Beyond the Farm
For the week preceding this Saturday, February 4th, 1995, here's a review of what happened Beyond the Farm:
Peru launched an offensive in its border war with Ecuador Jan 29th. The dispute is over a 212-square mile region in the Amazon known as the Cordilla del Condor, which became Peruvian land in a 1942 treaty which has been disputed by Ecuador since 1960; the land is rich in resources including gold. A Peruvian helicopter was shot down Jan 30th. Cease-fire talks began in Brazil Jan 31st, but Ecuador complained of Peruvian attacks Feb 1st. A cease-fire agreement is expected within days; casualty reports vary but about 70 to 80 soldiers have died in the fighting which has not spread beyond the Condor region.
Severe flooding has brought northern Europe to a standstill. The Rhine, Maas, and Waal rivers have gone over their banks, causing problems in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. The Netherlands has been hardest hit, with 250,000 people evacuated Feb 1st. The Rhine broke 1926 flooding records Feb 2nd. Dikes have held, and waters started to recede Feb 3rd. 70,000 people were allowed to return to their homes Feb 4th, with the remainder expected to return Feb 5th. About 30 deaths have been blamed on the flooding, and damage is expected to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
President Clinton gave up on $40 billion in legislation to help the Mexican economy Jan 31st, citing a lack of support. Instead, he offered Mexico $37 billion by a Presidential Act, including a $20 billion credit line from funds normally used to prop up the dollar.
They're Talking About It...
In the O.J. Simpson trial, Judge Lance Ito on Jan 30th disallowed six of the new witnesses that defense attorney Johnny Cochrane introduced in his opening statement. The prosecution began its case the next day, with Ronald Shipp testifying Feb 1st that Simpson had reported having dreams of killing Nicole Brown Simpson, and her sister Denise Brown testifying Feb 3rd that the defendant had been very abusive of Nicole Simpson.
In shorts...
30,000 refugees fled to Guinea from fighting in Sierra Leone Jan 29th...the San Francisco 49ers defeated the San Diego Chargers 49-26 Jan 30th to win the Superbowl...Burma launched an offensive against Karen rebels Jan 30th...38 were killed by a car bomb in Algiers Jan 30th...the Smithsonian canceled its planned exhibits around the Enola Gay Jan 30th...Union Pacific gave up its bid for the Santa Fe Railway Jan 31st, meaning that Burlington Northern and Santa Fe will merge to form the nation's largest railroad...the UN Security Council voted Jan 31st to send UN forces to replace US soldiers in Haiti...the CDC announced Feb 1st that AIDS is now the #1 killer of 25-44 year olds, but the rate of its growth is slowing considerably...the FED raised interest rates .5% Feb 1st...the Unfunded Mandates bill passed the House 360-74 Feb 1st...a Middle East Peace Conference was held in Cairo Feb 2nd between Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority to try to keep peace talks alive...Henry Foster Jr. was nominated to be Surgeon General Feb 2nd...Boeing announced plans to lay off 7000 Feb 2nd...the space shuttle Discovery lifted off Feb 2nd...President Clinton proposed changing the minimum wage to $5.15 an hour Feb 3rd...it was announced that the unemployment rate went up to 5.7% Feb 3rd...baseball owners dropped their demand for a salary cap Feb 3rd and the players introduced a new proposal Feb 4th...Russia resumed bombing over Chechnya Feb 4th and the Chechens shot down a helicopter for the first time...Afghan rebels were moving on the capitol of Kabul Feb 4th...the US announced $1.8 billion in trade sanctions against China Feb 4th, and China retaliated with similar 100% tariffs; if the intellectual property dispute is not settle the sanction will go into effect Feb 26th...Broadway actor and director George Abbot died Jan 31st at the age of 107.
Finally...
Salman Rushdie has been denied permission to use lyrics from the Flintstones in his new book's American edition. Turner Enterprises, which owns the rights to the Flintstones, turned down Rushdie because he had not specified which lyrics would be used. Rushdie, still under a death threat from the Iranian government, does not understand their concern, "Will someone shoot Fred Flintstone if I quote him?"
And that's what happened Beyond the Farm.
Sources this week included All Things Considered (NPR), the Associated Press newswire, the BBC Newshour (BBC/PRI), the Christian Science Monitor, KCBS radio news, LeShow (KCRW/SASS/KALW), the MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour (PBS), Marketplace (PRI), the Railroad List (CUNY listserv), and the World News Roundup (CBS radio). -- Lance Gleich, Stanford CA
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