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Opinion
I eeicignUal
Page 6
Wednesday, June 16, 1982
The Michigan Daily
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The Michigan Daily
Vol. XCII, No. 30-S
Ninety-two Years of Editorial Freedom
Edited and managed by students
at the University of Michigan
Stay away from news
By D. B. Christy
Weak protection
SINCE ANNE GORSUCH took over as direc-
tor of the Environmental Protection Agen-
cy, the agency has come under heavy fire for
lax enforcement and attempts to weaken en-
vironmental laws. Now the administration has
decided to keep a close watch on the agency but
unfortunately for all the wrong reasons.
Instead of goading the EPA into stricter en-
forcement of laws and regulations, the ad-
ministration has been critical of the agency's
failure to persuade Congress to effectively
weaken such laws, among them the Clean Air
Act. The EPA has also been criticized for not
having "team players" that toe the ad-
ministration's line of reforming (perhaps gut-
ting would be a better word) environmental
laws.
The administration has been embarrassed by
the EPA's handling of certain issues, such as its
waffling on restrictions concerning lead in
gasoline. What Reagan officials fail to realize,
however, is that their own directives to leave
environmental protection to the whims of in-
dustries that is drawing criticism to the EPA.
From the start of his administration,
President Reagan underestimated American
sentiment for tough environmental laws as
much as he overestimated the destiny of the
American economy. Opinion polls have long
suggested that Americans do not want the
United States to weaken its commitment to
protecting the environment.
In ;light of this fact, the Reagan ad-
ministration should be forcing the EPA to
return to its original job of protecting the en-
vironment, as its name suggests.
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VER I .S 4 L- m$
A recent advertisement for
NBC News, the tops in Gee Whiz
Journalism, says, "You can't be
everywhere news is happening."
And a good thing, too, I say.
You can forgive ABC news prac-
tically anything - its over-
hearing trumpets and ket-
tledrums, its snazzy Star Wars
special effects, even Frank
Reynolds himself - but not
belaboring the obvious. Frankly,
Franky, I don't want to be
anywhere news is happening.
AFGHANISTAN, Iran,
Lebanon, and the Falkland Islan-
ds are just some of the places
where I won't be spending my
summer vacation. And it's not
just that they're war zones
(although that does tendrto limit
their appeal). But, even with
June surrenders and cease-fires
busting out all over this week,
these places are a travel agent's
nightmare:
"Let Armageddon Tours give
you the chance to really get away
from it all with our Long Hot
Summer Cruise of the Mideast
and South Atlantic.
"Afghanistan, with its soaring
perpendicular deserts and
towering vertical wastelands, is a
natural wonder to every
traveller. You'll just naturally
wonder why you came. Its
people, though colorful, are
strangely wary of foreigners.
Recommended attire:
snowshoes and gasmasks.
"NEXT, YOU'LL be cap-
tivated by Iran. World-renowned
Iranian hospitality is waiting to
take you in. Explore the barren,
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Afghanistan: Just one of the stops of Armageddon Tours that now
features modern radio equipment and yellow rain.
though uninhabitable Zagros
Mountains, the perfect place to
go between Iran and Iraq. Enjoy
the nightlife of scenic, historic
Khorramshahr, where you can
view the perfectly preserved
bomb craters, stroll among the
quaint rubble and, by the soft, en-
ticing glow of the refineries, fall
in love again.
"From there, beautiful
Lebanon, fabled Last Stop of the
Mediterranean, is just a mortor
lob away. Solomon's magnificent
ceders can still be found
barricading the road to Syria.
Lebanon's brittle rocks and
baking sands will give you that
tan you've always wanted,,
despite invigorating intermittent
showers of shells and rockets and
stuff. Thousands of visitors from
Palestine attest to its bracing
climate.
"Finally, our homeward
voyage will swing by the enchan-
ted Falklands, England's South
Seas paradise. Tropical blizzards
and balmy forty-mile-per-hour
breezes await you. When you're
finally hip-deep in sheep dip
shouting, 'No me meurta, por
favor,' you'll know you'll never
forget this Armageddon Tour.
But maybe someday you'll
forgive."
So tell Ted Koppel to. go get
some sleep. These aren't exactly
garden spots; nobody's going to
blow up the world overnight over
them. But when they storm
ashore at Delhi, let me know.
Christy is a senior in
LSA.
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LETTERS TO THE DAILY:
Lebanese students speak out
To the Daily:
A great deal of misinformation
has been spread by the news
media about the war in Lebanon.
We Lebanese students would like
to take this opportunity to set the.
record straight. In fact, the
Israeli's objective is not only the
liquidation of Palestinians, but
ultimately to carry out a major
transformation in the political
structure of Lebanon and above
all to destroy its territorial in-
tegrity.
The Israeli invasion, far from
resolving the Lebanese conflict,
will lead to further complications
of the crisis there and any
promise of peace in the area will
be lost.
The Israelis have rained death
and destruction on thousands of
civilians, including women,
children and the elderly. People
are uprooted from their homes
and are left without food, water
or medical care. The Israelis,
bent upon the humiliation of the
people, drove them out of their
homes to the beaches where they
watched their homes, schools,
and places of worship go up in
flames. The people in Lebanon
are not only battered by the
physical violence of Israeli fire
power, but are subjected to the
worst kind of psychological
terrorism.
The people of Lebanon do not
deserve to suffer because of
Israel's refusal to recognize and
negotiate a settlement with the
Palestinian people. The Lebanese
understand that Israel cannot
solve the Palestinian problem by
exterminating the Palestinians
any more than the "Jewish
probjem" was solved by
pogroms and gas chambers.
The Israeliscontinue to violate
the American Arms Export Con-
trol Act, to make the American
relations with the Arab world in-
creasingly suspect, and to
frustrate the goals of U.S. policy
in the Middle East.
As Lebanese students, we
protest against the brutal Israeli
invasion of out country and insist
on immediate withdrawal of
Israeli invasion forces. We also
call upon all conscientious
Americans to protest against this
invasion and call upon their
congressmen to pressure Israel
to stop the massacre of civilians
in Lebanon.
-Akran Al-Awar
Joe Sahyoni
Jtune1982aF,1,.
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