TIME: Almanac 1995

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<text id=94TT1259> <title> Sep. 19, 1994: Chronicles The Week:Sept. 4-10 </title> <history> TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1994 Sep. 19, 1994 So Young to Kill, So Young to Die </history> <article> <source>Time Magazine</source> <hdr> CHRONICLES, Page 19 The Week: September 4 - 10 </hdr> <body> NATION More Drumbeats Preparing to make good on Secretary of State Warren Christopher's threat that the Haitian military government's "days are definitely numbered," the Pentagon said a fleet of giant cargo ships and an aircraft carrier crammed with helicopters would soon be bound for the waters off the Haitian coast. The Defense Department also announced that the total U.S. troop participation in an invasion of Haiti would be around 20,000--higher than previous estimates. U.S.-Cuba: Hopeful Signs? The U.S. and Cuba reached an agreement that would halt the Cuban exodus, permit at least 20,000 Cubans to enter the U.S. legally each year and allow for the repatriation of "those Cuban refugees who have recently left and wish to return." A Deadly Dive A USAir Boeing 737, en route from Chicago to Palm Beach, Florida, via Pittsburgh, went into a fatal nose dive just a few minutes before landing at the Pittsburgh airport. All 132 people aboard perished in the crash, the reasons for which were not clear. The crew's frantic last words--"Oh God...Traffic emergency!"--indicated trouble but were not specific. Investigators are hoping that flight data from the plane's black box will provide further clues. Friendly-Fire Charges The Air Force brought 26 charges of negligent homicide and two charges of dereliction of duty against the senior F-15 pilot involved in the downing of two U.S. Army helicopters over northern Iraq last April. Also charged with dereliction of duty were five members of an AWACs radar-plane crew. Twenty-six people died in the tragedy. Tailhook Whistle Blower Settles Paula Coughlin, a former Navy lieutenant who claimed she was sexually assaulted at a 1991 convention of Navy flyers, settled for an undisclosed amount with the convention's sponsor, the Tailhook Association. Earlier in the week, a Nevada judge had ruled that a Pentagon report on the scandal was not reliable enough to be used as evidence. Meanwhile, at the FAA A male employee of the Federal Aviation Administration said he was grabbed, groped and ridiculed by female co-workers during a 1992 cultural-diversity training session. Air-traffic controller Douglas P. Hartman filed a $300,000 suit against the Transportation Department, claiming the agency had ignored his earlier complaints. "It was ugly. I was shocked. I was stunned," said Hartman. The FAA is dropping any sensitivity workshops that it believes could lead to future harassment lawsuits. White House: Under Renovation After 12 relaxing days on Martha's Vineyard, the First Family returned to Washington--but not to their customary quarters. As workmen rushed to complete repairs on the White House's antiquated heating and ventilation systems--including some "minimum asbestos removal"--President and Mrs. Clinton settled into Blair House, the government guesthouse across the street. Travel Office Back in the News Dismissed 16 months ago for poor management during the famed White House travel-office flap, the office's former head, Billy Dale, is now the target of a federal-embezzlement probe. From 1988 to 1991, Dale, a Bush appointee, deposited $55,000 the travel office had received from news organizations into his own bank account. The Justice Department's public-integrity section has been looking into whether Dale took any of this money for his personal use. Dale denies any impropriety. Dan vs. Murphy, Round 2 Speaking in San Francisco, possible presidential aspirant Dan Quayle sounded a familiar note as he returned to one of his pet themes: how Murphy Brown's out-of-wedlock baby epitomizes the disintegration of the American family. "What I was talking about then, and what I am talking about today, is the importance of fathers," said the former Veep. "Raising children is not just the mother's responsibility." President Clinton sounded the same no-longer-controversial theme a day later in a speech to the National Baptist Convention in New Orleans. A Decision in L.A. Prosecutors in the O.J. Simpson case announced that they would not seek the death penalty if Simpson is convicted of first-degree murder. The district attorney's office gave no reason for the decision but said public feelings about the death penalty played no role in it. An Inside Job at Tiffany Two armed robbers removed more than $1 million worth of jewelry from New York City's venerable Tiffany & Co. Investigators said the robbers seemed to be familiar with the store's guard schedules and its placement of intercoms and video cameras. Five suspects were arrested Saturday. A sixth suspect, with most of the loot, later turned himself in. WORLD Rabin Outlines Golan Pullout Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin gave a timetable for a partial withdrawal from the Golan Heights, captured from Syria in 1967, in return for peace with its