Friday, 16 March 2001

1. CO2 EMISSIONS: BUSH CHANGES HIS MIND ON A CAMPAIGN PROMISE.
A favorite tale from WWII was about a reluctant draftee who rode an imaginary motorcycle everywhere he went, making motorcycle noises as he walked, and carefully parking his invisible Harley when he got there. The Army shrinks shook their heads sadly and ordered a medical discharge. He roared up to gate, parked the cycle, showed his discharge papers, and was waved through. "Hey, you forgot your bike," the guard called after him. "That's OK," he shouted back, "I don't need it anymore."

2. ENVIRONMENT: DOES THE PRESIDENT TALK TO CABINET MEMBERS?
The president's decision that CO2 is not really an atmospheric pollutant was made in a letter to Republican leaders, even as the head of EPA, Christine Todd Whitman, was telling foreign leaders that the US would cut CO2 emissions. Perhaps she can just explain that The Western Fuels Association has discovered that carbon dioxide is really a food (WN 3 Nov 00). Moreover, she could point out that it doesn't transmit hoof and mouth disease. Also left dangling by Bush's reversal are Rep. Boehlert (R-NY)and Sen. Jeffords (R-VT), who were drafting CO2 legislation.

3. MISSILE DEFENSE: TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH WHO'S TALKING TO WHOM.
China says it's willing to talk with the US about a National Missile Defense, but shows no sign of softening its opposition to anything that might be used to shield Taiwan. But North Korea has abruptly postponed high-level talks with South Korea. The North Koreans were clearly offended when President Bush expressed public skepticism about the reliability of agreements reached with North Korean leader, Kim Jong II. This was apparently a reference to North Korea's 1994 agreement not to make plutonium in its power plants in exchange for US help. Does this mean we have discovered heretofore undisclosed evidence of North Korean violations of the 1994 agreement? Meanwhile, the US seems content to make policy without talking to anyone.

4. POLITICALLY CORRECT: DOE IS SLOW TO WARN OF COMPUTER VIRUS.
The "Naked Wife" virus was already wreaking havoc, but when DOE headquarters set out to warn the troops, the politically correct DOE software balked at the word "naked." WN has been told that it took several hours before the warning could be passed on.

5. FREE ENERGY: BELIEVERS SEEM TO BE GETTING A LITTLE UNEASY.
With the NASDAQ sinking below 2000, a lot of investors in high- tech stocks are uneasy, but things are even worse for ideas that never made it to the NASDAQ. The word is out that a serious attempt to replicate the hydrino power results claimed by Randy Mills, carried out by a committed free energy believer, found zip. And on Monday the Supreme Court is expected to announce its decision not to review a cold fusion patent case (WN 23 Feb 01).



Bob Park can be reached via email at whatsnew@bobpark.org
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
Opinions are the author's and are not necessarily shared by the University, but they should be.