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Page 2 Viewpoint The Battalion Monday Texas A&M University October 10, 1977 Tibet mixture of oldwith Chinese new By DAVID BRODER LHASA, TIBET — And now, as the say ing goes, for something completely differ ent. An American political reporter, who has been accustomed to think of Slab Fork. VV. Va., as an exotic dateline, is likely to go berserk when offered a chance to write from “the roof of the world. ” Do not expect this scribbler to resist temptation. Tibet is a wonderful place to visit and, after a stay limited to three days, the temptation is strong to say you would not mind living here, the mountains are magnificent. The weather in this 12,800- foot-high valley is so mild that you can shed your early morning sweater well be fore noon. The air is so pure and the sun so bright that in two days you have a deep tan. Beyond that, there is the priceless art produced in the court of the Dalai Lamas and preserved by the Communist masters of today's Tibet — a richness of color, fab ric, tapestry, frieze, fresco and gold be yond description. Unfortunately, you can not just call up your travel agent and say, “Book me on the next tour to Tibet. Lowell Thomas, the world traveler who is a member of this party, was “the last American out in 1949, two years before the Chinese moved in and made Tibet an “autonomous region” ruled from Peking. Last year, the door was opened for the first time to a party headed by James Schle- singer. This group is headed by George Bush, the former head of the U. S. Liaison Office in Peking. For reasons best known to themselves, the Chinese have built an airstrip serving Lhasa more than 50 miles northwest of the city. You alight from the Ilyushin aircraft that has brought you from Chengtu, and head off on a two-hour drive that provides an indelible introduction to this hidden land. Beneath the brilliant blue sky and the distant snow-capped mountains, the dom inant color of the landscape is brown. Bare cliffs rise from one thousand to five thousand feet from the valley floor. Giant boulders spill from their sides. The land is rocky and barren, with clumps of brush, like the high country of Western Montana or Wyoming. But there is plenty of water in the valley floor, with rivers collecting the streams that flow down from the mountains. Along the riverbanks grow willows, their green and gold providing a needed touch of color. The road is dirt-bumpy and muddy. At points it is pinned between the cliffs and the river in a series of hairpin turns. Where a washout has occurred, the passengers climb out, while the Bushes’ Red Flag limousine and the smaller Shang hai sedans for the others are maneuvered to safety. At other places, the valley broadens, and fields of cabbages and bar ley, orchards and grazing land line both sides of the road. The first signs of life are rude hab itations — stone and mud, with thatched roofs and stone fireplaces in the fields. Then you see the Tibetan peasants, dark faced men and women with bright teeth. You share the road with yaks and cattle, sheep and goats, donkeys, small Tibetan ponies with red pom-poms in their bri dles, and ugly bristle-haired pigs. A solemn-faced boy, riding bareback on his pony, does not acknowlege you. But another lad, barely nine, staggering under a heavy load of straw, turns and waves. Women, with bright bandanas on their dark hair, triangular brown wicker baskets loaded on their backs, smile a greeting. It is a scene from a storybook, and you long to stop for a photograph. But the con voy — military jeeps fore and aft — does not slow its pace. Along the way, there are signs of the change the Chinese have brought since they ended the rule of the god-king who resisted all technology, even a simple wheeled cart. A telephone line parallels the road. There are two tractors in the field, a new bridge across the river, compounds for Chinese migrants, with concrete barracks and tin roofs that shine in the sun. As you near Lhasa, the dirt turns into cobblestones, then pavement. You pass a cement plant, make a curve, and there is the Potola — the Dalai Lama’s hilltop palace, dating from the 7th Century. Across its brown facade is stretched a red banner, exhorting the workers to greater efforts in the spirit of Chairmen Mao and Hua. It is a fitting symbol of the ancient theocracy and the new Communist state that coexist so uneasily in this exotic- corner of the world. The ultimate weapon: The nothing bomb United Press International WASHINGTON — President Carter’s