The Afghan government and its regional allies
have approached the Taliban and other insurgent groups
to test the possibilities for eventual peace talks,
Western diplomats and Afghan officials here say.
According to officials, the diplomatic
approaches have been stepped up over the last several
months by the Afghan government, as well as by Pakistan
and Saudi Arabia.
They are part of a broad political effort
to stem the downward spiral of violence in Afghanistan
and the steep decline of public support for the
government during a year that has proved to be the
violent of the past seven.
Security has deteriorated to the point that
a growing chorus of Western diplomats, NATO commanders
and Afghans has begun to argue that the insurgency
cannot be defeated solely by military means.
Some officials in Kabul contend that the war against the
insurgents cannot be won and are calling for
negotiations.
According to Western diplomats the
readiness of Saudi Arabia to sponsor talks between the
Taliban and the Afghan government was especially
important.
Some officials fear that without a turnaround in the
security situation, the Afghan government and the
international forces here will not be in a strong
bargaining position.
The next six to seven months, when
fighting traditionally slows in the winter, will be
critical, they said.
Many diplomats, the military and
Afghan officials spoke on
condition of anonymity because
of the delicacy of the
situation.
The US military is preparing to go on the offensive
with insurgents throughout the
winter, and it has requested an
additional 20,000 American
troops in addition to the extra
American brigade arriving in
January, a senior military
commander said.
The hope is to break the stalemate that has been
building with the insurgents in
the south.
Ministers urging a Question 2 defeat
A group of prominent Boston black ministers plan to
send a letter to clergy statewide, urging them to preach
this Sunday against a ballot proposal to decriminalize
the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
They are asking the Massachusetts’ religious leaders to
convince their congregations to vote against Question 2
on Tuesday's ballot, which would make possession of an
ounce of marijuana punishable by a civil fine of $100,
and so would no longer go on a criminal record.
The ministers and other opponents of the
initiative, including the governor, attorney general,
and district attorneys statewide, argue that
decriminalizing marijuana possession would promote drug
use and benefit drug dealers. They warn it would
increase violence and workplace safety hazards and cause
the number of car crashes to rise as more youths drive
under the influence.
Proponents of the initiative, say the
proposed change in the law would maintain the state's
existing penalties for growing, trafficking, or driving
under the influence of marijuana, while protecting those
caught with less than an ounce from being tarnished by
having a criminal record.
The Rev. Eugene Rivers, senior pastor of
the Azusa Christian Community and cofounder of the
Ten Point Coalition, said he supports the initiative
because he thinks it is unfair that someone can legally
smoke a cigarette but can be arrested for smoking
marijuana. He also said that black youths are arrested
disproportionately for possessing small amounts of
marijuana.
"Someone's entire career should not be
destroyed or undermined as a result of a conviction or
an arrest of marijuana - that's ridiculous, unjust, and
irrational," said Rivers. "There's no justification for
such a punitive law, especially when there's a racial
disparity in terms of arrests for drug possession."
HOME TOWN HERO
This issue's hometown hero is your
student body president,
Bailey
Gaffney! She traveled to Iowa to observe the Iowa
Caucus, she wants
to become a lawyer when she graduates, and she
plans to intern at the
Washington Center in Washington D.C. Find out
more!
SPORTS
The Men's and Women's Soccer teams
are back in the postseason. Check out the
preview
as the Ravens begin their quest for a return to the Final Four.
He was a captain and a talented closer for the Franklin
Pierce Baseball team. Now Tyler Bishop
is helping the team in another way: coaching the Junior Varsity
squad.
THE UNITED STATES OF
SHENANIGANS
What
does an 82 year old man and babies
have in common? No, its not that they both wear diapers,
well...maybe, but they are both subject to being in this week's
Really America.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
See what Hal
Sparks had to sayabout Rindge ("Rindge is
beautiful. It's kind of got that Camp Crystal Lake, latent
serial killer vibe, ya know?"), why
American comedy is losing its identity, why he would want to
eat dinner with Nikola Tesla and why he feels you should
"burn the boats at the shore" as he sits down with the
Exchange's own Adam Stahl.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
This is Halloween
As I was
sitting in my dorm browsing the
internet for a unique, yet sexy,
yet still Halloween-themed
costume, I thought to myself,
why? I looked at sailors,
Catholic school uniforms,
witches, cops, even angels, and
I realized it was hard to find a
costume that fitted a woman's
body that was not ultra-skimpy.
Talk to people on a college
campus and they will say
Halloween is a time for women to
dress up in risqué costumes and
men to basically sit back,
relax, put on a team jersey and
take in the view. For children
it is a time to dress up in
crazy, scary and fun costumes
and get a lot of candy. I bet a
lot of us would trade our risqué
costumes for another night to be
six again and be Kimberly the
pink Power Ranger. Yet, even
going door to door asking
"trick-or-treat" is not the
reason why Halloween was
originally celebrated.
According to my favorite
network, The History Channel,
Halloween has ancient origins
with the Celts
and their festival of Samhain
(sow-in). Samhain was the
festival celebrated the night
before the New Year on November
1. This marked the end of the
summer harvest and the beginning
of the cold winter. The Celts believed that the ghosts of the
dead would return to earth for
the last day of the year.
Although they believed that the
ghosts would damage crops, it
was also believed that the
priests would be able to have
psychic, paranormal powers that
day.
To celebrate the predictions of
the future, the priests would
build bonfires so people could
burn crops and make animal
sacrifices. As they were doing
this, people dressed up in
costume, normally animal heads
and skins. This celebration and
ritual ceased when the Romans
conquered the Celts. However, it
was combined with Roman
celebrations, and that is why it
lives on today in a much looser
meaning.
