To: "carol wolman" <cwolman@mcn.org>
From: "Russell D. Hoffman" <rhoffman@animatedsoftware.com>
Subject: Re: HOW DO THEY GET AWAY WITH IT?  by Carol S. Wolman, MD + space shuttle speculation + nuke issues + more!
In-Reply-To: <004801c2d27f$4fee6be0$160cc13f@oemcomputer>

Dear Readers,

I've been busy trying to stop a religious fanatic with massive quantities of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons of mass destruction from starting a senseless war which could result in the deaths of millions of non-combatants, as well as some U.S. soldiers.

But enough about Bush.

Contents of todays' newsletter:

THE PROUD AMERICAN
HOW DO THEY GET AWAY WITH IT?  by Carol S. Wolman, MD
SPACE SHUTTLE SPECULATION (INCLUDES:
Secret Shuttle Part Sought in Texas Search)
CHERNOBYL IN SPACE
AN EXCELLENT WEB SITE ABOUT JAPANESE NUCLEAR POWER AND EARTHQUAKES
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES SCREWS FALLOUT VICTIMS
RED ROVER, RED ROVER, LET PLUTONIUM FLY OVER (US)
THE ONE FORCE GREATER THAN DUCK/DUCT TAPE IS...

Thank you for reading!

Russell D. Hoffman
Senior Weapons Inspector
Planet Earth
HQ: Carlsbad, CA, USA


===================================================
THE PROUD AMERICAN
===================================================

A reader, claiming to be "A Proud American" reminds me to: "Remember to keep things in perspective,  110,000 children die every day from malnutrition and diseases that we have cures for and did you know that the American Government and the fine people of America give more Money & Food to solve this problem than all the other countries combined."

In fact, as a percentage of personal income, we EACH give far LESS than any other major developed country.  It's just that we're so rich, the aggregate is more.

Furthermore, long ago the industrial nations established artificially low prices for natural resources such as precious metals, which we now import from so-called "Third World" countries while keeping them in poverty with the "Third World Debt".  It ain't just oil, it's nickle, silver, copper, gold, etc. etc. and we steal it from American Indians too.

So while we might feel pride in highly publicized and carefully counted handouts, the fact is that individually, on a mathematical basis, we really have no right to be proud, because we each hardly made any sacrifice at all -- nothing noticeable.  And while we each barely lift a pinky to help, children all over the world continue to die from easily curable and preventable diseases.

The actual figures the Proud American cited are probably not very accurate, anyway, and were offered up as an excuse for ignoring the ADDITIONAL 100,000 deaths each year in Iraq, apparently caused by Saddam stealing bags of flour from his starving masses and enhancing the royal palaces he and hundreds of leaders before him have been using for centuries, by molding the flour into bricks and building new rooms with an incredible mixture of flour, water, oil, and secret chemicals.

Furthermore, the Proud American writer ignores the many unjust wars we (America) have fought (many of which my-father-the-veteran and many other veterans have opposed), and the unjust tactics we have used, even during times of peace (like assassination-by-drone, for example), and even against our own citizens (such as infiltration of our environmental movements).

These omissions by the "Proud American" are hopefully just the result of ignorance, something America has an abundance of, these days.

-- rdh


===================================================
HOW DO THEY GET AWAY WITH IT?  by Carol S. Wolman, MD:
===================================================

Dear Dr. Wolman:

Thank you for sending me your excellent statement (shown below).

It should be made clear, however, that Bush's nuclear holocaust is not just planned, but very much an ongoing thing.  Bush is the top Don of the Nuclear Mafia, who are spreading Depleted Uranium weapons around battlefields, plutonium in space, promoting nuclear power when renewables are technologically feasible, and pretending Yucca Mountain will some day solve our high-level radioactive waste storage problems, so let's just keep the plants open, keep making 10 tons a day of NEW HLRW, and let's re-open Davis-Besse, and tough luck to the local residents around San Onofre, Indian Point, and 100 other reactors around the country.

The greatest secrecy, the "need" for secrecy, the "reason" (or "excuse") for secrecy, and the most underhanded -- and the most blatant -- official government lies ALL circle around the nuclear issue.

We need to force the whole truth out.  The truth about where nuclear waste is located (how much is at the bottom of which ocean trench or mixed into what public landfill?).  We need to remove all nuclear reactors from military vessels.  We need to retrieve all radioactively-powered listening devices and forbid use of that technology. We need to dismantle ALL nuclear weapons LARGE and "SMALL".  We need to publicize and officially admit the truth about how damaging radiation really is, even in small doses.  We need to realize that the "Cold War" was not cold at all -- Dr. Chris Busby and a distinguished research team recently estimated that by 1989, 65,000,000 (SIXTY-FIVE MILLION) people had died or were condemned to death from radioactive particles in the environment from nuclear power and nuclear weapons.

