Region

Privatize this

By Alyson Brodsy and Patrick Schoettmer · Tuesday, Nov. 1,2005 11:44 p.m.

Last week, our Congress voted to allow the privatization of food stamps. Our governor, Mitch Daniels, is a strong proponent of privatizing, well, everything. When our governor was a Washington bureaucrat in service to George W. Bush, he said, "The business of government is not to provide services but to make sure that they are provided." As governor, he wants to privatize our roads, essentially selling them to companies who will charge us to drive on them. He wants to privatize hospitals, presumably because government isn't in the business of keeping people alive. With this most recent food stamp go-ahead, Indiana has begun to emulate that bastion of civil justice, Texas, and is looking to put the job of making sure hungry people have food to eat in the hands of a for-profit organization.

Digital Art -- New Art?

By Alyson Brodsy and Megan Robb · Tuesday, Nov. 1,2005 11:42 p.m.

Columnist Edmund Morris of The New York Times thinks technology can be an enemy of the arts. He suggested in a recent column that contemporary society uses technology as a substitute for artistic creation. Artists themselves, both in creative writing and studio art disciplines, have debated the value of physical art versus that created by computers and word processors. Technology has inspired new approaches to and uses for art. But in the end, technology is just another tool for the artist, albeit a powerful one.

Remember November

By Alyson Brodsy and Matt Peyton · Tuesday, Nov. 1,2005 11:39 p.m.

To be perfectly honest, I always feel a little indifferent toward November. November is like friends from high school whom you never talk to. You're mildly happy when you get to see them, but you tend to forget about them after they're gone. Now, I know what you're thinking, and yes, Thanksgiving rocks. However, it's so late in the month, I mentally moved it to December, or rather, the "holiday season."

Paid benefits for 'A' athletes?

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Nov. 1,2005 11:37 p.m.

Colleges across the country can start making money by churning out intellectual athletes. A plan approved last Thursday by the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I Board of Directors is going to pay colleges up to $100,000 each if their athletes do well in the classroom. The biggest payouts will be reserved for programs that make improvements in graduating players. After all, as the NCAA suggests, this economic incentive is part of a plan to get more athletes to graduate from their respective universities.

The 'mod' look receives new life

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Nov. 1,2005 11:37 p.m.

LOS ANGELES -- A banner reading "1966" hangs above DJ Rena Durrant and her turntables at Club Satisfaction in Hollywood. On the dance floor, doe-eyed girls in polyester A-line dresses and bobbed hair shimmy and shake alongside boys in three-button suits and Beatle boots. A 60s R&B tune fills the room. A film shoot for an "Austin Powers" prequel? Is "American Dreams" returning to prime-time?

Violent children's films raise fears

By Alyson Brodsy and Sandy Cohen · Tuesday, Nov. 1,2005 11:35 p.m.

LOS ANGELES -- A shotgun-wielding hunter mercilessly pursues his target. Angry space aliens vaporize a defenseless town. A bloodthirsty shark preys on the weak and tiny.

Documentary explores legend of 'Ballets Russes'

By Alyson Brodsy and Claudia La Rocco · Tuesday, Nov. 1,2005 11:34 p.m.

NEW YORK -- Agnes de Mille was in London in the summer of 1933 when the new Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo came to town. For the young American choreographer, seeing a Leonide Massine ballet became one of the season's "great erotic pleasures."

Herbert abandons 3 finalists for IUB chancellor

By Brian Baker · Tuesday, Nov. 1,2005 12:35 a.m.

IU President Adam Herbert announced Monday he has dropped the three finalists for the IU-Bloomington chancellor position, and the search will begin again despite efforts to fill the post by Friday's board of trustees meeting.

Students say IUPD incident 'resolved'

By Peter Stevenson · Tuesday, Nov. 1,2005 12:35 a.m.

Students who were mistakenly handcuffed and searched after a Sept. 18 dance at the Indiana Memorial Union are disappointed with the results of an IU Police Department investigation of their cases. But the students are aware officers were following IUPD protocols and expected an internal investigation to recommend no action against the officers involved.

Clark: Reform foreign policy

By Ben Woodson · Tuesday, Nov. 1,2005 12:35 a.m.

Retired Gen. Wesley Clark gave what he believes is a new strategy for America Monday night at the IU Auditorium during a speech sponsored by the Union Board. Clark, a 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, was the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO forces Europe and led the allied forces during the Kosovo conflict in the late '90s. America is in a time of transition right now from the old outdated strategy to a new one, he said, but the problem is that President Bush has not defined one yet.

IU professors say Alito fight will get rough

By Michael Sanserino · Tuesday, Nov. 1,2005 12:35 a.m.

In a swift change of direction from his nomination of Harriet Miers, President Bush announced Monday veteran appellate judge Samuel Alito Jr. as his nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Alito, 55, has served as a judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since 1990 and has a strong conservative track record. In 1992, Alito voiced his support for spousal notification in abortions as the lone dissenter in the landmark case Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

'HELL HOUSE' terrifies tricksters seeking treats

By David A. Nosko · Tuesday, Nov. 1,2005 12:27 a.m.

