"HUMAN RACE NOT ARMS RACE"

SAVE THE DATES: CALL TO ACTION ON IMF AND WORLD BANK, WASHINGTON, DC, APRIL 16^th, 2000. The movement for global economic justice has been building in the U.S. for years. The first high-profile mass demonstration carried out by members of this movement was at the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in Seattle. The next big opportunity to demand a peaceful, people-centered and environmentally sound global economic system will be April, 2000 in Washington, DC. On Sunday, April 16^th, high-level architects of the global economy will attend the meeting of the International Monetary Fund’s governing body. Activists from around the world will be there too, staging a mass nonviolent direct action, calling for rejection of World Bank and IMF programs. Demonstrations will call for an end to the devastation caused by WB and IMF in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the countries of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. Metro Justice is organizing a bus for Rochester-area activists to attend the demonstration on Sunday, April 16^th. The bus leaves Rochester 11:00 PM Saturday night (April 15^th), returns late Sunday night (April 16^th). Call Metro Justice (716-325-2560) to reserve a seat. Cost is $60.00—riderships may be available. For more national information check website <www.A16.org>.

THIS MONTH’S LETTERS: Shift Budget Priorities to Meet Human Needs at Home and Abroad! The booming U.S. economy has helped many people in the U.S. gain new economic self-sufficiency. However, not everyone has benefited equally. Over 35 million people in the U.S. still live in poverty. Twelve million children in the U.S. experience hunger. More than five million families in the U.S. lack acceptable, affordable housing. Almost one billion people world-wide are unable to meet their basic needs. As Congress develops the FYH 2001 federal budget, we must call for expansion of domestic and foreign assistance programs that will help reduce the disparity between the wealthiest and poorest people. Tax cuts for the wealthy, combined with increases in military spending, will reduce the capacity of the federal government to invest in human development. Investing in human development programs is a more effective approach to human security than maintaining thousands of nuclear warheads or adding hundreds of F-22 fighter planes. The U.S. plans to spend $42 billion for 339 new F-22 fighter planes. The U.S. will have military air superiority over all potential adversaries for years to come without the F-22. WRITE: Senators Moynihan and Schumer, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510, and your Representative, Washington, DC 20515. Tell them to use the current surge in federal revenues to expand domestic and foreign assistance programs, and to cut military spending, especially the F-22 fighter. [This information adapted from Friends Committee on National Legislation. FCNL has a very useful website: <www.fcnl.org>.]