f The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Thursday, September 16, 2010 - 3A * The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, September16, 2010 - 3A NEWS BRIEFS VIENNA * Iran accused of influencing nuclear inspectors A U.S. envoy accused Iran yes- terday of intimidating U.N. nuclear inspectors in an effort to influence their findings - a move he said may lead to "appropriate action," from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Britain, France and Germany also criticized Iran for its deci- sion to ban several inspectors in a toughly worded statement also critical of Tehran for ignoring U.N. Security Council demands to stop nuclear activities that couldbe used to make weapons. "Iran is pursuing ... programs which have no credible peace- ful purposes," said the statement to the IAEA's 35-nation board, delivered by French chief delegate " Florence Mangin. "The only con- clusion we can draw from this is that Iran remains determined to pursue a nuclear program which could provide it with military capabilities." In warning of "appropriate action," Glyn Davies, the chief U.S. delegate to the nuclear agency, did not go into details in comments to the board. But he referred to the phrase as part of the author- ity given the board if the agency's inspectors are hampered in carry- ing out their duties by the nation under inspection. LAKE ISABELLA, Calif. Forest fire forces community to evacuate area Hundreds of residents in small mountain communities were under evacuation orders yester- day as a forest fire in the southern Sierra Nevada grew to more than 6,100 acres and destroyed one home. Mandatory evacuations involved portions of the town of Bodfish and an area known as Myers Canyon, said Cindy Thill, a U.S. Forest Ser- vice spokeswoman. The fire erupted Sunday in the Lower Kern River Canyon and burned up and out of the canyon in a portion of Sequoia National For- est southwest of Lake Isabella, a popular fishing, boating and hiking :area about 110 miles north of down- town Los Angeles. Recreational sites and river outfitter camps were evacuated at ,the outset but calls for residential evacuations didn't begin until late Tuesday as part of the fire became more active. MASON, Mich. Brighton-area man found with bomb material Authorities say a Brighton-area 'man who may be connected to an anti-government group was found 'during a traffic stop with bomb- making paraphernalia, a loaded gun, a bulletproof vest and a photo of President Barack Obama. Richard S. McLeod was arraigned Tuesday in 55th Dis- trict Court in Mason on charges of carrying a concealed weapon and unlawful possession of body armor. The 48-year-old was being held in the Ingham County Jail. Court records didn't list a lawyer for McLeod, and there's no working telephone listing for him. Ingham County sheriff's Maj. Joel Maatman tells the Lansing 'State Journal the FBI is assisting in the investigation after Monday's arrest. FBI spokeswoman Sandra Ber- chtold says she can't confirm or deny the agency's involvement. BRASILIA, Brazil Brazil announces plan to curb :deforestation Brazil's government has unveiled plans to slow the deforestation and 'help halt the wildfires that destroy its tropical savanna. The government plans to spend $200 million in the next two years to combat illegal deforestation and prevent fires. The destruction is due to expand- ing cattle ranches, the clearing 'of land for massive farms and the felling of trees to produce charcoal 'used by steel industries. The government said yesterday it will step up patrols to combat these 'activities. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. In Afghanistan, T roops invade Talbndistrict MANUEL BALCE CENETA/AP In this July 21,.2010, file photo, Elizabeth Warren, head of the Congressional Oversight Panel testifies before a Senate Finance Committee hearing to examine the Troubled Asset Relief Program in Washington' Obam-a to tap Warren for new consumer post U.S.-led troop movement part of effort to reduce violence in city KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - U.S. and Afghan forces began advancing slowly yester- day through the insurgent-filled district in southern Afghani- stan that gave birth to the Tal- iban movement, treading ground where guerrilla fighters have operated freely for years, the British general in charge of NATO troops here said. Maj. Gen. Nick Carter said the latest push in Zhari district is part of a crucial strategy aimed at reducing violence in the provin- cial capital Kandahar by stem- ming the flow of fighters and weapons there and connecting civilians estranged from their government. But he downplayed the extent of the latest troop movements headed by the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division, which mans outposts with Afghan troops throughout the district. He said they were part of military opera- tions that have been going on in Zhari for at least four months. U.S. and Afghan forces yesterday, he said, had only gone "slightly fur- ther than we've gone before." The movements were signifi- cant, though, because the loca- tions were areas where coalition forces had never been - at least not in force. One of the targets in Zhari was the village of Makuan, which U.S. commanders expect to clear within days. Carter said troops had "breached some IED belts" adjacent to the village, referring to bombs coalition forces often call improvised explosive devices. He said troops encountered "some resistance," but gave no details. Also yesterday, the provincial governor of Kandahar's spokes- man, Zelmai Ayubi, said two chil- dren aged 11 and 14 were killed in