invite citizens worldwide to participate in:
“Mr. Truman Meets
the Future of Nuclear Weapons
A Live Global Webcast & Open Forum Originating from
The Harry S. Truman Library & Museum (Independence, MO, USA) and
The
(
Monday, March 1, 2010 7-9 PM (Missouri)
Monday, March 1, 2010 5-7 PM (Pacific)
Monday, March 1, 2010 8-10 PM (Eastern)
“Mr. Truman Meets Hiroshima on the Future of Nuclear Weapons, 1945 – 2020” is a global
videoconference / webcast on March 1, 2010 7-9 PM (CST) [UTC / GMT: Tuesday, March 2, 2010 01:00 – 03:00], originating from the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum (Independence, Missouri, USA) and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (Japan). This historic webcast, presented by Webster University and the Holden Public Policy Forum, will be the first meeting between the museum representing the first head of state to use atomic bombs and the people in the city where the first atomic bomb was used. The live webcast and open channels for audience participation via Chat, Facebook and Twitter can be accessed at this link or at other “watch party” locations. The speakers and participants in this meeting discuss the basis for working toward a common vision about the future of nuclear weapons. For the world-wide citizen audience, this event is an awareness raising forum and opportunity to participate in working toward a secure, peaceful and sustainable future for humanity and the planet.
Join the live webcast and forum
via (1) the web, (2) at “Watch Parties” or (3) at the Meeting
Origination Points:
(1) Online at: http://eagle.webster.edu/TheGlobalForum/webcast.htm
(2) In-person at “Watch Parties”:
· Emerson Library (Room 110),
HOSTING A “WATCH PARTY” FOR THIS EVENT IN YOUR LOCAL AREA. SIGN UP AT: http://eagle.webster.edu/TheGlobalForum/watchparty.htm
(3) In-person at the Meeting Origination Points:
· Auditorium,
Harry S. Truman Library & Museum,
W. US Hwy.
· The
1-2 Nakajimacho, Naka-ku Naka-ku
730-0811,
AGENDA
March 1, 2010 7–9 PM (CST) (Missouri, USA)
March 2, 2010 01:00 – 03:00 (UTC / GMT)
March 2, 2010 10AM - 12PM (Japan )
Introductory Video: The Future of Nuclear Weapons: Voices & Images
Webster University student video project
Opening
Dr. Elizabeth (Beth) J. Stroble (President, Webster University)
Meeting Moderator
Governor Bob Holden (Holden Public Policy Forum)
The Harry S. Truman Library & Museum and the Future of Nuclear Weapons
Dr. Michael Devine (Director, Harry S. Truman Library & Museum)
Historical Context: Truman, Hiroshima & Nuclear Weapons
Dr. John D. Chappell (Associate Professor of History, Webster University, and Author of Before the Bomb: How America Approached the End of the Pacific War (1997))
Hiroshima’s Take on the Future of Nuclear Weapons
Dr. Tadatoshi Akiba (Mayor of Hiroshima; and President, Mayors for Peace, NGO)
Steven Leeper (Chairman, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation)
Testimonials from "Hibakusha" (A-bomb witnesses)
Questions & Discussion
Online questions & comments moderated by Satoko Norimatsu
(Director, Peace Philosophy Centre, Vancouver, B.C.) and Dr. John Chappell
Conclusions and Next Steps
Media Contact:
Barb Ehnes, Media Relations
(314) 968-7174 – work
(314) 565-5744 – cell
ehnesba@webster.edu
Dr. Roy Tamashiro (Project Director)
Webster University
314-968-7098
tamashiro@webster.edu
I take exception to the statements, made in the Frank Kelly interview "Mr.
ReplyDeleteTruman meets Hiroshima" event, held at the
at the Truman Library and Museum in Independence, MO. by Christine Boesch
of Santa Barbara California and shown
on Youtube.
Mr. Kelly totally ignores the racial overtones during that period of time,
and tries to pose Truman
as a compassionate person against war. He seems to forget that Truman's
comments
were far from trying to avoid war, that he ignored his own intelligence
reports, was well
aware of, and refused to consider any of the attemps by the Japanese
Government, to
end the war months before August 6, 1945.
It is well recorded that he wanted "Unconditional Surrender" and said: 'The
only language
[the Japanese] seem to understand is the one we have been using to bombard
them. When
you have to deal with a beast you have to treat him as a beast. It is most
regrettable but nevertheless
true." Quoted from US President Harry S Truman, 11 August 1945, letter he
wrote to justify his decision
to drop the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Also please see Mick Humes: Hiroshima "The White Mans' Bomb" at
http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/0000000CACD0.htm
Japan is responsible for most of the civilian
ReplyDeletedeaths in 1945, not just Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but those of Saipan, Okinawa,
and the air-raided cities across Japan, by refusing to surrender in the
war that had been already lost for fear of losing the emperor system.
The US ending the war and saving lives by the a-bomb
is a total myth and fallacy. Especially the latter. Any ending of war
"saves" lives that would have been lost if the war didn't end at that time.
Imaging how many Vietnamese lives US "saved" by withdrawing from the war.
Imagine how many lives Emperor Hirohito saved by declaring surrender.
Imagine how many lives Hitler saved by losing in that war. Calling a-bombs as life-savers is in the same lines with these arguments.
On the August 9 war cabinet meeting with the emperor that went on for
over three hours, only a few minutes were spent talking about the
casualties of a-bombing and air raids. The rest were spent talking
about the preservation of the emperor system and the security within the
country, namely how to prevent the communist movements from outside and
inside Japan. The Japanese leaders did NOT care about the hundreds of
thousands of civilian deaths, whether they were caused by air raids or
a-bombs.