TIME: Almanac 1995

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<text id=94TT0783> <title> Jun. 13, 1994: Chronicles:The Week:May 24-June 4 </title> <history> TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1994 Jun. 13, 1994 Korean Conflict </history> <article> <source>Time Magazine</source> <hdr> CHRONICLES, Page 13 The Week: May 29 - June 4 </hdr> <body> NATION Clinton Embarks for D-Day Hoping to use the occasion to buff his foreign policy credentials, President Clinton headed off to Europe to participate in the 50th anniversary celebration of D-day and engage in summitry with leaders there. On his way to Normandy, the President met with the Pope at the Vatican, where Clinton stood his ground on abortion rights in the face of steely papal opposition. Rosty Is Indicted After months of investigation, negotiation and speculation, powerful House Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski was indicted on 17 federal counts for having allegedly engaged in a broad 20-year pattern of corruption. Among the charges: tampering with a grand-jury witness and embezzling more than $500,000 in public funds to pay office workers hired mainly to perform personal services. The indictment forced him to relinquish his pivotal chairmanship to Florida's Sam Gibbons as a result of House Democratic Party rules. Military Gay-Rights Decision Joining the growing phalanx of courts around the country that have attacked the military ban on gays, a federal district court in Seattle ordered the Washington National Guard to reinstate Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer, a highly decorated nurse and a lesbian. Although the decision struck down as unconstitutional the Pentagon's old, pre-1994 prohibition against gays, the court's reasoning provides ammunition for assailing the new "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue" policy. Supreme Court Decisions In a free-speech decision that gives government workers a little more breathing room to express themselves, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an agency may not punish or fire employees without some reasonable, factual, basis for believing their remarks were either disruptive or unprotected by the First Amendment. In a separate decision, the court came down on the side of environmentalists, ruling that the federal Clean Water Act gives states the power to control the quantity, as well as the quality, of water in rivers. Vitriolic Preacher Is Shot Khallid Abdul Muhammad, the former Nation of Islam spokesman whose vitriolic speeches against whites, Catholics and Jews have engendered outrage and condemnation, was shot and wounded in both legs after addressing a mostly black audience at the University of California at Riverside. Police arrested a suspect at the scene identified as an ousted member of the Nation of Islam. The Final King Verdict After deliberating for 11 days, the same jury that had ordered the city of Los Angeles in April to pay Rodney King $3.8 million as compensation for the beating he suffered in 1991 at the hands of L.A. police refused to assess punitive damages against the individual officers involved. The L.A.P.D.'s Blue Flu Meanwhile, the separate bitter dispute between Los Angeles and its police force over new contract terms intensified when hundreds of L.A. police staged a slowdown by calling in sick. Ollie...Oops? At the end of a factious campaign, Oliver North took 55% of the vote and won Virginia's G.O.P. Senate nomination, defeating former Reagan budget director James Miller III. But the former Marine lieutenant colonel, a key Iran-contra figure, may have to face Democratic incumbent Charles Robb without total G.O.P. support. Virginia's Republican Senator John Warner had threatened to back the expected bid of former state Attorney General J. Marshall Coleman, who would run as an independent, in the event of a North victory. WORLD Going for Sanctions The ongoing struggle with North Korea over its nuclear-weapons program entered a tense new phase as international inspectors said they had lost the ability to verify whether the country's engineers had diverted plutonium from peaceful purposes to bomb making. The Clinton Administration said it would seek economic sanctions against North Korea at the U.N. Security Council. North Korean Foreign Minister Kim Yong Nam warned that sanctions would "bring devastating