Alice the American's Ghosts of Rome in Nuclear Blunderland
Dear Children of the World
As we enter a new millennium, we could hope that humanity would be on a path toward recovery from the illness of nuclear war. We could dream that our planet would be moving toward greater security and sanity, with peace breaking out as a prerequisite for civilization. We could pretend that terror is dissipating like a mushroom cloud in the twilight…
Over the past century the American culture has become increasingly colonized by the cult of war, in the guise of industrial progress. The development of the atomic bomb was heralded as a great achievement by this cult of scientists and warlords, and they were eager to test the weapons on a large population. In a genocidal decision, they dropped two tests on two different civilian populations, in what will be remembered as the most horrific crimes against humanity in such a brief and brutal moment. It had nothing to do, in the conventional sense, with “war.”
There is no sane justification for the manufacture or use of atomic weapons. It is an inherently evil technology, a tearing of the very fabric of the Unified Field, the Universe in which we exist. Any person, group of persons, or country in possession of, or engaged in the proliferation of atomic weapons should be considered a rogue, a war criminal, a hostile element on a planetary scale. In this new millennium we must expose these weapons of holocaust as violations of international and universal laws.
To apologize for this insanity seems rather rude, when the insanity continues even more deeply than before. Instead, I will speak out against the gargantuan U.S. war machine, which is now spreading as a cancer on the planet... 20 Trident submarines cruising the oceans, each costing 2 billion dollars, each armed with 120 warheads that each dwarf Hiroshima. Each submarine able to create a nuclear winter from which our planet would never recover. And these are only a few of the many thousands of U.S. weapons systems. Choking off the pathways to our children’s future.
I am diagnosing this American society as terminally ill, with “weaponitis.” That is, we have become so obsessed with weaponry, the production, glorification, and deployment of deadly weapons, that our brains have atrophied and we are actually coming to identify with the weapons themselves. Increasingly, you will see stories of stylized heroes who have become “the ultimate weapon.” America has become a permanent warfront, masquerading as culture, from our films and TV to our schools and churches. The military dominates our consciousness so profoundly we cannot separate our identities from war, or weapons, anymore.
I bow my head in shamed silence, in remembrance of the hundreds of thousands of souls killed at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and tortured by the radiation effects. I am profoundly sorry that we have not been able to stop the nuclear nightmare after 65 years, and I pray that humankind will awaken to the horror and depravity of “industrial warfare” before many millions more must suffer….
B. Z. Burnbridge
Stormfront Omegaland
"The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of thinking...the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind. If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker."
--Albert Einstein
President Kennedy said, "World peace...does not require that each man love his neighbor--it requires only that they live together with mutual tolerance...." Within this framework of tolerance, we must all begin cooperating in any small way possible to build a common, brighter future for the human family. This is the meaning of reconciliation.
The spirit of reconciliation is not concerned with judging the past. Rather, it open-mindedly accepts human error and works toward preventing such errors in the future. To that end, conscientious exploration and understanding of the past is vital, which is precisely why we are working to establish the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Course in colleges and universities around the world.
In the "spiritual home for all people" that Hiroshima is building grows an abundant Forest of Memory, and the River of Reconciliation and Humanity flowing from that forest is plied by Reason, Conscience and Compassion, ships that ultimately sail to the Sea of Hope and the Future.
I strongly urge President Bush to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki to walk through that forest and ride that river. I beg him to encounter this human legacy and confirm with his own eyes what nuclear weapons hold in store for us all.
The United States government has no right to force Pax Americana on the rest of us, or to unilaterally determine the fate of the world. On the contrary, we, the people of the world, have the right to demand "no annihilation without representation."
Article 99 of the Japanese Constitution stipulates that "The Emperor or the Regent as well as Ministers of State, members of the Diet, judges, and all other public officials have the obligation to respect and uphold this Constitution." The proper role of the Japanese government, under this provision, is to avoid making Japan a "normal country" capable of making war "like all the other nations." The government is bound to reject nuclear weapons absolutely and to renounce war. Furthermore, the national government has a responsibility to convey the memories, voices, and prayers of Hiroshima and Nagasaki throughout the world, especially to the United States, and, for the sake of tomorrow's children, to prevent war.
