Mosque investigation a high priority for FBI

The FBI is continuing to investigate the firebombing, classified as hate crime, of the Bloomington Islamic Center, an FBI spokeswoman said \nWednesday.\nThe FBI has been investigating the incident in collaboration with the Bloomington Police Department. Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan receives regular briefings about this incident. \nMaria Heslin, communications director for the City of Bloomington, said police increased patrols in the area immediately after the incident and it is of the highest priority, especially in light of the type of incident, location and time it took place.\n"Investigators are doing interviews with individuals who may have information, collecting evidence and sending things off to the lab," she said. \nEarly Saturday morning an unknown number of suspects threw a rock through a lower level of Bloomington's only mosque, located on Atwater Ave, authorities said. The perpetrators then threw a Mountain Dew bottle full of an unknown accelerant through the window and proceeded to light it on fire. \nMembers of the Bloomington community, including those from other religious organizations, were outraged by the attack and gathered at a "Vigil for Peace" around the Monroe County Courthouse in the early evening Wednesday. \nThe vigil was organized by the Bloomington Peace Action Coalition. In a statement the about the vigil the BPAC said they were "saddened and troubled" by the incident and "condemn and abhor all acts of hate and violence, including the terrorist attacks in London last Thursday, the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the fire at the Bloomington Islamic Center"

LONDON -- Four explosions rocked the London subway and tore open a packed double-decker bus during the morning rush hour Thursday, sending bloodied victims fleeing in the worst attack on London since World War II. At least 40 people were killed, U.S. officials said, and more than 700 were wounded.\nA clearly shaken Prime Minister Tony Blair called the coordinated attacks "barbaric" and said they were designed to coincide with the G-8 summit opening in Gleneagles, Scotland. They also came a day after London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympics. A group calling itself the Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe claimed responsibility.\nThe four blasts went off within an hour, beginning at 8:51 a.m. (3:51 a.m. EDT), and hit three subway stations and the double-decker bus. Authorities immediately shut down the subway and bus lines that log 8.4 million passenger trips every weekday.\nThe bus explosion seemed to go off at the back of the vehicle, said bystander Raj Mattoo, 35. "The roof flew off and went up about 10 meters (30 feet). It then floated back down," he said. "There were obviously people badly injured. A parking attendant said he thought a piece of human flesh had landed on his arm."\nDoctors from the nearby British Medical Association rushed into the street to treat the wounded from the bus. "The front of BMA house was completely splattered with blood and not much of the bus was left," said Dr. Laurence Buckman.\n"It was chaos," said Gary Lewis, 32, evacuated from a subway train at King's Cross station. "The one haunting image was someone whose face was totally black and pouring with blood."\nAs the city's transportation system ground to a near-halt, buses were used as ambulances and an emergency medical station was set up at a hotel. Rescue workers, police and ordinary citizens streamed into the streets to help.\nSome central London streets emptied of traffic. Groups of commuters who had been on their way to work gathered around corner shops with televisions, watching in silence. The mood was somber and subdued.\nAt the request of Queen Elizabeth II, the Union Jack flag flying over Buckingham Palace was lowered to half staff.\nBlair, flanked by fellow G-8 leaders, including President Bush, read a statement from the leaders. "We shall prevail and they shall not," he said.\n"Whatever they do, it is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country and in other civilized nations throughout the world," he said earlier.\nReturning to London, he promised an intense police hunt for those responsible. He said he knew most Muslims worldwide "deplore this act of terrorism."\n"They are trying to use the slaughter of innocent people to cow us," he said. "They should know they will not succeed."\nIn Scotland, police evacuated a section of Edinburgh's main shopping street after a suspect package was found on a bus.\nIn Scotland, Bush warned Americans to be "extra vigilant," and his administration raised the terror alert for mass transit a notch to code orange. Security also was stepped up in the U.S. Capitol and in train and bus stations around the country.\nMuch of Europe also went on alert. Italy's airports raised alert levels to a maximum. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, the Netherlands, France and Spain also announced beefed-up security at shopping centers, airports, railways and subways.\nThe U.N. Security Council was expected to pass a resolution condemning the blasts later Thursday, an official said.\nA group calling itself "The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe" posted a claim of responsibility, saying the blasts were in retaliation for Britain's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.\nThe statement also threatened attacks in Italy and Denmark, both of which have troops in Iraq. It was published on a Web site popular with Islamic militants, and the text was republished on Elaph, a secular Arabic-language news Web site, and Berlin's Der Spiegel magazine.\nThe statement's authenticity could not be immediately confirmed, but terrorism experts said the blasts had the trademarks of the al-Qaida network.\n"This is clearly an al-Qaida style attack. It was well-coordinated, it was timed for a political event and it was a multiple attack on a transportation system at rush hour," said Lawrence Freedman, professor of war studies at King's College in London.\nDeputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick said there had been no arrests, and it was unclear whether suicide bombers were involved.\nAsked about the claim of responsibility, Paddick said: "We will be looking at that ... at the moment we don't know if that's a legitimate claim or not." He added British officials had received no prior warning or advance intelligence that the attacks would occur.\nEuropean stocks dropped sharply after the blasts, with exchanges in London, Paris and Germany all down about 2 percent. Insurance and travel-related stocks were hit hard, and the British pound also fell. Gold, traditionally seen as a safe haven, rose.\nThe explosions also unnerved traders on Wall Street, sending stocks down sharply.\nThree U.S. law enforcement officials said at least 40 people were killed. They spoke on condition of anonymity and said they learned of the number from their British counterparts.\nIn London, police said they could confirm at least 37 people had been killed, including two in the bus attack.\nBuckman, the London doctor, said ambulance staff told him about 10 people died in the bus blast. BMA doctors treated about nine seriously wounded people in the building's courtyard, two of whom later died, he said.\nLondon police said at least 700 were wounded. Among them, at least 45 were in serious or critical condition, including amputations, fractures and burns, hospital officials told The Associated Press.\nLondon Mayor Ken Livingstone said the blasts were "mass murder" carried out by terrorists bent on "indiscriminate ... slaughter."\n"This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty or the powerful ... it was aimed at ordinary working-class Londoners," said Livingstone, in Singapore where he supported London's Olympic bid. Giselle Davies, an International Olympic Committee spokeswoman, said the committee still had "full confidence" in London.\nJay Kumar, a business owner near the site of the bus blast, said he ran out of his shop when he heard a loud explosion. The bus's top deck collapsed, sending people tumbling to the floor, he said. Bloodied people ran from the scene.\n"A big blast, a big bomb," he told The Associated Press. "People were running this way panicked. They knew it was a bomb. Debris flying all over, mostly glass."\n"I was on the bus in front and heard an incredible bang, I turned round and half the double decker bus was in the air," Belinda Seabrook told Press Association, the British news agency.\nTraces of explosives were found at two explosion sites, a senior police official said.\nExplosions were reported at the Aldgate station near the Liverpool Street railway terminal, Edgware Road and King's Cross in north London, Old Street in the financial district and Russell Square, near the British Museum.\n"I saw lots of people coming out covered in blood and soot. Black smoke was coming from the station. I saw several people laid out on sheets," office worker Kibir Chibber, 24, said at the Aldgate subway station.\nSimon Corvett, 26, on an eastbound train from Edgware Road station, described "this massive huge bang ... It was absolutely deafening and all the windows shattered."\n"You could see the carriage opposite was completely gutted," he said. "There were some people in real trouble."\nOn March 11, 2004, terrorist bombs on four commuter trains in Madrid killed 191 people.

