Palindromic Day

 1-20-21

The most welcome palindromic date I've seen in a long, long time.  At noon EST, President-elect Biden will become President Uncle Joe.  There are news stories about the executive actions he'll take on Day 1, including rejoining the Paris Climate Accords and cancelling the Keystone Pipeline.  

In other news, coming up on Friday the 22nd, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will enter into force.  It was opened for signature Sept. 20, 2017.  The treaty passed on a vote in the UN on July 7, 2017 with 122 in favor, 1 against (Netherlands), and 1 official abstention (Singapore).  Sixty-nine nations did not vote, among them all of the nuclear weapon states and all NATO members except the Netherlands.

The TPNW or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal being their total elimination.  For those nations that are party to it, the treaty prohibits the development, testing, production, stockpiling, stationing, transfer, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons, as well as assistance and encouragement to the prohibited activities. For nuclear armed states joining the treaty, it provides for a time-bound framework for negotiations leading to the verified and irreversible elimination of its nuclear weapons programm.  (Wikipedia)