Eastern Economics Association meetings: Friday, February 24 through Sunday, February 26, in Philadelphia. EPS will have a booth in the exhibit hall and is hosting a session on The Economics of Homeland Security on February 24 at 2:00pm .

Chair: Thea Harvey, Executive Director, Economists for Peace and Security

Presenters will be:

• Richard Kaufman, Bethesda Research Institute, Katrina, Economics and Homeland Security;
• Howard Kunreuther, Wharton School, Risk, Disaster, Terrorism and Recovery;
• Anita Dancs, National Priorities Project, The Political Economy of Homeland Security in the Context of National Security.

Howard Kunreuther will also be addressing the conference luncheon just before our session. See http://www.iona.edu/eea for a complete schedule.

EPS Board Secretary, Lucy Law Webster, will participate in the 37th Symposium on International Relations sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Connecticut. The symposium, entitled, "Poverty, Prosperity and Peace: Eradicating Poverty to Build a Culture of Peace," will take place Wednesday, March 15 from 8:00am to 12:30pm in the Grand Courtroom, Quinnipiac University School of Law. Other panelists include:

• Sarah Leshner, Women's World Banking;
• Cora Weiss, Hague Appeal for Peace;
• Nancy Ruther, Yale University Center for International and Area Studies.

Pre-registration is required. Call (203) 288-7996 for more information or download the registration form at http://epsusa.org/events/SIR2006.pdf.

Call for Papers: EPS is putting together a session for next year's AEA meeting (January 5-7, 2007 in Chicago) on "Women and War." We would like to invite persons interested in presenting a paper to submit an abstract. Possible topics might include:

• The Lead-up to Conflict - Women’s Roles;
• Correspondence between Gender Inequality and Tendency towards Militarism;
• Status of Women in the Military;
• Military Service – Pressures? Barriers to Entry?
• Conscription – as Soldiers? as Sex Workers and “Support Staff?”
• Providing for Children during War;
• Economics of Sexual Violence;
• Peace Processes including Women’s Voices;
• Post-conflict Economic Reconstruction;
• Re-integration of Soldiers into Society.

Papers on other related topics are welcome. Please send a title and abstract as soon as possible and before April 30, 2006 to Thea Harvey (theaharvey@epsusa.org).

Congratulations to EPS Trustee Kenneth J. Arrow, who received the National Medal of Science on February 13. "The work we honor today has improved the lives of people everywhere," President Bush said in a White House ceremony. "It has helped to move our economy forward...The medals are our nation's way of expressing gratitude to gifted and visionary citizens." http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11330284/

A new report released in January by the Congressional Budget Office predicts that annual US missile defense spending could double to $19 billion by 2013, and total $247 billion from 2006 through fiscal 2024. The report, “The Long-Term Implications of Current Defense Plans and Alternatives: Detailed Update for Fiscal Year 2006,” projects an average $13 billion per year cost for missile defense.

The projections factor the anticipated costs for development, procurement, operation and maintenance of most major Bush administration missile defense initiatives. Administration officials have said they are pursuing a “layered” approach to missile defense, which involves developing multiple technological approaches to striking various ballistic missiles from land, sea, air and possibly space. The report’s projections also incorporate an assumption for the unexpected cost growth of the systems under development, based on historic cost-growth rates for major weapons systems since the Vietnam War.

Victoria Samson, a Center for Defense Information missile defense analyst who released an analysis of the report last week, said she believes the report underestimates the probable cost of the administration’s plans. “If they did everything they wanted to, reports have estimated it could run over a trillion dollars,” she said, citing a 2003 report by EPS that drew such a conclusion.

Congress last year pushed back against missile defense budget cost growth, with key senior lawmakers saying the Defense Department would need to reduce some of its ambitions (see GSN, May 12, 2005). The report says if the Defense Department chooses to buy no additional missile defense systems, but instead only invests in research and development, it could spend an average $3 billion through 2024.

