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(10/24/06 2:50am)
In light of these meager numbers, IUSA, which sponsors the fund and donates money to Middle Way House, has decided to undertake a full review of the fund. Exactly what that means is open to interpretation, but the central point is clear: Something needs to be done. \nCampus groups such as Friends of Middle Way House and Raising Awareness of Interactions in Sexual Encounters, along with staff from Middle Way House, voiced their opinion to IUSA officials Friday concerning how to approach the "review." Those in attendance decided that a taskforce should be formed to make a recommendation to IUSA's Executive Board concerning how to proceed. The ultimate decision on how the fund will proceed belongs to IUSA. The taskforce will provide valuable insight as well as an opportunity for the general public to weigh in during open forums and town hall meetings. We're not in a position to speculate on IUSA's true intentions, but we'll help the taskforce by providing a recommendation: Take the fund out of IUSA's hands, and put it in the hands of a group that truly wants it.\nIt's clear that the Rape Crisis Fund is not the top priority of IUSA. And it shouldn't be. IUSA has no less than 40,000 other obligations to attend to. This is not to say the fund is unimportant or unnecessary. Quite the opposite. Something as important as the Rape Crisis Fund, which began in the 1980s to specifically address a horrible situation at IU, needs to be under the supervision of an organization whose primary purpose is the maintenance of the fund and issues it addresses. A logical group would be, oh, say, the Friends of Middle Way House, whose stated mission includes raising funds and awareness for the very organization the fund benefits. \nWhile our words might seem critical of IUSA, we commend them for taking this issue head on. Previous IUSA administrations have let the fund dwindle in importance both to themselves and the general student population. It's been speculated that part of the problem has been faulty software used in the registration process. Let's get real. IUSA's priority in maintaining the fund has fallen along with the actual donation levels. Not until now has our student administration recognized the problem and decided to do something about it. The initial reaction of those who value the fund, and think IUSA has a vendetta to axe it, might be discontent. We don't believe IUSA's intentions are evil; it's intentions are good. Our only request is that IUSA abide by the recommendations of the taskforce.
(10/24/06 2:26am)
Wall Street extended its October rally Monday as investors grew more optimistic about upcoming earnings reports and Wal-Mart said it will cut capital spending to drive overall returns. The Dow Jones industrials shot up more than 120 points and crossed 12,100 for the first time.\nWhite House spokesman Tony Snow discounted a newspaper report saying the head of the U.S.-led Multinational Forces in Iraq and the U.S. ambassador were working on a plan that -- for the first time -- would set a specific timetable for disarming militias and meeting other political and economic goals.
(10/24/06 2:23am)
The former minister Ali Allawi told CBS' "60 Minutes" that $1.2 billion had been allocated from the Iraqi treasury to the defense ministry to buy new weapons. About $400 million was spent on outdated equipment, while the rest of the money was simply stolen, he said.\nAllawi said the arms fraud is "one of the biggest thefts in history" and that corrupt former Iraqi officials are now "running around the world hiding and scurrying around."\nHe did not name the officials who allegedly stole the money during the CBS report. But Iraqi investigators are probing several weapons and equipment deals engineered by former procurement officer Ziad Cattan and other officials including former Defense Minister Hazim Shaalan.\nMost of the fraudulent arms purchases were allegedly made during the term of former interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, who took office after occupation authorities turned over sovereignty to Iraqis on June 28, 2004. When new Defense Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi took office in May 2005, an investigation was opened into several alleged cases of corruption.\nAyad Allawi and Ali Allawi are cousins.\nTapes obtained by "60 Minutes" from a former associate of Cattan allegedly captured Cattan talking about paying large bribes to Iraqi officials.\nCattan, wanted by Iraqi authorities and now living in Paris, was interviewed in the same "60 Minutes" broadcast and said he can account for the hundreds of millions he used to purchase weapons.\n"I have documentation. I give it to you in your hands," Cattan said.\nHe said the tapes, excerpts of which were played on the broadcast, had been doctored and were not authentic.\nExperts at Jane's, a leading authority on military hardware, told "60 Minutes" the documentation Cattan provided did not prove whether any of the weapons he ordered -- paid for in advance -- had been delivered to Iraq.\nJudge Radhi al-Radhi, chief of Iraq's Public Integrity Commission, told "60 Minutes" he had obtained arrest warrants for some top defense ministry officials in October 2005, and almost all of the suspects fled the country.\nAl-Radhi said aside from the hundreds of millions of dollars believed to have been stolen by the officials, the arms that did make their way to Iraq -- Soviet-era helicopters, bulletproof vests and ammunition -- were in such poor shape they could not be used.\nAl-Radhi said those accused of the fraud are thought to be hiding mostly in Europe and the Middle East, but he is not receiving help from those countries in recovering any of the money or in apprehending the suspects.\nIraqi government officials could not immediately be reached for comment by The Associated Press.\nBut Sheik Sabah al-Saadi, chairman of the Iraqi Parliament's Integrity Commission, told the AP he had written to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry on Sunday asking it to contact Interpol to detain all those involved in the defense corruption case, including former Defense Minister Shaalan.\nHe said he had documents that show the theft of $2.2 billion dollars from the time of Saddam Hussein's ouster in 2003 until now.
