xt7vdn3zwk8x https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7vdn3zwk8x/data/mets.xml The Kentucky Kernel Kentucky -- Lexington The Kentucky Kernel 2006-02-27 Earlier Titles: Idea of University of Kentucky, The State College Cadet newspapers  English   Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. The Kentucky Kernel  The Kentucky Kernel, February 27, 2006 text The Kentucky Kernel, February 27, 2006 2006 2006-02-27 2020 true xt7vdn3zwk8x section xt7vdn3zwk8x THE

NEW

exam a makeover PAGE 3

Testing officials give standard graduate school

Kentuc

PHOTO

UK's fraternities and sororities raise money by
swingin' and singin' at Greek Sing PAGE 6

 

Monday, February 27, 2006

y Ke rnel

Celebrating 35 years of independence

www.kykernel.com

Volunteer creates Web site blasting student radio station

WRFL leaders question truth
behind student's allegations

8y Deriush Shafa
THE xrurum mm

A UK student has started a Web site
that raises questions about the manage
ment, staff and equipment quality at
UK’ s campus radio station, WRFL- FM
—— but the station’s managers and advis—
ers say the site is loaded with inaccura-

cies.

Mark Kidd, an English senior who
until Saturday was an applicant to be
WRFL’s general manager next year,
started the site wwwfreerfl. net as a
means to make public his concerns

about the radio station.

Kidd withdrew himself from the
pool of applicants but continues to raise

questions about the selection process for
WRFL’s general manager, among other

things

“I am building a Web site
that centers on providing ac-
cess to the documents and
printed statements that has
led me to my conclusion,"
Kidd said. “I would like to fa-
cilitate discussion over what
the role of WRFL is supposed
to be.”

John Clark, WRFL’s facul-
ty adviser and a telecommuni-
cations professor, said infor-
mation on the site' 13 incorrect
and that he and others have
been misquoted.

it's an
application
process
designed to
exclude me
anyway."

Mark Kidd

English senior

context and used for his own aims.“
“His allegations of a culture of si-

lence and allegations of a
misuse of funds are flatly un-
true,” Clark said.

The general manager se-
lection process was a con-
tentious aspect of WRFL for
Kidd.

“He (General Manager
and political science senior
John Edwards) was just cho-
sen by one of his best friends
to be GM,” Kidd said. “I can’t
run for GM the way it’s set up
now because I'm not any-
body’s friend there. .As it is
now, it’ s an application

Clark referenced a column he co- process designed to exclude me any-

wrote last year in The Kernel about
WRFL and said there are certain com-

way.”

merits Kidd “seized upon and took out of

Edwards explained that the selection

See WRFL on page 2

 

WRFL delays

By Dariush Shafa
m: xmucxv xEnNrL

UK’s student-run radio
station, WRFL-FM, is delay-
ing the selection of its gen-
eral manager for next year
in the wake of some changes
that have been made to the
station’s constitution.

The selection process is
on hold until General Man-
ager and political science se-
nior John Edwards has a
chance to discuss the
changes at the weekly meet-
ing of staff directors. held
on Monday nights.

GM selection

The decision was previ~
ously scheduled to be made
tonight.

“The whole delay is to al-
low the staff to comment on
the changes to the constitu-
tion," Edwards said. At
tonight‘s meeting, the direc-
tors will set a new date to
pick next year's general
manager.

Edwards amended a sec-
tion of the constitution that
covers the process which
will name Edwards” succes-
sor.

See Selection on page 2

 

B__y Chris DeLoteil
m: «rurucxv KERNEL

After watching her team
play a lackadaisical first half
in its regular season finale
yesterday against Alabama.
UK head coach Mickie
DeMoss marched into the
locker room at halftime and
delivered a simple message.

“I just challenged them
to play for 20 minutes,”
DeMoss said. “They had to
find the energy and inspira-
tion to earn it."

Jenny Pfeiffer provided
the energy, notching a ca-
reer-high in points
and hitting five 3-
pointers — includ-

UK 80, ALABAMA 60

Cats roll Tide, clinch tourney bye

earned a bye since the
tournament expanded to
its current 12 team format

in 1991.

“We knew we had it
within ourselves," Pfeiffer

said.

“Coming into this

season, we knew we could
finish at the top (of the

league)."

