And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: To : Abolitionists Everywhere From: Bruce Hall at Peace Action Date: July 21, 1999 Re : Los Alamos Dear friends - FYI Bruce ------------------------------------------------ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Bruce Hall at 202.862.9740 extension 3038 July 21, 1999 Peace Action New Mexico - 505.989.4812 Peace Action Announces Major Demonstration at Scandal-Plagued Los Alamos National Laboratory Nation's Largest Grassroots Peace Organization To Protest Resumed Nuclear Warhead Production at the Lab WASHINGTON, DC - At a time when Los Alamos National Laboratory has been plagued by scandal, Peace Action announced today its plan to stage a major nuclear disarmament demonstration at the New Mexico lab on Monday, August 9, 1999 - the 54th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan. Peace Action mounted the protest as part of a new campaign to halt the resumed production of nuclear warheads at the lab. The protest and preceeding conference, drawing activists from across the country and around the world, will be the largest anti-nuclear event in Los Alamos history. "Los Alamos is getting back into the nuclear bomb-making business at a time when the world desperately needs to get back on the path to nuclear disarmament," said Peace Action's field organizer Bruce Hall. "Peace Action is bringing a much needed wake-up call to the lab and the government: the Cold War is over, it is time to abolish nuclear weapons." The Department of Energy plans to produce up to 80 plutonium pits (the cores of nuclear warheads) a year at Los Alamos and will field the first - a 475 kiloton warhead for use on the Trident submarine - in 2001. Los Alamos will produce 20 warheads a year by 2007 and is striving to reach to capability to produce up to 80 warheads annually by a later date. The U.S. last produced a nuclear warhead for the arsenal in 1989 at the infamous Rocky Flats Plant in Colorado. Concerns over environmental contamination and flagrant safety violations led to the plant's closure. The annual nuclear weapons budget at Los Alamos has climbed by more than 30% in the past five years and will reach over $900 million in 2000. Meanwhile, New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman has begun a push to create a new, multi-million dollar plutonium processing plant at Los Alamos. If completed, the plant will become the world's newest nuclear weapons facility. "Despite the U.S. signature on the Comprehensive nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the weaponeers at Los Alamos continue to hone their ability to design, develop, and deploy newer, more advanced nuclear weapons, and the taxpayer is footing a Cold War-sized bill." said Hall. "People from around the country and the world are coming to Los Alamos this August because the activities there have implications that reach far beyond New Mexico's borders." The conference, "Beyond the Bomb: A New Agenda for Peace and Justice", will take place at the Crowne Plaza Pyramid Hotel in Albuquerque, New Mexico from Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8. During the conference, local activists and indigenous leaders will discuss the impact of Los Alamos National Laboratory on the people of New Mexico and explore the ways the activities at Los Alamos drive the nuclear arms race and threaten the environment. In addition, survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will join activists from the United Kingdom, France, India, Pakistan, and the South Pacific to discuss the global movement to abolish nuclear weapons. Mary Wynne-Ashford, co-president of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War will discuss the deteriorating situation in Russia and the urgent need for immediate progress on nuclear disarmment. Jacqui Katona, winner of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize will discuss her efforts to halt plans for uranium mining on aboriginal land in Australia. On Monday, August 9th, participants will commemorate the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, with a rally and civil disobedience at Los Alamos National Laboratory. -30- ______________________________________________ Bruce Hall Peace Action Field Organizer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 202.862.9740 x 3038 Fax: 202.862.9762 Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
