Thursday, October 5, 2006 - The Michigan Daily - 7A
Marines battle rumor
mill in western Iraq
HADITHA, Iraq (AP) - Word Military search dogs "cost more
spread quickly: A Marine search to train than a Marine," he joked.
dog had escaped and was roam- The sheik was eventually con-
ing the streets attacking children. vinced that if there were dogs op
But the Marines didn't have any the prowl, they were probably
dogs in Haditha at the time. packs of strays that regularly
Nevertheless, Marines found roam the city.
themselves having to quash yet Half-truths are often the source
another of the baseless rumors of many rumors.
that often sweep this city of about Earlier this year, Marines acci-
50,000 people, most of them dentally started fires in two fields
Sunni Arabs wary of U.S. inten- in Haditha by shooting warning
tions in Iraq. flares at approaching cars. But
Rumors - most of them insurgents or skeptical residents
maligning U.S. troops - are a inflated the story into something
staple of life in the embattled, much different.
isolated cities of Anbar province, "The people were talking about
a region that is a center of the how the Marines were going and
Sunni Arab-led insurgency and setting people's crops on fire,"
where telephones don't work and Lynch said. "Then we had to go
newspapers rarely appear. out and explain the whole thing."
Many residents are afraid to The city's sectarian makeup
visit other parts of the country makes it a fertile ground for anti-
such as Baghdad, 140 miles to American rumors.
the southeast, for fear they'll run Haditha and most of Anbar
afoul of Shiite death squads. is dominated by Sunni Arabs,
In their isolation, most people whose minority was long domi-
rely on Arab television networks nant in Iraq but fell from power
such as Al-Jazeera for news with the toppling of Saddam Hus-
of the outside world. For local sein. Now their longtime rivals in
news, the main medium is word the Shiite majority lead the gov-
of mouth. ernment and military.
No one is sure how the dog Some of the hostility may also
rumor started but soon terrified stem from the Marines' own
people were complaining to tribal actions. Marines based in Haditha
leaders about a violent animal on last year allegedly killed 24 civil-
the loose. The director of the city ians after one of their comrades
hospital even told reporters that died in a roadside bombing. The
seven children had been bitten. Marine Corps is still investigat-
The Americans must be to ing and no charges have been
blame, many people concluded. filed.
"We heard this from the people Local people are more likely
about dogs roaming the street, the to believe their fellow Sunnis
market, that have bitten 20 peo- - even those in the insurgency
ple," one tribal leader was over- - than strangers like Marines.
heard complaining to a Marine "I think there's definitely more
officer. of a burden (on Marines) that
"Well, they're not our dogs. we're telling the truth, compared
We'd know if they were ours," to the guy who's on the street
replied Capt. Andy Lynch of spreading rumors, because we're
Chicago, a company commander not from here," Lynch said.
in the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regardless of the reasons,
Regiment. rumors and misinformation make
That didn't satisfy the sheik, it harder for the Marines to win
who insisted: "Our dogs don't trust and cooperation of Sunni
bite." civilians.
Lynch told him the Marines Last summer, Marines launched
didn't have any search dogs in a drive to recruit a new city police
Haditha. And if they had any, he force. A number of people told
added, they would have search- reporters that Marines were forc-
ers out in force if one got loose. ing men to sign up.
Report of armed mn at school false
MONTREAL - Anxious par- "The man was not locat-
ents gathered outside a Montreal ed," police spokeswoman Anie
elementary school yesterday after Lemieux told reporters outside the
police responded to an emergency two-storey school.
call suggesting a suspicious man with "No chances are to be taken
a weapon was in an adjacent park. when we get calls like this. Obvi-
Police said they were called afte ously when we talk about weapons
some students claimed they saw e or possible weapons, no chances
man in the city's west end. are to be taken."
They rushed to the school ant Initial media reports indicated
searched a chalet in the park bu a man might have been barricaded
found nobody. inside the school.
the michigan daily
DIAG
Continued from page 1A
Residence Hall play their weekly
game of "extreme croquet" on the
grassy knoll by the flag pole. The
game is extreme, they say, because
they talk in "ridiculous British
accents." They talk about their
desire to play on the turf of Michi-
gan Stadium or University Presi-
dent Mary Sue Coleman's lawn.
