July 30, 2010
According to the promotional materials, the film "traces the history of the atomic bomb from its origins to the present state of global affairs" and "makes a compelling case for worldwide nuclear disarmament, an issue more topical than ever with the Obama administration working to revive this goal today."
The openings in New Mexico, as well as around the country, coincide with the hearings and debate in the U.S. Senate about the whether to approve the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or the New START, between the U.S. and Russia. The New START reduces the number of nuclear weapons in the possession of the U.S. and Russia.
The only location in the U.S. that is manufacturing the triggers for nuclear weapons is Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), which is owned and operated by Department of Energy (DOE) and operated by the private corporation, Los Alamos National Security, LLC. DOE is proposing to build a new nuclear bomb plant, called the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement Project, or CMRR. Although the proposed CMRR Project will not
be manufacturing the triggers, it will test the materials used in the production process. The Project was proposed less than a decade ago at a cost of $300 million; which has escalated to $4.5 billion in less than seven years. The Obama Administration has included $225 million for the Project in its proposed Fiscal Year 2011 budget.
Darwin Bond-Graham, a board member of the Los Alamos Study Group, wrote an article about the new film in MRZine, entitled "Co-opting the Anti-Nuclear Movement." In a well-researched piece, Bond Graham writes that "[N]o medium of propaganda is as powerful and effective as film. ... A typical propaganda film tugs at emotions and invokes fears. It invokes dark threats to 'the people,' and it offers up solutions extolling state and corporate power." Bond Graham states that despite the rhetoric, the Obama administration does not have a disarmament agenda as demonstrated by the lack of changes in the Nuclear Posture Review, which sets forth the nuclear force structure and use doctrine.
"Countdown to Zero" nuclear weapons is part of a larger campaign to gather support for a nuclear weapons free world. www.takepart.com
We invite you to view "Countdown to Zero" nuclear weapons and take action. Representatives from various non-governmental organizations will be present at the showings to provide information about, and opportunities to oppose, the CMRR Project.
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