W hat role will the US play?
1
South Africa escalates invasion of Angola
W hat could become the US* next
war i i developing in A n go la. The
Angolan government reporti fight
ing deep inside its territory as South
A fric a n troops invade across the
Namibian border.
Although there have been numer
ous invasions since Angola gained
its independence in 1973, the latest
military incursion began with South
African and mercenary troops occu
pying seven Angolan towns late in
July. The forces that penetrated the
Southern Cunene Province were
backed by helicopters and Im p ala
jets. The invasion followed a build
up o f South A frican forces in N a
mibia the last two weeks o f June.
The US has decried the increase
o f “ violence” in the region but US
interest in Angola is longstanding.
The US first supported the P o rtu
gese efforts to m aintain its colony,
then, when Portugal w ith d rew , it
jo in e d South A fric a to support
movements
against
the
new
government, the M P L A .
M o re recently, the Reagan A d
m inistration has moved rapidly to
im prove relations w ith South A f
rica. The Reagan A d m in is tra tio n
has also proposed a repeal o f the
law forbidding US covert involve
ment in Angola, passed after the se
cret C IA involvement in the Ango
lan civil war came to light. The ad
m in is tratio n has indicated th a t it
w ill be w illin g to provide arms to
a n ti-M P L A forces once that law is
eliminated.
In this respect the US has worked
with South Africa to delay indepen
dence o f Namibia, a territory illegal
ly held by South A frica , which lies
between South A frica and Angola.
South A fric a has failed to com ply
with the 1978 United Nations agree
ment calling fo r a U N -e n fo rc e d
cease-fire and internationally super
vised elections. South A fric a in
stalled a new adm in ister general,
held illegal elections in 1978, created
an illegal N ational Assembly, and
has brought in additional troops.
The new U S plan fo r N a m ib ia ,
which has been rejected by all na
tions o f A fr ic a , calls fo r m eeting
South A fric a n " c o n c e rn s ” in
N am ib ia and ties any N a m ib ia n
settlem ent to the w ith d ra w a l o f
Cuban troops from Angola.
" T h e P r e t o r ia - W a s h in g t o n
rendezvous is undeniably a sinister
plot against the aspirations o f Nam
ibian people fo r genuine indepen
dence and fre e d o m ," responded
Sam N u jo m a , president o f the
South West A fric a n People’ s O r
ganization (S W A P O ).
C uban involvem ent in A n g o la
was subsequent to that o f the US
and came at the request o f Angola’s
then president Agostinho Neto. A f
ter the c iv il w ar ended w ith an
M P L A victory and the new govern
m ent was in firm c o n tro l, C uban
presence con tin u ed . Besides the
a p p ro x im a te ly
2 0,0 00
C uban
troops, there are 1,000 teachers and
1,000 doctors and other technicians
in the country.
The Cuban presence has been the
focal point o f much o f US A fric a
policy and is used as a rationaliza
tion for supporting the racist South
A frican government.
Efforts to push Cuba from Africa
have been fre q u e n t. T he U S firs t
asked the M o vem en t o f N o n-
Aligned Nations for assistance, but
that body supported Cuba’s military
com mitment to the M P L A govern
ment as consistent with its principals
— “ The non-aligned countries pro
vide encouragement and support to
all people fighting for their indepen
dence and equality___ ”
The Organization o f A frican U ni
ty also supported the rig h t o f
Angola to ask for Cuban assistance.
T an za n ia ’s president Julius Nyere
said in 1978: “ They are still there
because until now the South A f r i
cans . . . are still financing organiza
tions opposed to and com mitted to
the overthrow o f the M P L A govern
ment.”
(Please turn to page 4 col. 5)
PORTLAND OBSERMER
August 27,1981
Volums XI Number 48
284 Par Copy
Two Sections
USPS 939-680-853
Portland cop makes illegal snatch
Archie F ra n k lin , a newcomer to
Portland, is without his driver’s li
cense as the result o f a police stop.
“ I drove an old man around the cor
ner, then returned to my house,” he
explained. “ As I pulled over a po
lice officer pulled up. He said not to
get out o f my car.”
F ra n k lin reported that O ffic e r
W ad d ell asked fo r his d riv e r’ s li
cense. then returned to his own car
and sat for some time. He then came
back and asked fo r papers on the
car, which has an Oregon plate. He
took the papers, said they weren’t
sufficient, and asked for evidence o f
ownership. “ He asked how I got an
Oregon license plate: I told him I
had bought it and showed him the
D E Q slip: H e asked where I lived
and when 1 showed him my house he
asked if I could prove it ."
A t this time Tess Brewer arrived
to visit Franklin. "1 saw this police
man leaning against the car window
with his hand on his gun. He turned
and said, ‘ What can I do for you?’ I
said I was com ing to see F ra n k lin
and added, ‘ Y o u ’ re not going to
shoot him, are you?”
