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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 30, 2003)
Wednesday, July 30, 2003 THE BATTALION Full Maan by R.DeLuna Democrats 5o uJH/VT's op lOtTH you A/ub That 6/rl, tS IL L •? OuDe, Coaie 0/0/ XF You HAb A TAIL , iT'b S£ her; t>o/U'T You > X DlVUaJo, X XubT 5oaj’T THI/uK IT'D U)°^x. There /IRe T«w6s. SHE U)ouLb/j'T U/vbEZSTAA/b A&ooT YoU T5 IT BECAUSE Have hair like sVAa/ILLA Tce? JXI www.rdeluna.com #34 In Memory of Jeffrey Russell Stovall March, 24 1982 - July 27, 2003 HOWY, AGS. SEWER PRINCESS HERE. WELL, I'VE GOT SOME BAV NEWS. REA'S* COINS ON HIATUS UNTIL NE)CT WEEK. OUR CREATOR'S BEST f FRIENP FROM BACK HOME WA .IN A TERRIBLE CAR ACCIDENT AND IT SADDENS ME TO SAY THAT HE DIDN'T MAKE IT. HE WAS ONL/ 21 YEARS OLD... HE JEEZ, WHY'D YOU HAVE TO GO AND LEAVE SO SOON? YOU DIDN'T EVEN SET A CHANCE TO SEE ME AND REVEILLE AND ALL OUR BIZZARE ADVNETURES. •R0A * REVEILLE'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE -- COME ON GUYS, USE YOUR HEADS ,-P Journalism Continued from page 1 “Naturally, I was really upset when 1 heard about the closure because I was wondering if I should change schools or not,” she said. “I’d almost rather have support from another school than stay in the journalism department at A&M. I feel like I won’t have guidance.” Walraven said students who are worried they will not receive proper support should know that the journalism department will continue to aid students. “One thing we are trying to work out is how students will be advised,” he said. “There will be a number of places they will be able to go, possi bly more than there are now.” Current advisers in the department will stay the same, Walraven said. Moghe said she hopes to be respected by oth ers when she starts school in the fall. She said she’s afraid no one is taking the closing of the journalism department seriously. Walraven said he believes The Battalion will become more important to students who are try ing to get experience in journalism. However, with time, he said, it has the potential to weaken. “Someone needs to be grounded in journal ism to show the others,” he said. He said he is concerned that inexperienced writers in journalism may not know how to emphasize the importance balance, fairness and accuracy. Walraven said incoming freshmen should speak with someone in the advising office if they have questions. Warning Continued from page 1 as possible targets. “No equipment or opera tives are known to have been deployed to conduct the oper ations,” the warning says. The warning waSfbased 04 't information -gltianed worh i» interviews of at least one jil- Qaida prisoner as well as intercepted communications, said one intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The information I was developed in the last sev- i eral weeks. “Cognizant of changes in aviation security measures since Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida is looking for new ways to cir cumvent enhancements in avi ation security screening and tightening immigration requirements,” the warning says. Homeland Security offi cials initially provided the warning only to the aviation industry and law enforcement agencies but acknowledged its existence in response to press queries. The agency placed a state ment on its Web site saying the advisory was transmitted after U.S. intelligence-gather ers “received information that al-Qaida continues to be inter ested in using the commercial aviation system in the United States and abroad to further their cause.” In response to the advisory, the State Department on Tuesday revised an existing caution for American travelers to reflect the perceived hijack ing threat. “Terrorist actions may include, but are not limited to, suicide operations, hijackings, bombings or kidnappings. These may also involve com- inei'GiaTi Aircraft,” the revised statement said. a Terrorist actions may include, but are not limited to, suicide operations, hijackings, bombings or kidnappings. —- Federal warning Homeland Security The national terrorist threat level remains at yellow, signi fying an elevated risk of attacks. The five-level, color- coded system was last raised to orange, or high risk, for 11 days in May. Officials said they do not plan to raise it to reflect the possibility of sui cide hijackings. Some complained the gov ernment still is doing too little to alert the public and key industries to terror threats. “Our concern is that there will be bulletins put out that will not be made available to us,” said Capt. Jon Safley, president of the Coalition of Airline Pilots Association, a pilots union. Safley, who doesn’t fly, said he hasn’t been getting warnings and isn't sure all pilots know when advisories pertaining to air travel are issued. Jim Schwartz, director of emergency management for Arlington County, Va., which includes both Reagan Washington National Airport and the Pentagon, said his agency had received no warn ing from Homeland Security. He said he would need more specifics before increasing security based on published reports. