War School is a film about the battle for the hearts and minds of Britain’s children. Set against the backdrop of Remembrance the controversial and challenging documentary reveals how, faced with unprecedented opposition to its wars, the British government is using a series of new and targeted strategies to promote support for the military. Armed Forces Day, Uniform to Work Day, Camo Day, National Heroes Day – in the streets, on television, on the web, at sports events, in schools, advertising and fashion – the military presence in civilian life is on the march. The public and ever younger children are being groomed to collude in the increasing militarisation of UK society. Interweaving the powerful and moving testimonies of veterans of Britain’s unbroken century of wars with expert commentary, archive and a redolent score, War School’s mosaic of sound and imagery evokes the story of the child soldier who becomes a peace campaigner, challenging the myth of Britain’s benign role in world affairs and asking if perpetual war is really what we want for future generations?
You can find us next to Edinburgh Stop the War in the Green Zone, Middle Meadow West stalls MW14 and MW15. Do come along and have a chat – we welcome donations of plants (and books) to sell – and if you’ve got time to stay around and help out you’d be very welcome.
CND is protesting against what it describes as “Trump’s nuclear brinkmanship” and his “penchant for tearing up nuclear treaties,” in particular the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. CND argues that recent developments suggest that the 2018 withdrawal was, in effect, a declaration of war.
The global dangers before us are real and growing so, beyond this week’s protests, it’s crucial that we continue to reach new audiences to raise these concerns and present the alternatives. CND in England is highlighting the threats we face in a national Global Dangers Tour.
CND had a busy few weeks, with the demonstration at the Springfields nuclear fuel plant near Preston at the end of April, and our protest held outside Westminster Abbey against the government’s sickening thanksgiving ceremony for nuclear weapons, which you can read more about on Kate’s blog. As well, our Campaigns Officer Sara Medi Jones, along with Janet Fenton of SCND, attended the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty preparatory committee at the UN in New York, which ended “on an ominous note”. We’re facing a particularly gloomy period. Donald Trump has put the landmark Iran nuclear deal in grave peril and is making ever more serious threats against the country. +++++++Read all about what they got up to in this edition of the magazine, as well as about how UK banks are profiting from nuclear weapons. Read Campaign: June edition Download Campaign: June edition
www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/NuClearNewsNo117.pdf
STOP PRESS (4th June) Pete Roche has put a new comment piece on his website:
http://www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/news/comment/everybody-is-talking-about-nuclear-accidents/———He was quoted in the Herald warning that a nuclear accident on the scale of Chernobyl is not impossible in the UK. (Herald 5th June 2019https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/17684146.is-another-accident-on-the-scale-of-chernobyl-possible-expert-yes/
In August, the INF Treaty will formally end, leaving previously banned medium-range missiles – missiles meant for obliterating European cities – legal for the US and Russia to deploy. MEPs have a responsibility to protect citizens and make sure that weapons of mass destructions are not threatened, or used, to indiscriminaitely harm civilians. ICAN pledge for MEPs Sign the ICAN Pledge
See also: 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
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5. Peace & Justice Centre (a) On 1 and 2 June we will be at the Meadows festival. f you can help out please email us if you are coming along to the Meadows Festival for the day – make sure you come and visit us and say hello!(b) ‘Kites not killer drones’ – in the sunshine? Our event this year was very wet and rainy, so we’ve decided to re-run it, in the warm and (hopefully) sunny summer. As in the spring event, we will be in the Meadows helping children (and adults) make kites, there will be face-painting, music, and food from the Refugee Community Kitchen The summer event takes place on Sunday 30 June from 1pm – 4pm. Please put the date in your diaries. Again, we are looking for volunteers to help on the stall, make kites and face paint. It’s a really lovely event when the sun’s out. If you would like to volunteer please email the office. ++++++(c)Where Next on Climate Emergency? 6 for 6.30 – 8.30pm, Wed 26 June G21 Paterson’s Land, Moray House School of Education St John’s St, EH8 8AQ .————–
‘Today the global security environment is threatened from many sides‘ said Mr Guterres. ‘Regional nuclear challenges persist. And tensions between nuclear armed rivals have intensified.’ Also on May 24, 2018, in connection with International Women’s Day for Peace and Disarmament and the launch of Securing our common future, PNND women members from around the world released a joint appeal Common security for a sustainable and nuclear-weapon-free world calling on governments, parliaments and civil society to act together to implement the UNSG’s disarmament agenda
————— 7. Move the Nuclear Weapons Money (Basle Peace Office and others): Join us for an international conference call (via the Zoom video conference platform) to meet the Count the Nuclear Weapons Money team, find out how the counting will work and how you can participate.
