Opinion in 1988

Reorganization in the tobacco industry suggests that business is coming to an end.

In what seems certain to be another year of introspection, British universities will have to take a more open view on the future pattern of student support.

A European complaint against Japanese chip-manufacturers is misguided.

The Pentagon's plans for the future of SDI should carry little weight with the next US administration, which should not think of affording even the half-price version now on offer.

The public interest should not come second to the need for publication.

The British prime minister has acknowledged that greenhouse gases are an environmental hazard. But how soon should something be done?

Is unauthorized access to other people's computers a crime, and how should it be dealt with?

Margaret Thatcher's speech last week was not nearly as bad as her most fierce critics say, but not nearly as good as it should have been.

This year's Olympics will probably see few records broken. Why not improve the supply?

After the US election six weeks from now, the United States may resemble the Soviet Union in wishing to reduce arms spending for economic reasons. Where should it put its energies?

The organization to monitor the human genome project should be welcomed.

Finance ministers should not be surprised that their economies seem uncontrollable.

The Pugwash organization prefaces this year's statement on arms control with a declaration on the threat of global catastrophe by other means. It should now apply its traditional methods to this new field.

US regulators offer sensible guidelines for investigating fraud, but should keep their distance.

An enterprise to champion European science and the European spirit should not expect too much.

The coming of perestroika seems to have caught the Soviet Academy of Sciences at a loss for knowing what to do. Here is how it might tackle some of the questions arising later in the month.

The British Association is hitching its wagon to the campaign for public understanding of science. It should be cautious in its manner but more daring in its advocacy of causes.

Distinctions in the United States between civil and military nuclear power may soon be blurred.