Tell you what, buddy. If you figure out how to get it up to space without=
potential for accident, and the gamble has been removed, I'd agree with you=
that
>If there's one good justifiable use for nuclear energy, it's to explore=
deep
> space. =20
But you (varactacap@aol.com) say,
>Based on what I've found out so far, there's about a one in a million=
chance of
> 1500 people suffering as a result of the Cassini mission. I'm willing to=
fly
> in an airliner, which has about the same chance of crashing into a=
populated
> area.
There are a couple of points I want to make here. First, are you aware that=
the government lies to you? Check out our website http://prop1.org and go=
to "Current Events" then "Cassini" to see what some of the alternative=
viewpoints are by very reputable scientists. Or I'll forward some of their=
messages to you, if need be. =20
Second, if you were impressed by the NASA scientists bringing their children=
to the launch site to prove how safe Cassini was, I had a good friend, who=
died last year from cancer of the face, whose father used to work at=
Hanford Nuclear plant in Washington, who used her as a guinea pig for his=
radiation experiments. SOME parents are crazy.
In closure, you have the right to gamble with your own life, but for God's=
and kids' sakes, leave the rest of us alone. An airliner crash is bad=
enough. An explosion of plutonium 238 could be a disaster of unthinkable=
horror, which is why most people are utilizing that little "shut it out"=
door in their minds and leaving it all up to the government.
Which gets us back to #1. Are you aware that "the government" lies? You've=
probably read recently about the scientists who did radiological=
experiments on mentally ill, on veterans? (Using the military as guinea=
pigs is a long-time practice: Vietnam's Agent Orange, Bikini's Atomic=
veterans, the Persian Gulf innoculations against rumored Iraqi weapons=
which may have something to do with Gulf War Syndrome.) Scientists were=
right in there with their pokes and prods and instruments after Hiroshima=
and Nagasaki, after Bikini (the native islanders were seriously exposed and=
had jellyfish babies, hair fallout, etc). No doubt they've been poking=
around Three Mile Island, too. To some scientists, disaster is an=
opportunity to learn something new. I understand the sentiment. It's just=
that I dislike intensely the cold-blooded way in which they explore new=
things without real understanding of what the consequences could be, or=
deciding that "1,500 deaths" would be acceptable, whereas "1,000 deaths"=
would be unacceptable. Are they willing to be among the "1,500"? Who are=
they to play gods?
You can see I feel strongly on this subject, but I feel this way because I=
study, read, listen, ask questions, dig deep. I'm in the process of trying=
to bring all the facts I can lay my hands on up onto the web so everyone=
can begin to see a clearer picture. I hope the folks who live in the=
Midwest who have just learned this year that they were irradiated in the=
'60's by fallout from nuclear tests blowing east, the ones who have had=
unexplained thyroid cancer, or chronic ailments, in a previously healthy=
family, will find the information useful. I hope you will find it=
intriguing enough to be skeptical about "what I've found out so far" when=
your source of information is the mainstream press (which did a better job=
with Cassini than it usually does in reporting facts, but which kept=
inserting the opinion "it's okay" in key psychological places). =
Fortunately we have the internet to keep us informed.
Please, go to http://prop1.org and click "Current Events," then "Cassini,"=
to get more on this space launch. Go to "Nuclear" then "Accidents and=
Safety" then "Let the Facts Speak" for a list of 1,054 known nuclear=
accidents since 1945. If you can disprove any of this stuff, please try. =
We'll share your information, too.
Sincerely,
Ellen Thomas
<center>Proposition One Committee
Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil
PO Box 27217, Washington DC 20038 USA
202-462-0757 -- prop1@prop1.org -- http://prop1.org
(Check http://prop1.org -- Current Events!)
</center>