Tuesday, August 09, 2005
special commemorative two for tuesday: hiroshima and nagasaki
And no, I will not draw upon the silly allegories that are Gojira and Gamera (the only two I bothered to memorize - King Kong doesn't, ah... kount!).
Sixty years ago today, at least 70,000 people died when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan - the second bomb in three days. Japan surrendered several days later.
In his 1964 Nobel Peace Prize lecture, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said,
"It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but on the positive affirmation of peace."
To say that the USA went with the extreme measure there is an understatement of monumental proportions - daring to finally use the atomic weapon was in effect a monumental act in itself - one rife with consequences. ("Listen" at the historian in me resurrect here...!). Fortunately, the "current administration" is content with re-enacting the Vietnam War only, in Iraq - and is not keen on sparing their soldiers' lives... or civilian life for that matter... Sixty years ago, the administration in place saw civilian life in Hiroshima and Nagasaki as more than expendable - unleashing such fury upon them as had never been seen before in the history of mankind. And it has not been seen again since either - miraculously so, considering the number of whackos within reach of "the button" in the past few decades... Not to say that it will not happen again, maybe even soon at that - however, weapons of mass destruction today are broader in choice than it was back then... The menu has bio-chemical weapons, bacteriological weapons and chemical weapons coming ahead of the last resort - nuclear.
If we get REALLY nutso ones elected into office, though, we might get a little bit of them all - the most lethal cocktail ever...
Let's not have the lessons learned sixty years be repeated - let's not, yet again, repeat history... even if we may be doomed to do so anyway...
Sixty years ago today, at least 70,000 people died when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan - the second bomb in three days. Japan surrendered several days later.
In his 1964 Nobel Peace Prize lecture, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said,
"It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but on the positive affirmation of peace."
To say that the USA went with the extreme measure there is an understatement of monumental proportions - daring to finally use the atomic weapon was in effect a monumental act in itself - one rife with consequences. ("Listen" at the historian in me resurrect here...!). Fortunately, the "current administration" is content with re-enacting the Vietnam War only, in Iraq - and is not keen on sparing their soldiers' lives... or civilian life for that matter... Sixty years ago, the administration in place saw civilian life in Hiroshima and Nagasaki as more than expendable - unleashing such fury upon them as had never been seen before in the history of mankind. And it has not been seen again since either - miraculously so, considering the number of whackos within reach of "the button" in the past few decades... Not to say that it will not happen again, maybe even soon at that - however, weapons of mass destruction today are broader in choice than it was back then... The menu has bio-chemical weapons, bacteriological weapons and chemical weapons coming ahead of the last resort - nuclear.
If we get REALLY nutso ones elected into office, though, we might get a little bit of them all - the most lethal cocktail ever...
Let's not have the lessons learned sixty years be repeated - let's not, yet again, repeat history... even if we may be doomed to do so anyway...
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Nagasaki remembers atomic attack
The Japanese city of Nagasaki has marked the 60th anniversary of its destruction by a US atomic bomb at the end of World War II.
At least 70,000 people died in the world's second nuclear attack.
A minute's silence was marked at the city's peace park, where survivors tearfully recalled the bombing.
Correspondents say there is fresh controversy over why the attack happened just three days after the bombing of the city of Hiroshima.
Some historians argue that the attack was seen as necessary because Japan had not surrendered.
But others believe that the attack enabled the American military to try out plutonium as a nuclear weapon.
A peace bell rang out as the city marked the exact moment 60 years ago when a US plane dropped the bomb nicknamed "Fat Man" for its rotund shape.
NAGASAKI ATTACK
World's first plutonium bombing
Bomb named 'Fat Man' because of rotund shape
Killed 70,000 people outright. City says death toll has now risen to 140,000
Bomb originally destined for city of Kokura, but US plane diverted due to thick cloud
Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi took part in the official commemoration, which also saw a memorial Mass in the city's Catholic cathedral.
"This is an occasion to remember the victims, and pray for world peace," he said.
A 74-year-old survivor spoke of her resolve to continue working for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Nagasaki mayor Iccho Ito asked US citizens whether their security was enhanced by their nuclear arsenal.
