Southern Illinoisan from Carbondale, Illinois • Page 14

BYROBERTBURNS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MEXICO CITY A cast of senior U.S.security officials pledged long- term support for drug war while acknowledging Tuesday that an insatiable U.S.appetite for illegal with a flow of U.S.arms into at the core of the problem. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who led the U.S.delega- tion at a daylong meeting with top Mexican government a news conference afterward that Washington must do more to limit the movement of illicit weapons into Mexico from the U.S. accept our share of the Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa at her know that the demand for drugs drives much of this illicit trade and that guns purchases in the U.S.are used to facilitate violence here in Mexico.The United States must and is doing its to counteract those two elements of the drug- related violence. Clinton said the administration would make public very shortly a new drug policy and that it would include strategies for reducing drug demand.She said U.S.policy also takes into account that the drug cartels that operate along the border are a problem for both countries. is no question that they are fighting against both of our said, according to a copy of her closed-door remarks.

fact was underscored on March the murders of two Americans and a Mexican affiliated with the U.S.consulate in Ciudad said. To send a message that the U.S.was serious about its pledge to cooperate with the Mexican government, it sent the Obama most senior deputies including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen. a delegation of this stature to Mexico shows our level of commitment to working with the Mexican government to help them combat this threat within their midst, and one that ultimately permeates into our country and becomes a threat to our citizens as said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell. U.S.officials see a strategic problem with their surging violence and unstable judicial and law enforcement sys- tems.Mexican officials blame that instability on the U.S.demand for lucrative and illegal narcotics.

Clinton said the administration is at everything that can to combat the drug cartels. But when asked by a reporter whether that included considering decriminalizing narcotics in the United replied with a single word: The U.S.has sent vans and sniffer dogs to help Mexico tackle drug Mexican leaders attending the one-day session with the visiting U.S.officials say that to really Americans must tackle their problem of drug consumption. Both presidents Barack Obama and Felipe Calderon have repeatedly stressed that theirs is a disrupt powerful drug power struggles with each other and authorities have led to the killings of 17,900 people since Calderon took office in late 2006. Clinton was scheduled to meet separately with President Felipe Calderon before returning to Washington. Attending with Clinton, Gates and Mullen were Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair and John Barack countert- errorism and homeland security adviser.Senior officials from the departments of Justice and Treasury also participated, along with officials from the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The U.S.is warning of possible al-Qaida attacks against ships off the coast of an offshoot of the terrorist network has established a significant base of operations over the past year. Yemen became a focus of deep international concern in December when al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the failed attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner, showing the group based in an impoverished and unstable corner of the Middle East had global reach. suggests that al-Qaida remains interested in maritime attacks in the Bab al- Mandeb Sea and the Gulf of Aden along the coast of an advisory from the U.S.Department of was posted on the U.S.Office of Naval Intelligence Web site. The warning said such attacks could be similar to the 2000 strike against the Navy destroyer USS Cole in Aden harbor that killed 17 American sailors.The attackers used a small boat laden with explosives to blow a hole in the side of the ship. more sophisticated methods of attack could include missiles or the was dated March 10.

In are at greatest risk while in or near ports or at said. 6B HE OUTHERN I LLINOISAN EDNESDAY ARCH 24,2010 ORLD www.thesouthern.com Each SeniorSafe hydrotherapy walk-in tub has been independently tested by our experts, and is guaranteed to provide years and years of dependable use, without fail. LOWEST THRESHOLD AVAILABLE ADA Compliant Promotes In WALK-IN TUBS of ILLINOIS 618-533-5250 seniorsafe.com MANUFACTURED IN THE USA! EASY ACCESS! Browse and print these local coupons and more from The Southern online coupon page! www.thesouthern.com/couponpage If we make you University Mall Carbondale, IL 618.519.9373 Take You From Spank Me! $5 OFF Temporary Eyelash Enhancements 15 OFF Paul Mitchell Styling Irons Hair Dryers $10 OFF Free Wax with Color Service BY JILL CATALDO THE COUPON QUEEN, CTW FEATURES In the past few columns, addressed some reader concerns about some aspects of coupon shopping. Wrapping up my series of a letter from a reader who wonders about the health consequences of eating low-priced meats: truly admire your talents for shopping. However, when it comes to saving money on meats, I wonder if you ever question the quality of them.

