News Brief Number One: Director Cable 298269

APPROVED FOR RELEASE — DISAPPEARANCE OF AMELIA EARHART 2025 REVIEW —S-E6RE‘I'- NEWS BRIEF NUMBER ONE — Identifiers Guide: guide://1063/9907091 Document Id: 11268712 Documeni Cite: DIRECTOR 298269 —SEGR'§  -S-EGREF D0cume2"I’I:DIRR ~OOO0 298269 Subject: NEWS BRIEF NUMBER ONEC 54205DlRR 298269 ASO92~76562'l7 MIDB 133920321 01229826900392 16 UPID // SECRET FRP: STAFF CONFIZ INFO: C/ORMS, LIMITO, rvmsx, ODPD, SADORECORD, FILE, I I000-2 (10/P) 92 7656217 ASO PAGE O01 TOT: 2102402 MAR 92 DIRECTOR 298269 E0RET STAFF 2102402 DIRECTOR 298269 TO: IMMEDIATEI I FROM: LIMIT INFOI I swes: WNINTELI SUBJECT: NEWS BRIEF NUMBER owe I REF: NONE TEXT: 1. PARA "rvvo FOLLOWING NUMBER 0324. 2. BEGIN TEXT: ---------------------TEAR ARTICLE ’i BALTIC STATES DENOUNCE PACE OF PULLOUT TALKS MOSCOW, MARCH 17 (APP) ~ LEADERS OF LITRUANIA, LATVIAAND ESTONIA HAVE ISSUED A STATEMENT DECRYING THE SLUGGISH PACE O? TALKS WITH RUSSIA ON THE WITHDRAWAL OF FORMER SOVIET TROOPS FROM THE THREE BALTIC STATES, IT WAS REPORTED TUESDAY. THE THREE PRESIDENTS ARNOLD RUUTEL (ESTONIA), ANATOLIJS GORBUNOVS (LATVIA) AND VYTAUTAS LANDSBERGIS (LITHUANIA), WHO TOGETHER FORM THE COUNCIL OF BALTIC STATES, MET ON MONDAY AT JURMALA NEAR RIGA THE LATVIAN CAPITAL TO DISCUSS PROGRESS IN THE NEGOTIATIONS. IN A COMMUNIQUE THE THREE SAID THE "DIATLOGUE (WITH RUSSIA) WAS UNSATISFACTORY AND MOREOVER THERE IS STILL A THREAT TO THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE BALTIC STATES." THE THREE FORMER SOVIET REPUBLICS RECOVERED THEIR INDEPENDENCE IN SEPTEMBER. RUSSIA, WT-IICHTOOK OVER RESPONSIBILITY FOR RED ARMY TROOPS STATIONED OUTSIDE THE NEW COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES THAT REPLACED TI-TE SOVIET UNION, SAID THE WITHDRAWAL OF TROOPS FROM -SE€'R'E‘I'-  -S-E6'RET- THE BA§_TIC STATES WOULD BE COMPLETED BY 1994. THE BALTIC COUNCIL COMPLAINED THAT TROOPS THEORETICALLY UNDER RUSSIAN CONTROL WERE CARRYING OUT MILITARY EXERCISES IN THE BALTIC STATES. GENERAL ZHYAWTEDEEN ABDURAKHMANOV, THE OFFICER IN CHARGE OF THE 6TH AIR DEFENCE ARMY STATIONED IN ESTONIA, HOWEVER GAVE TALLIN ASSURANCES THAT MANOEUVRES SCHEDULED EOR MARCH ‘I7 HAD BEEN CANCE¥_LED, THE BALTFAX NEWS AGENCY REPORTED. Ti-IE BALTIC STATES PROTESTED “IN STRONG TERMS AT THE CONTINUED PRESENCE OF FORMER SOVIET BORDER GUARD UNITS WHICH ARE DISRUPTING THE DEFENCE BY FORCES OF ESTONIA, LATVIAAND LITHUANIA OF Ti-IEIR OWN STATE FRONTIERS". Ti-IE COMMUNIOUE SAID THE BALTIC STATES WERE ALSO INSISTING ON “MATERIAL COMPENSATION" FOR MILITARY EQUIPMENT CONFISCATED WHEN THE BALTIC STATES WERE ANNEXED IN I940 AS WELL AS FOR FIVE DECADES OF SOVIET TROOP OCCUPATION. MARCH 17, 1992 ARTICLE 2 YELTSIN‘S MOVE TOWARD A RUSSIAN ARMY: ACCEPTING REALITY BY ALAN COOPERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER MOSCOW (AP) ~ PRESIDENT BORIS N. YELTSIN IS MERELY BOWING TO REALITY BY CREATING A RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY AS A FIRST STEP TOWARD A SEPARATE RUSSIAN ARMY, HIS ADVISERS AND INDEPENDENT DEFENSE EXPERTS SAY. YELTSIN ANNOUNCED THE MOVE MONDAY, NAMING HIMSELF ACTING DEFENSE MINISTER. Ti-IE FORMER SOVIET REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN ALSO MOVED TO ESTABLISH ITS OWN ARMED FORCES OM MONDAY WHEN ITS PRESIDENT, NURSULTAN NAZARBAYEV, ORDERED CREATION OFA REPUBLICAN GUARD. Ti-IE MOVES APPEARED TO SCUTTLE ANY CHANCE Ti-IT LEADERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES WILL BE ABLE TO PRESERVEA UNIFIED MILITARY AT THEIR SUMMIT MEETING FRIDAY IN KIEV, THE UKRAINIAN CAPITAL. T¥"IE COMMONWEALTH STATES REMAIN COMMITTED TO JOINT CONTROL OVER NUCLEAR WEAPONS. BUT ALL 11 REPUBLICS NOW ARE LIKELY TO SET UP THEIR OWN CONVENTIONAL FORCES. UKRAINE, AZERBAIJAN, MOLDOVAAND BELARUS -S-EGR%  4-E-GR-ET- ALREADY HAVE STARTED TO DO SO. “THE HUGE COMMONWEALTH ARMY WAS NOT REALISTIC. IT WAS HOPELESS," SAID ALEXANDER KONOVALOV, A DEFENSE SPECIALIST AT MOSCOW‘S PRESTIGIOUS INSTITUTE OF THE USAAND CANADA. “IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE AN ARMY THAT'S LOYAL TO A GROUP OF STATES. THE ARMY NEEDS TO KNOW WHICH STATE IT SERVES," HE SAID. MORALE HAS PLUMMETED AMONG THE FORMER SOVIET UNION'S 3 MILLION TROOPS BECAUSE OF LOW PAY, A HOUSING SHORTAGE, HAZING OF RECRUITS AND THE DIVISION OF SOLDIERS‘ LOYALTIES BETWEEN THE COMMONWEALTH AND THEIR HOME REPUBLICS, ACCORDING TO KONOVALOV AND OTHER EXPERTS IN MOSCOW. RUSSIAAND KAZAKHSTAN, THE TWO LARGEST FORMER SOVIET REPUBLICS, HAD BEEN STRONG SUPPORTERS OF MAINTAINING A UNITED MILITARY. BUT THEY APPEAR TO HAVE DECIDED THAT THE BREAKUP OF CONVENTIONAL ARMED FORCES, SPEARHEADED BY UKRAINE, IS INEVITABTLE. YELTSIN‘S DECREE HAD NO IMMEDIATE IMPACT ON THE COMMONWEALTITS ARMED FORCES. VICE PREMIER SERGEI SHAKHRAI SAID THAT FOR THE TIME BEING, RUSSIAN SOLDIERS WOULD STAY UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE COMMONWEALTI-I’S MILITARY COMMANDER. BUT "THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE WAS CREATED TO SUPERVISE AN ARMY. SO, OBVIOUSLY, RUSSIA WIL£ HAVE ITS OWN ARMY - IT'S ONLYA MATTER OF TIME NOW,“ SAID VITALY KOVALEVSKY, A STAFF MEMBER OF THE RUSSIAN STATE COMMITTEE ON DEFENSE ISSUES, WHICH ADVISES THE GOVERNMENT. KOVALEVSKY SAID YELTSIN APPOINTED HIMSELF ACTING DEFENSE MINISTER BECAUSE OF A DISPUTE BETWEEN "THE HIGH COMMAND, WHICH WANTED A PROFESSIONAL WHO WOULD MAINTAIN THEIR STATUS AND PRIVILEGES," AND LAWMAKERS WHO BELIEVE THAT NAMING A CIVILIAN DEFENSE MINISTER “WOULD SE ANOTHER BIG STEP TOWARD DEMOCRACY.