EVENTS:
Rest of MAY
1. Wednesday 15 May. Conscientious Objectors Day Vigil 5 – 6pm. NOTE VENUE CHANGE: Now at:Outside Register House, by the Wellington Statue, East End of Princes St
Remember COs of the First World War who were not released until 2019 and those of all wars, including present day COs. With songs by Protest in Harmony, reading of names of COs and brief talks by a few descendants of COs. If you are a CO descendant or a CO yourself and would be willing to speak or if you would like to bring a poem to read or song to sing please contact us here.
Remember COs of the First World War who were not released until 2019 and those of all wars, including present day COs. With songs by Protest in Harmony, reading of names of COs and brief talks by a few descendants of COs. If you are a CO descendant or a CO yourself and would be willing to speak or if you would like to bring a poem to read or song to sing please contact us here.
2. Scottish CND are delighted to say that Francis Daehoon Lee – a founding member of the South Korea People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy organisation is speaking at a pubic meeting organised by Scottish CND on Wednesday May 15 at 7 pm in the Unite the Union Building at 145 – 165 West Regent Street Glasgow G2 4 RZ. Frances will also be in Edinburgh on Thursday 16th (email edinburghcnd@yahoo.com for more details)
3. Thursday 16th May: Faslane Peace Campers in court (see below)
4. Friday 17th May: CAAT and Transition Edinburgh: DSEI 2019 Awareness Raising 5.30-8.30pm Fri 17 May St Leonards Land EH8 8AQ
4. Friday 17th May: CAAT and Transition Edinburgh: DSEI 2019 Awareness Raising 5.30-8.30pm Fri 17 May St Leonards Land EH8 8AQ
5. Saturday 18 May (a) 9.30am to 5pm How We Win: Guide to Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigningalso at St Leonard’s Land Rm 3.24, (b) CANCELLED Stop the War stall at the east end of Princes Street 12.30 – 2pm.THE STALL IS CANCELLED (weather)
6. Monday 20th May: (a) Edinburgh Stop the War meets in the NEW Peace and Justice Centre at 7.30pm (b) Peace Education (4pm) and Peace of History (6pm) meet in the SCND office in Glasgow
7. Friday 24th May: Youth Strike for Climate UPDATE 23rd May Join in the second big strike!Meeting at the bottom of Middle Meadow Walk at 10:30-11am and marching down to the Scottish Parliament!
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Early JUNE
Once again we’re having our ‘Plants For Peace’ stall at the Meadows Festival.
Saturday and Sunday the 1st and 2nd of June. We will be alongside Edinburgh Stop The War, creating a good peace space.
This is our biggest event of the year, enjoyable, but tiring! raising our profile and earning the cash we need for our campaigning against nuclear weapons.
We need your help, please get in touch if you can offer any help whatsoever.
Have you got time to help run the stall? (a total of 40 one hour slots from 10 on Saturday 1st, 11 on Sunday 2nd).
Can you grow and donate plants? Herbs, veg and flowers do well, we’ve also sold trees, houseplants and even nettles!!
We need to spend money to make money – can you donate cash to help pay for the stall, transport, publicity, etc?
The following Saturday we will have a presence at the Leith Festival and will be looking for help with that too.
Please let us know if you can help in any way.
We look forward to hearing from you edinburghcnd@yahoo.com
N.B.3rd/4th June: Donald Trump visits UK: watch this space for events in Scotland
Book
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Other News:
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1(a) THE CHERNOBYL PRIVILEGES by Alex Lockwood. We have copies of this thriller available http:/tinyurl.com/alexlockwood. Email edinburghcnd@yahoo.com to reserve your copy
Also of interest: https://flixtor.to/watch/tv/4876850/chernobyl/season/1/episode/1
1 (b) Hunterston B EDF have again changed their intended start date of the less badly cracked of the two reactors at Hunterston B. They will likely continue to do this so that should they get permission to restart they will have given appropriate notice. We continue to believe both reactors should be permanently closed. ——————
2. SCND News: The first four months of 2019 have been hectic and we have covered a lot of ground with the launch of Scotland Not Trident, a campaign to highlight the ways in which money saved by scrapping Trident and its replacement could be better used for socially useful purposes such as housing, jobs and tackling climate change. We’ve held meetings around NATO and attended meeting to link in with our partners in ICAN in the UK and in Scotland.
