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Wednesday, August 4, 2004 THE BATH! I by Will Uoy<A AU5I6HT, SPIOBCS. I DON'T UKE VOU HCPE AND SO I AM WHUNS TO MAKE A DEAL. IE YOU LEAVE, I'LL SIVE yOU THE ONE THINS yOU ALL Police arrest 13 in anti-terror operation By Beth Gardiner THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LONDON — Police conducted anti-terrorism raids in London and several towns Tuesday, arresting 13 people believed involved in preparing terrorist acts. London’s Metropolitan Police said the afternoon and evening arrests were “part of a pre-planned, ongoing intel ligence-led operation.” The men were detained “on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terror ism,” the police statement said, without elaborating. The arrests did not appear to be linked to information Pakistani authorities recently said they had uncovered about threats to Britain and America. The police said the arrests were in northwest London, suburban Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire and in Lancashire, northwestern England. The Lancashire raid was in the town of Blackburn and the Hertfordshire arrests were in Luton, police said. Detectives were searching homes in all those places in operations expected to take time to finish, police said. The suspects, who are all in their 20s and 30s, will be brought to a central London police station for questioning by anti-terrorism officers, police said. They declined to specify the men’s nationalities, but the British Broadcasting Corp. said they were all of South Asian descent and some were thought to be British citizens. “Today’s operation is part of continuing and extensive inquiries by police and the security service into alleged inter national terrorism,” the police statement said. Police suggested the raids were not linked to the terror threats disclosed by American authorities Sunday to finan cial industry buildings in New York, Washington D.C., and Newark, N.J. Pakistan’s information minister said Monday his country found plans for new attacks against the United States and Britain on a computer seized during the arrest last month of a senior al-Qaida suspect wanted for the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa. Asked whether the Tuesday raids were linked to the recent Pakistani discovery, police declined to answer directly, but noted that the investigation leading to the arrests had been underway for some time. While British authorities say the threat from terrorism remains high, they have not warned of any specific threat like that announced in the United States. The intelligence behind the latest U.S. terror warnings was as much as four years old, and law enforcement officials are trying to determine whether the plot was current, with terrorists still trying to organize such an attack. Police will have up to two weeks to hold the men before deciding whether to charge them, but courts grant that per mission only a few days at a time. Motorcycle clubs shrug off gang image By Daniel Lovering THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PATTAYA, Thailand — The pack cruises into town on machines gleam ing with chrome, their revving engines startling bystanders. They wheel up to a local bar and park carefully, putting their iron steeds to rest. The Black Rose Motorcycle Club has arrived. This band of bikers _ most of them Westerners clad in leather and denim _ probably wouldn’t attract much atten tion on the streets of San Francisco or Chicago. But on the palm-fringed roads of coastal Thailand, they are more than a touch exotic. Pedestrians gawk. A teenager gives a thumbs-up. The group is one of the 20 to 30 motor cycle clubs thought to be operating in this Southeast Asian country, many of which count among their members dozens of Westerners, including oil industry workers, soldiers, pilots, mechanics and musicians. “We’re riding fools,” says Lewis Underwood, 55, of San Francisco, who co-founded The Jesters Motorcycle Club in 1996 in Pattaya, a southeast ern Thai resort notorious for its taw dry nightclubs and sex businesses. A bar owner, Underwood has lived in Thailand for more than 20 years. Motorcycle clubs like the Black Rose Club cater to bikers of all ilk, but several _ like Underwood’s _ are dedicated to riders of classic American-style cruisers, partic ularly those made by Harley-Davidson. As recently as the 1980s, Harleys were rare in Thailand, often imported by individual enthusiasts. But demand for the bikes grew along with Thailand’s economy, which boomed for a decade starting in the mid-1980s. A dealership opened in the capital, Bangkok, in 1996. When the local baht currency tumbled during the region’s 1997 financial crisis, many foreigners in Thailand rushed to buy Harleys at rock-bottom prices, and the ranks of biker clubs swelled. The big American motorcycles remain out of reach for most Thais. New Flarleys cost as much as $24,500. The biker clubs project a roguish image, with names that evoke the street gang culture of 1950s America: The Jesters, The Immortals, Heaven’s Devils, The Ravens. But despite their tough appearance, many foreign bikers reject the lawlessness associated with motor cycle gangs like the Hell’s Angels. The goal of riding is fun, companionship and even fund-raising for charity, they say. Democrats Continued from page 1 who questions the rationale behind the warnings. Ridge said the old intelligence was updated in January, but he didn’t provide details to satisfy his skeptics. “We don’t do politics in the Department of Homeland of Security,” he said. One top GOP operative, who works closely with Bush’s political team, said the White House appeared to overplay its hand, and voters may smell politics behind the warning. A senior U.S. intelligence official said there is no doubt that the United States in constant danger, help Kerry persuade voters it tough enough for the job, thee said on condition of anonymity. The Democratic strategy is the terrorism warnings to rat ante. Instead of questioning#! levels have been increased, Ktr| his surrogates have tried to fiiel about what Bush has done—oij to do — to make the cou since Sept. 11, 2001. If Kerry strategists are corn; tactic both undercuts Bush’s n strong suit and burnishes the Deir, credentials as commander in cfe “We are not going to gel debate over Tony 111 Par is u but he was concerned enough about the tim ing of the announce ment to ask colleagues in a weekend meeting, “Why? Why now? Why are we raising alarms about this now?” The officials spoke on condition of ano nymity