HTTP://www.stopthebombs.org/rss/articles.xml Articles for Stop the Bombs. en-us Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:26:25 -0700 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:26:25 -0700 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss - http://www.cedargrovedesign.com webmaster@cedargrovedesign.com (Cynthia Sellers) renegadepathos@riseup.net (renegadepathos@riseup.net) In 2008, OREPA reached a milestone: 20 years of non-violent resistance to nuclear proliferation. Help us to commemorate the occasion by sharing your stories and imagery with us...anything related to your experiences with Y-12, OREPA, and Stop the Bombs! Send Virtual Time Capsule contributions to the webmaster Virtual Time Capsule: Music Stories Videos Posters Articles Momentos Friendship Rants Art Graffiti Lyrics Shirt designs Snapshots Poetry Imagine Links Donations You name it "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead (1901 - 1978)]]> Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:24 -0700 http://www.stopthebombs.org/articles/1988-2008-stop-the-bombs-time-capsule.htm 27ba8caa7ccec62d80da32cdf1cd0e1c10 MLK Symposium & The Future of Nukes at Knoxtube.com Imagine a World Without Bombs Peace Vigil at a National Security Complex (Oakridge, TN) Hiroshima Day Vigil - Oak Ridge, Tennessee - August 6, 2007 Sorry...that's all we've got in the video time capsule for now. Send us yours! Knoxville Community Voices on the Subject of Peace Peace Singer Jerry Leggett conducts impromptu interviews of people in the Knoxville Area and asks "Is peace possible?" and "If you could imagine a better world, what would it look like?" (found at YouTube.com) And now for something completely different...this Oak Ridge video tour is just funny: (inspired by www.wherethehellismatt.com) "We Will Become Silhouettes," by The Postal Service I've got a cupboard with cans of food Filtered water and pictures of you And I'm not coming out until this is all over And I'm looking through the glass Where the light bends at the cracks And I'm screaming at the top of my lungs Pretending the echoes belong to someone Someone I used to know And we become Silhouettes when our bodies finally go I wanted to walk though the empty streets And feel something constant under my feet, But all the news reports recommended that I stay indoors Because the air outside will make Our cells divide at an alarming rate Until our shells simply cannot hold All our insides in, And that's when we'll explode And it won't be a pretty sight) And we'll become Silhouettes when our bodies finally go FootPrints (the Official Footprints For Peace Song) By Mark Porter-Webb "Lets Go!!!" Wake up, Stay there this moment is the only one eyes wide, chin high deep breath & and honest smile Mind here, heart here living for the sake of life not fire, not air the miracles to walk upon this Earth You notice little details when running through the blue grass state freckles kissed by the sun, the wind reminds you how your loved everything is wonderful, you wake to find your thoughts a joy mindfully you touch your face, there is no rush when you're already there Y-12, Oak Ridge smart people make stupid things we can't forget the horror of our acts Some walked, some ran each mile was filled with hope our steps, those drums the beauty of the spirit unleashed her words went right through me, maybe even found my soul to live life with beauty, so simple yet so full with tears in my eyes, I turned to you and smiled we walked down to the gate remembering our mistakes working for a better world and now i'm sure of who I am and now i'm sure of who I am and now i'm sure of who I am AND NOW I'M SURE OF WHO I AM !!!!! Music Stop the Bombs by Brian Bassett [mp3] I won't to watch you go You can't make me fight Stay beneath the wings my friends Hold your children tight Couldn't stop the sky from falling So don't you look up We can crawl from the rocks together And stand ourselves back up Stop the bombs Stop the bombs Stop the bombs Stop the bombs, ...the bombs, the bombs, the bombs, the bombs...]]> Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:50 -0700 http://www.stopthebombs.org/articles/1988-2008-virtual-time-capsule.htm 8efaad1f6f724a2b7508343b85cf456111 Join us at one of our weekly Peace Vigils Organizing your trip to Oak Ridge/Knoxville: Places to stay/camp in Oak Ridge/Knoxville OREPA virtual Time Capsule project Other events many OREPA members attend throughout the year: The SOAW's November Non-violent Protest of the School of the Americas More reasons to Stop the Bombs! Stop the Racism The Law & the Bomb And of course, need we say, bombs and wars are bad for the health?! Action Toolkits & Resource pages: Citizens Inspections Working Group Toolkit Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision]]> Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:19 -0700 http://www.stopthebombs.org/articles/20-years-of-vigilance-in-2008-orepa-stop-the-bombs-you.htm f2e97667e03277c45283bac371aa88fb14 The Bulletin: A rebirth of the anti-nuclear weapons movement? Mountain Xpress: Nuclear transport threatens Asheville today and tomorrow Knox News Sentinel: Y-12 pulls the welcome mat in advance of August protest Knox News Sentinel: Annual Y-12 protest draws 200 The Oak Ridger: Hundreds protest Y-12 work Knox News Sentinel: OR police arrest 5 protesters at Y-12 nuclear weapons plant Four demonstrators chain themselves to barricade USA TODAY: 5 arrested while protesting nuke plant USA TODAY: Weapons plant protesters sentenced WATE: 5 arrested at Y-12 plant protest Send all press links to the webmaster]]> Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:30 -0700 http://www.stopthebombs.org/articles/2007-hiroshima-day-press.htm 80253ff8e2ff33fd822a3269227263e33 2nd annual 10k WALK FOR NONVIOLENCE Saturday, November 10, 2007 9:30am Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church Kingston Pike, Knoxville concluding at Noon with Awards, refreshments and A Celebration of Nonviolence Everyone talks about the problems of violence in our culture now you can DO something about it. The 2007 Walk for Nonviolence will: raise awareness in our community about efforts to build alternatives to the violence that saturates our culture connect you with other people who believe in nonviolence celebrate the powerful history of nonviolence movements raise funds to support organizations and groups working for nonviolent social change in our community Who should walk? Individuals Youth groups School groups Anybody and everybody! You can raise money for your organization and get a great T-shirt celebrating nonviolence! for more information: 865 483 8202 or 865 466 5915 organized by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance]]> Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:03 -0700 http://www.stopthebombs.org/articles/2007-walk-for-non-violence.htm 2b290c62b5a5c06100cf39a45ac636748 Calendar of events Peace Vigils Every Sunday, 5:00pm, Y12 Nuclear Weapons Plant [details] January 7 Year of Nonviolence announcement January 6-20 Hiroshima Poster Exhibit January 13 Hibakusha Visit January 18 Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium January 21 King Parade February 1or 2 Peacemaker Award Jan/Feb/March Complex Transformation PEIS Hearing in Oak Ridge April 6-11 Puppet Workshop April 12 Nonviolence Training Workshop April 13 April Action for Peace (see note) July 6 World Court Reading August 6 Hiroshima Remembrance (see note) August 9 Peace Lantern Lighting Ceremony October Anniversary Celebration with Helen Caldicott November 1 Walk for Nonviolence December 10 UN Declaration of Human Rights]]> Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:10 -0700 http://www.stopthebombs.org/articles/2008-orepa-events-calendar-join-us-in-our-campaign-to-stop-the-bombs.htm c17ece4df605d1198125300f16e96bdf5 New signup and networking opportunities coming soon will be found here. Ask Kip Williams about it Meanwhile, we hope you'll join us in the campaign to Stop the Bombs! by attending an OREPA Event and/or...contribute your OREPA momentos to the OREPA Virtual Time Capsule]]> Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:13 -0700 http://www.stopthebombs.org/articles/get-involved-with-the-orepa-campaign-to-stop-the-bombs.htm 79ab18a3004b63d609e4ffd89c26413012 ~contributed by Kim Bergier It is up to each individual to reserve their own room! The rooms will fill up quickly so I recommend you call (or reserve on line) asap You may get less expensive rates on line. Travelocity s website is http://www.travelocity.com/ . Most of this information was gathered over the last 5 years so is subject to change. Caution: prices have gone up and tax in TN is at 14.75%! So far this year I have contacted motels in Oak Ridge for weekend rates, April 12-13. Super 8 then Econo Lodge is where most of us have stayed over the last five years as it is where the bus driver, rented van and most car poolers have stayed. The Econo Lodge is offering us group rate of 10% off so it would help us all if you will choose to stay at one of these, starting with Econo Lodge. (They are next to each other, used to be the same complex & are owned by Pat Pillay.) To get the group rate say you are with the MISTBC group . If we don t meet a minimum of 10 rooms in Econo Lodge, to qualify for the 10% discount then that same rate applies to anyone aged 50 or more, members of AAA or AARP. Motels in Oak Ridge, TN Econo Lodge (next door to Super 8) 1590 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge 865-482-9968 Total rooms 50 Continental Breakfast, pool &2 double sized beds For group rate under MISTBC Group (if we have minimum of 10 rooms) $ 59.99 + tax $8.85= $68.84 for 3-4 people/room $54.99 + tax $8.11= $63.10 for 2 people /room $50.00 + tax $7.37= $57.37 for 1 person/room Super 8 Motel 1590 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge 865-483-1200 Total rooms 56 Continental Breakfast, pool & double sized beds (We are no longer using for group rates as they increased level of qualification for group rates to a minimum of 25 rooms!) $ 52.88 + 14.75% tax = $60.68 /1 person $59.88 + 14.75% tax = $68.71/ 2 to 4 people/room Double Tree Hotel 215 S. Illinois Ave., Oak Ridge 865-481-2468 Total rooms 168 $99 to $159 plus tax=$113.60 to $182.45 Hampton Inn 208 S. Illinois Ave., Oak Ridge 865-482-7889 Total rooms 62 $109.00 + tax $16.07=$125.08 Minus 10% discount for members of AAA or AARP Jameson Inn 216 S. Rutgers Ave., Oak Ridge 865-483-6809 Total rooms 79 Possible group rate of around $72.00 + tax $10.62=$82.62 per room Comfort Inn 433 S. Rutgers Ave., Oak Ridge 865-481-8200 Total rooms 122 $94.99 + $14.01 = $109.00 Minus 10% discount for members of AAA or AARP Days Inn 206 S Illinois Ave Oak Ridge, TN 37830 Map 865-483-5615 $69.00 + tax $10.17 = $79.18 (no group rates) Minus 10% discount for members of AAA or AARP StayBridge Suites 420 South Illinois Ave. Oak Ridge, TN 37830 865-771-0966 $107.99 = tax $15.93 =123.92 Motels and Camping Opportunities in Knoxville area For camping keep in mind that it is usually hot and muggy I have collected the following information as of 7-14-2003, so the prices of rooms have likely gone up. SUPER 8 HOTEL 6200 Papermill Rd, Knoxville Located at Exit 383 on I-40 (865) 584-8511 Room rates are $59.99 plus tax Free limited breakfast TRAVELODGE WEST 608 Lovell Rd, Knoxville Located at Exit 374 on I-40 (865) 966-6781 Room rates are $37.00 to $43.00 plus tax 6 miles from Oak Ridge DAYS INN WEST 200 Lovell Rd Located at Exit 374 on I-40 (865) 966-5801 Room rates are $45.00 to $75.00 plus tax Free limited breakfast 10 miles from Oak Ridge Holiday Inn Select 304 Cedar Bluff Road Knoxville TN 37923 865-693-1011 Best Western 420 N Peters Rd Knoxville TN 37923 865-539-0058 Courtyard by Marriott 216 Langley Place Knoxville TN 37923 865-539-0600 Hampton Inn 9128 Executive Park Blvd Knoxville TN 37923 865-693-1101 or 1-800-426-7866 CAMPING OPPORTUNITIES KOA EAST Campground Off of Exit 407 of I-40 Laundry/Showers/Swimming Pool Water & Electric $27 for 1st 2 people; add $3 each additional adult /night & $2 each additional child. 865-933-6393 CAMPING OPPORTUNITIES Riley Creek, 2 miles north of I-40 on Rt. 58, also Oak Ridge Turnpike. (Exit 356, off I-40). It s only $11 per campsite, publicly owned. Call them at 865-376-8871 CAMPING OPPORTUNITIES Watts Bar Lake Campground, at exit 352 on 1-40, Kingston, S.W. of Knoxville, then 9 miles South. It s $13 for 2 people; add $2 for each additional person. Full hook up $20; Water & Electric $16. Call them at 865-376-8847. Melton Hill Dam Campground (29 min) 865-988-2440 (disconnected-researching correct) 56 campsites. Rest rooms with heated showers and flush toilets Directions:Near Lenoir City, Tennessee. From Interstate 40 take exit 364, go 2 miles north on Highway 95, then follow signs east to Melton Hill Dam Reservation. Fox Inn Campground (25 minutes) 2423 Andersonville Hwy. Clinton, TN 37716 [map] 1-865-494-9386 Toll-free: 888-803-9883 Fax: 865-494-6794 Tents: $16.00 Cabins sleeps 4 ($35.00) sleeps 6 ($39.00) Email: foxinncamp@comcast.net For those who really cannot afford a room you can see if there is floor space available at West Knoxville Friends Meeting House: 1517 Meeting House Road, Knoxville. c/o Dana Gaines (with over a month s notice so Friends can reach consensus on this) 1-865-927-8101. Related Reuters Article: WWII Secret City [Oak Ridge] Open to Tours]]> Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:55 -0700 http://www.stopthebombs.org/articles/motels-and-camping-options-in-oak-ridge-knoxville-area.htm 1565a407a4ce1c34ea80b319fa7d420713 By CAROL DRIVER 29th January 2010 President Obama is planning to increase spending on America's nuclear weapons stockpile just days after pledging to try to rid the world of them. In his budget to be announced on Monday, Mr Obama has allocated 4.3billion to maintain the U.S. arsenal - 370million more than George Bush spent on nuclear weapons in his final year. The Obama administration also plans to spend a further 3.1billion over the next five years on nuclear security. The announcement comes despite the American President declaring nuclear weapons were the greatest danger to U.S. people during in his State of the Union address on Wednesday. And it flies in