Spring_1995 Spring 1995 - Physicians for Social Responsibility

I
ption for Survival
Prescti
S p r i n g1 9 9 5
V o l u m e1 5 N o . 2
Angeles
for Social Responsibility-Los
Newsletterof Physicians
A T O M I CA G EF I L MS E R I E S
T h e A t o mi c A g e Fi l m
artin Sheen, ac[or ancl
activist extraordinaire, Series will explore all
aspects of the nuclear
w i l l k i c k - o f fP h y s i c i a n fso r S o c i a l
R e s p o n s i bI iit y ' s f i l m r e t r o s p e c t i v e , e r a , f r o m h e a r t f e l tn a r r a tives like Drstnr Bloortt
t h e A t o m i c A g e F i l m S e r i e s ,o n
t o p r o b i n gd o c u m e n t a r i e s
S a t u r d a yA
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l i k e T H r A r o m t c C n n et o
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lassic B-movies like
1 3 3 2 2 n d S t r e e t i, n S a n t aM o n i c a .
Turru!to the apocalyptic
T h e A t o m i c A g e F i l m S e r i e sw i l l
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Saturday and Sunday mornings
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t h e M o n i c a T h e a t e r .S p e c i a l d i s o t h e r sa r e r a r e l y , i f e v e r ,
counted tickets are available
CasualtyCommitteein Nagasaki,
s e e n . S u c h a l o s t c l a s s i ci s A k i r a
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t h r o u g ht h e P S R
and authorof the new Childrenof
K u r o s a w a ' sR r c o R o o F A L t v l N c
series is available for the low
Nagasakiwill speakon August3,
B et N c - a b o u t a m a n h a u n t e dw i t h
price of $gO for 19 films! Or a
and comment on the new film
n i g h t m a r e s o f a t o mi c h o l o b o o k l e to f f i v e f i l m s a r e a v a i l a b l e
v.
NncnsnrtJounrue
for $25. lndividual tickets are
c a u s t - s c r e e n i n.guf l y 1 5 - 1 6 .
for Social ResponsiPhysicians
a v a i l a b l ef o r $ 6 p e r p e r s o n .
T h e s e r i e si s a c r i t i c a l l y i n v a l u as one of the few
stands
bility
Fifty years ago the Bomb made
able learningtool, in this 5Oth
voiceson the nuclearissue.This
i t ' s j o u r n e y f r o m t h e l a b o r a t o r i e s a n n i v e r s a r yh, e l p i n gu s a l l u n d e r i s a t r e m e n d o u bs u r d e na s 1 9 9 5
o f N e w M e x i c o t o t h e s t r e e t so f
s t a n d o u r d o o m - l a d e n p a s t ,p r e s standsas a major crossroadin
H iroshima and Nagasaki, and
e n t a n d f u t u r e .M i c k B r o d e r i c ko f
then, with the festering of the
t h e A u s t r a l i a nF i l m C o r n m i s s i o n , world history.For 1995 not only
of the
marksthe 50th anniversary
C o l d W a r , t o t h e s u b c o n s c i o u so f
a n d a u t h o ro f t h e d e f i n i t i v eb o o k ,
bomb, but is alsoa year of major
the world.
N u c l e a r M o v i e s ,h a s c r e a t e da f e s the Compretreaties:
international
tival booklet which brilliantlv
hensiveTestBanand the Nuclear
c a p t u r e st h e f i l m s a n d e r a .
Non-ProliferationTreaty.Support
These nuclear films are not
PSR, attend these fascinating
o n l y a s u r v e yi n t o t h e p a s t b u t
and join us in the rewardmovies,
a c l u e s tf o r w i s e p o l i c y i n t h e
of healingthe planet.
task
ing
f u t u r e .A M i c l n i g h tS p e c i a ld o c u m e n t a r ys e r i e sw i l l f e a t u r eJ o s e p h
C e r s o no n " j u n " 1 4 r e a d i n g
l N r H l sl s s u E. . .
