Page 2, Portland Observer, August 28, 1988
EDITORIAL/OPINION
' Reagan and apartheid: rhetoric vs. reality
'
A lon* ‘ he C o lor L me by Dr. M anning M arable
Pari Two of a Two-Part Senes
Reagan anti-affirmative action
movement finding participants
by Jerry Garner
Last week I reported that the Reagan Adm inis­
tration is considering rescinding Executive Order
11246. This order was signed in 1965 by President
Lyndon B. Johnson to require employers who do
business w ith the federal government to make
positive affirm ative action efforts to hire women.
Blacks, Hispanics and members o f other minority
groups in representative numbers. Executive O r­
der 11246 has been a vital weapon in the battle
against discrimination in employment.
Since the Reagan A dm inistration's inception,
it has been trying to dismantle this nation’ s civil
rights laws and, in the process, has created an in­
crease o f racial tension in this country. A n exam­
ple o f this can be seen in the drive by an organiza­
tion called the Associated General C ontractors
o f America (AGC). A few days after the Adm inis­
tration announced its intention o f rescinding Ex­
ecutive O rder 11246, A G C announced they
w ould lobby Congress to discontinue Section
105(f) o f the 1982 Surface transportation Assist­
ance A ct. Section 105(f) requires that at least 10
percent o f federal funds fo r highways and mass
transit be expended with businesses owned by m i­
nority group members.
The A G C has sent a new publication to every
member o f Congress entitled, Slop Legislated Dis­
crimination: The Case Against Section 105(f) o f
the 1982 Surface Transportation Assistance Act.
The p u b lica tio n contends that Section 105(f)
threatens the very existence o f small W hite spe­
cialty subcontractors in every region o f the coun­
try. The accusation made by the AG C is false, for
the simple reason there are not that many minority
contractors in this country. The few minority con­
tractors that do exist are often victims o f discrim­
ination, the very reason why Section 105(f) was
passed in the firs, place. A G C and the Reagan
A dm in istratio n is tryin g to convey the message
that C iv il Rights and A ffirm a tiv e A ctio n P ro ­
grams are d iscrim in a tin g against W hite males.
Nothing could be further from the truth. M in o ri­
ties are still victims o f employment discrimination
in the U nited States. A ffirm a tiv e A ctio n P ro ­
grams are needed to insure , ha, m inorities are
given the opportunity to compete for certain jobs
in the labor market.
I he Reagan A dm inistration and groups such
as A G C is trying to move m inorities backward,
by attempting to rescind the past A ffirm ative Ac­
tion Programs that help to prevent widespread
employment discrimination.
I f Executive Order 11246 and Section 105(f) o f
the I9H2 Surface Transportation Assistance Ac, is
rescinded, discrim ination in employment oppor­
tunities fo r m in o rity groups w ill result in many
minority companies going out o f business or suf­
fering severe financial problems.
EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY
inside A n g o la . In J u ly , the House
also voted to repeal the act by a vote
o f 236-185. M any liberal Democrats
were stampeded in to supporting the
measure, fearful o f being called "p ro -
Communist.” But as Senator Edward
Kennedy observed, "th e constructive
engagement p o lic y o f the Reagan
a d m in is tra tio n has fa ile d and the
a d m in istra tio n knows it — so they
want to abandon the peaceful route o f
negotiations and resort to a m ilita ry
one.”
The C ongressional repeal o f the
C la rk A m endm ent sent a "g re e n
lig h t" to Pretoria. The apartheid re­
gime understands that the overthrow
o f the M arxist Angolan government
and the suppression o f neighboring
Namibia are crucial to its continued
existence. Thus when Black workers
inside South A fric a staged dem on­
stra tio n s th is J u ly , the regim e re­
ponded by a national state o f emer­
gency. A p a rth e id 's leaders are c o r­
rectly convinced that Reagan's verbal
jibes are meaningless, and th a t the
suppression o f human rights through­
out the region had the a d m in is tra ­
tio n ’s continued blessings.
The U .S. State D e p a rtm e nt has
recently confirm ed this analysis. In a
recent o fficia l study, the Reagan A d ­
m inistration slated that the racial un­
rent inside South A fric a " is not a
re volutionary or a prerevolutionary
situation." Economic boycotts would
" n o t stop foreign investm ents," ac­
cording to one State Department o f­
ficial quoted in the New York Times.
