ulfje lattg (Tor litei
Experts say rush
to regulate fuel
costs will do little
House, Senate see bevy of legislation
BY WHITNEY ISENHOWER
STAFF WRITER
The temporary gas shortages and
nationwide price spike brought on
by Hurricane Katrina are spurring
some lawmakers to take action.
Several proposals put forward
in the U.S. House and Senate
are designed to combat the post-
Katrina price jump and minimize
the impact of similar situations in
the future.
Many experts, however, said
more regulation would do little to
improve gas scarcity.
“I am just very skeptical that
any government control won’t
just make things worse,” said Ed
Erickson, professor of economics
at N.C. State University.
U.S. Sens. Richard Burr, R-N.C.,
and George Allen, R-Va., proposed
legislation that would require
prompt reporting of fuel shortag
es so the public would be quickly
informed about any problems with
energy availability
Doug Heye, Burr’s spokes
man, said current procedures
failed to get the information out
effectively. Burr’s legislation calls
for the Department of Energy to
combat future communication
problems.
“With what we’ve seen in the
past couple of weeks, there wasn’t a
clear line of communication,” Heye
said. “Clearly, we need to ensure
that we’ve got a stable supply of
gasoline.”
A bill offered by U.S. Rep.
Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., pro
poses that gas prices be frozen at
pre-Katrina levels.
Jeff Lieberson, Hinchey’s
spokesman, said the gas companies
have reported substantial profits in
recent years, demonstrating little
need for them to continue benefit
ing in a crisis situation.
“This is away in which (Hinchey)
World leaders convene
to sign terrorism accord
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
UNITED NATIONS - World
leaders began signing a global
treaty Wednesday making it a
crime to possess radioactive mate
rial or weapons with the intention
of committing a terrorist act or to
damage a nuclear facility.
The Convention for the
Suppression of Acts of Nuclear
Terrorism was the 13th anti-ter
rorism treaty to be adopted by the
U.N. General Assembly but the first
since the Sept. 11 terror attacks on
the United States.
Russian President Vladimir
Putin, whose country sponsored
the seven-year effort leading to the
treaty’s adoption by consensus in
April, was the first leader to sign
the document Wednesday morning
at a desk in a makeshift hall on the
sidelines of the U.N. summit.
President Bush signed next, fol
lowed by French Prime Minister
Dominique de Villepin, as the
first of more than 50 leaders who
were expected to sign by the end of
Thursday. The treaty must be rati
fied by 22 countries to take effect.
Canadian Prime Minister Paul
Martin, who was the fourth to
sign, said it was important that the
document be followed quickly by a
broad treaty covering all aspects of
terrorism an effort that has been
blocked for years by disagreements
over defining terrorism and other
concerns.
“With the other signatories we
have taken an important step for
ward in reducing the risk of nucle
ulfjp SoiUj (Ear IHeri
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thinks he can effectively help the
American people at the gas pump,”
Lieberson said.
But implementing government
price controls for gasoline doesn’t
really address the problem, said
Tom Crosby, vice president of com
munications for AAA Carolinas.
“That’s penalizing private busi
nesses,” he said. “Whenever govern
ments try to regulate and legislate
in these situations, it just doesn’t
work.”
With fuel costs having risen
steadily for most of the last year,
the sudden jump after Katrina
might have put pressure on law
makers to provide relief.
“Some of (the legislation) is
well thought out and overdue,”
said John Tobin, executive direc
tor of the Energy Literacy Project
Inc. “But some of it is, I’m afraid,
frankly political.”
“Between the energy crisis
and the public, frankly, Congress
doesn’t know which way to go.”
Katrina did help spotlight the
long-running issue of tightening
fuel supplies, Tobin said.
But it remains to be seen wheth
er a renewed push for conserva
tion will take hold once supplies
are back up and prices begin to
decline.
“Regretfully, if history repeats
itself, we do panic,” Tobin said. “But
once the issue goes away... we tend
to return to our old habits.”
