NUCLEAR
Cold War chill in the air
Spy photos show Beijing set for underground test
The military uses of DU
Germany to ship atomic waste to France next week
Protests against German nuclear waste shipment
Taiwan AEC finds human error in Maanshan-1 blackout
Going nuclear
Bush DOE budget cuts nuclear spending
Budget proposal includes $25-million increase for NRC
Anti-nukers stage annual protest at Tenn. weapons plant
Cheney defends Bush environmental policies
Cheney warns China it risks harming ties to U.S.

MILITARY
Chavilit's wife has investments in Burma
Three More for NATO
U.N. enters rebel-held diamond town in Sierra Leone
Millions in sub-Saharan Africa face food shortages
U.S. diplomats meet again with crew
Hawaii
At least they didn't shoot them
Remains of MIA team are recovered

OTHER
Japan issues 1st green certificates for wind power
Few choices abound for energy self-sufficiency
Britain gears up for offshore wind power
California Energy Plan Punishes the Good Guys
Organic Farmers Help Cut Exposure to Toxic Chemicals
U.S. steps up airport foot-and-mouth intervention
Train goes off tracks, leaks fuel into river
States
Gore's 2004 plan
MORE CALLS FOR VERNIERO TO QUIT
End Police Abuses
Critics assail arrest number in Detroit investigations
Delaware
Whitman defends judge
China's Costly Rigidity
U.S. and China Look for a Way to Say 'Sorry'
Powell Warns of Damage to Ties as Crisis Drags On
Most favor Bush, U.S. stance
Bush sees damage to U.S.-Chinese relations
Enough already
A risk of misreading America
Cheney warns China it risks harming ties to U.S.
Not hostages
Hawks up ante on spy plane
China's fragile mindset
CHINA, U.S. TRY TO WORK OUT HOW TO END STANDOFF

ACTIVISTS
Student dies on third day of campus protest
Turkish government moves to calm protests
Oregon
Starlight puts a shine on favorite causes
Non-Violence Training in Buffalo, NY April 14th
Apply now for BIOJUSTICE Action Camp
Where are YOU going to be during the FTAA?
anti-nuke action going on in your hood?
American University Severs Contract With Sodexho Marriott


-------- NUCLEAR

Cold War chill in the air

The Washington Times www.washtimes.com
4/9/01
David R. Sands THE WASHINGTON TIMES
http://www.washtimes.com/world/default-200149214040.htm

The first spring of the Bush presidency arrived with a distinct Cold War nip as diplomat-spies were sent packing in Washington and Moscow, aerial jousts with Chinese fighters occurred high over the South China Sea and brittle rhetoric sounded from North Korea.

It isn't likely there will be a full-fledged revival of the tense standoff that occurred between the United States and communist regimes following World War II.

The new Bush administration, however, has engaged in sharp tiffs with onetime Cold War enemies Russia, China and North Korea - 12 years after the first President Bush declared a post-Cold War "new world order."

Questions over whether the international system that collapsed with the Berlin Wall somehow is being rebuilt emerged with the downing of a U.S. surveillance plane after it was bumped by a Chinese fighter, a major spy scandal with Moscow, open skepticism in Washington and open hostility in Pyongyang over recent moves toward a rapprochement.

"I can't see a reopening of the Cold War if you mean a world with two mutually hostile camps, at least one of which is committed to the eventual destruction of the other," said veteran diplomat Raymond L. Garthoff, who helped negotiate the seminal arms-control treaties with the Soviet Union under President Nixon.

"I think what you are seeing is a clear change of tone in Washington coupled with a series of events to which governments have been forced to respond," he said.

Even senior officials in various capitals increasingly have used the term "Cold War" in commenting on the current standoffs with China, Russia and North Korea, if only to warn against a return to the bad old days.

Adm. Dennis Blair, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, last week said China should approve a quick return of the U.S. military personnel from the downed electronic surveillance plane to show that "this is not a Cold War mentality any more."

As negotiations intensified through the week, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell both expressed hope that the dispute wouldn't poison other troubled aspects of the two nations' relationship - the hallowed "linkage" concept at the heart of Cold War diplomacy.

But Jeffrey Gedmin, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and executive director of the New Atlantic Initiative, said the primary change that George W.Bush has brought to U.S. policy in his first two months as president has been the determination to "call a spade a spade."

"In the last few years, when China or Russia was behaving in a not particularly constructive way, the previous administration preferred to sweep it under the rug in order to preserve the strategic dialogue," Mr. Gedmin said. "For this administration, if they think Russia is guilty of something contrary to our interests, they're going to say so bluntly."

Rising tensions

A prime example came when Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was asked in a television interview late last month about increased Russian military cooperation and arms deals with North Korea, Iran and other unfriendly regimes, a policy the Clinton administration tried to curb through behind-the-scenes diplomacy.

"Let's be very honest about what Russia is doing," Mr. Rumsfeld said in comments that stunned and angered Moscow.

"Russia is an active proliferator. They are part of the problem," he said.

Mr. Gedmin predicted that both Moscow and Beijing will adjust, and that U.S. relations with both actually will become more stable and predictable under Mr. Bush than was the case under Mr. Clinton.

Some differences between the Cold War world and today are obvious.

The Soviet-dominated Warsaw Pact is no more, and three former members of the alliance - Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic - have joined NATO.

China has become one of the world's economic superstars, and a top priority of the Communist Party regime in Beijing is membership in the ultimate capitalist club, the World Trade Organization.

Still, analysts say there has been a perceptible rise recently in international tensions. Among the factors at work: conscious changes in policy and tone in Washington, domestic political tensions in each involved country, and the crush of unexpected daily headlines with which the skeletal Bush foreign policy team has been forced to deal.

As a candidate, Mr. Bush was openly critical of Mr. Clinton's handling of relations with Russia and China, and his leading foreign policy advisers privately were unhappy about the rapid rapprochement with North Korea.

Once in power, the Bush administration's early relations with all three powers have been choppy at best.

Russia insecure

In the fallout from the February arrest of FBI counterintelligence agent Robert Hanssen on charges of spying for Russia, the United States expelled 50 Russian diplomats and Moscow responded in kind. The expulsions were the largest of their kind since the Reagan administration, when Russia was the heart of the crumbling Soviet Union.

Jacques Beltran, a researcher at the Paris-based French Institute for International Relations and a guest scholar at the German Marshall Fund here, noted that Moscow already harbored grievances over the U.S.-led air war in Kosovo and U.S. efforts to freeze Russia out of a Middle East settlement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin actively sought to undercut international support for Mr. Bush's top defense priority - a new defensive shield against ballistic missile attack. Mr. Putin has visited numerous foreign capitals seeking to promote a "multipolar world" -one not dominated by U.S. economic and military might.

The Bush team also clearly demoted Russia in its international pecking order, receiving the foreign minister of the breakaway republic of Chechnya while Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has yet to visit Washington.

In a recent commentary, Viktor Peshkov, a Communist Party delegate in the Russian State Duma, said the downgrading was a shock to Russians still reeling from the loss of the vast Soviet empire.

"When the U.S. leadership, with its awkward actions, stresses the fact that it is time for Russia to get used to its new role in the world, in a place that is far from first, it causes psychological trauma to most Russians," Mr. Peshkov wrote. "It can hardly count on Russian sympathies in this case."

Said Mr. Beltran: "Russia is trying to find its role and where it fits in American foreign policy. There's a rise in unilateralism with the new administration that isn't giving the Russians much help with an answer."

China moves ahead

The Bush administration faces a deadline in a few weeks on arms sales to Taiwan amid a series of incidents that have soured ties with Beijing, even before the U.S. and Chinese planes collide high over the South China Sea.

The Bush administration actively backs a resolution at the annual U.N. human rights conference that is sharply critical of China. The administration also accused China of helping Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein to upgrade his air defenses, in violation of U.N. sanctions.

A high-level Chinese military officer defected in New York last year. An American University scholar was detained by Chinese officials in February and last week she was formally charged with spying. China also objected to a U.S. congressional resolution opposing Beijing's bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics.

All of which serves as dissonant background music to the looming Taiwan decision.

With powerful backing in Congress, Taiwan is seeking a major upgrade in the quality of the arms it can buy from the United States. Chinese senior diplomat Qian Qichen, meeting with Mr. Bush last month, bluntly warned that such an upgrade would have serious consequences for bilateral relations.

In yet another Cold War echo, China and Russia firmed up plans for a new bilateral treaty to be signed at a July summit in Moscow between Mr. Putin and Chinese President Jiang Zemin. The basic joint principles: opposition to missile defense, support for China's claim to Taiwan and support for Russia's war in Chechnya.

But China's economic surge in the 1990s coincided with a disastrous decline in Russian output, dictating vastly different treatment of the old Cold War principals by the new Bush team.

According to the Economist, the British newsweekly: "To put it crudely, the administration is prepared to disagree with Russia because it thinks it hardly matters. It wants to confront China because it thinks it matters a lot."

North Korea threat

The Bush administration put an abrupt halt to the rapid warming of ties with the communist regime in Pyongyang in the waning months of the Clinton administration. Mr. Bush did not hide his skepticism of South Korean President Kim Dae-jung's "Sunshine Policy" with the North when Mr. Kim visited Washington last month.

U.S. military officials say the threat from North Korea's massive army on the border with the South has increased in the past year, despite the rapprochement and despite the North's huge economic woes.

Gen. Thomas Schwartz, commander of the 37,000-strong U.S. military contingent in South Korea, told a Senate Armed Forces Committee hearing last month that the threat from the North is "bigger, better, closer and deadlier." "They're training at a higher level" and buying better equipment, the general said.

Since Mr. Bush took office Jan. 20, North Korea has slowed the bilateral thaw with South Korea and resumed the harsh rhetoric that characterized a half-century of Cold War stalemate on the divided peninsula.

The new U.S. administration "only intends to step up its hostile policy to isolate and stifle [North Korea]," the newspaper for the country's ruling Korean Workers' Party editorialized last month.

"The U.S. war hawks are trying to reverse the trend of positive developments . . . by escalating their [anti-North Korea] moves to an extreme pitch," the paper charged.

In yet one more Cold War echo, the globe's smaller powers have watched the great-power jousting of the great powers in recent weeks with growing unease.

Saying that her country remained strictly neutral as Beijing and Washington argued over the the U.S. surveillance plane and its crew, Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said:

"Very seldom do other countries get involved when the elephants are pitted against each other."

-------- china

Spy photos show Beijing set for underground test

Washington Times
April 9, 2001
By Bill Gertz THE WASHINGTON TIMES
http://www.washtimes.com/national/default-200149224735.htm

China is preparing to conduct a small, underground nuclear test in the midst of a standoff with the United States over the detention of 24 American military personnel, The Washington Times has learned.

U.S. intelligence officials said the EP-3E surveillance aircraft that collided with a Chinese interceptor jet April 1 was gathering electronic intelligence related to the impending test, along with other intelligence targets. The test preparations were detected two weeks ago at China's Lop Nur testing facility in western Xinjiang province. They were based on U.S. spy satellite photographs that showed activity related to nuclear testing at one location of the testing site.

One official said the underground blast could be another in a series of "subcritical" nuclear tests - small explosions that do not produce an actual nuclear yield but are useful in weapons development and maintenance. However, other officials familiar with intelligence reports said the Chinese are known to have a covert testing program that relies on small, or low-yield, nuclear explosions.

In 1996, China became a signatory to an international treaty banning all underground nuclear blasts.

U.S. intelligence officials said suspicions about the secret Chinese nuclear testing program were confirmed after agents from Beijing purchased special nuclear containment equipment from Russia several years ago.

The special equipment is known to be used in masking the seismic signatures of nuclear explosions - like the small blast China set off June 1999, days before a senior U.S. diplomat delivered an apology to Beijing for the mistaken bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, during the air war there.

The timing of that test, which took place at Lop Nur, was viewed as an intentional signal from Beijing, which had cut off all military contacts with the United States and had begun vitriolic attacks on the United States in the government-controlled media.

Although the test preparations were spotted before the showdown between China and the United States began, officials did not rule out a connection to China's stepped-up aggressive harassment of U.S. intelligence and plans for the test.

China is opposing Bush administration plans for U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and plans for deployment of a national missile defense, and it has been engaged in a concerted effort to influence U.S. policies, said defense and intelligence officials.

A test during the current standoff would signal China's growing nuclear power, said the officials.

A U.S. defense official said the testing activity at the current time is a sign that China's leader, President Jiang Zemin, may not be fully in control.

"Some say Jiang is a moderate who wants good relations with the United States," the official said. "If that's the case, this test during a difficult period with the United States indicates he is not in control of China."

The EP-3E conducts signals intelligence operations that are aimed at collecting large amounts of communications and other electric signals. The aircraft left from Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, Japan, and flew south along the Chinese coast until its encounter with two Chinese interceptor jets near Hainan Island.

The aircraft's sensitive listening equipment is capable of picking up communications thousands of miles inland, including any signals from Lop Nur, the main Chinese nuclear testing facility, intelligence officials said.

The U.S. intelligence community also uses RC-135 reconnaissance flights and spy satellites to collect intelligence from Lop Nur. It also has "sniffer" aircraft that can detect any nuclear particles produced from nuclear tests after they take place.

China in the past has used tests of its missiles and nuclear weapons as political signals to the United States. China is currently engaged in a major strategic weapons buildup. Last year, it conducted two flight tests of a new road-mobile long-range missile known as the DF-31.

China also is building a longer-range missile known as the DF-41 and a new class of ballistic missile submarine that will be equipped with a naval version of the DF-31. China last conducted large-scale nuclear tests in 1996. It announced later that year it was agreeing to the international nuclear test ban known as the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

U.S. intelligence agencies assessed the 1996 tests to be the first blasts of a new small warhead - believed based on the design of the W-88, the United States' most advanced small nuclear warhead, obtained through espionage. Although China signed the test ban treaty, it has not ratified it.

The U.S. Senate rejected the pact in 1999. The State Department said at the time of the Senate debate that U.S. ratification of the treaty would "constrain" China's nuclear weapons modernization because any information on U.S. nuclear testing obtained by Chinese spies could not be used without first conducting nuclear tests.

"China is not likely to rely on weapons incorporating information obtained through espionage without first conducting nuclear explosive tests," the department said in a 1999 fact sheet.

The fact sheet also stated that China said when it signed the test ban treaty in 1996 that "it would continue to evaluate the safety and reliability of its nuclear weapons. . . . We believe that China has initiated such a program at its Lop Nur test site."

China has refused to permit international monitoring at its nuclear weapons test facilities -a key reason Senate Republicans rejected the test ban treaty as unverifiable. Negotiators failed to include provisions in the treaty that would allow precise monitoring near Lop Nur.

Despite the Senate's rejection of the treaty, the Bush administration is seeking $21 million for international monitoring of the defunct treaty, a sign treaty proponents are operating outside the control of administration political appointees.

"It's the Clinton bureaucracy doing this, and it shows the Bush administration hasn't reined them in," said one U.S. official. The continued nuclear test efforts by China show "China could never be a reliable treaty partner" since it announced in 1996 that it would no longer test, this official said.

-------- depleted uranium

The military uses of DU

Tuesday, 9 January, 2001
BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1108000/1108058.stm

As concern grows over the effects on Nato peacekeepers of using depleted uranium (DU) ammunition, BBC News Online's Tarik Kafala considers the military applications of DU.

The main military use of DU is in penetrating armour.

It is a very heavy substance, 1.7 times denser than lead, and has substantial performance advantages over other materials used for the same purposes.

When munitions made with DU strike a solid object, like the side of a tank, the round penetrates the armour and metal fragments from it scatter inside the vehicle causing injury, damage and secondary fires.

On impact up to 70% of the round can be aerosolised (turned into a vapour), and particles containing DU oxides are likely to contaminate the surrounding area.

The high temperature fragments created as DU passes through armour can spread to strike everything inside a tank and set fire to its fuel and ammunition.

Defensive use

DU's density and physical properties make it ideal for use as armour plate.

This kind of armour is a big advance. During the 1991 Desert Storm campaign, for example, the armour on US M1A1 Abrams tanks received a number of direct hits from Iraqi shells which did not penetrate.

The combination of DU armour and DU munitions was a key element in improving survivability and giving the US-led coalition the edge.

The high density of DU also makes it useful as a counter-balance for large commercial aircraft, including the Boeing 747, and in yacht keels.

DU is a by-product of the enrichment of natural uranium, either for weapons-making or for reactor fuel.

Alternatives

Britain, France, Russia and the US are the main users DU munitions.

The great majority of armies use tungsten alloys for the same purpose.

The US Department of Defence has argued that DU is the most effective material for piercing armour, because of its high density and the metallic properties that allow it to "self-sharpen" as it penetrates armour.

In contrast, US military officials say, anti-tank munitions made from other materials tend to mushroom and become blunt as they penetrate.

The alternatives to DU do have a 20% lower penetrative performance, and are more expensive.

Tungsten emits no radiation, but, its particles are poisonous.

-------- germany

Germany to ship atomic waste to France next week

GERMANY: April 9, 2001
Story by Emma Thomasson
REUTERS
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=10436&newsDate=9-Apr-2001

BERLIN - Germany plans to send nuclear waste to France next week for the first time since Berlin banned the return of its reprocessed waste from France three years ago after massive protests, a French official said on Friday.

Yves Gauthier, spokesman for the French nuclear reprocessing firm Cogema, told Reuters the reprocessing plant at La Hague expected a German shipment of waste to arrive on Wednesday.

