CLW Holds Event on Pragmatic Internationalism
Nov 02, 2009

On Thursday, October 29, 2009, Council for a Livable Board member Priscilla McMillan moderated a discussion with CLW-endorsed U.S. Senate candidate Alan Khazei and CLW board member Sen. Gary Hart. The speakers discussed how the U.S. should meet the global challenges that dominate current headlines - from climate change, to war, to nuclear proliferation. The event took place at the Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Click here for a photo of the event!

Council for a Livable World Endorses Alan Khazei for Senate in Massachusetts
Oct 29, 2009

Council for a Livable World is proud to announce our endorsement of Democrat Alan Khazei for U.S. Senate in the Massachusetts special election to replace the late Senator Edward Kennedy.

This special primary election will be held on December 8 with the general election held on January 19.  

The Council endorsed Khazei among a group of good candidates because of his intense activisim in the growing international movement for a world without nuclear weapons.  

Khazei was a founding signatory of Global Zero, an organization advocating eliminating nuclear weapons. He participated in their inaugural conference in December 2008 in Paris, France. We are persuaded that he is the candidate most likely to be a leader on nuclear weapons issues in the U.S. Senate.

In addition, Khazei offers unique knowledge and insight into the volatile issue of Iran’s nuclear aspirations.  His father was born in Iran, so the candidate has deep knowledge and understanding of Iran’s history, culture and U.S.-Iranian relations.

For more information, click here.

Clinton Gives Non-Proliferation Speech
Oct 22, 2009

In a major speech yesterday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke forcefully about the need to reduce nuclear weapons and to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. “We can’t afford to continue relying on recycled Cold War thinking,” Clinton stated. “And the nuclear status quo is neither desirable nor sustainable.”

Clinton reiterated President Obama’s pledge to negotiate a treaty reducing U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and secure nuclear materials that terrorists could use to make a nuclear bomb, while confronting countries like Iran and North Korea that wish to develop their own nuclear arsenals.

As Clinton put it, “Pursuing these goals is not an act of starry-eyed idealism or blind allegiance to principle. It is about taking responsibility to prevent the use of the world’s most dangerous weapons, and holding others accountable as well.”

Community Call on Iran
Oct 19, 2009

On October 8th, Council for a Livable World members participated in a Community Call with Council Board Member Dr. Jim Walsh. Dr. Walsh is a renowned expert on international security who has been involved in private nuclear arms control talks with Iranian officials. The discussion addressed the implications of recent developments in Iran’s nuclear program and U.S.-Iranian negotiations. Dr. Walsh assessed these developments and provided his recommendations for the U.S. strategy in dealing with Iran.

To read a summary of the call, click here.

To join the Council's membership program and be notified of future community calls, click here.

President Obama Receives Nobel Peace Prize
Oct 09, 2009

Recognizing the importance of reducing the danger of nuclear weapons, the Nobel Committee today awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama.

Obama has “created a new international climate,” the Committee said. “Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position…The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations.”

In awarding President Obama this great honor, the Committee has recognized the importance of the President’s efforts to restore American leadership on critical issues of our time, particularly in regard to nuclear weapons.

In his historic April 2009 speech in Prague, the President vowed to pursue a world without nuclear weapons. Words are important, but words without action mean little. Thankfully, President Obama has already taken a number of concrete steps toward that goal by:

CLW History in Interesting Places
Sep 25, 2009

Random Friday fact...

While looking for petition images online, I just looked up "letter" in Wikipedia. And what is the sample "letter" image at the top of the page? A copy of the letter written by Albert Einstein and Council for a Livable World founder Leo Szilard to Franklin Roosevelt that helped start the Manhattan Project. Amazing stuff.

You can see the letter on the Wikipedia page here.

Or you can check out more about the Council's history and Szilard's work on our website.

Much happens in a week
Sep 22, 2009

Last Thursday, President Obama boldly killed President Bush’s misguided missile defense deployment in Europe, and this Thursday, he continues to push his nuclear agenda forward at a United Nations Security Council summit meeting.

The meeting, the first of its kind chaired by a U.S. president, is designed by Obama to continue the momentum toward nuclear security and arms control that the President initiated in his unforgettable Prague speech in April.

At the United Nations, the U.S. is putting forth a resolution (the draft can be seen here) that calls upon all countries to pursue “a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.” In addition, the resolution calls for universal ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and promotes a breadth of arms control and nonproliferation initiatives.

Care to show your support for President Obama’s nuclear agenda? You can send a message to the White House supporting his commitment to pragmatic steps on the way to a world free of nuclear weapons here.

In case you missed it…Obama on Missile Defense
Sep 21, 2009

After eight years of an Administration that seemed impervious to public opinion, what a new era we are in. Over the past three months, Council supporters and advocates sent more than 10,000 letters to elected officials, urging them to oppose wasteful and ineffective missile defense programs, including the proposed "third missile defense site" in Europe.

Last week, the White House announced its intention to reconfigure U.S. missile defense policy in Europe – a move which smartly includes scrapping the missile interceptors in Poland and the accompanying radar in the Czech Republic.  

This shift in policy was prompted by a request by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense that the President revise the previous missile defense plan – a request aimed to align missile defense policy with immediate security threats, rather than long-range missile threats from Iran that do not currently exist.

According to Council ED John Isaacs, ““The decision to revamp the missile defense plan in Europe is based on technological reality rather than rigid ideology…The Obama administration’s proposal is a better choice for U.S. and European security.”

For more on the political context of this announcement, click here for an analysis by Military Policy Analyst Travis Sharp.

Sen. Al Franken Thanks CLW Supporters
Sep 16, 2009

Senator Al Franken recently thanked Council for a Livable World supporters for their generous support for this campaign. With more than $120,000 in contributions, Council members provided a significant boost to his hard-fought race, which was decided by just over 300 votes.

Read a portion of his thank you here. Full text after the jump.

"I want to thank my supporters from Council for a Livable World for believing in me. You were early supporters for my candidacy for the United States Senate, giving me crucial support when few others would.

In July, Vice President Joe Biden swore me into office as the new Senator from Minnesota. Standing there, I was so grateful for the many dedicated supporters who made that moment possible.

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Council for a Livable World and its members for your generous support both during the election and throughout the long legal battles that followed...

64th Anniversary of Hiroshima: Time for Progress on Nukes
Aug 06, 2009

Today marks the 64th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. 50,000 people gathered in the city to remember the 140,000 killed within months of the attack and to honor thousands of survivors.

Hundreds more events to mark the anniversary happened around the globe, including one in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the location of the Y-12 plant where the “Little Boy” bomb was built. The event’s organizer, Ralph Hutchison, stated that, “The bomb does not make us more secure, it makes us less secure."

Many others agree.