Comments on: U.S. Bombshell Used as a Prayer Bell at a Buddhist Temple in Laos http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/u-s-bombshell-used-as-a-prayer-bell-at-a-buddhist-temple-in-laos/ travel culture worldwide Sun, 12 Feb 2012 03:35:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Titi http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/u-s-bombshell-used-as-a-prayer-bell-at-a-buddhist-temple-in-laos/#comment-39322 Titi Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:28:46 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=2802#comment-39322 Nice and concise article, Tim. If you're interested in following up on what Laos (the government) is doing to get rid of cluster bomb remains, check out the website: stopclustermunitions.org Come be part of the big meeting in November if you can ;) Nice and concise article, Tim. If you’re interested in following up on what Laos (the government) is doing to get rid of cluster bomb remains, check out the website: stopclustermunitions.org

Come be part of the big meeting in November if you can ;)

]]> By: Tim Patterson http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/u-s-bombshell-used-as-a-prayer-bell-at-a-buddhist-temple-in-laos/#comment-37616 Tim Patterson Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:49:14 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=2802#comment-37616 Really! That's interesting. Really! That’s interesting.

]]> By: Sarah Irving http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/u-s-bombshell-used-as-a-prayer-bell-at-a-buddhist-temple-in-laos/#comment-37615 Sarah Irving Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:32:58 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=2802#comment-37615 Bizarrely enough, if you look up those manufacturer codes, this bomb casing was cast by American Machine & Foundry, which is now best known as a bowling machinery manufacturer and leisure operator... Bizarrely enough, if you look up those manufacturer codes, this bomb casing was cast by American Machine & Foundry, which is now best known as a bowling machinery manufacturer and leisure operator…

]]> By: Hal Amen http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/u-s-bombshell-used-as-a-prayer-bell-at-a-buddhist-temple-in-laos/#comment-36241 Hal Amen Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:45:18 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=2802#comment-36241 Sweet, thanks Ross, for bringing the facts to my "I heard somewhere." Appreciate it. Tim, that's a great map. Sweet, thanks Ross, for bringing the facts to my “I heard somewhere.” Appreciate it.

Tim, that’s a great map.

]]> By: Tim Patterson http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/u-s-bombshell-used-as-a-prayer-bell-at-a-buddhist-temple-in-laos/#comment-36240 Tim Patterson Thu, 24 Dec 2009 11:53:39 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=2802#comment-36240 Solid overview, Ross. Thanks for the comment and clarifications. Here's a good map of the bombing patterns in Laos - most concentrated on the Plain of Jars and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail(s) in the south. http://copelaos.org/bombingmapofllaos.html Solid overview, Ross. Thanks for the comment and clarifications.

Here’s a good map of the bombing patterns in Laos – most concentrated on the Plain of Jars and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail(s) in the south.

http://copelaos.org/bombingmapofllaos.html

]]> By: ross lee tabak http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/u-s-bombshell-used-as-a-prayer-bell-at-a-buddhist-temple-in-laos/#comment-36239 ross lee tabak Thu, 24 Dec 2009 05:38:30 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=2802#comment-36239 The numbers are a little slippery. It's definitely more than the Americans dropped on Germany, probably on par if you include Britain. Throw in Russia and the Axis and WWII starts winning, and once you factor in the Pacific Theater the numbers aren't even close. It's sort of irrelevant, though. "Two million tons" and "more that we dropped on the Nazis" do a good job of illustrating the insanity of the Secret War, but all those numbers mean are how much all the bombs weighed (literally - this is different from saying a 'five megaton bomb', which refers to the explosive force and not the actual weight of the munition). It doesn't give any idea of the destruction they caused - sort of like asking how many CCs your neighbor's motorcycle is without knowing anything else about it. By the late 1960s, humans had figured out how to pack a lot more crazy into 700lbs of explosives. The US also used way, way more cluster bombs on Laos (which only exploded about two-thirds of the time) than they did on Germany, which is a big reason why you never hear about Helmut from Zwickau blowing his arm off while harvesting wheat. Then again, there weren't nearly as many people in Laos and America certainly didn't firebomb the hell out of any major population centers. The RAF's eight day bombing of Hamburg in 1943 created a 1,500 foot flaming tornado and killed fifty thousand people, which is about how many civilians died in the entire Lao Civil War. So um, in conclusion, war sucks. Cut that shit out already. The numbers are a little slippery. It’s definitely more than the Americans dropped on Germany, probably on par if you include Britain. Throw in Russia and the Axis and WWII starts winning, and once you factor in the Pacific Theater the numbers aren’t even close.

