TIME: Almanac 1995

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<text id=94TT0001> <title> Jan. 10, 1994: Chronicles:The Week </title> <history> TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1994 Jan. 10, 1994 Las Vegas:The New All-American City </history> <article> <source>Time Magazine</source> <hdr> CHRONICLES, Page 9 THE WEEK:DECEMBER 26-JANUARY 1 </hdr> <body> By Christopher John Farley, Sophfronia Scott Gregory, Michael D. Lemonick, Michael Quinn, Jeffery C. Rubin, Alain L. Sanders, Sidney Urquhart NATION New Deputy at State Warren Christopher announced that he would nominate Strobe Talbott to replace ousted Clifton Wharton as Deputy Secretary of State, the No. 2 post in the department. An Oxford roommate of President Clinton's and still his close friend, Talbott now serves as ambassador-at-large to the states of the former Soviet Union, and has helped formulate the Administration's staunchly pro-Yeltsin Russian policy. Gays in Military Appeal In a strange turn of events, the Clinton Administration will challenge a court ruling that said the Pentagon's old policy toward gays was unconstitutional. The appeal, which avoids the constitutional aspects of excluding gays from the military, is based on the narrowest technical grounds: whether it is within the purview of the court to order the Pentagon to commission Midshipman Joseph Steffan, an admitted homosexual. The White House says it must challenge the ruling in order to ultimately defend its new and slightly more liberal "Don't ask, don't tell" policy when, as expected, it meets with legal challenges. Compensation for Test Victims With hitherto classified examples of cold war-era radiation tests on humans being revealed on a weekly basis, an appalled Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary said the government should compensate the victims. The department estimates that 800 people were purposely used as "nuclear guinea pigs" in an effort to study the effects of radiation. It is still not known how many of the subjects understood what was being done to them. Defense Secretary Les Aspin has ordered a review of all files on the issue, and Congress will hold hearings on the tests soon after it reconvenes this month. Erasing a Z in Louisiana A panel of federal judges ruled that the Louisiana state legislature went too far when it tried to create a second black-majority congressional district after the 1990 census. In the judges' view the resulting district, which zigzags in a thin line for 600 miles along the state's northern and eastern borders, was the product of impermissible racial gerrymandering. Now the map must be redrawn before the state's 1994 elections. First Suit for Disabilities Act The Justice Department filed suit against the state of Illinois and the city of Aurora, charging that the state allows policemen and fire fighters with certain medical conditions to be denied pension and disability coverage. Two men on the Aurora police department, one with diabetes and the other with back problems, were excluded from the group's pension fund because they had failed medical tests. The suit is the first under the new Americans with Disabilities Act. Huge HMO Damages A California jury has determined that Health Net, the state's second largest HMO, must pay $89.1 million in compensatory and punitive damages to the family of a now deceased cancer patient denied coverage for a bone-marrow transplant, a procedure that the HMO considers experimental. The company will appeal. Bombs of Vengeance Five people were killed and two wounded last week when a Rochester, New York, man, upset with members of his girl friend's family, sent bombs to their homes and workplaces across the state. Michael Stevens, 53, and his friend Earl Figley, 56, have been arrested. Clinton's Winter Holiday After a high-profile day of duck hunting in Maryland, President Clinton flew to Little Rock for a vacation that differed markedly from his celeb-studded retreat on Martha's Vineyard last summer. The President's average-guy holiday included bowling and sitting in on a University of Arkansas basketball game. Clinton then headed for Hilton Head, South Carolina, to spend New Year's at the annual Renaissance Weekend, a social and policy retreat for caring, sensitive power brokers. WORLD Borders Bedevil Mideast Talks The question of who will control the border passages to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank near the town of Jericho after the Palestinians begin self-rule in those areas continued to trouble Israeli and Palestinian negotiators. The size of the area around Jericho that the P.L.O. will administer has reportedly been resolved, but the border-control dispute was seen as more crucial since it so sharply reflects the negotiations' essential conflict: Israel's concern for security and the Palestinians' desire for the trappings of statehood. Israel, Vatican Announce Ties Creating hope for greater tolerance