Hiroshima 73 Years Later
At 8:15 am, August 6, 1945, Hiroshima got nuked. It was the start of a new era. Since Japan is 13 hours ahead of Georgia, and standard time was used, the literal anniversary is 8:15 pm, August 5.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi was working in Hiroshima when the bomb hit. He survived, and found a train to take hime to his home town, Nagasaki.
The device dropped on Hiroshima, the Little Boy, had an estimated force of 13 kilotons of Trinitrotoluene, or TNT. A kiloton of TNT is roughly a cube whose sides are ten meters. This device is fairly tiny compared to many of the warheads developed since. Many of the modern appliances are measured in megatons, or millions of tons of TNT. The Soviet Union had a bomb with a capacity of 50 megatons, or 4,000 times the size of the Little Boy.
The largest weapon tested by The United States is the Castle Bravo. This device destroyed Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. The two piece swimsuit was named for this island. The Castle Bravo device had a yield of 15 megatons of TNT. This is roughly 1,000 times the power of the Little Boy.
The decision to drop the bomb has long been controversial. There are a lot of factors and gray areas, and the issue does not lend itself to sound bite solutions. The conventional wisdom is that Japan surrendered because of the nuclear attack. This meant the war was shortened by at least a year, there was no invasion of Japan, and many lives were saved. PG is scared by the moral calculus involved in a decision like this….do 100,000 civilian deaths prevent the deaths of 500,000 soldiers? PG suspects that even G-d herself would lose sleep over that one.
There is also evidence that the bomb was not needed. Japan was whipped in August 1945. The air raids were conducted in daylight with little resistance. A debate was going on in the Japanese government on whether to continue the fight.
An event happened the day between Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, which influenced the Japanese decision to surrender. The Soviet Union had agreed to help the United States with the war against Japan. On August 8, The Soviet Union invaded Japanese occupied Manchuria. There are indications that Japan knew the fight was hopeless at this point, and would rather surrender to The United States than The Soviet Union. This is one of the gray areas that never seems to be mentioned.
The United States wanted the war to end quickly for obvious reasons, and a few subtle ones. America did not want to share the spoils of Japanese war with The Soviet Union. There were already tensions between the two allies, and the cold war was not far off. Many felt The United States used the Little Boy as a warning to The Soviet Union.
When you get your moral software out, you might want to figure in the effect of opening the nuclear Pandora’s box. Would the nuclear bomb have been developed by other countries if America had not led the way? The science is not that complicated…after all, America hit paydirt with the Manhattan Project fairly quickly. Nonetheless, there is karma involved in using a terrible new device on a civilian population. The United States started the wind of the arms race, and has yet to feel the whirlwind.
This is a repost. The pictures are from The Library of Congress. Ansel Adams took pictures of Japanese Americans, in a World War Two internment camp. The ladies in the bridge game are Aiko Hamaguchi, Chiye Yamanaki, Catherine Yamaguchi, and Kazoko Nagahama.
The Concept Of Logical Fallacy
How to Talk to a Racist ~ nyt without paywall ~ whiteness ~ BLOOM QUEERNESS & WELLNESS RETREAT ~ Tsundoku: The art of buying books and never reading them ~ fictional podcast ~ @sairasameerarao Okay, another white person just DM’d me, telling me to lighten up and stop talking about white supremacy, that’s it’s apparently “irritating to a lot of people.” Do you know what’s irritating? WHITE SUPREMACY. @chamblee54 especially in all caps two wrongs don’t make a right If you don’t have anything to add to the conversation, except _____ is bad, maybe you should post pictures of cats ~ ‘Bird Scooter’ rider shot dead in front of Downtown motel ~ The losing math of hate ~ Trans people were misgendered & confronted in bathrooms at an LGBTQ concert ~ Grammar Purity is One Big Ponzi Scheme ~ ink and nebula ~ Police release surveillance video of men wanted in triple shooting ~ WWI Centennial: The French and Americans Advance On a Broad Front ~ Snopes says it