-. The Michigan Daily - Friday._October 9, 1998 - 7
-Nobel Prize awarded to Portugese playwright
LISBON, Portugal (AP) - Portuguese novel-
ist Jose Saramago, whose exuberant imagination
and playfulness have made him popular but whose
bluntness sometimes can offend, won the 1998
Nobel Literature Prize yesterday.
9 After years of being nominated and not win-
ning, Saramago saw no reason to stick around the
book fair in Germany he was attending and wait
for the award's announcement.
Instead, the 75-year-old writer left for the air-
port, and his publisher caught him five minutes
before he was to board his plane. Beaming with
pride, he returned to the fair in Frankfurt and gra-
ciously answered reporters' questions - even
those that irked him.
Asked what he'd do with the $978,000 prize,
the tanned and balding man with wispy white hair
iked why star athletes are never questioned about
w at they will do with they money they earn.
"We are so used to the fact that writers should
be poor, so that every time that a writer gets more
money than is normal for his day-to-day life, they
are asked what they will do with it," said
Saramongo, the first
Portuguese writer to
win the Nobel. /I a pt
Saramago is most
frequently compared reserved, I
with Colombian writer gus
Gabriel Garcia ===E
Marquez because his
prose is often rooted in
recognizable settings
but at the same time
tinged with magical elements.
He has never courted the kind of fame offered
by literary prizes, and his blunt opinions and athe-
istic outlook have frequently clashed with the
£
f1
establishment and the general public.
S 1 am skeptical, reserved, I don't gush, I don't
go around smiling, hugging people and trying to
make friends," he once said.
Even on the day he
won the prize, the Vatican
rcaIf newspaper LOsservatore
Romano attacked the
ron I Swedish Academy's
choice, describing
Saramago as an "old-
- Jose Saramago school communist" who
Nobel Prize winner had a "substantially anti-
.religious vision."
Saramago was born
into a poor family in Azinhaga, a small town near
Lisbon. He never finished university but contin-
ued to study part-time while supporting himself as
a metalworker.
His first novel, published in 1947- "Terra do
Pecado," or "Country of Sin" - was a tale of
peasants in moral crisis. Sales were poor but the
book got enough recognition to propel him from
the welder's shop to a literary magazine.
For the next 18 years, Saramago, a commu-
nist who opposed the 41-year conservative dicta-
torship of Antonio Salazhed wrote only a few
travel and poetry books while he worked as a
journalist.
He returned to fiction only after Salazar's
regime was toppled by a military uprising in 1974.
Since the 1980s, he has been one of
Portugal's best-selling contemporary writers and
his works have been translated into more than 20
languages. He lives in Lanzarote on Spain's
Canary Islands.
He first won critical acclaim abroad with his
1982 historical fantasy "Memorial do Convento,
published in English in 1988 as itas and
Blimunda."
It is set during the Catholic-spired mquisi-
tion and explores the war bet een indviduals a nd
organized religion, picking up ara maps recur-
ring theme of the loner stnugling against authori-
ty.
The Nobel citation praised his work that "with
parables sustained by imagitio.;cmpssi0n
and irony continually enables us to apprehend an
elusory reality"
Saramago remains a prominent nonconformist
through his regular newspaper and radio comrnen-
taries, though his views are always inspired by his
deep concern for his fellow man.
Brazilian writer Jorge Amado, a close friend of
Saramago and an author who also was believed to
be a Nobel favorite, said thc prize did justiCe to
Portuguese literature.
m.-."
Glenn trains for
.the NASA flight
Iran said to beat
back Afghan attack
® Famous Florida launch
site prepares to send off
upcoming mission
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA.-
Standing on a precarious access arm
195 feet above launch pad 39-B at the
Kennedy Space Center, Sen. John
Glenn and his Discovery crewmates
ame face to face yesterday with the
complex beast that will rocket them into
orbit later this month.
After about eight months of prepa-
ration, mostly in simulators at NASA's
training facilities in Houston, the seven
crew members got down to final busi-
ness with launch pad escape training
and a full-dress countdown rehearsal
that will conclude today as Glenn, 77,
nd his colleagues are strapped into
their seats on the shuttle.
