The unfetterng of Henry
Nuclear reactors:
Solution or menace
ALMOST IMMEDIATELY after the
University announced it had in-
vited Secretary of State Henry Kis-
singer to speak at the May 3 com-
mencement, local student and politi-
cal organizations began planning
demonstrations and protest. The In-
dochina Peace Campaign (IPC),
fearing that the various groups might
eventually disrupt each others ef-
forts, attempted to coordinate the
initiatives into a "unified response"
against Kissinger, and developed spe-
cific protest plans.
While not endorsing Kissinger's
policies, we feel he should be allowed
to speak here.
As' the chief engineer of American
foreign policy in its present form,
Henry Kissinger stands as one of the
most powerful people in the world
today, a man whose thoughts and
actions have a very real and lasting
effect on all of our lives. To disinvite
him, as has been suggested in many
circles, would be to regrettably squan-
der a rare chance to observe and react
to him firsthand, and not through the
insulating and often distorting eyes
of the media.
A KISSINGER APPEARANCE would
not be without its disturbing ele-
ments. It goes without saying that the
Secretary of State has at his beck
and call complete and immediate
access to the national media. Mean-
while his detractors are largely forced
to rely on persistence to make up for
what they lack in power. Those who
simply fall back on the free speech
argument to defend the Kissinger
appearance are not meeting the issue
head on.
They fail to look beyond the issue of
expression and come to grips with the
question of access to significant audi-
ences, and who should be allowed to'
grant that access.
Even more disturbing is the farce of
a selection process that led to the
Kissinger choice. The committee was
packed with administrative lackeys
hand-picked by Robben Fleming,
leaving no room for student input.
THE ARBITRARY choice of Kissin-
ger as commencement speaker is
inexcusable. To uncategorically de-
fend his right to address May grad-
uates would be an irresponsible blan-
ket endorsement of the speaker selec-
tion process, the excessive media
coverage given the administration at
the expense of their critics, and
American foreign policy in general.
But to disinvite would be an even
more undesirable alternative. One
that could only widen the gap be-
tween our national leaders and the
citizenry whose lives they affect and
all too often dominate. We should
savor an opportunity to let Kissinger
know firsthand how we feel about his
policies, without the deadening inter-
ference his sychophantic State De-
partment and media entourage.
By ALAN KETTLER
THE UNITED States decision
to massively develop nuc-
lear fission power production,
its export of the technology
abroad, and its influence on oth-
er nations who will use the
atom's energy on an ever-in-
creasing scale is likely to have
serious biological and social
consequences.
By the turn of the century,
the Atomic Energy Commission
(AEC) envisions the construc-
tion of about a thousand uran-
ium-fuelled plants, and at least
hundreds more after that. In
addition, this country may be
using the power of hundreds of
plutonium-fuelled breeder reac-
tors. The decision on whether or
not to proceed with plutonium
power production will be made
in the next few months.
Nuclear power production will
require increased uranium min-
ing, fuel processing, fuel trans-
port, fuel reprocessing, waste
transport, and waste disposal of
nuclear materials. Every link of
the nuclear chain has presented
and will continue to present a
means of radioactive release to
the environment, and thus a
danger to humans.
TWO FEATURES of the atom-
ic industry, if viewed as inter-
acting systems, make the full-
scale development of nuclear
power energy an unacceptably
dangerous course of acti-n.
These are the nature of the
power-producing materials by
themselves, and the instability
of social institutions and behav-
ior.
One detrimental feature of
nuclear fuels and their waste
products is their extreme and
long-lasting toxicity. Beside the
immediate effects - increased
cancer and leukemia deaths,
birth defects, and susceptibility
to disease, radiation attacks the
very basis for the healthy con-
tinuation of life by altering our
genes.
Gene alterations have long-
term, cumulative effects. Since
mutations affet genetic mater-
ial, they are passed on from one
generation to the next. Present
generations exhibit no visible
effects from radiation-induced
mutations; damage may only
become evident many genera-
tions hence.
