Nukewatch

Working for a nuclear-free future since 1979

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Nukewatch Welcomes New Staff Member Christine Manwiller

Nukewatch Quarterly Fall 2020

Hello everyone, I am thrilled to join the team at Nukewatch! I am from Northwestern WI, and grew up less than 15 miles from the Nukewatch office. My first love is art, and I have been pursuing the rather obscure field of art conservation for about 11 years now. I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art History from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, and a Master of Fine Arts in Book Arts from the University of Iowa. I am currently a third-year candidate in Library and Archives Conservation at the Art Conservation Department at SUNY Buffalo State College. In September 2020 I will begin a 12-month internship at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., and will receive my MFA in Art Conservation in 2021.

This year I found myself back home as summer internship plans were cancelled due to Covid-19. My mom has been volunteering for a time at Nukewatch and my curiosity led me to volunteer as well. The concepts of nonviolence, social responsibility, anti-nuclear direct action, and the importance of living in harmony with our environment were instilled in me at a young age. My artwork always reflects the beauty of nature, using natural dyes and plants for prints. The rape and destruction some seem determined to inflict on our natural environment is a source of great concern for me. Therefore, I am excited to join Nukewatch and assist in increasing awareness of the environmental and social concerns surrounding the use of nuclear weapons and power. —Christine

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Nukewatch June 2020 Letter to Supporters

 

Nukewatch

Summer 2020
Dear Friend of Nukewatch,

Nukewatch is back on track. This tenacious organization will not stop, even as the world continues to become a stranger and scarier place. War profiteers have not stopped the building of new nuclear bombs. Corporations have not stopped construction of new nuclear power reactors. Radioactive waste has not stopped piling up without a safe disposal solution. Since nothing has yet stopped these deadly nuclear industries, nothing is stopping Nukewatch: not cancer surgery, from which Co-Director John LaForge is recovering remarkably, and not coronavirus. We have a job to do and so do you. Do your part by making a contribution today.

Disturbing nuclear problems are cropping up globally faster than we can report on them. This just in: on May 13th a convoy carrying nuclear weapons and involving 50 personnel traveled from the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Burghfield, England, through Glasgow’s city center, then on to England’s nuclear sub base at Coulport. “It is never right to possess and deploy nuclear weapons and transport them on public roads. Doing it right now is completely irresponsible,” says Jane Talents with Nukewatch UK. More info is in your recent Quarterly.

So far, seven U.S. nuclear reactor sites have reported Covid-19 cases among staff members. Germany continues to demolish nuclear power with plans to shut off the last of its reactors in 2022. The Department of Energy is rolling out yet another scheme: this time for small, mobile nuclear reactors to power remote U.S. military installations with an initial investment of $160 million in taxpayer funds. Taiwan demands that Japan stop polluting the ocean with 200 tons of radioactive water every day, as it has been for the past nine years. Nukewatch has been reporting on it from the beginning. This is the kind of news that the public needs to know, and Nukewatch delivers it. Send a donation to keep the information flowing.

In the face of the pandemic, Nukewatch and its sister organizations had to cancel our much-anticipated Stop the New Nuclear Weapons Race conference scheduled for May. Despite the threat of the virus, there were already 70 paid participants, 30 sponsors and a dozen internationally and nationally renowned presenters committed to this event. We had so eagerly anticipated seeing your faces and making our plans together for nuclear abolition. Nukewatch is now in its forty-first year. We missed our 40th birthday party at the conference and we missed seeing you there, but we are committed to keeping this momentum going.

The peace camp in opposition to U.S. nuclear weapons in Germany has also been taken off the calendar. While we work to limit the spread of Covid-19 and keep activists safe, the military, bomb makers and nuclear energy waste producers carry on as usual.

As a Nukewatch supporter you have been a part of a long list of campaigns, from the early days of missile silo hunting, to truck watches and peace camps, to closing Project ELF. Nukewatch is a veteran nuclear watchdog group, as are many of our supporters who have sustained this movement and created these successes.

One way our seasoned members can help is by considering a bequest to Nukewatch. Email nukewatch1@lakeland.ws or call us for more information on how to leave the kind of legacy you want for the future.

We are working to bring in younger supporters. There’s another thing you can do for Nukewatch, and that is to discuss it and nuclear issues with others. Help us build our list of supporters. Having you to count on keeps us going, so having many more of you would ensure that Nukewatch, now middle aged, grows old. Have that conversation with friends and family and when interested send us a name and address. You can be part of our future.

While the Pentagon gets more and more taxpayer money, organizations working for peace receive no guaranteed government endowments. Nukewatch’s grassroots work depends solely on you to get us through year after year.

You help pay for printing the Nukewatch Quarterly: you make the difference between someone answering the phone and blowing the whistle, and no one listening. Researching and writing articles takes time as does filing taxes, responding to mail, ordering supplies, updating the website, stamping envelopes—we do all of this on a shoestring budget, but it all takes dollars.
Please give so that Nukewatch can continue our critical work.

