Adam Wilkinson

I have included some points on the decision to drop the bombs in 1945: - The Soviet Union received word from high level Japanese sources that the Japanese would be willing to surrender on the condition that the Emperor’s position was safeguarded. - Nobel Laureate James Franck urged the government to consider dropping the new bomb on a deserted island. Some American leaders believed that if this demonstration bomb did not detonate, the war would be lengthened, not shortened. - According to Truman's own diary, Truman believed that Japan was almost ready to surrender. - The first defeat for the Japanese army came in Mongolia at the hands of the Soviets three days after the first bomb was dropped. - From June to the beginning of August 1945 the Japanese cabinet was split 3:3 over unconditional surrender to the allies. - Considerably more damage was done to Tokyo, Dresden and Hamburg in firestorms caused by traditional bombing than from the A-bomb raid on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. - An invasion of the home islands would be incredibly costly in terms of the numbers killed and wounded. Estimates vary widely but the campaign to retake the Philippines island of Luzon cost 31,000 American lives along with 156,000 Japanese casualties. - It was unclear just when or if the Japanese would surrender. The Germans had fought to the end with defeat only coming when their capital Berlin was taken and their leader Hitler was dead. - The American public was overwhelmingly behind the atomic bombing of Japan: the bomb received an 85% approval rating. - One reason in favour of dropping the bomb was to show the Soviets the extent of American power and that the Americans were willing to use it. - Even though the American government insisted on unconditional surrender, and that included no safeguard of Emperor Hirohito's position after the Japanese surrender, this position was soon forgotten and the Emperor was allowed to stay. - There was a great depth of feeling in the US against the Japanese. This was partly because of the undeclared attack on Pearl Harbour but also because of the well-known and brutal treatment of allied prisoners of war. - During the war American leaders like Roosevelt had condemned the bombing of innocent civilians in towns and cities. - The Japanese population was starving to death. The vast majority of Japan's merchant ships had been sunk and supplies were not entering the country. - The Potsdam Declaration was unclear. It was vague about the future of the Emperor and did not clearly warn of an atomic attack. - The Japanese surrendered soon after the bombs were dropped. The bombs may have made it easier for the politicians to make peace. - The making of the atomic bombs was incredibly expensive. If the bombs were not used and Americans died, it would be politically damaging to Truman. - The allies feared that the Soviets would move into the far east, just as they had moved into Eastern Europe. - The atomic bombs were horrible weapons that caused inhumane suffering through radiation and heat. - The dropping of the atomic bombs set off a nuclear arms race. - Dwight Eisenhower, then the leader of the D-Day invasion was against the bombing for two reasons: "the Japanese were ready to surrender and it wasn't necessary to hit them with [that] awful thing. Second [he] hated to see [America] to be the first to use such a weapon"

Thanks for the info John, I will look into it.

Welcome Josiah, Its an honour to have you on the forum, I look forward to reading your posts and asking you a few questions.

I must order a copy.

Adam, the police found a 30-60 hunting rifle in the front door of the Canipe amusement Co, next door to the rooming house where Ray was staying. Of course whether this was the gun that shoot Dr King is another matter...Steve. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks Steve, I am just broadening my general knowledge of the MLK assassination, there seem to be many conspiracies involving the gun that killed MLK though, and I am just trying to grasp onto the most common thought of which gun was involved.

John, you are right. I believe that this event on New Orleans will lead to a revolution. The majority of the Americans will have an increased awareness of the subdivisions within society and will not stand for it. I really think that this event, as well as Iraq, should force George W Bush to stand down as president. He has failed his role of president to serve and to protect, and is America's poorest excuse of a president.

I was wondering if any forum members would have a copy of the March 2, 1964 article in Newsweek magazine which claimed that Gene Roberts had purchased a number of photographs of Oswald on behalf of the Detroit Free Press, or any information on Gene Roberts and his involvement in the missing photograph negative.

It is embarrassing, not only embarrassing, but disgusting. Disgusting that the government can spend billions of dollars on killing in Iraq, but cannot spend an equal amount on saving their own citizens within their own country. If the situation does not change within the next 24 hours, the government will have a lot to answer for.

I have been watching the hourly updates on the situation in New Orleans. I thought America would cope with something like this. The scenes are apocalyptic, how could the 'great' country of America be suffering like this. Being the richest country in the world, and the most powerful you would think that aid would be sent to the people in need ASAP. As you have all said, If this was an area such as Beverley Hills or New York, aid would be send immediately. 10,000 National Guard troops have finally been deployed to the area, on orders to shoot and kill trouble makers. There are still thousands in the super dome, slowly starving and dehydrating to death, and disease is starting to spread. What will happen to New Orleans now, will the US decide to rebuilt the city, or leave it as a ghost town? George Bush really needs to get off his arse and do something about the situation before it becomes more serious than it already is.

Do any members know what type of gun Martin Luther King was shot with? Any information is appreciated.

