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Show V Wednesday, March 1,2006 Editorial Editor in Chief: Maria Villasenor Phone: 626-7121 The Signpost editorial staff Springtime in the Rockies! A favorite phrase coined in Utah is "springtime in the Rockies/' referring to the strange patterns the weather follows February through June. Take for example last June, just when we thought the weather was warm and summer was setting in, there was one last snowstorm. Thanks for that, Mother Nature. Just like now, the weather rose to 60-plus degrees last week and currently another storm is moving into the Wasatch Front. It has been a long winter this year, with thefirstsnow falling in October. Now the recent bout of warm has people thinking they can get out and start cleaning up their yards, but the winds are setding in. Wind speed on Tuesday was 40 to 50 miles an hour, faster than the speed limit down Washington Boulevard. Spring break is just around the corner and the pressing question is, are people getting the. heck out of dodge or will they be sticking around for mat much needed spring cleaning the winter blues have left behind? If the option is spring cleaning, how much will they actually be able to get done if the weather doesn't shape up? This is why Mother Nature is mean; she tempts people with sunshine then delivers snow, and for those who are withering away without the warmness of the sun, this is absolute torture, torture beyond the very worst tortures that King Henry VIII ever bestowed upon his poor wives. Deemed torture because there are Utah residents who do not ski, do not snowboard and, above ail, do not enjoy the coldness winter weather brings. They know they're out there. And for those who can't believe people like this exist and will catch those last moments of exhilaration while careening down the mountains, our hats go off to them, but not before wishing that the sun would come out and miraculously melt all the snow, letting the buds of spring leap forth from their underground hibernation and allow us a glimpse of the summer months to come. Don't let the facade of loving spring get you confused though; the mud and all die ugliness can go also. Even the people who hate the muddiness realize, without it, there can be no summer. With die melting of the snow comes the mud and after the mud comes the flowers, so most sunshine lovers are content with letting it be muddy during these hard months of enduring unknown snowstorms and winds that blow us into the next month. Admitting it in Utah can be hard for those snow lovers, but some people just aren't cut out for the disappointments of "springtime in the Rockies." From Miami Herald: VWOA! ******* ****** IVE GOT A PERP IN D.CTRYING TO GIVE OUR PORTS TO AN ARAB COUNTRY WITH 9A | CONNECTIONS! French don't deserve to be punchline Better detention policy needed for war on terror A nice young French couple is sitting down at an outdoor cafe" enjoying a meal. He gently caresses her hand and More than four years after the first terrorist suspects arrived at Guantanamo Bay, whispers sweet French nothings to woo Cuba, there is still no answer to the question of how long the camp will remain open her to the bedroom, as French men are and under what circumstances. Around the globe, the camp remains a lightning rod for those who complain about America's known to strive for all their days. Then disregard for civil liberties. In this country, a number of court cases challenge the treatment of a large, wet, moldy hairball falls from the Guantanamo inmates and their legal status. In Guantanamo, the detainees remain human the sky and splats on to their table. The guinea pigs in an experiment testing whether this nation can wage an effective battle against next scene we see is a man using the enemies whoflynoflagexcept that of destruction. Given all this, how can we remain true to our latest drain clog buster on the market. fundamental principles of justice. When should this experiment be declared over? This, is just a simple, funny, Even Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, a staunch administration supporter, conceded advertisement, but it made me think, recently that the camp was an "anomaly" - a departure from normal standards. why did the creators choose the He was reacting to a recent U.N. report condemning the detention center, adding to the growing consensus in the international community that the Guantanamo camp must be French as their victims? This is just closed. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the camp would have to be closed "sooner or another passive attack on France. later," but he stopped short of endorsing the demand for an immediate shutdown. He also Freedom Fries are listed in fast food reaffirmed the basic point that prisoners cannot be held in perpetuity without being either restaurants here and there throughout released or charged and prosecuted. the United States, and poor, innocent, Yet the report must be judged incomplete because it failed to say exactly what should wooden carved French chefs are being happen to the inmates, particularly those deemed to be a continuing threat. That's taking attacked and vandalized, all to fight the easy route. If the United Nations disapproves of the conditions at Guantanamo, it has the opinions of the French nation on an obligation to do something besides complain about it, perhaps even undertake to deal the war in Iraq. The French have been