Why this post? I have about a dozen web sites in my political-favorites folder which I visit on most days. In the past couple of weeks EVERY single one them had at least one article about nuclear confrontation with Russia. That shit is fucked up and shit. That’s why.
“This Is Your Life” was a 30 minute Teevee show (a “reality” show, actually) on Nothing But Crap (NBC) for nine seasons (1952 – 1961). An unsuspecting celebrity or an exceptional common citizen was brought to the television studios under some untrue pretext. They wouldn’t realize what was happening until they were on camera and the show had begun. Then Ralph Edwards would tell them, “This is Your Life!” — and start telling their life story. When the story included someone important from their past, that person would come out on the stage. Most of those people hadn’t seen the “honoree” in years or even decades. It was supposed to be a look at your favorite comedian, actor, politician, etc. as a human being instead of a celebrity.
However, the show was designed to manipulate the viewer’s emotions …. usually, tears …. Saturday Evening Post once called the program “the weepiest show on television.” What they did was often shameful … as you will see in the following story …. the Hiroshima Story.
John Hersey’s landmark 1946 book, Hiroshima, documents, among other things, Reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto’s story.
Kiyoshi Tanimoto was a Japanese-born, American-educated Methodist minister who had a parish in Hiroshima. Fate spared Tanimoto on that August 6, 1945 morning because he happened to be helping a friend move some family belongings to a house in Koi, a western suburb outside of the direct blast zone. After seeing the flash of The Bomb, Tanimoto instinctively dove between two large rocks. Debris from the collapsed house fell near the minister, but he emerged uninjured and was able to bear witness to the hideous aftermath.
THE KELOID GIRLS
After the war, Tanimoto began working with a group of women disfigured by the Bomb—a humanitarian effort that would eventually lead to his appearance on This Is Your Life. On August 6, 1945 of that horrific day, these women, who were school girls at the time of the bombing, had been ordered to help tear down houses and clear fire lanes. They were among a larger contingent of girls directed to partake in this task because Hiroshima was on alert for conventional firebombing raids. Most of these school girls were, of course, killed in the blast. Those who survived had horrible burns and soon developed keloids (scar tissue) on their faces and other parts of their bodies. When Tanimoto asked the American-established Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission to provide the women with plastic surgery, the minister’s request fell on deaf ears.
The Japanese local newspapers dubbed them Genbaku Otome, or, as translated into English, A-bomb Maidens. Eventually, doctors Arthur Barsky and William Hitzig selected twenty-five women who were deemed the most likely to benefit from the surgery. The Maidens left for New York, along with Reverend Tanimoto, on May 5, 1955. The American press reported on their trip with an editorial tone akin to that of a freak show advertisement. Headlines such as “Atom-Scarred Jap Girls Pray Before U.S. Trip” and “…A-Bomb Jap Girls To Get Plastic Surgery” were typical.
“This is Your Life” —- HORROR SHOW SURPRISE
Tanimoto was in America to RAISE FUNDS for these women. He was told by a friend to come to the West Coast to start another speaking and fundraising tour. On May 11th the minister arrived, as scheduled, at the NBC Studios in Hollywood for what he was told would be a local news interview.
Minutes after meeting Ralph Edwards for the first time, Tanimoto was surprised to find himself at the center of something that was quite obviously more than just a local news program. At 7 p.m. local time, Edwards began the show seated on a divan smiling at the camera. There was a sound effect of a ticking clock that grew louder as his opening remarks progressed.
“Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to This Is Your Life. The ticking you hear in the background is a clock counting off the seconds to 8:15 a.m., August 6, 1945. And seated here with me is a gentleman whose life was changed by the last tick of that clock as it reached 8:15.”
At this point Tanimoto, who was seated next to Edwards, was introduced. The minister was wearing a baggy suit and a stunned expression. Can you even begin to imagine the horror? The audience laughed when he confessed to Edwards that he had never heard of his program.
