Thursday, November 3, 2016

ELECTIONS 2016: THE CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER


It is not the Candidates.

IT IS THE NUCLEAR WEAPONS THEMSELVES.
                                     

                                       



No matter which Presidential Candidate we choose on November 8 that individual, when sworn into the Presidency next January, will have his or her hands on the Nuclear Football and its Armageddon unleashing Codes.
                                                  

                                                       




Open that Football, for whatever reason, intentional or accidental, and the most dangerous game in human history kicks off! 
But the sobering reality is that it is Not a sports game. Not a video game. Not virtual reality.
                                                  

                                                     





                                                     





The "game's" consequences stare us starkly in the face:
OMNICIDE. GLOBAL DESTRUCTION. ANNIHILATION of HUMANITY.
ABORTION OF ALL FUTURE GENERATIONS.

And all of this in just a matter of minutes. Before you can finish your Facebook Post or even your Tweet.
                                                  

                                                    

                                                    


                                                    



We need to keep in our minds and hold in our hearts One True Thing:

No matter the Winner on November 8, 2016, WE ARE, every single one of us,the LOSERS.
                                                

                                                 



Though the Players will have changed. The Existential Threat to our very existence will continue....UNLESS....

UNLESS, WE, ALL OF US TOGETHER, Do Something to STOP IT!

HOPE by itself is not enough. But HOPE coupled with ACTION can and will make a difference

It is already happening. Global and National Legal Movements. Grass roots resistance. Signed and sent petitions to lawmakers in the US and abroad:
                                                

                                                    



RESOLUTION L.41- just passed by the UN General Assembly on October 27 orders the convening of a March 2017 Conference to negotiate a legally binding treaty prohibiting Nuclear Weapons. THIS IS UNPRECEDENTED. The successful adoption of the resolution, despite US and Russian Federation objections and opposition (the two nations own 90% of the world's Nuke Stockpile) was the result of the other nations and people of the world crying out "ENOUGH!" to the continued threat posed to their existence by the Nuclear Armed Nations. 
                                                  

                                                 
   


This Resolution has been lauded as a non-violent, courageous revolt against the Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear War Policies of the Nine Nuclear Armed Nations.

The UN Resolution is backed and supported, thus far, by: 
The European Parliament
Amnesty International 
17 Nobel Laureates
Greenpeace International
The International Red Cross
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

                                             


 "THIS HISTORIC DECISION IS A VOTE FOR COMMON SENSE AND HUMANITY. IT BRINGS US A STEP CLOSER TO A WORLD FREE FROM THE HORRORS OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS, THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE AND INDISCRIMINATE WEAPONS EVER CREATED."     
(Amnesty International Announcement on UN passage of RES. L.41)

"A legally binding instrument to prohibit Nuclear Weapons, leading towards their total elimination."     

So, yes, there is hope. In the meantime, the Nuclear Clock is ticking. TIME IS NOT ON OUR SIDE. This is only a FIRST STEP.
                                                                           


                                                                             



 On this Issue of Issues this BLOG has been Non-Partisan in this election cycle. There is no "cherry-picking" here of the candidates' positions. Such info is out there for us to peruse and view.

But, yes, it is so important for us to know their positions on this Preeminent Issue.


                                           


We also should know the positions of any US Senators or members of Congress who are up for election/re-election in our states/districts.

One wrong move. One mistake or miscalculation. One moment of anger. One cocktail too many.
Like a bullet fired from a gun, once that hair-trigger is pulled, the missiles can never be called back to their silos, bombers or subs.
                                                 
                                                 

                                                 

The Candidates, despite their larger than life public images, are human after all - just like the rest of us. With failings, flaws and weaknesses.

All of this destructive, death-dealing power should never be left in the hands of one person. IT IS MORE THAN TIME to take the TEMPTATION and THE WEAPONS AWAY!

We must never give up! The Weapons will not dismantle themselves.Make your voice be heard. On election day and every day thereafter. The choice is ours....
                                                 

                                                   



CLICK DAISY AD, 1964

"We must either love each other. Or we must die." President Lyndon Johnson


ABOLITION IN OUR TIME. THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES.

