IUPD

Returning to New Orleans

By Abdullah AlShihri and Rami Chami · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 2:13 p.m.

The last time I left New Orleans I was being evacuated on the back of a military truck that was navigating through the city's flooded streets against a backdrop of war-like destruction. Two months after Hurricane Katrina tore through the Gulf Coast, I returned to New Orleans for a brief visit. I was both impressed and disheartened by what I saw in terms of the city's recovery.

Stuck in the Middle

By Mallory Simon · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 2:12 p.m.

Linda Kaczynski felt a nagging pain in her gut when she read pieces of the Unabomber's Manifesto. As she read the words explaining the perils and evils of technology from a man who had sent shrapnel--covered bombs to unsuspecting victims, it seemed all too familiar. She sat motionless, and then asked her husband to sit down on the couch. "Don't get angry at me, but is there any possibility this could be your brother Ted?" Linda said, clutching a copy of The Washington Post, which had published the Manifesto.

Great American Smokeout promotes quitting smoking

By Alex M. Thompson · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 2:11 p.m.

Today marks the 29th annual Great American Smokeout, a public awareness campaign sponsored by the American Cancer Society to promote an end to cigarette addiction, a consistent health problem for IU students and Indiana residents.

Man attempts robbery with large knife

By Alexandra R. Moses · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 2:11 p.m.

Bloomington Police responded early Wednesday morning to an attempted robbery in the 1200 block of West 12th Street. According to the police report, a man with a very large knife entered a house seeking money and pills at about 6:45 a.m. A 68-year-old woman and two of her grandchildren were in the house at the time.

Hill to make another run for the Hill

By Ben Woodson · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 2:11 p.m.

Former Rep. Baron Hill is back for another round with Rep. Mike Sodrel. Hill announced Tuesday his candidacy in what is expected to be a very close congressional race for Indiana's 9th District. The 2006 election will mark the third time Sodrel, a Republican from Jeffersonville, Ind., and Hill, a Democrat from Seymour, Ind., have faced each other in an election for the congressional district. In 2002, Hill beat Sodrel by five percentage points, but in 2004, Sodrel beat Hill by only one-half of a percent.

A mile high and no way out

By Kirk Nathanson · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 2:10 p.m.

I've been on more flights to more places than most people ever will, so I consider myself something of an expert when it comes to air travel. Go on, ask me which carrier's the best. Take your pick; they're all ungodly. Forget airport security and body searches. That bit stopped being funny when the public realized the Bush administration hasn't improved the situation. I'm talking about the actual airlines: cheap as dirt and about as unpleasant. It's no surprise that two weeks ago Independence Air (formally Flyi Inc.) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the latest in a list that includes former industry leaders Delta, Northwest and United.

Feeling stupid?

By Deara Ball · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 2:08 p.m.

I've got a question for you. Have you ever done or said something and the very second it happened you immediately cursed yourself for being so stupid? If you are anything like me, then you answered "yes" to this question. We all have our moments, some more than others, when we feel like the most inane person on the face of the Earth. It wouldn't be so bad if these mishaps occurred when we were by ourselves. But no, they of course happen when we are surrounded by people. And you know they are thinking that somewhere, some village far, far away is missing an idiot, and it just so happens that it is you.

You say you want a revolution?

By Peter Chen · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 2:07 p.m.

On Tuesday, in a historic special session of Bloomington faculty, a resolution was passed which demanded a complete overview of IU President Adam Herbert's job performance. After a swirl of accusations about President Herbert, including the still unfilled chancellor position, it appears to be high noon between a frustrated faculty and the highly criticized president. Some have painted attacks on Herbert as racist, a white faculty fighting a black president. Others describe it as an attempt by Bloomington faculty to retain control of a University that increasingly turns a blind eye to faculty concerns.

Addicted to power

By Levi Harris · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 1:34 p.m.

So, I'm worried about President Bush. Between you, me and the fence post, the guy's got real problems. I first noticed it Nov. 1, when he took an 11th-hour trip to Virginia to stump unsuccessfully for Republican gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore. Once upon a time, a visit from Bush on the eve of an election would've been political gold. But as Bush launched into his standard rose-colored rhetoric about "freedom" and "values," it was clear the gold had lost its luster. Bush has become "that guy." You

Herbert's unrealistic requests

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 1:33 p.m.