Edwards continued,
“We have been working for weeks with your friends Norman Cousins, editor of the Saturday Review, John Hersey, author of the best-selling book Hiroshima, and many others to bring you to our stage tonight so we could retell the story of your life. The facts are between the covers of this book. You will meet many people who have helped shape your destiny, and we hope that at the end of this half-hour you will have had some pleasant moments…And that you, ladies and gentlemen, will have a better understanding of what it is to look into the face of atomic power—to survive and die. Now we will pick up the threads of your life in a moment, Reverend Tanimoto, after this word from Bob Warren, our announcer, who has something very special to tell the girls in our audience. Bob?”
Did he actually say “pleasant moments”??? Are you fucking kidding me?? Was there ever a more horrifyingly disgusting surreal moment in the history of television? — “Hey folks! Looky here! We got us a bonafide A-Bomb survivor! Woo-fuckin-hoo! But, first, let’s hear from our sponsor, Helen Bishop Cosmetics. They got this nifty-keen nail polish! It’s even able to withstand industrial strength scrubbing!!”
THE EVIL BASTARD BEHIND THE CURTAIN
Tanimoto recounted how he and his friend had disregarded the commonplace air raid signals as they made their way to Koi with their pushcart. Then, a loud, disembodied Brooklyn-accented voice was heard from offstage:
“At zero six hundred on the morning of August 6, 1945, I was in a B-29 flying over the Pacific. Destination, Hiroshima.”
But, the Big Moment was not yet. Other figures from the Tanimots’s past were paraded before him, like Bertha Sparkey, the Methodist missionary who introduced him to Christianity as a boy.
The Big Moment came shortly after Tantimoto had finished describing the flash and the explosion. But, first, Edwards was moved to ask the most retarded question in the history of retarded television hosts: — “Did you know Hiroshima had been the first city to feel the force of atomic power?” The minister, of course, replied, — “I didn’t know what happened.” He then added that he had asked for God’s help which prompted another vocal interruption from Lewis from behind the door:
“And looking down from thousands of feet over Hiroshima, all I could think of was, ‘My God, what have we done?’”
Cue that velvety smooth voice; :
“The voice again of a man whose second of eternity was woven up with yours, Reverend Tanimoto. Now you have never met him, you’ve never seen him, but he’s here tonight to clasp your hand in friendship. Ladies and gentlemen, Captain Robert Lewis, United States Air Force, who along with Paul Tibbets piloted the plane from which the first atomic power was dropped over Hiroshima.”
Cue the music ……….. out walks the fucker who dropped the bomb …. to give history’s most awkward handshake with Tanimoto. The audience applauds.
The sonofabitch calls on God! When Edwards asked Lewis to describe his “experience” on the fateful day, the former airman hesitated for a moment and then began — “As I said before, Mr. Edwards…I wrote down later…” Choking up on these last words, Lewis put his hand to his forehead to steady himself, and then repeated his earlier line, “My God, what have we done?”
Edwards took special care to point out to his millions of viewers the dual invocation of the almighty by the bomber and victim:
“And so, Reverend Tanimoto, you on the ground, and you on your military mission, Captain Lewis, in the air, both appeal to a power greater than your own. Almost at the same moment you both utter the same words: My God. Thank you, Robert Lewis, now personnel manager at Henry Heide Incorporated in New York City.”
The audience applauded.
PURCHASING REDEMPTION FOR A MERE $500 BUCKEROOS.
The hope was that the show would raise a million dollars. Americans contributed a pathetically measly $55,000. Captain Lewis was expecting a fat check for appearing on the show. The day before the show he discovered he would be getting nothing, so he got drunk, and came on the show with a hangover. Lewis made a big show of forking over $500, his guilt now sufficiently assuaged. The audience applauded. He died of a heart attack in 1983 (age 66), and is now a citizen of Hell.
AFTERMATH
So, “This is your life” will someday be “This is your future”. More than likely, some day some evil satanic leader will decide “Hey, we’re losing this war. Let’s exterminate humanity.”. And some evil military drone soldier – “Just following orders, sir!” — will push the button.
