OCR Text |
Show FTOOOIM Sun Advocate 4b Tuesday. March 26, 1991 Paying dues took Japans Parliament longer to approve the countrys financial contribution to the Persian Gulf War than it did the allied coalition to win it. After weeks of bitter legislative and public resistance and Prime Minister some last minute horse-tradinToshiki Kaifu won approval recently of a measure authorizing payment of nearly $9 billion toward the war effort. Together with last years pledge, Japans total commitment now approximates $13 It g, billion. The sum is impressive, but it came grudgingly from a country thats easily able to afford it, that gets more than 70 percent of its oil from the Persian Gulf and that wants none of the money to be used to defray costs of the fighting, preferring, instead, that it be used only for postwar reconstruction. Japan has not been a cheerful giver. There are complex reasons for this, largely growing out of Warld War lls disastrous results for Japan, which persuaded most Japanese to reject militarism. In the gulf crisis, however, this principle has been stretched so far that neither nor even medical teams went to the gulf, facts not lost on a U.S. Congress already spoiling for a fight with Tokyo on a number of trade issues. Most Japanese are very sensitive to this problem. Some Japanese firms reportedly are hesitant to even seek reconstruction'and supply contracts in the gulf now that the war is over, for fear of looking like crass opportunists. And Japanese political leaders now say that they recognize that political responsibility goes with economic power. Whether that recognition is translated into policy and practice remains doubtful. A similar reluctance has been evident in Germany, where, despite majority support for the allnon-comb- at sentiment are and voiced by substantial minorities. After long hesitation, Bonn has roughly matched Tokyos financial pledge. More important, Germany sent an antiaircraft contingent to Turkey and allowed U.S. forces to use Germany as a primary staging area: now, Bonn is engaged in postwar diplomacy and its military is helping to clear mines from the Persian Gulf. All that is a far cry from Tokyos dithering. Whats troubling is that its late in the day for two rich, globally engaged countries still to be holding back in the global arena, as if somehow they were crises. History has something exempt from far-oto do with that, of course, but so do smugness and ies, anti-w- anti-Americ- an ar ff hypocrisy. Germans and Japanese dont want the United States to be the only world power, or dont like the way it wields that power, they ought to say so forthrightly and demand larger roles for themselves. If The money is welcome, but its not to be confused with leadership. Reprinted from The Sacramento, Calif, Bee. Wftfh D Cbtl&Mir Qfflt cofUVfJ&ji sepvkc Anything under the sun dream amid the mud A Mud, manure and grease are an indispensable part of spring farming. Country kids learn early how to use a stick to remove most of the muck from their shoes and then leave them out on the porch. Ive not been too squeamish about mud, unless Ive just mopped the floor. Then I begin to contemplate what damage a mop-stic-k could do to someone foolish enough to defile my spotless kitchen vinyl Perhaps living in Orangeville with its paved roads, curbs and gutters has citified me. Im beginning to notice mud. Iast weekend during the St. Patricks Day plaque dedication and parade, it was necessary for me to cross the dirt area near the Doughboy statue several times. As I collected mud on my shoes and watched the deterioration of the recently laid sod near the museum, I yearned for the beautiful park that is now only a dream. Im anxious to see the goo (or hard baked soil, depending on the season) an inviting city green. Planners envision a Peace Garden with walks, trees, grass and perhaps, a fountain. The Doughboy statue will be the centerpiece. I wont argue whether the land could have been more useful as a parking lot, or a site for library expansion, Ill simply say some greenery near the statue will be become welcome. Basically utilitarian, Im not enamored with beautiful, useless" things. I like things with a purpose, things that fulfill a need. I wonder, do we need a beautiful Peace Garden on Main Street? If for no other reason than to keep the mud off our soles and the cobwebs out of our souls, a Peace Garden on Main Street is a necessity. If people need civic pride and patriotism, we need a Peace Garden. If children love the coolness of a fountain spray on a hot day, we need a fountain. If shade and green grass make Price a better place to visit, we need trees and grass on the comer of Main and 100 East. Jack Kobe believes that. He believes it so much he volunteered to raise donations and seek grants, so the garden could replace the mud. Officials at Price city believed it, too, but told Kobe it would be a long time before the city coffers could pay for the project. Thats why he volunteered Ifyou believe grass, trees, flowers and a fountain are necessary, how about putting your money where your belief is? Call Jack and let him know you support him, youll help him and offer some money to make the Peace Garden more than a dream amid the mud. If everyone in Price offered a dollar, that would $8,000. Reporting from the enemys camp The notion that Saddam Hussein kept Peter Arnett in Iraq for his own purposes during the war is reinforced by Saddams decision to expel Arnett and all other foreign journalists as soon as the war was over. Under Iraqi censorship, Arnett became to some extent a tool of Saddams propaganda. But he also could observe conditions in Baghdad that, if