tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49449153360197903672024-03-14T04:30:43.639+00:00Pugwash HistoryUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-61629783682458671122013-12-03T10:30:00.000+00:002013-12-03T10:31:26.026+00:00Joseph Rotblat; Moral Dilemmas of Working on the Atom BombBritish Library audio available of interviews with Joseph Rotblat about his life and experiences. Note the link here to additional audio - an excellent resource for those interested in the Pugwash history.<br />
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<a href="http://www.bl.uk/voices-of-science/interviewees/joseph-rotblat/audio/joseph-rotblat-the-moral-dilemmas-of-working-on-the-atom-bomb">http://www.bl.uk/voices-of-science/interviewees/joseph-rotblat/audio/joseph-rotblat-the-moral-dilemmas-of-working-on-the-atom-bomb</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-79704965276044411072013-08-06T13:38:00.000+01:002013-08-06T13:38:37.478+01:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Joseph Rotblat’s Memories of 6 August 1945<br /></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"The first inkling that I had that the [Manhattan] project
was successful in the sense that it achieved what it wanted to achieve was on
the 6th of August 1945. I can remember
very well. It was a Monday, a bank
holiday in England, and I came back from being away and I switched on the radio
at 6:00 in the evening and there was the announcement that we had dropped the
bomb on Hiroshima. And so I knew from
this that what were before purely theoretical speculations turned out to be
reality. To me it was a great shock
because, for one, I still had some faint hope that maybe all these theoretical
calculations would turn out to be wrong and the whole thing would be a fizzle,
and secondly, I thought even that if it were successful that it would not be
used against populations, but rather as we used to discuss before I left Los
Alamos, to try to demonstrate to the Japanese the acquisition of the new type
of weapon and get them to agree before it should be used on populations. Both of these hopes, albeit faint hopes, were
completely turned out to be wrong. And
then I was of course also very much afraid about what was going to happen
because I was very much influenced by my discussions in the previous summer,
1944, at Los Alamos with Neils Bohr, the famous Danish physicist… he foresaw
that this was going to lead to an arms race.
… I knew also at that time, that the atom bomb that was used on Japan
was the first step in nuclear weaponry.
Because in the office next to me was Edward Teller who was not actually
involved in the work on the atom bomb itself.
He already at that time worked on the super project, the hydrogen
bomb. One of Teller’s helpers was also a
Polish man and therefore we used to talk to each other in Polish. I knew a little bit more than other people
about what was going on. So I knew that
it would begin an arms race and that the hydrogen bomb would come in. And then, remembering what Bohr was saying, I
was very much…for the first time I became worried about the whole future of
mankind. <b><span style="color: purple;">Because I knew that…once you
are going to develop these huge weapons, where are you going to stop? And this was my reaction on the 6th of August.</span></b>”</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">[Source: Personal interview with Sandra Ionno Butcher, Washington,
DC, 13 July 2003. The photo is a picture of paper cranes made by children in Japan and given to Joseph Rotblat.]</span></blockquote>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-59192127433196662312012-07-06T08:59:00.004+01:002012-07-06T09:01:12.571+01:00Pakistani Pugwashite and the Higgs boson discovery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i1.tribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/404370-Abdussalamexpress-1341557519-793-640x480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://i1.tribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/404370-Abdussalamexpress-1341557519-793-640x480.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">An <a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/404370/higgs-boson-pakistans-contribution-to-a-major-breakthrough/">article</a> in today's Express Tribune (Pakistan) refers to the contributions made to the Higgs boson discovery by a leading Pakistani scientist: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">“some of the earliest theoretical groundwork that led to this discovery was laid by Pakistan’s only Nobel laureate, Dr Abdus Salam.” </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Dr. Salam was a Pugwashite for 20 years. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">A tribute that appeared on </span><a href="http://bit.ly/PnTJLU" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">p. 71</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"> of the Proceedings of the 48th Pugwash Conference says he was "always pleasant" and "deeply humane." He had "wisdom" and a "high sense of dignity". Through his Pugwash involvement, "he contributed...to the prevention of nuclear war and other threats to peace."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-15960657391669651102012-05-06T10:13:00.001+01:002012-05-06T10:13:28.338+01:001986 Interviews with Joseph Rotblat AvailableA three part 1986 WGBH video interview with Joseph Rotblat is available.<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nft_PpOkYXM&feature=relmfu">Part One</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM3pZ7HeXvg&feature=relmfu">Part Two</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ5oYT11qPw&feature=BFa&list=SPE9440097EDB7AF45">Part Three</a> (post war) (the laughter in the beginning shows a side of his personality)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-42065145469449398942012-05-06T10:04:00.002+01:002012-05-06T10:13:45.700+01:00Videos of Rotblat Biography Launch Now Available<a href="http://www.britishpugwash.org/Recent%20events%202011&12.htm">British Pugwash</a> held a launch in February of the new biography of Joseph Rotblat, written by Andrew Brown, "Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience" (described in an <a href="http://www.pugwashhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/new-biography-of-joseph-rotblat.html">earlier post</a>). Videos of this event are now available on you tube.