and cooperation between Jews and Roman Catholics, Israel and the Vatican agreed to establish diplomatic relations. The Holy See will have its embassy in Tel Aviv rather than in the disputed city of Jerusalem, but Catholic officials clearly hope to participate in any negotiations on the future status of Jerusalem. North Korean Nukes U.S. and North Korean negotiators were closer to an agreement in their talks at the United Nations on international inspection of North Korea's nuclear facilities. No one is certain whether the politically isolated state possesses a nuclear bomb, but a new, classified CIA study says that North Korea has probably already built one or two atomic weapons. Meanwhile, China said it would not support sanctions against North Korea. No Welcome for Zhirinovsky Russian ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky was given 24 hours to leave Bulgaria after he called for President Zhelyu Zhelev's resignation. Zhirinovsky, whose far-right Liberal Democratic Party was the top vote getter in Russian parliamentary elections last month, was also denied a visa by Germany. I.R.A. Sends a Grim Message A 22-year-old British soldier was killed by an I.R.A. gunman in the town of Crossmaglen on the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. The killing was the first by the I.R.A. since Ireland and Britain signed the Downing Street Declaration, which outlines a step-by-step peace plan for Northern Ireland. One element of the plan is that the I.R.A. must forswear violence for three months in order to be included in negotiations. Hundreds Flee Sarajevo A long-delayed convoy of 15 buses accompanied by a U.N. escort carried 700 people to safety from the besieged Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. The evacuation effort had been planned for months but was thwarted by fighting and bureaucratic tangles. Most of the refugees were Muslims, who went on to Split, Croatia; the remaining 100 were Serbs, who went to Yugoslavia. Russian Kidnappers After a dramatic five-day pursuit, Russian security forces captured four masked gunmen who kidnapped 11 students, a teacher and a bus driver from their school at Rostov-on-Don. The kidnappers, who collected from the Russian government a ransom of $10 million in U.S. currency, forced two military pilots to fly them in a helicopter to the Caucasus Mountains. Using a massive, special forces-style operation to track the kidnappers, authorities captured all four of them and recovered most of the ransom. December Deluge in Europe Sleet, snow and torrential rain along a front traversing northwestern Europe dumped too much water for the land and the rivers to handle. The result was flooding over thousands of acres that left 100,000 people without fuel and electricity. In several cities the water reached levels not seen since the 18th century. BUSINESS Strong Economy The economy continues to quicken. The real estate market continued to surge in November as existing single-family homes sold at an annual rate of 4.21 million, breaking a record set in 1978, and new ones sold at an annual rate of 807,000--the highest level in more than seven years. The government's index of leading indicators also rose 0.5% in November, the fourth consecutive monthly increase. And the Conference Board business-research group said its consumer-confidence index jumped more than 8 points, to 80.2, in December. Chip Wars A new trade brawl over computer chips erupted between the U.S. and Japan as Washington called for "emergency consultations" with Tokyo following the release of figures showing yet another drop in the share of Japan's semiconductor market held by foreign companies. For the first three quarters of 1993, the foreigners' share has fallen and has been stuck below a benchmark 20% share negotiated by the two governments. The Administration wants to fight for the U.S. computer-chip industry, but it does not want trade friction to topple Japan's fragile reform coalition government. SCIENCE Dinosaur-Bird Connection The theory that birds are the closest living relatives of dinosaurs has received more confirmation from some baby maiasaur bones found in Montana. As reported in Science, the evidence comes in the form of fossilized growth plates--disks of cartilage found at the ends of bones--which act as a sort of scaffolding around which new bone can grow. The plates are found in mammals, reptiles and birds--but the structure of the dinosaur plates was clearly birdlike. Nessie Is a Sturgeon Loch Ness contains at most 30 tons of fish, nowhere near enough to support the presumably voracious appetite of the legendary Loch Ness monster, according to a comprehensive study of Loch Ness to be published in an upcoming issue of the Scottish Naturalist. The most likely explanation for the spate of sightings of the beast that began in 1868, says the study, is the presence in the lake of a school of sturgeon. Sturgeon can weigh up to 500 