neighbor. Israel proposes a three-year "testing period" of normal relations with Syria, including the establishment of embassies in each other's capitals, after a "very slight" pullback that, "if possible," would not involve dismantling any Jewish settlements. Syria responded without enthusiasm to the proposal; it has always demanded the total withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the Golan Heights. Abortion: Topic No. 1 in Cairo Despite the Vatican's fervent opposition to language relating to abortion, the majority of the United Nations population conferees meeting in Cairo managed to reach a consensus on a 113-page program of action for slowing world-population growth. The final draft, to be approved by delegates this week, includes a huge increase in global population-control spending, from about $5 billion currently to $17 billion by the year 2000. N. Ireland Tensions Ease a Bit The British government announced that security in Northern Ireland would be slightly reduced in response to the Irish Republican Army's week-old cease-fire. I.R.A. political chief Gerry Adams shook hands with Irish Prime Minister Albert Reynolds on the steps of Dublin's Government Buildings, and the two leaders said they were "totally and absolutely committed to democratic and peaceful methods" of solving the province's political problems. A meeting between hard-line Protestant leader Ian Paisley and British Prime Minister John Major did not fare as well: Paisley was ejected from No. 10 Downing Street almost immediately after he refused to say that he believed Major's government had made no secret deals with the I.R.A. Nigerian Assumes Total Power One day after thousands of oil workers ended their strike to protest the arrest of opposition leader Moshood Abiola, Nigeria's military leader General Sani Abacha declared absolute power, issuing decrees placing his military government above the country's courts and allowing detention of people for up to three months without charges. Abiola, widely believed to have won the annulled 1993 presidential election, awaits trial on treason charges. Monitoring Serbia's Word Western diplomats reported a breakthrough agreement with Serbia over the stationing of international civilian monitors along its border with Bosnia, raising the possibility that the U.N. may ease some of its less important sanctions against Serbia. The monitors' mission would be to help ensure that Serbia is keeping its word on the military embargo it has imposed against its Bosnian Serb allies as a result of their refusal to sign on to the latest peace plan. Pope Cancels Sarajevo Visit Earlier in the week, Pope John Paul II canceled a planned one-day visit to Sarajevo, hours after Bosnian Serb artillery rounds pounded the besieged Bosnian capital. Citing concerns for the safety of the tens of thousands expected to gather to hear him celebrate Mass, the Pontiff said he hoped to visit Sarajevo "as soon as circumstances permit." BUSINESS Mexican Financier Accused The Mexican government issued an arrest warrant for Carlos Cabal Peniche, head of Mexico's fifth-largest banking group and one of the country's largest produce exporters. As the government seized control of the group, Mexican Finance Minister Pedro Aspe accused Cabal of funneling up to $700 million from his bank to himself. He is thought to have fled the country. Changing the Guard at Ford A great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford, William Clay Ford Jr., was named to succeed his father as chairman of the finance committee of Ford Motor Co. The new position, controlling the firm's purse strings, is widely seen as a springboard to eventual chairmanship of the world's second-largest automaker. SCIENCE Fingerprinting Whales Using molecular genetics tests similar to those used in crime investigations, researchers discovered that several samples of whale meat for sale in Japan came from illegally hunted species, including fin and humpback. The report in the current Science found that only 8 of 17 samples were genetically consistent with those from legal catches. SPORT Baseball Strike Goes On A week that began with hopes for settling the month-long baseball strike ended with those hopes dashed. Owners rejected a proposal from the players that addressed revenue sharing but not the salary cap the owners have insisted upon. Though Friday was the owners' self-imposed deadline for calling off the season altogether, acting commissioner Bud Selig delayed a decision. Fox Buys N.H.L. Rights Fresh from its startling snatch of N.F.C. football broadcasts, maverick network Fox skated away with the not-previously-in-high-demand rights to National Hockey League games for a reported $155 million over five years. The deal was personally negotiated by Rupert Murdoch, chairman of Fox's parent News Corp. By Leslie Dickstein, Kathleen J. Hayden, Lina Lofaro, Steve Mitra, Lawrence Mondi, Jeffery C. Rubin, Alain L. Sanders and Sidney Urquhart HEALTH REPORT The Good News -- Cystic fibrosis patients taking the drug Pulmozyme showed a reduction in lung infection and improvement in breathing, a study has found. The drug is the first new treatment for the disease in