Philippine Atheists Forum

[pinoy_infidel]

I am currently reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. It was bought for me by a friend when we passed by Tokyo Random Walk, a bookstore in Akasaka Mitsuke in Tokyo that carries English titles. I am halfway through it and so far I am finding the book good. It's a lot better than Sophie's World. I wonder who else in the forum had the chance of reading it?

cheers!
Tony
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Nasa tao ang gawa.

[Masipag2]

[jorgeluisborges]

Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis

Lyrical and Critical Essyas by Albert Camus

[Titus Pullo]

Just finished Richard Dawkin's The God Delusion.

Currently reading for the second (or third) time Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.

[kapanalig_sa_wala]

I haven't been reading enough books related to this forum so I don't have anything to update. Hopefully, I can go back to reading Dawkins' Selfish Gene which I put down after reading three chapters last month.
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Pagkahaba-haba man daw ng prusisyon, wala pa ring diyos.

[edbrewer]

IN HARMS WAY
By: Doug Stanton

The sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the extraordinary story of its survivors.

THE SHIPS

USS Indianapolis is a 9,800 ton Portland class heavy cruiser. She was the flagship of the US Navy's 5th fleet under Adm. Raymund Spruance in WWII. She is a veteran of many actions in the pacific since Dec. 7, 1941. In mid 1945 she was in San Francisco Naval Base where she was undergoing repairs after being hit by a Kamikaze.

The I-58 is a B3 type long range fleet submarine. Assigned to Imperial Japanese Navy's Sixth Fleet Submarine Squadron 11. Lt Cdr Mochitsura Hashimoto is the Commanding Officer. Towards the end of the Pacific war the Imperial Japanese Navy had only a handful of them remaining in their list as combat ready. She has 6 bow torpedo tubes and a stern tube loaded with "long lance" Type 95 torpedoes, plus she carried spares for reload. The I-58 was specifically modified to carry the dreaded "Kaiten" weapon which is essentially a torpedo with a man operating it to crash and detonate its warhead on an enemy ship.

THE MISSION

Delivery of top secret cargo

Under direct orders from President Harry Truman himself the USS Indianapolis was to proceed to Tinian Island and deliver the first Atomic Bomb components, they did, the bombs went off in Hiroshima and Nagasaki 2 weeks later.

The Ninth Kaiten Mission

I-58 is in the "TAMON" Group with I-47, I-53, I-363, I-366 and I-367. She departs Kure for the kaiten base at Hirao flying the "Hi-Ri-Ho-Ken-Ten” and Usa-Hachiman shrine banners. Sink enemy warships, conduct unrestricted submarine warfare in assigned sector with emphasis on use of kamikaze weapons. The I-58 was in Philippine waters as part the "Tamon" Group in July 27, 1945.

WAR

Midnight July 30, 1945. Philippine Sea, 250 miles N of Palau. Lt Cmdr Hashimoto commanding I-58, prepared to launch Kaiten (Manned suicide torpedoes) when he decided to launch conventional torpedoes from the bow at 1,650 yards, bow angle 60 degrees starboard. Hashimoto fires six Type 95 torpedoes in spread with 2-second intervals, set to the depth of 4 meters. Hashimoto observes three equally spaced hits on the starboard side. The first is slightly forward of the No. 1 turret, the second is abreast of the same turret, followed by an explosion and flame. The third is near the bridge, abreast the No. 2 turret. Hashimoto sees that his target is stopped, is listing to starboard and down by the bow. He decides another attack is necessary and dives to 100 feet to open the range, reloading his two forward torpedo tubes.

The first torpedo struck the starboard bow section and blew the entire bow off, men sleeping on deck to avoid the tropic heat were thrown, mangled, burned, vaporized. Some were thrown off their matress and landed on their feet stunned. Seconds later the second torpedo struck just below the number 2 main gun turret almost simultaneously the third struck amid ship just below the number one boiler room. The beast looked like she paused as the torpedo warheads exploded and she appeared to have been lifted up the water and thrown several degrees to port from her original course. Fire spread rapidly. The ship was plowing without a bow gulping tons of sea and busrting her water tight doors at her cruising speed of 17 knots. There was a 40 foot gaping hole where the third torpedo struck. Oil, dead crewmen, peices of the dead and debris flowed out, and exchanged for sea water flooding her compartments.

At 0027, INDIANAPOLIS capsizes and sinks by the bow at 12-02N, 134-48E. 300 died, around 900 survived the torpedo attack and subsequent sinking of the cruiser. For them, the ordeal was just beginning.

THE BOYS

The crew are mostly young boys as the war was nearing its end in 1945. Most male americans who were not were either buried in Arlington VA or still in combat. The ships chaplain, LtSG Thomas Conway, assured the sailors in the water, until the sea took him one evening, weakened with severe exhaustion. After his life jacket was removed by the ships physician (Lt Cmdr. Leweis L. Haines), the priest sank below the water surface, and everyone felt the loss. The sun came up but still....no rescue, in the Philippine sea, in shark infested waters. Makes one think...what happened to all those prayers? Even the priest suffered only to die.

JAWS (Pronounced dyos)

Carcharhinus longimanus. Oceanic white tip shark. Deep ocean dweller, scavenger, not shy to humans in the water, will eat anything. An opportunistic feeder. Its sensors can smell vomit, urine and blood in the water, can hear human activity like explosions, a plane crash, a ship sinking for many miles and swim towards it. The Philippine sea between Mindanao and Palau has many kinds of sharks. Imagine if it were you swimming in the middle of the pacific in a moonless night, bleeding, and turned away from the security of a group of survivors.

WHY I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN UNTIL THE LAST PAGE

Primarily because Lt Thomas Conway is real. He never gave up on the survivors, a testament to his character. A rare jewel in today's world. Lt Conway...is better than his "creator." I feel many here at philippine athiest are, a real humanitarian. "Makatao."

[gman]

Hi, I am very happy that I found this site, it's good to see that a movement has begun.

I am reading for the second time "God is Not Great, How Religion Poisons Everything" by Christopher Hitchens.

It's a great book and I also recomend watching his debates, there are many on youtube.