US to Attend Hiroshima Memorial for First Time

[babylonsister]

Hard to believe no previous president thought this was an important enough event to attend.


US to Attend Hiroshima Memorial for First Time

by Shingo Ito



HIROSHIMA, Japan - Sixty-five years after a mushroom cloud rose over Hiroshima, the United States will for the first time send an envoy this Friday to commemorate the bombing that rang in the nuclear age.

Its World War II allies Britain and France, both declared nuclear powers, will also send their first diplomats to the ceremony in the western Japanese city in a sign of support for the goal of nuclear disarmament.

Japan, the only country that has ever been attacked with atomic bombs -- first on August 6, 1945 in Hiroshima, and three days later in Nagasaki -- has pushed for the abolition of the weapons of mass destruction ever since.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who arrives in Japan on Tuesday, will be the first UN chief to attend the ceremony.

UN spokesman Martin Nesirsky said Ban wanted to draw attention to "the urgent need to achieve global nuclear disarmament".

snip//

The US ambassador to Japan, John Roos, is due to attend and lay a wreath "to express respect for all of the victims of World War II", the US State Department said.

more...

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/08/03

[ensho]

1. good

nt

[great white snark]

2. K&R this good news.

[denimgirly]

3. Finally. It must be done.

War is horrible and lets hope the Middle East doesnt end this way, and becomes a little more stable like the rest of the world has become.
Something tells me Israel shouldn't feel so secure with America as their bitch. As things are there is a good chance Israel will be bombed. I just hope Israel gains smarts and begins SERIOUS peace talks before its too late.

[denimgirly]

4. Can u imagine when Matter/Anti-Matter bombs become a reality? OUCH!

Eventually we will figure out how to make mass quantities of anti-matter (we can only do it in minuscule levels right now) and then the REAL fireworks will be making it possible to see earth on the other side of the Milky Way....think cracked planet a la Praxis (of Star Trek - The Undiscovered Country, interestingly enough also about failed peace talks and war).

[bananas]

5. Obama met the mayor in January

First time a US President met the mayor of Hiroshima.
See post #1 in this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4488483