Contacts: Marylia Kelley, Tri-Valley CAREs, 925.255.3589 (cell)
Grace Morizawa, Asian-Americans for Peace & Justice, 510.289.1285
For immediate release, August 2, 2023
Bay Area Groups to Mark Hiroshima and Nagasaki at Livermore Lab
with Program Honoring Daniel Ellsberg and New Film Debut
Opening Remarks from Patricia Ellsberg
Media are invited to a special event marking the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with a coalition of Northern California peace and justice groups that comprise the Livermore Conversion Project. The event features a vigil at the Livermore Lab West Gate and a film tribute to our dear friend, former Pentagon planner, whistleblower, and fellow nuclear weapons abolitionist, Daniel Ellsberg. Details follow…
WHAT: Vigil at Livermore Lab and accompanying film release, “Dismantle the Doomsday
Machine: Abolish Nuclear Weapons at Livermore Lab & Globally.”
WHEN: Friday, August 4, 2023. The vigil begins at 9 AM with reflections from Patricia Ellsberg, on her husband’s life, his passing, and what protesting at these very gates meant to Dan and to her over the years. At 9:30 AM the film will be released widely, with a special showing at the Livermore Lab’s main gate.
WHERE: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, West Gate, located at the corner of Vasco Road and Westgate Drive in Livermore. In addition, the film will be widely available using the following link: https://enlightenedfilms.com/ellsbergrallytalks/
PLANNING GROUPS: Asian Americans for Peace & Justice, Bay Area Physicians for Social Responsibility, Ecumenical Peace Institute, Livermore Conversion Project, No Nukes Action Committee, Tri-Valley CAREs, Western States Legal Foundation, Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom
WHY: We gather at Livermore Lab to confront the horror of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and say “never again” to nuclear weapons and war. We stand with the Hibakusha and other victims of the atomic age to press for the global abolition of weapons of nuclear mass destruction. Nuclear weapons pose an existential threat to life. Twenty-first century arms-racing endangers us all.
We gather at Livermore Lab because it is one of two locations that designs every nuclear warhead and bomb in the U.S. stockpile. Livermore Lab is owned by the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration and more than 80% of its present budget is devoted to the development of new and modified nuclear weapons.
Dan Ellsberg spoke out forcefully against nuclear weapons at numerous August rallies at Livermore Lab. He had planned to be with us this year. It is fitting to honor him at the gates of Livermore Lab. For background: Dan is best known as the whistleblower who released “The Pentagon Papers” to hasten an end to the war in Vietnam. He was an analyst at RAND Corp. and a consultant to the Defense Dept. Dan’s acclaimed autobiography is titled, “Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner.”
Note: Interviews are welcome in advance or at the site. During the vigil, please ask the organizers or participants if they can step away for an interview. Photo ops available.
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