About 169 people have been arrested in a cockfight raid northwest of Fort Worth.
Authorities said sheriff's deputies also seized 114 roosters Saturday near Poolville in north Parker County. Sheriff Larry Fowler said Child Protective Services workers also took custody of 10 to 15 children ages 7 to 15.
Fowler says drugs and cash were seized and dead and injured roosters were found. He says the raid site had been under surveillance for two …
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. Paul DeLacey's pragmatic philosophy is that ifyou can't beat 'em, lose.
And go beat someone else.
The chief executive of Prodigy Services Corp. says the onlineservice, once a pioneering giant looming over all competitors, nolonger can take on the big guys: America Online, CompuServe and theMicrosoft Network.Instead, Prodigy will challenge the little guys, regionalInternet service providers across the nation."We're not concerned with bragging rights," DeLacey said."We're concerned with getting back on our feet."Just a year after a Massachusetts technology entrepreneur and aMexican billionaire bought the nation's fourth-largest online …
LONDON (AP) — British Airways will restart flights from London to the Libyan capital Tripoli just over a year after it suspended the service due to violent clashes in the country.
The airline said Monday that flights will fly three times a week from London Heathrow airport to Tripoli from May 1, …
Innkeepers USA Trust filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday, outlining a plan that would give one of the extended-stay hotel operator's major creditors substantially all of the equity in the company.
The real estate investment trust listed more than $1 billion in assets and liabilities, according to documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York.
The company owns 72 hotels in 19 states and the District of Columbia.
Under the terms of Innkeepers' proposed reorganization plan, $238 million senior loans held by Lehman ALI Inc., a unit of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., would be converted to equity.
…
CW-30 Cal Ripken is convinced his second stint on the disabledlist this season will last no longer than the required 15 days, buthe admitted offseason surgery might be an option if his ailing backcontinues to be a problem.
The 17-time All-Star received a cortisone shot to alleviate thepain caused by back spasms. He was walking gingerly in the BaltimoreOrioles' clubhouse Thursday afternoon, dressed in street clothes.
"I have every reason to believe the smartest thing is to get theinflammation out of there, continue to do the exercises and then goback and play," he said. "I have every confidence that I'll be readyto step back in after that time is up with a better …
MAX BECKMANN AND OTTO DIX
NEUE GALERIE
War is hell. That truism underscores the first-ever pairing of the entirety of two of the most powerful visual records of World War I: "DerKrieg' (War), 1914, a series of fifty etchings by Otto Dix; and "Die h�lle" (Hell), 1919, eleven lithographs by Max Beckmann. Both artists enthusiastically volunteered to fight in the conflict-Dix serving for four years in the trenches and Beckmann for one year as a medic before being discharged following a nervous breakdown. And both cited-albeit in very different ways-a philosophical underpinning. (Dix referred ironically to Friedrich Nietzsche's dictum "Die and become!" while Beckmann claimed …
Democrats are moving closer to a political victory on children's health insurance with lawmakers citing the struggling economy as another reason to expand government-sponsored coverage.
The Senate is expected to vote later Thursday on legislation that would spend $31.5 billion more over the next 4 1/2 years on the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
The additional money would help add about 4 million uninsured children to the program and admit 2.4 million more kids whose parents would otherwise be buying private insurance.
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said on the Senate floor he couldn't think of a higher priority for families than making …
The United States emerged from World War II as the champion ofthe oppressed nations and people of the world. It rode the crest ofpopularity as the liberator of nations and protector of the rights ofman.
I was born of Christian Assyrian parents, in what is now theNear Eastern country of Iraq, where I spent my early years. As ateenager, I grew up on the knowledge that the word "American"connoted exquisite meanings, such as ethics, integrity, discipline,dignity, elegance and sophistication.
I always dreamed of going to America to get closer to thatcelestial beam. Fate and luck conspired and I was able to reach theAmerican shores. I have lived in Chicago's Rogers …
WASHINGTON - President Bush on Saturday signed a bill to prevent a government shutdown, but not without complaint.
Bush lambasted the Democrats who control Congress for sending him the stopgap measure while they continue to work on more than a dozen spending bills funding the day-to-day operations of 15 Cabinet departments.
"Congress failed in its most basic responsibility," the president said in his weekly radio address.
The bills are tied up because Democrats want to add $23 billion for domestic programs to Bush's $933 billion request for the approximately one-third of the federal budget funded by the yearly spending bills. Bush has threatened vetoes on most of …
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's supporters are holding a Web-a-thon to raise money for her legal defense fund.
Organizers of Conservatives4Palin say they hope to raise more than $500,000 in a week.
Palin has said she has amassed more than that in legal fees while fighting ethics complaints. She also incurred legal fees during last fall's Troopergate investigation into her firing of Alaska's …
"Oh man, can I get some Dilaudid or some Percodan or somethin'?I ain't feelin' too good." - Comment made by an obviously shook-upemployee at a Burger King in Kalamazoo, Mich., at approximately 2:50p.m. CST on Monday. The employee, a sideburned, overweight andextremely private fellow who goes by the name of "Eddie," had to berevived after he passed out upon hearing the above statement read onthe news.
So does this mean Lisa Marie Presley will be able to corroboratethose allegations about "distinguishing characteristics" on …
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia will seek tougher punishment for an American couple convicted in the U.S. of the involuntary manslaughter of a 7-year-old boy they adopted from the country, authorities said Saturday.
Michael and Nanette Craver of York County in Pennsylvania were sentenced Friday to the 19 months they have already spent in prison for the 2009 head-injury death of their adopted son Nathaniel, formerly Ivan Skorobogatov.
Russia's federal Investigative Committee said in a statement it will seek an international arrest warrant for the Cravers and prove that the murder was brutal and premeditated.
"That's the opinion the prosecutors in the U.S. court stick to, and the …
Sri Lanka seamer Chaminda Vaas on Wednesday became the fourth bowler to take 400 career wickets in one-day international cricket.
The 34-year-old Vaas, playing in his 322nd match, dismissed Yuvraj Singh caught by Mahela Jayawardene at short mid-wicket to reach the milestone during a match against India at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.
He joins Pakistani fast bowlers Wasim Akram (502), Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (478) and Pakistani Waqar Younis (416) in the group to take 400 wickets.
Sen. Barack Obama gave dozens of eighth-grade girls a graduation to remember Wednesday when he unexpectedly walked onstage in the middle of their ceremony.
The crowd of students, family and friends erupted in squeals of disbelief in seeing the Democratic presidential candidate, who had just finished a hastily arranged economics forum across the hall at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Screams and cheers nearly drowned out his brief remarks to graduates of the Young Women's Leadership Charter School of Chicago, most of whom were black.
"I'm proud that you graduated from the eighth grade, but it's just the eighth grade," Obama said. He urged the students, all girls, to read, turn off the TV and decide "how can I make myself the best young woman I can possibly be."
Obama shook a few hands and walked off as those in the auditorium, still pinching themselves, chanted "Change, change."
