For immediate release         July 31, 2020

The protest will include literature from the Zones Project, which calls attention to the destruction caused by bombs the size of "Fat Man" and "Little Boy." This starts with the inner circle of 1.5 miles where all life and buildings were pulverized. The outer zone of 8.5 miles saw exposed people burned and blinded by the flash, all windows broken, second degree burns and trauma.

  http://www.pjw.info/zonesproject2020.html

Today's nuclear weapons have much higher yields.

The racist nature of the US military bombings, which killed hundreds of thousands of Japanese people, echoes the thousands of Black lives taken by the local purveyors of state violence-- the police. Similarly, testing and mining have been done on indigenous lands with no regard to health consequences. That Japan was preparing to surrender in August 1945 regardless of the nuclear blasts underscores that the US deliberately killed civilians to show its military superiority.

Over 100,000 people died instantly, with thousands more dying later of radiation sickness and cancer. PJW's Iraq Affinity Group will remind the public that the use of radioactive materials in Iraq, Afghanistan, former Yugoslavia and elsewhere continue wreaking unknown amounts of disease and death both on the people of those countries and American soldiers. Depleted Uranium (DU) is thought to be one of the causes of "Gulf War Syndrome," as well as innumerable inexplicable cancers and birth defects seen in Iraq following the 1991 "Gulf War."

The protest will also include the Ann Huntwork Memorial Peace Sign, the digital reader board which first made its appearance in June of this year. The rally will also be an opportunity to promote the Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility annual Hiroshima / Nagasaki commemoration, taking place on Thursday, August 6 at 6 PM on line.

Friday Rallies began as a project of Portland Peaceful Response Coalition in November, 2001, a few weeks after the US invasion of Afghanistan. In March, when the Governor's stay-at-home orders went into place, Peace and Justice Works took over as the lead organization for the events. This event is cosponsored by War Resisters League Portland.

For more information or to get involved contact the Peace and Justice Works Iraq Affinity Group at 503-236-3065 (voice or text), or email iraq@pjw.info .