realistically with the detainees and the problems they pose. But no plan to shut down on our side for centuries, and the first Guantanamo should be considered unless there are provisions to identify diehard terrorists time they question our government's and ensure that they will not be setfreeto commit new acts of destruction. actions, we are quick to change The camp was created in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when the Bush administration was trying to define rules for a new kind of war. It was designed to be a place where the everything "French" in our culture to administration could treat detainees as it wanted, without interference from either courts an American twist like French fries to or foreign governments. The U.S. Supreme Court, to its credit, rejected the argument that Guantanamo existed in some sort of extra-legal universe, beyond the reach of the law. For a while, Guantanamo was useful as a short-term solution to a problem of enormous complexity - how to deal with hundreds of stateless alleged terrorists from countries that can't be trusted to keep the guilty ones locked up. (Earlier this month, 23 convicted al-Qaida prisoners managed to escape from a jail in Yemen. They remain at large.) But as the months have stretched into years and the stopgap plan turns into a longterm proposition, it becomes more untenable. The camp can't continue forever, but the administration seems content to leave this problem on the White House doorstep to await the next chief executive. Congress, for its part, has played a less than helpful role. Its main effort was to pass a law that severely restricts the access of inmates to the U.S. judicial system. That has only added An article in The Signpost recently to questions about the status and treatment of the detainees. But erecting afirewallbetween announced the Bell Tower was to be Guantanamo and the courts would only add to the legal isolation of the inmates without repaired. I agree with the axiom, "If it resolving the fundamental issues. ain't broke, don't fix it." The Bell Tower Instead, Congress should hold hearings and push the administration to say where it is going with this island prison. At the same time, Congress can help the architects of the battle against terror to design a detention policy that can withstand legal scrutiny and win international support. J i From the Fence By josh Clendenin columnist | The Signpost "Freedom" fries and to start burning French flags. How can we sit here and attack a country that has backed us up many times and at the same time be disgusted by people in Arab countries that burn our flag? The French were there for us when we were fighting for our independence. French King Louis XVI not only aided financially but also sent troops and ships to help us fight for our independence. French general La Fayette fought right alongside General George Washington, but when the French asked for our help during their revolution, we did nothing. Soon after that, the French gave us our national symbol of freedom, the Statue of Liberty. After World War II the French government gave a piece of land to the U.S. in honor of those soldiers that fell in the battle of Normandy. After the horrific attacks on the World Trade Center and on the Pentagon, the first foreign diplomat to visit Ground Zero was French President Jacque Chirac. After this, the French government signed up to help fight alongside us in the war against terrorism. When it came to the war in Iraq, the French put their foot down along with several other nations, and that has cost them dearly in the country popularity contest in the United States. The funny thing about the French is they really don't care. They don't much care for us either, but I don't blame them - some American tourists need to just stay home. Politically, they like us; they just don't like our president, but leave the finger pointing. I have heard people saying we have gone and saved their butts several times and they will not come and help us, but without them we would most likely still be under the Queen's thumb. They are just standing up for what they believe in, and isn't that what this country was founded on? Letter to the Editor Stewart Bell Tower does not need fix does not need repair. Currently the clock is ABSOLUTELY correct twice per day. An accuracy rate of twice a day sure beats its past performances!! Let's let the ol' tower rest. - KimballKelsey WSU Senior '•*-V C-:" i* i « v 0 V V v * • ' • " • " ' " '" The ^ ^ ^ A Weber State University weoer oiate university Signpost Editor in Chief Managing Editor News Editor Sports Editor Copy Editor Features Editor Entertainment Editor Business Editor Photo Editor Graphics Editor Online Editor Advertising Manager Office Manager Advisor Distribution Publisher Signpost Fax _ - Maria Villasenor Jason Staley Cory Duclos Jon McBride Bryan Magana Jesica Medellin David Fairchild Lynn Wilde Tricia Gerrard Brady Leaver James Gabrielsen Brandy Lee Georgia Edwards Allison Hess Austin Adams Dr. Randy Scott 626-7121 626-7614 626-7655 626-7983 626-7659 626-7621 626-7105 626-7624 626-6358 626-7661 626-6358 626-6359 626-7974 626-7499 626-7974 626-6464 Signpost wants to know what you think. Send us a letter no longer than 300 words with your name and phone number to: 626-7401 The Signpost is published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during the semester. 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