Jeg videresender dette.
Med vennlig hilsen
Kai Braathen
----------
>From: ASlater <aslater@gracelinks.org>
>To: abolition-usa@lists.xmission.com, abolition-caucus@igc.apc.org, ana@igc.org
>Subject: Fwd: [y2k-nuclear] Y2K AND THE WORLD'S NUCLEAR SYSTEMS: THE
DEADLIEST GAMBLE IN HISTOR
>Date: lør 23. okt 1999 18:06
>
>Dear Friends,
>The full page ad below appeared in the New York Times yesterday, organized by
>Helen Caldicott. Please distribute it widely. We are looking into
>reprints so
>that it can be run in local newspapers, newsletters, etc. Alice Slater
>
>>>To: y2k-nuclear@egroups.com
>>Cc: uk-y2k-action@egroups.com, y2k-nukes@envirolink.org,
>strategies@egroups.com, graffis-l@onelist.com
>>From: pswann@easynet.co.uk (pswann@easynet.co.uk)
>>
>>
>>_____________________________________________________________
>>
>>
>> The New York Times, Friday October 22nd, 1999
>>
>> Y2K AND THE WORLD'S NUCLEAR SYSTEMS:
>>
>> THE DEADLIEST GAMBLE IN HISTORY
>>
>>_____________________________________________________________
>>
>>
>>The most critical Y2K crisis we face - its potential impact on the world's
>>nuclear weapons and power plants - has been obscured by news media
>>focusing only on the trivial and sensational. There has been a surprising
>>lack of skepticism in reporting official reassurances that "the problem is
>>being addressed" and the public won't be at risk on January 1, 2000.
>>The net effect has been to lull nearly everyone into complacency.
>>
>>It has also inhibited responsible scientists, politicians, and government
>>officials who have credible and alarming concerns about Y2K. They haven't
>>spoken out more forcefully because they fear ridicule and humiliation in
>>the
>>present media climate. But among their peers, in professional journals, and
>>even in Congressional hearings, they raise grave questions about the
>>profound - and unnecessary - risk we face.
>>
>>Every historical and environmental disaster in the 20th century might well
>>have been avoided, in retrospect, if people had acted differently at the
>>critical moment when danger became clear. That moment is now.
>>
>>_____________________________________________________________
>>
>>
>>"Probably one out of five days I wake up in a cold sweat thinking [Y2K] is
>>much bigger than we think, and then the other four days I think maybe we
>>really are on top of it. Everything is so interconnected, it's hard to know
>>with any precision whether we have got it fixed."
>>
>>- U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense John Hamre
>>
>>_____________________________________________________________
>>
>>
>>Less than three months before Jan. 1, 2000, hundreds of thermonuclear
>>missiles and atomic reactors remain vulnerable to "Y2K bugs." These bugs,
>>the basic glitches that arise because many computers cannot tell the
>>difference between the years 1900 and 2000, lurk among millions of embedded
>>chips and software. When we enter the new millennium, many computer systems
>>all over the world will undoubtedly fail, inducing chaos in some countries
>>and minor dislocations in others.
>>
>>The one industry that must not be allowed to fail is the nuclear industry.
>>Yet no precautions now being taken in the world's nuclear arsenals and
>>nuclear power plants are enough to prevent the possibility of catastrophe.
>>
>>
>>Y2K Risks in Nuclear Weapons
>>
>>4400 nuclear weapons both in Russia and America are on hair trigger alert,
>>ready to be "launched on warning" by a combination of possible inaccurate
>>computer data componded by the likelihood of human error. There is a very
>>real danger that Y2K will multiply the false hostile launch reports which
>>have in the past brought both Russian and U.S. forces within minutes of
>>launching before the mistake is discovered.
>>
>>Russia has only recently acknowledged that its military systems have Y2K
>>problems, and its deteriorating economic condition woefully limits any
>>meaningful fix. Many of Russia's nuclear weapons computer systems were
>>stolen from the U.S. The Pentagon's efforts to find their own problems are
>>behind schedule. The reassurances we've received to date are unacceptable,
>>because the Pentagon - which has the largest and most complicated
>>interfacing computer systems in the world - has not been open and honest
>>about its Y2K problems.
>>
>>A recent decision by the U.S. and Russia to establish a joint early warning
>>room does not obviate the potentially dangerous situation inherent in the
>>hardware, software and embedded chips in both countries' early warning
>>systems. It is a palliative measure, but not a cure.
>>
>>The only sure way to prevent the mistaken launch of nuclear missiles is to
>>de-alert the nuclear warheads, disabling the weapons systems.
>>
>>Currently, all other nuclear weapons states are in de-alert status,
>>guaranteeing that these weapons cannot be launched by computer or
>>human error.
>>
>>
>>Y2K Risks in Nuclear Power Plants
>>
>>We are also gambling with our nuclear power systems. 433 nuclear power
>>plants worldwide are at risk - 103 in the U.S. alone. France, the nation
>>most heavily dependent on nuclear plants, is so uncertain of its nuclear
>>safety that it plans to shut down all its nuclear facilities except the
>>nuclear power plants during the week of January 1, 2000.