The rehearsals, which methodically
go through all the steps normally taken
on launch day, are routine for shuttle
missions generally, although nothing
about Glenn's much-publicized return
to space - scheduled for Oct. 29 -
can quite be called routine. Yesterday,
more than 100 reporters and photogra-
phers were on hand for a crew media
briefing at the launch pad that typically
Will draw a dozen or less.
And almost every question was
directed at Glenn. Eventually - and
only partly in jest - Glenn felt obliged
to "castigate the press," calling for more
attention to the scientific experiments
he and other crew members will partic-
ipate in during the nine-day flight of the
shuttle Discovery.
Besides payload specialists Glenn
end Chiaki Mukai, the crew includes
commander Curtis Brown, pilot Steven
Lindsey and mission specialists
Stephen Robinson, Scott Parazynski
and Pedro Duque.
Asked whether the success of his
flight might boost the fortunes of the
troubled international space station,
Glenn said, "I don't feel like a knight in
shining armor."
He also brushed aside criticism
from former astronaut Story
Musgrave--the oldest person in space
at age 61-who told a reporter last
week that he was "bothered by the fact
that Senator Glenn is not giving it all
he's got, that he's taking a part-time
approach to it." Musgrave called Glenn
"a legislative passenger."
"I'm not back as a legislative pas-
senger;"Glenn said. "I'm back as a sci-
ence passenger."
Asked how he felt preparing for
another launch compared to his
Mercury flight in 1962 - when he
became the first American in orbit -
Glenn said, "Back then I was scared to
death I might catch a cold or something
and be replaced. I feel the same way
right now I'm really looking forward to
this, as you can imagine."
During the trip to orbit, Glenn will
be seated on the shuttle's mid-deck,
where he'll lack even the limited view
afforded by the small window of his old
Mercury capsule.
"On the mid-deck, there are no win-
dows, so you can't look outside," said
Rick Linnehan, an astronaut who is
helping in launch preparations. The
mid-deck passengers are surrounded by
white stowage lockers, he said.
The shuttle's engines will not be
fired during the practice countdown.
The crew will practice an emergency
Los Angeles Times
TEHRAN, Iran-Iran claimed yes-
terday to have beaten back an attack on
a remote border post by Afghanistan's
ruling Taliban militia, saying it inflicted
heavy casualties in what would mark
the two sides' first armed face-off after
more than a month of threats and saber-
rattling.
But the Taliban dismissed the
Iranian claims of a three-hour battle as
propaganda, denying that any such
engagement had even taken place. And
Iran's report of fighting could not be
verified independently because
observers have been denied access to
the border areas.
Even if some encounter did occur, it
appeared doubtful by late yesterday that
it represented the start of a much-feared
war between Shiite Muslim-ruled Iran
and the mainly Sunni Muslim Taliban.
Iranian spokesmen said calm condi-
tions had resumed all along the border
between the two countries.
Iran and the Taliban, an extremist
force that claims to be promoting the
world's purest form of Islam, have
become bitter rivals over differences in
their interpretation of Islam and
charges that the Taliban - which con-
trols 90 percent of Afghanistan's terri-
tory - has oppressed the Shiite minor-
ity in that country.
Antipathy flared into open hostility
last month after the Taliban admitted that
its soldiers had killed eight Iranian diplo-
mats and an Iranian journalist after con-
quering Mazar-i-Sharif, a northern
stronghold of resistance to the Taliban.
Iran's report of the battle yesterday
came as a senior U.N. envoy was leav-
ing Iran for Pakistan, where he hoped to
meet with Taliban and Pakistani offi-
cials to try to defuse the danger of a
regional conflict.
By making public the reported
clash, one Western observer here spec-
ulated, Iran may have hoped to con-
vince U.N. special emoy L akhdar
Brahimi,Taliban leaders in fghanistan
and their Pakistani friends that a real
war is imminent unless the Talban
responds urgently to Iran's de mands to
end the crisis.
