2 -The Michigan Daili -Friday January 28. 2005
NATION/WORLD
Vanity tax targets plastic surgery NEWS IN BRIEF
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OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Nip, tuck
and ... tax?
Lawmakers trying to plump up the
bottom line are considering a "van-
ity tax" on cosmetic surgery and Botox
injections in Washington, Illinois and
other states.
Plastic surgeons and their patients say
the idea is just plain ugly.
"It makes no sense. Where does it
stop - massages, facials, teeth clean-
ings?" asked Karen Wakefield, 51, who
has had a nose job, dermabrasion, lipo-
suction, tummy tuck and breast lift -
plus a little Botox here and there.
"Even having a baby is elective sur-
gery," added Wakefield, an event planner
in Woodinville. "Why not tax that, too?"
The Washington state senator who
proposed the tax said she has never gone
under the knife for beauty, but wouldn't
rule it out.
"I, too, look in the mirror and see my
mother," said Seattle Democrat Karen
Keiser, 57. But she thinks cosmetic surgery
patients can afford the state's 6.5 percent
sales tax. She wants to earmark the money
for poor children's health insurance.
"We could do Botox-for-babies par-
ties. It might be the new thing," Keiser
said. "Anyone who can afford the money
for cosmetic procedures, I don't think
they would be deterred by a little sales
tax. You pay it on your lipstick."
The tax would not apply to recon-
structive surgery for, say, burn victims
or women Who have undergone mastec-
tomies.
In September, New Jersey became the
first and so far the only state to tax plas-
tic surgery, at 6 percent. The tax is pro-
jected to bring in $25 million a year.
"We could do Botox-for-babies parties. It
might be the new thing."
- Seattle resident Karen Keiser
In Illinois, the state comptroller has pro-
posed a 6 percent tax on cosmetic surgery
to create a stem cell research institute. If
the Legislature approves, the question
could be put to the voters in 2006.
In California, the very capital of
cosmetic surgery, such procedures are
tax-free. The cosmetic surgery tax is a
cousin to the "sin taxes" many states
slap on drinking, smoking and gam-
bling during tough budget times.
"In this anti-tax climate, these user-
based, selective tax proposals are more
palatable than broader ones," said Bert
Waisaner, tax policy analyst for the
National Conference of State Legisla-
tures.
The American Society of Plastic
Surgeons frowns on this new wrinkle,
calling New Jersey's law a "dangerous
precedent."
Seattle surgeon Phil Haeck noted that
86 percent of cosmetic surgery patients
are women.
Wakefield, for one, wants people to
know she paid for her own nips and tucks.
"I'm not married to some rich guy," she
said. "I worked my butt off for this."
Insider.
Muslims
harassed
US. . ,O
U.. prison
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Female
interrogators tried to break Muslim detainees
at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay
by sexual touching, wearing a miniskirt and
thong underwear and in one case smearing a
Saudi man's face with fake menstrual blood,
according to an insider's written account.
A draft manuscript obtained by The Associ-
ated Press is classified as secret pending a Pen-
tagon review for a planned book that details
ways the U.S. military used women as part of
tougher physical and psychological interroga-
tion tactics to get terror suspects to talk.
It's the most revealing account so far of
interrogations at the secretive detention camp,
where officials say they have halted some con-
troversial techniques. "I have really struggled
with this because the detainees, their families
and much of the world will think this is a reli-
gious war based on some of the techniques
used, even though it is not the case," said the
author, former Army Sgt. Erik Saar.
Saar didn't provide the manuscript or
approach AP, but confirmed the authenticity
of nine draft pages AP obtained. He requested
his hometown remain private so he wouldn't
be harassed. Saar, who is neither Muslim nor
of Arab descent, worked as an Arabic trans-
lator at the U.S. camp in eastern Cuba from
December 2002 to June 2003. At the time, it
was under the command of Maj. Gen. Geof-
frey Miller, who had a mandate to get better
intelligence from prisoners, including alleged
al-Qaida members caught in Afghanistan.
Saar said he witnessed about 20 interroga-
tions and about three months after his arrival
at the remote U.S. base he started noticing
"disturbing" practices. One female civilian
contractor used a special outfit that included a
miniskirt, thong underwear and a bra during
late-night interrogations with prisoners, mostly
Muslim men who consider it taboo to have close
contact with women who aren't their wives.
Beginning in April 2003, "there hung a short
skirt and thong underwear on the hook on the
back of the door" of one interrogation team's
office, he writes. "Later I learned that this outfit
was used for interrogations by one of the female
civilian contractors ... on a team which conduct-
ed interrogations in the middle of the night on
Saudi men who were refusing to talk."
Strip club for sale on eBay
PONTIAC
Arnie to win Animal of Year' award
Michigan's veterinarians are honoring a 9-year-old Labrador retriever for its
contribution to the physical rehabilitation of human patients.
Today the Okemos-based Michigan Veterinary Medical Association plans to
recognize Arnold Palmer Neslage, known as Arnie, as its Therapy Companion
Animal of the Year.
Arnie is a fixture at North Oakland Medical Centers in Pontiac. He was nomi-
nated by Thomas Barkham of the Paint Creek Animal Clinic in Rochester and beat
out 25 other candidates for the award.
