Spokesman Books

We reblog this open letter from TFF Associates and Themes Blog. Prefatory Note   What follows here is An Open Letter to the American People: Political Responsibility in the Nuclear Age . It was jointly written by Richard Falk in collaboration with David Krieger and Robert Laney. The three of us have been long connected with the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, NAPF. The NAPF focuses its effort on the menace posed by nuclear weaponry and the urgency of seeking nuclear disarmament. The nuclear agreement with Iran and the North Korean nuclear test explosion are reminders of the gravity of the issue, and should serve as warnings against the persistence of complacency, which seems to be the prevailing political mood judging from the policy debates that have taken place during the early stages of the 2016 presidential campaign.  This complacency is encouraged by the media that seems to have forgotten about nuclear dangers since the end of the Cold War, except for thos...

Ambassador Duarte kindly sent the Russell Foundation his thoughts on a notable date.     26 September 2015 International Day for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons SERGIO DUARTE Former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Sculpture depicting St. George slaying the dragon. The dragon is created from fragments of Soviet SS-20 and United States Pershing nuclear missiles. Credit: UN Photo/Milton Grant Debate on nuclear disarmament is starting again at the United Nations in New York. A number of activities marked the International Day of Peace on 21 September, and more are scheduled for the forthcoming International Day for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, on Monday 26 September 2015. High-level discussions at the 2016 Session of the General Assembly will focus on the one of the most pressing global issues of our time: how to take forward multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations. A proposal to establish an Open Ended Work Group t...

A young whistleblower submariner has published a damning account of lax safety procedures, inadequate training, and poor mental health amongst some personnel on board one of the four UK Trident boats. Please see the link below. He is William McNeilly, an Engineering Technician Submariner for the UK's Trident II D5 Strategic Weapons Sustem. The UK leases 58 Trident II (D5) submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) from the United States Navy under a system of 'mingled asset ownership'. AB (able-bodied seaman) McNeilly was on board his first extended patrol earlier this year. He is now absent without leave, and has said he will give himself up to the police. His testimony speaks for itself, and should be carefully examined, since it confirms the growing impression that accidents involving nuclear weapons are all too prevalent. McNeilly also raises the possibility of deliberate terrorist targeting of the UK Trident oper...

'The World Court Project is working to abolish nuclear weapons through the law because they violate our human values. It is a project of INLAP, the Institute for Law, Accountability and Peace.' We gladly repost this announcement of their new website: Please have a look at our new website for the Criminality of Nuclear Weapons campaign on www.nuclearweapons-warcrimes.org On the Home Page you can: v   Pledge your conviction that any use of nuclear weapons would be a war crime (if you haven’t already done this), v   See our campaigning film which shows concerned citizens, like us, making their personal pledges, v   Spread the message on the right hand side of the page by email and social media through easy links at the bottom of the page, v   Make a donation to support our cause By making your pledge you will become part of a worldwide grassroots movement of citizens upholding their deepest values through the law The world is becoming increasingly aw...

Week of Action Against Drones 5th - 12th October Starting this Saturday 5th October at midday, join activists from across Britain at RAF Croughton in Oxfordshire to say Keep Space for Peace and no to drones! Full details and registration at the CND website . Yorkshire CND has also organised a series of events at RAF bases Menwith Hill and Fylingdales - take a look at their website for full details. Our friends at the Drones Campaign Network have a detailed list of the week's events across Britain. Take a look and get involved here ! *** Only a few days left to register for CND Conference! CND Conference will be held in Liverpool on 12th & 13th October. Our annual conference and AGM gives members the opportunity to decide our overall direction for the coming year, debate contemporary issues, vote in CND’s national Council elections, and to draw strength and inspiration from participating in a collective national forum. This year’s theme is Building our Alliances...