We would like to thank all the volunteers who have been out come rain or shine to leaflet and have meaningful discussions with the public around the issue of nuclear weapons in our country. In this May newsletter we’ll cover Jobs Not Trident, the launch of NIS’s report Trouble Ahead as well as the discussions taking place in New York at the 2019 NPT PrepCom and how you can take part in the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament this summer as well as an event with a very special guest (see 2. above)
Also see https://banthebomb.org for how you can help SCND
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3. A quick update on the legal proceedings of the faslane peace campers.
Thursday 09 May was the intermediate diet for the trial of the two campers, arrested after blockading Faslane’s South gate a few weeks ago.
Willemien Hoogendoorn was present and representing herself. She entered a plea of Not Guilty to the two charges. Her co-defendant, Magnuss Petersson did not appear in court, with his lawyer citing a family emergency.
A further intermediate diet has been set for Thursday, May 16. The trail will proceed the next day on May 17 at 10am at Dumbarton Sheriff Court.
Anyone who would be able to join us next Friday with a banner or two would be more than appreciated! We anticipate Friday will also mark Willemien’s release from prison, so we’ll be taking her for some food and a catch up afterwards also. All are welcome!
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4. CNDUK: 500 people took part in a CND protest and Christian CND vigil outside Westminster Abbey to oppose a thanksgiving service to mark 50 years of Britain’s Continuous At Sea Nuclear Deterrent.
200 people lay down in front of the Abbey to take part in a ‘die-in’ to represent the victims of nuclear war. Musician Brian Eno, Bruce Kent, and three Anglican vicars were among those who attended.
The campaign was reported on in all the mainstream newspapers, as well as on BBC News, Sky News and in the international media too. You can watch BBC London’s excellent report on the protest here or listen to Kate Hudson on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. It also inspired a number of strong opinion pieces by Bishop Roger Morris Rachael Maskell MP Caroline Lucas MP and CND’s very own Kate Hudson and Bruce Kent. Read Campaign: May edition Download Campaign: May edition
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5. Beyond Nuclear International https://beyondnuclearinternational.org 1.Alexander Kmentt, an Austrian who played a leading role in getting the UN nuclear weapons ban treaty, wants the nuclear states to seriously consider the humanitarian arguments against possession of nuclear weapons. Paul Dewar, the Canadian politician who has died at 56, saw his illness as “a blessing.” After a lifetime of campaigning against nuclear weapons, he spent his last year finding a way to unleash the power of the young. 2. Enthusiastic physicists love to tout fusion as the miracle nuclear energy source. But humans have so far failed to crack it, and furthermore, writes Daniel Jassby, the claims about a fusion reactor’s safety and lack of waste aren’t as promising as they sound. A closed nuclear power plant in Snowdonia National Park in Wales could be replaced by small modular reactors. The fight is on to stop it. We visit Trawsfynydd. (If you are watching HBO/SKY “Chernobyl”, check out our many Chernobyl articles.) ——————-
+++6. Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NVLA) have media release welcoming Renfrewshire Council’s resolution that urges divestment of Council pension funds from companies involved in the manufacture of nuclear weapons. It also notes support for the ICAN Cities Appeal and outlines its seminar on climate emergency resolutions, Just Transition and wider divestment issues held in Dundee City Chambers. http://www.nuclearpolicy.info
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7. Los Alamos Study Group http://www.lasg.org/:Bulletin 255: Special Report: “Draining the Nuclear Swamp”
Bulletin 256: The Great Transformation: Nuclear Weapons Policy Considerations for Congress
Bulletin 257: Pentagon pit study: The Trump plutonium pit schedule is impossible. NNSA: 2 warheads are delayed —————- 8. Australia: Walkatjurra Walkabout click here ——————– ++++9.NPT update https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-agreement-will-be-tough-at-2020-nuclear-treaty-review/2019/05/10/70dd0584-738d-11e9-9331-30bc5836f48e_story.html?utm_term=.fdba213722e3
and a reminder that the ‘Citizens Committee on the Arms Trade’ event will take place at 6pm on May 22 in the Atlee Suite in Portcullis House, Westminster. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/citizens-committee-on-the-arms-trade-tickets-61091455187
edinburgh cnd 