The Daily Tar HeelFriday, November 10, 19895
upreme Court approves
Dalkoo Shield settlement
By CHUCK WILLIAMS
Staff Writer
In a busy day Monday, the U.S.
Supreme Court cleared the way for a
5-4 billion payment in damages to
00,000 women injured by defective
birth control devices.
The ruling culminated a 15-year
battle over settlement claims stemming
from the use of the Dalkon Shield intra-
uterine birth control device (IUD).
j ' A federal appeals court reached a
: settlement last year that required A.H.
-Robins Co. Inc. of Richmond, Va., the
manufacturers of the Dalkon Shield
: IUD, to set up a $2.4 billion trust fund
to pay patients injured by the device.
The device allegedly caused infertil
ity, pelvic and uterine infections and
spontaneous abortions in more than
100,000 women in the United States,
with some cases resulting in death.
A.H. Robins sold the IUD from 1971
to 1974, and disputes over the amount
of settlement caused by the damage
have continued since.
Under the settlement agreement,
senior officials of the company are
protected from further lawsuits in the
case. The argument before the Supreme
Court Monday involved two cases,
Rosemary Menard-Sanford vs. A.H.
Robins Co. Inc. and Alexia Anderson
vs. Aetna Casualty and Surety Co.
The case involved 500 seriously
injured victims represented by Wash
ington attorney Alan Morrison. The
women challenged the trust fund rul
ing, charging that the fund was not
enough money and that company ex
ecutives should be held accountable for
their negligence.
The Court ruled without comment in
declining to consider the challenge to
the settlement.
A.H. Robins, now involved in a
corporate acquisition, expressed pleas
ure with the decision because it can
now proceed with a deal to sell the
company.
"We are pleased," said Roscoe Puck
ett Jr., director of corporate communi
cations for A.H. Robins. "The road has
been longer than we anticipated. The
acquisition couldn't go forward with
out this ruling."
The Dalkon Shield IUD was intro
duced in 1971 and was manufactured
for three years. It worked like other
IUD devices by preventing sperm from
reaching the female egg. However, the
Dalkon Shield had an undetected flaw
that caused medical problems.
"This device was significantly dif
ferent," said Jaroslav Hulka of the UNC
Medical Center. "The Dalkon Shield
was a good IUD.
"It was made with a multifilament
string. Because it was multifilament,
bacteria would get up in the thread.
This was just a chance decision to use a
multifilament string. All the other
devices used a monofilament string like
a fishing line," he said.
"These bacteria caused infections and
in some cases death due to the infec
tions. The device itself was not a bad
design, just the string."
IUD birth-control devices on the
market today do not pose the same
threat today, said Hulka.
Settlements end decade of Beatles lawsuits
From Associated Press reports
LOS ANGELES Former Beatles
Paul McCartney, George Harrison,
Ringo Starr, and John Lennon's widow,
Yoko Ono, have settled a series of
lawsuits among themselves and their
record companies, ending a decade of
legal fights.
The settlements involving Apple
Records, EMI Records and its Ameri
can subsidiary, Capital Records, were
announced Wednesday by Bhaskar
Menon, chairman of EMI Music World
wide and Capitol-EMI Music Inc.
As part of the agreement, terms were
not disclosed and none of the parties
commented beyond a statement in
which Menon praised the Beatles'
"unique legacy in the history of popular
music."
The rock 'n' roll group disbanded in
1970. Nine years later, the Beatles'
recording company, Apple, sued EMI
and Capitol Records.
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Study buddies
Alma Guerrero-Miller, a graduate student in Latin
American history from Mexico, studies Thursday
DTHTracey Langhorne
afternoon while waiting for the bus with her 9-month-old
daughter Rosina.
Spotlight
Dylan concert both encouraging and disappointin
Fans of Bob Dylan come to his con
certs to take part in the mystique. Lately,
Dylan's ragged shows have not been
pulling in the crowds of past years.
Cameron Indoor Stadium was only two
thirds full for Dylan's show Wednes
day night.
Certainly, Wednesday's show was
far above the Dean Dome fiasco of his
last tour. But still, touring behind a
strong new album, Oh Mercy, Dylan's
show should have been much better.
Dylan had several major problems.
