Copyright (c) 1998

Subject: STOP CASSINI NEWSLETTER VOLUME #78 October 26th, 1998
To: Original distribution to subscribers, media, public officials only.

Hi!

This issue contains an answer to a syndicated article published by major media outlets regarding the Hanford insects mentioned in newsletter #77, and an email debate which has already been widely disseminated.

Sincerely, Russell D. Hoffman, Editor, STOP CASSINI NEWSLETTER

Today's subjects:

• Karl Grossman -- statement at the United Nations
• Unpublished letter to San Diego Union-Tribune regarding Hanford's insects
• From the mailbag: A battle turned down -- and out
• Quote of the day from Professor H. D. Smyth

****** VOLUME #78 October 26th, 1998 ******

By Russell D. Hoffman
Copyright (c) Russell D. Hoffman

****************************************
*** Karl Grossman -- statement at the United Nations
****************************************

On October 15th, 1998 Karl Grossman made a powerful and important statement at the United Nations regarding the militarization of space. Grossman is Professor of Journalism, State University of New York/College at Old Westbury Author, The Wrong Stuff: The Space Program’s Nuclear Threat To Our Planet, Writer and Narrator, TV Documentary: Nukes In Space: The Nuclearization And Weaponization of the Heavens. We have presented that statement at the following URL:

http://www.animatedsoftware.com/cassini/kg9810un.htm

A larger bio of the author is also included. Grossman, of course, has many articles posted at our web site.

****************************************
*** Unpublished letter to San Diego Union-Tribune regarding Hanford's insects
****************************************

In newsletter #77 we discussed the Hanford radioactive insect infestation. Shortly after that newsletter was released the San Diego Union-Tribune, fascist rag of the corporate dollar that it is, published a wire service article whose purpose appeared to be to calm the fanatic worries of the anti-nuke masses, but whose actual purpose was in fact to make fun of the real, reasonable anti-nuke position. We were made fun of, of course, to keep public opinion mindlessly against us.

The article contained such statements as the following four paragraphs:

"Officials of the nation's most contaminated nuclear site insist there is no danger of Hanford becoming the setting for a '90's version of "Them!" the 1954 movie in which huge marauding ants are spawned by nuclear experiments in the desert.

"Although Hanford is working to eradicate its "hot" insects, officials said the radioactivity the pests carry is slight and no threat to neighboring communities.

"'We're not dealing with an insect that would leave and suddenly give birth to these malformed, horrible insects," said a chuckling Richard Zack, an entomologist at Washington State University in Pullman."

"The situation came to light in September when red harvester ants found underground near some old waste pipes were discovered to be radioactive. Then, earlier this month, workers discovered radioactive flying insects around cans where the staff's day-to-day non-radioactive garbage is thrown away."

Digging deeper, they checked the local dump, where they found radioactive trash -- and hauled 210 tons of "hot" trash back to Hanford. Here is my letter to the San Diego Union-Tribune. I doubt they forwarded it to the wire service (Associated Press), or the reporter who filed the report. (That's part of the divide-and-conquer method of the modern American mass media.)

LETTER (UNPUBLISHED, OF COURSE) TO SD U-T

Editor
San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego, CA
letters@uniontrib.com
Fax: (619) 293-1440

October 23rd, 1998

To The Editor:

It is interesting that you do your biggest article on insects at Hanford (but not your first) under a three-column heading insisting there is "no danger."

And what is there no danger of?

Dinosaur-sized insects. Well I'm glad to hear that. But would you like to know something?

That's not what the worry is. It's lung cancer. Leukemia. Thyroid cancer. In humans. From waste which escapes from Hanford via insects, rodents, rabbits, and so on up and around the food chain -- coyotes eat the rabbits; insects eat the droppings; plants absorb the nutrients (and the radioactively similar elements) from the ground, cows eat the plants. Around and around it goes. People die. I think our military can handle dinosaur-sized insects, but the survival rate for lung-cancer is only about 50% (in developed countries), which makes *that* a pretty dangerous mission.