is fake ~ Stone Mountain Implosion ~ Nico, 1988 unflinchingly portrays the death of an icon ~ Pink Pony must close earlier, ban alcohol on Sunday under new ordinance ~ Shaun King Story ~ The deep cynicism of Bernie Sanders’s chief strategist ~ bird010975 ~ jeong ~ bette davis ~ Beware the Slippery Slope of Facebook Censorship ~ Goats everywhere ~ The Great God of Depression. ~ When Racism Is Fit to Print ~ compton’s cafeteria ~ sullyquote source ~ the jeong tweets ~ the capri ~ gerrymandering ~ radiotopia downloads ~ @mslopatto Congrats to my pal and yours @sarahjeong – just a shame for all of us her twitter is about to be a lot less fun ~ jeong apology “I engaged in what I thought of at the time as counter-trolling. While it was intended as satire, I deeply regret that I mimicked the language of my harassers. These comments were not aimed at a general audience, because general audiences do not engage in harassment campaigns. I can understand how hurtful these posts are out of context, and would not do it again,” ~ A note from the editorial leadership of The Verge ~ nyt statement ~ making twin peaks ~ Prison That Held 1st Georgia Electric Chair Being Torn Down ~ Hollywood’s ‘Pimp to the Stars’ Tells All — From 3-Ways with Hollywood Icons to a Royal Scandal ~ The Death of the Author and the End of Empathy ~ On Fox, Terrence K. Williams Calls NYT’s Sarah Jeong ‘Ling Ling’ and ‘Crazy-nese’ ~ Red Thread: On Mazes and Labyrinths ~ under the bus ~ On twitter and facebook, the concept of logical fallacy is obsolete. The only justification you need is “because I said so.” If anyone challenges, repeat your concept louder and with an implied threat of violence ~ Unless he is under oath, a man who says “I don’t know” is usually telling the truth. ~ If you look at the Sex Offender Registry for 30341, you see that a bunch of them are staying at the Lodge on Buford. Apparently, it far enough away from a school, or a church, to allow those people to live there. This is also across the street from an IRS office. ~ I took got a so called survey. It was from a company called 20 20 insight. It was a thinly veiled robocall in support of @sallyharrellga. I will not vote for @sallyharrellga as a result. ~ @chamblee54 @sarahjeong What about all the white American soldiers who died in the Korean War? ~ President Donald J. Trump is going to attend the Stone Mountain Implosion. ~ Armistead Maupin will be appearing at the Decatur Book Festival. There are rumors of a film showing, followed by a Q&A, with the emphasis on Q. Check the DBF schedule for more information. There is one confirmed event, with Mr. Maupin, on the DBF schedule. First Baptist Decatur Sanctuary Sunday 1:15pm – 2:00pm ~ 20/20 Insight “20/20 Insight LLC is a full service public opinion research firm that provides services to Democratic candidates and advocacy organizations.” ~ Sally Harrell ~ 40th Georgia Senate 40th District ~ pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. ~ here is the poem from last night at java monkey. If is Not Safe For Work or Play:
brothers of the fudge big boy combo play ~ microwave popcorn hot dog engineer
bowling in the basement hershey highway ~ liquor in the front poker in the rear
intestinal tourist private first class ~ backdoor barbeque michelangelo
anal chainsaw massacre backstage pass ~ vegan hotpocket curly larry moe
hunker down brown town panorama ~ sliding all the way to lower alabama
sausage jockey creeper peeper ~ stick it in stick it in deeper deeper
dance the chocolate chacha elton john ~ driving on on on on the autobahn ~ selah
@sarahjeong
Between 1950 and 1953, American soldiers fought in the Korean War. Nearly 40,000 Americans died in that war. While exact figures are not readily available, it can be safely assumed that many, if not most, of the American soldiers who died in Korea were white.
In 1988, Sarah Jeong was born in South Korea. When she was three, she moved to the United States with her parents, who had student visas. Ms. Jeong grew up in the United States, and became a naturalized citizen in 2017. “I’m a very privileged person. And I am, like, completely documented. Everything’s in order, and I’m educated. I speak English. I don’t have that much to be afraid of.”
Sarah Jeong was hired to a prominent position at the New York Times. A collection of tweets came to light, with Ms. Jeong saying hateful things about white people. A controversy ensued, and the NYT issued a statement of support. Sarah Jeong is the internet sensation of the hour.
