Past Events

Nuclear Dangers With Profs. Marty Hellman and Benoît Pélopidas

On Tuesday, November 29, 2022, Professors Martin E. Hellman and Benoît Pelopidas will discussed why luck can not be a viable strategy when it comes to use of nuclear weapons. They will consider the very concept of luck and what it truly means, the evidence of its role in the past, how current doctrines are relying on it today, and what that means for the Ukraine War. Says Prof. Hellman, “Those who discount the risk of the Ukraine War leading to a nuclear war are probably right, but probably is not an adequate assurance when our nation’s survival is at stake.” Join us for what promises to be a provocative discussion.

Martin E. Hellman, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, is best known for his invention, with Diffie and Merkle, of public key cryptography, the technology that, among other uses, enables secure Internet transactions. He is currentlly focused on Rethinking National Security. Prof. Hellman is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the recipient of the ACM Turing Award, often called “the Nobel Prize of Computer Science.”

Professor Benoît Pélopidas is the founding director of the Nuclear Knowledges program at Sciences Po (CERI) in Paris. He is also an affiliate of the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) at Stanford University. Prof. Pélopidas focuses on the institutional, conceptual, imaginal and memorial underpinnings of nuclear weapons. He has engaged with influencers from all over the world to reconnect democracy, intergenerational justice, and nuclear policy.

For video of the event, click HERE

First Annual Women Waging Peace Luncheon

Our 1st Annual Women Waging Peace Luncheon where we celebrated our 2022 honorees, Cynthia Lazaroff and Senator Monique Limón, women working for peace, justice, and a nuclear free world took place on Thursday, November 10, 2022, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm at the Hilton Santa Barbara, Beachront Resort.

To read about the event, click HERE.

To watch the video of the event, click HERE.

To see pictures from the event, click HERE.

Cynthia Lazaroff

Cynthia Lazaroff is an award-winning filmmaker and founder of Women Transforming our Nuclear Legacy. She is an expert on US/Russian relations, including the history, geopolitics, military, cyber, and nuclear risks between these two countries. Cynthia is the author of Dawn of a New Armageddon, a personal account of the Hawaii missile scare, published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on August 6, 2018. By sharing her 38 minute near-death experience that day she hopes to inspire others to wake up and take action to reduce the escalating and existential nuclear danger that threatens the future of all life on Earth, noting “The experience of feeling that you are about to be hit by a nuclear missile makes it absolutely clear what is most precious. I want us to be motivated not by fear but by love. To act from our love for this precious life, for the gift of this beautiful Earth.”

Senator Monique Limón

Senator Limón was elected to the State Senate in November 2020, representing the 19th Senate district. Prior to the State Senate, Senator Limón served as the Assemblymember for District 37. It was then that she introduced Assembly Joint Resolution 33 (AJR 33) which passed in Auguest 2018. This Resolution marked a huge step forward in California’s support of nuclear disarmament and put the state at the forefront of nuclear abolition. The resolution calls on federal leaders and our nation to embrace the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, make nuclear disarmament the centerpiece of our national security policy, and spearhead a global effort to prevent nuclear war. Senator Limón continues to serve her community as an educator, leader, and an advocate for causes advancing the quality of life in her community.

Nuclear Dangers with John Burroughs, Jackie Cabasso, and Andrew Lichtman

On Thursday, October 27, 2022, John Burroughs, of Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy, and Jacqueline Cabasso and Andrew Lichterman, of Western States Legal Foundation, discussed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and accompanying nuclear threats with reference to international law; whether “geopolitical” analysis is the appropriate framework; and divergent approaches of peace advocates.

John is the principal author of the paper, End the War, Stop the War Crimes;

Jacqueline, a key actor in peace and disarmament networks, is quoted extensively in this article published soon after the invasion, A conflict over Ukraine embroils four of the world’s major nuclear powers;

Andrew is the author of the paper, The Peace Movement and the Ukraine War: Where to Now?

Christian Ciobanu, our Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, moderated the lively discussion.

For video of the event, click HERE.