Number one: his voice sounded ter
rible. OK, we've heard the Traveling
Wilburys, we've heard Oh Mercy, we
know the guy can still sing. Why didn't
he try? Too often Dylan fell into self
parody, with tuneless croaking. This
really hurt the quieter, more melodic
Brian Springer
Concert
songs, such as "Lay, Lady, Lay."
Number two: The sound was sub
par. But what else is new?
Number three: Dylan and company
felt the compulsion to try to turn every
thing into garage-band guitar grunge.
This approach did work for some songs,
though.
Number four: Dylan's not known
for being chatty, but don't we deserve
more than eight spoken words all eve
ning? In a show lasting an hour and 45
minutes, we heard only three "thank
you"'s and a "good night."
Number five: What happened to the
enthusiasm? Dylan seemed to be de
tached and workmanlike.
But, lest you get the impression that
the show was all bad, let's enumerate
the good points.
Number one: Dylan's backing band
was excellent. Guitarist and profes
sional sideman G. E. Smith did a good
job of filling out many of the songs. The
rhythm section of bassist Tony Gamier
and drummer Christopher Parker held
up the bottom end admirably. Even if
Dylan's voice was bad, his guitar work
was solid. The best moments came when
Dylan and Smith dueled on acoustic
guitar, putting aside their overly noisy
electrics.
Number two: Dylan had a good mix
of material. The new songs, including
"Most of the Time," "Man in the Long
Black Coat" and "Everything is Bro
ken," made he best transition to the
stage. "Disease of Conceit" featured
Dylan on piano. Some classics, such as
"I Want You" and "It's All Over Now,
Baby Blue," sounded worn-out. But a
noisy, slashing rework of "Like a Roll
ing Stone" and a Hendrix-style "All
Along the Watchtower" were vital.
Number three: Dylan played longer,
more fully realized songs than on his
last tour, which was a rapid-fire barrage
of lackluster readings of his classics.
The arrangements allowed time for
Smith, Dylan and Gamier to jam a little
bit. Sure, "Mr. Tambourine Man" was
a little long, but it left time for the sound
to break apart and rebuild. We've all
got the records, so hearing something a
bit different was wonderful.
Number four: The set on this tour
was long enough to merit the ticket
price.
Number five: This show was so much
better than his recent shows that it bright
ens the future a bit. Surely if Dylan can
make records like Oh Mercy again,
he'll regain the ability to play live.
Number six: The opening band, Jason
and the Scorchers, was outstanding.
Emphasizing material from their most
recent LP, Thunder and Fire, the band
played a no-frills extravaganza of driv
ing rock. Lead singer Jason Ringen
berg, unlike Dylan, had a rapport with
the audience. Borrowing Sir Bob's
bench for a seated jam with his guitar
ists, Ringenberg offered, "You know,
it's not every day you get to jam on Bob
Dylan's piano bench."
A sense of humor and definite enthu
siasm were qualities that separated
Jason and the Scorchers from the head
liner. On Oh Mercy it seems Bob had
some fun, but he seemed burdened by
having to perform.
By and large, the show was reasona
bly good. Certainly, everyone there only
for the legend was satisfied. With Dylan
back on the upswing, it wouldn't be fair
to condemn the show. He has corrected
several of the last tour's problems. We
just have to see whether he gets com
pletely back to form next time. Grade:
B-C
Age cannot wither
Benson's fine jazz
By TIM LITTLE
Staff Writer
Jazzpopsoul performer George
Benson is like fine wine. He just gets
better as time goes on.
Hailed by many critics as a "modem-day
Renaissance man," Benson
is widely known for his broad spec
trum of styles and his pioneer work in
guitar playing. He will bring his elec
trifying guitar style to Memorial Hall
tonight at 8 p.m.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh,
Benson began his musical career at
age 4 by winning an amateur singing
contest. As time went on, he devel
oped a strong passion for jazz, listen
ing to legendary artists such as saxo
phone player Charlie Parker. He began
playing on a number of albums for
various artists, ranging from Herbie
Hancock to Miles Davis.
Breezin' was Benson's debut al
bum on Warner Brothers Records that
elevated him to superstar status across
America. "This Masquerade," the
only vocal on the instrumental al
bum, became the first song in music
history to hold the No. 1 spots on the
jazz, pop and soul charts.
