July 1995

7/1/95

Yeltsin’s gov survives the confidence vote, though a majority did not support the gov. 193-117-48


7/2/95

NYT’s coverage of the Sup Court black district decision replicates the court’s racial assumptions. It notes that GA’s D. Reps are black, but fails to observe that the R’s are white. Blacks are ethnic, whites universal. One might also ask, if race has so little salience, how it is possible to create a geographic black district

64 of the 72 R’s in House new in 1994 are anti-abortion

Those 4 Tory Euro-rebels who had the whip removed last yr got it back w/no conditions. The Tories simply cannot afford a by-election, so there is no threat


7/3/95

After failure of Clinton’s health plan, states gave up on their efforts too. Uninsured rising – 40.9m early 1994. Employees added insurance for 2m 1994, dropped 4.5m spouses & children. A fed law protects self-insured businesses from state reg – now employing majority of workers – preventing other states following Hawaii to force employers to insure (Hawaii was grandfathered).

John Redwood: “Brussels should let some sleeping dogs lie & learn that you cannot harmonize the dachshund & the Eng. bulldog by cross-breeding.”

R. budget plan for 2002 passes both houses. Tax cuts go into effect only in CBO certifies the overall plan will lead to balanced budget, but only in 1st yr...
-1/3 of spending restraints are in Medicare, but R’s made sure there will be no separate vote on that in House.

Sup Court now has no activist left, but a conservative one, (Breyer, Ginsburgh, Stevens, Souter) arguing for precedent, while right is now activist. Court dec 4 fed laws unconst this term (129 over previous 205 yrs). Down to 82 ops, lowest since 1955-6

1984 W Eur had 100,000 asylum applications 1992 693,000, over ½ in W Ger. Then changes were made... W Ger says countries that signed Geneva Convention could produce no refugees – all the countries on its border. So asylum applications are way down, 40% Eur, 60% Ger. 1984 the acceptance rate was 42%, 1993 8% (4.6% Br 1994). But only 20% actually leave, the rest go underground. Many countries sanction airlines or have “international” areas in their airports, at which refugees are detained, then deported

Br releases after 4 yrs in prison a soldier serving “life” for shooting a joy rider, a teenaged girl. Another pawn in the Tory leadership campaign. Riots erupt in Belfast, demands for release of IRA prisoners. A member of the Life Sentence Review Board resigns in protest. Only 2 soldiers ever convicted of murder NI, both released early, while no IRA or loyalist murderers released before 10 yrs


7/4/95

Chechen leader Dudayev offers to resign if Russia recognizes Chechen ind.
-Yeltsin issues decree for perm stationing of military units there

Major wins 218, Redwood 89, of 329, meaning 1/3 did not support him. Thatcher failed to endorse Major.


7/5/95

Hong Kong already censoring itself, w/papers undercounting an HK demo commemorating Tiananmen, mentions of Taiwan being deleted from new school texts, etc

House wants to deny funds to states that don’t mandatorily test newborns for AIDS. Jesse Helms trying to reduce fed money for AIDS victims because their revolting conduct responsible for it. Helms of course being Mr. Tobacco Subsidy.

Br gov reshuffle. The right does not do well, though Portillo promoted to Defense, more for loyalty than ideology. Heseltine, ditto, made deputy PM, whatever that is Malcolm Rifkind advanced from Defense to FO, Hurd already retiring. Employment & ed. are combined. Chief Sec to Treasury & general embarrassment Jonathan Aitken leaves gov, presumably to fight his many libel suits full time. Virginia Bottomley demoted from Health to Heritage.
-All the Tory papers called for Major’s ouster. Oops


7/6/95

There was supposed to be a Conf of the States. After a dozen states had decided to participate, the ludicrous far right decided it was a secret plot to impose a One World Gov, lobbied legislatures, and killed the conf, the Nat Governors’ Assoc gave up. It was alleged to be a clandestine Const conv. Both the conf & the loonies are now really into the 10th Amend, which 15+ states have recently passed resolutions to assert their sovereignty. Colo leg told Fed Gov “as our agent, to cease & desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of its constitutionally delegated powers.” OK resolution 1994: “The United States Congress is hereby memorialized, to cease any support for the establishment of a ‘new world order’ or to any form of global government.” State Senator Don Rogers of CA blames gov for OK City bombing, ditto Charles Key, State Rep OK

Maureen Dowd says that a Republican Party which wanted a new Reagan instead has successors to Nixon, nasty prunes all. Indeed, Dole, Wilson, Lamar Alexander, Pat Buchanan, Richard Lugar, Arlen Specter all worked for Nixon or with him at some pt

Yug. has been rounding up Serbs from Bosnia & Croatia, some refugees but some migrants of long duration, 1000s of them, and impressing them into Serb armies. This might be the quid pro quo for the release of NATO hostages.

