The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Monday, October 12, 2009 -- 3A

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, October12, 2009 - 3A

NEWS BRIEFS
ROCHESTER, Mich.
" Gitmo detainee
debate reignited in
Standish, Mich.
This month's scheduled shutdown
of the Standish Maximum Correc-
tion Facility and the loss of its 300
jobs are giving new impetus to sup-
porters and opponents of housing
Guantanamo Bay inmates there.
Officials in Au Gres and Arenac
County passed resolutions last week
supporting the transfer of the de-
tainees to Standish, about 150 miles
north of Detroit, to temper the eco-
nomic impact of the prison's sched-
uled Oct. 31 closure. The Standish
City Council is expected to vote on a
similar resolution Thursday.
But opponents will hold a forum in
Rochester, near Detroit, at 7 p.m. to-
day torenewtheir arguments against
housing the detainees in Standish.
"Everyone thinks Standish is off
the table, but it's not," Dave Munson
of Standish, a founder of the Michi-
gan Coalition to Stop Gitmo North,
told the Detroit Free Press for a story
published yesterday. "If they bring
those people here, we become the
center of the bull's-eye."
President Barack Obama has
pledged to close the U.S. military
prison in Cuba by January, but ad-
ministration officials recently said
he might miss that target.
WASHINGTON
Key Democrat wants
increase in forces in
Afghanistanwar
The U.S. mission in Afghanistan
is in "serious jeopardy" and needs
more troops to turn the tide against
an increasingly potent Taliban
insurgency, the head of the Senate
Intelligence Committee said yes-
terday, putting her at odds with an
influential Democratic colleague on
military matters
Sen. Dianne Feinstein's views
are more closely aligned with those
of key Republicans than members
of her own party. Sen. Carl Levin,
chairman of Senate Armed Services
Committee, urged a more methodi-
cal approach that begins with craft-
ing a new, comprehensive strategy
for Afghanistan.
"I'm saying at this time, don't send
more combat troops," said Levin,
D-Mich., who wants the emphasis
to be on strengthening Afghanistan's
own security forces so they can bear
a greater share of the security bur-
den.
ButFeinstein,D-Calif.,whose post
gives her access to sensitive informa-
tion about the war's progress, said
delaying the reinforcements also
puts the forces already in Afghani-
stan at greater risk.
WASHINGTON
DNC cancels health
care advertisement
after Dole objects
The Democratic National Com-
mittee is canceling a television ad
touting GOP support for health care
reform after protests from one of the

Republicans mentioned, former Sen-
ate Majority Leader Bob Dole.
The ad quotes a series of Repub-
licans - including California Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, former
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and
former Health and Human Services
Secretary Tommy Thompson - say-
ing the health care system needs to
be reformed.
Dole is quoted saying: "I want
this to pass.... We've got to do some-
thing."
The ad then accuses current GOP
congressional leaders as "siding with
the insurance companies" to fight
health care reform.
DETROIT
Eight vacant homes
in Detroit burn
A spokesman for Detroit Mayor
Dave Bing says authorities will thor-
oughly investigate eight suspicious
fires in abandoned homes on the
city's east side.
Spokesman Edward Cardenas said
the fires late Saturday and early yes-
terday underscore the need for the
city to come together to fight arson.
The Detroit News quoted investi-
gators as saying arson is suspected in
each of the fires, which occurred in
an area where such crimes normally
do not occur.
Each year around Halloween,
thousands of volunteers join police,
firefighters and city workers seek to
prevent arsons by patrolling Detroit
neighborhoods during what's been
dubbed "Angels' Night."
- Compiled from
Daily wire reports

Pakistan attacks
show the Taliban
has rebounded

Blake Jelley, 19, of Cincinnati, center, and A.J. Weilmoth, 22, of Knoxville, Tenn., chant with thousands of gay rights advo-
cates at the start of the National Equality March in Washington yesterday.
March on Capitol for gay ri.ghts

