Half Life: Celebrating 30 Years of Working for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament with Special Guests Dennis Kucinich, Daniel Ellsber

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Western States Legal Foundation (WSLF) will be hosting its 30 th anniversary gala, “Half Life: Celebrating 30 Years of Working for Peace and Disarmament,â€* with special guests: retiring Congressman Dennis Kucinich; “Pentagon Papersâ€* whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg; journalist and San Francisco radio host Rose Aguilar; and Representative Barbara Lee, on February 10, 2013, at Oakland’s First Congregational Church.
Opening Reception "A Taste of Oakland" 5-6:30pm
Local restaurants will be offering… Show more appetizers and samples from their menus. Wine will be offered and you will get a chance to mingle with our Special Guests. Music provided by Duo Andino (Andean flutes).
Half Life Main Event 7-9pm
Hear keynote speeches by Representative Kucinich and Daniel Ellsberg followed by a panel discussion on "Reframing the Nuclear Discourse in the Current Geopolitical Climate." The evening will be moderated by Rose Aguilar.
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Special Guests
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Congressman Dennis Kucinich has been in Congress for 18 years working as a tireless advocate for peace and for worker rights, civil rights and human rights. Â Â He has brought a strong progressive voice to the national scene through his service in Congress and campaigns for public office, raising the visibility of real alternatives to an economy and politics dominated by giant corporations and the military-industrial complex. Â Â Congressman Kucinich has written and co-sponsored legislation to create a national health care system, preserve Social Security, lower the costs of prescription drugs, provide economic development through infrastructure improvements, abolish the death penalty, provide universal prekindergarten to all 3, 4, and 5 year olds, create a Department of Peace, regulate genetically engineered foods, repeal the USA Patriot Act, and provide tax relief to working class families. Â He also has served as Un representative for Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. This will be his first speaking engagement after leaving Congress
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Daniel Ellsberg  is best known for having worked on the top secret study of U.S. Decision-making in Vietnam, known as the Pentagon Papers, and for releasing them to the public. His trial, on twelve felony counts posing a possible sentence of 115 years was dismissed in 1973 on grounds of governmental misconduct against him, which led to the convictions of several White House aides and figured in the impeachment proceedings against President Nixon. Less well known is his work for the Rand Corporation and as  a consultant to the Defense Department and the White House, specializing in problems of the command and control of nuclear weapons, nuclear war plans, and crisis decision-making. Since the end of the Vietnam War, Ellsberg has been a lecturer, writer and activist of the nuclear era, wrongful U.S. interventions and the urgent need for patriotic whistleblowing. In December 2006 he was awarded the 2006 Right Livelihood Award, known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize,â€* in Stockholm, Sweden, “…for putting peace and truth first, at considerable personal risk, and dedicating his life to inspiring others to follow his example.â€*  He is the author of three books: Papers on the War (1971), Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers (2002), and Risk, Ambiguity and Decision (2001), and is at work on an account of his experience in the world of nuclear weapons and war planning.
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Congresswoman Barbara Lee is a forceful and progressive voice in Congress, dedicated to social and economic justice, international peace, and civil and human rights. First elected in 1998 to represent California’s 9th Congressional District, the Democratic lawmaker has established a reputation for principled and independent stands, unafraid to take on the tough issues and speak her mind for her constituents, for a more just America, and for a safer world. I n 2001, Lee was the only vote in Congress against the war, just days after 9/11 . An early and outspoken opponent of the Iraq War, the congresswoman repeatedly proposed legislation seeking early U.S. troop withdrawal. In 2007, she successfully blocked funds from being used to establish permanent military bases in Iraq. Her 2008 amendment requiring that any U.S. agreement to defend Iraq be expressly authorized by Congress or be included in a Senate approved treaty was stripped from a defense bill under the threat of a veto by President Bush.
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Rose Aguilar is the host of KALW's Your Call  and author of the book Red Highways: A Journey into the Heartland. In addition to hosting Your Call, Rose provides a weekly commentary about undercover activism for KPFK's Uprising, and writes about politics and social issues for Truthout and Al Jazeera English . Before joining Kalw, Rose was a reporter and weekend host for Cnet Radio where she covered technology's impact on society.