From 1978 to 1980, Benson racked
up four Grammy awards for his daz
zling performances of such smash
hits as "On Broadway," "Love X
Love" and "Give Me The Night."
After achieving such huge success,
Benson produced a compilation
album, The George Benson Collec
tion, which featured the number one
single 'Turn Your Love Around."
This was the "golden age" of
Benson. Whether artists admitted it,
several were influenced by Benson's
trademark of "magically" matching
guitar notes with his own vocals. This
artistry symbolized the bonding of
the man and his instrument.
But probably the best aspect of
Benson is that he and his music are
inspirational. His performances en
tertain any audience; his love ballads
attract young and old; and in the case
of Whitney Houston and "The Great
est Love Of All," his decade-old songs
inspire other musicians to make their
own versions of his work.
Although some of his most com
mercially successful work was in the
early '80s, Benson's most critically
acclaimed music has come out in the
last two years. Every song from
Benson's vocal and guitar collections
has prepared his already huge listen-
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George Benson
ing audience for the new age of jazz
in the '90s.
Collaboration, featuring "the great
jazz guitar line-up of the decade" of
Benson and fellow guitar great Earl
Klugh, and 1988's Twice the Love
established Benson internationally
and resulted in six sold-out shows at
London's Wembley Arena.
Another admirable quality of
Benson is his ability to shape previ
ously recorded material into a mas
terpiece. Such talent is best shown in
his live version of the Drifters' clas
sic, "On Broadway."
His latest album, Tenderly, is
probably classic jazz at its best. With
Benson's innovation and suaveness,
the album's music is destined to be a
hit on the road. Many critics believe
the album is one of the most notewor
thy jazz records in memory and will
present some of Benson's best live
performances ever.
And the best part is that the music
will not only move the listener, but
that it will also move Benson. Like a
jazz-playing B.B. King, the swaying,
deep-voiced Benson will delight au
diences everywhere on tour and will
continue to progress in the years to
come just like a fine wine.
George Benson will perform to
night at 8 p.m. in Memorial Hall.
Tickets are $13.50 for students and
are available at. the Carolina Box
Office. For more information, call
962-1449.
Forum
from page 1
money has to be where the action is.
It seems to make much more sense to
put the money with the people in con
trol (of the University). We are not
asking for more dollars, but only to
arrange how we spend it and when we
spend it."
N.C. Rep. James Crawford explained
that the legislature often assigned
money it knew wouldn't be spent and
planned on getting that money back.
"North Carolina never has a budget
surplus. We give you money that you
can't spend so that if there is a crisis,
money will come back to the state, and
we can use it to deal with that crisis.
"If we're going to give the Univer
sity flexibility, we're going to give them
less money because there has to be a
surplus in case something goes wrong,"
Crawford added. "When funds are
reverted to the state, we often reallo
cate them to capital expenditures. That's
what pays for the new buildings on
campus."
Panel member Earl "Phil" Phillips,
chairman of the UNC Board of Trus
tees (BOT), said the legislative process
of budgeting University expenditures
was impractically slow. "Under the
current process you have to go to the
legislature two years in advance to get
funding, and a lot can happen in two
years."
Lewis added that from the student's
perspective, change could not be ef
fected because of the time required.
"We tend to have a tough time being
loud enough and getting a timely re
sponse. By the time our issue is ad
dressed, we've graduated two years
ago."
THE AMERICAN PREMIERE OF
Nov 11-18, 1989
Reynolds Industries Theater,
Bryan Center, Duke University
Call Page Box Office
684-4444
Duke Broadway Preview Series presented by DUKE DRAMA
ON ITS WAY TO BROADWAY . . .
Crawford said that he realized the
response from the state level is often
too slow. "It's ... a process that depends
on who gets the legislator's ear and
who doesn't.
"We realize that the University needs
more flexibility. Right now the spend
ing limit (for purchases not authorized
by the state legislature) is $5,000. You
can't buy one computer (or) you're
already over the limit."
One question from the audience
addressed how to stop tuition increases.
Crenshaw said that as long as there is
inflation there will be tuition increases.
"Maybe what we should do is raise the
tuition 3 or 4 percent every year so that
people would get used to it. That way
tuition would increase with the cost of
your books and everything else."
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