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> From: What's New <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: Akira Kawasaki <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
 Date: 1/28/2005 11:40:00 AM
 Subject: WHAT'S NEW     Friday, January 28, 2005

 WHAT'S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 28 Jan 05   Washington, DC

 1. VISION: WHERE DOES THE ADMINISTRATION GET ITS SCIENCE ADVICE? 
 On Feb 7, when the President's FY06 Budget Request is released,
 Sean O'Keefe will announce that no money is allotted for repair
 of the Hubble Space Telescope.  However, money will be provided
 to drop the greatest telescope ever built into the ocean.  Fixing
 Hubble with astronauts is too dangerous, O'Keefe said.  Repairing
 Hubble with robots is too uncertain, an NRC panel said.  It's too
 expensive anyway, the White House said.  On the same day, the
 White House estimated the budget deficit at $427B.  Besides, it
 wasn't too dangerous for the ISS crew to spend five hours outside
 yesterday repairing a Russian robot arm.  So what's the arm for?
 It's so astronauts can make repairs without going outside.  Hmmm.
 But why would anyone bother to repair the ISS?  It doesn't do
 anything.  Drop the ISS in the ocean, and save Hubble. 

 2. JIMO: U.S. PLANETARY SCIENTISTS DO IT THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY.
 It sounded exciting in 2003 when NASA announced that the Jupiter
 Icy Moons Orbiter mission would be the first nuclear-propelled
 mission under Project Prometheus.  But now it looks like a plan
 to put them off while NASA focuses on Moon/Mars.  Kinky is nice,
 but if conventional will get to Europa, they'll take it.  Europa
 may be the last hope of finding other life in the solar system.

 3. OPINIONS: THIS IS A FREE COUNTRY--OPINIONS ARE ANOTHER MATTER. 
 The Education Department paid commentator Armstrong Williams
 $240,000 to plug the No Child Left Behind Act.  Health and Human
 Services paid columnist Maggie Gallagher $21,500 to promote the
 marriage initiative.  This is hardly big bucks compared to a guy
 with a good jump shot, but fans still need to know who's paying. 
 WN gets tons of mail from readers pointing out stories we missed.
 We use a lot of them   but no one ever enclosed a check.  

 4. CREATIONISM: SHOULD WARNING MESSAGES BE REQUIRED ON BOOKS?
 Manufactures are required to include warnings on labels.  Why not
 text book publishers?  Besides, the stickers Cobb County wanted
 on biology texts weren't exactly wrong   evolution really is
 "just a theory." http://www.aps.org/WN/WN05/wn011405.cfm Science
 is open.  If someone comes up with a better theory, the textbooks
 will be rewritten.  Although requiring warning labels on medicine
 bottles is vital, on books they become official doctrine. 
 Several readers suggested stickers for bibles in Cobb County: 

      "This book contains religious stories regarding the
      origin of living things.  The stories are theories, not
      facts.  They are unproven, unprovable and in some cases
      totally impossible.  This material should be approached
      with an open mind, and a critical eye towards logic and
      believability."


 THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.  
 Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
 University of Maryland, but they should be.
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