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SUZYMENKES
VALENTINO’S
YOUTHQUAKE
PAGE 8
|
MEN’S FASHION
GOLD RESERVES
GERMANYWANTS
THEMBACKHOME
PAGE 13
|
BUSINESSWITH
WORLDMUSIC
FUSING PRESENT
AND THE PAST
PAGE 9
|
CULTURE
THE GLOBAL EDITION OF THE NEW YORK TIMES
THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2013
GLOBAL.NYTIMES.COM
New worry
for Boeing
as 2 airlines
ground 787s
Islamists
take foreign
hostages
in Algeria
PARIS
TOKYO
Forced landing in Japan
adds to safety concerns
about the Dreamliner
Kidnappings at oil field
in retaliation for French
intervention in Mali
BY HIROKO TABUCHI
AND BETTINA WASSENER
The two largest Japanese airlines said
Wednesday that theywould ground their
fleets of Boeing 787 aircraft after one op-
erated by All Nippon Airways made an
emergency landing in western Japan.
The latest episode elevates the safety
concerns about Boeing’s new flagship
airliner.
The emergency landing followed a
string of problems in the past month
with the Boeing 787, known as the
Dreamliner, including a battery fire, fuel
leaks and a cracked cockpit window. All
Nippon said the problems Wednesday
involved the same lithium-ion batteries
that caught fire last week in Boston on a
Dreamliner operated by Japan Airlines.
Last week, the U.S. Federal Aviation
Administration ordered a comprehen-
sive reviewof theDreamliner’smanufac-
turing and design, with a focus on the
plane’s electrical systems. During a news
conference last Thursday, the U.S. trans-
portation secretary, Ray LaHood, made
no mention of grounding Dreamliners.
But if the problems continue, tougher
measures could presumably be taken.
Boeing executives declined to com-
ment Wednesday on the Japanese
groundings. The company’s shares
were down 3.7 percent in afternoon trad-
ingWednesday in New York.
Eight airlines now fly the Dreamliner.
All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines
in Japan own 24 of the 50 delivered by
Boeing since November 2011. The other
operators are Air India, Ethiopian Air-
lines, LAN Airlines of Chile, LOT of Po-
land, Qatar Airways andUnitedAirlines
of the United States. Orders for about
800 additional 787s are in the pipeline.
In the episode in Japan earlyWednes-
day, the 137 passengers and crew mem-
bers aboard Flight NH692 from
Yamaguchi Ube Airport, in western Ja-
pan, to Tokyo used emergency slides to
leave the aircraft early after battery
trouble and an ‘‘unusual smell’’ in the
cockpit prompted its pilots to land in-
stead at Takamatsu airport, according
to All Nippon. The jet’s main battery in
the front of the plane was later found to
have become discolored and to be seep-
ing electrolyte fluid, All Nippon said.
Ryosei Nomura, a spokesman for All
Nippon, saidWednesday that the airline
BY STEVEN ERLANGER
AND ADAMNOSSITER
A group of at least 100 French com-
mandos were deploying against Islam-
ist rebels in central Mali on Wednesday,
French defense officials said, as an Is-
lamist militant group, claiming retalia-
tion for the French intervention, took a
group of foreigners hostage at a natural-
gas field in neighboring Algeria.
The hostage-takers in Algeria claimed
that they had seized as many as 41
people from various nationalities at the
site operated by European, Algerian and
Japanese companies, but that figure
could not be confirmed. Algerian troops
surrounded the site and were negotiat-
ing with the hostage-takers, who
claimed they were from northern Mali
and acting in reprisal for Frenchmilitary
action, even though few French nation-
als appeared to be among the hostages.
A senior Algerian government official
said the base was surrounded by Algeri-
an troops and estimated that some 30
hostages were being held. The U.S.
State Department on Wednesday even-
ing said it believed some American cit-
izens were hostages; a militant spokes-
man told Sahara Media Agency that
seven Americans had been taken hos-
tage. The governments of Japan, Britain
and Ireland confirmed that some people
from their nations also appeared to be
among those held.
‘‘The situation is confused,’’ the Alge-
rian government official said. ‘‘We don’t
have precise figures.’’ He said the 20 hos-
tage-takers, who were heavily armed
and arrived in unmarked vehicles, had
not yet made any formal demands.
‘‘The army, the police, everybody is
mobilized,’’ the official said. ‘‘There’s no
possibility that they can leave.’’
In Mali, a detachment of about 100
French special forces were approaching
the village of Diabaly, about 400 kilome-
ters, or 250 miles, north of the capital,
Bamako, in an effort to halt a rebel move
south and take back the town, a senior
French defense official said Wednesday
evening. But the official refused to con-
firm that an assault was yet under way.
The Islamists overran Diabaly and a
nearby Malian Army outpost on Mon-
day despite heavy air bombardment by
French planes and helicopter gunships,
embarrassing the French, who had said
they had blunted the Islamist advance
into southernMali.
France is moving quickly toward a
deeper engagement in Mali, trying to
stabilize the south while hitting hard
with air power at Islamist bases and con-
centrations in the north. France is build-
ing up its troops inMali, to 2,500 from800
now, and officials made it clear that
those troops would take the fight to the
rebels alongwithMalian forceswhile the
Economic Community of West African
States, or Ecowas, trains and deploys.
Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French de-
fense minister, forecast a protracted
campaign. ‘‘We’re in a better position
MARCOGUALAZZINI FOR THE NEWYORK TIMES
French soldiers at a ceremony in Bamako, Mali, where the country’s president thanked them on Wednesday for their support in an intervention against Islamic extremists.
A familiar face plays
the outsider
in Italy
ROME
Obama invokes children
in call for stric
ter gun laws
WASHINGTON
BY MICHAEL D. SHEAR
AND PETER BAKER
President Barack Obama called upon
Congress onWednesday to toughenU.S.
gun laws to confront mass shootings
and everyday gun violence, betting that
public opinion has shifted enough to
support the broadest push for gun con-
trol in a generation.
At an often emotional event that in-
cluded family members of the 26 people
killed in the Connecticut school shooting
last month, Mr. Obama said he would in-
troduce legislation to ban military-style
assault weapons, limit high-capacity
ammunition clips, expand background
checks for gun purchases and curb gun
trafficking across the country.
Saying that he would ‘‘use whatever
weight this office holds’’ to bring those
initiatives to reality, Mr. Obama added:
‘‘This is our first task as a society: keep-
ing our children safe. This is howwe will
be judged. And their voices should com-
pel us to change.’’
But opponents of change were quick
to push back, and the Republican lead-
ership of the House promised only to
consider any legislation that reached it
from the Senate, which is controlled by
Democrats.
Given the resistance among many in
Congress, Mr. Obama promised execu-
tive action — requiring no congression-
al approval — to better enforce existing
gun laws. He said he would also order
improvements in the flow of informa-
tion among federal agencies to keep
guns from criminals and others who
should not have them, including those
with known mental problems and pro-
clivity to violence.
The announcement was the culmina-
tion of a month-long process that began
are trailed by the Five StarMovement, a
grass-roots party that is led by Beppe
Grillo, a comedian, and has tapped into a
groundswell of anti-political sentiment.
Analysts widely agree that there is
little chance Mr. Berlusconi will govern
Italy again after elections scheduled for
February. But they say he is likely to
win enough seats in Parliament to
achieve his goals: protecting his in-
terests on issues like justice reform, di-
gital television rights and wiretap laws
—and weakening the Democratic Party
and Mr. Monti, whose popularity has
dropped since he became a candidate.
‘‘It’s a very confusing time,’’ said Gi-
uliano Ferrara, who is the editor of Il
Foglio, a conservative daily, and a some-
time Berlusconi adviser. ‘‘People don’t
want the insider,’’ he said of Mr. Ber-
lusconi, ‘‘and they don’t want the out-
With flair for populism,
Berlusconi hits airwaves
and reshapes the election
BY RACHEL DONADIO
The dark, double-breasted suits have
long been a mainstay, but now former
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has
taken to wearing the occasional fedora.
It lends him a rakish, retro air as he em-
barks on what many Italians, foreign in-
vestors and no doubt Chancellor Angela
Merkel hoped would never happen: an-
other election campaign.
In recent weeks, Mr. Berlusconi, a
center-right candidate, has blitzed the
airwaves with a theatrical blend of anti-
establishment populism, this from
someone who governed Italy for the
better part of the last decade.
His prime targets are Prime Minister
MarioMonti, a well-behaved technocrat
now vying to retain his post, and Ms.
Merkel, cast as the taskmaster of the
austerity that is suffocating Southern
Europe.
With every hour that he appears on
television, the medium he knows best
and that made him rich, Mr. Berlusconi
rises in opinion surveys. His party,
People of Liberty, is now in second
place, after the center-left Democratic
Party and before Mr. Monti’s nascent
and still incoherent centrist bloc. They
ITALY, PAGE 3
BOEING, PAGE 14
OBAMA, PAGE 5
MATTEO BAZZI/EPA
Silvio Berlusconi in Milan in December.
He and his party have been rising in polls.
MALI, PAGE 4
‘Yuck’ factor asid
e, a near-miraculous cure for gut
Compared to antibiotics,
a distasteful transplant
yields better recovery rate
plants cured 15 of 16 people who had re-
curring infections with Clostridium dif-
ficile bacteria, whereas antibiotics
cured only 3 of 13 and 4 of 13 patients in
two comparison groups. The treatment
appears to work by restoring the gut’s
normal balance of bacteria, which fight
off C. difficile. The new study is the first
to compare the transplants to standard
antibiotic therapy.
Fecal transplants have been used
sporadically for years as a last resort to
fight this stubborn and debilitating in-
fection, which kills 14,000 people a year
in the United States (no global statistics
are available). Antibiotics given for oth-
er infections can predispose people to C.
difficile by killing normal gut bacteria. If
patients are then exposed to C. difficile,
which is common in many hospitals, it
can take hold.