Anti-nuclear activists clashed with police last week when Germany took back the first cargo of reprocessed waste from France since Berlin banned the shipments in 1998 over concerns about radioactive leaks and huge anti-nuclear protests.

France agreed in January to take more material from Germany's nuclear power plants for reprocessing if Germany accepted back waste already reprocessed in La Hague for long-term storage.

German nuclear energy sources confirmed a report by the environmental group Greenpeace that some 30 tonnes of waste would be shipped on Monday or Tuesday from three power stations in southwest Germany to the La Hague reprocessing plant.

The sources said the transport was due to begin on Tuesday, although German police said a week-long train strike in France could delay the shipment. German officials declined to give timings of the shipments for fear of attracting demonstrators.

Greenpeace spokesman Veit Buerger said last week's transport to the Gorleben storage plant in northern Germany, which activists delayed for a day by chaining themselves to rail tracks, had opened the floodgates for shipments to France.

"The government is treating France as the atom toilet of Germany," he said, adding that Greenpeace planned peaceful protests against the transports next week.

Another anti-nuclear group plans a demonstration on Sunday at the Philippsburg nuclear power plant in southern Germany from where some of the waste is due to come.

Buerger said the government planned 40 more waste shipments to La Hague this year. The deployment of some 15,000 police officers last week to guard the first transport to La Hague since 1997 cost the state around $50 million.

Greenpeace would not give any details about its planned protests, but many activists say they hope that by driving up the cost of policing such transports they will persuade the government to withdraw more quickly from nuclear energy.

Meanwhile, the nuclear news agency NucNet reported on Friday that a German nuclear cargo company had applied for permission from authorities in the state of Lower Saxony to transport another cargo of waste back to Gorleben from La Hague.

----

Protests against German nuclear waste shipment

GERMANY: April 9, 2001
REUTERS
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=10447&newsDate=9-Apr-2001

PHILIPPSBURG, Germany - About 500 anti-nuclear activists gathered near a power plant in southwestern Germany on Sunday to protest against a planned shipment of atomic waste to France this week.

Waving placards reading "Stop the transports", the demonstrators demanded an end to nuclear waste shipments to and from the reprocessing plant at La Hague in France. More protests are planned for Monday.

"Atomic waste tourism through Europe must be stopped," activist Heidi Lindstedt said in a statement. "Every transport only serves to secure the continued operation of the reactors."

Demonstrators clashed with police last month when Germany took back the first cargo of reprocessed waste from France since Berlin banned the shipments in 1998 over concerns about radioactive leaks and huge anti-nuclear protests.

Germany plans to send spent nuclear fuel to La Hague on Tuesday for reprocessing from three power stations, including the one at Philippsburg, in what will be the first transport to France since Paris agreed in January to take in more waste.

After Germany halted the transport of reprocessed waste back from La Hague for storage at a facility in the northern town of Gorleben, France refused to accept any more waste from Germany.

German police, who said last week that a train strike in France could delay the shipment, were due to hold a news conference on their plans for policing the transport on Monday.

Protesters briefly delayed last month's shipment to Gorleben by chaining themselves to rail tracks. The cost of deploying over 15,000 police officers to guard the transport cost the state around $50 million.

Activists say they hope that by driving up the cost of policing such transports they will persuade the German government to withdraw more quickly from nuclear energy.

-------- taiwan

Taiwan AEC finds human error in Maanshan-1 blackout

Platts
9 Apr 2001
Taipei (Inside NRC/Nucleonics Week)--

In a report expected to be released Apr 11, Taiwan's nuclear regulator, the Atomic Energy Council (AEC), will attribute the March 18 station blackout at Taiwan Power Co.'s Maanshan-1 to a combination of late transmission line maintenance and personnel who panicked when a backup diesel generator didn't start on the first try, Platts Inside NRC and Nucleonics Week reports.

Station blackout is considered a rare but serious event for a nuclear plant, since it can leave the plant unable to remove accumulated heat from the nuclear core and, if enough time elapses, lead to core melting. This event left Maanshan-1 in blackout for two hours, but it had been in hot standby, not power operation, for the previous 21 hours, so the core heat load was relatively low. Moreover, at the outset of the blackout, the AEC verified, a steam-driven auxiliary feedwater pump started up as designed, keeping the core temperature down.

Had the feedwater pump failed to function and core temperature risen, said Shen Li, AEC's Director of Nuclear Regulation, "This would have been a different story."

The AEC report says Maanshan-1 operators had been wrestling with erratic incoming AC power for the previous 24 hours. Accumulated salt deposits on insulators, which Taipower usually cleans out, had caused transmission instabilities on incoming power lines. A power surge provoked an electrical fire in the plant, damaging lines to one backup diesel generator. The total blackout ensued when the second backup diesel failed to start. The AEC found that diesel probably could have been started if the operator had tried a couple of more times.

The detailed report is to be released by the government along with another report by AEC's outside consultants and a third report commissioned by the government, which is led by an antinuclear party. The third report is expected to be more critical of Taipower over the incident than the AEC's fact-finding report.

-------- u.s. nuc facilities

Going nuclear

The Washington Times www.washtimes.com
Published 4/9/01
Inside Politics Greg Pierce THE WASHINGTON TIMES
http://www.washtimes.com/national/inpolitics.htm

Twenty percent of the electricity used in this country is generated by nuclear power, and Vice President Richard B. Cheney says he would like to see that proportion increased significantly.

"I would like to see it go up because I think it's one of the ways to deal with this whole question of global warming . . . greenhouse emissions . . . that if you go with nuclear power, you don't have any carbon dioxide emissions," Mr. Cheney said yesterday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"We also know the track record is, with respect to nuclear power plants, that they can . . . be operated very safely. It's one of the safest industries around," he added.

Asked by host Tim Russert if the Bush administration will sponsor "a whole new program of developing nuclear power," the vice president said the president "hasn't made a decision yet."

But Mr. Cheney said the president has told him he wants nuclear power to be one of the issues examined by a federal task force that is preparing an energy policy.

"My views are that this is an important area for us. We need to build . . . 65 new power plants a year in this country for the next 20 years, at a minimum. Maybe 90 plants a year," said Mr. Cheney, who heads the task force.

"My own view is that some of those ought to be nuclear, and if they are, that that's the environmentally sound way to go," he said.

--------

Bush DOE budget cuts nuclear spending

Nuclear News Flashes
9Apr2001

Spending on DOE's nuclear energy program would be cut by nearly 9% in fiscal 2002 under the budget the Bush administration released today. The $19.2 billion proposal for DOE includes $233.1-million for the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science & Technology, roughly $20.4-million below this year's level. DOE said the request reflects a decision to not seek funds for any major energy initiatives until a task force headed by Vice President Dick Cheney completes its review of U.S. energy policy. Under the budget, the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI) would be funded at $18.1 million in FY-02, down $16.7 million from this year. DOE said the program--aimed at developing innovative reactor and fuel technologies--would continue work on the 10 research projects initiated in FY 00 and the 15 projects expected to get under way this fiscal year, but no new NERI awards would be made pending the Cheney panel review. Funding for the Nuclear Energy Plant Optimization program, aimed at improving existing technology, would be $4.5 million, $500,000 below this year.

------------

Budget proposal includes $25-million increase for NRC

Washington (Nuclear News Flashes)
9Apr2001

NRC's proposed budget for FY-02 is $506.7-million, an increase of $25-million over the current year's budget estimate. Of the nearly $507 million, about $23.7 million (up from $21.6-million in FY-01) would come from the Nuclear Waste Fund for high-level waste activities and $700,000 (a decrease from the $3.2-million in the current year's budget) would come from the U.S. Treasury for NRC to provide regulatory reviews and assistance to other federal agencies. The amount to be charged to licensees to cover the remaining costs of NRC operations is nearly $463.25 million, up from an estimated $447.96 million in FY-01. However, the FY-01 Energy & Water Development Appropriations Act decreased the NRC's fee recovery amount from 100% to 96% in FY-02. That means an additional $19.3 million would be excluded from licensee fees.

-------- tennessee

Anti-nukers stage annual protest at Tenn. weapons plant

Knoxville News-Sentine
April 09, 2001
By BRYAN MITCHELL Scripps Howard News Service
http://www.knoxnews.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=ANTINUKEPROTEST-04-09-01&cat=A

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - hey came by the hundreds - in cars, station wagons and pickup trucks with license plates from as far away as Minnesota and Maine - to protest nuclear weapons.

A mix of new wave hippies and intellectual dissidents demonstrated for three hours Sunday outside the perimeter of the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Plant. After the singing and preaching and protesting ceased, about 25 shackled participants left the site in an Anderson County Sheriff's Department van.

The event was the first act of a two-part annual production. The second will take place on Aug. 6, the anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Japan.

Led by two men dressed in yellow robes and beating on drums, the crowd of 300 or so began the day by marching from a park in Oak Ridge to the Y-12 site. The crowd chanted and cheered as roughly a dozen speakers addressed the assembly.

Meanwhile, across a set of railroad tracks and behind a 8-foot chain-link fence, about 25 to 30 security officials stood guard.

"We understand that under the First Amendment they have a right to express their beliefs," Department of Energy spokesman Bill Wilburn said. "But we are obligated to protect this property."

About two dozen protesters went beyond the "No-Cross" line - some carrying stuffed corpses, others awash in fake blood - and were quickly restrained and arrested.

Christopher Starbuck, who traveled from his home in north Georgia to attend the protest, said, "We need to stop wasting all that energy making bombs."

Doug Cox, who served four years in the military before turning his efforts against nuclear weapons, pointed out that the participation in the protest was up this year. "Someday they will listen to us and stop making such illogical weapons," Cox said.

-------- us nuc politics

Cheney defends Bush environmental policies

USA: April 9, 2001
Story by Andrew Clark
REUTERS
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=10432&newsDate=9-Apr-2001

WASHINGTON - U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney shrugged off criticism of the Bush administration's environmental policies yesterday, defending its stance on global warming, pledging to pursue oil and gas drilling in an Arctic wildlife refuge and advocating nuclear power.

Democrats and environmental groups have attacked the administration over a series of decisions in recent months to suspend or ease environmental protection rules unpopular with the mining, oil, timber and other industries.

Chief among these was President George W. Bush's reversal in March of a campaign pledge to limit carbon dioxide emissions by electric power plants, effectively abandoning the 1997 Kyoto treaty aimed at fighting global warming.

But Cheney said it was clear the treaty would never have been ratified by the U.S. Senate and the administration was committed to finding another approach to the problem.

"Kyoto was a dead proposition before we ever arrived in Washington," Cheney said on ABC's "This Week." "All we did was to make it clear that the U.S. would not be bound by it."

"We're reviewing all the evidence and all the science on it and we're going to have a good, solid aggressive program to deal with the questions surrounding greenhouse emissions," he added on NBC's "Meet the Press."

ARCTIC DRILLING PLANS "NOT DEAD"

Cheney also denied the administration's plans to open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) to oil and gas drilling were foundering in the face of growing opposition on Capitol Hill, including among key Republicans.

"No, I don't think it's dead at all," he told "Meet the Press," saying drilling would disturb just 2,000 acres (809 hectares) of the 19-million-acre (7.7-million-hectare) reserve.

"The notion that, somehow, developing the resources in ANWR requires some sort of vast despoiling of the environment up there is just garbage," he said.

The administration argues the United States is facing an energy crisis and needs to increase its energy production. In addition to opening new areas to drilling, it is also considering building new nuclear power plants for the first time in almost two decades, Cheney said.

"The president hasn't made a decision yet but certainly his instructions to me are this is one of the areas he wants us to look at," he said on the NBC program.

"We need to build 65 new power plants a year in this country for the next 20 years," Cheney added. "My own view is that some of those ought to be nuclear and that's the environmentally sound way to go."

Showing flashes of annoyance over the criticism the new administration has faced on the environment, Cheney said many of the rules it had sought to roll back were "dumped out by the Clinton administration, along with pardons and other things that Bill Clinton dumped at the last minute."

"I think I am a pretty good environmentalist, though the Sierra Club might not agree with that," he told NBC.

----

Cheney warns China it risks harming ties to U.S.

April 9, 2001
By Bill Gertz THE WASHINGTON TIMES
http://www.washtimes.com/national/default-200149233026.htm

The Bush administration stepped up pressure on China yesterday, warning Beijing that continuing to hold the crew of a downed U.S. military aircraft captive is damaging relations.

Vice President Richard B. Cheney repeated U.S. "regrets" for the loss of a Chinese pilot and said the United States has nothing to apologize for.

"It's important to recognize that every day that goes by without resolution of this does lead to the possible risk - lasting damage, if you will - to the relationship between the United States and China," Mr. Cheney said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Mr. Cheney would not say what penalties would be imposed on China for its failure to release the 24 detained Americans who made an emergency landing in southern China aboard a damaged EP-3E surveillance aircraft that collided with an intercepting Chinese F-8 jet over international waters.

Pressures on the Bush administration intensified, too. Mr. Cheney insisted that the 24 American crewmen are not hostages, as Rep. Henry J. Hyde, Illinois Republican and chairman of the House International Relations Committee, said on Saturday they were. He said they're "detainees." When he was asked about an editorial in the Weekly Standard, suggesting that the incident had the making of a "national humiliation" for the United States, Mr. Cheney snapped that the editorial was an attempt to "sell magazines." He called the editorial "disreputable."

Secretary of State Colin Powell, on another television program, called the editorial "absurd."

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, Connecticut Democrat, said he too regards the crewmen as "detainees," but not for long. "In two or three days, I'm going to call them hostages. . . . We're getting precariously close to that." Sen. Richard C. Shelby, Alabama Republican and chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said China could become an adversary. "The incidents that we are going through right now . . . is probably one of many for the future," Mr. Shelby said.

"We have to look at China realistically. A lot of people haven't." Mr. Shelby has been a critic of U.S. intelligence for its overly benign analysis of China.

On the southern Chinese island of Haikou, where the Americans are being held, the top U.S. military officer in China, Brig. Gen. Neal Sealock, said U.S. officials were "hopeful" China would today begin granting daily access to the crew.

"This morning, our desire remains the same. Our request is for unfettered access to the crew on a daily basis and, in fact, twice a day," he told reporters.

"Our purpose for that is to continue to monitor the treatment of the crew and to continue to observe what has taken place. We're hopeful for that to take place today and every day following."

In Beijing, the official military newspaper, Liberation Army Daily, repeated a demand that the United States halt all surveillance flights over Chinese territory.

"China has the right to fully and thoroughly investigate this entire incident, including the American military aircraft and the people in charge of it," the newspaper said. "The U.S. government should . . . immediately stop all military surveillance activities off the Chinese coast."

Chinese Defense Minister Chi Haotian early today added his voice to the Chinese leaders demanding an apology.

"The U.S. should apologize to the Chinese people and take effective measures to avoid another similar matter from happening," said Gen. Chi, who is also vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, the Communist Party organ that controls the Chinese military. His comments were reported in today's editions of the official party newspaper, People's Daily.

Mr. Cheney said the United States is willing to discuss the flights, but that "in terms of our right to be there . . . that's a given and we will continue to operate as appropriate."

In a sign that negotiations are continuing at high levels, U.S. Ambassador to China Joseph Prueher met privately yesterday with Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan in the latest round of diplomatic meetings to end the impasse.

U.S. diplomats met with eight crewmen yesterday, although Brig. Gen. Sealock had asked to see all 24.

Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's national security adviser, said on CNN's "Late Edition" that it "isn't helpful" that Gen. Sealock's request to meet with the entire crew was rejected.

Mr. Powell repeated U.S. "regrets" and used the word "sorry" to describe his feelings over the loss of the Chinese pilot. He made it clear once more that the United States would not accept responsibility for the incident and "therefore won't apologize for that."

A senior administration official said yesterday's television talk show appearances by senior national security officials was meant as a signal to Beijing. "The message is: There is a closing window for the Chinese to still salvage this," the official said. "But they could have done it right away by releasing the crew."

Several congressional delegations scheduled to visit China were canceled Saturday to protest, and congressional aides said legislation punishing Beijing is likely to follow if the impasse is not resolved.

Mr. Powell, speaking on "Fox News Sunday," declined to say how the administration would punish China but said "whatever price the Chinese ultimately pay, they are making it worse in terms of delaying this situation."

On CBS' "Face the Nation," Mr. Powell said the administration wants China to realize that "we do regret the loss of their pilot and plane." He expressed "regret" for the U.S. plane's emergency landing on the southern Chinese island that "violated their airspace." He urged Beijing to "look at the emergency circumstances that the pilot was facing."

Nevertheless, U.S.-China relations were being hurt by the incident. "The relationship is being damaged," Mr. Powell said. "The damage can be undone. But in order for the damage to be undone and no further damage to occur, we have got to bring this matter to a close as soon as possible."

The United States has a trade deficit with China estimated at more than $80 billion, and some members of Congress have called for the imposition of trade sanctions to act as leverage. Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's chief political strategist, said last week that trade sanctions against Beijing were not being considered "at this point."

Meanwhile, Mr. Bush has written a letter to the wife of the lost pilot, Wang Wei. The letter from the president to Ruan Guoqin is being sent as a humanitarian gesture, U.S. officials said. Mrs. Ruan wrote that the president was "too cowardly" to apologize. Mr. Powell said the reply was meant to respond to a "widow who is grieving. Whatever you think about the politics of it, she's lost her husband."

Miss Rice said the president's letter was not a shift in U.S. policy. "The president is taking the high ground here, and he is simply responding to the expression of grief, and nothing else," she said. The administration had offered China "a way to have a discussion about the facts."

