The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, August 01, 1990, Image 2

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    The Battalion
OPINION
i
Wednesday, August 1,1990
Opinion Page Editor Damon Arhos
845-33!
Reader: ‘Expert’ mistaken about German arrogance, industry
After reading Dr. Richard Thomas’
analysis of the situation concerning the
Soviet Union’s intentions (“Expert says
Soviets pose growing military threat,”
The Battalion, July 26), one particular
question came to my mind: Although he
is supposedly an expert on Soviet
technology, does Thomas really know
what he is talking about? Obviously he
does not; otherwise his judgments
(especially those about Germany which
are mostly mistaken) would have been
stated differently.
It was agonizing for me, a former
exchange student from Germany who
lived in Sheldon, Iowa during 1988-89,
Mario
Wilhelm
Reader’s Opinion
to read Thomas’ article. (I read The
Battalion by chance while visiting
friends in College Station.) Actually, it
was a big surprise to me how much
Texas A&M’s expert on Soviet
technology believes he knows about
what is going on in other countries.
His statement “In the past, we have
seen evidence of German arrogance by
knowingly supplying Libyan Leader
Mommar Gadhafi with materials used
to manufacture chemical weapons,” is in
itself arrogant and ignorant. Only an
extremely small private group was
involved in the Libyan deal, and thus it
is not right to talk about German
arrogance. After having read his
judgment about Germany, I really
wonder how Thomas would describe
the United States’ weapon deals with the
Middle East (Iran-Contra affair).
Furthermore, Thomas says, “They
(West Germany) have thrived under our
nuclear umbrella, and there seems to be
no gratitude for that.” But which
mwo hoo^tcn
Crave proof through the ni^ht that ourflagf was Still there...
country pushed so hard to get their
Pershing and cruise missies stationed in
West Germany and other parts of
Europe in the beginning of the 80s?
Does Thomas know what it really means
to live among the world’s deadliest
weapons?
In the event of a nuclear war, West
Germany would be destroyed within
seconds. The signing of the INF Treaty
indicated the European desire to get rid
of the nuclear arsenal stationed in
Europe. And this is what Thomas calls
the thriving under the U.S. nuclear
umbrella?
I read a few more lines and
encounted another one of Thomas’
major mistakes. He believes the new
Volkswagen plant in East Germany
which is already under construction has
“dual uses.”
Apparently logic is not one of his
strong points. Since Germany will be
reunified by the end of this year, the
plant will actually not be located on East
German soil, but in a united Germany.
So, why should a Volkswagen plant
manufacture military weaponry which
could be used against the United States?
It doesn’t make sense for Thomas to
even make a statement like
“Unfortunately, these technologies (like
the Volkswagen plant) have dual uses.
Not only can they manufacture
consumer goods, but also military
weaponry.”
In my opinion, West Germany needs
to invest in the East German economy
and help it as much as possible (for
example, by building a Volkswagen
plant, thus creating new jobs and raising
the standard of living) in order to make
the reunification process as smooth as
possible. East Germany must make a
transition from a devastated economy to
a highly efficient working economy.
This can only be done with West
German monetary and technical aid.
If you think I am finished discussing
Thomas’ embarrassing statements, you
are wrong. When I first read the
following three lines, I just couldn’t
believe my eyes. “Face it, take away their
J
/
military and the Soviet Union is jus;
big Brazil.” The country with the
world’s greatest abundance of natm?
resources, a country with anexcellr
space technology industry andotlif t j ie
advanced industries, and whichhai phi
world’s third largest population at;
gross national product is comparec
big Brazil? T his comparison is soot
the way that one really has to quest
Thomas’ status as an expert on this
subject.
it
I n my opinion, West Gem
needs to invest in the East
German economy and helpitai
much as possible (for example
building a Volkswagen plant,!
creating new jobs and raising!-
standard of living) in orderto
make the reunification process
smooth as possible. East
Germany must make a transit!:
from a devastated economyto;
highly efficient working
economy.”
judg.
ativit
spee<
In my opinion, the Battalionartic T«
requires additional correct infoim J %
on the topic in order to prevent the
reader from getting a wrong
impression. By reading Thomas’tjun
this could have happened easily.Ifef
something had to be done aboutt/ie
wrong and annoying statementsmt!i
article. Hopef ully, this column,
containing inside informationfromi
German citizen, will prevent people
from having Thomas’ opinion. E
you do, I will feel sorry for you.
Mario Wilhelm is a former exchani j
student from West Germany.
As with all columns, viewpoints ,
expressed in Reader’s Opinionsanm f
necessarily those of The Battalion. <
Persons interested in submitting!!
Reader’s Opinion should contact the
Opinion Page Editor at 845-3314.