Researchers say that worldwide,
about 500 people with the infection have
had fecal transplants. They involve di-
luting stool with a liquid like salt water
and then pumping it into the intestinal
tract via an enema, a colonoscope or a
tube run through the nose into the stom-
ach or small intestine. Stool can contain
hundreds or even thousands of different
types of bacteria, and researchers do
BY DENISE GRADY
The treatmentmay sound appalling, but
it works.
Transplanting feces from a healthy
person into the gut of onewho is sick can
quickly cure severe intestinal infections
caused by a dangerous type of bacteria
that antibiotics often cannot control.
A new study finds that such trans-
AHMAD JAMSHID/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Attack in Kabul
Afghan security personnel checked a body on Wednesday at the scene of a suicide attack outside the
headquarters of the Afghan intelligence agency. The attack was believed to have killed several people and wounded dozens.
TRANSPLANT, PAGE 4
CURRENCIES
STOCK INDEXES
WORLDNEWS
Cameron faces E.U. tightrope
With speculation that Britain could
leave the European Union, the moment
of truth is arriving for David Cameron,
who on Friday will confront the
immensely toxic issue.
PAGE 3
Pussy Riot appeal rejected
A judge in Siberia rejected an appeal by
one of the members of the punk protest
band Pussy Riot to be released
temporarily so that she could be with
her 5-year-old son.
PAGE 3
BUSINESS
France’s digital referee
In trying to put a French imprint on the
digital economy, Fleur Pellerin, a
deputy finance minister, has tangled
with U.S. technology companies like
Google, Twitter and Amazon.
PAGE 13
Pay cut for JPMorgan chief
As JPMorgan Chase reported a record
profit, its board said it had cut the pay
package of its chief executive, Jamie
Dimon, by 50 percent because of a
multibillion-dollar trading loss.
PAGE 13
ONLINE
Town fights church looters
TheMexican town of Cholula is said to
have a church for every day of the year.
There are, in reality, about 80, many
dating from the 17th century and filled
with priceless artworks. It is enough to
draw hordes of worshipers, and thieves.
An elaborate robbery last October —at
least a dozen images were taken, some
with the help of scaffolding—prompted
the community to create a system of
citizen guards to protect the churches.
nytimes.com/americas
VIEWS
Turkey and the Kurds
If Turkey genuinely wants peace, it
needs to negotiate with the
democratically elected Kurds in its own
Parliament. The way to peace is through
politics, writes AlizaMarcus.
PAGE 6
Maureen Dowd
President Barack Obama seemed to be
intimating at his news conference this
week that the job he had fought so hard
for and won against all odds was a bit of
a chore, if not a bore.
PAGE 7
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2013
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
page two
U.S. Hindus
hear the call
of their roots
world should acknowledgethis.Among
Ms. Shah’s many otheractivitiesisan
attempttonudgeAmericans beyond
‘‘caste, cow and karma’’ when viewing
Hinduism, and to perceive it asagreat
antique philosophy rather than merely
a pantheon of paranormal deities. She
was awareof ‘‘Ganesh Versus the
Third Reich’’ but had yet to see the
play. ‘‘I am not clear about ourcourse
ofaction’’ in itsregard, she said.
Not very long ago, the ‘‘Nonresident
Indian’’ was revered in India through
thevenerated abbreviation NRI.As
there is a hierarchy in everything that
Indians consider important, theAmeri-
can NRI was the most revered ofall
NRIs. In the late 1980s,therewas al-
ways a commotion when an NRI vis-
ited family in India. Thevisitor would
appear to have aglow of the good life,
with a fragranceofsomething affluent
and distant. From large, top-quality
suitcases would emergeextraordinary
objects with famous Western names.
As India became richer and its econo-
my opened up to consumption of the
most famousglobal brands, and as Indi-
ans began to travel to theWest, the NRI
became somewhat diminishedbut still
respectable. In the past decade, though,
there has been a change in what NRIs
represent in India. Theyhave gone from
being considered partof the academic
elite to being seenasamusing conserva-
tives. Theyare among the great swarms
that fill slots on the Internet where com-
mentsare free.
Oneof the majorfocal pointsfor these
swarms is a man calledNarendra Modi,
who arrivedinthe Indian national con-
sciousness attheturn of the millennium.
He has been the chief minister ofGujar-
at State formorethanadecade and is a
possible candidate for prime minister
for the Bharatiya Janata Partyin2014.
In 2002, Gujaratwitnessed two horrif-
ic acts of violence. A passenger train
filled with Hindu pilgrims was burned
by a Muslimmob, killing at least 58
people. In the days that followed, are-
taliatory attack thatMr.Modi claimed
was ‘‘a spontaneousreaction of
Hindus’’ resultedinthe deaths ofhun-
dreds of Muslims and an unknown
number ofrapes. Sincethen,various
human rightsgroups, journalists and
public servantshave accused Mr.Modi
ofbeing complicit in the riots, an accu-
sation that he denies.
The political leaning of the majority
of HindusintheUnitedStates is liberal
and Democratic,Ms. Shah said, but
many of these same Hindusfavor Mr.
Modi. Sowhiletheyare Democratsin
theUnitedStates,theyare alsothe
wind beneath the rightwing in India.
But there are alsothose, especially
among younger American Hindus,who
are repulsedbyMr.Modi.One young
woman,who livesinNew York and who
once met Mr.Modi withherfather, said:
‘‘I have fights withmyfather over Modi.
I tell my father, ‘How can you? How can
you love that man who did all that?’ ’’
She is among the many daughters in
this world who find it hard to under-
stand the choices that some goodmen
make.
Manu Joseph is editor of the Indian
newsweekly Open and author of the novel
‘‘The Illicit Happiness of Other People.’’
E-MAIL:
pagetwo@iht.com
Manu
Joseph
INDIA LETTER
NEW YORK
In a play thatopenedin
New York lastweek, a Hindu god who
drinks wine and usesfoul language
goes to NaziGermany to reclaim the
swastika fromHitler. The swastika,
which for many has become areminder
of chilling human evil, is also an an-
cient and sacred Hindu symbol that is
commonly found ondoors and walls in
Indian homes, and thatwomenin
southern India drawevery morning on
their porches.
When the play, ‘‘Ganesh Versus the
Third Reich,’’was stagedinAustralia
in 2011, Hindus there protested, claim-
ing to bewoundedbythe comic repres-
entation of theelephant-headedgod,
the length of whosetrunk is usedinone
scenetoalludetoa vital maleorgan.
Some Hindu groups in theUnited
States,whose antennas oftenseemas
if theyare finely tuned to seek offense,
are now contemplating how they
should reacttosuch a play in a land
where complaints onreligiousgrounds
are largely subordinate to artistic free-
dom.
It is possiblethatthere are many
American Hindus who are not troubled
enough by their cultural displacement
to get too worked upabout religion, In-
dia ormyths ofidentity. But the most
visible HindusintheUnitedStatesare
theonline fanatics who react instantly
and withconviction to newsdevelop-
ments and personalities in India. They
are a partof the middle-class South
Asian settlementsintheUnitedStates
that are growing disenchanted,wheth-
er discreetly or overtly,with theWest
and thusare becoming obsessed with
their roots.
Inacafe in downtownNew York,
Sheetal Shah, asenior directoratthe
HinduAmerican Foundation,told me
thattherewas a distinctionbetween
American Hindus whowere born and
raised in India and thosewhose form-
ative memoriesare in theUnited
States. It is those in the formergroup
who feelcompelled to reacttoIndian
politics, she said. The latter tend to be
less interestedinpolitics, but just as
passionate about Hinduism and India.
Ms. Shah,who has a master’sdegree
from the London School ofEconomics,
has beenactive in the foundation’s
‘‘Take Back Yoga’’ campaign,which
seeks to remind everyonethat yoga
has Hinduorigins and believes the
PHOTOGRAPHS BYMATTHEWSTAVER FOR THE NEWYORK TIMES
The dance floor at a bar in Williston. Many young women in the area say they feel unsafe and prosecutors and the police have noted an increase in crimes against women.
A gend
er balance upended
WILLISTON, NORTH DAKOTA
‘Ah, itwas long; itwas cold out.’ She ac-
tually listens.’ ’
But sensitivityisoften absent here
whenmen discuss women. Here, men
talk ofa‘‘Williston10’’ — a woman who
would be consideredmediocre in any
othercityisconsideredaperfect 10 out
here.
‘‘I’ve noticedmystandards drop-
ping,’ ’ said Ian Hernandez, 24,who
moved to Willistonfrom Chicago a
coupleofmonths ago. ‘‘I justwent home
two weeks ago. Isawthe girls I had
planned to see. That, hopefully, should
hold meoff until I go back nexttime in
two months orso.’’
Some menhave forced themselves on
women.
Jessica Brightbill, a single 24-year-old
who movedhere from Grand Rapids,
Michigan, ayear and a half ago, said she
was walking to work at 3:30 in the after-
noon whenacarwith two mensuddenly
pulled upbehind her.One hopped out
and grabbedherbyher arms and began
dragging her. She let herbody go limp so
shewould be harder to drag. Eventually,
a man in a truck pulled up and began
yelling atthe men and she got away, she
said. Theepisode left herrattled.
Going out alone is nowout of the ques-
tion, and the friend shemovedherewith
no longer has much timetospend with
herbecause she has since found a boy-
friend and had a baby.Ms. Brightbill
said she has difficulty finding other
young singlewomen with the freedom
to hang out. And, she said, finding good
mendoesnot comeeasy.
‘‘It’sjust peopletrying to have sex,’ ’
she said.
But somewomenhave taken aggres-
sive steps to protectthemselves.
At theurging ofher family, Barbara
Coughlin, 31,who recently moved to
Willistona terher11-year marriage
ended, is now getting herconcealed
weapons permit so she can carry a
Taser.Ms. Coughlin,whowore silver
glitteraround her eyesatwork as a
waitress onarecent day, said hermoth-
er and stepfather,who live here, ad-
visedher to stop wearing the skirts and
heels she cherishes, so she doesnot
stand out like ‘‘a flowerinthe desert,’’
as herstepfatherput it. Her family
hardly everletshergo out onher own—
not evenfor walks down the gravelroad
atthe housing camp wheretheylive.