Saving money by feeding children animal products that have been subjected to hormones is not worth the long-term effects on their always concerned with the quality of the food I serve to my family, as sure every parent is. You may be comforted to know that it has been against the law for more than 50 years to administer growth hormones to chicken or pigs. All poultry and pork products are free of growth hormones, whether or not printed on the labels. My family decided several years ago to switch to organic beef for health reasons, and we now prefer the avor of grass-fed beef. It is more expensive, so an occasional meal, not a weekly one.

All fresh meats will eventually leave the store if they sell by their expiration dates. One of my local stores donates expiring meats to a local food bank a wonderful cause. Another store drastically cuts prices on soon-to-expire meats, including organic varieties. Ask your staff what happens to their expiring meats. Your supermarket may hold clearance sales on a day of the week.

Learn to take advantage of those price drops. seen organic beef and poultry regularly dropped from to pound as it nears the expiration date a great per-pound price for any meat! If you have a freezer, want to stock up when these sales come around. Time your purchases well and you may be buying higher-quality meats for low prices on a regular basis. You mention seafood in your letter, but this is another area to watch prices and variation in quality. Farm-raised sh will always be cheaper per pound than wild- caught.

Many shoppers prefer wild-caught sh, which have subsisted on a wild diet, citing health reasons. But does not automatically mean Some varieties of sh are actually healthier when farm-raised. sh are a great example. In the wild, sh are taking sustenance in shallow, muddy and possibly polluted water. They can be exposed to toxins and pesticides, which ultimately end up in the sh and in us.

By contrast, farm-raised sh typically eat a diet of corn and rice and are raised in clean pools of water. healthier and less expensive than their wild counterparts. If you like sh, be afraid to llet them yourself. Whole sh are often priced cantly lower. Even if never cleaned a sh, not hard to do (you can even learn how on the Internet) and you may nd saving big over lleted portions.

never forget the time my seafood department had an overstock of sh. They had a sign up advertising whole sh for a fabulously low 29 pound! I bought nine big sh and I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning and lleting the sh, then freezing those portions for many meals down the road. (My big sh stock-up also turned into an impromptu sh-cleaning lesson for my daughter.) As with many of the shopping and product choice issues readers raised, the decision ultimately lies with you. Skilled coupon shoppers are able to the prices of so many products to rock-bottom levels, thereby freeing up more of the grocery budget for the kinds of meats and seafood they prefer. The dollars you save using coupons on toothpaste and shampoo can help pay for the higher prices of items you might love, like organic, grass-fed meats or wild-caught sh.

CTW Features JILL CATALDO a coupon- workshop instructor, writer and mother of three, never passes up a good deal. Learn more about couponing at her Web site, www.super- couponing.com. E-mail your couponing coups and questions to ctwfeatures.com. Reader Asks, Can Couponers Save Too Much? Jill Cataldo saves hundreds on groceries by making the most of the common coupon. You can, too.

how. British version of NASA to begin work in April U.S. warns of al-Qaida threat to ships off Yemen BYSYLVIAHUI THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LONDON first space agency will begin operating next month in an effort to coordinate U.K.space activities while raising the profile in the global space said Tuesday. With an initial operating budget of $346 million modest compared with yearly $19 billion the government said the new UK Space Agency would nevertheless create tens of thousands of jobs while developing a recession-defying industry that up to now has received little attention. The $9 billion space industry one of real success Secretary Peter Mandelson said.

it provides more jobs both directly and indirectly to the U.K. work In the U.K.,the industry is focused on robotics, telecommunications and manufacturing small underpin- ning technologies such as high speed broadband, GPS and weather forecasting. It now supports 68,000 said.But Science and Innovation Minister Paul Drayson suggested 100,000 jobs could be created in 20 that the industry could grow to be worth $60 billion annually. When it begins operating April UK Space Agency will represent space interests in international negotiations, while also handling civilian space policy now set by various departments and research councils, officials said. Ministers also said a new $60 million International Space Innovation Center would be built for using space data to understand climate change and develop strategies for securing space systems.

Britain has no plans for manned space channels most of its space spending through the European Space Agency, which is exploring space flights to Mars. Officials say drug demand fuels violence AP U.S.Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during a news conference Tuesday in Mexico City..