There is only one thing about Japan that Geeklawyer does not much care for: the heat. If the sun in the Land of the Rising Sun rose just little less high it might be bearable, but by Christ it’s hot.
But Hiroshima is hot in more than one sense: the reason for Geeklawyer’s visit. On August 6th 1945, rather uncharacteristically, the US dumped a bomb very nearly on the target it was going for, a bridge, and hit the exact administrative centre of Hiroshima. This was, in Geeklawyer’s opinion, some some pretty damned good shooting from 32,000 feet; props to the Enola Gay team.
But in what was to set an historical precedent followed from Vietnam to Iraq & Afghanistan the bomb slaughtered vast numbers of innocent civilians who were then claimed to be enemy combatants: an American general pathetically claimed all the civilians killed were legitimate targets as part of the Japanese war effort: they were supposedly making nuts bolts etc, for the military. This bears the hall marks of what happens in Iraq/Afghanistan now: the SOP is for US troops to drop captured guns near civilians they kill and claim they were fired on. Really, that simply isn’t cricket, in fact it’s very naughty indeed.
In any event, regardless of the personal danger from residual radiation Geeklawyer felt morally compelled to come to Hiroshima as an act of solidarity with its suffering people. The next time some pacifist twat calls Geeklawyer a left-wing/right-wing warmonger Geeklawyer can look him in the eye and say that he deliberately soaked up ionising beta particles that would otherwise have ravaged a Japanese child. And probably a puppy too. And maybe also a lost Hello Kitty. Hell, Geeklawyer is a fucking Nuclear Hero, but where is his medal? Eh? Sold to pay someone’s welfare cheque, that’s where.
If you are in Hiroshima the Bomb Museum is well worth a visit with some pathetic and very poignant exhibits; regrettably Geeklawyer was rather appalled at the pacifist bias and the, frankly, rather over-priced t-shirts. Mass slaughter is never an excuse for losing objectivity or price gouging. A blot on an otherwise rather good visit.
Also rather dubious was the assertion that the Peace Park’s memorial flame would only be put out when the last nuclear weapon was destroyed.
This is mere braggadocio; a well aimed nuclear weapon would put this flame out easily.
Oh my goodness, Geeklawyer with a heart & soul! What other oddities do you keep from the faithful?
One day, if the US grows a conscience, it may well just go and eat itself up with grief/remorse/lots of other harrowing emotions. Rather nice thought I must say.
Peace out.
Heart & Soul me? You mad Australian cow.
Also, your beanie appears to be all skewiff, I’d watch that in future if I was you.
PS: Who took the picture? did you have to Cosh a Pacifist in order to accomplish said image?!
Legions of Japanese schoolchildren fought for the honour of clicking the button in gratitude for my saving them.
Does this mean that are “Buff” … Geeklawyer?
One buffs with French polish but never Geeklawyer, I’d never raise a shine.
You are Buff… that should have been….
You appear to be wearing a pair of underpants over your head? Are you OK in Japan?
I know they do weird things over there… or is this a new fashion you picked up at Glasto?
No, it was a mysterious cloaking device given to me by my ninja trainers. It allows one to sneak into the palace of any emperor and make up his futon in an unacceptably bad way.
should have edited out the tits; surely your face can’t be that bad????
and applause for exhorting the damned whining japanese to stop worrying about pacifism and concentrate on the positive aspects of nuclear weaponry and warfare in general.
that would presumably be the reduction of traffic problems and the interesting frescoes in the aftermath of a bomb.
look forward to your post from belsen urging us to celebrate the positive aspects of the mass slaughter of jews, homosexuals, communists, roma etc. perhaps a shame they did nothing about the ip lawyers. something of an oversight.
i take it you made many new friends in japan. you probably need a hiroshiman penpal to make the blog complete.
Wrong venue? Fat Man was Nagasaki