Erickson said that the gas short
age is primarily a supply issue and
that legislation could have done little
to prevent the hurricane from knock
ing out refineries and pipelines.
“All the legislation in the world
is not going to cause Katrina to do
anything but what Katrina did,” he
said.
Contact the State & National
Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
ar terrorism,” Martin said. “That
being said, if we are to make the
world a safer place, clearly we need
a more comprehensive approach
to disarmament and proliferation,
and we must get on with it.”
A U.N. document that the
national leaders are to adopt at the
end of the three-day summit stress
es the “need to make all efforts to
reach an agreement on and con
clude a comprehensive convention
on international terrorism” in the
next year.
The nuclear terrorism treaty
makes it a crime for any person to
possess radioactive material or a
radioactive device with the intent
to cause death or injury or damage
property or the environment. It
also would be a crime to damage a
civilian or military nuclear facility.
Threatening to use radioactive
material or devices or unlaw
fully demanding nuclear material
or other radioactive substances
also is outlawed.
Such activities would have to
involve actions across national
boundaries. Offenses committed by
people within their own country are
excluded, along with the activities of
military forces during conflict.
Countries that are party to the
treaty will be required to make
the covered acts criminal offenses
under their national laWs, “punish
able by appropriate penalties which
take into account the grave nature
of these offenses.”
The treaty also calls on countries
to cooperate in related investiga
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WALK TO CAMPUS: 2BR/1 BA apartment on
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919-933-8143.
LIVE IN THE COUNTRY. A short drive to campus from
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2BR APARTMENT - SUBLET S6OO. Merritt Mill Road.
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Delta, Northwest airlines fall to bankruptcy
STAFF AND WIRE
ATLANTA Delta Air Lines
Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp.,
hobbled by high fuel costs and
heavy debt and pension obligations,
filed for bankruptcy protection from
creditors Wednesday, becoming the
third and fourth major carriers to
enter Chapter 11 since the 2001 ter
rorist attacks.
Delta’s late afternoon filing
included its low-fare carrier Song
and was followed shortly after by
Northwest’s.
Delta’s total debt is roughly $28.3
billion, and it listed $21.6 billion in
assets, according to the filing. The
asset figure would make Delta’s
bankruptcy the ninth-largest in U.S.
history, according to bankruptcy
tracker New Generation Research
Inc. The ranking did not change
following Delta’s recent $425 mil
THE MESS AROUND
♦ . |
•• ’ St
DTH/WHITNEY SHEFTE
ole Yonkers, 4, plays in the hay outside Maple View
Farm Country Store in Orange County on Tuesday. The
farm, a family-owned daily farm that sells ice cream,
recently opened a store in Carrboro on Weaver Street. They
raised $30,000 for Katrina relief in a fundraiser Sept. 5.
tions and to detain people suspect
ed in such crimes, as well as outlin
ing the rights of the detainees.
Steven Welsh, a research analyst
and legal expert with the Center for
Defense Information, welcomed
the emphasis on international
cooperation and using the rule of
law to fight terror.
“It’s an important step toward
finding a more comprehensive way
of dealing with terrorism,” he said.
Russia began campaigning for
the treaty in 1997, but it was sty
mied for years because some coun
tries believed the draft was trying
to define terrorism and they fear
such a definition would implicate
those involved in independence
struggles, such as the Palestinians.
Diplomats said the roadblock
was broken late last year when the
57-member Organization of the
Islamic Conference decided the
treaty could focus on criminalizing
specific actions in this instance,
nuclear attacks —as other anti-ter
rorism treaties have done.
The drafting committee then
quickly agreed on a text April 1,
leaving the difficult issue of defin
ing terrorism to anew overall con
vention on terrorism.
All states that sign the treaty
must adopt measures to make clear
that acts designed to provoke terror
in the general public or in specific
groups cannot be justified under
any circumstances “by consider
ations of a political, philosophical,
ideological, racial, ethnic, religious
or other similar nature.”
Classified Advertising
| For Rent |
APARTMENT IN HISTORIC HOME: 405 Ransom St.
