Atomic Bomb Aftermath

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks during World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at the order of U.S. President Harry S. Truman. After six months of intense firebombing of 67 other Japanese cities, the nuclear weapon "Little Boy" was dropped on the city of Hiroshima on Monday, August 6, 1945, followed on August 9 by the detonation of the "Fat Man" nuclear bomb over Nagasaki. These are to date the only attacks with nuclear weapons in the history of warfare.
The bombs killed as many as 140,000 people in Hiroshima and 80,000 in Nagasaki by the end of 1945, roughly half on the days of the bombings. Since then, thousands more have died from injuries or illness attributed to exposure to radiation released by the bombs. In both cities, the overwhelming majority of the dead were civilians.
The picture to the left represents the aftermath of the Hiroshima bomb in Japan. Knowing that the U.S. possesses one of the the strongest military defenses, does this image strengthen or weaken your opinion about the current war we are in? Are we turning the Iraq war into a image of devestation as pictured in World War II? Or are we helping? In relation to the image explain your feelings on this photo and its relation to the war we are now in. Is the U.S. too powerful? Or are we not doing enough and should enforce consequences such as the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on the current countries we are engaged in war with?

Children as Soldiers in Africa

It is estimated that there are more than 120,000 children , around the age of seven, that are being used as soldiers in Africa. The young boys that are recruited fight on the front lines of combat, participate in suicide missions, act as spies, and often carry messages across enemy lines. While the young girls that are used as soldiers rarely fight, they are mostly subject to sexual abuse and taken as wives for the rebel leaders. After being recruited by Warlords the young children are drugged, brainwashed, and trained so that they feel no emotion when it comes to killing. And a lot of the children have to pass a test after being recruited, the test is for them to kill their whole family. Why do you think that leaders of militia groups in Africa target children when it comes to recruiting new soldiers? What do you think this does to their mind?

Mass Meat Recall

This is a photograph at the Hallmark/Westland meat packing company in California. This past February the largest meat recall in history was made. The recall comes after the government confirmed that "downer cows", which are cows so injured or sick that they can't stand up, were processed and entered into the nation's food supply. The U.S. Department of Agriculture had to recall 143 million pounds of frozen beef from Hallmark. About 37 million pounds of this recalled beef went to school programs in 36 states, but they believe most of the meat probably has already been eaten. A USDA veterinarian is SUPPOSED to check each downer cow and make sure it is not diseased, but that hasn’t happened.
What is your reaction to hearing this information? Did you know that this had just taken place? Why do you think that contaminated foods would be distributed to the public? What do you think has happened to the regulations that were put in place to keep this sort of thing from happening?

The U.S. soldier leans against the wall attentively with his weapon during a cordon and search in the Rashid district of Baghdad as an Iraqi girl leans against the wall, relaxed while blowing bubbles. Different people in different worlds sharing the same space. Contrast the different roles of the two people in this image? How is it compelling to you? Does it change the opinion of your look at the war?

This is a photograph taken by Marc Riboud in 1967. It was taken at an anti-Vietnam War march outside the Pentagon. It captures the core values of the hippie movement.

Kasmir (the woman with the flower) later said, “All of a sudden, I realized ‘them’ was that soldier in front of me—a human being I could just as easily have been going out on a date with. It wasn’t a war machine, it was just a bunch of guys with orders. Right then, it went from being a fun, hip trip to a painful reality.”

What does this picture say about our right to free speech through expression? Was the woman “asking” for trouble? How does this picture represent the time period? Does it or does it not apply to the present day?