On 6 July, academics and activists from all over the world will hold a seminar blockade as part of Faslane’s 30 Days of Action (see left), following similar actions at Faslane in 2005 and at the 2009 Copenhagen climate negotiations.
The theme of the seminar is ‘security’. Participants are invited to contribute papers from a range of perspectives on the complex issue of nuclear weapons. Contact Dr Kelvin Mason or Dr Kye Askins:
MasonK4 AT cardiff.ac.uk
kye.askins AT…
Two things are happening right now in relation to the question of whether an independent Scotland should be part of the nuclear-armed North Atlantic Treaty organisation (NATO).
It is obvious that within the Scottish National Party the defence spokesperson Angus Robertson is being allowed or encouraged by the leadership to promote a switch to a pro-NATO policy.
He has been publicly floating the idea for some weeks now and has not been slapped down by others in the leadership.…
In May, I joined with 580 civil society delegates to take part in a ‘Mexican wave’ of briefings and side events at the preparatory committee for the Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference (NPT PrepCom) in Vienna.
On the eve of the wave, 150 of us met at the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) campaigners’ meeting to exchange our experiences and consider priorities.
The anti-nuclear physicians (IPPN) presented a new ‘nuclear famine’ report highlighting…
Faslane Peace Campers are happy to announce that the 30 Days of Action, from 9 June to 9 July, will be filled with anti-nuclear shenanigans of the highest order.
Of the things we can disclose: there will be a CND peace picnic on 17 June; a peace march from Glasgow to Faslane from 21-23 of June; and on 1-2 July there will be a two-day Rise Up musical gathering – everyone is welcome and…
The Tricycle Theatre, ‘Britain’s leading political playhouse’ according to The Times, is running a packed season of events examining nuclear weapons and the nuclear debate.
A centrepiece of this season is an ambitious two-part, five-hour sequence of 10 new short plays exploring nuclear issues, the performances punctuated and complemented by verbatim readings, archive footage and images.
The 10 plays explore nuclear weapons from a refreshingly diverse range of…
On 23 March, the British American Security Information Council (BASIC), a thinktank based in Washington DC and London, issued a report claiming that cancelling the replacement for Trident, Britain’s nuclear weapons system, would save the UK £83.5bn over the next 50 years.
According to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), just the £25bn cost of constructing the replacement nuclear submarines could pay for: the training of 120,000 nurses or 60,000 teachers; a £2,500 bonus for…
Scottish CND’s new report investigates where Trident might go if it couldn’t be in Scotland and concludes that there are no viable options. The hope is that this will boost the prospects for ridding the world of nuclear weapons, though, of course, the politics of any deal on Scottish independence would also have an impact.
Scottish CND’s latest statement on the independence referendum states: ‘We want to ban the bomb in Scotland and in Britain and beyond. We are delighted that the…
Faslane Peace Campers are announcing 30 Days of Nonviolent Direct Action against nuclear weapons at the Faslane naval base to mark the 30th birthday of the peace camp and the ongoing travesty of nuclear weapons. The actions will commence on Saturday 9 June 2012 and continue until 9 July.
Ready for action!
Over the last year a small group of us have been endeavouring to make the peace camp a healthy and happy place to facilitate direct action against Trident We are ready for…
The Scottish National Party (SNP) has made a clear and repeated commitment to get rid of the Trident nuclear weapon system come independence. Rather than simply accepting that commitment and waiting for the happy day I believe we should be attempting to tease out what is intended.
The SNP has vigorously denied that they would engage in a ‘Dirty Trident Deal’ whereby the Trident bases on the Clyde remain operational in return for a smooth independence path and/or other goodies, such as…
Bongo-player, brilliant raconteur and Nobel Prize-winning physicist, Richard Feynman was also one of the scientists who helped to build the first atomic bombs at Los Alamos.
After the first successful test Feynman was elated, playing an improvised drum on the hood of a jeep, but later sank into a deep depression, convinced that global nuclear war was inevitable. To his credit he later came to regret at least part of his role, and decided never to work on classified projects again.…
The Bomb: a partial history, in two parts. Directed by Nicholas Kent. Tricycle Theatre, London, 9th February – 1st April 2012. www.tricycle.co.uk
The Tricycle Theatre, “Britain’s leading political playhouse” according to the Times, is running a season of events examining nuclear weapons and the nuclear debate. A centrepiece of this season is an ambitious two-part, five hour sequence of ten new short plays exploring nuclear issues, the…
I have been struck lately by what seems to me mission creep within CND. For example, the conference that followed the London region AGM in January included a session entitled “Why are we war-mongering in the Middle East?” The public forum held after the region’s quarterly meeting on 2 November was a talk with an identical title.
The two presentations were admittedly very different. At the AGM, Greg Muttitt, author of Fuel on the Fire, while not answering the question posed, gave a…
On 28 September, 27 people appeared at Kansas City municipal court for nonviolent witness in May at the site of the new Kansas City nuclear weapons plant. Together with 26 others, mainly Catholic Workers, they had been arrested after walking into the road to the site. Nine pleaded guilty, two were acquitted because prosecution witnesses could not identify them, and the rest were found guilty after trial. All received light sentences of probation and community service, with fines for those in…
On 28 October, the ministry of defence began a public consultation on its proposals for dismantling 27 out-of-service nuclear powered submarines and for managing the resulting radioactive wastes. The nuclear submarine forum (NSF), a network representing 16 local campaign groups, is calling for responses to the MoD’s proposal to place radioactive waste from the submarines in “interim storage” until a proposed long-term disposal facility opens in... 2060.…
It is a common view in Scotland that the high road to the removal and dismantling of the UK Trident system is Scottish independence. Alex Salmond has recently given a “100%” guarantee that Trident will go once Scotland can make its own decisions.
There are concerns about this. Independence may not happen. SNP leaders are adamant that there is no question of a dirty deal where Scotland would be granted a form of independence in return for continuing to host the business end of Remnant…
