[ChatAction] Nuclear weapons today

[David Stoney]

Dear ChatAction people,

One of the important issues of this time is the continued existence of
ever-threatening nuclear weapons.  I've signed up for the course described
below in order to get more up-to-date about this issue.  It will be quite
good, I think, and nuclear weapons is certainly a topic about which a
Department of Peace will want to be well informed.  Instructions and link
for signing up are below.

Health, wholeness, curiosity, and courage,
David Stoney

*“NUCLEAR WEAPONS NOWADAYS: *

*What You Can Know and Do” *



*This FREE 4-session course is informative and fascinating! *

*Sign up now to take it during January beginning TU, January 12, 2021 or
SAT, the 16th  (your choice). We use Zoom video, so peopleeverywhere take
our course. *

*à** Please share this opportunity with your friends. *

The Cold War ended three decades ago, but nuclear weapons remain a threat
to the world.  Many recent and current actions by the U.S. government have
sharply increased the danger of nuclear war in the “new cold war,” so now
the “Doomsday Clock” is the closest to midnight it has ever been, since it
was devised in 1953.  Also, the U.S. is spending more on nuclear weapons
than ever before – even more than at the peak of the Cold War!

However, most Americans do not want to think about nuclear weapons.  This
course provides necessary information for people who are new to the issue –
and people whose knowledge is out-of-date. Much has changed recently, and
dangers are increasing in several ways, but politicians and mainstream news
media are failing to inform the public about what people need to know.

This 4-session course presents the serious information in a supportive
environment and also lifts up some positive ways people can solve the
problems.  We go far beyond “doom and gloom” to actually empower people to
support the solutions.

Four well informed people designed this course and trade off during the
sessions so you’ll enjoy a mix of voices and areas of expertise.  We
designed this course of four two-hour sessions to help people regardless of
how much they have known about nuclear weapons. This course is being
offered with the support of Antioch University.

*Topics include: *

   - the evolution of science that led to nuclear weapons
   - how nuclear weapons – and the policies for using them – have changed
   over the years
   - new dangers since the 2016 election
   - impacts of nuclear weapons testing on innocent people
   - decades of grassroots organizing to stop the arms race and abolish
   nuclear weapons
   - international efforts to make nuclear weapons illegal, including the
   very exciting treaty which will soon come into force
   - our own feelings and values related to nuclear weapons
   - the power of nonviolent resistance

Nuclear weapons are frightening, but *ordinary people can learn what they
need to know and can take smart actions to reduce the dangers*.  Instead of
feeling overwhelmed by hard, scary realities, *this course helps people
learn and also empower themselves to support the positive efforts that are
happening at the global, national and local levels*.

The course is presented by four well-informed persons from the Olympia WA
area:

   - Glen Anderson is chair of the Olympia Coalition to Abolish Nuclear
   Weapons (OCANW)
   - Mark Fleming is the secretary of the Rachel Corrie Chapter #109 of the
   Veterans for Peace in  Olympia
   - James Manista is a peace activist who recently faced federal charges
   for resisting the Trident nuclear submarine
   - Joanne Dufour has experience with disarmament issues including nuclear
   weapons, international humanitarian law, et. al.

*We are volunteers who offer this course for FREE. *





*à**  Here is how to sign up: *

The presenters are offering the same course twice a week during January
2021, so you may choose whichever one is better for you.  If you have a
scheduling conflict in any week, you may catch that session on that week’s
other day.

*Choose either:*

   - *Tuesdays:*  Pacific Time 5:00 (sharp) to 7:00 pm January 12, 19, 26,
   and February 2.  (If you’re in another time zone, please adjust for your
   local time.)
   - *Saturdays:*  Pacific Time 10:00 a.m. (sharp) to 12:00 noon January
   16, 23, 30, and February 6.  (If you’re in another time zone, please adjust
   for your local time.)



à Send Joanne Dufour an e-mail to *jdufourhc at msn.com* <jdufourhc at msn.com> with
this subject line:  *OCANW course on Nuclear Weapons*.  Or you may phone
Joanne at (206) 550-1841.

*Please provide your name, email address, home mailing address, and phone
number.  Specify whether you want Tuesdays or Saturdays.  *

*She will e-mail you the access for the Zoom video link so you can join our
course. *



Also, we will e-mail each participant a number of readings and videos that
flesh out the topics of each of the four class sessions.  These are not
mandatory (like school assignments were), but we do encourage participants
to read at least some of the readings and watch at least some of the
videos, because they do provide important information and insights.



*We hope you will join us! *
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