MARCH-APRIL 2006
For current DISARM UPDATE go to http://disarm.wilpf.org/
Focus: Say NO to nuclear weapons, waste and power
Alerts on simulated nuke test June 2, RCW on nukes and Iran, and more.
We hope gradually to bring you a better organized, more accessible and useful web site. Access details on March and April DISARM events below.
Click items in the side panel for past DISARM UPDATES.
From the side panel you can access DISARM program including EYE on Congress, ABOLITION and the MilCorp ConneXion. Also read Branch Reports, information about our DISARM Leadership Team and our annual DISARM calendar.
And link directly to the web sites of our U.S. Section office in Philadelphia and our offices at the United Nations in New York and Geneva.
Send your reports and comments to WILPF DISARM UPDATE.
FLASH! April Events
(and plan ahead to May and June)
April 3-17: Ellen Barfield goes to Palestine and Israel. Our DISARM co-chair will be traveling with Veterans for Peace to meet with a Palestinian/Israeli organization of former soldiers and fighters now pledged to non-violence. Watch for her reports. She will be available for speaking to groups after her return.
April 17 -- IRS TAX DEADLINE. Many WILPF Branches will vigil and leaflet at post offices on this day. Resources include the War Resisters League government spending pie chart. WRL has other resources as well. FCNL has a fact sheet showing that 42% of our tax dollars go for war. And don't forget WILPF's own flyer on the current 2006 budget (paste in your local Branch info before photo-copying).
April 23-25 (with additional events April 22 and 26): Kiev Ukraine Conference on Chernobyl: challenging the new push for nuclear power! Explore the NIRS web site for more details. Scholarships may still be available for WILPFers who want to attend and prepare themselves to counter new U.S. promotion of nuclear power.
April 26: Regina Sneed notes the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster and offers suggestions for Branch programs.
See the ABOLITION NOW web site for additional ideas and information on Chernobyl, nuclear power, and the continuing Mayors for Peace Campaign.
April 29: United for Peace and Justice co-sponsors march and festival in New York City. WILPF endorses this March for Peace, Justice and Democracy. Add your Branch to the list of endorsers. Watch here for details on WILPF DISARM participation in the UFPJ Nuclear DIsarmament/Redefining National Security Tent.
Preview of important May/June Events:
May 20: Armed forces day protest at Vandenberg Air Force Base with Medea Benjamin and others. Download flier.
June 2: Divine Strake, believed to be a simulated nuclear weapons test in the Nevada desert. Watch for action suggestions.
June 23-28: Vancouver B.C. International Peace Conference . Last day for early bird registration is April 30! (Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space international conference will be in Vancouver on June 25. Contact Global Network to register.)
Review of March Events:
February 27 to March 10: WILPF delegation to the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Watch here for results of the conference with relevance to DISARM issues, and observations of Ellen Barfield, Jean Verthein and others who attended for DISARM.
March 8: Jody Dodd reports on the WILPF seminar in Geneva which focused on fissile materials and on Depleted Uranium. See the slides for Susi Snyder's presentation and read the statement presented to the Committee on DIsarmament from the WILPF International Women's Day seminar in Geneva .
March 9: Jennifer Nordstrom 's report on the presentation of WILPF statement to the Committee on Disarmament (CD) Meeting. Reports of all CD sessions are available on Reaching Critical WIll.
March 15-16: MacGregor Eddy challenges Vandenberg Air Force space program and the U.S. government in court on the basis of the Vandenberg principles and international law. Look for fliers on March events and the May 20 demonstration. Read a news account in Salinas paper of MacGregor's arrest and trial. Sheila Baker sends Santa Barbara articles and an action suggestion. View photos of pre-trial rally in Santa Barbara. Also download the flier for the May 20 Armed Forces Day rally at the Vandenberg gate.
March 18-19-20: Branches around the country participate in calls to end the Iraq occupation and bring the troops home. Pat Birnie reports Tucson WILPF members join Raytheon blockade. Pat Hollingsworth reports Portland Branch helps make their city's march one of the world's three largest. Odile Huguenot Haber gives us a web site with reports of demos around the globe. Tell DISARM your story for posting in our UPDATE.
March 26-29: DC Days training and lobbying with the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability. Send in your registration NOW and participate in the best anti-nuclear lobbying exercise in the country. Connect with nuke waste and production site watchers from around the nation
