Pag« 2 Portland Obaarvar Thursday. April 19. 1979
South Africa accuses the
U.S. of spying
EDITORIAL/OPINION
by N. Fungai Kumbuta
Protect urban environment, too
This is Earth Week. Eyes are turned to the
rugged mountains, the deep forests, the fertile
valleys, the rugged coast as we rejoice in the
great beauty of our state. Earth Week — and
concern for the environment — are considered by
many to be the sole perogative of the outdoors-
man — the hunter, fisherman, hiker or mountain-
climber. Many city people — and especially mi
norities who are burdened with many other
severe problems — do not take time to think
about environmental issues.
This is a grave mistake. According to Barbara
Blum, Deputy Director of the Environmental Pro
tection Agency, "Inner-city people — white,
yellow, brown and Black — suffer to an alarming
degree from what are euphemistically known as
disease of adaption. These are not healthy adap
tions, but diseases and chronic conditions result
ing from living with bad air, polluted water, ex
cessive noise, and continual stress. Hyperten
sion, heart disease, chronic bronchitis, emphy
sema, sight and hearing impairments, cancer and
congenital anomalies are all roughly fifty percent
higher than the level for suburbanites.
Behavioral, neurological and mental disorder are
about double."
Suburbanites have triple the income and con
sume four times as much energy as inner-city
dwellers, but they are exposed to less than half
the environmental health hazards. City dwellers
are neighbors to the plants and factories that
pollute the water and the air. They are surround
ed by and interspersed with freeways, which
belch forth carbon monoxide and noise. The
older homes and public buildings bring danger of
lead poisoning and asbestos caused lung disease.
Two-thirds of the rat bites are suffered by ten
percent of the people.
Clearly environmental protection and land use
planning are important to minorities and to the
poor. The dangers of nuclear or microwave
radiation are as great; the tampering with our
water supply as dangerous; the siting of freeways
as significant; the encroachment of industry as
devastating; the pollution of the air as debilitating
to minorities as to the white middle class.
M inority people need to remember Earth
Week, to join in the protests of nuclear power
plants, to be involved in designing the Compre
hensive Plan, and to demand representation on
those boards and committees that determine
what will be built and where — the boards and
committees that determine how much pollution is
warranted and how much suffering is "justified."
Another Point o f View
The pretender to the South
African, make that A Z A N IA N , pre
miership, on* Pieter W. Botha went
on South African nationul television
this past week to blast the U.S. for
spying against South A fric a . He
claims that the plane assigned to
U.S. ambassador W illiam P. Ed
monson had been used to take aerial
photos o f "some of the most sensi
tive areas o f South A frica,” a clear
reference to some o f the apartheid
regime’s nuclear facilities.
Botha was so mad he summoned
Edmonson to tell him he was expell
ing the five embassy personnel he
was accusing o f spying. They were
given a week to gel out o f South
A fric a . Insisting he expected an
apology from President Carter, he
said “ this was the kind of thing we
would have expected from the Soviet
Union but not from the U.S.” That
one statement should confirm to all
what the U.S. has always denied;
that South Africa sees the U.S. more
as an ally than an adversary.
A statement issued by the U.S.
State Department denied the spying
charges and Carter said an apology
would not be forthcoming because
none was warranted. In retaliation, the
U.S. expelled two South A frican
military attaches who were stationed
in Washington D.C. Considering
there o ffic ia lly is no m ilita ry
Don't get sick; You can't afford to
Failure by the Congress to pass the Carter Ad
ministration's hospital containment legislation
would be another cruel blow for minority, poor,
aged, uninsured and unemployed persons.
Minorities, on average, are least likely to be in
sured against spiraling hospital costs. They are
more likely to have low incomes. And they are
twice as likely to be unemployed. That makes
them especially vulnerable to increases in the
cost of health care.
And these costs are going up. Based on recent
data from a sample of American Hospital
Association hospitals, we know that in 1978 infla
tion-fueling hospital costs jumped 12.8%. In
comparison, energy costs climbed 8%, food
11.8% and the Consumer Price Index 9%.
The realistic, flexible 9.7% cap on hospital
cost increases proposed by President Carter
would save the nation nearly $53.4 billion be
tween 1980 and 1984. Of the savings, $21.8 billion
would be in Federal taxes and $5.9 billion in state
and local taxes.
The savings would include $5 billion in lower
health insurance premiums for workers. Em
ployers would spend $15 billion less for hospital
coverage — savings that could be passed on to
workers in the form of higher take-home pay.
LUTHER
speculation but, i t ’ s not as fa r
fetched as it might appear. It is a
definite possibility. This diplomatic
boo boo, coupled with ’ Muldergate'
should provide all anti apartheid ac
tivists with a lot o f new ammuni
tion.