Many studies have estimated
the results of the federally per-
missible radiation levels on
health. For example, a 1972 re-
port by the National Academy
of Sciences estimated that an
eventual 5 per cent increase
in the general ill-health of the
population will occur. Sim.larly,
cancer deaths could conceivably
rise from 3,000 to 15,000 annual-
ly.
AN IMMENSE quantity ot ra-
dioactive materials has been
produced over the years. The
atom bomb that hit Hiroshima
released one and a half pounds
of long-lived radioactive marer-
ial. Within a standard-sized nic-
lear power plant, one can ex-
pect to find over a ton of the
A few physicists and a few
thousand dollars could build an
explosive device witnout trouble
if they had the plutonium. The
few pounds needed would have
about the same volume as a
softball.
The possibihty or nuclear
blackmail leads us into a look
at the fraility and instability of
human social institutions. Ideal-
ly, nuclear power production
would continue with little re-
lease of radioactivity into the
environment. This is not a ideal
world, however; what is to sep-
arate us from the vagaries of
irrational behavior, violence,
mistakes, war, and desperate in-
dividuals?
Dr. Alvin Weinberg, former
"According to one study, one thirty-millionth
of an ounce of plutonium in the lungs will
cause lung cancer. By 1980, tens of thousands
of kilograms of plutonium will have been pro-
duced around the world."
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A&4S40 ian Dait
Eighty-Five Years of Editorial Freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
stuff, half of its in a gaseous
state. According to an AEC
study withheld from the public
for seven years, the catastro-
phic release of these radioac!ive
elements from a plant could
cause 45,000 deaths, 100,000 injur-
ies, $17 billion in property dam-
ages, and the contamixtatio.1 of
an area the size of Pennsylvan-
ia.
Plutonium is the most toxic
of the nuclear materials. It is
both a waste product of uran-
ium-fuelled reactions and a pro-
posd source of fuel itself. Ac-
cording to one study, one thirty-
millionth of an ounce of plu-
tonium in the lungs will cause
lung cancer. By 1980, tens of
thousands of kilograms of pli-
tonium will have been priduced
around the world.
The longevity of olutonium's
toxicity in incredible. With a
half-life of 24,000 years, the poi-
tonium we produce today will
not become safe for s90,600
years. That is 15. 20 times
further into the fu" ure than
Neanderthal man is into the
past.
AS' HAS become qiite wll.
known recently, constructing a
plutonium bomb is no big deal.
director of the Oak Ridge Na-
tional Laboratory, neatly phras-
ed the conditions needed to
safely sustain a masive ruc-
lea technology: "The price that
we demand of society for this
magical energy source is both a
vigilance and longevity of our
social institutions that w,> are
quite unaccustomed to."
NUCLEAR POWER produc-
tion proceeds, the world is in
turmoil, and there is only a dim
hope of making our social be-
havior fit the conditions which
would make our nuclear future
a safe one. Not all active partic-
ipants in the nuclear r etwork
exhibit a vigilance in their plan-
ning, designing, and work: the
AEC reported over 800 'ab-
normal occurences" in its 1973
operations.
The United States and the rest
of the world are ripe with con-
ditions which render nuclear
power potentially dangerous. A
disgruntled Vietnamese p i l o t
fired upon the Saigon palace re-
cently; an American landed a
helicopter on the Whe~e House
lawn. Angeredindividuals have
at their disposal ins'ruments
which are capable of destroy-
ing a nuclear power giant. Sim-
ilarly, the drivers of nuclear
waste transport sys-ems, the
power piant operators, and the
workers in the fuel reprocessing
plants possess enormously pow-
erful means of violent destruc-
tion.
Individuals can turn to ev-
treme means in order to obtain
some treasure, be it power,
money or justice. Pue:4o Ricans
angered at U.S. politi s in Puer-
to Rico exploded a bomn in a
crowded New York restaurant
not long ago. During the 1972
Olympics, Palestinian guerillas
killed themselves and a score
of innocents in order to make
a point.
VIOLENCE can be directed
indiscriminately, and relatively
small, poisonous, and unpr,,ect-
ed nuclear materials, make pow-
erful targets.