Yeltsin’s new Interior Minister is the general who was commander in Chechnya. What the hell is he thinking?


7/7/95

London police chief (?) says most muggers there are black. Home Sec Michael Howard says he is right to focus on race

Paris owns luxury apts. Some are occupied by the new PM Alain Juppé, his ex-wife, half brother, son, etc. at low rates. Ditto 2 children of the new mayor, Chirac’s successor

Serb shell almost gets the UN mediator

Greens hit 10% in May elections Rhine-Westphalia, while Free Dems dropped out of parls there & Bremen


7/8/95

Chirac & right now have 80% seats in Nat Ass, 2/3 Senate, 20 or 22 regional councils, 4/5 dept councils, most big towns. Chirac himself only got 20.8% in 1st round; the lowest under this system, and the only to win 2nd round w/out ½ the vote (what do we make of 6% blank ballots?)


7/9/95

A couple of profs think Queen Victoria was illegitimate, given that there was no hemophilia in her alleged ancestors. The Duke of Kent had never had children w/his mistress of 20 yrs, so...

Fr storms Rainbow Warrior II w/commandos, 10 yrs to day after bombing of RW I

US infant mortality declining but white-black gap growing. Blacks 17% live births, 33% infant deaths 1992. Overall, 7.9/1,000


7/10/95

Ch. arrests Harry Wu, Ch-American former dissident who writes of prison labor use, and has US passport, for espionage, as he snuck in to do more of same (evidently the fault of 60 Minutes, which didn’t like the picture quality on his film last time).

Hospitals complain that HMOs more frequently refusing to pay ERs

Armenian elections not counted yet, but 9 opposition parties were banned, opposition members on election commission prevented from counting ballots, etc

India now keeps 300,000 army & police in Kashmir, w/searches & shoot to kill orders. Army besieges town of Charar Sharif, then evidently burned it down. Those who ran Kashmir for India before 1990 are in exile in New Delhi or elsewhere

Crown Point, Ind. sells advertising on its police cars – inc for a Funeral Home

6 states this yr allow concealed weapons, 25 total relaxed regs

Golden Gate Bridge approaching its 1000th suicide. They won’t give out the number, given the competition to be #500 in 1973, when tv stations had cameras 24-hrs a day & one clown was stopped w/a “500” t-shirt. The oldest was 87, youngest 5. One note: “Absolutely no reason, except I have a toothache.” A cop once stopped one with “Come down or I’ll shoot.”

UN warns Bosnian Serbs not to attack UN position in Srebrenica. 30 peacekeepers detained. So they’re just shelling it to death. UN refuses to use word hostage

Br Cabinet (see also 7/5/95): Stephen Dorrell to Health, a privatizer. Sir George Young, transport – owns a bike. Ian Lang trade & industry, Brian Mawhinney, chair of Tory Party. Most of the winners (Lang, Rifkind, Mahwinney, not right or left – and no personal power bases. All but 1 are in 40s or 50s.
-The right wanted Major to rule out a single Eur currency forever, which Major refused, though it’s pretty clear he won’t. And EU reform is shelved effectively until after next Br election

Clinton joins R’s in attacking violence in the media, endorsing proposals to require a chip in TV’s to screen out programs


7/11/95

Burma releases Aung San Suu Kyi after 6 yrs house arrest following her election

Serbs attack the Dutch UN troops guarding Srebrenica despite the threat. The commander calls in air strikes, but was over-ruled because the Dutch seemed to be doing ok. Serbs give 48 hr ultimatum for UN troops to leave

Tories up to 10 local councils in Br (all still in England). The 2 new ones since the election being from “independents” joining Tories. There were many “inds,” actually Tories who preferred to be known as anything else: farmer, retired tobacconist, etc

