“I understand the concerns that citizens have about the potential for the abuse of the rights of individuals,” he said. “I share them. Most thinking, caring people do. But those concerns must, at least momentarily, be weighed against the concerns for the greater good. If we should ever lose the war on terrorism, such rights would be nonexistent. My belief is that we should put a time limit on this proposed legislation, see how the government handles its newfound power, and then reexamine the situation. Wartime is no time to panic or to make irrevocable decisions. It’s a time to lead decisively but thoughtfully. It’s also a time to constantly examine one’s decisions so errors can be corrected and we can move into the future with a clear sight and sound mind.”
Attorney General Stuller had no comment on Mr. Ackland’s comments but he did stress that he agreed with the President’s position that the Triumph of Freedom Act should be passed as a permanent fixture of this and future governments.
CNN Moneyline story, circulated on America Online
Oil Prices Percolate Close
To Record Levels
November 21
London-World oil prices bubbled to record highs today as OPEC’s top official said producers were powerless to manage a spike driven by factors outside its control.
U.S. crude futures by 1600 GMT were up 8 cents at $55.25 a barrel, surpassing Friday’s $53.92, to reach an all-time high in the 21-year history of the New York Mercantile Exchange contract.
Crude rebounded strongly on Wednesday from a reversal early in the week that raised hopes among consumer nations that the worst might be over for an oil price scare threatening to blunt global economic growth.
Struggling to cope with growth in fuel demand fired by world economic expansion, OPEC says it can do little to douse prices now up more than 25 percent this year.
Cartel President Parnum Yasianto of Indonesia blamed hedge fund speculators, who have bet heavily on oil markets this year, and refinery bottlenecks in the United States.
“While the oil market still holds above $50 a barrel. . that is due to factors beyond OPEC’s scope,” Parnum told a press conference in London.
Analysts agree that low stocks of gasoline in the United States are leading prices now.
But they say OPEC has helped create the conditions for an overheated market by restraining supplies so tightly that crude stocks are failing to rebuild as normal during the third and fourth quarters.Gasoline Record
In the United States gasoline inventories rose slightly in the week to November 14 but remain four percent lower than a year ago, a substantial deficit when demand is running three percent higher year-on-year.
“There is a short-run situation that is very much associated with the problems of the U.S. gasoline market; problems that OPEC can do very little about,” said Dan Gross of Barnum Capital. “The U.S. gasoline inventory situation remains highly precarious.”
U.S. gasoline futures traded on Thursday at a new record of $2.368 a gallon.
A firm decision on output is not expected until a full OPEC meeting in Beirut on January 3, by which time $50 a barrel oil and above could be more firmly established.
Spare cartel capacity is estimated at about 2.5 million bpd, limited mostly to Saudi Arabia. Real extra volumes might need to be added to change market psychology and prevent prices rising further later in the year, analysts say.
24
The coffee was cold, had been for a good twenty minutes, but Justin took another sip, peered down into the dregs of the paper cup, tilted his head back and drained the dark, bitter liquid. There was still a bit of black ooze clinging to the side, so he swirled it onto his finger and licked it off. It didn’t make him feel any more awake.
It was now ten-fifteen in the morning. Things should be happening pretty soon. At least he hoped so. Justin had been sitting in the car since 7:30 A.M. He’d flown into D.C. the night before, the ten o’clock shuttle, checked into some crummy hotel near Dulles Airport, paid cash, just in case anyone tried to trace him, and set the alarm for five-thirty. In the two hours he’d been awake he’d driven back and forth over the route he expected to be using later, familiarizing himself as much as possible with the streets, looking for the right spot to do what he’d decided he was going to do. He was exhausted. Getting up that morning was about as difficult as anything he could remember doing in a long time. Maybe the second most difficult. First was leaving Reggie Bokkenheuser the night before.
She’d said, “Do you need any more help?” and then they’d gone back to his place. He saw the way she was watching him, hungry, as if something had changed between them and she couldn’t wait to comfort him. Or devour him. He wasn’t sure which. He probably would have let her. No, that wasn’t right. He was as hungry as she was, maybe even hungrier. He wouldn’t have just let her, he would have gone right at her. But he was sitting by his desk and he began flipping through his mail, just for something to do, just so he didn’t have to look her in the eye quite yet, and stuck in with his bills was a letter-size manila envelope, no return address on it. He ignored the rest of the mail, carefully tore the envelope open. Inside was a small piece of paper, memo pad size. The message on the paper was typed:
You don’t call, you don’t write, you don’t e-mail. But who’s complaining?
My phones are tapped and I’m under surveillance. If you want to get in touch with me, call Bruce’s Gym. Ask for Leyla. She’ll give me any message.
You were right.
Jacks were found at La Cucina. A whole bunch of ’em.
You always were a smart boy.
— W
That was the end of his hunger. At least the hunger for Reggie. The note from Wanda Chinkle made his throat tighten and his stomach roil with pain. The last time he’d felt this way he’d killed four people and beaten another one close to death. So he looked up at Reggie and told her the kind of help he wanted her to give him now. She didn’t say a word, just nodded and smiled. A smile that said they both knew what additional kind of help would be waiting when he wanted it. Then he made a call. To Colonel Eugene T. Zanesworth. He wasn’t put through at first, but he stressed how urgent it was, and finally Zanesworth got on the phone. Chilly at first. No. Icy. Justin told him he had crucial information about Hutchinson Cooke’s murder, and when the colonel still resisted, Justin said he knew what had happened and they needed to talk. He wouldn’t go to Andrews, he insisted they meet someplace neutral, someplace, he said, where he’d be sure to be safe. He wanted a restaurant, he told Zanesworth, someplace with a lot of people, very public. The colonel scoffed, said, “Are you saying you don’t trust me?” and Justin, knowing he had to play this just right, knowing he had to appear smart but not too smart, said, “That’s exactly what I’m saying, Colonel. Try not to take it personally. Right now I don’t trust anyone. And I want a suit-and-tie kind of place. Calm and fancy, so if there’s a disturbance it’ll be obvious.” So Zanesworth picked a place, Justin agreed, said he’d fly out in the morning, would get to the restaurant by twelve-thirty.
And that’s when he said good-bye to Reggie, because he had no intention of leaving in the morning. He was, he hoped, a lot smarter than that. He threw a toothbrush, a shirt, a pair of socks, and some underwear into a gym bag, then he drove straight to La Guardia, caught the 10 P.M. shuttle to D.C., checked into the hotel. Justin knew that as soon as they’d arranged their meeting, Zanesworth would call someone, FBI or private cops, whoever had been talking to him up until now. And he knew the cops would immediately make a precise and detailed plan. He figured they’d want Zanesworth to get to the restaurant an hour and a half early, maybe even two hours, hoping to set up before Justin could. But he didn’t believe in taking any chances whatsoever, so he’d prepared for as many alternatives as he could, and was in position several hours before he expected Zanesworth to move. There could be no mistakes.