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14 peace activists arrested at the Trident submarine base at Bangor
Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
16159 Clear Creek Road NW Poulsbo, WA 98370
Website: www.gzcenter.org, E-mail: info@gzcenter.org
AUGUST 6, 2007--FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
14 peace activists arrested marking the 62nd Anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombing at the Trident submarine base at Bangor, WA
Contact: Anne Hall or David Hall (206) 545-3562
Brian Watson (306) 479-6399
Glen Milner (206) 365-7865
60 people were present in an early dawn demonstration against nuclear weapons at the Trident submarine base at Bangor. The two main entrances at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor were briefly blocked while Navy personnel and support personnel were arriving for work at the base on Monday morning.
Around 6 am, five peace activists blocked the Trigger entrance to the submarine base, at NW Trigger Avenue, and were arrested by Kitsap County Sheriffs. Shortly after, four activists separately walked onto federal property at the Trigger entrance and were arrested by base security.
Meanwhile, two peace activists separately entered federal property at the main gate to the Trident submarine base, on Highway 308, and were arrested by base security. Three activists then separately walked onto the highway to block traffic and were arrested by Kitsap County Sheriffs.
This marked the first demonstration in recent years when both main entrances were blocked at similar times at the Trident submarine base.
Peace activists at the main gate to the base held a large banner proclaiming Hiroshima and Nagasaki Never Again. Other activists carried posters showing the destruction caused by atomic bombs upon the Japanese cities.
Those arrested by federal officers: Denny Moore and Donna Moore of Bainbridge Island; Jody Tiller of Olympia; Marya Barr and Karol Schulkin of Ventura, California; and Woody Pidcock of Seattle.
Those arrested by Kitsap County Sheriffs: Lynne Greenwald of Bremerton; Joy Goldstein of Vashon; Brenda McMillan of Port Townsend; Ellen Kohjima of Tacoma; Mack Johnson of Silverdale; and Rev. Anne Hall, Dr. David Hall and Rose Betz-Zall of Seattle.
Demonstrators arrested on federal property were booked at the Trident submarine base and released. It is unclear whether charges will be filed at this time.
Demonstrators arrested by Kitsap County Sheriffs were booked at the Port Orchard jail and released. Demonstrators may be charged with disorderly conduct.
Since May 2006, peace activists have been arrested, without a verbal warning, by Kitsap County Sheriff’s officers as soon as they crossed the fog line along the entrance to the base, making it more difficult for demonstrators to communicate their message to the general public.
Please see attached Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet
14 peace activists arrested marking the 62nd Anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombing at the Trident submarine base at Bangor, WA
This August, the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action is celebrating 30 years of resistance to the Trident submarine system and all nuclear weapons. Ground Zero members, Jim Douglass, Shelley Douglass, Marya Barr, Karol Schulkin and Kim Wahl, who were influential during formative years of Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, were present at the August events.
This year, demonstrators were also joined with members of the Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist temple on Bainbridge Island, who with Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action members and others, completed a walk for peace, starting at Eugene, Oregon on July 15 and ending at the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action on August 4, 2007.
The Bangor Trident Submarine Base, just 20 miles from Seattle, has become home to the largest single stockpile of nuclear warheads in the U.S. arsenal. In November 2006, the Natural Resource Defense Council declared the 2,364 nuclear warheads at Bangor are approximately 24 percent of the entire U.S. arsenal.
The base at Bangor is also the last active nuclear weapons depot on the West Coast and has been recently rebuilt for the deployment of the larger and more accurate Trident D-5 missile system. Each of the 24 D-5 missiles on a Trident submarine is capable of carrying eight of the larger 455 kiloton W-88 warheads (each warhead is about 30 times the explosive force as the Hiroshima bomb.)
The Trident submarines at Bangor are likely to be used first in any nuclear attack: either as an isolated “tactical” assault on a specific site, bunker, or weapons location; or in a larger “strategic” nuclear attack. The Bangor-based submarines can launch their weapons in secrecy and operate near Middle East and Asian targets.
The Trident submarine base at Bangor currently has eight D-5 missile submarines.
In addition, four older Trident submarines are being refitted to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles. Two will be at Bangor. These SSGN submarines can fire all of the cruise missiles on one submarine, 154 cruise missiles, in six minutes.
In July, 2005, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy announced a $9.2 million contract to develop a new submarine-launched intermediate-range ballistic missile (SLIRBM). The SLIRBM will be capable of delivering a 1,000 lb. payload 1,200 miles within 15 minutes of launch. A Tomahawk missile takes about 4 hours to cover the same distance.
Either type of Trident submarine at Bangor, whether to launch D-5 nuclear missiles, cruise missiles, or the planned intermediate range ballistic missile, has unbelievable destructive force.
The next planned nonviolent direct action at Bangor will be in commemoration of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in January 2008.
End
Pittsburgh Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 3, 2007
Contact: Elisabeth Rattenborg, 412-491-7577 (c)
Scilla Wahrhaftig, 412-371-3607 (o), 412-523-8533 (c)
Part of a Series of Events from August 5-9 Organized to Commemorate the U.S. Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Pittsburgh, PA- On the occasion of the anniversaries of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Yuko Nakamura, a Hiroshima survivor, will share her first-hand experience of the horrors of nuclear war while emphasizing the role the U.S. has in perpetuating the risk of future attacks.