Someday they want to venture into
playing bocce ball and lawn darts
and expand into an "extreme lawn
sports" club.
5:30 P.M.
Tom Goss, the University
researcher who plays the harmon-
ica near the UGLi, has broken out
a pair of spoons and a washboard
to supplement his jams. He also
carries half a dozen harmonicas
- all in a major key.
6 P.M.
Wade and Reyes have joined in
a game of hacky sack with a group
of high school kids standing near
the corner of North University
Avenue and State Street. The mis-
sionaries ask the kids if they like
Limp Bizkit. They laugh and say
they do.
6:21 P.M.
The bricks nearest the "M" get
a fresh chalking. A team from
Random Acts of Kindness leaves
feel-good messages to strangers
and to friends. LSA junior Mira
Samet writes "Have a fantastic
Friday." Others draw rainbows.
They quickly test their hopscotch
board before flitting away.
7:15 P.M.
The sun begins to set over
Angell Hall. Eight minutes later,
half the street lamps come on.
It will take another 15 minutes
before they all glow.
7:30 P.M.
A girl on her cell phone checks
her watch. She declares to the per-
son on the other end of the line, "I
haven't smoked in two days!"
8 P.M.
Ann Arbor residents Adam
Taylor and Greg Albert throw a
Frisbee back and forth. Over the
past eight hours, a Frisbee has
been almost perpetually gliding
through the air. Taylor and Albert
have some close calls, but the disc
doesn't hit anyone. Their record of
hitting only 10 people in two years
remains intact.
8:43 P.M.
A street sweeper meanders
through the Diag, narrowly avoid-
ing the Frisbee. Taylor and Albert
have a history with street sweep-
ers. They once chased one half a
mile after the machine gobbled
up their Frisbee. The chase only
ended after the disc lodged in the
machine, jamming it to a halt.
10 P.M.
A student's faith in humanity is
restored. After leaving his bicycle
unlocked for two days, he returns
to find it exactly where he left it
near West Hall. It is seatless, but
the seat was missing before he left
it unattended. He takes a trium-
phant lap around the Diag.
12:45 A.M.
Nature calls for LSA fresh-
man Matt Vivas. He runs toward
the shrubs next to the graduate
library but fails to notice the chain
surrounding the bushes. He falls.
Undeterred, he gets up and uri-
nates into the bushes. Groups of
students filter through the Diag.
Many say they are headed for
Necto. Most are wearing cowboy
boots.
4 A.M.
The temperature has dipped
below freezing. The Diag is empty.
Across the street at Ingalls Mall,
two cars idle next to a small can-
vas tent, which business sopho-
more Brad Clemons is guarding. A
sign on the tent, embroidered with
a dragon, reads, "Seventh Annual
CESS Conference." Clemons
says he has no idea what's inside.
Clemons is being paid $10 an hour
to watch the tent for his father's
security company. He spends the
night in his teal GM pickup truck,
running the engine to stay warm
and working on homework for
accounting.
Keeping him company is Steve
Burns, a self-described retiree
of the "50-hour work week, 50
weeks a year." Now he spends
his days poking around in trash-
cans to "alleviate the boredom of
retirement." His thick glasses jut
out from his face. He has a long
white beard. Burns wears a head-
lamp - the cheapest model they
had at Wal-Mart - to help him
sort through the trashcans. The
bulb,is dim. Burns and Clem-
ons talk about Ann Arbor in the
sixties, the anti-gay preachers
on the Diag earlier in the week
and "anthropomorphistic ven-
triloquism" - Burns's explana-
tion for why trees seem to talk
to him. In the background, jazz
from WEMU wafts from Burns's
Plymouth sedan.
5:10 A.M.
LSA freshman David Kim
stands outside Mason Hall, tak-
ing a break from his philosophy
paper. It's one of three he plans
to write during his all-nighter. He
wears dog tags that say "BALLS
ON THE TABLE."
5:22 A.M.
Alex Demidov, a physics gradu-
ate student, passes through on his
way to a spinning class at a local
gym.
5:55 A.M.
Two ROTC cadets walk to their
6 a.m. march, fully outfitted in
camouflage field uniforms.
5:58 A.M.
A third cadet rushes by, his
water bottles and backpack bob-
bing up and down. He steadies his
helmet with his hand as he strides
across the "M."