Iran wants the Taliban to surrender
40 Iranian prisoners it holds and to put
on trial and punish the sohliers respon-
sible for the killing of the Iranian diplo-
mats.
To back up its demands, Iran mar-
shaled a force that it claims numbers
270,000 army troops and Revolutionary
Guards along its eastern border with
Afghanistan. Since last week, it has
been staging air and ground military
exercises that appear clearly intended to
pressure the TalIiban.
Iranian President Moh ammad
Khatami has repeated that his country
strongly prefers a diplomatic settlement
to the matter. But Foreign Minister
Kamal Kharrazi had warned
Wednesday that Iran is willing to use
force if diplomatic means fail.
Meanwhile. Brahimi, the U.N. spe-
cial envoy, was continuing his shuttle
diplomacy to try to reduce the likeli-
hood of a war breaking out bet ween
Iran and the Taliban.
After four days of talks with senior
Iranian officials in Tehran, Brahimi said
he felt more optimistic that "the threats of
a regional crisis will lessen." But he saw
the accumulation of large numbers of
forces from both sides along their mutu-
al border as a potential powder keg.
According to the Iranian news
agency I RNA, yesterday's attack cam!ne
when Taliban militia struck the Salch-
Abad border post in Iran's Khorasan
province with mortar and machine guns.
Brig. Gen. Azizollah Jaafari, the
ground force commander of the
Revolutionary Guard, said that Iranian
troops fought back for three hours and
destroyed three Afghani border posts
used by the Taliban, IRNA said.
AP rPHO
Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio) hugs STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaid Mukla at a
news conference yesterday at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39-B.
escape from the spacecraft at the end
of the exercise. If the crew must leave
the shuttle quickly for any reason dur-
ing the last minutes before launch,
they would evacuate the orbiter -- a
process Linnehan said takes at least
tvo minutes - and would scramble
into basket-like devices to zip down
1200-foot-long escape wires. They
would then run for a bunker at the
base of the launch pad.
"They're on their own the last 45
minutes' said George Hoggard, a
NASA fire safety official. Crews do not
actually try out the escape slides, which
are certified for use and are not dis-
turbed unnecessarily. The ride takes
about 30 seconds.
Study: Colombian forces break war rules
Los Angeles Times
BOGOTA, Colombia-Civilians here are under
attack from three guerrilla forces, seven private armies
and even the national army and police force, which all
*ematically violate the rules of war, according to a
two-year study released yesterday.
The report by Human Rights Watch found that
civilians are now the biggest casualties of Colombia's
prolonged conflict.
Last year, 2,183 civilians were killed for political
reasons, compared with the 1,250 lives lost in actual
combat.
"Indeed, battles between armed opponents are the
exception," the study noted. "Instead, combatants
berately and implacably target and kill the civil-
i they believe support their enemies."
The lack of respect for civilian lives and rights
does not bode well for the success of this country's
nascent efforts to end three decades of fighting,
human rights activists warned. "For Colombia to build
a lasting peace, it is imperative to incorporate protec-
tions for civilians," said Jose Vivanco, executive direc-
tor of Human Rights Watch/Americas.
The report is the first to strongly criticize all par-
ties involved in Colombia's civil war. Previous docu-
ments had focused on the role of the army and police,
and increasingly called attention to abuses by the pri-
vate armies that call them sel ves"sel f-defense forces,"
while noting violations by insurgents less prominent-
ly.
"All parties to the con-
flict say they are interested
in international humanitar-
ian rights," Vivanco said.
But they also try to justify
their abuses by twisting the
concept of those rights, he
said.
For example, he men-
tioned that the country's
leftist guerrillas - who
are believed to rely on
ransoms and extortion
for about half of their
income - call kidnap-
pings "retentions," using
semantics to try to justify
their actions.
Still. Vivanco saved hisl
",,, o bt2
deliberately
implacably t
kill the ci viii
believe supp
enemies,,'
Human Rigr
harshest criticism for the
armies)," he said.
