Month: September 2018

edinburghcnd

Edinburgh World Justice Festival 2018 is nearly with us

UntitledWORLD JUSTICE – 10 YEARS AFTER THE FINANCIAL CRASH

28 September – 20 October 2018 

It’s time for another Edinburgh World Justice Festival! – 16 informative and inspiring events about the big issues in the world and what we can do about them.  Here’s a summary of the programme – check out the details of the events on www.ewjf.org.uk and Facebook, put them in your diary and share it all with your friends.

#ewjf  #10yearsOn
The following Events may be of particular interest to CND members. NOTE EDINBURGH CND MEETING ON 10th:
Conference: Reimagining the Economy
Sat 29 Sep, 9:45 – 5:30pm Edinburgh Methodist Church 25 Nicolson Square EH8 9BX
EWJF and Jubilee Scotland. ECND will have a stall at this event.

 Followed by                                                                                                                                               Launch party!
Sat 29 Sep, 19:00 – 22:30 Join us for a fun evening
Greyfriars Charteris Centre, 140 Pleasance, EH8 9RR

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Tue 2 Oct, We will be having our usual organising meeting at 6pm in the Peace and Justice Centre. Then some of us will go to the following event:
Join the campaign for climate justice.
7.30pm Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, EH8 9BX
Friends of the Earth Edinburgh / Stop Climate Chaos Scotland
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Thu 4 Oct, 7.30pmThe real cost of the Scottish arms industry
Augustine United Church, EH1 1EL
Edinburgh Stop the War                                                                                                             UN: Peacemaker or toothless tiger? How to reform the United Nations and bring about a more peaceful world. 6pm same day 50 George Sq. Room G.06Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre. EDINBURGH CND will be contributing.
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Fri 5 Oct, 7pm How to Sink an Arms Fair
Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace, EH1 2JL
Campaign Against Arms Trade Scotland
Statue Of Liberty Mushroom Cloud Atomic Bomb
Statue Of Liberty Mushroom Cloud Atomic Bomb

Wed 10 Oct, 7 – 9pm What price Nuclear War?
Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace, EH1 2JL
Edinburgh Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament                                                                  ————                                                                                                                                          Thu 11 Oct, 6.30 – 8.30pm: Film: Shadow World (exposes the reality of the global arms trade)
David Hume Tower, LG09, George Square, EH8 9JX
Campaign Against Arms Trade Scotland                                                                                   ———                                                                                                                                                Fri 12 Oct, 7.30 – 9.00pm Just Transitions  Augustine United Church, EH1 1EL
Scot E3 (Employment, Energy and Environment)                                                                   ———-                                                                                                                                              Sat 13 Oct, 11am – 4.30pm Book Fair and forums
Epworth Halls, Methodist church, 25 Nicolson Square, EH8 9BX
www.sfbbooks.wordpress.com   We will have a stall at this event. We will also go to the East End of Princes Street from 1230 for our usual monthly leafleting session.