‘‘Will I stay for very long?Probably
not,’’ she said. ‘‘Tome, there’snomoney
in theworld worthnot evenbeing able
to take a walk.’ ’
Kevin Quealy contributed reporting.
As oil boom draws men
to North Dakota, life gets
complicated for women
BY JOHN ELIGON
ChristinaKnapp and a friendwere drink-
ing shotsat a bar in a nearby townsever-
al weeks agowhenatableofabout five
mencalled themover and made an offer.
They would pay thewomen $3,000 to
strip naked and serve thembeerattheir
housewhilethey watched mixed mar-
tial arts fights on television.Ms. Knapp,
22, declined, but the menkept raising
theoffer, reaching $7,000.
‘‘I said I make more moneydoing my
job than degrading myself to dothat,’’
saidMs. Knapp, a tattoo artistwith dark
streaksinher light brown hair, a bird
tattoo onherchest and piercings above
her lip and left cheekbone.
The rich shaleoil formationdeepbe-
low the rolling pastureshere has attrac-
teddroves ofyoung men to work the
labor-intensive jobs that get thewells
flowing and oftengenerate six-figure sal-
aries.Whattheoil boomhas not brought,
however, areenough singlewomen.
At work, at housing camps, and in
bars and restaurants, menhave been
lefttominglewith their own. High heels
and skirtsare as rare around here as ve-
ggie burgers. Some men liken theenvir-
onmenttothe military or prison.
‘‘It’s bad, dude,’’ said JonKenworthy,
22,who moved to WillistoninDecem-
ber. ‘‘I was talking to my buddy here. I
told himI was going to import fromIndi-
ana becausethere’snothing here.’’
This has complicated life for women
in the regionaswell.
Many said theyfeltunsafe. Several
said theycould not evenshopatthe lo-
cal Walmartwithout men ollowing
them through the store. Girls’ night out
usually becomesanexercise in fending
off obnoxious, overzealoussuitors who
oftenflaunttheir newfound wealth.
‘‘So many people lookat you like
you’re apieceofmeat,’’ said Megan
Dye, 28, anearly lifelong Willistonresi-
dent. ‘‘It’s disgusting. It’sgross.’ ’
Prosecutors and the police note an in-
crease in crimes againstwomen, includ-
ing domestic and sexual assaults.
‘‘There are people arriving in North
Dakota every day from other places
around the country who do not respect
the peopleorlaws ofNorth Dakota,’ ’ Ar-
istonE. Johnson,the deputystate’sat-
Christina Knapp and a friend were offered $7,000 by a group of men to strip and serve
them beer at their house while they watched mixed martial arts fights on television.
torneyin eighboring McKenzie
County, said in an e-mail.
Over the past six years, North Dakota
has shot from the middleof the pack to
becomethe state with thethird-highest
ratioof single young men to single
young womeninthe country. In 2011,
nearly 58 percentofNorth Dakota’s un-
married18-to-34-year-olds were men,
according to censusdata. That disparity
was evenstarkerinthethree counties
wheretheoil boomisheaviest—there
weremorethan 1.6young singlemenfor
every young singlewoman.
And most people around here say the
gap is considerably larger. Censusdata
mostly capturespermanent residents.
Mostof the men who come heretowork
maintain their primary residences else-
where and splittime between theoil
fields and their homes.And womennote
that many of the men who approach
themare married.
Somewomenhave banked on the fe-
male shortage. Williston’s two strip
clubs attract dancers fromaround the
country.Prostitutesfrom out ofstate
troll the bars.
Natasha, 31, an escort and stripper
fromLasVegas, is currently onher
second stint here afterhearing how
much moneystrippers made in Willis-
ton on a CNN report last year. Business
in her industry is much betterherethan
in the restof the country, she said. She
makesat least$500 a night, but moreof-
tensheexceeds $1,000.
‘‘We make alot ofmoneybecause
there’salot oflonely guys,’ ’ she said.
Onarecent night at City Bar in
nearby Watford City,theonly womenin
the lo
ng, wood-paneledroom were two
bartenders and thewoman running the
karaoke. Under flashing lights, someof
the male patrons huddledatthe bar,
whileothers playedgames like simu-
latedbuck shooting and darts.
ZachMannon, 23,who has been work-
ing in theoil patch for three years, said
heonce bumped accidentally into a
woman in a bar packedwithmen. Heex-
cused himself, he said, but thenherboy-
friend came over and accused him of
grabbing herbuttocks. He deniedit. The
ONLINE:
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
2012: The year of extreme weather
‘‘Interesting that your article links the Australian bushfires to the heat when,
in reality, these fires are more the result of the Australian Greens Party and
their associates in preventing any meaningful backburning and reduction in
fuel loads.’’
BLAIR, AUSTRALIA
ihtrendezvous.com
‘‘So many people look
at you like you’re a piece
of meat. It’s disgusting.
It’s gross.’’
man insisted theystep outside, sothey
did, but 14 of Mr.Mannon’sco-workers
from his rig came along. The man
backeddown,they talked things over
and no punches werethrown.
For Mr.Mannon, having women
around was more about finding sanity
than a soulmate.
‘‘Out here, you can’t tellaguy, like, ‘I
had a rough day,’ ’ ’ Mr.Mannon said.
‘‘They’re going to go, ‘Everyone has a
rough day. Get overit, you sissy.’ ’ ’
‘‘The bartender,’ ’ he added, nodding
toward the bar, ‘‘she’s the friendliest gal
in theworld. Every time Igo in, she
goes, ‘How was yourday,Zach?’ Isay,
IN OUR PAGES
✴
100, 75, 50 YEARS AGO
1913 German Royalty Meet Embassy Wives
BERLIN
The German Emperor and Empress held
a ‘‘DefilierCour’’ to-night[Jan. 16]. Every win-
dow of the historic palaceUnterden Linden was
ablaze with light, and the square belowwas black
withpeople anxious to catch a glimpseof the bril-
liant scene being enacted within.About the
Throne in the Hall of the Knights,wherethe Court
was held,were assembledallthe princes and prin-
cesses of the Royal family, conspicuousamong
thembeing Crown Princess Cecilie and Princess
Victoria Louise. The Empress’ State robewas of
pale-lilac satin,withatrain ofpurplevelvet.
1938 Preacher Says Soul Needs Little Food
MEMPHIS
Proving that ‘‘the soulisabove the
needformaterial life’’ and incidentally that fast-
ing will takeoff 100 pounds,theVery Rev. Israel
H. Noe, Dean ofSt. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral,
started his third week without food or water
today [Jan. 16]. Sincethe first Sunday in the year
Dean Noe’snourishment has been almosten-
tirely spiritual — at daily communionhe has con-
sumed water and a thimbleful of wine. As the ser-
viceendedDean Noe walked energetically to the
rear of the cathedral and eagerly shook hands
with each member of the congregation.
1963 Castro Urges Americas Into Combat
MIAMI
Cuban PrimeMinisterFidel Castro fell in-
to step withCommunist China’s hard line and
urgedrevolutionaries throughout Latin America
to ‘‘hurl the massesinto combat.’’ ‘‘It is the
masses who make history, and to make history it
is necessary to bring the masses to battle,’’ he
shoutedduring a televisedspeech monitored
here, adding, however: ‘‘We don’t deny the pos-
sibility ofapeaceful transition (to Communism)
although we are still awaiting the first case.’’
‘‘The artof the revolutionary is the artofleading
the masses to the fight,’’ Mr. Castro said.
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World News
THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2013
|
3
THE GLOBAL EDITION OF THE NEW YORK TIMES
europe
Cameron faces a tightrope over ties with the E.U.
wanttothreaten to leave unless theyget
anew deal to their liking.
On Wednesday, anumber ofConser-
vatives, knownasthe Fresh Start group,
turned up the heat, calling forfive signif-
icant revisions ofEuropean treaties, for
the righttoblock new laws on financial
services and for the repatriation of
powers onsocial and employment law.
While calling for Britain to stay in the
European Union,AndreaLeadsom, co-
founder of the group, argued thatthe
‘‘statusquo is not an option.’ ’
The paradoxisthatMr. Cameron
started his partyleadership trying to
bury the issue ofEurope, forgoodrea-
son.
The prime ministership of Margaret
Thatcher, anotherConservative, came
to grief overEuropean policy. The au-
thority ofhersuccessor, John Major,
was undermined by rifts over the same
subject.
But two factors have forced the
Europe issue back onto the agenda. The
first is theeuro crisis,which has in-
creasedskepticism toward theUnionin
Britain,while prompting the 17 E.U. na-
tions thatusetheeurotointegrate fur-
ther to make itwork. That could force
the European Union to rewrite its treat-
ies, giving Britain theopportunity to re-
shape itsrelations with the bloc.
‘‘Theeuro crisis is bothathreat and
an opportunity or Britain,’ ’ said
Maurice Fraser, professor ofEuropean
politics atthe London School ofEco-
nomics and a formeradviser to Conser-
vative ministers in the 1990s. ‘‘It is a
threat if it pushes theeurozonetointe-
grate in ways which impact awkwardly
on Britain; it is an opportunitybecause
of the possibility of institutional reform
is opened up.’ ’
The second factoristhe riseof the
U.K. IndependenceParty,which wants
Britain to leave the EuropeanUnion, po-
tentially threatening the position of
many Conservative lawmakers atthe
next general electiondue in 2015. The
party has beenhelpednot only by the
spectacleof theeuro crisis but also by
the factthatthe Liberal Democrats —
thetraditional repository ofprotest
votes —are now inMr. Cameron’scoali-
tiongovernment.
Mr. Cameron’sresponse is that Brit-
ain should focusing its ties on afree-
trade relationship with the bloc, but the
obstaclesremain formidable. The rene-
gotiationhewants would only come
after the nextelection and if hewins a
clear majority.
Second, it is by no means clear that
any of theother26membernations
The dangers are significant. One is
thatthe Conservativesdetach them-
selvesfrom their traditional supporters
in big business,who are becoming con-
cernedabout theuncertaintybeing cre-
atedbyquestions overE.U. member-
ship.
