SENATE Tues. D ec. 9 , 1 969 Washinton D. C . Reaction to President Nix on' s news con f erence on TV last night - continues to reverberate right around the globe. Not the least of which was a move today in the Senate, a move to reconsider and possibly kill those income tax and social security measures - the President had threatened to veto. S enate Minority Leader Hugh Scott further calling the tax reform bill - as presently written "a mess; one that may have to be completely overhauled" - said he - 11 by an upcoming House and Senate conference committee. Now this; the Senate approving today a social security ammendment - permitting retirement at age sixty at two thirdl of normal benefits. However, the plan to take effect, if at all - only when the President has declared an official end to the present inflation threat. Comments on the President's handling of his news conference have generally been favorable. I never saw him looking more fit - and relaxed - than he was today. e nw h ile - t e hi te - re ! den i xo n toda a nnounce d the plans f or not h er pecial repor t to th e Nation - sometime ju s t bef ore hristmas. This to e a f ollowup - to his first report o n ietnam November Third. The Pre ident p ledging a new assessment o f the Vietnam situation, simultaneous with his announcement of his additional planned tr oup withdrawals. The President went on to say that he feels a second report is necessary - "so the American people will know what the facts are." 'You have to lay it on the line - popular or unpopular" - said he. Adding that a great deal of the opposition to U.S. policy in Vietnam - was clearly based on ' a lack of information." In chatting with him today at the White H 0 use - while giving him a report on my recent trip to New Guinea, the Himalayas and the Middle East, he remarked on what a fine job his f rien d Dr. Norman Vincent Peale had done in Vietnam - to bolster up the morale of our men. VIETNAM n the other s1 e o the lobe - in Vietnam - the re s i ent's nex t address 1s o course ea erly awaited. With American GI' said to be concerned f irst an f oremost - with as to who will be going home and when. Beyond that ther 1 11 also be looking for any clues as to f uture conduct of the war. And so will Hanoi, no doubt! For the present - 11 ttle chat1ge. Ground action today including a series of terrorist attzks - directed mainly against the South Vietnamese population both civilian and military. One of the latest of these - a Vietcong raid on a police training center at Da Lat, killing fifteen, wounding twenty-five - and escaping unscathed. Tur n1n to that o t h er war - in the Mi dle Ea st - a l air battle to a over t he Suez Cangl - according to ai ro at leas t . This aupp osedl the irs t c lash etween E ypt's S o v iet built Mig Twent y -Ones and Israel's newly- arrived American-made Phantom j ets. What's more, Egyptian ~~ p1lots~ciaim1ng a clear edge resulting tn one confirmed "kill." However, Israel brands the report as simply "not ture." C PITOL HILL Capitol Hill a ain - Health Education a n 1el f are S ecretar Ro ert Finch testifie t o ay be ore a Senate su committee, urging a new "sense of ur g ency" - in dealing with the problems of population control. The Secretary spec! ically calling for the establishment - o f two Federal birth control centers; one to concentrate on family planning - and the other on basic research. Finch adding - it's time to stop "Mickey Mousing around" with birth control." I I LONDON Over in Britain - they lau g hed, some of them, when Prince Phillip said recentl y - he had to sell a yacht to make royal ends meet. Turns out though that he wasn't kidding. A London caterer by the name Louis Coureau - identi f ying himself today as the yaoht's new owner; saying he purchased the craft for forty thousand-American - with hopes of re-selling it here in the U.S. for double that amount. By the way, the royal yacht - or ex-royal yacht it ls, is called "The Bloodhound". Something of a "blueblood" hound cynics might say; but as far as the royal family is concertaed - it's 1ust a dog". GOL D It too k twenty m nths to do it - but U.S. policy on gold prices has inally been vindicated. The price of gold on the London free market - falling today to Thirty-Five Dollars an ounce. Therby matching exactly - the official international exchange rate; first time that's happened - since the two~ller market was originally established back in March, '67. In the meantime, you may recall, the price on the free market - hitting, at one point, nearly Fourty-four Bucks an ounce; which means - we are told - that a large number of gold speculators - have since been badly burned. I CEBERG From the U.S.Geolo g ical S urvey - a novel suggestion today. Government scientists caltlng for the " direct towing of icebergs - to the coast of arid or semi-arid regions." Asserting that "once the ice has arrived - its use as a refrigerant or a fresh water source - is simply a matter of demand and handling." Ah, I can see it now: One of those b1g icebergs in New York Harbor - with people coming down - chopping off pieces of lee - just the thing for that offbeat cocktail party, don't you know. Come to think of it though - the Explorers Club in New York has been doing this for years. Flying 1n pieces or icebergs and glaciers from Greenland or laska - for the annual Explorers Banquet, the next of which will be a special all-Alaska banquet in February - with Secretary of the Interior Wally Hickel and many other A laskan notable Explorers - and colorful personalities. Wanta buy some ice from an A rctic iceberg, Warren~ T01(YO The dawnin g of the Seventies - f ast approaching. A t the same time - in Asia - the Rising Sun is also in the ascendance. Reports from Tokyo of late - emphasizing the importance of Japans amazing post war recovery. Indeed, Japw Premier Sato - in the midst of a nationwide political campaign made the statement today; "the time has come now for Japan to build its defense capabilities - in keeping with its national power." Some of Sato's supporters - are further urging a change in the "no war" clause in Japan's present constitution; on the grounds that Japanese forces could and should take a major role in intemational "peace keeping" missions. And how does the rest of A sia - feel about all this? Not very happy - we hear. The memories of World War II conquests - still fresh in the minds o f many. Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and others saying, in effect; "if it's a choice between the so-called ugly American and the ugly Japanese - we'll take the American."