10. 1977
Liberian freighters
We see the world
through Black eyes
Try new system
The State Senate is considering Senate Bill 354,
which would authorize the state corrections division
to make grants to counties participating in o
community corrections program. The program would
provide community rehabilitation programs for
non-violent offenders with sentences of five years or
less.
The program would offer an alternative to the
already over-crowded penitentiory. Due to the
crowding at OSP, rehabilitation programs are almost
nil and the emphasis is on punishment. Locking a
man up, keeping him in degrading and often brutal
conditions, isolating him from family and friends,
and offering no counseling-or training programs,
cannot possibly contribute to his rehoabilitation.
Community programs would allow time and
facilities for rehabilitation programs. The services of
existing mental health'and health programs, com
munity colleges, etc. could be utilized. Perhaps most
important, valuable family and community ties could
be continued and strengthened.
Perhaps some of the inmates could come out of
this type program with a new understanding, a trode
and a chance to go straight. It has been pretty well
— J s s /M
by Y V O N N E B R A T H W A TTE B U R K E
determined that the best way to "reform" a person is
to give him a positive self-image and provide him
with a way to make an honest living.
The problem is not an easy one, buj something
must be tried. Too many valuable people spend their
lives penned up like cattle with no hope for a future.
Our current correction methods are failing; we must
look for something new.
Mace blame carefully
Throughout the entire world the persons who
commited the atrocities in Rhodesia - killing elderly
priests and nuns — are being condemned. The press
has pointed out that these murders will hurt the
cause of liberation, since the Rhodesian government
has claimed that they wre committed by Black
guerrillas.
The freedom movements claim that the massacre
was committed by government forces. It would not
be the first time a government in power had
committed acts of violence in order to discredit an
opponent.
The Rhbdesian government is in deep trouble and
needs something to turn public opinion its way. The
liberation movement should not be condemned for
this act until the facts ore known.
7Í5WÍÍ
Uitu
.......
Gas "shortage” brings profit
from the People's World
Cruel, cold-blooded and premeditated murder is
being committed in this country, an organized
violence directed at our people which has already
claimed almost 100 lives in the past few days. The
victims were felled not be bullets or knives or clubs,
but by a tiny cabal of flint-eyed manipulators who
have grasped control of warmth and light and turned
it into hard cash.
Make no mistake, there is no more substance to
the so-called "natural gas shortage" than there was
to the phoney "gas shortage" two years ago.
Trillions of feet of natural gas lie hidden in the
massive reserves of the huge oil monopolies, gas
that will be "discovered" as soon as President Jimmy
Carter signs his bill to decontrol the price of this
precious commodity. And like gasoline, once the
price controls are lifted, natural gas will bite even
more deeply into the diminishing purchasing power
and living standards of this nation's people.
The natural gas industry is a $20 million business, o
business that even the Carter Administration esti
mates will reap an extra $5 billion from consumers
during this non-existant "shortage". It is a business
that is willing to allow people to freeze to death, to
lay off 1.5 million workers, to close schools, libraries
and public services to make its point.
The formula is o successful one. Create an
emergency by withholding supplies, allow people to
starve, freeze or stand in lines, and then sit back
while Congress falls all over itself in a stampede to
pump greater ond greater profits into the coffers of
Exxon, Mobile, Transcontinental Natural Gas Co. and
El Paso Natural Gas Co.
As they were chipping the body of Margaret
Shorter out of five inches of ice in her New York
home, Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas was declaring
on the Senate floor that ony attempt to place a price
ceiling on natural gas would mean a filibuster "till
the flowers bloomed in the spring." Senator James
Abourezk's attempts to keep the price of natural gas
down and to reach into the massive surplus of fuel in
Texas for allocation to the hard-hit Midwest and
Northeast was brushed aside.
As long os the natural resources of this country
remain in the hands of private enterprise, protected
by their hirelings in Washington, there will be an
unending litany of Margaret Shorters, $167 gas bills,
shuttered schools and silent factories.
Private ownership and public interest in the field
of energy ore incompatible. The interests of the
natural gas owners are to make a profit, as much as
possible, while those of the public are to stay warm
and make a living. Something has to give, and the
interests of all must be served over the interests of a
few.