the face of Obama s Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to him in October for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples . The Nobel committee was attacked at the time for bestowing the accolade on a new president whose initiatives are yet to bear fruit which included reducing the world stock of nuclear arms. During his 70-minute State of the UNion speech on Wednesday, which marked his first year in office, Obama said: 'I have embraced the vision of John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan through a strategy that reverses the spread of these weapons, and seeks a world without them.' However, Vice President Joe Biden today supported the increase on nuclear weapons maintenance, saying: Even in a time of tough budget decisions, these are investments we must make for our security. We are committed to working with Congress to ensure these budget increases are approved. Biden said the Obama administration had inherited a steady decline in support for U.S. nuclear stockpiles and infrastructure. For almost a decade, our laboratories and facilities have been underfunded and undervalued, he said. The consequences of this neglect - like the growing shortage of skilled nuclear scientists and engineers and the ageing of critical facilities - have largely escaped public notice. The budget we will submit to Congress on Monday both reverses this decline and enables us to implement the president's nuclear-security agenda. He added: 'This investment is long overdue. It will strengthen our ability to recruit, train and retain the skilled people we need to maintain our nuclear capabilities. 'It will support the work of our nuclear labs, a national treasure that we must and will sustain.' The Obama administration will publish its budget for fiscal year 2011 on Monday. The proposal will include a budget increase for nuclear issues while paring back other areas in an effort to control record deficits. Biden said those steps along with others to advance non-proliferation were essential to holding nations like North Korea and Iran accountable when they break the rules, and deterring others from trying to do so . Barack Obama's State of the Union speech: Even as we prosecute two wars, we are also confronting perhaps the greatest danger to the American people - the threat of nuclear weapons. I have embraced the vision of John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan through a strategy that reverses the spread of these weapons, and seeks a world without them. To reduce our stockpiles and launchers, while ensuring our deterrent, the United States and Russia are completing negotiations on the farthest-reaching arms control treaty in nearly two decades. And at April's Nuclear Security Summit, we will bring forty-four nations together behind a clear goal: securing all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world in four years, so that they never fall into the hands of terrorists. These diplomatic efforts have also strengthened our hand in dealing with those nations that insist on violating international agreements in pursuit of these weapons. That is why North Korea now faces increased isolation, and stronger sanctions sanctions that are being vigorously enforced. That is why the international community is more united, and the Islamic Republic of Iran is more isolated. And as Iran's leaders continue to ignore their obligations, there should be no doubt: they, too, will face growing consequences. That is the leadership that we are providing -- engagement that advances the common security and prosperity of all people. The budget is higher than that allocated by George Bush who was seen by many as a warmongering president in the wake of the Iraq invasion in 2003 during his premiership. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1247049/Nobel-Peace-Prize-winner-Barack-Obama-ups-spending-nuclear-weapons-George-Bush.html#ixzz0eF9RkQlf]]> Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:23 -0700 http://www.stopthebombs.org/articles/nobel-peace-prize-winner-barack-obama-ups-spending-on-nuclear-weapons-to-even-more-than-george-bush.htm 4647ded1a950f08dfab2879dbcd8a03a16 Peace vigils are held at the gates of the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Plant in Oak Ridge, TN every Sunday at 5:00pm with a potluck afterwards on the third Sunday of the month. Also, there are larger events in the spring and especially in early August to commemorate the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan for which Y-12 helped provide the highly enriched uranium. "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death." ~Martin Luther King, Jr. See also, check for upcoming OREPA Events]]> Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:32 -0700 http://www.stopthebombs.org/articles/peace-vigils-to-stop-the-bombs.htm 658c73fb418a699d29db1e69b416c4149 ~contributed by Kim Bergier. Planning questionnaire for Stop The Bombs Campaign To all those who attended the OREPA events, would you please answer as many questions as you have time to in order for us to help improve the next trips to OREPA s Actions. OREPA has moved its main Rally, March and Action to their Spring Action to involve more students (as they are on campuses & often have spring break); focus more on current nuclear issues (as this is the time of year that budgets are voted on in D.C.); OREPA doesn t have the capacity for 2 major actions in a calendar year (unless they receive a lot more money & volunteers); and the weather is usually more pleasant. OREPA s next Rally, Puppet show, March and Action, Sunday April 13, 2008: Do you plan to attend the OREPA events on April 13? (yes, no, maybe)_______________________________ Would you come on our chartered bus? (yes, no, maybe) __________________________________________ Would you prefer to come by someone else's van? (yes, no, maybe)__________________________________ Would you prefer to drive down yourself? (yes, no, maybe) _________________________________________ Will you be able to recruit others? (yes, no, maybe) _______.If so, how many? _______________ OREPA s next Hiroshima event will be just OREPA s Names & Remembrance Ceremony Wednesday August 6, 2008, 6:15-8:30 am (east end Bear Creek Road Entrance to Y-12 Plant): Do you plan to attend the August 6 event in Tennessee? (yes, no, maybe) ________________ OREPA s next Nagasaki event will be just OREPA s Peace Japanese Lantern Ceremony Saturday, August 9, 2008, 8:15 pm (location either in Oak Ridge or Knoxville) Do you plan to attend the August 9 event in Tennessee? (yes, no, maybe) ________________ For either of the two events above: Would you be interested in sharing a ride in a van? (yes, no, maybe) ________________ Would you prefer to drive yourself? ________________ See attached for housing options. Depending on level of interest we will try to attain group rates. Would you like to stay at Econo Lodge, Days Inn or Jameson Inn? __________________________________ Would you be willing to stay from August 6th through 9th in Oak Ridge? _______________________________ Would you like us to arrange for meals at Shoney's, Ruby Tuesday, China Wok and/or Panera's? __________ How do you suggest we can make things better? ________________________________________________ Reply to [name/contact info of your chapter's contact]]]> Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:12 -0700 http://www.stopthebombs.org/articles/planning-your-trip-to-oak-ridge.htm 456704de2eb815f6a1b098046321dfc37 NOTICE for 2008: OREPA has moved its main Rally, March and Action to their Spring Action to involve more students (as they are on campuses & often have spring break); focus more on current nuclear issues (as this is the time of year that budgets are voted on in D.C.). OREPA s next major Rally, Puppet show, March and Action will take place Sunday April 13, 2008 OREPA s next Hiroshima event will be just OREPA s Names & Remembrance Ceremony Wednesday August 6, 2008, 6:15-8:30 am (east end Bear Creek Road Entrance to Y-12 Plant) OREPA s next Nagasaki event will be just OREPA s Peace Japanese Lantern Ceremony Saturday, August 9, 2008, 8:15 pm (location either in Oak Ridge or Knoxville) Tools for organizing your trip to Oak Ridge/Knoxville: Sample RSVP Questionnaire Places to stay/camp in Oak Ridge/Knoxville]]> Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:44 -0700 http://www.stopthebombs.org/articles/remember-hiroshima-nagasaki-stop-the-bombs.htm f9b26546b47ddd9e5cc405b405f8c2f76 Imperialist Weapons? Building a world of peace requires making the connections. Since the end of the Cold War, US nuclear doctrine has solidified through three presidencies-Democrat and Republican. Here is what remains constant: Nuclear weapons are at the bottom of the power pyramid. They provide the foundation for the projection of US power around the world. They are the reason the US Air Force, in published documents, speaks of the US intention to maintain "full spectrum dominance" of the globe. At the same time, nuclear weapons are the top of the power pyramid as well-they are the most catastrophically devastating weapons ever produced. The nuclear weapons of the United States undergird US global economic policy. All the major economic powers either have nuclear weapons or are protected by nations that have them. Fifty years ago, Dwight Eisenhower sent the US military to prop up the United Fruit Company in Guatemala. Today, US nuclear weapons enforce a global economic system designed to enrich US