consequences." Israel Attacks Guerrilla Base Israeli fighter jets and helicopter gunships attacked a training camp for Hizballah guerrillas in Lebanon in a raid that killed nearly four dozen people--most of them teenage recruits. Israel justified the raid as self-defense, saying that the victims were soon to join Hizballah's fight against Israel in south Lebanon. The guerrillas retaliated by firing two dozen rockets into northern Israel, which caused no casualties. Helping Out the Haitians Offering to help President Clinton keep a sticky political promise he made last month, Jamaica and the Turks and Caicos Islands said they would allow the U.S. to set up centers for hearing Haitian refugees' asylum requests. Since May 8, when Clinton said he would end the U.S. policy of summarily returning boat people, more than 1,400 have nevertheless been forcibly repatriated; the Administration says the first Haitians could begin processing in Jamaica this week. No Cease-Fire in Yemen With its army slowly advancing, northern Yemen ignored a U.N. call for a cease-fire in the country's month-old civil war with the secessionist South. The North shelled Aden, headquarters for the southern rebels, and tightened the circle around the port city. Accusing Iraq and Sudan of reinforcing the North, defiant southerners vowed to resist. Failed Peace Talks I Negotiators for mainly Tutsi rebels and Hutu government forces met twice without successfully establishing a truce in the two-month-old civil war in Rwanda. The rebels continued to tighten their stranglehold on the capital of Kigali and pushed their assault on Gitarama, where the government has relocated. Meanwhile, the Vatican appealed to the U.N. Security Council to establish a "safe area"--the same concept tried with so little success in Bosnia--around a large religious complex offering sanctuary to 38,000 Tutsis. Failed Peace Talks II After Bosnian Serbs failed to withdraw troops from around the Bosnian enclave of Gorazde, as they had promised to do more than a month ago, U.N.-sponsored talks were postponed. Observers say the several hundred armed Serbs had merely exchanged their soldier's uniforms for those of policemen. Also last week, the nascent Croat-Muslim federation in Bosnia elected Croat Kresimir Zubak as its first President. Hungary's Ex-Communists Win A renamed Hungarian Socialist Party--i.e., the former communists--swept into power after voters overwhelmingly elected their representatives to office. The Socialists chose party leader Gyula Horn, a former Foreign Minister, as their candidate for Prime Minister. BUSINESS A Stable Economy The unemployment rate in May dropped four-tenths of one percent to 6%, the lowest level in more than three years. A roundup of other statistics released last week: the economy grew at a 3% annual rate in the first quarter of 1994, as opposed to a 7% rate in the last quarter of 1993, an indication that inflation is under control; home sales were down slightly in April due to the winter weather and higher mortgage rates; income rose a bit, but consumer spending was down 0.4%. Fairy-Tale Ending? The Walt Disney Co. has been rescued from its Euro Disney debacle by Saudi Arabia's Prince al-Waleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al-Saud. The prince, chairman of United Saudi Commercial Bank, will pump up to $439 million into the French theme park, a money loser since it opened in 1992. Getting Wired In a deal that could create the third largest cable-TV system, Times Mirror has tentatively agreed to sell its cable division to Cox Enterprises for $2.3 billion. Times Mirror has been cutting costs and retrenching, while Cox has been expanding its wireless communications business.The Times Mirror system has 1.2 million subscribers. Cox is the sixth largest cable operator, with 1.8 million customers. New Role for ATMs As part of Vice President Al Gore's Letterman-hyped "reinventing government" plan, the U.S. will begin distributing food stamps, Social Security benefits, welfare payments and other entitlements via the nation's ATMs. The initiative, which could save $195 million a year by 1999, is also expected to combat fraud. Fly the Cost-Effective Skies TWA and Delta may eliminate first class on international flights, the reason being that less than 1.5% of flyers purchase those seats. Plus, airlines use fewer flight attendants to service less swanky sections. The plans could take effect as early as this fall. SCIENCE A New Source of Protein Astronomers at the University of Illinois have detected evidence that amino acids, which are the building blocks that make up all proteins, can exist in space. The find lends support to, but does not prove, the idea that protein-bearing comets or asteroids crashed into the earth more than 3 billion years ago, setting off a chain reaction that eventually gave rise to life on the planet. Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Maryland say they have found water near--but not too close to--what they think is a black hole at the center of a galaxy 200 million light-years away. THE ARTS & MEDIA TV Trends In a move of unprecedented confidence in a notoriously volatile industry, King World, the television distribution company, announced that Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy and The Oprah Winfrey Show have been renewed through the end of the century. The programs are the three top-rated shows among syndicated programs, and thus among the most profitable in all of broadcasting. RELIGION No Doubt About It The title says it all: in his six-page letter to bishops, titled "On Reserving Priestly Ordination to Men Alone," Pope John Paul II definitively reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church's ban on women priests. Citing Christ's choice of male apostles as the foundation for an all-male priesthood, the Pontiff hoped to put an end to a debate on women's role in the church. By Leslie Dickstein, C.J. Farley, Christine Gorman, Lina Lofaro, Wendy King, Michael Quinn, Jeffery Rubin, Alain Sanders and Sidney Urquhart HEALTH REPORT The Good News -- Scientists studying 2,454 people in Shanghai report that drinking green tea, made from leaves that are steamed, rolled and crushed, can reduce the risk of developing cancer of the esophagus nearly 60%. -- The Food and Drug Administration has approved a pill that combines the power of three antituberculosis medications. By cutting down on the number of pills patients must take--thereby making it easier to complete treatment and thoroughly eradicate infections--doctors hope to avoid creating drug-resistant TB strains. The Bad News -- Women who smoke run a 25% greater risk of dying from breast cancer than non- and ex-smokers, according to a new survey. Earlier research had suggested smoking might give a measure of protection against breast cancer as it decreases estrogen levels. -- Doctors know that athletes who start taking steroids are subject to erratic mood swings. But a study of 156 steroid users found that 25% developed more severe psychiatric disorders, ranging from depression to manic episodes. Symptoms eventually disappeared after steroid use stopped. Sources--GOOD: Journal of the National Cancer Institute; FDA. BAD: American Journal of Epidemiology, Archives of General Psychiatry UNLIKELY STAMP SUBJECT OF THE WEEK Charged with mail fraud and embezzlement, among other things, Representative Dan Rostenkowski has vowed to lick the charges INSIDE WASHINGTON Remember Iraqgate? Attorney General Janet Reno is expected to release a report within weeks on Iraqgate that is intended to help clarify just what role, if any, the Reagan and Bush administrations played in allowing Iraq to secure loans and military equipment before the Gulf War. Justice Department sources say that no further indictments in the scandal are expected and that no large conspiracy by Bush Administration officials was found by Justice's task force of lawyers and investigators. Predicts a Justice insider: "Bill Safire will be disappointed." WINNERS & LOSERS Winners U.S. ATTORNEY ERIC HOLDER: Rostenkowski's federal nemesis becomes an overnight legal star MARGARETHE CAMMERMEYER: Judge reinstates bemedaled lesbian National Guard colonel EURO DISNEY: Its prince has come--Saudi royal buys big slice of struggling park Losers EDDIE MURPHY: Lukewarm box office, scalding reviews greet his Beverly Hills Cop 3 HUMANA INC.: Health-care giant to repay $6.2 million in Florida overcharges BLUE JAYS/PHILLIES: 1993: World Series-bound; 1994 (so far): the basement The Wonks of Summer Washington has office softball leagues, just like a normal city. Though the players may have an obsessive interest in GATT, land reclamation and the like, their team names betray a weakness for bad (occasionally vulgar) puns that is common to many