| Important
Dates - March / April 2005 |
|
March
19: Two-year anniversary of start of Iraq
war
March 19 - April 4: Congress not in session |
| Step
up and speak out!
Visit your Member of
Congress during the
recess
From
March 19 to April 4
both the Senate and
House are not in session.
This is an excellent
opportunity to build
a relationship with
your Senator and Representatives.
Two ways to get face
time are through making
an appointment for an
office visit or attending
a local town hall meeting.
For
helpful hints about
visiting your Congressperson
and lobbying, visit
the WAND
Lobbying Guide.
|
The
federal budget is being considered
right now
The
House and Senate are voting
on the FY06 budget resolution
this week. The time to send
a message to your Members
of Congress is now.
Take
a look at what some friends
of WAND have had to say to
their Senators and Representatives:
|
Please
readjust budget allocations
so our domestic needs
are truly met.
This
includes funding for
social programs for
the less fortunate among
us -- whether elderly,
disabled, mentally retarded,
economically disadvantaged,
hungry, jobless, etc.
Military
might doesn't feed or
clothe families, nor
does it educate or keep
healthy our next generation
of leaders. Please return
our country to one truly
"of the people.
by the people and for
the people." Thank
you.
|
As
the mother of a young
child (who is not a
recepient of social
services) I am deeply
concerned with the proposed
federal budget's lack
of concern for financial
needs in America's back
yard. Cutting vital
domestic programs in
order to fund an ever
more bloated Pentagon
is not the way to safeguard
America's children.
With
so many in poverty and
the number of unemployed
and underemployed increasing,
the FY06 budget should
concentrate fewer funds
to the hungry maw of
war and more toward
making sure our nation's
families can support
themselves as our economic
crisis deepens. |
WHERE
WOULD THE CUTS BE MADE UNDER THE PRESIDENT'S
BUDGET?
An Analysis
of Reductions in Education, Human Services,
Environment, and Community Development Programs
Click
here for article.
|
Mr.
Bush's Stealthy Tax Increase
New
York Times Editorial | Published: March
13, 2005
Excerpt below | Full
article here.
President
Bush is presiding over a big middle-class
tax hike.
As
recently as 2000, only about one million
taxpayers owed the alternative minimum
tax, created by a provision in the federal
tax code that is supposed to prevent
multimillionaires from using loopholes
to avoid paying their fair share. But
by the time Americans file their 2005
taxes, some 3 million taxpayers will
owe the alternative tax and by 2010,
nearly 30 million taxpayers will be
hit - among them, a staggering 94 percent
of married filers who have children
and make $75,000 to $100,000.
|
| WAND
and WiLL celebrate the newest progressive
women elected to Congress at the 2005
Capitol Hill Reception |
In
the photo below, we see Gwen Moore at
the reception on March 2, 2005 (center),
with some dynamic young women from STAND.
For
more information (and more photos!),
click
here. |
|
 |
|
 |
Peace
in Our Lifetime: Insights from the World's
Peacemakers
By
Susan Skog; Foreword by Thich Nhat Hanh.
Endorsed
by *** Yolanda King, Howard Zinn, Arun
Gandhi and Ardath Rodale |
|
This
is the time for women to rise up and
create a more peaceful world. It has
come down to us. We are the peace.
This
groundbreaking, hopeful new book explores
how peace is unfolding in communities
across the earth--and how we each can
be part of the shift underway. Through
rich and compelling stories, from Minnesota
to the Middle East,
Peace in Our Lifetime
illustrates how we can be a force for
peace, beginning right where we are.
Order
via www.susanskog.com,
BarnesandNoble.com, and Amazon.com.
For more information or to see an excerpt
from the book: http://www.susanskog.com. |
The
United Nations Commission on the Status of
Women: Report on Beijing Platform
For
ten days, 6,000 women from around the world
have been meeting at the UN to strengthen
the 1995 Beijing Platform. WAND Education
Fund Board Member Sayre Sheldon represented
WAND through our membership on the NGO Working
Group for Women, Peace and Security.
Ms.
Sheldon reports that it was an exciting time
to be there, especially when the U.S.
tried to add anti-abortion language to the
platform and met with a storm of disapproval
from just about every country in the world.