Something as seemingly small as disclosing the Bush-Cheney Energy Plan would undoubtedly unravel this Presidency, because there are unquestionably IMPEACHABLE OFFENCES contained within it -- many of them having to do with the secret promotion of nuclear power and nuclear-based "solutions" to military dilemmas.

Sincerely,

Russell Hoffman
Concerned Futurist
Planet Earth
HQ: Carlsbad, CA, USA

Author (or Coauthor), illustrator, and programmer for the following Internet publications:

The Demon Hot Atom:
http://www.animatedsoftware.com/hotwords/index.htm

List of Nuclear Power Plants in America:
http://www.animatedsoftware.com/environm/no_nukes/nukelist.htm

NO NUKES IN SPACE:
http://www.animatedsoftware.com/mx/nasa/columbia/index.swf
or try:
http://www.animatedsoftware.com/mx/nasa/columbia/index.html

Glossary of Pumps:
http://www.animatedsoftware.com/pumpglos/pumpglos.htm

Glossary of Statistical Terms:
http://www.animatedsoftware.com/statglos/statglos.htm

Learn Statistics (Password: NO NUKES!):
http://www.animatedsoftware.com/elearning/index.html
 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At 02:06 AM 2/12/2003 , "carol wolman" <cwolman@mcn.org> wrote:

Dear Friends,
 
We are fighting against a ruthless enemy, which seeks to conquer the planet by fair means or foul.  Their plots and conspiracies date back to World War II at least.  The list of their sins and crimes is shocking and awesome: HOW DO THEY GET AWAY WITH IT?
 
As this long-term conspiracy boldly and shamelessly moves into the light, arrogant in its military might, it barely condescends to maintain a scant cover of legitimacy and righteousness.  The traditional forms are maintained, as much as possible, and often under duress from the growing protest movements.  The cabal now ruling in America makes it clear, however, that this is only a courtesy, and that, under pretext of defense against terrorism, they will do whatever pleases them.  Their hypocrisy is obvious by now.
 
HOW DO THEY GET AWAY WITH IT?
 
They have all sorts of dirty tricks, of course.  Being unscrupulous, the Bush cabal is not hampered by qualms that might stop the rest of us- such as the Ten Commandments, the injunction to love our neighbors, a sense of duty toward the poor, concern for future generations, a basic sense of fair play.   To the average law-abiding citizen, this degree of sociopathy is unimaginable, especially in people who wear good clothes, speak well, and are supposed to have a responsibility to their country and their people.  The level of denial and credulity among average American voters remains high, despite all the shocking revelations of the past two years.
 
HOW DO THEY GET AWAY WITH IT?
 
Americans are not like Germans of the thirties, who were raised in an authoritarian culture and naturally responded to a dictator.  We like to see ourselves as highly individualistic and autonomous, well-educated and used to thinking for ourselves.  Of course, most American consciousness is highly molded by TV and other state-controlled mass media.  Many people tune in to this stuff, chew it over and spit it out again, without realizing that they are being fed a bunch of lies and half-truths.  Again, denial of dishonesty among journalists and academics who are supposed to be trustworthy, is a major factor.
 
By God's grace, over half of us have access to the Internet and multiple sources of information.  And the people ARE mobilizing. 
 
But so far, the Bush cabal has gotten away with it- the Congress dutifully passes horrible legislation, the pollsters report that the people support Bush, the election results show Republican victories, and the troops are moved to Iraq.
 
HOW DO THEY GET AWAY WITH IT?
 
They use shock and awe, the tactics that are now unveiled to stun Iraq into submission.  The Bush administration has been inflicting shocks on the American people since it first took office, with a breathtaking series of legislative and executive moves that strip our rights, despoil our land and plunder our pocketbooks.  They twang our fear of terrorism regularly with their orange alerts. 
 
Americans are already psychically numb from the threat of nuclear holocaust, overstimulated from video games and action/adventure movies, divorced from reality by hyperconsumption, guilty over robbing Indian lands and living off the cheap labor of third world countries.  We are easy to manipulate psychologically, especially by those who have studied mass psychology and spin doctoring for generations.  Still, the lies are becoming very blatant.
 
HOW DO THEY GET AWAY WITH IT?
 
The veneer of legitimacy, however thin, remains crucial.  The Bush junta work hard to win elections, spend lots of money, and rig the results if necessary. The pretense of democracy is maintained, and with it their right to govern.
 
It's always easy for those who control the purse strings to retain the support of the upper and upper middle classes, whom they reward with contracts, favors, positions, etc.  It's necessary for the middle and lower classes to understand how we are being robbed and lied to, so that the opposition to this regime will be united, fierce, and as relentless as they are.  As long as people believe in upward mobility, they will identify with the wealthy and not see their own interests. 
 
Still, with the stock market crashes and the poor economy, it's time to look at the reality.  This is still not happening enough.  Muckraking remains a critical part of the work of the peace movement.
 
