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Missile Defense

Russian military leaders have expressed concern about US plans for a national missile defense system. Will defense technology be limited by possibilities for a strategic imbalance? Is this just SDI all over again?

lunarchick - 10:33pm Sep 5, 2001 EST (#8532 of 8540)
lunarchick@www.com

above gives: radar:

Saturday May 20, 2000

O'Hare Controllers See Ghost Planes

CHICAGO (AP) - False radar images have been popping up on the screens of O'Hare International Airport's air traffic controllers, forcing pilots to take sudden turns unnecessarily, the Chicago Sun-Times reported in its Sunday editions.

At least a dozen ``ghost planes'' have been reported during the last few weeks, the newspaper said, citing documents from the Terminal Radar Approach Control center in Elgin, Ill., and interviews with controllers.

Controllers said that at least a few times, they have ordered pilots to take sudden turns to avoid what appeared to be planes on their radar, potentially putting passengers at risk.

``The ghosting is a complete terror for the air traffic controllers,'' said Charles Bunting, president of the Elgin local of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

False radar images can appear when a crane or construction tower is put up, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro. Planes from nearby airports also have appeared much closer to O'Hare than they actually were in recent weeks, controllers said.

Molinaro said there have been 13 ghost images in the last five weeks, rather than the eight or nine the FAA would usually expect in that time period, ``meaning we still need to look into them.''

But Mike Egan, vice president of the controllers union at Elgin, accused the FAA of playing down the problem. ``Maybe 130, but not 13,'' Egan said Friday. ``We had a couple of them today, as a matter of fact. ... They know there's a problem.''

O'Hare controllers have also recently complained about the FAA's plans to speed air traffic at O'Hare by stacking arriving planes vertically around O'Hare's air space rather than having them line up single-file.

Bunting said the radar situation raises questions about the safety of the procedure.

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^ Illustrates why information should be available for evaluation so that the 'truth' of 'fact' can be determined ... and used to ensure a safer environment to enhance traveller lifestyle.

lunarchick - 10:37pm Sep 5, 2001 EST (#8533 of 8540)
lunarchick@www.com

joy.... "Science News Poetry" 9/5/01 11:21am the 'greening' of death

lunarchick - 01:37am Sep 6, 2001 EST (#8534 of 8540)
lunarchick@www.com

Local U have determined how to store a thousand times more info on a hard-drive ... a nano breakthrough for gagetry ...

lunarchick - 01:52am Sep 6, 2001 EST (#8535 of 8540)
lunarchick@www.com

Economist - Economic forecast

The global economy is undergoing its most severe deceleration since the 1974 oil shock, with growth prospects in the euro zone and Latin America revised down. These developments are not helpful to the US, where GDP is forecast to rise by 1.6% in 2001 and 2.6% in 2002. The recovery, when it comes, will be gradual, and 2002 will be another difficult year for many US companies.

~ http://www.economist.com/countries/Russia/

Economic forecast - Russia

Higher than expected first-half 2001 real GDP growth of 5.4% and the continued buoyancy of oil prices have led to an upward revision in the Economist Intelligence Unit's growth forecast for 2001 as a whole, to 4.5% (from 4% previously).

lunarchick - 02:04am Sep 6, 2001 EST (#8536 of 8540)
lunarchick@www.com

UN puts price on world crime court

The world's first permanent war crimes tribunal would cost about $15 million in its first year of operation, the United Nations says. The estimated costs are part of a draft budget for the International Criminal Court prepared by a UN working group. The report said costs would depend on the level and scope of the court's activities. Such a court at The Hague, in The Netherlands, would need $15.7 million in its first year if no cases were referred, and $30.1 million if the court held six trials for cases referred by a state or the UN Security Council. (Times/Ldn)

lunarchick - 02:13am Sep 6, 2001 EST (#8537 of 8540)
lunarchick@www.com

Moscow rejig road bridge for train catching pedestrians - Useful functional way to spend limited resources.

lunarchick - 02:18am Sep 6, 2001 EST (#8538 of 8540)
lunarchick@www.com

Asylum Seeker Dies

MOSCOW (MT) Ñ Angolan asylum seeker Massa Mayoni, the victim of a savage racist attack last month, died of injuries in Botkin hospital Wednesday, a statement from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said.

The 34-year-old father of one suffered severe head injuries after being attacked by a group of teenagers armed with baseball bats Aug. 23 outside a refugee center in northeast Moscow. He never regained consciousness.

UNHCR representative John McCallin expressed his agencyÕs concern and called for action from police and government authorities to halt the rising number of racist attacks.

Labelling people as 'OTHER' is a world_wide phenomena. Why not give people a value. Talk about the value. Demonstrate the value. (and put Teenagers everywhere into day care)

lunarchick - 02:25am Sep 6, 2001 EST (#8539 of 8540)
lunarchick@www.com

King Juan Carlos of Spain capped his one-day private visit to Moscow on Wednesday with an informal lunch with President Vladimir Putin at which the development of relations between Russia and the European Union was discussed.(AP)

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