Yesterday's attack, the
third in a week,
leaves 20 dead
ISLAMABAD (AP) - A week
of terror strikes across Pakistan,
capped by a stunning assault on
army headquarters, show the Tali-
ban have rebounded and appear
determined to shake the nation's
resolve as the military plans for an
offensive againstthe group's strong-
hold on the Afghan border.
The 22-hour attack on Pakistan's
"Pentagon" in the city of Rawalpin-
di, which ended with 20 dead yes-
terday, was the third terror attack in
a week to shake this nuclear-armed
nation. It demonstrated the mili-
tants' renewed strength since their
leader was killed by a U.S. missile
strike in August and military opera-
tions against their bases.
The U.S. has long pushed Islam-
abad to take more action against
Taliban and al-Qaida militants, who
are also blamed for attacks on U.S.
and NATO troops in Afghanistan,
and the army carried outa success-
ful campaign against the militants
in the Swat Valley in the spring.
But the army had been unwill-
ing to go all out in the lawless tribal

areas along the border that serve as
the Taliban's main refuge. Three
offensives into South Waziristan
since 2001 ended in failure and the
government signed peace deals
with the militants.
On the heels of the Swat vic-
tory, the military launched a cam-
paign of airstrikes on the militants
in Waziristan and in recent weeks
officials said they were preparing a
full offensive there.
That was before the embarrass-
ing attack on army headquarters
bolstered militants' assertions they
are ready to take on the military,
and threatened to deflate the army's
newfound popularity.
In the wake of the seige in
Rawalpindi, the government said
it would not be deterred. The mili-
tary launched two airstrikes Sun-
day evening on suspected militant
targets in South Waziristan, killing
at least five'insurgents and ending a
five-day lull in attacks there, intel-
ligence officials said.
"We are going to attack the ter-
rorists, the miscreants over there
who are disturbing the state and
damaging the peace," Information
Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said.
"Wherever they will be, we will fol-
low them. We will pursue them. We
will take them to task."

Thousands march,
demand Obama allow
gays to serve openly
in military
WASHINGTON (AP) - Thou-
sands of gay rights supporters
marched yesterday from the
White House to the Capitol,
demanding that President Barack
Obama keep his promises to allow
gays to serve openly in the mili-
tary and work to end discrimina-
tion against gays.
Rainbow flags and homemade
signs dotted the crowds filling
Pennsylvania Avenue in front of
the White House as people chant-
ed "Hey, Obama, let mama marry
mama" and "We're out, we're
proud, we won't back down."
Many children were also among
the protesters. A few counter-pro-
testers had also joined the crowd,
which stretched several blocks by
the afternoon.
Jason Yanowitz, a 37-year-old
computer programmer from Chi-
cagoheld his daughter, S-year-old
Amira, on his shoulders. His part-
ner, Annie, had their 2-year-old
son, Isiah, in a stroller. Yanowitz
said more straight people were
turning out to show their support
for gay rights.
"If somebody doesn't have
equal rights, then none of us are
free," he said.
"For all I know, she's gay or
he's gay," he added, pointingto his
children.
Some participants in the

National Equality March woke
up energized by Obama's blunt
pledge to end the ban on gays serv-
ing openly in the military during a
speech to the nation's largest gay
rights group Saturday night.
The chairman of the Senate
Armed Services Committee said
Sunday that Congress will need to
muster the resolve to change the
"don't ask, don't tell policy" - a
change that the military may be
ready for.
"I think it has to be done in the
right way, which is to get a buy-in
from the military, which I think
is now possible," said Sen. Carl
Levin, D-Mich.
Obama's political energies
have been focused on two wars,
the economic crisis and health
care reform, though he pledged
"unwavering" commitment even
as he wrestled with those prob-
lems.
March organizer Cleve Jones,
creator of the AIDS Memorial
Quilt and a protege of gay rights
pioneer Harvey Milk, said he had
initially discouraged a rally ear-
lier in the year. But he and oth-
ers began to worry Obama was
backing away from his campaign
promises.
"Since we've seen that so many
times before, I didn't want it to
happen again," he said. "We're rot
settling. There's no such thing as a
fraction of equality."
Unlike the first march in 1979
and others in 1987, 1993 and 2000
that included celebrity perfor-
mances and drew as many as
500,000 people, yesterday's event
was driven by grassroots efforts

and was expected to be more low-
key. Washington authorities don't
disclose crowd estimates at rallies,
though at least several thousand
appeared to be in attendance.
Also among the crowd were a
couple of noteworthy activists:
Cynthia Nixon, a cast member
from HBO's "Sex and the City"
who hopes to marry partner
Christine Marinoni nextyear;and
Judy Shepard, who became an
advocate for gay rights after her
son Matthew was killed because
he was gay.

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