The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, September 30, 2009 - 7
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Wednesday, September 30, 2009 - 7
Suspect of NYC
terrorism plot
pleads not guilty
RE-SHAPING THE PAST
Official says planned
terror scheme 'has
been broken up'
NEW YORK (AP) - As a sus-
pected al-Qaida operative pleaded
not guilty yesterday to plotting a
bomb attack in New York, the city's
police commissioner pronounced
the threat neutralized and said
there is nothing to fear from the
defendant's three alleged accom-
plices.
The terror scheme "has been
broken up," said Police Commis-
sioner Raymond Kelly. "I see no
danger emanating ... from the peo-
ple involved in this investigation."
He would not elaborate, and
police and federal investigators
have repeatedly refused to discuss
the whereabouts of the three peo-
ple who are alleged to have helped
Afghan immigrant Najibullah Zazi
buy beauty supplies for use in brew-
ingup explosives.
But former federal prosecutor
Harry Sandick said the investiga-
tors' silence might mean the accom-
plices have left the country or are
already secretly cooperating.
"One would think they're in cus-
tody or likely to be in custody soon,"
Sandick said.
r Police also said there are no
extra security measures in place in
subways or elsewhere in New York
because of the alleged plot.
Zazi, 24, is the only suspect pub-
licly identified so far in what Assis-
tant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Knox
called a conspiracy that was "inter-
national in scope." Prosecutors said
Zazi received al-Qaida explosives
training in Pakistan last year and
may have intended to carry out his
attack on the anniversary of 9/11.
After his return to the U.S.,
authorities said, three people trav-
eled from New York City to subur-
ban Denver over the summer and
used stolen credit cards to help Zazi
buy products containing hydrogen
peroxide and acetone - common
ingredients for homemade bombs.
Authorities said the three returned
to New York at some point.
Zazi, heavily bearded and wear-
ingabluejailsmock,neverspoke and
showed no emotion as his lawyer
entered a not guilty pleato conspira-
cy in a Brooklyn courtroom guarded
by a team of deputy marshals. He
was ordered held without bail.
"You get the impression he's
a nice guy, don't you?" defense
attorney Michael Dowling said to
reporters afterward.
Dowling acknowledged that the
Denver airport shuttle driver visit-
ed Pakistan lastnyear and made pur-
chases earlier this year at a beauty
supply shop in Aurora, Colo. But he
added, "Those acts are not illegal"
and cautioned against a "rush to
judgment."
Asked about possible accomplic-
es, the lawyer said: "I don't know
the names of anybody else that
allegedly conspired with Mr. Zazi.
... Those names have not been pro-
duced."
Investigators said Zazi urgently
tried to mix up explosives in a Col-
orado hotel room in early Septem-
ber, and then drove to New York to
carry out an attack, perhaps on the
New York transit system.
The FBI was listening in and
becoming increasingly concerned
as the anniversary of the Sept.
11, 2001, attacks and a New York
visit by President Barack Obama
approached, officials said. On Sept.
10, investigators secretly searched
Zazi's rented vehicle in New York
and found a laptop computer with
bomb-making instructions, author-
ities said.
Zazi, fearing he was being
watched, flew back to Denver on
Sept. 12, authorities said. He was
arrested a week later.
Prosecutors said Tuesday that
the Zazi case involves classified
evidence, and that his lawyer and
other participants would have to
get security clearances to look at it.
Zazi's next court date was set for
Dec. 3.
MARISA MCCLAIN/Daily
Art & Design sophomore Hannah Hillier replicates a historical vessel in clay for her class on Tools, Materials and Processes yesterday in the Art & Design Building.
U.S.: No 'snap' decisions on Iran
Six-nation talks with
Iran to take place
Thurs. in Geneva
WASHINGTON (AP) - The
Obama administration, while
skeptical of an early breakthrough
in nuclear talks with Iran, indicat-
ed yesterday it does not intend to
swiftly press for stiffer economic
sanctions.
In advance of six-nation talks
with Iran on tomorrow in Geneva,
the State Department stressed its
hope that the session would open
the door to more in-depth dialogue
about ways Iran could alleviate
concerns that its emerging nuclear
program may be secretly develop-
ing nuclear weapons.
