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Show _tJ'J:_JOi ""'' r" J _". " ' . . • • j ; r . J ' j J ' ' ' •.'".'•, J J ' J 2 Friday, Jan. 12,2007 &NATI People Today's Issue in The News Dedications Today is Friday, Jan. 12, 2007- Today's issue of The Utah Statesman is published especially for Wyatt Lamborn, a senior majoring in Asian studies from Laketown, Utah. Clarifications And Corrections In Wednesday's edition of The Statesman in the article "Hacked: Russian hacker defaces a few USU Web sites." Bob Bayn's title was incorrectly reported. His title is actually Team Coordinato for IT Security and Operations. (AP Photo/David KAREN REFUGEES look on during Armed forces Day at a Karen National Army camp Jan. 31,2004, along the Thai-Myanmar border. The Bush administration is shifting policy to allow foreigners who have aided armed groups not considered terrorist to seek asylum or resettle in the United States. This policy would apply to Karen refugees living in camps in Thailand. Longstreath. National Briefs Bush administration eases anti-terrorism restrictions on asylum, legal residency A Quick Look Pentagon abandons active-duty time limit WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon has abandoned its limit on the time a citizen-soldier can be required to serve on active duty, officials said Thursday, a major change that reflects an Army stretched thin by longer-than-expected combat in Iraq. The day after President Bush announced his plan for a deeper U.S. military commitment in Iraq, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters the change in reserve policy would have been made anyway because active-duty troops already were getting too little time between their combat tours. Activists protest sending more troops to Iraq SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Activists angered by President Bush's decision to send more troops to Iraq staged antiwar demonstrations in several major cities Thursday, protesting that the buildup will cause more bloodshed and give insurgents new American targets. Jan Rogers, 58, was among several hundred people who gathered in a bustling San Francisco shopping area, then held a march during rush hour. She watched Bush's televised speech Wednesday night and said he "doesn't seem to get it." "The rest of the country is shouting, 'Stop this insanity,' and I think he's just trying to save his presidency and his legacy. But he's just on the wrong path," Rogers said. Law student Zahra Billoo, 23, advocated an immediate troop withdrawal. "I think our only presence at this point needs to be humanitarian aid. No more armed soldiers - they're not wanted there," she said. In New York, Tony Palladino protested in Lower Manhattan's Foley Square with a pair of anti-war signs. The former Air National Guardsman said the new troops would just give insurgents "20,000 extra targets/' Rallies were also planned in Boston and some other cities. In Times Square, hundreds of antiwar protesters crammed onto a traffic island, chanting "Stop the funding, stop the war" as drivers in one of the world's most famous intersections honked in support. WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration is shifting policy to allow foreigners who have aided armed groups not considered terrorists to seek asylum or resettle in the United States. Hundreds of foreigners already in the country - including some who have been held for months or years in detention - claim to have been forced to help violent groups. Many are fleeing violence from the groups they were forced to assist. Tens of thousands of others, living abroad in refugee camps and elsewhere, also would be affected by the plan to ease restrictions set after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The applicants will have to show that they were forced to provide the support or did so "under duress" to be granted asylum or legal permanent residency. They must pass other intelligence and background checks as well. Human rights, refugee and conservative groups drew media attention to refugee cases affected by the anti-terrorism laws following Sept. 11. The USA Patriot Act and REAL ID law, for example, prohibited asylum for a Sri Lankan fisherman who paid a $500 ransom to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam who had kidnapped him. The policy changes "will take care of a number of the most heart-wrenching cases," said Paul Rosenzweig, acting assistant Homeland Security Department secretary for international affairs. "It will take care of, for example, the case of women caught in the civil war strife in Africa, who under threat of or actually after having been raped and threat of death, did laundry for the military opponents of her tribe." Rosenzweig said the administration decided to shift the policies after struggling with the "unintended consequences" of anti-terrorism laws. The new policy was worked out by the Homeland Security, Justice and State departments. The restrictions don't apply to people who have helped groups such as al-Qaida. In a related change, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice could as soon as Friday waive the material support restrictions for certain ethnic groups, allowing them to come to the U.S. as