OCR Text |
Show Monday, December 5, 2005 At A Glance News Editor: Blair Dee Hodges Fledgling democracy flourishes t- Pfrsr /s A £ . TH*T Pfi&T W*& OMCS India becomes global player despite border dispute :>;-:;^ TO OO CAN TO s(/cK Campus Calendar •Gay Straight Alliance; 8 p.m.; Shepherd Union Building Junction; free. Tuesday, Dec. 6 Moday, Dec. 5 •5,7 - Wrestling Club practice; 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.; Shepherd Union Building Lair; free. •5-31 - WSU's Department of Visual Arts exhibition of faculty art; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Kimball Visual Arts Center Mary Elizabeth Dee Shaw Gallery; free. For more information, call 626-6762. •WSU's Alumni Association weekly meeting of Toastmasters International; 12 p.m.; Alumni Center; visitors welcome. For more information, call 393-4836. •Lacrosse Team; 4 p.m.; Shepherd Union Building Ballroom. •Latter-day Saint Student Association weekly devotional featuring Elder L. Edward Brown, emeritus general authority and former Mount Timpanogos temple president; 10 a.m.; LDS Institute of Religion, free. For more-information, call 621-1800. •This Generation; 8:30 p.m.; Shepherd Union Building Lair; free. Wednesday, Dec. 7 •WSU's Layton R On Planetarium star shows "The Sky Tonight" and "Hubble Vision II"; 6:30 p.m.; Und Lecture Hall Ott Planetarium; $2/$l. •Ballroom Dancing Team; 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Shepherd Union Building Ballroom 325. For more information, call 644-1909 or 479-5728. •"Jingle Bell" Jazz in the Junction; 7:30 p.m.; Shepherd Union Junction; free. •Spanish Club; 7 p.m.; Shepherd Union Building Room 338; free. For more information, call 458-3703. •WSU Chamber Choir holiday concert; 7:30 p.m.; Val A. Browning Center Allred Theatre; 54.50/ $3.50. •WSU Swing Cats; 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Shepherd Union Building Ballroom C; $1. For more information, call 787-0867. •Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship; 7:30 p.m.; Shepherd Union Building Room 325. National and World Headlines CHARLESTON, W.VA. MEXICOCITY •Judge David Faber denied arguments Thursday that the FBI had used illegal tactics to obtain election fraud evidence by running a fake state legislature candidate in 2004, Thomas Esposito. The investigation uncovered evidence against Perry French Harvey Jr., who allegedly accepted $2,000 to bribe others to vote for Esposito. Esposito dropped out of the race early and only received 2,175 votes. •Five federal agents arrested for their involvement in the taped torture and killing of drug cartel hit men were released from prison according to a government statement Friday. The tape was shown on several Mexican networks Thursday and Friday and the officials said that three agents still remained in the Eastern Prison--^: * V ; ^ : ^ i f ^ > ^ BANGUI, CENTRA! AFRICAN REPUBLIC^ '"^""*' MIAMI •The government has ordered radio stations to stop playing music that encourages men to leave their wives if they are not satisfying them, saying that it is bad for the stability of the country. Polygamy is legal in the former French Colony; men can marry up to four wives. •Tropical Storm Epsilon strengthened into a hurricane Saturday. Epsilon was located between Bermuda and the Azores Island and was expected to have weakened back to a tropical storm Sunday. Epsilon marks the 14th hurricane of the season, breaking records taken since 150 years ago. Forecasters predict 2006 will be a hurricane-heavy year. VATICAN CITY •Pope Benedict XVI and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas discussed plans for the Middle East peace process. Abbas also invited Benedict to visit the Holy Land. Although he received the invitation well, the Pope gave no specific date for a visit. WASHINGTON, D.C. •Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito expressed Friday that his personal opinion against abortion would not affect his judicial rulings. Senate Judiciary chairman Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) spoke on behalf of Alito; candidates do not customarily publicize their opinion until confirmation hearings. The statement arose after a memo was found where Alito wrote, "The Constitution does not protect the right to an abortion" when he was a legal advocate for the Reagan administration. Specter, a supporter of abortion rights, said Alito told him that his actions as an advocate are distinct from those as a judge. ' • - . ' • * • ' : ' ' • ' • • TORONTO •Jan Luedecke was acquitted of sexual assault charges Tuesday by claiming he has "sexomnia" and was asleep at the time of the incident The Office of the Attorney General said Thursday that they.will look into its options for an appeal in the cases strange circumstances, ,. .. • . . BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA •City officials used cranes Thursday to cover a 220 foot tall obelisk, the