lbs.; their long snouts might be mistaken for monstrous necks, and their dorsal fins could appear to be humps. THE ARTS AND MEDIA Haydn Sonatas Faked? Only last month the discovery in Germany of six keyboard sonatas attributed to Franz Joseph Haydn was hailed as one of the greatest musicological finds in decades by one of its authenticators. But last week a consensus among experts began to emerge: the works may simply be fakes, although well-composed ones. New Super Bowl Record Advertisers will pay a record $900,000 for a 30-second spot during NBC's broadcast of the Super Bowl later this month. HEALTH REPORT THE GOOD NEWS -- A physical mechanism linking heart attacks and stress may have been found, a discovery that could ultimately help prevent heart attacks. Mental stress seems to make blood platelets release the chemical atp into the bloodstream, and atp produces blood clots, a major cause of heart attacks. -- First "good" cholesterol, now "good" fat. A type of body fat has been found that, paradoxically, protects against obesity. Mice bred to have a deficit of "brown fat" gain a great deal of weight very quickly when fed a normal diet. Researchers believe that the brown fat, which is also present in humans, triggers the burning of extra calories. THE BAD NEWS -- Clean living may not be enough to ensure long life. A study of 300 French men and women more than 100 years old has shown that at least part of the reason for their longevity may be the presence of two genes. One is called apoe; get the wrong version and you may be subject to high cholesterol and Alzheimer's disease. Centenarians tend to have the right version. They are also more likely than average to have a particular version of the ace gene, which influences blood pressure. -- Blood tests that purport to detect immune-system reactions to silicone leaked from breast implants are unreliable, say critics. The tests do detect antibodies, but not necessarily ones related to silicone. A REVIEW OF THE PLAY SHOWS ILLEGAL SOCKS Some fans were outraged when New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms, right, was fined $1,500 for wearing his socks too high, but he was philosophical: "Shows you how times have changed--they used to fine you $50." Simms should have known better, though; the Official N.F.L. Playing Rules clearly state what kind of hosiery players must wear: "Stockings that cover the entire area from the shoe to the bottom of the pants, and that meet the pants below the knee. Players are permitted to wear as many layers of stockings and tape on the lower leg as they prefer, provided the exterior is a one-piece stocking that includes solid white from the top of the shoe to no higher than the mid-point of the lower leg, and approved team color or colors (non-white) from that point to the top of the stocking. Uniform stockings may not be altered (e.g., over-stretched, or cut at the toes or stirrups) in order to bring the line between solid white and team colors higher than the mid-point of the lower leg. No other stockings and/or opaque tape may be worn over the one-piece, two-color uniform stocking. Barefoot punters and place-kickers may omit the stocking of the kicking foot in preparation for and during kicking plays." THE MOST UNUSUAL CROWD EVER AT A BETTE MIDLER CONCERT The latest fad in gun control is cop-condoned swaps of deadly weapons for more innocuous items. Here's what guns have been exchanged for in certain cities: DALLAS: Tickets to a preseason Cowboys game. DENVER: Tickets to Broncos games. LOS ANGELES: Tickets to Lakers games, a Janet Jackson concert and other events. NEW YORK CITY: Beginning during the holidays, $100 Toys R Us gift certificates. launched by Fernando Mateo, at center in photo, a 35-year-old Dominican-born carpet merchant whose one-man crusade has sparked fresh enthusiasm for such gun-exchange programs and inspired inquiries around the world. OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: Tickets to a Bette Midler concert, Disney on Ice or a Sharks hockey game. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH: $25 cash for each gun in working order. SAN FRANCISCO: Tickets to sporting events and concerts. Inside Washington CLINTON'S POLLARD STRATEGY Deputy Attorney General Philip Heymann is drafting a list of compromise options for President Clinton in the case of JONATHAN POLLARD, the American spy for Israel serving a life term in prison. The Israelis want Pollard freed; the FBI, CIA and Pentagon bitterly oppose this. One option is a commutation of Pollard's sentence to 20 or 30 years, making him eligible for parole in a few months. The list may only be a game so Clinton can reassure Israel he considered every alternative--it's unlikely that Clinton will free Pollard, now or later. WINNERS & LOSERS WINNERS SEC. OF ENERGY HAZEL O'LEARY Bravely offers restitution to subjects of secret radiation tests STROBE TALBOTT Ex-journalist and old Clinton pal climbs to No. 