The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Friday, September 11, 2009 - 3A

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, September 11, 2009 - 3A

NEWS BRIEFS
ROCHESTER, Mich.
Michigan profs
back in class after
tentative deal
Students reported for class
Thursday at a suburban Detroit
university hours after professors
reached a tentative agreement that
ended a weeklong strike.
The three-year deal at Oakland
University included more money
for professors in the second year of
the proposed contract, expanded
health care choices, and it allowed
faculty to have say on the school's
future, according to the union.
"This agreement proves beyond
a doubt that we faculty were never
concerned with economics," said
Karen Miller, vice president of the
union's chapter that represents 450
faculty members at the public four-
year institution.
Professors on the 18,000-stu-
dent campus went on strike Sept. 3,
the day classes were to begin, after
the university proposed a three-
year wage freeze along with cuts in
health-insurance benefits.
WIXOM, Mich.
Granholm, Ford
discuss plans for
energy park
Longtime environmental advo-
cate and Ford Motor Co. Executive
Chairman Bill Ford Jr. on Thurs-
day formally announced a massive
recycling project - a $725 million
plan to retool a plant that once
made Thunderbirds into one that
churns out storage batteries and
solar panels.
"We're recycling our Wixom
facility and transforming it into
what we believe is the largest
renewable energy manufacturing
parkin theUnited States" Ford said
from the factory floor of the former
Wixom Assembly Plant, which
closed in 2007 after 50 years.
FordjoinedGov.JenniferGranholm
and officials from Xtreme Power of
Kyle, Texas, and Clairvoyant Energy
of Santa Barbara, Calif. The compa-
nies plan to buy the 320-are Wixom
Assembly Plant if state tax incentives
and federal loans are approved.
The Legislature gave final
approval to some of the tax breaks
Thursday, while others are expect-
ed to be passed and sent to Gra-
nholm next week.
WASHINGTON
Senate panel OKs
$128 billion for wars
With hardly any debate, a pow-
erful Senate committee Thurs-
day approved President Barack
Obama's $128 billion request for
military operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan for the budget year
beginning in October.
The move came as anxiety is in-
creasing on Capitol Hill over the
chances for success in Afghanistan
and as Obama weighs whether to
send more forces to the country.
The war funding was approved

as the Appropriations Commit-
tee voted unanimously for a $636
billion spending measure funding
next year's Pentagon budget. The
war funding would implement
Obama's order earlier this year
to add 21,000 more troops to Af-
ghanistan, which would bring the
total number of U.S. forces there
to 68,000 by the end of 2009.
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico
Mexican soldiers
arrest suspect
linked to 18 killings
Soldiers have arrested a man
suspected of killing 18 people in
a series of attacks this year in
violence-plagued Ciudad Juarez,
across from El Paso, Texas.
Michael Escalante, 29, of El
Paso, was allegedly a member of
"La Linea," a group of hit men
working for the Juarez drug cartel,
Mexico's Defense Department said
Thursday in a release. It was not
clear if Escalante had a legal repre-
sentative or what his nationality is.
Last week authorities arrested
two other alleged La Linea mem-
bers, charging one in 211 killings
and another in 33 killings.
Ciudad Juarez, Mexico's deadli-
est city, has seen more than 1,300
deaths this year.
Farther south in the Michoacan
state capital of Morelia, police said
Wednesday that they seized eight
counterfeit police and rescue vehi-
cles including an intensive care
ambulance with official-looking
logos and paint jobs.
- Compiled from
Doily wire reports

Reporters blame
NATO for death

President Barack Obama speaks to a joint session of Congress on health care in Washington, D.C. Wednesday.
Dem-s say. health care bll
to pass In coming! months
'0 t

Accuse troops of
'double standard' for
Afghan, Western lives
KABUL (AP) - A group of
Afghan journalists blamed inter-
national forces Thursday for the
death of a kidnapped colleague
during the British commando res-
cue of a New York Times reporter
and accused the troops of having
a "double standard" for Western
and Afghan lives.
The accusation came as British
Prime Minister Gordon Brown's
office said troops had carried
out the raid Wednesday in an
attempt to recover both British-
Irish reporter Stephen Farrell and
Afghan translator and reporter
Sultan Munadi and that the mis-
sion was authorized as the "best
chance of protecting life."
The newly formed Media
Club of Afghanistan - set up by
Afghan reporters who work with
international news outlets -
also condemned the Taliban for
abducting both journalists last
week in northern Afghanistan as
they investigated reports of civil-
ian deaths in a German-ordered
airstrike. In addition, both of
the main contenders in Afghani-
stan's disputed presidential elec-
tion called for investigations into
Munadi's death.
More than 50 Afghan report-
ers, wearing cameras and car-
rying notebooks, laid flowers
Thursday at the Kabul cemetery

grave of Munadi, 34, who died
in gunfire as British commandos
launched the rescue operation
in northern Kunduz province.
Farrell survived and was taken
away in a helicopter. One British
commando was also killed in the
raid.
In a statement, the journalists'
group said it held international
forces responsible for launch-
ing a military operation without
exhausting nonviolent channels.
It also said it was "inhumane" for
the British forces to rescue Farrell
and retrieve the body of the slain
British commando while leaving
behind Munadi's body.
The body was retrieved
Wednesday afternoon following
negotiations with local elders,
said Mohammad Omar, the Kun-
duz provincialgovernor. Munadi's
family buried him in the capital
late Wednesday.
Fazul Rahim, an Afghan pro-
ducer for CBS News who was
involved in drafting the journal-
ists' statement, said the troops'
leaving the body showed a lack of
respect.
"It shows a double standard
between a foreign life and an
Afghan life," he said.
Col. Wayne Shanks, a U.S. and
NATO spokesman, called the
deaths during the rescue opera-
tion "tragic" but said he did not
want to assign blame. "I don't
think that during the middle
of a firefight anyone can blame
someone for what they did or did
not do."