To read the CBO report, see: http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=7004&sequence=0

To read the analysis by the Center for Defense Information, see http://www.cdi.org/program/document.cfm?DocumentID=3301&from_page=../index.cfm

For a primer on all things missile defense related, please see the new British American Security Information Council's (BASIC) Missile Defense Update. http://www.basicint.org/update/MDU060120.htm

In this issue:

• US Spending on Missile Defense;
• US GMD System: 10th Interceptor in the Ground and First Operational Launch in More Than a Year;
• Back-to-the Future: The High Altitude Airship;
• MDA Seeking Responsibility for Cruise Missile Defense;
• Space Weapons;
• New Satellite Database;
• Israel: Arrow Interceptor Test;
• Japan: Missile Defence Pact with United States;
• Poland: Also Keen to Partner the United States?
• Publications.

The journal is aimed at non-specialist readers, including policy analysts, policy and decision makers, national and international civil servants, members of the armed forces and of peacekeeping services, the business community, members of non-governmental organizations and religious institutions, and others. Contributions are scholarly-based, but written in a general-interest style.

Issues of the journal generally are theme-based and contributions are by invitation only; however, readers are invited to write to the Managing Editor (managingeditor@epsjournal.org.uk) with proposals for a theme or a specific contribution. Short letters of less than 500 words commenting on the published pieces are welcome. Please write to us at editors@epsjournal.org.uk.

The first issue is based on the ECAAR Review 2003, "Conflict or Development" (http://www.epsjournal.org.uk/Vol1/No1/issue.php). It is offered free of charge as an introduction to the journal. Future topics will include:

• Peacemaking and Peacekeeping - Jurgen Brauer and J. Paul Dunne, eds.;
• Military, Civilian and Commercial Uses of Outer Space - Vasilis Zervos and Jurgen Brauer, eds.;
• Arms Trade and Industry -Sam Perlo-Freeman and J. Paul Dunne, eds.

Annual subscription rates for future issues are as follows:

• Standard £22/$40/€34;
• EPS members £16/$30/E€25;
• Unwaged/Developing countries £11/$20/E€17;
• Institutional £55/$100/E€85.
  

Call for Papers: Tenth Annual Conference on Economics and Security. Thessaloniki, Greece, June 22 - 24, 2006.

Offers of papers are invited for a conference sponsored by Economists for Peace and Security (EPS-UK), the Arms Production and Trade Group, the University of the West of England, CITY Liberal Studies - Affiliated Institution of the University of Sheffield, and SEERC (South East European Research Center), Thessaloniki, Greece. The conference will have plenary sessions with keynote speakers plus specialist workshop streams.

Proposed topics include:

• Security in the Balkan Region;
• European Security;
• Globalization and the Restructuring of the MIC;
• Militarism and Development;
• Economics of Conflict and Post-conflict Reconstruction;
• Economics of the Arms Trade;
• Procurement and Offsets;
• Arms Races, Offsets and Alliances;
• Peace Science;
• Conversion and Demilitarization;
• Terrorism.

Offers of papers on other related topics are welcome.

Please send a title and abstract as soon as possible and before March 15, 2006 to:
Dr. Eftychia Nikolaidou, Business Administration & Economics Department, CITY College, Affiliated College of the University of Sheffield, 2 Kalapothaki St., 546 24, Thessaloniki, Greece. Tel. (+30) 2310 224026; Fax. (+30) 2310 22406; email: enikolaidou@city.academic.gr

To keep up with developments see: http://www.city.academic.gr/special/events/economics_and_security/index.htm or http://carecon.org.uk/Conferences/conferences.php

To see the poster for the conference see:

The 2007 budget process began February 6 with the release of the President's budget request. At a Security Policy Working Group press briefing on February 9, Steve Kosiak, Winslow Wheeler, Bill Hartung and Cindy Williams presented analysis and comments on the 7 percent increase in the Department of Defense budget and the Quadrennial Defense Review, also released recently.

