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dahiyars
August 1st, 2007, 12:02 AM
No More Bombs—No More Wars---We Want Peace
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks during World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States of America under US President Harry S. Truman. On August 6, 1945, the nuclear weapon "Little Boy" was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, followed on August 9, 1945 by the detonation of the "Fat Man" nuclear bomb over Nagasaki. They are the only instances of the use of nuclear weapons in warfare.It is estimated that as many as 140,000 had died in Hiroshima by the bomb and its associated effects, with the estimate for Nagasaki roughly 74,000. Almost all of the casualties were a direct result of the bomb itself, with very few people dying from radiation induced illnesses. In both cities, the overwhelming majority of the deaths were those of civilians.
The first nuclear device, called "Gadget," was detonated during the "Trinity" test near Alamogordo, New Mexico on July 16, 1945. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs were the second and third to be detonated and as of 2007 the only ones ever detonated in a military action.
Medical Effects
Our understanding of the health effects of a nuclear explosion is based on data collected in Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as from test explosions and large accidents at nuclear power plants, like the accident at Chernobyl in 1986. The overall effects of a nuclear explosion are a heat wave, a pressure wave and radiation. The radiation is what distinguishes a nuclear explosion from any other large-scale explosion.
The Heat Wave
Burns as a direct effect of the explosion and massive fires resulting from the explosion.
The Pressure Wave
Injuries from the blast of the explosion as well as from flying objects resulting from the pressure wave created by the blast.
The Radiation
Leads to as well short-term as long-term injuries. The short term effects is called Radiation Sickness and results in symptoms due to central nervous system dysfunction; nausea, vomiting and diarrhea from injury to the gastrointestinal tract leading to fatal dehydration and malnutrition; and life-threatening infections and uncontrolled bleeding due to failure to produce new blood cells. The long-term effects of radiation are malformations of newborn children of mothers exposed to radiation and a variety of cancers, especially lymphomas and thyroid cancer.
Additional to the above the trauma of experiencing a nuclear explosion and being confronted with death and injuries cause mental disabilities similar to those experienced in other contexts of war like acute stress disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
IPPNW has conducted studies of the effects of a nuclear explosion over a major city based on data from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombs exploded over Hiroshima and Nagasaki were in the order of 10 KT. The average size of a nuclear warhead today is in the order of 1 MT and the calculations are therefore adjusted to that.
Military budgets of nuclear weapon states are enormous. The military expenditures subtracts from investment in health and social systems with devastating effects for the population's health. Based on the above the WHO has stated that nuclear weapons are the largest immediate threat to human health. We simply have no cure in the case of a nuclear explosion. All we can do is to work for the prevention of a holocaust through global nuclear disarmament.
The Cost We are Paying
The Costs of nuclear weapons programs is enormous and for every dollar invested in advanced weapon systems a dollar less is invested in health, education, social welfare and development.
It has been argued that nuclear weapons are cost-effective because they provided more explosive power than conventional weapons. Today that is not completely true. We have extremely powerful and advanced conventional weapons today as it was demonstrated in Afghanistan and Iraq. The argument leaves out of consideration whether the extreme explosive power of a nuclear weapon is really needed. It leaves out of consideration the immense destruction of society and the environment and the unjustifiable loss of civilian lives.
The US has spent more than 5.5 trillion $ in developing their nuclear arsenal and France has spent about 1.5 trillion $. And these numbers do not include the costs of testing, fissile material production, storage and disposal. The costs for other nuclear weapon states are probably similar, but those numbers are not publicly available.
To put this into perspective the price of global elimination of starvation, provision of health care, provision of shelter and clean water, elimination of illiteracy, provision of sustainable energy, debt relief for developing countries, clearance of landmines and more has been estimated to be about 260 billion $ annually for 10 years.
It costs a lot of money to simply store, transport and maintain nuclear weapons. It costs much more to develop new weapons and as long as nuclear weapons exist, history has showed that new weapons will be developed.

R.S.Dahiya

gaganjat
August 6th, 2007, 07:50 AM
thanks for the latest news ! (1945's was it)