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June 29, 2001

CONTENTS:




- Guards 'damage' Iran's heritage
- Museum in Cambodian Capital Dealing with Problem of Millions of Bat Residents in Roof
- re: HALON AND OTHER GAS FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEMS
- Former Employees Support Lawsuit Against Art Museum

Guards 'damage' Iran's heritage

They may have survived wars and changes in dynasties but some of Iran's historic monuments are now falling prey to new landlords determined to use the lucrative properties for their own purposes. One such victim is the Palace of Ahmad Shah - now a training centre for the "Sister's" paramilitary unit of the Revolutionary Guards. Many facades of the building, the oldest of a dozen palaces at the 200 year-old Royal Niavaran Grounds, have been damaged, according to Tehran's Aftab newspaper. The mirrored walls and plaster moulding have been removed, the grounds are being sealed behind barbed wire and several thousand fruit trees are left without watering, the paper said. The current manager of the palace, Mr Jamali, accepts that some rebuilding has taken place but says it the National Heritage Organisation should have supervised the work. He also denies the area is being used for military training.
National Heritage head Abdolali Pour says the changes are illegal.

Protest

The unauthorised changes have taken place despite a court order banning the work until full investigation. The paramilitary forces which control the building do not answer to the authorities under the moderate and reformist President, Mohammad Khatami. The judge investigating the case and several members of parliament are to meet on the building site in a show of protest, the paper reported. A member of the parliamentary cultural committee, Asghar Sherdust, has said the body is also looking into the case.
The two-storey palace is named after Soltan Ahmad Shah - the last ruler of the Qajar dynasty. He was declared monarch at the age of 12 in 1909 but was forced into exile only 14 years later. In Paris he resided at the Hotel Majestic and died at the age of 33. He was buried in Kerbela, Iraq. The newspaper also reported that "night-raiders" had completely destroyed a 500-year old tower in the town of Bastam, in northern Iran. The destruction took place over a holiday period. The head of the local Heritage Organisation said one tower and parts of the town's four- meter-thick wall were destroyed in the raids.
He told the Aftab Yazd newspaper the owner of the land is probably the culprit. The landowner has said he has rights over the historic artefacts on the property.
photographs

Museum in Cambodian Capital Dealing with Problem of Millions of Bat Residents in Roof

Aired June 28, 2001 - 10:25:00 ET A museum in the Cambodian capital is wrestling with a special problem. A structural fault in the building is attracting residents that are proving to be both profitable and problematic.
SHINSHO (voice-over): Cambodia's national museum is home not only to priceless artifacts, but to an estimated two million bats. The bats, which live in the wooden roof of the museum, are the source of heated debate. Supporters say the nocturnal creatures are good for the environment, because they eat mosquitoes and other unwanted insects. They also bring museum extra income, but bats produce tons of nitrogen-rich droppings, which the museum sells as fertilizer for 250 U.S. dollars a month.
more: http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0106/28/i_at.03.html

From: "Jim Campbell" Jim.Campbell@webtel.net
Subject:

re: HALON AND OTHER GAS FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEMS

Since Gas Fire Suppression systems work by replacing the available air/oxygen in the room, all occupants of the room must leave immediately as soon as the system is activated. There is a real risk of being suffocated/asphyxiated. I'm sure there have been plenty of law suits over the years where individuals have died even though they were never in danger from the fire that set the system off.
Jim Campbell

Former Employees Support Lawsuit Against Art Museum

Despite six former or current employees of the San Diego Museum of Art coming forward to support a long-time staffer's allegations in a lawsuit, officials continue to deny any wrongdoing. Director Don Bacigalupi and another executive are accused of creating "a hostile work environment at SDMA for those not perceived as being homosexual, or as being associated with and/or appropriately supportive of the homosexual community," according to the complaint filed May 29 in San Diego Superior Court.
The allegations also include breach of contract, age discrimination and retaliation, civil code violations and infliction of emotional distress, according to the complaint. Also, the SDMA is accused by the plaintiff of hiring a director who "lacked appropriate management skills, (and) lacked experience heading a staff the size of the one at the SDMA."
more: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/sddt/20010627/lo/former_employees_support_lawsuit_against_art_museum_1.html