Ploughshares Fund Blog

Sadako Sasaki was two years old on August 6, 1945 when a nuclear bomb was dropped on her hometown of Hiroshima. It was the world’s first experience with nuclear war. Sadako was among the fortunate who survived the initial blast. But only 10 years later, when she was 12, Sadako developed leukemia, along with many other blast survivors exposed to the radiation. Read more »
Posted by admin on August 6, 2012
Sixty-seven years ago in August, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, the only time that nuclear weapons have ever been used in warfare. To commemorate the anniversary, Minnesota State Senator Sandy Pappas authored an op-ed in the JTA highlighting the disconnect between the U.S.’s outdated, bloated nuclear arsenal and the 21st century security challenges the country faces. Read more »
Posted by Kelly Bronk on August 2, 2012
The following is a guest post by Gregory Kulacki, Senior Analyst & China Project Manager at the Union of Concerned Scientists.  Read more »
Posted by admin on August 1, 2012
The B61 life extension program gets a gold medal for setting records as the most expensive nuclear warhead in U.S. history. It also gets another ignominious recognition – costing more than its weight in solid gold. Read more »
Posted by Ben Loehrke on July 30, 2012
Foreign policy has been the hot topic on the campaign trail recently, with President Obama and Governor Romney making several public appearances – and trading jabs – in an attempt to build support leading up to the November election. Read more »
Posted by Joe Cirincione on July 26, 2012
For lawmakers, the question of how to make a tight defense budget effective at protecting our country is foremost on their minds these days. Restructuring the nuclear force to reflect today’s threats, rather than the threats of the Cold War era, is one solution to that problem - a solution that has started to be repeated around Washington. Read more »
Posted by Leah Fae Cochran on July 25, 2012
You can tell the conversation in Washington is changed when defense hawks argue we should cut the nuclear arsenal and use the funds elsewhere. That is exactly what happened last week on the floor of the House. Read more »
Posted by Ben Loehrke on July 23, 2012
Early this morning, Joe Cirincione, president of Ploughshares Fund, delivered the keynote address at the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization Preparatory Commission’s (CTBTO) Intensive Policy Course in Vienna, Austria. The CTBTO is working to bring into force the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, a treaty that would ban all nuclear explosions globally. Read more »
Posted by Rebecca Remy on July 16, 2012
Two of Ploughshares Fund’s longtime partners and grantees, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Brookings Institution won commendation this week in the British magazine The Prospect’s 2012 Think Tank of the Year Award. Read more »
Posted by admin on July 13, 2012
This Wednesday, July 11, the Asia Society Northern California and World Affairs Council will host a discussion with Blaine Harden, former Washington Post journalist and author of the bestselling book Escape from Camp 14, moderated by Ploughshares Fund Executive Director Philip Yun. Read more »
Posted by Nora Wilkinson on July 9, 2012