optimistic report on the prospects for another Soviet-American arms agreement leaves many people wondering what will happen to the neutron bomb. Some military strategists believe de ployment of the new enhanced-radiation weapon will increase the chances of all-out nuclear war. But others see it as leading to total nur clear impotence. ; .Y.L “ i+ “ ‘ Humor A leading exponent of the later view is Commodore Claus von Frigate (ret.), former commander of the Tidal Basin paddleboat fleet and now a private military consultant and analyst. Asked what the results might be if neu- Iron bombs were excluded from a new weapons pact, von Frigate posed some questions of his own. F irst you must ask yourself why con ventional nuclear warheads have never been used on the battlefield. The answer is that they are too destruc tive. They not only annihilate the enemy’s military forces; they demolish everything and everybody in sight. “Now ask yourself what advantage the neutron bomb has over conventional nu clear weapons. “The answer is that while it may kill as many people as other warheads, it doesn’t cause as much blast and heat damage to buildings. “Then ask yourself whether the Russian army, when confronted with this im provement in nuclear weaponry, js going to be content with sending telegrams of congratulations to the Pentagon? “Obviously not. You know and I know that the Soviets are going to go all out to perfect a further refinement. “So ask yourself what the next logical step would be. And the answer is a warhead that not only causes less property damage but also kills fewer people.” The commodore paused to see if I was catching his drift. Then, syllogisms, awash, he proceeded with his own analysis. “There is strong opposition to our bomb, mainly because killing people with neutron rays sounds kind of barbaric. But the Russians avoid that rap by building a bomb only half as deadly. “Do we stand idly by with our bomb in abeyance while the Russians deploy theirs? Not in a million years we don’t. “We send our weaponeers back to the drawing board with instructions to design a nuclear bomb that doesn’t kill anybody. It just makes a loud noise that deafens the enemy.” I clapped my hands in jingoistic glee. “I’d like to see the Russians try to top that ” I chortled. makes people deaf, the Russians will counter with one that is silent as well as non-lethal. I said, “ Is that what you call your ulti mate weapon?” Not quite,” von Frigate replied. “This arms race won’t end until it reaches the point where gettting hit with a nuclear warhead makes you feel better.” They will, dear boy. As soon as we start testine a non-lethal nuclear warhead that Top of the News Campus Student senate hearing set lelel Student Senate will be conducting a public hearing on an injunc tion against the existence of the position of comptroller, tonight at 7 in the MSC council conference room. Waco buses available Seats are available on charter buses to Waco for the Texas A&M- Baylor football game Oct. 10. Two or more buses will depart parking lot 60 near Rudder Tower at 12:30 p.m. on game day. They return immediately after the 4 p.m. game, according to Brazos County A&M Club President Malon Southerland. Bus seats will cost $8.25 each, with persons providing their own game tickets. Buses are expected to arrive at Baylor Stadium in time for persons to walk to nearby re staurants, but Brazos Aggies suggest carrying a sack lunch. Refresh ments will be available on the buses. Reservations should be made at the Association of Former Students offices in the MSC, or by mailing a check to the club. Box 4, College Station, 77840. Unite NASH VI] ose who and 1 ■embers o dustry do laques anc I The Con ■cards sho' |ork televi: ■rely the [la Indus ti More thi [sc jockey their 2 coinciding Is 52nd a ■sociation Meetings ai [rgest orgt ... award lalyzed at comp ti lashville f< bound Congressman to speak Former Republican congressman Charles Mosher of Oberlin, Ohio will deliver two addresses at Texas A&M University today and tomor row. Mosher, now executive director of the U.S. House of Represen tatives’ Science and Technology Committee, was invited to the cam- pins to talk to the Professional Development Seminar of the Doctorof Engineering Program and the engagement was expanded to a two- part program, the first of which is open to the public. His address is entitled “Congress Gropes for Better Information” and will be pres ented at 8 p.m. tonight in room 102 of Zachry Engineering Center. It will be continued Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m. in