Downtown art gallery opens new summer show

Strolling around the Prima Gallery's new summer show, it's easy to forget every art piece and its respective price tag has a unique history, similar to the gallery itself. Tiny pots stock the shelves, mimicking the artists' hands who crafted them. Oil paintings snake up the stairs, offering narratives of the painter's life. Even a broom takes on meaning after hearing its torrid past from the broom's sculptor, David Eppinghouse, who retrofitted the cleaning tool with neon lights. \nAs the summer show opened at the Prima Gallery Friday night, art lovers had a chance to mingle with well-known and emerging artists to hear these stories behind their work. The summer show, "Paints, Pots, and Prints" opened to the tunes of a live accordion player and the excited chatter of exhibited artists, avid collectors and curious onlookers. Various artists made an appearance to reflect on their individual pieces, view other artists' works or grab a piece of pizza from the reception table.\n"We have old and new and rich and poor (artists) if you can use those generalities," said Eileen Rice, who has worked for the Prima Gallery the last seven years. \nThe Prima Gallery has maintained this hodgepodge of artists since the gallery first opened 37 years ago, in 1968. According to Rice, the first gallery owner, Rosemary Frasier started the Prima Gallery with other "faculty wives" because no Bloomington art gallery existed at that time. This original start-up team created the first gallery behind where Pygmalion's stands on Grant Street.\nMoving to Sixth Street 10 years ago, the current Prima Gallery took over space once owned and used by the Princess Theatre. The large glass windows and doors in the front of the gallery once housed the theatre's screen. \n"The (Prima) Gallery was the first gallery and it's lasted forever," said art exhibit installer and gallery artist David Eppinghouse. "This is like a flagship for the local art scene."\nIn the past year, the Prima Gallery has undergone more changes. The current owner, Linda Fratianni, bought the gallery last July. For the past year, she has been establishing her vision for the gallery with several month long shows and now the summer show. \n"I think we're different in how we present our shows, in our objectives," she said. "This show's objective is to present emerging and established artists." \nIU Fine Arts professor Rudy Pozzatti, recently named a "living treasure of Bloomington" by the Bloomington Area Arts Council, is one of the most established artists at the summer show. Pozzatti said the summer show gives his fans a chance to see what he's been working on, instead of waiting three more years for his next one-man show. For his pieces, "Prismatic V" and "Prismatic II," Pozzatti manipulated European candy wrappers to design the realistic looking stained glass windows in his pieces. \n"The wrappers in Europe are much nicer color-wise, design-wise, and the chocolate is damn good," said Pozzatti. \nFormer IU student and Evansville artist Shirley Kern mixed art materials for her summer show pieces. Kern created her oil paintings on wood slates and then added metal bolts to make the paintings appear like houses. Her four-squared wood image also plays on her notion that "everything's connected." \n"I sort of like to go back and forth between flat plane and sculpture so now I'm somewhere in between," said Kern, who used Asian influences to create impressionistic paintings.\nDavid Turner Hannon's oil paintings tell stories more than they conjure impressionistic images. Each of his four exhibited oil paintings not only includes the artist himself, but tells some facet of his life story. Not surprisingly, Hannon began as an illustrator and then moved to oil painting. \n"(I like) the narrative appeal where you're telling something beyond just one image, even though you're only giving one image," said Hannon. \nUnlike some of the more well-known artists, Hannon, a 2000 IU grad with an MFA in Fine Arts, got involved in the summer show completely by accident. When attending an opening at the Waldron Arts Center, he wandered into the Prima Gallery and introduced himself as an artist. Rice asked if he would be interested in displaying there. \nFor some of Prima Gallery's artists, it's just that simple. Jenni Cure, a local artist, walked into the gallery with her original wood cuts for the gallery exhibitors to examine. Those two original works, "Tree Shadow Two" and "Tree Shadow One," now hang in the summer show. \nIn addition to the summer gallery hours, artists and art lovers alike can view the show during the Downtown Gallery Walk July 8. As the eighth stop on the Gallery Walk, the Prima's Gallery Summer Show will provide Bloomington patrons an impressive collage of artistic talent.\n"It's the best commercial gallery in Bloomington -- the most established with the highest caliber of work," said artist Patricia Cole, whose ballpoint pen on paper drawings also hung in the summer show.\nPrima Gallery is located at 109 E. Sixth St. and is open Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Pubs and dubs in London

After doing extensive research on British culture before leaving Indiana (I watched "Bridget Jones's Diary" and "Closer"), I arrived in London at the beginning of January expecting great things. I stood in immigration, waiting excitedly with passport in hand, and stepped up to the officer. I smiled, said hello, and waited for a response. Unfortunately, in the 10-minute quiz session that followed, the only thing I understood from his mouth was "'ello." The charming British accent I saw in the movies quickly turned annoying. Were they speaking a different language? What the heck was a queue? My class starts at 14:00? I was lost but not disenchanted. It was relatively easy to adapt to the British culture, and I quickly learned that the solution to any problem was to go to the pubs. Feeling alone? Go to the pubs. Tired of school? Go to the pubs.\nSo one night, my friends and I decided to go down to Picadilly Circus for some "problem solving." We started early, and after a few pints of beer, boarded the red double-decker bus #19 to begin our journey. Joking and laughing loudly on the bus (which is not "appropriate" in England), a very drunk British lady appeared from the top level of the bus and asked us what coast we were from in America. My friends replied one by one. "New York." "Boston." "Dallas." "Indiana." The lady replied, "Well I don't know where that last one is, but man, do I hate George Bush." She continued to drunkenly yell at us as if we were Dubya ourselves and then suddenly looked out the window, yelled, "Whoops, there goes my stop!" and jumped off the bus as it was rapidly rounding a corner. Unbelievably, she landed on her feet -- in heels -- and hurriedly made her way to Sloane Square. When we got to our destination, we stepped off the bus and went into a nearby pub. We sat down, ordered a drink and suddenly realized another person had joined our group: a British guy named Glenn. He had just gotten out of the "drunk tank" and decided to celebrate with a drink. We decided to take Glenn in as one of our own and had a much better experience than on the bus. He was fascinated to hear all about America and bought us all a round of drinks as we told our stories of home. \nWhen it was closing time, he decided to take his drink with him, hidden in the pocket of his jacket. Closing time in London is starting time at IU, though, considering the pubs shut their doors at 11 p.m. This works well for the Brits because they can still get up in the morning for work after a night out on the town. Not a bad idea, I have to admit. Now that my time in London is coming to an end, the annoyances I had when I first arrived have vanished. I'll miss the accent, the strange words, the double-decker buses and the crazy stories that can be told over a cold pint of beer at the local pub.

Business in Brief

Lender's to close bagel production line; 35 lose jobs\nMATTOON, Ill. -- The Lender's Bagels bakery is closing down a production line because of declining sales, a company executive said.\nThe move, effective May 9, will put 28 full-time and seven part-time workers out of a job. About 300 people work at the Lender's plant.\n"Over the last couple of years, the bagel business has continued to decline," Harold Tessman, senior vice president of operations for Pinnacle Foods Group Inc., Lender's owner, said Monday. "As a result, we are eliminating one of our bagel production lines and will be preparing the plant for the future production of different products."\nPinnacle Foods spokesman Kelley Maggs declined to comment about which products might be added to the plant's production lines. The Cherry Hill, N.J.-based company produces such products as Swanson frozen dinners, Mrs. Butterworth's and Log Cabin syrups and pancake mixes and Mrs. Paul's frozen seafood.

