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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (March 13, 2008)
letters TO THE EDITOR wrong with appropriating that phrase. “The Whole World Is Watching” originated at the Chicago police riots of 1968 — it resurfaced after the National Guard riot at Kent State in 1970 and again at the WTO police riots in Seattle a few years back. In fact, the whole world watching the abuse of our human and civil rights probably curtailed some of the repressive violence. The UO had its head in the sand about Vietnam, and it looks like that’s become their default position. They should withdraw the ad. Paul Prensky Eugene CALLING US TRAITORS A recent study conducted by two independent journalism watchdog groups revealed that the Bush administration spoke 935 lies during the ramp-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Bush himself uttered 259 deliberate lies. For some of us at the time, this duplicity was as obvious as the naked emperor himself. Five years ago, I was part of a group of 15 or so who attempted to stop business as usual at the Federal Building in Eugene. It was a last-ditch effort to point out the lies, focus attention on what would be lost and persuade policymakers to call off the dogs of war. For our stand that day we were, at times, vilifi ed and threatened. A local school teacher entering the building speculated that we might be crazy and/or dangerous. An enraged visitor labeled me with expletives and expressed his desire to punch my face in. (The ever-professional Homeland Security offi cer on the scene quickly took him for a walk.) We were called traitors that day, but such “patriotic fervor” is no substitute for reasoned judgment. In this year of frenetic elections campaigning, all Americans would best serve their nation by refl ecting for a while on our collective propensity for gullibility. Why was it so easy to sell this madman’s scheme which has wrought so much death, misery, and loss of world respect? And why were the mainstream media so eager to help with the sales job? Top Nazi Hermann Goering had it fi gured when he observed, during his trial at Nuremberg: “Of course the people don’t want war. But after all, it’s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, a parliament or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifi sts for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.” When will we ever learn? Vip B. Short Eugene DOUBLE STANDARD Once again, the U.S. has fl aunted international law. In a precedent-setting move, the U.S. encouraged Kosovo Albanians to proclaim independence from Serbia and then recognized it in violation of U.N. Security Council’s resolution #1244. That resolution recognized Serbia’s claim to Kosovo and brought in international administrators to govern. This has become a familiar pattern used by the U.S. government: Support international law when it suits your interests but violate it when it doesn’t. In 1991, the U.S. justifi ed its attack on Iraq by claiming to uphold the U.N. charter, which states that borders cannot be changed by force without the consent of all parties involved. Then last week, after violating that principle in Kosovo, it supported Turkey in its move across an international border to attack Kurdish rebels fi ghting for independent Kurdistan. Why allow Albanians in Kosovo to secede from Serbia but not allow Kurdish independence from Turkey? Why can’t Serbs in Republica Srpska secede from Bosnia as Croatia did from Yugoslavia? Why ask the U.N. to uphold the rule of “international law” in the aftermath of the attack on the U.S. embassy in Belgrade but ignore the U.N. when you unilaterally invade Iraq or bomb Serbia? The answer is simple. Albanian Kosovars will allow the U.S. to keep a huge military base in Kosovo (Camp Bondsteel), and Serbs won’t. Croatia will allow U.S. warships to use its ports in the Adriatic while Yugoslavia wouldn’t. Turkey is our NATO ally while the Bosnian Serbs aren’t. So much for the “rule of law.” Pete Mandrapa Eugene ns in Eugene and Springfie o i t a c o ld 8 L Try something FROM the vegetarian menu! • Veggie Burrito • Wet Veggie Burrito • Tofu Burrito • Wet Tofu Burrito • Bean & Cheese Burrito • Wet Bean & Cheese Burrito • Chile Relleño • Chile Relleño Burrito • Chile Relleño Wet Burrito • Veggie Taco Salad • Cheese Enchilada • Cheese Quesadilla • Bean Tostada • Potato Taquitos • Potato Hard Taco • Bean and Cheese Taco • Veggie Tamalé *menu availability varies by location* ! 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While the presence of the Eugene police can be needed in violent crime and in traffi c related crisis, they can’t be expected to manage all aspects of crisis nor are they qualifi ed to. When it comes to distributing funds, it could be effective to strengthen the entire crisis network rather than lean too heavily on one specialized part. Kari Johnson Eugene WAL-MART SAVING TIME Thanks to the feds, we changed our clocks to Daylight Saving Time March 9 this year. They don’t go back ’til Nov 2. This means Standard Time is no longer “standard.” It’s barely four months. What’s the use? Some people like the “extra” daylight, but I say to them, “Wake up earlier.” Screwing with the clocks was considered a great idea by the retail lobby. Congress and the Senate bought it. The thought is that more people will want to run out and go shopping if there’s daylight. I don’t see the Pavlovian connection. Ugh. Thanks, D.C. While we’re at it, let’s change the name WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM Tickets 434-7000, 868 High St www.theshedd.org The Shedd Institute The Shedd Institute proudly presents Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán ht! Tonig Thursday 03.13 d es d e amente ¡Direct d de México! a la Ciud The Carl Woideck Jazz Heritage Project Thelonious Monk & Charles Mingus Fri, March 14 - Hult Center American Symphonia Now Hear this 07/08 Tuesday, March 18 Gabriela Montero Alasdair Fraser Natalie Haas Thursday, Mar 20 The Shedd Institute - 434-7000 EUGENE WEEKLY MARCH 13, 2008 5