The first step is to listen humbly to the hibakusha of the world. Assistance to all hibakusha, in particular to those dwelling overseas, must be enhanced to allow them to continue, in full security, to communicate their message of peace.
Today, in recalling the events of 57 years ago, we, the people of Hiroshima, honor this collective human memory, vow to do our utmost to create a "century of peace and humanity," and offer our sincere prayers for the peaceful repose of all the atomic bomb victims.
Tadatoshi Akiba
Mayor
The City of Hiroshima
A Blade of Grass … In Dreamless Field
(i)
Blameless souls forever vanish
on this morning, this judgment day.
Our silent cries, to heaven we appeal,
scattered like the ash of withered leaves.
Our ebbing souls
cling to that lonely sky;
we try in vain to escape this sea of flame.
Oh, Hiroshima, once my haven,
why has your life been sacrificed?
(ii)
The abounding sadness within my heart . . .
drowning my loneliness in tears of self-pity.
Four abandoned children,
wishing to feel our mother's love,
just once more
if only in our dreams.
The heat of yet another long night lingers.
Oh, Hiroshima, once my home,
my tears run dry waiting for the breaking dawn.
(iii)
My soul is torn by this rage inside…
I was found guilty for being an orphan of war.
Ensnared by ruthless eyes.
The coldness of kin cuts deeply into my heart,
Pain and suffering born from defeat.
How I despair this cursed fate.
As bitterness poisons this innocent child,
I madly waste away.
Oh, Hiroshima, once my cradle,
I am lost in dreams of revenge.
(iv)
Gathering remnants of my courage,
I stand alone in this notorious America, land of the enemy.
An outcast with slanted eyes,
I fall before the indifference of strangers;
sightlessly, they trample upon my dignity.
This life of anguish seems to be my destiny.
Praying for death, I endure time.
Oh, Hiroshima, once my comfort,
I have come to take justice for my people.
(v)
Budding leaves renew this tired place, this tired soul;
gently the rain is embraced by your love,
comforting this savaged heart.
A blade of grass emerges from the ashes,
and my heart becomes a light,
connecting me to heaven.
Living for one another, this is my path!
Oh Hiroshima, forever my love,
may my life become a bridge from you to others.
(vi)
At the dawn of the 21st century,
we honor this passage through darkness.
We must have the courage to enter
the void again . . . and again,
emerging with the gift of new life.
Healing only comes through learning to forgive
and making peace with our past.
Then will the wind whisper:
"Hibakusha, you have not lived in vain!"
Takashi "Thomas" Tanemori,
Silkworm Peace Institute
TRIDENT SUBMARINE CHARACTERISTICS
Ohio-class/Trident ballistic missile submarines provide the sea-based "leg" of the triad of U.S. strategic offensive forces. By the turn of the century, the 18 Trident SSBNs (each carrying 24 missiles), will carry 50 percent of the total U.S. strategic warheads. By virtue of their patrol posture, they are highly survivable and extremely flexible. Although the missiles have no pre-set targets when the submarine goes on patrol, Tridents are capable of rapidly targeting their missiles, should the need arise, using secure and constant at-sea communications links.
OHIO CLASS SUBMARINES
SSBN 726 USS OHIO 1981 Active-Pacific
SSBN 727 USS MICHIGAN 1982 Active-Pacific
SSBN 728 USS FLORIDA 1983 Active-Pacific
SSBN 729 USS GEORGIA 1984 Active-Pacific
SSBN 730 USS HENRY M JACKSON 1984 Active-Pacific
SSBN 731 USS ALABAMA 1985 Active-Pacific
SSBN 732 USS ALASKA 1986 Active-Pacific
SSBN 733 USS NEVADA 1986 Active-Pacific
SSBN 734 USS TENNESSEE 1988 Active-Atlantic
SSBN 735 USS PENNSYLVANIA 1989 Active-Atlantic
SSBN 736 USS WEST VIRGINIA 1990 Active-Atlantic
SSBN 737 USS KENTUCKY 1991 Active-Atlantic
SSBN 738 USS MARYLAND 1992 Active-Atlantic
SSBN 739 USS NEBRASKA 1993 Active-Atlantic
SSBN 740 USS RHODE ISLAND 1994 Active-Atlantic
SSBN 741 USS MAINE 1995 Active-Atlantic
SSBN 742 USS WYOMING 1996 Active-Atlantic
SSBN 743 USS LOUISIANA 1997 Active-Atlantic
The Navy currently deploys 20 Trident submarines http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/slbm/ssbn-726.htm
from Bangor Naval Submarine Base in Washington state, and Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in Georgia.
