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Tuesday
January 8, 2002
Council supports detainee
By Jacquelyn Nixon
Daily Staff Reporter
0 Detained Ann Arbor Muslim leader Rabih
Haddad gained the city's support yesterday
evening after City Council members
approved by a partisan 9-2 vote a resolution
proposed by community members requesting
due process and open hearings for his case.
Haddad, co-founder of the Global Relief
Foundation, an Islamic charity suspected to
have terrorist ties, was arrested Dec. 14 by the
Immigration and Naturalization Service for
*an expired visa and is being held at the Mon-
roe County Jail.
An immigration judge denied Haddad
bond at a Jan. 2 hearing because it was ruled
that as the owner of a licensed hunting rifle,
Haddad posed a threat to society. An appeal
has been scheduled for Thursday.
Councilman Christopher Easthope (D-5th
Ward) said the city had an obligation to
Resolutiorn requests kearinzgs
for Rabik Haddad be open
address and pass the resolution based on the
needs of the community.
"This resolution recognizes the concerns of
our Islamic community," Easthope said.
"That's not just an obligation of our federal
government."
In a presentation to the council, community
members stressed that the handling of Had-
dad's case had been "un-American" and con-
trary to the fundamental values and liberties
set forth by the U.S. Constitution.
Phillis Engelbert, a representative from the
Ann Arbor Ad Hoc Committee for Peace,
said due process and equal protection for citi-
zens were issues the city needed to stress to
other government agencies. "This is Haddad's
25th day behind bars ... our 25th day of
uncertainty of what America is becoming'"
Engelbert said. "'We have before us a local
issue with national implications."
The terms of Haddad's arrest and detain-
ment were also major concerns to community
members, since Haddad's bond hearings had
been closed to the public and media. Also in
contention is the expiration of Haddad's visa,
despite his application for permanent residen-
cy in 2000.
Human Rights Commission Chair Helen
Fox, urged council members to make the pro-
posed resolution personal - and to directly
name Haddad.
Councilwoman Jean Carlberg (D-3rd
Ward) said although the United States is
fighting terrorism outside of the country, it
may be causing a different kind of terrorism
within its borders.
"The issue of terrorism effects everyone
individually and personally," Carlberg said.
"We are in a very difficult time in this coun-
try:' And when human and civil rights for
any member of this community are denied,
"we lose ultimately' she said.
Councilman Joseph Upton (R-2nd Ward)
said he opposed the resolution because it
should be dealt with on a federal level.
But six-year councilwoman Cowing Her-
rell (D-3rd Ward) could not agree. Herrell
said when she joined the council she took an
oath to uphold the Constitution.
"A citizen has been denied due process... .
I think it is directly our responsibility," Herrell
said.
JONATHON TRIEST/Daily
Supporters of detained Muslim community leader Rablh
Haddad hold a sign during last night's City Council meeting.
The council passed a resolution in support of open hearings
for Haddad, who has been In jail since last month.
Following the flame
Comeast users
feeling a little
disconnected
By Maria Sprow
Daily Staff Reporter
First it was Ameritech, and now it's
rival telecommunications giant Comcast
that's frustrating University students and
others in the Ann Arbor area with ser-
vice outages and slow response to com-
plaints.
Comcast, the major Internet and
cable television provider to Amn Arbor
residents and off-campus students, has
experienced several glitches in its Inter-
net services since leaving the Road
Runner network and transferring to its
own high-speed network late last month.
Many University students and Ann
Arbor residents have been able to con-
nect to the Internet infrequently, if at all,
since the transfer.
"We're very aware of (the problems),'
said Mary, a Comcast supervisor, yes-
terday. "The technicians are working on
the problem. It is taking longer - a lot
longer, I should say - than we thought
it would."
Although Comcast representatives
said the problems were limited to a
small percentage of users, Ann Arbor
resident Helayne Beavers said she
believes that was an understatement.
Beavers said she had Internet access
on transition day, but "at about 250 kps
max for several days, and brownouts
and periods of 350 kps service continue
as of today"
Other students, such as Business
junior Deepa Challa, experienced prob-
lems with the company's new software,
which included CD-ROMS not compat-
ible with newer software. The CD-
ROMS caused some computers to
malfunction if customers used
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or Win-
dows XP operating systems.
"That's why I'm here:' Challa said
last night while working on a computer
in Angell Hall. "(The CD-ROM) wasn't
working. It kept saying 'illegal failure.'
We installed it four times."
Complaints about modem incapabili-
ty, e-mail inaccessibility and crashing
systems were also numerous yesterday.
Students who tried to correct the prob-
lems by calling Comcast's customer
support line were put on hold for
lengthy periods while technical repre-
sentatives talked others through the
rebooting process.
Challa said her housemates repeated-
ly tried calling Comcast, but to no avail,
because the phone kept disconnecting.
"They just hung up on us;' she said,
adding that her Internet has been out for
more than a week.
Comcast supervisor Mary, who
would not give her last name, said that
despite the effort to fix the problems
sprouting from the transfer, there was no
estimate available as to when high-
speed Internet access would begin
working.
Many students in Challa's situation
have resorted to using campus com-
puters for e-mail and Internet access.
See 'COMCAST, Page 2A
I LEMMA IFOSDICK/Daily
One of the runners in the Olympic Torch Relay carries the flame on East Stadium Boulevard near Michigan Stadium yesterday. After passing through Detroit and
Ann Arbor, the torch headed to Indiana on its way to the Feb. 8 Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
Tuition ucertain in 'recession
By Jeremy Berkowitz
Daily Staff Reporter
Facing a recession, the University administration
is already anticipating that the 2003 budget will be
less flexible than those of previous years. Because
10.5 percent of the University's budget is comprised
of state funding, administrators are hoping to mini-
mize tuition increases.