(10/24/06 2:20am)
It was the largest quarterly loss in more than 14 years for the nation's second biggest auto maker, and company officials predicted things would get worse in the fourth quarter as market share drops and Ford pays for further plant closures and restructuring costs.\nThe July-September performance brings Ford's losses to $7.24 billion for the first nine months of the year.\nFord's new chief executive, Alan Mulally, called the latest results unacceptable but said he was encouraged by Ford's progress in turning itself around by emphasizing more fuel-efficient vehicles.\n"Let's make it clear. These results are unacceptable. We know where we are with our business and why we're where we are," he said in a conference call with reporters and industry analysts.\nHe said there's a clear opportunity to return to profitability by building more vehicles that will sell across the globe, increasing productivity and quality, improving collaboration with parts suppliers and unions and accelerating efforts to reduce plant capacity to match lower consumer demand for Ford products.\nThe company has previously said it would return to profitability in North America sometime in 2009.\nFord also said it plans to restate its earnings for 2001 due to accounting errors involving derivative transactions in its credit company. The restatement is expected to affect financial results from 2001 until the third quarter of this year. Derivatives are manufactured financial instruments based on movements in prices of stocks or other securities and are used to help holders avoid big losses.\nThe company expected the restatement would improve results for 2002 but said other periods are under study.\nFord's net loss of $3.08 per share in the third quarter was larger than last year's third-quarter loss of $284 million, or 15 cents per share.\nRevenue fell 10 percent to $36.7 billion from the same period a year ago.\nExcluding restructuring costs, the company said it lost $1.2 billion, or 62 cents per share, from continuing operations. Excluding special items in the third quarter of last year, Ford lost $191 million, or 10 cents per share.\nWall Street had been expecting a loss of 61 cents per share before one-time items for the quarter, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson Financial.\nFord shares fell 13 cents to $7.88 in late morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, where they have traded in a 52-week range of $6.06 to $9.48.\nMulally, a former Boeing Co. executive, took over earlier this month as Ford CEO from Chairman Bill Ford, who is part of the auto maker's founding family.\nDearborn-based Ford's turnaround plan aims to cut $5 billion in costs by the end of 2008 by slashing 10,000 white-collar workers and offering buyouts to all of its 75,000 unionized employees.\nThe loss including restructuring costs was Ford's largest quarterly loss since the first quarter of 1992, when the company lost $6.7 billion due mainly to accounting changes.\nExcluding charges, Ford would have lost $2 billion on its North American automotive operations in the latest quarter.
(10/24/06 2:14am)
Witnesses said the Iraqi army was doing nothing to stop the resurgence of Shiite-on-Shiite violence. Iraq's leaders sent a force of about 500 soldiers to the city late last week after Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militiamen stormed the city and attacked police stations, manned primarily by loyalists of the rival Badr Brigades, also a Shiite militia.\nAt least 25 fighters and police died in those gunbattles before politicians intervened and won a promise from the Mahdi Army gunmen to leave the streets. In the meantime, virtually all of the Amarah police force went into hiding.\nThe Iraqi prime minister warned the country against lawlessness and said his military would take unspecified action to stop the mounting bloodshed.\n"Let everyone be informed that orders have been issued to the armed forces to stop any transgression against state power and to confront any illegal attempt regardless of its source," Nouri al-Maliki said in a statement.\n"The Iraqi government also calls in particular on the people of Maysan province (home to Amarah) to exercise caution and care in the face of attempts to drag the people of this unified nation into fighting and strife," the Shiite prime minister said.\nAl-Maliki has faced growing pressure from allies in Washington and London to rein in Shiite militias and other violent factions, and his Monday statement appeared to be a reaction.\nThe White House said Monday that the fledgling Iraqi government must step up and take more responsibility for the country's security.\nPresident Bush's spokesman Tony Snow discounted a newspaper report saying the head of the U.S.-led Multinational Forces in Iraq and the U.S. ambassador were working on a plan that would set a specific timetable for disarming militias and meeting other political and economic goals.\n"There is still a very large to-do list before Iraq is in a position to sustain, government and defend itself," Snow said. "Are we issuing ultimatums? No."\nWith the army apparently on the sidelines and unwilling to stop the bloodshed in Amarah, 200 miles southeast of Baghdad, it was unclear what effect the statement would have there or elsewhere in the country.\nIn Amarah, gunmen dragged police Lt. Sarmad Majid al-Shatti from his home before dawn, then dumped his bullet-riddled body at a farm on the city's outskirts, said Ali Chaloub of Sadr General Hospital. Another policeman, Lt. Alaa al-Kabi was shot to death outside his home, Chaloub said.\nProvincial policemen Hamid Majeed and Hassan Abdullah were kidnapped from their homes, and their bodies were later found dumped outside the city, Chaloub said.\nBadr fighters took revenge, killing and beheading the teenage brother of the local Mahdi Army commander. The Mahdi commander was killed Thursday, setting in motion the Amarah violence.\nWith sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites also on the rise, Sunnis in Baghdad largely ignored public celebrations of the Eid al-Fitr feast marking the end of the Ramadan month of fasting. They said they feared new attacks.
