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Show World&Hation Page 16 Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 Shakeup: Japan s government takes over from long-ruling party [] continued pom page 2 Monday, but public broadcaster NHK projected early Monday that the Democrats would win 308 of the 480 seats in the lower house to the LDP's 119, citing local election results. Other parties and independent candidates won a total of 53. The Democratic Party needed to win a simple majority of 241 seats in the lower house to ensure it could name the next prime minister. The 300-plus level would allow it and its two smaller allies the two-thirds majority they need in the lower house to pass bills. "It's a historic election in that a clear alternation of power has happened for the first time in the postwar period," said Koichi Nakano, professor of political science at Sophia University in Tokyo. "It's hard to know whether this is going to lead to a real change in policy, at least for the short term." The loss was only the second the Liberal Democratic Party - traditionally the champion of big business and conservative interests - has suffered since it was founded in 1955. The only other time it was out of power was for less than 11 months in 1993-1994, and that was to a coalition of eight parties that quickly collapsed. The LDP had survived through previous recessions in japan but since then families have grown less secure about the future. With only two weeks of official campaigning that focused mainly on broad-stroke appeals rather than specific policies, many analysts said the elections were not so much about issues as voters' general desire for something new after more than a half century under the LDP. "All the bad things over the last 54 years finally caught up to them," said Fumio Morita, 45, who runs a bar in Tokyo. "It's good that they are no longer in power." japan has had three prime ministers in three years, all of whom were deeply unpopular for their perceived lack of leadership and for failing to get the country out of its deepening economic morass. The LDP tried to fight back by reminding voters that their party led the nation out of the ashes of World War II. They also argued that the Democrats, who have never run the government, were irresponsible and inept. Hatoyama's party, which already controls the upper house with two allies, held 112 seats in the lower house before parliament was dissolved in July. The LDP had held 300 seats. VeM»* Tandoori Oven Finest Indian Cuisine WELCOME BACK SPECIAL FOR USU STUDENTS! 10% off anything with Student ID or FREE fountain drink with lunch buffet 720 East 1000 North Logan, Utah 84321 For Reservations and other information call (435)750-OVEN(6836) (435) 787-4600 Valid through Aug 31, 2009. Spice on Ice Winner-lst Place Not Valid with any other offer. www.tandooriovenlogan.com Y U K I O H A T O Y A M A , LEADER OF JAPAN'S main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, smiles surrounded by red rosettes attached on victorious candidates' names during the ballot counting for the parliamentary elections at the party's election center in Tokyo Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009, The DPJ was set to win 300 of the 480 seats in the lower house of parliament, ousting the Liberal Democrats, who have governed Japan for all but I I months since 1955, according to projections by all major Japanese TV networks. AP photo Firefighters battle blaze near small Utah town NEW HARMONY, Utah (AP) - About 275 more homes were evacuated Sunday as a wildfire that already destroyed three houses and blackened more than 15 square miles continued to threaten this rural southwestern Utah town. The lightning-sparked Mill Flat fire had been burning in the Pine Valley Wilderness area for more than a month before it flared up over the weekend near the town of New Harmony. On Saturday, the fire burned three homes: One that was a primary residence, one that was a second home and a guest house, said Dean Cox, emergency services director for Washington County. About seven other "outbuildings" also burned and about 75 houses were evacuated, he said. By Sunday afternoon, about 350 homes in the area had been evacuated, Cox said. Washington County Search and Rescue crews spent the morning going door-to-door urging residents to leave the area. Some people have opted not to leave. An evacuation shelter was set up in Kanarraville, about 10 miles away, but Cox said no one slept there Saturday night. Another 200 or so homeowners have been told they likely be given an hour's notice to get out if the fire continues to threaten. Crews remain concerned that hot, dry and windy conditions could fan the fire. "It continues to be very dangerous and very challenging, both for the firefighters and the community," said Kenton Call, a spokesman for the Dixie National Forest. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert took an aerial tour of the fire Sunday afternoon and planned a ground tour later in the day after a press conference in New Harmony, said spokeswoman Angie Welling. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced early Sunday that it would contribute to firefighting costs after the state confirmed more than 6 square miles had burned. FEMA said the fire was threatening 550 homes and 58 commercial properties. Firefighters continued to battle the fire into the evening Saturday with air tankers dropping retardant to slow the blaze. They braced for more dangerous conditions Sunday afternoon. "Today's challenge for our firefighters is to provide structure protection in the face of red flag warnings," incident commander Randy Turrill, said in a statement Sunday. "Public and firefighter safety is our top priority." Heavy smoke and ash from thefirehas been dispersed throughout southwestern Utah, fire officials said. More crews were scheduled to arrive at the fire later in the day, including a national incident team. Call said he expects that crew to take overfiremanagement Monday morning. Blackwater tappedforeigners on secret CIA program Pfif 'mow; iirf|>f rfiflii W\\ WW WASHINGTON (AP) - When the CIA revived a plan to kill or capture terrorists in 2004, the agency turned to the well-connected security company then known as Blackwater USA. With Blackwater's lucrative government security work and contacts arrayed in hot spots around the world, company officials offered the services of foreigners supposedly skilled at tracking terrorists in lawless regions and countries where the CIA had no working relationships with the government. Blackwater told the CIA that it "could put people on the ground to provide the surveillance and support - all of the things you need to conduct an operation," a former senior CIA official familiar with the secret program told The Associated Press. But the CIAs use of the private contractor as part of its now-abandoned plan to dispatch death squads skirted concerns now re-emerging with recent disclosures about Blackwater's role. The former senior CIA official said he had doubts during his tenure about whether Blackwater's foreign recruits had mastered the necessary skills to pull off such a highstakes operation. Blackwater's later hiring of several senior CIA officials who were involved in or aware of the secret program, including one of the men who ran the operation, showed the blurred lines of using a private contractor for such a highly classified and dangerous project. While Blackwater won the government's confidence by handling security and training operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 2004 decision by CIA officials to entrust the North Carolinabased company with such a sensitive overseas operation struck some former agency officials as highly unusual. "The question remains: Why do we need Blackwater?" said Charles True Aggie Answers 1. Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman 2-Abutle 3. A novel that deals wilh the growth ofthe main chatacter 4. Slraw weight (maximum 105 pounds) 5. Hebrew National 6.1 Want to Believe 7. "The Devil Wears Prada" 8. A U.S. Marine Faddis, a former department chief at the CIA's Counterterrorism Center who retired in 2008 and was not involved in the secret program. "I remain mystified. This is quintessential CIA work. You wonder what it means that the CIA has to rely on Blackwater? Why are we still funding the CIA?" The former senior CIA official who had knowledge of the program explained that "you wouldn't want to have American fingerprints on it." The former official and several other current and former officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because the information remains classified. Xe spokeswoman Stacy DeLuke did not respond to questions seeking comment. Blackwater altered its corporate name to Xe Services after a series of use-of-force controversies, including a September 2007 shooting in Baghdad by five company security guards that left 17 civilians dead. The former senior CIA official said that close to a dozen Blackwater "surrogates" were recruited to join the death squad program. The recruits, the former official said, were not told they were working for the CIA. The official did not know how Blackwater found them. |