With the able assistance of his owner, Kay Neslage of Oakland County's Oakland
Township, Arnie has shown off his medical skills on the "Maury Povich Show,"
served as a spokesdog for the American Heart Association in Texas and served as
guest coach for 1993 national champion Texas Tech women's basketball team.
"Arnie was sent here for a purpose - to help people," Neslage told The Daily
Oakland Press. "We're thrilled that he has been recognized for what he does best."
Arnie is an anchor to his young patients, who send a steady flow of mail to the
Neslage home.
UNITED STATES
Rain, snow, freezing rain fall across U.S.
Rain, freezing rain and snow moved over a wide swath of the Plains, while rain
showers and mountain snows developed in the Southwest and southern Rockies.
Wind chill readings dipped far below zero across parts of the Northeast and New
England.
Scattered snow developed over Kansas and Nebraska, while scattered rain
showers and isolated thunderstorms were found across Texas. The northern Plains,
upper Midwest and northern Mississippi Valley remained dry and partly cloudy.
In the East, partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies prevailed, along with bitter
cold. Wind chill readings ranged to near 25 below zero across the Northeast and
New England. Rain showers and mountain snow moved across the Southwest and
southern Rockies; scattered rain also was reported in the Pacific Northwest.
Yesterday's temperatures in the Lower 48 states ranged from a morning low of
30 below zero in the New York towns of Saranac Lake and Watertown, to a midday
high of 81 degrees in Vandenberg, Fla.
DES MOINES
No winners in Powerball, Rolling Cash lotteries
None of the tickets sold for the Powerball game Wednesday night matched all
six numbers drawn, which were: 5-32-43-47-48.
Players matching all five numbers and the Powerball would have won or shared
the $10 million jackpot. The prize goes to an estimated $12 million for Saturday.
Tickets that match the first five numbers, but miss the Powerball, win $100,000
each, and there were 2 of those. They were sold in: Nebraska, Pennsylvania.
There were no Power Play Match 5 winners.
Meanwhile, in Ohio, The Rolling Cash 5 jackpot is growing to $124,000 for the
next drawing tonight. There were no Rolling Cash 5 game tickets with the correct
combination for the $110,000 drawing yesterday night.
R AMALLAH, West Bank
Abbas bans Palestinians from carrying arms
The new Palestinian leadership yesterday banned civilians from carrying weap-
ons and indicated it will appoint a new security minister known for his tough stance
against militants - clear signsof seriousness about reining in violence, an Israeli
precondition for peace talks.
The Palestinians came in for praise from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon,
who said yesterday that conditions are right for a breakthrough toward peace.
Before the weapons ban was announced, Sharon said he was "very satisfied"
with the actions of new Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who has been pressing
hard for a declaration by militant groups of a halt to attacks against Israel, ending
four years of bloody violence.
- Compiled from Daily wire reports, yes we didn't make them up this time
MARKET UPDATE
CLOSE CHANGE
ZS E CROATIA 1861.99 +16.3
BVSP BRAZIL 24,030.09 -500.01
SSX SWAZILAND 154.71 0
Climax Gentleman's Club in Delmont, Pa., shown here in a photograph taken on July 5, 2002 is being
sold on the Internet auction site eBay. The club is billed as the world's only drive-through strip club,
and bidding started at $299,000 this week
Pregnant wo-man survives,
after. truck falls on her car
el
CLEVELAND (AP) - A truck slid off an interstate
overpass and plunged about 35 feet to the highway below,
smashing the car of a pregnant woman who eventually
managed to free herself and wasn't seriously hurt.
"I'm healthy. I'm sore and stiff. The baby's fine," Anna
Martinez told NBC's Today Show yesterday.
Martinez, 25, of Cleveland Heights, said she wasn't sure
whether to laugh or cry when she saw the truck slide off
the Interstate 71 overpass and fall toward her car on state
Route 176 near downtown.
"Well, there's an element of the ridiculous about a semi
flying through the air and landing on a car," she said. "It is
kind of funny. It's not something you'd think would ever
happen. It was just so random. And the other part of it is I
was really terrified and I wanted to cry."
Martinez, who is five-months pregnant, made an emer-
gency call from her cell phone about 1 a.m. Tuesday and
told a dispatcher: "A semi flew off of the interstate and
landed on top of me!"
"I did slam on my brakes and tried to avoid it," she said.
The truck smashed her car's roof and demolished the rear
of her Honda Accord. She was wearing a seat belt, which
would not release in the wreckage.
Martinez called her husband to tell him she was trapped
and smelled gasoline. She eventually freed herself and
spent about 15 hours at a hospital.
She recalled she was not sure how to react.
"I saw a truck falling from the sky and sparks flying
from it," she said on Today. "That part was definitejy in
slow motion and so was the impact. My first thought was,
'Is this real?' It didn't seem like something that really hap-
pens, outside of movies. I thought, 'Oh my God!'
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763-2459, news@michigandally.com
EDITORS: Carmen 'Roxetta' Johnson, Emily 'Crazy Muffin' Kraack, Jeremy 'Kerry's Bitch' Berkowitz
STAFF: Andrew McCormack, Naila Moreira, Kristin 'I love covering MSA' Ostby
OPINION Zac Peskowltz, Old Manag
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