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News Digest Page 2 Daily Nebraskan Monday, February 26,2001 Senators search for plan to weed out spys ■ After a counterintelligence specialist was found to be working for Moscow, increased security is being considered. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Senators worried about America’s compromised secrets are pitching a variety of ideas to keep intelli gence out of the wrong hands. They are not sure any single one will do die job. Random lie-detector tests, audits of FBI agents’ personal finances, and rotations to ensure people do not stay in top-secret posi tions too long are among proposals in play as the Senate Intelligence Committee pre pares for hearings this week on the case of accused spy Robert Hanssen. As hungry as they are for answers, intel ligence experts in and out of government expressed a measure of humility Sunday from the knowledge that solutions are as elusive as the spying trade itself. Higher salaries to discourage turncoats? That might help, said the committee chair man, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. “But I guess if somebody’s really motivated to spy for money, they’re going to do it” Would random polygraphs like those used by the CIA have caught Hanssen, an FBI counterintelligence specialist, sooner? “Maybe, maybe not,” Shelby said. “But I believe that they ought to use that” William S. Cohen, defense secretary in die Clinton administration and a spy novel ist on the side, was struck by the cleverness of the techniques attributed to Hanssen in allegedly giving Moscow secrets for as many as 15 years without drawing attention. “You can never fully stop spying,” Cohen said. “What you can do is to try to take every reasonable precaution to catch spies in your midst” FBI Director Louis Freeh, among those scheduled to testify before the committee Wednesday, has drawn only guarded criti cism so far for having a mole go undetected for so long. President Bush has expressed confidence in him. But without using Freeh’s name, Massachusetts Sen. John ferry, a Democrat, said he could not understand why tougher procedures were not in place at the FBI along the lines of those instituted at the CIA after Aldrich Ames, one of their own, plead ed guilty to spying for Moscow in 1994. “Somebody has to be held account able,” ferry said. "People would resign in the past over something like this.” Whether audits would have raised sus picion about Hanssen is an open question. He did not have an obviously lavish lifestyle. He was, however, putting six children through Catholic schools and universities. In a letter Hanssen is alleged to have written to his Russian handlers in 1985, the beginning of his alleged moonlighting for the KGB and its successor agency, he noted that a large reward could cause complica tions because "I can not spend it, store it, or invest it easily without (tripping)... warning bells.” The government says Hanssen passed some 6,000 documents and 26 computer disks to his handlers, detailing eavesdrop ping techniques, helping to confirm the identity of Russian double agents, and spilling other secrets. Using sophisticated computer tech niques to gather information, and parks to drop off and retrieve packages, he operated without ever meeting his handlers or telling them where he worked, authorities say. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said the United States let down its guard after the Soviet Union collapsed, despite the contin uing demand for American secrets from foe and friend alike. “We’ve become way too complacent and sanguine here over the last few years,” he said. Efforts of pardon investigation may combine THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — House and Senate Republicans leading the review of President Clinton’s last-minute pardons said Sunday they may consider combining their efforts into a single inves tigation. MI think that is probably a good idea,” said Sen. Aden Specter, R-Pa. Added Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., "That's something that we could look into.” Burton, chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, and Specter, who heads the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation into the pardons, said they have not had formal conversa tions about the idea. Congressional and federal investigators are examining the 140 pardons and 36 commutations Clinton issued in the final hours of his presidency. The investigations began with officials searching to see if fugitive millionaire Marc Rich or his family promised donations in return for his pardon. Federal prosecutors in New York now are investi gating whether the former president commuted the sentences of four convicted swindlers in exchange for Hasidic Jewish votes for his wife during her run for die Senate, a source has said. Also under scrutiny are a pardon and a commu tation for which Mrs. Clinton’s brother Hugh Rodham received nearly $400,000; two pardons on which her campaign treasurer performed legal work; and the possible role of die former president's half brother, Roger Clinton, in some other cases. At a Thursday hearing of Burton’s committee, three of Clinton’s closest White House advisers are scheduled to appear: former chief of staff John Podesta, former White House counsel Beth Nolan and former White House adviser Bruce Lindsey. Also expected to testify is Skip Rutherford, the president of the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library Foundation. The committee wants access to the foundation’s donor list to check to see if any money came in that could have been promised in exchange for pardons. Specter