Events Organised by Yorkshire CND
Remembering Hiroshima & Nagasaki - Blog post by Sarah Cartin

Sarah Cartin has blogged on the 66th anniversary of the use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima & Nagasaki.
 
Germany pledges end to Nuclear Power by 2022
germannuclearpowerstationThe German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that all nuclear power stations will be shutdown in Germany by 2022.

Germany has committed to providing for its energy reserves with the use of renewable energy sources. The policy shift comes in reaction to concerns over safety in the light of the Fukushima disaster and presuure from large anti-nuclear protests throughout the country.

In the UK the coalition government has launched a review into nuclear power safety, though so far they seem to be sticking with the policy of opening a new generation of nuclear power stations.
 
International Women's Day for Peace and Disarmament

menwithhillA women's peace camp was held at Menwith Hill to celebrate International Women's Day for Peace and Disarmament on May 24th.

Menwith Hill is a US military base in the heart of the Yorkshire countryside that is directly connected with the gathering of satelitte intelligence for war fighting, as well as surveillance of telephone and email communications throughout Europe and Africa.

Menwith Hill

  • Is the most secret US base in Britain
  • Is unnaccountable, unlawful and undemocratic
  • Is integral to US plans to fight in and through space
  • Is the world's biggest spy base outside the US
For more details of the Menwith Hill base see our Campaigns section.
 
March to defend Public Services
CND Cut Trident contingent on the March for the Alternative: Jobs, Growth, Justice demo

One of Yorkshire CND's Scrap Trident banner on the march for the Alternative
On March 26th demonstrators on the March for the Alternative joined calls for the scrapping of Trident. Scrapping Trident and cancelling its replacement would save us over £100 billion! Using just a fraction of this money we could invest in the development of marine energy technology and other forms of sustainable energy, providing workers in the defence industry with alternative employment – and creating tens of thousands of new jobs too. It would help meet our carbon emission targets and be a giant step towards the TUC's commitment to the creation of one million climate jobs.

Scrapping Trident will also honour Britain's commitment to disarm under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty – and send the right signals to non-nuclear weapons states who, in this climate of fear, may seek their own nuclear weapons. If we continue to say they are essential for our security, other countries may come to the same conclusion.

We didn't make this crisis and we don't want Britain to possess nuclear weapons with the power to kill 320 million people. Spending money on nuclear weapons is a dead-end option in every respect. Our money must be spent on jobs, pensions, education and health – we must improve the lives of the British people without threatening the lives of others.

For more on the Trident campaign click here.
 
Non violence for a change course: Sept - June
blockade
Non-violence for Change course 2011

Turning the Tide are offering a year long course entitled "Non-violence for a change". The course will run from September 2011 to June 2012, meeting one Saturday a month, with the exception of two residential weekend sessions that intend to deepen people's understanding of the content and build a strong group.

2011 Nonviolence course will begin September in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire

As in previous years, you can sign up for the whole course, or just dip into the sessions that interest you.

Click here for further details
 
Blog Post: More Missile Offence in the Pacific
Read Dave Webb's latest blog on Missile Offence in the Pacific and local opposition on Jeju Island, South Korea here - http://www.yorkshirecnd.org.uk/blogs/posts-by-dave-webb/more-missile-offence-in-the-pacific
 
The True Cost of War - Military Spending in the UK

TridentsubAs part of the Global Day of Action on Military Spending Dr Schofield gave a talk on the true cost of UK military spending and alternatives to military investment.

UK military spending in 2009 totalled over £37bn, which is the fourth highest in the world (SIPRI).
The military budget in 2009 was nearly 10 x the size of the entire International Development budget and 1000 x the budget for conflict prevention (Guardian)
On average each UK taxpayer pays £589 per person on military spending per year (MoD figures)
Replacing the UK's Trident Nuclear weapons system will cost at least £76billion


Global Day of Action on Military Spending website - http://www.demilitarize.org/

More Information on the No to Trident campaign can be found here and at www.cnduk.org
 


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