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Show Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 Page 2 l\/i Nation Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.aggietownsquare.com Clarify/Correct The policy of The Utah Statesman is to correct any error made as soon as possible. If you find something you would like clarified or find unfair, please contact the editor at 797-1762 or TSC 105. Correction In the Wednesday Aug. 26 issue there were multiple quotes attributed to Bart Carbett throughout the story "Researches seek to find cure for H1N1 Virus," those attributions beong to Dr. Bart Tarbet. Celebs&People NEW YORK (AP) - Authorities don't expect to know for weeks what killed celebrity disc.jockey DJ AM, who was found dead in a Manhattan AM apartment. A law enforcement official has told The Associated Press police found a crack pipe and prescription pills in the apartment where they discovered DJ AM's body Friday. The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. LflfeMfeHumor David Letterman, April 27, 2009 - Top Ten Signs You're Dealing With A Ben Bernanke Impostor 10. Keeps offering to "Print ya' up a bucket a' twenties." 9. The phony giant, wooly beard taped to his face. 8. Claims he's the star of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Bernanke." 7. Doesn't have Bernankes famous neck tattoo of Tupac and Biggie. 6. You ask if the Dow is down and he says, "No, he seemed in fine spirits to me." 5. Business card has "Federal Reserve Chairman" scribbled over "Sears Appliances." 4. You see him eating a chicken salad sandwich (Note: Ben Bernanke hates chicken salad). 3. When you ask if lowering the Fed Funds Rate will create deflation, he says a Keynesian expansion of consumer demand will offset any deflationary spiral, when in fact the real guy would have cited Milton Friedman's belief that the Ml and M2 money supply would be energized by increased volatility. 2. He's handsome, but he's not "Bernanke handsome." 1. His plan to fix the economy? Don't change a thing! Sunday's Japanese election upends long-ruling party TOKYO (AP) -Japans opposition swept to a historic victory in elections Sunday, crushing the ruling conservative party that has run the country for most of the postwar era and assuming the daunting task of pulling the economy out of its worst slump since World War II. A grim-looking Prime Minister Taro Aso conceded defeat just a couple hours after polls had closed, suggesting he would quit as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled Japan for all but 11 months since 1955. "The results are very severe," Aso said. "There has been a deep dissatisfaction with our party." Unemployment and deflation - and an aging, shrinking population - have left families fearful of what the future holds. Fed up with the LDP, voters turned overwhelmingly to the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, which ran a populist-leaning platform with plans for cash handouts to families with children and expanding the social safety net. "This is a victory for the people," said Yukio Hatoyama, leader of the Democrats and almost certainly Japan's next prime minister. "We want to build a new government that hears the voices of the nation." Hatoyama and his party - an eclectic mix of former Liberal Democrats, socialists and progressives - face a daunting array of challenges, economic and demographic. Japan's economy has been hit hard amid the global recession and falling demand for its exports. The unemployment rate has spiked to a record 5.7 percent and younger workers have watched the promise of lifetime employment fade. Incomes are stagnant and families have cut spending. The country also faces threats as its population ages, which means more people are on pensions and there is a shrinking pool of taxpayers to support them and other government programs. The Democrats' plan to give families 26,000 yen ($275) a month per child through junior high is meant to ease parenting costs and encourage more women have babies. Japan's population of 127.6 million peaked in 2006, and is expected to fall below 100 million by the middle of the century. The Democrats are also proposing toll-free highways, free high schools, income support for farmers, monthly allowances for job seekers in training, a higher minimum wage and tax cuts. The estimated bill comes to 16.8 trillion yen ($179 billion) if fully implemented starting in fiscal year 2013 - and critics say that will only further bloat Japan's already massive public debt. In foreign relations, the Democrats have said they want Tokyo to be more independent from Washington on diplomatic issues, though they have stressed that the U.S. will remain Japan's key ally and that they want to keep relations good, while also strengthening ties with their Asian neighbors. Official nationwide results were expected to be announced midmorning [MSeeSHAKEUP,pagel6 Utah lawmakers