said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the Senate Judiciary Committee would do its best not to duplicate what the House committee’s work, so “coordinated efforts, if not a joint hearing, I think would be advisable.” Democrats cheered the idea as they attacked Burton’s investigation. “The process that is set up now is not fair. Let us have a fair investigation,” Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” CZ Editor Sarah Baker |Vdf Managing Editor Bradley Davis W Associate News Editor Kimberly Sweet Assignment Editor Jill Zeman ■■■ Opinion Editor JakeGlazeski Sports Editor Matthew Hansen Assistant Sports Editor David Diehl Arts Editor Samuel McKewon Copy Desk Chief; Danell McCoy Mm Copy Desk Chief: Jeff Bloom Art Director Melanie Falk JhJ Art Director Delan Lonowski O Photo Chief: Scott McClurg Design Coordinator: Bradley Davis ZWeb Editor Gregg Stems Assistant Web Editor Tanner Graham General Manager Daniel Shattil Publications Board Russell Willbanks l Chairman: (402) 484-7226 Professional Adviser Don Walton ^ (402) 473-7248 Advertising Manager NickPartsch (402) 472-2589 r Assistant Ad Manager Nicole Woita Classified Ad Manager: Nikki Bruner Circulation Manager Imtiyaz Khan Fax number (402) 472-1761 World Wide Web: www.dailyneb.com The Daily Nebraskan (USPS144-080) is published by the UNL Publications Board# Nebraska Union, 1400 R St, Lincoln, NE 68588-0448, Monday through Friday during the academic year; weekly during the summer sessions.The public has access to the Publications Board. Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas and comments to the Daily Nebraskan by calling (402) 472-2588. Subscriptions are $60 for one year. Postmaster Send address changes to the Daily Nebraskan, # Nebraska Union, 1400 R St, Lincoln NE 68588-0448. Periodical postage paid at Lincoln, NE. ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 2001 THE DAILY NEBRASKAN Questions? Comments? Ask for the appropriate section editor at (402) 472-2500 or e-mail dn@unl.edu. David Silverman/Newsmakers Palestinians chant anti-US slogans as they demonstrate in support of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein outside Yasser Arafat's headquarters Sunday in the West Bank Palestinian town of Ramallah.The demonstration took place as Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was conducting a meeting with visiting US Secretary of State Colin Powell. Support for Saddam regime rises ■ Bombings by the U.S.and failed plights at forming a peace policy have given the leader a boost. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BAGHDAD, Iraq — During a meet ing with an ultranationalist Serb leader earlier this month, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein boasted to his guest that he had survived numerous attempts on his life by the United States. America’s “most serious failure” has been its inability to find allies inside the country to overthrow his government, Saddam told Vojislav Seselj. His com ments were reported by the official Iraqi News Agency. The world may still be officially ostra cizing Iraq with some of the toughest economic sanctions the United Nations has ever imposed. But 10 years after the international community imposed the embargo meant to suffocate Saddam and his gov ernment, the Iraqi leader is still defiantly ■■ - ■ ■ ■ m in the driver’s seat, buoyed by an unprecedented wave of support from the same countries that backed the sanc tions against Iraq and fought the 1991 GulfWar against it As he toured the region on a four-day trip, Secretary of State Colin Powell a for mer general who helped lead the U.S. campaign against Iraq, found himself denounced by protesters who accuse the United States of targeting ordinary Iraqis with bombs and sanctions. Powell warned, however, that Saddam still posed a threat “Saddam Hussein is stronger than he was following the end of the war,” said Kadri Saeed, an analyst at Cairo's inde pendent Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. The Iraqi president "has managed to overcome numerous difficulties and deal with the international community in such a way that has made him and his regime continue,” Saeed added. Former GulfWar allies such as Egypt and Syria, which backed the United States during the 1991 GulfWar, have been reaching out to Iraq and urging the lifting of sanctions. Analysts say Saddam has been boosted in part by America’s failed Mideast peace policy and the U.S. bombings on Iraq. “The American policy has given the government strong justification to keep the state of emergency in effect, thus strengthening its grip on the situation and delaying the return of normal life,” analyst Saeed said. “The world has started coming to Iraq,” said Abdel-Razzak al-Hashimi, a senior member of the ruling Baath party. “Everyone has reached the conclusion that America can no longer implement its program in Iraq and change the gov ernment” At the Tower of Defiance, a commu nications tower destroyed by the allies during the Gulf War, a bronze statue of Saddam rises over schoolchildren brought by their teachers. "I love Saddam Hussein,” Nour Abdel-Razzaq, 10, said, as she gazed up at the statue. “He’s like my father because he has protected us against evil America.” . • ■ - • rootoaii Tans race mice in ticket prices BY JOSHUA CAMENZ1NP The University of Nebraska announced Thursday it would raise season ticket prices for three of its seven home games next season. NU's games against Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Kansas State will cost season ticket holders $50 each. The Huskers’ other four home games are $40 apiece, raising the average ticket price for the 2001 season to $44, a 12.6 percent increase from last