Nuclear Dangers with Richard Falk and Ivana Hughes

On Thursday, September 29 at 11 a.m. PT and 2 p.m. ET, we held a Zoom discussion on Nuclear Dangers and beyond with Richard Falk and Ivana Hughes. They discussed the current state of affairs in the Ukraine War, the dangers that humanity and the planet face, as exposed by the war and otherwise and Falk’s book This Endangered Planet: Prospects and Proposals for Human Survival (1971). In August, the book was selected as a Book for the Century (Political and Legal) on the occasion of the centennial issue of the magazine Foreign Affairs, issued by the Council on Foreign Relations. Richard’s book is part of a set considered “essential for understanding the century ahead.”

For video of the event, please click HERE.

28th Annual Sadako Peace Day

The Function of a Wing

by Emma Trelles

They arrive as red masked druids, ghost
The edge of the desolate golf course, sandhill
Cranes poised between the tall grass and oaks
Lathered in moss, a fading, this pocket of homes
Long past afternoons of stickball and smoking grills,
Hearts alert to the rhythm of clouds
Despite how loneliness drifts beside us all.
Each day’s arc is a wing, a wish hurling
Across the sky, and also time, because what is the clock
But a ship of travel we must board upon our first breath?
I have read about a girl who pinned her healing to the making
Of cranes, and how they navigate by starlight, instinct, the ancient
Maps scored inside the lace of their bones. They know how to dance.
They arrive as themselves. A newborn will curl around her mother’s
Temples in peace, a place where no harm will descend
in its poisonous light, its cell-stripping forms,
A place of quiet, and journey that is a kind of returning to love.

We held our 28th Annual Sadako Peace Day once again in the Sadako Peace Garden at La Casa de Maria to remember the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and all innocent victims of war. The event took place on Tuesday, August 9, 2022, from 6:00 – 7:00 pm PT. It was the first time we were able to hold Sadako Peace Day at at La Casa de Maria since 2018, when the retreat center suffered terrible damage from the mudslides that took place after the Thomas Fires. Frank Bognar, NAPF Board Chair, welcomed everyone to this special event. This year, we introduced Dr. Ivana Nikolić Hughes, our President, who gave a moving keynote talk about the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons. There were poetry readings by Emma Trelles, Sojourner Kincaid Rolle, Father Larry Gosselin, and Perie Longo, Chair of NAPF’s Poetry Committee. Hal Maynard and Sandy Jones, local singer/songwriters, played original music, Dr. Jimmy Hara spoke about Sadako’s short life and her inspiring wish for peace, and Bob Sedivy, a komusō monk, opened and closed the evening on the shakuhachi. We were touched to see so many members of our wonderful community in attendance. Thank you to all who were able to join us! For a video of Dr. Hughes delivering her keynote, see HERE. For photos from the event, see HERE.

NUKE dangers ukraine Jerry Brown opening card jpg

Nuclear Dangers in Ukraine

Third in our Zoom Series
WITH JERRY BROWN
and Richard Falk
Moderated by
Cynthia Lazaroff
Thursday, May 26, 2022
11:00 am PT | 2:00 pm ET | 8:00 pm CET

View the video of this event at: https://youtu.be/ZkQhRr0OFrw

ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS:

Jerry Brown
Jerry Brown is perhaps best known for having served as California’s governor for an historic four terms in office, the third-longest-serving governor in U.S. history. During his time in office, California’s unemployment rate dropped to a record low, nearly 3 million new jobs were added, and healthcare coverage expanded to millions more Californians. Guided by his leadership, the state enacted far-reaching reforms, including in criminal justice, immigration, workers’ compensation, water, pension, education, housing and economic development reforms. California also established comprehensive targets to protect the environment and fight climate change. Brown currently serves as chair of the California-China Climate Institute housed at UC Berkeley; executive chair of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists; board member of the Nuclear Threat Initiative; and farmer on land settled by his great-grandfather more than 150 years ago.

Richard Falk
Richard Falk is a professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University, and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor’s Chairman of the Board of Trustees. In 2008, the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed him to a six-year term as a UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. He is the author or co-author of more than 20 books. His memoir, Public Intellectual: The Life of a Citizen Pilgrim, was published this last year.

Cynthia Lazaroff
Cynthia Lazaroff is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and founder of Women Transforming Our Nuclear Legacy. She is the author of Dawn of a New Armageddon, a personal account of the Hawaii missile scare, published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on August 6, 2018. An expert on US-Russia relations, including on the history, geopolitics, military, cyber and escalating nuclear risks between these two countries, Cynthia has been engaged in Track II citizen diplomacy and mediation efforts with Russia since the early 1980s.

