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WHAT'S NEW IN INES? |
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No.27/2000 |
Dateline: September 21, 2000 |
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This is the weekly electronic information service of the International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility
Editor: Tobias Damjanov, e-mail:
INES homepage: http://inesglobal.org
INES International Office
INES Chair: Prof. Armin Tenner
CONTENTS of WNII No. 27/2000
Proceedings of the Stockholm Conference about to be published
Preparations are under way for publication of the proceedings of the Conference "Challenges for Science and Engineering in the 21st Century", held at Stockholm in June this year. For more details, contact the INES Office: < >
New Zealand: Engineers for Social Responsibility (ESR) Newsletter September 2000 (Vol. 16/No. 4) http://www.esr.org.nz
The latest ESR Newsletter carries the following main articles:
Reviewing Clinton Remarks on NMD
As of 17 September, Egyptian INESAP member Bahig Nassar wrote:
Dear friends, At a seminar held on NWFZs (Nuclear Weapon-Free Zones) in Uppsala, Sweden, September 1-4,2000, participants firmly opposed both TMD and NMD systems, different from the position of many US and European NGOs which confine their campaign to the prevention of NMD and utterly overlook the consequences of TMD deployment. The following (*) short report is an attempt to discuss this issue hoping that you will kindly send your opinion and comments.
(*) Since this report is too long to be published here, please contact Bahig Nassar to obtain this article:
NOTE in addition: Bahig Nassar has also disseminated a brief report about the Middle East Group which was held at the same seminar. Among other things, this report includes six action proposals which might be of particular interest for INES and INESAP members in the Middle East region.
Germany: Two magazines ready to publish INES statements
The German journalist Mrs. Antje Bultmann informs that, in order to make INES more known in public, she has been able to find out about two German magazines which are ready to publish brief INES statements on current developments in society on a regular basis. One of these is "Publik Forum", presumably one of the best church-based but critical German magazines (35,000 copies of each issue published); the other one is named "Opposition" published by the editing house Berg. The statements should be about 20 30 lines, and should be sent to: < >
From the "START Web Site News", September 21, 2000 http://www.armscontrol.ru/start/
"START Web Site News" is regularly published by the Russian INES member organisation Centre for Arms Control, Energy and Environmental Studies. In its latest edition, it is announced that the paper "Nuclear Parity and National Security In New Conditions", (by Anatoli Diakov, Timur Kadyshev and Pavel Podvig, The PIR Study Papers, N 14, May, 2000) is now available in English. Co-author Dr Diakov is a member of INES and INESAP. He can reached through
Among other things, also in this issue some more information and references concerning the "Kursk" accident (see also WNII 24/2000):
The State Duma spent half a day to consider circumstances of the "Kursk" SSN accident. The Russian defence ministry said that the theory of a U.S. submarine clashing with the fated Kursk was strengthened by Washington's refusal to allow a Russian inspection of two U.S. submarines. Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA) is not completely convinced by Pentagon assertions that U.S. Navy vessels were in no way involved with the sinking of the Russian submarine Kursk, and he may begin an official inquiry or hold hearings to determine the facts.
UK: Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) and Architects & Engineers for Social Responsibility (AESR) lobbying government re: Climate Change Conference (this information has already been disseminated through INESnet, but not every WNII recipient is a subscriber to INESnet)
Martin Quick, AESR, writes:
I am glad to see that on the INES news there are references to the forthcoming conference in November on how the Kyoto agreement on measures to combat climate change should be put into effect.
Given the overwhelming evidence that climate change is happening and that many of the devastating climate events of recent years are consistent with predictions of global warming, it is vital that agreement that will at least ensure the target reductions agreed at Kyoto are met. In the UK, Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) and Architects & Engineers for Social Responsibility (AESR) [INES member organisations; the ed.] are lobbying the UK government to ensure that this happens.
There is a danger that the USA will try to avoid any real reduction in its own greenhouse gas emissions by using various emissions trading mechanisms. It would be good if as many INES members and organisation could lobby their governments to stand firm against any moves that would prevent the achieving of the reductions agreed at Kyoto.
