European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 20, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 b the stars and stripes Friday september 20, 1991alarms unheeded in Power outage new York apr for six hours technicians failed to react to alarms warning of trouble that led to a Telephone failure and air traffic control disruption that delayed hundreds of flights nationwide at amp to said wednesday. At amp to blamed a Power disruption at a phone switching Center in Manhattan for the problem which virtually closed three Large airports for several hours tuesday night. Consolidated Edison the local electric Utility asked at amp to to use internally generated Power at the station because tuesdays 93-Dcgree heat created heavy Energy demand. Devices that Are supposed to change the stations Power from a to do failed and the station began operating on Battery Power a setting off audio and visual alarms said Joseph Nacchio an at amp to vice president. The alarms went off for six hours. At least two technicians and a supervisor apparently did not respond or did not respond properly Nacchio  officer says Gates in dark on Contra details Washington a a former Cia officer thursday described a world of deception and intrigue at the spy Agency in the time of the Iran Contra affair but said he had no reason to Challenge Robert Gates statement that he did no to know about a secret plan to Arm the nicaraguan rebels. Alan Fiers testifying at Gates confirmation hearing to become Cia director said he gave Gates a hint in 198b a but no specific information a that Oliver North was deeply involved in a secret Contra resupply operation. A i have no reason to take Issue with Gates statements that he did no to know North was running a secret Contra resupply network Fiers told the Senate intelligence committee. Fiers also said he did t Tell Gates about the diversion of Money from Iran arms sales to the contras. Fiers told his Story As the panel released sworn statements from another former Cia official that conflict with Gates testimony about the extent of his knowledge in 1986 of the Iran Contra arms for hostages affair. Fiers a former Agency official who has pleaded guilty to Iran Contra misdemeanours described in dramatic detail deciding not to carry out a task at North s request and then being summoned to a meeting in the office of then Cia director William Casey. Fiers said Casey asked North in front of the group whether he was operating in Central America. A Collie looked at the director and said no a Fiers recalled. A Casey said a Good 1 want you to understand you re not to operate  Quot As he left Casey a office Fiers said another person who had been at the meeting Clair George turned to him and said a somewhere in the dark of the night Bill Casey has said a ill take care of Central America. Just leave it to  a George called the entire meeting a Quot charade and said it would be a worse than watergate if the operation Ever became Public Fiers said. Fiers said Gates who was the no. 2 mail at the Cia at the time was not present at the meeting. Congress from october 1984 to october 1986 barred the Cia from supplying the contras with military assistance. A if anyone heard them and whether anyone responded to them that a what we re investigating a he said. Circuits that carry flight data Between Airport computers did t work and controllers were forced to describe the flight plans by Telephone which took much longer said Federal aviation administration spokesman Duncan Pardue. Critics asked Why there was no backup in place for the air traffic control system. At amp to said a backup under construction would be ready within a month. A a single Point failure should not be capable of bringing Down the majority of the Faass communication capabilities a said John Mazor a spokesman for the air line pilots association. More than 200 flights were disrupted at John f. Kennedy and Laguardia airports in new York and at Newark International Airport in new Jersey. The Power failure also Cut off half of american Telephone amp Telegraph co s Long distance Telephone traffic into and out of new York City. Former Cia officer Alan Fiers testifies at the Senate hearing on Robert Gates confirmation. Earlier in the morning the committee released sworn statements that conflict with Gates testimony about the extent of his knowledge in 1986 of the Iran Contra arms for hostages affair. In the statement the Ciao a former top lawyer David Doherty told Senate investigators that he handed a draft copy of a politically embarrassing presidential document to Gates a Day or two before Casey testified to Congress. Gates has testified that he knew nothing about the document at the time he was overseeing the preparation of Casey a testimony Given to Congress on nov. 21, 1986. The finding retroactively authorized Cia assistance in a november 1985 shipment of . Hawk missiles from Israel to Iran. Casey did not mention the existence of the document a called a presidential finding a in his congressional testimony a and the affair burst into Public View four Days later. The trouble began when at amp to switched to internal Power at the switching station which directs phone traffic from the local Telephone company to at amp to a Long distance network. Power rectifiers devices that Are supposed to change at amp to a Power from a to do failed the company said in a