• Steve Kosiak of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments offered an initial analysis of the new budget http://www.csbaonline.org/.
• In addition to his presentation at the briefing (http://www.cdi.org/program/
  document.cfm? DocumentID=3305&from_page=../index.cfm), Winslow Wheeler of the Center for Defense Information's Strauss Military Reform Project has provided a three part series on Congressional Pork in the Defense Budget: Where is it; What is it; and How to get rid of it. http://www.cdi.org/program/index.cfm?programid=37.
• Bill Hartung's presentation, "Soldiers vs. Contractors: Emerging Budgetary Reality?"
  is available at http://www.worldpolicy.org/projects/arms/reports.
  

Other resources to help understand the impact of the 2007 budget request and the QDR include:

• National Priorities Project: The administration released its budget request for fiscal year 2007 proposing deep cuts to domestic spending. NPP offers an analysis with state-level breakdowns on the impact of this budget proposal. http://www.nationalpriorities.org/
  index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=186&Itemid=61
• A report recently released by the Stanley Foundation, authored by Cindy Williams, looks at the imbalance between military and non-military conflict prevention tools in the US budget and policies. http://www.stanleyfoundation.org/reports/pab06budget.pdf
• Carl Conetta of the Project on Defense Alternatives gives us QDR 2006: Do The Forces Match the Missions? DOD Gives Little Reason to Believe. This critical view of the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) assesses the match between future missions and assets. Sections summarize the key missions and force enhancements proposed in the QDR. http://www.comw.org/pda/fulltext/0602bm36.pdf See also the Defense Strategy Review Page at http://www.comw.org/qdr/index.html
• Kori Schake, a fellow at the Hoover Institution and a professor at West Point, was director of defense strategy and requirements at the National Security Council from 2002 to 2005. In this editorial from the NY Times, Ms. Schake writes about Jurassic Pork, the defense department's tendency to continue old, unnecessary programs. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/09/opinion/09schake.html?_r=1&th&emc=th (Free registration is required to access this article.)
• Martin Crutsinger of the Associated Press turned in this quick assessment. "President Bush sent Congress a $2.77 trillion budget plan on [February 6] that would to deal with exploding budget deficits." http://www.commondreams.org/cgi-bin/print.cgi?file=/headlines06/0206-08.htm
• Colonel Dan Smith of Friends Committee on National Legislation has prepared an analysis of the military strategy behind the Bush budget. http://www.fcnl.org/smith/budget07.htm
  

"Transparency in the Arms Industry," a new Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Policy Paper. The research shows that only half of 152 arms-producing companies report their arms sales. The full paper can be downloaded as a free PDF from: http://www.sipri.org/contents/publications/Policypaper12.html

On the motley scene of today’s security transactions, the private sector, and particularly the arms production industry, is easily typecast as the villain. Considering what strong feelings the question of armaments raises, however, it is remarkable how little researchers - or the public at large - actually know about what is produced and by whom. It is on this problem of transparency that this Policy Paper focuses, and it is far from being an abstruse or secondary issue. Without proper information, no judgment is possible, and without judgment, any attempts at policy control - national, international or by civil society at large - will lack foundation and grip.

Via an analysis of the current state of the arms industry, this Policy Paper surveys the variations and gaps in transparency practice, speculates on their reasons, and makes a strong case for seeking global improvements on the basis of explicit and binding norms and voluntary disclosure. A case study of the arms industry in South Korea illustrates the findings of this paper.

Center for Nonproliferation Studies has added several resources to its website: http://cns.miis.edu

1. The Iran Special Collection (http://cns.miis.edu/research/iran/index.htm) includes articles by CNS staff and links to databases dealing with Iran's suspected WMD programs. Most recently, the following additions have been made to the collection:

• "Chronology of Key Events Related to the Implementation of IAEA Safeguards in Iran." This timeline details the IAEA's examination of the scope and nature of Iran's nuclear program from June 2003 to the present. The chronology will be updated regularly;
• "Iran Country Overview. " The Iran Special Collection contains a link to the recently updated "Iran Country Overview" on the Nuclear Threat Initiative website. This overview - maintained on a regular basis by CNS researchers - surveys Iran's nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and missile programs.
  

2. The International Export Control Observer (http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/observer/index.htm) The English version of the December 2005/ January 2006 issue of the IECO is now available. This combined issue contains a number of articles that provide overviews of the events of 2005 and outlooks for 2006.

