European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 16, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday july 16, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 7 Washington apr the White House is reportedly getting ready to appoint a panel of experts to review Nasa operations in the Wake of embarrassing problems with two Leaky shuttles and a flawed space Telescope. Lbs to reported on its a weekend news saturday that the panel probably will be named later this week. A i think the White House is disappointed with the priorities coming out of the Agency a George Washington uni ing varsity professor John m. Logsdon told the network. A i think there is a crisis of Confidence in Nasa As an organization in its management and its  a i done to have any comments on the lbs report a said White House spokesman Sean Walsh. Although the space Agency has named committees of its own to look into recent problems a White House oversight panel could be seen As a response to congressional Calls for an outside review of Nasa procedures. For example sen. A1 Gore d-tenn., head of the Senate Commerce space subcommittee has said that the a new Nasa management team ironically has been looking at this but the Agency Hasni to gotten attention from the president and that a what a needed now. A White House review of Nasa probably would be coordinated by the National space Council which is headed by vice president Dan Quayle. That body meets this week. Lbs said Quayle a reportedly got an earful of complaints against Nasa last week and is expected to take the Lead in strategy meetings beginning monday a the network said the White House concern is not so much with nasal a recent string of technical problems but the Agency bureaucracy a failure to Deal with them adequately. Despite the concern the report said Nasa administrator Richard truly recently appointed by president Bush still has the White houses Quot  Slack for fund squeezed pros Boston apr in an Era of Hubble trouble and sputtering shuttles astronomers get by with a Little help from their friends a Amateur stargazers who sometimes find Bright lights the professionals miss. While most major discoveries in the universe Are made by astronomers using jumbo telescopes hobbyists sometimes come through. A the big telescopes Are expensive and overbooked by the professionals a says Russell Genet an air Force Engineer and astronomy enthusiast who lives in Mesa Ariz. A with your own Home Telescope the equipment is yours. The amateurs almost have an advantage Over the professionals a he said. Genet was one of about 700 members of the astronomical society of the Pacific the nations largest popular astronomy group who gathered Friday for the Banning of a six Day conference at Boston University. The conventioneers professional and Amateur alike came equipped with calculators and slide rules ready for speeches with titles like a the birth of binary stars and a astrophotography made  Andrew Fraknoi executive director of the san Francisco based group says it has been a mix of scientists and enthusiasts right from the Start. In 1889, thousands flocked to the West coast where a solar eclipse was visible. There were Only three astronomers m California at the time so they enlisted the Aid of Amateur Star watchers to help track the event and explain it to the spellbound crowds. The astronomical society was formed from that coalition Quot. Those May now seem like the Good old Days. In the t990s, astronomers must fight for Money Telescope time and with nasal a embarrassing setbacks respectability. The Hubble space based Telescope has not produced the hoped for Clear images because of flaws in one of its massive mirrors. Nasa might be expected to Send up a repair Mission but its entire space shuttle Fleet is grounded by a mysterious problem of leaks in the space shuttles Hydrogen fuel tanks. Frank Drake an astronomer at the University of California Santa Cruz who led the first radio search for extraterrestrial life in the 1960s, recently had his proposal for a continued search ridiculed in Congress. The House axed the programs proposed $ 12 million professor Alan Marscher left helps astronomy department curator Frank Sienkiewicz adjust the Telescope at Boston University Host to some 700 members at a six Day gathering of the astronomical society of the Pacific. Budget. The Senate had not yet taken up the measure. A we Are being affected by the backlash of nasal a troubles a says Drake. Movie makers a spend millions on a close encounters of the third kind. But we can to get $12 million to do the real  As in 1889, Home stargazers Are helping. As Access to observatories becomes More tightly allocated Amateur astronomers increasingly lend a hand. Genet has discovered 12 variable stars suns that Emit varying amounts of Light. He says that while stargazing alone is satisfying there a nothing like the thrill of actually finding a Bright new Light in the Cosmos. Man arrested 5th time for stealing Turtle eggs Palm Beach Fla. Apr a Man who received the states stiffest sentence for stealing sea Turtle eggs was Back in jail saturday after dropping a Knapsack containing 127 eggs authorities said. Alvin George keel 46, gave an alias when he was arrested Friday something he has done in the past to keep police from linking him to Turtle egg poaching cases officials said. But an officer involved in Keels arrest last year recognized him after his latest arrest spoiling the alias ruse. Keel was held on $500 bail saturday on charges of disturbing Marine Turtle eggs resisting arrest without violence and obstructing officers said police officer Craig Gunkel. Gunkel said he expected the Case to be turned Over to the . Fish and wildlife service because of harsher sentences possible under Federal wildlife Protection Laws. A resident called police Friday to re port she saw someone digging in the Beach Sand in this resort town. When officers tried to question keel he dropped the Knapsack and ran Gunkel said. About 30 eggs spilled from the pack and the officers gave Chase. After catching him investigators found Keels Boot prints around four disturbed Turtle nests. Four state and local agencies last year charged keel with 12 counts after arresting him four times for pilfering 582 eggs during the 1989 nesting season which runs from May through August. Keel who authorities believe to be a major supplier for the Turtle egg Black Market pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year in jail a year on probation and a Fine of $11,250. The eggs considered by some to be aphrodisiacs Are Laid at night on the beaches of South Florida by several endangered species of Turtle. Report details study of 50 million abortions Washington apr an estimated 50 million abortions a half of them illegal a Are performed around the world each year and As Many As 200,000 women die from them according to a study released saturday. The world watch Institute said in its report that restrictions on pregnancy termination done to curb abortion rates they Only cause More deaths a most of them in third world countries. The world watch Institute an Independent research group funded by private foundations and United nations organizations said the number of deaths from illegal abortions could be far higher than its statistics show because Many go unreported and accurate figures from developing countries Are difficult to obtain. A a moral smoke screen effectively obscures the huge Public policy health human rights Ana social costs of restrictive abortion policies Quot said the study entitled a the global politics of  the author Jodi l. Jacobson said the Best Way to reduce the number of abortions and related deaths is to make Abor Tion a legitimate family planning component a instead of making it a crime a she said the rate of abortion has dropped quickest in countries where legalized abortion has been included in family planning programs. The study said available data shows that in nations where abortion is Legal pregnancy termination ranks fourth among the types of birth control after female sterilization intrauterine devices and Oral contraceptives. It said in countries where contraception methods Are inadequate a either because of Supply religious or informational reasons a abortion is the most popular method of birth control. In developed nations abortion rates tend to be higher among teen agers and women aged 20 to 24 who want to delay childbearing for various reasons the report said. Abortion rates in most developing countries Are highest among married women with several children who have no Means of preventing additional unwanted pregnancies according to the study