Governor, his family
celebrate expansion
with party at mansion
By Todd Anderson
Senior staff writer
The newly refurbished Gov
ernor’s residence will showcase an
improved library, and the Nelsons are
throwing a party to celebrate.
Forty years after the original
mansion library at 15th and H streets
was filled with books by Nebraska
authors, the collection will be
expanded.
x New books by and about
Nebraska authors, as well as books
covering the arts in Nebraska, have
been donated by community libraries
through the Nebraska Public Library
Commission.
Diane Nelson, who led the drive
to raise more than $1.3 million for
mansion renovations with former
first man Bill Orr, said she wanted
the home to show off Nebraska tal
ent.
“The residence is visited by peo
ple from all over the world and it has
been my dream to display the very
best of Nebraska’s culture,” she said
in a statement.
The library is located in the base
ment of the 40-year-old mansion,
which also displays porcelain doll
replicas of former first ladies.
Shirley Hart Arthur, mansion
director, said the Nelsons sent a list
of selected books to the commission,
and several community libraries have
chosen to donate books from that list.
“Guide to Nebraska Authors” by
Gerry Cox and Carol MacDaniels
and “Fall Quarter” by Weldon Kees
are two of the books that will be
added to the collection.
Gov. Ben Nelson and Diane
Nelson will hold a private reception
at the residence Thursday to cele
brate the opening of the new collec
tion and thank those involved with
the library expansion and renovation.
Each book will bear a special
nameplate added by the commission
to represent the importance of the
works, Arthur said.
She said the Nelsons hope donat
ing books to the library will become
an annual tradition so the library will
continue expanding.
“If we need more shelves, we’ll
get them,” Arthur said.
Individuals who would like to
nominate a book for the library can
contact the Nebraska Public Library
Commission at (800) 307-2665.
U.S. satellites facing blast
from large meteor shower
WASHINGTON (AP) - The most
intense meteor shower in 33 years is
threatening to sandblast America’s
multibillion-dollar satellite fleet,
including military spacecraft that
provide vital support for the U.S. mil
itary deployment in the Persian Gulf.
On Tuesday, the Earth will pass
through the Leonid meteor storm, a
cloud originating from the dusty pas
sage earlier this year of comet
Tempel-Tuttle.
A blizzard of meteor particles,
some the size of sand, but mostly
smaller, will rain down on the planet
for about 10 hours. The most intense
part of the storm should peak at about
1:45 p.m.
In Asia and the western Pacific,
where it will be nighttime, the storm
will create a spectacular celestial
show of light streaks and “shooting
stars.”
But in the vacuum of space,
where the nation’s satellite fleet
orbits the earth, particles from the
Leonid meteor storm will flash past
vulnerable spacecraft at more than
155,000 mph. At that speed, a small
grain can have the destructive force
of a .22-caliber bullet.
The most likely damage could be
electrical. The high speed impact of a
tiny meteor creates a sudden electri
cal discharge that can cause the satel
lite to short out.
If the electrical charge is big
enough, it could permanently disable
the craft.
Actual collisions are expected to
be rare, but operators of some 300
U.S. military, commercial and scien
tific satellites are crossing their fin
gers.
“We rate the possibility of any
thing catastrophic as being minimal,
but we can’t rule it out,” said Air
Force Maj. Perry L. Nouis of the U.S.
Space Command at Peterson Air
Force Base, Colo.
He said military experts estimat
ed that one or two of the world’s 600
plus satellites will be destroyed by a
meteor during the Leonid storm.
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Israel denies biological warfare
■ British reports say the
country is attempting to
target and kill Arabs.
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel
denied Sunday that it is trying to
identify genes unique to Arabs in
order to target them with a biologi
cal weapon that would leave Jews
unharmed.
London’s Sunday Times had
reported that Israeli scientists were
trying to create a genetically modi
fied bacterium or virus that attacks
only people who carry specific
genes.
David Bar-Illan, a senior aide to
Prime Minister Benjamin Net
anyahu, rejected the report, saying
such stories only proved “that there
is no limit to human gullibility and
also no limit to the desire to sell
newspapers.”
Asked if he was denying the
report, Bar-Illan told The
Associated Press, “this is the kind
of story that does not deserve
denial.”
The report, attributed to uniden
tified Israeli military and Western
intelligence sources, said the
weapon is seen as Israel’s response
to the threat of chemical and biolog
ical warfare from Iraq and could be
spread by air or through the water
supply.
The newspaper said the program
is based at the biological institute in
Nes Tziyona, which it described as
the main research facility for
Israel’s chemical and biological
weapons. According to the report,
researchers have pinpointed “a
characteristic in the genetic profile
of certain Arab communities, par
ticularly the Iraqi people.”
Officials at Porton Down,
Britain’s biological defense facility,
told the newspaper such weapons
were theoretically possible.
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