Monday, March 15, 2004

U.S. WMD's Immoral Too FEATURED ARTICLES - Nuclear Weapons 'Immoral,' Say Religious, Scientific Leaders, OneWorld.net - Statement On Nuclear Disarmament, Rev. Dr. Robert W. Edgar, Gen. Sec., Nat. Council of Churches USA - National Council of Churches USA Observes 50th Anniversary of H-Bomb Test in the Pacific - Moral Appeal for a Safer World without Nuclear Weapons, Interfaith Committee For Nuclear Disarmament - U.S. Lags in Recovering Fuel Suitable for Nuclear Arms, NY Times, 3/7/04 2 QUOTES OF THE DAY "Why do we continue to construct weapons that have the power to destroy us, rather than build systems and structures that will save lives and help all persons reach the potential for which God created them?" - - Rev. Dr. Robert W. Edgar  (General Secretary, National Council of Churches USA) "My prognosis is, if nothing changes and Bush is re-elected, within ten or 20 years, there will be no life on the planet, or little. It's good to use the words 'sin' and 'evil' (in this context). It is true that it is evil to have power to destroy life on Earth." - - Dr. Helen Caldicott,  (1985 Nobel Prize winner) KNOW YOUR HISTORY - MARCH 15th 1964 -- The US Atomic Energy Commission admits that an unplanned release of radiation from an underground nuclear test spewed fallout over Las Vegas. During the 1950s & 1960s, more than 200 U.S. nuclear explosions sent radioactive clouds into the atmosphere. In 1962, the atmospheric tests were replaced by underground tests like the one on March 15th near Las Vegas. The National Association of Radiation Survivors estimates that victims number 886,000. A 1980 report by a U.S. House of Representatives committee found: "The Government's programs for monitoring the health effects of the tests was inadequate &, more disturbingly, all evidence suggesting that radiation was having harmful effects, be it on sheep or people, was not only disregarded but actually suppressed." RHINO HERE: Last Monday, U.S. National Council of Churches (NCC) General Secretary Bob Edgar joined Dr. Helen Caldicott of the Nuclear Policy Research Institute, Howard Hallman of Methodists United for Peace with Justice and others in the religious, scientific and medical communities in calling for a halt to the post-Cold War nuclear arms race on the grounds that it is immoral and unnecessary. Rhino agrees this is the most important issue, and most dire threat facing mankind so today's blog focuses on recent developments regarding the threat, and efforts to counteract it, beginning with coverage of last week's meeting & the resulting statement. Nuclear Weapons 'Immoral,' Say Religious, Scientific Leaders by Jim Lobe,  OneWorld.net,  March 9, 2004 WASHINGTON -- An international group of religious and scientific leaders Monday launched an appeal to the United States and all other nuclear states to pledge never to use nuclear weapons and re-affirm their commitments to achieving total nuclear disarmament.  The appeal, signed by the head of the U.S. National Council of Churches(NCC) and the president of the international Catholic peace group, Pax Christi, and 74 others--including four Nobel laureates--declared such weapons to be "inherently immoral" and expressed particular concern over U.S. plans to develop of a new generation of nuclear bombs. "Even so-called 'mini-nukes' and 'bunker-busters' would have disastrous effects," the statement declared. "Threatened use of nuclear weapons in the name of deterrence is morally wrong because it holds innocent people hostage for political and military purposes." READ IT ALL AT: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0309-01.htm Statement On Nuclear Disarmament by Rev. Dr. Robert W. Edgar General Secretary, National Council of Churches USA, March 8, 2004, Washington, D.C. SPEECH POSTED AT: http://www.ncccusa.org/news/04nucleardisarmament.html   The previous week, the Reverend Doctor participated in the 50th anniversary commemoration of Operation Bravo, the March 1, 1954, atmospheric test of the H-Bomb on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. At the ceremony, he & the other participants asked justice for those still suffering the effects of those tests and urged the United States to lead the world in eliminating weapons of mass destruction. Here's the link to that statement. National Council of Churches USA Observes 50th Anniversary of H-Bomb Test in the Pacific STATEMENT POSTED AT:  http://www.ncccusa.org/news/04marshallislands.html Here's a relevant web based petition created by "The Interfaith Committee For Nuclear Disarmament." A Moral Appeal for a Safer World without Nuclear Weapons A Project Of The Interfaith Committee For Nuclear Disarmament "WE THE UNDERSIGNED believe that nuclear weapons, whether possessed by states or terrorist organizations, are inherently immoral. Therefore, they should be totally and irrevocably eliminated... READ IT & SIGN IT AT: http://www.zero-nukes.org/moralappeal.html Today's RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE, can add fuel to the fire of our concern about the dangers of continued nuclear weapons development & the continued postponing of the urgent need to initiate the global halt & clean-up which must inevitably occur, if humankind is to survive. It's a NY Times piece reporting on the US Government's efforts "to recover large quantities of weapons-grade uranium - enough to make roughly 1,000 nuclear bombs - that the government dispersed to 43 countries over the last several decades." 8:00:59 AM    comment

RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE - U.S. Lags in Recovering Fuel Suitable for Nuclear Arms U.S. Lags in Recovering Fuel Suitable for Nuclear Arms By JOEL BRINKLEY and WILLIAM J. BROAD, NY Times, March 7, 2004 WASHINGTON, March 6 - As the United States presses Iran and other countries to shut down their nuclear weapons development programs, government auditors have disclosed that the United States is making little effort to recover large quantities of weapons-grade uranium - enough to make roughly 1,000 nuclear bombs - that the government dispersed to 43 countries over the last several decades. Among the countries that received the highly enriched uranium, generally with the expectation that it would be returned, were Iran and Pakistan. The chief nuclear weapons expert in Pakistan recently made the stunning disclosure that his network had secretly sold uranium and nuclear technology to Libya, Iran and North Korea. The auditors said they found that "large quantities of U.S.-produced highly enriched uranium were out of U.S. control." The bomb-grade uranium was loaned, leased or sold to dozens of countries starting in the 1950's under the Eisenhower administration's Atoms for Peace program, which was intended to help other countries develop nuclear energy facilities or pursue scientific or medical initiatives. The dispersals continued until 1988. But the government's effort to recover the uranium, either in the form in which it was delivered or as spent fuel, was lackadaisical, the report suggests. In the last 50 years, the report says, the government has recovered approximately 2,600 kilograms (about 5,700 pounds) of 17,500 kilograms dispersed, leaving almost 15,000 kilograms still in foreign hands... READ IT ALL AT: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/07/international/worldspecial2/07NUKE.html?th "RHINO'S BLOG" is the responsibility of Gary Rhine. (rhino@kifaru.com) Feedback, and requests to be added or deleted from the list are encouraged. SEARCH BLOG ARCHIVES / SURF RHINO'S LINKS, AT: http://www.rhinosblog.info RHINO'S OTHER WEB SITES: http://www.dreamcatchers.org (INDIGENOUS ASSISTANCE & INTERCULTURAL DIALOG) http://www.kifaru.com (NATIVE AMERICAN RELATIONS VIDEO DOCUMENTARIES) Articles are reprinted under Fair Use Doctrine of international copyright law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html All copyrights belong to original publisher. Tell a friend about Rhino's Blog 6:26:20 AM    comment

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