The Michigan Daily - michigancailymcom Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 3A NEWS BRIEFS ANNAPOLIS, Md. Palestinian, Israeli leaders vowjump start to peace talks Sealing their pledge with an awkward handshake, Israeli and Palestinian leaders resolved yes- terday to immediately restart mori- bund peace talks. President Bush said he will devote himself to end- ing the six-decade conflict in the 14 months he has left in office. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Presi- dent Mahmoud Abbas, troubled leaders with fragile mandates for peace, told international backers and skeptical Arab neighbors that they are ready for hard bargaining toward an independent Palestin- ian homeland, a deal that has long eluded Mideast leaders and Ameri- can presidents. ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Musharraf to quit as chief of Pakistan's army Pervez Musharraf will retire as chief of Pakistan's army at mid- week, his aides announced Monday as the embattled leader grappled with a political scene roiled by the return of an exiled former prime minister in time for crucial Janu- ary elections. Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted by the 1999 coup that put Musharraf in power, quickly registered Mon- day to run in the election although he didn't drop his call for a boycott that could undermine the ballot's legitimacy. Sharif appealed for support from Pakistanis unhappy with Musharraf's U.S. alliance, portray- ing himself as a politician who kept himself at arms length from Washington in contrast to the U.S.- friendly stance of the president and the other key opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto. TEHRAN, Iran Iran's military claims it has new weapon Iran's military said Tuesday it has manufactured a new mis- sile with a range of 1,200 miles capable of reaching Israel and U.S. bases across the Mideast, the official news agency IRNA reported. The defense minister, Gen. Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, did not say whether Iran had test fired the Ashoura or had plans to do so, according to the IRNA report. The name means "the tenth day" in Farsi, a sacred reference among Shiite Muslims to the martyrdom of Islam's third imam. Iran already had reported improvements in a previous missile that would give it the same range as the Ashoura, and Najjar did not elaborate about whether there are any differences between the two weapons. VILLIERS-LE-BEL, France Youth riots continue in French suburbs Youths rampaged for a third night in the tough suburbs north of Paris and violence spread to a southern city late Tuesday as police struggled to contain rioters who have burned cars and buildings and - in an ominous turn - shot at offi- cers. A senior police union official warned that "urban guerrillas" had joined the unrest, saying the vio- lence was worse than during three weeks of rioting that raged around French cities in 2005, when fire- arms were rarely used. Bands of young people set more cars on fire in and around Villiers-le-Bel, the Paris suburb where the latest trouble first erupted, and 22 youths were taken into custody, the regional government said. - Compiled from Daily wire reports U,.S. DEA 5 3,878 Number of American service mem- bers who have died in the war in Iraq, according to The Associated Press. No service members killed in Iraq were identified yesterday Muslim girls turn to Scouts to fitin MSA President Zack Yost apologized to MSA Rep. Tim Hull last night for creat- ing a Facebook.com group with the description "I'll give that kid a fucking dis- ahility he can write home soabout ihekeeps sending these code amendments to everyone." Hall hss Aspergers syndrome. FACEBOOK From Page 1A changes to the assembly's Com- piled Code since he was elected. These proposals are often met with strong opposition from other MSA members. Currentlythe private Facebook group has only two members, Baker and Yost, Baker said. At one time, the group had more mem- bers, including current MSA rep- resentatives, both Yost and Baker said. Neither student would name any other members ofthe group or say how manythere were. Hull, who found out about the group from Baker just before last night's meeting, said he was disappointed in the assembly, saying it "put on a happy public face, and stabbed me in the back behind closed doors." "I used to think that this assembly was accepting of me," he said. After the meeting, Hull said Yost should resign his post as president of MSA. "Zack and any other executive involved in that group needs to resign, period," he said. In March 2006, then-MSA Rep. Ari Liner had to resign after he sent an offensive e-mail to a student and the student's mother. Baker, who has been a mem- ber of the Facebook group since it was created, said he waited to speak up until now because he forgot he was in the group. Many representatives last night questioned his choice to wait on making the information public until the meeting before student government