Russia set to reject global warming accord

MOSCOW

In what would be a mortal blow to the accord aimed at halting
global warming, a top Kremlin official said yesterday that Russia
won’t ratify the Kyoto Protocol limiting greenhouse gas
emissions because it will hurt the country’s economy.

The United States rejected the accord for the same reason.
Without Moscow, the protocol cannot come into effect even if
approved by every other nation because only Russia’s
industrial emissions are large enough to tip the balance.

The pollution cuts required by the treaty would slow the
economic growth that President Vladimir Putin has made a major
priority, said top adviser Andrei Illarionov. “In its current
form, the Kyoto Protocol places significant limitations on the
economic growth of Russia,” Illarionov told reporters in the
Kremlin on the sidelines of Putin’s meeting with European
business leaders. “Of course, in its current form this
protocol can’t be ratified.”

Earlier this fall, Putin cast deep doubts on Moscow’s
willingness to ratify the protocol, but he had not ruled it out
entirely.

A Russian Economics Ministry spokesman, Konstantin Bogdanov,
said yesterday he was unaware of any change in Russia’s
official position, which has been that it is still considering the
protocol. However, Illarionov said it would be unfair for Russia to
curb emissions and stymie its own growth while the United States
and other nations, which account for the bulk of global emissions,
refuse to join the pact.

Police: Gun connects 12 Ohio shootings

COLUMBUS, Ohio

Twelve shootings along a five-mile stretch of interstate this
year are connected, including one that killed a woman, police said
yesterday.

Four of the shootings — three at vehicles and the one that
broke an elementary school window last month — were from the
same gun, Franklin County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Steve Martin
said.

Although ballistics tests could not link the remainder of the
shootings along Interstate 270, investigators said they “are
comfortable” saying all 12 are connected, he said. He would
not elaborate.

The shootings began in May along Interstate 270 in southern
Columbus. On Nov. 25, 62-year-old Gail Knisley was struck by a
bullet that pierced the side of the car she was in. Many previous
shootings have been reported since then.

Authorities, who have received more than 500 tips, would not
speculate on whom the shooter might be and would not release the
type of weapon.

“Collectively, we think it’s not good for us to put
that information out,” Martin said.

Execs work to keep costly PC security out

WASHINGTON

Technology executives are trying to convince the Homeland
Security Department that costly new computer-security rules
aren’t needed, arguing their companies are already taking
aggressive steps to defend against hackers. The behind-the-scenes
lobbying is paying dividends. The administration is reconsidering
its support for a plan requiring publicly traded companies to
describe their hacker defenses to securities regulators.

That proposal was among the earliest outgrowths of the Bush
administration’s strategy for securing cyberspace. Now
industry lobbyists and academics are being given a chance to
rewrite the proposed legislation to make it more palatable to them.
The influence of industry groups like the Information Technology
Association of America and the Business Software Alliance in
shaping the administration computer- security policy has impressed
some observers.

Congress to vote on spending allocations

WASHINGTON

A Texas oil museum, a Nevada swimming pool and a military cargo
terminal proposed for Philadelphia are among thousands of winners
in the huge year-end spending bill that Congress could vote on
soon.

The legislation has $373 billion to finance highways, the
Department of Health and Human Services and most of the
government’s other domestic agencies and programs for the
budget year that started Oct. 1. Disputes over overtime pay,
federal records on gun purchasers and other issues are threatening
its final passage when the House and Senate return next week for
brief end-of-session meetings.

Disney CEO draws ire of executives

Los Angeles

With two once-strong allies turning on him, Michael
Eisner’s micro-managing style of leadership at the Walt
Disney Co. is again getting scrutinized.

Still, industry experts say Eisner may hold what Disney needs to
weather a difficult period and also what will help him survive the
latest challenges to the chief executive’s position he took
in 1984.