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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 1979)
THE BATTALION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1979 Page 5 clipse seen by many; auses accidents, talk :R ter United Press International The shadow of the moon crept , ross most of the United States to- ■ay dimming the morning sunlight "i the last solar eclipse over North Lrica in the 20th century. Millions using various view- Jhg devices checked the progress of ae eclipse in those areas not bscured by clouds as the moon assed between the earth and the jn in the awesome spectacle that nee brought terror to primitive copies. But in modern-day America, olice in Los Angeles reported a umber of fender-bender traffic ac cents involving motorists preoe- upied with the eclipse. In Salem, Ire., they joked about it taking an it of God to silence the politicians. who joined other state workers in watching the one minute and 34 seconds of total eclipse. In Portland, Ore., the largest city in the path of the total eclipse, the sky became darker than night, be cause none of the usual night street lights was turned on. In Sac ramento, Calif., state workers atop buildings waved to one another. In Boise, Idaho, a state legislative committee turned out the lights in the committee room in observance. Residents lined streets in downtown Salt Lake City to watch the solar show. At Goldendale, Wash., where thousands gathered at the only pub lic observatory in the path of the total eclipse, the event was obscured by dark clouds except for a few spectacular seconds. But all who shivered together on a cold hillside there agreed it was worth it. The spectators cheered, clapped and yelled. Move clouds! Come on sun!” I thought it was exciting,” William Yantis, observatory direc tor, said. “I was disappointed about the clouds, but we got to see it.” Many other cities in the path of the eclipse reported heavy overcast and could not see the moon blocking the sun. But even in the areas of only partial eclipse, there was a noticeable dimming of the morning sun’s usual brilliance and shadows became softer. U.S.S.R. Soyuz 32 inks with space lab United Press International MOSCOW — The Soviet Union’s [rst manned space flight of 1979, Soyuz 32, Monday successfully [linked up with the mothballed Tilyut 6 space lab, Tass reported. The news agency said Soyuz 32, Lanned by rookie commander Lt. Jol. Vladimir Lyakhov and flight iengineer Valery Ryumin, docked Safely with Salyut 6 at 4:30 p.m. The pair then transferred to the uce lab. The Soyuz 32 spaceship had lifted at 2:54 p.m. Sunday Moscow time Baikonur Cosmod- Moscow Radio said earlier all the spaceship’s systems were function ing normally and both cosmonauts felt fine as they began the final run toward docking with the space lab. THE BATT DOES IT DAILY Monday through Friday VSA! W,' Cw,' WJ LVS/J LV*/ University Flower & Gift Shop Come by now and select your and boutonnieres For The MILITARY BALL Choose from roses, carnations, spring flowers or orchids. Firing called result of torture disclosure United Press International WASHINGTON — “I knew when it would break, I would be smeared, and I was.” Alexandra Johnson made that statement in a clipped, unemotional voice as she described having re ported to the State Department her discovery of “systematic” Israeli torture of Palestinian security pri soners in the occupied territories. Not long ago, she was eminently successful and publicly praised for doing what she likes doing best: being a State Department bureauc rat. Then, in the course of visa in vestigations in Jerusalem, Ms. Johnson s carefully ordered life was turned upside down. Johnson said she discovered sys tematic Israeli torture of Palestinian security prisoners, reported it to the State Department and then was dismissed from the Foreign Service. The State Department said her dismissal last month had nothing to do with the allegations, but it would not reveal the reason. Israel categorically denied the torture charge. Johnson acknowledged having been engaged briefly to a Palesti nian — one of those making torture charges. She said it happened after the bulk of her evidence was col lected. She told of investigating visa re quests in Jerusalem of 29 exprison ers who insisted Israeli interrogators tortured them into confessing membership in groups affilated with the Palestine Liberation Organiza tion. She said the State Department eventually granted visas to 22 of the Palestinians — a development she described as de facto U.S. recogni tion the men had been convicted on coerced confessions, since U.S. law bars immigrants who have been - “meaningful” members of organiza tions on the attorney general’s list, such as the Communist Party or the PLO. Johnson says there’s no doubt in her mind that Israeli authorities — not just a few wayward interrogators — are responsible. She said some prisoners described being tortured by “electrical apparatus, or tape recorders and loud speaker sys tems.” The prisoners also repeatedly told her of being beaten in the same way with the same kind of instruments — a yard-long stick for the chest and a footlong club for the genitals. Several former members of the Is raeli armed forces compared the situation of Israeli security forces in occupied Arab territories to the role of American soldiers in the nastier days of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. 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