Disarm! Dismantle the war economy.We in U.S. WILPF WILPF Women's International League for Peace and Freedom have a full disarmament agenda for 2007 and 2008. The war economy, aggressively promoted by the military-industrial complex mil·i·tar·y-in·dus·tri·al complex n. The aggregate of a nation's armed forces and the industries that supply their equipment, materials, and armaments. Noun 1. , expands rapidly at the expense of human needs, security, life and liberty at home and abroad. The current U.S. administration barrels forward on the rebuilding of the complete nuclear arsenal and seeks unchallenged control of space by 2030 at trillions in cost, great profit to military industries, and danger to life on earth. Biodefense/bioweapons research continues expanding rapidly, with $44 billion appropriated since U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Bolton torpedoed the UN inspection protocol in 2001. Tragically, instead of leading the world away from wars, our nation is defying international law, undermining the United Nations, and stimulating a new global arms race. But WILPF members can never give up. At the United Nations, U.S. WILPF works with Reaching Critical Will and the Geneva Geneva, canton and city, Switzerland Geneva (jənē`və), Fr. Genève, canton (1990 pop. 373,019), 109 sq mi (282 sq km), SW Switzerland, surrounding the southwest tip of the Lake of Geneva. office to counter U.S. threats to the range of disarmament treaties negotiated during the dangerous years of the Cold War. Step-by-step, WILPF seeks to help governments move forward, gradually transforming into reality the visions set forth in the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Universal Declaration of Human Rights Declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. Drafted by a committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, it was adopted without dissent but with eight abstentions. , and the UN treaty system. The DISARM! committee continues to work directly on these issues and maintains WILPF web pages (accessible from the WILPF home page or at www.disarm.wilpf.org), loaded with information, resources, and action calendars. The real work, however, is done by members and branches. Dismantling the war economy and building an economy of peace remains a key objective. Progress in disarmament is nearly impossible while our economy remains dependent on weapons and war. The Mil-Corp ConneXion Manual is a powerful tool for exposing and dismantling this war economy, educating our communities, and encouraging planning for and transformation to an economy of peace. By now every branch should have a resource copy. Boston, Philadelphia, and Twin Cities are currently using it as a study and action guide. This year WILPF is working with War Resisters League and nearly forty other organizations to develop national and international networks of Mil-Corp watchers committed to dismantling the war economy. WILPF is updating materials for The Dirty Dozen: Partners in Mass Destruction to be available in printed copies and to download from multiple web sites. Nuclear weapons abolition is again high on the WILPF 2007 agenda. Even without the horrors of nuclear war, these weapons endanger life and the planet. In an article in this issue (page 12) Pat Birnie of Tucson, Arizona Tucson (pronounced /ˈtusɑn/, Spanish: Tucsón [tuk'son] , writes on behalf of WILPF's Save the Water campaign. She makes clear the dangers U.S. nuclear programs pose to our rivers and ground water. Linda Richards Linda Richards is a famous nursing pioneer and has the honor of being officially America's first trained nurse. In 1872, Linda Richards was the first student to enroll in the first class of five nurses in the first American Nurse’s training school. This school was run by Dr. of Ashland, Oregon Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, near Interstate 5 and the California border, and located in the south end of the Rogue Valley. It was named after Ashland County, Ohio, point of origin of Abel Helman and other founders, and secondarily for Ashland, Kentucky, where other , shares the terrible price Indigenous peoples The term indigenous peoples has no universal, standard or fixed definition, but can be used about any ethnic group who inhabit the geographic region with which they have the earliest historical connection. are paying for those same programs (page 10). Polls show the vast majority of earth's people support abolition and find nuclear war unthinkable. Yet our government clings to nuclear weapons. Marge Van Cleef Van Cleef is a Dutch surname and may refer to:
