Hiroshima bomb remembered at Livermore lab

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Aug 5, 2007 | by Betsy Mason

Activists and concerned residents will gather in front of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on Monday morning on the 62nd anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima to commemorate the victims and protest lab involvement in nuclear weapons design.

Participants will meet near the West Gate entrance to the lab on Vasco Road near Patterson Pass Road at 7:30 a.m.

At 8:15 a.m. an air raid siren will mark the moment the bomb was dropped, followed by speakers and musical performers and an open- mic rally for anyone who wants to speak.

This will be followed by a "nonviolent action," as described by Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment, a Livermore-based nuclear watchdog group.

The group organizes a peaceful protest every year. In the past, participants have been arrested for stepping onto lab property.

Last year, about 30 protesters approached the fence announcing they were ready to be arrested, but a few minutes later stepped away after Alameda County sheriff's deputies made no move to apprehend them.

The keynote speaker at this year's rally will be Chizu Iiyama, co- author of a teacher's guide titled "Making Peace: The Legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki" and former chair of the early childhood education department at Contra Costa College. Musician Robert Temple and singer Kaylah Marin will perform.

For more information, call (925) 443-7148.

Betsy Mason covers science and the national laboratories. Reach her at (925) 847-2158 or bmason@cctimes.com.