8/8: Books Not Bombs

On August 8, 2004, to mark the 59th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there will be a major rally in Livermore demanding "Books not Bombs". The action, at one of the primary facilities for nuclear weapons in the world, will be part of an international series of actions from August 6-12 that oppose U.S. nuclear policy and demand the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Livermore Nuclear Weapons Lab has long been a site of non-violent resistance to nuclear weapons which have become the ultimate symbol and enforcement mechanism for U.S. Empire. A nuclear armed nation rules by threat of annihilation. The U.S. has brandished its nuclear arms fire power for decades while simultaneously demanding that other nations disarm. Billions of dollars have been, and continue to be spent by the U.S. in the invasion of Iraq, shrouded by claims that we sought to eliminate hidden weapons of mass destruction.

WMD's were not found in Iraq.

Meanwhile, right here in the Bay Area, University of California scientists are developing new and modified nuclear weapons at Livermore Lab, one of the "brains" behind the U.S. nuclear weapons complex. The Livermore facility and the Los Alamos weapons laboratory are the primary American institutions which together have designed every nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal. The University of California, an establishment of higher learning, manages both.

Currently at Livermore Lab, for design work on the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, (a "bunker busting" bomb) 28 million dollars has been requested in FY 2005. If designed and built this bomb could burrow into the ground and could inevitably disperse radioactive dirt and debris over several square miles of the surrounding environment.

In addition to the development of new and modified nuclear weapons, a major ramp up of WMD activities is proposed at Livermore Lab. In essence, their ten year plan, if unchanged will create the infrastructure for a whole new generation of nuclear weapons. This plan, coupled with the broader "U.S. Nuclear Posture Review" could increase our nation's capacity to manufacture an extensive arsenal of advanced, new weapons. To this end, a highly criticized proposal released by the Department of Energy reveals plans to double the limit for plutonium stored on the Livermore site to 3,300 pounds (enough for at least 300 nuclear bombs) and create new technologies to manufacture plutonium pits, the core of a nuclear bomb.

Stopping the infrastructure that enables the creation of new and modified nuclear weapons in Livermore is essential to prevent rampant global proliferation!

Join with thousands around the world to say "NO" to nuclear weapons and U.S. nuclear policy. The "Books Not Bombs" rally will be on Sunday, August 8 at 1 PM at Jackson Elementary School in Livermore, Ca. The rally will be followed by an action and march to Livermore nuclear weapons lab. This year we are demanding: - the abolition of nuclear weapons - the demilitarization of education - an end to a war economy which funds bombs over school books for our children.

For more information please contact Tara at (925) 443-7148 :

tara [at] trivalleycares.org and/or: http://www.trivalleycares.org