15 February 2008

email from Leuren Moret

From: Leuren Moret <leurenmoret@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, Feb 15, 2008 at 2:25 PM
Subject: Re: Response to Hilary's link to Monsanto



This is all very important. During my diplomatic trip
to India in Feb. as official diplomatic representative
of Tun Dr. Mahathir, former PM of Malaysia, high level
Indians told me something very interesting. They said
the Indian govt. had just been approached by 5 US
agricultural corps who said they wanted to take over
ALL AGRICULTURE IN INDIA AND THEY ONLY NEEDED 2
MILLION INDIAN FARMERS. The Indian govt asked what
they should do with the 147 million unemployed Indian
farmers that would lose their jobs... and the US Corps
said "That's your problem..."

I now have solid proof that air strikes in Iraq and
Afghan have been synchronized with the summer and
winter monsoon cycles so that the deadly DU is
delivered to India in the summer where it is rained
out and to the Mid. East/C. Asia in the winter. It is
a massive depopulation policy being carried out...
just as I said from the beginning. But now I have the
proof. The uranium levels in Los Angeles drinking
water doubled in 2007 - there were 835 air strikes in
July in Afghan alone - that is 28 DU bombing runs a
day.... thousands of Nagasakis every day.

L

12 February 2008

More depleted uranium speedlinks!!

Public Meeting in English: SP Defence Spokeswoman will speak at ...
SP.NL - Netherlands
In the course of the Iraq War of 2003 the prestigious British scientific body the Royal Society stated that the use of depleted uranium was principally a ...
See all stories on this topic

Google Blogs Alert for: depleted uranium

Will the Uranium run out?
By Charles Barton(Charles Barton)
In addition, there is a world wide stock of one million tons of depleted uranium, all of which can fuel into breeder reactors. This does not count the hundreds of thousands of tons of supposibly spent reactor fuel, mostly sitting idle ...
Nuclear Green - http://nucleargreen.blogspot.com/

Iraq - The Doctor the DU and the Dying Children (2004-TVRip-d0x)
Uranium munitions were used for the first time by US and British Allied Forces in the 1991 Gulf War. Servicemen who saw them in action were very impressed. When a depleted uranium (DU) shell hits a tank, it penetrates the steel armour ...
OneBigTorrent.org - http://onebigtorrent.org

Depleted Uranium is a war crime...
By Mama Bear(Mama Bear)
DU related health issues by directing the Wisconsin Dept of Veterans Affairs (or something like that) to inform veterans of the health consequences of depleted uranium. What I don't get is how this passed unanimously. ...
yields falsehood when preceded... - http://symbioid.livejournal.com/

Brown Gets The Ague
By gandalf
Malaria was quite common in the UK until quite recently - Shakespeare called it “the Ague” - then better public health wiped it out. Facts don’t stop the warmenists though. The UK is to be hit by regular malaria outbreaks, ...
Depleted Uranium - http://depleteduranium.wordpress.com

McKinney: ‘I had a place to go when the Democratic Party left me’
By admin
Among that legislation she proposed was an attempt to ban depleted uranium from use in tank and artillery shells, banning tax breaks for companies moving businesses/factories overseas, and voting reform legislation that would have ...
- http://www.allthingscynthiamckinney.com


depleted uranium documents as per SIBELGATE, Wiliam Clinton and Frank Guistra

I don't have the time to convert this document - but it shows how the depleted uranium documents are at the Department of Energy . the declassifed ones that William Clinton had access to ..

Veeger



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S THERE RADON IN NEW JERSEY?

File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
contractor, at the seller’s expense, the radon level dropped to below 2 picocuries per liter. Clinton resident Robert Timko remembers the initial fear of ...
www.nj.gov/dep/rpp/radon/download/gainv8.pdf - Similar pages - Note this
[PDF]

IIIII ' °

File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
contractor of the Commission, or employee of such contractor, to the extent that ... in the depleted uranium goal exposures. would both increase the "value" ...
www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/10178399-t6QEB3/native/10178399.pdf - Similar pages - Note this

HealthSentinel.com

Depleted Uranium (DU) refers to the uranium that's left after enriched uranium is separated ... Military contractors like to use DU because it's so cheap. ...
www.healthsentinel.com/news.php?event=news_print_list_item&id=230 - 17k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Clipmarks - masbury's clinton

"A simple quid pro quo": massive donations to Clinton foundation in ... More $ from defense contractors than any other candidate; twice that of McCain ...
clipmarks.com/clipper/masbury/tag/clinton/ - 85k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Uranium Mining Issues: 2000 Review

For the Sillamäe uranium mill tailings deposit located on the shore of the Baltic Sea in Estonia, German contractor Wismut presented a decommissioning ...
www.wise-uranium.org/uissr00.html - 18k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

LadyBroadoak Visionary Planetary Healing Tutorial: Sibelgate: Bill ...

