Thursday, August 2, 2007

2007 Call to Action | August 6-9

 

august 6Between August 6 and 9, the anniversaries of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, demand an end to the U.S. wars in the Middle East and the global abolition of nuclear weapons, starting with our own.

As carried out against Iraq and threatened against Iran, the specter of nuclear weapons in the hands of "rogue" states has become the United States' number one excuse for waging war.Yet the threatened first use of nuclear weapons remains the "cornerstone" of U.S. national security policy. The U.S. has about 10,000 nuclear weapons, is designing new ones, and is pouring billions of dollars into its nuclear weapons research and production complex! Who is threatening whom?

Sixty-two years after the U.S. killed 200,000 civilians by dropping atomic bombs on two densely populated cities, we call on groups to expose the continuing, grave and immediate threats posed to the world by U.S. nuclear hypocrisy, and to directly confront the U.S. corporations that are perpetuating and profiting from a worldwide nuclear crisis and the wars in the Middle East.

We invite groups to protest at nuclear facilities, as well as at the corporate offices and facilities of such nuclear and war profiteers as Bechtel, Lockheed-Martin, Northrup Grumman and others. Find out where to protest: nuclear facilities, Bechtel, other war profiteers. Consider organizing a march, vigil, citizen’s inspection, public forum, video screening, or cast your "vote" for the elimination of nuclear weapons by printing out, filling in and mailing copies of the unofficial "ballot" to the Department of Energy and public officials. Click here for information about the Ballot.

filmWe particularly encourage groups and individuals to take advantage of the opportunity of the August 6th HBO premiere of Academy Award-winner Steven Okazaki's powerful new film, White Light/Black Rain. The critically acclaimed documentary features fourteen Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors and is a remarkable document of the only times nuclear weapons have been used in war. Organize a house party or community screening and discussion - if you don't have HBO you can order a special community screening DVD. Download our White Light/Black Rain Discussion Guide to help focus discussion on the current nuclear threat and what people can do about it. Read more about White Light/Black Rain and other Hiroshima/Nagasaki documentaries as well as how you can use them for education and action.

This call was initiated by the United for Peace & Justice Nuclear Disarmament Working Group and Bite the Bullet: War Profiteering Education & Action Network. At the same time that we are calling for actions focusing on nukes and war, the Occupation Project is calling for nonviolent civil disobedience to end the war in Iraq, and both these calls are part of the larger United for Peace and Justice campaign that will run from early August to the end of October.

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Source: 2007 Call to Action | August 6-9

 

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