March 1988

3/1/88

Israel considering press clamp-down in W Bank, Gaza. US tv taped 4 soldiers beating 2 youths on the hands for 40 mins.

When Transkei had a coup December, the PM (female by the way), & all the cabinet were of the “country.”


3/2/88

Wm Bennett says US should use military unilaterally against drugs.

There’s some life in the anti-Noriega mvmt yet. Prez Delvalle froze Panamanian assets outside of country. With US backing, this means Panama gets no canal fees, money from P-flagged ships


3/3/88

Israeli troops issued their troops fiberglass clubs as those nasty Palestinian bones kept breaking the wooden ones.

The D’s contra compromise fails to make it through Congress, 216-208.

Nicaragua proposed to fire Cardinal Obando y Bravo as arbitrator, & negotiate dir.

Sen. votes 69-27 prohibiting most employers use of polygraphs--from Kennedy & Hatch

In 2 by-elections in SA, Cons won. Botha blames foreign interference & radicals

Br Lib & Social Democratic Party formed

Dukakis & Bush take Vermont. Robertson in Alaska’s caucuses.

Jeanne Kirkpatrick endorses Dole.


3/4/88

SA ambassador to UN told the world to “do your damnedest.” The speech was written by Foreign Min Pik Botha.


3/5/88

Panama has no money and its banks are closed. Funds from US are frozen & it has no legal tender of its own.

Kissinger has urged that Israel bar tv reporters from Occupied Territories & suppress Palestinians as quickly as possible. And America’s Jews should refrain from criticizing Israel. Sounds like this was not supposed to reach the media. “Israel should bar the media from entry into the territories involved in the present demonstrations, accept the short-term criticism of the world press for such conduct, and put down the insurrection as quickly as possible--overwhelmingly, brutally and rapidly.”

JAPs: breastfed by caterers.


3/6/88

A survey says Amers. want nat health insurance, but not to pay more than $25/yr.


3/7/88

SC primaries (considered a lead-in to Super Tuesday), hurt Kemp & Robertson & Gephardt & Gore, surprisingly in all cases. Dukakis is going for the Hispanic vote in Texas & Fla.

SA has suggested dir negotiations w/USSR on future of Angola, along Afghan. lines

30 Senators signed letter criticizing Shamir as obstacle to peace.

Contrib from Nat Endowment for Democracy to La Prensa now $7,000/moi.


3/8/88

Super Tuesday: Gephardt lost the south.

Bush won 16 states, Dole none.

More violence Panama, US military maneuvers in Canal Zone....


3/9/88

Jackson now has more delegates than he did in 1984.

US & Br veto UN Sec Council oil embargo, etc of SA

Typical NYT headline: “Sandinistas Call off Contra Meeting.” It was because the contras had announced they wouldn’t show up. (Friday an editor’s note apologizes)

USSR planning a progressive income tax


3/10/88

Jack Kemp pulls out. Dole might


3/11/88

Contras still holding the Witness for Peace person. Dep Asst Sec of State for Cent. Am. Wm Walker told the group they should thank the Contras for not harming him.

Gary Hart pulls out.

Robt McFarlane plea-bargained in Iran-Contra prosecution to 4 charges of w/holding info from Congress. Guilty, but he didn’t do anything wrong, he says.

Tues., Robertson won Wash.

Amnesty Int. adds a resolution, compromise, on imprisonment for homosexual identity conduct, though just says it “raises an issue of fundamental human rights.”


3/12/88

Question asked at Arab-Amer. Anti-Discrim Cmte: everyone keeps saying that Palestinians, PLO must recognize Israel. But what is Israel? It has no const., no recognized boundaries & a funny definition of citizenship, coming from mother. (Plus, one could add, with dual citizenship there are potential citizens who have never been to Israel).

300 Arab policemen in Occupied Territories resign


3/13/88

Jackson takes SC 54%.

SA bans a Tutu group, started up recently.

Christopher Hitchens says he is more impressed by Jackson than in 1984. His surge is not coming from image & polls but a genuine mvmt. He is less ghettoized, more a workers’ candidate
-Still, to my mind, the process will only be non-racial when other candidates feel free to criticize Jackson.