But the criticism had little effect on supporters of
the armies in their stronghold of Monteria in northern
Colombia. "Their barbarism is
a result of the enemy that they
are confronting," said Rodrigo
$ iS Garcia, a rancher who sur-
vived a bombing attempt two
and years ago that he attributes to
his outspoken admiration for
the private armies. "You can-
not respond to (the rebels) with
prayers."
Port their The report found that all
sides are recruiting children
under 15 to fight. "Minors
who surrender to the armed
- Anonymous forces are used as guides and
hts Watch study informants, putting them at
great risk," Vivanco said.
Equally worrying, he said,
is the reluctance of the armed forces to punish
members who are involved in human rights abuses.
The one exception is the police force, which has
taken action against officers convicted of viola-
tions, he said.
Full hearings not likely
to begin until November
self-defense forces, set up by ranchers and merchants
to defend themselves against the rebels. "Massacres in
Colombia are fundamentally committed by (private
IMPEACH
Continued from Page 1
More often than not, they
harkened back to the ghosts of
Congresses past, recalling the
Founding Fathers at the nation's birth
and Rep. Peter Rodino (D-N.J.) who
just a generation ago presided over the
House's impeachment review in
Watergate.
"We're not flying by the seat of our
pants,"said Hyde, defending his deci-
sion to use the Watergate model as his
guide.
"We're riding on Peter Rodino's
shoulders."
But Democrats argued that it was a
rush to judgment; they demanded but
did not get a limited inquiry, warning
that an open-ended investigation
would open the gates for a Republican
stampede through the myriad scandals
that have dogged the Clinton presi-
dency.
At one point, Rep. Gary Ackerman
(D-N.Y.) climbed up from his seat
and, speaking out of order, shouted
into a microphone that the Republican
proposal reminded him of a page from
the old New England witch trials.
"I submit;' he said, "that after we
SORORITY
Continued from Page 1.
average-sized sorority to the smallest
on campus.
The sorority's 16 members, who will
now be given alumnae status, are deal-
adjourn, we move to Salem, a quaint
village in Massachusetts whose histo-
ry beckons us hence."
Speaking for the Republican lead-
ership, Hyde announced after the vote
that the inquiry officially will begin
with staff lawyers researching the law,
conducting closed-door depositions
with witnesses and undertaking other
initial snadework.
Full-blown public hearings are not
expected until sometime . after
Election Day, and nobody knows for
sure who will make the witness list. If
the inquiry leads to a House vote
approving articles of impeachment
against Clinton, the matter would then
be sent to the Senate for a trial that
could result in a verdict ordering his
ouster from office.
Even Hyde, normally praised by
both parties for his fairness, got
caught up in the rush of the moment
and declared "victory" at a post-vote
news conference.
When asked later about his use of
that word, he said he did not recall
saying it. Then he explamned that he
was not talking party politics. "It's a
victory for the process' he main-
tained. "It's 'a victory for the
Constitution."
ship.
"They said that 16 members cannot
be expected to reorganize a house; said
Broderick, an LSA junior.
The national organization should not
be depicted as the villain because they
were not at all happy with the closing,
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RANKING
Continued from Page 1
Business Administration, said that
despite the drop in the rankings, the
University is still in high standing in
the business community.
Business senior Josh Rosen said
he is not deterred by the loss of two
spots in this year's new
BussinessWeek rankings.
"I think that at this time there is
less and less emphasis on the rank-
ings," Rosen said.
Decie said the University's pro-
gram is top notch and students
should be happy with the results.
"It was good recognition for our
Carlos Hernandez, a second-year
MBA student, said business school
rankings are subjective.
"I am happy as long as we stay in
the top five," Hernandez said.
Rosen said he hopes prospective
students "pay more attention to pro-
fessors and their publications and
success stories they hear from peo-
ple they know."
Rosen said that being ranked
number four "does not affect my
decision at all," to eventually apply
to the University's MBA program
when he completes his undergradu-
ate business program.
Rosen said he recently has noticed
the school has been gaining national
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