is the Achilles heal of the nuclear industry. We can stop >it. I think now is the time. We can build a movement around WIPP. The >immediate significance is to stop a precedent-setting environmental >disaster in the making. >The larger significance has to do with ending nuclear bomb production >and >bringing a little more democracy into our common life. Dream and act! >I just published an op-ed on the alternative to WIPP. If you want a >copy >let me know, preferably by e-mail. > >PS: The following came yesterday from Scott Myers-Lipton, who teaches >at St Mary's College in Calif.: "I have read your letter--very >convincing. >As a student of the Civil Rights, I am well aware that when a colleague >and respected elder puts out "a call", the person "called" responds. Is >that what you are asking? If it is, I am prepared to respond to your >call. >Just tell me when and where to show up for duty." > >STOP WIPP > >HALT TRANSPORT OF PLUTONIUM-LADEN WASTE TO WIPP > >NO MORE DUMPING OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE IN THE ENVIRONMENT > >A CALL TO ACTION > >IF YOU OPPOSE PLUTONIUM IN THE ENVIRONMENT >YOU ARE NEEDED IN NEW MEXICO AND COLORADO NOW! > >* DOE has begun shipment of plutonium-laden waste from Los Alamos to >WIPP, >the world's first site for deep geologic disposal of rad waste. >* Plutonium remains radioactive for 240,000 years; one speck in the >body >may result in cancer, damage to the immune system, genetic defects. Any >quantity of this material in the environment constitutes a permanent >danger. >* Waste at WIPP may eventually contaminate surface soil and water. >* Over 35 years DOE intends to send 38,000 truckloads of >plutonium-laden >waste to WIPP -- in Colorado 2 to 3 shipments per day on I-25 for 35 >years >(2,500 from Rocky Flats; the rest from Idaho and Washington). One >accident >that breaches a container could permanently contaminate an area. >* The transport container has not been tested for extreme heat or >impact. >* WIPP's opening sets a precedent for the opening of Yucca Mountain. >* Some WIPP space is reserved for waste to be generated from future >bomb-making; one purpose of WIPP thus is to make continued bomb-making >possible. >* The waste intended for WIPP should be isolated from the environment >at >sites of generation in monitored, retrievable state-of-the art storage. >* This approach keeps options open and allows for a national dialogue >to >develop a scientifically credible, publicly acceptable nuclear waste >policy. > >YOU'RE NEEDED. GET NONVIOLENCE TRAINING. DO SUPPORT WORK. >PARTICIPATE IN DIRECT ACTION IN NEW MEXICO NOW. >PREPARE FOR ACTION ALONG ROUTE FROM COLO. & IDAHO LATER. > >IF YOU CAN'T TAKE ACTION, GIVE FUNDS AND TIME. > >NEXT TRUCKS TO WIPP FROM LOS ALAMOS: APRIL 8, 15, 22, 29. > >Trucks are now moving to WIPP from Los Alamos. Next they'll move from >Rocky Flats and Idaho National Lab, then from Hanford, Savannah River, >Livermore, Oak Ridge, and all the other sites. What's done now in New >Mexico can later be implemented elsewhere. > >For more information contact: >New Mexico WIPP Action, Santa Fe, 505-984-8321 (effective 4-8-99) >Rocky Mountain Peace & Justice Center, Boulder, 303-444-6981 (4-6-99) > >LeRoy Moore, Ph.D. >Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center >P. O. Box 1156, Boulder, Colorado 80306-1156 USA >Phone 303-444-6981; FAX 303-444-6523 >E-mail address effective March 1, 1999: leroymoore@earthlink.net > Alice Slater Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE) 15 East 26th Street, Room 915 New York, NY 10010 tel: (212) 726-9161 fax: (212) 726-9160 email: aslater@gracelinks.org GRACE is a member of Abolition 2000, a global network working for a treaty to eliminate nuclear weapons. - - 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, 13 Apr 1999 12:31:18 -0400 From: ASlater Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: US: Corporate Buyout of NATO >Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 09:43:24 -0400 >Subject: US: Corporate Buyout of NATO >Priority: non-urgent >X-FC-MachineGenerated: true >To: wilpf-news@igc.apc.org >From: dcintern@juno.com (dcintern@juno.com) > >This article appeared in today's Washington Post. > >Kelly Barber, >Jeanette Rankin Intern >********************************************************* > >Count Corporate America Among NATO's Staunchest Allies > > By Tim Smart > Washington Post Staff Writer > Tuesday, April 13, 1999; Page E01=20 > >For many Washingtonians, the NATO military alliance's upcoming >50th-anniversary bash may end up being notable only for nightmare traffic >tie-ups. For a few companies, though, the summit could be the ultimate >marketing opportunity.