                                 

     

Friday, October 28, 2016

NUKES IN THE NEWS

"MOVEMENT ON RUSSIAN MISSILE PROGRAM IS SEEN AS VIOLATION OF ARMS TREATY", The New York Times, Thursday, October 20, 2016

"Russia appears to be moving ahead with a program to produce a ground-launched cruise missile...." The US administration is protesting that such a missile would violate "a landmark arms control agreement."
                                             

                                             
                                                


That accord signed by Reagan and Gorbachev is the 1987 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Agreement that bars the introduction of new intermediate range (300-3,400 miles) Nuclear-Capable missiles most likely to be deployed and USED in Europe.

The US itself plans to build and deploy a Long Range Stand Off (LRSO) Nuclear-Tipped Cruise Missile. It can be launched more than 3,000 miles from its target!
There is NO WAY for the "other side" to determine if the missile is carrying a Nuclear warhead or not.


                                                   




In a recent post here, we noted that Candidate Clinton has expressed doubts on deployment of this dangerously destabilizing new weapon.
Sen. Feinstein (D-California) has authored an "open letter" in opposition to this example of planned escalation of Nuclear Weaponry. (Escalation euphemistically called "modernization" by its proponents.)
                                               
Also, this month Mr. Putin suspended Russia's cooperation in disposing of his nation's plutonium stocks - the core of almost all Nuclear Warheads.

COLD WAR LIKE MADNESS CONTINUES. We need to STOP IT NOW!

MILLENIALS it will be your world... OR NO WORLD.
Nor can the rest of us remain passive in the face of this imminent Ultimate Threat to our children and grandchildren. CLICK here.
READ NYTS ARTICLE

"Take a Stand. And Then Go Stand There." - the late Anti-War activist Daniel Berrigan


                                                
                                               




ABOLITION IN OUR TIME! TIME IS RUNNING OUT!



                                                     
 

                                                    


                                          
                                               

Monday, October 24, 2016

NUCLEAR WAR PILLOW TALK

"Mr. and Mrs. Nuclear War", The New York Times Sunday Book Review of The Cold War They Made by Ron Robin, reviewed by Philip Taubman.
Mr. Taubman is the author of the highly-praised The Partnership: Five Cold Warriors and Their Quest to Ban the Bomb.



                                               
   



                                                      




Taubman calls Mr. Robin's book "a withering indictment of the Wohlstetters and their influence on defense policy."

The husband and wife RAND Corporation analysts championed the Cold War policy of MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) which still influences our Nuclear Posture and theory today.

Taubman notes: "White House or Kremlin miscalculation would have left millions dead, nations destroyed and the planet reeling."
WORSE, Albert Wohlstetter "pressed for a nuclear war-winning policy."

Yet, the POTUS often decried as a "war hawk", Ronald Reagan, warned:
"A Nuclear War cannot be won and must never be fought."


                                             


It is way beyond Halloween scary that our political and military leadership today are pushing for "modernization" of our already deadly, destructive Nuclear Arsenals and planning for their actual use in Nuclear war scenarios. 
No Doomsday Doubts for them! While the rest of us continue to live with this threat of continuous Annihilation.


                                                



Both Russia and the US together have  thousands of Nuclear Weapons on "hair-trigger alert" - Ready to Launch on Notice.
What Mr. Taubman calls "surreal madness."


                                                  



In debate Candidate Clinton pointed out that the POTUS has only about 4 minutes to decide whether or not a Nuclear Attack is real and whether or not to launch the weapons that will destroy humanity, the world and all future generations. OMNICIDE and ABORTION on an unimaginable scale.

But Imagine IT and Face IT, we must. A necessary first step to stop IT from ever happening....
The alternative is to do Nothing... and hope that Nothing Happens Forever....

                                               
                                                 



WE, THE PEOPLE, need to change this extremely dangerous situation.

START WORKING NOW from the Ground Up!