Jackie Cabasso in 1984, as a consequence of her first arrest and trial for protesting nuclear weapons development at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab, became Executive Director of the Oakland-based Western States Legal Foundation, where in addition to organizing, speaking, and writing, she still designs T-shirts and fliers. Committed to nonviolence and international law, Jackie has been working for nuclear disarmament, peace and environmental sustainability at the local, national and international levels for more than 30 years. In 1995 she was a “founding motherâ€* of the Abolition 2000 Global Network to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons. She currently serves on the Steering Committee of United for Peace and Justice and as North American Coordinator of Mayors for Peace. She was the 2008 recipient of the International Peace Bureau’s Sean MacBride Peace Award.
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Honorary Hosts :
Representative Barbara Lee
Ronald V. Dellums, former member of Congress  former Mayor, Oakland, CA
Keith Carson, Alameda County Supervisor
Jean Quan, Mayor, Oakland, CA
Gayle McLaughlin, Mayor, Richmond, CA
Desley Brooks, Oakland City Council
Dan Kalb, Oakland City Council
Rebecca Kaplan, Oakland City Council
Kriss Worthington, Berkeley City Council
Robert Meola, Berkeley Peace & Justice Commission Â
Tadatoshi Akiba, former Mayor of Hiroshima  Chair, Middle Powers Initiative Â
Medea Benjamin, Code Pink
Phyllis Bennis, Director, New Internationalism Project, Institute for Policy Studies
Ann Cabasso Â
Dr. Helen Caldicott Â
Sandra Coliver
Peter Coyote
Charlotte Davis Â
Amb. Sergio Duarte, former United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs
Louise Dunlap
Michael Eisenscher, National Coordinator, Us Labor Against the War Â
Lynne Elizabeth, Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility
Joseph Gerson, Disarmament Coordinator, American Friends Service Committee Â
Claire Greensfelder
Steve Leeper, Chair, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation Â
Ying Lee
George Friday
Arthur and Gretchen Lipow Â
Joanna Macy
Kevin Martin, Executive Director, Peace Action Â
Michael McPhearson, National Coordinator, United for Peace & Justice
Susan Moon Â
Philip Maldari, Kpfa radio Â
Eve Anne and Richard Pearson Â
Cecile Pineda, author, Devil's Tango: How I Learned the Fukushima Step by Step Â
Douglas Roche, former Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament
Randy Rydell, Senior Political Affairs Officer, United Nations Office of the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Â
Alice Slater Â
Gar Smith, Environmentalists Against War  author, Nuclear Roulette Â
Norman Soloman
Rebecca Solnit Â
Bruce Stedman Â
Fr. Louise Vitale, Ofm Â
S. Brian Willson, Nuremberg Actions
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Plutonium Hosts :
Steve and Barbara Brooks Â
Jim and Carrie Burroughs Â
Dr. Phillip and Cheryl Cabasso Â
Claudia Gowan and Wescott Peterson
Judy and Roy Nagadegawa
Alan Ramo and Leslie Rose Â
Patrice Sutton and Dr. Robert Gould Â
Randy Ziglar and Cris Gutierrez
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Uranium Hosts :
Cynda Collins Arsenault Â
Roberta Brooks Â
Carol Brouillet
Catherine Burroughs and Sarah Finney Â
Helen and Raj Desai Â
MacGregor Eddy Â
Theodosia Ferguson
Don Knutson Â
Sherry Larsen-Beville
Charlotte Lichterman Â
M.V. Ramana
Barbara Rhine and Walter Riley
Kathryn Seligman Â
Rob and Linda Thiele
Topakian Communications (Karen Topakian)
Susan Toth
Peter Weiss
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, San Francisco
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Organizational Hosts :
American Service Committee/U.S. West Region
Berkeley-East Bay Gray Panthers
Bill of Rights Defense Committee
California Peace Alliance
Ecumenical Peace Institute
International Peace Bureau
Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy Â
Middle East Children’s Alliance
Mount Diablo Peace and Justice Center
Nafsi ya Jamii
Nevada Desert Experience
No Nukes Action
Pax Christi, Fremont
Reaching Critical Will/Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Â
Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment
United Nations Association-USA East Bay Chapter
Veterans for Peace East Bay Chapter #162

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