>>
>>While Y2K can pose a danger to routine reactor control systems, the major
>>risk involves a power blackout engulfing the plant, failure of back-up
>>generating systems, loss of cooling, and meltdown - the consequences of
>>which, within the space of one or two hours, could match the Chernobyl
>>disaster.
>>
>>Compared to Y2K's military risks, it seems relatively straightforward to
>>ensure that reliable reactor emergency cooling systems are ready for Y2K
>>blackouts. Thirty-five U.S. nuclear power plants are not yet in compliance
>>less than three months before Jan. 1, 2000. The Y2K status of hundreds of
>>other power and research reactors around the world are unknown.
>>
>>There is still time. There are still solutions.
>>
>>If the computer systems which now restrain nuclear technology cannot be
>>relied on to perform within acceptable parameters during the Y2K period -
>>then people must intervene. Less than three months before Y2K we face a
>>frightening vacuum in political leadership. The rest of us must act.
>>President Clinton and other leaders will take action only if you do.
>>
>>
>>CALL, FAX AND EMAIL PRESIDENT CLINTON DEMANDING THAT HE:
>>
>>1. Negotiate an agreement with President Yeltsin that all 2400 U.S. and
>> 2000 Russian nuclear weapons on hair-trigger alert be "de-alerted"
>> before January 1, 2000.
>>
>>2. Mobilize the deployment of the required number of reliable emergency
>> back up electrical generators at every nuclear reactor in the world.
>>
>>Telephone: (202) 456-1414
>>
>>Fax: (202) 456-2461
>>
>>Email: president@whitehouse.gov
>>
>>_____________________________________________________________
>>
>>
>>This emergency statement, based on the latest reports concerning Y2K and
>>the nuclear sector, is endorsed by the following concerned experts and
>>citizens. Among them are eminent physicists who played key roles in the
>>earliest development of nuclear weapons systems.
>>
>>Sir Joseph Rotblat
>>Nobel Peace Laureate
>>
>>Philip Morrison
>>Physicist, Institute Professor (Emeritus), MIT
>>
>>George M. Woodwell
>>Biologist, Director, The Woods Hole Research Center
>>
>>Ted Taylor
>>Nuclear Physicist - Los Alamos Labs 1949-1957,
>>Staff Member, Theoretical division responsible for design of new
>>nuclear weapons
>>
>>Ira Helfand
>>MD, Co-Founder and Past President - Physicians for Social Responsibility
>>
>>Mary Olson
>>Nuclear Waste Specialist - Nuclear Information and Resource Service
>>
>>Helen Caldicott, MD
>>Founding President - Physicians foer Social Responsibility,
>>Founder - Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament
>>
>>Ian Prior, MD
>>Wellington Medical School, New Zealand,
>>Past Secretary, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
>>
>>Barry S. Levy, MD, MPH
>>Adjunct Professor of Community Health, Tufts University School of Medicine
>>
>>James Riccio
>>Staff Attorney - Public Citizen's Critical Mass
>>
>>Patch Adams, MD
>>
>>(Affiliations for identification only)
>>
>>_____________________________________________________________
>>
>>
>>For further updated information and analysis, go to the following websites:
>>
>>http://www.y2kwash.org
>>
>>http://www.basicint.org
>>
>>http://www.trendmonitor.com/y2kad.htm
>>
>>
>>For inquiries email <hcaldic@ibm.net> or write:
>>Dr. Helen Caldicott, Y2K Nuclear Alert Campaign, 466 Green Street,
>>Suite 300, San Francisco CA 94133.
>>
>>_____________________________________________________________
>>
>>
>>The November edition of 'The Ecologist' magazine will focus exclusively on
>>the legacy of nuclear energy - arguably the most poisonous industry in
>>human history. For your copy, send a check or postal order for $6 to:
>>
>>The Ecologist
>>1920 Martin Luther King Jr Way
>>Berkeley
>>CA 94709
>>USA
>>
>>UK (£4) and Europe (£5) orders to:
>>
>>The Ecologist
>>Unit 18
>>Chelsea Wharf
>>15 Lots Road
>>London SW10 0QJ
>>UK
>>
>>
>>The special edition will be displayed in full by mid-November at:
>>http://www.gn.apc.org/ecologist
>>
>>
>>We encourage you to reproduce and distribute this ad.
>>
>>______________________________________________________________
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>Java or juggling?. Everybody learns something at Learn2.com. Where
>>you'll find thousands of free 2torials, affordable online courses, and
>>useful tips for everyday life. http://clickhere.egroups.com/click/1246
>>
>>
>>eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/y2k-nuclear
>>http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications
>>
>Alice Slater
>Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE)
>15 East 26th Street, Room 915
>New York, NY 10010
>tel: (212) 726-9161
>fax: (212) 726-9160
>email: aslater@gracelinks.org
>
>GRACE is a member of Abolition 2000, a global network working for a treaty to
>eliminate nuclear weapons.
>
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