2.  2.1 The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced that the Doomsday Clock is still very close to midnight. Sara Medi Jones, CND spokesperson, said: “With President Trump’s announcement that the US will withdraw from the INF treaty, it sadly comes as no surprise that the Doomsday clock is still very close to midnight. “The landmark INF treaty saw the elimination of nearly 3000 nuclear weapons and if it is scrapped there is a danger we will see the return of US nuclear missile here in Britain. Tearing up the treaty threatens to ramp up the arms race between the US and Russia, with Britain caught in the crossfire. The British government should immediately make clear that it will refuse to host US missiles if the treaty is scrapped. The response we’ve received so far from the government has not been particularly encouraging. We must make clear it would not be tolerated.

 2.2 Responding to Donald Trump’s decision to begin US withdrawal from the INF treaty. Sara Medi Jones, CND spokesperson, said: “This is a very dangerous decision. The US beginning the process of withdrawal threatens to ramp up a nuclear arms race between the US and Russia. Let’s remember this decision comes after the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, so Trump appears to be attempting to break with all forms of international arms control. From a UK perspective, we could now see a return to US nuclear missiles on British soil like we did in the 1980s. The British government must step up over the next six months to do all it can to save the treaty. It should also guarantee that it will not offer to host US nuclear missiles if the treaty is scrapped – to do so would massively increase the threat of nuclear war here in Europe. NATO’s decision to place the blame solely with Russia is highly irresponsible. Both Russia and the US have concerns that the other side isn’t fulfilling their obligations. These concerns must be discussed and resolved, but it will be much harder to do that now the US is withdrawing.”

Watch our video to find out about Donald Trump’s latest decision.

In these busy and dangerous times, read about CND’s campaigns and how we can campaign together for a better world. We also write about Hitachi’s decision to halt work at two nuclear power stations and its wider implications for UK energy policy.
Read Campaign: February edition
Download Campaign: February edition

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3. Mayors and parliamentarians call on the U.S. and Russiato preserve the INF Treaty. Mayors, parliamentarians, policy experts and civil society representatives from forty countries – mostly Europe and North America –  sent an open letter on 30th January, the Basel Appeal for Disarmament and Sustainable Security, to Presidents Putin and Trump and to the leaders of the Russian and US legislatures, calling on them to preserve the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, prevent a new nuclear arms race in Europe and undertake measures to reduce the risk of a nuclear conflict and support global nuclear disarmament. (Appeal also available in French, German, Russian and Spanish). EdinburghCND supported this.

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?

EVENTS:     

1. Monday 4th February http://peaceandjustice.org.uk/8329-2/   for details of demo on  the INF TREATY                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   2. (a)Tuesday 5th February: New meeting about the serious nuclear safety issues at Hunterston B in the University of Edinburgh at 4pm The Venue: LG 11 David Hume Tower Learning Hub – LG stands for lower ground – the basement. Get there via steps from the entrance on the east side of George Square or via lifts or stairs at the back of the main foyer of the David Hume Tower 4pm to 5.30pm. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/update-on-nuclear-risk-at-hunterston-b-nuclear-power-station-scotland-tickets-55175764196                       N.B. Ian’s technical report (discussed at the January meeting is available on request edinburghCND@yahoo.com                                                                                                                .  2 (b)Tuesday 5th February: regular organising meeting 6pm to 7pm at Peace and Justice Centre.  5 Upper Bow                                                                                                                              3. Thursday 7th February Edinburgh Stop the War have called a demo against US (and British, EU backed) intervention in Venezuela at 5.30pm,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       4. Saturday 9th February: 12 30, Leafleting at the East End of Princes Street                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                5. Saturday 23rd February: The third Radical Fair, a  festival for groups campaigning for a fairer Scotland is in the Augustine Church on 12 noon – 3.30pm. ECND will have a stall and it is not too late for other groups to book.