On Tuesday, August 7th at 12:30pm Yuko will participate in a vigil and "speak out" outside of Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute (SEI) on the corner of S. Craig St. and 5th Ave. SEI, which receives millions of dollars from the U.S. Air Force, was chosen because of its role in supporting the U.S. ability to wage nuclear war.
When the bomb fell on Hiroshima, Yuko was in her second year of high school. Earlier that same day, the first year high school students had gone to center city to help to dismantle buildings. Those 12-year-old girls, 220 in total, all perished by the end of the day, suffering from burns, without receiving any care or being able to see their families before dying. Facing the threat of dying of the diseases that plague atomic bomb survivors, Yuko became secretary general of Kanagawa Atomic Bomb Sufferers Association and a national council member of Nihon Hidankyo, an organization of Hibakusha, Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors.
Tuesday’s demonstration is part of five days of commemorations that also include a Lantern Float for Peace in Freeport on Sunday, a public discussion at the Monroeville Public Library on Monday about Bechtel and the current nuclear threat, a panel on "The Widening War" on Tuesday in Oakland, and film screenings on Wednesday and Thursday.
“We hope that these events, while recognizing the tragedies that took place on August 6th and 9th in 1945, will also remind the public that there are a huge number of companies that profit from war” said Elisabeth Rattenborg, a Thomas Merton Center intern and one of the event’s organizers.
A complete schedule of Hiroshima and Nagasaki commemorations is attached.
For more information: www.demilitarizepittsburgh.org
Hiroshima & Nagasaki Commemorative Events, August 5-9
Lantern Float for Peace
Sunday, August 5, 7pm. Riverside Drive & 5th Street, Freeport.
A festival for families, with music, face painting, balloons, a speaker and tables of information about peace and justice groups. At dusk we will float three lanterns on the Allegheny. The first will remember those who died at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the second is for peace now and the third will send forth hope that all children will not face war in the future. Sponsored by Freeport Peace Links.
Bechtel, the Nuclear Threat, and Your Community
Monday, August 6, 7pm. Monroeville Public Library, 4000 Gateway Campus Boulevard, Monroeville.
A public discussion on Bechtel Corporation and the current nuclear crisis. Bechtel develops nuclear weapons, pushed for us to go to war with Iraq, and is now opening up a new Navy facility in Monroeville. Featuring David Robinson, Pax Christi USA Executive Director, who recently visited Iran as part of a US religious delegation. Sponsored by Demilitarize Pittsburgh and AFSC Pittsburgh.
Vigil & Speak-out w/Hiroshima Survivor
Tuesday, August 7, 12:30pm. CMU's Software Engineering Institute, S. Craig & 5th Ave., Pittsburgh.
Featuring Hiroshima survivor Yuko Nakamura and the Raging Grannies. Sponsored by AFSC PA and Demilitarize Pittsburgh.
The Widening War
Tuesday, August 7, 7pm Friends Meeting House, 4836 Ellsworth Ave., Pittsburgh
A public discussion featuring Hiroshima survivor Yuko Nakamura, National Council member of Hidankyo; and Bal Pinguel, Coordinator of the American Friends Service Committee, Peacebuilding & Demilitarization Program. Sponsored by AFSC Pittsburgh and Demilitarize Pittsburgh.
Film Screening #1: White Light/Black Rain
Wednesday, August 8, 7pm. The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, 5700 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh.
A new, critically acclaimed documentary featuring fourteen Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors that is a remarkable document of the only times nuclear weapons have been used in war. Directed by Academy Award winner Steven Okazaki. Sponsored by the Network of Spiritual Progressives and Demilitarize Pittsburgh.
Film Screening #2: White Light/Black Rain
Thursday, August 9, 7pm. East Suburban UU Church, 4326 Sardis Rd., Murrysville. Sponsored by the Network of Spiritual Progressives.
Thousands Commemorate Hiroshima Anniversary With Atom Bomb Survivors At US Nuclear Weapons Sites
August 8, 2006 - Across the nation Sunday, August 6, protesters marched, rallied, and held vigils and teach-ins demanding an end to nuclear weapons and wars. These events, held on the 61st anniversary of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, kicked off a series of events taking place in over 70 cities in 27 states, culminating on August 9th, the anniversary of the Nagasaki bombing, under the banner, “From Hiroshima to Yucca Mountain to the Middle East: No Nukes! No Wars! End War Profiteering! Support Indigenous Rights!” A major focus of the demonstrations was Bechtel Corporation, one of the largest beneficiaries of both the Iraq war and all things nuclear.
ATOMIC BOMB SURVIVOR TO SPEAK AT BECHTEL PROTEST
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 8, 2006
CONTACT: Tara Dorabji, Tri-Valley CAREs, 925-443-7148; cell 925-255-3589
Jackie Cabasso, Western States Legal Foundation, 510-839-5877; cell: 510-306-0119
Chelsea Collonge, Nevada Desert Experience, cell 510-599-7138
ATOMIC BOMB SURVIVOR TO SPEAK AT BECHTEL PROTEST
HIBAKUSHA, INDIGENOUS LEADERS, ALLIED GROUPS OPPOSE BECHTEL’S NUCLEAR PROFITS FROM HIROSHIMA TO YUCCA MOUNTAIN TO THE MIDDLE EAST
August 9 Marks 61st Anniversary of U.S. Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki
and UN’s Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
WHAT: Rally and ceremony to protest Bechtel’s profiting from war and nuclear weapons
WHEN: Wednesday, August 9 at 10 am
WHERE: Bechtel corporate headquarters, 50 Beale St. San Francisco, near Embarcadero BART
WHO: The Aug 6 and 9, No Nukes! No Wars! Coalition, including the Livermore Conversion Project, Tri-Valley CAREs, Western States Legal Foundation, Greenaction, Global Exchange, International Indian Treaty Council, American Friends Service Committee and Nevada Desert Experience
San Francisco—On Wednesday, August 9, at 10 am, a protest rally and ceremony will be held at Bechtel corporate headquarters in San Francisco to mark the 61st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki. August 9 is also the United Nation’s International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, as declared by the UN General Assembly in 1994.