It is unlikely, however,
that the Cats would have
gotten the bye without the
outside shooting of Pfeif-
fer. She poured in a career-
high 29 points. going six-
for-12 on 3-pointers despite

“When you're

ing two long- range a Shooter,

bombs. Sarah El-

liott served as the YOU keep

inspiration, as she
poured in 12 points
in the paint in the
second half to lead
the Cats (20-7. 9-5
Southeastern Con-
ference) to an 80-60
victory over Al-
abama (9-18, 3-11
SEC).

With the win,
UK finished fourth
in the Southeast-
ern Conference
standings and
earned a first-round bye in
the SEC Tournament, which
begins Thursday in North
Little Rock, Ark.

“It’s huge,” DeMoss said
of the bye. “It’s such a gruel-
ing tournament, and it’s im~
portant to give yourself that
extra day of rest."

The win completed a sur—
prising regular season for
the Cats.

The team was picked in
the pre-season to finish
ninth in the league. Instead,
their 20 wins were the most
since the 1998-99 season;
UK’s nine SEC wins are the
most in school history. It is
the first time the Cats have

Jenny

shooting.
Those things
don't faze

Pfeiffer."

Mickie DeMoss

head coach

UK women's basketball

“You

airballing her
first two at-
tempts.

“That’s that
shooter’s men-
tality," DeMoss
said. “When
you're a shooter.
you keep shoot-
ing. They can't
go in if you
don’t shoot ’em.

“ T h o s e
things don’t faze
Jenny Pfeiffer”

Even with
her early strug-
gles, Pfeiffer
said her confi-
dence never wa-
vered.
can’t think like

that." she said. “Thankful-
ly. I got back on track.“

While

shooting

prowess certainly played a
role in Pfeiffer‘s success,
she also benefited from

was she called

luck."

“sheer r

After Alabama’s Kate
Mastin hit a 3-pointer with
11 minutes to play in the
second half _ bringing

the

Tide

within four

points of UK at 48-44 —
Pfeiffer launched a three
from about 24 feet away It
hit the front of the rim

and bounced high up in

 

 

Grad students
protest war

By Blair Thomas

THE KENTUCKY KKRNEL

A group of graduate stu-
dents led a protest against
the Iraq War Friday in front
of the Patterson Office Tow-
er.

The students. who repre-
sent the Committee for
Democracy and Social
Change, voiced their opin-
ions to students who passed
the tower late in the morn—
ing.

Michael Marchman.
Brandon Absher and Car-
rett Graddy each spoke out
against the war and the ad
ministration of President
George W. Bush during the
protest. which lasted about
20 minutes.

“People live their lives
and don‘t even think that
something is happening."
said Absher. a philosophy
graduate student. "This
cause is about creating an
open dialogue. a nature to

constantly question and to
be exposed to our world and
its problems.”

The Committee for
Democracy and Social
Change is an organization
made up of graduate and
undergraduate students on
campus who serve as an
anti-war voice. The group is
networked to other anti-war
campus groups as well as a
part of a nationwide move-
ment to end the war in Iraq.
Absher said.

The protesters blamed
Bush of “transfusing blood
for fuel." and asked students
who stopped to listen what
they believed were the costs
of war.

"War on terror" is an
overused term." said tirad-
dy. a geography graduate
student. “lt is a seliiultillmg
prophecy that is creating vi
olence.”

Some who gathered to

See Protest on page 2

ti‘i‘Hi H‘

in“

 

See Cats on page 2

mm] STAFF

UK guard Jenny Pfeiffer shoots over Alabama's Harriet Barnes yesterday.

War protesters speak out in front of Patterson Office Tower on Friday.

 

 

A LIIILE LOlllSlANA IN LEXINGTON

Dancers perform In
the streets of down-
town Lexington during
the city's annual
Mardi Gras parade

' ' "='*~ww-w....m

 

Saturday.

The parade was spon-
sored by Mecca dance
studio and the Lexing-
ton Actions Arts Col-
lective.

WWI
STAFF

MORE PHOTOS.
PAGE 4

 

 

Police arrest community college
student on child porn charges

By Megan Boehnke
THE xENrucxv mm

A Bluegrass Community
and Technical College student
was arrested Wednesday after
sending child pornog-
raphy tiles to an un-
dercover FBI agent
over the Internet.

Matthew King, 20.
pleaded not guilty
Thursday to seven
counts of distribution
of matter portraying
sex performance by a
minor. a class D
felony punishable by
one to five years in prison.
King was also arrested on
charges of one count of pos-
session of marijuana and one
count of possession of drug
paraphernalia.