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2. On the 2nd February, President Donald Trump will decide whether the US remains in a flagship arms treaty with Russia that has reduced the chances of nuclear war taking place in Europe.                                                                                STOP PRESS: MPs and celebrities will launch a campaign to save the flagship arms control agreement in Parliament Square on Wednesday 23rd. The launch will mark 10 days before Donald Trump announces whether or not the US will withdraw from the INF treaty. The INF treaty was signed by the US and Russia in 1987 and led to the elimination of almost 3000 nuclear weapons. Tearing up the treaty could lead to the return of US nuclear missiles in Britain and make nuclear war in Europe more likely.
The campaign will call on the British government to take diplomatic steps to save the treaty and guarantee that it will not offer to host US nuclear missiles if it is scrapped 

CND’s new video tells the story of how the treaty was won by an international movement that rose up to stop moves towards nuclear war. They are encouraging our supporters to share the video so that as many people as possible tell the British government to do all it can to save the treaty. US nuclear missiles must not be allowed to return Britain. Share the video on Youtube, Twitter or Facebook by clicking these link   Read about what they’re doing in Campaign magazine. In this edition, they also explain how your local community could officially support the global nuclear ban. Read Campaign: January edition Download Campaign: January edition

——————-                                                                                                                                           6. Beyond Nuclear International: https://beyondnuclearinternational.org                   1. Newly seated House Democrat, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, along with at least 45 other members of Congress and the Sunrise Movement, want a Green New Deal for the US to tackle climate change. Establishment Democrats moved to block it. Why can’t the US just go green already? In Ethiopia, one man’s determination led to villages lit with solar energy. A profile of Samson Tsegaye Lemma.                                                      2.The British “tested” their atomic bombs on Australians, then used them as guinea pigs. A new art exhibition evokes the suffering, legacy and injustice of Maralinga. And two anti-war campaigners make the case for US demilitarization and the need for a green and peaceful planet.                                                                                                   3. The Jones family refused to sell their 300-year old family farm to Hitachi’s Horizon for a proposed new nuclear plant in North Wales. Now Hitachi has put the two-reactor project on hold, vindicating the farmers and reprieving an area of natural beauty and rare wildlife. But a planned 6-reactor site in India is being given a fast-track green light by the French and Indian governments, with too many financial and safety questions still unanswered, write Suvrat Raju and M.V. Ramana.                                                                                            NEW: Canadians living within the emergency planning zone of an American reactor are provided potassium iodide tablets, which, if taken in time, protect the thyroid from fast-traveling radioactive iodine-131, released during a severe nuclear accident. But Americans are denied equal protection. Beyond Nuclear and groups in Michigan are moving to change that. Jonathon Porritt writes that dreams of a nuclear “renaissance” are now definitively dead, even though, like Monty Python’s pet shop salesman, the industry insists the nuclear parrot is just resting.

7. Peace and Justice Centre News: 7.1. Resistance to the First World War Exhibition Event Friday 25 January. 1:30 – 3:30pm. St Mungo Museum. 2 Castle St, Glasgow G4 0RH. This event will showcase the work of WEA Scotland adult learners in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow who investigated the experiences of First World War Conscientious Objectors from their communities.  Booking Required. Email a.campbell@wea.org.uk with “Legacies of Resistance to the First world War:  The Stories of Conscientious Objectors – Event and Exhibition” in Subject line.                    7. 2.Peace in Action: get the skills to change our world  with Dr. Scilla Ellworthy Sat 15 June for 3 days in Findhorn.This course will demonstrate what it would cost to systematically prevent war at local, national and international levels, and the kind of self-knowledge and inner work that are essential to the effectiveness of whatever you decide to undertake. For more information and to book go to: https://www.findhorn.org/programmes/peace-in-action-skills/ 7. 3. Pathways to Peace 8-10 March 2019 Hinsley Hall, Leeds LS6 2BX For further programme information or to book a place http://www.for.org.uk/events/pathwaystopeace/

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8. If you read some of the recent local letters to their more active New Mexico members you will get a more detailed idea of some of the concerns, some regarding issues that are the subject of legislation now pending in the USA.

