March 1987

3/1/87

The case against the pregnant ♀ for taking drugs while pregnant was dropped

Tower Commission reports that RR may not have known that Ollie North rather than the CIA was running the operation
-Says arms were always considered as linked w/hostages, but cont. even when no hostages released. Even when continuation was supposed to be linked to releases
-North evidently told Iran that US realizes that Pres. Hussein of Iraq must go
-Regan told the commission that the 1/6/86 order authorizing arms shipments “may have been signed in error.” Oops?
-Poindexter on why he suspected the diversion of funds, but (allegedly) knew nothing concrete: “I was so damned mad at Tip O’Neill for the way he was dragging the contras around I didn’t want to know what, if anything, was going on.”
-North’s plan for priv assistance to contras Mar85, before Congress cut off funding
-“The Iran initiative was handled almost casually and through informal channels, always apparently with an expectation that the process would end with the next arms-for-hostages exchange.” Never reviewed
-Says Guatemala aided contras for several yrs
-Israel once offered military instruction to assist the Contras

Oral Roberts will fast for his $8m


3/2/87

A Pakistani nuclear expert announced that his country has the bomb. Which is interesting because RR has to certify that they haven’t one for them to get aid, currently requested at $4b+ over 6 yrs

Gorbachev proposed an agreement on medium-range missiles, ignoring SDI

PW Botha: “the ANC...making efforts to manipulate organizations among Whites, including the Black Sash and the Progressive Federal Party.” (How do blacks “infiltrate” white organizs?)


3/3/87

There has been criticism, inc by Wm Safire, of Nancy Reagan. She got Don Regan fired & used former White House aides to recruit Howard Baker


3/4/87

RR speech on the Tower Commission report:
-Quotes it as saying that RR wants the truth out
-He accepts criticism. Takes full responsibility, even while distancing himself
-Admits there was arms/hostage trade
He was so concerned about the hostages, he didn’t ask enough q’s
Defends his hands-off mgmt style, but admits it didn’t work via-a-vis NSC
-Changes: 1) personnel. New people--Baker, Carlucci, Wm Webster (nominated to CIA head), John Tower on Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board
2) policy. NSC review of all covert action. Wants all covert policies to be such that if they read it in the headlines, they’ll say “that makes sense.” Covert actions must be in support of clear policies & American values (openness of policy is evidently not so considered)
3) reforms. NSC. Consultation w/Congress
-RR finally said that sale of arms to Iran was a mistake--sort of
Talked about rule of law & Congressional oversight
Said NSC would not engage in covert activities
But, says Arthur Schlesinger, no explanation of RR’s false statements over the past 3 mos, no talk of what happens to people in his admin who violate law, no concern w/const issues

US is sending econ “advisers” to Liberia to pretty much take over their economy

On his deathbed, Voltaire was asked to renounce the devil. He said, “This is no time to be making new enemies.”

George Bernard Shaw, “Man of Destiny”: “The low people and the high people are alike in one thing: they have no scruples, no morality. The low are beneath morality, the high above it. I [Napoleon] am not afraid of either of them; for the low are unscrupulous about knowledge, so that they make an idol of me; whilst the high are unscrupulous without purpose, so that they go down before my will... It is the middle people who are dangerous; they have both knowledge and purpose. But they, too, have their weak point. They are full of scruple: chained hand and foot by their morality and respectability.”

“Don’t complain about the coffee. You might be old and weak yourself some day.”


3/5/87

Admin trying to get Carter not to go to Syria on his Middle E. tour

Gippergate is being viewed as an image problem. Politicians & the media talk about what RR needs to do to restore his image. Thus viewed, the issue becomes a domestic problem & the foreign aspects are ignored. No one has suggested that RR has the blood of Iraqis or Nicaraguans on his hands, for example. No one talks about reestablishing a proper policy towards Iran, whatever that might be


3/6/87

Adolfo Calero is the 1st Contra to admit receiving Iran money--$200,000 so far...