three decades. -- A researcher has determined that Lorenzo's oil, the treatment for the nerve disease adrenoleukodystrophy that was made famous in a 1992 film, can help some patients who take it before symptoms appear. -- By stimulating the action of a brain neurotransmitter, scientists may have found a way to alleviate some of the wrenching symptoms of drug withdrawal. The Bad News -- Many doctors who staff emergency rooms were never taught to handle conditions such as heart attacks and severe bleeding, a report says. Problems include educational lapses (fewer than 20% of medical schools require emergency-medicine courses) and moonlighting (many residents supplement their incomes with ER work but lack the necessary skills). -- A consumer group has asked the FDA to ban prescription sales of a drug for nighttime leg cramps; the group says that quinine sulfate, while effective against malaria, is dangerous when used to treat cramps. An FDA ban on over-the-counter brands will take effect in February. Sources--GOOD: New England Journal of Medicine; Kennedy Krieger Institute, Associated Press; Nature. BAD: Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, AP; Public Citizen Health Research Group, AP. LIGHTNING ROD OF THE WEEK Dr. Nafis Sadik, organizer of the Cairo population summit, weathered controversy in the name of global elbowroom. BABY BOOMLET World population growth during the nine-day world population conference in Cairo: <table> <row><cell type=a>Russian Federation<cell type=i>-8,100 <row><cell>Vatican City<cell>0 <row><cell>Kenya<cell>19,900 <row><cell>Egypt<cell>28,200 <row><cell>United States<cell>57,200 <row><cell>Bangladesh<cell>57,600 <row><cell>Brazil<cell>57,700 <row><cell>China<cell>275,700 <row><cell>India<cell>374,300 <row><cell>WORLDWIDE<cell>1,893,400 </table> Sources: U.N. Population Division estimates, World population Prospects: The 1994 Revision WINNERS & LOSERS Winners MARILYN MONROE--Just like a pair of ex-beaus, star gets her own postage stamp. JERRY RICE--'49er wide receiver dethrones Jim Brown as N.F.L.'s TD king. MICHAEL JACKSON--Appears on national TV kissing a woman--a grown woman. Losers HILLARY CLINTON--Coulda, shoulda, woulda, but still forgot to renew law license. RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS--Raunch-funk group denied guest shot on Sesame Street. PSEUDO-ANASTASIAS--Science confirms Czar's daughter didn't escape, but died in 1918. INFORMED SOURCES And in a Previous Lifetime... Washington--Air Force Lieut. Colonel Randy May is charged with 26 counts of negligent homicide for his role in the downing of two U.S. helicopters over northern Iraq last April. The charges are not his first "official" recognition from the military. More than three years ago, during the Gulf War, May downed an Iraqi Hind helicopter in the same area and received a Distinguished Flying Cross for his "professional competence, aerial skill and devotion to duty." Meanwhile, as the Tobacco Wars Raged On... Washington--Is nicotine a drug or not? Both Congress and the FDA need to know before they fire the next volley in the tobacco wars, and they are looking to science for guidance. Washington's prestigious Institute of Medicine will come to the rescue this week with a finding that nicotine is indeed addictive and should be regulated as a drug. But instead of a complete ban on cigarettes, the IOM recommends raising the cigarette tax from 24 cents to a hefty $2 a pack. NETWATCH--News, culture, controversy on the Internet Actionable E-Mail Got a favorite poem you'd like to share with friends on one of the online services? Beware: you could get your service provider busted. A draft version of proposed Federal legislation makes bulletin boards responsible for copyright infringement on their pieces of the Net. In other words, if you misappropriated something while using, say, America Online, the company would have to pay. Needless to say, bulletin-board owners aren't happy. "It's like making the highway responsible for reckless drivers," protests Kent Stuckey, general counsel of CompuServe. On the other side: bulletin boards "are profiting" from the work of artists, says Susan Mann, attorney for the National Music Publishers' Association. "They've got to know that they have some liability for it." Arguments will go public later this month with hearings in Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington. How's Business? Just how fast has the Internet grown? Consider these stats from the OpenMarket software company: in 1969 the number of hosts (i.e. institutions providing Net portals) had peaked at four. Today, there are 3.2 million hosts. Another big change: commerce in cyberspace. The number of registered commercial domains surpassed 17,000 this summer. Nearly 30% are in California. E-mail Netwatch at timestaff1@aol.com HORSE'S MOUTH You'd expect MARLON BRANDO'S new autobiography, Brando: Songs My Mother Taught Me, to have a lot to say about acting and politics. You wouldn't expect it to have a lot to say about oral hygiene: "When my mother drank, her breath had a sweetness that I lack the vocabulary to describe...As I got older, occasionally I would find myself with a woman