Tuesday, March 16, 2004

* With the shift in power from the Spanish Populist Party to the
Socialist Party, the Bush administration lost a close ally in the war
against terror. The Spanish Prime Minister, Jose María Aznar,
had stood by President Bush’s war on Iraq, even though more than 90% of
Spaniards opposed the war. Mr. Bush praised Mr. Aznar for ignoring poll
numbers and acting in the best interest of Spain. A senior advisor to
Mr. Bush believed an attack in Europe would bring the European nations
closer to the United States, however events on Sunday suggested that
the Bush administration needs to fight even harder to keep convincing
nations that his policy of pre-emption—”that the only way to confront
terrorism is to strike back,” is the best way to end terrorism.
However, the Prime Minister-elect José Luis Rodríguez
Zapatero rebuked his policy, saying, “The war has been a disaster,” and
added, “you can’t organize a war on the basis of lies. You can’t bomb a
people just in case,” alluding to the unproven claim that Iraq had
weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Zapatero also promised to remove all
Spanish troops from Iraq unless the United Nations intervenes and takes
control. One senior American official said, “We don’t know that what
happened in Spain marks a broader trend. But I wouldn’t be telling the
truth if I said this is the kind of outcome we might have wished for.”
In the US, the Bush administration is trying to use the Madrid bombing
as more reason to stick to Bush’s policy. Vice President Dick Cheney
said the attacks in Spain “is a reminder that there are evil people in
the world, capable of any atrocity, and determined to take innocent
life.”

* Marcus Wesson was convicted of killing nine of his children in
Fresno, California. Serafino Wesson, another one of his sons, believes
his father is innocent, saying his childhood was idyllic and his father
maintained a strong close-knit family. Police officials had been called
to the home by two women who wanted to reclaim custody of their
children last Friday but were unsuccessful. Mr. Wesson, age 57, told
the police he would release the children, but instead ran inside a
bedroom and locked the door. The women warned the police that Mr.
Wesson might have a gun at which point police negotiators and SWAT
officers were called. An hour later, Mr. Wesson surrendered. But inside
the house, police found the bodies of six females and three males in a
pile in one room and 10 coffins in another. The victim ranged from a
1-year-old baby to a 24-year-old adult, although all are believed to be
Mr. Wesson’s children. Chief Police Dyer thinks he fathered two of the
kids with his own daughters. Marcus Wesson is being held at the Fresno
County Jail on a $9 million bail.

* Three American civilians were shot to death and two wounded when
their vehicle was bombarded by gunfire in Mosul, Iraq. The victims were
part of private aide organization not affiliated with the government’s
reconstruction effort. The attackers were believed to be driving next
to the vehicle with the Americans when they shot their automatic
weapons and sped off. It has been the second civilian attack this week.
On Tuesday, two American civilians working for the Coalition
Provisional Authority and their translator were killed by another
drive-by shooting. The Americans were identified as Fern L. Holland,
33, a Washington lawyer who was helping with the Iraqi women’s rights
movement, and Robert J. Zangis, 44, a former Marin Corps pilot who was
working with Iraqi media. A senior military officer commented that the
rebellious attacks on civilians is a way that the enemy is preventing a
peaceful transition into a representative government because “that will
mean the defeat of those with extreme ideologies across Iraq and
throughout the region.”

*****

“Visions of Dominance, Phantoms of Desire: Some Observations on
Yokomitsu Riichi’s ‘Shanghai'”
Kohlberg 115, 4:15 p.m.

Association for Women in Science (AWIS) Networking
Martin 210, 6:00 p.m.

AWIS Guest Speaker: Jalma Marcus
Science Center 183, 7:00 p.m.

Lecture: Carol Browner: “What is the Bush Administration’s EPA doing?”
Science Center 101, 7:30 p.m.

Rhythm ‘n’ Motion Movie Screening: Center Stage
Kohlberg 115, 8:00 p.m.

Movie Screening: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
LPAC Cinema, 8:00 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Over spring break, the men’s and women’s track teams competed and
performed well in the Florida A&M Relays. The women turned in
several good performances including a 10th place finish by Nicole
Oberfoell ’07 in the 1500m run (5:30.95).

On the men’s side, Matt Williams ’04 took 7th place in the 400m
hurdles in a time of 57.19. The men’s distance medley team took 4th
place (10:40.58). The men placed 6th, 7th, and 9th in the 4 x 800m
relay, 1600 sprint medley, and 4 x 400m relay respectively.

Both the men and women’s teams return to action on March 27 at 10:00
a.m. as they travel to Widener for the Widener Quad meet.

*****

The golf team took third place out of four teams in the Whispering
Woods Tournament in North Carolina over spring break. They finished
with an overall score of 324. Mike Cullinan and Zac Moody shot 79, Eric
Zwick shot 81, and I Matthew Draper shot 85. The team will face
Stockton, Haverford, and USP at Rolling Green on March 22 at 1:15 p.m.

*****

Today:
Softball hosts Wilmington College (double header), 3:15 p.m.
Baseball at Neumann, 3:15 p.m.

Tomorrow:
Baseball hosts Lincoln, 3:15 p.m.
Women’s tennis at Muhlenberg, 3:30 p.m.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“When you meet someone better than yourself, turn your thoughts to
becoming his equal. When you meet someone not as good as you are, look
within and examine your own self.”
–Confucius

*****

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