Are Ugandans that smart? Em
DO UGANDANS KNOW THIS IS WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE NORTH????? > THEY SHOULD READ THIS. > > BWAMBUGA. > > > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >>-------- Original Message -------- >>Subject: [Mwananchi] MEDICAL CONSEQUENCES OF ATTACKING IRAQ >>From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>Date: Fri, October 11, 2002 1:19 pm >>To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >>Helen Caldicott � Thursday, October 10, 2002 >> >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------->> >>As the Bush administration prepares to make war on the Iraqi people -- >>and make no mistake, it is the civilian population of that country and >>not Saddam Hussein who will bear the brunt of the hostilities -- it is >>important that we recall the medical consequences of the last Gulf War. >>That conflict was, in effect, a nuclear war. >>During the 1991 Gulf War, the United States deployed hundreds of tons >>of weapons, many of them anti-tank shells made of depleted uranium 238. >>This material is 1.7 times more dense than lead, and hence when >>incorporated into an anti-tank shell and fired, it achieves great >>momentum, cutting through tank armor like a hot knife through butter. >>What other properties does uranium 238 possess? First, it is >>pyrophoric: When it hits a tank at high speed it bursts into flames, >>producing tiny aerosolized particles less than 5 microns in diameter >>that are easily inhalable into the terminal air passages of the lung. >>Second, it is a potent radioactive carcinogen, emitting a relatively >>heavy alpha particle composed of 2 protons and 2 neutrons. Once inside >>the body -- either in the lung if it has been inhaled, or in a wound if >>it penetrates flesh, or ingested since it concentrates in the food >>chain and contaminates water -- it can produce cancer in the lungs, >>bones, blood, or kidneys. Third, it has a half-life of 4.5 billion >>years, meaning the areas in which this ammunition was used in Iraq and >>Kuwait during Gulf War will remain effectively radioactive for the rest >>of time. >>Children are 10 to 20 times more sensitive to the effects of radiation >>than adults. My fellow pediatricians in the Iraqi town of Basra, for >>example, are reporting an increase of 6 to 12 times in the incidence of >>childhood leukemia and cancer. Yet because of the sanctions imposed >>upon Iraq by the United States and United Nations, they have no access >>to drugs or effective radiation machines to treat their patients. >>The incidence of congenital malformations has doubled in the exposed >>populations in Iraq where these weapons were used. Among them are >>babies born with only one eye or missing all or part of their brain. >>The medical consequences of the use of uranium 238 almost certainly did >>not affect only Iraqis. Some U.S. veterans exposed to it are reported, >>by at least one medical researcher, to be excreting uranium in their >>urine a decade later. Other reports indicate it is being excreted in >>their semen. (The fact that almost one-third of the American tanks used >>in Desert Storm were themselves made of uranium 238 is another story, >>for their crews were thereby exposed to whole-body gamma radiation.) >>Would these effects have surprised the U.S. authorities? No, for >>incredible as it may seem, the American military's own studies prior to >>Desert Storm warned that aerosol uranium exposure under battlefield >>conditions could lead to cancers of the lung and bone, kidney damage, >>non-malignant lung disease, neurocognitive disorders, chromosomal >>damage and birth defects. >>Do George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Condoleezza Rice, and >>Donald Rumsfeld understand the medical consequences of the 1991 war and >>the likely health effects of the next one they are now planning? If >>they do not, their ignorance is breathtaking; even more incredible >>though -- and alas, much more likely -- is that they do understand, but >>do not care. Helen Caldicott has devoted the last 25 years to an >>international campaign to educate the public about the medical hazards >>of the nuclear age. She spoke in San Francisco recently in a benefit >>for the Nuclear Policy Research Institute, which she founded an >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >>Yahoo! Groups Sponsor >> >> >>ADVERTISEMENT >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >>Join the Mwananchi group at http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/mwananchi >>to discuss African issues >> >>Join the Kiswahili group at http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/kiswahili >>if you are interested in learning about Swahili language and culture >> >>Join Digital Africa-an information technology group that discusses >>internet technology in Africa at >>http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/digafrica2 >> >>Join the Kenyan discussion group at >>http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/wananchi to discuss Kenyan related >>issues >> >> >> >> >> >>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. >> >> >> >> > > __________________________________________________________________ The > NEW Netscape 7.0 browser is now available. Upgrade now! > http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp > > Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Mail account today at > http://webmail.netscape.com/
