Mass AG Takes On NRC
In an attempt to make the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board address the issues of safe storage for spent nuclear fuel, and the unthinkable possibilities of an "accident" or a "terrorist attack" (that would kill and sicken thousands and make New England uninhabitable for some 250,000 years), the Attorney General of Massachusetts, after many fruitless appeals to the ASLB, has taken the issue to the Federal Court of Appeals. This appeal applies to both the Vermont Yankee and Pilgrim nuclear reactors.
Ray Shadis of the New England Coalition asks, "Where is the state of Vermont?" It seems that no agency of [Gov. James Douglas'] administration is addressing these concerns. He also writes that the 100-ton spent fuel cask that was dropped by mistake a few weeks ago could, if it had punched a hole through the spent fuel pool, have resulted in a "massive nuclear fuel fire." As the cover of one of the NEC's pamphlets once said, we would then have to "kiss our children goodbye."
Jane Newton
South Londonderry, Vt.
Take That, Gibson!
Excuse me if I do not share in the star-struck movie fan hysteria anticipating the arrival of Mel Gibson. The civic leaders pimping out our local landmarks, the churches ecstatically offering up their sanctuaries, the athletic clubs and bars falling over each other to secure a shot in the movie, the stampede of giggly, hormonally imbalanced extras, all need to be reminded of Mr. Gibson's extraordinary credentials as a star anti-Semite. Does no one remember his lengthy anti-Semitic tirade against a Jewish policeman arresting him on DWI charges? Does no one remember the Jew-hating filth of his movie [The Passion of the Christ], worthy of the Spanish Inquisition's seal of approval? Does no one remember his refusal to denounce his father's position as the leading Australian denier of the Holocaust?
Is this the same Northampton that will hatch a demonstration on every corner when a Tibetan monk is roughed up, or when a feminist cause is questioned, or when a person of color perceives some slight, or when a Palestinian mass murderer is brought to justice by the Israeli authorities??And therein lies the crux. In the "new" liberalism, anti-Semitism is condoned under the thin gauze of pro-Palestinianism, and Judaism and Zionism are once again scapegoated.
Shame on every person, institution and organization welcoming this monster. If there are any persons of conscience left in the capital of political correctness, I hope they chose to boycott and hold accountable those who would celebrate the likes of Gibson.
Victor Weinblatt
via email
