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
NMWAoen
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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