NFWS DlfrFST Edited by Alan Phelps X 1J_J f f I VIV IJ_X S Candidates field queries in freestyle debate RICHMOND, Va. — President Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot fielded questions from uncommitted voters Thursday in a civilized, issue rich debate that ranged from taxes to crime and character. Clinton said he wanted the wealthy to pay their “fair share” in higher taxes, while the presi dent said he was opposed to any tax hikes. After a brief clash in w-hich Bush renewed his attack on Clinton’s anti war activities in the Vietnam era, the three men were brought up short by a questioner’s demand that they “fo cus on the issues and the programs.” They swiftly took his advice, and proceeded to dissect their disagree ments over education, health care, the deficit, trade policy and urban woes. There were few surprises and surely no knockout punches, and little to Issues the focus for unprecedented format suggest that the session would boost Bushin his effort to overtake Clinton by Nov. 3. The 90-minute debate at the Uni versity of Richmond was held under unprecedented ground rules in which the candidates sat on stools instead of standing behind podiums and were free to walk about while taking ques tions from a 209-membcr audience of area voters. Bush used his closing statement to make a swipe at Clinton’s proposed tax hike, and to ask the voters to decide who has the “perseverance, the character, the integrity, the matu rity” to handle a crisis in the Oval Office. Perot stuck to his outsider’s ap peal, saying that if the American people want to solve their problems “and not talk about it, I’m the one person they ought to consider.” Clinton closed by speaking to the voters in the audience rather than looking into the camera. He criticized the Republicans’ “trickle down eco nomics” one final time, then said, “We’ve got to grow the economy by putting people first, real people like you.” The three men then shook hands and moved into the audience to greet those who had been their questioners. Early on, the candidates were asked to give their remedies for the huge federal deficit, and Perot said scath ingly that neither Republicans nor Democrats were willing totakcblame for the nation’s huge debt. “Somewhere out there is an extra terrestrial who’s doing this to us,” he said. The tax and deficit discussion be gan when one questioner asked whether the three men would agree to not seek re-election if they could not wipe out the deficit in four years. Clinton replied, “no, and I’ll tell you why,” explaining that eliminat ing the deficit would require tax in crease and cuts in benefit programs so large that it could “make the economy worse.” Instead, he said he would “bring it down by 50 percent and grow the economy.” He said he would ask the “wealthy and foreign corpora tions to pay their fair share.” Bush did not address the question of not seeking re-election. But he swiftly questioned Clinton’s propos 3lS “I don’t see how you can grow the deficit down by raising taxes,” he said. He said Clinton wants a $150 billion tax hike and $220 billion in -—-1 more teaerai spending. Perot dived into the re-election question by saying he planned to be a one-term president who wouldn’t spend one m inute of one day worrying aboutacampaign. He said he wouldn’t take any pay for the job. Bush endorsed term limits that would restrict members of Congress to 12 years in office. Clinton said that would hurt small states and would increase the power of unelected con gressional staff members. Clinton said he supported the so called Brady bill that called for a wailing period for handgun purchas ers and also backed an anti-crime bill that was killed by Republican-led fili buster. Bush countered that the crime bill backed by Clinton wasn’t tough enough. He said he wanted tougher provisions to cut down on court ap peals and to strengthen the hand of police officers. Strange markings may point to U.S. POWs WASHINGTON — The letters “USA” and “K” etched into a Lao tian rice paddy only four years ago could be distress signals from American prisoners of war, ac cording to Senate testimony Thurs dayA top U.S. intelligence official told a Senate committee that the symbols have not been linked to any unaccounted-for POW. But lawmakers who visited the scene and other officials involved in the POW search process said the let ters were almost certainly man made and meant to be seen from the air. As in past hearings of the Senate Select Committee on POW-MIA Affairs, the testimony sparked dis agreement among panel members and between senators and witnesses over the possibility that American POWs may still be alive in South east Asia. “This may be the only evidence that we find that points to specific men,” said Sen. Charles Grasslcy, R-lowa. Duane Andrews, the assistant defense secretary for communica tionsand intelligence, testified that the Defense Intelligence Agency, using highly sophisticated and clas sified photographic techniques, had analyzed several aerial im ages purporting to show letters, numbers and symbols. D1A re jected most as shadows cast by trees or overly optimistic interpre talions of markings on buildings. In two instances, DIA has con cluded that symbols were manmade but has reached no conclusion on what they mean, Andrews said. — On Jan. 22, 1988, an aerial image was taken of a rice paddy in northern Laos near the village of Sam Neua as part of a Defense Department POW mission. By the time the photo was analyzed the following December and follow up missions flown, the letters had disappeared. But the photos showed aclcarly delineated “USA" symbol carved out of the paddy in letters about 12 feet high and 6 feet wide. Below the “USA” letters was an other marking that could be the letter “K,” a letter used by Air Force pilots to communicate with rescuers. — In May and July of 1973, after the signing of the Paris Peace Accords between the United States and North Vietnam, unmanned air reconnaissance craft photographed what appeared to be the numbers “ 1973” followed by the letters “TH” or “TA.” The symbols were etched in the ground or grass in central Laos. “The ‘USA’ and possible ‘K’ remain unexplained, despite hav ing tasked every means of informa tion collection available through the intelligence community,” Andrews said. He said the “1973” symbol “is unexplained and prob ably will remain so.” Antarctic ozone levels lowest ever WASHINGTON — The lowest level of ozone every recorded over the South Pole has been detected by in struments carried aloft by balloon, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday. The agency said that the ozone concentration in a column of air above the pole was measured at 105 Dobson units on Monday. Samuel Oilmans of NOAA’s cli mate monitoring laboratory at Boul der, Colo., said the previous record low measurement was 120 Dobson units in 1987 and again in 1991. A Dobson unit is a measure of ozone in a column of atmosphere ■ from the ground up. The finding continues a trend first detected in September when Oilmans reported that the South Pole ozone depletion started sooner and pro ceeded faster than any previous year. Measurements taken by NASA satellite also detected what officials said was a South Pole ozone hole that was about 8.9 million square miles, larger than any previously measured ozone hole. South Pole ozone levels go down each year and many scientists believe the natural chemical is being destroyed as the result of man-made chemicals, principally chlorofluorocarbons, that arc released into the atmosphere. In the upper atmosphere, ozone forms a protective barrier against the damaging ultraviolet rays of the sun. Without this protection, some scien tists have predicted that an increase in U V radiation could lead to damage of some plants and animals. UV radia tion is also thought to be a factor in causing human skin cancer. Chlorofluorocarbons arc used as refrigerants and iff some industrial processes, such as cleaning computer chips. Use of the chemical is being phased out in the United States and in many other countries because of its effects on the ozone layer. NOAA scientists at the South Pole send up instrument-laden balloons every three days to take measure ments of ozone in the air above Ant arctica. Oilmans said the balloon measure ments on Monday showed there was no ozone between nine and 11 miles above the South Pole and a record level of depletion between seven and nine miles in altitude. 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