The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
vWS
Wednesday, April 2,2008 - 3A
Is Wednesday, April 2,2008 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS TOYOTA
From Page 1A
WASHINGTON
Congress questions ac
top oil companies on fo
th
soaring profits St
Top executives of the five big- a
gest U.S. oil companies were hi
pressed yesterday to explain the
soaring fuel prices amid huge th
industry profits and why they in
weren't investing more to develop is
renewable energy source such as h
wind and solar.
The executives, peppered with th
questions from skeptical lawmak- in
ers, said they understood that high ac
energy costs are hurting consum- a
ers, but deflected blame, arguing M
that their profits - $123 billion st
last year - wer& in line with other
industries.
"On April Fool's Day, the big-
gest joke of all is being played on
AmericanfamiliesbyBigOil," Rep.
Edward Markey, D-Mass., said as F
his committee began hearing from
the oil company executives. m
WASHINGTON thi
Dem leaders debate th
B
how to end Iraq War e
Democratic leaders returned o
from their spring break this week fa
to declare that Iraq is in turmoil e
and that they will continue to try
to force President Bush to end the w
war. o1
But facing another uphill battle, vi
party members are undecided on d
whether to try to cut off money or fr
take a softer approach that is more e-
likely to succeed. w
They will have to decide soon.
Congress has approved only $86.7 C
billion of the Bush administra- sa
tion's $196.4 billion request for war se
spending this budget year, which
began Oct. 1. Most of the money
is required by the military, which
says it is about $102.5 billion short
And will run out this spring. I
By early May, the House is
expected to consider spending leg- -
islation addressing the military's
needs, with the Senate following
suit. Pe
li
DETROIT th
n
Carmakers report e
id
dropitnsales tr
across the board tt
da
Automakers began 2008 expect- le
ing the worst year for U.S. auto it
sales in a decade. So far, they're tic
getting what they anticipated. d
Sales dropped by double digits th
in March, even for usual stalwarts to
like Toyota. And with fragile con-
sumer confidence, falling home pi
values, tightening credit and high c
energy prices, it may be some time b
before auto sales recover. a
General Motors and Chrysler
both reported a 19 percent drop in cl
U.S. sales on Tuesday. Ford's sales
fell 14 percent and Toyota was
down 10 percent compared with
last March. Nissan fell 4 percent
and Honda reported a 3 percent
drop.
GM remained upbeat, saying de-
mand is building up and the federal
economic stimulus package could
help boost sales in the second half
of the year.
HAVANA, Cuba
Castro rolls out
reforms in Cuba
Shoppers snapped up DVD
players, motorbikes and pressure
cookers yesterday as a slew of con-
sumer products went on sale to all
Cuban citizens for the first time.
Possibly more significantly, Cuba
announced it will lend unproduc-
tive state land to private farmers
to boost agricultural production.
Combined with other reforms
announced in recent days, the
measures suggested that substan-
tial changes are being driven by
new President Raul Castro, who
vowed when he took over from h
brother Fidel to remove some of
the more irksome limitations on
the daily lives of Cubans.
"They should have done this a
long time ago," one man said as he
left a store with a red and silver
electric motorbike that cost $814.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
U,,S. DEATHS
4,0
Number of American service mem-
bers who have died in the war in
Iraq, according to The Associated
Press. There were no deaths identi-
fied yesterday.
ess moves with the University,
cording to Flynn.
"This is definitely good news
r the University," he said citing
ie University's strong Japanese
udies and Economics depart-
ents. "My guess is there will be
lot of opportunities opening up
ere over the next decade."
Gov. Jennifer Granholm said
he acquisition of the research
stitute is a sign that the state
rebounding from its economic
ardships.
"Toyota's decision to establish
ie Toyota Research Institute
Ann Arbor to direct research
tivities for North America is
nother piece of good news for
ichigan," she said in a written
atement.
University President Mary
SBESTOS
rom Page 1A
essages were a "lame" joke.
Burns declined comment for
is story.
The follow-up message said
hat nothing was wrong with
ursley, "At least not anything the
-mail said," the message read.
Logan said that "the identity
f the sender of both e-mails is
lse" and that Burns didn't send
ther message.
Because the first two e-mails
vere sent within an hour of each
ther, most residents didn't fall
ctim to the joke. Bursley resi-
ent Brianna Iddings, an LSA
eshman, said she could tell the
-mails sent from Burns's address
veren't genuine.
"It didn't seem like something
arolyn would write," Iddings
id. "The e-mails she usually
ends out seem more formal." .
Burnseventuallysentamessage
Sue Coleman echoed Granholm's
belief, saying the deal would
boost the state's economy.
"Toyota's research will help
our economy grow while also
tackling some of the great
challenges of our time includ-
ing energy and the environ-
ment," she said in a written
statement.
