Region

Israeli writer shares thoughts

The seeds of international fanaticism lie in "uncompromising righteousness," said Israeli writer Amos Oz as he began a lecture Monday. "The people who blow up abortion clinics in this country are no different than those who destroyed the World Trade Center; it is just a different scale of destruction," he said. The William T. Patten Foundation welcomed Oz to campus as part of its annual lecture series. Oz advocated a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a speech, "Israel: Peace and War," which was delivered to a packed Whittenberger Auditorium in the Indiana Memorial Union.

Presentation airs 'dirty laundry'

By discussing racism and racial identity -- two issues many people face every day -- misunderstandings can be resolved, and tensions can be lessened. Guest lecturer Chalmer Thompson instilled these ideas into about 40 Minority Achievers Program (MAP) students who gathered Tuesday night in the Indiana Memorial Union's Federal Room for the fourth LEAD (Leadership skills, academic Excellence, professional Achievement, and community Development) Speaker Series of the semester. "People don\'t like to talk about it -- it's uncomfortable, like airing dirty laundry," Thompson said of racism. "It takes a lot of time to establish a climate for discussing these issues of race as well as establishing a climate in which people feel safe."

Cartoons aren't just for kids

Turning on the TV, flipping through sitcoms, drama and court TV. Then, "What's with those cartoon characters with blue hair?" This unique programming is probably anime. Japanese animation, known as anime, has experienced a surge of stateside interest in recent years, and its appeal is transcending its former cult status. It wasn't long ago that finding anime in the United States was a quest in itself, with buyers forced to scour trade shows only to find poorly dubbed versions of the product. "I remember buying bootleg videos in 1992 for $25 at comic conventions, and that was the only way you could find it," Chris Joslyn of PC Guru Comics said.

Jordan River Forum

U.N. secretary-general's Nobel Peace Prize well deserved

When Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the United Nations were given the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize, commentators were not very much surprised. The announcement was even deemed sweeter by the fact that the award went to the United Nations and its hard-working Ghana-born Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Sweden's Dag Hammarskjold, in 1961 as U.N. boss, posthumously received the Nobel Peace Prize; former U.N. Undersecretary-General Ralph Bunche, too, received the award. Characteristically, Mr. Annan later calmly told U.N. workers that they had all won the prize to motivate them to even work harder, adding: "And who knows? If you keep at it, maybe some of you will see another Nobel Prize. If you are going to get that next Nobel Peace Prize, I think we had better go back to work."

Bab-O and anthrax

I got a notice in the mail today from the U.S. Postal Service. It warned me what to do should I get a suspect piece of mail, plus things to look for that would make a piece of mail "suspicious." Among the tips they gave me were "It's marked with restrictive endorsements such as 'Personal' or 'Confidential.'" I have decided to personally include the endorsement "Invoice Enclosed" in this category, because, quite frankly, I am afraid to be exposed to my bills this month. Another tip that they give when you receive a suspicious package: "Don't shake it, bump it or sniff it." Curse these people! They are trying to strip me of one of my favorite activities, mail-sniffing. When will the madness stop?

A humor columnist's weekend

It's 2:30 a.m. on Halloween and I'm sitting at my computer wearing khakis, an undershirt, a bathrobe and a tie around my head. Yes, I do need help. Actually, I'm just being a good humor columnist. A humor columnist always needs to be busy. We'll take last weekend as an example. Friday, 5 p.m.: I'm at the International House watching some Malaysian students putting on what is quite possibly the best puppet show I have ever seen. It was like "Reading Rainbow" on Ecstasy. You could just see the shadows of the puppets, which made it look really cool and creepy, and it was filled with more innuendos than last year's presidential debates:

Siren delay unacceptable

Last Wednesday when the county's emergency sirens sounded to warn of a possible tornado, many residents headed for cover. But they had less of a head start on the storm than they thought. The sirens did not sound until about 10 minutes after the tornado warning was issued. The delay occurred because the state's system through which the county receives weather warnings was down for upgrades that day, said John Hooker, the county's emergency management director. Because the county never received the warning through the state's official channel, the dispatchers never received formal notification to sound the sirens.

Nuclear bill funds remain unchanged

House Democrats lost an effort Tuesday to add money to a program aimed at keeping Russian nuclear weapons away from terrorists. By voice vote, House lawmakers working with senators to craft a compromise energy and water spending bill rejected an effort by Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Texas, that would have added $131 million to a $173 million program that helps Russia guard its nuclear facilities.

Team takes time out

For senior and team captain Tiffany Fisher, it's been all golf for the past 10 months. Fisher has competed in 12 IU tournaments since the beginning of the year and also played during the summer.

Freshman runner gets chance to prove worth

This weekend, the men's cross country team competed in the Big Ten Championships in Illinois and finished fourth. One reason the team was able to place in the top five was the effort put forth by freshman Kurtis George.

Doubles match 'a heartbreaker'

The women's tennis doubles team of junior Karie Schlukebir and sophomore Linda Tran lost a hard-fought battle against No. 6-seeded sophomore Liina Suurvarik and junior Alesia Mikalayeva of Illinois State 8-5 in the finals of the Region IV Championships Monday.

A fresh outlook

They are new to IU, college volleyball and dorm life, and they are loving every minute of it. Christina Archibald, Stephanie Blevins, Karla Crose and Victoria Zimmerman are the four new freshmen faces this year on the volleyball team.

Hoosiers look back on season

After Friday night's loss to Purdue eliminated the women's soccer team from a Big Ten postseason berth, the team had a chance to reflect on a season that was memorable. Although IU didn't fulfill their goal of playing in the postseason, the Hoosiers (7-7-1, 3-6-1) did have a productive and enjoyable season.

Senior reciever works way back into lineup

The best thing that ever happened to Henry Frazier was being told he played like "crap." That's the critique Frazier received after his performance in IU's season opener. Coach Cam Cameron told Frazier, a senior receiver, that he played soft, that he wasn't recruited to play the way he did against North Carolina State, a game in which he dropped several passes. Cameron compounded his critique by sending Frazier from first team to scout team.

More mediocre Halloween haunts

This joint is one that's worth passing over

Drugged out disco decadence

Legendary musicians come to Auditorium

Hudson stars in forgettable DVD