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Japan marks 61st Hiroshima Anniversary
my2hands
Posts: 17,117
as a species we should denounce and erradicate all nuclear/atomic weapons technology... for our children and there families
http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=105&sid=872492
Japan Marks 61st Hiroshima Anniversary
By Shizuo Kanbayashi
The Associated Press
Monday 07 August 2006
Hiroshima, Japan - The mayor of Hiroshima on Sunday called for the elimination of all nuclear weapons as he marked the 61st anniversary of the world's first atomic bomb attack, which killed more than 140,000 people in the Japanese city.
Expressing concerns over the global proliferation of nuclear weapons, Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba urged the government of Japan - the only nation to suffer atomic bomb attacks - to take a leading role in the effort to eliminate nuclear arsenals.
"Sixty-one years have passed since radiation, heat rays and an atomic blast created hell on earth," Akiba said in a speech at Hiroshima Peace Park, near the bomb's epicenter. "But the number of nations enamored of evil and enslaved by nuclear arms has increased. The only role nuclear weapons have is to be demolished."
A bell rang at 8:15 a.m., marking the time when the American B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped its deadly payload on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. It was the first atomic bomb ever used in war.
About 45,000 survivors, residents, visitors and officials from around the world prayed for the bombing victims by observing a minute of silence in Hiroshima, 430 miles southwest of Tokyo. Hundreds of doves were released afterward.
An estimated 140,000 people were killed instantly or died within a few months after the bombing. Three days later, another U.S. warplane dropped a plutonium bomb on the city of Nagasaki, killing about 80,000 people.
This year's anniversary comes amid concerns over North Korea's recent missile tests, Iran's suspect nuclear program and intensified fighting in the Middle East.
Akiba urged Japan, a participant in the stalled six-nation talks on North Korea, to "forcefully insist that nuclear arms-possessing nations fulfill their obligation to sincerely carry out negotiations aimed at nuclear disarmament."
He also urged the government to observe Japan's pacifist constitution, which bars the use of force in international disputes and prohibits Tokyo from keeping a military for warfare. It was drafted by U.S. occupation forces after World War II and has not been changed since 1947.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's ruling party is proposing constitutional changes to make it easier for the Japanese military to fight if it comes under attack and to participate in international peacekeeping.
"We will observe the pacifist clause of the constitution, maintain the principle of nuclear nonproliferation and lead international efforts to achieve lasting global peace," Koizumi said Sunday in a memorial speech.
Ceremonies will also be held on Wednesday's anniversary of the Nagasaki attack.
http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=105&sid=872492
Japan Marks 61st Hiroshima Anniversary
By Shizuo Kanbayashi
The Associated Press
Monday 07 August 2006
Hiroshima, Japan - The mayor of Hiroshima on Sunday called for the elimination of all nuclear weapons as he marked the 61st anniversary of the world's first atomic bomb attack, which killed more than 140,000 people in the Japanese city.
Expressing concerns over the global proliferation of nuclear weapons, Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba urged the government of Japan - the only nation to suffer atomic bomb attacks - to take a leading role in the effort to eliminate nuclear arsenals.
"Sixty-one years have passed since radiation, heat rays and an atomic blast created hell on earth," Akiba said in a speech at Hiroshima Peace Park, near the bomb's epicenter. "But the number of nations enamored of evil and enslaved by nuclear arms has increased. The only role nuclear weapons have is to be demolished."
A bell rang at 8:15 a.m., marking the time when the American B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped its deadly payload on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. It was the first atomic bomb ever used in war.
About 45,000 survivors, residents, visitors and officials from around the world prayed for the bombing victims by observing a minute of silence in Hiroshima, 430 miles southwest of Tokyo. Hundreds of doves were released afterward.
An estimated 140,000 people were killed instantly or died within a few months after the bombing. Three days later, another U.S. warplane dropped a plutonium bomb on the city of Nagasaki, killing about 80,000 people.
This year's anniversary comes amid concerns over North Korea's recent missile tests, Iran's suspect nuclear program and intensified fighting in the Middle East.