Andrew Sullivan published a commentary, When Racism Is Fit to Print. It was widely denounced. Many took issue with its thesis that the controversial tweets are racist. @Bro_Pair I wonder if anyone at NY Magazine knows how demoralizing it is to young writers to see Andrew Sullivan, an ardent white supremacist & scientific racist, attain the lifelong perch Sarah Jeong would be denied for 100% inoffensive tweets @KaivanShroff Andrew Sullivan’s piece is problematic in many ways. But the main point of foolishness is YOU CANNOT BE RACIST AGAINST WHITE PEOPLE. You can only be prejudice against a dominant race. Racism is about in-group vs. out-group power. In the American context whites are in-group.
To PG, the racism issue is beside the point. Maybe Ms. Jeong is racist. Maybe she is prejudiced but not racist. Maybe she is bigoted, but not prejudiced or racist. Whatever. To-may-to to-mah-to. Maybe a better comment about her twitter account comes from a colleague.@mslopatto Congrats to my pal and yours @sarahjeong – just a shame for all of us her twitter is about to be a lot less fun.
“I engaged in what I thought of at the time as counter-trolling. While it was intended as satire, I deeply regret that I mimicked the language of my harassers. These comments were not aimed at a general audience, because general audiences do not engage in harassment campaigns. I can understand how hurtful these posts are out of context, and would not do it again,” This is the *apology* issued by Sarah Jeong. It is a classic of internet logic. The statement is convincing evidence of one central fact. Sarah Jeong is an asshat.
Twenty five years before Sarah Jeong was born, white American soldiers were fighting in Korea. Many white American soldiers died, to keep South Korea from being conquered by North Korea. When Sarah Jeong was three years old, she came to live in the United States, and did very well. (“I’m a very privileged person.) White American soldiers died so that Sarah Jeong could have this fabulous life. This is how Sarah Jeong says thank you. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
One History Of Religion
I was a southern baptist all my life. Arguably, I became a baptist when my mother converted in 1938, but really didn’t get with the program until I was born in 1954. The story is that Daddy called the choir director at six in the morning to sign me up.
First Baptist in Atlanta was a big church on Peachtree street, about a mile north of downtown. (A few years ago, they sold the land to a developer, and moved to the suburbs. I was working a block away when they tore down the building, and got some chips of brick as a souvenir.) I sang in the “cherub” choir. This was quite an experience when we performed in front of a full house. I have good memories of Sunday school, vacation bible school, and the choir program.
One thing I did not like, even at that young age, was the preacher. He was a greasy haired man who shouted a lot, and had a mean streak. Years later, I heard persistent rumors that he was gay. (I should note that this is not Charles Stanley. It is the man who preceded him.) One Sunday, we were watching him preach, and he shouted, “this is the word of G-d”. He then waved a Bible in the air, and slammed it into the pulpit. I thought, if that is the word of G-d, maybe he shouldn’t slam it down like that.
In 1962, mom and dad decided to move to a church closer to home. I liked Briarcliff Baptist. About this time, I first heard about being “saved from sin”, and thought it was a pretty cool idea. I also was in the cub scouts, and since their meetings were the same day as choir practice, I quit the choir. I attended church regularly the next few years, but never did join the church, and get baptized. The custom of pressuring children to make a “commitment of faith”, and get baptized, reflects poorly on Jesus.There are some other family issues that came up about this time. They are too personal to get into here, but they affected my attitude towards the church.
After a while, I was 17 years old, and working in a restaurant that was open until 1am on Saturday night. I decided one Sunday that I didn’t want to get up for church. I have only been back to that building once in the intervening 47 years. This is a repost, with pictures from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Robocall For Sally Harrell
PG was minding his own business. Armistead Maupin is appearing at the dickhater book festival, and PG was getting the details. A picture had just been exported. Then the phone rang. It was 20/20 Insight with a *brief* public opinion survey. “20/20 Insight LLC is a full service public opinion research firm that provides services to Democratic candidates and advocacy organizations.”
After a couple of minutes, the focus turned to the race for the Georgia Senate 40th District. The combatants were incumbent Fran Millar, and Democratic opposition Sally Harrell. A few *achievements* of Ms. Harrell were listed. Would this make you more likely to vote for her? A few of Fran Millar’s sins were listed. Does this make you have an unfavorable opinion of him? It became obvious who was paying for the call.
Throughout the call, the incumbent was called Miller, like tastes-great-less-filling. This seemed odd, since the name is spelled Millar. A phone call to Millar headquarters confirmed that Miller is the correct pronunciation. “That is one thing she did get right.”