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Compiled by Charles Babington
A story I think quite delightful has come to my attention. It concerns Moses Alexander, Idaho's governor from 1915 to 1919. He was a Democrat, as all of Idaho's good governors have been, and the nation's first Jewish governor--a fact Idahoans drag out anytime we want to convince someone we're cooler than we look.
The way I heard it, Alexander was campaigning out Caldwell way (which couldn't have been much fun, even back then) when he came upon a number of farmers clustered in close proximity to a low, flat-roofed shed. You could see the same sort of thing today, I'm sure, were you to leave the hustle and bustle of the Capital City behind, then journey through that retail-clone zone still quaintly referred to as "Meridian." You would have to get out to where things to eat are still grown and where animals poop all over the place (rather than just in my front yard). It is there, far from the nearest Old Navy, that you might come upon a number of farmers, clustered in close proximity to something, in lieu of a low shed.
Anyway ... it seems Mr. Alexander couldn't let such an opportunity pass without trying to win over some voters. You know how politicians are. Why, just this last night, I witnessed the same sort of vote-fishing suck-uppery at work, down at the state fair. You see, my wife and I were manning the Ada County Democrat booth in the Exhibition Building for an evening, just as we do every summer. It's sort of a family tradition, her and me and our child, spending quality time handing out "I'm A Democrat Fan" fans and encouraging passersby to sign up for the opportunity to be solicited for contributions for the rest of their lives. When our girl was little, she thought it was great fun to work the booth--much more fun than those noisy carnival rides ... I told her. But she's almost 16 and, frankly, it's not so easy getting her to go to the fair with us. She seems to think she's too mature to be seen walking around the largest gathering of unchaperoned, thickly cosmeticized, alarmingly clad teenagers in Idaho with her Mommy and Daddy.
So what we do now is let her take a friend, someone like her, so they can walk together several yards behind or ahead of us and not appear to have gone to the fair alone--which in her mind would look almost as bad as being seen with Mommy and Daddy.
Anyway ... last night, she spent more time walking around the fair with her friend than she spent with us at the booth, which made me a tad sad but at the same time gave me a plausible excuse to abandon my post, claiming I had to go see if my offspring was safe and sound. It's not that I don't enjoy handing out "I'm A Democrat Fan" fans and arguing with passing Republicans, especially during the heat of a hot election season. But this is not a hot election season, as you know. To tell the truth, it was pretty dull this year--like working in a lemonade stand during a cold snap, I'm guessing.
To make matters worse, I didn't really want to be there in the first place. You see, it was drawing near to the day when I am obliged to hand over a completed column to Boise Weekly, and I didn't even have a subject yet. I had struggled for days to think of a fresh topic, but I was as dry as the sawdust the 4-H kids spread on the floor of those pig cubicles to keep the stink down. And it wasn't for lack of material, gad. At the time, Bush was slurking around Idaho with Kempthorne loping along side like a well-trained Irish setter--showing his master how well those Statehouse-to-Tamarack GARVEE bonds will be spent, no doubt--but even that wasn't enough to get my writerly engine revved up.
In retrospect, I believe it was because I was in too close a proximity to Bush. Somehow, he's is even worse when he's in Idaho than when he's hiding from Cindy Sheehan down in Crawford. I can't explain why, but maybe it's like in those scary movies where flowers and fruit immediately shrivel up and turn black whenever a possessed soul is in the vicinity. Know what I mean? Whatever the reason, I couldn't come up with a column idea, and time was running out. That's why I didn't want to go to the fair and hand out fans.
Anyway ... out of boredom and deadline anxiety, I left my wife to do the heavy fan passing and spent much of the evening edging through the fair crowds, marveling at what some parents let their kids leave the house wearing, all the while looking not so much for my daughter as something to write about. Which is how I was to come across so much vote-fishing suck-uppery. Sheila Sorenson had a booth to herself. So did Bill Sali and Robert Vasquez. As you know, Butch Otter is looking to move into his ex-daddy-in-law's governor's digs up on Big Flag Hill, and to fill the ensuing Congressional void, Republicans are lining up like piglets at a one-teated sow. Vasquez wants it, Sali wants it, Sorenson wants it, and so do three other Idaho GOP superstars you may or may not have heard of. I didn't actually see Vasquez, but Sorenson and Sali were there in person, just over a bank of hot-tub booths from one another, slapping backs and enticing passerby with bumper-stickers and, yes, fans. It was just like what Moses Alexander was doing with those farmers in Caldwell. See what I'm getting at?
Only ... Alexander didn't have bumper stickers or fans to pass out. Poor schmuck, had nothing to rely on but his oratorical skills, which aren't worth beans when no one can see you. I have no way of knowing how tall Alexander was, but I suspect then, as now, you don't win votes from Caldwell farmers if they're trying to catch a glimpse of you over someone else's cowboy hat.
Anyway, what he did was shinny up onto that low, flat-roofed shed so he could better "address them on the issues of the day," as one witness put it. It wasn't until he stood atop the flat roof that the farmers bothered to tell him the shed was used to store manure. (Manure. You city slickers know what that is, don't you? Yup, it's another name for poop. The shed was full of poop. Ha!)
So how did Moses Alexander react to the revelation? Why, he looked out over the gathered farmers and spoke: "This is the first time in my life I've ever spoken from a Republican platform."
Hah! Isn't that delightful? I told you it was delightful, didn't I? And it's a darn good thing I heard about it, 'cause I had nothin'. But Bush is gone now and I'm already feeling the juices start to flow again.
Article copyright Bar Bar Inc.
At $100 a bottle, you won't find this beer next to the 40-ouncersin the refrigerator case of your local liquor store.
In fact, Sam Adams Utopias MMII, the costliest beer ever sold, hasvanished from Chicago liquor stores a week after the limited editionbrew hit the shelves.
More similar to a fine cognac than the sudsy lager most Americansdrink, it has no carbonation and is supposed to be drunk warm. Italso has the highest alcohol content ever for a beer: 24 percent, or48-proof, compared with the normal 5 percent.
But few buyers will ever find out how much of a punch it packs,for most, it seems, bought the brew as an investment.
With only 3,000 of the 24-ounce bottles for sale in liquor storesin 35 states, the brew vanished within a few days of hitting theshelves last week.
Already, bottles have changed hands on Internet auction site eBayfor as much as $330, and a similar limited edition that the Bostonbrewer put out in 1999 has sold for more than $1,000 a bottle.
The latest version was so much in demand that the folks at Sam'sWines and Liquors in Chicago never got to taste it. The store gotonly 18 bottles, and they all were pre-sold long before arrivingearly last week, said Harvey Povitsky, head of the beer department.
When he let his customers know the beer was here, "Everybodyseemed to come for them quite quickly," he said. "But I don't know ofanybody who's tasted it yet."
Sam Adams founder Jim Koch said he wanted to break the record fornot only the most expensive beer, but also for the beer with the mostalcohol content.
"I wanted to see what would happen if I took beer to an alcohollevel it had never been to before," he said in that lilting sing-song voice familiar from his radio commercials.
