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).
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