Western States Legal Foundation – 2008-08-01 23:37:31

August 6th and 9th 2008 will mark the 63rd anniversaries of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Expanding upon the traditional anniversary period, United for Peace and Justice, the largest anti-war coalition in the country, has declared August “Nuclear-Free Future Month.”

The specter of nuclear weapons in the hands of “rogue” states has become one of the top US excuses for waging war, yet the United States continues to rely on the threatened first use of nuclear weapons as the cornerstone of its national security policy.

This August, groups around the country will take action to raise awareness about the ever-increasing threat from nuclear weapons and the environmental and proliferation dangers posed by the global nuclear power “renaissance.”

Through popular education, video screenings, art exhibits, protests, vigils and more, we are working to put nuclear issues on the political agenda of the 2008 Presidential and Congressional elections and to build stronger ties between the nuclear abolition, anti-war, and climate justice movements in order to create a safe, just future for all. A growing list of events around the country and other resources is available at www.nuclearfreefuture.org.

Calendar of Bay Area Events

Fri. August 1, Oakland:
“Witnesses to History: Conveying the Tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” opening reception for the Mayors for Peace Hiroshima-Nagasaki poster exhibition, in Oakland City Hall rotunda, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza. Special guests: Nagasaki A-bomb survivor Nobuaki Hanaoka and local elected officials. 5:00 °V 8:00 pm. Sponsored by Oakland City Council President Pro Tem Jean Quan and Western States Legal Foundation. More information: (510) 839-5877; www.wslfweb.org/docs/Oakland%20exhibit%20invitation.pdf Exhibit on display through August 15.

Sun. August 3, San Francisco:
Guest sermon by Rev. Nobuaki Hanaoka, an ordained United Methodist Minister who survived the 1945 atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki. 11:00 am at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples, 2041 Larkin Street (near Broadway), San Francisco. More information: (415) 776-4910; info@fellowshipsf.org

Wed. August 6, San Francisco:
Say No! to “America’s Army.” America’s Army is a video game targeting children as young as 13, used by the US Army as a primary recruiting tool. It is developed and distributed by companies in South Park, San Francisco. Rally and action at 12 noon at South Park, between 2nd and 3rd, Bryant and Brannon, San Francisco. Sponsored by Direct Action to Stop the War. More information: (510) 984-2566; www.actagainstwar.net

Wed. August 6, San Francisco:
Freeze action to say “No War on Iran!” 5:00 pm sharp, Powell and Market streets, San Francisco. Sponsored by the World Can°¶t Wait. More information: (415) 864-5153; www.sfbaycantwait.org

Fri. August 8, San Jose:
Hiroshima-Nagasaki Anti-Nuke Protest. Raging Grannies join the weekly Friday Peace Vigil, 5:00 °V 6:00 pm, downtown San Jose, in front of Federal Building, 2nd and San Carlos Streets. Sponsored by WILPF- Raging Grannies San Jose and Friday Peace Vigil. For more information: Granny Shirley: (408) 255-6559.

Sat. August 9, Livermore:
°ßLooking Back – Remembering the Victims of Nuclear Weapons: Looking Forward – Toward a Nuclear Free Future.°® Livermore Nuclear Weapons Lab, corner of Vasco Rd. and Patterson Pass Rd., Livermore. Beginning at 10:30 am, walk through the “nuclear maze,” a huge structure created to teach about the inextricable link between nuclear weapons and nuclear power and the direct impacts of the nuclear fuel cycle on local communities.

Keynote speaker, Rev. Nobuaki Hanaoka, a survivor of the US atomic bombing of Nagasaki. Music by Kaylah Marin. Co-sponsors: Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility; American Friends Service Committee; Bay Area United for Peace and Justice; Berkeley Fellowship of UUs; Fresno Center for Nonviolence; Grandmothers for Peace; Livermore Conversion Project; Mount Diablo Peace and Justice Center; Peace Action West; ProgressivePortal.org; SF Bay Area Physicians for Social Responsibility; Tri-Valley CAREs; UC Berkeley Fiat Pax; Western States Legal Foundation. More information: (925) 443-7148 or (510) 839-5877;
www.wslfweb.org/whatsnew.htm#aug9

Sat. August 9, Berkeley:
Seventh Annual Bay Area Peace Lantern Ceremony, 6:30 °V 9:00 pm, north end of Aquatic Park, Berkeley.
Sponsored or endorsed by the Berkeley City Council, the Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission, and various peace organizations. More information: (510) 595-4626; www.progressiveportal.org/lanterns

Sat. August 9, Santa Rosa:
“Building Toward a Nuclear-Free World.” 7:00 pm at the Glaser Center in the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at 547 Mendocino Avenue in Santa Rosa. Speakers will include Rev. Nobuaki Hanaoka, a Nagasaki survivor who lost his mother and sister in the bombing. With Taiko drum performances, a children’s chorus, and other activities.
Sponsors: Hiroshima-Nagasaki Remembrance Committee, Sonoma County Peace and Justice Center and the Japanese American Citizens League. More information: (707) 575-8902; www.peaceandjusticesonomaco.org

Sat. July 26 °V Sun. August 24, Santa Rosa:
°ßUnder the Mushroom Cloud,°® Mayors for Peace Hiroshima-Nagasaki poster exhibition. 10:00 am – 4:00 pm daily at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 547 Mendocino Avenue, Santa Rosa.
Sponsors: Hiroshima-Nagasaki Remembrance Committee, Sonoma County Peace and Justice Center and the Japanese American Citizens League. More information: (707) 575-8902; www.peaceandjusticesonomaco.org