Jordan River Forum

Bursar billing agreement not acceptable\nI learned this afternoon that the IU Bookstore will no longer be allowing anyone but a select few on financial aid and student athletes to bill their semester books to their bursar. This has resulted because of the disagreement between T.I.S. and the IU bookstore about competition. This is really inconvenient for me, and personally I think a bit unfair. I was hoping that you, as the voice for the students, would write about this and speak out against it. It's important that the school not think this is an acceptable solution.\nKylie Stanley\nSophomore

Miami University students somber after 3 deaths in house fire

OXFORD, Ohio -- Students stunned by the deaths of three Miami University classmates in a house fire left bouquets of flowers at the site and paused for moments of silence in classes Monday, leaving the normally buzzing campus unusually still.\n"It's really quiet today everywhere," said Jennifer Hanson, 19. "Even when people are talking, this is what they're talking about."\nFire investigators were still trying to determine what sparked the blaze in the 19th-century brick home early Sunday, sending flames shooting out the windows. Investigators believe the fire started accidentally in the living room or recreation room on the first floor, fire chief Len Endress said.\nThe house, rented by nine students, complied with fire safety codes.\nAuthorities said one of the residents, Sebastian Barsh, used his cell phone to report the fire just after escaping through his first-floor bedroom window. He told a 911 dispatcher that a smoke detector woke him, and he saw a red glow under his bedroom door.\n"There's still somebody inside, I think," Barsh said on the tape.\nFire officials interviewed the eight survivors Monday, one of whom jumped to safety from a second-story window. Investigators believe 11 people -- seven residents and four guests -- were in the house when the fire started.\nJulia Turnbull, 21, of Milford, Ohio, and Kathryn Welling, 21, of Bronxville, N.Y., died of carbon monoxide inhalation in second-floor bedrooms, Endress said.\nA cause of death had not been determined for Stephen Smith, 22, of Bethesda, Md. Smith apparently had been shaken awake by a housemate and made it down a flight of stairs before becoming disoriented in the smoke, Endress said. His body was found near the front door.\nSmith, a rugby player, single-handedly stopped two scoring drives in a rugby game the day before the fire, friends said. The marketing major, who was expected to graduate next month, was known for his ability to make people laugh.\n"He had a lot of fun, and he knew people all over campus," said Sara Waterfield, 22, who met Smith in a study abroad program.\nTurnbull was a senior mass communications major, and Welling was a junior in the business school.\nMourners stopped by the house throughout the day Monday, some crying and hugging each other. Flowers were piled outside.\nThe house was in a neighborhood of older homes surrounded by large trees a few blocks from the campus, about 30 miles northwest of Cincinnati. Its roof had partly collapsed, and its windows had been blown out.\nUniversity President Jim Garland sent a note to faculty asking that they be sensitive to students' needs in Monday's classes.\nRhetta Bowers, 20, said one teacher let her class leave early.\n"I don't think I'll go to any of my other classes," she said. "It's just somber"

Torched Holocaust museum reopens

TERRE HAUTE -- A Holocaust museum gutted by a November 2003 arson fire reopened Sunday in an expanded space that includes displays of books and photos charred by the still-unsolved arson.\nAbout 500 people attended Sunday afternoon's reopening of the new museum. The 3,700-square-foot building's entrance is flanked by six slender windows that resemble candles and represent the estimated 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust.\nHolocaust survivor Eva Kor in 1995 opened the original CANDLES museum, which stands for Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Experiments Survivors.\n"I'm asking you a special favor, to remember today as a shining example of triumph over evil," Kor said to the crowd.\nAs a child, Kor, 71, and her identical twin sister, Miriam, were prisoners in Poland's Auschwitz concentration camp and were subjected to Josef Mengele's experiments on twins.\nThe museum, which Kor opened in hopes of teaching Midwesterners about the horrors of the Holocaust, saw thousands of schoolchildren visit in the following years.\nOn Nov. 18, 2003, the museum was gutted by an arsonist who apparently spray-painted "Remember Timmy McVeigh" on the outside wall next to the window that was smashed.\n"It happened because of hatred and prejudice," Kor said.\nMcVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber who shared sympathies with white supremacists, was executed at a federal prison outside Terre Haute in 2001.\nThe fire is still under investigation by Terre Haute police and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said city police chief George Ralston.\nDonations of nearly $300,000 allowed Kor to rebuild.\nThe original museum occupied part of the same building and was a "modest museum," where posters were pinned to the wall, Kor said.\nPush pins were no longer tacked to the walls of the new building, which includes a dramatic entryway with a vaulted ceiling, a library room, offices and a display room, she said.\nThe new museum features 11 elongated windows, expanding the memorial to embrace not only Mengele's lab experiment victims but also the other groups persecuted and murdered by Nazis in concentration camps during their 12-year reign in Germany. It includes Jews and other religious groups, gypsies, the physically and mentally handicapped, homosexuals and political opponents, Kor said.\nThe new museum holds displays, memorials and local students' artwork commemorating the Nazis' 11 million victims.\nSurvivors of Nazi crimes, liberated from the camps 60 years ago, must forgive to free themselves from the tragedy, Kor said.\n"Physically, they were set free. Emotionally, they're still imprisoned," she said. "It's for the victim to reclaim their life"