plutonium trigger production, uranium mining Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. As uranium ore is mostly present at relatively low concentrations, most uranium mining is very volume-intensive, and thus tends to be undertaken as open-pit mining. , possible resumption of nuclear testing Nuclear tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that have developed nuclear weapons have staged tests of them. , and vast quantities of nuclear waste. WILPF works to stop this insanity. Mary Day Kent, executive director of U.S. WILPF, submitted comments on Complex 2030 at the December 2006 Environmental Impact hearing in Washington, D.C. (Go to www.disarm.wilpf.org and see DISARM! Update for the statement and background information.) Complex 2030, of course, flagrantly defies the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) officially Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons International agreement intended to prevent the spread of nuclear technology. It was signed by the U.S. and the World Court ruling that nuclear weapons are illegal. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] On the positive side, however, the Blix Commission Report (see page 6) calls on the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. to lead the world toward abolition of nuclear weapons. Even Henry Kissinger, George Schultz, Sam Nunn Samuel Augustus Nunn, Jr. (born September 8, 1938) is an American businessman and politician. Currently the co-chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NTI (Nuclear Threat Initiative), a charitable organization working to reduce the global threats from nuclear, biological and , and William Perry
Keeping Space for Peace continues to be another major WILPF goal, countering the openly proclaimed Pentagon plan to dominate space to control both nations and the solar system solar system, the sun and the surrounding planets, natural satellites, dwarf planets, asteroids, meteoroids, and comets that are bound by its gravity. The sun is by far the most massive part of the solar system, containing almost 99.9% of the system's total mass. . For the past three years, WILPF has cosponsored Keep Space for Peace Week in October, along with Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space. Fifteen U.S. branches reported events during the week in 2006, and reports will be presented in May to UN agencies monitoring the Outer Space Treaty. MacGregor Eddy (Monterey) has developed a video and PowerPoint presentation for use in Branches, and DISARM! urges more Branches to join events in 2007. WILPF DISARM! has cosponsored twice-yearly demonstrations at Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 3,456 acres (1,399 hectares), SW Calif., near Lompoc; chief Pacific coast launch site for military satellites. in California, a Space Command Center. These will continue, but in 2007 emphasis will shift to Offut Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, where the Pentagon is now moving central control for the Space Command. Firing of weapons from ICBMs to cluster bombs (page 17) to guns will now be satellite-controlled from Offut. Join in continuing resistance to Congressional appropriations for space based weapons, missile defense, and further space based militarization mil·i·ta·rize tr.v. mil·i·ta·rized, mil·i·ta·riz·ing, mil·i·ta·riz·es 1. To equip or train for war. 2. To imbue with militarism. 3. To adopt for use by or in the military. . Let's work with Reaching Critical Will and our Geneva UN office for Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS). Boston Branch has been deeply involved resisting a biodefense/bioweapons lab there, and members share their experiences in this issue (page 8). San Francisco and Berkeley branches have joined resistance to military biolabs at Lawrence Livermore. Branches in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis, Madison, and Cambridge are also near biodefense or bioweapons labs that feed into military research. Check the Mil-Corp Manual for the biolab nearest you and get to work! (To download the paper presented by Boston WILPF to UN delegates in Geneva and get more information on the Bioweapons treaty, go to DISARM! Update at www.disarm.wilpf.org.) Current U.S. programs arouse suspicion, undermine the treaty, and could stimulate a new bioweapons arms race. However, diplomats and NGOs at the Bioweapons Treaty Conference this year were determined to move ahead toward transparency, universal adherence, and an eventual inspection regime, despite U.S. rejection of the inspection protocol in 2000. It is with the same determination that we in WILPF continue working for a world without war in all our many committees and campaigns. We know many other organizations and individuals throughout the world share our visions and our goals. We cannot give up, and we must continue to build institutions of peace, as we seek an end to war. An overview by Carol Urner, Chair of the DISARM! Committee RELATED ARTICLE: Taking Action For Peace PORTLAND WILPF MEMBERS Mary Bolton and Elizabeth Linder (below) vigil with the Portland Branch weekly on disarmament and other WILPF issues. Other Portlanders, including veterans, who share WILPF goals, often join the vigils. During Keep Space for Peace Week, Barbara Drageaux and Pat Hollingsworth (right) participated in one of seven Portland Branch events, which included space activist/singer Holly Gwinn Graham, bringing their message to university students and visits to members of Congress. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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