International instar lity is
greater than ever. Arabs and
Jews fume tensely at oue ano-
ther, guerilla warfare strrkes
against U.S. neo-colonialism
abroad, fighting con-inves ;n
Southeast Asia, and American
dissidents grow more nimerous,
more violent, and mor: force-
ful.
For so-called balance of pow-
er and some quick cash, the
United States continues to arm
the world. As war machines
grow more numerous and more
sophisticated, the means of des-
truction become more powerfdl
to their owners. Warring par-
ties are hardly hunanitarian
and are likely to view a nuclear
facility as an attack site hand-
ily capable of killing rw:ny
without much trouble.
This possibility is an inter-
national concern sinve radio-
activity dispersal does not re-
cognize political boundaries. it
is sadly ironic that pe iceful use
of the atom could dunlicate "he
radioactive effects of nuenr
war, entirely without the ex-
plosion of atomic device-.
The world is not yet ready
to use nuclear power safely.
Amid a world rampant with ter-
ror and violence, suen use
seems a peaceful reauiey only
in the realm of some science'
fiction utopia.
FURTHERMORE, na one has
yet found an acceptably s a f e
way to dispose of nuclear
wastes. Yet nuclear yrwer
plants keep on producing them.
There is no known place where
these waste products can be
left alone to die out in the next
tens of thousands o! years. If
they cannot be depoied and
forgotten somewhere, then peo-
ple will have to look after them
and maintain the isolaion of
the radioactive wastes from the
environment during these tens
of thousands of years We are
burdening future people with a
resnonsibility which they may be
entirely unable to 'camdle.
The same scientists who help-
ed develop the atom omb are
initiating efforts to out the aton
to peaceful uses. UnfortuYnately,
the events of the oist few
nears have raised serious
doubts about the safe'y of the
atom, even the peaceI atom.
Luckily, the nuclear future is
not our only alternatitv.
Population need not continue
its exponential grow n. I ike-
wise, our standard dLe; nrt al-
ways have to be on the rise.
American consumption and pro-
duction patterns need not yield
an ever-demanding, air-condi-
tioned, frost-free, meat eating,
wasteful, luxuriant lifestyle.
Americans, who comxise only
6 per cent of the ear h's popu-
lation, use 35 per cent of its
energy. If our economic insti-
tiution"s were adjusr"d appro-
nriately, we could live c o m-
fortably without reliance on nuc-
lea r rower.
Alan Kettler is a reguclar con-
ti nba or to the Editorial Page.
Thursday, April 17, 1975
News Phone: 764-0552
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104
Ford: Prolonging the agony
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ON APRIL 10, President Ford asked
Congress for nearly a billion dol-
lars in aid for South Vietnam. This
money was to be used for purposes of
"military and humanitarian aid" and
to help Saigon "save itself". Ford also
asked Congress to define his author-
ity to send American troops in to pro-
tect American civilians "if the very
worst were to happen" and the Amer-
icans had to be evacuated.
The President's request, therefore,
breaks into two parts: whether the
U.S. should send money to Vietnam
and whether Ford has the right to
send American troops to Vietnam
with "no time for Congressional de-
bate."
The South Vietnamese Government
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Dan Blugerman, Barb Cornell,
Lois Josimovic, Jay Levin, A n d y
Lilly, Jim Nicoll, Sara Rimer, Tim
Schick, Steve Selbst.
Edit Page: Clifford Brown, Paul Hask-
ins,rDebra Hurwitz, Doc Kralik, Jo
Ma rcotty.
Arts Page: Chris Kochmanski
Photo Technician: Karen Kasmauski
has consistently shown a talent for
wasting incredibly large sums of
American money. Sending an addi-
tional billion, to Saigon, is only
throwing more money into a bottom-
less pit. In the last few weeks, alone,
the South Vietnamese have abandon-
ed one billion dollars in supplies and
equipment and it seems probable
that even unlimited American finan-
cial aid would fail to help the South
Vietnamese.
THE PRESIDENT'S REQUEST for
emergency powers to send Amer-
ican troops to save civilians also has
several weaknesses, the main one be-
ing that these troops, themselves,
may have to be saved leading to an
ever increasing demand for addi-
tional troops and a total reinvolve-
ment of U. S. military forces in South
Vietnam.