“ People who want to invest always
find a way to do it." And as for the re­
cent uprisings o f Blacks, the real posi­
tion o f the State Department is one o f
contem pt: "S h a rp e v ille blew over,
Soweto blew over, and even though
this is worse, there’ s nowhere it can
really g o ."
The Reagan A d m in is tra tio n has
been more successful in r even I months
in undermining anti-apartheid forces
in southern A fric a through different
techniques. The key to the strategy is
the separation o f South A fric a ’s cur­
rent unrest from the political dynam­
ics o f the region’s neighboring states.
The rhetorical condemnation o f Pre­
toria is followed by political and m ili­
tary aid to South A frica's allies.
The best example is that o f Angola.
In early June. Lewis E. Lehrm an, a
m illio n n a ire R epublican, caucused
with South African-supported terror­
ists in southern Angola, led by Jonas
S a vim b i. T e c h n ic a lly , the meeting
was set to in itia tite a "D e m o c ra tic
In te rn a tio n a l" o f anti-Soviet groups.
Representatives fro m Laos, A fghan­
istan, and Nicaragua were in attend­
ance to sign the so-called " p a c t . ”
Lehrm an claimed he was not a per­
sonal spokesman fo r President Rea­
gan — how ever, he stated th a t the
new alliance was " a n expression o f
the President’s sentim ents." A ll par­
ties vowed to “ cooperate to liberate
out nations fro m Soviet im p e ria l­
ism ." Reagan has also stated o f Sav-
im b i's gro u p : " T h e ir goals arc our
goals."
The significance o f Lehrm an’ s lit ­
tle excursion was not lost in W ash­
ington and P re to ria . Lehrm an was
n a rro w ly defeated in New Y o rk ’ s
gubernatorial elections in 19X2, and
it is an open secret that he plans to
run for President, probably in 1992.
His private o rganization, "C itize n s
fo r A m e ric a ," has members in over
300 Congressional districts. One week
after Lehrman's visit, the Senate vo t­
ed to repeal the ( lark Amendment, a
n in e -ye a r-o ld ban on arm ed aid to
South A frica n -su p p o rte d terrorists
B y John T re v e r
The strategic co n sid era tio n s o f
Pretoria and W ashington are based
on the erroneous assum ption that
protests against a p a rth e id can be
"m a n a g e d " or "m a n ip u la te d ." But
th ro u g h o u t the summ er inside the
U .S ., protests and rallies against
South A frica have continued. In late
July, over 2,000 delegates at the Na­
tio n a l U rban League's 75th annual
conference demonstrated at the South
A fric a n Embassy in W a sh in g to n ,
D C On July 24, demonstrators pick­
eted the Federal b u ild in g in Seattle,
W ashington, demanding the end o f
U.S. investments and loans to South
A fric a . On A ugust 2 - 4, an a n ti­
apartheid regional conference was
held idn C hicago, w ith C hicago
m ayor H a ro ld W ashington and a
leader o f the A N C . Even the A F L -
C IO released a press statement attack­
ing South Africa's stale o f emergency
as "th e most extreme violation o f all
basic r ig h ts ." Organized la b o r has
called fo r the use o f “ economic and
d ip lo m a tic " pressures to halt racist
violence within South Africa.
The only hope fo r a peaceful solu­
tion in South A frica is the release o f
Nelson M andela and a ll p o litic a l
prisoners; the immediate negotiations
between legitimate Black leaders and
the w hite m in o rity regime w ith the
stated goal o f the abolition o f apart­
heid; and the exteasion o f democratic
rights to the nonwhite m ajority. Nei­
ther Reagan nor the leaders o f South
A fric a are w illin g to accept these
terms — and protests fro m A m e ri­
cans and Black South A fricans w ill
continue to escalate until these condi­
tions arc met.
Dr. Manning Marable teaches po­
litical sociology at Colgate University,
Hamilton, New York.
Healthwatch
by Steven Bailey N . D.
FDA testing procedures insufficient
1
Portland Observer
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MEMBER
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M to tie lio n ■ Founded ’U S
Alfred l.. Henderson, Editor/Publisher
At Williams, General .Manager
288 0033
N a tio n a l A d v e rtis in g R e p ra a a n ta tlv a
A m a lg a m a te d Pub lisher«, In c
N e w York
ACETAMINOPHEN (Tylenol)
P H E N AC E TIN
which when experimented on humans
have been proven as unsafe.