=20 >A handful of top-drawer U.S. companies -- including heavyweights such as >Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. as well as upstarts such as >Nextel Communications Inc., a McLean-based wireless communications firm >-- will be the gathering's hosts and as such will get to showcase their >wares and schmooze with top military and political leaders from 44 >nations at events taking place throughout the District. > >A dozen companies have paid $250,000 apiece in cash or "in-kind" >contributions for the privilege of having their chief executives serve as >directors of the NATO summit's host committee. The group is a >private-sector support system raising $8 million to finance the April >23-25 event. > >While company representatives express disdain at the notion they will be >lobbying NATO officials for business, many of the firms on the host >committee sell precisely the kinds of products most in demand by the >emerging economies of Eastern and Central Europe -- which include NATO's >newest members and some prospective additions. Ameritech, for instance, >is interested in running international phone networks. United >Technologies Corp. views emerging or developing countries as a big >potential market for its Otis elevators and Carrier air-conditioning and >heating units. Both Ford and GM have auto plants throughout Europe. Their >target audience? Heads of state and key cabinet ministers from the 19 >NATO members, accompanied by leaders from 25 nations that make up the >Partnership for Peace, countries with aspirations to join the alliance. >The guests will be accessible for the kind of low-key lobbying and wining >and dining customary at such international gatherings. About 1,700 >dignitaries are expected to attend -- along with a media contingent of >3,000. > > "The business community was in it from Day One," said Alan John Blinken, >a former U.S. ambassador to Belgium and investment banker who is heading >the host committee. "In a lot of these cases, they came to us -- we >didn't solicit them." > > A second tier of firms, including Washington powerhouse law and lobbying >firms Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, and Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, >McPherson and Hand, are members of the committee. Other companies, such >as Eastman Kodak Co. and missile manufacturer Raytheon Co., are >participating but taking a less public role. And more are still being >courted. "They're actually wooing our CEO right now," said Gerald Robbins >of 3Com Corp.'s Washington office. The communications networking company >has a contract with NATO to supply equipment for the military alliance's >AWACS surveillance and control planes that are being flown over Kosovo. >"NATO is a big customer," Robbins said. > >Some host committee members, including Nextel, also hope to attract the >attention of top U.S. government officials at the summit. The company is >providing almost 2,000 of Motorola Inc.'s I-1000 combination cell phone >and two-way radios to visiting foreign dignitaries and members of the >State Department's summit staff. Four hundred of the $299 phones will be >embossed with a special anniversary emblem. > >Hungary, one of NATO's three newest members, held a reception last week >at its embassy here, where Nextel's general manager, Nick Sample, proudly >displayed one of the phones. Beaming, he told of how the product had >recently been added to the General Services Administration's list of >approved merchandise, allowing government purchasing officers to order >the wireless communications gear. Having Nextel phones widely available >to high-level bureaucrats as well as foreign heads of state is the kind >of marketing that can only be labeled as priceless. > >For the guests, it's free, as Nextel is providing the phones gratis. >"We've had quite a few inquiries already from the FBI, the State >Department and the CIA," Sample said. > >Corporate support for the NATO summit is an outgrowth of the active role >many U.S. companies, particularly defense contractors such as Lockheed >Martin Corp. of Bethesda, have played in the move to enlarge NATO byond >its traditional U.S.