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OTHER NEWS:
1. Beyond Nuclear International:   (a) Almost 35 years ago to the day, we came close to oblivion. Thanks to one level-headed and stubborn Russian lieutenant colonel, Stanislav Petrov, who failed to sound what would have been a false alarm about a US nuclear attack on the Soviet Union, here we still are. But our luck could run out, writes Jon Schwarz in The Intercept. Where are the movies and TV shows like we saw in the 1980s to scare the wits out of us and spur real action?                                  (b) As the latest hurricane threatens coastal US nuclear plants, John Vidal’s timely article takes an in-depth look at the risks of nuclear reactors operating under climate change conditions, including sea-level rise. Plus the Climate Change chapter of the Beyond Nuclear A-Z handbook on nuclear power delivers the key arguments against nuclear power as a climate change “solution.”
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2. On Saturday 22nd we gathered at Faslane Peace Camp at 12 noon and walked from the Peace Camp to the North Gate of the base for a rally. Look out for all the reports.
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3. September Drones news available here: https://dronecampaignnetwork.wordpress.com
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4. The Don’t Bank on the Bomb guide has now been published here: https://nukedivestmentscotland.org/
The successful launch meeting was held on 20th September
The story has been covered on the front page of The National newspaper this morning (see attached image). News coverage here:http://www.thenational.scot/news/16889891.stop-funding-armageddon-why-nuclear-investment-must-end/ and there’s an op ed here: Stop funding Armageddon – why nuclear investment must end
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5. On September 26, TOMORROW, (A) the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, world leaders will participate in a High Level Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament. ‘The United Nations and its member countries should focus more on disarmament for sustainable development’ says 2016 Children’s Peace Prize winner Kehkashan Basu, who was last week selected by the President of the UN General Assembly to address the UN High-Level Meeting as one of the two speakers from global civil society.
++++++++Watch live on UN WebTV (10am – 1pm and 3pm – 6pm).
(B) Also onSeptember 26th, ICAN be bringing a message to BNP Paribas: Nuclear Weapons are unacceptable, divest!
They know that when you choose the end of nuclear weapons it also means choosing to end investments in nuclear weapon producing companies. That’s why they’re using the 26thof September, the UN Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, to demand BNP Paribas choose wisely. They will be doing this by making a Splash Online,following an NFLA media release today 25th September 2018
NFLA highly concerned with nuclear safety at the Aldermaston and Burghfield nuclear weapon sites and seeks action from nuclear regulator
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6. CND travelled to Liverpool for the Labour Party’s annual conference, where they had two successful rings meetings. Living in the age of Trump, one of their main conference themes was calling for an end to the special nuclear relationship. Want to see the advert in the Guardian? Click here
++++++++26th:  CND Campaigners have responded to two announcements at Labour Party conference that commit the party to ending interventionist wars and creating a nuclear-free world. see http://www.cnduk.org
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7. The Public Accounts Committee has today warned that the infrastructure supporting the Royal Navy’s nuclear submarine fleet is no longer ‘fit for purpose’. The Commons Committee revealed that MoD decisions to delay maintenance at its 13 nuclear sites had created a ‘ticking time bomb’. Kate Hudson, General Secretary of CND, said:
‘We welcome this very frank PAC report which puts MoD incompetence and negligence in the spotlight. It’s clear that the MoD is overreaching itself financially: it clearly cannot afford to buy a new nuclear weapons system and maintain its other spending requirements. Spending on Trident replacement when it can’t afford general equipment is grossly irresponsible.
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8. News on the recently established Just Transitions Commission: NFLA Website: http://www.nuclearpolicy.info – includes links to NFLA Facebook and Twitter pages
edinburghcnd

Edinburgh CND News 10th September

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NAE NUKES ANYWHERE! 22nd September

Assemble Faslane Peace Camp 12 pm, Walk to North Gate where there will be a rally

Protest the Trident Weapon System! You can get there by bus from Edinburgh and there is also space to sleep in Glasgow (bring a mat and a sleeping bag) and there will be food and drink at the Rally along with stalls and singers and Indylive will be streaming events, and interviewing the folk – including celebrities and politicians – there on the day.Buses are running from various parts of Scotland and further afield. Lots of interesting meetings while the visitors are here, full details including transport details are posted on nuclearban.scot/Sep-rally

 
EVENTS BEFORE THE RALLY
 

1. Saturday 15 September, 4pm – 6pm: Peace Walk through Holyrood Park to the Salisbury Centre organised by the Peace and Justice Centre. Meet: Outside the Scottish parliamentJoin  for a walk through Holyrood park to the Salisbury centre with storytelling and music on the way and stay for a cup of tea in the centre’s lovely gardens. No need to book in advance – just turn up                                                                         If you can stay with us a little longer, they’d love you to join them  for our bring and share meal at 6.30pm, following a short AGM.Community meal, AGM and peacebuilding in schools workshop. After the shared meal from 7.30pm facilitators from the Peacebuilding for Schools project are offering an interactive taster workshop, for you to get a feel for how the project works. There’s no need to book for this, but it helps  plan. Tell us you’re coming

2. Monday September 17th at 7.30 Edinburgh Stop the War meeting at the Peace and Justice Centre, 5 Upper Bow EH1 2JN.  Report back from the UK Stop the War conference; a working session on our upcoming meeting on Scotland and the arms trade and will discuss ongoing campaigning around Yemen and the wider Middle East. These meetings are informal and agendas are flexible so come along with things you would like to discuss.

