SEPTEMBER 25, 2000 VOL. 156 NO. 12

Milestones
BY PENNY CAMPBELL

DIED. KONRAD KUJAU, 62, the forger who briefly fooled the world in 1983 when the German magazine Stern paid $4.8 million for what were claimed to be Hitler's hand-written diaries; in Stuttgart. In the two-week period before the forgery was unmasked, the diaries were hailed as the greatest historical discovery of the 20th century. After his release from three years in jail for his role in the fraud, Kujau became a media celebrity, ran his own gallery and sold copies of paintings by famous artists such as Picasso--signed with his own name to avoid prosecution.

DIED. STANLEY TURRENTINE, 66, American saxophonist who mixed jazz with blues, rock and pop; in New York City. Turrentine began his career playing with blues and R. and B. bands in the 1950s. In the '60s he went solo and found commercial success with the jazz-blues albums he recorded for Blue Note Records, including Up at Minton's and Wonderland with Stevie Wonder. His 1970s standard Sugar struck a chord with a broader crossover audience for jazz-influenced pop.

DIED OUT. MISS WALDRON'S RED COLOBUS, loud-mouthed, red-cheeked monkey from the rainforests of West Africa; declared extinct by a team of U.S. scientists in New York City. The monkey, first discovered in 1933, was last seen more than 20 years ago in Ghana. A seven-year search that ended last month failed to produce a sighting, leading researchers to conclude that the species was extinct. Scientists blame the monkey's demise on disruptions to its habitat caused by logging and road building, and on hunting by humans.

SENTENCED. JOSE BOVE, 47, French sheep farmer and crusader against globalization, to three months in prison for criminal vandalism after dismantling a McDonald's restaurant; in the southwestern French town of Millau. The attack, in August of last year, was a protest against the U.S. government's decision to impose sanctions on imported French goods like Roquefort cheese in retaliation for the E.U.'s ban on American hormone-treated beef. Bové became a folk hero in France for his actions, which he justified as a strike against American hegemony and bad food. He has appealed the ruling.

EXECUTED. CHENG KEJIE, 67, former vice chairman of the National People's Congress; in Beijing. The most senior Chinese official ever put to death for corruption, he was convicted of taking $4.9 million in bribes while heading the government of Guangxi province. The execution is part of the Communist Party's ongoing crackdown on graft, which authorities fear poses a serious threat to confidence in the government.

RELEASED. WEN HO LEE, 60, American nuclear scientist held in solitary confinement for nine months on charges of passing nuclear secrets to China; in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The judge in the case criticized federal prosecutors and apologized to Lee for his imprisonment. Under a plea bargain, Lee--who once faced a life sentence--pleaded guilty to a minor charge of mishandling classified documents and was sentenced to time already served. The remaining 58 charges were dropped. The case has been criticized by Asian-Americans and civil liberties groups who say that the Taiwan-born Lee was singled out because of his ethnic Chinese background.

TIME CAPSULE

Does the rise in crude oil prices to more than $30 a barrel mean that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries once again has a choke hold on the global economy, as it did in the 1970s?
"The leaders of the free world's seven strongest industrial nations were in the process of donning formal dress for a state dinner with Emperor Hirohito of Japan, when aides brought the news that all of them had awaited with dread. On the other side of the globe in Geneva, the OPEC ministers had once again jacked up the world price of oil [to $20 per bbl.], and the bite was fully as bad as gloomy prophets had predicted--and perhaps worse ... 'There is no one on earth who will fail to suffer from these extraordinary increases,' proclaimed Jimmy Carter, with only mild hyperbole ... But there was not much the seven could agree on to contain the damage. For the moment, at least, OPEC has the industrial world over a barrel."
--TIME, July 9, 1979