reimbursed forFour Utah County teens die in high-speed wreck more than $160,000 in meals SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Utah's 104 part-time lawmakers and their aides were reimbursed for more than $160,000 in meals over the past year, including many they never paid for. An Associated Press review of legislative expenses found on transparent.utah.gov shows that the 29 member Senate was responsible for more than half of all meal reimbursements at $85,974, or an average of $2,964.62 per senator. The 75 member House's meal reimbursements totaled $74,248; or an average of $989.97 per representative. The reimbursement totals include a handful of meals paid for by legislative staff. The meal reimbursements came at a time legislators slashed jobs and eliminated programs as they trimmed the state budget by about $1 billion to accommodate declining revenues during one of the worst economic downturns in state history. Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, said he couldn't comment on the expenditures until he's had time to examine them. Messages left with House Speaker Dave Clark, R-Santa Clara, were not immediately returned. Citing budget pressures, Clark established a new travel policy for representatives this spring that limited lawmakers to spending $1,500 when they traveled out-of-state for national conferences, including hotel, travel registration and meals. The Senate also cut back on put-of-state travel expenses by limiting the number of trips lawmakers could take. fecent economic conditions have forced the ending of the complimentary New York Times Readership Program at Utah State University. However, a low education rate of just $2.25 per week fit>r Monday through Friday service) is available to students and faculty. •Offer good through December 31,2009 In the past year, the Senate's out-of-state meal reimbursement totals were $6,704, and the House's was $4,606. State lawmakers give themselves $54 to spend on meals every day they're called to work at the Capitol, including weekends during their annual 45day session in which they stay home. They are also allowed to claim the per diem during special sessions and other scheduled meetings throughout the year, in addition to travel expenses. No meal receipts are required to be reimbursed at the per diem rate. Because the per diem rate is tied to the federal rate, it will automatically go up to $61 a day on Oct. 1. In comparison, state employees receive a maximum of $36 per day to spend on meals while traveling on official business in the state and must provide receipts before being reimbursed. There was no increase in the reimbursement rate this year. For lawmakers who buy their own meals, it's often difficult to spend more than $10 on a meal at the Capitol cafeteria where many state workers, legislative staffers and interns buy breakfast and lunch. But while the Legislature is in session, lawmakers rarely have to pick up the tab for their own meals. Lobbyists spend hundreds of thousands of dollars every year sponsoring working lunches and receptions at the Capitol and taking legislators to expensive restaurants, enabling legislators to pocket the per diem money. Rep. Neil Hansen, D-Ogden, said most lawmakers - himself included - don't feel guilty pocketing the per diem money because they only receive $130 a day salary for being lawmakers, and that is only paid when they're called into approved meetings. That amount is being reduced to $117 a day this year after lawmakers said they wanted to share in the budget pain with state agencies. HELPER, Utah (AP)-Police say four Utah County teens died in a high-speed wreck in central Utah. Utah County sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon says the four were traveling nearly 100 mph on a backroad when the 2007 Chevrolet Aveo they were in slammed into a roadside barrier along a curve and rolled at least once. .. Authorities say the wreck likely happened between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. A passer-by spotted the wreckage Sunday around 7:30 a.m. Cannon says the wreck killed the 16-year-old male driver, a 16-year-old boy in the passenger seat, a 19-yearold male in the back seat - all from Orem - and a 13-yearold girl in the back seat from Payson. He says everyone except the 13-year-old was wearing a seat belt. Somalia's humanitarian state worse than its been in 18years A SOMALI BOY CROSSES A C H E C K P O I N T with a fish on his head, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Friday, Aug. 28, 2009. Somalia is facing its worst humanitarian crisis in 18 years, with more than half of the population needing humanitarian aid amid an escalating crisis, the United Nations claimed recently. AP photo 1-888WT-COLL or visit www.nytimes.com/student or www.nytimes.com/prof. NYTIMES.COM/COLLEGE Students living on campus can pick up their copy at the USU Bookstore. usu BOOK STORE |