(10/23/06 3:29am)
Do I understand your question, man? Is it hopeless and forlorn?" \nNot exactly, but IU expectations fell face-first flat against the crowned kings of the Bowl Championship Series.\nBefore Saturday, coach Hep likened the upcoming Ohio State game to walking across a 2-by-4 plank more than 100 feet in the air, the idea being that the high risk would lend itself to even higher rewards. It was about 2 p.m. that next day that Ohio State grabbed the 2-by-4 plank and smacked IU across the face with it. \nThe Hoosiers walked into the Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio, whistling Bob Dylan. The times were-a-changin' for the football program -- with a two-game Big Ten winning streak -- and IU had nothing to lose against the Buckeyes. Instead, the Hoosiers were forced to change their tune. Instead, Ohio State showed up to slaughter. Instead, all game long, Captain Hep and his crew were seeking shelter from the storm. Instead, the whistling soon turned to wailing as IU was given a whooping.\nThe Hoosiers spent a Saturday seeking shelter from a Buckeye bombshelling. There would be no comeback from IU quarterback Kellen Lewis. The Comeback Kid has engineered three fourth-quarter comebacks for victories this season. Instead, Lewis was seeking shelter from the storm. He was burned out from exhaustion making plays with his legs. He was buried in the hail of Buckeye defensive linemen. Oh yeah, and junior quarterback Blake Powers was seeking shelter from the storm -- he got up off the bench, threw two interceptions and, instead, put the entire Hoosier offense back onto the bench with him.\nOn Saturday, freshmen offensive linemen Rodger Saffold and Pete Saxon were seeking shelter from the storm. They offered up their innocence and got repaid with sores. Both blockers represent part of Hoeppner's "Seven Blocks of Limestone" from his 2006 recruiting class. The storm disintegrated both blocks of limestone. \nIt was a cold world of steel-eyed death for Hoosier heroics Saturday, and the IU men were fighting to be warm. I hope this 44-3 Buckeye bombshell does not leave IU shell-shocked because in truth, this game did not matter. \nIU has a bigger challenge coming up. It has a more legitimate goal than beating the Buckeyes in Columbus. The Hoosiers host Michigan State in one week and travel to Minneapolis in two weeks. Both games are winnable. Both games will determine just what these men -- some blocks of limestone -- are really made of. \nBut nothing really mattered much Saturday, for it was doom alone that counted. And if I could only turn back the clock to when games against Southern Illinois University and the University of Connecticut were lost, then maybe IU would be six wins high. Instead, it remains at .500. \nInstead, it comes in seeking shelter from the storm.
(10/23/06 3:28am)
Our win against then-No. 15 Iowa was great for our football program, our biggest win in nearly 20 years. But to me, this win was even sweeter because we got to do it front of our fans at "the Rock." If you weren't there, you missed a great celebration after the game.\nI'm challenging the Hoosier Nation to pack "the Rock" with 50,000 screaming fans to help celebrate homecoming at our next home game against Michigan State on Saturday at noon. We need your support and the support of your fellow students to be the "home-field advantage" that leads us to victory!\nWe need you in the stands the rest of the way. Your support can make a difference. Do whatever it takes to get to "the Rock" Saturday. When we walk out of the locker room and take the field, we want to see a packed Crimson Crew section and know that our student body is behind us and ready to make a difference.\nStudent tickets are only $10 if purchased in advance. The ticket office at Assembly Hall is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, or you can call 866-IUSPORTS and order over the phone. Whatever you have to do, we need you and every IU fan you know at "the Rock" Saturday. We look forward to a celebration in the stands after the game!\n \nGO HOOSIERS!
(10/23/06 3:25am)
BUSY WEEKEND -- The IU men's tennis team competed in the Hoosier Invitational and the ITA Regional this weekend. Senior Arnaud Roussel won the singles title at the Hoosier Invitational Sunday, while senior David Bubenicek led the way for IU at the ITA Regional.
(10/23/06 3:23am)
The IU women's rowing team finished 28th in the championship race at the Head of the Charles in Boston on Sunday. IU's top coxswain and eight rowers, who comprised the varsity boat, completed the three-mile course in 17:08.314. The team was just shy of achieving its goal of placing in the top 25 crews but clocked in at a faster time than 18 of the other entrants. \nThe Hoosiers went up against college and club teams, as well as the U.S. Rowing and Canadian national team, in the event. The women's championship race is arguably the regatta's premier event and is open to both collegiate and international teams. The Head of the Charles is the world's largest regatta, bringing thousands of athletes and spectators to the Charles River every fall.\nIU's second and third varsity and novice boats raced Saturday in a scrimmage against Louisville on Lake Lemon. The Hoosiers won one of the two-minute set races but were defeated in two of the pieces and the head race. IU's third varsity eight finished closely behind Louisville's second varsity eight in the head race, followed by IU's second varsity eight and novice eight. Louisville's third and novice boats trailed all three IU boats, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.\nThe Hoosiers will next be in action Sunday at the Head of the Elk race in Elkhart, Ind.
