blog85: March 2012

Thursday, 15 March 2012

Sheffield has 2 homers, 5 RBIs as Tigers beat A's

Gary Sheffield's second home run of the night _ a grand slam _ was the 250,000th hit in major league history and the Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics 14-8 on Monday night.

Sheffield drove in five runs, including his 13th career grand slam. Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera and Mike Hessman also went deep for the Tigers, who won their third straight.

Rajai Davis and Jack Hannahan each drove in two runs for Oakland, which has lost five of seven.

Both starting pitchers struggled. Zach Miner of the Tigers gave up eight runs and 11 hits in 4 1-3 innings, and rookie Gio Gonzalez (1-4) allowed a career-high nine runs _ eight earned _ and five hits in …

Missing W.Va. man turns up in Big Easy: ; Wirt resident has been in New Orleans for past five years; bank accounts remain untouched

PARKERSBURG - A man missing since March 2004 has been locatedalive and well in New Orleans.

William Lott, 50, formerly of Elizabeth, Wirt County, wentmissing in March 2004 under mysterious circumstances. His vehiclewas found abandoned in June of that year in a Parkersburg parkinggarage and his bank accounts remained inactive.

The only clue to his whereabouts was a bus ticket stub with a NewOrleans destination. Still, this seemed suspicious considering theabandoned car and inactive accounts, police said.

Officials and his family members feared the worst. It was assumedhe was the victim of foul play, and the disappearance resulted in amissing person's case and a …

Ex-Senator, VP Candidate Eagleton Dies

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Former U.S. Sen. Thomas Eagleton, who resigned as a vice presidential nominee in 1972 after it was revealed he had been hospitalized for depression, died Sunday, according to the office of Sen. Claire McCaskill.

The cause of death was not disclosed. Eagleton, 77, had suffered from a variety of illnesses and ailments in recent years.

"Today Missouri has a hole in its heart," McCaskill said in a statement. "Tom Eagleton managed to be a statesman, an intellectual and a man of the people all at the same time."

Eagleton served in the Senate representing Missouri from December 1968 through January 1987.

He was George McGovern's vice …

St. Louis' OT goal lifts Lightning to win

Martin St. Louis scored with 1:56 left in overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 2-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.

St. Louis got a pass from rookie Steven Stamkos, broke to his right, and wristed a shot past Steve Mason. St. Louis fell and slid into the boards after the goal, and was mobbed by his teammates.

St. Louis has six goals and eight assists in a nine-game point streak for Tampa Bay, which ended a six-game home skid.

Columbus, which is closing in on its first postseason berth in the franchise's ninth season, had dominated against Eastern Conference, compiling a 13-3-1 record and a 5-0 mark against the …

Wednesday, 14 March 2012

Injured McCoy leads Loyola

A cut on her chin didn't stop Loyola guard Brittany McCoy fromtearing up

No. 14 Trinity on Saturday.

McCoy was injured diving for a loose ball in the second quarterand sat out the next 3:25 before returning with a bandage on herchin. She exploded for 20 of her game-high 26 points afterintermission as the visiting Ramblers pulled away to a 52-36 GCAC Redvictory in River Forest.

"She bailed us out today," Loyola coach Tanya Johnson said. "Ithought her shot selection was really good. I thought she tookopenings that were there and didn't try to force things, and I thinkour other kids just understood their roles today."

McCoy scored 11 points during a …

RESEARCH CORNER

Economic principles and the not-for-profit sector

How does one go about promoting the charitable sector and contribute to the development of a civil society? This may sound like a hypothetical question for idle speculation and one of little interest to business people; however, it is a topic of serious inquiry-one that will have profound implications for at least 1.3 billion people.

On July 6-7th, The University of BC hosted a symposium on this exact topic. Entitled "Building the foundations for a harmonious society - A Canada-China collaborative study on the development of China's Charity Enhancement Law," the symposium's purpose was to help China build the legal …

Exotic "super fruit" juice spawns $1B nutrition business for one company; experts doubtful

On stage at a sales convention, XanGo executive Joseph Morton said that when he first stumbled across mangosteen, a tropical fruit with purported curative powers, "I didn't have to have it confirmed in the New England medical journal before I would listen."

The multilevel marketing company has built a huge business around its mangosteen-based juice, which it promotes as an immunity booster. The company still hasn't proved its health benefits _ which it says could include a stronger immune system and improved joint function _ to skeptical experts. XanGo's Web site includes a disclaimer, noting the juice is not meant to treat or prevent disease. A lab test …

Yankees 18, Sox 7

Ne w York AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

Gardner lf-cf 5 4 3 0 0 1 .280

Jeter ss 6 4 5 2 0 0 .280

Granderson cf 6 2 4 5 0 2 .278

E.Nunez 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 .271

Teixeira 1b 5 1 1 3 0 1 .255

Ayala p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---

R.Soriano p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---

Cano 2b 5 2 3 4 0 0 .299

An.Jones lf 1 0 1 0 0 0 .235

Swisher rf 5 1 1 0 1 3 .267

Er.Chavez 3b 6 1 3 4 0 1 .298

Posada dh-1b 5 1 1 0 0 0 .235

Martin c 4 2 1 0 1 1 .226

Totals 48 18 23 18 2 9

WHITE SOX AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

Pierre lf 5 2 2 1 0 0 .277

Vizquel 2b 5 0 1 0 0 1 .255

Quentin …

Leadership training school focusing on the Holy Spirit

HARRISONBURG, VA.-The 2011 School for Leadership Training, to be held at Eastern Mennonite Seminary (EMS) from Jan. 17 to 19, will explore the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, under the theme, "The work of the Spirit: Pentecost remixed." Plenary sessions led by Cheryl Bridges Johns, a professor and pastor from the Church of God tradition, will explore the working of the Spirit in the church today She has been part of a Church of God/Mennonite interfaith dialogue. Workshop leaders will help participants discover the work of the Spirit in various aspects of church leadership, from biblical …

Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai to head Shanghai film festival jury

Cannes-winning Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai will head the jury at the Shanghai International Film Festival later this month.