Though designed to unite an increas-
ingly skeptical Conservative Party,Mr.
Cameron’spolicy could end up splitting
it, said Mark Leonard, director of the
European Council onForeign Relations.
He believes thatthe difference between
whatMr. Cameroncould obtain from
renegotiation, and what his lawmakers
want, is unbridgeable.
‘‘If he manages to renegotiate the
terms ofmembership and thenhold a
referendum, hewould bethe leader of
the ‘yes’ camp while alot of his party
would beon the ‘no’ side,’’ Mr. Leonard
said. ‘‘You would have a toxic split.’’
Then there is the question of whether
the policy will impress voters.Mr. Le-
onard said that Europe is a ‘‘very sali-
ent issue for a small number ofpeople,
but formost people it’sasecond order
issue.’’
During the campaign for theonly oth-
er eferendumheld in Britain on
Europe, in 1975, a two-thirds majority
against membership was converted to a
two-thirds majorityinfavor.
Frustrations withspecific policies
are, Mr. Leonard added, small beer‘‘set
againstthe really big questions ofacon-
tinental size market and being ableto
negotiate with Washington and Beijing
fromaposition ofstrength.
‘‘Ourrelationship with the E.U. is like
a marriage,’’ he said. ‘‘My wife may an-
noyme by leaving the carrot peelings in
the sink or thetop off the toothpaste but,
set againstthe factthatwelove each
other and have children together,this is
a minor irritant.’’
LONDON
BY STEPHEN CASTLE
His friends in Washington want him to
stay. His supporters at home do not
seemso sure. And his alliesinBerlin are
starting to lose patience.
It is littlewonder,then,that Britain’s
prime minister, David Cameron,who
NEWS ANALYSIS
once scoldedConservative Partycol-
leagues or ‘‘banging on’’ about the
EuropeUnion, has repeatedly postponed
aspeech on Britain’s ties to the bloc.
Now, assailedbyspeculation that
Britain could leave theUnion,the mo-
mentof truth is arriving for Mr. Camer-
on,whoon Friday will confront an issue
sotoxic that itwrecked the leadership of
two of his Conservative predecessors.
His long-awaitedinterventionisdue
to be made in the Netherlands, 40 years
to the monthafter Britain joined the
forerunner of the European Union.
Yet so great aretheexpectations ofa
speech that could define his tenure, that
the prime ministermustwonderifany-
thing he says can satisfy his different
sets ofallies.
Lastweek,Philip H. Gordon,theU.S.
assistant secretary ofstate forEurope,
said itwas inAmerica’sinterestthat Brit-
ain remain an integral partof the bloc.
FromanAmerican perspective, Brit-
ain ismost helpfulifit is fully engagedin
Europe and can makethe case forfree-
market policies,orpersuadethe bloc to
cooperate over sanctions against Iran,
for example.
Mr. Gordon’smessagewas an implicit
warning to Britain that itsrelationship
withWashingtonwould beweakenedifit
driftedaway from the European Union.
‘‘There is a clear majority
view in Brussels that
it is important for Britain
to remain a part of the E.U.’’
BEN STANSALL/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
David Cameron is to give a speech on Friday on the British-E.U. relationship. It is an is-
sue so toxic that it wrecked the leadership of two of his Conservative predecessors.
Meanwhile, Gunther Krichbaum, an
ally of the German chancellor,Angela
Merkel,warned the British lastweek
not to blackmail the European Unionby
threatening to quit. Though Germany
values Britain as a counterweightto
France insidethe European Union, its
politicians dislikethetoneof the British
debate.
According to newsreports,the date of
Mr. Cameron’sspeech was shifted this
weekafterBerlin’sprotests of a clash
with the anniversary ofaFrench-Ger-
man treaty.
But at home, theview fromBerlin
seems to count forlittle. Britons never
embraced the rhetoric ofEuropean
unity and are not stirredbythe idea of
uniting a continent shatteredbythe
wars of the last century.
Instead,they tend to see membership
in the more prosaic senseof a financial
transaction and, after three years of
crisis for theeuro—which Britain nev-
erjoinedanyway —theyare less and
less impressed.
Mr. Cameron’ssolutionisto promise
to renegotiate ties withE.U. partners
and seekpublic consent for the outcome
of thosetalks.
On Friday, he may be more specific
and promise areferendum onanew re-
lationship. His central argument is that
only a new settlement can persuade dis-
gruntled Britons to accepttheir place in
the European club.
Privately, some Conservative Party
members of Parliamentwant Britain to
leave the bloc, morewant astraight ‘‘in
or out’’ referendum, and many more
wanttochangethe E.U. treaty and,
without that, many of the revisions Mr.
Cameronseeks may not be achievable.
Evenifthetreatynegotiation hap-
pens, it remains far fromclear thatoth-
ernations will allow Britain to cherry
pick the parts ofmembership itwants
and rejectthe rest.
‘‘The skeptics believe thatweshould
not underestimate ournegotiating
leverage,’’ Mr. Fraser said. ‘‘I think
Britain has got alot ofnegotiating capit-
al. I think there is a clear majority view
in Brussels that it is important for Brit-
ain to remain a partof the E.U. But that
doesn’t mean that Britain has to be ac-
commodatedat any price and clearly
there is a tipping pointwhich the gov-
ernment reachesat itsperil.’ ’
Berlusconi shakes up
Italy’s political field
ITALY, FROMPAGE 1
factor of instability,’ ’ saidMr. Damilano,
the political correspondent. By running
to help ‘‘condition’’ theother parties
rather than to win, he said,Mr.Monti
‘‘has already lost his political aspira-
tions and risks becoming a thirdwheel,’ ’
caught between right and left.
The great fear,Mr. Damilano added,
is thatelections could fail to produce a
stable government, as happenedin
Greece in June before asecond round of
elections was held.
Not to be discounted, analystssay, is
the Five-Star Movement, which placed
first in the Sicilian regional elections
and is popular withyoung people fed up
withItaly’spolitical class. It is essen-
tially a party without aleader, sinceMr.
Grillo cannot beelectedbecause he has
aconvictionfor manslaughterinacar
accident in which three people died.
Mr. Berlusconi is widely seenasrun-
ning to recapture voters who defected to
Mr.Monti and Mr. Grillo. Analystssay
his media appearanceshave had an im-
portanteffect: Theyhave helpedput his
party in first place in surveys in the
powerfulregion ofLombardy afterhe
mendedfences withaformerally,the
sider,’ ’ he added of Mr.Monti.
Mr. Berlusconi, a skilled campaigner,
has cast himself as an outsider while
making an ‘‘insider’’ of Mr.Monti, an
economistwhowas lionized whenhe
first took office in November2011 pre-
cisely because hewas seenasapolitical.
Despite his many legal tangles and
the dire performanceofItaly’s economy
under his leadership,Mr. Berlusconi
maintains a residual popularity through
charm, mastery of the media and a lack
ofstrong competing parties.
Lastweek, he appearedfor two hours
onatelevisionprogramhostedbyoneof
his old enemies. Questionedabout the
number ofpoliticians with criminal re-
cords elected on his party’s slate over
the years,Mr. Berlusconi said he had
not soughtthem out.
‘‘You take 100 priests and you don’t
find 100 saints,’ ’ he said.
‘‘This country is ungovernable!’’ he
said withglee atone point, only to be re-
minded that his governments had the
largest majorityinpostwar Italian his-
tory.Atanothermoment, Mr. Berlusconi
stood upinoutrage, threatened to leave
but eventually calmeddown, deftly tak-
ing out a white handkerchief to brush off
his chair before sitting back down.
The show drew nine million viewers,
aquarter of the Italian audience share.
‘‘He’sanex-primeminister who is do-
ing showmen’s gags on television,’ ’ said
Marco Damilano, apolitical correspon-
dent forL’Espresso, a eft-of-center
weeklymagazine, whomMr. Berlusconi
cheerfully pretended to hiton the head
withaposter onatelevisionprogramon
Tuesday.
Alwaysasavvypopulist, Mr. Ber-
lusconi now rails againstthe fiscal con-
solidationpoliciesadvocatedbyGer-
many, sounding not unlikethe Greek
leftist party Syriza,which leads in opin-
ionsurveys inGreece. He has alsotaken
to quoting the New York Timescolum-
nistPaulKrugman, a critic ofausterity.
Mr. Berlusconi’smessage has struck a
chord in Italy and has helpedput Mr.
Monti on the defensive on television, a
medium thatMr. Berlusconi dominates
theway Fred Astaire did the dance floor.
Appearing onItaly’smostwidely
watchedinterview program on Monday
evening,Mr.Monti,who routinely
treats his predecessor with understated
irony, compared Mr. Berlusconi to ‘‘the
Pied Piper’’ whoentrancedItaly but ul-
timately ledittoitsdeath.
Mr.Monti,who has been the darling of
Europe and theUnitedStates, calmedfi-
nancial speculation and put Italy back on
theworld stage. But many analystssay
that although he helped bring Italy back
fromthe brink, he overestimated his pop-
ularityasapolitician.
Many Italians are angry that he
raised the retirement age and an unpop-
ular property tax that many say they
cannot afford to pay.Mr. Berlusconi had
eliminatedsome property taxesbefore
winning theelectionin2008.
Asasenatorfor life, Mr.Montidoesnot
need to win election, but he is essentially
a candidate without a party,the figure-
head ofanincoherent group ofcentrists
lacking a strong political operation.
‘‘He could be a factor ofstability, but
instead he quickly became another
STEFANO RELLANDINI/REUTERS
Mario Monti, the departing prime minister,
is essentially a candidate without a party.
SERGEI KARPUKHIN/REUTERS
Maria Alyokhina on Wednesday before her hearing in Berezniki, Russia. She had asked for the remaining year of her sentence to be deferred until her 5-year-old son is a teenager.
Punk protes
ter, and mother, loses again in court
‘‘It’s a very confusing time.