Sibelgate: Bill Clinton and G.H.W. Bush Both Partnered with Canadian Mining ... The profitability for uranium speculation is ENORMOUS and it is done under ...
ladybroadoak.blogspot.com/2008/02/sibelgate-more-disclosures-on-buzh-and.html - 671k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Think Progress » Hostages held at Clinton’s NH campaign office.

Eating Uranium is not healthy for you…and not for the reason you think. ;) ... I heard he’s a Blackwater contractor home on vacation. ...
thinkprogress.org/2007/11/30/hostages-held-at-clintons-nh-campaign-office/ - 84k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Toward Freedom - Uranium Casualties

30 Jun 2005 ... Hillary Clinton, who chastised the US Defense Department for not screening ... Military contractors like to use it because it’s cheap; ...
www.towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/475/57/ - 31k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Y-12: Design, 1942-1943

Oak Ridge: Clinton (1942-1943) Events: The Uranium Path to the Bomb, 1942-1944 ... the Y-12 contractor at Oak Ridge, prepared to break ground. ...
www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/y-12_design.htm - 15k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

eatbees blog

eatbees: Bill Clinton was our last Democratic president. .... three uranium projects controlled by Kazakhstan’s state-owned uranium agency, Kazatomprom. […] ...
www.eatbees.com/blog/ - 82k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

BANKING DOSSIER: MELTDOWN in the financial market/ WSJ

New Hitches In Markets

May Widen Credit Woes


By LIZ RAPPAPORT, CARRICK MOLLENKAMP and KAREN RICHARDSON

Wall Street Journal, February 11, 2008; Page A1

A widening array of financial-market problems threatens to trigger a new
phase in the global credit crunch, extending it beyond the risky mortgages
that have cost banks and investors more than $100 billion in losses and
helped push the U.S. economy toward recession.

In the past few days, low-rated corporate loans -- the kind that fueled the
buyout boom of recent years -- have plummeted in value. As a result, banks
are expected to try to unload some of those loans this week at fire-sale
prices.

Nervous buyers also have retreated in recent days from the market for
securities backed by student loans and municipal bonds, roiling some corners
of the short-term money markets. Similarly, investors have recoiled from
debt backed by commercial real estate, such as office buildings.

Over the weekend, the world's top banking authorities warned that the
U.S.-led economic slowdown and continued uncertainty about securities could
lead banks to further reduce their lending, and choke off economic activity.
(Please see related article.)

One sign of investors' anxiety: Standard & Poor's said its index of the
prices on high-risk corporate loans fell to a record low of 86.28 cents on
the dollar at the end of last week.

Few market participants expect defaults on any of this debt to match the
elevated levels seen in last year's rout in the market for risky, or
subprime, mortgages. But collectively, they threaten to deepen the financial
system's wounds and create a growing pileup of shaky assets on the books of
banks.

Behind the latest problems are some common themes: Investors bought some of
these debt securities with borrowed money, or leverage. As prices have
declined, lenders have forced the sale of some of these securities. The cash
being pulled out of the market by these sales has magnified the losses from
rising defaults.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve's interest-rate cuts, which were designed to
reinvigorate the slowing U.S. economy, may be having unintended consequences
in some quarters: sending investors fleeing from investments that do poorly
when interest rates fall.

After years in which banks and investors have lent money on especially easy
terms, "You've had the biggest credit bubble -- probably the biggest credit
bubble we have ever had," says Jim Reid, credit strategist at Deutsche Bank
AG in London. Part of the bubble has already been unwound, he says. The
problem is, "nobody quite knows where that ends."

