The Pentagon has decided it will not give the Purple Heart, the prestigious medal awarded to service members wounded or killed in action, to sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder.
"The Defense Department has determined that based on current Purple Heart criteria, PTSD is not a qualifying Purple Heart wound," department spokeswoman Eileen Lainez said.
"PTSD is an anxiety disorder caused by witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event," Lainez said. It is not "a wound intentionally …
The First National Bank of Chicago said yesterday it wouldeliminate the $20 annual fee on its credit card for customers whocharge at least $2,400 in goods in one year.
The program, which was announced at the bank's shareholders'meeting, would take effect Aug. 1. All customers would be eligible,including those who pay the balance in full each month.
The program is designed to make First National's card, whichcarries a 19.8 annual percentage interest rate, more competitive andgive customers who have more than one bank card an incentive to usethe First National card more often.
Barry F. Sullivan, bank chairman, said all of the bank's marketresearch "shows …
WASHINGTON - The economy's growth in the second quarter was less than half that of the prior three months as consumers tightened their belts and spending on home building nose-dived. Inflation, however, shot up.
The latest snapshot released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed that that gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of just 2.5 percent in the April-to-June period. That marked a big slowdown from the January-to-March quarter, when the economy zipped along at a 5.6 percent annual rate, the fastest in 2 1/2 years.
Gross domestic product measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States and is considered the best barometer …
After building an online buzz about a new marketing position, Best Buy Co. Inc. is reworking a job posting that sought Twitter experience and put a number on it _ 250 followers.
After the initial description for the new position of senior manager of emerging media marketing was published, the world's largest consumer electronics chain watched as the Web reacted, …
A Chicago Herpetological Society member, asked to help, caught the 6-to-8-pound alligator with his bare hands with the assistance of his son near Damen between Fullerton and Diversey, authorities said.
Although the gator is nonaggressive, it's a "dangerous animal," according to the society. With a full set of 80 teeth, one chomp could bleed out a human in …
La ciudad de C�ceres (Extremadura, Espa�a) acoge un tesoro en su Ciudad Monumental amurallada, reconocida por la UNESCO como Patrimonio de la Humanidad. Es uno de los m�s importantes destinos de turismo hist�rico-cultural de todo el pa�s, y pertenece a varias redes como la Red de Juder�as de Espa�a "Caminos de Sefarad" (red de ciudades con legado sefard�), Ruta V�a de la Plata (ruta hist�rica secular, de hecho est� considerada la Ruta Moz�rabe del Camino de Santiago) o el Grupo de Ciudades Patrimonio de la Humanidad de Espa�a. Sus or�genes se remontan al Paleol�tico Superior, con restos hallados en la Cueva de Maltravieso, y como n�cleo urbano, al a�o 34 a.C. con la fundaci�n de la …
Armed with buckets, the customers at Bacchini's Fruit Tree orchard like to pick the best-looking cherries, nectarines or plums, leaving those that are split or damaged on the trees.
The fruit left behind could be a moneymaker for owner Ken Hagen and others who operate small farms in California and sell much of their produce directly to consumers. Instead, it mostly goes to waste because state retail regulations make it difficult for those farmers to package their produce and sell it in pies, jams or bags of dried fruit at their roadside stands.
"The way the law is, you'd have to put in a septic system, a clean water system," said Hagen, whose wife's …
animal bones during almost a week of digging for the body of amobster who vanished in 1970, sources said Monday.
If investigators are able to recover DNA evidence from the tooth--a lateral incisor--they could make a comparison to DNA from arelative of Michael Frank Albergo, who was 42 when he disappeared,officials said.
World-renowned forensic anthropologist Clyde Snow analyzed theremains and will prepare a report for investigators. In the past,Snow has helped identify victims of the Oklahoma City bombing andserial killer John Wayne Gacy. He's a consultant to the Cook Countymedical examiner's office.
The excavation began last Tuesday in a grassy embankment at …
THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION recently launched several programs to deal with securing weapons of mass destruction (WMD) worldwide, particularly radiological materials that could be combined with conventional explosives to form so-called dirty bombs.
The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Nov. 3 formed a Nuclear Radiological Threat Reduction Task Force to control radiological materials by identifying and securing high-risk materials-especially abandoned sources-both in the United States and overseas, and identifying vulnerable research reactors worldwide needing further assistance securing their fresh and spent nuclear fuel. The task force will …
A suspected U.S. missile strike killed a purported foreign militant Thursday in a Pakistani tribal area considered a haven for the Taliban and al-Qaida, while a suicide bombing left four security personnel dead, officials said.
In another sign of how violence and economic problems are shaking confidence in the nuclear-armed country, Pakistan's currency slumped to an all-time low against the United States dollar.
The missile strike hit a house in the South Waziristan region of Pakistan's wild border belt, considered a likely hiding place for al-Qaida leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri.
Two Pakistani intelligence officials told The …
LANDMARK SHOW: Cor Meibion Dyffryn Aman's 20th anniversaryconcert was held at Bethel Newydd Chapel in Garnant on February 5.Pictured, from left, are Berian Lewis (deputy conductor), JaneSamuel (accompanist for …
BREAKING NEWS; RELIABLE SOURCES ARE TELLING THIS JOURNALIST THAT MICHAEL JACKSON...AS YOU MIGHT RECALL, THE FORMER CHILD POP STAR TURNED FORMER ADULT POP STAR TURNED MUG SHOT # 621785...IS AT THIS MOMENT SOMEWHERE ON HIS NEVERNEVERLAND ESTATE, AND HE'S DOING SOMETHING...THOUGH WHAT IT IS, WE CAN'T BE SURE. WE ARE AWAITING A NEWS CONFERENCE FROM THE SANTA BARBARA COUNTY PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE, WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT CONCERN JACKSON, AND STAY TUNED TO THIS PAGE FOR POSSIBLE INTERVIEWS WITH HIS SISTER LATOYA, BROTHER JERMAINE, AND SEVERAL DOZEN RUDE LAWYERS WHO WILL SPEND THE NEXT YEAR GUESSING AT HOW THE TRIAL WILL TURN OUT.
NOW, I TURN IT BACK TO MY REGULAR COLUMN.
About seven days ago, I went to writing, intending to get the first couple of paragraphs whacked out on this journalistic adventure. I can sense your skepticism. This isn't much like what real journalists do, is it? Truth is, I only call it "journalism" because 1) it has a loosely factual relationship with the current news - which is more than the Fox Network can say - and 2) I don't know what else to call it. (I think of it as an "adventure" because from week to week I usually have no idea where the next column will take me. It's like a safari, see, only what I'm hunting is subject matter rather than rhinos.)
So as I was saying, seven days ago, I went subject matter hunting, but I came up driver than Lou Dobbs. There was just nothing new in the news. Certainly, American boys - and Spanish and Turkish and Italian and Korean and Japanese and Iraqi boys - were getting killed in Bush's war, but that's nothing new. Real journalists aren't concerned that the news is original and unique. They're like weathermen - they get paid the same whether anything changes or not. But if I repeated the same stuff every week - like how all those boys are getting cut down in Iraq, day after day, because of somebody's screwy policy decisions - it wouldn't be much of an adventure, would it? Only, I couldn't come up with of a single fresh, adventurous idea. I briefly considered doing a column on Michael Jackson, but...nah! That's not so much an adventure as a turkey shoot.