“ KOVALEVSKY SAID THAT WHEN RUSSIA FORMALLY ESTABLISHES ITS OWN ARMY, IT WILL BE ARMED ONLY WITH CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS. HOWEVER, KOVALEVSKY SAID YELTSIN‘S DECREE WAS PROMPTED, IN PART, BY UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT LEONID KRAVCHUK'S DECISION LAST WEEK TO STOP SENDING TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS TO RUSSIA FOR DISMANTLING. YELTSIN HAD HESITATEO TO CREATE A DEFENSE MINISTRY, SAYING EARLIER THIS YEAR THAT IF RUSSIA MOVED TO SET UP ITS OWN ARMY, ALL THE OTI-TER REPUBLICS WOULD, TOO. “RUSSIA DID NOT WANT TO PROVOKE SEPARATIST TENDENCIES. SUT THAT POLICY DIDN'T WORK." KOVALEVSKY SAID. “UKRAINE IS ACTIVELY BUILDING ITS FORCES. KRAVCHUKS BEHAVIOR ST-IOWED THAT RUSSIA, AS A GREAT POUER, MUST CONDUCT AN ACTIVE MILITARY POLICY.“ -SE€RE'1'-  -S-EGREP MARCH 17, 1992 ARTICLE 3 HARO~LINE LAWMAKERS SEEK RESTORATION OF SOVIET UNION BY BRYAN BRUMLEY ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER MOSCOW (AP) ~ ABOUT TWO DOZE HARD~LIf\iE LAWMAKERS FROM THE DEFUNCT SOVIET PARLIAMENT HEADED TODAY FOR A CITY SOUTH OF MOSCOW TO TRY TO HOLD A LEGISLATIVE SESSION IN DEFIANCE OF RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES. THE DEPUTIES OF THE OED CONGRESS OF PEOPLE‘S DEPUTIES HAVE INDICATED THEY PLAN TO CHOOSE A NEW LEADER TO SEEK THE RESTORATION OF THE SOVIET UNION, WHICH WAS DISSOLVED LAST YEAR FOLLOWING THE FALL OF COMMUNISM. ALARMED BY THE MOVE, THE RUSSIAN LEGISLATURE ORDERED THE HARO—LINERS' GATHERING BANNED, FORCING THEM TO MOVE OUTSIDE CITY OUTSKIRTS. TODAY, RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES ALSO APPARENTLY TRIED TO PREVENT PARTICIPANTS FROM ATTENDING. ATOTAL OF ’I2 BUSES HAD BEEN RESERVED TO TAKE DEPUTIES TO PODOLSK, ABOUT 20 MILES SOUTH OF THE CAPITAL, SAID COL. VIKTOR ALKSNIS, A FORMER DEPUTY AND AN OPPONENT OF THE REFORMS OF MIKHAIL S. GORSACHEV. BUT ONLY TWO BUSES ARRIVED AT THE MOSCOW HOTEL NEAR THE KREMLIN WHERE THE DEPUTIES HAD GATHERED FOR THE TRIP. THE REST WERE KEPT AWAY, SAID ALKSNIS. ABOUT 100 SUPPORTERS CHANTING "SOVIET UNION" SAW OFF THE TWO BUSES, AND AND SOME 400 JOURNALISTS JUMPED INTO CARS TO FOLLOU THEM. IT WAS NOT CLEAR IF OTHER DEPUTIES HAD ALSO PLANNED TO MEET AT THE HOTEL. IT ALSO WAS NOT CLEAR HOW MANY OF THE FORMER 2,250~MEMBER CONGRESS WOULD ATTEND THE MEETING, ALTHOUGH ORGANIZERS HAD SAID 1,470 LAWMAKERS HAD INDICATED THEY MIGHT GO. THE PROSPECT OF AN ASSEMBLY OF HARD~LINERS, MANY OF WHOM SUPPORTED THE FAILED AUGUST ATTEMPT TO OUST GORBACHEV, HAS UNNERVED THE RUSSIAN LEGISLATURE. THE LEGISLATURE ORDERED MOSCOW MAYOR GAVRIIL POPOV AND CITY POLICE TO PREVENT THE FORMER DEPUTIES FROM GATHERING AS PLANNED IN THE CITY TODAY. IN ADDITION, PROSECUTOR GENERAL VALENTIN STEPANKOV WARNED THAT CONGRESS ORGANIZERS COULD BE PROSECUTED. -SE-9R5?“  -9E6'R§ A MAJOR DEMONSTRATION OPPOSING THE GOVERNMENT OF ERESIDENT BORIS N. YELTSIN ALSO WAS PLANNED FOR THIS EVENING IN MOSCOW. POEOV HAS AGREED TO ALLOW THE RALLY, ALTHOUGH AUTHORITIES SAID THEY WOULD DEPLOY THOUSANDS OF POLECE AND RUSSIAN INTERIOR MINISTRY TROOPS TO PREVENT ANY UNREST. THE HUGE MANEZH SQUARE NEXT TO THE KREMLIN WAS CORDONED OFF BY POLICE EARLY TODAY AND DOZENS OF OFFICERS WERE SEEN AT THE VARIOUS ENTRANCE-S TO RED SQUARE. DIEI-IARD COMMUNISTS FREQUENTLY ORGANEZE RALLIES OF SEVERAL THOUSAND PARTICIPANTS IN MOSCOW AND ELSEWHERE. RECENTLY, TI-IE PROTESTS HAVE BECOME MORE VISIBLE, ALTHOUGH THEY DO NOT APPEAR TO REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION. ET ALSO WAS NOT KNOUN HOW MUCH POPULAR SUPPORT THERE IS IEOR TI-IE CONGRESS. DEPUTY RUSSEAN PREMIER SERGEI SHAKHRAE WARNED MONDAYAGAENST UNDERESTIMATING THE HARD-LINERS. “THE SO-CALLED CONGRESS IS AN ATTEMPT TO CREATE PARALLEL BODIES OF POWER IN RUSSIA." HE SAED, ACCORDING TO THE ETAR-TASS NEWS AGENCY. MARCH 17, 1992 ARTICLE 4 ENVESTIGATOR CLAIMS MYSTERY OF FAMED AVIATRIX IS SOLVED BY PAUL RECER AP SCIENCE WRITER WASHINGTON (AP) - BITS OF METAL, A MEDICINE BOTTLE CAP AND PARTS OF A WOMAN'S SHOE PROVE THAT AMELIA EARHART LANDED ON A REMOTE PACEFEC ISLAND AND LATER DIED THERE, PROBABLY FROM THIRST, AN INVESTIGATOR CLAIMED MONDAY. “WE HAVE RECOVERED ARTIFACTS TE-IAT CONCLUSIVELY PROVE THIS CASE," SAID RICHARD GILLESPIE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL GROUP FOR HISTORIC AIRCRAFT RECOVERY. “THE FACTS ARE THERE. THE CASE IS SOLVED.“ MS. EARHART AND HER NAVIGATOR, FRED NOONAN, DISAPPEARED IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC ON JULY 2, ‘I937, WHILE ON A FLIGHT FROM NEW GUINEA TO HOWLAND ISLAND. THEY WERE ON THE FENAL PORTION OF AN ATTEMPT TO FLY AROUND THE WORLD NEAR THE EQUATOR. NEITHER THE FLIERS NOR THEIR LOCKHEED ELECTRA WERE FOUND IN AN -S-E-GR-Ei'"'  'SE6R-ET- AIR ANS SEA SEARCH MOUNTED BY THE U.S. NAVY. LATER, REPORTS SURFACED THAT EARHART HAD BEEN CAPTURED BY THE JAPANESE AND DIED A PRISONER. THIS HAS NEVER BEEN PROVEN, HOWEVER, AND THE FATE OF EARHART HAS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF NUMEROUS BOOKS. ATA NEWS CONFERENCE MONDAY, GILLESPIE SAID HE HAS SOLVED THE 55~YEAR~OLD MYSTERY. HE SAID HIS RESEARCH SHOWS THAT AFTER EARHART AND NOONAN FAILED TO FIND HOWLAND ISLAND, THEY CAME UPON A SMALL ATOLL, THEN CALLED GARDNER ISLAND AND NOW CALLED NIKUMARORO, AND LANDED THERE ON A DRY TIDAL FLAT DURING LOW TIDE. RADIO DISTRESS SIGNALS WERE HEARD FROM THE VICINITY OF THE ISLAND FOR THREE DAYS, BUT THEN STOPPED, GILLESPIE SAID. HE ALSO SAID THATA MASSIVE STORM NORTH OF NIKUMARORO GENERATED WAVES THAT WASHED THE ELECTRA FROM THE TIOAL FLAT AND DROPPED THE AIRPLANE OVER THE EDGE OF A CORAL REEF INTO 2,000 FEET OF WATER. THIS IS WHY. HE SAID. THAT WHEN NAVY PLANES FLEW OVER TI-TE ISLANDA FEW DAYS LATER TT-IERE WAS NO SIGN OF THE ELECTRA. NIKUMARORO, THEN UNHABITED, HAD NO FRESH WATER SUPPLY. GILLESPIE SAID HE BELIEVES EARHART AND NOONAN DEPENDED ON RAINWATER TO SURVIVE BUT THE LOCAL RAINFALL WAS ONLY ABOUT AN 10 INCHES A YEAR. THE PAIR PROBABLY DIED FROM THIRST, HE SAID. GILLESPIE SAID HIS ORGANIZATION VISITED NIKUMARORO LAST OCTOBER AND DISCOVERED SEVERAL ARTIFACTS THEY HAD NOT FOUND IN A 1989 VISIT TO THE ISLAND. HE SAID EXPERT ANALYSIS OE A PIECE OF AIRCRAFT ALUMINUM, A LENGTH OF COPPER WIRE, PARTS OF AWOMAN'S SIZE 