2 - The Michigan Daily - Wedne aerlnil hAnrnh 7G: 1007 eau .Federal m_^ , Washington Post WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve nudged interest rates higher yes- Ztey for the first time in two years, hopig to stifle any threat of rising infla- 6ti: Banks immediately began raising tle~tes paid by millions of Americans. C A Alysts suggested the Fed's quarter- point increase was not the end of the story, with two or three more boosts likely by the end of the year to slow the ;surprisingly strong economy. & ;'The central bank characterized its NATION/WORLD Rdeserve raises interest rat - AROUND THE NATii increase as "a prudent step" that would guard against higher inflation and the risk of recession. But critics were unswayed, charging that there is no inflation to pre-empt and the central bank's credit tightening actu- ally raised the risks of recession. "In one fell swoop, the Fed has taken money out of the pockets of every fam- ily, small business and farm in America," said Sen. Tom Harkin (D- Iowa), a frequent Fed critic. Added AFL-CIO union president John Sweeney: "The Federal Reserve has sacrificed the economic interests of America's working families on the basis of a hunch." Financial markets, which had reacted violently in 1994, the last time the cen- tral bank launched a round of credit tightening, were calmer this time around. In fact, the Dow Jones industrial average actually was up 50 points a few minutes after the 2:14 p.m. announce- ment as investors expressed relief that the central bank had carried through on the numerous signals sent recently by Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan. The Dow finished the day down 29.08 at 6,876.17. The reaction was more pronounced on the bond market, where worries about more rate increases down the road sent prices down and the yield on Treasury's 30-year bond up to 6.97 percent. The central bank said it was pushing its target for the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other, up to 5.5 percent from 5.25. Inmate bursts into flames at execution STARKE, Fla. - A condemned murderer's black leather face mask burst into flames as he was electrocuted yesterday, prompting the attorney general to warn killers to stay away from Florida "because we may have a problem with the elec- tric chair." The governor said the state will consider changing its method of execution after the grisly death of Pedro Medina, a Cuban refugee convicted of stabbing a teach who had befriended him. "We've had an occasion of smoke before;' Gov. Lawton Chiles said. "But the question is really, 'Is this something that is torturous or painful?"' However, Attorney General Bob Butterworth said Medina's gruesome end would be a deterrent. "People who wish to commit murder, they better not do it in the state of Florida because we may have a problem with our electric chair," Butterworth said. Medina, one of nearly 125,000 Cubans who came to the United States during the 1980 Mariel boatlift, was executed for stabbing a woman to death in 1982. It was the second time an inmate's mask has burst into flame during a Florida execution. The first time, in 1990, executions were suspended for three months While there was no visible reaction from yesterday's 39 witnesses, some ID said they were nauseated by the sight and the smell. : , QN FERENCE *Ootlnued from Page 1. ,regulation," he said. Panelist and English Prof. Ralph Williams said the "slippery slope" argu- ment,by which opponents of assisted- suicide anticipate the practice being abused if made legal, is ambiguous because complicated moral issues natu- rally force society to cope with the slip- pery slope. "Let us understand that the issue is not only legal but pragmatic, not only logical but of daily relations," Williams said. "Our task is to live agilely, decent- ly and lovingly on the slopes." But Edward Rivet, legislative direc- tor of Right to Life of Michigan and a keynote speaker, opposed assisted sui- cide and emphasized the difference between analytical arguments and emo- tional appeals in the debate. "This issue can be debated at a rhetorical level and a substantive level, and by and large, at the rhetorical level, I usually get creamed," Rivet said. "But at the substantive level, I think most arguments in favor of assisted suicide, however they are constructed, will col- lapse on themselves." Rivet said the term "assisted suicide" is an oxymoron and that a patient's free- doms will be impinged on by doctors, psychiatrists and the government if it is legalized. "The idea that it is a personal choice is a myth because