A different sort of show came to the Montrose Theater recently. Thanks to the efforts of Victoria Ross of Hop Bottom, and Susquehanna County's People For Peace, the People's Video Network documentary, METAL OF DISHONOR, was featured last Monday evening, June 30th.

This fifty minute video presented an account of a new nuclear threat to the world, that of uranium bullets and artillery ordinance now included in our country's arsenal of wonder weapons.

These munitions were used against the Army of Iraq in 1991, and subsequently in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Baghdad for their armor-piercing and deep penetrating power. While our Department of Defense considers the nuclear radiation hazard associated with the use of this naturally occurring element an acceptable risk, mounting evidence of illness, cancer, and birth defects bring into question this decision.

Uranium is part of a family of elements that includes Polonium, Thorium, and Radium. All are deadly when extracted from the earth, concentrated, and fabricated into objects for everyday use. Their lethal qualities often remain hidden for years while they work invisibly in the human body. In our ignorance we are exposing ourselves and future generations to environmental toxins that ultimately affect peoples' health worldwide.

We are fortunate that here in Montrose there is a forum where the public can learn of national concerns ignored by commercial media outlets. A well-informed citizenry is the first defense of liberty.

David Plank

Susquehanna County Committee

Green Party of the United States