April 1987

4/2/87

Fr has been prosecuting pornography. There was also a burning of 17,000 copies of a book by a lawyer of a terrorist, that he (lawyer) was an informer for Fr secret service


4/3/87

Gary Hart is like RR--can’t remember when he was born or what his name was

RR, who only this week has mentioned AIDS for 1st time, says young should be taught... well, “AIDS information cannot be what some call ‘value neutral.’ ... “After all, when it comes to preventing AIDS, don’t medicine and morality teach the same lessons?”

4/4/87

The latest evidence from this yr’s supernova indicate that the mass of neutrinos is too little for the universe to be closed

PM Shamir said that if Jews leaving the USSR don’t come to Israel, “there is no importance in their migration.”

Hungary has denounced Romania on human rights (!) as related to ethnic Hungarians

A State Dept report says that Br, Fr, W Ger, It. have been secretly selling arms to SA in violation of the 1977 internat ban

Ian Smith suspended from Zimbabwean Parl for a yr for making anti-SA sanctions statements


4/7/87

The SPD-Greens lost Hesse for 1st time in 42 yrs

The anti-discrim section of the immigration bill is being interpreted by Justice to mean intent, not effect

Swiss voters 2:1 approved restricting refugees--no econ reasons

SA’s NP’s campaign slogan: “Reform yes! Surrender, no!”

Peres says USSR must allow >30,000 Jews to leave annually before Israel will allow it a part in a Middle E peace conf

Part of the 1960 US-Japan mutual security treaty evidently is a secret provision whereby US could take nuclear arms into Japan. State Dep “is checking”


4/8/87

The new head of CIA Wm Webster (not yet confirmed) won’t be in Cabinet

SA claims ANC will infiltrate SA to disrupt the election

Mugabe will abolish Zimbabwe’s guaranteed white seats, as allowed under Lancaster House

Kemp dec for president, says it will be a nat. referendum on Star Wars


4/9/87

Israel, when allegedly ending military sales to SA, did not say how long present contracts are due to run

RR admin & priv raised $83-97m for Contras 1984-6, of which >$20m can’t be accounted for


4/11/87

Br no longer has a 3-party system, but 2 2-party systems: the C’s fight the Alliance in South & countryside (Labour has only 2 s. Eng MPs outside London), & fight Labour in urban North, where local Labour Parties & councils still accepted

In S Korea, the two Kims broke away from the main opposition party

Mass. law prohibiting drs. charging elderly more than fees approved by Medicare upheld

SA will charge Frederick van Zyl Slabbert, former Progressive Party head, of possessing the writings of Nelson Mandela

By Nov88, 10m more ♀ than men will be eligible to vote... (now ♀ 56% of actual voters)

Pentagon is preparing to dev missile-defense for deployment in mid-1990s

The Kims took 74 of 90 legislators with them. Complain about “impure elements” in the old party. Isn’t that Taiwan’s term (or SK’s) for communists? Says the ruling party, this is “a cancer-like evil that hampers democratic development”

US & Br vetoed a Sec Council resolution on SA sanctions over Namibia

Paraguay lifted its 40-yr state of siege

4/13/87

Hunger strike by >1,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails

From Aldous Huxley, Eyeless in Gaza: “Nations won’t change their national politics unless and until people change their private policies. All governments, even Hitler’s, even Stalin’s, even Mussolini’s, are representative. Today’s national behaviour--a large-scale projection of today’s individual behaviour. Or rather, to be more accurate, a large-scale projection of the individual’s secret wishes and intentions. For we should all like to behave a good deal worse than our consciences and respect for public opinion allow. One of the great attractions of patriotism--it fulfills our worst wishes. In the person of our nation we are able, vicariously, to bully and cheat. Bully and cheat, what’s more, with a feeling that we’re profoundly virtuous. Sweet and decorous to murder, lie, torture for the sake of the fatherland.”


4/14/87

The rise in cooperatives in Russia, as part of econ reform largely on the periphery, not in Moscow

SA has banned criticism of the practice of detention w/out trial or calls for release
-Also bars a lawyer from initiating an application for release of a detainee...or a parent writing to a gov minister

RR: Soviet spying has “gone beyond the bounds of reason”


4/15/87

George Shultz was in Moscow for negotiations & bitching about Soviet bugging of the embassy being built there
-Says the focus of talks was on substance rather than on a summit!


4/16/87

Disinvestment from SA: the new GM, SA-owned, has fired 20% of work force, singling out union activists, has torn up Sullivan principles & will now build vehicles for the army & police

The ave Senator spent $3m 1986 ($1.2m 1980). Money from PACs nearly tripled


4/17/87

S Korea postponed const revision till after the 1988 Olumpics

Japan, like Iceland, will use the “research” loophole in ban on whaling. Their research, carried on w/the same old boats & harpoons, is crucial, they say. Purpose: to prove that whale pops are not endangered

About 6,800 Cuban refugees remain indefinitely imprisoned in US

ACLU is urging state consts to expand rights. A case decided in Oregon says is const allows total freedom of expression, inc obscene


4/19/87

SA’s 2 right-wing parties failed to agree on an election pact

Norway will ban SA trade (& SWA). Ditto Sweden

There is a man accused of Nazi war crimes who will be deported to USSR. Pat Buchanan was trying to stop it. Now it seems that Meese tried to get Panama to take him


4/21/87

Sup Court allowed execution of someone who didn’t actually kill but involved in a crime showing “reckless indifference” to life

There was a rebellion of some troops against trials for human rights absues in Argentina. It may be over, but “coincidentally” the army commander & others have resigned & 14 trials halted

Shultz in Moscow last week. May be an agreement on eliminating short-range nukes in Eur but now Eur countries are, to quote a Soviet, learning to stop worrying and love the bomb


4/22/87

Sup Court allowed Georgia’s death penalty law, though it is applied in a racially-biased manner. Said statistics are not enough

House & Sen. have given ltd (use-) immunity to Poindexter

SA RR strike being broken up by bullets

In order “to enforce the principles of free and fair trade,” RR imposed 100% tariff on some Jap. products. There are already ads for “pre-trade war prices.”