refugees. Members of those groups already in the U.S. would be allowed to seek asylum or legal permanent residency. She issued similar waivers in May and October for resettlement of Karen refugees from Myanmar who have been living in refugee camps in Thailand. Ethnic groups that could benefit from the latest round of waivers would include the Karen in the Tham Hin refugee camp in Thailand whose villages were burned and whose members endured rapes and forced labor. Rice's action will assist other ethnic groups who resisted the Myanmar military, such as the Chin, and extend help to two older organizations, the Mustangs, a Tibetan group and alzadas of Cuba, as well as the Hmong and Montanards, southeast Asian ethnic groups that assisted the U.S. in Vietnam. Rosenzweig said the administration also is proposing legislation to change a law that prohibits people of certain ethnic groups who participated in armed combat from seeking asylum or legal status. The law has separated some families because a father might have used arms to defend a family. While the family members could apply to resettle in the U.S., the father could not. Blast at U.S. embassy called terrorist act ATHENS, Greece (AP) - A rocket was fired at the U.S. embassy early Friday, striking the front of the building but causing no injuries. A senior police official said the blast was an act of terrorism. Police cordoned off streets around the heavily guarded building after the explosion shortly before 6 a.m. The shell struck the third floor and smashed glass in nearby buildings. Investigators found the device used tofirethe rocket shell at a construction site near the embassy. "This is an act of terrorism. We don't know where from," Attica Police Chief Asimakis Golfis said. "There was a shell that exploded in the toilets of the building ... It was fired from street level." Embassy officials confirmed that an explosion had taken place and said that no one had been injured. U.S. ambassador Charles Reis said the damage was "not extensive." "There can be no justification for such a senseless act of violence ... The embassy was occupied at the time (but) nobody was hurt, he said. Authorities were searching apartment buildings near the U.S. Embassy and a nearby hospital for evidence. "I heard a loud bang I didn't realize what was going on," said Giorgos Yiannoulis, who runs a kiosk near the embassy. Traffic came to a standstill across parts of central Athens, as police and emergency services scrambled to the embassy building, which is a frequent destination for protest groups. It was the first major attack against a U.S. target in more than a decade, following the arrest of members of Greece's far-left November 17 terrorist group. The group was blamed for killing 23 people - including U.S., British and Turkish officials - and dozens of bomb attacks. In 2003, a special court gave multiple life sentences to November 17's leader, chief assassin and three other members. Lesser sentences were given to 10 others. Bored? Looking for more than the "usual" dinner & a movie? Bring p i r friends & trg the 'mmsaali Utah's only nonalcoholic. Private Room Karaoke Club! Thousands ofwitteo songs to choose froml MBTON Tfflg AD & GET 11.00 Offl PER PERSONf •w--™?.1.. m f •< i ^ ^ 797-1769 statesman@cc.usu.edu IW good with any other offer. Erpfres Feb. 25, W. Guitar Hero II Dance, Dance Devolution II Playstation 3 IV-.- !•"*• 752-5525 345 North lit Eart Logan BURBANK, Calif. (AP) - Bindi Irwin, the 8-year-old daughter of the late "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, followed in her dad's footsteps Thursday, using her American television debut to talk about animals. BINDI IRWIN The khakiclad girl skipped across the stage holding a blue-tongued lizard as she greeted audiences of the "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." "This is Spanky. He's 10 years old," Bindi told DeGeneres as she prodded the lizard to lick her face in an attempt to show its tongue. "I just love animals. My dad really brought it out in me," Bindi said. "He's the one that made me." Her father, animal lover and conservationist Steve Irwin, died Sept. 4 from the poisonous jab of a stingray. Along with Bindi, he left behind his wife, Terri, and 2-year-old son, Bob. Like her father, Bindi said she loves "all animals, great or small." She will star in a wildlife series to air on the Discovery Kids network early next year. "I want to be like my dad," she said. "I want him to be proud of me." Late Night Culture Comments: David Letter man, Jan. 10, 2007 Top Ten Things Signs Donald Trump Hates You 10. Wake up to see Miss USA and Miss Universe slashing your tires 9. Pet hamster is missing and Donald's got a new hair style 8. Instead of firing you, he kicks you in the nuts 7- Debuting new reality show where contestants take a leak on your lawn 6. Only gives you twenty minutes to vacate your apartment instead of his customary forty-five 5. Buys all the pie in the world just so you can never have pie again 4. Twice daily, you're beaten by casino goons 3. You wake up each morning to find dozens of empty hairspray cans in your mailbox 2. Offers free night's stay at his hotel to anyone who nails your wife 1. You're one of the hosts of "The View" |