But, nobody will be left alive to watch the apology on TV.
In 1948, the English-speaking Tanimoto embarked upon a lengthy speaking tour of the United States to raise funds for his church that was destroyed by the “Little Boy” atomic weapon. The minister gave 582 lectures on what he had learned from the tragedy of the Bomb. The title of his speech was “The Faith That Grew Out of the Ashes”
That, folks, is grace in action. If that was me, I would have titled a sermon – “Rot in hell you evil fucking bastards.”
Here is a five minute video with clips from the show AND one of the surviving Keloid Girls. It’s really worth a look.
Here is the full show part 1.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZYx4syf2oY&feature=player_detailpage
Here is the full show part 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0m8D6APp64&feature=player_detailpage
.
SOURCE: Most of the pictures and narrative come from this webpage, which contains much more detailed information;
http://conelrad.blogspot.com/2010/08/hiroshima-this-is-your-life.html
“Stuck claims he is Austrian, but I am certain he is actually French: gets his ass kicked, runs, hides, surrendes, ….” ———– Llpoh
You speak-um with forked tongue, Injun. Let’s take this one by one
“runs” —- not worthy of a rebuttal. I never run … and everyone here knows it.
“surrendes” —- don’t know what that word means … sounds like a Mexican farm worker. But, if you mean “surrender” then, here also, not worthy of a rebuttal. I never surrender … and everyone here knows it.
“hides” —— Poppycock!! I’ve made MANY comments here. I don’t post much after 6PM. In about three minutes on of the Top 3 rivalries in all of college basketball will be on ESPN; Purdue at Indiana. I most certainly WILL be watching. Go IU!!! (UNC vs Duke, and KY vs Louisville are the other two great rivalries.)
“gets his ass kicked” — Delusional Poppycock from a peyote-smoking lizzard-ass-eating Chocktaw! I will be back in the morning … I will do my normal tally-counting …. and then your humiliation will be seen by all …. it will be your own personal Trail Of Tears.
Gotta go … IU is already up 3-0. POTFB (Piss On The Fucking Boilees)
“Making you mad makes me happy. You said that to me a number of months ago. Gotcha. Payback is a bitch.” ————– SSS
Good. I like bringing joy to people’s lives. That’s what Holy Spirit filled people do.
But, I’m not mad at you today. You’ve only been able to piss me the fuck off One Day At A Time. Does that mean you’re miserable today? If so, choke the chicken. Great stress relief. But, you already knew that.
Loopy -Flash said the US got a “free” port in Japan. Free. Bwahahahaha! Free he says.
OK. let me clarify that statemn , by US , I mean the Corporatocracy and by free I mean paid for owht the blood of others.It cost the oligarchy nothing to wage war… na…da
Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.
Herbert Hoover
The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.
Smedley Butler
There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights.
Smedley Butler
And, for no reason whatsoever, I will post this totally awesome song about narwhal’s…
Cause they’re fucking AWESOME!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhujEQhg764
Billy, you call bb crazy? He may be communing a bit with little bb and got the idea folks also have 9 lives. They don’t, they have just one.
You certainly come off as a bit off kilter. You demolish any vestige of respect SSS has for you then seek the comfort of cartoons to ease your troubled soul.
I didn’t bother to go back to analyse your rant. You reduced SSS to a mere cypher: O3, then compared him to some ‘dickslaps’ you used to irritate. I’m always impressed by your mind games, the way you stick that shiv in there when they don’t expect it. I believe that is called sniping and you are good at it.
You can blot out the sun with your thumb but you cannot deny its brilliance. You can denigrate SSS and LLPOH because they are officers but you can’t compare them to your former leaders.
Maybe in another life, you had the privilege of polishing Spooky and Loopy’s balls, they deserve that honor but why make them pay for that in this life?
