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Show Sun Advocate Tuesday, May 15, 1990 The Soviets secret Americans have always believed that Josef Stawas a butcher whose slaughter of millions of Soviet citizens was equaled only by Hitlers atrocities. Now, 50 years after the fact, the Soviets have admittted that they also murdered at least 15,000 Polish officers following Stalins invasion of Poland in 1940. Approximately 4,200 bodies of Polish officers had been found in the Katyn Forest in the Soviet Union in 1 943 by Nazis who had invaded the communist nation during World War II. Another 10,000 bodies have never been found. For years, the Soviet and Polish governments blamed the Nazis for killing Polish officers, although Western historians believed the Soviets were responsible. As glasnost brought a new openness to the Soviet Union, the nations dirty secret was discussed. Finally, on April 13, the Poles accepted from Mikhail Gorbachev an acknowledgement of Soviet guilt for the heinous crimes. Its good that criminals admit their crimes," Solidarity leader Lech Walesa said of the Soviet statement. He added, however, that there must be punishment of those guilty of the genocide." Mr. Walesa is right. The Soviets cannot admit their guilt and then let the matter drop. As a first step, either the Soviets or an international body convened through the United Nations should locate, capture and prosecute those persons responsible for the massacre of the Polish officers. Those who are convicted should be severely punished. While Stalin and many others involved in the genocide are dead, those who are still alive should be made to pay a price for their terrible deeds just as Nazi war criminals have and are being made to do. Some type of reparations should be made to the families of those 15,000 slain Polish officers. Not only have those family members been denied compensation, but for years they were threatened with being jailed themselves if they even mentioned the possibility that the Soviets had been responsible for the killings. And steps should be taken immediately to determine where the remaining 10,000 Polish officers are buried. Certainly, Soviet citizens who are aware of where the slaughter of the officers took place andor official papers on the matter must exist. As long as the Soviets have admitted their guilt, all aspects of the record should be set straight. The Soviet Union has taken an important first step by admitting its guilt in slaying the 15,000 Polish officers. But the court of world opinion should not let this be the only step. Soviets involved in the killings must be brought to justice. lin . Mothers Day has passed, and I have survived. It has always seemed a day set aside to honor saints more than mothers. I have never felt comfortable with the accolades that seem more appropriate for somebody elses mother. I may be slower than most, but I only realized yesterday that Mothers Day is for children. My boys have been pestering me for days. What do you want for Mothers Day? Oh, hugs and kisses, I reply. No, Mom. What present do you want for Mothers Day? It becomes apparent that Mother needs Filler up with no gifts, cards, songs, or long speeches to fuel low-emissi- on An encouraging thing happened last year when President Bush suggested strengthening the federal Clean Air Act to require the sale of methanolburning automobiles in smoggy cities. No, Detroit didnt rush off to retool for cleaner cars of the future. But the president did manage to shake traditionally change-resistaauto makers and oil companies out of their complacency. Some of them formed a task force to research ways to help reduce car emissions. Though the task force report isnt complete, some products of the new environmental consciousness already are making their way to neighborhood gas stations. First, Atlantic Richfield Co. began marketing EC-a leaded gasoline with reduced amounts of g benzene and other chemicals. Recently, Shell Oil Co. announced it will market a new premium unleaded gas that emits less hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide. The Shell gas will be marketed initially in the nine smoggiest cities of America. At least three other companies British Petroleum, Marathon and Conoco also plan to test market gasoline in a few cities. Now that the oil companies are making their new product available, customers must do their part. As Shells television commercial exhorts, Experience the difference, and make a difference." By paying a g few pennies more for the preminum unleaded gas, for instance, they can help reduce smog. The oil industry is off to a promising start. But this first generation of fuel wont be n to clear the air that hangs yellowish-browenough over the nations smoggiest areas. It doesnt eliminate the need to design a new fleet of cars that burns methanol or even cleaner fuel. The technology exists, but auto makers have resisted the idea for years because it involves expensive production changes and a marketing smog-producin- low-emissi- lower-pollutin- low-emmissi- risk. there is far greater risk if we do nothing, and if millions of vehicles around the globe continue to pour clouds of pollutants into the atmosphere. Will Detroit help us breathe easier? Or will the answers come from the other side of the Pacific? But day. Being the child of a mother who never thought she needed gifts, I remember how important it was to give the handprints set in plaster of Paris, pencil boxes made with clothespins and soup cans and crayoned notes of love. Somehow, it made the connection between mother and child visible. Those childish gifts, the gifts I give as an adult are a physical affirmation of a relationship that I