“The U.S. is leading the world into a new arms race, planning new nuclear warheads and new missiles and long-range bombers to carry them,” said Andrew Lichterman of Western States Legal Foundation. “Bechtel will be in the middle of it all, providing management and engineering services from the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico where nuclear weapons are designed to the Kwajalein Test Site in the Pacific, where U.S. missile tests splash down. Companies like Bechtel are the ‘Merchants of Death’ of the 21st century, making big profits from U.S. policies that promote endless war.”
In the early 1940s, Bechtel built heavy water storage plants for the Manhattan Project, the secret U.S. government program that developed the atomic bomb.
61 years later Mr. Keiji Tsuchiya, an atomic bomb survivor who served as a rescue worker in the week immediately following the bombing of Hiroshima, will speak in front of the San Francisco Bechtel office. “Our strong will and actions are needed now to put an end to the use of nuclear weapons on our planet Earth,” explained Mr. Tsuchiya. “The kind of experience that the Hibakusha [atomic bomb survivors] had to go through should never, under any condition, be repeated to anybody.” Mr. Tsuchiya is available for interviews through Aug. 9.
Bechtel’s influence in the U.S. nuclear weapons complex is growing rapidly. Recently, Bechtel partnered with the University of California to win the management contract for the Los Alamos nuclear weapons lab in New Mexico. The corporation is expected to announce its intent to bid for the Livermore lab contract as well. Both labs are involved in design work, under the “Reliable Replacement Warhead” Program, intended to replace every nuclear warhead in the U.S. arsenal.
“Bechtel is banking on Armageddon,” said Tara Dorabji of Tri-Valley CAREs. “Bechtel has reaped millions of dollars in profits from nuclear weapons testing, production and clean-up. Now Bechtel is poised to bid for the management contract of the Livermore nuclear weapons lab, where it would profit from the creation of a new generation of nuclear bombs. Bechtel’s profits are bombing our world away. On the anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we call on Bechtel to get out of the business of bombs.”
Bechtel until recently managed the Nevada Test Site and currently is a partner in management of the controversial Yucca Mountain project. The Nevada Test Site and the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump are on land that the Western Shoshone Nation holds rights to under the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley. In March, an historic decision by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination urged the U.S. to “freeze,” “desist” and “stop” actions being taken or threatened against the peoples of the Western Shoshone Nation, including activities at Yucca Mountain and the Nevada Test Site.
“Native people have been on the beginning and end of the nuclear fuel cycle. Our people in the Southwest were relocated in order for uranium to be mined. Many of our elder men that worked in the mines died from lung cancer. They were never warned of the health effects from working in the mines. The open pit tailings were blown all over the Southwest, resulting in an organ cancer rate that is 17 times the national average. Birth defects are ten times the national average,” said Morningstar Gali with the Sacred Sites Coalition. “Our people that live in the isolated areas of the southwest, such as near Yucca Mountain and other Western Shoshone lands have been part of what the U.S. government considers the ‘national sacrifice’— their existence inconsequential in the need to store the residual fuel. Our elders entered into treaties with the United States government in order to protect the lands we had left to secure our future. It is our obligation as the seventh generation of young native people to fight for the preservation of our lands for the next seven generations.”
“Bechtel carries responsibility for nuclear weapons tests on Western Shoshone land,” said Chelsea Collonge of Nevada Desert Experience. “If Bechtel wins the contract for Livermore Lab, it is poised to continue to profit from ‘subcritical’ nuclear weapons testing, which provides data for new U.S. nuclear weapon designs and violates the spirit of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. At Yucca Mountain, Bechtel will profit from dumping nuclear waste on indigenous populations, poisoning generations for hundreds of thousands of years. ”
Bechtel also holds major contracts in Iraq. “The Bechtel Corporation has a long history in Iraq – including close working ties with Saddam Hussein’s government,” said Antonia Juhasz, author of The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time. “Bechtel played a lead role in advocating for war against Iraq in 2003 through its former President and current Board Member, George Shultz, and has since profited greatly from that war. Bechtel's nearly $3 billion Iraqi gain has come at great loss to the Iraqi public and the American taxpayer. Bechtel has utterly failed to rebuild Iraq’s water, electricity and sewage systems. While the Iraqis rebuilt these systems three months after the 1991 U.S. invasion, after more than three years Bechtel has not even restored services to pre-war levels. Bechtel’s contracts must be canceled and all unspent and misspent money turned over to Iraqi companies and workers.”
Keiji Tsuchiya, Andrew Lichterman, Tara Dorabji, Morningstar Gali, Chelsea Collonge, and Antonia Juhasz will be among the speakers at Wednesday’s rally at San Francisco Bechtel. The Bay Area action is linked to nationally coordinated actions at nuclear weapon sites and Bechtel offices across the country.