room 342. State Davis trial enters eighth week Sti o jin the jollege St; Riat the p ■ages are g ■ available B going up I The stuc pme from lents enn fasibility i he Depart lonal Plan prsity. The murder trial of Fort Worth millionaire T. Cullen Davis entered its eighth week today in Amarillo. Prosecutors, despite vigorous defense objections, were permitted Saturday to recreate two 1976 deposition hearings in which a teenager named the defendantas the man who shot her boyfriend. Prosecutor Joe Shannon Jr. assumed the role of Beverly Bass, 19, as he sat in the witness chair and read portions of her October and December explanations of the August, 1976 assault on Gus Gavrel Jr., 22. Prosecutors said they were offer ing portions of the sworn statements not previously introduced into evidence to rehabilitate the teenager’s testimony before the jury. ibrai offere publ Fort Nation Siamese twins critical Ferra Hope, the infant surgically separated from her Siamese twin Oct. 1, was in extremely critical condition” Sunday at the University of Arkansas Medical Center in Little Rock. Ferra Hope developed sever pneumonia and kidney failure Saturday, a hospital spokeswo man said. She was in critical condition for several days after the operation but her condition improved last week and she was removed horn the critical list Friday. The infant was separated from her twin, with whom she shared a torso and conjoined hearts. Her twin died during the operation. Ferra Hope is the first infant to survived sueh an operation for more than six hours. leal arranj Ms. Syc tate Libra ieoopera >ffice of C niversity The four articipant Hhe publ ig com mi rovided ; rary skills nplement delude ec eference dopment n d financ Letters to the editor President’s inauguration deserved more students Editor: The inauguration of a new president at Texas A&M University is a rare event. I consider myself lucky to have witnessed President Miller’s inauguration ceremony this Tuesday. Never before have I seen a ceremony with as much pomp and celeb rity for one person. The one thing that this ceremony lacked; however, was attendence of the university students. Where were all the “Aggies” who had been given the day off just so they could come and show respect for their own president? With a population of thirty thousand students, G. Rollie White Coliseum should have been over flowing. Instead, only a small crowd of 8,500 attended the event. Those “Aggies” who were given a holiday on Tuesday could have spent two hours of that day showing their respect and dedication for the next president. A&M will not settle for anything but the best; the best educators, the best stu dents, and the best president. The spirit of A&M is only as great as the students. What happened to that spirit during a ceremony as important as the inauguration of our university’s new president. After all, how would you feel if you were inau gurated as the eighteenth president of A&M, and less than 40 per cent of the student body attended the ceremonies? —fish Elkins,‘81 Editor’s note: The situation is nothing new. Aggies have never needed an excuse to take a holiday and when they’re given the day off, you can expect plenty of stu dents to either leave town or disappear for the day. The committee which planned the inauguration had emphasized student participation. But the way to get students to attend such ceremonies is not to give them the whole day to find some thing else to do. Whether “enough” students attended the inauguration is academic — but if 40 per cent did at tend, as you suggested, that’s very good student attendance. No angels here Editor: We’re just three Aggies sitting in Dud ley’s Draw sipping on longnecks and con templating A&M. We re snuff-dipping, bicycle riding, crude and generally un couth Ags who are perturbed about recent letter in this space blaming one faction of A&M for all the problems (real or imagined) that exist here. Each day, al most without fail, at least one letter will slander, malign, cast aspersions on, and generally blame one group of students. We’ve read about the indifference of bike riders on campus, tobacco and snuff enjoyers, the Greeks, the Poles, the Blacks, the Whites, and the kitchen sink. Frankly, Ags, we re damn tired of it. We’ve missed a couple of Silver Taps due to pending examinations (all of them passed), we’ve skipped Thursday night yell practice to go to Lake view on occa sion, and we missed President Miller’s in auguration because we were too hung over to get out of