Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

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  • Sunflower Newsletter: December 2019

    Sunflower Newsletter: December 2019

     

     

  • Sunflower Newsletter: September 2019

    Sunflower Newsletter: September 2019

     

  • Sunflower Newsletter: July 2019

    Sunflower Newsletter: July 2019

     

    Issue #264 – July 2019
    Peace begins with us. Make a meaningful donation today and honor someone special in your life.

    Donate now

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    Perspectives

    • New Modes of Thinking by David Krieger
    • Why We Brought Hammers to a Nuclear Fight by Patrick O’Neill
    • U.S. Setting the Stage for War with Iran by Silvia De Michelis
    • Yes, the Trump-Kim DMZ Meeting Was a Breakthrough – Here’s What Should Come Next by Christine Ahn

    U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

    • U.S. Drastically Understaffing Arms Control Office
    • Plutonium Pit Plan Raises Questions

    Nuclear Proliferation

    • Nuclear-Armed Countries Upgrading Arsenals While Total Number of Weapons Decreases

    Nuclear Disarmament

    • U.S. Conference of Mayors Highlights Nuclear Disarmament
    • Multiple Cities and States Support Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

    Nuclear Insanity

    • One-Third of U.S. Supports Nuclear War on North Korea, Knowing It Would Kill One Million

    Nuclear Waste

    • Nuclear Waste Storage Plan Draws Criticism

    Resources

    • This Summer in Nuclear Threat History
    • Is Your Bank Financing Nuclear Weapons?
    • Nuclear Weapons and the 2020 Presidential Candidates

    Foundation Activities

    • Peace Literacy in the Workplace: Summer Workshop in Corvallis, Oregon
    • Peace Literacy and Alternatives to Violence
    • Sadako Peace Day

    Take Action

    • Put a Formal End to the Korean War

    Quotes

    Perspectives

    New Modes of Thinking

    by David Krieger

    “The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking, and we thus drift toward unparalleled catastrophe.” ~Albert Einstein

    This is a prescient warning to humanity from the greatest scientist of the 20th century, the individual who conceived of the enormous power that could be released from the atom.

    What did Einstein mean?

    To read more, click here.

    Why We Brought Hammers to a Nuclear Fight

    by Patrick O’Neill

    On April 4, 2018, the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King’s assassination, I joined six other Catholic pacifists in an attempt to symbolically enflesh the prophet Isaiah’s command to “beat swords into plowshares.”

    After cutting a lock, we entered Naval Station Kings Bay in St. Marys, GA with hammers, baby bottles of blood and crime scene tape to expose the horrific D-5 nuclear weapons aboard the Trident submarines that imperil life as we know it on Planet Earth.

    We used high drama as a wake-up call to hopefully get people thinking about the fate of the earth and human survival. Never before has our world been more at risk of the prospect of nuclear war. The Doomsday Clock, maintained by The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, stands at two minutes to midnight.

    To read the full op-ed in the Raleigh News & Observer, click here.

    U.S. Setting the Stage for War with Iran

    by Silvia De Michelis

    Three episodes [Iran shooting down a U.S. drone, and two attacks against oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman], which left no casualties, set into motion powerful forces within the Trump administration that have the apparent intention to wage war against Iran whilst lacking the support of provable hard evidence.

    In the immediate aftermath of the incident concerning the explosion of part of the two oil tankers, the U.S. put forward a narrative depicting Iranians as “evil-doers” – George Bush’s favorite exploited expression in the run-up to the war against Iraq in 2003. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has defined these alleged Iranian attacks as “a clear threat to international peace and security.” This harkens back to when U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, lied about evidence of the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq at the United Nations Security Council, and obtained the support the U.S. needed to pave the way to war.

    To read more, click here.

    Yes, the Trump-Kim DMZ Meeting Was a Breakthrough – Here’s What Should Come Next

    by Christine Ahn

    President Donald Trump did what no sitting U.S. president has done: he crossed the demarcation line dividing the two Koreas at Panmunjom and set foot on North Korean soil. Not only that, he greeted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and together they traversed the cement border and met South Korean President Moon Jae In. Then, President Trump sat down with Kim for a 50-minute conversation in the Freedom House in South Korea.

    It’s time to acknowledge that the root cause of the nuclear crisis is the continuing state of war between the United States and North Korea. The Korean War is not over: we have yet to replace the 1953 ceasefire with a formal peace agreement.

    To read the full op-ed by NAPF Adviser Christine Ahn in Newsweek, click here.

    U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

    U.S. Drastically Understaffing Arms Control Office

    The U.S. Office of Strategic Stability and Deterrence Affairs has become critically understaffed during the first two years of the Trump presidency, with its staff decreasing from 14 to 4. The arms control office is tasked with negotiating and implementing nuclear disarmament treaties, and its main mission is to implement the remaining nuclear arms control agreements with Russia, namely New START.

    The current situation leaves the State Department unequipped to pursue nuclear arms control negotiations prior to New START’s expiration date of February 21, 2021. If it is allowed to expire, the U.S. and Russia (formerly the Soviet Union) would be without any type of formal arms control agreement for the first time since 1972.

    Julian Borger, “U.S. Arms Control Office Critically Understaffed Under Trump, Experts Say,” The Guardian, July 1, 2019.

    Plutonium Pit Plan Raises Questions

    A proposal by the Department of Energy (DOE) to expand production of plutonium pits – the core of a nuclear weapon – at the Savannah River Site is drawing criticism from local watchdogs. Savannah River Site Watch claims that DOE’s pit production plan is “unfunded, unjustified, and unauthorized.”

    SRS Watch spokesman Tom Clements said that pit production at the Savannah River Site would create more waste streams harmful to the area without doing anything to address the waste already stored at the site. The DOE is seeking public feedback for a federally mandated Environmental Impact Statement and said that they are following the guidelines laid out by the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.

    Wes Cooper, “Proposed Plutonium Pit Expansion Raising Questions,” WJBF, June 27, 2019.

    Nuclear Proliferation

    Nuclear-Armed Countries Upgrading Arsenals While Total Number of Weapons Decreases

    The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) announced that all nuclear weapons-possessing states are continuing to upgrade their arsenals, despite overall reductions in total nuclear weapons worldwide. At the beginning of this year, the nine nuclear weapons states were estimated to possess approximately 13,865 nuclear weapons, down from SIPRI’s 2018 estimate of 14,465. Of the new total, 3,750 are currently deployed. Nearly 2,000 of the deployed nuclear weapons are kept on high alert.

    This decrease can be largely attributed to continuing quantitative reductions by the U.S. and Russia, whose arsenals still account for over 90 percent of all nuclear weapons. The U.S. and Russia, along with the other nuclear-armed nations, are all engaged in qualitative upgrades of their arsenals.

    Kelsey Reichmann, “Here’s How Many Nuclear Warheads Exist, and Which Countries Own Them,” Defense News, June 16, 2019.

    Nuclear Disarmament

    U.S. Conference of Mayors Highlights Nuclear Disarmament

    On July 1, the U.S. Conference of Mayors unanimously passed a resolution calling on all U.S. presidential candidates to make their positions on nuclear weapons known, and to pledge U.S. global leadership in preventing nuclear war, returning to diplomacy, and negotiating the elimination of nuclear weapons.

    Kazumi Matsui, Mayor of Hiroshima, spoke at the conference. He said, “As mayors, you are working every day for the well-being of your citizens, but all your efforts could be for naught if nuclear weapons are used again. I would also like to point out that, while every one of the nuclear-armed states is spending billions of dollars to modernize and upgrade their arsenals, that money could be much more productively spent to meet the needs of cities and the people who live in them.”

    The full text of the resolution is available here.

    Multiple Cities and States Support Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

    In addition to the U.S. Conference of Mayors resolution summarized in the previous article, many cities and states have declared their support for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the Back from the Brink Campaign.

    The Oregon State Legislature and the New Jersey General Assembly both passed resolutions. They were joined by numerous cities, including Santa Barbara (USA), Vancouver (Canada), and Edinburgh (Scotland).

    Click the links for more information on the ICAN Cities Appeal and the Back from the Brink Campaign.

    Nuclear Insanity

    One-Third of US Supports Nuclear War on North Korea, Knowing It Would Kill One Million

    The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, in collaboration with YouGov, published a survey showing that over one-third of the U.S. population would support a preemptive strike on North Korea, even knowing that the strike would be nuclear in nature and that over one million people would be killed.

    One standout fact the survey noted was the difference between “preference” and “approval,” whereby respondents replaced their personal preferences with deference to the President. For example, while only 33 percent of respondents preferred a preemptive nuclear strike, 50 percent would approve of one if carried out.

    Tom O’Connor, “One-Third of US Supports Nuclear War on North Korea, Knowing It Would Kill One Million, Report Shows,” Newsweek, June 24, 2019.

    Nuclear Waste

    Nuclear Waste Storage Plan Draws Criticism

    Plans by New Jersey-based Holtec International to store nuclear waste in New Mexico are running into opposition from state officials. Rep. Deb Haaland wrote to both the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to voice her concerns.

    Criticisms leveled against Holtec’s plan include the lack of funding for infrastructure improvements needed to safely transport and store the waste, with Haaland’s main concern being that existing rail lines in the state aren’t built to withstand the weight of the specially-reinforced drums that hold the waste. Haaland is also worried that the government’s history of inaction around nuclear waste could lead to New Mexico becoming a de facto permanent storage site. Holtec International is currently seeking a 40-year license from regulators to build a storage complex near Carlsbad.

    Susan Montoya Bryan, “Nuclear Waste Storage Plan Draws Criticism,” Albuquerque Journal, June 21, 2019.

    Resources

    This Summer in Nuclear Threat History

    History chronicles many instances when humans have been threatened by nuclear weapons. In this article, Jeffrey Mason outlines some of the threats that have taken place in the summer, including the September 18, 1980 incident in which a technician’s dropped wrench caused a massive explosion, leading to a nine-megaton W53 nuclear warhead being launched hundreds of feet out of its silo.

    To read Mason’s full article, click here.

    For more information on the history of the Nuclear Age, visit NAPF’s Nuclear Files website.

    Is Your Bank Financing Nuclear Weapons?

    Who is trying to profit from weapons of mass destruction? A new report from PAX entitled “Shorting Our Security – Financing the Companies that Make Nuclear Weapons” details which financial institutions are investing $748 billion in companies that produce nuclear weapons.

    Is your bank on the list? If you don’t see your bank on the list, find out if it has a parent company that is. You can review the report and search for your bank’s name here.

    Nuclear Weapons and the 2020 Presidential Candidates

    The Union of Concerned Scientists has created a series of videos in which candidates running for U.S. President in 2020 discuss their views on nuclear weapons.

    To see which candidates have commented, and to watch the videos, click here.

    Foundation Activities

    Peace Literacy in the Workplace: Summer Workshop in Corvallis, Oregon

    The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and the Phronesis Lab at Oregon State University invite you to a three-day workshop in August 2019 in Corvallis, Oregon.

    The workshop is geared toward helping both employers and employees build the skills needed to develop more collaborative, empathy-driven workplaces. Our model combines West Point leadership training with the best practices in non-violence developed by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. We use this unique formulation to help you diminish work-place tensions, promote productive communication, and understand the structural and interpersonal dynamics that can lead to harassment and bullying. We help you to re-imagine a workplace where people value each other and find more enjoyment in what they do.

