The Michigan Daily -- michigandaily.com

Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - 3

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - 3

NEWS BRIEFS
HILLSDALE, Mich.
Feds and Mich.
slaughterhouse
battle over visit
Federal inspectors are suing
to get inside a small slaughter-
house in Hillsdale County after
the owner said they could visit
only "over my dead body."
The legal action is the lat-
est salvo in a seven-year feud
between Hickory Hills Process-
ing and the U.S. Food Safety
and Inspection Service. Donald
Carpenter said he's exempt from
inspections because he only
butchers animals, typically
cows, for people who want meat
for personal use. He doesn't have
retail or wholesale sales.
The government acknowl-
edges there's an exemption for
custom shops but insists it has
the right to visit Hickory Hills,
look at records and inspect the
premises, about 80 miles south
of Lansing.
AUSTIN, Texas

Hamas scores a
diplomatic win
with Qatari visit

North Korean defector Park Sang-hak hurls anti-North Korea leaflets as police block his planned rally on a road in Paju
near demilitarized zone, South Korea.
" "
Activists float leaflets into
North Korea with balloons

South Koreans
evande police to
distribute anti-

School districts Pyongyang material

sue state over
'broken' system
Attorneys representing
around 600 school districts
argued Monday that Texas'
school financing system is so
"hopelessly broken" that it vio-
lates the state Constitution while
keepingstudents frombeing pre-
pared for the well-paying jobs of
tomorrow.
The state countered that, even
though the system is flawed, it's
nowhere near a crisis point.
Six lawsuits have been filed
on behalf of about two-thirds of
school districts, which educate
about 75 percent of the state's
roughly 5 million students. They
have been rolled into a single
case which opened before state
District Judge John Dietz in
Austin. The trial is expected to
last into January.
HAVANA
Castro publishes
article criticizing
health rumors
Former Cuban leader Fidel
Castro said he doesn't even suf-
fer from headaches in an article
he published in state-media
Monday criticizing those who
spread rumors he was on his
death bed.
The article, ironically titled
"Fidel is Dying," is accompanied
by photos taken by son Alex Cas-
tro that show the revolutionary
icon standing outside near some
trees wearing a checked shirt
and cowboy hat, including one in
which he is seen reading Friday's
copy of the Communist Party
newspaper Granma.
Castro is leaning against a
cane in the photos and he looks
every bit his 86 years, but his
eyes are sharp and his expres-
sion determined as he gestures
with his left hand.
L'AQUILA, ITALY
After not properly
warning of quake,
scientists convicted
In a verdict that sent shock
waves through the scientific
community, an Italian court
convicted seven experts of man-
slaughter on Monday for failing
to adequately warn residents of
the risk before an earthquake
struck central Italy in 2009, kill-
ing more than 300 people.
The defendants, all promi-
nent scientists or geological and
disaster experts, were sentenced
to six years in prison.
Earthquake experts world-
wide decried the trial as ridicu-
lous, contending there was no
way of knowing that a flurry of
tremors would lead to a deadly
quake.
"It's a sad day for science,"
said seismologist Susan Hough,
of the U.S. Geological Survey in
Pasadena, Calif. "It's unsettling."

-Compiled from
Daily wire reports

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)
- South Korean activists float-
ed balloons carrying tens of
thousands of anti-Pyongyang
leaflets into North Korea on
Monday, eluding police who
had disrupted an earlier launch
attempt due to threats from
North Korea.
North Korea's military
warned last week that it would
strike if the South Korean activ-
ists carried through with their
plan to fly balloons carryingthe
propaganda leaflets across the
border. South Korea pledged to
retaliate if it was attacked.
South Korean police, citing
security concerns, had sent
hundreds of officers Monday to
seal off roads and prevent the
activists and other people from
gathering at an announced
launch site near the border.
Residents in the area were also
asked to evacuate to under-
ground facilities, according to
local official Kim Jin-a.
Later in the day, some of the

activists, mostly North Korean
defectors, moved to another
site near the border that was
not guarded by police and car-
ried out the launch of the bal-
loons. South Korea's Defense
Ministry said it was closely
monitoring North Korea's mili-
tary movements but there were
no suspicious activities.
Before taking action Mon-
day, the South Korean govern-
ment had implored activists to
stop their campaign, but had
cited freedom of speech in not
making further attempts to
intervene.
South Korean activists have
in the past sent leaflets across
the border, and North Korea has
issued similar threats to attack
without following through. But
Seoul's Yonhap news agency
reported Monday that the ban
on entering the border area was
imposed as South Korea detect-
ed that North Korea had uncov-
ered artillery muzzle covers
and deployed troops to artillery
positions in possible prepara-
tion for an attack. Yonhap cited
no source for the information.
Defense Ministry spokesman
Kim Min-seok told reporters
Monday that North Korea was
believed to have acted in line
with carrying out its threat.

