Tuesday, April 27, 2004

* A firefight broke out between the US Marines and the insurgents in
the suburbs of Falluja despite the extension of the cease-fire
announced on Sunday. American helicopters attacked a mosque,
demolishing the minaret. The battle lasted several hours, killing one
marine and at least eight Iraqis. The fighting also diminished hope for
a peaceful resolution and the plan for marines and Iraqi troops to
patrol the city together. American officials said the battle began when
insurgents fired grenades at Marine positions from a mosque in a town
30 miles west of Baghdad. After two hours, Marines called in
helicopters and tanks, which shot “suppressing fire” at the mosque to
try to stop the enemy’s firing. Col. John Coleman said, “Unfortunately,
the opposition forces took it upon themselves to occupy a mosque.
Instead of serving as a center of religious life, it was employed as a
bastion in the attack.” In the other city full of turmoil, Najaf
residents said a major battle was imminent between the supporters of
Moktada al-Sadr, the wanted Shiite cleric, and the American troops.

* Jordanian authorities announced that a potentially devastating al
Qaeda plot that would have released deadly chemicals in the center of
Jordan’s capital, Amman, has been disrupted. U.S. intelligence was not
entirely sure of whether the chemicals found were intended to create a
“toxic cloud,” but the large quantities of weapons indicated that al
Qaeda at least intended to create “massive explosions.” Suspected
targets included the U.S. Embassy, the Jordanian prime minister’s
office, and the headquarters of Jordanian intelligence. There is a
debate within the CIA and other agencies over whether al Qaeda planned
to kill innocent people with the chemicals. Large quantities of
sulfuric acid, which can intensify explosions, were obtained by
Jordanian authorities. According to CNN.com, “Jordanian authorities
said the attack would have mixed a combination of 71 lethal chemicals,
which they said has never been done before, including blistering agents
to cause third-degree burns, nerve gas and choking agents.” Jordanian
forces had found the terrorist cells within days of the plan being
carried out. Azmi Jayyousi, the suspected leader of the plot, and at
least two others were arrested.

* Michael Jackson decided to fire his defense attorneys Mark Geragos
and Benjamin Brafman just days before his scheduled pretrial hearing
for child molesting charges. Jackson announced that he had hired Thomas
Mesereau to lead his defense team. Mr Brafman stated, “This is a
decision that was unavoidable under the circumstances. Mark Geragos and
I are stepping down — or as the Jackson camp is suggesting, being
replaced,” for reasons of “complicated legal and practical issues.”
Jackson expressed some worry that Geragos could not fully attend to his
case since the attorney also represented Scott Peterson, a highly
publicized client accused of killing his pregnant wife. Mr. Jackson
said, “It is important that I have the full attention of those who are
representing me. My life is at stake. Therefore, I must feel confident
that my interests are of the highest priority.” The Santa Barbara grand
jury in California had charged Jackson with seven counts of child
molesting and two counts of administering alcohol to a minor, and this
Friday, a judge is supposed to determine the schedule of his trial. Mr.
Brafman added, “I hope with all my heart that at the end of this ordeal
he is in fact exonerated.”

*****

Talk by Fernando Chang-Muy: “Immigration Law and Genocide”

Scheuer Room, 4:00 p.m.

“Carnival Night” Sharples Takeover

Sharples, 4:30 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

by Ken Patton

Gazette Reporter

Swat started slow against Scranten in their first game on Saturday,
resulting in a 3-1 Scranten lead after the first few points. Several
nice plays turned the game around as Swat proceeded to score five more
points while allowing Scranten one before half, with Jacob Wallace ’05
making a diving catch for a point and Alan Smith ’05 grabbing another
from throws made by Jon Greenberg ’06. After half Swat played solid
defense to shut out Scranten for the rest of the game. On offense Swat
allowed a few mistakes but pulled through to make five more points for
the win. Andrew Rosskamm ’04, Brian Chen ’07, Ben Mates ’04, and Wynn
Wu ’04 each scored in the second half, with Greenberg and James
Kingston ’07 making big defensive blocks for a final score of 11-4.