9 SHOE, AND A BOTTLE CAP EROM A MEDICINE BOTTLE UNCOVERED NOTHING THAT WOULD DISPROVE HIS CONTENTION THAT EARHART AND NOONAN DIED ON NIKUMARORO. “WERE VERY CONFIDENT THAT THE AMELIA EARHART CASE IS SOLVED," SAID GILLESPIE. THE ARTIFACTS, HE SAID, "FORM CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE IN SUCH AN OVERWHELMING WAY AS TO MAKE THEM CONCLUSIVE." AMONG THE CLAIMS: -A 23~BY~I9~INCH PIECE OT: AIRCRAFT ALUMINUM WAS FOUND WASI-TED UP ON THE ISLAND. GILLESPIE CLAIMED IT CAME FROM A UNDERSECTION THAT HAD BEEN REPAIRED AT THE LOCKHEED PLANT IN CALIFORNIAAFTER EARHART CRASH LANDED IN HAWAII MONTHS EARLIER. THE PIECE WAS EXAMINED FOR TIGHAR BY JOE EPPERSON, A NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD METALLURGIST, WHO SAID THE METAL "WAS CONSISTENT“ WITH WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE REPAIRS MADE TO THE AIRCRAFT. EPPERSON ALSO EXAMINED A PIECE OF COPPER ANTENNA WIRE ATTACHED TO THE METAL AND HE SAID IT MATCHED ANTENNA WIRE FROM THE SAME ERA. -PARTS OF A SHOE SOLE FOUND ON THE ISLAND WERE IDENTIFIED AS FROTVI AWOMAN‘S SIZE 9 BLUCHER-STYLE OXFORD BY OFFICIALS OF THE CAT‘S PAW DIVISION OF THE BILTRITE CORP. IT WAS FROM THE LEFT SHOE AND -S-E€'R%  'S'E6'REI'— INCLUDED A REPLACEMENT HEEL, SAID GILLESPIE. ENLARGEMENTS OF PHOTOS OF EARHART TAKEN DURING THE ATTEMPT TO FLY AROUND THE WORLD SHOW HER WEARING THIS TYPE OF SHOE, HE SAID, AND EVEN CONFIRM THAT SHE HAD HAD THE LEFT HEEL REPLACED. ~A METAL MEDICINE BOTTLE CAP WAS IDENTIFIED BY WARNER~LAMBERT CO. OFFICIALS AS ATYPE OF CAP USED FOR STOMACH MEDICINE IN 1937 BY THE WI¥_LIAM R. WARNER CO. GILLESPIE SAID EARHART WAS KNOUN TO SUFFER FROM STOMACH PROBLEMS. PETER WOLF, A WARNER-LAMBERT SPOKESMAN, SAID A COMPANY OFFICIAL WHO EXAMINED THE LID BRIEFLY SAID IT WAS OF ATYPE USED UNTIL THE 19508. THE WILLIAM R. WARNER CO. LATER BECAME PART OF WARNER-LAMBERT. WOLF SAID PRINTING ON THE TOP OF THE LID WAS EASILY LEGIBLE. “IT REALLY DIDN'T LOOK LIKE IT HAD BEEN WEATHERED FOR 60 YEARS," SAID WOLF. GILLESPIE SAID HIS NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION HAS SPENT $750,000 ON TWO EXPEDITIONS TO NIKUMARORO IN SEARCH OF EARHART‘S PLANE AND NOW PLAN TO RETURN. DURING THE EARLIER TRIP. THE TIGHAR TEAM DISCOVERED AN ALUMINUM NAVlGATOR‘S MAP CASE. BOTH TRIPS WERE FINANCED BY DONATIONS AND LOANS. ASKED IF HE WAS SEEKING MORE DONATIONS TO MAKE ATHIRD TRIP, GILLESPIE NOTED, “IT'S GOT TO COME FROM SOMEWHERE.“ MARCH 17, 1992 ARTICLE 5 MORE BAD NEWS FOR LAWMAKERS ENSNARED IN CHECK~KITING SCANDAL BY RON HUTCHESON~ C1992 FORT WORTH STAR~TELEGRAM~ WASHINGTON LAWMAKERS ENSNARED IN THE HOUSE CHECK~KITING SCANDAL RECEIVED MORE BAD NEWS MONDAY WITH THE DISCLOSURE THAT THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT IS CONDUCTING A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE MATTER. Ti-IE ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORT OF THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION CAME AS LAWMAKERS STRUGGLED TO LIMIT POLITICAL DAMAGE FROM THE SCANDAL WITH SURVIVAL STRATEGIES RANGING FROM ABJECT APOLOGY TO ANGRY DEFIANCE. “WE ARE REVIEWING ALLEGATIONS OF POSSIBLE CRIMINAL CONDUCT,” MARK LIEDL, A SPOKESMAN FOR U.S. ATTORNEY JAY STEPHENS IN WASHINGTON, TOLD THE AP WITHOUT ELABORATING. S-E8-RE?‘  S-E-GR-ET- LIEDL SAID INVESTIGATORS BEGAN LOOKING FOR POSSIBLE CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS AT THE HOUSE BANK LAST FALL, WHEN A GOVERNMENT AUDIT DISCOVERED l8,33‘l OVERDRAFTS BY LAWMAKERS IN A 39~MONTH PERIOD. FOR LAWMAKERS, THE REPORT WAS AN UNEXPECTED BLOW AFTER A ROUGH WEEKEND OF TRYING TO EXPLAIN THEIR BANKING PRACTICES TO VOTERS. REP. CHARLES WILSON, ONE OF DNO TEXANS LISTED AMONG THE UORST ABUSERS, HOPED TO PLACATE VOTERS IN HIS EAST TEXAS DISTRICT BY OPENING HIS CHECKBOOK TO CHARITY. AT NEWS CONFERENCE IN LUEKIN, WILSON SAID HE PLANS TO FINE HIMSELF $25 FOR EACH OF HIS 81 OVERDRAFTS AT THE HOUSE RANK AND DONATE THE MONEY TO CHARITY. ELAINE LANG, THE LUFKIN DEMOCRAT'S PRESS SECRETARY, SAID THE $25 FIGURE REPRESENTS THE STANDARD BAD CHECK CHARGE AT BANKS IN WILSON'S CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT. SHE SAID WILSON PLANS TO SPLIT THE MONEY ABOUT $2,025 BETWEEN THE HUMANE SOCIETY AND THE FIRST METHODIST CHURCH IN TRINITY, HIS HOME CHURCH. BUT THE TEXAS DEMOCRAT SAID HE DOES NOT FEEL ANY REMORSE OVER HIS CHECK-WRITING HABITS. WILSON SAID HIS OVERDRAFTS WERE NOT MORALLY WRONG BECAUSE HE DID NOT CHEAT ANY OF THE CHECK RECIPIENTS OUT OF ANY MONEY. THE PRIVATE HOUSE BANK ROUTINELY COVERED OVERDRAFTS FROM LAWNIAKERS AND RECOVERED THE DIFFERENCE FROM FUTURE DEPOSITS. “I NEVER GAVE ITATHOUGHT," WILSON SAID. OTHER LAWMAKERS TOOK A MORE DEFIANT APPROACH. IN AN INTERVIEW WITH THE ST. LOUIS POST~DISPATCH, REP. WILLIAM CLAY, D~MO., TOLD HIS HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER THAT HE WAS "OUTRAGED" BY NEWS LEAKS ABOUT HIS BAD CHECKS. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, WHICH OBTAINED A PARTIAL LIST OF THE HORST BANK ABUSERS, REPORTED LAST WEEKEND THAT CLAY HAD 329 BAD CHECKS IN A 39~MONTH PERIOD ENDING LAST OCTOBER. THE ST. LOUIS DEMOCRAT ACCUSED MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE OF LEAKING THE INFORMATION. "IT'S REALLY OBNOXIOUS THAT SOMEONE IN THE ETHICS COMMITTEE WOULD SHOW THIS LACK OF ETHICS,“ HE SAID. THE PREMATURE RELEASE OF THE ETHICS COMMITTEE LIST ADDED A NEW ELEMENT OF CONFUSION TO THE FINANCIAL TANGLE UNCOVERED IN THE NOW~CLOSED BANK. A STEADY STREAM OF CONGRESSIONAL AIDES TROOPED DOWN TO THE ETHICS COMMITTEE OFFICE IN THE CAPITOL BASEMENT MONDAY TO SEEK CLARIFICATION FOR LAWMAKERS LISTED AMONG THE WORST ABUSERS. A SPOKESMAN FOR REP. RON COLEMAN, THE OTHER TEXAN ON THE LIST, SAID THE EL PASO DEMOCRAT HAS BEEN UNABLE TO CONFIRM REPORTS THAT HE HAD 673 OVERDRAFTS DURING THE 39-MONTH PERIOD INVESTIGATED BY THE ETHICS COMMITTEE. COLEMAN HAS ADMITTED