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OPINION
Page 4
Wednesday, February 3, 1988
The Michigan Daily
-I
Edid an ds an Bai
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Backwards burns the fatman
Vol. XCVI1i, No. 86
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board. All other
cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion
of the Daily.
US. revive
W ITHOUT PUBLIC FANFARE, the
Army recently ended an 18-year
moratorium on U.S. production of
chemical weapons. The moratorium
began in 1969 by the order of
President Richard Nixon who noted
that biological weapons were
"repugnant to the conscience of
mankind." In 1972, the United
States signed the Biological
Weapons Convention Treaty -
outlawing the development, stock-
piling, and use of bioweapons.
President Reagan reversed this
policy and Pentagon funding for
biological weapons research mush-
roomed from $15 million in 1981 to
$90 million by 1986. Research for
defensive purposes is not prohibited
by the Biological Weapons Con-
vention Treaty, however, de-
velopment and stockpiling -of
weapons are. After gaining con-
gressional approval, Reagan signed
an October 1986 "certification"
stating that U.S. production of
bioweapons "is necessitated by na-
tional security interests of the
United States."
Among the weapons certified is
the nerve gas GB, whose produc-
tion began in December of last year.
Effects on humans include immedi-
ate nasal congestion, sweating,
bronchial spasms, wheezing and
muscular twitching, convulsions,
and finally death via paralysis and
suffocation. The Bigeye Bomb will
be produced this year and will con-
tain a poison called VX -- an
"improved" nerve gas - twice as
toxic as GB. In addition, GB re-
mains lethal for less than an hour,
-while VX is lethal for days.
The Pentagon defends
bioweapons research by stating: (1)
that its object is not to kill enemy
Distribution of needles
sbioweapons
soldiers, but to force them to "suit
up" - wear protective apparel -
and inhibit their fighting ability, and
(2) that continued research is
necessary to find vaccines against
diseases and toxins that might be
used as weapons. Under scrutiny,
both responses collapse.
Bioweapons remain lethal but a
short time and are designed for one
purpose - to kill people. Buildings
are left relatively unscathed and
transportation lines intact. Troops
that survive would still be able to
drive tanks and fire guns, even
when forced to wear protective
suits.
The contention that research will
produce defensive vaccines is
equally weak. Without prior
knowledge of the specific weapon
which will be, used against the
United States, how could the ap-
propriate vaccine be made available
to protect both U.S. troops and its
citizens? It is more likely that vac-
cines would serve to protect U.S.
forces from contamination when
bioweapons are used against an ad-
versary.
The use of biological weapons
was rightly banned in 1969 and
production should not have been
resumed. The reasons given by the
Pentagon for production and re-
search of bioweapons are suspect.
Rather than withdrawing from the
Biological Weapons Convention
Treaty, the U.S. should work to
strengthen it by establishing effec-
tive verification procedures and
should insist on including
bioweapons in the disarmament
talks between the Soviet Union and
United States. Permanent elimina-
tion of these weapons, not mass
production, is the goal to pursue.
will check the soread of aids:
"Hey, that's backwards."
Everyday I learn about something new
that's backwards. You follow? Something
that is just the opposite of how it should
be. Holy guacamole! I mean, everything
from the Grammy awards to contra aid to
sex education is backwards.
It's backwards that the University
pumped thousands of dollars into turning
the Diag into suburban schlock. A little
wimpy winter thaw revealed the extent of
~ 14FAT
the atrocities outside Angell Hall. Made
me want to get my 12-gauge and blow all
that there cement handiwork to hell.
Yessiree, it's just absolutely backwards
that the same jernt that says it just don't
have the cash to put up lights to make it
comfy for womenfolk to walk at night or
hire some goddamned professors so we
don't have to have 250 people in 400 level
courses, or to ship in a Creative Writing
prof from the outback with enough so-
phistication to 'preciate my ramblings,
has the cash to turn the Diag into a mall
rat's paradise.
Yessiree Joe Bob, that's the score. All
that fancy ce-ment looks right appealing
in the catalogues - to the mall rats. I
think that's who they're all trying to re-
cruit - instead of who all us forward
thinking folk know they should. Well lis-
ten here, Mr. and Mrs. Administrators, we
don't need no more suburban mall rats at
the 'U', we don't need no more neon in
this town, and we don't need no more ce-
ment on the Diag. Stop thinking back-
wards!
Backwards. It's a problem; a fact of life
in the big city. It weren't always like this
you know. Back home on the range, the
world seemed pretty right fine. A man's a
man and a woman's a woman out there.
Oooh-eee. That might sound backwards so
let's back up a dosey doe. I mean to say a
person's a person. You know yourself and
you know where you stand in this ol'
world of ours (as long as you don't watch
CNN and catch on.)
But here in the big city, backwards is a
problem.
Another problem is definitions. See, a
lot of basically forward thinkin' folks are
running around calling other folks racist,
and sexist, and the like. And they're right
mosta the time. But shucks, a lot of other
folks get right turned off and they say "but
what's a racist?"
