Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, September 04, 1996, Image 1

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    V o liiiiie X X V I, N um ber 56
( o iiim itle il lo cultural il¡ \e r s il\.
Straight from
heaven
September 4. 1996
King of the Game
Starlight, shine
bright
Youth Outreach Group
lights up the spirits o f
neighborhood kids with
“King Games
Michael Scott & The
Outreach Choir grace
through a new collection
o f Gospel songs.
See Religion, page A4.
See Metro, page BI.
Local artists Theresa
Demarest & Good Company\
celebrates latest CD release
“Moon Rising".
See Arts & Entertainment, page B3.
W ^lortlanb (A'- ,.rorr
e O on
TUE
S® I N
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U.S. bombs Iraq
1
REVIEW
Iraqi strikes may
help Clinton
Diplomatic and military factors may
have driven President Clinton’s missile
strikes against Iraq, but analysts say it
should benefit his position in the presiden­
tial race as well. Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein’s military drive against ethnic
Kurdish rebels became an election issue
when Republican challenger Bob Dole,
lagging in polls, seized upon it, saying
Saddam’s aggression was the result of
Clinton’s weak policy.
P'-*n L i b r
wo radical Palestinian groups
lie behind this new aggression,” the PFLP
condemned U.S. missile attack
spokesman said.
against Iraq on Tuesday and
“The aim of the United States’ interference
accused Washington of playing the in role
Iraq is not to protect the interests o f the
of an international policeman.
Kurds but to illegally impose its hegemony
T
"Once again the United States practises
the role of the world’s policeman sending its
troops to bomb Iraq under false pretexts and
claims,” a spokesman for the Popular Front
for the Liberation o f Palestine (PFl.P) said.
He accused U.S. President Bill Clinton of
launching the attacks to serve his re-election
campaign.
"Clinton’s administration which is moved
by election objectives prior to the presiden­
tial elections will not achieve its goals which
over the Arab wealths," he said.
The Democratic Front for the Liberation
o f Palestine (DFLP) assailed the U.S. at­
tacks and urged Arabs and the Iraqi opposi­
tion to condemn the raids.
"The American aggression against Iraq is
a violation of the United Nations’ charter
and is a unilateral tyrany which is being
conducted without the approval o f the
U.N. Security Council,” a DFLP spokesman
said.
Dole supports
US forces
Firefighters have claimed victory over
several major wildfires burning in the west
ern United States, but they are still battling
blazes in eight states. Cooler weather and
rain in places is bringing welcome relief to
thousands o f exhausted firefighters
stretched to the limit by the worst fire
season in 30 years. The National Inter
| agency Fire Center said 19 major fires are
burning.
Bodies found in
murders probe
Authorities say Belgian police Tuesday
found the bodies of two teen-agers who
were the subject o f a Europe-wide scare
over pedophile abductors. The cause and
dateofdeath were not immediately known.
Convicted child rapist Marc Dutroux, the
key suspect in the pedophile abduction,
sex and murder ring that has sent shock
waves across Europe, admitted kidnap­
ping the two girls a year ago.
Juror calls in
bomb witness
The trial in New York of three militant
Muslims accused of plotting to bomb U.S.
passenger jets took a bizarre tum Tuesday
when it was disclosed that a juror tele­
phoned a government witness over the
weekend. The contact caused a dilemma in
the trial because it could have led the juror
to be dismissed just days after delibera­
tions began.
FRONT
S E C TIO N
vi. prices
skyrocket
Seven Drown
Hurricane Fran
upgraded
Firefighters
tackling blazes
*O o
"We urge Arab states and the U N. to stop
this aggressive military fooling around ...and
Two radical Palestinian groups con­
•we urge Iraq to return to wisdom and cut
short the way for any reasons that would help demned U.S. missile attack against Iraq on
Tuesday and accused Washington o f play­
the American aggression,” he said.
“We also call our Kurd brothers to return ing the role of an international policeman.