Pope rumored to have received last rites

VATICAN CITY -- Pope John Paul II developed a high fever Thursday because of a urinary tract infection and was being treated with antibiotics at the Vatican, his spokesman said. The latest health setback for the 84-year-old pontiff came one day after he began receiving nutrition through a feeding tube.\nThere were reports that the pope received the sacrament of the anointing of the sick -- what used to be called the last rites.\nBut the Italian news agency Apcom, without citing any sources, reported that John Paul's condition was "stable" early Friday, several hours after he started receiving antibiotics. Another Italian news agency, ANSA, said the pope "seems to showing a first positive reaction" to antibiotic therapy.\nAt the Gemelli Polyclinic, the hospital where the pope has been treated before, an emergency room chief said there were no plans to admit John Paul "at the moment," ANSA reported.\nHis assessment could mean that the Vatican medical staff feels confident it can handle the latest medical crisis with the sophisticated medical equipment installed at the Vatican. But it could also mean that the pope's condition was considered so precarious it would be better not to move him immediately.\nAt the edge of St. Peter's Square, hundreds of people gathered early Friday in a sign of concern over the pope's fragile condition. A few kneeled down on the cobblestones to pray, others wrapped blankets around themselves as they prepared to keep vigil throughout the night.\n"There's nothing we can do but pray. We're all upset," said Agriculture Minister Giovanni Alemanno, who was in the crowd.\n"I was in the car and I heard on the radio about the grave condition of the pope. I immediately thought I would come to St. Peter's," said Antonio Ceresa, a Roman.\nPolice barriers kept the faithful and curious out of the square itself.\nVatican officials could not be reached for comment on a report by CNN quoting an unidentified Vatican source as saying that John Paul received the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. The sacrament is often misunderstood as signaling imminent death. But it is performed not only for patients at the point of death, but also for those who are very sick -- and it may be repeated.\nThe pope's spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, told The Associated Press by telephone that "the Holy Father today was struck by a high fever caused by a confirmed infection of the urinary tract."\nThe pontiff was started on "an appropriate" course of antibiotics, Navarro-Valls said. "The medical situation is being strictly controlled by the Vatican medical team that is taking care of him."\nIn medical terms, "appropriate" often refers to a choice of antibiotics based on laboratory analysis of the kind of bacteria causing the infection.\nLights in the papal apartment above St. Peter's Square were on until about 11 p.m., generally well past the papal bedtime. The light remained on in the Apostolic Palace's nursing station on the same floor as the pope's apartment.\nPolice cars and other vehicles were seen going in and out of the Vatican gates as the evening wore on, and a small crowd of Italians who were following news on television began gathering at the edge of the square.\nEarlier, ANSA and Apcom said the pope had suffered an alarming drop in blood pressure Thursday evening.\nA urinary infection can produce fever and a drop in blood pressure as reported in the pope, said Dr. Marc Siegel, a specialist in internal medicine at the New York University Medical Center.\nThe pope's risk of such an infection is heightened because he is elderly -- which suggests his prostate is probably enlarged -- debilitated and run down from the illness that recently sent him to the hospital, Siegel said.\nUrinary infections tend to respond well to antibiotics, given either as pills or intravenously, and "I would suspect there's a very good chance he's going to recover well," Siegel said.\nHospitalized twice last month following two breathing crises and with a tube placed in his throat to help him breathe, John Paul has become a picture of suffering. When he appeared at his apartment window Wednesday to bless pilgrims in St. Peter's Square, he managed to utter only a rasp.\nLater that day, the Vatican announced he had been fitted with a feeding tube in his nose to help boost his nutritional intake.\nThe use of the feeding tube illustrates a key point of Roman Catholic policy John Paul has proclaimed: It is morally necessary to give patients food and water, no matter their condition.\nAs Parkinson's disease and other ailments have left him increasingly frail, the pope has been emphasizing that the chronically ill, "prisoners of their condition ... retain their human dignity in all its fullness."\nThe Vatican's attitude to the chronically ill has been apparent in its bitter condemnation of a judge's order two weeks ago to remove a feeding tube from Terri Schiavo, the severely brain-damaged American woman who died Thursday.\nVatican Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, reacting to Schiavo's death, denounced the removal of her feeding tube as "an attack against God."\nAlthough different, some see parallels in the two cases.\nUnder John Paul, Vatican teaching on the final stages of life includes a firm rejection of euthanasia, insistence on treatments that help people bear ailments with dignity and encouragement of research to enhance and prolong life.\nA 1980 Vatican document makes the distinction between "proportionate" and "disproportionate" means of prolonging life. While it gives room for refusal of some forms of aggressive medical intervention for terminally ill patients, it insists that "normal care" must not be interrupted.\nJohn Paul set down exactly what that meant in a speech last year to an international conference on treatments for patients in a so-called persistent vegetative state.\n"I should like particularly to underline how the administration of water and food, even when provided by artificial means, always represents a natural means of preserving life, not a medical act. Its use, furthermore, should be considered, in principle, ordinary and proportionate, and as such morally obligatory."\nJohn Paul's 26-year papacy has been marked by its call to value the aged and to respect the sick, subjects the pope has turned to as he battles Parkinson's disease and crippling knee and hip ailments.\nIt is not clear who would be empowered to make medical decisions for an unconscious pope. The pope has no close relatives, but the Vatican has officially declined to comment whether John Paul has left written instructions.\nThe Rev. Thomas Reese, editor of America, the Jesuit weekly magazine, published in New York City, said Thursday, "We don't know whether or not the pope has a living will. But if he does not, the statement issued a year ago would be a clear indication of his desire that he would not want to be disconnected from a feeding tube unless he was clearly dying"

Library to unveil new addition

Only silence and the clicking of keyboards will be heard in the new Information Commons 2 beginning today. The newest installment of the Information Commons at the Main Library will officially open for quiet individual study and work this afternoon with a reception and brief remarks by Dean of University Libraries Suzanne Thorin and Dean of Information Technology Brad Wheeler.\nAlthough the 9,600 square-foot study space has been open since late February, library officials have waited on the grand opening while final touches were being completed. But that hasn't stopped students from steadily pouring into the newest work area, located on the second floor of the west tower, directly above the current Information Commons.\n"I was surprised the second day construction was complete. I walked out of my office and (the IC2) was filled," Thorin said. "We hadn't even announced the opening and it was already filled."\nThe IC2 is described as a scaled-down version of the first floor IC with 68 individual work stations that feature a computer at each desk and an additional 100 desks with space for laptop users to plug in and access wireless Internet.\nThe IC2 is dedicated to individual work while its downstairs counterpart is for collaborative and group-based work, said Interim Head of Information Commons for Undergraduate Services Diane Dallis. The IC2 also boasts plush couches and glass windows that overlook the Arboretum.\nThe IC and IC2, a collaboration between IU-Bloomington Libraries and University Information Technology Services, combine information and technology, said Chip Rondot, senior communications specialist for UITS. Both offer research or computer tech support from librarians, reference assistants and technology consultants during their open hours.\n"Students are getting the best strengths of each," Rondot said. "With this joint project, students can get what they want 24/7; it's not 9-to-5 anymore. When students are getting ready to study at 11 o'clock they can have that luxury."\nWhile some professors argue that technology has begun to take over where books once ruled, Dallis said that the combined 36,600 square feet of the IC and IC2 haven't made books second-class citizens. \nThe new IC2 houses a current, high-use core collection, which offers more than 15,000 books. Along with the core collection are new materials and books available to check out, which Dallis said hasn't seen a decrease. She also said much of the library materials have been added online, so a computer addition isn't seen as a problem.\n"A lot of library materials are online, so we don't mind that it shares space with the books," Dallis said.\nThorin said with the new additions, the Main Library now has more to offer, giving students the option of collaborative learning in the IC or quiet study in the new IC2. \n"I think this gives students interested in a quiet study area a place to go to hit the books and have a computer in a safe and attractive environment."\nIUB Libraries and UITS will host the official opening of the IC2 today from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the second floor of the west tower of the Main Library. The event is open to the public.\n-- Contact Senior Writer\nKatie Schoenbaechler at kmschoen@indiana.edu.