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9. https://edinburghcaat.org.uk  For CAAT news

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10.FCO Secretary on his misleading claim to Parliament that the government had in 2014 tightened up arms export controls, when CAEC, the committee responsible for scrutinising export control policy, had found they had in fact been loosened  (tweet here).                                                                                                                               ————–                                                                                                                                                            NEW: 11. Drone Network News Jan 2019: https://dronecampaignnetwork.wordpress.com

and 12 Feb 8th joint meeting organised by the NFLA / Mayors for Peace and ICAN UK being held in Meeting Room 2, Level 2, Manchester Central Library. The meeting will be chaired by the Lord Mayor of Manchester.

22 MSPs Support the Opposing War Memorial
£37,500 raised for the Memorial: Still time to Donate & Help us reach our goal
Upcoming Events:
Burns Supper

Join us for on 26th Jan for an evening, hosted by Peter Macdonald, with Stan Reeves reciting To a Haggis, comedian A.L. Kennedy presenting the Immortal Memory. Local writer and actor Gerda Stevenson will be Addressing the Lassies, with feminist activist Lesley Orr delivering the Reply from the Lassies.
Resistance to First World War Exhibition & Event

Friday 25 January. 1:30 – 3:30pm. St Mungo Museum.
2 Castle St, Glasgow G4 0RH.                                                                                                            —————

Two ICAN meetings are planned for the 8^th January both to be held at the SCND office in Glasgow, 77 South Park Avenue G12 8LE this week First, Scottish ICAN Roundtable is at 3.00pm.  It will be followed by a meeting facilitated by Dr Rebecca Johnson at 4.30pm focussed on ICAN in the UK, and all ICAN partner organisations are welcome to both events  (SCND will facilitate the Scottish Round table meeting).   +++++++ apres-meeting note: deadline for submissions to the NPT inquiry is Friday 18th, and it was great to hear that a lot of us will be putting something in. Email EdinburghCND@yahoo.com for suggestions

1. http://www.stopnewnuclear.org.uk

2.https://leedspeacelecture2019.eventbrite.co.uk

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1. Beyond Nuclear International: https://beyondnuclearinternational.org 1. The Navajo nation suffered the injustices of uranium mining and the contamination it left behind for decades. Anna Benally calls for restitution and a health study to give her people answers. In Brazil, a giant thermoelectric project was defeated when the people united against the destruction of mother Earth and turned to renewables instead. 2. Please take action this week by signing the petition to halt the “storing” of unsafe nuclear waste casks on the beach in California. And please consider including Beyond Nuclear in your year-end giving with a generous donation today.

2. Los Alamos Bulletin    252 Fundraising reminder; why LANL cannot be any kind of plutonium factory, in a nutshell  http://www.lasg.org/

3. Australia:Plenty of activities planned for 2019:  Walkatjurra Walkabout 

4. (a)UNFOLD ZERO and their co-sponsoring organisations had a very active year in 2018 advancing a number of UN initiatives and processes for nuclear disarmament including:

• Affirmation by the UN Human Rights Committee that nuclear weapons violate the Right to Life;
• UN role in the Korean peace and denuclearisation process;
• UN High-Level Nuclear Disarmament Meeting (and other events) on the UN International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons;
• Supporting the UN Secretary-General’s new disarmament agenda, including through a global appeal of women legislators;
• UN General Assembly disarmament resolutions;
• UN Security Council session on confidence-building measures and weapons of mass destruction;
• Launching the Move the Nuclear Weapons Money platform at the United Nations.

they  look forward to our continuing and advancing such action in 2019.

(b) The Basel Peace Office (BPO) extends our very best wishes to you for the new year. We thank you for your actions and support in 2018 and we look forward to a coming year of even more progress for peace and nuclear disarmament. BPO brings together a number of international networks and initiatives for nuclear disarmament including the Abolition 2000 Youth Network, Nuclear-Risk-Reduction working group, Climate-Nuclear Nexus, Middle Powers Initiative, Move the Nuclear Weapons Money, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND) and the World Future Council Peace & Disarmament Program. Please see below, or visit www.baselpeaceoffice.org, to learn more about the programs and activities. Click here to invest in a peaceful and sustainable future by supporting the Basel Peace Office.