6:42 A.M.
The first white maintenance
truck of the morning along the
perimeter of the Diag.
7 A.M.
After spending the night edit-
ing his dissertation, Rackham stu-
dent Rafael Portillo heads toward
the Fishbowl to print out the final
copy, which he will turn in later
this morning.
7:08 A.M.
Daybreak. Splashes of light spill
out from behind the UGLi.
7:16 A.M.
Demidov returns from his spin-
ning class.
7:22 A.M.
Three students loaded down
with camping gear walk toward
the C.C. Little Science Building to
meet for a mineralogy field trip to
Canada.
10:22 A.M.
Sandy Colledge arrives, hold-
ing a poster with "His pain your
gain" written above a picture of a
cross. She wears an ankle-length
denim skirt and a blue T-shirt with
"JESUS" spelled in the shape of
the Star of David. Occasionally,
she softly sings "Jesus is the way,
Jesus is the answer, have a little
talk with Jesus."
11:23 A.M.
A campus tour of prospec-
tive students centers around the
"M." Colledge stops singing.
She resumes once the tour wan-
ders off.
NOON
A game of Frisbee starts up.
This article was reported
by Daily staff reporters Anne
VanderMey, Drew Philp, David
Mekelburg, Arikia Millikan, Walter
Nowinski, Amanda Markowitz,
Gabe Nelson, Brian Tengel,
Katie Mitchell, Ron Harlow,
Whitney Pow and Dorian Tyus.
They observed the Diag from
noon on Thursday, Sept. 28 to
noon on Friday, Sept. 29.
MCRI
Continued from page 1A
Texas systems collapsed after race-
conscious affirmative action pro-
grams were banned in both states
in 1996.
The collapse of minority enroll-
ment in Texas and California had a
negative effect on the campus envi-
ronment, panelists said.
"The few students of color feel
like they have been put on the spot,
and other students feel like they
have license to say whatever they
want," said Darnell Hunt, a profes-
sor of sociology at UCLA.
Khaled Beydoun, a University
alum who graduated from UCLA's
Law School, echoed Hunt's senti-
ment.
"Students felt they had license
to make racist statements because
there were no students of color in
the classroom," Beydoun said.
When Beydoun left the Universi-
ty of Michigan to attend law school
at UCLA, he was shocked by the
absence of minority students.
"UCLA resembled the Uni-
versity of Alabama circa 1954,"
Beydoun said. "I studied Brown v.
Board of Education with no Afri-
can-Americans in the room."
Panelists from both Texas and
California stressed that their uni-
versity systems had been at the
forefront of "desegregation" before
their respective affirmative action
programs were banned. In the
aftermath of the bans, panelists
said there was a severe chilling
effect on minority outreach in both
states.
"Everything we were doing
came to a screeching halt," said
Maricela Oliva, a professor of
education and public policy at the
University of Texas at San Anto-
nio. "The people we were reach-
ing out to felt the environment was
unwelcoming."
Hunt warned that the passage of
Proposition 209 in California not
only banned explicit race-based
admissions programs but also
frightened lawsuit-adverse admin-
istrators away from legal outreach
programs.
"Campus administratorsbecame
litigation-phobic;" he said. "Any-.
thing they could have done to keep
their fingers in the dam and boost
minority enrollment, they shied
away from."
In the wake of the affirmative
action bans, university administra-
tors in both states have sought to
find other methods to revive minor-
ity enrollment. The University of
Texas system instituted a 10-per-
cent rule, where the top 10 percent
of each high school class is guaran-
teed admission to the system.
Oliva said this policy was an
innovative way to ensure a mini-
mum amount of diversity in the
University of Texas system. But
she warned that the scheme only
worked because Texas high schools
were largely segregated by race.
The panelists from California
said they have found no way to
boost minority enrollment at the
flagship University of California
schools and implored those listen-
ing in Michigan to fight against
Proposal2,more commonly known
as the Michigan Civil Rights Initia-
tive.
Chris Turner, a member of the
Los Angeles Urban League - a
group that provides job training and
business development programs
for minority groups - lashed out
at Ward Connerly, the former Uni-
versity of California regent who
brought MCRI to Michigan.