Hard Hit

Especially hard hit: the market for loans to big U.S. companies with low
credit ratings. Problems in this market have been percolating for months.
These loans, known as leveraged loans, were a popular way to finance the
multibillion- dollar private-equity buyouts of recent years that have wound
down amid the credit crunch, like the takeovers of Freescale Semiconductor
Inc. in 2006 and TXU Corp. last year. Investors started to shun buyout loans
last summer, causing a buildup of the debt on bank's balance sheets.

During the past two weeks, prices on many of these loans have fallen to
levels that in a normal environment would indicate that the market expected
the corporate borrower to restructure or seek bankruptcy protection. But,
though they are creeping up from record lows in 2007, the default rate on
leveraged loans is still very low, at around 1% in January, out of the more
than half-trillion dollars of these loans outstanding.

Investors are also fleeing leveraged loans because the payments they make to
investors are tied to short-term interest rates. With short-term rates
falling, thanks to the Fed's rate cuts, those payments are shrinking.

"The yields are just not all that attractive especially if you fear that
[interest rates are] going to fall further," says Christian Stracke of
debt-research firm CreditSights in London. "That just means that the yield
you are going to be receiving is going to fall further."

The loans to Freescale and TXU are trading at around 80 and 90 cents on the
dollar, respectively, after being issued at about face value -- large
declines for these kinds of instruments.

Many types of investors have left the market for such loans, including
individuals. According to AMG Data Services, investors pulled their money
out of bank-loan mutual funds for the 18th straight week as of last
Wednesday, an exodus that has withdrawn $4.26 billion from the market.

This, in turn, has created problems for securities called collateralized
loan obligations, which are pools of bank loans bundled together and sold to
investors in pieces. Like the mortgage market's collateralized debt
obligations, these instruments were assigned high credit ratings and were
touted as spreading the risk of default on the underlying debt.

This week, UBS Securities and Wachovia Securities will be trying to sell
portfolios of loans that may be held by a class of collateralized loan
obligations called market-value CLOs. Both investment firms were lenders to
these CLOs, which depend heavily on borrowed money. Now, with the market
value of the loans behind these securities falling, the firms are
liquidating a total face value of more than $700 million of them.

Fitch Ratings last week cut the credit rating on pieces of 24 CLOs, putting
several of them deeply into junk territory, with ratings in the triple-C or
double-C range. Fitch also says it is reviewing its methodologies for rating
market-value CLOs. These investments have triggers in place that force banks
to liquidate loans being used as collateral when their prices fall by a
certain amount.

Added Burden

Having to liquidate portfolios of collateral is an added burden for banks,
which already had $152 billion of loans they were trying to sell from
buyouts of recent years. As the values of the loans they are holding
decline, they could need to take additional write-offs. Market-value CLOs
account for about 10% of the estimated $300 billion market for CLOs,
according to research by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.

Related investments called total return swaps have also been hurt. These
instruments are set up by banks for hedge-fund clients or other investors to
buy loans with borrowed money. The loans serve as collateral, and when the
values of the loans decline, the banks' clients can be driven into forced
sales.

Citigroup Inc. is one of several banks affected by the upheaval. The bank
structured nine of the 24 CLOs Fitch downgraded, amounting to about $4.5
billion of loans, according to a person familiar with the matter. Citigroup
issued a statement Thursday saying the bank hasn't liquidated any loan
collateral associated with its total return swap program.

Debt Fears

Problems are cropping up elsewhere in credit markets. Money-market investors
in the past have been large buyers of short-term instruments backed by
tax-free municipal bonds and student loans. But they have been shunning
these instruments -- known by such names as auction-rate securities and
tender-option bonds -- because they fear the debt used to back the
instruments will default or get downgraded by rating services.

Thursday and Friday, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. held auctions of hundreds of
millions of dollars in securities backed by student loans, all of which
failed to drum up enough demand at their asking prices.

More than half of the nation's $2.6 trillion of municipal debt, meanwhile,
is guaranteed by bond insurers like Ambac Financial Group Inc., MBIA Inc.,
and Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. Because these insurers are also on the
hook for billions of dollars in troubled subprime-mortgage- related bonds,
their guarantees are no longer worth as much. Concerns about the credit
ratings of the bond insurers are filtering into muni markets.

