The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, January 15, 2003, Image 9

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    the battau
ract,
aims
Opinion
The Battalion Page 9 • Wednesday, January 15, 2003
^7 TWO
nction: Multirotefigt*
i feet, 5 inches
feet
: 32 feet, 8 inches
BIRDS
(WITH ONE STONE
Bush administration must recognize North Korea as Iraq's dangerous equal
ch 2
,000 feet and up
2 miles
S Air Force;
ation Group
if President Saj
fails to give
of mass dest
niewski has saii
form of help has
ded.
it ion to their
elations, the two:
yed a personal fe
“II that was ontk
ief appearance be
nly regret is tha:
ig your beautify.
Bush said to
n;
na:
second and '
ate visit of Bin
y, Kwasniewski
vere the toasts o
use over two da;
brimmed with
vents included W
asiness meeting
icr and a trip b)
idents to visit
nerican commum:
it suburbs.
A sU.S.
soldiers
contin
ue to be
deployed to the
Persian Gulf
region in prepa
ration for a
possible war
with Iraq, the
rest of the world turns its eyes toward
the Communist nation of North Korea
and the threat of nuclear war.
Many people concerned with the
threat of North Korea wonder why
President Bush and his administration
do not perceive North Korea's actions
as similar or more dangerous than
those of Iraq and Saddam Hussein.
"With bombastic warnings of a
third world war. North Korea alarmed
the world by pulling out of the global
Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. It
raised the stakes by announcing it
may lift a moratorium on missile test
ing,” The Associated Press reported.
These announcements came after
North Korea expelled inspectors from
the International Atomic Energy
Agency and admitted violating its
agreement with the United States to
not build nuclear weapons.
The Bush administration has stated
repeatedly that it would prefer a
diplomatic approach to the situation.
What the administration fails to
acknowledge is that North Korea is a
more dangerous threat to the United
States than Iraq. If it is willing to use
force to end Iraq’s supposed nuclear
and biochemical capabilities. North
Korea should be considered as much
of a threat as Iraq.
North Korea's possible nuclear
capabilities pose a direct threat to the
United States. Missiles launched in
North Korea could easily reach
Alaska. Hawaii and the western
states. “The real worry is that North
Korea is threatening to crank up a
nuclear assembly line. It has enough
plutonium in old fuel rods at the
Yongbyon reactor to make five or six
weapons in a matter of months. With
all facilities running full tilt it could
eventually turn out warheads at the
rate of a couple dozen a year —
enough to supply any rogue state or
terrorist willing to pay,” said Bill
Keller of The New York Times. The
possibility of North Korea manufac
turing nuclear weapons and selling
them to terrorists is a frightening
prospect for the world and countries
continually threatened by terrorism
such as Israel and America.
Americans already know that al-
North Korea's
possible nuclear
capabilities pose a
direct threat to the
United States.
Missiles launched in
North Korea could
easily reach Alaska,
Hawaii and the
western states.
Qaida was trying to obtain material
for a “dirty” bomb, a conventional
bomb with radioactive material
attached to it. Basically, al-Qaida was
trying to get an imitation nuclear
bomb. If North Korea begins building
a nuclear arsenal, for the right price it
is possible that al-Qaida could obtain
the real thing. Scary, isn't it? T;
As far as authorities know, Iraq
does not have nuclear capabilities.
What is known is that they supposed
ly are trying to build the necessary
facilities to create nuclear warheads.
The reality is that North Korea is
about ten steps ahead of Iraq. North
Korea has everything in place to
build these warheads, and right now
it is not clear that they haven't
already started production.
Not only do both countries want
nuclear warheads, both countries are
controlled by ruthless dictators. “Kim
Jong 11 is a porn-loving, deviant-sex
practicing, cartoon-obsessed deca
dent dictator sometimes compared to
Stalin.” according to an editorial in
the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Yet, the
Bush administration refuses to even
acknowledge the potential danger
that the North Korea dictator poses.
Instead, it has deployed upwards of
250,000 American troops to the
Middle East.
When North Korea withdrew from
the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty,
the United Nations could have
imposed sanctions in response to the
pull out. North Korea further escalat
ed tensions by stating that, “Any
sanctions imposed by the (U.N.)
Security Council would amount to a
declaration of war,” according to The
Boston Globe. The world is now
waiting to see what the next move is
going to be. If the world waits too
long. North Korea could begin manu
facturing nuclear warheads. It could
be manufacturing these weapons
now.
Bush has said he “will never allow
the world's worst dictators to obtain
the world’s worst weapons.” “Bush
has never specifically warned North
Korea about how -— if at all — he
would respond if the country began
producing bomb-grade plutonium that
could produce half a dozen weapons
by summer” according to The New
York Times.