<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waTPRjpUUQo&feature=BFa&list=UUUNBPt6-0fOB7oB7zv6ZsvQ">Andrew Brown</a> (author)<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGtt6UHIlEg&feature=BFa&list=UUUNBPt6-0fOB7oB7zv6ZsvQ">Paul Rogers</a>, Professor of Peace Studies, Bradford University<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85s3qan5RD8&list=UUUNBPt6-0fOB7oB7zv6ZsvQ&index=1&feature=plcp">Sandra Ionno Butcher</a>, Director, Pugwash History Project<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-68629297352494608802012-05-01T18:06:00.001+01:002012-05-01T18:06:19.561+01:00Hodgkin was Thatcher's Mentor<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 13px; text-align: left;">Did you know that Margaret Thatcher's mentor was <a href="http://www.pugwash.org/reports/pim/hodgkin.htm">Dorothy Hodgkin</a> (who became Pugwash President)?<br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 13px; text-align: left;">Check out this <a href="http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2012/May/the-iron-lady.asp">RSC blog post</a>:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin was a significant m</span>entor for the young Thatcher. Hodgkin was herself a Somerville graduate who had returned to teach chemistry, specialising in the emerging field of x-ray crystallography. Thatcher spent a year in Hodgkin's laboratory, performing research on the structure of gramicidin B - the completion of which occurred about 30 years later. </blockquote>
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During her time at Oxford, Thatcher's interest in politics blossomed and in 1946 she became the third woman to be president of the powerful Oxford University Conservative Association. Her strong conservative views were at odds with those of her peers and her mentor (Hodgkin was a liberal and would become the president of the Pugwash Conferences, concerned with reducing the danger of armed conflict and seeking cooperative solutions for global problems). But despite these differences, Hodgkin and Thatcher kept in touch over the years and when Thatcher later became prime minister, she is reported to have installed Hodgkin's portrait at 10 Downing Street. </blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-72506370322476993652012-04-11T16:59:00.000+01:002012-05-06T10:14:17.139+01:00Raymond Aubrac and Pugwash: "One good chapter in my life"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-acBuNHaicRI/T4WoXnjb3wI/AAAAAAAAAac/DjEs9AxZKvs/s1600/aubracbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-acBuNHaicRI/T4WoXnjb3wI/AAAAAAAAAac/DjEs9AxZKvs/s320/aubracbook.jpg" width="197" /></a></div>
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Today we learn the sad news of the <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jAMzK238si_o4R39ZkUFluMSnGUQ?docId=bc52128b4911414693f09e1559e5606a">death of Raymond Aubrac</a>, a leader of the French resistance who became involved with a little known 1967 Pugwash backchannel initiative on Vietnam (code named PENNSYLVANIA by the US). This initiative involved Henry Kissinger, Ho Chi Minh (with whom Aubrac was friends), the late Pugwashites Herbert Marcovich and Robert McNamara, and others (including President Johnson). <o:p></o:p></div>
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I include below a brief excerpt of a 2004 interview I conducted with Aubrac, which focuses on why Aubrac accepted to get involved with the Pugwash initiative, and what his assessment was of the impact. One can perhaps begin to get a sense of the man from these excerpts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Q: "Why did you agree to do this with Pugwash when in the past others asked you to get involved and you declined?"<o:p></o:p></div>
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A: “Any person would have gotten involved at that time. Any normal individual would have accepted. Of course I was very much impressed by that meeting [with Pugwashites]. So the real reason why I accepted was that I considered myself as a normal person.…<o:p></o:p></div>
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“In other visits to Vietnam, I had many occasions to see Pham Van Dong. Not between 67 and 75, but after 75. He has always told me that the PENNSYLVANIA business would have succeeded if it had taken place one year before. I think he was right. So our Pugwash friends woke up too late. That’s true of the atom bomb as well. If they had taken that decision two or three years before, the world would have been different….”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“It was one good chapter in my life. I have several of them as you may know. That one was interesting, very interesting.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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McNamara himself credited this initiative with laying the groundwork for the San Antonio accords, “the foundation for the start of the negotiations between North Vietnam and the U.S. in Paris.” According to Nguyen Khac Huynh, this was a shared assessment from the Vietnamese side: “[PENNSYLVANIA] gave tremendous support and encouragement to those of us who were at that moment working on a negotiating strategy. We were very encouraged….PENNSYLVANIA succeeded several months after it was initiated, because it provided the basis for beginning the Paris peace process. There is your answer. Our ears were not ‘deaf.’ We ‘heard’ you. And we gave you our answer after Tet.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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And yet, sadly, for a series of complicated reasons, the initiative failed in immediate terms. McNamara later wrote, “…military forces under Hanoi’s command…had by 1968 suffered a half-million killed in battle…They would by 1975 lose somewhere between 2 million to 3 million more. The United States had lost 19,562 killed in battle by December 31, 1967. Ultimately, 58,169 Americans would lose their lives in the war. This means the vast majority of war-related fatalities on both sides occurred after the failure of PENNSYLVANIA, which was the last serious attempt before the Tet Offensive to move to negotiations. In other words, even if Washington and Hanoi had failed in face-to-face talks time and again, yet had been able to move to negotiations by late 1967, most of those killed in the war would have been spared."<o:p></o:p></div>
