Fat Man

70 Year Old Little Boy

We've been told that dropping the bomb saved lives and that Japan would have never surrendered had we not used the bomb. 

The truth is, the Japanese military officials knew their defeat was at-hand and hoped to negotiate a conditional surrender to prevent more of their cities from being firebombed.* Meanwhile, Washington imposed deliberately difficult unconditional terms to perpetuate the war long enough to test the newest weapons** in the arsenal.  A new extensive and expensive secret industry had been created to build these bombs and officials wanted to use them in a real war scenario to test their effectiveness. 

A handful of virgin  targets were off-bounds to firebomb raids and designated as primary and secondary atomic bomb targets. On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was the primary. The skies were clear, and it was a perfect day to roll out the previously untested uranium gun weapon nicknamed, Little Boy.

After the new technology*** had been demonstrated, the Japanese conditional terms of surrender were met and credit was given to the bomb for bringing the war to a swift end. 

* The firebombing raids on major Japanese cities resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Japanese citizens and wide-spread destruction, equivalent to atomic weapons damage. But the a-bomb only required one aeroplane to inflict the same amount of damage that it took hundreds of B-29 fire-bombers to accomplish.

** A long skinny uranium gun weapon nicknamed Little Boy and a bulbous beast of a bomb appropriately named Fat Man. The former, was detonated a thousand feet above the city of Hiroshima, and produced a 13.5 kiloton blast that destroyed that city. Fat Man, a plutonium implosion device, produced a 17 kiloton blast over Nagasaki three days later. 

*** There were other options on the table that would have spared cities and civilian lives. It had been proposed that we simply invite Japanese officials to witness a demonstration of the awesome destructive power of the bomb. Unfortunately, the desire for real battlefield blast data outweighed the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Creation of the Atomic Servant - Trinity Turns Seventy

 Let there be light

  Seventy years ago today, at 5:29 in the morning, the first plutonium implosion device, code named* Trinity, was detonated atop a 20 meter tall tower at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The Trinity test resulted in a 20 kiloton explosion that turned the twilight into brilliant, blinding bright light. One unsuspecting observer from ten miles away was blinded by the sight... the last thing he saw was the first atomic detonation. 

Since that pivotal morning seventy years ago, two atomic weapons have been detonated over populated cities, and the international proliferation of nuclear technology has resulted in hundreds of above-ground and subterranean detonations. In that same time, nuclear energy has been harnessed, with the promise that the friendly atom would be mankind's servant. 

With the servant motif in mind, lets explore the notion that the atomic high priests of the Manhattan project, unwittingly created an atomic Golem on this date in 1945.

THE GOLEM

The story of the Golem is an ancient Judaic legend about the mystical creation of a man-like creature who ultimately becomes a monster. According to the tradition, a kabbalist** forms the image of a man out of clay, in emulation of God, forming Adam from the dust of the Earth. Then, mystical rites are performed, and the Hebrew word emet*** is carved into the forehead of the clay man, who then becomes animated. The Golem grows larger every day, and functions as a servant at first, but soon becomes an overgrown giant who destroys everything in its path.

The Golem can only be stopped by rubbing out the letter alef on his forehead, leaving two remaining letters, mem and tav, (mot - Hebrew for death). The Golem grows too tall for its creator to reach its forehead, but with the aid of a ladder, the kabbalist is able ascend to a height where he can erase the alef. The Golem immediately returns to a heap of clay, topples over on its creator, and crushes him to death.

The Atomic Golem that was created on July 16, 1945 by technological kabbalists has grown.**** The nuclear disasters at Chernobyl and Fukashima are evidence that the atomic Golem can behave like an out-of-control monster. Atomic marketeers tout the fact that nuclear facilities have been designed to withstand credible events, but there will no doubt be more nuclear disasters in the future because incredible events cannot be predicted or planned for.

*Trinity is an interesting choice for a name because it invokes an archaic Christian terminology for deity; as if those technological high priests intended to signify that their creation is the new god.

