The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, January 24, 2013 - 3A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, January 24, 2013 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
DETROIT
License plate will
raise awareness for
organ donation
Michigan's secretary of state
is launching a new license plate
designed to encourage people to
donate organs and tissues.
Ruth Johnson announced
the Donate Life license plates.
Wednesday at the North Ameri-
can International Auto Show in
Detroit.
The cost of the plates includes
a $25 donation to promote organ
donation.
Life of Michigan President
Richard Pietroski says Michigan
alone has more than 3,O0 waiting
for organ transplants.About 3 mil-
lion people now are on the state's
organ donation registry.
HOUSTON
Second suspect
possibly involved
in college shooting
A second suspect may emerge
in the aftermath of the shoot-
ing at a Houston-area commu-
nity college that left three people
injured, the Harris County sher-
iff said Wednesday.
At least 10 shots were fired
Tuesday during a dispute
between two men outside the
library at the North Harris cam-
pus of Lone Star College, Sheriff
Adrian Garcia said. Authorities
were still looking for the hand-
gun that was used.
Carlton Berry, 22, is charged
with two felony counts of aggra-
vated assault with a deadly weap-
on. Garcia offered no additional
details on the role of a possible
second suspect. He said investi-
gators were trying to determine
what caused the argument, add-
ing that the dispute was "idiocy,
stupidity."
WELLINGTON, New Zealand
Plane presumably
crashed, three on
board
A small plane carrying three
Canadians disappeared while
flying over an Antarctic moun-
tainr range, and bad weather
Thursday was hampering a
search. .
The flight was going from a
U.S. station near the South Pole
to an Italian research base in
Terra Nova Bay. Its emergency
locator started transmitting
about 10 p.m. Wednesday in a
mountainous area about 450
kilometers (280 miles) north of
the pole.
New Zealand, U.S. and Italian
authorities are working together
to find the de Havilland Twin
Otter plane, which they presume
has crashed. It was carrying sur-
vival equipment including tents
and food, according to New Zea-
land Search and Rescue Mission
Coordinator John Ashby.
GAZA CITY
Hamas rulers
arrest six local
reporters
A Palestinian rights group
says Gaza's Hamas rulers have
detained six journalists suspect-
ed of affiliation to a rival group,
Fatah.
The Palestinian Center for
Human Rights said Wednes-
day that Hamas security forces
seized the men and their equip-
ment over the past two days.
The group said the detentions
were part of a wider arrest sweep
this week of two dozen suspect-
ed Fatah loyalists.
Hamas expelled Fatah mem-
bers in 2007 and took control
of Gaza. Fatah is headed by Pal-
estinian President Mahmoud
Abbas.
The arrests could undermine
reconciliation efforts between
WHamas and Fatah. While both
groups routinely crack down on
rivals, it's unusual for six report-
ers to be picked up in one sweep.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
Women allowed
in front-line roles
J.SCOTTAPPLEWHITE/AP
Secretaryof State Hillary Rodham Clinton testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 before the House Foreign Affairs
Committee hearingonthe deadlylSeptember attackon theU.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.
DeiWant Cinton addresses
lawmakers on Libya crisis,
Speaks on Obama
administration's
handling of crisis
WASHINGTON (AP) - Sec-
retary of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton delivered fiery rejoin-
ders Wednesday to Republican
critics of the Obama adminis-
tration's handling of the deadly
attack on a U.S. mission in Beng-
hazi, facing off with lawmakers
who included potential 2016
presidential rivals.
At times emotional and fre-
quently combative, ' Clinton
rejected GOP suggestions in two
congressional hearings that the
administration tried to mislead
the country about the Sept. 11
attack that killed Chris Stevens,
the U.S. ambassador to Libya,
and three other Americans. She.
insisted the State Department is
moving swiftly and aggressively
to strengthen security at diplo-
matic posts worldwide.
