Some evidence suggests condoms are less
effective
Nick Dang asks for proof of Cardinal Trujillo’s assertion
that the AIDS virus can pass through voids in latex condoms
(“Church needs separation of church, dogma,” Viewpoint,
Oct. 13). Dr. Ronald F. Carey wrote in Sexually Transmitted
Diseases (July/August 1992) that “leakage of HIV-sized
particles through latex condoms was detectable for as many as 29 of
the 89 condoms tested,” and the test did not incorporate
motion, which could further stretch latex pores. There is more
where that came from.
Whatever the clinical evidence, it is dishonest to say the
cardinal’s advice is “dangerous.” After all, he
is not just urging the abjuration of condoms but the acceptance of
Catholic sexual ethics. Uganda, acting in accord with Catholic
teaching, has used abstinence programs for some time, and is now
one of the few exceptions to the exploding AIDS rate in Africa. So
maybe the cardinal’s advice is dangerous ““ but only to
the big business that is the condom industry.
Joseph De Feo, New York
Policy analyst
Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
Picket lines should be respected
Do not cross the picket line at Ralphs, Albertsons or Vons this
week. These employers are demanding sharp cutbacks in health and
retirement benefits from their employees. They want workers to pay
for substantial parts of their own healthcare and are seeking
reduced pay for new hires.
The union, United Food and Commercial Workers, represents good,
hardworking people who deserve retirement plans and medical
benefits for themselves and their children. Meanwhile, corporate
executives already squeeze working people.
UFCW looks not only after its members but cares deeply and
personally about its members’ families. The organization
invests in the children of its members ““ children who are
often first-generation college students. I can attest to this
because my mother has been a grocery clerk at Ralphs for 25 years.
Her union not only provides me with quality PPO medical insurance
while I am in school, but also pays my fees with a $5,000 annual
scholarship. In Southern California alone, the organization has
over 70,000 people and gives away substantial amounts of money each
year in scholarships.
If you cross the picket line, you are showing you do not care
about the families of these good working people. Please,
don’t do it.
Matthew Kennedy
Fourth year, physics
Strike is about employees, not shoppers
Was your lead story “Ralphs workers go on strike,”
(News, Oct. 13) a news piece about a strike, or a sympathy piece
for picket-line crossers?
A portion of the article focuses on eager replacements and
apathetic students who “did not notice a difference” in
their shopping experience, or community members who felt
inconvenienced about being forced to purchase “packaged
fish” due to the strike.
You also quote students saying they crossed the picket line out
of “necessity,” as if there are not countless other
stores that are not on strike within a bus or bike ride from
Westwood, not to mention a farmers’ market off of Westwood
Boulevard every Thursday.
Since this was supposed to be a piece about a strike, not a
matter of customer v. grocery clerk, you should have had more
information from both sides of the labor dispute, not both sides of
the check-out aisle.
These picketers were not just creating a nuisance for
“Beverly Hills High students” who couldn’t figure
out how else to feed themselves; these workers are people engaged
in a labor dispute. Maybe someday the UCLA students and community
members who casually crossed that picket line to fill their baskets
with food will be forced to fight for their benefits. I only hope
there are not some privileged brats there to disregard their
struggle as a mere inconvenience. Stefano Bloch Graduate
student, urban planning