-Western Europe axis. U.S. defense companies lobbied >hard in Congress in recent years to admit the former Soviet satellites >Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. > >"Companies like Lockheed Martin, for example, and all of them were active >with me overseas," said former congressman Gerald B.H. Solomon, who >headed a House task force appointed by former House speaker Newt Gingrich >to push the membership issue. > >Solomon, now a private lobbyist, said he traveled throughout Eastern and >Central Europe spreading the message that if the United States was going >to be NATO's principal military power, supplying most of its high-tech >weaponry, then U.S. defense firms should receive contracts to rearm the >former Soviet states. > >"We wanted them to buy American," Solomon said. > >Corporate representatives say private-sector underwriting of an >international meeting for sovereign nations is standard business practice >these days, though the NATO event is a far bigger draw than other >international get-togethers. > >"This is a very unique beast," said Sally Painter, a lobbyist for Tenneco >Inc. on leave from the auto parts and packaging conglomerate while >serving as chief operating officer of the host committee. Painter, >previously a top aide to then-commerce secretary Ronald H. Brown, was >involved in international business development for Tenneco. "These are >global corporations that understand the role stability plays with >investment. There's no quid pro quo at all." > >Jim Christy, vice president of government relations for TRW Inc., said it >makes sense for companies, rather than the member nations, to foot the >bill for such events. > >"Whether it's the [Group of Seven] summit in Denver or the Summit of the >Americas in Miami, there are not government funds available," Christy >said, noting that TRW Chairman Joseph Gorman was personally approached by >Blinken on behalf of the host committee. > >"My chairman is public-spirited and agreed to do so," Christy said. > >TRW, though it has no contracts to provide products to NATO, is one of a >handful of companies providing critical communications and defense >supplies to the U.S. military. Along with donating $250,000 in cash to >the summit, TRW is developing its World Wide Web site. > >"We were hit up for the Summit of the Americas" Christy said, adding that >TRW did not contribute money for the meeting but built the summit's Web >site for free. > >Blinken said that the expansion of NATO and the pro-Western tilt of >countries formerly tied to the Soviet Union have created "major new >trading partners" for the United States but that today the interest in >new markets comes not only from arms merchants but also from a variety of >technology firms, including Ameritech Corp., Lucent Technologies Inc. and >Nextel. > >"Most of the companies are not companies you would have expected in the >old day, companies selling bombs and missiles, what have you," Blinken >said. "You've got communications companies." > >Yet a good number of the firms on the host committee sell weaponry. >Although the economic crisis that spread throughout Asia and other parts >of the world last summer has somewhat cooled their enthusiasm, new NATO >members such as Poland and other countries such as Turkey are viewed as >prime candidates for U.S. weapons. Poland has been considering new >fighter jets from either Lockheed or Boeing Co. > >TRW's Christy said the summit was low on the radar of most companies just >a couple of months ago, when the events committee made its first >solicitations. But the fighting in Yugoslavia has focused attention on >the gathering. > >"All of a sudden," he said, "now this is beginning to burnish a little >into the consciousness." > >NATO Access > >Here are the 12 companies that have paid $250,000 to have an executive >(in parentheses) serve as one of the directors on the NATO summit's host >committee: > > Ameritech (Richard Notebaert) > DaimlerChrysler (Robert Liberatore) > Boeing (Christopher W. Hansen) > Ford Motor (Jacques A. Nasser) > General Motors (George A. Peapples) > Honeywell (Michael R. Bonsignore) > Lucent Technologies (Richard A. McGinn) > Motorola (Arnold Brenner) > Nextel Communications (Daniel F. Akerson) > SBC Communications (Edward E. Whitacre Jr.) > TRW (Joseph Gorman) > United Technologies (George David) > > SOURCE: NATO Anniversary Summit Host Committee=20 > >=A9 Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company >___________________________________________________________________ >You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. >Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html >or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] > =20 Alice Slater Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE) 15 East 26th Street, Room 915 New York, NY 10010 tel: (212) 726-9161 fax: (212) 726-9160 email: aslater@gracelinks.org GRACE is a member of Abolition 2000, a global network working for a treaty to eliminate nuclear weapons. - - 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, 13 Apr 1999 13:29:29 -0400 From: