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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2002)
Nation & world briefing Police say sniper left phone number Peter Nicholas, Sumana Chatterjee and Tim Johnson Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT) ASHLAND, Va. — In a startling and unusual turn of events, authorities said Sunday night that a sniper striking ter ror in the Washington area planted a secret message for police near a steak house where he shot a 37-year-old man, critically wounding him. The nature of the killer’s message remained a mystery, and a subse quent statement by polk a cryptic dialogue may! between law enforce;* and the sniper, who people and wounded since Oct. 2. Police Chief Charles Moose of Montgomery County, Md., who heac a regional task force hunting the sniper, exhorted the media “to carry! this statement, carry it clearly and carry it often.” Then Moose said: “To the person who left us a message at the Ponderosa last night, you gave us a telephone number. We do want to talk to you. Gall us at the number you provided.” Moose answered no questions, and a spokeswoman, Joyce Utter, did not ex plain what Moose meant by the per plexing statement, only that the mes sage bore a communication that police wanted conveyed to the sniper. “This should make sense to the per son who left the mt OnQ%b|fofi school inhere the I Oct. Ith a led that Satur !about lgton was the ; sniper. 10 was not identified, id his wife walked out ieros&jrestaurant in Ashland, along Interstate 95,, a major north south artery on the East Coast. His wife was not injured. The couple was traveling through the area and had stopped for food and gasoline. The shooting marked the first time that the assailant has hit on a week end and the farthest the attacks have occurred from the nation’s capital. Saturday’s attack broke a lull of five days since a fatal shooting in Falls Va., a Washington suburb, the fear that has Washington, Maryland and Virginia since 0ct. 2. attack also brought new ur to a hunt for a victims genders has kept side, indoors, Police to have tim fell was about 57 yards. The attacker also fired a single bul let, and had his choice of highway es cape routes, as has been the pattern. The restaurant sits within a half mile of Interstate 95 and is only a few blocks from Route 1, another major north-south artery. Police said road blocks went up within 10 minutes of the emergency call notifying them of the shooting. The latest, <|ttaek unfolded with a edly praised Cook’s role in the investi gation Sunday evening statement but did not detail what crucial informa tion the Hanover sheriff provided. The victim was in critical condi tion at the Medical College of Virginia Hospital in Richmond, 15 miles to the south. Surgeons operated on him Saturday for three hours. “The prognosis is still guarded. But since he is a very healthy man and he is very young, the chances are fair to good,” said Dr. Rao Ivatury, director of trauma and critical care. Surgeons mended the man’s stom ach and repaired damage to his y and pancreas. t also removed the man’s i&ry said, but did not re ullet or bullet fragments, surgeons obtain the bullet, ities will not be able to deter mine if it was fired from the same .223 ;«aliber rifle used in the 11 other shoot iings, nine of which have been fatal. © 2002, Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services. Nevada voters set to ferendum bod Keete Cox News Service LAS VEGAS — Smoking tobacco in public places may be illegal in other states, but you can light up just about anywhere in Nevada. Need a drink? They’re free in most casinos, as long as you gamble. Las Vegas Boulevard — the aptly named Strip — is crowded with hawkers handing out pictures of naked women who will come to your hotel room for a private strip tease or something more. Prostitution is legal in most parts of Nevada, and even in La$ Vegas it is winked at. And soon, you may be able to do something else in Nevada that you can’t do in any other state without a prescription: legally smoke marijuana. If Nevada voters approve, It would no longer be a crime for anyone21 or older to possess up to 3 ounces of pot — enough for between ISO and 250 marijuana cigarettes — within the state’s borders. The reefer referendum has a long way to go before proponents can legally fire up a joint. Even if it passes Nov. 5 — early voting started Satur day — under NeVada law it must be approved again in 2004. So far, polls show voters split even ly on the idea. Proponents say legalizing pot would free police to work on more serious crimes like rape or murder. Oppo nents, led by law enforcement agen cies, say making another mind-alter ing drug legal would lead to other crimes, from dangerous driving to sex ual assaults to the useofharderdrugs “I can’t imagine how we can throw another illicit drug into the mix and people can believe in any way, shape or form that it would be a good thing,” said Sgt. Rick Barela, spokesman for the Las Vegas Metro Police and a cop for more than 20 years. Nonetheless, advocates’ claims that smoking pot is a good thing for medicinal purposes — cancer and AIDS treatment among them — have put marijuana laws under pressure nationwide, particularly in the West. Eight states have already legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes. Saddam Hussein opens jails, grants amnesty to criminals Larry Kaplow Cox News Service BAGHDAD, Iraq—President Sad dam Hussein threw open Iraq’s jail doors Sunday in an amnesty that brought jubilant bedlam to the dusty courtyards of its notorious prisons. Family members crushed into drab, fetid prison yards for tearful re unions with tens of thousands of criminals, political dissidents and army deserters. "I'm in shock. I don't know anything about my future." Faiq Abdel-Rahman Released prisoner U.S. officials dismissed the move as an attempt by Hussein to rally do mestic and international support in the face of a mounting American-led war threat. It was also seen as an overture by Hussein to opponents of his regime who are living in exile outside Iraq since they, too, were given amnesty. Minister of Information Mo hammed Sahafa read a televised statement from Hussein stating that Iraqis were being given amnesty for “all crimes no matter what the kind.” The amnesty was said to be Hus sein’s expression of thanks to his fel low citizens for re-electing him last week with 100 percent approval in a referendum. The amnesty for those in exile could appeal to thousands of Iraqis living in the United States, Europe and, perhaps most significantly, in Kurdish autonomous areas of north ern Iraq where the United States might seek to base an attack on the Iraqi regime. Among those released were many Shiite Muslim men who had been ac cused of opposing Hussein’s regime, which is dominated by Sunni Mus lims. Although Shiites comprise slightly more than half of Iraq’s popu lation, they do not have the political influence of Sunnis. Prisoners, many appearing healthy but dazed or tired, strode through prison gates with their bed ding, clothes and toiletries in sacks or metal lock-boxes. “I’m in shock,” 44-year-old Faiq Ab del-Rahman said Sunday night after spending 13 years in Abu Ghraib, a prison about 20 miles outside Baghdad that is infamous for torture and execu tions. A Kurd from northern Iraq, he was charged with espionage after his merchant brother traveled to Iran. “I don’t know anything about my future, what I will do,” he said, adding that he did not know his family’s tele phone number. The government made a huge me dia event of the release, inviting foreign reporters to the jails that have been scenes of mass executions and torture. Iraqi television ran video shot from a helicopter showing prison ers dancing with joy and chanting praise for Hussein. Secretary of State Colin Powell, speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” said the amnesty was a cynical ploy by Hussein. “This is typical of this man’s use of human beings for these political pur poses of his,” Powell said. “This is the kind of manipulation he uses to try to paint himself as something other than what he is, a brutal dictator.” “There is a threat of war,” said A.K. Hashimi, an advisor to the Iraqi pres ident. “It is a good idea to give every Iraqi a chance to do his work ... all the families are happy to get their people back.” OCTOBER 21-27 PRINTS FROM SLIDES: 3x5 -2 for SI.00 4x6 -2 for $1.50 5x7- $1.50 each 8 x 10 - $4.00 each From 35mm color slides, glossy surface only. Allow 5-7 working days for 3x5 and 4x6 prints, and 5-10 days for 5x7and 8x 10 prints. FUJICOLOR IP B 0 C E S S I » 6. I » c. UNIVERSITY of OREGON BOOKSTORE www.uobookstore.com All but one, Maine, is in the West. Along with Nevada, the others are Colorado, California; .Washington, Oregon, Hawaii and Alaska. - In Arizona, voters will decidf 5 whether to reduce the pet possessing small amounts of mi na from a felony with time to a 8250 civil fine! endum will also ask voters whether Arizona should establish a state-run system to distribute free marijuana for medicinal use. In Ohio, voters will consider a refer endum in November that could allow people arrested for marijuana or other drugs to opt for state-funded drug treatment instead of incarceration. But for pot advocates, the Nevada initiative would be the big score. If it passes, proponents say, look for other States to follow. “Literally, you’re going to have tens of thousands of people who are Currently illegally using marijuana who will suddenly be legally using it,” said Rob Kampia, executive director cl the Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington, D.G. group behind the Nevada measure. The group is working on getting similar ballot initiatives elsewhere, and was behind referendum efforts that failed in Florida and Washington, D.G. “Hopefully it sends a message to other states loud and clear: The peo ple of one state at least are fed up with marijuana laws today,” Kampia said. 0147501 343-4480 004477 ORTHODONTICS PAUL SAARINEN, D.M.D., M.S., P.C. “Complimentary Initial &cam” GO DUCKS! 1814 COBURG RD. • EUGENE 110 S. 59TH STREET • SPRINGFIELD 485-4466 014334 Locally owned LUBE, OIL, FILTER, TIRE ROTATION • Chassis Lube • New Oil Filter • Up to 5 Qts. 10W-30 Chevron Oil • Clean Front Window • Vacuum Front Floor Boards • No Appointment necessary • Most cars & light trucks • 3/4 or 1-ton & Extra Cab Trucks Additional Chevron MOTOR OIL POUR IN THE PROTECTION DOWNTOWN 1320 Willamette • 485-2356 2975 West 11th 344-0007•OPEN Sundays 11-4
