What We Must Do About Nuclear Weapons
Cleveland Peace Action takes these positions on the existence and possible use of thermonuclear weapons by countries possessing such unprecedented destructive power:
1) The U.S. must formally declare a No First Strike policy, stating that the U.S. will not be the first to use nuclear weapons in any conflict, including the Russo-Ukraine war, period.
2) The U.S. must halt nuclear arsenal modernization, with its projected cost of $1.7T ($1,700,000,000,000) over the coming 30 years. The 400 live missile silos scattered in five western states must be closed. Modernizing weapons that are not lawful to be produced or detonated is a waste of money, is unnecessary for deterrence and fuels the global arms race. Making better nuclear weapons puts us in greater danger.
3) The possibility of a misread (accidental or deliberate) of Russia’s statements and actions relative to the ongoing war must be accounted for. Poor communications among the warring parties could quickly cause disaster. The Russo-Ukraine war must be immediately de-escalated and moved to negotiations, with a common expectation of concessions to be made on both sides.
4) Members of the U.S. House and Senate should be encouraged to pass H.R. 2850, which requires the Federal Government to sign and ratify the TPNW. Passage of this law would order the Executive Branch to sign.
5) The U.S. must sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, joining 122 other nations, none of which have nuclear weapons.
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BOYCOTT: film screening & discussion
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18th – 6 PM at Cleveland State University
Details on Eventbrite
Join us at Cleveland State University for this award winning film about free speech and the vigilance of common people in securing our First Amendment rights.
When a newspaper publisher in Arkansas, an attorney in Arizona and a speech therapist in Texas are told they must choose between their jobs and their political beliefs, they launch legal challenges.
– Panel Discussion
– Refreshments
– Free to the general public!
Cleveland State University
Berkman Hall
Room BH 201
Sponsored by Cleveland State University Students for Human Rights in Palestine, Cleveland Peace Action, Council on American Islamic Relations, Cleveland, Council For Peace In The Middle East, and JVP-CLE
A Weekend Trifecta: two Guardians playoff games plus a Browns game
With the Cleveland Guardians back in town last Saturday for the third game of a best-of-five series against the Yankees, after splitting the first two games in the Bronx, and the Browns-Patriots game on Sunday, it was a rich opportunity to promote peace to hundreds of baseball and football fans–especially to Progressive Field’s sellout crowd of more than 34,000. With the temperature on the chilly side I wore my 56-year-old U.S. Army field jacket complemented by my peace flag on a pole balanced on my right shoulder.
On Saturday I stood at the northwest corner of East Ninth Street and Carnegie Avenue, greeting folks heading into Progressive Field. When noticing Yankees fans with their white pinstripe shirts sporting the NY logo on the upper left chest, I cheerily said, “Welcome to Cleveland!!” Most said “Thank you” but those who didn’t ignored me, probably not fans of my peace flag. Similarly, many Guardians fans ignored me when I greeted them. When a red bus similar to “Lolly the Trolly” approached the intersection, the driver noted my presence over the vehicle’s loudspeaker and people on board cheered me, but they also jeered a couple of gentlemen wearing Yankees shirts, shouting at them “Yankees suck….Yankees suck.” I wish they had shouted the same friendly greeting I had given them–“Welcome to Cleveland!” It would have made the Guardians fans–and the city–look much better in the eyes of Yankees fans. Oh well.
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Preventing a U.S. Civil War
Wednesday, October 26 at 7 pm
Parma-Powers Branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library, 6996 Powers Blvd, Parma, OH 44129
This is a hybrid program, in person and virtual.
To attend on Zoom, register here
Matthew Ward, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Baldwin Wallace University will be discussing Barbara F. Walter’s book, “How Civil Wars Start and How to Prevent them.” Matt Ward and his BWU colleague Cait Kennedy will comment on extremism, authoritarianism, and right-wing radicalization in the United States. A community dialogue will follow.
Among the Cleveland Air Show Crowd, Many Support Peace
There were opportunities aplenty to promote various perspectives of peace during the first day of the scheduled three-day Cleveland National Air Show over Labor Day weekend at Burke Lakefront Airport. On Saturday, the first day of the series, I took my usual post at the northeast corner of the intersection of East Ninth Street and North Marginal Drive.
Two women on bicycles had stopped at the intersection waiting for a policeman to allow them to move on. The first woman bicyclist said, referring to my peace flag, “Where are the stars?” I said, “The stars are in hiding. They are ashamed, embarrassed and disgusted with all the death, destruction, instability and chaos we have caused in the Middle East. Millions upon millions of refugees, and it’s all on our United States government. Some people have said to me, ‘If you don’t like it here, why don’t you leave?’ and I said, ‘I love my country. But I’m not too happy with some of the things our government has done. You need to make a distinction between our country and our government.”
The woman was quiet for a few minutes, thinking about what I had said, then offered me a drink from her water bottle, saying, “I don’t have any germs.” I demurred, saying she would need the water for herself, but she said she would get the bottle refilled. Her kind offer made me think she appreciated my comments.
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