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Today, August 6th, marks the 65th anniversary of the American bombing of Hiroshima. Monday is the 65th anniversary of Nagasaki. To commemorate those dates, LIFE.com has created a gallery of never-seen pictures by LIFE photographers Alfred Eisenstaedt, Bernard Hoffman, and J.R. Eyerman -- all three of whom were there, on the ground, very shortly after both cities were destroyed.

Image credit: Bernard Hoffman/TIME & LIFE Pictures, used with permission


Image credit: Bernard Hoffman/TIME & LIFE Pictures, used with permission

Japanese doctors said that those who had been killed by the blast itself died instantly. But presently, according to these doctors, those who had suffered only small burns found their appetite failing, their hair falling out, their gums bleeding. They developed temperatures of 104, vomited blood, and died. It was discovered that they had lost 86 percent of their white blood corpuscles. Last week the Japanese announced that the count of Hiroshima's dead had risen to 125,000." -- From the article "What Ended the War," in LIFE, 9/17/1945. Above: Hiroshima, 1945, two months after the August 6 bombing, photographed by Bernard Hoffman. Descriptions of the suffering endured by survivors in both Nagasaki and Hiroshima -- burns that would not heal; agonizingly bent, twisted limbs; ceaseless, excruciating headaches -- lend weight to the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's oft-quoted (and perhaps apocryphal) utterance that, in the the event of an all-out nuclear war, "the living will envy the dead."

At last we see the instance of a whistle blowing incident from the US army - a classified US military video shot from an Apache helicopter. Reuters had been trying to obtain the video through the Freedom of Information Act but failed until Wikileaks.org published them online. The US helicopter gunship attacked a group of Iraqi men in New Baghdad on July 12, 2007:

Short Version

Full version (38 minutes)


Two Reuters journalists were killed and more innocent people were killed. Reddit.com analyzes the video and comes up with these conclusions:

1. The cover-up of the pilots' mistake in killing the Reuters cameramen and mistaking their cameras for an RPG is the worst thing about this episode

2. While the pilots who fired at apparently armed men (and at least 3 were actually armed) thought they were saving US ground troops who had been pinned down from men with small arms, they had less justification for firing on the van. Indeed, the latter action may have been a war crime since the van was trying to pick up the wounded and it is illegal to fire on the wounded and those hors de combat.

3. While many actions of the pilots may not have been completely wrong under their rules of engagement, nevertheless they often acted inexcusably, and their attitude is inhuman and deplorable.

(Image courtesy IMGUR)

Some excerpts from Times online:

The voice betrays the adrenalin of combat, but the words are clearly audible over the static. “Let me engage,” the gunner demands, “can I shoot?”

A ground controller asks: “Picking up the wounded?” Seconds later the gunner asks again: “Come on, let us shoot.”

Permission is granted and a dust cloud envelopes a van and several Iraqis picking up bodies from a Baghdad square. Only afterwards do the crew of the American helicopter gunship realise that two children, now gravely wounded, are in the van. “Well,” one says, “it’s their fault for bringing kids into a battle.”

And this is the US government's reaction:

US officials acknowledge privately that the tape was genuine, but the Pentagon has continued to argue that the pilots followed their rules of engagement and that there was no evidence that the two Reuters employees were not working with insurgents. A spokesman for US Central Command in Florida said there were no plans to reopen the original 2007 investigation, which was conducted at brigade level by US forces in Baghdad.

Teeth Maestro from Pakistan refers to the ongoing US drone attacks on Pakistan and is apprehensive about the human rights violation of the US forces.

"Then I must ask, with such a hideous track record, what assurance do
we have that they wouldn’t do that in Pakistan."

A Sri Lankan blogger analyzes this video and defends Sri Lanka's war crime against LTTE by naming USA and a hypocrite and asserting that "they have no right to judge us" as they also have blood on their hand. I can see where the world is heading.

The draw-down from Iraq includes the withdrawal of approximately 128,700 U.S. troops, over 115,000 contractor personnel, the closure or transfer of 295 bases, and the retrograde of over 3.3 million pieces of equipment.

U.S. Government Accountability Office has this excellent report on the progress of this draw-down.

Via Raed Jarrar.

The writing on the wall tells that the very people who were gassed during the world war II by the Nazi monsters have become monsters themselves and trying to annihilate a race in the very same manner. Soul searching is needed for the people who are advocating hatred.

The documentary Welcome to Hebron was filmed for more than three years on location in Hebron, West Bank. Directed by Terje Carlsson this documentary shows how the occupation affects everyday life in Palestine and tries to shed a light on the situation there. It recently won a prize at the Cinefest Daazo Competition in Hungary.