Democratic nationalization of the energy industry
is on the agenda for the people of this country. Not a
"nationalization" that keeps industry in power while
the people pay the cost, but a nationalization whose
control rests in the hands of the consumers, labor
unions and conservationists. Energy is far too serious
a business to left in the hands of those few who
make a profit by denying it to the many.
Babe Wilson
(Continued from p. 1 col. 3)
he might be try in g te force something
into my mouth." Wilson said he was
forced to the floor, his head struck
against the floor and his hands stepped
on. Then McDsde held a red balloon in
front of his face
Des Connell, attorney for Wilson, re
minded the ju ry that they had to judge
the word of the défendent against the
word of the police and corrections officer
and “they didn't get th eir story to
g e th e r” Telling them that public ser
vants are not always right, he reminded
them of “A ll the President's M en” and the
eighteen minutes.
“The government
almost fell because honorable men were
Notice
not honorable.. .Do policemen lie?
Does
the President lie? Does the Attorney
General of the United States h e r
Some element of doubt required the all
white ju ry of nine women and three men
to deliberate ten hours before reaching
their verdict.
Babe Wilson's friends and eo-workers
who still believe him to be innocent are
continuing fund raising for his Defense
Fund. “There are enormous costs invol
ved for the first trial and we are planning
for an appeal." a spokesman for the group
told the Observer. Those who are a b b to
contribute or assist are asked to call
283-2487, for information.
The M etropolitan Human Relations
Commission luncheon honoring A . L .
Henderson, publisher of the Obesrver,
«rill be held st the Sheraton Hotel, Lloyd
Center, February 22nnd at noon. Hen
derson «rill receive the Russ Peyton
A w ard for w ork in human rights. F o r
tickets or fu rth er information call the
Metropolitan Human Relations Commis
sion. 2434187.
"H e who has clear ideas can
com m and."
Goethe
were appalled recently
when the Sansinena, saiUcg under the
Liberian flag. exploded in the Long
Beach. CaUforala harbor.
Eight Uvea
w ere loot and the damage Ut the harbor
and the city ran into the milhons.
The public gets the impression that
•hips owned by L ib erian* are threatening
our porta. Thia is tru e in p art. T h e tiny
W est African republic of Liberia has the
world'* largest m erchant fleet. Most of
its 2.800 vessels are huge oil tan ker*.
Until now. few of ua knew how Liberia,
with a population just over one million,
has developed ita w orldw ide shipping
operation.
Like Panama. L ib eria is a flag-of
convenience country. O w n er* from all
over the world register th e ir ships in
Liberia to escape taxes, higher w age* for
crew * and eoetly safety standards. W hen
accidents cause death and disaster and
w e look for a cu lprit, tin y Liberia can be
considered only a shield, a shield of
convenience. Intoraetionnl buoineeoinen
are shielded from view and prosecution
by Liberia. Greek and U .S . interests own
SO to 36 percent each of the Liberian
fleet. Hong Kong interests own 10 to 15
percent. The rem ainder is owned by
countries the world over. F o r the guilty,
w e need to look only as fa r as N e w Y o rk
City w here th e Liberian shipping opera
tion is centered.
The Sanainena is owned by Barracuda
Tanker Co., formed by Peter Flannigan
and 38 other* associated w ith Dillon,
Read 4 Co., investment banker*.
In 1968 these prominent Americans
bought three ships: the ill-fated Sanain
ena: the T o rrey Canyon, which broke up
in 1987 in the biggest oil disaster in
British history; and the Lake Palourde,
the only one remaining in service.
Flannigan worked w ith
President
Nixon in the W h it* House beginning in
1909. H e oversaw among other thing*
the merchant marine development, for
eign trade and oil Im port policies.
Flannigan '• position is another example
of Nixon's lack of concern for conflict of
interest.
Though his influence was substantial, it
was not enough to bring Flannigan
confirmation as ambassador to Spain.
D uring his senate confirmation hearings
in 1970. the long, sordid history of the
Sanainena unfolded. Y e t the Sanainena
continued to sail -- as the people of Long
Beach «rill never forget.