Cinema pubs drawing crowds with movies, food, drink

WESTERLY, R.I. -- When Emily Steffian and Daniel Kamil moved from California with thoughts of opening their own movie theater, they wanted to show films that were off the beaten path, but they didn't expect to land there themselves.\nThey envisioned setting up shop in Providence, near the colleges and the capital city's arts community. But the business climate seemed daunting, and a search for an appropriate and affordable property brought them to the seaside community of Westerly.\nSomewhat to their surprise, the combination of a small town and an independent film-screening art house has worked.\nThe Revival House, Westerly's 1 1/2-year-old cinema pub, is one of a growing number of movie theaters nationwide that serve food and alcohol, allowing patrons to combine their viewing and dining. They're a concept that industry experts say is particularly popular in areas like the Pacific Northwest and Dallas-Fort Worth, but they only recently have begun to take off in other places.\nJim Kozak, spokesman for the National Association of Theater Owners, said theaters that serve food and alcohol have been around for years. But they mostly have shown second-run films, movies that run weeks or months after their initial theatrical release.\nThese theaters are becoming more popular, however, and many are showing newer films. As of 1997, only 14 first-run theaters in the country served alcohol. Today that figure is up to 270, said Kozak, whose organization counts among its members the owners of more than 29,000 of the roughly 36,000 to 37,000 screens in the nation.\nHe traces the trend to a theater-owner in Dallas who ran a second-run cinema pub and convinced a studio to include him in the initial release of the 1998 movie "The Waterboy."\nThe experiment was a success, and the film, a national hit, did well at the alcohol and food-serving venue.\n"That opened the floodgate," Kozak said.\nThe earliest first-run cinema pubs tended to be outside of major cities, in part because distributors wouldn't include theaters that served alcohol in initial film releases if they had competition. That's been changing, Kozak said. But in New England, most cinema pubs are located outside of urban centers.\nIn California, where Kozak is based, few venues follow the theater pub model, and just one of those that do is a first-run theater. However, Kozak said, Arclight Cinemas, located in Hollywood, seems to do tremendous business. There, a movie and a dinner entree with a glass of wine or a beer runs about $31.\n"There's a lot of consumer interest in being able to enjoy a cocktail while watching a movie," Kozak said.\nThe Revival House features a cafe with a view of Westerly's downtown and a patio that overlooks the Pawcatuck River. The walls, painted in red and gold tones, as well as a large mural, help set the single-screen theater apart from the atmosphere of large multiplexes.\nThe movie part of the dinner-and-a-movie deal has included nontraditional film offerings in addition to food and beverage service in a cafe-style theater. Movie tickets sell for $6, whereas entrees run between $6.95 and $11.95, and a beer costs between $3.50 and $7. The food also differs from the fast-food style offerings of some other cinema pubs, with a meat, olive and cheese platter replacing the cheese fries. The theater also offers lunch, minus the movies.\n"What we're doing is sort of an urban thing in a small town," Kamil said.\nSteffian and Kamil now feel comfortably established, staging showings that often sell out even though they're not wider box office hits.\nPointing to a poster in the window for "Derrida," a documentary about the deconstructionist Jacques Derrida, Kamil said screening a film about a French philosopher is part of an approach that's "risky, but it's working."\nKamil and Steffian have cut a niche with classic and short films they solicit directly from independent filmmakers, films the couple screens before the main feature.\nBut the cinema pub concept takes a variety of forms.\nAt venues in Pelham, N.H., and Haverhill, Mass., Chunky's Cinema Pubs cater to families.\nThe Pelham location has operated as a first-run cinema pub for about eight years, whereas the Haverhill location, open for about nine years, has shown first-run films for the last four years, said Al Coburn, chief executive of Chunky's.\nMany patrons arrive with time before the movie and order their food, which is brought to their restaurant-style seats inside the theater. The theater also does a brisk business in children's birthday parties, he said.\n"It's a great family atmosphere, obviously for the right movies," Coburn said. "It can be a great date atmosphere."\nTheater owners try to keep the noise down by serving meals before the movie begins, but many say they don't get many complaints about noise.\nBut the model hasn't worked for all who have tried it.\nIn 2000, Larry and Anthony Gemma transformed Providence's Castle Cinema into a cinema cafe and bar, offering "dinner in the movies." In 2004, saddled with debts, the cinema closed its doors. The owners cited a deal that allowed the theater to run movies only after they had shown at a large multiplex nearby, as well as parking problems and other issues.\nFrancisco and Adriana Sandoval, of Providence, drove to North Attleboro one recent evening to catch Nicholas Cage in "National Treasure" at the Route One Cinema Pub in North Attleboro, Mass. The second-run theater, with a menu of appetizers, entrees, beer and wine, was the right spot for a weeknight out, they said.\n"You get a chance to go to a movie, have dinner and be home by nine o'clock," Francisco said.\n"The chairs are comfortable, there's food and you can have a beer," Sharon Sullivan, of Cumberland, said after an evening showing at Route One. "I'm surprised it's not more popular"

Young Buck, Something Corporate to perform during Little 500 week

Punk-pop band Something Corporate and G-Unit artist Young Buck will play concerts coinciding with Little 500 at two fraternity houses in April.\nSomething Corporate will perform at 7:30 p.m. on April 11 at the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity, 1100 N. Jordan Ave. Tickets cost $20 and can be bought from fraternity brothers or from Ticketmaster.\nAlpha Tau Omega fraternity, 720 E. Third St., will bring Young Buck at 5 p.m. on April 14. Tickets cost $25 and are available at Tracks Records, 415 E. Kirkwood Ave., or from fraternity members.\nThe Young Buck concert has been billed as "Hip-Hip Palooza" and features an MC battle and two opening acts. The MC battle will be judged by three talent scouts from Interscope Records. First prize is two tickets to Las Vegas.\nHip-hop acts Da Gorgeous Gangsters from Astoria, Queens, and House of H.E.M.P. from Gary, Ind., will open for Young Buck. The G-Unit artist will perform for 45 minutes, said ATO Vice President and junior Adam Goldberg. \nThe fraternity is still accepting entrants to the MC battle. Proceeds will go to the Bloomington Boys and Girls Club.\nAnother G-Unit member, The Game, was also advertised to perform in Bloomington during Little 500 week, but the show was cancelled last week. More than 500 tickets had already been purchased.\nGoldberg insisted that the Young Buck show will take place. The fraternity is not working with the same promoter, and Young Buck has already publicly discussed the IU show on radio, he said.\nPhi Sigma Kappa sophomore Jason Boo said Something Corporate will be an alternative to the Little 500 hip-hop shows. Union Board is also bringing The Roots on April 14. \nHe said the five-member band from Orange County, Calif., has created their own identity with a style called "piano rock." \n"There's no other band really like them," Boo said. "It's a rock group but they incorporate the piano."\nPhi Sigma Kappa senior Michael Palm said Something Corporate has built a loyal fan base by touring and not selling-out to "MTV, TRL or the music machine."\n"They've not gone on your typical pop route," he said. "They put on an amazing show. It's really energetic."\nThe band has released three studio albums: "Audio Boxer" (2001), "Leaving Through the Window" (2002) and "North" (2003).\nDavid "Young Buck" Brown, from Nashville, Tenn., originally recorded with Cash Money Records in the late 1990s before joining 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks in G-Unit. His first album "Straight Outta Cashville" (2004) debuted at No. 3 on Billboard's Pop Charts.\nLate last year Young Buck was charged with assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly stabbed a man at the Vibe Awards in Los Angeles. Reports have said that Young Buck was retaliating against a man who punched Dr. Dre. Young Buck is currently free on bail and faces an eight-year prison sentence if convicted.\n-- Contact General Assignments Editor Adam VanOsdol at avanosdo@indiana.edu.

Student fees fund special services

After a student attempted suicide on campus last year by jumping from Ballantine Hall, the University asked the Health Center to hire a second psychiatrist. \nBut costs for psychiatrists are rising industry-wide. Still the center plans to pay the added expenses by increasing students' mandatory health fee, even though less than 10 percent of students use the psychiatric services, according to Health Center reports. \nIt is not uncommon for student fees to fund services used by a small minority. Mandatory fees subsidize campus child care and student legal services, for example, even though a small minority of students use them each year.\nAssociate Dean of Students Damon Sims said it makes sense to spread the cost of some critical services across the entire student body to make them more affordable. \n"It's not just as simple as, 'We have to have 50 percent plus 1 students participating in this program for it to be meritorious of a mandatory fee,'" said Sims. "There are some very good things that need to be supported."\nAccording to a plan submitted by an appointed committee of students to the University before spring break, the Health Center, Student Legal Services and Campus Child Care all would receive fee increases next year.

