Golden Rule-related events in s.w. MI, Sept. 7-13

Please see the event updates below (time-stamped 9pm ET, Friday, Sept. 8, 2023). Please note that all open boat tours in St. Joe, MI have been cancelled. However, all remaining events, to be held in Kalamazoo, will go ahead as previously planned, from Sat., Sept. 9 till Tues., Sept. 12. Hope you can come to one or more events! Please spread the word! Thanks!

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

THE PEACEFUL ATOM IS A BOMB – SPREAD THE WORD!

Addressing the Dire Risks of Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Power, & Radioactive Waste

Saturday, September 9: INFO.-TABLING, from 12pm Noon till 7pm, as part of the annual Vintage in the Zoo street festival, in front of Final Gravity Brewing Company, 246 N. Burdick St., Concert for the Great Lakes at Final Gravity Brewing Company in downtown Kalamazoo, MI (246 N. Burdick St.) on the north end of the Kalamazoo pedestrian mall, followed by a CONCERT FOR THE GREAT LAKES at Final Gravity, starting at 6pm: Traverse City-based folk singer/songwriter Victor McManemy, opens at 6pm, followed by s.w. MI-based Great Lakes Brass Band at 8:30pm. During the inter-band intermission, GUEST SPEAKERS: Golden Rule Project Manager Helen Jaccard, crewmate (and VFP national board member) Gerry Condon, as well as local and state-wide watchdogs on the Palisades atomic reactor crisis.

Monday, September 11, (noon to 5pm) and Monday evening (6-8pm): TEACH-INS ON NUCLEAR ISSUES.

Noon: ORIENTATION/INFO.-TABLING/LUNCH. Food (pizza, bread, salad) and non-alcoholic beverages provided during teach-in at the Martini’s Restaurant Pronto Room (upstairs), 832 S. Westnedge Ave., Kalamazoo. The Zoom hybrid begins at 1pm and goes to 5pm EST. Pre-registration to the Zoom meeting is appreciated:

1pm, Golden Rule, Great Lakes nuclear issues;

2pm, old, closed Palisades “zombie” atomic reactor restart scheme crisis;

3pm, Small Modular Reactor new build threats;

4pm, radioactive waste risks at Palisades and beyond.

Speakers will include local, Great Lakes regional, national and binational (U.S. and Canada) experts and watchdogs, such as: Veterans For Peace Golden Rule Project Manager Helen Jaccard; Arnie Gundersen, Chief Engineer, Fairewinds, expert witness regarding Palisades for over a decade; Alfred Meyer, Physicians for Social Responsibility and columnist in The Progressive Magazine; and many others.

6-8pm, TEACH-IN MAIN EVENT is at Ballroom A/Room 2414 of the brand new WMU Student Center, 1070 Arcadia Loop, Western Michigan University main campus, Kalamazoo, MI 49006, located between Sangren Hall and Waldo Library. From the main entrance of Sangren Plaza, the ballrooms are straight to the back of the building. There’s limited metered parking both in front and behind Sangren, and near the old Bernhard Student Center.

The teach-in is sponsored by WMU Department of Sociology, and co-sponsored by Kalamazoo Nonviolent Opponents of War, KNOW–http://kzoo4peace.org/

Speakers will include: WMU Dept. of Sociology professor Dr. Ron Kramer, on his forthcoming book Apocalyptic Crimes, which argues that nuclear weapons pose an apocalyptic threat to humanity, are illegal under international law, and must be abolished; Veterans For Peace Golden Rule Project Manager Helen Jaccard; Denise Duffield (Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles); and Fairewinds Chief Engineer Arnie Gundersen. We will webcast this session for virtual viewing as well. The link will be posted at https://vfpgoldenruleproject.org/ ASAP.

Tuesday, September 12:

3-5pm, showing of two short films on the amazing history of the Golden Rule peace boat – “Making Waves: The Rebirth of the Golden Rule” — and about her sister ship, “Phoenix of Hiroshima-An Odyssey Interrupted.” Discussion afterward with Veterans For Peace Golden Rule Project Manager Helen Jaccard, and crew mate (and VFP board of directors member) Gerry Condon. Van Deusen Room (top floor), downtown Kalamazoo Public Library central location, 315 S. Rose St., Kalamazoo, MI 49007.

*For more info., contact Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear and Don’t Waste Michigan, at (240) 462-3216, [email protected].

*For more info. about the Golden Rule: https://vfpgoldenruleproject.org/