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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 2004)
>KLI1 1105 a serve haraag fry Navy*,. s 'G , tk| <\sa !o 'in Gull j ingin elnamlj envay I during s Silva illinga linenan Pl« He* ear bo* setva* ixmom* da tone Khusek mocratc lam Var. iteslsin as his»» 'ties to to; gets ; wins hu setts autlosas td-raisa Law dx»l : two- : tween xirtani icyset ecided aw (lie /hite," iervint for the officer, which join." ti htsc( riedto t^es on i later stance, t nine /en of :S Will its and i heal i man te, and r’sear. ckson report- that as lied in at that sonists uildins ile the und| it was 1 mili- 10,0® id n Opinion The Battalion Page 11 • Monday, February 9, 2004 A show for few ages ffieFCC investigation into Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show is justified COLLINS EZEANYIM i nyone with a pulse \ knows what hap- "Tpened on Feb. I dur- , the halftime show of Bowl XXXVIII. fojch, in light of current jots, might be better ieled Super Bowl XXX.) ward the end of the half- icshow, which featured )ich-grabbing galore and the desecration of dGlory, viewers were shocked to see Justin jiberlake expose Janet Jackson's right :ast. Michael Powell, chairman of the Federal mmunications Commission, has ordered an py into what happened during the halftime aw. Some, like Democratic presidential candi- leHoward Dean, have said the investigation is (necessary, according to the Chicago Sun- nes. But this inquiry is justified. Hie first reason is the outrage it inspired in my viewers. There seems to be genuine wand concern over how this event tran- red. Some in the media have said people ame outraged for the sake of being out- sd-which is probably true. Still. cos.com reports “Nipplegate” has set a ord for most-searched for a single-day news mt,even outnumbering the attacks of Sept. ,2001. Themost important reason to investigate this incident is to assign blame to the proper parties and find out who exactly knew what, and when they knew it. Frankly, accountabili ty tor this fiasco is as hard to find as Iraq’s illegal weapons cache. In case anyone is keeping score, the NFL and CBS blame MTV, the producer of the halftime show. However, the NFL’s claim of naivete is highly suspicious. As Jim Rome pointed out on his radio program the day after the Super Bowl, the NFL w ill fine its players if they don’t wear their socks ^ correctly. It is hard to believe a league that micromanages so much and is fanat ic about its public image knew next to nothing about what would occur dur ing the halftime of its most impor tant game of the year. MTV blames Jackson, claiming the network was v ictim of “a renegade mistake by a per former,’’ according to The New York Times. MTV Networks CEO Tom Freston went so far as to say his net work was “punk’d” by Jackson, according to Forbes magazine. The allusion to Ashton Kutcher’s low-brow reality show indi cates the MTV . brass isn’t taking this as serious ly as it should. Before complaints by MTV are given any merit, consider the fact that the net work promised “shocking moments” in the publicity for its half time show. Realistically, exposing a breast is not below MTV’s morality threshold, considering it orchestrated the Britney Spears and Madonna kiss at last year’s MTV Video Music Awards. To her credit, Jackson has claimed full responsibility for the incident. Timberlake initially — and infamously — blamed the incident on a “wardrobe malfunction.” But the FCC should find out if this is truly the case. Meanwhile, even before the FCC completes its investigation, there are several parties that are deserving of scorn. The NFL deserves censure for overreacting. It dropped performer J.C. Chasez from the Feb. 8 Pro Bowl because of his association with Timberlake. The disapproval of the NFL was also a factor in ESPN’s boneheaded decision to cancel its popular “Playmakers” series, accord ing to ESPN.com. CBS deserves condemnation for its continued hypocrisy. CBS rejected a political ad where children pretended to do adult chores, but ads teaturing horse flatulence, references to bestiali ty and a halftime show featuring an exposed breast are acceptable. So investigate away. Mr. Powell. Punish those who deserve it and prevent any further uses of weapons of mass wardrobe malfunction. Collins Ezeanyim is a senior computer engineering major. Ivan Flores • THE BATTALION Keeping aggressions in check arms embargo against China must be retained despite France's wishes DAVID SHOEMAK M ore than 50 years ago, the United States helped establish a country for fleeing Chinese nationalists on an gWknown as Formosa. It holds free elec- H$and has a free market economy, in spite ft fact that few countries, including the fiedStates, formally recognize the country wknown as Taiwan. Now the Taiwanese are going to vote on ferendum that would defend themselves km Chinese missiles, and countries that wish to curry th wor of China have been condemning the vote. This inclu Opportunistic French, who would like to lift the Europ Jionbanon arms sales to China. The European Union s Pse this request by France and keep the embargo in pla oEuropean Union first put the arms embargo against ma into effect after the atrocities that occurred at Tianai fare in 1989, where thousands of counterrevolutionary | sers were killed alter more than one million people fille< But now, according to the BBC. French Foreign Mini fiiniquede Villipin has asked the European Union to lit «ns embargo. BeVilljpin said the “embargo stems from a (view) of jPean Union.China relations which is outdated,” and t month 0 ! 