in the "Re-Imaging Violence" thread, Public Records Access – Earn… […] FINA [...]

Pleasant it is, when over the great sea the winds shake the waters,

To gaze down from shore on the trials of others;

Not because seeing other people struggle is sweet to us,

But because the fact that we ourselves are free from such ills strikes us as pleasant.

Pleasant it is also to behold great armies battling on a plain,

When we ourselves have no part in their peril.

But nothing is sweeter than to occupy a lofty sanctuary of the mind,

Well fortified with the teachings of the wise,

Where we may look down on others as they stumble along,

Vainly searching for the true path of life. . . . (2. 1-10)

weird how someone from b.c. can get our modern detachment.

nother’s April 19th, 2007 at 1:37 pm

putting cho’s stuff on the air only encourages the next one..and there will be a next one..

the networks have become tabloids. where in the world is nbc’s head!

Right… and if we had simply taken out the Hussein family this way, we’d be way ahead of the game. I’m reminded of a poem that I found, 3 years ago, in this same vein:

If I should nuke Jerusalem

And vaporize its trees,

And its dust were blown around the globe

Would anybody sneeze?

And, if they did, what would we cry?

“JERUSALEM!” of course-

To let them know that sneezing

Is no cause for remorse.

If I should nuke Jerusalem

I’d warn them, beforehand,

So folks could gather up their things

And scatter through the land.

I’d pray they scattered far enough,

Since I’d use a large device.

(It’d be SO disappointing

to have to nuke it TWICE.)

(anon)

^..^

I just heard this show last night on podcast — thanks a lot for it. After any such event, I can only absorb so much media and street rehash before I pretty much dissolve into the formless anxiety we all seem to want to live in. I mean, this was the first real weekend of beautiful spring up here in Toronto, and still all I heard was Virginia, Virginia, Virginia.

Way to find a context that works on the brain, not just the fluttery nerves.

cheers,

–jd

That is unlikely and speculative in the extrme. The bomb used on Hiroshima was tiny by modern standards – around 15 kilotons yield. It would have made no obvious impact on Mt Fuji except on close inspection. Furthermore, Japan had a tightly controlled press during the war so any impact of such a bombing would have leaked out only slowly.

The bottom line is that the atomic bombing of Japan worked, and in the end probably save vastly more lives than it cost. This is the exact opposite of the Iraqi situation.

Sorry if I seemed to come on too strong. I absolutely agree it came up and was addressed (in part). As must be clear by now, I just have relatively strong views on the issue. and think we collectively need to air these matters out in more detail. (For a more measured take, see my post earlier today on the Pitch a Show thread.)