NEWS The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 29, 2006 - 3 * ON CAMPUS Visiting prof to " talk on mysterious 'dark energy' Saul Perlmutter, a physics professor from the University of California at Berkley, will serve as this year's lec- turer in the sixth annual Ford Motor Company Lecture in Physics. He will discuss the mysterious "dark energy" that he says is expanding our universe and touch on other recent findings in physics and astrophysics. The lecture will take place today at 4:15 p.m. in 1324 East Hall. There will be a recep- tion at 3:30 p.m. Admission is free. Expert to speak on corporate behavior Jennifer Howard-Grenville, a profes- sor of organizational behavior at Bos- ton University, will lecture today on her research on the development of the United Kingdom's National Industrial Symbiosis Programme, an initiative to improve industrial resource efficiency. Howard-Grenville focuses her research on organizational and institutional change. She has a doctorate in technol- ogy, management and policy from Mas- sacusets Institute of Technology. The lecture will be held today at 4 p.m. in room 1040 of the Dana Building. Hillel to host screening of 'Colombian Love' The film "Colombian Love" will be shown today at 7 p.m. in Hillel's Green Auditorium. The 2004 movie is the story of three best friends trying to bridge the gap between lust and love. and marriage. Admission is free. CRIME NOTES Two women fight over parking spot A woman accused another woman of harassment after a verbal alterca- tion regarding a parking spot at of 1170 W. Medical Dr. on Monday at about 11 a.m., the Department of Public Safety reported. Hubcap thief strikes twice in * Thompson lot All the hubcaps were stolen from two cars parked in the carport at 500 Thompson St. Monday sometime between 3 and 5 p.m., DPS reported. Police currently have no suspects. Sleeping man removed from elevator A homeless man was found asleep in the elevator of a building on Church Street Monday at about 10 a.m., DPS reported. Officers issued the subject a verbal warning and escorted him out of the building. THIs DAY In Daily History 'U' researchers construct part of rocket launched S into space March 29, 1961 - A combined effort by the University and the gov- ernment's space programs success- fully launched a rocket into space Sunday. The rocket was intended to measure the composition of the iono- sphere. The three-stage Aerobee 300 rocket was fired from Wallops Island, Va., one of the NASA's bases. Researchers at the University built the nose cone and 60 pounds of atmospheric measurement equip- ment that went up with the rocket. The rocket soared to an altitude of 253 miles above sea level and sailed nearly 200 miles across the Atlan- tic Ocean. Larry Brace, an assistant research physicist in the electrical annnanrin Pnf artnmant cnirl the, rn(ni' GM eliminates hundreds of white-collar jobs Layoffs are the first in a series of cutbacks for salaried workers DETROIT (AP) - General Motors Corp. laid off several hundred white-c collar workers yesterday as part of ai plan to bring its ailing North Ameri- can operations back to profitability. f It was the first round of salariedI cuts this year for the world's largest automaker, which is struggling withI sluggish sales, shrinking U.S. mar-r ket share and high health and pensionc costs that put it at a competitive disad- vantage against Asian rivals.S GM didn't give an exact figure bute said fewer than 500 jobs were cuts yesterday at 30 locations across thec United States, including factories and engineering centers. A cut of just lessI than 500 jobs would represent aboutc 1.3 percent of GM's U.S. salaried work2 force of 36,000. GM has said it - . 1 out, the greater the chance there is that the most valued employees will walk out the door on their own and GM will have difficulties attracting new employees." Herta said GM's timeline for lay- offs is based on the requirements to run the business. The size of GM's salaried work force is similar to one of its key com- petitors, Ford Motor Co., which has around 35,000 salaried employees. But Ford is in the midst of its own restructuring, and Moore said GM can't get complacent. "They have to cut in every area pos- sible," Moore said. "The number of employees they have right now is still substantially higher than what their current market share will support." GM said Monday that it expects its U.S. market share will fall one per- centage point in the first quarter to 24 percent, down from 32 percent a decade ago. The auto- maker also warned of for GMI continuing losses as it sells fewer vehicles g 1 to rental car fleets and relies less heavily on ions a s discounts to sell vehi- plans to cut 7 per- ltiS critc cent of its salaried work force this to get thr year, or 2,500 jobs, the reduc so more cuts are on the way. quickly as GM spokesman Robert Herta said This has 1 the company hasn't released a figure distraCtio indicating how much it will save employee from the salaried Novembe layoffs. GM shares fell- 18 cents, to close Direc at $22.75 on the restructuring m New York Stock Exchange after ris- ing as high as $23.25 earlier in the day. Detroit-based GM announced a restructuring plan in November in the face of mounting losses. Under the plan, GM wants to cut 30,000 U.S. hourly workers and close 12 facilities by 2008. GM lost $10.6 billion in 2005, largely because of increased competition and rising costs in North America. The layoffs are GM's second major jobs-related announcement in a week. GM said last Wednesday that it would offer buyouts of between $35,000 and $140,000 to its 113,000 U.S. hourly workers. GM salaried workers aren't eligible for those buyouts. Chuck Moore, a director