Well, shoot, I don't know where to draw
the line but I know when someone's talk-
ing backwards. You could shoot the shit
all day and never figure out if the Admin-
istration fellers are racist or not but it
don't take that much hard thinkin' to see
they're backwards.
So I'm agonna propose something here.
Call it Fat Al's contribution to-the strug-
gle. Let's use the word backwards to re-
place. racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-
Semitic, etc. One word to fit it all. And
use it. When someone's talking some
trash, just look 'em in the eyes, flare your
nostrils, spit on the ground, and say "man
(woman) you're talking backwards and it
don't cut it."
If they persist, don't let them in your
house because they're ignorant and they
might bite.
-Another fat contribution to the struggle
- an anti racism party in Crisler Arena
(with the tab picked up by the University
of course). Anything to bring our segre-
gated community together could only
help. I'll even emcee. Yessiree, and every-
one can bring an ethnic plate of their
choice. I'll fix up some right fine road kill
stew.
-Didya ever wonder what the University
does with all their money? I'm damned
sick and tired of tuition increases. This
place has holdings and endowments com-
ing out the wazoo. What are they waiting
for? The nuclear winter? The second com-
ing? A Rose Bowl victory? Doesn't con-
secutive 10 per cent tuition increases con-
stitute an emergency? I'm sick and tired of
this crapola. The University's got the
cheese, they're just sitting on it so they
don't lose their spot in the national Uni-
versity hierarchy. See, in case you're a
little backwards on the subject, universi-
ties rate themselves by the size of their
endowments. Heh-heh-heh.
I mean, they rate themselves by the size
of their financial holdings. So these fellers
are worried about that and they don't give
a hoot in hell about us or our tuition
dollars. If none of us can afford it, they'll
just recruit some more mall rats with
cheese in their pockets and visions of a
concrete diag dancing in their minds.
- Ladies and gentlemans, it's time, so
hold onto your hats, for Fat Al's top ten
sleazeball list. In no particular order (after
number 1).
. 1)Ed Meese. Yuck. At least, they might
finally nail the somabitch.
*GeorgeaBush - forathat obvious fix
up of Dan Rather and the media
manipulation which Rather, a rather sleazy
feller himself, so easily fell prey to.
*Brent Musburger - for obvious rea-
sons
*Bill Freider - figure it out yourselves
*Big corporations - they're faceless
right? And trying to take the rest of us
with 'em.
*Jim and Tammy Bakker - what can I
add.
*Robben Fleming - because a code by
any other name...
*Donald Trump-- Siggy Freud would
have a lot to say
*Tom Monaghan - for trying to be
like Trump. Stick with pizzas, bozo.
*Gary Hart
-Gary Hart? He's back? Still here? Heh-
heh-heh.
LETTERS,
UCAR isn't a coalition against racism
Needles are Necessary
NEW YORK STATE Saturday took
a significant step towards reversing
the spread of the AIDS epidemic by
allowing New York City health of-
ficials to distribute new needles to
intravenous drug users. Needles are
a prime pathway for the transmis-
sion of the virus; an estimated 50 to
60 percent of New York City's
200,000 intravenous drug users
have contracted the AIDS antibody
which is the precursor of the deadly
syndrome.
The plan, now only at the experi-
mental stage, will provide one to
five needles for several hundred
heroin addicts who consent to AIDS
prevention counseling and agree to
return used needles so that health
officials may determine whether the
addicts have shared the needles.
Health officials will assess the suc-
cess of the needle exchange within a
few months and at that time decide
whether to expand or discontinue
the program.
Officials are augmenting the nee-
dle distribution with increased
funding for existing drug
rehabilitation centers, and plan to
convert ten city buildings to treat-
ment centers.
The program will improve inade-
quate treatment as only 33,000 of
th rtr,'C 1 ui,--n. ii Ana . eiw nn
and pamphlets which explain how
careless sex and drug abuse facili-
tate the spread of AIDS.
Thee implementation of the plan
has encountered many barriers.
Traditional criticism came from
those who felt that free needles
would only spur drug abuse and
others who believed that abstention
from sex was the only "correct"
means to address the problem.
Fortunately, New York State
officials, realizing the immediacy of
the epidemic, have allowed moral
arguments to fall by the wayside in
favor of a scientific approach to the
disease. Dr. David Axelrod, the
state Health Commissioner who had
been opposed to the plan, finally
gave consent after his department
last month found that 1 out of every
61 babies born in the city last month
carried antibodies to the AIDS
virus.
While the AIDS epidemic has run
out of control for the last five years
in the United States, without any
concerted government effort to
tackle the issue, this is a significant
step in the right direction. The
problem must be addressed not by
rhetoric and morality, but by sci-
ence and spending.
The New Ynrk exneriment is the
To the Daily:
As a student, I was deeply
discouraged to learn that
UCAR was one of the spon-
sors of the anti-Israel protest
on January 11. I was discour-
aged because as a coalition
against racism, UCAR has not
lifted a finger to decry any anti-
Semitic racism on campus.
