|
Post by micki on Jul 11, 2010 0:27:41 GMT
despite WWII we're the West right to use these Bombs on innocent people?
70.000 people were killed by the blast. Within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects killed 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima.
The Hiroshima prefectural health department estimates that, of the people who died on the day of the explosion, 60% died from flash or flame burns, 30% from falling debris and 10% from other causes. During the following months, large numbers died from the effect of burns, radiation sickness, and other injuries, compounded by illness. In a more plausible estimate of the total immediate and short term cause of death, 15–20% died from radiation sickness, 20–30% from flash burns, and 50–60% from other injuries, compounded by illness. most of the dead were civilians
Dont we consider it a war crime when our enemies kill civilians yet this was probably the biggest war crime ever.. who stood trial for this? some would say it ended the war sooner, saved more lives etc but i dont buy it... theres no justification, no matter who you are, no matter what your reasons... Even Eisenhower disagreed with it.
i for one hope the people responsible rot in hell.
|
|
|
Post by micki on Jul 11, 2010 0:30:33 GMT
|
|
|
Post by laplady on Jul 11, 2010 7:58:16 GMT
I hate violence of any sort albeit in wars or sport. I don't think it was necessary, I read some where that it was dropped supposedly near a solders barracks.
Its not just the people who were killed instantly but those who suffered the aftermath of the bomb who I feel sorry for.
|
|
|
Post by lynx on Aug 3, 2010 20:14:12 GMT
I don't know how I missed this. A subject I have a very frank opinion on. Killing is wrong. I don't care what the country, religion or politics. Wouldn't you think that in this day and age we could solve differences without taking innocent lives. The media annoy me as well. They only report and sway sympathy towards those killed of the nationality they are reporting for. I feel as sorry for any single person innocently killed in war. The atom bomb, and any form of mass destruction is abominable
|
|
|
Post by micki on Aug 3, 2010 21:19:19 GMT
well said Lyn.
|
|
|
Post by alex on Sept 27, 2010 19:58:51 GMT
I recall watching Billy Connolly's Australia programme (Sorry Rose, I know you aren't a fan), where he said that Aborigines believe elements such as uranium and plutonium involved in the making of nuclear weapons should stay underground; anything as powerful as that obviously has a function where it is.
How many cases of ill health and death each year in Hiroshima and Nagasaki are attributable to the bombs?
|
|
|
Post by becky on Sept 27, 2010 20:25:09 GMT
Good post micki.
|
|
|
Post by micki on Sept 27, 2010 21:39:20 GMT
the cities have recovered now and to the children that live and go to school there i guess its hard for them to imagine that it was completely destryed at one time.
|
|
|
Post by alex on Sept 28, 2010 9:54:05 GMT
It just struck me that radioactive elements stick around for a long, long time and I wondered if that was still an issue in the cities. Although, as you say, they are functioning as normal these days.
|
|
|
Post by lynx on Sept 29, 2010 5:49:28 GMT
That got me cutious too Alex. It would appear not by this article anyway. Not that that fact makes in any more right to drop the wretched things in the first place.
Question 12. Are Hiroshima and Nagasaki still radioactive? No. There are two ways radioactivity is produced from an atomic blast. The first is due to fallout of the fission products or the nuclear material itself, ie, uranium or plutonium that contaminate the ground. (Similar ground contamination occurred as a consequence of the Chernobyl accident but on a much larger scale. Click here for more-detailed explanation.) The Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs exploded at 500 to 600 m of altitude, then formed huge fireballs that rose with ascending air currents. Subsequently, the material cooled down and started to fall with rain. Because of the wind, the rain did not fall directly on the hypocenter but rather in the northwest region (Koi, Takasu area) of Hiroshima and the eastern region (Nishiyama area) of Nagasaki. Nowadays, the radioactivity is so miniscule that it is difficult to distinguish from trace amounts of radioactivity caused by atmospheric atomic-bomb tests.
Another way radioactivity is produced is by neutron irradiation of soil or buildings. (Neutrons comprise 10% or less of A-bomb radiation; nonradioactive materials become radioactive after absorbing neutrons. In contrast, gamma rays--which comprise the majority of A-bomb radiation--do not cause ground materials to become radioactive.) However, most of the radioactivity decayed very quickly so that it now takes months to measure the radioactivity using highly sensitive equipment. Despite miniscule levels, these measurements are currently utilized to estimate neutron doses released from the bombs.
In both cases, the residual radioactivity is far less than the dose received from background radiation; hence, there are no detectable effects on human health.
|
|
|
Post by micki on Sept 29, 2010 7:35:28 GMT
good post Lyn.
|
|
|
Post by alex on Sept 30, 2010 8:33:39 GMT
That is really good reading Lyn, I've karma-ed you up for the info. I've just recently read "On The Beach" by Nevil Shute (look it up if you don't know it, it's one hell of a read); I suppose also that the size and power of today's weapons mean that, if the bomb ever does drop, you're looking at after effects that would be far worse than Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Mind you, if that day comes (and I don't suppose I'm alone in thinking this), then b*gger trying to survive.
|
|
|
Post by lynx on Oct 7, 2010 13:34:02 GMT
Thank you Alex. I read that book eons ago and it left a big impression.
|
|
|
Post by alex on Oct 21, 2010 19:10:11 GMT
Isn't it one hell of a read; a masterpiece of the "show-don't-tell" technique.
|
|