WAND signed on to the opposition; WAND helped
in the training sessions for UN Security Council
Proposition 1325 which mandates that women
be involved in every aspect of conflict prevention,
peacekeeping, and rebuilding after conflict.
Ms.
Sheldon told international women that we in this country don't like
what our government does with its military
and find ways to stand up and oppose it. She
also told them that our peace groups have
a lot to learn from what they are doing--who
in the U.S. knows how international
law can be used to give women power? The energy,
the optimism, the initiatives these women
bring to New
York is an inspiration for us all.
Sayre
Sheldon is the NGO Representative for WAND
at the UN.
| Advocates:
Get Ready for the Third Round of the Violence
Against Women Act (VAWA)
February
17, 2005
The
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) 2005
reauthorization bill will be introduced
by both the Senate and House early this
spring. Please help by asking your senators
and representative to co-sponsor the
reauthorization. Activists should also
begin to reinvigorate their local coalitions
and mount the educational and lobbying
campaign necessary to secure passage
of VAWA 2005.
For action and information:
click
here. |
National
Women Speakers' Bureau launches!
 |
 |
WAND
Women
Speakers' Bureau
A
service of
Women’s Action for New
Directions Education Fund
More
information here. |
 |
 |
To
book a speaker, contact Tanya Wallace-Hargro,
WAND Field Director, at 404-524-5999 / twhargro@wand.org.
 |
April
19 is Equal Pay Day
National
Committee on Equal Pay Day
Equal
Pay Day is observed in April to indicate
how far into each year a woman must
work to earn as much as a man earned
in the previous year. Tuesday
symbolizes the day when women's wages
catch up to men's wages from the previous
week. Because women on average
earn less, they must work longer for
the same pay. For women of color, the
wage gap is greater. |
|
Unequal
pay takes a significant toll on working
women and their families, reports the
Institute for Women's Policy Research.
"Still a Man's Labor
Market: The Long-Term Earnings Gap"
finds women's total earnings
over their prime working years average
only 38 percent of what prime-age men
earn due to a combination of lower pay,
more part-time work and time out of
the workforce to care for children.
|
|
Universal
Compliance: A Strategy for Nuclear Security
Report,
March 2005 | To view and order, click
here.
By George Perkovich, Jessica Tuchman Mathews,
Joseph Cirincione, Rose Gottemoeller,
Jon Wolfsthal
"By far the most comprehensive,
the most creative, the most useful analysis
and prescription I have ever seen…superb."
—Robert Gallucci, Dean, Georgetown
University, School of Foreign Service
A team of leading nonproliferation
experts offers a blueprint for rethinking
the international nuclear nonproliferation
regime. They offer a fresh approach to
deal with states and terrorists, nuclear
weapons, and missile materials through
a twenty step, priority action agenda.
This
is the final version of a report initially
released in June 2004 for worldwide review.
The authors consulted with experts and
officials in the United States and twenty
countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle
East, the former Soviet states, and Russia.
Above,
WAND's Public Policy Director Marie Rietmann
chats with Carnegie's Joseph Cirincione
a WAND-sponsored Strategy session on the
Carnegie Endowment's report with the House
Armed Services Committee staff.
|
|
Preventing
Nuclear Terrorism: Modest Progress, Missed
Opportunities
Carl
Robichaud | The Century Foundation, 2/25/2005
Full
article: click
here.
President
Bush's two hour meeting with Russian President
Vladimir Putin in Bratislava yesterday had
the potential to open the gates for the
most significant breakthrough in his European
visit: real progress on preventing nuclear
terrorism. Instead, the two Presidents agreed
on a threat reduction plan that can best
be described as modest progress—with
major missed opportunities...
According
to the assessment of Kenneth Luongo, director
of the Russian American Nuclear Security
Advisory Council and a leading expert
on threat reduction, "it
is unfortunate that there were no major
breakthroughs on the impediments that
are hobbling the realization of their
nuclear security goals—the disputes
over access to facilities, transparency,
and liability protections. Deadly terrorists
are seeking WMD and they are not waiting."
