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The
WAND News Bulletin is posted on the
web site monthly.
When it appears, WAND sends out a condensed
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|
| Table
of Contents | Click
to move to content within the Bulletin. |
| Important
Dates - April / May 2005 |
|
April
29-May 9: Senate not in session
May 8: Mother's Peace
Day |
|
Thanks
for trying;
Don't give up!
A
few members
and friends
reported that
they tried to
see their Members
of Congress
during the spring
recess, but
ran into barriers...
We send our
thanks for trying,
and our sympathies.
You certainly
were not alone.
Marie
Rietmann, WAND
Public Policy
Director, offer
these words
from years of
lobbying wisdom:
"Unfortunately,
this is the
way democracy
works. You have
to go to a lot
of effort to
get the ear
of a Member
of Congress
who also represents
over half a
million other
souls. The
darned thing
is that the
amount of influence
one can have
is directly
proportional
to how much
trouble it is."
If
you're still
willing to try,
check out the
WAND
Lobbying Guide
for
some helpful
hints.
|
As
if $438 billion for
the Pentagon isn't enough...
It
doesn't include the
money needed for the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
That money is procured
through supplemental
appropriations--at
best, a sneaky way
to fund wars, at worst,
inappropriate, unwise,
and dangerous.
Last
week, the U.S. Senate
began debating the
$81 billion war supplemental.
We believe that if
the Senate moves to
approve this money
(which is almost surely
will), it should at
least stipulate that
the U.S. should be
moving toward a real
exit strategy in Iraq.
Since
the U.S. invaded Iraq
with a preemptive
attack on March 19,
2003:
- over 1500 service
members have been
killed
- more than 11,000
have been wounded
in action
- the Congressional
Budget Office estimates
the continuing occupation
is costing taxpayers
an average of $9 billion
per month (at a time
when the U.S. does
not have enough money
to provide for basic
human needs at home).
|
Americans:
Cut Pentagon
spending
By
Lawrence Korb
| San Diego
Union Tribune
| March 18,
2005
It's
fashionable
for pundits
to point to
polls and claim
the public is
ignorant, ill-informed
or apathetic.
But an illuminating
new survey released
last Monday
shows that –
though citizens
may indeed be
confused about
specific issues
– they
are clear about
one federal
agency whose
budget should
be cut.
That
is, the Pentagon.
The
survey, conducted
by the Program
for International
Policy Alternatives,
shows that 65
percent of the
American public
believes the
federal government
should transfer
tax dollars
out of several
areas of the
defense budget
that have nothing
to do with fighting
the global war
on terrorism...
For
the full article,
click
here. |
|
|
Invest
in Peace and Human
Security, Not
War
FCNL Tax
Day Flier available
online |
Is
the federal budget
out of balance
with your values?
Are you upset
that Congress
spent about 42
cents of every
income tax dollar
last year on current
and past wars
and preparations
for future wars,
while spending
less than a penny
to promote diplomacy,
international
cooperation, humanitarian
and development
aid, and efforts
to peacefully
prevent deadly
conflicts?
Most likely, these
budget priorities
do not reflect
your values. What’s
more, many in
your community
probably feel
the same way you
do.
Tax Day (April
15) is the perfect
time to bring
your neighbors
and friends together
in common concern
and let your community
and legislators
know how you feel
about these unbalanced
budget priorities.
Download
the FCNL Tax Day
Flyer
FCNL’s new
tax day flier
"Where do
our income tax
dollars go?"
can help you share
your concern about
misplaced federal
budget priorities
with your community,
local news media,
and members of
Congress. Take
a look:www.fcnl.org/pdfs/taxday.pdf |
| What
about those handy tax cuts?
It's
true, you may get a rebate check
in the mail, and it may seem
like a windfall. It's also true
that:
- Your
local and state taxes are
likely to go up, to make up
for the loss of federal revenues;
- If
you're like most of us, you're
not benefiting nearly as much
from the tax cuts as the richest
people in your state.
