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Show Daily Utah Chronicle 12 Friday, January 14,2005 Top 10 Magic 8 Ball predictions for 2005 The serious, the tongue-in-cheek and the downright ludicrous possibilities. N enough for them to risk the threats from insurgents. I think the people will go out and vote. Enough of a majority will occur and make the elections valid. This will not cure everything overnight, but will begin the slow process of bringing down the insurgency. January 2005 will see the height of insurgent bombing, but also the long, meticulous process of developing a democratic state. If I'm wrong, and I could be, 2005 could see the downward spiral of Iraq into a massive violent civil war. o. 1: The Utah football team repeats as Mountain West Conference Champions. The question marks are big and bold, but new head coach Kyle Whittingham and offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig say they will tailor the offense to highlight the abilities of the players they have. Let's hope they find ways to exploit quarterback Brian Johnson's talents, as well as outstanding running back Quinton Ganther's abilities. Just remember this: Whittingham is highly respected among players and for the past decade has brought great defensive play to Utah teams, proving he knows stability and consistency. Against the usual Mountain West contenders, especially if the teams are like 2004's, a repeat is a likely possibility. No. 3: Barry Bonds is tested weekly for steroids and still leads the league in home runs, walks and batting average. He's the best modern baseball player, maybe greatest all-time, even without his questionable knowledge of the Cream and the Clear. Enough said. No. 2: Iraqi elections will be a success. No. 4: The Utah Republican Party collapses under its own internal fighting and factions. The definition of success in the upcoming Jan. 30 elections will be as broad as the opinions about the war. I say the Iraqi people realize their opportunity to determine their own destiny, whether Shiite or Sunni. I think the chance for some sort of democracy and freedom is Most people who vote Republican consider themselves moderate independents, but the party is run by far-right-wing ideologues. Hopefully this is the year their exclusive club is infiltrated by people Idol" Is just glorified karaoke and stop watching. For that matter, let's hope reality TV on all levels is rejected. If not, our culture may actually find a way to sink even deeper into the stupefied abyss of Paris Hilton and Donald Trump. No. 7: The university's new who think with their heads, not their close-minded beliefs. Remember a couple of years ago when they booed then-Governor Leavitt and Senator Hatch? That kind of arrogance doesn't last long in politics and their time is coming. Let's hope this is the year. No. 5: Michael Moore and Sean Hannity agree to a duel using 18th century pistols, but oddly enough, no one cares. Maybe this is just a dream, but maybe this year Americans will stop paying money to see or listen to loud-mouthed, mean-spirited, factbending, divisive characters. Wait, someone just pinched me and I woke up. DamnNo. 6: People realize "American I i RUSH WEEK MON, 1/17 OPEN HOUSE TUE, 1/18 CASINO NIGHT WED, 1/19 PAINTBALL 1435 East 100 South (Across the street from the Physics T&uildii k JOIN THE E X BROTHERHOOD For Info, Call Mark @ 918-0907 RECOGNIZE THESE MEN? Warren Beatty • Merlin Olsen n an effort to improve international security, our government is supposedly trying to initiate a campaign of nuclear nonproliferation. Our nation's blind eye toward Israel's nuclear weapons, however, is hypocrisy of the worst kind. We saw what the weapons can do in Hiroshima. To a lesser extent, we saw what Saddam Hussein did with chemical weapons in the Iran-Iraq war. Hussein used nerve gas against the Iranians, and in one incident killed 40,000. In 1988 in Halabja, he gassed and killed 5,000 Kurdish men, women and children in one day. These tragic events testify to the brutal countereffect unleashed by the uncontained existence of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons in the hands of tyrannical regimes and dictators. But if we resolve to eradicate the world of these weapons, logically every nation must defect from holding and producing them. From a human rights standpoint, it is obvious which nations should give up their weapons. But from an international legal outlook, if one nation agrees to nonprolifera- (he state Legislature has been shortchanging Medicaid recipients in the name of fiscal conservatism. It is time to restore the money in the name of ethics, moral responsibility and compassion. According to the Crossroads Urban Center, a local non-profit serving homeless and low-income families and individuals, Editor in Chief *• iZgiC"H'*J,f. -• The editor in chief will be responsible for all editorial content of the newspaper, supervising writers, editors, photographers, copy editors, designers and production staff. Candidates should have an understanding of all aspects of a newspaper, including deadlines, layout, AP style of writing and copy editing, finances, photography, etc. Candidates should also have proven management experience and a willingness to work long hours. The position begins Summer Semester, 2005. Pick up applications from the Union Administration office, rm. 255 Union. Applications are due January 31,2005. No. 8: The FCC fines television stations for showing horses without proper clothing. The Federal Communications Commission caves into the four complaints they were "flooded" with by wackos with too much time on their hands and sexual repression in their brains. They declare that all animals, from squirrels to humans, cannot show anything more than ankles, wrists, and two inches of the neck on network television. No. 9: The Daily Utah Chronicle becomes the most-read document on campus. Come on, you know you love us. No. 10: President Bush replaces two Supreme Court Justices. Chief Justice William Rehnquist and one other will retire and Bush will put two moderates onto the Supreme Court. He will also promote Justice Antonin