4p The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, January 4, 2007 - 3A
* The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, January 4, 2007 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
BAGHDAD
4 Five security
contractors taken
captive in Iraq
Four Americans and an Austrian
abducted in November in southern
Iraq spoke briefly and appeared
uninjured in a video believed to
have been recorded nearly two
weeks ago and delivered yesterday
to The Associated Press.
The men - security contractors
for the Crescent Security Group
based in Kuwait - appeared sepa-
rately on the edited video. Three of
them said they were being treated
well. They were kidnapped Nov. 16
9 when suspected militiamen in Iraqi
police uniforms ambushed a convoy
of trucks being escorted by Cres-
cent Security on a highway near the
southern border city of Safwan.
It was unclear whether the kid-
nappers were holding the contrac-
tors to put political pressure on
American-led occupation forces
and the U.S.-backed Iraqi govern-
ment or were seeking a ransom.
U.S.-led forces have conducted
raids in an effort to rescue the
men.
WASHINGTON
Negroponte resigns
post as director
of intelligence
National Intelligence Director
John Negroponte will resign to
become deputy secretary of state, a
government official said yesterday
night.
Negroponte took over in 2005 as
the nation's first intelligence chief,
responsible for overseeing all 16 U.S.
spy agencies. He will return to his
roots as a career diplomat to become
the No. 2 to Secretary of State Con-
doleezza Rice, the official said.
Negroponte is stepping down
as President Bush develops a new
strategy for the war in Iraq.
The official said that the tim-
ing of Negroponte's departure was
uncertain but that it was expected
soon. The official spoke on condi-
tion of anonymity because there
has been no announcement of the
move.
TACOMA, Wash.
Teenage boy killed
in school shooting
A teenage boy was shot to death
yesterdayinahigh schoolhallwayass
classes were about to resume after
winter break. Police arrested a fel-
low student found wandering near-
by,butwere still tryingto determine
a motive.
ThePierceCountymedical exam-
iner's office identified the dead boy
as Samnang Kok, 17.
The arrested student was Doug-
las Chanthabouly, 18. According to
Pierce County Jail booking records,
he was booked for investigation of
first-degree murder shortly before 1
p.m.
No one else was hurt in the 7:30
a.m. shooting.
BOST(ON
1 " TOP TEN HIGHEST-PAID
U salaries s UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES
1. Robert Kelch
ExecutiveVPfor Medical Affairs
modest increases: $656,910
Chrysler falls out
of top for 2006
Faculty pay up
average of 4.1 per-
cent, administrators
3.1
By GABE NELSON
Daily StaffReporter
Although a few administrators
saw sizable raises this year, sala-
ries for most of the University's
top brass grew less than those of
the average faculty member over
the last year.
According to the University sal-
ary record, released by the Univer-
sity's human resources office last
week, the average University fac-
ulty member received a 4.1 percent
raise over the last year.
The average administrator
received a 3.1-percent raise over
the last year. The average aca-
demic dean saw a pay hike of 3.9
percent.
None of the University's 19
academic deans got more than
4.3 percent, but three University
administrators saw raises of more
than 40 percent this year.
Douglas Strong, director and
CEO of the University's Hospitals
and Health Systems, received a
40.4 percent raise, bringing his
2006-2007 salary to $490,000. It
bumped him from fifth to third on
the list of the University's highest-
paid employees.
Timothy Slottow, the Universi-
ty's chief financial officer, makes
45.4 percent more than he did last
year. That makes him the fourth
highest-paid University employ-
ee.
And Erik Lundberg, the Univer-
sity's chief investment officer, saw
a 46.3 percent pay raise. Now mak-
ing $426,500, Lundberg is fifth on
the list of highest-paid employees.
University spokeswoman Julie
Peterson said Slottow's raise was
an attempt to keep him at the Uni-
versity. He might otherwise have
been lured away by a more lucra-
tive offer from a private university
or company, she said.
Otherwise, it was a largely con-
servative year for pay increases.
Other than Slottow, the only Uni-
versity executive officer to earn a
significant raise was University
Vice President and Secretary Sally
Churchill, whose pay jumped by
20.6 percent.
Non-academic employees of the
University averaged raises of just 3
percent over last year - the lowest
pay increase among all groups of
University employees.