Excellent location very near campus. Top floor of his
toric home is 2BR/1 BA apartment with full kitchen.
Shared W/D. Extra large rooms with hardwood
floors, dormer windows, large kitchen, good closet
space. Extra nice setting. You need to see to appre
ciate. No undergrads please. Rent is $1,200/month,
available now. Call Cindy at 967-0776.
4BR/4BA WITH walk-in closet, W/D, dish
washer, central air. Near campus, on 2 bus
lines. Pool, clubhouse. $415/month, utilities
included. Fumished/unfurnished. 933-2215,
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MARRIED STUDENT HOUSING: A short drive gets
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News
lion sale of feeder carrier Atlantic
Southeast Airlines to Sky West Inc.
Delta and Northwest said pas
sengers were not expected to see any
immediate effects from the filing.
Colleen Fischvogt, a spokeswoman
for Raleigh-Durham International
Airport, said she does not anticipate
any disruptions in flight operations.
“We do not expect an impact on
the flights that they currently have
scheduled,” she said.
Because RDU doesn’t serve as
a hub for the airlines, longer-term
operations are likely to continue as
normal, she added.
Delta also promised to honor all
tickets and sent a letter to frequent
flier customers seeking to reassure
them.
“We are operating our full sched
ule of flights, honoring tickets and
reservations as usual, and making
Iraq shaken by bombings
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD, Iraq More than
a dozen highly coordinated bomb
ings ripped through Baghdad on
Wednesday, killing at least 160
people and wounding 570 in the
capital’s bloodiest day since the
end of major combat. Many of the
victims were day laborers lured
by a suicide attacker posing as
an employer. Al-Qaida claimed
responsibility for the attacks in
the name of Sunni insurgents, say
ing it was a retaliation for the rout
of militants at a base close to the
Syrian border.
The spasm of violence terror
ized the capital for more than nine
hours. The first attack, at 6:30
a.m., was the deadliest: a suicide
car blast which tore through the
predominantly Shiite Muslim
neighborhood of Kazimiyah.
In what was believed to be anew
tactic, the bomber set off the explo
sive after calling the construction
and other workers to his small van
and enticing them with promises of
employment, a witness said. At least
112 people were killed and more
than 200 were wounded, accord
ing to Health Ministry officials.
Twisted hulks of vehicles blocked
the bloodstained main street in
Kazimiyah’s Oruba Square.
Al-Qaida’s leader in Iraq, Abu
Musab al-Zarqawi, purportedly
declared “all-out war” on Shiites,
Iraqi troops and the government in
an audiotape posted Wednesday on
an Internet site known for carrying
extremist Islamic content.
The al-Zarqawi tape was a clear
attempt, coming on the heels of the
attacks, to create a climate of fear,
sow deeper sectarian discord and
scare Iraqis away from the Oct. 15
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ROOM FOR RENT on second floor of my home. Very
quiet responsible non-smoker. 967-0558.
FOR RENT: 103-C Isley Street. 2BR/1 BA.
10 minute walk from Franklin Street. $595 1
month. Call Carlos at 908-392-6020.
HOUSE FOR RENT. 1923 Homestead Road. Split
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STUDIO APARTMENT AND IBR APARTMENT. Close
to UNC, Quiet wooded area in Greenwood subdivi
sion. Includes utilities, deposit required. SSOO/month
and $695/month. Call 967-0558.
| Rooms |
ROOM IN PRIVATE home with private bath. Large
closets, pleasant neighborhood. 3 minutes from
UNC. 929-6879.
3BR HOUSE, 1 BA, clean hardwood floors, all ameni
ties including W/D. No smoking. Located on busline
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normal refunds and exchanges,”
Gerald Grinstein, chief executive of
Delta, said in the letter.
Chapter 11 protection will allow
Delta to pursue wage cuts for its
65,000-plus full-time employees, as
well as to change pension and health
benefits for workers and retirees, that
would have been difficult or impos
sible without protected status.