(10/23/06 3:20am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Washington knocked Peyton Manning around for a half. Then Manning knocked out the Redskins.\nAfter being bent over awkwardly twice in the first half and once appearing hurt, the two-time MVP responded with three third-quarter touchdown passes, leading Indianapolis to a 36-22 victory Sunday.\nIn the previous three games, Manning needed late drives to secure victories. Against Washington, Manning made it easier on himself by opening the second half with three straight touchdown drives. Indy remained the AFC's only unbeaten team and became the ninth team in league history to start 6-0 in back-to-back seasons.\nWashington (2-5) lost its third straight and saw its playoff hopes take a big hit.\nThey can blame Manning. He dominated the second half with his quick drives and shrewd moves in a game that had nearly as many oddities as a Washington political scandal.\nColts defensive tackle Montae Reagor was involved in an automobile accident en route to the game, leaving him hospitalized with a head wound.\nThe teams' biggest stars, Manning and Washington running back Clinton Portis, also were hurt in the first half. While Manning didn't miss a play, Portis left briefly after being hit with a helmet near his groin. He returned on the next series.\nThen there was the game. Washington took its only lead on Antwaan Randle El's 87-yard punt return, which came in the midst of four personal fouls by the Redskins in about a two-minute span. The last two forced Washington to kick off from its 5 .\nManning, battered but not shaken, looked like himself aside from the face full of rubber chips from the turf and the neck rub he needed after the first big hit.\nHe finished 25-of-35 with four touchdowns.\nMarvin Harrison followed suit. He had seven catches for 73 yards and two touchdowns.\nBut this was what the Colts had been waiting for.\nNewcomer Anthony McFarland, who replaced Reagor in the starting lineup, stuffed the Redskins' first two runs and negated Washington's ground game as Portis managed only 43 yards on 12 carries. Ladell Betts ran 10 times for 52 yards.\nMeanwhile, the Colts hardly looked like a team coming off a bye.
(10/23/06 3:18am)
The IU women's soccer team entered this weekend with hopes of earning the school's first Big Ten regular season title.\nThe title will have to wait at least another year.\nThe Iowa Hawkeyes, who entered Friday's game without a win, upset the No. 21 Hoosiers (9-5-4, 5-3-1 Big Ten). The Hawkeyes won the 1-0 contest in double overtime when Hawkeye defender Claire Goldenberg scored the game-winner in the 105th minute. The Hawkeyes' Kelsey Shaw was able to pass the ball to Goldenberg off of a Kelly Warner header. Goldenberg shot the ball past junior goalkeeper Stacey Van Boxmeer to beat the Hoosiers.\nIU's downfall continued Sunday with a 1-0 loss to Illinois. The loss was the third in a row for the Hoosiers -- a streak that started when IU's 13-game unbeaten streak finished. The unbeaten streak was the second longest in program history, just one short of the record.\nThe Illini scored the game's only goal in the 39th minute when Illinois' Ella Masar scored her sixth goal of the season off a Courtney Bell assist.\nIU did have a few chances to score before Masar's goal. In the 20th minute, senior forward Carrie DeFreece sent a pass in the direction of freshman midfielder Christie Kotynski. The ball went over Kotynski's head, but senior forward Megan Pipkens was there to catch the pass with her foot. Pipkins took a shot, which bounced off Kotynski's head, but it was saved by Illini goalkeeper Lindsey Carstens. All three of IU's shots on goal came from Kotynski.\nIU coach Mick Lyon tweaked his starting lineups for this weekend's matches. Junior midfielder Beverly Markwort was in the starting lineup Friday for the first time since Sept. 17, when the Hoosiers tied the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Markwort replaced freshman Taylor Fallon who had started since the UNC-Greensboro game. Lyon changed the lineups once again for Sunday's game, replacing Markwort with junior Katy Stewart and starting Pipkens in place of freshman Kristin Arnold.\nThe losses knocked IU from second place in the Big Ten to a third place tie with Purdue. Illinois passed the Hoosiers for second place Friday night with a 2-0 win over the Boilermakers and extended its lead by three more points with Sunday's win.\nIU ends its regular season Friday at Purdue. If the Hoosiers win their regular season finale, they will have the third seed entering the Big Ten Tournament the following weekend. If they lose, the Hoosiers could potentially fall as far as the sixth seed.
(10/23/06 3:06am)
I can't take it anymore. I'm calling for revolution.\nAfter rereading Gertrude Stein's wonderful "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas," I couldn't help but ask, what happened to our culture? \nAllow me to explain:\nIf you don't know Gertrude, she was the writer of novels, plays, poems and an (auto)biography of her lover, Alice B. Toklas. Gertrude was also best friends with Pablo Picasso, another American in Paris, and tight with the likes of Matisse and Hemingway. They'd hang out, talk about art and poetry, eat, drink, start artistic movements like cubism and modernism and change the face of art as we know it. Sigh. A lifestyle oozing with intellectual stimulation: That's what I call living the dream.\nI'll admit I'm too hopeful sometimes. I have reveries of Pulitzers for napkin scribbles and a Nobel Prize for improving the style of those around me. Who doesn't have these ridiculous fantasies? I, of course, am aware that they are silly, but they can't be helped.\nAnd I guess you could say one of my ridiculous fantasies is being the next Gertrude Stein, hanging with the new Lost Generation and starting a new artistic movement, or, dare I say it, a society of intellectuals -- you know, helping people have good taste.\nSo that's it. I'm calling for revolution. I know it's ridiculous, but what happened to art? It's all become so esoteric, which would be fine except that it means the masses just aren't interested. And this means the vast majority of people are, well, crass. I see shows like "Yo Mamma" and "Parental Control" and hear songs like Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and -- perhaps the greatest example of the death of taste in mainstream culture -- Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas' horrendous "London Bridge." Let me go on record as saying this is the worst song I have ever heard, and I would venture to say it is the worst song ever written and recorded. I wrote a song about cleaning my room while waiting for someone when I was 7. The whole song was played on black piano keys, and I would say that song is better than "London Bridge." \nRegardless, though, what happened to poetry? The "Facebook Favorite" for literature at this University (and all of Facebook) is "The Da Vinci Code." Um, for real? If Dan Brown is your favorite writer, you just aren't reading enough books.\nThis is a call for sophistication to return to the masses. What if we became a more refined society? Martha Stewart is doing her part. She's brought some classy hand towels to Kmart, and I appreciate that. And sure Martha's done time, but let's be honest: White collar crime is to blow as blue collar crime is to crack. There is a whole world of fine arts and fine dining that today's society is just overlooking in favor of Larry the Cable Guy and McDonald's. I'm done with this middle-school attitude that has taken over adult culture. Who's with me?