Your article was apparently written by a very junior reporter with no knowledge of the dangers of radiation (highly charged particles of various sorts being emitted) or the consequences of those dangers (DNA damage resulting in health effects such as cancer or leukemia).

What would have proved she (Linda Ashton) knew what she was talking about, and also, by the way, that she intended to get the story out even along with the pablum, would have been reporting of the actual number of Curies they think the insects and other vermin had made off with. How much they thought they had lost so far. How much they think they lose each year. How many insects are involved, how many colonies? The whole place is crawling with carriers of the blackest plague since -- uh, the black plague. Perhaps a report of the number of large animals they catch and kill each year because of "radioactive droppings" would have been nice. And the "expert" you quote says insects like fruit flies don't travel very far. Sure they do, it just takes time. Actually not that long compared to the half-life's of many of the substances up at Hanford. Ask a couple of beekeepers in Brazil. Look at the size of the areas being sprayed right now in our own county for fruit fly infestation. Insects don't travel? Hah!

I know you won't print this. The truth is a guarded secret in your rag. By the way, do you know what stops insects and other vermin at the edge of the Hanford site? A chain-link fence!

Sincerely,

Russell D. Hoffman
Carlsbad, CA

END OF LETTER TO SD U-T

****************************************
*** From the mailbag: A battle turned down --and out
****************************************

The following sequence has a fascinating ending to it. The conversation shown below (including the comments from the editor of this newsletter) have already been widely distributed among various peace groups around the world and we encourage further distribution, of course!

At 11:38 PM 10/23/98 -0400, mwbond@m9.sprynet.com wrote to Robert Cherwink:

Just wanted to let you know that me and a few friends of the "Pro-Space " Movement sat around and watched the glorious launch of the space probe you all oppose launch successfully into outer space.. It is good to know that our Congress won't let people like you stop this important mission..... How else would they power the experiments on board, Voyagers and Pioneers had nuclear reactors... (That was a friends question)

We decided after the launch, to form the Anti-Stop Cassini group. and since we are at a major University, we have instant access to the academic and Scientific field. We think we will be able to watch Cassini as it passes the Earth. I invite you to go out and watch as it passes the earth headed for Saturn. Should be a neat site. You people have already reduced the space budget so badly that the next mission will have to be launched in three parts, think of it, because of your lobbyings, instead of one ship with one reactor, we now have three ships with three reactors... A good move on your part.

Why oppose space exploration and travel??? Me and the Anti-Stop Cassini group will probably never know.

M Bond

President Anti-Stop Cassini / Pro-Space movement

At 10:04 PM 10/23/98 -0700, Robert Cherwink wrote to M Bond:

i still think it is absoulutely *insane* to fling plutonium around in rockets and jeapordize the ecosystem of this planet - especially when other technologies are available! there is no NEED for any rush to "find things out" that mandates that we must lunge forward without any consideration of safety and sane constraints! - *sorry* you are not going to change my mind on that! space exploration is great, i'll give you that - i am not in oppostion... but not its *NOT* acceptable to pursue *anything* in this way! see the documentation and show us how you can sustain your position!

Peace!

Rob, Sector Air Raid Warden at Rob's Place

At 11:26 PM 10/23/98 Robert Cherwink wrote to M Bond:

At 11:38 PM 10/23/98 -0400, mwbond@m9.sprynet.com wrote:

>sat around and watched the glorious launch of the space
>probe you all oppose launch successfully into outer space..

glorious, huh ?? glad u enjoyed it! did u see the more recent explosion of the titan ?? (they don't have a very good record now do they ?) - that could have been the one that was lofting cassini... [again: see /RENEGADE/ for background info, links, etc.]

>I invite you to go out and watch as it
>passes the earth headed for Saturn.

do you have your fingers crossed for the fly-by ????
*hope those compz don't fail* \coz if they do we r screwed *sorry*

Peace!