Maybe drug traffickers should be sent to drug traffic school


3/8/87

Bettino Craxi resigns as It. PM

A fed district judge ordered 40 textbooks removed from Alabama schools for promoting a humanistic “religion.” How have the Christians managed to get this definition accepted?

The White House did not accept a Pentagon suggestion that Russia be formally accused of preparing a nationwide antiballistic missile defense

80% of Soviet Jews 1986 came to US, where they are considered refugees. They held Israeli visas. Sayeth PM Shamir: “All Jews leaving the Soviet Union are issued Israeli visas. At that moment they are Israeli citizens. They are not refugees. They are not homeless people.” Israel wants us to stop it

NYT: “Pres. Reagan still cannot pronounce the word ‘I’ in the same sentence as the word ‘mistake.’”


3/9/87

US will send more Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Afghan rebels, this when they are finally talking about leaving

Judge Hand, of (yesterday’s) book-banning decision, has a history. In 1983, defied Sup Court & upheld school prayer. Says const doesn’t prohibit the state from est a religion. In this case says: “However, some religious beliefs are so fundamental that the act of denying them will completely undermine that religion. In addition, denial of that belief will result in the affirmation of a contrary belief and result in the establishment of an opposing religion.” “teaching that moral choices are purely personal and can only be based on some autonomous, as yet undiscovered and unfulfilled, inner self is a sweeping fundamental belief that must not be promoted by the public schools.”

There is a tv ad with Sylvester Stallone for literacy!

There’s been a rash of AIDS in the Cath priesthood, so the hierarchy now has to convince people that they shared needles...

Contra back records (seen by Congress) show payments of >$16m to American brokers for weapons during the Congressional ban

Koehler, the ex-Nazi Youth, was fired after 5 dys

Retired Maj Gen Secord ran a secret counterterrorism unit, authorized in 1984 to bypass Depts of State & Defense & CIA. To report to CIA

Poindexter now says that twice in 1986 he told RR sales to Iran were generating $ for Contras


3/11/87

Sup Court decision will lessen requirement for pol asylum

6 former secs of defense (Laird, Brown, Clifford, Schlesinger, Richardson, MacNamara) wrote urging the traditional, restrictive interp of ABM treaty

Arturo Cruz has (what, again?) resigned the Contras

The Nation says US attempted to divide the Salvadoran labor mvmt

Vatican condemns: test tube babies, surrogate mothers, experimentation on living embryos, cloning, etc. Humans must come from sex. And they don’t like sperm coming from masturbation. Want govs to ban all that stuff.
-Also against prenatal diagnosis (amniocentesis & ultrasound), most research on embryos, med. intervention for fertility
-Says relying on indiv conscience isn’t enough
-Pol authority must be at the service of the family
-In other words: saying this is immoral should deter practicing Caths, so leg only needed to regulate everyone else
-The Cath Church used to (well, still does) say that you can’t morally have sex w/out babies: now it’s saying the reverse


3/13/87

The “broad interpretation” of the ABM treaty is based on negotiating records not shown to Senate when it approved


3/14/87

The Admin has accused USSR of violating the Threshold Test Ban Treaty (signed 1974, not ratified by US) but evidently used seismic readings, which overestimate & do so for US tests as well


3/16/87

A Contra confirmed that Saudi Arabia gave $32m to them. $18.2m of it used to buy weapons from retired US military officers in the arms business

Poindexter will be given immunity in June, giving the prosecutor that long to make a case

RR has announced a press conf, 4 mos after his last! Recently, reporters have been shouting questions whenever they see himm, so he’s been faking laryngitis.