A n o th e r im p o rta n t fa cto r which
accounts fo r much e rro r is the fact
that humans are often given numerous
chemical substances which may inter­
act with each other. It is impossible to
provide a matrix o f drug interactions
in anim al studies w hich com pletely
investigate the possible adverse re­
actions among different chemicals.
Finally, one o f the single most im ­
portant reasons that we continue to kill
and injure thousands o f people with
our "sa fe n e w " products is that like
most regulatory agencies the F D A
and N ational Institute o f Health are
comprised mostly o f industry (phar­
maceutical), and research personnel
who like "o ld dogs" are quite disinter­
ested in new approaches to drug devel
opment and safety standards
Phenacetin which is converted into
acetam inophen (T yle n o l) thro u g h
normal metabolism has a long history
o f health concerns. In the early 70's,
a group o f Oregon researchers sent
findings to the FDA that showed mea­
surable levels o f phenacetin in patients’
serum w ho had not taken the drug
fo r 3 - 4 months. The F D A returned
the findings w ithout taking any sub­
stantive action on these dangers.
I f the F D A were more w illin g to
pull suspicious drugs out o f the market
instead o f w a itin g to " p r o v e ” the
dangers w ith human tragedy we un­
doubtedly w ould be a healthier and
safer society. Iro n ic a lly most drug
m anufacturers feel current regula­
tions are much too restrictive and that
standards should be lowered.
W hile the close association w ith
T ylenol does not mean that Tylenol
will cause cancer. Tylenol Is aLso not a
benign substance. The PDR says that
"acetam inophen in massive dosage
may cause hepatic to xicity" (hepatic =
live r). Massive in this case means
around 20 O TC Tylenols, which has
always seemed to me a relatively low
level for possible lethal consequences.
The best recom m endation I can
make, is to lim it your intake o f medi­
cations My article on the importance
o f fever reported recent research that
holds the fever process as essential to
complete resolve o f some illnesses (first
reported in Science 84, Nov.) Many o f
the symptoms that our drug indulgent
society wish to elim inate are the re­
sults and byproducts o f an active
and healths immune system When we
present their completion through drug
interference we may actually worsen
our long-term health. Learn what your
symptoms mean and what makes them
worse or better, and change the habits
that may co n trib u te to your health
concerns, exercise and eat more whole
grains, fib e r and green leafy vege­
tables.
*,
Mr
Subecriptiona I I S 00 par yaa> m the Tn County area P o tt
m aa ta t Sand addtaaa c hangat to the Portland O t a r r w r . P O
Bot 3137, Portland Oregon 9720B
A few weeks ago new research was
released that resealed that phenacetin
intake was highly correlated with an
increased risk o f developing bladder
cancer. This pain medication had, un­
til recently, been available as an over-
the-counter (OTC) product, including
its use in the product Darson.
In the early 80’s, the Food and Drug
Administration (FD A) placed this sub­
stance in a more restricted category,
requiring a doctor's prescription, and
tlx- Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR)
warned that phenacetin “ i f taken in
large doses for long periods in com ­
bination with other analgesics, is asso­
ciated with severe kidney disease and
with cancer o f the kid n e y." The most
recent research shows cancer potential
with as little as three doses per month
fo r one year. As a product used fo r
menstrual pains this is by no means a
"large dose."
W hy do we co ntinue to fin d so
many " h o le s " in our drug testing
processes? Last year’ s Senate revela­
tion that over 4,(XX) drugs were avail­
able in the U.S. which had not com
plied w ith F D A safety standards re­
veals one o f the m a jo r holes. M ore
relevant to the phenacetins, D.E.S.'s,
acutanes, etc., is the basic tenent o f
toxicity studies which assume that all
test animals are sim ilar and equal to
humans, who o f course are all alike.
The LD 50 (lethal dose 50 percent)
which involves drugging dogs, m on­
keys or other species w ith sufficient
levels o f the test substance to k ill 50
percent o f the population proves only
the toxicity levels relevant to that spe­
cies. W hile human cell cultures may
eventually make the I D50 obsolete,
the stubborn self-interest o f the re­
search community will Tight tooth and
nails to preserve this practice o f “ hor­
ro r " which has shown far too many
“ green lights o f safety" fo r products
I
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