Kokomo fire that killed four over the weekend was intentionally set, police say

KOKOMO, Ind. -- A weekend house fire that killed a woman and three children was intentionally set, police said Tuesday.\nNo arrests were immediately made and investigators were not releasing details on how the fire was started, police Lt. Don Whitehead said.\n"There are certainly people we are interested in talking to," he said.\nThe house was engulfed in heavy smoke and flames when firefighters arrived Sunday morning. Crews searched the home and found Amy Parrish, 25, along with her sons, Dacota Rasmussen, 4, and Caleb Parrish, 2, and stepson Casey Parrish, 11. They were all soon pronounced dead.\nParrish's husband was the only family member to survive the fire. His sister, Lori Teter, said in an interview that he fell from a second-story window as he tried to find an escape route for the family.\nMichael Parrish, 37, suffered 22 cuts when he fell through the window, Teter said. He was released Monday from Howard Regional Health System.\nParrish woke up about 8 a.m. to a bedroom filled with smoke and his wife telling him that the house was on fire, Teter said.\n"He couldn't see. He tried to open the window and ran into it," she told the Kokomo Tribune for a story Tuesday. "He tried to stop, to stay inside the house, but he couldn't. He landed on the ground."\nTeter said her brother tried to get back inside the house after he fell, but the fire was too intense.\n"He keeps saying, 'It should have been me. Why wasn't it me?'" she said.\nAmy Parrish and the three children all died of smoke inhalation, the Howard County coroner's office said. Caleb was the son of Michael and Amy Parrish; Dacota was her son from a previous relationship, and Casey was his son from a previous relationship.\nThe couple's 1-year-old daughter was unharmed because she was staying at a relative's home.

Overlooked IMU dining

Stepping into the Tudor Room restaurant on the third floor of the Indiana Memorial Union feels like stepping into a country club. The high ceilings, big open windows and delicate artwork make it easy to forget that the restaurant is located on IU's campus. But don't be fooled. The Tudor Room is rich in IU tradition. The high ceilings are adorned with flags that represent different schools of the University. The antique furniture that adds to the restaurant's atmosphere includes pieces from Herman B Wells' personal collection. \nThe Tudor Room was built in 1959 as a restaurant that would define the IMU. Originally serving a full menu at lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch, the Tudor Room offered a place for students, teachers and Bloomington community members to socialize and attend business meetings, all while enjoying home-cooked food. But competition never fails to arise. As grab-and-go style meals have become more popular, the Tudor Room has suffered. \n"We did not want to stop serving quality food," said Maureen Brown, general manager of IMU Dining Services. "But business was decreasing, so we had to do something."\nIn the early '90s the Tudor Room became a buffet-style restaurant that is only open for lunch 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, while Sunday brunch remains. \nBut if the Tudor Room is the restaurant that defines the IMU, why have most students across campus never eaten at the restaurant? Judy Drew, Tudor Room manager, believes it is because students are misled about the restaurant.\n"First of all, we are located on the third floor of the Union," Drew said. "A lot of students don't even know there is a third floor. Secondly, I truly believe that students are intimidated by the appearance of the Tudor Room."\nSome students might see the ambience of the Tudor Room and immediately assume that the restaurant is pricey, but there are four options for meals during lunch at the Tudor Room that vary in price, all the way from the Grand Buffet for $8.95 to the soup buffet for $2.10. \nSunday brunch at the Tudor Room can be considered expensive. The buffet is $14.95, which is a lot more than what students pay for brunch at a place such as the Village Deli. And the price for brunch increases on such Sundays as parent's weekend or holidays.\nThe Tudor Room lunch buffet offers a variety of choices. The hot lunch buffet follows a daily theme from Italian food to Asian-infused meals. Homemade soups, salad bar and fresh desserts are also part of the offerings. \n"We like to give our customers options," Drew said. "It's important for people to know that we are a buffet, but there are still many options for a variety of different meals."\nFor some students, like junior Lauren Gospin, the idea of the Tudor Room is nice but unrealistic. \n"The hours that they are open are very restrictive," Gospin said. "I have class between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., so I won't ever be able to eat at the Tudor Room for lunch." \nBut the hours won't stop junior Adam Solloway from venturing to the restaurant.\n"You will definitely see me at the Tudor Room in the future," Solloway said. "I might not always be eating the Grand Buffet, but who can pass up homemade soup for $2.10?"\nFor more information on the Tudor Room visit www.imu.indiana.edu. For reservations for Sunday brunch call 855-1620.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Monica Dix at mcdix@indiana.edu.

Jordan River Forum

'We're sorry' is an excuse both ways\nThe debate over the war in Iraq is old, but it remains unresolved largely because it boils down to ethical issues that cannot be settled by logical argument. Some people think that preemptive attacks against unproven threats are justifiable, others do not. Some people think that the removal of a dictator is worth the deaths of 15,000 civilians, others do not. There's no argument on these questions; they come down to each person's morality. \nEdward Delp, however, in his column "Target Iran," seems to choose a few facts and then illogically proceeds to extrapolate some higher "truth" from them in order to justify his own moral leanings. He calls Saddam Hussein a "monster" and marvels that anyone can think that his removal from power was a bad thing. This is a strawman argument, however. Those opposed to the war in Iraq are not trying to claim that Hussein was a good man; what is at issue is (a) the right that America had to interfere without being asked, supported or overtly threatened and (b) whether the cost of interference was worth the result. \nThe United States has killed more civilians in the name of "freedom" than the Sept. 11 terrorists did in the name of their cause. Is this justifiable? Is Iraq a safer place now than it was under Hussein's regime? Is America a safer place now that we've given the other nations of the world so much more cause to resent us? Have we reduced the threat of terrorism with this action, or have we moved a whole new generation to the cause of "revenge"? \nIf the destruction of Fallujah can be justified by saying, "I'm sorry, but you shouldn't have let the terrorists set up shop in the first place," I wonder if Delp would similarly defend an Iranian attack on the United States. After all, he is suggesting that we should attack them, so by his reasoning, they should preemptively attack us to defend themselves. \nAfterward they could apologize: "We're sorry, but you shouldn't have let the warmongers set up shop in the first place."

