T A B L E+T A L K Walgreens, Starbucks and others: Cases of capitalism defeating democracy? Discuss and debate in the Social Issues area of Table Talk   R E C E N T L Y Nappy and proud? By Earl Ofari Hutchinson Black women haven't come a long way, baby, when it comes to their hair (12/07/98) The uneasy death of Florence Griffith Joyner By Kristina Rebelo Anderson When the superstar former athlete died suddenly in her bedroom, a Pandora's box of dark rumors and murky explanations was let loose (12/04/98) Hello Oprah, good-bye Constitution By Lori Leibovich An impeachment scholar bemoans the spectacle that has invaded the House of Representatives (12/04/98) Impeachment diary Compiled by Daryl Lindsey It was a busy week at Henry Hyde's Theater of the Absurd on Capitol Hill (12/04/98) All conservatives do not think alike By David Horowitz In a reply to Joel Dreyfuss, David Horowitz defends his view that the black community has locked itself into positions that are destructive to its own interests (12/03/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
		GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT | PAGE 1, 2 - - - - - - - - - - In the first days of Pinochet's detention, Clinton and his accomplice, Attorney General Janet Reno, did receive some politely written mail. A whole three dozen (count them) congressional Democrats signed a letter. One of them was John Conyers of Michigan, who's had a full plate recently and who burns with fury at the gulag into which -- you must have noticed -- Monica Lewinsky was hurled. He's been too busy for a follow-up on Pinochet, and we all understand that this is part of the game of "Let's move on." A Republican letter would have been just as useful, pointing out that while nobody takes the United States seriously on human rights, everybody listens when Washington talks about terrorism: Showers of lethal missiles ensue on a false rumor from Sudan, a full-dress invasion of Panama for the honor of a Navy man's wife, but the identified culprit in the Chilean murder plot that slew an American bride, Ronnie Moffitt, in Washington, D.C., leads to nervous coughing and shuffling of the feet. On Monday, Moffitt's husband and father joined family members of other Pinochet murder victims at a press conference to demand that the Clinton administration support Spain's extradition request, as well as bring one of its own, in order to prosecute Pinochet for the murder of Moffitt and Chilean ambassador Orlando Letelier. I have made two correct predictions about the Pinochet case, and I'll now venture a third. I thought the High Court in London would defer to the bastard's exalted status as a fascist trade partner, and I was right. I thought the Law Lords would find "sovereign immunity" too much to swallow, and I was right. I thought the second thing partly because I knew Lord Hoffman, one of the five Law Lords, back when he was Lenny, and I guessed he didn't want his whole life to be a waste of time. I also know Home Secretary Jack Straw, who will ultimately decide Pinochet's fate in England, and I think he'll contrive a "humane" way to let the dictator go home. Everything Straw does is modeled on Clinton, from "zero tolerance" for dope to school uniforms and curfews for teenagers. People who preach "law 'n' order" for the weak are invariably soft on crime when it comes to the strong. But there is a "third way" (a Clintonesque expression I'll try never to employ again). Before Pinochet goes home, he should be subpoenaed not as a defendant but as a witness. Under penalty of perjury, he could either be taken to the Hague or have lawyers from the Hague come to his clinic. And he could be made to say where his victims are buried and tell us what happened to them. A conviction in Spain could easily be won on the existing evidence, without his testimony, and that would leave the families of the disappeared no better informed than before. Once the creature has fully answered the questions, he can be told to get lost, and to live out the rest of his useless existence as he pleases. This would attach the "Truth and Justice" principle to the international culpability of war crimes and state crimes, and would not lack deterrent force. What a pity, then, that the Clintonoids robbed the international tribunal of superpower support. What a shame that they never uttered the only words that could have stiffened the spine of Straw. Perhaps there is a ring to the words "sovereign immunity" -- a ring that catches the fancy of a president who has lately and abruptly ceased to be a strict law 'n' order Democrat. SALON | Dec. 8, 1998 Christopher Hitchens is a frequent contributor to Salon. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - R E L A T E D_.S A L O N_.S T O R I E S The ghosts of bombings past Declassified documents from the Pinochet era may finally shed light on how much U.S. officials knew about an assassination in Washington. By Jeff Stein Dec. 3, 1998 Dictator of choice Looking back now, we can see that Pinochet was good for Chile, whereas another dictator, Castro, is bad for his country. By David Horowitz Nov. 23, 1998 He can't go home again No matter what the House of Lords decides, former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet is finally being held resonsible for the death of President Salvador Allende -- and Chilean democracy. By Marc Cooper Nov. 12, 1998