Peace Action Blog

Our longtime Development Director Peter Deccy (30 years with Sane, Sane/Freeze, Peace Action!) is in Nagasaki, as is our Field Director, Judith Le Blanc. Here is the text of the speech Peter will deliver today at the conference of our sister organization Gensuikin, in the beautiful city of Nagaski. Connecting Globally, Acting Locally for a […]

This was the song sung at the closing ceremony here in Hiroshima today, August 6, 2013, at the closing ceremony of the Japan Congress Against the A- and H-Bombs (Gensuikin) Conference. Translated to English by my hosts How can I forgive the Atomic Bomb? My hometown was burnt to ashes Upon the cindered ground where […]

In June, President Obama said, “so long as nuclear weapons exist, we are not truly safe.” Yet nuclear disarmament is not at the top of the U.S. foreign policy agenda. You can take action to make it a priority: call on President Obama to act now. Unfortunately, the administration has NOT yet agreed to: • […]

By Judith Le Blanc Do you want to reach thousands on August 9 with our message on the need for the Obama administration to engage in multilateral negotiations now for a nuclear free future? Then join our Thunderclap. Watch a brief video and learn about how a Thunderclap works. Thousands will see the message below […]

Our action alert is below, and here is a terrific op-ed by Peace Action West’s Rebecca Griffin on the prospects for successful U.S. – Iran diplomacy. Last month, the Iranian people elected a new president, Dr. Hassan Rouhani.  Dr. Rouhani won on the first ballot as Iranian voters demanded change. They rejected the hardliners competing […]

from the terrific Christine Ahn, a Peace Action Advisory Board member Published on Friday, July 26, 2013 by Common Dreams After 60 Years of Suffering, Time to Replace Korean Armistice with Peace Treaty by Christine Ahn Gen. W. K. Harrison, Jr., left table, signs the armistice ending the 3-year Korean conflict. On the right, North Korean Gen. […]

The House is now taking up the bill that funds the Pentagon.  Call your Rep and oppose Pentagon spending.  202-224-3121.  Here is our position: Dear Congressional Staff: Peace Action urges a no vote on H.R. 2397 – Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2014.  We also have vote recommendations on key amendments listed below. Sincerely, Paul […]

The news that the Obama Administration is considering a “zero option” – leaving no troops behind in Afghanistan after the end of 2014 – got some coverage last week but not a lot. I wrote a letter to the editor to the New York Times based on its article on this issue. It didn’t get […]

Let me first thank you for the phone calls to cut the budget for the B-61 nuclear warhead.  We lost the amendment vote by a surprisingly small margin 196-227.  Click here to see how your Rep. voted and please contact them to “thank or spank.” Now to nuclear issues in Iran.  A month ago, the […]

The following came out of our mid-year staff retreat, comments or questions are most welcome! Priorities and Opportunities for Peace Action/Peace Action Education Fund program, organizing, advocacy and political work for the second half of 2013 -Move the Money/ Cut Pentagon Spending Campaign: Planning is underway to do the next round of Move the Money […]

Update:  The B61 vote will happen today sometime after 2pm.  It’s not too late to generate calls or emails to your representative.  Don’t forget to post on Facebook and Tweet your friends asking for calls.  We count over 150 votes in favor of cutting funds for the B61, so we are within striking range of winning.  […]

Today the House of Representatives is considering the Energy and Water Appropriations bill where, surprisingly, much of the United States nuclear weapons programs are funded.  We expect a vote tonight or tomorrow for an amendment to cut millions of dollars to unnecessarily “modernize” the B61 nuclear warhead — the oldest nuclear bomb in the U.S. […]

by national Peace Action board member Larry Wittner on History News Network http://hnn.us/articles/still-preparing-nuclear-war Lawrence S. Wittner (http://lawrenceswittner.com) is Professor of History emeritus at SUNY/Albany. His latest book is a satirical novel about university life, “What’s Going On at UAardvark?” (Solidarity Press).] B-29 and B-36 bombers in 1948. Credit: Wiki Commons. Nearly a quarter century after […]

Tell President Obama: The time is right and the world is ready to negotiate the elimination of nuclear weapons! Click here to sign the petition. First, the good news: In May, a new United Nations working group began meeting in Geneva “to develop proposals to take forward multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations for the achievement and maintenance […]

Join us next week at the University of the District of Columbia’s David A. Clarke School of Law for the annual week long Human Rights on the Hill course organized by Peace Action board member and University of Hawai’i professor Joshua Cooper. All sessions are free and open to the public, and yuo can come […]

The Post argued that U.S. security interests require a “more robust . . . intervention” in the Syrian civil war ["No time for half-measures," editorial, June 15]. A better case can be made for avoiding the fray altogether.   Sending medium-size and heavy weapons into Syria, with or without the establishment of a no-fly zone, […]

By Judith Le Blanc, Field Director, Peace Action On Wednesday, President Obama said,  “So long as nuclear weapons exist, we are not truly safe.” And that is why Peace Action and over 20 national organizations are urging President Obama to join in multilateral negotiations to achieve the global elimination of nuclear weapons. As Paul Kawika […]