The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Friday, January 11, 2008 - 3


The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, January 11, 2008 - 3

NEWS BRIEFS
ZAMBARANIYAH, Iraq
r U.S.launches air
strike against al-
Qaida insurgents
U.S. warplanes unleashed one
of the most intense airstrikes of
the Iraq war yesterday, dropping
40,000 pounds of explosives in a
thunderous 10-minute onslaught
on suspected al-Qaida in Iraq safe
havens in Sunni farmlands south of
Baghdad.
The mighty barrage - recalling
the Pentagon's "shock and awe"
raids during the 2003 invasion -
appeared to mark a significant esca-
lation in a countrywide offensive
launched this week to try to cripple
remaining insurgent strongholds.
But it also fits into the endgame
strategy of last year's U.S. troop
buildup, which seeks to regain
control of Baghdad and surround-
ing areas as a buffer zone for the
I capital. U.S. commanders are now
attempting to subdue the last insur-
gent footholds around Baghdad
before the Pentagon faces a possible
reduction in troop strength.
JERUSALEM
Bush: Mideast
peace can be
reached in a year
President Bush called for a halt
to Israel's military occupation of
land the Palestinians claim for a
state and an end to the terrorist
threat over the Jewish homeland,
spelling out the U.S. bottom line
yesterday for ending the long and
bloody Mideast conflict.
"Nowisthe timeto make difficult
choices," Bush said. An agreement
will require "painful concessions"
by both sides, Bush said, but he pre-
dicted one could be reached within
a year, putting himself more firmly
on the line than ever for an achieve-
ment considered unlikely by many
experts.
The White House said Bush
would returntothe Mideastatleast
once and possibly more this year,
including another stop in Israel for
its 60th anniversary celebrations in
May.
LAHORE, Pakistan
Suicide bomber
kills 24, injures
dozens in court
 A suspected Islamic militant
walked into a crowd ofpoliceguard-
ing a courthouse and blew himself
up yesterday, killing 24 others and
wounding dozens in the first major
attack in Pakistan since the assas-
sination of Benazir Bhutto.
The blast at Lahore High Court,
minutes before a planned anti-
government rally by lawyers, was
a bloody reminder of the security
threats facing this key U.S. ally
ahead of Feb. 18 parliamentary
elections.
Echoing an extremist tactic in
Iraq, suicide attacks have become
as commonplace in Pakistan as in
neighboring Afghanistan, adding

to rising pressures on President
Pervez Musharraf as he struggles
to stay in office eight years after
seizing power in military coup.
CHARLESTON, S.C.

Primary voters
switch parties

FRIEZE FRAME

Consult finds an
equal number of
absentee voters
change allegiance
LANSING. (AP) - A check
of absentee ballots shows just
as many Republicans as Demo-
crats are crossing over to vote in
the other party's primary, even
though only a handful of candi-
dates are on the Democratic bal-
lot, according to an East Lansing
political consultant.
Mark Grebner, a Democrat
who compiles voter lists and has
an eye for finding voting patterns
among the data, discerned the
crossover numbers after examin-
ing the names of voters who have
submitted 220,000 absentee bal-
lot applications before Tuesday's
presidential primary.
Grebner, who heads Practical
Political Consulting, said he has
found that about 15 percent of
the absentee voters in each party
have chosen the other party's
ballot.
He said it's not surprising
Democrats would make the
switch since the Democratic
field includes only one serious.
contender: Hillary Rodham Clin-
ton. Barack Obama and John
Edwards have taken their names
off the ballot because Michigan
broke party rules by moving up
its primary.
The GOP race, however, is

expected to be a hotly fought con-
test between native Michiganian
Mitt Romney, Arizona Sen. John
McCain and former Arkansas
Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Grebner said the only reason
that explains why likely Republi-
can absentee voters have chosen
to vote in the truncated Demo-
cratic election is because they're
disappointed with their party.
"There is a noticeable tendency
by people who have been previ-
ously identified as Republicans
to go walk out of their party,"
he said. "There shouldn't be any
crossover at all because they've
got an interesting primary and
we've got a stupid one."
A spokesman for the Michigan
Republican Party was skepti-
cal that Republican voters were
choosing Democratic ballots.
"That's just a bunch of bunk,"
Bill Nowling said. "They keep try-
ing to spin that."
Instead, Nowling said, people
identified by Grebner as crossing
sides are likely to be indepen-
dents. In primaries, it's hard to
get Republicans or Democrats to
switch unless there is a concerted
effort - which Nowling said there
hasn't been.
In 2000, underdog John
McCain beat eventual nominee
George W. Bush partly because
Democrats were encouraged to
cross over to vote in the GOP
primary as a way to punish then-
Gov. John Engler, a Bush backer.
Democrats held their presidential
caucus on a different day.

