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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 1982)
opinion Bow to democracy Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin should bow to pressure and call for a full-scale investigation into Israel's role in the the Palestinian Refugee Camp massacres Last weeks naming of a court investigation without the power of subpoena is not enough to insure full inquiry President Reagan is long overdue in forcibly making the Israeli government stop conducting an offensive war with U S weaponry in Lebanon If the Israeli's do not leave Beirut by Wednesday, and if they continue to ignore Reagan's peacekeeping strategy for the West Bank, the United States should drop its long-held support of the Israeli government and give it to the anti-war demonstrators Begin should listen to the protests against his war in Beirut The protests are becoming the only demonstrations of democratic ideals in Israel Recent interviews with Defense Minister Ariel Sharon increasingly show that Israel approved of the entry of Phalangist troops into the Sabra and Chatilla camps Com mon sense, as well as the positioning of Israel troops in seven-story buildings overlooking the camps, admits that Israel knew of the massacre on Sept 15 long before the government announced it Sharon's statements that he let the Phalangist army into the camps to find the remaining PLO fighters because he did not want to risk his own men, and the further admission that he would only take action if the Israeli army had solid suspicions of a massacre (dead bodies) are the comments of a commander who has given up his responsibility These are the comments of a man who hires mercenar ies to do a job he wants done and lays back and protects his own troops They are not the statements of a military leader following orders to conduct a peace-keeping mission and eventual withdrawal. They are grounds, in this case, for a forcible resignation Begin has had every opportunity to placate the United States (quickly becoming his sole ally) and establish some precedents to make peace with his neighbors However, Begin would rather fight, it seems. Israel has re-established settlements on the West Bank, broken the Camp David agreement and conducted an all out offensive war in Lebanon The current Israeli regime is fond of telling Washington that they are not puppets and Tel Aviv is not Saigon even if the United States pumps in armor and continues to support it in the United Nations If Israel is not the closed militaristic government it appears to be, a forcible show of constitutional expression such as an independent judicial inquiry will happen If the Israelis are democratic in action then public outrage and concern for the betterment of the whole nation will eventually force Begin and Sharon out of office should the present policies of Israel continue Organize lobby Last Friday's ASUO and the Oregon Student Lobby conference on legislative tactics was deemed a success by participants and Emerald observers alike The day-long conference invited Oregon State Legisla tors, a professional lobbyist and vice-chancellors to share their insights on the upcoming legislative session and how to lobby for higher education Legislators such as Margie Hendriksen and Mary Bur rows vowed their support for higher education Hendriksen urged the students to strongly oppose Ballot Measure Three which would freeze the increase in property tax to 1 5 percent and hurt the already wounded education revenues Vice-chancellor Wil Post explained to the student lob byists the shift of power from the Ways and Means committee to the Revenue Committee in the last special session Post called for a focused student lobby for higher education, instead of various groups soliciting in behalf of their cause Professional lobbyist Ted Hughes concurred with Post's remarks and suggested strategies for lobbying, including doing homework on the background of the legislators to be lobbied The ASUO and OSL are to be commended for the timeliness, practicality and organization of the conference The Emerald finds this somewhat ironic because conference coordinator, Ann Portal, a former ASUO vice president, resigned last week citing a lack of organization in the ASUO as the primary reason The information was vital Let's hope the OSL. ASUO and other state system lobbyists use this information and organize to increase their pressure for support of higher education /' Hi letters Food stamps We are concerned with the recent proposal by the State of Oregon to become a demon stration project to "cash-out” food stamps The request to the U S Department of Agriculture would make it possible for the State to give cash to Aid to Dependent Children(ADC) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) families instead of food coupons The cash would be added to the grants However, the cash would not be equal to the amount of food coupons clients are currently receiving The State would develop a "magic" formula to attain an average allotment and would add that amount to grants received by ADC and SSI families We feel that this proposal would threaten the nutritional integrity of the Food Stamp program, mean the potential demise of the Food Stamp Pro gram and create additional economic problems for low in come people The Food Stamp Program s goal was to eliminate hunger in America and has proven to be one of the most successful and effective pro grams for low income people Strong support for the Food Stamp Program has come from large corporate farms, the grocery industry and unions all of whom realize that the Food Stamp Program helps keep the price of commodities up. guar anteeing farmers, unions and the grocery industry a profit margin Without the support of these groups, the Food Stamp Program may be lost to low in come people Some local grocery industry people feel that the Food Stamp "Cash-Out" proposal could re sult in a considerable reduction in their revenues from Food Stamp clients. In May, 1982, $15 million dollars worth of Food Coupons reached local grocery stores in Lane County The Lane County Client’s Council, a low income advocacy group, adamantly opposes the proposal A recent Food Stamp Cash-Out survey of 300 low in come people, showed that 188 people preferred to receive Food Coupons, 64 people wanted cash, and 41 people were undecided We feel that the Food Stamp "cash-out" project would threaten the nu tritional integrity of the program and could lead to its demise For more information, please call the Lane County Client's Council, at 342-5I67 C.Poorman Lane County Client's Council Pesticides Don't endanger your family, friends, neighbors, pets and wildlife by using poison sprays Pesticides kill, as the word implies pest (anything one has been conditioned to regard as such) plus cide (to kill) Among the sprays' targets are dandelion and clover, beneficial plants which fix minerals in the soil, making lawns green and healthy Many wild plants, par ticularly dandelions, have out standing nutrient and medicinal value as well. But the beautiful dandelion (look at it) is every where scorned and poisoned When people spray wild plants, their purchases enrich huge pesticide corporations while impoverishing our envir onment, depriving birds of safe food, grasses of wildflowers, children of natural beauty and safe places to play Pesticides are controlled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Dominated by industry from its conception, the EPA is now administered entire ly by former corporation attor neys and executives By permit ing chemicals whose "safety" data is obtained from the man ufacturers, the EPA is itself our greatest environmental hazard Pecficides may be absorbed through inhalation, ingestion, or the skin A National Cancer In stitute study of 100 pesticides found that 97 caused tumors Pesticides can also cause per manent mutations, resulting in birth defects in present and fu ture generations We are absorbing these poi sions The widely used preservative Penta which (before Reagan) was midway to a ban because of its birth deforming capability, has been found in over 90 percent of the population by a recent EPA study Other chlorinated phen ols, such as 2,4-D, were found in about 50 percent For documentation or infor mation on non-toxic alterna tives, contact: Barbara Kelley Save Our ecoSystems Oregon daily _ _ emerald The Oregon Daily f merald is published Monday thtOugh f'rday escept dining ixm wees sod viijIhmi by the Oregon Dally Emerald Publishing Co *1 the University bt Oregon Eugene OB 97403 The Emerald operates independently of the University with office* on the third fhtor 01 the Erb Memorial Union and is a member of the Associated Pres* Steers and Editorial Display Advertising and business III )ft) Classified Advertising IM-4M1 Production UM-41S1 Circulation SSS SMI tailor Managing Editor New* Editor Assistant New* Editor Editorial Page Editor Pnoto Editor Sports Editbi Associate Sports Editor Entertainment Editor Associate Editors Higher Education Departments and School* Student Government Featuies Politics Community General Stall Advertising Manager C lassrhed Advertising Production Manager Controller Harry Esteve John Mealy Marian Green Corl Fernaid Joan Nyland Bob Baker Mike Riplmgei Paul Danjer Jonathan Siegie Debbie Hewlett Sandy Johnstone Richard Burr Sean Meyers Michelle Matassa David Brown Darlene Gore Sally Oljar Victoria Koch Jean Ownby