One lesson should be clear from
American involvement during the
'60s, and that is that no matter how
much aid we give the South Vietna-
mese, we will only be prolonging
South Vietnam's a n d America's
agony.
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Cambodia:
looking
from the
ide out
The marine looked a* me as if
to say, "Why the hell are you
staying, man?" I -wished there
was time to talk, to discuss the
war and what he was doing in
it. But there wasn't any time.
The last two choppers started
taking incoming Americans. No-
body really knows iow many,
but the marines and soldiers
were scared and wanted out of
there fast. I got a shot of the
last American troops to leave,
running at a fast clip. A rear
door gunner, looking like a
space man with a weird helmet
and goggles, waved for them <o
hurry. Then they were gore.
A little boy of aborit twelve
was left behind. He lay there,
his back drenched in blood,
twitching slightly. I looked at
another reporter and yelled,
"Somebody call an an~buiance."
The line between being a repot t-
er and a participant is very
hard to define. Espec ally when
you watch a little boy, probably
dying, while a chopper is flying
Americans out. The crowd
stripped the big black limousine
that took the embas v Gtcials
to their fancy air-couditoned
villas. They seemed to strip
everything but the American
flag, hanging limply at. the d^: tr.
A few days later the so called
Khmer Rouge began their last
offensive. In a pincer-like mili-
tary maneuver, the rebels cut
off the large number of govern-
ment troops. It was a classic
military movement, chopping
off the outskirts of P h n o m
Penh itself. The killing goes on
although it's Khmer New Year.
Everyone wants it to stop, but
nobody knows how.
At least some good may
come out of it all - the death
and suffering. The Red Cross to-
night set up an international
zone at the Colonial - as thous-
ands poured into the city. It
will be turned into a sanctuary
for anyone, from the poorest re-
fugee to the richest journalist,
the Red Cross worker said. No-
body knows if it will work. The
other day a couple of us went
out to the Northeast front to
talk to some government troops
who said the Khmer Rouge talk-
ed to, them on the radio, saying
"Why are you still fighting for
the Americans, they are gone."
There have also been reports
that Khmer R vige rebels have
met and openly embraced gov-
ernment troops, asking them to
stop fighting. Many have. Many
of >s now think the end is here.
Although a few claim there
will be a bloodbath, others ex-
pect a new time, a time of lib-
eration and freedom.
Richard Boyle 's a veteran
war correspondent and one of
only two American reporters
still filing from Cambodia. PNS
received this report early Wed-
nesday morning. Copyright 1975,
Pacific News Service.
By RICHARD BOYLE
It was strange again seeing
U.S. marines in full battle dress
on the streets of Indochina.
They held their loaded M-!6s
and grenade launchers ready,
and their eyes scannedt h e
crowd of curious spectators. The
big marine helicoprers were
scurrying embassy staff ou on
a landing pad, while the marines
blocked the streets.
I got a photo of a marine in
the squad on the left flank. All
the marines in the squad -were
black.
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The Calorie Cancellation
L.etters neU fY--
Time T able streamline baby
e'rr that needs to be done while
"rUMMM % tCht'CFkin Cfi%EDC
THERE vvhrt r UbUn
AGREEMENTS BETWEEN
WASHINGTON AND
SAIGON!
a
A*
HOWEVER, THERE WAS A
"CONFIDENTIAL EXCHANGE"
BETWEEN NIXON AND THIEUI
To The Daily :
WHY DO the students
University of Michigan
themselves to elect the I
assholes that they pr
have as their representati
the assorted student
ment bodies?
As an ex-MSU student
was active for one ye
that university's Ac,,
Council, my perception
dealings of this school'
dent politics is very strai
ward: the situation sti
am not politically active
but all I need to do is
occasionally at a Mi
Daily to be astounded a
gered by the kind of e3
gorruption and interp
bullshit that occurs betwe
throughout UM student p
How much money is m
I keep forgetting. Is it
or $20,000. Which dormc
voted themselves compen
out of limited and vE
funds?