**A Jewish mystic - a holy man - a keeper of secret knowledge.

***alefmemtav = emet - Hebrew for truth
According to kabbalists, alef is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and represents Adam, the first man. mem is the exact middle of the alphabet (including the final forms) and is said to represent the messiah who would come in the meridian of time. tav is the last letter of the alphabet, and symbolizes the final judgment.

****"As of 1980 the United States DOD possessed in nuclear arms, the equivalent of six tons of TNT for every living (human) inhabitant on the face of the Earth." Robert Heilbroner - The Making of an Economic Society

Friendly Atom Coming to Utah?

Like ignorant children tugging at a loose thread on daddy's favorite sweater, atomic profiteers are recklessly forging forward with plans to build yet another nuclear power plant, this time in what is quickly becoming known as America's radioactive garbage dump, Utah.

This is the Place?

The persuasive PR and marketing campaigns of the powerful nuclear industry have been effective at convincing politician$ and a naive public that Utah needs a nuclear power plant. Even after the overwhelming evidence from epic events in Chernobyl and most recently Fukkashima, the industry continues to push it's product on unsuspecting citizens.

Safe Clean and Inexpensive?

The Chernobyl disaster can be blamed on outdated technology, but what happened in Fukkashima proved that engineers can't plan for an incredible event. The Fukkashima nuclear power plant was designed to withstand a, so called, credible event. Well, we know what happened there. So much for credible event credibility. Ask the folks in the Ukraine and Japan about the safety of the friendly atom.
Nuclear energy promised to be clean. The fact is, thanks to nuclear disasters in the past, life on Earth has been permanently downgraded everywhere on the planet because radiation does not discriminate or respect national and state boundaries.

Nuclear power promised to be inexpensive. The fact is, no nuclear power project has ever been completed on budget, and this has resulted in citizens paying much higher taxes than promised in order to fund the building and operation of these facilities. Even if nuclear energy could be delivered more inexpensively, the true cost of the industry's permanent impact on the planet is incalculable. And as more accidents occur, radiation levels will increase and our quality of life in Utah and and the rest of the world will decrease.

Is it worth the price?

Have a nice meltdown!

Summer Fun in Utah 2011

What a fun and interesting summer it has been. While Mason was hanging out with King Crimson, getting trapped in New York with Mighto Mo when Hurricane Irene caused such a fuss, Kirt and I were hanging out here in the Great Basin of the United States of America. Here's a small sample... in 3D.

The Tooele Train Museum has an outstanding collection of rail vehicles, including this old locomotive that used to be located near the town swimming pool. The old retired iron horse was later moved to its permanent location at the Train Museum on Vine and Broadway in Tooele, Utah.

Small scale train enthusiasts would love the elaborate working display at the museum.
The above car served as a dining coach for the mobile minuteman missile project in the 1970's. A nuclear missile could be launched from an adjacent boxcar anywhere in America if we had gotten to a "shootin' war with the Ruskies."

Steam Punk... old school

This is likely the bike my dad told me about a long long time ago. According to him, back in the late fifties - early sixties, he had to travel on snowshoe to the mine in Middle Canyon, then open the big metal door to the mine, hop on a rail bike, and ride all the way through the mountain. Once he arrived at the end of the tunnel, he'd open another big metal door, then hike on snowshoes to a rain gauge to record a precipitation reading for Uncle Sam.
This is a 3D photo of the inside of Saltair Resort on the shore of the Great Salt Lake.
Campfire.
Summer is over ;-( but I have some great rememorieZ, and photos to prove it :-)

Six Years Later: How Are We Doing So Far?

Yesterday marked the sixth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Unfortunately, it looks like we'll have a military presence there for a long time to come. So much for change.

To me, one of the most socially impacting and unreported aspects of our involvement in Iraq, is the toxic landscape we have created there. Long after America's troops have all left Iraq, traces of depleted uranium will continue to cause severe birth defects* and drastically affect the quality of life there.

