OMNI
UN INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST NUCLEAR TESTS, AUGUST 29,
2020.
NEWSLETTER #5.
Compiled by Dick
Bennett for a Culture of Peace, Justice, and Ecology.
(#1 August 29, 2012; #2 August 29, 2013; #3
August 29, 2014; #4, August 29, 2015).
http://omnicenter.org/donate/
Please forward
#1 August 29,
2012: http://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2012/08/hiroshima-nagasaki-remembrance-2012.html
#2 August 29,
2013: http://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2013/08/nuclear-free-future-month-newsletter.html
#3 August 29,
2014: http://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2014/08/un-international-day-against-nuclear.html
#4, August 29, 2015. http://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2015/08/omni-un-international-day-against.html
GET INFORMED AND TAKE CONVERSION/
TRANSITION ACTION THROUGH CONGRESS,
REPRESENTATIVES JIM MCGOVERN AND BARBARA LEE, GREEN NEW DEAL
Warheads to Windmills: How to Pay for a Green New
Deal.
26.06.2019 - US, United States – Pressenza International Press Agency, New York
By Tim Wallis.
Warheads to Windmills: How to Pay for a Green New Deal was
officially launched in Congress on June
20th, with the endorsement of the Sierra Club and support of
Representatives Jim McGovern and Barbara Lee. Rep. Jim McGovern has been a
staunch supporter of both the Green New
Deal and the campaign to eliminate nuclear weapons. He suggested that
a Congressional hearing could “make these connections, how we can transition
from one industry to another.” MORE
The original article can be
found on our partner's website here
NUCLEAR RISK
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (8-10-20)
Podcast: Nuclear weapons at the brink
In the most recent episode of the At The Brink podcast,
members of the Bulletin's Science and Security Board join other scholars,
advocates, and policy makers in clearly outlining the destabilizing
costs and effects of nuclear modernization (testing). Listen here.
BE
INFORMED AND TAKE ACTION WITH PEACE
ACTION AND CONGRESS
TRUMP
ENDANGERS WORLD BY REJECTING OPEN SKIES TREATY AND DISCUSING RESUMPTION OF US
NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING
U.S. nuclear
weapons testing, in 2020
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Jon Rainwater, Peace Action
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5-28-20
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6:45 AM (9 hours ago)
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to me
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Dear Peace Action supporter,
Last week, Trump announced that he is pulling the
U.S. out of the Open Skies Treaty, a multilateral agreement
among 34 countries that allows countries to conduct reconnaissance flights
in order to provide transparency regarding military activities.
This latest reckless move makes the world significantly less
safe, as the entire point of the Open Skies Treaty is to allow for
reconnaissance flights at short notice to lessen the uncertainty about a
nation’s military intentions, acting as a safeguard against a potentially
devastating miscalculation.
Our ally Congressman Ro Khanna
denounced the move, telling The Nation magazine “If there was ever a moment
to strengthen our international ties, this is it. The last thing the world
needs is more instability. This decision undermines global arms control
efforts, and only makes war more likely.”
It does not just make war more likely - it makes nuclear war
more likely.
As you may know, preventing nuclear war was what we were
founded to do, and our job is now as important as it’s ever been since we
began in 1957. Friend, with your help we can fight these dangerous moves
taking us back to a Cold War nuclear status - please pitch in what
you can today!
I wish the tragedy of Trump’s recent abhorrent nuclear
policies stopped there, but it doesn’t. There is also now
discussion inside the White House about resuming U.S. nuclear weapons
testing. The Washington Post broke the story that the prospect of
restarting testing came up in a meeting with officials from top national
security agencies earlier this month.
While it’s reported that a decision to resume testing hasn’t
yet been made, a senior administration official was quoted saying the
proposal is "very much an ongoing conversation."
The danger to our safety from a move like this can’t be
understated. Any U.S. nuclear weapons test creates an
open invitation for all other nuclear-armed nations to resume testing.
Think about this scenario - with no shared aerial
reconnaissance and the signature reading of a nuclear weapons test, we’re
potentially just a matter of minutes from a mistaken catastrophic nuclear
exchange!