For more information visit: www.trivalleycares.org, www.wslfweb.org and www.august6.org.
SHADOW PROJECT RETURNS TO PORTLAND
PRESS ADVISORY Contact: Angela Crowley-Koch Physicians for Social Responsibility503-274-2720
angela@oregonpsr.org
SHADOW PROJECT RETURNS TO PORTLAND
WHAT: Shadow Project – Chalking outlines of human bodies on Portland streets and sidewalks to remember victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. WHEN & WHERE: August 2- Pearl District – 5 PM – NW Hoyt & NW 12th – First Unitarian Peace Action Group will be chalking shadowsAugust 3 – Salmon Street Fountain – 5:30 pm – SW Salmon & Naito – volunteers will chalk downtown streets and sidewalksAugust 5 – Peace Memorial Park – 2 pm – NE Oregon & Interstate – volunteers will chalk Steel Bridge walkway and Interstate Bus Mall August 6 – Japanese-American Plaza – 4:30 pm – NW Couch & NaitoShadow making begins after ½-hour training and discussion. WHY: The Shadow Project is a citywide remembrance of the human shadows burnt into the sidewalks of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. During the sessions listed above, volunteers will receive materials, learn history and techniques, make shadow templates of each other, and be assigned areas of the city in which to draw chalk shadows. VISUALS: Volunteers of all ages and backgrounds drawing life size chalk outlines of bodies, representing the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The press is invited to photograph and interview participants during these chalking sessions as they cover their assigned areas of the city. Contact: Angela Crowley-Koch, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility(503) 274-2720, info@OregonPSR.org. Background:The Shadow Project was first done in New York, on August 6, 1982. Since then, it has been repeated many times, in many cities. Portland hosted Shadow Projects in 1983, 1986, 1990, and 1994-95, sometimes with the City’s permission, sometimes without. Organizers have notified Portland Police and Portland Parks Departments.
The Shadow Project is part of Portland’s annual Hiroshima Day Memorial, which will be held at the Japanese-American Historical Plaza (NW Couch and Naito) at 6 pm on Sunday, August 6.
The program features:
Joel Iwanaga, Channel 6 News, emcee
Reverend Alcena Boozer, president of the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon
Polo Ronault Catalani, civil rights attorney and columnist for The Asian Reporter
Chisao Hata, dancer/choreographer
Dr. Martin Donohoe, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility
Reverend Jack Takayanagi, United Church of Christ
Music by Toki Taiko drums and Aurora Chorus More information at http://www.oregonpsr.org/programs/hiroshimaday.html
Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) is a non-profit educational organization committed to the elimination of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, the achievement of a healthy and sustainable environment, and the reduction of violence and its causes. PSR is the US affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize.
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REMEMBERING HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI: 44th Annual Commemoration in Portland Affirms New Resolve Against Nuclear Weapons
Contact: Angela Crowley-Koch
Physicians for Social Responsibility
503-274-2720
angela@oregonpsr.org
MEDIA ADVISORY – August 2, 2006
REMEMBERING HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI
44th Annual Commemoration in Portland Affirms New Resolve Against Nuclear Weapons
Oregonians will gather on Hiroshima Day to remember the victims of the nuclear bombs dropped on Japan and to call for an end to the threat of nuclear weapons everywhere. Hiroshima Day marks the beginning of the Nuclear Age when over 200,000 people were killed in three days in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, on August 6th and 9th, 1945.
WHAT: Hiroshima Day MemorialWHERE: Japanese-American Historical Plaza in Waterfront Park at NW Naito and CouchWHEN: Sunday, August 6 6:00 – 7:00 PMWHO:
Joel Iwanaga, Channel 6 News, emcee
Reverend Alcena Boozer, President of the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon
Ronault LS. Catalani, Civil Rights Attorney and nephew of Nagasaki victims
Chisao Hata, Dancer/Choreographer
Dr. Martin Donohoe, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility Board of Directors
Reverend Jack Takayanagi, United Church of Christ.
Toki Taiko drums
Aurora Chorus
VISUAL: Taiko drums, Shadow Outlines from the Shadow Project
CONTACT: Angela Crowley-Koch, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility angela@oregonpsr.org 503-274-2720SPONSORS: Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, Japanese American Citizens League, Portland Branch of WILPF – Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Oregon Hiroshima Club, American Friends Service Committee, Code Pink Portland, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, Friends of Sabeel – North America, the Military and Draft Counseling Project, Oregon Buddhist Temple, Oregon PeaceWorks, Rural Organizing Project, WAND – Women’s Action for New Directions, Wasco County Citizens for Human Dignity, Peace and Justice Works Iraq Affinity Group, Veterans for Peace, Chapter 72, Church of Scientology of Portland, Multnomah Friends Meeting, Soka Gakkai International (SGI)-USA, People of Faith for Peace, Portland First United Methodist Church, Metanoia Peace Community, Ceasefire Oregon
Portland, Ore.— Oregonians will gather to observe Hiroshima Day on Sunday evening, August 6th at the Japanese American Historical Plaza from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Hiroshima Day marks the beginning of the Nuclear Age when over 200,000 people were killed in three days in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, on August 6th and 9th, 1945.