a revolt began, could not be censored entirely from his reports. And with the war over, he no longer served Saddams purpose. So he had to leave. The CNN reports from Baghdad were facinating on the first night of the war, when the skies were filled with tracers and missile tracks. But then CNN and Arnett carried on during the entire war, dutifully reporting what Saddam allowed us to see, and nothing else. Censored reports from the enemy camp become propaganda and are certain to serve the enemys cause and give him aid and comfort. Would it have been defensible and desirable if an American radio network had carried censored reports from a correspondent in Berlin throughout World War II, translating Hitler's diatribes and describing Allied bomb damage to German cities in detail, but never referring to the Holocaust of European Jewry or the existence of the Nazi death anti-aircra- ft camps? Nowadays, the reports come on television via a satellite dish, but otherwise there is no difference. In a total war, what was not done before should not be done now. The gulf war was short of a total war, but it set a precedent for piping enemy propaganda into our homes in a larger conflict. Thats a bad precedent. We cant trust the viewer always to recognize propaganda when he or she sees it, even when its labeled. The mere fact that a major news agency gives prominence to it tends to make it credible. ) Mike royko Ticket to good life The police chief of Los Angeles is being widely condemned because of the videotaped flogging of a traffic offender. But Chief Daryl Gates, while refusing to resign, suggests that the brutal beating might have been an uplifting act that could bring long-ranpositive results for the beating victim. As the chief put it at a recent press conference: We regret what took place. I hope he (the beating victim) gets his life straightened out Perhaps this will be the vehicle to move him down the road to a good life instead of the life hes been involved in for such a long time." I hadn't thought of it that way, but there could be something in what Chief Gates says. Theres no doubt that Rodney King, 25, hadnt been an exemplary citizen, although hes no John Dillinger. When the police stopped him for speeding, he was on parole for using a tire iron to threaten and rob a grocer. But as Chief Gates said, the experience of being beaten, kicked and shot with an electric stun gun might be what it takes to "move him down the road to a good life." now-famo- us ge Who knows, in a few years when all of this is forgotten, a reporter might drive out to a nice house in a California suburb and find a peaceful Rodney King pushing a mower across his lawn. The reporter might ask: "Mr. King, what is it that moved you down the road to a good life?" Thats a good question," might reply, "and Ill Mr. King be glad to explain it to you. You'll have to excuse me if I wobble and drool a bit; my face has nerve damage and my coordination hasn't been the same since they damaged my brain." Of course." "But to get back to your question. I think it was after LA's finest hit me about 50 to 55 times with their clubs. As you recall, some of the fillings flew out of my teeth and one of my eye sockets sort of exploded." Must have been a tad uncomfortable." Yes. And at that point, Fm pretty sure that those nine skull fractures and internal iryuries had already occurred, my cheekbone was fractured, one of my legs was broken, and I had this burning sensation from being zapped with that electric stun gun. I was feeling kind of low." "Thats to be expected." "Right But as I was lying there, and they were getting in a few final kicks, and then g sort of my hands to and my legs dragging me along the ground, 1 said to myself: Why not try to look at the bright side?" hog-tyin- "And did you?" "Yes. I thought: Well, one of my legs isnt broken; one of my eye sockets isnt fractured; one of my cheekbones isnt broken. And although my skull is frac- tured, my head remains attached to my body; and while fillings have popped out of my teeth, I still have the teeth. And I said to myself: Half a body is better than none." "Very inspiring." "Thank you. And I had a chance to think about why the police were treating me that way. It was their way of telling me that speeding is an act of behavior and I had been very bad, bad, bad." "You have unusual insight." "I try. And I thought that if only I had led the life of a model citizen, this wouldnt have happened to me. Lets face it, the LA. police never fracture the skull of the president of the Chamber of Commerce, the chief antler in the Loyai Order of Moose or the head of the PTA. No it was my past anti-soci- al behavior history of that brought it on." But they had no way of knowing you were on parole." anti-soci- al Yes, but Im sure they could guess just by the look of me. Be honest, I dont look at all like the head of the PTA, do I?" "True." Then, later, when Police Chief Gates said that the beating, although regrettable, couid be the vehicle that would get me on the road to the good life, everything became clear. I realized that the beating would turn my life ticky around and be a et to the good life. The chiefs words inspired one-wa- you?" Not exactly. To be honest. Chief Gates' words convinced me that he had to be as dumb an S.O.B. as ever opened his mouth at a press conference. "But you said he helped you to a good life. Thats right, he did." "How?" When I took his police department to court, that jury awarded me a couple of million in damages, and Ive been leading the good life ever since." I dont think thats what the chief had in mind." I don't think that chief had , anything in mind." |