Right now, while U.S. troops pre
pare for a possible war in Iraq, one of
the “world's worst dictators” Kim
Jong 11 is threatening the scariest of
possible realities: a nuclear North
Korea with little money and nuclear
weapons for sale. Iraq is a real threat.
President Bush, but take care of
North Korea before their nuclear war
heads are aimed at the United States.
Brieanne Porter is a senior
political science major.
Graphic by Ruben DeLuna
ds Tuesday, hisfiid
e capital's violence|
t to the city since 1
million to hire his i
Iity put togetheup
rack down on chef
S. abortions
s used pills such as
cent of abortions ir
i controversial
es, a new study say
Wednesday by the
nates that more
Hmed using pills it
e researchers notec
to fall to its lowest
ortions for every
e number of prod
irtions also fell.
AT
/■
Evenings!
Illinois governor takes aim at death penalty
George Ryan's late-term decision to grant 167 prisoners clemency was justified
O n Saturday, then-gover
nor of Illinois, George
H. Ryan, announced his
decision to grant clemency to
all 167 inmates on the Illinois
death row. Ryan’s decision to
commute the sentences came
three years after he declared a
moratorium on executions in
response to 13 men being
exonerated with DNA evi
dence. CNN reported that Ryan called the Illinois
system "arbitrary and capricious — and therefore
immoral.” Ryan ensured that men convicted by a
broken and grossly unfair capital system would
not be executed by it.
He did the right thing, and he should be com
mended for it.
Ryan was an avid supporter of capital punish
ment when he took office in 1999, but his faith in
the system was immediately shaken by the case of
Anthony Porter. Porter was sentenced to death in
1983 for the murder of two teenagers. In 1998,
Porter was two days away from being executed
when it was discovered that he had an IQ of 51,
according to CNN. The reprieve granted enough
time for Northwestern University journalism stu
dents to uncover evidence of his innocence. He
was released in early 1999. The man actually
responsible for the murders was sentenced in
September of 1999 to only 37.5 years in prison,
according to the Illinois Death Penalty Education
Project.
A system that relies on college students to save
innocent men from being murdered by the state
can only be described as abhorrent and immoral.
After Ryan issued the moratorium on execu
tions in early 2000, a commission to study the
death penalty in Illinois was formed, according
The Associated Press. CNN reported in April of
2002 that the commission recommended 85
changes to the system, including mandatory taping
of confessions, unifonn standards across the state
and decreased reliance on jailhouse snitches.
According to Ryan's speech this past weekend, the
Illinois legislature had three chances to reform the
system; it failed to implement even the smallest of
changes.
The commission study illustrated disturbing
facts about the Illinois capital punishment system.
According to Ryan's speech, nearly half of Illinois'
capital cases have been reversed by a new trial or
new sentence; 33 men were represented at trial by
an attorney who has been disbarred or suspended
from practicing; law and 46 were convicted on the
testimony of jailhouse snitches. More than two-
thirds of the death row inmates are African-
American — 35 of who were convicted by all-
white juries.
The study also found a person who commits
capital murder in rural Illinois is five times more
likely to have received a death sentence than if the
murder had taken place in Chicago. The killer of a
white victim is 3 1/2 times more likely to receive
a death sentence than if the victim was black.
These geographical and racial disparities are
unacceptable. If capital punishment is to be used,
it must be uniform throughout the entire system.
To say that Illinois is the only state with these
problems is simply wishful thinking. According to
the Death Penalty Information Center, nationally,
50 percent of victims are white, but 81 percent of
completed capital cases involve white victims. A
recent study found that the death penalty is rarely
used if the victim is Hispanic. North Carolina,
Virginia, Indiana and New Jersey studies have all
found race to be a major determining factor in
whether one receives the death penalty.
Texas has its own problems. A 2000 Texas
Defender Service report found 84 capital cases in
which a prosecutor or police officer deliberately
presented false or misleading evidence. Like
Illinois and other states, the race of the victim
greatly influences punishment; while white
women comprised 0.8 percent of murder victims
since the reinstatement of the death penalty, 32.4
percent of those executed were for the murder of a
white woman. The study found men convicted and
sentenced to death despite their lawyers being
clearly incompetent; one ingested cocaine before
trial and consumed alcohol during court breaks;
others fell asleep during trial. The report also
found the case review process in Texas to be
fraught with error.