ASlater Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities Bus Tour >Date: Mon, 12 Apr 1999 18:22:19 -0400 >Subject: Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities Bus Tour >Priority: non-urgent >X-FC-MachineGenerated: true >To: budgetgroups@lyris.ombwatch.org >X-FC-Forwarded-From: carterm@ombwatch.org >From: budgetgroups@lyris.ombwatch.org (budgetgroups@lyris.ombwatch.org) > > >Following is information on Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities >(BLSP), which is a non-profit organization of 400+ business >executives and senior military advisers working to increase >domestic investment. BLSP is planning a national bus tour, >starting in Washington DC on April 14th, that will deliver >presentations on the need for increased domestic investment. The >tour schedule follows, along with a form to request a stop in your >community and general information on BLSP. For more >information, please see the BLSP web site at >. >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ------- > >Business Leaders, including Ben and Jerry's Co-Founder Ben >Cohen, and Federal Budget Analysts to Launch National Bus Tour >About Federal Spending > >Kickoff on the Mall to Feature the Money-Covered "U-Slice-the-Pie" >Bus, a 15-Foot-High Infant Mortality Baby, and More > >What: In an effort to educate Americans about the local impact of >federal spending choices, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities >and the National Priorities Project will launch their national "U Slice >the Pie" bus tour, which will tour the nation for the next three years. > >At each stop on the tour, bus staff--using bright inflatable >sculptures and other props--will lead citizens through a theatrical >and educational presentation, including specific local data, of the >impacts of federal spending priorities in their community. >Information on 55 U.S. cities and every state will be available at the >news conference. > >A U Slice the Pie performance, complete with the unique props will >follow the event. > >Where: The National Mall in Washington, DC, West Side of >Third St, NW between Madison and Jefferson. > >When: The day before Tax Day, April 14, 12 Noon. > >Who: Ben Cohen, Co-founder of Ben & Jerry's, President Business >Leadersfor Sensible Priorities (BLSP). Greg Speeter, Executive >Director, the National Priorities Project (NPP). > >There will also be a retired military officer and representatives from >groups co-sponsoring the bus tour at the event. > >For more information contact: Stacy Roth (NPP) at (413) 584- >9556; or Andrew Greenblatt (BLSP) at (212) 964-1109 ext. 24 > > > >BUSINESS LEADERS FOR SENSIBLE PRIORITIES PRESENTS: > THE "U SLICE THE PIE" BUS TOUR > > WHO ARE WE? > >Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities is a national, non-profit >organization of 400+ business executives and senior military >advisers. Founded by Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry's, B.L.S.P. >includes the CEO's of Hasbro, Phillips-VanHeusen, Newman's >Own, Scientific American and other major corporations. > > WHAT IS OUR GOAL? > >B.L.S.P.'s goal is to increase public investments in community >programs that address education, health care and children's needs >by shifting $40 billion annually from the Pentagon budget. > > WHAT IS OUR GAME PLAN? > >B.L.S.P. will use creative marketing techniques to spread this >message, including a bus tour that will travel the country delivering >informative and entertaining presentations on budget priorities. The >crew is scheduled to hit the road on April 15th in Washington, D.C. >and wrap up the first tour in November. > >The bus will travel to five cities each week, performing two shows in >each. The oral presentation will consist of a "U Slice the Pie" >exercise where the audience will learn how our federal budget "pie" >currently is allocated and then participate in an exercise to >reallocate that budget according to their local needs. The results >of these presentations will be shared with the media. Each >presentation will be non-partisan, objective and inclusive so that >people of all political leanings can hear our message. > >The bus tour will be a central facet of the B.L.S.P. campaign, >allowing us to take our agenda into communities large and small >across the country. It is also designed to be a media event and >generate local coverage that will reach a larger audience. >Combined with the inflatable billboard sculptures it carries and an >eye-catching paint-job, the bus is designed to provide both still and >video photo opportunities-as well as substantive content for a local >news story, feature story and