And despite the high price, "It's not a profit maker for us," Kochsaid. "Some of the beer was aged for seven years and to get the yeastto ferment to this level of alcohol requires a lot of baby-sitting."
But the company he founded has done so well, Koch can afford totinker. "Sam Adams has been way more successful than I'd ever thoughtit would be, and now I get to make whatever I want," he said.
Koch has no plans, however, to make a lot of the stuff. "It'sinherently not a mass-market product. There's not that many peoplewho can appreciate something of this complexity and style."
But he already is preparing next year's special batch in casks."I'm shooting for something that might nudge the alcohol up over 50proof, that's kind of my insane goal."
As for those who've bought on speculation, "To buy something thisgood and not drink it, to me that's alcohol abuse," Koch said. "It'smeant to enjoy. If you want an investment, buy pork bellies."
Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:
June 29
Houston Chronicle, on the punitive damages paid to oil-spill victims:
After almost 20 years of legal battles over the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Supreme Court last week slashed the punitive damages imposed on Exxon Mobil to $500 million from $2.5 billion.
In a 5-3 ruling, the justices limited the amount of punitive damages to the amount of actual damages. Justice David H. Souter cited studies showing that under federal maritime law, punitive damages were on average equivalent to actual damages in cases where the damage was not deliberate or malicious.
The problem was that the court was not drawing on any previous court rulings (because none exist) when it arrived at this arbitrary decision. It's what conservatives call "judicial activism" when so-called liberal judges do it. ...
Whether the damages were excessive is questionable: Exxon was originally assessed $5 billion in punitive damages, which at that time, 1994, amounted to about one year of Exxon's profits, The Washington Post reported. The $2.5 billion figure was arrived at in December 2007. By then, Exxon's annual earnings were $40.6 billion. Calling Exxon's conduct "worse than negligent but less than malicious," the court slashed that award by 80 percent, to $507.5 million. That's worth about four days of Exxon's profits as of last quarter and gives an average of about $15,000 to each of the more than 32,000 plaintiffs fishermen, cannery workers and Alaska natives.
When the Exxon Valdez ran aground on a reef in March 1989, it spilled nearly 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound, the worst recorded spill in North America. It fouled almost 1,300 miles of Alaska coastline, wiped out hundreds of thousands of birds and marine animals and damaged or destroyed the livelihoods of more than 32,000 residents. The captain, a known alcoholic, had been drinking and was not on the bridge at the time of the grounding. ...
Exxon is a business, and it functions like a business. The Supreme Court, however, strayed from its function in arriving at this arbitrary decision with no basis in the law, and that's everybody's business.
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June 30
Vindicator, Youngstown, Ohio, on the firing of eight federal prosecutors:
It is unlikely anyone will be prosecuted for the violations of civil service laws in the hiring of career lawyers in the U.S. Justice Department, but that does not diminish the seriousness of what occurred.
An internal investigation of the hiring practices, triggered by last years political firing of eight federal prosecutors, lays out in shocking detail how the Justice Department under President Bush went beyond past practice in establishing a litmus test for securing employment. The test was based on a simple proposition: Liberals need not apply. ...
Indeed, U.S. attorneys are political appointees and work at the will of the president. ...
But what the Bush administration has done, not only with the firings of the eight last year, but in the screening of applicants for civil service positions is set a new standard for politicizing hirings at Justice.
In so doing, decision-makers deprived the nation of some of the best and the brightest young legal minds in the country. ...
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June 28
Journal-Advocate, Sterling, Colo., on the U.S. Supreme Court's Second Amendment ruling:
... For the first time, the court's decision established that Second Amendment has two parts: the right of a free state to organize a militia, and the right of the citizens to possess firearms. Used properly, a gun is a tool _ no different from a shovel or a lug wrench. If used improperly, a gun is a violent weapon. That is when the rules of society and the justice system take over.
The fact that four judges didn't recognize the right to own a gun is equally disturbing. What makes the majority decision work, though, is that it does allow for certain limitations (such as background checks) by state governments _ just not outright bans.
The fact is that the Constitution works for the gun owner as well as the pure pacifist _ if we let it. The Supreme Court affirmed that with their decision.
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June 27.
Chicago Sun-Times, on the Supreme Court and the second amendment:
(The) landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision gutting a Washington, D.C., handgun ban can best be viewed, from Chicago's perspective, as a tax on Chicago citizens.
A tax to be paid in blood and money.
Because of the court's ruling, Chicago residents, in the not too distant future, likely will be able to buy handguns and keep them in their homes for the first time in more than 25 years.
That new freedom will come at a high cost for our citizens.
Today, Chicago effectively bans its residents from privately possessing handguns _ a law in effect since the early 1980s _ and that's not going to change anytime soon.
First, there will be reams of litigation, with Chicago taxpayers footing part of the hefty bill. ...
Unless the makeup of the Supreme Court changes, the city will almost certainly lose, and more guns will flood into Chicago as a result.
Gun advocates will rejoice, saying it evens the playing field.
Bad guys can get guns whenever they want, those advocates argue.
Now, law-abiding homeowners can keep them at bay with a handy .357 in the nightstand. ...
Handy for self-defense.
Also handy for blowing a spouse's brains out during a knock-down, drag-out fight.
Or for blowing your own brains out, when life becomes too much to bear.
Or accidentally shooting yourself as you go downstairs to check out a suspicious noise.
Which of those scenarios is more realistic in everyday life?
The court's decision will only, in the end, help criminals, by putting more guns out into society.
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June 29
The (Nashville) Tennessean, on offshore drilling:
Just when the nation is developing momentum in seeking alternatives to burning oil, President Bush has proposed reversing course on one of the most important, long-standing environmental policies on energy.
He wants Congress to lift a moratorium on offshore drilling.
That's a shortsighted approach to the nation's energy policy. It is also a flat-out wrong approach environmentally. The nation is being squeezed by fuel prices, but that is no cause to forsake its own sound environmental protections as though it were a fix to a long-term problem. ...
The nation needs to hear about a sound, long-term energy policy that will continue to wean the nation off oil and toward alternative fuel sources.
The president has also called for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which would be an environmental mistake as grave today as before. But it's important to remember that politicians bear no more guilt on the demand for oil than the U.S. consumer. The gluttony for oil comes at a price, but the environment should not have to pay it.
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July 1
The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, on Florida farmers and the tomato scare:
Florida farmers have lost millions in sales since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned consumers about a salmonella outbreak in tomatoes. But federal inspectors have found no evidence of contamination in Florida. The crops have tested clean, and only one of the nation's 700 cases of salmonella illness has been reported in Florida - and that was a man from the southwest part of the state who ate a raw tomato in New York.
Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson is right to believe that the state must protect its farmers from taking losses because of problems elsewhere. For openers, Mr. Bronson wants to improve the accuracy of produce labels. Many vegetables and fruits are shipped across borders and state lines, and then repacked with labels that don't indicate the place of origin. Tomatoes that are marked "Florida" aren't always from Florida; in fact, they might not even be from the United States, since exports from Mexico are increasing.