Nuclear Dangers in Ukraine

Second in our Zoom Series
WITH NOAM CHOMSKY AND DANIEL ELLSBERG
Co-hosts Cynthia Lazaroff and Richard Falk
Friday, April 29, 2022
12:00 pm PT | 3:00 pm ET | 8:00 pm CET

See the video of this event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asRywts02DE

ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS:

Noam Chomsky
Philosopher, cognitive scientist, linguist, political commentator, and lifelong activist, Chomsky is arguably the single most influential scholar in the world today. He is a sharp critic of American foreign policy and an anarchist who believes in creating a radically different, more just society. Chomsky is the author of more than 100 books, his most recent, Requiem for the American Dream: The 10 Principles of Concentration of Wealth & Power, was published in 2017. At the age of 93, knowing his voice still needs to be heard during this critical time, Chomsky hasn’t retreated from the world stage, contending, “We’re approaching the most dangerous point in human history and are now facing the prospect of the destruction of organized human life on Earth.”

Daniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg, known to many as the original whistleblower, in 1971 released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret study of the US government’s decision-making in the Vietnam War. He was charged under the Espionage Act of 1917, along with charges of theft and conspiracy, carrying a maximum sentence of 115 years. Because of governmental misconduct, illegal evidence-gathering, and a stellar defense team, all charges against Ellsberg were dismissed on May 11, 1973. He is the author of four books, the latest published in 2017 entitled The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner. Ellsberg was awarded the 2006 Right Livelihood Award “…for putting peace and truth first, at considerable personal risk, and dedicating his life to inspiring others to follow his example.”

Richard Falk
Richard Falk is a professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University, and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor’s Chairman of the Board of Trustees. In 2008, the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed him to a six-year term as a UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. He is the author or co-author of more than 20 books. His memoir, Public Intellectual: The Life of a Citizen Pilgrim, was published this last year.

See the video of this event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asRywts02DE

Nuclear Dangers in Ukraine

Tuesday March 29, 2022
11am PT | 2pm ET | 7pm CET
with Cynthia Lazaroff and Richard Falk

Join us for a series of discussions on the nuclear dangers arising from Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine.

ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS:

Cynthia Lazaroff
Cynthia is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and founder of Women Transforming Our Nuclear Legacy. She is the author of Dawn of a New Armageddon, a personal account of the Hawaii missile scare published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on August 6, 2018. An expert on US-Russia relations, including on the history, geopolitics, military, cyber and escalating nuclear risks between these two countries, Cynthia has been engaged in Track II citizen diplomacy and mediation efforts with Russia since the early 1980s.

Richard Falk
Richard is an American professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University, and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor’s Chairman of the Board of Trustees. In 2008, the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed him to a six-year term as a UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. He is the author or co-author of more than 20 books. His memoir, Public Intellectual: The Life of a Citizen Pilgrim, was published this last year.

See the film of this event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVfiLYGOLcM

SPEECH AND SPIRIT

Please join us for Speech and Spirit, an evening about the transmission of political conviction and ecological consciousness across generations. This multi-genre collaboration sits at the intersection of literary studies, Black and Indigenous performance art, and the pursuit of collective transcendence. The event emerges from a set of conversations between old friends about how best to honor the traditions they love and study. It will feature live music, song, and poetry.

ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS:

Joshua Bennett is a Professor of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College. Earlier this year, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Whiting Award for Poetry and Nonfiction.

Samora Pinderhughes is a jazz vocalist and keyboardist. Samora was named the first ever Art for Justice/Soros Justice Fellow in 2018.

Mattthew Spellberg is a scholar and writer and the creator of the Dream Parliament. He is President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

See the film of this event: https://www.wagingpeace.org/speech-and-spirit/

PEACE IS MORE THAN THE ABSENCE OF WAR

Please join us for a Zoom conversation with Matthew Spellberg, our new President, and Richard Falk, Senior Vice President and former Board Chair of NAPF. They’ll be discussing the path from ideas to action, the importance of utopian thinking in an age of technological danger, the calling of a ‘Citizen Pilgrim’, and the future of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.