Page 2, Portland Observer, January 8, 1986
Healthwatch
EDITORIAL/OPINION
by Steven Bailey N. D.
Crime money should go to King & Eliot
The City ol Portland recently received $104,000
in federal grant money from the U.S. Department
o f Justice, Crim e Prevention Division. The p ur
pose o f this grant is to provide aesthetic improve
ments and crim e prevention measures in co m
munities with a high crime rate.
This federal grant should be allocated to the
King and E liot neighborhoods. A lthough many
neighborhoods throughout the city have felt the
impact o f the crime wave, none have been hit as
hard as these com m unities. Both com m unities
have experienced a high degree o f crime for years.
Residential burglaries, prostitution, drug tra f
ficking, and assaults occur regularly in the King
and E lio t neighborhoods. M any ru n -d ow n
b u ild in g s and houses in these neighborhoods
p ro vid e a haven fo r p rostitutes and their
customers, along w ith drug dealers and users.
C h u rch p a rkin g lots arc even being used by
prostitutes and drug dealers.
I f this federal grant is allocated to the King and
E lio t com m unities, it could be used to purchase
lights for areas where crime is likely to occur and
to secure vacated dwellings which w ill help deter
acts o f assault and robbery. Other ways the grant
could be applied is to install locks in homes that
are easy targets for burglars; trash and tall weeds
in vacant lots could be cleaned up; signs could be
placed along Union Ave. warning “ Johns” (who
usually reside outside the c o m m u n ity) that
soliciting the services o f a prostitute is illegal and
they run the risk o f being arrested.
Decent citizens liv in g in the K ing and E lio t
neighborhoods have repeatedly demonstrated
they arc sincere in their efforts to eradicate crime
fro m th e ir co m m u n ities. The K ing and E lio t
Neighborhood Association, C rim e Prevention
Committee along with other com m unity groups
such as the Christian Women Against Crime have
organized to light crime.
On Oct. K last year, more than 130 residents
marched in the rain along Alberta St. and Union
Ave. protesting the problem o f drug dealing and
p ro stitu tio n. The march was sponsored by the
King and Eliot Neighborhood Association, Crime
Prevention Committee. The Committee has also
held num erous pickets on (he corner o f N .E .
Alberta and Grand Ave., in an effort to stop drug
dealing on that corner. Although the Committee’s
e fforts haven’ t ceased the sale o f drugs on this
comer, their work has resulted in a decrease in the
number o f young Black males who openly sell
drugs.
Recently, more than 150 residents living in the
King and Eliot areas voiced their frustrations at
city and county officials during a panel discussion
at the King Neighborhood Facility. The panel in
cluded Portland’s Mayor Bud Clark; Multnomah
C ounty C om m issioner Gretchen K a fo u ry ;
Program C o o rdina tor Council fo r P rostitution
Alternatives Susan Hunter; C om m unity Service
M ultnom ah County Corrections Harley I.ieber;
and M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty D is tric t A tto rn e y
Michael Schrunk.
The Crime Prevention Committee o f the Eliot
and King Neighborhood Association should be
congratulated fo r the ir e ffo rts . H ow ever, the
Committee is aware o f the fact that their efforts to
clean the streets o f crim inal activities is far from
complete. For in order to eradicate crim e, the
residents livin g in these com m unities need the
resources and cooperation o f city officials. Toni
W illia m s, an Executive Board member on the
King Neighborhood Improvement Association,
stated, “ For years city officials have been ignoring
the problem o f crime in the King and Eliot com-
muniites.”
The new a d m in istra tio n can dem onstrate to
residents living in the crime-prone neighborhoods
that the city and the Police Bureau are concerned
about crim e in their com m unities. This can be
done by using the $104,(11) federal crime preven
tion grant in the King and Eliot neighborhoods.