 3. Tuesday September 18 at 530pm in the Scottish CND office at 77 Southpark Avenue Glasgow G 12 8 LE .To ensure that the March and Rally at Faslane goes smoothly we require as many people as possible to volunteer to be stewards .
The main jobs of the stewards will be to walk on the outside of the March and help to ensure people get from the starting point of the March at the Peace Camp to the Rally point at the North Gate at Faslane . Anyone who can be a steward at the March and Rally is invited to come.

4. Wednesday 19th September from 7-8.30pm: Edinburgh CND will be having a banner and placard making workshop on  in the Peace and Justice Centre. This is after the meeting of the Cross-Party group at the Scottish Parliament.

5. Thursday 20 September, 6.30pm – 9pm. Stop Funding the End of the World.
University of Edinburgh, 50 George Square. Don’t Bank on the Bomb launch their new report – Stop funding the end of the world: Working to eliminate nuclear weapons through divestment. Supported by EdinburghCND
Click here for more information and to Register.                                                                    6. Also on Thursday :Tim Wallis of Nuclear Ban US, hopefully a speaker from the Scottish Parliament’s Cross Party Group on Nuclear Weapons, myself and Flavia Tudoreanu from Peace Education Scotland speaking at the event. We are hoping to encourage Councils to develop resolutions to support the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and challenge the UK Government to engage in this debate. The seminar is on Thursday 20th September from 1pm – 3.30pm in Clydebank Town Hall, which is a short train hop from Glasgow Central.

 7. Friday 21st September 12.30: Bill Kidd MSP in conversation with Sharon Dolev (Israel) and Emad Kiyaei (Iran) in discussion on progress in the process towards gaining a treaty for a weapons of mass destruction free zone, and an organisation, METO to negotiate and monitor it. For anyone with an interest in obtaining peace and stability in the Middle East. Registration is necessary. Supported by Edinburgh CND Progressing The Possible.  PLEASE TRY AND BOOK BY TUESDAY 18th
Followed by
8. drop in welcome at the Peace and Justice Centre 2-4pm

 

EVENTS AFTER THE RALLY

 1. Sunday, September 23, 2:00pm There is a widespread support for the idea that Scotland and the UK should become a nuclear weapon free zone. Opposition to the renewal of Trident is an essential step toward this goal, but can Scotland truly be free of nuclear weapons as long as it is included within the NATO alliance? The Scottish Peace Network is sponsoring a forum that will present the views and experiences of those representing the peace and justice movements of several countries who remain within NATO on this vital issue. Speakers include: Dave Webb, chair UK CND; Roser Iborra, Popular Unity Candidacy of Catalonia (CUP); Maalke Bennes, PAX of the Netherlands; Reiner Braun, International Peace Bureau of Germany. Quaker Meeting House at 38 Elmbank Crescent (opposite Charing Cross station)                                                                                                                                              2. In Edinburgh same day: SECURITY FEMINISM & THE BOMBUN HOUSE EDINBURGH 19.00 – 2100

3. 22nd to 25th September CND are delighted to announce that they will be appearing at this year’s The World Transformed festival in Liverpool 7 Mann Street, Liverpool L8 5AF. The World Transformed is a festival of politics, arts and music that runs alongside the Labour Party’s Annual Conference, working to build the movements both inside and outside of Parliament. There is growing support across the political spectrum for defence diversification – the need to redeploy highly skilled workers, like those involved in Trident, in socially useful parts of the economy. This is the theme of our talk at the festival and part of our campaigning activities at party conference.

On the 24th September at 1pm, CND’s Kate Hudson will chair the session Labour and Trident: do jobs justify making nuclear weapons?

CND add: It seems like everyone has that back to school excitement, with a new energy for the months ahead, including us here at the CND office. The autumn will be a busy period for us as we attend political party conferences, trade union meetings, rallies and our own annual conference. In this month’s edition of Campaign magazine, read about what we’ll be doing as a new parliamentary term, in particular, begins. Read also all about an important rally taking place at the Faslane nuclear base in Scotland.

