The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - 3
NEWS BRIEFS
KALAMAZOO, Mich.
$30 million spent
in 6 years on
scholarship fund
An anonymously funded free
college tuition program for high
school graduates of the Kalama-
zoo Public Schools that was
launched six years ago has spent
more than $30 million on higher
education for more than 2,300
students.
Data provided by The Kalama-
zoo Promise program show that
about one-third of the students
who started college on Promise
scholarships have dropped out, at
least temporarily, and another 10
percent of eligible students didn't
take advantage of the scholarship
program, the Kalamazoo Gazette
reported yesterday.
"Those numbers tell the story
of what still needs to be done,"
said Janice Brown, the program's
executive director.
NEW YORK CITY
Stocks soar on big
shopping weekend
A weekend of strong holiday
shopping in the U.S. and radical
proposals for stanching Europe's
debt crisis sent stocks soaring
yesterday. The Standard & Poor's
500 index broke a seven-day los-
ing streak and the Dow Jones
industrial average jumped 291
points, itsbiggestgain in a month.
Markets in Europe also surged
as leaders there discussed previ-
ously unthinkable approaches
for containing the region's debt
troubles, such as joint bond sales
and much tighter fiscal controls.
France's CAC-40 jumped 5.5 per-
cent. Indexes in Germany and
Italy rose 4.6 percent. The bat-
tered euro rose against the dollar.
European finance ministers
discussed aggressive measures to
stop the debt crisis from destroy-
ing the 17-nation currency union.
CARACAS, Venezuela
Columbian drug
trafficker captured
A top Colombian drug traffick-
er reputedly responsible for ship-
ping tons of cocaine to the United
States through Central America
and Mexico has been captured in
Venezuela, officials said yester-
day.
The U.S. had offered a $5 mil-
lion reward for information lead-
ing to the arrest of Maximiliano
Bonilla Orozco, also known as
"Valenciano," who was also on
Colombia's most-wanted list.
Colombian authorities told
The Associated Press that Bonilla
was captured Sunday. The infor-
mation was later confirmed by
Colombian President Juan Man-
uel Santos, who was in Venezu-
ela meeting with President Hugo
Chavez.
"He's one of the most recog-
nized drug traffickers, who has
caused terrible harm to our coun-
try," Santos told Chavez at the
presidential palace.
TRIPOLI, Libya
Libyan clerics urge
leaders to disarm
rebel fighters
Dozens of Libyan religious
leaders yesterday urged authori-
ties to disarm former rebels and
form a national army, backing
the transitional government's
struggle to exert control over the
militias that overthrew dictator
Moammar Gadhafi.
The fighters are widely
admired for their role in bringing
down the Gadhafi regime, but the
clerics' statement reflected con-
cern over the militias' refusal to
submit to the central authority.
Dozens of militias have held on
to arsenals of heavy weapons and
sometimes clash among them-
selves.
"We advise speeding up the
process of establishing a national
army and the collection of arms,"
said a statement from the 250
imams and other clerics gathered
for a conference in Tripoli, the
first of its kind after the fall of the
Gadhafi regime.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
GM to offer loaner
cars to Volt owners
TAREK FAWZY/AP
Egyptian women walk past a banner and poster in Arabic that both read, "Nour Party," on the first day of parliamentary
elections in Alexandria, yesterday.
Conservative Nour Party
praised b Egyptian voters
Islamist parties
expected to do well
in first elections
after revolution
ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (AP)
- Egypt's first parliamentary
elections since the fall of Hosni
Mubarak brought the political
debut of a. potentially power-
ful new player on the scene,
the ultraconservative Islamist
movement known as the Salafis.
At several voting stations in
this Mediterranean coastal city
yesterday, Salafis packed the lines
as early as 7 a.m., an hour before
the polls opened, clearly dis-
tinguishable by the long, mous-
tache-less beards of the men and
the blanketing robes and veils of
the women leaving nothing of
their bodies visible but their eyes.
Their presence in the lines
only grew throughout the day,
as women in veils and gloves
passed out campaign fliers for
the Nour Party, the main Salafist
entry in the race.
"Anybody who is afraid of the
Salafis doesn't know who we
are," said Um Ibrahim, 43, who
wore a face veil and had dragged
her children to the polls with
her. "The Nour Party under-
stands religion the way that God
intended and they will lead us
properly."