Many Americans are completely unaware that our military used uranium tipped munitions throughout Iraq and Afghanistan. You'd have thought that we'd learned our lesson in Yugoslavia where the terrible effects of depleted uranium were observed and documented. Unfortunately, we adopted an "ignore it and it will go away" attitude toward the obvious side effects of the toxic but effective new weapon.

Depleted uranium is not an atomic weapon. The hardened uranium is used in armor piercing weapons. When a depleted uranium tipped shell impacts its target, the uranium vaporizes and becomes airborne. Unconfined microscopic radioactive particles make their way into the lives of civilians and soldiers alike. Radiation doesn't discriminate. American soldiers who have entered immobilized Iraqi tanks to procure war souvenirs, have unknowingly inhaled radioactive particulates, and contaminated their uniforms with the deadly dust. Gulf War Syndrome, a common debilitating disease among Gulf War vets, may be due in part to depleted uranium exposure.** Here in America, buyers of used Iraq, Afghanistan and Gulf War uniforms may become secondhand victims of depleted uranium poisoning as well. Buyer beware!

I would like to point out that I am not necessarily anti war. I'm all for military destruction of anyone and everyone responsible for what occurred on September 11th, 2001, but would prefer to reach that goal without the unnecessary destruction of innocents. That, I cannot support.

* No wonder they hate us:

Is it really worth it?

By the way, if you couldn't tell, the above photographs are human beings. Their deformities are a result of exposure to depleted uranium.

** Other evidence suggests that Gulf War Syndrome may have been caused by the mandatory anthrax vaccinations of US soldiers because many enlistees who never went to the Gulf have also experienced the same symptoms. The common factor is the vaccinations that were administered to all US military personnel. Soldiers who refused to take the controversial anthrax vaccination were court-marshaled. It has been reported that the French Gulf War soldiers, did not receive the anthrax vaccinations, and have not suffered from Gulf War Syndrome.

Have a nice war!

Oh, and Happy Spring too.

The Road to Knowheresville: Toxic Tooele

Next time you're planning on taking your high-level nuclear waste on vacation with you, be sure you don't visit Skull Valley, Utah... Unless, of course, you have your permit...Then, apparently your high-level nuclear waste is welcome here, and I guess you are welcome to bring in low-level nuclear waste at your own convenience, and without a permit. Tongue in Cheek?


Skull Valley is no stranger to toxic governmental activities, and has seen it all - from rocket tests, to open-air biological weapons tests.

Highway 196 is a long windless road and serves as the primary access from the north.
The old Tekoy Test Range, once a high-tech test area for rockets and related operations, appears more like a ghost town now.
Behind the gate a lone, cracked and overgrown road heads west across the desert.
A bit further south is the location where thousands of sheep mysteriously died in 1968. The infamous Sheep Incident, as it has come to be remembered, was the result of an accident during one of hundreds of open-air chemical weapons tests at the nearby Dugway Proving Grounds. Oops!
Dugway Proving Grounds is off limits to anyone other than official personnel. And they're dead-serious about it too.
Dugway Proving Grounds has hosted hundreds of open-air biological and chemical weapons tests, even intentional meltdowns that were conducted for research purposes.

Looking back into Skull Valley from Lookout Pass reveals part of the expansive property of the Proving Grounds. The Lincoln Continental Highway once passed through Dugway, but now, that route is closed to tourists and historians alike.
To the east of Dugway, over the Stansbury Mountain Range, in Rush Valley, sits the south area of the Tooele Army Depot where Uncle Sam has been busy destroying the United States' chemical weapons stockpile at the Deseret Chemical facility.
TAD was home to the majority of the United States nastiest weapons of mass destruction stockpile. Now, nearly all of the chemical weapons have been eliminated in this high-tech incineration facility.
The Tooele County Emergency Warning System was designed to alert local citizens of chemical and biological leaks, threats and accidents at the proving grounds. Numerous announcement towers are located throughout the county, in the event of an emergency. The system is tested every Wednesday afternoon.

