Japanese handling of MIG 25 affair
goes against international norms —

A leading Soviet General has
Suggested that the captured
pilot of the ‘‘Mig 25’, Victor
Belenko, was forced to land at
Hakodate airport in Japan be-
cause the plane was out of fuel.

In an interview with the -

Soviet’s Novosti Press Agency
Air Force General Nikolai
Skomorokhov, chief of the air
force academy and a former
fighter pilot said the forced
landing was likely due to the
loss of visual orientation
caused by speeding 2 to 3 times
faster than the speed of sound.

“To all appearances,’’ the
General said, ‘“‘having lost
orientation he decided to force-

land on the nearest airfield.
Otherwise he could have been
in an emergency situation
dangerous for his life and
fraught with the loss of the air-
craft. Most obviously for that
reason the flyer decided to land
the plane instead of abandon-
ing it in the sea.”

The Soviet General went on
to relate instances when simi-
lar emergency landings to that
of Belenko’s were made on
Soviet land by foreign aircraft.
He listed at number of inci-
dents including that of a Swed-
ish plane which forcelanded
near the Baltic Sea and a Finn-
ish plane which landed on the
Kola Peninsula. In both cases

the-planes were promptly re-
turned to their countries.
Skomorokhov noted in par-
ticular the forced landing of a
U.S. DC 8 jet that was carrying
200 American servicemen.
That was followed shortly af-
ter by the landing of another
U.S. plane in the trans-
caucasus, also because of loss
of orientation. The plane, crew
and passengers were all re-

turned to the Americans with- ©

out delay.

*‘Such cases are not infre-
quent,’’ he commented, ‘‘it
makes it abundantly clear that
the actions of the Japanese side
are at variance with the gener-
ally accepted norms.”

the quality of food. =

To top it off, the commission revealed
that 2 million fowl are processed in unin-
spected plants each year in Manitoba,
and its anybody’s guess as to what hap-
pens to them.

The law says that carcasses that are
delivered to rendering plants yield meat
that may be used in the manufacture of
pet food. It is illegal to use such meats in
any form for human consumption. How-
ever, there is no law preventing old age
pensioners, and the very poor, from buy-
ing pet food to eat. 3

But there’s a loophole in the law.
When meat is salvaged from animals

which have died for some reason or.

another, it is not considered a food pro-

Labels misleading

duct and does not come under regula-
tions designed to protect consumers
from the fraudulent sale of unfit pro-
ducts. Meat for human consumption is
shipped between inspected plants under
seal of the Health of Animals Branch of
Agriculture Canada. However, meat
from animals which have died is not
shipped under seal and, says the com-
mission, “‘it is quite possible that some of
it has been improperly diverted into food
channels.”’

If the Manitoba Livestock and Meat
Commission ventures such an opinion
you may be sure that it is so; and it would
appear that some officials and companies
have learned some lessons about cover-
ing up from the meat scandal in Quebec.

Poor hit hardest by prices.

As if all that wasn’t enough, the greedy
rich decided to cheat on what are called
“*standards’’ — and cheat they did — and
unquestionably still do. Don’t expect the
Chamber of Commerce or the Canadian
Manufacturers Association to do any-
thing about it. This article is talking ab-
out what some. of their most favored and
elite members do.

Who did they cheat? Mostly they

cheated the poor on their bologna and
hamburger. But of 23 samples of ham-
burger, 12 had a ‘‘filler’’ content in ex-
cess of the set maximum of 4%, 8 con-
tained less than the minimum standard
which calls for 11% protein. There are no
maximum fat standards set for bologna,
but 15 samples (55%) exceeded the
maximum recently set for extended and
simulated bologna.
_ Out of 22 samples of steakettes, 2%
exceeded the maximum water content of
60%, and 45% exceeded the maximum
filler content of 4%. For steakettes there
is nO minimum requirement in law.

Now as for the lowly hamburger — the
largest single form in which beef is con-
sumed. Current Food and Drug Stan-
dards prohibit a fat content in excess of
30% and, if the word ‘‘lean’* is used in
naming ground beef, the fat content can-
not exceed 15%. The commissioners
concluded that these regulations are
largely ineffective. Presumably no one
knows what’s in hamburgers.