His preliminary court date

is set for March 9.

King was taken to the Lex-
ington-Fayette County Deten-
tion Center and posted bond
Thursday by putting up prop-
erty in lieu of paying his

310.200 bond in cash.

An FBI agent re-
ceived video files
transmitted by King
and presented the evi-
dence to the Lexington
police, said Lt. John
Gensheimer of the
Lexington police.

The individuals on
the video files ranged
in age from toddlers to

teenagers. Gensheimer said.

“Let's just say there is a
variety of ages from very
young to some that were ques-
tionable as to whether or not
they were minors," he said.

Gensheimer declined to

comment on the FBI commu
nication between the two and
the means by which the FBI
agent came into contact with
King.

Lexington police searched
King's home on Otter (‘reek
Drive after they arrested him
at that location. where he
lives with his parents, Gen-
sheimer said. There. officers
took King's computer and oth-
er materials that could mean
more trouble for King, he
said.

“We received a lot of com-
puter equipment that we are
going through right now and
it may or may not lead to addi-
tional charges." Gensheimer
said.

E-mail
mboehnketwkykernelcom

 

 m: 2 | Monday. Feb. 27. 2006

WRFL

Continued from page I

 

process does not work that
way and he has since changed
WRFL’s constitution to make
it fairer. Before, a board con-
sisting of the general manag-
er, three outgoing (graduat-
ing) staff directors, one gener-
al staff member and one out-
side student organization
member would vote. The uni-
versity adviser, Chris
Thuringer, would also be pre
sent as a non-voting member.

“He seems to have a real
misunderstanding of the way
things work at WRFL" Clark
said of Kidd.

Edwards' changes remove
him from the voting and add
himself and Clark to the non-
voting advisory panel.

Edwards said he, other
WRFL staff and university of-
ficials have tried to work ex-
tensively with Kidd, but Ed-
wards said he still isn’t sure
what Kidd is after.

“We’ve spent well over 20
hours in the past couple
weeks and nothing’s good
enough," Edwards said. “A lot
of the time we have spent
with him we have to tell
him ‘No, we are doing things
correctly.‘ and he’s been very

adversarial and combative
and we have to give him proof
that we are doing things the
correct way.”

Edwards said he also does-
n’t appreciate that instead of
going to him first, Kidd ap
proached other student orga-
nizations and media outlets
with his concerns.

“I truly wish he would
voice his unhappiness to me
first so that I could accommo
date him," Edwards said.

Clark also said that no one
else has ever come forward
with allegations like these
and since the station was cre
ated in 1988, no one has ever
filed a complaint with the
Federal Communications
Commission and WRFL has
never failed in the process to
renew its license.

“He’s a minority of one,"
Clark said, adding that he be-
lieves Kidd withdrew after
support from other WRFL
staffers for his bid at general
manager failed to material:
ize.”I cannot understand his
motivation in this at all.

“I think he’s more inter-
ested in himself than in the
interests of the station,"
Clark said.

E-mail
news(wkykernel.com

STAFF WRITER SEAN ROSE
CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT

 

Selection

Continued from page i

 

The changes remove Ed-
wards as a voting member of
the committee and add him
and journalism professor
and faculty adviser John
Clark to the non-voting pan-
el that advises the commit-
tee.

The changes came in the
wake of allegations of un-
fairness in the process that

chooses the general manag-
er, which were made by
WRFL student volunteer
and English senior Mark
Kidd. who was an applicant
for the position until he for-
mally withdrew from the
process Saturday.

“(It’s) just like any other
meeting," Edwards said.

“At each meeting there’s
topics and we‘ll give each
one equal and fair consider-
ation.“

E—mail
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Monday, Feb. 27. zoosl PAGE 3

    

 

By Walter Smith
111! stratum xtnuu

Most students typically
don’t find the Graduate
Record Exam that enjoyable.
But by next fall, that test
Won’t look like it used to.

By the fall of 2007, gradu-
ate school applicants will
face a longer and more ex-
pensive entrance exam. The
GRE will be undergoing ma-
jor changes that intend to
better predict grad students’
success. The GRE is a com-
mon factor that many gradu-
ate schools use in their ad-
missions processes.

The changes were sched-
uled to take effect this Octo-
ber. but were pushed back for
another year by Educational
Testing Service. the company
that makes the exam.

The test will be have a

new format for both the math
and verbal sections, and now,
admissions officials will be
able to see applicants’ essays
as well.