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In contemplation of the missed opportunities for negotiations in 1967, McNamara had some words which might be relevant for today's world. He wrote, "Skeptics will say...that our very failure to move to negotiations proves ...that it couldn't have been done. I disagree totally with this point of view. Missed opportunities proliferated. Mistakes were made that were preventable....William James recorded in his journal on April 30, 1870: 'My first act of free will will be to believe in free will.' He then gives himself some advice: 'Care little for speculation,' he says, and 'much for the form of action.' This is also good advice for anyone wishing to lower the risk of such tragedies as the Vietnam War occurring in the twenty-first century."<o:p></o:p></div>
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There is not space here to give a complete history of the Vietnam initiative, but I did want to take this opportunity to note what was an important moment in Pugwash history. Part of the story lies in each side trying to send signals that were missed or not understood by the other side.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With appreciation and respect for the efforts of Raymond Aubrac and Herbert Marcovich, who travelled to Hanoi with a hope for peace....<o:p></o:p></div>
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Raymond Aubrac's autobiography, <a href="http://www.amazon.fr/Ou-m%C3%A9moire-sattarde-Aubrac/dp/2738103693">Ou la memoire s'attarde</a> contains information about this initiative.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Robert McNamara (et al), <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Argument-without-End-Answers-Vietnam/dp/1891620878/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334159749&sr=8-1">"ArgumentWithout End</a>" (1999) also contains a fascinating chapter on this initiative, a dialogue between former US and Vietnamese officials. It is the source of the above quotes, with the exception of the first McNamara quote, which was from an interview he conducted with Harry Kreisler, the video of which is available here: <a href="http://conversations.berkeley.edu/content/robert-s-mcnamara">http://conversations.berkeley.edu/content/robert-s-mcnamara</a> . An earlier post on McNamara contains some related material.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-35241747422836825982012-03-30T10:09:00.002+01:002012-05-16T09:45:01.723+01:00New Biography of Joseph Rotblat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue;">Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience: The Life and Work of Joseph Rotblat</span></h3>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
By Andrew Brown. Oxford University Press; 347 pages</h4>
This comprehensive biography of Joseph Rotblat has been reviewed by several major publications, including <a href="http://www.economist.com/node/21551442">The Economist</a>, <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v481/n7382/full/481438a.html?WT.ec_id=NATURE-20120126">Nature</a> (Sir Martin Rees), <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/culturelab/2012/01/rotblats-pursuit-of-nuclear-peace.html">New Scientis</a>t (Edwin Lyman), <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(12)60131-7/fulltext?rss=yes">The Lancet</a> (Andrew Robinson), and the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204369404577206951673156444.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#printMode">Wall Street Journal</a>, <a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=419589&c=1">Times Higher Education</a>, <a href="http://www.historytoday.com/blog/2012/05/keeper-nuclear-conscience">History Today</a>, among other publications. Check it out!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-70765902821287819682011-08-15T10:05:00.003+01:002011-08-15T10:07:54.806+01:00<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iA7JJlV5--g/Tkjhjs-0k0I/AAAAAAAAAaA/JiYpZKko6dg/s1600/IMG_2755cropped.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 118px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iA7JJlV5--g/Tkjhjs-0k0I/AAAAAAAAAaA/JiYpZKko6dg/s200/IMG_2755cropped.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641006536767869762" /></a>
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<br />
<br /><strong>First Call for Papers: Workshop
<br />
<br />Writing Pugwash Histories.
<br />From Hiroshima and Nagasaki to Kabul and Gaza</strong>
<br />
<br />Sponsored by: Institute for Contemporary History, University of Vienna, and Arbeitskreis Historische Friedensforschung (AKHF)
<br />Conveners: Silke Fengler (University of Vienna), Alison Kraft (Egenis, University of Exeter), Holger Nehring (University of Sheffield, AKHF), and Carola Sachse (University of Vienna)
<br />Keynote speaker: Matthew Evangelista (Cornell University)
<br />In cooperation with: Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs (contact: Sandra Ionno Butcher), Vereinigung Deutscher Wissenschaftler (VDW, contact: Reiner Braun)
<br /><strong>
<br />Dates: 10–12 May, 2012
<br />Venue: University of Vienna
<br />Conference language: English</strong>
<br />Deadline for proposals (one page plus brief CV): 31 October, 2011
<br />
<br />For nuclear physicists, chemists and technicians, the hundreds of thousands of civilian victims of the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki cast a painfully sharp light on the military and biopolitical consequences of their work during the Second World War. In the nuclear arms race between the Cold War superpowers, many nuclear scientists felt able, justified and indeed called upon to campaign against the continued development and deployment of nuclear weapons. Those scientists included some who had themselves helped to develop the atom bomb.
