Page 4 Portland Observer, July 28, 1982
EDITORIAL/OPINION
South Africa and Reaganism
y I O
O
n O PC
' ' A I O p lO I LI I C I Ö
Dellums leads Congressional
debate on military budget
The C o n g re ssio n a l debate on the m ilita r y
b u d ge, b rin g s m ixed new s— som e g o o d and
some bad. We can be very proud o f Congress
man Ron Dellum s who alm ost single-handedly
attem pted to bring sanity back to the n a tio n a l
b u d g e t. R e p e a te d ly c h a rg in g th a t an e v e r
g ro w in g m ilita ry budget is madness th a t w ill
lead the w o rld to a nuclear holocau st and an
end to m a n kin d , he spent hours on the House
flo o r d e b a tin g , c h a lle n g in g the a d m in is tra
t io n ’ s p h ilo s o p h y , re fu tin g the o p p o s itio n ’ s
igures, and challenging them to dem onstrate a
need to spend m ore m oney on weapons w h ile
the A m erican people are unem ployed, hungry,
in need o f housing and m edical care, and fu ll
o f fru s tra tio n . N early alone— w ith his firm
s u p p o rte rs in c lu d in g Rep. Jo h n C o n ye rs (D -
M ic h .) a n d R ep. J im W e a ve r ( D - O r e .) — he
kept his end o f the debate at a high level o f in
te lle c t a nd in te g r ity . S h a rp , a r tic u la te , in
form ed, he was clearly the leader on the flo o r,
i f not the w inne r.
•A
Dellum s amendment to elim inate nu
clear powered aircraft carriers from the budget
was defeated. Dellums charged that building
aircraft carriers is trying to fight a W orld War
II operation in the ’ 80s. He alleged that these
carriers are not planned to fight o ff a “ Soviet
threat,” but to threaten Third W orld nations.
He said the projected use o f these ships to
“ keep the shipping la*—
i—
Ocean w ill lead to nuc
• Dellums’ amendm«
er, which he called obi
also defeated. D ellui
using manned bomb
Preparing for convent
is a deceit—an attem
people believe a nucl
said. The government
tion policies and ope-
with the Soviets.
•R e p . John C onyers presented an am end
ment to delay all nuclear wea ons to r one year
— an a c tio n he called “ not a I ee/e, but a de
la y.” This delay w ould provide an o p p o rtu n ity
fo r the U.S. and the U.S S R. o engage in talks
w ithout an accom panying U.S escalation. This
amendment also was defeated.
• The House voted to delete funds for produc
tio n o f nerve gas fo r chem ica l w eapons. The
House removed $54 m illio n fo r the pro d u ctio n
o f nerve gas bombs and skills from the adm inis
tration request. I f the appropriation is reins,ate-
ed in the House-Senate Conference (the Senate
had already approved the expenditure) it w ill be
the first time the U.S. has openiv manufactured
chem ical weapons since N ixon banned p rodu c
tion 13 years ago. Reagan wants to spend $2 b il
lio n over the next five years to replenish stock
piles. The b ill also specifically bans using other
funds on the production o f binary chemical m u
nitions.
• The House vote to fund the M X missile was
close, in dica ting some atte ntion to the grow ing
peace m ovem ent. The House approved the b ill
to fund the missiles but put a hold on $260 m il
lio n in basing and deploym ent funds. The M X
missile was first requested by Jimmy Carter, who
wanted them spread out th ro ugh the desert to
avoid a Soviet attack. That idea has been reject
ed and everyone admits to not knowing where to
put them.
While the attention o f the world
has been on the Falkland/Malvinas
Islands and the Mideast during the
past four mounths, racial unrest has
been escalating in apartheid South
Africa.
On July 6, two thousand black
miners northwest o f Johannesburg
went on strike in a platinum mine.
I heir demand was quite simple: a
decent wage. Blacks who work ex
actly as white miners do, receive
about o n e -fifth (20 per cent) o f
whites’ wages.
The racist regime's response was
brutal. Fifty Africans were reported
injured when police used tear gas. In
nearby Venterspot gold mine,
another 80 black miners were beaten
and arrested fo r strikin g Almost
500 miles away, at the Indian Ocean
port city o f Durban, black coal min
ers drove a tra ctor through one
building , and set scores o f other
buildings on fire.
Why is black labor, and especially
miners, on the offensive? First, keep
in mind that South A fric a ’ s econ
omy, which depends p rim a rily on
the w orld price o f gold, is at the
brink ol disaster. Two years ago,
gold prices exceeded $6<K) an ounce.
Assuming that the price would re
main that high, the government and
private sector launched a series o f
grandiose plans for mining and con
stru ction . One mine shaft system
&r. Manning Marable
"From The Grassroots"
near Johannesburg worth $304 mil
lion has now been curtailed. General
M ining Union C o rp oratio n , the
country's second largest mining f i
nance house, has trimmed its capital
expenditures this year by 12 per
cent. 1 he reason: gold prices huve
declined to about $300 per ounce. If
the price o f gold drops as low as
$250 an ounce, a general panic will
set in; the number o f South African
mines thut close will be catastroph
ic.
White laborers are also restless.
At the height o f early July’ s black
miners’ strikes, the trade unions
representing 22,(HR) white miners
asked fo r a 15 per cent raise. The
miners and companies agreed to a
12 per cent settlement on July 6. Yet
annual inflation in South Africa ex
ceeds 16 per cent, so the white min
ers may continue to pressure man
agement.