Americans: <list> <item> The Cato-tonics (Cato Institute) <item> The Randsackers (Rand Corp.) <item> Joint Chiefs (Center for Defense Information and Drug Policy Foundation) <item> The Mutha FEC-ers (Federal Election Commission) <item> Violent Demmes (Democratic Leadership Council and Progressive Policy Institute) <item> Cool Whips (offices of House majority whip David Bonior and his deputy whips) <item> Earl Jam (office of Democratic Representative Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota) <item> The Young Studds (office of Democratic Representative Gerry Studds of Massachusetts) <item> The Swinging Johnsons (office of Republican Representative Nancy Johnson of Connecticut) </list> CONGRESSMEN FACING CRIMINAL CHARGES Since 1798, 94 congressmen have faced criminal charges (55 were found guilty or pleaded no contest). Although this chart shows a great increase in alleged illegalities in the 1970's, this may have more to do with changes in our laws rather than in the behavior of our elected officials. <table> <row><cell type=i>1900s<cell type=i>5 <row><cell>'10s<cell>2 <row><cell>'20s<cell>5 <row><cell>'30s<cell>3 <row><cell>'40s<cell>5 <row><cell>'50s<cell>7 <row><cell>'60s<cell>5 <row><cell>'70s<cell>29 <row><cell>'80s<cell>22 <row><cell>'90s<cell>15* </table> *Estimate--based on a total of 8 to date. Notables: Sen. Burton Wheeler--Soliciting bribes (1924) Acquitted. Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr.--Income tax evasion (1958) Case dismissed. Rep. John Jenrette Jr.--Bribery, conspiracy (1980) Convicted. Rep. Mario Biaggi--Racketeering, tax evasion (1987) Convicted. Rep. Donald "Buz" Lukens--Contrubuting to the delinquency of a minor (1989) Convicted. INFORMED SOURCES New Book Points to More Moles A forthcoming book by ex-KGB counterintelligence chief Oleg Kalugin describes alleged Soviet agents who worked against the West in the 1970s. Among the purported spies exposed in the book (to be published by St. Martin's Press) are a high-ranking mole inside the counterintelligence section of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and a U.S. military-intelligence officer who is said to have turned over CIA documents and NATO war plans. As the Gavel Turns Florida Democrat Sam Gibbons eased into the plum job of House Ways and Means Committee chair after ex-chairman Dan Rostenkowski was indicted. But his hold on the gavel may be tenuous. The buzz among Democrats is that a challenge to Gibbons will be mounted in January if he fails to persuade the committee to back a version of Clinton's health-care bill before July 4 or is unable to muster credible influence when and if such a bill comes up in the full House. Conservative Copycats In a rare case of agreement between the conservative Heritage Foundation and the White House, parts of a report on the Uruguay Round trade pact released by Heritage scholar Joe Cobb turned out to have been lifted almost word for word from an Administration study. When the lapse was uncovered, Heritage rushed out a new report with attributed quotations. Even so, Heritage maintains Cobb's "analysis and conclusions are entirely his own." THEY HAVEN'T SHUT UP YET Economists say it's too early to gauge the overall effect of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which took effect in January. But seven months after Al Gore and Ross Perot, right, squared off over the treaty, the Administration and Perot are still going at it. The Commerce Department publishes the relentlessly upbeat NAFTA News, while Perot's United We Stand America publishes the pessimistic Afta-NAFTA Update. Some excerpts: NAFTA News: "January trade statistics revealed that in the first month of NAFTA implementation the U.S. trade surplus with Mexico nearly doubled from December 1993. U.S. exports increased $400 million." Afta-NAFTA Update: "Nintendo of America announced on Jan. 10 that it was moving 136 jobs from its U.S. payrolls to Mexico. Because of a NAFTA provision, these unemployed workers qualify for federal entitlements, including welfare benefits paid for by U.S. tax dollars." NN: "Big Three auto exports from the U.S. and Canada to Mexico for the first quarter reached 9,925 units, compared with 9,479 exported during all of 1993. Chrysler, Ford and GM are expecting to export a combined 55,000 cars and trucks to Mexico in 1994." ANU: "Hours after NAFTA was signed, General Motors notified Detroit