Impact
of Enacted Tax Cuts, 2005
| Income
Class |
Average
tax cut
|
Percentage
growth in after-tax income |
Middle 20 percent
Top one percent
Over $1 million |
$742
$34,948
$103,086 |
2.6%
4.6%
5.4%
|
Source:
Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center
For
more disturbing information,
click
here to visit
"RECENT TAX AND
INCOME TRENDS AMONG HIGH-INCOME
TAXPAYERS"
Treasury
Department Release Creates Misleading
Impression
About Taxes that High-Income
Taxpayers Pay
By Joel Friedman, Isaac Shapiro,
and Robert Greenstein
Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities
|
|
WAND
women making news around the
country!
Our
very own…
 |
WAND
Board member Rep. Joyce
Elliott from Arkansas
graced the cover
of Arkansas Times, in
an article titled "Tough
Customer in the House"!
Joyce Elliott’s school days helped produce
a formidable state representative.
“When
a reporter suggested that
Joyce Elliott was the
scrappiest of Arkansas’s
female legislators, Rita
Sklar corrected him. Elliott
is the scrappiest of all
the legislators, Sklar
said. A lobbyist for the
ACLU, Sklar spends her
own days at the legislature
in outnumbered combat
with reactionaries who
hate her and her organization
and the causes it represents.
Praise from her is praise
from Caesarina.”
Click
here for more. |
Lane
County WAND member Aria Seligmann
is running for Eugene, Oregon
4J School Board!
WAND
Inc. Board Member, and WAND
Michigan member Fern Katz
is running for Southfield School
Board.
WAND
aims to empower women to act
politically and support our
very own members taking the
plunge and taking their place
at the table were decisions
are made that affect our community! |
 |
1000
Women for the Nobel Peace Prize
2005
"In
the year 2005 the Nobel Peace
Prize should be awarded to 1000
women for their untiring pursuit
of peace. We want above all
to profile such courageous women,
to throw light on their lives
and work by means of films,
photos and other documentation."
Click
here for more. |
|
Physicists
send letter to Congress calling
for halting missile defense deployment
Last
week 22 eminent physicists --
including nine Nobel laureates
in physics, many with expertise
in weapons systems -- sent a letter
to key members of Congress calling
for the elimination of funding
for ground-based interceptors
for the missile defense system
the Bush administration is seeking
to deploy.
The letter stated: "we
urge you to eliminate all funding
to purchase or deploy any additional
interceptor missiles until operationally
realistic tests of the system
demonstrate that it would work
against a real world attack."
Noting that the ground-based missile
defense (GMD) system has "no
demonstrated capability to defend
against a real attack, even from
a single warhead," the scientists
urged the Pentagon to "refocus
the GMD program on conducting
operationally realistic tests,
which are the only means of collecting
accurate data on system performance."
For
the full letter, click
here.
|
|
Bipartisan
House resolution introduced on
Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
(NPT)
From the Arms Control
Association
Two
former U.S. secretaries of defense,
a former U.S. secretary of state,
and twenty other nonproliferation
experts released a statement urging
all governments to recommit themselves
to their obligations under the
nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
(NPT) as a bulwark against proliferation.
Congressman John Spratt (D-S.C.)
hailed the statement and said
he, Congressman Ed Markey (D-Mass.),
and others would introduce a resolution
in Congress embodying the statement's
principles.
Representatives
Spratt (D-SC), Leach (R-IA), Markey
(D-MA), Skelton (D-MO), Shays (R-CT),
and Tauscher (D-CA) introduced,
H.Con.Res. 133, the "Non-Proliferation
Treaty Enhancement Resolution of
2005" in the House of Representatives
in mid-April. The bipartisan
resolution urges action in 10 major
areas of nuclear nonproliferation
and disarmament to strengthen the
Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
(NPT).
The
NPT and the May Review Conference
From May 2-27, representatives
from more than 180 states will
gather in New York for a once-every-five-years
Review Conference of the Treaty.
The NPT has made the world safer
by significantly raising the political
costs of developing nuclear weapons.
It has also created a global consensus
against the acquisition, modernization,
trade, and use of nuclear weapons.