"Ward Connerly is the black
mouthpiece of wealthy conserva-
tive individuals in California;"
Turner said. "It is sort of like when
you are growing up and hear the
story about hiring the black over-
seer to keep the slaves on the plan-
tation in check."
Beydoun worried about what
would happen to the state and the
University of Michigan if Proposal
2 passes in November.
"I don't want my home state to
be the site of research and reseg-
regation statistics for the next state
that Ward Connerly marches into;"
he said.
Cleanup begins at war-torn site
For Thursday, Oct. 5, 2006 a bit anxious today.
ARIES SCORPIO
(March 21 to April 19) (Oct. 23 to Nov. 21)
Tensisn will build up today befee The eserey is bsildisg up today
tomorrow's Harvest Mos. Tessin toward tomorrsow's ull Moon.The best
always builds up as the Full Mon way for you to handle this is just to
approaches; then afterward, problets work. Distract yourself with whatever
miraculously diminish! (No big deal.) job you're doing.
TAURUS SAGITTARIUJS
(April20 to May 20) (Nov. 22 to Dec. 21)
Be extra-patient with co-workes, Home, family and domestic matters
clients and customers. Tension mipt are important to you now. Keep in mind
build up connected with your wo. that people get a bit impatientijust before
(This is because tomorrow is the F1 the Full Moon, which happens to be
Moos.) tomorrow.
OGEMINI CAPRICORN
(May 21to June 20) (Dec. 22 to Jan. 19)
Be forgiving of a friend. Irritatios Don't make an issue of anything
could arise today, since people are a it today, especially if you're dealing with
tense and distracted because tomorrows family matters, parents, bosses and
the Full Moon. (Guess tow the wcd autority figures. Youa have a choice:
"lunatic" got started.) You can be part of the problem or part of
CANCER the solution.
(June 21to July 22) AQUARIUS
If there's any tension between you ad (Jan. 20Oto Feb. 18)
a parent or boss, give this persona wie You're a strong networker. If you want
berth today. Many people feel te to persuade others to agree with your
buildup of tension before a Full Mon thinking about religious or political mat-
(which happens to be tomorrow). Gul. ters, you'd do best to tread lightly.
LEO PISCES
(July 23to Aug. 22) (Feb. 19 to March 20)
Avoid arguments about politicalor You feel a growing intensity within
religious subjects. They will get pu you. You want to understand how you
nowhere. People feel opinionated toay can be responsible for something. Will
because they feelothe approach of tomr- there be enough money?
row's Full Moon. YOU HORN TODAY You have a
VIRGO strong sense of justice. You care about
(Aug. 23to Sept. 22) others. You'll also persuade people to
Money issues might come to a had join your cause if you can. People like
now. Try to avoid arguments abst you because you're fun-lovisg. Others
money and possessions. I two days, a want you on their teat because you'rera
will be much less concerned about thse team player! You enjoy the beauty of
matters. (Trust me.) pristine nature. Expect a major change to
LIBRA happen this year, perhaps as significant
(Sept. 23 to Oct. 22) as in 1997-98.
You like harmony in your surroud- BK sdate of: Karen Allen, actress;
ings. You run frow a fight (lao upri- Rate Winslt, actress; Bob Geldof,
ting). Be patient with others, becase musician/humanitarian.
tomorrow's Full Moon makes everyoe
: 2006 KinjFeatures Syndicate,. Inc.
BYBLOS, Lebanon (AP) -
Cleanup is set to begin within days at
the first of three ancient World Heri-
tage sites damaged in the summer's
Hezbollah-Israel war - a crumbling
old castle rising from the Mediterra-
nean whose foundation stones are
now coated with oil sludge.
Tens of thousands of dollars
from European and other donors
will go toward repairing the dam-
age at the three sites - first at this
ancient Phoenician port city whose
history stretches back 7,000 years,
then to Roman ruins at Baalbek and
Roman-era frescos in Tyre.
But officials say they also worry
that many other historic sites, such
as old souks, or markets, not listed
by UNESCO as World Heritage
sites, also were damaged and are
getting less attention.
In Byblos,once teeming with fish-
ermen and tourists,the famous ruins
of the crumbling castle-fortress,
which have provided the backdrop
for dozens of international con-
certs, are now blackened at the base
with scum from an oil spill. The oil
spilled afterIsraeli air strikes hit fuel
storage tanks on Lebanon's coast in
mid-July, during the war against
Hezbollah.
