Arnins antics could be contagious
By LINDA WILICOX
Now that Marshal Idi Ami-r
has once again, onfortunately,
been found safe and somewhat
sound in his native Uganda, af-
ter another round of hide-and-
seek, observers in several coun-
tries wonder whether Amin
may be trying to engage other
international figures in similar
games.
A British friend of mine, liv-
ing in Kamtpala (who prefers
to remain anonymous, fearing
governmental reprisal) said he
found the following clipping in
a Ugandan newspaper. He said
similar accounts had been aired
over Radio Uganda.
NAIROBI - Hours after
United States Ambassador to
the United Nations Andrew
Young denounced Marshal Idi
Amin's rule in Uganda as "ter-
rorist", U. S. officials report
Young is missing, and they
don't know where he might be
headed.
Young spent a week in Kam-
pala, the Ugandan capital, ne-
gotiating httman rights with
Amin, and made his comments
to reporters, vhile his plane re-
fueled.
IN IIS COMIENTS, Young
said, "In iddition to sheer hu-
man injustice, Amin regularly
practices sever racist policies
against members of opposition
tribes in his country. His re-
gime is one which should be
tempered by United Nations di-
rectives."
U. S. officials said the plane
was bound for Johannesburg,
South Africa, but South Afri-
can sources said Young was
barred from entering that coun-
try, on the basis of Young's
outspokenness on that country's
apartheid policies.
The plane was last sighted
by civilians attempting to land
at the airport at Salisbury,
Rhodesia. But officials there
say they have not seen Young
or his plane.
Persons telephoning Young's
offices at the United Nations
were told this morning, "We
are still trying to find our am-
bassador. Since this afternoon,
we don't know where he is. We
have no other information."
U.S. OFFICIALS said they
contacted government persontel
in Uganda, fearing Young might
have been abducted and re-
turned to that country for a
taste .of Amin's treatment of
opposition voices.
"We told you this morning,
we have no information regard-
ing the whereabouts of your Mr.
Youn. Why do you keep call-
ing? Are you drunk?" they were
told.
Amin, with an apparent note
of pleasure that other figures
might be following in his foot-
steps, commented on Radio
Uganda late this morning. "As
you know, the nature of Mr.
Young comments was extreme-
ly derogatory and threatening. I
responded by telling him I
would be willing to serve as
King of the United Nations, if
that body should vote me in in
that capacity.
"In the meantime, the devel-
opments which indicate Mr.
Young is missing make a clear
display of the wrath of God
against those who oppose my-
self and my policies."
Young's African tour was to
have taken him to Uganda,
South Africa, Rhodesia and An-
gola.
The Michigan Daily
Edited and managed by Students at the
Universityof Michigan
Friday, July 1, 1977
News Phone: 764-0552
Carter stalls the B-1
the fight's not over yet
AFTER MONTHS OF WAITING, President Carter, in
a surprise announcement, finally publicly said just
what he said he would say all along: that he would
stop the production of the B-1 bomber. It's about time
he made good on his campaign promise to scrap the
B-1, the white elephant of our defense system.
But his qualified opposition is simply not good
enough. The bomber isn't dead yet.
Just this week, the House voted to spend $1.5 bil-
lion to build five B-1. Despite Carter's public opposi-
tion, the appropriations measure still heads for the ien-
ate where, although ultimately expected to fail, there is
bound to be a knock-down drag-out fight.
Carter's opposition falls far short of the mark the
public was led to believe he would set. Carter still al-
lows for testing and development of the bomber.
The testing and development of a weapon which
one opposes would be more wasteful than the produc-
tion of the . bomber itself. It's either that, or Carter
doest't really oppose production of the bomber at all.
NJHITE HOUSE Press Secretary Jody Powell said a
search-for maximum deterrent for dollars spent was
the basis of Carter's decision. Powell also said the B-1
didn't give maximum deterrence, alone, or loaded with
a missile.
Why, then, should Carter allow further testing and'
development of this bomber which is reputed to have
been obsolete before full production could have been
completed?
Since the project was originally announced, the price
tag has been on an upward trajectory. The first esti-
mate per plane was $36 million. Today, the price tag
was estimated by the House at $1.5 billion for five planes
and parts..
That same 1.5 billion is ten times the cost of the
Peace Corps, larger than either the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency or the Department of Justice, or half
the budget of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development.
^ The choice, on the basis of priorities is clear: scrap
the project - testing and all - entirely, and put the
N-ON. - C-o-M-M-E-N-T...
N-
- -.
Bumper stickers ~tell all1
By DICK WEST
WASHINGTON (UPI) - It is well known that
most of our information about what is going on in
China comes from wall posters.
What isn't as well known is the method used by
the Chinese to keep up with what is happening in
the United States.
I didn't know it myself until I recently developed
a contact in the Chinese liason office here.
He told me that People's Republic representa-
tives in Washington and at their U.N. mission in
New York get most of their information from T-
shirts.
"There are many political and cultural up-
heavals in America that are never publically
acknowledged," my contact said. "Sooner or later,
however, references to such events will start
showing up on T-shirts.
"By piecing together the inscriptions on the
chests of people we-see in the streets, we usually
can get a fairly complete picture of the situation."
I said, "What's wrong with getting your infor-
mation fro mbumperstickers?"
"We have found that American bumperstickers
are pretty unreliable," he replied.
"The trouble is that bumperstickers are so hard
to scrape off, they may be left on a car long
after the messages on them have become out-
dated.
"Last year, for example, one of our U.N. rep-
resentatives spotted a bumpersticker that said
"le took that to mean there was a Goldwater
resurgence movement underway, and we sent a
report to that effect to Peking.
"Later we discovered that the sticker had been
on the car since the 1964 campaign.
"On another occasion, we were badly fooled by
a bumpersticker imprinted with the words "Tip-
pecanoe and Tyler, Too.'"
I said, "Why are T-shirst more reliable?"
"Generally speaking, Americans change their
underwear oftener than they change automboiles.
Therefore, the inscriptions on T-shirts are likely
to be more current.
"Another odvantage is that T-shirts are more
plentiful than autos. In 1976, America produced
48 million T-shirts, including a few rare unlet-
tered models. But fewer than 7 million autos were
built.
"While bumperstickers ma ybe an accurate
reflection of how car owners feel about a given
issue, they do not provide the broad spectrum of
opinion that is available on T-shirts."
I asked what types of political or cultural trends
the Chinese had spotted on T-shirts.
Last month, he said, T-shirts began appearing
with the legend "Paranoia For Peace." He said
this was interpreted as the beginning of a cam-
paign to force the Carter administration to adopt
a more neuroQtc foreign policy.
That inforamtion probably will cause some sort
of reaction in China. But we'll have to wait for
the wall posters to find out what.