TIME: Almanac 1995

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<text id=94TT1527> <title> Nov. 07, 1994: Chronicles-The Week:October 23-29 </title> <history> TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1994 Nov. 07, 1994 Mad as Hell </history> <article> <source>Time Magazine</source> <hdr> CHRONICLES, Page 15 The Week: October 23 - 29 </hdr> <body> NATION Gunfire at the White House A man pulled out a semiautomatic rifle on the Pennsylvania Avenue sidewalk north of the White House, put the weapon to the fence and fired 20 to 30 shots at the presidential residence. One bullet pierced the White House press briefing room. Bill Clinton, just back from a trip to the Middle East, was in the White House at the time watching football, and was unharmed. Onlookers subdued the gunman before Secret Service agents took him into custody. Early Saturday evening authorities identified the suspect as Francisco Martin Duran, 26, of Colorado; no motive was provided. The Politics of Desertion New York City Republican Mayor Rudolph Giuliani set off one of the more spectacular political bombshells of this election season by publicly endorsing one of the biggest Democratic pols targeted by the G.O.P.: New York Governor Mario Cuomo. Giuliani, who was blasted by party leaders for his insubordination, may have gambled his political career on the endorsement. He said his decision to pass over Republican challenger George Pataki came after asking himself, "Who has the best chance in the next four years of successfully fighting for ((the city's)) interests?" Pataki is closely allied with Giuliani's Republican foe, New York Senator Alfonse D'Amato. The Politics of Immigration California Governor Pete Wilson took his anti-immigration re-election strategy one step further by suggesting that in order to thwart illegal aliens, state residents should be required to present official identity cards to get a job, go to school or obtain nonemergency health care. His Democratic opponent, Kathleen Brown, promptly called it a "Big Brother" proposal. Meantime, Senate G.O.P. candidate Michael Huffington--another strong anti-immigrationist--acknowledged that he had employed an illegal-alien nanny for five years. The Politics of Brawl Massachusetts voters were treated to the equivalent of a barroom brawl as Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy and Republican challenger Mitt Romney duked it out over abortion, health care and crime in televised debates. In one particularly nasty exchange, during which Romney suggested that Kennedy had profited from a sweetheart real estate deal, Kennedy jabbed, "Mr. Romney, the Kennedys are not in public service to make money. We have paid too high a price." The Politics of North Even as Oliver North, the G.O.P. candidate for Senator from Virginia, continued to hammer away at Democratic incumbent Charles Robb's extramarital indiscretions, voters were reminded of ghosts in North's own closet. North paraded former Iran-contra players Edwin Meese and Elliott Abrams to vouch for his integrity. Meanwhile, Nancy Reagan publicly called North a liar. Race-Based Scholarships In a decision with national implications, a federal appeals court struck down a special scholarship program set up for blacks by the University of Maryland as an inappropriate remedy for past discrimination there. The ruling challenges the Clinton Administration policy of favoring such minority scholarships to promote diversity on college campuses. The university said it would appeal. Lexington Rumbles After police shot and killed a black man in the course of an arrest in Lexington, Kentucky, an angry crowd of black protesters took to downtown streets to overturn cars and pelt police and passersby with rocks and bottles. A quick show of force by police in riot gear contained the disturbance. Authorities later announced an FBI investigation into the shooting. Terror in the Countryside In rural Union County, South Carolina, Susan Smith said a gunman seized her car at a traffic light, kicked her out after a few miles and then drove away with her sons, ages three and 14 months, strapped inside. As Smith's estranged husband aired teary appeals for help, authorities of the shaken community sent out a nationwide alert for a suspect and the children. Various alleged sightings led police nowhere. A Population Milestone For the first time in U.S. history, the number of inmates behind prison bars topped the million mark in June, hitting 1,012,851--more than double the total of a decade ago. The two states with the greatest number of prisoners: California with 124,813 and Texas with 100,136. WORLD Israel, Jordan Declare Peace Ending 46 years of enmity, the leaders of Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty, witnessed by President Clinton. Jordan's Prime Minister Abdul-Salam al-Majali and Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed the treaty, which settles long-standing territory disputes and pledges cooperation in trade and tourism. Bomb Kills 55 in Sri Lanka A suspected suicide bomber in Sri Lanka killed at least 55 people, including the leading opposition candidate for President, at a political rally in the outskirts of the capital, Colombo. Gamini Dissanayake, head of the United National