Blog Entries

Star Wars goes to China

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:00:00 +0100

So far the controversy around the US's missile defence system has been played out with Russia. Bush's version of the system involved a radar base in the Czech Republic and interceptor missiles in Poland. He claimed that this would defend the US from potential missile strikes from Iran. Of course no one believed that, particularly not the Russians, who saw quite clearly that this system finally enabled the US to achieve nuclear primacy - the capacity to launch a first strike against th [...]

Michael Foot: setting the record straight

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:00:00 +0100

For over two decades, Michael Foot has been wrongly blamed for the defeat of the Labour Party in 1983. As one of CND's founders and a longstanding supporter, Michael Foot backed unilateral nuclear disarmament. Under his leadership, and at the time of the massive protests against the siting of US cruise missiles in Britain, Labour adopted a pro-disarmament policy.

At the June 1983 general election, the Conservative Party was re-elected and the vote for Labour was reduced from 3 [...]

Let Blair face his critics

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:00:00 +0100

The nannying of Tony Blair is reaching ridiculous proportions. When he goes before the Iraq Inquiry on Friday, attempts are afoot to prevent his delicate ears being sulied by the sounds of popular protest. CND and the Stop the War Coalition have planned a day-long peaceful vigil outside the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre but we have now been told - just three days before the event - that we are not allowed to gather on the grass outside. This is wher [...]

Release Shaker Aamer

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 01:00:00 +0100

Shaker Aamer is a victim of George Bush's criminal 'war on terror'. He remains imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, despite being cleared for release in 2007. It is now eight years since the first prisoners were taken to the base, and Shaker - a British resident - was one of the earliest detainees.

Shaker himself has suffered torture and abuse since his capture in January 2002. But the suffering inflicted on Shaker has had much wider consequences. His family - his British wif [...]

Just free Mordechai Vanunu

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Over twenty years ago, Mordechai Vanunu blew the whistle on Israel's secret nuclear weapons programme. As a result, he served 18 years in prison. 11 of them were in solitary confinement. Yesterday he was rearrested by Jerusalem police.

What great sin had Mordechai committed, to deserve rearrest? He had met his Norwegian woman friend at a hotel in east Jersualem, for a personal visit. As a result he was charged with violating his parole by speaking to a foreign national an [...]

Soviet funding? Rubbish

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:00:00 +0100

What a rehash of tedious old rubbish from the 1980s. It is a shame that politicians and journalists haven't got anything better to do than restate baseless allegations. If people want to attack Baroness Ashton, better by far to criticise something she has actually done, rather than make up a fantasy crime. No evidence has ever been produced to show that CND received Soviet funding; not surprising because there was no funding. CND has always been an independent, politically non-align [...]

Obama gets Peace Prize

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:00:00 +0100

How do I feel about Obama getting the Nobel Peace Prize, a radio presenter asked me this afternoon. Well I think the answer is 'mixed feelings'. There is no doubt that the global mood has changed under the Obama Presidency. The nightmare of the Bush years - with his 'shoot first, ask questions later, if at all' mentality - is over. Dialogue and diplomacy are up the agenda, and war and nuclear weapons are down. But they are not yet out.

The citation from t [...]

One down - three to go

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Gordon Brown's announcement that he is likely to cut the number of submarines in the Trident replacement nuclear weapons system is welcome.

But the cuts cannot stop here. Opinion polls are consistently showing that a majority of the public oppose Trident replacement. People rightly question spending in excess of £76 billion on a system that retired generals describe as militarily useless and which does nothing to protect against current threats to our security. [...]

Bush's Missile Defence: over and out

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Great news! Bush's confrontational plans to put missile defence bases in Poland and the Czech Republic have been scrapped by Barack Obama. This is highly significant. The destabilising plans were fiercely opposed by majorities in both those countries - they now have much cause for celebration as their countries have been taken off the front line in future US wars. I would like to congratulate and pay tribute to the work of the anti-base campaigns in both countries [...]

Trident - the real financial scandal

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 01:00:00 +0100

As TUC Congress meets this week, public spending will be high on the agenda. And as trade union leaders speak with Gordon Brown about the state of the economy, it's likely that spending on nuclear weapons will come up. A new opinion poll published last week shows 58% of the public opposed to spending money on Trident nuclear weapons. As the likely bill for replacing the current system comes in at around £76 billion and rising, it's hardly surprising. And that's on top of mainta [...]

