Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 1998)
CONTACTING OS NEWSROOM ADORESS f54l( 346-5511 Onagofl Da*/Emerald E-MAIL P.0 80X3159 odp&yegon uoregon edu Eugene Oregon 974C3 ONLINE EDITION: *w* *oregon eOu'-ode BHHMMBMMR Perspectives EDITOR IN CHIEF Sarah Kickler EDITORIAL EDITOR Mike Schmierbach NIGHT EDITOR Mike Schmierbach The difficulties of schedulina an Iraa attack To plan a u ar. Clinton has to look at a calendar as well as at a map We can't have a war yet; we don't have a free day until at least mid-May. Believe it or not, the United States is dismantling the Execu tive Day Planner trying to find a good day to start round two of the war against Iraq. Dates and agendas for starting attacks have been tossed around like a hand grenade since before Christ mas. Without looking at the calendar of world events, however, more than a cruise missile is likely to explode. Despite unrest in many countries, our world has turned into a much more closely knit place, particu Jonas Allen larly in the last few years. As the world has gotten smaller, each country has be come more aware of the cul tural differences between na tions. One of the most prominent differences is re ligion. Studying these differences in faith makes us better world citi zens, but it also takes away from our freedom to do battle. This is arguably a good change, but nonetheless a very confusing one. Because of this global familiarity, the need to plan a date for “re spectfully” starting a war has gone from improbable to impera tive, particularly in American de bates of attacking Iraq. Years ago, wars were wars; they were simple but brutal bat tles between two basic sides. Governments did not concern themselves with the religious implications of starting a war, nor were they concerned about hurting cultural relations with international allies. Take, for example, a planned attack on San Francisco during World War n. The attack was to be on Christmas Eve but never happened because Japanese offi cials didn’t want to injure Japan ese-Americans in the area. There was no debate over whether to at tack on a Christian holy day. More recently, the first war against Iraq started near a reli gious celebration. Forces in Oper ation Desert Storm began their bombing missions within days of the Muslim holy month of Ra madan. one of the big “no-no's" of the current plan of attack and a major reason the Clinton adminis tration has not yet declared war. How far we’ve come in a few short years. At least that’s one way to look at it, if respect for reli gious celebrations is a barometer of international closeness. Wars are no longer just coun try versus country — they are culture against culture. As the world gets smaller and cultural borders disappear, beliefs can mingle from nation to nation. By starting hostilities, the United States will no longer declare war on Iraq; it will risk person ally attacking every area with cultural and religious ties to Kuwait’s northern neighbor. Several Middle Eastern coun tries have voiced opposition to American attacks on Iraq. Saudi Arabia, a strong American ally during Desert Storm, has vowed to prohibit American warplanes from landing at Saudi airfields. Other Islamic nations oppose a war in the near future as Muslims observe their hajj, an annual pil grimage to the holy cities of Mec ca and Medina. Even countries as far away as Japan have asked that hostilities hold off, at least until the end of the Nagano Olympics. Accord ing to The Associated Press, the International Olympic Com mittee agrees, which means to avoid the wrath of yet 'V another international Winter Games come to 5?^ an end. Aside from international con cerns, several Catholic and Protestant groups in America have voiced strong opposition to attacking Iraq. Even Clinton’s own schedule, filled with trips to the First School (Stanford) and Africa, seems to conflict with an imminent war. With the presidential planner chock full of engagements and the intercontinental calendar crammed with religious holidays, the potential date to respectfully start an offensive is mid- to late summer. But this is not a case where it’s better late than never. American forces must carefully choose their dates for air strikes. Russia claims an imprudent move or ill-timed attack on Iraq may cause a third world war. If Clinton’s schedule of world events is ignored, that may just well be the case. Jonas Allen is a columnistfor the Emerald. His work appears on al ternate Fridays. His views do not necessarily represent those of the newspaper body, Clinton must wait two weeks until the LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Evaluations help registration Course registration time is coming up. Be ing a new student on campus, I am not fa miliar with the courses or instructors here. My first term, I registered solely by my re quirements, not considering any other is sues. Luckily, my courses turned out all right, and I had good instructors for the win ter term. Not that there are bad instructors necessarily, but it would be nice to have an idea how well the instructors have been rat ed in their courses in the past, as well as the quality of the courses themselves. In the middle of this term I discovered the ASUO's "Professor/Course Evalua tion" books. They have great information in them, and the revised edition for the spring will have extra things as well. The book is easier to read, gives more informa tion and is better organized. I know I will make sure to use it before I select my class es this spring. There is no need to guess about the classes when I can make an edu cated selection. The ASUO “Professor/Course Evalua tion” books will be available beginning on Feb. 15 at the bookstore, and, best of all, they are free. Ractielle Ptvao Sociology Pesticide awareness key Amidst symptoms of decay in our soci ety largely due to investor-owned corpo rate domination, there is one which trou bles me the most. Between the insidious destruction of community solidarity, the increasing isolation of individuals, the so cial-economic stratification, the homoge nizing (and near eradication) of diverse culture and perspective that defines our sterile, uniform American mainstream, the conglomeration of commerce into the one world corporation stunting small, family owned businesses, not to mention the des ecration of the natural ecosystem that sup ports us all, the disarming of public freedom appalls me. All forms of oppression seek to disable our basic human need: the freedom to cre ate and chose the way we live. Without our rights, you and 1 can do nothing to change the rules we must live by and we are but slaves to the system. In this age of environmental healing, of crucial importance to our survival, aware ness is fundamental to social change. Out side “national security,” the need of which can be argued, we have the right to know about everything that affects us. OSPIRG’s statewide Pesticides Right to Know campaign is aimed directly at re claiming this public right. A few facts from OSPLRG and the Northwest Coalition Against Pesticides: Did you know that only 98 percent of pesticides reach their targets? The rest go on to kill other life. For hu mans, this can mean neural damage, repro ductive disorders, cancer and other nega tive effects. In the Willamette River, the U.S. Geological Survey found Atrazine, one of thousands of pesticides, in 90 per cent of the samples taken. Only 6 percent of the hazardous waste produced in the United States is regulated by law. Back wardly, the Environmental Protection Agency first determines the chemicals that cause serious health effects before they can ban them instead of proving their safety before allowing their use. The EPA is far behind reviewing chemicals currently used, not to mention the newly synthe sized. Many good alternatives exist. My point is, we don't have the crucial right to know who is responsible for the toxins that affect us. Empower yourself and become aware. Demand your right to know. OSPIRG’s campaign on campus this week is a good opportunity to do both. Please use it. Austin Moon Undeclared Chess competition offered I write this letter to the Emerald and all its readers to inform you about an excit ing event that's taking place this Satur day. Feb. 21 in Gerlinger 220. I speak of a Chess Championship that is a brand new event on campus, an oc casion that has the opportunity to be come a tradition at the University. How ever. it needs support here in its ground-breaking year. The tournament itself is sponsored by Delta Sigma Phi. which is donating all proceeds from the $15 registration fee to the March of Dimes. Five rounds of com petition determine the UO Chess Cham pion, and since it is a philanthropy event, we’re only able to offer trophies to the top three finishers. Students of all skill levels are welcome to participate, since there will bo upper and lower divi sions, and women are especially encour aged to enter. II you’re interested or have any friends that play, registration forms are available in the Greek Life Office, EMU Suite 7, or you can e-mail me at dhall@gladstone.uoregon.edu, and I’ll arrange to get one to you personally. David Hall Delta Sigma Phi