BE INFORMED on This ISSUE OF ISSUES!
Know the four presidential candidates' positions. VOTE accordingly on November 8. Vote for yourselves and for your children and grandchildren. It may be our Present but it is their Future. We need to ensure that they will have one....
                                                   
                                                     

                                                       


There are many Anti-Nuclear Weapons organizations that you can explore, join and/or donate to. SEE The Nuclear Abolitionist Blog for an extensive list of Links.

NYTS Book Review

ABOLITION IN OUT TIME. BEFORE WE RUN OUT OF TIME.


                                                    


Tuesday, October 18, 2016

CLINTON'S DOUBTS ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM

"IN HACKED AUDIO, CLINTON RETHINKS AN OBAMA PLAN", The New York Times, Washington,D.C., September 30,2016)
                                                  
                                                 



At a February fundraiser, Candidate Clinton privately "expressed doubts" about our nation's moving forward with its 30 year trillion dollar creation of a new generation of World Destroying Nuclear Weapons and their computer-driven, highly complex, incredibly expensive delivery to target systems.

She also staked out a position (again, not on the record) against the proposed new Nuclear-Tipped Cruise Missile aka Long Range Stand Off missile, LRSO:

"The last thing we need are sophisticated cruise missiles that are nuclear armed."
                                                  

                                                    



As described in our numerous Posts here, the Times, too, describes a "modernization" program featuring "new factories, refurbished nuclear arms, and a new generation of weapon carriers, including bombers, missiles and submarines."
                                                   


                                                     





                                                     
                                                     




Andrew Weber, former high-ranking Defense official, called the new missile a "particularly destabilizing, dangerous type of nuclear weapon."

Clinton praised former Sec of Defense, William J Perry, for speaking out against the Nuclear Weapons threat, and in particular the LRSO, stating that the more he speaks out publicly "the better off we'll be in really trying to cut this off."


                                                     




She also appeared to question the necessity for the Nuclear Modernization program: "This is going to be a big issue. There's a lot of money we're taking about to go into refurbishing and modernization."

Clinton also mentioned being open to exploring new Nuclear Weapons Treaties with Russia beyond 2010's New Start which she helped negotiate.
                                                  

                                                   




She continued: "Do we have to do any of it? If we have to do some of it,how much do we have to do? That's going to be a tough question...." and said that she would ask for the help of Mr.Weber and Mr. Perry to "help me answer that question."

This Blog's position is stark and steadfast. To answer Sec Clinton's question - WE SHOULD NOT BE DOING ANY OF IT!

Allow these aging, horrific, world-ending weapons to die a world-wide natural death in their Silos, Subs and Bombers. If that's not fast enough, (and it probably won't be) Dismantle Them. Start Now!
We partnered with Russia on this before and we can do it again.



                                                    




                                                        



This is our NUCLEAR WEAPONS RUBICON. Once we cross this singularly dangerous threshold, there is no going back. That trillion dollars and more will be in the hands of the Nuclear Weapons Industry and its multitude of contractors. Then it will be too late. 

Like all of those Nuclear Missiles - once launched they cannot be called back....






                                                   
  
READ NYTS Article
William J Perry Website
SCRAP the Modernization Program WORK FOR ABOLITION IN OUR TIME! BEFORE WE ARE OUT OF TIME!

                                                 


Friday, September 30, 2016

NUKE ARMS RACE? SEC PERRY: "REFUSE TO RUN."

Former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry has written an OP-ED in today's New York Times: "Why it's Safe to Scrap America's ICBMs"
                                                   

                                                  





Perry makes a very reasoned case for dropping this archaic leg of our Unholy Nuclear Trinity/Triad.
                                                  

                                                   
                                                    



The risk of error, he reminds us, is all too great. If the POTUS, in the less than 30 minutes he or she would have to decide to "use 'em or lose 'em" before an incoming strike takes them out, chooses to use them - Error or Not "once launched they cannot be recalled."

Perry warns: "These missiles are some of the most dangerous weapons in the world. They could even trigger an accidental nuclear war."

Think of trying to call back a bullet just fired from a gun!