Since
their inception, Threat Reduction programs
(often called Nunn-Lugar programs after
their Senate champions) have been highly
effective. And at a modest $7 billion
over 10 years, they may just be the most
cost effective security investment the
U.S. makes...
|
|
Missile
Defense Update: It just gets worse, as
the system flunks a test
From
Associated Press, Posted
on Mon, Feb. 14, 2005
U.S. Missile Defense System Flunks
Test
JOHN J. LUMPKIN
WASHINGTON
- A test of the national missile defense
system failed Monday when an interceptor
missile did not launch from its island
base in the Pacific Ocean, the military
said. It was the second failure in months
for the experimental program.
February
14, 2005 | Union of Concerned Scientists
Press Release
National
Missile Defense System Test Fails Again;
Pentagon Claims are Irresponsible and
Dangerous
Full article:
click here
Today's failed anti-missile test, the
second in a row in which the interceptor
never left its silo, highlights a key
problem with the Bush administration's
misguided anti-missile program.
"It's
clear that the program is being pushed
ahead for political reasons regardless
of its capability," said David Wright,
Co-Director and Senior Scientist in the
Global Security program at the Union of
Concerned Scientists. "It's
as if Henry Ford started up his automobile
production line and began selling cars
without ever taking one for a test drive.
This interceptor has never been tested
in an intercept test. Yet the Pentagon
has already put eight of them in silos
and is building at least another dozen
before even knowing if they work."
|
More
on the "bunker buster"
Notes
on fiscal impact of new nuclear weapons
The
Department of Energy plans to spend almost $500
million on the bunker buster over the next few
years.
Research and development of new nuclear weapons
is a bad investment. Spending in this area is
the wrong priority and takes us off track from
real initiatives to improve American security.
There are smarter alternative investments we
can make and we cannot afford to go in this
wrong direction.
Research
and development of new nuclear weapons would
waste hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars
on a weapon that should not and would not ever
be used, draining dollars from more urgent,
practical, and effective security priorities.
Cannon
backs nuclear weapons tests in Nevada
The
article cited here just illustrates how difficult
it is to break away from the nuclear weapons
culture.
Congressman
says: He believes his father died of cancers
caused in part by exposure to radioactive
fallout from Cold War-era tests
By
Robert Gehrke | The Salt Lake Tribune,
March 9, 2005
Excerpt | Click
here for more.
WASHINGTON - Rep. Chris Cannon is voicing
his support for resumed testing of nuclear
weapons as a deterrent against people
who want to harm the United States.
"To
the degree that we have people blow up
our skyscrapers and hiding underground
we have to have the ability to respond
to them," Cannon said Tuesday. "I
don't ever expect we'll end up using a
bunker buster, but the other side needs
to know that we have them."
|
On the other hand:
|
Nuclear
weapons and national security
Vanessa
Pierce and Mary Dickson | Tuesday, March
15, 2005
Full
article here.
Rep.
Chris Cannon's position that we should
resume nuclear testing perfectly illustrates
why the public is so cynical about politics.
Cannon
naively accepts the administration assurances
that nuclear testing can be conducted
safely. Those of us who have read declassified
documents from the Cold War, analyzed
Department of Energy data, and personally
suffered the health effects of nuclear
testing have learned that cynicism is
a virtue. For four decades, our government
engaged in a systematic campaign of cover-up
and deceit regarding the consequences
of nuclear testing.
Perhaps
Rep. Cannon has not had an opportunity
to read the National Academy of Sciences
2002 report which concludes "nuclear
testing in itself is intrinsically ill-suited
to monitor the health of the (nuclear
weapons) stockpile."
|
 |
It's
baaaaaaaack: Rally
to re-defeat the bunker buster for FY06
Late last year, the Republican Congress denied funds for
the nuclear bunker buster. Thank
you for your advocacy to make that possible. Now
we need your help again to ensure that
this victory is not reversed.
TAKE
ACTION HERE |
Global
Day of Protest on the Two-Year Anniversary of
the Iraq War (3/19-20)
 |
March
19-20 marks the two-year anniversary of
the U.S. bombing and invasion of Iraq. There’s
a new urgency and a stronger determination
within the global antiwar movement to bring
the troops home now. |
| Sponsored
by United for Peace and Justice, supporters
of peace and justice in every corner of
the country are called to organize local
protests against the war on Saturday, March
19. To gain local support, list your activity
on the UFPJ calendar at www.unitedforpeace.org |
| More
information on the cost of war
For
up to the minute costs, and information
by city and state: www.costofwar.com
Local
Costs of Iraq War Find out
the current cost of the Iraq war for over
200 selected cities and counties.
