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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 1979)
LOUCH by Jim Earle OtT lb ‘I think it’s time you came out. Football is just a game. Opinion Don’t shuffle flags to make ships safer it seems that almost every ship collision, tanker breakup or freighter grounding you read about involves a Liberian ship. The reason is simple. The tiny African nation of Liberia has, on paper, the world’s largest merchant marine fleet. Nearly 30 percent of the world’s tanker fleet sails under the Liberian flag. It is called a ‘flag of convenience. ” American and foreign ship-owners register their vessels in one of the flag-of-convenience countries such as Liberia or Panama because of tax advantages and because it is cheaper. A ship sailing under American registry must be built in America by union-scale shipbuilders and must have an American crew paid salaries that average more than $800 a month. American-owned ships that are registered abroad are not subject to those restrictions, and salaries for foreign crews run as low as $120 a month. But critics claim you get what you pay for. Cheaply built ships run by cheap crews, they say, are floating timebombs. Eliminating flag-of-convenience registry may not be the answer. As long as the financial considerations and safety shortcuts are available, there is the very real prospect of shipping companies rather than just ships flocking to foreign countries. What is really needed is not regulation of flags but regu lation of ships. International safety and licensing standards for ships sailing under all flags would have much more effect on safety at sea than a reshuffling of flags. The Charlotte, N.C., News the small society by Briclcman Wco-eoY.' A/^>TH£fZ WH<2 THAN TH£ ?£&?[.£■ HAV£= IT- Washington Star Syndicate. Inc. /o-/6 The Battalion U S P S 045 360 LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject to being cut to that length or less if longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit such letters and does not guarantee to publish any letter. Each letter must he signed, show the address of the writer and list a telephone number for verification. Address correspondence to Letters to the Editor. The Battalion. Room 216, Reed McDonald Building. College Station, Texas 77843. Represented nationally by National Educational Adver tising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday from September through May except during exam and holiday >eriods and the summer, when it is publisht‘d on Tuesday hrough Thursday. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester. $33.25 per school year, $35.00 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Address: The Battalion, Room 216, Reed McDonald Building. College Station, Texas 77843. United Press International is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it. Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved. Second-Class postage paid at College Station. TX 77843. MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Editor Liz Newlin Managing Editor Andy Williams Asst. Managing Editor Dillard Stone News Editors Karen Cornelison and Michelle Burrowes Sports Editor Sean Petty City Editor Roy Bragg Campus Editor Keith Taylor Focus Editors . . . Beth Calhoun and Doug Graham Staff Writers Meril Edwards, Nancy Andersen, Louie Arthur, Richard Oliver, Mark Patterson, Carolyn Blosser, Kurt Allen, Debbie Nelson Photo Editor Lee Roy Leschper Jr. Photographers . Lynn Blanco, Sam Stroder, Ken Herrera Cartoonist Doug Graham Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the University administration or the Board of Regents. The Battalion is a non-profit, self- supporting enterprise operated by students as a university and community newspaper. Editorial policy is determined by the editor. Viewpoint The Battalion Texas A&M University Tuesday October 16, 1979 Dick West "Turkey feather attacks : the newest biological warfare here if we need it By DICK WEST United Press International WASHINGTON — If you are looking for something positive to hold onto in a period of mostly negative developments, consider feathers. Historically, chicken and turkey outer wear has not been deeply appreciated, ex cept by chickens and turkeys. But in re cent days, poultry plumage has been sharply upgraded. And while it might be overstating the case to describe fowl feathers as the hope of the future, at least we have been made to realize that their potential for the bet terment of mankind has not been fully realized. Two events in the news this month serve to open our eyes. One was the publication of a once-secret document disclosing that in 1950 the U.S. Army conducted tests on the feasibility of converting feathers into biological warfare weapons. The idea was to treat the feathers with rust spores and drop them from airplanes over enemy oat fields, thus contaminating the crop. As anyone who has ever had any dealings with the Army might have pre dicted, the device used to release the air borne feathers was called a “M16A1 Clus ter Adapter.” And the feathers themselves were iden tified in classic military nomenclature lingo as “washed, fluffed, white turkey.” Although the trial runs in turkey feather bombardment apparently worked out pre tty well, there was no word on whether this type of crop dusting ever became op erational. However, any military analyst will tell you that turkey feather attacks sound exactly like something that would have been tried in Vietnam. If feather merchants have not become a part of the military-industrial complex, it must be because of political consid erations. The feeling may have been that if the Pentagon went ahead with the forma tion of turkey feather strike forces, the Soviet Union would retaliate by sending a flock of combat turkeys to Cuba. Who knows, someday we may be read ing headlines like: “U.S., Soviets Sign Strategic Turkey Feather Limita Treaty. Meanwhile, it is gratifyirj know the potential is there if we net Equally heartening was a report Atlanta Journal that researchers 1 patented a process for extracting piu from chicken feathers for possible ns| food supplements and cosmetics. That development could opeml whole new world for chicken plucfcT Up to now, the purpose of plucking! to get rid of the feathers. If the timett ing when we will keep the feather.J throw the rest of the chicken away? Is there a new Colonel Sandersosj horizon — a Kentucky Fried Chid! feather