I t is estim ated th at only 1’ 5 percent of
the value of waterborne exports and
imports o f the U nited S tate * are shipped
in veeeels under the U .S. flag. T h e higher
cost of transportation in ships of A m eri
can registry is the reason this percentage
is so small. O u r taxes are higher, our
wages are higher and our required safety
precautions cost more.
The costs of
American registration are estim ated to
be th ree tim es those of Liberian registra
tion.
O ur wages and safety standards are
high in the U n ited States. Commendable.
certainly! Except th a t w e allow ships of
foreign registry to use our harbors and
transport our materials while violating
our safety regulations and paying sub
standard wages to their foreign crews.
I t is little wonder shipowners register
in a country that doe* not regulate
wages. I t is possible to hire a G reek,
Italiiu) or Filipino crew for $180 per
month rather than Americans for $746
per month.
In addition, it is less
expensive to pay for cleaning occasional
oil spills than to bring ships up to safety
standards. A ll this adds to handsome
profits.
The strength and influence of oil
companies and other shipping owners
have in the past killed regulations to th eir
financial disadvantage even though the
regulations w ere sanctioned under public
law and are of obvious public good.
A very small newspaper article caught
my attention this week.
I t said th at the Coast Guard has been
ordered to inspect every tanker entering
American ports as a means of avoiding
accidents such as the Liberian tanker
Sanainena on December 17. I question
w hy the Coast Guard has not been
inspecting the ships all along. Congress
enacted safety regulations in 1972 in the
Ports and W aterw ays Safety Act which,
to a large degree, have remained unused.
M y inquiry into the forces behind oil
tankers in our ports has just begun. N o t
for a moment should we be turned aside
by the question of foreign registry. W e
must demand tru th fu l, full disclosure.
A nything less would be a disservice to
the people of this country.
Agency on Aging holds public hearings
A recent announcement by the A rea
Agency on Aging Planning and Advisory
Committee establishes the form at for this
year's public bearings on the A rsa
Agency on Aging Annual Action Plan of
service objectives and goals.
The hearings, to be held during the
months of February and M arch, are
designed to allow the greatest public
involvement in the processes of planning
fa r social service programs for the elderly
in Portland/M ultnom ah County.
The Planning and Advisory Comm ittee
hopes th at these hearings w ill provide
the public, particularly those individuals
having a special interest in the problems
and goals of the area's senior citizens, an
opportunity to respond to the directives
outlined in the Annual Plan of Services.
National priorities have established
low incomes, m inority, and socially isolat
ed elderly persons as having the greatest
need for services. The Annual Action
Plan as prepared by planning staff of the
Aging Services Divieon of the C ity
Human Resources Bureau in coordination
with the A rea Agency on Aging Planning
and Advisory Comm ittee addresses itself
to those needs. N u tritio n . Social Contact,
transportation, em ploym ent, homemaker
and shopping assistance services are
among the services detailed in the plan.
T he goal for Fiscal Y ear 1977/78
(July-June) is to strengthen the existing
system of services to sustain dignified
and independent living for the elderly
co m m u n ity o f P o rtla n d /M u ltn o m a h
County.
This plan, if adopted, w ill
provide for this fram ew ork a t services to
the Area's elderly population during the
year 1977/78.
Copies of the 186 page plan are
available to the public a t the A rea
IRS allows child care
P O R T L A N D . O R E G O N (IR S D istrict
Office) - Taxpayers who w ork or attend
school and pay someone to care for th eir
children or far disabled dependents can
take advantage o f a new child care credit
on th eir 1976 Federal income tax return,
according to Ralph B. Short, District
D irector far IR S in Oregon.
U nder the new law , eligible taxpayers
can claim aeredit of 20 percent of th eir
child care expenses, up to a maximum
credit of $400 for one child and 3800 for
tw o or more. Short pointed out th a t the
credit is subtracted directly for the tax
liability.