Rob,
Sector Air Raid Warden at Rob's Place
/RENEGADE/ archives: http://fornits.com/renegade/
DEDICATED TO SPIRIT, TRUTH, PEACE, JUSTICE, AND FREEDOM
Bay_Area_Activist list: http://fornits.com/renegade/articles/829.htm
CHAT: http://jupiter.beseen.com/chat/rooms/i/1055/
Rob's Place: http://www.vom.com/rc/home.htm
Robert Cherwink
Usenet: alt.thebird

WHEN SPIDERS UNITE, THEY CAN TIE DOWN A LION -- Ethiopian Proverb

Hi Rob!

Regarding your recent emails [shown above]

Of course, my opinion is that the August 1998 Titan IVA probably DID have a nuke on board. If so, and if the containment system worked as they expected, most of the Pu would have been contained in such a relatively "simple" explosion (would have been contained MOST OF THE TIME in such an explosion) by their fancy (but totally inadequate for a flyby or many launch accident scenarios) containment system. Also, and equally important, the wind was out to sea. Therefore if, say, .001% of the stuff was lost (millions of potentially lethal doses, and anything but a harmless incident), they could (and perhaps did) hide that. Pulled the wool right over our eyes. Like I said, winds were out to sea. Manatees took a hit, but it would have spread too thin for detection systems to pick it up by the time it made landfall again. But that doesn't mean it wouldn't kill. Plutonium kills at the molecular level and cancer doesn't tell what caused it. A little can go a long way.

This theory about the recent Titan is nothing like the guy that called NC-WARN, of course -- he was almost surely a government "plant" and I think everyone on both sides of the movement by now knows that.

I'm sure I'll be hearing from these folks you've been communicating with eventually (when they've REALLY begun to research the issue), but just in case they missed me, they can visit my web site and catch up on all the rhetoric (the URL is shown below).

If after they've caught up a bit, they can go out and gather some facts (like for example, if they have such good contacts, ask them how the Russian plutonium containment system works for their "deep space" explorations) then I'd love to hear from them and get some answers. I'd like to know where they get THEIR faith in NASA's wild-assed guesses.

I'd like to know why "Saturn" is considered "deep space", too, comparatively. It gets lots of sunlight.

I'd love to see them dig up the test results for atmospheric re-entry of the containment system at 42,300 MPH. It will be quite a trick -- they have never been tested at anything near that speed! But let's see what they can dig up for us, eh? Let's see the fastest such study they can find -- 18,000 MPH? 20,000? 15,000? Friction heat increases with the cube of the velocity. Just thought I'd mention it.

I'd really like them to explain the D.E. Rockey report from 1981. They don't have to explain the report's conclusion -- that solar power systems would work (and be cheaper) at least as far out as Jupiter (and that was almost 20 years ago) -- but I sure would like these inquisitive beginners to explain how that very same report could have been misused in NASA's June 1995 EIS for the Cassini mission. Not only was it misused, but it really formed the whole of NASA's "concrete" evidence that nuclear was necessary! Full details of this bizarre twist of logic is available in section 2-12 (e) of the document at this URL:

http://www.animatedsoftware.com/cassini/dsei9707.htm

Here's the D. E. Rockey report itself, dug up with great effort by Karl Grossman:

http://www.animatedsoftware.com/cassini/jpl1981/index.htm

If they can answer these "beginner" Cassini questions satisfactorily (and before they even try, they ought to tip their hats to Karl Grossman for helping them find that D. E. Rockey report, because otherwise they'd have to find it themselves, and to do so, they'd need to know not just lots of scientists, but the FOIA too!) then I will certainly think they have access to "real" scientists and would be happy to engage them in further discourse on the subject. Of course, I suspect they'll tire long before they get that far. Hopefully they'll learn something sobering in the process. Maybe even join the ranks of REAL space supporters who still follow NASA's original dream of being for the good of all humanity.

Sincerely,

Russell Hoffman
Webmaster, STOP CASSINI web site
Editor, STOP CASSINI newsletter now in it's 77th issue...
www.animatedsoftware.com/cassini/cassini.htm
Rob -- use as you see fit of course...