IU President Adam Herbert has given IU-Bloomington Interim Chancellor Ken Gros Louis a tall order to fill before Jan. 1. Herbert has charged Gros Louis with appointing a new vice chancellor for enrollment services, a new graduate school dean and associate vice president for academic affairs and a new director of IU Faculty Colloquium of Excellence in Teaching.

Best-selling author to speak about Mexican heritage

By Ab D. Phillip · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 1:32 p.m.

Best-selling author Victor Villaseñor will speak at 7 p.m. today in the Neal-Marshall Black Cultural Center Grand Hall. Hosted by the La Casa Latino Cultural Center and the Union Board, the lecture is free and open to the public.

BSU serves soul food at annual fund-raiser

By Megan Stuart · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 1:32 p.m.

Thanksgiving dinner is coming to IU one week early. The Black Student Union will be serving ham, turkey, chicken, greens and macaroni and cheese at its annual Soul Food Dinner at 6 p.m. tonight in the Forest Greenleaf Dining Room. The event is open to the public and costs $2 with a canned food donation and $3 without. "The best reason (to attend) is because it's great soul food that's difficult to get in Bloomington unless you have parents here," said Eric Love, diversity educator and BSU adviser.

Unions protest produce placement trend

By Alyson Brodsy and Gary Gentile · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 1:31 p.m.

LOS ANGELES -- Hollywood writers and actors are calling for a code of conduct to govern a growing trend of hidden advertising in TV shows and films, and they say they will appeal to federal regulators if studios don't respond.

Lewis and Clark monument dedicated

By Jim Suhr · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 1:31 p.m.

CAIRO, Ill. -- While thrilled to be entrusted with creating a memorial to Lewis and Clark's brief visit two centuries ago to this outpost near where the Mississippi and Ohio rivers meet, Evertt Beidler found the work itself to be a bit of an adventure. The Southern Illinois University art graduate student built the 12-foot, 1,100-pound sculpture of stainless steel and bronze inlays in a school building that lacked the right hoisting equipment for such a massive project. As a result, Beidler did a lot of improvising.

Former Straight No Chaser singer goes solo

By Allison Richie · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 1:30 p.m.

Local singer-songwriter Ryan Ahlwardt has been creating quite the buzz around Bloomington. He is working on finishing his first album featuring his track "I Can See Forever." Ahlwardt hopes the album will be released later this year, but for now, he's still working on trying to "get the fun I have on stage onto a CD.

Getty's ex-curator to appear at art theft trial

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 1:30 p.m.

ROME -- The former antiquities curator of the J. Paul Getty Museum was dealt a series of setbacks as her trial on illegal trafficking charges resumed Wednesday in a court case widely seen as a warning to the art world. The case, which stemmed from a 10-year smuggling investigation, has cast doubt over the provenance of artifacts in several museums other than the Getty, including Boston's Museum of Fine Arts and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Hoosiers swept away by No. 1 Fighting Illini

By Josh Sacks · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 1:29 p.m.

Early in a season, there are defining games that symbolize what kind of future lies ahead for a team. The IU hockey team experienced one of those games in a loss to the defending American Collegiate Hockey Association champion Friday night in Champaign, Ill.

Progressive hard rock live

By Sam Nissen · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 12 a.m.

If the music world were put on a political spectrum… The Dave Matthews Band, The Neptunes or Franz Ferdinand might correspond to liberal politicians, being progressive innovators across genres. Simple Plan, Nelly or Bon Jovi might correspond to middle of the road politicians, being pervasive, well-liked but not really all that good or substantive.

What happened to the Weekend?

By Stephanie Susman · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 12 a.m.

It's 11 p.m., Monday, Oct. 10 and senior Andrew Phillips has class at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. While some IU students are spending their Monday nights at home studying or sleeping, Phillips and his roommates, seniors Jonah Pryor and Ben Falk, are sitting on the patio at Kilroy's on Kirkwood enjoying the weather and hoping to achieve their near-daily goal: to get drunk.

Horror worthy of rejection

By C. Warner Sills and Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Nov. 17,2005 12 a.m.

For anyone familiar with Rob Zombie, the ex-front man of rock band White Zombie, you will know that he is a devout fan of horror movies. His music videos always had a creepy style to them, his stage presence was always elaborate and his 2003 directed horror film "House of a 1000 Corpses" was packed with personal odes to the genre he loves. His recent opus, "The Devil's Rejects" is a continuation of "Corpses"' vicious story. But does this already mediocre story really need a follow up?