More than ever before, racist
South A fric a , the modern fascist
state, needs the U.S. to provide crit
ical support at its moment o f tu r
m oil. Once again, apartheid has
found a genuine friend in Ronald
Reagan.
According to Jean Sindab, the
Executive Director o f the Washing
ton O ffice on A frica, Reagan and
his advisors arc encouraging the re
pressive posture o f South A frica .
M edian fam ily inconu
families was $13,270 com
$ 2 3 ,5 2 0 fo r w hite fam
$16,400 for Spanish-origi
A fte r adjusting for infla
families experienced a 5
decline in their real medi.
Real m edian incom e fo
origin families remained
same.
The poverty threshold
a fa m ily o f fo u r was $'
1980 it was $8,414.
The report shows that
come for black families «
in the West and $ 1 2 ,X.
South. Overall, real med X.
income for all families fetAm w « «
o f the fou r regions o f the N atio n .
The Northeast was the only region
that did not show a decline in real
income.
Changes in “ real” median family
income refer to comparisons after
adjustm ent fo r in fla tio n , as mea
sured by the change in the annual
by Congressman Ron Wyden
irsday the House gave
to production o f the
fow do you feel about
llways questioned the
u ild in g the M X . The
mbersom, costly and
llncrable, and thus o f
value to our national
pccially outraged that
ed to spend $1.14 b il
lio n o f nine M X Mis
sing mode has not yet
NW A
AVAILABLE
COPY
per
> set aside this kind o f
ich a questionable pro-
I is asking senior c iti-
»r and other vulnerable
givc up programs they
rvive.
i
xcusable use o f tax-
ry—and one which I
efforts to save himself
ray a bright future for
Julie Jessie
©ngratulate Al McGil-
ry fine awards banquet
here were many com-
t the success o f that
(34.2 per cent) followed by persons
o f Spanish origin (26.5 per cent) and
whites (1 1.1 per cent).
•The real median income for fam
ilies maintained by women ($10,960)
declined by 4.6 per cent.
•B lack women in the South,
women under the age o f 25, and fe-
wurvry rrxu'f* re
rcy rri»
come and exclude non cash benefits
such as food stamps, medicaid, etc.
It also cautions that the adjustment
fo r in fla tio n may be overstated
slightly for the average household
because of the treatment o f housing
costs in the calculation o f the Con
sumer Price Index.
declared that “ if the other govern
ments o f the region do not behave
according to Islam [meaning Kho
m e in i’ s wish), they must keep in
mind that they are not stronger than
Saddam.”
The P o rtla n d O bserver (U S d S 959 6801 is published every
Thursday by Exie Publishing Company, Inc , 2201 North Killings
worth, Portland, Oregon 97217, Poat Office Box 3137, Portland,
Oregon 97208 Second class postage paid at Portland, Oregon
AI McGUberry, Editor/Publisher
AI Williams, Advertising Manager
National Advertising Representative
A m a lg a m a t e d Publishers. Inc.
N e w York
Iraqis have expressed their willing
ness to establish peace on the basis
o f both countries* te rrito ria l inte
grity.
Khomeini cannot stay in power
without creating crises. Yet, none of
Subscribe todayl
Receive your Observer by mail
Only $10 per year
Portland Observer
Name _
Subscriptions: 110 00 par year in the Tri County area Post
m a s te r. Send address changes to the Portland Observer, P O
Box 3137. Portland, Oregon 97208
MEMBER
sity. Nashville, TN.
M short o f criminal for
The twin effects o f infh
depressed economy resuli
cline in black family med
in 1981, and an increase i
ber o f blacks below th
level, according to a repo
C om m erce D ep artm en t
Burearu.
This m arks the seco
cutive year in which
coupled w ith
a ret
economy resulted in sign
dines in real fam ily inco
creases in the poverty pop
Publishers
Association
E d ito r’s n o t«: Dr. M a n n in g
M arabla is D irector of the Race
Relations Institute, Fisk Unlver- 8
Washington Hot Line
lack fa
Oregon
Newspaper
’ •Furthermore.” she states, “ the ad
ministration seeks to reassure South
Africa of its desire for a closer alii,
ance by strengthening bilateral tic«
in many areas.”
The administration gave permis-
sion fo r the opening o f honorary
consulates in three U.S. cities: Seat-
tie, Denver and Cleveland. Reagan
has asked fo r $2.3 m illio n from
Congress to train black South A fri.
can inside South Africa, thereby re
inforcing the segregated educational
system. Export control regulations
on such critical items as air ambu
lances, computers and helicopters
have been weakened to help apart*
held.
South Africa is the greatest moral
question confronting black and pro
gressive people o f our time. I f we
stand silent as the Reagan South-Af
rica axis builds, we must be con
demned as involuntary partners in
the destruction of black mine work
ers in Durban and Johannesburg.
We must demonstrate in front o f all
apartheid consulates in the U.S., de
manding an end to all official U .S .-I
apartheid relations. No U.S.
businesses in South A fric a , and
freedom for our sisters and broth-jg
ers.
Address
Hi I My Mom end Ded read
the Portland Observer why
not you? Subscribe todayl
jm s was tru ly excep-
pecch was informative
frightening Certainly
was heard and should
*ch o f us to work even
luclear freeze.
, congratulations on a
vent and thanks for ac
knowledging some very talented, ef
fective and committed persons.
Kay Dean Toran
Director,
Affirmative Action Office,
Governor’s Office
Portland Observer
Box 3137
Portland, OR 97208