"We gather once a year, we remember with great reverence every year those hundreds of thousands of mothers and fathers, aunties and uncles, grandmas and school kids who perished in a flash in August 1945,” said Ronault LS. Catalani, whose two uncles were killed by the bomb dropped on Nagasaki. “Our elected leaders need to know that nuclear weapons are not an option. They are unthinkable."
“The United States should be leading the way towards a world without nuclear weapons,” said Martin Donohoe, MD, Member of the board of directors, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Oregon Chapter. “Instead of developing and testing new nuclear weapons systems, we should be promoting non-proliferation efforts.”
“While we remember these tragic experiences, it is important to take steps to prevent their recurrence,” said Rev. Alcena Boozer, President of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. “On this anniversary we join with our brothers and sisters around the world to pray for peaceful solutions to world problems.”
This year marks the 61st anniversary of the nuclear attacks on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The health consequences from the use of a single nuclear weapon are horrible, including the potential deaths of hundreds of thousands from blast, heat and exposure to radiation.
The U.S. and Russia still maintain thousands of nuclear weapons in their arsenals, many of them on hair-trigger alert, poised to be launched in minute's time. Our active nuclear weapons program is setting the wrong example for the world. Instead of backing away from the use of nuclear weapons, the U.S. government has declared a willingness to use them in a pre-emptive strike, most recently against Iran. Current U.S. policy of developing new nuclear weapons, such as the “Reliable Replacement Warhead,” sends a “do as I say, not as I do” signal to the rest of the world and may increase the desire of non-nuclear countries to seek their own nuclear weapons as a deterrent. The U.S. can and should be a leader in helping the world back away from the nuclear brink.
The Shadow Project, to chalk human outlines in the streets of Portland, will also take place to remind Portlanders of the Japanese citizens who were instantly vaporized in the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The silhouettes will be stenciled at the following times:
Wednesday, August 2nd - evening, NW Hoyt & 12th
Friday, August 3 – Salmon Street Fountain – 5:30 pm – SW Salmon & Naito
Saturday, August 5 – Peace Memorial Park – 2 pm – NE Oregon & Interstate
Sunday, August 6 – Japanese-American Historical Plaza – 4:30 pm
Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) is a non-profit educational organization committed to the elimination of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, the achievement of a healthy and sustainable environment, and the reduction of violence and its causes. PSR is the US affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize.
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Mayor Potter, Commissioners Saltzman and Sten Pledge City’s Support for Abolition of Nuclear Weapons
Press Release- For Immediate Release- July 31, 2006
Contacts: Angela Crowley-Koch, Executive Director, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility503-274-2720, angela@oregonpsr.org
John Doussard, Director of Communications, Office of Mayor Potter, 503-823-2855 jdoussard@ci.portland.or.us
Jamaal Folsom, Office of Commissioner Erik Sten, 503.823.3597, jfolsom@ci.portland.or.us
Matthew Grumm, Office of Commissioner Dan Saltzman, 503-823-4151 mgrumm@ci.portland.or.us
Mayor Potter, Commissioners Saltzman and Sten Pledge City’s Support for Abolition of Nuclear Weapons
City officials join 80 other U.S. cities and 1,400 cities worldwide by signing the “Mayors for Peace” pledge, which calls for worldwide abolition of nuclear weapons.
Portland, OR— Today Mayor Tom Potter and City Commissioners Dan Saltzman and Erik Sten signed the Mayor’s for Peace Pledge, which states “We pledge to make every effort to create an inter-city solidarity transcending national boundaries and ideological differences in order to achieve the total abolition of nuclear weapons and avert the recurrence of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki tragedies.”
"I have visited Hiroshima Peace Park, and learning about the devastation that nuclear weapons caused there furthered my desire to work with the international community to eliminate nuclear weapons worldwide,” said Potter. “Signing onto the Mayors for Peace pledge, along with the Mayors of 80 other U.S. cities, sends a signal to our leaders that it's time to move away from nuclear weapons.”
Commissioners Saltzman and Sten joined the Mayor in taking the pledge. “I join Mayor Potter in taking this pledge because it is very important at this point in history for us to raise awareness of the dangers and realities of nuclear weapons,” said Commissioner Erik Sten. “If we are to avoid the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the future we must publicly state our opposition to nuclear weapons.”
“Signing onto the Mayors for Peace pledge is the right thing for Portland to do,” commented Commissioner Dan Saltzman. “Just as we seek to live in a sustainable city, we also seek a sustainable world, free from the threat of nuclear weapons.”
Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, who requested that the Mayor make this important commitment, commends the Mayor and Commissioners Saltzman and Sten. “On this 61st anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Portland has taken a strong stance for a world free from nuclear weapons,” said Dr. Catherine Thomasson, president-elect of Physicians for Social Responsibility and a board member of the Oregon Chapter. “World survival depends on nations working out their problems diplomatically and not maintaining the most deadly and destructive weapons ever created.”
Mayors for Peace originated on June 24, 1982, at the Second UN Special Session on Disarmament held at UN Headquarters in New York, when then Mayor Takeshi Araki of Hiroshima proposed a new Program to Promote the Solidarity of Cities toward the Total Abolition of Nuclear Weapons. This proposal offered cities a way to transcend national borders and work together to press for nuclear abolition. Subsequently, the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki called on mayors around the world to support this program.
