European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 10, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stars and stripes . Sunday. July 1q, 1994troubled aids chief Calls it quits by the new York times Washington president Clinton a chief aids policy officer Kristine Gebbie submitted her resignation Friday after a Rocky 11-month tenured her resignation had been rumoured for weeks. Advocates for people with aids had been unhappy with Gebbie Ever since she was named and it became Clear that she would not be the sort of High profile aids a a Czar that the Clinton Campaign had promised. Experts on aids policy said Friday that Gebbie a former Washington state health commissioner had been hampered by the ill defined nature of her Job. And while they credited her with Good intentions they said her Lack of political savvy Hud prevented her from making something of a Job with Little authority. The budget for aids care and re search has increased substantially under Clinton and prevention programs Are being completely reorganized a two of the major demands that groups Active on behalf of people infected with his made before Clinton selection. But Gebbie was seen As having Little to do with those developments. The human immunodeficiency virus causes aids in a Telephone interview Friday Gebbie said a a Little less than a year ago i moved into a vacuum Here with he or. Gebbie Mous and conflicting expectations. I think we have done things this year and i feel Good about it but it is time for someone else to  commenting on her troubles with the Job Gebbie said a this was a new Job with almost nothing written Down about what it should be and expectations were too High. Some people will never be Happy about this position unless it is the Job of a real Czar who can command viruses Money arid  she said she had spoken Friday to Leon a Nett a the White House chief of staff about the need to define the Job better for her successor and had urged him to make it Clear that the Job was a that of a policy coordinator Between  Gebbie was roundly criticized by aids organizations As being ineffective and firms Hope . Will go bananas Over san Francisco a in the beginning science created the genetically altered Tomato and the government looked upon it and saw that it was Good. Now its time for the banana the nations second most popular fruit said two biotech companies Dan Plant technology corp. In Oakland and Zeneca Plant science of Wilmington Del. By slowing the ripening process they Hope to improve taste and shelf life in the $2.7 billion banana Industry As Welt As introduce exotic varieties to . Shelves. The problem with bananas is familiar to anyone who buys them at a supermarket Plant technology spokeswoman Ellen Martin said Friday. A a they re practically Green when you buy them but four to five Days later they re banana bread a she said. That rapid ripening has forced the Industry to develop tougher Stringer a and less tasty a varieties to withstand the Long trip to the United states in a cargo hold of a latin american or asian freighter Martin said. The two companies have pooled their resources to find a Way to slow the ripening process. They said inserting an identical copy of the Gene that produces the ripening chemical Ethy ene stops its production a for reasons we done to understand doubling up the message turns the Gene off a Martin said. That Means the ripening process can be halted then reactivated at the sales site by an ethylene Gas Bath As is already done with Many fruits. The ripening would proceed slowly Martin  a in effect we could put the fruit in suspended animation Quot she said. Plant technology has experimented successfully with bananas in greenhouses for three years Martin said. She acknowledged that no one has tasted the bananas yet and that it could be three to five years before they reach store shelves. . Consumers could have a Chance to taste Plant technology a specially exotic species. They include the red banana and the ice Cream banana a which i think tastes like Vanilla a Martin said. The Impact on the . Produce Industry could be significant said Karen Brown spokeswoman for the food marketing Institute in Washington. A anything that would make the product sweeter and extend its shelf be would probably be welcomed a she said. A but its unlikely they would be i or. Neal Gutterson of Dan Plant technology corp. On Friday displays a store bought banana and a genetically altered banana shoot culture grown in his Laboratory. The Only variety of banana  bananas accounted for $2.7 billion of the $55.6 billion in produce sold in the United states in 1992, just behind apples Brown said. Despite the precedent setting approval of Cal Gene  genetically altered flavor savr tomatoes by the food and drug administration in May there Are still sceptics of such produce Brown said. There Are worries that the genetic markers and Vira delivery systems used in bioengineering food could some Day backfire said Ronnie Cummins of the Washington based pure food Campaign. A we need to look very carefully a he said. A what Are the chances of the viruses recombining with other viruses in the Plant and spreading into other plants animals and genes a earlier this year some groups including act up or the aids coalition to unleash Power and the National association of people with aids called for her resignation. A. Daniel Bross executive director of the aids action Council the chief lobbying group for the nations aids groups said riday a there has been incredible dissatisfaction with both the office and the person. I think the Issue is  while adding that he had a never seen a More ill defined Job and Mission Quot he also said Gebbie had failed to enlist the support of members of Congress or aids organizations in trying to devise a nation at policy on aids research and care for people with aids. The result he said was a Complete failure of policy despite Gebbie a dedication and Good intentions. No of holocaust new York apr americans have a shallow knowledge of the nazi holocaust but few doubt that it happened according to a report correcting a misleading Survey that caused alarm last year. A less than 2 percent deny the holocaust in a committed consistent Way a Tom w. Smith of the University of Chicago author of the report by the american jewish committee said thursday. Smith director of the general social Survey of the National opinion research Center Analysed More than a dozen surveys including two Roper polls conducted for the committee. The first poll taken in 1992 and released in March 1993, has been widely criticized by pollsters As a Case study of How one badly worded question can produce highly publicized misinformation. Burns w. Roper whose company was responsible has publicly apologized. The question required a Cross Section of . Adults to untangle a double negative a does it seem possible or does it seem impossible to you that the nazi extermination of the jews never happened Quot. Twenty two percent said it was possible the holocaust never happened and an additional 12 percent said they did no to know. Many probably were confused because later polls showed different results by asking the question differently. In March Roper interviewed 991 adults in person and asked them a poes it seem possible to you that the nazi extermination of the jews never happened or do you feel certain that it happened a one percent said it was possible it never happened 91 percent said they were certain it happened and 8 percent did not know. Smith and american jewish committee research director David Singer said the organization had acknowledged doubts about the 22 percent holocaust denial figure several months ago but wanted to do a thorough analysis before making any  said surveys indicate that 19 in 20 americans have heard of the holocaust but that their knowledge of it is a shallow incomplete and  comparing the acc Roper surveys in 1992 and this year he found a a modest Overall gain in knowledge a including a 7-Point increase in Correct definitions of the holocaust. Media attention to the openings of holocaust museums and memorials in los Angeles and Washington d.c., and the movie Schindler a list probably contributed Smith said