Most recently, the editorial
cartoon in the Daily depicting
an old, bearded man, in a long,
black coat, standing on top of a
cowering Palestinian's back,
holding a sign reading "Free
Soviet Jews," was completely
ignored by UCAR. The old,
bearded man in this drawing
was not a national Israeli sym-
bol, as is Uncle Sam for the
United States, but a symbol of
a religious Jew - the same
symbol used for a Jew in the
Middle Ages and in Nazi Ger-
many. The impact of this
drawing was the same for Jews,
if not worse, due to the
accusations implied by the car-
toon, as the cartoon of one year
ago, depicting a Black youth
holding two other youths at
gunpoint, stating, "Which
shall I choose, the Nike's, or
the leather jacket?" The latter
cartoon evoked numerous re-
sponses from UCAR and other
anti-racist, activist groups.
Moving back to the protest
of January 11, I was most up-
set to see UCAR members and
supporters partaking in these
activities. They applauded
when Israel was condemned for
its relations with South Africa.
I am disappointed at the igno-
rance of this barb. As it is well
known, Israel maintains rela-
tions with those countries in
which Jews live. The protec-
tion of World Jewry is the self-
proclaimed policy of Israel.
Over 100,000 Jews live in
South Africa, who cannot
leave, due to governmental re-
actually saying was, "Why
didn't the Jews remain in the
lands where they had almost
been annihilated?" or, "The
Jews should have stayed in the
countries of the Holocaust." I
sincerely hope that this state-
ment did not mean that the
Jews should have all stayed in
Europe, to be killed in the
Holocaust.
One further point on the
protest. It was publicized that
this protest was going to be
peaceful and non-disruptive,
and this was echoed in the edi-
torial, "Protest Israeli rights
abuse" (Daily, 1/11/88).
Nevertheless, this protest was
verging on violent, and it was
so disruptive that a speech
which was planned to take be-
tween 20 and 30 minutes, took
one hour. The speaker was
rudely interrupted by inflam-
matory remarks from hecklers
who chanted, "Long live the
PLO." This also illustrates the
nature of the protest, which
was not against Israeli
measures in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip, but it was solely
anti-Israel. As a member of the
audience who came to hear
Consul Brosch's speech, I was
intimidated and feared for my
well-being because of the vio-
lent nature of these protesters.
Finally, it has become ap-
parent to me, in the past few
weeks, that UCAR is not a
coalition against racism, as far
as the Jews are concerned. By
lending its support, both in
publications ant at the meeting
itself, UCAR has demonstrated
itself to be a part of the anti-
Semitic apparatus which exists
on the campus of the Univer-
sity of Michigan. If UCAR
calls for racial equality, it
should clean-up its own ac-.
tions, and act as an example for
the student body.
-Amy D. Goldstein
January 11
Critically examine leases before signing
To the Daily:
February is a month when
many students look for hous-
ing in Ann Arbor and en-
counter numerous problems
with landlords and complicated
leases. Wed. Feb. 3, students
will have a rare opportunity to
evaluate all the major landlords
in Ann Arbor at the Housing
Fair in the Pendelton Room of
the Michigan Union between
12 p.m. and 4 p.m.
The opportunity is especially
rare because the Ann Arbor
Tenants Union and Student
Legal Services will also be
there. All students are auto-
Trying to fit
To the Daily:
An open letter to Regent
Deane Baker:
I am a Regents' Fellow,
chosen by my department in
the name of the regents, in-
cluding you, to represent the
"highest academic standards of
the University." I am also an
intellectual, a bisexual Jewish
atheist, a person who supports
the use of peaceful protest to
matically members of the Ten-
ants Union and we encourage
people to use our services at
the housing fair and any other
time. Tenants Union staff-will
be available to give advice on
particular lease clauses, clean-
ing fees, landlords, repairs and
physical improvements,
weatherization of your home,
security deposits, and other
landlord-tenant problems.
Students should examine
th'eir leases carefully before
signing them and think criti-
cally before making any con-
cession to a landlord.
Remember, some landlords lie,
even in leases.
-Claudia Green
Maureen Fitzsimons
Tenants Union
members
January 26
CIA deleterious to climate
To the Daily:
Concerned faculty opposes
recruitment on campus by the
Central Intelligence Agency.
The record of the CIA shows a
continuing pattern of illegal
and abhorrent actions conducted
without the approval of demo-
cratic governmental institu-
tions. Moreover, the history of
the CIA shows an unbroken
record of opposition to self-de-
termination and the rights of
people of color throughout the
world. We believe that it is
deleterious to the moral climate
of the University to lend any
legitimacy to the CIA.
-Buzz Alexander
Elizabeth Anderson
Bunyan Bryant
Ann Marie Coleman
Donald Coleman
Audrey Gomon
Ann Larimore
Deborah Poole
Peter Railton
Alan Wald
Helen Weingarten
Tom Will
January 22
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