(c) PNND also express very best wishes for the new year, our appreciation for the actions you undertook for peace and disarmament in 2018, and our anticipation of another year of progress for nuclear risk-reduction and disarmament.  We will kick off the new year with a European regional conference of parliamentarians and mayors (Jan 14-15 in Basel, Switzerland) on the issue of Nuclear disarmament, climate protection and divestment. And we will contnue to work globally throughout 2019 on issues and actions which are contained in the Parliamentary Action Plan for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World. Further information and reports are available at PNND News, PNND events and PNND updates.

+++++++++BPO invite you to join a Webinar on Preserving the INF Treaty today (January 17) at 7pm Central European Time (Click here to register), and to endorse the the Basel Appeal on Disarmament and Sustainable Security.

Beyond Nuclear: https://beyondnuclearinternational.org :In the holiday season it seems timely to run a story on the plight of reindeer, made radioactive by fallout from Chernobyl and earlier atomic bomb tests, a problem that is not going away. Nor is radioactive waste, deadly for at least tens of thousands of years and longer, which is why a plan to store it on a beach near San Diego, California, is insanity.

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CND: https://cnduk.org: Anti-nuclear campaigners have responded to Gavin Williamson’s final instalment of the Modernising Defence Programme, released today. Sara Medi Jones, CND acting general secretary, said: “Gavin Williamson has called for an additional £340 million for the MoD in next year’s comprehensive spending review. The MoD has already been given an extra £1 billion this year, so this announcement confirms again that spending at the MoD is spiralling out of control.

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PNND on the US withdrawal from the INF treaty: The US alleges that Moscow has developed and deployed a prohibited missile, a ground-launched cruise missile (GLCM) having a range prohibited under the INF Treaty. The U.S. administration has also expressed concern that China, which is not a party to the INF Treaty, is gaining a military advantage in East Asia by deploying large numbers of treaty-noncompliant missiles. Russia has denied violating the INF, and has responded with allegations that the US is in violation of the INF Treaty by deploying launching systems capable of firing cruise missiles. In addition, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that the U.S. plan to withdraw from the treaty could lead to a new arms race and that any nation that hosts U.S. intermediate-range missiles will “put their own territory under the threat of a possible counterstrike.” For further background see Trump to Withdraw U.S. From INF Treaty, Arms Control Association, November 2018).          There are also criticisms from a number of European Parliamentarians.                      The Basle Peace Office has similar concerns and adds the following more upbeat news:  The Australian Labor Party (currently the main opposition party) adopted a motion at its national conference yesterday giving qualified support to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons(TPNW – or Ban Treaty), an international agreement negotiated in 2017 by non-nuclear States, but opposed by the Australian government and all the nuclear armed and allied States.                                                     —————                                                                                                                                     ICAN: 1) the next meeting of ICAN’s UK Partner organizations will be held in GLASGOW, together with the scheduled meeting of the Scottish ICAN Round Table on 8 January 2019 in Glasgow, from 3.00 – 6.00 pm at the office of  Scottish CND, 77 Southpark Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8LE.  The first half of the meeting will be a Scottish meeting.   2) We strongly encourage ALL members to consider passing resolutions to support the Treaty and encourage the UK Government to engage with this Treaty, and the Irish Government to ratify it through the Dail. Full information is in the report, but can also be found on the ICAN webpage – http://www.icanw.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ICAN-Cities-Appeal.pdf                                                                                                                    —————-                                                                                                                                    CAAT London:   Please read and share our 2018 highlights page to spread the word about the impacts you have enabled over this year.                                                                                                                    —————                                                                                                             No2NuclearPower: Today’s News at: http://www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/category/news/

                                                                                                                                                            5. Conscientious Objectors Memorial update Alison Johnstone MSP (Co-Convenor Scottish Greens) has lodged a motion in support of the Memorial which has been signed by a dozen MSPs and which was debated just after 5pm Wednesday 5 December. Please come along to Scottish Parliament to be in the public gallery during the 7 minute debate and meet with Alison either just before or after the debate.   Please ask your MSPs to support The Crowdfunder has raised over £17,000 so far. This brings total fundraising so far to over £35,00 and will enable us to commission Engineer’s drawings, seek planning permission and run workshops to involve folk in the project. http://peaceandjustice.org.uk

STOP PRESS: The meeting of the Steering Group of the Opposing War Memorial Committee will take place Tuesday 18 Dec at the Peacee & Justice Centre from 5 – 6pm. The debate at Scottish Parliament Alison Johnstone MSP’s motion in support of the Memorial was a great success. 22 MSPs signed the motion and 8 MSPs, from all parties, spoke in support.