Several sales of auction-rate securities have failed to draw sufficient
interest from investors in the past two weeks. These include auctions held
by Georgetown University and Sierra Pacific Resources Inc. The failures
leave investors paying a premium to lenders who would rather let go of the
debt.

Big banks are now working to pour new money into the bond insurers, which
could help relieve some stress in the financial system. But the spreading
turmoil suggests that might not be enough to benefit banks and investors.

Commercial real estate is another segment of the market that is showing
cracks. There were no new offerings of commercial mortgage-backed securities
in January, and the cost of protection against default on such securities
issued in 2005 and early 2006 has more than tripled, according to Market
Group's CMBX index. Goldman Sachs estimates banks could write down $23
billion from CMBS losses this year.

11 February 2008

update on H Res 333 - yeah, guys what is happening? Let us know, eh???

Where's the Bill Now?

(Image Credit: wwp.greenwichmeantime.com)

Can you write, call and email John Conyers to DEBATE and GET MOVING the Kucinich Impeachment Bills?
House Resolution Bills, H.R.333 and H. R.799, are stuck, just sitting in the "Judiciary Committee" whose top leader/President/boss/organizer,

Chair is Rep. John Conyers [D-MI]

State: Michigan, District 14
Party: Democrat
Birthday: May 16, 1929 / 78 years old
Religion: Baptist
E-mail: John.Conyers@mail.house.gov
Addresses and Telephone Nos.:
2426 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-5126
(202) 225-0072 Fax

2615 W. Jefferson
Trenton, MI 48183
(734) 675-4084
(734) 675-4218 Fax

669 Federal Building
231 W. Lafayette
Detroit, MI 48226
(313) 961-5670
(313) 226-2085 Fax

The following is up-to-date information collected for you from: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=hr110-333

H. Res. 333: Impeaching Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors

Sponsor:
Rep. Dennis Kucinich [D-OH]show cosponsors (24)
Cosponsors [as of 2008-01-27]
Rep. Tammy Baldwin [D-WI]
Rep. Robert Brady [D-PA]
Rep. Yvette Clarke [D-NY]
Rep. William Clay [D-MO]
Rep. Steve Cohen [D-TN]
Rep. Danny Davis [D-IL]
Rep. Keith Ellison [D-MN]
Rep. Sam Farr [D-CA]
Rep. Bob Filner [D-CA]
Rep. Raul Grijalva [D-AZ]
Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee [D-TX]
Rep. Henry Johnson [D-GA]
Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick [D-MI]
Rep. Barbara Lee [D-CA]
Rep. James McDermott [D-WA]
Rep. Gwen Moore [D-WI]
Rep. James Moran [D-VA]
Rep. Donald Payne [D-NJ]
Rep. Janice Schakowsky [D-IL]
Rep. Edolphus Towns [D-NY]
Rep. Maxine Waters [D-CA]
Rep. Diane Watson [D-CA]
Rep. Lynn Woolsey [D-CA]
Rep. Albert Wynn [D-MD]

Bill Text At:
http://kucinich.house.gov/UploadedFiles/int3.pdf

Status:
Introduced Apr 24, 2007
Scheduled for Debate - NO
Voted on in House - NO
This bill is in the first step in the legislative process. Introduced bills go first to committees that deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general debate. The majority of bills never make it out of committee. Keep in mind that sometimes the text of one bill is incorporated into another bill, and in those cases the original bill, as it would appear here, would seem to be abandoned. [Last Updated: Jan 27, 2008]

Last Action:
May 4, 2007: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties

Show All Related Votes:
Votes related to H. Res. 333 [110th]
No votes matched the chosen year and chamber.

Committee Assignments:
This bill is in the first stage of the legislative process where the bill is considered in committee and may undergo significant changes in markup sessions. The bill has been referred to the following committees:
House Judiciary - 40 Members
House Judiciary, Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties

Chair:
Rep. John Conyers [D-MI]

Ranking Member:
Rep. Lamar Smith [R-TX]