It’s sort of irrelevant, though. “Two million tons” and “more that we dropped on the Nazis” do a good job of illustrating the insanity of the Secret War, but all those numbers mean are how much all the bombs weighed (literally – this is different from saying a ‘five megaton bomb’, which refers to the explosive force and not the actual weight of the munition). It doesn’t give any idea of the destruction they caused – sort of like asking how many CCs your neighbor’s motorcycle is without knowing anything else about it.

By the late 1960s, humans had figured out how to pack a lot more crazy into 700lbs of explosives. The US also used way, way more cluster bombs on Laos (which only exploded about two-thirds of the time) than they did on Germany, which is a big reason why you never hear about Helmut from Zwickau blowing his arm off while harvesting wheat. Then again, there weren’t nearly as many people in Laos and America certainly didn’t firebomb the hell out of any major population centers. The RAF’s eight day bombing of Hamburg in 1943 created a 1,500 foot flaming tornado and killed fifty thousand people, which is about how many civilians died in the entire Lao Civil War.

So um, in conclusion, war sucks. Cut that shit out already.

]]> By: Tim Patterson http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/u-s-bombshell-used-as-a-prayer-bell-at-a-buddhist-temple-in-laos/#comment-36246 Tim Patterson Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:00:06 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=2802#comment-36246 Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Marie! Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Marie!

]]> By: Marie http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/u-s-bombshell-used-as-a-prayer-bell-at-a-buddhist-temple-in-laos/#comment-36245 Marie Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:53:45 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=2802#comment-36245 Thank you for writing this, Tim. After living in SEAsia I really had my eyes open to these issues. It's very humbling to think of the contrast of my childhood in the US in the 1970 to that of people living in this region at that time. I think most of us really have no idea as to the lasting effects of the things we've done in SEA. We might have suspicions, but the information has not really been there for us until recent years. We tend to think of the Vietnam War as finished a long time ago, and I don't even remember it being discussed in my high school (in Georgia) very much in the late 80s. It's as if it's a part of history only. But for many in SEA the effects are still carrying on everyday. People walk over landmines at a ridiculous rate and many, many people are still getting cancer, and birth defects from exposure to the chemicals that we dumped on the region. As much as it leaves a bad taste in our mouths, we need to know about things like this so we can affect change for the future. Thanks again! Thank you for writing this, Tim. After living in SEAsia I really had my eyes open to these issues. It’s very humbling to think of the contrast of my childhood in the US in the 1970 to that of people living in this region at that time. I think most of us really have no idea as to the lasting effects of the things we’ve done in SEA. We might have suspicions, but the information has not really been there for us until recent years. We tend to think of the Vietnam War as finished a long time ago, and I don’t even remember it being discussed in my high school (in Georgia) very much in the late 80s. It’s as if it’s a part of history only. But for many in SEA the effects are still carrying on everyday. People walk over landmines at a ridiculous rate and many, many people are still getting cancer, and birth defects from exposure to the chemicals that we dumped on the region.
As much as it leaves a bad taste in our mouths, we need to know about things like this so we can affect change for the future. Thanks again!

]]> By: collazoprojects: U.S. Bombshell Used as a Prayer Bell at a Buddhist Temple in Laos http://bit.ly/7uYSnX | Yes why not, http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/u-s-bombshell-used-as-a-prayer-bell-at-a-buddhist-temple-in-laos/#comment-36243 collazoprojects: U.S. Bombshell Used as a Prayer Bell at a Buddhist Temple in Laos http://bit.ly/7uYSnX | Yes why not, Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:24:36 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=2802#comment-36243 [...] U.S. Bombshell Used as a Prayer Bell at a Buddhist Temple in Laos http://matadorabroad.com/u-s-bom… 24 minutes [...] [...] U.S. Bombshell Used as a Prayer Bell at a Buddhist Temple in Laos http://matadorabroad.com/u-s-bom… 24 minutes [...]

]]> By: Tim Patterson http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/u-s-bombshell-used-as-a-prayer-bell-at-a-buddhist-temple-in-laos/#comment-36238 Tim Patterson Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:38:00 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=2802#comment-36238 What's most f-ed up is that the bombing was deliberately kept secret from Congress and the American people. What’s most f-ed up is that the bombing was deliberately kept secret from Congress and the American people.

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