“…when you sit down next to someone at the church picnic who genuinely loves and respects the black people they know but who consistently votes for politicians with overtly racist policies… ” This is one of the clues for spotting a racist, according to the NYT. Since the 40th district is mostly prosperous white people, it is not politically advantageous to talk about race. The talking points shared in this survey were that Sally Harrell is pro-education, and that Fran Millar voted against expanding Medicare. Both of these issues affect POC and PWOC. Neither is an “overtly racist policy.” Maybe the church picnic someone will have to find another reason to vote.
The brief survey went on, and on, and on. You answer by pushing buttons on a phone, and have to listen to endless options before making your choice. This is especially annoying with the racial demographics, where you have to consider “Hawaiin or other Pacific Islander” before saying it is NOYB. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Richards
A comment at a recent post mentioned “Jenning’s Rose Room, a classic poor white juke and dance hall … where Trader Joes now sits.” PG had been in that building when it was called Richards. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
There is no telling what the original use of the building at 931 Monroe Drive was. It was across the street from Grady Stadium, and adjacent to Piedmont Park. The railroad tracks that became the beltline ran behind it. The parking lot was primitive, with a marquee sign built at some point. (PG drove by that sign several nights and saw that Lynyrd Skynyrd was playing.)
There was another nightclub building on the hill behind JRR. One night, PG went to see a jazz band there, accompanied by someone who lived in a nearby house. After seeing the band, PG was led to a horse stable behind the bar. The horses were not well maintained … you could see the ribs sticking out. There is a story of a goat getting loose from the stable, and being chased out of the jazz bar during happy hour.
Jennings Rose Room was before PG’s time. There is a story that some men had lunch there, and made a bet. The idea was to hit a golf ball from the JRR parking lot, and putt it into a hole at Piedmont Park. A biscuit was used as a tee. The first shot went across the street, onto the field at the stadium. Eventually, the ball was hit across Tenth Street, onto a green, and into the cup.
At some point, Jennings Rose Room closed. A gay club called Chuck’s Rathskeller was opened in that location. A rock and roll club or two did business there. Then Richards opened.
The first time PG was in the house was after a Johnny Winter concert at the Fox. There were rumors of visiting musicians dropping by Richards to play after their shows. Mr. Winter was only onstage for a couple of minutes after PG got there.
The most memorable trip to Richards was during the summer of 1973. The headliner was Rory Gallagher, who was ok but not spectacular. The opening act was Sopwith Camel, one of the forgotten bands of the seventies. They performed a novelty hit, “Hello Hello”. Someone in the audience liked it, and paid them to do it again. The band wound up doing “Hello Hello” five times, and said that was the most money they made in a long time.
Average White Band was making the rounds that fall, and had a show at Richards. A lot of the audience was black, and they hit the dance floor in unison when “Pick up the Pieces” was played. Fellow Scotsman Alex Harvey was in town, and joined AWB to sing “I heard it through the grapevine”.
Muddy Waters played at Richards one night. The band did most of the playing, with Mr. Waters tossing in a few licks on bottleneck guitar. He might have sang a couple of times.
About this time, Iggy Pop played a few shows at Richards. One night, someone snuck up on him, and gave him a hug. It was Elton John, wearing a gorilla suit.
PG saw three more shows (that he can remember) at Richards. Richie Havens was worth the two dollar admission. Soft Machine played in the winter of 1974. Larry Coryell played a show that summer, with the Mike Greene Band opening. PG got to talk to Mike Greene that night. The National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences (who do the Grammy Awards) had a President named C. Michael Greene at one time. PG thinks this is the person he talked to that night.
Two friends of PG went, as their first date, to see Spirit at Richards. They were married a few years later. Towards the end of 1974, Richards was running out of steam. They advertised a New Years Eve show starring B.B. King, and sold high priced tickets. When the crowd showed up for the show, they found the doors locked. Richards had closed.
The next tenant for 931 Monroe Drive was going to be Cabaret After Dark, a gay club. There was a fire the night before the grand opening. The building was never used again. Eventually, a shopping center was built on the site.
UPDATE: Here is an article, from the Great Speckled Bird, about Richards. The 010975 edition of the Bird had an article about Richards closing. This is a repost.
Chamblee54 
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