Akiba urged Japan, a participant in the stalled six-nation talks on North Korea, to "forcefully insist that nuclear arms-possessing nations fulfill their obligation to sincerely carry out negotiations aimed at nuclear disarmament."
He also urged the government to observe Japan's pacifist constitution, which bars the use of force in international disputes and prohibits Tokyo from keeping a military for warfare. It was drafted by U.S. occupation forces after World War II and has not been changed since 1947.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's ruling party is proposing constitutional changes to make it easier for the Japanese military to fight if it comes under attack and to participate in international peacekeeping.
"We will observe the pacifist clause of the constitution, maintain the principle of nuclear nonproliferation and lead international efforts to achieve lasting global peace," Koizumi said Sunday in a memorial speech.
Ceremonies will also be held on Wednesday's anniversary of the Nagasaki attack.
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Utopian pacifism... maybe one day that will be a relevant ideology.
Would be nice, but I don't see it happening.
"The Japanese were ready to surrender, and it wasn't necessary to hit them with that awful thing" -- General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Its sad to say that I am a former Marine (sad for me personally; not judging any other servicemember). I'm glad to say that I got out because of the mere thought of taking another human's life; especially now, for the mighty dollar. I was very fortunate that I got out before this little $$ endeavor we're on now.
I actually live in Okinawa, which is the southern most island of Japan; however my wife is still Japanese. She feels the pain every anniversary and its hard. Not pain that she endured directly, but just pain that one of the most atrocious events in the history of mankind happened to her country and her people.
Luckily, most Japanese are a loving people or I would have never found love in her arms.
Nonetheless, thank you again for bringing this to everyone's attention. It is truly, truly appreciated.
Until the next time...
war... infact violence is never the answer, well that is what i beleive.
http://www.myspace.com/thelastreel http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19604327965
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002423774_lantern06m.html
Lighting the lake
By Victor Gonzales
Seattle Times staff reporter
PREV | 1 of 2 | NEXT
Enlarge this photo
LAURA MORTON / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Martha Brice, coordinator and founder of "From Hiroshima to Hope," holds a lantern that will be floated on Green Lake tonight, marking the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombing in Japan.
Enlarge this photo
LAURA MORTON / THE SEATTLE TIMES
This lantern is one of many that will float on Green Lake tonight as part of "From Hiroshima to Hope."
Secret film of Hiroshima scene to air
Artfully written in Japanese calligraphy on thick paper are simple messages to loved ones.
"Peace."
"For Grandma."
"No More Hiroshimas."
They're just a few of the messages that will float on wood-and-paper lanterns in Green Lake tonight for the "From Hiroshima to Hope" ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima. About 1,000 people have come to Green Lake every Aug. 6 for the past two decades to reflect and remember the more than 200,000 people who died in the blast or from radiation or other problems afterward.
"In Hiroshima, they float the paper lanterns down a river, the same [river] that carried bodies out to sea," said Martha Brice, the event's coordinator and founder. "We didn't want it to be in angry tones, but in reflective and thoughtful tones against violence."
Sixty years ago today, the Enola Gay, a B-29 Superfortress, dropped "Little Boy" onto Hiroshima. The 13-kiloton atomic bomb obliterated the city.
The attack, and a second atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki three days later, hastened a Japanese surrender and the end of World War II. But the bombing also triggered decades of controversy.
Lantern floating
Preparations for "From Hiroshima to Hope" will begin at 6:30 tonight next to the Seattle Public Theater at Green Lake. Calligraphers will write, in Japanese, a message of peace, or the name of a loved one, on lantern paper. The keynote performance will be "The Story of Sadako," directed by Manuel Cawaling. The lantern floating will start at 9 p.m.
For more information, call 206-547-2630.
The Green Lake ceremony started in 1985, the 40th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing. The group Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility wanted to do something locally to highlight the horrors of a nuclear war, Brice said.
Brice, now 71, had heard of a toro nagashi, a floating-lantern offering, in which Japanese Buddhists honor the spirits of dead loved ones by lighting floating lanterns to illuminate their paths.