    For more information and to register, click here.

     

    Peace Literacy and Alternatives to Violence

    On May 26, NAPF Peace Literacy Director Paul K. Chappell gave the keynote address to more than 140 Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) volunteers, including training facilitators, at Mills College in Oakland, California.

    Steven Gelb, professor at the University of San Diego and AVP workshop facilitator, reported, “[Paul’s] compellingly original synthesis of the role of meaning and purpose as foundational to both peace work and conflict was immensely helpful to this audience of experienced peace educators.”

    Chappell explained that the frameworks of Peace Literacy offer a new understanding of aggression, rage, and trauma and how Peace Literacy skills can be used at school, at work, and with family, friends, and those we do not yet know. Peace Literacy also offers radical empathy, vision, and realistic hope.

    To read more about Paul’s Work with the Alternatives to Violence Project, click here.

    Sadako Peace Day on August 6

    The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s annual Sadako Peace Day commemoration will take place on August 6 at Westmont College in Montecito, California.

    There will be music, poetry, and reflection in remembrance of the victims of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and of all innocent victims of war.

    Click here to download a flyer with more information.

    Take Action

    Put a Formal End to the Korean War

    The Korean War was paused in 1953 with an Armistice Agreement. Today, over 65 years later, there is still no peace treaty putting a formal end to this war.

    A resolution authored by Rep. Ro Khanna aims to change this. The resolution, H.Res. 152, calls upon the United States to formally declare an end to the war and would affirm that the United States does not seek armed conflict with North Korea.

    If you are in the United States, click here to encourage your Representative to co-sponsor the resolution.

    Quotes

     

    “The destructive power of nuclear weapons cannot be contained in either space or time. They have the potential to destroy all civilization and the entire ecosystem of the planet.”

    — The International Court of Justice, in its 1996 ruling on the illegality of nuclear weapons. This quote appears in the book Speaking of Peace: Quotations to Inspire Action, which is available to purchase in the NAPF Peace Store.

     

    “If we are to bring together positive thinking that peace is a good thing that improves the quality of life, it will heal the division in the hearts of people who have been separated by different ideology and views.”

    — South Korean President Moon Jae-in, speaking about his vision for building positive peace between North and South Korea.

     

    “Let’s imagine a planet where we can all live in peace together and not be fretting about whether our rival has one more bomb – that can obliterate the world inside and out – than us.”

    — Lila Woodard and Anne Arellano, teenage activists and performers with Le Petit Cirque, speaking at an event celebrating the city of Bergen, Norway passing a resolution supporting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

    Editorial Team

     

    Alex Baldwin
    Silvia De Michelis
    David Krieger
    Carol Warner
    Rick Wayman
  • Sunflower Newsletter: June 2019

    Sunflower Newsletter: June 2019

     

    Issue #263 – June 2019
    Peace begins with us. Make a meaningful donation today and honor someone special in your life.

    Donate now

     
    Perspectives

    • Imagination and Nuclear Weapons by David Krieger
    • There Is No Check on Trump’s Rage Going Nuclear by Anne Harrington and Cheryl Rofer
    • I Oversaw the U.S. Nuclear Power Industry. Now I Think it Should Be Banned by Gregory Jaczko

    U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

    • U.S. Boycotts Conference on Disarmament

    Nuclear Proliferation

    • China Rules Out Joining U.S.-Russia Arms Control Deal

    Nuclear Disarmament

    • Poll: Most Americans Want to Stay in Arms Control Agreements
    • More Cities and States Support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

    Nuclear Insanity

    • U.S. and North Korea Test Missiles Minutes Apart
    • Ohio Middle School Closed Indefinitely After Enriched Uranium Found Inside

    Nuclear Testing

    • U.S. Radioactive Waste Dump in Marshall Islands Is Leaking
    • France Acknowledges Polynesian Islands “Strong-Armed” into Nuclear Tests

    Resources

    • World Nuclear Stockpile
    • Halt a March to War with Iran

    Foundation Activities

    • Peace Literacy in the Workplace: Summer Workshop in Corvallis, Oregon
    • 2019 Kelly Lecture on Humanity’s Future
    • 2019 Poetry Contest
    • Sadako Peace Day

    Take Action

    • Sign the Petition to Dismiss Charges Against Nuclear Disarmament Activists

    Quotes

    Perspectives

    Imagination and Nuclear Weapons

    by David Krieger

    Einstein believed that knowledge is limited, but imagination is infinite.

    Imagine the soul-crushing reality of a nuclear war, with billions of humans dead; in essence, a global Hiroshima, with soot from the destruction of cities blocking warming sunlight. There would be darkness everywhere, temperatures falling into a new ice age, with crop failures and mass starvation.

    With nuclear weapons poised on hair-trigger alert and justified by the ever-shaky hypothesis that nuclear deterrence will be effective indefinitely, this should not be difficult to imagine.

    In this sense, our imaginations can be great engines for change.

    To read more, click here.

    There Is No Check on Trump’s Rage Going Nuclear

    by Anne Harrington and Cheryl Rofer

    As president of the United States, Trump has absolute authority to launch nuclear weapons—without anyone else’s consent. In the past, it was taken for granted that the president would follow an established protocol that included consultation with the military, his cabinet, and others before taking such a grave step, but Trump is not legally bound to these procedures. Presidential launch authority is a matter of directive and precedent rather than specific law.

    To read the full piece in Foreign Policy, click here.

    I Oversaw the U.S. Nuclear Power Industry. Now I Think it Should Be Banned

    by Gregory Jaczko

    Two years into my term [as Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission], an earthquake and tsunami destroyed four nuclear reactors in Japan. I spent months reassuring the American public that nuclear energy, and the U.S. nuclear industry in particular, was safe. But by then, I was starting to doubt those claims myself.

    Before the accident, it was easier to accept the industry’s potential risks, because nuclear power plants had kept many coal and gas plants from spewing air pollutants and greenhouse gases into the air. Afterward, the falling cost of renewable power changed the calculus. Despite working in the industry for more than a decade, I now believe that nuclear power’s benefits are no longer enough to risk the welfare of people living near these plants.

    To read the full op-ed in the Washington Post, click here.

    U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

    U.S. Boycotts Conference on Disarmament

    The United States walked out of the UN Conference on Disarmament on May 28 in protest of Venezuela assuming the rotating presidency of the forum. As Venezuela took up the one-month presidency, U.S. disarmament ambassador Robert Wood left the session and announced a boycott while Venezuela’s ambassador Jorge Valero chairs it. Wood said that a representative of Venezuela’s “interim leader,” Juan Guaido, should assume the seat.

    “U.S. Boycotts U.N. Arms Forum as Venezuela Takes Chair,” Reuters, May 28, 2019.

    Nuclear Proliferation

    China Rules Out Joining U.S.-Russia Arms Control Deal

    China dismissed the possibility of entering into negotiations for a trilateral arms control deal alongside the United States and Russia, highlighting that the U.S. has failed to uphold its international commitments. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang warns of “growing instabilities and uncertainties in the field of international strategic security.”

    In February, the White House withdrew from the 1987 intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) treaty. Washington argued that Moscow’s Novator 9M729 missile violated the agreement’s restrictions, while Russian officials counterclaimed that the Pentagon’s own Aegis Ashore defense system in Eastern Europe violated the treaty. Though not a party to the agreement, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang claimed the move could “trigger a series of adverse consequences.”

    Tom O’Connor, “China ‘Will Never’ Join Arms Control Deal with U.S. and Russia, Says Donald Trump has Not Even Followed Past Agreements,” Newsweek, May 20, 2019.

    Nuclear Disarmament

    Poll: Most Americans Want to Stay in Arms Control Agreements

    A new poll suggests that the public favors a more constrained nuclear posture and is growing more skeptical of weapons that are in the U.S. arsenal already. A majority of respondents also favored restraining the President from launching a nuclear strike before seeking congressional approval.

    Eighty percent of respondents – including 77 percent of Republicans – favor extending the New START Treaty beyond its 2021 expiration. Two-thirds of respondents, including most Republicans, said the U.S. should stay in the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. About 60 percent of respondents favored phasing out U.S. ICBMs. Seventy-five percent of respondents overall (including six in ten Republicans) supported legislation requiring that the President obtain permission from Congress before launching an attack.

    Patrick Tucker, “Poll: Americans Want to Stay in Nuclear Arms Control Agreements,” Defense One, May 20, 2019.

    More Cities and States Support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

    In May, more progress was made with cities and states declaring their opposition to nuclear weapons and their support of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Paris signed on to the ICAN Cities Appeal, joining other major world cities including Toronto, Melbourne, Los Angeles, Berlin, Geneva, and Washington, DC.

    In the U.S., resolutions in support of the TPNW and supporting the five-point platform of the Back from the Brink campaign passed the Oregon Senate and the New Jersey Assembly.

    To see the full list of cities that have signed the ICAN Cities Appeal, click here.

    Nuclear Insanity

    U.S. and North Korea Test Missiles Minutes Apart

    On May 9, the U.S. and North Korea tested missiles within minutes of one another. The U.S. tested a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile and, on the same day, a Trident II D5 submarine-launched ballistic missile. North Korea tested short-range missiles.

    Rick Wayman, Deputy Director of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, said, “By testing ballistic missiles this month, both the U.S. and North Korea risk blowing up the delicate progress that has been achieved to date through diplomacy.” He continued, “Neither party is right in this chest-thumping exercise, particularly while there remains a possibility of diplomatically eliminating all nuclear threats on the Korean Peninsula and actually achieving peace in a conflict that has gone on for nearly seven decades.”

    Tom O’Connor, “U.S. and North Korea Launch Missiles at Same Time: What They Have and Why They Should Stop,” Newsweek, May 9, 2019.

    Ohio Middle School Closed Indefinitely After Enriched Uranium Found Inside

    An Ohio middle school has closed for the remainder of the academic year after tests discovered traces of enriched uranium and neptunium-237 inside. While the source has not yet been identified, some locals have been quick to blame the nearby Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, which previously produced enriched uranium, including weapons-grade uranium, for the U.S. government until 2001. Nearby homes and bodies of water have also tested positive for both enriched uranium and neptunium.

    Anne White, Assistant Secretary for the Department of Energy’s Environmental Management division, which is in charge of cleaning up the Portsmouth site, resigned due to the scandal.

    David Brennan, “Ohio School Closed After Enriched Uranium Discovered Inside,” Newsweek, May 14, 2019.

    Nuclear Testing

    U.S. Radioactive Waste Dump in the Marshall Islands Is Leaking

    UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that a concrete dome built to contain highly-radioactive waste from U.S. atomic bomb tests in the 1940s and 50s is leaking radioactive material into the Pacific Ocean. Guterres described the structure on Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands as “a kind of coffin.”

    The dome is cracking from years of exposure to the elements, and concerns abound that the dome could break apart if hit by a tropical cyclone. The U.S. has thus far refused any responsibility for the situation.

    “The consequences of these [tests] have been quite dramatic, in relation to health, in relation to the poisoning of waters in some areas,” Guterres said.