the patient takes con- trol only insofar as they ask the physi- cian;" Rivet said. Rivet said doctors shouldn't be put in the position to influence ethical deci- sions reserved for patients. "At the University of Michigan Medical School, they might teach the students biology and chemistry, but they don't teach which patients it's okay to kill" Rivet said. But Murphy maintained that patients are ultimately in control and can change their minds about having the practice performed. Patients must be allowed to retain their dignity, he said. "Life is a personal responsibility. How you deal with your life is essen- tially a personal choice," Murphy said. "If you can't have the right to choose to die, then you are not a free person." Panelist and political science Prof. Mark Brandon emphasized nuances between morality in different fields. "The constitutional morality is dis- tinct from religious and philosophical morality," Brandon said. "They are not entirely separate, but I think the consti- tution has distinct and peculiar logic to it." Are You Interested in Going to Israel this Summer and Earning Six Credits from the University of Michigan? Are You Interested in Participating in a Fascinating Archeological Dig, Traveling throughout Israel and Experiencing A q,-Remarkable Ancient and Modern Country?? And all of this for Only $1300. l so, please call Hillel at 769-0500 or stop by our office (1429 Hill Street) for an application. This special program has limited room and we will be selecting from applications soon. CHINA Continued from Page 1. efforts to influence U.S. policy, and echoed Gore's assertion that the affair should not hinder Sino-U.S. relations, which are currently on a relatively steady footing after years of tension. Gore is the highest-ranking U.S. offi- cial to visit China since the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro- democracy demonstrators in 1989, and both sides are determined that his four- day trip to the giant Asian nation will pass without controversy. Plans for the visit seemed to be progressing without a hitch until the campaign-finance scandal spotlight focused on China. In recent months, reports have sur- faced that the FBI was investigating whether the Chinese Embassy in Washington engaged in efforts to influ- ence U.S. politics through campaign con- tributions to the Democratic Party, and that half a dozen members of Congress were warned by the FBI last year that China might try to funnel money to their campaigns in an attempt to gain influ- ence. The Justice Department is investi- gating some of the charges but has said little about the details of its probe. Gore's message yesterday, in public and private, was that the controversy did not sour his talks. Woman nominated for high Army rank WASHINGTON - The Army, buf- feted by a sexual misconduct scandal and eager to make itself more hos- pitable to women, is likely soon to have its first female three-star gener- al. Maj. Gen. Claudia Kennedy, an intelligence specialist and 28-year vet- eran, was nominated yesterday to become a lieutenant general. Kennedy, who has served as the Army's assistant deputy chief of staff for intelligence since July 1995, also is being nominated to serve as the deputy chief of staff for intelligence. Kennedy's appointment must be confirmed by the Senate. The Army and Navy have already had three-star officers. Born in Germany, she began her military career in 1969 in the Women's Army Corps at Fort McLellan, Ala., and has had a series of increasingly responsible adminis- trative and intelligence positions since. Before her current posting, she was deputy commander of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center at Fort Huachaca, Ariz., and, earlier, director of Intelligence, G-2, Forces Command Fort McPherson, Ga. Simpson lawyers seeking new trial SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Arguing that jury misconduct, insuffi- cient evidence and other irregularities prevented O.J. Simpson from receiving a fair trial, lawyers yesterday fil motions seeking a new trial and asking Superior Court Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki to reduce $33.5 million in verdicts against the former football star. Simpson's attorneys contend his trial was tainted on 12 separate legal grounds, including what the defense labeled "errors in law," "abuse of dis- cretion by the court" and other abnor- malities in the proceedings. MICHIGAN er7 e s E Jan f-.u TATVA. HE GRATEFUL YOU'RE1 kF3. ali .1/ * reali cs flUC , tahSic 0 $AidJ). Work Across Differences Participate irfan ' INTERGROUP