Quotable Quote
"The only way to eliminate the possibility of
climatic catastrophe is to eliminate the nuclear weapons." - Alan
Robock and Owen Brian Toon, Sci. Am. January 2010.
A Good Book Atomic Audit: The Costs and
Consequences of U. S. Nuclear Weapons Since 1940 ,
Stephen Schartz (ed.)
A Good Movie
"Dr. Strangelove or: How I
Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb." Director - Stanley Kubrik, Starring Peter Sellers
A Future Without War
Believe in it.
Envision it.
Work for it.
And we will achieve it.
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To Abolish Nuclear Weapons - Opportunity is Knocking
NOW!
A Beautiful Cloud They
Make, But Deadly
Will We Escape Our Own
Ultimate Weapon?
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The Abolition of Nuclear Weapons is an AFWW Battleground
The
April 2009 AFWW newsletter also addressed the nuclear issue. In the opening
section on "levers" and "fulcrums" it provided an explanation for why focusing
on abolishing nuclear weapons is a key battleground, a key step if you will, in
a campaign to abolish war itself. Read that argument along with other information and links.
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Unity & Focus
Ending-war Activists Need Unity and Focus.
With
Respect to Nuclear Weapons, NOW Presents a Great Opportunity
To state the obvious, nuclear weapons are dangerous to our
species and our cultures and wastefully expensive. This next six months are
critical.
If you want to help the cause of ending war, please consider
taking just a bit of time from whatever else you're doing to let your voice reach our
politicians.
Take a moment to reflect on whether you might give some cash
to support those who work directly on our behalf on dismantling and ending this resource
consuming and dangerous weapons program.
We
will have success in ultimately abolishing war only if we learn how to
coordinate our efforts. Were Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr. alive,
AFWW believes both men would solidly throw their weight behind this abolition
effort. Living peace activist are doing so. So are presidents, generals, media
and business moguls (see Global Zero below). Thoughtful and knowledgeable people familiar with this
nuclear mega-entity know that its risks are simply too great to be tolerated
any longer (see " Call for a Nuclear Free World" below).
And we have, at last, a powerful champion of the cause in President of the
United States, Barack Obama.
The Following Entries Provide More Information for Your Consideration
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Why Now? Why This Year, This Six Months? Six Critical Events!
A Peace Action West's Blog lists and briefly describes the importance of these key
events. Note that the first event, a Senate debate over START, is due to take
place right away, in January:
- New
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) announced and Senate debate
over US ratification (January estimate)
- Fiscal
Year 2011 U. S. Budget released (February)
- Administration
Nuclear Posture Review released (March 1 estimate)
- Global
Nuclear Security Summit (April 12-13)
- Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference (May)
- Possible
senate debate on ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (late
in 2010 if at all)
WAND (Women's Actions for New Directions) is
another organization working to shift
U.S. budget priorities, with special emphasis on eliminating nukes. They, too, have a page summarizing their take on the
events to take place in these six months, " Can We Clear the Nuclear Shadow."
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What You Can Do
E-mail or Phone your RepresentativesOur heavily burdened legislators have so many demands being
put on them. They must prioritize. And they will decide their priorities by how
much push in what directions they feel from their constituents.
When supporters of a good cause came to President
Franklin Roosevelt
seeking his support, it's said that he told them that he loved their cause and
believed in it. And then he said
to them, " Now go out there and make me do it!"
That's the way the system works. We need to pressure our
Congress Members, Senators, and the President's office itself. Let them know we expect them to act to
end this wasteful and dangerous program, and we expect them to ACT ACCORDINGING
NOW! By contacting them we give
them both support and political cover. We allow them to tell their colleagues that their
constituents are lobbying hard on this issue.
So
we need to push as hard as we can. For those of us in the United
States that means to contact our legislators, senators, congressmen, and the
administration, and do it more than once. They do keep track of every e-mail, every call.
Contact them by email: you can
find their addresses easily enough at government websites for that purpose. Contact your U.S. senatorContact your U. S. congress member
Contact the White House
If you prefer to call you'll find appropriate phone numbers on the same pages. It is so easy. It takes little time. And it DOES make a
difference. Every call, for and against, is counted. Let our voices be the majority!