tycoon? We may indeed live to see that4,| the turkey feather bombs don’t g q\CT0RY => NOW.' / & T-V, V? a ho ^ if' Tom, You at Havinct* a NkOrttTtiARE.' TO | READER’S FORUM The disco scene can he compared to prancing of prairie male chickens By JAMES TELESE Male discoers are flocking to discos for an opportunity to dance and prance. Male prairie chickens also flock to a place for dancing and prancing. Discos, compared to the dance ground of the prairie chicken, are artificial; both are used to attract the attention of a possible mate. Similarities exist between the prairie chicken and the male discoer, even though they are differ ent beings. The prairie is the dance ground of the male prairie chicken. His dance is per formed among the short grass for maximum visibility of the spectators; hid den in the tall blue winter grass are the females. On early April mornings, when spring is in its joyous flowering time, his dance takes place. The morning sun stirs the air and illuminates the stomping ground. Each rooster has his own beat and song (that sounds like “ooh-den-do-o-o-o-o) which fills the early April morning air, and is carried over the prairie. In contrast, the male discoer is ready for action as the sun sends out the stars. He flies to the disco with unchecked speed to catch the right time for attracting the most females. Arriving at the disco, he encounters a smoked-filled room, the dance floor sur rounded by mirrors to catch sight of his act, illuminated with strobe lights and al ternating red, blue, and yellow lights flashing from the dance floor to create a world of false beauty. Dimly lighted corners hide the watch ing, sullen faces of the females, making it easier for the male discoer to dance. Though each song seems different, the beat is the same one-two-three-four, over and over and over and over, bouncing off the disco walls at a volume heard through out the valley. Each dancer has his own costume, and neither is original. Male discoers dress in their best three-piece suit fashioned after John Travolta’s in “Saturday Night Fever. ” The human roosters wear the three-piece suit to accent forms, to draw attention to themselves. The colors depend on the moods of the roosters. They may wear white suits if especially lonely, for white enhances their movements by reflecting the lights of the dance floor. Unlike that of male discoer, the prairie chicken’s fashion is predestined; he has no choice of clothing. He has his natural feathers: shades of brown, black, and white. But all these comments emphasize the differences, and I promised to write about similarities. When the dance begins, the prairie chicken is a beautiful sight. He in flates his saffron sacs under long pinnate feathers on each side of his neck to an orange color; wings trail, and his tail shapes into a fan and stands erect, looking like that of small peacock. The rooster lowers his head and prances to his own beat in one spot. At the climax of the dance, he shakes his head slightly, flaps his wings and flies three feet straight up in the air. The disco rooster does not dance alone; society demands that a male shoidd dance not by himself but with a female. But like the prairie chicken, he is dancing for all the females that care to observe his antics. The disco rooster begins by walking tall and strutting to the dance floor. Oncf the floor, his lx)dy begins to gyrate! jerk with violent spasms. Hejumpsup; down, feet prancing to the monoto# beat, arms flapping at his side, atfe going over his head for style. At climax, the disco rooster twirls; his op coat flies loosely, looking like a second of wings. His head pecks in the smol colored air. A beautiful sight. Discos allow mankind, the noblest animals, to act like prairie chickens.! here the similarity ends. At 5 an), i unclear who chooses whom. Does: female of the disco choose the males cause of his dance? Or does the® choose the female with the widest eye A prairie rooster takes a chosen i and builds a nest in the tall blueH grass of the prairie. But lonely discon ter who have flown to discos fori cure for Wednesday Night Chicken^ find only their reflections in thewidet] of the female and the mirrors of the d floor. They do not find themselves otdj cure they seek. Letters Cash-for-cups: a student’s new idea for conserving concession dollars Editor: In these days of wasteful spending in government-related contracts and busi nesses, it is a welcome reflief to see signs of thriftiness. Such was the case prior to the football game at Kyle Field last Satur day. I saw a vendor filling the “Aggie size” plastic cups with ice when approximately a dozen empty cups fell into a puddle of muddy water. Not to be discouraged, the vendor quickly gathered up the dirty cups, put ice and sodawater in them and sold them. After witnessing this incident, I had an idea. Why not offer a cash-for-cups rebate for dirty cups. Football patrons could sell the cups hack to the vendor for 25 a pound. This would provide needed small change that everyone has a shortage of. Besides, the vendor could reduce costs because fewer new cups would not have to be purchased. In the long-run reduced costs would insure lower concession prices. In addition to the monetary savings, think about the added flavor to the soft drinks resulting from the use of dirty cups. What about disease, you say? What could possibly be more sickening than seeing your team lose in the final 60 seconds? 12th man missing Editor: The Fightin’ Texas Aggie Football Team was outscored again this weekend. How ever, that was not nearly as disheartening as the sight of my fellow Ags who left early and did not fight until the end. It is a well established tradition at A&M Thotz that the Twelfth Man (of which every true Aggie is a member), remain in stands on such occasions for a short yell practice. This unique display of continued support for our team is one of the traditions that has set A&M apart from conventional schools. We can only imagine that the dis graceful number of fans who did not fight until the last yell either were uninformed, were cougar supporters, or were members of that disgusting band of traitors knofl two percenters. We hope that in the future all A|| will proudly stand together, in l and had, and show the true “Spiritoj gieland.” — Scott Roberts, SEARS — NOPE— RADIO SttKK- N0?t— ^ jy.jS Podpopnc Al&UH • • Nopfc Editor’s note: This letter was acd panied by 58 other signatures. by Doug Graham