European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 27, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday february 27, 1992 the stars and stripes a Page 5 . Push to dismantle arms lacks safety policy expert says from wire reports Washington a the Bush administration has no effective safety policy for dismantling thousands of warheads and shrinking the . Atomic weapons Complex a safety expert said tuesday. A with the Best of Good will one cannot detect anything that can responsibly be called a safety policy for the department of Energy a said Harold Lewis a California physics professor and a member of the nuclear regulatory commissions advisory committee on reactor safeguards. Lewis a member of the advisory committee since 1979, decried what he called an a unwillingness to receive bad news among the Energy departments senior managers. A if the Doe is unwilling to get its safety act together for the familiar needs of the Community How can it be expected to adapt to the novel requirements occasioned by recycling of warheads decommissioning of weapons systems Long outages at suspect locations. And so Forth a he asked the Senate governmental affairs committee. Rebutting Lewis assertions William Young the departments assistant Secretary for nuclear Energy said managers Are a directed not to Compromise safety to achieve  Richard Claytor assistant Energy Secretary for the weapons program said the panted Plant in Texas can disassemble up to 2,000 warheads a year to meet Bush a goal of reducing the nations stockpile of nuclear warheads from 19,000 to 6,500 by the end of the decade. But the department said the dismantling would require it to store tons of plutonium at the Plant the nations Only facility for assembling and disassembling nuclear warheads. The dispute Over the storage of the governments stockpile of plutonium illustrates the enormous problem the Energy department faces How to dismantle nuclear arms the nation spent nearly five decades building and disposing of the materials that fuelled the weapons and the radioactive byproducts of nuclear arms production. None of the critics has offered alternatives for disposing of the plutonium an explosive radioactive and toxic Metal that is shaped into Grapefruit sized balls and triggers thermonuclear explosions. Paul Nitze a former . Chief arms control negotiator under several administrations told the Senate foreign relations committee on tuesday that the Arsenal could be reduced to Between 3,000 and 5,000 warheads if the soviet Union agreed to a similar stockpile. Hans Bethe who headed the development of the first atomic bomb at los Alamos n.m., said an even smaller stockpile As few As 1,000 warheads might be desirable in the future. Prison guards use of Force restricted by the los Angeles times Washington a the supreme court ruled tuesday that prison guards violate the Constitution when they needlessly pummel kick or torture prison inmates even if the blows do not cause permanent injuries. The 7-2 decision reinstates an $800 award won by a Louisiana inmate who was handcuffed and shackled by guards and then kicked from behind and punched in the face. He suffered bruises and dental injuries. Under the eighth amendments ban on cruel and unusual punishment guards May not a maliciously and sadistically use Force in thl stars and stripes to cause harm a said Justice Sandra Day of Connor for the supreme court. While guards May use Force to put Down riots or enforce discipline a the unnecessary and Wanton infliction of pain by government officials violates the Basic tenets of the Constitution she said. The . 5th circuit court of appeals in new Orleans had thrown out the award on grounds that the inmate Keith j. Hudson Nad not suffered a a significant  rejecting that principle the supreme court said that such a Rule could allow guards to regularly torture prisoners. But Justice Clarence Thomas joined by Antonin Scalia said he sharply disagreed. A in my View a use of Force that causes Only insignificant harm to a prisoner May be immoral it May be tortuous it May be criminal a Thomas wrote a but it is not a cruel and unusual  a an american civil liberties Union lawyer who worked on the prison Case lambasted Thomas opinion As a simply  a it Means that if Rodney King whose beating by los Angeles police was captured on videotape had been beaten to a pulp but he did not suffer any broken Bones his constitutional rights would not have been violated a the Acle lawyer  urged to re examine satellite plan Washington a nasal a Earth observing satellite program estimated to Cost up to $40 billion is flawed because of the Agency a risky plan for gathering information from the satellites according to congressional investigators. The general accounting office reported tuesday