    “Nuclear ‘Coffin’ May Be Leaking Radioactive Material into Pacific Ocean, U.N. Chief Says,” CBS News, May 16, 2019.

    France Acknowledges Polynesian Islands “Strong-Armed” into Nuclear Tests

    France has officially acknowledged for the first time that French Polynesians did not willingly enter into an agreement to accept 193 nuclear tests over a 30-year period. France also admitted that it is responsible for compensating islanders for the illnesses caused by the fallout.

    Henry Samuel, “France Acknowledges Polynesian Islands ‘Strong-Armed’ into Dangerous Nuclear Tests,” The Telegraph, May 24, 2019.

    Resources

    World Nuclear Stockpile

    Hans Kristensen and Robert Norris of the Federation of American Scientists are the leading experts in estimating the size of global nuclear weapons inventories. Matt Korda is a new co-author of these reports, which are published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Nuclear Notebook. The authors estimate that there are currently 13,850 nuclear weapons in the world, with 92% in the arsenals of the U.S. and Russia.

    To read more, click here.

    Halt a March to War with Iran

    The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation joined 60 other U.S. organizations in signing a letter asking members of Congress to take decisive action to halt a march to war with Iran. The letter reads in part, “Congress cannot be complicit as the playbook for the 2003 invasion of Iraq is repeated before our eyes. The administration has increasingly politicized intelligence on Iran’s nuclear program, and falsely asserts ties between Iran and al-Qaeda….The American people do not want another disastrous war of choice in the Middle East. Congress has the chance to stop a war before it starts. Please take action before it is too late.”

    To read the full letter, click here.

    Foundation Activities

    Peace Literacy in the Workplace: Summer Workshop in Corvallis, Oregon

    The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and the Phronesis Lab at Oregon State University invite you to a three-day workshop in August 2019 in Corvallis, Oregon.

    The workshop is geared toward helping both employers and employees build the skills needed to develop more collaborative, empathy-driven workplaces. Our model combines West Point leadership training with the best practices in non-violence developed by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. We use this unique formulation to help you diminish work-place tensions, promote productive communication, and understand the structural and interpersonal dynamics that can lead to harassment and bullying. We help you re-imagine a workplace where people value each other and find more enjoyment in what they do.

    Early-bird registration ends June 15, so register soon. More information is available here.

     

    2019 Kelly Lecture on Humanity’s Future

    On May 9, Elaine Scarry delivered the 18th Annual Frank K. Kelly Lecture on Humanity’s Future. Scarry teaches at Harvard University, where she is the Cabot Professor of
    Aesthetics and the General Theory of Value. She lectures nationally and internationally on nuclear war, law, literature, and medicine. The title of her talk was “Thermonuclear Monarchy and a Sleeping Citizenry.”

    A video of Scarry’s important lecture is available at this link.

    2019 Poetry Contest

    The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s 2019 Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Awards is accepting submissions through July 1. The contest encourages poets to explore and illuminate positive visions of peace and the human spirit.

    The Poetry Awards include three age categories: Adult, Youth 13-18, and Youth 12 & Under.

    For more information on the contest, click here.

    Sadako Peace Day on August 6

    The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s annual Sadako Peace Day commemoration will take place on August 6 at Westmont College in Montecito, California.

    There will be music, poetry, and reflection in remembrance of the victims of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and of all innocent victims of war.

    Click here to download a flyer with more information.

    Take Action

    Sign the Petition to Dismiss Charges Against Nuclear Disarmament Activists

    The Kings Bay Plowshares 7, a group of seven nuclear disarmament activists, engaged in a symbolic and nonviolent action at the Trident nuclear submarine base at Kings Bay, Georgia on April 4, 2018, the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

    The activists now face 25 years in prison, and their trial is expected to begin soon.

    Click here to add your name to the petition.

    Quotes

     

    “Only one individual is necessary to spread the leavening influence of ahimsa [nonviolence] in an office, a business, a school, or even a large institution.”

    — Mohandas K. Gandhi. This quote appears in the book Speaking of Peace: Quotations to Inspire Action, which is available to purchase in the NAPF Peace Store.

     

    “The real question is: How the hell do we get rid of these nuclear weapons that are threatening the entire planet? And I would be aggressive in doing that. Right now, we have a president who wants to spend more and more money on the military and more money on nuclear weapons. I want to see us not abrogate treaties with Iran or anyplace else, which have controlled the growth of nuclear weapons. I want to see us be aggressive in bringing the world together again to figure out how we can substantially not only reduce military spending worldwide, but how we can reduce the ongoing and long-term threat of nuclear weapons.”

    — Sen. Bernie Sanders, responding to a question about whether he would be willing to use nuclear weapons if elected President.

     

    “Most people assume that if something hasn’t happened, it won’t happen. But that is psychology, not reality. Some of those who have spent their careers managing U.S. nuclear weapons believe that we have been extraordinarily lucky that nuclear weapons have not been used since Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”

    — Zia Mian, Alan Robock, and Sharon Weiner, in an op-ed about the importance of the New Jersey Assembly passing a resolution against nuclear weapons.

    Editorial Team

     

    Alex Baldwin
    David Krieger
    Carol Warner
    Rick Wayman
  • Sunflower Newsletter: January 2019

    Sunflower Newsletter: January 2019

     

    Issue #258 – January 2019
    We have a lot of work to do in 2019. Your support makes our work possible. Would you make a gift to help us accomplish our goals this year?

    Donate now

     
    Perspectives

    • A Message to Today’s Young People: Put an End to the Nuclear Weapons Era by David Krieger
    • Renew Arms Control, Don’t Destroy It by Andrew Lichterman and John Burroughs
    • Labor Sets the Right Course on Nuclear Disarmament by Gem Romuld
    • The Measured Normalization of a Nuclear State by Kumar Sundaram

    Nuclear Proliferation

    • Russia Tests Hypersonic Missile
    • Trump Calls the Arms Race “Crazy”

    War and Peace

    • U.S. to Reconsider Travel Ban to North Korea

    Nuclear Waste

    • Trump Administration Breaks Agreement with California for Cleanup of Nuclear Meltdown Site

    Nuclear Insanity

    • U.S. Strategic Command Tweets Bomb Threat on New Year’s Eve
    • Acting U.S. Defense Secretary is 31-Year Veteran of Boeing
    • U.S. Senator Bought Raytheon Stock Days After Pushing for Massive Military Budget

    Resources

    • An Unsettled Year in Nuclear Weapons
    • Joint Statement of U.S. Civil Society Groups in Support of the Current Peace Process in Korea

    Foundation Activities

    • Peace Literacy 2018 Highlights and 2019 Preview
    • NAPF Now Hiring 2019 Summer Interns
    • Women Waging Peace
    • Article in Gensuikyo Tsushin

    Take Action

    • Thank the Senate for Invoking War Powers Resolution

    Quotes

    Perspectives

    A Message to Today’s Young People: Put an End to the Nuclear Weapons Era

    by David Krieger

    Nuclear weapons were created to kill indiscriminately. That means women, men, children – everyone. Even during war, under the rules of international law, that kind of mass killing is illegal. It is also immoral.

    As young people, you have a unique ability to influence today’s political and military leaders throughout the world to put an end to the nuclear era. For your own future, and that of all humanity, will you accept the challenge and join in advocating for a Nuclear Zero world?

    To read more, click here.

    Renew Arms Control, Don’t Destroy It

    by Andrew Lichterman and John Burroughs

    A hard-earned lesson of the Cold War is that arms control reduces the risk of nuclear war by limiting dangerous deployments and, even more important, by creating channels of communication and understanding. But President Donald Trump and his National Security Advisor John Bolton appear to have forgotten, or never learned, that lesson.

    In late October, Trump announced an intent to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo subsequently stated that the U.S. will suspend implementation of the treaty in early February. While U.S. signals have been mixed, initiation of withdrawal at that point or soon thereafter appears likely.

    To read the full op-ed at Inter Press Service, click here.

    Labor Sets the Right Course on Nuclear Disarmament

    by Gem Romuld

    On the final afternoon of the recent 48th [Australian] Labor national conference, Anthony Albanese took to the podium to announce that a future Labor government will sign and ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. He declared that “people who change the world are ones that are ambitious,” after three days of intense negotiations on nuclear policy among senior Labor parliamentarians.

    It is beyond time for Australia to quit our role as nuclear enabler for the United States. The nuclear weapon ban treaty presents us with a persistent question; will we join the global majority and contribute to the consensus against these WMDs, or remain implicated in the nuclear threat?

    To read the full op-ed in The Sydney Morning Herald, click here.

    The Measured Normalization of a Nuclear State

    by Kumar Sundaram

    The passing year marked the 20th year of the May 1998 nuclear tests in Pokhran, the 10th year of the unprecedented exception from the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) that the Indian government achieved in 2008, and the last effective year of the ultra-nationalist Modi government as it enters its lame-duck phase in early 2019.

    The deceptive calm and seeming indolence on the part of the Indian government makes it easy to miss the details and the deeply worrying patterns of an unmistakable push for a massive nuclear weaponization and energy expansion that we should all be concerned about.

    To read more, click here.

    Nuclear Proliferation

    Russia Tests Hypersonic Missile

    On December 26, Russia announced a successful test of its Avangard hypersonic missile. The missile, which can travel 20 times the speed of sound, is designed to take an elusive path toward its target, thus nullifying the effect of any current missile defense system.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Russians were “forced” to develop the missile in response to U.S. President George W. Bush’s unilateral withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002.

    Bill Chappell, “Russia Will Deploy New Hypersonic Missile Systems in 2019, Putin Says,” NPR, December 27, 2018.

    Trump Calls the Arms Race Crazy

    In a December tweet, President Trump complained about the high cost of the arms race with Russia and China, calling it “uncontrollable” and “crazy.”

    Trump wrote, “I am certain that, at some time in the future, President Xi and I,
    together with President Putin of Russia, will start talking about a
    meaningful halt to what has become a major and uncontrollable Arms Race.”

    Lolita Baldor, “Trump Complains About Cost of ‘Uncontrollable’ Arms Race,” Associated Press, December 3, 2018.

    War and Peace

    U.S. to Reconsider Travel Ban to North Korea

    Stephen Biegun, the State Department’s special representative for North Korea, said that the United States will review its ban on travel to North Korea in order to help facilitate humanitarian aid shipments to the isolated country.

    “I’ll be sitting down with American aid groups early in the new year to discuss how we can better ensure the delivery of appropriate assistance,” Biegun said.

    U.S. sanctions against North Korea have been enforced so vigorously that aid groups have been unable to transfer cash for their daily operations in the North, or even take any metal objects there.

    Choe Sang-hun, “U.S. Will Review Travel Ban on North Korea, Envoy Says,” The New York Times, December 19, 2018.

    Nuclear Waste

    Trump Administration Breaks Agreement with California for Cleanup of Nuclear Meltdown Site

    The Trump Administration’s Department of Energy (DOE) has announced it intends to leave 98% of the contaminated soil in its area of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) not cleaned up, despite admitting that would violate the legally binding agreement it entered into with California in 2010.