And it’s important to remember, a singular nuclear blast
could kill at least 3x the number of people COVID-19 has accounted
for, within just minutes, and several times more as the
radioactive fallout from the blast spreads.
ACTION This is an all hands on deck moment for
the peace movement. Please, chip in today to make
sure we have the strength we need to fight Trump’s dangerous nuclear
provocations!
Thank you for helping stop this nuclear nightmare,
Jon Rainwater
Peace Action
P.S. Testing a nuclear weapon also has immediate health
impacts on Americans. The 2nd most heavy fallout U.S. test was an
underground explosion which released radiation that traveled from Nevada to
states as far away as Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, and Illinois. Help us ensure this never,
ever happens again with a gift of any size today.
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Peace
Action
P.O. Box 8637
Silver Spring, MD 20907
United States
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TAKE
ACTION WITH BEYOND THE BOMB AND CONGRESS
TO STOP NUCLEAR TESTING
Join us
to meet with members of Congress to oppose Trump’s belligerence!
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Beyond the Bomb campaigns@beyondthebomb.org via email.actionnetwork.org 7-27-20
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9:01 AM (1 minute ago)
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to me
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ACTION
Dick,
We
hope this message finds you well. Although it’s certainly a difficult
time, we’re as committed as ever to speak truth to power. That’s why,
over the last month, we’ve been meeting
with members of Congress to
demand that they support sensible nuclear weapons policies. And, that’s
why we’re calling on you to sign up for a meeting
with your members of Congress.
We
need to dramatically rearrange our priorities - to stop investing in
death and start investing in life. We simply cannot afford to spend
trillions of dollars on nuclear weapons. Our issue is an urgent one. On
May 22, it was reported that
the Trump administration is considering resuming nuclear testing for the first time since 1992. We
shouldn’t be escalating tensions with other countries; we need to
de-escalate for the sake of the entire world. Our elected officials in
Congress must step up to challenge the Trump administration’s
belligerent policies.
We
know that we’re more powerful when we act together. Our message must be
heard. Cooperation is key to our success!
Lobby for a budget that
puts our #FutureFirst!
In
solidarity,
Ryan
and the Beyond the Bomb team
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LEARN ABOUT THE FIRST AND THE 200
ATOMIC BOMB TESTS AND TAKE COMPENSATORY ACTION WITH NIRS AND CONGRESS
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Take
action for the Downwinders 8-9-20
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Nuclear Information and Resource Service via mail.salsalabs.net
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8:03 AM (1 hour ago)
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to me
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Dear Dick,
This week we commemorate two tragic anniversaries: The
dropping of the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on
August 6, 1945, and the release of the second bomb on Nagasaki three
days later.
These come on the heels of yet another tragic
anniversary: The first
atomic bomb test, called ‘Trinity’, was conducted in south central New
Mexico on July 16, 1945.
The communities affected by this test are still living with the consequences
of Trinity and over 200 similar
nuclear weapons tests—and they haven’t been fully recognized or
compensated yet for their decades of pain and suffering.
In 1990, Congress passed a law meant to compensate
victims of atomic bomb testing, but it doesn’t go nearly far enough and
will expire in 2022. A bill in the House of Representatives—H.R.3783,
the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2019—would expand
compensation more fully to those affected by the tests. But Rep. Jerrold Nadler, chair of
the House Judiciary Committee, hasn’t even scheduled a hearing for the
bill yet.
Your member of Congress can have a lot of influence over
whether this bill gets a hearing in the House. Tell your member of
Congress to ask Jerrold Nadler and Rep. Jim Jordan (the committee’s
Republican ranking member) to schedule a hearing for this bill.
The current law compensates residents in parts of
Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Arizona who were Downwinders from the Nevada
Test Site, but it expires in two years. The new law would extend this compensation to Downwinders in
New Mexico, parts of Idaho, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and
to uranium workers who joined the industry after 1971. It would also
extend the compensation fund to 2045.
