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2 I Thursday, April 28, 2005 | The Red & Black
THE WIRE
In Brief
Celebs call for end
Settlers protest Gaza Strip withdrawal
to horse slaughter
WASHINGTON — A coali
tion of celebrities, race track
leaders and others have called
in from across the country
hoping their voices push for
ward legislation that would
end or limit the slaughter of
wild horses.
Lawmakers have been
pushing for years to stop wild
horses and burros from being
killed at three U.S. slaughter
houses that send the meat
overseas for consumption. The
effort picked up steam after
Congress last year replaced a
34-year-old ban on selling wild
mustangs and burros with a
provision that allows the sale
of older, unwanted horses.
Supporters of two pro
posed measures — one that
would stop the commercial
sale of wild horses and burros
and one that would ban horse
slaughter in the United States
— are trying to pull together
as many people as possible to
back their cause. So far, they
have pulled together stars
ranging from country music
singers to a “Desperate
Housewives” actress.
False alarm sends
President to shelter
WASHINGTON — President
Bush was rushed from the
Oval Office to an underground
shelter and Vice President
Dick Cheney was taken to a
secure location Wednesday on
fears that an unidentified
aircraft had entered restricted
space near the White House.
Officials said it was a false
alarm.
The brief scare lasted only a
few minutes before officials
determined there was no
threat, White House counselor
Dan Bartlett said.
The incident was sparked
by a blip on a radar screen
that turned out to be a false
alarm and no aircraft actually
entered restricted air space,
said Brian Roehrkasse, a
Homeland Security
Department spokesman.
Helicopters scrambled to
investigate confirmed the lack
of errant aircraft, he said.
Secret Service spokesman
Jonathan Cherry would say
only: “There was a report of a
possible violation of restricted
air space which has since been
cleared.”
Some White House staff
members were moved out of
the West Wing and tourists
were rushed from the East
Wing and sent to the far side of
a park across the street from
the compound. Gun-toting
Secret Service uniformed offi
cers took up positions around
the White House compound.
Man convicted in
missile plot
NEWARK, N.J. — A federal
jury convicted a former British
clothing merchant Wednesday
of attempting to sell shoulder-
launched missiles to what he
believed was a terrorist group
planning to shoot down airlin
ers.
Jurors reached their verdict
on Hemant Lakhani on their
second day of deliberations.
Lakhani has been held
without bail since his arrest in
a hotel room near Newark
Liberty International Airport
on Aug. 12, 2003.
The sting operation, involv
ing undercover agents from
several nations, became the
first terrorism prosecution in
New Jersey since the Sept. 11
attacks.
The government claimed
Lakhani had agreed to
arrange the sale of 50 more
missiles.
Lakhani’s attorney, Henry
Klingeman, told the jury in
closings last week that his
client was the victim of
entrapment.
“There was no missile plot
until the government created
it,” Klingeman said. “It’s a lot
like a fireman who lights a fire
and then pulls the alarm so he
can be the hero.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney
Brian Howe argued that
Lakhani “pushed the deal and
took steps to avoid getting
caught.”
— The Associated Press
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Gaza Strip — Thousands of
Israelis poured into the Gaza Strip’s
main Jewish settlement block
Wednesday to protest this summer's
planned withdrawal from the area
Israel occupied for 38 years, but the
rally was marred by low turnout and
a mortar attack.
A mortar shell fired Wednesday by
Palestinian militants struck near a
playground during the rally, slightly
injuring an Israeli soldier with shrap
nel. Organizers vowed to continue
the protest meant as a show of sup
port for settlers being uprooted from
the area Israel has occupied for 38
years.
Gaza settler leaders initially said
they expected 100,000 people to turn
out for the daylong event. Only
about 20,000 people had arrived by
afternoon, police said.
Many of the demonstrators were
young families, taking time off from
work and school during the Passover
holiday vacation.