The facade of the Frieze building stands in the center of the North Quad construction site yesterday. This wall, which is all that
remains of the building, will be incorporated into North Quad. The new dorm is scheduled to open in the fall of 2010.
Students consider alternatives

OPTIONS From Page 1
Cleary said. "And I know I have
more people that want to go, like
my parents and grandparents and
my brother and all."
If the ceremony were held at
CrislerArena, the Universitywould
have the option ofusing nearby Hill
Auditorium as an overflow seating
venue, said Sue Eklund, associate
vice president for student affairs.
Eklund said a video feed of com-
mencement could be provided at
Hill Auditorium for additional
guests to watch the ceremony.
LSA senior Eric Portenga said
his extended family would be will-
ing to watch commencement from
an overflow if it ensured that his
graduation ceremony remained on
campus.
"They said, 'Look, this is your
day, and we're fine with having

closed-circuit television at Hill
or other locations on campus,' "
Portenga said.
Holding the ceremony at Crisler
could create accessibility problems,
though, because Crisler contains
far fewer wheelchair-accessible
seats than Rynearson Stadium.
Rynearson Stadium, which has
a total capacity of 30,200, con-
tains 177 handicap-accessible seats,
according to the Eastern Michigan
Athletics Department. Crisler has
just 18 wheelchair-accessible seats,
said Rob Rademacher, an assistant
athletic director.
Students have also proposed
other locations on campus for com-
mencement, including the Diag and
Palmer Field, both of which are
outdoor sites.
LSA senior Eric Victorson, cre-
ator of the Facebook group "Mich-
igan's Graduation is meant to be at

the BIG HOUSE" - which included
almost 3,000 members as of last
night - said students he'd talked to
suggested holding commencement
in the Diag.
Victorson proposed placing the
speaker's podium on the front
steps of Harlan Hatcher Gradu-
ate Library, with rows of seating
extending back to North Univer-
sity Avenue and even onto Ingalls
Mall if necessary. He suggested
placing speakers throughout the
Diag to amplify the commence-
ment proceedings.
More than anything, Victorson
said, he wants commencement held
somewhere on campus, whether
inside or outside.
"I'm sure there's a creative way
to make a maize-and-blue gradua-
tion happen somewhere on campus,
whether that's Crisler, the Diag or
even the Big House," he said.

Tata unveils world's
cheapest car

Sub-compact car
will sell for about
$2,500
NEW DELHI (AP) - For mil-
lions of people in the developing
world, Tata Motors' new $2,500
four-door subcompact - the
world's cheapest car - may yield
a transportation revolution as big
as Henry Ford's Model T.
The potential impact of Tata's
Nano has given environmental-
ists nightmares, with visions of
the tiny cars clogging India's
already-choked roads and collec-
tively spewing millions of tons of
carbon dioxide into the air.
Industry analysts, however, say
the car may soon deliver to India
and the rest of the developing
world unprecedented mobility.
"It is a potentially gigantic
development if it delivers what
has been promised," said John
Casesa, managing partner for
the Casesa Shapiro Group, a New
York-based auto industry finan-
cial advisory firm.
"I think there is immense
unmet demand for a vehicle of
this type, because it effectively

eliminates the great leap cur-
rently required to go from a two-
wheel to a four-wheel vehicle,"
Casesa said. "They are creating
something that has never existed
before, the utility of a car with the
affordability of a motorcycle."
The basic model, expected to
roll off assembly lines later this
year, will sell for 100,000 rupees,
or about $2,500, but analysts esti-
mate customers could pay 20 per-
cent to 30 percent more to cover
taxes, delivery and other charges.
Company chairman Ratan
Tata, who introduced the new car
at India's main auto show, has long
promised a $2,500 "People's Car"
for India - a country of some 1.1
billion where only seven of every
1,000 people own a car.
That vow has been much-
derided by the global industry
which said it would be impos-
sible without sacrificing safety
and quality.
"A promise is a promise," Tata
told the crowd after driving
onstage stage in a white, luxury
edition Nano, his head nearly
touching the roof. Four company
executives emerged from anoth-
er. Tata says the Nano can seat
five.

