European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 27, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 28 the stars and stripes Friday january 27,1989 news briefs reports say 2 britons to be freed in Lebanon Beirut Lebanon a British ambassador Allan Ramsay crossed Beirut s dividing Green line into the City s moslem sector thurs Day amid speculation that two British hostages were about to be freed. Irish ambassador to Lebanon Patrick my cab based in Iraq said he was flying to Beirut immediately to investigate. According to reports that surfaced wednesday afternoon in Beirut British journalist John Mccarthy and teacher Brian Keenan who also holds Irish citizenship were to be freed within 72 hours. Mccarthy and Keenan Are among 14 West Erners believed held hostage in Lebanon. The others Are nine americans a briton an italian and a belgian. Another missing briton journalist Alee Collett is thought to be dead. Bush will visit China to reaffirm relationship Washington up president Bush who has refused to Rush into a  sum Mit will visit China next month to renew Politi Cal acquaintances and reaffirm our relation ship the White House announced thursday. White House press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said Bush will add China and presumably at least one other country to a trip to Tokyo to attend the feb. 24 funeral of Japan s emperor Hirohito who died Jan. 6. Big fireball Over Oregon probably was a meteor Portland Ore. A a huge colourful fireball spotted Over Oregon and Washington probably was a meteor big enough to have struck the Earth officials said. The object was reported to the coast guard by a motorcyclist on a coastal Highway about 1 30 . Wednesday. Dozens of people fro the Oregon coast to South Central Washington also reported seeing it some giving earlier times. It just came right out of the sky said Rod Ragsdale of Portland this big Ball with Blue flames and Green flames and red  Bruce Spainhower an official at the Oregon museum of science and Industry said the re ports appeared to describe a bolide a huge mete or that fails to Burn up completely in the Atmo sphere. Gorbachev ouster possible Sakharov tells newspaper Paris a soviet president Mikhail  is in danger of being ousted human rights activist Andrei d. Sakharov and his wife were quoted As saying thursday. The conservatives will overthrow Gorbachev or at least impose their views on him the conservative French daily be Figaro quoted sakha Rov As saying during an interview at his Moscow Home. Be Figaro said the six hour interview was con ducted Over three consecutive evenings. The soviet physicist s wife Yelena Bonner was quoted As saying that i think he will be overthrown soon because he refuses to seek the support of the people through direct  House foes of 50% pay hike see Little Chance to Stop it Washington a House opponents of a 50percent congressional pay raise said thursday there s Little Hope of stopping the increase despite growing sen ate opposition to the higher salary. Rep. Thomas j. Tauke a Iowa a leading opponent of the raise said he s now focusing on a Long Range strategy that would Roll Back the increase and change the system that permits it to become Law without a vote. And rep. Robert c. Smith r-n.h., who has organized House letter writing drive to speaker Jim Wright de manding a vote said we cannot Budge the  in the Senate opposition continued to grow wednes Day after legislation was filed to Block the increase. Opposition was turned up a notch outside Congress too As three part time musicians from the Detroit area released an anti raise protest song Tea bag  title with its reference to the Boston Tea party comes from efforts of 30 radio talk show hosts who Are behind a National drive to Send Tea bags to lawmakers with the message read my Tea bag. No fifty percent raise for  legislation that would reject the pay raise and Roll Witback should it take effect was introduced wednesday in the Senate. The legislation had a dozen sponsors in the morning and 23 by Day s end nearly a Quarter of the 100-member Senate. The proposed pay raise for members of Congress judges and top executive Branch officials will become Law automatically feb. 8 unless each chamber rejects it. Rank and file lawmakers would see their pay go from $89,500 to $135,000. Opponents of the raise were grasping at anything that could give them momentum wednesday. When House minority whip Dick Cheney r-wyo.,sent out a letter that no votes were scheduled through feb. 8, House pay raise opponents scheduled a news Confer ence for thursday to urge a vote. Pete Williams a spokesman for Cheney said the schedule was for planning purposes and never intended to have any significance for the pay  sen. Charles e. Grassley a Iowa a co sponsor of the legislation to Roll Back the pay raise remembered that president Bush said he would have something to say about the raise after he was inaugurated. Grassley wrote Bush on wednesday you mus choose Between aligning yourself with speaker Jim Wright and a dozen in the House leadership who favor the raise. And the 85 percent of the american people who oppose the  House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater told report ers we Are watching congressional action at the  House majority whip Tony Coelho d-calif., said tuesday the House democratic leadership does not plan to schedule a