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- GRAPEVINE, Page 21
-
-
- By JANICE CASTRO
-
- Can We Talk?
-
- Those southern boys sure do have the gift of gab. Every
- time GEORGE BUSH turns around, Bill Clinton or Ross Perot is
- chatting amiably with Arsenio, Larry King or some other TV
- talk-show host, and it's driving him crazy. Last week both
- candidates took turns answering questions from callers on Today.
- This week Clinton does MTV. Enough! The Commander in Chief is
- girding himself for Talk Show '92. Bush's aides are subtly
- soliciting Larry King, Barbara Walters and other chat-masters.
- Rush Limbaugh has been spotted bunking down at 1600
- Pennsylvania. How about Regis and Kathy Lee? Says a White House
- aide: "Not even Bush could be that perky."
-
- Hosting the Ross Bowl
-
- If ROSS PEROT holds a campaign convention for his loyal
- followers, he won't have to worry about where to do it. His
- campaign has already received several unsolicited offers -- in
- some cases even signed leases -- from places eager to play host
- to the gathering. Besides Pasadena, which offered the Rose Bowl,
- hopefuls include Minneapolis and Orlando.
-
- A Day of Reflection
-
- Jesse Jackson and other black leaders are organizing a
- national protest for this Friday. June 19, known as JUNETEENTH,
- is the anniversary of the day in 1865 when black Texans learned
- that Lincoln had freed the slaves, and is widely observed as a
- milestone of freedom. But this year's Juneteenth will be a "day
- of absence." To mark the continuing burden of racism in America,
- many blacks will stay home, boycott white-owned businesses and
- avoid conversation with whites.
-
- Heavy Lifting
-
- U.S. Ambassador to Moscow ROBERT STRAUSS has jumped into
- a dispute over Russian-built Kamov and Mil helicopters, by
- lobbying the Bush Administration on their behalf. The powerful
- Russian choppers can outlift the best U.S. helicopters and are
- being offered to American oil and logging firms at half price.
- U.S. manufacturers are livid because Strauss wants the FAA to
- waive the costly and time-consuming U.S. commercial-certification
- process for the Russian competition. If the FAA goes along with
- Strauss, the heavy lifters may start hauling timber in Alaska
- this summer.
-
- The Turkish Connection
-
- Turkish President TURGUT OZAL is a close ally of President
- Bush, but some think he's taking on too grand a role. Ozal
- staunchly supported Bush during the gulf war, and has
- volunteered Turkey's help in forging closer U.S. ties with the
- fledgling Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union.
- Diplomatic sources say the White House passed the word in
- Washington that Turkey will be the conduit for assistance to
- those five republics. But the republics are unhappy with the
- arrangement. Tulegen Zhukeyev, a respected top Kazakhstan
- official, maintains that his fellow Central Asians welcome U.S.
- ties but are concerned that the U.S. has given Turkey virtual
- carte blanche as its regional surrogate.
-
- Forward Spin
-
- TRAVEL HAZARDS
-
- International diplomacy is supposed to be President Bush's
- strength. But after Japan, and getting gassed in Panama last
- week, what could go wrong next? Might be prudent to avoid the
- Ring of Fire.
-
- WORD WATCH
-
- The politically correct are endlessly inventive. A high
- school in Portland, Ore., described a song as a "spiritual of
- color."
-
- PAY THE $2
-
- So many Californians attend traffic class (T.C.) after
- getting tickets that now they can choose from a number of
- entertaining forms of driver re-education: Pizza T.C., Gourmet
- Lunch T.C., and even Comedy T.C., where a Robin Williams
- videotape is shown. Next: Self-Defense T.C., the Rodney King
- variation.
-
- We're All in the Same Gang
-
- Latest hot item in stores across the country: fashions
- from South Central L.A.'s Cross Colours. The all-cotton duds
- sport slogans urging youths to stop gang violence (PEACE N THE
- HOOD) and stay in school (EDUCATION IS THE KEY). Best message:
- owners Carl Jones and T.J. Walker's success. They expect to
- gross $40 million this year.
-
-
-