Delta was expected to continue
its normal schedule. But as the com
pany makes its way through bank
ruptcy court, some changes to Delta’s
operations could occur, analysts say.
Atlanta-based Delta, the nation’s
third-largest carrier, has lost nearly
$lO billion over the last four years
despite announcing it would cut
up to 24,000 jobs. In September
2004, it also said it would shed its
Dallas hub as part of a sweeping
turnaround plan aimed at saving
Mass, stays firm
on gay marriage
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON The Massachusetts
Legislature rejected a proposed
change to the state constitution
Wednesday aimed at banning gay
marriage, a striking reversal that
preserves the state’s status as the
only place in the nation where
same-sex couples can wed.
A year after Massachusetts poli
ticians appeared destined to undo a
court order that has allowed thou
sands of same-sex couples to marry
since May 17,2004, the Legislature
voted 157-39 against the proposed
constitutional amendment.
It was the second time the
Legislature had confronted
the measure. Lawmakers were
required to approve it in two con
secutive sessions before the pro
posal could move to the statewide
ballot in 2006 for a final decision
by voters.
The measure, which would have
allowed Vermont-style civil unions,
won passage by a 105-92 vote last
year. But the political and social
landscape had changed dramati
cally since then.
Gone was the intensity, the
referendum on anew constitution.
Iraqi forces arrested two insur
gents. in connection with the
Kazimiyah bombing, one of them a
Palestinian and the other a Libyan,
Iraqi television quoted Prime
Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari as
saying. Al-Jaafari also said the sui
cide bomber was a Syrian, without
offering any details how the identi
fication was made so quickly.
The attacks came as U.S. and
Iraqi forces pressed their offensive
against insurgents in the north
ern city of Tal Mar and along the
Euphrates River valley, striking
hard at what officials have said
were militants sneaking across the
border from Syria.
Al-Qaida in Iraq said in a Web
posting that it launched the attacks,
some less than 10 minutes apart, in
response to the Tal Mar offensive,
which began Saturday and evicted
most insurgents from the city about
50 miles from Syria and 260 miles
northwest of Baghdad.
“To the nation of Islam, we give
you the good news that the battles
of revenge for the Sunni people
of Tal Mar began yesterday,” said
the al-Qaida statement posted on
a militant Web site. Its authentic
ity could not be confirmed. It was
unclear why the statement referred
to “yesterday.”
The audiotape was posted later
Wednesday. The speaker, intro
duced as al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian,
said his militant forces would
attack any Iraqi they believe has
cooperated with the Tal Afar
offensive.
“If proven that any of (Iraq’s)
national guards, police or army are
agents of the Crusaders, they will
be killed and his house will demol
| Rooms |
ROOM FOR RENT in a cottage in downtown Chapel
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1/2 utilities. 919-928-9849.
| Sublets |
SUBLEASE MY ROOM in Granville Tow
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cheyenne@email.unc.edu.
SUBLEASE MY APARTMENT in Stratford Hills.
5347.50/month. Close to campus, need to know by
September 30th. Email Eric at eneff@email.unc.edu.
Roommates
3 FUN FEMALES SEEKING roommate to
share 4BR/2.5 BA Vineyard Square apart
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2005
the airline. It has since scaled back
its operations in Dallas.
Even the stronger carriers are
finding business harder with fuel
prices soaring, carrying, crude oil
futures past S7O a barrel earlier this
month.
Some smaller carriers, including
Honolulu-based Hawaiian Mrlines
and Indianapolis-based ATA Airlines
Inc., also have filed for bankruptcy
in recent years. Hawaiian emerged
from bankruptcy in June.
The airline industry' was devastat
ed in the aftermath of the 2001 ter
ror attacks, which prompted many
people to cut back on air travel. The
recession and slow economic recov
ery in the early part of the decade
also eroded airlines’ business, and
the rise of low-cost carriers such as
Jetßlue Airways Corp. further sty
mied the big carriers’ rebound.
seemingly endless debate and, in
some quarters, the taste for strip
ping away the right to marry for
gay and lesbian couples.