Escalation in Nicaragua
by John I am/>erti
groups, and at least two of them have
Recent new» dial U.S.-backed Con
Iras shut down a Nicaraguan A rm y
helicopter with a Soviet-made suriacc-
to-air missile was coupled with adini
nisi rat ion charges o f increased Cuban
participation in Nicaragua's defense
e ffo rts . T h e events and the charges
indicate a new escalation o f the ugly
war in Nicaragua— and a new round
o f scare tactics to pressure Congress
into stepping up the United Slates'
role.
A c co rd in g to U .S . governm ent
sources Nicaragua's Army has about
700 o f those missiles, known as SA
7’s. In July 1984 a State Department
official predicted ominously that SA-
7's would soon appeal in the hands of
rebel
forces in El S alvad o r,
presum ably
transferred
fro m
N icaragu a. I hat has not occurred,
despite ad m in is tra tio n claim s o f a
continuing llow of arms in that direc
tion Ironically, the missiles have in
stead been obtained and used by Con
tra forces. A spokesman told the /.os
Angeles Zone that private co n tribu
tors in the United States piosidcd the
money to buy them, and that retired
U .S . A rm y G eneral John Singlaub
arranged for the Contras to receive
essential tra in in g in their use and
maintenance.
The State Department says that two
o f the 14 people killed in the downed
helicopter were Cubans, and calls this
evidence o f a S o viet. C u b an and
N icaraguan "can er in the re g io n .”
W hether or not there actually were
Cubans present, condemning foreign
involvem ent in C e n tra l A m erican
co n flicts is a strange line fo r our
government to lake. U.S. pilots and
ground personnel, w orking for the
C IA or as mercenaries, have made
num erous trips over and in to
Nicaragua to supply and assist Contra
died there. T h e C IA has mined
Nicaragua's harbors and attacked its
port facilities. In El Salvador's civil
war, U.S. A ir fo rc e pilots regularly
fly train ing and reconnaissance
missions for the governm ent forces
and sometimes fin d themselves in
combat. I f "o u ts id e " (C u b an ) p ar
ticipation hi Nicaragua's Contra war
is so w ro ng , how can the U n ited
States ju s tify its own deep and
growing involvement?
In ra tio n a lizin g its m ilita ry and
econom ic
cam paign
against
Nicaragua, the Reagan administration
stands reason and justice on their
(leads An impoverished little country
o f barely three m illion people is pic
tured as a threatening military giant.
Nicaragua, many times in this century
the victim o f U .S aggression, is ac
cused of unprovoked hostility toward
us. Nicaragua is constantly denoun
ced for human rights shortcomings,
although its record is far superior to
that o f U.S. allies in the region such as
Guatemala and El Salvador. Not least
strange, terrorists and m urderers
become, in President Reagan's words,
"freedom fighters” and "th e moral
equivalent of our founding fathers."
It is consistent with this record that
the current escalation o f the war by
the Contras is presented by U .S . o f
ficials as i f it w eie somehow a
provocation on the part o f the
government they seek to overthrow!
This logic doesn’t w ork. The cam
paign against Nicaragua, which the
administration wants to expand, is a
mistaken policy that hurts U .S . in
terests in many ways, f o r example,
the U n ited States is increasingly at
odds with its most im portant allies,
none of whom support the U .S . em
bargo on trade w ith N icarag u a.
Earlier this month a United Nations
resolution calling for an end to the
embargo passed by a vote of 84 to 4,
only Israel, G a m b ia and G ren ada
voted with the United States.
The credibility o f the United States
as a peaceful and law-abiding nation
is eroding badly. O u r government's
refusal to answer Nicaragua's charges
in the W orld Court looks very much
like an adm ission o f g u ilt. The
damage these policies do to the role of
law in international affairs may in the
long run become one o f the greatest
costs o f the a d m in is tra tio n 's an ti-
Nicaraguan vendetta.
