Subject: NucNews 99/11/20 Briefs Story-Date: 03:30 a.m. PST Monday , August 9, 1999 Sender: owner-nukenet@envirolink.org X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.2.07 -- ListProc(tm) by CREN Please address replies to articles to the original publisher. Please send NucNews copies? Refuting false information appreciated! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Russian Nuclear Plants OK for Y2K * Russian Nuclear Plants Undergo Y2K Drill * Experts: New Terrorists Harder to Track Cite Homemade Nukes and Smaller Groups * A MISSILE PROGRAM Allies Fear U.S. Project May Renew Arms Race * Europe Y2K nuclear weapons shutdown blasted * Cramer in group heading for Russia * Cold War Remembrances De-classified Reports Show Dangerous But Wary U.S.S.R. * ANALYSIS: Bush's foreign policy vision full of contradictions * ANALYSIS: Bush's foreign policy vision full of contradictions * Bush Draws the Line Foreign Policy Speech Warns China and Russia * Policies May Undercut Plea for Better Ties * Bush Favors Internationalism Candidate Calls China a 'Competitor ' Opposes Test Ban Treaty * Nuclear Experts Fault Bush Beliefs on Test Ban Treaty * Peace Action Urges: 'Ask Bush the Tough Questions' * Bush Favors Internationalism Candidate Calls China a 'Competitor ' Opposes Test Ban Treaty * Bush Raises Money for GOP in Calif. * Candidates on the Issues - EDUCATION / ENVIRONMENT / FARM POLICY / FOREIGN POLICY / GUN CONTROL / HEALTH CARE / IMMIGRATION etc * Fired Lab Scientist Can't Account for Some Disks * Spy Probe Expands Adds Bomb Makers * Deal with Russians in trouble letter says Nuclear disarmament * Dawn Mining opponent gets 'hero' award * Highlights of 1999 Congress * Plea Deal for Parents Turned In by Daughter * Feds May Upgrade Island Disease Lab * Today In History * Russian Military Researcher Suspected Of Spying For U.S. * No Deal in US-S.Korea Missile Talks * World Briefings NORTH KOREA: PROGRESS AT TALKS * Town Faces Emotional Fallout After Japan's Nuclear Accident --------- Russian Nuclear Plants OK for Y2K New York Times November 19 1999 Filed at 9:06 p.m. EST Associated Press http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/w/AP-Y2K-Russia-Nuclear.html WASHINGTON (AP) -- Major systems at Russian nuclear plants should not be affected by Y2K computer bugs but local residents could lose heat and electricity if some computers fail the Energy Department reported Friday. Energy officials said tests of the plants' crucial safety and communications systems revealed no problems. ``The nuclear parts are so old they're largely not run by computer. There's practically nothing to fail '' Energy Department spokeswoman Chris Kielich said. ``Hopefully that's one more thing people don't have to worry about.'' Russian Nuclear Plants OK for Y2K New York Times November 19 1999 Filed at 9:06 p.m. EST Associated Press http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/w/AP-Y2K-Russia-Nuclear.html WASHINGTON (AP) -- Major systems at Russian nuclear plants should not be affected by Y2K computer bugs but local residents could lose heat and electricity if some computers fail the Energy Department reported Friday. Energy officials said tests of the plants' crucial safety and communications systems revealed no problems. ``The nuclear parts are so old they're largely not run by computer. There's practically nothing to fail '' Energy Department spokeswoman Chris Kielich said. ``Hopefully that's one more thing people don't have to worry about.'' Russian Nuclear Plants Undergo Y2K Drill Washington Post November 20 1999; Page A10 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/20/089l-112099-idx.html Eight of nine Russian nuclear power plants have undergone a Y2K drill which was monitored by U.S. experts and no major problems were reported Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said. The drill tested power distribution systems communications systems and simulated the loss of off-site power at the Leningrad nuclear power plant the Energy Department said. Experts: New Terrorists Harder to Track Cite Homemade Nukes and Smaller Groups By Hans H. Chen APB News Nov. 18 1999 http://www.apbnews.com/newscenter/breakingnews/1999/11/18/terror1118_01.html TORONTO (APBnews.com) -- The United States faces new terrorist threats that range from wayward nuclear weapons to increasingly organized skinhead groups say researchers speaking at the American Society of Criminology's annual conference. The experts say the new threats will require law enforcement agencies to adopt new tools and tactics. Foremost among terrorism concerns may be the ability of rogue groups to construct their own nuclear bombs from the shambles of the Soviet weapons system. A MISSILE PROGRAM Allies Fear U.S. Project May Renew Arms Race New York Times November 20 1999 By ELIZABETH BECKER http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/europe/112099summit-missile.html WASHINGTON -- A senior State Department official flew to NATO headquarters this week to defend the administration's plans to deploy a national missile defense system in the face of growing criticism from European allies who say their security is being threatened. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott met with NATO members' representatives in Brussels explaining American intentions and "getting an earful of complaints" from the Europeans according to a senior diplomat here. Europe Y2K nuclear weapons shutdown blasted By Reuters Special to CNET News.com November 19 1999 8:35 a.m. PT http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1009-200-1453707.html?tag=st WASHINGTON--The chairman of a special Senate panel on the Year 2000 blasted as ill-informed a European Parliament call yesterday to shut down nuclear weapon alert systems over the New Year to avoid accidental launches. "This vote is particularly troubling in that it demonstrates an overall lack of awareness with regard to Y2K's potential effects on a country's infrastructure Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, said in a statement. Cramer in group heading for Russia By BRETT DAVIS Times Washington Correspondent Huntsville Times 11/17/99 http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/Nov1999/17-e33137.html WASHINGTON - Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, plans to leave for Russia Thursday as Congress makes its plans to adjourn. Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., is leading the trip to Ukraine and Russia to discuss business ties with the United States, and also to quell fears about U.S. plans for a limited missile-defense system. ''We'll obviously talk about missile defense as one of the topics, but it's not the major topic for the trip,'' said Weldon, a noted missile-defense advocate in the House. Cold War Remembrances De-classified Reports Show Dangerous, But Wary U.S.S.R. By Tabassum Zakaria ABC News 11/18/99 http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/ciareport991118.html L A N G L E Y, Va., Nov. 18 - The Soviet Union had the capability of striking all U.S. missile silos with two warheads each near the end of the Cold War, but was wary of escalating the arms race for economic reasons, newly declassified U.S. intelligence documents said today. The Central Intelligence Agency declassified 24 reports on the military and political state of the Soviet Union in the three years before it dissolved Dec. 31, 1991, ending the Cold War. ANALYSIS: Bush's foreign policy vision full of contradictions Nando Media November 20, 1999 1:05 a.m. EST http://www2.nando.net/noframes/story/0,2107,500059556-500098269-500397630-1, 00.html WASHINGTON ( http://www.nandotimes.com) - In his first foray into foreign policy, Republican presidential hopeful George W. Bush squarely tied his presidential candidacy to continuity of American leadership in the world, while setting a more confrontational course for dealing with China and Russia. Policies May Undercut Plea for Better Ties By John Lancaster and Terry M. Neal, Washington Post, November 20, 1999; Page A16 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/20/086l-112099-idx.html In his first major foreign policy speech yesterday, Texas Gov. George W. Bush vowed to strengthen ties with major allies and devote more attention to managing relations with potential rivals such as Russia and China. But there is much about his approach that could inflame tensions with both camps. Bush Favors Internationalism Candidate Calls China a 'Competitor,' Opposes Test Ban Treaty By Dan Balz Washington Post, November 20, 1999; Page A01 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/20/066l-112099-idx.html http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/bush20.html SIMI VALLEY, Calif., Nov. 19- Rejecting isolationism as a shortcut to chaos Texas Gov. George W. Bush today outlined the foreign policy principles that would guide his presidency, promising a distinctly American internationalism" while avoiding what he called "management of crisis." Candidates on the Issues DEFENSE: EDUCATION: ENVIRONMENT: FOREIGN POLICY: GUN CONTROL: HEALTH CARE: IMMIGRATION: etc. By Calvin Woodward Associated Press Nov. 20 1999; 11:28 a.m. EST http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991120/aponline112819_000.htm WASHINGTON -- In the gathering tempest of the 2000 presidential campaign candidates are building their policy positions brick by brick. Some are further along than others. There is a health care plan missing here a tax-cut package absent there. But they will keep on swiftly building as long as they can ride out the storm. Fired Lab Scientist Can't Account for Some Disks Washington Post Saturday November 20 1999; Page A04 By Walter Pincus and Vernon Loeb http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/20/074l-112099-idx.html Former Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee has told government investigators that he cannot account for several computer diskettes onto which he downloaded nuclear secrets according to Clinton administration officials. At least two high-density [diskettes] that he purchased are missing, said one federal official familiar with the FBI investigation. Spy Probe Expands Adds Bomb Makers Albuquerque Journal Saturday November 20 1999 http://www.abqjournal.com/news/6news11-20-99.htm The FBI is looking at the people who mate nuclear missiles to warheads in an expansion of the China nuclear spy probe the Washington Post reported Friday. New evidence suggests China may have stolen information about the most advanced U.S. nuclear warhead from one of the weapon's assemblers widening an investigation once focused almost exclusively on Los Alamos National Laboratory and one of its staff scientists Wen Ho Lee according to the Post. While the new evidence does not completely eliminate Los Alamos or Lee unnamed sources told the Post it indicates the most likely origin of the information is one of the weapons "integrators." These include Sandia National Laboratories which puts together prototypes of some warheads; Lockheed Martin Corp. which attaches warheads to missiles; and the Navy which supervises the process. Deal with Russians in trouble letter says By Jonathan Riskind Dispatch Washington Bureau Columbus Dispatch Friday November 19 1999 http://www.dispatch.com/pan/localarchive/securenws.html WASHINGTON -- By bungling the privatization of southern Ohio's uranium-enrichment plant the Clinton administration is endangering an agreement reducing Russia's nuclear arsenal the powerful