vote before the deadline. Mark Johnson a spokesman for Wright a Texas said the speaker has not Given indications a vote would be scheduled to Stop the raise. Senate majority Leader George j. Mitchell a Maine has promised a Senate vote on rejecting the raise before the deadline. But he told reporters wednesday i favor comprehensive approach that includes enactment of the ethics Bill the president vetoed Campaign finance Reform a ban on Honor aria and enactment of compensation to offset the loss in  he said the package could not be pulled together before the automatic trigger for the raise. The ethics Bill vetoed by Reagan and introduced again wednesday by sen. Strom Thurmond , would re strict lobbying by former members of Congress their staffs and top executive Branch officials. Campaign finance Reform would impose limits on Campaign spending. The National taxpayers Union a non profit group organizing opposition to the pay raise played the new protest song for reporters. The chorus goes there s no More Money we re angry As can  we be joined the Tea bag revolution. Repeating  and one of the verses says we be come to be that Money  pick from More and More. Now i think it s time the people remind them who they re working  Fogarty from Page 1 the Navy s Blue Angels Jet acrobatics team has headed the joint task Force and its Gulf based unit the Mideast forces for the past year. Officials said he would join the plans policy an operations staff of the chief of naval operations. The Gulf based Force was recently Cut from 15 to 14ships in a move that . Officials said reflected a continued lowering of tension since Iraq and Ira agreed last August to a cease fire in the 8-year-old Gulf War. The United states has maintained a permanent naval Force in the Gulf since 1949, but it was expand Din 1987 to protect .-flagged snipping from escalating warfare in the waterway. In other moves to scale Back operations following the truce Navy ships now Only Monitor .-flagged vessels from a distance and six of 11 kuwaiti Tanker that have sailed under the stars and stripes since mid 1987 will soon revert to kuwaiti registry. . Officials say further cutbacks would depend on continued stability. President Bush s new administration has yet to indicate what it considers a prudent Force level. The Battle group now in the arabian sea headed bythe aircraft Carrier Nimitz is to be replaced at the end of this month by a similar unit including the aircraft Carrier Constellation. Nato from Page 1 superiority in non nuclear forces in Europe. The Alli Ance wants members of the East bloc to make much greater reductions in their arms to bring the two sides to rough Equality. Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze said last week that Moscow would withdraw some of its Short Range nuclear missiles from Eastern Europe. He said the missiles would be pulled out along with troops being removed from that area. His announcement came at a time that the Western allies Are debating whether to approve plans to upgrade Short Range nuclear weapons in the Western  Issue has sparked opposition in Europe particularly in West Germany where critics argue the weapons Likely would be used because of the nation s proximity to the soviet Union. Strong anti nuclear movements in Belgium and the Netherlands also have opposed the modernization plans. Tower from Page 1 perception of an appearance of  he characterized his work As a sounding Board available to dispense advice in the clients areas of  understanding was that i would be at the end of the Telephone if anyone wanted to talk he said. Tower listed seven firms for which head done consulting work since 1986, among them such Well known names As Martin Marietta British aerospace Ltd aerospace and Rockwell International. Over that time he collected More than $750,000 in fees. The topics he discussed with contractors ranged from the Workings of the de sense budget to development and fund ing of a number of specific systems including the av-8 harrier aircraft and the bib bomber. Lawyers in the White House and de sense department have advised Tower that because he has no continuing Finan Cial interest in the companies he is no required to recuse himself from any actions he might have to take As Secretary of defense. So there is no actual conflict of in Terest he said. But i will refrain from any suspension or debarment proceed Ings involving former clients. Should anything else come up i d judge it on Anad hoc basis. I m bending Over backward to do what i legally need to  in questioning wednesday Tower promised a thorough review of military strategy and weapons buying procedure sin which nothing will be sacred including . Troop strength abroad. We have to look at these deploy ments globally and determine if we can safely make some reductions in troops Tower said. In our review Noth ing will be  however he cautioned that International politics must be considered before any . Overseas forces Are withdrawn. Tower did not Rule out shifting som Active duty personnel to Reserve status As another Way to save Money. With regard to weapons systems Tower said his no sacred cows approach leaves him undecided on the fat of the b-2 stealth bomber plus Navy plans for 15 aircraft carriers. Tower s confirmation hearings we rescheduled to continue thursday afternoon with further sessions tentatively scheduled for next week