Wong replaces late English director Anthony Minghella, who died in London in March of a hemorrhage following surgery.

According to a notice on the Shanghai festival's Web site seen Friday, the jury will also include veteran Chinese actress Joan Chen, German producer Ulrich Felsberg, Danish director Bille August, Israeli writer Gila Almagor, Japanese director Kaori Momoi and Chinese director Huo Jianqi.

The jury will award the festival's top Jin Jue Award.

This year's …

Cheese worker's vacation costs her Powerball jackpot

FOND DU LAC, Wis. -- When Shelly Pittelko recently went onvacation, she forgot to throw her $1 into the office Powerballlottery pool.

Her oversight may have cost her a share of Saturday's $208.6million jackpot.

About 100 of Pittelko's co-workers at Sargento Foods in Plymouthpooled their money and …

Chicago at the Shubert is sensuously captivating

Chicago, a phenomenal musical, played the Shubert Theater approximately two decades ago. During its history the musical has won several Oscars in addition to more than 50 awards internationally, including Broadway's Tony Award, London's Olivier Award, the recording industry's Grammy Award and the movie version revitalized musicals in films.

The current production now featured at the Shubert is even more enthralling than the movie production and dazzles with sensuous fascination that captivated the audience. Chicago continues at the Shubert Theater through Sept. 21.

Chicago is mystifying, thoroughly entertaining, witty and musically enthralling with Bianca Marroquin and …

Suicide Bomber Hits US-Led Afghan Convoy

KABUL, Afghanistan - A suicide car bomber blew himself up near a convoy of U.S. troops on the outskirts of Kabul Tuesday, leaving up to seven civilians and three soldiers wounded, officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility.

In the aftermath of the attack, U.S. troops opened fire on police arriving at the scene, killing one policeman, officials and a witness said.

The bomber targeted the convoy outside Camp Phoenix, a U.S. base on Jalalabad road - an area frequently targeted by suicide bomb attacks.

A statement from the U.S.-led coalition said three Afghan civilians and three coalition service members were wounded.

Lt. Cmdr. Brenda Steele, a spokeswoman for NATO forces, said one foreign soldier suffered minor injuries in the attack and seven civilians were wounded. She would not disclose the nationality of the wounded soldier.

The differing figures could not immediately be reconciled.

Ali Shah Paktiawal, head of police criminal investigations in Kabul, said that when he and his men arrived on the scene, someone opened fire on them, and one of his guards was killed.

"There was a misunderstanding between the forces present at the scene of the suicide attack this morning and new forces who were trying to get to the scene," Interior Ministry spokesman Zemerai Bashary said.

Ahmad Basir, who owns a shop about 200 yards from the blast site, said he saw U.S. soldiers open fire on the police as they arrived.

"When they were about to reach the blast site, about 100 meters (yards) away, suddenly the Americans opened fire on the police convoy," Basir said. "Everyone on the street ran away to escape the shooting. I ran into my shop, too. I was afraid I'd get hit."

A U.S.-led coalition spokesman said he didn't have any details about the alleged shooting and would have to investigate before commenting.

Meanwhile, a purported Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujaheed, said the militant group was behind the attack. Mujaheed's claim could not immediately be verified.

Separately in southern Kandahar province, the Taliban attacked a police checkpoint Monday night in Maiwand district, and the ensuing two-hour gun battle left three Taliban dead, including a senior commander, said provincial police chief Syed Agha Saqib. He said the police suffered no casualties.

Also Monday in northern Kunduz province, a suicide bomb attack killed one employee of the intelligence service, and wounded eight civilians, a policeman and three other intelligence personnel, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday in a statement.

Tuesday, 13 March 2012

Correction: Missing helicopter story

In a May 11 story about a University of Wisconsin Hospital Med Flight helicopter crash, The Associated Press, relying on a news release from the university, misidentified the type of helicopter. It was an American Eurocopter EC135, not an American Eurocopter EC13, the university now says.

Bernard and Adlington win European swimming award

Alain Bernard of France and Rebecca Adlington of Britain were chosen Thursday as the 2008 European swimmers of the year.

Bernard won a gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle at the Beijing Olympics, and took silver in the 4x100 freestyle relay and bronze in the 50 free.

Adlington won gold in the 400 and 800 freestyle in Beijing and was also the 2008 world champion in the 800 short-course race.

The European Swimming Federation also named two Russians, Dmitry Sautin and Yulia Pakhalina, as the best European divers of 2008, while Peter Biros of Hungary and Danielle de Bruijn of the Netherlands were considered the best water polo players.

Russian teammates Anastasia Davydova and Anastasia Ermakova were best in synchronized swimming, and in open water swimming, the winners were Maarten van der Weijden of the Netherlands and Larisa Ilchenko of Russia.

Representatives of Europe's national swimming federations and media members voted for the awards, which were announced Thursday in LEN Magazine, which is published in Budapest.

American League Standings

All Times EDT

East Division

W L Pct GB

Boston 46 30 .605 _

Tampa Bay 43 30 .589 1 1/2

New York 40 35 .533 5 1/2

Baltimore 38 34 .528 6

Toronto 35 40 .467 10 1/2

Central Division

W L Pct GB

Chicago 41 33 .554 _

Minnesota 38 36 .514 3

Detroit 34 39 .466 6 1/2

Cleveland 34 40 .459 7

Kansas City 31 43 .419 10

West Division

W L Pct GB

Los Angeles 44 30 .595 _

Oakland 40 33 .548 3 1/2

Texas 37 38 .493 7 1/2

Seattle 26 47 .356 17 1/2

___

Friday's Games

Chicago Cubs 4, Chicago White Sox 3

St. Louis 5, Boston 4

Pittsburgh 1, Toronto 0, 12 innings

Cincinnati 4, N.Y. Yankees 2

L.A. Angels 7, Philadelphia 1

Houston 4, Tampa Bay 3

Seattle 10, Atlanta 2

Washington 4, Texas 3, 14 innings

Baltimore 8, Milwaukee 5

Minnesota 7, Arizona 2

San Francisco 9, Kansas City 4

San Diego 6, Detroit 2

Oakland 7, Florida 6, 11 innings

Cleveland 6, L.A. Dodgers 4, 10 innings

Saturday's Games

Cincinnati 6, N.Y. Yankees 0

Chicago Cubs 11, Chicago White Sox 7

St. Louis at Boston, 3:55 p.m.