In her last formal testimony
before Congress as America's
top diplomat - but perhaps not
her last time on the political
stage - Clinton once again took
responsibility for the depart-
ment's missteps and failures
leading up to the assault. But she
also said that requests for more
security at the diplomatic mis-
sion in Benghazi didn't reach
her desk, and reminded law-
makers that they have a respon-
sibility to fund security-related
budget requests.
Three weeks after her release
from a New York hospital -
admitted for complications
after a concussion - Clinton
was at times defiant, compli-
mentary and willing to chastise
lawmakers during more than
5 1/2 hours of testimony before
two separate committees. She
tangled with some who could
be rivals in 2016 if she decides to
seek the presidency again.
Her voice cracking at one
point, Clinton said the attack
and the aftermath were highly
personal tragedies for the fami-
lies of the victims who died -
Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone
Woods and Glen Doherty - as
well as herself.
"I stood next to President
Obama as the Marines carried
those flag-draped caskets off the
plane at Andrews. I put my arms
around the mothers and fathers,
sisters and brothers, sons and
daughters and the wives left
alone to raise their children," she
told the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee at a packed hearing.
Clearly annoyed with Repub-
lican complaints about the ini-
tial explanation for the attack,
she rose to the defense of U.N.
Ambassador Susan Rice, who
was vilified for widely debunked
claims five days after the attack
that protests precipitated the
raid rather than terrorism.
Clinton said, "People were
trying in real time to get to the
best information." And she said
her own focus was on looking
ahead on howsto improve securi-
ty rather than revisiting the talk-
ing points and Rice's comments.
Pentagon opens
combat positions
not allowed before
WASHINGTON (AP) - The
Pentagon is lifting its ban on
women serving in combat, open-
ing hundreds of thousands of
front-line positions and poten-
tially elite commando jobs after
generations of limits on their
service, defense officials said
Wednesday.
The changes, set to be
announced Thursday by Defense
Secretary Leon Panetta, will
not happen overnight. The ser-
vices must now develop plans
for allowing women to seek the
combat positions, a senior mili-
tary official said. Some jobs may
open as soon as this year, while
assessments for others, such
as special operations forces,
including Navy SEALS and the
Army's Delta Force, may take
longer. The services will have
until January 2016 to make
a case to that some positions
should remain closed to women.
The groundbreaking move
recommended by the Joint
Chiefs of Staff overturns a
1994 rule prohibiting women
from being assigned to smaller
ground combat units.
Officials briefed The Associ-
ated Press on the changes on
condition of anonymity so they
could speak ahead of the official
announcement.
There long has been oppo-
sition to putting women in
combat, based on questions of
whether they have the necessary
strength and stamina for certain
jobs, or whether their presence
might hurt unit cohesion.
But as news of Panetta's
expected order got out, mem-
bers of Congress, including the
Senate Armed Services Com-
mittee chairman, Sen. Carl
Levin, D-Mich., announced
their support.
"It reflects the reality of 21st
century military operations,"
Levin said.
Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma,
who will be the top Republican
on the Armed Services panel,
said, however, that he does not
believe this will be abroad open-
ing of combat roles for women
because there are practical bar-
riers that have to be overcome in
order to protect the safety and
privacy of all members of the
military.
Panetta's move comes in his
final weeks as Pentagon chief
and just days after President
Barack Obama's inaugural
speech in which he spoke pas-
sionately about equal rights for
all. The new order expands the
department's action of nearly a
year ago to open about 14,00
combat positions to women,
nearly all of them in the Army.
Panetta's decision could open
more than 230,000 jobs, many
in Army and Marine infantry
units, to women.
In addition to questions of
strength and performance,
there also have been suggestions
that the American public would
not tolerate large numbers of
women being killed in war.
Under the 1994 Pentagon
policy, women were prohib-
ited from being assigned to
ground combat units below
the brigade level. A brigade is
roughly 3,500 troops split into
several battalions of about 800
soldiers each. Historically, bri-
gades were based farther from
the front lines and they often
included top command and
support staff.