He declined to elaborate on the
North's army movement as that
was confidential military infor-
mation.
He said South Korea had
bolstered its military readiness
following the North's threat
and would "strongly" retaliate
if attacked.
The activists said they float-
ed balloons carrying about
120,000 leaflets critical of
North Korea's young leader
Kim Jong Un and his country's
alleged human rights abuses.
They said they wanted to let
North Korean people know the
true nature of their country.
"We could not delay our
plans to send anti-North Korea
leaflets because it is our love
toward our northern brothers,"
the activists wrote in a state-
ment posted on the website of
Seoul-based Free North Korea
Radio, one of civic organiza-
tions involved in the leafleting.
Lead activist Park Sang-hak
had said the ban on entering the
border area was tantamount to
yielding to Pyongyang's threat.
"It's .surrender. It's clearly
surrender," he said.
On Monday, the top U.S.
envoy on North Korea urged
Pyongyang to stop issuing
destabilizing threats.

Ruler's trip to-Gaza
the first for a head
of state since 2007
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip
(AP) - When the ruler of
Qatar arrives in the Gaza Strip
on Tuesday, he will hand the
Palestinian territory's Hamas
rulers their biggest diplomatic
victory since taking power five
years ago.
The first head of state to
visit Hamas-controlled Gaza,
the emir will deliver more than
$250 million in aid, a move that
will deepen the Islamic mili-
tant group's control of Gaza
and which reflects the rising
influence of the Muslim Broth-
erhood across the region.
The Brotherhood now gov-
erns Egypt, and Islamic par-
ties have made gains elsewhere
in the region since last year's
popular revolts that became
known as the Arab Spring.
Qatar has been a key ally of the
movement, which includes the
Palestinian offshoot Hamas.
The visit by Sheik Hamad
bin Khalifa Al Thani comes
over the deep reservations
of the Palestinian president,
Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas oust-
ed Abbas' forces in Gaza dur-
ing its June 2007 takeover of
the territory, leaving the presi-
dent in control only of the West
Bank.
In a phone conversation on
the eve of the visit, Abbas wel-
comed the emir's intentions
to help the people of Gaza,
under an Israeli-led blockade
since the Hamas takeover, but
reminded the Qatari leader
that he remains the interna-
tionally recognized leader of
the Palestinians.
. "He stressed the necessity
to preserve the legitimate rep-
resentation of the Palestinian
people ... and he asked him to
urge Hamas in Gaza to go for
reconciliation and .to end this
split," said Abbas' spokesman,
Nabil Abu Rdeneh.
Another Abbas aide, Nimr
Hamad, used even stronger
language. "Such visits give
Hamas the impression that the
visitors recognize their rule

and that would reinforce the
split and not help the reconcili-
ation," he said.
On Monday, however,-it was
clear that the trip was pro-
ceeding.
A late night statement from
the office of Egypt's President
Mohammed Morsi said his
country welcomed the emir's
visit to Gaza, which it said
were part of Egypt's effort "to
break the siege on the people"
of the territory.
A convoy of some 30 brand
new SUVs and minivans, along
with several dozen Qatari
security men, crossed through
the Egyptian border in prepa-
ration for the visit.
Streets were decorated
' with white and maroon Qatari
flags and signs thanking the
Gulf nation for its support.
Hamas' Interior Ministry,
which oversees security, said
it had a "well prepared plan"
to protect the emir, deploying
thousands of security men and
blocking roads to Gaza City's
main soccer stadium, where
the Qatari leader was expected
to address a packed audience.
"No doubt the visit is very
important. I hope, as many
others do, that he will work
again to achieve the nation-
al reconciliation," said Ihad
Awad, a 29-year-old civil ser-
vant.
Qatar has played a key role
in the reconciliation pro-
cess. Earlier this year, the
emir brought together Abbas
and Hamas' supreme leader
in exile, Khaled Mashaal,
to make a deal. Under the
arrangement, Abbas was to
lead an interim unity govern-
ment to pave the way for new
elections in the Palestinian
territories.
That deal, like previ-
ous reconciliation attempts,
quickly foundered, in large
part because of opposition by
Gaza's Hamas leaders.
In a statement, Hamas said
the emir's arrival had deep
significance. "It is the first
visit by an Arab leader at this
level to Gaza," it said. "This
breaks the political isolation of
the government and opens the
door to break the siege."