"We understand your anger and anxiety over the memories of horror of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Yet, is your security actually enhanced by your government's policies of maintaining 10,000 nuclear weapons, of carrying out repeated sub-critical nuclear tests, and of pursuing the development of new 'mini' nuclear weapons?" he said.
Mr Ito appealed to them to join hands with others to work together for a peaceful planet free from the threat of the nuclear bomb.
"We are confident that the vast majority of you desire in your hearts the elimination of nuclear arms," he said.
Overshadowed
Nagasaki's citizens still question whether the Americans were justified in targeting their city for the second atomic attack.
The bomb used plutonium as its core - unlike the one dropped on Hiroshima, which used uranium.
Nagasaki's mayor says he believes they were the victims of what in effect was a deadly nuclear test.
The bomb dropped on Nagasaki exploded with a force equivalent to 21,000 tons of conventional explosive.
Most of those killed in the second attack were melted or burnt to death immediately.
The official death toll is about 70,000 people killed in the immediate aftermath of the bombing, and a further 70,000 who have died of radiation-related illnesses since.
However, correspondents say that Nagasaki's plight has long been overshadowed by that of Hiroshima, where about 140,000 people were killed in the immediate aftermath, and 240,000 are now considered to have died because of the bombing.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4133572.stm
Published: 2005/08/09 07:36:07 GMT
© BBC MMV
The Japanese city of Nagasaki has marked the 60th anniversary of its destruction by a US atomic bomb at the end of World War II.
At least 70,000 people died in the world's second nuclear attack.
A minute's silence was marked at the city's peace park, where survivors tearfully recalled the bombing.
Correspondents say there is fresh controversy over why the attack happened just three days after the bombing of the city of Hiroshima.
Some historians argue that the attack was seen as necessary because Japan had not surrendered.
But others believe that the attack enabled the American military to try out plutonium as a nuclear weapon.
A peace bell rang out as the city marked the exact moment 60 years ago when a US plane dropped the bomb nicknamed "Fat Man" for its rotund shape.
NAGASAKI ATTACK
World's first plutonium bombing
Bomb named 'Fat Man' because of rotund shape
Killed 70,000 people outright. City says death toll has now risen to 140,000
Bomb originally destined for city of Kokura, but US plane diverted due to thick cloud
Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi took part in the official commemoration, which also saw a memorial Mass in the city's Catholic cathedral.
"This is an occasion to remember the victims, and pray for world peace," he said.
A 74-year-old survivor spoke of her resolve to continue working for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Nagasaki mayor Iccho Ito asked US citizens whether their security was enhanced by their nuclear arsenal.
"We understand your anger and anxiety over the memories of horror of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Yet, is your security actually enhanced by your government's policies of maintaining 10,000 nuclear weapons, of carrying out repeated sub-critical nuclear tests, and of pursuing the development of new 'mini' nuclear weapons?" he said.
Mr Ito appealed to them to join hands with others to work together for a peaceful planet free from the threat of the nuclear bomb.
"We are confident that the vast majority of you desire in your hearts the elimination of nuclear arms," he said.
Overshadowed
Nagasaki's citizens still question whether the Americans were justified in targeting their city for the second atomic attack.
The bomb used plutonium as its core - unlike the one dropped on Hiroshima, which used uranium.
Nagasaki's mayor says he believes they were the victims of what in effect was a deadly nuclear test.
The bomb dropped on Nagasaki exploded with a force equivalent to 21,000 tons of conventional explosive.
Most of those killed in the second attack were melted or burnt to death immediately.
The official death toll is about 70,000 people killed in the immediate aftermath of the bombing, and a further 70,000 who have died of radiation-related illnesses since.
However, correspondents say that Nagasaki's plight has long been overshadowed by that of Hiroshima, where about 140,000 people were killed in the immediate aftermath, and 240,000 are now considered to have died because of the bombing.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4133572.stm
Published: 2005/08/09 07:36:07 GMT
© BBC MMV
Hiroshima health effects linger
By Chris Hogg
BBC News, Tokyo
Imagine what it is like to know that as a child you were doused in radioactive fallout.