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<br /><strong>Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs</strong>
<br />
<br />Among the various national and transnational groupings working against nuclear war, the Pugwash movement stands out. Even today, it evokes the July 1955 manifesto that was drafted by Bertrand Russell and co-signed by Albert Einstein just before his death. The movement took its name from the location of its first meeting, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia in summer 1957. So far, 59 “Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs” and numerous workshops have been held in various regions of the world. From the beginning, the movement aimed to bring together eminent scientists, scholars, politicians, diplomats and government advisers across the hostile frontiers of the Cold War. The “Pugwashites” wanted to go beyond the exchange of diplomatic notes or military force, instead using the shared language of science to evaluate the risks of nuclear armament, develop solutions to regional conflicts and exert influence on national governments with the goal of promoting world peace.
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<br />The themes addressed by the Pugwash conferences have diversified to reflect the changing problems facing international politics – climate change; crises of energy, food and natural resources. Since the movement was founded its membership structure has also changed, as have the scientific disciplines and professions of its members, its objectives, methods and modes of cooperation, and its role within the debates of global politics.
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<br />Pugwash movement: History or histories</strong>
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<br />To date, the history of the Pugwash movement has been told largely through chronological accounts, memoirs and partial studies of national Pugwash groups. Writing a comprehensive history of the movement is perhaps not possible at the present time. On the one hand, the informal structure of the Pugwash movement means it is known only to a relatively small audience, and has attracted little attention from historians even since the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the movement and its secretary general, Joseph Rotblat, in 1995. On the other, although the Pugwash movement has an international presence, it is embedded in very different scientific, social and political configurations in different countries and regions. As a result, it seems neither possible nor desirable to write a single, unified narrative of the movement's peace-policy successes and global political significance.
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<br />Instead, what we need are multi-faceted histories written from a range of distinct national and regional perspectives. Only in this way will historians be able to fully understand the distinctive character of the Pugwash movement in the long term, its survival through time and across such profound political changes and its contributions to international dialogue. From its inception, Pugwash oscillated between an elitist claim to universal scientific expertise, links with transnational movements for peace and against nuclear weapons, and integration into the local political establishments. It therefore offers an outstanding opportunity to consider national and international connections between science and politics, which became increasingly complex during the second half of the twentieth century. Analysing these interrelations from a transnational perspective necessitates a large, cooperative network of historians, able to take a range of different thematic and regional approaches.
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<br /><strong>Objectives of the workshop</strong>
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<br />The wide and diverse literature on the Cold War by political historians, historians of science and historians of diplomacy has hitherto yielded only a small number of informative studies of the Pugwash movement (these include Evangelista 1999; Kubbig 2004; Butcher 2005; Braun 2007). The proposed workshop intends to form a springboard for a more broadly based engagement with the topic. Our objectives include:
<br />- to exchange information regarding existing research and ongoing projects relating to the history of the Pugwash movement in various different countries,
<br />- using completed, current and planned research projects as a point of entry, to discuss history of science and political history dimensions of the Pugwash movement,
<br />- to examine methodological approaches, the state of documentation and questions around archival sources relevant to Pugwash.
<br />
<br /><strong>Who is invited?</strong>
<br />
<br />We invite proposals from scholars in the history of science, social and political history, and related disciplines. You should either have worked directly on the history of the Pugwash movement or addressed it in the course of other research. Proposals related to ongoing PhD or postdoctoral projects are particularly welcome.
<br />
<br />Please submit a one-page proposal and brief CV in English to office_sachse.zeitgeschichte@univie.ac.at by 31 October, 2011. We will notify selected participants in November 2011. Papers of no more than 3,500 words must be submitted, in English, by 31 March, 2012.
<br />
<br />Funding is still pending. We hope to be able to cover travel costs for up to ten participants (max. € 400 each).
