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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 26, 2003)
I NEl Agcielife: They work hard for the money • Page 3 Sports: Eyes of Texas on Kyle Field • Page 5 TUT? 1 il-C [Volume 110 • Issue 64 • 8 pages Police target seatbelt safety A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893 www.thebattalion.net E-Walk Wednesday, November 26, 2003 CAMPUS j zoo in turkey. rea g Cm sthnicnvalnei itical visions lengeot .entitive w Iraq. should# ^•oicein#* >r wastf lemajontl' ^ under cired thouss* sh areas hd of a fe«v ad throes^ -an cat nd too By Nicole M. Jones THE BATTALION About 30 traffic fatalities lave occurred this year in the Brazos Valley, said Rhonda Seaton, master officer for the College Station Police Department. Some of those deaths could have been avoided with the use of safety belts, officials say, which is why CSPD and other law enforcement departments across the country are participat- ng in the nationwide “Click It or Ticket” campaign. The Click It or Ticket cam paign, created by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), encourages law enforcement agencies to focus on safety belt violations. This two-week campaign, which began last week and ends Nov. 30, is designed to create public awareness about seat belt laws nationwide. Many U.S. states have sec ondary laws, which only allow law enforcement officers to issue a citation for failing to wear a safety belt if the driver has already violated another traffic law. In Texas and some other states, primary laws are in effect, allowing officers to rlutnksgiving Tmvt'l Safety Tip. Travelers hitting the road this week are advised to follow these recommendations for a safe holiday trip: ( !el plenty of rest before starting out Allow adequate time and plan your route Wear safety belt restraints Don't drink and drive, and don't allow someone else to Obey posted speeds and adjust to road, traffic and weather conditions I - Pay attention to weather and traffic reports before SETH FREEMAN • THE BATTALION SOURCE : OREGON DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICE pull over a driver simply to issue a citation for not wearing a safety belt. The NHTSA has found that primary laws are effective for increasing safety belt usage. In 2002, seatbelt use in states with primary laws was 80 percent, compared to 69 percent in states without primary laws. See Seatbelt on page 2 JOSHUA HOBSON • THE BATTALION Junior Yell Leaders Paul Terrell and Ryan Bishop lead the Class of 2003 in the "Aggie War Hymn" at Albritton Tower Tuesday afternoon for Jr. E-Walk. Electrical appliance causes Koldus fire evenge. ierscord' s faff it seek' populm d pronii* By Sarah Szuminski & Elizabeth Webb THE BATTALION College Station firefighters deter mined that an electrical appliance was the cause of a fire that broke out in an Athletic Department office in the John J. Koldus building early Tuesday morning. Peter Warden, a manager for the men’s basketball team, was in a nearby office working on a film from Monday night’s basketball game around 2 a.m. when the fire started. “The fire alarm went off, and when I walked into the hallway I saw a ton of smoke,” Warden said. “When I went out side, I saw flames coming from the Athletic Department office.” Firefighters were able to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher, cutting down on damage costs by avoiding addi tional water damage to the offices. Cynthia Lawson, director of University Relations at Texas A&M, said damages were mostly limited to smoke and particle damage. “You can see just one area of the wall that is black,” she said. Because the Athletic Department is in the process of shifting its offices around, Lawson said the small office where the fire was located did not contain many valuable items. “The good news is that (the fire) was pretty small,” Lawson said. “No one was injured — pretty much everyone was gone for the night.” MEDICARE BILL How they voted The Senate passed the most sweeping changes to Medicare bill since its creation in 1965. The 54-44 vote sends the bill to President Bush, who is eager to sign it into law. Independent i 1 Accept Ummm ■□□□□□□□□□ ■□□□□□□□□□ ■□□□□□□□□□ §<!□□□■□!□□□□ ■□□□□□□□□□ »□□□□□□□[!]□ |E3 □ □ □ Congress sends Medicare overhaul bill to president Republicans 42 Accept 9 Reject Democrats 11 Accept 35 Reject 2 no vote SOURCE: Associated Press AP By David Espo THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — The Republican- controlled Congress sent President George W. Bush historic Medicare leg islation Tuesday, combining a new pre scription drug benefit with measures to control costs before the baby boom gen eration reaches retirement age. Bush is expected to sign the bill with a flourish, then trumpet its enactment during his bid for re-election next year. “Because of the actions of the Congress, the actions of members of both political parties, the Medicare system will be modem and it will be strong,” he said in Las Vegas shortly after lawmakers broke years of gridlock on the issue. But within hours of a 54-44 Senate vote, Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle introduced legislation to repeal several of the bill’s most controversial provisions and to allow the importation of lower-priced prescription drugs from Canada and Western Europe. “This debate is not over, it’s just beginning,” said the South Dakota Democrat. Apart from a new prescription drug benefit, the legislation invites private firms to sell insurance coverage to 40 million Medicare beneficiaries. While some supporters praised the bill in glowing terms and some critics denounced it with equal