Cleveland at L.A. Dodgers, 3:55 p.m.

Houston at Tampa Bay, 6:10 p.m.

Toronto at Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m.

Baltimore at Milwaukee, 7:05 p.m.

L.A. Angels at Philadelphia, 7:05 p.m.

Seattle at Atlanta, 7:10 p.m.

Texas at Washington, 7:10 p.m.

Arizona at Minnesota, 7:10 p.m.

San Francisco at Kansas City, 7:10 p.m.

Florida at Oakland, 9:05 p.m.

Detroit at San Diego, 10:05 p.m.

Sunday's Games

Cincinnati (Cueto 5-7) at N.Y. Yankees (Pettitte 7-5), 1:05 p.m.

Seattle (Silva 3-8) at Atlanta (T.Hudson 7-5), 1:35 p.m.

Toronto (McGowan 5-5) at Pittsburgh (Snell 3-7), 1:35 p.m.

St. Louis (Pineiro 2-3) at Boston (Lester 6-3), 1:35 p.m.

Texas (Padilla 9-3) at Washington (Lannan 4-8), 1:35 p.m.

L.A. Angels (Jer.Weaver 6-7) at Philadelphia (Hamels 7-4), 1:35 p.m.

Houston (Backe 4-8) at Tampa Bay (Kazmir 6-2), 1:40 p.m.

Baltimore (Olson 5-2) at Milwaukee (Parra 6-2), 2:05 p.m.

Arizona (Webb 11-3) at Minnesota (Hernandez 7-4), 2:10 p.m.

San Francisco (Lincecum 8-1) at Kansas City (Davies 3-0), 2:10 p.m.

Detroit (Verlander 3-9) at San Diego (Wolf 5-5), 4:05 p.m.

Florida (Miller 5-5) at Oakland (Duchscherer 7-4), 4:05 p.m.

Cleveland (Byrd 3-7) at L.A. Dodgers (Billingsley 5-7), 4:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox (Vazquez 7-5) at Chicago Cubs (Dempster 8-2), 8:05 p.m.

Monday's Games

Arizona at Boston, 7:05 p.m.

Seattle at N.Y. Mets, 7:10 p.m.

L.A. Angels at Washington, 7:10 p.m.

Colorado at Kansas City, 8:10 p.m.

Louisville offense piling up points but not getting help from defense

MORGANTOWN - Among all the questions that ask what is wrong withLouisville this season, there is one explanation that cannot begiven.

There is nothing wrong with the offense.

Brian Brohm remains one of the nations' finest quarterbacks,ranking fourth in total offense (354.6 yards per game) and fifth inpass efficiency. The Cardinals are No. 4 in passing offense (360.9),No. 6 in total offense (510.4) and No. 15 in scoring offense (37points per game) and the senior Brohm is responsible for almost allof that productivity.

"He's one of the best, obviously, that we've ever played againstand one of the best in the history of not just the Big East, butNCAA football," said West Virginia Coach Rich Rodriguez, who mustcontend with Brohm at 7:45 Thursday night at Mountaineer Field.

Yet the Cardinals are just 5-4 and 2-2 in the Big East, mostlybecause the defense has not been able to support the offense. TheCardinals have lost games in which they've scored 34, 35 and 35points and had to scramble to beat Middle Tennessee State 58-42.

It's been an ongoing problem first-year Coach Steve Kragthorpehas had to address throughout the season.

"We give up too many big plays on defense," he said. "We've gotto cover guys, no question about it. We've got to get guys inposition to cover, and when we're in position to cover, we have tomake plays. We've had good coverages called a couple of times andknew exactly what they were throwing, and we didn't make plays onthe ball."

* n n

The Cardinals are No. 81 out of 109 Division I-A teams in totaldefense and allow an average of 411.3 yards per game. Louisville is2-3 in games that opponents gain at least 460 yards.

The rush defense is No. 63 (153.9 yards per game) and has allowedfive players rush for at least 115 yards.

The Cardinals have actually been worse against the pass, wherethey rank 105th in pass efficiency defense and 92nd in passingyardage (257.4). Six teams have passed for 249 yards or more againstthem.

An opponent has rushed for at least 175 yards and passed for atleast 275 yards in the same game four times.

"We're essentially not getting in position to make plays and whenwe are in position, we're not making them," Kragthorpe said.

* n n

To be fair, a lot is different this season and it begins withKraghtorpe, who enjoyed a brief honeymoon after leaving Tulsa toreplace Bobby Petrino. The Cardinals won the first game, 73-10,against Murray State, but the worries began following the winagainst Middle Tennessee. Kentucky and Syracuse then beat Louisvillein back-to-back weeks.

The Cardinals followed a 29-10 win against North Carolina Statewith a 44-35 loss to Utah in which they fell behind 21-0 and allowed582 yards of offense.

"We played much better at N.C. State and I felt like at thatpoint in time we had gotten things back in hand in terms of playingbetter defense, but obviously we didn't play very well againstUtah," Kragthorpe said. "I'm very disappointed playing the way wedid against Utah. I felt like we had made some improvements, but wedidn't sustain the improvement and we played real poorly."

Frustrations followed the defeats. Kragthorpe benched receiverMarrio Urrutia for continued unsportsmanlike conduct penalties andrunning back George Stripling missed three games after being citedfor violating team rules. Receiver JaJuan Spillman, who had beenarrested in January for driving under the influence and marijuanapossession, started against North Carolina State, but was suspendedfor the season 10 days later.

The Cardinals have been booed at home and have noted they've feltbetter playing on the road.

"What's happened last year or five years ago, nobody cares aboutthat," Kragthorpe said. "You've got to come out and play everyweek."

* n n

Rodriguez agreed that the past should not alter the perception ofthe present. That, he said, should be particularly true on defense,where Louisville replaces first-round draft pick Amobi Okoye on thedefensive line, two of the three starting linebackers and three ofthe four starters in the secondary.