HOW DO THEY GET AWAY WITH IT?
 
Bush and those around him profess Christianity.  He likes to quote the Bible, and panders to the born-agains by endeavoring to regulate sexual mores- moving against abortions and condoms. 
 
Never mind that his policies contradict the Bible in every direction, never mind that almost all the churches, including his own Methodist church, have lined up against him on invading Iraq, never mind that he blasphemes by taking a godlike role upon himself.  Never mind that he has sworn oaths to dark pagan gods in the secrecy of the Skull and Bones Club and the Bohemian grove. 
 
This mantle of Christianity deceives many followers of Jesus, and they rejoice in having a president claims to be a Christian.  They look at his words, not his deeds, disregarding the Biblical injunction to know a tree by its fruit.
 
The sheep's clothing of this wolf is intimidating to believers and nonbelievers alike because there IS power in the name of Jesus, even when invoked in vain.  The Bible and the name of Jesus confer an aura of righteousness on Bush, which he skillfully exploits. 
 
This mantle MUST be ripped off and Bush must be exposed for the liar he is.  And we must not throw the baby Jesus out with the bathwater.  He is the Prince of Peace, and shows the peace movement how to proceed, with love, gentleness, nonviolence, and healing energy.  His longsuffering patience and willingness to take on the karma of the rest of us is a model and an inspiration which we must not let go of.
 
Jesus belongs to us, not to Bush.  As we confront the Beast and the kings with their armies, as described in Revelation Chapter 19, we the peace movement must follow the Prince of Peace.
 
We are fighting the battle of Armageddon- a spiritual battle.  The future of life on planet Earth is at stake, for the Bush policies, if unchecked, will lead to nuclear war.
 
THEY WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH IT.  WITH GOD'S HELP, WE ARE STOPPING THEM. 
 
                                 Carol S. Wolman, MD
 
---------------------------------------------------------------

To: "Russell D. Hoffman" <rhoffman@animatedsoftware.com>
Subject: Re: HOW DO THEY GET AWAY WITH IT?  by Carol S. Wolman, MD

Thanks, Russell.  I hope it resonates with your readers.   Peace,  Carol
----------------------------------------------------------------

==========================================================
SPACE SHUTTLE SPECULATION:
==========================================================

Note: I doubt NASA particularly wanted to make any martyrs in space this month, but other than that speculation, I find this article extremely interesting. Certainly, NASA needs the American people to be comfortable with a completely militarized NASA, and with the use of nuclear materials in space.  I believe essentially ALL civilian space missions are really military in some way, if only as a distraction (like Cassini was). -- rdh

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 00:02:37 -0500
From: "LOVEARTH.net" <mark@lovearth.net>
To: rhoffman@animatedsoftware.com
Subject: The Space Shuttle's Secret Military Mission, by Yoichi Clark Shimatsu

http://freedom.orlingrabbe.com/lfetimes/columbia_spectral.htm


The Space Shuttle's Secret Military Mission


Astronaut Ilan Ramon Spied on Iraq with a Multispectral Camera.


Were spectral emissions from the shuttle powered by americium-242?


by Yoichi Clark Shimatsu

Night vision actively makes visible things hidden in darkness. It is a subliminal technology that projects an infrared beam onto obscure objects, which appear through digital lenses as phosphorescent ghost-like images. Conventional optical devices, in contrast, are passive, receiving light from external sources such as stars and street lamps or the sunlight reflected off surfaces. Telescopes, even powerful ones, become grainy in low-light, low-contrast situations.

This is why farmers and sawmills around the world burn their fields and scrap wood on damp days. Optical air-pollution monitors in nearby towns cannot detect the smoke plumes through the mist. Likewise, anyone trying to dispose of waste gases – from chemical-weapons laboratories, for instance – uses the same technique of releasing emissions under cloud cover or at nighttime to evade detection by spy satellites.

The only way to spot such "smoking-gun evidence," as in the case of Iraq's alleged chemical weapons program, is to mount a beam-generating technology, basically a souped-up version of night vision, on to a platform circling over the suspect territory.

Thus, for 16 days in orbit, Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon made earth observations with a cluster of instruments, which NASA called "a multi-spectral telescope." Designed to survey the air quality over the deserts of the Middle East, his "telescope" was built by a research team at Tel Aviv University and a U.S. company, Orbital Sciences Corp. His research project was called MEIDEX (Mediterranean-Israel dust experiment).[1]

According to Israel Line magazine, MEIDEX "called for Ramon to observe and take pictures of atmospheric aerosols in the Mediterranean area using ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared array-detector cameras." The acronym seems disingenuous because the letters ME are usually employed by Israeli research projects to stand for "Middle East."