UPDATE FROM NEVERNEVERLAND; AT LAST REPORT, MICHAEL JACKSON IS CONTINUING TO NOT DO ANYTHING WE KNOW OF FOR SURE. HIS FAMOUS LAWYER IS EXPECTED TO MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT ANYTIME BETWEEN NOW AND WHEN THE VERDICT COMES DOWN, BUT AS TO WHAT THE PLANS TO SAY, IT'S THIS JOURNALIST'S BEST GUESS THAT WE'LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE.
BACK TO MY COLUMN, IN PROGRESS.
Then, six days ago, I came up with what seemed at the time a very adventurous idea. I thought it might be interesting to explore the question as to why, on the very same day British citizens by the hundreds of thousands were showing the world how disgusted they are with the lies (and the liars who tell them) that are getting so many killed in Iraq, real American journalists like on CNN and MSNBC were dogging Michael Jackson around all afternoon and showing endless video of the butt-end of an airplane sticking out of a big tin building.
After all (I would have pointed out had I continued down that path), the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department admitted they had the goods on Jackson months ago. So why (I would have asked) did they wait until that day to unleash what we journalists call a "media circus." Could it possibly be more than coincidence (I would have wondered)?
Really (I was going to say), everybody knows that when a figure as prominent as Michael Jackson (I called it the "Enquirer quotient") gets arrested, it's huge (if not important) news. Everybody also knew there were massive anti-Bush demonstrations planned for that day. And everybody knows how scornful Bush is of dissenting voices. And everybody knows how the Bush PR crew likes to repaint even the bleakest of pictures into a vision of success.
But, by five days ago, I developed journalistic qualms. To report that everybody knows is one thing. But to extrapolate from that, to suggest that Team Bush would actually manipulate events - arrange a diversion, as it were - thereby minimalizing any information that might cause Americans to question why our best friends are stomping our leader's effigy to smithereens - to question why America's stature before the world community has been reduced to that of a lying, bullying, incompetent troll under the bridge - that would have been irresponsible journalism. (Had I done it.)
I didn't. Without what we journalists call a "smoking gun," there was no way I could imply this administration is so corrupt, manipulative and omnipotent that they could influence Southern Cal law enforcement personnel to time Jackson's bust with Bush's trip to England. See what I mean (or would have meant had I said it)?
So four days ago, I trashed the whole idea. And as of three days ago, I still didn't have a column. I was desperate. I felt like just giving in and going along with...
I INTERRUPT THIS COLUMN TO BRING YOU A LIVE FEED FROM NEVERNEVERLAND; STILL NO WORD OF JACKSON, SO TO KEEP YOUR MIND OCCUPIED, I ASK YOU TO PICTURE... OVER AND OVER AGAIN IF NEED BE...THAT STOCK FOOTAGE OF MICHAEL GETTING OUT OF A CAR OR HANGING HIS BABY OFF A BALCONY. AND JUST A REMINDER TO MY READING AUDIENCE...DON'T EXPECT A RESOLUTION TO THIS DEVELOPING STORY ANYTIME SOON. IT WILL BE A LONG, DRAWN-OUT ORDEAL, LASTING AT LEAST UNTIL NEXT YEAR'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. BUT REST ASSURED, HERE AT COPE'S COLUMN, I WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH THE MOST INSIGNIFICANT OF DETAILS THE MOMENT THEY OCCUR.
NOW, BACK TO PRESIDENT BUSH HOLDING A TURKEY UP FOR EVERYONE TO SEE.
Article copyright Bar Bar Inc.
Loyola Gold is taking its top-ranked show on the road for theholidays. The Ramblers will live up to their name, traveling toSwitzerland to play a series of games against Swiss high schoolteams.
Loyola Gold was ranked No. 1 in the state with a 10-0-0 mark inthe Metro North entering Saturday's showdown with No. 2 New TrierGreen.
The Ramblers will leave the day after Christmas and will returnJan. 4 after playing five games abroad. Loyola's Bill Lussow leadsthe Metro North with 16 goals and 10 assists. Linemates Paul Thomasand Andy Leutweler also rank among the top 10 in scoring.
Goalies Kevin Keady and Danny Wirtz, grandson of Blackhawksowner Bill Wirtz, have combined to allow six goals.
Defending state champion New Trier Green started the season10-0-2 led by returning goalie Sam Eaton and backup Clayton Jernigan,who have combined to allow only 14 goals.
SCOUTING: Lake Forest has played up to expectations, startingthe season 9-2-1 thanks to all-state defenseman Kevin Magnuson, whois being recruited by several Division I programs. He follows thetradition of former Lake Forest All-State defenseman Scott Dean, whoplayed at Michigan State.
SOPH DREAMS: The early surprise in the Metro North is Stevensonsophomore Marc Harris, whose 23 points have helped the undermannedPatriots stay in contention. Stevenson has only 12 players. Harrisis being touted as the fastest-skating underclassman the league hasseen in several years.
METRO CENTRAL JAM: A six-way race has evolved in the MetroCentral between leader Leyden, newcomer Driscoll, Notre Dame, MaineEast, Maine South and Niles, who are separated by seven points.Niles, which combines players from Niles North and West, won thetitle last year behind returnees Eric Eastman and Jason Trippichio.
PULLING AWAY: In the Metro West, Naperville Central is wideningits lead over rival Naperville North. The Redhawks are 11-0-0 led byJohn Comeau, Erik Dicarlo, J.J. Lattorre, sophomore Matt Cosgrove andjunior Phil Lewandowski.
Naperville Central has managed to outscore its foes 75-16.
'SKINS TO WIN: State runner-up and Kennedy Cup champion Maristis back where it left off, leading the Catholic League by threepoints. The Redskins' big guns are Jim Jolivette, Scott Deopere, TomDine and Mike Redden.
TIGHT CALLS: The Illinois League, which skates out of CenterIce, features a two-way race between Glenbard South and North, whichare tied for the lead with 14 points.
Glenbard South's only loss was to Glenbard North.
Meanwhile, in the Northern Illiana League, Homewood-Flossmoorand Andrew are battling for supremacy. Andrew started 9-1-0 to H-F's7-2-1.
Total SA added to the oil industry's worst midyear showing in years Friday as slumping global energy demand and falling prices caused its net profit to drop 54 percent in the second quarter.
Europe's third-largest oil producer said net profit for the three months ended June 30 was euro2.17 billion, down from euro4.73 billion a year earlier.
Total is the latest of the oil industry giants to report weak quarterly earnings. On Thursday Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell both reported disappointing profit figures, stung by a slowdown in demand that threatens to further hinder exploration and production.
Total's stock price fell 2.7 percent in early trading in Paris to euro38.90.
The Paris-based oil company said its production in the second quarter averaged 2.18 million barrels of oil a day, down 7.3 percent from 2.35 million barrels a year earlier.