Emily Amrussi, a spokeswoman
for the settlers, said after the rocket
attack that the event would go on.
“Of course we are carrying on,”
she said. “This ... shows the connec
tion between the Palestinian enemy
and (Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon
because this is a rally against him.”
During more than four years of
fighting, militants have fired thou
sands of rockets and mortar shells at
the Gaza settlements, though the
number of attacks has fallen sharply
since a Feb. 8 cease-fire declaration.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
arrived Wednesday for a historic first
visit to Israel by a Kremlin leader,
WORLD NOTEBOOK
hours after calling for a Mideast
peace conference in Moscow this fall.
The topics of talks with Israeli and
Palestinian leaders are expected to
include proposed Russian missile
sales to Syria and an expanded role
for Russia in Mideast diplomacy.
Some settler leaders have
expressed hope the protesters would
stay in Gaza to resist the withdrawal.
Avner Shimon, mayor of the Gaza
settlements, said he expected the
visitors to leave after Passover, which
ends Saturday night.
“People are coming to enjoy them
selves, see the place and hug us and
to tell us they are with us. I estimate
that nobody will remain when it is
over,” he told Israel Army Radio.
Early Wednesday, Israeli authori
ties closed the main crossing into the
Gush Katif bloc of settlements to
private cars, allowing only buses
through. The army also closed a
main Palestinian road and took up
positions on the roof of a nearby
Palestinian factory to protect set
tlers.
Airbus A380 takes
maiden flight
BLAGNAC, France — The world’s
largest passenger plane, the Airbus
A380, successfully took off on its
maiden flight Wednesday, a mile
stone for aviation and for the
BAZ RATNER | The Associated Press
A Jewish settlers and oppo
nents of Israel’s planned with
drawal from the Gaza Strip
march along a road in the Gush
Katif bloc of settlements in the
southern Gaza Strip Wednesday.
European aircraft-maker’s battle
with American rival Boeing Co.
The giant plane’s four engines
hauled its double-decked, 280-metric
ton 308-ton fuselage aloft at 10:29
a.m., an achievement watched by
thousands of spectators 101 years
after the Wright brothers first
mastered controlled, sustained flight.
The plane was carrying a crew of
six and 22 tons of on-board test
instruments. Its first flight was
expected to last about four hours.
“The takeoff went perfectly,” Alain
Garcia, an Airbus engineering execu
tive, said on LCI television.
The plane was likely to stay within
100 miles of the airport in Blagnac, a
suburb of Toulouse in southwest
France. It was beaming back real
time measurements to Airbus head
quarters at Blagnac.
There were cheers and applause
as the white jet with a blue tail — its
engines surprisingly quiet — picked
up speed down the runway and lifted
smoothly into the blue skies. Fire
trucks were stationed alongside the
runway as a precaution.
Airbus chief test pilot Jacques
Rosay, flight captain Claude Lelaie
and four crew members — who all
wore orange flight suits — were
taking no chances. Airbus had said
they would be wearing parachutes
during the first flight, in accordance
with company policy. A handrail
leads from the cockpit to an escape
door that can be jettisoned if the
pilots lose control of the plane.
The flight capped 11 years of
preparation and $13 billion in spend
ing. Spectators camped out by the
airport to be there for what some
said was Europe's biggest aviation
event since the first flight of the
supersonic Concorde in 1969.
The A380, with a catalogue price
of $282 million, represents a huge bet
by Airbus that international
— The Associated Press
President Bush outlines energy initiatives
J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE | The Associated Press
A President Bush tells the National Small Business Week
Conference he wants the government to stimulate construction of
power plants and oil refineries at the Washington Hilton Hotel
Wednesday.
WASHINGTON — President Bush,
facing economic and political damage
from soaring gas prices, offered
proposals Wednesday to speed con
struction of nuclear power plants and
oil refineries and boost sales of ener
gy-efficient vehicles.