The computer-controlled cameras were pointed earthward to detect desert dust and "pollution aerosols . . . to provide scientific information about atmospheric aerosols and the influence of global changes on the climate." The data was directly transmitted to Tel Aviv University and, according to investigative journalist Gordon Thomas, on to the Israeli Biological Institute, the hub of Israel's nerve-gas and bioweapons programs.[2]

With computer enhancement, the collected images reveal the chemical composition of the stew of gases and droplets swirling over the desert. The ultraviolet and visible rays, originating from the sun, showed the normal background of the atmosphere – mineral particles, methane, car exhaust fumes and oil well burn-off – during daylight hours when Saddam Hussein's laboratories don't dare release their toxic wastes (assuming if indeed these are being produced or destroyed). The important data, however, must be gathered during chemical releases at night or under clouds, and this is where infrared cameras come into play.

Infrared cameras pick up the heat waves generated by artificial sources such as power plants and oil refineries. What if, however, Saddam's chemists were to take the precaution of cooling toxic emissions before dispersing them into the air? To detect cooler gases, an effective night-shot camera needs to generate its own infrared beam. It would have to be an extraordinarily powerful beam to penetrate the clouds far below.

Night vision, as any special-forces soldier or video enthusiast learns, is limited by the infrared beam's range. More power means more range. A space shuttle, however, simply cannot generate the staggering amount of extra power that the MEIDEX telescope requires on the sun-blocked side of Earth. To eliminate the risk of a power shutdown to the other experiments and the spaceship itself, a multi-spectral telescope requires an independent source of power, and the obvious solution is nuclear power.

During the search for Columbia debris, one of the sheriffs in Texas told reporters about the danger posed by radioactive equipment from the shuttle. NASA repeatedly warned of hazardous substances without disclosing any specifics. Most media commentators assumed that the space agency issued the bogus warnings to discourage souvenir collectors. Maybe the sheriff wasn't lying.[3]


Americium-242

The Russians have been known to install nuclear reactors aboard their mammoth satellites. The shuttle, however, is a lighter craft with a human crew – not the place for a lead-lined thermonuclear chamber. It turns out, however, that Ben-Gurion University's nuclear physics department has produced an exotic type of fissionable fuel called americium-242.[4] According to a university news release, americium-242 "requires only 1 percent of the mass of uranium or plutonium to reach its critical state. It was found that this fuel could sustain fission in the form of extremely thin films of these elements, less than a thousandth of a millimeter thick. In this form, the exceedingly high-energy, high-temperature fission products can escape the fuel elements and be used for propulsion in space - either by heating a gas for propulsion, or by fueling a special generator that produces electricity."[5]

Searching for these radioactive wafers across the state of Texas goes one better than the proverbial needle in the haystack.

NASA is reportedly considering nuclear-fueled spacecraft for future missions, since an americium-242 engine is expected to 10 times faster than current rocket technology.[6] A more immediate application of this exotic nuclear fuel is to provide the kick for space-based weapons, including laser cannons and electromagnetic pulse weapons. (Not by coincidence perhaps, Ilan Ramon and Commander William McCool were both specialists in electromagnetic warfare.)[7]

Space weaponry mounted on orbiting platforms, however, is illegal under several United Nations treaties; international law is the major obstacle to their deployment. Therefore, the anti-missile missiles developed by the U.S. and Israeli militaries serve as a convenient ploy to sell the National Missile Defense program to a technology-illiterate public. The Arrow and Patriot series are hopelessly clumsy ground-based technologies.

How then can the Bush and Sharon administrations win public support for space-based weapons? A cynical solution is to make martyrs of an Israeli-American space shuttle crew. Show them to be victims of outmoded technology and, more important, obsolete thinking in NASA and in Congress about keeping space free of nuclear power and potential war-making technologies. Is it conceivable that an American president would deliberately sabotage the Columbia? If his agenda is to affect a shift of NASA from a hybrid civilian-military space agency to an arm of the Pentagon's ballistic missile defense program, then no sacrifice could be too great – especially if Ilan Ramon's telescope had failed to detect any smoking guns over Iraq. As for the Israeli leader, it must be recalled that the Likud movement is built on the cult of martyrdom – from ancient Masada and the Warsaw ghetto to the Irgun fighters killed in fratricidal violence by Haganah militiamen at the birth of Israel, from Yonathan Netanyahu's demise in Entebbe to – now – the death of Colonel Ilan Ramon, nonchalant bomber of Iraq's nuclear plant repackaged as a hero of science.


An Experiment Gone Awry?

Undoubtedly, the official investigation will determine the Columbia disaster was not an accident by design. Blue-ribbon committees will piously give their independent endorsements, even if martyrs were made to order. Instead of jumping to conspiracy theories, even a harsh critic of NMD must admit that the Columbia disaster could have been an accident – though not one caused by loose tiles but by an experiment gone awry.

Ilan Ramon's telescope was "multi-spectral." This is an interesting word because it could refer to either the electromagnetic spectrum or ghostly apparitions. Taking a cue from Derrida's "Specters," the mission may have been haunted, though not in the way those of apocalyptic mindset have linked the Columbia's destruction to the over-flight town of Palestine, Texas.

