Letters To The Editor

MEMORIAL DAY

Pray there need be no more wars

My grandfather fought in World War I. He never talked about it. He died, in the long run, from the mustard gas he inhaled in France.

My father was too young for World War II and, fortunately, he had too many dependents at the start of the Korean conflict. By the time the draft standards changed, he was too old.

My brother was too young for Vietnam.

I, being female, escaped Vietnam also. I’ve married two veterans and still am married to the second, my husband of 24 years.

Considering the effect soldiering in war had on my husband, my ex and my grandfather, I am extremely grateful to God for sparing my father and brother.

Anyone who decries war and provides help to children and noncombatants is not aiding and comforting the enemy. Anti-war opinions and activities are not traitorous.

As far as I can tell, Jane Fonda’s purpose was not to cause death on either side but to support life and to protest a misbegotten war.

Peter Holter-Mehren’s letter of May 15 shows very sane attitudes. I, too, cry for all the human life harmed, mutilated or destroyed in war.

Memorial Day is for remembering our loved ones lost in war and in service to our country.

Thank you, you who have given your time, health and lives to keep America the country that defends freedoms.

I, for one, wish and pray America could settle differences without requiring the sacrifice of our citizens. Donna J. Kubiak Santa, Idaho

BUSINESS AND LABOR

Now, Nike should pay its people more

It angered me to look at a new soccer magazine we got in the mail and see the high prices of shoes after reading the May 13 article on Nike.

Phil Knight, Nike chairman, proposed plans to upgrade conditions for Nike workers in Asia. Among other improvements would be increasing the minimum age of footwear workers from 14 to 18, while the age of apparel workers would increase to 16 (currently, some are under 12). Although Nike’s ideas are a start, Knight failed to mention plans for something that’s a big part of the workers’ lives: their wages.

Some Nike workers earn less than a dollar a day, while Nike raked in $9 billion last year. Yet Knight doesn’t want to pay his workers more. Human rights director Madea Benjamin said workers need at least $3 per day to “maintain adequate living standards.” Nike reported that their profits have fallen 70 percent, but as they make profits of up to 300 percent on items such as shoes, that hardly matters.

I agree it’s unfair to assign all blame to Nike, as other companies exploit overseas workers too, but if Knight wants to improve the conditions of Nike workers why not also increase their wages? As Knight said, the plans were a “significant step,” but for his 500,000 workers, their living conditions are also important, and increasing their wages would help improve them. Oana Barac Spokane

HIGHER EDUCATION

WSU should tend to its knitting

Much has been said since Sen. Jim West’s strange request to have Washington State University play the dominant role in higher education in Spokane.

After hearing various opinions that have since been tempered with reactions to the almost daily disturbing reports out of Pullman, there seems little to support West’s reasoning.

Perhaps I’m somewhat biased in Eastern Washington University’s favor, having been a member of its board of trustees for seven years, but a quick look at the past makes that proposal very suspect.

When WSU was proposed, much thought was given to its location, and educational officials felt the Pullman location served the purposes of that institution. Historically, there has been little effort by WSU to wish to interact with the Spokane area.

For a long period, only 7 percent of WSU’s enrollment has been from Spokane. Well over 50 percent of its student body is from the west side of the state.

So far as cooperating with our fair city, WSU has no favorable track record, scholastically or athletically.

It wasn’t until George Frederickson, who, by cooperating closely with local business, educational and public officials, was able to establish educational programs that not only helped local businesses but attracted new businesses to the area, that WSU was attracted by the scent of educational currency available.

This is not the time to confuse all of the Pullman campus unrest as youthful or teen thoughtlessness. Perhaps if the administration had been more absorbed in maintaining safety and security measures and less concerned with expanding its boundaries, many of these incidents would not have occurred. Andy Kelly Spokane

GAMBLING

Don’t go along with gambling request

Gambling is expanding in Washington state and society as a whole will bear the burden of its impact.

