Subject: NucNews 99/11/08 Briefs (by Guin) Story-Date: 12:18 a.m. PST Monday , November 15, 1999 NucNews is metamorphising again due to the loss of a volunteer. Please address replies to articles to the original publisher. Please send NucNews copies? Refuting false information appreciated! ------------- Marathon Man By Bob Herbert November 8 1999 http://www.nytimes.com/library/opinion/herbert/110899herb.html In addition to health care and gay rights the vice president spoke easily and knowledgeably about the test ban treaty gun control the environment and the dangers of excessive partisanship in Washington. I sympathize, said Mr. Gore with those who say it's not necessarily important whether a candidate for President who's just getting his feet wet knows the names of the leaders of foreign countries. But I think that it is an issue if a candidate for President has no idea why it's important to stop the spread of nuclear weapons with a comprehensive test ban treaty. --- Bush Discusses Foreign Policy By Ron Word Associated Press Writer Monday Nov. 8 1999; 5:12 p.m. EST http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991108/aponline171251_000.htm This is still a dangerous world, an uncertain world, a world of madmen, and terrorists, and missiles, Bush said promising to replace aging weapons systems and to improve morale among the men and women in the military. --- Former nuclear site workers to get medical tests Laura Tanis Anchorage Nov. 6 1999 - Medical screening is about to begin on hundreds of workers exposed to nuclear testing on the Aleutian chain three decades ago. http://www.msnbc.com/local/KTUU/43469.asp THE DEPARTMENT of Environmental Conservation and the District Council of Laborers presented a check for $130 000 Friday the first installment for the health monitoring program. About 2000 people will be tested and the federal government will pay over $1 million to screen those who might have been exposed to three underground nuclear blasts during the 1960s and 1970s. --- Local resident opposes the missile defense project MSNBC November 7 1999 http://www.msnbc.com/local/KTUU/43492.asp Anchorage Nov. 6- Alaska leaders are joining US and Japanese officials in Hawaii to discuss ballistic missile defense. Although the White House approved a plan to build a missile defense system in Alaska at least one local resident opposes the plan. --- Text: International Development Center for Russian Nuclear Workers Opens (Aims to create commercial opportunities for former nuclear workers) (940) 04 November 1999 http://www.usia.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest& f=99110401.wlt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the opening November 2 of the first International Development Center (IDC) in the closed and formerly secret Russian "nuclear city" of Zheleznogorsk. The goal of the center according to a DOE press release is to assist in attracting and creating new businesses within Russia's nuclear cities so that there will be jobs for the nuclear scientists engineers and technicians who have been displaced by the reduction in Russia's nuclear weapons complex. --- 100 countians' TMI suits get new life Burden of proof in reinstated cases has been reduced By Ad Crable New Era Staff Writer Saturday November 6 Lancaster New Era http://www.lancnews.com/newera_news/lawsuits.htm There is new hope for at least 100 Lancaster County residents or their families who have maintained they were harmed by a nuclear accident 20 years ago. --- Physicist: Cox Report Lacking By Ian Hoffman Journal Northern Bureau November 5 1999 http://www.abqjournal.com/news/10news11-05-99.htm LOS ALAMOS -- Noted physicist and defense consultant Wolfgang Panofsky attacked Congress' report on alleged Chinese nuclear thefts as a "poor" and sloppy job. --- Review Says Clinton Dodging DOE Bill By John Fleck Journal Staff Writer November 5 1999 http://www.abqjournal.com/news/4news11-05-99.htm The Clinton administration is illegally sidestepping Congress' intent in implementing the Department of Energy reorganization bill signed into law last month according to a new congressional legal review. The bill creates an independent agency within the department to manage nuclear weapons work and improve security. --- Domenici Will Try To End WIPP Dispute By Barry Massey The Associated Press November 5 1999 http://www.abqjournal.com/news/1wipp11-05-99.htm SANTA FE -- U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici R-N.M. said Friday he would ask Congress to block New Mexico from imposing a financial assurance requirement on the contractor of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. --- Millions State's Rights Worker Safety at Stake in Nuclear Shipment Lawsuit By Cat Lazaroff Environment News Service November 4 1999 http://ens.lycos.com/ens/nov99/1999L-11-04-06.html WASHINGTON DC November 4 1999 (ENS) - Does the state of New Mexico have the right to force the Department of Energy to open sealed containers of radioactive waste shipped into the state by the federal government? The courts will have to decide. --- Seminar: Study Examines National Security Implications U.S. Newswire 4 Nov 11:04 Seminar Presents New Study Examining National Security Implications To: National and Assignment desks Daybook Editor Contact: Erin O'Connell of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies 703-525-0770; Web site: http://www.potomacinstitute.org News Advisory: WHAT: A luncheon seminar hosted by the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies will include a presentation of the results and implications of the recent research initiative The Project on the Gap between the Military and the Civilian Society. --- Secret Weapons in U.S. NewsMax.com November 8 1999 http://www.newsmax.com/articles/?a=1999/11/8/73601 