It fell on your clothes and on your skin. It was in the water you drank, the scraps of food you could find. It entered the fabric of the buildings you were sheltering in.
What hidden damage was done in your earliest days?
For those who were in Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 it is a fear they live with constantly.
This is not history for them. It is an everyday concern.
Keiko Ogura was a little girl living in the suburbs of Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped.
"I don't have scars," she says, "but I do have nightmares."
And then I thought about my future, will I be able to have children normally
Keiko Ogura
Like thousands of other survivors - the hibakusha , as they are known in Japan - Keiko Ogura was given regular check ups by the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission in the first few months after the bomb was dropped.
After the war, the Americans provided medical care for those affected. This also enabled scientists to study the effects of radioactive exposure on people.
"Several times the car came and took me to the research centre where they examined me," she said.
"I always had this fear. Is there anything on my body? It was a fear of the invisible. I had a little anaemia, so immediately I asked myself, is that anything to do with the bomb? And then I thought about my future, will I be able to have children normally?"
Keiko Ogura's fears are not unusual. You hear similar stories from others who were exposed to the fallout as children.
Medical study
The people who were put through the terrible events of August 1945, and their offspring, are more closely monitored than almost anyone else by doctors and scientists.
"This is the only place where we can research the effect of radiation on the human body," said Dr Saeko Fujiwara, at the Radiation Effects Research Foundation.
"We study the relation between the level of exposure and that of radiation. Ours is the only major epidemiological study that can do this. That's why we're unique," she said.
That study has helped scientists to draw up the guidelines for safe exposure to radiation that is used around the world in the nuclear industry, for example.
Charles Waldren, an American who is the foundation's chief scientist, believes that almost half a million radiation workers in the US and at least that many in Europe have benefited.
"Our research allows people to continue to work at a level of exposure which is considered safe for the general welfare," he said. "I think risk estimates from radiation used in every country in the world come from our data."
Cancer risks
But the close monitoring of Hiroshima's citizens, those who were exposed to the blast and their children and grandchildren, is not just a matter of scientific curiosity.
There is real concern about the survivors as they get older. The average age of the hibakushas is 72.
When they were exposed to the radiation, they suffered damage to their genes, with those closest to the centre of the explosion the worst affected.
In many cases their genes repaired themselves. It is possible that those repairs were imperfect, making it more likely that they will develop cancer in later life.
"Radiation induces genome damage," said Professor Kenji Kamiya, the director of the research institute for radiation, biology and medicine at Hiroshima University.
"In some people that isn't fixed correctly. So 60 years later they have problems. The highest risk for A-bomb victims developing cancer is among the youngest who were exposed to the blast. These people are now approaching an age where they would be more likely to develop a cancer anyway," he said.
Science does have some answers, but much more work is needed.
"We are trying to develop new genome technology and new methods for diagnosis and treatment," Professor Kamiya said. "Re-generative medicine offers the possibility of repairing cell damage."
The number of cancer cases among the survivors will continue to rise in the next few years, perhaps peaking in the 2020s.
"That's why we have to rush to develop new treatments for these patients," he said.
Sixty years after the bomb was dropped, science is still working hard to find ways to cope with its after-effects.
And for survivors like Keiko Ogura, that means little chance in the short-term that her anxieties will go away.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4745653.stm
Published: 2005/08/05 00:12:13 GMT
© BBC MMV
By Chris Hogg
BBC News, Tokyo
Imagine what it is like to know that as a child you were doused in radioactive fallout.
It fell on your clothes and on your skin. It was in the water you drank, the scraps of food you could find. It entered the fabric of the buildings you were sheltering in.
What hidden damage was done in your earliest days?
For those who were in Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 it is a fear they live with constantly.
This is not history for them. It is an everyday concern.
Keiko Ogura was a little girl living in the suburbs of Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped.
"I don't have scars," she says, "but I do have nightmares."