Naomi Elliman, in her article "Israel in Space" posted on the Israeli Ministry of Finance website, disclosed "Ramon also investigated sprites."[8] Sprites and Ramon! His was a fascination resembling Nabokov's obsession with butterflies. Sprites, like butterflies, fly but they are traditionally classified as UFOs or as avenging angels. These spectral lights composed of ionized plasma (gas atoms stripped of electrons) are, Elliman explains, "rare forms of lightning that occur above thunderstorms at heights of up to 90 kilometers," or 55 miles above sea level.

As Columbia swung down to 36 miles altitude, an amateur astronomer in California snapped five shots of the descending shuttle with his Nikon. The photographs, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, showed a mysterious orange aura tinged with purple hovering over the ship's left wing.[9] Was this phantom-flame merely a trick of light or was it the luminous sprite that pilot Ilan Ramon had been chasing for years?

If Ramon had switched on his multi-spectral cameras – probably with childlike delight – as Columbia traversed the Pacific, he did not foresee the fatal consequences. The negative charge of the high-energy electron pulse from the americium-242 would attract the positive charge of the gas plasma generated by sprites (lighting is positive in the upper elevations). The strange attraction – half natural, half artificial – would have been as powerful as a Star Trek traction beam reeling in a Klingon interceptor.

A lightning burst would account for the sudden surge in temperature, the immediate shutdown of heat sensors and communications systems (why the ghostly "last words" were never transmitted to NASA monitors), and for the tumbling that sent Columbia, a flaming chariot of the heavens, to her doom.

Notes

1.Does the ME in MEIDEX stand for Mediterranean? According to the Israel Space Agency: "In 1999, ISA and NASA established in Israel the 'Middle East Interactive Data Archive (ISA-MEIDA)' in order to create and maintain an Earth observing data center."

2.Gordon Thomas, Ireland-based intelligence expert.

3.Comments by Nacogdoches County Sheriff Thomas Kerss on the threat of radioactive cargo aboard the Columbia were reported on CNBC-TV on Feb. 3 and later on PBS.

4.Americium-242m or 242Amm: Americium is used in chemical-weapons detectors and superconducters. The Americium-242m isotope is described in: SpaceDaily 2001.01.06. Journal: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research No.455 pp. 442-451 December 2000 Yigal Ronen & Eugene Shwagerous

5.Ben-Gurion University (2001): "Space vehicles are about to receive a very large (and quite literal) boost from Israeli research, according to scientists at Ben-Gurion University. They have shown that a new type of nuclear fuel could cut the travel time from Earth to Mars from 10 months to only two weeks. 'It has long been known that the less the nuclear reactor which powers a space vehicle weighs, the more efficient space travel is,' says Prof. Yigal Ronen, of the university's Department of Nuclear Engineering. To meet the challenge of a light nuclear reactor, Ronen examined one element of reactor design - the fuel. The study focused on the nuclear fission fuel americium-242m, which requires only one percent of the mass of uranium or plutonium to reach its critical state. It was found that this fuel could sustain fission in the form of extremely thin films of these elements, less than a thousandth of a millimeter thick. In this form, the exceedingly high-energy, high-temperature fission products can escape the fuel elements and be used for propulsion in space - either by heating a gas for propulsion, or by fueling a special generator that produces electricity. There are still many hurdles to overcome before americium-242m can be used in space - examining reactor design, refueling, heat removal and safety provisions for manned vehicles - as well as the high cost of its manufacture. Americium-242m is already available in small quantities, and Ronen believes that the fuel will eventually be used for space travel."

6.NASA Nuclear-powered space vehicles: Los Angeles Times, 2002.01.17 article by Peter Pae "NASA 2004 budget to include funding for Nuclear Space Initiative" Also known as "Project Prometheus".

7.Electromagnetic warfare: Ilan Ramon was part of the 8-jet squadron that attacked the Iraqi nuclear power plant in 1981. His mission was to deceive the Iraqi radar by sending a false signal that made the jets appear to be a single commercial airliner.

Cmdr. William McCool (US Navy commander) trained on and flew Prowler electromagnetic warfare tactical aircraft at Whitbey Naval Station in Washington State.

NOTE: Kalpana Chawla (the Indian-American woman) was the only non-military crew member of the Columbia, but she was a defense-technology researcher.

NASA: EDUCATION: Graduated from Tagore School, Karnal, India, in 1976. Bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College, India, 1982. Master of science degree in aerospace engineering from University of Texas, 1984. Doctorate of philosophy in aerospace engineering from University of Colorado, 1988.

