Friday, October 13, 2006 - The Michigan Daily - 7
Politicians call for
tighter restrictions
over New York M:..-
NEW YORK (AP) - A day
after the fiery plane crash that killed
Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle, poli-
ticians expressed alarm that, five
years after Sept. 11, small aircraft
are still allowed to fly right up next
to the New York skyline.
"I think everyone is scratching
their head, wondering how it is pos-
sible that an aircraft can be buzz-
ing around Manhattan," said Rep.
Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) who has
been lobbying for rule changes since
2004. "It's virtually the Wild West.
There is no regulation at all, other
than 'Don't runinto anything."'
The single-engine plane that car-
ried Lidle to his death was flying
over the East River, which sepa-
rates Manhattan from Brooklyn and
Queens and is lined on the Manhat-
tan side by the United Nations and
scores of other skyscrapers.
It is one of the city's busiest and
most popular routes for sightseeing
pilots, traffic helicopters and execu-
tives hopping from one business
deal to the next, and it is largely
unmonitored, as long as the aircraft
stay below 1,100 feet.
Lawmakers have tried for years
to close the corridor for reasons of
safety and security.
Gov. George Pataki said Thurs-
day that the Federal Aviation
Administration "needs to take a
much tougher line" about private,
or general aviation, flights over the
city.
However, Mayor Michael
Bloomberg, a recreational pilot
with decades of experience, said he
believes the skies are safe under the
current rules.
"We have very few accidents
for an awful lot of traffic;" he said.
"Every time you have an automobile
accident, you're not going to go and
close the streets or prohibit people
from driving."
Aviation officials have down-
played the potential threat posed by
light aircraft, but FAA spokeswom-
an Laura J. Brown said in a written
statement Thursday that the agency
would review its guidelines for gen-
eral aviation and flight restrictions
as a result of the Lidle crash.
And an aviation industry repre-
sentative said Wednesday's crash
demonstrates that small private
planes have little potential as terror-
ist weapons.
"Yesterday's accident caused no
structural damage to the building
struck;" said Chris Dancy, spokes-
man for the Aircraft Owners and
Pilots Association. Small planes
"are simply incapable of causing the
kind of catastrophic damage that
terrorists usually seek.
All flights over New York were
grounded after Sept. 11, but the
restrictions were lifted three months
later.
Much of the airspace over the
two main rivers that encircle Man-
hattan - the East River and the
Hudson River - is unrestricted
for small aircraft flying under
1,100 feet. Planes and helicopters
beneath that ceiling do not have to
file a flight plan or check in with
air traffic controllers, as long as
they do not stray from the sky over
the rivers.
ALEX DZIADOSZ/Daily
BAMN co-chair Maricruz Lopez stands in protest against the Young Americans for Freedom's "Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day" yesterday on the Diag.
C A T"American Civil Liberties Union. most weren't out to confront the Boyd said he had hoped to start
'Mlany wore yellow "Michigan group. . dialogue.
Continued from page 1 Immigrant" T-shirts, which the "It's scary and xenophobic" "I'm not giving answers to either
N. Korea makes
weapons, sells them
let out a swar whoop as protestors
shouted at Boyd.
Boyd said he chose to dress the
illegal immigrant as Columbus
because the European conquest oft
the Americas parallels contempo-
rary illegal immigration.
"Some of the intermingling wass
peaceful Boyd said. "Some of it wvas
beneficial to both parties, some of it
was violent and some ofit resulted in
total races being demolished"
He said Native americans had
two choices at the turn of the 16th
century: fight the Europeans or
accept them. The U nited States has
a similar choice to make with illegal
immigration,Boyd said.
The protesters came from a wide
range of campus oganizations,
including the Student of iColor
Coalsition, La Von Latina, Black
Student Union and the undergradu-
ate and law school chapters of the
protesters had made specifically
for the event.
'Many representatives of those
groups were upset that BAMIN,
known for its incendtaiy and often
disruptive tactics, showed up.
"I asked them not to do it" Lai
VOZ executive hoard member Alicia
Ienavides said.
The B M\ tN contingent wasn't just
made up of University students.
Lashelle Benjamin, a junior at
Cass Technical High School ilo
Detroit, said BAMN organizers
brought her and 17 other students to
Ann A rbor for the event.
BAI N members yelled loudly
every time Boyd tried to speak, often
drowning him out.