(10/23/06 3:00am)
Sen. Barack Obama acknowledged Sunday he was considering a run for president in 2008, backing off previous statements that he would not do so.
(10/23/06 2:58am)
Last week, President Bush, with his lapdog Senate at his side, passed a bill making his controversial treatment of foreign detainees into law.\nCall me naive, but I was truly expecting the Senate to be more discerning. Wasn't it just six weeks ago that the country was aflame with outrage at the exposure of secret prisons and possible torture? \nSix weeks ago, there were major, worrisome divisions within the GOP, murmurs of fracturing and Republicans fleeing to the other side in apparent disgust. Six weeks ago, the Democrats were cheering as the Republican Party appeared to be crumbling. Now, six weeks later, the Republicans seem to be a united front in favor of the same tactics so many once decried. What under-the-table dealings must have occurred to change the tide so quickly, we will never know. But it's apparent that all of us who hold the Geneva Conventions and transparent justice dear celebrated prematurely as, despite the offensive nature of this bill, the Senate passed it 65-34. \nThe Senate's apparent lack of concern regarding the ideas set forth in the bill should be alarming. Red flags should fly when policymakers are faced with such concepts as intensified interrogation, indefinite detainment for any reason and no avenues for appeal. Though the bill prohibits torture, it does explicitly promote more severe interrogation techniques. And with the lack of transparency evident in this law, how can we be sure our government is not conducting terrorist tactics in our names? No one in the public will be able to hold these interrogators responsible, as all proceedings in these cases will be turned over to military tribunals. Everything will be classified, zero transparency. It is obvious that there is too much room for abuse in these provisions. Yes, it is outlined in the language of the bill that the bounds of interrogation will exclude methods considered war crimes (sexual abuse, experimentation, mutilation, etc.), but who would ever know? \nConstitutionalists should also be concerned as this law extends presidential power without providing the appropriate checks our system relies on. Because this bill transfers the matter to the military, the president, as commander in chief, has the final say as to who gets held indefinitely for any reason. There is no explicit provision for habeas corpus and no avenue for appeals to a nonmilitary judiciary. That loophole limits any judicial review of the conditions or legality of a subject's detention, thus castrating a vital check on the executive. \nThis potentially abusive law must be overturned through a shift of power in Congress. Come election time in this round and the next, push for an administration committed to transparency in justice because though procuring our safety and punishing the guilty are noble endeavors, they can be achieved without the deprivation human rights. Terrorism will not defeat terrorism, but honest, patient justice will win the war for right.
(10/23/06 2:57am)
We do not have a government much concerned with our national character. If anything, our current administration is out to remake our national character into something (dangerous militarism) it has never been." -- Democratic strategist Gary Hart. \nPopular support for this proposition might not be wanting, but, if historian Robert Kagan is to be believed, empirical evidence is. \nIn his riveting new book, "Dangerous Nation," Kagan assaults the commonplace notion that the United States has traditionally wished to evoke support from others by remaining a status quo power, as opposed to a revolutionary one. This claim is deployed to indict the Bush administration for seeking "unilaterally" or "preemptively" to "impose" democracy on others at gunpoint. \nBut it's a myth that the United States is "by nature inward-looking and aloof, only sporadically and spasmodically venturing forth into the world, usually in response to external attack or perceived threats." As Kagan shows, America's journey toward continental and then global preeminence began from the liberal republic's first days: Jefferson foresaw a vast "empire of liberty" spreading west, north and south across the continent. Indeed, it was decided even before the establishment of the union itself that American allegiances would transcend blood and soil. This unique brand of nationalism bespoke a people committed above all to "liberal republican ideology." \nThis "new universalistic nationalism," Kagan explains, reflected Americans' exceptional view of themselves as "the advance guard of civilization." Hence Kagan's ironically approving title ("Dangerous Nation") in the first of two installments on the history of American foreign policy. \nThis is not the story usually portrayed in America's classrooms. Indeed, it is often forgotten that John Quincy Adams remarked of "the universal feeling of Europe in witnessing the gigantic growth of our population is that we shall, if united, become a very dangerous member of the society of nations." From the very moment American "global revolutionaries" arrived on the scene, their visions of a "far-reaching empire" aroused fear not only among those located on the frontier but also within every major system of tyranny in the world. This fear -- not only of America but also for the national independence movements which it would inspire and would gain its support -- as Adams contentedly understood, enjoyed the value of being justified. \nUnlike many critics of the Bush administration, I do not believe that its policies have been out of step with America's character. On the contrary, those of us who've become stern imperialist warmongers in recent years have grown impatient with those who can't see that it is reviving a long-dormant national tradition. \nIn a dangerous world, America has occasionally been quite dangerous itself. This fact is in need of particular contemplation today, in a world where a league of dictators from North Korea to the Sudan and Iran to Venezuela are aligning against the United States and its "sister republics" around the globe. Americans could do worse than to re-learn and take to heart the wisdom of their own Founding Fathers and -- dare we hope? -- likewise remember that internationalism is not only America's legacy; it is our abiding purpose.