<br /><strong>
<br />Contact: </strong>
<br />
<br />Prof. Dr. Carola Sachse
<br />Institut für Zeitgeschichte
<br />Universität Wien
<br />Spitalgasse 2, Hof 1
<br />A-1090 Vienna
<br />carola.sachse@univie.ac.at
<br />
<br />Dr. Silke Fengler
<br />Institut für Zeitgeschichte
<br />Universität Wien
<br />Spitalgasse 2, Hof 1
<br />A-1090 Vienna
<br />silke.fengler@univie.ac.at
<br />
<br />Dr. Alison Kraft
<br />ESRC Centre for Genomics in Society (Egenis)
<br />University of Exeter
<br />Byrne House, St. Germans Road
<br />Exeter
<br />EX4 4PJ
<br />alison.kraft@nottingham.ac.uk
<br />
<br />Office:
<br />
<br />Martina Schmied
<br />Institut für Zeitgeschichte
<br />Universität Wien
<br />Spitalgasse 2, Hof 1
<br />A-1090 Vienna
<br />office_sachse.zeitgeschichte@univie.ac.at
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-92182335123848115352011-05-29T09:38:00.002+01:002011-05-29T09:44:03.112+01:00Rotblat British Library Tapes Now Online<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZINKe_Prn3Q/TeIHMYAiLsI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/VuMSZSujj6w/s1600/RotblatUCSD1999Cropped.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 165px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZINKe_Prn3Q/TeIHMYAiLsI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/VuMSZSujj6w/s200/RotblatUCSD1999Cropped.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612055994841575106" /></a><br /><br />The British Library has made available online nearly 20 hours of <a href="http://sounds.bl.uk/View.aspx?item=021M-C0464X0017XX-0100V0.xml">biographical interviews with Joseph Rotblat</a>, taped in 1999. This is the closest Rotblat came to an autobiography and it is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in his life or the history of Pugwash. <br /><br />There is a rough index of the interviews available <a href="http://cadensa.bl.uk/uhtbin/cgisirsi/x/0/0/5?searchdata1=CKEY5574948&library=ALL">here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-62344495506659826692011-02-22T14:50:00.003+00:002011-02-22T15:00:54.443+00:00Nuclear Realities c. 1957The <a href="http://www.nsarchive.org/">National Security Archive </a>has just made available a video, "The Power of Decision," produced in 1956-57, which they say "may be the first (and perhaps the only) U.S. government film depicting the Cold War nightmare of a US-Soviet nuclear conflict."<br /><br />This is the year that planning was underway for the first Pugwash Conference. I am posting this video since it gives a sense of the urgency of the times, and vividly demonstrates the nuclear dangers that were then foremost in the minds of many. (Many of these dangers still exist today, though that is a subject for another post...)<br /><br />Here is a 4 minute clip from The National Security Archives You Tube Channel:<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hfhqZgg_bqQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />The full film is available on the National Security Archives website, <a href="http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nukevault/ebb336/index.htm">here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-91543767050994895072011-01-04T13:33:00.004+00:002011-01-04T13:46:29.514+00:00Rotblat as viewed by a grad student<p align="center"><a href="http://www.peacemagazine.org/archive/searchdate.php?q=v27n1&Submit=Search"><img style="WIDTH: 152px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558325301606344130" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TSMjaZxP5cI/AAAAAAAAAZo/9JHFqz0Ty-w/s200/peacemagazinecover.jpg" /></a></p>Maximilian Puelma Touzel, a graduate student at the Max Planck Institute, Göttingen, Germany, has published an <a href="http://www.peacemagazine.org/archive/v27n1p24.htm">article </a>featuring impressions on watching Jo Rotblat's story in the Strangest Dream film by the Canadian National Film Board in the recent issue of Peace magazine. This issue of the magazine focuses on <a href="http://www.peacemagazine.org/archive/searchdate.php?q=v27n1&Submit=Search">"Politics and the Nobel Peace Prize."</a><br /><br />I am always pleased when a student becomes interested in the history of the nuclear age, and I particularly welcome the perspective Touzel takes in this piece(though I wish it had a different title). A very positive way to start the new year:<br /><br /><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><p>"Looking back at Rotblat’s life, how does one square the amazing anti-nuclear achievements of this single person with the apocalyptic potential of the science to which he dedicated himself? It comes down to responsibility. ... Rotblat has taught us that, if scientists desire peace, they must prepare for it."<br /><br /></p><p>Maximilian Puelma Touzel, "Joseph Rotblat is Dead: Who Will Save the World Now?", Peace Magazine, Jan-March 2011, p. 24. </p><p></p></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-72636893217693503722010-12-16T09:44:00.005+00:002010-12-16T09:56:27.969+00:00Rotblat-a leader with a 'powerful vision'<div>Pugwash founder and former President Joseph Rotblat is featured on the <a href="http://www.giantimpact.com/articles/read/who_finishes_strong_leaders_with_visions_to_fulfill/">GiANT Impact website </a>for global business leaders, as a leader who "finished strong" and who had a powerful vision to fulfill. So true. He worked tirelessly to the end of his days to try to create conditions for a world without nuclear weapons. </div><br /><div></div><div>I found this site cheering on a day when the New York Times has run a story (available <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/science/16terror.html?tntemail1=y&_r=1&emc=tnt&pagewanted=all">here</a>) about the Obama Administration's revision to guidance on what people should do in the event of a nuclear explosion. Rotblat, when asked what one should do in the event of a nuclear explosion, famously said, "Run toward it."