Each submarine carries 24 missiles, either the Trident I/C-4 or the Trident II/D-5 http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/slbm/d-5.htm
Each missile carries on average five nuclear warheads (either the 100 kiloton W76 or the 475 kiloton W88 http://www.envirolink.org/issues/nuketesting/hew/Usa/Weapons/W88.html
for a total of about 120 warheads per submarine.
The Trident submarine costs about $1.9 billion apiece (not including missiles and warheads).
Trident II D-5 Fleet Ballistic Missile
Primary Function: Strategic Nuclear Deterrence
Contractor: Lockheed Missiles and Space Co., Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif.
Unit Cost: $29.1 million (current production)
Power Plant: Three-stage solid-propellant rocket
Length: 44 feet (13.41 meters)
Weight: 130,000 pounds (58,500 kg)
Diameter: 74 inches (1.85 meters)
Range: Greater than 4,000 nautical miles (4,600 statute miles, or 7,360 km)
Guidance System: Inertial
Warheads: Thermonuclear MIRV (Multiple Independently Targetable re-entry Vehicle); Maneuverable Re-entry Vehicle
Date Deployed: 1990
"Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear - kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor - with the cry of grave national emergency. Always there has been some terrible evil at home or some monstrous foreign power that was going to gobble us up if we did not blindly rally behind it."
-- General Douglas MacArthur, 1957
The Ghosts of America
At Empire's End
B.Z. Burnbridge
Lurking the Apocalypse: Escape From Luckyland
Drifting overhead through two centuries
on warm summer breezes like butterflies
wisps of cotton from the cracked fingers of
black African hands with faces reflecting
over the oil-slicked seas to Ms. Liberty
likewise a heartbeat of drums in the distance
chanting a magical reality through ages
above monuments & asphalt horizons
challenging: "what planet are you from?"
Driving by us the limousine of J.F.K.
replaying that day in Dallas for every child
upon the screen of public conscience
in the silence at the back of the theatre
now our main feature the Twin Towers of NYC
amidst swirling clouds of demolition dust
we cannot hear the ghostly screams & truth
no mention made of Building 7 blowing up
collapsing in an obvious planned event
An army of youth in uniform with missing limbs
minds askew burning with shame & pain
line the corridors of our wars for "freedom"
trying to tell us the truth about dying
while secrets are swept behind screens
until our story becomes an avoidance
a series of shadows pasted over the truth
in the silence filled with spies & aliens
where the Bush family hides its Nazi fortunes
Entire cultures exist in America's ghostlands
Native nations Hawaiians veterans refugees
the war machine grows armed with secrecy
money changes accounts billions behind us
noone dares mention the outstanding crimes
or murderous tactics & nuclear warheads
the unanswered questions about 9-11 so
we continue to tumble through time
in a CIA-spy clown-show culture of lies
we're Alice the American in blunderland
Now ghosts of Rome join our legion
whispering warnings about wickedness
truth denied justice delayed war above all
until we are surrounded by ghosts & shadows
terrorized by ourselves into silence
allowing the killing to continue on & on
our bombs to be deployed & children
charged the future cost of colonial rule
because our truth is not being told
our destiny is measured by ghosts
B.Z. Burnbridge
Lurking the Apocalypse: Escape From Luckyland
“They misunderestimated me” -- George W. Bush
The Dumbest Quotes Of The Noughts @ Huffington
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