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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Eashoa' M'sheekha who wrote (52491)	10/17/2002 12:24:25 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

<<...NOTE : I find it amazing that the US spends about 500 billion per year on military defence,but has trouble coming up with money to defend one of its most important resources –WATER!...>> KC: The U.S. currently spends OVER $400 Billion/year on Defense but only a very small fraction of that on cleaning up contaminated waterways...We have hundreds of high priority SuperFund toxic waste sites around the country that still have not been remediated -- there are innocent folks who have contaminated wells and groundwater and the EPA does not have the resources to address everything...We also have a bad system for holding companies (or potentially responsible parties) accountable for their actions. Have you heard the Bush Administration talk much about preserving our environment for future generations...? They're still big fans of DEregulation and have been HYPER-focussing on Iraq. Life's a series of compromises and I don't like all the trade-offs our Congress and The Bush Administration have been making...The lobbyists have been too effective...we need to do MUCH MORE to preserve and clean up our environment...The amazing thing is that the U.S. is one of the best countries in this area...many developing countries have huge problems with pollution...We all live in one world though and I wish The U.S. would become a better rold model. -Scott

To: Eashoa' M'sheekha who wrote (52491)	10/17/2002 12:44:22 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 281500

A Way to Trace Bullets Editorial The New York Times 10/16/02 Nervous citizens can only hope that the Bush administration is serious about exploring the possibilities of a computerized national system for tracing bullets and cartridge casings to the guns that fired them. The public is surely interested in such a system, which would probably be a great help in tracking down criminals like the sniper who has terrified metropolitan Washington. But Ari Fleischer, the president's spokesman, seemed determined this week to emphasize the potential drawbacks. Fortunately, White House aides have partially reversed course and asked the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to explore the feasibility of "ballistic fingerprints." The notion behind ballistic identification is simple. Each gun leaves characteristic markings on every cartridge and bullet fired from it. That allows investigators to link a bullet or shell casing found at one crime scene with those found at another. But to start tracing the shooter, investigators need to identify the gun that was used and then trace its ownership. . That task would be greatly helped by a database containing the markings imposed by every gun. Such databases already exist on a limited scale, covering guns seized by the police. They are used in more than 200 jurisdictions that participate in the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network, and in more than two dozen foreign countries. Only last May the A.T.F. declared that "numerous violent crimes involving firearms have been solved through use of the system." That system should be scaled up to include the markings imposed on bullets and cartridges by every gun. Manufacturers typically test-fire the guns to be sure they work, and so could easily submit the shells and cartridges or ballistics images to the database. New York and Maryland have started such systems for handguns, but a national system that includes rifles as well would make more sense. Mr. Fleischer cited concerns that a gun's markings would change with repeated firings or could be altered with a nail file. Those don't seem like adequate reasons to forgo a system that is already proving its worth. Bills are pending in Congress to establish a national database, but they are not apt to move without presidential leadership. Mr. Bush, who can surely see the havoc caused by the difficulties in tracing the sniper, needs to lead on this issue. nytimes.com