European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 4, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pavo 20 the stars and stripes Friday october 4,1991 lasers fired at soviet satellites called violation of . Policy woolly Winter woolly Bear forecaster Sam Taylor predicts a mild Winter and a White Christmas with these two woolly Bear caterpillars tuesday in Lancaster a. Taylor a retired newspaper reporter uses the age old Pennsylvania dutch custom of probing the woolly bears color and hair makeup to get an idea of the coming weather. By the los Angeles times Honolulu a lasers fired from ground based facilities in Hawaii Are eing bounced off soviet spy satellites in what some critics say is a deliberate attempt to temporarily disrupt or a Blind the soviet spacecraft a a violation of longstanding . Policy. But other . Scientists and government officials say the Effort is simply a harmless Range finding exercise designed to collect intelligence about the High flying spacecraft. Despite the political sea change in the soviet Union soviet satellites still try to observe the launches of . Missiles from Vandenberg fab in California. The satellites Are a hosed a or illuminated by laser beams from ground based facilities at Maui and Oahu and from a facility at Cloud Croft n.m., according to . Intelligence officials. Soviet satellites that regularly overfly Hawaii to peek at Pearl Harbor and other military facilities also Are being illuminated these sources said. Air Force officials described the . Targeting of soviet satellites by lasers As a mild housings a directed mainly at soviet Craft trying to observe the launching of . Missiles. They said that lasers Are used Only a for Range finding purposes a not to Blind sensors. But other . Intelligence specialists including Angelo Codevilla space expert and former chief staffer for the Senate intelligence committee a said they believe that . Lasers have been trained on soviet satellites to disrupt their infrared equipment a violation of the .-soviet offensive forces act of 1972, a Side letter to the strategic arms limitation treaty of that year. Codevilla claims that the . Activity is being done in response to much More severe soviet a a attacks on . Satellites that began in the mid-1970s. Ray Hill a former chief of the air forces electronic systems division which works with several classified . Space programs said the soviet Union regularly a pulses a or targets a and has possibly damaged a super sophisticated american spy satellites deployed to Monitor missile and spacecraft launches at the major soviet space Center at thu rata. John Pike senior space analyst for the Washington based american federation of scientists said that the two Hawaii facilities regularly use ground based lasers to illuminate soviet satellites. In Washington d.c., air Force spokesman capt. Marty Hauser said the United states had never tried to permanently damage soviet equipment and said the Maui Ana Oahu facilities did not have beams powerful enough to constitute weapons. However Hauser said that such disruptions were technically possible depending on the Power used by the laser and the amount of time the instrument a paints a or illuminates the satellite. Codevilla currently senior research associate at the California based Hoover institution agreed that . Illuminations were not intended to cause permanent  a former Hughes aircraft vice president Richard Freeman said the Cloud Croft facility has tried to damage soviet Craft and possesses a a full anti satellite capability. If we did no to succeed it was because the equipment Wasny to powerful enough not because we did no to  air Force officials acknowledged that the new Mexico facility possessed a full anti satellite capability but declined further comment. Air Force and . Intelligence officials said that a More effective technique for disrupting soviet satellite observations is to use instantaneous computerized interferences called jamming Quot in real time. A a stepping electronically in Between a signal being transmitted by a satellite to its ground station is a much better Way of blinding it than Turing to damage the equipment a one official said. Boys kidnapped for 6 weeks found Safe at . Bus Stop new York apr two Small boys kidnapped from los Angeles six weeks ago were found Safe Early thursday at a Kennedy Airport bus Stop but were too frightened and shy to say much to police. Cassel Dixon jr., 4, and his 3-year-old brother Anthony were found one Day after los Angeles police released photos of the children and composite drawings of two kidnappers who they said had earlier demanded a $50,000 Ransom. The motive for the kidnapping was unclear but there was no indication of a custody dispute Fri assistant director Jim Fox said thursday. The boys wearing Fri Caps and clutching ninja Turtle dolls were brought into the room to have their photos taken by the Media. Neither spoke despite being coaxed by an agent caring for them while they awaited a reunion with their Mother Beverly Dixon 29. Fox said he hoped pictures of the boys would produce leads to their kidnappers. A Kennedy Airport employee called police after he came across the children standing by themselves at a bus Stop in the Long term parking area shortly after Midnight said it. Michael Murphy of the port authority police. The boys had a Manila envelope containing a three Page letter alleging that the children a father had been involved in dealing drugs and smuggling people from Jamaica Murphy said. Police have not confirmed that the father Cassel Dixon sr., was involved in any illegal activity Murphy said. Dixon 30, a partner in a Small Auto body shop called Violice As soon As he Learned about the kidnapping to ice said. The boys were abducted aug. 17 along with their Mother but she was released three weeks later. On several occasions the kidnappers forced the children to get on the Telephone and plead to come Home investigators said. The kidnappers initially asked for $50,000 in Ransom but later dropped that demand los Angeles police said. After several unsuccessful demands for Ransom the kidnappers released Beverly Dixon on sept. 4, hoping she would persuade her husband to pay the Ransom police said. No Ransom was Ever paid Murphy said. The children Are in Good health and a a they be been Wel kept a Murphy said. A their clothes Are clean a he said. A in fact they were wearing shorts when they were kidnapped and they had pants and sweaters when they were found. Whoever had them maintained  the children said Little about their ordeal. A fall they said was. A lady dropped them off from a cab a Murphy said. Authorities decided to release photos of the Brothers and composite drawings of the kidnappers after they stopped calling the family about 10 Days ago. He speculated that the kidnappers May have become frightened and a just dumped the  a Cassel Dixon jr., 4, and his brother Anthony 3, make an appearance at Fri offices in new  rating change could affect reductions by Mike Causey the Washington Post Washington a a proposed streamlining of the Federal performance rating system could decrease Job Security for some non supervisory workers if they Are caught up in a reduction in Force. The change would affect More than 1 million White Collar workers. The plan would allow agencies to return to a three level rating system a roughly equivalent to a c or f grades on a report card a for the majority of workers who Are not covered by the Merit pay system. Managers and supervisors under the Merit pay plan in the $44,348 to $80,138 Range would stay under the pre sent five level rating system. It is similar to a by d or f grades on a report card. About two thirds of All workers Are currently rated a exceeds fully  that is one step below outstanding and one step above a a fully successful rating. To an outsider those May sound like bureaucratic buzzwords. But the distinctions can be critical when agencies Are deciding whom to fire and whom to keep. During rims Job Security is based on in order of importance tenure Veteran s status length of service and Job performance. The final Factor is the least important but can be the deciding one. An a a outstanding rating is Worth an extra 20 years service credit a exceeds fully successful is Worth 16 years a fully successful is Worth 12 years. Workers rated a minimally successful or a a unsatisfactory get no extra credit under the five level system. The proposal by the office of personnel management drops the a exceeds fully successful and a minimally successful Levels. There would be three Levels a outstanding Quot a fully successful and  if the new system is adopted workers whose old a exceeds fully successful rating would have entitled them to an extra 16 years of service would most Likely be rated As a fully successful a which would be Worth 12 years of service credit. That could put them Down in the group that previously Wasny to ranked As High. By the same Token a supervisor would have the Choice of putting someone previously ranked As a minimally successful Worth no extra service credit either As a a unsatisfactory or boosting them to the a fully successful level where they too would get an extra 12 years of service credit. Pm issued the proposed regulation sept. 25 with a 30-Day comment period rather than the More common 60-Day comment period. If adopted agencies could continue to use the five level system or revert to the three level system