national political story. We will >target the bus tour's audiences to reach key constituencies, before >crowds ranging from 50-100 to larger conferences or meetings. > > WHERE WILL THE BUS BE GOING? > >While the Bus Tour schedule is still fluid, the tour will kick off at a >Washington, D.C. press conference on April 14th (the day before >Tax Day). Other dates we are working to build into our schedule >include: the week ending 4/23/99 -- in Iowa; May 1st -- the >Children's Defense Fund National Conference in Houston, Texas; >June 1st -- the "Stand for Children" event in San Francisco. We >are looking for other events and conferences, as well as some >smaller local venues. > >CONTACT US TO SCHEDULE A BUS STOP IN YOUR >COMMUNITY: > >Dave Nelson / Bus Tour Director >1016 North 4th Street >Cottonwood, Arizona 86326 >Phone: (520) 649-9328 >Fax: (520) 649-9332 >Email: dave@businessleaders.org > >SCHEDULE REQUEST FORM > > >Name of group or >organization:_________________________________________ > >Contact >name:_________________________________________________ > >Mailing >Address:______________________________________________ > >______________________________________________________ > >Day Phone:_________________________ > >Evening phone:_____________________ > >Fax #:_____________________________ > >Email address:_____________________________ > >Requested >date(s):_____________________________________________ > >Location of >event:______________________________________________ > >_______________________________________ >(Street, town/city, state/zip) > >Time of event:_______________a.m. / p.m. (circle one) > >Sponsoring >organization:________________________________________ > >Approximate # of >attendees:_____________________________________ > >Please summarize the theme(s) or message(s) that you hope to >communicate or reinforce through your event(s) and how we might >be able to add to your program. (Attach extra paper if necessary >and please indicate when you need a commitment by. Also >include any additional information such as flyers or brochures >about your event or organization. Thank You!!) > >For more information about our campaign, visit our Web sites: >www.businessleaders.org www.moveourmoney.org > > >BUSINESS LEADERS FOR SENSIBLE PRIORITIES > GOALS AND OBJECTIVES > > * 3-year marketing and public relations campaign to redefine the >national debate on federal spending priorities. > > * Reductions in unnecessary Cold War-era military spending; >investing the savings in education, health and human needs here at >home. Our military advisors, including distinguished retired >admirals and generals, concur that the $271 billion military budget >can be cut 15% (or $40 billion annually) while maintaining the >world's strongest armed forces. > > WHAT'S NEW ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN > > * The membership of Business Leaders is novel, as are our >techniques. The public believes business people understand >budgeting and investing scarce resources wisely. That's why we >believe that business leaders will be an effective new voice in the >debate over federal spending priorities. > > * Unlike past efforts to cut unnecessary military spending, this one >is designed as a sustained, strategic, comprehensive campaign >with a broad audience and a specific set of goals. > > * Through professional market research, public relations and paid >advertising, Business Leaders will market this issue to the >American public - giving voice to the people's beliefs and mobilizing >Americans to action. > > * The focus will not be on Washington, D.C., but on the public who >will see and hear our campaign in paid print, radio and television >advertising; in news stories; on radio and television talk shows; in >cartoons; in the popular culture of song, art, film and comedy; on >the Internet; via a coordinated college campus campaign and >through national membership organizations that share our vision. > > * These activities will create a national discussion of our >government's spending priorities and offer mobilized citizens >opportunities to make their voices heard to their elected >representatives. > > * With the traction of an educated and mobilized public, we will >take the campaign to Congress in 2001. >To collaborate with Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, return >the Menu for Collaboration (below) or contact Virginia Witt, Director >of Constituency Group Relations, (202)543-1604 (ph) (202)543- >2565 (fax) or virginia@businessleaders.org >Visit our NEW websites: www.businessleaders.org and >www.moveourmoney.org > > > BUSINESS LEADERS FOR SENSIBLE PRIORITIES (BLSP): > HOW YOUR ORGANIZATION CAN GET INVOLVED > >BLSP is a national non-profit public education organization >comprised of business leaders and military advisors, focused on >the issue of federal budget priorities. We invite your organization to >collaborate with us. This is a list of resources we can provide at >your request, tailored to your organization's issues and >constituency. Please check the items you are interested in and >return this form to Virginia Witt, Director of Constituency Group >Relations, at virginia@businessleaders.org or fax (202/543-2565) or >by mail (BLSP, 426 C Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002). We >will follow up. Thank you. > >__List my organization as a "National Collaborating Organization" >of BLSP. > >Please provide me with the following BLSP resources: > >__Draft Policy Resolution on shifting $40 billion in federal >investment from excess military spending to domestic investment. > The language of the resolution can be adapted to your >organization's needs and issue focus. Deadline____________ > >__Sample Newsletter Article tailored to your membership >addressing federal budget priorities and the BLSP campaign. > >Publication______________________ Deadline_______ >Length of Article _______ > > >__ Graphic Box Illustrating Budget Tradeoffs in your issue area (for >newsletters) >Publication Name _________________________ >Deadline_________ > > >__ Graphic Web Site "Banner Ad" providing direct link between >your group's web site and BLSP web site on budget priorities -- >www.businessleaders.org > > >My organization is interested in exploring the following collaborative >activities: > >__ Partnering with BLSP's "You Slice the Pie" National Bus Tour >on budget priorities, which kicks off April 15, 1999 in Washington, >D.C. > >__ Co-Authored Opinion Article on budget priorities by your >organization's CEO and a BLSP member CEO. > >__ A Presentation by a BLSP CEO or senior military expert at your >organization's national convention, conference or event. Date and >location____________________ > >__ Use of BLSP television or print advertising or public relations >team in spotlighting a joint message around budget priorities. > >Contact for Follow-up at Your Organization > >(Name)___________________(Title)_______________ > >(Org.)_____________________ > >(E-Mail) __________________ > >(Ph)________________(Fax)____________________ > > > > >--- >You are currently subscribed to budgetgroups as: [aslater@gracelinks.org] >To unsubscribe, forward this message to >leave-budgetgroups-5336Y@lyris.ombwatch.org > Alice Slater Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE) 15 East 26th Street, Room 915 New York, NY 10010 tel: (212) 726-9161 fax: (212) 726-9160 email: aslater@gracelinks.org GRACE is a member of Abolition 2000, a global network working for a treaty to eliminate nuclear weapons. - - 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, 13 Apr 1999 10:15:37 -0700 From: "David Crockett Williams" Subject: (abolition-usa) LA Times on Nuclear War Danger - -----Original Message----- From: Carol Moore To: Peace list from Date: Tuesday, April 13, 1999 9:01 AM Subject: LA Times on Nuclear War Danger http://www.kreative.net/carolmoore/C&C-news.html > Los Angeles Times > 4/13/99 > > Cold War's End Leaves Danger of Nuclear War > Russia's disintegration threatens our security more by inadvertence than by > design. > By ROBERT SCHEER > > Back in the days of the Bush administration, Gen. Lee Butler, commander of > the Strategic Air Command, would once a month go through a practice phone > conversation with the White House concerning the end of the world. > > "Gen. Butler, what is your recommendation?" the Bush stand-in would ask > upon receiving an alert from NORAD that the Soviets had launched a nuclear > strike against the United States. Butler had to answer fast, because, in a > real attack, the president would have had only 12 minutes to decide whether > to launch thousands of nuclear missiles in retaliation. > > "Use them or lose them" would be the refrain running through Butler's > brain, well-versed in elegant nuclear deterrence theories of ladders of > escalation. "I had to say the words recommending the death warrant of tens > of millions of people, of civilization--20,000 weapons on both sides > exploding within 12 hours--knowing the planet can't withstand that." > > It still can't. Butler, a 33-year military veteran who rose to be > director of strategic plans and policy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is > retired now, and the Soviet Union is but a memory. Yet what haunts him, and > what occasioned his rare