Rep. Tammy Baldwin [D-WI]
Rep. Howard Berman [D-CA]
Rep. Frederick Boucher [D-VA]
Rep. Christopher Cannon [R-UT]
Rep. Steven Chabot [R-OH]
Rep. Howard Coble [R-NC]
Rep. Steve Cohen [D-TN]
Rep. Artur Davis [D-AL]
Rep. William Delahunt [D-MA]
Rep. Keith Ellison [D-MN]
Rep. Tom Feeney [R-FL]
Rep. James Forbes [R-VA]
Rep. Trent Franks [R-AZ]
Rep. Elton Gallegly [R-CA]
Rep. Louis Gohmert [R-TX]
Rep. Robert Goodlatte [R-VA]
Rep. Luis Gutiérrez [D-IL]
Rep. Darrell Issa [R-CA]
Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee [D-TX]
Rep. Henry Johnson [D-GA]
Rep. Jim Jordan [R-OH]
Rep. Ric Keller [R-FL]
Rep. Steve King [R-IA]
Rep. Zoe Lofgren [D-CA]
Rep. Daniel Lungren [R-CA]
Rep. Jerrold Nadler [D-NY]
Rep. Mike Pence [R-IN]
Rep. Linda Sánchez [D-CA]
Rep. Adam Schiff [D-CA]
Rep. Robert Scott [D-VA]
Rep. James Sensenbrenner [R-WI]
Rep. Brad Sherman [D-CA]
Rep. Betty Sutton [D-OH]
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz [D-FL]
Rep. Maxine Waters [D-CA]
Rep. Melvin Watt [D-NC]
Rep. Anthony Weiner [D-NY]
Rep. Robert Wexler [D-FL]





Related Legislation
See Also

Related bills identified by Library of Congress staff.
H. Res. 799: Impeaching Richard B. Cheney, Vice President...

H. Res. 799: Impeaching Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors

Sponsor:
Rep. Dennis Kucinich [D-OH]
No Cosponsors [as of 2008-01-28]

Full Text: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=hr110-799

Status:
Introduced Nov 6, 2007
Scheduled for Debate - NO
Voted on in House - NO
This bill is in the first step in the legislative process. Introduced bills go first to committees that deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general debate. The majority of bills never make it out of committee. Keep in mind that sometimes the text of one bill is incorporated into another bill, and in those cases the original bill, as it would appear here, would seem to be abandoned. [Last Updated: Jan 27, 2008]

Last Action:
Nov 6, 2007: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Show All Related Votes:
H. Res. 799 [110th]: Related Votes

The Senate and House each conduct hundreds of roll call votes each year, used both to pass legislation and amendments as well as to approve motions and for quorum calls. Use the options to the left to navigate the voting records database.
Votes related to H. Res. 799 [110th]
Vote & Date Vote Description
House Roll #1039
Nov 6, 2007 4:32 PM

On Motion to Refer the Resolution: H RES 799 A resolution raising a question of the privileges of the House.
Passed 218-194, 20 not voting
House Roll #1038
Nov 6, 2007 4:23 PM

On ordering the previous question: H RES 799 A resolution raising a question of the privileges of the House.
Passed 218-194, 20 not voting
House Roll #1037
Nov 6, 2007 4:02 PM

On Motion to Table: H RES 799 A resolution raising a question of the privileges of the House.
Failed 162-251, 19 not voting

Committee Assignments -

This bill is in the first stage of the legislative process where the bill is considered in committee and may undergo significant changes in markup sessions. The bill has been referred to the following committees:
House Judiciary
Related Legislation

See Also
Related bills identified by Library of Congress staff.
H. Res. 333: Impeaching Richard B. Cheney, Vice President... (Status: Introduced)

(Status: Introduced)
To cite this information, we recommend the following:
GovTrack.us. H. Res. 333--110th Congress (2007): Impeaching Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors, GovTrack.us (database of federal legislation) (accessed Feb 10, 2008)
Because the government takes a day or two to post legislative information online, GovTrack is usually one legislative day behind.

Boeing engineer "passed shuttle secrets to China"

I can smell the spies on here two ways . by the google searches they use which tells me which languages they use - and I can also go back and do searches and find out who comes here from the military etc that is being hacked by mostly the Chinese and Koreans.

This story does not suprise me in the least .... alot more is going on than we are told.

Now if Boeing employees would just pass on information about RENDITION, pass it right on to the ICC, that would be very cool.

If the US government were better at pursuing the real traitors instead of using agents to spy on its citizens, must danger could be averted. In the world of alphabet soupers and outsourced intel, getting oversight of what gets investigated is bent. Boeing has some obligations no matter what it says and SHOULD be the target of investigations. Any contractor with top secret clearances must be constantly monitored. As we say in Canada, "what? Are you new??"

