War? Iraq's aggression brings U.S. worries Suddenly the United States has been thrown into yet anotht ctir?lr\7 internatir*nq1 citnoti/^n U"V'V ""VlllUlIUUUl JHUttllV'l. With the invasion last week of Kuwait by Iraq, not only were good portion of the middle east's richest oil fields threatened wit takeover by an unfriendly force, but the U.S. was also literall stuck, as State cartoonist Robert Arail put it, between Iraq and hard place. The irony arises out of the fact that during the long and blood conflict between Iran and Iraq, the Iranains were perceived by th U.S. as being the bad guys. Regardless of the very strong evidenc that Iraq used chemical weapons and other internationally illeg< forms of mass extermination, the U.S. kept Iraq well supplied wit arms and technology. And what has this country gotten for its trouble but for our sup posed allies to turn on one of our closest trading partners (whic also happens to be one of the richest oil producing nations in th world). Not only does the U.S. look like an ass, but the long tensupply of oil for other countries which we trade with, like Japa and all of Western Europe, have also had production capabilitie severely curtailed. In response to this act of unprovoked aggression, the U.S. ha done what is natural for the U.S.: has positioned several aircral camer-iea oattie groups trom tne Persian Uuif region and the Me diterranean to flex its international muscles, while French and So viet ships are planning to join the U.S. in a blockade of the region In short, a major military incident is just waiting to happen, an< it's all over oil. This incident, along with two other oil crises that crippled th< nation in the 70s, should make those in power in the U.S. thin! about seriously reconsidering our energy needs. Oil is plentifu enough, yes, but is its extraction, purchase and transportation re ally worth the level of violence and destruction that this migh escalate to? Now is the time to take action to protect the valuable ally wi have in Kuwait ? if they really want it. So far, most observer have seen little discontent in the Kuwaiti citizenry, and they hon estly don't seem to care that they have been occupied by an invad ing force. So be it. Kuwait is one of the best examples of a coun try immune to outside influence simply because of its wealth ant the demand for the product it offers. As it stands now, they are ii for a boycott, but that will certainly not last. Instead of wasting the lives of U.S. servicemen for a nation tha really doesn't seem to want our help, we should turn our energiei once again (as we did when there was no oil) to alternative energy sources. Now is the time for not manned space flight, but an orbit ing solar collector. Nuclear power in a smaller and safer fonr could be utilized. Any number of possibilities arise, but it's all ir our willingness to try them instead of yet another war. "TOPAY KUWAIT, TOMORROW ?s The Gamecock Scott Pruden Robyn Thompson Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor, Copy Desk Chief Ron Baker Dennis Shealy v News Editor Carolina Life Editor Fred Gonzalez Nick Leoncavallo Sports Editor Photo Editor Kristin Francis Erik Collins Graduate Assistant Faculty Adviser Ed Bonza Laura S. Day Director of Student Media Production Manager Ray Burgos Renee Gibson Assistant Production Manager Advertising Manager Kyle Berry Carolyn Griffin Assistant Advertising Manager Business Manager Letters Policy: The Gamecock will try to print all letters received. Letters should be, at maximum, 250 to 300 words long. The writer must include full name, pro fessional title if a USC employee or South Carolina resident, or year and major if a student. An address and phone number are required with all letters sent. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit letters for style, possible libel or in case of space limitations. The newspaper will not withhold names under any circumstance. 5 ' ^ / Contest rev* Annette and Frankie had no idea it would this far. When they starred in the movie//ov Stuff A Wild Bikini I'm sure they didn't rea that the sexist title would still be in the pro< of being defined almost thirty years later. I recently took the obligatory Sunday af noon trip to the beach. A few friends an packed up the car and headed to the Isle Palms in Charleston. After we paid too mucl park too far from the actual surf, we hikec the beach and staked out a miniscule square oonH T t h onrmn aH tr\ Kn naor on aotoKl irV?rr oaiiu. xi iiap|A/iiw iu uv uvscu aii ^lauiidiui, where I learned one of my least favorite si mer activities was about to take place. It 1 the weekly bikini contest. I was hoping to av the male chauvanistic exercise in female dej dation, but unfortunately, I was in the the c( pany of two of the pigs. After broiling our dies for an hour or two, they insisted attending. Several young women competed. Most w pretty, a few were attractive in a fleshy son way, but it was apparent from the beginn that dark-eyed Debbie would emerge winner. She had great hair, a beautiful face an< body of which even the other contestants w jealous. She strutted before the audience lik Frowning is One of the things that most impressed 1 when I first arrived on campus was the peo ? they were friendly. They smiled at you e1 when they didn't know you. They'd say, 'T Being new not only to USC, but to the em state of South Carolina this was r.omforti Those smiles