Florida has been a leader in produce labeling and a model for the federal country-of-origin labeling law that will take effect in October. The FDA continues to lag behind, however, with no reliable program to track the fruits and vegetables from the fields to Americans' tables. ...
Consumers deserve to know where their food comes from, and Florida farmers don't deserve to suffer for other growers' mistakes. Improved labeling would help.
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June 29
Chicago Tribune, on North Korea:
It's rare for happy video footage to come out of North Korea, but the other day, it happened. Camera crews were on hand Friday as authorities set off charges at the Yongbyon nuclear reactor, instantly reducing the cooling tower to a heap of rubble.
That was the visual payoff for years of arduous and often exasperating negotiations with Kim Jong Il's regime. Dramatic though the explosion was, it signifies only one step on a journey that may never reach its intended destination.
Not so long ago, things were proceeding in a very different direction, marked by Pyongyang's detonation of a nuclear device in October 2006. Now we can see progress, however modest. The Bush administration deserves credit for pushing ahead with a task that is as crucial as it is demanding.
The cooling tower's destruction came shortly after North Korea kept a commitment by turning over a 60-page report detailing its production of plutonium, which can be used for nuclear weapons. It didn't provide some vital information, such as a full inventory of Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal and an account of whether it has supplied nuclear technology to Syria. Also missing was an account of its uranium enrichment program.
Maybe those facts can be extracted in time from North Korea. Still, it's important to note what has been accomplished, and not just what remains to be done. Even before the cooling tower imploded, the North Koreans had largely disabled the reactor and disgorged thousands of pages of records from it. It looks as though they are out of the business of producing plutonium _ which means they will have no additional supplies to use in weapons or to sell. ...
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June 30
The New York Times, on health coverage:
While politicians have been debating endlessly over the best ways to reform the American health care system, the plight of American patients has rapidly worsened. A new national survey found that an alarming 20 percent of the population, some 59 million people in all, either delayed or did without needed medical care last year, a huge increase from the 36 million people who delayed or did not seek care in 2003.
As expected, people who have no health insurance there are some 47 million of them were most likely to make that difficult choice. But insured people also chose to go without care in ever-larger numbers.
According to the survey, the main reason is soaring medical costs, which have outstripped the modest growth in wages in recent years. High costs are deterring not only the uninsured from seeking care, but also many insured people who are struggling with higher deductibles, co-payments and other out-of-pocket expenses as their employers or health plans shift more of the cost burden to them. ...
Champions of so-called "consumer-directed health care" might argue that the market is working - people are wisely delaying or forgoing care of low marginal value. But it is disturbing that unmet medical needs increased the most for people in poor or only fair health - those most likely to get even sicker if they don't get treatment.
The new survey further strengthens the case for universal coverage, with moderate cost-sharing provisions. All Americans should be able to get medical care when they need it.
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On the Net:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/opinion/30mon2.html?_r1&orefslogin
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July 2
Dagens Nyheter, Stockholm, Sweden, on Zimbabwe:
The tone against (Zimbabwe's President Robert) Mugabe has hardened and the criticism is coming from an increasing number of directions. But that doesn't appear to be enough. Enough African leaders still support Zimbabwe's dictator to keep him from falling.
One of them is Omar Bongo, president in Gabon. He tells British newspaper The Telegraph that Robert Mugabe is a hero and that the West has acted clumsily.
The tone from Zimbabwe is _ as usual _ even more shrill. The West can go hang a thousand times, Robert Mugabe's spokesman said...
But who should help a tortured people if not the A.U.?
The U.N.? I don't think so. China on Tuesday said the country might reject a U.S. proposal for a resolution...
What about an E.U. that can 'go hang a thousand times?' Not them either. In practice, the EU have neither the mandate nor many troops to send. ...
What the west can do is to stop camouflaging the shortcomings. Stop the aid. Starve the regime, the police and the military. Give the Zimbabweans the opportunity to force their tyrant off his throne, when nobody else will.
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July 2
The Guardian, London, on Britain's economy:
Sometimes bubbles deflate gently; other times they just go pop. No prizes for guessing which is the case in Britain's housing market. The Nationwide yesterday reported that house prices dropped 0.9 percent in June and were down 6.3 percent from a year ago. As price slides go, this is the fastest since 1992. Nor is it likely to stop; as was (accidentally) revealed in May, even officials working for the housing minister, Caroline Flint, think the market will fall 5 to 10 percent "at best". What does that mean for homeowners? David Miles, who reviewed the mortgage industry for the then chancellor Gordon Brown, estimated last week that by the end of next year 1.2 million people could be in negative equity. Economists may argue that negative equity is a big phrase for what can be a minor thing - negative equity only hurts when one is trying to move house - but anyone who remembers the early 90s might be forgiven an instinctive shudder.
Falling prices are not a bad thing; free-falling prices might be. ... One big debate among economists is just how sensitive consumers and the wider British economy are to the housing market. According to Mr. Miles, a 10 percent fall in house prices this year would wipe 1 percent off GDP - but the crucial caveat he applies is "all else being equal".
Which is rather the point. As Mr. Miles admits, all else is not equal at the moment. Indeed it is fair to say that the British economy is badly out of whack: prices on basics such as food and fuel are soaring, while credit has dried up. Consumers are seeing a squeeze on their standard of living while also fretting about rising joblessness. Just as anxieties about a squeeze on income take the foreground, the housing market will lead many to also worry about their wealth. This does not mean that this drop in house prices is not called for; but its manner could have a serious impact on the wider economy. ...
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On the Net:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/02/economy.gordonbrown
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July 2
The Toronto Star, on the state of Canada:
In its latest report card on the state of the country, the Conference Board of Canada says many of Canada's problems stem from a lack of innovation. If we were a more creative and forward-looking country, it says, we would not be plagued by such problems as longer hospital wait times, the affordability of social programs, and a poor record on the environment and climate change.
We have no argument with the Conference Board's view that we need to be more innovative. Nor do we disagree with its claim that innovation spurs productivity growth, which provides the wherewithal to address other problems. But the standard formula the Conference Board relies on innovation to productivity to wealth creation to problem solving is basically an economic tautology that excludes the non-economic elements that may be part of the equation. It also implicitly assumes that the potential for innovation is limitless. ...
A true index of well-being would also measure other "goods" that are not captured by our market-based GDP per capita. It is true, for example, that health-care wait times are longer in Canada than in the U.S., where an MRI can be had on demand. Is the difference just a sign that the Americans are more innovative or technologically adept than we are, or is it a reflection of the fact that only those with the money or insurance can get an immediate MRI in the U.S.? If you could measure the value to society of universal health care, then the points we would get for our social innovation would offset to a degree the points we lose for having longer wait times.
Yes, we need to be more innovative in Canada. But that applies just as much to how we measure well-being as it does to increasing the GDP.
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On the Net:
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/451997
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June 28
Jerusalem Post, on the domestic agenda:
The country's industrialists warn of an impending recession, the finance minister does a sharp about-face on key taxation policy, and the cabinet has yet to devote real attention to urgent university reforms despite the imminent danger of the new academic year not opening.
