November 1991

11/1/91

Shamir accuses Syria of harboring terrorists. Syrian shows Shamir’s old wanted poster

Seems a (rogue?) DEA agent was responsible for smuggling John Hull out of Costa Rica July89

A first in Africa: a one-party ruler submits himself to a real election & leaves when he loses: Kaunda in Zambia


11/2/91

Latest Israeli contribution to peace: constant attacks on Lebanon during conf

In abortion case, Governor Ada of Guam says that no rights apply to Guam not extended to it with the 1968 Bill of Rights. Says poll tax would be ok & separation of church & state has no place in Guam

“Enhanced underwriting” on PBS is now market in 15- to 60-second spots, by a priv comp. Cost is $8-15,000. Only difference w/private: tax-deductible


11/3/91

Ger & Israeli secret services have evidently been exchanging Soviet-made weapons since 1967

Baker to visit China. Just a few days ago, it came out Ch. is helping Iran develop nukes


11/4/91

Israel caps peace talks with a settlement in Golan


11/5/91

Robert Maxwell, identified with Mossad just 2 weeks ago, turns up drowned in the Atlantic

Clarence Thomas’s wife claims she was sexually harassed before meeting Thomas

Sup Court refuses to consider an exemption to military’s exemption from liability in a case where a court-martial convicted an officer of negligent homicide

Imelda Marcos returns to Philippines. “I come home penniless,” she said, getting off her chartered jumbo jet & going to the floor she rents at a luxury hotel.

Budget chief Darman says nothing can be done about spurring econ growth as this would lead to “an unproductive fight of the class-warfare type”

Sharon calls Syria “a gang of murderers worse than the Nazis”

Robert Gates confirmed 64-31

Bush, criticized for ignoring US problems, cancels a 10-day Asian trip

Thornburgh lost Senate race in Penn., largely on issue of nat health care

New Japanese gov, following collapse of Kaifu when he tried to do something about ethics, headed by Miyazawa & bringing back all the usual Recruit-scandal suspects

Wash. state initiative legalizing euthanasia failed 54-46%


11/6/91

Yeltsin dissolves CP officially, in time for a certain uncelebrated anniversary


11/7/91

A Soviet comp wants to sell nuclear blasts for waste disposal

Bush’s advice on the economy: everyone should buy a house & car

Votes to overturn “gag rule” against abortion counseling: House 272-156, Senate 72-25

DEA says it investigated Quayle for drug use 1982 & it was groundless

EC to guarantee women 14 weeks’ maternity leave at pay at least equal to sick pay

US holding 200 Haitian boat people. Given the coup, the result will be interesting. In 10 yrs, US has repatriated 23,000, taken 28

3 Br by-elections. Tories lose all. LibDems win 1 in Scotland, Labour holds 1, gains 1. Tories lost 2 seats inc the 1 in Scotland. Means 9 of 72 Scottish MPs are Tories


11/8/91

EC suspends aid to Yugoslavia, adds sanctions, oil embargo. Yug. army says it has missiles pointed at Croatia

Evans & Novak, of all people, say US knew that Israel knew “Liberty” was American when bombed it 1967. Rosenthal disagrees.

Fed appeals court gave a boy right to sue LAPD for, excessively, killing his father before he was born. Lower court dismissed it, as a fetus has no rights, but Appeals says injury occurred when he was born

Quayle’s “competitiveness” council wants to reduce time for drugs to come on mkt, inc using foreign data, & eliminating liability for comps if FDA requirements met

Br starts forcing Vietnamese back, starting w/59


11/9/91

Br scientists produce payoff in fusion, 1.7 megawatts

KGB to cut agents abroad 50%

In Russia, region of Chechen-Ingush dec. itself a republic Nov. 2. An area of 1.3m Muslims the size of NJ, near Georgia. Yeltsin ordered dir rule, curfew & ban on rallies & moved troops in. The region’s president dec his own martial law & looks set to resist strongly


11/10/91

Bulgaria’s new gov has no CP

Yeltsin also imposed travel restrictions & ordered firearm confiscation. Today ordered the president’s arrest

David Duke says his fascist past (1989 at least) doesn’t count as he is now a born again. However in debates he lied about belonging to a church. He has been examined by evangelical clergy, who say he lied about his conversion

Anti-immigration Freedom Party gets 22.7% vote in Vienna elections


11/11/91

Russian Parl rejects Yeltsin’s state of emergency in Chechen-Ingush 177-4. But will impose controls on traffic of people & arms from & to N Caucasus. The Chechen-Ingush Interior Min says prison inmates who broke out to join the demonstration, might be amnestied.
-If Goby’s said a word, I haven’t heard it.