because they feared retribution from the White House. What kept Kerry and his campaign quiet is a ... it's clear that the dangers we face are real and that we are not as safe as we can or should be. raining With 1 — Brooke Anderson deputy comm, director, Kerry's national security team the announcemsi politically because it’s cle!:l the dangers »febly the are real and that ®ck sur not as safe as or should be,” Anderson, depi municationsdii Kerry’s natior rity team, saidlit A day earlier, i| asked the implement theSij Commission als, with ana lenge: “If thepti has a sense oft more complicated matter. The candidate quickly distanced him self from former rival Dean, telling CNN: “I haven’t suggested that and I won’t sug gest that. I do not hold that opinion.” Campaign officials said Kerry would like to believe that Bush is acting in the nation’s interest. Even if he didn’t give Bush the benefit of the doubt, there are enormous politi cal risks to Kerry questioning the president’s motives, the officials said, because a subsequent terrorist strike would make him look politically cra ven and shortsighted. Criticizing the commander in chief for putting the nation on alert also wouldn’t ... he would call the Congress get the job done now.” By inference, Kerry was as ers: How serious is Bushs terrorism warning if he woi Congress to stay on summer w In Iowa, Gov. Tom Vilsad Ridge’s warnings serious tial, but he said they would be credible if the funding were homeland security.” Retired Gen. Merrill A. b Kerry supporter who was Air chief of staff during the first Pr Gulf War, said he did not administration raised the alert for political reasons. ance t< “His c id. “It: er be ; dn’t ha Starte ree-tirr fensivi ready s ys of c “He’s ore tha And rcells For m J laying jandout cott is defen Dixon ary rol tackle 02, fil “It’s a ly secoi pen,” D Br Commons Continued from page 1 Stone Willy’s pizza, Chick-fil-A and Common Denominator Grill & Deli, will remain in operation. The changes are taking place because the number of students eating at the dining center was decreasing, and it has been running a deficit for the past three years, Beard said. Beard said that only two out of 10 Southside residents regularly eat at the dining center, while five out of 10 con sistently eat the “fast food” upstairs. Three out of 10 eat their meals else where on campus, including Sbisa and the Memorial Student Center, he said. Beard said the number of students eat ing breakfast at the Commons Dining Center dropped from 900 ste before 2001 to 450 students in two years. The number of stii eating lunch or dinner 1,700 students before 2001 to I 1 the past two years. Beard said that a Southside forum in March 2003 and sw> showed that students value grab! go food and convenience all-you-ean-eat cafeteria. Southside students wantafoodt similar to the Underground,wliii located near the Northside don ries. Beard said. Fire safety codes also the decision to move upstairs, It would have cost $1 more than it cost to renovateS therapy to redo the Commons Dining 0 Floyd said. Tran two-da) ual assa fierce 1 includii by the chances onanu Dist Ruckrii out of June 2 ing in rape-sh “If it come n prosecu re-evah its chan Ford Continued from page 1 spark new insights and collaborations.” Ford studies the adsorption and transport of micro- porous materials. This knowledge helps create optimal adsorbent materials for separation and reaction pro cesses in the chemical industry. Primarily, he builds models of systems on a small scale. Based on how the molecules interact, he makes predictions about how material will behave on a visible scale, Ford said. “In lay terms, he is modeling physical phenomena and chemical processes at the most basic level,” said Dr. M. Sam Mannan, director of Mary Kay O’Conner Process Safety Center. “To be able to look at how things behave and understand it at the molecular level is really a frontier of research.” Ford’s work is noteworthy because he combines scientific work, research and theory to develop research tools that will advance the scientific enter prise, Ford said. Ford is also the third chemical engineer to receive the prestigious P.E.C.A.S.E. award in 2000 after receiv ing the Career Award in that year as well. Only a hand ful of engineers receive the P.E.C.A.S.E. award from the White House, which is selected by the president’s science adviser, Mannan said. Ford graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1991 with a degree in chemical engineering. He later obtained his master’s degree and doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Ford has been at Texas A&M since 1997. “At the symposium, (Ford) will be able to give the fruits of his research to the people who need it out there,” Mannan said. “People of his caliber from all over the nation are coming, and it’s a big recognition issue for A&M. Things are happening there, and for A&M to be at that table is a good thing.” Crash Continued from page 1 “It was devastating, to actually see it hap pen and know that there probably would not be a survivor,” he said. “I suppose he was having engine problems. I think that’s what it was. He just couldn’t gain the altitude.” Ann Lowe, 19, who lives across the fair way from where the plane crashed said she heard the plane fly low over her house and then saw it disappear below the treeline. She ran outside, heard screams and then noticed her neighbor’s house. “I felt the heat and heard windows explod ing in the house,” she said. Five bodies were recovered from the wreckage, but emergency crews were still working Tuesday afternoon to get the sixth from the smoldering home, Mange said The plane hit a 3- to 4-foot retaining between the home and the golf course, plowed into the home’s back patio area! plane’s cockpit is lodged in the blackened rear of the house and smallp of it litter the yard. Todd Moore, who lives about from the house, was golfing whenthep crashed. He said he ran to the house! seeing a plume of smoke to see if them couple who lived there was OK. He dec! to name the couple, but Brown ideni them as Laurence and Jacqueline Ellioi He said neighbors told him Elliottsa" plane approaching as he stood onani? patio, and he ran to his wife in thetf grabbed her and ran out of the I® Apparently an appliance repairmanwat in the home, witnesses said. ATI G j3"Aggieland DepotHu Diploma Framing www.aggieland-depot.com Post Oak Village • 900 Harvey Road Hi- 695-1422 If You Have Something To Sell, Remember Classifieds Can Do It! 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