(10/23/06 2:57am)
WASHINGTON -- Majorities of Iraqi youth in Arab regions of the country believe security would improve and violence decrease if the U.S.-led forces left immediately, according to a State Department poll that provides a window into the grim warnings provided to policymakers.\nThe survey -- unclassified but marked "For Official U.S. Government Use Only" -- also finds that Iraqi leaders might face particular difficulty recruiting young Sunni Arabs to join the stumbling security forces. Strong majorities of 15- to 29-year-olds in two Arab Sunni areas -- Mosul and Tikrit-Baquba -- would oppose joining the Iraqi army or police.\nThe poll has its shortcomings; regional samples are small and the results do not say how many people refused to respond to questions. The private polling firm that the State Department hired also was not able to interview residents of al-Anbar, a Sunni-dominated province and an insurgent stronghold.\nBut the findings of the summer survey -- circulated to policymakers last month and obtained by The Associated Press last week -- nevertheless provide a solemn reminder of the difficulty that the U.S.-backed Iraqi government faces as it tries to add ethnic diversity to its security institutions.\nAs Iraqi leaders try to diversify the ethnic and religious backgrounds of their security forces, the department's opinion analysis said that Arab Sunnis might be particularly hard to recruit.\nIn Arab Sunni areas, "confidence in the Iraqi army and police is low, and majorities oppose enlisting in either force," the analysis said. "Even recruitment in Arab Shia areas could present challenges as sizable numbers of local youth express support" for local militias, "thus clouding the issue of loyalty to national forces."\nThe analysis was headlined "Youth In Iraq's Arab Sunni Regions Not Eager to Enlist in National Army, Police" and highlighted views from those areas.\nYet in its assessment of the broader picture for Iraq, which includes Kurds and Arab Shiites, there were pieces of good news: A majority of young Iraqis would be willing to join the security forces or support a family member who did, the survey found.\nOn Thursday, Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said a two-month-old U.S.-Iraqi bid to quell the violence in the Iraqi capital did "not met our overall expectations." Attacks in Baghdad rose by 22 percent in the first three weeks of Ramadan.\n"We are working very closely with the government of Iraq to determine how to best to refocus our efforts," he said.\nThe Bush administration quietly has released findings from previous surveys to highlight increases in political participation or other hopeful signs.\nA State Department spokeswoman, Janelle Hironimus, said poll results are not for public release.\n"Reliable and accurate assessments of international public opinion at any given point in time are important to the work of our embassies abroad and to policymakers in Washington," she said.
(10/23/06 2:56am)
WASHINGTON -- The White House is bracing for guerrilla warfare on the homefront politically if Republicans lose control of the House, the Senate or both -- and with it, the president's ability to shape and dominate the national agenda.\nRepublicans are battling to keep control of Congress. But polls and analysts in both parties increasingly suggest Democrats will capture the House and possibly the Senate on Election Day Nov. 7.\nDemocrats need a 15-seat pickup to regain the House and a gain of six seats to claim the Senate.\nEverything could change overnight for President Bush, who has governed for most of the past six years with a Republican Congress and with little support from Democrats.\n"Every session you change the way you do business with the Congress. And you test the mood of the Congress, find out what their appetite will be. But it doesn't change your priorities," the president told ABC News.\nFormer President Clinton had to deal with the Democrats' loss of control of Congress in 1994. But Clinton had something Bush does not: six more years to regain his footing.\nBush has just more than two years left. The loss of either house in voting next month could hasten Bush's descent into a lame-duck presidency.\n"If he loses one house here, President Bush will enter the last two years very wounded," said David Gergen, a former White House adviser who served in the administrations of Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton.\n"He will have the capacity to say no to Democratic legislation, but he won't have the capacity to say yes to his own legislation," said Gergen, who teaches at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.\nDemocratic victories essentially could block Bush's remaining agenda and usher in a period of intense partisan bickering over nearly every measure to come before Congress.\nLoss of either chamber also could subject his administration to endless congressional inquiries and investigations.\nThe president and chief political strategist Karl Rove last week expressed renewed confidence of retaining both the House and Senate; others are not so upbeat.\n"All of our numbers look pretty bad and there's no question that there's a jet stream in our face," said House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.\nFurthermore, some of Bush's fighting in the trenches is likely to be with fellow Republicans as they seek to find a new standard bearer for 2008 -- and distance themselves from an unpopular war, the unpopular president who waged it and congressional scandals that include inappropriate e-mails to House pages from ex-Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla.\n"There's no question that the Republican coalition is stressed over the way Washington has been handling fiscal matters, the Foley affair, the Iraq war," said GOP consultant Scott Reed. "All of these are coming together at the same time."\nAlready, Republicans are showing divisions on Iraq policy. Fresh skepticism has come from Senate Armed Services Chairman John Warner of Virginia, Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, a longtime Bush family loyalist.\nIf Republicans lose their majorities, it will be that much harder for Bush to hold together already splintering GOP cohesion on Iraq.\nBush has been quoted by journalist Bob Woodward as saying: "I'll stay in Iraq even if the only support I have left is from my wife and my dog." \nA Democratic takeover and Republican defections could make that day seem closer.\nWhile the Senate has been difficult for Bush, even with GOP control, the House for most of his presidency has delivered for him. That could be about to change.\nThe White House traditionally loses seats in midterm congressional races. The most recent exception was 2002, when Bush's party picked up seats.\nMany Democrats see the upcoming elections as a mirror image of 1994, with the parties reversed.\nThen, Republicans rallied behind firebrand Rep. Newt Gingrich of Georgia, announced a "Contract with America" and stormed to victory, seizing both House and Senate from Democrats.