    The SSFL is one of the most contaminated sites in the state. It housed ten nuclear reactors, one of which suffered a partial nuclear meltdown and three others also experienced serious accidents. There was a plutonium fuel fabrication facility and a “hot lab” which cut up highly irradiated nuclear fuel shipped in from around the country. Radioactive and toxic chemical wastes were burned for years in open-air pits. There were tens of thousands of rocket engine tests. All of these activities and sloppy environmental practices resulted in widespread radioactive and toxic chemical pollution of soil, groundwater and surface water.

    “Trump Administration Breaks Agreement With California for Cleanup of Nuclear Meltdown Site,” Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles, December 19, 2018.

    Nuclear Insanity

    U.S. Strategic Command Tweets Bomb Threat on New Year’s Eve

    The United States Strategic Command, the unified military force that controls the nation’s thousands of nuclear weapons, tweeted and then deleted a threat to drop something “much, much bigger” than the Times Square New Year’s Eve ball.

    The bombs being dropped in the video accompanying the tweet were massive “conventional” bombs. However, Strategic Command is known for its control of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

    Zachary Cohen and Barbara Starr, “U.S. Military Tweets, Deletes New Year’s Eve Message About Dropping Bombs,” CNN, December 31, 2018.

    Acting U.S. Defense Secretary is 31-Year Veteran of Boeing

    Patrick Shanahan, who was named acting Secretary of Defense after James Mattis resigned in December, previously worked for Boeing for 31 years before joining the Pentagon. Boeing makes billions of dollars each year from U.S. military contracts, including nuclear weapons.

    Shanahan’s spokesperson Lt. Col. Joe Buccino said, “Under his Ethics Agreement, Mr. Shanahan has recused himself for the duration of his service in the Department of Defense from participating in matters in which the Boeing Company is a party.”

    Given Boeing’s significant number of military contracts, this claim will likely prove to be untrue.

    Ellen Mitchell, “Acting Defense Chief Recuses Himself from Matters Involving Boeing,” The Hill, January 2, 2019.

    Senator Bought Raytheon Stock Days After Pushing for Massive Military Budget

    Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) bought between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of stock in weapons manufacturer Raytheon just days after pushing for a record $750 billion military budget for Fiscal Year 2020.

    After being questioned about why he made this purchase, Inhofe’s office said the senator contacted his financial adviser to cancel the transaction and instructed him to avoid defense and aerospace purchases going forward.

    Lachlan Markay, “Sen. James Inhofe Bought Defense Stock Days After Pushing for Record Pentagon Spending—Then Dumped It When Asked About It,” The Daily Beast, December 12, 2018.

    Resources

    An Unsettled Year in Nuclear Weapons

    John Mecklin, Editor-in-Chief of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, compiled a list of eight articles published by the Bulletin in 2018 that convey the unsettled year that has passed.

    In 2018, the world’s arms control architecture teetered on the brink of collapse as the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and threatened withdrawal from the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Negotiations between the United States and North Korea over Pyongyang’s nuclear program stalled. And Hawaii went through 38 dreadful minutes of believing it was under nuclear missile attack.

    To read Mecklin’s list, click here.

    Joint Statement of U.S. Civil Society Groups in Support of the Current Peace Process in Korea

    Over 150 civil society groups in the United States, including the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, issued a joint statement in support of the peace process in Korea. The statement says that, after more than six decades, it is time to end the Korean War. The war stopped in 1953 with an Armistice Agreement, but a peace treaty among the warring parties has never been signed.

    To read the full statement in The Nation, click here.

    Foundation Activities

    Peace Literacy 2018 Highlights and 2019 Preview

    In 2018, NAPF Peace Literacy Director Paul K. Chappell brought a transformative curriculum for a peace literate classroom, community, and culture to events in 16 states and five Canadian provinces. He spoke to more than 8,500 educators, students, and community leaders in more than 67 lectures and 19 workshops.

    In 2019, Chappell will partner with dedicated educators around the country to bring professional development opportunities to teachers and administrators. He will also conduct many workshops and lectures for Rotary International chapters, and will co-teach an honors course on Peace Literacy with Oregon State University Professor Sharyn Clough.

    To read the full update on Peace Literacy, click here.

    NAPF Now Hiring 2019 Summer Interns

    The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is offering four paid summer internship positions in 2019 at its Santa Barbara office. Interns must have a demonstrated interest in gaining hands-on experience working with a non-profit educational and advocacy organization. Applications for these positions must be received by March 1, 2019.

    For Summer 2019, we are hiring for four specific internship roles: Research and Writing Intern; Fundraising and Development Intern; Communications Intern; and Peace Literacy Intern.

    For more information on each of these four roles, as well as application requirements, click here.

    Women Waging Peace

    The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s online campaign, Women Waging Peace, highlights the outstanding work of women for peace and nuclear disarmament. Though progress is made every day, women’s voices are still often ignored, their efforts stonewalled and their wisdom overlooked regarding issues of peace and security, national defense, and nuclear disarmament.

    Our fifth profile features Bonnie Jenkins, founder and President of Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS).

    Click here to read our interview with Bonnie Jenkins.

    The other women leaders profiled in this series thus far are Ray Acheson, Cynthia Lazaroff, Makoma Lekalakala, and Christine Ahn. Click here to see all the full Women Waging Peace series.

    Article in Gensuikyo Tsushin

    The Japan Council against A & H Bombs (Gensuikyo) invited NAPF Deputy Director Rick Wayman to write an article on California’s adoption of a resolution embracing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). The article was translated into Japanese for distribution to Gensuikyo activists across Japan.

    To read the full article in English, click here.

    Take Action

    Thank Senators for Invoking the War Powers Resolution

    In December, the Senate voted 56-41 to stop U.S. military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. This is the first time the Senate has ever invoked the 1973 War Powers Resolution.

    This war, for which the U.S. has supplied bombs, intelligence, and logistical support, has directly caused what the United Nations calls the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis.”
    It is extremely important that we thank the 56 Senators who took action to end U.S. involvement in this disastrous war.

    Click here to take action.

    Quotes

     

    “You cannot talk like sane men around a peace table while the atomic bomb itself is ticking beneath it. Do not treat the atomic bomb as a weapon of offense; do not treat it as an instrument of the police. Treat the bomb for what it is: the visible insanity of a civilization that has ceased to worship life and obey the laws of life.”

    — Lewis Mumford. This quote appears in the book Speaking of Peace: Quotations to Inspire Action, which is available to purchase in the NAPF Peace Store.

     

    “We are small, but we can have a big impact.”

    — Auckland Statement on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Click here to read the full statement.

     

    “If the US responds to our initiative and pre-emptive efforts by taking reliable and corresponding practical action, our relationship will continue to progress at an excellent and great speed through the process of taking more concrete and groundbreaking measures.”

    — Kim Jong-un, in a January 1, 2019 video message.

    Editorial Team

     

    David Krieger
    Carol Warner
    Rick Wayman
  • Sunflower Newsletter: December 2018

    Sunflower Newsletter: December 2018

     

    Issue #257 – December 2018
    Our work doesn’t happen without generous and committed supporters. And so, as 2018 draws to a close: Will you share in our vision for a just and peaceful world by making a gift to the Foundation? In 2019 we have big things to do—let’s do them together.

    Donate now
    Perspectives

    • Withdrawing from the INF Treaty: A Massive Mistake by David Krieger
    • How The New York Times Deceived the Public on North Korea by Tim Shorrock
    • The Myth of the Middle by Ray Acheson
    • The Fate of the Earth Depends on Women by Beatrice Fihn

    U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

    • U.S. Outlines Nuclear Weapon Production Plans for Next 25 Years
    • Groups Challenge U.S. Plutonium Pit Production Plans
    • U.S. Conducts Another Nuclear-Capable Missile Test

    Nuclear Disarmament

    • ICAN Launches Cities Appeal

    War and Peace

    • U.S. Military Spending Set To Rise Even Higher

    Nuclear Insanity

    • U.S. Plans to Solve High-Level Radioactive Waste Problem by Calling It Low-Level
    • Southern California Wildfire Burns Area of 1958 Nuclear Meltdown

    Resources

    • Responding to the Unique Challenge of Nuclear Weapons
    • U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces

    Foundation Activities

    • Holiday Gifts for Your Peace-Loving Friends and Family
    • Peace Literacy Team at Work in Canada
    • Women Waging Peace
    • Letter in the Washington Times

    Take Action

    • Congress Must Act to Save the INF Treaty

    Quotes

    Perspectives

    Withdrawing from the INF Treaty: A Massive Mistake

    by David Krieger

    It would be a mistake of significant proportions for the U.S. to unilaterally withdraw from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. It would end an important arms limitation treaty, one that eliminated a whole category of nuclear-armed missiles with a range from 500 km to 5,500 km.

    The treaty eliminated 846 U.S. nuclear missiles and 1,846 Soviet nuclear missiles, for a combined total of 2,692 nuclear missiles. President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed the treaty in 1987. It was an agreement that followed their realization, “A nuclear war cannot be won, and must never be fought.”

    To read the full article, which was originally published by The Hill, click here.

    How The New York Times Deceived the Public on North Korea

    by Tim Shorrock

    Like many of his North Korea stories over the years, David Sanger’s account of what he basically described as a betrayal by Kim Jong-un seemed perfectly timed to interject public skepticism of the North at a crucial moment for the U.S. negotiations with both Koreas to resolve the nuclear standoff and pave the way for a final peace settlement on the Korean Peninsula.

    Over the past month, while the two Koreas have made spectacular leaps in reducing military tensions along their border, the U.S. dialogue with North Korea has stalled. The primary issues dividing them are Trump’s insistence on keeping his pressure campaign of economic sanctions in place until the North denuclearizes, and the North’s demand that Trump join the two Koreas in publicly declaring an end to the Korean War.

    To read the full article in The Nation, click here.

    The Myth of the Middle

    by Ray Acheson

    Amidst all this tension [at this year’s UN First Committee], it’s no surprise that appeals for a “middle ground” are also on repeat. It sounds rational: so many cracks and fissures have begun to split wide open, and a number of delegations are keen to “build bridges.” But this impulse for the middle is misguided and dangerous.

    What is the middle ground on nuclear weapons? What is in between those who categorically reject the bomb and those who say it is instrumental to (their) security and for maintaining “stability” in the world?

    To read more, click here.

    The Fate of the Earth Depends on Women

    by Beatrice Fihn

    Recognizing the threat to humanity from climate change, ecological destruction, and nuclear weapons, we ask: “What is the fate of the earth?” I’d answer that by borrowing from former secretary of state Hillary Clinton: “The fate of women is the fate of the earth, and the fate of the earth is the fate of women.” To state this more explicitly: The survival of the human species depends on women wresting power from men. For too long, we have left foreign policy to a small number of men, and look where it has gotten us.

    I should be careful here to make a distinction. I often say, “The leaders are not the problem; the weapon is.” This is a key point: While we might feel safer with Theresa May or Hillary Clinton in charge of our nuclear arsenals, we are not in fact safe. I don’t believe that having these weapons in the hands of women is a solution. That is not what I mean by wresting power from men. When you are concerned about the ease of one person’s access to world-destroying firepower, the answer is not to choose the most level-headed person; the answer is to remove the possibility that anyone could be in that position in the first place. That is the power we must wrest from men and the feminist foreign policy we need.