This organization has worked hard to move forward without the physical, mental and dynamic presence of Co-Director John LaForge. He will be returning soon from Germany, on leave following cancer treatment. The good news is that Kelly Lundeen, our new master coordinator, developed a team of volunteers to help in the office. Your enclosed newsletter is evidence of Kelly’s expertise. Now the need is a gift from you.

We all have a job to do. Since my own retirement after 28 years in the Nukewatch office, I still volunteer and do what I can to keep this organization going. Please do the same.

Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

 

Bonnie Urfer
Nukewatch Volunteer, Board of Director, Retired Staff

P.S. Your tax deductible donation can be sent by mail or online at nukewatchinfo.org.

Email us at nukewatch1@lakeland.ws or call (715)472-4185.

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About John’s Recovery

Nukewatch Quarterly Summer 2020

We expect many of our readers have heard and been concerned about John LaForge, our long-time Co-director, regarding his cancer care and prognosis. We’re pleased to report that John’s treatment has been successful, it was merely a “stage 1”, and he believes he is cancer-free. John will continue living in Hamburg for a few months longer and keep on with his health and well-being regime, including heavy metal detoxification, etc., which can prevent a possible recurrence. We will see over the next few years whether John’s alternative treatments are the best way to prevent a return of his cancer. He is resuming most of his regular Nukewatch work. For some this is great news, for others a warning.

— Bonnie Urfer

I am deeply grateful for and humbled by the outpouring of love and support that made my alternative care here in Germany possible. Your financial gifts covered the costs of surgery and the other medical bills, relief that brings the tangible benefit of reduced stress. Please forgive me if you didn’t get a personal note of thanks. Not knowing the language here, confronting the diagnosis, and dealing with the coronavirus restrictions could have been overwhelming, but the generosity of family, friends and comrades have saved the day.

— John LaForge

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A Huge Thank You to Our Community of Volunteers

Kelly Lundeen, Nukewatch, Co-Director
Nukewatch Quarterly Summer 2020

This issue of the Nukewatch Quarterly has been put together by many people who offered to band together with me while John was being treated for cancer. It would not have been possible without you. As if cancer wasn’t enough for this little organization to deal with, coronavirus came along, but that didn’t stop you all from safely participating in the continuing work of Nukewatch. We have built this community stronger than before, so I want to mention all of our recent volunteers, those who were prevented from volunteering due to the Covid-19 outbreak, along with those who volunteer in an ongoing way to distribute the Nukewatch Quarterly in their region. As you’ll see from the list below, though we are based in Wisconsin, we have almost 100 volunteers in 23 states, DC and three countries! While many of us feel alone in these Covid times, know that we are building our community together – at least in spirit! Hopefully we will soon be with one another in the streets.

Nukewatch volunteer, Sharyl Manwiller.