Dukakis (at some pt) pardoned Sacco & Vanzetti.

Gore says he probably wouldn’t accept VP (as opposed to Kemp, who’d beg).

Though the Defense budget is alleged to be going down in real terms, its classified parts are going up. 1986 14% weapons acquisitions classified; 1989 20%.


3/14/88

Gorbachev is in Yugoslavia!

When Blandon testified against Noriega, he mentioned that Lyndon LaRouche was in N’s employ


3/15/88

Simon did well in home state Ill., then Jackson. Total delegates: Duk 464, Jackson 460, Gore 354.

Panama tries to expel USIA officer. US refused to accept it, not recognizing the gov.

Israel cutting telephone lines. Gazans prohibited from going to W Bank & vice versa. Gaza under curfew.
-Ed Koch says Israel should ban cameras.

The Texas Assoc of Realtors says agents should tell home-buyers if house had been occupied by person w/AIDS, like other such defects as leaky roof, radon gas

Palestinian police resignations above 600 or 1000. Fuel supplies also being cut to W Bank.

Shamir in Washington says rioting is not civil disobedience but a war against Israelis & Israel. “But I promise you, they will fail again.”

Weight Watchers pulls out of SA

Eugene Debs: “I’d rather vote for what I want and not get it than vote for what I don’t want and get it.”


3/16/88

Nicaragua has been conducting an offensive against the Contras, possibly into Honduras. US is sending 3,200 troops on emergency training exercises. Reports say US urging Honduras to bomb Nicaragua.

Florida grand jury indicts Ollie North, John Poindexter, Richard Secord, Albert Hakin from wire [], theft of gov prop, fraud (the diversion). North also for using $43,000 for personal purposes, accepting illegal gratuity, destruction of papers, obstruction, lying.
-Reagan on McFarlane: “He just pleaded guilty to not telling Congress everything it wanted to now. I’ve done that myself.”

Shamir in Washington rejected US peace proposals.

Failed coup attempt in Panama by Panama City police chief. State workers, not getting paid, are striking.

Flap in Congress when the Chair cut off Rob’t Dornan’s mike when he wouldn’t shut up after his 1-min. speech.

RR vetoes Civil Rights Restoration Act, whose purpose to overturn Sup Court’s Grove City decision which said that fed $ would not be cut off to a whole discriminatory institution, just to the offending program. Said it would “unjustifiably expand” fed. power. Expect an override. Think he sent troops just to divert attention from this veto?


3/17/88

Costa R. replacing its ambassador to US after admin accused him of meddling in internal US affairs by lobbying against Contra aid. Huh?


3/18/88

Gorbachev admits USSR at fault in 1948 break w/Yugo.


3/19/88

Re Israeli cutting of phones, curfews etc, Rabin says to “integrate methods of economic punishment in addition to the other means of punishment in order to try to influence the silent majority to use its influence to restrain radical elements.”

Honduras bombed, possibly inside Nicaragua

RR claims the Civil Rights Restoration Act would threaten relig liberty

The 3200 troops in Honduras are an “emergency deployment readiness exercise.”

Panama militarizes public utilities

On troops to Cent. Am, Gephardt says RR “abandoned the rule of law.” Jackson: “There are no Sandinistas in Detroit.” Simon: “I’m skeptical.” Dukakis also critical. Gore, too, sort of. Dole wants military help for contras. Bush no comment

On Super Tues., Gore won more pop votes in 8 of the 13 S. & border states than did Bush. Dukakis beat Bush in 3.

Ollie North retiring from Marines to conduct his defense (coincidentally, on the same day he qualifies for pension).


3/20/88

1980 Carter admin stopped an indictment for conspiracy of Noriega for illegal export of arms.

RR predictably blames Congress for the alleged Nicaraguan raid on Honduras.

Israelis raid a hospital, arrested 12, detaining 4 foreign tv crews.

In the last invasion scare in Mar86, US sent $20m of “emergency” military aid to Honduras. Of this only $200,000 was used in response. The money was spent over months, some not spent a yr later

Finally, the 1st Israeli soldier killed


3/21/88

The Iran-Contra prosecutions of Secord & Hakim will be for skimming $1m

Salvadoran elections yesterday gave our favorite fascist party, Roberto d’Aubuisson’s ARENA, control of Nat Ass.