Gorbachev suggested US set up separate states for blacks & other minorities (US CP suggested this in the 1930s)--“We have respect for our nationalities in this country. Why don’t you have these autonomous areas?” inc for Puerto Ricans & Polish-Amers.


4/23/87

In yr 0 AD, 10,000 languages, now 2,976


4/24/87

FCC is trying to expand definition of obscenity beyond the 7 words into anything on sex. Inc recommendation to Justice to investigate KPFK. “Organs that are patently offensive”--says one FCC person, is an issue
-The new regs are purposely vague & may no longer end at 10 pm

1986, US exports to Japan more than to UK, W Ger & It.


4/25/87

Sup Court decision on death penalty for non-murderers. O’Connor’s majority opinion: “This substantial and recent legislative authorization of the death penalty for the crime of felony murder regardless of the absence of a finding of intent to kill powerfully suggests that our society does not reject the death penalty as grossly excessive under these circumstances.” In other words she is citing laws to support those laws as not being cruel & unusual!

The main factions of the PLO have reunited

Nixon & Kissinger in a joint article in tomorrow’s LAT, warn against cutting forces to pt of leaving Eur open to Soviet conventional forces

Military will identify people exposed to AIDS by military personnel.

Under RR, 20% of appointees to major fed courts have been millionaires (5% under Carter)


4/26/87

During last week’s mutinies in Argentina, the command structure of Army collapsed. The new one may respond more to the concerns of the mutineers than Alfonsín. The army thinks that those who were lts. & capts. should not be tried

In enforcement of immigration law, will focus on large comps

Elliott Abrams may have made a mistake in Swiss account #s, & $ from Sultan of Brunei intended for contras went to someone else...

Evidently a priv comp in Dallas, Peregrine Internat Associates (1982-4) got Pentagon clearance to kidnap & kill drug smugglers in Peru, Honduras, Belize, Caribbean & armed & trained contras & gov forces El Salvador, Honduras, Peru. And began a plot w/an Iranian major to kill Khomeini & start a coup (1982).

Chirac says removing middle-range missiles ok, but not short-range

Br warning NZ on its nonnuclear policy--may stop defending NZ’s agric imports into EEC. It is very sad, says Sir Geoffrey Howe, that after 200 yrs, Br ships no longer stopping at NZ


4/27/87

RR tax cuts as prelude to spending cuts: “the Procrustean theory of public finance.”

Kurt Waldheim, prez Austria, banned from US for alleged war crimes

Economist has article on the W Bank, which Israel won’t annex outright, because that would mean being swamped, or declaring themselves a minority state, but 50% of W Bank & 40% of Gaza is under dir Israeli control by having been expropriated for settlements or set aside as nature reserves or military training areas

Japan to allow 825 minke & 50 sperm whales killed, but Nakasone may reduce it. Gov will subsidize

Egypt breaking relations w/PLO. PLO last week had decided to cut down relations

White House tried & failed to get Justice Byron White out of Sup Court ot head the FBI

Iceland elections will result in a new gov. The Women’s Alliance with 10% of the vote (up from 5 1983, when 1st elected) holds the balance

75 of the 100 largest mergers in Amer. history have occurred since 1981

There is a developing consensus for “workfare,” forcing welfare recipients to take jobs which, says ACLU director, are not real jobs (pending HR 1720, a Democratic bill) forces to take jobs that need not be over min wage, whatever the mkt rate is, nor covered by Fair Labor Standards Acts nor joining unions, accumulate seniority or accrue benefits. Nor covered by fed anti-discrim laws. Gov is releasing itself from obligations to create real, attractive jobs


4/28/87

Br paper Independent ignored a court ban on publishing details of Peter Wright’s book (ex-MI5) on MI5 plotting against Harold Wilson

Contras kill an Amer. volunteer. Blame gov for allowing him into a civil war zone


4/29/87

Someone finally charged for Gippergate. A fundraiser who channeled $ to Contras. Pleads guilty. Failed to pay taxes on funds. Name of Channell (sp?). Nat Endowment for Preservation of Liberty. Worked w/North

The Gephardt amend for required retaliation against countries w/trade surpluses, passes House

Laxalt will run for prez

Michel Dukakis, governor MA, my candidate for prez (declared today). Says there are $110b in uncollected taxes each yr. Wants a strong, defined economic policy. Says w/out one, trade policy makes no sense. Would allow temp protection of industries that are modernizing

Sup Court allowed Justice to label 3 Canadian films (on nuke war & acid rain) as “political propaganda.” Court insists the term is not pejorative
-Opinion was that “Congress simply required the disseminators of such material to make additional disclosures that would better enable the public to evaluate the import of the propaganda.” So it is intended to affect free speech...or at least the reception. Justice Stevens said that an audience migth believe a film that must be registered w/Justice is suspect but this does not have the effect of censorship

Remember those Palestinians the INS wanted to deport? Well, the case is now against just 2. The others will not be charged with this, but deported on visa violations (why didn’t they that in 1st place?). The case on the 2 will be the 1st to decide whether resident aliens have the same right to free speech as citizens