And today, who yelled
and who spit on who, a
the way, who is doing th
everyone else is fucking off?
of the IN MY SHORT period of stu-
allow dent "activism" I too saw a
kind of lot of shit fly. That apparently
esently is what politics is about. You
ives on are bound to have differences of
govern- opinion and mannerisms of ac-
tion. But that is where it ends.
who Nothing else needs to be toler-
ar On ated.
ademic Has much been accomplished
of the this year? If so, it has been
s siu- done not by the ones who are in
.ghtfor- the paper all the time because
nks. I they caused a scuffle at a moet-
here, ing and spit on each other, but
glance by the people who are in the
ichigan background working because
nd an- they want to, not because they
xtreme want money or power or glory.
ersonal BUT DON'T THEY SEE THAT
en and WE ALL THINK THEY ARE
)olitics. FOOLS.
issing? Comes on, ask yourselves,
$i,oo who are we to criticize this
council world and seek change if these
sations types of people are the best re-
aluable presentatives of ourselves we
can put forward?
at who I think we can do much better.
nd by -Geoffrey Walker
e wurk April 4
WHEN DOES A SECRET
AGREEMENT BECOME A
"CONFIDENTIAL ARRANGEMENT"?
. ....
., . ..
WHDEN IT IS NO
L ONGER A SECR ET.
* r
By GLORIA NORDSTR.OM
rPHERE IS a frustrating em-
phasis on thinness in our
culture - especially frustrating
for those of us who are not thin
and are not getting any thinner.
But there are alternatives to the
bothersome self-denial and hun-
ger pangs involved in strict
dieting. I know several ways to
avoid distressing diets, and still
achieve peace of mind. And
there is no reason why every
aspiring dieter should not be
aware of these alternatives.
These are my three favorite
remedies for distressng diets:
The Calorie Cancellauon Diet,
the Ignored Issue Diet, and the
Time Table Diet. Alchod.h all
three of them have proved ef-
fective, my favorite s the Cal-
orie Cancellation Diet. T h e
theory behind it has Seen care-
fully worked through and ac-
cented by many dieters.
This is how the Calorie Can-
cellation Diet works: If you eat
something fattening, say, a
piece of pie, you consume a
large number of calories - one
of the obvious facts of calorie
counting. But, if at the same
time, you eat sometning with
dressing. Many a poor dieter
has been led astray by this
problem. But with careful plan-
ning, the Caloria Cance:latioa
Diet may be to your s ilvatfon -
not that it has been known to
induce weight loss, but it has
given many dieters a good deal
of peace of mind. And after all,
if you have a good dell of budy,
you may as well have a good
piece of mind.
BUT, IF by some chance, the
Calorie Cancellation doesn't
work for you, there still may be
a way to avoid distre.ssing diets
that will work for you. Some
people find the Ignored Issue
Diet very successful. Contrary
to most diets, there are no tor-
tureous lists of rules to follow,
just two guidelines. One, do not
look in mirrors, and zwo, do not
get your picture taken. This
approach to dieting can do al-
most as much for your peace
of mind as the Calorie Can.sella-
tion method. Unfortunately, it
doesn't work for eversyne. If
you are a -nude model, or other-
wise predisoosed to look in mir-
rors, the Time Table Diet may
be better for you.
The Time Table Diet involves
culations. Out of a 24 hlur day,
90 per cent, or 21 hours and 24
minutes, you can eat. Now it
takes some planning to get three
full meals, two coffee breaks
(including the Coke and donuts)
before dinner drinks, and a
mid-night snack into two hours
and 24 minutes, but a c nscien-
tious Time Table dieter could
be able to do it.
SO, I'VE explained the Calor-
ie Cancellation Diet, the Ignored
Issue Diet and the Time Table
Diet - my three favorites, es-
pecially designed for the peace
of mind dieter. These dieis are
superb, but in all fairness, I feel
that I must mention "oe other
diet. This last one is hailed by
many as the best of all and
even though I'm not terribly
fond of it, it's the best one of
all.
This last diet does not give
you the same peace of mind as
the other three, but it does
have five other things to offer.
First, you'll feel better, second,
you'll look netter, thirJ you'll
live longer, fourth vou'll build
self-confidence and self control,
and fifth, with the price of food
these days, you'll save money.
I
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