The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Thursday, October 4, 2012 - 3A NEWS BRIEFS DETROIT Water union demands amnesty The union for striking Detroit Water and Sewerage Department ' workers says it will continue the walkout until the city gives amnesty to 34 workers threat- ened with firing. The union struck Sunday to protest Detroit's plan to downsize the department and eliminate most of the jobs in the depart- ment over several years. On Monday, department Director Sue McCormick wrote to 34 strikers that they're being suspended and face firing because they "engaged in gross misconduct that endangered pub- lic health and safety." PORTLAND, Ore. Ore. pot measure struggles as Wash., Colo. gain support As marijuana legalization efforts in Colorado and Wash- ington pick up steam, a similar push in Oregon seems to be going up in smoke. More than $4 million has flowed to Washington and close to a million in Colorado. Yet in Oregon - a state with one of the nation's highest rates of pot use and a reputation for pushing the boundaries on mari- juana laws - organizers are looking at a bank account with just $1,800. Marijuana activists who have ploughed big bucks into cam- paigns in the other two states complain the Oregon measure is poorly written and doesn't poll well. It didn't qualify for the bal- lot until July, severely limiting the time available to sway voters. NASHVILLE Rare meningitis cases at 26 in 5 states, 4 deaths An outbreak of a rare and deadly form of meningitis has now sickened 26 people in five states who received steroid injections mostly for back pain, health officials said Wednesday. Four people have died, and more cases are expected. Eighteen of the cases of fun- gal meningitis are in Tennessee where a Nashville clinic received the largest shipment of the ste- roid suspected in the outbreak. The drug was made by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts that issued a recall last week. Investi- gators, though, say they are still' trying to confirm the source of the infections. Three cases have been report- ed in Virginia, two in Maryland, two in Florida and one in North Carolina. Two of the deaths were in Tennessee; Virginia and Maryland had one each, the Cen- ters for Disease Control and Pre- vention. BELGRADE, Serbia s Human rights activist arrested Serbia's police on Wednesday banned a Gay Pride march in Belgrade, citing security con- cerns but also complying with a request from Serbia's Christian Orthodox church. Police said they were banning the march planned for Saturday because they feared a repeat of the violence in 2010, when right- winggroups attacked aGay Pride event in Belgrade. That triggered day-long clashes with the police which left more than 100 people injured. Last year's gay pride march also was banned by authorities. The current ban was announced after Patriarch Irinej, the head of Serbia's Christian Orthodox church, urged the gov- ernment to prevent Saturday's march. In a statement, he said such a "parade of shame" would cast a "moral shadow" on Serbia - a conservative Balkan country whose gay population has faced threats and harassment. -Compiled from Daily wire reports U.S. increases ops in N. Africa Forces placed in American resp: that to i attac Supporters of opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles cheer during a campaign rally in Venezuela. Fears abound ahead of close Venezuelan election Violence could erupt if either candidate loses CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuelan voters Luis Gus- tavo Marin and Dunia Nessi are on opposite sides of the politi- cal spectrum, but as Sunday's election draws closer they both fear what will happen if their candidate loses. Marin, the security chief for a judge and a firm supporter of President Hugo Chavez, worries that opposition candidate Hen- rique Capriles will launch a vio- lent purge of Chavez supporters if he wins. If the president prevails, Nessi, a 62-year-old accountant, believes violent crime that has run rampant under Chavez will spiral even further out of control. "There is absolutely no secu- rity," Nessi said. "If he wins I'll either have to stay and live with the tension or I can pack two suitcases, throw four things into them and leave." Fear of every stripe, in fact, permeates the intensely polar- ized campaign, with many votes to be decided based not on the candidates' promises but rather on what worries people most. Capriles has intentionally avoided stoking voter fears. "There will be neither hate, nor revenge, nor payback" if he is elected, Capriles told a rally Wednesday in Maracaibo, the country's second city: But Chavez has taken an opposite tack by continuously warning of chaos and the dis- mantling of the generous wel- fare state he built if he is voted out of office. Tensions were only height- ened when two members of a Capriles caravan were shot dead Saturday in the western state of Barinas. The victims' relatives blamed Chavez sup- porters and said the attack was unprovoked. Both Capriles and Chavez called for non-violence in the wake of the killings, even as the president continued using heated rhetoric. For the first time facing such a formidable challenger, Chavez has painted a dire pic- ture of