Party, was killed along with several other party leaders; more than 200 people were injured. Police said the attack was similar to suicide bombings carried out by ethnic Tamil separatists. Major Alleges Blackmail British Prime Minister John Major told Parliament that he was the target of a blackmail attempt by the owner of Harrods, the London department store. Major said Mohamed Al Fayed had attempted through an intermediary to seek a meeting with him to obtain the withdrawal or revision of a government report critical of Harrods. Major, who said the intermediary threatened that Al Fayed would release allegations of wrongdoing within Major's party if he did not cooperate, declined further communication with the emissary. Al Fayed, meanwhile, denied he had sent anyone to influence the Prime Minister. Serbs Routed Bosnian government forces scored one of their most important military victories to date against the Bosnian Serbs with a surprise attack that pushed the Serbs from strategic positions surrounding Bihac in northwestern Bosnia. On Saturday government forces surrounded the village of Bosanska Krupa, trapping hundreds of Serb soldiers. The Bosnians captured 100 sq. mi. of territory as well as several tanks and mortars, forcing some 10,000 Bosnian Serbs to flee. Siberian Pipeline Spews Oil A massive oil spill from a poorly maintained pipeline in Russian Siberia threatened the fragile permafrost and endangered rivers and drinking water, raising specters of the Exxon Valdez disaster. The spill occurred after the failure of earthen dikes built to contain a lake of oil from several pipeline ruptures in July, August and September. Biehl's Murderers Sentenced Three black South African men convicted of killing American graduate student Amy Biehl were sentenced to 18 years in prison. Biehl, who was stabbed and stoned to death in a black township outside Cape Town in August 1993, was killed "for one reason only, namely because she had white skin," said the judge. BUSINESS Further into Future-World Sprint Corp. and three major cable operators will join forces to form a nationwide telecommunications company. Sprint will pool its financing with Comcast Corp., Cox Enterprises Inc. and Tele-Communications Inc. in efforts to bid for FCC licenses. In the long term, the merger will encourage innovations in interactive TV. Saudi Deal in Limbo What President Clinton once called "a gold-medal win for America's businesses and workers" has hit a snag. Saudi Arabia's plan to purchase $6 billion worth of U.S. aircraft from the Boeing Co. and the McDonnell Douglas Corp. has been delayed because of a lack of financing. As a result, Boeing is considering cutting production of its jets, and McDonnell Douglas may explore the possibility of finding new buyers for planes already in production. Massive Securities Crunch Prudential Securities Inc. was charged with large-scale fraud for misleading more than 100,000 investors in the sale of risky limited energy partnerships in the mid-1980s. The firm, which did admit to criminal wrongdoing, will be indicted only if it violates its three-year probation. Prudential will pay almost $700 million in fines, surpassing the 1988 penalty paid by Drexel Burnham Lambert for fraud. SCIENCE 8 Billion Years Young The latest measurements from the Hubble Space Telescope could mean the universe is not as old as astronomers have believed. By carefully analyzing data from a galaxy 56 million light-years away, scientists have determined that some 8 billion to 12 billion years have passed since the birth of the cosmos. The only trouble is, that means some stars--reliably thought to have been burning for 16 billion years--are older than the universe itself. Either researchers are wrong about those stars or the Big Bang theory may be a bust. Fermat's Latest Last Proof When mathematician Andrew Wiles of Princeton University announced almost two years ago that he had solved the 350-year-old riddle of Fermat's Last Theorem, the news was trumpeted around the world. But a gap in the equations soon became apparent. After 18 months and the help of former student Richard Taylor of Cambridge University in England, Wiles has plugged the hole and announced a revision. The proof is so complicated, however, that it may be several weeks before mathematicians can be certain that this time he has it right. SPORTS Field of Excellence The baseball season may have been a wash, but postseason award recipients had much to be proud of. Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves made history when he received a third consecutive National League Cy Young Award. David Cone of the Kansas City Royals won the pitching honor in the American League. Frank Thomas of the Chicago White Sox won a second consecutive American League MVP Award, the first person to do so since Roger Maris. Jeff Bagwell of the Houston Astros captured the same in the National League with a unanimous vote. By Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Christine Gorman, Lina Lofaro, Michael Quinn, Jeffery C. Rubin, Alain L. Sanders and Sidney Urquhart HEALTH REPORT The Good News -- More girls in the U.S. are postponing motherhood. For the first time since 1986, the number of births to girls age 15 to 17 fell 2%, from 188,226 in 1991 to 187,549 in 1992. The number of abortions was also lower. -- An experimental malaria vaccine being tested in a Tanzanian village reduced by 30% the number of children who developed the parasitic infection. -- A cream that contains capsaicin, the same ingredient that gives red-hot chili peppers their fire, can also relieve the aches and pains of arthritis. A dab of Zostrix, researchers say, intercepts the pain signals sent to the brain by inflamed joints. The Bad News -- A study of 1,800 people found that having an abortion may increase a woman's risk of eventually developing breast cancer by 50%. The greatest increase occurred in women who waited until after the eighth week to terminate their pregnancy. By contrast, smokers run a 3,000% increase in their risk of developing lung cancer compared with nonsmokers. -- Exposure to paint thinners and other solvents may cause a temporary loss of smell, memory or color vision as well as problems with maintaining balance. In some cases the toxic effects on the liver and kidneys are permanent, even after the offending solvents have been removed. Sources--GOOD: National Center for Health Statistics; Lancet; Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism. BAD: Journal of the National Cancer Institute; Journal of Occupational Medicine. HOLDOUT OF THE WEEK Still on the sidelines in the Middle East peace fest, Syria's President Hafez Assad spurned Clinton and a chance to mend fences with Israel. INSIDE CYBERSPACE Caught in a Web of Their Own Device Young, hip Mosaic Communications was supposed to have the edge in the race to improve on NCSA Mosaic--the Internet "browser" that made the complex computer network surprisingly easy to use. After all, the Silicon Valley start-up hired away most of the hackers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who had written the original program, and their new version--Mosaic Netscape--is suddenly the hottest thing on the Net. So why are AT& T, IBM and Digital Equipment licensing a competing version from low-profile Spyglass? Because Spyglass has something Mosaic never bothered to get--a license from the university. School spokesfolks say they are trying to avoid a lawsuit, but add, "We're obligated to our licensees to protect our intellectual property." WINNERS & LOSERS Winners N.Y. GOVERNOR MARIO CUOMO--Democrat is endorsed by N.Y.C.'s G.O.P. mayor and edges up in polls. HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE--Uncovers the oldest mystery-the age of the universe itself. PAULA COUGHLIN--Jury awards Tailhook accuser $1.7 million from Las Vegas Hilton. Losers OLIVER NORTH--He receives character references from Elliott Abrams and Ed Meese. HUGHES AIRCRAFT--Loses job discrimination lawsuit. The cost: $89.5 million. OPRAH WINFREY--Her ratings fall, and an ex-employee sues for $200,000 severance. (MORE) SECRETS OF HIGHLY PAID CAMPAIGN CONSULTANTS REVEALED! It's not hard to figure out what candidates are being told to say this fall: "Congressman Huffington--he'll say anything to get elected." --attack ad for California Senator Dianne Feinstein "Betty Montgomery is distinguishing herself as a politician who is willing to say just about anything to get elected." --Ohio attorney general Lee Fisher on his opponent "He will say and do anything to get elected." --Connecticut gubernatorial candidate Tom Scott on his opponent John Rowland Nebraska Representative Peter Hoagland is running a "say-anything-to-get-elected, scorched-earth, negative campaign." --his opponent Jon Christensen 10 MOST SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN FUND RAISERS: <table> <tblhdr><cell><cell>Total<cell>To spend per registered voter <row><cell type=a>1) Rep. Michael Huffington (R-CA)<cell type=a>$18,050,553<cell type=a>78 cents <row><cell>2) Oliver North (R-VA)<cell>$15,202,896<cell>$3.06 <row><cell>3) Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)<cell>$12,755,880<cell>97 cents <row><cell>4) Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)<cell>$9,202,860<cell>40 cents <row><cell>5) Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA)<cell>$7,553,571<cell>$1.66 <row><cell>6) Richard Fisher (D-TX)<cell>$5,665,205<cell>43 cents <row><cell>7) Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)<cell>$4,805,116<cell>80 cents <row><cell>8) Sen. Daniel Moynihan (D-NY)<cell>$4,671,532<cell>34 cents <row><cell>9) Mitt Romney (R-MA)<cell>$4,641,695<cell>$1.02 <row><cell>10) Sen. Harris Wofford (D-PA)<cell>$4,605,525<cell>50 cents </table> The 10 Most total: $87,154,833 Source: Federal Election Commission * Through Sept. 30, 1994 FROM THE ARCHIVES Nobody knows for sure who put the first campaign spot on TV, but one of the pioneers was Democratic Senator William Benton of Connecticut. Not coincidentally, he was also the co-founder of a major ad agency. His 1950 spots, with action shots and rousing music, sounded themes that have become electoral perennials. There were spousal plugs ("My husband has fought hard"), campaign promises ("I shall continue to fight for...tax relief for small businesses") and bland platitudes ("He's in there pitching for you"). What had yet to evolve: vicious attacks on the opponent. JACKPOT! The Mashantucket Pequots are a tiny tribe of 320 people and