"With
from his new book
F r o mt h e D i r e c t o r , . . . . p a g e2
H iroshima Eyes" after a
WashingtonAlert . . . . . . page2
screening of the powerful
Atomic Age Films. . . . . . page3
H r n o s Ht M A - N n c n s n x l - 19 4 5 .
Nukesin the News. . . . . page5
Dr. James Yamasaki, former
m e r l i c a l c l i r e c t o ro f t h e A t o m i c
2/Prescriptionfor Survival
F R O MT H ED I R E C T O R
REPORT
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s t r e e t sw h i l e t h e N R A w o r k s t o o v e r t u r n t h e A s s a u l tW e a p o n s B a n .
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future by halting the transfer of
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a n d h e a l t h f r o m r a d i o a c t i v ep o l l u tion. WRITE: Sen. Dianne Feins t e i n , 1 1 1 1 1 S a n t aM o n i c a B l v d ,
#91 5, Los Angeles, CA 90025.
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#915, Los Angeles, CA 90025.
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SATURDAYS
&
SUNDAYS
APRIL29
thru
SEPT.4
1 1: 0 0A . M .
TAEMMLE'S
MONTCe
THEATRE
13322nd Street
SantaMonica
310 394-9741
Sponsoredby
Physiciansfor
Social Responsibility
ano
Laemmle Theatres
with the cooperationof
Japan America Society
of Southern California
April 29-3(l
The Atomic Cafe
Archivallootagcfrom thc l9-50'srecallsAnrerica'snuclearnaivete.
A w i l d n d e t h r o u g ht h ed L r c k - a n d - c o vyeera r s .( l 9 l t 2 t. l t lm i n . .l 6 r n r n )
NIay 6-7
Kiss Me Deadly
With RalphMcckcr.Cloris Lcachrnarr
I n t h r sl ' i l mn o i r c l a s s i cp. r i v l t c r n r c s t i g a t oMr i k c F { a n r m cbrl u n d e r h
sis
w a v t h r o u g ha n a t o m s p y s c h e r n e
w h i l e t r a i l i n gr m y s t e r i o ugsl o w i n g
b o x . D i r e c t e db y R o b c r tA l d r i c h . ( 1 9 5 51. 0 5r l r n . .- l - 5 n r n )
July tt-9
The China Syndrome
WithJaneFonda.
JackLemnron.Nlichael
Douglas
A r c a c t u ra c c i r l e n ti n a n u c l e a rp o w e r p l a n t i s r e v e a l e ctlo t h e p u b l i c t h r o u g h
T . V . n e r . l ' sh. u t a s u b s e q u e n tc o v e r - u p n e a r l y l e a d s t o a c o r e m e l t d c l w n .
t 1 9 7 9 .I l l r n i n . .l 5 r r r r r) r
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Record of o Living Being
With ToshiroN{ifune
Akira Kurosawa's
lostclassic:An agingfactoryworkert'earing
an inrntin e n tn u c l c a w
r a r t r i e st o e n r i g r a tteo B r a z i l . ( 1 9 - 5 -l l53. r n i n .3, 5 r n m )
May 13-14
Pickup on Soutlt Street
W i t h R i c h a r dW i i i m a r k T
. l r e l m aR i l t e r
A h o o d l u n dr i s c o ' t , t rsst o l c nn r i c n r f i l r n
c ( ) n t u i n i nagt o n r i cs e c r e tas n di s
h u n t e dh y I ; F t la s c n t sa n do t h c r sS
. a n r uIeF u l l c r d i r c c ttsh i sc l a s s rc o m m u n i s ts p yt l r a n t a .( 1 9 - 5 81 0. n r i n .".l 5 r r r r r r )
July 22-23
Ilarefoot Gen
May 20-21
Desert Bloom
W i t h J o h n\ b i g h t . E l l c nB l r k i n
A younggirl rebclsagainsther l-ather
andstumblcsinto the NevadaTest
S i t eo n t h ee r e t l l a n er D l o l i o n .( 1 9 8 5l .( ) 6r n i n . . 3 5 n t r n )
Hiroshima Mon Amour
l4.ay 27-28-29
The Day the Earth Stood StiII
With lVlichaclRcnnic"l']atricia
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R o b c r tW i s e ' sv i s i o no 1 ' a na l i e ne n r i s s a rcyo n l et ( ) E a r t ht o d e m a n da n
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June J-4
Them!
