The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Israeli diplomat talks peace process Deputy consul general says Iran's influence hinders Israeli peace process By ALEX KIRSHENBAUM For the Daily On campus last night, Israeli Deputy Consul General Gershon Kedar said Iran's influence in the Middle East could be a hindrance to any developments in the Israeli- Palestinian peace process. At a lecture, "Exploring the Dynamic U.S.-Israeli Relation- ship," Kedar spoke to about 60 attendees on a variety of topics relating to the Middle East includ- ing the extremism of Arab-Israeli conflict to the possibility of a two- state solution to the conflict. r Kedar mainly focused his dis- cussion on Israel's more immedi- ate neighbors, largely avoiding the United States' role of in the peace negotiations. Discussing the effect of Iran's geopolitical position on Israeli peace negotiations, Kedar said that for the other countries involved, "Iran is the problem, not Israel." Kedar spoke frequently about the negative effects of Iran's influ- ence in the region on the Middle East peace process. "Iran's nuclear umbrella will ... make (Arab countries') regimes that much more unstable," he said. Kedar lectured for only a few minutes, with most of the event's BUDGET From Page 1A nifer Granholm, said shortly after midnight. But the governor's office was waiting on a possible resolu- tion from the legislature to keep government running before state offices were to open Thursday. Michigan already is struggling with the nation's highest unem- ployment rate, a shrinking auto industry, a high home foreclosure rate and an economy that soured long before the national recession. The number of people receiving food stamps and unemployment checks keeps going up, and it's the only state where the Census Bureau found increasing poverty rates two years in a row. Pennsylvania is now the only in the country where a budget deal has not been enacted. Leaders there reached a tentative deal nearly two weeks ago, but have been unable to put all the pieces in place. Only Michigan and Alabama have fiscal years that start Oct. 1, and Alabama has passed its budget. Michigan is having a tough time finding money for everything from prisons to universities and in-school health clinics for adoles- cents. State revenues have grown just 1.3 percent annually during the past decade when federal funds are left out, according to the nonparti- san House Fiscal Agency. University funding has dropped 22 percent during the past seven years when adjusted for inflation, forcing up tuition rates. Yet the Thursday, October 1, 2009 - 7A higher education compromise law- makers passed. Wednesday elimi- nated the pepular Premise Grant' scholarship, which gave college studentsupto$4,000, andcutother student financial aid to the bone. The lack of a budget deal left 51,000 state workers unsure as they headed to bed Wednesday night whether they'd work Thursday. The administration had issuedtem- porary layoff notices earlier in the day and told state contractors they might not get paid. Granholm had angled to get an interim budget sent to her by the Wednesday midnight deadline. It would have meant 30 more days for lawmakers to put a more pal- atable deal in place and she prob- ably wouldn't have had to cut much spending during that period. The interim. budget originally was Senate Republicans' idea. But as House Democrats on Wednesday tried to restore programs, GOP law- makers feared Democrats only want- ed to win more time for tax increases. Meanwhile, school andlocalgov- ernment leaders grew increasingly nervous contemplating cuts. Revenue for cities, villages and townships has dropped by nearly a quarter in the past eight years, and mayors statewide said a proposed 11 percent cut in the new budget would force them to lay off police, close parks and shut off some city services. Michigan also isin danger of los- ing millions of federal dollars for Medicaid and similar programs if it can't come up with its share of matching funds. SAMMI TRAUBEN/Daily Israeli Deputy Consul General Gershon Kedar speaks about Israeli relations and conflicts last night in the Chemistry Building. time being consumed by questions punishment is," Kedar said. Kedar's lecture was well rounded. from the audience. He likened the commission's "I thought he was very informa- One of the questions raised sev- findings to a juror entering into tive," she said. "He presented both eral times concerned the recent a trial, already sure of the defen- sides. (Heexplained)howit'snotjust Goldstone report, released by the dant's guilt. an Israeli-Palestinian issue - the United Nations Human Rights The lecture was sponsored by the surrounding areas are involved." Council. The report criticized American Movement for Israel, the Lemkin added that she wished Israel for human rights violations largest pro-Israeli group on campus. there would have been a little more during lastyear's Gaza conflict. LSA sophomore Richard Kallus, history in the lecture. Kedar said the report was unac- a member of AMI board, said the "Maybe if he went over a little ceptable because it assumed Israe- group brought in Kedar to show more of a history of the conflict, li guilt, rather than providing an campus a unique perspective on just to say how emotionally both unbiased objective observer. the issue. sides are involved," said Lemkin. He added that the government "We want to show a different "Just a recap I guess." is "not willing to play ball," when viewpoint from what most people LSA sophomore Elise Aikman it comes to the report. are seeing in the American media," agreed. "The mandate from the begin- Kallus said. "I would like to know more ning states that Israel is guilty, that LSAjunior Kimberly Lemkin, who about the history of U.S.