“They hope this new test
will be a better predictor of
graduate school skills. like
critical thinking and com-
plex reasoning,” said Matt
Fidler, GRE program manag-
er for Kaplan Test Prep and
Admissions.

Currently, the GRE is a
two-and-a-half hour test giv-
en almost every day, but it
will be lengthened to four
hours and will be adminis-
tered about 30 times a year.
The cost to take the exam
will increase from its current
level of $115. although the
test maker has not yet an-
nounced the new price.

Previously, students had
to answer random questions

from a large pool of possible
inquiries. Now, each test ses-
sion will be completely
unique. which test makers
hope will reduce cheating.

The new verbal sections
will eliminate analogies and
antonyms and will now be
based on critical reading.
The math sections will also
change, relying less on geom-
etry problems and will gauge
student’s ability to solve
math word problems.

“The test isn’t purposely
more difficult, it just relies
on a question type that is
more like a word problem."
Fidler said.

Fidler encouraged stu-
dents who have adequate
time to prepare to take the
current exam before it
changes

“We' re seeing a lots of
people trying to register to

   

GRE gets a new look for 2007

take the test
changes.” he said.

Fidler said scoring well
on the exam can be a critical
factor to gaining entry into
graduate school.

“Doing well on the GRE is
one of the things applicants
can do to put themselves
ahead of the pack," Fidler
said.

The goal of all the
changes is to give graduate
school officials a more com-
plete picture of a student’s
ability by making the test
more rigorous.

“The whole point of the
exam is to measure students
ability to succeed in gradu-
ate school," Fidler said.

before it

E—mail
news(w}rykernel.com

 

States fight over ‘morning-after pill'

More than 60 bills have been filed
to regulate emergency contraceptive

By Marc Kaufman
THE WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON a, Filling
a void left by the Food and
Drug Administration’s in-
ability to decide whether to
make the “morning-after
pill" available without a pre-
scription. virtually every
state is now wrestling with
legislation that would either
expand or restrict access to
the drug.

More than 60 bills have
been filed in state legisla-
tures already this

to women with valid pre-
scriptions.

“The FDA made this a
major issue for state legisla-
tures," said Sharon Camp.
president of the Guttmacher
Institute, a women‘s health
research organization. “For
the first seven years Plan B
was on the market. this large-
ly didn't happen."

“Basically. every state
now has an effort going to ei-
ther make Plan B more easily
available or to slow it down
or make sure that pharma-

cists don't have to

82.? area; “Basica'lvv 31:22:53,311?
assassin everv state ministries;
éiifffgi°3£§wfg W “as .3" m
9"?” °°'"° we
p111" thatvinilalgility to either 3333a $331913?
map 3 0° sm‘ make Plan B 01311395-

creasingly similar
to the Red
State/Blue State
map of the past two
presidential elec-
tions A with in-
creased access in
the blue states and
greater restrictions
in the red ones.
Many of the
state bills intended
to expand access

give specially
trained pharma-
cists in states including

Maryland. New York. Ken-
tucky and Illinois the right to
dispense emergency contra-
ception without a prescrip-
tion. Other bills require
pharmacies to stock and dis-
tribute the drug. and to en-
sure that the pill is made
available to women who
come into emergency rooms
after a sexual assault.

But some bills would
make it more difficult for
many women to get emer-
gency contraception. which
is effective for only the 72
hours after a woman experi-
ences a contraceptive failure
or unprotected sex. Legisla-
tion in New Hampshire. for
instance. would require
parental notification before
the drug is dispensed. and
more than 20 other states will
consider bills that give phar-
macies the right to not stock
the drug and pharmacists the
right to not dispense it. even

more easily
available or to
slow it down

Edward Martin
on proposed legislation regulating
emergency contraception

The makers of
the morning-after
pill. known com-
mercially as Plan
B. asked the FDA
for the right to sell
the drug over the
counter in April
2003. four years af-
ter it was approved
for use. The
agency’s staff and
an advisory panel
strongly favored
the application. saying un-
protected sex often occurs
when it‘s difficult to get a
doctor’s prescription. They
said easier and faster access
to the drug would reduce the
number of abortions.

