June 5, Nuclear Weapons Abolition Day: Protest Missile Launch!

The Vandenberg Air Force Base announced that it will hold a missile defense test launch on Saturday, June 5.  Originally, the base was set to test a Minuteman III ICBM test from the Space Command to Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands.

Participate in protesting the continuance of missile defense at one of two locations:

• 1:00PM Saturday, June 5
• Front gate VANDENBERG Space Command: Intersection of Hwy 1 (across from Vandenberg Middle School, six miles north of Lompoc on Highway 1 in Santa Barbara, Country, CA)
• Speakers
• Andrew Lichterman of Western States Legal Foundation
• David Krieger of Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
• For info call or text 805-696-5159 or check www.vandenberwitness.org

• 3:00PM Saturday, June 5
• Los Angeles Air Force Base Space and Missile Center: 200 N. Douglas Street, El Segundo, CA (Los Angeles AFB helps with the tracking and targeting of missile launches)
• Speakers
• Que Keju, "Where do the missiles land"
• L. Stephen Coles, M.D. of Physicians for Social Responsibility LA
•  For info call or text 831-206-5043, or check www.nuclearabolition.org
  
  

Dept. of Energy Rules Out the Nuclear Option for the Oil Leak

William Broad of the New York Times wrote yesterday that the Department of Energy has ruled out using a nuclear device in order to stop the BP oil leak, calling the idea "crazy".  The leading proponent of the suggestion, Matt Simmons--a Houston energy expert and investment banker, noted that the Russians used nuclear weapons to end gas leaks five times from 1966-1981.  Only the last attempt by the Russians was unsuccessful, the Broad stated.

While several million gallons of oil continue to spill into the Gulf, harming all wildlife in its wake, a nuclear device to plug the leak would be a terrible option.  For one, the ecological and environmental consequences are completely unknown.  Second, there is no guarantee that a detonation would stop the leak.  To those who point to the successful Russian attempts, it should be noted that in each instance the leak occurred on gas land wells, NOT offshore oil rigs.  Broad also argues that using a nuclear weapon would violate arms treaties at a time when President Obama is promulgating nuclear disarmament.

An Urgent Situation - Let's Deal With It Tomorrow

Today, Vice President Joe Biden gave a speech to the National Defense University titled “The Path to Nuclear Security: Implementing the President’s Prague Agenda.” Biden is, of course, referring to President Obama’s April 2009 speech in Prague in which he promised to “seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.”

Biden had plenty to say about non-proliferation and preventing terrorists from acquiring nuclear material or nuclear weapons. Those things are certainly important, and I applaud the administration for taking a strong stance on the issues, but it’s not enough to get us to a world without nuclear weapons.

Today's Headlines: A Nuclear Aftermath?

All over the newspapers, internet and TV today we are seeing the unbelievable devastation caused by the earthquake near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Thousands of collapsed buildings, infrastructure destroyed, an unknown (but very high) number of people dead or missing. My heart aches at the suffering this natural disaster has caused.

When I came in to work this morning, my thoughts turned to images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Just as in Haiti today, buildings collapsed and a city was destroyed. In Japan, hundreds of thousands of innocent people were killed in a very short period of time, not by a natural disaster but a man-made one. The US atomic bombs, nicknamed "Little Boy" and "Fat Man," brought unforgettable destruction and anguish to those two Japanese cities.