30 April 2003
Either war is obsolete or men are. - R. Buckminster Fuller
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ARTICLES EU States Plan "Rival" for NATO
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EU States Plan "Rival" for NATO Lorraine Davidson Wed, Apr 30 2003 The Mirror FOUR European Union countries which opposed the war in Iraq yesterday agreed to set up a new military base that could rival Nato. France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg want to make European defence independent of the US following the bitter split in the run-up to the conflict. The four want to create a multinational force headquarters near Brussels by 2004. They claim the HQ would be "for operational planning and command of EU-led operations" in which Nato is not involved. But the move sparked fury from Tony Blair. Speaking in Moscow the PM said: "The only basis on which European defence can go forward is if it is fully compatible with our membership of Nato." But French President Jacques Chirac, who headed opposition to the Iraq war, insisted the plans did not undermine Nato. He said: "This is not about duplicating but eliminating duplication by national headquarters." Other plans include setting up a rapid reaction unit, a European air command centre and a unit to counter threats from chemical, biological or nuclear attacks. The plan will be presented to the other 11 EU nations at a meeting in Greece this weekend where it will come up against fierce resistance.
Dr. Daniel Amit: "What we are watching today, I believe, is a culmination of 10-15 years of mounting barbarism of the American culture the world over, crowned by the achievements of science and technology as a major weapon of mass destruction."
The building world boycott of the USEminent physicist refuses to review American colleagues' papers Reprinted April 25, 2003 Online Journal
Dr. Daniel Amit
Title: Transitions in oscillatory dynamics of two connected neurons with excitatory synapses Dear Dr. Amit: We would appreciate your review of this manuscript, which has been submitted to Physical Review E. This message is the COMPLETE REFERRAL. No hardcopy will be sent unless requested.
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I will not at this point correspond with any american institution.
Some of us have lived through 1939.
Dear Dr. Amit,
We have received your email with your decision not to review a paper for us
in light of American actions in the middle east. We recognize that reviewing
manuscripts is a voluntary activity, one that you perform as a service to
the physics community, and we thank you for your efforts.
Given the voluntary nature of your participation we of course respect your
decision to cease, and have made an indication in our database so that no
further papers will be sent to you for review until you inform us otherwise.
We ask, however, that you consider the following in hopes that in the not
too distant future you will decide to review for us again. We regard science
as an international enterprise and we do our best to put aside political
disagreements in the interest of furthering the pursuit of scientific
matters.
We have never used other than scientific criteria in judging the
acceptability of a paper for publication, without regard to the country of
origin of the author. We have done this even in cases where some of us have
disagreed strongly with the policies of that country, and we will continue
this practice. We believe it is essential that all parties involved make
every effort to separate social and political differences from their
participation in scientific research and publication. The pursuit of
scientific knowledge needs to transcend such issues.
Sincerely,
Thank you for you letter of April 8. I would have liked to be able to share the honorable sentiments you express in your letter as well as your optimism in the future role of science and the scientific community. To be frank, and with much sadness and pain, after 40 years of activity and collaboration, I find very little reason for such optimism. What we are watching today, I believe, is a culmination of 10-15 years of mounting barbarism of the
American culture the world over, crowned by the achievements of science and technology as a major weapon of mass destruction.
We are witnessing man hunt and wanton killing of the type and scale not seen since the raids on American Indian populations, by a superior technological power of inferior culture and values. We see no corrective force to restore the insanity, the self-righteousness and the lack of respect for human life (civilian and military) of another race.
Science cannot stay neutral, especially after it has been so cynically used in the hands of the inspectors to disarm a country and prepare it for decimation by laser guided cluster bombs. No, science of the American variety has no recourse. I, personally, cannot see myself anymore sharing a common human community with American science. Unfortunately, I also belong to a culture of a similar spiritual deviation (Israel), and which seems to be equally incorrigible.
