On Friday evening, February 24, anti-nuke protesters will head south to Lompoc, CA on the Green Tortoise Bus to join a midnight rally outside the gates of Vandenberg Air Force Base. That night the Air Force will launch a Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) from Vandenberg, targetting an atoll in the Marshall Islands. The launch is part of the US nuclear weapons program and will test the capability of the ICBM to deliver a hydrogen bomb.

The Green Tortoise will head south from Oakland on Friday evening (February 24), stopping in San Jose at the Diridon Caltrain Station at 6:30 pm and will return from Lompoc by 6am on Saturday morning. A limited number of seats are available on the bus and the requested donation is $40 but no one will be refused a seat. To reserve a seat, contact MacGregor Eddy: macgregoreddy at gmail.com. You must reserve a seat; no last-minute joiners!

The launching of these tests increases tensions in the world and sends a message that the USA disregards its moral obligations under Article VI of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty. This states that the nuclear powers must engage in good faith disarmament efforts. It also violates the 1996 International Court of Justice decision stating that the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is a violation of international law.