December 25, 1990

Under a slate-gray winter sky, a handful of Jewish children from the Soviet Union played in the snow today outside a makeshift refugee camp here. Inside, their parents waited anxiously for permission to begin new lives in Germany. "We know what Germans did to Jews once, but that will never happen again," said one of the refugees. "If there is another pogrom, it will be in Russia, not here. We had to get out. Every other Jew is also trying to escape."

Iraq has recalled its ambassadors from leading European countries, the United States, Japan and elsewhere for urgent consultations this week over the diplomatic deadlock in the Persian Gulf crisis. The recall of important members of Iraq's diplomatic corps appeared to some Western officials here to be a sign that President Saddam Hussein is preparing a diplomatic initiative before the Jan. 15 deadline set by the United Nations Security Council for an unconditional Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait.

The Pentagon told President Bush today that the dominant view among American military officials is that American troops in Saudi Arabia will not be ready for offensive action against Iraq on Jan. 15, and that any attack should be deferred until February at the earliest. The issue of the combat-readiness of United States forces in the gulf region came to prominence last week when the deputy commander of American troops there, Lieut. Gen. Calvin A. H. Waller, told reporters that American-led forces would not be ready by the Jan. 15 deadline set by the United Nations Security Council for Iraq to withdraw its troops from Kuwait or risk military attack. Cheney and Powell Return White House and Pentagon officials went to great lengths to play down General Waller's comments. But Bush Administration officials said today that Defense Secretary Dick Cheney and Gen. Colin L. Powell, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had informed Mr. Bush in a meeting at Camp David that General Waller's comments represented a widespread view among American military officials. Mr. Cheney and General Powell met with Mr. Bush today on their return from a five-day trip to Saudi Arabia.

Few countries celebrate the holidays as intensely as Japan does. As the end of the year nears, droves of blue-suited office workers take fellow employees, their best customers and their bosses on endless celebrations, often ending up in one of thousands of "snack bars" and "hostess clubs." As part of the ritual, a big-screen television set showing a music video with lyrics printed on the screen is flipped on, a microphone is passed around, and after sake and beer overwhelm traditional Japanese reticence, people begin to sing along. All night. Now, with an enthusiasm born of long and noisy nights, Japan's industrial giants think the outside world is ready for large numbers of yet another export: those same "laser karaoke" systems that combine music, video images and lyrics in scrolling captions.

For the first time since the 1940's, falling prices have returned to the American economy, and they are starting to spread. This new deflation is most visible in real estate. But prices are also dropping for steel, aluminum, plastics and other commodities used in manufacturing. And while prices are still rising for many things, like medical care, college tuition and legal services, recent data show the beginnings of deflation in some consumer products, like cars, furniture and kitchen appliances. The lower prices are often masked as rebates, sales and steep discounts; these are becoming fixtures rather than just special events.