Friday, 22 November 1991 Washington, DC
1. THE APS COUNCIL ADOPTED GUIDELINES FOR PROFESSIONAL
CONDUCT
of physicists at its 3 Nov 91 meeting. These
"minimal standards of ethical behavior" are adhered to by the
overwhelming majority of physicists, and in years past it was
felt that no purpose would be served by stating them. Physics
has been relatively untouched by recent revelations of ethical
lapses in other disciplines of science, but these disclosures
have changed the climate in which all scientists work. If
physicists have values we care about, we must articulate them
lest we be seen as having no values at all.
2. IS THE COUNCIL ON COMPETITIVENESS REALLY A SHADOW
GOVERNMENT
as critics have charged? Vice President Dan
Quayle presides over a White House panel that worries about the
economic impact of government regulations. Apparently it does
more than just worry, but nobody knows for sure because it does
what it does secretly; the Council claims immunity from the
Freedom of Information Act on the grounds that it is shielded by
"executive privilege." The suspicion is that the Council
influences the regulatory process. The veil slipped a bit when it
was disclosed that Quayle granted Allan Hubbard a waiver of
conflict-of-interest laws; that allowed Hubbard, who owns half of
World Wide Chemical, to participate in decisions on air pollution
regulations that affect his company.
3. PRESIDENT BUSH DECIDED TO RESCHEDULE HIS TRIP TO THE FAR
EAST
(WN 8 Nov 91). Now that he
has solved all the domestic problems, the President apparently
felt free to resume his foreign travels. His visit to Japan is
now scheduled to begin on 7 Jan 92 and last four days. Secretary
of Energy Watkins, who had postponed his own softening-up mission
to Japan, now plans to make the trip early next month. Watkins'
stated reason for delaying his visit was to push for the
Administration's energy policy, which lost anyway. The
President's pirouette has at least partially dispelled the sense
of impending doom that hovers over Waxahachie. Meanwhile, the
Townes task force on priorities will be reconvened next week.
4. INVESTIGATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE THREATENED TO SUBPOENA SSC
MEMOS!
A squabble over access to internal Department of
Energy memos may have been resolved. Rep. Howard Wolpe (D-MI),
chair of the House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on
Investigations, has suspected DOE of a lack of candor in
discussing the likelihood of cost overruns on the Supercollider
and the prospects for foreign participation (WN 1 Nov 91). So when he heard that Joe
Cipriano, head of the SSC Office at DOE, had written a series of
very frank "for your eyes only" memos to Secretary Watkins on
these matters, Wolpe requested copies. When DOE tried to
"stonewall" it, Wolpe called a meeting of the Subcommittee to
seek a subpoena to compel DOE to release the memos. DOE then
offered to provide excerpts, but you can imagine how far that
got. Yesterday, just before the scheduled meeting, DOE agreed to
allow Subcommittee staff to read the memos at DOE, but they will
not be permitted to make copies.
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