The Ghostly Legacy of Hiroshima Has Finally Been Discovered in Physical Form

Science Alert ^ | 05/14/2019 | PETER DOCKRILL

[chimera]

And don't forget that the incendiary bombing of Tokyo on the night of March 9-10 killed tens of thousands more than at Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Those raids would have continued unabated as a lead-up to invasion of the Japanese Islands if the use of the a-bombs hadn't shocked the Japanese political leaders into action to accept the allied terms for surrender.

In hindsight it is clear that the political and military leaders vastly underestimated American resolve following the sneak attack at Pearl Harbor. They gambled that America would sue for peace after that and subsequent setbacks (Philippines, Wake Island, the expected victory at Midway, etc.). They gamboled and drew the death card.

[dfwgator]

The Lesson: Democrats are more Destructive than Nuclear Weapons

[NorthMountain]

I tend to see their perishing subjects, who didn't even even have freedom of speech, let alone a vote, not as monsters but as victims.

Victims of, respectively, the Russian, German, and Japanese totalitarian regimes.

[Mrs. Don-o]

The very fact that the ordinary people were voiceless subjects "educated" by totalitarians, deceived by pervasive propaganda and coerced by a police state, means that they were not exactly the ones who had a "choice."

The ordinary people were not primary predators so much as primary victims.

[DBrow]

One thing missing from the article is a discussion of the isotopes in the spherules. Even after al this time there should be radioisotopes.

Also the makeup of the stuff should be quite different from tektites.

[sevlex]

Similar to Trinitite.

[L,TOWM]

Thank you for sharing that. What an incredible illustration of how blurry the lines can become in human moral agency... the idea of a straight up German Nazi doing a humanitarian act like this is certainly enough to make a few heads explode.

There was a Japanese counterpart — a diplomat in Latvia or some other podunk eastern european country that issued travel visas to over 6,000 Jews, allowing them to leave that nation and go to Japan.

One wonders how that Japanese diplomat would have behaved in Nanking or how Mr. Rabe would have acted had the civilians in Nanking been Jewish...

I had a philosophy professor tell me once that “All ethics are situational.” The older I get, the more I recognize the wisdom in that statement.

[NormsRevenge]

Expect to see a bunch of matching ear rings on fine shopping channels soon.. Nuke-d Beads from the Gem Network.

[NorthMountain]

Even after al this time there should be radioisotopes.

Also decay products. Both of which would reveal their origin with certainty.

[pfflier]

I don’t read it that way. Surely the instant death of over 100,000 human beings by incineration and the ejection of all their physical artifacts into the stratosphere was not a cheery moment in human history.

Nope the actions of Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Hirohito and Pol Pot make the loss of life at Hiroshima a drop in the bucket comparatively.

[Bob434]

[[But what happened to the actual city when it was consumed in its awful, unforgettable fire?
devastation at a scale not seen before
one of humankind’s darkest hours]]

When a person pokes a bear with a sharp stick, they, (Those who attacked us), alone are responsible for their own actions and the consequences that follow- Pearl Harbor was the darkest day!

[SkyDancer]

Towards the end Japan was claiming being victimized.

[NorthMountain]

They should have listened to Yamamoto.

[dfwgator]

And ditto for those who weep over Dresden.

[Bob434]

the3 hypothetical martian would realize “Oh Oh! Someone provoked a much stronger enemy and paid the price!”

[Mrs. Don-o]

Which in tun is a drop in the bucket compared to legalized abortion.

[Fresh Wind]

The Japanese were lucky that is was the US who occupied them, rather than the USSR.

[Bob434]

[[War is Hell. Don’t start one, won’t BE one.]]

Exactly- always has been hell- even in biblical times- armies very often wiped out entire cities- leaving noone alive- Like the old saying goes- If you take a shot at the king- you had better make darn sure you don’t fail, because if you do, there is going to be hell on earth to pay”

Don’t poke the bear if you don’t like the results-

[Huskrrrr]

One atomic bomb should have been enough to convince Imperial Japan to surrender. It wasn’t. Even after the second bomb was dropped, a deadlocked Japan ministry revealed a hesitation to surrender. The Emperor finally broke the deadlock. They knew they would lose the war months earlier, but wanted to take out as many Americans as they could, before the end. They are responsible, any sane person would agree.

[jmaroneps37]

“But what happened to the actual city when it was consumed in its awful, unforgettable fire?” It burned to save a million Americans and our allies from death or injury AND save hundreds of thousands of Japanese lives; THAT’S what happened.