Economics Prof. Alan Dear-
dorff,who studies global econom-
ics, said the deal will mean more
to the Michigan economy than
the Japanese automaker for now,
citing the $21 billion investment
Toyota currently has in North
America.
"It is certainly good for South-
east Michigan, although it is not
itself a large investment (for Toy-
ota)," he said. "It is encouraging,
though, more as asignal that Toy-
ota sees the value of automotive
expertise that is concentrated in
this region."
to residents aroond 11 a.m. yester-
day, explaining that the earlier
e-mails were simply a prank and
that "there was nothing to worry
about." In her message to the resi-
dents, she said the prank might
have been the result of avirus.
Logan said that while the e-
mails may seem harmless, "the
prank represents a potential com-
promise of e-mail protocols and
security and perhaps, University
policy."Hesaidthe HousingInfor-
mation Technology Office had
been asked to investigatethe iden-
tity of the sender so that appropri-
ate actions-could be taken.
LSA freshman Jonathan Hur-
witz said he was confused after
he read the first e-mail.
"I wouldn't expect somebody
with such a position in the dorm
to play such an immature joke,"
Hurwitz said.
- Daily Staff Reporter
Philip Guichelaar contributed
to this report.
Pentagon exposes old
memo approving torture
WASHINGTON (AP) - The
entagon yesterday made pub-
c a now-defunct legal memo
hat approved the use of harsh
iterrogation techniques against
rror suspects, saying that Pres-
ent Bush's wartime authority
umps any international ban on
rture.
TheJusticeDepartmentmemo,
ated March 14, 2003, outlines
gal justification for military
terrogators to use harsh tac-'
cs against al-Qaida and Taliban
etainees overseas - so long as
ey did not specifically intend to*
irture their captors. -
Even so, the memo noted, the
resident's wartime power as
ommander in chief would not
e limited by the U.N. treaties
gainst torture.
"Our previous opinions make
ear that customary' interna-
tional law is not federal law and
that the president is free to over-
ride it at his discretion," said the
memo written by John Yoo, who
was then deputy assistant attor-
ney general for the Office of Legal
Counsel.
The memo also offered a
defense in case any interrogator
was charged with violating U.S.
or international laws.
"Finally, even if the crimi-
nal prohibitions outlined above
applied, and an interrogation
method might violate those
prohibitions, necessity or self-
defense could provide justifica-
tions for any criminal liability,"
the memo concluded.
The memo was rescinded in
December 2003, a mere nine
months after Yoo sent it to the
Pentagon's top lawyer, William J.
Haynes.
Rosalie Ginsberg Awards for
Community Service and
Social Action
April I I th, 4PM
Pendleton Room, Michigan Union
Greek Awards Night
Office of Greek Life
April 10th, 7PM
Michigan Union Ballroom
Sponsored by Interfraternity Council, Multicultural
Greek Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council,
Panhellenic Association, Gamma Sigma Alpha, and
Order of Omega.
MESA/Trotter Multicultural Center
Year-end Community Festival
A festival atmosphere celebrating all UM graduates
Saturday,April I 2th
Trotter Multicultural Center
1443 Washtenaw Avenue
Free and open to the entire campus community.
Lavender Graduation
Office of LG BT Affairs
April 24th, 4:30PM
Pendleton Room, Michigan Union
The Program on
Interg roup Relations
Patricia Gurin Certificate of
Merit Ceremony
April 24th, 2-4PM
Vandenberg Room, Michigan League
This year's winners-of-the
Michigan Leadership Awards
April 3rd, 4:00PM
Pendleton Room, Michigan Union
The Office of Student Activities & Leadership
Advisor of theYear
Chris Haughee
Outstanding New Member
Chris Armstrong
Voni Deeds
Alexandra Luck
MingmingYang
YuxingYun
Outstanding Student Leader
Zeeshaan Bhatti
Derek Blumke
Adam Gleicher
Alanna Holt
Preetha lyengar
Jessica jolly
Mei Ling Liu
James Logan
Liang Zhang
Justin Zumsteg
Student Legacy
Shaun Patel
Tapestry
Natalie Hecht
jenniferYim
Yeoman Service
Kim Cheung
Anthony Heaphy
Josna Padiyar
Krista Rumsey
Outstanding Student Organization
Best Buddies
Hispanic and Latino Business Students Association
Relay For Life
Ross Net Impact
Students for Organ Donation
Students Taking Action against Neurological Disorders
Program of theYear
Conference on the Holocaust - Survivors'Luncheon
Detroit Project - Detroit Project Day 2007
IASA - Mizrana - Fusing Worlds Together
SHPE - Multi-Cultural Holiday Celebration
South Quad, Couzens Hall, Michigan Community Scholars Program,
Chinese Students Association, and YouthHope - TicketTo China
Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority,Inc. - Seven Deadly Sins Week
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