"The stones of the two ancient
towers at the port's entrance, and all
the archaeological ruins, are very
stained. The site is in immediate
danger," said Mounir Bouchenaki,
who headed a UNESCO team that
traveled to Lebanon to inspect the
sites after the Aug. 14 cease-fire.
The cost of the cleanup could be
around $100,000, and the work is
expected to start within days after
money arrives and coordination
with Lebanese officials is complet-
ed, he said.
Byblos, one of the oldest inhab-
ited cities in the world, has been
linked to the legends and history of
the Mediterranean region for thou-
sands of years and is directly asso-
ciated with the history and diffusion
of the Phoenician alphabet.
The English word Bible is believed
to be derived from Byblos, meaning
"the papyrus," or "the book"
The charming harbor town is a
major tourist site where internation-
al summer festivals are held every
summer.
The site must be cleaned before
winter to prevent permanent dam-
age, said Bouchenaki, who also is
director-general of the International
Center for the Study of the Preser-
vation and Restoration of Cultural
Property.
Other challenges await.
Down the southern coast at Tyre,
valuable frescoes in a Roman-era
tomb were shaken to the ground.
And inland, a block of stone at
the Roman ruins of Baalbek was
toppled. In addition, already exist-
ing cracks in the temples of Jupiter
and Bacchus at Baalbek may have
widened because of vibrations
from bombings in the area, says
the UNESCO team and Lebanese
officials.
COACH
Continued from page 1A
for the Wolverines.
"Most of his players and people
that knew him would tell you that
he was quite a character;" Berenson
said. "I didn't get to know him from
that aspect. Just as a former coach,
you look and see what he did and
what his teams did and that was the
most impressive thing."
Heyliger was an innovator. He
helped revolutionize the college
recruiting process by taking a
more active role as a coach. He
is also credited with the devel-
opment of the NCAA's Western
Collegiate Hockey Association
and the organization of the only
U.S.-hosted International Ice
Hockey Federation World Cham-
pionship in 1962 in Colorado
Springs, Colo.
Each year, the Vic Heyliger
Trophy is awarded to Michigan's
most outstanding defenseman.
Senior captain Matt Hunwick,
a two-time winner, is the most
recent recipient.
Thieves use hot-wired forklifts to heist ATMS
PHOENIX (AP) - Leave the gun. Bank
robbers have found an easier way to make off
with other people's money: Around the country,
thieves have hot-wired forklifts at construction
sites, chugged up to banks and scooped up their
ATMs, with all the cash inside.
ATM manufacturers have been working
on ways to stop the heists, and sometimes the
money involved is so small it hardly seems worth
the risk. But that hasn't discouraged thieves this
summer in such states as Arizona, California and
Georgia.
They have pulled off or attempted such thefts
at least 21 times this year in the Phoenix area
alone.
"It's called the smash-and-dash," said Rob
Evans, director of industry marketing for Day-
ton, Ohio-based NCR Corp., the world's largest
maker of automated teller machines. Evans is the
company expert on ATM thefts.
Since the 1990s, thieves have used forklifts to
steal ATMs in Indonesia, New Zealand, Scot-
land, Ireland and Estonia, as well as the U.S. Four
years ago, criminals plowed through the front
doors of a movie theater in Lethbridge, Canada,
with a forklift, drove into the lobby, hoisted the
bulky machine and carried it to a waiting pickup
truck.
The payoff for those who succeed in breaking
into the machines varies widely, from a few hun-
dred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars.
"The vast majority of those attacks are unsuc-
cessful," Evans said. "A lot of times you just get
a lot of damage:"
Some attempts end in almost comic fail-
ure. Often, ATM thieves are spotted by secu-
rity guards and surveillance cameras as soon as
they come rumbling up, and they are eventually
caught. (Some at least are smart enough to wear
ski masks.) Others flee after failing to pry the
ATM loose. Some get away with the machines,
only to find the concrete-and-steel vault tough to
crack.
In the Phoenix area - a booming region with
plenty of construction projects and lots of drive-
through banks with open-air ATMs bolted to the
ground, instead of embedded in a brick wall -
police will not say how much has been stolen.