The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 64, No. 18, Ed. 1 Monday, November 8, 1976 Page: 3 of 8
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International briefs
(ZNS) The U.S. Justice
Department reports it has
seized approximately 10,600
"bootleg" record albums at a
Berkeley, California, store.
The albums, seized at
"Rather Ripped Records", are
valued at $40,000, and include
works by the Beatles, Bob
Dylan, Elton John, Led
Zeppelin and Fleetwood Mac.
Bootleg records are not
counterfeit discs, the latter
being actual copies of
copyrighted works. Bootlegs
are often privately recorded at
live concerts, and then are
made into records for sale.
Many of the sellers of
bootleg albums contend that
artists giving concerts in
public places may be recorded
and that the performances are
in the public domain. They
argue that the recordings can
then be marketed.
The U.S. Attorney's office in
San Francisco says it is
reviewing federal copyright
laws to decide if the sellers of
the bootleg albums can be
prosecuted.
(ZNS) A leading Soviet
scientist is out with a research
paper which suggests that
intelligent beings from
another world exploded a
powerful device on the earth 68
year ago.
According to the Soviet
news agency Tass, Doctor
Alexi Solotov has concluded
after years of study that a
nuclear explosion is the only
logical explanation for a
mysterious occurrence in
Siberia on June 30th of 1908.
The occurrence is known
widely as the "Tunguska
Incident." According to
witnesses to the strange event,
a "pillar of light" seemed to
streak from the sky, strike the
earth, and then explode
violently.
The impact of whatever it
was knocked over every tree
within a 20-mile radius; and
horses as far as 400 miles
away were reportedly blown
off their feet by the high winds
created by the disturbance.
Scientists originally suspected
that a large meteor might have
caused the explosion, but
neither a crater nor meteorites
have ever been recovered at
the scene.
Doctor Solotov now says
that radiation readings of
rocks, trees and soil in the area
are consistent with a powerful
nuclear explosion—an explo-
sion, he says, about 2000 times
more powerful than the
Hiroshima bomb.
He suggests that "intelli-
gent beings from other worlds
in the universe" may have
fired the device to the earth,
perhaps in an effort to let us.
know they are out there.
(ZNS) Medical research
teams in Canada are
experimenting with a
revolutionary new method to
help alcoholics stop drinking
by placing an anti-alcoholic
implant under the skin.
Psychologists at the
University of Winnipeg say
that the implants, consisting
of the drug "Antabuse," have
caused many of the volunteer
drinkers to become sick
shortly after sipping a
forbidden drink.
The implants, according to
Doctor Allan Wilson, main-
tain their anti-alcohol power
for at least six months. Many
of the volunteers, who are
attempting to quit drinking,
report they suffer a flu-like
illness whenever their will-
power breaks down and they
accept a drink.
(ZNS) The members of
Monty Python are considering
making a movie about the
disciples who followed Jesus
Christ.
The film under considera-
tion would be titled "The
Gospel According to Saint
Brian." Saint Brian, accor-
ding to one of the Pythons,
"was the 13th disciple, and
was not very well known. He
looked after the business side
of things while the other 12
weren't making any money."
The "Saint Brian" movie
would be a follow-up to the
group's recent film hit, "Monty
Python and the Holy Grail."
(ZNS) Various consumer
groups have charged for years
that powerful economic cartels
have illegally driven up the
prices of such things as
gasoline and food, but the
groups have lacked the legal
leverage to prove it.
Now, however, a landmark
confrontation is taking place
in the nuclear energy field that
could, for the first time, expose
how international cartels
work to increase prices
worldwide.
The confrontation under-
way is not between consumers
and industry, but between a
large corporation, the
Westinghouse Electric
Corporation, and some of the
biggest energy companies on
earth.
Westinghouse has filed suit
against 29 uranium producers
around the world alleging that
they have been meeting
secretly since 1972 to drive up
the prices of uranium.
Westinghouse filed the suit not
because it is worried about he
consumers' interests, but
because the company itself is
obligated to supply about 80
million pounds of uranium to
its own customers over the
next 20 years.
When Westinghouse agreed
to supply the uranium just four
years ago, it was selling for
less than $10 (dollars) a pound.
Today, uranium sells for $40
(dollars) a pound. That price
change could mean a loss of
more than $2 billion (dollars)
to Westinghouse.
To protect itself, Westing-
house has filed a federal court
suit in Pittsburgh, alleging
that the company itself has
become the victim of an illegal
conspiracy to drive up
uranium prices.
The Westinghouse suit lists
at least five meetings inside
the U.S. and abroad since 1972
at which uranium companies
allegedly plotted together to
raise uranium prices.
Consumers groups will likely
be watching with interest as
the giant companies fight it
out in public.
(ZNS) A Superior Court
judge in Tucson has sentenced
four teenaged athletes, who
were convicted of beating a
gay activist to death with their
fists, to four years on
probation.
The four, who ranged in age
between 16 and 17, were found
guilty of slugging and
punching 21-year-old Richard
Heakin to death last June as
he stood outside an alleged gay
bar in Tucson.
The four teenagers admitted
that they and other athletes
from a local school had
attacked and beaten Heakin
as a part of an effort to
"hassle" gays, adding that
Heakin's murder was simply
the result of an accident.
The four defendants were all
high school athletes standing
more than six feet tall; Heakin
was five feet seven and
weighed 125 pounds.
Judge Ben Birdsall, in
ruling against incarceration
for the four teenagers, Stated
that probation should not be
regarded as "a slap on the
wrist." The judge said that the
four athletes were "productive
citizens," and that he was
particularly impressed by the
fact that none of them used
drugs, even marijuana.