But 231 samples of ground beef col-
lected in 1975 revealed a wide variation
in protein and fat content. Most stores
marked-up their prices by 30 to 50 cents

Fat and water content of meat products
have no effect on the label they wear.

for ‘‘premium ground beef” which, in
fact, only differed from the lowest priced
hamburger in name. The names used, ,
such as ‘ground round,” ‘minced
steak”’ or ‘‘superb quality ground beef”’
did not protect the customers and were
misleading (‘‘misleading’’ is another
term used to replace*“‘outright cheat-
ing’’). :

The Manitoba Livestock and Meat
Commission recommends a number of
changes in the law, the majority of which
would help. But for the big packers and
food chains, the law only exists to be
broken in favor of profits. The practices
of the big food chains should have called
for criminal procedings against them and
thoroughly substantiates the demand
that they be nationalized under democra-
tic control.

bis

Mrs. Isabel Letelier wife of Chile’s former ambassador Orlando Lete-
lier and Michael Moffit, widower of Letelier’s assistant, Ronni Moffit,
during the protest funeral march in Washington D.C. Present to address _
the 5,000 mourners was Mrs. Hortensia Allende widow of former Chilean
President Salvador Allende.

200,000 AT LISBON ‘AVANTE’ FETE
LISBON — More than 200,000 people attended the Lisbon festival
of ‘‘Avante’’ (Forward), the newspaper of the Portuguese Communist
Party, on Sept. 25-26. It was the biggest such festival in Portugal’s
history and marked the start of the PCP’s municipal elections
campaign. :

The three-day festival, held in Lisbon’s International Fairgrounds,
was attended by representatives from many fraternal Communist Par-
ties, national liberation parties and movements. The socialist countries
had pavilions at the festival. Special emphasis in the fete was given to
the delegations from Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape
Verde and other African countries.

HALL, TYNER ON BALLOT IN UTAH

SALT LAKE CITY — Gus Hall and Jarvis Tyner, Communist
candidates for President and Vice President, will appear on the ballot in
Utah in the general election.

‘Federal Judge Aldon J. Anderson ruled from the bench in Federal
Court that Hall and Tyner would appear as independents. He said that
Utah’s election code was constitutionally defective because it had no
provision for placing independents on the ballot.

Earlier this year, supporters of Hall and Tyner sought to place the
two on the ballot under the Communist Party insignia, but state au-
thorities tuled that there were insufficient signatures in one or two
counties. This argument was accompanied by redbaiting attacks on the _
part of one or two officials.

However, Judge Anderson accepted the argument put forward by
American Civil Liberties Union attorney Sanford D. Jorgensen requir- —
ing Hall and Tyner to be given ballot status as independents.

SOVIET URGE NORMAL RELATIONS WITH CHINA

MOSCOW — The Soviet Union is ‘‘ready to engage in businesslike,
concrete discussions’’ for the establishment of normal relations with
the People’s Republic of China, Pravda declared October 1 in an article
marking the 27th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution.

The article, signed by I. Alexandrov, a leading Communist Party .
editorialist, appeared with the Soviet government's official message of
“congratulations and best wishes”’ to the Chinese government on the
occasion of the anniversary. The government message also urges
“‘normalization’’ of relations.

Alexandrov’s article says that the USSR “‘informed the Chinese ©
government of its readiness to expand a mutually beneficial trade based
on long term agreements. The USSR proposes and still proposes
putting in order cooperation between the academics of science — the

establishment of contacts in the field of health care, sport, tourism and
so on.”’ :

FRENCH COMMUNIST PARTY GROWING FAST
PARIS — More than 80,000 new members have joined the French
Communist Party so far in 1976 it has been reported. One third of the
new Communist Party members are women. At the current rate of
growth it is expected that the total membership of the FCP will reach
550,000 by the end of 1976.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—OCTOBER 15, 1976—Page 7