"They played some pretty explosive offenses earlier in the year,"Rodriguez said.

The problems persisted and perhaps peaked against anything-but-explosive Syracuse. That the improvement against N.C. State wasfollowed by a failure against Utah eroded the support Kragthorpe hadenjoyed, even among the media.

Rick Bozich, columnist for the Louisville Courier-Journal wrotefollowing that loss, "But this has not been normal slippage. It'sbeen a stunning slide to 3-3, especially when you realize thatLouisville is losing to the worst teams on its schedule and has yetto play many of the best."

Still, the defense is now playing noticeably better. Cincinnatigained 460 yards, UConn 305 and Pitt 270.

"There were 22 plays Pitt had that gained 23 yards total,"Rodriguez said. "The defense pretty much controlled that game forthem."

The difference has shown on the scoreboard, too, where theBearcats scored 24 points, UConn 21 and Pitt 17.

"They're probably playing their best defense recently and I thinkthey've found out who their starters are and found out what thosekids can do well and they're putting them in position now to makeplays," Rodriguez said.

Contact sportswriter Mike Casazza at mikec @dailymail.com or 319-1142.

5 big chains in milk boycott

WASHINGTON Five of the nation's largest supermarket chainsrevealed Wednesday that they are refusing to buy dairy products fromfarmers who have injected their cows with a synthetic growth hormone.

Jeremy Rifkin, who heads the Washington-based Foundation onEconomic Trends, said the bovine growth hormone (BGH) is geneticallyproduced to boost a cow's production by 20 to 33 percent.

Although the Food and Drug Administration has not cleared BGHfor commercial use, it has allowed companies to run limited on-farmtests. Rifkin said some of the products from those farms, primarilymilk, have been reaching consumers.

"I don't think it's a large amount," he said. "But if it isbeing sold over and over again in a small test area to the sameconsumers, it could have an impact."

The five food chains - Safeway, Kroger, Stop and Shop,Supermarkets General and Vons - said they have taken precautions tokeep products from cows treated with BGH off store shelves.

Either they have told their suppliers they will not purchasedairy products treated with the hormone or the suppliers already havegiven assurances that they are not selling the products, the chainssaid.

BGH is the first major biotechnology-derived hormone foragriculture. Field trials of it began in the early 1980s and so farhave involved some 11,300 dairy cows, less than one-tenth of 1percent of the nation's total. The FDA estimated that 1,000 cows areundergoing current testing.

The trials, required to demonstrate the effect of the product onthe animals, started after the FDA concluded that the milk producedby BGH-treated cows is "perfectly safe for human consumption," saidJohn Augsburg, assistant to the director of the agency's Center forVeterinary Medicine.

As a result, dairies are permitted to sell milk produced by cowsinjected as part of the test with the synthetically derived hormone,a protein clone of what is produced naturally in cows' pituitaryglands.

The large supermarket chains were responding to letters sentthem by longtime biotechnology opponent Jeremy Rifkin.

Bush Eager for Budget Showdown

WASHINGTON - President Bush is spoiling for a veto battle with Democrats over spending bills, but Congress has done such a poor job completing its budget work that the showdown could be weeks away.

The Oct. 1 deadline for completing the 12 annual spending bills funding next year's budgets for 15 Cabinet departments is just a week away, but the Democratic-controlled Congress has yet to send him a single bill. The last time Congress failed to clear a single spending bill by the Oct. 1 deadline occurred in 2002.

With the deadline looming, congressional Democrats are preparing to pass a stopgap bill to keep the government running into mid-November. The measure will also contain $5 billion to purchase armored vehicles to protect troops in Iraq from mines and roadside bombs.

A clash has been brewing since the spring over Democrats' attempts to add more than $22 billion to Bush's $933 billion request for the approximately one-third of the federal budget funded by the yearly spending bills.

The additional funding has long been sought by Democrats and includes budget increases for dozens of favored domestic programs, including grants to local governments, education, homeland security, law enforcement and health research.

Some Capitol Hill Republicans favor the increases as well, though Bush's allies in the House have promised to sustain vetoes that hang over nine of the 12 measures.

Bush has signaled a hard line, one that's welcomed by the GOP faithful, many of whom believe the party needs to show greater determination on spending. Bush took lots of criticism for not vetoing spending bills when Republicans held Congress.

"Republicans squandered the brand as the party of limited government and fiscal discipline and that contributed significantly to their losses in 2006," said former GOP Rep. Pat Toomey, a former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania who heads the anti-spending group Club for Growth. "A showdown like this is exactly what the Republicans need to recapture the brand."

"The President is rightly defensive about his fiscal record, and clearly he is itching to veto appropriations bills ... in a vain attempt to re-establish his bona fides with conservative groups," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

While Bush has signaled flexibility on politically popular budget increases for veterans programs and to build a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, he's drawn a line in the sand on just about everything else.

Bush has also vowed to veto a $35 billion expansion of the popular State Children's Health Insurance Program and a measure authorizing water projects that's poised to clear the Senate later Monday.

Even though Bush has poor public approval ratings, his veto pen and the power to drive the public agenda give him great leverage over lawmakers - whose approval ratings are even lower. And he can hold Congress in session demanding concessions.

Complicating matters is the dawdling pace of the Senate, which has passed only four of the 12 appropriations bills. After completing the defense measure next week, the Senate will take a week off, a move that hasn't sat well with the House, which passed all 12 bills this summer.

Democrats lambasted Republicans last year for not getting the budget work done. Now, the tables have turned.

Bush vows he won't be muscled into signing a foot-tall "omnibus" bundle of bills.

"If they think that by waiting until just before they leave for the year to send me a bill that is way over budget and thicker than a phone book, if they think that's going to force me to sign it, it's not," Bush said Monday.

Democrats know they need to make concessions and are interested in negotiations.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., said $16 billion of the $22 billion difference between Bush and Democrats is to restore cuts sought by Bush to programs supported by lawmakers in both parties.