But the FDA leadership
first rejected and then de-
ferred decision on the pro-
posal. The agency has raised
scientific and regulatory ob—
jections. but critics have
pointed to the strong opposi-
tion from some social conser-
vatives and anti-abortion
groups. who have lobbied the
White House and Congress to
make their position known.
Plan B is officially listed as a
contraceptive. and the med-
ical community generally
agrees that it stops 3 preg—
nancy from occurring rather
than ending one. But many
in the right-to—life movement
say it amounts to a very early
abortion.

The FDA‘s inaction on
Plan B has been sharply criti-

cized by most major medical
societies and many in Con-
gress. and led to a lawsuit by
the Center for Reproductive
Rights in New York. The fed-
eral magistrate judge hear-
ing the case on Friday con-
cluded that the center had es-
tablished a “strong prelimi-
nary showing of ‘bad faith or
misbehavior‘ “ on the part of
FDA officials. and so ordered
the case to go forward and
ruled that top current and
past FDA leaders should be
interviewed under oath.

With the application in
regulatory limbo. a growing
number of states have passed
bills that allow pharmacists
working in conjunction with
doctors to dispense Plan B to
women who don’t have a pre-
scription .__ with Maine. New
Hampshire. Massachusetts.
New Mexico and California
acting most recently The
Massachusetts bill was
passed last year over Republi-
can Gov. Mitt Romney‘s veto.

“I think it’s a tide that
can’t be stopped.“ said Vivion
Maisenbacher. who directs 15
lobbyists for Barr Laborato-
ries. the company that makes
the drug. “I think we'll see a
state or two each year joining
the ranks. and will soon have
a majority of women having
access through pharmacies."

The company has found
that extensive publicity
about the drug has increased
sales dramatically up
more than 200 percent since
the FDA first turned down
the application for over-the-
counter status in early 2001.

The effort to expand use
of emergency contraception
began well before Barr Labs
made its applications to the
FDA. As early as 1998. phar-
macists conducting a study
in Washington state began
giving double doses of tradi-
tional contraceptives to
women who had just engaged
in unprotected sex and were
worried about becoming
pregnant.

Study leader Donald F.
Downing. a University of
Washington pharmacy pro~
fessor, said the druggists
found a “huge unmet need."
Downing helped establish a
protocol in his state that al-
lows pharmacists to give
women emergency contra-
ception. in the same way that
pharmacists in some states
can distribute emergency
drugs for bee stings.

“What we've consistently

found is that there‘s enor-
mous interest among phar-
macists in doing this. and
there are thousands and
thousands of women who
need this service." he said.
The FDA has not interfered
in the practice because while
it alone can decide which
drugs need a prescription.
states have the right to deter-
mine what constitutes a valid
prescription.

Other Plan B advocates
have pushed to require hospi-
tal emergency rooms to stock
and dispense emergency con-
traceptives to sexual assault
victims 7 a proposal op-
posed by Catholic hospitals
,_ and to require pharmacies
that carry traditional contra-
ceptives to carry emergency
contraceptives as well.

While proponents are
achieving some success in
the more Democratic “blue
states." their efforts have not
been as well received in Re—
publican “red states“ —- and
Barr’s lobbyist said the com»
pany spends little time push-
ing legislation in those more
conservative states. The di-
rector of the Kentucky Right
to Life Association said a
Plan B pharmacy access hill
introduced this year is not
expected to succeed.

“We‘re confident that our
legislature will not approve
the bill because we are
strongly pro-life here.“ said
Margie Montgomery. “Doc-
tors tell us that Plan B can
cause a very early abortion.
and we oppose that."

The primary opposition
to Plan B has come from
groups that contend that it
can lead to very early abor-
tions though experts say it
acts in the same way as regu-
lar contraceptives. Efforts by
anti-abortion groups led to
the passage last year of a
Texas bill that eliminated the
drug from a demonstration
family planning program.
and to an Arkansas bill that
kept emergency contracep-
tion off a list of protected
contraceptives.

Jackie Payne of Planned
Parenthood accused Plan B
opponents in the states of
mounting “an active attempt
to blur the line and confuse
people about emergency con-
traception saying it's abor-
tion when it's not. Our job is
to explain how emergency
contraception avoids later
abortions, and is in fact a
win-win for everyone."

 

NEWS BRIEFS

 

flown” ”with”

WASHINGTON — The
Supreme Court will take
up states’ rights — of both
the blue- and red-state vari-
ety — in a pair of election
law cases to be heard this
week that could have major
effects on the future of
American politics.

Tiny Vermont. a true
blue state, hopes to restore
small-town democracy by
greatly limiting the role of
money in politics. If its
new spending caps win be-
fore the high court, they
could change how cam-
paigns are conducted
across the nation.

