According to the May fifth, 1997 issue of "Aviation Week and Space
Technology," the Cassini mission after its eleven year cycle will cost you
the taxpayers more than 3.2 billion dollars. That's a lot of money, that's
a lot of clout, that's a tough thing to stop. Tough even to delay it to
convert it to solar. I don't know if we can stop Cassini or not, or if we
can stop future plutonium launches. But I do know this. If NASA
spills plutonium on the heads of the people, we can vote out everyone who's
in Washington. Because every member of the Congress and Senate plus the
President and Vice President were personally handed petitions asking them to
have public hearings and to please stop this insanity. And if this happens,
there won't be anything left of NASA either except for a dirty smudge on the
pages of history.
FOR GENERAL E-MAIL REDISTRIBUTION:
Comments garnered from activists, bystanders, protesters and sympathizers
during various anti-Cassini demonstrations and rallies over the last two
years (1996 & 1997).
BACKGROUND:
NASA begins a long term program of launching plutonium 238 in unprecedented
quantities this October 6 ('97) ostensibly for reasons of science and for
the Department of Defense. Many point to how much all this is costing in tax
revenues, who benefits from those large and long term revenues, and arguing
the reason is neither good science or defense, but Corporate welfare in a
very big way. Many in the scientific community who are not on the government
pay roll are pointing out precisely how dangerous launching plutonium 238
can be to life on earth should any one of these launches fail, either at
launch or in the upper atmosphere. In spite of years of lack of news
coverage (Sonoma University calls it censorship) people are beginning to
talk about this. Public awareness of plans and activities held in secrecy is
the last thing NASA wants. Functional democracy begins with free and open
discourse. Some argue that the reason U.S. leadership can afford to be so
disconnected from the interests of working people in the rest of the country
is because public engagement of the issues (discourse) is diminished or so
skewed. The following spontaneous and unpolished material is presented in
the interests of stimulating discussion on the issue of plutonium launching.
-
"The October 6 Cassini launch is a point of no return. With Cassini's
launching the U.S. empire lays the final seeds of its own undoing."
- "Do you remember all those old black and white movies about the mad
scientist making some poison or some machine to destroy the world? Well,
they're all employed now, getting that nice fat, bi-monthly government
check...thanks to NASA."
- "Prophecy is not a spiritual thing. Its mathematical, around the fourth or
fifth grade: the trajectory of physical and historical events. Any fourth
grader could see we're heading for horrific times if they were given the
facts of what all is going on now. That's the key. Keep people in the dark."
- "This is all about empire and violence. Look for violence and you'll see
empire at various stages of development, right from the very beginning. The
greatest violence is global destruction and unaccountability. That is the
pinnacle of power. People used to think that position was reserved for God.
Not any more. Not at NASA. Playing God is clearly their objective. You
think they'll get by with this? Sure, maybe for a year or two. But the
statistics and probabilities are against them on something this risky and
long term -their history of "human error". I know I don't want to be around
when their shit finally hits the fan (as it inevitably will), not with this
plutonium loaded on everything. Do you know how many years that stuff can
eliminate life by what it does at the cellular level? Its remarkable. NASA
can get by with launching plutoniu because people aren't thinking , no body
is home. Grab a beer, sit back on your couch, and watch it on TV this
October 6: NASA beginning to set the stage for the end. Doesn't it make you
proud to be an American?"
- "NASA has bragged for years that the reason their existence is relevant to
the rest of us is because they invented Teflon. Tell me, when we can no
longer grow vegetables in Florida, we going to eat Teflon? I guess were
going to have to learn to do that if we're going to learn how to survive
this here plutonium launching business."
- "I think plutonium launching is great. I've been praying all my life for
Christ to return. With the global conflict NASA's fixen to set up, I'll see
Christ's return in my life time. And with people everywhere rendered
helpless by this stuff falling from the sky, they'll finally pray and repent
of their sins like they should've a long time ago."
- "I feel this is a Black issue. African Americans need to think about their
brothers and sisters in Africa on October 6 and pray hard. The launch
trajectory is over Africa. This could come down on the continent of our
origins if some final booster rockets fail. Now you damn sure know why
they're not launching this poison over their white brothers in Europe. If
one of these plutonium mother loads lands in Paris, Moscow or Shanghai
they'd have damn good reason to launch one of their's back at us. You know
of anyone in Africa (that) has an ICBM?"
- "They run out of places to put this trash down here. So they puttin' it up
there. Its going to come back down and kill us all. And all because they
can't figure out another way to make a living."
- "The nameless and forever unnamed Decision Makers made a big mistake
deciding to go ahead with this Cassini thing. They are either mad or
clueless about what will be the cost of this thing to
themselves...personally. Not only are their positions history. We are."
- "What Cassini can do reminds me of the song "Red Rain" on Peter Gabriel's CD
"SO"...or like that artist's depiction on that NOVA special of what happened
when that large meteor hit the earth and wiped out the dinosaurs. If I were
the government, I'd tell PBS not to run that segment any more, and I'd pull
Peter Gabriel from the shelves."
- "Violence is what this is about. State sponsored violence. There is no
intelligent life across that fence (pointing at Cape Canaveral). Just
violence, plans and schemes for more violence: uncalled for violence upon
you and me and our kids and their kids. God I'd hate to be one of those
people. Idiots, liars and thugs. No moral backbone or public consideration
whatsoever. Kind of like the politicians in Washington, wouldn't you say?"
- "A science magazine recently featured a full page picture of deformed frogs
with legs growing out of their heads. The caption stated that frogs are
called a "sentinal species". The slightest thing wrong with their
environment they get deformed or they die off. These frogs are being found
all over the world. The magazine didn't speculate what was going on. But
plutonium dioxide messes up the genes like that. After a half a century of
exploding nuclear materials underground, in the oceans, overhead, the rising
background radiation is starting to show its effects. Every other launch
out here is a secret military launch. Why the secrecy? Plutonium on board,
I think. You know what we'll be seeing next century if NASA goes ahead with
all this plutonium launching? More and more people looking like those frogs."
- "Have you noticed how the lightning has been more violent and frequent this
year? Most people wouldn't notice this because they live in closed, moving
coffins called automobiles and they sleep inside hermetically sealed,
air-conditioned cubicles called apartment complexes watchin' "reality" on an
idiot box centrally placed in their living rooms. But getting nixed by a
bolt of lightning is exactly what its like to get hit by one of these highly
selective and "surgical" orbiting lazar battle stations they've built. Don't
like Arafat? NIX. Don't like you? NIX. Their hands stay clean and no one can
say who did it, although its not difficult to imagine. Have you seen that
glossy brochure they've put out bragging on this capability? Bragging
about it!"
- "Up to this point (July 26, 1997) no politician and no network news has
touched this issue (NASA's long term plutonium launching plans) because no
one has the balls. Plutonium launching represents the pinnacle of the U.S.
imperialistic development. The politicians are all sold out to it -all of
'em done bought and paid for several times by GE, Westinghouse, Lockheed,
you name it. This here is legislatively guaranteed welfare for white-collar
workers far into the next century...and more bubbly for Wall Street. This
here Cassini WILL fly on October 6 just to prove that we taxpayers don't run
things; centralized capital runs things. At the end of this century this
here country is "Of the Corporation, By the Corporation and For the
Corporation."