At the center of the story, there's 17-year old Leila Sarsour, a student at the Al-Qurtuba-school, a Palestinian girl school surrounded by Israeli military installations and Israeli settlements (which are considered illegal under international law.) This peculiar location means that the school girls and their teachers are the ideal target for stone, garbage and egg-throwing. As a former commander of the Israel army, who has served 14 months in Hebron explains "When you see a Palestinian, you throw a rock." He adds that it's part of the education as children under twelve cannot be prosecuted.

The trailer of the movie:



Via We Make Money Not Art

NEWS: Israeli forces shelled areas deep inside Gaza City on Thursday, hitting the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency and wounding at least three people among the hundreds taking shelter in the compound.

Israel says its a mistake. But probably they took The Onion piece seriously:

The U.N. Headquarters in New York has flags from all over the world and enough uranium to wipe Israel off the map.

UN and Israel were not having good relations anyway after the white phosphorous shell claims.

"I'm Jewish and descendant of holocaust survivors. Moreover, I've been a Zionist all of my life. I went to a Zionist school, I was active in Zionist youth groups. I've always been a fervent supporter of Israel as a refuge for Jews around the world who seek a place to exercise their traditions and embrace their identity in peace.

I sang the Israeli anthem in the train rails of Aushwitz-Birkenau and I pledged to fight every day of my life to make sure the savage crimes that had taken place there would never happen again. Every year I pledged: Never Again. Remember and Never forget.

Well, I haven't forgotten. And so to honor that pledge, to honor the memory of my family members who died in those death camps and because "there comes a time when silence is betrayal", today I finally and publicly end my support for the state of Israel."

[...]

"I'm done justifying crimes against humanity by a country that claims to be an illuminated western democracy. I'm done defending a country that is unwilling to grant self-determination to a neighboring people because it won't let go of a few settlements and divide a city. I'm done tolerating the slaughtering of innocent kids, the murderous and barbaric occupation of an impoverished people, the utter disregard for human life."

- Chilean Jew at Daily Kos

The recent Gaza Strip bombings by Israel defense force has sparked worldwide protests and criticisms against Israel. For more perspectives than what you get in the newspapers please check these citizen journalists views:

• The special coverage page of Global Voices.
• Antony Lowenstein
• Haitam Sabbah
• The Observers

Please do not vote for them.

Via Dark Ocean Needs A Lighthouse.

Iraqi blogger Raed Jarrar reveals:

I think it's really interesting that while the bush administration are putting the last touches on this long term agreement with their Iraqi allies, bush issued a new presidential signing statement last week specifically to allow the U.S. government to control Iraq's oil resources! The statement was issued as a response to a congressional law that prohibits the U.S. government from taking control over Iraq's oil and gas resources.

What a great message to be given at this time: not only we're planning to occupy your country's military, but we also have the intention of steeling your oil and gas.

In Pravda.ru Babu G. Ranganathan draws an analogy of South Ossetia and Abkhazia's independence from Georgia as declared by Russia with the involvement of India in the creation of Bangladesh in 1971.

I wish things were as simple as that. The resentments started in 1952 when Bengalis wanted to protect their mother tongue. Bangladesh was wanting autonomy since long. We had a great leader who was going to be Pakistan's head of government according to the election results but was denied. Sheikh Mujib almost declared the independence (on the 7th of March, 1971) almost 9 months before the India-Pakistan officially engaged in the war. Bangladeshi freedom fighters fought the war for eight and a half months before India joined the full fledged war with Pakistan.

Georgia's case is different as with every such cases including Kashmir if you compare. Its true that Shakashvili wanted to teach the South Ossetian insurgency a lesson and can be scolded for that but Russia took over the situation and threatened Georgia with its power by shelling and bombing. The innocent civilians were both parties least priorities.

Now the question should be asked what does the South Ossetians want? Do they want to be seperate or merge with Russia or remain with Georgia? I don't even know who their leader is! Who is deciding things for them, the Russians?

The Global Voices special page gives you a real insight into the effected people of the region, not what the Western or the Russian media provides you (two extreme points of view).

Is there really that much hatred present for an ethnic cleansing and genocide as claimed by Russia? Read how the non-friction inter-ethnic relationships between Russians and Georgians are. This might be an answer:

It is very clear. In the quarrel with the Western countries Russia is using a concept and a clear picture which are known to them. A mention of Srebrenica is a slap to Dutchmans and Gavrilo Princip is mentioned in the context of how Englishmen think and talk about him: the fool that pulled them into an expensive and unnecessary war. Reading English reactions, this reminder is effective.