Number of uninsured
rises to 46.3 million
from 45.7 million
WASHINGTON (AP) - Demo-
cratic congressional leaders pre-
dicted passage of health care
legislation within a few months
despite undimmed Republican
opposition, claiming momentum
Thursday from President Barack
Obama's speech and renewed
commitment from lawmakers
fresh from a month of meetings
with constituents.
Increasingly, events in the Sen-
ate Finance Committee appeared
pivotal, precursor to likelyvotes in
both the House and the Senate by
early October. "I'm confident the
president will sign a bill this year,"
said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
of California.
While effusively praising
Obama's speech from the night
before, Pelosi and Senate Major-
ity Leader Harry Reid of Nevada

signaled separately the president
may not prevail in his call for leg-
islation that allows the federal
government to sell insurance in
competition with private industry.
Reid said that while he favors
a strong "public option," he could
be satisfied with establishment of
nonprofit cooperatives, along the
lines expected to be included in
the bill takingshape in the Finance
Committee.
Pelosi, who has long favored a
measure that allows the govern-
ment to sell insurance, passed up
a chance to say it was a nonnego-
tiable demand.
As long as legislation makes
quality health care more acces-
sible and affordable, "we will go
forward with that bill," she said.
Democrats are divided over
the public option in both hous-
es, liberals strongly in favor and
many moderates against it. Criti-
cally, though, it appears that any
chance for Republican support
would evaporate if legislation per-
mits immediate, direct competi-

tion between the government and
insurance industry.
Onthe morningafterhisspeech,
Obama renewed his campaign for
passage of his top domestic prior-
ity. Declaring that too many indi-
viduals are being denied coverage,
he said, "It is heartbreaking and
it is wrong and nobody should be
treated that way in the United
States of America. Nobody!"
He also cited new Census sta-
tistics showing that the number
of uninsured has risen to 46.3 mil-
lion from 45.7 million in 2007.
In general, the legislation would

r-

provide new protections to Ameri-
cans with insurance, help the
uninsured affordcoverage,require
most individuals to carry cover-
age and aim to slow the growth
of medical costs overall. The mea-
sure would be paid for through
reductions in planned Medicare
spending and tax increases.
Obama has said his approach
will not result in higher deficits,
but Congressional Budget Office
estimates dispute him.

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GM rolls past one
million miles in
fuel cell vehicle

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ipporters see the billion and plans to spend another
$700 million by 2011 for the com-
el cell becoming mercial production of fuel cell
vehicles, while Honda has leased a
mainstream small number of FCX Clarity vehi-
cles in California to assess hydro-
FFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Gen- gen's future.
Motors Co. is now 1 million Auto companies do not disclose
into its fuel cell experiment costs, but the vehicles are expen-
ompany officials say having sive to produce because most are
day people drive a test fleet of hand-built prototypes. Also, the
ion-free cars has convinced nation lacks a network of fueling
they are onthe right track. stations.
e automaker on Friday said Improving technology should
ssed the 1 million-miles- allow the next cars to go farther
n mark in its fuel cell Chev- than the current 168 miles per
Equinox vehicles, with about fill-up, O'Connell said. Until then,
people rotating in and outcof drivers have to keep a close eye on
than 100 cars over the past the fuel gauge to avoid driftingtoo
nths. far from one of about 70 fueling
hey'll tell you that after the stations in the United States.
eek, they prettymuchforget Test driver Laurie DeRoller
fuel cell car, which indicates learned that the hard way, stalling
that we have accomplished out five miles short of the filling
oal of making the fuel cell station in Honeoye Falls during
parent tothe consumer," said a weekend test drive in May. GM
A O'Connell, director of fuel sent a flatbed to take it away.
commercialization at GM's "It was a rural road, we're talk-
rch and development offices ing cars that are mostly farm-.
neoye Falls, near Rochester. land type vehicles and people are
hey get in the car and drive driving by, and here's myself on
they've always driven their the side of the road with the fuel
and that really tells me that cell car," said DeRoller, executive
ells are closer than most peo- director of the International Busi-
ould believe," he said. ness Council of Greater Rochester.
pporters see the fuel cell "Andpeople are slowingdownand
ing a mainstream, eco- looking," she laughed.
ly alternative to petroleum- The experience didn't change
red cars within the next her mind about wanting to own
e. Powered by electricity, one, she said, and she felt confident
ated by a reaction between a hydrogen highway will eventu-
n and hydrogen, the only ally exist. Refueling the cars with
ions are wisps of water vapor. compressed hydrogen takes about
ou put your hand over the five to seven minutes in a process
st pipe and the only thing similarto putting gasoline in a tra-
g out is water. That was such ditional car.
feeling," said Mike Schwabl, "I was the only parent allowed
keting executive who drove to idle my car in the pickup line at
uinox for 10days in western school," said Jeanine Behr-Getz, a
York earlier this year. Other Greenwich, Conn., author whom
rs tried cars in Washington, GM identified as having driven the
and southern California. millionth fuel cell mile.
e cars look and handle like "We've learned that the tech-
ther car, Schwabl said. "I nology can be accepted by the con-
) love to drive one of these sumer and that it is a viable means
les (permanently)." of powering our automobiles of
t numerous obstacles remain the future," O'Connell said of the
M and its competitors in the "Project Driveway" test.
ell race. Toyota Motor Corp. He said the program will con-
luced a car powered by tinue for five more months and
gen and electricity last year then the cars will be pulled off
will introduce an improved the road and upgraded with tech-
gen fuel cell vehicle in 2015. nology developed while they've
Jyr AG has spent nearly $2f been in use. {'

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UNIVERSITY
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