that the National aeronautics and space administration is not developing test models of the data collection system to assure that it works. Under the plan the Earth observing system will be made up of a croup of satellites that will collect information about the environment. The system will Monitor such things As Ocean temperature atmospheric Gas composition and pollution. Information from the system is to be fed into what Nasa Calls the data and information system where it is be stored and distributed to scientists worldwide. Gao assistant director Ronald w. Beers said that once the satellites Are deployed in 1998, they will be gathering measurements and observations at an unprecedented level and that special techniques Are needed to process the data. Beers said an earlier study showed that the Earth observing system will gather in 15 years about a thousand times More information than what is now stored in the Library of Congress. To reduce the risk of failure the Gao said Nasa should build a prototype or Model of the information collection and distribution system to assure that it will work. 10 years ago feb. 27,1982 a the Reagan administration began a Campaign against Rubyan Leader col. Foam mar Qadhafi by imposing a Boycott on Oil imports from the militant Arab country. 20 years ago feb. 27,1972 the . Security Council convened to Deal with renewed hostilities along the Border Between Israel and Southern Lebanon. Meanwhile reports from Beirut Lebanon said israeli planes and guns pounded Southern Lebanon for a second Day while israeli tanks and troops crossed the Border. 30 year Sago feb. 27,1962 a the supreme court ruled unanimously that no state May require racial segregation of travel facilities and ordered a Federal court in Jackson miss., to immediately Grant to Blacks their Legal right to Quot a segregated transportation  40 years ago feb. 27,1952 a British prime minister Winston Churchill said the former labor government succeeded in making an atom bomb for Britain but failed to inform parliament about the  of overdrawn lawmakers to be released by the new York times Washington a a House subcommittee is preparing to release a list of representatives who overdraw Large sums from their checking accounts at the House Bank. Last october the House voted to close the Bank and initiate an audit to still a wave of criticism of members who overdraw their accounts without penalty in effect receiving interest free Loans. House leaders hoped that by ordering the investigation they could quell efforts by a handful of Junior Republican members that democrats said intended to tarnish the reputation of an institution Long dominated by democrats. World War a Republican representative who was briefed by subcommittee members said the list would include 30 to 60 lawmakers each of whom overdraw their accounts with checks totalling $100,000 or More. Subcommittee members expect to disclose the list of offenders to the full committee by the end of next week. The subcommittee will need the full committees approval to make the list Public. The general accounting office an investigative Arm of Congress initiated an uproar last fall when it reported that the House Bank had honoured 8,331 bad checks in the year that ended june 30, 1990. Dozens of lawmakers tried to Blunt the political Impact of the disclosure by acknowledging that they had overdrawn their accounts with Small checks but their embarrassment was compounded by the publication of reports that several lawmakers owed House restaurants $300,000 in unpaid Bills. The House Bank was not really a Bank. It cashed checks for representatives and their spouses staff members and journalists. Considered a convenience for workers in the Capitol the Bank did not pay interest on deposits or make Loans. Money overdrawn was taken from the accounts of other members and not from Money covered by taxpayer dollars. 50 years ago today feb. 27 1 a 9 �4 2 an Allied naval Force of five cruisers and 11 destroyers tries to Stop an invasion Fleet heading for Java in the dutch East indies but the 18 japanese escorts sink five Allied ships and damage Many of the others while sustaining minimal damage. In the Philippines japanese troops sailing from Luzon land on the northeastern coast of Mindoro which is nearly undefended. Source 2194 Days of War w. H. Smith publishers inc world almanac Book of world War ii Bison books corp19s1 w a year ago Day 42 feb. 27 in the largest tank Battle since world War ii 800 american tanks and armoured vehicles from the Vii corps and the 24th inf div Mech smash three Republican guard divisions in Iraq 50 Miles West of Basra. Allied troops Parade triumphantly through liberated Kuwait City. Baghdad announces it will drop All claims to Kuwait if the allies halt the offensive