2 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 14, 1994 CUBA Continued from page 1 Marx Theater- shelves were packed as customers chose from foreign prod- ucts including Coca-Cola, Gerber's baby food and other American-made goods smuggled here in violation of a U.S. economic embargo. But the prices after government markups are prohibitive for the vast majority of Cubans, whose salaries average slightly more than $2 per month, at the street exchange rate for dollars. A 16-ounce can of Hormel corned beef, for example, costs $4.20. A six-pound bag of rice carries a $9 price tag. A box of 10 scouring pads sells for $3.85. "The fact is that in 1994 the cur- rency of Cuba is the American dollar. The Cuban peso is dead," said a West- ern diplomat. "It's not even worth the paper it's printed on." At Supermarket 7016, the father of a 3-year-old boy cradled two fro- zen chickens at a packed checkout line where a modern laser bar-code reader tallied his purchase. "I can't do anything with pesos. Everyone hustles on the street to get dollars, then you come here to buy what you need," said the man. He added that he would have to spend six months' salary to purchase the chickens with pesos. Instead, he earns 10 to 20 times the value of his salary selling Cuban cigars, rum and bootleg gasoline in his spare time to tourists for dollars along Havana's seafront Malecon boulevard. The chef buys ingredients from clandestine vendors, who smuggle goods through the streets in car trunks. Possession of meat or seafood obtained without a stamped govern- ment ration coupon is illegal, carry- ing the equivalent punishment of co- caine possession in the United States. Police can be seen searching vehicles near resorts in hopes of uncovering smuggling networks. Police are aided by neighborhood watch groups known as Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, whose main function these days is to catch black-market dealers. Since the Castro-led 1959 revolu- tion, "Cuba has gone from the being the eighth most-prosperous country in the world in per capita,income to one of the world's poorest. Today, Havana is the 17th most-expensive city in the world," said a diplomat from a former Soviet Bloc country. "We used to have a saying that socialism was the dictatorship of the proletariat," he added. U U k r 1 UAC's SOUNDSTAGE welcomes with SB4 Recording ist k MILLW PRIME SEATS HELD FOR UM STUDEM3 ' FRIDAY 8PM Hill Aud itori ur An Office of Major Events/ Division of U of M Student Affairs presentation. Tickets available at the Michigan Union Ticket Office and all - locations. To charge by phone(313)763-TKTS or(810)6454666 WILHELM Continued from page 3 something done that is good for people; that is my ethic in politics. I think, in the end, you get political credit for doing things that make a positive difference in people's lives. Look at the difference in the Re- publican approach and the Democratic approach on health care. (Republican Senator) Bob Dole would provide a little assistance to poor people, and pay for it through cuts in Medicare. When the Republican alternative is fully understood, we win. Q: Have Democrats allowed Re- publicans to take the offensive on the 'family values issue'? A: When it comes to family val- ues, who's against that? It's like the flag in the 1980s. Somehow theDemo- crats got on the defensive when it came to the flag. We can not allow that to happen when it comes to God and family, nor should we. It's very important that we very aggressively assert how we are promoting the fam- ily, and how faith informs what we do. There's no reason to leave that to Republicans on their own. We sure should not allow the Re- publicans to be the party of God and family when it's the Democrats who passed Family Medical Leave, the expansion of the earned income tax credit, who are fighting for health care reform. Q: One of the themes of your speech was the involvement of young voters, how that's an important de- mographic for the Democrats. How deeply involved are young people in Democratic politics in Washington? A: I think pretty deeply involved. You look at presidential campaigns, and they are staffed by and large by younger people who are at a stage in their life where they can make the commitment to working seven days a week, 18 hours a day. I think this is a party that's always been very open to significant partici- pation to young people, and I hope it will always be that way. I really meant what I said: People who are agents for change can only succeed when there is a constituency for change. Q: What do you expect to be doing on the second Wednesday of Novem- ber (the day after the mid-term elec- tions)? A: My wife's going to have our baby on Nov. 27. It's a boy, and we got the official blessing on Sunday. I asked the minister to bless the name Luke, and he said 'That'll be fine.' So now we know what the name is. We're ready for the next chapter in our lives. I don't know exactly what we're going to do. We're going to go back to Chicago, I'm certainly going to stay active in politics and MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily David Wilhelm, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, speaks to more than 75 students at the Michigan League Ballroom last night. He emphasized the need for students to become more involved in politics. public service or community service. I'll figure it out. Q: Have you had any job offers9 A: Oh, yeah. Q: You've got plenty of years ahead of you; would you ever con- sider running for office? A: Yeah, there's a chance. Q: Do you have your eye on any seat in particular? A: No. My major concern is, can we sell ourhousein Washington, D.C., and buy one in Chicago in time form wife to have the baby in Chicago?4 Q: Do you see people on both sides of the aisle