Veeger

Boeing engineer 'passed shuttle secrets to China'
February 12, 2008 - 10:04AM
Source: ABC = Australia

Four people have been arrested in the United States overnight on charges of spying for China in two separate cases including one involving the space shuttle, the Justice Department said.

New Orleans residents Tai Shen Kuo and Yu Xin Kang, and Gregg William Bergersen of Alexandria, Virginia, were arrested for passing US defence documents to China in one case, according to a Justice Department statement.

In a second case, former Boeing engineer Dongfan "Greg" Chung was arrested on charges involving stealing and turning over to China Boeing trade secrets, including information involving the space shuttle.

US Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein says the incident is proof of an aggressive effort by China to obtain American secrets.

"The threat is very simple," he said.

"It's a threat to our national security and to our economic position in the world.

A threat that is posed by the relentless efforts of foreign intelligence services to penetrate our security systems and steal our most sensitive military technology and information."

Department officials say Chung, 72, of Orange, California, who was employed by Rockwell International from 1973 until its defence and space unit was acquired by Boeing in 1996, was arrested without incident at his residence.

He is accused of espionage involving economic secrets, conspiracy and other charges.

Chung, a China native who is a naturalised US citizen, held a secret security clearance when he worked at Rockwell and Boeing on the Space Shuttle program, officials said.

He retired from the company in 2002, but the next year he returned to Boeing as a contractor, a position he held until September 2006.

According to the charges against him, Chung took and concealed Boeing trade secrets relating to the Space Shuttle, the C-17 military transport aircraft and the Delta IV rocket.

Boeing spokesman Dan Beck says his company has been working with investigators.

"We do not comment on ongoing Government criminal investigations and will not comment on the subject matter of the case,"
he said.

"Boeing is not a target of the investigation and has been cooperating with the Government."

The other case involved Bergersen, who was a Defence Department official, and Tai Shen Kuo and Yu Xin Kang, both of New Orleans.

Working under the direction of an individual identified in court documents only as "PRC Official A," Kuo cultivated friendships with Bergersen and others in the US Government and obtained from them sensitive classified information for China.

The criminal conduct spanned a two-year period from January 2006 to February 2008, the documents said.

Kuo, a naturalised US citizen and New Orleans businessman, gathered the information on behalf of China.

- AFP


Peace Action

Peace Action is a peace organization formed through the merger of The Committee for a SANE Nuclear Policy and the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign (also known as "The Freeze"). The organization's focus is on preventing the deployment of nuclear weapons in space, thwarting weapons sales to countries with human rights violations, and promoting a new United States foreign policy based on common security and peaceful resolution to international conflicts.

Peace Action believes that every person has the right to live without the threat of nuclear weapons, that war is not a suitable response to conflict, and that the United States has the resources to both protect and provide for its citizens.[1] Peace Action has over 100,000 members who belong to over 70 autonomous affiliate and chapter organizations.[2]

Currently, Kevin Martin is the executive director and Paul Kawika Martin is the political director. The co-chairs of its board of directors are Diana Onken and Brian Corr.

Contents

[hide]

[edit] Current campaigns

In 2003, Peace Action launched the Campaign for a New Foreign Policy, an initiative to build grassroots support and congressional pressure for a U.S. foreign policy based on human rights and democracy, nuclear disarmament and international cooperation.

Peace Action opposes the U.S. occupation of Iraq as well as any potential future action within that state to impose permanent military bases, any attempt to control Iraqi oil through U.S. government or corporate institutions, or any action on the part of the U.S. government to further influence the domestic policy of elected Iraqi officials. They lobby their activist network to demand a complete withdrawal from Iraq as soon as possible.[3]

To prevent future wars Peace Action lobbies its grassroots network to demand peaceful diplomacy with Iran. In December of 2006 Peace Action began a petition to prevent war with Iran to date there are over 44,000 names.[4]

On the nuclear front Peace Action took part in a coalition lobby effort with organizations like the Arms Control Association and the Council for a Livable World to zero out funding for the Reliable Replacement Warhead and Complex 2030. Efforts of the collation helped stir the Senate Arms Services Committee to zero out the Administration’s $15 million RRW request for Navy research and development.

