By Leonard Eiger July 16th marks the day 78 years ago when the United States let the nuclear genie out of the lamp. 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 named Trinity, Manhattan Project scientists detonated the experimental device known as the “Gadget,” 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 […]
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Activists Blockade Trident Nuclear Submarine/Weapons Base for Mother’s Day
Activists blockaded the entrance to the US Navy’s west-coast nuclear submarine base, which is home to the largest operational concentration of deployed nuclear weapons, in a nonviolent direct action the day before Mother’s Day. Eight peace activists from the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, holding banners reading “The Earth is Our Mother Treat Her With Respect” and “Nuclear Weapons are Immoral to Use, Immoral to Have, Immoral to Make,” briefly blocked all incoming traffic at the Main Gate at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor in Silverdale, Washington as part of a May 13th Mothers Day observance. Traffic was diverted as the 15 […]
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Following The Golden Rule
By Leonard Eiger For most of humanity’s recorded time on Earth people have tried to follow the Golden Rule, which is essentially the principle of treating others as we would like to be treated. And yet today it seems that in far too many ways and situations this fundamental axiom has been turned on its head, especially when it comes to relations among nations. Racism, xenophobia, militarism, and their ultimate manifestation – nuclear weapons – rule the day as a symbol and tool of power in many nations. As for the United States, we have twisted the Golden Rule, expecting […]
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Having Enemies is a Choice
By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, April 23, 2023 https://worldbeyondwar.org/having-enemies-is-a-choice/ What’s something that nobody can give you unless you want it? An enemy. This ought to be obviously true in both the personal sense and the international sense. In your personal life, you acquire enemies by seeking them out and choosing to have them. And if, through no fault of your own, someone is cruel to you, the option remains of not behaving cruelly in return. The option remains of not even thinking anything cruelly in return. That option might be extremely difficult. That option might be one that you […]
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Peace Activists Protest on Earth Day at Pentagon’s Largest Gas Station
On Earth Day 2023, peace activists and environmental activists came together at the Pentagon’s largest gas station to bear witness to the madness of burning massive amounts of fossil fuels in the name of National Security while the world is on fire due to global warming/climate change. Organized by Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, activists gathered on April 22nd at Manchester Fuel Depot, known formally as the Manchester Fuel Department (MFD), to protest hydrocarbon use by the U.S. Navy and the Department of Defense. The Manchester depot is located near Port Orchard in Washington State. The Manchester depot is the largest fuel […]
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