The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Monday, November 26, 2012 - 3A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, November 26, 2012 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
PLYMOUTH, Mich.
Slinky celebrates
350 million sales
Today, the 67-year-old Slinky
is celebrating 350 million sales
and a recent infusion of cash
from a private equity firm that
will enable it to grow its product
line.
"We view the Slinky as clearly
an American icon. The simplic-
ity of the product, the low cost
of the product, the various styles
the product is manufactured
in, all lend itself to one genera-
tion teaching the next genera-
tion about Slinky. We don't run
extensive radio and TV ads," said
POOF-Slinky President Ray Dal-
lavecchia Jr.
The St. Clair Shores native and
Michigan State University alum-
nus bought the POOF brand, a
toymaker best known for foam
balls, in 1991 from Automotive
Plastics Technologies. POOF
was introduced in the early 80s
as a division of Detroit Plastic
Molding, an automotive supplier.
ARLINGTON, Va.
President Obama
sets example for
buying local
President Barack Obama made
a quick trip to a Virginia book-
store for some Christmas shop-
ping.
The president took his daugh-
ters, Sasha and Malia, to One
More Page Books in Arlington,
Va., on Saturday afternoon.
The White House says Obama
was promoting an effort called
"small business Saturday" to
encourage shoppers to patronize
mom-and-pop businesses after
Thanksgiving.
At the store, Obama held up
his BlackBerry, apparently look-
ing up a book title as he spoke
with shop owner Eileen McGer-
vey. He said "preparation" was
the key to his shopping.
The White House says Obama
bought 15 children's books that
will be given as Christmas gifts
to family members.
DHAKA, Bangladesh
Shiites targeted
by bomb that kills
2, injures 35
Police say a bomb exploded
at a Shiite religious procession
in northwest Pakistan, killing
at least two people and injuring
some 35 others.
Police official Javed Khan says
the bomb exploded Sunday in the
city of Dera Ismail Khan. The
city is located near the South
Waziristan tribal region where a
similar bombing Saturday killed
seven and wounded 30.
Shiite Muslims are observing
Ashoura, a feast that commemo-
rates the seventh century death
of Imam Hussein, the Prophet
Muhammad's grandson. The
Sunni-Shiite schism over the
heir to Muhammad dates back to
that time, and Sunni extremists
often target Shiites mourners
during the season..
GENEVA
Grammy-winning
jazz basist, band
injured in bus
crash
Grammy-winning jazz bassist
Marcus Miller and several mem-
bers of his band were injured
when their bus overturned Sun-
day on a busy highway in Swit-
zerland, killing the driver, police
said.
The German-registered pri-
vate bus tipped over as it drove
into a bend on the A2 highway
in central Switzerland and came
to a rest on its side, police in the
canton (state) of Uri said. The
bus was carrying 13 people.
The band was on its way from
Monte Carlo to the Dutch town
of Hengelo, the next stop on the
American band's tour, where it
was due to perform Monday.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
Ahmed Gomaa/AP
AnEgyptianprotesterrunsduringclasheswithsecurityforces,notpictured;nearTahrirSquareinCairo,Egypt, onSunday.President
Mohammed Morsi edicts, which were announced on Thursday, place him above oversight of any kind, including that of the courts.
Eptans protest as Morsi
grabs for Increased powers
GOP warms to
idea of Rice as
Sec. of State
McCain: UN contrast to his previous stance
that Rice wasn't qualified to
ambassador 'not replace Hillary Rodhabo Clin-
ton, who is expected to step
the problem' in down soon as the top U.S. dip-
lomat, and that he would do
Benghazi incident "whatever is necessary" to
block Rice's possible nomina-
WASHINGTON (AP) - tion.
Republican opposition to U.N. Rice is widely -seen as
Ambassador Susan Rice as the Obama's first choice for the job
next secretary of state began as secretary of State. As the
to crack Sunday as Sen. John top Republican on the Senate
McCain said she was "not the Armed Services Committee,
problem" in the White House's McCain would have consid-
handling ofthe Sept.11 attack in erable sway in the Senate's
Libya and suggested he could be screening of Rice.
persuaded to swing behind her Sen. Lindsey Graham,
possible nomination. McCain's close friend and col-
McCain's comments pro- league on the committee, told
vide an opening for the Obama ABC "This Week" he still sus-
administration, which strug- pects the White House inten-
gled mightily in the weeks tionally glossed over obvious
leading up to the Nov. 6 elec- terrorist links in the attack to
tion to tamp down specula- keep voters from questioning
tion of a cover-up involving the Obama's handling of national
attack against the U.S. diplo- security.
matic post in Benghazi. The But instead of repeating his
assault killed four Americans, prior assertion that he was
including the U.S. ambassador "dead set" against a Rice pro-
to Libya. motion, Graham suggested he
At issue is Rice's account looked forward to hearing her
- as the administration's rep- out. If Rice were nominated,
resentative on the Sunday "there will be a lot of ques-
talk shows Sept. 16 - that the tions asked of her about this
violence was the spontaneous event and others," said Graham,
result of a mob angered by an R-S.C.