</div><div> </div><div>Here is a photo of Prof at the 1999 Student Pugwash USA 20th anniversary international conference. In the later years of his life he prioritized speaking with student and young people.</div><p align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TQnhQRGfjTI/AAAAAAAAAZM/j8k7Sy_sNOQ/s1600/RotblatUCSD1999Cropped.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 165px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551215685295639858" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TQnhQRGfjTI/AAAAAAAAAZM/j8k7Sy_sNOQ/s200/RotblatUCSD1999Cropped.jpg" /></a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-27915091272696793932010-11-10T09:46:00.002+00:002010-11-10T09:55:14.906+00:00Pugwashites Mentioned at DC Symposium on Science and Nuclear DisarmamentI just came across this <a href="http://blogs.physicstoday.org/thedayside/2010/11/science-and-nuclear-disarmament.html">Physics Today blog post by Charles Day</a>, in which he mentions that at a recent AAAS/Japan Society for the Promotion of Science meeting, discussion highlighted several Pugwashites (Rotblat, Konuma, Yukawa, Tomonaga, Perkovich) and the impact of scientists on nuclear disarmament. Interesting mention is made by Konuma that two early Japanese Pugwashites were among the first to say that possession of nuclear weapons by some states is intrinsically unstable and can lead to an arms race.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-79058308651375463402010-10-16T12:06:00.004+01:002010-10-16T12:14:25.333+01:00Russian Quest for Peace & Democracy<p align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TLmIBYq2AzI/AAAAAAAAAZE/BJ-PtHd2sas/s1600/31t.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 126px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528599574957392690" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TLmIBYq2AzI/AAAAAAAAAZE/BJ-PtHd2sas/s200/31t.jpg" /></a></p> Canadian Pugwashite Metta Spencer has published a new book, The Russian Quest for Peace, which is based on decades of research and interviews. Her <a href="http://www.russianpeaceanddemocracy.com/">website</a> contains many photos and interview transcripts, including from Pugwashites. I will post more later when I have a chance to absorb some of this fantastic material.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.russianpeaceanddemocracy.com/"></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-45310952548034950372010-09-14T17:16:00.006+01:002010-09-14T17:50:38.174+01:00Carl Djerassi describes his experiences at Pugwash Conferences<p align="center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TI-lOA_YnJI/AAAAAAAAAY8/VJJoLhGs5CY/s1600/Djerassi.bmp"><img style="WIDTH: 147px; HEIGHT: 105px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516809728754752658" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TI-lOA_YnJI/AAAAAAAAAY8/VJJoLhGs5CY/s320/Djerassi.bmp" /></a></p>I just came across an interesting video clip of chemist <a href="http://www.djerassi.com/bio/bio1.html">Carl Djerassi</a>. It is one of 3 short videos in which he discusses his involvement in Pugwash. I like this clip in particular because it gives the flavor of participating in Pugwash Conferences. He shares his first-hand experience with dialogue across divides that is the cornerstone of Pugwash meetings.<br /><br />He says he presented at the 1969 Pugwash Conference in Sochi what he considered to be one of his most important papers on birth control. Djerassi also reflects on getting tear gassed at a Pugwash meeting in Warsaw...<br /><br />Click on this link <a href="http://www.webofstories.com/play/16927">here</a> to go to the video clip.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-27071455665109844632010-09-07T17:15:00.010+01:002010-11-10T09:58:28.076+00:00Strangest Dream Nominated for Gemini Award<p align="center"><span style="color:#ff0000;">UPDATE:<br /></span><span style="color:#ff0000;">Pugwash congratulates Eric Bednarski and Barry Cowling,<br />who received the prestigious Gemini Award!! A news clip is available <a href="http://thechronicleherald.ca/ArtsLife/1210224.html">here</a>.</span></p><p align="center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TIZp2IsFsFI/AAAAAAAAAY0/6h1DPY1qUT4/s1600/n24592356725_4971.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514211172528009298" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TIZp2IsFsFI/AAAAAAAAAY0/6h1DPY1qUT4/s200/n24592356725_4971.jpg" /></a></p><p><strong>The Strangest Dream</strong>, by the National Film Board of Canada, has been nominated for a Gemini Award, Canada's highest award for films, in the best writing for a documentary category. Congrats go to Eric Bednarski and Barry Cowling for this honor. We will keep our fingers crossed for the November decision. The Strangest Dream provides a thoughtful and creative introduction to Pugwash, and provides a wonderful overview of the life of Jo Rotblat.<br /><br />The film is now available online in its entirety for for free.