Serbs take Srebrenica. 20,000 flee. There were, finally, air strikes, hitting 2 tanks. More strikes stopped when Serbs threaten to kill Dutch UN hostages. Srebrenica was a UN “safe area.” Serbs claim it was self-defense, that Bosnians launched raids from Srebrenica – they are doing UN’s job for it, demilitarizing the area

Clinton gives full dipl recognition to VN
-There are 2,202 MIAs in all SE Asia, 1618 VN. Korea 8,170, WW2 78,750
-Dole threatens to block funds for an embassy, and an ambassador


7/12/95

May 15 referenda Belarus approve econ integration w/Russia, Russian as state language, and allow president to dissolve Parl. Prez Lukashenka has fired 4 newspaper editors. Russian customs officers are now working on Belarus’s borders w/Poland & Lithuania. But planned monetary union failed 1994 because Russia didn’t want to pay for it. Nor to subsidize its oil use as before

The Union of Rabbis for the Land of Israel, which inc the former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, says soldiers must refuse orders to hand bases in W Bank to PLO

Haiti: Aristideites do v. well in 1st round of Parl elections, which was so incompetent it will have to be rerun in 20% of places


7/13/95

Clinton says 1st Amend “does not convert our schools into religion-free zones.” To send guidelines to schools that relig expression – distributing lit., relig t-shirts, praying, carrying Bibles, etc. allowed in same way as other speech acts. Of course relig is not the same.

House cmte investigating Waco brought along NRA experts to examine remains of Branch Davidian weapons

Serbs ethically cleanse Srebrenica, expelling 30 or 40,000, then preventing Red Cross aid to feed them. They have separated out & retained military-age men. Boutrous-Ghali says negotiation still the only way, says there will be no more air strikes

FDA says nicotine is a drug that should be regulated, but passes buck to Clinton & proposes only new limits on ads & curtailing sales to the young

Project Censored 94: 1) failure of gov to inform workers exposed to asbestos, silica, uranium. Only 30% of workers at 258 sites identified by OSHA in 1984. And the backlog is growing
2) Council for National Policy [some conspiracy theory]
3) DOD pays contractors to merge under a Clinton plan. For ex, $330m to Martin Marietta to buy 2 subsidiaries of other comps
4) EPA ignores reports that incineration is dangerous, producing dioxins, which accumulate in the food chain like DDT
5) Clinton retreat on ozone. Actually asked DuPont to cont. making chlorofluorocarbons for car air conditioners after they had agreed to stop
6) Radiation experiments on humans kept secret, and reports ignored by press since 1971
7) industrial fishing fleets waste 60b. pounds of fish/yr, w/small fish & those not legally fish thrown out
8) Lack of response to resurgence of TB
9) Pentagon’s High Frequency Active Auroral Research Project in Alaska, to beam 16 watts of power into ionosphere for no obvious reason
10) media & crimes against women


7/14/95

Closing of military bases was taken out of politics, given to a commission, to be accepted or not en toto. Clinton says it is “an outrage” to CA & Texas, but he’ll accept it. 20,000 jobs to be lost in CA

August 17, Mumia Abu-Jamal to be executed in Penn. Ex of Black Panthers & a journalist who condemned Philly police violence to blacks. He allegedly shot a cop. Judge refused to let him represent himself, appointed a reluctant lawyer & expelled Jamal from the court for long pers. Only 2 witnesses claimed to see him, one a prostitute w/charges pending (then dropped) & someone on probation. Witnesses who saw someone else running away not called. 2 cops, friends of the victim, claimed Jamal said he did it – and then they kept silent for mos. Another cop who was there & logged that J. made no statements was given vacation during the trial

SA: the bantustans managed to ring up huge debt before being re-merged
-100s of 1000s of black areas are finally getting electricity & phones
-The 4 biggest corps – AAC, Sanlam, Rembrandt, SA Mutual, own 76% J’burg stock mkt
-Gov has promised 10 yrs of schooling for every child & to equalize spending by 1999. 1993 ¼ black teachers had the min. qualification, 100% white. Money for equalizing will come at expense of the universities & higher tuition in U’s

Gingrich calls for nat referendum on drugs. Either legalize it or execute drug dealers

A man who punched his girlfriend in the mouth is ordered to marry her

Wash. state governor Mike Lowry settles a sexual harassment suit out of court for $100,000. It is getting no publicity

Speaking of slime, Barbara Boxer wants pub hearings on Bob Packwood and will attach it to a bill if the ethics cmte doesn’t vote w/in a week. Ethics Cmte chair Mitch McConnell threatens a reprisal in form of hearings on Chappaquiddick.