"After having asked us to borrow another $150 billion for the war in Iraq, he's trying to claim somehow that he's 'Mr. Fiscal Rectitude' by squawking about our efforts to restore $16 billion of his cuts," Obey said.

But Democrats have leverage of their own, including the need to pass a huge bill funding the war in Iraq for the upcoming year. Bush has already requested $147 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and is expected to send Congress another $45 billion request this week.

Democrats haven't made any decisions on whether to try to attach domestic increases to the Iraq funding bill. Another option is to try to hitch some of the spending increases to a bill Bush might have little choice but to sign, such as a measure funding medical care for veterans and improvements to military bases.

"Only in Washington can $22 billion be called a very small difference," Bush said recently.

Japan and North Korea to hold talks Saturday

Japan and North Korea have scheduled bilateral talks Saturday in China, reportedly on the communist state's nuclear weapons programs and its past abductions of Japanese citizens.

The talks in Beijing will be working-level negotiations, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said Friday on condition of anonymity because she is not an official spokeswoman. The countries' last bilateral meeting was in Mongolia in September.

The official refused to provide details on the talks, but past rounds have focused on the abductions and nuclear weapons development. The Yomiuri newspaper reported Friday that the topics were expected to be the same on Saturday.

North Korea admitted in 2002 that it had kidnapped Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s. The communist government later sent some of the abductees home, claiming that the others had died. Japan has demanded more information about the deaths and accuses Pyongyang of additional kidnappings.

In April, Japan extended sanctions against North Korea that have been in place since it tested a nuclear weapon in 2006.

Tokyo is also part of international talks aimed at persuading Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons programs.

North Korea has promised to complete a declaration of its programs in return for economic aid and political concessions, but has not yet provided it.

The six-party talks _ involving the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia _ were last held between late September and early October 2007.

Toluca beats Queretaro 2-0 in Mexico

Mario Mendez and Chilean Hector Mancilla scored either side of halftime as reigning champion Toluca defeated Queretaro 2-0 for its second consecutive win Sunday in the sixth round of the Mexican Apertura football championship.

Also Sunday, America could only muster a 1-1 home draw with Necaxa and Puebla rallied for a 3-1 win over Pachuca.

Mendez scored with a powerful shot from outside the box in 37th and Mancilla, who was scoreless since last season's semifinals, sealed the win with a penalty in the 80th.

At Azteca Stadium, Argentine striker Dario Gandin put Necaxa ahead before a Daniel Marquez header leveled the scores in the 76th. America has not lost at home since August 2, 2009.

Damian Manso scored from a free kick in the 64th minute for Pachuca before Gabriel Pereyra equalized a minute later. Roberto Juarez put Puebla ahead in the 85th minute and Uruguayan defender Alejandro Acosta sealed the win in the 89th.

Monday, 12 March 2012

Germany downplays hopes of fast new crisis course

BERLIN (AP) — German officials have downplayed prospects of any quick and dramatic change of course in the eurozone debt crisis, days before a parliamentary vote on beefing up the continent's rescue fund.

Weekend meetings of global financial leaders in Washington raised hopes of a change in strategy, with officials indicating they would focus on further boosting the firepower of the €440 billion ($595 billion) rescue fund — perhaps by allowing it to tap loans from the European Central Bank or otherwise leveraging its lending capacity.

Hopes for such a move boosted European stock markets on Monday, with German and French bank shares rising strongly.

However, ahead of a parliamentary vote Thursday on changes to the fund that eurozone leaders already agreed to in July, Berlin was keen Monday to underline its attachment to its often-criticized step-by-step approach.

President Barack Obama, meanwhile — speaking Monday in California — said the financial crisis rippling through Europe is "scaring the world" and that steps taken by European nations to stem the eurozone debt problem "haven't been as quick as they need to be."

Obama said Europe never fully healed from the financial crisis in 2007, and its troubles have spilled beyond the continent and are affecting the U.S. economy as well.

His comments were in response to a question posed by a laid-off worker.

Thursday's vote on expanding the powers of the rescue fund, the so-called European Financial Stability Facility, will be followed over the coming months by final decisions on a second bailout package for Greece and on a permanent rescue mechanism meant to replace the EFSF from 2013, Finance Ministry spokesman Martin Kotthaus noted.

"That is quite simply the procedure that lies in front of us — we will work through it step by step," Kotthaus said.

When asked in Washington whether he supported the idea of leveraging the rescue fund, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said: "Of course we will use the EFSF in the most efficient way possible."

The discussion about the new rescue fund powers is taking place amid speculation that Greece ultimately will be unable to pay its debts and will have to force heavy losses on bondholders. That would be beyond a 21 percent sacrifice agreed to under a second, €109 billion bailout deal for Greece. Greek and other officials deny that will happen.

In an interview with n-tv television Monday, Schaueble was asked whether there is a plan to move up the effective July 2013 date of the long-term rescue mechanism, or ESM.

Schaeuble pointed out that the process of establishing the ESM, which would allow a country to go bankrupt and default on its debts, takes time.

"That doesn't go very fast," Schaeuble said. "If we could do it faster ... it would be good, but probably we will need the time that we have calculated."

Some in Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right coalition already find the beefing up of the EFSF by giving it new powers hard to swallow, and anything beyond that could be a hard sell among its lawmakers.

Christian Lindner, the general secretary of the Free Democrats — Merkel's junior coalition partner — called on the chancellor to provide clarity and stressed that his party opposes allowing the fund to tap ECB loans.

"The true intentions of the government and the chancellor are on the table," Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert said. "They will be decided on in parliament Thursday."

The rescue measures were criticized once again by Germany's top central banker, Bundesbank head Jens Weidmann.

Weidmann said in a speech in Washington that the package of support measures for indebted governments "weakens the underlying principle of European monetary union that each country has to bear the full consequences of its own fiscal policy."

Efforts to shield governments from the consequences of their behavior means "we risk seeking the propensity for excessive deficits rise even further in the future."

Weidmann was until earlier this year Merkel's economic adviser, but since his appointment at the Bundesbank he has defended its traditional strict approach to monetary and fiscal policy.