WRITING FOUR OVERDRAFTS, BUT CONCEDES THAT -6-E6F\*%  “SE'CRE‘I'- THERE MAY BE MORE. “HE JUST DOESN'T KNOW," SAID SPOKESMAN PETER ASHKENAZ. “HE HAS YET TO BE NOTIFIED." THE FIRST TEST OF VOTER ANGER OVER THE SCANDAL COMES TODAY IN ILLINOIS, WHERE REP. CHARLES HAYES IS SEEKING RE~ELECTION IN THE STATE'S DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY DESPITE HIS RECORD OF 716 OVERDRAFTS. THE INCUMBENT DEMOCRAT, WHO REPRESENTS THE SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO, FACES A STRONG CHALLENGE FROM ALDERMAN BOBBY RUSH, A FORMER LEAOER OF THE ILLINOIS BLACK PANTHER PARTY WHO MODERATED HIS MORE RADICAL POSITIONS TO ENTER MAINSTREAM POLITICS. REPUBLICAN LEADERS, MEANWHILE, ESCALATED THEIR EFFORTS TO EXPLOIT ANY POLITICAL ADVANTAGE IN OTHER ELECTION CONTESTS. “THIS IS A DEMOCRAT SCANDAL BECAUSE TI-TE DEMOCRATS WERE CLEARLY GUY VANDER JAGT OF MICHIGAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE IN CHARGE,“ REP. NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE, SAID ATA CAEITOL NEWS CONFERENCE. "THOUGH THERE ARE REPUBLICANS SPRINKLED HERE AND THERE AMONG THE BIG ABUSERS, THE GREAT PREPONDERANCE OF BIG ABUSERS ARE DEMOCRATS." IN AN APPEARANCE ON NBC’S "TODAY" SHOW, REP. NEWT GINGRICH. R-GA., ARGUED THAT THE SCANDAL IS MERELY THE LATEST IN A SERIES OF POLITICAL EMBARRASSMENTS FOR DEMOCRATS THAT BEGAN WITH FORMER SPEAKER JIM WRIGHT‘S RESIGNATION IN 1989. GINGRICH, WRIGHT‘S CHIEF ACCUSER, HAS SEIZED ON THE CHECK FLAP AS A POTENTIALLY POTENT WEAPON AGAINST HOUSE DEMOCRATS. BUT GINGRICH'S EFFECTIVENESS IS TARNISHED SOMEWHAT BY HIS OWN RECORD OF ABOUT 20 BAD CHECKS. WRIGHT, WHO REPRESENTED FORT WORTH IN CONGRESS FOR 34 YEARS, ALSO SHOWED UP ON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LIST WITH 139 CHECKS WORTH A TOTAL OF $37,000. THE FORMER SPEAKER, WHO QUESTIONED THE FIGURES LAST WEEKEND, HAD NOT OBTAINED ANY CLARIFICATION FROM THE ETHICS COMMITTEE AS OF MONDAY, AN AIDE SAID. THE BIPARTISAN ETHICS PANEL IS SCHEDULED TO RELEASE INFORMATION ON THE 24 WORST ABUSERS AS EARLY AS NEXT MONDAY, FOLLOWED FIVE DAYS LATER BY INFORMATION ON THE REMAINING 331 CURRENT OR FORMER LAWMAKERS WHO HAD AT LEAST ONE OVERDRAFT. THE PANEL'S PRELIMINARY REPORT ON ITS FIVE~MONTH INVESTIGATION CONCLUDED THAT THE HOUSE BANK HAD BEEN PLAGUED BY OVERDRAETS SINCE AT LEAST THE EARLY 19508. BUTA HISTORY OE THE INSTITUTION COMPILED BY CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY, A MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO COVERING CONGRESS, FOUND EVIDENCE OF OVERDRAFTS DATING TO I832 ABOUT TWO YEARS AFTER THE BANK OPENED. THE ARTICLE NOTED THAT THE BANK “OPERATED FOR 150 YEARS OUTSIDE THE SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES," ADDING, “TOO OFTEN, THERE WERE PLENTY OF CHECKS BUT NOT ENOUGH BALANCES.“ —SE€R'H*  —SEGREI'— MARCH 17, 1992 ARTICLE 6 ECONOMISTS NOW WONDER IF AND HOW LONG RECOVERY WILL LAST BY DAVE SKIDMORE ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER WASHINGTON (AP) - BIT BY BIT, EVIDENCE IS BUILDING THAT THE ECONOMY HAS PULLED OUT OF ITS STALL AND STARTED GROWING AGAIN. AN INCREASE IN EMPLOYMENT IN FEBRUARY, ASTRONG REBOUND IN RETAIL SALES AND OTHER POSITIVE SIGNS HAVE CONVINCED MOST ANALYSTS THAT Ti-IE ECONOMY HAS FINALLY LEFT THE RECESSION BEHIND. NOW THEY ARE WONDERING WHETHER THE RECOVERY WILL LAST AND WHETHER IT WILL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON THE LIVES OF MOST AMERICANS. “FEBRUARY IS REALLY THE FIRST MONTH OF THE REVIVED RECOVERY, AS FAR AS CAN SEE," SAID ECONOMIST ROBERT G. DEDERICK. "BUT THEN THE I QUESTION IS IS IT GOING TO BE SUSTAINABLE ATA RACE THAT SATISFIES THE PUBLIC AND OFFICIALDOM?‘ IT’S TOO SOON TO TELL ON THAT." ECONOMIST DAVID BERSON OF THE FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION SAID HE BELIEVES THE ECONOMY IS SHIFTING GEARS FROM NO GROWTH TO SLOW GROWTH. THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE VERY VULNERASLE TO PAUSES. ANY "I SORT OF UNEXPECTED SHOCK IS MORE LIKELY TO SLOW THE ECONOMY OR MAKE IT GO NEGATIVE," HE SAID. ANALYSTS WERE GETTING PLENTY OF NEW EVIDENCE TODAY WITH THREE GOVERNMENT REPORTS ON ACTIVITY IN FEBRUARY. THE FEDERAL RESERVE WAS REPORTING ON INDUSTRIAL SRODUCTION, THE COMMERCE DEPARTMENT ON NEW HOUSING CONSTRUCTION AND THE LABOR DEPARTMENT ON CONSUMER PRICES. MOST ECONOMISTS EXPECTED ASTRONG GAIN OF AROUND 0.7 PERCENT IN THE FED‘S INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INDEX, BOLSTERED IN PARTICULAR BY INCREASED OUTPUT ON AUTOMOBILE ASSEMBLY LINES. IT WOULD BE THE FIRST INCREASE IN FOUR MONTHS AND FOLLOWA SHARP 0.9 PERCENT DROP IN JANUARY. HOUSING STARTS, WHICH SHOT UP 5.5 PERCENT IN JANUARY, LIKELY DID NOT RISE AS STRONGLY IN FEBRUARY. MOST ANALYSTS LOOKED FOR A MODEST GAIN OF AROUND PERCENT. A FEW EXRECTED A DECLINE BECAUSE 1 HEAVY RAINS DEPRESSED BUILDING ACTIVITY IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND -SEOREF  “SE6-R-E3I'— TEXAS. MEANWHILE, INFLATION SHOULD BE RELATIVELY WELL BEHAVED. ANALYSTS WERE EXPECTING A MODERATE 0.3 PERCENT INCREASE IN THE CONSUNIER PRICE INDEX IN FEBRUARY. THAT'S IN LINE WITH AN ANNUAL INFLATION RATE FOR 1992 OE 3 PERCENT TO 3.5 PERCENT. “BASICALLY, IT LOOKS AS IF WE'LL BE IN THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS, AT LEAST FOR A WHILE ~ A COMBINATION OF GROWTH AND INFLATION WELL IN CHECK," DEDERICK SAID. IN THAT ENVIRONMENT, ECONOMISTS BELIEVE THE FEDERAL RESERVE WILL HOLD INTEREST RATES ABOUT WHERE THEY ARE NOW. FURTHER CUTS TO STIMULATE ECONOMIC GROWTH DO NOT APPEAR NECESSARY AND THERE SEEMS TO BE NO NEED TO DAMPEN INFLATION WITH HIGHER RATES. ALSO TODAY, THE COMMERCE DEPARTMENT WAS RELEASING ITS REPORT ON THE CURRENT ACCOUNT TRADE BALANCE FOR 1991. IT IS THL BROADEST MEASURE OF THE NATION'S TRADE AND INCLUDES INVESTMENT FLOWS AS WELL AS TRADE IN GOODS AND SERVICES. MARCH 17, 1992 ARTICLE 7 ENVIRONMENTAL