ELLETTSVILLE -- Halloween is often associated with ghouls, ghosts, goblins and costumed children and adults prowling community streets in search of candy and other festive treats from neighbors and local businesses. But for Pastor Larry Mitchell of the House of Prayer Ellettsville, 4100 N. Hartstrait Rd., Halloween is a night in which "millions of Christians will encourage their children to pay respect to the devil and his gang of evil spirits," according to a church pamphlet. Pastor Mitchell's parish, in response, has continued its holiday tradition of furthering the Rev. Jerry Falwell's three-decade evangelistic quest to proselytize community members about Jesus Christ during the Halloween season by transforming their church into a "HELL HOUSE."

Suit up, NBA is back

By Alyson Brodsy and Kevin Dwire · Tuesday, Nov. 1,2005 12:20 a.m.

After a long and tumultuous offseason, the NBA is back tonight and dressed better than ever. The passing of the summer has brought the Zen master and his meditation back to Los Angeles, 'Toine is now in Miami Beach, and the Hornets will be playing their home games in Oklahoma City. Because of all the faces changing places, Down to the Dwire is going to provide seven things you must know about the upcoming professional basketball season.

Mr. Greenspan, stop shafting the students

By Ryan Phillips · Tuesday, Nov. 1,2005 12:19 a.m.

No sports tradition is more revered in this country than the link between the people of Indiana and basketball. Everyone associates the state with the sport, regardless of where you go or who you talk to. I'm not a native Hoosier. I grew up on the sun-soaked beaches of Southern California, but even from 2,090 miles away I was drawn to the mystique surrounding the Hoosier state and its obsession with roundball. As a 6-foot-2-inch, comically un-athletic shooting guard, Indiana basketball was something I looked at with hope for most of my high school years.

Hoosiers No. 3 in preseason Big Ten rankings

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Nov. 1,2005 12:17 a.m.

IU was selected as the No. 3 team in the Big Ten this season at Big Ten media day this weekend in Chicago. The Hoosiers were predicted to finish behind Michigan State, who claims the top spot, and defending Big Ten champion Illinois. "It's the first time we've been picked that high in a long time" said IU coach Mike Davis. "I think when you go from two, three, four, five and six, every (team) is the same ... I think we have about eight teams that could make it to the tournament (from the Big Ten)." IU finished fifth in the Conference last season with a 10-6 conference record. The team jumped Minnesota and Wisconsin in the preseason rankings as it returns four starters and adds Auburn transfers Marco Killingsworth and Lewis Monroe.

Nguyen named National Player of the Week

By Chris Engel · Tuesday, Nov. 1,2005 12:14 a.m.

When the IU men's soccer team trailed by three goals with 17 minutes remaining, it took an 18-year-old freshman to bring the Hoosiers back. For his efforts against Maryland and Notre Dame, College Soccer News named freshman forward Lee Nguyen as its National Player of the Week. Nguyen's two assists and one goal also earned him Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.

Businesses argue Eastern time makes sense

By Jamie Ward · Tuesday, Nov. 1,2005 12:02 a.m.

Correspondence regarding Indiana's time zone debate continues to arrive at the Department of Transportation office in Washington, D.C., as Hoosiers speak their minds about Indiana time. More than 940 correspondences currently exist at the DOT concerning docket number 22114, the number assigned to the time debate in Indiana. All pertain to 77 counties' time zones -- Central or Eastern.

Martial arts center roughs it out

By Jessica Wolfe · Tuesday, Nov. 1,2005 12:01 a.m.

Unless you know someone who has been to the area, you won't find Paul Smith's martial arts training center -- the Yobushin Dojo near Lake Lemon in Unionville, Ind. MapQuest won't tell you that after winding through roads lined with fall-colored trees then landing on a gravel road, you will have to find an unmarked drive to find the small, unmarked wooden building.

Flyers accuse man of sexual assault

By Alyson Brodsy · Monday, Oct. 31,2005 11:45 p.m.

An IU employee called the IU Police Department to investigate flyers accusing a man of rape after he found the papers at Memorial Hall early Monday morning. Officers found about 30 flyers scattered and posted throughout the building, as well as more flyers near the Music Building, said IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger, quoting the police reports.

Russian President will not seek 3rd term in office

By Alyson Brodsy and Steve Gutterman · Monday, Oct. 31,2005 11:44 p.m.

MOSCOW -- President Vladimir Putin said Monday he won't seek a third term in 2008 but vowed not to allow "destabilization" in Russia following the vote, leaving the door open for drastic action in the event of a crisis. In an interview with Dutch media on the eve of a visit to the Netherlands, Putin reiterated that he opposes changing the constitution to prolong his time in power -- a possibility that has been widely discussed because of his popularity and control over parliament.