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Chavez holds slim lead in bid to retain power in Venezuela
CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuelan Pres. Hugo Chavez appeared to hold a narrow lead on the eve of a referendum on whether to remove term limits and permit Chavez, who’s been president for 10 years, to seek re-election in 2012 and beyond.
The latest polls, which by law can’t be made public this close to the election, give the president a slight advantage in his bid to remain in power indefinitely. Venezuelans narrowly defeated his first attempt to scrap term limits in December 2007.
The Sunday referendum is being closely watched in Washington and throughout Latin America because Chavez is an ally of Cuba, leads an anti-America bloc of countries and has said that he needs to remain president for at least another decade to carry out what he calls “21st century socialism.”
In Afghanistan, U.S. troops fight public attitude as well as militants
KALAGU, Afghanistan – Sgt. Corey Tack guns the engine of the 18-ton armored truck up a snow-streaked, gravelly hill. He parks on a spot with a commanding view of the valley between white, jagged mountains. Sgt. Oscar Macias opens the 400-pound back door and jumps out.
Facing a night of midteen temperatures and heavy frost, the soldiers start digging holes for their sleeping bags.
“A mortar hits in the middle here, bang, we’re all dead,” said Macias, from Rio Hondo, Texas. “But if it hits over there, you’ll be in a hole and the shrapnel will go over your head.”
The confident, weather-burned faces of these soldiers tell a story.
They’re battle-tested and undefeated. They sense the enemy knows and avoids their truck with its red-and-white banners that read “Hooligans.”
But they also know they are not winning the battle against insurgents in Afghanistan.
“When I first rolled in, it was kill everybody and everything,” Macias said.
“Even if you do take their leaders out, there’s always somebody else to replace them,” Macias said.
These Cavalry Scouts say there aren’t enough American troops here to cover a country the size of Texas. They know their enemies roam unchecked across much of the bleak high plains. They know the enemy is winning on the information front, spreading propaganda about U.S. soldiers smashing down doors in the middle of the night to rape, pillage and murder.
National
Burris faces questions over conversations with Blagojevich allies
CHICAGO -Sen. Roland Burris tried Sunday to quell new questions about his controversial appointment, insisting he shouldn’t be blamed for only recently detailing his conversations about the job with five close associates of disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Burris, D-Ill., said he didn’t provide a full explanation because nobody pressed the point during his sworn testimony last month to House lawmakers who impeached Blagojevich. He accused Republicans of playing politics by calling for an investigation into whether he committed perjury and even asking for his resignation.
Farmers harness manure’s gases to generate power
DODGE, Neb. -Where others see simply manure, Danny Kluthe smells money.
Long before President Barack Obama promised the country that “we will harness the sun and the winds and the soil,” Kluthe already had yoked the power of pig poop.
Manure from his hogs drains as a slurry into a giant vat. It is stirred and warmed. A virtually odorless liquid, ideal for fertilizing surrounding fields that, in turn, feed more pigs, emerges from the giant digester.
Local/BSU
Boise convenience store is robbed
BOISE – Boise police search for a suspect in a robbery of a convenience store Saturday night, Feb. 14.
At approximately 11:30 p.m. a masked man approached a store employee in front of the Maverick store in the 4600 block of Federal Way, according to reports. After forcing the employee into the store, the suspect took an undisclosed amount of money from the cash register and the safe. Police say the suspect did not display a weapon. Witnesses say the suspect then ran from the store to the east.
The employee was not harmed during the robbery.
The suspect is described as a white man in his 20s, about 5 feet 10 inches tall and 170 pounds. He wore a black hooded sweatshirt, navy blue ski mask, purple latex gloves, blue jeans and running shoes.
Speakers win again
The Boise State University speech and debate team placed first in individual event sweepstakes recently at the Gorlok Gala Forensics Tournament, hosted by Webster University in St. Louis and typically one of the largest speech and debate tournaments in the nation.
Boise State captured four of the top six places in pentathlon – a category designed to recognize the top overall speakers at the tournament. Aaron Olson (sophomore, Bremerton, Washington) was named the top individual speaker at the tournament. His top finish was followed closely by Kate Henry (junior, Coeur d’Alene) who was the third overall speaker, Regan Charlton (junior, Inkom) who was the fourth overall speaker, and Ben Bishop (senior, Meridian) who earned a sixth-place finish in overall speaker awards.
“We as a coaching staff were very proud that each of our students contributed to our first-place finish in individual events,” said David Baily, director of forensics and an assistant professor of communication at Boise State. “We still have a lot of work to do before PKD Nationals, but this was a good start to the second half of the season.”
What the?
Can’t you see I’m in here?
Responding to a complaint of a loud party, police entered an apartment in Helena, Mont., to quiet things down. One cop heard the unmistakable sounds of vomiting coming from the bathroom, and went in there to find an 18-year-old girl throwing up. He used this fact to get the teen convicted of underage drinking.
But the Montana Supreme Court overturned it saying the officer had no right to
violate her privacy.
Think you can intimidate me?
A Minneapolis firefighter was fired for taking too many sick days. He fought for a year-and-a-half to get his job back, and was finally reinstated with 18 months back pay.
On the day he was to return to work, he called in sick.
COMPILED BY ARBITER STAFF