With JamesArness..lanicsWhitnrtlrc
C l a s s i cs c i - f if i l n r i n w h i e hg i g a n t i cm u t a n a
t n t sw r c a kh a v o ca f i e l ' f i r s t
a t o m i ct e s ti n t l - r cd c s c r t .( 1 9 5 1! .) - rl n i n .3. . 5 n r r n )
Junel0-ll
The Day the Earth Caught fr.ire
With Lco McKern
As protesters
try to stopthcrl. sinrultancous
sllperpowerH-bornbtests
j o l t t h eE a r t ha n ds e n di t s p i n n i n gt o w a r d st h es u n . ( 1 9 6 19.9m i n . .l 6 n i n r )
. I u n e1 7 - 1 8
Seven Days in May
With Burt Lancastcr.
Kirk Douglas.Ava Gardner
A fanaticalU.S.gencralorganizcsa nrilit:.rry
cr)upt() preventthe Presid c n tf r o n rs i g n i n ga n u c l e atrr e a t vw i t h t h c S o v i e tU n i o ni n t h i ss u s p e n s e
I l.8 m i n . 3. . 5 n r r n )
t h r i l l c rb v J o h nF r a n k c r t h c i m e(r1. 9 6 - 1
June 24-25
Dr. Strangelove
With PcterSellars.GeorgcC. Scott.Sterlingl{ayden
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July 1-2
Miracle Mile
With AnthonyEdwards
Two lovcrstrv to lind one anothcrin the Miracle Mile districtof Los
Angeles.but panicfucledhy irriminentnuclearwar threatens
theirfuture
together.Dircctcdhy SteveDeJarnatt.(l9tJ8,87 rnin.,-35mn-r;
(.1u 1rutt e st n' i t h Ftr,qI i.slt .subt i t I t'.s)
A w o n d r o u s l v a n r n r a t c d .af p a n es c I ' c a t u r cc x p l o r i n g t h e l i v e s o f t w o y o u n g
s u r v i v o r sa t i c r t h c H i r o s h i r n ab o n r b i n g . ( l 9 t t . l .l l 0 n r i n . .l 6 r n r n )
tt itlt Iitt,qIisltsulttitIt',s
)
1Juyttrt'.st'
July 29-3{}
A l a i n R e s n a i s ' r n a s t e r p i e c ea b o u t t w o l o v c r s w h o r c l i v e t h e i r h o r r i f y i n g
W W I I c x p r e r i e n csew h i l c s p en d i n g l o r r y - c i g h t h o u r s t o g e t h er i n H i r o s h i m a .
( l t ) 5 ( ) (. )I n r i n . .. l 5 n t n t .F - n ' r tl t n ' i t hF , t t . q l i ..tsl tu l t t i t l e . s )
August 5-6
Rain
P o w e r l ' u Ir c - en a c t n r c n to l " t h c h o m b i n g o 1 ' H i r o s h i m aa s e x p c r i e n c e db y a
t ' a r n i l y e x p o s e c lt o l i n g e r i n g c l ' l ' e c t so l ' r a d i o a c t i v e f a l l o u t . D i r e c t e d b y
S h o h c i I n t a t n u r a .( l 9 t t 9 .b / r v .l l l n r i n . .3 5 n r r n..l t t p u r t L , . s t , tF
i t,hn , q l i sshu b t i t l e . s )
August l2-lJ
Testament
W i t h J a n c A l c x a n c l c r .R u x a n n a Z - a l
I . 1 , n n cL i t t n u n ' s q u i c t l y c l e v a s t a t i n gv i s i o n o f a C , ' a l i f b r n i af a m i l y f a c i n g
l i l ' c a n c lc l e a t ha f i e r a n u c l e a r a t t a c k . ( l 9 t 3 l . l J t )n r i n . . 3 5 r n n r )
August 19-20
A Boy and His Dog
W i t h D o n J o h n s o n .J a s o n R o b a r d s
A n a d o l c s c c n tb o 1 ' a n d h i s t e l e p a t h i ct a l k i n g d o g a r e t h e p r o t a g o n i s t si n
t h i s s u r r e a l p o s t - a p o c a l y ' p t i cl ' i l m b a s e d o n a n o v e l b y H a r l a n E l l i s o n .