vehemence, many lawmakers said the far-reaching legislation had confronted them with a difficult choice. “This was not an easy vote for me,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, one of 11 Democrats who FUl ?TS t: eland IC2 d 30 h, s, India, Pakistan armies reach first cease-fire in 14 years By Nirmala George THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW DELHI — India and Pakistan began a cease-fire between their armies at midnight Tuesday — the first such accord in 14 years. The agreement, however, did not cover Indian security forces and Islamic mili tants in Kashmir, and there was no indica tion how long it would last or how effec tive it would be. The two nations’ armies — which trade machine-gun and mortar fire almost daily — would observe the cease-fire along their entire frontier, the governments said. That includes the international border that covers several western states in India, the Line of Control dividing Jammu-Kashmir, and the frontier at the Siachen Glacier. The start of the cease-fire coincides with the Eid-al-Fitr festival that ended the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. In Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan con firmed military chiefs agreed on the cease fire, which he said was indefinite and “a positive development.” Neither side specified how long the truce would last. India said Monday an enduring cease-fire would depend on Pakistan ending the infiltration of Islamic militants into India’s portion of Kashmir. The largest Pakistan-based militant group battling in India’s portion of the divided Himalayan province said its men would keep on fighting. “This will not make any difference for mujahedeen activities,” Salim Hashmi, a spokesman for Hezb-ul-Mujahedeen, told The Associated Press from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. .“The mujahedeen will continue their operations.” In contrast to the Kashmiris, who were joyful over the cease-fire as they crowded bazaars for their Eid shopping, Salim said it was “not something to get excited about.” India has accused Pakistan of using artillery fire as a cover to help militants sneak into Jammu-Kashmir to attack government forces and civilians in the past 14 years, and more than 65,000 people, most of them Muslim civilians, have died in the fighting. “Certainly to that extent, the infiltra tion will be a more risky proposition for those attempting it,” said G. Parthasarthy, former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan, commenting on the cease-fire. “In terms of atmospherics, it is a good development. The litmus test of Pakistani See Cease-fire on page 2 See Medicare on page 8 India, Pakistan to observe cease-fire Indian and Pakistan armies agreed to stop firing across their frontier and to observe a cease fire along the international border and the Line of Control dividing disputed kashmir. AFGHAN Islamabad o f r Line of control .'''Jammu „ _ / & Kashmir.. ■ PAKISTAN © /1 New Delhi ‘ -A Arabian ' . , Sea INDIA 0 200 mi 0 200 km j SOURCE: Associated Press A&M vs. U.T. Yell Practice WHIN: Thursday. 8 p.m. WHERE: Kyle Field AIM f Texas A&M President Robert M. Gates, head coach Dennis Franchione and t:3am captains will address the crowd. fYell eaders and the Aggie Band will march through campus prior to yell practice, starting at the Corps quadrangle. f Friday's game willl be this season's official "Maroon Out" game. The Aggies are 5-0 in Maroon Out games since the tradition began in 1998. RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION SOURCE -.TEXAS A&M YELL LEADERS New Iraq combat roles ahead for National Guard, Reserve By Robert Burns THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — The National Guard and Reserve will take on more of the combat burden in Iraq next year, replacing some Army troops with a smaller, lighter and more mobile force equipped with fewer tanks and more Humvees. Nearly 40 percent of the American forces in Iraq will be from the National Guard and Reserve after the Pentagon completes a massive switchout of troops starting in January — up from about 20 percent now. Three National Guard infantry brigades will go, at least two of them slated for combat duties. Overall, the Pentagon’s plan for replacing the 130,000 American troops in Iraq with a fresh contingent will shrink the force by 20 percent and result in a more mobile force, perhaps better suited to the guerrilla war that has been taking a sobering toll in U.S. deaths and injuries. The first changes will be seen even before the newly designated replacement force gets there. A contingent of 5,000 soldiers in a com bat team called the Stryker Brigade, from Fort Lewis, Wash., is training in Kuwait in prepara tion for duty in Iraq. They are equipped with a new, speedier, lightly armored troop carrier and sophisticated communications tools to enable soldiers to locate guerrilla threats. The Stryker Brigade is likely to see action in the so-called Sunni Triangle, the area between Baghdad, Ramadi and Tikrit where the resist ance to U.S. forces has been deadliest. “It is absolutely optimized for this kind of fight,” said Ft. Gen. Richard Cody, the Army’s deputy chief of staff for operations, who over sees the Army’s provision of fresh forces. Nearly 40 percent of the 105,000 troops in the new force will be National Guard and Reserve after the switchout ends in April. That compares with about a 20 percent share in the current force of 130,000 troops. And it won’t be just Army reservists; the Marines plan to use about 6,000 of their citi zen-soldiers. The main replacement force will arrive over a period of about four months, from January See Iraq on page 8