untold millions of dollars--earned at their reservation casino in Ledyard, Connecticut, above. Last week the Smithsonian Museum received $10 million from the Pequots. There have been other gifts: <table> <row><cell type=a>Special Olympics World Games 1995<cell type=i>$2,000,000 <row><cell>Democratic National Committee<cell>500,000 <row><cell>Thames River, Connecticut, fireworks<cell>70,000 <row><cell>Republican National Committee<cell>50,000 <row><cell>Old Mystic, Connecticut, Baptist Church<cell>50,000 <row><cell>Youth Ambassadors baseball team's trip to Cuba<cell>20,000 <row><cell>Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE)<cell>20,000 <row><cell>Ledyard Mavericks Girls' Softball Team<cell>15,000 <row><cell>Earth Day USA<cell>5,000 <row><cell>Ledyard High School<cell>2,800 </table> VOX POP Which would you prefer: finding a great bargain on clothes or having great sex? <table> <tblhdr><cell><cell>Women<cell>Men <row><cell type=a>Bargain<cell type=i>46%<cell type=i>14% <row><cell>Sex<cell>41%<cell>76% </table> From a telephone poll of 1,001 adult Americans taken for TIME/CNN on Oct. 8-11 by Yankelovich Partners Inc. Sampling error is plus or minus 3%. Not Sures omitted. TO STEM THE FLOW OF ILLEGAL SIBERIAN IMMIGRANTS? "California stands ready to share its considerable expertise and talents in meeting the current emergency. Please inform me directly if further action is needed..."--Republican Governor Pete Wilson of California offering assistance with the recent Siberian oil spill. BESUBORU LIKE IT OUGHTA BE Japanese (and deprived American) fans were transfixed as the Yomiuri Giants met the Seibu Lions in the seven-game 1994 Japan Series. Saturday: Giants manager Shigeo Nagashima visits a shrine to pray for victory--to no avail. Lions maul his team 11-0. Sunday: Series evened with a 1-0 squeaker, thanks to fine pitching by Hiromi Makihara. Tuesday: Giants win in freezing weather. Fans guzzle 3,000 bottles of hot sake to keep warm. Wednesday: A 12-inning thriller. Lions win 6-5. Series tied. Thursday: Grand-slam homer by Giants pinch hitter Koichi Ogata, helps clinch a 9-3 victory. Saturday: Giants win 3-1 and clinch the Series for the 18th time. Watch for TIME's coverage of the Italian ice-hockey season!!! DISPATCHES LITTLE MUSEUM OF HORRORS By Jeffery C. Rubin/Philadelphia The Mutter Museum was closed on Halloween. But in many ways, it is Halloween at the Mutter every day. The first-time visitor is confronted by macabre marvels: monstrously misshapen skulls and skeletons, fetal remains of offspring that could never be human, shadowy effigies of things that went bump in the night. The Mutter's polished wood, gleaming brass rails and dark oil paintings suggest the library of a wealthy if eccentric 19th century aristocrat. But when professor Thomas Dent Mutter bequeathed his collection to the College of Physicians of Philadelphia in 1856, he intended it as a teaching aid, a guide to the eccentricities--however terrifying--of the human body. "This is absolutely serious, scientific and educational," said Mutter director Gretchen Worden. "That's the only way I can justify having human remains on display." Nevertheless, the museum, while graceful, elegant and pedagogical, is a freak show--a kind of Nightmare on Elm Street as scripted by Edgar Allan Poe. There is the Soap Lady, who, underground and buried, decomposed into a waxy gray substance called adipocere; she was purchased by the museum for $7.50 when Philadelphia's old cemetery was moved in 1875. Then there is the pair of twins who share a single skull; the Frenchwoman who grew horny protrusions all over her body, including her forehead; a heart made translucent by chemicals; the constipation-racked colon of the Balloon Man, which swelled to 8 ft. long and 27 in. around before--as the organ's label records--his case "terminated fatally." The bladder stones of Chief Justice John Marshall (1755-1835) are here, along with a death cast of the original Siamese twins, Chang and Eng, connected at the chest. (Their fused liver sits in formaldehyde in a display tray below.) Floating inside a small glass bottle, item No. 13,671 is a thumb-size brown chunk of flesh "procured at the postmortem" of John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln's assassin. (Last week Booth's ancestors petitioned for exhumation of his body from Baltimore's Greenmount Cemetery, hoping to prove that the man killed by federal agents in 1865 was not the infamous actor. The descendants believe that the real Booth escaped and died in obscurity in 1903. They can start by examining the piece of evidence already aboveground at the Mutter.) Thanks to its grotesqueries, the Mutter is beginning to trade offbeat obscurity for popular renown. Five years ago, it drew just 4,300 visitors; this year's attendance will be nearly four times that. Says Worden, who has appeared on David Letterman's show three times: "We're getting better known because we're just so interesting." The museum's photo calendar, she adds, sells briskly. The first ones, issued in 1993, are now collector's items, at $40 apiece. Each picture, like each exhibit, is a memento mori, a ghoulish reminder of our own mortality, malevolently fascinating, weirdly beautiful. </body> </article> </text>