    To read the full article in The Nation, click here.

    U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

    U.S. Outlines Nuclear Weapon Production Plans for Next 25 Years

    The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has published its fiscal 2019 Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan, which lays out the investments that it says it will need. NNSA is part of the Department of Energy, and only deals with the development, maintenance, and “disposal” of nuclear warheads. Meanwhile, the Department of Defense manages the delivery systems, such as missiles, submarines, and bomber aircraft.

    President Trump’s Nuclear Posture Review has piled on an extra load of work on top of what NNSA already had planned from President Obama’s plan to overhaul the nation’s nuclear arsenal.

    Aaron Mehta, “Here’s When All of America’s New Nuclear Warhead Designs Will Be Active – and How Much They’ll Cost,” Defense News, November 2, 2018.

    Groups Challenge U.S. Plutonium Pit Production Plans

    Three environmental safety and nuclear watchdog groups have joined together to challenge the U.S. government’s plans to produce 80 plutonium pits per year at sites in New Mexico and South Carolina. The groups are demanding that the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) halt its plans because it is in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

    “NEPA clearly requires that proposed major federal actions be subject to public environmental review,” a letter from the three organizations said.

    Nuclear Watch New Mexico, Savannah River Site Watch, and Tri-Valley CAREs believe that without the proper environmental analysis, plutonium pit production at these high levels cannot begin.

    “Nuclear Groups Challenge Pit Program Expansion,” Los Alamos Monitor, November 5, 2018.

    U.S. Conducts Another Nuclear-Capable Missile Test

    On election day in the U.S., November 6, the U.S. test-fired a Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The previous test, on July 31, ended in failure when the nuclear-capable missile self-destructed over the Pacific Ocean.

    While the U.S. claims that these missile tests are benign, U.S. officials regularly express outrage when countries such as North Korea or Iran conduct missile tests.

    Janene Scully, “Air Force Says Minuteman III Missile Test Launch from Vandenberg AFB Hit Target,” Noozhawk, November 7, 2018.

    Nuclear Disarmament

    ICAN Launches Cities Appeal

    The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) launched a new appeal entitled “ICAN Save My City,” which calls on cities to take steps to support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Cities are also urged to cease business with financial institutions that support the nuclear weapons industry.

    Major cities have already signed the appeal, including Los Angeles, Toronto, Sydney, Manchester (England), and many others.

    Tony Robinson, “ICAN Launches Its New Cities Appeal in Support of the Nuclear Ban Treaty in Madrid,” Pressenza, November 8, 2018.

    War and Peace

    U.S. Military Spending Set To Rise Even Higher

    The bipartisan National Defense Strategy Commission has concluded that the nation’s astronomical spending on the military is insufficient, and that the country should slash “domestic entitlement programs” and “interest payments on the national debt” and instead funnel that additional money to weapons development.

    The U.S. military budget is already ten times larger than Russia’s and four times larger than China’s.

    The co-chair of the National Defense Strategy Commission, Admiral Gary Roughead, served as chief of Naval operations in 2007 and now sits on the board of Northrup Grumman, a weapons company that profits greatly from U.S. military contracts.

    Matt Taibbi, “Trump’s Defense Spending Is Out of Control, and Poised to Get Worse,” Rolling Stone, November 15, 2018.

    Nuclear Insanity

    U.S. Plans to Solve High-Level Radioactive Waste Problem by Calling It Low-Level

    The U.S. Department of Energy has spent billions of dollars at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State in an attempt to clean up millions of gallons of highly-radioactive waste from the production of nuclear weapons. The liquid waste is stored in leaking underground tanks, and the government has yet to devise a solution to the environmental catastrophe.

    Instead of continuing to work on a meaningful solution, the Department of Energy now proposes to simply re-classify the waste as “low-level,” which would allow them to fill the leaking tanks with grout, cover them, and leave them in place.

    Ari Natter, “Plan to Leave Buried Nuclear Bomb Waste Underground Draws Fire,” Bloomberg, November 29, 2018.

    Southern California Wildfire Burns Area of 1958 Nuclear Meltdown

    The Woolsey Fire, which started in southern California on November 8, burned over 100,000 acres and killed three people. The fire is likely to have started on the grounds of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, the site of a partial nuclear meltdown in 1958.

    Dr. Bob Dodge, President of Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles, said, “The Woolsey Fire has most likely released and spread both radiological and chemical contamination that was in the Santa Susana Field Laboratory’s soil and vegetation via smoke and ash.”

    Dahr Jamail, “California Wildfire Likely Spread Nuclear Contamination from Toxic Site,” Truthout, November 26, 2018.

    Resources

    Responding to the Unique Challenge of Nuclear Weapons

    The Parliament of the World’s Religions has adopted a strong statement in opposition to nuclear weapons and in favor of efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons worldwide. The statement reads in part, “The destructive capacity of nuclear weapons is beyond imagination, poisoning the Earth forever. These horrific devices place before us every day the decision whether we will be the last human generation.”

    The statement continues, “We thus make a passionate plea to the leaders of all religions, all people of good will, and all leaders of nations both with and without nuclear weapons to commit to work to eliminate these horrific devices forever.”

    To read the full statement, click here.

    U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces

    The Congressional Research Service has published a report entitled “U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces: Background, Developments, and Issues.”

    The report examines U.S. nuclear weapons force structure during the Cold War and the present day, and raises issues for Congress to consider in the future.

    To read the full report, click here.

    Foundation Activities

    Holiday Gifts for Your Peace-Loving Friends and Family

    The NAPF Peace Store has books, t-shirts, tote bags, and more. There’s something for every peace lover on your holiday shopping list.

    There are original NAPF books like “Speaking of Peace,” as well as our “Nukes Are Nuts” tote bags, t-shirts, and onesies.

    Click here to go to the NAPF Peace Store.

    Shipping rates are automatically available for shipping within the United States. For shipping outside the United States, please contact rwayman@napf.org for a quote.

    Peace Literacy Team at Work in Canada

    NAPF Peace Literacy Director Paul K. Chappell, and three others who are a part of the Peace Literacy international team of educators, recently completed a week-long trip to Canada, with events in the provinces of Alberta and Manitoba. Highlights included a Peace Literacy Jumpstart Day at Olds High School, a UNESCO school in Olds, Alberta; a keynote at a Winnipeg youth summit on nuclear weapons abolition; and a day-long Peace Literacy Workshop with the Manitoba Teachers’ Society.

    To read more about this action-packed trip, click here.

    Women Waging Peace

    The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s online campaign, Women Waging Peace, highlights the outstanding work of women for peace and nuclear disarmament. Though progress is made every day, women’s voices are still often ignored, their efforts stonewalled and their wisdom overlooked regarding issues of peace and security, national defense, and nuclear disarmament.

    Our fourth profile features Christine Ahn, founder and international coordinator of Women Cross DMZ, and a member of the NAPF Advisory Council.

    Click here to read our interview with Christine Ahn.

    Letter in the Washington Times

    On November 8, the conservative Washington, DC-based newspaper Washington Times published a letter to the editor written by NAPF Deputy Director Rick Wayman. His letter was in response to an op-ed that encouraged the U.S. to resume nuclear weapons testing.

    Wayman wrote, “There is a good reason that no country except North Korea has conducted a
    nuclear weapon test in the 21st century. It is the behavior of a rogue
    nation that cares not for the hostile message that nuclear weapon tests
    send, nor for the cascade of nuclear proliferation such tests could
    cause.”

    To read the full letter, click here.

    Take Action

    Congress Must Act to Save the INF Treaty

    President Trump has announced plans to withdraw the United States from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, a key nuclear arms control pact with Russia signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 and approved by the U.S. Senate.

    Congress must take action to keep the United States in the treaty. Click here to email your Representative and your two Senators.

    Quotes

     

    “War is an invention of the human mind. The human mind can invent peace with justice.”

    — Norman Cousins. This quote appears in the book Speaking of Peace: Quotations to Inspire Action, which is available to purchase in the NAPF Peace Store.

     

    “The government has set up a religion of nuclearism. It is terrifying and dead, dead wrong. It is a form of idolatry in this culture, spoken about with a sense of awe. It’s a total contradiction to our faith. It puts trust in weapons, not trust in God.”

    — Elizabeth McAlister, a member of the Kings Bay Plowshares, on trial for breaking into Naval Station Kings Bay in Georgia to non-violently protest U.S. nuclear weapons at the site. An update on the Kings Bay Plowshares case is here.

     

    “Nuclear weapons should be understood as suicide bombs. Even the ‘successful’ use of our own nuclear weapons against an enemy that doesn’t fire back could potentially destroy the world as we know it.”

    — Dr. Ira Helfand, co-President of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and a member of the NAPF Advisory Council, writing in an op-ed for CNN.

    Editorial Team

     

    Katie Conover
    David Krieger
    Louisa Kwon
    Carol Warner
    Rick Wayman
  • Sunflower Newsletter: November 2018

    Sunflower Newsletter: November 2018

    Perspectives

    • Hacking Nuclear Weapons Is a Global Threat by David Krieger
    • California Is Complicit in the Buildup of Nuclear Weapons by Beatrice Fihn
    • A New Nuclear Arms Race Has Begun by Mikhail Gorbachev

    U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

    • U.S. to Resume Prosecuting Protestors at Nevada Test Site

    Nuclear Disarmament

    • Ireland Played Key Role in Non-Proliferation Treaty and Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
    • 122 Nations Reiterate Support for Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

    War and Peace

    • North and South Korea Move to De-Escalate Border Tensions

    Nuclear Insanity

    • Trump Says U.S. Will Build Up Nuclear Arsenal
    • Pence Leaves Open Possibility of Nuclear Weapons in Space
    • P5 Nations Unite to Maintain Their Nuclear Weapons

    Resources

    • Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor
    • Foreign Affairs Issue on Nuclear Weapons

    Foundation Activities

    • Evening for Peace Honors Beatrice Fihn and ICAN
    • Women Waging Peace
    • Ugandan Rotary Peace Fellow Training in Peace Literacy at NAPF

    Take Action

    • Stop a New “Low-Yield” Nuclear Weapon

    Quotes

    Perspectives

    Hacking Nuclear Weapons Is a Global Threat

    by David Krieger

    There are many ways a nuclear attack could be initiated. These include the four “m’s” of malice, madness, mistake and miscalculation. Of these ways of initiating a nuclear attack, only malice could possibly be inhibited by nuclear deterrence (fear of nuclear retaliation).

    A new, and possibly even greater, concern is coming over the horizon. That concern, related to cyberattacks on an enemy’s nuclear systems, could be labelled as “manipulation.” It is emerging due to the growing sophistication of hackers penetrating cyber-security walls in general. It would be disastrous if hackers were able to penetrate the walls protecting nuclear arsenals.

    To read the full article in The Hill, click here.

    California Is Complicit in the Buildup of Nuclear Weapons

    by Beatrice Fihn

    A new nuclear arms race is underway, with California at the center, though it’s not clear its citizens realize it.