11/12/91

Gorby says Bush warned him of coup June

2 gov officials disciplined for trying to sell assets of failed S&Ls for more than bargain basement prices. Officials of Resolution Trust Corp are exempt from laws protecting employees who expose misconduct

Senate passes parental leave 65-32, House 253-177 for 3 mos unpaid leave. Exempts the 95% of comps under 50 employees & thus only cover 46m., and exempts highest-paid 10%

Yeltsin says his dec of emergency in Chechen-Ingush was result of misleading info by someone now fired — the person he appointed to govern C-I
-Prez of C-I wants KGB officials to register

Yeltsin says Gorby is personally blocking Ger extradition of Honecker

Israeli Parl says Golan nonnegotiable & more settlements needed. Shamir says current boundaries are “an essential *minimum* of territory.”


11/14/91

Algeria now thought to be working on nukes, with reactor provided by China. US said nothing when knew of its construction & before. Waited till started being built. Info never distributed. Ch. ships nuclear tech to Brazil, SA, Afghanistan, India, Iran

Gers to be allowed to see Stasi files inc names of informers

Israeli police wants a Palestinian spokeswoman related to delegation to Peace Conf prosecuted for meeting PLO

FDA panel votes to keep silicone breast implants on mkt because of “public health necessity”


11/15/91

Fed appeals court threw out Poindexter’s conviction, based on immunized testimony.
-Elliot Abrams gets probation & community service — the judge said he hoped Abrams would spend it advising lawyers on ethics problems!

FDIC spends $700m/yr on outside lawyers, paid $100/hr to do clerical work, w/out competitive bidding or fixed fees. & uses firms that contributed to S&L collapses


11/16/91

Edwin “Better a Lizard Than a Wizard” Edwards beats David Duke for LA. governor 60-40

Russian republic says it will expel Erich Honecker

Aristide says leaders of coup must be punished. Doesn’t he want his job back?

Salvador in cease-fire, but troops using it to move into guerilla zones.
-And House panel says strong circumstantial evidence that Erilio Poncé, then army chief of staff, now defense minister, part of plot to kill Jesuits


11/17/91

Congress approves an anti-missile plan for 1st time in 25 yrs, not Star Wars but on ground, costing $10-60b. Star Wars spending also up

A 1982 plan for ensuring continuity of gov during nuclear war, set up partially by Ollie North, created its very own line of succession to the president. CNN says its secrecy has been used to cover up incompetence (communications system don’t work after $8b spent & contract corruption)

Gorby rejects extradition of Honecker. Says the trial of an anti-fascist like him could amount to Ger “revanchism”

Yeltsin claims control of oil, gold, etc. Also lifting controls of imports & exports. Undercuts the new 9-republic econ agreement

During Baker’s trip to Ch., 2 more dissidents detained in case they tried to meet his aides


11/18/91

US returning the 1,800 Haitians who have escaped since coup

Cambodia’s disappeared from the news since its new gov

Sihanouk back, as are Khmer Rouge leaders, the former president & defense minister of latter gov to sit on council, all obviously waiting for Sihanouk to die. Cambodia’s war, w/training provided by Ch. & Br’s SAS, largely conducted through landmines. The # of amputees is not to be believed

While Sup Court incredibly allowed victim-impact evidence in death penalties, now refuse to allow evidence that victim’s family does not want an execution


11/19/91

House failed to override veto on abortion counseling, 276-156 in favor of override

Fed judge Miami issues restraining order against forcible return of Haitians (after 538 returned)(53 got asylum)

Quayle’s Competitiveness Council ordered FDA to withhold from Congress info about its role. Stopped requirement of 25% recycling of muni waste & ban on burning lead batteries, allow pollution comps to revise own pollution permits. The Council claims not to be a gov agency, so not subject to FOIA. Quayle got chair of Exchange Commission to allow gutting of leg protecting right of securities fraud victims to recover losses

8 (9?) Soviet republics agree to should entire foreign debt if necessary (Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, GA abstaining)


11/20/91

Shevardnadze back as foreign minister

Poindexter’s conviction also overturned — seems North couldn’t distinguish between his immunized testimony & reality any better than Poindexter could at North’s trial

Bush to order fed agencies to stop all racial & gender preferences & quotas, all affirmative action. Who thought he was compromising on civil rights?

Cambodia’s VN-backed gov names Sihanouk as president until 1993 elections: pre-emption, presumably

US won’t pull troops from S Korea, citing N Korean nukes


11/21/91

Bush backs off from yesterday’s little trial Hindenburg on affirmative action. Claim no one high up say this draft, but took a whole day to say so

“E Ger”. W Ger media giants now own 95% E. papers & replaced editors & journalists. TV & radio to be closed & replaced. In one of successors, 7 of 8 directors from W. — all CDU members. In Thuringia, shortfall for 7,000 teachers salaries — at same time, 7,000 fired based on the are-you-now-or-have-you-ever-been questionnaires. Whole university depts shut down, not just Marxist soc sciences but molecular biology, cancer research. Drs, to open own practice, must now prove their fathers & grandfathers were German — remnants of Nazi law. A state prosecutor from Hamburg who dismissed charges against SS man due to “insufficient evidence of cruelty” in ordering children killed, now deputy chief state prosecutor for n. ex-DDR & will screen the judges of DDR. In W Ger, 155,000 convicted Nazi criminals get civil service pensions. Enterprises closed inc profitable ones that compete w/W Ger comps, like the state airline. In E Ger, 1m unemp, 2m underemployed, 600,000 early retirement. Work in E not recognized, so nurses paid beginner’s wages. Women are 58% of unemployed & media urging domesticity