If Iran is willing to address the
nuclear issues, then there likely
will be subsequent meetings, State
Department spokesman P.J. Crow-
ley said.
"That process will take some
time," Crowley said. "We're not
going to make a snap judgment on
Thursday. We're going to see how
that meeting goes, evaluate the
willingness of Iran to engage on
these issues."
Crowley noted that President
Barack Obama has said he intends
to take a few months to assess
Iran's position and consult with
U.S. negotiating partners before
deciding what next steps to take.
In the meantime, the admin-
istration is already developing a
sanctions plan that could target
Iran's energy, financial and tele-
communications sectors if Iran
does not comply with international
demands to clarify its nuclear pro-
gram.
Sen. Christopher Dodd,
D-Conn., chairman of the Senate
banking committee, said yesterday
he will push legislation to expand
Obama's authority to sanction Iran,
with a focus on a range of financial
institutions and businesses. Dodd
said his bill also would extend U.S.
sanctions to oil and gas pipelines
and tankers.
Dodd said the proposed extra
sanctions could be imposed if
Iran does not respond to "our final
diplomatic effort in the coming
weeks." He said he has consulted
with administration officials about
sanctions possibilities and decided
that Iran's energy industry - a key
source of Iranian government rev-
enue - is particularly vulnerable.
Dodd said his bill will include
a set of incentives for countries to
tighten their export control sys-
tems to stop the illegal diversion
of sensitive technologies to coun-
tries like Iran, and to impose new
licensing requirements on those
who refuse to cooperate. The bill
also would impose a broad ban on
direct U.S. imports from Iran and
U.S. exports to Iran, with exemp-
tions for food and medicine.
Attending yesterday's meeting
will be representatives of the U.S.,
Russia, China, Britain, France and
Germany, as well as Iran. William
Burns, the undersecretary of state
for political affairs, will lead the
U.S. delegation. The talks will be
run by Javier Solana, the European
Union's foreign policy chief.
In what could be interpreted as a
gesture linked to the Geneva talks,
Iran on yesterday permitted Swiss
diplomats to visit three Ameri-
cans who have been detained at an
undisclosed location since crossing
into Iran from Iraq in late July.
ffN g 1 UFrom Pagel
Officials: Standis SUMMER CLASSES
could still house
Gitmo inmates
Northern Michigan
prison could hold up
to 600 inmates
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) -
Federal and state officials said Mon-
day that a state prison in Michigan
is still being considered to house
Guantanamo Bay inmates, but a
local congressman said Pentagon
officials told him it was no longer in
the running.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm's office
and Rep. Bart Stupak, whose dis-
trict includes the Standish Maxi-
mum Correctional Facility, said it
remained on the list of lockups to
which the 229 terrorism suspects
might be transferred.
"We've been talking continu-
ously to the White House and they
have let us know that no deci-
sions have been made," Granholm
spokeswoman Megan Brown said.
The governor's office was briefed
on the situation by Obama officials
Monday, Brown said.
AnObamaadministrationofficial
also said nothing had been decided
and "multiple options" were being
considered.
Rep. Peter Hoekstra, senior
MSA
From Page 1
RIDE-SHARING WEBSITE
PRESENTED TO MSA
SonyaSuter, astudentrepresenta-
tive from Zimride, a newlylaunched
ride-sharing website, explained the
goals of the website and its benefits
to University students.
. Zimride, which was launched
for college students in late July, al-
lows users to create a profile and
post their desired destinations. The
website will match passengers with
a driver going to the same destina-
tion or going through the passen-
ger's destination.
"Their goal is to branch out and
create social networks for ride-
sharing in various communities
across the country," Suter said.
The website makes it easier for
students to coordinate carpooling,
Republican on the House Intel-
ligence Committee, said Penta-
gon officials recently told him the
Standish prison was off the table.
But he said he was waiting for con-
firmation from the administration.
"I'm pretty confident in our
sources," Hoekstra told The Asso-
ciated Press. "But this is one where
before I declare victory, I want it in
black and white."
President Barack Obama has
pledged to close the U.S. military
prison in Cuba by January, but
administration officials acknowl-
edged lastweek the deadline might
not be met. Among issues still to
be resolved is where to send the
detainees.