Other U.S. officials said the administration is proposing to convene a meeting under a 1998 U.S.-China agreement on military maritime incidents.

Mr. Powell said the United States still supports China's bid to join the World Trade Organization, but another congressional vote on normal trade relations status with that country might not pass. Congress approved permanent normal trade status for China last year, despite its arms sales to rogue states and its continuing poor record on human rights. Meanwhile, a Hong Kong newspaper reported last night that a Chinese F-8 pilot that shadowed the EP-3E asked for permission to shoot down the unarmed surveillance plane.

F-8 pilot Zhao Yu was told by ground controllers not to take any action against the U.S. military aircraft, the South China Morning Post quoted unidentified "Chinese sources" in Beijing as saying.

"The officials at ground control were cool-headed," the newspaper quoted one source as saying. "Zhao could have shot the plane down but that would have meant the death of 24 U.S. airmen. It would have been an act of war, whereas the collision was an accident."

China's official media continued to criticize the United States. The state-run Xinhua news agency reported that people throughout China continued "to angrily condemn the hegemonist action of a U.S. military reconnaissance plane."

<a name="military"></a>
-------- MILITARY

-------- burma/mynamar

Chavilit's wife has investments in Burma

Monday, April 09, 2001
Dan Russell wrote:

ASEAN - Burma, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Brunei - is often led by Thailand, the prime ministership of which was recently purchased by Gen. Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, former Supreme Commander of the Army, Minister of Defense, Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. Chavalit is a graduate of the U.S. Command and Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. Prior to his accession to the prime ministership, the DEA, which has a thick file on Chavalit, and the American Embassy in Bangkok, referred to him as "Mr. White Powder."

Chavalit was part a long line of generals who have dominated Thai politics and business: Gen. Phao Siyanan, 1947-57, F. M. Sarit Thanarat, 1957-63, Gen. Krit Siwara, 1957-76, Gen. Thanom Kittikachorn, 1958-73, Gen. Kriangsak Chamanan, 1976-80, Gen. Prem Tinsulanan, 1980-88, Gen. Chatichai Choonhavan, 1988-91, Gen. Sundhorn Kongsompong, Gen. Wimol Wongwanich and Gen. Chavalit Yongchaiyudh.

Dan Russell www.kalyx.com www.drugwar.com www.shamanshop.net

-

Chavilit, bless his THAI soul.

It is said locally in Maesai, from dependable sources, that General Chavilit's WIFE has massive dollars invested in Tachilek Projects??????????

Why isn't THAI press on this??????????

He does not see eye to eye with the commander of the third army, LT. General Wattanachai Chaimuanwung.

LT. General Wattanachai Chaimuanwung relieved two local commanders for allowing too much trade of some items across the border before it closed.

Now just who is kissing ass with the supposed problems?

At this time, people should be completely clean in their dealings with Burma, it does no good when the people with the most money are dirty while claiming to work for the people.

Investments in Burma should be official and of a humanitarian nature, not for personal gain at this time.

And while I'm at it, when is someone going to send me a photo of the old Nugan Hand Bank office in Chiangmai from days gone by and the main bank in Australia?

-

Chavalit proposes to help develop Burma

Feeling comes from 'bottom of my heart' Wassana Nanuam

Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh will push for development in Burma, including a port and a coal mine, as a means of helping solve the problems of drug trafficking, illegal migration and other cross-border crime.

"I would like to see our neighbouring country become prosperous at the same time as we do," Gen Chavalit said.

"If we are developed while our neighbour continues to live in poverty, then peace will not be possible.

"This is a feeling from the bottom of my heart."

He termed the idea "cross border development".

It was already under way, he said, pointing to the 10-billion-baht Thai project to dam the Salween river in Burma. This would also benefit Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai in terms of power and water supply.

In an interview in the Defence Ministry magazine, Gen Chavalit said he planned to help Burma develop a port in the Gulf of Martaban, opposite Mae Sot in Tak province.

The port would open Burma to the Andaman Sea. China would also participate in the project, he said.

A large coal mine was also planned, opposite Bang Saphan district of Prachuap Khiri Khan province, in which Japan was interested.

"If we help them develop their country, the problems of drugs, illegal labour migration and cross-border crime will disappear," Gen Chavalit said.

The defence minister also said the armed forces would have to take on a diplomatic role to boost the bilateral relationship.

"Defence diplomacy will create good understanding and a brotherhood between military key figures of both sides," Gen Chavalit said.

-------- europe

Three More for NATO

New York Times
April 9, 2001
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/09/opinion/L09BALT.html

To the Editor:

An April 4 letter is wrong in conceding the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to the Russian "sphere of influence."

The Baltic people have put Western principles of democracy into practice in their 10 years of restored independence. NATO isn't just about defense, but also Western ideals. The security of a vastly successful 52- year-old system of common beliefs fosters stability. Russia would only benefit from having neighbors who believe in and behave according to these standards. America shouldn't reject this moral choice.

Including the Baltics in NATO would be a great benefit at little cost. And they are becoming responsible providers, not just consumers, of security, as seen in peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia and Kosovo.

KARL ALTAU Rockville, Md., April 5, 2001 The writer is managing director, Joint Baltic American National Committee.

-------- u.n.

U.N. enters rebel-held diamond town in Sierra Leone

USA Today
04/09/2001
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2001-04-09-sierra-leone.htm

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) - U.N. troops entered a rebel-held diamond-mining town for the first time in Sierra Leone's war, patrolling the rebel stronghold without resistance, the U.N. force commander announced Monday.

The deployment asserted U.N. peacekeepers' right of access to one of rebel's key prizes in the 10-year-old conflict: the Tongofield diamond field, one of the West African nation's richest.

U.N. peacekeepers carried out the patrol in the town of Tongofield Saturday but revealed it only Monday.

Force commander Lt. Gen. Daniel Opande, a Kenyan, told The Associated Press that 100 Zambian peacekeepers made "a strong and long-range patrol" to the eastern diamond town.

The U.N. troops were "well-received" by fighters of the Revolutionary United Front and local people, Opande said.

It was the most assertive move yet of weeks back on the move for U.N. peacekeepers in Sierra Leone, deploying cautiously in the one-third to one-half of the country under control of the brutal rebel force.

Rebels have met the new deployments into their territory peacefully - in sharp contrast to last May, when rebels broke off a peace accord and took 500 advancing U.N. peacekeepers hostage.

Peacekeepers now are deploying town by town, moving slowly and in force.

Saturday's patrol met with rebel leaders and local people, returning the same day, Opande said.

"We went there to see for ourselves where we are going to deploy and how many men we would need," the U.N. commander said.

"You will realize that Rome was not built in a day," he said. "This is in preparation for our deployment in those areas.

The same day, U.N. troops from Ghana and Nigeria traveled for the first time to the rebels' headquarters in the east, Kailahun; the northern town of Kambia; "and beyond," Opande said. He didn't elaborate.

Another key diamond-mining town in the eastern region, Kono, has yet to be visited.

Sierra Leone's rebels have killed and maimed tens of thousands in a campaign of terror largely bent on winning and holding diamond mines. Rebels' trademark in the war has been mutilation - hacking off the hands, feet or lips of countless civilians.

The U.N. Security Council voted this month to boost the peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone from 12,000 to 17,500. The deployment already is the world's largest.

A newly appointed political chief for the rebels subsequently announced that rebel commanders wanted to renew peace efforts. Rebels have frequently made such overtures before, only to resume attacks.

Movement founder Foday Sankoh, who launched the insurrection from Liberia in 1991, was arrested with more than 100 other rebel leaders after rebels reignited the war in May.

He's now being held at an undisclosed location, with the government saying it hopes to put him before an international court on charges of crimes against humanity.

---

Millions in sub-Saharan Africa face food shortages

USA Today
04/09/2001
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2001-04-09-unfood.htm

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - An estimated 28 million people in Africa south of the Sahara face food shortages this year, a U.N. agency said in a report released Monday.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said in a separate statement that it needs $140 million this year to help renew agricultural production in African countries hit by drought, floods or civil strife. Of this amount, the agency said it has received only $9.6 million from donors.

More than 60% of those facing food shortages - about 18 million people - live in eastern Africa, said the report, "Food Supply Situation and Crop Prospects in Sub-Saharan Africa."

"Continued food assistance is necessary in all countries of eastern Africa and the Great Lakes region as well as in Angola, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone," it said.

Liberia, Rwanda, Congo and Sierra Leone will need "sustained assistance to rehabilitate their agricultural sectors following prolonged civil strife," it added.

The agency urged the international community to provide assistance for agricultural rehabilitation and repair of infrastructure in Mozambique, which has suffered severe damage from floods in the past two years.

In Angola, Burundi, Congo, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Sudan, civil strife continues to disrupt farming.

In Kenya, the report said, 4.4 million face food shortages as a result of a two-year drought, while another 1.8 million people in Eritrea caught in a war with neighboring Ethiopia need food assistance. In Ethiopia, 6.5 million people need food relief because of the war, which ended last December, and droughts.

Sudan also is facing serious food shortages in the western and southern parts of the country. "The long-running civil war is exacerbating the situation by impeding farming activities and distribution of relief assistance," the report added.

It described the food outlook for Congo as "bleak," with 2 million people displaced by a 2 1/2-year civil war. In Angola, 333,000 internal refugees from a civil war that has run since 1975 need food.

The report forecasts a sharp decline in maize production in southern Africa this year, but it did not give figures.

Following two good harvests in Somalia, the number of people who face food shortages has dropped from 750,000 last year to 500,000 this year, the report said.

-------- u.s.

U.S. diplomats meet again with crew

USA Today
04/09/2001
http://usatoday.com/news/world/2001-04-09-china-crisis.htm

HAIKOU, China (AP) - After a weekend of hardline rhetoric and growing U.S. impatience, two American diplomats met Monday with all 24 crew members of a downed U.S. spy plane. Army Brig. Gen. Neal Sealock, the U.S. military attache to Beijing, said the crew members were in ''excellent health and their spirits are extremely high.'' ''They are well taken care of,'' said Sealock, who met for 40 minutes with the Americans along with a consular official. He described their living conditions on Hainan island in the South China Sea as like a ''hotel environment.''

Official calls U.S. response 'unacceptable' U.S. diplomats meet again with crew Poll results Poll: Americans back Bush on China Bush cautions China over standoff Risks build as standoff continues Crew waits in China's sin city Tension not new for ambassador 'H' word may soon surface Bush sending letter to Chinese pilot's wife

Comparing the USA and China Take a look inside the EP-3E Aries II Details on the planes, the collision

It was the fourth meeting with the crew members since they were detained after making an emergency landing on Hainan following an April 1 collision with a Chinese fighter jet.

The meeting came amid growing U.S. impatience for the release of the crew. In Washington, President Bush cautioned that any delay could be detrimental to U.S.-China ties.

"Every day that goes by increases the potential that our relations with China will be damaged," Bush told reporters during a Cabinet meeting.

China insisted anew Monday that Washington apologize and take responsibility for the collision. It gave no direct reaction to a weekend statement by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell that Washington was "sorry" for the fate of the Chinese fighter pilot, who is missing.

"In consultations, the Chinese side has emphasized that the entire responsibility for this incident rests with the U.S. side," the state-run Xinhua News Agency said, citing China's Foreign Ministry.

"The U.S. side must apologize to China and adopt measures to ensure this sort of event will not reoccur."

In Haikou, the head of Hainan's foreign affairs office reiterated China's frustration with surveillance by U.S. spy planes. He said they had "seriously disturbed" local lives and tourism.

"Hainan people demand the U.S. side stop such spying activities and apologize to the Chinese people for this incident," Chen Ci said at a joint press conference with Sealock. "We welcome American tourists to Hainan for holiday-making but not the spy planes."

Returning from a meeting at the Foreign Ministry on Monday, U.S. Ambassador Joseph Prueher said talks were "making progress," but did not elaborate.

"We hope we are moving a little closer toward a solution," Prueher told reporters.

U.S. diplomats visiting Hainan have sought daily access to the detained Americans.

American officials were allowed to see eight crew members during their last meeting Saturday. They gave them printouts of e-mails from their families, said Salome Hernandez, another diplomat.

Meanwhile, Xinhua cited officials describing "perilous" rescue conditions in the region where a search is under way for the missing Chinese pilot. It added to reports that appear to be intended to prepare the public for a declaration of his death.

High winds and waves, sharks and water temperatures of less than 86 degrees mean the longest anyone can survive is about three days, Liu Shi, head of the State Maritime Search and Rescue Center, was cited as saying.

Nevertheless, Liu said that if Wang used all of his emergency supplies, there was a chance he could have survived.

"Wang Wei could still be alive. We sincerely are hoping for a miracle," Liu said.

Analysts have said China's military is unlikely to agree to release the Americans until the fate of its pilot is known. Chinese authorities have confirmed they questioned the U.S. crew. They accuse the U.S. pilot of breaking the law by making an emergency landing at a Chinese air base without applying in advance for permission.

The White House has declined to apologize for the incident, saying it believes the collision was an accident. China's Defense Minister Gen. Chi Haotian said over the weekend that the army wouldn't let Washington "shirk responsibility."

Chinese civilian leaders could be reluctant to compromise for fear of alienating the influential military or looking weak before major leadership changes to be decided next year at a Communist Party congress.

U.S. officials have warned that further delay could cause strains that spill over into other issues, such as trade ties and U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan.

In his first public comments on the dispute, Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian said Monday that he hoped Washington and Beijing would quickly resolve the impasse and that it would not cause the United States to cut back on arms sales to Taiwan.

------

Hawaii

USA Today
04/09/01
States
http://www.usatoday.com/news/states/all50.htm

Honolulu - The Hawaii Army National Guard is receiving civil disturbance training for expected protests during the Asian Development Bank meeting at the Hawaii Convention Center next month. Meanwhile, about 17 members of ADB Watch, a coalition of peace, ecology and human rights groups, are practicing nonviolent protests and acts of civil disobedience.

---

At least they didn't shoot them

USA Today
04/09/01
Offbeat
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nweird/nweird.htm

STUART, Fla. - A noisy ruckus by the Army Corps of Engineers seems to have successfully shooed away about 100 troublesome vultures that had been tearing up the St. Lucie Lock. The birds tore up the rubber seals between the dam and lock, causing leaks and other costly damage. The so-called "relocation effort" involved Corps biologists and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials blasting noisemaking shotgun shells to scare the vultures away. "We're not harming them in any way," said Corps biologist Douglas Harter. "We're not shooting them."

---

Remains of MIA team are recovered

The Washington Times www.washtimes.com
Published 4/9/01
Tini Tran ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.washtimes.com/world/default-200149221857.htm

THANH TRACH, Vietnam - Rescuers yesterday recovered the bodies of nine Vietnamese and seven Americans who died in a helicopter crash while searching for the remains of U.S. soldiers missing in action from the Vietnam War.

Witnesses described the helicopter weaving in the air before it plowed into a mountainside in central Vietnam on Saturday.

"I heard the helicopter flying very low. The engine made a big noise, and then we heard a big explosion. It was very foggy, so we couldn't see very much," said Nguyen Van Minh, 45.

"It was like during the Vietnam War again when we ran to see if we could help anyone from the crash. There was only one man who was still alive. He told us he was with the MIA team," he said. That man, a Vietnamese, died shortly afterward.

Those killed were the advance team for a 95-member Hawaii-based American group that was scheduled to begin work at six MIA recovery sites in Vietnam in early May, said Army Lt. Col. Franklin Childress, spokesman for the MIA task force.

The bodies were carried on stretchers from the mountain in Bo Trach district in Quang Binh province, about 280 miles south of Hanoi.

The identities of the victims were not released pending notification of their families. Their bodies were driven in ambulances to Hanoi, and the Americans were to be repatriated to Hawaii later this week.

Among those believed to be on board were the commanding officer of the MIA team in Hanoi, as well as the deputy commanding officer and the incoming head of the Hanoi team.

Officials were investigating the cause of the accident. A local official said the team had called earlier Saturday to say they were canceling a stop in Dong Hoi, the capital of Quang Binh province, because of bad weather.

The helicopter - a chartered Vietnamese military aircraft -was on its way to the town of Hue instead when it smashed into the mountain. A tattered rotor blade jutting from the hillside served as a grim marker over a valley of emerald-green rice paddies.

Local police secured the area and confiscated the camera of an Associated Press photographer. Curious villagers watched from the valley as officials recovered wreckage from the mountain.

Col. Childress said no decision has been made whether the MIA mission will go on. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said the overall program of accounting for MIAs and recovering their remains will continue.

"We've been flying in this type of helicopter for a number of years, and this is the first accident," Col. Childress said in Hawaii. "Every mission is a dangerous mission. It's a very difficult area to operate in."

Vietnam's foreign ministry called the accident "a huge loss to Vietnam as well as to the United States" and sent condolences to the U.S. government, people and families of the victims.

The Joint Task Force-Full Accounting, based in Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, has searched for MIA remains from the Indochina War in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and southern China since 1992, and in recent years has expanded operations to include World War II and Korean War MIA recovery cases.

The United States spends up to $6 million each year conducting regular searches, which often involve helicopter flights carrying U.S. and Vietnamese military personnel and civilians into remote areas.

Since 1973, the remains of 591 American service members formerly listed as unaccounted for have been identified and returned to their families. There are 1,992 Americans still unaccounted for from the war in Southeast Asia, including 1,498 in Vietnam.