bed. We’re almost certain that if some of the Aggies who are so concerned about Aggie spirit had seen us, there would have been one hellatious letter to this celebrated paragon of intellect (the Batt) concerning our activities. And these Aggies have every right to do so. We’re not here to point fingers, to blame this clique or that organization for all the “di- gusting” things occuring here, i.e. lack of spirit and consideration, but we would like it understood that even though we’re Ag gies, we’re still human. Even though as a student body we are unique, and our uni versity is widely accepted as being the best thing this side of heaven, individu ally, we are not angels by a long shot. We all have our share of shortcomings. We’re not perfect, and few of us ever claimed to be. Please, Ags, don’t expect us to be. We as Aggies have seen things here we don’t agree with, and we’ve seen people do things we think they shouldn’t, but part of being an Aggie, we believe, is understand ing that people are different, they have different goals, different beliefs, and dif ferent ideologies. As Aggies, we should accept and toler ate these differences, not accuse them of being the root of all that is detrimental to Aggie spirit. Nor should we accuse all those who believe in different things than we do as being two-percenters. Re member that A&M is a united body, prob ably the largest in the world. Let’s try and keep it that way. Well, Ags, we spent over $8 on beer and nachos in the process of drafting this let ter, and we hope you appreciate it. At least tolerate our right to believe it. —Jeff Mulkey ‘79 Brian Euwer ‘79 Tom Beecroft ‘81 Not all Ags lonely Editor: I read “Dear Mom: Your black Aggie is lonely,” and felt sad for someone I didn’t know. I’m comfortable here at A&M. —Kerry Falls Slouch by Jim Earle “OF COURSE THERE’S ALWAYS THE POSSIBILITY THAT YOU’RE JUST NOT CUT OUT TO BE A TOBACCO CHEWER!” Ships line up, strike continues Several ships were line lined up along docks waiting to be unloaded at the nation’s second largest port Sunday in New Orleans, as loca dock workers continued their general strike. Harbor police reported no picket lines Sunday, but dock foremen said no one had shown up for work. The longshoremen, defying the wishes of local and nation® union, voted Saturday to continue a general strike against the Port 0 * New Orleans. General strike supporters said the selective strike strategy was unworkable in New Orleans because container ships account for a smaller percentage of port traffic than in New York. Weather techn PF N Massac Mw offerint technology signed for | ieading the tocology systems ap ( control of a servahon p toulactun aoods. Tht sppropriate experience. Prof. Sch F Cam ^ c OL j^y ar| d today with southerly winds 10-18 mph. Twenty percent chance of rain. Decreasing cloudiness roq ^m 6r t0n ? 0 " 0w - Hi gh today mid-80s, low tonight, low 60s, tomorrow’s high mid-70s. The Battalion Opinion, expressed in The- Battalion are those- of the eehtor or of the , enter of the article and are no, ntc-Lri,,, those of the University administration or the Board of He gents. The Battalion is a non-profit -o-ir . -r™- enterprise operated by students as a univc-riti/an'’, inanity neuspaper. Editorial police, is determLddjZ- letters policy U tters to the editor should not exceed inn i subject to being cut to that length Jl^Tum“ r, C editorial staff reserves the- right to edit such JttersTnd dvs not guarantee to publish any letter Each , rigned. shou the address of the writer atd £ at T number for verification. Address correspondence to Letters it. c i, Angeles. ^ aiul Los nisht-d on request. Address: Tire Battalion- B*| Reed Me Donald Building, College Station. Trsax United Press International is entitled lwluM |j| j, Use for reproduction of all news dispatches on Rights ol reproduction of all other matter In' 111 "., Second-Class postage paid at College Station. MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Coi*f?>' c ‘ sS . Kditor Managing Editor Mars' Alii'''' Editorial Director Da' Roy la Strorts Editor f News Editors Marie Honieyrr- C City Editor B "' Campus Editor Copy Editor Reporters ,\\V fen* *55 kT-t r Wednesdays ami Fridays. 1 n t,on Mondays, Mail subscriptions are 75 1 ^„. Photographer Cartoonist ,'llltl Student Publications Board: Boh C.. / Joe Anedondo. Dr. Cam, Holler. Or. J""" ( #||l , Bo/n-rt Harvey; Or. Charles McCandless; l>r . Phillips; Rebel Rice. Director of Stttllfnl l " ... i Oonaltl C. Johnson. Prodnrtion Coordimb'' 1 Sherman 11 »ou tolng, 30?i