multinational corporations at the expense of poorer countries. Nuclear weapons are the first and the last tool of US imperial reach. This was made explicit by the leak of the nation's nuclear policy document, the Nuclear Posture Review, in 2002. Our formal policy now contains no restraint whatsoever on our use of nuclear weapons. Decisions about using nukes will be governed only by a calculation of our military or political self-interest. Everything else - our legal obligations under international treaties, our moral obligations to humankind and creation, our long-term security needs - everything else is secondary to US perceived political self-interest. MORE NUKES? Yes, more for us. But no more for anyone else. None for those who don't already have them. That is official US policy. At the 35-year review of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 2005, the United States stymied all attempts to maintain the treaty's original intent - stopping the spread of nuclear weapons to new nations and, at the same time, reducing the arsenals of the nations that already have them. Instead, the US insisted that disarmament be "de-linked" from nonproliferation, a move designed to empty the NPT of its force and to eliminate the incentive for Brazil, Iran, Argentina and other nations to renounce nuclear weapons. No longer will nonproliferation efforts be motivated by the UN treaty - now other nations will be denied weapons just because we say so. Meanwhile, the US is performing life extension upgrades on its nuclear arsenal in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, so our current warheads can be certified reliable for 100-120 years. And Congress gave the nuclear weapons labs $25 million in 2005 to design a new warhead - the first in 15 years - called the Reliable Replacement Warhead. BUT RACIST? Funny thing. Almost all the nations that have nuclear weapons are white. All the countries in which the US has its nuclear weapons deployed are white. India and Pakistan, who have developed nuclear arsenals since 1970, have not been allowed to become party to the Nonproliferation Treaty as nuclear weapons states. South Africa's white government dismantled its nuclear weapons and the production infrastructure before turning the government over to majority rule under Nelson Mandela. China, and now maybe North Korea, are the only places where reality shatters the myth of racial superiority. Nuclear weapons are the ultimate guarantor of institutional racism around the globe. They are, for the most part, white people's weapons. More than 95% of the world's nuclear weapons are in the control of governments dominated by white men. The role of people of color in the history of nuclear weapons has been one of exploitation - Indigenous and native populations have been used to mine nuclear materials for bombs, and poor communities have been dumped on by the wastes. But people and communities of color have never shared the power that comes with owning nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons intersect with race issues at another fundamental level. Since 1945, the United States nuclear arsenal has cost us more than 5 trillion dollars. This year alone, we will spend more than $40 billion on our nuclear arsenal. As long as we invest these enormous amounts of money on holding the world hostage to our nuclear might, we will never have enough money for the things that would provide real security for lowincome communities (disproportionately communities of color in the US). Our nuclear arsenal means not enough money for economic development, not enough money for housing, not enough money for health care, not enough money for anti-poverty programs, not enough money for crime prevention, not enough money for food subsidy programs, not enough money for education and training. There is enough money for these programs, but they are not priorities for our government. The government's priorities these days are programs that benefit rich people, people who have connections, people who are highly educated, who control the voting systems and our political parties. Right - white people. We have more than 6,000 nuclear weapons in our active arsenal right now. Many are maintained on high trigger alert. They are at 12 locations in the United States, in six foreign countries, and deployed on submarines and aircraft carriers that are patrolling the oceans. Whatever your community needs, we will not have the money for it until we reprioritize. The status quo is guaranteed by our spending priorities - by nuclear weapons. Still not sure? Ask yourself this question: Is it possible that our government is willing to sacrifice the health, hope and future of people of color in the vain pursuit of security through military spending? The money spent on nuclear weapons in one year by the US could build one million Habitat homes. That's one million homes every single year. Or the money could fully fund Head Start programs for every eligible child. But as long as our institutions are managed by the "haves," however well intentioned they may be, we will spend our money on nuclear weapons and not on security for our poorest children. It's called institutionalized racism.]]> Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:23 -0700 http://www.stopthebombs.org/articles/stop-the-racism.htm ebdf1ea87e66c7632546937c3e0210462 US Law, International Law and Oak Ridge In July 1996, the International Court of Justice (World Court) issued an advisory opinion that held that "the threat or use of nuclear weapons would generally be contrary to the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, and in particular the principles and rules of humanitarian law." 1 The World Court further declared the maintenance and building of nuclear weapons to be a violation of Article VI of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty which imposes "an obligation to achieve a precise result-Nuclear disarmament in all its aspects, by adopting a particular course of conduct, namely, the pursuit of negotiations on the matter in good faith." In the Court's view, "elimination of nuclear weapons is the only adequate response to the dilemma and risks posed by the nuclear age." US Law and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty International treaties and agreements have the force of law in the United States. Article six of the US Constitution asserts that the Constitution and "all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding." The Constitution is explicit. International treaties are not one obligation to be balanced by other obligations or interests-they are the supreme Law of the Land. The Nuclear Nonproliferation entered into force on March 6, 1970. 2 The NPT has two complementary goals. First, to stop the lateral spread of nuclear weapons materials and technology-nonproliferation. And second, to reduce the nuclear arsenals of current nuclear weapons states to zero-disarmament. The chief leverage the NPT exercises in its efforts to stem the spread of nuclear weapons is twofold: the promise of assistance in the development of civilian nuclear energy (while restricting access to weapons technology and the production of highly enriched uranium, plutonium, or tritium) and the promise of nuclear weapons states to disarm. Central to the latter is Article VI of the NPT which reads: "All parties to the treaty undertake to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to the cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control." US compliance and the NPT Since signing the NPT, the US has entered into a series of two-party negotiations with the Soviet Union, and now with Russia, which have led to a series of agreements to reduce nuclear arsenals. These activities, which conform (excepting the "at an early date" clause) with the spirit of the NPT, have been undermined recently by action of the US government. In 1997, the US announced its "Stockpile Life Extension Program," under which aging nuclear warheads are "refurbished" and "upgraded" so that they can be certified reliable for 100-120 years. In 1999, the US announced its decision to produce tritium for nuclear weapons in a civilian nuclear power reactor (Watts Bar I, in Tennessee), undermining the long-standing international prohibition against "dual use" technologies. In 2001, the US and Russia concluded an informal Strategic Offensive Reduction Treaty (SORT, aka Moscow Treaty) to reduce nuclear arsenals to 1,700-2,200 warheads by 2012 on a voluntary basis, with no verifiable transparency or enforcement mechanisms. US President George Bush announced there would be no further negotiations on arsenal reduction with Russia. On June 14, 2002, the United States formally withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. In response, as it had forewarned, Russia declared the START II Treaty null and void. In 2003, the US Congress lifted a 10-year old ban on the design and development of new nuclear weapons; funding was allocated under the heading "Advanced Concept Initiatives" for new nuclear weapons. In 2005, Congress alloctaed $25 million for a new warhead design called the Reliable Replacement Warhead; its purpose is to sustain US nuclear capability for the indefinite future. Currently, the US arsenal contains between 6,000 and 9,000 active thermonuclear warheads, most on hair-trigger alert. The 2001 Moscow Treaty does not require the elimination of warheads, only their retirement from active deployment-the US currently maintains a significant "strategic reserve" of warheads, warhead components, and special nuclear materials. Other US treaty obligations Nuclear weapons by nature are covered by additional treaties. The Geneva Gas Protocol of 1925 forbade the use of weapons which could not be contained in the theatre of battle and which would by nature fail to distinguish between combatants and noncombatants, specifically prohibiting "poisonous or other gases and all analogous liquids, materials, or devices." The US did not sign the Gas Protocol until 1975. Nuclear weapons production also violates the 1949 Geneva Convention and the 1997 Protocol I to the Geneva Convention ("making the civilian population or individual civilians the object of attack"), the 1945 Nuremburg Charter 3, plus scores of human rights and environmental laws. At Y12 Today-Stockpile Life Extension At the Y12 National Security Complex, the Department of Energy refurbishes thermonuclear weapons as part of the Stockpile Life Extension Program. Y12 has produced the thermonuclear part of every nuclear weapon in the US arsenal. [A nuclear weapon gets its destructive power from two explosions. A relatively small fission explosion (the plutonium/tritium pit) is initiated by the use of high explosives. This atomic explosion triggers the thermonuclear secondary (highly enriched uranium, depleted uranium, lithium deuteride, beryllium) which explodes with devastating force.] US thermonuclear weapons were initially designed to have a shelf life of 20-30 years. In 1997, DOE began to "refurbish" aging warheads. Beginning with the W87 (MX missile) warhead, and continuing now with the W76 (Trident) warhead, the thermonuclear secondary from each bomb is returned to Y12 where it is given a life extension upgrade-aging parts are replaced, refurbished, or upgraded-and the bomb is certified reliable for 100-120 years. This activity contradicts the US obligation under the NPT to pursue complete disarmament in good faith at an early date. Rather than progressing toward the elimination of nuclear weapons, the US is actively working to maintain a large nuclear arsenal in virtual perpetuity. Stockpile life extension, combined with the cessation of arms control talks with other nations, violates the letter and the spirit of the NPT. The US and the NPT The United States has two responses to charges that it violates the law and the NPT by its activities at Oak Ridge. The first is to assert compliance in the face of contradictory evidence. 4 The second is to undermine the NPT by insisting that parties to the Treaty "de-link" nonproliferation and disarmament. In other words, no new members of the nuclear club, but those that have bombs can keep them. This strategy, described as "pulling up the ladder," has met with almost universal dismay and is widely recognized as a strategy that seeks the eventual demise of the treaty. NOTES 1. On December 15, 1994, the General Assembly of the United Nations, in resolution 49/75K asked the world court: "Is the threat or the use of nuclear weapons in any circumstances permitted under international law?" The Court found "...the threat or use of nuclear weapons would generally be contrary to the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, and in particular the principles and rules of humanitarian law." The Court unanimously found that: "There exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control." Judge Bedjaoui, president of the Court, said the "very existence of nuclear weapons constitutes a great defiance (challenge) to humanitarian law itself.... Nuclear war and humanitarian law seem, consequently, two antitheses which radically exclude each other, the existence of one necessarily supposing the non-existence of the other." 2. The Treaty was signed in Washington, DC, London and Moscow on July 1, 1968. It was ratified by the US Senate on March 13, 1969. Since that date, this commitment has been the law of the land. The Treaty officially entered into force on March 6, 1970. 3. The Nuremberg Charter defines war crimes as violations of the customs or laws of war, including but not limited to: "wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity." Crimes against humanity are also defined in the Nuremberg Charter, the definition includes "inhumane acts committed against any civilian population." 4. Mohammed El Baradei, chief UN weapons inspector: "The U.S. government insists that other countries do not possess nuclear weapons. On the other hand they are perfecting their own arsenal. I do not think that corresponds with the treaty they signed." Financial Review, September 5, 2003.]]> Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:14 -0700 http://www.stopthebombs.org/articles/the-law-the-bomb.htm 1026be74691ef330c791b2c54d60352b15