The Defense Department unveiled the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR)[February 6], "charting the way ahead for the next 20 years as it confronts current and future challenges and continues its transformation for the 21st century.” This long range plan for the US military posits a "Long War" designed to combat an enemy that the Bush administration describes as equal in magnitude to the threat posed by German Nazism or Soviet communism, which is driving both the QDR and the huge expansion of the budget for the Defense Department and the US intelligence community over the next few years.

In his tompaine.com article, The Neocon's Long War, Robert Dreyfuss quotes a Defense Department official involved in writing the report who points out "...the American military’s effort to aid tsunami victims in southeast Asia and to assist victims of Pakistan’s earthquake did more to counter terrorist ideology than any attack mission."

Mr. Dreyfuss then asks, "Does that mean that the Pentagon will recommend a multinational Marshall Plan-style effort to provide economic security, housing and health care for the impoverished in Asia, the Middle East and Africa? Hardly - although such a program wouldn’t cost more than the $1 trillion Iraq-Afghanistan war effort, and would unquestionably do far more to calm passions, soothe anti-Americanism and dry up Al Qaeda’s recruitment pool. No, the Pentagon is proposing a vast, multi-year campaign of wars, commando raids, air strikes, military bases, naval expansion, covert actions and other military operations whose sum can only be seen as an imperial expansion of the US presence around the globe."

Read the Dreyfuss article at: http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20060208/the_neocons_long_war.php

Read the QDR and Department of Defense comments at http://www.defenselink.mil/qdr/

On December 20, 2005, the UN Security Council passed an historic resolution establishing the Peacebuilding Commission. The Commission will identify states on the verge of collapse, provide assistance to prevent such collapses, and sustain efforts of the international community in post-conflict peacebuilding, especially after global attention wanes from the crises. It will also provide a forum in which major stakeholders can share information about comprehensive post-conflict recovery efforts that take into account political, security, development and economic spheres.

More information at http://www.un.org/peace/peacebuilding/

Ordinary Iraqis feel pinch of free-market reforms as grocery prices jump and the cost of gasoline soars threefold. In this article from the January 23 San Francisco Chronicle, Charles Levinson looks at the economic impact of the war on the lives of ordinary Iraqis.

Since 2003, the United States has been pushing for rapid free-market reforms in Iraq. Such policies, US officials say, are necessary to spur development and revive Iraq's moribund economy, which is still suffering from sanctions and decades of Baath Party mismanagement. But rapid economic liberalization here is taking a toll on ordinary Iraqis. They've seen prices skyrocket.

"We're glad Saddam is gone because he killed many people, and we want to live free, but why these prices?" Ahmed Mohammed, translator for a US colonel, asked. "We are rich with oil, and all the people are poor. I can't afford this."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/01/23/MNGBNGRIF81.DTL

Follow up to story of Nigerian oil pipeline attacks:

Ethnic Ijaw militants claiming responsibility for a spate of attacks on oil facilities in Nigeria's Niger Delta have threatened new raids to cripple the country's oil exports if demands to free detained leaders are not met within 48 hours.

Speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location on Tuesday, a spokesman for a militant group told IRIN they would hold on to four foreign oil workers taken hostage last week failing the release of militia leader Moujahid Dokubo-Asari, who is in government custody pending trial for treason.

The oil workers were kidnapped last Wednesday in a raid on an offshore oil platform run by Royal Dutch Shell in the Niger Delta region.

In addition to recent attacks on pipelines that triggered cuts in Nigeria's oil exports, the militants claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack of Shell's Benisede flow station in which one oil worker was killed. The assault forced the company to evacuate four platforms in the delta swamps.