With Deseret Peak in the background, this tower serves the Grantsville Reservoir area.
This tower serves the South-East edge of Tooele. Notice the Tooele Army Depot north area in the valley behind the tower.




If this had been an actual emergency, you may have heard one of the following prepared messages:

"Warning. Warning. An emergency condition exists at Deseret Chemical Depot. Stand by for instructions and tune to a local radio station or television station for emergency information."

"Evacuate. Evacuation is required for your safety. Evacuate quickly and calmly north toward Interstate 80.""Go inside. Stay indoors. Close all windows and doors. Turn off all heating and air intake systems. Stay indoors."

OR

"If you have not evacuated, go inside now for your safety. Close all windows and doors... Stay indoors and stand by for information."

Enjoy your stay in Tooele.

How To Build an Atomic Bomb

On this day in 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for conspiracy to commit espionage for their part in helping the Soviet Union develop a plutonium implosion device like this one.

Fat Man Blueprints

Ironically, the pro-communist German scientist, Klaus Fuchs, did much more to assist the Soviets with their nuclear program than the Rosenbergs, but he was not executed. I wonder... if the Rosenbergs had been German, like the Red Fox, rather than Jewish, would they have been executed? I doubt it.

The Fiendish Side Of The Friendly Atom

The ghostly silent Big Wheel located in the evacuated town of Pripyat.
© Chernobyl Interinform

On this day in 1986, the masque of the friendly atom was ripped off to reveal the fiendish nature of nuclear energy. Every benefit humanity has ever received from atomic power was undone when reactor #4 at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station went critical after a series of explosions which destroyed the housing of the energy block, and resulted in an out-of-control meltdown. The ultimate cost of human life associated with this single event is incalculable.

Time was critical, and days went by before there was any official declaration by the Soviet Government that there was a problem* which would ultimately effect every person on this planet, making us all down-winders to the worst nuclear disaster in history... so far.

Meltdown

Gravity tugged at the heavy radioactive molten core... burning and boring deeper with every passing hour. It would burn its way through to the core of the earth unless it could be stopped. Hundreds of experienced miners were brought to the zone to perform a task never before undertaken. Teams worked non-stop to dig a diagonal shaft to a point directly beneath the highly radioactive molten core. The brave and indefatigable miners hollowed-out a large cavern, then pumped in millions of gallons of liquid nitrogen to create a subterranean reservoir. Nothing like this had ever been attempted, so everyone had their fingers crossed when the core melted through the ceiling of the chamber and dropped into the reservoir of liquid nitrogen. Fortunately it worked, and the meltdown was stopped. Unfortunately, Chernobyl is still an international problem that hasn't gone away and radiation continues to escape the damaged reactor site.

How much is that doggy in the window?

Ten million people were evacuated, many of them farmers, and pet owners, but no accommodations were made for the animals. All the pets and farm animals had to be left behind to fend for themselves. But after it was determined that contaminated creatures could wander out of the zone, extermination teams, called hunters, were sent in to find animals... and kill them. Horses, cows, dogs and cats... nothing was spared. The dead carcasses were dragged to the street, then loaded onto trucks and taken somewhere to be disposed of. Only one bullet per animal was allowed, therefore many were wounded and left to suffer and die.

The dogs barked excitedly. It had been a long time since anyone had been around, and they were happy to hear the voices of the men. With their tails wagging, the dogs came running to greet the armed men.
* "Problem? There's no problem... everything is great... fine... wonderful"

Got atomique?

Have a nice meltdown!

Little Boy and Fat Man

Other than a false air raid warning early in the day, August 6, 1945 was a day just like any other day in Hiroshima. Everyone was going about their daily business - mothers, workers, nuns, and children. Even though the war loomed, and caused economic difficulty, Hiroshima was yet untouched by enemy attack, and everything was pretty much as it had always been. That was all about to change forever.