EXPERIENCE: In 1988, Kalpana Chawla started work at NASA Ames Research Center in the area of powered-lift computational fluid dynamics. Her research concentrated on simulation of complex airflows encountered around aircraft such as the Harrier (vertical takeoff assault jet) in "ground-effect." Following completion of this project she supported research in mapping of flow solvers to parallel computers, and testing of these solvers by carrying out powered lift computations. In 1993 Kalpana Chawla joined Overset Methods Inc., Los Altos, California, as Vice President and Research Scientist to form a team with other researchers specializing in simulation of moving multiple body problems. She was responsible for development and implementation of efficient techniques to perform aerodynamic optimization.

8.Sprites: Ilan Ramon's interest in sprites indicates that he may have been part of the Israeli Air Force team specializing in chasing UFOs.

9.San Francisco Chronicle 2003.2.2 David Perlman "Photos show odd images near shuttle"

[Secret Search Note: Encryption can be done with SOFTWARE. No need for a special piece of black hardware. They are looking for something else.]


Yahoo! News - Secret Shuttle Part Sought in Texas

Secret Shuttle Part Sought in Texas Search
Thu Feb 6, 4:00 PM ET Top Stories - Reuters

By Rick Wilking

BRONSON, Texas (Reuters) - Hundreds of National Guardsmen, federal agents, state troopers and volunteers closely searched this tiny Texas town on Thursday, looking for what was believed to be a top-secret device that fell from the shuttle Columbia when the spacecraft broke apart last week.

They formed long lines to walk through block-by-block and used machetes to hack their way through the thick woods that envelope the town, which is near the Texas-Louisiana border, 125 miles northeast of Houston.

The shuttle fell in thousands of pieces on Saturday, killing the seven astronauts on board. NASA (news - web sites) is trying to recover shuttle parts from Louisiana to California in hopes of understanding why the disaster occurred.

Written instructions given to the searchers in Bronson showed a picture of a faceplate from the device, which in white letters on a black background spelled out "Secret Government Property."

People involved in the search told Reuters they had not been told what the device was, but said that they had found lots of shuttle debris in Bronson, including a high number of circuit boards and other electronic items.

A report in the Houston Chronicle on Thursday said searchers were looking for a communications device that handled encrypted messages between the shuttle and the ground.

It said the device was in a government "telecommunications security" category that normally allowed handling only under the tightest of restrictions.

Texas state troopers stood guard over the operation and told photographers to keep their distance. They said they would be asked to leave the area if searchers found something they did not want photographed.

Nacogdoches County Sheriff Thomas Kerss, asked about the item at a Thursday news conference in nearby Nacogdoches, would only say that he was aware of the search for it.

Searchers were hampered on Thursday by a cold, heavy rain that turned the east Texas forest into a muddy bog.

They said there was an urgency about the hunt for parts because the area was prone to flooding.


Yoichi Clark Shimatsu is a Hong Kong-based journalist and former general editor of The Japan Times Weekly in Tokyo. His email address is yshimatsu@yahoo.com.

-30-

from The Laissez Faire Electronic Times, Vol 2, No 7, February 17, 2003
Editor: Emile Zola Publisher: Digital Monetary Trust


=================================================
CHERNOBYL IN SPACE:
=================================================

At 02:46 PM 2/4/2003 , Richard Wilcox <rwilcox@interlink.or.jp> sent:

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0204-04.htm

Published on Tuesday, February 4, 2003 by the San Francisco Chronicle

Nuclear-Powered Spacecraft Plan Feared
Opponents See 'Chernobyl in Sky' Should Vehicle Fail


by Keay Davidson

 
Saturday's space shuttle disaster has stirred grassroots opposition to the
Bush administration's recently announced plan to develop nuclear-powered
space rockets.

"If there had been a nuclear reactor on board (the Columbia space shuttle),
this debris field they're warning people not to come too close to would be a
considerably bigger mess," said physicist Edward Lyman, head of the private
Nuclear Control Institute in Washington, D.C.

But many space enthusiasts say nuclear-powered spaceships offer the only way
to penetrate the deepest, darkest corners of the solar system. Out there,
billions of miles from Earth, sunlight is too weak to energize existing
forms of solar-electric cells.

Development of nuclear-powered spaceflight would also allow much faster
travel across the solar system, advocates say.

In October, NASA announced a contract with Boeing Corp.'s Rocketdyne
division in Canoga Park (Los Angeles County) to develop nuclear power for
space uses and fulfill the "nuclear systems initiative" advocated by NASA
chief Sean O'Keefe. The initial Boeing project will cost about $7 million
over 3 years, while the overall initiative is expected to consume about $2
billion in federal research funds over a decade.

Nuclear-powered spaceships would constitute a "quantum leap forward" in
cosmic exploration, akin to "the difference between a powered ship versus a
sailboat, or the difference between a powered airplane and a glider," says
nuclear engineer Mike Jacox of Texas A&M University. "A nuclear reactor
power system would allow us to go to the edges of the solar system and
beyond."

NOT THE RIGHT STUFF

But after Saturday's space tragedy, an anti-nuclear activist group, the
Florida-based Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space,
urged an end to the development of nuclear space projects.