First, the Kalispels want the governor to approve a $17 million casino built on land recently purchased by the tribe, which would set a new precedent for every city in Washington. Next, the financial success of reservation casinos has caused card rooms and nonprofit bingo halls to get legislative approval for reduced taxes and expanded operations so they can better compete for the gambling dollar. This leap-frog effect will land on the backs of taxpayers in the form of increased law enforcement demands, social services, bankruptcies, divorces, gambling addictions and domestic problems.

Awarding tax breaks to accommodate businesses which provide pulltabs, punchboards and card rooms will only escalate the social costs to our community. The Legislature already made a concession in July 1997 when it expanded the number of tables in a card room and allowed the house to bank the games. Now the establishments are back for more.

The council should draw the line and not submit to political pressure from businesses which afford little significant benefit to the community. The city is going to need every dime from the tax collations to pay for policing the establishments 20 hours a day and providing welfare support for families devastated by gambling debts.

Hopefully, the governor and the City Council will be able to stop the expansion of gambling in our community before Spokane is just another Sea-Tac with a casino on every corner. Penny Lancaster Coalition for Better Community Standards, Spokane

Send gambling license fees to charities

Now the gambling lords want the city to reduce the license charge because so much money is going into the city’s coffers. Instead, they should channel some of the money to food banks, to feed the children who have gambling-addicted parents. Dorothy E. Carter Spokane

U.S. AND THE WORLD

Clinton-China ties much too close

Thanks to special waivers signed by President Clinton, China’s government now has advanced technology to accurately launch satellites into space capable of targeting U.S. cities with nuclear missiles. In fact, according to a recent CIA report, China now has 13 of its 18 long-range strategic missiles pointed at the United States.

During his June trip, China’s government plans to welcome our president in Tiananmen Square, where an estimated 2,000 advocates of democracy were slaughtered by the People’s Liberation Army. When the general who ordered the Tiananmen massacre visited the United States, he was welcomed by President Clinton with a 19-gun salute.

Americans need to wake up to the grave dangers we face which are undoubtedly a quid pro quo for the millions in illegal campaign contribution dollars that led to Clinton’s re-election. This from a draft dodger who, as a college student, led a protest against the United States on foreign soil.

Now, India and Pakistan are arming themselves to protect from the dangers they face from China. Thanks, Mr. President, for destabilizing the world by advancing China’s military, fueling a nuclear arms race and endangering Americans’ lives for your own political gain.

Compared to all the other illegal and scandalous things this administration is guilty of, placing our national security at stake by the alarming transfers of technology to China looks like treason against the American people. Irene E. Beeson Veradale

Just more unfairness toward India

The recent spate of nuclear weapons tests conducted by the Indian government has refueled the international furor surrounding the proliferation of nuclear arms. The United States has led the world in denouncing India’s actions.

India, despite President Clinton’s pleadings, has been adamant in its refusal to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty because of the significant advantage the pact grants to the five known nuclear powers - the United States, China, France, Great Britain and Russia. The message is clear: The United States must not dictate the national security policy of other nations. The Indian government did what any country with two hostile neighbors would do: strengthen its defense.

Perhaps our country would benefit from a bit of introspective foreign policy. Why do nuclear weapons tests by China or France provoke little outrage from the United States? The United States itself has funneled arms to Pakistan, while Germany and Russia have helped to strengthen the Iraqi defense program, all with minute response. When Pakistan tested a long-range missile - which could carry a nuclear warhead - just last month, the United States said nothing. Yet, when India, the world’s largest democracy, conducts tests for its own selfdefense, the outcry is incredible.

The United States disguises its own questionable policies by pretending to take the moral high ground. The 1994 Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act, which mandates the sanctions, is clearly shortsighted. While we all dream of a world free of nuclear weapons, for now, while borders are threatened and regions remain unstable, self-defense may be the only alternative. Radha Nandagopal Spokane