Un International Day Against Nuclear Weapons Tests, August 29, 2020
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-- OMNI UN INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTS, AUGUST 29, 2020. NEWSLETTER #5. https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2020/08/omni-un-international-day-against.html 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 Jon 6:45 AM (9to m Rainwater, hours ago)e Peace Action 5-28-20 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. DONATE Peace Action P.O. Box 8637 Silver Spring, MD 20907 United States 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! Beyond the 9:01 AM (1to m e Bomb [email protected] via minute email.actionnetwork.org 7-27-20 ago) 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. FILL OUT THIS FORM TO SCHEDULE A VIRTUAL MEETING. 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 LEARN ABOUT THE FIRST AND THE 200 ATOMIC BOMB TESTS AND TAKE COMPENSATORY ACTION WITH NIRS AND CONGRESS Take action for the Downwinders 8-9-20 Nuclear Information and Resource Service via mail.salsalabs.net 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.