( l t ) 7 5 .t l 9 r n i n . .3 5 r n r n )
August 26-27
0n the Beach
With (jregory Peck.Ava Gardner, Frcd Astarre
S t a n l c : yK r a n r e r ' sc l a s s i c s t o r v o l ' t h e l a s t p e o p l e o n E a r t h w a i t i n g f b r t h e
c n d i n N l e l b o u r n e .A u s t r a l i a f i r l l o r . v i n ga n a t o m i c h o l o c a u s t .
( I 959,l -l'1nrir.r..
3-5rnrn)
September 2-3-4
'fhe
SacriJice
With frrland .krscphson
F e a r i n g i m m i n e n t n u c l c i t r w a r , a u n i v e r s i t y p r o f ' e s s o ro f f - e r sh i s p o w e r o f
speech and tnore firr world peace and his son's lif-e. Directed by Andrei
thrkovsky. (1986. l-1-5rnin..3.5nrnr)(ln Sx'edi.sh,
x'ith Englishsubtitles)
All screeningsat 11:00A.M.at Laemmle'sMonicaTheatre
13322nd Street,Santa Monica 310 394-9741
For more informationcall Physiciansfor Social Responsibility310 458-2694
5/Prescription for Survival
Nurrs tN THENrws . AcrroNs To Do . By RtcHeno StxoN, MD
T n r N u c l r n n N o N - P n o L t F E R A T t oTN
Rrnry will be
r e n e g o t i a t e db y t h e n u c l e a r a n d t h e n o n - n u c l e a r
c o u n t r i es t a r t i n A
g p r i l 1 7 , 1 9 9 5 .T h e i n i t i a a
l greement,
c o m p l e t e di n 1 9 6 8 , w a s a n a s s u r a n c e
to non-nuclear
nations that the five nuclear powers-Unitecl States,
R u s s i aF, r a n c eC
, r e a tB r i t a i na n c lC h i n a - w o u l t Jw o r k t o
e l i m i n a t e t h e i r n u c l e a r s t o c l < p i l e s .I n e x c h a n g e
non-nuclearstateswould forego the developmentof
t h e i ro w n n u c l e a ra r s e n a l sA. c o m p r o m i s ew a s r e a c h e d
p e r m i t t i n gt h e n o n - n u c l e a rs t a t e st o d e v e l o p n u c l e a r
power for electricitybut not weapon development.A
formal review of the treaty was planned for 1995,
twenty-five years after the treaty was formalized.
A l t h o u g ht h e U n i t e d S t a i e sa n d R u s s i ah a v e c u t t h e i r
s t r a t e g i cw e a p o n s i n h a l f , a n d i n t e r m e d i a t er a n g e
w e a p o n sh a v eb e e ne l i m i n a t e di n E u r o p ev, a s la r s e n a l s
of weapons remain, and the promise of nuclear
a b o l i t i o nh a s n o t b e e n k e p t .T h e U n i t e d S t a t e sw i s h e s
to make the treatypermanentbut doesnot yet havethe
required BZ votes.
Becausethe five nuclearpowers have not performed
their treaty obligations, there is resistanceby the
non-nuclearstatesto continue lhe treaty. The Arab
L e a g u ea n d t h e A r a b f o r e i g n m i n i s t e r sa r e a g a i n s t
c o n t i n u a t i o nl a r g e l yb e c a u s el s r a e l ,a n a c J < n o w l e d g e d
nuclear power, has not signed the treaty. Egypt has
agreedto sign.