People don’t want the insider,
and they don’t want
the outsider.’’
ofhersentence afterherson, Filip,
reaches the ageof14,Ms.Alyokhina left
herself vulnerable. Herfitness as a par-
entwas questionedinthe courtroom,
which was packed withjournalists and
supporters who had flowninfrom Mos-
cow; the judge asked whethershemade
surethe boy was ‘‘well-groomed’’ and
‘‘clean.’ ’
Whenshe said sheenrolledhersonin
educational activities,the prosecutor
askedfordocumentary proof.Whenshe
mentioned that she broughtthe boy
along to political events, he asked
whethersheexposed to the child to cold
weather. In his closing statement, he
said that as a prisoner Ms.Alyokhina
‘‘has not takenaninterest in the lifeor
condition ofherson.’ ’
Ms.Alyokhina made little attemptto
play on the judge’s sympathies, and, by
theend of the hearing, seemed to realize
she had no hopeofsuccess.
‘‘I am in a situation where Ihave to
prove herethat my sonneeds me, which
is obvious,’ ’ she said.
AmnestyInternational described the
decision as ‘‘a further parody of
justice,’’ saying in a statementthatthe
three members of Pussy Riot should not
have faced criminal prosecutionat all.
The decision, heorganization said,
‘‘once more proves thatthe Russian au-
thoritiesare ready to suppress freedom
ofspeech without any reservations.’ ’
The hearing attracted extraordinary
attention to the city ofBerezniki, about
1,450 kilometers,or900 miles, northeast
of Moscow, whereMs.Alyokhina is in-
carcerated. The inmatesinCorrectional
Camp number28, mostof themcon-
victed ofdrug offenses and violent
crime, spend their days sewing coatsfor
policeofficers, inside a high concrete
fence and coils ofrazor wire. The com-
munityisknownforits giant sinkholes,
the legacy ofacollapsing potash mine,
which have beenknown to swallow rail-
road boxcars and automobiles.
Riot policeofficers were brought in to
guard the courthouse beforethe hearing
Wednesday, and a glass box was con-
structed in placeof themetal cagethat is
traditionally used to holdRussian defen-
dants. ThoughMs.Alyokhina and Pussy
Riot have been hailedbycelebrities like
Madonna and the RedHot Chili Pep-
pers,toresidents ofBerezniki theyare
both unfamiliar and a little alarming.
RIA-Novosti’scamera crew, which
cruised thetownsoliciting opinions,
found thatthe local priest had been
offeredpolice protectionbeforethe hear-
ing, ‘‘just in case’’ Pussy Riot supporters
would target him or his church. Theedit-
or of the local newspaperstoppedcover-
ing Ms.Alyokhina’scase because ‘‘we
decided that people here didn’t care.’’
Itwould have been unusual for the
courttograntMs.Alyokhina’srequest
to defer the remainder ofhersentence
for nine years,thougha2010 case did
provide alegal precedent. She has had
clearly had trouble adjusting to life in
the prisoncolony,where she has re-
ceivedseveral official reprimands for
oversleeping; she said on Wednesday
that she had not heard her5:30 a.m.
wake-up calls.
Late in November,the prisonauthor-
ities said she had beenmoved to asolit-
ary cell aftercomplaining about ‘‘negat-
ive attitudes on the partof theother
prisoners,’ ’ Interfax reported.
Oneof Ms.Alyokhina’sco-defen-
dants,Yekaterina Samutsevich,was re-
leasedinOctoberafterarguing that she
had only a minorrole in the church inci-
dent because aguard had seizedherbe-
fore she could perform.
MOSCOW
Siberian court rejects
compassionate appeal
by Pussy Riot member
Northern League, to back its candidate
forregional president.
A center-rightvictory in Lombardy
could deprive the Democratic Party ofa
clear majorityinthe Senate, where
seatsare determined in partonregional
showings. That means thatthe left
could not forma governmentwithout al-
lying withMr.Monti’scentrists.
‘‘MontibenefitsfromBerlusconi’s
campaign, paradoxically,’ ’ said Stefano
Folli, apolitical commentatorforIlSole
24 Ore, abusiness daily.
Many Italians say theyhave no idea
how theywill vote next month. Ludovico
Purgatori, 20, a filmmaking student in
Rome, said thatMr. Berlusconi had ‘‘lost
all credibility’’ but that hewas not sure if
Mr.Monti was ‘‘credible asapolitician.’ ’
Mr. Grillo is ‘‘the most dangerous of
themall— all he can do is scream and
criticize,’’ Mr.Purgatori said.
‘‘I’d liketosee many more young
politicians,’ ’ he added, ‘‘and fewer dino-
saurs.’ ’
Gaia Pianigiani contributed reporting.
BY ELLEN BARRY
A judge in Siberia on Wednesday rejec-
tedanappeal by oneof the members of
the punk protest band Pussy Riot to be
released temporarily sothat she can be
withher5-year-old sonwhile he is grow-
ing up,telling the courtroomsternly that
having a small child ‘‘did not prevent
herfromcommittingaserious crime.’’
Maria Alyokhina, 24,was defiant
throughout the summer trial inMoscow,
and reactedwith a smile andanodwhen
shewas sentenced to two years in a
prisoncolony forperforming a song in
Moscow’s main Orthodoxcathedral
urging theVirgin Mary to rid Russia of
Vladimir V. Putin. But attheend of the
hearing Wednesday her face crumpled
and she seemednear tears, at least fora
moment.
By asking to serve the remaining year
 ....
4
|
THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2013
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
world news
europe africa united states
‘Grandpa’ meets
his anticip
ated fate
straddled the breakup of the Soviet and
strangely reachedits zenith under Pres-
identVladimir V. Putin leaves an air of
mystery. It has perplexed analystsfor
years. That is becauseviolent street
crime dropped sharply during Mr.
Putin’s tenureevenasnotorious gang
leaders walkedfree.
‘‘The mob wars of the 1990s had run
their course,’’ by thetimeMr. Putin
came in, in 2000, Mr. Galeotti said.
‘‘Therewas noestablishedpecking or-
ders or turf then, but what came out of
those mob wars was precisely a hier-
archy and a senseofdivision ofassets.’ ’
Mr. Putin, he said, let it be known that
‘‘overt gangsterism in the streets that
would underminethe authority of the
state,’’ would be punishedseverely,
whilethe hierarchy was left intact.
Mr.Usoyan’smurder may change
that, he said, particularly as lucrative
constructioncontracts or the 2014
winter Olympics and heroin trafficking
routesfrom Afghanistan are introdu-
cing new objects ofcompetitionfor or-
ganized crime groups to fight over.
Mr.Usoyan and his reputedassoci-
ates, including one member of the same
small ethnic minoritygroup ofKurds
fromGeorgia who is today imprisoned
in Spain, had becomethe focus ofrecent
U.S. government analysis of the interac-
tionbetweenpost-Soviet organized
crime groups and the Russian state.
After Spanish prosecutors convicted
this reputed partner,Zakhar Kalashov,
formoneylaundering in 2006,Mr.Usoy-
an assumed thetoppositioninRussia’s
organized crime hierarchy.
Today,though,the prospectthat a dis-
pute broke out with the imprisoned Mr.
Kalashov over the administration of his
rackets in his absence is onetheory circu-
lating about why Mr.Usoyan was killed.
According to an American diplomatic
cable publishedbyWikiLeaks,U.S. dip-
lomatsmeeting in 2009 and 2010with
Spanish prosecutors weretold thatthe
governmentofRussian, referred to as
the GOR, appeared to be cooperating
with, rather than prosecuting organized
crime figures. They would,the prosecu-
tor said, ‘‘dowhatever the GOR cannot
acceptable do asagovernment.’’
In Russia, among the few public
sources ocumenting the ften
whisperedabout tie between Granpa
Khasan and the Federal SecuritySer-
vice, the successoragency to the K.G.B.,
isaleaked transcriptofameeting be-
tween Mr.Usoyan and a Russian police
official in the late 1990s, in which Mr.
Usoyanisasked to use his ties to crime
figuresinChechnya to help free Russian
hostages.
On Wednesday, in any case, Russian
lawenforcementofficials,while vowing
to investigate, seemedinno rush to ex-
press sympathy.
‘‘The fewer bandits the betterfor the
people,’’ Aleksandr Mikhailov, aformer
deputycommander ofRussia’santi-
narcotics police force, told Interfax.
MOSCOW
Old-style gangster killed
as Russian crime world
undergoes changes
BYANDREW E. KRAMER
Not much is knownabout the man
known as Grandpa Khasan, but some-
body really wanted him dead.
Two years ago, assailantsrentedan
apartment across the street froman
entryway to the homeof his son and
thenlayinwait for three months in an-
ticipation of a familial visit. Firingwitha
silenced Kalashnikov rifle over our
lanes of traffic, agunman hit Grandpa
Khasan,whose legal namewas Aslan
Usoyan, and whowas the reputed
ringleader of the Russian underworld,
in the stomach.
On Wednesday, abetter-placed rifle
shot also overabusy street in down-
townMoscow killedMr.Usoyan.
The incident seemedathrowback to
the brazen, bloody ways of the gangland
wars in Russia in theearly post-Soviet
period,theera ofill-fitting suits, car
bombs and drive-by shootings whenMr.
Usoyan gained his notoriety,while al-
ways seeming to avoid arrest.
Experts onRussian organized crime
said his rolewas thatof a banker, hold-
ingacommonpot offunds, known in
Russian underworld parlance as theob-
shak, for many different gangs. He also
mediated in disputes. ‘‘I wouldn’t say
therewas anybody more powerful than
Ded Khasan’’ in Russian organized
crime, Mark Galeotti, an authority on
Russian criminalityat New York Uni-
versity, said in a telephone interview.
On Wednesday a gunman firedfrom
under theeaves of the Houseof Actors,
aSoviet-era apartment building, appar-
ently while hiding in an attic, Sergei
Kanev, a crime reporterforNovaya
Gazeta, said in an interview of what he
intended to reporton the hit, oneof the
highest profile contract murders in the
Russian capital in recent years.