In a statement, Total blamed high maintenance, the impact of higher prices and weak gas demand for the drop in production from the previous quarter. Over the rest of the year, Total said it expects to benefit from ramped up production at its recently launched Akpo, Tahiti and Tyrihans fields, as well as the planned start up of a new liquified natural gas projects in Yemen and Qatar, and the Tombua Landana field in Angola.
Total's adjusted net profit, its prefered earnings yardstick, fell 54 percent to euro1.72 billion in the second quarter, down from euro3.72 billion a year earlier. Expressed in U.S. dollars to ease comparison with other international oil companies, Total said its adjusted net profit was $2.35 billion, down from $5.82 billion a year earlier.
Total's sales fell 35 percent in the quarter to euro31.4 billion.
The company also said it would pay an interim dividend to shareholders of euro1.14 per share in November, the same as last year's interim and final dividends.
Oil prices rose off first-quarter lows during the second quarter, with Brent Blend oil averaging $59.13 a barrel in the second quarter compared to $44.46 in the first quarter _ but still way below the $121.18 seen in the second quarter of 2008.
Oil prices sagged early in the year as economies around the world went into recession, but then rose again somewhat amid expectations of at least limited economic recovery later this year.
European rivals BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell also reported sharp drops in their second quarter earnings. BP's net profit for the period was $4.39 billion, down from $9.36 billion a year earlier but better than market forecasts. Royal Dutch Shell, Europe's largest oil explorer, said net profit fell 67 percent in the second quarter to $3.82 billion, reflecting the sharp drop in prices and worse refining margins. The company also blamed weak energy demand, excess capacity and high industry costs, and warned that it doesn't expect a quick recovery in the global economy.
Total said it expects production to increase markedly in the coming months at its Akpo field in Nigeria, the Tahiti field in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Tyrihans field in Norway. A liquified natural gas project in Yemen will be launched in the third quarter and Qatargas II train B and the Tombua Landana field in Angola will begin production by the end of the year, Total said.
If Chevrolet's sleek new Beretta two-door coupe is regarded as a"poor man's Ferrari," where does that leave the Beretta's four-doorsister car, the Corsica?
The Corsica can't be thought of as a poor man's Ferrari becauseFerrari never built a four-door, although it came close in recentyears.
In any case, General Motors is breathing easier because Corsicaand Beretta sales finally are taking off after a slow start.
In fact, the front-wheel-drive Corsica and Beretta, introducedMarch 12, were GM's best-selling cars in July.
They share drivetrains and suspensions, which are provencomponents from other Chevy models.
The autos are the result of a $1.8 billion GM design anddevelopment program. They're supposed to show the company candevelop exciting cars that match imports in quality anddependability.
Reception of the autos is important to GM, struggling with lowersales and profits, because they're the first wave of new-style autosintended to put the corporation back on its feet as an industryleader.
The compact Corsica and Beretta will be followed by the new,high-style, mid-size "GM 10" autos, the first being introduced thisfall.
Not shared with other GM car divisions, the Corsica and Berettaremind me of lively Chevys of the 1950s and 1960s that deliveredfast, affordable fun.
I tested the Beretta earlier this year and found it generallygood, and recently drove the Corsica.
The Corsica's 2.8-liter V-6 develops 125 horsepower and hasmulti-port fuel injection. It's a jewel, providing smooth, instantresponse.
A $660 option, the V-6 feels like a strong little V-8 but isn'tvery sophisticated, compared with some small Japanese engines.
The car's standard 2-liter four-cylinder generates 90 horsepowerand is a yawn, delivering average acceleration, especially with theoptional three-speed automatic transmission.
Fortunately, the standard Muncie-Getrag five-speed manualtransmission works with wonderful precision, although I sometimes hadtrouble engaging first gear.
With the manual and V-6, fuel economy is an estimated 19 m.p.g.city, 29 highway. Figures with the manual and four-cylinder are 25and 35.
Some 70 percent of Corsica buyers are ordering the automatic;after all, the car is a four-door family sedan, and the V-6 hasenough power to work decently with the automatic.
Over the long haul, Chevy says the Corsica will appeal to"America's middle-class family." It expects typical household incomeof buyers to fall in the $20,000-$45,000 range, with most living insuburbs.
The car's base price is $8,995, which includes power steeringand power brakes. My test car stickered at $11,323 and was equippedmore for acceleration and handling than anything else.
For instance, it lacked power windows and seats, but had the"F-41" sport suspension ($49) and low-profile tires ($104).
I recommend both because they enhance handling and make the carmore enjoyable to drive, while giving it a more taut ride.
My test car had nice ride and handling, but excessive powerassist made the steering too light and a little vague.
The car's front bucket seats look attractive, but should offermore lateral and lumbar support. Controls for the lights and wipersare in flimsy plastic pods that flank the instruments.
The large glove box that slides out like a drawer is an attemptat engineering sophistication that's less than successful. Standardinstrumentation is minimal. Order the excellent $139 gauge package.
There is plenty of room for four tall adults, and trunk space isexceptional at 13.5 cubic feet.
The Corsica is attractive, with integrated composite headlights,semi-flush body glass and faired mirrors. It's the most aerodynamicsedan Chevy has built.
The car is nicely built, but lacks Honda's quality and attentionto detail. Still, value-conscious buyers who want a roomy compactwith flair should like the Corsica.
Monday: Exclusive test of Ford's new Festiva mini-car, aYuppie-grabber and entry level auto that goes on sale in earlyOctober.
THE decision by crisis-hit Westland to grasp the lifeline thrownby US firm Sikorksy sparked two Cabinet resignations - and almostcost Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher her job.
It came just two hours after a rival bid from a Europeanconsortium, put together by Defence Minister Michael Heseltine, hadbeen presented to the board.
Heseltine had spent the preceding fortnight frantically puttingtogether a Euro bid to offer Westland a way out of its financialproblems.
But the Cabinet was deeply split on the issue and the problems ofWestland became the talk of the country.
When Mrs Thatcher refused to even consider the European option,Heseltine resigned. Within days, the Westland Affair had reboundedviciously on Trade Secretary Leon Brittan and he resigned.
The Westland Affair indirectly played a key role in Mrs Thatcher'seventual downfall four years later.
NEW YORK First the Queen. Now Sir Paul.
The former Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney, has joined the ranks ofInternet investors. He's part of a group including Capital Z Partnersand Goldman Sachs Group Inc. that took an undisclosed stake in MagexHoldings Plc, creators of software allowing online purchases andsales of music and other content while preventing unauthorizedcopying.
The investment by McCartney, 58, comes in addition to the $80million that closely held Magex raised in April from Goldman, CapitalZ Financial Services Fund II LP, NatWest Bank Plc, Reuters Group Plc,General Electric Co.'s GE Capital and Soros Private Equity PartnersLLC.
"He's promoting and protecting the music business, supportingmusic copyrights," said Geoff Baker, McCartney's spokesman. Themusician's investment in Magex is "sizable," Baker said, declining toelaborate.
One of four lads from Liverpool who started the Beatles, the left-handed bass-playing McCartney was co-author and lead singer of manyof the group's most popular songs. As a celebrity investor inInternet companies he joins Queen Elizabeth II, who realized 1.1million pounds ($1.7 million) on the public share sale ofGetmapping.com, a creator of online maps, after investing 100,000pounds.
