August 6, 2020 On this day 75 years ago, the first nuclear weapon used in warfare was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. At 8:16 in the morning, people were going about their usual morning activities when the bomb exploded. They never saw it coming. The bomb detonated at a height of 1,900 feet above the city with an explosive yield equal to 15,000 tons of TNT. The radius of total destruction was about one mile, with resulting fires across 4.4 square miles. Over 90 percent of physicians and nurses in Hiroshima were killed or injured; 42 of 45 hospitals were rendered […]
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Ground Zero Appeals to Navy Personnel in Newspaper PSA
Puget Sound peace activists on 75th Remembrance of Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombings appeal to Navy personnel at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor: Refuse illegal orders; Refuse to launch nuclear missiles On August 2nd and August 10th, a full-page ad will be published in the newspaper of record, the Kitsap Sun, speaking to military personnel at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. The ad is an appeal to Navy personnel to resist orders to launch nuclear weapons. The appeal with supporting signatures is posted at our website. The Appeal to Navy Personnel specifically requests that members of the armed forces– Resist illegal orders. Refuse to kill innocent […]
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I Will Write Peace on Your Wings
by Leonard Eiger “I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world.” These are the words of Sadako Sasaki, who was only 2 years old when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. She survived the bombing and led an outwardly healthy life; she was said to be an energetic child who never missed one day of elementary school. She was also a fast runner. Things changed dramatically for Sadako in 1955 when she was diagnosed with Leukemia (a radiation-induced disease) and was admitted to the hospital. After 1000 paper cranes folded by high school […]
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We’re So Certain of Our Colonialist Selves That We’re Destroying Our Own Planet
“The global movement to end racism must turn its attention to the world’s most vulnerable cultures—the indigenous people of Planet Earth—who are still enduring the forces of colonial genocide.” by Robert C. Koehler “There are so many . . . primitive tribes—they don’t understand anything.” The global movement to end racism must turn its attention to the world’s most vulnerable cultures—the indigenous people of Planet Earth—who are still enduring the forces of colonial genocide. They are, after all, still obstacles to the planet’s moneyed interests. I say these words not simply because protecting tribal cultures is humane, but also because […]
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A Historian Reflects on the Return of Fascism
Editor’s Note: The following article, written by historian Lawrence Wittner, presents an important perspective at a time when, it could be argued, our nation is continuing its descent into racism. One of the ten steps any would-be dictator must take to destroy constitutional freedoms – the suspension of the rule of law – has begun, with Trump sending armed Federal police to cities (such as Portland) where they are beating and detaining people with no due process. They are already here in Seattle, and likely on their way to other major cities (to allegedly protect Federal property). May we hear Lawrence […]
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