Section A · Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Tuesday, February 24, 1998
Accord may avert drive on Iraq
The Associated Press
TOKYO — Governments around the world reacted with cautious optimism and relief to word Sunday that the United Nations and Baghdad had reached an agreement that could avert a U.S.-led attack against Iraq.
But the Clinton administration said it still had serious questions about the accord and it would await Iraqi actions.
"It's a very serious matter at a serious time, and we want to get some questions answered," said Mike McCurry, White House press secretary.
U. N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan reached the accord Sunday with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, overcoming the last major obstacle for opening presidential palaces to arms inspectors. He signed it yesterday with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz.
The United States had vowed to launch airstrikes if Annan failed to persuade Saddam to open all sites without conditions. The U.S. military has deployed 25,000 troops in the Persian Gulfiregion.
Although a number of countries were optimistic that violence would be averted, some
■ The agreement applies to all sites anywhere in Iraq, including eight disputed presidential sites, which were among areas to which U.N. weapons inspectors previously had been denied access.
joined the United States in saying an agreement that stopped short of opening Iraq completely to arms inspectors would not be acceptable.
"The critical issue is that Sadam Hussein must allow (U.N. inspectors) to have full and unrestricted access to all the
sites in Iraq they want to inspect," said Robin Cook, British Foreign Secretary, "There can be no concessions."
It remained to be seen whether the deal would satisfy the Security Council and whether Iraq would deliver the promises contained in it, Cook
said. British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke with President Clinton for 15 minutes Sunday and planned to speak with him later that night.
U. N. representative Fred Eckhard said Annan thought the agreement would be acceptable to all 15 members of the U.N. Security Council.
France hailed the agreement and took some credit for its role in pushing for a peaceful settlement.
France had "called for a mission by the secretary general and gave him its complete support," Foreign Ministry officials, said.
Elsewhere in Europe, the foreign secretary of the Netherlands, Hans van Mierlo, said he received the news from Baghdad with a sigh of relief, according to a report on Dutch television.
In Arab countries, where opposition to any U.S. strike against Iraq has been strongest, many people were relieved.
"Nobody wants to see a war in which American soldiers are killed or see Iraqi women and children suffer," said Khalid Ramadan, an Egyptian manager at a late night cafe in Bahrain.
Thieves bank on stolen checks
By Ronnie Wachter
Kansan staff writer
One of the most common crimes in Lawrence is forgery, and anyone who has a checkbook can have checks stolen and forged. Lawrence police say.
Once thieves have someone else's checks, they may go on forgery streaks, in which they use several checks during a short time period. When forgeries appear on Lawrence offense reports, the forgeries are usually in groups of four or five checks forged by the same person during the same day.
Lawrence police Sgt. Susan Hadl said the best way for students to avoid having checks stolen was to possess fewer checks.
"Don't order so many checks." Hadi said. She also recommended that students not carry many checks with them and that they keep track of the checks that were not in their immediate possession.
Lawrence resident Eric Scott left his checks unattended in his car for an hour Feb. 6, and when he returned, he found the window smashed and his checkbook stolen.
Scott said he thought forging
checks was an easy form of crime.
"The main thing is that people don't ask for IDs anymore," Scott said. "So, it's a great way for somebody to get something for free."
Scott, who works for Commerce Bank and Trust in Topeka, said that he would not be charged for the checks written in his name because he had reported the theft to his bank.
"The stores the checks are being written at are the ones that lose out because they're the ones who pay for what the thief is buying," he said.
Dennis Gaschler, director of
groceries and purchasing for the Dillons supermarket chain, said that although employees do not ask for IDs at cash registers when customers write checks, employees do check identification at the customer service counter, where checks are cashed.
Hadi said, Scott made the right decision when his checkbook was stolen.
She said. "If you discover that it's been stolen, report it immediately to your bank and the police."
Jim Eckland, Chicago sophomore, picks up a copy of the Kansan from a display stand with a new insert catbox, Eckland was walking yesterday in front of Budig Hall. Photo by Carey Waters/KANSAN
Kansan inserts no longer to be blowing in the wind
By Graham K. Johnson
gjohnson@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Glossy inserts have become a blemish to on-campus beauty and a hassle for many students who read newspapers.
The University Daily Kansan, with the help of the University of Kansas' facilities operation department, has decided to attach recycling bins to Kansan distribution boxes in an attempt to decrease litter.
Readers can place the inserts in the small bins attached to the bottom of the boxes instead of leaving the inserts on the ground.
Ian Maresh, Cottonwood Falls junior, said that inserts have become a frequent and annoying problem.
"I see it all the time," Maresh said. "Kids walk along, open their papers and it falls out. It makes campus look bad."
alleviate the problem.
The bins, one of which is already in place along Sunflower Road in front of Robinson Center, will be installed during the next few weeks, said Tom Eblen, general manager of the Kansas.
Eblen said he hoped the bins would help
"Our hope is that we can encourage students to discard what they don't want in a convenient box, so that it can be picked up and recycled," he said. "The Kansan is trying to be a part of a solution rather than simply creating a problem with discarded inserts."
Student Senate created a special subcommittee to study the Kansan insert issue. Erin Carlson, Beatrice, Neb., sophomore and subcommittee chair, said their immediate goal was to aid in the recycling of the inserts but also to look for a long-term way to replace inserts with an alternative.
Eblen said eliminating the inserts was not feasible because of the importance of inserts to the advertisers who provide about 95 percent of the Kansan's funding.
Maresh said the inserts probably still would end on the ground.
"It's a good idea, but most of the time kids are just grabbing their papers on the run, and people aren't going to take time to sort through and take them out."
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