Merkel has been caught between criticism from abroad for doing too little and from supporters at home who fear she is putting taxpayer money at risk. She went on German television Sunday night to defend her step-by-step tackling of the crisis.

She warned of the dangers a radical restructuring of Greek debt might bring at this stage.

"Lehman Brothers was allowed to go bust, and then the world was surprised that it fell into a deep crisis," Merkel said on ARD television. "What we have to learn is that we can only take steps we can really control."

"What we cannot do is, along the way, destroy the confidence of all investors, and (have) them say, OK, they did this with Greece now, tomorrow they'll do it with Spain, the day after with Belgium or some other country," Merkel said. "Then no one anywhere would invest their money in Europe any more, and we have to prevent that."

UN report warns of global resource appetite

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The world could consume an estimated 140 billion tons of minerals, ores, fossil fuels and wood-based fuels annually by 2050 — three times its current appetite, a new U.N. report warned Thursday

The report said the world is already running out of cheap and high quality sources of essential materials such as oil, cooper and gold which require ever-rising volumes of fossil fuels and fresh water to produce. The overall demand may triple, it said, because of population growth, high levels of consumption in industrialized countries and increased demand for material goods.

The U.N. Environment Program said citizens in richer developed countries consume an average of 16 tons of those four key resources per capita, and as much as 40 or more tons. By comparison, it said, the average person in India today consumes four tons per year.

The report said ways must be found to do more with less.

It called for an urgent "rethink" of the links between the use of resources and economic prosperity buttressed by massive investment in technological, financial and social innovation to at least freeze per capita consumption in wealthy countries and help developing nations follow a more sustainable path in using resources.

UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said "decoupling" the economic growth rate from the rate of natural resource consumption "makes sense on all the economic, social and environmental dials."

Steiner said people believe that damage to the environment is the price paid for economic progress.

"However, we cannot, and need not, continue to act as if this trade-off is inevitable," he said.

Stroger rips Blagojevich for vetoing bill on environment; County Board President says governor ignoring needs at county's forest preserve areas

Cook County Board President John H. Stroger Jr. blasted Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich for vetoing the Forest Preserve District funds he needs to make major and possible life-saving repairs--a stroke of a pen Stroger labeled "irresponsible."

Stroger explained those funds are needed for capital improvements to the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Brookfield Zoo, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and 16 suburban park districts in the metropolitan area.

He reminded the governor how Senate Bill 83 had received bipartisan support because state lawmakers understood how important these projects are.

Stroger said if repairs and upgrades are not made, especially at the zoo, it will be an accident waiting to happen. The president said the state legislature "recognized its importance and realized that the $1.50 or $2 the average homeowner would have paid annually was a wise investment in the future of these institutions."

But, Stroger is especially irate that the governor's budget director, John Filan, was the one who advised Blagojevich to veto this bill especially since Filan once served as the District's auditor and has "first-hand knowledge of the financial situation I inherited from the Phelan administration."

But, the governor issues a statement saying: "Park districts and forest preserves are central to the life of many communities for recreation, renewal, and quality of life."

And, he admitted that maintaining them is critical. However, the governor said SB 83 proposed one avenue for ensuring that funds are available but that it "relies on increasing property taxes outside the limits set through tax caps and without the voter approval process required by them."

Stroger chided freshmen commissioners who suggested that the District could afford another $7 million in cuts. He said they simply haven't done their homework.

"Current tax rates reflect that the Chicago Park District receives 7.5 percent of the average city property tax bill while the Forest Preserve District receives less than one percent of that same bill and yet provides more than $20 million annually to the Brookfield Zoo and Chicago Botanic Garden," Stroger said.

"I remain committed to working with the governor and the Forest Preserve District Board of Commissioners in solving this critical problem," he stated.

But, Blagojevich had other figures showing that property taxes on a home valued at $100,000 would increase by $7 a year to $52 annually depending on the park district.

"In total, the Cook County Forest Preserve District provisions could cost $8.0 million per year in property taxes. I do not support property tax increases outside the limits of the tax cap law," the governor said.

While supporting the intent of this legislation, the governor said he'll create a grant program within the state's bonded capital program that will allow eligible park districts and forest preserve districts to apply for funds to support capital improvements.

Article copyright Sengstacke Enterprises, Inc.

How would you solve Scotland's drinking problem?

It's very cheap to drink at home now which is a problem. Thiscould be dealt with as well as kids getting their hands on it.

Pauline Davidson, 39, customer care manager, Garthdee

We definitely need to clamp down on alcohol so maybe the pricecould be put up as well as the legal age to buy it.

Susan Macleod, 28, nursery nurse, Mastrick

Ban it totally. If you supply it people will always drink it. Weshould be more like Saudi Arabia.

Hugh Hutton, 50, contracts manager, city centre

The times when alcohol is available could be cut. You can get itat all hours of the day now.

Alexander Dallas, 58, bakery worker, Peterculter

Russia Recalls Historic Dog Space Flight

Just a month after the Soviet Union stunned the world by putting the first artificial satellite into orbit, it boasted a new victory _ a much bigger satellite carrying a mongrel dog called Laika. The mission, 50 years ago Saturday, ended sadly for Laika but helped pave the way for human flight.

Nowadays Russia launches rats, fish and other small species for experiments. But larger animals like dogs and monkeys are no longer sent into space.

As with other episodes of the Soviet space program, Laika's mission was hidden under a veil of secrecy, and only after the collapse of the Soviet Union could the participants tell the real story behind it.

The satellite that carried Laika into orbit was built in less than a month in what was perhaps the world's fastest-prepared space mission ever.

Excited by the international uproar over the launch of Sputnik on Oct. 4, 1957, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev summoned Sergei Korolyov, the father of the Soviet space program, and ordered him to come up with "something new" to celebrate the Nov. 7 anniversary of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.

Khrushchev's demand was a shock even for Korolyov, whose team had managed to put together the first Sputnik in less than three months, said Georgy Grechko, a cosmonaut who started his career as a space engineer.

"We didn't believe that you would outpace the Americans with your satellite, but you did it. Now you should launch something new by Nov. 7," Korolyov quoted Khrushchev telling him, according to Grechko.