-------- OTHER

-------- alternative energy

Japan issues 1st green certificates for wind power

JAPAN: April 9, 2001
REUTERS
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=10434&newsDate=9-Apr-2001

TOKYO - Twenty Japanese firms will receive "green certificates" for agreeing to buy wind-powered electricity to promote the use of environmentally friendly energy, a unit of Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc said.

Japan Natural Energy Co, which acts as a mediator between energy suppliers and consumers, said it has signed 15-year contracts with the firms to supply a total of 25.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year generated from three independent wind power suppliers.

While the cost for wind-generated electricity is about four yen per kilowatt hours higher than for ordinary electricity, it is gaining more attention since it emits less carbon dioxide, and is more friendly to the environment.

The 20 firms will pay around a combined 100 million yen ($804,700) for the first year to the three suppliers.

Japan Natural Energy was set up in November last year to promote the use of renewable energy, mainly wind power.

Electronics giant Sony Corp will buy certificates equivalent to the largest 4.5 million kilowatts-hours per year in August.

Other firms include top Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp and major brewer Asahi Breweries Ltd , Japan Natural Energy said.

TEPCO holds a 51 percent stake in the firm, while the rest is owned by Japanese trade houses Sumitomo Corp , Mitsui & Co Ltd and several other electric power firms including Kansai Electric Power Co Inc .

A company spokesman said the firm expects to issue 30 more certificates in the near future.

----

Few choices abound for energy self-sufficiency

USA: April 9, 2001
Story by Jim Brumm
REUTERS
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=10433&newsDate=9-Apr-2001

NEW YORK - For homeowners spooked by California's energy crisis, there are two options to ensure the lights stay on during blackouts. One will barely keep a fan running, and the other will likely rouse the ire of neighbors.

For $7,000 to $14,000, homeowners can install solar panels that generate 1 or 2 kilowatts of power, enough to power a computer, microwave and a few lights, but not enough to run the refrigerator while doing anything else at home.

The cheaper alternative, gasoline-driven generators, cost much less than the ecologically sound solar panels, though one producing 5 kilowatt of power - enough for an entire house, less air conditioning - is best installed off-site with plenty of insulation to keep a damper on the din they generate.

Despite the offer of state rebates and the threat of rolling blackouts cutting power across California this summer, few people are making a run on alternative energy sources. Even in the face of California's woes and price surges in New York City, only 34 percent of businesses and 30 percent of people surveyed by RKS Research & Consulting in September and October expressed an interest in generating their own electricity.

This level of interest was little changed from the firm's surveys taken the previous two years, RKS President David Reichman said.

Only "massive" reductions in the use of electricity will help California's utilities this summer, said Phil Giudice, in charge of Mercer Management Consulting's utilities practice.

Giudice said there have to be incentives to not use electricity, describing last week's 40 percent increase for the cost of power in California as "certainly in the right order of magnitude."

SOLAR PANELS SALES QUADRUPLE TO 250 MONTH

Homeowners who decided to acquire their own power supply turned, albeit in small numbers, to the well-established technology of solar power and portable generators.

Applications for the state of California's solar rebate program more than quadrupled in the first two months of the year, reaching 200 and 250, according to Bo Harmon, a spokesman for BP Solar, a unit of BP Amoco .

Solar panels, also produced by AstroPower , which attracted investment from GPU Inc. to boost West Coast production, Evergreen Solar and Siemens' Solar Group, usually are installed to supplement electricity distributed by local utilities.

Home installations cost about $7 per watt, or $7,000 to $14,000 for the typical 1 or 2 kilowatt installation, Harmon said. But the state of California will rebate $3 per watt, cutting the total cost to $4,000 to $8,000. Similar rebates are also available in New York, New Jersey and Illinois.

Harmon said BP Solar recommends a 4 to 5 kilowatt installation for the average home - enough to power everything except the air conditioner. Most people install just 1 or 2 kilowatts, he said.

Also available are the small gasoline-fueled power plants marketed for recreational use, and their larger cousins used by contractors. Producing 1 kilowatt to 10.5 kilowatts, these units are sold by Honda Motor Co. , Kohler Co., Sunbeam Corp.'s Coleman and Genrec, which is being acquired by Briggs & Stratton .

West Coast sales are up more than 30 percent this year and there is no shortage of units, according to John Lally of Honda's Power Equipment Division.

He said the smallest unit sells for $800 and a 5 kilowatt generator is priced at $1,800.

MICROTURBINES PROVIDE HEFT

For small businesses and the really well-heeled, a more recently developed source of on-site power production with plenty of punch is the microturbine, made by Capstone Turbine Corp. and Honeywell Power.

Tony Prophet, president of the Honeywell International unit, said its 75 kilowatt unit can be delivered in two to three weeks, though they can cost $50,000 to $75,000.

If more power is needed, 200 kilowatt diesel-powered generators are available from Cummins Engine Co. in 30 days or less, according to spokesman Bob Sheldon.

Another 200 kilowatt power source are fuel cells from United Technologies' International Fuel Cells.

The lead time on these units has increased to 16 weeks from 10 weeks in January, according to spokesman Peter Dalpe.

However, it is to late to get summer relief for 1 or 2 megawatt diesel-powered generator, the most popular way to provide back up power for hospitals and small manufacturing plant.

Sheldon said Cummins can deliver in 70 to 80 days; and Caterpillar , the largest producer of these plants, declines to discuss its backlog.

----

Britain gears up for offshore wind power

UK: April 9, 2001
Story by Andrew Callus
REUTERS
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=10437&newsDate=9-Apr-2001

LONDON - Britain cleared the way on Thursday for a 1.6 billion pound ($2.3 billion) investment in offshore wind power, its first large scale attempt to capture the elements for clean electricity.

The projects dotted around the windswept UK coastline foresee 540 sets of blades spinning more than 100 metres (yards) above the waves and supplying one percent of Britain's energy needs by 2004-2005. The Crown Estate, manager of land and territorial waters owned by Britain's Queen, said it was issuing seabed leases to 18 companies at 13 sites that will produce between 1,000 and 1,500 megawatts of power altogether.

The set of projects goes one tenth of the way towards a government plan to see 10 percent of the UK's energy produced from renewable sources by 2010.

Offshore wind is more expensive to tap than onshore, but local resistance to noise and to the sight of tall land-based turbines has made it an option worth exploring.

And according to the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) which represents most of the businesses involved, the wind blowing across the seas around Britain could supply the island's electricity needs three times over, and could easily be producing 10 percent of its needs by 2010.

COMPETITIVE

It says wind power onshore already competes effectively with alternatives at between 1.9 and 3.0 pence per kilowatt hour (kwh) compared with 1.8-2.2 pence for gas.

Industry predictions are that these initial UK offshore projects will cost 5-6 pence per kwh.

The association already backs a pilot offshore wind project at Blyth on England's northeast coast that began delivering electricity in December last year.

Companies involved in the projects still have to obtain planning permission from the government and other planning bodies, and must gain all consents within three years or lose their lease.

But the UK Department of Trade and Industry aims to set up a "one-stop shop" to help them through other planning hurdles. Developers include global energy names like Enron and Royal Dutch/Shell , British power and construction companies Powergen , London Electricity and AMEC , and smaller specialist companies.

Even British Energy , the mainly nuclear generator and the nation's biggest power producer, is involved in one of the projects, its first move into the alternative energy arena.

In all, 540 high-tech windmills producing three megawatts of power each will be installed in groups of 30, with the nearest turbine of each sited between 1.5 and 10 kilometres offshore.

More than half will be positioned in the Irish Sea along England's northwest coast between Liverpool and the Scottish border.

Others will spring up on the east coast off East Anglia and in the mouth of the Thames estuary, further north at Teesside, and in the coastal waters of south Wales in the Severn estuary.

Environmental groups Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth backed the plan, but urged the government to catch up with countries like Denmark, where the wind industry already employs 14,000 people.

"After thirty years of opposing industrial abuse of our seas, Greenpeace can at last welcome a move to exploit the fantastic renewable energy resources off our coastline," said Matthew Spencer, head of its Climate Campaign.

"Let's hope this signals a new commitment to developing Britain's renewable energy industry."

-------- environment

California Energy Plan Punishes the Good Guys

New York Times
April 9, 2001
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/09/opinion/L09ENER.html

To the Editor:

The problem with setting California's energy baseline at any percent of the amount consumed a year ago during the comparable billing period is that it profoundly penalizes the consumers who have already been conserving power (Economic Scene column, April 5).

There are those of us who lived through the energy crisis in the 1970's and have been responsible about power ever since. For those who have been wasteful, to reduce power usage by 10 percent will be simple. For those who have been conserving, it is hardly fair to penalize them when there may be no areas in which it is possible to conserve.

I suggest that we set a baseline that allows a modestly sized home to be run efficiently. Any amount over that would be billed at a much higher rate.

JEANNETTE GRANT Occidental, Calif., April 5, 2001

•To the Editor:

The plans of the Bush administration to reduce financing for federal energy efficiency programs (news article, April 5) are the wrong move at the wrong time.

Programs for greater energy efficiency in buildings, like improved lighting, more efficient heating and cooling systems and improved insulation and windows, can be executed immediately or within a few months. Such programs can reduce electricity demand significantly this year when we are facing an imminent crisis. Private energy consultants rely heavily on technical information from the Energy Department and other government agencies.

The plans of the administration to increase energy supply through oil exploration and drilling and the construction of new power plants and refineries, while also required, will not benefit consumers for 5 to 10 years.

ERIC M. WORMSER Stamford, Conn., April 6, 2001 The writer is an energy systems consultant.

------

Organic Farmers Help Cut Exposure to Toxic Chemicals

04/09/2001
E-Wire
Environment
http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/brochure.html
http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Apr01/09Apr0105.html

GREENFIELD, MA, Apr. 9 -/E-Wire/-- As toxic and persistent agricultural chemicals make headlines again, organic farmers have a message to share with concerned consumers. This message: consumers can make choices that will reduce their exposure to such chemicals.

In its "National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals" released March 21, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found measurable amounts of organophosphate pesticide metabolites in the people studied. Previously a recent National Academy of Sciences study suggested that one out of four developmental and behavioral problems in children may be linked to genetic and environmental factors, including exposure to lead, mercury and organophosphate pesticides.

A growing number of North American farmers have already taken steps to minimize the use of, and consumers' exposure to, toxic and persistent pesticides. These growers have adopted organic agricultural practices that maintain and replenish soil fertility without the use of these materials.

"Organic farmers have the Earth's welfare in mind. Organic farming is about building a sustainable future for every aspect of the planet, the soil, our water supply, and the health of animals and humans," according to Katherine DiMatteo, executive director of the Organic Trade Association.

"Consumers who want to minimize their --and the Earth's--exposure to toxic and persistent chemicals can do so by buying organic foods and organic fiber products, and by choosing organic agricultural methods for home pest control and lawn care."

In its report, CDC noted that organophosphate pesticides account for approximately half of the insecticides used in the United States. An estimated 60 million pounds of organophosphate pesticides are applied to about 60 million acres of U.S. agricultural crops annually, and an additional 17 million pounds are used per year for nonagricultural uses, such as in household pest control products and in lawn and garden sprays.

Organophosphates are not allowed in organic agriculture. Instead, organic growers use biological and cultural practices as their first line of defense against pests. Methods used include crop rotation, the selection of resistant varieties, nutrient and water management, the provision of habitat for the natural enemies of pests, and release of beneficial organisms to protect crops from damage. The only pesticides allowed in organic agriculture must be on an approved list, with restricted use.

OTA is the membership-based business association representing the organic industry in North America.

---

U.S. steps up airport foot-and-mouth intervention

USA Today
04/09/2001
http://usatoday.com/news/nation/2001-04-09-foot.htm

WASHINGTON (AP) - More than 300 new inspection personnel are being hired at the nation's international airports to step up continuing efforts to keep foot-and-mouth disease out of the United States, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said Monday. The move will pump more than $32 million into actions this country has taken to block a disease that has wreaked havoc on farmers in Britain. It also represents a new infusion of cash to the fight against foot-and-mouth disease.

So far, the government's efforts have mainly amounted to redirecting dollars and resources already in the Department of Agriculture's budget. Those actions include putting to work specially trained sniffer dogs, sending more inspectors to the nation's international airports, launching a public education campaign and sending a team of veterinarians to Europe to help efforts there.

Veneman said Monday's actions marked "an important step that supports additional actions we have already taken to protect U.S. agriculture."

"Given current situations around the world, we need to continue reviewing program needs and take every possible action to strengthen our pest and disease prevention systems," she said.

Foot-and-mouth disease is harmless to humans but is so devastating to livestock that herds in areas where it appears are immediately eradicated, as is happening in Britain. The virus can be carried on clothing and footwear as well as in meat products. The United States has banned imports of livestock and raw meat from the European Union.

The United States has been free of the disease since 1929.

The new money will allow the Agriculture Department to hire 350 new personnel, including scores of inspectors, veterinarians and canine officers.

It will be financed by revenues from $3 user fees added to airline tickets and charged to each person entering the United States.

Officials said $13.5 million of the $32 million-plus will be spent immediately. Another $18.6 million will be spent in the next fiscal year.

The money is in addition to $264 million already being used this year for agricultural inspection programs.

---

Train goes off tracks, leaks fuel into river

USA Today
04/09/2001 - Updated 04:04 PM ET
http://usatoday.com/news/nphoto.htm

WESTMINSTER, Vt. (AP) - A freight train derailed early Monday, sending a locomotive into the Connecticut River and dumping at least 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel into the water.

The track apparently had been undermined by a spring snowmelt. There have been tremendous runoffs in the past week because of melting snow.

No injuries were reported.

The New England Central freight train locomotive, half submerged in the river, leaked 2,000 to 2,200 gallons, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The agency did not know if wildlife had been harmed.

Crews used floating booms to contain the leaking fuel and used absorbent towels on the river to soak up the diesel. Officials were trying to keep a second derailed locomotive from fouling the river.

Three locomotives were pulling a train of more than 80 cars. It appeared that at least one of the engines passed over an area that had been left unstable or even washed out by melting snow.

The track bed eventually gave way, and two engines were pulled from the tracks along with at least eight cars. Several of the cars were hauling road salt and some of the box cars contained paper, said Mark Merchant, a spokesman for the EPA.

An investigation was under way, but a washout appeared to be the most likely cause of the accident, said Charlie Miller, head of Vermont's rail division.

People who get their water from the Connecticut River south of Westminster were being warned not to drink the water, officials said.

About 25 miles downstream, Vermont Yankee officials were monitoring water flowing into the nuclear power plant's cooling system to ensure that it was not contaminated.

Amtrak, which also uses the tracks, was expected to use buses to detour its passengers around the accident scene.

---

USA Today
04/09/01
States
http://www.usatoday.com/news/states/all50.htm

Missouri

Old Monroe - An anhydrous ammonia leak at a fertilizer plant caused a three-hour evacuation of this Lincoln County town just north of St. Louis, officials said.

New Jersey

Newark - State and local governments and private foundations may be winning the battle to preserve open land. In the past four years, the state has used Green Acres and Farmland Preservation programs to save 178,000 acres. State statistics show about 50,000 acres have been developed.

New Mexico

Silver City - Federal wildlife officials are assessing a program to reintroduce Mexican gray wolves to southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona. Of the 60 wolves that have been released, only about 30 remain in the wild. The wolves have been blamed for nine livestock kills in the three years since the program began.

South Dakota

Pierre - A guest ranch at Belvidere has banned British visitors because of fears of foot-and-mouth disease. Fortune Ranch Adventures said there are ways to disinfect clothing and boots, but there's no guarantee that ranch hands could keep guests away from the livestock.

---

Gore's 2004 plan

The Washington Times www.washtimes.com
Published 4/9/01
Inside Politics Greg Pierce THE WASHINGTON TIMES
http://www.washtimes.com/national/inpolitics.htm

"Former Vice President Al Gore, AWOL on President Bush's rollback of Clinton-Gore environmental initiatives, is taking the first steps toward challenging the prez in 2004 on - get this - environmental issues," Paul Bedard writes in U.S. News & World Report.

"Associates say he is planning to spearhead a special environmental political action committee that will fund green candidates. He's also considering the establishment of a nonprofit center to push his issues. 'My own personal opinion,' says close ally Katies McGinty, the ex-head of the Council on Environmental Quality: 'Al Gore most certainly is running. . . . Al Gore most certainly will run.'

"Insiders say he will copy his Electoral College strategy with one change - forget Tennessee and dump cash in New Hampshire, which he barely lost. But he may be too late. Some greens are abandoning him because he has said zip about Bush's moves. 'We thought we could turn to him. His disappearance is extraordinary,' says one activist. Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, planning his own presidential bid, has filled the void. 'When Gore does decide to speak,' says another activist, 'he'll run smack into Kerry.'"

-------- police

New York Times
April 9, 2001
Metro Briefing
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/09/nyregion/09MBRF.html

280RIDGEFIELD: MORE CALLS FOR VERNIERO TO QUIT Groups representing black and Hispanic New York City police officers traveled to New Jersey yesterday to demand the resignation of Justice Peter G. Verniero of State Supreme Court. Mr. Verniero has been under attack for not doing more to stop racial profiling by the state police while he was attorney general, and for his recent testimony on the subject before a State Senate committee. The groups included the Latino Officers Association and 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care. Andy Newman (NYT)

Compiled by Anthony Ramirez

---

End Police Abuses

New York Times
April 9, 2001
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/09/opinion/L09CCRB.html

To the Editor:

Re your April 4 Public Lives profile of Iris Baez, the mother of Anthony Baez, who died in an illegal police chokehold:

I fully support Ms. Baez's candidacy for the vacant Bronx seat on the Civilian Complaint Review Board. It is also important to expand the board's powers to prosecute officers found to have violated the rights of citizens by allowing it to use independent prosecutors. This would be a move in the right direction, but it must be done through legislation, so that the power cannot be taken away.