NPP's
trade-offs Put the cost of
the Iraq War into context. |
Now
that we've gone into Iraq: Is Iran next?
WAND
is momentarily encouraged that the U.S. has
now stated its willingness to cooperate with
our European allies on economic incentives in
order to stop them from developing a nuclear
weapon. However, we remain very concerned that
the United States might take military action
against Iran.
|
Bush
Seeks to Close Loopholes in Treaty on
Nuclear Technology
By DAVID E. SANGER |
New York Times | Published: March
15, 2005
Behind
President Bush's recent shift in dealing
with Iran's nuclear program lies a less
visible goal: to rewrite, in effect, the
main treaty governing the spread of nuclear
technology, without actually renegotiating
it. ...
The
Iranians deny that, but admit they have
built huge tunnels at some crucial sites
and buried other facilities altogether.
Mr. Perkovich said that when Iranian officials
were asked about that at the conference,
they answered, "If you thought the
Americans were going to bomb you, wouldn't
you bury this stuff, too?"
|
|
U.S.,
Allies May Have to Wait Out Iran Elections
Earlier Answer Preferred on Effort to
Dissuade Tehran of Nuclear Intentions
By
Robin Wright | Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 12, 2005; Page A14
Excerpt below | Full
article here.
The
United States and Europe are reluctantly
prepared to wait until after Iran's presidential
election in June and the formation of
a new government for a final answer to
the new joint effort to get Tehran to
abandon any ambition to develop a nuclear
weapon, according to U.S. and European
officials.
Their
goal is to get Iran to respond sooner
to the new negotiating position announced
yesterday, which includes economic carrots
as well as punitive sticks if Iran balks.
But U.S. and European officials have also
concluded that Tehran's current government
is a lame duck with diminishing leverage,
and any agreement it might make may not
endure after the election that will bring
in a new government...
|
|
The
World According to Bolton
The New York Times | March 9,
2005 | Full
article here
On
Monday, President Bush nominated John
Bolton, an outspoken critic of multinational
institutions and a former Jesse Helms
protégé, to be the representative
to the United Nations.
...We
certainly look forward to Mr. Bolton's
confirmation hearings, and, after that,
his performance at the United Nations,
where he will undoubtedly do a fine job
continuing the Bush administration's charm
offensive with the rest of the world.
Which
leaves us wondering what Mr. Bush's next
nomination will be. Donald Rumsfeld to
negotiate a new set of Geneva Conventions?
Martha Stewart to run the Securities and
Exchange Commission? Kenneth Lay for energy
secretary? |
For additional events, visit the Moving Ideas
website: click
here.
 |
MOTHERS
ACTING UP on MOTHER’S DAY: MAY 8, 2005
Click
here for more
Mothers
Acting Up is dedicated to mobilizing the
gigantic political strength of mothers
to ensure the health, education and safety
of every child, not just a privileged
few. MAU is organizing Mother's Day events
which will be mass celebrations of the
desire and ability of mothers to protect
& nurture our children. Because we
live in a globalized economy & environment,
this doesn’t simply mean making sure our
children eat a healthy lunch and look
both ways before crossing the street,
it means recognizing that our children’s
lives are interconnected with children
all over the world.
|
|
Global
Day of Protest on the Two-Year Anniversary
of the Iraq War (3/19-20) March
19-20 marks the two-year anniversary of
the U.S. bombing and invasion of Iraq. There’s
a new urgency and a stronger determination
within the global antiwar movement to bring
the troops home now. |
| To
gain local support, list your activity on
the UFPJ calendar at www.unitedforpeace.org |
 |
Real
Security for Communities: Modernize Cleanup,
not Nuclear Weapons
Alliance for Nuclear Accountability's
16th Annual DC Days
April 10th-13th,2005 | Washington
, DC
Join activists from around the nation in
Washington DC for four days of training,
advocacy, and networking focused on the
Nuclear Weapons Complex. This is a unique
opportunity to learn how to effectively
voice your concerns about nuclear weapons
and nuclear waste policies and then meet
with Members of Congress and the Administration.
For more information click
here.