"We maintain our demands that they should free Dokubo-Asari and other Ijaw leaders in detention in 48 hours," Brutus Etikpaden, who claims leadership of the new Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), told IRIN by phone. "Otherwise we're going to attack oil installations and stop oil exports from Nigeria," he added.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51166&SelectRegion=West
_Africa&SelectCountry=NIGERIA

A story posted on the Knight Ridder Newspapers network, explains that three academic groups including the American Association of University Professors, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, sued the Bush administration on January 25 to stop it from barring foreign scholars from the United States based on their political views. The lawsuit seeks to overturn the government's use of the so-called "ideological exclusion" provision of the USA Patriot Act, which the Bush administration cited in revoking a visa for Tariq Ramadan, a prominent Islamic scholar, in August 2004.

Many scholars are expressing concern that security restrictions invoked in the name of fighting terrorism have constricted academic debate on controversial issues. http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/nation/
13711002.htm?source=rss&channel=krwashington_nation

"The real lesson we have to learn," writes Taylor, "is that bloated, ponderous government bureaucracies frustrate the speedy decisiveness and responsiveness required for intelligence analysis, information dissemination, and potential responses to terrorist attacks, just as they do for dealing with natural disasters."

Taylor's report evaluates numerous recent homeland-security measures, including programs pertaining to air-traffic safety, food safety, power and chemical plants, health-care infrastructure, biodefense, border control, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Department of Homeland Security, the USA PATRIOT Act, FEMA, and natural-disaster preparedness.

See "The Government's Response to Terrorism: An Evaluation," by Eric R. Taylor
http://www.independent.org/publications/policy_reports/detail.asp?type=full&id=18

id21, the email newsletter of the Institute of Development Studies, has several articles on the intersection of economics and conflict this month:

• International pressure can transform warlords into peacelords. The international community is becoming increasingly involved in conflict resolution. However, local leaders, who play a vital role in ensuring that the end of one conflict is not the beginning of another, have been largely ignored. Academics and policymakers need to understand how to influence local leaders positively in order to build lasting peace. http://www.id21.org/society/s10bgp1g1.html
• Post-conflict recovery needs financial reconstruction. Tamil Tigers attacked Sri Lanka's central bank in 1996. Military revolt shut down Guinea-Bissau's financial institutions in 1998. Guerrillas disrupt rural banking in Colombia today. The impacts of violent conflict for national financial systems are clear for all to see. http://www.id21.org/society/s7ata1g1.html
• Trade reforms needed for global peace. States such as Afghanistan, Angola and Sierra Leone have been damaged by years of civil war. Increasing international trade, levying international taxes to fund environmental protection and global justice, abolishing agricultural subsidies in rich countries, and increasing aid may help many such countries to recover. http://www.id21.org/society/s7ata1g2.html
• Exploring the causes of armed conflict in Africa. In recent years, political disputes have triggered armed conflicts and vast population movements in Africa's Great Lakes region. Recent research suggests that access to natural resources is both a cause of these conflicts and a factor in sustaining them. http://www.id21.org/society/n5ch1g1.html

Call for Papers: the annual Jan Tinbergen European Peace Science Conference will take place June 26 - 28, 2006 in Amsterdam at the Tinbergen Institute; the address is Roeterstraat 31, 1018 WB Amsterdam. Registration fee will be €50.

At the conference there will be continuing emphasis on research methods in peace science,
but also regular papers dealing with all aspects of the peace science field, from pure abstract theory to practical applied research will be accepted. Topics in previous years have included:

• Arms Control and International Security;
• Deterrence Theory;
• Harmony and Conflict;
• Cooperation, Alliances and Games;
• Game and Related Theory;
• Mathematical Approaches to Conflict Management;
• Mathematical Models of Arms Races and Wars;
• Empirical and Historical Studies on the Causes of War;
• Crises and War Studies;
• World Models;
• Critical Economic Aspects of the Global Crises;
• Long-Run Aspects of the Behavior of International Systems;
• Peace Science Methodology and Theory;
• Conflict Analysis and Management;
• Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Studies;
• Behavioral Studies;
• Hierarchy Theory.

The papers that will be presented can be considered for publication in Conflict Management
and Peace Science, Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, The Journal of
Conflict Resolution, and International Interactions.