As the mother of Gidone Busch, who was also unjustly killed by policemen, I hope that these plans for the review board come to pass. It is time to do whatever can be done to stop police abuses and work together for systemic changes that will benefit both the police and the public.

DORIS BUSCH BOSKEY Dix Hills, N.Y., April 5, 2001

---

Critics assail arrest number in Detroit investigations

USA Today
04/09/2001
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2001-04-09-detroit-arrests.htm

DETROIT (AP) - Police in Detroit averaged three arrests for every murder case in 1998 - a ratio so high that critics accuse the department of making wholesale arrests of witnesses, not suspects, just to get them to talk.

A federal lawsuit filed by a Detroit lawyer late last month seeks a court order banning the "practice of arresting witnesses who may have knowledge of murders but who are not involved in the actual murders."

Police Chief Benny Napoleon has denied the department makes "dragnet arrests" of witnesses. But he has begun an internal review, and issued a new policy in March that prohibits officers from taking witnesses into custody without a court order.

The arrest rate, and allegations of unconstitutional dragnets, were first reported by the Detroit Free Press in March.

The newspaper cited FBI statistics showing Detroit police arrested 1,310 people in investigating 430 murders in 1998, the latest year for which national figures were available. At the same time, less than half of those 1998 homicides have been solved - one of the worst performances among big-city police departments.

The 3-to-1 ratio of arrests to murders is far above that of other major U.S. cities.

"From the outside, it seems outrageous and extraordinary," said James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston. "I don't know of it being done elsewhere. Three-to-one just off the charts."

For the same year, Chicago police made 753 arrests in 703 murder cases and Philadelphia police arrested 309 people in 338 homicides, the FBI statistics showed.

In 1999, Detroit police arrested 1,152 people in connection with 415 murders. Comparable figures for other major cities were not available. Only 189 of the Detroit homicides were cleared - that is, suspects were identified, regardless of whether they were convicted or even arrested.

The city has reached at least two six-figure settlements with people alleging they were detained illegally as witnesses while homicide investigators waited for them to tell what they might know.

And the city and police department were sued in federal court last month on behalf of two men allegedly held without probable cause after separate 1998 slayings.

Mayor Dennis Archer, a former state Supreme Court justice, said wholesale arrests of witnesses are improper and should be stopped. "I have spoken with the chief. He shares my view, and we both want it stopped," Archer said.

Wayne County Prosecutor Michael Duggan said a homicide scene is usually chaotic, and police generally do the best they can. "Just because you arrest somebody who doesn't get charged, that doesn't mean the arrest was inappropriate," he said.

Michigan law allows prosecutors to seek investigative subpoenas to persuade reluctant witnesses to tell police what they know about unsolved murders. Prosecutors can use the subpoena to compel testimony from witnesses, who face up to a year behind bars if they do not comply. But critics charge the city has been arresting witnesses without getting a subpoena first.

Michigan law is not clear on exactly how long a person may be detained without appearing before a judge or magistrate, said Robert Ianni, assistant state attorney general in charge of the criminal division. Most courts attempt to arrange appearances within 48 hours, he said.

But, Ianni added: "The law says, 'As soon as possible.' What does that mean?"

The American Civil Liberties Union has accused the Detroit department of violating Fourth Amendment guarantees against unreasonable search and seizure. In a letter to the mayor, the ACLU cited a 1979 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that "a person may not be involuntarily transported to a police station for questioning without probable cause."

The U.S. Justice Department is already investigating allegations of excessive force by Detroit police. Justice spokeswoman Christine Romano would not say if the probe would be expanded to include allegations of illegal detention.

Criminologist Fox said the criticism may reflect shifting attitudes toward police behavior.

"Ten years ago, crime was at record highs," he said. "The public said, 'Bring down the crime rate. Do what you have to do.' The end justified the means. Now they're interested in the means. People are scrutinizing police tactics."

Janetta Toles was arrested in 1997 and held for four days. Police later admitted she was not a suspect, merely someone they wanted to talk to. A jury awarded her $300,000. The case was later settled for $200,000.

"They're targeting ordinary citizens like criminals from the onset," said her lawyer, Daniel Romano.

He added: "She was a single mother trying to support an 8-month-old infant who needed medication and a 2-year-old baby, and she had no choice about living in a high-crime apartment complex. Because she heard a secondhand conversation about a murder, the police forced her to give her kids to a teen-age neighbor she didn't even know." The police chief demoted two veteran homicide investigators March 29 for holding Toles.

Romano suggested the problem is larger than the two officers.

"You can't tell me that two particular officers that are in homicide a total between them of 52 years, who have been praised for their results, were doing something nobody else knew they were doing," the attorney said.

---

USA Today
04/09/01
States
http://www.usatoday.com/news/states/all50.htm

Delaware

Dover - Several dozen people protested the death of a black man in police custody. The state medical examiner ruled that Reginald Hannah, 39, died accidentally of cardiac arrest caused by alcohol and cocaine. But police officers' use of pepper spray and nonlethal blunt force were found to be contributing factors.

---

Whitman defends judge

The Washington Times www.washtimes.com
Published 4/9/01
Inside Politics Greg Pierce THE WASHINGTON TIMES
http://www.washtimes.com/national/inpolitics.htm

Former New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman is defending her state Supreme Court nominee, saying he should resist legislators' calls for his resignation over the investigation of racial profiling by the state police.

Mrs. Whitman, who left office in January to become President Bush's director of the Environmental Protection Agency, said she saw nothing in Justice Peter Verniero's testimony to the state Senate Judiciary Committee to prove that he lied about his handling of the issue while serving as her attorney general during 1996-99.

"Peter has been very honest," Mrs. Whitman said Friday in Washington.

Mrs. Whitman's successor, Acting Gov. Donald T. DiFrancesco, has called on Justice Verniero to resign, saying he wasn't forthright during his 1999 confirmation hearings for the high court.

Justice Verniero has refused to step down, and one lawmaker has drafted an impeachment resolution.

-------- spying

China's Costly Rigidity

New York Times
April 9, 2001
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/09/opinion/09MON1.html

China's insistence on a formal American apology for last week's midair collision off Hainan island is unreasonable, considering the lingering uncertainty about the incident. Beijing's unyielding position suggests that it is unwilling or unable to put this episode into perspective and look at the long- term consequences for relations between the United States and China.

At this point, neither Washington nor Beijing knows exactly what happened in the skies over the South China Sea on April 1. It has not yet been conclusively established whether the accident resulted from the actions of the Chinese fighter pilot, the crew of the American reconnaissance plane, or both. Given this lack of information, the public expressions of regret by President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell for the loss of the Chinese airman are appropriate and should suffice to win the release of the 24 American crew members detained at a Chinese military airfield since their emergency landing.

Just a few days ago, it seemed that an early resolution of the impasse was near. Aides to Mr. Bush and China's president, Jiang Zemin, were exchanging drafts of a letter that would have conveyed Washington's regrets, set up an inquiry by American and Chinese military officials into the details of the accident and allowed the early release of the American crew members. That would have let both sides defer apportionment of blame until more facts were known and resolved the current impasse in a logical and amicable way.

But over the weekend China's public rhetoric hardened, and the voices of nationalistic military leaders, like the defense minister, Gen. Chi Haotian, seem to have drowned out the nuances of diplomacy. Washington reports that encouraging private exchanges with President Jiang and his top diplomat, Qian Qichen, continue. If China's leaders want to settle this matter fairly and move ahead, it should be possible to arrive at a mutually acceptable formula of explanation and regret.

Beijing's prickliness over a formal apology probably reflects several factors. Understandably, more than a century of unjustified infringements of Chinese sovereignty by the West and Japan has left public opinion acutely sensitive to issues like reconnaissance flights and the uninvited landing of foreign planes on Chinese airfields. China's leadership must take account of these feelings, but it should also recognize that the American plane was over international waters at the time of the collision. More worrisome is what this episode suggests about military influence over Beijing's decision-making. Mr. Jiang lacks the personal authority of earlier Chinese leaders and apparently needs to negotiate major decisions with senior security officials. Finally, there seems to be an element of testing a new American president. To expect Mr. Bush to offer an apology under these circumstances reflects a poor understanding of American political realities.

If China remains unbending in the days ahead, the damage to relations between Washington and Beijing could be considerable. China's trade privileges could again be challenged on Capitol Hill, only months before Beijing's planned entry into the World Trade Organization would have made those privileges permanent. Congressional anger could also make it harder for the administration to exercise restraint on arms sales to Taiwan later this month. China's hopes for hosting the 2008 Olympics and Mr. Bush's planned state visit in the fall could also be jeopardized. That kind of unraveling serves neither country's interests. The administration has offered Beijing a fair way out of this crisis. China's leaders should embrace it without further delay.

---

U.S. and China Look for a Way to Say 'Sorry'

New York Times
April 9, 2001
By CRAIG S. SMITH
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/09/world/09APOL.html

HAIKOU, China, April 8 - The 24 American servicemen and women passing their days at a Chinese military camp on this steamy onetime treaty port are not only hostages to politics, but hostages to language.

While officials in both Washington and Beijing want the Americans released as soon as possible, that will not happen until the two sides come up with sentences in English and Chinese that are close enough to be considered a single statement about how Washington regards the incident yet distant enough to allow subtly different interpretations in each country.

The sticking point is China's public demand for an apology - "dao qian" in Chinese. That is a legalistic and formal verbal kowtow that both harkens back to the country's grand imperial past and reflects the psychic thin skin that China's Communist Party has so nurtured among the people that any slight to their national dignity is acutely felt by all.

It also reflects a growing apprehension here about the United States' role as the world's sole superpower, impervious to others and free to do as it will - even in China's back pond, the South China Sea, which the country has considered its dominion in varying degrees since nearly 600 years ago, when Adm. Zheng He sailed through the Malacca Straits with an armada of 300 ships and 28,000 men.

The problem began two days after the American EP-3E Aries II surveillance aircraft collided with a Chinese military jet off China's southern coast, causing the crash of the Chinese jet into the sea, and the loss of its pilot. China's Foreign Ministry condemned the actions of the American "spy plane" and demanded an apology from the United States. That position hardened two days later when President Jiang Zemin repeated the demand before leaving on a 12-day trip to Latin America.

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, and later President Bush, made finessing the situation doubly more difficult by declaring that the United States had no apology to give. Though General Powell used the word "sorry" for the first time today, Washington has stuck mostly to expressions of "regret" for the incident. The word was translated as "yihan" in Chinese, a term that carries no acknowledgment of guilt.

So the two sides, in full view of their increasingly aggrieved publics, have drawn their semantic lines in the sand, leaving a gap that diplomatic wordsmiths are now trying to bridge.

Linguistic ambiguities already cloud China's view of the United States. Many Chinese, for instance, are wary of Washington's stated strategic policy of "deterrence." While that conveys a prudent defensive posture in English, the Chinese translation, "weishe," carries the connotation of threats, coercion and bullying that reinforces Beijing's oft- repeated characterization of the United States as a hegemonic power.

But just as subtle differences in translations can create misunderstandings, they can create opportunities, too, allowing diplomats to leave a fuzzy middle between words that is palatable to both sides.

"That's what they are talking about when they say they are trying to hammer out language for an agreement," said Monte Bullard, the former commandant of the United States Army's Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif., who is now working to establish a joint Chinese-American translation center in Shanghai.

"The Chinese are really pros at doing that, and I'm confident they will succeed," he said.

In fact, China's ambassador to the United States, Yang Jiechi, was once a translator in the Foreign Ministry who worked on the intentionally ambiguous language of the three joint communiqués that define the United States-China relationship.

The question is how much time it will take. China is well known for drawing out negotiations to win incremental concessions, as it is trying to do in its marathon talks to join the World Trade Organization.

A retired senior translator from China's Foreign Ministry said it took months to settle on the formulations that describe how the United States regards the relationship between China and Taiwan, first enshrined in the Shanghai communiqué signed by President Nixon in 1972.

One result, repeated in various diplomatic documents since then, is that the United States "acknowledges" that Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait maintain that there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China.

Washington did not use the term "recognizes," as China had wished, but the Chinese version used "chengren," which can be translated as either recognize or acknowledge.

China is pressing hard to fix its position in the current tussle. Both Deputy Prime Minister Qian Qiqian, the country's senior foreign policy official, and Gen. Chi Haotian, the country's defense minister, have repeated President Jiang's demands for an apology.

On the Internet, 22 major Chinese Web sites have begun a joint campaign called "Tell the Bush Administration," encouraging people to express their opinions on the incident by posting messages on an on-line bulletin board at an official news Web site, 21dnn.com. More than 13,552 messages have been posted, almost all demanding an apology or saying expressions of regret are not enough.

The state-run press has also taken up the cause, with newspapers and television interviews of people around the country calling unanimously for an American apology instead of a mere expression of regret. The wife of the Chinese pilot missing since the midair collision with the American surveillance plane has even written a widely publicized letter to Mr. Bush accusing him of being "too cowardly" to apologize.

Chinese linguists say the way out may rest on a consonant: the United States could use the term "bao qian," a more apologetic term than "yihan" but less rigid than "dao qian."

According to the "Modern Chinese Dictionary," compiled by the Chinese Academy of Social Science's language institute in 1985, "yihan" refers to "internal remorse." A person on his deathbed, for instance, would use the word to say he had no regrets. The dictionary also notes that in diplomatic documents "yihan" is usually used to express discontent.

"Bao," means "to hold" and refers to the traditional Chinese gesture of apology in which a person clasps his hands in front of his face and bows slightly.

"Dao," in the more formal "dao qian," is a classical Chinese word that means "to say." "Qian" means "sorry."

"`Bao qian,' which can still be translated in English as `regret,' is much better, because it's a vernacular expression of apology," said the retired Foreign Ministry translator in Beijing.

The shades of meaning between various words are already being debated in the Chinese press.

An article published last week in on-line edition of People's Daily, the Communist Party newspaper, said: "In English there is a distinction between `regret' (bao qian) and `apologize' (dao qian), and there is also a distinction in Chinese. But this distinction is just a matter of a step or half a step, and they basically belong to the same level."

The distinction, it said, "rests in the speaker's intended meaning and the listener's understanding."

That may make it easier for the Bush administration.

"This term doesn't indicate that the person who says `bao qian' has made an error," said a man who served as interpreter for Mao. That nuance may be lost on many people, he said, though "educated Chinese know the difference."

There are still other possibilities that are less apologetic than "bao qian," yet more heartfelt than "yihan."

"The point is to avoid repeating the word `yihan,' " which has already been seen as falling short by the Chinese," Mao's former interpreter said.

---

Powell Warns of Damage to Ties as Crisis Drags On

New York Times
April 9, 2001
By JANE PERLEZ
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/09/world/09PLAN.html

WASHINGTON, April 8 - Striking a slightly stiffer tone with China, the Bush administration warned Beijing today that its relationship with the United States was already being hurt and that it risked further harm with every day that the crew of an American spy plane remained in detention.

Senior American officials went out of their way to again firmly reject the kind of apology that China has demanded for the collision between the American plane and a Chinese fighter jet on April 1. And they insisted that the United States would not give up its right to conduct such eavesdropping flights.

"The relationship is being damaged," Secretary of State Colin L. Powell warned on Fox News today. "The damage can be undone, but in order for the damage to be undone and no further damage to occur, we've got to bring this matter to a close as soon as possible."

But apparently in an effort to mollify the Chinese, General Powell used a slightly different formulation to the "regret" expressed last week and said for the first time that Washington was "sorry" about the loss of the Chinese pilot, whose plane crashed in the South China Sea. The damaged American electronic intelligence plane made an emergency landing at a nearby military airfield on Hainan, a Chinese island, where its crew of 24 is being detained.

In another gesture, President Bush was sending a condolence to Ruan Guoqin, the wife of the pilot, Wang Wei, in reply to a grief-filled letter from her. In it, he expresses hope for the future, officials said.

As the administration tried to strike a balance between pursuing intensive behind-the-scenes diplomacy, refusing to bend too far and making clear to the Chinese that time was running out for a smooth resolution to the standoff, senior Bush officials stressed the potential for a real souring of relations. So far, the administration appears to have received little in return for its expressions of regret and interest in resolving the crisis as quickly as possible.

And General Powell warned of the consequences if the standoff dragged on. Specifically, he said that if a Congressional vote was needed for China to be granted normal trading relations with the United States before it joins the World Trade Organization, the current crisis had "not improved their chances of winning that again." The Congressional vote is likely to come in June or July.

On the question of an apology, General Powell said that was quite different from regrets or sorrow "because we are being asked to accept responsibility."

"And that we have not done, can't do, and therefore won't apologize for that," he added.

In coordinated and nuanced words, the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, and Vice President Dick Cheney offered similar assessments on the negative impact of a continued impasse during appearances on Sunday television talk shows.

The stakes for the United States- China relationship were quite high. President Bush came into office pledging a different policy toward China, calling Beijing a strategic competitor rather than a strategic partner.

Administration officials have said the decision on the sale of sophisticated arms to Taiwan due at the end of this month was separate from this crisis. But there was little doubt that pressure from the hawkish wing of the Republican party could enhance the prospects for the sale of Aegis radar equipped battleships to Taiwan and the adoption of a cold war containment policy toward China.