McCartney, worth an estimated $827 million, according to theSunday Times of London, was knighted by the Queen in 1996.
New York-based Magex yesterday named W. Patrick Campbell, formerlyexecutive vice president of Ameritech Corp. and president of Columbia/Tristar Pictures Home Video, as chairman and chief executive. As CEO,he succeeds Peter Beverley, who becomes vice chairman and willcontinue to lead Magex's European operations out of London.
Seagram Co. Ltd.'s Universal Music Group yesterday announced thattrials of its premium digital download format, called "bluematter,"will begin this week, with Magex as the provider of financialclearing services.
Magex technology is aimed at allowing secure digital distributiontransactions while preventing copyright violations.
Financial Institution Directors' Liabilities & Responsibilities
Austin Financial Services, Inc., has released the fifth edition of the Financial Institution Directors' Liabilities & Responsibilities (FIDLR).
The fifth edition complements the first four with the addition of two chapters and multiple sections on current statutory liabilities and common law practices that face bank and thrift directors today. The book provides practical advice to assist directors in avoiding problems with FIRREA, FDICIA, the Community Development Banking Act and the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking Act.
Highlighted in the book are the increasing concerns of criminal liability by directors, insurance and indemnification so as to protect officers and directors, and newlygenerated interest in mitigating director conflicts of interest or acts of disloyalty. The passage of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act and its impact upon bank and thrift directors is extensively detailed in the new fifth edition of FIDLR.
The fifth edition still attempts to make the discussion of "legal" duties of care and loyalty as English-written-oriented as possible, noted the book's preamble. The footnotes are in the back as endnotes and citations. This monograph has been designed to assist the average, reasonable and prudent financial institution director who is not a professional banker in understanding the liabilities and responsibilities of his or her job.
FIDLR is divided into three significant parts:
Part I stresses changes in common law and statutory liability. The authors emphasize that even though they have attempted to make this fifth edition as current as possible, changes in banking law concerning liabilities and responsibilities will continue to occur and new case law may be determined within days or weeks of the book's publication. It is essential for directors to refer to legal counsel for advice.
Part II emphasizes who's in charge of running the financial institution, general responsibilities of directors and specific responsibilities undertaken by directors to mitigate their liability. The authors note that if directors accomplish these parameters, liability probability will shrink significantly.
Part III was developed to assist directors in understanding significant issues that will make people better directors of their financial institutions. The authors point out that not all of these topics will be important to everyone. However, they add that, in general, directors will benefit from an analysis of the topics included within this section. Part III discusses such topics as the role of the spouse of a financial institution director and officer, as well as how to improve the efficiency of meetings. A chapter has been added to this section on how to increase knowledge as a financial institution director. Also added to this fifth edition is a chapter on how to improve the strategic planning process once the initial strategic plan has been implemented.
The authors stress that the best thing that directors can do for their board is to pass this booklet around to everyone so that everyone is up to speed on the latest information.
"One of the best defenses against liability is knowledge, and the more directors know about their duties and responsibilities, the less chance you have of becoming a victim of directors' liability," said the authors.
FIDLR is co-authored by Dr. Douglas V. Austin, president and CEO of Austin Financial Services, Inc., and Jeffrey E. Smith, a Columbus, Ohio, attorney. Austin is author of 17 books and more than 700 articles on financial institutions and allied topics. Austin is currently professor emeritus of the department of finance at the University of Toledo. Smith has extensive experience in financial institution legal and regulatory matters, including troubled institution matters, and has served as in-house counsel for holding companies ranging from $2.5 to $260 billion in consolidated assets. Smith writes and speaks on financial institution topics and is admitted to practice law in Ohio and Indiana.
The Financial Institution Directors' Liabilities & Responsibilities Fifth Edition is $10 per copy plus $5 shipping. To order, contact Austin Financial Services, Inc., at 419-5319559 or fax requests to 419-5319598.
Asian stock markets gained more ground Tuesday, following Wall Street's advance as an upbeat U.S. manufacturing report buoyed investor confidence in a global recovery.
Most major markets were higher for a second straight session, while the dollar fell against the yen and the euro. Crude oil prices closed in on $82 a barrel.
Lifting sentiment across the region was an overnight rise in U.S. markets. Wall Street opened 2010 with strong gains amid optimism about the country's economic recovery after a report showed demand at American factories was increasing. The Institute for Supply Management's index of manufacturing activity rose to 55.9 from 53.6 in November, a bigger improvement than analysts predicted.
The news boosted exporters across Asia, combining with stronger commodity prices in recent days to fuel hopes the pickup in global demand and economic activity was sustainable.
Still, a number of outstanding problems faced by the world economy, including high debt in the West, could continue to drag on growth and become more pronounced once the effects of government stimulus measures start to fade, analysts say.
"That doesn't mean there's going to be a sharp contraction in the global economy," said Jan Friederich, a senior economist for the Economist Intelligence Unit in Hong Kong. "It's just that we're not going to come back to the high growth rates that markets are expecting and that we saw before the crisis."
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock average added 27.04 points, or 0.3 percent, to 10,681.83, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 415.57 points, or 1.9 percent, to 22,238.85.
Elsewhere, Shanghai's main stock measure climbed 1.1 percent to 3,280.36 after falling the day before. Australia's market was up 1 percent, helped by stronger commodity prices, while Singapore's index gained 0.7 percent and India's Sensex rose 0.7 percent.
In South Korea, the Kospi edged down 0.3 percent to 1,691.50.
Overnight in the U.S., the Dow industrials rose 155.91, or 1.5 percent, to 10,583.96.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 17.89, or 1.6 percent, to 1,132.99, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 39.27, or 1.7 percent, to 2,308.42.
U.S. futures suggested a mixed open on Wall Street Tuesday.
Oil prices extended their gains, with benchmark crude for February delivery up 20 cents at $81.71 a barrel. The contract jumped $2.15 overnight.
In currencies, the dollar slipped to 91.73 yen from 92.50 yen. The euro rose to $1.4457 from $1.4407.
It has been an exciting 10 months for Natalie Halliday, sincetying the knot with Marc last May at All Saints Church in Ulting.Not only was she voted Bride of the Month for June, she alsodiscovered in June, just one month after her wedding, that she waspregnant. And now Natalie and Marc are enjoying a double celebration- Natalie being crowned I do Bride of the Year and the birth oftheir beautiful son Jake Riley Halliday.
"I was extremely surprised to win Bride of the Month, so to beentered into Bride of the Year was a nice feeling, but I honestlythought I wouldn't win," says 27-year-old secretary Natalie who iscurrently on maternity leave.
A staggering 2,807 votes were cast in the Bride of the Yearcompetition and Natalie wins Pounds 2,500 in cash, courtesy of thecompetition's sponsor, Braxted Park.
"I was amazed to get the phone call saying I had won. I couldn'tstop shaking with excitement, and still couldn't believe it when Irang Marc and our family after hearing the news to tell them too.
"Marc was the first person I rang to share the good news.
He was as shocked as I was and equally excited. His first wordswould involve a lot of censoring - but he was happy, to say theleast!" Marc, 32, proposed to Natalie on his 30th birthday while thecouple were out walking their boxer dogs Missy and Sky. They marriedon May 6 last year and held their reception at Three Rivers Golf andCountry Club.