Proposals received after February 1, 2006 will be considered if any presentation slots are still available. Those who are interested in participating should contact Walter Isard (wi11@cornell.edu), Johan Moyersoen (johan.moyersoen@geog.ox.ac.uk) or Desirée Nilsson (desiree.nilsson@pcr.uu.se)

United for a Fair Economy is seeking a researcher knowledgeable in the economics of inequality to coordinate our research, take charge of our research reports and serve the needs of all program staff for economics information.

UFE is a national non-profit organization based in Boston, MA. Our overall mission is to raise awareness that concentrated wealth and power undermine the economy, corrupt democracy, deepen the racial divide, and tear communities apart. We support and help build social movements for greater equality throughout the country.

JOB DESCRIPTION: The Research Specialist provides the staff with one-stop-shopping for economic data. We need someone who knows more macroeconomics and statistics than the rest of the staff. But we’re not just looking for a resident “wonk.” We need someone with a sense of humor, a collaborative person good at explaining things to non-economists, someone politically savvy, a lively writer, someone passionately progressive and anti-racist, and most of all, someone with creative, newsworthy report ideas that will raise the media profile of growing economic inequality.

We need someone who can make difficult economic concepts accessible to the general public, to media, and to key constituencies, including people with low literacy skills, drawing people in using creativity, humor, and common experience.

SALARY AND BENEFITS: $38,000 to $44,000, depending on experience and qualifications. Full family health benefits, T Pass, 4 weeks vacation, and other benefits.

TO APPLY: Send cover letter, resume and writing sample to Betsy Leondar-Wright, betsy@faireconomy.org by February 28.

Project On Government Oversight (POGO) seeks Director of Communication

Founded in 1981, the Project On Government Oversight (http://www.pogo.org) is an independent nonprofit that investigates and exposes corruption and other misconduct in order to achieve a more accountable federal government. At a time when our government is more secretive, POGO conducts journalistic investigations to shed light on government activities and create opportunities for vigorous public debate. POGO does so by taking on broad-scale, intractable problems which harm the nation but which would go unaddressed without an aggressive journalistic approach. POGO's investigative areas are:

• Open Government;
• Defense;
• Contract Oversight;
• Homeland Security;
• Energy & Natural Resources;
• Social Services (this is a new area for POGO).
  

POGO issues reports based on in-depth investigations which provide recommendations for reform. POGO also issues alerts to the media that include disclosures of government documents and information.

POGO's Director of Communication is a senior staff member who plays a central role in shaping the organization's programmatic strategies and directions. This person will be responsible for developing and implementing strategies for educating key constituencies concerning POGO's investigative findings and recommendations. POGO works closely with journalists from across the nation to shed light on the inner workings of government. The Director of Communication manages these working relationships, develops collaborative investigative initiatives, and implements strategies to communicate POGO's vision for reform. The Director of Communication also helps to develop content to communicate directly with Congress and the public through email, newsletters, POGO's blog, and the web.

To apply, please send a letter, resume, and a writing sample such as a press release. Mail or email your application to:

Keith Rutter pogo@pogo.org
Director of Operations
Project On Government Oversight
666 11th Street, NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 347-1122

PRIZES 1st Place: $2,000; 2nd Place: $1,000; 3rd Place: $500.

FLASH CONTEST THEME: AMERICA’S ROLE IN THE WORLD
Answer this question: Why do global problems matter to Americans and what do you think America should do about them?

Americans get mostly bad news every day about the rest of the world, given the media’s heavy emphasis on wars, conflicts, and humanitarian and natural disasters and the lack of emphasis on solutions. It can seem that global problems are too scary, too big and too numerous to handle. Well, there’s plenty of blame being thrown around for what isn’t working, but no one seems to have a positive vision of what can be done.

You have a chance to inspire listeners with your vision of how America can work with other countries to make the world safer and better!

Submission deadline is April 1, 2006. To register your movie, go to http://advocacy.globalsolutions.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Flash_Contest_2006

In response to increased demands by employers and recruiters for highly qualified conflict resolution job candidates, the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) is preparing to launch a new interactive job board: the ACR CareerCenter. http://careers.acrnet.org/

This new online resource is designed to be the premier electronic recruitment resource for the industry. Here, employers and recruiters can access the most qualified talent pool with relevant work experience to fulfill staffing needs. Active job seekers can showcase their skills and work experience to prospective employers to find the best job opportunities, while others can take advantage of networking, training and career development services.