High schools were supposed to teach well into the summer, to compensate for the prolonged strike earlier in the year; but many school districts are blithely ignoring the deal to keep schools open during part of the vacation, turning a written agreement into a farce.
Israel's social workers have been striking for two long months; and for two weeks now the mobile post office has been out of commission. A group of disabled Israelis has been protesting the erosion of their disability and mobility allowances.
These are only selected "highlights." There is much more on the domestic agenda, from the need for community intervention to help prevent youth violence to the issue of salaries and conditions for thousands of local authority workers. And yet it has been difficult to generate sufficient interest in these issues. Even worse, our elected representatives seem unperturbed.
Our sense is that domestic concerns are not high enough on the government's list of priorities to merit appropriate attention. ...
No one doubts that Israel's survival in the Middle East demands a near-obsessive focus on security and foreign policy. Yet addressing the quality of our daily lives is no less important. The domestic agenda might not seem as "glamorous," but it requires an equal level of diligence and creative problem-solving.
___
On the Net:
A closely fought race between two women to become the new leader of France's Socialist Party has ended in a dead heat, a senior party official said early Saturday.
Former presidential candidate Segolene Royal and Martine Aubry, the architect of the country's 35-hour work week, were running neck-and-neck, said Daniel Vaillant, a former interior minister.
"Given that the results are extremely close, I am unable, at this time, to say who will emerge as the winner," said Vaillant, speaking on behalf of the left-wing party's leadership.
Voting continued in some of France's overseas territories and the handful of votes produced by these former colonial dependencies could tip the election one way or another.
Early returns suggested voting was split almost clean down the middle. The uncertain outcome will further complicate the task of the winner, who must remold the splintered party to challenge conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy in the next general elections in 2012.
The Socialists' national secretary Razzy Hamadi had said earlier Saturday that the polls appeared to narrowly favor Aubry.
A source close to Aubry claimed she had won 50.5 percent of the vote versus 49.5 percent for Royal, based on a tally of 94 percent of total votes. The source spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitive nature of the preliminary results.
Royal's camp, however, refused to concede the race.
"We won't let this victory be stolen from us," vowed her close ally Manuel Valls.
Vaillant called for both sides to hold off from any statements for the time being. "That is not how we are going to get out of a really tough spot," he said.
It was unclear when a final result could be expected, as votes may have to be recounted if the results are disputed by either side.
The winner will be the Socialist Party's first female leader, and will have to resolve disputes over whether the party should shift toward the center or reach to the vocal far left. The party hopes to reverse its losing streak in the 2012 national ballot, after conceding three presidential elections since Socialist President Francois Mitterrand's 1981-1995 tenure.
The Socialists face an uphill task, though, as Sarkozy has borrowed leftist arguments for dealing with the global financial crisis _ and subsequently has seen his ratings climb.
Royal, 55, says she wants to "renovate" the Socialists and has allied with centrists in a bid to appeal to voters in the middle. Though she fell out of favor after losing to Sarkozy in 2007, she has since regained the spotlight and won more support among the Socialist rank and file.
Aubry, 58, says the party should be "anchored on the left," and she has rallied Socialist heavyweights around her. She is best known for having authored the 1998 law establishing a 35-hour work week _ a law Sarkozy has sought to dismantle.
In a first-round vote on Thursday, Royal received 42.4 percent and Aubrey 34.8 percent. Some 137,000 party members _ or nearly 60 percent _ took part in that ballot. A third candidate, leftist Benoit Hamon, endorsed Aubry after being eliminated with just 22.8 percent of the first-round vote.
Though the Socialists were poised to pick their first female leader, gender was not a big focus in the campaign. That was a notable shift from the run-up to the 2007 presidential elections, when Royal faced sexist comments from fellow Socialists in beating two men for the party's candidacy. France has never had a woman president.
The recent Socialist campaign has been dominated by personality clashes _ particularly between charismatic Royal and outgoing party chief Francois Hollande, who is also the father of Royal's four children.
Hollande campaigned against his former partner, but said Friday it was "important that the Socialists rally behind the one who is elected."
Introduction
The American Revolution ended Oct. 17, 1781, when British General Lord Charles Cornwallis surrendered his Army at Yorktown, VA. Thus began the new republic, breaking from past traditions. The rebellious colonials achieved victory against a military force superior in training, equipment, and manpower. Most historians credit the American victory to a combination of innovative tactics, willpower, and the aid of outside interests. The enduring revolutionary form of government of the United States of America is a unique and unqualified success.
Revolutionary change in our Defense acquisition process is essential. Our systems continue to cost too much, take too long to develop, and-once fielded-often require immediate upgrading of obsolescent technology. But revolutions take time, effort, and money; and a successful revolution requires dedication and commitment at the individual level, as well as innovation, willpower, and dedication at the organizational level. Making precisely that point while addressing the Army's Simulation and Modeling for Acquisition, Requirements and Training (SMART) Conference on Jan. 28, 1999, BG Joseph Yakovac, Assistant Deputy for Systems Management and Horizontal Technology Integration, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology), said: "To make a revolution a reality requires an entrepreneurial spirit." This also applies to Simulation Based Acquisition (SBA). Like the willpower that drove the American Revolution, SBA can succeed in revolutionizing acquisition only if we have the desire and perseverance to make it happen.
Vision
We have a constant vision driving SBA. This vision was carefully crafted and approved in September 1997 by the DOD Executive Committee on Modeling and Simulation Acquisition Council with input from an industry steering group operating under the auspices of the National Defense Industrial Association. The vision is as follows:
An acquisition process in which DOD and industry are enabled by robust, collaborative use of simulation technology that is integrated across acquisition phases and programs.
Goals And Strategy
SBA is a strategy for change deliberately intended to satisfy three goals:
Substantially reduce time, resources, and risk associated with the entire acquisition process;
Increase quality, military worth, and supportability of fielded systems while reducing their operating and sustaining costs throughout the total life cycle; and
Enable Integrated Product and Process Development (IPPD) across the entire acquisition life cycle.
The SBA strategy is driven by our belief that it is compelling that we meet these goals, that the effectiveness of modeling and simulation (M&S) applied to acquisition has already been proven, and that the technology is rapidly evolving to enable the requirements of this strategy.
The first two goals will result from the achievement of the third. IPPD evolved in industry as an outgrowth of efforts such as concurrent engineering to improve customer satisfaction and competitiveness in a global economy But DOD has not reaped the full benefits of IPPD because we do not have the tools to allow respective users to "touch and feel" the item until a physical prototype is built. SBA enables IPPD by providing a collaborative, virtual context for system development. The underlying key technology is the computer, which provides a dimension described by Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology Paul J. Hoeper as "electronic agility."
This electronic agility is the enabling cornerstone of SBA, providing the following:
Concurrent consideration. As early designs take shape, concurrent consideration by the different functional areas to analyze the design in terms of training, force lethality, deployment, maintenance, man-machine interface, manufacturing processes, materials, environment, etc.