Other governors must follow Ryan’s lead. Not
only should they declare moratoriums on execu
tions, they should consider commuting the sen
tences to life in prison without possibility of
parole to prevent the execution of innocent people
and to ensure that no inmates lose their lives to a
broken, unfair and inadequate system. There is no
doubt this will be painful for victims' families;
however, if states are going to go as far as taking
away a life, the process has to be fair. In the
meantime, states should put the enormous
resources usually spent on executions to better
uses. As Gov. Ryan suggested, states should “pro
vide something for victims' families other than the
hope of revenge.”
Jenelle Wilson is a junior
political science major.
JENELLE
WILSON
in the
>s Valley.
slY
Tuscany
i view. It’s
d gratuity.
ge House
? everything,
nly
VL
the freshest
'ening the
call
E
A
•us
Reality series cheapens love
Joe Millionaire shows money isn't everything
SARA
FOLEY
oes love prevail over money? FOX is
attempting to answer this question
with its twisted new reality dating
Show, Joe Millionaire. The show, which pre-
iered Jan. 6, stars Evan Marriot who will
hoose one woman among 20 eligible
omen, each of whom believes he has
Inherited $50 million. When he narrows the
[group of women down to his chosen bride,
owever, he will confess that he only makes
19,000 a year as a construction worker.
Despite FOX’s protests that the show’s focus is the power
f love, the show demonstrates the desperation of women and
he man lying to appease them. In reality, the winner will
leally be the loser, forming a relationship based solely on
lies. The sooner the women get away from Marriot, the bet-
l er -
The women eliminated in each episode believe they are
talking away from a rich, handsome man who could solve
heir financial problems in a seven-week period. However,
)nce the truth is revealed, each will undoubtedly notice that
ler contract prevents her from taking any legal action against
^OX, and discussing the outcome of the show. Amy Fugere,
vho was eliminated in the first episode, remained silent
ibout how Marriott’s origins were revealed to the women, as
veil as the final outcome of the show in an interview with
he Orlando Sentinel.
These women have signed up for more than they realize,
opefully, in conjunction with many cliched revelations that
ay come to them concerning appearances compared to real
ity, they will learn that reality-series love will never end hap
pily ever after. They should decide to use a little common
ense when choosing potential husbands. If any of them took
the time to take their lovesick, money- hungry eyes off
Marriot, maybe they would see a few inconsistencies. These
women are blind to the fact that a man who has $50 million
would probably have more than one servant. Also, a good-
looking, well-mannered, wealthy man worth marrying would
have more than his supply of gold diggers after him, and not
find it necessary to recruit them via a major television net
work.
The women,who in interviews shown on the program gush
about loving glamorous things, having Prince Charming fan
tasies since childhood, and valuing a man’s ambition, surely
might have something to complain about now that the show
is airing. However, instead of criticizing the film editors, pro
gram creators, and the pressure of the situation, perhaps they
should blame their own poor judgment.
Their desperation drove them to apply to be the wife of a
man they have never met and overlook his obvious inadequa
cies. Marriot, who in interviews and on the show proved him
self to be uneducated, ill-mannered, and inarticulate, looks
good and certainly has the money. Marriot lacks a little per
sonality and some people skills, and the program is just
another example of women who chose a big, glistening dia
mond and a fairytale wedding over a joyful marriage.
The angry women who discover the truth about Evan
Marriot might regret the vicious way they fought for the con
struction worker, making enemies with 18.6 million viewers.
Marriot might regret lying to the women whom he might
actually develop feelings for. More likely, though, these
women will stick to dating men in reality instead of relying
on a hyped-up reality dating series.
Sara Foley is a sophomore
journalism major.
MAIL CALL
Marijuana does more
harm than good
In response to George Deutsch's Jan.
13 column:
Every point that Mr. Deutsch tried
to make about marijuana was totally
off base. Marijuana changes your
perception and is like living in a total
ly different world. You feel almost
immortal.
So, yes, rape, death and jail are all
very likely consequences of smoking
marijuana.
Death may not come from a friend
shooting you or something drastic
like that, but it is very likely to hap
pen.
Most people drive when they
become high, to buy food, get more
drugs, or because they think they are
completely capable of driving.
Driving while high is kind of like driv
ing when drunk. Perceptions are
changed and reflexes are slowed. So,
for Mr. Deutsch to imply that mari
juana is harmless is crazy, and now
he is the one "spreading misinfor
mation."
£ Richards
Class of 2006
The Battalion encourages letters to the
editor. Letters must be 200 words or less
and include the author's name, class and
phone number. The opinion editor
reserves the right to edit letters for length,
style and accuracy. Letters may be submit
ted in person at 014 Reed McDonald with
a valid student ID. Letters also may be
mailed to: 014 Reed McDonald, MS 1111,
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
77843-1111. Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email:
mailcall@thebatt.com. Attachments are
not accepted.