Secretary o f State George Shultz
was quoted as being "all fo r” Contra
use o f the SA-7's against Nicaraguan
government forces. " I hope that the
United States might itself take " fu r
ther steps" against Nicaragua This is
shocking and sad. Escalating the war
in C entral Am erica is not in the in
terest o f (he United States or any of
the peoples in the region.
Elsewhere in the world M r. Shultz
sees things w ith d iffe re n t eyes. O n
Dec. 11 he said that “ A country can
not be expected to make a concession
to those who resort to terrorism and
who treat negotiations as only a way
station on the road to its u ltim a te
destruction." He was speaking at that
tim e o f Is ra e l’ s policy to w a rd the
Palestine Liberation Organization. It
is unfixtunate that the Secretary does
not see that these words accurately
describe the position o f Nicaragua in
relation to what, elsewhere, he would
not
hesitate to call external
aggression.
John la m p e rti is a professor at Dar-
mouth Collette in Hanover. N H He
is cu rren tly serving as a consultant
w ith N A R M 1C. a research an d
publication project o f the A merican
Friends Service C o m m itte e in
Philadelphia. PA.
Portland Observer
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Shriners Hospital in Portland
Portland is fortunate lo have one
o f N o rth A m erica's 19 Shriners O r
thopedic Hospitals. The Shriners have
operated specialty orthopedic c h il
dren's hospitals since 1922. and in
Portland, have recently moved to a
fa c ility at 3101 S .W . Sam Jackson
would place a financial burden of the
patient's fam ily or g u a rd ia n ." W rite
to the Shriners H osp ital. 3101 S .W .
Sam Jackson Park Rd., Portland. oR
97201 for more in fo rm a tio n , or call
241 5090
I was recently given a tour o f the
Park Road.
I he new 40 bed hospital provides a
new Portland facility by Jill Laurence
o f the hospital's p ub lic relations
d ep artm en t. U n lik e most general
wide range of services including reha
bilitation, education and research as
well as treatment for a variety o f orth
opedic problem s. The tru ly unique
aspect o f this hospital is that there is
no charge for the services rendered.
The Shriners literature states: " A ll
children from infancy to 18 years of
age are eligible for treatment if, m the
o pin io n o f the h o s p ital's ch ief o f
staff, there is a reasonable possibility
that treatm ent w ill benefit the child
and that treatment at another facility
hospitals, this one is geared toward
children and (he atm osphere does
much to rem ove the ste rility and
threatening nature o f most facilities,
children who are about to undergo
surgery "p lay-act" the actual surgery
so as to minimize fears.
W h ile the hospital can hold 40
children at a lime, there are normally
around 20 children at the hospital.
The average stay is 10-12 days,
patient clinics which serve a broader
short term need, inclu d in g one for
cast rem o val and one fo r cerebral
palsy patients.
Though the " S h rin e o f N o rth
A m e ric a "
funds the Shriners
H o sp itals, (here is no requ irem en t
that children served have any relation
ship lo a Shriner. The special fund
raising events like the circus and high
school sporting events are but a few
o f the ongoing Shriner activities that
help p ro vid e free care to needy
children. A ll children are eligible to
apply regardless o f race or religion
So, if you have or know o f a child
who has o rth op ed ic problem s that
could be tre ate d , co n tact the local
Shriners Hospital at (503) 241 5090 or
call the national number at I -800-237-
5055.
alth ou g h there are specialty out-
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Letters to the Editor
¡be ( Risers er welcomes letters to the editor, letters should
M e reserve the right to edit f o r length. M a il to: Portland
be typed o r neatly p rin te d and signed with the author's
Observer, P.O. Box 3137, Portland. OR97208.
name and address ¡addresses are not usually published).
Dialogue is needed in Northeast Portland
To the Editor:
In the b elie f that knowledge and
awareness are necessary and effective
antitoxins against the venom o f hate,
I believe dialogue is needed in N o r
theast Portland We cannot afford lo
be carried away by em otionalism . I
would like lo share a Q uranic verse
with Sister Nabeeh M ustafa, “ Verily
never will G od change the condition
o f a people until they change it them
selves (w ith their ow n s o u ls )."
