Severely handicapped class arrives - The Lowell
Severely handicapped class arrives - The Lowell
Severely handicapped class arrives - The Lowell
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7V Ur-xJ, Urn* I. IMS Taf 7<br />
.POLITICS<br />
Ethiopia's future appears grim<br />
ByVlkrmmPwrkh<br />
^ masiive contriJ-JUon of<br />
relief ud from Western nation, in*<br />
tenul urift and « parched lane scape<br />
may perpetuate the Eth opi*a<br />
famine for vean.<br />
Several factors braght about IIK<br />
current famine, including the expansion<br />
of the Sahara desert r*A a<br />
severe drought, which has alto affected<br />
nearly 30 other African nations.<br />
Poor agricultural method*<br />
resulted in extensive soil .rmton in<br />
northern Ethiopia, while the Mani«<br />
government** 'neffectivc «ate<br />
farm system failr. to yield grain<br />
production comtnenumtc with the<br />
soaring binhrate.<br />
Though the famine was predicted<br />
as early *t 1992. both Western<br />
governments ami the Ethiopian<br />
regime were cither slow, or unwilling,<br />
to react. <strong>The</strong> Reagan Ad*<br />
ministration was reluctant to commit<br />
long-term development aid to a<br />
socialist suie. while Ethiopia's Col.<br />
Mengism Hiilc Mariam »-ai accused<br />
of using the fairine to weaken<br />
Eritrean and Tigre separatist<br />
movements in drought-sirickcn northern<br />
Ethiopia.<br />
By the time a BritiUi Broadcasting<br />
Corp. film aierted the world to the<br />
Ethiopian crisis, in October. 1984.<br />
the famine had reached catastrophic<br />
proportion*. At least 300.000 lives<br />
had beer cluoi^l, whih it* million<br />
more livoi on :he br.nk ct starvation.<br />
<strong>The</strong> im-ncdiate reiponv! w« a<br />
torrent of contributions to tntenuliorul<br />
relief jgencict of CTtinf in<br />
Ethiopia, from both [trivia group*<br />
and Western govemmenu.<br />
Thus far. the Urge*: zo<br />
has been Cx Unfced States, whose<br />
food shipments tottiled 55.000<br />
metric to:» u *hr oj jf January.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Reagan Adminluration. which<br />
has already allocated S59O million<br />
worth of aid to African famine<br />
relief, wilt shift $176 million from<br />
other hudjets, and ask Ccngreii for<br />
a supplement of $235 million.<br />
Parado-.icaUy. while aU is<br />
reaching Ethiopia at record levels,<br />
relief center* in Sudan are experiencing<br />
an influ* ot*3.000 Ethiopians a<br />
day, amounting to 850.000 refugees<br />
by late Fcbruiry, <strong>The</strong> refugees,<br />
whose pvirrary leaton for flight It<br />
political fear, preterit a major strain<br />
on the Suzanne economy. Sudan.<br />
once ttpected to be "the breadbasket<br />
of the Arab world" »jn w><br />
longer feed 2.3 million of it* people.<br />
Sudan hi* also been cmbrcilcd ia<br />
a controwny involving thtir connection<br />
with liners airlift of the<br />
Ethiopu.i )(r*i. i< Falashas. from<br />
Cudar>csc refugee campi. In mid-<br />
January, Sudan, fearful cf alienating<br />
the other Arab nations, callcc a halt<br />
to the seven-wee* covert eptrttico.<br />
kuig 7,000 Fitajbu rfnnoeu in<br />
Sd as nuny u 10.000 in<br />
Ethiopian relief effort ha»<br />
»lv. been beset by civil war in the<br />
notihem part of tlie covntry. where<br />
the famine is most severe Eritretn<br />
goerilUs have been battling wcceuive<br />
Ethiopian govemmenu fw<br />
23 years, ia bopea of gaining In<br />
dependence for their nometand, *bsorbed<br />
by Ethicpu in 1962. Additionally,<br />
Tigrcan guerillas have<br />
dcmandcti grottcr autonomy for<br />
their province since the mJd*70's. In<br />
reprhal, Ethiopia's am/ has bombed<br />
villages and mined agriculture<br />
land in Eritrea and Tigre.<br />
At this point, the prognosis for<br />
Ethiopia'* future looks grim. According<br />
u the Worldwatch Institute,<br />
a Washington-based mean..*: group,<br />
"population-induced climate<br />
changes and long term soil erosion<br />
may perpetuate the Ethiopian<br />
famine lor yean." A possible<br />
mean* of reversing this trend would<br />
be a nviutve, combined treeplanting,<br />
soil conservation, and<br />
family planning effcrt. for in the<br />
long run. Ethiopia's future depends<br />
not MI much on famine relief, but on<br />
long tern • development atd an end<br />
to civil wa;.<br />
Pro: A hope for peace Con: Keep 'Star Wars' fictional<br />
By Robert Klni<br />
President Ronald Rcasan. h<br />
March of 1983. ittrod^ced "Star<br />
Wars." the program that may<br />
render enemy ICBMt (intercontinental<br />