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, Congress has taken a number of actions to limit the possi bility of suicide hijackings, including arming commercial pilots, boosting the number of air marshals and hiring an all- federal work force to screen airline passengers. Last week. House and Senate negotiators agreed to arm cargo pilots as part of a Federal Aviation Administration funding bill. The bill also would require that commercial airlines teach flight crews how to deal with terrorists, including self- defense, and Homeland Security and the FAA would have to review security at facilities that repair and main tain aircraft outside the United States. Lawmakers are expected to pass the bill in September. Continued from page 1 BriFiam House adopted in the first spe cial session over Democrats’ objections. Republicans want to gain a majority of the seats in the 32- member Texas congressional del egation. Democrats now hold a 17-15 edge and want to keep existing districts. Democrats blocked a Senate vote on redistricting in the first special session because of a rule requiring two-thirds of the 31- member chamber to agree to bring a bill up for debate. Eleven Democrats and one Republican opposed consideration, thwarting the measure. In the new special session, Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is arranging the order of bills so that the two-thirds rule is not needed to bring up redis tricting. That move, Democrats said, breaks Senate tradition and led to their walkout. Van de Putte said the Democrats would return if Perry ends the second special session or Dewhurst reinstates the two- thirds rule. “When either of these two requests are granted, we will be on the first flight home,” Van de Putte said. Dewhurst and Republican sen ators said no two-thirds rule has been used in the three other leg islative sessions on redistricting that have occurred in the past 32 years. Sen. Steve Odgen, R-Bryan, also said Democrats should return to address other important issues before the Legislature, notably a transportation bill that could pro vide for the appropriation of $231 million. “Nobody in this state that I know of campaigned on the proposition that if you elect me I won’t show up,” Ogden said. Dewhurst himself didn’t speak publicly about the Democrats on Tuesday. His spokesman, Beckwith, said the governor has been in contact witti two of the absent Democrats. H; declined to identify themorelab' orate on the conversations. “He’s always willing to enlei- tain compromise,” Beckwith said “They could come back nowaad have meaningful input.” On Monday, Dewhurst said lie may consider hiring off-duty police officers to assist in return ing the senators to the Capitol. Beckwith said Tuesday he did n’t know anything about “bounty hunters” that some Democrats said they heard might be them. Beckwith wouldn’t specify what actions the lieutenant gover nor is taking with regard to off- duty police officers or others to force the senators back to Austin, “We’re being deliberately vague about that at this point," Beckwith said, “because we art not going to telegraph what »e are going to do in advance." Death Continued from page 1 of Arkansas System. Prior to that, he held a fac ulty position in range science at Texas A&M, where he was the first Thomas O’Conner Professor of Range Science. Scifres received Bachelor of Science and master’s degrees in agronomy from Oklahoma State University and a Ph.D. in agronomy from the University of Nebraska. He was the recipient of several awards including Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award for Researd Distinguished Performance Award in Team Research, the Outstanding Achievement Awaid from the Society of Range Management and was also a Fellow of the Weed Science Society of America. He is survived by his wife Julia son, Dirk and daughter-in-law Vickie Scifres of College Station, daughter Holly and son-in-law Thomas Wooton of Belgium and four grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Hillier Funeral Home in Bryan. Iraq Continued from page 1 the enemy,” the voice said. “The aggression armies sur rounding them with all kinds of weapons and ground troops were not able to conquer them until they used their warplanes on the house that they were in,” the speaker said. The speaker said the record ing was made in July 2003, but the exact date was not clear. Al- Arabiya said it received the tape Tuesday. The widely-watched satellite station, which broad casts across the Middle East, including in Iraq, aired the tape at least twice more after the ini tial play. The CIA was reviewing the new message to determine if it was authentic, a U.S. intelligence official said. The speaker sound ed like the voice in other record ings attributed to Saddam, with the same vocabulary and tone. The last audio recording attributed to Saddam was broad cast by Al-Arabiya on July 23 and claimed