2 at State ANGELA LAKEBERG Given a 1% survival chance, Siamese twin is six months old LOSERS VLADIMIR ZHIRINOVSKY His foreign tour a bust: kicked out of Bulgaria, barred from Germany YANKEE PITCHER BRIEN TAYLOR Top league prospect injured in fight; out for `94--at least CHINA LEADERS Shamed before the world with abort-the-disabled plan INFORMED SOURCES AID TO FORMER SOVIET UNION CALLED MISMANAGED Some Senators overseeing U.S. aid to the former Soviet Union say the program is so poorly managed it should be overhauled before it uses up any more money ($2.5 billion is to be spent in 1994). Senators Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, and Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, are refusing to approve any new projects until oversight hearings take place on Jan. 24. McConnell has described the briefings the Clinton Administration has provided about the aid program as "contradictory, incomplete, (and) inaccurate." HIGH-TECH AID FOR BOSNIA Fearing that the Serbs may step up their assaults on Muslims, the Pentagon is rushing high-tech surveillance equipment to Bosnia. Several unmanned aerial vehicles--drones that can be used for reconnaissance over trouble spots without risking planes and crews--will be put at the disposal of U.N. forces. THE ROGER CLINTON SAGA CONTINUES Begged by his mother, President Clinton invited his brother Roger to the White House for Christmas. For months, Clinton has urged Roger to marry his pregnant girlfriend Molly Martin, and to placate him Roger showed up with a marriage license, blood test and a wedding date--Dec. 27 in Dallas (Molly's hometown). But then Roger wanted to fly back to Arkansas with his girlfriend on Air Force One. The wedding is now planned for next week--or it may be put off again. DISPATCHES ANOTHER DAY OF PEACEKEEPING By JAMES L. GRAFF, in Vienna For 11 Canadian U.N. soldiers on a cold afternoon just before Christmas, it was bad enough to be on the thankless mission of patrolling a road in the thick of fighting between Serbs and Bosnian government troops. But if the past 20 months of warfare in the former Yugoslavia have proved anything, it is that things can always get worse. Sergeant Jacques Beaulieu and 10 fellow Canadian blue berets were manning a checkpoint and bunker at a bridge on the recently opened road between Sarajevo and Visoko, 20 miles northwest of the Bosnian capital. Seven feet away was a Serbian checkpoint; across the valley, about 100 yards off, other Canadians were posted near a similar post manned by Muslim troops of the Bosnian army. With minor variations, the arrangement is common along the battle lines throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. There was nothing unique about the Muslim sniper's bullet that seriously wounded a Serb or the U.N. soldiers' response, a radioed request to their base in Visoko for medical evacuation of the injured man. "At the operations center, we had three choices," said Captain George Petrokilis, 34, assistant operations officer of the 12th Canadian Armored Regiment base in Visoko. "Bringing him across the line of confrontation to us wasn't going to fly. We couldn't send the vehicle on the bridge because that would leave our guys without one. So we cranked up an ambulance from our hospital here to take him to the Serb field station in Ilijas." By that time, almost 25 minutes had passed--and the Serb had died in a vehicle finally sent by his command. Angered by the loss and fueled by slivovitz, the plum brandy that is ubiquitous here, the remaining Serbs turned on the Canadians. "There were about four guys," said Petrokilis. "They ordered two of our guys out of the checkpoint and the other nine out of the bunker. Everyone was taken outside in a group. None of our guys knew what the Serbs were saying, but their gestures were aggressive and angry. They fired to the left and to the right of our troops. I can't in all good conscience say it was a mock execution--there wasn't any system to it. They shot and killed a passing dog." A little less than an hour later, the incident ended when a Serb officer arrived to calm down his men, and the Canadians pulled out of the checkpoint. Back at their base, the 11 soldiers were given a "critical-incident-stress debriefing" and 48 hours off--all standard procedure, said Petrokilis. The Canadians did not reoccupy the checkpoint, but the U.N. was determined to play down the ordeal. "This is a minor incident," said Major Idesbald van Biesebroeck, spokesman for the United Nations Protection Force in Sarajevo. Only in Bosnia, where 10,000 peacekeepers walk the thin line between being humanitarians and combatants, could such treatment of U.N. troops be considered a minor incident. "Repetition creates a sense of ordinariness," said Petrokilis. "Of course, what the Bosnian Serbs did here was inexcusable. But similar things happen all the time on all sides--just pick your belligerent." </body> </article> </text>