"I think it would have been more
successful probably for both sides if
they hadn't been saying the same chant
over and over again" Boyd said.
The crowd was full of criticism for
YAF's plans, but except for BAMN,
Rakham student Meg Ahern said.
"Ijust thinkit's important thatimmi-
grants, international students and
international community members
know that they're welcomed and
supported"
Members of Antiwar Action held
up a bed sheet with an idea for a game
of their own painted in big red letters:
"Bag a fascist" The phrase was a shot
at YAF's fan-right reputation.
LSA senior and group member
Alex Smith carried a pillowcase that
might have been used to capture a
YAF member, but he said it was
"purely symbolic"
Unlike many on the Diagone stu-
dent said she had ancestors who were
never immigrants.
"I'm a Native American, ya'lt
are immigrants, Rackham student
Veronica Pasfield said. "It's a joke
that this entire country ofiimmigrants
is trying to alienate and improperly
politicize immigrants"
side of the issue," Boyd said. "I'm
giving questions"
But his tactics may have had the
opposite effect, according to Dana
Christensen, chair of the undergrad-
uate chapter of the ACLU.
"This doesn't breed education,
she said. "It just breeds hatred."
Earlier in the day, a coalition of
religious leaders and activists braved
a freak October snowstorm to hold a
prayer for inclusion on the Diag.
"We ask you, oh God, to soft-
en the hearts of the hard-hearted
and grant clarity to the minds of
the closed-minded," said Dawud
Walid, executive director of the
Michigan chapter of the Council
on American-Islamic Relations.
The group has also sent a letter
to the University Board of Regents
and University President Mary
Sue Coleman asking for a meet-
ing to discuss the game and its
impact.
WASHINGTON (AP) - North
Korea's claimed test of a nuclear
weapon is only the tip of what
frightens the rest of the world. It's
all the more worrisome because the
country has shown itself to be a vir-
tual bazaar for spreading missiles,
conventional weapons and nuclear
technology around the globe.
According to U.S. officials and
outside experts, Pyongyang has
sold its military goods to at least 18
countries, mostly in Africa and the
Middle East. That's a good indi-
cation, officials warn, that North
Korea might sell nuclear weapons
if doing so would bring hard cur-
rency into the isolated, impover-
ished communist state.
North Korea's catalog has
included ballistic missiles and
related components, conventional
weapons such as mobile rocket
launchers, and nuclear technology.
It's also possible, the officials say,
that the unstable government in
Pyongyang has sold components
that could be part of biological or
chemical munitions.
The officials and others inter-
viewed this week about North
Korea's weapons trade spoke on the
condition that they not be identified
given the tense situation between
the two countries.
On Wednesday, the United
States circulated a draft resolution
at the United Nations that con-
demns North Korea's proclaimed
nuclear test on Monday as in "fla-
grant disregard" of U.N resolutions
and "a clear threat to international
peace and security."
The resolution calls for a ban
on all North Korean arms sales
and travel by people involved in
North Korea's weapons program.
It also requires countries to freeze
all assets related to North Korea's
weapons and missile programs.
In admonishing North Korea's
purported nuclear test, President
Bush this week accused Pyong-
yang of being "one of the world's
leading proliferators of missile
technology, including transfers to
Iran and Syria"
The North Korean Foreign Min-
istry, in announcing the test, said it
would "never use nuclear weapons
first but strictly prohibit any threat
of nuclear weapons and nuclear
transfer."
North Korea's customer list,
going back to the mid-1980s, is
said to go well beyond Iran and
Syrian. U.S. officials, recent public
assessments and outside experts
report sales of missiles or related
components to Egypt, Iran, Paki-
stan, Libya, Syria, the United Arab
Emirates and Yemen.
Pyongyang is also believed to
have engaged in conventional arms
deals for cruise missiles and other
wares with most of those countries
and 11 others: Angola, Burma,
Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iraq, Rwanda,
Sudan, Uganda, Vietnam, Zaire
and Zimbabwe.
North Korea is also believed
to have shared technology used
for nuclear development. Govern-
ment officials have said that A.Q.
Khan - the Pakistani scientist
who confessed in 2004 to run-
ning an illegal nuclear market -
had close connections with North
Korea, trading in equipment,
facilitating international deals for
components and swapping nucle-
ar know-how.