Ann Wright—Honolulu, HI
Winona Catholic Worker—Winona, MN
Willy St Coop—Madison, WI
David Williams—Madison, WI
Victor White—Oceanside, CA
Deb Weiss—Antigo, WI
LeeAnn Ward & Larry Lack—Calais, ME
Rachel Wales—Oak Lawn, IL
Gail Vaughn—Counce, TN
Bonnie Urfer—Luck, WI
Brian Terrell—Maloy, IA
Mark Taylor—Genoa, WI
Taylor Library—North Mankato, MN
Ann Suellentrop—Kansas City, KS
Nancy Stewart—Luck, WI
Arianne Stewart Peterson—Rice Lake, WI
Mary Sanderson—Deforest, WI
San Jose Catholic Worker—San Jose, CA
Rosalie Riegle—Evanston, IL
Redwood City Catholic Worker—Redwood City, CA
Angela Price—Fresno, CA
Jeff Peterson—Luck, WI
Peace Nook—Columbia, MO
Mary Olson—Candler, NC
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition—Huntingson, WV
Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance—OakRidge, TN
Nuclear-Free Great Lakes—Monroe, MI
Nuclear Resister—Tucson, AZ
Nuclear Watch South—Atlanta, GA
Nonviolent Peace Force—St. Paul, MN
Diane Nahas—Sands Point, NY
Leona Morgan—Albuquerque, AZ
Yasha Morales—Shell Lake, WI
Sofía Morales—Shell Lake, WI
Jose Morales—Shell Lake, WI
Joseph Miller—Portland, OR
George Milkowski—Chicago, IL
Mike Miles—Luck, WI
Steve McKeown—Minneapolis, MN
Bob Mayberry—Oceanside, CA
Sharyl Manwiller—Turtle Lake, WI
Christine Manwiller—Turtle Lake, WI
Jane Magers—Des Moines, IA
LEPOCO Peace Center—Bethlehem, PA
Jane Leech—Cumberland, WI
Andrew Lanier—San Jose, CA
Michael Komba—Milwaukee, WI
Nora Kobylasz—Omaha, NE
Judy Kleihnert—Washington Island, WI
Barb Kass—Luck, WI
Cynthia Johnson—Berkeley, CA
Steve Jacobs—Columbia, MO
Ralph Hutchison—Oak Ridge, TN
Celest Howard—Hillsboro, OR
Elena Hight—Edmond, OK
Mark Helpsmeet—Eau Claire, WI
John Heid—Tucson, AZ
Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action—Poulsbo, WA
Sadie Green—Hopkins, MN
Green Party Illinios—Wheaton, IL
Laura Gauger—Duluth, MN
Fred Gallucio—Newport Beach, CA
Jenn Galler—Knoxville, TN
Fresno Center for Nonviolence—Fresno, CA
Walter  Esler—Chicago, IL
East Side Freedom Library—St. Paul, MN
Dennis DuVall—Radeberg, Germany
Alan Donohue—Ithaca, NY
Susan Crane—Redwood City, CA
Frank Cordaro—Des Moines, IA
Conservation Council of New Brunswick —New Brunswick, Canada
Cindy Collins—Knoxville, TN
Kevin Collins—Knoxville, TN
Felice and Jack Cohen-Joppa —Tucson, AZ
Sharon Cody—Chicago, IL
Spencer Cody—Cincinnati, OH
Jason Cody—Chicago, IL
Claddagh Coffee—St. Paul, MN
Marty Briceland—Greenwood, WI
Liana Bratton—Osceola, WI
John Brakke—Minneapolis, MN
Jan Boudart—Chicago, IL
Julie Borodin—Madison, WI
Mike Boland—Luck, WI
Kristin Boland—Luck, WI
Ann Boland—Luck, WI
Black Cat Cafe—Ashland, WI
Richard Bishop—Stevensville, MT
Emmet Bindon—Chicago, IL
Beyond Pesticides—Washington, DC
Ann Berwald—Northbrook, IL
Bellingham Alternative Library —Bellingham, WA
Sydney Baiman—Chicago, IL
Backroads Coffee & Tea—Hayward, WI
Cee’Cee’ Anderson—College Park, GA

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The Secret of Joy is Resistance

John LaForge blowing his B-flat cornet at main gate of Büchel Air Force Base in Germany, host of U.S. nuclear  bombs.

March 2020

Hi Friends,

I am sorry to hit you with this shocker, but your Nukewatch senior staff member, yours truly, has to take a leave of absence from regular official duties because of a carcinoma that has developed on my left tonsil. This is a treatable cancer that has already taken a hit with the application of a very strict diet, prescribed medications and surgery. The cancer is of a sort that is unlikely to spread to other places or organs. I can still blow the B-flat cornet like an eighth grader…

The industrial cancer system in the U.S. proposed treatment methods that do not appeal to my sense of well-being and are being mostly rejected by me. The Ear-Nose-&-Throat (ENT) experts I’ve seen in the U.S. say the recommended schedule is whole-body PET/CT radiation scans [using fluorine-18 “contrast” inside the body, the equivalent of 500 to 1,000 chest X-rays from outside], followed by surgery, followed by heavy radiation (one ENT told me “the PET scan is nothing compared to what you’ll get afterwards”… namely “radiation 5 days a week, for 7 weeks”), and then “chemo.” However, high-dose PET and CT scans, radiation treatments, and chemotherapy are not successful if one reads the statistics without wearing the proponents’ rose-tinted glasses.

After considering and declining industrial medicine’s suggestions made to me, I have returned to Germany, where the diagnosis was first made, for treatment by specialists in alternative methods (which are well-respected in Germany) that boost, support, strengthen, and enliven the immune system, while starving and killing cancer cells, and shrinking tumors. Although my insurance will not cover medical expenses in Germany, I now have the financial boost of a GoFundMe appeal.

In the next 6 months or so, I have to deeply focus on my health and on trying to learn enough German to do a blitzkrieg on this cancer.

Who says irony is dead? After 40 years of speaking out against poisoned weapons and reactors, cancer hits me right in the mouth. The profound Alice Walker was both demanding and affirmative to declare that “resistance is the secret of joy.” We know she’s right.

I am being lovingly looked after by my anti-nuclear family Marion Küpker in Germany, Bonnie Urfer, & Nukewatch Co-director Kelly Lundeen at home; and by my sister Peg (DON’T call her Margaret Mary!) from my good old nuclear family in Duluth, Minnesota. I am embarrassed by all the concern, although some of it is beautifully comic: recently I got a card from Arianne Peterson (co-editor of our book Nuclear Heartland—Revised), with a hog pictured on the front that reads: “As we say down at the pig farm … You cured yet?”

Well, “pretty soon” is what I say.

Thanks for your love and support.

P.S. Update: surgery was completed on March 5 and we are overjoyed to report that there is no sign of additional cancer.

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nukewatch1@lakeland.ws

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