<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Helvetica-Light;" class=""><p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" class=""><font color="#000000" class=""><font face="Times, serif" class=""><font style="font-size: 13pt;" class=""><b class="">Veterans For Peace launches peace ship </b></font></font></font></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" class=""><br class=""></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" class=""><font color="#000000" class=""><font face="Times, serif" class=""><font style="font-size: 13pt;" class="">By Ed Oberweiser </font></font></font></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" class=""><font color="#000000" class=""><font face="Times, serif" class=""><font size="4" class=""><font style="font-size: 13pt;" class="">Responding to the newest threat of nuclear war from President Trump's and North Korea's hostile exchange, Veterans For Peace (VFP) has recovered and restored the original Golden Rule peace boat for a new voyage ( see <a href="http://www.vfpgoldenruleproject.org/" class="">http://www.vfpgoldenruleproject.org/</a> ). The ship originally set sail in 1958 to stop nuclear testing in the atmosphere.</font></font></font></font></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" class=""><font color="#000000" class=""><font face="Times, serif" class=""><font style="font-size: 13pt;" class="">The peace boat began a new voyage in July and sailed from San Diego to Humboldt Bay where VFP prepared the ship for long-range ocean sailing. </font></font></font></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" class=""><font color="#000000" class=""><font face="Times, serif" class=""><font style="font-size: 13pt;" class="">The Golden Rule was scheduled to leave Eureka, California on September 9 and will stop in the San Francisco Bay from September 13 to 17. Next, it will visit Santa Cruz on September 21 and continue down the coast, stopping in Marina Del Rey, San Pedro and San Diego.</font></font></font></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" class=""><font color="#000000" class=""><font face="Times, serif" class=""><font style="font-size: 13pt;" class="">After the California voyage, the peace boat will proceed to the Hawaiian Islands in late October. Following the Hawaiian Islands visit, VFP hopes to sail the Golden Rule to the Marshall Islands and beyond.</font></font></font></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" class=""><font color="#000000" class=""><font face="Times, serif" class=""><font style="font-size: 13pt;" class="">Veterans For Peace is also planning to sail to Guam, Okinawa, Korea and Japan to bring the call for the elimination of nuclear weapons to those countries.</font></font></font></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" class=""><font color="#000000" class=""><font face="Times, serif" class=""><font style="font-size: 13pt;" class="">The Golden Rule' s main intent is spreading the word about the dangers of nuclear war. Other concerns include the nuclear cycle which poisons the air, water and soil. Uranium mining and the disposal of nuclear waste are other hazards. Nuclear waste can last for uncounted millennia. No safe storage method of this waste has been devised.</font></font></font></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" class=""><font color="#000000" class=""><font face="Times, serif" class=""><font style="font-size: 13pt;" class="">VFP was originally founded in 1985. Its members include U.S. veterans of WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam, the Gulf Wars and other military conflicts. VFP also includes peacetime veterans. Since then, it has spread its word overseas. The organization works to promote alternatives to war.</font></font></font></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" class=""><font color="#000000" class=""><font face="Times, serif" class=""><font style="font-size: 13pt;" class="">The Golden Rule visited Fort Bragg in the Summer of 2017. Its crew was hosted to a potluck dinner by the Ocean Protection Coalition (<a href="http://oceanprotection.org" class="">oceanprotection.org</a>).</font></font></font></p><div class=""><img apple-inline="yes" id="957FE57C-38EB-4978-9E07-E066271154C7" height="720" width="960" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:f_jltmwhq80" class=""></div></div></body></html>