MEETINGS BOG DOWN OVER ISSUE OF RICH NORTH, POOR SOUTH BY MARLISE SIMONS C1992 N.Y. TIMES NEWS SERVICE GENEVA, SWITZERLAND AS THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD MAP A PLAN OF ACTION TO PRESERVE EARTH'S ENVIRONMENT, THEIR MEETINGS HAVE SEEN BOGGED DOWN BY THE OLD BATTLES BETWEEN THE WEALTHY, INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES OF THE NORTH, AND THE POOR, UNDERDEVELOPED COUNTRIES OF THE SOUTH. THE DISPUTES ARE MIRRORED IN THICK STACKS OF PAPERS, 20,000 PAGES SENT IN BY 121 GOVERNMENTS, THATARE NOW BEING EXAMINED IN AN ELEGANT VILLA ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF GENEVA. THEY ARE LISTS OF THE WORLD'S GREEN WORRIES, EACH COUNTRY'S VIEW OF ITS MOST PRESSING ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS. THE PAPERS FORM THE SUBSTANCE OF DISCUSSIONS HERE AND AT THE UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS IN NEW YORK IN PREPARATION FOR THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT, SCHEDULED FOR .}UNE IN RIO DE JANEIRO, EXACTLY 20 YEARS AFTER AN ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE IN STOCKHOLM. U.N. OFFICIALS SORTING THROUGH TRE REPORTS HERE SAY THAT SINCE THE STOCKHOLM MEETING, GOVERNMENTS HAVE COME A LONG WAY IN THINKING, ARGUING, AND ABSORBING THE NOTION THAT TI-§E PLANET CANNOT COPE WITH INDEFINITE ABUSE. -S'Ee'F\*%  GE9RET- BUT U.N. ORGANIZERS HERE HAVE EXPRESSED ANGUISH BECAUSE THE MEETINGS TO PREPARE FOR RIO HAVE REVIVED THE OLD CLASHES BETWEEN RICH AND POOR, THIS TIME IN AN ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT. A UN. OFFICIAL WHO HAS ATTENDED MOST PLANNING SESSIONS SAID MUCH OF THE DEBATE WAS CONFRONTATIONAL, CHARACTERIZING THE MESSAGE FROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AS "GIVE US MONEY; YOU ARE RICH; WE ARE POOR.“ THE OFFICIAL, A EUROPEAN, SAID THERE WAS NO DEBATE ABOUT WHAT DEVELOPING COUNTRIES SHOULD DO AT HOME. “THE LANGUAGE EMPHASIZES MORE AND MORE THE NEED FORA NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER," SHE SAID. AT THE PARIS~BASED ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, AN ORGANIZATION OF THE 24 INDUSTRIALIZED NATIONS THAT ARE DEEPLY INVOLVED IN ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING, SENIOR OFFICIALS SEEM AS GLOOMY. “PEOPLE ARE DESPAIRING THAT THE RIO MEETING WILL BE DOMINATED BYA NORTH-SOUTH CONFRONTATION," SAID BILL LONG, DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENT AFFAIRS AT THE ORGANIZATION. "WE HOPED WE COULD FORGET ABOUT PLACING BLAME AND WORK ON PROBLEMS TOGETHER.“ REPRESENTATIVES FROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES MAKE LIGHT OE SUCH ACCUSATIONS, SAYING THEIR CONFRONTATIONAL POSTURES AND LANGUAGE ARE ONLY NEGOTIATING TACTICS TO GET MUCH NEEDED FUNDS. “FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MORE THAN A DECADE, THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES HAVE AN ISSUE WHERE THEY HAVE SOME REAL LEVERAGE," SAID AN OFFICIAL FROM A CARIBBEAN NATION. "THEY HAD NONE DURING THE DEBT NEGOTIATIONS. BUT THEY ARE PART OF THE ENVIRONMENT, SO THEY HAVE LEVERAGE NOW. AND THEY ARE USING IT. IT'S THEIR NEGOTIATING STRATEGY)‘ POORER NATIONS, HE SAID, SEE LEVERAGE BECAUSE THE NORTH, THE MAIN POLLUTER, WANTS THEM TO CUT EMISSIONS, STOP DEFORESTING, AND MAKE OTHER CHANGES. BUT TO ADAPT TO THOSE CHANGES, THEYARGUE, THEY NEED FUNDING AND TECHNOLOGY. THE REPORTS HERE ARE BEING USED TO DRAFT AN "EARTH CHARTER" FOR THE RIO SUMMIT MEETING ON MAKING DEVELOPMENT MORE COMPATIBLE WITH THE ENVIRONMENT. ORGANIZERS ALSO HOPE FORA BINDING TREATY TO CUT EMISSIONS THAT CAN CAUSE CLIMATE CHANGE AND A SIMILAR TREATY ON THE PRESERVATION OF SPECIES. SINCE MOST OF THE REPORTS HAVE BEEN PREPARED WITH THE HELP OF PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS, THEY REFLECT HOW CONCERN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT HAS OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES GALVANIZED THOUSANDS OF CITIZENS‘ GROUPS AND MOBILIZED, SCIENTISTS, LAWYERS, ECONOMISTS, AND POLITICIANS WHO ARE PRESSING FOR CHANGE. CONFRONTATION HAS SEEN PART OF PREPARATIONS FOR THE SUMMIT MEETING SINCE THE UNITED NATIONS RESOLUTION IN 1989 CALLING FOR IT ATTRIBUTED THE PLANET'S ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS TO "UNSUSTAINABLE -SE-G-R-%  -SECR'E‘I'— PRODUCTION PATTERNS" OF THE INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES. AT EIRST, PLANNERS WANTED TO HOLD THE MEETING IN STOCKHOLM, AS STUNG BY INTENSE INTERNATIONAL CRITICISM OVER IN 1972. BUT BRAZIL, THE LARGE~SCALE DESTRUCTION OF ITS AMAZON RAINFOREST, LOBBIED TO SERVE AS HOST THE MEETING AND WON ENOUGH BACKING. BRAZIL'S PURPOSE, OFFICIALS SAID AT THE TIME, WAS TO IMPROVE ITS IMAGE. BRAZIL AND OTHER DEVELOPING NATIONS ALSO SAID THAT HOLDING THE CONFERENCE IN THE THIRD WORLD WAS IMPORTANT SYMBOLICALLY AND WOULD HELP THEM PUT THE BLAME FOR MOST ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION AND POLLUTION BACK WHERE IT BELONGED, IN THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD. THE STRATEGY HAS PUT RICH COUNTRIES ON THE DEFENSIVE ON A HOST OF ISSUES. A PLANNED TREATY TO PROTECT AND MANAGE THE WORLD'S TROPICAL FORESTS, WHICH ARE VITAL REGULATORS OF THE GLOBAL CLIMATE AND WHICH HARBOR MOST OF THE PLANET'S SPECIES, HAS ALREADY BEEN SHELVED. BRAZIL AND OTHER COUNTRIES DEMANDED THAT SUCH ATREATY BE EXTENDED TO ALL FORESTS AND HAD THE WORD "TROPlCAL“ REMOVED. “BY EXTENDING THE DEBATE TO ALL FORESTS, THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH TIME FOR A BINDING TREATY," A UNITED NATIONS OFFICIAL SAID. “THE BEST WE CAN HOPE FOR IS A DECLARATION TO SAVE THE RAINFORESTS." ANOTHER PLANNED HIGH POINT OF THE SUMMIT MEETING, ATREATY TO PROTECT THE WORLD'S ANIMALAND PLANT SPECIES, IS BEING FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED. IN THE PAST, NATURE HAS ALWAYS SEEN CONSIDERED PART OF THE COMMON