Among possible locations are
the Standish prison, which has the
capacity to hold 600 inmates, and
the military penitentiary at Fort
Leavenworth, Kan., officials have
said.
Hoekstra, who is seeking the
GOP nomination for governornext
year, is an outspoken opponent of
closing the Guantanamo prison
and transferring its inmates to
U.S. soil.
"We spent hundreds of millions
of dollars building that place," he
said. "There's no reason to close it."
which can save money and is better
for the environment, Suter said.
Registration for the University of
Michigan network of the Zimride
website requires a University e-mail
address.
Zimride has partnered with the
Athletic Department to encourage
students to use the website to find
rides to away athletic events.
Suter emphasized that keeping
the ride connections within the
Michigan community helps ensure
the safety of its users. Users have
the option of hiding the exact ad-
dress of their destinations from oth-
ers as well.
Zimride is connected to Face-
book, allowing users to look for
mutual friends or just generally get
more information about someone
before agreeing to ride with them.
The company also has a partnership
with Zipcar, a national car-sharing
service through which users can
rent cars by the hour.
LSAsophomores Steven Colvin
and Brad and Jeff Lankowsky all
enrolled in spring term courses.
They all cited the ease of getting
required credits out of the way
for their majors during the spring
as the main reason they stayed
for the summer.
Colvin and Masotta both noted
they did not see the advertise-
ments for new spring and sum-
mer term classes.
Peraino wrote in an e-mail
last spring that many of the new
courses were in Screen Arts &
Culture, Biology, Communica-
tion Studies and Chemistry.
According to recent list from
Peraino, new classes were also
offered in Political Science, Psy-
chology, History and American
Culture. Some of these classes
were offered for the first time in
four years.
The other major, more obvious
reason for the increased enroll-
ment in summer offerings from
the University was the tough job
market in the middle of a nation-
al economic downturn - limiting
the number of summer job oppor-
tunities and leaving students
with fewer alternatives to stay-
ing in school for the summer.
According' to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, from April
to July 2009, the number of
employed youth16to 24 years old
increased by 1.6 million to 19.3
million.
However, the percentage of
people in that age group who
were employed in July was just
5.4 percent - the lowest July
rate on record for the Bureau's
series, which began in 1948.
With all of these reasons
in mind, University officials
are planning to maintain their
increased emphasis on spring
and summer offerings.
"We're hoping to do better
next year," Peraino wrote. "Our
plan is to offer virtually the same
classes, with an eye toward a reg-
ular, dependable curriculum."
The University recently sent a
survey to LSA students who were
not enrolled for either spring or
summer term, with the purpose
of gaining insight from those
students about how to improve
course offerings.
The survey is still being con-
ducted, Peraino wrote, but will is
expected to end today. After LSA
receives all of the survey results,
Peraino expects a new plan for
spring and summer term classes
to be released within a couple of
weeks.
While many students took
advantage of the newly offered
courses, Sullivan said she hopes
the number of credit hours con-
tinues to increase in years to
come, noting that this new strat-
egy of offering core courses could
help incoming freshmen.
"(Freshmen) really couldn't do
that last year because we didn't
have our act together in time to
let them know about it," she said.
"Now we will."
PARKING
From Page 1
chosen not to use hydraulic ham-
mers, and that they will monitor
the decibel levels of the equipment
to ensure that it doesn't exceed
local noise regulations.
The DDA has also stated on its
website that "construction is not to
begin before 7 a.m. and construc-
tion activities will be required to
comply with the city's noise control
ordinance." The city will also con-
BLIND PIG
From Page 1
Buju Banton come / Batty bwoy
get up an run / At gunshot me head
back / Hear I tell him now crew.
"(Two man) Hitch up on an rub
up on / an lay down inna bed / Hug
up on another / anna feel up leg /
Send fi di matic an / di Uzi instead
/ Shoot dem no come if we shot
dem."
Michigan Student Assembly
LGBT Commission Chair Chris
Armstrong said he was shocked
the Blind Pig would host such a
performer.
"I think that he has clearly very
prejudiced lyrics and perspec-
tives," he said. "And I think he uses
his performances to broadcast
them."
