Today we continue to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the first use of nuclear weapons in war. On August 6 1945 the US army dropped the first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima Japan with devastating effect. The intergenerational effects of the atomic bomb are ongoing and first up we'll hear from Kazuyo Yamane daughter of a Hibakusha speaking at speaking at a forum called Remembering Hiroshoma held by the Nuclear Truth Project last year.Next we delve into the Radioactive Show archives and bring you an interview with Jack Sennet who was based in Hiroshima with the Australian airforce just after the bombing. In March 1946, Australia was assigned to Hiroshima and the surrounding area as part the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF). The program was first broadcast on the Radioactive Show on August 6 1994. Thanks to Eric Miller for the archives and Sam Gibbard for making those available to us.In Naarm Melbourne there is a 80 years since Hiroshima - day of commemoration: Morning vigil as part of a global week of action to commemorate the terrible atomic bombings in Japan and to collectively remember that something like this should never happen again. 8-9 am: In the morning of Wednesday August 6 there will be a silent vigil from 8-9am (8.15 am was the time of the actual bombing on the day) at St Paul's Catherdral for a time of commemoration.12-1 pm: The Peace Choir will be singing in front of the State Library Victoria.1-1.15 pm: procession to Trades hall1.15-1.30pm: Group photo in front of the huge ICAN banner at Trades Hall1.30-2 pm: Tea and snacks at Trades Hall with a speaker from the Japanese community.All the details can be found at melbournefoe.org.au/events.The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons has webinar on Sunday 3rd of from 4-7pm 'Victims of Nuclear Weapons and Testing'.And from 7-8pm on Wednesday 6 August a webinar 'The Fire Still Burns, Hiroshima Disarmamanet and Resistance'. You can find all the details and links to registar for these events at icanw.org.au/action.
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80 Years of the Atomic Bomb!
On the 16th of July, 1945 at 5.30am the US detonated the first atomic weapon in the Jornada del Muerto desert over the lands of the Pueblo, Navajo, and Apache peoples of what's now know as New Mexico. No one was evacuated from the area and the people living downwind are still suffering to this day due to the intergenerational impacts of exposure to radiation. And whilst their campaigning has seen some compensation delivered it is still not sufficient.The atomic bomb had been developed by the US military at the secret scientific Los Alamos laboratory under the name the Manhattan Project. Scientists had identified two fissile isotopes for potential use in bombs: uranium-235 and plutonium-239. Uranium-235 became the basis of the 'Little Boy' bomb, first used (without prior testing) in the bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945; and the design used in the Trinity test, and eventually used in the 'Fat Man' bomb dropped on Nagasaki on 9 August 1945, was based on plutonium.There are now over 12,000 nuclear weapons around the world and with the doomsday clock set to 89 seconds to midnight, the closest its ever been, they threaten all our lives.For the last 80 year people around the world have been working to eliminate this terrible invention. Today we speak with Dr. Margie Beavis from the Medical Association for the Prevention of War and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) about their current work and events planned to commemorate these horrific events.ICAN is holding a 'Week of Action for Abolition' from August 2-8 and you can find all the details and links to registar for events at icanw.org.au/action.We also bring you part of a speech from nuclear disarmament campaigner and Hibakusha, Testsuko Thurlow who was 13 year old school girl that survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. This was recorded at the ICAN Nobel Peace Prize celebrations in December 2017.
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Empire and AI
Have you been thinking about AI aka Artificial intelligence, or AGI aka Artificial General Intelligence recently? It’s moving so fast and I think it’s vital that we engage critically with it. Today I’ll bring you audio thanks to Democracy Now, an interview with Karen Hao, the author of a recent book ‘Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares and Sam Altman’s Open AI.’ I found it to be a pertinent conversation, I’m sharing some excerpts of it here, but recommend checking out the full interview at democracynow.org
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Protecting Kokatha Country: The next generations
For this year's NAIDOC theme 'The Next Generation: Strength, Legacy & Vision' we hear two generations of Googatha (Kokatha) people discussing caring for country. Aunty Sue Haseldine is a Googatha elder that has been leading 6 monthly Rockhole Recovery trips to care for sacred waterholes, part of the Seven Sisters songline. She outlines the importance of the country and current threats from Southern Launch's rocket testing range. We hear from two grandchildren Wayne and Wana about what these trips means to them and their vision for the future as young Kokatha people.Support the Googatha Mula country by donating toward the Rockhole Recovery trips.Support the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance.Learn more about Southern Launch's rocket testing range and the documentary coming soon Native Title Rockets.
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The Land Remembers and Love Transforms, Yoorrook Walk for Truth.
This weeks episode we gratefully share Travis Lovett's speech from the Yoorrook Walk for Truth. Songs by Barkaa and Kee'ahn. Ngā mihi nui.
South Africa