Stucky
I played golf today with 3 other guys that are all over 6’2″ and run about 220-250 pounds each. One is a former NFL tight end with two NFL championship rings, the other is a former FEDEX exec who played offensive tackle for Bobby Bowden’s Florida State Seminoles, and the third is a real estate agent who played linebacker at Syracuse. You’re 6’8″, right? I’m 5’8″, 165.
On 14 driving holes, I smoked those guys on driving distance 8 out of 14 holes, with the capstone on the last hole where I was 70 yards ahead of everyone. A little testosterone in this comment, yes, but there’s a lesson in here for you. Don’t fuck with little guys, especially me.
Fuck that retarded piece of shitfuk IU coach Tom Crean, fucking lowlife multimillionaire who couldn’t coach his way out of a wet paper bag.
FUCK YOU AND DIE TODAY (!!!!) YOU COCK-SUCKING FAGGOT!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m outta here.
SSS
pffft So, what are you gonna do. Smack my balls with your putter?
If you and I got into a fight, there would be just two hits; me hitting you, and you hitting the ground.
Like this
A few WW2 nuggets, to flesh out some of the above. Chuck yeager’s Me262 kills were either taking off or landing, he had the advantage. Mcaurthur wanted to use small nukes as tactical weapons, to soften up defenses, pre-invasion. He wanted to do the same thing in korea. And pearl harbor was a disaster for the jsps, because the carriers weren’t home. See battle of midway for why that was important
Oh mah Gawd. Every morning I reincarnate Billah Jr in the form of a steamy pile uh flamin cheeto colored diarrea. I swear that boy was born with every kind of venereal disease you kin imagine. When Billah saw jr pop out mah cooter he realized either we have some seriously latent afrocentric genes somewheres or possibly he was not in fact the father I swear he almost come up off his lecrtic cart. I AM BILLAH’S WIFE.
Please don’t call 5’8″ little, I may be 5’4″ but my internet persona is 5’8″. I’m proud of the time I took ol’ stretch down, I put my arms around his knee and pulled up while stepping forward. grabbed both his feet and started dragging him out the door.
My buddy the Mick (also 5’4″) said his height was an advantage when he was working as a bouncer in Phoenix. He said, I can get in through tight crowds and surprise assholes who never see me coming.
Follow up on previous comment about the former NFL tight end in my golf group. Great guy. He and I like to needle each other.
For you sports buffs on this site, he played with or against ….. Jimmy Brown, Johnny Unitas, Bobby Layne, Norm Van Brocklin, Y.A. Tittle, Bart Starr, Sonny Jurgensen, Raymond Berry, Jim Taylor, Len Dawson, Mike Ditka, and many more. For the “who cares” crowd, those are pro football Hall of Famers. As in “who cares” for you folks.
He’s going fishing with Seattle Seahawk’s coach Pete Carroll soon (they are good friends). He may or may not ask Pete about that stupid call that cost the Seahawks the Super Bowl. I’ll report back if I get any TBP Exclusive.
Stenchy – IU is cursed because they got rid of Bobby. They will forever more suck the slime off KU’s browneye. Bobby was a bit incendiary, but I for one thought he was magnificent. To think IU will ever be more than the whore of KU, Duke, Louisville, and the rest is just fantasy.
Sorta like you thinking you ever won a battle against me, or SSS, or any true big dog. Delusion is sad to see in one so elderly as you.
starfcker says:
A few WW2 nuggets, to flesh out some of the above. Chuck yeager’s Me262 kills were either taking off or landing, he had the advantage. Mcaurthur wanted to use small nukes as tactical weapons, to soften up defenses, pre-invasion. He wanted to do the same thing in korea. And pearl harbor was a disaster for the jsps, because the carriers weren’t home. See battle of midway for why that was important
__________________________________
According to the great military strategist Billy, those American carriers would have stood by idly while the Japanese invaded San Francisco.
How did this blog disintegrate into a hissy fit???
