"Biological weapons control cannot be a secretive concern of elite government officials. Policy failures require citizen involvement." - The Sunshine Project
"...even the Pentagon now lists its military choices under the heading AOS: All Options Stink. If military intervention succeeded in delivering up Bin Laden and destroying the Taliban, it's hard to see how this could fail to encourage retaliatory strikes all over the world." - George Monbiot
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2 petitions:
1. The Sunshine Project on the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention
2. Peace & Justice petition + ideas for action
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1. The Sunshine Project (US)
3 October 2001
http://www.sunshine-project.org
** Please distribute this notice **
This is a call for citizen action to encourage sensible US policy on biological weapons control. Please help with only a few minutes of your time. This e-mail action can be customized with a personal message to Colin Powell and other senior US officials.
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The events of September 11th and their aftermath have dramatically underscored the need for better international controls on biological weapons. International negotiations to achieve this are at a critical juncture. US diplomats are presently rejecting international measures to verify compliance with the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. The US is not only refusing to cooperate, but as the agreement approached consensus the US began to actively block the rest of the world from adopting it. The Bioweapons Convention is the world's best treaty protection against development of biological weapons. Without a verification agreement, the Bioweapons Convention will remain toothless and the world a more dangerous place.
So far, international diplomatic protests have not been effective. Public pressure is urgently needed to bring the Bush administration to its senses. Biological weapons control cannot be a secretive concern of elite government officials. Policy failures require citizen involvement. A new e-mail action at the Sunshine Project website enables anyone to write US Secretary of State Colin Powell and members of the US Congress to urge them to immediately send diplomats back to the bioweapons negotiating table with clear orders to quickly complete the Verification Protocol. Take action! You can make a difference. To send your letter, please visit our home page, or follow this direct link: http://www.sunshine-project.org/action/powell.nclk
Please forward this message and invite your friends to do the same. Thank you!
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Donations to the Sunshine Project are tax-deductible in the US and Germany. Contribute online at our website. Distributed via The Sunshine Project Announcement listserver. For more information or to sign on, please see http://www.sunshine-project.org
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2. via Linda@Gaia
Dear Friends
We received this only this morning so once again our apologies for sending you correspondence at such short notice. Parliament is reopening tomorrow and it is therefore paramount that as many people as possible respond to the present situation by making known the need for justice rather than retaliation, before it is too late. We ask you therefore to take a little time to read and act on some of the suggestions below, TODAY. It is vital that we, the public, respond and make our voices heard.
Many thanks
Linda
War in the 21st Century is too Dangerous!
Military retaliation and war-talk will simply escalate violence, turning all our countries, cities, schools, and homes into targets for the new generation of terrifying biological, germ and chemical weapons used by all sides. This will leave a legacy for all our children of a contaminated and devastated Earth. There can be no winners in this war, we will all be equal in our suffering across the world.
Dear Concerned Citizen,
Please help to Tip the Balance of Power:
Our action, or lack of it, will dictate the legacy we leave our children
Events on 11th September 2001 in US have thrown us into a dangerous moment in the history of our planet. At such times each one of us can make a difference if we are willing to “stand up and be counted”. We could be just that one needed to tip the balance. Please read on to find a way in which you can act now to ensure that we reach “Justice not Vengeance” by non-violent, democratic and lawful means.
What you can do to make the difference
We need to find a language and ways in which the silent majority can be seen and heard. The balance of power can be tipped if we are united and willing to take a stand before it is too late.
1. Send this email out as widely as possible.
2. Write to Politicians and the Media
Bush and Blair are taking the lead in pushing the world to the brink with the help of media hype. We, as citizens of the Earth, have a democratic right and duty to ensure they hear our concerns and are held accountable.
Please forward the example letter found at the bottom of this email to the following individuals/groups (all email addresses are also given at the bottom of this email).
- Bush and Blair
- Other key figures (e.g. in the UK the Leader of the House of Commons, Robin Cook)
- Your local politician
- UK and US embassies in your country
- The Media in your country, and also key ones in US and UK to ensure they feel the global pressure: e.g. Daily Mail, Telegraph, BBC, Herald Tribune, New York Times. Write your own email, which has more impact no matter how short, and send it to the individuals/groups listed above.