whose breath had that sweetness that still defies description. I was always sexually aroused by the smell." "I don't know its chemical composition but her [Brando's Danish governess Ermi] breath was sweet, like crushed and slightly fermented fruit." "...whenever I was onstage with [Tallulah Bankhead] and the moment approached when I was supposed to kiss her, I couldn't bear it. For some reason, she had a cool mouth and her tongue was especially cold...I asked a stagehand to buy me a bottle of mouthwash, and after each time I had to kiss her I went offstage and took a swig..." "The photographer's teeth had cut the sheath of a tendon, and the doctor told me there were more dangerous bacteria in the mouth of a human than in almost any other animal except a monkey. This didn't surprise me; I had assumed that the mouth of a paparazzo was a cesspool of bacteria." WE'RE OUTTA HERE The top 10 countries whose citizens officially sought asylum or refugee status in the U.S. in 1993: <table> <tblhdr><cell><cell><cell>Applications Filed<cell>Granted <row><cell type=i>1<cell type=a>Former U.S.S.R<cell type=i>57,189<cell type=i>51,441 <row><cell>2<cell>Vietnam<cell>36,137<cell>31,293 <row><cell>3<cell>Guatemala<cell>34,045<cell>133 <row><cell>4<cell>Haiti<cell>18,577<cell>1,809 <row><cell>5<cell>El Salvador<cell>14,554<cell>63 <row><cell>6<cell>China<cell>14,433<cell>245 <row><cell>7<cell>Laos<cell>7,484<cell>6,993 <row><cell>8<cell>Somalia<cell>7,071<cell>2,844 <row><cell>9<cell>Mexico<cell>6,390<cell>0 <row><cell>10<cell>Cuba<cell>5,869<cell>2,966 </table> Source: Immigration and Naturalization Service CHARLES VAN DOREN VS. THE 1994 QUIZ SHOW DREAM TEAM By Lina Lofaro In 1956-57, TV game-show audiences were riveted to their sets during Charles Van Doren's 14-week reign on NBC's Twenty-One. The bookish champ became an unlikely national hero--until it was revealed that he had been fed answers to the show's often obscure questions, a scandal dramatized in the new film Quiz Show. Could today's intellectuals handle actual questions asked of Van Doren? Without cheating? TIME put these five to the test: <list> Stephen E. Ambrose--historian, author of "D-Day"; E.D. Hirsch--professor, author of "Cultural Literacy"; Donna Rice Hughes--Phi Beta Kappa, University of South Carolina; Alex Trebek--host of "Jeopardy"; Marilyn Vos Savant--holds world's record for highest I.Q. </list> 1. Identify the main Balearic Islands. <list> <item>--Vos Savant: "Majorca, Minorca and Ibiza." ((correct)) <item>--Ambrose: "These were the islands surrounding Atlantis?" ((wrong)) <item>--Hirsch: "Don't know." <item>--Rice Hughes: "Majorca, Ibiza..." <item>--Trebek: "Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza." </list> 2. Identify the character in La Traviata who sings the aria Sempre Libera. <list> <item>--Vos Savant: "That's Violetta ((correct)) doing her coloratura number." <item>--Ambrose: "Pass." <item>--Hirsch: "I don't know, but that seems like a more legitimate question for a game show." <item>--Rice Hughes: "Oh, it's the lead--Violetta." <item>--Trebek: "The lead, Violetta." </list> 3. What are the common names for: caries, myopia, missing patellar reflex? <list> <item>--Vos Savant: "Ah, I'm skating on thicker ice here. Cavities ((correct)), nearsightedness ((correct)) and I think a missing patellar reflex might indicate what Grandma used to call `housemaid's knee' ((wrong))." <item>--Ambrose: "Sore teeth, can't see, knee jerk ((wrong))." <item>--Hirsch: "Dental decay, nearsightedness, no knee reflex ((correct))." <item>--Rice Hughes: "Tooth decay, nearsightedness, no reflex. I knew that. I was a biology major." <item>--Trebek: "Tooth decay, nearsightedness, the last one has something to do with a knee jerk--no knee jerk." </list> 4. George Washington appointed the first Secretary of State, Chief Justice, Secretary of War, Attorney General and Postmaster General. Name them. <list> <item>--Vos Savant: "Oh, for heaven's sake." <item>--Ambrose: "Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, Henry Knox. I had to look up Edmund Randolph and Samuel Osgood ((all correct))." <item>--Hirsch: "Thomas Jefferson...that's it." <item>--Rice Hughes: "Thomas Jefferson...and the others...nothing." <item>--Trebek: "Thomas Jefferson and John Jay...No idea on the others." </list> 5. In 1925 the great powers, for the first time in history, surrendered their absolute right to make war. Name the series of treaties and who signed these documents for the following countries: England, France, Italy and Czechoslovakia?* <list> <item>--Vos Savant: "The Locarno Pact ((correct)), signed by more countries than you named. But I don't know who officiated." <item>--Ambrose: "Kellogg-Briand ((wrong))...No wonder they had to cheat. I doubt that there is a single historian in the U.S. who could get this one." <item>--Hirsch: "The Locarno Pact. Don't ask me the rest." <item>--Rice Hughes: "The Treaty of Versailles, maybe. Something to do with the League of Nations. I know it took place in that vicinity of time." <item>--Trebek: "Kellogg-Briand. That's all I know." </list> *Austen Chamberlain, Aristide Briand, Benito Mussolini, Eduard Benes </body> </article> </text>