Sss, pete carroll not stupid. Belechick just happens to be brilliant. Hawks had 2nd down, one time out, 45 seconds. Sequence should have been run, timeout, pass, run. Hawks thought BB was going to stop the clock for them after the first down run. He didn’t, cost them 19 seconds. That pass was a TD if kearse had done his job,, pushing browner into butlers way. Browner manhandled kearse, butler had a straight shot at the ball. The pressure BB put on the hawks by letting the clock run, game winner
“Stenchy – IU is cursed because they got rid of Bobby. They will forever more suck …” —Loops
Yup. Not only THAT they got rid of him, but HOW they did it. A disgrace.
Won’t suck forever. Just need a new coach. One of the best college basketball minds today is Brad Stevens .. and he likes IU, a lot. His stint as the Celtics coach ain’t going so well, and next year doesn’t look better. Can’t imagine the Celtics will keep him after 3 or 4 consecutive losing seasons regarless of the contract. Anyway, if IU can snag him that would be sweet. He could be the next Bob Knight or Mike Kryzshefski.
THE TRAIL OF TEARS for Chief Loopy and SSS
Stucky
— Thumbs Up ………..176
— Thumbs Down ……..61
Llpoh
— Thumbs Up ………..118
— Thumbs Down ……..91
SSS
— Thumbs Up ………..46
— Thumbs Down ……35
Llpoh + SSS
— Thumbs Up ………..164
— Thumbs Down ……126
Both of you COMBINED could not defeat me.
Epic beat down! hehe heya ya ya ho ho hoya ho!
With apologies to Muhammad Ali … I AM THE GREATEST!!!!
Picture of Stucky floating like a butterfly, stinging like a bee.
Stucky
As usual, you’ve got everything bass ackwards. It’s the person who receives the most thumbs-down who wins. Since Llpoh and I received 126 thumbs-down and you got a paltry 61, we won in a landslide.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, no one has EVER beaten my record of 10 straight comments which garnered well over 200 thumbs-down and maybe a total of about 15 thumbs-up, including one massive shutout of 0-33. When that happens, you know that even Admin is piling on and you’ve got EVERYONE pissed off. It feels good to be king.
The Spookmeister plays a round of golf with a couple of sucky players and all of a sudden he is Arnold Fucking Palmer………….nigga please.
” …. no one has EVER beaten my record of 10 straight comments which garnered well over 200 thumbs-down and maybe a total of about 15 thumbs-up, including one massive shutout of 0-33.” —- SSS
🙂 Yes, I recall that. But, I have forgotten the topic and the thread. Do you remember? Reading it again this morning would bring a smile to my face …. which is difficult to do in this shitfuk state.
Oh .. regarding this thread …. well, then! …. congrats on your “win”. You are one tough mofo.
Stucky
It was over an illegal drugs article, maybe one I posted. Don’t remember exactly. I usually get hammered on my views on illegal drugs, but that thread was really bloody. I needed several transfusions.
“According to the great military strategist Billy, those American carriers would have stood by idly while the Japanese invaded San Francisco.” – Zara
Okay smart guy…
A carrier, vintage 1941, required a small flotilla of support craft just to keep it running. Oil tenders. Coal ships. Things like that. It also required another flotilla of support ships just to defend it – destroyers and sub chasers and medical frigates just to run interference and keep the bad guys focus off the flat-top…
ONE aircraft carrier – by itself – is remarkably vulnerable. To this day, they are used as our fleet flagships – which means the Guy In Charge (Admiral) has an entire fleet to wrap around his carrier and keep it safe. They are floating air fields. That’s it. They’re remarkable capable, but without the support ships, they will quickly be overwhelmed and turned into flaming junk or a brand-new man made coral reef…
Would those few flat-tops we had in December of 41 done something if the Japs had tried to effect a landing on the West Coast? Probably, but that’s open to conjecture and debate. How much could they do, by themselves, without resupply or support and the Jap fleet rampaging around – somewhere?
Once again, your efforts to make me look bad have only made yourself look bad… rather, made you look like the fucking buffoon you are. Mr. Non-violent Peacenick thinks he’s an expert on warfare…. shyeah…
Go back to eating dicks… it’s what you’re good at.
