European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 31, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday March 31, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 5 group has foolproof answer to Osfar wars Pasadena Calif. A giant Venus Flytrap and a 620-mile-High hedge Are one Way to defend Amer Ica against soviet missiles say sponsors of an april fool s contest satirizing president Reagan s Star wars defense system. Have you Ever wondered How those ski strategic defense initiative scientists come up with such darned neat ideas asks the contest brochure published by the space weapons study group. Ever thought to yourself Golly i could have thought of that ? Well Here s your Chance. Enter the Star wars off White paper contest the brochure says. The sponsoring group s members Are students and faculty members at the California Institute of technology the contest is set to kick off tuesday april fool Day. All participants have to do is write up your destabilizing unworkable or incredibly expensive proposal for How to make nuclear weapons  now it is time to add ridicule to the previous technical objections said a news release issued by group member Allen Van asset a Cal tech graduate student. The entries Are to take the form of White papers the term used for proposals to the Pentagon s strategic defense initiative organization. The contest brochure includes a Sample of a mock Star wars research fund request. It proposes to create hedge or highly effective defense by gardening  hedge an impenetrable Row of 620-mile High plants on America s Borders would defend against incoming missiles bombers and homing pigeons the brochure notes. This hedge could be complemented by using Sim ple genetic engineering techniques to grow Venus Fly traps to approximately 64,000 times their Normal size the brochure adds. Once placed in orbit and properly trained these plants would make effective anti satellite weapons. This Plant orbiting defense pod could also intercept any lofted trajectory icbms that might try to sneak Over the  the Day the contest starts has been dubbed peace shield Celebration Day by the sponsors. Winners will be announced before the deadline for filing income tax returns april 15, which the sponsors refer to As deficit reduction  the grand prize is a donated personal computer. An other prize is a free set of Frisbee a and a free lesson in throwing the plastic discs. Last year the study group gathered 500 signatures at Cal tech including those of six Nobel laureates for a petition protesting Reagan s proposal to develop a sys tem of space based lasers and other weapons to defend against incoming missiles. More recently a majority of Cal tech s physics and chemistry faculty signed a pledge refusing to accept Money for Star wars research. People fleeing communism May find door More open peace March resumes a photo about 300 people the remnants of the great peace March head into the desert near bar Stow Calif., for a 10-Day hike to Las vegas where they Hope to raise More Money for their Cross country protest against nuclear weapons. The March resumed after a two week delay and a $60,000 Cash infusion. Police arrested 87 people in separate peace demonstrations in California and Nevada on Good Friday. Washington not the Justice department is drafting new procedures that would make it easier for citizens of Poland and other communist countries to gain Asylum in the United states. Reagan administration officials said the new rules would establish a presumption that aliens fleeing totalitarian countries had a Well founded fear of persecution and therefore met the statutory Standard for obtaining Asylum. The new procedures which would make a Sharp change in . Policy on Asylum appear to be designed partly to make that policy conform to the administration s antagonism toward communist regimes and partly to re Spond to pressure from polish americans for changes in american policy. The proposed policy is evident in a confidential memorandum prepared for attorney general Edwin Meese. It says that polish nationals who Are unwilling to re turn to Poland due to conditions there and who request or have requested political Asylum or refugee status Are presumed to be refugees within the meaning of the Law. Since 1980 the Justice department has denied hundreds of Asylum applications filed by poles and other Eastern europeans visiting or residing temporarily in the United states. The new procedures would represent a profound change from current practice. The refugee act of 1980 eliminated ideological and geographical restrictions that previously favored refugees from communist coun tries and the Middle East. Under the 1980 Law an alien May qualify for Asylum if he has a Well founded fear of persecution in his Homeland on account of race religion nationality membership in a particular social group or political  under the Law an alien cannot obtain Asylum in the United states merely by Cit ing general economic and political conditions in his Homeland. He must show that he As an individual is Likely to be singled out for persecution. Administration officials said the pro posed new Asylum procedures were not in consistent with president Reagan s recent declaration that the United states would oppose tyranny in whatever form whether of the left or the  critics say if the new procedures Are adopted the United states would in effect be using a definition of refugee that would be different from that in United nations agreements. Justice department officials say the re View of Asylum procedures began before the controversy Over Miroslav Medvid the so Viet Seaman who was forced to return to his ship after jumping into the Mississippi River last october. Meese said the govern ment s acknowledged mishandling of that Case dramatized the need to establish a factual presumption that people fleeing communist countries had a Well founded fear of persecution. Critics said the new procedures would re establish the cold War definition of Refu gee which favored people fleeing from communist countries or those in the mid dle East. Supporters of the change said it would make Asylum procedures More compatible with Reagan s foreign policy. Attendants reject latest Twa offer new York up trans world airlines flight attendants saturday rejected an airline proposal to end their strike say ing the terms Are unacceptable and no Dif Ferent from those at the Start of the 23-Day old walkout. Twa negotiators presented a plan Fri Day to limit flight attendants hours away from Home to 264 a month to reinstate a profit sharing plan that had been dropped when the strike began March 7, and to buy out strikers who have been replaced. The Independent federation of flight attendants representing 6,000 members said Twa wanted the Union to present the plan to. The membership without  Union president Vicki Frankovitch said she objected to the gag Rule and found the latest proposal unacceptable. The terms Are unacceptable now As they were on March 7," Frankovitch said. Contract talks were suspended with the Union s rejection of the proposal. No new talks Are scheduled. We re very disappointed Twa negotiator William Hoar said. At a news conference in Manhattan Hoar also released a letter sent by Twa chairman Carl Icahn to working flight attendants saying under no circumstances would they be furloughed to make room for striking flight attendants at the end of the dispute. Icahn called the Promise a personal  the Union was expected to reject the proposal. Earlier saturday Union leaders de scribed the profit sharing and buyout plans As too vague and the commitment on work rules nothing  Twa said it has hired 1,800 replace ments. About 95 percent of the Union s 6,000 members Are continuing to Honor the picket line the Union says. The airline also said it had resumed 100 percent of its scheduled International serv ice and More than 90 percent of its sys Temide service. Icahn who took control of the airline in january is demanding a 22 percent wage reduction and work Rule changes designed to save the airline $66 million. He already has won Between $250 Mil lion and $275 million in concessions from the airline pilots association and the inter National association of machinists and aerospace workers. Sands of time in the stars and stripes 40 years ago today. March 31, 1946 an attempt by nazi fanatics to regain Power was smashed by occupation troops As a thousand suspected ringleaders were rounded up by Brit ish and american troops in Germany and Austria. 30 years ago today. March 31, 1956 communist Hun Gary is releasing political prisoners in the Wake of the startling rehabilitation of executed foreign minister Luczlo Rajk. 20 years ago today March 31, 1966 France officially notified the United states that it will with draw its forces from nato s integrated military Structure by july 1. To years ago today. March 31, 1976 the film one flew Over the cuckoo s nest won the Academy award As the Best film of the year. Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher stars of the movie won the Best actor and Best actress awards