Friday, 15 September 2000
UPDATE ON ROBERT PARK'S CONDITION.
Robert Park is recovering
from the world's most unlikely accident - a tree fell on him. He
is out of intensive care but still convalescing at the hospital.
He's using the time to test the Sharper Image Magnetic Eye Mask.
1. WEN HO LEE IS FREE AFTER NINE MONTHS IN JAIL: SUITS FOLLOW.
To convict Lee, prosecutors had to prove that he intended to both
harm the United States and secure an advantage for a foreign
nation. Their case evaporated over the last nine months, and two
weeks ago Judge Parker ruled that Lee should be released on bail.
Prosecutors dropped 58 of the 59 charges, and Lee pled guilty to
the one remaining: mishandling nuclear secrets. He was sentenced
to time served and will cooperate in an investigation into the
disappearance of the downloaded files. The next phase: law suits
and recriminations. Lee is suing the government for breech of
privacy, and Judicial Watch, on behalf of former DOE Counter-
Intelligence Director Notra Trulock, is suing Lee for defamation
of character. This week, Judge Parker scolded Justice Department
and DOE officials for their conduct of the case. President
Clinton said that he, too, was "quite troubled" by their actions.
2. DOE: THE FALL OFFENSIVE.
With DOE Science caught in a vise
between water projects and weapons programs, Senate and House
advocates are now circulating bi-partisan letters to their
leadership expressing "strong support for the Office of Science"
and urging that FY 2001 funds "be provided at no less than the
President's requested level of $3.16 billion and more if at all
possible." To date, 16 senators and 75 representatives have
signed. There is still time for APS members to contact their own
members of Congress
(http://www.aps.org/public_affairs/).
3. REFORM PARTY RESULTS: BUCHANAN DEFEATS HAGELIN.
The Federal Election Commission ruled out physicist John Hagelin as the
Reform Party's presidential candidate, awarding Pat Buchanan the
$12.6 million in federal funds. Hagelin may be out officially,
but the odds of his becoming President haven't changed.
4. APS RESULTS: MYRIAM SARACHIK ELECTED VICE PRESIDENT.
CCNY Distinguished Professor Myriam Sarachik, a condensed matter
physicist, won the election leading to the APS presidency in two
years. She will be the third woman to serve in that office.
This week's WN was written by Michael Lubell.
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