In desperation I cannot but turn my attention to other tragic periods in which major societies, some with claims to fundamental contributions to culture and science, have deviated so far as to be relegated to ostracism and quarantine. At this point I think American society should be considered in this category. I have no illusions of power, as to the scope and prospect of my attitude. But, the minor role of my act and statement is a simple way of affirming that in the face of a growing enormity which I consider intolerable, I will exercise my own tiny act of disobedience to be able to look straight into the eyes of my grandchildren and my students and say that I did know.
With regard
PS I intend to distribute our exchange as much as possible. I authorize and pray that you do the same.
Hundreds of tonnes of depleted uranium used by Britain and the United States
in Iraq should be removed to protect the civilian population, the Royal
Society said yesterday, contradicting Pentagon claims it was not necessary.
The society's statement fuels the controversy over the use of depleted
uranium (DU), which is an effective tank destroyer and bunker buster but is
believed by many scientists to cause cancers and other severe illnesses.
The society, Britain's premier scientific institution, was incensed because
the Pentagon had claimed it had the backing of the society in saying DU was
not dangerous.
In fact, the society said, both soldiers and civilians were in short and
long term danger. Children playing at contaminated sites were particularly
at risk.
DU is left over after uranium is enriched for use in nuclear reactors and is
also recovered after reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. There are thousands of
tonnes of it in stores in the US and UK.
Because it is effectively free and 20% heavier than steel, the military
experimented with it and discovered it could penetrate steel and concrete
much more easily than convential weapons. It burns at 10,000C, incinerating
everything as it turns to dust.
As it proved so effective, it was adopted as a standard weapon in the first
Gulf war despite its slight radioactive content and toxic effects. It was
used again in the Balkans and Afghanistan by the US.
DU has been suspected by many campaigners of causing the unexplained cancers
among Iraqi civilians, particularly children, since the previous Gulf war.
Chemicals released in the atmosphere during bombing could equally be to
blame.
Among those against the use of DU is Professor Doug Rokke, a one time US army colonel who is also a former director of the Pentagon's depleted uranium project, and a former professor of environmental science at
Jacksonville University. He has said a nation's military personnel cannot wilfully contaminate any other nation, cause harm to persons and the environment and then ignore the consequences of their actions. He has called on the US and UK to "recognise the immoral consequences of their actions and assume responsibility for medical care and thorough environmental remediation".
The UN Environment Programme has been tracking the use of DU in the Balkans and found it leaching into the water table. Seven years after the conflict it has recommended the decontamination of buildings where DU dust is present to protect the civilian population against cancer.
Up to 2,000 tonnes of DU has been used in the Gulf, a large part of it in cities like Baghdad, far more than in the Balkans. Unep has offered to go to Iraq and check on the quantities of DU still present and the danger it poses to civilians.
Professor Brian Spratt, chairman of the Royal Society working group on depleted uranium, said that a recent study by the society had found that the majority of soldiers were unlikely to be exposed to dangerous levels of depleted uranium during and after its use on the battlefield.
"However, a small number of soldiers might suffer kidney damage and an
increased risk of lung cancer if substantial amounts of depleted uranium are
breathed in, for instance inside an armoured vehicle hit by a depleted
uranium penetrator."
He said the study also concluded that the soil around the impact sites of depleted uranium penetrators may be heavily contaminated, and could be harmful if swallowed by children for example.
"In addition, large numbers of corroding depleted uranium penetrators embedded in the ground might pose a long-term threat if the uranium leaches into water supplies.
"We recommend that fragments of depleted uranium penetrators should be removed, and areas of contamination should be identified and, where necessary, made safe."
He added: "We also recommend long-term sampling, particularly of water and milk, to detect any increase in uranium levels in areas where depleted uranium has been used. This provides a cost-effective method of monitoring
sensitive components in the environment, and of providing information about
uranium levels to concerned local populations."
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Up-to-the-Minute Emergency Responses to War With Iraq throughout the Bay Area:
NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
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