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TODAY. The international political system of nuclear bullying must change, or it will kill us all

The normalisation of mass killing of civilians really got underway in February 1945, with the fire-bombing of Dresden. This normalisation was re-authorised in August 1945 with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Mass killing can be done in other ways – “normal” bombing, starvation, … and behind all that, the threat that nuclear weapons can be used if the victims resist.

Ray Acheson has beautifully explained this. So – we all live under that threat – at any time a so-called political leader might decide to use nuclear weapons.

So we live under the “international rules-based order” – which is backed up by this nuclear threat.

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It all doesn’t make sense.

Not only do we have to accept that it’s OK for our side to massacre civilians of the other side. We’re also agreeing to the massacre of our own civilians, because the USA has set up numerous missile bases as targets ,so that some of them will attract the nuclear bombing by the enemy. That’s supposed to “dilute” the power of the enemy’s nuclear attack across the nation.

That’s just one bit of the craziness of an international relationship system that is based on nuclear bullying.

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Further insanity, illogic of the system – Ray Acheson quotes Martin Amis:

What is the only provocation that could bring about the use of nuclear weapons? Nuclear weapons. What is the priority target for nuclear weapons? Nuclear weapons. What is the only established defence against nuclear weapons? Nuclear weapons. How do we prevent the use of nuclear weapons? By threatening to use nuclear weapons. And we can’t get rid of nuclear weapons, because of nuclear weapons.

They call it “deterrence”, but as Acheson points out – the possession of nuclear weapons does not deter war and violence. In fact it enables war. The nation possessing nuclear weapons (and there are more of such nations now) can intimidate others – cower them into not standing up to aggression and war crimes.

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Not to be forgotten in our consumer society, with its gospel of eternal growth, and profit as the most virtuous goal – the success of the nuclear business. Financial investments in nuclear weapons provide profits for weapons manufacturers that also build conventional bombs, missiles, guns, fighter jets, and other technologies of war.

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Can the world change from this madness?

Surely so. Let’s remember the conclusion of Anne Frank, 13 year old victim of the Nazi death chambers- “I still believe that people are really good at heart “

The Second Meeting of States Parties (2MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will take place from 27 November to 1 December 2023 at UN Headquarters in New York City.

November 25, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes