The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
BEIRUT, Lebanon
Protesters aim to
topple Lebanese
government
Hezbollah-led protesters burned
tires and cars and clashed with
government supporters yesterday,
paralyzing Beirut and areas across
Lebanon in the worst violence yet
in the pro-Iranian group's cam-
paign to topple U.S.-backed Prime
Minister Fuad Saniora.
At least three people were killed
and dozens injured as the two
camps battled each other around
streetbarricades with stone-throw-
ing and in some cases gunfire. Black
smoke poured into the sky over Bei-
rut from burning roadblocks.
The fighting quickly took on a
dangerous sectarian tone in a coun-
try whose divided communities
fought a bloody 1975-1990 civil war.
Gunmen from neighboring districts
in the northern city of Tripoli - one
largely Sunni Muslim, the other
largely Alawites, a Shiite Muslim
offshoot - fought each other, caus-
ing two of the fatalities.
WASHINGTON
Lawyer: White
House tried to sac-
rifice Libby
White House officials tried to sac-
rifice vice presidential aide . Lewis
"Scooter" Libby to protect strategist
Karl Rove from blame for leaking a
CIA operative's identity during a
political storm over the Iraq war,
Libby's lawyer said yesterday.
After Libby complained "they
want me to be the sacrificial lamb,"
Vice President Dick Cheney per-
sonally intervened to get the White
House press secretary to publicly
clear Libby in the leak, defense
attorney Theodore Wells said in
his opening statement at Libby's
perjury trial.
The new details of behind-the-
scenes conflict at top levels of the
Bush White House, along with some
previously unseen blunt language
from Cheney, were the high points
of a dramatic day in which the pros-
ecutor and the defense dueled in
multimedia statements to the jury.
JERUSALEM
Israeli president
faces rape charges
Israeli President Moshe Kat-
sav faced indictment yesterday on
charges of rape and abuse of power
in the most serious accusation
against a top Israeli official in the
country's history.
The allegation that Katsav used
his position as Israel's ceremonial
head of state - a job supposed to
serve as the nation's moral compass
- to force himself on.his female
employees has left the nation reel-
ing.
Katsav gave no indication he was
preparing to step down, despite a
wave of demands that he quit.
SANTA ANA, Calif.
Illegal immigrants
arrested in raid
Federal officials said yesterday
they arrested more than 750 illegal
immigrants over the past week in
the Los Angeles metropolitan area
in what they described as one of the
biggest such sweeps in U.S. history.
The week-long series of raids in
the five-county region targeted ille-
gal immigrants who had previously
been deported for crimes or had
* ignored final deportation orders.
The raids netted 338 illegal
immigrants who were arrested at
their homes and apartments and
423 who wereidentified inareajails
since Jan. 17. Those already jailed
will be transferred to federal cus-
tody when they finish serving their
state sentences, said Virginia Kice,
spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement.
- Compiled from
Daily wire reports
GREEKS
From page IA
Greek system.
IFC representatives said the
addition of two newly admitted
fraternities, Delta Tau Delta and
Sigma Pi and a lengthened bidding
period, contributed to the growth
of this fall's pledge class.
This fall, the IFC implemented
a two-week dry period during for-
mal rush during which alcohol was
banned. The IFC adopted a dry
rush rule last December, hoping to
de-emphasize.the role of alcohol in
fraternity life.
"It kind of mandates a sober
environment where rushees can
really talk to frat members and not
see them from a distanced view that
one may see in a party setting," said
IFC spokesman Evan Waters.
The new rules prohibit fraterni-
ties from servingalcohol duringfor-
mal rush hours and during events
outside those hours where there
are more than 25 women present
during the two weeks. However,
the IFC does not have jurisdiction
over informal gatherings where
drinking may occur.
"As far as brother/rushee drink-
ing concerned, the only way the
IFC condoning that would be when
it's out of our jurisdiction," Waters
said. "That would be if some unaf-
filiated house would decide to
throw some kind of event."
The prohibition on alcohol dur-
ing rush drew a few complaints but
was not a primary concern of rush-
ees, according to an IFC survey on
how to improve the rush process.
The survey showed that most
rushees suggested better advertis-
ing and pushing the rush process
back further in the year. Only a
handful called for alcohol to be re-
introduced into the process.
Waters emphasized that calls for
reintroducing alcohol to the rush
process are not representative of
the IFC's philosophy.
"I really hope that this dry rush
period demonstrates to rushees that
theGreekcommunityisnotpredicat-
ed on drinking or having outrageous
parties," Waters said. "It's about
meeting quality men and women."
LSA freshman Ari Goldstein,
who rushed and joined Chi Psi this
fall, agreed with the message.
"Having it dry absolutely makes
it a much better process," he said.
Waters said that a non-alcoholic
environment is more conducive to
forming accurate impressions of
potential housemates.
"To that end, frat members are
able to dispel a lot of the rumors
and preconceived notions that
freshmen will have in their mind
when they arrive on campus,"
Waters said.
CAMPUS REACTION
From page 1A
al security and praised those
who dedicate their lives to the war
on terror.
But Rob Scott, chair of the Uni-
versity's chapter of the College
Republicans, said the situation in
Iraq is very different than it was
three years ago, and that the presi-
dent did well to make that argu-
ment.
"I thought he did an excellent job
framing the argumentthatthis is an
entirely different situation than the
situation that we initially took on,"
Scott said.
Bush also proposed dramatic
changes to the nation's tax laws in an
effottoexpandhealthcarecoverage.
Health Management and Policy
Prof. Catherine McLaughlin said
making health care affordable is the
most pressing need in health policy.
"Whether public, private or a
blend of public and private cov-
erage is secondary," McLaughlin
said. "I think several different
approaches deserve consideration,
but we've never had a federal com-
mitment, in writing, to making
this work."
CONSPIRACY
From page 1A
sial beliefs of the speakers, Uni-
versity administrators stressed
the importance of free speech on
campus.
Susan Wilson, director of the
office of Student Activities and
Leadership, said the University
would not refuse to rent out a room
to a group based solely on its beliefs.
"The University places great
importance on the right of freedom
of speech and exchange of ideas,"
she said.
Rob Scott, chair of the Universi-
ty's chapter of the College Repub-
licans, said his group would not
protest the event. '
"I would be more likely to attend
the event and ask questions," Scott
said. "I believe in free speech."
LSA senior Alex Smith, founder
of Anti-war Action, a student group
opposed to the war in Iraq, ques-
tioned the beliefs of Sept. 11 con-
spiracy theorists.
"An extraordinary claimrequires
extraordinary evidence, and I'm
curious to see that evidence," Smith
said.
Fetzer emphasized that the
group's views are met more with
interest than anger. He said the
angry e-mails and hate phone calls
haven't deterred him from his
cause.
"This is either important enough
to do or it isn't, and I determined a
long time ago that it is," Fetzer said.
"I knew that my reputation would
be laid on the line."
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800 million
The amount, in dollars, that will
be lost by businesses during the
week before Super Bowl Sunday
as estimated by a consulting firm.
The losses stem from a decrease
in productivity caused by an
additional 10 minutes per day the
average employee will spend dis-
cussing and betting on the game,
The Associated Press reported.
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