anti-Muslim video posted on The subtle shift in GOP tenor
YouTube. She said she relied on on Rice could be the result of
talking points provided by the internal grumblings on how far
intelligence community that totake party opposition. Demo-
were later discredited. crats picked up extra seats in
"I think she deserves the the election to maintain their
ability and the opportunity to narrow majority, making it that
explain herself and her posi- much harder for the remain-
tion," McCain, R-Ariz., told ing 45 Republicans to block the
"Fox News Sunday." "But she's president's nominees.
not the problem. The problem One senior GOP Senate aide
is the president of the United said Sunday that Republicans
States" who misled the public hadn't united against Rice and
on terrorist involvement. were not convinced that she
McCain's remarks were in was worth going after.
Teenager dies, marks
first death reported
from street battles
CAIRO (AP) - Support-
ers and opponents of Egypt's
president on Sunday grew more
entrenched in their poten-
tially destabilizing battle over
the Islamist leader's move to
assume near absolute powers,
with neither side appearing
willing to back down as the
stock market plunged amid the'
fresh turmoil.
The standoff poses one of the
hardest tests for the nation's lib-
eral and secular opposition since
Hosni Mubarak's ouster nearly
two years ago. Failure to sustain
protests and eventually force
Mohammed Morsi to loosen con-
trol could consign it to long-term
irrelevance.
Clashes between the two sides
spilled onto the streets for a third
day since the president issued
edicts that make him immune to
oversight of any kind, including
that of the courts.
A teenager was killed and at
least 40 people were wounded
when a group of anti-Morsi pro-
testers tried to storm the local
offices of the political arm of
the president's Muslim Broth-
erhood in the Nile Delta city of
Damanhoor, according to secu-
rity officials.
It was the first reported
death from the street battles
that erupted across much of
the nation on Friday, the day
after Morsi's decrees were
announced. The officials, who
spoke on condition of anonym-
ity because they were not autho-
rized to speak to the media,
identified the boy as 15-year-old
Islam Hamdi Abdel-Maqsood.
The tensions also dealt a fresh
blow to the economy, which has
suffered due to the problems
plaguing the Arab world's most
populous nation since Mubarak's
ouster.
Egypt's benchmark EGX30
stock index dropped 9.59 per-
centage points Sunday in the
first trading session since Morsi
issued his decrees. The losses
were among the biggest since the
turbulent days and weeks imme-
diately after Mubarak's ouster in
a popular uprising last year. The
loss in the value of shares was
estimated at close to $5 billion.
The judiciary, the main target
of the edicts, has pushed back,
calling the decrees a power grab
and an "assault" on the branch's
independence. Judges and pros-
ecutors stayed away from many
courts in Cairo and other cities
on Sunday.
. But the nation's highest judi-
cial body, the Supreme Judiciary
Council, watered down its oppo-
sition to the decrees on Sunday.
It told judges and prosecutors to
return to work and announced
that its members would meet
with Morsi on Monday to try to
persuade him to restrict immu-
nity to major state decisions like
declaring war or martial law or
breaking diplomatic relations
with foreign nations.
Ugandan officials mediate
for Congo gov't and rebels
Ugandan Defence
Minister says
Uganda, Rwanda
will also benefit
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) -
Congolese officials are in talks
Sunday with representatives of
M23, the rebel group that last
week took control of the eastern
Congo city of Goma, according to
Ugandan officials.
Ugandan Defence Minister
Crispus Kiyonga said that he is
mediating. discussions to help
both sides reach a settlement
that would end a violent rebel-
lion that has sucked in Uganda
and Rwanda, which both face
charges of backingthe rebels.
M23 President Jean-Marie
Runiga is leading the rebels in
the talks, according to Rene
Abandi, M23's head of external
relations.
Abandi said M23 representa-
tives met with Congolese Presi-
dent Joseph Kabila in a tense,
two-hour meeting that was also
attended by Ugandan President
Yoweri Museveni.
"He tried to accuse us and we
also tried to accuse him," Abandi
said of the meeting with Kabila
on Saturday. "It was a meeting to
have a common understanding
of the principle of negotiation.
(Kabila) said he's ready to nego-
tiate directly with us."
But some Congolese officials
in the capital Kinshasa have said
there will be no talks with the
rebels unless they quit Goma.
A regional summit of the Inter-
national Conference on the
Great Lakes Region in Kampala
- attended by both Kabila and
Museveni - on Saturday called
on the rebels to leave Goma and
urged Kabila to listen to the
"legitimate grievances" of M23.
Despite the regional leaders'
demands for the rebel forces to
withdraw from Goma, M23 sol-
diers were visibly in control of
the city Sunday. M23 also still
held Sake, a contested town 15
miles west of Goma. The Congo-
lese army attacked the town Sat-
urday, but M23 retained control.
