The Making of a Peacemonger, the new book by George Ignatieff, Chancellor of the University of Toronto, will be presented at a book-launching sponsored by the Toronto Peace Education Centre, Science for peace and the University of Toronto Press on May 22.
Science for Peace members are invited to attend an international conference on "European Security Requirements and the MBFR (mutual and balanced force red uction) Talks .The conlerence will be held at Croft Chapter House, at University College on the University of Toronto campus on May 6 and 7.
Chrysalis magazine is inviting youth from the ages of 15 to 24 to submit articles on nonviolence for a special issue of the magazine, to be published in 1986. The magazine's Literary Project is a celebration of the United Nations' designation of 1985 as International Youth Year. All entries must he received by October 31, 1985. A brochure is available which out lines the objective, guidelines, regulations and some suggested topics of the Project. Copies can be obtained by writing to ' Youth On Nonviolence," Literacy Project Committee, Chrysalis Magazine, 558 Bathurst St., Toronto, ON M5S 2P9.
As noted in last month's issue of Peace Magazine, the Toronto Disarmament Network is organizing the third annual Walk-a-thon this month, only this year it's called a "Move-a-thon," because participation is not limited to walkers alone -- rollerskates, wheelchairs, and bicycles are perfectly acceptable forms of locomotion. The proceeds from each participant's pledges arc to be divided 50-50 between the TDN and a TDN member group of your choice. (We'd like to take this opportunity to remind our readers that Peace Magazine is published by CANDIS, a member group of the TDN and we're always broke. Hint, hint.) Also if 10 or more people complete the Move-a-thon on behalf of any member group that group will be entitled to receive 60% of the money raised by its supporters. Here's your chance, See the May 26 event listing in The Peace Calendar.
Mayor Harcourt of Vancouver plans to attend a meeting in Hiroshima this August for mayors of cities that have declared themselves nuclear weapon free zones. Their conference is expected to begin work toward organizing yet another meeting to parallel the l986 United Nations Special Session on Disarmament. The 1986 meeting would be for people everywhere who have created nuclear weapon free zones. They would take advantage of that highly publicized occasion to issue pronouncements to the world about eliminating weapons from the world, region by region.
Canadian Spectrum, a magazine which presents "differing views on the nuclear arms de bate" made its debut in March. Topics covered in the first issue include Star Wars (the chairman of the Canadian Coalition for Peace Through Strength, Miroslaw Matuszewski, argues in favour, and Derek Paul of Science for Peace argues against). Other articles discuss the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies and the Canadian Institute for International Peace and Security; Clark, Turner and Broadbent on the subject of a nuclear weapons freeze; and the relative likelihood of accidental nuclear war. William E. Colby, former director of the CIA, advocates arms control in the form of a nuclear weapons freeze, while George F. Will writes that arms control will hurt U.S. interests. The basic format is debate, with extensive use of reprints from other sources. Canadian Spectrum will be published quarterly by the Inter-Professional Centre for Arms Control and lists at $2.50 per issue. For information write: Canadian Spectrum, RR 2 Lyndon ON, LOR IT0.
The Red River Peace Network is sponsoring the annual Pantex Pilgrimage to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. Pantex is the plant near Amarillo, Texas, which assembles every atomic bomb and thermonuclear weapon in the United States. For further information write: Red River Peace Network, 1022 W. 6th St. Austin, Texas 78793. We think it fair to warn prospective pilgrims, however. The plant is the site of a plutonium spill (Nov. 6, 1961), the grounds have a burial site for radioactive debris from Palomares, Spain and Thule, Greenland, as well as for several tons of uranium 238 and the plant occasionally detonates explosives which release small quantities of uranium 238. (From Mother Jones July 1979). Take your lead suit.
From the Northwest Nuclear X Change... For the second time in 3 years, the Kitsap County (Washington State) commissioners have prohibited Buddhist monks from building a peace pagoda outside the Trident sub marine base on land owned by the Ground Zero Centre for Nonviolent Action. Commissioners claimed in their Feb. 25 decision that the pagoda is incompatible with the rural aspect of the area although a power substation, a firing range, a daycare facility, and the Trident base are all located nearby.
No to Uranium Mining: Devastation or the People and Land in Northern Saskatchewan i5 a slide program produced by the Uranium Traffic Network. "It would take an effort on the scale of the space program to return all the contaminated areas in Northern Saskatchewan back to their natural state." The pro gram consists of 150 slides, 2 cassette tapes, a list of resources and a background report. Contact: The Edmonton Learner Centre, 10765 98 St., Edmonton, AB, T5H 2P2.
Cole Sommers is organizing the "East-West Peace and Nuclear Disarmament Rugby Tour Czechoslovakia," for May of 1986. Any rugby players interested? Contact him at the University of Winnipeg Athletic Centre.
Maria Fleyshgakker, now living in New York, writes of her gratification in hearing that another member of the Moscow Group for Trust, Nikolai Khramov, is now free. Khramov, 21, had been drafted into the Soviet army, presumably as a way of neutralizing his work in the independent peace movement, and his colleagues were worried about him, since his health and eyesight are poor. His release is regarded as a conciliatory move which along with several other recent friendly Soviet gestures, supports the effectiveness of western peace movements in building trust and more positive perception of that Eastern society..
Valerie Osburn reports that the first nuclear-armed submarine of the season has been spotted coming into port in Halifax. The "Benjamin Franklin" carries Trident Missiles. Project Ploughshares sponsored a silent vigil on Sunday, March 31, at the jetty.
A protest demonstration was held on April 12 in Halifax at the Department of Regional Industrial Expansion, which is the place where Pentagon officials have been promoting military contracts between Canadian producers and American buyers. The protesters are the same people who were arrested for a previous demonstration, but in April no arrests took place.
The Voice of Women, who have been organizing a major women's conference in Halifax, report that several of the participants will be women from various parts of the world. A few of these women (Malu Canton, from Argentina; Carmel del Rio, Chile; and Susana Oynei, a francophone from New Caledonia and the South Pacific) would be prepared to tour about, either before or after the conference, giving talks across Canada. For further information, contact Muriel Duckworth at ~23-3887.
The Sudbury Peace Education Network will be opening an office this month. Four people will be working until Christmas in educational work in schools and community groups. The office (intended to be a permanent one) is at 111 Larch Street, 5th Floor.
As an update to The Peace Calendar book re view on The Trimtab Factor by Los Angeles businessman Harold Willens ... From Leading Edge (January 28, 1985) ... The book has galvanized the business community into a new level of activism on the arms race issue. An emerging network with 2500 members, Willens' Business Executives for National Security (BENS) is now active in 25 cities across the US. Anyone interested can contact Harold Willens at: 321 S. Bristol, Los Angeles, 90049.