Compensating the Downwinders is especially important now
that we’re in the middle of a pandemic. Because of their exposure to
radiation from nuclear tests, Downwinders suffer from more preexisting
conditions and are more immunocompromised than average Americans. This
makes them more vulnerable to the effects of Covid-19 than other
populations.
The Downwinders are the first victims of America’s
embrace of nuclear power. They should be compensated fairly for their
pain and suffering. Tell your member of
Congress to ask Rep. Nadler and Rep. Jordan to schedule a hearing for
this bill. You can also ask your member of
Congress to become co-sponsors to the bills that have bipartisan
support.
This week we mourn the victims of Hiroshima, Nagasaki,
and the Trinity test. But we can do more than just mourn. We can start
setting things right. Compensating the Downwinders is the first step in
the right direction.
Thanks for all you do,
The NIRS Team
Diane D'Arrigo
Luis Hestres
Denise Jakobsberg
Tim Judson
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MORE
ABOUT TRINITY from the Bulletin of
the Atomic Scientists (8-10-20)
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Trinity Photographic Essay
Einstein Circle member David
Wargowski, who is also on the advisory board of the Atomic
Photographers Guild, is publishing hundreds of photographs on his
social media accounts to mark the 75th anniversaries of the nuclear weapons
era. Visit his work on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Support the
Bulletin--Join the Einstein Circle
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NUCLEAR RISK
Prominent nuclear scientists did not recommend the
atomic bombings of Japan
Bulletin columnist Sara Kutchesfahani dives into the 1945
Franck Report, in which seven prominent scientists urged President Truman not
to use the atomic bomb on Japan. And she imagines what Eugene Rabinowitch,
principal author of the report and Bulletin co-founder, might have said about
Hiroshima and Nagasaki if he were alive today. Read more.
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TAKE
ACTIONS WITH THE WAR RESISTERS LEAGUE
We Want a
Nuclear Disarmament Race
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War
Resisters League 8-10-20
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8:15
AM (4 minutes ago)
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Dear Friends,
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To create a safer
world and begin the process of healing, the United States – which
unilaterally began the nuclear arms race 75 years ago and is the only
country to have used nuclear weapons in war -- is obligated to issue
an apology to the Japanese and Korean people, make
reparation payments to the atomic bomb survivors (hibakusha),
and, declare nuclear weapons to be a crime against humanity,
immediately. The United States should also unilaterally begin a
nuclear disarmament race by dismantling its nuclear weapons
without waiting for treaties with other countries to do the same.
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We encourage all who agree to...
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* join and contribute to the War
Resisters League
* lobby Congress in support of the UN’s
2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
* write letters to your newspaper, do a blog, post messages
and photos in social media
* participate in or organize vigils, pickets, boycotts,
marches, rallies, nonviolent direct action in your community to
create what John Lewis termed “good trouble”
* consider openly refusing to
pay some or all of your income taxes for nuclear weapons and war (for more
information, see www.warresisters.org and www.nwtrcc.org), and
instead reroute those taxes to help fund organizations and community
efforts seeking to create a better world
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We hope you'll also consider...
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Reading Early Opposition to the Atomic Bomb Came
From Black America from WRL member Dan Park
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Joining WRL's Editorial Committee, now accepting
applications through August 20th
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Reading WRL's recent statement on revolutionary
nonviolence during the current U.S. uprisings
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It's possible to end war, but it will take all of us. War Resisters
League needs every single person to stand with us in
the fight against US imperialism, militarism, and the expanding war machine
during a time where fascists are in power across multiple countries. Like
what you're reading? Forward this email to a friend. New readers can subscribe here.
If you really need to take a break, you can click here to unsubscribe –
and we hope you'll join us again!
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NUCLEAR RISK
What can a pandemic teach us about nuclear threats? Bulletin
of the Atomic Scientists (8-10-20)
US Congressman Ted Lieu writes that "The lessons learned
from this pandemic make the case for re-thinking the United States’ national
security framework to decide which investments truly improve US national
security and which seek to win yesterday’s wars." Read more.
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END UN INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTS, NEWSLETTER
#5