M23 President Runiga said
that withdrawal from Goma
was "under consideration" and,
while M23 did not oppose the
idea "in principle," no decision
had been taken yet, accord-
ing to M23 spokesman Lt. Col.
Vianney Kazarama, speaking to
the Associated Press. Runiga is
still in Kampala and no official
response to the demands from
the regional summit is expected
before his return to Congo, said
Kazarama in Goma.
"We are waiting to hear from
Runiga when he will be back
from Kampala," said Kazarama.
"Since May we have asked to
meet with President Kabila,"
said Amani Kabasha, M23's
deputyspokesman. "At least now
there has been contact. The door
is open for talks to find the dura-
ble peace that eastern Congo
needs."
Government troops remain
in Minova, 15 miles south of
Sake, following a failed attack
on M23 last Thursday. Unruly
Congo army soldiers had looted
residents for the third night
running, according to a United
Nations official in the town
who insisted upon anonym-
ity because he is not autho-
rized to speak to the press. U.N..
peacekeepers patrolled Minova
throughout the night to protect
civilians from the rampaging
government troops.
In Minova, Congo Gen. Fran-
cois Olenga, who was recently
named head of the Congolese
army, held meetings with area
commanders . "The country is
in danger. We cannot defend
our country with traitors," said
Olenga to The Associated Press.
Pickup trucks packed with
Congolese army soldiers armed
with automatic rifles and rock-
et propelled grenades sped
through Minova to regroup at
the local soccer stadium. Army
soldiers were also walking in the
streets, looking for food. Some
army soldiers were selling ciga-
rettes on the side of the road.
An M23 communique sent
Saturday night claimed that gov-
ernment regiments were mov-
ing into attack positions around
rebel-held territory.
Martin Meissner/AP - FILE
In this Dec. 16,2009file photo, smoke rises from apower plant in Germany. A UN report on greenhouse gases reminded world govermments.
Nov. 21, 2012 that their efforts to fight climate change are far from enough to meet their goal of limiting global warmingto 2 degrees C.
Expiration of Kyoto Protocol adds
pressure to UN's climate talks
Developing
countries at risk to
not be able to adapt
to climate change
DOHA, Qatar (AP) - As
nearly 200 countries meet in oil-
and-gas-rich Qatar for annual
talks starting Monday on slow-
ing global warming, one of the
main challenges will be raising
climate aid for poor countries at
a time when budgets are strained
by financial turmoil.
Rich countries have deliv-
ered nearly $30 billion in grants
and loans promised in 2009, but.
those commitments expire this
year. And a Green Climate Fund
designed to channel up to $100
billion annually to poor coun-
tries has yet to begin operating.
Borrowing a buzzword from
the U.S. budget debate, Tim Gore
of the British charity Oxfam said
developing countries, including
island nations for whom rising
sea levels pose a threat to their
existence, stand before a "cli-
mate fiscal cliff?"
"So what we need for those
countries in the next two weeks
are firm commitments from rich
countries to keep giving money
to help them to adapt to climate
change," he told The Associated
Press on Sunday.
Creating a structure for cli-
mate financing has so far been
one of the few tangible outcomes
of the two-decade-old U.N. cli-
mate talks, which have failed in
their main purpose: reducing
emissions of heat-trapping gases
that scientists say are warming
the planet, melting ice caps, gla-
ciers and permafrost, shifting
weather patterns and raising sea
levels.
The only binding treaty to
limit such emissions, the Kyoto
Protocol, expires this year, so
agreeing on an extension is seen
as the most urgent task by envi-
ronment ministers and climate
officials meeting in the Qatari
capital.
However, only the European
Union and a few other coun-
tries are willing to join a second
commitment period with new
emissions targets. And the EU's
'chief negotiator, Artur. Runge-
Metzger, admitted that such
a small group is not going to
make a big difference in the fight
against climate change.
"I think we cover at most 14
percent of global emissions," he
said.
The U.S. rejected Kyoto
because it didn't cover rapidly
growing economies such as
China and India. Some hope for
stronger commitments from U.S.
delegates in Doha as work begins
on -drafting a new global treaty
that would also apply to develop-
ing countries including China,
the world's top carbon emitter.
That treaty is supposed to be
adopted in 2015 and take effect
five years later.
- Climate financing is a side
issue but a controversial one
that often deepens the rich-poor
divide that has hampered the
U.N. climate talks since their
launch in 1992. Critics of the U.N.
process see the climate nego-
tiations asa cover for attempts to
redistribute wealth.
Runge-Metzger said the EU
is prepared to continue support-
ing poorer nations in converting
to cleaner energy sources and in
adapting to a shifting climate,
despite the debt crisis roiling
Europe. But he couldn't prom-
ise that the EU would present
any new pledges in Doha and
said developing countries must
present detailed "bankable pro-
grams" before they can expect
any money.
Sometimes, developing coun-
tries seem to be saying, "OK give
us a blank check," he told AP.
Climate aid activists bristled
at that statement, saying many
developing countries have
already indicated what type of
programs and projects need
funding.