year and a 25 percent increase from the 98-99 season. The price hike, coupled with the news that season ticket holders who are also donors will now be charged to park in lots that were once free, has some fans worried that the university is forgetting its roots. Mary Ash, a teacher from Arcadia, said she could see both sides of the issue, but in the end, she believes NU is abandoning the average fan. “I feel like they are catering toward the top end - the fans with the big money,” Ash said. “The skyboxes are OK, but they are forgetting about the dad who wants to take TODAY TOMORROW Mostly cloudy Snow high 35, low 19 high 26, low 8 i his boys to the game." Ash and her husband Dwayne, fear fans like them selves will be shut out of future Husker games with Athletic Director Bill Byrne's emphasis on the bottom line. "(Byrne) has done a lot to promote Nebraska but the meat and potatoes of Nebraska football is people like us,” Ash said. Byrne, who could not be reached for comment on Sunday night, defended the increase in a statement released by the university. "Like everyone else, the athletic program is facing increasing expenses,” he said. We’ve already experienced a huge increase in utilities and travel and we fully antici pate sizable increases in housing and tuition fees in the upcoming year. “Inflation alone has resulted in a $1 million increase in our budget. With increased costs due to coaching changes and salary increases, and costs to keep our facilities run ning, we must continually find new sources of funding in order to balance the budget and remain competitive.” The athletic department ran $250,000 over its $39 mil lion budget this year after encountering unforseen con struction costs and falling basketball attendance. Nebraska’s donor parking fees, will run as follows: $15 per passenger vehicle in lots adjacent to Memorial Stadium for each game, $10 per passenger vehicle for all other lots, $75 per RV and $40 for parking in Lot 19. Dwayne Ash, who also travels to as many away games as possible with his wife, said something must be done before the average fan loses interest. “If our winning streak ever quits,” said Ash, “the big money people are going to fall out and who is going to fill the stands then?” The Associated Press ■ Utah Sample food distribution not mote dangerous says court SALT LAKE CITY—Chicken on a toothpick is no more danger ous than pumpkin pie on a plate or cottage cheese on a cracker, the Utah Court of Appeals has ruled. Catherine Brown sued fast food restaurant Chick-Fil-A in 1994 after slipping and falling on a piece of chicken that had been handed out as a free sample at Fashion Place Mall in Murray. Attorneys for Brown claimed that her injuries resulted from the inherent danger created by chick en distributed in this manner. But the appeals court dis agreed Friday. “The distribution of a chicken morsel on a toothpick is not somehow intrinsically more dan gerous than distributing cottage cheese on a cracker or pie and whipped cream on a small plate,” the appeals court ruled, referring to other Utah cases dealing with the perils posed by food samples. ■■■ ■ • ■ wasnmgion Rowdy Mardi Gras crowd results in injuries, arrests SEATTLE—Police in riot gear used pepper spray, rubber bullets and concussion bombs to break up Mardi Gras festivities early Sunday in the second straight day of violence tied to the celebration. Police said several people in a crowd of about 2,000 threw bot tles, rocks and firecrackers at offi cers soon after bars closed at about 1:30 a.m. A half-dozen people were arrested, most on assault charges. One person was injured in a stab bing, and a police officer suffered a broken arm. Police said the violence grew worse after they arrested a man suspected of armed robbery. ■ Switzerland Swiss hackerto be charged with data theft, feces prison GENEVA — Swiss police arrested a man Friday on suspi cion of hacking into the computer systems of the World Economic Forum and stealing private infor mation about participants. Geneva police said the man was a 20-year-old Swiss citizen and part time computer consult ant. He was arrested in the Swiss capital, Bern. Police said he would be charged with data theft, unautho rized entry into a computer sys tem, damage to property and mis use of credit cards. If found guilty he faces up to five years in prison or a fine. ■ Oregon Once-pardoned man now faces murder charges HILLSBORO — A man accused of killing his wife and dis membering and burning her body had once received a pardon from former President Reagan. Robert Wendell Walker Jr., 53, was arrested Nov. 3 and accused of killing his wife. He is in the await ing trial in May. When he was 21, Walker tried to rob First National Bank of Oregon in downtown Portland. He surrendered in 1970 and was sentenced to five years probation. Reagan granted him a pardon in 1981 for the attempted bank robbery conviction, and in 1977 Oregon Gov. Bob Straub par doned him for two shoplifting convictions. ■ Nevada Officers found not responsible for death of French prisoner LAS VEGAS — Nine officers who tried to restrain a French citi zen inside a jail cell were not crim inally responsible for his death by asphyxiation, a coroner’s inquest found Saturday. The inquest jury said it could not determine which officers caused Philippe Le Menn’s death. The nine officers, who had been on administrative leave, will now be allowed to return to work. Le Menn, 33, died Jan. 4 dur ing a struggle with as many as five guards at once inside a Clark County Detention Center jail cell. The jury voted 5-2 to find the officers’ actions excusable, which means no state criminal charges will be filed. The FBI is reviewing the case.