The Institute for Economic Analysis, directed by long-time EPS member, John Atlee, is looking for a Research Associate in Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy. IEA's Basic Purpose is to develop more effective monetary, fiscal and other analytical and policy tools for macro-managing the economy for stable full-employment growth. They use an innovative conceptual framework that makes macroeconomics a more credible science - and that is also easier to learn and teach.

More information about the Institute and the job opening at http://www.iea-macro-economics.org

Accepted participants will be provided free room and board and a travel stipend of up to $250. Applicants should send a current resume and a short letter of interest by April 28, 2006, to Martha Baldwin Program Coordinator, Rohatyn Center for International Affairs Middlebury College (rcfia@middlebury.edu). E-mail applications only, please. All applicants will be notified no later than May 5, 2006.

The journal is aimed at non-specialist readers, including policy analysts, policy and decision makers, national and international civil servants, members of the armed forces and of peacekeeping services, the business community, members of non-governmental organizations and religious institutions, and others. Contributions are scholarly-based, but written in a general-interest style.

Issues of the journal generally are theme-based and contributions are by invitation only; however, readers are invited to write to the Managing Editor (managingeditor@epsjournal.org.uk) with proposals for a theme or a specific contribution. Short letters of less than 500 words commenting on the published pieces are welcome. Please write to us at editors@epsjournal.org.uk.

The first issue is based on the ECAAR Review 2003, "Conflict or Development" (http://www.epsjournal.org.uk/Vol1/No1/issue.php). It is offered free of charge as an introduction to the journal. Future topics will include:

• Peacemaking and Peacekeeping - Jurgen Brauer and J. Paul Dunne, eds.
• Military, Civilian and Commercial Uses of Outer Space - Vasilis Zervos and Jurgen Brauer, eds.
• Arms Trade and Industry - Sam Perlo-Freeman and J. Paul Dunne, eds.

Annual subscription rates for future issues are as follows:

• Standard £22/$40/€34;
• EPS members £16/$30/E€25;
• Unwaged/Developing countries £11/$20/E€17;
• Institutional £55/$100/E€85.
  

The ECAAR Review 2003: Conflict or Development? This edition has a regional focus on Africa, the site of most of the world's current armed conflicts. In its pages some of the leading economists of the day analyze and reflect on the relationships among military spending, domestic and foreign policy, security, and human welfare. Features include country studies, sections on business and conflict, and “Trends in World Military Expenditure.” Written in clear English, with informative maps, tables, and graphs, the series is designed to inform the debate among policymakers, activists, journalists, academics, students, and citizens worldwide.

To order the Review, please email Thea Harvey (theaharvey@epsusa.org).

The Review can be a valuable tool in teaching economics, political science, and international relations courses. If you are interested in teaching this book, please contact Thea Harvey (theaharvey@epsusa.org) for a copy to review.

Data Resource webpage offers links to data sources for:

• International military expenditure and conflict indicators;
• US military expenditure and capabilities;
• Western Europe;
• Russia.

http://www.epsusa.org/network/data.htm. If you know of a data source that you feel should be added to our list, please contact our webmaster, Kate Cell, at katecell@epsusa.org

President Bush has proposed a $2.7 trillion budget for fiscal year 2007 (see above for analysis). He has chosen to increase spending on new weapons systems, the special forces (unconventional fighters), and other military programs. To pay for this war fighting, he has proposed draconian reductions in the civilian programs of the federal government. As reported, the $439.3 billion allocated to the Pentagon in this budget is a 6.9 percent increase over fiscal year 2006. According to an estimate by the Washington Post, President Bush has increased military spending about 45 percent over the level when he took office five years ago.