2. Mary Sue Coleman
University President
$516,501
3. Douglas Strong
Director and CEO, University Hospitals and
Health Systems
$490,000
4. Timothy Slottow
University CFO
$437,750
5. Erik Lundberg
Chief Investment Officer
$426,500
6. Robert Dolan
Dean, Ross School of Business
$405,000
7. Bill Martin
Athletic Director
$355,770
8. Zelda Geyer-Sylvia
M-CARE CEO
$349,818
9. Lloyd Carr
Head Football Coach
$347,619
10. Teresa Sullivan
Provost
$340,000
Toyota now has more
market share than
DaimlerChrysler
DETROIT (AP) - Toyota Motor
Corp. continued to gobble up mar-
ket share in 2006, passing Daim-
lerChrysler AG as the No. 3 U.S. auto
seller for the first time during a full
calendar year.
In sales figures announced yes-
terday, Toyota, which includes the
Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands,
ended the year with 15.4 percent
of the U.S. automotive market
compared to DaimlerChrysler's
13.3 percent, according to Auto-
data Inc.
Toyota's market share rose more
than 2 percent, up from 13.3 percent
at the end of last year. The company
had its best year ever in 2006, with
sales up 12.9 percent for the year at
more than 2.5 million vehicles.
Industry analysts say the Japa-
nese automaker benefited from its
reputation for quality and fuel effi-
ciency as gasoline prices sent con-
sumers fleeing to cars from trucks
and sport utility vehicles during
much of the year.
Industrywide, U.S. sales dropped
2.6 percent for the year to about 16.5
million from just under 17 million in
2005, Autodata said.
Ford Motor Co. was able to hold
off Toyota and keep its title of No.
2 for 2006 and for the month of
December. Ford ended the year with
16.4 percent of the U.S. market, and
ithas forecast a14 to 15 percent mar-
ket share for the next several years.
That means Ford almost certainly
will be passed by Toyota as No. 2
sometime next year.
"They've got a lot of momentum
going into 2007, and we don't see the
momentum slowing anytime soon,"
said Joe Barker, senior manager of
global sales forecasting for CSM
Worldwide, an automotive forecast-
ing firm in Northville.
Ford repeatedly has said it is not
focused on keeping market share,
but rather wants to sell cars at a
profit. The company lost $7 billion
during the first three quarters of the
year and is in the midst of a major
restructuring plan to shrink its fac-
tory capacity to match lower con-
sumer demand.
Ford sales dropped nearly 13 per-
cent in December compared with
December oflast year, and they were
off 8 percentforthe year atabout2.9
million vehicles. Ford attributed the
decline to a drop in truck and sport
utility vehicle sales and the end of
production for the Taurus sedan.
DaimlerChrysler, including the
Chrysler Group and Mercedes-
Benz, saw a 1 percent U.S. sales
decline last month due largely to a
dip in Mercedes sales. Chrysler's
sales rose 1 percent, but Mercedes
sales dropped 10 percent in Decem-
ber when compared with the same
month of 2005.
For the full year, DaimlerChrys-
ler's sales were down 5 percent to
more than 2.39 million compared
with 2005. Chrysler was off 7 per-
cent while Mercedes was up 11 per-
cent.
Ford sold a total of 231,900 light
vehicles in December, with Toyota
just below the Dearborn-based auto-
maker at 228,322. But Toyota's sales
for the month continued to increase,
up more than 12 percent compared
with December of last year.
General Motors Corp., the world's
largest automaker, reported Decem-
ber sales fell 13 percent, and its sales
for the year dropped 8.7 percent
compared to last year. Its market
share was 24.3 percent for the year,
with just over 4 million vehicles
sold.
Jesse Toprak, chief economist for
Edmunds.com, a research website
for car buyers, said that of the major
automakers, only Honda and Toyota
saw increased market share.
Dems pledge action on ethics,
Iraq on eve of taking Congress
Bush cautions
against 'political'
legislation
WASHINGTON (AP) - Con-
gressional Democrats stepped
hungrily to the brink of power yes-
terday, promisingimmediate action
to limit the influence of lobbyists
and constant prodding of the Bush
administration to bring U.S. troops
home from Iraq.
President Bush pushed back
against the political opposition as
he contemplated divided govern-
ment for his final two years in the
White House. He said he would
soon propose a five-year plan to
balance the budget, and he chal-
lenged Democrats to avoid pass-
ing "bills that are simply political"
statements.
"There is nothing political about
finding a policy to end the war in
Iraq, raising the minimum wage,
achieving energy independence or
helping kids afford college," shot
back Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada,
due to become majority leader at
the stroke of noon on today. "In
fact, politics has prevented prog-
ress on these issues for too many
years."
Hussein
execution
guards
Even as they prepared to take
control of Congress, Democrats
received a brusque reminder that
they face pressure from the politi-
cal left as well as resistance from
Republicans.