Boris Chertok, Korolyov's right-hand man, said the short notice made it impossible to design a principally new spacecraft, but there was also little sense in simply repeating the Sputnik launch.

"Korolyov rightly feared that this holiday gift could end up in an accident that would spoil a hard-won victory," Chertok wrote in his memoirs. But they couldn't argue with Khrushchev, and the decision to conduct the launch was made on Oct. 12.

When someone on Korolyov's team suggested putting a dog into orbit, he jumped at the idea. Little was known about the impact of space flight on living things, and some believed they would be unable to survive the launch or the conditions of outer space.

"From the Russian perspective they were trying to determine survival because no one had an idea if humans would survive in space," said Joan Vernikos, former director of NASA life sciences.

Today, Vernikos said, "the use of animals is well-screened and reviewed."

"You don't just send them to see what happens," she said. "You send them for a specific purpose, when you can't do it with humans. You use it as a test system."

She said NASA currently does not launch animals because the international space station is not yet equipped to hold them.

The Soviet Union had experimented with launching dogs on short suborbital missions during ballistic missile tests, and some of them survived several such missions. All of them were stray mongrel dogs _ doctors believed they were able to adapt quicker to harsh conditions _ and all were small so they could fit into the tiny capsules.

Just nine days before the launch, Doctor Vladimir Yazdovsky chose one of them _ 2-year-old Laika _ for the mission. Stories about how she was chosen vary. Some say Laika was chosen for her good looks _ a Soviet space pioneer had to be photogenic. Others say space doctors simply had a soft spot for Laika's main rival and didn't want to see her die: Since there was no way to design a re-entry vehicle in time for the launch, the glory of making space history also meant a certain death.

"Laika was quiet and charming," Yazdovsky wrote in his book chronicling the story of Soviet space medicine. He recalled that before heading to the launchpad, he took the dog home to play with his children.

"I wanted to do something nice for her: She had so little time left to live," Yazdovsky said.

Working round-the-clock, Korolyov and his team combined a capsule that would carry the dog with basic life-support systems and elements of the first Sputnik. To simplify the design, they decided not to separate the satellite from the booster's second stage.

They worked without blueprints at a pace that was breathtaking even at the time of the space race and seems utterly impossible by today's standards.

"Now when we have computers, sophisticated industrial equipment, lasers and other things, no one is capable of making a new satellite in just one month," Grechko said in an interview. "Now it would take a month just to start doing the paperwork. Korolyov told us later that it was the happiest month of his life."

As a result of some last-minute technical problems, Laika had to wait for the launch in the cabin for three days. The temperatures were low, and workers put a hose connected to a heater into the cockpit to keep her warm.

On Nov. 3, Laika blasted off into space in Sputnik 2, which weighed 1,118 pounds _ a show of Soviet ability to take big payloads into space.

Sputnik 1 weighed just 184 pounds. The first U.S. satellite, Explorer 1, launched on Jan. 31, 1958, weighed about 31 pounds.

When Laika reached orbit, doctors found with relief that her pulse, which had risen on launch, and her blood pressure were normal. She ate specially prepared food from a container.

According to official Soviet reports, the dog was euthanized after a week. Laika's mission drew a wave of protests from animal protection activists in the West.

It wasn't until after the Soviet collapse, that some participants in the project told the true story: Laika indeed was to be euthanized with a programmed injection, but she apparently died of overheating after only a few hours in orbit. There was no information to indicate when exactly she died.

Several other dogs died in failed launches before the successful space flight _ and safe return to Earth _ of Belka and Strelka in August 1960. After a few other flights with dogs, the Soviet Union put the world's first human _ Yuri Gagarin _ into space on April 12, 1961.

Gagarin is said to have joked: "I still don't understand who I am: the first human or the last dog in space."

`The Duchess' looks back // Memoir spans Marmaduke's news career

Virginia Marmaduke remembers her first day on the job "in the fastlane of Chicago journalism," at the old Chicago Sun more than ahalf-century ago:

"The city editor looked me up and down. He said, `So, you don'twant any society stuff, you won't do fashion and you can't cook.Well, then, be prepared to cover blood, guts and sex - notnecessarily in that order.' "

Marmaduke - or "The Duchess," as she became known to herjournalistic compatriots - had many an adventure in the days whenwomen were anomalies in newsrooms.

Before it was over, her news career expanded from the Chicago Sun, to the Sun-Times, TV andradio.

Now 78, she retired 20 years ago to her ancestral home indownstate Pinckneyville. She volunteers most of her time as aconsultant and goodwill ambassador for Southern Illinois University.

But she still writes, with letters to the editor a specialty.Her latest project is a memoir, tentatively titled, The Babe in theNewsroom.

"That's because I started working with 40 men who'd say, `Who'sthat babe in the cityroom?' " laughs Marmaduke. Proceeds from thebook, due out by Thanksgiving, will go to establish her second SIUjournalism scholarship.

Does she regret having spent so much time being a pioneernewswoman that she missed marrying and having children?

"Oh, hell, who has time for regrets?" she asks. "Being anewsgatherer and observer is the most rewarding life."

Wednesday, 7 March 2012

Ex-US prosecutor accuses UN chief of hiring bias

An accomplished former U.S. prosecutor has filed a grievance accusing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of blocking his hiring to the U.N.'s top investigative post because of discrimination based on gender and nationality.

The dispute over Robert Appleton's appointment is the latest salvo in a high-stakes fight within the world organization over how to fix the U.N.'s long-troubled internal watchdog agency. U.N. associate spokesman Farhan Haq said Wednesday that Ban's office could not comment on matters before the tribunal.

Appleton's 76-page application to the U.N. Dispute Tribunal, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, said that Ban's refusal to hire him is a breach of the U.N. Charter and General Assembly resolutions.

Ban appeared to be ignoring U.N. hiring rules that require filling vacancies based on experience and qualifications "because of the applicant's gender and nationality. This is the essence of discrimination endorsed by the very officials whose job it is to enforce the organization's policies prohibiting such conduct," Appleton wrote.