The Mayors for Peace is composed of cities around the world that have formally expressed support for the program Mayor Araki announced in 1982. As of July 21, 2006, membership stood at 1,403 cities in 119 countries and regions. Former Mayor Bud Clark also signed onto Mayors for Peace in 1988.
Internationally, members of Mayors for Peace hold conferences on nuclear weapons issues. This November Portland will host an exhibit from the Hiroshima - Nagasaki Atomic Bomb museum at Portland State University. The exhibition opens at the PSU Littman Gallery on Nov. 2nd and will run until Nov 29th. There will be an opening event that evening in Smith Center , a Nagasaki A-bomb victim will be in residence for the first week of the exhibition, and two other representatives present for a few days at the beginning of the exhibition.
In addition, this year Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility host Portland’s 44th annual Hiroshima Day memorial on Sunday, August 6th at 6 PM at the Japanese American Historical Plaza in Waterfront Park at NW Couch and Naito Pkwy. The event features: Reverend Alcena Boozer, President of the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon; Ronault LS. Catalani, Civil Rights Attorney and nephew of Nagasaki victims; Toki Taiko drums; the Aurora Chorus; and Joel Iwanaga of Channel 6 News. PSR is also sponsoring the film The Last Atomic Bomb playing on Wed, August 9th at the Clinton St. Theatre at 7 PM and 9:10 PM. The director, Robert Richter, will be speaking at each show. Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) is an educational organization with over 25,000 members and supporters committed to the elimination of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction and the achievement of a healthy and sustainable environment. PSR is an affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize. ####
ATOMIC BOMB SURVIVOR TO SPEAK AT LIVERMORE LAB
CONTACT: Tara Dorabji, Tri-Valley CAREs: 925-443-7148; cell 925-255-3589
Jackie Cabasso, Western States Legal Foundation: 510-839-5877; cell: 510-306-0119
For Immediate Release: August 3, 2006
ATOMIC BOMB SURVIVOR TO SPEAK AT LIVERMORE LAB
PROTEST AND RITUAL MARK FIRST USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Special Event August 6 Marks 61st Anniversary of U.S. Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima
Livermore— On Sunday, August 6, starting at 8 am, a protest, march and ritual at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will mark the anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Featured speakers will include Keiji Tsuchiya, an A-bomb survivor from Hiroshima, author and media critic Norman Solomon, Pentagon Papers whistleblower, Daniel Ellsberg, and David Seaborg, whose father, Glen Seaborg, discovered plutonium.
“We gather at Livermore Lab on the 61st anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima not only to commemorate the past, but also to make visible and oppose continued U.S. nuclear weapons development,” explains Marylia Kelley, executive director of the Livermore, CA-based Tri-Valley CAREs.
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is one of the world’s primary sites for the development of nuclear weapons. At present, the Lab is conducting design work on a new "replacement" submarine-launched nuclear warhead. This is the first new weapons type in an ambitious Bush Administration program to re-design and rebuild every nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal, under the “Reliable Replacement Warhead” program along with powerful new delivery systems to assure “prompt global strike” capability.
“Designing and maintaining nuclear weapons that should not exist, the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory is integral to preparations for global holocaust,” charges Norman Solomon, author and rally keynote speaker. “Pouring billions of dollars into weapons labs each year, the U.S. government is propelling an arms race that humanity can only lose. The unconvincing message to North Korea, Iran and other countries is: 'Do as we say, not as we do.'”
Solomon adds: “The University of California's direct participation in this work on weapons of mass destruction continues to make the UC system shamefully culpable. The most important issues related to the weapons labs are not about mismanagement but about involvement – not about dysfunction but about function.” The University of California (UC) has managed the Livermore Lab since the facility’s inception in 1952. This year will see the first Livermore contract to be competitively bid by the U.S. Department of Energy. Bechtel Corporation is expected to partner with UC to bid for Livermore Lab management, following last year’s successful partnership bid to manage the Los Alamos Lab in New Mexico.
The August 6 event will also “bring home” the true terror unleashed by the atomic bombings of Japan by featuring the testimony of Keiji Tsuchiya, an A-bomb survivor from Hiroshima. Mr.Tsuchiya explains the reasons why he came to Livermore from his home in Japan to speak at this event: “Our strong will and actions are needed now to put an end to the use of nuclear weapons on our planet Earth. The kind of experience that the Hibakusha [atomic bomb survivors] had to go through should never, under any condition, be repeated to anybody.” Mr. Tsuchiya will be in the Bay area and available for interviews from August. 5 - 9.
Jackie Cabasso, executive director of the Western States Legal Foundation observes, “As we remember the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the 200,000 mostly civilians who were incinerated or dead by the end of 1945 as a result, the horrifying conflagrations in the Middle East are foremost in all our minds. That first use of nuclear weapons, by the United States, set a new standard for ‘tolerable’ levels of violence, against which all subsequent wars have been fought. It’s time for a global ceasefire and immediate commencement of good faith negotiations on the elimination of all nuclear weapons, as recognized by the International Court of Justice. Nuclear disarmament: it’s the law.”
The Livermore action is organized by the Aug 6 and 9, No Nukes! No Wars! Coalition, including the Livermore Conversion Project, Tri-Valley CAREs, Western States Legal Foundation, California Peace Action, International Indian Treaty Council, Greenaction and Global Exchange. The events are co-sponsored by dozens of regional and national peace and religious organizations, including United for Peace and Justice, the largest anti-war coalition in the country (www.unitedforpeace.org). From August 6 – 9 events will take place in over 60 cities in 24 states, at nuclear weapon sites where Bechtel has profited, at locations including the Nevada Test Site, the Los Alamos Lab in NM, the Y-12 Complex in Oak Ridge, TN and the Pantex facility in Amarillo, TX.