"I can honestly say I loved my wedding day. I loved all thepreparations and organisation leading up to the big day, even downto sorting the invites. I still get excited talking about it andlove looking back at the DVD and photos. Having our family andfriends with us made it so special."
Another special touch to the day was the couple's wedding cake,made by Natalie's nan.
Looking back on their first year as a married couple, Nataliesays: "I have loved our first year of being married - it couldn'thave gone any better. We had always wanted our first child as soonas we had married and our wish came true the month after our specialday."
Natalie laughs about how big she has become while being pregnantand joked with our photographer about needing a wide-angle lensewhen he went along to photography the couple at home.
"The first thing we plan to buy with our prize money is a newcamera to capture baby Jake's special moments. I will also finallybe able to afford to get my wedding dress cleaned, so it can be putaway nicely! Also, now I can drink again, a bottle of somethingbubbly would go down well to toast the winning. And to be honest,the money couldn't have come at a better time - with me being onmaternity leave it will help make things a lot easier.
"I would like to thank all our family and friends who voted forme. And a special thanks to our parents, who I'm sure got carriedaway voting!"
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google prized Motorola Mobility's patent portfolio so much that it threw in an extra $3 billion to get its takeover offer accepted last month.
That tidbit emerged Tuesday in Securities and Exchange Commission documents that shed light on the negotiations that culminated in cell phone and tablet maker Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. agreeing to be sold to Google Inc. for $12.5 billion, or $40 per share. That's 33 percent more than Google initially offered, according to the SEC filing.
The proposed acquisition still requires approval from antitrust regulators. If the deal falls through, Google will still have to pay Motorola Mobility $2.5 billion.
Google is digging deeper into its pockets than at any point in its 13-year history to protect its Android software from an onslaught of lawsuits alleging the technology for mobile devices infringes on other patents. Motorola Mobility offers some legal insulation because it already owns 17,500 mobile patents and has submitted another 7,500 for approval.
The discussions between the two companies began in early July, a few weeks after a group that included Google rivals Apple Inc. and Microsoft Crop. paid $4.5 billion for 6,000 patents owned by Nortel Networks.
Andy Rubin, who oversees Google's mobile operations, made the first contact with Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha, in early July according to the documents. Later, Google CEO Larry Page and Nikesh Ahora, the company's chief business officer, entered the talks.
After nearly a month of confidential discussions, Google offered $30 per share in an Aug. 1 letter to Motorola Mobility's board. At the time, Motorola Mobility's stock was hovering around $22 per share.
Motorola Mobility rejected the first bid and asked for $43.50 per share on the advice of Silicon Valley investment banker Frank Quattrone of Qatalyst Partners.
Google then suggested a price of $37 per share before finally agreeing to pay $40 per share on Aug. 9.
The final $12.5 billion price tag exceeds the combined total that Google had paid for the 136 previous acquisitions that it has completed since going public in 2004. Those earlier deals cost Google a combined $9.1 billion.
Buying Motorola Mobility is considered to be risky because it will thrust Google into the business of manufacturing hardware for the first time and threatens to alienate other device makers who have helped promote the free Android software. If the deal goes through, it will also test Google's ability to avoid culture clashes as it absorbs Motorola Mobility's 19,000 employees into its workforce.
SAN FRANCISCO A few generations ago, fancy packs of assorteddried fruits were popular visual and taste treats during theholidays.
Time seemed to pass those prettily packaged delicacies by asconsumers became used to more modern food processing methods, butthere are signs that a new interest in dried fruit and even fancypacks may be developing.
"During World War II, people ate a lot of dried fruit," says DonWhittemore of Vacaville Fruit Co. "When the war was over and freshfruit was available, dried fruit did sort of shrivel up."
The market for dried fruit began expanding again "as the publicbecame more health conscious in the late 1970s," Whittemore said.
Vacaville Fruit has been providing dried fruit in bulk,particularly to Del Monte, since 1961 and began marketing individualpackages of fruit last year.
"We buy fresh fruit from farmers and process it into dry fruit,"Whittemore said. "About 90 percent of the fruit we process goes tobig processors, but package sales are growing fast."
Vacaville Fruit created a resealable type of packaging for itsindividual sales, he added.
The company entered the fancy pack market for Christmas salesthree years ago. In 1985, Vacaville Fruit had orders for 21,000assorted fruit packs. Orders for 1986 reached 80,000 by early fall,with officials hoping to top 100,000.
Richard Nola, who owns Vacaville Fruit, thinks the company'sgrowth lies in "gift packs and various types of marketing. I thinkit's come back because people are more conscious of what they areeating."
To satisfy its markets, both old and new, the company buys fruitfrom a wide geographical area of California, Nola says. Most fruitcomes from Solano County, but apricots are bought in San Benito,peaches in Stanislaus, pears in Lake, nectarines and figs in Fresnoand dates in Indio County.
A few of the goodies in gift packs are not produced locallybecause they do not grow commercially in California.
Pacific Dried Foods is a bulk importer of pineapples, papayas,banana chips and coconuts for health food stores and supermarkets.Lately, the Temecula-based company has been selling to gift packprocessors and other specialty users as well.
"There's been a big push for gift packs," said spokesman BillMorris. "I sell to people who make gift packs. I sell to candy andice cream companies. These products are very popular in trailmixes."
Dates traditionally were a staple of Christmas gift packs, sothey too are gaining sales.
Western Date Ranches at Bard near California's southeasternborder with Arizona markets some of its Medjool dates in fancy boxesby themselves, but most of the crop is sold in bulk.
"A lot of the crop winds up in fancy packs and is sold by mailorder," said Glen Vandervoort, the company's sales manager.
"It is coming back. People are going with this nutritiousnesssnack, and it fits right into that."
Federal regulators are concerned that a dam built by Monsanto Co. earlier this year to trap phosphate mine runoff may be stopping more than just pollution.
They say the dam has also halted millions of gallons of water in Sheep Creek that would otherwise help fill the Blackfoot River.
The Environmental Protection Agency now wants the maker of Roundup herbicide to begin a costly treatment to remove selenium and heavy metals, then discharge clean water downstream, instead of capturing it in a 50-million-gallon lake behind the dam and using it for dust control on its mining roads.
The situation shows the predicament that companies like St. Louis-based Monsanto and the government face in Idaho's rich-but-polluted phosphate mining country not far from Yellowtone National Park: They must work to contain naturally occurring poisons unearthed during a century of digging, while protecting water supplies in an agricultural state hit hard by drought over the last decade.
The aim is to avoid killing streams just to save them.
"We support efforts to reduce selenium discharges to the creek, but we have serious concerns about the methods Monsanto is using, which is drying up the creek," said Mark Ryan, a federal Clean Water Act attorney for the EPA in Boise, on Wednesday. "We want to see it (the water) treated and put back into the creek where it belongs."
In 2007, the EPA warned Monsanto that selenium- and heavy metal-tainted water being flushed from the waste rock dump below the South Rasmussen Ridge Mine into Sheep Creek violated the federal Clean Water Act.