Yet
today, 35 years after the treaty
entered into force, the nonproliferation
regime is under serious strain.
The NPT is not broken, but it
must be strengthened if past successes
are to be preserved and if today’s
and future proliferation threats
are to be rolled back.
For more information,
click
here.
|
|
AP/Ipsos
Poll: Most Americans Oppose Proliferation,
Concerned About Possible Nuclear
Attacks
March 30, 2005
The
latest AP/Ipsos poll shows that
opposition to proliferation is
high, with two-thirds (66%) reporting
that no country should be allowed
to have to have nuclear weapons.
Concern
over the nuclear issue is also
evident in Americans' fears about
possible future nuclear attacks.
Majorities believe that in the
next five years a terrorist attack
using nuclear weapons is likely
(53% total likely) and also state
it is likely that one country
will attack another country with
nuclear weapons within the next
five years (52%).
For more information, click
here. |
|
Storage
of Nuclear Spent Fuel Criticized
Science Academy Study Points to
Risk of Attack
By
Shankar Vedantam | Washington
Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 28, 2005; Page A01
A
classified report by nuclear experts
assembled by the National Academy
of Sciences has challenged the
decision by federal regulators
to allow commercial nuclear facilities
to store large quantities of radioactive
spent fuel in pools of water.
The
report concluded that the government
does not fully understand the
risks that a terrorist attack
could pose to the pools and ought
to expedite the removal of the
fuel to dry storage casks that
are more resilient to attack.
The Bush administration has long
defended the safety of the pools,
and the nuclear industry has warned
that moving large amounts of fuel
to dry storage would be unnecessary
and very expensive...
Full
article, click
here. |
|
Steps
at Reactor in North Korea Worry
the U.S.
By DAVID E. SANGER
The
New York Times | Published: April
18, 2005
WASHINGTON,
April 17 - The suspected shutdown
of a reactor at North Korea's
main nuclear weapons complex has
raised concern at the White House
that the country could be preparing
to make good on its recent threat
to harvest a new load of nuclear
fuel, potentially increasing the
size of its nuclear arsenal.
While there is no way to know
with any certainty why the reactor
might have been shut down, it
has been North Korea's main means
of obtaining plutonium for weapons.
The Central Intelligence Agency
has told Congress it estimates
that in the last two years the
country turned a stockpile of
spent fuel from the same reactor
into enough bomb-grade material
for more than six nuclear weapons...
Full
article, click
here.
|
 |
It's
baaaaaaaack: Time
to rally to re-defeat the bunker
buster for FY06
Last year, 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.
More
about the bunker buster |
Take
action |
| CONGRATULATIONS
from Win Without War
Congratulations
on what appears to have been a
very successful series of vigils
and other actions! It is always
heartening to see such a strong
response from the grassroots.
It is also great to see so many
Win Without War member groups
joining together to support each
others' activities.
[WAND is a member of Win Without
War; WAND Executive Director Susan
Shaer is chair of the organization.] |
GAO:
Pentagon can't track millions
in war spending
Reuters | USA Today |
April 14, 2005
The Defense Department
is unable to track how it spent
tens of millions of dollars in
Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere
in the U.S. war on terrorism,
Congress' top investigator said
Wednesday.
The
department “doesn't have
a system to be able to determine
with any degree of reliability
and specificity how we spent”
war-related emergency funds set
aside by Congress, Comptroller
General David Walker told a Senate
Armed Services subcommittee...
For full article,
click
here. |
Now
that we've gone into Iraq: Is Iran next?
|
Data
on Iraqi Arms Flawed, Panel Says
Intelligence Commission
Outlines 74 Fixes for Bureaucracy
By
Walter Pincus and Peter Baker
| Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, April 1, 2005; Page A01
U.S.
intelligence agencies were "dead
wrong" in their prewar assessments
of Iraq's nuclear, biological
and chemical weapons and today
know "disturbingly little"
about the capabilities and intentions
of other potential adversaries
such as Iran and North Korea,
a presidential commission reported
yesterday.
