TODAY: Monday March 10,2003 ©2003 The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 106 One-hundred-twelve years ofeditorzadfreedom Mostly cloudy throughout the day with winds from the south- west. I: 26 LOW: 13 Tomorro w 3/2O wwwmichigandailycom US. still lacking bit'l support for resolution Powell says U.S. remains unconvinced by Iraq's disarmament attempts, sets March 17 deadline WASHINGTON (AP) - Secre- tary of State Colin Powell held out hope yesterday that the U.N. Secu- rity Council, allies across the globe and the American public would come to support an American-led war with Iraq, as the United States pressed for an ultimatum giving Saddam Hussein until March 17 to prove he has disarmed. Powell said he was within "strik- ing distance" of the necessary nine votes to win a majority on the 15- member council. But he conceded on "Fox News Sunday" that the French appeared set to "do every- thing they can to stop it" by using their veto. Such a veto, he warned, would "have a serious effect on bilateral relations, at least in the short term." He said it remained unclear where two other veto-bearing nations, Russia and China, stood on a vote that could take place as early as tomorrow. Nevertheless, Powell said he was leading intensive efforts over the weekend to win over several other governments, hoping to muster the nine necessary votes. He said U.N. inspectors should have focused more public attention on Iraqi shortcomings contained in a 173-page report circulated among Security Council members and thatI the United States would be making more details from it public in the days to come. The New York Times, meanwhile,1 reported in today's editions that,s according to American officials, thei inspectors recently discovered a new variety of rocket apparently intendedI to strew bomblets filled with chemi-1 cal or biological agents over largeI areas. Powell did not refer to cluster bombs in his TV appearances, but noted that the U.N. report discussesI the possibility of Iraq having dronet aircraft that would violate weapons restrictions.1 See IRAQ, Page 2A< Rise in unemployment rate worries economists By Lydia K. Leung Daily Staff Reporter Companies slashed thousands of jobs in February, cre- ating the steepest plunge of payrolls since two months after the Sept. 11 attacks, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Fear of war and other uncertainties created by geopolitical risks are said to have contributed to the discouraging numbers. According to a Labor Department report released Fri- day, the unemployment rate edged up to 5.8 percent in February after dropping in January. Furthermore, employ- ers have cut 308,000 non-agricultural jobs, which includ- ed jobs in various industries, ranging from services production to construction positions. Lynne Sebille-White, assistant director of the Universi- ty's Career Center, said job postings by consulting, invest- ment banking, marketing and advertising have been down this year, while only government and non-profit firms are hiring at a steady rate. "Certainly we still have people recruiting on campus, students are receiving offers, but it is not at the same rate that it was two or three years ago," White said. College students, especially graduating seniors who are about to enter the job market, are significantly impacted by the job cuts because they now have to compete with more experienced workers that have been recently laid off. "The job agent in New York City told me that I have to demonstrate the very best work in order to get a job because of the current economic situation and massive lay offs," Art and Design senior Joanne Liu said. Srae conference in Mi~ddle East By Soojung Chang Daily Staff Reporter Avraham Burg, speaker of Israel's legislative body, the Knesset, said yesterday that he is optimistic about Israel's future. "Israel today is an unbelievable reality of influence and wealth," he said, addressing attendees of the 2nd Annual Academic Israel Conference titled "Israel: Piecing -the Puzzle together." But Burg spent a sizeable portion of his keynote speech, "The Future of Israel: Challenges and Opportuni- ties," addressing pressing issues that Israel faces today, mainly the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Burg advocated the use of the "two-state solution," in which Israel would have to make territorial concessions to the Palestinians as a means of achieving peace in Israel. "It's the kind of amputation that will enable the rest of the body to survive," Burg said. "The figures are telling us that the economic expansion is plodding along at a very slow rate right now." - Saul Hymans Director, Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics The dismal job market outlook and the weakness in the stock market have started to worry economists as these numbers are suggesting a slower than expected recovery pace. In order to further stimulate spending and investment, some analysts on Wall Street are predicting that the Feder- al Reserve will cut the short term interest rate by a quar- ter-point again in Wednesday's up-coming meeting. "The figures are telling us that the economic expansion is plodding along at a very slow rate right now," said Saul Hymans, director of the University's Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics. Hymans said Americans are extremely cautious with their spending when economic fears are generated by the uncertainties created by war-related issues. "Households and businesses are too jumpy and jittery to make heavy investment decisions, whether these deci- sions are buying cars or investing capital ... all these things are scary things to do if you are not sure what things are going to be like in the economy in the future," he said. But Hymans added that once the geopolitical risks See JOBS, Page 7A KYLENE KIANG/For the Daily A member of Pledge of Resistance, a national anti-war organization, is arrested for blocking the entrance of the Ann Arbor Federal Building Friday. Aar.ested .anti-war protest at Federal Builing By Soojung Chang DailyStaff Reporter Anti-war activity in Ann Arbor esca- lated last weekend in two separate events; a blockade at the Federal Build- ing and a protest march. Dissenters against the war in Iraq formed a human barricade in front of the Federal building Friday at noon by locking arms and refusing to leave. 