-Arab rela- we just have to figure out what the attended the lecture,said she thought tions," she said. PAINKILLER From Page 1A by using ultra-small polymer par- ticles to "release morphine and an antidote automatically in response to physiological clues," Baker wrote in an e-mail interview. "The drug gives long-term relief from pain for wounded soldiers while preventing overdoses with pain medication that might kill them," Baker wrote. Baker and his team are work- ing on the drug through a grant of about $1.3 million administered by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. .aohua Huang, a researcher on the team and an internal medi- cine research investigator for the Michigan Nanotechnology Insti- tute, explained the team's pur- pose. "Wehave todesignthecruciallink or system that willtrigger the release of a therapeutic drug and under a specific condition," Huangsaid. The researchers tested many different compounds in hopes of finding an effective pro-drug, a modified therapeutic drug thatcan beconvertedtoanotherdrugunder a specific condition, according to a press release from the University of Michigan Health System. The team wanted to use a pro- drug that could become Naloxone, a drug used toRevent morphine's negative side effects. Huang said the Naloxone com- pound will only activate when blood oxygen levels become too low. "Our drug design will release an anti-morphine drug that will reduce the morphine effects, but the drug will only release when there's a problem," Huang said. "The problem becomes a trigger of release of the anti-morphine drug. When the problem disappears,that means the oxygen in the blood has come back to a normal level." If the drug proves effective for humans, it will be a crucial advancement in the medical world and especially on the battlefield, where it will allow for easier administering of pain relief to wounded soldiers. "Sometimes (a soldier) will be in a remote place that makes it hard to retreat to a hospital," Huang said. "Soldiers can give themselves this pro-drug with morphine with- out causing any problems." Besides helping soldiers and becoming a source of pain control among other patients, it could also prevent morphine addiction. "(The drug) may help pain control in many medical settings while preventing overdoses and potentially avoiding addiction," Baker wrote. The research team is still con- ducting studies and will soon be performing animal and toxico- logical tests. It is not yet known when the drug will be available for humans. "As for the timeline (for humans), it's hard to say, maybe in five years," Huang said. "To move from a clinical trial to a real patient is still a long way to go." TAILGATE From Page 1A Larcom's original letter sent last week discussed the problems the pregames cause, and also the laws they potentially break. "We appreciate your willing- ness to pass on to your tenants that there is 'zero tolerance' for illegal activities, such as possession of open intoxicants in public, minors in possession, littering, excessive noise and other disorderly con- duct," the letter stated. FOLLOW THE DAILY ON TWITTER @michiga ndai ly' @michd ailynews @michdailysports "DREW BARRYMORE HAS DIRECTED A WORK OF PURE GENIUS." AIN'T IT COOL NEWS JAKE FROMM/Daily Buju Banton concerts have been cancelled at various venues across the country, including in Detroit, for anti-gay lyrics, PROTEST From Page 1A buyer, who booked Banton said the performer said in the three times he has worked Banton's shows, he has never seen him play the song. "He's very sensitive to this topic," he said. "Not only does he not ever perform any of his work from when he was kid, he doesn't even allow the DJs who spin before or after his sets to play anything that would resemble homophobic material." Berry said that he personally came outside during the protest and had a very "civil dialogue" with the protestors. He added that he planned on opening the doors to the club when Banton discussed the controversial song. "I went out there and talked to them myself," he said. "The mayor came down and he brought the leaders of the group in and we sat there and chatted, and I was just kind of filling the mayor in on what Buju was all about and why the Pig is doing this." Armstrong, however, said that he does not believe that Banton's prejudices are in the past and said he has been recorded singing his controversial song "Boom Bye- Bye" in the past couple of years. "He was recorded saying 'the war between me and faggots will never end,"' Armstrong said. "It's hard to believe he's turned a new leaf." Phil Volk, Michigan Democratic Party LGBT Caucus member an attendee at the rally, said the pro- testers are serving an important purpose. "Any place where they allow degrading LGBT people have to know it's wrong and they have tosee (this protest) to know it's wrong," Volk said. "People are feeding hate by attending this concert." But not all LGBT activists sup- ported the protest. Bill Dobbs, who is a well- respected and nationally renowned gay activist and University alum, said the LGBT community should not be protesting Banton's right to free expression by calling for the show's cancellation. But, rather, they should be protesting the mes- sage of his songs, Dobbs said. "The dangerous part of this pro- test is when it's not just to confront his lyrics but to shut him down," Dobbs said. "It's fine to protest, but it's not fine to work to pull the plug." Dobbs added that the tim- ing of the protest is a bit ironic as this week is Banned Books Week, which aims to bring awareness to the dangers of censorship. Dobbs likened the push to pre- vent Banton from performing at the Blind Pig to the censorship attempted against certain video games and eroticabecause they are believed to cause violence. He said he believes free speech, hateful or not, should never be compromised. "I'm not defending Banton's lyrics," Dobbs said. "What I'm alarmed at is a tactic ... the gay and lesbian folks who are out there on the street are doing to somebody else exactly what's been done to them and that always comes back to haunt." Lawrence Steirhoff, a second- year University Law student and political action chair of the Out- Laws group, an LGBT organization in the Law School, said the claim that the protest is an attempt to stifle Banton's First Amendment rights is "idiotic." He said he believes that the com- munity should be able cancel the show because, though Banton has the right to say what he wants, the protestors are within their rights to attempt to prevent him from performing in their community. Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje, who was at last night's protest, said he was in communication with representatives from the Blind Pig to try and urge them to cancel the show, but ultimately his requests were denied. "I'll certainly respect their right to put the show on," Hieftje said. "But we're out here to protest." - Daily News Editor Jillian Berman contributed to this report.