A copy of the letter of SGR and AESR is available from Martin Quick:
How to effectively use the Serbian opposition
Former INES Chair Prof. Hartwig Spitzer has just made available this interesting document about a Hearing of the European Affairs Subcommittee of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. This hearing, conducted on 29 July 1999, was the first in a series for this committee on United States policy in the Balkans. Prof. Spitzer called this document "revealing", and in fact, it sheds light in detail on the US policy concerning the Milosevic opposition in Serbia which is of particular contemporary interest with regard to the current General Elections in Serbia.
The source of this document is: http://www.emperors-clothes.com/analysis/hearin.htm
but you might also obtain it from Prof. Spitzer:
David Krieger: Open Letter to Next US President
Dr David Krieger, INES Vice-Chair and President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, has just distributed his "Open Letter to Next US President: Abolish Nuclear Weapons". Unfortunately, it is much too long to be published here but you can contact Dr Krieger through:
Abolition 2000 homepage: http://www.abolition2000.org Grassroots News: http://www.napf.org/abolition2000/news/
MPI Panel "Nuclear Disarmament: 13 Commitments by 187 Nations"
On September 7, the Middle Powers Initiative (MPI) organised this panel at the State of the World Forum, New York. Suzanne Pearce, MPI Coordinator, has now made available a report about this panel. Contact her through:
The report can also be obtained from the WNII editor.
Opposing the Use of Plutonium (MOX) Fuel
A number of US-based NGOs - among them the INES member organisation "Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER)" - have recently issued a Statement by World Nongovernmental Organizations Opposing the Use of Plutonium (MOX) Fuel, declaring September 28 as "International Nix MOX Action Day". The Statement, which aims to be signed on by other groups and NGOs, ends with a "pledge to expand a united international movement that will challenge every effort to develop, encourage, or use MOX fuel as a means of plutonium disposition, will work toward the goal of having all plutonium declared surplus, and vow to continue our efforts to ensure the isolation of plutonium from the environment."
You can obtain the Statement from Michael Mariotte, Nuclear Information Resource Service (NIRS):
The Kyoto Protocol: Pulling Verification Together
This is the title of the VERTIC Briefing Paper 00/4 dealing with the key issues for the 13th Meetings of the Subsidiary Bodies of the Convention on Climate Change, Lyon, September 2000 (*). Edited by Clare Tenner, VERTIC's Environment Researcher, it draws on presentations and discussions at the VERTIC workshop "Developing Verification Systems for the Kyoto Protocol", held in London on 28 July this year. Further information on the workshop, including summaries of the presentations, are available on the VERTIC website:
http://www.vertic.org
The site also has briefing papers written for earlier meetings of the Subsidiary bodies and Conferences of the Parties.
To obtain the Briefing Paper, please contact Ellen Peacock, VERTIC's Information Officer:
(*) The Lyon meetings bring together more than 2000 participants - senior government representatives from some 160 countries, as well as representatives from nongovernmental organizations, intergovernmental organizations and from the private sector. These preparatory negotiations will set the stage for decisions at the next ministerial conference on climate change to be held in The Hague, the Netherlands, from 13 to 24 November.
For further information on the Lyon meetings, please contact: -- Carine Richard-Van Maele: or: -- Michael Williams:
See also: http://www.unfccc.int
US Presidential candidates on arms control
Are you interested what the US Presidential candidates have to say on arms control? The September 2000 issue of "Arms Control Today" is carrying the questions to and answers of George W. Bush Jr. and Al Gore concerning their views on armament and disarmament policy.
You can find this "Presidential Election Forum" at: http://www.armscontrol.org/ACT/sept00/pressept00.html
A slightly abridged version is available from the WNII editor.
[webmaster's note - US Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader's positions on a variety of issues can be found at http://www.votenader.com/issues.html ]
CONFERENCES, MEETINGS, SEMINARS
European Conference on Sustainable Development - SMEs and New Enterprises http://susdev.eurofound.ie/conference.html
No new or changed email or web addresses in this issue. All INES e-mail addresses and homepages are available upon request from:
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