"We're 1ays trying to balance the need to hold
tuition increases to a reasonable level, while still pro-
viding students with a high quality education,' said
University spokeswoman Julie Peterson.
Regent Larry Deitch (D-Bingham Farms) said a
revenue shortfall will be reflected not only in a
tuition increase, but also in cuts across the board.
"We'll try to keep any possible tuition increase
that is low as possible, while balancing all the vari-
ous priorities and needs within the University," he
said.
But interim Provost-Paul Courant has said that the
University has had a long-running policy of making
financial aid a top priority.
"If tuition goes UP, financial aid will go up propor-
tionally;' said Courant.
Education has always been a priority for the state
Legislature. When the budget was cut last year, hig
er education as well as K- 12 programs received m,
ginal increases. However, several state legislate
said a budget equal to last year's would be a triun
for the higher education subcommittee.
"We are barely going to be able to hold our ovA
said Rep. John Stewart (R-Plymouth).
However, Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith (D-Sale
Twp.) was slightly more optimistic. She said educ
tion has faced a decrease in fu~nding in the past,a
although "things look bleak;' cuts will be as miin
as possible.
See BUDGET, Page
gh-
Lar-
.ors
riph
ca-l
aylOutlook good for
Seconomy in 2002
Surviving members of
al-Qaida try to regroup
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON - Surviving leaders of the
al-Qaida terrorist network are repeatedly trying
to regroup at a warren of caves and bunkers in
eastern Afghanistan, despite three attacks on the
complex in four days by U.S. warplanes, senior
Pentagon officials said yesterday.
The most recent strike on the Zhawar Kili Al-
Badr ttffiihing' cainp, late Sunday night, hit tanks
and artillery, officials said. But military intelligence
analysts say they believe the camp, which snakes
down a narrow, winding, desert valley near the
town of Khowst, still harbors terrorist militants.
It is the same site hit by U.S. cruise missiles in
1998 in the Clinton administration's unsuccess-
ful attempt to strike at Osama bin Laden and his
top aides. It includes a number of caves built
into the valley's sheer cliff walls and is difficult
to eradicate, said Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem,
deputy director of operations for the Joint Chiefs
of Staff.
"We bombed again yesterday," Stufflebeem
told reporters at a Pentagon briefing yesterday.
"But we're not done there. ... Something's com-
ing camp, and on other suspected terrorist hide-
outs in recent weeks, Stuffiebeem painted a pic-
ture of small bands of al-Qaida loyalists on the
run throughout Afghanistan but persistently
seeking to rearm and regroup where they can.
"They are obviously widely dispersed,"
Stufflebeem said. "They are attempting to
regroup so that they can amass for leadership
and mischief purposes. ... They're just trying to
find each other and then, obviously, to continue
their war."
Warplanes also struck Sunday in Khowst,
about 10 miles from the training camp, destroy-
ing what Pentagon officials described yesterday
as a small cache of anti-aircraft weapons. Khow-
st is known as the headquarters of a former min-
ister in the ousted Taliban regime, Jalaluddin
Haqqani, who is wanted by the United States.
The strikes in Khowst and at the Zhawar Kili
training camp were among 118 sorties flown by
U.S. warplanes over Afghanistan on Sunday They
were carried out by one B-52 and two B1-B
bombers, one Navy F/A-18 jet fighter, and one
low-flying AC-130 gunship, Pentagon officials
said.
By Ted Borden
Daily Staff Reporter
After two consecutive years of loss-
es on Wall Street, investors and econo-
mists are optimistic in the new year,
predicting an end to the nation's cur-
rent recession and forecasting growth
in many areas of the economy.
"The consensus is that we will see a
modest recovery;' said John Schmitz,
head of equity strategy at Fifth Third
Bank in Cincinnati. "We faced 2001 as
a year of restructuring. This year will
be driven by inventories being replen-
ished over the whole year."
Schmitz noted that this recovery
will be unlike its early- 1990s prede-
cessor, in part because "debt level is
high from consumer spending and val-
uations are still high. What matters is
how well earnings rebound."
Thomas McManus, chief investment
strategist at Bank of America
Securities in New York, said he
expected markets to increase by as
much as 10 percent.
Schmitz echoed this sentiment, pre-
dicting "below-average market
increases."
Economists remain positive despite
"The consensus is
that we will 'see a
modest recovery. "
- John Schmitz
Fifth Third Bank economist
Friday that the nation's unemployment
rate rose to 5.8 percent last month, a
level not seen since August 1995. Also
Friday, AT&T reported plans to lay off
5,000 employees in an attempt to
reduce costs.
But Schmitz pointed out that con-
sumer confidence remains strong and
the economy's loss of 124,000 jobs in
December was the smallest decline
since August, news seen by many as a
sign that the job market may be stabi-
lizing after drastic post-Sept. 11i cut-
backs.
Economists are also overlooking the
federal government's failure to pass an
economic stimulus bill.
"I don't think the bill that was being
talked about would have been very
stimulative," said McManus. "What.
stimulus there was appeared to be mis-
AP PHOTO
Abdul Ghias, 70, cries in despair as he holds a piece of grass
bread in the remote northern mountain village of Bonavash,
Afghanistan, yesterday. Besieged by the Taliban and crushed
A