[ChatAction] Nuclear weapons today

Sat Dec 12 11:44:22 MST 2020

David, Thank you for this!  Ever since seeing Cynthia Lazaroff on Humanity Rising, I realize we are at 100 seconds to Doomsday!  I was encouraged to change my Richard Feynman clock’s, I had made as sculpture in 2015, name to The Doomsday Clock and change the time to 100 seconds to midnight which is Doomsday.  This has a bit of irony to it 

because Feynman was involved in creating the Atom Bomb.  
 I used his diagrams to make the pendulum and the numbers on the clock’s face.  Bruce mentioning The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists led me to their site so I signed up for their newsletter.  I was also inspired to join the No First Use group as well as support Cynthia’s initiative and I will join you in taking those 4 lessons being offered.  

I would like to see our group join forces with No First Use or Global Zero or one of the other many orgnizations already set up to change laws and get something done.  I am thrilled to see Global Zero already in place with support from so many influential educated people,  I think rather than going out on our own, we could be more effective if we, as a group (our Department of Peace) joined either No First Use or Global Zero….or both!

What do you think?

 The Peace Labyrinth©

Link to a short update to my website: My Portfolio 2020 https://youtu.be/biAdP6iaKVI
www.marciaraffstudio.com
+ 917 670 1580 

> On Dec 12, 2020, at 8:18 AM, David Stoney via ChatAction <chataction at communitymagic.org> wrote:
> 
> 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 <mailto: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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