Film screening, discussion and action to abolish nuclear weapons

Historic Sailboat Project Supports UN Treaty to Ban Nuclear Weapons
Golden Rule S/V Crew member and Golden Rule Project Ambassador, Zoe Byrd, will show the 25-minute documentary, “Making Waves: Rebirth of the Golden Rule” about four Quaker peace activists, led by Navy veteran Albert Bigelow, who in 1958 set sail to the Marshall Islands influencing public demand that ended underwater, atmospheric, and outer space nuclear bomb tests in 1963.  The historic peace boat later sank, in 2010, and was rebuilt in Humboldt Bay, California. The Golden Rule, a Project of Veterans For Peace, is once again “Sailing for a Nuclear-Free World and a Peaceful, Sustainable Future.”

Zoe Byrd, involved in the peace movement since 1977, and an avid “Peace Walker”, as well as sailor, will take questions after the film, about the Golden Rule, opportunities to crew on the peace vessel, and more. Zoe is excited to present the ICAN Cities Appeal, where all over the world, cities are taking the lead and calling on their governments to join the UN Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Highly regarded guest speaker, Peter Lumsdaine, a member of Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility (WPSR)’s Nuclear Weapons Abolition Task Force and of national PSR’s Committee to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, has worked for over two decades in the nuclear resistance and global eco-justice movements, including on the staff of leading-edge NGOs. This work has taken him from the military conflict zones of Mexico, the Philippines, Korea, and occupied Iraq to the the inner security areas of US Strategic Command bases and the cell-blocks of the American prison system.  

Peter will speak about the inspiring heritage of, and urgent potential for, mass nonviolent direct action to push toward nuclear abolition – and about how we can curb the rise of corporate/military Artificial Intelligence systems that are rapidly automating global conflict and the command of nuclear arsenals.
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This educational, fundraising event is a call to action and is free to the public
Donations to the Golden Rule Project 2019 sailing season are appreciated

Film screening event in Bellingham
Wednesday February 20
8–9:30 p.m.
The Alternative Library (Karate Church) 519 E Maple Street, Bellingham

This VFP – Golden Rule Project event is Sponsored by:
Veterans For Peace – CPL Jonathan J. Santos Memorial Chapter #111
Whatcom Peace & Justice Center
Bellingham Film Coalition

The Golden Rule Project is preparing for an epic voyage around the Pacific – to Hawaii, the Marshall Islands, Guam, Okinawa, Korea, Japan and more.   The spring 2019 crossing to Hawaii will take about a month.

The Pacific voyage will bring attention to the ongoing effects of nuclear bomb testing in the Pacific, and to the environmental and human impacts of hundreds of military bases in the Pacific Islands.   The team plans to be in Japan in August 2020 for the 75th anniversary of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, then sail back to California in the spring and summer of 2021.
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With tensions so high between nuclear armed nations, it is more important than ever to bring a message of peace into the Pacific.  “The possibility of nuclear war today is all too real,” says Gerry Condon of Veterans For Peace. “It is time to abolish nuclear weapons once and for all. The U.S. can show leadership by being the first nuclear power to sign the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”

Come learn about what you can do to support the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty and the total elimination of nuclear weapons. Press interviews encouraged!

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