 

6. Los Alamos Bulletins    250 and  251  http://www.lasg.org/

8. Added bit: Lloyd Russell-Moyle MPhas written a little explanation about the grabbing the mace in case you’re interested.

EXTRA: https://cnduk.org/cnd-slams-faslane-safety-record/

Tuesday 4th December: Edinburgh CND AGM and Annual Festive meeting (donations of food and drink welcome but not compulsory) 6pm to 8pm, Peace and Justice Centre, 5 Upper Bow, Edinburgh. All Supporters Welcome.

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Other events: 1. Sunday 18th November, 6:30 to 9:30, Radical Voices at the Black Fox by the Shore Constitution Street, Leith.  The theme is Peace is Possible.                                           2. Monday 19th November monthly meeting of Edinburgh Stop the War at the Peace and Justice centre.                                                                                                                                             3. Tuesday 20th November: Opposing War Memorial performance of This Evil Thing (see below) https://this-evil-thing.eventbrite.com STOP PRESS Two Israeli conscientious objectors will be speaking Read the full article here.  

4. Saturday 24th November STUC annual anti-racist demo in Glasgow

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1.1 President Trump has announced plans to withdraw the US from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). We must protect the INF, an agreement CND fought for – and won – 30 years ago. As the world teetered on the brink of nuclear war, the INF treaty helped pull us back, eliminating over 2,500 nuclear missiles and de-escalating US-Soviet tension.
If we allow this agreement to be torn up, we could soon see the return of ground-launched nuclear missiles to the UK, a scenario which would make anuclear war fought on European soil far more likely.
CND condemns the Defence Secretary’s support for Trump’s action and calls on our government to express strong opposition to this dangerous move. This week an urgent question was asked in Parliament and EDM 1744 was tabled on this crucial issue. Now we’re following this up and mobilising MPs to press the government to respond. Can you help us?

 

The session opened with statements from the UN High Representative on Disarmament Affairs, the Head of the Non-Aligned Movement and representatives of many UN member countries.

7. ICAN: latest report of activity with the UK and Ireland Mayors, Provosts and Leaders for Peace – the constituent Chapter of the Mayors for Peace organisation available on request. Meanwhile countries and regions continue to support the Un Treaty.

8. Next meeting of SCND Timeline exhibition group is on Monday 29th of Oct, 6.30 pm – in SCND office (see earlier posts). STOP PRESS: MINUTES NOW AVAILABLE

9. 10th November, CAN BE WATCHED LIVE: Future Wars: The Impact of New Technologies conference will take place at Birkbeck College in London. It will be a fascinating event, with a host of experts laying out the new threats that we need to organise against and face down — including the militarisation of space, cyber warfare, hacking, and killer robots and drones. But we’ll also discuss new tech ethics and alternative visions of security. Following last year’s CND Council decision to hold it, Future Wars is shaping up to be an essential event for peace campaigners, and we really look forward to seeing you there. You can register online on Eventbrite. Extra Comment: CND condemns the Defence Secretary’s support for Trump’s action and calls on our government to express strong opposition to this dangerous move. This week an urgent question was asked in Parliament and EDM 1744 was tabled on this crucial issue. Now we’re following this up and mobilising MPs to press the government to respond. Can you help us?   
Contact your MP today

10. The Walkatjurra Walkabout is already talking about next years walk and the many other projects and events coming up to support the court case to stop Yeelirrie and to keep Western Australian free from uranium mining..  There may be a few changes next year and one of them may be that we walk from Leonora to Yeelirrie.  We will update you more as plans unfold.

 

11. Why is Saudi Arabia under fire over Jamal Khashoggi, but not Yemen?