Republicans think it’s D’s keeping God out of the classroom. Actually, he’s afraid of getting shot.

B-2 stealth bombers, $44.4b for 20 of them inc R&D, and R’s want 20 more, have radar that can’t distinguish rain from a mountain, can be detected, and fail tests

FBI demotes its new (May95) deputy director Larry Potts over the 1992 shooting of Randy Weaver’s wife & dog in Idaho. Shoot-to-kill orders were issued & documents destroyed, possibly to cover Potts’ role. The incident is an extreme-right-gun-nut-militia-survivalist fringe. And the R Party will hold hearings on it


7/15/95

Serbs going after Jepa next. UN trying to keep heavy weapons from Bosnians who want them back. Bosnian gov refusing to take responsibility for the ethnically-cleansed from Srebrenica, saying it’s the UN fault & responsibility. Serbs keeping relief out of E Bosnia


7/16/95

Tony Blair accepts a junket to Australia from Rupert Murdoch


7/17/95

Bosnian gov was v. unhelpful about Srebrenica refugees, refusing to make schools & other sites available, insisting they be left at the airport for PR reasons.
-Bosnians grabbing weapons from peacekeepers in the other “safe areas”

In House, cmtes, which used to be free of partisanship, now not. Judiciary sends out its Const amends unamended. Debate & witnesses are for show now. Partly this is because Newt picked the chairs, which D Speakers did not. Things like changing procedural rules midway through a debate, limiting debate to 10 mins per amend on Interior appropriations – inc future of NEA, NEH, ban on offshore drilling, gutting Endangered Species Act

New Whitewater papers (hearings to start again) says James McDougal shielded the Clintons from paying for its losses. Clintons’ tax return does not show the loss, but by 1992 Whitewater was public & spin control extended even to 1040s (also, they’d never have to show the documents that prove a loss). While the Clintons claim not to have known Whitewater was failing, they did know that taxes & loan interest were often delinquent. This is from RTC report of the $200,000 in losses, Clintons paid $43,000, not ½

R’s may try to abolish Selective Service, $20m/yr. Clinton wants it retained

USIA now requires aliens on J visas (visiting scholars, researchers & such) have corpse repatriation insurance

Ch. complaining that India allows the Dalai Lama to have a birthday party

There will no longer be any American tv’s. Zenith is selling out to Goldstar. Actually it did almost no manufacture in US

Chirac recognizes Fr’s responsibility for fate of Fr Jews. Mitterrand just blamed Vichy, said Fr not to blame. By the way, Fr never returned the prop it confiscated from deported Jews

NRA person pretended to be a House cmte staff member investigating WACO

Gingrich 1st says we should recognize Taiwan & then, after a phone call from Kissinger from Beijing (wonder who paid), said he was just trying to rattle Ch’s cage & didn’t really mean it.

Russian prosecutors going after the Spitting Image-type puppet satire. Prosecutor-gen. says he was ordered to do so, but won’t say by whom. It is under law forbidding pub insults to dignity of the state


7/18/95

Gov. Wilson in favor of non-majority verdicts in juries, esp for capital cases

Yeltsin had a heart attack last week, and the gov faked photos of him to “prove” he was ok. The admission is 8 days late, and is probably because the fakes convinced people he was dead or something.

Sp: Gonzales finally calls for new elections, after losing support of Basques, who were none too thrilled to be associated w/corruption & abortion liberalization

House Judiciary Cmte votes to illegalize a form of abortion, “partial-birth abortion,” which is always done late term to save mother’s life. Would allow the father & I believe grandparents to sue the dr.