Thatcher wants a Br referendum on single Eur currency. She was reminded having said referenda are for dictators. Now she says single currency w/out a vote is dictatorship

Israel Labor to support negotiations w/PLO. Wants end of new settlements — but can expand existing ones

Montenegro presidents wants reservists returned


11/25/91

When signing Civil Rights bill, Bush ordered enforcement to be based on Bob Dole’s interpretation of it, which would not overrule Wards Cove ruling on job requirements
-Congress directed judges to interpret the law based on their memos (of which Dole’s not one), to get around Sup Court’s new tendency to ignore leg history

US calls for new Mideast Conf. Will not issue visas to PLO officials to advise Palestinian negotiators

Admin backs down from redefining wetlands out of existence that would have halved them & eliminated them from 29 states

Sununu says that his subordinate, Foreign President Bush, “ad-libbed” comments that credit card interest should come down. Threatened veto when D’Amato intro bill to that effect

Much of Soviet gold supply secretly sold off in last 5 yrs to cover budget deficits — $25b. Theoretically w/out Gorby’s knowledge but by PM & Foreign Minister. Gorby not interested in budgets. There is an older account of 45m rubles evidently from old budget surpluses. And maybe no relation, but CP budget chief “suicided” 6 days after coup

US line on Haitian refugees is that returning them to a dictatorship is humanitarian. Wouldn’t wish to encourage them to set out in dangerous boats. The reason can summarily return them to Haiti is a RR deal w/Duvalier

Clarence Thomas failed to disqualify himself from a 3-judge panel on which he voted to reduce damages owed by Ralston Purina, largely owned by family of his pol patron, Sen. Danforth.
-Alexander Cockburn conjectures that Thomas was FBI spy during his brief conversion to black radicalism 1969 just as Jedgar Hoover started pushing for infiltration of black student groups. One of his close friends, Jay Parker, already known as a registered agent for SA gov, early 1970s president of Friends of the FBI


11/26/91

Eur Court of Human Rights says Br was wrong to ban publication of extracts of Spycatcher after published in US

By Oct87, Dukakis had raised $8m. By Oct91, all 6 D candidates raised $2m. Harkin spends 50-70% of his schedule on fund-raising. Tsongas the only one to qualify for matching funds. Cuomo’s Hamlet act keeping everyone else back. Jerry Brown does not fund-raise, keeps an 800 number

Sihanouk will form coalition w/Hun Sen as PM (head of current VN-backed regime) & exclude Khmer Rouge

The horrendous crime bill w/52 new death penalties & gutting habeas corpus, dies after Bush threatens to veto it as too weak on habeas & on warrantless searches. Presumably the gun control part was the problem

Khmer Rouge ex-president of Cambodia has had to leave country after a mob tried to lynch him

Azerbaijan Parl votes to take control of Ngorno-Karabakh

Bush admin blaming Libya for 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing, just in case his ratings need another war. And acquits his new friends Syria & Iran. Says Syrians “took a bum rap on this.” With Br, US demanding handing over of evidence & 2 intelligence agents


11/28/91

Puerto Rican Senate cmte uncovers group of fed officials & PR police, inc the chief US marshal there, were a conspiracy aimed at killing independence activists, inc 2 1978, a 1980 bombing of PR Bar Assoc, a 1982 kidnapping & 1979 machine-gun attack on bus

Bush, at an Anaheim convention, questioned into an open mike the order of questions he’d just answered, leading to confession that his q’s are indeed planted

US says it will “expeditiously” recognize Ukraine if referendum succeeds Sunday


11/29/91

Medicaid covers the Norplant birth control implant in 48 states now

Br retail chains inc Tesco & Safeway to violate Sunday closing law

½ benefits of Gingrich plan would go to top 2%.

Bush will run against Congress again. His cabinet has spent ave 14 yrs in D.C., Bush 25 yrs. Ave in House 10 yrs


11/30/91

Romania says if Ukraine ind, some of its territory belongs to Romania

½ of House R’s asked Bush to appoint Jack Kemp domestic policy czar

Serbia moving settlers into Croat lands, most held by people taking over Ger lands after 1945

Israel flexing muscles by demanding 5-day postponement of next peace talks. May send low-level delegation. And wants to meet different delegation on different days.

US will evidently wait for Russia to recognize an ind Ukraine 1st, but no one told Yeltsin before opening their fat mouths. Seems Yeltsin not all that favorable

Soviet Cent. Bank stopped payments after Yeltsin failed to authorize more deficit spending. Yeltsin will take temp control of Soviet foreign ministry building, embassies, as USSR can’t afford them. Today Yeltsin to guarantee payments y Cent Bank
-Russia says it won’t sign union treaty if Ukraine doesn’t