[no subject]

"When Mr. Navarro, [Whitehouse spokesman Marlin] Fitzwater's counterpart
in the Vatican, was asked about the blockade of the Papal Nunciature in
Panama City by American troops and their practice of blasting the
building with rock music, he said it was "a very serious matter,"
unacceptable under international law because it interfered with
diplomatic activity.

A senior Vatican offical interviewed by telephone yesterday said the
apparent effort at psyhological warfare was 'ludicrous' and 'childish.'

Loudspeakers outside the Nunciature have been playing tunes like 'Voodoo
Chile,' 'Nowhere to Run,' and 'Smugglers Blues' in what appeared to be
an effort to irritate General Noriega. [Another article mentioned
Twisted Sister.]

Mr. Fitzwater was asked at his briefing in Corpus Christi, Tex., on
Thusrday about whether playing loud rock music outside the Papal
Nuncio's residence was further fraying already frayed nerves inside the
building.  He replied, "It was an attempt to disrupt comunications so
that we could have some guarantees of the security of our
conversations.'

'You may recall during the Moscow summit when we had the morning
meetings in the Moscow Embassy and all around, we had music playing of
various kinds to disrupt microwaves and so forth,' he said.  'That's
fairly standard practice.'

When asked about the selection of songs, Mr. Fitzwater said he was
'certainly glad to see the American sense of whimsy come forward inthis
situation.'"

....from January 3, 1990, Russell Baker:

"Suddenly we seemed to be in Dr. Strangelove country.  Punishing the
Vatican with heavy-metal rock?  Could Gen. Buck Turgidson be behind this
strategy? Or was he actinng on orders from the big fellow in  Air Force
One? ('Hit those holy men with every decibel in freedom's arsenal!')"

....and from August 23rd, 1990:

"Why didn't sommeboady think of it sooner? Owners of convenience stores
in the Pacific Northwest have found a fail-safe way to curb teen-age
loitering:  they blare out easy-listening music outside their all-night
stores, and the kids flee.  At the first swell of Mantovani's strings
from Hoagy's Corner Deli in Tillicum, Wash., 14-year-old Felix Mendola
said 'I'm out of here dude.'"


<vze26m98@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

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