HERITAGE. BUT NOW DEVELOPING COUNTRIES WANT THE CONVENTION TO STATE THAT BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES "ARE UNDER A COUNTRY'S SOVEREIGNTY" AND ARE NO LONGER "TO BE CONSIDERED AS A COMMON HERITAGE OF HUMANKIND." POOR COUNTRIES SAY THIS IS PART OF THEIR QUEST FOR EQUITY. THEY HAVE LONG COMPLAINED THAT THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS SUCH AS NATURAL GENES OR STRAINS BRED BY FARMERS IN THE FIELDS, HAVE BEEN REAPED BY FOREIGN RESEARCHERS OR PHARMACEUTICAL. COMPANIES FOR FREE WHILE POOR NATIONS HAVE TO PAY FOR SEEDS OR OTHER ORGANISMS PROTECTED BY PATENTS AND LICENCES ELSEWHERE. THERE IS STILL BASIC DISAGREEMENT OVER HOWACOUNTRY CAN PROFIT FROM ITS BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES. THE EMERGING RIVALRY FOR WESTERN FUNDS WHICH MANY AFRICANS AND LATIN AMERICANS SHOW TOWARD EASTERN EUROPE WAS ONE TOPIC OF DEBATE HERE THIS WEEK. WESTERNERS SAID THAT EVERY TIME A MEETING DOCUMENT MENTIONED THE NEED TO GIVE SPECIAL ATTENTION TO EASTERN EUROPE, THE LARGE BLOC OF DEVELOPING NATIONS WANTED IT CROSSED OUT. “THE SOUTH SEES EASTERN EUROPE AS A DRAIN ON WESTERN RESOURCES, THEY LOOK AT THEM AS COMPETITORS FOR WESTERN FUNDS,“ AN AMERICAN OFFICIAL SAID. "BUT WE SEE EASTERN EUROPE AS A TEST CASE, A SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY TO DEMONSTRATE QUICKLY THAT YOU CAN HAVE CLEANER ECONOMIC GROUTH. IF YOU CAN'T DO IT THERE, WHERE CAN YOU?" _SE'O‘I"\*%  —-SEGR-H'- ONE WAY TO DISSOLVE THE ACRIMONY, MARJAN VAN GIEZEN, A DUTCH OFFICIAL SAID, IS A PLEDGE FROM THE WEST TO KEEP SEPARATE BUDGETS AND NOT TO SEND EASTERN EUROPE ANY AID FUNDS EARMARKED FOR THE DEVELOPING WORLD. U.N. OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN DISAPPOINTED WITH THE LOW PROFILE OF OIL~RICH ARAB STATES. SEVERAL HAVE NOT YET PROVIDED THEIR REPORTS, WHICH WERE DUE IN NOVEMBER. IN DECEMBER, WHEN THE UNITED NATIONS TRIED TO RAISE FUNDS PORA PROGRAM TO REHABILITATE ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE IN THE MIDDLE EAST THAT WAS NOT RELATED TO THE PERSIAN GULF WAR, "NOTA SINGLE ARAB STATE OFFERED ONE PENNY,“ A SENIOR OFFICIAL SAID. SOME ARAB DELEGATES HAVE SAID THE ENVIRONMENT IS ATASK FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY. AS THE SUMMIT MEETING NEARS, DELEGATES SAY THE SPIRIT OF COOPERATION IS IMPROVING SOMEWHAT IN SMALL WORK GROUPS. "BUT IN EVERY PLENARY SESSION, THE NORTH~SOUTH SMOKESCREEN IS STILL UP," MRS. VAN GIEZEN SAID. RICH COUNTRIES STILL FEEL STRONGLY THAT POPULATION CONTROL DESERVES A MORE PROMINENT PLACE AND MORE COMMITMENT. THEY SEE POPULATION PROBLEMS AS AN ISSUE INEXTRICABLE FROM THE ENVIRONMENT. BY THE YEAR 2000, WHEN A BILLION MORE PEOPLE WILL HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE PLANET, THEY ARGUE, ALMOST EVERY ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM WILL BE MAGNIEIED. BUT MANY POOR COUNTRIES SEE DEMANDS TO CURB POPULATION GROWTH AS AN INFRINGEMENT ON THEIR SOVEREIGNTY. AT FIRST THEY KEPT POPULATION OFF THE AGENOAAND MANY REMAIN RELUCTANT TO MAKE POPULATION GROWTH A KEY ISSUE. "POPULATION FINALLY CAME IN THROUGH THE BACK DOOR," SAID A FRENCH DELEGATE. IT WAS FINALLY PUT ON THE AGENDA, SHE SAID, "BUT IT'S STILL VERY SENSITIVE." THE BIG QUESTION REMAINS WHAT TO DO ABOUT AN AMBITIOUS AGENDA OF SOME 800 PAGES, RANGING FROM HUMAN SETTLEMENTS TO THE CHEMISTRY OF THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE. ORGANIZERS SAY IT HAS BEEN VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO DRAW THE LINE IN A SUMMIT MEETING CALLED CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT. “THE ENVIRONMENT RUNS THROUGH EVERYTHING, THE INTERLINKAGE HAS GIVEN US GRAY HAIRS," SAID LARS HYTTINEN, A FINNISH ECONOMISTAND BIOLOGIST WHO COORDINATES THE COUNTRY REPORTS IN GENEVA. MAURICE STRONG, A CANADIAN WHO IS SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE RIO SUMMIT MEETING, HAS SAID THAT WHILE UNWIELDY, THE AGENDA SERVES TO PROJECT THE MAGNITUDE OF Ti-IE PROBLEMS. MOST PROPOSALS FOR ACTION DEMANO ENORMOUS TRANSFERS OF MONEYAND TECHNOLOGY FROM THE INDUSTRIAL TO THE DEVELOPING WORLD THAT WOULD PUT ALMOST ALL RESPONSIBILITY ON THE RICH COUNTRIES. THEY AGREE THAT THERE IS A NEED FOR MORE FUNDS BUT ARGUE THAT THEIR POORER PARTNERS MUST ALSO COMMIT THEMSELVES TO A NUMBER OF STEPS, LIKE LESS WASTEFUL USE OF RESOURCES, CUT BACKS IN MILITARY SPENDING, AND SLOWING DOWN POPULATION GROWTH. STRONG HAS PUT THE ENVIRONMENT-RELATED AID BILL AT $125 BILLION PER YEAR. -SEGRET’  -SE9R'E‘F- CAUTIOUS U.N. OFFICIALS SAY THAT EVEN IF THE SUMMIT MEETING FALLS SHORT OF ITS GOALS, THE GATHERING WILL HAVE BEEN WORTHWHILE AS A CONSCIOUSNESSRAISING EFFORT, PUSHING ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO THE FOREFRONT AMONG THE PUBLIC, INTO THE PRESS, AND INTO EVERY GOVERNMENT MINISTRY. EVEN THE PREPARATION OF THE NATIONAL REPORTS, HYTTINEN SAID, HAS ALREADY TRIGGERED INTENSE DISCUSSION WITHIN AND OUTSIDE GOVERNMENTS. SEVERAL ASIAN COUNTRIES, LIKE THE PHILIPPINES AND SR1 LANKA, HE SAID, ASKED THE PUBLIC TO SEND IN SUGGESTIONS WHICH SET OFF REGIONAL AND NATIONAL DEBATES. NEW ZEALAND ALSO CALLED ON CITIZENS‘ AND ACTIVIST GROUPS TO PARTICIPATE. "IT WAS A MOST INTERESTING EXERCISE," SAID A NEW ZEALAND OFFICIAL. "WE NEVER KNEW ALL THOSE PEOPLE EXISTED.