Also at stake is the $100 billion trade relationship between the United States and China - a vast majority of it in Beijing's favor - which the pro-business group in the Republican party wants to maintain and strengthen.

"I don't want to put a timetable on it," Mr. Cheney said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I think we're clearly in a situation, and I hope the Chinese understand this as well, too, that every day that goes by without having it resolved raises the risk to the long-term relationship. There are clearly significant interests on the part of both nations of getting this resolved and not have a lasting impact, and we're working hard to try to achieve that."

But the Bush administration tried to give an impression of normalcy even as patience was beginning to wear thin among senators and members of Congress, some of whom have canceled visits to Beijing this week during the Congressional recess.

Mr. Bush was ensconced at Camp David over the weekend, as was Ms. Rice. General Powell returned home after doing the rounds of the television studios this morning and planned to leave for Europe and the Balkans Tuesday evening, as scheduled, an aide said.

In China, the American defense attaché, Brig. Gen. Neal Sealock, was allowed to visit only 8 of the 24 crew members on today.

The State Department played down the significance of the limited visit, saying that it was a matter of prickly local officials rather than a policy generated in Beijing. The eight crew members were chosen by the United States and they told General Sealock that their colleagues were in good shape, an administration official said.

On the diplomatic front, the American ambassador, Adm. Joseph W. Prueher, was expected to meet on Monday with Chinese Foreign Ministry officials.

Two meetings between Admiral Prueher and the Foreign Ministry today were "productive" and had brought the situation "closer to resolution," a senior State Department official said without elaborating.

The administration was sticking to its proposal, devised last week, which called for an expression of regret and an "exchange of explanations" that would lead to the release of the crew, the official said.

In the last several days, many of the details to a solution had been worked out between the two sides - which could eventually be outlined in a statement by the United States - but the few remaining issues were proving "very difficult," the official said. He declined to identify those roadblocks.

But one of the problems the administration was grappling with involved the differences between the civilian and military wings of the Chinese government.

The newspaper of the People's Liberation Army suggested in its weekend edition that the 24 Americans could be put on trial.

While that threat was taken into consideration by the administration, it did not appear to have become dominant in the Chinese approach, the senior official said.

Asked whether the process of working out a solution was complicated by the absence from Beijing of President Jiang Zemin, the official said: "Not clear."

Mr. Jiang is traveling in Latin America with China's top foreign policy official, Qian Qichen, but administration officials said the pair had sophisticated communications equipment with them.

Aside from the military-civilian divisions within the Chinese hierarchy, the administration also had to understand that it was dealing with a relatively indecisive government in Beijing, an American specialist on China said.

"We've got a weak, risk-averse, defensive leadership in China where no one can make the concessions without being undermined from within," said James Mulvenon of the Rand Corporation.

A former American ambassador to China, J. Stapleton Roy, who is now a member of Kissinger Associates, the consulting firm headed by former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, said the administration might consider a limited apology dealing with the American plane's emergency landing on Chinese territory.

Mr. Roy said he would advise against a more general apology but said it was vital that the two sides not get boxed in with hardened positions.

In their interviews today, the Bush administration officials said they had no plans to curtail reconnaissance flights in international waters along the Chinese coast, a demand that China made early on in the crisis. "We certainly don't intend to give up the important reconnaissance work that we do around the world in international waters," General Powell said. He said that the surveillance work of the United States was "well known to everyone" and that it was essential to the national security of the United States as well as its allies.

---

Most favor Bush, U.S. stance

USA Today
04/09/2001 - Updated 06:39 PM ET
By Richard Benedetto, USA TODAY
http://usatoday.com/news/world/2001-04-09-china-crisis-poll.htm

WASHINGTON - While delicate negotiations with China continue over the fate of 24 Americans being held there, the American public is forming a firm line in support of President Bush's position in the spy plane incident, a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll shows. Overall, 68% of those surveyed say the United States is not at fault in the cause of the incident, and 54% say the U.S. should not apologize, as the Chinese government has demanded.

At the same time, 61% approve of Bush's handling of the situation so far, despite criticism from some conservatives that he's not doing enough or acting tough enough.

While China has demanded an apology from the U.S., Secretary of State Colin Powell would only go so far as to issue a statement of "regret" that a Chinese pilot apparently lost his life in the incident.

The poll further found that 55% of the American public consider the 24 detained Americans hostages. The U.S. government has carefully avoided using the term for fear of making the crisis, now in its 10th day, appear more serious.

On Monday, Bush told reporters that the longer the crisis drags on, the greater the chances that it will negatively affect U.S.-China relations.

"All of us around this table understand diplomacy takes time, but every day that goes by increases the potential that our relations with China could be damaged," he said at the start of a Cabinet meeting in the White House.

Pressed for specifics on what he is doing to win release of the detainees, the president would only say, "We're working behind the scenes. We've got every diplomatic channel open."

The tendency of the public to rally around the president early in an international crisis could be boosting Bush's overall job-approval rating. The president's job approval jumped from 53% just before the crisis to 59% now. Public impatience could cause that approval to erode if weeks pass and the Americans are still being held.

---

Bush sees damage to U.S.-Chinese relations

USA Today
04/09/2001 - Updated 06:39 PM ET
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washdc/2001-04-09-china-us.htm

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush said Monday that "diplomacy takes time," but cautioned China that relations with the United States will suffer unless the 24 crew members of a U.S. spy plane are released soon."Every day that goes by increases the potential that our relations with China will be damaged," Bush told reporters during a Cabinet meeting to discuss his budget proposal.

Bush, who issued his first such warning to China nearly a week ago, intended to signal conservative Republicans on Capitol Hill and the American public that a conclusion may not come quickly, U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. They stressed, however, that negotiations were still moving forward on the U.S. demand to release the crew.

"All of us along this table understand that diplomacy takes time but there is a point, the longer this goes, there is a point at which our relations with China become damaged," Bush said. He repeated the line later: "Everyday that goes by increases the potential that our relations with China will be damaged."

Similar sentiments were delivered by his national security team on Sunday interview shows.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice attended the Cabinet meeting with Bush, who avoided direct answers to questions as he stuck closely to prepared remarks on China.

"We're working behind the scenes. We've got every diplomatic channel open. We're in discussions with the Chinese," Bush said. "Now it's time for our troops to come home so our relations will not be damaged."

Bush had just concluded a telephone call with Brig. Gen. Neal Sealock, the military attache at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, who met with all 24 crew members for 40 minutes Monday.

"Their spirits are very high and that is good news," Bush reported.

Spokesman Ari Fleischer quoted Sealock as telling Bush: "Their unit integrity is second to none. Their spirits are as high as I've ever seen them."

Members of Congress canceled long-planned travel to China this week, a development that Fleischer discussed in the context of damage to U.S.-Chinese relations. "We didn't tell (lawmakers) what to do, but the administration clearly understands what they're thinking and why they did what they did," Fleischer said.

The remarks by Bush and his advisers signal a growing impatience with China in the ninth day of the standoff. Some U.S. officials had expected the administration and China to come to terms over the weekend.

The Americans have been held by the Chinese since their crippled EP-3E surveillance plane made an emergency landing on Hainan island in southern China April 1 after colliding with a Chinese fighter jet. The Chinese pilot is missing.

Bush sent a letter to the pilot's wife, Ruan Guoqin. Her public anguish has fueled tensions between the two countries as she accused Bush and his administration of being "too cowardly" to apologize for the loss of her husband.

Bush and other top U.S. officials tried on Sunday to balance their sympathy for her with tough reminders to Chinese officials that the standoff is damaging relations between the two countries.

"I don't want to put a timetable on it; every day that goes by without having it resolved raises the risks to the long-term relationship," Vice President Dick Cheney said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Administration officials were careful to avoid spelling out specific consequences of further delay in sending the 24 Americans home, but repercussions in Congress were possible. Lawmakers cited a possible trade fight later this year and an upcoming decision on U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan.

"From what I have heard, it is just common sense that the Chinese intransigence is putting a very serious strain on our relationship with China," Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., said Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America." He is chairman of the House International Relations Committee.

Hyde, who last week had wondered aloud whether the crew members were hostages, dropped any doubt. "If you look up the definition of hostages, I don't see what else you can describe our 24 crewmen as. They're being held against their will to accomplish some purpose and the purpose evidently is to humiliate us before the world by making us apologize," he said.

Cheney rejected used of the word "hostage," noting that the United States has access to the crew and they are being treated well.

Powell said he was "sorry" about the personal loss experienced by the pilot's wife, using a word top administration officials had avoided. But Powell made clear the United States will not apologize for the collision it says took place in international air space.

"We have expressed regrets, we've expressed our sorrow, and we are sorry that a life was lost," Powell said on "Fox News Sunday," referring to the missing pilot.

In comparison, he offered this explanation for the U.S. position on an apology to Beijing for the collision: "The question of apology is something quite different, because then we are being asked to accept responsibility. And that we have not done, can't do, and therefore won't apologize for that."

Bush's letter was sent Sunday to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, which would forward it to the Chinese Foreign Ministry for delivery to the pilot's wife, the White House said. The text of the letter was not made public.

"The purpose of the letter is to respond in a humanitarian way, in an American way, to a widow who is grieving," Powell said. "Whatever you think about the politics of it, she's lost her husband."

Diplomats kept up pressure for daily access to the detained crew members, after they were allowed to see only eight of the 24 on Saturday.

"We have clearly said to the Chinese that we want access to our people and we want unfettered access to our people," Rice said on CNN's "Late Edition."

Bush spent the weekend at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, conferring with aides, including Rice and senior adviser Karen Hughes. Rice said Bush had not personally called Chinese President Jiang Zemin because that is an option he can use one time and "one wants to use when it really might make a difference."

---

Enough already

The Washington Times www.washtimes.com
Published 4/9/01
House Editorial
http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20010409-259365.htm

If anyone was in doubt that the U.S. government regrets that a Chinese fighter pilot managed to get himself killed through reckless flying in the collision with a U.S. EP-3E Aries II surveillance plane, this weekend´s talk shows left no shadow of uncertainty. After statements by the secretary of state and the president himself last week, the major players on the foreign policy team hit the Sunday shows in force. Secretary Powell went through the motions once more. "We have expressed regrets, we´ve expressed our sorrow, and we are sorry that a life was lost. . . . I think it´s a very proper thing to express our regrets and sorrow over that." This may indeed be a proper and Christian sentiment at the needless loss of a life under normal circumstances, but when the Chinese government itself has rejected "regrets" as insufficient, at what point does this approach become counterproductive, suggesting weakness more than strength? We would appear to be approaching that point fast.

Last Friday, Chinese Vice Premier Qian Quichen, who by the way had just last month enjoyed Washington´s hospitality, rejected the American overtures in a letter addressed to Mr. Powell. "Regrettably," he wrote (seems the R-word is the mot of the moment), "the U.S. statement on this incident so far is unacceptable to the Chinese side, and the Chinese people have found it most dissatisfying." China wants nothing less than an apology and the acceptance of responsibility from the United States, so both Mr. Quichen and President Jiang Zemin have made clear. Neither of which the U.S. government can afford to do in any way, shape or form.

Not only would an acceptance of responsibility be wrong from a reality standpoint according to the facts as they have been presented by American officials. Further concessions would be like more pennies from heaven for the regime in Beijing, which admittedly already hold the trump cards in this game i.e. the American plane and its 24-member crew and know it very well. Internally, the Chinese have been engaged in a propaganda war against the United States to match China´s military buildup. Imagine the propaganda potential inherent in a U.S. apology. Further imagine how this could be used against Americans in China, residents or citizens, and against Chinese who have contact with the United States either through business, education or political activity. The Chinese could also be counted on to pressure the United States to end surveillance flights, which are essential for the protection of Taiwan´s integrity.

Mr. Powell, along with National Security Adviser Condoleezza and Vice President Cheney, yesterday rejected any notion of an apology and expressed American steadfastness. "The question of apology is something quite different, because then we are being asked to accept responsibility. And that we have not done, can´t do, and therefore won´t apologize for that," Mr. Powell said on "Fox News Sunday." Let´s keep it that way.

------

A risk of misreading America

The Washington Times www.washtimes.com
Published 4/9/01
James C. Bennett UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
http://www.washtimes.com/national/default-200149225642.htm

The Hainan incident is not likely to lead to war between the United States and China. This is not a conflict that can't be resolved by peaceful means.

But for the first time in several generations, perhaps, the prerequisites for a war to fully engage the United States are falling into place.

It's clear that the Chinese leaders fundamentally misunderstand the situation. The greatest likelihood of a series of such incidents escalating into war stems from the possibility that the Chinese leaders won't figure it out until too late.

Americans often do not realize how difficult it is for foreigners to understand them. America is not a single, homogenous nation-state on the European model, but a grand union of distinct historic cultural nations, due to the settlement of different parts of the United States from distinct regional cultures of the British Isles.

These cultural characteristics, though diluted by shifting internal migration in recent decades, have been remarkably persistent over time, both in Britain and in America, as demonstrated by David Hackett Fischer in his book "Albion's Seed." This has many implications, beginning with America's relationship with war itself.

The various cultural nations of America have traditionally had different attitudes toward war. The Southern culture, for example, cherishes a deep sense of personal honor and sensitivity to insult, and actions that step over a certain line require response. Failure to respond demonstrates weakness, inviting further transgression. Anything less is appeasement.

The Greater New England model is at heart moralistic. Everyone is assumed to be reasonable, and the first response to aggression is always to be conciliatory, to seek to understand the other side, to find compromise. However, at a certain point, the opposite party may demonstrate signs of being morally lost. At this point, out comes the terrible swift sword, and the army of the Lord goes on the march. Battle is joined fully and mercilessly, and continues until the enemy is utterly crushed. The enemy can be occupied, reformed, reconstructed, and rehabilitated, but not until he has surrendered unconditionally and confessed the wickedness of his ways.

The other main cultural nation is Midland America. Midlanders tend to be fundamentally pragmatic, to divide other nations into "people we can get along with," and "people about whom something must be done." Midlanders would always rather do business with enemy nations than confront them, but after a certain point doing something is cheaper than "getting along."

Thus America's face to the world varies according to which cultural nation is dominant at the moment. If one cultural nation has decided that war is necessary but the other cultural nations haven't been convinced, there's usually no war.

Sometimes two or more cultural nations decide that war is needed, but the others dissent. This can lead to a war in which Americans participate but the whole nation is not fully engaged.

The Mexican War and the War of 1812 are examples; the personal honor of America was perceived at stake, but in each war there was widespread dissent in New England. The Hartford Convention of delegates from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont considered secession over "Mr. Madison's war" of 1812.

Other wars, such as those in Korea and Vietnam, were started primarily by pragmatists. These, too, failed to fully engage America. Some wars are tolerated so long as they end quickly and the cost is low, such as the Spanish-American and Persian Gulf wars. They were finished quickly, with few casualties, before the national mood soured.

But when all the cultural nations of America come to the conclusion that war is needed, then war invokes the full engagement of the enormous strength, creativity and will of America. The prime examples are the Civil War and World War II. In both, long periods of drift interspersed with precipitating incidents created a tinderbox that eventually exploded.

What makes the Hainan incident ominous is that the cultural nations of America may be gradually coming to the idea that America might fight China one day - with the moralists convinced by Tiananmen Square, prison labor and Tibet that the Chinese leadership needs correction; the pragmatists, still excited by the Chinese market but sobered by the problematic experience with investments and joint ventures, unwilling to see Taiwan ruined; and the Southerners, sensitive to slights to personal honor, susceptible to outrage if the Hainan incident becomes a hostage crisis.

The final ingredient for terrible war is the miscalculation by the other side. The Southern fire-eaters of 1861 were convinced that the Yankees were cowards who wouldn't fight, and if they did, would give up after the first defeat. Hitler thought the Americans (and the British) were cowardly and pacifistic jitterbugging money-grubbers who wouldn't fight and couldn't win.

Misguided by the war in Vietnam and the cost-free victories of the Gulf and Kosovo, the Chinese may be calculating that the way to deter an American response is to incur significant American casualties early on.

This was the alignment during the first half of the Cold War, but restraint on both sides kept it from breaking into a great war. This was in part because the Soviet leaders had seen what an engaged America at war was like. The Chinese could miscalculate that such a level of engagement could never happen again.

---

Cheney warns China it risks harming ties to U.S.

Washington Times
April 9, 2001
By Bill Gertz THE WASHINGTON TIMES
http://www.washtimes.com/national/default-200149233026.htm

The Bush administration stepped up pressure on China yesterday, warning Beijing that continuing to hold the crew of a downed U.S. military aircraft captive is damaging relations.

Vice President Richard B. Cheney repeated U.S. "regrets" for the loss of a Chinese pilot and said the United States has nothing to apologize for.

"It's important to recognize that every day that goes by without resolution of this does lead to the possible risk - lasting damage, if you will - to the relationship between the United States and China," Mr. Cheney said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Mr. Cheney would not say what penalties would be imposed on China for its failure to release the 24 detained Americans who made an emergency landing in southern China aboard a damaged EP-3E surveillance aircraft that collided with an intercepting Chinese F-8 jet over international waters.

Pressures on the Bush administration intensified, too. Mr. Cheney insisted that the 24 American crewmen are not hostages, as Rep. Henry J. Hyde, Illinois Republican and chairman of the House International Relations Committee, said on Saturday they were. He said they're "detainees." When he was asked about an editorial in the Weekly Standard, suggesting that the incident had the making of a "national humiliation" for the United States, Mr. Cheney snapped that the editorial was an attempt to "sell magazines." He called the editorial "disreputable." Secretary of State Colin Powell, on another television program, called the editorial "absurd."