to have been recorded July 20. U.S. intelli gence officials said it was prob ably authentic. The other recording said Saddam was speaking on July 14 and referred to the new Governing Council of Iraq. U.S. intelligence officials said that recording also was proba bly authentic and was further evidence that Saddam survived the war. U.S. commanders, mean while, said the documents seized in Tikrit gave clues to Saddam’s flight from American forces, who have reported at least two near- misses in the past week. “Each time we do something, we get information, even if we don’t get the people,” said Lt. Col. Steve Russell, who led the raids in Tikrit. “It slowly leads to pieces of the puzzle, and it keeps filling in.” In Washington, U.S. officials expressed confidence that Saddam would be tracked down, saying that in the end, he will be the one to decide whether he’s taken dead or alive. “The decisions made by the individual being pursued will prevail in most cases if he does n’t wish to be taken alive,” Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said. “In many cases it’s difficult to take them alive.” Each time we do something we get information. It slowly leads to pieces of the puzzle. jj Lt. Col. Steve Russell leader of Tikrit raids Russell, commander of the 22nd Infantry Regiment’s 1st Battalion, led simultaneous pre dawn raids on several homes in the heart of Saddam’s home town, 120 miles north of Baghdad. Soldiers blasted open doors with shotguns, leading away dazed occupants in blind folds and throwing photographs and documents into the street. Similar raids have occurred daily across Iraq. A coalition military official said American forces conducted 58 raids between Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon, detaining 176 people. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymi ty, gave no other details. Among those captured was Adnan Abdullah Abid al- Musslit, a stocky man com manders said was one of Saddam’s most trusted body guards. Al-Musslit, who is Saddam’s cousin, was believed to have detailed knowledge of Saddam’s hiding spots. Al-Musslit had retired from his job, but Saddam called him back into service before the war started, Russell said, citing intelligence gathered fromTikni residents. “If everything else had failed and we just got that one guy, we would be happy,” Russell said. The soldiers had to overpow er al-Musslit, who several sol diers said was quite drunk wrestling him to the ground and dragging him down the stairs. Al-Musslit tried to make it out of his bedroom to grab a subma chine gun, but the soldiers were too quick, said Lt. Chris Morris, a sniper on the raid. Outside, soldiers tied a tan cloth over al-Musslit’s eyes and stripped him to his underwear, searching for weapons. Blood seeped through the blindfold- Morris said, from a broken nose suffered in the scuffle—anian Army medic examined him. Russell said the resistance was to be expected. “Were we surprised? He’s a bodyguard,” Russell said, “That’s why we went in with our steely knives and oily guns.” Eleven other suspects were taken away from the Tikrit raids, including Daher Ziana, respon sible for security at Tikrit palaces, and Rafa Ibrahim al-Hassan, Saddam cousin and who led the Saddam Fedayeen militia in Tikrit. Outside Ziana’s yard, six women wailed as soldiers tossed photographs and documents into the driveway. A large portrait of Saddam lay alongside a picture of Ziana in uniform. One album featured a photograph of women posing with Kalashnikov rifles, Among the documents was something called a “ Privilege Card,” Russell Soldiers took the men to an Army detention facility inTikril for interrogation. Although President Bush declared major combat over nearly three months ago, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard B. Myers, said Tuesday the area from Baghdad to Tikrit was “still a war zone.” ^J~avorite6 our and Order Today! ■■■■■■■■ Good News! Tickets to all shows on the 2003-2004 season of MSC OPAS are on sale now! To assure yourself of the very best seats to the very best shows, order your tickets to any of the performances on the Main Stage, Intimate Gatherings and OPAS JR seasons. 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Mail subscriptions are $60 per school year, $30 for the tall or spring semester, $ 17.50 for the summer and $10 per month. To charge by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express, call 845-2611. Su By Si THE A FORT W Texas coach to believe wh always told 1 super confere The Lon^ which, in s< lished itself; mier football league title boasts three teams this Oklahoma at It’s the kii and other lea; “Since I c the older coa there will be up being aboi in a super Tuesday. “Ar not headed in The Allan expanded, ad Tech for 11 i and is pushir rules for Championshi leagues with; The SEC, game in 199 Conference games. If the the Pac 10, Bi Western Athlt rently with 1C A&M sw named i All-Amer The College Association of named the Te) women's swii teams academ