“ MARCH 17, 1992 ARTICLE 8 FRONI THE NEW YORK TIMES HOW CLINTON HAS BRIDGED THE RACIAL DIVIDE BY WILLIAM JULIUS WILSON CHICAGO - THREE YEARS AGO ON THIS PAGE ARGUED THAT THE I PROMOTION OF PROGRAMS TO UNITE, NOT DIVIDE, RACIAL MINORITIES AND WI-TITES WOULD STRENGTHEN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S POSITION IN THE 1992 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. BITEL CLINTON‘S CAMPAIGN PROVIDES AN INTERESTING TEST CASE FOR THIS STRATEGY. HE DREW A CLEAR MAJORITY OF LOWER~AND MIDDLEJNCOME WHITE AND HISPANIC VOTERS AND AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF BLACK VOTERS ACROSS THE SOUTH. RECENT OPINION POLLS INDICATE A SIMILAR PATTERN FOR TODAY’S ILLINOIS AND MICHIGAN PRIMARIES. MANY POINT TO THE MODEST SUCCESS OF JESSE JACKSON‘S “RAINBOW COALITION" FOUR YEARS AGO TO ARGUE AGAINST THE IDEA THAT RACE CAN BE REMOVED AS AN OBSTACLE IN A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN. BUT THE ARKANSAS GOVERNOR BUILT THIS BIRACIAL COALITION DURING ATIME OF INTENSE RACIAL TENSION IN THIS COUNTRY. THE MEDIA, MORE CONCERNED ABOUT HIS PERSONAL PAST THAN WITH SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES, ARE ONLY BEGINNING TO GRASP Ti-IE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS ACCOMPLISHMENT. IF CLINTON IS ABLE TO HOLD THIS COALITION TOGETHER IN THE REMAINING PRIMARIES, I-TE WILL POSE A FAR MORE SERIOUS CHALEENGE TO PRESIDENT BUSH THAN ANYONE THOUGHT POSSIBLE BEFORE THE CAMPAIGN. WHY HAS HE BEEN ABLE TO BRING TOGETHER ANTAGONISTIC RACIAL GROUPS EVEN IN LOUISIANA WHERE A TVEA3ORITY OF WHITE VOTERS SUPPORTED DAVID DUKE IN LAST YEAR'S GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION? I FIRST GOTA CLUE TO THE ANSWER WHILE WATCHING ATELEVISED SPEECH CLINTON GAVE IN ACHURCH IN HOUSTON THIS MONTH. HIS MESSAGE TO THE ALL-BLACK AUDIENCE COULD HAVE BEEN DELIVERED TO A SOLELY —SEG-R-El"-  -SEGRE‘I'_' WHITE ONE. IT INCLUDED TWO IMPORTANT ASPECTS: AN EXPLICIT ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE RACIAL TENSION IN AMERICAAND THE NEED FOR LEADERSHIP TO UNITE, NOT DIVIDE, THE RACES; AND A DISCUSSION OF PROGRAMS INTENDED FOR ALL LOW» TO MODERATEJNCOME GROUPS, NOT JUST MINORITIES. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT LEADERS CHANNEL THE FRUSTRATIONS OF CITIZENS IN POSITIVE OR CONSTRUCTIVE DIRECTIONS WHEN TIMES ARE HARD. BUT JUST THE OPPOSITE HAS BEEN MORE LIKELY TO OCCUR IN THE LAST FEW YEARS: THE NEGATIVE POPULIST APPEALS OF A DAVID DUKE AND THE BLACK SOLIDARITY ORATORY OF AN AL SHARPTON HAVE EXACERBATED RACIAL TENSIONS. THE CLINTON MESSAGE HAS BEEN A SHARP CONTRAST FOR THOSE WHO HAVE GROWN WEARY OF DESTRUCTIVE RACIAL Ri-IETORIC. IN HIS CAMPAIGN SPEECHES, HE ARGUES THAT DEMOGOGY FORCES US TO TURN ON EACH OTHER RACE AGAINST RACE INSTEAD OF ASSOCIATING OUR DECLINING REAL INCOMES, INCREASING JOB INSECURITY AND GROWING PESSIMISM WITH THE FAILED POLICIES OF THE WHITE HOUSE. HE POINTS OUT THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE EMPLOYED ARE WORKING MORE HOURS FOR LESS MONEY AND PEOPLE WHO ARE UNEMPLOYED ARE LOOKING HARDER FOR WORK WITH LESS SATISFACTORY RESULTS. AMERICANS ARE PAYING MORE FOR HOUSING, EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE AND TAXES WHILE SERVICES HAVE BEEN CUT. CLINTON‘S SUCCESS IN THE PRIMARIES MAKES IT CLEAR THAT BOTH WHITES AND BLACKS OF LOW TO MODERATE INCOMES RELATE TO THIS APPROACH. THEY ALSO RELATE TO HIS PROPOSED SOLUTIONS THAT INCLUDE JOB CREATION AND TRAINING, EDUCATION, SUPPORT FOR THE WORKING POOR, TAX RELIEF FOR LOWER- AND MIDDLE-INCOME GROUPS AND AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL. OTHER CANDIDATES HAVE STRESSED THESE ISSUES AND HAVE PROPOSED SIMILAR SOLUTIONS. BUT ONLY CLINTON HAS INTEGRATED THEM INTOAVISION TO PROMOTE RACIAL UNITY. CLINTON HAS DESTROYED THE MYTH THAT BLACKS WILL ONLY RESPOND IF ACANDIDATE HIGHLIGHTS RACE~SPECIFIC ISSUES AND PROGRAMS. AFRICAN AMERICANS, DEVASTATED BY UNEMPLOYMENT AND CONCERNED ABOUT ADEQUATE HEALTH~CARE COVERAGE AND EDUCATION, HAVE REACTED FAVORABLY TO HIS APPROACH. IT HAS ALLOWED BLACKS TO DISPLAY THEIR POLITICAL SOPHISTICATION AND SHOW THEIR WILLINGNESS TO IDENTIFY WITH A CANDIDATE WHO ADDRESSES THEM WITHOUT NARROWLY FOCUSING HIS MESSAGE ON RACE. LIKEWISE, CLlNTON'S INTERACTION WITH BLACK VOTERS REELECTS RESPECT FOR THEIR JUDGMENT AND AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE DEPTH AND BREADTH OF THEIR CONCERNS. THIS IS NOT TO SUGGEST THAT HE DOES NOT BOAST ABOUT HIS OWN CIVIL RIGHTS RECORD AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN ARKANSAS INCLUDING REDUCING THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED BLACK YOUTH AND ADULTS SY 24 PERCENT BETWEEN 1983 AND 199?. BUT THIS IS NOT THE CORE OF HIS MESSAGE WHEN AODRESSING BLACK AUOIENCES.#SOI\/TE OBSERVERS BELIEVE THAT RACE IS SO DIVISIVE IN AMERICA THAT WHITES, ESPECIALLY THE POOR AND WORKING CLASS, WILL NOT SUPPORTA CANDIDATE WHO RECEIVES OVERWHELMING SUPPORT OF THE SLACKS WHO VOTE. BUT THIS FAILS TO CONSIDER WHAT DRAWS MINORITY SUPPORT. IF THE MESSAGE IS TAILORED TO A BLACK AUDIENCE, WHITES DRAW BACK, JUST AS BLACKS DRAW BACK WHEN THE WORDS ARE TAILORED TO A WHITE AUDIENCE. BUT IF THE MESSAGE EMPHASIZES ISSUES AND PROGRAMS THAT CONCERN THE FAMILIES OF ALL RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS, WHITES WILL SEE THEIR MUTUAL INTERESTS AND -S-E-G-R-%  —SE6'R'EF JOIN IN A COALITION WITH MINORITIES TO ELECTA PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATE.#THERE IS A GENERAL V1 EW TODAY THAT Ti-IE DEMOCRATS WILL ONCE AGAIN SELF~DESTRUCT WITH AWEAK CANDIDATE IN NOVEMBER. THOSE WHO EXPRESS SUCH AN OPINION MAY BE IN FOR A SURPRISE. THEY MAY HAVE FAILED TO APPRECIATE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CLII\ITON'S REMARKABLE BIRACIAL COALITION. MARCH 17, 1992 ARTICLE 9 MORE BEAUTY, HOLD TRE BEAST BY BEN WATTENBERG HAVE THEY NO SHAME? IT'S ACADEMY AWARD TIME. AND THOSE LICENTIOUS FOLKS IN HOLLYWOOD MAY CHOOSE AS BEST PICTURE A MOVIE THAT FEATURES VIOLENCE AND SEXUALITY, INCLUDING POTENTIAL CARNALITY BETWEEN A LOVELY YOUNG LADY IN BONDAGE AND A VICIOUS ANIMAL! YES, THE FAVORITE IS "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST." IHAVE BEEN SENSITIZED, HAVING JUST IVEODERATED A CONFERENCE ON “THE NEW GLOBAL POPULAR CULTURE," SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE (MY HOME BASE). SOME LEARNED SCHOLARS, CONSERVATIVES AND LIBERALS DENOUNCED THE UGLY STATE OF AMERICAN POP CULTURE. SOME PINED FOR THE