Rapid iteration. Because of the capabilities of simulation and computer technology, iterations of design trades can occur quickly and extensive evaluation of the trade space can occur before decisions are made. This is the power of electronic agility.
Robust assessment. The design trades include operational performance across a wide spectrum of scenarios, human interfaces, system-to-system interfaces, life-cycle sustainment, production materials, manufacturing processes, cost, etc.
Synthetic environment testing. The system is virtually "wrung out" in the computer before time and money are spent on physical prototypes. Hoeper has stated, "Whenever possible, we must reduce the need for costly, repetitive live testing."
Simply stated, when physical prototypes are built, SBA will provide better form, fit, and function the first time without expensive rework. As Dr. Jacques Gansler, Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Technology), said of SBA in the Feb. 1, 1999, issue of Defense News: [it] "gives you the ability to make lots of tradeoffs in cost and performance, early-on." Increased use of M&S by the U.S. commercial automotive industry, by the aerospace industry, and in Defense programs has produced dramatic results.
Roadmap
During the past year, DOD has developed a "Roadmap" for SBA-a list of recommendations for policy, education, technology development, and architecture designs for establishing SBA. The task force that drafted the document consisted of representatives from the military departments and Defense agencies. In addition, an industry steering group participated to identify the top priorities for SBA planning.
The Roadmap is undergoing extensive coordination within government and industry. Currently, a draft "strawman" implementation plan is used to assign responsibility and prioritize activities to establish SBA. The Roadmap and the draft strawman implementation plan do not contain all the answers. In fact, the precise templates and standards to implement SBA are evolving. We plan to have a series of preliminary and then follow-on SBA experiments to "build-alittle, test-a-little" to arrive at a common set of designs for SBA to be used throughout industry and DOD.
The essence of SBA is not limited to the technical environment, but includes the following:
The technical engineering environment exploiting the power of computer and simulation technology;
A reborn acquisition culture of new policy and regulation, direction, education, priority, and funding to take advantage of SBA; and
A new process bringing together the separate system development functional areas of government and industry into a seamless, smoothly linked, and rapidly operating team.
The technical architecture in the Roadmap identifies the following basic features of SBA: collaborative environments (CEs), distributed product descriptions (DPDs), a DOD and Industry Resource Repository (DIRR), and standards. A brief discussion of these features follows.
Collaborative Environment
A CE is an enduring collection of resources, people, processes, and tools assembled to attack a given problem. Basically, a CE exploits information technology to permit people to work together and share common information, models, simulations, and data in real time.
CEs are designed to create groupings of tools, people, and processes to foster reuse and interoperability. The intent is to be able to work across functional areas, across acquisition phases, and across programs.
Distributed Product Description
The simple definition of DPD is a 3-D representation of a system that combines data and other characteristics associated with a given product and its inherent interrelationships to its environment. This includes associated process data (e.g., system function, requirements, manufacturing processes, and cost data) and features such as user selectable views.
The DPD, which is the responsibility of the project/program manager (PM), is the authoritative collection of program information. Users could view the DPD as a one-stop shopping center for any information about a product. The DPD will include one or more system representations for others to use as they "play" the system in their simulations.
Interconnected via web technology, the DPD elements appear (to the user) to be a single, logically unified product representation. As a product develops during initial stages, the DPD associated with the product matures in parallel with it. These product representations within the DPD will enable IPPD and integrated product teams (IPTs). When provided the appropriate automated support tools and schema, the IPT members will have access to and work with the same information resident in the DPD.
DOD And Industry Resource Repository
The DIRR is intended to be a collection of pointers in a webtechnology-based, distributed repository of DPDs, tools, information, and generic infrastructure components for use within and reuse across programs-the union of capabilities provided by all CEs. The DIRR could be viewed as a card catalog. This virtual repository will be built on the existing Modeling and Simulation Resource Repository developed by the Defense M&S Office.
Standards
Certain formats are essential for interchange of information and interoperability. The Roadmap recognizes the need to establish an essential set of standards for M&S interoperability and reuse. The M&S community will need to develop a set of appropriate data interchange formats to support the interchange and flow of product information. The relationship among the key SBA architectural components is shown in the accompanying chart.
Service initiatives are underway to significantly improve SBA processes and understanding. Specifically, the Army has identified four "Flagship" programs for special attention and SMART application. They are the Crusader, Apache upgrade, Future Scout Cavalry System, and the Close Combat Tactical Trainer.
Program Assessment
The following questions can be used by individuals to assess progress in applying SBA principles to their programs:
Does the M&S plan address the full system life cycle, with reuse across phases?
Does the M&S funding profile support the M&S strategy?
Does the acquisition strategy call for a DPD?
Does the acquisition strategy place the DPD in the Modeling and Simulation Resource Repository?
Is the program a part of any CEs?
What M&S is leveraged from other programs?
Does the program leverage HighLevel Architecture and other standards?
Is interoperability outside the program a priority?
Is testing and evaluation integrated with the M&S strategy?
Has the program formed government/industry IPTs, including one for M&S? Are IPT members empowered to make decisions to take advantage of SBA technology?
Are incentives identified for industry to assist in, or develop, necessary products and services to support SBA implementation?
Does the acquisition strategy call for sharing M&S with industry (via IPPD) beginning as early as source selection and continuing thoughout the program's life?
Conclusion
We have the constant SBA vision, the architectural concept announced in the Roadmap, the developing implementation plan, and an emerging set of experiments to refine the concepts. We are preparing the appropriate educational and regulatory changes. The military Services are beginning to move ahead in their programs, and we have identified several necessary actions, ranging from leadership commitment to technology development. In addition, we have assembled a list of questions to assess progress toward SBA. Have we covered all the bases? Remember BG Yakovac's basic requirement for a revolution? Entrepreneurial spirit is essential.
I challenge you to look for opportunities to apply SBA, communicate your interest, devise new methods, bring in outside interests, and strive to break from past traditions. The SBA Revolution is coming. Are you ready to be one of the revolutionaries?
[Author Affiliation]
DR. PATRICIA SANDERS is the DOD Director, Test, Systems Engineering and Evaluation. She is responsible for ensuring the effective integration of all engineering disciplines into the system acquisition process, and for oversight of DOD's Major Range and Test Facility Base and the development of test resources such as instrumentation, targets, and other threat simulators. She chairs the Defense Test and Training Steering Group, the Systems Engineering Steering Group, and the Acquisition Council on Modeling and Simulation. Backed by more than 24 years of DOD experience in test and evaluation, modeling and simulation, resource allocation, and strategic planning, Sanders is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). She was awarded the 1998 A1AA DeFlorez Award for Modeling and Simulation in recognition of inspiration and relentless advocacy in implementing the disciplined use of modeling and simulation in the DOD weapon systems acquisition process. She has a doctorate in mathematics from Wayne State University and is a graduate of the Senior Executive Fellow Program at the John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
American Nastia Liukin, who came into the Olympics as The Other One, won the women's individual all-around gold this morning. American Shawn Johnson, the presumptive next-Mary Lou, won silver. And China's Yilin Yang, who is apparently underage, won bronze.