7/19/95

Zepa seems to have fallen. Bosnians threatened to use Ukrainian peacekeepers as human shields if there were no air strikes. Serbs threatened to kill its UN hostages if there were. Bosnian foreign min says the UN mission in Bosnia is over. They esp want Ukrainians out. The commander of Ukrainian peacekeepers in Zepa evidently joined the Serbs (the gov says)
-Bosnia says if Dole’s bill to lift embargo passes, it will demand UN w/drawal w/in 24 hrs
-Fr plan to reinforce safe areas rejected by US, which might have to do something. Br referring to the plan as Dien Bien Gorazde

House 235-188 forbids fed employees’ health-care plans to cover abortions unless life in dnager


7/20/95

House Appropriations Cmte votes to kill a program even RR & Bush supported, to give family planning advice to poor ♀
-And ban fed funds for research using embryos

Sp: former gen sec of Socialist Party in Basque says he talked to Felipe González about hit squads. He is on bail for a kidnapping by death squads – he admits his involvement

House fails to kill Ch’s MFN status, but demands a Radio Free Asia

The Carter Center says Haitian elections were so fraudulent that 2nd round & reruns should not be backed by US w/out changes

Sen. Judiciary Cmte approved amend allowing states to ban flag desecration. Howell Heflin & Dianne Feinstein support it

Serbs will detail all males in Zepa aged 18-55 as POWs, ads did in Srebrenica. Killed many in latter. Have been luring Bosnians out disguised as UN

1st fruits of Br merging Ed. & Employment. Gillian Shepherd wants disruptive students to be put to work – at 14


7/21/95

UN Human Rights Commission criticizes Br asylum laws & repeal of right to silence

NATO says this time, really, will bomb the shit out of the Serbs if they attack Gorazde. US, which has no one on the ground, says hostage-taking won’t stop us. Control to be removed from UN’s Akashi to the (British) commanders of UN force

UC Regents end affirmative action for admission & hiring. Wilson put a lot of pressure on his appointees to overrule the UC President & all 9 chancellors. Wilson is now getting the national publicity he wanted.
-1994 UCB’s Asian admissions had GPA of 3.95, whites 3.86, Hispanics 3.65, blacks 3.43.
-Actually, fed law requires affirm. action in staff & faculty if get tax money, so that part is void
-There will be preference based on socio-econ. & the phrasing of this section is insulting as hell, saying will only take those w/the character to overcome their environment, as if affirmative actioners did not
-The vote was taken in private, in violation of Brown Act


7/22/95

When Ger re-unified, all E Ger officers colonel & up fired. Only 10,000 professional soldiers remain, inc 3,500 officers, 1/10 of Bundeswehr’s officers. If serve in E Ger, paid 20% less & all reduced in rank (E Ger had a higher % of officers)


7/24/95

House kills $2m subsidy for mink fashion shows abroad 232-116

Report by Inspector-Gen of USIA says Radio Martí is being run by Jorge Mas Canosa, broadcasts lies, attacking Clinton’s admin policy while trumpeting Mas’s opposition. The news director, now transferred, took dir orders, punished those who disagreed w/him

Japanese upper house elections. Lib Dems do rather badly, Socialists lose many seats. Lowest turnout by a long shot, 43%, indicating distaste for politics

Gerry Adams says had secret meeting w/NI sec Sir Patrick Mayhew last week to break the impasse in talks

Alabama, under Fed threat, to stop forcing rape victims to pay for gathering forensic evidence from their bodies. This was common 10 yrs ago

Of new 1994 Congresscritters, 215 never before held elective office

In 1990, Wash. state passed law allowing it to keep rapists in prison after their sentences served. They call it civil commitment, and there are 31 currently under it. Essentially, after saying they’re sane & need prison sentences, they decide they’re not & require treatment. The state Sup Court allowed this


7/25/95

On proposed execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal. His appeal is being handled by the original judge, who has refused to recuse himself. Judge Albert Sabo has handed out twice as many death sentences as any other judge in US, 31 total, 93% to non-whites, and has a 34% reversal rate for errors such as in this case, not defining mitigating circumstances to jury & telling them he’d have “appeal after appeal” whatever their decision – actually Penn. has mandatory death for killing a police w/out mitigating circumstances. He allowed prosecutor to claim a main witness, the one on probation, had no motive to lie. Jury not told the .44 bullet could not have come from Jamal’s .38. Prosecutor cross-examined Jamal on Black Panther membership (Sup Court said same on an Aryan Brotherhood was a violation of 1st Amend)

On behalf of Somozistas who acquired US citizenship, US (i.e., Helms & Toricelli) pressuring Nicaragua to compensate those whose properties confiscated

Russia has its very 1st hostile takeover attempt, failed


7/26/95

US closes its 1st ever consulate, in Bordeaux (1790)