at the Detroit restructuring management firm Conway, MacKenzie and Dun- leavy, said he was surprised GM didn't lay off more workers yesterday. "It's critical for GM to get through the reductions as quickly as possible. This has been a distraction to the employees since November," Moore said. "The longer this gets dragged Young blogger forgoes hearing High schooler may get 20 years in prison on child pornography charges ALLEGAN (AP) - A southwestern Michigan teenager has waived his prelim- inary hearing on charges stemming from the online posting of a sexually explicit photo of two teens taken at a party. The decision yesterday by Ryan Zyls- tra, 17, who lives near Wayland, means his case will be bound over for trial in Alle- gan County Circuit Court. The photo was posted on a blog. It depicted a 17-year-old boy and a 16-year- old girl engaged in sexual activity at a New Year's Eve party at Zylstra's home, the prosecution has said. Zylstra, who attends Wayland High School, was arraigned March 6 in dis- trict court on charges of producing child sexually abusive material; using a com- puter, computer program or computer system to produce child sexually abu- sive material; and distributing or pro- moting the distribution of child sexually abusive material. If convicted on either of the first two counts, Zylstra faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years. al 'o ti s possible. been a n to the s since ,. - Chuck Moore tor at Conway, a anagement firm ces. Dave Kepsel, an engineering man- ager who spent 26 1/2 years at GM, was among those laid off yesterday. "I was told today I no longer have a job with GM," said Kepsel, a 52-year-old from Lake Orion. Kepsel worked at the GM Technical Cen- Levin takes Abu Gliriab scanda into daown hands ter in the Detroit suburb of Warren, a massive facility that employs 14,800 engineers, designers and others. Kepsel said he wasn't surprised by the layoffs and thought they might have come sooner because of GM's struggles. "It's one of those things. It's part of doing business. I don't have any hard feelings," he said. Kepsel drove away in a Chevrolet Silverado, a company vehicle he'll be allowed to keep for 30 days. "At least they offered me that and didn't make me walk home or take a taxi," Kepsel said. GM's severance packages for sala- ried workers vary by position and level of experience, but employees generally receive one month of sever- ance pay for each year of service at the automaker up to a maximum of 15 months. They also will continue to receive health benefits and will be eligible for outplacement assistance during that time, Herta said. Frustrated by Congress's refusal to investigate, Democratic senator sends inquiries to soldiers HAGERSTOWN (AP) - U.S. soldiers who worked at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq while detainees were being abused there have received letters from U.S. Sen. Carl Levin asking about the involvement of higher-ranking officials in authoriz- ing harsh interrogation tactics, a lawyer for a convicted military policeman said yesterday. The letters from the Michigan senator follow Democrats' fail- ure to persuade Congress to open an independent investigation into allegations of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib and other U.S. military detention facilities. The letters were first reported yes- terday by The Washington Post. Levin is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Former Army staff sergeant Ivan "Chip" Frederick, a military police reservist serving more than eight years in prison for abuse at Abu Ghraib, got one of Levin's questionnaires several weeks ago, said his civilian attorney, Gary Myers. "I welcome it because I asked at the very outset of this for a court of inquiry to bring disinterested fact-finders to bear upon these questions," Myers said. The Pentagon has already has done several of its own investi- gations and has argued that another would be redundant. Levin has said those reviews weren't thorough enough. At a hearing in early February, he said the lack of accountability above the level of 10 enlisted soldiers who have been convicted in the Abu Ghraib scandal was "unacceptable." Seven of the convicted soldiers were from the 372nd Military Police Company, an Army Reserve unit based in Cresaptown, Md. In its report, The Washington Post said that Levin has direct- ed Armed Services Committee staff members to send question- naires to hundreds of soldiers, contractors and civilians who worked at Abu Ghraib and at other U.S. military detention facili- ties. The letters seek to assess where the tactics originated and how they were applied - an approach the full committee has not endorsed, the Post reported. The first wave of letters was sent in recent weeks to about 50 military intelligence soldiers and MPs who were affiliated with Abu Ghraib in late 2003 and early 2004, the newspaper reported. Separate questionnaires are being developed for people who worked at detention facilities at Bagram, Afghanistan; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; and locations in Iraq, including at Qaim, where an Iraqi general was killed during an interrogation in November 2003. u $5O cash bonus Special offer for college and trade school students, recent grads and graduate students May be combined with most other publicly available Ford Motor Company national incentives at the time of purchase or lease on the model you select. Limit one offer per customer. See your local Ford or Lincoln Mercury Dealer for details. Visit our Web site for official Program rules. Log on to www.YourTicket2Drive.com for a chance to win: o6 college student purchase program www.fordcoIIegehq.com I uaar nv UId fl#lMk..R T U .