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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 1996)
f,: It I The outlawed group breaks a ceasefire made in 1994. By Shawn Pogatchnik Associated Press BELFAST, Northern Ireland — The Irish Republican Army admitted today that it carried out the bombing of the British army’s headquarters here, wounding 31 and threatening to cata pult Northern Ireland back into blood shed. A telephone caller using a recog nized codeword told the Dublin news roan at RTE, Ireland’s broadcast^ network, that IRA volunteers detonater two 800-pound bombs at the arrm complex in Lisburn, southwest o Belfast, on Monday night. The IRA statement said the targe had been personnel connected with th barracks and said injuries toany civil ians were regretted. - o ^3^ It was the outlawed group’s first bomb attack in the British-ruled prov ince since mid-1994. The government had already indi cated it believed the IRA was respon sible. The bombings were “certainly con sistent with a terrorist organization that declared an end to a ceasefire which it had proclaimed in 1994,” Northern Ire land Secretary Patrick Mayhew told reporters. The admission ends a policy ob served since the IRA cease-fire ended . in February to confine attacks to the . British mainland, in order to avoid re r taliation from militant Protestant [ groups. Those groups have already in r dicated they were on the verge of re f turning to arms—and the British-ruled province to bloody conflict, t The bombings raise the likelihood i that pro-British gunmen will break their cease-fire and retaliate agahist the IRA, “We’re in a grave situation. I don’t think any of us underestimate the im pact of what happened yesterday,*' Michael Ancram, the Na 2 British minister in Northern Ireland, said tol day. -, l ’ Ancram joined the chorus of poli ticians appealing to the province’s pro? British groups to maintain a truce. ; But Gary McMichael, leader of a party linked to the biggest such group, the Ulster Defense Association, said pressure was building to retaliate. “There’s not much point in holding onto the moral high ground when yOur country’s burning down around you,” said McMichael. The blasts at Thiepval Barracks, headquarters for the British army in Northern Ireland, injured 21 soldiers and 10 civilian employees. .TWelve people remained hospitalized today. The bombings inside Thiepval — with its single heavily guarded entrance r-. ■ r-T ■ .,M j-*.i . K . . cn. . • • - There’s not much point in holding onto the moral high ground when your country’s burning down around you.” GabtMcMichael leader of the Ulster Defense Association —seemed unthinkable until Monday. The first blast in a parking lot was fol lowed 20 minutes lata: by a second near Thiepval’s medical center, catch ing the foot traffic of panicked person nel and medics. “It is the worst security lapse that has ever happened,” said Col. Mike Dewar, a former army officer in North ern Ireland and an expert on terrorism. The bombers most likely “forged or stole a pass and doctored it, and ac tually penetrated the perimeter,” Dewar said. As a bloody gesture against British rule of Northern Ireland the attack’s timing seemed obvious: The annual conference of Prime Minister John Major’s governing Conservative Party opened today in southern England. The Dublin office of Irish Prime Minister John Bruton said the blasts were aimed at undermining ongoing peace talks. Talks on Northern Ireland’s future began in June involving nine local par ties. Vice prepare to field questions Gore, Kemp expect issues to mirror those from presidential debate BAL HARBOUR, Fla. (AP) — When asked about the possibility of running for president in four years, A1 Gore hastens to end the line of inquiry. Jack Kemp shakes his head and wags an admonishing finger at the same question. As they prepare for tonight’s de bate, the candidates for vice president are trying to keep the focus on Bill Clinton and Bob Dole. “It is not A1 Gore vs. Jack Kemp,” the GOP vicc presidential nominee said Tuesday. In pre-debate interviews with The Associated Press, Gore and Kemp pre dicted their 90-minute, prime-time de bate would closely follow the themes of Sunday’s encounter between Clinton and Dole. That exchange focused on tax policy and the state of the economy, education, welfare and other social policies, and cm the U.S. role abroad at the close of the 20th century. Gore, for example, said he was de termined to reinforce Clinton’s argu ment that the GOP ticket’s $548 bil lion tax-cut plan would require devas tating cuts in Medicare and education spending. Kemp, for his part, said Dole had scored points in casting Clinton as a liberal hiding behind conservative elec tion-year promises. Kemp promised to follow up by taking issue with a new Clinton campaign adjn which the As they discussed their expecta tions for the debate and outlined their views of the vice presidency, the former House colleagues voiced friendship and respect for each other and pre dicted their encounter would be a civil affair. “You can disagree without being disagreeable,” Gore said. As Clinton’s vice president, Gore has taken a lead role in environmental and technology policies, as well as in U.S.