\nIt was a huge blow to Clinton, made worse by the lavish and almost-presidential reception Gingrich received around Washington as he was inaugurated as House speaker.\nDoug Schoen, Clinton's pollster then, said those times were bleak, including Clinton's baleful insistence to reporters in early 1995 that "the president is relevant."\nBut Clinton soon figured out how to enhance his relevance and influence, reaching out to Republicans on some of their own issues, such as welfare law overhaul and "talking about the common good," said Schoen. Clinton went on to easily win re-election in 1996.\nBut Schoen said he doubts Bush can do the same: "After 9/11, except for a brief period, he's governed from the right. There's so much bitterness and division, it's going to be tougher for him to do it than perhaps it was for Clinton."\nSome of Bush's sharpest critics would rise to top positions with a Democratic takeover.\nHouse Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., probably would become speaker. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., a foe of extending Bush tax cuts, would become chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee.\nRep. John Conyers of Michigan, who has sponsored legislation calling for steps that could open the way to Bush's impeachment, would lead the Judiciary Committee.
(10/23/06 2:56am)
It was recently brought to my attention that many of my peers -- even some I consider very thoughtful and intelligent -- understand feminism and feminists as something inherently bad or, at least, scary and aversive.\nSo I am here today, friends -- boys and girls alike -- to dispel some unfortunate myths about what it means to be a feminist. I hope to do so as sarcastically and arrogantly as possible (not because feminists are arrogant -- only yours truly). \nA complimentary snack of unsalted cashews and Diet Sprite will be distributed halfway through. Sit back and enjoy!\nMyth #1: I can't be a feminist because I like dudes.\nIt is false to presume all feminists are lesbians. Take me, for example. The American Heritage Dictionary defines feminism as "belief in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes" -- not, as you might presume from media texts depicting feminists as crazy women who eat men, kill babies in the name of freedom and have sex with other women. Of course, some feminists are lesbians. But some feminists are also Spice Girls.\nMyth #2: I can't be a feminist because I am a dude.\nNot true -- one needn't have a vagina to be a feminist. Any human advocating total equality of the sexes is a feminist, whether he likes it or not.\nMyth #3: I can't be a feminist because I wear makeup and midriff-bearing attire.\nThis is reminiscent of Myth #1 and media depictions suggesting that only women who don't care about their looks, carry a shrubbery of unshaved hair under their armpits and are averse to anything feminine can be feminists. \nFalse, but funny.\nIn fact, all of the women I know who identify themselves as feminists shave the parts of their body society prefers hairless. Are we conforming and being regressive as we do this? Only if we are shaving so we can pose for Playboy and capitalize on our sexuality.\nMost feminists aren't against that which is feminine -- only that which is feminine and also submissive, weak and powerless.\nMyth #4: I can't be a feminist because gender equality already exists and it's not necessary to advocate it.\nFor me, this one is the worst of all. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you believe full equality has been reached, you are living under a false consciousness. Working women in the United States earn less than men in the same professions. Women are still vastly underrepresented in Congress, thus laws regulating their bodies (e.g., abortion) are made largely without their voices. \nOne of my male peers recently expressed his disregard for many feminists because they don't seek equality, but rather superiority to men.\nFeminist scholar and writer Gloria Steinem probably has the best response to this suggestion: "The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn. We are filled with the popular wisdom of several centuries just past, and we are terrified to give it up"
(10/23/06 2:55am)
On Thursday, the Indiana Daily Student ran a story concerning a proposal to open bids for the running of IU's motor pool to private companies, an issue that has upset those who believe outsourcing will compromise IU's commitment to current employees. \nBut the very same day, the IDS also published a story about the problem of overcrowding on campus buses. And the day after that, the IDS ran a column griping about transportation issues. The week before that, the paper published an article encouraging students to apply for jobs as bus drivers, citing employee shortages.\nNotice a pattern? We sure do. From all the complaining, on the parts of both IU students and administration, it would appear IU is having transportation problems, many of them because of an insufficient budget, which has led the University to consider the proposed outsourcing. \nFor IU students, this means they will have to decide what to complain about: a mountain of transportation shortfalls or the possibility that the campus might -- and we stress "might" -- lose a limited number of jobs to outsourcing. \nIt's a tough decision, isn't it, to choose which position is more complaint-worthy? And heaven knows, here at the Opinion Desk, we love to complain.\nRecall, if you will, though, that outsourcing is not the only option that the board of trustees had to consider. The administrative powers that be could have decided that trimming the program's budget would provide the best solution. However, the University intends to reduce operational costs without sacrificing staff.\nAnd the other options? Either work to garner some serious private donations from those who consider millions of dollars pocket change or raise tuition again. If we recall correctly, tuition hikes don't usually go over very well with the student body, many of whom would rather suffer several consecutive root canals. \nIf outsourcing our motor pool can alleviate our transportation problems while at the same time saving IU some serious cash, we say, "Go for it." \nHowever, we politely request that IU not make the change in operators in a corporately "evil" manner. Some of those employed by the motor pool have been with the University for generations, and even those who have only been working here for a little while do an amazing job of putting up with administrative and student wants, needs and blatant demands.\nIf and when such a switch does take place, we remind the fine folks at Hertz that those currently employed by the University already know the ropes of this place and are capable of such amazing feats as knowing which van is in Wyoming, which sedan is in New York and which tank is in Iraq (that last one might be a stretch). It would be well worth your resources to keep these people under your employ.\nBesides, if you do, we are guaranteed to lose interest in the issue at hand, and we'll be forced to look for other things to complain about.
