Feynman was brilliant. I don't doubt for a moment that he has had his own internal strife regarding his involvement in the project. Many of the scientists on the project were afflicted with a sort of tunnel vision as they focused on completing the job at hand, or felt that they had to get it done before the technology was used on them, only to later feel some version of guilt about their work. Feynman expresses his feelings about around 3:15 and goes on to say that he felt "that things were sort of doomed."

The only Manhattan Project scientist to leave the project was Józef Rotblat.

IN MARCH 1944 I experienced a disagreeable shock. At that time I was living with the Chadwicks in their house on the Mesa, before moving later to the "Big House;' the quarters for single scientists. General Leslie Groves, when visiting Los Alamos, frequently came to the Chadwicks for dinner and relaxed palaver. During one such conversation Groves said that, of course, the real purpose in making the bomb was to subdue the Soviets. [...] Remember, this was said at a time when thousands of Russians were dying every day on the Eastern Front, tying down the Germans and giving the Allies time to prepare for the landing on the continent of Europe. Until then I had thought that our work was to prevent a Nazi victory, and now I was told that the weapon we were preparing was intended for use against the people who were making extreme sacrifices for that very aim. [/reformation.org]

In the letter above, Rotblat goes on to explain that Neils Bohr shared concerns of a possible arms race between West and East, and his thoughts about why other scientists did not make the same choice to leave the project, and of accused of being a spy for the Russins after quitting the project. He was instructed speak to no one of his reasons for leaving.

Rotblat later went on to found the Pugwash Conference, with Bertrand Russell, which aimed to bring together scientists to work toward reducing the danger of (nuclear) armed conflict, and worked towards nuclear disarmament.

An excellent interview with him is over at the Vega Science Trust website:
http://vega.org.uk/video/programme/22

The National Film Board of Canada recently produced a documentary about on the work of Rotblat and the work of Pugwash. Trailer here:

http://videosift.com/video/Grant-Munro-Toys-1966-National-Film-Board-of-Canada#comment-1214268

Gotta love the National Film Board of *Canada.

"Anybody's Son Will Do

By Bill Willers

20 April, 2010
Opednews.com

In 1983, the National Film Board of Canada produced a 57-minute film, "Anybody's Son Will Do". Arguably the best anti-war film ever made, and tailored for public television, it scared the hell out of the U.S. military machine, which has done its best to "disappear" it. For years it has been nearly impossible to find a copy, but some kind soul has posted it on YouTube where it can be seen in six segments.

The film shows the process by which young men become psychologically engineered to kill or die on command. While the model used is the U.S. Marine Corps, it's made clear that the modern techniques for creating soldiers are refined, dehumanizing and universal.

Military forces will take boys as young as the law allows, as witness African militias that, unrestrained by regulation, recruit children as young as ten. People into their twenties, having begun to think for themselves to too great a degree, tend not to be sufficiently malleable. In the U.S., recruitment below age 17 is not legal. However, as war has become ever more computerized, need is growing for tech-savvy recruits who can kill coolly and indiscriminately from great distances, as if playing video games. The military has become very good at video games.

What this leads to in the real world is exemplified by this recently publicized footage of the slaughter by U.S. military of 12 civilians. The video has been a much-needed awakening for many. But as distressing as the carnage itself is the callousness with which the people go about their work: "Alright, hahaha, I hit 'em... Nice, good shooting.... Thanks"

http://www.collateralmurder.com/

AsGlenn Greenwald has correctly declared, the tragedy of this is that it's not aberration but commonplace. What is unusual is that this particular episode was made public.

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/39266

What is also tragic is that it represents precisely what the U.S. military wants to make of recruits who will be

reeducated -- brainwashed -- to see it as manly, patriotic, heroic. And what youngsterwith percolating hormones, negligible life experience and no basis for critical thought doesn't want to be like that?

Go to http://www.americasarmy.com/ and click on "America's Army Graphic Novel" to see what age group and level of education the Pentagon is aiming for. The "novels" are 28-page comics with text bubbles over GI Joe action figures and brightly colored noise representations: "KRR-AKK", "BLAM", "RATATATAT, CHAKA CHACKA CHAK...".

And now with their arcades open to the public, the military has its foot in the door of the minds of younger children who, if asked, would likely insist they can tell the difference between video games and reality.

click here

As for "Anyone's Son Will Do", DVDs of it should be in every junior high and high school in the country. Parent-teacher associations should have screenings. With any luck, it might get us headed toward a day when a common sight will be bumper stickers "Support Our Peace Makers".
Bill Willers is emeritus professor of biology, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh now living in Middleton, WI. He is founder of Superior Wilderness Action Network (SWAN) and editor of Learning to Listen to the Land and Unmanaged Landscapes, both from Island Press. He posts occasionally online at OpEdNews, Common Dreams, Counterpunch and Dissident Voice."
http://www.countercurrents.org/willers200410.htm

Tags for this video have been changed from 'animation, larkin, montreal, 1969, NFB, national film board of canada, oscar' to 'Larkin, Ryan Larkin, Montreal, 1968, NFB, National Film Board of Canada, Oscar' - edited by notarobot

It was lot harder to pick one sifted and one pqueued video than I thought it would be. And I wasn't even trying to pick any favorites (which these are not), just a couple I thought worthy of mention. I decided to go with a theme - obscure and great animation videos that didn't get nearly enough attention.

Sifted: http://www.videosift.com/video/La-Faim-Hunger
A very cool animation about gluttony, from the National Film Board of Canada.