The four have been placed
on probation not to exceed
their 21st birthdays, and they
have been instructed not to
associate with each other.
Judge Birdsall stated that
no psychological guidance is
necessary for the four
teenagers because they are all
athletes with good grades.
(ZNS) A piece of unwound
thread proved to be the
undoing of ^ three alleged
burglars in Los Angeles who
police say made off with a
women's industrial sewing
machine last week.
Alejandria Fernandez called
police to report the missing
machine, valued at more than
$400. When detectives arrived
on the scene, they were
intrigued to find in the alley
behind the house one end of a
piece of thread.
The thread trailed into a
yard, over fences, and across
streets and alleys for four
blocks.
At the other end of the
thread, the detectives found
the sewing machine and three
people, apparently doing a
little unwinding themselves.
The three were promptly
arrested on suspicion of
burglary.
(ZNS) For those who want to
add a little depth to their T. V.
viewing, three dimensional
television may soon be on the
way.
However, for right now, you
have to move to Japan to see it.
A firm called the Tokyo
Movie Company reports it has
scheduled two animated
series, made with a new 3-D
process which projects for the
first time both a flat, clear
picture to the naked eye, and a
three-dimensional view when
seen with special 3-D glasses.
The movie company says
that beginning in January it
will air a pilot project of the
two animations, one a science
fiction and the other a fairy
tale, with the new 3-D
technique, called Scene-
chrome.
The Tokyo Movie Company
says that if the new 3-D pilot
series catches on with
Japanese viewers, it will
market 3-D T.V. internation-
ally next year.
(ZNS) Three scientific
researchers are out with a new
study which concludes that
there is nothing mysterious or
psychic about Kirlian
photography.
Kirlian photography is a
relatively new photo proce-
dure, developed in the Soviet
Union, through which many
researchers believed they had
actually photographed the
"aura of life" given off by all
living things.
Using electro-magnetic
fields and photographic
plates, Kirlian photographers
were able to capture on film
colorful, energy-like fields
emanating from living objects.
However, scientists John
Pehek, David Faust and Harry
Kyler report in the current
edition of Science magazine
that they have solved the
Kirlian mystery. They state
that the colorful aura captured
on film seem to be caused
solely by the amount of
moisture and salt contained in
the object being photo-
graphed.
there is nothing psychic about
the auras—stating that colors
and intensities of Kirlian
auras can be controlled simply
by adding or subtracting
water.
(ZNS) The U.S. space
agency is launching a new
effort to detect intelligent
radio signals broadcast by
other civilizations in space.
NASA is funding a project
called "SETI"—which stands
for "Search for Extraterres-
trial Intelligence."
Earlier attempts at inter-
galactic have involved
scanning a few nearby stars
while listening to just a
handful of radio frequencies.
However, newly developed
equipment for project SETI
will give scientists the ability
to listen to as many as six
million possible frequencies at
the same time—scanning each
one for a possible radio signal.
Scientists at the Ames
Research Center in Mountain
View, California, say they will
concentrate their efforts on
other stars that resemble our
own sun. Astronomers
connected with project SETI
hope eventually to use
powerful telescopes to
photograph planets, perhaps
similar to the earth, orbiting
other nearby stars.
(ZNS) Ellen Cooperman will
have to remain Ellen
Cooperman — not Ellen
Cooperperson—at least in the
eyes of the law.
A State Supreme Court
justice in New York has
refused to allow the Babylon,
New York, feminist, who has
been known to her friends and
business associates as Ellen
Cooperperson for several
years, to legally change her
name from Cooperman to
Cooperperson.
Cooperperson, or Cooper-
man, if you will, is the
president of Feminist
Productions, a company in
Babylon that makes feminist
films. She alleges that being
called Cooperman, her maiden
name, instead of Cooper-
person, her chosen name,
cause confusion because "my
credit cards say Cooperman
and my personal checking
account says Cooperperson."
Justice John Scileppi,
however, did not agree.
Scileppi stated in his ruling
that such a change would
"have serious and undesirable
repercussions, perhaps
throughout the country."
Scileppi said he feared that
people with surnames like
Jackson might want to change
their names to Jackchild, or
Carmen to change their names
to Carpersons.
(ZNS) Classified ads
published in the United
Kingdom must not specify the
sex of job applicants, but
employers are finding ways to
avoid the new law.
One recent ad called for
experienced storekeepers of
either sex who were "fluent in
German and look like Marlene
Dietrich in her early twenties."
Another sought a bar
employee with "the ability to
look good in women's clothes."
(ZNS) If Howard Hughes
had only known Chris
Ballard, there wouldn't be so
many court fights over who is
going to divide up the late
billionaire's massive estate.
Ballard is the owner of a
Jacksonville, Florida, Firm
called Omni Video Optics,
which specializes in video-
taping wills. Ballard says that
for a mere $70 (dollars), a
person can record his or her
will on a videotape cassette in
the presence of a lawyer or
witness.
After that person dies, a
lawyer plays the tapes, and
the heirs or contenders to an
estate get to see and hear the
person on a television screen
telling them exactly who gets
what and who doesn't get
anything.
Only four persons have so
far subscribed to the service,
and none of them have died,
Ballard says.
He adds that the videotapes
could (quote) "be used for the
deceased to lecture his heirs or
simply to instruct his relatives
with his own voice." At any
rate, according to Ballard, the
video certainly provides the
opportunity for the deceased to
get the final word in.
the rice thresher, november 8, 1976—page 3
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McFarland, Carla. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 64, No. 18, Ed. 1 Monday, November 8, 1976, newspaper, November 8, 1976; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245309/m1/3/: accessed June 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.