Ha mar annyi szo volt a Cassinirol, talan nem erdektelen az alabbi hir sem. A f
orrasa ugyanaz a
hirszolgalat, amelyik az altalam eloszor bekuldott Cassini 'hirt' is kiadta. Am
ikor olvastam a cikket,
bizony en is elgondolkoztam az emberiseg elleni buntett kategorian . Talan most
is erdemes
gondolkodni rajta, a vita utan. Ha csak egy hajszalnyi esely is van ('very low'
) a plutoniumot terito
balesetre, akkor mar erdemes gondolkodni. Precautionary principle vagy hogy is
szoktak csufolni..
Udv,
Avet
==================BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE==================
CASSINI CHALLENGE BEFORE INTERNATIONAL COURT READY
CHAMPAIGN, Illinois, October 13, 1997 (ENS) - NASA's 48 hour postponement
of the plutonium-powered space probe Cassini due to weather conditions this
morning has breathed new hope into an effort to have the mission scrubbed
by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Francis Boyle, professor of international law at the University of Illinois
College of Law in Champaign, has drafted a stop-Cassini case to present to
the International Court. Working with Green Party organizations in many
countries, Boyle is urgently seeking a country that will challenge the
United States in the International Court at The Hague, Netherlands.
"We have the proposal before many states, but there is no response yet,"
Boyle told ENS in an interview. "Such a suit can only be authorized by a
President or a Prime Minister."
If a head of government can be found to sponsor the lawsuit, Boyle has
already asked the ICJ to hear the case as an "emergency question" within 24
hours. The Court is now in session. The next launch window for Cassini
opens Wednesday morning October 15, at 4:42 a.m. and extends to 7:03 am
eastern time.
Boyle has his bags packed, and the legal papers drafted. He is prepared on
a moment's notice to hop a plane from Chicago and be in The Hague to argue
the case tomorrow.
If such a case does come before the Court Boyle believes it will, "call a
halt for proper investigation as to the necessity and wisdom of the Cassini
project."
Boyle has asked the vice president of the court, Chistopher Weeramantry, of
Sri Lanka, who Boyle calls, "a powerful well known anti-nuclear proponent,"
to telephone U.S. President Bill Clinton and personally ask for a launch
postponement.
The basis of Boyle's legal argument rests in the international Genocide
Convention which expressly rohibits conspiracy to commit genocide. "NASA
and the President and President's science advisor know full well that this
has a high probability of killing people," Boyle told ENS in an interview.
Boyle characterizes the Cassini space probe as, "a premeditated crime
against humanity." As for a motive, Boyle says, "In law you don't have to
prove a motive, you just have to prove intent. The motive is pretty
irrelevant to me."
Dr. Helen Caldicott, a well-known critic of nuclear energy and Dr. Ernest
Sternglass, a retired physicist who worked on the original atom bomb, the
Manhattan Project, are Boyle's expert witnesses.
Speaking at the Stop-Cassini rally and vigil in front of the White House
last night, Dr. Sternglass warned of the danger this space probe could pose
to humanity in case of an accident. He predicts it could kill over
20,000,000 if it breaks up on fly-by in 1999.
Boyle, too, is worried about possible re-entry of the Cassini spacecraft
during the fly-by. "We know that on fly-by five billion of earth's
population will be exposed to 99 percent of the plutonium," Boyle says.
"Even a small speck can give you cancer."
In an October 10 letter addressed to the ambassadors of those nations to
which he is appealing to bring suit against the United States, Boyle
expresses "concerns about the validity of the American Environmental
Assessments done around this venture."
Boyle invokes the "precautionary principle" of international common law as
the underpinning for his case.
"This principle affirms that where there is the potential of harm, the lack
of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing
measures to prevent the harm. NASA has had accidents before both on the
launch pad and in space, and it is now the responsibility of the Global
community to show the political will to act with caution," Boyle wrote to
the ambassadors.
Boyle explained the danger as he sees it. "The major problem in the Cassini
mission is that it will carry 72 lbs of Plutonium 238. This isotope is one
of the hottest known; and its heat can be captured to make electrical power
for the duration of the voyage. This isotope is 272 times hotter (more
active) than the bomb type of Plutonium," he wrote.
NASA has repeatedly assured the public that even in the event of an
accident, the probabily of plutonium release is "very low."
Boyle is a well-respected full professor of law at the University of
Illinois with a long list of credentials. Harvard Law School, J.D. Magna
Cum Laude (l976), Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Department
of Government, A.M. (l978) and Ph.D. (1983) in Political Science. He has
been teaching at the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign
since 1978. He served as Judge, International Tribunal on War Crimes in the
Former Soviet Union (Moscow: 1993) and Special Prosecutor, International
Tribunal of Indigenous Peoples and Oppressed Nations in the U.S.A., San
Francisco (1992). He is a consultant to the United Nations Committee on the
Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (from 1987).
===================END FORWARDED MESSAGE===================
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(legalabbis, ha jol om, ezen a tanszeken tevekenykedik dana)
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE
>Environmental Studies: Assistant Professor
>(possibly associate)
>
>Economic Aspects of Environmental Issues
>Dartmouth College seeks a tenure-track Assistant Professor (applications
>from outstanding candidates at the Associate Professor level will be
>considered) with training in economic aspects of environmental issues and
>an interest in applying conceptual and analytical models to understanding
>interactions between humans, resources, and the environment. Position to
>begin in fall 1998. The successful candidate will participate in an
>interdisciplinary program drawing from the natural sciences, the
>humanities, and the social sciences. We seek individuals who combine
>proven excellence in an academic discipline with research and teaching
>interests that transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries. Teaching may
>include introductory and advanced undergraduate classes in the areas of
>ecological economics, environment and sustainable development,
>environmental policy formulation, and social and political aspects of the
>environment. Faculty in the Environmental Studies Program may participate
>in graduate programs with other departments. Training in both economics
>and environmental studies desired. A Ph.D. (or near completion) is
>required in a relevant area of the social sciences such as: ecological,
>natural resource, or environmental economics; economic geography; or a
>related field. Submit curriculum vitae, statement of teaching and research
>interests, copies of representative papers, and three letters of reference
>to: Dr. Ross A. Virginia, Chair Environmental Studies Search Committee,
>Environmental Studies Program, Dartmouth College, 6182 Steele Hall- Room
>306, Hanover, NH 03755-3577. FAX (603) 646-1682. Review of applications
>will begin on January 12, 1998.
>Dartmouth College is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
>
>
>
--MimeMultipartBoundary--
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