At 02:03 AM 10/25/98 perry keidel wrote:

Cc: rc@vom.com, BobIvey@webtv.net, fme5061@mailer.fsu.edu,
healgaia@earthlink.net, foe@foe.org,
harvey.wasserman@green2.greenpeace.org, phillyjay@aol.com,
jerryw@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu, mcintire@aug.com, jkstoner@prolog.net,
shengjen@suwanneevalley.net, julie@hpe.ufl.edu,
companyero@mindspring.com, afn54385@afn.org,
mary.b.murrill@jpl.nasa.gov, balabanian@ece.ufl.edu,
nukewtch@win.bright.net, peace-caucus@igc.apc.org,
peacenews@gn.apc.org, pbutler@igc.org, psletters@aol.com,
president@whitehouse.gov, Kosch@fpmg.health.ufl.edu,
sojourners@sojourners.com, journals-orders@mit.edu,
ap818@freenet.buffalo.edu, wrl@igc.apc.org, willett@gnv.fdt.net,
lydia.sargent@lbbs.org

Russ: I'm passing this on.
Light that fire.
Try and sentence the bastards now, as this piece does.
We may all be going out (all higher life forms) because of the present DOE and DOD behaviors, but we go out screaming bloody hell and with our eyes wide open. pk

At 10:08 PM 10/24/98 -0400, M Bond wrote to Robert Cherwink:

Actually after writing that letter a few days ago I have decided NOT to talk to the academic community so anyone you hear from will not been influenced by us.

I need to explain something to you... I was born when Apollo was going to the moon and it looked like by 1973 we would be sending colonies up there and setting up bases. So I started training myself to be a colonist by the time I graduated high school in the 1980's.

Then Congress canceled the space program (Yes the space program. Going into orbit is another program in my view.)

I was quite angry. To me my future was ended (Hang in there with me I am going somewhere with this) I watched as 1979 came and went and no moon program, 1989 came and went no moon program. I learned that it was lobbyist and guess what, they were not enviromentalist, they were not people like you (I respect what you stand for, believe me I have been doing a lot of thinking on this, I don't want to start a war...) DO you know who killed the space program (Besides public opinion which, in my opinion was an excuse)

Conservative Republicans who hated Kennedy because he is a democrat and they wanted to crush any program that the Democrats started. They claimed they would save the budget and so Here I am on a computer (Instead of on the moon in my hoped-for colony) having returned to College because I could not find anything with my degree in history and psychology. Maybe I will get something in Programming...

I mention the above, because ever since I learned the true story of the end of the Man to the Moon program, Anything I perceive as a threat to what is left of the space program sends me off the handle. So I apologize to you for my first letter. (I told them The Anti-Stop Cassini thing is ended they agreed with me )

Can you believe it, Just because Kennedy was a democrat, the Repubilcans decide to end it. They got their feelings hurt

I am sorry for taking your time (I have gotten 4 letters from you which is what prompted this letter)

I wonder what would have happened had we continued on to the moon.

Thank you for your letters

M Bond

****************************************
*** Quote of the day from Professor H. D. Smyth
****************************************

The quote of the day is from a book written by H. D. Smyth, Chairman of the Department of Physics of Princeton University, Consultant to Manhattan District U. S. Corps of Engineers. That's "Manhattan" as in "Manhattan Project". The document was written at the request of Major General L. R. Groves, United States Army. Publication was authorized as of August, 1945.

The document is titled, "A GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF METHODS OF USING ATOMIC ENERGY FOR MILITARY PURPOSES UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT 1940-1945"

Professor Smyth's preface begins as follows:

"The ultimate responsibility for our nation's policy rests on its citizens and they can discharge such responsibilities wisely only if they are informed."