Armstrong said he was particu-
larly upset because the Blind Pig
has had such a good relationship
with the LGBT community in the
past, hosting a number of events
for the group over the years.
"The Blind Pig has a really good
record of supporting the queer
community," Spectrum Center
struct fences and use water sprays
to minimize dust. Financing for the
project came in part from the Build
America Bond program, which was
included in the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
"Thisbondprogramwasdesigned
to encourage big construction proj-
ects like this as a way of generating
jobs," according to the DDA's web-
site. The interest rate for the bond is
3.81 percent, essentially saving the
city approximately $22 million.
Ramlawi, however, feels that his
business, which was founded in
AssistantDirectorGabeJaviersaid.
"People are definitely shocked, and
they're really disappointed."
Javier said he first heard about
the show at the Blind Pig after he
received an e-mail from the Tri-
angle Foundation informing him
of its efforts to stop the show at the
Majestic Theatre.
After hearing that the Blind Pig
was hosting the controversial per-
former - who Javier said he had
heard of a few times before but
didn't know much about - Javier
helped spread the word about the
event, asking LGBT community
members and others to call the
Blind Pig and ask it to cancel the
show.
Wood said the Blind Pig had
received a call about the event
"every minute or two" since early
in the afternoon yesterday. When
asked to estimate the total number,
Wood suggested it was somewhere
around 200 to 300 calls.
"I'm thrilled that the commu-
nity is that active," she said. "I just
really feel that the energies could
be spent more productively."
Wood said Banton has played
in the Blind Pig before, as recently
1987, has been overlooked by the city
throughout the planningstages.
"(The DDA) has not communi-
cated when or how (the construc-
tion) will happen, and we learnjust
like everyone else does - through
the newspapers," Ramlawi said.
"They never asked for our concern
or our opinions."
"In this city's attempt to attract
industry," he added, "they've for-
gotten the businesses that are
already here."
According to Ramlawi, struc-
tural damage to his building is
as 2005, and that the venue has
"never had any problems."
When told about Banton sign-
ing the Reggae Compassionate Act
of 2007, Armstrong said he was
doubtful of the performer's intent.
"For any LGBT individual, it's
really hard for them to necessar-
ily think that anything has really
changed," Armstrong said.
Javier said he doesn't think
Banton's shows would have been
canceled across the country if he
stopped promotingviolence.
of the 36 shows originally
scheduled for Banton's 2009 tour,
15 have been canceled in cities like
Chicago, San Francisco, Colum-
bus, Los Angeles and Dallas. Five
concerts have recently been added,
including the Ann Arbor show, to
fill out the schedule after the other
cancellations.
Members of the LGBT commu-
nity said yesterday that if the con-
cert weren't canceled, there would
likely be a protest at the Blind Pig
tonight.
"I am concerned and it pains
my heart to think that (the LGBT
community) feels that I am doing
something wrong or I am support-
inevitable because the sidewalks
will be torn up and the water sup-
ply, an essential component of run-
ning a restaurant, will be cut off
while the water mains are built.
AnnArbor.com reported last
week that Ramlawi and the owner
of Herb David filed alawsuit against
the city. Ramlawi said, however,
that he "only filed a complaint."
"We haven't sued yet because
there hasn't been a loss," he said.
"However, if we face structural
damage or significant loss of busi-
ness,we will."
ing something that is dangerous or
anti-gay," Wood said. "That very
personally bothers all of the staff
now, but at the same time we have
convictions that we have to stand
by.
"This is the Blind Pig, it's impor-
tant tous, and I think that he's not
advocating death and violence,"
she said. "I don't see any reason
that I shouldn't."
When told of the likely protest,
Wood said she hoped it would be a
peaceful one.
"That's the most I canhope," she
said. "I want people to feel heard. I
just really wish that people knew
- knew what they were talking
about before they got their panties
in a bundle."
Above all, Armstrong and other
members of the LGBT community
are, quite simply, surprised.
"I'm more than anything
stunned at a place like the Blind
Pig, considering the role that
they've played in the past (for the
LGBT community)," he said. "I
think that personally it's just sort
of a little bit sobering, knowing
the fact that I've been going there
since I was a freshman."
t