Scalia to Chief Justice. Bush will get his conservative Chief Justice, but be forced by filibuster-happy Democrats to appoint two moderates without a history involving abortion rulings. letters@chronide.utah.edu tion, that entitles every other nation in the world to adhere to that same ethical code of law. Just recently, Mordechai Vanunu, a former Israeli nuclear technician, was released from prison after serving 18 years. His crime was publicly exposing Israel for possessing nuclear weapons, and describing the weapons program they were maintaining. When the government first learned he was disclosing information to the public, the Mossad (secret police) were sent after him and kidnapped him. After his kidnapping, the British Sunday Times published the information Vanunu revealed and estimated that Israel had produced more than 100 nuclear warheads. On April 21, 2004, he was released, but was again sent to prison for conversing with media reporters and ventilating information that, as a right, was granted to the public. What is the significance of this? The same significance that was held when the world first found out Saddam Hussein was developing nuclear and Ahmed Barakat Columnist biological weapons in the 1980s and early 1990s. The role the Mossad played is similar to that of Saddam's secret police, who confined Iraq's nuclear scientists to the walls of torture chambers for their moral opposition to developing chemical and nuclear weapons. Vanunu's case is reminiscent of the arrest of Hussain Al-Shahristani in 1979 for defying Saddam's violation of the nonproliferation treaty that Iraq had signed at the time. Vanunu's plight underlies the hypocrisy that is slowly unmasking itself behind the Israeli government's intention to assist in the struggle for world peace and nuclear nonproliferation. We were so eager to have a full-scale investigation in Iraq by the United Nations weapons inspectors. Here we have a man who conformed to the international doctrine of nonproliferation by revealing valuable information supported by solid facts and the governments of the world tried to shut him up. Madness! Should we not be saluting this man for being a patriot? I don't mean to be so emotional, as emotion is truly the byproduct of irrationality. But even on a rational basis, this incredulous act for "world peace" should be an embarrassment for all the true thinkers of our world. World famous linguist and political activist Noam Chomsky said there are two superpowers that presently exist today, one of them is the U.S. and the other is the force behind international opinion. The latter power is growing stronger and this incident with Israel demands protestation from the world against the countless lies told to us, This is not an appeal that goes against the freedom of Israelis, it is a call that asks them to stand up for true democracy and to denounce their government for subjecting them to lies. letters@chronide.utah.edu Not funding Medicaid to balance the budget is hard to chew 1 T The Publications Council is seeking applicants for * * * * * * * At the risk of offending anyone's religious views, let me say this while I have the chance: God lives/ bastard, ass, son-of-a-bitch, damn/ Darwin was right. If nuclear weapons are bad for some nations, they're bad for all nations John M. Huntsman • Alex Lo SIGMA CHI FRATERNITY Accommodation Policy confuses professors and students in all areas of study. Judd Nielsen Columnist Maybe this is just a dream, but maybe this year Americans will stop paying money to see or listen to loud-mouthed, meanspirited, fact-bending, divisive characters. 64,704 Utahns rely on Medicaid to obtain medical care. At most, these people only receive $564 per month in government benefits. These people cannot work or in any way obtain more income than what they receive from the government or they risk losing these benefits. For most, however, even if the programs allowed them to work, they couldn't because of severe health conditions. In June 2002, dental benefits for adults receiving Medicaid were cut. The Utah State Legislature justified these cuts by arguing fiscal conservation was needed to ensure the state's budget was balanced. Unfortunately for these adults, the consequences of the cuts were devastating. Medicaid recipients have incomes of no more than $564 per month. This is not enough to pay fair market rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Salt Lake City, let alone pay for an expensive dental visit. It is even more unfortunate Anne Looser Columnist that Gov. Walker failed to add the $3.8 million necessary to restore dental benefits into the budget. Relatively speaking, S3.8 million is not a lot of money considering the size of the Utah budget and how much is spent on other government services. It is an especially doable sum, considering how great the need is for this money. The recipients belong to the segment of our population that we as a society have an obligation to support. During his campaign, Gov. Huntsman said he did not support restoring these benefits. Rather, he advocated MEGAPLEXfft dentists donating their services as charity. While I appreciate the governor's idea, it is inadequate. Passing the buck is not an acceptable response to all of the people whose teeth are hurting them right now. I will never forget a conversation I had with a friend of mine who is on Medicaid due to a severe disability. He explained to me how he takes apples home and puts them in the blender so he can eat them with his sore teeth. In the 2005 Legislative Session, Representative Steve Mascaro, R-West Jordan, is sponsoring HB 32, "Dental Services for Adults on Medicaid." This bill would restore dental benefits to the Medicaid program. Gov. Huntsman and every other elected official should follow suit. Allowing disadvantaged Utah residents to suffer so our politicians can feel good about supporting a "balanced budget" is completely unacceptable. letters@chronicle.utah.edu www.dailyutahchronicle.com [Forlsnowtimes and further information] [Callusat(80T)304-IHF0] [visit us on-linFatl iwwwimegaplextheaftesicomi www.dailyutahchronicle.com |
