SN a a i To ee 8 ie . BO TD ee Pe Bit Oe aia: ee Mm Oe ey BOD f 3 : f ' WORLD Reagan’s “overloaded circuits” showing. Mondale coming on strong to the finish. Race to White House narrows Debates give Democrats push The Mondale-Ferraro ticket has been given a boost by the two televised debates between the Democratic Party nominees and their Republican rivals. While Reagan’s front men have been excus- ing their boss’s poor performance saying his “circuits were overloaded” by a “grueling preparation,’’ media pundits and the pollsters gave Mondale the victory. ; During the debate itself Mondale made one of the most dynamic performances of his candidacy. He challenged Reagan to tell how he would reduce the huge deficits run up under his administration and accused him of a failure of leadership. Reagan appeared ill at east facing Mondale and tried to rest his case on the theme of his 1980 campaign; ‘‘Are you better off than you were four years-ago?”’ Mondale turned his words back saying, ‘‘Well if _ you're wealthy you are better off . . . and if you are of modest income you are worse off ... Isn’t the real question will we be better off? Will our chil- dren be better off? Are we building the future that this nation needs? ... Are we better off with this arms race? Will we be better off of we start this star wars escalation into the heavens? Are we better off when we de-emphasize our values in human rights?”’ : Reagan failed to answer Mondale’s repeated charge that, if re-elected, he would allow the ultra- right preacher, Jerry Falwell, to dictate Supreme Court appointments and that his administration has shown no concern for civil rights. On the issue of abortion, Mondale scored heavi- ly: ‘‘Does every woman in America,”’ he asked, “have to appear before a judge picked by Jerry Falwell to approve her personal judgment?’’ Mondale also effectively exposed the admin- istration for its attempts to undermine social se- curity and medicare. Some Issues Untouched There were, however, many important domestic issues not touched on including the growth of ra- cism and discrimination, the need for massive low- income housing and unemployment. Mondale was perceived as the winner despite his failure to wage a full-scale frontal attack on Reaganomics. Part of the problem had to do with the questions posed by the media. The journalists selected steer- ed clear of many of the more critical issues in their questioning. None asked about jobs programs or revitalization of the nation’s dying industries and neither Reagan nor Mondale raised those issues. The candidates picked only three journalists out of several hundred. A spokesman for the Mondale campaign in New York said that its forces wanted to include Afro- American and Latino journalists on the panel but that the Reagan forces vetoed all of them as being potentially ‘‘biased’’ against the president. The media was less willing to give credit to Geraldine Ferraro following her encounter with vice-president George Bush. It was either called a draw or Bush was given the edge in the interest of “balanced journalism.” Va At a post-debate rally across the street from Philadelphia’s Independence Hall where the de- bate took place, Oct. 11, Ferraro told a crowd of 5,000 cheering supporters that the election was a referendum on peace and equality. During the nationally televised 90-minute de- bate, the only one scheduled between these two contenders, Ferraro concentrated on the Reagan- Bush record on arms control and peace and blasted its War against Nicaragua. “I did not support the mining of the port of Nicaragua,”’ she said during the debate, “‘It was a violation of international law. Congress did not support it.’” She condemned CIA support of the contras and the administration’s failure to support the Contadora Group’s peace proposals. Bush supported the covert action of the CIA of which he was director, and was unequivocal in his backing for the contras referring to them as “freedom fighters’. Ferraro was calm and secure as she repeatedly referred to the administration’ s failure to negotiate arms control agreements or hold talks with the Soviet Union. ‘‘There is no more important issue than peace in this election,’’ she said. Bush blamed changes in the Soviet leadership for failing to hold disarmament meetings. But Ferraro reminded him that other world leaders had managed to meet with the Soviets. At one point Bush offered to “‘help” Ferraro understand a point on foreign policy. She fired back “I almost resent, vice-president Bush, your patronizing attitude that you have to teach me about foreign affairs. I’ve been in Congress for six years”’. At the post-debate rally Philadelphia Mayor Good said Bush’s equating civil rights and crime ~ was “‘unbelievable’’ and “‘condescending’’. He promised Ferraro that the Democratic ticket would sweep the city with a quarter of a million margin. Observers noted that Ferraro could have Strengthened her arguments on civil rights. She rationalized her support for tax deductions for tui- tion fees to religious schools saying most of her constituents were Roman Catholic. However she did come out strongly in support of increased state funding for public education. Rev. Jesse Jackson is still very much in this campaign and has appeared on the platform with both Democratic nominees stressing the priority of defeating Reagan. ‘‘We are not disbanding the Rainbow’’, he said referring to the coalition of labor, minority and community groups he gathered around him in his bid for the Democratic presiden- tial nomination. The Black civil rights leader has been touring the country sporting a button reading ‘‘Rainbow for Mondale-Ferraro”’ in a drive to register minority voters and to stave off any backlash against the Democrats for their failure to incorporate many of Jackson’s proposals into their platform. He mes- Sage is always the same. There is no alternative to Mondale in this election year. At a recent rally in San Francisco he scoffed at polls predicting a landslide victory for Reagan. The polsess “don’t ask our constituents,’ Jackson said. _ The Communist Party campaign, with presiden- tial candidate Gus Hall and vice-presidential nominee Angela Davis, has embarked on a national effort to speak to millions about the need to defeat Reagan and stop the ultra-right in its tracks. The campaign is running ads on ‘‘the new danger, Reaganism’s alliance with ultra-right and fascist forces’’ in major dailies. : Unfortunately, said Tom Hopkins, the CP’s pub- lic relations director ‘‘the Democrats and others are not really going after Reagan for his close ties to the extreme right. Our campaign plays a role here. It equips people with the ammunition to go out and win many more anti-Reagan voters.”’ _ oP wed a World News ~ Ca D Safety procedures stall peace talks SAN SALVADOR — A refusal by El Salvador’s President José Napoleon Duarte to bring in foreign observers to ensure the safety of rebel leaders may stall a meeting between the two sides, scheduled for Oct. 22. Through its radio station, Radio Vence- remos, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) and the Democratic Revolutionary Front (FDR) had called for representatives from the Contadora Group to attend the meeting, at La Palma, 73-miles north of the capital. The Contadora is a four-nation committee established in Jan. 1983 to work out peace- ful solutions to armed conflict in the area. . Duarte, who proposed the meeting in the United Nations Oct. 8, has refused all FMLN-FDR proposals for outside dignitaries being present to ensure the safety of its leaders, who will arrive from Mexico to take part in the talks. The Red Cross, which is prohibited by its mandate from making statements of a political nature, has been asked by Duarte to make the arrangements. The FMLN-FDR wants the foreign observers to bring inter- national pressure, should anything happen to them during the meeting. There have been several historical incidents in Central America of revolutionary leaders being called to the bargaining table and then murdered. S. Africans defy ban to bury dead JOHANNESBURG — Over 5,000 people defied a government ban on public meetings to bury six young victims of police vio- lence. Patrick Phala, 18; Joyce Nzama, 9; Sakhile Mbonani, 14; Lucky Majola, 19; Musa Khumalo, 18 and Thabo Sibeko, 6 were laid to rest while the assembled sang freedom songs. A thousand more attended the Sharpville funeral of Abel Kobokea who died after inhaling tear gas. A three-month-old Soweto child is in critical condition in hospital after a tear gas canister was fired into a window of its home. At least 45 people have died and 154 have been injured by police during protests last month against rent and utility rate increases. The Daveyton Town Council, scene of four of the funerals, followed the lead of several other councils in indefinite- ly suspending the increases. Extradition of Grenadian protested BARBADOS — An angry outcry by Caribbean labor leaders has followed the announcement of plans to extradite a Grenadian trade union leader, Chester Humphrey to the U.S. The Reagan administration has charged Humphrey with smuggling arms from the U.S. to Grenada to aid the overthrow of dictator Eric Gairy during the 1979 revolution — no shots were fired during the takeover. Humphrey has been hospitalized following a hunger strike to protest against the inhuman conditions of his arrest and im- prisonment. He was thrown into a small cell, in a former mental hospital now used by the U.S. occupation forces to hold political prisoners. Humphrey charges that the extradition is illegal since there is no extradition treaty between the U.S. and Grenada. The Reagan administration insisted on this stand when the New Jewel Government of Maurice Bishop attempted to extradite Gairy from the U.S. to stand trial on charges of assassination and corruption. On the eve of the first anniversary of the U.S. invasion, mem- bers of the short-lived Revolutionary Government went on trial for Bishop’s murder. The 19 accused refused to recognize the validity of court. They were remanded until legal counsel could be found. Right wing threat in Portugal Alvaro Cunhal, general secretary of the Portuguese Commu- nist Party, recently called for a new, ‘‘truly democratic” government, capable of taking effective measures to overcome the economic crisis now gripping his country. : Addressing a rally in the city of Lagos, the Portuguese CP leader strongly criticized the cabinet for civil rights restrictions and denounced éfforts to reverse the achievements won through the 1974 revolution that overthrew fascism. Cunhal stressed the need for democratic forces to nominate a candidate capable of defeating the right-wing. NATO war games disrupted Over 40,000 West Germans formed a ‘‘human net”’ to disrupt the largest NATO exercises since World War II. In anticipation of the mass action NATO officials called off the scheduled games. __ The “‘net’’ action was the culmination of a week of activities at the end of Sept. to protest the manoeuvres involving 240,000 troops. About 100 demonstrators were arrested for entering a U.S. army installation and damaging goods. Dozens more were arrested for staging a sit-in on a howitzer firing range. In an unexpected twist the Interior Minister, Hans Winterstein con- demned U.S. army officials for branding the protestors ‘‘anarch- ists and criminals’. A number of U.S. citizens had travelled to West Germany to participate in the demonstrations to help avoid a confrontation between the peace activists and U.S. soldiers and to discuss with the men the danger inherent in the ‘‘games’’: The army brass prevented the contact by confining all enlisted men to their bases. 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