Friday, 28 September 1990 Washington, DC

1. WHEELING JESUIT COLLEGE CHOSEN FOR TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER CENTER!
Well, not exactly "chosen." The "National Center" turned up in the VA/HUD/Independent Agencies appropriations bill (WN 14 Sep 90), which passed the full committee this week. A spokesman at the 1400 student college, contacted today, was somewhat vague about just what technology would be transferred where by the $5M NASA facility. The college is in West Virginia--the home of Sen. Byrd, the Committee chair. Just last year Byrd introduced a bill to curb the influence of pork-barrel lobbyists (WN 11 Aug 89), but it was sharing credit with lobbyists he objected to, not the pork. The other scientific pork that can be identified among the dozens of projects earmarked for states of Committee members is an earthquake engineering center at the University of Nevada. It comes too late to prevent panic along the New Madrid fault.

2. WILL A DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE HIT THE MIDWEST ON DECEMBER 3?
All along the New Madrid fault in the Mississippi Valley, schools and businesses are scheduled to close that day, following the prediction of Iben Browning that an alignment of the planets will produce a major quake. Anyone who believes that is probably also holding palladium futures. For four decades, Browning, whose formal training is in physiology, has been successfully marketing his preposterous pseudoscientific claptrap to clients who should know better. He once sold the Defense Department on a scheme to train whales to carry nuclear weapons into Soviet ports and had many in NASA convinced that a spacecraft attempting to land on the moon's surface would sink two miles into a layer of dust.

3. THE SENATE FINALLY RATIFIED THE 1974 THRESHOLD TEST BAN TREATY
prohibiting underground nuclear tests with yields greater than 150 kilotons. Although both nations have professed to adhere to its provisions, ratification stalled over compliance questions after Reagan charged the Soviets with cheating. The charge later proved groundless. Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) is still grumbling about cheating, but the vote was 98-0. Also ratified was the 1976 Peaceful Nuclear Explosives Treaty. Ratification clears a major hurdle to further progress on disarmament negotiations.

4. THE UPCOMING SPACE STATION FREEDOM PRELIMINARY DESIGN REVIEW
was previewed yesterday in a hearing of the House Space Science and Applications Subcommittee. Optimistic testimony from NASA brass gave little hint of recent problems. Assembly of Freedom is expected to require a total of 28 shuttle missions--and right now NASA has its hands full trying to launch two per year.

5. WHERE, YOU MAY BE WONDERING, IS THE SSC COST ESTIMATE? DOE
was supposed to provide its final "hard estimate" to Congress by 17 August (WN 7 Sep 90). Now, six weeks late, the report has been written, but it is being held up by the Office of Management and Budget. OMB reportedly thinks the estimate is too low.



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.