Sheep Creek runs into the Blackfoot River, and both are on the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality's list of 15 waterways that exceed selenium contamination standards.
Traces of selenium are needed by most animals including humans, but the element is toxic in large amounts.
Mines owned by Monsanto, Boise-based J.R. Simplot Co., and Agrium Inc. of Canada in the so-called phosphate patch near the Idaho-Wyoming border have captured public attention since selenium pollution began killing hundreds of livestock starting in the 1990s, including 18 cattle last August.
Monsanto got a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit in early April to erect a roughly 20-foot dam below the dump. It also has rights to the water it has trapped behind the dam.
Trent Clark, a Monsanto spokesman in Soda Springs, said Wednesday the company is seeking ways to eventually resume the flow of snowmelt and rain from its waste rock dump into Sheep Creek. He added that springs below the dam continue to flow into Sheep Creek and those meet federal clean water standards.
For now, the new dam is working to keep pollution in one place.
"None of that water is actually leaving the containment area," Clark said. "The next challenge is to find a solution that allows the free flow of the water without contaminants."
State officials said Wednesday they planned to visit the site in coming weeks to make sure Monsanto's dam doesn't significantly reduce water flows into the Blackfoot River.
Damming its tributaries like Sheep Creek, despite the pollution problems, could reduce dilution of even higher concentrations of selenium coming from upstream.
"We hope this is an interim measure, and that a long-term remediation plan is yet coming," said Bruce Olenick, regional administrator in the Department of Environmental Quality's Pocatello office.
Impersonating Madonna is hard work. It takes skill and dedication,fashion sense and rhythm, musicality and just the right amount ofsass.
But most of all, it takes a hard body.
Well known for her ferocious workout regimen and physically taxingstage show, Madonna is among the best-conditioned of today's rockstars. Think about it: Elton John is no lithe specimen, and neitheris his fellow piano duelist Billy Joel. Meat Loaf's still hefty andso is David Crosby. Sure, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera haveyouth and metabolism on their side, but that won't always be thecase. In fact, 19-year-old Britney recently told the Scottish DailyRecord, "There are mornings I wake up and my butt feels fat."
So how does Madonna impersonator Mimi Marks maintain her leanphysique? "I swear to God I do not work out at all," says the 5-foot-9, washboard-abbed blond. "I don't have anything specific that I do.I certainly don't eat right or at the right times."
Marks is quick to note, however, that performers at the Baton,where she does three a shows a night Wednesday through Sunday, mustrepeatedly scamper up and down the stairs between their dressingrooms and the stage. Maybe that's the secret: stair work. Or maybenot.
"I don't know," Marks says. "So far I've been lucky, I guess."
See related story on same page.
WASHINGTON - Two Cabinet secretaries on Sunday promoted the White House's immigration deal with Congress and played down criticism it would reward people who illegally have entered the country.
"It's not amnesty. They're going to have to pay a penalty," Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said. "They're going to have to wait in line. They're going to have to undergo a criminal background check."
The compromise legislation championed by an improbable pairing of liberal and conservative lawmakers must first get through the Senate. Debate was scheduled to start Monday as Congress entered the week leading into its Memorial Day vacation.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said it could tie up the Senate for some time.
"It's got to go on for at least a couple of weeks to give everybody the opportunity in the Senate to feel like they've had their chance to offer amendments that they think would improve the bill," he said.
The bill would offer legal status to most of the nation's 12 million illegal immigrants while also toughening border security.
But some conservatives have branded the proposal an "amnesty" program that would help people who crossed the border illegally. It also would mandate tougher workplace enforcement and provide for a guest worker program.
"What we've done is we've come up with a solution that doesn't allow these people to jump the line in terms of getting a green card," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. "Everybody who has been on line waiting patiently gets ahead of them. They have to pay a penalty, similar to what you pay if you commit a misdemeanor, which is what this is under the existing state of the law."
Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, the lead Democratic negotiator, said the bill would create "a tough but fair path to citizenship" for millions of immigrants.
"The bill isn't exactly the way I would have written it, but it is a strong compromise and the best chance we will have to finally fix this broken system," he said in a statement distributed to reporters. "The price of inaction is too high."
Prospects of such a plan in the House are uncertain.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is not happy with how the compromise would treat families. It would impose tighter rules for green card eligibility for some relatives of U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
"We should try to fashion something that recognizes the reality of life," she said in an interview broadcast Sunday.
"There is no automatic path to green card. There is no automatic path to citizenship," Gutierrez said.
The president used his weekly radio address to herald the deal, which could prove a welcome second-term achievement to contrast with the unpopular war in Iraq.
Illegal immigrants could seek a "Z visa" and get on track toward permanent residency after paying fees and fine. Heads of households would have to return to their home countries first.
Guest workers would have to return to their home country after periods of two years. They could renew their visas twice, but would be required to leave for a year in between each time.
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat, said the proposed legislation was a good start - "as close of being able to talk about this problem realistically as anything I have seen" - though the details will be difficult to work out.
"How the temporary worker program is going to be implemented, whether the border security measures are actually going to be installed," she said. "These are questions that need to be answered as the bill undergoes further consideration."
Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif., who heads the House immigration reform caucus, said "the worst thing you can do if you try to control illegal immigration is reward 12 to 20 million illegal aliens with citizenship and permanent residency."
Yet he added, "I think it passes if big business is able to basically put the pressure on and say, `We give you Republicans a lot of money. We want you to deliver us a cheap vote.'"
Chertoff, Gutierrez, Napolitano and Bilbray appeared on "Late Edition" on CNN. Pelosi and McConnell were on "This Week" on ABC.
Defending champion Soren Kjeldsen and 1999 British Open winner Paul Lawrie shared the lead Thursday at the Andalucia Open after each shot a 5-under 65 in the opening round.
Kjeldsen made seven birdies around the Parador Golf Course on the Costa Del Sol in a return to form following a dip toward the end of 2009 after the Dane became embroiled in a lengthy legal battle with his former manager.
"My former manager owed me several hundred thousand euros and when I asked him for it, I discovered all the money had been spent," Kjeldsen said. "It was a lot of money and it was a big distraction from my golf, so it's nice to shoot low again."
Ranked 35th in the world at the start of the year, Kjeldsen has secured a place to play in The Masters next month. But he has since slipped to 51st and failed to join many fellow Europeans warming up for the first major of 2010 at Bay Hill this week.
"I would have like to have played Bay Hill but at the same time I also wanted to defend the Andalucian Open title, which I won last year," Kjeldsen said. "So dropping out to 51st made my mind up for me and I am glad I came here to Spain. In the end, if you are playing well in the buildup to a major it doesn't matter whether you do it in Spain or America."
Lawrie recently returned to coach Adam Hunter, with whom the Scot worked during his Open victory at Carnoustie and who has recently been diagnosed with leukaemia.
"That should help cheer him up a bit," Lawrie said of his opening round.
A group of seven players are a stroke behind.
The St. Louis Cardinals have decided the future is now for RickAnkiel.
Earlier in the season, general manager Walt Jocketty said he wasnot going to rush Ankiel, a second-round pick in 1997 who turned 20last month but has one of the most promising arms in baseball. Thenhe went 6-0 with an 0.91 ERA at Class AA Arkansas, and St. Louispromoted Ankiel to Class AAA Memphis.