Bush outlined his initiatives in his
second energy speech in a week,
reflecting growing concern in the
White House that high energy prices
are beginning to slow economic
growth and undercut the president's
approval rating.
Speaking to small business leaders,
Bush lamented that he was powerless
to cut gas prices. “I wish I could,” he
said. “If I could, I would.”
“This problem did not develop
overnight and it’s not going to be
fixed overnight. But it’s now time to
fix it,” he said. Bush said the problem
is that energy supplies are not grow
ing fast enough to meet the growing
demand in the United States and in
other countries.
“See, we’ve got a fundamental
question we got to face here in
America,” Bush said. “Do we want to
continue to grow more dependent on
other nations to meet our energy
needs? Or, do we need to do what is
necessary to achieve greater control
of our economic destiny?”
America has not ordered a new
nuclear power plant since the 1970s.
Bush said that France has built 58
plants in the same period and today
France gets more than 78 percent of
its electricity from nuclear power.
“It’s time for America to start
building again,” he said.
Senate Democratic leader Harry
Reid called Bush's initiatives “little
more than half measures and wrong
headed policies that will do nothing to
address the current energy crisis or
break the stranglehold that foreign oil
has on our nation.”
He said Senate Democrats will
offer a much larger package of tax
incentives — double the $8 billion
approved by the House — and funnel
more of the money to renewable
energy sources and energy efficiency
measures.
Bush urged using closed military
bases as sites for new oil refineries.
The Energy Department is being-
ordered to step up discussions with
communities near such bases to try to
get refineries built. He said the United
States has not built a new oil refinery
since the 1970s.
Bush also called on Congress to
provide a “risk insurance” plan to
insulate the nuclear industry against
regulatory delays if it builds new
nuclear power plants. And he
endorsed giving federal regulators
final say over the location of liquefied
natural gas (LNG) import terminals.
LNG terminal projects have been
stymied in some regions by local
opposition, even though the need for
more LNG imports has been widely
accepted.
Corpsman: self defense
shooting not warranted
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — A Marine
who witnessed the shooting deaths of
two Iraqis during a search for a terror
ist hideout testified Wednesday that
he saw no cause for an officer to shoot
the men in the back.
Second Lt. Ilario Pantano, 33, a
former Wall Street trader who
rejoined the Marines after the Sept. 11
attacks, has admitted shooting the
NATIONAL NOTEBOOK
two men in April 2004 during a search
in Mahmudiyah, Iraq, but has said he
fired because he thought the men
were attacking him.
Corpsman George Gobles testified
Wednesday on the second day of an
Article 32 hearing, similar to a civilian
grand jury, to determine whether
Pantano will face a court-martial.
Asked by a prosecutor if he
believed the Iraqis’ actions merited a
self-defense shooting, Gobles said:
“Myself, I didn’t see anything.”
Under cross-examination by a
defense lawyer, Maj. Phil Stackhouse,
Gobles said he felt Pantano was a
strong leader.
“I just felt a sense of security when
a situation arose, I knew he would be
able to take care of it,” Gobles said. “I
felt the safest with this platoon more
than any other platoon in our compa
ny, more than anything because of Lt.
Pantano and his leadership.”
Gobles also said Pantano went out
of his way to interact with Iraqi civil
ians. “They felt he was a friend,” he
said.
In the April 2004 incident,
Pantano's unit had been ordered to
search a house suspected of being a
terrorist hideout. Marines stopped
Hamaady Kareem and Tahah
Ahmead Hanjil as they tried to drive
away from the residence. Marines
searched their car and found nothing
of concern, he said.
Gobles said he was facing away
from the car when he heard Pantano
say “stop” in Arabic and in English.
When he turned around, Gobles said,
one of the detainees was trying to
escape and Pantano fired about 30
rounds at the unarmed men.
— The Associated Press
Governor Perdue still undecided on smoking ban
JASON BRAVERMAN | The Associated Press
A Gwinnett County firefighters investigate the area where a
plane caught fire Tuesday evening at Briscoe Field Airport in
Lawrenceville.
