Page 45 - BusinessWest May 16, 2022

AMHERST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
(413) 253-0700; amherstarea.com
May 11: After 5, 5-7 p.m., at the soon-to-open Drake, a one-of-a-kind, world-class performing arts venue in the heart of downtown Amherst, 44 North Pleasant St. Featuring Grayson Ty. Cash bar. Spon- sored by Amherst College; featuring Downtown Amherst Foundation.
FRANKLIN COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
(413) 773-5463; franklincc.org
May 20: Luncheon, noon-1:30 p.m. Join us at Northfield Golf Course for What Are Your Workforce Needs? Meet Jennifer Droesch, the new market maker for the Pioneer Valley. The program will be an interactive discussion with Droesch regarding your current and future hiring needs. The program will also feature a demonstration of augmented- reality training programs from Greenfield Com- munity College. The luncheon features a taco bar catered by member Hamel’s Catering. Sponsored by MassHire Franklin Hampshire Regional Workforce Board, Greenfield Community College, and North- field Golf Course. Register at fccc.org
June 24: Save the date for the chamber’s annual meeting.
GREATER HOLYOKE CHAMBER
(413) 534-3376; holyokechamber.com
May 18: Spring Fling at Westfield Bank, 4:30-7 p.m. Join us for a lawn party at Westfield Bank, enjoy the feel of spring, and make new connections. Hearty hors d’oeuvres, open bar, raffles, and more. Cost: $10 for members, $20 for non-members. Registra- tion to open April 1.
GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER
(413) 568-1618; westfieldbiz.org
May 16: 61st annual Golf Tournament, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., hosted by Shaker Farms Country Club, spon- sored by Westfield Gas & Electric and Whip City Fiber. Visit www.westfieldbiz.org for details.
May 26: Morning Brew, 8-9 a.m., hosted by Shaker Farms Country Club. Visit www.westfieldbiz.org for details.
SPRINGFIELD REGIONAL CHAMBER
May 18: Fire & Ice Craft Cock-
tail Competition, 5:30-8 p.m., at
Springfield Country Club, 1375
Elm St., West Springfield. Spon-
sored by Florence Bank. Come
and experience the ultimate social
and networking event that offers local establish- ments an opportunity to showcase their expertise and skills. Cost: $75 for members (in advance, $85 at the door), $85 non-members (in advance, $95 at the door), $30 non-sampling ticket. Register online at www.springfieldregionalchamber.com.
June 15: Annual Meeting Celebration 2022, 5:30– 8:00 p.m., at Sheraton Springfield, One Monarch Place, Springfield. Sponsored by Florence Bank. Join us as we celebrate our chamber year, gradu- ate our Leadership Class of 2022, fete our Richard J. Moriarty Citizen of the Year, honor outgoing presi- dent, Nancy Creed, and welcome our incoming president, Diana Szynal. Cost: $75 for members (in advance, $85 at the door), $85 non-members (in advance, $100 at the door).Register online at www. springfieldregionalchamber.com.
Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events
YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY OF GREATER SPRINGFIELD
May 19: YPS of Greater Springfield will stage its monthly Third Thursday at Open Square in Holy- oke. This networking event is for YPS members, $10 for non-members. Enjoy networking, a cash bar, and appetizers. At 7:30 p.m., head across the street to Canna Provisions which will be offering a special tour of their facility for Third Thursday attendees. Meg Sanders, CEO of Canna Provisions, will give you the inside scoop on all things cannabis. Please register in advance: https://www.springfieldyps.com/ events.html... For more information, email Admin@ SpringfieldYPS.com
Weapons
Continued from page 44
equally inappropriate nuclear threats.” Elaborating, Helfand said the current events in
Ukraine bring new meaning to sentiments expressed in a quote he attributed to Robert McNamara, U.S. Defense secretary during the Vietnam War.
“He said, famously, ‘we lucked out — it was only luck that prevented nuclear war,’” noted Helfand, adding that have been countless times over the past 77 years when the world almost experienced nuclear war, but didn’t, for reasons that have little to do with the conventional wisdom regarding these weapons.
“There has been this myth, with enormous power attached to it, that nuclear weapons are so terrible that they will deter their own use — no one will ever make the mistake of using them,” he explained. “We know that over the decades, that has not been true.”
world now, another glitch of this kind may well lead to calamity, he said, bringing even more urgency to the matter of banning such weapons.
That course is the only logical choice for the plan- et, said Helfand, adding that the alternative, staying the current course, is not sound thinking.
“Those who build nuclear weapons will argue that we need to have more of them — that argument will gain some traction,” he said. “They’ll say ‘the Rus- sians are really bad — we need to be even stronger, as if the 6,000 nuclear weapons we already have are not enough to do what anyone could possibly want to do with them.
“Our current policy — maintaining these enor-
“
expectation that they will never be used — is nothing more than the hope for
continued good luck. And this is a fairly insane basis for national security policy.
”
“But there will be another narrative as well,” he went on. “As happened after the Cuban Missile Crisis, when both Kennedy and Khrushchev recoiled in hor- ror from what they had almost done, people around the world are going to look at this moment and say, ‘this was a world-wide near-death experience; we cannot keep rolling the dice and hoping that we’re going to be luck every time — we have to get rid of the weapons.’”
That’s why he looks on this very scary time in the history of the world as something else — an opportu- nity. u
Our current policy — maintaining these enormous arsenals with the
We need to plan for the future based on reality, not hopes and prayers.
Elaborating, he said that over the years, the United States has threatened to use nuclear weapons repeat- edly, in many circumstances involving countries that did not have nuclear weapons, and Russia has as well. And beyond these threats, there has always been the threat of something happening by accident.
“There have been many, many occasions when we have come within minutes of nuclear war because one side or the other received a false alert and believed they were under attack by the other side,” he explained. “On many of these occasions, we came within minutes of all-out nuclear war because of a computer glitch or some similar technical mistake.”
Given the immense amount of tension in the
mous arsenals with the expectation that they will never be used — is nothing more than the hope for continued good luck,” he told BusinessWest. “And this is a fairly insane basis for national security policy. We need to plan for the future based on reality, not hopes and prayers.
Looming Questions
Returning to that question about whether he’s sensing any momentum on the IPPNW’s broad mis- sion to prevent nuclear war by eliminating such weapons, Helfand said there are a few narratives that could flow from the present situation.
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