'The Federal Building symbolizes the federal government, and the federal government is engaging in this danger- ous action against the citizens of Iraq," Ypsilanti resident Malcolm Marts said. Marts is a member of the local chapter of Pledge of Resistance, a nationwide anti-war organization that organized the blockade. The blockade ended when Ann Arbor Police,'Department officers escorted several protesters to the police station. Sgt. Tom Hickey confirmed that six people were arrested on a disorderly persons charge. Pledge of Resistance member and Ann Arbor resident Jim Russo was one of the protesters who was arrested. He said the police told them they were tres- passing and had to leave. He said all of the protesters were almost immediately released from the station after being told that the court would contact them in the future. See PROTEST, Page 7A Keynote speaker and Israeli Knesset member Avraham Burg speaks at the Academic Israel Conference yesterday. Many in the audience, such as Canton resident Abe Kandah, came only for Burg's portion of the conference. Kandah, who is Palestinian, said Burg seemed to be knowledgeable about the Palestinian viewpoint. "He's not afraid to show his dream for a greater Israel, See ISRAEL, Page 7A - - I - - - ---- I Leaders talk' about roles of females in PO ltics By Carmen Johnson Daily Staff Reporte Duets Legal, ethical issues of genetics discussed By Emily Kraack Daily StaffReporter Every person carries within him- or herself one of the hottest legal controversies in Ameri- ca. Genetic identification and the moral and ethical questions it raises were the topic of Fri- day's "Life Sciences, Technology, and the Law Symposium" at the Law School. The symposium attempted to educate the public about issues involved in genetic research. Matt Mock, editor in chief of The Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review, which sponsored the event, said there are no easy answers to questions about genetics. "There are a lot of answers but every answer brings up more questions," he said, comparing genetics to Pandora's box. Executive Editor and conference chair Larry LaVanway said the Law Review timed the event to coincide with construction of the Life Sci- ences Institute. "We wanted to tap into the energy that's on this campus with the Life Sciences Institute," Mock said. The symposium consisted of a keynote speaker followed by three panels and closing remarks. The panels dealt with life sciences in the court, the regulation of life sciences and what was referred to as "technology- transfer,"- the process of turning new research into mar- ketable products. Keynote speaker Philip Reilly, president of the American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics and the CEO of Interleukin Genetics, Inc., gave a broad overview of the evolving role of genetics and the questions this evolution rais- es. "Genetic information is affecting the activi- ties that are held most closely to our hearts" he said, noting that genetics can even affect how we evaluate each other as people. "We underes- timate the role genes play." Confidentiality of genetic information was one topic discussed in detail by Reilly and pan- elists. "I am highly confident that confidentiali- ty as we know it will be rewritten in the next decade by genetics," Reilly said. Speakers in the first panel pointed out that genetic information is unlike widely-used iden- tifiers such as fingerprints because it is familial - parents and children have similar genes. This raises medical confidentiality concerns. For "Genetic information is ~affecting the-activities:'that are held most closely to our hearts.' - Phillip Reilly CEO, Interleukin Genetics, Inc. instance, if a person develops Huntington's dis- ease, siblings carry a 50 percent chance of developing the disease. Does a doctor have a moral obligation to inform family members in this situation? Another issue raised was the existence of genetic databases of convicted felons created for research and criminal justice purposes. Reil- ly and law and sociology Prof. Richard Lem- pert, a panelist, said there is a possibility that future arrestees or even all infants could be test- ed and have their genetic information added to the database. The role of universities in generating life sci- See GENETICS, Page 7A Women have come a long way since gaining the right to vote, but still have a long way to go. This was the mes- sage conveyed in a panel discussion last night where Michigan Democratic women leaders joined with female campus leaders to address the role of women in politics. But the notion that female elected officials should support other elected women, even if they have opposing polit- ical beliefs, is questionable, said state Sen. Liz Brater (D-Ann Arbor). "It's important to have a critical mass of women in office, however just because it's a woman, don't assume she'll have progressive views on women's issues," Brater said. "A lot of men have feminist views too." Other members made similar state- ments focusing on womens' issues rather than gender. Democratic National Com- mittee member Debbie Dingell said it is important for women's issues to not be pigeonholed to topics like abortion. She said improved healthcare and education are also integral to women's issues. Unfortunately, women working for women's issues in a mostly-male envi- ronment may need to pay attention to how they are perceived, Brater said. "I'm aware that some people are sen- sitive about an outspoken woman because women tend to be socialized to See DEMOCRATS, Page 7A Conference looks at perceptions of Holocaust By Min Kyung Yoon Daily Staff Reporter With the continuing violence in the Mid- dle East and the impending war in Iraq, the media has become an important tool in shap- ing public discourse. The 24th Conference on the Holocaust, which starts today, will analyze the role of various forms of media in shaping the world's and individual's percep- tions through current events and its portrayal of the Holocaust. "Examining the Holocaust's connection to modern-day events will hopefully provide stu- dents with a greater understanding of the histor- ical basis for many of the (United States') current humanitarian initiatives, and promote a greater moral consciousness amongst students," conference chair Courtney Rangen and LSA senior said. "Most importantly, the conference will raise awareness of the power - good and bad - the media has to record histories and trigger action, demonstrate the importance of tolerance and educate our community about the horrors that arise through racial and ethnic prej- udices." LSA freshman Jillian Steinhauser, a member of the conference organizing committee, said the conference also aims to raise awareness and educate people about the Holocaust. "I believe that the only way to ensure that something as horrendous as the Holocaust never happens again is to teach people about it, and that is why we have the conference here at the U of M - to educate and remember," Steinhauser added. Organized by University Hillel, the confer- ence will feature Washington-based CBS radio and television correspondent Dan Raviv as the keynote speaker and several Holocaust sur- vivors. Raviv will address the media's represen- tation of the Holocaust and how it would be reported in today's media industry. "We wanted someone who would be able to speak about how the press covered the Holocaust during and after the war, and to be able to relate that to more current issues involving press coverage of major events," Rangen said. One of the planned events is the screening of See HOLOCAUST, Page 3A TONY DING/Daily LSA senior Sean Izor and RC senior Paul Kuttner perform In the play "Marcia: True Tales from the Venezuelan Cordillera" Saturday.