“Gay marriage has begun, and
life has not changed for the citi
zens of the commonwealth, with
the exception of those who can
now marry,” said state Sen. Brian
Lees, a Republican who had been
a co-sponsor of the amendment.
“This amendment, which was an
appropriate measure or compro
mise a year ago, is no longer, I feel,
a compromise today.”
The proposal also was opposed
by critics of gay marriage, who
want to push for a more restrictive
measure.
“The union of two women and
two men can never consummate
a marriage. It’s physically impos
sible” said state Rep. Phil Travis, a
Democrat. “The other 49 states are
right and we are wrong.”
Lawmakers already are prepar
ing for a battle over another pro
posed amendment that would ban
both gay marriage and civil unions.
The earliest that initiative could
end up on the ballot is 2008.
ished or burned after evacuat
ing all women and children —as a
punishment,” the speaker said.
But most of the victims
Wednesday were civilians.
At Baghdad’s Kazimiyah
Hospital, dozens of wounded men
lay on stretchers and gurneys, their
bandages and clothes soaked in
blood. One older man in a tradi
tional Mab gown and checkered
head scarf sat in a plastic chair, his
blood-soaked underwear exposed
and a trail of dried blood snaking
down his legs.
As the hours ticked by, at least 11
other car or roadside bombs shat
tered what had been a few days
of relative calm in Baghdad. Two
mortar attacks were reported and a
multitude of gun battles broke out
between U.S. and Iraqi forces and
insurgent attackers.
In addition Wednesday, attack
ers killed 17 men including Iraqi
drivers and construction workers
for the U.S. military in a Sunni
village north of Baghdad before
dawn. That raised the death toll in
and around the capital Wednesday
to 177. A senior Health Ministry
official said 570 people were
wounded in all.
At least six attacks targeted
U.S. forces, Iraqi authorities said.
The U.S. military said there were
four direct attacks on Americans,
with 10 soldiers wounded. No U.S.
deaths were reported.
M-Jaafari, in the United States
for the annual U.N. General
Assembly meeting, expressed “his
personal sorrow for the victims of
the attacks,” his office said.
In Dearborn, Mich., a Detroit
suburb with a large Iraqi popula
tion, al-Jaafari vowed to fight back.
Roommates
ROOMMATE WANTED FOR 3BR/2.58A condo. On
busline, W/D, internet, pool, tennis. S4OO/month +
1/3 utilities (about $100). Call Geoff 919-593-5269,
gnbell@alumni.unc.edu.
| Parking \
PARKING CLOSE TO CAMPUS. 923-6787.
Travel/Vacation
SPRING BREAKERS: Book early and save. Lowest
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| Instruction |
CLAY: LEARN 1T...
MASTER IT
Pottery lessons, wheel and hand building at the Clay
Center at 402 Lloyd Street, Carrboro. Cal! 967-0314
for a brochure.
13
(HJjp iattg (Tar Uppl
Volunteering
LIKE HELPING CHILDREN LEARN? Sign up to VOL
UNTEER for a variety of roles, all grade levels with
the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools: www.chccs.kl2.
nc.us. Information on UNC campus in Student Un
ion, September 7,8,13,27 in Room #2510 from
10am-4pm. Drop in anytime! Email: gmccay@chccs.
kl2.nc.us.
SCHOOL READING PARTNERS! Help beginning
readers practice reading skills, 1-2 hours weekly,
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public Schools. Training 09-
15-05 or 09-20-05,5:30-9pm, or 09-22-05,9am
-12:30pm. Preregister: srp@chccs.kl2.nc.us, 967-
8211 x 336.
Lost 8< Found "
LOST MONDAY 09/12!!! Family picture & frame
between Stadium Drive & Davis Library. Call Sue
962-1095.
LOST YOUR KEYS?
YOUR WALLET?
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LOST & FOUND ADS
RUN FREE IN THE DTH