European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 3, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Libel gag rulings 2 major setbacks to Britain s press monday augusts 1987 the stars and stripes London a British Justice has dealt the press two walloping blows a record libel ruling against a racy tabloid and 3 gag order hat has London s serious newspapers decrying what they see As censorship the London evening Standard on Fri Day put the word censored in a report on the Issue telling readers it was forbidden from printing details. Some broadcast Cor  inserted phrases such As we cannot report further because of he Legal situation in their reports. The daily Mirror s main headline was you fools alongside upside Down photographs of three of he highest judges in the land. The two rulings hit vastly different Sec tors of the newspaper Industry but in each tar they were seen As Sharp setbacks to the Tyks or philosophies of the papers. Columnist and editorial writers in the serious Papen the so called Quali ties had a Field Day denouncing the saucy journalism of the Star tabloid after it tort t libel Case on july 24 and was ordered to pay Jeffrey Archer the novelist and politician $800,000 in damages. A week later the same editorial columns were complaining bitterly after the Law lords Britain s highest court on thursday upheld the conservative government a request to prohibit newspapers from printing allegations by a disaffected former intelligence a Gnu the five Law lords by a 3-2 Vole even went beyond the government s request and barred newspapers from publishing the agent s allegations when they Are spoken m open court in Australia where the British government is also fighting to ban the for Mer agent s Book  spy Alcher was published recently in the United slates and copies have bet a brought into Britain but that has t altered the government s yearlong drive to keep Peter Wright the former agent from get Ling his allegations published Here. In the struggle Between the concepts of Freedom of information and confidentiality which the government contends involves National Security the Law lords ruling came Down heavily in favor of confidential by. The government has begun contempt of court prosecution against newspapers thai published extracts from spy catch  if found guilty the papers Are liable to unlimited fines or possible jail terms for the editors. Journalists in Britain will have to learn what it is like to be a journalist in the soviet Union said Andrew Neil editor of the sunday times. It is like living in a totalitarian  Neil said Britain needs a  Bill of rights with guarantees of press Freedom. Britain has no formal written Constitution but rather a body of Law and Legal tradition. The government says that when Wright became an agent he agreed to keep confidential information secret All his life and if he is allowed to publish it other sex agents will spill their secrets and harm Britain s National Security. Among Wright s allegations which can t be published in Britain Are that Roger Hollis. A former head of the mis  Agency was a soviet spy and that rogue British agents suspected former labor prime minister Harold Wilson of being a soviet spy and tried to destabilize his government. Prime minister Margaret Thatcher has said both allegations have been investigated and could not be proven. While the Quality papers loudly pro claimed the moral footing of their Case in the spy Alcher Issue the libel judgment against the Star roused wide spread moral criticism of the journalism of the racier tabloid. The Star is appealing its loss in the Arch the daily Mirror lets its Mcra know what it think of the Lew lord m or libel Case in which it was also ordered to pay s1.1 million in court costs. Archer the author of such popular nov Els As Kane and Abel and first among equals has also sued the news of the world for libel in a related Case. He Pur sued the Star first because it had directly alleged that he had sex with a prostitute. The Star ran its Story after the news of the world published a Story alleging that Archer had arranged to pay a prostitute s 3,200 to keep her from going to the news papers with a aim that so had set with him. The news of the world had arranged with the prostitute to record her phone conversations with Archer and the paper was widely condemned for entrapping him. Archer was vice chairman of the conservative party and resigned his political career in apparent ruins As he admitted he had foolishly agreed to pay the prostitute although he denied he had Ever met her. Star wars Bill could reach $ 1 trillion study says Washington a launching Star wars Rte missile defences into orbit could Cost up to Side pending on counter measures taken by the fam a according to a congressional tidy being released Sefc to. These re such disturbing implications the congressional  said in a report that estimated the Cost of la Nurm Myslem but not its development and manufacture i Many of the variables that will wan launch costs Are influenced part air Petely by soviet actions said the report Bas _. Part on information from Star wars scientists at the Sandia los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National laboratories. Costs could be Cut if the Pentagon registers spectacular advances in anti missile technologies and develops launch systems less expensive than those now available it said. Among the slips the soviets could Lake to frustrate Star wars and drive up costs would be 10 develop Racket boosters for its missiles which leave the Atmo sphere More quickly by equipping them with up to 500 decoys and building More missiles capable of reachu1T the United states. A costs could be controlled if the  a treaty governing strategic arms and Iparo Fasco mis site defences. A if the soviets do not Coop Ike however the launch Coits for such a Defini Ould skyrocket. The Leek of  Offut Vic arms limitations has the potential to drive Raj Inch costs still More the report said. Of. Scientists and of trials involved in the strategic de sense incl alive a Star wars is formally known have made Simf far Points in the past but the congressional report offers the most detailed projection of launch costs. The computer estimates were made by congressional researchers Cosmo Dimaggio and Robert l. Civiak and they were released by three vocal Star wars critics democratic Sens. William Proxmire of Wisconsin j. Bennett Johnston of Louisiana and Dale bump ers of Arkansas. La. Col. Edwina Palmer a spokeswoman for the strategic defense initiative organization said her of fice had not seen the congressional report and got comment on it. M really knows what it will Cost Star wars the Jahil tonal study Ricc of the  Board  of the current gaps in system  there is presently no Way of Cotini a  performance system Cost  ran adj flyer physicist Ritj Hilf a Row estimated last Jar dial it would Cost j54  the wage of a space and ground  sense and Al 21 billion to deploy a full is say Jastrow s projections Are Low. President Rearan sought js.8 billion for Star War research for the fiscal year beginning oct. 1, but a Senate panel voted to Cut it to $4.5 billion and the House to 13.8 billion. The Bill awaits action by both bodies. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and sd1 chief la. Gen. James a. Abrahamson have declined to spec ulate How much Star wars would Cost but they have said the first phase of such a system could be deployed As Early As 1994. Such a system Alliey have Leil Ifird on Capitol Hill would consist of orbiting platforms locked with kinetic kill vehicles that is rockets which would destroy enemy missiles by colliding with them. Exotic laser and particle beam weapons  available until the next a Colury to Fly fat Vional report said and it is not  they would be based on Landof my the Congress Porcu  that it would Cost is billion to  called a Token boost phase de sense a Cpl a Small percentage of soviet mis of Pentagon registered spectacular advances enology and the soviets do not respond. If there arc no breakthroughs and the soviets take countermeasures launching such a system could Cost up to $32 billion the study said. If the soviets respond for example by increasing their strategic missile Force from the limit of z.3so imposed by the second strategic arms limitation treaty to 3,500 missiles and the United states docs not develop lower Cost boosters launch costs might run in to the hundreds of Bill ions of  costs could reach is trillion or More it said but it is assumed. That with such poor performance lev Els the United states simply would Noi spend is tril lion 10 Hunch space  scientists say it is crucial to destroy As no by enemy us Siles As possible in the Boot phase that is in the i minutes before they release up to 10 separate Waffle and As Man y As 5,000 decoys. Sorush Mccoy from the warheads in mid phase during their Bitte flight through space is one of the most Dif Ficu Hub Ems faced by sd1 scientist. The congressional  that the launch Coil is prohibitive warheads that Complete Nummi i through space and enter the terminal phase warm targeted Pri Marily by land based anti miss tic  were nut considered by the report