Earlier that morning, three specially equipped B-29 bombers had taken off from Tinian Air Field. One carried an experimental uranium gun device nicknamed Little Boy, another aeroplane was rigged with special photographic equipment to document the event on film, and the third B-29 was designed to collect scientific data from the blast and its effects. The Little Boy waited in the womb of the B-29 named Enola Gay, after the mother of Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, who piloted her on this particular sortie. There were instructions not to drop the device unless visibility was good. After all, it was important to get good pictures. There were a few clouds, but they cleared in time to release the yet untested uranium weapon. 

Three days later, on August 9th, a different kind of atomic device was dropped on Nagasaki, this time a plutonium implosion device nicknamed Fat Man, (because of its fat and bulbous design), was loaded into a modified B-29 named Bock's Car, and took off from Tinian. Bock's Car was piloted by Major Charles W. Sweeney, and again there were two other B29's sent to rendezvous and document the event. 

What happened to all the pictures?

The official story is that none of the film from the Hiroshima drop turned out, except for one hand-held movie camera on board the Enola Gay, and three days later at Nagasaki, the other two planes failed to show up at rendezvous, so again, only low quality photos taken from Bock's Car are extant. Sounds suspicious to me. In my opinion, it seems more likely that when the gruesome images were viewed by policy makers, a decision was made to not make them public. One thing the newly established nuclear weapons complex didn't want was bad press, and images of entire populated cities vaporizing certainly isn't good publicity no matter what side you're on.

Approximately 70,000 were killed at Hiroshima, and by the end of that year, 140,000 had died as a result of their injuries and radiation poisoning. Similarly in Nagasaki, even though the bomb missed its target by four miles, 40,000 were killed, and the death toll grew to 70,000 by the end of 1945. 

Legacy of Hiroshima documents many stories of children and mothers who witnessed, survived, and endured these terrible events. One boy had been playing with his younger brother, who he said was reaching out to touch a dragonfly on a fence, when suddenly his world was in dark chaos, and he never saw his brother again. It was reported that radioactive black rain fell on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Mothers spent days and weeks frantically searching for their loved ones, while coughing and choking on the radioactive DUST.*


* Poetique by Rhetro Zenberg
Musique by The Industrious Quartet of Fripp Levin Bruford and Belew

(alef)
Sun is rising
Cool breeze blows from the bay
Children rising
Dawn of a new day
Boys are playing
Sisters praying
Water-falling
Mothers calling to those they love... encouraging fair play
(mem)
War birds flying
Speedily on their way
Clouds are clearing
Making clear the way
Course is staying
Boys are praying
Fat Man falling
Mothers calling to those they love... its another air raid!
Are you listening? Can you hear me? Are you listening? Are you hiding?
(tav)
New sun rising
Shock wave on its way
Houses burning
There's no place left to pray
No one playing
Bodies laying
Black rain falling
Mothers calling to those they love...
Can you hear me? Are you listening? Are you hiding in the hot DUST?

Atomic Golem or Atom-God

Today marks the anniversary of the first* atomic detonation... the creation of the Atomic Golem. The story of the golem is an ancient Judaic legend about the creation of a man-like being who ultimately becomes a monster. In the legend, a kabbalist** forms the image of a man out of clay, in emulation of God forming Adam from the DUST of the Earth. Then, mystical rites are performed, and the word emet*** is carved into the forehead of the clay man, who then becomes animated. He grows every day, and functions as a servant at first, but soon becomes an overgrown giant who destroys everything in his path. The golem can only be stopped by rubbing out the letter alef on his forehead, leaving two remaining letters, mem and tav which spells mot - Hebrew for death. In the legend, the golem becomes too tall for the kabbalist to reach its forehead. Eventually, with the aid of a ladder, he rubs out the alef, and the golem returns to a heap of clay, topples over, falling on his creator, crushing him to death.