ballistic miuiies) "impotent<br />
and obsolete" by ihr* use of interctptir<br />
rockets and lasers.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Star ^Vio defensive system,<br />
describes James Fletcher, a science<br />
adviser to Reagan, is divided into<br />
three intercept phases in which<br />
enemy mrsilcs will encounter in<br />
succession.<br />
TV first phase, called the boost<br />
intercept, tikes ptacc immedlitely<br />
, after the launching of enemy<br />
missiles. "Battle station" satellites<br />
armed with "hyper-velocity guf»"<br />
use electromagnetic energy to accelerate<br />
"smart bullets." <strong>The</strong> smart<br />
bullets possess enough kinetic<br />
energy "to tear apart the miuJc<br />
before it comp>ctes its ascent,"<br />
describes Fletcher.<br />
While ir space, the enemy<br />
missiles would each release up to<br />
tea bdcpcndcntly targeted nuclear<br />
warhead^. US space-based sensors<br />
using Usrr probes would detect the<br />
warheads and guide thousa:.<br />
and the 1CBM in particular, more as<br />
a pre-emptive mcam by which to<br />
draMicall? curtail any reulUtor><br />
reprisal in the event of war."<br />
Star War* can "renxvr »he preemptive<br />
option, both for the Soviet<br />
Union and the United Sutes." if<br />
either country *eek* a prc-emr/tt%c<br />
fim strike.<br />
In addition. Stir Wars would inevtubly<br />
reduce the damages inflicted<br />
by a nuclear attack.<br />
Pcrhips the best argument for<br />
moving tentatively w ith Star Wars is<br />
that any new weapons system constitutes<br />
barfainint chips when dealing<br />
with the Soviets in arms talks.<br />
After Reagan proposed his Star<br />
Warv plan, the Snvicb announced<br />
that they were billing to come ;u the<br />
bargaining table jfter not nwtmg<br />
for many months. <strong>The</strong> Soviets said<br />
that they wanted to "d : scuu" space<br />
weapons, in addition to nuclear<br />
weapons.<br />
GHtl<br />
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Ptnidcnt Kitruld RcjfEan culls it<br />
the Strategic Detente Imiutnc<br />
(SDI). <strong>The</strong> inrtlu ^11 it "Sur<br />
Wan."<br />
Ihcrc arc at lea*: lour reawtns<br />
uhy "Sur Wa»V,* as a def.-nsc<br />
sjvtem^uvt nc*cr come int» bcinj;.<br />
1. <strong>The</strong> »)*trm would hate to be<br />
perfect. Th.s d«K*s not ippcar at-<br />
Utnablc. Within one minaic. it muvt<br />
track and destroy moving targets of<br />
one square meter (the chm section<br />
of a ttiiuilc) anywhere on the entire<br />
earth"* surface. With submarines<br />
able to fire misvilcs from just about<br />
any of the water areas of the planet,<br />
this would he a vcr> d'tricult tasK.<br />
2. <strong>The</strong> sj»Jem h too npettslte.<br />
Current pL" > to fund SOI call for<br />
S2b billion oscr five >can. To this<br />
end. the ftwal year 1985 buitgct includes<br />
$4 billion for research and<br />
dc\-cU«mcnt of space weapons.<br />
3. <strong>The</strong> system h not practical.<br />
President Reagan has suggested that<br />
lavcn. oaittcle beams, ot projectiles<br />
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could he used n> destroy enemy<br />
mitwlc* or uticlttcs. <strong>The</strong> Pentagon<br />
has atcmrxftl to pnnc ihat this is<br />
feasible h) icMmp jn jir-n>-jir<br />
"homing oserla>" Uut tracked and<br />
uestro)ed a single mimic wht>^c<br />
launch timr and des'ttution were<br />
known in advance.<br />
<strong>The</strong> tcvhw)U»v> insclscd in tracking<br />
potcntully thius^nds of missiles<br />
nwvinp fatter than a thousand miles<br />
an hour to unknown destinations<br />
would appear to be the stuff that<br />
dreams arc made of.<br />
With the current level of<br />
technology, a la«r could not<br />
destroy a fl> in; seagull, let alone an<br />
incoming missile.<br />
4. <strong>The</strong> ssstcm tbilairs exhllnie<br />
n^rrrtnents. In 1972. bu*h the<br />
United States and the Soviet L'n**-.i<br />
agreed to ban all defensive<br />
weapon*. <strong>The</strong> jgrccment is called<br />
the Anti-Hallistic Mivsilc >stcm vjpjWc ft misMlc iktcnsr<br />
It would Jppcjr that the current<br />
admmistratH>n is willing to abandon<br />
the ABM treat) for an imperfect,<br />
impractical dream :hat ssould be opprcssiscly<br />
eipcntise.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Picsident himself* as said the<br />
only way to nuke nuclear svejpom<br />
impotent and obsokte is to reduce<br />
and cscntually abolish them.<br />
"Sur Wars" don not appear to<br />
be a logical way to reach tins gital.<br />
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