US is 18th in maternal health, behind Taiwan & Singapore. Death in childbirth or pregnancy is 5,669 in US, 1/17,000 Italy, 1/7 Mali

Since the decision ot claim to protect Gorazde, Allies fighting about “dual key” NATO + UN control. Boutrous-Boutrous Ghali refused to give up his control until today. Now delegated to UN commander
-The Fr seem to have made an unauthorized bombing run on Karadzic’s house in Pale in retaliation for 2 more Fr soldiers killed (42 all told). They did it w/out UN permission. If they did it.
-Internat Criminal Tribunal for ex-Yug. indicts Karadzic, Mladic & others for genocide. Also leader of Croatian Serbs, Milan Martic
-Senate votes 69-29 to lift arms embargo. Clinton threatens to veto this, which he promised when running for prez. Just a bare majority of D’s voted against. All 4 R. prez candidates voted for. Actually, would only end after UN troops w/drawn. Or 12 weeks after Bosnia requests same. And Clinton could ask for 30-day waiver during w/drawal
-Serbs used gas at Zepa

Gingrich’s 1st “Corrections Day” to be twice per mo, to eliminate supposedly non-controversial regs by a 60% vote. Passed a perm exemption for San Diego to pump sewage into Pacific from Clean Water Act. Which EPA already gave them for 5 yrs.

Sen. votes to require more lobbyists to register under the 1997 law which hasn’t been enforced since the 1950s. Not so sure about a ban on gifts & free meals for themselves

Alabama’s leg., unanimously in both houses, allows teachers to paddle students

W Ger businessmen have been using tax breaks to buy up & close, or loot, competitors in E Ger. W Ger retailing chains refusing to stock E Ger products. W Ger banks deny loans

Singapore court orders Internat Herald Tribune to pay $214,000 each to Lee Kuan Yew & his son & $250,000 to the PM, for saying there were dynastic politics in Singapore. No one was named, but the court thought the libelees were obvious...

Amnesty Int is accused by researchers leaving it of being more interested in getting reports out fast, in reaction to CNN & competing NGOs (Human Rights Watch is moving up) rather than getting info right. US branch is contracting fast, ¼ in 4 yrs. And it’s quoted by the media a lot less, too


7/27/95

The Japanese are so paranoid about germs that Pentel sells pens w/barrels impregnated w/antiseptic chemicals & ATMs iron & sanitize bills

In June, Tories lost Scottish by-election at Kinross to SNP, today lost Littleborough & Saddleworth to LibDems, incumbent Tories coming in 3rd. Tories have not won a by-election in over 5 yrs. Majority now 9. Somehow the Tories see a recovery

Australia’s Northern Territory allows drs to assist suicide of terminally ill. 2 drs, 1 w/background in psychiatry, 9-day cooling-off per. 1st area

Steel workers, auto & machinists’ unions to merge w/in 5 yrs. 2m members

Serb Gen. Mladic says Serbs wouldn’t rape Muslims because “we are too picky.”
-Bosnian gov keeping reporters from Zepa refugees, who probably feel as betrayed as Srebrenica refugees did.

Ch. releases tape of dissident & new US citizen Harry Wu allegedly disavowing his BBC documentaries about prison labor & sale of organs from prisoners. He didn’t actually say that, though. They are now also charging him w/embezzlement & raping students when he was a professor. Ch. tried to *sell* the tape to W media.


7/28/95

9 days after Oklahoma City bombing, N Mexican Gov Gary Johnson met & praised reps of militias. Militia reps in Congress: Helen Chenoweth of Idaho, who complained to asst Ag Sec about “black helicopters” enforcing Endangered Species Act. Said she’d be the sec’s “worst nightmare” unless it stopped. Texas’s Steve Stockman in March warned Janet Reno not to raid militias – he claimed to know of plans for such a raid. He’s the one who wrote in Guns & Ammo that Clinton staged WACO to build support for assault weapons ban – the Reichstag theory. Said Clinton should have indicted Reno for “pre-meditated murder.” Sens. Larry Craig of Idaho & Lauch Faircloth of NC wrote Reno about reports of training at Fort Bliss of fed law enforcement agencies. Also watch for Council of Conservative Citizens, the successor to Citizens’ Councils & ties to David Duke, supported by Trent Lott, Miss. Gov. Fordice. And the Gun Owners of America.

VN joins ASEAN. So what’s the point?