The Atomic Golem which was created on July 16, 1945 by technological high priests has grown.**** The nuclear disaster in Chernobyl is evidence that he is an out-of-control monster. Can this golem be stopped? Will stopping it crush us?


* At 5:29, in the morning, a Plutonium implosion device called Trinity***** was detonated atop a 20 meter tall tower at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. It produced a 20 kiloton explosion which turned the twilight into brilliant blinding bright light. One unsuspecting observer from ten miles away was permanently blinded by the sight... the last thing he saw was the first atomic detonation.

**A Jewish mystic - a holy man - a keeper of secret knowledge.

***alefmemtav = emet - Hebrew for truth
alef is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet
mem is the exact middle of the alphabet (including the final forms)
tav is the last letter of the alphabet, and symbolizes balanced judgment.

****"As of 1980 the United States DOD possessed in nuclear arms, the equivalent of six tons of TNT for every living (human) inhabitant on the face of the Earth." Robert Heilbroner - The Making of an Economic Society

***** Trinity is an interesting choice for a name, considering that it is an archaic Christian term for God. Atom-god.

"What a legacy we're leaving behind" The Rhino King

My Favorite Worst Book

I love to read, and have devoured hundreds of works over the years. I've found that truth is much stranger than fiction, and usually more interesting too, therefore, non-fiction and works of historical significance are my preference. I do read fiction too... lots of it. This year in fact, I'm focusing on the works of Melville, and so far every other book I've read has been fiction. I'm currently reading an interesting historical novel called 1919 - Misfortune's End by Paula Phelan. Last year I read twelve books, some of which were really good... others were unfortunately wastes of pulp, and my time. One of them was the worst book I have ever read, and strangely, it is also one of my favorites. I knew it would be a difficult read, but I had no idea what a profound impact it would have on me. I would read one chapter every day and at the the end of each chapter I was thrilled to put the book down. I spent the next day pondering what I had read, all the while dreading the time I would have to open those painful pages again. Voices From Chernobyl - The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich should be required reading for everyone on our planet. It was the worst book because of its depressing graphic representations of the grim situation in that region. Being somewhat of a history buff on all things nuclear and nucular, I thought I knew what to expect, but I wasn't prepared for the horror that awaited me on those pages, and I still fight back tears on quiet mornings when I think about it. WARNING! Don't read this book! A must read!

DUST

When I heard DUST for the first time, I had chills from head to toe. I listened to it a couple more times, and was impressed by a feeling of age old tradition meets something new and potentially dangerous. The tune played through my head for weeks, and I felt the same way about it every time. The music inspired me. I hadn't written a song or poem for many years, but couldn't suppress how the piece made me feel. Today I sat down with pen in hand, and a blank piece of white paper in front of me, folded it into thirds, and began to write.

The twentieth century was a time of unprecedented change throughout our world. The atomic age is probably the most pivotal and volatile time in human history, therefore, on this 21st anniversary of the worst nuclear accident* in history, I have chosen the dawn of the atomic age as my lyrical topic... the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
DUST
Poetique by Rhetro Zenberg
Musique by The Industrious Quartet of Fripp Levin Bruford and Belew
(alef)
Sun is rising
Cool breeze blows from the bay
Children rising
Dawn of a new day
Boys are playing
Sisters praying
Water-falling
Mothers calling to those they love... encouraging fair play
(mem)
War birds flying
Speedily on their way
Clouds are clearing
Making clear the way
Course is staying
Boys are praying
Fat Man falling
Mothers calling to those they love... its another air raid!
Are you listening? Can you hear me? Are you listening? Are you hiding?
(tav)
New sun rising
Shock wave on its way
Houses burning
There's no place left to pray
No one playing
Bodies laying
Black rain falling
Mothers calling to those they love... Can you hear me?
Are you listening? Are you hiding in the hot DUST?
*Even though it happened on this day way back in 1986, Chernobyl is a problem that hasn't gone away... the subject of a future post.