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.