Tuesday, February 15, 2005

October 1987



10/1/87

Br Labour reaffirms unilateralism

La Prensa appeared today. BBC said it was “more opposition than newspaper.” Stories of alleged corruption, US State Dept handouts, nastiness about Castro & the gov’s unilateral cease-fire relegated to back pages


10/2/87

RR looks like losing on Bork, & his attacks on opponents are getting vicious

The lawyer pushing the “broad” interpretation of ABM Treaty allowing SDI is Bretton Sciaroni (see I-C hearings). He said previously that Boland didn’t apply to the NSC & has awful credentials


10/3/87

Fr has agreed to pay compensation to Greenpeace for sinking the Rainbow Warrior in NZ--$8m--2 yrs ago. Awarded by a tribunal in Geneva

Fiji looks like being thrown out of the Commonwealth

La Prensa day 1: “In the name of the people of Nicaragua, La Prensa today tells the Sandinista Front that Nicaraguans have never wanted and do not want a Communist-style totalitarian dictatorship.”

Op-ed piece by Bruce Buchanan in NYT 10/2 says candidates should be judged by character in terms of 1) how they respond to roadblocks. Those who dig in & lash back are dangerous (Woodrow Wilson, LBJ, Nixon). 2) Excess glory as judged by # of sycophantic aides etc, 3) Burnout. Carter worked too hard, RR distanced himself. 4) The great temptation. Those who distort cost of, say, VN


10/6/87

Sen. Judiciary Cmte votes 9-5 to report out Bork’s nomination w/a neg. recommendation


10/7/87

RR is making demands on Nicaragua in the name of the “Reagan-Wright” plan that go well in excess of what Wright considers reasonable. In elections well in advance of 1990.

Says NYT, “The Sup Court refused to rule today on the legality of a test that has kept women from being hired as New York City firefighters since 1984.” Pissing a fire out, perhaps?


10/8/87

Guess which candidate has the latest scandal? The Rev Pat Robertson has been lying about the date of his marriage, since Mrs R gave birth 4 mos. later. He, of all people, considered this none of the press’s business. Well, it didn’t hurt Ron & Nancy, so...


10/10/87

Bork not backing down, evidently just as a protest since he has no chance in hell

The Cambodian gov has offered a post to Prince Sihanouk

Philippine anti-Aquinoites, led by Laurel, form an alliance


10/13/87

Alf Landon d., age 100

Oscar Arias wins Nobel Peace Prize. Jack Kemp calls it a mistake

RR says opposition to Bork a “political joke” & if he has to appoint another, he will find one just as objectionable

Haitian police shot a minor candidate for prez

Spycatcher is on sale in Oz

RR says he still doesn’t know what happened to profits from arms sales to Iran & didn’t believe that North & Poindexter broke the law


10/16/87

Arias demanding Nicaragua negotiate cease-fire w/Contras

Taiwanese will be allowed to visit mainland

A Justice Dept spokesperson saying unpleasant things about Deaver’s Special Prosecutor & that he threatens US-Canada relations


10/19/87

US attacks Iranian oil platforms allegedly used in attacks on shipping. Although RR has been saying that all our actions are defensive, this was attack on undefended targets
-“A lawful exercise of the right of self-defense,” says RR

The last Iranian attack on US-flagged tanker involved Stinger missiles which US gave to Afghan rebels

Record fall on Wall St., larger than 1929. RR says this puzzling because the economy is in wonderful shape

Coup Burkina Fasso last week. The leader says last prez planned to kill his enemies. He was executed w/12 others

Bush is proposing major cut in capital gains tax to spur economy


10/20/87

Speaker Wright on whether RR notification on Iran attack adequate under War Powers Act: “I’m not going to get into a quarrel about that. When we face the world at a moment of crisis, we face it as one nation, indivisible, under God.”

Nicaragua banned the reopened Cath radio station from broadcasting news

Sup Court said a phone comp can terminate a dial-a-porn service w/out violating its 1st amend rights


10/22/87

1st RR news conf. Will go into conf w/Congress. There are hints that he might accept taxes. Still, says Congress must give up Keynesianism. Blames Congress
-Yesterday heard him explain how all tax increases reduce revenue

Nat Endowment for Democracy, which operates w/Congressional aid, supplies La Prensa w/$98,000 worth of ink, etc--total aid since 1980 will be $254,000

Former head of weapons program at Livermore labs alleges that Edw Teller & Lowell Wood lied about x-ray lasers’ capabilities


10/23/87

Bork rejected Senate 58-42


10/24/87

Pat Robertson said gov should encourage births

Ira Glasser of ACLU says that 4th Amend used to be the custodian of the right to privacy, when documents kept at home or business, but info is now in banks, computers, credit card comps & needs protection


10/25/87

E Ger the 1st Warsaw Pact country to abolish the death penalty


10/26/87

There is a new book on AIDS. Randy Shilts’ And the Band Played On, which says that AIDS can be traced to one carrier, a promiscuous air steward, and that no one talked of AIDS’ dangers early on. That a virologist at Bethesda

Turkey is having elections earlier than expected following that referendum. Const says shouldn’t be 90 days after a dissolution. This will be 45. Now, in 1982 there was a referendum on the army’s const. Army then imposed draconian penalties on non-voters, inc depriving them of voting rights for 5 yrs--ending Nov. 7 of this yr--6 days after the election

Fed prison system, w/capacity of 28,000, has 44,000


10/27/87

Half of all Soviet citizens & 40% Nicaraguans seeking asylum 1983-6 successful, 1% Guatemala, 1.8% Haiti. Admin wants asylum moved from courts to Justice Dept


10/28/87

El Salvador’s gov is blaming murder of head of Commission on Human Rights on the guerillas!


10/29/87

RR announces new Sup Court candidate, Judge Douglas Ginsburg of Washington Court of Appeals. 41 yrs old.

El Salvador Nat Ass approves amnesty for guerillas & death squads or military who massacred civilians, but the killer of Archbishop Romero exempted

RR says that ave time between nomination & hearings 18 dys. That Bork’s 70 dys was designed to allow opposition time to prepare, & there better not be more than 3 weeks now. Ginsberg’s been on Circuit bench only 1 yr. Harvard Law prof 8 yrs. No trial experience

In Repub. debates, Pat Robertson claimed ¼ American workers on drugs
-5 of 6 opposed the INF treaty

Last week’s Demo. debate on foreign policy. Gore staked out the right wing. Gephard talked of military help for the ANC, Dukakis of pulling out of S Korea, Simon of giving covert action to army & FBI. Dukakis opposes Midgetman & would divert money from nukes to conventional. All say Eurs should spend more. Babbitt against use of tactical nukes (presumably favors conventional). Simon wants comprehensive test ban, Gore & Babbitt want testing.


10/30/87

Ginsburg was previously in Justice & OMB. His writings have focused on technical regulatory & antitrust issues. Got only a “qualified” rating from ABA last yr. Views on const issues, inc abortion, privacy, role of courts, is not known.

Malaysia amnestying all critics. Inc environmentalists & consumer advocates! Gov says this is necessary to prevent racial violence


10/31/87

Commerce Dept says it will not readjust 1990 census to account for undercounts as major cities want

OPIC gave a $375,000 loan in 1983 to John Hull, owner of ranch in Costa Rica used for Contras

Israeli investigation of Shin Beth says it systematically lied in court over 16 yrs on terrorist suspects, esp after torturing confessions out of them. But actually the report says that “mild physical pressure should not be avoided.”

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