At one point during the day,
Rep. Rahm Emanuel, a member of
the Democratic leadership, was
addressing reporters when he was
loudly interrupted by Cindy Shee-
han and other anti-war activists.
"De-escalate, investigate, troops
home now!" they shouted, while he
smiled gamely.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, in line to
become the nation's first female
House speaker, spent much of
her day at ceremonial events. She
attended a Catholic Mass in remem-
brance of the children ofDarfur and
Katrina, then atea in her honor.
That left it to her lieutenants to
outline plans for the Democrats'
initial stretch in the majority.
Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland,
the incoming majority leader, said
the first six bills and a series of
stiffer ethics rules would be passed
within two weeks.
The firststep, he said, would take
place by early evening today, and
consist of several measures crafted
in response to the scandals that
weakened Republicans in last fall's
elections.
In addition to expanding restric-
tions on privately financed trips
enjoyed by lawmakers, House
Democrats said they will prohibit
travel on corporate jets and require
greater disclosure of earmarks, the
pet projects inserted into legisla-
tion at the behest of individual law-
makers.
The rules do not prohibit law-
makers from taking trips financed
by foundations that seek to influ-
ence public opinion. Those trips
will require pre-approval from the
ethics committee.
Current rules ban congressional
travel paid forbylobbyistsor foreign
governments, and violations of the
existing restrictions played heavily,
in the scandal involvingRepublican
lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Democrats appeared to back-
track from their campaign-sea-
son pledge in at least one area.
They were sharply critical last
year of Republicans for keeping
a roll call vote open for hours so
leaders could find enough votes
to pass Medicare legislation. But
rather than ban the practice, the
proposed new rule declares that
a vote "shall not be held open for
the sole purpose of reversing the
outcome."
I
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Romney files forms arrested
for presidential run
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Rom-
ney said yesterday he's taking the
first step in a 2008 presidential bid,
joining an increasingly crowded
field of Republican hopefuls.
Romney's confirmation of his
plans comes after a 10-day period
of contemplation during a family
vacation in Utah and follows sever-
al years in which he acknowledged
he was considering a White House
run but hadn't made a final decision
about pursuing the presidency.
If elected, Romney would be the
nation's first Mormon president.
- Compiled from
Daily wire reports
They alledgedly
allowed video that
shows dead dictator
www.theark.org
Janury26 FRIDAY 6:30PM
JAKE MARTHA WAINWRIHT
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT
GANDALF MURPHY AND THE SLAMBOVIAN CIRCUS OF DREADS
EMBER SWIFT IILIsH EMCEE: JEFF DANIELS
January 27 SATURDAY 6:30PM
RFD BOYS BILL STAIS TERRI HENDRIX&LLOYD MAINES
IOUNTAIN, HURT
DAISY MAY PAL THOREMCEE: JEFF DANILS
JO MPRINE
I
BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraqi authori-
ties reported the arrests yester-
day of two guards and an official
who supervised Saddam Hussein's
hanging and said the guard force
was infiltrated by outsiders who
taunted the former leader and shot
the video showing his body dan- To play:
gling at the end of a rope.
The unauthorized video, which anC
ignited protests by Saddam's fel-
low Sunni Arabs in various Iraqi
cities, threatens to turn the ousted
dictator into a martyr. Saddam was
shown never bowing his head as lae
faced death, and asking the hecklers D
if they were acting in a manly way.
The Bush administration sent
conflicting signals yesterday about
the taunting and baiting that
accompanied the execution, with
the White House declining to join
criticism of the procedure and the
State Department and U.S. military
publicly raising questions about it.
Saddam, who was convicted for
the killings of 148 Shiites, was dig-
nified and courteous to his Ameri-
can jailers up to the moment he wast
handed over to the Iraqis outside
the execution chamber, a U.S. mili-
tary spokesman said.
He "was courteous, as he always
had been, to his U.S. military police
guards," Maj. Gen. William B.
Caldwell said. "He spoke very well
to our military police, as he always
had.
Complete the grid so that e)
I
I
5 6
9
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The age of a toilet recently
discovered at one of the
world's most important
archaeological sites on
9 the banks of the Dead
Sea. Because of the toilet,
researchers were able to
prove the site was inhabited
by a ascetic Jewish sect.
8
916
1 ~ -5
5 217
5 3
3
7
2
1
Tickets on sate at theMichigan Union TicketOffice. Herb David Guitar Studio,
and any'icketMasteroultet. Charge by phone736K.763TITS.
Program suta ect to change.
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