V>W-> -- - ’ > , • .. . ^ y; . •. ». v ♦ • .
Allegations against cold fusion not ignored by A&M officials
Situation doesn’t warrant investigation under University policies on scientific misconduct
Texas A&M University has recently
been subjected to media reaction to a
hypothesis in an article by a free-lance
writer that was published last month in
the journal Science. The writer alleges
that an experiment at Texas A&M in
the controversial field of “cold fusion”
might have been “spiked” with tritium.
The media has called on the University
to “do something” about this hypothesis
of scientific misconduct.
William H.
Mobley
Reader’s Opinion
66
Our facilities and faculty in
nuclear science, electrochemistry
and thermodynamics who have
made possible the investigation of
nuclear and thermal events
proposed as being associated
with the phenomena are also
investigating important
ramifications that lead in other
potentially promising directions.
These scientists are debating and
evaluating alternative hypotheses
as are theoreticians from a variety
of disciplines.”
Suggestions that the University has
done nothing in response to this
allegation are simply not true.
Appropriate personnel have been
monitoring all aspects of “cold fusion”
research at Texas A&M since the very
beginning of the work on our campus.
Last month, Provost E. Dean Gage
appointed a research program review
and assessment team to look at the
status of the entire project, activities of
all individuals involved and summaries
of results, as well as proposed future
directions.
Despite thousands of words written
on the so-called “cold fusion”
experiments in the press and in
scientific journals, there has never been
a single allegation of misconduct by a
scientist at Texas A&M that would
warrant a formal inquiry under the
University’s policies on scientific
misconduct. It is important not to rush
to judgment, especially since recent
scientific evidence from experiments
conducted in laboratories other than
Texas A&M does not support the
“spiking” hypothesis.
Research on the phenomenon which
has come to be known as “cold fusion”
continues in numerous laboratories
around the world. Several of these
including the Los Alamos National
Laboratory, Case Western University
and the Bhabha Center in India, and
others have also noted the presence of
tritium, and evidence of excess heat has
been extensively verified by a growing
number of researchers.
The scientific process by its very
nature involves healthy skepticism and
vigorous critical debate, and new and
unexpected findings are almost always
accompanied by disputes and
controversy.
Such results are accepted only after
other scientists replicate them and after
the experiments are thoroughly
understood. This is the process that is
under way at laboratories throughout
the world as scientists continue to
pursue this intriguing phenomenon.
It is distressing to see one aspect of
the “cold fusion” investigation so much
overemphasized as to obscure the much
broader scope of this research. Our
facilities and faculty in nuclear science,
electrochemistry and thermodynamics
who have made possible the
investigation of nuclear and thermal
events proposed as being associated
with the phenomena are also
investigating important ramifications
that lead in other potentially promising
directions. These scientists are debating
and evaluating alternative hypotheses as
are theoreticians from a variety of
disciplines.
It is important to be aware also that
the principal sponsor of the research in
question, a private, non-profit, industry-
and assessment team continuingto
evaluate the situation; the primary
research sponsor continues tosuppo
our activities; and the University’s
ism
Cz(
Office of Research continues to moral
the activities of the three different !]
laboratories and several theoreticiansi
here actively investigating and debaicj
this topic.
I again affirm that if credible
evidence of irregularities arises, hi
implement, without delay, the
University’s established polidesand
procedures for dealing with sciendfn
misconduct.
oriented organization, has monitored
this research program and continues to
support it. Finally, we would note that
Texas A&M University researchers
have not withheld their results from
open discussion, scrutiny and review in
order to seek patent protection or for
any other reason.
In summary, the University has a
well-qualified research program review
The scientific community at large:
agencies that sponsor research, whed
or not involved in “cold fusion”
research, understand the delicate
balance between freedom of scientl
inquiry and appropriate responseto
concerns about possible misconduct
I am proud of the researchers who
are investigating this intriguing
phenomenon and the 2,200 faculty
members and researchers at Texas
A&M University who are workingint
wide range of fields to advance the
frontiers of knowledge. The
controversy surrounding one labora®
does not diminish my confidence inti
competence and integrity of our face
or of Texas A&M University.
William Mobley is president ofTett
A&M University.
Un
val
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net
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
Member of
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Southwest Journalism Conference
Associated Collegiate Press
The Battalion Editorial Board
Monique Threadgill,
Editor
Melissa Naumann,
Managing Editor
Damon Arhos,
Opinion Page Editor
Holly Becka, City Editor
Meg Reagan,
Lisa Ann Robertson,
News Editors
Clay Rasmussen, Sports Editor
Eric Roalson, Art Director
Todd Stone, Lifestyles Editor
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thor, and do not necessarily represent the
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faculty or the Board of Regents.
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