Click
here for poster to distribute. |
National
disarmament demonstration in support of Mayors
for Peace
Emergency Campaign and the Nuclear Non-proliferation
Treaty Review Conference. May
1st, 2005
New York City | at the UN re: the Non Proliferation
Treaty
The nuclear powers must implement their Article
VI commitment to eliminate their nuclear arsenals
to ensure human survival and to prevent still
greater proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Annual
National Action in Oak Ridge TN, August
6-9
(Likely to be even bigger this year because
it falls on the 60th anniversary of Hiroshima/Nagasaki,
Aug 6-9)
Chief sponsor is OREPA, which is a member
of Alliance for Nuclear Accountability and
was invited to make presentation to the
UN last year by the ANA. The last
nukes still produced in the US are manufactured
at the Y12 plant in Oak Ridge and a NEW
one is in the works. WAND Michigan
is a co-sponsor of Oak Ridge and WAND member
Kim Joy Bergier is a key organizer for the
Michigan effort led by RC Bishop Thomas
Gumbleton, who heads Michigan Stop the Bombs
Campaign. (www.stopthebombs.org) |
|
ABOLITION
NOW!
On May 1st people from all over
the world will gather in New York City
for a massive march and rally to demand
total and immediate nuclear disarmament.
The May 1st demonstration will precede
a month-long meeting of world governments
at the United Nations Headquarters in
New York City to discuss the fate of the
Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty, a treaty
in which nuclear weapons states –
United States, United Kingdom, Russia,
China, and France agreed to eliminate
their nuclear weapons arsenals.
The
Bush administration continues to manipulate
the treaty by vehemently demanding disarmament
from other countries, while expanding
US production and development of nuclear
weapons. US used nuclear weapons as an
excuse for war in Iraq. Will North Korea
and Iran be next?
United in our opposition to the growing
threat of nuclear war, and the use of
nuclear weapons as a pretext for war,
we must mobilize now and demand the full
and rapid implementation of the promise
for nuclear disarmament.
We'll be joined by a delegation of mayors
from around the world, as they deliver
the call for nuclear disarmament, on behalf
of millions of people, to the United Nations.
Mayors will lead marches to the rally
site on May 1st. Join a mayor from your
region in a march on May 1st.
May 1st rally site will be determined
shortly. Permits will be filed for the
Great Lawn in Central Park. For more information
on May 1st and to join the planning efforts,
please sign up for the MayDay2005 listserve,
send e-mail to MayDay2005-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
|
IDEAS,
VISIONS, RESOURCES FOR A BETTER
WORLD |
|
Email
newsletters about national security issues
and nuclear developments
Council
for a Livable World is disseminating
a new weekly feature called a National
Security Legislative Calendar.
It will be sent via e-mail to all those
who subscribe, and will also be available
on the web site at: www.clw.org/nscalendar/
The calendar will focus on the status
of bills before Congress that encompass
national security issues. It will provide
updates of Congressional committee consideration
of key bills and House and Senate floor
schedules for these same bills.
 |
The
Friends Committee on National Legislation
has for years distributed an excellent
resource called the Nuclear
Calendar. It is a very useful
document that WAND recommends to our
readers. Click
here for information and to subscribe.
An
email version of the Nuclear Calendar
is published every Monday morning
when Congress is in session. The
editor is David Culp.
|
|
|
Arms
Control Association and Carnegie Endowment
Launch New Web site on Nuclear Nonproliferation
Treaty: NPT2005.org
The
web site, NPT2005.org,
provides valuable analysis of central
issues and questions relating to the nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty, and offers useful
background information and resources for
the news media, policymakers, diplomats,
educators, and the general public.
|
 |
iGive,
uGive, weallGive to WAND!
Don't
just click; donate
while you shop!
If you go through iGive.com,
WAND Education Fund gets a percentage
of every purchase! And it offers plenty
of great vendors: from Barnes and Noble
to Staples, to Land's End, and more! Click
here for full information. |
Don't
worry, we just moved it to a separate page.
Click
here and you'll find out more.
Don't
worry, we just moved it to a separate page.
Click
here and you'll find out all
about what our chapters and partners are
planning for this month.
The
WAND Bulletin Board is an announcement service
of WAND. The purpose of the WAND Bulletin is
to share news and ideas, and to offer the support
of a national network of active WAND, WiLL and
STAND members and partner organizations.
|