city's most famous landmark, with a giant condom made of shiny pink cloth. This was done as part of a campaign to prevent the spread of HIV in connection with World AIDS Day. •White House aids had to call a Crawford, Texas court and explain that President George W. Bush would not have time to respond to a jury duty summons. Last week Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) served as a jury foreman in a two-day civil case in Boston. see Solutions page 10 ACROSS 1 Cradle call 5 Vanities 9 Fern seed 14 Woe is me! 15 Kind of kick 16 Rescued 17 Candied tubers 18 Stupefy 19 Prevailing tide 20 Very short 22 _-do-well 24 Bohemian 25 Green beryl 27 Feat 29 Shock or lock 31 Ice falls 35 Jacks of all trades 39 Also 40 Very dry 41 Corporate critic Ralph 42 Type of collar or jacket 43 Malleable metal 44 Contemporary container for.the future 46 Mariner 48 Wading bird 49 Ova 51 Disinclination to act 55 Closing passage 58 Song for one 60 Hammerin'Hank 61 Face the day 63 Prohibits Phone: 626-7655 1 2 3 14 4 1 1 10 1 17 121 20 11 12 13 32 33 34 2J 25 29 I 35 36 37 43 46 61 38 • 40 55 30 56 57 139 142 1 52 62 5A 65 66 I 67 68 69 170 71 65 Amer.-Eur. alliance 66 Repasts 67 List-ending abbr. 68 Happy 69 Coral component 70 Depend 53 71 Relaxation DOWN 1 Perhaps 2 Kind of clock 3 Ike's lady 4 Claimed 5 Announcer Hall 6 Bases-loaded homer 7 Seep 8 Drive too fast 9 Fast airplane, briefly 10 March • 11 Concluded 12 Tenant's payment 13 Countercurrent 21 "M'A'S'H" costar Jamie 23 Check 26 Inclinations 28 Chicago transp. 30 Facets 32 Caesar's accusation 33 Shop item 34 Loudness unit 35 Hoods'guns 36 One of HOMES 37 Santa Maria's sister? 38 Type of sofa 42 Alienate 44 Playground game 45 Guilty or not guilty 47 Trifling 50 On the wagon 52 Musical syllables 53 Jots 54 Battery terminal 55 Outdoors quarters 56 Two-toned treat 57 Pushbutton forerunner 59 Better than never? 62 6th sense 64 Cunning By Cory Duclos assl. news editor The Signpost Although India gained independence from Britain only 50 years ago, it is quickly gaining global importance. India was under British rule as part of the country Taldstan, which ' comprised modern-day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. In 1945, India gained independence through a nonviolent movement led by renowned pacifist Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. After independence, Takistan was divided and the 565 princely states of India had to decide to join either the secular Indian nation or the Islamic Pakistani nations. "When India and Pakistan both got freedom from the British "rule, the ruler of Kashmir decided to stay with India and he was a Hindu ruler and the population of Kashmir was predominately Muslim and the population of Kashmir kind of resented the fact that they wanted to go to Pakistan." said Mukhbir Singh, a Weber State University communication professor who is from northwest India. "Pakistan protested, but the British said, 'Well, the ruler of Kashmir decided to go with Jndia and that's how it's going to be.'" The countries have gone to LI war three times since men over the area. In 1972, a peace treaty was signed which gave Kashmir to India, Since that time there has been tense peace between the nations, with several insurgency groups fighting for a variety of different causes. "As to my knowledge there are over 100 splinter secessionist groups fighting in Kashmir," Singh said. Singh said all these groups are fighting for different causes: some want to join Pakistan and some want complete independence. ' .-.:, \. '•". "The insurgents belong to different groups," he said. "Some of theni say they want to secede from India and join with Pakistan and some of them say, 'We want to secede from India and the part which is with Pakistan, we want that independent too and we want to establish an independent nation state.'" Prasanna Reddy, WSU Academic Support Services and Programs . assistant director, from southern India, said that the conflict is often simplified as a "religious conflict" in the United States, but that in reality it is nothing more than terrorism. "People here call it religious conflict, but it's the same religious conflict that 9-11 was," she said. "Every time they want to make a point, they resort to acts of violence. We've always called it terrorism, but it's reported outside India as religious conflict, but it's all over land." Singh agreed that there was terrorism involved, but also saw it as a religious conflict. He also said that several political factors "People here call it make the conflict a complicated issue religious conflict but it's with no easy solution. "It's not clear how, the same religious conflict if that independent that 9-11 was." < nation state happens, how it will ever -Prasanna Reddy, happen," he said. WSU Academic Support Services The Indian g o v e r n m e n t and Programs assistant director subsidizes many goods that go to ^ _ _ _ the region. This has "They're now packing it up created an economic dependence as a 'vacation plus whatever,"1 on India in the region that Singh Reddy said. "So they give you says also puts a strain on the Ind ian a wonderful room and as soon government. If secessionists your surgery is done and your succeed, Pakistan won't be able to recuperation period is over they sustain such subsidies. give you a one week holiday "It's not going to be easy to and it's still more affordable solve this thing, because I don't than if you had it done in the think Kashmiris themselves United States or the UK and realize what's going to happen," paid for it." . Singh said. Reddy said that most of the Despite the conflict, India has medical tourists come frorri' an increasingly powerful presence England, because of the long' in the global economy. Reddy waiting period there to have1'1 said that although many people surgeries done; these surgeries;complain about jobs from the are sometimes elective, but' United States being outsourced to can also be for serious medical' Indian workers, the numbers are problems such as removing insignificant. benign tumors. "Outsourcing, yes it's really Although India has only big, but if you look at all the GDP been independent for 50 years, and the GNP of this country, it has become one the world's outsourcing [to India] is less than largest democratic nations. 2 percent," she said. Reddy noted that not only In turn, what jobs are sent to is the country democratic, India often create more jobs in but it shows a lot of religious America. tolerance. "Disney hired an Indian "India's the largest company to do it's animation democracy, 82 percent of us are feature, but the Indian company Hindus there, but, the funniest turned right around and hired thing, our Prime Minister is American artists and American a Sikh, 2 percent of Indians writers to write the script, because are Sikhs - he comes from a they don't know exactly what's true minority," she said. "Our going on here, what the culture is president, is a Muslim, and like, so it's always a give and take - Islamic culture is maybe about it's a globalization of.two friends," TO percent of India, srT again £" she said. "So when people make a minority as our president. And big hoo-haa about all the jobs that the largest party is lead by an are being lost they are not looking Italian woman, Sonia Ghandi, at the jobs that are happening she was married to an Indian. because of that too." ••• ,,. So, you talk about secularism, you cannot find another Since many Indianpeople speak country mat has all three major English, there is an obvious phone positions occupied by minority support market available for people." American companies at a much Even though Muslims are a lower price. "If China had a huge population minority, Singh said Muslims that spoke English as Indians do, are a significant minority. "After Indonesia, the largest this outsourcing would have gone to China," Singh said. "It's just a number of Muslims living function of availability of English- anywhere in the world is India," Singh said. speaking people." Although there have been Singh said that labor costs are religious conflict in the past, a factor, but the lower labor costs today India enjoys religious benefit American businesses. tolerance - a tolerance Reddy "It's natural business attributes to a relaxed attitude progression, it's not that India has among Hindus. come and said, 'OK, we'll come "Although the head count is and do this work for you/" Singh 82 percent Hindu, the religious said. "It's American businesses tolerance is at a very high level realizing they can do business in among the Hindus," she said. India." "So we don't bat an eyelid, and Singh attributes outsourcing that's probably why we were in India to an increased presence ruled first by theTurks and then of improved telecommunications the British, being the laid-back worldwide. people that we are." "It's a natural progression from the fact that over the last ten years You can reach ' reporter Cory communications networks have Duclosfaycalling 626-7655. improved," he said. "Most of these companies work through broadband connections over the Internet, they use voiceover Internet protocols. They're not using a standard phone line. You may call a 1-800 number here if you need help, but that routes itself into a server which links up with a server in India and makes a phone ring in India." India also provides a unique market in what has come to be known as medical tourism. A weekly series exploring the native countries of Wildcats Look at what's coming up in The Signpost Wednesday News Features • A rash of car burglaries ,• Different Christmas-time eel- • Results for Saturday's ebrations around the World WSU Division I hockey . game vs. the University of •College celebrations nationwide Arizona Icecats •Tuition issues that affect students Sports |