Islamic parties in general are
expected to do well, likely to win
a plurality or even a majority in
the next parliament, raising the
likelihood that Egypt will see
an increased melding of religion
into its politics. Strongest is the
Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's
most organized political force,
in existence for 80 years with a
network of activists and chari-
ties nationwide.
After the lifting of Mubarak's
autocratic hand, newly created
Salafi parties have flooded onto
the scene. They are challenging
the Brotherhood's near monop-
oly on the religious bloc and are
likely to push even harder than
the Brotherhood for religious
rule.
They bring an ideology that
makes the Brotherhood look
moderate in comparison. Salafis
advocate a Saudi-style hard-
line interpretation of Islam that
brooks no compromise in a lit-
eralist interpretation of Shariah
law and advocates a staunch
segregation of the sexes. They
have long shunned the concept
of democracy, saying it allows
man's law to override God's.
During the election cam-
paign, their bluntness startled
many in Egypt, where even the
pious usually have a relatively
easygoing view. During an Alex-
andria rally, Salafis covered a
public statue with cloth because
it included mermaids. One Salafi
leader refused to appear on a
TV political talk show until the
female host put on a headscarf;
another insisted a partition be
put between him and a female
host. A sheik recently burst into
a concert at a Nile Delta uni-
versity, took to the stage and
shouted that music was "haram"
- religiously forbidden.
But the Salafis also highlight
why Islamists appeal to some.
In a nation where poverty is
widespread, Islamists - unlike
liberals - have taken the lead
in providing charity work and
social programs, including free
medical and educational ser-
vices for the poor. While liberals
fear imposition of Islamic law,
some in this intrinsically reli-
gious society look on an Islamist
candidate and see a moral per-
son who is less likely to be cor-
rupt.
"I am a divorced woman and
the Nour party candidates have
always helped me financially
to stand on my feet," said Hor-
reya Attia, a 52-year old mother
of two. "The least I could do is
return the favor at the polls."
In downtown Alexandria,
Amira Salah, 19, sat with her
friends talking about who to
vote for. She was dressed in a
way Salafis consider improper -
makeup on her face, jeans and a
colorful headscarf - but she sur-
prised her girlfriends when she
said she wanted to vote for the
Nour Party.
"They'll be able to run the
country in the right and God-
fearing way," she said. "They
will use the correct traditions of
the prophet to rule Egypt. Even
if they made me cover up from
top to bottom and wear a face
veil, I would be OK with it."
Safety agency
investigating Volt's
lithium-ion battery
amid fire concerns
DETROIT (AP) - General
Motors, concerned about the
image of its Chevrolet Volt, is
offering free loaner vehicles to
owners who are worried about
the electric cars catching fire.
The move comes after a gov-
ernment safety agency said on
Friday that it is investigating
fires involving the Volt's lithium-
ion battery packs following crash
tests. Thus far, the Volt tests have
not raised concerns about the
safety of other electric cars, the
agency has said.
GM said yesterday that the
vehicle is safe. But it will contact
owners of the more than 5,000
Volts sold in North America since
December2010 toreassure them.
It will also offer loaner cars to
ensure that owners are satisfied
and confident in their purchase.
GM has not put a time limit on
how longcustomers can keep the
loaners, but said the offer is not
a response to demands from cus-
tomers.
The National Highway Traf-
fic Safety Administration said a
Volt battery pack that was being
monitored caught fire on Thurs-
day, a week after it was hit in
a side-impact crash test. The.
agency said another battery that
was crash-tested recently gave
off smoke and sparks. The latest
fires are in addition to a battery
fire ata test facility in Wisconsin
back in June.
The Volt, which can travel
about 35 miles on electric power
before a small gasoline generator
kicks in to run the car, has helped
Chevrolet's public image, and
GM is eager to protect that good
will. The company has promoted
the car extensively as a first step
toward independence from for-
eign oil, and the Volt has helped
counter a gas-guzzling image left
over from years of GM selling
mainly pickup trucks and ineffi-
cient sport utilityvehicles.
Mary Barra, GM's senior vice
president of product develop-
ment, said both fires reported by
NHTSA occurred seven days to
three weeks after the crash tests,
and could have been prevented
if the battery charge had been
drained as GM has called for in
its post-crash procedures.
She said only a few Volts have
crashed on public roads. None
have caught fire, nor have the
battery packs been compro-
mised.