While
praising intelligence successes
in Libya and Pakistan, the commission's
report offered a withering critique
of the government's collection
of information leading to the
2003 invasion of Iraq, calling
its data "either worthless
or misleading" and its analysis
"riddled with errors."
That resulted in one of the "most
damaging intelligence failures
in recent American history."
The 692-page report to President
Bush determined that many of the
problems that led to the Iraq
breakdown have not been fixed,
and warned that they may
be undercutting the quality of
current U.S. evaluations of Iranian
and North Korean nuclear weapons
development. To avoid
a repeat performance, the commission
produced a set of 74 recommendations
intended to "transform"
a sprawling intelligence bureaucracy
that it described as "fragmented,
loosely managed and poorly coordinated."
Full
article, click
here. |
|
April
24: Full Moon in Okinawa
Shinya
Mayonaka, an Okinawan musician
and tireless anti-base activist,
asks you to join us in looking
at the moon! He is the
main organizer of the 7th Annual
Full Moon Festival on April 24
at Henoko Bay, Okinawa which is
the site of a struggle that has,
so far, successfully stopped the
construction of an offshore US
military air base.
The
festival has been an integral
part of the Henoko campaign over
the years by bringing people together
to celebrate international solidarity
AGAINST war, racism and hunger,
and FOR genuine peace, human rights
and bio-diversity.
Whether
you decide to organize your own
Full Moon gathering, or will just
take a moment to gaze at the moon
in solidarity on April 24th, please
drop us a short message ahead
of time to let Henoko and the
rest of Okinawa know you'll be
"joining" us! I have
committed to translating all the
messages that come in.
In
solidarity,
Kelly
Dietz, Base Action Network
Ginowan, Okinawa | kld18@cornell.edu
|
 |
Mother's
Day, May 8: Make sure you ask
for more than candy!
Click
here for more from Mothers
Acting Up, a great partner of
WAND
Click
here to see what WAND chapters
and friends are planning for Mother's
Day
Click
here to read about the true
meaning of Mother's PEACE Day
|
35th
Anniversary of Earth Day
Why
Earth Day Matters
- Because
as a result of pollution, one in six
American women have enough mercury
in their blood to harm a developing
fetus
- Because
global climate change is contributing
to drought, rising sea levels and
greater disease (PDF)
- Because
one in four of the 625 primate species
is at risk of extinction
- Because
more than half of the population currently
suffers from the damaging effects
of ozone smog
- Because
if we continue to destroy our forests,
most of the world’s large tracts
of intact forests will be gone by
mid-century, taking plant and animal
species with it
But
you can help turn the tide. This Earth
Day, resolve to take at least one action
that will benefit the planet. Click
here for more.
Annual
National Action in Oak Ridge TN,
August 6-9
(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) |
For
additional events, visit the Moving
Ideas website: click
here.
IDEAS,
VISIONS, RESOURCES FOR
A BETTER WORLD |
 |
|
Good book on weapons in space
from the Stimson Center
"We
call for a "Space Assurance"
posture, which would avoid dangerous
military activities in space so
the United States can continue
to enjoy commercial, scientific,
and national security benefits.
No country would benefit from
the weaponization of space and
all countries would suffer.
"The
centerpiece of the Space Assurance
posture is a Code of Conduct for
responsible space-faring nations.
Currently, the United States and
other nations endorse and practice
codes of appropriate conduct at
sea, on the ground, and in the
air. The Bush administration has
also endorsed and is actively
seeking international support
for a code of conduct to prevent
the proliferation of ballistic
missiles and weapons of mass destruction.
An additional code of conduct
is necessary at a time when military,
commercial, and exploratory activities
in space are growing significantly..."
For
more information, click
here. To order, please email:
info@wand.org. |
|
"Honor
Betrayed" exposes
the hypocrisy of the Bush administration's
relationship with the United States
military. The documentary
is an in-depth examination of
how a series of failed assumptions
with regard to unverified intelligence
has damaged the overall morale
and effectiveness of our armed
forces.
Interviewed for the film were
veterans, soldiers currently serving,
and widows that are being hurt
by Bush's indifference to their
service and sacrifices.
 |
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