willingness to be interviewed, is that the Cold > War's end has increased, not decreased, the prospect of accidental nuclear > war. > > Twenty-thousand nuclear weapons left over from the Cold War still stand > poised for launching, and the MAD doctrine that guided them is very much in > force. Neither the U.S. nor Russia has abandoned nuclear war fighting as the > cornerstone of their respective national defense policies. "We still target > them with nuclear weapons on hair-trigger alert," Butler observed. "The > world truly has been transformed, but what has not been transformed is our > thinking about it." > > Russia's political and economic disintegration now threatens our > security more by inadvertence than by design, prompting key Cold War > military establishment veterans like Butler to sound the alarm: > > "The Russian command and early warning system is in a state of great > decline; about two-thirds of the satellites they relied on for early warning > capability are inactive or failing. They're experiencing false alarms now on > almost a routine basis, and I shudder to think about the morale and > discipline of their rocket forces. There are worrisome aspects to all of > that. That's why people like myself are so puzzled and dismayed that our > government won't even address the problem." > > Addressing the problem requires bold leadership on nuclear disarmament > that's been sadly lacking in the Clinton years. There have been some > cosmetic arrangements with the Russians as to nuclear safety and targeting > issues but no real follow-up on arms control measures aggressively pursued > by George Bush. Give credit where due: Bush recognized that the end of the > Cold War permitted--nay, mandated--that the U.S. set an example by reducing > the size and lowering the alert status of its nuclear force. > > As Butler recalls, "The single most important arms controls were George > Bush's unilateral measures back in 1991, which took all of the tactical > nuclear weapons off the ships and brought many back from Europe, took the > bombers off alert and accelerated the retirement of the Minuteman II force. > And Mikhail Gorbachev followed suit. It's ironic that today we have a > Republican Congress that thwarts arms control progress, and yet it was a > Republican administration that really moved the ball down the field." > > Clinton has never been very interested in nuclear disarmament, and > these days seems bent on alarming the Russian leadership by expanding NATO's > membership and military role in Eastern Europe, including a NATO-led war > against Russia's neighbor, Yugoslavia. This has strengthened the hand of > hard-line communists and nationalists who control the Duma, undermining > chances for nuclear arms control progress. Those elements also point to > Clinton's endorsement of the harebrained effort to revive the "star wars" > Strategic Defense Initiative as further evidence that the U.S. is not > committed to arms control. > > Boris Yeltsin has his flaws, but humiliating him and undermining more > moderate forces in Russia is the path of disaster. In 1995, Yeltsin was > awakened in the middle of the night because one branch of his crumbling > military had failed to inform another of prior knowledge of a Norwegian > rocket launch, which they confused with a U.S. Trident missile. Fortunately, > this error was corrected before Yeltsin's 12 minutes of decision-making > passed. No wonder Butler is concerned. > - - - > Robert Scheer Is a Times Contributing Editor. - ---------------- Global Emergency Alert Response http://www.angelfire.com/on/GEAR2000 ********************************************************* gear2000@lightspeed.net GENERAL AGENCY SERVICES David Crockett Williams 661-822-3309 20411 Steeple Court, Tehachapi CA 93561 USA ********************************************************* The Global Peace Walk 1999-2000 1999: 22APR Taos, NM, ---> Santa Fe 26APR 2000: 15JAN San Francisco --> New York 24OCT 19SEP* Washington, DC, Ceremony Rededicating The Washington Monument as a Symbol of Peace. *3rd Tuesday of September is annual opening of UN General Assembly & International Day of Peace October 24th is United Nations Day "GLOBAL PEACE NOW!" Global Peace Zone2000 Remove the scourge of war from future generations http://www.egroups.com/list/global-peace-walk FOR ONE HUMAN FAMILY: Love All, Serve All *DC date subject to change by May 1, 1999 - - 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 #111 *********************************** - To unsubscribe to $LIST, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe $LIST" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message.