Franklin said he was looking for
his registration and handed the o ffi
cer the same papers as before.“ H e
d id n ’ t even lo o k at them , but he
handed them back and said they
were O K but ’ put them where you
can fin d them .* ”
W hen W ad d ell started to leave,
Franklin asked for his Arizona driv
e r’ s license. “ H e w o u ld n ’t give it
back and said it was no good— that 1
w ould have to get an O regon
lic e n s e ." F ra n k lin , who lived in
A rizo n a until three weeks ago but
made frequent trips to Oregon, said
his license is still valid.
This happened at about noon on
Saturday. Brewer drove Franklin to
the Observer o ffic e, where he told
the story to A I W illiam s. W illiam s
called North Precinct and explained
the incident to L t. Price. Price sent
Sergeant Earl Johnson to the office
to ta lk w ith the men. Johnson
agreed that the officer was wrong to
keep the license and said that since
he was W a d d e ll’ s supervisor he
would talk to him. H e said that after
getting W a d d e ll’ s story, he would
call them.
Franklin did not hear from John
son, so on Sunday he and Brewer
went to N o rth Precinct to see C ap
tain McCabe, the commanding o ffi
cer. M cCabe was not in so they re
turned M onday morning. A fte r lis
tening to the story, M cCabe talked
to W a d d e ll by telephone. Statin g
that W addell said he had put the li
cense in Franklin’s mailbox on Sun
day, McCabe asked them to look for
it. He added that he did not want to
get too in volved .
The license was not there.
A lthough there was someone at
home all day r ao o o e had seen a po
liceman.
T h ey called M c C a b e again . H e
said he w o u ld have W a d d e ll and
Johnson go to F ra n k lin ’ s house at
2:00 pm . Johnson showed up but
W addell did n ot. Brewer reported
that Johnson had seen the license
and d eterm in ed th a t it was good,
th a t W a d d e ll’ s a ctio n had been
(Please turn to page 10. col. 3)
Mental health clinic hires director
Photo: Richard J. Brown
The bottom of the bottle
G rassroot News. N . W . — The
above advertisement is from Rich
ard W right's 1963 Law d Today. It
reflects the timeless problem o f a l
coholism and its cure. (There is no
surefire cure).
People have drunk and will con
tinue to drin k. “ I drink because I
want to ,” is a common answer as to
why the thirst exists. But this thirst
can control your life and directly or
indirectly affect (he lives o f those
around you. Alcohol is not illegal
and it takes no secret password or
dark alley to purchase it.
On the one hand you have a
support structure that produces the
supply with the blessings o f the sys
tem because they get theirs from the
top w ith a liq u o r tax. And on the
other hand, there's a support struc-
tue that treats those whose con
sumption is out o f control and is f i
nanced by the same system that per
petrates its use. Therefore, we find
an incredible conflicting situation
with alcohol and its abuse.
The textbook definition o f alco
holism is a chronic disease brought
on by the repeated drinking that ex
ceeds customary dietary use or com
pliance with social drinking. It in
terferes w ith the d rin k e r’ s health,
interpersonal relations and econom
ic funtioning. The next question is:
When does the com m on social
drinking develop into full-fledged
alcoholism? " A person has to go
through an abuse pattern which is in
two stages. A person m ight get in
tro ub le w ith the law because the
crim e is alco h o l-related , or he’ s
missing work or beating his wife and
c h ild ren . I f one o r tw o o f those
things are happening consistently,
an abuse pattern is being set. After
that comes physical dependancy.
Your body gets used to the alcohol
and it needs the alcohol because o f
the chemical changes that alcohol
induces. You wake up in the morn
ing and have the shakes, take a
d rin k and it calms the shakes
d ow n.” answers a counsellor from
one o f many alcohol treatm ent
centers.
“ The chemical changes vary from
a mild hangover to a full-blown trem
or. Emotional anxieties, loss o f ap
petite, hallucinations o f varying in
tensities and excessive sw eating."
Joe Grant from the Hooper Detox
C en ter runs down the symptoms
that occur when (he body is hooked
on alcohol and the drug is withheld
for any length o f time.
W hat are some o f the reasons or
excuses for drinking to the degree
that would lead to this physical ad
diction? “ L ife,” a man answered as
he put the bottle up to his lips. The
ups and downs o f living, along with
how d rin kin g is socially used, are
the reasons for this problem . You
drink when you’re happy and you’re
sad. There is conversational d rin k
ing, in tim ate d rin kin g and crowd
d rin kin g . A ll around you there is
advertisement telling you how sexy,
b e a u tifu l and n atu ra l it is to
consume. It is an accepted drug and
in a drug-dependent society we can
take something to cure any ill.
Statistically, the number o f peo
ple who drink are about the same. It
may look as though the fold is in
creasing when, in fact, the number
o f people who are a d m ittin g to
themselves that they have a drinking
problem are just coming out o f the
closet.
