Sunday, August 8th, 2004 was the 59th anniversary of the US atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In Livermore, California, a demonstration is held every year during the week of August 8th to commemorate those bombings and to draw attention to the Livermore nuclear weapons lab. Protest organizers say that the lab is one of the main sites in the world where nuclear weapons are developed. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has leaked over 1 million curies of airborne radiation in the Bay Area, which is approximately the amount that was released by the Hiroshima bomb. This year, protesters in Livermore demanded that cuts to public education be stopped, that money be invested in public education rather than in weapons of mass destruction, that jobs in civilian sciences be created, and that the University of California stop building and defending nuclear weapons. Read More | Photos: Peace Lanterns; BNB 1, BNB 2; Direct Action | Video

On August 8th, the demonstration gathered at 1pm at the Jackson Elementary School at 554 Jackson Ave. and marched to the Livermore nuclear weapons lab for a 3pm rally. Flyer. As organizers intended, the demonstration was completely nonviolent. Speakers and performers included Cesar Cruz of Fast4Education; Fariba; Clan Dyken; and Miguel Molina of La Onda Bajita. Father Roy Bourgeois, founder of School of the Americas Watch had planned to attend, but was unable to make it. A giant quilted ribbon that draws attention to "peaceful ways of loving and caring for the earth," and which was created to depict what its makers hope to not lose in a nuclear war, was present. Other events: August 7th: East Bay Peace Lantern Ceremony; August 8th: Peace Fresno Bus from Fresno to Livermore, and peace camp 15 miles from the Livermore Lab; August 9th: nonviolent direct action in memory of Father Bill O'Donnell.

Indybay Coverage of 2003 Hands Around the Livermore Lab Protest: Video and Report | Audio and Video | Photos: 1 | 2 | 3
Related Websites: Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment | Western States Legal Foundation | National Youth and Student Peace Coalition | California Peace Action | Abolition 2000 | BE SAFE Nuclear Weapons Days of Action