View the webinar here

This webinar features Dr. Carolyn “Rusti” Eisenberg discussing her new book, Fire and Rain: Nixon, Kissinger and the Wars in Southeast Asia. Drawing on documents declassified in recent years, the book explores how management of the war and of U.S. diplomacy by Nixon and Kissinger shaped U.S. foreign policy in ways that still resonate. Professor Eisenberg also provides insights on the impact of the anti-war movement, including how it was viewed from the White House. Rusti Eisenberg, a founder of UFPJ member group Brooklyn for Peace and a former member of our coordinating committee, is uniquely suited to help us reflect on the Vietnam War, the impact of the anti-war movements, and the lessons we might draw for today.

This event is presented by United for Peace and Justice and is cosponsored by Brooklyn for Peace, Historians for Peace and Democracy, Peace Action, Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives, Massachusetts Peace Action, Peace Action New York State, and Veterans for Peace.

The post Webinar Recording: Ending the ‘American War’ in Vietnam: The Impact of the Antiwar Movement and Lessons for the Present appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

A two-hour panel and discussion featuring grassroots insights from movement leaders in Germany and the U.S.

The global wave of protest against Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza has drawn crackdowns on speech from the streets to university campuses. One place government repression aimed at individuals and groups supporting Palestine has been particularly notable has been Germany. On March 17, United for Peace and Justice presented a panel featuring a variety of voices from Germany, and accounts of similar experiences in the United States. Learning about what is happening in Germany, a country with a history of official regulation of how the Holocaust can be discussed and how “anti-Semitism” should be defined, could provide new insights into the challenges we face in promoting a fair and open discussion of the Gaza crisis, and the history that has led us here.

View the recording here:  https://youtu.be/kWmG5-quW4o

Speakers:

Wieland Hoban, Executive Director of Jüdische Stimme für gerechten Frieden in Nahost (Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East), Germany

Yasmeen Daher, Palästina Spricht (Palestine Speaks), Germany

Amira Nasereddin, PA_Allies (Palestinians & Allies), Germany

Adam Broomberg, Artists + Allies x Hebron (AAH), Germany

Barbara Dougan, ESQ., Legal Director, Center on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Massachusetts, USA

Moderators:  George Friday, National Coordinator, United for Peace and Justice, and MaTT De Vlieger, Facilitator, Ceasefire Action Committee, Berlin, and Former United for Peace and Justice National Coordinator 

The post Gaza, Protest, Repression and Germany’s Conundrum appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

From the Inflation Reduction Act to Oliver Stone’s new film, there’s a renewed discussion about the role nuclear energy might play in the climate fight. Join us for an expert briefing drilling down on the issue, with highly qualified presenters including the former chair of the NRC.

REGISTER HERE

WHAT? You’re invited to a June 2 Zoom briefing designed for members of Congress, their staff, relevant federal agencies, and the media, but interested members of the public are invited. It features leading independent experts who have critically analyzed nuclear power’s potential role in fighting climate change.

These experts will present evidence showing the evolution of nuclear power’s costs and risks and discuss how to meet America’s low-carbon energy needs.

Whatever your current positions on nuclear power or climate change, you’ll gain new insights by hearing and questioning these highly credible expert sources.

WHO? The following distinguished experts on nuclear energy will present at the briefing:

• The Hon. Gregory Jaczko, former chair, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Dr. Mark Z. Jacobson, Stanford University Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Director of Stanford’s Atmosphere/Energy Program, and author of No Miracles Needed: How Today’s Technology Can Save Our Climate and Clean Our Air.
• Dr. M. V. Ramana, Professor and Simons Chair in Disarmament, Global and Human Security at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia, and Graduate Program Director of its Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs program.

WHEN & WHERE? The Zoom webinar will take place June 2, 2023, 1:30pm Eastern time/10:30 am Pacific time. You can register with just a few keystrokes here.  Feel free to share this invite and the registration link with colleagues who might be interested. The Zoom webinar is secure, and there will be plenty of opportunity for questions and dialog with the presenters.

WHY? The Biden administration and Congress both favor increased reliance on and federal funding for nuclear energy and advanced reactors. Nuclear is increasingly billed as a way to decarbonize power generation and help meet US climate goals, including the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The Inflation Reduction Act includes hundreds of billions of dollars for existing and new nuclear plants, and to develop and deploy “advanced” nuclear reactors. Several other bills, for example the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act of 2023 recently introduced in the Senate, provide additional funding for conventional and “advanced” nuclear power. The briefing will offer expert assessment and an evidence basis for analyzing whether increasing US investment in and reliance on nuclear energy can help meet U.S. climate goals as promised.

REGISTER HERE

This briefing is sponsored by the Samuel Lawrence Foundation, with support from members of the National Decommissioning Working Group, and the Sierra Club Lower Hudson and Atlantic Chapters. For more information, contact Stephen Kent at skent@kentcom.com or (914) 589-5988

The post Zoom Briefing: Can Nuclear Energy Help Meet U.S. Climate Goals? appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

On January 24, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist moved the hands of its iconic Doomsday Clock forward, largely (though not exclusively) because of the mounting dangers of the war in Ukraine. The Clock now stands at 90 seconds to midnight-the closest to global catastrophe it has ever been.

The Secretary General of the UN warns that humanity is “one miscalculation” away from “nuclear annihilation.” All nuclear weapon states are enhancing their arsenals, while nuclear arms control talks have come to a complete halt. Amid nuclear threats and inflammatory rhetoric, the Nonproliferation Treaty is under critical pressure. Scientific studies warn that a U.S.-Russian nuclear war could cause five billion famine deaths and usher in a “nuclear Little Ice Age.”

The NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security and the All Souls Nuclear Disarmament Task Force hosted a panel on February 28 to discuss actions to begin pulling the world back from the edge of the abyss. Watch the recording here.
Panelists:

 Rene Holbach, a Political Affairs Officer in the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, has served in UNODA’s sections on weapons of mass destruction and on science, technology and international security. He holds degrees in modern history and political science from the University of London and in international relations from Cambridge University.

Jackie Cabasso, the Executive Director of Western States Legal Foundation and a “founding mother” of Abolition 2000, has been a leading expert and activist on peace and disarmament issues for four decades. She currently serves as a National Co-convenor of United for Peace and Justice and is an Executive Advisor for Mayors for Peace.

Bruce Knotts, moderator, a retired U.S. diplomat, is chair of the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security and co-chair of the NGO Committee on Human Rights.

The post To Turn Back the “Doomsday Clock” Zoom Discussion, February 28 – recording now available appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

The International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons has been observed annually since 2014. Pursuant to the resolutions of the General Assembly, Member States, the United Nations system, and civil society, including non-governmental organizations, academia, parliamentarians, the mass media and individuals are encouraged to commemorate and promote the International Day through enhancing public awareness and education about the threat posed to humanity by nuclear weapons and the necessity for their total elimination.

Here are some of the events planned for Monday September 26, 2022.

 Reverse The Trend (RTT) amplifies the voices of young people, primarily coming from frontline communities, who have been directly affected by nuclear weapons and climate change. RTT Pacific will be hosting a special event to mark the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on Monday, September 26, at 6:30pm EDT. Learn more and register here.

 Gorbachev / Shultz Youth Legacy Award ceremony, Monday, September 26, at 2 pm EDT. Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons honors Youth Fusion with the 2022 Gorbachev / Shultz Youth Legacy Award. Youth Fusion is receiving the award in recognition of “their leadership in advancing inter-generational cooperation on peace and disarmament, human rights aspects of the nuclear arms race, innovative and interactive methods to engage youth in nuclear disarmament issues, and for building connections and cooperation between peace, nuclear disarmament, climate action and public health.” Learn more. Register here.

Challenging the Contractors Building Nuclear Weapons: Massachusetts Peace Action webinar, Monday September 26, 2 pm EDT, featuring Susi Snyder, financial sector coordinator for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and coordinator of the Don’t Bank on the Bomb research and campaign. Learn more and register.
Here are some of the major campaigns working for the global elimination of nuclear weapons. Find out how you can get involved!

Abolition 2000 Global Network to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons

Back From The Brink Campaign

International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)

Mayors for Peace

The post International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, September 26 appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

United for Peace & Justice invites you to join us for a special webinar: “End Racism. Build Peace”

 Wednesday, September 21, the UN International Day of Peace

Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on September 21. The United Nations General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire. But achieving true peace entails much more than laying down arms. It requires the building of societies where all members feel that they can flourish. It involves creating a world in which people are treated equally, regardless of their race.

The 2022 theme for the International Day of Peace is “End racism. Build peace.”  To mark this day, United for Peace & Justice hosted a webinar on Wed. Sept. 21, at 8 pm EDT/5 pm PDT.

 Our distinguished speakers include:

Vernita Pearl Fort, a former United States diplomat, an Evolutionary Systems Ecologist, Political Economist, and Democracy Research Scholar at the University of Illinois Global Institute, Urbana-Champaign. Vernita also serves on the Board of the Center for United Nations Constitutional Research. The title of her current work and manuscript-in-progress is: “The Africana World and Regenerative Global Democracy: Transforming the United Nations and the International Order through the Arts of Transitional Justice.”

 Dr. Vincent Intondi, author of “African Americans Against the Bomb: Nuclear Weapons, Colonialism, and the Black Freedom Movement,” is a leading authority on the intersection of race and nuclear weapons. Dr. Intondi is a professor at Montgomery College (MC) in Takoma Park, Maryland, where he teaches U.S. and African American history and directs MC’s Institute for Race, Justice, and Civic Engagement.

George Friday, UFPJ’s National Organizer, grew up in a rural low-income community in North Carolina in the 1960s. She holds degrees in Political Science, Economics and African American Studies from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. George is a Board member of Peace Action and a co-founder of the Black Liberation Caucus of WILPF. She serves on the North Carolina and National Coordinating Committees of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.

About the image, above:

In order to further promote peace education in member cities around the world, Mayors for Peace hosts an annual children’s art competition inviting children from 6 to 15 years old who live in Mayors for Peace member cities to submit artworks on the theme of “Peaceful Towns.”

 The Mayors for Peace 2021 President’s Award 1^st place article was Honoka Yamada of Hiroshima, Japan (14 years old). Here’s her message:

“My home town of Hiroshima wishes for a peaceful world without nuclear weapons. We fold paper cranes with a prayer for peace. Regardless of different nationalities, skin color, culture and religion, our wishes for peace are borderless and connected by a rainbow bridge. This painting depicts people from various backgrounds holding hands and sharing paper cranes. Children from around the world cross over a rainbow on the back of paper cranes. With a wish for a world in which children can walk into a bright future in their “peaceful towns,” I designed the picture with a motif of glittering stained glass.”

The post September 21 UN International Day of Peace: “End Racism. Build Peace” appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.