"Once again the United States practises
to unity in order not to allow the colonial and
regional expansionist countries to use the the role of the world’s policeman sending
Kurdish issue against the will of the people its troops to bomb Iraq under false pretexts
and claims,” a spokesman for the Popular
of the region including the Kurds.”
U.S. navy and air force bom bers Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
launched m issile strikes against air de­ said.
He accused U.S. President Bill Clinton
fence and com m unications targets in
southern Iraq to reply the Iraqi attacks of launching the attacks to serve his re-
against Arbil, a Kurdish opposition’s election campaign.
“Clinton’s administration which is
safe haven in northern Iraq.
moved by election objectives prior to the
presidential elections will not achieve its
goals which lie behind this new aggres­
sion,” the PFLP spokesman said.
“ The aim o f the U nited S ta te s’
interferance in Iraq is not to protect the
interests of the Kurds but to illegally im­
pose its hegemony over the Arab wealths,”
he said.
Republican presidential nominee Bob
Dole Tuesday carefully avoided criticiz­
ing President Clinton’s missile attacks on
Iraq and voiced strong support for U.S.
forces. Speaking to an American Legion
convention in Salt Lake City, Dole saved
his venom for Iraqi President Saddam
I Hussein — whom he called a butcher and
a ty rant—and adopted a bipartisan tone as
he spoke about Clinton’s foreign policy.
Hurricane Fran’s fury is increasing as it
heads toward the southeastern United
I States. Forecasters say the storm is now a
Category 3 hurricane, with winds of 115
miles per hour. A hurricane watch has een
I posted from Central Florida to the border
of North Carolina. A hurricane warning is
also in effect for the sparsely populated
northwestern Bahamas. Late Tuesday, Fran
was located about 25 5 m i les east of Nassau
and moving west-northwest.
D
Last week Saturday, Isaac Hayes conducted the grand opening o f the new Tutoring Center at 3548 N. Mississippi. Hayes is
the International Spokesperson for the World Literacy Crusade and is pictured here with a local cameraman and opposite
Lynn Rogers-Branch, a representative for Albina Community Bank.
The lake in which Susan Smith drowned
her two sons in 1994 took seven more lives
when a car holding four children and an adult
rolled into it and two adults in the same party
drowned trying to save them.
Union County Sheriff Howard Wells said
Saturday those killed were among a group of
10 who had driven to John D. Long Lake to
see memorials erected last year for Smith’s
two young sons, who were killed Oct. 25,
1994, when she strapped them into car seats
and let the car roll down a ramp into the lake
Wells said a Chevrolet Suburban carrying
five members of the group, including four
small children, rolled forward between the
memorials and down a steep embankment
into the lake about 20 feet from the boat
ramp.
Two adults who had gotten out o f the car
to look at the memorials also drowned after
theyjumped into the lake to rescue the others.
Tough tobacco regulation overdue
erb Severson says the Clinton
Administration's decision to
designate tobacco as an addic­
tive drug will enable the Food and
Administration to put increased focus
on combating tobacco company mar­
keting and advertising that targets youth.
H
A University of Oregon counseling psy­
chology professor who has studied nicotine
addiction and youth since 1986, Severson
says tobacco companies spend $6 billion a
year to recruit and solicit new users, most
under age 18.
“Confirmed smokers switch brands very
little so ads must target new smokers,” he
says, noting that 90 percent of all smokers
become regular users by age 18
Drug
He says when R J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
began its Joe Camel advertising campaign, it
increased Camel’s share of the youth market
by 38 percent, but the brand’s overall market
share increased only 5 percent.
The following summarizes Severson’s ad­
ditional comments on the Clinton Administra­
tion’s plans for tougher tobacco regulation:
Significance o f the change:
♦ Will finally resolve the debate over
whether nicotine is an addictive drug.
♦ Will remove the issue from Congress
where it takes years to change tobacco reg­
ulation.
♦ Will regulate both cigarettes and smoke­
less tobacco.
L ik e ly re g u la to ry actions affectin g
youth:
♦ A ban on vending machine sales.