The necessities of combat in
Iraq and Afghanistan, however,
propelled women into jobs as
medics, military police and
intelligence officers that were
sometimes attached - but not
formally assigned - to battal-
ions. So while awoman couldn't
be assigned as an infantryman
in a battalion going out on
patrol, she could fly the heli-
copter supporting the unit, or
move in to provide medical aid
if troops were injured.
And these conflicts, where
battlefield lines are blurred
and insurgents can lurk around
every corner, have made it
almost impossible to keep
women clear of combat.
Still, as recent surveys and
experiences have shown, it
will not be an easy transition.
Whenthe Marine Corps sought
women to go through its tough
infantry course last year, two
volunteered and both failed
to complete the course. And
there may not be a wide clam-
oring from women for the more
intense, dangerous and difficult
jobs - including some infantry
and commando positions.
In the Navy, however, women
have begun moving into the
submarine force, with several
officers already beginning to
serve.
Jon Soltz, who served two
Army tours in Iraq and is the
chairman of the veterans group
VoteVets.org, said it may be dif-
ficult for the military services to
carve out exceptions to the new
rule. And while he acknowl-
edged that not all women are
interested in pursuing some of
the gritty combat jobs, "some
of them are, and when you're
looking for the best of the best
you cast a wide net. There are
women who can meet these
standards, and they have a right
to compete."
Panel pushes laws after gang rape
Indian government
urges enforcement
of sexual assault
legislation
NEW DELHI (AP) - On the
eve of a trial over a fatal gang
rape that horrified Indians, a
government panel recommend-
ed that India strictly enforce
sexual assault laws, commit to
holding speedy rape trials and
change the antiquated penal
code to protect women.
The panel, formed in response
to last month's brutal attack on a
New Delhi bus, received more
than 80,000 suggestions for a
complete overhaul in the crimi-
nal justice system's treatment
of violence against women. The
suggestions included banning a
traumatic vaginal exam of rape
victims and ending political
interference in sex crime cases.
The panel issued its findings
Wednesday. On Thursday, a trial
is set to be begin for five men
accused in the case. The case of
a sixth suspect who says he is a
juvenile is being handled sepa-
rately.
Police say the victim and a
male friend were attacked after
boarding the bus Dec. 16. The
attackers beat the man and raped
the woman, inflicting massive
internal injuries with a metal
bar, police said. The victimswere
dumped on the roadside, and the
woman died two weeks later in a
Singapore hospital.
The government set up the
panel a month ago to help quell
street protests sparked by the
rape.
Women say they feel under
siege and are so frightened they
have structured their entire
lives to protect themselves from
harassment and attack. Many
travel in groups, go out of their
homes only during the day and
carry sharp objects to stab men
who grope them on public buses.
Those who are raped are often
blamed by their families for the
attack. If they report the crime,
the police often refuse to file a
reportor try to get the victim and
attacker to reach a settlement.
If it reaches court, the case can
drag on for years in the overbur-
dened justice system.
"Failure of good governance
is the obvious root cause for the
current unsafe environment,
eroding the rule of law and not
the want of knee-jerk legisla-
tion," said retired Chief Justice
J.S. Verma, who headed the
three-member panel.
The panel recommended to
the government that police and
other officials who fail to act
against crimes against women
be punished. It called for a crack-
down on dowry payments to
enhance women's status, since
families are often forced into
massive debt to get their daugh-
ters married. It also suggested
the government appoint more
judges to lessen the backlog of
cases and ensure swift justice,
and it called for updating the law
to include crimes such as voyeur-
ism and stalking.
"We hope the Parliament will
take the legislative suggestions
given by the committee," and
translate these into law, Verma
said.
Verma advocated strict
punishment to prevent sexual
harassment and assaults against
women and sought reforms in
how police treat rape victims.
He called for speedy justice
and the settingof a time frame to
deal with cases of crimes against
women.