www . tHeSkaNNer . COM
M arCH 9, 2011
S eattLe , w aSHiNGtON
V OLuMe XXXiii, N O . 19
25
CeNtS
i nSide
Movies
page 2
Opinon
page 3
Sports
C hallenging P eoPle to S haPe a B etter F uture n ow
page 4
exile devolves lead
Bomb Bail
Hearing
waived
pHoto bY aSSociated preSS
Suspect in MLK Day
Bomb Case Waives
Bail Hearing
the Dalai Lama said thursday that he will give up his political role in tibet's government-in-exile, shifting that power
to an elected representative. the tibetan spiritual leader, speaking on the anniversary of the 1959 tibetan uprising
against Chinese control, said the time has come “to devolve my formal authority to the elected leader.” He has long
insisted that he wants the exile government, based in this indian hill town, to have more power. But the thursday
speech gave a formal timeframe to that transition, saying he would soon be proposing amendments to the exile
constitution to bring about the changes
Pirates of Seattle Victims indicted
14 Indicted in Pirate Attack on American Yacht
norFolK, Va. (AP) — A
federal grand jury has indicted
13 suspected pirates from
Somalia and one from Yemen in
the February hijacking of a
yacht that left four Americans
dead,
the
U.S.
Justice
Department said Thursday.
The men face piracy, kidnap-
ping and firearms charges stem-
ming from their efforts to hold
the Americans for ransom,
according to the indictment. If
convicted, the men could face
life in prison.
U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride
said that more charges could be
filed, and that a 15th suspected
pirate was not charged because
he was a juvenile and had a lim-
ited role in the hijacking.
The suspected pirates are
scheduled to make an initial
court appearance Thursday in
Norfolk, which last year was the
site of the first successful piracy
prosecution in nearly 200 years.
The yacht’s owners, Jean and
Scott Adam of Marina del Rey,
Calif., along with friends Bob
Riggle and Phyllis Macay of
Seattle, were shot to death after
indeX
News ........................2,4
Opinion .......................3
Sports ..........................4
Bids/Classifieds............4
pirates took them hostage sever-
al hundred miles south of
Oman.
It was the first time U.S. citi-
zens have been killed in a wave
of pirate attacks that have
plagued the Gulf of Aden and
the Indian Ocean in recent
years. The pirates are typically
motivated by the potential for
millions of dollars in ransom
money.
The Adams, who were retired,
had been sailing full-time on
their 58-foot yacht, the Quest,
delivering Bibles around the
world. The indictment says at
least three of the indicted men
shot and killed the four
Americans without provocation.
They died less than a week
after a Somali pirate was sen-
tenced to more than 33 years in
prison by a New York court for
the 2009 hijacking of the
Maersk Alabama. That hijack-
ing ended when Navy sharp-
shooters killed two pirates hold-
ing the ship’s American captain.
``It’s my sincere hope this
sends a message,’’ said Diego
SpoKane, Wash. (AP) — Investigators
have arrested a man they say planted a
sophisticated bomb along a Martin Luther
King Jr. Day parade route in Spokane — a
failed attack but one that raised concern,
because he has ties to a white supremacist
organization.
A federal complaint provided no details of
the investigation or what led to the arrest of
Kevin William Harpham nearly two months
after city workers found the bomb, which
had been left in a backpack Jan. 17 on a
bench. The city workers alerted authorities,
and the device was defused without inci-
dent.
Harpham, 36, of northeastern Washington,
waived his right to a bail hearing as he made
an initial appearance in U.S. District Court
in Spokane Wednesday.
He has been charged with one count of
attempting to use a weapon of mass destruc-
tion and one count of possessing an unregis-
tered explosive device in a case the FBI has
called an act of domestic terrorism.
A national organization that tracks hate
groups says he is an avid poster on a white
supremacist Internet forum.
The Southern Poverty Law Center says
Harpham made more than 1,000 postings on
the Vanguard News Network site, many of
them under the pseudonym ``Joe Snuffy.’’
In 2008, a Kevin Harpham complained on
the website that he couldn’t access his ``Joe
Snuffy’’ account.
A 2010 posting mentioned the radioactive
element thorium was useless in making
bombs. Another, from 2006, said, ``I can’t
wait till the day I snap.’’
A federal law enforcement official con-
firms investigators are reviewing online
postings attributed to Harpham as part of
their probe.
The official spoke on condition of
anonymity because the case is ongoing.
Harpham, who was shackled at the ankles
in court, will remain in the Spokane County
Jail unless he changes his mind and asks for
See pirateS on page 2
See bomber on page 2
Mardi Gras Heralds Lent
New Orleans revelers end the craziest time you can have in life
neW orleanS (AP) — At the stroke
of midnight, Louisiana’s official Mardi Gras
party ended.
Police on foot, some on horseback, on
Wednesday ushered in the Christian season
of Lent by clearing Bourbon Street and clos-
ing the 2011 Carnival season which has
been among the most raucous since
Hurricane Katrina, partly because it over-
lapped with college spring break.
Tony Anello, 57, operated a daiquiri stand
on Bourbon Street, and estimated business
was up by at least 10 percent over last year
despite gloomy skies, scattered rain drops
and threats of severe weather watches for
tornadoes and flash floods.
Anello said he briefly quit working for his
uncle, who owns one of four daiquiri shops
in the French Quarter, because he was dis-
gusted by past crowd’s behavior. Though
this year’s crowd seemed larger than last
year, he said the people seemed tamer.
``It’s been getting better and better every
year,’’ he said.
Sally Dellasperanza, 58, of New York
City, arrived Thursday with friends for her
10th straight Mardi Gras. She said the
crowds also seemed larger than other post-
See lent on page 2