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Sharon Grimes, W A M M
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Military Recruiting Goals Lagging
The war in Iraq and long combat tours seem to be affecting the Army’s recruiting ability and the willingness of reservists to report for duty. The National Guard set a 56,000 recruiting goal for the fiscal year ending September 30, but expected only 51,000 to actually sign up. This would be the first time since 1994 that the Guard missed its goal. In addition, 622 of the 1,765 Individual Ready Reservists who were supposed to report for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan by September 28 did not show up.
WAMM Member Don Irish Wins Award
Don Irish, retired Hamline University sociology professor and WAMM member won the 2004 Vincent L. Hawkinson Foundation Annual Award for Peace and Justice in September.
ELF Nuclear Transmitters Bite the Dust
The Navy has shut down two radio transmitters (in northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan), which sent extremely low frequency (ELF) communications to nuclear-armed Trident submarines. For more than 20 years, the sites have been the target of antinuclear protestors, who charge that ELF contributed to making Trident a first-strike weapon and that the system may cause health and environmental problems. The Navy said the system is outdated and no longer needed.
Kyoto Accords Gain Steam in Russia
Russia’s upper house of parliament and the Federation Council have ratified the Kyoto Protocol and sent it to President Vladimir Putin for his signature. Once signed, the global-warming pact aimed at reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, would be implemented. The treaty, which was rejected by the United States, needs to be ratified by 55 industrialized countries in order to take effect.
Iraq Invasion Labeled Illegal by U.N.
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said in a BBC interview September 15 that he believes the war in Iraq was illegal because it didn’t have U.N. support. In the past he has only questioned the “legitimacy” of the war.
Costa Rica Wants Out
Costa Rican officials demanded removal of Costa Rica’s name from the list of nations that the United States promotes as part of the coalition in Iraq. Foreign Minister Roberto Tovar and President Abel Pacheco said they signed a statement of support for the United States, but that it was support only for the fight against terrorism, not the invasion of Iraq. The war is extremely unpopular in Costa Rica, which has no army.
Woman Runs for Presidency in Afghanistan
An Afghan woman made history when she became the first woman in the country to run for president. Massouda Jalal, a doctor from Kabul, was a professor of medicine at Kabul University until the Taliban took power in 1996. She joined the U.N. High Commission for Refugees and now works on the World Food Program. She and 16 other candidates were running against President Hamid Karzai in the October 9 elections.
Death Penalties Imposed Less
Juries are imposing fewer death penalties than in the past, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. In the 1990s, an average of 290 people were sentenced to death annually. In the last four years, the average dropped to 174, with 143 in 2003, the fewest since 1977. The center attributes the drop to increased public awareness of death-row exonerations and con-cerns that innocent people might be sentenced to die.
Somali Warlord Opts for Peace
A Somali warlord (Muhammad Siad Hersi, known as General Morgan), who was holding out in peace talks aimed at ending Somalia’s 13-year civil war, has asked to rejoin the talks and has stopped fighting in the southern part of the country.
Huge Public Health Campaign Underway in Africa
A polio vaccination campaign to immunize 80 million children in 23 African countries was kicked off in October by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. Until recently, he and other leaders had opposed the immunizations in Nigeria. Health workers say it is the “single largest public health campaign in history” aimed at wiping out the disease.
Kathryn Haddad Wins Bush Fellowship
English teacher Kathryn Haddad recently won a $45,000 Bush fellowship to attend the community leadership program at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute. She helped found Mizna, which began as part of a newsletter for the Arab-American community in 1999 and soon became the first-ever Arab-American literary journal in the United States. Haddad, a Lebanese-American, realized that Arab-Americans were not represented in journals of multicultural literature and wanted to break down barriers, “including the way Arabs in general are portrayed in the media and in Hollywood.” |
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© 2004 Women Against Military Madness. All rights reserved.
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Complete November 2004 Index - click here
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