PQueued: http://www.videosift.com/video/Crow-Moon
I can't think of anything to write about this except that I love it and you all should watch it.

*dead damn you
This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by National Film Board of Canada

Tags for this video have been changed from 'animation, larkin, montreal, 1969' to 'animation, larkin, montreal, 1969, NFB, national film board of canada, oscar' - edited by fissionchips

>> ^ReverendTed:
Um..."Boards of Canada" isn't Canadian - it's a Scottish duo.

Their music is largely sampled from the National Film Board of Canada's catalogue, hence their name.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'log drivers waltz, national film board of canada, logs, whitewater' to 'log drivers waltz, national film board of canada, nfb, logs, whitewater' - edited by calvados

Thanks for all the GREAT comments, everyone.

I personally believe that we should try to empathize with everyone, regardless of how trivial we perceive their problems to be, because maybe their problems really aren't so trivial. Yes, I can think of worse problems to have than being sexually objectified. Being horribly maimed or disfigured is just one example that I consider to be worse. Having severe mental illness is yet another, IMHO. However, we're in the 21st century and yet sexual harassment and the "glass ceiling" for women are still very real problems in the workplace, and pretty women are often the ones who find themselves in those situations. Also consider Marilyn Monroe. She struggled to get serious acting roles because she was often just considered "a face", and all her good looks didn't prevent her from taking her own life.

If you don't want to consider beautiful people as having any disadvantages, that's fine. However, I hope that after you've seen this video you'll look past the looks and try to learn more about attractive people you meet before you simply categorize them as "a face".

I'm also adding this to the *Canada channel, as I noticed that it was directed by KITH alumnus Mark McKinney, and it was also produced in cooperation with the National Film Board of Canada.

1. What's Opera, Doc? (Warner Bros./1957)
2. Duck Amuck (Warner Bros./1953)
3. The Band Concert (Disney/1935)
4. Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century (Warner Bros./1953)
5. One Froggy Evening (Warner Bros./1956)
6. Gertie the Dinosaur (Winsor McCay/1914)
7. Red Hot Riding Hood (MGM/1943)
8. Porky in Wackyland (Warner Bros./1938)
9. Gerald McBoing Boing (UPA]/1951)
10. King-Size Canary (MGM/1947)
11. Three Little Pigs (Disney/1933)
12. Rabbit of Seville (Warner Bros./1950)
13. Steamboat Willie (Disney/1928)
14. The Old Mill (Disney/1937)
15. Bad Luck Blackie (MGM/1949)
16. The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (Warner Bros./1946)
17. Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor (Fleischer/1936)
18. The Skeleton Dance (Disney/1929)
19. Snow White (1933 cartoon) (Fleischer/1933)
20. Minnie the Moocher (Fleischer/1932)
21. Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (Warner Bros./1943)
22. Der Fuehrer's Face (Disney/1943)
23. Little Rural Riding Hood (MGM/1949)
24. The Tell-Tale Heart (UPA/1953)
25. The Big Snit (National Film Board of Canada/1985)
26. Brave Little Tailor (Disney/1938)
27. Clock Cleaners (Disney/1937)
28. Northwest Hounded Police (MGM/1946)
29. Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom (Disney/1953)
30. Rabbit Seasoning (Warner Bros./1952)
31. The Scarlet Pumpernickel (Warner Bros./1950)
32. The Cat Came Back (National Film Board Of Canada/1988)
33. Superman (Fleischer/1941)
34. You Ought To Be in Pictures (Warner Bros./1940)
35. Ali Baba Bunny (Warner Bros./1957)
36. Feed the Kitty (Warner Bros./1952)
37. Bimbo's Initiation (Fleischer/1931)
38. Bambi Meets Godzilla (International Rocketship/1969)
39. Little Red Riding Rabbit (Warner Bros./1941)
40. Peace on Earth (MGM/1939)
41. Rooty Toot Toot (UPA/1952)
42. The Cat Concerto (MGM/1947)
43. The Barber of Seville (Lantz/1944)
44. The Man Who Planted Trees (National Film Board Of Canada/1987)
45. Book Revue (Warner Bros./1946)
46. Quasi at the Quackadero (Cruikshank/1975)
47. Corny Concerto (Warner Bros./1943)
48. Unicorn in the Garden (UPA/1953)
49. The Dover Boys (Warner Bros./1942)
50. Felix in Hollywood (Sullivan/1923)

An excerpt from wiki:
"The Hockey Sweater" ("Le chandail de hockey" in the original French) is a short story published in 1979 by Quebec author Roch Carrier.

Though a relatively recent story, it has become one of the best-known works of literature in Canada. It was made into a National Film Board of Canada (NFB) animated short in 1980, known as The Sweater, or Le Chandail. The short is often shown, in both French and English, to elementary school students, making it very well known amongst Canadian youth.

The story is widely considered an allegory for the linguistic and cultural tensions between anglophone and francophone Canadians, and an essential classic of Canadian literature. An excerpt from the story is now also commemorated in both official languages of Canada on the back of the Canadian five-dollar bill."

Any Canadian sifters familiar with this?

This fairly deserves a *cute because the shapes definitely are, as is the *music (critical given lack of real speech and the importance of the accompaniment to the movie), and a *politics considering there's war and other "political issues". Given the humour, a *comedy tag is a natural.

Finally, this has such a *geek written all over it (acceptance, rejection, isolation) - not to mention it's from the National Film Board of Canada (breeding ground for film geeks).

Excellent find, mauz!