Mr.Usoyan, aportly 75-year-old,was
walking out ofanAzerbaijani restau-
rantthat is a knownmob eatery and
whereMr.Usoyan oftenheld meetings,
Mr. Kanev said.Mr.Usoyan was breath-
ing whenhe arrivedat ahospital but
diedsoonafterward, Interfax reported,
citing doctors.
Anotherbullet ricocheted to wound a
waitress,whose lifewas not in danger.
The police reportedno arrests. In 1998,
Mr. Khasan survivedaseparate attack,
reportedly by gangsters angeredhe had
invested theobshak in Russian govern-
ment bonds,which defaulted.
Sincethe 2010 attack,Mr. Kanev said,
Mr.Usoyan, ‘‘knew hewould die, no
matterhow hetried to protect himself.
Therewas noother ending.’ ’
The arc of a criminal career that
MARCOGUALAZZINI FOR THE NEWYORK TIMES
French soldiers resting in Bamako on Wednesday. France is building up its troop strength in Mali, to 2,500 from 800, and trying to stabilize the south while hitting hard in the north.
Islamists take foreigners hostage
MALI, FROMPAGE 1
than lastweek, but the combat contin-
ues and itwill be long, I imagine,’’ hetold
RTL radio. ‘‘Today the ground forces
are in the process ofdeploying. Now the
French forcesare reaching the north.’ ’
President François Hollande has
beenblunt about his intentions. ‘‘What
doweplan to dowith theterrorists?’’ he
said Tuesday. ‘‘Destroy them. Capture
them, if possible, and make surethat
they can do no harm in the future.’’
Camille Grand, adefenseexpert and
director of the FoundationforStrategic
Research in Paris, said the French ob-
jective was ‘‘to return to the statusquo
ante, wherethose Islamist groups are
corneredinthe gray zones on the bor-
ders,with limited ability to act and not
controlling populationcenters,where it
is difficult for them tomake raids or take
hostages.’ ’
That goal, he said, is ‘‘definitely some-
thing that makessense from a military
standpoint,’’ wherethe French can try
‘‘to build upsecurityinthe northalong
with African forces to stabilize the situ-
ation’’ and allow apolitical process to
take place.
In the hostage drama,Algerian troops
quickly surrounded the natural-gas fa-
cilitynear Amenas, in eastern Algeria
near the Libyan border.Atleast two for-
eigners working as securityguards,one
of them British, are reported to have
been killedinthe initial attack.
According to astatement by theAlge-
rian Interior Ministry,the attack was
carried out byaheavily armedgroup of
terrorists traveling aboard three vehi-
cles whotargetedabus transporting
foreign workers to anearby airport at 5
a.m.An ‘‘indeterminate number’’ of
hostages weretaken,the ministry said,
and two peoplewere killed and six
peoplewounded, including two security
gu
ards and two policeofficers.
The attackers shut downproduction
Atlantic
Ocean
NISIA
TUNIS
MOROCCO
ALGERIA
Amenas
SAHARA
MAURITANIA
MALI
Konna
Gao
Douentza
Diabaly
Bamako
NIGERIA
been ‘‘attacked and occupiedbyagroup
of unidentified armedpeople,’’ and
someofitspersonnelare believed to be
‘‘held by theoccupiers.’ ’
Therewas little clarityabout the num-
ber and nationality of the hostages.
Hundreds of Algerians work atthe plant
and weretakeninthe attack, but the
state newsagency reported thatthey
have gradually beenreleased in small
groups,unharmed.
Japaneseofficials confirmed that Jap-
anese nationals were involved, and the
Irish ForeignMinistry said one Irish cit-
izen had been kidnapped. The British
Foreign Office said in a statementthat
‘‘British nationals are caughtupinthis
incident,’’ which was ‘‘ongoing.’ ’
AlQaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has
taken in millions ofdollars in ransom
paymentsafter kidnapping prominent
local businessmen and foreigners.At
leasteight French hostagesare being
held by Islamist groups in the region.
Scott Sayare and Alan Cowell contrib-
uted reporting.
JEROME DELAY/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Malian national guardsman at the airport in Bamako on Wednesday. Officials made it
clear that French troops would take the fight to the rebels along with Malian forces.
BRIEFLY
Europe
atthe site when theyattacked,which
perhaps indicated thattheir operation
had beencarefully planned, according
to an oil company official withknowl-
edgeof the incident. Five hostages were
being held in a production facility on the
site and 36 others in a housing area, a
militant spokesman told Sahara Media
Agency, and therewere as many as 400
Algerian soldiers surrounding the area.
The militants said theybelong to the
Al-Mulathameen Brigade, arecently
formedgroup that is reportedly ledby
theAlgerian Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a
formercommander of AlQaeda in the
Islamic Maghreb basedinGao, Mali.
The attack came ‘‘in reaction to Alge-
ria’s flagrant interference, authorizing
theuseofits airspace by the French air
forcetolead raids againstthe north of
Mali,’ ’ aspokesman for the group said,
ANI reported.
Algeria,which was once acolony of
France and which has been critical of
French interventions elsewhere in
Africa, has quietly supported the inter-
ventioninMali, allowing French planes
to fly over Algerian airspacetoMali and
promising to betterseal itslong border
with Mali,topreventthe Islamistsfrom
finding shelter and supplies, including
food and especially gasoline, in Algeria.
The raid on Algerian soil and aimedat
foreign investmentwill do nothing to
soften Algeria’s line againstthe Islam-
istsinMali.
The gas field is a jointventureoper-
atedbythe British multinational BP, t he
Norwegian groupStatoil and theAlgeri-
an government-ownedSonatrach. The
Japaneseengineering firmJGCprovides
servicesatthe site. About 700 people are
generally atthe site, aBPofficial said.
In a statement, BP said the site had
Fuel particles
more damaging
than estimated
NEW YORK
BY ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Thetiny black particlesreleasedinto the
atmosphere by burning fuels are far
more powerfulagents ofglobal warming
than had previously been estimated, ac-
cording toareport by someof theworld’s
most prominent atmospheric scientists.
These particles,which are knownas
black carbon and arethe majorcompo-
nentofsoot, arethe second most impor-
tant contributor to global warming, be-
hind only carbondioxide, wrote the 31
authors of the study, published onlineon
Tuesday by The Journal ofGeophysical
Research-Atmospheres.
The new estimate of black carbon’s
heat-trapping powerisabout doublethe
one made in the last majorreport by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change, in 2007. And the researchers
said that if indirectwarming effects of
the particlesare factoredin,theymay
betrapping heat atthree times the pre-
viously estimatedrate.
The new calculation adds urgency to
efforts to curb the production of black
carbon, released primarily by diesel en-
ginesinthe industrialized world and by
primitive cookstoves and kerosene
lamps in poorernations. Natural phe-
nomena like forest fires also produce it.
Black carbonisalreadyacentral tar-
get of oneof the few international cli-
mate initiatives championedbythe
UnitedStates,the Climate and Clean Air
Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate
Pollutants,which has beensupportedby
Secretary ofState Hillary Rodham Clin-
ton. The program seeks to reducethe
production of black carbon to combat
both climate change and air pollution
and respiratory diseaseon the ground.
The groupreached tsconclusions
after factoring in a new series ofmeas-
urementsabout the amountof black car-
bonaccumulating in the atmosphere and
how much heat from the sunit absorbs.
It alsotookinto account someof the com-
plicatedsecondary climate effects that
occur when black carboninteracts with
chemical, clouds and theearth’ssurface.
LONDON
2 are dead after helicopter
hits a crane in city center
A helicopter crashedinto acrane at a
residential towerincentral London on
Wednesday,exploding into flames and
hurtling to the ground during the
morning rush hour,the police said.
The pilot andaperson on the ground
were killed, British officials said, and at
least 12 peoplewere injured. Burning
aviationfuel spilledalongastreet, in the
Vauxhall districton the south bank of the
Thames, and British newsreportsspoke
ofcarsonfire and people screaming.
The crash badly damaged the crane
on the building—the Tower,oneof
Europe’s tallest residential buildings —
and itwas left dangling high over the
street below, shroudedinasmoky haze.
One man was rescuedfromaburning
car,the LondonFire Brigade said. The
headquarters ofspyagencyMI6 is
nearby, but therewere no suggestions
thatthe crash was anything but an acci-
dent.
PRISTINA, KOSOVO
Premier rejects Serb self-rule
for Belgrade’s aid on U.N. seat
PrimeMinister HashimThaci on Wed-
nesday firmly ruled out granting au-
tonomy to ethnic Serbs in northern
Kosovo in exchange forSerbia’ssup-
port in gettingaseat in theUnitedNa-
tions.
‘‘Therewill be no partition, no auton-
omy, no special status,’ ’ Mr. Thaci said
adayafterSerbia’s PrimeMinister,
Ivica Dacic, suggested that his country
could back Kosovo’s U.N. membership
if it allowedself-rule for minoritySerbs.
In 1999, NATO bombedSerbia to stop
its crackdown againstethnic Albanians
in Kosovo, forcing Belgradetorelin-
quish control of the province. Serbia
maintains that itwill neverrecognize
Kosovo’s2008declaration of indepen-
dence, but it has takensteps seenasa
tacit acknowledgementofKosovo’s ter-
ritorial integrity.
(AP)
Therapy with high cure rate, and a higher ‘yuck’ factor
TRANSPLANT, FROMPAGE 1
‘‘Thoseof us who do fecal transplant
know how effective it is,’ ’ said Dr.
ColleenKelly, agastroenterologistwith
theWomen’s Medicine Collaborative in
Providence, Rhode Island,whowas not
partof the Dutch study. ‘‘Thetricky
part has beenconvincing everybody
else.’’ She added, ‘‘This is an important
paper, and hopefully itwill encourage
peopletochangetheir practice patterns
and offer this treatment more.’’
The seniorauthor of the new study,
Dr. Josbert Keller, agastroenterologist
atthe Hagaziekenhuis hospital in The
Hague, said that beforethe study, he
and his colleagues had performed the
transplant in about 10 cases, and it al-
most always worked. They firsttriedit
out ofdesperation, inapatientwhose in-
fection was so severethattheentire
large intestinewas going to be removed.