elections. Baker is planning on starting a new student government party next semester. Although several MSA repre- sentatives said they were upset ELECTION From Page1A tee,which oversees the assembly's funding of student groups. Last year's DAAP presidential candidate, LSA junior Maricruz Lopez, and vice presidential can- didate, LSA senior Sarah Bar- nard, are both running for LSA seats on MSA. LSA-SG and MSA president and vice president are elected in the spring election. MAP candidates are run- ning unopposed in some schools - accounting for all the candi- dates in schools like the College of Engineering and Ross School of Business. But races for seats representing some of the smaller programs, especially graduate programs like Rackham and the School of Information, are being contested largely by indepen- dents and DAAP candidates. MAP is an umbrella party without an official ideology. Many of the candidates have advertised platforms that are similar to many MAP candidates in last year's elections, as well as echoing a few things from the previously dominant Students 4 Michigan. These include things .like expanding Entree Plus, longer library hours and more money for student groups. The new MSA intern program, created this semester to famil- iarize new students with the ins and outs of the assembly, yielded a single candidate: freshman Joe Marshall, a candidate for an LSA representative seat. Earlier this semester,there was a debateoversemanticsintheassem- by Yost's involvement in the Facebook group, a few attacked Baker for the decision to bring it up at the meeting and for being a member of it. "I think it's hypocritical," MSA Rep. Stella Binkevich said during the meeting. She said that the Tuesdaynight MSA meetings aren't the place to air these concerns, and that they should be discussed in private. "That's not what we gather here to do," she said. MSA Rep. Randal Seriguchi echoed Binkevich's sentiments. "A public forum is never the place to bring a secret group or a personal problem," he said. Later in the meeting, Yost admitted he had created the group and apologized for it. He called the group a "crass, inap- propriate joke." "Tim, I'msorry,"Yostsaid dur- ing the meeting. "I don't know what to say. I'm an asshole." Yost said after the meeting that he was concerned that Bak- er's disclosure of the group may have been motivated by political reasons, specifically by the loom- ing new party. Early this morning, Hull criti- cized Baker for only telling him of his plans to reveal the group half an hour before the meeting and for exploiting the situation for his own political gain. "I think Zack should resign, but I think (Baker) should resign even moreso," Hull said. After the meeting, Yost for- warded a December 2006 Gmail chat to The Michigan Daily in which Baker wrote to Yost "YOU ARE MY HERO" about the new Facebook group. Yost also forwarded an e-mail to the Daily that had been sent to him by Baker last year, in which Baker asked to run as vice presi- dent alongside Yost with the Michigan Action Party. bly aboutcwhetherthe undergradu- ate Public Policy School should receive a seatin the election. The conflictcover the seat led to the election date being changed twice, while the assembly tried to figure outchow to deal with the issue. The school did end up receiv- ing a seat, for which only current MSA Rep. Max Lebow- itz-Nowak, a junior in MAP, is running. Lebowitz-Nowak was one of the more vocal members of the assembly in calling for a Public Policy seat. He's currently an LSA representative. He was a student in the school until this semester, when he transferred to public policy. The constant shuffling and lack of a solid election date could have led to the relatively quiet election period, said MAP Chair Alex Blouin, an LSA junior. "This is one of the most inter- esting (elections) because the election date changed twice," he said. "People don't know as much about the election than others." DAAP's slate, especially in LSA, is considerably larger than in the past few years. Lopez, who also acts as party chair, attributed her party's fielding of more candidates than in the past to increased activism on campus. "It's definitely a reflection on campus - a reflection of the whole country," she said. "The entire country is becoming more andmore politicized overthe last couple years because of things like the immigrant rights move- ment and because of things like the varied attacks on affirmative action." Girl Scout troops formed to help overcome cultural differences By NEIL MACFARQUHAR The New York Times MINNEAPOLIS - Sometimes when Asma Haidara, a 12-year- old Somali immigrant, wants to shop at Target or ride the Min- neapolis light-rail system, she puts her Girl Scout sash over her everyday clothes, which usually includes a long skirt worn over pants as well as a swirling head scarf. She has discovered that the trademark green sash - with its American flag, troop number (3009) and colorful merit badges - reduces the number of glower- ing