Some EMU students call 'U' seniors'
response arrogant, offensive

REACTION From Page 1
Other students at Eastern Mich-
igan feel more sympathy for Michi-
gan students and the prospect of
receiving their diploma at another
school.
Eastern Michigan sophomore
Jessica Enright said it's no surprise
that University students are disap-
pointed that there's a chance they
won't be able to graduate on their
own campus.
"I felt bad for Michigan stu-
dents," Enright said. "I'd expect
our graduation to be on our cam-
pus, not theirs."
Doug Dowdy, Eastern Michi-
gan's assistant athletic director,
said the college's athletics depart-
ment would do everything it could
to help the University hold a suc-
cessful ceremony.

But Dowdy said he is not sure of
what that might entail.
"The University of Michigan
is our friend And our partner in
many endeavors," Dowdy said.
"When they call with a request for
help, we want to help them in any
possible way we can. We want to
help them make this facility the
very best that it can be for this
event."
LSA senior Eric Victorson said
he appreciates Eastern Michigan's
hospitality but thinks the Uni-
versity of Michigan should hold
commencement at a facility on
campus.
"We have nothing against East-
ern Michigan University," Vic-
torson said. "We just feel like we
should be able to graduate on our
own campus."
In an interview on Tuesday,
Royster Harper, the University's

vice president for student affairs,
said the University planned to work
with Eastern Michigan officials
to "create a more 'maize and blue'
feel" inside Rynearson Stadium for
the ceremony.
Enright, who works as an assis-
tant in the administration office
at Eastern Michigan, said Eastern
Michigan officials would do their
best to facilitate graduates.
"It's not the best stadium in the
world," Enright said. "But they're
going to do their best to make it
great."
Michigan students said they
were skeptical about the plans.
LSA senior Eric Portenga said
he doesn't think the ceremony will
carry as much significance as it
would in the Big House.
"They can't make their stadium
exude pride like Michigan Stadium
does," Portenga said.


Mother c
Police believe 4 girls
have been dead
since September

Kerry backs Ubama
for White House

John Kerry, the 2004 Demo-
cratic presidential nominee, gave WASHINGTON (AP) - A moth-
Barack Obama a timely endorse- er found in her home.with the
ment Thursday, snubbing Hillary decomposing bodies of four girls
Rodham Clinton as well as his own was charged yesterday with mur-
vice presidential running mate. der after reportedly telling inves-
Kerry came to South Carolina tigators that the children were
to embrace Obama, two weeks possessed by demons and died in
before the state's primary and with their sleep.
Obama needing a boost after Clin- Banita Jacks, 33, was charged
ton's emotional victory over him in with felony murder and appeared in
New Hampshire. District ofColumbia Superior Court.
Quoting a black American hero She told police that the deaths
in endorsing the man who hopes to occurred before a utility turned off
be the first black president, Kerry
told a cheering crowd, "Martin
Luther King said that the time is
always right to do what is right."
- Compiled from l
Daily wire reports
U.S. DATHS ARAcK
.; B
3,921
PRESIDENT
Number of American service mem- 2 0 o a
bers who have died in the war in ORDER POLITICAL
Iraq, according to The Associated T-SHIRTS ONLINE
Press. No new U.S. casualties were AdriansTShitcom
reported yesterday.

arged with murder
her electricity, which prosecutors sentence of life in prison if con-
said was in September 2007, accord- victed.
ingtochargingdocuments. Jacks appeared in court in a
The bodies of the girls - ages 5 white jump suit, and court was
to 17 and believed to all be Jacks' recessed briefly before a judge
daughters - were found Wednesday could rule on her detention.
when deputy U.S. marshals served Her attorney argued that she
an eviction notice at the apartment should be released to the custody
insoutheastWashington. of an adult relative pending trial.
"I don't think anyone in the city Prosecutors argued that she should
can remember a case involving this be held without bond.
many young people who have died The charging documents iden-
in such a tragic way," Mayor Adri- tify the children as Brittany Jacks,
an M. Fenty said. 17; Tatiana Jacks, 11; N'kia Fogle, 6;
Jacks told investigators that and Aja Fogle, 5.
the children were possessed by Although autopsies are incom-
demons and began dying in their plete, the medical examiner's office
sleep, one by one, within a seven- reported that there was evidence
day period, documents say. that Brittany had been stabbed, the
She could receive a maximum charging documents state.

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