Canned art

INDIANAPOLIS -- With a closely shaven head, a thick goatee, a light blue sports jersey and a full smile, Matt Lawrence chatted and laughed with people beneath a tent set up in front of a large mural, roughly 20 feet tall and 30 feet across, that he and another artist had worked on earlier Saturday.\nEver polite, Lawrence, the founder and director of the Urban Artist Network, gently broke away from his conversation to greet strangers who wandered through the public art exhibition Lawrence organized.\nLawrence was quick to make them feel welcome. People on the street were drawn into an alley in Broad Ripple, a neighborhood on the north side of Indianapolis, by the click-clack of aerosol cans to watch murals come to life.\nWhat made these murals unique was not that Lawrence and his fellow muralists didn't own the canvas -- that's to be expected for nearly all muralists. The uniqueness stemmed from the fact that if these muralists did their artwork at any time other than the window they'd been allotted, they would almost certainly be arrested. \nLawrence's Urban Artist Network presented Subsurface, Indianapolis' second Midwest graffiti expo. Saturday and Sunday. More than 40 artists attended.\nWith cooperation from the Indianapolis Arts Center and the Broad Ripple Village Association, Lawrence said he designed to showcase the artists in a very positive environment. He said he hoped the event would help to alleviate the negative perception the public often has about graffiti and inform people of the beauty the art form is capable of producing.\nGraffiti, derived from the Greek word graphein, meaning "to write," has been found as far back in civilization as Ancient Rome. Graffiti art, the vandalistic kind associated with 20th-century urban environments, is sometimes known as "hip-hop" or "New York style" graffiti, and came into prominence in the New York subway system in the 1970s.\nGraffiti was initially treated as a nuisance more than a renaissance, but over the next few years, it began to crawl from bridges and buildings to galleries and museums. It spurred the interest of art scholars and academics and was simultaneously being picked up and "legitimized" by professional modern artists, such as the late Keith Haring. \nLawrence said many of the artists, who participated the expo by invitation only, come from a variety of backgrounds in the arts, including professional artists, custom sign painters, set designers and illustrators. Most prefer the comfort of pseudonyms for their graffiti.\nScribe, a tall man with horned glasses and a gas-mask hanging loosely around his neck, is one such artist who tags his work using a moniker. He paints professionally for the Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo.\n"Art is three-quarters motivation, not sitting around waiting for something to happen," Scribe said. "There are people who just want to be discovered, but you can't stop working."\nLargely a self-educated artist who attended the Kansas City Art Institute for a year, Scribe said being an artist involves doing any small job -- sometimes for free -- to advance your career.\nScribe's section of the mural is a vast forest scene, and his painting partners have created two trees in drastically different fashions. One tree at the far left end of the wall is large and mystical, like something from a fairy tale. Another tree is ferric and metallic, with branches like beams of steel and liquid leaves dripping off. \nOne of Scribe's painting partners sprays two quick squirts from the can into the air to bring up the sharpest paint before applying it to the wall. Each can is tipped with different nozzles, controlling the scope and amount of paint able to be sprayed.\nScribe's contributions to the forest scene -- a gigantic rhinoceros dressed as Paul Bunyan being brought down by gophers who have roped his wrists, and an obese, cartoonish beaver -- reflect his background in children's illustrations. \nHe said he has ambitions of becoming a full-time illustrator, reaching the point professionally "when people start turning you loose because they trust you."\nLawrence called the expo "public art" and a "beautification project for Broad Ripple's cultural district," and to his happiness, the public noticed.\nEllie Clapp, a resident of Zionsville, Ind., a suburb on Indianapolis' north side, said it's an art form people embrace, and she's glad the artists have an outlet for it.\n"It's pure modern art to me," she said. "They really do show themselves as artists."\nClapp marveled at the detail, coordination and time put into the mural. The color scheme particularly surprised her, she said, and she methodically took in each segment of the mural with a critic's eye.\nMontana Cans, the event's sponsor, provided a rainbow's array of colors for the mural typically unseen in darker, more common graffiti: electric blues, potent reds, vibrant oranges, neon yellows, glowing greens and phosphorescent pinks, to name a few. \n"It's nice to see it up close instead of briefly as you drive under an overpass," she laughed.\nClapp noted the overwhelming male aerosol artist presence; every mural artist for the weekend was male. Lawrence said that while there are female graffiti artists, even popular ones with followings, it is a typically male-dominated art form due to its shadier beginnings.\nFor Scribe, it's important to be showcased, but more important, he said, it's important to hang out with his fellow artist friends. He said the graffiti arts events bring him together with a few friends from Cincinnati he is able to see only a few times a year. \nSince 1999, Lawrence's organization has painted about 15 murals, including three others in Broad Ripple and one near Indianapolis' downtown region that memorializes the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.\nBy the end of the weekend, the artists created another mural, this time nearly the size of a city block, with art styles that span the spectrum. Positioned behind the Broad Ripple branch of the Indianapolis post office, each building's section says something new, something different than the next. \nAll together it forms one coherent message for the people walking on the street: forget complaining about the graffiti, it seems to say, and learn to celebrate it.\n-- Contact senior writer Tony Sams at ajsams@indiana.edu.

Homeland Security advises Hoosiers

In a world of conflicting cultural identities, confrontational religious doctrines, crippling economic disparities and fanatical national pride, international terrorist acts against civilian populations is on the rise. \nDealing with terrorism from a campus community perspective, IU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said more players are responsible for responding to terrorist attacks besides the first-response team "hands-on in the street" -- such as ambulance crews, fire and police departments, the Red Cross and government agencies. \n"In Monroe County, emergency plans were initiated years ago for weather-related disasters -- the highest probability being a tornado," Minger said. "With the Y2K scare, all the plans were revamped to include new contingencies. It's the same kind of thing from the perspective of Homeland Security. You can't plan for exact specifics; you have to plan for generalities. You deal with the specifics at the time depending on what the emergency calls for." \nUnlike many villages, towns or cities across the United States, Minger said IU could provide food, electricity and shelter for disaster victims since the University is self-contained. In addition, Minger said several locations within the campus community would serve as make-shift command centers to direct the terrorist attack relief efforts.\nHowever, the most important coping mechanisms occur on an individual level, Minger said.\nSince future terrorist strikes against the people, property and prosperity of the United States cannot be prophesied, the U.S. government has warned all citizens to be prepared for any kind of terror threat the human mind can imagine -- from the radioactive clouds of "dirty" nuclear bombs to the deployment of biological and chemical agents. Highlighted in rhetoric administered in television, radio and print advertisements, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has recommended several steps Americans can take to prepare for the unexpected harm inflicted on civilian populations during times of war. \nAccording to a special national yellow pages insert on homeland security, alphabetically filed under "Homeland Security" in the SBC SMART Yellow Pages, the likelihood of surviving a terrorist attack is similar to surviving a house fire. Tom Ridge, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said terrorism "forces" us to make the choice between being "afraid" or being "ready."\n"Just like having a working smoke detector, preparing for the unexpected makes sense," according to the Homeland Security insert. \nAdopting a "common sense framework," the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recommends four steps all Hoosiers should follow to be prepared for a few hypothetical terrorist scenarios -- such as attacks on the water, food and/or air the community population consumes: make an emergency supply kit, make a family communication plan, be informed and remain calm.\nAn emergency supply kit should consist of: water -- one gallon per person per day; food -- canned and dried; warm cloths -- including a sleeping bags; emergency supplies -- flashlight, battery powered radio, extra batteries, first-aid kit, toilet articles, filter masks; duct tape and plastic sheeting to seal windows and vents -- heavyweight garbage bags work as well, according to the insert.\nA family communication plan should include: a phone tree to call in case of emergency; an idea of where to "shelter-in-place," -- an interior room with as few doors and windows as possible; an idea of where to go -- several destinations in different directions; and an idea of how to proceed in an emergency situation if at school or work when the terrorists strike.\nA prepared civilian is also an informed civilian who can articulate the difference between potential terrorist threats such as biological, chemical, explosive, nuclear and radiological -- this information should determine which decision to make and action to take.\nRegardless of the terrorist attack or disastrous threat, according to the insert: "Above all, stay calm, be patient and think before you act." \n"It's not like the days back during the Red Scare of the 1950s, when people were preparing for a specific threat -- a nuclear attack," Minger said. "As we have seen by 9-11 and recent terrorist activities in other countries, you can't prepare for a specific attack. Terrorists might use an airplane, an explosive device or derail a train. There is nothing specific you can tell people other than to assess the current national security level and to take precautionary measures."\n-- Contact staff writer David A. Nosko at dnosko@indiana.edu.