ACI/ON: PSRwants all nuclear powersto vastlyreduce
the present stockpiles. Why does the U.S. need 8000
nuclear weapons? WRITE: President Bill Clinton, 1600
PennsylvaniaAve, Washington D.C. 20500
THrners A cRowtNc MoUNTAINoF pluToNlurr,r
worldwide for which there is no methoc.l
of safestorage.The
U.S.militarypossesses
over 400 tonsof weaponsgracle
p l u t o n i u m ,a n d t h e c i v i l i a nn u c l e a re n e r g ys e c t o rh a s
9 3 0 t o n s .T h i s i s e s t i m a t e dt o d o u b l eb y t h e y e a r2 , 0 0 0 .
P l u t o n i u mi s o n e o f t h e m o s t t o x i c s u b s t a n c eksn o w n .
O n e p o u n d o f p l u t o n i u m , e v e n l y d i s t r i b u t e d ,i s a
sufficientdose to kill every person on the planet. lts
"safe life" will only occur after
250,000 - 500,000
years.(Civilizationhas existedfor only 5,000 years.)At
presentthere is no l<nown methoclof safe storageor
d e c o m p o s i t i o nT. h e U . S . i n 1 9 8 2 c h o s ea r e m o t es i t e
of volcanic rock in Nevada, Yucca Mountain for
s t o r a g eB. i l l i o n so f c l o l l a r sh a v eb e e ns p e n ti n f e a s i b i l i l y
stuclies,and the question has not been resolved.
Nevada has protestedthe selectionof the site listing
contaminationof undergroundwater and earthquake
potentialas hazardsto safestorage.A new problem has
arisen.Scientistsat the governmentlaboratoryat Los
Alamos have done a studywhich showsthat over time
with deteriorationof the storagechambers and the
erosion of the steel drums holding the plutonium in
glasslogs, there will be enough consolidationof the
plutonium in the rocks to result in an explosion as
powerful as a large nuclear weapon. Ref:witliamBroad,
New Yo* Trm6, 2/23/95.
THerrsnNc oF NUCLEAR
wEApoNs
hasbeenone of the
majorfactorsin the continuation
of the nucleararms
race.Despitea surfeitof weaponsand a decreasein
theirstrategic
importance,
thefivenuclearpowershave
expressed
a needfor continuedtesting.They want to
conductthesetestsat very low levelsbut cannotagree
on the powerof theseblasts.The meetingin Genevais
to reachan agreement
on a Comprehensive
TestBan
Treaty(CTB).The NaturalResources
DefenceCouncil
advocates
a no-testing
policy.lt reasons
thatlow level
testscannotbe monitoredby existing
seismicmethods.
lmportantly,
theselow leveltestsareonly helpfulin the
development
of futureesoteric
weapons.
ACTION:PSRbelievesnon-nuclearstates
will have liale
incentiveto refrain from weaponsdevelopmentif they
seethe five weapon statesproceeding on a courseof
nucleartechnology.We advocatean end to all te*ing.
WRITE:PresidentBill Clinton, 1600 Pennsylvania
Ave,
WashingtonD.C. 20500
(letter from the dirffior
continued from page two)
The responseto our new letter-writingnetwork has
beenoutstanding.
.foin the networkand be appraisedof
c r i t i c a ll e g i s l a t i v ies s u e s .
PSR is back on the radio with the Planet Health
program every other Monday afternoon, 3:30-4:30PM
o n 9 0 . 7 , K P F K - F MT. u n e i n A p r i l 2 4 .
So much education and work and advocacy and
letter-writingneedsto be done. The earth seemsto be
crying out for mature and compassionatepeople to
work toward a new society.Cet active again.We need
you.
Jonathan Parfrey, Executive Director
palcAtag
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Physicians
fo, SocialResponsibility
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