a homemade bomb explosion. Another child was wounded in the blast in the Malajat areaon the southwest edge of Kandahar city. Meanwhile, NATO said 25 Afghan civilians had been killed and 60 injured so far in Septem- ber as the result of the Taliban insurgency. "While the Taliban talk of protecting the people and issue disingenuous directives claim- ing to shield Afghans from harm, instead they have increased their use of indiscriminate vio- lence, killing scores of innocent Afghans," NATO spokesman Rear Admiral Greg Smith said in a statement. "Their rhetoric does not match reality." Elizabeth Warren gained a reputation as a staunch critic of Wall Street WASHINGTON (AP) - Presi- dent Barack Obama will appoint Wall Street critic Elizabeth War- ren as a special adviser to oversee the creation of a new consumer protection bureau, a Democratic official said Wednesday. Warren would report to both the Treasury Department and the White House in a role that would not require Senate confirmation. The 61-year-old Harvard Uni- versity professor and consumer advocate had been considered the leading candidate to head the bureau itself, but her lack of support in the financial commu- nity could have set the stage for contentious Senate hearings that might ultimately have derailed her confirmation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement. White House officials would not confirm the appointment, but Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said an announcement could be made this week. While Obama has long been a friend and supporter of War- ren, he was keenly aware of the potential pitfalls of nominating a polarizing figure in the midst of a heated election year. "I am concerned about all Senate nominations these days," Obama said during a news confer- ence last week. "I've got people who have been waiting for six months to get confirmed who nobody has an official objection to and who were voted out of com- mittee unanimously, and I can't get a vote on them." The consumer bureau was cre- ated under the financial regula- tory bill Obama signed into law earlier this year. It will have vast powers to enforce regulations covering mortgages, credit cards and other financial products, and be financed by the Federal Reserve. The new bureau would consoli- date consumer protection duties now spread across various regula- tory agencies. The financial regulation law gives the Treasury Department the authority to run the consumer protection bureau while the nom- ination of its director is pending. The law also says the Treasury secretary must transfer those functions to the new bureau within a year, but gives him lati- tude to seek an additional six months to complete the creation of the agency. That means Warren could, potentially, perform her new duties into 2012. "I very much would like to see her directing that agency. Exactly in what form is less important. to me that that she does it," Rep. BarneyFrank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "If someone told me that a candidate for that job could be easily confirmed, I think that would be a disqualifi- cation." The head of a liberal group that has been campaigning for War- ren to get the top consumer job applauded the news, but added a note of caution. "If this appointment is window dressing and (Treasury Secre- tary) Tim Geithner controls the show, it would be a big disap- pointment and a victory for Wall Street," said Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. Warren has served as head of the Congressional Oversight Panel, charged with monitoring Treasury's handling of the $700 billion bank rescue fund known as the Troubled Asset Relief Pro- gram. She has at times clashed with Treasury over her commit- tee's findings and conclusions about the use of TARP money. As of Sept. 10, however, Warren stepped back from working on the group's latest report, a signal that the new Treasury post was a pos- sibility. Obama seeks more control of pipelines Chicago police rally against high-ranking dept. official Pipeline safety advocates say not enough regulation is in place WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration called for tighter federal oversight of oil and gas pipelines yesterday in the wake of a deadly California gas explosion that raised alarms about the safety of the nation's aging infrastructure. In the meantime, the head of the National Transportation Safe- ty Board said the federal agency responsible for the regulation is too accepting of assurances from industry that its equipment and practices are safe. Hersman's comments echoed what safety advocates have long called for - a pipeline agency that needs to be less cozy with industry and staffed with more inspectors to enforce stricter regulations. They welcomed the Obama plan, but said it fell far short of addressing the problems facing the nation's millions of miles of pipeline. "It's the low-hanging fruit," said Rick Kessler with The Pipe- line Safety Trust, a Bellingham, Wash., advocacy group. "There's no increase in mileage of pipelines that must be inspected, there's no standards for technology for inspections or repairing pipe- lines." "If this is a starting point, fine. If this is all the administrationhas to say, it is wholly inadequate," he said. The U.S. Pipeline and Hazard- ous Material Safety Administra- tion is directly responsible for inspecting interstate pipelines, and has only 100 inspectors to do it. Oversight of intrastate lines is left to local regulators, who have in most cases left the inspections to utilities. Hersman said the NTSB, which is investigating the California blast and two other pipeline