Saturday 23rd February: The third Radical Fair, a festival for groups campaigning for a fairer Scotland is in the Augustine Church George IVth Bridge EH1 1EL 12 noon – 3.30pm. FOR MARCH EVENTS see EVENTS TAG
+++++Additions 15th February
- The Peaton Peace Pirates affinity group of Trident Ploughshares invite you to join us in an event in Edinburgh on Monday 18th February, beginning at 10 a.m. and concluding in the mid-afternoon. https://www.facebook.com/EdinburghCND/ or Contacts: Janet on 07795 594573 David on 07876593016 email: lazybeds@yahoo.co.uk
- Update on Hunterston B (see item 5 below)
- Also update to item 8
- The final court date (trial) for the Hiroshima Day Blockade at Faslane last year takes place at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on the 21st. Hope to see some of you there at 9:40 or so.
NEWS and Other Events
1. 1.1 Anti-nuclear campaigners will protest Donald Trump’s visit to Britain for a NATO summit in December. CND has announced that it will work with British and international partners to co-ordinate protests in London. Kate Hudson, CND general secretary, said: “In the last few days, President Trump began the process of US withdrawal from the INF treaty. This has already sparked a ratcheting up of a nuclear arms race. “The NATO summit will be a crucial opportunity for our movement to oppose Trump’s nuclear warmongering and highlight the dangerous role NATO, as a nuclear alliance, plays in raising international tensions.”
1.2 NATO has it’s 70th Anniversary in April. On Wednesday 27th March Edinburgh CND, Edinburgh Stop the War and Edinburgh Radical Independence Campaign are having a meeting on NATO withdrawal. 7pm Augustine United George IVth Bridge
1.3 Scottish CND also invites discussion of these topics with our European friends; Ann Patterson (Belfast Peace People – Nobel Laureate), Roger Cole (Irish Peace and Neutrality), Dave Webb (CND UK, Keep Space 4 Peace) and Anne Palm (Wider Security Network Finland). Tuesday 12th February 2019 – 7:00pm – Yes Hub (31 Lasswade Road, Edinburgh, EH16 6TD Wednesday 13th February 2019 – 6:30pm – Glasgow Thursday 14th February 2019 – 7:30pm – Quaker Meeting House (7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2JL)
Read Campaign: February edition
Download Campaign: February edition
Will it change their minds? Not likely. But the appeal was also sent to the leaders of US congressional and Russian parliamentary committees in charge of armed forces (defense) and foreign relations. It calls on them to refuse to authorize or allocate funding for nuclear weapons systems which the INF Treaty bans, for example ground-based intermediate range nuclear missiles, or weapons systems which could provide similar capability and be similarly destabilizing, such as air or sea launched nuclear-armed cruise missiles. This could be the key to preserving the arms control measures of the INF Treaty even if it collapses. If the relevant committees refuse to authorize funds for these nuclear weapons systems, it makes it next to impossible for them to be developed. The appeal also outlines a commitment by the endorsing mayors and parliamentarians to build support from cities and parliaments in nuclear-armed and allied States (which includes NATO countries) for nuclear risk reduction measures such as “no first use” policies. A joint statement is being issued on 13th February by European and North American Vice Presidents and Lead Cities of Mayors for Peace, in support of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on our concerns with the suspension of the INF Treaty on nuclear weapons. It is going on the Mayors for Peace website, NFLA website and you are encouraged to promote it through your own civil society networks.http://www.nuclearpolicy.info – includes links to NFLA Facebook and Twitter pages Mayors for Peace Website: http://www.mayorsforpeace.org
Extra from PNND: We mourn the death on February 6, 2019 of PNND Co-President Paul Dewar (Canada), an amazing humanitarian, educator and parliamentarian. Dewar joined PNND just after being elected to parliament in 2006, and became PNND Co-President in 2015. He played important roles in advancing nuclear risk-reduction and disarmament in the Canadian House of Commons and also at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
5. Hunterston B update see: https://scote3.wordpress.com/2019/02/06/more-on-hunterston/ NEW: 14/2/2019 EDF who own and operate Hunterston B have still not provided the Office of Nuclear Regulation with an updated safety report following their discovery of an unexpectedly high number of fractures in the graphite barrels that enclose the fuel rods in the nuclear reactors. The two blogs below report on Ian Fairlie’s most recent meetings. https://www.ianfairlie.org/news/why-hunterston-b-nuclear-power-station-should-not-be-restarted/ https://realfeed-intariffs.blogspot.com/2019/02/scottish-minister-pressed-to-back.html In some countries, authorities routinely issue iodine to residents and schools near nuclear power stations https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2019/01/07/nuclear-safety-group-to-look-at-stockpiling-anti-radiation-pills-in-more-toronto-schools.html https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/pgd-potassium-iodide-65mg.pdf
6. Future Event: An Evening with Prof Paul Rogers. Title: Risks of Conflict and Options for Peace in the 2020s. Chair: Simon Barrow, Director, Ekklesia. Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL Date: Thursday 7 March 2019. Time: Registration: 6.30pm-7pm. Event: 7pm-8.45pm. Event Description: What will be the most likely causes of international conflict in the 2020s, what are the best ways of responding to them and improving the prospects for a less violent world, and what roles can Scotland play?
8. Surround Springfields, 27 April 2019 Springfields is the worlds first nuclear fuel manufacturing plant, based in a small village near Preston, carries out civil and military nuclear contracts for facilities across the UK: Production of nuclear fuel
Decommissioning of plant and facilities
STOP PRESS: Here is a little film we made about how to make a radioactive waste barrel costume: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5TZXxcXPDw Since we first made them we have refined the design and made them even easier to make and wear there is a little clip from our most recent workshop at Maple Farm, near PNR Fracking site, there are some photos of our workshop and you can see a little of how we’ve refined the design (a change in how the barrel sits on you) here: youtu.be/RZrkRBIWRqA
9. Trouble Ahead. UK Nuclear Weapons Programme: Event to be held at the following time, date and location: Tuesday, 30 April 2019 from 14:00 to 15:30 (BST) Palace of Westminster Committee room 6 SW1A 0AA London United Kingdom