a Venezuela returning to its stratified past when it was ruled by greedy elites, which Chavez says Capriles repre- sents. "I believe that this is true, if the Venezuelan bourgeoisie tries to apply this package Ven- ezuela could see a civil war," Chavez said last month at a rally in Charallave in central Venezuela. Chavez repeats almost daily that his opponent would take away benefits funded in part by nearly $1 trillion in income from petroleum exports over the past decade, no matter that Capriles has pledged to leave the programs alone. Free medi- cal care, subsidized food and other entitlements have helped lift tens of thousands of people out of poverty, government fig- ures show. "They would take away health care, food, pensions," Chavez told supporters Tues- day at a rally in the western city of Barquisimeto. The president's supporters, known as Chavistas, say they also fear that Capriles will launch a witch hunt if he wins. "We saw the model of gov- ernment they are going to apply on April 11, 2002," Marin said, referring to a failed attempt to overthrow Chavez that the military thwarted. In the hours shortly after the coup, inter- im President Pedro Carmona Estanga famously dissolved Congress and disbanded the Supreme Court. For their part, Chavez critics point to what they say is a coor- dinated attempt to shut them up and force them to back the presi- dent. Some government workers have said they worry about los- ing their jobs if they support Capriles. Fears of retribution for not backing Chavez first emerged in 2004 when a ruling party deputy released a list of some 2 million people who had supported a referendum against the president. Many complained then that state employees on the list were fired. The national government employs at least 2.4 million people. Adding to those fears, some suspect their ballots won't be kept secret, despite assur- ances to the contrary from the Chavez-dominated National Electoral Council. The govern- ment did not invite interna- tional electoral observers, so the Capriles camp has mounted its own parallel organization of vote talliers and says it will have volunteers at every polling sta- tion feeding a central tally kept by the opposition. Despite such concerns, voter turnout Sunday is expected to top 75 percent. embassies in this A Africa spec cons WASHINGTON (AP) - Small cers teams of special operations estal forces arrived at American local embassies throughout North offic Africa in the months before mil- limit itants launched the fiery attack ation that killed the U.S. ambassador Afri in Libya. The soldiers' mission: TI Set up a network that could and quickly strike a terrorist target decli or rescue a hostage. "T But the teams had yet to do stag much counterterrorism work in tary Libya, though the White House Pent signed off a year ago on the Littl plan to build the new military the I task force in the region and the can advance teams had been there forc for six months, according to Fo three U.S. counterterror offi- Com cials and a former intelligence Tim official. All spoke only on con- miss dition of anonymity because coun they were not authorized to to s discuss the strategy publicly. troo The counterterror effort cond indicates that the adminis- TI tration has been worried for take; some time about a growing desti threat posed by al-Qaida and - ki its offshoots in North Africa. an e But officials say the military to co organization was too new to U.S. respond to the attack in Beng- activ hazi, where the administration anti- now believes armed al-Qaida- larg linked militants surrounded spec the lightly guarded U.S. com- dron pound, set it on fire and killed acco Ambassador Chris Stevens and trati three other Americans. whe Republicans have questioned get b whether the Obama admin- mig istration has been hiding key U.S. information or hasn't known chie what happened in the imme- com diate aftermath of the attack. Es They are using those questions grou in the final weeks before the a mil U.S. elections as an opportu- ble f nity to assail President Barack othe Obama on foreign policy, an the r area where he has held clear inclu leads in opinion polls since the wor killing of Osama bin Laden in ing 2011. their On Tuesday, leaders of a and' congressional committee said A requests for added security adm at the consulate in Benghazi othe were repeatedly denied, despite unit: a string of less deadly terror perp attacks on the consulate in sulat recent months. Those included Ba an explosion that blew a hole ers in the security perimeter and not r another incident in which an "C explosive device was tossed fast over the consulate fence. Sec- thre retary of State Hillary Rodham Com Clinton told Congress in a letter Rog THE NEWLINE CHINESECUISINE ai gard SPECIALIZING IN HONG KONG,TAIWANESE, SZECHUAN & HUNAN STYLES 734-995-1786 116 S. MAIN STREET (BETWEEN W. HURON AND WASHTENAW) DOWNTOWN ANN ARBOR WWW.KAIGARDEN.CO onding to the accusations she has set up a group nvestigate the Benghazi k, and it is to begin work week. s of early September, the ial operations teams still isted only of liaison offi- who were assigned to blish relationships with l governments and U.S. ials in the region. Only ted counterterrorism oper- ns have been conducted in ca so far. he White House, the CIA U.S. Africa Command all ined to comment. 