House Commerce Committee chairman says in a letter obtained by The Dispatch. Dawn Mining opponent gets 'hero' award Spokesman Review November 20 1999 Karen Dorn Steele - Staff writer http://www.spokane.net/news-story-body.asp?Date=112099&ID=s709608&cat= A Springdale activist who spent years fighting Dawn Mining Co.'s plans to import uranium wastes to Eastern Washington has been named an environmental hero by the Washington Environmental Council. Owen Berio founder of Dawn Watch has opposed Dawn's plans to import millions of cubic feet of mildly radioactive waste from the East Coast to fill and cap a defunct milling pit near Ford. Highlights of 1999 Congress Associated Press Saturday Nov. 20 1999; 11:24 a.m. EST http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991120/aponline112407_000.htm Plea Deal for [Aninuclear] Parents Turned In by Daughter By Fern Shen Washington Post Staff Writer November 20 1999; Page B01 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/20/122l-112099-idx.html The Takoma Park couple whose teenage daughter turned them in to police for growing marijuana in the basement each will plead guilty to a single misdemeanor according to a plea deal outlined in court records. The agreement which is scheduled to be reviewed in court next month would mean probation and no jail time for Robert Jason Alvarez 54 and his wife Katherine Marie "Kitty" Tucker 55. But a number of issues remain unresolved for Alvarez who lost a senior policy job at the U.S. Department of Energy over his August arrest and Tucker a nationally known anti-nuclear activist whose attorneys say she used the marijuana for medical purposes. Feds May Upgrade Island Disease Lab By Frank Eltman Associated Press Saturday Nov. 20 1999; 3:36 p.m. EST http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991120/aponline153646_000.htm PLUM ISLAND N.Y. -- Contrary to rumor there are no three-headed pigs here. Still this tiny high-security island only a mile and a half off Long Island's prosperous North Fork is the site of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center where scientists study some of the world's most infectious animal viruses. It's the lab made famous in Nelson DeMille's 1997 best seller "Plum Island about stolen viruses and murdered scientists. And because the public is usually kept out, there is wild speculation about what goes on inside the lab 135 miles east of Manhattan. Today In History New York Times November 20, 1999 Filed at 7:00 p.m. EST By The Associated Press http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/a/AP-History.html One year ago: President Clinton, visiting South Korea, warned North Korea to forsake nuclear weapons and urged the North to seize a ``historic opportunity'' for peace with the South. Russian Military Researcher Suspected Of Spying For U.S. Russia Today Sunday, Nov 21 at Prague 04:58 pm, N.Y. 10:58 am http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=111501 MOSCOW, Nov 20, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) A leading researcher at a Russian international relations institute has been charged with treason on suspicion of spying for the United States, the Itar-Tass news agency said Friday. Igor Sutyagin, director of the department for military and technical cooperation at the prestigious Institute of the U.S. and Canada, part of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was arrested Thursday, said the agency citing FSB (ex-KGB) security services spokesman Alexander Zdanovich. No Deal in US-S.Korea Missile Talks Associated Press, Saturday, Nov. 20, 1999; 12:57 a.m. EST http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991120/aponline005725_000.htm SEOUL, South Korea -- After three days of talks, U.S. and South Korean officials failed to reach an agreement on whether to allow Seoul to develop longer-range missiles that can cover all of North Korea, officials of both governments said Saturday. The discussions on the missile issue were productive and concrete the U.S. Embassy in Seoul said in a statement. Some differences remain however which the U.S. hopes will be resolved as soon as possible." South Korean officials made similar remarks. World Briefings NORTH KOREA: PROGRESS AT TALKS New York Times November 20 1999 http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/world/world-briefs.html The United States and North Korea concluded four days of talks in Berlin aimed at improving relations that were described by Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan as "constructive and business-like." The meetings built upon Washington's recent announcement that it was easing sanctions against North Korea in exchange for its pledge to freeze long-range missile tests. Alan Maimon (NYT) Town Faces Emotional Fallout After Japan's Nuclear Accident By VALERIE REITMAN Los Angeles Times Saturday November 20 1999 http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/19991120/t000105785.html TOKYO--The signs at the city limits that once proudly proclaimed "Town of Nuclear Energy" have been replaced with bland placards that say simply Welcome to Tokaimura. It is one tangible sign of the shame that the town--previously viewed as an elite center of nuclear power research--now feels in the wake of Japan's worst nuclear disaster. ___________________________________________________ Today's Newspapers: http://prop1.org/nucnews/links.htm NucNews Archives: http://prop1.org/nucnews/briefs.htm Subscribe NucNews: mailto:prop1@prop1.org (NucNews-Subscribe) Submit URL/Article: mailto:prop1@prop1.org (NucNews-Editor) About NucNews: http://prop1.org/nucnews/nucnews.htm Distributed without payment for research and educational purposes only in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107.