http://helencaldicottfoundation.org/symposium-the-dynamics-of-possible-nuclear-extinction-l-february-28-march-1-2015-at-the-new-york-academy-of-medicine/

Symposium: The Dynamics of Possible Nuclear Extinction February 28-March 1, 2015 at The New York Academy of Medicine

A unique, two-day symposium at which an international panel of leading experts in disarmament, political science, existential risk, anthropology, medicine, nuclear weapons and other nuclear issues will be held at The New York Academy of Medicine on Feb 28- March 1, 2015. The public is welcome.

A project of The Helen Caldicott Foundation

Venue: The New York Academy of Medicine. 1216 Fifth Ave @ 103rd St. NY, NY 10029

<snip>

The Symposium: The Dynamics of Possible Nuclear Extinction.

Russia and the U.S. possess 94% of the 16,400 nuclear weapons in the global nuclear arsenal. The U.S. maintains its first strike winnable nuclear war policy, and both countries have raised their nuclear arsenals to a higher state of alert because of the situation in the Ukraine. Furthermore it has just been announced that the administration has plans to replace every nuclear warhead and their delivery systems via ship, submarine, missile and plane, at a cost of one trillion dollars over the next thirty years.

This symposium to be held by The Helen Caldicott Foundation will address the following issues:
. What are the human and technological factors that could precipitate a nuclear war between Russia and the U.S., how many times have we come close to nuclear war and how long will our luck hold?
. What are the ongoing technological and financial developments relevant to the nuclear weapons arsenals of the US and Russia?
. What problems are associated with lateral proliferation of nuclear weapons via strenuous corporate marketing of nuclear technology?
. What are the medical and environmental consequences of either a small or large scale nuclear war?
. What are the underlying philosophical, political, and ideological dynamics that have brought life on earth to the brink of extinction?
. How can we assess this situation from an anthropological perspective?
. What is the pathology within the present political situation that could lead us to extinction?
. How can this nuclear pathology be cured?

Moderated by:
Day One: Kennette Benedict, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Day Two: To be announced

The Presenters (confirmed speakers, speaking order may change):

Session 1
Seth Baum- Global Catastrophic Risk Institute, will address the catastrophic risk of nuclear war
Max Tegmark- Professor of physics at MIT and author of “Our Mathematical Universe”, will discuss artificial intelligence and the risk of automation accidentally triggering a nuclear war.

Session 2
Hans Kristensen – Federation of American Scientists, will address the current size of the global nuclear arsenals
Bill Hartung- Center for International Policy, will discuss the inordinate power and pathological dynamics exercised by the US military industrial complex
Greg Mello -Los Alamos Study Group, the role and funding of the nuclear weapons laboratories inherent within the US nuclear armament dilemma
John Feffer – Institute of Policy Studies will compare the money spent on the US military industrial complex compared with the paltry amount spent on the prevention of global warming
Bruce Gagnon – Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, will elucidate the ongoing and dangerous militarization of space

Session 3
Bob Alvarez – Institute of Policy Studies, will discuss lateral proliferation and describe how a small nuclear exchange could trigger a global holocaust

Session 4
Steven Starr– Senior Scientist PSR, Clinical Laboratory Science Program Director, University of Missouri. Nuclear War: An Unrecognized Mass Extinction Event Waiting to Happen.
Holly Barker – Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Medical, Teratogenic and Genetic pathology related to US nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands.
Alan Robock – Distinguished Professor, Dept. of Environmental Sciences. Rutgers University, will outline his pioneering work on Nuclear Famine, Nuclear Autumn, and Nuclear Winter.
Lynn Eden – author of Whole World on Fire, will discuss the enormous issue ignored by the Pentagon of the effect of the holocaust of firestorms following nuclear war.

Session 5
Janne Nolan – Elliott School of International Affairs will outline the underlying psychological pathology of the nuclear warriors
Mike Lofgren – author of Anatomy of the Deep State, will describe the underlying pathology of US capitalism leading to this current tenuous nuclear situation
Susi Snyder- (IKV Pax Christi, the Netherlands), Contributor to 2014 report DON’T BANK ON THE BOMB

Session 6
Hugh Gusterson – Professor of Anthropology and Sociology, George Mason University will describe his anthropological research after spending one year at the Los Alamos Labs.
Robert Sheer – author of STAR WARRIORS will describe his research into the young men who do the research on nuclear weapons development at Lawrence Livermore Labs

Session 7
Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor and Professor of Linguistics, MIT will present the pathology within the present political system that could induce extinction

Session 8
Dave Krieger – Nuclear Age Peace Foundation on what can we do? How the Marshall Islanders are speaking truth to power.
Tim Wright – Campaign Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) – some potential and exciting solutions
Helen Caldicott – President of The Helen Caldicott Foundation – An urgent prescription for survival

Schedule to date:

<snip>