<br /><br /></p><p align="center"><embed height="337" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="516" src="http://media1.nfb.ca/medias/flash/ONFflvplayer-gama.swf" flashvars="mID=IDOBJ15853&bufferTime=10&width=516&height=337&image=http://media1.nfb.ca/medias/nfb_tube/thumbs_large/2010/The-Strangest-dream_big.jpg&showWarningMessages=false&streamNotFoundDelay=15&lang=en&getPlaylistOnEnd=true&playlist_id=REL179&embeddedMode=true" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">You can watch it on your computer in full screen format if you click on the rectangle in the lower right for "toggle to full screen." </span><span style="font-size:78%;">Here are some images from the December 2008 European launch of the film at the BAFTA theatre in London. (Sandy Butcher and Director E. Bednarski; Producer Kent Martin, Pugwash President Jayantha Dhanapala, E. Bednarski, and British Pugwash Chair John Finney)</span><br /></p><p align="center"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TIZp1hiCtYI/AAAAAAAAAYk/u82k0eBMFi4/s1600/ButcherBednarskiDec08.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 136px; HEIGHT: 151px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514211162016888194" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TIZp1hiCtYI/AAAAAAAAAYk/u82k0eBMFi4/s200/ButcherBednarskiDec08.jpg" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TIZp1n5nO7I/AAAAAAAAAYs/WOoYJMYWe68/s1600/PJSlam+Strangest+Dream+Nov+Dec+09+073.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514211163726363570" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TIZp1n5nO7I/AAAAAAAAAYs/WOoYJMYWe68/s200/PJSlam+Strangest+Dream+Nov+Dec+09+073.jpg" /></a></p><blockquote></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-18135326779408408812010-08-06T20:15:00.004+01:002010-08-06T20:30:09.132+01:00Women of the First Pugwash Conference<p align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TFxiGA9oQGI/AAAAAAAAAYE/jIwQ4AFvvTc/s1600/AnneKinderJones1957_cropped.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 133px; HEIGHT: 165px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502380700217131106" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TFxiGA9oQGI/AAAAAAAAAYE/jIwQ4AFvvTc/s320/AnneKinderJones1957_cropped.jpg" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TFxiF2BhueI/AAAAAAAAAX8/XOfzK8akzAs/s1600/RuthCropped.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 119px; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502380697280690658" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TFxiF2BhueI/AAAAAAAAAX8/XOfzK8akzAs/s320/RuthCropped.jpg" /></a></p>The talk I gave at <a href="http://www.thinkerslodge.org/">Thinkers' Lodge </a>on the role of Ruth Adams and Anne Kinder Jones (later, Anne Eaton) at the first Pugwash Conference is now available <a href="http://www.pugwash.org/Women_of_the_first_conference.pdf">here</a>.<br /><div><div><br /><div>It was a real honor to highlight the contributions of these amazing women, and as always, it was a pleasure to spend time in Pugwash, with members of the Eaton family, the Pugwash Park Commission, the Pugwash Peace Exchange, and so many other wonderful people. </div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-72396447050425882742010-08-05T15:53:00.002+01:002010-08-05T16:01:33.146+01:00Asteroid Rotblat<a href="http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=22645+Rotblat">22645 Rotblat</a><br /><br />Discovered 1998 July 26 by the Lowell Observatory Near Earth Object Search at the Anderson Mesa Station. ...<br /><br />Athem Alsabti (Iraqi Pugwash) and Edward Bowell of Lowell Observatory worked together for this designation, which was granted in December 2009.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-47139906471921344122010-08-03T07:55:00.000+01:002010-08-03T07:55:42.178+01:00Bikini Atoll, nuclear tests site - UNESCO World Heritage Centre<a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1339">Bikini Atoll, nuclear tests site - UNESCO World Heritage Centre</a>: "In the wake of World War II, in a move closely related to the beginnings of the Cold War, the United States of America decided to resume nuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean, on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall archipelago. After the displacement of the local inhabitants, 67 nuclear tests were carried out from 1946 to 1958, including the explosion of the first H-bomb (1952). Bikini Atoll has conserved direct tangible evidence that is highly significant in conveying the power of the nuclear tests, i.e. the sunken ships sent to the bottom of the lagoon by the tests in 1946 and the gigantic Bravo crater. Equivalent to 7,000 times the force of the Hiroshima bomb, the tests had major consequences on the geology and natural environment of Bikini Atoll and on the health of those who were exposed to radiation. Through its history, the atoll symbolises the dawn of the nuclear age, despite its paradoxical image of peace and of earthly paradise. This is the first site from the Marshall Islands to be inscribed on the World Heritage List."