And then I thought about my future, will I be able to have children normally
Keiko Ogura
Like thousands of other survivors - the hibakusha , as they are known in Japan - Keiko Ogura was given regular check ups by the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission in the first few months after the bomb was dropped.
After the war, the Americans provided medical care for those affected. This also enabled scientists to study the effects of radioactive exposure on people.
"Several times the car came and took me to the research centre where they examined me," she said.
"I always had this fear. Is there anything on my body? It was a fear of the invisible. I had a little anaemia, so immediately I asked myself, is that anything to do with the bomb? And then I thought about my future, will I be able to have children normally?"
Keiko Ogura's fears are not unusual. You hear similar stories from others who were exposed to the fallout as children.
Medical study
The people who were put through the terrible events of August 1945, and their offspring, are more closely monitored than almost anyone else by doctors and scientists.
"This is the only place where we can research the effect of radiation on the human body," said Dr Saeko Fujiwara, at the Radiation Effects Research Foundation.
"We study the relation between the level of exposure and that of radiation. Ours is the only major epidemiological study that can do this. That's why we're unique," she said.
That study has helped scientists to draw up the guidelines for safe exposure to radiation that is used around the world in the nuclear industry, for example.
Charles Waldren, an American who is the foundation's chief scientist, believes that almost half a million radiation workers in the US and at least that many in Europe have benefited.
"Our research allows people to continue to work at a level of exposure which is considered safe for the general welfare," he said. "I think risk estimates from radiation used in every country in the world come from our data."
Cancer risks
But the close monitoring of Hiroshima's citizens, those who were exposed to the blast and their children and grandchildren, is not just a matter of scientific curiosity.
There is real concern about the survivors as they get older. The average age of the hibakushas is 72.
When they were exposed to the radiation, they suffered damage to their genes, with those closest to the centre of the explosion the worst affected.
In many cases their genes repaired themselves. It is possible that those repairs were imperfect, making it more likely that they will develop cancer in later life.
"Radiation induces genome damage," said Professor Kenji Kamiya, the director of the research institute for radiation, biology and medicine at Hiroshima University.
"In some people that isn't fixed correctly. So 60 years later they have problems. The highest risk for A-bomb victims developing cancer is among the youngest who were exposed to the blast. These people are now approaching an age where they would be more likely to develop a cancer anyway," he said.
Science does have some answers, but much more work is needed.
"We are trying to develop new genome technology and new methods for diagnosis and treatment," Professor Kamiya said. "Re-generative medicine offers the possibility of repairing cell damage."
The number of cancer cases among the survivors will continue to rise in the next few years, perhaps peaking in the 2020s.
"That's why we have to rush to develop new treatments for these patients," he said.
Sixty years after the bomb was dropped, science is still working hard to find ways to cope with its after-effects.
And for survivors like Keiko Ogura, that means little chance in the short-term that her anxieties will go away.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4745653.stm
Published: 2005/08/05 00:12:13 GMT
© BBC MMV
Luciano,
I must have read about this when I was in high school, in History class, but I don't remember it.
This is so sad! So many people died and suffered! So many lived with the horrific event in their minds the rest of their lives.
I hate that the USA thought of the civilians as expendable like that!
They were innocent civilians!
I like what you quoted from
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but on the positive affirmation of peace."
Thank You for posting this. I seem to learn more about History here on your blog than I ever did in high school. I like always learning something new when I come here! ;)
Have A Great Day (\ô/)
((HUGS))
Countess
I must have read about this when I was in high school, in History class, but I don't remember it.
This is so sad! So many people died and suffered! So many lived with the horrific event in their minds the rest of their lives.
I hate that the USA thought of the civilians as expendable like that!
They were innocent civilians!
I like what you quoted from
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but on the positive affirmation of peace."
Thank You for posting this. I seem to learn more about History here on your blog than I ever did in high school. I like always learning something new when I come here! ;)
Have A Great Day (\ô/)
((HUGS))
Countess
Aye - that is true... history books are written by the winners... to access the Truth, one needs both sides of the story... that means going into the losers' lockerroom, if you get the analogy, and I know you all do! :)
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