TODAY. Is it now OK to talk about ethics again?

The film “Oppenheimer” has raised some awkward questions about the use of weaponry to blast human beings to bits.

And right now, the USA leaders have decide that it’s OK to use cluster bombs and depleted uranium weapons to blow up and poison the “evil” Russians. No doubt Putin will by now have decided to do the same to the “evil” Ukrainians.

Everyone now is seeming to ponder on whether the nuclear bombing of thousands of people is really an OK thing to do.

While I am not minimising the awfulness of atomic bombing, I am thinking of some other things that aren’t very nice, either. Take for example, the Allied bombing of Dresden in February 1945. The main purpose of incinerating this city, (a cultural, not a military, centre) was to frighten and demoralise the civilian population of Germany.

That bombing was so cleverly done. one day, with thousands of bombs killing thousands of people. Then the Allies waited until the next day, when firemen and rescuers had arrived in the ruins, to do the next bombing, again killing many thousands.

So – what weapons are OK? What cruelties are justifiable?

World War 2 does present a dilemma – when the world was confronted with a uniquely evil regime. And I don’t know the answer. But there must be other ways.

The Ukraine situation presents evils, (and on both sides), but it is nowhere near that unique horror of Nazism.

The movie “Oppenheimer” raises the question of ethics and nuclear bombing.

An ethical question is: are there ways other than cruel killing, to resolve conflicts?

The men in charge of the world think that there aren’t. But perhaps they are wrong.

July 22, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes

7 Comments »

After the Civil War, “dumb-dumb bullets” that mushroomed on impact were banned. After World War I chlorine, phosgene and mustard and other chemical weapons were supposedly banned, despite the Chemical Weapons Ban Treaty, the US at least is finally destroying their stockpiles of nerve gas, mustard gas and other gas munition stockpiles. And after the horrors of Hiroshoma & Nagasaki, Eisenhower started “Atoms for Peace,” and now both India and Pakistan both have the bomb. Then we had troops practicing manuvers on the “atomic battlefield,” marching into the fallout & blast zones to see the effectivesness of military troops after nuking an enemy. Now so many of those soldiers and sailors who witness and marched both those “small yield nukes,” and the nuclear tests in the Pacific, are dieing or have died from radiation sickness, cancer and other early death diseases. This is all shown in the documentary, “Paul Jacobs and the Nuclear Gang.” Paul Jacobs a journalist, who walked into the “atomic battlefield,” and testing zones when we still did atmospheric testing, died of cancer shortly after the film was completed. We have developed the “neutron bomb” which had supposedly limit blast impact that was designed just to kill people with radiation to save the buildings. Imagine, conquering a foreign nation and securing the remaining buildings with no people, just corpses. And now with artificial intelligence, we will be living on a trip wire, of “launch on warning,” and if you can remember the General that George C. Scott played in “Dr. Strangelove,” “we will get the Russians with their pants down.” One thing for sure, both Biden and Putin will prove that we are all cremated equally.

Comment by paulrodenlearning | July 22, 2023 | Reply
After sending 200 billion to ukraine w cluster bombs ad depleted uranium munitins over 2 years, its off the radar.

Comment by Vm | July 22, 2023 | Reply
Nuclear bomb can never be used. Its evil that they make them and keep them

Comment by Npp | July 22, 2023 | Reply
The mass bombing of cities started in Quernico during the Spanish war by German Stuka bombers. Germany helped Generalisimo Franko, to establish a Naziolistic Regime in Spain.
Then Germany bombed English cities during the so Called Blitz Krieg.
The Allies then Started to copy the same thing and terrorized German Cities.

Comment by oldtimer2022 | July 22, 2023 | Reply
Child mortality at birth and maternal mortality at birth highest ever in the usa in 2023
Infant mortality can occur for a number of reasons, including birth trauma caused by medical negligence. The CDC reports that the leading causes of infant death include: birth abnormalities (21 percent) Disorders related to low birth weight or preterm birth (17 percent) women with chronic birthing problems
Highest mortality rates in some of themost chemically and industral areas.
So much nuclear and chemical pollution in usa. Like handmaids tale

Comment by Ouvoia | July 22, 2023 | Reply
What happened to Fukushima Diary, arclight2011, Fukushima Watchdogs?

Comment by GEMMA | July 24, 2023 | Reply
- Gemma – I think that arclight (Sean McGee) is still going strong – tweets at @arclight2011. Does all sorts of interesting activism. He is in Ireland. I’m a little worried that I don’t hear much from him.
  Fukushima watchdogs – still going strong – https://dunrenard.wordpress.com/about/
  I don”t know why he is not sending stuff, but he is still brilliantly active – https://fukushima-diary.com/
  He is in Japan.
  
  Comment by Christina Macpherson | July 24, 2023 | Reply