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-15549831581795472342010-08-03T07:36:00.004+01:002010-09-06T20:26:06.375+01:00Bikini Atoll Linked with Pugwash History<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TFe56z1ixKI/AAAAAAAAAXk/b5LpFnkTTMA/s1600/BikiniAtollWorldHeritage.bmp"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 261px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501069889854686370" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TFe56z1ixKI/AAAAAAAAAXk/b5LpFnkTTMA/s400/BikiniAtollWorldHeritage.bmp" /></a><br /><div>On 31 July the Bikini Atoll was added to the <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1339">World Heritage list</a>. The atmospheric testing of hydrogen bombs here led to the first meeting of Bertrand Russell and Jo Rotblat at a BBC studio in April 1954. They were asked to explain the technical aspects and possible impact of the little understood technology following the 1 March Castle Bravo test, which went awry and doused a Japanese fishing vessel, the Lucky Dragon. Their meeting led directly to the <a href="http://www.pugwash.org/publication/phs/history9.pdf">Russell-Einstein manifesto </a>of July 1955, and to the first Pugwash Conference in July 1957. Today the crater remains one of the world's symbols of the excesses of the Cold War and a reminder that there is still a long way to go to eradicate these powerful weapons</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-50514642434174206362010-07-26T10:25:00.002+01:002010-07-26T10:29:00.522+01:00Pugwash History Featured on BlogAdele Wick has published a post about the first Pugwash Conference. Please see, "Peace and Pugwash: the 1957 Conference" by clicking <a href="http://www.centermovement.org/topics-issues/defense/peace-and-pugwash-the-1957-conference/">here</a>. <br /><br />And stay tuned, I will soon provide a link to my recent talk on the "Women of the First Pugwash Conference" at Thinkers' Lodge.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-83624757076510854602010-06-17T09:40:00.005+01:002010-06-17T09:52:22.004+01:00Pugwash history to be explored at July Conference<p align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TBnf4_m80fI/AAAAAAAAAXc/jjlKH7Gqb8o/s1600/peace%2520home%2520header.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 450px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 107px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483660191540761074" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/TBnf4_m80fI/AAAAAAAAAXc/jjlKH7Gqb8o/s400/peace%2520home%2520header.jpg" /></a></p><p> </p><p>This exciting conference in Halifax Nova Scotia includes a day at the historic Thinkers' Lodge in Pugwash. It includes multiple sessions on the Pugwash history and nuclear weapons issues, in addition to other topics related to peace education and engaging young people. Director of the Pugwash History Project Sandra Ionno Butcher and several members of Canadian Pugwash are featured speakers. Pugwash history topics to be addressed include: the role of women at the first conference (featuring Ruth Adams and Anne Kinder Jones, later Anne Eaton); the imperative of dialogue in times of crisis; and insights into the bravery and perspectives of the participants at the first conference, as shared by Ru Ling Susie Chou, daughter of Chou Pei Yuan, and members of Cyrus Eaton's family. To register, go to the conference <a href="http://www.msvu.ca/en/home/aboutus/PeaceConference/default.aspx/">website</a>. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-48319611851398501292010-04-21T17:20:00.004+01:002010-04-21T17:32:31.751+01:00Thinkers' Lodge Renovations<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/S88oKi8NdJI/AAAAAAAAAXU/zmk9yLaaaGE/s1600/GroupAgainRusekPHotoWEB.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462629034666849426" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/S88oKi8NdJI/AAAAAAAAAXU/zmk9yLaaaGE/s400/GroupAgainRusekPHotoWEB.JPG" /></a><br /><div>Thinkers' Lodge, where the first Pugwash Conference took place due to the generosity of Cyrus Eaton, has been undergoing restoration.<br /><br />A short story on this from CBC News is available <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2010/04/21/nb-thinkers-lodge-restoration.html">here</a>.<br /><br />John Eaton tells me they are very pleased with the restoration so far....<br /><br />The photo above is from July 2009, when the International Student/Young Pugwash board were the last group to stay at Thinkers' Lodge prior to the renovations (I was invited as a resource person). You can see the beginning hints of work on the chimneys. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944915336019790367.post-18528671585967665702010-01-24T09:27:00.009+00:002010-01-24T09:47:02.214+00:00Joseph Rotblat on Charlie Rose, 1996<p align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/S1wW_HINpII/AAAAAAAAAVQ/2VtXAEGeehM/s1600-h/CharlieRoseRotblat96.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 206px; HEIGHT: 177px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430240524203041922" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iydLOaEWhwA/S1wW_HINpII/AAAAAAAAAVQ/2VtXAEGeehM/s320/CharlieRoseRotblat96.jpg" /></a></p> To see an interview with Joseph Rotblat on the Charlie Rose show in 1996, please click <a href="http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/6204">here</a>.<br /><br />"A discussion with Nobel Peace Prize-winning physicist Joseph Rotblat, the only scientist to leave the Manhattan Project before the A-bomb was tested. He talks about his signing of the historic Russell-Einstein Manifesto, which called for the end to all nuclear weapons and was the beginning of Rotblat's fifty year fight for total nuclear disarmament."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0