Steel of Indiana, which manufactured springs, that GM was pulling their work out of Indiana and sending it to Mexico. GM will save 40 cents per spring. Before NAFTA the tariff on springs imported from Mexico was 40 cents." NN: "On Jan. 3 Ellicott Machine Corp. ((of Baltimore)) announced that it had sold two Series 370 Dragon dredges to two leading Mexican construction firms. The red, white and blue dredges were named by their purchasers in honor of Presidents Clinton and Salinas for their successful work on NAFTA." ANU: "Phillips Lighting ((of West Virginia)) laid off 60 workers, including some who had worked for the company for 27 years, as the company moved its operations to Mexico." COMMENCEMENT '94 BONUS The End of Grade-Bloat in Palo Alto Since 1970, Stanford University -- one of the nation's most prestigious -- has been peppering its student transcripts with As and Bs (93% of all grades awarded) and letting scholars bail out of uncongenial courses up to the very day of final exams with no questions asked. But last week the school turned its back on slacker-friendly grading and reinstated a failing NP (Not Passed) grade for 1995-96. How do other schools measure up? <table> <tblhdr><cell>School<cell>Deadline for Dropping a Course Without Penalty<cell>Failing Grade<cell>% of As & Bs <row><cell type=a>Arizona State<cell type=a>Two weeks before end of term<cell type=a>yes<cell type=i>56.2% <row><cell>Brigham Young<cell>First 25 days of fall and winter terms, first 13 days of spring and summer terms<cell>yes<cell>82.4 <row><cell>Kalamazoo College<cell>Third week of the term<cell>yes<cell>77.0 <row><cell>Notre Dame<cell>Seventh class day<cell>yes<cell>74.0 <row><cell>Smith College<cell>Up to 20 days before last class day<cell>yes<cell>89.3 <row><cell>Texas A & M<cell>5th class day (fall & spring)<cell>yes<cell>70%* <row><cell>Univ. of Washington<cell>Midterm<cell>yes<cell>82% </table> *includes graduate and professional students Teacher's Pet "I was struck by his modesty, honesty and simplicity. He knows nothing about the war, and he knows he ought to know what was happening in Normandy. He kept saying, `God, I'm learning a lot from you.'"--Author Paul Fussell, Bill Clinton's D-day tutor Trivial Pursuits? Students who graduated between July 1989 and June 1990 who say their job is related to their major. <table> <row><cell type=a>Health professions<cell type=i>95% <row><cell>Engineering<cell>89 <row><cell>Education<cell>87 <row><cell>Math, computer sciences, physical sciences<cell>86 <row><cell>Business/management<cell>81 <row><cell>Biological sciences<cell>73 <row><cell>Public affairs/social services<cell>71 <row><cell>Psychology<cell>65 <row><cell>Humanities<cell>57 <row><cell>Social sciences<cell>53 <row><cell>History<cell>30 </table> Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, National Center for Educational Statictics, 1991 Recent College Graduates Survey. FATHER'S DAY SPECIAL: Owners of Home Drill Presses and More Nationwide, 14% of Americans own stationary power tools -- things like drill presses and band saws that find their way into the garages of do-it-yourselfers. According to surveys, most tool owners are also middle class, middle age, male and concentrated in the north where severe weather wreaks havoc on their homes. They typically own other home-improvement gizmos like chain saws and garden tillers. Generally, they have some college education and are more likely than average to own a computer and read books. From "Latitudes and Attitudes: An Atlas of American Tastes, Trends, Politics and Passions" (c) 1994 by Michael J. Weiss. Little Brown (forthcoming) Sources: Claritas Inc.; Simmons Market Research Bureau WHERE DOES THIS LEAVE SAM PECKINPAH? "We could condone showing the murder of three, four or five people, but when tens of thousands are being burned ... Egyptian audiences couldn't bear it." -- Chief Egyptian censor Hamdy Sorour, explaining why he was forced to ban Schindler's List last week VOX POP How interested are you in soccer? <table> <row><cell type=a>Very interested<cell type=i>9% <row><cell>Somewhat interested<cell>23% <row><cell>Not very interested<cell>20% <row><cell>Not interested at all<cell>46% </table> Credit: From a telephone poll of 600 adult Americans taken for TIME/CNN on June 1 by Yankelovich Partners Inc. Sampling error is plus or minus 4%. Not Sures omitted. </body> </article> </text>