Pravda gives 1st report on last month’s troubles in Armenia, not in what you’d call sympathetic terms. “Nationalist hysteria” and so forth. The nationalities issue is becoming quite important, with Uzbeks and so on, plus new disturbances in E Eur. Dozens of Armenians were killed in Azerbaijan (hundreds, some say.)

The Nat Park Service has proposed Whittaker Chambers’s farm as a landmark.

The Israelis are acting predictably upset over death of soldier. It’s still amazing. Restraint, by the way, seems to be Arafat’s policy.

Shamir in US said US Jews could be permitted open discussion & even criticism w/2 exceptions. They couldn’t pressure foreign (US) govs against Israel. Or when Israelis “are united.” This latter was then turned into the simple majority he says supports him against an internat conf.


3/22/88

US making it clear that only Noriega needs to go.

City of Berkeley is thinking of divesting from US Treasury bonds.

The unwillingness to debate Jackson leaves him on the sidelines of the debates and his ideas having less impact than they should.

The Civil Rights Restoration Act veto over-ridden.

US refuses to accept Noriega’s resignation offer as insufficient. Who asked?


3/23/88

Mitterrand announces his candidacy

Pravda Armenian correspondent disavowed the unpleasant article mentioned here 3/21. “By putting my signature beneath the dishonest materials of the C.P., you have insulted me before the whole country.” (was written to his editors, made public by dissidents)

SA gov shuts down The New Nation

Israel has 3,000 under detention. Now judicial rev. of admin detentions has been eliminated & these can be ordered by local commanders--it had been only by 2 senior generals (incidentally, violating a promise made to Carter in 1979, now “cancelled.”)


3/24/88

Sup Court upholds denial of food stamps to striking workers & their families.

ARENA wins absolute majority in Salvadoran Nat Ass. Well, maybe. Duarte may just not have had time to fix the ballot-counting yet.


3/25/88

RR repeats that Ollie North is a hero. And says that he & Poindexter would be acquitted since they were innocent. But said that he wouldn’t talk about pardons--though he’s not above prejudicing their trials.


3/27/88

Tony Benn will contest Kinnock’s leadership of Labour


3/29/88

In the Michigan caucuses Saturday, Jackson won. Gephardt has since pulled out.
-Today Dole pulled out

Delvalle of Panama says US force may be necessary. Admin says, “There are limits to US patience.” Meantime, Israel put the W Bank & Gaza under quarantine for 4 days. That must be where those limits are located.
-This might be the time to mention that Delvalle is no more legitimate than his successor, having been imposed by Noriega in 1985.

2 Justice senior officials + 4 of their aides resigned; it’s Meese’s fault for not having resigned

Benn wants “to put Socialism back on the agenda.”

Dukakis took CT.

Israeli nuke technician Vanunu convicted. 18 yrs.

Nicaragua & contras sign cease-fire. Terms inc amnesty, inc for former Nat Guardsmen


3/30/88

Ch. will reorganize its bureaucracy, eliminating 20%

Sen. votes down a bill requiring warnings to workers on exposure to toxic chemicals, 52-42.

Sen. Foreign Relations Cmte passes 12-6 a condition to INF treaty that prez can’t change the interpretation w/out Sen. approval

CA Sup Court invalidates a death sentence of a VN vet for wartime trauma.

The Palestine Press Service has been shut down for 6 mos.


3/31/88

Those limits again: State Dept says Israel should “use appropriate levels of force to accomplish” restoration of order

SA’s Conserv Party won another by-election

House & Senate approve $48m “humanitarian” aid to Contras. House 345-70, Sen. 87-7. Through neutral internat organizs

RR said that North is a nat hero for bravery in combat...

Israeli civilians were given permission to shoot Arab firebombers

Amnesty Int says Br agents who killed 3 IRA men in Gibraltar last month had no need to do so & made no attempt to arrest them. Thatcher claims that such questioning is tantamount to support of IRA.