Friday, 1 September 2000
1. FLASH!! CLINTON WILL NOT DEPLOY A NATIONAL MISSILE DEFENSE.
Speaking at Georgetown University this morning, President Clinton
said the U.S., "should not move forward until we have absolute
confidence the system will work." He has therefore decided not
to authorize deployment, including the pouring of concrete for a
radar facility on Shemya Island. Instead, he is directing the
Defense Department to proceed full speed on development. His
position agrees in every respect with the APS statement on NMD
http://www.aps.org/statements/00_2.cfm.
That should offer some
satisfaction to the hundreds of APS members who responded to the
call to inform the president of their views
(WN 28 Jul 00).
2. SPY HYSTERIA: WEN HO LEE RETURNS HOME TODAY.
Or at least he
moves to a larger cell. Federal Judge James Parker ordered Lee
released on $1M bail after a lengthy hearing
(WN 18 Aug 00),
but imposed virtual home detention. It is now clear that inaccurate
testimony by government officials resulted in Lee needlessly
spending eight months in prison under unusually harsh conditions.
Even so, Lee's release was delayed to allow 30 FBI personnel to
conduct a 12 hour search of his home. The government, which has
been almost hysterical in its opposition to bail, had until noon
today to appeal to the Federal Circuit Court in Denver.
3. FATAL ATTRACTION: FLORSHEIM PULLS ITS HEALTH CLAIMS.
Faced with a consumer lawsuit in California, and ridicule from the
scientific community, Florsheim has yanked the brochures that
described the "science" behind its MagneForce shoes
(WN 18 Aug 00).
Its web page, which once claimed that its magnetic insole,
"increases circulation: reduces foot, leg and back fatigue;
provides natural pain relief and increased energy level," now
simply says it's, "the first shoe with its own power supply."
4. NOBEL DREAMS: RUMORS ABOUND THAT A HIGGS WAS SPOTTED AT CERN.
Even as the LEP collider prepares to shut down at the end of
September, there are reports of a few events that might involve
the Higgs boson. While these events are far from conclusive,
there are calls to extend operations for several months.
5. IG NOBEL DREAMS: COLD FUSION MEMO TO PRESIDENT CLINTON.
Who has not heard of the car that runs on water, suppressed of course
by the oil industry? In 1979, Sam Leach raised millions from
deep-pocket investors, including the founder of Budget Rent-A-
Car, for a laser device that separated water into oxygen and
hydrogen fuel with a net gain in energy. Now, Eugene Mallove has
released a 13-page memo he wrote for President Clinton at the
request of the White House, titled `The Strange Birth of the
Water Fuel Age: the Cold Fusion "Miracle" Was No Mistake.' The
request, according to Mallove, was prompted by Sir Arthur C.
Clarke. The President, Mallove reports, has not yet responded.
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