                                                 



Perry is being a bit coy in the essay, however, as he is dedicating the rest of his life to the Abolition of these Weapons and their threat to the world and posterity.That would include our possession of the Nuclear Arsenal of Bombers and Trident Subs he offers as reasons to eliminate the ICBMs.
                                                 

                                                  




                                                     




But he realizes that - even as he has warned "Time is running out"- a crucial first step like the elimination of ICBMs is a START.

Perry concludes: "THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO WIN AN ARMS RACE: REFUSE TO RUN."

READ NYTS Article


SAVE THE DATE SEC PERRY is scheduled to speak in NYC in October.


ABOLITION IN OUR TIME


                                               





Tuesday, September 27, 2016

THE DAY AFTER: NUKES AND THE TWO FACES OF DONALD TRUMP

"NUCLEAR WAR IS OUR SINGLE GREATEST THREAT." "Nuclear weapons. Nuclear armaments."

"We should end it. Just get rid of it."

                                                 
                                                   




So, at first, we think: "Okay!" Finally, a Presidential Candidate, DONALD TRUMP, willing to say that this IS the biggest, most urgent problem facing the world and humanity. A position this Blog has been staking out since it started. Put the problem out there. Make the public aware. Necessary first steps.

Mr. Trump's above statements have done that. MORE: When asked by moderator Lester Holt about the US refusal to pledge a policy of "No First Use/No First Strike" :

"I certainly would NOT do a first strike. Once it happens it's over."

BUT:

"But I can't take anything off the table."

READ NEW YORK TIMES, Today's Article on this Subject

Candidate Trump has also mentioned during the campaign that perhaps South Korea and Japan should develop their own Nuclear Weapons!

Global Zero, one of the leading Nuclear Weapons Abolition organizations, sent out an e-mail to members prior to the debate asking them to ask Lester Holt to raise the Nuclear Threat issue.

Further, Global Zero has now committed itself to an "all out" campaign against Mr. Trump's candidacy, viewing him as "the greatest threat to a Nuclear Weapons Free Future that we have ever had."
                                                  

                                               
  


Candidate HILLARY CLINTON points out that Mr. Trump's position on the Nuclear Arming of Japan and S Korea would be a violation of our decades-long position of Nuclear Weapons Non-Proliferation
which has been, she states, a cornerstone of US Nuclear Policy.


                                                     



This, however, ignores the Nuclear Armed Nations' decades-long flouting of Article 6 of the NPT Treaty calling on these nations to dismantle and disarm their Nuclear Arsenals in exchange for all of the other nations of the world promising NOT to develop their own Nuclear Weapons.


                                                 



A decision on the Defendant Nuclear Armed Nations' Motion to Dismiss the Marshall Islands' Lawsuit against them for violation of the Treaty is expected very soon. CLICK


                                                   



Today's Blog Title is an appropriate reference to the TV film of 1983: The Day After. It is still the most-watched television film in history. Wikpedia



                                                                           
                                                                             



                                                                           




It depicted and dramatized the U.S. the day after a Nuclear War with the Soviet Union. We know now, thanks to his Diary, that Pres. Reagan was deeply affected by his viewing of this gut-wrenching film.
The film was fueled by and helped to fuel the Nuclear Freeze and Abolition Movements and led Reagan eventually to his historic summit with Gorbachev in Rejkavik with the intention of abolishing the Nuclear weapons threat once and for all.



                                                 
   



We CAN still get there. And finish the job! IN OUR LIFETIMES. Precious Time is running through the hourglass of history.

This BLOG is non-partisan. Consistently viewing this Issue as too important and overwhelmingly urgent to be a political football. 

The choice is yours. Be knowledgeable. Keep working at it. Never give up! The present and future of our, the world of our children and grandchildren, is at stake. There must be a World left to leave them....
                                                  

                                                       
                                                       



Ask the candidates what their positions are. Press for details. We caught a glimpse of their positions last night. (as contradictory as they may have been)
And don't forget your Senators and House members. They work for us! Demand to know their positions on this burning, urgent issue. 

And VOTE accordingly.

THE ONLY GOOD NUKE IS A DISMANTLED ONE
                                                  

                                                  




ABOLITION IN OUR TIME