N.Y. maternity ward nurse testifies
about scuffle with Douglas Kennedy

RFK's son accused
of physical
harassment, child
endangerment
MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. (AP)
- A maternity ward nurse testi-
fied in tears Monday that a son
of the late Sen. Robert F. Kenne-
dy twisted;her arm and kicked
another nurse to the floor as he
tried to leave a suburban hospi-
tal with his newborn son.
The nurses tried to stop
Douglas Kennedy because there
had been no order for the baby's
release "and I felt there was a
security risk," said the witness,
Anna Lane.
She said Kennedy told her he
didn't need permission.
Kennedy went on trial Mon-
day in Mount Kisco Town Court
on charges of harassment and
child endangerment. He calls
the charges absurd. He says he
was just taking the baby, 2-day-
old Anthony Boru Kennedy, for
some fresh air outside Northern
Westchester Hospital.
But nurses testified that
would have been very irregular.
Angela Adamo said that when
Kennedy approached the nurs-
es' station with his request, she
tried to dissuade him because
it "didn't seem to make much
sense to me."
She also said the baby, in a
hat and blanket, wasn't appro-
priately dressed for a January
evening.
Kennedy, the baby cradled in
his right arm, was not persuad-
ed and moved to the elevator
and stairwell, where Lane and
another nurse, Carrie Luciano,
tried to block the way, Lane tes-
tified.
"He grabbed my left hand...
and twisted my arm," Lane said.
"He kicked Carrie and she went
flying in one direction and he
went in the other direction."
The , prosecution played

Thousands of Russians
vote online for opposition

In a Thursday, April 12, 2012 file photo, Douglas Kennedy, right, arrives to
court in Mount Kisco, N.Y.

choppy time-lapse surveillance
video for Judge John Donohue,
who is hearing the case without
a jury. The video showed Luci-
ano falling to the floor near the
elevator but did not show what
caused her fall.
Lane broke down during
her testimony and on cross-
examination said recounting
the incident was traumatic. But
Kennedy's lawyer, Robert Got-
tlieb, pointed out that she had
gone on NBC's "Today" show in
February, "with a heck of a lot
more people watching than are
in this courtroom" to talk about
it.
He also got Lane to say she is
contemplating a lawsuit, read-
ing from her lawyer's settle-
ment offer to Kennedy, which
was rejected.
The witnesses testified about
a flurry of alarms that were set
off during the incident. One
blared when Kennedy alleg-

edly took a security band off the
baby boy. Two hospital-wide
alarms - "code purple" and
"code pink" - were called in to
declare a disorderly situation
and a missing baby..
Defense lawyer Celia Gordon
said the "code pink" was inap-
propriate because it's meant for
baby abductions. Nurse Angela
Adamo said she ordered the
"code pink" when she heard
someone say, "He's taking the
baby." But she also testified that
she never thought Kennedy
would fail to return with the
infant.
In her opening statement,
Gordon said Kennedy was act-
ing on instinct rather than
intent when he kicked at Lane.
But prosecutor Amy Puerto
said Kennedy did not stop until
he encountered a security guard
on a stairwell. She alleged he
said to the guard, "Do you know
who I am?"

Election an effort
to unify groups
against President
Viadmir Putin
MOSCOW (AP) - President
Vladimir Putin has had nothing
but mockery for the protesters
who have taken to the streets
against him in unprecedented
numbers. Russia's opposition,
he said, is no more than a gag-
gle of Internet dwellers with
"no unified program, no clear
and comprehensible way of
achieving their unclear goals,
and nobody who can actually
do something."
The opposition has set out to
prove him wrong by formally
choosing its leaders through
an online election that ended
Monday night. Nearly 82,000
voted in the election, which
was intended to help the oppo-.
sition present a more united
front against the Kremlin and
find a way to broaden its appeal
as enthusiasm for streets pro-
tests fades.
Alexei Navalny, a charis-
matic corruption fighter who
is a rock star among the protest
leaders, won the most votes,
confirming his leadership role
among the diverse collection
of liberals, leftists and nation-
alists who make up the anti-
Putin opposition.
The elections will clarify
"which people, which methods
and which ideology have the
most support," Navalny said in
an interview.
Navalny and his supporters
dominated a three-week series
of debates among the candi-

dates, a process some of his
rivals derided as his "corona-
tion."
Navalny won nearly 44,000
votes in the election, while a
sharp-tongued, larger-than-
life poet, novelist and colum-
nist Dmitry Bykov came second
followed by Garry Kasparov,
a former world chess cham-
pion turned opposition leader.
Ksenia Sobchak, a glamorous
TV host who became a face of
Moscow protests, also made a
strong performance, finishing
fourth with more than 32,000
votes.
Throughout the weekend,
thousands of Russians, many
of them middle-aged or older,
stood in long lines on a central
Moscow square to register to
vote. Those with better Inter-
net skills registered online.
They had to prove their iden-
tity either by transferring a
token amount, under the equiv-
alent of SO cents, from their
bank account or sending a pho-
tograph of themselves holding
their passport.
Despite a heavy police pres-
ence and occasional visits from
pro-Kremlin activists, the
event was peaceful and festive,
with classic Russian rock songs
playing over speakers. The vot-
ing was supposed to end Sun-
day night, but was extended for
a day after a barrage of hacker
attacks took down the servers
for most of Saturday.
Pressure on the opposi-
tion has increased since Putin
began his third term as presi-
dent in May. Protest leaders
have come under criminal
investigation, been called in
for questioning and had their
homes and offices searched.

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