acci- dents, is concerned that PHMSA relies too heavily on documents submitted by the companies it regulates, rather than its own on site verification of practices and procedures. "We want PHMSA to be on the ground doing the inspections," Hersman said. "We think it's PHMSA's responsibility to trust butverify." Federal investigators said they were examining whether Pacific Gas & Electric workers followed proper emergency pro- cedures after a gas transmission line exploded into an inferno that killed at least four people and destroyed nearly 40 homes in a San Francisco suburb. PG&E has said the pipeline, built in 1956, had to be shut down manually because it was not equipped with automatic shut-off valves. Officers claim department head is w dangerous '44 .r:. i )Ne cop, CHICAGO (AP) - Several hun- dred officers rallied outside Chica- go police headquarters yesterday and called for the city's top police official to step down, saying initia- tives he pushed through after join- ing the force three years ago have put their lives in danger and the community at risk. The police unions and many among the force's rank-and-file have been suspicious of Superin- tendent Jody Weis since he was asked by Mayor Richard Daley in 2007 to leave the FBI to lead the police force in the nation's third largest city. In a show of force yesterday, more than 300 officers marched in the city's South Side neighbor- hood, with many carrying signs with slogans such as "More Police, No Weis," and, simply, "Resign." Several on-duty officers drove by waving and holding up their fists in support. Jim Pasco, the executive direc- tor of the National Fraternal Order of Police, had called the protest "extraordinarily unusual," and many of those who marched yes- terday said they'd never heard of such an event. A similar rally was held in 2004 in New York, when hundreds of delegates of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Associa- tion gave Commissioner Raymond Kelly a vote of no confidence after he announced that an officer- involved shooting appeared unjus- tified only hours after it happened. The protest against Weis comes as the city and its leaders try to make sense of Daley's announce- ment last week that he would not seek re-election in February after more than 21 years in office. Weis' Sarkozy addresses EU commission criticism Fra fi Chicago police officers protest outside police headquarters yesterday what they describe as a staff shortage that has put officers' lives at risk. three-year contract ends early next year and without Daley there to support him, some announced and presumed candidates have made the superintendent post a big part of their campaigns. "Remember, cops vote," one of the marchers told Alderman Bob Fioretti, who is widely expected to officially announce he's running for mayor, as he stood nearby. Fioretti and others obviously understand that, with Fioretti telling anyone with a notebook or microphone that the city has to find the moneyto replace the 1,000 officers the department is down, as well as say that whoever the next mayor is, himself included, will not extend Weis' contract. "Morale is so low, it's time to begin the process to look for a new superintendent," he said. Weis declined to comment on yesterday's protest, but he said recently he's not stepping down. "I've still got more work ... and I'm certainly not going to leave until I get that work done," he told reporters Tuesday. Weis has taken his case to the city and the department by send- ing a letter to a local newspa- per and posting another on the department's website in which he suggests, among other things, that he's not going to be swayed by marching officers outside his office. "Leadership is not about being popular: it is about making dif- ficult decisions and doing the right thing," he wrote in the web posting. Still, he added, "I have led this department in a manner which - on many issues - reflects what the (FOP) membership has asked for." PAR] las Sar back ye mission crackdc sayings unaccei A da mission called Roma t grace"- "thougl have to second" The sions b Europe summir Brussel Commi damage had not War II ince could face French authorities have recent- ly dismantled more than 100 ille- ine for Roma gal camps and sent home more than 1,000 Roma, mainly back expulsion to Romania, in a crackdown that has drawn international condem- IS (AP) - President Nico- nation. Sarkozy has called Roma 'kozy's government fired camps sources of crime such sterday at European Com- as illegal trafficking and child criticism of France's exploitation. swn on Gypsies, or Roma, France could ultimately be some of the complaints are slapped with a fine by the Europe- ptable. an Court of Justice ifitsexpulsions y earlier, EU Justice Com- arefoundtohavebreachedEUlaw. er Viviane Reding had French Prime Minister Fran- France's expulsions of cois Fillon called Reding's com- o Eastern Europe "a dis- ments "scandalous." - as well as something she A senior official at the presi- ht that Europe would not dential palace said France doesn't witness again after the want an argument with the com- World War." mission, but "some of the com- exchange heightened ten- ments are simply unacceptable." between France and the He declined to be named, in line an Union a day before a with office policy. t of EU leaders today in After a Cabinet meeting, gov- s and forced the European ernment spokesman Luc Chatel ssion president to go into also objected to Reding's remarks, e control, saying Reding saying, "It is unacceptable to com- t meant to compare World pare the situation today with a and today. tragic period in our history."