ATLANTA — With advocates for
both sides pushing and his deadline
growing closer, Gov. Sonny Perdue
remained publicly undecided
Wednesday on whether to sign a bill
banning smoking in most public
buildings.
Perdue has until May 10 to veto the
bill, which would only let smokers
light up in a handful of places, includ
ing bars and airport smoking lounges.
Since the bill first began making its
way through the Legislature, Perdue
has expressed personal misgivings
about the plan.
While expressing his respect for its
author, Sen. Don Thomas (R-Dalton)
a physician, Perdue has said he has
concerns about government trying to
be “a be-all, end-all nanny for all
people.”
The governor has held several
public ceremonies, signing dozens of
bills since the Legislature adjourned
March 31. Perdue spokesman Dan
McLagan said Wednesday said he’s
set no date, other than the May 10
deadline, for a decision on the smok
ing ban.
“We’ll make an announcement
when we make an announcement”
McLagan said. “The governor is going
through a decision-making process on
this, weighing health concerns with
individual liberty.”
Meanwhile, advocates for the ban
say they're hopeful.
“Obviously, we don’t take anything
for granted, but we feel pretty good
about it right now” said Andy Lord,
public policy manager for the Georgia
branch of the American Cancer
Society. “We feel like any objective
look at the merits of this bill will end
up veiy favorably for us.”
Lord said his group has provided
Perdue’s office with information on
smoking’s health risks and with polls
showing popular support for smoking
bans.
STATE NOTEBOOK
A Zogby International poll con
ducted for The Atlanta Journal-
Constitution last week found that 64
percent of Georgians favor the ban.
The poll of 501 voters was conducted
Thursday and Friday and had a mar
gin of error of plus or minus 4.5 per
centage points.
Lord said the American Cancer
Society has not been involved in
organizing petitions or other specific
lobbying since the bill passed, but has
steered people who support it toward
Perdue's office.
Rape victim shoots
attacker in the neck
SAVANNAH, Ga. — A woman who
was being raped ended the assault by
shooting her attacker, police said.
The woman told officers she was
sitting in a car with her boyfriend
Monday night when two men came up
to the parked car with a handgun and
ordered them out of the car,
according to a Savannah-Chatham
Metropolitan Police report.
The two men took a purse and
wallet from the couple and then
approached the woman. They ripped
her pants off and began sexually
assaulting her, the report said.
But when one of the men put his
gun down, the woman grabbed it and
fired four shots. One of the shots
struck one of the attackers in the
neck, causing him to fall over.
The woman and her boyfriend
jumped back into their car and drove
off. The men followed and, using the
gun, broke the car’s rear windshield,
the report said.
But the couple got away and went
to a home where they called police.
Officers later found Eric Easterling
bleeding on a porch.
Plane crashes at
Gwinnett Co. airport
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — A small
plane crashed and burned Tuesday
evening after landing at Gwinnett
County’s Briscoe Field Airport, but
authorities said there were no serious
injuries.
“We have been able to determine
that the two people on board the
plane are safe, and they were able to
crawl out of the the plane prior
to it catching fire,” Gwinnett
County Fire Department spokesman
Thomas Rutledge said.
Rutledge said the pilot of the
Merlin II, a twin-engine turboprop
made by Swearingen, had minor
injuries that were treated at the
scene, and his passenger was unin
jured.
The two are business associates
from Spartanburg, S.C., and had
flown from Spartanburg to a dinner
engagement here, he said. Rutledge
said they did not want to be identi
fied.
The pilot told investigators that
just prior to touchdown, the right
engine did not respond normally and
the plane made a sharp right turn,
causing the wing to hit the ground.
Briscoe Field was closed after the
crash, and flights were diverted to
other general aviation airports,
Rutledge said.
— The Associated Press