Driving Directions: Sunday, August 6, 8 AM, Take 580, exit south at Vasco Road, the Livermore Nuclear Weapons Lab will be on your left, the gathering will be on the corner of Vasco Rd & Patterson Pass, Livermore, CA; the march to the gate will begin at 9 AM.
Photo Opportunity: As part of the “Art Nuko World Tour,” an exhibit of paintings by Canadian artist Carl Chapin will be displayed at the Livermore rally. The original paintings, which graphically depict the horror of atomic mushroom clouds exploding over cities around the world, will be premiered at a show, “Hiroshima Nagasaki Remembered,” opening at the 1000 Cranes Gallery in Vancouver, Canada August. 4 - 9, 2006.
Speakers and Musicians:
Keiji Tsuchiya, Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor
Norman Soloman, nationally-syndicated media critic
Daniel Ellsberg, whistleblower who leaked the Pentagon Papers
Marylia Kelley, executive director of Tri-Valley CAREs, in Livermore
Jackie Cabasso, executive director of Western States Legal Foundation
David Seaborg, son of Nobel Prize scientist who discovered plutonium
Francisco Herrera, song writer and activist
Ras K'Dee, hip hop and spoken word artist
Master of Ceremonies: Wilson Riles, former City Council member and Oakland community activist and Sophia Ritchie, from the Coalition to Demilitarize the University of California.
More information is available at www.trivalleycares.org, www.wslfweb.org, and www.august6.org
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August 6th and 9th National Press Release
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 3, 2006 Peace, Faith, Environmental, Indigenous Groups Join Atomic Bomb Survivors
To Protest U.S. Nuclear Weapons Hypocrisy, Bechtel War Profiteering On Anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki WHAT: Nonviolent protests in 24 states to demand an end to nuclear weapons and wars. New York, NY -- To mark the 61st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, rallies, vigils, teach-ins, and nonviolent protests will be held in more than 60 cities in 24 states across the country to demand an end to nuclear weapons and wars. Antiwar, nuclear abolition and indigenous rights groups are focusing on facilities run by the Bechtel Corporation, one of the world's leading nuclear weapons contractors, war profiteers, and violators of indigenous rights. Activities will take place under the banner: From Hiroshima to Yucca Mountain to the Middle East: No Nukes! No Wars! End War Profiteering! Support Indigenous Rights! Notable speakers include: Keiji Tsuchiya, a Hibakusha (Hiroshima survivor) and Vice President of Okayama A-Bomb Sufferers Association (at Livermore Lab Aug. 6 and San Francisco Bechtel rally Aug. 9); Koji Kobayashi, a Hibakusha (at Universal Peace Day celebration, Riverside Church, New York City, Aug. 5); Antonia Juhasz, author and Bechtel scholar (at teach-in in Pittsburgh, Penn. Aug. 5 and San Francisco Bechtel rally Aug. 9); Norman Solomon, media critic and author (at Livermore Lab Aug. 6); and Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers whistleblower (at Livermore Lab Aug. 6). Jackie Cabasso, Executive Director of the Western States Legal Foundation and a member of UFPJ's Steering Committee, explained: "As we commemorate one of the most horrific acts of U.S. military policy -- the atomic bombings of the civilian populations of Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- our movement for peace and justice re-commits itself to the immediate task of ending the war and occupation in Iraq and bringing all of our troops home now. The August 5th-9th actions around the country will also bring attention to some of the most pressing issues of the day: the urgent need for a comprehensive ceasefire in the Lebanon/Israel/Gaza crisis; our demand for the global abolition of all nuclear weapons, starting with those in the U.S. arsenal; and stopping the outrageous war profiteering of giant corporations like Bechtel. As the nation's largest antiwar coalition, United for Peace and Justice is proud to be working with activists around the country on these local protests." For quotes from local organizers and speakers at protests across the U.S., visit http://www.august6.org/quotes. ### MEDIA ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE |
ACTIVITIES IN OAK RIDGE & KNOXVILLE TO MARK HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI BOMBINGS
ACTIVITIES IN OAK RIDGE & KNOXVILLE TO MARK HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI BOMBINGS
LOCAL EVENTS PART OF NATIONAL CALL TO ACTION
ACTIONS TARGET Y12 BOMB PLANT AND BECHTEL CORPORATION
“NO” TO NUCLEAR DOUBLE STANDARD; “YES” TO NUCLEAR-FREE SECURITY
Hundreds of peace demonstrators will converge on Oak Ridge, Tennessee on Saturday, August 5 and Sunday, August 6 to mark the sixty-first commemoration of the destruction of Hiroshima, Japan by the Little Boy bomb. The enriched uranium explosive in Little Boy was produced at the Y12 plant in Oak Ridge.
“We will celebrate life,” said Tom Egan, member of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance which will sponsor the events in Oak Ridge. “Our work is about the power of faith, the power of creativity, the power of people to imagine and build the world they want to live in.”
OREPA’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki Day commemorations are part of a series of events coordinated through a national Call to Action co-sponsored by United for Peace and Justice, Peace Action, and other national groups.
