The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com NEWS BRIEFS BAGHDAD Saddam's half brother beheaded in double execution The Iraqi government's attempt yesterday to close a chapter on Sad- dam Hussein's repressive regime - by hanging two of his henchmen - only appeared to anger many of Saddam's fellow Sunni Muslims after the former leader's half broth- er was decapitated on the gallows. A thickset Barzan Ibrahim plunged through the trap door and was beheaded by the jerk of the thickbeige rope at the end ofhis fall, in the same the execution chamber where Saddam was hanged a little over two weeks earlier. A government video of the hang- ing, played at a briefing for report- ers, showed Ibrahim's body passing the camera in a blur. The body came to rest on its chest while the sev- ered head lay a few yards away, still wearing the black hood pulled on moments before by one of Ibrahim's five masked executioners. LONDON Judge says no to having jury in Princess Di case A judge in Britain ruled yester- day that she alone would determine what caused the deaths of Princess Diana and her boyfriend, rejecting arguments that a jury was the best way to ensure justice. In the ruling, Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss said a jury - unlike a judge - would be forbidden under British law from considering the conspiracy theories that have dogged the investigation into the Aug. 31, 1997, deaths of Diana and Dodi Fayed. "In particular, the jury would not be able to answer questions on alle- gations that aperson,group or orga- nization hadbeenguilty of criminal activities in respect of the death of the princess or Dodi," she said. DETROIT Environmentalists, state criticize manure spraying State regulators and environ- mental activists are criticizing operators of two dairy megafarms in southern Michigan for spraying manure-filled liquid waste in the air and piping it into fields in viola- tion of a court order. A spokeswoman for the family owned dairies, which have about 5,600 cows in all, says the waste disposal was an emergency mea- sure to keep multimillion-gallon waste lagoons from spilling. "It's a situation due to the very wet fall that we had," said Cecilia Conway, whose Dutch-born father co-founded Vreba-Hoff Dairy LLC. Waterlogged soil prevented opera- tors from spreading the manure in the fields before cold weather set in, she said. WASHINGTON Jury selection begins in politicized CIA leak case Potential jurors in the perjury trial of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby likely will be asked their opinions of the Bush administration, political scandals and the Iraq war today, foreshadow- ing the political tenor of a lengthy trial. Libbyis accused oflyingto inves- tigators about his conversations with reporters regarding outed CIA officer Valerie Plame. Plame's iden- tity was leaked to reporters in 2003 after her husband criticized the Bush administration's prewar intel- ligence on Iraq. The leak set off a political fire- storm and an FBI investigation that Libby is accused of obstructing. - Compiled from Daily wire reports 7,000 A COLD WAR PROTEST ,/ w Tuesday, January 16, 2007 - 3A U.S. sets up summit for Israeli-Palistinian peace First talks in six years aim0to form Palestinian state LUXOR, Egypt (AP) - Hoping to breathe life into moribund peace efforts, the United States will gath- er Israeli and Palestinian leaders to discuss an eventual independent Palestinian state, President Bush's top diplomat said yesterday. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also asked Arab allies to help support the fragile government in Iraq, on whose success much of Bush's new plan to turn the war around will depend. The three-way U.S.-Israeli-Pal- estinian meeting would be the first among the main parties thought necessary to draft any settlement in the six-decade-long dispute. It represents more direct involvement from a U.S. administration that has sometimes viewed Mideast peace- making asa fool's errand. "The parties haven't talked about these issues for a long time," Rice told reporters following a meet- ing with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in this southern Egyptian town following a three-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territo- ries. "It's been at least six years since they talked about these issues," Rice said. "It seems wise to begin this ... informal discussion, to just really sit and talk about the issues."Diplomats described a pre- liminary session meant to build confidence after years of fighting and rhetorical sniping. It is designed to strengthen Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his internal power strug- gle with Palestinian Islamic mili- tants and to offer Palestinians a glimpse of their future that makes negotiating with Israel seem worthwhile. Instead of talking about the daily frictions and threats that define the deeply mistrustful Israeli-Palestinian relationship, an informal session could look ahead to what Rice has