ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 18, 1996 TAG: 9608190129
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: 5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: COX NEWS SERVICE
Q: How do scientists know that the meteorite found in Antarctica actually came from Mars? And how did a piece of Mars happen to break off?
A: Scientists say chemical analysis of the meteorite, ALH 84001, revealed a unique ``fingerprint'' similar to that found by a pair of NASA Viking landers that reached the surface of Mars in 1976. The meteorite making headlines this week is one of 12 identified as having come from Mars. Scientists speculate that they were chipped off Mars when the red planet was struck by a large meteorite.
Q: Who appoints the secretary-general of the United Nations? How long is his term of office and what is his salary?
A: The U.N. General Assembly elects the secretary-general after recommendation of the U.N. Security Council. The appointment is for a five-year term, which can be renewed (Boutros Boutros- Ghali of Egypt has served since Jan. 1, 1992). The U.N.'s public information office said the secretary-general's annual pay is $217,546.
Q: Are the Paralympics a summer event only? If not, will they be part of the Winter Olympics in Japan in 1998?
A: Paralympics are staged in winter as well as summer. The first one, in 1976, was in Norway. And yes, there will be a Paralympics in Nagano, Japan, in 1998.
Q: Where can I get information about the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, in 2000? I'm interested in tickets and transportation.
A: It's a bit premature to think about plane reservations and tickets, but you can get general information from: Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, Level 14, 207 Kent St., Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 2000. Phone: 61-2-9297-2000. Fax: 61-2- 9297-2020. On the Internet, lots of information is available at the web site for the Australian Embassy (look at the index under Australian People for two Sydney 2000 entries). The address: http://www.aust.emb.nw.dc.us.
Q: Are expenses such as car mileage incurred as an Olympics volunteer tax deductible?
A: You can deduct out-of-pocket expenses for gasoline at the rate of 12 cents a mile, said Internal Revenue Service spokesman Eric Roberts. It's an allowable deduction because the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games is considered a charitable organization, designated by the IRS as a 501(c)(3).
Q: Photographs of Boris Yeltsin taking the oath of office as president of Russia showed his hand on a red book. It doesn't look like a Bible. What document is so similarly sacred to Russians that they use it for the oath?
A: It was a copy of the Russian Constitution.
Q: I have begun receiving Turner Classic Movies on cable. How can I get information on what movies will be shown?
A: Call 404-885-5535 and follow the voice prompts to be put on the mailing list for a free monthly programming guide. You'll also be able to leave an inquiry about obtaining a movie on video or request that a particular movie be aired on Turner Classic Movies. Information also is available on the Internet at: http://www.turner.com/tcm/.
Q: Rush Limbaugh once challenged the Democratic National Committee to a wager based on several economic conditions that presumably would exist after Bill Clinton's election. What were the conditions? Who would have won?
A: Limbaugh offered to bet the DNC $1 million that if Clinton's proposed deficit reduction plan passed, at least three of five things would be true after three years: the federal budget deficit, unemployment, inflation and interest rates would be up; and Clinton's approval rating would be 45 percent and sinking.
Earlier this year, The Washington Post reviewed the situation and concluded that if the DNC had accepted his bet (it didn't), Limbaugh might have cause for concern. The budget deficit has declined three years in a row; the unemployment rate averaged 5.6 percent last year, down from 7.1 percent when Clinton took office; the rise of 2.5 percent in consumer prices last year was the second-smallest increase in three decades; long-term interest rates are well below their January 1993 levels; stock prices have risen considerably since Clinton's inauguration; and private business investment has boomed.
As the Post reported, the Clinton administration can claim some, but not all, the credit. A range of economists, including Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, agree that the economy's expansion is the result more of Federal Reserve policies and the economy's inherent tendency to grow than it is of Clinton's actions.
As to Clinton's approval rating, a CBS-New York Times poll in early August put it at 58 percent. .
Q: With the Postal Service announcing huge profits two years in a row, is there any chance that postal rates will be cut, or am I dreaming?
A: Rates won't be cut, but they won't be raised through the end of 1997 and ``hopefully not through 2000,'' said Postal Service spokeswoman Sandra Harding. The profits will be used to pay off Postal Service debts and for additional research and development, she said.
Q: What can you tell me about the background of Bay Buchanan, Pat's sister and chairwoman of his campaign?
A: Angela Marie ``Bay'' Buchanan, 47, was the seventh of nine children born to staunchly Catholic William and Catherine Buchanan in Chevy Chase, Md. After her birth, several of her toddler brothers, still new to talk, couldn't say the word ``baby,'' so they called her Bay. The nickname stuck. She has a bachelor's degree in math from Rosemont College in Pennsylvania and a master's degree in math from McGill University in Montreal. In 1972, she took a leave from her studies in Canada to work as a bookkeeper on President Richard Nixon's re-election campaign and in 1979, at age 30, she was named national treasurer of Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign. Although she was considered a stalwart Republican, she became so disillusioned by the Watergate scandal that she moved to Australia. While there, she dated an American businessman who had been a Mormon missionary. The relationship ended, but the religion stuck. In 1976, she returned to the United States and was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In 1982, she married William Jackson, a California lawyer, in a Mormon ceremony boycotted by most of her Catholic family. She later divorced, and is raising her three sons in the Mormon faith. In 1981, Reagan appointed her U.S. treasurer. She resigned in 1983 and moved to Irvine, Calif., where she became a political consultant. She became a candidate herself in 1990, running unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for California treasurer.
Q: A U-2 spy plane exploded and crashed recently. Are U-2s still being flown on spy missions?
A: Their mission is ``high-altitude research,'' the Air Force says. In the mid-1960s, the U-2 was replaced for surveillance purposes by the much-faster SR-71 Blackbird. Satellites now accomplish most surveillance observations.
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