MISCELLANY

Dick Gregory. Once a comedian and now a freelance left-activist, is speaking in the Science Center Thursday night on "How to Defeat the CIA." This is actually Gregory's second appearance here this summer; he gave a speech to graduating seniors in June, looking distinguished but emaciated from a great deal of fasting. Gregory told the seniors they were all "niggers" and in general didn't pull any punches, although I'm told it's all something of a routine--he spends a lot of time and makes a lot of money on the college lecture circuit, and the kids love him.

Anyway, Gregory has now switched to the CIA and is speaking for the benefit of something called the Labor Defense Fund, which a little research by your correspondent has revealed to be an offshoot of the National Caucus of Labor Committees, the craziest of all leftist groups in the area.

The NCLC's analysis of the world concentrates heavily on the CIA, although within the last year it has shifted a Dit so that now the CIA is seen as only a wing of the Rockefeller family, which in turn controls the world. The Rockfellers relay on secret police to enforce on the world what the NCLC calls "slave labor" policies. There's a sort of perverse paradoxical logic to the NCLC's theories--for instance, while the Rockfellers control the world already, they are constantly trying to gain control of it. Also, anyone who criticizes the NCLC--me, for instance--is a CIA agent. It doesn't even need to be proved, since no one would criticize the NCLC unless they were in the CIA Right?

The new NCLC analysis (circa May) of the world situation is that capitalism is collapsing because of the international debt structure, which was at the time up in the trillions and had to be paid off by June 30, the end of the fiscal year. The man I talked to said on July 1 capitalism would collapse in 24 hours unless a world war had begun by then--since neither option has materialized, the NCLC must have a new analysis. They've also turned very pro-Soviet lately as a result of a pact they've signed with the Iraqul government. My felling on this is that the NCLC likes the Iraql government because it was the only one that would pay attention to the NCLC, even at one point inviting some of its members on a state tour of Iraq.

How Dick Gregory got mixed up with these people is beyond me, but it should be interesting. It costs $3 a head.