Had a nuclear reactor been aboard the Columbia, the result would have been
"a Chernobyl in the sky," said veteran anti-nuclear activist Karl Grossman,
the author of "The Wrong Stuff: The Space Program's Nuclear Threat to Our
Planet."

Despite anti-nuclear activists' concerns, NASA and corporate officials
stressed that safety will be a paramount concern as they develop space
nuclear power.

"Safety is our No. 1 priority. Nothing proceeds without complete and utter
commitment to safety," Dan Beck, a spokesperson for Boeing, one of the firms
developing space nuclear power systems, said in a phone interview Monday. A
NASA spokesperson, Don Savage, agreed, stressing that safety "is our biggest
job in that (nuclear) program."

Jacox, one of numerous experts who are helping NASA develop nuclear power
for space uses, rejects anti-nuclear activists' nightmare vision of a
Columbia- type nuclear disaster, in which a spaceship burns up on re-entry
to Earth's atmosphere.

"No one has ever proposed (deliberately) re-entering a nuclear reactor that
has any significant radiological hazard," Jacox explained. "It's very
different to have a nuclear reactor that operates in deep space versus an
accident (in low Earth orbit) involving the shuttle."

Jacox and his colleagues dream of a space-based nuclear reactor that would
heat gas to extremely high temperature, then expel it from a rocket nozzle.

In the past, NASA has launched several deep-space probes that are powered
with plutonium. Space agency officials say their tests show that in the
event of a space shuttle explosion, akin to the 1986 destruction of the
shuttle Challenger, the plutonium wouldn't disperse enough to pose a
significant health threat.

Anti-nuclear activists aren't reassured, though. "What most people don't
know is (that the shuttle mission after Challenger) was scheduled to be
carrying a satellite powered by 46.7 pounds of plutonium.

"About seven-thousandths of an ounce of plutonium is enough to constitute a
lethal dose if someone inhaled it and it got stuck in their lungs," said
Lloyd Dumas, a professor of political economy at the University of Texas at
Dallas and author of "Lethal Arrogance: Human Fallibility and Dangerous
Technologies."

EARLY ATTEMPT ABANDONED

Ever since the dawn of the atomic age in the 1940s, many space buffs have
dreamed of crisscrossing the solar system -- perhaps even nearby star
systems - - in nuclear-propelled rockets. In the 1960s, the United States
tried to develop a nuclear rocket as part of Project Nerva and conducted
experiments at the Nevada Test Site. The government eventually abandoned the
project.

Dreams of nuclear-assisted spaceflight were shaken in the 1970s, when a
Soviet satellite with an on-board atomic reactor fell on Canada. It left a
radioactive debris trail that triggered scary headlines around the world.

Ever since, nuclear enthusiasts have struggled to revive interest in space
nukes.

©2003 San Francisco Chronicle

###

===============================================
AN EXCELLENT WEB SITE ABOUT JAPANESE NUCLEAR POWER AND EARTHQUAKES:
===============================================

At 03:05 PM 2/2/2003 , Richard Wilcox <rwilcox@interlink.or.jp> wrote:
Russell, Check out the website for excellent graphics. Best, Rick

http://www.i-chubu.ne.jp/~kazakiyo/nq-catastrophe01.htm

================================================
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES SCREWS FALLOUT VICTIMS:
================================================

(Note: This is one of the first in a series of interesting emails developing on the DOEWATCH newsgroup. -- rdh)

At 09:36 AM 2/12/2003 , "Peter Rickards" <nifty1@cableone.net> wrote:

To: "DOE-Watch List" <doewatch@yahoogroups.com>,
        

"Downwinders List" <downwinders@egroups.com>
Cc: <triesq@aol.com>
Subject: [DOEWatch] NAS screws fallout victims

Hi All,
    One more light at the end of the tunnel just went out, thanks to the National Academy of so-called Sciences. The NAS just put their report on line , approving the CDC conclusion that no further work is needed on radionuclides from fallout (other than I-131).
    I had tried to get the NAS to use the data and spikes from fallout that are at every DOE site. They refused, but at least recommended archiving the data. I guess one crumb is better than none, but it is still a crummy report. We cover up our crimes against our own people , just like Saddam does.
      The report is at www.nas.edu and is the second story down on the home page. If you look later, just put " fallout" in their search engine...Peter

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


The Magnum-Opus Project---The Mission: To do a greater good.
Righting the wrongs of the Manhattan Project's deceit and treachery national security methods using openness and accountability.
DOE Watch List--Where toxic health damage is not a mystery.
A news list combined with scientific studies to expose the problems.
Subscribe:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/doewatch
DOE Watch OR Web page:  http://members.aol.com/doewatch
Rocky Flats EIN page: http://members.aol.com/magnu96196/EINHome.html

Insoluble toxic metals and fluorides, via a pneumonia like dust in lung process, concentrate in lymph nodes and cause foreign body granuloma damage to node macrophages, leading to false cytokine stimulation, then rising viral waste damage to mitochondria, and this leading to illnesses.  See the analysis at http://members.aol.com/magnu96196/cfs.html

In the 1980's, Oak Ridge managers established a national alliance of DOE friendly supplanted activists and old DOE scientists to mislead gullible fluoride affected sick workers and communities in order to fabricate a health mystery and avoid the extreme liabilities of the fluorides health damage to uranium gas diffusion chemical plant workers and communities.  Don't let DOE and its minions stone wall known disease processes known for millennia and involved in religion icon imagery.