Liukin and Johnson were able to steal a night away for a sport that has spent the week in scandal.
Liukin grew up with parents who are Russian gymnastics royalty. They opened a gym in Texas, and that's where Liukin learned. She is an American, she said, with the heart of a Russian. Johnson is the gymnast from Des Moines who goes to public school and does not train in a factory.
And they were the winners. And the sport itself was the winner.
Meanwhile, they were both still robbed this week, winning silver in the team competition when China was using gymnasts who weren't eligible.
We already knew. The looks on their little faces, the children's expressions. It was always obvious that China was cheating with gymnasts who were not going to be 16 this year, as rules call for.
They were doctoring passports, and all the Olympic organizations and governing bodies have sat quietly, not wanting to smear these Games or, far, more importantly, tick off the corporate sponsors who want to open up the Chinese markets.
You know, the people who the Games are here for.
TIME FOR USOC TO SPEAK UP
Meanwhile, the U.S. Olympic Committee has sat on its hands in fear of ticking off the IOC, not wanting to hurt Chicago's chances of getting the 2016 Olympics.
But there is no more denying the cheating. Just nine months before the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government's news agency, Xinhua, reported that gymnast He Kexin, 13, was one of the ''big new stars.'' The Associated Press found the story on-line on Xinhua's archives, then reported it.
Suddenly, Xinhua's story has been taken down, and Zhang Hongliang, an official with China's gymnastics federation, is saying the story had been misreported by China's own agency.
''It's definitely a mistake,'' he said. ''Never has any media outlet called me to check the athletes' ages.''
No. Wrong. Liar. Cheater. First off, it's time for China to give back that team gold for using ineligible athletes. And the U.S. women, who finished second, should be awarded gold.
It's time for the U.S. Olympic Committee, and USA Gymnastics to stop going along with this, stop trembling in fear of ticking off Nike or the IOC.
The U.S. women were ripped off, fans defrauded and even bigger, young girls have been exploited in gymnastics again.
It's time to step up and show some decency. People are being hurt.
And this is going right to the heart of the problem with these Olympics.
Distrust. The Western world doesn't trust China, and China doesn't trust us. Part of the idea is to break down walls. ''One World, One Dream.'' God knows how many times I've seen that on the streets and in the venues.
I don't think I've met one person who hasn't been profoundly nice here. All the way down to the woman who sits behind the desk on my hotel floor. When I leave, she has taken to telling me, ''See ... you,'' very slowly and carefully, smiling, sometimes giggling and using the slang she has apparently learned from me.
SO MUCH FOR TRUST
But China has been denying everything about everything the past few weeks. Protesters disappear. The father-in-law of the American volleyball coach was stabbed to death by a Chinese man, and the Chinese government says it was not out of anti-American feelings, just some disturbed guy.
And you never can really tell.
But a scandal that involved a government falsifying passports, and a government saying that the government-run news agency was wrong, well, they can't really deny this one anymore.
It's certainly not going to build trust.
You might wonder why it helps a team to have younger girls competing. The smaller girls with so little weight -- the Chinese team averages 77 pounds -- can flip themselves around easier on the equipment. That's the theory.
But those age-rules are put in place to stop exploiting young girls, stop overly pressuring their minds, psyches and bodies of this grueling sport, which has been so cruel to young girls for so long.
America has had its own trouble with this abuse of young girls, these long, daily, grinding workout sessions: His name is Bela Karolyi. And he still has his influence. But China is taking it further.
''We already explained this very clearly,'' said Zhang Hongliang, the Chinese official. ''There's no need to discuss this thing again.''
No, you are not going to just shut this one down.
Before the Olympics, reports in the American media showed evidence that as least three of the Chinese women's gymnasts were underage.
The International Gymnastics Federation has said that China has shown valid passports, not bothering to look deeper.
One world is watching and waiting, China. It's sounds xenophobic, but this time good won. Today was America's.
Photo: Julie Jacobson, AP / American Nastia Liukin (right) waves to the crowd after winning the gold medal in the women's gymnastics all-around Friday. Teammate Shawn Johnson (left) took the silver. ;
In any competitive environment, there will be some who excel andsome who do not. There will always be winners and losers. It is nota reflection of how they (employees who have been asked to leave onthe basis of their performance) will do in another company or infuture
S. Gopalakrishnan, MD & CEO, Infosys Technologies, in BusinessStandard
If the price and time proportions between the waves in the 2003-08 rally continue, the Sensex should hit 100,000 in about 15 years
Mark Galasiewski, Editor, US-based global equity research groupElliott Wave International's Asia-Pacific Financial Forecast, toAgencies
Stress is a good thing. The Indian market is exciting, demandingand challenging. (But) right now, the idea is to remain cautiouslyoptimistic
Michael Boneham, President & MD, Ford India, in The EconomicTimes
Satyam is a very valuable company and the fact that Tech Mahindrais taking over is positive news. You are seeing Satyam, in somesense, being reborn with a new investor, a new owner
Kiran Karnik, Chairman, Satyam Computer Services board, inBusiness Standard
Aneesh Chopra is one of technology's leading lights. He believesto his core that innovation and technology are the backbone of oureconomy
Craig Barrett, Chairman, Intel, on Indian-American Aneesh Chopra,President Barack Obama's pick for US' Chief Technology Officer, inBusinessWeek online
ARLINGTON, Texas - Texas closer Eric Gagne didn't have long to dwell on his first blown save since 2004. His teammates rallied for the win the next inning.
Michael Young's one-out RBI single in the 10th gave the Rangers a 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night after Gagne gave up a run in the ninth to snap his streak of 11 straight converted save opportunities this season.
"It's pretty incredible what he's been able to do," Young said of Gagne, who signed with Texas as a free agent after two injury-filled seasons. "We've gotten spoiled this season. But we found a way to pick him up the way he's done for us all year."
Travis Metcalf singled against Paul Shuey (0-1) leading off the 10th. Jerry Hairston sacrificed Metcalf to second and Ramon Vazquez walked before Young's line drive off the glove of diving third baseman Chris Gomez bounced into left field. Metcalf crossed the plate with the winning run well ahead of left fielder Jay Gibbons' throw.
Joaquin Benoit (3-2) pitched a perfect 10th to get the win.
Rangers starter Kameron Loe allowed five hits in six-plus shutout innings but Gagne, failed to close, snapping his overall streak at 30 in a row. His last blown save was on Aug. 18, 2004, against Florida as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Brad Wilkerson hit his fifth homer in the last seven games for Texas, which has won five of seven.
Nick Markakis was 3-for-4 for the Orioles.
Brandon Fahey singled with one out against Gagne and he scored on Brian Roberts' double to right center to make it 3-3.
Loe, looking for his career-high fifth straight victory, struck out three and walked three. He began the season in the bullpen and was sent to the minors in early June after an ineffective stretch as a starter.
C.J. Wilson relieved Loe, who threw 103 pitches, after Gomez led off the seventh with a double.