statement. Instead. At amp to went onto backup Battery Power which ran out after six hours. Technicians should have responded to alarms and the supervisor should have ordered an inspection Nacchio said. When at amp to tried to shift Back to commercial Power engineers discovered the Power rectifiers weren t working the company said. If a Telephone circuit fails Faa computers Are supposed to switch data to another route. But tuesday s failure made rerouting impossible said Faa spokesman Fred Farrar. Faa officials planned to meet with at amp to to discuss ways to prevent a recurrence Farrar said.. Adopts rules Banning Drift nets Washington apr seafood exporters who traditionally use Drift nets will have to certify that products shipped to the United states were not caught with the so called a curtains of  the Bush administration on wednesday adopted regulations effective july 1, 1992, Banning . Imports of fish or fish products that were caught with the nets which trap and kill anything in their path. Until then fish caught with Drift nets outside the South Pacific Ocean still will be allowed to be imported into the United states. But after the deadline fish harvested with Drift nets anywhere on the International High seas will not be allowed for Sale in the United states the National oceanic and atmospheric administration said in a statement. Drift netting nations that Export seafood to the United states will be required to provide documents certifying that the products were not taken with Drift nets. Noaa said. Under the new regulations France will be added to Japan Taiwan North and South Korea As Drift netting nations. The rules also define Drift nets As any floating Gill net with a length exceeding 2.5 Kilometres a about 1.5 Miles. Some Drift nets stretch As Long As 30 Miles indiscriminately killing All Marine life in their path. The National Marine fisheries service reported that in 1990, just 10 percent of Japan a Drift net Fleet killed 1,758 whales and dolphins 253,288 tuna 81,956 Blue Sharks 30,464 sea Birds and More than 3 million other non target fish including some Salmon tagged from hatcheries in the Columbia River Basin. Taiwan under threat of . Trade sanctions announced last month it will end the use of Drift nets in International Waters effective next july 1. Sen. Bob Packwood r-ore., has introduced legislation that would eventually require Trade sanctions against All countries that continue to use Drift nets. A United nations Resolution calling for an end to Drift nets worldwide takes effect next june 30, but critics say it includes too Many loopholes that will allow their continued use. Noaa a part of the Commerce department was required to adopt the new regulations under legislation president Bush signed into Law last  fear amphibian decline tied to global woes Rensselaerville n y. A Richard Wyman can Tell a lot about a Forest by lifting logs and seeing what wriggles. Lately he does t like what he sees. Wyman is a herpetologists. He studies amphibians red backed salamanders in particular. These Days things Are Antiss in the herpetological world. It All started in november 1989, at the first world Congress of herpetology in Canterbury England. There and at follow up sessions last year in Irvine calif., and new Orleans scientists from around the Globe confirmed what Many had sus pc cd since the 1970s. Frogs loads and salamanders Are in trouble. Though the exact causes Are not Clear scientists say the demise May Bode ill for almost All life on Earth. A there Are lots of reasons to look to amphibians As canaries in the global Coal mine a said George Rabb president of the species survival commission of the International Union for the conservation of nature. Amphibians provide Early warning of Subtle changes in the environment Rabb said. A because of the nature of amphibians a their Bip Hasic life history on water and land plus their permeable skin a they Are vulnerable in ways that Many other animals Are  front a Survey of herpetologists Wyman determined that 20 out of 30 species of salamanders and frogs in the Northeast were uncommon declining rare or threatened. The declines weren tas dramatic As those found among some Western frogs however. At the workshop in Irvine scientists agreed that some of the worlds 5,130 species of amphibians Are in trouble. Some causes of amphibian death Are readily explained. Highway carnage is common in Breeding season. Wyman studied one place where thousands of frogs and salamanders would Cross a Road on the two nights alter the first Spring rain. Quot predators like raccoons Are another problem. People eat millions of frogs too. Pesticides herbicides logging and habitat destruction Are also Quot listed As causes of amphibian death. But for Many declining species the cause of their distress is a mystery. Those Are the most worrisome cases because they May portend worldwide damage to the environment. One theory is that destruction of the Ozone layer May be causing an increase in ultraviolet radiation. Another idea is that the a greenhouse effect a global climate change caused by the burning of Fossil fuels is increasing the frequency of droughts. Acid rain is another suspect. Quot what s distressing about the Little Guys the amphibians a Wyman said a is that they be been around for 350 million years. They survived what killed the dinosaurs and now they re beginning to pop