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Lab rally to mark atomic bombings - 'Books not Bombs' supporters blast new weapons research, call for increased school funding
by Ian Hoffman, August 8, 2004

Protesters will assemble in a dance ring and drape Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's fences with quilts and cards today in the yearly marking of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki .

The "Books Not Bombs" rally opens noon at Jackson Elementary School with live music, then speeches denouncing the closure of local schools as Washington funds the study of new and modified H-bombs at Livermore .

At 3 p.m. , protesters will march to the corner of the lab at East Avenue and South Vasco Road , some grappling with a huge, inflatable missile and bomb.

Tara Dorabji of the watchdog group Tri-Valley CAREs says people will form a giant dance circle, hold hands and walk around a drummer.

"It's so people will have their chance to bring their voice and thoughts and hopes to bring Lawrence Livermore lab to something sustainable for future generations," she said.

Roughly a dozen major protests nationwide are expected for the 59th anniversary of the two bombings, which together killed more than 105,000. Livermore 's is expected to be among the largest, and more sizable than the traditional Easter weekend protest, which last spring encountered a mountain lion sleeping by the lab's main gate.

On Monday, in memorial of the Nagasaki bombing and the recent death of veteran anti-nuclear activist Father Bill O' Don nell, a smaller group will march on the lab from William Payne Park and cross some security line at the lab to trigger their own arrests.

Lab security officers and Livermore police aren't certain where the Monday protesters will be and plan to post a warning to motorists to ensure protesters' safety.

Originally published in the Oakland Tribune.

Learn more :: Media Coverage :: Lab Rally to Mark Atomic Bombings