Thetransplantwasacure.
‘‘After the first four orfive patients,
we started thinking,wecan’t goondo-
ing this kind of obscuretreatmentwith-
out evidence,’’ Dr. Keller said. ‘‘Every-
body is laughing about it.’’
Patientsinthe study were adults who
had beensuffering fromC. difficile for
months and had had at leastone relapse
afterantibiotic treatment. They were
pickedat random to be in oneof three
groups.Only one group had thetrans-
plant: 16 patients took the antibiotic
vancomycin forfourdays, had their in-
testines rinsed and then had the fecal
solutionpumpedinto a tube passed
through their noses and downinto their
small intestines.Asecond group, 13
people, had the intestinal wash and 14
days of vancomycin, and a third group,
also 13, had only vancomycin.
The donors were healthy people,
mostly hospital employees,whowere
testedforanarrayof parasites, bacteria
and viruses to make surethey did not
transmit diseases to the patients. Their
specimens were mixed with saline in a
did not receive transplants,only 3 of13
and 4 of13were cured.
Of the patients who had relapsesafter
receiving antibiotics only, 18 were given
transplants, and 15 were cured.
The study was originally meanttoin-
clude more patients, but it had to be cut
short because he antibiotic groups
were faring so poorly compared to the
transplant patients that itwas con-
sidered unethical to continue.
The resultscome as no surpriseto
doctors who have tried the procedure.
Dr.AlexanderKhoruts, agastroentero-
logist attheUniversity of Minnesota,
said he had performed thetransplants
in morethan 100 patients withC. diffi-
cile. He said that it has worked the first
time in 90 percent, and thattheother10
percentwere cured withasecond treat-
ment.
Unlikethe Dutch doctors, Dr. Khoruts
delivers the solutioninto the intestine
viaacolonoscope. And he has found that
the solution works just as well if it is
frozen and thawed whenneeded, sothat
donors do not have to cometothe clinic
on the day thetreatment and produce
specimens ondemand.
Eventually, Dr. Khoruts said, if re-
searchers can determinewhich bac-
teria are crucial, it should become possi-
bletocreate productscontaining them,
and to spareeveryonetheunpleasant-
ness ofdealing withstoolspecimens.
not yet know if certain ones,orcertain
combinations, account for the cures. So
fornow, feceshave to beusedpretty
much intact.
Medical journals have reported high
success rates and seemingly miracu-
louscuresinpatients who had suffered
formonths withrelapsing diarrhea,
vomiting and feverfromC. difficile. But
until now therewas roomfordoubt, be-
cause no controlled experiments had
compared the outlandish-sounding
remedy to other treatments.
The new research is the firstto
providethetypeof evidencethat skep-
tics have demanded, and proponents
say theyhopethe results will help bring
fecal transplantsinto the medical main-
stream, because forsome patientsnoth-
ing elseworks.
The study, by researchers in theNeth-
erlands,was published onWednesday in
The NewEngland Journal of Medicine.
C. difficile is a worldwide problemand
has become more commoninrecent
years, possibly becauseof widespread
antibiotic use. Increasingly toxic strains
have emergedinthe past decadeorso.
In theUnitedStates, morethan 300,000
patientsinthe hospital contract C. diffi-
cileeach year, and researchers estimate
thatthe total number ofcases, in and out
of the hospital, may be 3 million. Treat-
ment costs exceed $1 billionayear.
‘‘Those of us who do fecal
transplant know how effective
it is. The tricky part has been
convincing everybody else.’’
blender and strained,toproduce asolu-
tion that Dr. Keller said resembled
chocolate milk.
Dr. Keller said patients were soeager
to receive transplants thatthey would
not join the study unless the research-
ers promised thatthose assigned to an-
tibiotics only would get
transplants
laterifthe drugs failed.
Among the 16 who received thetrans-
plants, 13 were curedafter the first infu-
sion. Theother three were givenrepeat
infusions fromdifferent donors, and two
were also cured. In the two groups who
....
THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2013
|
5
THE GLOBAL EDITION OF THE NEW YORK TIMES
united states asia
world news
BRIEFLY
Americas
Obama invokes children in firearms push
OBAMA, FROMPAGE 1
and direct lawenforcement agencies to
crack down on thosewhoevadethe
background check system.
New York State legislators onTues-
day passedagun bill thatwould require
therapists to reporttothe authorities
any clientthoughttobe ‘‘likely to en-
gage in’’ violent behavior; under the
law, the policewould confiscate any
weapons the person had.
Yet patient advocates and therapists
strongly disagreed, saying itwould in-
trude into the doctor-patient relation-
ship in a way that could dissuadetrou-
bledpeople fromspeaking their minds,
and complicate the many judgment
calls therapists already had to make.
Undercurrentethical guidelines,only
involuntary hospitalizations—and direct
threats made by patients — are reported
to the authorities. These reports thenap-
pear ona ederal background-check
database. The new lawswould go further,
possibly requiring reporting peopleex-
hibiting suicidal behavior.Peoplewith
seriousmental disorders,while more
likely to commit aggressive acts than the
average person, account for only about 4
percentof violent crimes overall.
The rate is higher whenit comes to
rampageorserial killings, closer to 20
percent, according to Dr.MichaelStone,
aNew York forensic psychiatristwho
hasadatabaseofabout 200 mass and
serial killers. He has concludedfrom the
records that about 40were likely to have
had paranoid schizophrenia orseverede-
pression or were psychopathic, meaning
they were impulsive and remorseless.
‘‘But most mass murders are done by
working-class men who’ve been jilted,
fired,or otherwise humiliated—andwho
then undergo a crisis ofrage and get out
oneof the 300 millionguns in ourcountry
and dotheir thing,’ ’ Dr. Stone said.
The sortofyoung,troubled males
who seem to psychiatristsmost likely to
commit schoolshootings — identified
because heyhave made credible
threats—oftendo not qualify foranydi-
agnosis,experts said.
The federal background check data-
base has onlyapatchwork ofmental-
health informationfrom the states, be-
causeof thewidevarietyinstate laws on
reporting,experts said. Evenifitwere
entirely up to date, itwould not catch the
millions who neversee amental health
professional despite deep distress.
Benedict Carey and Anemona Hartocollis
contributed reporting fromNew York,
and Brian Knowlton fromWashington.
after the massacreof20 children and 6
adultsat an elementary schoolinNew-
town, Connecticut.
Those in the audienceon Wednesday
included the parents ofGraceMcDon-
nell,7,oneof the first-graders killedin
Newtown; Mr.Obama said they had
given him a picture paintedbyGrace,
which now hangs in his private study.
The audience attheevent, held atthe
EisenhowerExecutive Office Building
near theWhite House, also included
people like Colin Goddard,who still car-
ries three bullets in his body from the
shooting atVirginia Polytechnic Insti-
tute in 2007.
The announcementonWednesday re-
flectedadecisionbytheWhite Houseto
seize onpublic outrage following the
Newtownshooting to challengethe con-
siderable political power of the National
RifleAssociation and otherforces that
have successfully fought new gunlaws
fordecades.
The N.R.A. appearedready for the
fight. OnTuesday, it postedavideo
mocking Mr.Obama forhaving Secret
Service protectionfor his daughters,
who attend a private schoolinWashing-
ton,whileopposing armedguards atthe
nation’s schools. Thevideo calls the
president an ‘‘elitist hypocrite.’’
On Wednesday,theWhite House is-
sued an angry response.
‘‘MostAmericans agree that apresi-
dent’s childrenshould not beusedas
pawns in a political fight,’’ said Jay Car-
ney,theWhite House press secretary.
‘‘But to go so far as tomakethe safety of
the president’s children the subjectofan
attack ad is repugnant and cowardly.’ ’
But itwas far fromclear thatthe pres-
ident and gun-controladvocates would
be able to overcomethe deepresistance
to tightergunlaws,especially in the
House. TheHouse speaker, Representa-
tive John A. Boehner of Ohio, remained
noncommittal after the president’s
event. ‘‘House committees ofjurisdic-
tion willreview these recommenda-
tions,’ ’ said his spokesman,Michael
Steel. ‘‘And if the Senate passes a bill,
we will alsotake alookatthat.’’
Mr.Obama said he did not underesti-
mate how difficult changewould be.
‘‘Therewill be pundits and politicians
and special interest groups publicly
warning ofatyrannical all-out assault
on liberty,’ ’ he said,whowould ‘‘do ev-
erything theycanto block any common-
sense reform.’ ’ He vowed to doevery-
t
hing in his power, but added, ‘‘Theonly
WASHINGTON
House approves funds
for Hurricane Sandy relief
Afterfierce lobbying by political lead-
ers in states across the Northeast, the
U.S. HouseofRepresentatives has ap-
provedalong-awaited $50.7 billion
emergency bill to provide help to vic-
tims ofHurricane Sandy.
The aid package passed 241 to 180on
Tuesday,with49Republicans joining
192 Democrats. The Senate was expect-
ed to pass the measure, and President
Barack Obama has expressedsupport
forit. The$50.7 billion— along witha
nearly $10 billion aid packagethat Con-
gress approved earlier this month— is
meanttoprovide for the huge needs
that have arisen sincethe hurricane
struck in late October.
WASHINGTON
Interior secretary leaving
early in Obama’s 2nd term
InteriorSecretary Ken Salazar will
leave President Barack Obama’s cabin-
et by March, creating another opening
for the president as he begins his
second term, according to aseniorad-
ministration official.
Mr. Salazar, aformersenatorfrom
Colorado, was partof Mr.Obama’s orig-
inal cabinet. As the head of the Interior
Department, hewas the president’s top
adviser onissuesinvolving open space,
parks and drilling.After the BPoil spill
in the Gulf of Mexico in early 2010, Mr.
Salazar led the inquiriesinto the regu-
lation of oil companies.
