The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, September 17, 1998, Page 2, Image 2
MEMBER 17, 1998 Agreement bars man from Internet for life LAKE WORTH, Fla. (AP) - The Federal Trade Commission has reached a settlement that bars a man for life from doing business on the Internet because he scammed 25 people in online computer auctions. Craig Lee Hare, also known as Danny Hare, was accused by the federal agency of selling new and used computers through the auctions, then pocketing the money without shipping the equipment. He made $20,000 to $30,000 from people in the United States and Canada, the FTC said. He was charged with four counts of using unfair or deceptive acts in mail or telephone commerce. “We hope this sends a message that the Federal Trade Commission and others are seri ous about preventing fraud in Internet commerce,” said Lisa Hone, a staff attorney with the FTC in Washington. Hare was not required to pay a fine or reimburse those he swin dled because he has no money, the FTC said. H^re, who represented himself, did hot have a telephone number listed• rh his riaine and could not be reached. It was not clear how the FTC could enforce the lifetime ban. If he’s found to violate the agree ment, he could face penalties to be determined by a federal judge. The two online auction houses Hare used were not charged. Virtual university is virtually empty SAtT LAlCE CITY (AP) - just 10 students have enrolled in the Western Governors University since the Internet-based school' spanning 17 states, including Nebraska, opened its virtual doors this month. The school still is processing 75 applications. WGU spokesman Jeff Xouris said enrollment has been snarled by problems - com puter problems. Officials had set an enrollment goal of 1,000 by the end of this term. “It would have been great to have a massive enrollment when we first (opened), but we’re finding students want to know more ... they want to find out about the university, how it works,” said Jeff Edwards, WGU’s director of marketing. “It’s a real new idea.” The idea for a virtual universi ty came out of a Western Governors Association meeting three years ago as a way of serving sparsely populated areas at a low cost. Nelson: Grants will help market state products GRAND ISLAND (AP) - Nebraska is being awarded $108,000 in two federal grants for marketing agricultural prod ucts in an effort to help ease a pending farm economy crisis, Gov. Ben Nelson said Wednesday. On a visit to Husker Harvest Days, Nelson said the money is coming from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program. “Given the economic chal lenges or low commodity prices and decreased exports facing the ag industry, news of these grants couldn’t have come at a better time,” Nelson said. “We are very excited about the increased marketing potential these grant projects can gener ate for Nebraska ag producers and agribusiness.” The first of two grants will provide $80,000 to the University of Nebraska Food Processing Center to use to help small farmers and small to mid sized food companies develop new products and enter new markets. The second grant of $28,000 will assist the state Department of Agriculture conduct on-site research missions and trade seminars for small commodity merchandisers at selected bor der crossing and ocean port locations. That, the officials said, should create better access to export markets. • Editor: Erin Gibson MmgktFatir Chad Lorenz A—date New* Editor: Bryce Glenn Aa—ctote New* Editor: Brad Davis /tarirnorto Fdhm KaseyKerber Optoii* Fdhir Cliff Hicks Sports Editor: SamMcKewon AJkE Editor: Bret Schulte Copy Deak Chief: Diane Broderick Photo Chief: Matt Miller Dotal Chief: Nancy Christensen Art Director: Matt Haney Onitoe Editor: Gregg Stearns Dtoeniows Editor: Jeff Randall Questions? Comments? Ask for the appropriate section editor at (402)472-2588 or e-maH dnftunilnfo.uni.edu. General Manager: DaaShattil Pahticartcne Board Jessica Hofmann, Chairwoman: (402)466-8404 Prnlreaienal Adriaen Don Walton, (402)473-7248 Advertiring Manager: Nick Partsch, (402)472-2589 Anri. Ad Manager: Andrea Oeltjen CtaaMleld Ad Manager: Mami Speck Fax number (402) 472-1781 World Wide Web: www.unl.edu/Da8yNeb The Da* Nebraskan (USPS 1444)80) is pubfished by the UNL Publications Board, Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St, Lincoln, NE 685800448, Monday through Friday duming the academic yean weekly during the summer sessions.The pubic has access to the Publications Board. Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas and comments to the Daiy Nebraskan by caing (402)472-2588. Subscriptions are $55 tor one year. Postmaster Send address changes to tfie Daly Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St, Lincoln NE 68588-0448. Periodical postage paid at Lincoln, NE. ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 1998 THE DAILY NEBRASKAN GOP urges release of data WASHINGTON (AP) - House Republicans, planning to release a videotape of President Clinton* grand jury testimony, expressed support Wednesday for making public much of the sexually explicit material now in die Judiciary Committee’s possession. Republicans burst into applause after Speaker Newt Gingrich told a closed-door caucus that the House would follow the intent of a resolution approved last week, which directs that most material be made public. Clinton said Wednesday he would leave that decision to the House because “hat* not for me to decide.” The presi dent said he thought at the time of his testimony hat it would eventually be made public. “It* not so much a concern to me,” he said at a news conference. “You know that I acknowledged an improper relationship and declined to discuss the details, and that* what happened.” According to House officials at the caucus meeting, Gingrich was respond ing to a suggestion from Rep. Nancy Johnson, R-Conn., that enough sexually explicit material already was made pub lic in Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr* original report The officials did nrrf want tn tv* irWitrfuvt Viu mmv> Gingrich responded to Johnson that the information should be released because Clinton is still insisting he did not commit peijury when he denied a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Starr used the same rationale for including graphic sexual descrip tions in his report to the House last week. Asked Wednesday about lawmakers who say Clinton should resign, Vice President A1 Gore curtly told reporters, “I disagree.” The