Show me the way hick boy. Is this your pappy?
Billy–It doesn’t matter whether you believe in reincarnation or not, just the same as it does not matter whether you believe in gravity or not. These things operate in the universe whether you believe them or not.
It may surprise you to know that there are a greater number of people in the world who believe in reincarnation than those who don’t. It may surprise you to know that the Bible refers to reincarnation in several places, those not removed from Christological thought by the First Council of Nicaea
You evidently have never looked into the issue or studied it, let alone
read a book on it. You have your opinion, which is ok, but not all opinions carry equal weight.
As to whether the Japanese would have invaded the West Coast, let me say the following:
The fact that the Americans were armed would not have been a deterrent to invasion. The fact that 3 carrier groups would have been innocuous in defending the WC because of logistics as Billy suggested is also a non issue. I am sure that they would have tried.
The reason that the WC was ignored by the Japanese was because the supply lines were too long.
Land based bombers could patrol out 200mi. Japanese carrier groups wouldn’t fare well against what would have been waiting for them.
There would have had to occupy Midway and the Oahu before such a venture could take place. They did try to occupy Midway which was too late and got decimated by our carriers, which sealed the fate of the rising empire.
Most war fronts fizzle because of supply issues. That is why Stalin ordered every field, building, and anything else useable to the Nazi be destroyed.
Think about it, people!
Billy the village idiot says:
ONE aircraft carrier – by itself – is remarkably vulnerable. To this day, they are used as our fleet flagships – which means the Guy In Charge (Admiral) has an entire fleet to wrap around his carrier and keep it safe.
___________________________________
Prior to Pearl Harbor, the battleship was the fleet flagship. The nips changed that. Bow you your masters, you bitch. Of course today the aircraft carrier is as obsolete as the battleship was in WW2. It is fine for picking on third and second world countries, but wouldn’t last for more than a few hours if the US picked a fight with a country that has the means to defend itself and that includes Iran. You military fucks never learn.
Now children, children, settle down. We’ve had enough of this bickering, shit slinging, free for all. Come on man, what is this thumbs up, thumbs down shit. Who ever wins, writes the history. But, in all probability, FDR and his henchmen knew about and facilitated the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Why? Bankers? Military Industrial Complex? Political Power? Economic Recovery? All of the above?
There was a strong German/Nazi sentiment in the US in the 30’s, as well as financial backing from some influential businesses and businessmen. Japan was doing some pretty evil things in the Far East backed by ambitious and greedy Asian, European, and American interests. So, what has changed?
The decision to nuke Japan was based on several realities. Many lives at stake in an invasion. Russia entering the Pacific war. Japans reluctance to surrender unconditionally. War weary Americans at home and the European troops. The awesome power of the Atom Bomb was very seductive to the PTB. That decision ranks as one of civilizations worst moments. But, since a nuclear option was born at that moment, it has served as a deterrent to the nuclear nations….so far, and it has also shaped much of the relations of nations from the 50′ till now.
So what has changed?
It is still the Bankers, Industrialists, Politicians, and the UN that keep us in continuous wars. I served 23 years in the Marine Corps and no longer do I believe in the utterances of our leaders, Military or Political or Commercial. It is all about the money and power. We exist in a matrix of lies, half-truths, and manipulations. A hundred and 70 plus comments bickering and posturing won’t change that. Funny quips and vicious jabs are not solutions. I have no solutions myself…except…kill them all and let God sort them out. (that would be, bankers, industrialists, and politicians)
Last night Billah was doin this thing with a stick shift from uh 78 Chevelle stuck up his hooty hoo and me n Billah Jr was standin behind him yellin Go Dale Earnhart go dale earnhart go! And all of a sudden he stops and says ,’hon, the fissure is back in a big big way’. So now Billah ain’t able to sit and type for at least a few days. So carry on, but don’t ferget he is a major badass.