Read Campaign: September edition
Download Campaign: September edition

4. September 26th is United Nations International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons (Nuclear Abolition Day). UNFOLD ZERO: The day occurs on the anniversary of the 1983 incident in which a nuclear war was almost initiated by accident (See The Man who Saved the World). The day also occurs when world leaders (Presidents, Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers…) are in New York for the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). And it is just prior to the deliberations of the UN Disarmament and International Security Committee (First Committee) which occur at the UN through-out October 2018.                                           Nuclear Abolition Day Actions

 

5. 29th September to 16th October: Edinburgh World Justice Festival. http://www.ewjf.org.uk. Edinburgh CNDs meeting will be on 10th October. Watch this space.

6. Monday 1 October from 18:30 – 21:00.  Tim Wallis will be speaking at Friends House in London. The event is called ‘Implementing the Nuclear Ban Treaty in the United States: Latest Update from Tim Wallis.’ Too far to travel? Try: https://www.gazettenet.com/Wallis-and-Elson-17302589

 

7. 24th-30th October. Basle Peace Office and unfold zero: Can you imagine one million notes each worth $1 million? That’s $1 trillion, the amount the nine nuclear armed countries plan to spend on nuclear weapons over the next 10 years. Basel Peace Office encourages you to join Count the Nuclear Weapons Money in New York from October 24-30 (UN Disarmament Week) to help count out one million of these notes and re-allocate the money from nuclear weapons to better purposes. This is one of a number of recent initiatives in the US Congress, and in state and city legislatures, to promote a U.S. No-First-Use policy.

8. A concert in November: https://www.napier.ac.uk/about-us/events/play-for-peace-a-concert-for-cooperation

OTHER NEWS:
1. nuClear News No.100 September 2018 is now available for downloading here:

2. The August 2018 edition of the NFLA Newsletter. It can be found on the NFLA website and has also been linked on the NFLA’s new Facebook and Twitter pages –http://www.nuclearpolicy.info/newsletters/nfla-newsletter-august-2018/

INTERNATIONAL: (NOTE WALES IN FIRST ITEM!)
1. Beyond Nuclear International: A 40-year effort by Traditional Owners and environmental groups in Western Australia to stop uranium mining is heating up. The case is in court but a hostile government has approved the mine. We tell the story of their struggle. And read the poetic description by Marcus Atkinson of Footprints for Peace, of walking in country with Aboriginal elders to learn about and enjoy the beauty of the land while protesting the uranium mines. Darlene Keju campaigned tirelessly for justice and the truth behind the atomic bombs the US “tested” in the Marshall Islands. She saw her home “blown off the face of the earth”. Displacement led to poverty, alcoholism and suicide among islanders. She vowed to help change their lives for the better. Nuclear power can be complex to explain. The Overview section of our new anti-nuclear handbook lays out the nuclear fuel chain in simple terms.
This week the focus is on Iran. The Tehran Peace Museum is run by veterans injured during the Iran-Iraq war, many of them by Iraq’s US-backed use of chemical weapons. Through exhibitions, events, and invitations to visitors from abroad, they bring a message of peace. Writer Vijay Prashad says Trump’s new sanctions against Iran, a result of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, make conflict in the region more likely. That’s also what CODEPINK’s Medea Benjamin wants most to avoid. She is determined not to let the Iran nuclear deal collapse.
STOP PRESS: Wales is under nuclear siege! French nuclear builder, EdF, is about to start dredging radioactive mud from the Hinkley C two reactor site in England and plans to dump it 1.5 miles off the Welsh coast! There has been no Environmental Assessment and no independent testing. Cian Ciarán of the Welsh band Super Furry Animals, has brought a case to the Welsh High Court to secure an injunction to stop the dump. You can help support this legal action. Meanwhile, Hitachi is about to bulldoze countryside around the proposed Wylfa B twin reactor site in North Wales and a small modular reactor is slated for Snowdonia National Park at Trawsfynydd.
2.  The Walkatjurra Walkabout has finished with a storm (literally)! An awesome walk into Leonora with lots of support to keep WA nuclear free.  A successful public meeting the following day having CCWA Director Piers Verstegen come into Leonora to support the community and in particular the three Tjiwarl native title holders, Shirley, Lizzy and Vicky on the court challenge that included a visit to the proposed radioactive waste dump.  You can see photos and read about their adventures here.
3. Albuquerque, NM – 29/8 the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB, Board) convened a hearing to examine issues related to Department of Energy (DOE) Order 140.1, “Interface with the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board,” approved by the Secretary of Energy on May 14, 2018.http://www.lasg.org/