1 ^ ^ teC * w * len European Union leaders meet n 1 seems that France thinks the human rights probl oc casioned the embargo no longer exist. Recent rema made by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder indicate that the Germans have come to the same opinion. However, it is more likely that France and Germany wish to appease China to build trade ties and avoid being cut out of the growing Chinese market. According to an article by the International Herald Tribune, Chinese Premier Hu Jintao announced that China Southern Airlines had already agreed to buy 21 Airbus airliners while he was in France this past week. France has also expressed dismay at the referendum on the Taiwanese ballot to beef up Taiwan's defenses if China refuses to redeploy the missiles currently aimed across the Taiwan Straits. French President Jacques Chirac referred to the referen dum as a mistake on the part of the Taiwanese, and the Chinese have painted the referendum as an attempt by the Taiwanese to move toward independence. In his effort to pander to the Chinese, Chirac has backed China’s effort to scare the Taiwanese out of deciding to defend themselves against Chinese aggression. Sadly, the United States and Japan have also shown their opposition to the referendum. But the Chinese and the other countries backing their oppo sition to the ballot have failed to mention that the same ballot will also have a proposition to open negotiations with the Chinese, according to the BBC. Since the Chinese have repeatedly stated that Taiwan is a renegade province, they should welcome talks to reintegrate Taiwan peacefully into China. It seems odd that if Taiwan is part of China, China would point 496 missiles at what is ostensibly its own territory. Obviously, China believes Taiwan is a threat. What is new is the conscious decision by western-style democracies to abandon a fellow democracy for a few dollars. The United States, European Union and Japan should seriously reconsider their posi tions on the issue. Although the desire to preserve peace in Asia by powers such as the United States and Japan is important, they should not forget their friends in Taiwan when China waves its emerging market in their faces. But the French have just proven once again their mercenary nature. In Taiwan, like Iraq, France has shown that it values eco nomic gain over the freedom of peoples and countries other than its own. David Shoemaker is a junior management major. Obviously, China believes Taiwan is a threat What is new is the conscious decision by western-style democracies to abandon a fellow democracy for a few dollars. MAIL CALL Women fi 9hting for roust keep equality lnres Ponse to a Fet ' *®ens history. ‘ ? a . nd “men are s ! and Judged only J^ntsisn- »S have9ai nav e a family, hat Public universiti women c Wer !l electrica Ourl TeXas A&M te’ n< ? ,wo " ," „ "t school a L Ille th en get l and stay at ■* a» ! en ' ' rom c Te <a pothers ig m Ms a<Mni: excellent u rovicle stlJ < ' earnin g en forge «nl r ,here - -Jest lean ased °n la S bra k tabou 'bout stnn burner ai < s <£, 9 the e aspects of life. So whether Ms. McReynolds realizes it or not, her statement claiming to be able to get a job over a man equally qualified is a highly feminist statement. Realize that you will be judged because you are a woman, it is what you do about it that counts. Mindy Terrell Class of 2004 States should not decide on gay unions In response to a Feb. 5 mail call: Mr. Donahue’s suggestion would not present a viable solution because of the “Full Faith and Credit” clause in the U.S. Constitution. Regardless of the applicability of such a solution, it is surprising that this view, which has been aired by both Republicans and Democrats, has not been denounced as outrageously bigoted. The concept of letting individual states decide what rights certain people get reeks of pre-Civil War divisions between North and South. Even without going so far back in time, there are disturbing parallels; in the more recent past, the argument was made that the mixing of the races was immoral and would be a corrupting influence on society. Then, as well as now, many conser vatives enthusiastically quoted, and often misquoted, scripture to help support their arguments. The claim that gay marriage threat ens the fundamental foundation of American society by somehow weakening heterosexual marriage is as unjustified and insulting as the claim that the “mongrelization of the races” would threaten Whites. Ahmed M. Gama! graduate student Mass. Supreme Court ruled correctly Congratulations to Massachusetts' high court for standing up for what they believe is right and finally legal izing gay marriage. It’s about time that gay people be treated for what they are, human beings. It is about time that people start seeing that it is not right to deny these people happi ness just because some may find it sick or deviant. Some may argue that allowing this sin to run rampant will open the door for allowing other unacceptable behaviors into our society. However I must say that I find a great deal of dif ference between getting married, and raping or murdering someone. I can only hope that other states will soon follow Massachusetts example and do what is just and right. Carlos Perez Class of 2007 Bring back a tradition or move a bus route Most of us have taken advantage of the on- and-off campus buses. Each bus has a unique name of something extremely important to all Aggies: tra ditions. Bonfire is no exception. This bus route is one of the most popular. It takes students to key points through out the campus. It seems to me that if the A&M administration is so determined to keep the tradition, Bonfire, off our campus, they should move the bus route off. Since Bonfire has been moved off campus, Bonfire should be moved off campus. Charles Holland Class of 2005