The credit can he taken by coupler
even if one or both spouses works only
Agency on Aging. 620 S.W . 5th. 3rd
Floor. A smaller. 5 page synopsis is
available at the eight A res Agency on
Aging Senior Service Centers located
throughout Multnomah County.
The Public Hearings «rill be held on the
following dates:
February 11th - Project A B L E Senior
Center, 7508 N . Hereford. Portland
February 18th - P A C T Senior Center.
3588 S.E. Division, Portland
February 25th - W estm inster P resbyter
ian Church, 1624 N .E . Hancock
March 4th - T rin ity Episcopal Church.
147 NJE. 19th. Portland
A ll meetings w ill be held from 1:00 to
4:00 p.m. F o r additional information, call
2434752.
uctions
part-tim e
But, in these
the
eligible expenses are lim ited to the
amflunt of earnings of the spouse earning
the sm aller amount, or in the case of a
single person, to his or her earnings.
Separated, divorced, or endowed parents
srith custody of children are also eligible,
according to Short.
The credit te ateo available to married
couples w here one spouse works fu ll
tim e and the other is • full-tim e student.
O ther features of the liberalised child
c u e law are th a t relatives srho are not
dependents can now be paid for child care
so long as Social Security taxes are
withheld from th eir pay: th ere is no
longer a distinction between child care
perform ed inside and outside the home;
and persons who use the standard deduc
tion can also claim th eir child care
expenses but must file a Form 1040.
Form erly, child care was treated as a
deduction ra th e r than a credit, th ere was
an income lim itation, full-tim e employ
ment was required, and payments to
relatives w ere not included as deductible
child care expense.
Additonal information on the child care
credit can be found in the tax instructions
th at came w ith the ta x package. Short
said. Taxpayers can also use the handy
order blank in the package to obtain a
free copy of 1RS Publication 508, “Child
Care and Disabled Dependent Care.”
speaking L atin nation; Belize is English
speaking and has developed completely
•p a rt from Spanish influence.
Most of the population here is Black,
though there are also Creoies, Caribe,
Arabs, descendants of indigenous tribes
and • host of other ethnic influences. The
main thoroughfare of Belize C ity is called
Queen S treet, reggae music spills from
the cafes and the residents speak a kind
of clipped English resembling Jamaican
dialect.
U N and elsewhere.
W ith unemployment around 20 percent
and a sluggish economy, Belise's largest
export is people. Diplomatic sources say
about 40,000 Belizeans live in N ew York
and Los Angeles, nearly all of them
illegally. T h a t is roughly equivalent to
the population of Belise C ity, w here
about one-third of the nation's residents
live.
Belize
(Continued from P .l Col.6)
Negotiations are continuing between
the three partiee-Belise, Guatemala and
B ritian -b u t positions have hardened so
mads over the years th a t real p rogreee
mums unlikely. Guatemala has insisted
she must receive st least some Belizean
te rrito ry as p ert of a settlem ent, and has
suggested a slice of land in southern
Belize;
But Beliae-which is smaller than N ew
Ham pehire-has reiterated her determin
aiion not to yield “one square centim eter”
of land. Recent indications th at there
may be oil in southern Belize have made
such • compromise even more unlikely.
Despite being neighbors. Guatemala
and Belize are almost totally different.
Guatemala, like Belise's northern
neighbor, Mexico and other nearby Cen
tra l American countries, is • Spanish
Belize, in fact, has more in common
«rith Jamaica and other W est Indian
island nations than any of her mainland
neighbors. She is • member of C A R I-
CO M , the Csrribean Common M arke t,
but not of any Central Am erican regional
organization. N ot surprisingly, Jamaica
has been her strongest advocate at the
The economy is largely agricultural,
though em igrants send home an estim a
ted $10 million annually, mostly from the
U .S. Only sugar brings in more foreign
exchange than that.
Stephen Kinser, a Boston based freelance
w rite r, reports from L atin Am erica for
Pacific New s Service, Boston Glebe and
Boston Pbeesfx.
1st
Portland O bserver
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E d ite r/PeM isber
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its Publisher's column (W e See The W orld Through Black Eyes).
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individual w riter or submitter and does not necessarily reflect
the opinion of the Portlead Observer.
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