Remembering Dr. Chazov in Baku
by Joe Hodgkin
Irregularly shaped towers of glass and steel rise in the distance behind the crenellated yellow stone walls of the medieval old city. These are the Flame Towers, the futuristic landmark and symbol of Baku, Azerbaijan. Their design alludes to the country’s history as a place where ancient Zoroastrians would come to worship the flames that erupted from the landscape – now known to be due to ignition of oil and natural gas deposits. I traveled to Azerbaijan earlier this month, where I met with my friend and colleague, Olga Mironova, cardiologist and co-president of IPPNW, and we remembered the legacy of her grandfather, Yevgeniy Chazov.
Read more…[Editor’s note: More than 100 medical journals, including the Lancet, the British Medical Journal, the New England Journal of Medicine, and JAMA have issued a joint call for urgent steps to decrease the growing danger of nuclear war and to move rapidly to the elimination of nuclear weapons. At a time of expanded fighting in Ukraine and increased tensions in Korea, leaders of the global health community underscore that any use of nuclear weapons would be catastrophic for humanity.
The unprecedented call to action comes in the form of an editorial co-authored by the editors of 11 of the leading medical and health journals, the World Association of Medical Editors, and leaders of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). The editorial is being released this week in conjunction with the start of the UN Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Preparatory Committee Meeting and the 78th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.]
Reducing the risks of nuclear war—the role of health professionals
In January, 2023, the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the hands of the Doomsday Clock forward to 90 s before midnight, reflecting the growing risk of nuclear war.1 In August, 2022, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the world is now in “a time of nuclear danger not seen since the height of the Cold War.2 The danger has been underlined by growing tensions between many nuclear armed states.1,3 As editors of health and medical journals worldwide, we call on health professionals to alert the public and our leaders to this major danger to public health and the essential life support systems of the planet—and urge action to prevent it.
Read more…[The following presentation to the NPT Working Group was delivered by European regional Vice President Dr. Angelika Claussen on behalf of IPPNW on 25 July in Vienna.]
Changes in structure and procedure may improve NPT outcomes, but a clear focus on the goals and purposes of the Treaty is essential for progress
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you during this Working Group session in preparation for the NPT PrepCom next week. My name is Dr. Angelika Claussen and I am the Vice-President for Europe of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). I am speaking on behalf of our IPPNW federation, representing thousands of medical professionals and 55 national affiliates worldwide.
The focus of this week’s work is on structural and procedural changes that might improve outcomes in future NPT Preparatory Committee meetings and Review Conferences. There are excellent suggestions put forth by our colleagues at WILPF and within your own discussions.
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The Oppenheimer film is a significant artistic work, and by all accounts—including of Kai Bird, the surviving author of the detailed biographical book on which it is based—impressively historically accurate.
Like the whole nuclear age, explosively begun through the events depicted in the film and in which we are still vulnerably immersed up to our necks, the acute existential danger posed by the fruits of the Manhattan Project are daunting and can be overwhelming.
But without squarely facing the problem we have no chance of fixing it.
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After the explosion at the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine last month, many Ukrainians feared the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant could be next. These concerns have been heightened in recent weeks as both Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of planning an attack of the plant, which has been under Russian control since March 2022.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not found any evidence of explosives in recent inspections, but also said it had yet to be granted access to all parts of the huge plant.
So, how serious are the risks of an attack at the power plant? And how disastrous would this be for Ukraine and the wider world?
Read more…J. Robert Oppenheimer’s tragedy―and ours
The July 21, 2023 theatrical release of the film Oppenheimer, focused on the life of a prominent American nuclear physicist, should help to remind us of how badly the development of modern weapons has played out for individuals and for all of humanity.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, American Prometheus, written by Kai Bird and the late Martin Sherwin, the film tells the story of the rise and fall of young J. Robert Oppenheimer, recruited by the US government during World War II to direct the construction and testing of the world’s first atomic bomb at Los Alamos, New Mexico. His success in these ventures was followed shortly thereafter by President Truman’s ordering the use of nuclear weapons to destroy Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Read more…A life-changing emotional experience
by Walusungu Mtonga, InternatIonal Medical Student Representative
The Hiroshima ICAN Academy on Nuclear Weapons and Global Security is a program which aims to nurture global leaders who can make concrete contributions towards a more peaceful and secure world.
In 2022, 29 participants from 20 different countries took part in the academy which comprised a series of online learning and webinar sessions and a Hiroshima in-person session. I was privileged to have attended both.
Read more…by Lawrence S. Wittner
Perhaps the greatest tragedy of the immensely destructive Ukraine War lies in the fact that it could have been averted.
The most obvious way was for the Russian government to abandon its plan for the military conquest of Ukraine.
The problem on this score, though, was that Vladimir Putin was determined to revive Russia’s “great power” status. Although his predecessors had signed the UN Charter (which prohibits the “use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state”), as well as the Budapest Memorandum and the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership (both of which specifically committed the Russian government to respecting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity), Putin was an ambitious ruler, determined to restore what he considered Russia’s imperial grandeur.
Read more…Mainstream media need to focus on peace
by Sue Wareham
The fact that Australia is sleepwalking towards a catastrophic war against China has received very welcome and responsible coverage in Pearls and Irritations and other non-mainstream media. The head-in-the-sand stance adopted by much of the mainstream media stands in stark contrast. The most recent example of the latter was a 15-page supplement in The Canberra Times (CT) on 17 May—‘Our Next Steps’, on the Defence Strategic Review. It was a most shameful collection of war-mongering articles and images.
Read more…by Arun Mitra
Much was expected from the recently concluded summit of the group of seven countries—the G7—which included the USA, the UK, France, Canada, Italy, Germany, and Japan. Since the world is faced with the serious threat of use of nuclear weapons during the on-going Russia-Ukraine war, there was a feeling that the G7 should come out with a clear-cut commitment and time-bound strategy for nuclear disarmament. The summit had special importance as it was held in Hiroshima, a city which faced the catastrophic impact of the first ever use of the atomic bomb on a human population. The final communiqué released after the summit—the ‘Leaders’ Declaration,’ as it is called—does not, however, cite their explicit commitment to take steps to abolish nuclear weapons as a matter of urgency.
Read more…
Bimal Khadka
Bjorn Hilt
Charles K. Johnson
Gunnar Westberg
IPPNW
John Loretz
Lawrence Wittner
Maria Valenti
mollymcgint
Sue Wareham
Tilman Ruff
Tim Wright
Xanthe Hall
IPPNW peace and health blog 