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Nation & World News Democratic candidates stick to scripts in debates Many of the presidential hopefuls who debated took stabs at front-runner Dean By Michael Tackett Chicago Tribune (KRT) JOHNSTON, Iowa—The Democra tic presidential candidate who benefit ed most from the debate Sunday after noon might well have been retired Gen. Wesley Clark. He wasn't there. Instead, he spent his time doing an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" (with a much larger viewing audience), serving pancakes and holding small fo rums with potential voters in New Hampshire^ a place where he hopes to have a surprisingly strong finish. It was perhaps time better spent. Clark has opted out of the Iowa cau cuses and opted out of the debate, broadcast nationally on CNN and Fox, as well. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Con necticut, who also decided to spurn Iowa, did participate, with the seeming ly single-minded mission of trying to undercut and undermine former Ver mont Gov. Howard Dean. Each of the seven candidates in the debate (the Rev. Al Sharpton also did not attend) hewed to their now rote scripts on policy positions, al most ensuring an ungainly, mutual drowning out. Except when there was an opportu nity to attack Dean. The volume of the attacks on Dean, of course, merely serves as a powerful measure of his strength on one level and the degree to which his success has frustrated most of his rivals, especially Lieberman. Ueberman, who had a rhetorical burst of Iowa facts and figures even though he isn't competing here, did his best to get noticed. That was most ob vious when, 76 minutes into the de bate, he brandished a pen and asked Dean to release records that cover his tenure as the governor ofVermont that Dean has asked to be sealed. It was a reach for high drama - Lieberman's aides tried to stir interest by telegraph ing the stunt before the debate - but it is not likely to have the desired effect. While Dean's answer was a bit clum sy, he did note that releasing all records without some form of judicial review could result in devastating violations of personal privacy. He said that would be especially true for sensitive correspon dence he received during the debate over civil unions in Vermont. For Lieberman, the answer that might be better remembered by Iowans anyway was the senator's explanation that the compressed campaign calen dar meant he couldn't compete in Iowa. As if the other candidates didn't have the same issue. Dean also was forced to respond to questions about his assertions that the United States was not necessarily safer after the arrest of Saddam Hussein; that Osama bin Laden, while deserving of the death penalty, also deserved the rule of law; and of his overall penchant for blurting out responses that he later is forced to clarify. And Dean, despite all the heat on him, scored one light moment when he vowed to support the eventual De mocratic nominee and asked for a show of hands whether his rivals would respond in kind. All did. Debates can be a time to offer a chance for separation, to break out and be seen in a new light. This, it seemed, was not one of those times. That could be good news for Dean, with the caucuses two weeks away. It is a game of ball control at this point, especially if you believe that you are at or near the top. The real scramble at this point is to be at or near the top with Dean. Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri, who is devoting nearly all of his attention to Iowa, was himself the object of some criticism as was Sen. John Kerry of Mass achusetts, who has committed a surpris ingly large amount of resources here As Dean put it, the real "front-runner in this campaign is Geoige W. Bush." (c) 2004, Chicago tribune. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services. Report: Online music downloads decrease by half Fifty percent fewer people are downloading digital music files than in the fall By Chris Cobbs The Orlando Sentinel (KRT) ORLANDO, Fla. — The record in dustry's legal war against music pi rates could hardly be more effective if the swashbuckling movie ship's cap tain Russell Crowe were at the helm, a new study shows. Since early fall, the number of online Americans engaged in swapping digital music files has declined by 50 percent, says a study released by the Pew Inter net & American Life Project. A nationwide telephone survey of 1,358 Web users suggests the number of music downloaders plummeted from 35 million to 18 million be tween late May and mid-December. The dramatic plunge in swapping and sharing of songs was prompted by a spate of lawsuits and also by the growth of new, legal online music stores, said Mary Madden, co-author of the new Pew report. "We are assuming the lawsuits by the Recording Industry Association of America have impacted the numbers of downloaders," she said. "We also realize there are probably more peo ple who are still downloading than admit to it. Even so, there has been a huge decline." A recent federal court ruling is ex pected by legal experts to make it tougher for the RIAA to find and prosecute illegal file sharers, raising the possibility of a reversal in the recent data showing a decline among downloaders. "There will be a number of people confused by all this, who won't want to deal with the potential legal has sle," Madden said. "There are definitely others who've been scared away, but there will be younger Web users continuing to down load files. They're the hardest to stop be cause it's so ingrained in their behavior." As the number of illegal downloads has dipped, the number of Web users turning to legal, fee-based download sites has increased, the study found. In November, more than 3.2 million individuals visited Roxio's Napster 2.0 paid music site, while Apple's illines Music Store attracted 2.7 million visitors. "I would attribute the downturn in illegal downloads in part to the pres ence and growth of the legal download services," said Washington, D C., attor ney Michael Graif of the firm Chad bourne and Parke. (c) 2004, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.). Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services. PROFESSOR continued from page 1 The book argues that the Israeli Palestinian conflict is more than an issue of land and water in Israel, con tending that the conflict is also about symbols and beliefs held by both sides. The book also states that r rhetoric, ideology and myth have played roles in the development of the 100-year conflict. "The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is usually treated as an issue of land and water," the Michigan State University Press-Web site states. "While these ele ments are the core of the conflict, they are heavily influenced by the symbols used by both peoples to describe, understand and persuade each other." According to the press release, the book grew out of Frank's work with the Carlton Raymond and Wilberta Ripley Savage Endowment for Inter national Relations and Peace Com mittee, which awarded him an $80,000 grant to create a program on the conflict. "The scholars we brought to campus to examine this conflict and the subse quent interest and dialogue within the UO faculty were a precursor to the book, * Frank said in the release The cover photos for the book were shot by University geography Profes sor Alec Murphy. Frank is author of "Creative Speak ing" and co-author of "Debating Values and The Lincoln-Douglas Debate." Frank is riow working with geog raphy Associate Professor Shaul Co hen to write a book comparing the conflicts in Northern Ireland and Israel. 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