with less lofty ideals than that where public office is con- cerned? A: I don't know. People have dif- ferent motivations. I'm not a babe in the woods, and I'm not naive. Politics is also a tough sport, and can be... sometimes really good politics is smash-mouth politics. It's abo strong debate, it's about really enga- ing issues. I think all in all, the people that get into politics are a better group of people than they are generally given credit for. Q: Do you know who is being considered to replace you as DNC chair? A: We're focused on mid-term elections. There may be some spec lation, but there won't be any acti# until following the mid-term elec- tions. We will have a winter DNC meeting in mid-January, at which time the next chair will be selected. Q: What will the Senate look like in terms of representation after the election? A: Well, the average mid-term loss is 22 members of the House- for the party in control of the White Hous - and three or four U. S. Senators. think we can do a little bit better than that. It's going to be a difficult chal- lenge, given the anti-incumbency movements out there. But I think strong campaigns that engage the de- bate will do well. Q: What factor does the radical right play in American politics today, and it an appropriate factor? A: The radical right's playing a9 evermore critical role in the Republi- can Party. I think they've taken over 14 or 15 state Republican parties at this point. But, that, in and of itself, is the nature of our system. That's OK. As an old precinct captain in Chicago, my hat's off to them. They are good political organizers. Now, having said that, they love to call the Democrats religious bi ots, which I find extraordinarily o - fensive. There has to be room in our society for people of goodwill and strong faith to disagree. There are millions of people who are Christians and who are Democrats, and whose faith informs what they do every day. p. PILOT Continued from page L On Sunday, Corder kept disap- pearing into his efficiency unit. When he came out, his eyes were bright and glassy, Jianniney said. A sweet, acrid smell came from his gray sweat pants and blue tank top. She was sure he was hitting the pipe again. Crack made him more talkative, she said, and he began describing the joys of flying. He could not believe she had never been in a plane and begged her to try it just once. "He said, 'Oh you'd love it,"' Jianniney recalled, saying Corder had told her he owned a Piper Cub." 'You really wouldn't want to go up?"' She declined his offer, and de- cided to hitch a ride to a nearby restaurant.He asked whether she'dt back that night. She said she would try. A few hours later, Corder stole a single-engine Cessna from nearby Harford County Airpark and crashed it on the White House grounds early Monday. An autopsy showed he had a blood alcohol level of .045, slightly above the legal limit of .04 for pilots, and trace amounts of cocaine, accor ing to the Secret Service. Federal rule prohibit drinking alcohol within 12 hours of flying a plane. "Idon'thardly think thathe wanted to hurt the president," Jianniney said. "If you was down there with him that evening, you'd never have known he had anything like this in mind." w-~: e b ' a No kidding. More and more stu- dents are telling us how much they enjoy math after they start using Mathematica. Whether you're in engineeri computer science, physics, econom or any other technical major, y know how critical your knowledge math is to your future. Now stude 35 nO nr I cT N to help you quickly through the basics of the program and beyond. It shows you how to The Essential Tool for Math and Science Learning use Mathematica to solve equa- ng, Students use Mathematica to tions, make spectacular 2D and 3D ics, understand topics better and finish plots and graphs, and write reports ou homework faster. Mathemat- vo S that will impress even your of ica speeds you through p. ""toughest professors. nts tedious calculations, Students every- rld and is a great tool "p where approach math ing for making sure your with a whole new atti- 'at- answers are accurate. tude when they use in- It's ideal for any R * Mathematica. Check it lly course where the lN Al aeat out today at your local . . . . NO Ne8 c - a_-- The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fal and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $90. 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GRAPHICS: Jonathan Berndt (Edhtor), Andrew Taylor, Julie Tsai. EDITORIAL Si GsitbRbtw*, Wioe ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Julie Becker, PatrickJavid. STAFF: Eugene BowenJed Friedman, Jeff KeatingJim Laesr,Jeeon LichUein ,Weter PeikelAllisonStens, Jean Twenge. SPORTS Cadi A. Safrat, Mkg iter EDITORS; Rachel Bachman, Brett Forrest, Antoine Pitts. Michael Rosenberg. STAFF: Bob Abramson, Paul Serger. Scott Burton, Ryan Cuskaden, Marc Diller, Jennfe Duberstain, Darren EversonRavi Gopal. Josh Kaplan. Josh Karp. Dan McKenzie, Rebecca Moat:. Melanie Schuman, Tom Seeley, Brian Skier, Tim Smith, Bare Sollenberger, Doug Stevens, Ryan White, Heather Windt. ARTS Morl n Use. Uuuwiso, Nfe oielo ite rs EDITORS: Matt Carison (Fine Arts). Jason Carroll (Thater) Kirk Miller Books), HeatePhsee (Musk). John R. Ryboek (Weekend etc.). Alexandra Twin (Film), Ted Watts (Weekend. etc.). STAFF: Jordan Atlas. Nicole Baker, Met Carlson, Thomas Crowley, Andy Dolan, Ben Ewy. Johanna Flies. Josh Herngton, Kristen Knudsen. Karen Lee, Gianluca Montafti, Heather Pharos, Scott Plenhoef, Momi Rant, Dirk Schulze, Liz Shaw, Sesh Stewart. *5NaI*t i,, S, uvdMn t1 }ef1 ai}}{ff}Sai a{1 IUCM ll0"U~a1. around thewo are discover -- that Mathemi ica makes lea ing math rea PHOTO STAF: Markr Friadman ,nulsan Kantr. Jonathan Lurie. Molly Stevens. Evm Ple, 'it.,m I II is