(10/23/06 2:54am)
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Bombs ripped through a Baghdad market and a bakery Sunday as shoppers were stocking up on sweets and other delicacies to celebrate a major Muslim holiday, and at least five people were killed, police said.\nThe carnage in the Shurja wholesale market, Baghdad's oldest and largest, was the second time in two days that open-air shopping places have been targeted.\nOn Saturday, at least 19 people were killed and scores were wounded in a bomb and mortar attack on a market in Mahmoudiyah, just south of the capital.\nIraq's main Sunni political bloc, the Iraqi Islamic Party, issued a statement Sunday blaming the Mahdi Army for provoking the violence in that city, 20 miles south of Baghdad.\n"We call upon the people of Mahmoudiyah to stay calm in this holy month of Ramadan and not to give others an opportunity," Alaa Makki, a leading party member, said at a news conference in Baghdad.\nIraq has seen a surge in deaths during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, which ends Sunday for Sunnis. So far this month, an average of about 43 Iraqis have died each day, according to an Associated Press count. That compares to an average daily death toll of about 27 since April 2005.\nThe count is based on AP reporting and includes civilians, government officials and police and security forces. The actual number is likely higher, as many killings go unreported. The United Nations estimates about 100 Iraqi civilians are killed each day.\nOctober is also on course to be the deadliest month for American service members in two years, a development U.S. officials have blamed in part on the increased vulnerability of American forces during a major two-month security sweep in Baghdad. Seventy-eight U.S. troops have died this month, surpassing the year's previous monthly high of 76 in April.\nMeanwhile, U.S. officials sought to play down an unusually candid assessment of the security situation made by a senior U.S. State Department official in an interview Saturday with the pan-Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera. Alberto Fernandez, director of public diplomacy in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, said the United States had shown "arrogance" and "stupidity" in Iraq but added that Washington was ready to talk with any Iraqi group except al-Qaida in Iraq to facilitate national reconciliation.\nState Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters that Fernandez afterward said he didn't think reports of his comments were an "accurate reflection of what he said." Asked whether the Bush administration believed that history will show a record of arrogance or stupidity in Iraq, McCormack replied, "No."\nA senior Bush administration official questioned whether the remarks had been translated correctly.\n"Those comments obviously don't reflect our position," said the official, who asked not to be identified because a transcript was not then available for review.\nFernandez spoke in fluent Arabic in the interview, which Al-Jazeera said was taped in Washington on Friday. His remarks were translated into English by The Associated Press.\nPresident Bush reviewed Iraq strategy with top war commanders and national security advisers Friday and Saturday, but indicated little inclination for major changes to an increasingly divisive policy.\n"Our goal in Iraq is clear and unchanging: Our goal is victory," Bush said in his weekly radio address Saturday. "What is changing are the tactics we use to achieve that goal."\nThe White House is under heavy bipartisan, pre-election pressure for a significant re-examination of the president's war plan.\nAhead of the three-day Muslim feasting holiday Eid el-Fitr, which begins Monday and marks the end of Ramadan, Baghdad's Shurja market was especially packed with families shopping for food, clothing and household items.\nThree people were killed and eight wounded in an initial bombing, while a second explosion 30 minutes later injured six more, police Lt. Ali Abbas said.\nAnother bomb hidden beneath a car killed two people and wounded 10 lined up outside the al-Farasha pastry and sweet shop in Baghdad's eastern New Baghdad neighborhood at 11:45 a.m., police Capt. Mohammed Abdul-Ghani said.\nAbout five minutes later, a mortar round crashed into a restaurant about 220 yards away, injuring two civilians and causing extensive damage to the eatery and nearby shops, Abdul-Ghani said.\nAt least 15 people were killed in other violence around Iraq, including nine dead in clashes between rival Shiite and Sunni tribes south of the capital.\nThe clashes broke out Saturday night between the Shiite Kufeifan tribe and their Sunni Juheishat rivals in Shujeiriya, apparently over the Juheishat's support for the establishment of a separate Islamic state in the surrounding province.\nThe bullet-riddled bodies of two men also were found dumped in Baghdad's Baladiate neighborhood, Abdul-Ghani said. The men had been bound and blindfolded and showed signs of torture, making them the likely victims of sectarian death squads.