Swat next played Villanova as the wind picked up on the fields. Andy
Skemer ’06 and Greenberg caught the first two points in the game from
throws made by Brandon Luzar ’05, after which Peter Kriss ’07 and
Roskamm both scored to put Swat ahead 4-0. However, Swat then made
several mistakes near their end zone to allow Villanova four straight
scores to tie the game and also causing Swat to call a timeout to get
back into the game. Zach Weintraub ’06 caught the next score off a
throw by Rob DeVoogd ’06 after working the disk up the field. Swat then
ran a zone defense that Villanova was unable to deal with, preventing
any further scores by Villanova for the rest of the game. Greenberg
also made two diving defensive blocks to earn Swat the disk before the
eighth and tenth points by Swat. On offense Wallace and Rosskamm caught
two long hucks from Luzar and Greenberg for scores, resulting in a
final score of 11-4.

In the third game Swat got off to a quick start against Franklin and
Marshall resulting in a 6-2 lead at halftime. The first half contained
an unusually high number of scoring hammer throws, with two made by
Luzar and Weintraub and caught by Greenberg and Jarod Lenow ’04.
Swarthmore also exercised controlled play to break through a zone
defense thrown by F&M several times. In the second half Chen made
two big catches, one for a score off a disk tipped by Smith. Although
F&M put up several more points in the second half, Swat pulled
ahead with an 11-5 victory.

Swat devastated Eastern in their fourth game, tallying nine points in a
row before a score by Eastern. Although Swat played well, many of the
points were a result of mistakes made by Eastern, sometimes under
little pressure. During the last point in the game, Ben Saller ’06
tossed up a crazy throw into a crowd of people, which Greenberg managed
to pull down for a final score of 11-1.

Swat played their final game on Saturday against Haverford, getting off
to another quick start for a 6-0 lead at half. Using a zone defense
Swat was able to shut out Haverford in the first half by forcing many
mis-throws, with Mates also making a defensive play near the end zone
to prevent a score. In the second half Haverford picked up the pace to
match Swat, but was not able to make up the point differential in the
end. Greenberg dominated the field in the second half by making two
huge defensive layouts, knocking down several long Haverford hucks, and
taking part in three of the five points made by Swat. Luzar also made a
diving catch on defense to deny Haverford the disk and help seal a
final win with a score of 11-5.

On Sunday Swat started off the day playing Lehigh, earning their first
loss after a less than average performance by the team. In the first
half Lehigh pulled ahead 8-5 after several mistakes by Swat near their
end zone. One mistake was an error during a pull by Swat, with the disk
hitting a team member and landing next to the Swat end zone. Rosskamm
and Greenberg each made defensive plays to recover the disk, with
Greenberg making a second diving block within 20 seconds of the first
after Swat had quickly turned over the disk. Luzar, Greenberg, and
Rosskamm each scored in the first half, with an additional score in the
second by Wallace. The final score of the game was 15-7 Lehigh.

Swat also started slow in their next game against Villanova, who they
also played the day before. Villanova got off to a 4-0 lead before Swat
picked up the intensity to score five points in a row and even up the
game. During Swat’s second point Wallace made a point block with his
foot to turn the disk, which Greenberg grabbed and threw back to
Wallace for a score. During the next point a Villanova player injured
Luzar while making a catch to score, forcing Luzar off the field for
the rest of the game. DeVoogd threw a hammer to Billy Schwarz for the
sixth point, and Wallace, Rosskamm, Kingston, and Chen each made scores
during the second half. Wallace, Gabriel Rogers ’05, and Greenberg all
made defensive plays to push Swat ahead 15-10 in the end.

Swat’s final game was to be played against Haverford, but captains from
both teams decided to postpone the game due to rain. However, as
results were necessary on Sunday to determine who qualifies for
Regionals next weekend, Haverford conceded the match on the record to
allow Swarthmore to go to Regionals. Both teams still plan to make up
game, and it is has been scheduled for 4:15 on Wednesday at Cunningham
fields.

*****

In the final game of the season, the women’s rugby team narrowly beat
Widener 3-0 on Saturday. Freshman star Jane Sachs scored the only
points for the women off of a penalty goal in the second half, as the
team battled through a frustrating game on a small and poorly kept
field. The women end their season 4-1, losing only to National
finalists Temple University.

Thanks to Kirsten Vannice for providing the results.

*****

Today:

Softball hosts Widener, 4:00 p.m.

Women’s lacrosse at Haverford, 4:30 p.m.

Tomorrow:

Men’s lacrosse hosts Washington, 4:00 p.m.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Don’t talk unless you can improve the silence.”

–Jorge Luis Borges

*****

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