STOP THE SPREAD campaign featured in New World Magazine

Flicking through my copy of 'New World Magazine' I noticed that our STOP THE SPREAD campaign is featured! The full version of the latest issue can be downloaded here for free.

It features are report by UNYSA-UK President Nick Boucher about his trip to South Korea and also has a photo of Hans Blix handing us an award for the campaign! (we were all so pleased!).

There's also some information about how you can get involved in this years lobby for the UN day. Surprisingly enough, this year the lobby will be about nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and climate change.

And why not support the campaign on Twitter?

New Nuclear Weapons Film

I've just had a look at the new nuclear weapons documentary by 'The Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission'. It's pretty good for giving an overview of why we should be disarming and what the big problems are. You can view a shortened version of the film on their website.

If you're involved with a United Nations Association Branch why not order a copy to run as part of a film night? Maybe it could be part of a double-bill with Dr Strangelove? (great film!).

The New York Times has a pretty good article on America's decision to remove missiles from Eastern Europe. Basically they're saying that it demonstrates the USA's willingness to move towards nuclear disarmament. It's an interesting theory and the timing is very similar.

I also got sent this fictional news story about nuclear weapons in 'The Onion' (a US satirical paper). It's quite fun, so you might enjoy it.

UN Security Council agrees to work towards nuclear disarmament

This week Barack Obama became the first sitting US President in history to chair the UN Security Council. Now, that's pretty special in itself, but even better - Obama used the occasion to highlight the importance of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.

It's great to see that Obama is willing to work with other countries to come to an agreement. President Bush threw away his chance to strengthen the non-proliferation treaty - we can't let that happen again. The non-proliferation treaty is in a fragile state. Countries which were supposed to disarm haven't done so and a number of new countries have developed weapons since the treaty was signed. If nothing is done it's likely that the non-proliferation treaty will crumble and more and more countries will feel the need to develop nuclear weapons.

It's clear that Obama's approach is working - the UN Security Council unanimously adopted his resolution calling for nuclear disarmament. The US and Russia have annouced plans to cut down their nuclear stockpiles and earlier on this week UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that he would be cutting down on the number of British nuclear submarines. These are all steps forward, but there are many more to go.

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UK to cut down on nuclear subs

Today is an exciting day for anyone who want a world free of nuclear weapons. In the UK Gordon Brown has said that he will scrap one of Britain's nuclear submarines. And in the US, Barack Obama has addressed the UN to promote nuclear non-proliferation treaty. It's a start and a good sign that the UK is serious about working towards a world free of nuclear weapons, but there is certainly loads more work to be done.

Send a message to world leaders by signing the Global Zero petition.

Have a look at this link for more on Gordon Brown's non-proliferation speech.

And here to see what the UK foreign secretary, David Miliband, had to say about reducing the number of British Nuclear submarines.