♦ A ban on billboard ads within a set
distance from schools.
♦ A ban on tobacco ads in magazines that
target youth.
♦ A ban on tobacco company logos and
ads at sporting events, which have been an
Toxins taint Oregon
regon industries reported releas­
state data on reproductive toxins.
ing 5 ,765,0 92 pounds of toxic
Other shocking findings include:
chemicals linked to human re­
*4.1 million pounds o f reproductive tox­
productive disorders in 1994, according
ins were reported as having been released to
to a report released last week by the
the air, 6.463 pounds to Oregon waters, and
Oregon State Public Interest Research
54,012 pounds to land. (The remainder ofthe
Group (OSPIRG).
5. 7 millions pounds consists o f transfers to
O
The report is entitled “Generations at Risk:
How Environmental Toxins May Affect Re­
productive Health.”
“The debate about toxic chemicals has
traditionally focused mainly on cancer. This
report helps to advance our understanding of
how toxic chemicals also cause a range of
other reproductive disorders,” said OSPIRG
environmental advocate Randy Tucker.
“The report adds to the mounting evidence
that toxic chemicals may seriously affect
generations to come,” he added.
The Environmental Working Group used
the most recent data from the Community
Right to Know Act to compile the state-by-
EDITORIAL
RELIGION
A2
A4
incinerators, landfills, and other waste dis­
posal facilities.)
* The top ten facilities releasing repro­
ductive toxins account, fo r nearly half o f
reported Oregon emissions and transfers, or
2.75 million pounds.
These facilities are: Aqua Glass Works
(Klamath Falls). Gunderson Inc (Northwest
Portland), 3M (White City), Rexham Graph­
ics (North Portland), Merix Corp (Forest
Grove), Freightliner Corp Truck Manufac­
turing Plant (North Portland), Evanite Ftber
(Corvallis), Emark Inc (Lebanon), and Wil­
lamette Industries (Albany)
* 28 8 million pounds ofreproductive tox-
ins were used in Oregon in 1994, according
to the Oregon Department o f Environmental
Quality. This represents an increase o f 1.38
million pounds over the amount reported in
1993
“Especially disturbing is the increased
prevalence of reproductive problems such as
testicular and breast cancer,” said Pat Kabele,
Health Policy Specialist for the Oregon Nurses
Association.
“Mounting scientific evidence linking re­
productive health problems with reproduc­
tive toxins warrants prompt action to reduce
human exposure,” she said
Physicians at Greater Boston Physicians
for Social Responsibility and MASSPIRG
(Massachusetts Public Interest Research
Group) conducted extensive analysis of peer-
reviewed studies on reproductive impacts of
toxic chemicals.
effective way around the current ban on tele­
vision ads for tobacco companies.
♦ A ban on free taste tests (current prac­
tice, particularly at rodeos).
L ikely re g u la to ry actions affecting
adults:
♦ Regulation of nicotine levels and of ad­
ditives that enhance the delivery of nicotine
♦ Stronger of wording on warning labels
♦ More prominent placement of warning
labels.
♦ A requirement that cigarettes be fire-
safe, a technology that already exists. Ciga­
rettes are the No. 1 cause of non-arson fires.
Free bike
clinic
The Bicycle Transportation Alliance
is sponsoring Legal clinics fo r bicyclists
with Bike L aw yer Ray Thom as on the
second Thursday o f every month from
5 :3 0 -7 :3 0 p .m ., S e p te m b e r 12 at
Swanson, Thomas & Coon, 621 SW
M orrison Street, Suite 900, Portland.
I t ’ s free. Contact K aren Frost Mecey at
226-0676 to pre-register o r i f you have
questions.
There are also a p a ir o f fast a fte r­
noon rides w ith lots o f clim bing from
12:10 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. M o n d a y and
Thursday. M eet at the southwest cor­
ner o f Pioneer Courthouse Square be­
tween noon and 12:10 p.m. This is free
too. Contact Ray Thomas at 228-5222,
or meet at the start.