A State Department official ad
vances the theory that, by playing up
this ‘spying’ incident, Botha may be
trying to divert attention from ‘ M ul
dergate’ which still threatens to en
gulf both him and his predecessor,
Johannes Vorster. The official says
that the State Department is disap
pointed that South A fric a has
decided to field these charges at a
time when they are also negotiating
Namibia’s independence.
The first theory sounds plausible
enough but the second sentiment is a
little weak. South Africa has never
really intended for Namibia to go
free. Consequently, if she had not
seized on this incident as a way out
o f the negotiations, chances are she
would have found some other way of
stalling.
As we go to press, there has not
been any more news on the matter
but, since this is the first such diplo
matic mess between Washington and
Pretoria, there definitely will be a lot
more fa llo u t from this incident.
Meantime, we can all get to work
fanning the flames.
Energy and Equality
by Bayard Busan
fro m the A tlanta Enquirer
cooperation between South Africa
and the U .S., one wonders what
these militr.ry attaches were doing —
window shopping maybe? Apparent
ly. what we see is usually no more
than the tip o f the iceberg.
Whether the U.S. spied on South
Africa or not is o f very little impor
tance to most o f us. What is o f im
portance, though, is that this puts a
chill in U.S. — South African rela
tions. And that chill can be used to
our benefit. Anti-apartheid groups
around the country can seize on this
godsend which arrives right on the
heels o f ‘ Muldergate’ ! Since the in
terests o f apartheid and the interests
ol all freedom loving people are in
versely proportional, a diplomatic
setback o f this nature would repre
sent a major victory for us.
Who knows? I f enough pressure is
brought to bear, maybe even the
U.S. embassy in Pretoria (South
A frica’s capital) could be compelled
to close. I f this happens, that could
exert a lot o f pressure on all those
U.S. corporations to withdraw from
South Africa. I f they withdraw, that
would force the South African elec
torate to either abandon apartheid
and bring all people into the main
stream o f South African life or face
economic ru in . It w ould be a
question o f SURVIVAL.
This may sound like so much
My grandmother once had a friend
who dreaded the prospect o f visiting
the doctor. As she saw things, doc
tors did nothing more than cause
Also, the average cost of a hospital stay would pain, and overcharge poor people for
be $500 less, and the deductible a Medicare pa unnecessary medicines, needles, and
tient must pay for the first day of hospital care additional visits. This poor woman,
however, suffered from high blood
would be $44 less.
pressure, and she did in fact need
Safeguards in the legislation exempt wage in
regular medical treatment. Thus,
creases for non-supervisory hospital workers every two weeks we went through the
from the guidelines. They also prevent hospitals same ritual, assuring her that she was
from improperly shifting poor patients to munici indeed ill, and that the doctor would
pal or other hospitals.
do everything possible to avoid
causing pain or discomfort.
Nine states w ith mandated controls have
By using common sense, and by
proved hospital increases can be slashed. demonstrating some concern and
Average increases in these states were 9.9% in human sensitivity, my grandmother
1978 compared with 12.8% in all states. One- helped keep her old friend alive to
third of the nation's 6,000 community hospitals the ripe old age o f 87. Without the
gentle persuasion o f my grand
proved in 1977 that cost increases can be held to mother, the old lady would never
9.7% or below without affecting the quality of have gone to the doctor and, in all
health care for patients.
probability, she would have died o f a
stroke, years before her time.
The hospital industry insists on being left free
This little story came to mind as I
to voluntarily cut its cost increases to an accept re-read President Carter’ s speech on
able level. Congress bought this self-serving the energy crisis. The American peo
argument last year. The 12.8% cost increase in ple, it seems to me, resemble my
grandmother’s old friend. Like her,
1978 proves it won't work.
they have very serious doubts about
Polls consistently show taxpayers want relief in the existence o f a disease, in this case
this area. They have a direct interest in how the “ energy crisis.” And, like her
Congress responds to the President's proposed again, they fear the pain and cost o f
legislation.
Dr. Carter’ s treatment, specifically
In the meantime, 'Pop, don’t get sick'; you his proposal to eliminate price con
trols on domestically-produced oil.
can't afford to.
While President Carter insists that
“ the energy crisis is real, (and) time
is running out,” few poor people and
middle-income workers believe in the
“ energy disease.” Last year, for in
By Brumsic Brandon. Jr.
stance. a CBS/M- k York Times poll
found that only 32% of people earn
ing less than $8,000 thought that the
energy crisis was real. At the same
time, 53% agreed that “ we are just
being told there are shortages so oil
an gas companies can charge higher
prices.” The poll uncovered the same
sort o f skeptism among all income
groups, except the very highest.