-Russian relations. He said he could not think of anything he would like to add to his portfolio in a second Clinton administration. “Thithfully, my expectations have been exceeded,” he said of his partner ship with the president in the first term. Policy differences aside, Kemp said he was impressed ,wit^- the Clinton would have asimiiarbond with Dole, even though the two were political ad versaries before their 1996 alliance. “Bob Dole would want me to help be the point guard for this whole idea of reforming this tax code for the 21st century,” Kemp said. He also pledged to continue his efforts to court black support for the Republican Party. Clinton, Dole build momentum, resume campaigns after debate MILLTOWN, N.J. (AP) — Hustling back to the campaign trail after their first debate, Bob Dole pressed his comeback quest Mon day by insisting he’s the candidate voters can trust; while President Clinton pursued support in states that normally vote. Republican. Both candidates claimed they tried to build on momentum from ' Sunday's showdown in Hartford, Conn. Early polls, however, sug gested the debate produced little movement in the race. Dole pressed his plan for a 15 percent tax cut by campaignin| with Republican Gov. Christie Whftman, who upset Democratic incumbent James Florio in 1993 largely on the :____ promise of a big tax cut. In Stamford, Conn., Clinton ac cepted the endorsement of 2,500 corporate leaders, many of whom already were blown as Clinton sup porters. The president, with the luxury of a big lead, was also campaign ing in historically Republican Maine and New Hampshire. Clinton’s political aides asserted that Clinton did well enough in the opening debate to fortify his stand ing in the polls—and that he would spend less time in traditionally Democratic states like New York and Massachusetts where he has built huge leads. Couple focuses on auctions, subway lares to earn Nobd economics prize for gtxmndhreaking studies STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — A re tired Colutnbiaj University professor and a British poQlt^lL'eQdne^sft^^n. the; Hpbel economics prize today for explaining how information — or iack of it—shapes busi ness decision?. William Vickrey, an 82-year-old natural ized American, and James Mirrlees of Cam bridge University shared the $1.12 million prize for groundbreaking studies in an area of economics called “asymmetric informa tion.” Asymmetric information refers to when both sides don’t have the same facts. The buyer of a house or a used car, for example, doesn’t have all the information the seller does. Without the same facts, the seller has an advantage over the buyer, who must spend time and money to learn more. ' ' \ ' -r‘ - Although tbeirseparate studies focused * oil telativeJy specrnc areas such asauctiotjsg and subway fares, their work has led to a better understanding of economic activity ranging from insurance and credit markets to tax systems, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said. Joergen Weibull, a member of the prize committee, said a basic example of “asym metric information” would be an employer assessing an applicant: The employer does not know what kind of people die applicants are, how hard they will work or even much about the prospective worker’s health. “Ibis information is instrumental in de ciding on socialsecurity, job insurance and other factors in society,” Weibull said. Omaha man arrested after appearing in Christensen ad OMAHA (AP) — A young man who re nounced gangs in a campaign commercial for Rep. Jon Christensen, R-Neb., has had another brush with the law. Gustavo Flores, 19, was arrested Monday after police found a handgun under the passen ger seat of die car he was driving. Three pas sengers in the car were known gang members, police said. Flores was wounded last month in a drive by shooting that police described as gang-re lated. . Christensen said Tuesday he was “pro foundly disappointed,” but he was not going to give up on Flores. ~ ?/_ ‘T’m going to continue to work with him and stick with him,” Christensen said. “The will and desire to change is going to have to come from Gustavo.” Christensen said he did not know if Flores was a gang member. Flores has said repeatedly he is not, Christensen said. “I’ll tell you this,” Christensen said. “I know he’s not hanging around with the right people.” Flores also was ticketed for negligent driv ing. Mice said the car he was driving spun out on Interstate 80. On Sept. 14, Flores was (me of four people shot in a drive-by shooting in Bellevue. His cousin, Rodolfo, was killed. No arrests have been made in the shooting. The commercial talked of Christensen’s ef forts to help get Flores out of the gang and into Boys Town. This fall, Flores started classes at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. * J r,; OMAHA (AP)—-The two men charged with the nrujrder of Kenyatta Bush planned fhatiiay to-‘‘rape a female,” police said in an affidavit filed in Douglas County Court, ,. " V rt On Sept. 23, 1992, Adam fiafdett add Jer kily Sheets ‘Tprcibly abducted Hush from North High School,’; Detective Felands Marion wrote in a Sept. 29 affidavit used in obtaining a war rart for Sheets’arrest;:" Barnett, 21, and Sheets* 22, have been charged in the abduction, rape and staying of Bush, a former honor student and homecorriing queen candidate. The affidavit said Sheets alone killed Bush. • |-* Authorities have said Barnett, of Omaha, aided and abetted Sheets. - Both men are charged with first-degree mur der. Sheets; a former Omahap who had recently joined the Navy, also is charged with: use of a knife to commit a felony. Last month, four yeafs after Miss Bush was killed, a relative of cme of the people involved hHhe conversation about the Bush killing told police that she had information about the case. The relative was interviewed later by Sgt. Michael Butera, who obtained information that led to Barnett and Sheets. _