Write letters whenever you agree or disagree with events or people. No matter how brief, it reminds people to be accountable and builds up the voice of the public. Write as often as you can, especially to politicians and the media.
3. Phone politicians and the media
Phone the offices of key politicians such as Blair, Bush and your local representative, and also the global media, asking them to register your call to stop the war-talk, prevent a military retaliation and uphold democracy and civil liberties in bringing justice, not revenge.
4. Petition Tony Blair to pursue Justice not Vengeance
Print out copies of the petition (found at the web addresses below)
and get as many signatures as you can. Send the completed form(s) to the address given on the base of the form ASAP, these will then be taken to Tony Blair and copied to Parliament. The petition can be found at:
<http://www.gn.apc.org/nfpb/2ndpetit.pdf>www.gn.apc.org/nfpb/2ndpetit.pdf
<http://www.gn.apc.org/nfpb/2ndpetit.doc>www.gn.apc.org/nfpb/2ndpetit.doc
5. Action for Justice: Global Vigils and a Code of Ethics
Global Vigil: Every Wednesday lunchtime (1.00 pm in any part of the World) Join/establish a public gathering place to unite with others in taking a stand. This could be at work, in the neighbourhood streets, at schools, universities, other office blocks, villages, etc.
Code of Ethics: Develop a collective code committed to non-violence and non-aggression. Demonstrate what we mean by democracy, justice, peace and equity for all by expressing these qualities ourselves at the vigils and in our daily lives.
5. Connect with someone from another religious/ethnic group in your commitment to resisting terror, intolerance, prejudice and racism from entering your world. Do so as soon as possible, to prevent divisions from growing any further.
6. Develop and communicate your concerns or ideas for positive action so that we all contribute to the Peoples’ Action for Justice through Non Violence.
7. Keep up to date with what is happening across the country and the globe by visiting the following websites (there are many others) regularly: <http://www.stopwar.org.uk/>www.stopwar.org.uk,
<http://www.peacefuljustice.com/>www.peacefuljustice.com,
<http://www.peacefuljustice.cjb.net/>www.peacefuljustice.cjb.net
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Example Letter and Email addresses
Please forward this email to any of the address list below (and others if possible), deleting everything above.
Bush and Blair
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
However, it seems that Blair has closed public access to his email. One option is to visit
<http://www.locata.co.uk/commons>http://www.locata.co.uk/commons and to search on Blair (as a member) and then follow the links to send him an email.
US Embassy in London
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
US and UK Media
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Example Letter:- Send as is, amend, or write your own
Dear Sir/Madam,
Call for Justice not Vengeance
I join the swelling numbers who call upon politicians and the media to:
Stop the War-Talk Now!
The rhetoric is enflaming the situation and thus undermining the possibility of a united commitment to peace and justice.
Prevent a military retaliation!
A military strike will escalate the already shocking scale of violence and suffering around the world. Our countries, cities and homes will become targets of terror on both sides. War in the 21st century is too dangerous with all the nuclear, chemical and biological weapons available.
Instead we call for DEMOCRATIC alternatives
1. Act within international law
Any activities embarked upon should follow established international protocols, such as the UN Charter.
2. Bring offenders to the international court of justice
If civilisation is to be defended, then we need to defend it in our own actions by using the democratic and judicial systems generations have strived to establish.
3. Strengthen Peoples’ Participation in creating conditions for justice
- Strengthen solidarity across different ethnic groups and religions.
- Strengthen our collective commitment to protect our civil liberties.
Healthy societies pro-actively restore justice, thereby preventing violence and fanaticism.
4. Address the root causes of the problem
- Identify where Western policies have led to poverty, injustice, destabilisation, resentment and ecological destruction.
- Develop a concerted global strategy to foster political, economic and environmental equity and respect.
Please consider the legacy we will be responsible for having left our children.
Yours,
A concerned global citizen