After watching Ankiel pitch six innings of one-hit ball Monday,Jocketty had seen enough that he can't wait for September to bringhim up with the rest of the minor-league promotions. Ankiel, whowas 7-3 with a 3.16 ERA in 16 starts for Memphis, will make his firstmajor-league start Tuesday night at Montreal.
"The last few days, we decided to kind of speed the process up alittle," Jocketty said.
Jocketty said the main reason Ankiel is getting an earlier look isthe demotion of Jose Jimenez, who was been a disappointment after hisno-hitter and two-hitter against Randy Johnson.
EX-CUB FONDY DIES: Dee Fondy, who played for the Cubs, PittsburghPirates and Cincinnati Reds and was the last player to bat in EbbetsField in Brooklyn, died of cancer. He was 74.
He hit .286 with 1,000 hits in eight seasons in the majors.
Fondy played in the Dodgers' farm system until being traded to theCubs. He won a spot on their roster and his first major-league hitwas a bases-loaded triple off St. Louis pitcher Ken Raffsenberger onApril 17, 1951, at Wrigley Field.
MARTINEZ CALMS DOWN: After pitching a fit in the clubhouse beforeThursday night's game against Oakland, Red Sox ace Pedro Martinezinsisted he has no animosity toward his manager or GM and said he wasmerely "joking around."
However, Martinez admitted he was upset there were televisioncameras waiting for him when he arrived the ballpark. Martinez wasscratched from his scheduled start on Saturday after he broke a teamrule by failing to arrive the ballpark at least two hours before thegame.
"You guys need to let it go," he told reporters after Thursday's6-2 loss to the Athletics.
Martinez yelled at Boston general manager Dan Duquette in front ofseveral reporters before Thursday's game, but was smiling andcracking jokes after the game.
Afterward, Martinez claimed "we were just talking. I'm just aloud talker."
Delphi to cut 1,400 more jobs
Delphi Automotive Systems Corp. will eliminate 1,400 more jobs, ontop of 11,500 cuts announced in March, as the largest auto-partsmaker reduces costs and vehicle production slows. The job cuts willcost $150 million to $200 million, the company said. The additionalsalaried workers, representing less than 1 percent of the workforceof 198,000, will leave in March and April through voluntaryretirements and buyouts, Chief Financial Officer Alan Dawes said inan interview. The Troy, Mich.-based company's biggest customer,former parent General Motors Corp., and other automakers expectconsumers to buy fewer cars and trucks as zero-percent interest …
Today is Sunday, May 18, the 139th day of 2008. There are 227 days left in the year.
Highlights in history on this date:
1781 - Peruvian revolutionary Tupac Amaru II is forced to witness the execution of his family by the Spanish in the main plaza in Cuzco and is then tortured and beheaded.
1804 - Napoleon Bonaparte is proclaimed emperor of France.
1830 - Edwin Budding of England signs an agreement for the manufacture of his invention, the lawn mower.
1860 - Abraham Lincoln nominated for U.S. president.
1896 - The U.S. Supreme Court endorses the concept of "separate but equal" racial segregation with its …
N.Y. bomb plans, maps on plotter's computer -- He made at least one U.S. visit, police reveal
By HUSSEIN DAKROUB, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Date: 07-10-2006, Monday
Section: NEWS
Edtion: All Editions
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanese authorities found maps and bombing plans on the personal computer of an al-Qaida suspect accused of plotting to attack Hudson River train tunnels, a senior Lebanese official said.
Acting Interior Minister Ahmed Fatfat described the information found on Assem Hammoud's computer as "very important."
"It contained maps and bombing plans that …
N.Y. bomb plans, maps on plotter's computerHUSSEIN DAKROUB, THE ASSOCIATED PRESSN.Y. bomb plans, maps on plotter's computer -- He made at least one U.S. visit, police reveal
By HUSSEIN DAKROUB, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Date: 07-10-2006, Monday
Section: NEWS
Edtion: All Editions
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanese authorities found maps and bombing plans on the personal computer of an al-Qaida suspect accused of plotting to attack Hudson River train tunnels, a senior Lebanese official said.
Acting Interior Minister Ahmed Fatfat described the information found on Assem Hammoud's computer as "very important."
"It contained maps and bombing plans that …
A 29-year-old man was using a circular saw when a lame piece of plywood was "kicked back" from the saw and struck him in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen. When seen in the Emergency Department he was hemodynamically stable. He had some tenderness over the right anterior superior iliac spine with some superficial abrasions in that area. He was admitted overnight for observation. Because of persistent tenderness in the right lower quadrant an enhanced computed tomography scan of the abdomen and pelvis was obtained. Infusion CT scans of the abdomen are shown at presentation (Fig. 1) and 4 weeks later (Fig. 2).
Can you detect the …
Citrus growers in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) say that, despite the region's 40% Common External Tariff on agricultural products, producers from outside the region are still undercutting them in the regional market. The producers say they are worried that moves to lower the 40% CET ceiling will freeze them out of the region completely. Jamaican representatives, for example, have accused Cuba of dumping cheap citrus into Caricom because …
Byline: University of Pennsylvania Health System
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 1 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered that microtubules - components responsible for shape, movement, and replication within cells - use proteins that act as molecular motors and brakes to organize into their correct structure. If microtubules are not formed properly such basic functions as cell division and transport can go wrong, which may have implications in such disease processes as cancer and dementia. The study, published in the January issue of Cell, is featured on the cover of that issue.
"Up until now motors and brakes were studied separately from microtubules," says senior author Phong Tran, PhD, …
The return of the Rev. Billy Graham to the pulpit, after serious rib surgery, is good news for those attending his crusade in Albany's Knickerbocker Arena. It also raises a question: Is it Mr. Graham, the messenger, or his message of Christianity, that attracts so many to his appearances worldwide?
The answer seems to be a bit of both. Millions have been attracted to the message of the New Testament without ever hearing the call from an evangelist. Yet there's no denying the appeal of someone as charismatic as Mr. …
Ottawa at Pittsburgh
N.Y. Rangers at New Jersey
Colorado at Minnesota
Calgary at San Jose
Thursday, April 10
Boston at Montreal
Nashville at Detroit
Calgary at San Jose
Dallas at Anaheim
Friday, April 11
Ottawa at Pittsburgh
Philadelphia at Washington
N.Y. Rangers at New Jersey
Colorado at Minnesota
Saturday, April 12
Nashville at Detroit
Boston at Montreal
Dallas at Anaheim
Sunday, April 13
Philadelphia at Washington
Montreal at Boston
New Jersey at …
COT, which will open its seven-performance run of the workSaturday at the Athenaeum Theatre, has had great success with anotherThomson-Stein collaboration, "The Mother of Us All." The pair'shigh-spirited pageant about Susan B. Anthony and female suffrage,composed in 1947, was performed by COT in 1976 and 1984.
The team …
GROUNDING OUR FAITH IN A PLURALIST WORLD--WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM NAGARJUNA. By John P. Keenan, with Buster G. Smith, Lansing Davis, and Sydney Copp. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2009.