Illegal aliens seeking legality will be charged $185, $50 for children, $420 for families. But note for a family of 4, cost might be $700 inc med. exam & misc. May be denied legal status if likely to go on welfare, so must also prove they are self-supporting, w/a history of [illegal] employment. Must register w/selective service


3/17/87

Israeli gov has funneled $80,000 to Jonathan Pollard, an American convicted of spying for it in a “rogue operation”

An INS clown says that $185 is comparable to that by legals. And they all have houses & cars anyway. And if they can’t pay $185, they’re likely to become pub charges anyway. A congressman says Congress did not intend fees to pay the program

A group of R congressmen inc Kemp & Dole trying to close down PLO offices in US


3/18/87

Ltd immunity granted for North & Poindexter

Money from Iran sales, $2-3m, went to groups holding hostages

The last $40m will go to the Contras. Senate 52-48


3/19/87

An opposition paper just started in Chile

Israel will ban arms sales to SA. Of course, since these are secret, who would know? Otherwise, they might risk US aid


3/20/87

Saudi financier Khashoggi, involved in Iranamuck, sent a $1,000 Contra check to George Bush


3/22/87

US to send $10m on CIA aid to Philippines anti-insurgency campaign which should be solved by negotiations. Inc pol action like planting stories, groups to allege rights abuses

Alfonso Robelo (Contra) says North gave his group $10,000/moi. from fall 1985


3/23/87

Br won’t sign the S Pacific nuke-free zone agreement

E Berlin will celebrate the city’s 750th anniversary next month. The Fr & Br have been putting pressure on W Berlin’s mayor not to go for fear of compromising legal status

Qaddafi talks of becoming a communist nation, allowing Soviet missiles


3/24/87

Alexander Haig running for president!

Macao will revert to China 1999. Macao, of course, if a gambling & prostitution tourist haven. One country, two systems, indeed! 50 yrs of noninterference will be allowed. Interestingly, Portugal offered to give it back in 1974 & was refused

Willy Brandt resigns as chairman of SPD

The RR Admin has put much effort into a failed attempt to get UN to condemn Cuba for human rights abuses, inc threats of aid cutoffs to small countries

There is supposed to be a special counsel to hear cases of immigrants unfairly fired (Simpson-Rodino). Justice, which didn’t want one, hasn’t appointed one. And there are only 6 mos after the offence in which to file...
-The law does say that no one can be deported on basis of a rejected application under the law, but they can lose their jobs or be pushed out for working illegally...


3/25/87

Sup Court allowed affirmative action for women w/lesser qualifs


3/26/87

T-shirt for the 1980s: My country invaded Nicaragua and all I got...

Weinberger says no matter what arms control treaties might be signed, Star Wars should cont.

Eisenhower’s treasury sec arrested for tax evasion

Pope calls Virgin Mary a model, which is interesting since they outlawed unnatural methods of birth last week

Brazil sells more steel than Br & its GNP larger than all S. & Cent. Am. nations combined


3/27/87

Greece & Turkey threatening war over oil drilling in the Aegean. Ships are moving towards each other

Andreotti failed ot form an It. ministry, so guess there’ll be elections

US to make AIDS a ground for excluding immigrants


3/28/87

SA has 3,031,414 [White] voters registered for the May 6 all-white election (Can they really call an election for just 1 of the 3 enfranchised races?)

SA’s “Big Four”--Anglo American, Sanlam, SA Mutual & Rembrandt--now control 83% of Jo’burg Stock Exchange, up from 71% 1983. Anglo controlled 54% 1986, 60% now

SA minister of nat health: “Although we believe that the socialistic component of health services should diminish, we have a responsibility to direct our technical capability in such a way that we will not only address the sophisticated health needs of the First World, but also cater for the more basic needs of the Third World if we also want to reach a level of ‘health for all’ by the year 2000.”

Contras said civilians w/weapons are to be considered targets--there is no distinction combatants/civilians. The gov has been giving weapons to farmers (Contras routinely attack cooperatives).

Greece & Turkey aren’t going to war. Greece is also complaining about US favoritism towards Turkey

Why is it that to prove their internat stature before the Br gen elections, Neil Kinnock goes to US & Thatcher to Russia?


3/29/87

Russia admitted that Uzbekistan has 1m unemployed

The Israeli who recruited spy Jonathan Pollard resigned, and admits having done so--and doesn’t regret it


3/30/87

USSR agreed that exiting Jews will go to Israel by way of Romania, rather than Vienna. With no opportunity to claim US refugee status


3/31/87

The 1st US military adviser dies in El Salvador