Text of Tom Rogers address to the September 24th Seattle Rally for Nuclear Abolition Thank you. It’s an honor to be here. I had a 32 year career in the navy as a submarine officer. When I commanded a nuclear submarine, I was directly responsible for nuclear weapons. I understand that nuclear weapons are an existential threat to humanity. If I fail to oppose a national security strategy based on the threat of nuclear annihilation, then I am complicit. So, I’ve been a member of Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action for about 20 years. I’m often surprised that local […]
READ MORETag Archives: Cold War
From Trinity to Trident: A Long and Perilous Road
By Leonard Eiger Today marks the anniversary of the day in which the world entered the atomic age. On July 16, 1945, at 5:29:45 AM at the Alamogordo Test Range, on the Jornada del Muerto (Journey of Death) desert, in the test code-named Trinity, the experimental device known as the “Gadget” was detonated, creating a light “brighter than a thousand suns.” A mere 6 kilogram (13.2 pound) sphere of plutonium, compressed to supercriticality by the surrounding high explosives, created an explosion equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT (20 Kilotons). Was this, as thought nuclear physicist Robert Oppenheimer, the beginning of […]
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2018 Nuclear Posture Review: Cold War Redux!
The 2018 United States Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) is out, and there is much conversation surrounding it. The new NPR is, of course, more formal justification for the U.S. to continue the status quo of being the world’s dominant nuclear power. Yet, beyond the status quo, this NPR contains new and dangerously destabilizing developments in U.S. nuclear weapon planning and policy. The press conference announcing the release of the 2018 NPR was a classic study in Doublespeak. Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan set the (Orwellian) stage by saying, “To the American people, this administration’s highest priority is your safety and […]
READ MORESUNFLOWERS: THE SYMBOL OF A WORLD FREE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Editor’s Note: The following essay was written by David Krieger, President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. It was originally published on March 12, 1998. This version was revised on August 21, 2015. Ground Zero Center used it for a leaflet that is to be distributed next week when GZ members leaflet at the Bangor Trident nuclear submarine base. Click here to see the finished leaflet. ******************** Sunflowers are a simple miracle. They grow from a seed. They rise from the earth. They are natural. They are bright and beautiful. They bring a smile to one’s face. They produce seeds that are nutritious, […]
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