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Nukes Need to Go
An Excellent Reminder of WHY Nukes Need to Go
See the January 2010 Issue of Scientific American (pp. 74-81) for a fine article by
experts Alan Robock and Owen Brian Toon entitled " Local Nuclear War, Global Suffering."
The authors first review the history of the effects of a
nuclear war, reminding us about the "global winter" that would be created
should the U.S. and Russia unleash a tiny fraction of their arsenals.
This article concentrates on recent issues, like a regional
nuclear war, say
between Pakistan and India. It describes in detail the scenarios within which
such a shooting war would start...and they aren't impossible or wild-eyed.
They also describe the best, most recent, modeling of what
the results would be, both locally and globally. They also explain why
abolition is the only policy that will safeguard us...given human nature, half
measures are way too risky.
Their
conclusion: " The only way to eliminate the possibility of climatic
catastrophe is to eliminate the nuclear weapons."
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Calls For a
Nuclear-Free World Schultz,
Perry, Kissinger and Nunn Unite
An article by George P. Shultz, William J. Perry,
Henry A. Kissinger, and Sam Nunn,
all world-savvy leaders, was, entitled "Toward a Nuclear-free
World." Published in the Wall Street Journal (Jan
15 2008), it has set the tone for the need to rid ourselves of this danger. To see the reasons these men give for why the time has
come to de-nuke the global community read the article online.
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Reaching Critical Will
A Rich Source of Information on Nuclear Issues
Reaching Critical Will - A Project of WILPF
The
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is the oldest women's peace
organization in the world. Their project, Reaching Critical Will, created
in 1999, strives for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
On the RCW Homepage you'll find links and information galore. They
offer essays on key nuclear issues, impressively long lists of organizations
globally and nationally that focus on nuclear issues, a disarmament calendar
for 2010, blogs, and much more.
As a project of the oldest women's peace organization in the
world, "RCW recognizes that nuclear weapons play an integral role in the
militarism, ecological destruction, and social injustice plaguing our world
today. Therefore, they work not just for nuclear abolition but also for total
and universal disarmament, the reduction of global military spending, and demilitarization
of politics and society."
"Reaching
Critical Will was designed to increase the quality and quantity of NGO
preparation and participation in UN disarmament processes and of NGO
interaction with governments and the United Nations; to provide logistical
support in facilitating activities during relevant conferences tailored for
policy-makers and the public; and to provide accurate and timely reporting on all relevant
conferences and initiatives so that those unable to attend can stay
informed." Check them out at www.reachingcriticalwill.org.
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A Possible March In May
in New York City, a number of NGO events will coincide with the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference. The NGO events will include
strategy sessions, presentations, opportunity for advocates around the world on
nuclear issues. Contact Ray Acheson at Reaching Critical Will for more
information. [email protected]. See www.reachingcriticalwill.org.
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"Countdown to Zero" A film to Watch out For
Global Zero is an alliance of powerful
individuals who agree that the time to eliminate nuclear weapons is now. Their
members include well-known peace activists like South African Arch-Bishop Desmond Tutu and former United States
President Jimmy Carter. It also includesover 200 world notables. Queen Noor of Jordan is a founder, and other members include
Former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, entrepreneurs Richard Branson and Bill Gates, former President of Ireland
Mary Robinson,
former U.S. National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, U.S. General Anthony Zinni, etc.
"Today, Global Zero unites more than 200 world leaders. These
individuals are former heads of state, defense ministers, foreign ministers and
senior military, civilian and religious leaders. Our mission requires the
widest support. Already more than 140,000 citizens from all over the world have
signed the Global Zero declaration, and in early 2010 a documentary film about
the nuclear threat, "Countdown to Zero." will début at
the Sundance Film Festival." Read more in the Moscow Times.
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AFWW Links To Provide
Security and Order
is an AFWW cornerstone, and that includes organizations dedicated to figuring
out how to provide defense and security as we attempt to transition to a world
without war. AFWW lists over 100 links to organizations in the vanguard of
efforts to create a better future, among them those listed on the PSO list. These organizations were
selected not only because of the good work that they are doing, but because
THEIR WEBSITE PROVIDES LINKS TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS! In other words, these organizations are a great "link
resource" for you. If you didn't check out the links
earlier, here they are again. If you belong to or head up an organization, you
may find your organization listed.
Check under the Nav Bar "Links and More".
A Future Without War
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