1990-1991 Facts & History

[NerdiestKen]

Report Criticized L.A. Police - July 1991
The Los Angeles Police Department was criticized, July 9, in a report released by an independent commission. The commission, appointed by Mayor Tom Bradley and Police Chief Daryl Gates, was headed by Warren Christopher, a former deputy secretary of state. The inquiry was triggered by the beating of a black motorist by several L.A. policemen. The report said that police were isolated from the communities that they were to serve, and that "officers are encouraged to command and confront, not to communicate." The commission studied more than 2,000 alleged instances of the use of excessive force by police. It recommended that Gates retire after a successor was found, and it called for a "major overhaul" of the police disciplinary system. Gates announced, July 22, that he would retire in April 1992 if a replacement had been found.

[NerdiestKen]

House Approves Handgun Bill - May 1991
The House, May 8, voted, 239-186, in favor of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which provided for a 7-day waiting period for purchases of handguns, while police could check out any criminal record by prospective buyers. It rejected an amendment providing for computerized background checks of would-be buyers. Opponents saw this approach as too expensive and too slow to implement. The National Rifle Association had lobbied against the Brady Bill.

[NerdiestKen]

571 Escape Sinking Cruise Ship - August 1991
A major disaster was averted when all 571 passengers and crew on a cruise ship escaped before the vessel went down. The Oceanos, operated by a Greek shipping company, was off the coast of South Africa, August 3, when it began taking off water. South African Air Force helicopters airlifted 200 people to safety, and the rest were picked up from lifeboats or the sea. The ship sank into the Indian Ocean, August 4. The captain, Yiannis Avranas, said a piston had burst in the engine room and torn a hole in the hull. Some passengers complained that the captain and crew had abandoned the ship without supervising rescue operations.

[NerdiestKen]

Cyclone Kills 125,000 in Bangladesh - April 1991
A cyclone struck the coastal areas and islands of Bangladesh, April 30, and claimed at least 125,000 lives. Millions are homeless. The cyclone took a heavy toll among fishermen in 2,000 boats. Aside from devastating the fishing industry, the cyclone wiped out rice fields on which many people relied for a living.

[NerdiestKen]

Jobless Rate Down Slightly - October 1991
The Labor Dept., reported, October 4, that the unemployment rate declined in September from 6.8 percent to 6.7 percent. Across the nation, payroll jobs rose in number by 24,000. The department said, October 11, that producer prices edged upward by 0.1 percent in September. Citicorp, the nation's largest banking company, announced, October 15, that it had lost $885M in the 3rd quarter. The bank had been battered by bad loans. John Reed, its chairman, said "there is little prospect for immediate improvement" in the economy. The company eliminated its dividend. The Dow Jones industrial average closed, October 18, at 3,077.15, an all-time high.

[NerdiestKen]

Daley Re-Elected Chicago Mayor - April 1991
Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago was re-elected April 2, in a landslide vote. Daley, a Democrat, the son of former Mayor Richard J. Daley, had first won the office when he was chosen in a special election to fill the unexpired term of the late Harold Washington. His latest victory, with 71 percent of the vote, came at a time of relative calm in Chicago politics.

[NerdiestKen]

Tensions Build Within Yugoslavia - May 1991
A shootout between Croatians and Serbs in Borovo Selo, in Yugoslavia's republic of Croatia, May 2, resulted in the deaths of 12 policemen and 3 civilians. Serbs inside Croatia were seeking to join Serbia, a republic to the south. Col. Gen. Veljko Kadijevic, the country's Defense secretary, said, May 6, that "Yugoslavia has centered a state of civil war." The military went on combat alert, May 6, and on May 7, the military began to call up reserves. On May 15, Stipe Mesic of Croatia, vice chairman of the collective presidency, was scheduled to become chairman, or titular head of state. An opponent of Serbian nationalism, Mesic would have become Yugoslavia's first non-Communist leader since World War II. But Biroslav Jovic of Serbia, who held the charimanship, blocked Mesic from getting a majority vote. In a referendum held May 19, voters in Croatia overwhelmingly endorsed having a sovereign state within a loose Yugoslav confederation. Mesic, May 20, unilaterally declared himself to be the head of state, but the administrative chief of the presidency's secretariat rejected this claim. Croatia, May 29, declared itself to be independent.

[NerdiestKen]

Players Fined for Harassing Reporter - November 1990
A professional football team and 3 of its players were fined in connection with the harassment of a woman reporter. The incident that led to the fines had occured in September and had been widely deplored by advocates of equal rights for women. In a report issued for the National Football League by Philip Heymann, a Harvard law professor, the incident reportedly began while Lisa Olson, a reporter for the Boston Herald, was interviewing Maurice Hurst, a player for the New England Patriots, in the team's locker room in Foxboro, Mass. According to the report, Zeke Mowatt stood naked a few feet from Olson, and he and 2 other players made inappropiate remarks or gestures. The report said Olson had been "degraded and humiliated." On November 27, National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue levied fines totalling $72,500 against the team and the 3 players.

[NerdiestKen]

$78B for S&L Bailout Approved - March 1991
Congress approved a $78B package to help bail out insolvent savings and loan associations. The Senate acted, March 19, the House, March 21. A previous outlay of $50B had nearly been exhausted. The new funding included $30B to cover losses at 225 institutions, and $48B for capital that would help facilitate their sale.

