Post (Athens, Ohio) October 12 2004

              THE POST WEATHER: Mostly sunny, high VtS&E: Bands battle it out at local bar PftiG?E 4 of 70, low of 40 Wednesday: Showers, high of 70 Mixed criticism precedes debate by Nedra Pickler The Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. Bracing for their final debate, John Kerry accused President Bush of favoring "friends in the oil industry" over consumers strapped with rising fuel bills yesterday while Bush said his challenger so misunderstood the war on terror that he thought it could be reduced to "a nuisance" akin to prostitution or illegal gambling. Both candidates campaigned in the West ahead of their third presidential debate, which will take place Wednesday night at the University of Arizona in Tempe. Kerry focused on domestic issues the subject of that debate and criticized Bush and the Republican-led Congress for not doing more to reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil. Bush mixed domestic policy with national security, criticizing Kerry as a tax-and-spend liberal while questioning anew the Democrat's fitness to lead the war against terror. At a rally in Hobbs, N.M., the Republican incumbent ridiculed Kerry for saying in an interview in The New York Times Magazine, "We have to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives, Election cases argued in Ohio by John McCarthy The Associated Press COLUMBUS After the 2000 presidential election mess in Florida, many political watchers predicted that lawyers would take on a larger role in this year's election. They're off to an early start in Ohio. No fewer than five major election cases landed before courts in Ohio all at least one month before the Nov. 2 election. While court challenges of election law are common in the weeks before the election, the number of high-profile cases to reach court is unusual, said Herb Asher, a political scientist at Ohio State University who has followed Ohio elections for more than 30 years. The Ohio Supreme Court has two challenges before it. A constitutional ban on gay marriages that is to go before voters Nov. 2 should be removed, opponents say, because the petitions circulated to collect the signatures to get on the ballot did not include a summary of what the amendment would do. An appeals court has upheld the ballot issue. Backers of independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader have appealed to the high court a ruling by Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell that some petition circulators illegally collected the signatures. The ruling meant Nader's bid fell short of the required 5,000 signatures of registered Ohio voters. Blackwell ruled that some of the circulators were not Ohio residents as required by law and that other signatures were forged. Nader argues that a backlog of voter registration applications prevented boards from confirming valid signatures on all his petitions. Nader's argument isn't strong, said Asher, who emphasized he is not a lawyer. "I think the point Nader is trying to make, something to the effect when they signed it they already were registered, 1 don't think they Shiite forces give up weapons by Alexandra Zavis The Associated Press BAGHDAD, Iraq Shiite fighters in tracksuits and sneakers unloaded cars full of machine guns, mortars and land mines yesterday as a five-day, weapons-for-cash disarmament program kicked off in Baghdad's Sadr City district a sign of progress in the center of Shiite resistance in Iraq. A lasting peace in the sprawling slum would allow U.S. and Iraqi forces to focus on the mounting Sunni insurgency. Underscoring the threat, two American soldiers were killed in a rocket attack in southern Baghdad, and a third U.S. soldier died when a suicide driver exploded a car bomb in front of a U.S. convoy in the northern city of Mosul. U.S. aircraft attacked a mosque in the predominantly Sunni town of Hit and set it on fire after insurgents hiding in the shrine opened fire on American Marines, the U.S. military said. Followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr promised the government last weekend they would hand over medium and heavy weapons for cash in a deal considered an important step toward ending weeks of fighting with U.S. and Iraqi forces in Sadr City. Iraqi police and National Guardsmen will then assume security responsibility for the district, which is home to more than 2 million people. In return, the government has pledged to start releasing al-Sadr followers who have not committed crimes, suspend raids and rebuild the war-ravaged slum. Members of al-Sadr's Mahdi Army started showing up at three designated police stations early yesterday morning, carting bags full of guns and explosives even TNT paste. Many of the weapons appeared old and rusted, but government officials expressed satisfaction with the first day's haul. "Sadr City residents were very responsive, and the process went without any incidents," Interior Ministry spokesman Col. Adnan Abdul- Rahman said. "We hope this will be completed in a comprehensive manner so that reconstruction can start in the city." Security was tight, with numerous checkpoints set up along the way, and Iraqi troops deployed on the rooftops. U.S. soldiers also watched from a distance. Abdul al-Nawaf pulled up in front of al-Habibiya station in a white sedan and started unloading machine guns, mortar shells and grenade launchers. "We have more, but we're waiting to see whether money will be paid or not," the 2&-year-old fighter said. "We also want to see if there will be a trure~— and whether that truce will last." He appeared disappointed when police handed him a receipt and told him to come back later to collect his cash. Militia fighters started arriving in larger numbers once officials turned up with cash to pay them. Rates ranged from $5 for a hand John Moore/ The Associated Press Iraqi security forces carry weapons turned in by militia loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, yesterday. Militia members began turning in weapons and ammunition yesterday as part of a deal with the Iraqi government to end the violence between insurgents and U.S. forces in Sadr City. ‘Superman’ dies after final battle with infection by Jim Fitzgerald The Associated Press MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. "Superman" actor Christopher Reeve, who turned personal tragedy into a public crusade and from his wheelchair became the nation's most recognizable spokesman for spinal cord research, has died. He was 52. Reeve died Sunday of complications from an infection caused by a bedsore. He went into cardiac arrest Saturday, while at his Pound Ridge home, then fell into a coma and died Sunday at a hospital surrounded by his family, his publicist said. His advocacy for stem cell research helped it emerge as a major campaign issue between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry. His name was even mentioned by Kerry during the second presidential debate on Friday. In the last week Reeve had developed a serious systemic infection, a common problem for people living with paralysis who develop bedsores and depend on tubes and other medical devices needed for their care. He entered the hospital Saturday. Dana Reeve thanked her husband's personal staff of nurses and aides, "as well as the millions of fans from around the world." "He put up with a lot," his mother, Barbara Johnson, told the syndicated television show "The Insider." "I'm glad that he is free of all those tubes." Before the 1995 horse-riding accident that caused his paralysis, Reeve's athletic, 6-foot-4-inch frame and love of adventure made him a natural choice for the title role in the first "Superman" movie in 1978. He insisted on performing his own stunts. "Look, I've flown, I've become evil, loved, stopped and turned the world backward, I've faced my peers, I've befriended children and small animals and I've rescued cats from trees," Reeve told the Los Angeles Times "What else is there left for Superman to do that hasn't been done?" Christopher Reeve, advocate for spinal cord research in 1983, just before the release of the third "Superman" movie. "What else is there left for Superman to do that hasn't been done?" Though he owed his fame to it, Reeve made a concerted effort to, as he often put it, "escape the cape." He played an embittered, crippled Vietnam veteran in the 1980 Broadway play "Fifth of July," a lovestruck time-traveler in the 1980 movie "Somewhere in Tune," and an aspiring playwright in the 1982 suspense thriller "Deathtrap." More recent films included John Carpenter's "Village of the Damned," and the HBO movies "Above Suspicion" and "In the Gloaming," which he directed. Among his other film credits are "The Remains of the Day," "The Aviator" and "Morning Glory." Reeve's life changed completely after he broke his neck in May 1995 when he was thrown from his horse during an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Va. Enduring months of therapy to allow him to breathe for longer and longer periods without a respirator, Reeve emerged to lobby Congress for better insurance protection against catastrophic injury. He moved an Academy Award audience to tears with a call for more films about social issues. "Hollywood needs to do more," he said in the 1996 Oscar awards appearance. "Let's continue to take risks. Todd Plitt/ The Associated Press The Superman cape worn by Christopher Reeve in the 1978 movie "Superman" waits to be sold at Sotherby's Auction House in New York in this Dec. 20,1997, file photo. Ihe cape later sold for J17,000. Reeve, the star of the "Superman" movies whose near-fatal riding accident nine years ago turned him into a worldwide advocate for spinal cord research, died Sunday, his publicist said. He was 52. OU alumnus examines corporate crime, criminals by Ashley Ferguson For The Post ashley.ferguson@ohiou.edu Drugs, alcohol, gambling, extramarital affairs and plain old greed all can lead to white-collar crimes, said a speaker in Walter Hall last night. In front of an audience of about 60 Ohio University business students and faculty members, Gary Zeune wrapped up the College of Business' ethics lecture series. Zeune, the founder of Pros & Cons, a white-collar criminal speakers bureau, began his speech by asking the audience, "How many of you consider yourselves to be ethical people?" A number of raised hands soon descended as he continued with, "How many of you have ever downloaded copyrighted material from the Internet, or sped on the highway?" Zeune said many corporate criminals rationalize their behavior just as people rationalize more socially acceptable crimes. He went on to draw from specific cases such as the 1980s incident with ZZZZ Best Carpet Cleaning Company, in which the founder, Barry Minkow, and the CFO, Mark Morze, stole more than $lOO million. He also dissected the case at AAA's Detroit branch, in which the executive director stole over $700,000 for home improvement by modifying paperwork. The average corporate criminal steals about $500,000, Zeune said. In small companies, corporate theft often amounts to about $2O a day per employee, and in large companies, $9 a day, he said. "Listen to the grapevine," Zeune said to the audience, "Most of these things are uncovered by accident." Although Zeune is not an ex-convict, the Pros & Cons speaker's bureau is comprised of several ex-cons who have served prison time for fraud. Speakers are connected with groups who are seeking to learn more about "book-cooking" and theft. According to the Web site www.theprosandthecons.com, more Jake Mecklenborg/ Photo Editor Gary Zeune, founder of Pros & Cons, a whitecollar criminal speakers bureau, lectured yesterday in Walter Hall. Part of the College of Business' ethics lecture series, Zeune stated that the average corporate criminal steals $500,000. see PEACE page 4 see DEBATE page 4 see SUPERMAN page 4 see LAWYERS page 4 see CRIMINAL page 4