And the irony pointed out by a commenter in a Serbian blog:

I think that Russia proved it is not different from the West when its interest is in question. […] Just in this way Russia indirectly supports the position of the West about Kosovo.

War is a bad Omen, it makes people suffer and creates hatred and acrimony. The present situation in the effected region is nothing else but a case of power struggle and showdown.

Ahmad Ferdous Bin Alam vents his frustration reading certain Indian media's claim that India and the 13 day Indo-pak war in 1971 was solely the creator of Bangladesh ignoring the nine month long liberation war struggle of Bangladesh and bloods of millions of Bengalis who died:

Bloody birth of Bangladesh was a by-product of that so-called Indo-Pak war? With this statement, the sacrifice of our freedom fighters and martyrs has been brazenly belittled. It's downright despicable!

India's help in our war of liberation has always been aptly appreciated by us except some anti-India freaks. We're indebted to India for its help throughout our liberation war. But exaggeration of their contribution on the part of the Indian press is reprehensible. Describing the war waged by Bangladeshis and fought fiercely in which Indian Force helped us cannot be dubbed as Indo-Pak war in any way.

It's liberation war of Bangladesh, NOT 1971 Indo-Pak war.

B. Raman, former deputy chief of India’s external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)adds the right perspective in his book ‘The Kaoboys of RAW’:

‘India’s role was more of a facilitator than a creator. It was a war jointly won by India and the people of East Pakistan’.

‘Without the desire and the will of the people of Bangladesh, there would have been no Bangladesh. Their sacrifices for their cause were immense. How many were brutally killed by the Pakistan Army!

‘How many Bengali intellectuals were massacred by the Pakistan Army and by terrorist organisations such as Al Badr and Al Shams created by the ISI! It is their sacrifice which laid the foundation for an independent Bangladesh.

What India did under the leadership of Indira Gandhi was to make sure that their sacrifices were not in vain. (Source)

"Nazi war criminal held on Goa border" -this is the kind of story that make you raise your eyebrow.

A German intelligence wing succeeded in nabbing Johann Bach – who was responsible for World War II genocide of Jews – in the jungles of Khanapura on the border of Goa and Karnataka (India).

...The 88-year-old Bach was posted as a senior adjutant at the Marsha Tikash Whanaab concentration camp in East Berlin and was responsible for the genocide of more than 12,000 Jews in World War II.

Perus Narkp, the intelligence wing received a lead which informed about an old foreigner wanting to sell an antique, priceless 18th century piano. A similar piano had been reported missing from an East Berlin museum (in close proximity of Marsha Tikash Whanaab concentration camp) after World War II.

If a war criminal can be prosecuted after 64 years then I see nothing wrong in demanding the trial of collaborators war criminals of the liberation war in Bangladesh.

Update: It turns out to be a prank. Perus Narkp is an anagram of super prank and it got the whole Indian media.

Warships from five nations, India, USA, Australia, Japan and Singapore have started a joint navy exercise in the Bay of Bengal. Earthtimes.org reports:

Malabar-2007, as the Sep 4-9 exercise is named, features 25 vessels participating in a variety of manoeuvres. Given the vast scope of the war games, the operational area of Malabar-2007 stretches from Visakhapatnam on the eastern seaboard to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands that guard the approaches to the Strait of Malacca, considered the world's busiest waterway.

Indian left wing communist parties are protesting against this drill.

Dr. Bhaskar Dasgupta writes in Desicritics:

The main purpose of these wargames is to make sure that navies of various regions work together....and more importantly, because of the HUGE distances involved, require all navies to pull together when faced with terrorist and pirate threats.

If this was about fighting pirates then Bangladesh would have been included in the drill as Bangladeshi ships are also attacked by pirates.

mydearBangladesh blog uncovers the story behind it:

The Malabar series is now in its 13th year. The drill has previously been a bilateral India-US engagement and has been expanded for the first time to also include Japan, Australia and Singapore. So, tension is slowly building up in Asia to stop China becoming more powerful.

Read this BBC commentary on China's displeasure about new 'strategic alliance' against it:

"Defence papers issued by all four governments have described China as a potential threat, and that combined with the launch of the Quad suggest a pattern of alliance-building activities that China cannot ignore.

Perhaps as a sign of things to come, 1,600 Chinese troops travelled to Russia's Ural mountains to join several thousand mostly Russian troops in "Peace Mission 2007" manoeuvres in August."