The tradition had spread from Hiroshima to a community in Wisconsin, and Brice felt that it was perfect for Seattle. Lake Washington's waters were too rough, so the group decided on the calm waters of Green Lake. They also decided to avoid the politics of nuclear proliferation as much as possible, and instead emphasize the hope that nuclear weapons would never be used again, she said.
The ceremony took on a more personal meaning to Brice for a couple of reasons. First, a good friend died of leukemia. Then Brice's daughter married a Japanese man whose parents were from Hiroshima.
The first experience, of losing someone to leukemia, made her empathize with people who lost loved ones to radiation-related illnesses, she said. A high number of people who survived the atomic bomb at Hiroshima later suffered from cancers such as leukemia.
Meeting her daughter's in-laws was especially poignant, Brice said. Both parents, like many hibakusha, which means survivors of the bomb, were reluctant to talk about their experiences. In Japan, being a survivor, or being related to one, carried social stigma because of the crippling health effects of radiation, she said.
On Aug 6, 1945, the mother-in-law had been walking with two friends when the bomb exploded a kilometer away. She escaped unharmed, Brice said, but both friends died.
She lived the rest of her life worried that she would get cancer from radiation or pass on harmful effects of radiation to her children. Thankfully, neither fear was realized, Brice said. The father-in-law of Brice's daughter had been out to sea with the Japanese merchant marine when the bomb hit his hometown. His mother died in the blast. His sister lingered 10 years before dying of radiation sickness and other injuries.
The Green Lake ceremony tonight is one way for people to reflect and honor those people, and others who are victims of war and violence, Brice said. "People don't realize how horrible things could be if there were not others who are trying to work for peace," she said.
a derivitive of nature.
nature is god
god is love
love is light
eisenhower knows more than me, but if they were ready to surrender... why didn't they after hiroshima was hit? why wait for nagasaki? there was a show on the discovery channel last week about the bombing. it was terrible, but it probably saved more lives than it took.
Japanese children, and men and women of all ages spent the entire day decorating 50,000 votives which were placed and lit around the "bomb dome" the only building left standing after the attack, which were lit at dusk.
And they prepared 50,000 lanterns which were lit and floated down the river, which illuminated almost the entire waterway for a number of hours after dusk.
it already is relevant... the vast majority of the actual inhabitants of this planet practice peace their entire lives
it is a SMALL minority that actually supports, or participates in war or other forms of violence
come join the majority
You mean the majority that funds and sanctions the death's caused by your "minority"?
who said i pay taxes
you are correct, but i think if you asked them what they would rather spend their wealth of taxes on... nuclear weapons or infrastructure, education , etc... they would overwhelmingly support the social causes
unless possession of minuteman-III's and MX missiles secures their infrastructure, education etc...
I think if you actually cared about asking them, you wouldn't propose an either/or option.
Secures from whom?
don't the Chinese and the Russians have ICBM's? I'm too much a child of the Cold War... I think the principle is called MAD (mutual asssured destruction) or something like that
Certainly! If they didn't, would you go steal some Chinese roads or some Russian schools?
That's a very nice Plan B you have there.......
hey man I didn't say I thought MAD was a great idea, in fact it's quite mad but the world was like that since ICBM's have been on the scene...
sorry, didn't get your first comment, kind of slow...
Much of the world was like that since rocks have been on the scene
You seemed to suggest in these posts:
"unless possession of minuteman-III's and MX missiles secures their infrastructure, education etc..."
"don't the Chinese and the Russians have ICBM's? "
that the whole reason to have ICBM's is to protect infrastructure from foreign invaders. Just interested if, without those Russian or Chinese ICBM's, you'd be chomping at the bit to go after Russian / Chinese infrastructure. And if you're losing sleep at night wondering if we have enough ICBM's to prevent Vladimir Putin from stealing your cable?
Sorry far, I don't have cable...
Thank God...otherwise it would be fucking red dawn....
isn't that the movie with Swayze?
Read thru this and you'll find out why you're wrong:
http://www.doug-long.com/quotes.htm
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/world/20060813TDY11001.htm
http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=272825