Later in the book (on page 154) is the following:

"The War Department now authorizes the further statement that the bomb is detonated in combat, at such a height above the ground, as to give the maximum blast effect against structures, and to disseminate the radioactive products as a cloud. On account of the height of the explosion practically all the radioactive products are carried upward in the ascending column of hot air and dispersed harmlessly over a wide area".

Harmlessly? We now know that Iodine 131 released from above-ground weapons testing, with a half-life of just over 8 days, probably is causing thyroid and other cancers in tens of thousands of Americans, perhaps hundreds of thousands (as discussed in newsletter #77). This is the harmless cloud Smyth wrote about.

His concluding paragraph further states:

"Because of the restrictions of military security there has been no chance for the Congress or the people to debate [the issues regarding nuclear weapons] ... These questions are not technical questions; they are political and social questions, and the answers given to them may affect all mankind for generations ... In a free country like ours, such questions should be debated by the people and decisions must be made by the people through their representatives. This is one reason for the release of this report. It is a semi-technical report which it is hoped men of science in this country can use to help their fellow citizens in reaching wise decisions. The people of the country must be informed if they are to discharge their responsibilities wisely."

More than 50 years later, it is indeed high time for letting truth and facts rule America and its policies. Schemes which are not justifiable on moral as well as scientific grounds are no more justifiable under the guise of "national defense". Under that mask, and hidden by the equally false cloak of "national security", which is far more often than not really just an excuse to hide the truth from the American public, DoD has laid waste to thousands of square miles of THIS country, and killed 10's of thousands of civilian Americans in the process (and 10's of thousands of soldiers) simply in order to test thousands of nuclear weapons, and in order to build nearly 50,000 nuclear warheads.

Of these, exactly two, the second and third, have been used against an enemy and even then, they were not used for tactical advantage but for terror. This has cost trillions of dollars. In fact, it is without question the worst financial investment, and the worst military investment, in history!

And as for it being a deterrent, it has not deterred Pakistan, or India, or Russia, or China, or France, or England, or probably Israel, or several other countries (some have renounced their wrong decision). It has not deterred Iran, Iraq or North Korea from seeking nuclear capabilities, and it has not deterred an unknown quantity of formerly Russian nuclear missiles from finding new and unknown owners.

The only right course now is the course of increased public awareness of what the nuclear options mean to society. The alternatives are not "right around the corner" they are staring us in the face today, yesterday, last week. Germany is about to close every one of their 20 or so nuclear reactors. Every one of them -- why? Because they never were a good deal! They never provided cheap energy, they were never safe from terrorism or mother nature's most destructive forces or human error or even perhaps, bad design.

America too can control her future, but only when the facts are known. Wind power and geothermal power has been stopped in America because they are "ugly" while nuclear powerplants, with their clean look and filthy backside, have been allowed. NASA could be at the forefront of wind blade design technology, motor technology and, uh, pump technology. Clean technologies. If NASA does not want that task, which is all about fluid dynamics and aeronautics and similar cool stuff, fine. But it's what America needs right now. It's what we need to fund. I have lived too long hearing that in the future, we will have developed clean technologies. Those technologies exist today, and need to simply be implemented. NASA should be at the forefront of this environmental technology revolution, because speed and efficiency go hand in hand with everything they've studied, if they would just apply it right.

And please, don't tell me about how they already do this. 2% of their budget? 4%? I'm talking 50%, 80%. 90%. Serving a desperate humanity should come first. Don't trickle-down the technology anymore. Gush it out. Fiber-optic communications systems into everyone's home. Elevated super-high-speed mag-lev rail systems. Coordinated traffic lights.

**************************************
AND IN CONCLUSION...
**************************************

Godspeed, John Glenn & Company! If it works for you, I figure I've got at least 35 more years to try to get a seat!

Please feel free to post/distribute/copy these newsletters anywhere you feel it's appropriate! THANKS!!!

Welcome new subscribers!

Thanks for reading,
Sincerely,
Russell D. Hoffman
STOP CASSINI webmaster.

CANCEL CASSINI

Next issue (#79)
Previous issue (#77)

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