LOOPHOLE
Continued from page 1
ordinance to the back of the let-
ter," Choi said. "It said that if they
didn't hear from us by Oct. 30,
then they would assume that our
apartment would be available."
Jon Keller, an Oppenheimer
Properties official, said that after
Oct. 30, the rent for next years for
the houses could increase. Iowev-
er, he said tenants have until Nov.
30 to declare their status for next
year.
"Everything wsc've been send-
ing out has gone directly through
our attorney," Keller said.
He said the company has been
sending out a form for tenants to
fill out if they feel like it. If they
know for a fact they won't re-sign,
they have the option of sending it
back.
"We are not asking the tenants
over the phone or pressuring them ,
we just give them the opportunity
to tell us," Keller said. "We aren't
signing any leases until the 90th
day."
Some landlords have been
encouraging students to sign the
waivers by offering incentives.
Dan's Hlsiuses sent out an e-mail
telling tenants that if they sign by
Oct. 1, the landlord would guar-
antee not to increase rent the next
year.
Campus Management is holding
a raffle for students who send back
their waiver forms. According to
a mass mailing from the rental
company, if tenants complete a
response form by Oct. 20, they
will be entered in a prize drawing
for $100 and $200 Best Buy gift
cards.
City Councilman Leigh Greden
said that when the ordinance was
passed, it was clear that the Coun-
cil would revivew it after a year.
"If we hear numerous stories of
landlords taking advantage of the
condition, we would be willing to
look atlit again" 'Greden said.
Laura Van Hyfte, the former
Siaison between the City Council
and the Michigan Student Assem-
bly who served during the push
for the ordinance, said the Coun-
cil added the waiver provision to
benefit University seniors.
"The idea was tha't ifseniors
knew that they wouldn't be return-
ing to Ann Arbor, they could sign
the waiver and it would take the
pressure off of them and off of
the landlords, Van Iyfte said. "It
was a courtesy issue"
But the waiver provision has
affected more students than sim-
ply the seniors for whom it was
intended.
"The draft that (the City Coun-
cil) passed was the best foresee-
able solution to the problem at
hand,' Van Hyfte said. "It was not
possible to predict or see all of the
loopholes that people might try
and take advantage of. Using (it)
as a loophole is clearly a manipu-
lation of the condition"
Van Hyfte said that while the
language in the ordinance may
pose a problem, a larger problem
is that students have not been
made aware of their rights.
"When you pass legislation,
that's only half of the battle in
solving a problem;" she said. "The
other half is creating awareness in
students. They need to understand
it and work with it - not against
it."
Although MSA has not yet
worked on educating the student
body about the new law, Nick
Assanis, the assembly's External
Relations Committee co-chair,
said several events are planned.
MSA is planning an education-
al event on the Diag following fall
break to talk to students about the
details of the ordinance.
"I had heard about it but I
don't know a, lot about it" said
Jen Sharp, a sophomore in the art
school. "I just heard that you can
sign later. I knew that we had more
time because of it, I just didn't
know the details."
Although the ordinance seems
to have temporarily slowed busi-
ness for major landlord companies,
the managers said the beginning
of December, when students can
start signing leases, may be cha-
otic.
"It's going to turn into a mad-
house on Dec. 1;' Keller said.
Campus Rentals manager
Bruce McKraken said the com-
pany would have to condense
four months of lease signings into
December.
"It's going to be a crazy, crazy
December,' he said.
Early lease signing may have
slowed, but according to prospec-
tive off-campus tenants, the rush
for housing isn't yet a thing of the
past.
"(The) rush hasn't really slowed
down at all;" Sharp said.
She said her roommates started
talking about moving off-campus
three weeks ago.
"The year had barely started;"
she said. "It would be nice to wait
until at least next semester."
Bush gives Hastert a boost
in his time of need
Five years ago, Ford suffered said. He was House minority leader
FO RD two small strokes and spent about Ford has watched construction when President Nixon chose him
Continued from page 1 a week in a hospital. of the new building through a to replace Spiro Agnew, who
In September, Coleman said webcam on the School of Public resigned,asvicepresidentin 1973.