Judiciary Committee is wading through several thousand additional pages of information - much of it sexu ally explicit - and attempting to expunge material that could embarrass innocent parties. Committee Chairman Hairy Hyde, R-DL, said the committee would meet in private today to discuss exactly what should be made public. Republicans have made clear that they’re ready to override Democratic objections and bring Clinton’s video taped testimony to television screens. Democrats attacked the idea of releasing the four-hour tape, but Republicans on Tuesday said it was important that Americans judge for themselves whether, as Starr has assert ed, Clinton lied before grand jurors. But a CBS News poll released Wednesday said that by a margin of Clinton asks public to put scandal aside WASHINGTON (AP) - President Clmton urged die public and Congress Wednesday to avoid getting “mired in all the details” of his relationship with Monica Lewinsky and to move beyond die scandal jeopardizing his presidency. Asked point-blank if he would resign, the president gave no direct answer but said Americans “want to put it behind them and they want to go on-and they want me to go on.” Friends and aides have said he won’t resign. Nor would he respond to ques tions about whether he committed perjury or whether Lewinsky told the truth when she described their White House trysts. Democratic leaders have warned Clinton to drop legal “hairsplitting” in deny ing sexual relations with the for mer intern. Asked whether he still had the moral authorityto lead, the president said firmly, “That is something you have to demonstrate every day.” A joint news conference at the State Department with the president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, was dominated by questions about the Lewinsky affair. “I think that the right thing for our country and the right thing for all people concerned is not to get mired in all the details here but for me to focus on what I did, to acknowledge it, to atone for it and then to work on my family, where I still have a lot of work to do - dif ficult work - and to lead this coun try,” he said. He said his legal defenses “should not obscure” the fact that he is Sony for his acts. The president remained calm throughout the news conference but seemed uncomfortable and a bit impatient with reporters’ ques tions. Clinton was asked about House Republican plans to release the videotape of his Aug. 17 grand jury testimony, a move White House advisers fear will embarrass Clinton. “I... knew the rules were against it but I thought it would happen,” Clinton said. Alter Havel praised Clinton for helping to “build a new Europe,” the American president insisted the con troversy has not hampered that his ability to lead the country and the world. “I have never stopped leading this country in foreign affairs in this entire year, and I never will,” Clinton said. “The issues are too important and drey affect the way Americans live at home,” he said. Ticking off his foreign policy involvements, Clinton said he has acted to crack down on terrorism, cope with a world economic crisis and handle foreign policy trouble spots such as Northern Ireland the Middle East Havel would not speculate about the impact of a Clinton resignation. “I believe this is a matter for the United States and the American peo ple.” He called himself a friend of Clinton. more than 2-1, Americans surveyed think it is unnecessary fen-the commit tee to release Clinton’s videotaped testi mony. According to the poll of450 adults taken Tuesday, 70 perrent said die tape should not be released, compared to 28 percent who believed it should be made public. Lawyers familiar with Clinton’s tes timony said the videotape shows the president at times angry with sexually graphic questioning by Starrfe aides-at one time even accusing diem of crimi nalizing his private life. A few times, Clinton appears caught off guard by a question and struggles to answer it, die lawyers said.; And many times when pressed to give more details, Clinton keeps referring back to die narrowly legalistic statement his lawyers prepared to answer ques tions about the sexual nature of his rela tionship with Lewinsky. White House officials worried that the tape may undo the contrite image Clinton carefully built over die past two weeks with frequent public apologies. And they also worried the public; release of the video would begin appearing in Republican political attack ads and fund-raising appeals. Anti-tobacco ad campaign pending WASHINGTON (AP) - The American Cancer Society announced a $5 million television campaign Wednesday “to expose the lies” of a tobacco industry advertising aimed at undermining anti-smoking bills in Congress. The attempt to turn the tables on Joe Camel will employ images of tobacco executives swearing to tell the truth before a House committee and a clip from a tobacco industry TV commercial showing a Christmas tree showering tax dollars oh the federal government. The first cancer society spots use these words: “Tobacco companies are on the air with over $50 million in advertising. The question is - can we believe a word they are saying? Have they told the truth about cancer? The truth about nicotine being addictive? The truth about mar keting to kids? “The fact is, no matter how much money they spend-a lie isjust that Tell Big Tobacco that we don’t buy their lies - or their ad campaigns.” Efforts Wednesday seddng industry reaction were not immediately success ful. The advertising campaign launched by the tobacco companies last spring was widely credited for thwarting major anti-tobacco legislation. The ads sought to picture the tobacco bills as merely a new tax on “foe little guy.” Cancer society executives said they hope the ads will refocus the public spotlight on protecting chil dren from the addictive and often cancer-causing properties of tobacco.; “We believe that it is very important that die American people not believe this latest lie from the tobacco indus try,” said John Seffrin, the cancer society’s chief executive officer. Seffrin said that die $5 million will pay for six TV ads, two of which are ready to air. They will appear in markets across die country targeted by the tobac co industry for its own $50 million cam paign. ! The cancer society’s chief execu tive called the tobacco industry efforts a “bait and switch” deception aimed at diverting attention from the health hazards of tobacco by using proposals to raise cigarette taxes as a smoke screen.