By Leonard Eiger July 16th marks the day 78 years ago when the United States let the nuclear genie out of the lamp. On July 16, 1945, at 5:29:45 AM at the Alamogordo Test Range, on the Jornada del Muerto (Journey of Death) desert, in the test named Trinity, Manhattan Project scientists detonated the experimental device known as the “Gadget,” creating a light “brighter than a thousand suns.” A mere 6 kilogram (13.2 pound) sphere of plutonium, compressed to supercriticality by the surrounding high explosives, created an explosion equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT (20 Kilotons). Was this, as thought […]
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Following The Golden Rule
By Leonard Eiger For most of humanity’s recorded time on Earth people have tried to follow the Golden Rule, which is essentially the principle of treating others as we would like to be treated. And yet today it seems that in far too many ways and situations this fundamental axiom has been turned on its head, especially when it comes to relations among nations. Racism, xenophobia, militarism, and their ultimate manifestation – nuclear weapons – rule the day as a symbol and tool of power in many nations. As for the United States, we have twisted the Golden Rule, expecting […]
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Having Enemies is a Choice
By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, April 23, 2023 https://worldbeyondwar.org/having-enemies-is-a-choice/ What’s something that nobody can give you unless you want it? An enemy. This ought to be obviously true in both the personal sense and the international sense. In your personal life, you acquire enemies by seeking them out and choosing to have them. And if, through no fault of your own, someone is cruel to you, the option remains of not behaving cruelly in return. The option remains of not even thinking anything cruelly in return. That option might be extremely difficult. That option might be one that you […]
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Before the Bombs Drop, the Platitudes Fall
Guest essay by Robert Koehler* Planet Earth is in desperate need of an honest discussion about the elimination of nuclear weapons and, God help us, ultimately transcending war. What is democracy but platitudes and dog whistles? The national direction is quietly predetermined — it’s not up for debate. The president’s role is to sell it to the public; you might say he’s the public-relations director in chief: “. . . my Administration will seize this decisive decade to advance America’s vital interests, position the United States to outmaneuver our geopolitical competitors, tackle shared challenges, and set our world firmly on a path […]
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Horrifying “Small” Talk about Nuclear Weapons
By John LaForge Editor’s Note: Originally published in CounterPunch.org on November 7, 2022. John is co-director of Nukewatch, a peace and environmental justice group in Wisconsin, and is co-editor with Arianne Peterson of “Nuclear Heartland, Revised: A Guide to the 450 Land-Based Missiles of the United States.” Gideon Rachman reported October 31 in a Financial Times column that, “… senior U.S. officials point out that the smallest tactical nuclear weapons might kill hundreds of people, rather than thousands — and devastate and irradiate just a few square miles.” Rachman’s use of the phrases “might kill hundreds” and “just a few square miles” is outrageous […]
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