April 20th, 2007
Dear Readers,
This week has been historic. Here are five reasons why:
1) On Monday, a suicidal, homicidal maniac on a campus in Virginia killed 32 innocent victims and himself, the largest such incident in United States history. But, as everyone hesitates to say yet cannot deny: far more innocent Iraqi citizens died the same day in Baghdad (see next item). The only help the Virginia killer needed was bureaucratic ineptitude, of which he got ample amounts in the years leading up to his assault, and easy access to small guns with large, quick-change ammunition clips.
2) An increased level of violence this week in Iraq killed over 500 innocent victims -- and a multitude of suicide bombers. The bombers were sent out by religious fanatics who believe they are warriors of God, holy defenders of their land and their faith.
3) On Thursday, in front of a Senate Judiciary Committee, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the architect of Gitmo's torture "waivers" and many other legal horrors, revealed himself to be an incompetent buffoon. With no help from anyone, Mr. Gonzales made a mockery of justice -- the one thing America REALLY once stood for. He humiliated himself and everyone in the room with him. To say "he's got to go" is an understatement: What must be said is: "FIRE THE GUY WHO HIRED HIM, TOO!"
4) A massive study of sparrows around Chernobyl was released which conclusively indicates that a wide variety of deformities are more frequent in birds around the stricken nuclear plant than elsewhere. It is a shocking study which flies in the face of pro-nuclear claims that the medical problems suffered by PEOPLE around Chernobyl are caused solely by poverty, mass-hysteria, and depression. Studies of other animals around the plant have ALSO concluded that the radiation released was much more harmful than official government (or pro-nuclear; there is no difference) estimates.
5) The California Energy Commission did not adopt AB 719, thus leaving intact the current law which forbids "new" nuclear reactors until the waste problem is solved. However, the C.E.C. did NOT acknowledge that the four reactors already operating in California EACH create NEW high level nuclear waste at the rate of about a ton every two weeks. The existing reactors in California are undergoing multi-billion-dollar rebuilds. The current law SHOULD be modified, but not by AB 719: Instead, ANY creation of NEW nuclear waste should be PROHIBITED "until the waste problem (and many other fatal flaws of nuclear power) is solved." The current reactors should be shut down IMMEDIATELY. Even after DECADES, there is clearly NO solution in sight to the problem the original law was supposed to address. In other words, the spirit of the law, and the will of the people of California, is being flagrantly violated EVERY DAY those old deathtraps remain operational. All citizens of California (and Nevada, and Arizona, and everyone else) are being put at grave risk so that a select few can make millions of dollars.
So WHO is the ultimate terrorist, at least for THIS WEEK?
Among those listed above, I'd chose the California Energy Commission. Ultimately, THEIR action this week will probably be responsible for the MOST deaths and will be the direct cause of the most suffering, and the greatest financial loss for humanity, too. Taking half-measures against nuclear power is not enough. Nuclear power is a dead end. AB 719 had to be stopped, but stopping it is not enough. The C.E.C. has abdicated their responsibility, as usual. They deserve no kudos, only ridicule.
Sincerely,
Ace Hoffman
Carlsbad, CA