With a burst of support from so many of you overnight, we've been able to reach 1/3 of our goal. I can't tell you what this means to me and to the continuation of Newstalgia. We still have a ways to go, but our goal is in sight. And thanks to the incredible outpouring of donations and kind words from all of you, we're able to slowly get there. We can make it - and with your help we will. Any amount is gratefully appreciated. No matter what you may think is an insignificant amount, it's huge to us right now. I cannot thank you enough for your support. And if you haven't made a donation yet, and are able to (I know these times are rough - if they weren't, I wouldn't be asking for your support), please consider any amount in order to keep Newstalgia alive and keep the Archives (from which all these posts come from) from disappearing. With your help, we can do it.

Since April 23rd in 1979 also came on a Monday, it was the start to what promised to be a busy week for Jimmy Carter, and for Capitol Hill in general.

First off - with Carter back at the White House from his 11 day Easter vacation, he was gearing up for the onslaught of cameras and microphones as he went into lobbying mode for this Windfall Profits Tax and SALT Treaty legislation. SALT was thought to be a hard sell because of the verification agreement in the Treaty. While the Windfall Profits Tax proposal, aimed at the Oil Producers, had a "wait and see" cloud hanging over it. Obviously a welcome piece of legislation from the voters, there was "Big Oil" to deal with, and that could pose a big problem.

Meanwhile - as Congress came back from Easter recess, the Senate were gearing up for testimony from Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh and others over the recent 3-Mile Island Nuclear Power plant disaster. Looking for answers amid a sea of finger pointing. Also at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearings was more testimony regarding the SALT Treaty and questions over CIA Chief Stansfield Turner's appearance at the Hearings, resulting in Carter's blast of Turner for leaks an distortions during his previous testimony.

On the Union front - Negotiations resumed between the Machinists Union and United Airlines, attempting to end a strike that got started late March. Also pending was a tentative agreement between Teamsters and the Steel industry.

In the rest of the world - Heavy fighting was reported in Cambodia with an estimated 40,000 civilians and fleeing troops loyal to Pol Pot fleeing over the border to Thailand. The Thai government were tight-lipped and clamped a black-out on Press inquiries.

Senator Frank Church, while visiting Tokyo, warned the Japanese government that a strong feeling of Protectionism was brewing in the U.S. over the trade imbalances between Japan and the U.S.

Deposed Ugandan Dictator Idi Amin turned up in Iraq, flying in from Libya, presumably seeking asylum in Baghdad.

And flooding continued in Mississippi, with protests launched at the Feds for the reported 7% interest rate being handed flood-ravaged victims.

And on and on it went, that Monday April 23rd in 1979. As reported on the CBS World News Roundup.

For all the insanity going on in our particular neck of the woods, the rest of the world was having their set of circumstances. Mysterious Iranian scientists, terrorist Bombings in Kampala, Gay Marriage in Argentina and the continuing saga of the Dollar versus the Yuan.

And god gave us Tums.

(Shahram Amiri - In perfect Iranian fashion - a myriad of conflicting stories)

In a story that has more questions than answers, the saga of Shahram Airi, the Iranian scientist who disappeared for a year and suddenly resurfaced in Arizona gave the media a certain amount of pause this week. In this case it was the BBC World Service program Newshour from July 13 who gave us the story.

(Bomb scene in Kampala - watching the World Cup has never been so deadly)

The Sunday bombing of several establishments around the Ugandan capital of Kampala served the illustrate just how random and senseless these acts of violence are. Innocent people, caught up in watching the World Cup on TV's at various restaurants and bars around town were caught in a wave of mass murder as a series of explosions ripped through the Capitol leaving some 74 dead and hundreds injured. By the time of this newscast (Africa Today from the 13th) there were groups taking credit for the bombings and arrests had begun. The senseless acts continue.

(I guess you could say "Two Juans Make It Right"?)

Given Argentina's rather repressive past (military Junta's, overthrows, dictatorships) and a strong influence from the Catholic Church, you'd think the last country in the world to approve gay marriage en masse would be Argentina. But no. On Thursday, Argentina voted to allow Gay marriage to be a legal and binding in that South American country. BBC World Service Global News does a piece - there is also a longer piece featuring an interview (in Spanish) with Maria Rachid from the Federacion LGBT in Bueos Aires at the bottom of the page. The world is loaded with surprises.

(Mao is looking more like Ben Franklin every day)

Yes, there is something of a currency war going on between the U.S. and China - it probably doesn't get that much coverage via our MSM, but it's there and it's going on and BBC Business Daily did a piece on it Thursday.

(Torture allegations - the gift that keeps on giving)

It is highly likely we will never hear the end of allegations of torture by our military and the military of our allies over the next generation or so. So deep and entrenched and secret have these violations of human rights been that each time another set of allegations comes to the forefront it almost makes you wonder how it's all going to end. On this Saturday segment of the BBC Radio Four program The Today Program (no relation at ALL to the one over here), the allegations continue from former detainees at Guantanamo.

(Maria Rachid - pleased and relieved)

And finally, for our Spanish speaking friends (or if you just want to brush up) I am offering an interview done via Radio Nacional in Buenos Aires (a very cool website with a LOT of really useful news) this past Thursday featuring the President of Federacion LGBT Argentina Maria Rachid and her reaction to the passage of Gay Marriage legislation in Argentina.

Until next week . . .

April 10, 1979, and if you were living in the infamous Mid-West belt known as "Tornado Alley" you'd be dazed and counting your blessings that you weren't one of the 59 who lost their lives in this worst series of Tornadoes to hit the area in years.

And if you were on the other side of the planet, around Kampala Uganda, and you were Idi Amin, you'd be planning your escape in the wake of advancing troops from Tanzania, who were spelling the end of your regime.

That's the kind of day it was.

If you were a Union Trucker, you'd be looking at a tentative settlement in one of the longest strikes in history, and if you were a Steel Worker your employment would still be hanging in the balance.

In other news on this day - Israel's Menachem Begin did a personal reach-out to Egypt's Anwar Sadat in the form of a phone call to discuss points in the Peace Plan. Iran was busy executing 13 more of its citizens by firing squad on charges ranging from murder to "warring against God".

In the aftermath of the 3-Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant disaster, tests for radioactive contamination in the area around the reactor turned up negative, which spelled some relief for anxious residents.

And after 41 days of testimony, the infamous Marvin vs. Marvin case was heading off to the jury.

All that, and a bunch more for this day, via the CBS World News Roundup and the 9:00 am (West Coast) News for April 10, 1979.