Roy Johnston, PhD

FInstP CIEI

IMS Clara House

Glenageary Park Co.

Dublin, Ireland

27 August 2001

Marc Brodsky (via e-mail)

CEO and Executive Director

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse

College Park, Maryland 20740

Dear Marc Brodsky

I want to support the campaign initiated by professors Talat Rahman, George F. Reiter, and Michael A. Lee, as drawn to my attention via the INESnet in Europe, of which I am a member.

It is most important that physicists retain their ability to have a critical view of "science and society" issues, especially given the childish and irresponsible attitude of the Bush regime in Washington, which is throwing away all its international obligations at a mind-boggling rate.

My current concern is the defense of the utility of science in the context of small fringe-nation situations, many of which are post-colonial, and I would prefer to see the leading core nations dedicating their scientific expertise to problems of basic development, rather than toys for military megalomaniacs.

Any physicist who "blows the whistle" on US government policy has my support.

I am a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, and I have been working in scientific consultancy since 1970, after a decade in operations research, and before that a decade at the front line in meson physics. I am now 71 and have survived as a whistle-blower all my working life, in a series of employments and contracts, in a somewhat unfriendly environment in Ireland. I am surprised that this is apparently impossible in the US, supposedly a champion of democracy, though there is a huge question-mark over this, thanks to the presidential electoral procedure, which badly needs to be reformed in the direction of proportional representation, with a transferable preference vote. Nader's transfers would have easily put Gore in. Why should the preferences of Nader voters for Bush or Gore be disregarded?

The physics community should be taking a lead in putting some critical curbs on the actions of government, and encouraging a user-friendly systems approach to the art of governance.

Roy Johnston