CARACAS
Gazette publishes decree
signed by ailing president
The country’s Official Gazette on Wed-
nesday publishedadecree signedby
the ailing President Hugo Chávez, the
firsttimethe president’s signature has
appearedinthe publication since his
latest cancer-relatedsurgery.
The decree issuedTuesday and pub-
lishedWednesday appointsformer vice
president Elias JauaMilano as the new
foreignminister. The currentvice presi-
dent, Nicolas Maduro, publicly an-
nouncedMr. Jaua’s appointment at a
National Assembly meeting Tuesday.
(AP)
STEPHEN CROWLEY/THE NEWYORK TIMES
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., far left, were joined Wednesday in Washington by children who had writ-
ten to Mr. Obama about concerns after the Connecticut shootings. ‘‘This is our first task as a society: keeping our children safe,’’ he said.
way we can change is if theAmerican
people demand it.’’
In recent days, gun rightsadvocates
have accused the presidentofapower
grab, saying theyfearedhewould ex-
ceed his executive authorityinanat-
tempttotaketheir guns away. Guns
saleshave set recordsinmanystates.
In fact, the listof executive actions the
president announced was relatively
modest, withmostof the steps requiring
agencies to better share information.
Mr.Obama promised, for example, to
‘‘launch a national dialogue’’ onmental
healthledbymembers of his cabinet.
Bruce Reed,the chief ofstaff to Vice
President Joseph R. BidenJr., who led
the review ofgun violenceon which Mr.
Obama based his recommendations,
told a group of liberal activists onTues-
day that passing the president’spropos-
als would beeven tougher than itwas to
pass an assault-weapons ban in 1994,
participantsatthe briefing said.
But theWhite House believes thatthe
dynamic around guns may be shifting.
Mr.Obama and Mr. Bidenareexpected
to taketheir message across the country.
Among other things,the president
called Wednesday for limiting the num-
ber ofrounds that can be in an ammuni-
tionmagazineto10. Thatwould eliminate
the 30-round magazines thatwereused
in Newtownaswell as other mass shoot-
ings in Colorado, Virginia and Arizona.
The proposals alsowould require
criminal background checks forallgun
sales,toprevent gunbuyers frombeing
abletoavoid such checks by purchasing
their weapons at gunshows orfroma
private seller.
The background database, in place
since 1996, has stopped1.5 million sales
to felons, fugitives, convicteddomestic
abusers and others,Mr.Obama said, but
nearly 40 percentofallgun salesremain
exempt from the system.
Inadocument and in a conference call
withreporters, administration officials
called theenhanced background check
requirements the singlemost important
thing that could be donetoprevent gun
violence. The administration also said it
would address legal barriers that keep
some mental healthrecords out of the
background-check database, improve
incentivesforstates to share records
BRIEFLY
Asia
In debate on gun control,
even words ca
n be loaded
WASHINGTON
BYPETER BAKER
When the Brady Campaign to Prevent
Gun Violencewanted to promote more
restrictions onfirearms after the Con-
necticut schoolshootings in December,
itturned to a firm to help publicize its
position. The firm’s name? Point Blank
Public Affairs.
When VicePresident Joseph R. Biden
I think it’sdoubly appropriate for him.’ ’
In that case, ofcourse, hewas doing it
deliberately.And others use doubleen-
tendre purposefully. The National
Shooting SportsFoundationsaysonits
Website that it is ‘‘always shooting for
more’’ to promote the futureofsport
shooting. Foraneditorial lastweek crit-
icizing Senator Harry Reid ofNevada,
the Democratic leader, for his past soli-
darity with the N.R.A., The New York
Times used the headline, ‘‘SenatorReid
TakesFresh Aim.’ ’
But much of thetime, such phrases
come spilling out without apparent
irony. Candy Crowley,the CNN anchor,
introducedaninterview by highlighting
‘‘ourconversation withN.R.A. point
man Asa Hutchinson.’ ’ Christiane
Amanpour on the same network fea-
turedastory about aTennessee law-
makerknownforsupporting gun rights.
‘‘Sowhy did the N.R.A. take aim at
her?’’ she asked.
After AlexJones, agun rightsadvo-
cate, eruptedduring an interview with
Piers Morgan,the Internet litup.As of
Tuesday,the phrase ‘‘AlexJonesgoes
ballistic’’ drew 357,000 hits onGoogle.
Theuseofgun symbolism has at
timesprovokedcontroversy.AfterRep-
resentative Gabrielle Giffords of Ari-
zona was shot in the head by a gunman
i
n 2011, many criticized Sarah Palin,the
COLOMBO
International panel criticizes
replacement of chief justice
The International Commission ofJu-
rists has condemned the appointment
ofatrusted aideof Sri Lanka’spresi-
dent as the country’s chiefjustice and
urged the governmenttoreinstate the
previous topjudgewhowas firedaftera
highly criticized impeachment process.
The groupdenounced the appoint-
mentof Mohan Peiris, aretiredattorney
generalandalegal adviser to the cabin-
et, saying it ‘‘raisesseriousconcerns
about the futureof the ruleoflaw and
accountability’’ and is ‘‘a furtherassault
on the independenceof the judiciary.’ ’
Mr.Peiris was sworn in beforePresi-
dentMahinda Rajapaksa onTuesday,
two days after Shirani Bandaranayake
was dismissedaschiefjustice aftera
parliamentary committee found her
guilty ofhaving unexplained wealth
and misusing power. She denied the
charges and accused thetribunal ofnot
giving her a fair hearing.
(AP)
NEWDELHI
India and Pakistan recommit
to terms of Kashmir cease-fire
India and Pakistan agreed on Wednes-
day to reducetensions in disputed
Kashmir by strictly observingade-
cade-old cease-fire afterfive soldiers
were killedinrecent clashes, an Indian
Army spokesman said.
The military commanders of the two
armiesspoke by telephone for10
minutes and reachedanunderstanding
not to allow the situation to escalate
further,the spokesman, Col. Jagdeep
Dahiya, said.
Three Pakistani soldiers and two In-
dian soldiers have diedintheworst
bout of fighting in the region sincethe
cease-firewas signedin2003. India said
oneofitssoldiers was beheaded.
(AP)
NEWS ANALYSIS
Jr. promisedideas forresponding to the
massacre, he said hewas ‘‘shooting for
Tuesday’’ — evenashewarned that
therewas ‘‘no silverbullet’’ forstop-
ping gun violence. When President
Barack Obama noted that hewas re-
viewing those ideas, he said on a differ-
enttopic that hewould not negotiate
‘‘withagunatthe head.’ ’
Nowonderit is hard to get rid ofgun
violencewhen Washington cannot even
get rid ofgun vocabulary. Thevernacu-
lar ofguns suffuses the political andme-
dia conversationinways that politicians
and journalistsareoftennot evencon-
scious of,underscoring the historical
power ofguns in theAmerican experi-
ence. Candidates‘‘target’’ their oppo-
nents, lawmakers ‘‘stick to their guns,’ ’
advocacy groups ‘‘take aim’’ at hostile
legislation and reporters write about a
White House ‘‘underfire.’’
Theubiquitousnatureofsuch lan-
guage has causedpeopleonboth sides
of theemotional debate in recentweeks
to take back,orat leastthink twice
about the phrases they use, lesttheyin-
advertently causeoffense in a moment
ofheightenedsensitivity.
‘‘It’s almost second nature,’’ said An-
drew Arulanandam, director ofpublic
affairs for the National RifleAssoci-
ation. ‘‘They’re such mainstream
phrases, you almost have to check your-
self and double-check yourself.’ ’
But it also says something about the
long American romancewithguns and
the nation’sself image.
‘‘All of thattiesinto the frontier tradi-
tion, rugged individualism, a single
American withaflintlock oragun of
some kind holding off the Indians or
fighting off the British,’ ’ said Robert
Spitzer, aguncontrol scholar atthe State
University ofNewYork at Cortland.
WhileMr. Spitzercalled that more
mythology than reality,evenhe found
himself using such referencesinare-
cent speech responding to commentsby
Wayne LaPierre, the N.R.A.’s executive
vice president, after the Sandy Hook
Elementary Schoolattack. ‘‘My opening
linewas, his speech was a misfire;he
missed thetarget,’’ Mr. Spitzerrecalled.
‘‘I liked using the gunmetaphorbecause
Candidates ‘‘target’’ opponents,
lawmakers ‘‘stick to their guns’’
and advocacy groups ‘‘take
aim’’ at hostile legislation.
former vice-presidential nominee, for
using cross hairs onher Website to
identify Democrats likeMs. Giffords
who she said should be defeatedforre-
election.
Gun ontroladvocates likeMr.
Obama and Mr. Biden tend to draw less
criticismwhen they usethe languageof
guns. ‘‘We know thatthere is no silver
bullet,’’ Mr. Biden said lastweekabout
stemming gun violence.
At anewsconferenceon Monday,Mr.
Obama used theterminology offire-
arms as he discussed fiscal talks.
‘‘What I will not do is have that nego-
tiation withagunatthe head of the
American people,’’ he said.
Guncontroladvocates said such
lapsesare not surprising.
‘‘We do it, too,’’ said Mark Glaze, di-
rector of Mayors Against Illegal Guns,
an advocacy groupco-foundedbyMay-
or MichaelR. Bloomberg ofNew York.
‘‘We notice and laugh, and we don’t
think it goes to ourcoremotivations.We
kind ofacceptthatthere’sapieceof us
thatwill always be basedintheOld
West.’’
CORRECTION
•
Anarticleon Wednesday about the
heiress Gigi Pritzker and ‘‘Ender’s
Game,’’ producedbyherstudio, OddLot
Entertainment, misstated the nameof
the protagonist in theOrsonScott Card
novel thatthe film is based on. He is An-
drew Wiggin, known as Ender; his
name is not Ender Wiggin.
•
An obituary onDec.7about Dame
Elisabeth Murdoch,the mother of the
media tycoonRupertMurdoch and the
widow of theAustralian newspaper bar-
onKeith Murdoch, misstated theway
shewas addressedafterherhusband
was knighted. Shewas known as Lady
Murdoch, not Lady Elisabeth.
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