(1 3 :1 1 ). " T h e believers are but a
single B ro th e rh o o d ," says A lla h
(4 9 :1 0 ). Is this, then, how one
b ro ther/sistcr helps another? W ith
the term "Bold-headed liar?” I here is
not an atom of truth in what you said
Sometimes it's a person's ignorance
that allows them to be beguiled. A lit
tle knowledge is a dangerous thing,
more dangerous than ignorance itself.
If anyone points out the proper path
to an ignorant person, the latter will
follow them without putting on the
airs o f a p hilosopher. But one
possessing a little knowledge; while
they are incapable o f understanding
co rrectly, refuses to acknow ledge
their own incapacity. The old adage
has it that full lunacy is better than
sem i-lunacy. S im ila rly an ignorant
person is better than one possessing a
little knowledge.
H ave you fo rg o tten that n atu ral
science, G e o m e try , M ath em atics ,
A stro no m y, M ed icine, C h em istry,
G eo lo g y, and all other sciences
beneficial to man have a bearing on
m atters connected w ith re lig io n ,
although they have no direct relation
with religion itself. God will certainly
aid those who aid His (cause! (22:40).
The Christian segment o f the world's
"ism s" or ideologies would proclaim
Jesus Christ as (he greatest historical
revolutionary, although other radicals
lived before his time. It is interesting
that Christ’s priority for living was to
lib erate his people — not G od the
Father w ho is analagous to the
C h ristian " r e lig io n " — but people:
Christ lived in G od but fo r people,
because Christ was so much in God.
It
is necessary
that
one's
philosophy nourishes and sustains his
w o rk. C h rist, the living revolution
and " c h u r c h ,” reached p eo ple’ s
philosophies or religion or reason for
being th ro ug h tending to their
primary needs— providing them with
fo o d , c lo th in g , shelter, and even
“ com m unity” — a safe environment
o f persons like themselves. H e , the
minority, created a movement and in
the end his own people contributed to
and supported the violent death o f
their ow n leader.
Christ was an anarchist pure and
simple. Dr. King did not wait on (io d
to start the civil rights movement. We
must deal with the science concerned
with the principles o f valid reasoning
and correct inference, either deductive
or inductive. Intelligent people today
do not believe they w ill flo a t up to
some city with golden streets and milk
and honey on a cloud som ewhere.
They don’t want anyone to tell them
about " T o m o r r o w in good O ld
B eu lah ’ s l a n d ." (T im :2 :2 5 ) The
preacher must furnish the basis for
feeling by producing intelligent con
viction. C an the physician practice
medicine without study o f physiology,
or the law yer practice law w ith o u t
study o f jurisprudence? I'm inclined
to believe, regardless o f C re d o ,
everyone should read, Shakespeare,
K Henry V I, 2nd part 4 :7 — " Ig n o r
ance is the curse o f God; Knowledge
the wing w h e rc -w ilh we fly to
heaven."
Sister Nabeeh, could a trained or
skilled working prostitute (W hore) be
called an " A r t is a n ." W hat do you
really know about Darw in's theory?
Charles Darwin, Life, 1:274— " In my
most extrem e flu c tu a tio n , I have
never been an atheist, in the sense o f
denying the existence of a G o d .”