Adam, over here in wa in the local Crazy Prices they are stocking a set of mafia cd's, lots of background stuff, one on jfk and mafia. (also they have one on kgb and jfk) Mostly it's footage with voice over. about 10 bucks a pop. From when I lived in blue mntns, I remember they have the crazy stores over there too. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks for that John, I will look into it.

Hahaha, ok.

Here's a close up of John's picture of the left side of Kennedy's head.

I am beginning to research into Carlos Marcello, the New Orleans mafia boss and his connection with Jack Ruby. Marcello was a chief target of the Kennedy administrations war on crime. I was wanting to know everybody’s thoughts on the Marcello aspect to the assassination, and if anybody could provide information for me.

John, was this photograph taken on the day of HH's disappearance?

Great program, I have found my house and work, you can also take a good look at Dealey Plaza.

Like Pat, I would also ask Caroline to have the body exhumed.

John, I have a message appearing saying that I am not authorised to view this page and by back and forward buttons do not work with this site anymore, but are fine with others, all started happening about 1 week ago.

Yes I do, I think that not just the education system, but society as a whole needs to tackle the issue of bullying. Video games such as these will not help the issue. I admit, about two years ago that I used to be a bully and did not have a good reputation in my school, thankfully I have changed now, but I think my bullying was a combination of family problems I had at the time as well as video games. I never had a game where I was the persona bullying people, but the message was present in all my video games to kill and harm others. I still occasionally enjoy these games, but I think there should be stricter age restrictions placed upon them, or other measures to prevent children either playing them and/or increased awareness of bullying not only at school, but also in the home.

Stephen, I have not in fact read that yet, I will try and get a hold of a copy.

Thanks, a few new ones here.

In 1998, people in the 25-44 years age group had the highest rate of suicide (23 suicides per 100,000 persons), followed by people in the 15-24 years age group (17 suicides per 100,000 persons), according to a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. There were 2683 suicides registered in 1998, 40 less than in 1997. The overall suicide rate in 1998 was much the same as it was in 1921 at 14 suicides per 100,000 persons. However, over this period the rate has fluctuated considerably and the components which make up the rate have changed. For example, although male suicide rates have been significantly higher than female rates every year, this ratio has varied from a high of five male suicides to every female suicide in 1921-1925 to a low of two to one in 1966-1970. The suicide rate has varied by age over this period with the trend for older Australians being the reverse of that for young people. Suicide rates declined in the 65-plus age group (from 27 per 100,000 persons in 1921-1925 to 15 in 1996-1998) and increased in the 15-24 years age group (from 6 to 17 over the same period). In 1998, people living in capital cities had the lowest rate of suicide (13 per 100,000 persons). In general people living in other urban areas had the next lowest rate (15), and people living in rural areas had the highest (17). In 1998, the Northern Territory recorded the highest death rate from suicide (21 per 100,000 persons), followed by Queensland and South Australia (16), Western Australia (15), New South Wales (13), Tasmania and Victoria (12) and the Australian Capital Territory (9.5). Care needs to be taken, however, when interpreting State and Territory suicide rates because of small numbers and yearly fluctuations, especially in the smaller States and Territories. The ABS has tabulated all causes and conditions reported on death certificates since 1997. Results show that in 1998 15% of males and 18% of females who suicided also had an associated or contributory diagnosis of a mental disorder. Approximately 4% of males and 5% of females who suicided also had a disease of the circulatory system mentioned on their death certificate. In the period 1995-1997, using estimates based on the 1996 Census, married people (9 per 100,000 persons) were less likely to die from suicide than those who were never married (22), widowed (13) or divorced (26 per 100,000 persons). In general, the most likely method of suicide for males throughout the 1990s was hanging, and for females poisoning by solid or liquid substance. However, in 1998, hanging was the leading method of suicide for both males and females. * Some Australian statistics on suicide - Australian Bureau of Statistics

I do believe you are right. I also think stresses such as friendships and other relationships play a major role. In my case, I do not feel as if I am being pressured so much by my family, but mostly by my peers. Achieving success in the senior years of high school is difficult and the thought of having to raise your work standard even higher placed quiet a bit of stress upon myself and my friends. Something really needs to be done to let students know that if you don't make it into a certain university or gain a certain degree, that it is not the end of the world and there are many other ways to achieve in life.

I have knowledge on the Russian Revolution and Tsarist regime. Also have studied figures such as Lenin, Trotsky and Kollontai.

Its quiet sad to think that people you think you know so well actually have a lot of problems that they don't tell us. Suicide has been a big part of my life over the years. A friend of my older brothers, had been suffering from a mental illness for several years, but was taking medication and actually seemed to be getting better, but killed himself by walking into a truck on a highway, and again, another friend of my brothers deliberately overdosed on medication. A family friend of mine attempted suicide about 7 years ago, and had just been married and bought a house. I also know a number of people who have spoken to me about the possibility of committing suicide. I think the problem of excessive strain being put upon teenagers to succeed should be addressed. Being a teenager myself, I know the stress most teenagers are under to achieve high results in school and university.