FBI Director Louis Freeh admitted that Russia may yet have stored weapons - including nuclear suitcase bombs - at secret locations around the U.S. --- Weldon: Russia left nukes here Delco lawmaker says FBI dragging its feet by Myung Oak Kim November8 1999 Philadelphia Daily News http://www.phillynews.com/daily_news/99/Nov/08/local/BOMB08.htm Local congressman Curt Weldon is making headlines with claims that Russia has buried dozens of suitcase-sized nuclear bombs in the United States. There is no doubt that the Soviets stored material in this country. The question is what and where, Weldon a Republican House member from Delaware County told the New York Post in a story published yesterday. --- Computer Worries Prompt Offer to Withdraw U.S. Diplomats By MICHAEL R. GORDON November 8 1999http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/biztech/articles/08russia.html MOSCOW --The State Department is planning to withdraw hundreds of government employees and family members from Russia and three other former Soviet republics before Jan. 1 because of concerns over the Year 2000 computer problem. --- U.S. Embassies Allow Y2K Departures By The Associated Press November 8 1999 Filed at 8:41 a.m. EST http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-Russia-US-Y2K.html MOSCOW (AP) -- The United States will pull out some embassy employees in Russia and three other ex-Soviet states in case anything goes wrong because of the year 2000 computer glitch an embassy official in Moscow said today. --- Long Billions Short Millions by Amitai Etzioni Thursday November 04 1999 Comments: 34 posts http://www.intellectualcapital.com/issues/issue316/item7095.asp Putting the Test Ban to the Test : Richard Haass urges proponents of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty to bide their time. --- [Once again a treaty is unenforceable?] U.S. Criticism of Russia Grows By Barry Schweid AP Diplomatic Writer Monday Nov. 8 1999; 4:52 p.m. EST http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991108/aponline165242_000.htm WASHINGTON -- Escalating a disagreement with Moscow the Clinton administration on Monday said Russia was not in line with the Geneva Convention by inflicting casualties among civilians in Chechnya. The criticism stopped short of accusing Russia of violating the international accord which is designed to shield civilians from indiscriminate attack. But it was still an unusual accusation. And it followed a top Pentagon official's declaration that the United States would go ahead with an anti-missile defense even if it meant withdrawing from the 1972 Antiballistic Missile Treaty with Russia. --- Text: U.S. DOE Team Observes Russian Y2K Nuclear Plant Drill (U.S. Department of Energy says no major problems found) (700) 05 November 1999 http://www.usia.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest& f=99110506.wlt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml Russian nuclear plant workers "generally performed well" during an emergency drill observed by a U.S. technical team according to a press release by the U.S. Department of Energy. The team was invited to observe a Russian Y2K nuclear power plant emergency drill November 1 in response to a request from Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson. --- ComEd fined in treatment of worker November 7 1999 http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/comed07.html Federal regulators fined Commonwealth Edison $110 000 Friday for lowering a nuclear reactor operator's performance rating and blocking his training for promotion after he complained about the use of faulty equipment. --- TVA power program gets top marks from peers The Associated Press 11/08/99 1:42 AM Eastern http://flash.al.com/cgi-bin/al_nview.pl?/home1/wire/AP/Stream-Parsed/BAMA_NE WS/j3930_PM_TN--TVA-Nuclear SPRING CITY Tenn. (AP) -- During the 1980s the Tennessee Valley Authority's nuclear power program was rated as one of the worst in the United States. It's ending the 1990s ranked among the country's best. Last week TVA became the first American utility to gain top performance grades from its industry peers for all its nuclear plants. --- Washington Daybook Today's events of interest in and around Washington. TODAY'S HEADLINERS Washington Times November 8 1999 http://www.washtimes.com/daybook/daybook.html Nuclear-weapons protest -- 6 p.m. -- Project Abolition holds a candlelight vigil protest against nuclear weapons. Location: Third Street & Independence Avenue NW. Contact: 202/393-5201. --- Transcript: Pentagon Spokesman's Regular Thursday Briefing (EgyptAir 990/Egyptian military officers US/China relations Russia/ABM system) (3380) 05 November 1999 http://www.usia.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest& f=99110501.tlt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml Pentagon Spokesman Ken Bacon briefed. QUESTION: Ken there's a report in Brussels I understand -- I think it's a France Presse report -- that the United States has decided to pull what few nuclear weapons it has remaining in Europe and NATO countries. How would you -- have you anything on that? BACON: I have no information suggesting that report's correct. NATO maintains a small nuclear deterrent and I have no information suggesting that's about to change. --- Military Grappling With Guidelines For Cyber Warfare Questions Prevented Use on Yugoslavia By Bradley Graham Washington Post Staff Writer Monday November 8 1999; Page A01 http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/08/143l-110899-idx.html During last spring's conflict with Yugoslavia the Pentagon considered hacking into Serbian computer networks to disrupt military operations and basic civilian services. But it refrained from doing so according to senior defense