DAYS WHEN THE MOVIE INDUSTRY WAS RIGIDLY SELE-CENSORED. (LUCKILY, OTHERS DISAGREED.) THE ANTI-CASE IS THAT MOVIES ARE WORSE THAN EVER, REVELING IN OBSCENITY, NUDITY AND BRUTALITY, OFTEN WITH AN ANTI-AMERICAN, ANTLESTABLISHMENT, ANTLRELIGIOUS SUBTEXT, TELEVISION, THEY SAY, IS JUST AS BAD. POPULAR MUSIC MAY BE WORSE BECAUSE IT CAN ALSO BE RACIST, MISOGYNIST, SATANIC AND DRUGGY. ALL THIS, IT IS SAID, IS MORE PERVASIVE THAN EVER. FROM VCR TO MTV TO BOOM BOX, OUR CHILDREN ARE BEING CORRUPTED. IT IS A SERIOUS ISSUE. OUR CULTURAL SITUATION, BROADLY SEEN, MAY INDEED BE AT THE ROOT OE OUR PROBLEMS, INCLUDING ECONOMIC ONES. (JUST CONSIDER THE COSTS OF CRIME, DRUGS AND OUT~OF~WEDLOCK BIRTH.) ARE WE CORRUPTING OUR YOUTH? IT IS USEFUL TO TRY TO MEASURE FIRST. LET‘S LOOK AT THE MOVIES. A.D. MURPHY, BOX OFFICE ANALYST FOR "VARIETY," CONFIRMS THE PERVASIVENESS. HE SAYS "TVIORE AMERICANS WATCH MORE MOVIES, MORE OFTEN, IN MORE WAYS, THAN EVER." WHEN TELEVISION ARRIVED, MOVIE ADMISSIONS FELL FROM $4 BILLION (I946) TO ABOUT/-\$'I BILLION (1961), WHERE IT HAS REMAINED. BUT AT~HOME MARKETS BOOSTED TOTAL VIEWERSHIP SKY-HIGH. IF MOVIES ARE MORE PERVASIVE THAN EVER, SO WHAT? ARE THEY BAD STUEF? TT-IE DOZEN BIGGEST HITS RELEASED IN THE 19808 WERE "E.T.," "THE RETURN OF THE JEDI," "BATMAN," "THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK," “GHOSTBUSTERS," THREE “INDIANA JONES" MOVIES, "BEVERLY HILLS COP," —S'EeREF  -8-E9R'ET— “BACK TO THE FUTURE," "TOOTSIE" AND "RAIN MAN." THIS IS NOT EXACTLY YOUR RI.§N~OF~THE~MILL, DIRTY DOZEN OF PORNOGRAPHIC VIOLENCE. SO TOO IN 1991. MURPHY CALCULATES THAT HALF OF ALL ADMISSIONS GO TO THE TOP 30 FILMS. LOOKING AT THE TOP 30 OFFERS A FLAVOR OF WHAT PEOPLE ARE SEEING. “HOME ALONE" WAS IN EIRST PLACE. "TERMINATOR WAS SECOND. II" I LOVED ITS CAMPY, STYLIZEO VIOLENCE; IT COULD HAVE STARRED DONALD DUCK RATHER THAN SCHWARZENEGGER. OF THE REMAINING TOP 30 MOVIES, SAW "DANCES WITH WOLVES“ I “CITY SLICKERS," "DOC HOL§_YWOOD," "AWAKENINGS,“ "THELMA AND LOUISE," "HOOK" AND "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST." MY 7-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER SAW “TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES." I STI§.L HOPE TO SEE THESE, PROBABLY ON CASSETTE: “THE SILENCE OF THE EAMBS," "ROBIN HOOD," "SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY,“ "ADDAMS FAMILY" “SOYZ N THE HOOD.“ AND SO ON. YES, THERE IS SOME VIOLENCE AND SOME SEX THERE; YES. THERE IS SOME POLITICAL SUBTEXT. RARELY CONSERVATIVE. BUT MOSTLY THESE ARE ENJOYABLE, WELL—MADE STORIES, JUST LIKE IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS. MODERATE PROBLEMS DESERVE MODERATE REMEDIES. BEFORE LETTING WAR BREAK OUT BETWEEN FIRST AMENDMENT PURISTS AND PROHIBITIONISTS, SOME DISTINCTIONS OUGHT TO BE MADE. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ENTERTAINMENT, AND BETWEEN CENSORSHIP AND SENSITIVITY. MOVIES ARE SEEN IN PRIVATE THEATERS. THEIR PREVIEWS ARE RATED; RAUNCHY ONES ARE NOT SEEN WHEN FAMILY MOVIES ARE SHOWING. AGE LIMITS ARE IMPOSED. SO HANDS OFF THE MOVIES, ALTHOUGH IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE MORE TRADITIONAL THEMES. RECORDED MUSIC IS PRIVATELY PURCHASED IN PRIVATE STORES. HANDS OFF, ALTHOUGH THE RECORD COMPANIES OUGHT TO VOLUNTARILY PUT RATING LABELS ON THEIR GROSSEST MATERIAL, SOME OF WHICH IS DISGUSTING. (REMEBER: BOYCOTTING AND PICKETING ARE ALSO CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.) TELEVISION IS SOIVIEWHAT DIFFERENT; IT COMES INTO YOUR HOME OVER PUBLICLY FRANCHISED AIR WAVES. TELEVISION PROGRAMMERS SHOULD KEEP BLATANT§_Y SEXUAL PROMOS FOR LATER, ADU§_T SHOWS OFF THE AIR DURING KIDDIE~TIME PROGRAMMING. SIMILARLY, THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS IS ALSO PUBLIC: CUT THE BLASPHEMY, OR LOSE THE NEA. PUBLIC PRESSURE AND MODERATE REFORM CAN YIELD A LITTLE MORE BEAUTY AND A LITTLE LESS BEAST. (C)’I99.?. NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE ASSN. BEN WATTENBERG, A SENIOR FELLOW AT THE AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE, IS AUTHOR OF "THE FIRST UNIVERSAL NATION,“ PUBLISHED BY THE FREE PRESS. MARCH I7. 1992 -S-EGREi‘—  “S\‘:'CRE‘I'* NBA STANDINGS ATLANYIC W L PCT. GB L10 STRK HOME AWAY CONF. NEW YORK 39 25 .609 5-5 L2 24-9 15-1625-16 BOSTON 36 29 .554 31/2 6-4 WL 25-7 11-22 21-20 PHILADELPHIA 30 35 .462 91/2 4-6 L2 20-14 1U-21 19-26 MIAMI 30 36 .455 10 3-7 L2 23-10 7-26 21-21 NEW JERSEY 29 35 .453 10 6-4 W2 19-11 10-24 19-21 WASHINGTON 22 44 .33 18 4-6 L2 11-23 11-21 12-28 ORLANDO 15 50 .231 241/2 2-8 LL 10-24 5-2611-32 CENTRAL W L PCT. GB LIO STRK HOME AWAY CONF. YCHICAGO 54 12 .818 9-1 W6 28-4 26-8 36-6 CLEVELAND 43 20 .683 9 1/2 7-3 W5 25-5 18-15 31-9 DETROIT 40 26 .606 14 8-2 LL 20-12 20-14 24-19 ATLANTA 31 34 .477 22 1/2 3-7 W2 19-15 12-19 18-23 INDIANA 31 36 .463 23 1/2 6-4 WL 21-11 10-25 18-24 MILWAUKEE 28 35 .444 24 1/2 3-7 WL 23-11 5-24 19-24 CHARLOYTE 25 38 .397 27 1/2 7-3 WL 18-14 7-24 16-23 MIDWEST W L PCTGB LIO STRK HOME AWAY CONF. UTAH 43 23 652 -- 6-4 L2 28-3 15-20 27-13 SAN ANTONIO 40 25 .616 21/2 8-2 LL 26-6 14-19 27-16 HOUSYON 36 30 .545 7 7-3 W2 24-8 12-22 22-18 DENVER 21 43 .328 21 1-9 L2 16-16 5-27 11-27 DALLAS 17 48 .262 251/2 1.9 L9 12-21 5-27 11-27 MINNESOTA 11 52 .175 301/21-9 L8 7-25 4-27 8-30 £5-GP-EL  'SE'6REi'— PACIFIC W L PCT. GB L10 STRK HOME AWAY CONF. GOLSEN STATE 42 20 A6” 21/2 5~5 LL 24~9 18~11 27~14 PHOENIX 42 24 .636 4 1/2 7-13 W3 27-4 15~2O 25~15 SEAYTLE 36 29 .554 10 6~4 W2 21~11 15-18 2445 L.A. 34 31 .523 12 7~3 W2 24-11 10~2O 21~21 L.A. LAKERS 34 31 .523 12 4-6 LL 18-13 16-1819-19 SACRAMENTO 20 45 .308 26 2~8 L8 16-17 4~28 9~29 Y-CLINCHED PLAYOFF BERT}-i. LflkRECORD|NLAST1OGAMES.ENDOFTEXT ---------------------1'E5/\F% LlPdEE------——--------------. FmE[::::::::j0EcLoADRDRv[::::::%ome1 [::::::MNFo; i \REU CLBY ENDCWYMESSAGE SECRET — Source Originating System:| £5-GREJ'—