He is seeking $1 million in damages and up to about $500,000 in lost wages and benefits. His grievance was first reported in Foreign Policy magazine's "Turtle Bay" blog.

Appleton headed the U.N.'s special white collar fraud unit, known as the Procurement Task Force, that operated with great success from 2006 to 2008. It found 20 significant corruption schemes, leading to several felony convictions and sanctions against dozens of U.N. vendors.

The U.N. created the task force in the wake of the scandal over $1.8 billion bilked from the oil-for-food program that had been aimed at easing Iraqi suffering under U.N. sanctions.

During two global recruitment rounds in 2008 and 2009, an internal hiring panel selected Appleton from among about 70 applicants as the sole qualified and suitable candidate to serve as permanent head of the investigation division within the U.N.'s Office of Internal Oversight Services, or OIOS.

The outgoing head of OIOS, Inga-Britt Ahlenius of Sweden, who stepped down last month after five years, had left the position unfilled from mid-2006. The agency has two other divisions for audits and inspections.

She recalled in a confidential report last month to Ban, which severely criticized his leadership, how she tried unsuccessfully nine times since late 2008 to fill the job by persuading Ban to hire Appleton.

Ban refused to approve Appleton's hiring as permanent head of the investigation division based on his new policy requiring all senior-level appointments to be chosen from among a field of three qualified candidates that reflect a degree of geographical diversity and include at least one woman.

During the second round, she said, particular emphasis was placed on trying to meet Ban's requirement that there be at least one female candidate. She said two women were selected for interviews, but they did not make the final cut.

Ban and his senior advisers have tried to contain the damage from Ahlenius' leaked 50-page "end-of-assignment" report by telling reporters in a series of news conferences and statements that Ahlenius failed to comply with Ban's new hiring policy.

Consultants found the OIOS' investigation division to be ineffective after the U.N.-sanctioned investigation into the oil-for-food program led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker in which Appleton, a former supervisory federal prosecutor at a branch office in Connecticut, had served as the special counsel.

Lacking a permanent director, the investigation division has been run by a series of acting directors.

Appleton said in his application that Catherine Pollard, the assistant secretary-general for human resources, made an "inappropriate attempt" to influence the hiring by pushing Ahlenius to interview four more candidates and the sole internal candidate, Michael Dudley, who is the division's current acting director.

Appleton said Dudley's wife, who has a senior-level U.N. post, is a colleague of Pollard's. Dudley e-mailed colleagues within the division in the past week to deny he tried to influence the hiring through his wife's connection to Pollard.

He said in the e-mail obtained by AP that he applied to be the permanent director in 2009 because after seven months as the acting director "it would appear odd if I was not at least considered." He said he was interviewed, but never heard what happened next.

Appleton noted in his application that Ahlenius' report to Ban had said that the hiring panel unanimously agreed Dudley could not be recommended and did not meet the requisite criteria for the job.

In her report, Ahlenius noted that Pollard wrote Ban's chief of staff, Vijay Nambiar, to argue for taking a more "flexible approach" toward academic requirements and "suggested that the internal candidate should be considered."

Nambiar told AP last year that more candidates should have been considered because he refused to believe "there's only one man for this job" or that "there's nobody else except an American who can do this job."

Pollard told reporters last month that the job would have been filled "a lot sooner" if Ahlenius had followed Ban's policy. "It was all about policy, not about a particular personality," Pollard said.

The tribunal to which Appleton applied, which only began operating in July 2009 as part of a new U.N. system of internal justice, was set up by the 192-nation General Assembly to handle grievances by current and former staff members. Its judgments can be appealed to another U.N. tribunal.

Appleton said in his application that Ban and his so-called Senior Review Group that handles senior-level appointments improperly rejected his candidacy by "attempting to politicize the staffing process at OIOS" rather than address the U.N.'s failure to attract more qualified women or more diverse nationalities.

It says Ban and his senior advisers failed to appreciate or follow the U.N.'s hiring rules _ seriously undermining Ahlenius' supposed independence as the U.N.'s undersecretary-general for oversight.

Hackensack digging path to greatness

JOE DUFFY, STAFF WRITER
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
04-21-2007

Hackensack digging path to greatness
By JOE DUFFY, STAFF WRITER
Date: 04-21-2007, Saturday
Section: SPORTS
Edtion: All Editions

HACKENSACK — Success is best appreciated when it's measurable and undeniable.

That's why the Hackensack volleyball team is feeling so upbeat these days.

The Comets exacted some revenge against their NNJIL rival Friday as they defeated Teaneck — a team they lost to twice last season — 25-13 and 25-11.

With each passing game the Comets (6-2) take another step toward being one of the elite teams in North Jersey.

"We've been playing at a different level since the Eastern tournament," said Hackensack coach Matt Kingsley. "We definitely notice a difference in our play and we're jelling as a team."

"This was big," said Hackensack senior Christian Parapi. "They beat us two times last year and we wanted this one bad."

Parapi is a big reason the once powerful Hackensack program is experiencing a rebirth. The senior led the Comets with 10 kills and is one of the area's most dangerous players.

"Christian has raised his level of play to where he's now a go-to-guy," Kingsley said. "I think he's become one of the best all-around players in the State. He hits hard, he plays defense, he's a leader, he does it all."

The senior picked up volleyball his freshman year, played varsity since his sophomore season and has seen the hard times.

"We would get beaten pretty badly," he said. "But now, it feels awesome to finally be where we can view the top teams as competition. Everything is coming together. The passing, the hitting, working as a team — and it all started with the fundamentals."

Parapi credits learning and applying the basics of the game to Kingsley, who took over the program two years ago.

With Parapi leading the way, Hackensack has found another big weapon in Hector San-Roman. The 6-foot-4 middle hitter was the strongest player at the net Friday, finishing with eight kills.

***

Key to the game

Hackensack dominated from the start behind Christian Parapi's 10 kills, Hector San-Roman's eight kills and 24 assists from Roberto Guzman.

***

E-mail: duffy@northjersey.com

Illustrations/Photos: ***
Keywords: SCHOOL, VOLLEYBALL