meant a lot to me. Now, however, I notice very few peo] smiling at the people they pass. They del erately turn their heads, look down or look 1 far away, rather than give a simple smile. I don't know why this trend has suddenly come so rampant ? maybe people are tired the hot weather and think they're too hot i bothered to smile . . .maybe their days are hectic that they forget or don't want to take tima */-v rmila CAmo mint liiug ivj diuiiv/ . .Hia; uv oumv 51am dpdt&5i came down and rendered half the populat; smileless . . .do you think? Smiles are an important factor in everybod life. They have an effect like no other hun gesture or movement And they are beneficial Pet hints ST to lea^ on target To the editor: able t< I just wanted to thank Kelly C. hind 1 Thomas for her "Dog day after- should I noons" column. It's nice to know ninety I 1 0 0 g||pp^ VLXU. ? j fjf||i wi sra jals who's reall1 y^T ^ :es? ^ Louann Mazur ! of ? 1 to I t0 champion show dog. Admidst calls of "Skin to ?m i J _ ? .. . . . M 5 of win! 31101 declarations 01 admiration tor vanous tent P31^ ?f her anatomy, she displayed amazing im- P?lse f?r someone wearing the cloth equivalent was of a cluster of fig leaves. 0id I have put aside all female cattiness to do jusjra tice to this unbridled display of unadulterated 3m- hedonism. After observing my first and hope- 1 bo- fully last female flesh contest, I have to hand it i on to Debbie, who walked away with almost $200 and a chance to compete for a cruise. I always -ere looked down on women who purposefully ex- 1 t of acerbated the sexism situation. Now I have seen ing the light. the more assured and in a better mood. ? All-in-all, most people suffer from some feel- 1 i a ings of inadequacy, low self-esteem and social ere unsureness. These factors cause anxiety and can 1 e a result in bad moods and tempermental outburs- ' better exercise, *? jUJ KELLY C. THOMAS * * *2 IS? pie iK_ hnth thp nprenn mimo thAm ond the. nersnn 1 iu w?v pvi ov/u rviiu 51WJ uivnt miiu ?r ^ "v" , far, who sees them. A smiler benefits in two ways from smiling. 5 be- First, smiling triggers the brain into a happy of mode ? the world seems less doomed and hos- r ind tile, and the good aspects of life flood the mind. c so He also gets the satisfaction that he has trigthe gered the same response in the other person ? j hip the one who he has smiled at. , ion The smilee benefits from the good feelings < caused by the smile of the smiler and also gets < y's the feeling that he's socially OK and looks norlan mal and personable to other people, to There are no strings attached to smiling. No : LETTERS WfiE'eiioi here are some people out dows cracked and see h who have enough sense not they can stand it. re pets in cars in the heat. Thomas's suggestions o pie who don't seem to be heP an unfortunate pet a 3 understand the reason be- My favorite is calling th lot leaving a pet in a car Some people just don't lock themselves in a car in understand how cruel it is degree heat with the win- their Pet in the car. Mayt -rqtiajNe Mem gee>nc?&> 0 o y in control ts . . .and loneliness. Your smile could change all (or at least part) of that. If each person took time to smile at at least one other person every day, everyone is sure to get smiled at sooner or later, and everyone will feel better about themselves. I'm not saying I have the clue to world peace or anything, but smiling surely can't hurt matters, can it? My mom always told me it took fewer muscles and less energy to smile than it did to frown. Doesn't it seem worth it to put out the little effort to smile if, in return, you'll get good feelings as well as eliciting those good feelings from others? It takes so little to give so much. (So it's a cliche .. .it must bear some truth, to be used enough to be a cliche.) Now, I'm not a smile fanatic. I won't look at you when you've just broken up with your honey and ask you to smile. I won't watch you writhing in painful agony and shout "Smile!" in your face. But I do think an average person on an average day can put a little more happiness into someone's life by smiling at them. A smile is the gift anyone can give and everyone is happy to receive. AND, no one is upset if you return it. but so what >bligation is involved. Usually, if one is careful ind doesn't smile at the local hoodlum, a smile vill elicit a response in kind. The smilee will ee the smile, feel good, and smile in return, "hen, both the smiler and the smilee-turnedmiler will go on their way, happier, calmer, We should take note of women like Debbie, f men are willing to be manipulated by their lormones, do it Women have been doing it for rears. Need I even mention my own heroine, Scarlet O'Hara? I never considered myself a feninist because men made it too easy to not be >ne. Face it guys. You set yourself up. For those women who thought they were ibove using a wink and a smile to get their way, it's not giving in to men. It's turning around and proving once again that women are in control. We just let the men think that they are. way iu go, ueoDie. 1 m sure Anneue ana Scarlet would approve. ftllgtflg ow long run in with the law will open the negligent owner's eyes. As for the jerk that said "Why, n how to is he dead?" I say he doesn't dere great, serve a dog. Dogs are too smart, e police, kind and intelligent to be saddled seem to with such an idiot to leave . Linda Sturm e a little Art graduate student