[NerdiestKen]

Baltic Crackdown Turns Violent - January 1991
Lithuanians and Latvians were killed as Soviet troops moved forcefully against the 2 Baltic republics. The Soviet defense ministry said, January 7, that it would send thousands of troops to 7 republics to seize draft dodgers and enforce conscription. Pres. Vytautas Landsbergis of Lithuania said the Kremlin was "looking for bloodshed," January 7, and on January 8, the Latvian parliament condemned the troop move as an "invasion" of the Baltic republics. Pres. Mikhail Gorbachev told Lithuania, January 10, that it must accepted Soviet central authority. In Lithuania on January 10, supporters of the Moscow government went on strike. Hundreds of unarmed supporters of independence surrounded communication facilities in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, January 13. Soviet paratroopers fired on the people, some of whom were crushed by tanks. Fifteen people were killed and 140 were injured. Boris Yeltsin, president of the Russian Federation, and the 3 Baltic republics signed a mutual-security agreement, January 13, binding all the signatories to defend any that were attacked by the Kremlin. Yeltsin denounced the killings in Lithuania, and on January 14, called on Russian troops to refuse to shoot civilians. Gorbachev, January 14, said he had not given the order to attack the demonstrators. The Supreme Soviet, January 14, confirmed Finance Minister Valentin Pavlov as the new premier (his predecessor, Nikolai Ryzhkov, had fallen ill), and on January 15, confirmed Aleksandr Bessmertnykh as the new foreign minister. In Vilnius, January 16, as many as 500,000 people attended a funeral for 9 of those killed 3 days earlier. In Moscow, January 20, 100,000 to 300,000 people demonstrated against the crackdown in the Baltics. Just hours later, in Riga, the capital of Latvia, Soviet para-military troops stormed a government building; 4 Latvians were killed.

[NerdiestKen]

NBA Final 1990-91 Standings for Eastern & Western conferences

Eastern Division Boston Celtics 56W/26L/- Philadelphia 76ers 44W/38L/GB12 New York Knicks 39W/43L/GB17 Washington Bullets 30W/52L/GB26 New Jersey Nets 26W/56L/GB30 Miami Heat 24W/58L/GB32	Midwest Division San Antonio Spurs 55W/27L/- Utah Jazz 54W/28L/GB1 Houston Rockets 52W/30L/GB2 Orlando Magic 31W/51L/GB24 Minnesota Timberwolves 29W/53L/GB26 Dallas Mavericks 28W/54L/GB27 Denver Nuggets 20W/52L/GB35
Central Division Chicago Bulls 61W/21L/- Detroit Pistons 50W/32L/GB11 Milwaukee Bucks 48W/34L/GB13 Atlanta Hawks 43W/39L/GB18 Indiana Pacers 41W/41L/GB20 Cleveland Cavaliers 33W/49L/GB28 Charlotte Hornets 26W/56L/GB35	Pacific Division Portland Trail Blazers 63W/19L/- Los Angeles Lakers 58W/24L/GB5 Phoenix Suns 55W/27L/GB8 Golden State Warriors 44W/38L/GB19 Seattle SuperSonics 41W/41L/GB22 Los Angeles Clippers 31W/51L/GB32 Sacramento Kings 25W/57L/GB38

[NerdiestKen]

Economic Indicators Decline - November 1990
Twice during November, the Commerce Dept. reported a decline in the leading economic indicators. On November 2, the department said that its index had fallen 0.8 percent in September. The Labor Dept. reported, November 2, that unemployment had held seadily at 5.7 percent in October, but also that the number of payroll jobs had declined by 68,000 in October. The Dow Jones industrial average, which had closed at nearly 3,000 in July, fell to 2440.84 on November 7. Thereafter, it began to rise again. The Labor Dept. said, November 9, that producer prices for finished goods had risen by 0.6 percent in October. The Commerce Dept. said, November 16, that the U.S. merchandise trade deficit had declined to $9.41B in September. The department reported, November 28, that the gross national product had grown at an annual rate of 1.7 percent in the third quarter. Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, said, November 28, that the U.S. economy had entered a "meaningful downturn" but was unsure if a recession would result. The Commerce Dept. reported, November 30, that the economic indicators had fallen 1.2 percent in October. The index had now declined for 4 consecutive months. A decline for 3 straight months was traditionally seen as an indicator of a recession.

[NerdiestKen]

Albanian Voters Back Communists - March 1991
In the first multiparty national election since World War II, held on March 31, Albanian voters chose to stick with the ruling Workers' (Communist) Party. In voting for seats in the People's Assembly, the Workers' Party won about two thirds of the popular vote and a large majority in the parliament. The opposition Democratic Party did well in urban areas, but rural areas backed the communists.

[NerdiestKen]

Coup Thwarted in Haiti - January 1991
Rebels in Haiti sought to prevent Jean-Bertrand Aristide from taking office as president. He had been elected in December 1990, and was scheduled to succeed Pres. Ertha Pascal-Trouillot in February. On January 6, Roger Lafontant, a former leader of the Tonton Macoutes, the private militia of the 2 Duvalier presidents, and armed supporters seized the presidential palace. Pascal-Trouillot announced her resignation. But loyalist troops attacked the palace, January 7, rescued her, and captured Lafontant and his supporters. In the next 3 days, at least 70 people were killed in violent riots triggered by the coup.

[NerdiestKen]

Kohl's Party wins All-German Election - December 1990
The Christian Democratic Union, the party of Chancellor Helmut Kohl, finished first, December 2, in the first general election to the Bundestag in reunified Germany. Kohl's party and its allies would retain their majority in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament. The principal opposition party, the Social Democratic Party, had its poorest showing since 1957. In the area that was formerly East Germany, the party of Democratic Socialism, the successor to the Communist Party, polled 10 percent of the vote and captured 17 seats to the Bundestag. In his campaign, Kohl had stressed his role in bringing about the reunification of Germany. On December 20, members of the new Bundestag met in the old Reichstag in Berlin.