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

========================================================
RED ROVER, RED ROVER, LET PLUTONIUM FLY OVER (US):
========================================================

Under NO circumstances will NASA voluntarily talk at the following event about the RHUs on board these upcoming Mars robotic missions, and how many deaths these RHUs might cause if the rockets fail and the fuel irradiates humans on Earth.  Each of these ROVERs has about 3/4s of an ounce of Plutonium 238 on board, in eight Radioactive Heater Units (RHUs). -- rdh

-------------------------------------------------------------------

To: "1 'ksc-news_release@kscnews. ksc. nasa. gov' (E-mail)" <ksc-news_release@kscnews.ksc.nasa.gov>
Subject: ROLL WITH THE ROVERS AND "EXPLORE MARS" FEB. 19


NASA News
National Aeronautics and Space Administration

John F. Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899
AC 321-867-2468
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
For Release: Feb. 12, 2003

KSC Contact:  George H. Diller
321/867-2468

KSC Release No. 19 - 03

ROLL WITH THE ROVERS AND "EXPLORE MARS" FEB. 19

NASA hosts "Explore Mars!" - a Cape Canaveral-area community and family day focusing on the upcoming Mars Exploration Rover-2003 mission, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 9 a.m. - 7 p.m., at the Radisson Resort at the Port Convention Center, 8701 Astronaut Blvd., Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Students and the general public will learn about Florida's key role as NASA's "Gateway to Mars," and meet with scientists, engineers, educators and others working on these and other Mars exploration missions.  Children of all ages are invited to playtime with working robot rovers.

The Mars Exploration Rovers, described as two robot geologists, are being prepared for launch this spring aboard Boeing Delta II rockets from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and are due to land on and start exploring Mars in January 2004.  Once on Mars, they will communicate with controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., where the rovers were built.

For more information or to schedule a speaker to talk to your school or community about Mars Exploration, contact the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Resident Office at Kennedy Space Center at 321/867-3731.

       See the Mars Exploration Program Web site at http://www.mars.jpl.nasa.gov.


                                                               - end -



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=========================================================
THE ONE FORCE GREATER THAN DUCK/DUCT TAPE IS...
=========================================================

To: earthfirstalert@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [EF!] FACT: THERE IS NO FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE GREATER THAN... (aka: DUCK TAPE AND COVER) also:US AMERICA 2003

We do use a lot of duct tape in the tree-sits, and it
is very useful...the power of Unconditional Love is
definitely stronger than duct tape, though.
It's important for the people to rise up in a real and
strong way, to shut down this war.
It is equally as important for people to take to the
trees, to get back to nature, and to defend that which
is currently being destroyed by the same Bush
administration and corporate generica.
People are planning a Mass Tree-Sit on April 26th.
You can check it out at
worldtreeclimbday2003@yahoogroups.com.  Check out the
site, too!  This is going to be a great action, and
you can help to organize a local 24-hr. tree-sit in
your area, in solidarity with the people who are
organizing similar actions all over the world.
It's getting big;)
So, check it out, and rise up in a strong and real
way, to help bring an end to their wicked ways!
--- "Russell D.
Hoffman"<rhoffman@animatedsoftware.com> wrote:
> FACT:
>
> THERE IS NO FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE GREATER THAN DUCK
> TAPE (AKA DUCT TAPE.
> "DUCK TAPE" IS ACTUALLY A BRAND NAME.).
>
> HAVE IT.
>
> KNOW HOW TO USE IT.
>
> THIS WILL SAVE YOU FROM (THE DISEMBODIED VOICE OF --
> ) OSAMA BIN LADEN,
> SADDAM ("LIFE'S A GAS, MAY I GAS YOU?") HUSSEIN, THE
> GITMO 3 (THOUSAND),
> THE GHOST OF MOHAMMED ATTA, ETC...
>
> AT LEAST ACCORDING TO U.S. GOVERNMENT SOURCES.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Russell Hoffman
> Senior "Duct Tape and Cover" Advisor
> Planet Earth
> HQ: Carlsbad, CA
>
>
=======================================================
> [[+ Dr. Suess --style ditty... ]]


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 This email is available online here:
http://www.animatedsoftware.com/cassini/cass2003/howdotheygetawaywithit.htm
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