    The new nuclear arms race is bringing in a flood of cash to laboratories run by the University of California, where scientists, engineers and technicians have had a hand in designing every single nuclear weapon the U.S. has ever built. And yet the state Legislature and the Los Angeles City Council have resolved that America should support the U.N.’s 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. California is complicit in the arms race, and if nuclear weapons were ever launched, it would be one of the prime attack targets. Its citizens need to speak up to safeguard their future and end the state’s participation in the weapons industry.

    To read the full article in the Los Angeles Times, click here.

    A New Nuclear Arms Race Has Begun

    by Mikhail Gorbachev

    A new arms race has been announced. The INF Treaty is not the first victim of the militarization of world affairs. In 2002, the United States withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty; this year, from the Iran nuclear deal. Military expenditures have soared to astronomical levels and keep rising.

    Is it too late to return to dialogue and negotiations? I don’t want to lose hope. I hope that Russia will take a firm but balanced stand. I hope that America’s allies will, upon sober reflection, refuse to be launchpads for new American missiles. I hope the United Nations, and particularly members of its Security Council, vested by the United Nations Charter with primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, will take responsible action.

    Faced with this dire threat to peace, we are not helpless. We must not resign, we must not surrender.

    To read the full article in The New York Times, click here.

    U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

    U.S. to Resume Prosecuting Protestors at Nevada Test Site

    For the first time since 1987, the U.S. government will prosecute a protestor for trespassing at the Nevada National Security Site, formerly known as the Nevada Test Site. The U.S. seized a vast area of land from the Western Shoshone after World War II and used it to test over 1,000 nuclear bombs between 1951 and 1992.

    In 1987, facing hundreds of potential prosecutions for protests at the test site, the District Attorney announced that Nye County would continue to issue citations for crossing the line onto the test site, but would not prosecute those cases.

    On October 8, Marc Page-Collogne, along with two others, crossed the line onto the test site. Page-Collogne was taken to jail and was subsequently released pending trial on December 3.

    Jack Cohen-Joppa, “After Three Decades, Trespass Prosecutions Resume at Nevada Nuclear Test Site,” The Nuclear Resister, October 29, 2018.

    Nuclear Disarmament

    Ireland Played Key Role in Non-Proliferation Treaty and Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

    Newly declassified documents show Ireland’s important role in stopping the spread of nuclear weapons in the 1960s. The documents detail the strong opposition of U.S. diplomats to the efforts of Frank Aiken, Ireland’s Minister of External Affairs, to negotiate what would become the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The NPT is now nearly universally viewed as an indispensable tool to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

    U.S. diplomats have also strongly opposed the efforts of Ireland and other like-minded nations that have led the effort to achieve the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Ray Acheson, Director of Reaching Critical Will, highlighted that the declassified documents show “how relentless pursuit of a principled approach to nuclear disarmament, as from Ireland and others, is how change gets made.”

    Cormac McQuinn, “How Ireland Helped Avoid Nuclear War,” The Irish Independent, October 31, 2018.

    122 Nations Reiterate Support for Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

    At the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, 122 nations voted in favor of a resolution that welcomes last year’s adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

    North Korea abstained from the vote, while the other eight nuclear-armed nations (United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, China, Israel, India, and Pakistan) voted against it. Joining the nuclear-armed nations in opposing the resolution were numerous nations that rely on U.S. or NATO nuclear weapons, including Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Australia, and Canada.

    War and Peace

    North and South Korea Move to De-Escalate Border Tensions

    North and South Korea agreed to work together to de-escalate potential border tensions by implementing a no-fly zone and a ban on military drills near the border.

    The measures, which went into effect on November 1, were agreed to at the inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang in September.

    Hyonhee Shin, “No-Fly Zone, Military Drill Ban Near Korea Border Take Effect,” Reuters, October 31, 2018.

    Nuclear Insanity

    Trump Says U.S. Will Build Up Nuclear Arsenal

    After announcing that the U.S. will unilaterally withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, President Trump stated that he plans on building up the U.S. nuclear arsenal even more as a “threat” to China, Russia, and “anybody else that wants to play that game.”

    Trump said that the U.S. would continue this behavior “until people come to their senses.”

    “Donald Trump: US Will Build Up Nuclear Arsenal,” BBC News, October 22, 2018.

    Pence Leaves Open Possibility of Nuclear Weapons in Space

    U.S. Vice President Mike Pence refused to rule out placing nuclear weapons in space, despite a 50-year-old treaty prohibiting such actions. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty outlawed weapons of mass destruction in space.

    Pence said, “What we need to do is make sure that we provide for the common defense of the people of the United States of America, and that’s the president’s determination here.” He continued, “What we want to do is continue to advance the principle that peace comes through strength.”

    Robert Costa, “Pence Leaves Open the Possibility of Nuclear Weapons in Space,” Washington Post, October 23, 2018.

    P5 Nations Unite to Maintain Their Nuclear Weapons

    The five permanent members of the UN Security Council (P5) – United
    States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, and China – issued a joint
    statement at the UN General Assembly’s First Committee. The five
    nuclear-armed nations opened the statement by claiming a commitment to
    the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which has been in effect for nearly 50
    years.

    The P5 devotes multiple paragraphs to criticizing the
    Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which was adopted
    last year at the UN by 122 nations. The P5 wrote, “We will not support,
    sign or ratify this Treaty. The TPNW will not be
    binding on our countries, and we do not accept any claim that it
    contributes to the development of customary international law; nor does
    it set any new standards or norms. We call on all countries that are
    considering supporting the TPNW to reflect seriously on its implications
    for international peace and security.”

    The TPNW prohibits the use, threat of use, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons.

    “P5 Joint Statement on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,” Gov.uk, October 24, 2018.

    Resources

    Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor

    On October 29, Norwegian People’s Aid and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons launched the Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor, the first report of a newly established watchdog for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

    The Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor measures progress related to signature, adherence, entry into force, and universalization of the TPNW. It also evaluates the extent to which the policies and practices of all states comply with the core obligations in the Treaty. The term compliance is used in a broad sense, to refer to the compatibility of each state’s behavior with the prohibitions of the TPNW, regardless of whether the state in question has adhered to the Treaty or not. A key purpose of the report is to highlight specific activities that will need to be discontinued if the international community is to achieve its goal of creating a world without nuclear weapons.

    To read the first issue of the Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor, click here.

    Foreign Affairs Issue on Nuclear Weapons

    The magazine Foreign Affairs published numerous articles on nuclear weapons in its latest edition. Titles include: “Do Nuclear Weapons Matter?”; “If You Want Peace, Prepare for Nuclear War”; and “What Is Russia’s Nuclear Stockpile Really For?”

    The articles can be accessed on the Foreign Affairs website.

    Foundation Activities

    Evening for Peace Honors Beatrice Fihn and ICAN

    On October 21, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation presented Beatrice Fihn and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons with the Foundation’s Distinguished Peace Leadership Award. Over 200 people, including 50 students, attended the event.

    To see photos of the event and to download an audio version of Beatrice Fihn’s acceptance speech, click here.

    Women Waging Peace

    The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s online campaign Women Waging Peace highlights the outstanding work of women for peace and nuclear disarmament. Though progress is made every day, women’s voices are still often ignored, their efforts stonewalled and their wisdom overlooked regarding issues of peace and security, national defense, and nuclear disarmament.

    Our third profile features Makoma Lekalakalai, a South African activist who spearheaded a women-led effort to challenge government corruption and nuclear energy policy.

    Click here to read our interview with Makoma Lekalakalai.

    Ugandan Rotary Peace Fellow Training in Peace Literacy at NAPF

    In March 2014, Paul K. Chappell, Peace Literacy Director of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, gave a four-day workshop on Peace Leadership in Gulu, Uganda. One of the participants was Emily Nabakooza, who was working in peace and development programs at both the strategic and operational levels, with a focus on peace initiatives and youth.

    Several years later she applied to become a Rotary Peace Fellow, winning a place at the Rotary Peace Center at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. For her applied field experience for Fall 2018, Emily Nabakooza has chosen to work with NAPF to practice her learning in peacebuilding and to be trained in Peace Literacy.

    Emily Nabakooza brings more than seventeen years of practical experience in global peace and development. To get to know her better, we’ve asked her a few questions about her background, her goals, and her interest in Peace Literacy.

    To read more, click here.

    Take Action

    Stop a New “Low-Yield” Nuclear Weapon

    A new bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 6840, seeks to stop the U.S. from developing a dangerous and destabilizing new low-yield nuclear warhead to be carried on U.S. submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

    The “Hold the Low-Yield Nuclear Explosive (Hold the LYNE) Act” was introduced by Rep. Ted Lieu and already has a number of co-sponsors. A new “low-yield” nuclear weapon risks dangerously lowering the threshold for nuclear use by adding emphasis on low-yield options and increases the risk of miscalculation in a crisis.

    Click here to ask your representative to co-sponsor this important new bill.

    Quotes

     

    “The love of country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border?”

    — Pablo Casals, Catalan cellist and conductor. This quote appears in the book Speaking of Peace: Quotations to Inspire Action, which is available to purchase in the NAPF Peace Store.

     

    “What are we doing to change the human condition that is at the core of global instability and needless conflict? War is neither a human condition nor imperative. We can change things. We can end war and turn weapons into ploughshares. Let us start with the man and the woman in the mirror!”

    — H.E. Mr. Lazarous Kapambwe, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Zambia to the United Nations, speaking at the United Nations.

     

    “I actually think the chance of a terrible miscalculation involving nuclear weapons is greater today than 10 or 20 years ago, and possibly even worse than during the height of the Cold War.”

    — Sam Nunn, former U.S. senator and co-chair of the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

    Editorial Team

     

    David Krieger
    Louisa Kwon
    Carol Warner
    Rick Wayman
  • Sunflower Newsletter: October 2018

    Sunflower Newsletter: October 2018

    Issue #255 – October 2018
    Make a world of difference for as little as $5 a month. Become a monthly supporter.

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    Perspectives

    • An Exchange on Nuclear Abolition by David Krieger
    • Under (Maximum) Pressure by Christine Ahn
    • ICAN Statement to UN High Level Meeting by Ray Acheson

    U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

    • U.S. Completes Final Design Review of New Nuclear Bomb

    Nuclear Disarmament

    • Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Takes Leap Forward

    Nuclear Waste

    • Radioactivity Found in Communities Around Nuclear Weapons Sites

    War and Peace

    • North and South Korea Begin Removing Mines from Demilitarized Zone

    Nuclear Insanity

    • Japan Has Enough Material for Large Nuclear Arsenal
    • Obama Considered Attacking North Korea in 2016

    Resources

    • Alternative Nuclear Posture Review
    • The Future of the Iran Nuclear Deal

    Foundation Activities

    • Evening for Peace to Honor Current Nobel Peace Laureate
    • Women Waging Peace
    • Nukes Are Nuts Stickers
    • In the Shadow of the Bomb: Poems of Survival

    Take Action

    • Take a Moment to Say Thank You

    Quotes

    Perspectives

    An Exchange on Nuclear Abolition

    by David Krieger

    I want to thank the many commenters on my essay, “Nuclear Abolition: The Road from Armageddon to Transformation.” The comments were thoughtful, intelligent and sometimes passionate. Taken together, they give me hope that change is possible and humanity may somehow find a way through the current threat that nuclear weapons pose not only to human life but all complex life on our planet.