Under the sea

Three hundred and twenty nine dollars. \nFor years, that's all that stood between Mark Brooks and his dream of exploring the underwater wonderland of coral reefs, sea animals and abandoned overgrown shipwrecks. But now, thanks in large part to a life-changing birthday present, Brooks owns and manages Southern Indiana Scuba, 1023 S. Walnut Street, helping others realize the same dream.\nBefore 1989, scuba diving was something Brooks had contemplated, considered and craved, but never something he'd dared to try. He needed to take classes to get an open water certificate and somehow the $329 price tag always held him back. That year, however, Brooks' wife surprised him with something special.\n"It was a birthday gift," Brooks said. "I'd always wanted to get certified and she said, 'Here, go do it.' That's how it all got started."\nFor a man who worked in the computer industry and spent most of his time sitting in an office typing at a bright screen, Brooks was suddenly turned on to a whole new world of underwater landscapes and adventures 80 feet below the surface. He quickly ascended the diving certification ranks, first reaching advanced open water status, then rescue diver and dive master. As a dive master, Brooks began working at SIS, assisting at the store and repairing equipment.\nBrooks continued scuba as a part-time hobby until 1998, when the owner of SIS decided to sell the shop. Brooks faced an exciting possibility: He could give up his job and buy the store, melding his career and his hobby into one. It didn't take long before he reached a decision.\n"At the time, I was in the computer industry and it was a dying industry because there were so many companies and so many people getting laid off," he said. "So, I knew my time with that company was coming to an end and my love of diving was here and exciting. So I talked to my wife and I said 'Let's try it' and she said OK. And we're here seven years later."\nAnd, despite Indiana being a landlocked state without any major bodies of water, Brooks' store appears to be here to stay. He estimates it nets between $5-10,000 a month before expenses. While expenses mount quickly at a specialty store like SIS, including rent ($1,800 a month, plus utilities), liability insurance ($8,000 a year) and replacing inventory ($10-12,000 a year), Brooks said he has never had a problem operating the store in the black. Of course, he said he values the experience his job provides as much as the money it makes. Brooks runs classes through the store that regularly take him to locales like Belize, the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Keys.\n"It's not a problem to stay profitable in a term," Brooks said. "Scuba is not a high-profit industry -- you do it for the love of the sport and the perks. As an example, here I am working in the Grand Canyon -- leading people in the Grand Canyon. Here I am in Belize, leading people in Belize. So there are perks, it's not necessarily dollars that makes it so profitable."\nBrooks' business is split four different ways -- between new divers, those in continuing education classes and courses through IU, those going on the trips Brooks runs and those setting up their own diving excursions. Mostly, though, Brooks said it is a core group of veteran divers, a tightly knit social group, who come back again and again for trips, supplies and conversation. Brooks plays host to gatherings in the store every few months where divers bring food and swap stories, and runs free trips to local diving spots during the summer. The point: Keep people excited about their hobby and make sure those core customers keep coming back. \n"Twenty percent of my business does 80 percent of my business," Brooks said. "But I realize that core 20 percent changes. Somebody has kids, they realize they won't be able to do it as much. So in comes the new guy from college who's excited to do this. I keep about a core 20 of active divers doing things and 80 percent that dive a little bit, hang out there and do some things."\nBrooks recruits new divers through the 'Discover Scuba' program -- a basic introduction to scuba diving. The hour-long course is free for IU students the first Friday of every month at HPER pool 194. That's how Bill Cain, an IU graduate and divemaster in training at SIS discovered his love for the sport.\n"I told (Mark) I couldn't swim very well and he told me he was going to teach me how to scuba dive, not to swim," said Cain, who works part-time at SIS. "... Now I love it. You can't imagine the beauty of the underwater world. Seeing sharks at a coral head as opposed to Shark Week is just night and day."\nOf course, it hasn't always been smooth sailing for SIS. Brooks said the store hit hard times post-9-11 and is still recovering. He reasons that hobbies are the first thing to go when hard times strike financially, and scuba diving is rarely a necessity. \nThe Internet also poses a small threat, though Brooks can't imagine why someone would trust a computer screen with something like a regulator, which could mean life or death down under. \n"It's life support equipment -- do you want to know the person selling it to you?" Brooks said. "When you're at 60 or 80 feet, take the regulator out of your mouth and take a deep breath. Why not? You're going to drown."\nBrooks estimates his store has taken a small hit on people who turn to the web, but those customers usually come back when whatever they ordered breaks. \nMainly, his competition isn't the Internet. It isn't the dive store in Indianapolis and it isn't Wal-Mart or the Dick's Sporting Goods opening at College Mall.\n"It's bowling, sailing, tennis, golf. It's all the rest," Brooks said. "You as a consumer have X amount of dollars to spend on your hobby. If you choose to spend it sailing, then you're not going to spend it on diving. And so my whole thing is I want to keep my people active and excited."\nAnd, for diving enthusiasts, a visit to SIS can mean just that. In addition to the exotic trips Brooks offers, a stroll through SIS is a virtual walk through a smorgasbord of diving necessities and toys. Walking into its front room, with its old-fashioned diver statue, large bay windows, glass cases of scuba gear, fish tank, plants and underwater netting hung from the ceiling, it already echoes of a descent beneath the waves. Inside the small main room, the sales floor is packed with mannequins in wet suits, masks, snorkels, T-shirts, mugs, regulators and computer screens sliding through the hundreds and hundreds of blue-tinted digital pictures Brooks has taken or accumulated beneath the surface. \nFor Cheryl Snooks, a visit to the store and a training session with Brooks turned her on to scuba. In the three years since she's been certified, Snooks has wrangled a shark ("The more docile ones -- you rub their belly just like a dog"), pet a sting ray ("It felt like velvet gliding over you") and witnessed a rare bright orange, 10-inch seahorse ("That picture I will hold in my mind forever"). She's also amassed three wet suits, two sets of boots and a slew of extras which have, all in all, cost about $4,000. \n"We were very impressed with the friendliness and the family (at SIS), we liked the atmosphere," she said. "And, just after that first trip with them and certification, I felt at home there and continued further studies with them. Scuba diving is what I truly love to do. When I go on vacation, I laughed and told my friend the other day, if I can't go stick my head in the water, I find myself not wanting to go."\nSnooks credits Brooks' teaching with helping her to develop as a diver and his store with helping her build a large repertoire of diving gear. She's not the only one -- the Professional Association of Diving Instructors gives SIS its top rating and walls at SIS are plastered with framed certificates from the organization recognizing Brooks for his teaching skills. \nBetween those, the trips and the stores, that's been enough to keep a stand-alone scuba store in business -- even in landlocked Indiana. \n"It sounds weird, but Indiana is a great place to be from as a diver," Brooks said. "We have ATA and we have the airport in Indianapolis, so it's a nice easy way to get on trips. People have heard about the Caribbean, they've heard about the ocean and now they want to go see it. It's very exciting. To me, I still love teaching open water class where people go 'I can swim, but I don't know anything else,' and then at the end of the class I give them their card and I'm going congratulations, now you can go do all of this and see them get excited about it."\nFor more information, visit www.southernindianascuba.com.\n-- Contact managing editor Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.

Around The State

Man hands note to police dispatcher, shoots himself\nWHITING, Ind. -- A man walked into the city's police station, handed the dispatcher a note through a bulletproof window, then pulled out a gun and shot himself once in the head, police said.\nVictor Midkiff, 54, an electrician's assistant for the city, fatally shot himself about 11 a.m. Wednesday. A note inside the envelope read, "Call my brother," and gave his phone number, Detective Donald Greer said.\nMidkiff was pronounced dead at the scene in the city along Lake Michigan just east of the Indiana-Illinois state line.\nGreer said investigators did not know why Midkiff committed suicide.