[edit] Grassroots work

Peace Action has 100 chapters nationwide with a network of over 100,000 activists. They send bi-weekly Action Alerts to almost 10,000 people worldwide, keeping them up to date on legislation regarding the Iraq war, nuclear disarmament, and preventing future wars with countries the Bush administration deems "rogue nations," like Iran. They also run a forum blog concerning issues of peace, nuclear abolition, and justice.

Their motto is "Peace Demands Action" and work on issues like Iraq, missile bases in Europe, or cutting the funding of new nuclear warheads . Peace Action’s goal is to organize the nation around issues of peace and justice through protests, congressional action, and lobby days. They recently organized a petition to let our leaders know that any war with Iran, particularly one that involves nuclear weapons, should not be an option.

Peace Action initiated the Student Peace Action Network (SPAN) in 1995 to bring the voices of young activists into the forefront of the peace movement. Youth actively engaged in peace issues lacked a systematic tool to unite and organize with other young people. SPAN addresses this problem by providing advocacy tools, a nationwide network of like-minded youth, information about the issues, and support for affiliate chapters. Through coordinated direct actions, demonstrations, teach-ins, letter-writing campaigns, dissemination of materials, and other tactics, SPAN activists all over the country challenge unjust policies and work for non-violent, constructive alternatives.

[edit] History

Peace Action, was originally founded as SANE in 1957 by Coretta Scott King, Albert Schweitzer, Dr. Benjamin Spock and others in response to the nuclear arms race and the Eisenhower administration's policies on the production and testing of nuclear weapons. The name "SANE" came from the concepts put forth by Erich Fromm in his book The Sane Society[5]. The group's aim was to alert Americans of the threat of nuclear weapons. A full-page advertisement placed in The New York Times in November 1957 provoked a nationwide response, and by 1958 the membership of the organization had grown to 25,000. SANE was formally incorporated in July of that year.

Various influential people and celebrities began to get involved with the organization and show support for their cause . In 1959, Steve Allen hosted a meeting that founded the Hollywood SANE. Members included Marlon Brando, Henry Fonda, Marilyn Monroe, Arthur Miller, Harry Belafonte, and Ossie Davis. In 1960, a SANE rally was held at Madison Square Garden that attracted 20,000 to hear Eleanor Roosevelt, Norman Cousins, Norman Thomas, A. Philip Randolph, Walter Reuther, Harry Belafonte call for an end to the arms race. International sponsors of SANE (including Martin Buber, Pablo Casals, Bertrand Russell and Albert Schweitzer) petitioned President John F. Kennedy to maintain a moratorium on testing in the atmosphere. Graphic Artists for SANE was also organized, with members that included Jules Feiffer, Ben Shahn, and Edward Sorel.

The group launched campaigns and rallies to drum up support for its cause and to put pressure on political figures. In 1961, SANE hosted an eight day, 109-mile march from McGuire Air Force Base to the United Nations Plaza that was attended by more than 25,000 people. They organized a rally of over 10,000 people on "Cuba Sunday" to express concern and outrage over the Cuban Missile Crisis. Dr. Spock became a national sponsor and appeared in an ad stating "Dr. Spock is worried." The ad was printed in 700 papers worldwide.

[edit] Early political influence

As a way of seeing their goals archived, SANE began working through its political lobbying programs. The organization began by pushing for the election of congressional candidates whose positions reflected those of the organization. In 1966, SANE formed the "Voter's Peace Pledge Campaign" to urge Congressional candidates to work for peace in Vietnam. They became one of the first national organizations to advocate removal of President Lyndon B. Johnson from office. They went on to endorse Eugene McCarthy as the Democratic presidential candidate in 1968.

SANE's Norman Cousins acted as an unofficial liaison between President Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev on the Partial Test Ban Treaty negotiations. The organization helped secure the passage of the War Powers Resolution. As the Vietnam War began to escalate, SANE organized a rally at Madison Square Garden that attracted 18,000 people opposing the war, as well as a march on Washington in November 1965 drawing 35,000. Three days after the march, Vice-president Hubert Humphrey met with SANE leaders Dr. Spock, Sanford Gottlieb, and Homer Jack "to openly, responsibly, and frankly discuss their proposals" to end the war. Many more SANE marches on Washington would occur throughout the war.

