
Italian Ambassador Giovanni Castelanetta, Lila Castelanetta, and actor Michael Douglas at Ploughshares’ event. (Photo by Gail Scott)
Change is in the air
By Gail Scott
A Nuclear Weapon-Free World?
There was standing-room only at the newly refurbished Italian Residence to hear Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and Ploughshares board member and actor/producer Michael Douglas discuss the prospects of a nuclear weapon-free world. “I was hoping for a high level discussion, covering some of the big issues,” said the senior senator and author, “We need to get out of the cheap political underbrush…If we squander this opportunity, we won’t have many more.”
Douglas recounted his father, Kirk Douglas’ family background before they made it in Hollywood. “They were from near Chernobyl and today nothing is left,” he said, “I’m so excited to hear this serious discussion. It gives me hope.”