REMEMBER THE
BOMBINGS OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI
On 6th August
1945 the United States of America dropped an atomic bomb on the
Japanese city of Hiroshima
" Up to 180,000 people were killed from a population of 350,000
" The firestorm destroyed 13 sq km of the city
" Over 60% of buildings were completely destroyed
Three days later on 9th August a second atomic bomb was detonated
over the city of Nagasaki
" Up to 100,000 people were killed from a population of 240,000
" Nearly a quarter of all buildings were consumed in flames
In total about 250,000 people died in the first few days. Everyone
within half a mile of the bombs was instantly vaporised by intense
heat. All that was left was their shadows burnt into stone walls.
Those caught in the open were killed by heat and blast waves. Huge
winds destroyed any remaining buildings. Thousands were killed by
falling debris or suffocated because the oxygen in the air had burnt
away. In the days, weeks and months that followed thousands more
died from their injuries or from the effects of radioactive fallout.
Years later survivors developed radiation induced cancers and intestinal
problems. Children of survivors were more likely to be born with
genetic deformities or develop leukaemia.
In both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the overwhelming majority of people
killed were civilians, ordinary men, women and children.
All of this was caused by just TWO nuclear weapons.
Today we live in a world where there are 30,000 nuclear weapons.
UK Trident warheads are nearly EIGHT TIMES MORE powerful that the
bomb that exploded on Hiroshima.
Together we can work to change this suicidal madness.
*Join CND - the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament take a membership
leaflet today or join online www.cnduk.org
*Ask for a speaker to come to your school, college, church or community
group
*Support your
local Hastings Against War
Sad Vigil
Almost all
we hear these days about the war in Afghanistan is when the mainstream
media reports a British army major saying a "corner has been
turned" and the occupation forces are "winning" the
battle to subjugate the country. The reality is very different,
according to analysts who go beyond military propaganda handouts.
More than 1,500
people have been killed this year. They are always described as
"insurgents" or "the enemy" in official reports,
but most are in fact civilians killed under a "bomb now, ask
questions later" policy. The US government wants more countries
to send troops to bolster their aggression,
as the Afghan resistance continues to control large swathes of the
country. The deaths of British soldiers,until now only noted briefly
in media reports, has reached 100 on Sunday 8th. June.
Hastings Against War called for a vigil in the town centre on Monday
9th. to remember those British servicemen and many thousands of
uncounted Afghan civilians. 18 to 20 people congregated in Wellington
place where many of them chalked on the pavement names of known
British and Afghan victims of this unwanted war.
Film - On
the Verge
On the Verge
documents the 5 year campaign against a factory in Brighton that
manufactures components for fighter planes and bombs used in Iraq.
It uses film footage from the campaigners, the police, and CCTV
from the factory, along with interviews with the people involved
with the campaign.
It is called On the Verge because protestors outside the factory
were forced by a court injunction to stand on a tiny strip of grass
between the road and a steep drop to a railway line. If they stepped
off the verge, or aimed a camera at the EDO/MBM factory, they were
liable to arrest. The film documents the relationship between the
campaigners, the police, the factory workers and the private security
firm hired by EDO MBM. It also shows footage of demonstrations in
Brighton town centre, and shows how individual campaigners were
targeted for harassment and arrest. Despite several arrests through
the campaign, nearly all charges against the protestors were dropped
-- because the security firm and police had behaved inappropriately.
When premiered in Brighton, the screening was stopped by Police
on a technical point (like many small budget and experimental films,
it didn't have a "Board of Censors" certificate).
Soundtrack by Bela Emerson plus Tragic Roundabout and others.
For more information, check out:
http://www.smashedo.org.uk
http://www.schnews.org.uk/schmovies/index-on-the-verge.htm
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