I may sound harsh and a n
tagonistic, yet I'm the product o f
A m e rik a 's m is-edu cation . I'm in
clined to believe antagonism evokes
response, and response evokes in
d iv id u al reactio n , which in turn
stimulates the ego. I h aven't asked
anyone to seek truth in the minds o f
pre-h u m an apes, or in the blind
stirrings o f some primitive pulp. The
genesis and emergence o f an idea are
one thing; its validity is quite another
The logical value o f chemistry cannot
be decided by reciting its beginning in
alchem y; and the logical value of
astronomy is independent o f the fact
that it began in astro lo g y. Even if
man came from the ape, we need not
trem ble fo r the v a lid ity o f the
multiplication-table or o f the Golden
Rule. I f we have moral insight, it is no
matter how we got it; and if we have
no such insight there is no help in any
psychological theory. Are we the vic
tims o f a m ental or m oral astig m a
tism, which secs a single point o f truth
as two? C an we see G od and m an,
divine sovereignty and hum an
freedom , C h rist’ s divine nature and
C h rist's hum an nature, the natural
and the supernatural, respectively, as
two disconnected facts, when perhaps
deeper insight w ould see but one?
A stro n o m y has its ce n trip e ta l and
centrifugal forces, yet they are doub
tless one force.
Dr. Jamil Cherovee
Integration is Mid-East solution
To the Editor:
N o state has a right to exclude
people on the basis o f th eir race.
People who arc driven out o f their
homeland become angry and violent.
If you were driven out o f vour house,
you too m ight k ill the racists who
stole your land.
Israel must a llo w P alestin ian
people to re tu rn , or else Jews w ill
never be safe anyw here in the M id -
East.
Zio n ism is an ideology based on
race. It is causing unnecessary blood
shed to both Jews and A rabs.
Zio n ism claim s it is m akin g a safe
haven fo r Jews oppressed by A n ti-
Sem itism Y e t, look w hat they are
really producing: guerillas k ill 17
tourists, Zionists, or Jews. So, the
Zio n ist governm ent o f Israel w ill
bomb a Palestine village somewhere,
or kill a few more Palestinian people
in the co n cen tratio n camps on the
West Bank. The blood gels deeper
and stickier. Jews are not safer now in
the Mid-Elast.
During Vietnam, nobody was really
surprised when the tiny V iet Cong
bombed bars, airports or brothels full
ol Am erican soldiers drinking to try
and forget the women and children
with guns they had just killed in some
Vietnamese village. Am erica lost in
Vietnam because they were trying to
force the m ajo rity into an unaccep
table governm ent. A m erica's pawn
state o f Israel w ill lose in the M id -
East, if they try to force Arabs to live
by Israel's rules.
The adults who died in Rome and
Vienna are not innocent. They know
there is a w ar going on. T hey also
th in k they benefit fro m the racist
supression o f the Palestinian people.
They are wrong. Soon, no Jew will be
safe in the M id East, because o f what
a tiny racist clique of Zionists is doing
in the name o f Jews. The majority of
Jews in the world are anti-Zionist, yet
they suffer for what the racists are
doing. The people o f the world must
start speaking out for an end to the
racist oppression o f the Palestinian
people who were driven o ff their land,
with our tax dollars! W e want Peace
on Earth for Palestinian people too.
O ne very positive solution to this
problem is a united stales o f the M id
East, w here, as here in A m eric a,
people o f all races can tra v e l, buy
land, work or intermarry as they want
to. It w orks here and it can w ork
there. H a lf my relatives live in Israel
They claim there is a large minority in
Israel w ho w ant an in te r-ra c ia l
society, as in the U nited States, but
the governm ent and the U .S .-
con trolled media ignore these deman
ds and ideas. (T h a t is probably the
reason this letter w ill end up in the
"circular file " )
A few racists w ill say that Arabs
and Jews can't live on the same block,
or go to the same schools, or work at
the same jobs, but I disagree Here in
Am erica, 200 d ifferen t cultures live
and work together fairly peacefully.
Jews aren ‘I allowed to have their own
state here. In te g ra tio n w orks in
America, and it can work in the M id
East, if the United States would just
cut o f f all funds to the racist Zionists
in the Israel government who distort
the government o f Israel and are the
main cause o f this spreading violence
The U n ited States must put ilself
on a higher moral plane by not giving
the bullies in Israel any more o f our
money for bombs. This will force the
Zionists to m ake peace w ith their
neighbors.
Paul Kangas