SANE would go on to criticize the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and SALT agreements for ignoring offensive strategic weapons. Following Richard Nixon's re-election, SANE advocated Congressional cut-off of funds for the Vietnam war. After the end of the Vietnam War, SANE lobbied to have Congress end the bombing of Cambodia, and helped lead a successful effort to pass the War Powers Act. SANE would also take on the military budget, and produced the "America Has a Tapeworm" ad. Despite the end of the war, SANE continued actions throughout the 1970s that promoted its purpose.

[edit] Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign

During the 1980s, SANE continued to monitor the political and military actions of the U.S. government and beyond. In 1981, The Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign began with the purpose of pressuring the government to stop the nuclear arms build-up. The campaign was initiated by Randall Forsberg's call to "freeze and reverse the nuclear arms race." The Freeze was a grassroots-based confederation of groups spanning the country. Freeze leaders included Randall Forsberg, Pam Solo, and Randy Kehler. Elected officials such as Rep. Patricia Schroeder and Sen. Ted Kennedy helped to lead the movement in Congress. The Freeze's grassroots network pushed for nuclear reductions through ballot initiatives in towns and cities across the nation.

Specifically, getting the goal was to get the U.S. and the Soviet Union to adopt a mutual freeze on the testing, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons and of missiles, as well as new aircraft designed primarily to deliver nuclear weapons. Much emphasis was put on the MX and Pershing II missiles.

During 1982, the SANE political action committee was formed for the political election year. Aside from working to get selected candidates elected it became a driving force behind many proposed nuclear freeze referendums. In a victory for both the Freeze campaign and SANE, Ronald Reagan proposed START I, part of a two phase treaty between the U.S. and the USSR that would reduce overall warhead counts on any missile type. By 1986, The Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign and SANE would merge to form SANE/FREEZE.

During the 1980s, SANE/FREEZE expanded its work to oppose U.S. military intervention in El Salvador and to end U.S. military aid to the Contras in Nicaragua. The organization promoted its agenda in different ways. An ad was placed in Variety magazine signed by over 250 celebrities including Jack Lemmon, Burt Lancaster, James Earl Jones, Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, and Ed Asner supporting its causes. A weekly radio program by SANE/FREEZE, "Consider the Alternatives", reaches 140 radio stations. Their door canvassing campaign reached 250,000 households.

[edit] The Gulf War and the War on Terror

Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, SANE/FREEZE opposed the U.S. military buildup in the Persian Gulf. Throughout the Gulf War, the organization coordinated anti-war marches in Washington, DC, helping to mobilize 500,000 protesters. Soon after, In 1993, SANE/FREEZE renamed itself Peace Action.

Of great concern to Peace Action in 1995 was the conference for review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The signatories to the treaty decided by consensus to extend the treaty indefinitely and without conditions. The year also marked the 50th Anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The next year Peace Action launched Peace Voter '96, the organization's largest nationally-coordinated campaign since the mid-1980s. Over one million Peace Voter Guides were distributed for the November elections. Also that year, Peace Action joined human rights groups to stop major weapons sales to Indonesia and Turkey. In 1997, Indonesia withdrew its request for U.S. fighter jets due to "unwarranted criticism" of their human rights record.

In 1999, Peace Action organized what it called "cruise missile humanitarianism" to oppose the NATO bombing of Kosovo, and founded the National Coalition for Peace and Justice, a body uniting most of the major peace groups in the country. Also that year, Peace Action commemorated the bombing of Nagasaki by staging a demonstration at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The demonstration was led by actor Martin Sheen.

Following the devastating September 11, 2001 attacks, Peace Action responded to the war on terrorism and the bombing of Afghanistan with a call for justice, not war. The group went on to participate in two national coalitions: Win Without War and United for Peace and Justice.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

  • Milton S. Katz, Ban the Bomb: A History of SANE, 1957-1985 (New York: Greenwood Press, 1986). ISBN 0-313-24167-8
  • Pam Solo, From Protest to Policy: Beyond the Freeze to Common Security (Ballinger, 1988). ISBN 978-0887301124
  • Glen Harold Stassen and Lawrence S. Wittner, eds., Peace Action: Past, Present and Future (Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers, 2007). ISBN 978-1-59451-333-6

[edit] See also

[edit] External links