[SGRupdate] Nuclear Weapons Update/Campaign Activities

[Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR)]

Dear Friends

With the welcome signing of a new nuclear weapons treaty between the  USA
and Russia last week and the Washington summit on nuclear
security ending today, this seems a good time to give a round-up of 
related analysis and campaigning activities as we approach both the 
General Election and the critical NPT review conference in New York in
May.

With best wishes


Stuart Parkinson
Director.

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1. US-Russia Treaty & US Nuclear Posture Review - Analysis
2. Campaign Activities - UK General Election
3. Campaign Activities - NPT Review Conference
4. "Beating the Bomb" Movie
5. Petitions
6. Other items

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1. US-Russia Treaty & US Nuclear Posture Review - Analysis

The 'New START' treaty - signed on 8th April - commits the US and  Russia
to further verified reductions in their nuclear arsenals. The  reductions
are, however, modest and do not include all the nuclear  weapons held by
the two countries.

Two days before the signing, the US published its latest Nuclear
Posture Review which has significantly narrowed the circumstances  under
which the US might consider using nuclear weapons.

Key Facts about the New START Treaty
White House summary
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/key-facts-about-new-start-treaty

Q&A: New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start)
BBC News - short analysis
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8605857.stm

Understanding New START and the Nuclear Posture Review - Briefing
Arms Control Association - detailed analysis
http://www.armscontrol.org/events/STARTandNPRBriefing

Nuclear Posture Review - full report
http://www.defense.gov/npr/docs/2010%20Nuclear%20Posture%20Review%20Report.pdf

The article from the latest SGR Newsletter analysing recent progress  on
nuclear disarmament is also now online:

Nuclear disarmament slowly gathers pace
http://www.sgr.org.uk/newsletters/SGR_NL38_Nucleardisarmament.pdf

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2. Campaign Ativities - UK General Election

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament has put together an online
General Election lobby tool, which allows you to lobby your local 
candidates - see:
http://www.cnduk.org/election/

Just type your postcode in and you can e-mail them about their views  on
Trident replacement and supporting a Nuclear Weapons Convention.

CND's General Election lobby pack can be downloaded at
http://www.cnduk.org/election/cnd-election-pack.pdf
The pack includes model questions and likely answers, the current 
policies of the major parties etc.

You may also find the following recent SGR resources useful:

Deterrence irrelevance: Trident, Britain and nuclear weapons
http://www.sgr.org.uk/newsletters/SGR_NL37_NRarticle.pdf

Could one Trident submarine cause 'nuclear winter'?
http://www.sgr.org.uk/newsletters/NL35_NuclearWinterTrident.pdf

The employment benefits of *not* replacing Trident
http://www.sgr.org.uk/newsletters/NL35_Tridentemployment.pdf

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3. Campaign Activities - NPT Review Conference

The campaign website for activities focused on the Review conference  of
the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty can be found at:
http://peaceandjusticenow.org/wordpress/

SGR has signed the 'Disarm Now' statement along with over 150 other 
organisations.

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4. "Beating the Bomb" Movie

A screening of 'Beating the Bomb' will take place on:

24th April, 3.15pm

Prince Charles Cinema, London

'Beating the Bomb' is a feature length documentary that charts the 
history of the British Peace Movement against the backdrop of the  atomic
age (1941-present day). The film also frames the nuclear
weapons issue within the wider context of global justice.

The film screening will be followed by a question & answer session  with
Tony Benn & Lindsey German and others. The event will be
compered by Kate Hudson (CND chair).

To buy a ticket and read more about the film:
http://www.maddmovies.co.uk/screening.asp
The film will eventually be made available free on the internet.

The film makers are kindly donating proceeds from the screening to  Medact
http://www.medact.org

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5. Petitions

Some of these you may have signed already, but if not, please do!

Scientists for a Nuclear Weapons-Free World
http://www.inesglobal.com/campaigns.phtml

No Trident Replacement - Yes to a Nuclear Weapons Convention
http://www.iparl.com/petition-cnd/

An end to nuclear weapons
http://www.endnuclearweapons.org.uk/petition.htm

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6. Other Items

- The UK branch of the International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons 
(ICAN) - to which SGR is affiliated - has a new website:
http://icanw.org.uk

- "Only a decade to bring nuclear weapons under control", says PM's 
advisor on nuclear proliferation
http://www.endnuclearweapons.org.uk/

- Nuclear Abolition Day, June 5th
Preparations are underway for campaigning activities on and around  this
day, at a local, national and international level.
[Website tba]