    It is only by our commitment and acts of will that we may be able to keep hope alive, protect our world, and pass it on intact to future generations. We may not finish the task, but we must accept the challenge and engage in it with passion if we are to create the awareness, trust, cooperation and institutional framework to achieve the goal of nuclear zero.

    To read more, click here.

    Under (Maximum) Pressure

    by Christine Ahn

    “Maximum pressure” or its predecessor “strategic patience” has failed to lead to North Korean denuclearization. What has worked to move North Korea, as this latest series of summits has demonstrated, is meeting, face-to-face, and building trust. After almost two years in the White House, President Trump has tried both “fire and fury” and meeting Kim in Singapore. And the outcomes are clear. Diplomacy and engagement has proven far more effective in moving North Korea toward denuclearization than military posturing and punishing sanctions. A resumption of maximum pressure, on the other hand, could lead to an escalation of the conflict, alienation of our South Korean allies, and even war.

    To read more, click here.

    ICAN Statement to UN High Level Meeting

    by Ray Acheson

    We’re speaking here today as a voice of passion and persistence in the quest to make our world more secure, more just, and more equitable. For us, abolishing nuclear weapons is about preventing violence and promoting peace.

    Some say this is a dream, that we live in a time of uncertainty and change, that we can’t or shouldn’t try to eliminate nuclear weapons now. But when is there not uncertainty and change? It is the only constant in our world.

    What is true is that we live in a time where we spend more money developing new ways to kill each other than we do on saving each other from crises of health, housing, food security, and environmental degradation.

    To read more, click here.

    U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

    U.S. Completes Final Design Review of New Nuclear Bomb

    The National Nuclear Security Administration has announced the completion of the final design review of the United States’ new nuclear gravity bomb, the B61-12. The current timeline states that the first new bomb will come off the assembly line in March 2020.

    The United States currently deploys approximately 150 B61 nuclear bombs in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey. It is likely that the new B61-12 nuclear bombs will replace those currently stationed in those nations.

    Aaron Mehta, “America’s Newest Nuclear Gravity Bomb Completes Design Review,” Defense News, October 1, 2018.

    Nuclear Disarmament

    Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Takes Leap Forward

    The United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) took a big step forward in the month of September, with nine nations signing the treaty and five depositing their instruments of ratification.

    Angola, Antigua & Barbuda, Benin, Brunei, Guinea-Bissau, Myanmar, St. Lucia, Seychelles, and Timor-Leste all signed the treaty last month. Cook Islands, Gambia, Samoa, San Marino, and Vanuatu ratified or acceded to the treaty. This brings the total to 69 signatures and 19 ratifications. The TPNW will enter into force 90 days after the 50th nation deposits its ratification with the UN.

    To stay up to date on the TPNW’s process, click here.

    Nuclear Waste

    Radioactivity Found in Communities Around Nuclear Weapon Sites

    Studies by Marco Kaltofen, a nuclear forensics expert and a professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, show that invisible radioactive particles of plutonium, thorium and uranium are showing up in household dust, automotive air cleaners and along hiking trails outside the factories and laboratories that for half a century contributed to the United States’ stockpile of nuclear weapons.

    Kaltofen collected samples from communities outside three nuclear sites across the nation and found a wide variation of particle sizes. He said they could deliver lifelong doses that exceed allowable federal standards if inhaled.

    Ralph Vartabedian, “Hidden Danger: Radioactive Dust Is Found in Communities Around Nuclear Weapons Sites,” Los Angeles Times, September 28, 2018.

    War and Peace

    North and South Korea Begin Removing Mines from Demilitarized Zone

    On October 1, troops from North and South Korea began removing mines from the demilitarized zone (DMZ). The activities are related to a recent agreement between the two nations when South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited Pyongyang last month. President Moon said that the military deals agreed to in Pyongyang will “end all hostile acts on land, sea and sky between South and North Korea.”

    Hyung-Jin Kim, “2 Koreas Begin Removing DMZ Mines to Ease Military Tensions,” Associated Press, October 1, 2018.

    Nuclear Insanity

    Japan Has Enough Material for Large Nuclear Arsenal

    Thirty years ago, Japan began a project to build a nuclear “recycling” plant in Rokkasho that would turn nuclear waste into nuclear fuel. Today, $27 billion later, the plant is still not functional. Moreover, the Fukushima disaster in 2011 has significantly lessened Japan’s use of nuclear energy; only nine of the nation’s 35 nuclear reactors are currently operating. Of these nine, only four are capable of using the new type of fuel.

    Over the past 30 years, Japan has amassed a stockpile of 47 metric tons of plutonium. Japan’s neighbors, particularly China and North Korea, are suspicious of Japan’s motives in possessing this quantity of plutonium, which is enough to make about 6,000 nuclear weapons. Japan claims that the plutonium is in a form that makes it difficult to convert to weapons.

    Motoko Rich, “Japan Has Enough Nuclear Material to Build an Arsenal. Its Plan: Recycle,” The New York Times, September 22, 2018.

    Obama Considered Attacking North Korea in 2016

    According to Bob Woodward’s new book Fear: Trump in the White House, President Obama considered a pre-emptive attack on North Korea in 2016 following that country’s fifth nuclear weapon test.

    “Even with his intense desire to avoid a war, Obama decided the time had come to consider whether the North Korean nuclear threat could be eliminated in a surgical military strike,” Woodward wrote. He continued, “The Pentagon reported that the only way ‘to locate and destroy — with complete certainty — all components of North Korea’s nuclear program’ was through a ground invasion. A ground invasion would trigger a North Korean response, likely with a nuclear weapon.”

    Jesse Johnson, “Obama Weighed Pre-Emptive Strike Against North Korea,” Japan Times, September 12, 2018.

    Resources

    Alternative Nuclear Posture Review

    Global Zero has published a new report that argues that the United States should adopt a deterrence-only approach to nuclear weapons, and phase out the land-based leg of the nuclear triad.

    To read Global Zero’s new report, click here.

    The Future of the Iran Nuclear Deal

    On September 12, NAPF Deputy Director Rick Wayman gave a talk at the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics entitled “The Future of the Iran Nuclear Deal.”

    Wayman looks at the deal’s history and the broader foreign policy implications of the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw the United States from the deal — violating the agreement between the United States, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, the European Union and Iran.

    An audio file of the talk is available from Salt Lake City radio station KCPW.

    Foundation Activities

    Evening for Peace to Honor Current Nobel Peace Laureate

    On October 21, 2018, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation will honor the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and Beatrice Fihn, ICAN’s Executive Director, at the Foundation’s 35th Annual Evening for Peace.

    ICAN was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to bring about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was adopted at the United Nations in July of last year. NAPF has worked closely with ICAN as a Partner Organization since ICAN’s inception in 2007.

    The event will take place in Santa Barbara, California. For more information about tickets and sponsorship opportunities, click here or call the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation at +1 805-965-3443.

    Women Waging Peace

    The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation has launched a new online campaign highlighting the outstanding work of women for peace and nuclear disarmament. Though progress is made every day, women’s voices are still often ignored, their efforts stonewalled and their wisdom overlooked regarding issues of peace and security, national defense, and nuclear disarmament.

    Our second profile features Cynthia Lazaroff, a U.S.-Russian relations expert and an award-winning documentary filmmaker.

    Click here to read our interview with Cynthia.

    Nukes Are Nuts Stickers

    We just got some new stickers in stock and are eager to share them with you! These 3″x3″ vinyl stickers are perfect for laptops, water bottles, or wherever you want to get across the message that nukes are nuts.

    For a limited time, we’re offering up to 15 free stickers per person, including free postage within the United States. Click here to place your order. Be sure to check out our books, t-shirts, and tote bags while you’re at our online store!

    For larger quantities, or if you are located outside the United States, please email rwayman@napf.org.

    In the Shadow of the Bomb: Poems of Survival

    NAPF President David Krieger has published a new book of poetry entitled In the Shadow of the Bomb: Poems of Survival. In his introduction to the book, Krieger writes, “Of what value are poems in the face of weapons of annihilation? Poetry can penetrate our hearts, bring beauty into our lives, awaken our passion, and present us with flashes of truth. Weapons of annihilation can only destroy — our hearts, beauty, passion, and truth.”

    Click here to order your copy from the NAPF Peace Store.

    Take Action

    Take a Moment to Say Thank You

    In August, the California State Legislature passed an historic resolution calling on the United States to embrace the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, to make nuclear disarmament the centerpiece of our national security policy, and to spearhead a global effort to prevent nuclear war.

    Will you take a moment today to sign our note of thanks to California State Assemblymember Monique Limón, the author of this outstanding resolution? By introducing the resolution, which passed overwhelmingly, she has set a noble standard for other state legislators around the United States.

    Click here to add your name to the thank-you note to Asm. Limón.

    Quotes

     

    “If I have to recapitulate in a few words what I feel is the most important commandment for our generation, it is to fight indifference. Whatever happened, happened not only because the killer killed, but because the world was indifferent.”

    — Elie Wiesel, the 1986 Nobel Peace Laureate. This quote appears in the book Speaking of Peace: Quotations to Inspire Action, which is available to purchase in the NAPF Peace Store.

     

    “He wrote me beautiful letters. And they are great letters. We fell in love.”

    — U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking at a rally about his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

     

    “Investments in nuclear weapons are irresponsible. BNP Paribas is fueling the arms race by using its customers’ money to finance their potential death. That has to stop.”

    — Martin Hinrichs of ICAN Germany, speaking about the billions of dollars in financing that the bank BNP Paribas provides to companies that produce nuclear weapons.

    Editorial Team

     

    Katie Conover
    David Krieger
    Carol Warner
    Rick Wayman
  • Sunflower Newsletter: September 2018

    Sunflower Newsletter: September 2018

    Issue #254 – September 2018
    As school starts back up, please support our Peace Literacy Initiative, which provides free curriculum for teachers and students on living peacefully at school and at home. Your support makes a difference!

    Donate now
    Perspectives

    • Nuclear Abolition: The Road from Armageddon to Transformation by David Krieger
    • 2018 Nagasaki Peace Declaration by Tomihisa Taue
    • Two Minutes to Midnight by Setsuko Thurlow

    U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

    • U.S. Government Updating Nuclear Disaster Plans

    Nuclear Disarmament

    • California Leads the Way in Support of Nuclear Disarmament
    • Pro-Disarmament Activists Make Arguments in Court

    War and Peace

    • U.S. and North Korea Disagree on What Comes First
    • Netanyahu, at Israeli Nuclear Facility, Threatens Iran

    Nuclear Insanity

    • Department of Energy Tries to Gut Oversight at Nuclear Weapons Facilities

    Resources

    • The Nuclear Warheads 20 Miles from Seattle
    • Nuclear Weapons Expert Describes New Nuclear Arms Race

    Foundation Activities

    • Evening for Peace to Honor Current Nobel Peace Laureate
    • Sadako Peace Day on August 6
    • Women Waging Peace
    • Peace Literacy Workshop in Maine

    Take Action

    • BNP Paribas Is Banking on the Bomb

    Quotes

    Perspectives

    Nuclear Abolition: The Road from Armageddon to Transformation

    by David Krieger

    Nuclear weapons pose a grave threat to the future of civilization. As long as we allow these weapons to exist, we flirt with the catastrophe that they will be used, whether intentionally or accidentally. Meanwhile, nuclear weapons skew social priorities, create imbalances of power, and heighten geopolitical tension. Diplomacy has brought some noteworthy steps in curbing risks and proliferation, but progress has been uneven and tenuous. The ultimate aim of abolishing these weapons from the face of the earth—the “zero option”—faces formidable challenges of ignorance, apathy, and fatigue. Yet, the total abolition of nuclear weapons is essential for a Great Transition to a future rooted in respect for life, global solidarity, and ecological resilience. This will require an emboldened disarmament movement working synergistically with kindred movements, such as those fighting for peace, environmental sustainability, and economic justice, in pursuit of the shared goal of systemic change.