treasure. The mother-chil- d bond may be strong, but those gifts on Mothers Day give the bond substance. They say, I recognize our special experience and want you to recognize it, too. This gift is a symbol of something more. So what if the sweet verses dont quite seem to apply. Does it matter if Im less saintly than mothers created by Hallmark? No. Acceptance is the other half of giving. the transaction to be real, affirming, I must recognize the meaning of my childs For gift. mike royko Turn off . nt 1, understand a childs love. But a child needs some tangible expression of feelings he may not be able to express. A present wrapped up in pretty paper and bows is an indication the child can give back to someone who has been the giver until this Americas baby doctors have found a serious and widespread problem. Our kids watch far too much TV. So they overdose on violence and sex. And the doctors believe this makes many of them aggressive and promiscuous. Fat, too. All those hours spent slumped in front of the tube watching commercials for fast foods are creating a lot of young tubbies. How will we ever catch the Japanese if they run while we waddle? The research was done by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which probably knows what its talking about But you dont have to be a pediatrician, a psychologist or an expert of any kind to know that if kids are watching TV, they are being exposed to an incredible amount of sex and . violence. Thats especially true if you are hooked up to cable and subscribe to some of the movie channels. Sometimes I flip through the cable channels, pausing a few seconds at the major ones. Flip. Theres somebody being shot or blown up. Flip. There are a couple of people stripping and hopping in bed. Flip. There are a couple of people in bed being shot or blown up. Flip. Ah, what a relief. Its a standup comedian. But whats that hes saying? The old F word? Not once, not twice. Goodness, doesnt he know any other words? Of course he . the TV, tune does. Now hes using the MF word. For violence gourmets, there is something to please everyone. Blood spurting from bullet wounds. Throats slashed. Faces being ripped off. Heads bouncing across the prom floor. Big slimy lizards swallowing people. Ladies being tossed from high-ris- e balconies. Or some child with psychic powers causing a nasty grownup to explode into little bitty pieces of bloody flesh. For those who prefer that which used to be called the dirty deed, you can watch him doing it with her. And maybe him doing it with her and her. Or her doing it with her. Or her doing it with him and him. I recently saw Charles Bronson, who is not getting any younger, hiding under a bed while she did it with her. Why cant they give old Charlie some dignified grandpa roles? So the pediatricians are right. Networks, cable, anywhere you look. Violence, sex and commercials urging us to stoke up on grease. But its one thing to identify a problem and be concerned , about it. Its something else to find a solution. And thats the problem with this problem. There doesnt seem to be any solution. Actually, there are two parts to the problem. First, there is the source. That would be those who run television and those who pro in the movies and the other drivel shown on TV. Having dealt with moviemakers and TV entertainment executives, I would rate their ethics, sense of public and professional responsibility and business aspirations on about the same level as the average pimp. Maybe Tm being too harsh. After all, the average pimp hasnt had the advantage of going to film school or getting an MBS, so he has an excuse. Sure, there are some quality moviemakers. They dont need car chases, exploding duce cars, helicopter chases, exploding helicopters, rape, murder, mayhem and in every stressful situation Oh, s...! Im convinced that in film school, they give scriptwriting courses called Oh, s.J I,Oh, somebody saying: s.J II and "Remedial Oh, s ...! How did Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn make all those wonderful movies without either of them saying, Oh, s...!? Or even damn it? So thats half the problem the hustlebucks, the deaimak-er- s and the bottom-liner- s . And the American Academy of Pediatrics has about as much chance of getting them to change their approach as a vice cop has of persuading a pimp to take some night courses in computer programming. The other half of the problem would be the parents of the kids who average three to the kids four hours a day in front of the tube. And those who pay little or no attention to what their kids watch. There are parents who wont Jet the more grungy cable channels into their homes. Some parents set strict rules about when the TV can be on and what can be seen. There are those who introduce their kids to books, educational toys, outdoor games. Why, there are even parents who actually sit down with their kids at a dinner table and have conversations with them. You can trace parents through their kids. Just ask the teachers who their sharpest, brightest, most alert students are. Then look for the students who have the most glazed eyes, the shortest attention span and the sloppiest study habits. Youll have the son or daughter of a 1990 couch potato, and a future couch potato of America. I suppose the American Academy of Pediatrics could launch a campaign to warn the indifferent parents about the harm all that TV is doing to their children. They could say: Look, all you moms and dads out there, after your kids finish watching Mister Rogers, why dont you just hit the ofT button? They could say that. But the mumbled response would probably be: Uh, hand me that channel switcher and get me another beer and chips. |