"We don't think there's an
immediate fire risk," said GM
North American President Mark
Reuss, who addressed the media
in a conference call along with
Barra. "This is a post-crash
activity."
NHTSA wasn't aware of the
post-crash procedures at the
time of the June fire, GM officials
have said. In the U.S., GM is noti-
fied of any severe Volt crashes
through its OnStar safety sys-
tem, and it sends a team to the
car within a day to drain the bat-
tery charge to prevent any fires.
In the Volt's system, Lithium-
ion battery cells, which essen-
tially are a single battery, are
assembled into a pack of cells,
and coolant is pumped between
the cells to keep them from over-
heating. In the June fire ata test
facility in Burlington, Wis., cool-
ant leaked from the battery and
crystallized, and that could have
been a factor in the fire, GM has
said. The fire came three weeks
after a side-impact crash test and
was severe enough to cause sev-
eral other vehicles parked near-
by to catch fire as well.
Barra said that in all the Volt
incidents, the battery cells were
not involved in the fires, only the
electronics within the battery
pack. But she would not be more
specific until NHTSA's investi-
gation is over.
Reuss said GM won't sell any
Volts in other countries until it
makes sure emergency respond-
ers, salvage yards and dealers
have been trained to discharge
the batteries after a severe crash.
The Volt and Nissan's Leaf,
with a total of more than 8,000
cars on the road in the U.S., are
among the first mass-marketed
plug-in electric cars. They went
on sale in the 2011 model year.
Other automakers are also work-
ing on electric vehicles.
The safety testing hasn't
raised concerns about electric
vehicles other than the Volt, but
NHTSA is asking manufactur-
ers who have electric cars on the
market, or who plan to introduce
them, for more detailed infor-
mation on battery testing. The
agency also is asking for the
companies' procedures for dis-
charging and handling batteries,
including recommendations for
reducing fire risks.
Lithium-ion batteries, which
are rechargeable, have been the
subject of several recalls of con-
sumer electronics. Millions of
laptop batteries made by Sony
Corp. for Apple Inc., Dell Inc.,
Lenovo Group Ltd. and other PC
makers were recalled in2006 and
2007 after it was discovered that
they could overheat and ignite.
Police choose not to
clear Occupy LA camp
Law enforcement
surrounded camp
for six hours
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Wall.
Street protesters declared a
minor victory yesterday when
they defied a midnight dead-
line to leave their tent city
encampment around City Hall
and police withdrew after
surrounding the camp for six
hours without moving in.
Four people were arrested
as police cleared downtown
streets to make way for morn-
ing rush hour traffic, but police
said the event was largely
peaceful.
Police Chief Charlie Beck
said it remains unclear when
the nearly two-month-old
Occupy LA camp would be
cleared. About half of the 485
tents hadbeen taken down as of
Sunday night, leaving patches
of the 1.7-acre park around City
Hall barren of grass and strewn
with garbage.
"There is no concrete dead-
line," Beck told reporters yes-
terday morning after hundreds
of officers withdrew without
moving in on the camp. The
chief said he wanted to make
sure the removal will be done
when it was safe for protesters
and officers and "with as little
drama as possible."
Protesters chanted "we won,
we won" as riot-clad officers
left the scene.
"I'm pretty much speech-
less," said Clark Davis, media
coordinator for Occupy LA.
Police turned back after
hundreds of Occupy LA sup-
porters showed up at the camp
Sunday night as the midnight
deadline for evacuation neared.
As the night drew on, many
demonstrators left.
Protester Julie Levine said
she was surprised that police
did not move in as the numbers
dwindled. "We were fearful,"
she said. "But we held our num-
bers and police were on their
best behavior."
A celebratory atmosphere
filled the night with protest-
ers milling about the park and
streets by City Hall in seeming
good spirits. A group on bicy-
cles circled the block, one of
them in a cow suit. Organizers
led chants with a bull horn.
A police tactical alert was
called that kept officers on
overtime. Officers reopened
the streets at around 6:30 a.m.
"Let's go get breakfast," said
Commander Andrew Smith as
he removed his helmet.
The protest was largely
peaceful but there were some
skirmishes.
Four people were arrested
for failure to disperse and a
few protesters tossed bamboo
sticks and water bottles at offi-
cers, Smith said.
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