In July, lord was admitted to Ford was invigorated by the Policy's website. Ford became president on Aug. 9,
Colorado's Vail Valley Medical thought of the new building, Ford graduated from the Uni- 1974, when Nixon resigned amid
Center for a few days because of which houses the Ford School of versity in 1935, having played the Watergate scandal.
shortness of breath. In January, Public Policy. center for the football team, been
he was hospitalized for 12 days "He's told us that the building's a member of Michigamua, the Karl Stampfl and
in Rancho Mirage to treat pneu- been what's keeping him alive University's elite senior society, The Associated Press
monia. for the last two years," Coleman and Delta Kappa Epsilon. contributed to this report.
Turkey's Orhan Pamuk wins Nobel literature prize
CHICAGO (AP) - President
Bush stood shoulder-to-shoulder
with embattled House Speaker
Dennis Hastert yesterday, offering
a powerful boost in his moment
of need and declaring the coun-
try "better off"' with Hlastert in
power.
"I am proud to be standing with
the current speaker of the House
who is going to be the future
speaker of the House," Bush said
as he opened a speech to raise
money for two Illinois congressio-
nal candidates.
The $1.1 million fundraiser
provided the first picture of Bush
with Hastert since a scandal broke
involving a Republican congress-
man pursuing underage male
pages. Although the president has
spoken out in Hastert's defense
- tepidly at first and more direct-
ly at a White House news confer-
ence on the eve of the fundraiser
- their appearance together was
an endorsement of Hastert when
nearly half the country says he
should resign.
Their long-scheduled fund-
raiser was sponsored by Hastert
and came n the same day that tse
IHouise Ethics Committee ques-
tioned ex-Rep. Mark Foley's chief
of staff, Kirk Fordham, for five
hours. Fordham has said he took
complaints about Foley's conduct
to I hastert's top aide three or four
years ago.
Hastert's office has said it
learned of Foley's conduct only
last fall, and the speaker has said
he first was notified in late Sep-
tember this year.
Bush defended him, without
mentioning the Foley case.
"Speaker Ienny Hastert has a
long record of accomplishment,"
Bush said. "He's not one of these
Washington politicians who spews
a lot of hot air. He just gets thejob
done"
NEWV YORK (Al') - Novelist
Orhan Pamuk, an international sym-
bol of literary and social conscience,
whose poetic, melancholy journeys
into the soul of his native Turkey
have brought him the many blessings
and burdens of public life, won the
Nobel literature prize yesterday.
Pamnnuk, a fellow at Columbia
University, told The Associated
Press in a telephone interview that
he was overjoyed by the award and
accepted it not just as "a personal
honor, but as an honor bestowed
upon the Turkish literature and cul-
ture I represent."
The author did have one com-
plaint: The Swedish Academy
announced the prize at 7 a.m.
"They clled and woke ine up,
so I was a bit sleepy," said the 54-
year-old PaIuk, adding that lie had
no immediate plans to celebrate,
but looked forward to being with
friends back i sTtukey.
The selection of Pamuk, whose
recent trial for "insulting Turkish-
ness" made headlines vorldwide,
continues a trend among Nobel judg
es of picking writers in confict with
their own governments. British play-
wright I'larold Pinter, a blunt oppo-
nent of his country's involvement in
the Iraq war, ton last year. Elfriede
Jelinek, a longtime critic of Austria's
conservative politicians and social
class, was the 2004 winner.
Pamuk, whose novels include
"Snow" and "My Name Is Red;"
was charged last year for telling
a Swiss newspaper in February
2005 that Turkey was unwilling to
deal with two of the most painful
episodes in recent Turkish history:
the massacre of Armenians during
World War I, which Turkey insists
was not a planned genocide, and
recent guerrilla fighting in Turkey's
overwhelmingly Kurdish southeast.
"Thirty-thousand Kurds and 1
million Armenians were killed in
these lands, and nobody but me
dares to talk about it,' he said in the
interview.
The controversy came at a par-
ticularly sensitive time for the
overwhelmingly Muslim country.
Turkey had recently begun mem-
bership talks with the European
Union, which harshly criticized the
trial. The charges against Pamuk
were dropped in January.
"I think that Orhan Pamuk was a
splendid choice for the Nobel Prize,
not only for the evident literary merit
of his work, but because of his cou-
rageous defiance of political pieties
in Turkey," historian Ron Chernow,
president of the PEN American Cen-
ter,the U.S. chapter of the internation-
al writers-human rights organization,
said in an e-mail to the AP.