We will hold the conference call twice. You choose which one to join: (i) Thursday June 6 at 12 noon New York time; This call is primarily for those in the Americas and/or planning on being in New York for the counting. Click here to register for the call. (ii) Monday June 10 at 9 am Central Europe time: This call is primarly for those in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific. Click here to register for the call. ——————— 7(a) NEW POST 10th June from PNND and the Basle Peace Office: The Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström today hosted a meeting in Stockholm of high-level representatives (mostly foreign ministers) from 16 countries to elevate political attention to nuclear risks, and to inject new life into the nuclear disarmament commitments made by States parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).The participating governments include a mix of non-nuclear countries (Argentina, Finland, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland) and allied countries under extended nuclear deterrence policies (Canada, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea and Spain) making this a very credible and potentially effective group.The ministerial meeting is part of a ‘Stepping Stones initiative‘ introduced by Sweden to the NPT Preparatory Committee meeting in May 20 ———— 8. Events in London: (a) Special evening to celebrate the life and legacy of former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, on Monday 3 June 5pm to 8pm at London’s prestigious Central Hall Westminster – where the first UN Secretary-General was appointed in 1946. (b) Give Peace A Dance is an evening of music, spoken word and politics Notting Hill Arts Club in support of CND. Early bird tickets are available for £7.50. Full price is £10. (c) Ambassador Robert Gallucci, Dr Dan Plesch, Chair Henrietta Wilson 25 June 2019 1:00 PM to 3PM in Russell Square: College Buildings Room: KLT (d) CND is delighted to announce our full line up of punk-disco bands for our Give Peace A Dance evening is here —————- 9. Berlin http://uraniumfilmfestival.org: Next Uranium Film Festival screening and round table event with documentaries about depleted uranium weapons in Berlin, June 24th, 7 pm. Venue: Zeiss Großplanetarium in Prenzlauerberg. All are invited! ——————– 10. Los Alamos Study Group http://www.lasg.org/ for news from the US STOP PRESS: includes a press release 4th June:Administration to conduct environmental analysis of plutonium warhead core (“pit”) production in SC; mayanalyze NM production; NNSA’s plan may violate 1998 court order and other applicable law ++++++10th June Bulletin 258: Administration announces plan to conduct environmental analysis of plutonium warhead core (“pit”) production in SC, no comparable commitment in NM ————— 11. Other events: (i) https://www.edinburghyeshub.info for buses to Galashiels for the Indy demo on 1st June (ii) To Yemen with Love, From Scotland Saturday 15 June. 3pm – 6pm (plus afterparty) Glasgow G3 6PE Recommended by Edinburgh CAAT (iii) Annual Inter-Faith Occasion for World PeaceTuesday 26 June. 7:15 – 9pm. St. Mark’s Unitarian Church, Edinburgh EH1 2DP +++++++++(iv) A PLEA The bus for the Oban Indy demo leaves the Edinburgh Hub 31 Lasswade Road at 9am and will pick up opposite Murrayfield Hotel at 9-20. Please book edinburghyeshub.info events although we have to pay the bus this Friday you can book by going on site and when payment comes up press pay on line, this way you can pay when you can afford it.
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AND A REMINDER:
Copies now available from Edinburgh CND, email us on Edinburgh CND@yahoo.com AND 2nd June Meadows Festival and 8th June Leith Gala (see first item)STOP PRESS: Without fanfare, Chernobyl has become unmissable TV, according to Sky.https://news.sky.com/story/how-chernobyl-quietly-topped-the-tv-charts-11732879 The show is harrowing and unrelentingly bleak, with some complicated science to get to grips with. It is a western-made drama about a disaster that occurred in the Soviet Union more than 30 years ago, and we already knew the ending. But seemingly from nowhere, this five-part mini-series is now the show that everyone is talking about. (Sorry, Game Of Thrones). After just three episodes, Chernobyl topped film and TV database IMDB’s list of the greatest 250 TV shows of all time – quite an accolade.
When there was still one episode to go The Economist said it was the highest-rated television series of all time. (Economist 3rd June 2019 https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/06/03/chernobyl-is-on-track-to-become-the-highest-rated-tv-series-ever)
edinburgh cnd 