Alabama, which reintro chain gains & striped uniforms for prisoners, now reintro breaking rocks. The original purpose, roads, is breaking rocks. 10 hrs/day. Will also ban coffee exc on Sunday, no cable tv, free stamps or the $1/mo allowance

Sen. 98-0 changes rules on gifts from lobbyists & others. Rule, not law, so voluntary, indeed only calls for good faith effort to comply. Would forbid senators & aides taking gifts or meals worth over $50 or $100 total from any person in a yr. (though gifts under $10 don’t count). No free travel to recreational events

R’s fail 212-206 to attach provisions to EPA budget to ban it enforcing wetlands rules or air pollution from oil refineries, cement plants that burn toxic wastes, etc etc. But will cut budget by 1/4 [reversed 7/31]

Despite Harry Wu’s “confession,” Warren Christopher reaffirms 1-China policy, says US will not put sanctions on Ch. for missile technology sales to Iran & Pakistan & offers a summit meeting, but fails to give in to demand never to let Taiwanese PM into US

Croatia joins Bosnia war, relieving besieged Bihac & capturing 3 towns held by Serbs

More than ½ in Fr Chamber of Deputies are majors, most have at least 1 local gov post. Mitterrand was mayor of Château-Chinan in Burgundy for 22 yrs. Since 1985 banned from holding >1 other elected post (EMP, mayor or town over 20,000, on regional or dept council, etc). A minister (ministers must resign as deputy) can hold 2 such posts

CA leg votes to kill local rent control (upon vacancy)

The UK Boundary Commission made its recommendations June 6. Chaired by a High Court judge, other 2 members appointed by gov, but results wouldn’t give Tories more than a few seats. Scottish min is 71 seats, Wales 35. 2/3 of seats have been changed, some eliminated, inc that of Norman Lamont, though total would rise from 651 to 659. The changes mean some Tories are jostling each other looking for safe(r) seats. Scotland, Wales & NI have own boundary commissions.


7/29/95

In EU, among 25-29-year-olds, more women than men have higher ed. degrees (but not in Br, Ger, Luxembourg)


7/31/95

Eva Péron died 1952. When Juan Peron overthrown 1955, the military seized her body. It was stored in a major’s attic until he shot his wife, then secretly buried her under a false name in Italy. 1971 coup gov got Péron’s blessing & gave him back the body. He kept it in an open casket (the preservation is Lenin-style) on the dining room table. His third wife Isabel combed the hair every day. 1974 a guerilla group stole coffin of one of 1955 coup leaders, demanded Eva in exchange, didn’t get it. 1974 brought back to Argentina by Prez Isabel, lay in state until she was overthrown. The military buried it under 3 plates of steel.

A Yugoslav Airlines 727 goes to Romania 3X a day, going empty & coming back w/only... a full tank of gas – enough to fill 3 MIGs. UN monitors give official reprimands to the Romanian fuel truck driver & customs inspector. 3X a day. Romania claims this is untrue. This is possible because May95 Yug. was allowed to resume commercial flights $ sealing border w/Bosnia. There are also many new gas stations right on the border – a 15 mi. bit of road by a fishing village which smells more of gasoline than fish, has more gas stations than Bucharest.

Poll says 63% wanted Susan Smith, who killed her 2 children, executed (she got life).

New hearing for Numia Abu-Jamal, by the same damned judge. “Objection is over-ruled, whatever it was.” He has sustained almost all prosecution, almost no defense objections. He walked out while a defense lawyer was talking. He has interrupt to talk about a swimming pool from 70 yrs ago. The original lawyer had $2,000 for all experts – thus no ballistics was ever done on Jamal’s gun.

During WACO hearings, an NRA lawyer was put in staff section

Article on new popularity of religious books mentions “Jesus, CEO: Using Ancient Wisdom for Visionary Leadership” (in Business Week best-seller list) & “101 Uses for a Dead Angel.”

Russia & Chechnya have a military peace agreement (cease fire, turn in weapons, etc) w/out a pol settlement at all

White House strategy on Whitewater hearings: blame former counsel Bernie Nussbaum. “I’m taking the heat and a good lawyer often takes the heat for a client.” Ah, the Ollie North thing of blaming the prez while pretending to throw yourself on the sword.
-So far hearings indicate that White House was rather high-handed in interfering w/investigation into Vince Foster’s suicide