    To read more, click here.

    2018 Nagasaki Peace Declaration

    by Tomihisa Taue

    It was on this day 73 years ago, at 11:02 a.m. on August 9. The explosion of a single atomic bomb in the blue summer sky reduced the city of Nagasaki to a horrific state. Humans, animals, plants, trees and all other forms of life were scorched to ashes. Countless corpses lay scattered all around the annihilated streets. The corpses of people who had exhausted themselves searching for water bobbed up and down in the rivers, drifting until they reached the estuaries. 150,000 people were killed or wounded and those who somehow managed to survive suffered severe mental and physical wounds. To this day they continue to be afflicted by the aftereffects of radiation exposure.

    Atomic bombs are cruel weapons that mercilessly take away from humans the dignity to live in a humane manner.

    To read more, click here.

    Two Minutes to Midnight

    by Setsuko Thurlow

    Despite an initial de-escalation in the nuclear confrontation between the United States and North Korea, the world is still at the greatest risk of a nuclear catastrophe since the Cuban missile crisis. With an erratic American president in control of the U.S. nuclear button, the Doomsday Clock stands at 2 minutes to midnight.

    One year ago, on July 7, 2017 at the United Nations, 122 countries took a bold, historic step when the delegates voted to adopt the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. I intuitively shared my euphoria with the spirits of those massacred indiscriminately in Hiroshima and Nagasaki 72 years before, to whom we made a vow that their deaths would not be in vain, that we would commit our lives to ensure that their suffering would not be repeated.

    To read more, click here.

    U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

    U.S. Government Updating Nuclear Disaster Plans

    Citing concerns over North Korea, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency is updating disaster plans to account for large nuclear detonations over the 60 largest U.S. cities. “We are looking at 100 kiloton to 1,000 kiloton detonations,” chief of FEMA’s chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear branch, Luis Garcia, said.

    Current FEMA guidance considers the likelihood of nuclear detonations between 1 and 10 kilotons, which was considered more likely in the aftermath of 9/11, when concerns about terrorist groups using an improvised nuclear device were high.

    Dan Vergano, “The U.S. Government Is Updating its Nuclear Disaster Plans and they Are Truly Terrifying,” BuzzFeed News, August 24, 2018.

    Nuclear Disarmament

    California Leads the Way in Support of Nuclear Disarmament

    In August, the California State Assembly and State Senate passed Assembly Joint Resolution 33, which calls on the federal government to embrace the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, make nuclear disarmament the centerpiece of national security policy, and spearhead a global effort to prevent nuclear war.

    NAPF Deputy Director Rick Wayman testified at the State Capitol on August 14 in support of the resolution. He said, “Right now, we have a federal government that is choosing to spend over $100,000 per minute for the next 30 years on nuclear weapons upgrades. But it’s not just dollars that we’re squandering. Nuclear weapons are, simply put, indiscriminate mass killing devices. Any use would be illegitimate and wholly unacceptable.”

    “California Leads the Way in Support of Nuclear Disarmament,” Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, August 28, 2018.

    Pro-Disarmament Activists Make Arguments in Court

    On August 2, 2018, a group of seven activists known as the Kings Bay Plowshares appeared in U.S. Federal Court in Brunswick, Georgia to argue that all charges against them be dropped. The peace activists set out six reasons why the charges of conspiracy, trespass, and two counts of felony damage to property should be dismissed.

    They were arrested on April 4 after entering Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in St. Mary’s, Georgia. Carrying hammers and baby bottles of their own blood, the seven attempted to deface weapons of mass destruction. They hoped to call attention to the ways in which nuclear weapons kill every day, by their mere existence and maintenance.

    Bill Quigley, “Truth on Trial,” The Nuclear Resister, August 5, 2018.

    War and Peace

    U.S. and North Korea Disagree on What Comes First

    U.S. President Donald Trump has decried North Korea’s lack of progress in getting rid of its nuclear arsenal. Following the Singapore Summit in June between Trump and Kim Jong-un, the U.S. began demanding that North Korea dismantle most of its nuclear arsenal.

    However, Trump apparently told Kim at the meeting in Singapore that he would soon sign a declaration putting an end to the decades-old Korean War. Trump is believed to have made the same promise at the beginning of June during a meeting with Kim Yong Chol in Washington. The impasse over who will make the first move seems to be preventing further progress from being made.

    Alex Ward, “Exclusive: Trump Promised Kim Jong-un He’d Sign an Agreement to End the Korean War,” Vox, August 29, 2018.

    Netanyahu, at Israeli Nuclear Facility, Threatens Iran

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chose Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility, where Israel’s nuclear weapons arsenal was developed, to send a message to Iran. Netanyahu said, “Those who threaten to wipe us out put themselves in a similar danger, and in any event will not achieve their goal.” He continued, “Our enemies know very well what Israel is capable of doing. They are familiar with our policy. Whoever tries to hurt us – we hurt them.”

    Israel maintains a posture of “strategic ambiguity,” and has never publicly admitted that it possesses nuclear weapons. However, the country is widely known to possess an estimated 80 nuclear weapons.

    Alexander Fulbright, “At Nuclear Facility, Netanyahu Lobs Stark Warning at Iran,” Times of Israel, August 29, 2018.

    Nuclear Insanity

    Department of Energy Tries to Gut Oversight at Nuclear Weapons Facilities

    Watchdog groups from across the U.S. nuclear weapons complex have pushed back against a new Department of Energy (DOE) order that severely constrains the oversight capacity of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB).

    Members of the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability, a national network of organizations that addresses nuclear weapons production and waste cleanup issues, hail the work of the DNFSB as a critical guard against DOE and National Nuclear Security Administration efforts to cut corners on safety.

    “Watchdog Groups Oppose DOE Attempt to Limit Oversight, Endanger Safety at Nuclear Facilities,” Alliance for Nuclear Accountability, August 27, 2018.

    Resources

    The Nuclear Warheads 20 Miles from Seattle

    The Seattle Times has published a lengthy article about the estimated 540 nuclear warheads based at Naval Base Kitsap Bangor, just 20 miles from Seattle, Washington. The article also examines the priorities of activists and explores why more young people have not become involved in the local campaign.

    To read the full article, click here.

    Nuclear Weapons Expert Describes New Nuclear Arms Race

    Hans Kristensen, Director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, was featured in a recent Washington Post video and story about the new nuclear arms race.

    To watch and read, click here.

    Foundation Activities

    Evening for Peace to Honor Current Nobel Peace Laureate

    On October 21, 2018, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation will honor the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and Beatrice Fihn, ICAN’s Executive Director, at the Foundation’s 35th Annual Evening for Peace.

    ICAN was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to bring about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was adopted at the United Nations in July of last year.

    The event will take place in Santa Barbara, California. For more information about tickets and sponsorship opportunities, click here or call the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation at +1 805-965-3443.

    Sadako Peace Day

    On August 6, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation held its 24th annual Sadako Peace Day commemoration at La Casa de Maria in Montecito, California. This was the first public event at La Casa de Maria since the catastrophic mudslides that devastated the retreat center and many other places in Montecito. Twenty-three lives were lost in the disaster. We reflected on the local situation, in addition to remembering the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and all innocent victims of war.

    Photos, audio, and written transcripts of the event are available online. Click here to learn more.

    Women Waging Peace

    The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation has launched a new online campaign highlighting the outstanding work of women for peace and nuclear disarmament. Though progress is made every day, women’s voices are still often ignored, their efforts stonewalled and their wisdom overlooked regarding issues of peace and security, national defense, and nuclear disarmament.

    Our first profile features Ray Acheson, Director of Reaching Critical Will. She is a fierce advocate and leading expert on nuclear disarmament and issues
    of gender hierarchy relating to peace, justice and nuclear weapons.

    Click here to read our interview with Ray.

    Peace Literacy Workshop in Maine

    From August 5-10, NAPF Peace Literacy Director Paul K. Chappell held a workshop entitled “Peace Literacy Skills and Leadership.” The workshop took place in Standish, Maine, on the campus of St. Joseph’s College, and was sponsored by Unity of Greater Portland, Maine. Over 30 activists, veterans, clergy, educators, and concerned citizens participated.

    One workshop participant, Stephanie Plourde, said, “I have already used the workshop worksheets in a discussion with my son about mass shooters. The discussion, specifically about unmet/trauma-tangled needs, led us to look at other behaviors we are faced with and ask some thoughtful questions.”

    To read more about the Peace Literacy summer workshop, click here.

    Take Action

    BNP Paribas Is Banking on the Bomb

    BNP Paribas is a French bank, with operations in more than 70 countries. BNP Paribas recognizes that nuclear weapons are a problem, and even has a policy saying that the bank “does not wish to be involved in the provision of financial products and services or investments in companies involved in the manufacture, trade or storage of “controversial weapons”, or any other activity involving controversial weapons.”

    Yet BNP Paribas still provides over $8 billion in loans and other financial services that support the production of nuclear weapons. That’s because their policy is leaky and full of convenient loopholes, such as the fact that the policy does not apply to companies that contribute to nuclear weapon programs only in NATO Member States. But it doesn’t matter which country has them. Every nuclear weapon is designed to cause catastrophic harm.

    Together with our ICAN partner organizations around the world, led by PAX in the Netherlands, we are calling on BNP Paribas to stop investing in nuclear weapons. Click here to learn more and join this global action.

    Quotes

     

    “An alert and knowledgeable public can contribute greatly to convincing world leaders that a much better and safer world can be achieved by doing away with all weapons of mass destruction.”

    — Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General and 2001 Nobel Peace Laureate. This quote appears in the book Speaking of Peace: Quotations to Inspire Action, which is available to purchase in the NAPF Peace Store.

     

    “The United States should lead a global effort at nuclear disarmament consistent with our vital interests and the cause of peace.”

    — Sen. John McCain, who died on August 25, 2018. This quote was from a speech that he gave while running for President in 2008. Many of his votes in the U.S. Senate did not reflect this rhetoric.

     

    “If we do not change course quickly, we will inevitably encounter an incident where that first domino is tipped—triggering a sequence of unstoppable events that will mark the end of our time on this tiny planet.”

    — Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the sixth United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, whose term ended on September 1, 2018. Click here for his full article in The Economist.

    Editorial Team

     

    Katie Conover
    David Krieger
    Carol Warner
    Rick Wayman