The president has proposed a budget driven by fear of “terrorists” and by the assumption that military muscle is the primary tool for creating global stability, world peace, international security, and safety for the people who live in this country. The president’s budget trades off human needs here and abroad for aggressive US military strategies and war. Congress should not accept the president’s budget choices, both for these practical reasons and for moral reasons.

The Constitution provides Congress with the responsibility to make the final decisions on government spending. Grounded in recognition of the failures of military strategies over the last three years, Congress should craft a budget that reflects the moral values of our people. War spending drives up the mounting federal debt and diverts resources from human needs programs both here and abroad. Congress should construct a federal government spending plan that reduces funding for the military and increases money for international diplomacy and efforts to build human security.

The President’s budget includes $439 billion for the Pentagon, but only $35 billion in funding for the State Department and foreign assistance programs. The president has again proposed spending $3 billion on foreign aid channeled through the Millennium Challenge Corporation, but he cut funding for traditional development assistance programs. Urge Congress to pull the purse strings on the administration’s accelerating militarism and shift funds toward SMART Security approaches that focus on sensible, multilateral, US responses to the escalating violence in the world.

To urge your representative and senators to reject the President’s budget and craft a federal government spending plan that recognizes that more military spending will not bring the US more security at home or abroad follow this link to a sample letter that you can edit and send to your representatives at http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=8461016&type=CO.

The No Dirty Gold campaign is calling on jewelry retailers to commit to more responsible mining practices for gold. Some retailers such as Tiffany’s have become leaders on this issue. Target, Wal-Mart, JC Penney and Sears/Kmart are among the largest retailers of gold jewelry in the United States, but they consistently lag behind in their commitments to responsible mining.

You can tell these companies you care about the human rights, labor and environmental conditions under which gold is produced and urge them to buy gold that is more responsibly mined at http://ga0.org/campaign/goldmining/36gun7rf588idn?

Anyone who would be willing to put an EPS flyer up on a departmental bulletin board or similar venue, please contact Thea Harvey at theaharvey@epsusa.org.

The forum and open house will take place on Thursday, February 16, 2006, at 1319 Eighteenth Street, N.W., Washington, DC, and will feature a distinguished panel of speakers, including former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence J. Korb (Center for American Progress), Lt. Gen. William E. Odom (Hudson Institute), Gareth Porter (Inter Press Service), Thomas Donnelly (American Enterprise Institute), and Ivan Eland, Director of the Independent Institute's Center on Peace and Liberty.

RSVP by contacting the Institute's Events Coordinator, Ms. Nichelle Beardsley, at 800-927-8733 (dcevents@independent.org). http://www.independent.org/events/detail.asp?eventID=113

Please note the new location: The New School, 65 Fifth Avenue, in New York, NY, in the Wolff Conference Room, on the second floor of the New School for Social Research Building, Room 229. Discussion will begin promptly at 2:00pm and end no later than 4:00pm.

June 22 - 24, 2006. Tenth Annual Conference on Economics and Security. Thessaloniki, Greece. Conference sponsored by Economists for Peace and Security (EPS-UK), the Arms Production and Trade Group, the University of the West of England, CITY Liberal Studies - Affiliated Institution of the University of Sheffield, and SEERC (South East European Research Center), Thessaloniki, Greece. See above for call for papers. To keep up with developments see: http://www.city.academic.gr/special/events/economics_and_security/index.htm or http://carecon.org.uk/Conferences/conferences.php

Early Bird fees are available until April 30. Discounted fees are available for students, seniors or low-income people. You can register online at: http://zeus.maxintegration.net/events/fasttrack.aspx

Organizers: Stephanie Seguino (University of Vermont - Stephanie.Seguino@uvm.edu), Robert E. Prasch (Middlebury College - rprasch@middlebury.edu), and Mark Setterfield (Trinity College - mark.setterfield@trincoll.edu)

If you have enjoyed this issue of EPS NewsNotes, or if you wish to support our mission, please consider making a donation to EPS. You can do so securely online through our website or by sending a check to:

Economists for Peace and Security
at the Levy Economics Institute
Box 5000
Annandale on Hudson, NY 12504
USA

If you have any questions call (845) 758-0917, or email info@epsusa.org

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