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, Connecticut Democrat, said he too regards the crewmen as "detainees," but not for long. "In two or three days, I'm going to call them hostages. . . . We're getting precariously close to that."

Sen. Richard C. Shelby, Alabama Republican and chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said China could become an adversary. "The incidents that we are going through right now . . . is probably one of many for the future," Mr. Shelby said. "We have to look at China realistically. A lot of people haven't." Mr. Shelby has been a critic of U.S. intelligence for its overly benign analysis of China.

On the southern Chinese island of Haikou, where the Americans are being held, the top U.S. military officer in China, Brig. Gen. Neal Sealock, said U.S. officials were "hopeful" China would today begin granting daily access to the crew.

"This morning, our desire remains the same. Our request is for unfettered access to the crew on a daily basis and, in fact, twice a day," he told reporters.

"Our purpose for that is to continue to monitor the treatment of the crew and to continue to observe what has taken place. We're hopeful for that to take place today and every day following."

In Beijing, the official military newspaper, Liberation Army Daily, repeated a demand that the United States halt all surveillance flights over Chinese territory.

"China has the right to fully and thoroughly investigate this entire incident, including the American military aircraft and the people in charge of it," the newspaper said. "The U.S. government should . . . immediately stop all military surveillance activities off the Chinese coast."

Chinese Defense Minister Chi Haotian early today added his voice to the Chinese leaders demanding an apology.

"The U.S. should apologize to the Chinese people and take effective measures to avoid another similar matter from happening," said Gen. Chi, who is also vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, the Communist Party organ that controls the Chinese military. His comments were reported in today's editions of the official party newspaper, People's Daily.

Mr. Cheney said the United States is willing to discuss the flights, but that "in terms of our right to be there . . . that's a given and we will continue to operate as appropriate."

In a sign that negotiations are continuing at high levels, U.S. Ambassador to China Joseph Prueher met privately yesterday with Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan in the latest round of diplomatic meetings to end the impasse.

U.S. diplomats met with eight crewmen yesterday, although Brig. Gen. Sealock had asked to see all 24.

Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's national security adviser, said on CNN's "Late Edition" that it "isn't helpful" that Gen. Sealock's request to meet with the entire crew was rejected.

Mr. Powell repeated U.S. "regrets" and used the word "sorry" to describe his feelings over the loss of the Chinese pilot. He made it clear once more that the United States would not accept responsibility for the incident and "therefore won't apologize for that."

A senior administration official said yesterday's television talk show appearances by senior national security officials was meant as a signal to Beijing. "The message is: There is a closing window for the Chinese to still salvage this," the official said. "But they could have done it right away by releasing the crew."

Several congressional delegations scheduled to visit China were canceled Saturday to protest, and congressional aides said legislation punishing Beijing is likely to follow if the impasse is not resolved.

Mr. Powell, speaking on "Fox News Sunday," declined to say how the administration would punish China but said "whatever price the Chinese ultimately pay, they are making it worse in terms of delaying this situation."

On CBS' "Face the Nation," Mr. Powell said the administration wants China to realize that "we do regret the loss of their pilot and plane." He expressed "regret" for the U.S. plane's emergency landing on the southern Chinese island that "violated their airspace." He urged Beijing to "look at the emergency circumstances that the pilot was facing."

Nevertheless, U.S.-China relations were being hurt by the incident. "The relationship is being damaged," Mr. Powell said. "The damage can be undone. But in order for the damage to be undone and no further damage to occur, we have got to bring this matter to a close as soon as possible." The United States has a trade deficit with China estimated at more than $80 billion, and some members of Congress have called for the imposition of trade sanctions to act as leverage. Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's chief political strategist, said last week that trade sanctions against Beijing were not being considered "at this point."

Meanwhile, Mr. Bush has written a letter to the wife of the lost pilot, Wang Wei. The letter from the president to Ruan Guoqin is being sent as a humanitarian gesture, U.S. officials said. Mrs. Ruan wrote that the president was "too cowardly" to apologize.

Mr. Powell said the reply was meant to respond to a "widow who is grieving. Whatever you think about the politics of it, she's lost her husband."

Miss Rice said the president's letter was not a shift in U.S. policy. "The president is taking the high ground here, and he is simply responding to the expression of grief, and nothing else," she said. The administration had offered China "a way to have a discussion about the facts."

Other U.S. officials said the administration is proposing to convene a meeting under a 1998 U.S.-China agreement on military maritime incidents.

Mr. Powell said the United States still supports China's bid to join the World Trade Organization, but another congressional vote on normal trade relations status with that country might not pass. Congress approved permanent normal trade status for China last year, despite its arms sales to rogue states and its continuing poor record on human rights.

Meanwhile, a Hong Kong newspaper reported last night that a Chinese F-8 pilot that shadowed the EP-3E asked for permission to shoot down the unarmed surveillance plane.

F-8 pilot Zhao Yu was told by ground controllers not to take any action against the U.S. military aircraft, the South China Morning Post quoted unidentified "Chinese sources" in Beijing as saying.

"The officials at ground control were cool-headed," the newspaper quoted one source as saying. "Zhao could have shot the plane down but that would have meant the death of 24 U.S. airmen. It would have been an act of war, whereas the collision was an accident."

China's official media continued to criticize the United States. The state-run Xinhua news agency reported that people throughout China continued "to angrily condemn the hegemonist action of a U.S. military reconnaissance plane."

---

Not hostages

The Washington Times www.washtimes.com
Published 4/9/01
Inside the Beltway John McCaslin THE WASHINGTON TIMES
http://www.washtimes.com/national/inbeltway.htm

Speaking of not apologizing, how are the 24 detained Americans coping with their unscheduled landing and detentions in China?

If they're following "Hostage Situation" procedures obtained by this column, issued by the Security Awareness Office of the National Security Agency, a branch of the Department of Defense, here's how: • Comply with orders and instructions without complaining. Keep in mind what you say and do could have an impact on others.

• Be as general as possible if questioned and do not discuss anything that you are obligated to protect.

• Be non-threatening in conversations with your captors and avoid arguments and physical violence.

• Prepare yourself for experiencing depression, boredom and frustration since a hostage situation may continue for an indefinite period.

• Try to humanize the event as much as possible. If you need anything, ask for it, making your request in a reasonable low-key manner.

• Try to establish a program of mental and physical activity if your situation becomes lengthy and drawn out.

• Above all, rely on your inner resources and think positively.

-------

Hawks up ante on spy plane

Australian News Network
09apr01
By LYNNE O'DONNELL, China correspondent and ROY ECCLESTON in Washington
http://news.com.au/newspulse/pulseframe/0,4711,1877691^401,00.html

PRESSURE rose yesterday in the standoff between Beijing and Washington over the US spy plane and its 24 stranded crew as hawks on both sides of the Pacific stepped up calls for a harder line.

Rising optimism that the two sides were close to an understanding that would allow them to publish a joint letter of regret over the incident has faded.

Diplomats of both countries worked through the weekend but were unable to hammer out a formula satisfactory to both Washington and Beijing.

Raising the ante were conservative factions who seized the opportunity to sap the momentum which moderates had been building as the week drew to a close.

China's Defence Minister, Chi Haotian, said the People's Liberation Army would not be satisfied unless the US Government accepted full responsibility for the collision between the American EP-3 and a Chinese fighter jet on April 1.

"It's impermissible for (the US) to want to shirk responsibility," Mr Chi said. "The People's Liberation Army does not agree to it. The Chinese people don't agree to it."

In Washington, a senior US Republican made the allegation the White House least wanted to hear, calling the US crew members China's "hostages".

In a clear sign of the anger bubbling below the surface of the US Congress, House international relations committee chairman Henry Hyde berated China for its detention of the crew, and said the US should be the one demanding an apology.

"I'm not for heating up another cold war into what could well turn into a hot war," he said. "But I think Americans have to realise China is not a strategic partner of ours. It's an adversary." In marked contrast to the restrained language of the Bush administration, which calls the 21 men and three women detainees, Mr Hyde said "I would call them hostages".

"They are being held against their will, and five days is rather a long time, especially if you are the one being held in detention."

The comments came as President George W. Bush was castigated for his "capitulation" to China in a leading conservative magazine, while opinion polls showed a significant hardening of public opinion against China and a willingness to hit back with counter-measures. A poll taken for The Washington Post and ABC news found two-thirds of Americans saw China as unfriendly, and 75 per cent favoured trade restrictions if the crew and plane were not returned. But the majority opposed to an apology was only 60-40.

Mr Hyde said if the crew were still being held by midweek "the danger escalates" and some form of counter-pressure would be needed.

These could include concerted US opposition to Beijing's 2008 Olympic bid, opposition to its normal trading status with the US, slowing its admission to the World Trade Organisation and selling advanced weapons systems to Taiwan. But Mr Bush already is slated as too weak by some influential conservatives. Prominent commentators William Kristol and Robert Kagan editorialised in the Weekly Standard that Mr Bush "has revealed weakness and he has revealed fear -- fear of the political, strategic and economic consequences of meeting a Chinese challenge".

Mr Hyde rejected the criticism, saying he hoped China did not see Mr Bush's expression of regret for the death of the Chinese pilot as a sign of weakness. "Some think it is, I do not," he said.

"I think we have many ways to show we're not weak. One of them is the weapons that we're going to provide Taiwan in a couple of weeks."

China has warned the US that the sale of Aegis radar-equipped destroyers to Taiwan could "fan the flames" of war.

Asia Pacific Policy Centre president Douglas Paal, a former CIA analyst and national security adviser to president George Bush snr, confirmed the anger in the US Capitol.

"I spent the afternoon with some political figures and they're getting hot under the collar," he told CNN. "They want progress faster than China is likely to deliver it."

As the standoff dragged into a second week, US representatives in Haikou, the capital of Hainan island in China's far south where crew members are held in a military guesthouse, said they were pushing Chinese authorities to allow unconditional visits with the crew.

Meanwhile, China's newspapers eulogised fighter jet pilot Wang Wei, 33, who has been missing since his craft collided with the EP-3, as a national hero and said that more than 800 fishing boats from Hainans Lingshui county, location of his naval base, had joined the official search efforts.

---

China's fragile mindset

Christian Science Monitor
OPINION
MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2001
By Minxin Pei
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2001/04/09/fp11s2-csm.shtml

WASHINGTON - China's handling of the collision between a US reconnaissance plane and a Chinese fighter jet has puzzled, frustrated, and pained Americans who have worked hard to build a strong bilateral relationship. Many find Beijing's strident rhetoric and insistence on a full US apology both disturbing and incomprehensible.

As this dispute drags on, at time of writing, the risks of severely damaging US-China relations could rise - especially when Americans view China's action through prisms formed by American cultural values and evaluate it against expectations that overlook Chinese sentiments and political reality.

To avoid deepening mutual distrust and animosity, one must look at the three factors that have shaped Beijing's decisionmaking process:

• First, the initial American reaction to the accident, especially the apparent death of a Chinese pilot, was perceived to be insensitive. In addition, this perceived casualness toward the loss of a Chinese life was coupled with a direct demand from President George W. Bush for the immediate return of the American crew and plane. For Chinese leaders, this was reminiscent of the initial American response to the errant bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in May 1999. After that tragedy occurred, then-President Clinton was shown in a T-shirt on a golf course, offering an apology in a manner viewed in China as too casual.

Perception affected policy. It probably strengthened the case for the more hard-line elements inside the government while undermining the positions of those preferring a softer approach. Thus, the overall guidelines set by Chinese leaders on resolving this incident (such as the demand for an official apology and responsibility) lacked flexibility.

• Second, as in other countries, China's national experience and collective memory constitute a powerful force in foreign-policy decisionmaking.

In the Chinese case, the national psyche is dominated by two sets of memories - the country's long and splendid civilization on the one hand and its humiliation at the hands of Western powers since the mid-19th century on the other. At times, this can be a particularly combustible mix because such national psyche makes both Chinese leaders and public react to incidents involving foreign countries with extreme sensitivity. Current events are analogized to past instances of national humiliation. Even though the manifestation of such reaction may be viewed abroad as shrill, within China it is regarded as justified.

Since the early 1990s, the incessant American criticisms of China over human rights, trade, Taiwan, and other issues have placed new stress on this fragile psyche and set into motion a vicious cycle that is poorly understood in the West.

As China's image has deteriorated among the Americans, the caricature of China as an emerging evil empire has also embittered ordinary Chinese people who, through expanding access to information, have become better-informed of how the West views China. Many of them regard the anti-China rhetoric by the American media and politicians as evidence of America's unwillingness to accept China's rise. Regrettably, such spontaneous popular antipathy to the United States has frequently been dismissed as a product of manipulation by the Chinese government. It may seem inconceivable that the Chinese public, repressed by their government, could resent American criticisms of the same government.

This new political reality - a Chinese public that reacts quickly and strongly to what is perceived as foreign bullying - ties the hands of Chinese leaders. More important, it prompts Beijing to adopt measures that would elicit more American criticisms, thus completing the vicious cycle.

• Finally, as a result of China's internal political change and socioeconomic transformation, decisionmakers in Beijing face new constraints, forcing them to seek compromised solutions that appear to foreign leaders as indecisive and unsatisfactory.

The current collective leadership, established after the passing of Deng Xiaoping, makes key decisions typically through time-consuming consensus-building. The rising nationalist sentiments among ordinary citizens also make Chinese leaders heed the force of public opinion. The ruling party's real basis of legitimacy is not communism, but nationalism. Every Chinese can recite the late leader Mao Zedong's proclamation upon the founding of the People's Republic: "The Chinese people have stood up!"

The worst nightmare for Chinese leaders today is not a Jeffersonian democrat, but a Maoist nationalist who accuses them of kowtowing to the West. (The most shocking slogan posted in Beijing after the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in 1999 was: "Down with the treasonous government!")

The Chinese public, of course, has long been aware of this soft spot. Indeed, criticizing their government's foreign policy is one of the few political activities they can openly engage in with immunity.

Thus, China's uncompromising stance on the spy plane incident must not be attributed merely to the hardliners in the government, but should be understood in a broad political and psychological context.

• Minxin Pei is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
-------

CHINA, U.S. TRY TO WORK OUT HOW TO END STANDOFF

Morrock News, Monday, April 9, 2001
Fast, free and independent http://morrock.com
MONDAY :: APRIL 9, 2001 :: EMAIL EDITION

Two proud countries, China and the U.S., have found themselves jointly holding a tiger by the tail during the past week.

After a U.S. spy plane and a Chinese jetfighter collided in international airspace, and the Chinese jet crashed and the crippled U.S. plane landed at a Chinese airport, the two countries got into the diplomatic equivalent of "After you, sir, no, after you."

China demands an apology and has made that a condition of releasing the 24-member crew. The U.S. has expressed "regret" but says an apology won't be forthcoming.

Meantime, U.S. officials were permitted Monday to visit the crew again, and reported that they are being held in air conditioned rooms, are well taken care of, are eating high quality food brought in from outside the military compound, and have been allowed to keep all their personal effects with them.

When they'll be released, however, isn't at all clear. Both countries have dug in their heels. On Monday, the White House signaled strongly that further delay on China's part could hamper its becoming a member of the World Trade Organization. "The longer this goes on," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, "the more relevant those questions will become.?"

"Every day that goes by increases the potenttial that our relations with China could be damaged," President Bush said Monday, as the standoff entered its ninth day.


-------- activists

Student dies on third day of campus protest

USA Today
04/09/2001 - Updated 09:21 PM ET
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2001-04-09-student.htm

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - One student died and several were injured in clashes with riot police during demonstrations protesting economic hardship, police and student leaders said Monday.

Police fired tear gas to prevent students from leaving campus earlier Monday, but hundreds of students managed to breach the blockade and march through downtown Harare.

A 20-year-old student died after being trampled during the clashes at the University of Zimbabwe's main campus in Harare, police spokesman Botwell Mugariri said. However, student spokesman Brilliant Mhlanga said the student was punched and kicked by police.

Mhlanga said about 30 students were treated for injuries, some after jumping from upper floors to escape tear gas fired through windows.

"We are incensed by the high level of police brutality," Mhlanga said.

Campus protests began late Saturday, when rioting students stoned cars in a rampage triggered by the apparent suicide of a female student in a love tryst, police said.

Student leaders said their classmates were angered by visits to the campus by "sugar daddies" who use flashy cars and money to woo impoverished female students.

Zimbabwe's economy is crumbling and students have complained for several months of delays in receiving their allowances from the cash-strapped education ministry. They have also protested rising costs of food, accommodation and books.

---

Turkish government moves to calm protests

USA Today
04/09/2001 - Updated 08:21 PM ET
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2001-04-09-protests.htm

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Following nearly a week of angry street protests, Turkey's Cabinet on Monday agreed to economic measures that will ease the impact of a financial crisis on small businesses.

The government agreed to give owners of small businesses and merchants extra time to pay taxes and social security payments, and cut interest rates on their bank loans, State Minister Tunca Toskay said after a four-hour Cabinet meeting.

Thousands of people, mostly small businessmen and tradesmen, have staged nationwide demonstrations since last week, angered by the collapse of the Turkish lira, soaring interest rates and layoffs. Police have used truncheons and water cannons to break up the demonstrations.

Toskay said small businesses would have until the end of April to apply for a postponement of their tax bills, and would also be given extra time to pay social security contributions.

Interest rates on existing loans to small businesses from state-owned Halkbank will also be cut to their pre-crisis level of 55% for the rest of 2001, he said. Interest rates have shot up since the devaluation of the lira in late February, and Halkbank is now charging 90% on three-month loans.