A key feature of our contemporary global society is that religious communities find themselves coexisting and inevitably interacting with adherents of other faith traditions on different dimensions of life. In such a context, given the critical situation of our Earth community wounded on many levels, relating to religious Others in constructive and cooperative ways becomes no longer just an academic or theoretical issue, but one upon which hangs the very survival of this Earth, the biosphere or "circle of life" that sustains us in common. Keenan addresses this vital issue in this volume.
In his first chapter, he describes the difference between this "world of many faiths" of our time and that of our ancestors, who lived "primarily in bounded worlds of monocultural assumptions" (p. 1). He describes the task at hand, that is, of reaffirming and reclaiming our faith within our respective traditions, and at the same time being able to respect and relate to those from other religious communities and traditions in a spirit of cooperation toward healing our Earth's woundedness, in part caused precisely by conflicting claims about ultimate reality made by these different religions.
The three "classic" positions (formulated by Alan Race and taken up by many others) vis-a-vis religious Others in the context of the multiplicity of religions are reviewed, and Keenan points out their respective inadequacies for dealing with our contemporary situation. A stance of exclusivism, affirming the absolute validity of one's own faith tradition, dismisses religious Others from theological consideration in a forthright manner, without bothering to understand what they are about or what they stand for. Surely this stance is not a viable way to live in a multifaith society, and needless to say, it easily leads to animosity, conflict, and even …
Byline: DEB RIECHMANN - Associated Press
CAMP DAVID, Md. - President Bush and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak opened two days of talks on Friday focusing on North Korea's unfulfilled pledge to disclose its nuclear activities and a U.S. free-trade deal with South Korea that faces an uphill battle in Congress.
Bush hopes to strengthen sometimes-shaky U.S.-South Korea ties under Lee, a pro-American conservative who took office in late February and made the United States his first overseas trip. Their get-to-know-you meeting took on renewed importance when South Korea announced Friday it would lift its ban on U.S. beef imports.
South Korea was the …
Byline: KENNETH C. CROWE II Staff writer
A controversial drive-through window at a proposed CVS store in Congress Park Plaza was removed by the developer, leading to approval of the plans by the Planning Board last week.
``No drive-through,'' City Planner Geoffrey Bornemann said. ``They came back with a modified plan.''
``That's one of the concessions,'' said Michael Toohey, the attorney for DCG Development of Clifton Park.
The developer also lowered the grade of the building to ground level, a drop of five feet, and made it two-stories tall. This was to meet the Planning Board's desires.
``We tried to accommodate them,'' Toohey …
There'll be plenty to choose from in wireless datacom. But will anyone be truly pleased?
Despite the confusion that surrounds wireless data communications, you really can buy the equipment and subscribe to the services that make mobile computer networking possible. A growing collection of products and services is available - from cellular modems to pagers, dedicated terminals in moving vehicles to hand-held computers with radio modems, and metropolitan-area to nationwide services.
The bad news is that the wireless data communications market is young, volatile and complex. Few products and services interoperate with one another, reflecting the ambitious attempts of various players - new startups, old die - hards hards and almost everyone in between - to win customers and influence further development. Most of these players also participate in one or more alliances, consortia and joint ventures to trumpet their visions and tout their wares.
Until the dust settles, determined customers will have to evaluate the benefits and limitations. of each solution. Whether you see current applications, or wireless data in your own organization, however, it's worth keeping up with the latest developments in several wireless market segments.
Analog Cellular Modems
The data and fax modems used with analog cellular phones aren't wireless: They require wired connections both to your cellular phone and to your portable computer. Nevertheless, this is one of the largest wireless data markets, not only in terms of total customers and service revenues, but also based on the many active vendors and available products.
According to BIS Strategic Decisions (Norwell, MA), 200,000 cellular phone customers used these modems to make an estimated $140 million worth of data calls last year. Leading vendors include AT&T Paradyne (Largo, FL), Data Race (San Antonio, TX) and Hayes Microcomputer Products (Norcross, GA), and the devices range in cost from about $200 to $700.
This last year saw several new cellular modems that fit into special, standard-sized slots on PC laptops. These Personal Computer Memory Card International Associations (PCMCIA) slots are about the size of a credit card and less than one-half-inch thick. Modem cards for the slots cost $300 or more, but prices are dropping fast. since there is a lot of competition among more than a dozen manufacturers.
There are three drawbacks to analog cellular modems:
* Attachment cost.
* Roaming.
* Reliability.
Unlike wired telephones, cellular phones don't have RJ-11 jacks. No two cellular phones have the same interface or plug, and each has specialized electronics that make plug-and-play impossible with a wide variety of modems. For example, AT&T Paradyne's KeepInTouch modem works only with the Nokia (Sausalito CA cellular phone.
Prices for the connecting cables are high - from $100 to $400. Data Race probably has the widest assortment of cables for the widest range of phones, including models from AT&T, OKI, SEC, Motorola and Pioneer. Prices are less than $200 for a cable connecting the phone to Data Race's PCMCIA card modem (RediCard).
Roaming and connection reliability are also troublesome. Only a few cellular service providers, notably GTE and Cellular One, have made their systems relatively easy for nationwide roamers to use. Reliability, while satisfactory for most voice calls, can pose problems for data when cellular signals fade or drop entirely as users move about.
These obstacles are not insurmountable, however, as evidenced by United Parcel Service (Paramus, NJ), the most …
The defeated Tamil Tiger rebels confirmed Sunday that their supreme leader was killed in the group's final battle against Sri Lankan troops.
The almost mythic commander, Velupillai Prabhakaran, led a terror-driven Tamil insurrection in Sri Lanka for more than a quarter century. Last week the government declared it finally killed Prabhakaran and proclaimed victory against his Tamil Tigers, crushing the rebellion that the U.N. estimates cost between 80,000 to 100,000 lives.
But many Tamils didn't believe it.
For some die-hard followers, especially those living abroad, it hardly matters whether the legendary guerrilla is alive or dead, as long as …
There are many tough environmental issues facing the West right now, but none may be more heated than the debate over snowmobiles and national parks. Particularly Yellowstone National Park.
According to the New York Times, by the end of last week, the Interior Department had received 360,000 comments on the matter, the most ever on any question related to the national parks. The results? Ban the machines. Eighty percent of the writers wanted snowmobiles barred from the parks, just as the Clinton administration had proposed.
However, while officials acknowledged the outcome of this survey, they proposed to do just the opposite. They not only plan to allow snowmobilers in …
WASHINGTON -- Like a cat with nine lives, the federal school-to-work program has survived yet again in Congress.
Discussions between the White House and Congress have produced a package of $110 million for the 1994 school-to-work law, which House Republicans had tried again to kill this year. School-to-work has faced strong criticism from conservatives, who argue that it gives local schools too much control over a student's career choice.
The latest funding, covering fiscal year 2000, is …
Nabisco expands big bag product lines with Nutter Butter Peanut Butter Mini Sandwich Cookies filled with real peanut butter creme and Ritz Bits Mini Sandwich Crackers with real cheese. These new snacks complement the existing Big Bag varieties: mini Oreo Cookies, mini Chips Ahoy! Cookies and …