As I see it, this widespread skep
ticism about the “ energy crisis,” a
skepticism which immediately con
demns any national energy plan to
almost certain failure, springs from a
pervasive and healthy sense o f out
rage about the inequities and
outright injustices that have charac
terized every national energy plan
from Nixon to Ford to Carter. In all
fairness, o f course. President Car
ter’s proposed excess profits tax is an
attempt at providing some sense o f
equity to his energy policy. But
strong corporate opposition to the
tax, as well as Carter’ s own half
hearted support fo r the measure
make the attack on excess profits lit
tle more than a symbolic gesture.
By relying almost exclusively on
price decontrol, the exact strategy so
vigorously supported by the oil and
gas corporations, President Carter’s
energy program further aggravates
the sense o f distrust and disbelief
among poor and w orking people
because they, and they alone, bear
the heaviest and most unjust burden
in the effort to conserve energy and
to achieve independence from the
whims o f the OPEC nations. More
over, my charge of unfairness is not
careless rhetoric, it is supported by
hard, cold facts. Consider these
points; according to one recent
study, the average low -incom e
household spends more than 20*7# o f
its gross — before taxes — income
on gasoline and home energy bills.
To make matters worse, the same
study showed that poor people pay
significantly higher rates for energy
than do families with much higher
incomes. A ll this, o f course, means
that poor people w ill once again be
forced to cutback their other expenses,
expenses for food, housing and the
basic necessities o f life. And this will
occur w hile som ething like $32
billion is transferred from consumers
to oil companies during the next 28
m onths. Conservatives who so
mournfully complain about “ redis-
trib u tio n is t tendencies” in our
society will, I hope, take note.
Aside from the important issue o f
“ energy justice” , we must also take
a careful look at the workability and
effectiveness o f various proposals,
especially those favored by the oil
and gas industries. Oil decontrol ser
ves as a perfect example. While in
dustry spokesman, joined now by o f
ficials from the U.S. Department of
Energy, claim that decontrol will re
sult in sizable increases in oil produc
tion, numerous studies contradict
such forecasts. Charles Curtis, chair
man o f the Federal E nergj
Regulatory Com m ission, cited a
study that indicates that the higher
price tag on gasoline resulting from
decontrol will guarantee virtually no
increase in domestic oil production
during 1979. And another study by
the Department o f Energy on the de
regulation o f natural gas showed that
a 50% price rise w ill cause only a 6%
increase in production. In light o f
these facts, then, it seems senseless to
have much hope in decontrol as a
solution to the energy problem.
W hat can be done about this
steadily worsening situation? As a
start, I suggest that President Carter
follow my grandmother’ s example
by firm ly convincing the nation that
the energy crisis is indeed a real
disease, not some contrived fantasy.
But how can skeptical, cynical
people be persuaded that a crisis
exists? In my view, there is only one
truly effective means o f persuasion,
and that is the development o f a
national energy program charac
terized by justice, compassion for the
poor, equal sacrifice, and a strong
air tight lid on windfall profits. Until
we devise an energy policy widely
perceived as fair, one o f our most
serious national diseases will go un
treated because the patient is
frightened and wary o f the unscrup
ulous medicine man.
Adair joins Emanuel staff
Is t Place
C o m m u n ity Service
O N P A 1973
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(Continued from Page I Column 2)
Emanuel.
What are your objectives at the
hospital? “ First. I’d like to enhance
the opportunities for women and the
handicapped individuals. I wasn’ t
able to do much at Georgia-Pacific
because o f certain barriers,” he said.
Are there barriers at Emanuel? “ 1
think the same barriers exist, but the
management here is more open to
change, and they are always looking
for a way to make their system more
e ffic ie n t,” he added. “ Besides,
Emanuel is light-years ahead o f other
organizations as far as affirm ative
action is concerned. They make my
job easy. . . ”
Do the employees have high expec
tations? “ I’ m sure that they do —
some come into the office to see if
I ’ m for real or not. But they have to
understand what my position is, I do
not have veto pow er,” he said.
“ There are limitations.”
How does it feel to work in the
same place in which you were born?
“ At first I had mixed emotions, but
the job started to grow on me. It turn
ed out to be a blessing in disguise,”
said Adair.
“ Besides, my 88-ycar-old grand
father, Appleton Charles (A .C .)
Adair lives directly across the street
from the hospital. I can look out my
office window and sec him on the
porch or walk across the street to see
him ,” he said.
“ I bet my grandfather had no idea
when he ran across the street twenty-
nine years ago to see me for the first
time, that I would eventually return
to the hospital in this capacity,” said
a smiling Adair.
“ Maybe it was meant to be . . . ”
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