It was not clear if the measures would satisfy businessmen.

Turkey's state-owned banks have run up losses of an estimated $20 billion in bad loans, mainly by funneling cheap loans to key political constituencies.

Analysts said the flawed banking system is at the heart of a crisis that has seen the currency of this important U.S. ally and NATO member lose more than 40% of its dollar value since late February, leading to price rises and layoffs.

Turkey hopes to have an economic program for ending the crisis in place by the end of this week. Turkish officials opened talks with an International Monetary Fund delegation Sunday on the program's details.

Turkish officials estimate the country needs $10 billion to $12 billion in foreign loans to back the program.

The IMF has already promised $6.25 billion, and Turkey hopes to get more loans from the Group of Seven most industrialized nations, which includes the United States, Japan and western European countries.

---

USA Today
04/09/01
States
http://www.usatoday.com/news/states/all50.htm

Oregon

Brookings - An 8-foot-tall sequoia tree planted on the spot where a Japanese bomb fell in 1942 has been named an Oregon Heritage Tree. The Japanese pilot who dropped the bomb to start a fire in the southern Oregon forest planted the tree in 1992 as a symbol of peace between Japan and the USA.

---

Starlight puts a shine on favorite causes

Washington Times
The Washington Times www.washtimes.com
Published 4/9/01
Audrey Hudson THE WASHINGTON TIMES
http://www.washtimes.com/national/default-200149225417.htm

Hollywood celebrities are becoming increasingly common on Capitol Hill, carrying the cause de jour for both Democrats and Republicans who hope the stars' limelight will illuminate their pet issues.

Rock stars, actors, even British royalty, are mixing it up with politicians to promote everything from election reform to overhauling health care.

"Hollywood and Washington have this mutual love affair that's kind of bizarre," said John Czwartacki, former press secretary to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, Mississippi Republican.

"Politicians love Hollywood because it's the lifestyle they want and [stars] receive a public embrace they envy," said Mr. Czwartacki, a communications consultant for Greener and Hook.

"And the reverse is true: Hollywood loves politics because it makes them look smarter than they are, and care more than they actually do," Mr. Czwartacki said.

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, was seen on Capitol Hill recently lobbying for the American Heart Association.

David Crosby of the rock group Crosby, Stills, Nash and sometimes Young, attended a March 30 Democratic luncheon and pushed for campaign finance reform.

On Tuesday, actor David Hyde Pierce of TVs "Frasier" fame testified before a Senate subcommittee on the need to increase funding to cure Alzheimer's, and rockers Don Henley and Alanis Morissette appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify about on-line entertainment.

On Wednesday, Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson appeared at a news conference with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, to discuss colorectal cancer awareness. Mr. Richardson, whose father died of colorectal cancer, said he was there to "lend my celebrity to draw awareness."

"The fact that I was asked to come here today was an honor," said Mr. Richardson, whose presence quickly drew hundreds of teen-age girls to witness the introduction of legislation designed to eliminate colorectal cancer.

Ed Marsy is not a Hollywood star, but actor Albert Finney's portrayal of Mr. Marsy in the Academy Award-winning movie "Erin Brockovich," made the trial lawyer a household name.

The film featured a legal suit Mr. Marsy and Mrs. Brockovich spearheaded against Pacific Gas and Electric, which blamed the company's use of a chemical called chromium 6 for causing cancer in hundreds of residents in a small California town.

Mr. Marsy attended a Wednesday news conference with Sen. Barbara Boxer, California Democrat, to introduce a bill that would establish a federal standard for chromium 6 in water.

"If you drink enough chromium 6, you will die; this bill will show how much you can drink without it hurting you," Mr. Marsy said.

The news conference also drew a sizable crowd from the media and passing tourists, hoping to catch a glimpse of actress Julia Roberts, who played the title role. However, she did not attend.

There is not much of a downside to having a famous person at your side in making these announcements, Mr. Czwartacki said.

"The old adage is true, there is really no such thing as bad PR if it gets your cause in the paper. Even if it's linked to a vapid boy band, there is that many more people who are aware of cancer, and that's a good thing," he said.

Finally, diva Barbra Streisand met with House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt, Missouri Democrat, the previous weekend and issued a three-page memo to Democrats on how to take back the House, Senate and White House.

"We should draw attention to the differences in our parties, hold accountable those currently in power and make them pay for their actions on Election Day. This is not a time to be weak," Miss Streisand wrote.

In the memo, Miss Streisand also criticized Democrats for allowing Republicans to "use the pardon issue as a tool of distraction."

"Clinton's pardons have no impact on the health and welfare of the American people," Miss Streisand stated.

--------

Non-Violence Training in Buffalo, NY April 14th!!!!!

Mon, 9 Apr 2001

Preparing for Nonviolent Action in Quebec City, Buffalo...

Over the past year and a quarter, a global movement for justice and environmental preservation has confronted the world's power elites in Seattle, Washington, DC, Prague and elsewhere. Organizing in Buffalo is in high gear to challenge the next stage in globalization-the Free Trade Area of the Americas summit in Quebec City on April 20-22.

Organizers in Buffalo have planned a series of actions over that same three day period. They have established action guidelines and strongly urge potential participants to participate in a Nonviolent Direct Action Preparation session in advance of the actions.

We strongly encourage you to participate in a preparation session as soon as possible. The first session will be held on Saturday, April 14 from 10 am to 5 pm at the University at Buffalo South Campus - Diefendorf 2. Please plan to arrive by 9:45 to settle in and be ready to start at 10.

The day will include exploration of active nonviolence, civil disobedience and direct action, skill-sharing on working in groups, consensus decision-making and responding effectively in confrontational situations. Information will be provided on the scenarios planned, legal issues, medical concerns and affinity groups. It will include roleplaying and other interactive exercises to provide an experience of what you might encounter in a nonviolent direct action. This is an important gathering if you are considering participation in the actions in Buffalo in any capacity. There will be an opportunity at the end of the session for those interested in forming affinity groups to begin that process.

The preparation session will be facilitated by experienced nonviolent activists from Syracuse and Ithaca who have been involved in civil disobedience and nonviolent direct action for over 20 years.

A simple lunch will be provided. For further information, or to RSVP (by April 12th), to Mike Schade - cestpodge@aol.com 716 884 8179
------

Apply now for BIOJUSTICE Action Camp!!!

Mon, 9 Apr
From: Eric Romann <coachric1@yahoo.com>
http://www.ruckus.org

The Ruckus Society Presents: Biojustice Action Camp San Diego May 13 to 20th (including travel days on each end)

The Biotech Industry Organization (BIO) is holding it's next conference, 'exhibition' and corporate fat cat schmooze-fest in San Diego in late June, 2001. Happening six weeks prior in May, Action Camp will be an incomparable platform from which to fire a few strategic (and metaphorical) shots over the bow of the Biotech pirate ship before the meeting convenes. Most importantly, it will train many of the most committed and strategic activists, campaigners and concerned citizens who have already begun planning for an unprecedented nonviolent confrontation with the audacious and unaccountable Biotech juggernaut.

Biojustice Action Camp will bring together the various arms of the existing movement to ban genetically engineered foods with those concerned over moral, legal, and biological dilemmas resulting from the manipulation and patenting of the very fabric of life. It is Ruckus' role to help bridge the gap between farmers, invigorated grassroots activists, experienced campaigners, scientists and researchers, religious leaders and the incredibly wide range of citizens concerned about the ramifications of biotechnology. This will be an international gathering, with participants coming from Asia, Europe, and from throughout South & North America. Ruckus asks a sliding-scale ($75-$500) donation from those attending, though noone is ever turned away for lack of funds. Tasty vegetarian (non-GMO) food is provided by our top-notch field kitchen.

The Curriculum

Developed in close cooperation with a wide range of grassroots activists and campaigns, the program will comprise a holistic and thorough training to strengthen the biojustice movement. Beginning with the history and philosophy of nonviolence, participants will split their time between the strategic and the tactical. Attendees will spend half of each day in dynamic workshops covering the theoretical aspects of public campaigning, and half of each day learning hands-on the finer points of nonviolent direct action tactics. In the evenings, engaging panel discussions and compelling speakers will provide insight into the deeper meanings of genetic engineering and the growing global resistance to it.

In addition, Action Camp is an unprecedented opportunity for activists to find inspiration, rejuvenation and empowerment in the presence of so many others committed to building a just and sustainable future. Ruckus works hard to provide a safe and fun atmosphere, with cultural events and a last-night 'graduation' celebration. 'Fun' is not an afterthought at Action Camp, and we will reach out to performers who will entertain tired-but-inspired activists several times throughout the week.

Workshops

-Philosophy & History of Nonviolence -Strategic Campaigning- Building a Unified Biojustice Movement -Grassroots Organizing -Hi-tech Activism & 'Cyber-organizing' -Legal Considerations for Civil Disobedience -Activist Media & PR -Direct Action Planning & Strategy -Direct Action Climbing Techniques -Banner Construction, Rigging, & Hanging -Blockades & Lockdowns -Action Location Scouting -Political Theatre

Evening Presentations

-GE Foods 101 -Biotech and Globalization -Beyond the Human Genome: Biotech Frontiers -Debunking the 'Feed-the-World' Myth

Conclusion

The time is ripe to invigorate the anti-biotech forces, particularly in the US, with the skills and strategies necessary to build real resistance to the corporate control and commodification of our common genetic heritage. Furthermore, with increasing public suspicion and concern about genetically-engineered food, Biojustice Action Camp will be a high-profile opportunity to send a strong message to the biotech industry while simultaneously raising significant public awareness about genetic engineering.

--

The Ruckus Society's BIOJUSTICE Action Camp
Program Director: Han-shan ph) 510.595.3442 fx) 510.595.3462
bioj@ruckus.org

----------

Where are YOU going to be during the FTAA?

Mon, 09 Apr 2001
From: salane@midway.uchicago.edu

So the protests are TWO WEEKS AWAY!!
Where are you going to be?

The no-FTAA project cluster is creating a schedule of events for the three main mobilization sites, and we'd like to include YOU in our plans!

Attached to this message is a publicity flyer (please feel free to download and disperse everywhere!!) of a tentative schedule of activities happening in San Diego/Tijuana, Quebec, and Buffalo.

On Thursday, we're going to send out 2 regional calendars that include STARC affinity group meeting times and all the specific info you'll need when you're at these actions... We also want to include YOUR SOLIDARITY ACTIONS in our calendar if you're not planning on travelling!

So please email Ani at anibear@uclink4.berkeley.edu with your group's info by WEDNESDAY. If you have plans to go to San Diego, contact Ariela, at 858.455.0901 or sirenari@aol.com. If you are going to Quebec, please let Dana know at dmb50@cornell.edu. If you are headed to Buffalo, contact Stephanie at 773.752.6518 or salane@midway.uchicago.edu

Thanks so much, and happy planning!!

--------

anti-nuke action going on in your hood?
are you close to a high level nuclear waste transport route? help stop it

Mon, 09 Apr 2001
From: Tim Rohlfing <tim.rohlfing@wmich.edu>

STOP ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM IN ITS TRACKS!!!

STOP CONSUMERS ENERGY AND AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER FROM DUMPING HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES ON NATIVE AMERICAN LANDS OUT WEST!

Commemorate Earth Week 2001 & the 15th Anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe

THURSDAY, APRIL 26TH, 2001 -- RALLY & NONVIOLENT CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m.

AT THE FRONT ENTRANCE OF THE COOK NUCLEAR REACTORS IN SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN

Just off of I-94, one hour's drive west from Kalamazoo, just south of St. Joe/Benton Harbor, half-way between Stevensville and Bridgman, MI on Red Arrow Highway. See driving directions at the end of this message.

For more info., contact Kevin Kamps at Nuclear Information & Resource Service in Washington, D.C.: cell phone (202) 262-9518; e-mail: kevin@nirs.org; web site: www.nirs.org

Cook nuclear plant's owner, American Electric Power (AEP), is part of a nuclear utility company consortium called Private Fuel Storage (PFS). PFS is targeting the tiny, impoverished Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians Reservation in Utah to become the nation's high-level nuclear waste dump. Both AEP and Consumers Energy, which owns the Palisades nuclear reactor near South Haven, are also leading lobbyists in the effort to dump high-level nuclear wastes on Western Shoshone Indian land at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. If perpetrated, these dumps would represent one of the gravest violations against environmental justice in the U.S. Hurried high-level atomic waste shipments could begin as early as 2003, even though the transport containers have never undergone full-scale physical safety testing. Emergency responders are neither trained nor equipped to deal with radiation releases from a severe transportation accident. High-level nuclear waste that is sitting still -- like that on the beach at Palisades -- is dangerous enough. Rushing it onto the roads and rails will lead to new and greater risks.

This direct action is part of a National Day of Action taking place simultaneously in a dozen cities across the U.S. See the list of actions at http://www.nirs.org/actions.htm. To learn more background about the proposed Skull Valley Goshutes dump, see NIRS fact sheet "Environmental Racism, Tribal Sovereignty, and Nuclear Waste" at: http://www.nirs.org/factsheets/pfsejfactsheet.htm.

Kevin Kamps will tour southwest Michigan with a full-size replica of a nuclear waste shipping container from Tuesday, March 27th until Thursday, April 19th, in order to promote the April 26th rally at Cook nuclear plant. If you know of meetings, school classes, community groups, church congregations or others who would be interested to learn about the issue and the upcoming event, please contact Kevin to set up speaking presentations. Thanks!

Driving directions to the Cook nuclear power plant:

Driving from the East...Take I-94 westbound from Kalamazoo to exit 22/John Beers Road, which is the same exit as for the Grand Mere State Park. At the end of the exit ramp, turn left (away from Grand Mere State Park), crossing the bridge back over the top of I-94. Following this curvy road just under a mile up to Stevensville will take you to a red light at the intersection with Red Arrow Highway. Take a right on Red Arrow Highway, going just a few miles south. At the stop light at the entrance to the Cook nuclear plant, turn left into Cook nuclear plant's employee overflow parking lot. We have permission from the Cook nuclear plant for cars to park there for the duration of the rally. Watch out for traffic as you cross Red Arrow Highway on foot -- the rally will be on the grass next to the big Cook nuclear plant entrance marquee. Contact Kevin Kamps at 202.262.9518 for car pool information between Kalamazoo and Cook nuclear plant.

Driving from the West...Take I-94 to exit 12/Bridgman. Turn north bound onto Red Arrow Highway. Go just a few miles north on Red Arrow Highway. At the main entrance to the Cook nuclear power plant, turn right into Cook nuclear plant's employee overflow parking lot. We have permission from the Cook nuclear plant for cars to park there for the duration of the rally. Watch out for traffic as you cross Red Arrow Highway on foot -- the rally will be on the grass next to the big Cook nuclear plant entrance marquee. Contact Kevin Kamps at 202.262.9518 for car pool information. Kevin was kind enough to give my affinity group shelter during a16 last year... my hometown boy!

Invite your friends--have them send a message to Progressive-Kzoo-subscribe@egroups.com

---------


American University Severs Contract With Sodexho Marriott Citing Private Prison Ties

PRESS RELEASE ­
For Immediate Release: April 9, 2000.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
CONTACT: Adam Choka: Cell: 973.454.1845, h: 202.364.6939
Kevin Owen: Cell: 202.271.2114 Kevin Pranis: Cell: (917) 860-4635.

Students Succeed: For-Profit-Prison Conglomerate Kicked Off Campus at American University

In the latest of a series of successful student campaigns to kick private prison profiteers off campus has prevailed at American University. In a letter sent via-email to all AU students today, Don Myers, Vice President of Finance and Treasurer announced that the contract with Marriott Food Services will end this year, and that the ³social responsibility² of the multinational corporation played a role in the administrations decision to severe ties with the Correctional Corporation of America¹s (CCA) parent company. On April 10, the university administration at Oberlin College, in Ohio announced that they to would end their contract with Marriott Food Services.

³We¹ve shown that student activists can hold prison profiteers accountable,² says Adam Choka, who was part of the student effort at AU to dump the private-for-profit prison¹s parent company. ³People who profit off of people¹s misery in private prisons will pay a price in lost student meal plan contracts.²

Background: The Campaign to rid U.S. Campuses of Prison Profiteers.

On March 28, 1998, the French multinational Sodexho Alliance (SA) took over the North American operations of Marriott Management Services from the Marriott Group, making it the largest institutional provider of food services in North America, with $4.5 billion in annual revenues. The merger also tied student meal plans at the nations largest college campuses to the incarceration of people for profit, as Sodexho Marriott owns the largest block of stock in CCA: the Correctional Corporation of America. Private prisons have been condemned for being poorly managed and largely unregulated, while private prison guards are underpaid, unorganized and minimally trained. As a consequence, mistreatment of prisoners and escapes are all too common. In Youngstown, Ohio, mismanagement of D.C. prisoners have led to a series of scathing reports that have been issued by Congress, and local corrections officials.

For the last two years, students cross the country have been part of a national campaign to kick Marriott foods off their campuses. The Not-With-Our-Money campaign have organized students to reject Marriott food meal plans, and have sponsored sit-in and protests across the United States, Canada and Europe to compel universities to end their contracts with the private-for-profit prison company conglomerate. To learn more about the national Not with Our Money Campaign, visit their website at www.nomoreprisons.org/nwom.htm, or contact Kevin Pranis at (917) 860-4635.


------- OneList (submissions from subscribers)

------- Depleted Uranium Keeps On Killing!