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Nukes Are No Match for Mother Nature - Nation In Brief

Byline: John Elvin, INSIGHT

Nukes Are No Match for Mother Nature

As hurricane season approaches, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) gets lots of ideas from the public on how to control such monster storms. The most popular suggestion is to "nuke 'em," followed by various suggestions on using conventional weapons to stun the storms into submission.

NOAA observes on its Website (www.nhc.noaa.gov) that using nuclear weapons against hurricanes is "not a good idea." Among the problems would be radiation, which rapidly would spread to inland areas via the trade winds in the event the hurricane was dissipated.

Chances are good that the hurricane would not be destroyed but would become an even grander whirling and irradiated menace. In an interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, hurricane expert Hugh Willoughby said nuking the big storms actually might increase their power by cranking up their heat. Bombs such as those used in the Iraq war would just be shrugged off by a hurricane, he added.

There are various other ideas for killing hurricanes, but NOAA doesn't find any of them practical. Some that might work have adverse environmental impacts, such as the notion of cooling the ocean's surface to deprive the storms of the heat they need to grow. It is theorized that such a move might launch another ice age.

The coming hurricane season is expected to be a ripsnorter, according to forecaster William Gray and his Colorado State University forecasting team. They have been predicting hurricane activity for many years, with an increasingly high level of accuracy. "Overall, we anticipate the 2003 Atlantic-basin hurricane season to be very active," Gray said in a statement about his findings.

He expects the season to include 14 tropical storms, with eight of them developing into hurricanes. Of those monster storms, three are predicted to generate winds of 111 mph or more. At least one of the storms is likely to hit land, the expert said. Due to increasing coastal development, Gray believes populated coastal areas are very much at risk. Though not necessarily predicting devastation this year, he did say, "It is inevitable that we will see hurricane-spawned destruction in coming years on a scale many, many times greater than what we have seen in the past."

One other particularly interesting finding by Gray and his team is that the recent upswing in hurricane activity in the Atlantic isn't related to global warming, as many groups and individuals have suggested. "There is no reasonable scientific way that such an interpretation of this recent upward shift ... can be made," according to Gray. Though couched in the refined language of an erudite scientist, it sure sounds like Gray is saying that the "blame-it-on-global-warming" crowd is full of bull on this one.

The Internet Spawns Boom in Bad Rx Drugs

The country is being flooded with counterfeit and unapproved prescription drugs, according to congressional investigators. Florida, Texas and California are among the primary gateways. Florida has followed up a major grand-jury investigation with tough new legislation.

At a recent hearing on the problem before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials were unable to estimate the volume of drug shipments. One member of the subcommittee, which has been investigating the situation for two years, estimated that 10 million Americans buy drugs from overseas Internet sites. Many sites claim to ship drugs from Canada, but investigators found the shipments actually are coming from places including Thailand, India, Russia, Barbados and other countries.

Investigators told the subcommittee that both the FDA and the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection are overwhelmed by the influx of prescription drugs purchased online and unable to stem it. A report on the hearing appeared in USA Today and was posted at Insight online. Experts say the U.S. prescription-drug market reached $192 billion last year, giving an idea of the profit involved for criminals who carve out only a tiny slice of it. Counterfeiters target expensive drugs such as an AIDS medicine that sells for around $200 per vial. Sometimes the fakes do not contain the active ingredient of the drug, or it is in greatly diluted form.

Slate of Events Commemorate Korean Armistice

A new commemorative postage stamp honoring the 50th anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War will be issued by the U.S. Postal Service. The stamp depicts a portion of the new Korean War Veterans Memorial and will be issued during Armistice Day ceremonies at that site on The Mall in Washington on July 27. The stamp features a photo of the memorial. Depicted in statuary is a patrol composed of U.S. Army soldiers, three Marines, an airman, a sailor and a South Korean soldier serving with the American unit. The group is making its way through snow in rough Korean terrain.

Other elements of the monument include a black granite wall etched with faces of military personnel and other mementos of the war, a grove of 40 Linden trees and a reflecting pool. An inscription at the pool reads: "Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met." More than 1.5 million Americans served in Korea; more than 34,000 died there and more than 100,000 were wounded.

Hundreds of other events associated with commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the war have been going on at local, state, national and international levels since July 25, 2000. They are listed on a Defense Department Website (www.korea50mil/calendar) and will continue until the closing ceremony on Veterans Day 2003.

Among forthcoming events is a Salute to Korean War Veterans on July 26 at Washington's MCI Center featuring country singer Randy Travis along with Korean War veterans Ed McMahon and James McEachin. McMahon was a Marine Corps pilot and McEachin was an infantryman. Other movie and TV celebrities will be taking part. Free tickets may be ordered by calling (866) 751-2403 or visiting the www.korea50.mil Website.

MARK MY WORDS ... I MEAN WHAT I SAY

"I've said it before and I'll say it again:Yes."

Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, announces that if nominated as a candidate for governor of California he will run and, if elected, he will serve.

"Why are we so concerned about women in bikinis?"

Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, onetime soft-porn actress and current member of parliament, complaining about a campaign to put more clothes on Italian TV performers, including several very popular newscasters.

"Let's fall in love again."

A promotion sponsored by the France Tourism Board in an attempt to help Americans get over their hard feelings about France's position on the Iraq war. Deep discounts are expected in the months ahead on travel and accommodations for Americans visiting France if any.

Did You Know?

* Between 80 and 95 percent of alcoholics smoke cigarettes, more than three times higher than the population as a whole (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, quoted in a study in the June issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research in an article refuting the common perception that smokers with a history of alcohol abuse have more difficulty quitting than do other smokers).

* The cheapest cities in which to live include Bogot[sz], Colombia; Harare, Zimbabwe; and Asuncin, Paraguay; the most expensive are Tokyo, Moscow and Osaka, Japan (Mercer Human Resource Consulting Group assessment). Rio de Janeiro is the friendliest city in the world, followed by San Jose, Costa Rica, and Madrid; the least friendly are Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; New York City, Singapore and Amsterdam (six-year study by Robert Levine of California State University-Fresno and a team of social psychologists).

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