Whether alcohol is a disease or a
learned b ehavior is a point o f
argument among the experts. Some
times a person may drink heavily be
ginning with the first taste, so this
cannot be considered a learned be
havior. And then there arc people,
who are in situations where there is
a great deal o f d rin k in g , tend to
have m ore problem s w ith their
drinking behavior than others, and
this could be learned behavior.
Whether or not alcoholism is called
an illness or a learned behavior, the
image o f an a lco h o lic as a weak-
willed person or a bum is no longer
funny.
There is a ripple effect that goes
along w ith the abuse o f alco h o l.
H ealth w ise it can cause heart
attacks and liver disease, even pan
creas problem s or b ra in dam age.
And please d o n ’ t d rin k and drive
because the life you save may be
your own.
The effects on the Black commu
nity are high and run deep. I f
problems are the reason for drink
ing then drinking is too excessive be
cause our problems are double those
o f any other com m unity. And just
because y o u 're Black and have
problems is still no reason to drink
away your dreams, goals or hopes.
Too much can leave you the same
way you leave it: empty.
by Nathaniel Scott
The N orth/N ortheast Com m uni
ty Mental Health Center is a new or
ganization serving an economically
and culturally diverse population in
P o rtla n d . Its catchm ent area is
bounded by the Columbia and W il
lamette Rivers, the Banfield Free
way, and 82nd Avenue, with a pop
ulation o f approximately 160,000.
The center is the only federally
funded com prehensive m ental
health center in P o rtla n d , and its
1981-82 budget, a p p ro xim ately
$ 2 ,3 0 0 ,0 0 0 , is a com binatio n o f
state and federal funding.
The Executive D ire cto r o f the
N orth/N ortheast Community M en
tal H ealth Center, Michael B enja
min, said, “ We are not going to in
discriminately send people to Dam -
maseh. Those people who can bene
fit from com m unity based m ental
health services, w ill be able to get
that treatment in the community.”
B enjam in, 39, a native o f O a k
land, C a lifo rn ia , served on the fa
culty o f the Southern Oregon Insti
tute o f Alcohol Studies from 1976 to
1976, directed the nationwide alco
holism p rogram fo r the N a tio n a l
Association o f Counties, and most
recently, was a health science ad
ministrator at the National Institute
o f M en tal H e a lth in W ashington,
D .C .
He said, “ W ith the cutback with
federal programs in the human ser
vice area, housing, welfare, etc., we
w ill be facing very d iffic u lt times
over the next two years.”
Presently, Benjamin is in the pro
cess o f screening fo r a clinical d i
rector who w ill be a psychiatrist.
" O n c e we get fu lly staffed , there
will be 21 persons and we should be
fully geared and operational by N o
vember 1,” he said.
“ The Black man is more at risk o f
becoming mentally ill because o f the
environmental factors.”
But he stressed that mental illness
is a com bination o f factors, “ b io
logical and environmental.”
Please turn to page 10 col. 3)
MICHAEL BENJAMIN
PPS denies added parent input
The Portland School Board failed
to add another element o f citizen
participation in its process for the
selection o f a new superintendent as
represented by the Citizen Advisory
Committee and adopted a time-line
for the selection process.
The selection process was de
signed by Dr. Don Leu, Dean o f the
Portland State University education
d epartm ent, who is contracted by
the Board to assist in recruitm ent
and selection o f applicants. A t D r.
L e u ’ s request, a Professional
Screening Committee was named to
review resumes and cut the list o f
applicants from over 100 to from 8
to 15. The applications are c o n fi
dential.
An Internal Advisory Committee,
representing s ta ff groups, and a
C itizen Advisory Committee, were
selected to provide s ta ff and com
munity input.
The role o f the Citizen Committee
is to provide a set o f criteria to the
Professional Selection Committee,
to receive input from the commun
ity, and to participate in the public
interview o f the three to five fin al
ists.
Committee C o-Chairm an George
Sheldon reported that the com m it
tee is concerned about this lack o f
ability to participate in the process
d u rin g the fin a l e lim in a tio n . T he
group feels that " i f they have been
asked to represent the groups and
act as a conduit for the community,
they should participate.*’ Otherwise
they cannot guarantee the equity o f
the initial phase o f the selection.
The com m ittee asked the Board
eith er to add one or tw o o f th e ir
members to the Professional Screen
ing Com m ittee, or to add a step in
the process to allow them to have a
representative to help prioritize the
S to 15 semi-finalists.
School Board member Joe Rieke:
“ Is this an absolute demand?”
School Board member C h arlotte
Beeman: " W h y do y o u je e l th a t’ s
necessary when you have seven who
have access to the a p p lic a tio n s ? "
(School Board members).
(Please turn to page 4 col. I )