So, next time you see someone
dressed up as a Playboy bunny;
tell them their costume is very
accurate because the Celts
probably sacrificed a rabbit or
two back in the day.
Students are
worried about paying for a university education – some are
even discussing not returning to Pierce in the spring or
next year. At the
American Dream panel on Monday evening, Professor Jed
Donelan said, "Loans are going to be harder to come by. It is
bad for Franklin Pierce. It is bad for all of us." Student
Financial Services and a local banker said student loans will
not be affected in coming years, but students still raised
concerns.
Students are worried that the loans
they count on to attend college could potentially disappear.
"I'm patiently
waiting for the lowering of prices to help fix what
it seems to be in a hole in my pocket," said junior Alec Cambio.
Franklin Pierce seniors along with millions of other
willbe looking to start their careers in May, but
there may not be jobs be
for them.
CAMPUS NEWS
What's going on around campus:
Granite Hall fails a safety test when Campus Safety
officer Stuart Mitchell, who was dressed as a “suspicious”
person, was let into the building with the
help of 3 students and a propped door.
99 students
attended the on-campus voting registration last week in the
glass foyer.
FoxNews.com said, “As
Election Day quickly approaches, polls indicate that
youth
voters may have an unprecedented impact on the
presidential race."
“It’s a
life changing experience, it’s time to help people,” said
junior Evan Goyette of his time in New Orleans helping rebuild
from Hurricane Katrina. For a third year,
Agape will
spend Spring Break in New Orleans, providing
community service.
The
Fitzwater Center’s YouTube channel has attracted the interest of
the satellite television network HDNet. Student
journalists will be creating news reports about New Hampshire on
Election Night to be aired on the network’s“Dan
Rather Reports."
"It's not that
I have a problem with other groups using venues…but
it seems
like we aren't as important," said Marabeth Farmer,
Director of Community Service. Reality Check says they
are having trouble finding a rehearsal space that fits their
needs.
News Briefs:
On Sunday Afternoon the Franklin Pierce
men's rugby team will face off against Bryant University in
the semi-finals of the Division 3 Plate Playoffs. Coming
off a 27-10 win at Trinity College last Saturday, the Ravens
will try to make it to the championship game
for the first time in club history. The winner of this game
will go on to face the winner of the UMass-Lowell/ University of
Hartford game.
The Wensberg Writing Center will no
longer be open for tutoring on Saturdays.
On Wednesday October 29th, the New England
Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) presented its
exit report to the public for the first time. Their visit
was aimed at evaluating how well the university meets its standards. For more
information about the findings, there is a Q&A
session with President Hagerty on Friday, October 31st
from 2:30-3:30 p.m, in Pierce Hall. (Reported by Kristin
Carbone)
On Sunday,
October 26th, eight student volunteers participated
in the Eco Club’s Roadside Clean-up event to pick up
trash in the wooded area of Ingall’s Road. Though this is
one of the first events this year by the Eco Club, they are
expecting a better turnout as the year goes on. The Eco
Club meets Mondays at 6:00 in Marcucella Room 119.
(Reported by Kait Taylor)
Election Day, which is on Tuesday November 4th, will
feature shuttle buses running throughout the entire day;
transporting students to the town’s voting booths so they
may participate. (Reported by Amanda Panaro)
The health
clinic is offering the flu shot to students at a lower
price than last year, now through the end of December. Last
year’s price was $20, and at $15 this year, it’s the lowest
it has ever been on campus. There has been a better turn
out this year than last year for the shots. (Reported by
Sheila Marie Vargas)
Wind toppled
a tree on Mountain Road, cutting two of the three electrical
wires causing most of the campus to lose power for two
hours on Saturday, October 25th. “Sudden losses of power like
this one, caused by the weather conditions are completely
unpredictable," said Director of Facilities Doug Lear. (Reported
by Snezana Stojkovic)
SENIOR PROFILE
Senior
Audra Clark talks about her childhood, love for
Mother Earth and being an actual Irish Pagan Princess.
WEEKEND'S BEST BETS
1.) Roots of Creation and Adeem are
playing a Halloween show on Friday at the Colonial Theatre
in Keene. Tickets are $20 and the show starts at
7:00 p.m.. Hear some crunchy jams from some of
Franklin Pierce's own alumni.
2.) On Friday, The Sunflower Cafe, in
Fitzwilliam, is hosting 20TH
CENTURY POPS, American "Hit
Parade" from 1920 to 1970. Halloween costumes are
encouraged! The performance starts at 6:00 p.m..
3.)Frankie P
Fridays is having Halloween fun beginning at 3:00 p.m.
in the Campus Center.
4.)
Get
spooked at Nightmare New England, in Manchester, New
Hampshire on Friday and Saturday from
6:30-11:00 p.m.. General admission is $24.99.
5.) The Men's Rugby Team is playing
an away game at Bryant starting at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday.
HEALTH AWARENESS
The Placebo Effect
A study
conducted by the British Medical Journal has created debate on what
exactly a placebo is, and would a patient actually benefit from the
use of one.
Dr. Ezekiel Emmanuel, one of the study authors and director of
the department of bioethics at the National Institute of Health,
says, “It’s unethical for a doctor to suggest a medication that
hasn’t been proven to work." However, other doctors state that it is
sometimes beneficial to prescribe something that hasn’t been shown
to work in studies, as long as it’s not harmful, according to the
Associated Press.
Doctors who prescribe a vitamin, aspirin or some other
pill knowing that it will not cure the patient justify what they do,
saying it could have a
psychological effect not yet found in studies or that it will have a
“placebo effect," meaning you will think that you are better when in
reality it is simply the confidence within oneself to “feel" better.