called broader issues, and certainly more attrac- tive ones. U.S. officials said. "It's very clear what we mean by 'broader issues,"' Rice said. "We mean what would lead to the estab- lishment of a Palestinian state." Recent prospects for Mideast peace have looked dim, with the Hamas radicals in charge of much of the Palestinian government, street clashes among the Palestin- ian factions, a Western aid cutoff and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's weakened political posi- tion following Israel's summer war in Lebanon. Abbas and Olmert agreed to attend the session, to be held in three or four weeks, during their separate weekend meetings with Rice, U.S. officials said. Rice would represent the United States, with the thought that Bush could par- ticipate at a future session if initial discussions go well. ALL15N 5HAMAN/Daily The Liberty Street Agitators, a group of Ann Arbor residents, protest the war in Iraq on Friday in front of the post office on Liberty Street. Nation marks first MLK Day without King's widow ATLANTA (AP) - The first Martin Luther King Jr. Day since the death of King's widow and chief keeper of his civil rights dream was marked yesterday with speeches, visits to the couple's tomb and the opening of a collec- tion of his papers, including a draft of his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. The legacy of Coretta Scott King loomed large over the 21st obser- vance of the King holiday at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King preached. "It is in her memory and her honor that we must carry this pro- gram on," said her sister in law, Christine King Farris. "This is as she would have it." Mayor Shirley Franklin urged the congregation not to pay trib- ute to King's message of peace and justice on his birthday and then contradict it the next. "Millions can't find jobs, have no health insurance and struggle to make ends meet, working mini- mum-wage jobs. What's goingon?" Franklin said, repeating a refrain from the soul music singer Marvin Gaye. As King condemned the war in Vietnam 40 years ago, Ebenezer's senior pastor, the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, denounced the war in Iraq. "The real danger is not that America may lose the war," War- nock said. "The real danger is that America may well lose its soul." Visitors also paid homage to the slain civil rights leader and his wife at their tomb, not far from the church. "They're together at last," said Daphne Johnson, who was bap- tized by King at Ebenezer. bG- W Do you experience a warning sign, such as numbness or visual disturbance, before a headache? If so, you may be eligible to participate in a research study evaluating an experimental nonmedicinal treatment during the aura phase of migraine. Qualified participants will receive study-related examinations, procedures and treatment at no cost and will be compensated for time and travel. For more information, call a research nurse at: Michigan Head-Pain & Neurological Institute 3120 Professional Drive " Ann Arbor, Ml (734) 677-6000, option 4 . www.mhni.com Storm batters Northeast after hammering Midwest ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) - A storm blamed for at least 36 deaths in six states spread into the North- east yesterday, coating trees, power lines and roads with a shell of ice up to a half-inch thick and knock- ing out power to more than half a million homes and businesses. Ice-covered roads cut into Mar- tin Luther King Jr. holiday obser- vances from Albany, N.Y., to Fort Worth and Austin, Texas, where officials also canceled Gov. Rick Perry's inauguration parade today because another round of ice was expected. The weight of the ice snapped tree limbs and took down power lines, knocking out electricity to about 135,000 customers in New York state and New Hampshire. Even in Maine, well-accustomed to winter, a layer of sleet and snow on roads shut down businesses, day care centers and schools. In hard-hit Missouri, the util- ity company Ameren said it would probably not have everyone's lights back on until tomorrow night. As of yesterday afternoon, about 312,000 homes and businesses still had no electricity. i ii r __ _ MIKE JUDGE & DON HERZTFELDT The Animation Show Boxset: Volumes 1& 2 -ON ONVDJAN. 16 - Personally programmed by Mike Judge (Beavis and Butt-Head, King of the Hill, Office Space) and Academy Award" nominee Don Hertzfeldt, the first two years of The Animation Show brought .together award-winning animators from all over the world on the big screen. DVD Boxset includes additional films not included on the tour. Each volume is also available separately at AnimationShow.com. NOT RATED Number of people who die each year because of doctors' sloppy handwriting, according to Time - - magazine. Most of the issues stem from illegible instructions and unclear dosage indications and abbreviations. A group of technol- ogy and health care companies are working to give electronic prescrip- tion technology to doctors. A A I 1t