officials because of continuing uncertainties and limitations surrounding the emerging field of cyber warfare. --- US Military Smaller After Wall Fall By Robert Burns AP Military Writer Sunday Nov. 7 1999; 12:22 p.m. EST http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991107/aponline122226_000.htm -The share of federal spending devoted to defense has shrunk to about 15 percent of the government's total budget from 23 percent. But the Pentagon still is spending billions of dollars yearly to maintain a nuclear arsenal of bombs and missiles that remains at the core of the nation's defense strategy. -The Army no longer has a single nuclear weapon yet the backbone of the U.S. nuclear arsenal remains intact: intercontinental ballistic missiles in underground silos in Montana North Dakota Wyoming Colorado and Nebraska; long-range missiles carried about Trident submarines based in Georgia and Washington state; and bombs for aircraft. The only U.S. nuclear weapons stationed outside the United States now are aircraft bombs based in Europe and there is talk of removing those too. --- Missile Flexing Monday November 8 1999; Page A20 http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/08/000l-110899-idx.html STRATEGIC DIALOGUE between the two great nuclear powers the United States and Russia is coming down to the flexing of real and imagined missiles. The other day the Russians fired off a short-range interceptor missile -- a possible hint of a more ambitious shield to come. On any given day its American advocates are urging a program to go beyond limited "theater" missile defense and to organize a full national missile defense. --- [One way Lockheed could recover and set an example to the other beleagured defense industries would be to actively support HR-2545 the "Nuclear Disarmament AND Ecoomic Conversion Act of 1999." See http://prop1.org/prop1/letter.htm.] The Defense Company That Bombed Lockheed Martin's Performance This Year Has Angered Major Investors By Peter Behr Washington Post Staff Writer Monday November 8 1999; Page F20 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/08/030l-110899-idx.html In what some analysts see as a signal of future changes Lockheed Martin's board divided the responsibility for picking a new president between Coffman and one of the board's most influential outside directors General Electric Co. Vice Chairman Eugene Murphy. Some key investors hope Murphy will insist on an outsider in the president's post breaking from the past practice of alternating top assignments between veterans of the Lockheed and Martin Marietta companies that merged in 1995. --- Dangerous Fictions About Bioterrorism By Donald A. Henderson Monday November 8 1999; Page A21 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/08/013l-110899-idx.html Biological terrorism is a hot media topic these days but by confusing fact and fiction coverage could cause more harm than good. While national security and public health experts become increasingly concerned about bioterrorism misleading stories are appearing -- including the recent anthrax scenario on ABC's "Nightline." -------- New Pakistan Gov't Issues Ultimatum By Kathy Gannon Associated Press Writer Monday Nov. 8 1999; 11:17 a.m. EST http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991108/aponline111741_000.htm http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-Pakistan-Nuclear.html ISLAMABAD Pakistan -- Pakistan will not sign the nuclear test ban treaty unless economic sanctions against this impoverished nation are lifted the new military-led government said today. But Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar also said Pakistan will not conduct further nuclear tests unless another nation in the volatile South Asia region including Pakistan's main rival India does first. --- Narayanan says India keen to resume talks with Pakistan November 8 1999 http://www.expressindia.com/news/31223199.htm During their nearly half an hour tete-a-tete after Narayanan was formally welcomed by the Austrian President the two leaders discussed a host of issues including the situation in Pakistan Afghanistan nuclear issue problem posed by international terrorism to world peace and India's relation with neighbours particularly China and Bangladesh reports PTI. --- Pakistan accuses India of "resisting" improvement in relations November 8 1999 http://www.expressindia.com/news/31222999.htm Asserting that his nation will not give up its nuclear option Sattar also ruled out signing the Global Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) unless sanctions imposed against it were lifted. "Minimum credible deterrence will remain our policy Sattar declared saying this did not mean the development of a full-scale strategic nuclear arsenal. --- Sharifs agreed on Nuclear rollback, claims Leghari 08 November 1999, Monday 29 Rajab 1420 http://dawn.com/daily/text/top11.htm ISLAMABAD, Nov 7: Former president and leader of Millat Party, Farooq Leghari said on Sunday former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif had committed to the United States to rollback nuclear and missile programmes, and to accept the Line of Control as permanent border. They had made these commitments against national interests and in return asked US officials to take care of those in uniform. This amounts to treason Leghari said while talking to newsmen here. -------- Austria acknowledges India as nuclear power November 8, 1999 http://www.expressindia.com/news/31223099.htm VIENNA: Austria, a strong critic of the Pokhran nuclear tests and a leading member of the European Union (EU), today acknowledged India's status as a nuclear power. I have great pleasure in welcoming the President of India the world's largest democracy and a nuclear and economic power