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TIME: Almanac 1995
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TIME Almanac 1995.iso
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1994-03-25
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<text id=93TT1241>
<title>
Mar. 22, 1993: Anarchy: The Final Frontier
</title>
<history>
TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1993
Mar. 22, 1993 Can Animals Think
</history>
<article>
<source>Time Magazine</source>
<hdr>
GRAPEVINE, Page 19
</hdr>
<body>
<p>By CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY
</p>
<p>Anarchy: The Final Frontier
</p>
<p> As Russia struggles to hold together, its space program is
falling apart. At the BAIKONUR COSMODROME in Kazakhstan--the
Russian equivalent of the Kennedy Space Center--civilian
workers have been looting equipment, crippling the facility's
launch pad in the process. The Russian space program is also
involved in a feud with the new Ukrainian state, which has its
own space program. A Russian meteorological satellite was turned
off in orbit, so Ukraine couldn't recover weather data from it.
Some of the stolen Baikonur equipment has mysteriously
resurfaced in Ukraine. Understandably, the disarray of Russia's
once great space program has NASA officials worrying about
scheduled joint U.S.-Russian manned spaceflights.
</p>
<p>Early Warning
</p>
<p> Israeli security officials concluded two years ago that
the World Trade Center garage was vulnerable to a car bomb,
according to Israeli sources. These security officials checked
out the garage for Zim American Israeli Shipping Co., which is
located in the Twin Towers and is a subsidiary of a partly
state-owned Israeli company. Zim representatives publicly admit
no knowledge of the security team's inspection.
</p>
<p>Read My Ships
</p>
<p> George Bush could soon discover that losing a presidential
election can be a taxing experience. Clinton's budget proposes
increasing fuel taxes on barge companies $1 per gal. (a 525%
rise). Bush and former Cabinet Secretaries James Baker and
Robert Mosbacher have all had lucrative investments in the same
Houston barge company. Bush reported an $11,962 profit on his
$31,000 stake in 1988 before he moved his investments into a
blind trust. He is a private citizen now, so his current
holdings, if any, are his business. But the tax could prove to
be quite a parting gift. A Clinton adviser says with a smile
that it's just a "coincidence."
</p>
<p>We Aren't the World
</p>
<p> United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali
could be trying to loosen America's grip on power within the
U.N. One new Under Secretary-General was scolded by
Boutros-Ghali for choosing an American as his deputy. And when
Bush appointee Dick Thornburgh left as U.N. Under
Secretary-General of Administration and Management,
Boutros-Ghali tried to take the influential position from
America and give the U.S. a frilly public relations post
instead. An American official in the U.N. complains that it's
"a very clearly anti-American bent." However, with just one
superpower left in the world, Boutros-Ghali may feel that a
little bureaucratic kryptonite is exactly what is needed to
maintain the U.N.'s equilibrium.
</p>
<p>America's Most Wanted
</p>
<p> The Army is looking for a few good men other than the ones
it just let go, that is. The highly publicized round of
military-base closings and cutbacks is making it hard for the
Army to recruit, partly because many would-be candidates assume
that the military isn't looking for new people. In fact, the
military needs a steady influx of newcomers to maintain its
vitality. Adapting to the reduced demand, the Army has scaled
back its goal of recruiting 100% high school grads to 95%--and
even that's proving tough to meet.
</p>
<p>Calling All Senators
</p>
<p> Bill Clinton asked Americans to answer the call--instead, they're placing calls. U.S. citizens are phoning their
Senators at a rate more than twice that of last year. Figures
from the office of the Senate sergeant at arms show that from
Jan. 1 to Feb. 4 there were 4.2 million calls to the Senate this
year, in contrast to 1.9 million during that same period in
1992.
</p>
<p>Revenge of the Tourists
</p>
<p> Last year 23 Japanese traveling abroad met crime-related
deaths. This year Griptone, a Japanese travel-goods company, has
opened a store in Osaka, Japan, for the safety-conscious
Japanese tourist. Merchandise includes an attache case that
gives thieves within 170 ft. a 40-volt electric shock, and
safety vests ranging from ice-pick proof to bulletproof.
Americans visiting Osaka from New York City might want to pick
up a few Griptone products for when they get home.
</p>
</body>
</article>
</text>