December 15, 1974 – The World This Week – CBS Radio News – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
December 15, 1974 – Christmas Season 1974 – 9 shopping days left. The Economy heading south and gas prices reaching new highs. The Energy crisis was still fresh in everyone’s mind and much of the culprit had to do with OPEC and the increase in the price of a barrel of crude oil. Not likely to come down anytime soon, and OPEC was gathering to meet and discuss the possibility of raising the prices even further. But the issue was the world’s continuing dependence on oil, and measures to curb the seemingly insatiable appetite were being met with less-than-encouraging results in America. President Ford was readying a gathering at Camp David to discuss and perhaps map out some restrictions which could be imposed on the American consumer in energy conservation.
And there were conflicting views on the nature of the Economy – one side proclaimed Inflation was receding and that we had seen the worst of it in 1974, while the other side proclaimed the downturn was going to continue and maybe get worse before things were predicted to settle down in 1975.
And then was the Middle-East deadlock, which was dragging on only to be livened up by an Egyptian suggestion that Israel halt further immigration for 50 years. To which the Israelis replied, among other things, “nonsense”.
In Africa, some significant changes were afoot in the white minority-ruled country of Rhodesia, whose population consisted of a quarter-million whites compared to 24 times that number in the Black population. Prime Minister Ian Smith, who only recently said the Black population of Rhodesia would never gain equality in his lifetime, was now saying they probably would. He was recognizing previously outlawed Black Political organizations and agreed to hold a constitutional conference with those organizations with the proviso that terrorist activities were to cease immediately. Otherwise, there were no other pre-conditions. He went on to announce abandoning detention and restriction of all Black political prisoners and their followers as well. Christmas arrive a few days early it seemed.
And that’s only a small slice of news for this December 15, 1974 as reported by The World This Week from CBS Radio.
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