Saturday, August 5
Events on Saturday, August 5 will begin at Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge (at the corner of Tulane Avenue and the Oak Ridge Turnpike) at 10:00am. A celebration of creativity will include music, dancing, giant puppets and entertaining skits as well as speakers who will address the US double standard with regard to nuclear weapons.
“The work in Oak Ridge expresses our nuclear policy,” said Ralph Hutchison, coordinator of OREPA. “It’s bad, bad, bad when someone else wants bombs, but okay for us. Not only is this policy morally indefensible, it is obviously ineffective.”
The Saturday peace rally will close with a march to the Y12 Nuclear Weapons Plant, a walk of nearly two miles, where demonstrators will bear witness to their desire for peace with a variety of actions, including tying peace cranes onto the fence surrounding the bomb plant.
“Y12 is currently violating our treaty obligations and our law,” noted Egan. “It’s the right place to be to stand against bombs and for peace.”
Sunday, August 6
An early morning ceremony at Y12 will remember the victims of Hiroshima on Sunday, August 5. The reading of victims’ names will be accompanied by a tolling bell and peace cranes, interspersed with readings from first-hand accounts of the bombing.
“It is important that we remember,” noted Lee Sessions, member of OREPA’s Action and Events committee. “People talk almost casually these days about using nukes against Iran or other countries, as though they don’t understand the devastating power of these bombs. We remember as a way to say, ‘Never again!’ with the people of Hiroshima.”
The Names Ceremony will begin at 6:15am at the East End Bear Creek Road entrance to the Y12 bomb plant and will conclude after a moment of silence at 8:16am to mark the dropping of the bomb.
Wednesday, August 9 • am
Kicking off a wave of actions across the country, demonstrators in Oak Ridge will gather at the Federal Building in Oak Ridge at 6:15am on Wednesday, August 9, to mark the bombing of Nagasaki and to call for an end to war profiteering.
“Since 1945, the United States has spent $5 trillion dollars on nuclear weapons alone,” said Lissa McLeod, organizer of the Wednesday activities. “Where have our tax dollars gone?”
Demonstrators will answer that question physically as the carry a symbolic check from the Federal Building to Bechtel Headquarters on Union Valley Road in Oak Ridge.
“Bechtel is one of the leading war profiteers in the world,” McLeod said. “They lead the arms race by building weapons of mass destruction in Oak Ridge. Their money is blood money; their profits are outrageous. We want people to understand what happens with our tax dollars so we can make informed decisions when it is time to vote or to speak with our elected officials.”
At the Bechtel office building, demonstrators will establish an informational peace picket and will attempt to deliver a letter to Bechtel’s local CEO.
Wednesday, August 9 • pm
OREPA’s annual Peace Lantern ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday evening, August 9 on the bank of the Tennessee River at Sequoyah Hills Park, on the west end of Cherokee Boulevard in Knoxville, TN at 8:15pm.
The Peace Lantern ceremony usually draws more than 100 people to join in a litany, listen to music, and launch peace lanterns into the water following a traditional Japanese custom. Knoxville artist Jodi Manross will play and sing at the ceremony. The event concludes informally after darkness falls and the lanterns are launched.
Friday, August 4
All events sponsored by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance are nonviolent in tone as well as action. A Nonviolence Training workshop will be held on Friday, August 4 at 6:00pm at Church of the Savior in Knoxville in preparation for the commemorative events. Peacekeeper training for volunteers who help maintain an atmosphere of nonviolence will also be held at 7:00pm at Church of the Savior.
Monday-Friday, July 31-August 4
Last year marked the arrival of giant street theatre puppets in Oak Ridge for the 60th commemoration of Hiroshima Day. This year, the puppets will be back, with a new dramatization. Puppets will be made from July 31-August 4 in a perpetual (9am-9pm) puppet workshop each day. The workshop will be held at 4627 Martin Mill Pike in south Knoxville, and everyone is invited to join—for an hour, a day or for the week.
“We will have experienced puppeteers leading the workshop,” noted Kevin Collins of OREPA, “but we’ll need lots of help. Novice puppetistas are welcome; it’s a great chance to learn by doing.”
For more information on the puppet workshop, call Lissa at 865 609 2012.
Peace convergence
Other events already taking place will come to full flower on Saturday, August 5 in Oak Ridge with a covergence from three points of the compass.
From the south, the Buddhist Peace Walk from Atlanta to Oak Ridge will complete a journey of 300 miles at Y12 on Saturday afternoon. This year’s peace pilgrimage will mark 10 years of peace walks from Atlanta to Oak Ridge by the Nipponzan Myohoji temple. The Buddhists will be joined by others along the walk; they welcome all who want to walk—a mile, a day, a week…
Also expected to arrive on Saturday is the Sacred Run from the Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Portsmouth, Ohio. The Sacred Run is based on a Native American spiritual tradition of running for peace, for protection of creation, and for brother and sisterhood. More information is available at www.footprintsforpeace.net.
Pedaling through the mountains and arriving on Saturday from Asheville, North Carolina will be Bikers for Peace. Last year marked the first bicycle caravan from the east, and organizers will bike again this year from Asheville to Oak Ridge.
MORE INFORMATION
More information on the Global Call to Action and events across the country, including Oak Ridge, is available at www.august6.org.
More information on local activities is available from Ralph Hutchison, OREPA coordinator, at 865 609 2012.