'here are no plans at this e for unilateral U.S. mill- operations" in the region, agon spokesman George esaid Tuesday, addingthat focus was on helping Afri- countries build their own es. r the Special Operations mand, spokesman Col. Nye would not discuss "the ions and or locations of its terterrorist forces" except ay that special operations ps are in 75 countries daily lucting missions. he go-slow approach being n by the Army's top clan- ine counterterrorist unit nown as Delta Force - is ffort by the White House tunter criticism from some lawmakers, human rights 'ists and others that the terror fight is shifting ely to a secret war using ial operations raids and e strikes, with little public untability. The adminis- on has been taking its time n setting up the new unitcto uy-in from all players who it be affected, such as the ambassadors, CIA station fs, regional U.S. military manders and local leaders. ventually, the Delta Force p will form the backbone of litary task force responsi- or combating al-Qaida and r terrorist groups across egion with an arsenal that ides drones. But first, it will ktowin acceptancebyhelp- North African nations build own special operations counterterror units. nd nothing precludes the inistration from using r military or intelligence s to retaliate against the etrators of the Sept.51 con- te attack in Benghazi. at some congressional lead- say the administration is eacting quickly enough. learly, they haven't moved enough to battle the at," said House Intelligence mittee Chairman Mike ers, R-Mich. Police find, destroy about. 1,000 pot plants in Chicago Officers chopped down plants days before harvest. CHICAGO (AP) - In Chi- cago, a bustling urban metrop- olis where skyscrapers are as likely to sprout up as anything a farmer might plant, someone decided there was just enough room to grow something a little more organic: Marijuana. The plants grew even taller than the tallest Chicago Bulls. However, just days before the crop on a chunk of land the size of two football fields would have been ready to harvest, a police officer and county sher- iff's deputy ina helicopter spot- ted it as they headed back to their hangar about three miles away. On Wednesday, a day after the discovery of the largest marijuana farm anyone at the police department can remem- ber, officers became farmers for a day as they began to chop down about 1,500 marijuana plants that police said could have earned the growers as much as $10 million. No arrests had been made as of Wednesday, and police were still trying to determine who owns the property that housed the grow site on the city's far South Side. But police said they were hopeful that because of the size of the operation, infor- £ mants or others might pro- vide tips about those involved, including a man seen running from the area as the helicopter swooped low. James O'Grady, the com- mander of the department's narcotics division, said they've never seen anything like it before, in part because Chica- go's harsh winters mean grow- ers have a lot less time to plant, grow and harvest marijuana than their counterparts in less inclement places such as Cali- fornia and Mexico. The bum- per crop was likely planted in spring, O'Grady said. Add to that the urban sprawl: there are few spots in Chicago where such an operation could go unnoticed because of all the buildings, roads and resi- dents. The growers took pains to ensure their crop was largely hidden by a canopy of trees and surrounding vegetation. "Somebody put a lot of thought into it," O'Grady said. "But they probably didn't antic- ipate the helicopter." Chicago Police Officer Stan Kuprianczyk, a pilot, said police helicopters flew "over it all the time," to and from their hangar, without spying the grow site. Yet somehow, a num- ber of factors came together to allow Cook County Sheriff's Deputy Edward Graney to spot the plants. "We had the right altitude, the right angle, the right sun- light, and I happened to be glancing down," said Graney. He said he initially spotted five plants or so through the trees before he asked Kuprianczyk to circle around for a closer look. "We just happened to be right over a small hole in the trees and we looked down," Kuprianczyk said. They also happened to have the right training, Graney said, explaining that just a few weeks earlier a much smaller operation in suburban Chicago prompted them to fly over and videotape the scene so they might be able to recognize mar- ijuana if they ever saw it from the air again. So, by the time Graney spot- ted the marijuana plants, which are a much brighter shade of green than the surrounding vegetation, he had a pretty good idea what he was looking at. Superintendent Garry McCarthy, whose officers are more used to intercepting ship- ments of marijuana grown elsewhere or discovering hydroponic growing operations inside buildings, said the dis- covery of the marijuana is sig- nificant in a larger fight against street violence. Those involved with narcot- ics, whether it is marijuana, heroin or cocaine, purchase firearms with their profits and have shown they're willing to use them to protect their busi- ness, he said.