Meanwhile, Texas. the
biggest of the red states. is
defending its right to re-
draw its electoral districts
to give its GOP majority
more seats in Congress. If
its extraordinary mid-
decade shift wins in the
high court. other states
have signaled they will do
the same.

The pair of cases will
also give strong clues about
the court’s newest mem-
bers, Chief Justice John G.
Roberts and Justice
Samuel A. Alito.

In the Vermont case.
Republicans say the free-
speech principle in the
First Amendment is funda-
mental to American poli-
tics. and that any govern-
ment-enforced limit on
campaign spending is un-
constitutional.

Three years ago. the
Supreme Court narrowly
upheld the McCain-Fein-
gold Act. which barred big
contributions to political
parties. Justice Sandra Day
O’Connor cast a deciding
fifth vote to reject the legal
challenge led by Republi-
can Sen. Mitch McConnell
of Kentucky.

Justices Antonin
Scalia. Clarence Thomas
and Anthony M. Kennedy
voted to strike down these
contribution limits on
First Amendment grounds.
If Roberts and Alito agree
with them. the court could
rule that contribution lim-
its. as well as spending lim-
its. are unconstitutional.

ActorDonKnottsdeadatBl

Don Knotts. the rail-
thin comic actor who was
perhaps best known to mil-
lions of television viewers

 

as the bungling Deputy
Sheriff Barney Fife in
“The Andy Griffith Show"
and the squirrely landlord
l in “Three‘s Company.” died
of lung cancer Feb. 24 at
Cedars—Sinai Medical Cen-
ter in 1.05 Angeles. He was
81.
Knotts.
, played high-strung charac-
i ters. won five Emmys for

who often

Best Supporting Actor in
the 1960s as the swaggering
1 but hapless Fife. Knotts de-
veloped the idea of the
l deputy sheriff when he
, heard that Andy Griffith.
t with whom he had worked
1 in the play “No Time for
’ Sergeants." was putting to-
gether a TV pilot set in the
fictional North Carolina
town of Mayberry.

The series was a huge
success when it aired. from
1960 to 1968. consistently
ranking in the top 10 of the
J Nielsen ratings.

l

Iran, Russia reach nuclear
agreement

MOSCOW — The head
of Iran’s Atomic Energy
Organization said Sunday
that his country had
agreed in principle to set
up a joint uranium enrich-
ment project with Russia, a
potential breakthrough in
efforts to prevent an inter-
national confrontation
over Iran’s nuclear ambi-
tions.

Among the outstanding
issues is whether Iran will
continue the small-scale
uranium enrichment it be-
gan earlier this month, a
source of growing interna-
tional concern.

If Iran does agree to
shift enrichment to Russia,
Iran would cede control of
a key element in the nu-
clear fuel cycle and ease
suspicions that it could se-
cretly produce uranium
suitable for nuclear
weapons.

A deal would also head
off punitive action by the
UN. Security Council after
a meeting of the Interna-

tional Atomic Energy
Agency in Vienna next
Monday.

Thousands demand Thai
prime minister resign

BANGKOK. Thailand
—— Tens of thousands of
protesters waving Thai
flags and holding signs
that read. “Give back our
country." rallied Sunday to
demand the resignation of
Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra, who has been
accused of corruption and
abuse of power.

The protesters. who in-
cluded busloads of Bud‘
dhist monks and nuns.
turned out despite
Thaksin’s surprise move
Friday to dissolve parlia-
ment and call snap elec-
tions for April 2. Analysts
had expected his move
would help deflate the op-
positions campaign to oust
him.

“Thaksin is the nation‘s
problem!" hollered Sondhi
Limthongkul. a media
magnate and prominent
Thaksin critic. addressing
the crowd frotn a giant
stage. His television talk
show was forced off the air
in September. and he
mounted several anti
Thaksin rallies in January
and February.

Sondhi shouted
Thaksin's name repeatedly
as he stood beneath a giant
banner depicting the prime
minister as a cartoon mon-
ster with six arms. eating
the Thai flag.

“Get out!" the crowd
roared in response each
time. with the golden
spires of Bangkok‘s Grand
Palace complex forming
the background,

The peaceful rally was
the latest in a series of
protests drawing tens of
thousands of participants.
mostly from the urban
elite Just ovre a war :.igo
Thaksin capped a four year
term in o