looks she draws from people otherwise bothered by her tradi- tional Muslim dress. "When you say you are a Girl Scout, they say, 'Oh, my daugh- ter is a Girl Scout, too,' and then they don't think of you as a person from another planet," said Asma, a slight, serious girl with a bright smile. "They are more comfort- able about sitting next to me on the train." Scattered Muslim communi- ties across the United States are forming Girl Scout troops as a sort of assimilation tool to help girls who often feel alienated from the mainstream culture, and to give Muslims a neigh- borly aura. Boy Scout troops are organized with the same inspira- tion, but often the leap for girls is greater because many come from conservative cultures that frown upon their participating in public physical activity. By teaching girls to roast hot dogs or fix a flat bicycle tire, Farheen Hakeem, one troop leader here, strives to help them escape the perception of many non-Muslims that they are dif- ferent. Scouting is a way of celebrating being American without being any less Muslim, Hakeem said. "I don't want them to see themselves as Muslim girls doing this 'Look at us, we are trying to be American,"' she said. "No, no, no, they are American. It is not an issue of trying." The exact number of Muslim Girl Scouts is unknown, espe- cially since, organizers say, most Muslim Scouts belong to pre- dominantly non-Muslim troops. Minneapolis is something of an exception, because a few years ago the Girl Scout Council here surveyed its shrinking enrollment and established special outreach coordinators for various minori- ties. Some 280 Muslim girls have joined about 11 predominantly Muslim troops here, said Hodan Farah, who until September was the coordinator for the Islamic community. Nationally, the Boy Scouts of America count about 1,500 youths in 100 clubs of either Boy Scouts or Cub Scouts sponsored by Islamic organizations, said Gregg Shields, a spokesman for the organization. The Girl Scouts' national orga- nization, Girl Scouts of the USA has become flexible in recent years about the old trappings associated with suburban white, middle-class, Christian scouting. Many troops have jettisoned tra- ditions like saying grace before dinner at camp, and even the Girl Scout Promise can be retooled as needed. "On my honor I will try to serve Allah and my country, to help people and live by the Girl Scout law," eight girls from pre- dominantly Muslim Troop 3119 in Minneapolis recited on one recent rainy Sunday before set- ting off for a cookout in a local park. Some differences were readily apparent, of course. At the cook- out, Hakeem, a former Green Party candidate for mayor, nego- tiated briefly with one sixth- grader, Asha Gardaad, who was fasting for the holy month of Ramadan. "If you break your fast, will your mother get mad at me?" Hakeem asked. Asha shook her head emphatically no. The troop leader distributed supplies: hot dogs followed by s'mores for dessert. All was hal- lal - that is, in adherence to the dietary requirements of Islanic law - with the hot dogs made of beef rather than pork. It was Asha's first s'more. "It's delicious!" she exclaimed, licking sticky goop off her fin- gers as thunder crashed outside the park shelter with its roaring fire. "It's a good way to break my fast!" All in all, scouting gives the girls a rare sense of belonging, troop leaders and members say. "It is kind of cool to say that you are a Girl Scout," Asma said. "It is good to have something to associate yourself with other Americans. I don't want people to think that I am a hermit, that I live in a cave, isolated and afraid of change. I like to be part of soci- ety. I like being able to say that I am a Girl Scout just like any other normal girl." ACLU slams Central's taping rules Group calls video restrictions unconstitutional LANSING (AP) - The American Civil Liberties Union wants Central Michigan University to end its poli- cy barring a student from videotap- ing people on campus without their permission. The ACLU sent a letter to the school's president yesterday say- ing the videotaping restriction is unconstitutional. Outspoken conservative student Dennis Lennox has followed assis- tant professor Gary Peters around the campus with a video camera to pressure Peters to choose between his three-year teaching post and a congressional run. Peters, Michigan's former lot- tery commissioner, is seeking the Democratic nod to face Republican Congressman Joe Knollenberg in Oakland County. A spokesman for Central Michi- gan declined comment. AnnA ONLY hnit Al hts,18+s Doors a g P 5N 6 tyStet THURSDAYS DJ Hardy spins Top40. $2 Vodka Drinks and $2 Miller Lite unit 1!10 PM, $5 Coner. II FRIDAYS DJ Jace w/ high energy dance. DJ Mark & DJ John G keep it hot with pop & dance in the Red Room. $2 Long Islands until 11 PM, $1r Fishhowls eli night tong. ND caner before 10 PM. Guys with college ID FREE until11 PM. 21+ $5 cover 18-20 $8cover. 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