Trident Replacement delay - Hooray!

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Great news: the government is delaying the decision on the next stage of Trident replacement. It has decided to wait until after the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference which takes place in May of next year. The Conference is likely to have the most serious international discussion on nuclear disarmament for decades. Real progress is possible and the government's delay decision makes a positive contribution to the Conference's prospects.

Previ [...]

Good for Obama and Medvedev

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:00:00 +0100

It's not everything that we want, but it's a good start. Just three months after Obama's speech in Prague, committing to global abolition of nuclear weapons, the first step has been taken. President Medvedev has also stepped up to the plate, and the Russian government has embraced the goal of a world without nuclear weapons.

The Presidents' announcement, at their meeting in Moscow, is good news for all of us. They plan to reduce deployed warhead numbers [...]

Demand an open Inquiry on Iraq

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:00:00 +0100

The government decision to hold the long-promised Inquiry into the Iraq war in private is outrageous. CND will continue to fight for a comprehensive, open and independent Inquiry into all factors leading up to and during the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

The illegality of the war on Iraq, and the crimes committed there, cannot be swept under the carpet. Six years do not erase the guilt of those responsible for breaking international law and bringing ab [...]

Commons committee wants new Trident debate

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Demand for a new vote on replacing Trident, Britain's nuclear weapons system, is now coming from the House of Commons' Foreign Affairs Committee. This is an all party group of MPs which carries considerable weight. In its extensive report ‘Global Security: Non-Proliferation' published today, it recommends that the government holds a further parliamentary debate on Trident Replacement before proceeding to the Design Phase of the system.

A decision to go ahead [...]

Nuclear Test outrage

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Tue, 26 May 2009 01:00:00 +0100

North Korea appears to have successfully tested a Hiroshima-sized nuclear bomb. This terrible step must be condemned by all. Describing the bomb in that way, with reference to Hiroshima, brings home - in the most graphic way possible - the full horror of nuclear weapons. From that one bomb dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945, around 200,000 people were killed, from the blast or afterwards from radiation.

It is not clear what North Korea is hoping to achieve by testing a nuclear w [...]

Trident and the credit crunch

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Mon, 04 May 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Two years ago, when Parliament voted to start the process of replacing Trident, the majority of the population opposed it. Even then, before the credit crunch kicked in, the cost of Trident replacement was a major factor in shaping public opinion. The news that the total cost of a new system - when including life-time running costs - was likely to top £76 billion was a killer fact for many. Those faced with government spending cuts and the closure of local services were already counting th [...]

The Battle of Strasbourg

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

This evening I read media coverage of today's events in Strasbourg which said that anti-NATO protesters attacked the police. That is rubbish. Anti-NATO protesters held a peaceful, political rally and peaceful political demonstration, aimed against NATO and why we want to see it dissolved.

The people who attacked the police were the so-called 'Black Block'. In what sense were their actions anti-NATO? As well as attacking the police, they burned down buildings, attacked factor [...]

NATO's 60th: cause for protest

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 02:00:00 +0100

On Saturday 4th April, NATO is ‘celebrating' is sixtieth anniversary. Peace and anti-war activists across Europe, however, see this as a cause for protest. NATO is a nuclear-armed alliance with a first strike policy. In the last ten years it has abandoned all pretence of being a defensive organisation and now has a ‘mission statement' which includes ‘out of area' activities across the entire Eurasian landmass. US nuclear weapons, under the auspices of [...]

Devonport waste scandal

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Bad news for the people of Plymouth as we learn that large amounts of radioactive metal from the reactors of nuclear-powered submarines are being cut-up in the Devonport dockyard. This is situated in the heart of Plymouth, home to 250,000 people. And the work is being done just a couple of hundred metres from houses and primary schools.

The metal in question is a reactor head, which was removed from the Trident nuclear weapons submarine HMS Vanguard during its 2002-04 ref [...]

Nuclear sub crash: what went wrong?

kate.hudson@lsbu.ac.uk — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 01:00:00 +0100

There cannot be anything more dangerous than a nuclear-armed, nuclear-powered submarine. For that reason, presumably, they must be subject to the highest safety standards, room for human error eradicated, equipped with the most sophisticated satellite positioning equipment. Or at least that is what we are led to believe.

So how is it that not one but TWO of these submarines - one British and one French - managed to collide with each other in the Atlantic Ocean? Presumably that is [...]