DIALOGUE Dialogues among different groups: - Women & Men - People of Color & White People - Lesbians, Gay Men, Bisexuals & Heterosexuals - Jews & Christians - Women of Color & White Women Intergroup Dialogues are face-to-face meetings of individuals from a variety of identity groups. Dialogues, readings, experiential exercises and journals are incorporated into the process of working across and within lines of difference and similarity. Theirdays 1-3pm, 2 'Credits Register for Psychology/Sociology 122 Have you participated in an Intergroup Dialogue or a FIG Seminar? Do you want to know where to go from here? Bridging the Gap: From Dialogue to Real Life Intergroup Relations FALL RETREAT Friday October 24-Sunday October 26 Applications available at the IGRCC office, due April 9 For further information contact: The Program on Intergroup Relations, Conflict and Community 3000 Michigan Union 936-1875 /IGRCC @umich.edu ARoUND THE WORLD Palestiians react to security demands JERUSALEM - A Palestinian security chief responded defiantly yes- terday to Israeli demands to crack down on Islamic militants, saying coopera- tion with Israel on security issues depended on progress in peace talks. "Palestinian security cooperation was buried with the first bulldozer that went up on Jabal Abu Ghneim," said West Bank security chief Jibril Rajoub, using the Arab name for the hill where Israel is building a Jewish neighbor- hood in disputed east Jerusalem. Palestinians in the West Bank towns of Bethlehem and Hebron staged a sixth day of violent protests against the project yesterday, with Israeli troops firing tear gas and rubber bullets at hundreds of stone-throwing Palestinians. Eight Palestinians were injured by rubber bullets in Bethlehem, and at least two Israeli soldiers were hurt. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat of giving the go-ahead to Islamic militants to carry out attacks against Israelis, and has demanded the Palestinians take steps to combat ter- rorism before peace agreements cars forward. Japan holds rice surplus from Korea TOKYO - The Japanese goven- ment is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to store record amounts of surplus rice. In nearby North Korea, United Nations officials estimate that 20}fil- lion people go to bed hungry every night as famine looms and chronicM al- nutrition threatens the entire popula- tion. But Japan has refused to open its vast rice reserves - which many peo- ple here are not aware of- despife-the urgings of international aid groups,the United Nations and even Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. iiIroq ua ag Without Moving p fl5J .llOWtt jttJ'a lll FH- Ww liO_____ .. 4g"9 IOC IMriflfltm Ifrtnr :1I ~~~tIera 7 here for us, tAlbwom ICYDUDE ~ - - DEADfl z + ec 9J. Announcing the AT&T "Ultimate Road Trip"' sweepstakes. Going abroad this school year? AT&T would like to help pay your way. 10 Grand Prize Winners - Round-Trip Air Transportation from the U.S. to the country where you'll be studying. Plus thousands of chances to win high-quality currency converters (hey, you may find it more valuable than the The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Micnigan. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are , $85. Winter term (January through April) is $95, yearlong (September through April) is $165. On-campus stib- scriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of the Associated Press and the Associated collegiate Press. ADDRESS: The Michigan Daily, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1327. PHONE NUMBERS (All area code 313): News 76-DAILY; Arts 763-0379; Sports 641-3336; Opinion 7640552; circulation 764-0558; classified advertising 7640557; Display advertising 7640554; Billing 7640550. E-mail letters to the editor to dailyIetters@umich.edu. World Wide Web: http://www.pub.umich.edu/daily/. EDITORIAL STAFF Josh White, Editor in Chie NEWS Jodi S. Cohen, Managing Editoi EDITORS: Jeff Eldridge, Laurie Mayk, Anupama Reddy, Will Weissert. 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Kristen Schaeftir, Jeannie Servaas, Addie Smith, Jonathan Summer, Joe Westrate, Warren Zinn. COPY DESK Rebecca Bekusn, Ed STAFF: Lydia Alspach, Elizabeth Lucas, Elizabeth Mills, Emily O'Neill, Matt Spewak, David Ward, Jen Woodward. ONLINE Adam Pollock, Editor STAFF: Carlos Castillo, Elizabeth Lucas, Seneca Sutter, Scott Wilcox. GRAPHICS Tracey Harris, Editor STAFF: Usa Bellon, Elissa Bowes, Seder Burns, Sumako Kawai, Marcy McCormick, Erin Rager, Jordan Young. " 4 fiI~ i~ i1 77 t U . U:1 L fT t' T 1 I I w ,w , m e ha~ve selected ale4 I I