The Orioles went on to load the bases on two walks, then Wilson threw a wild pitch that bounced off the wall behind home plate and directly to catcher Adam Melhuse.
Melhuse made a diving tag on Gomez, who was called out by home plate umpire Brian Knight on a close play that brought interim manager Dave Trembley out of the dugout to argue.
After the game, Knight told a pool reporter that he was wrong on the play.
"I've seen the replay and I see that I missed the call," Knight said. "On that kind of play, I was fighting to get the best position I could get and called what I saw at the moment. I just saw the tag beating him."
Markakis followed with a two-run double to pull the Orioles within 3-2.
Baltimore starter Jeremy Guthrie gave up three runs and five hits in six innings, striking out three and walking three.
Guthrie, claimed on waivers from Cleveland in January, had gone at least seven innings in nine of his previous 10 starts.
Wilkerson's two-run homer in the sixth, his 14th, stretched Texas' lead to 3-0.
"I had thrown him a lot of sliders, even with two strikes," Guthrie said. "He'd seen it and he was guessing on it. The location wasn't terrible. The pitch wasn't super sharp, but he hit it a long way and did a good job keeping it fair."
The Rangers scored the game's first run on Vazquez's sacrifice fly in the third.
Notes:@ Texas hasn't allowed a homer in six straight games for the first time since 1998. ... Guthrie was the third consecutive rookie starter for the Orioles. The last time Baltimore had rookies make three consecutive starts was Sept. 6-8, 2004, when Daniel Cabrera, Matt Riley and Erik Bedard took the mound in successive games in a series against Minnesota. ... Baltimore SS Freddie Bynum left the game in the third with a strained hamstring after his foot struck first base awkwardly while running out a grounder. Fahey took over for Bynum. ... The Orioles are 8-8 since Trembley took over from Sam Perlozzo on June 18.
Authorities say a fire that started in the electrical system on a boat set up at a staging area for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill resulted in two minor injuries.
Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office spokesman Maj. John Marie says the fire was extinguished immediately Tuesday night. The jackup boat is anchored in the Venice, La., area. Jackup boats or barges are similar to oil and gas platforms but are used as a base for servicing other structures.
Two people were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and no other injuries were reported. No evacuations were required.
Marie says the boat will be back in operation on Wednesday.
| All Times Eastern |
| American League |
| Oakland vs Baltimore, 7:05 p.m. |
| Tampa Bay vs Toronto, 7:07 p.m. |
| Boston vs Texas, 8:05 p.m. |
| Cleveland vs Kansas City, 8:10 p.m. |
| Detroit vs Minnesota, 8:10 p.m. |
| L.A. Angels vs Chicago White Sox, 8:11 p.m. |
| N.Y. Yankees vs Seattle, 10:05 p.m. |
| National League |
| Chicago Cubs vs Cincinnati, 7:10 p.m. |
| Philadelphia vs N.Y. Mets, 7:10 p.m. |
| Washington vs Atlanta, 7:35 p.m. |
| San Diego vs Milwaukee, 8:05 p.m. |
| Florida vs St. Louis, 8:15 p.m. |
| Houston vs Colorado, 9:05 p.m. |
| Arizona vs L.A. Dodgers, 10:05 p.m. |
| Pittsburgh vs San Francisco, 10:15 p.m. |
| National Football League |
| No games today. |
| Top 25 College Football |
| No games today. |
| WNBA Basketball |
| Chicago vs Connecticut, 7 p.m. |
| Atlanta vs New York, 7:30 p.m. |
| Indiana vs Detroit, 7:30 p.m. |
| Los Angeles vs San Antonio, 8 p.m. |
| Sacramento vs Phoenix, 10 p.m. |
| Major League Soccer |
| No games today. |
Stuck in the Internet slow lane, Hawaii and its sluggish network are hoping Google will ride to the rescue.
Through online petitions, a Facebook fan page and a YouTube video by the governor, Hawaii wants to persuade Google to choose the islands for one of its experimental fiber-optic networks, which could bring Internet speeds 100 times faster than those currently available to most Americans.
The search engine giant is launching the experiment to test new ways to build fiber networks and to demonstrate the power of quick Internet to phone and cable companies. It invited all comers to say how they might benefit, and hundreds of communities from across the country have submitted bids arguing that they're the best location for the experiment.
Hawaii's efforts may be a tough sell. The state's surfing speeds are among the slowest in the country, and legislative efforts to improve speeds haven't borne fruit. And the isolation of being in the middle of the Pacific Ocean could make building a new network impractical.
But those disadvantages also show how much Hawaii would benefit if Google picked the state.
"With high-speed Internet, you can work from anywhere. What better place than Hawaii to work from wherever you are?" asked Mike Curtis, chief operating officer of Web application company SDC Hawaii, whose Twitter feed has promoted the campaign to draw Google to the islands.
While Hawaii has fallen behind most of the U.S. in Internet speeds, it's difficulties upgrading aren't unique to the United States, which ranks 28th worldwide in download speeds, according to Speed Matters.
Asian and European countries with faster Internet service have often invested large sums of government money and created networks where service providers share access lines. In Hawaii and the rest of the United States, each company tends to build its own Internet network.
Hawaii's efforts seeking Google's favor haven't been as showy as some of its competitors from across the country. For example, Topeka, Kansas, informally renamed itself "Google, Kansas" for the month of March.
Instead, Hawaii's application emphasizes that it would cut the red tape and hasten regulatory approvals through both county and state governments, clearing the way for Google to quickly roll out this premiere service.
"All the government bodies are saying, 'We want Google to come here and we want to make it as painless as possible,'" said Ron Boyer, director of the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. "In Hawaii, you have everybody on board. That makes us unique."
Frankly, Hawaii could use Google's help.
Hawaii ranked 47th in download speeds nationwide in 2009, according to Speed Matters, a Web site run by the Communications Workers of America that tests and compares Internet users' connection speeds.
Last year, a task force's recommendations to improve broadband service bogged down in the legislature. That proposal would have created a broadband commissioner with oversight of Internet service providers and regulatory authority over underground cable installation.
This year, lawmakers are considering a bill to study streamlined permitting and to seek federal grants _ a small first step that wouldn't result in faster speeds to residents' homes anytime soon.
"Let's get some of the grunt work done," said Sen. Carol Fukunaga, D-Lower Makiki-Punchbowl, chairwoman of the Economic Development and Technology Committee. "If there's an opportunity with Google, we could be a good testbed because we're so remote."
Hawaii submitted its application to Google on Thursday, the day before the company's deadline for city governments and citizens to express interest. Winners will be announced by the end of the year.
Google plans to select a small number of trial communities with between 50,000 and 500,000 households.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, Hawaii does not enjoy rich connectivity due to trans-Pacific cables, according to the Hawaii Broadband Task Force's 2008 report. All recent fiber-optic systems built since 2001 connecting Asia to the United States have bypassed Hawaii.
"We're lagging," said Dan Leuck, co-founder off tech firm Ikayzo and founder of TechHui, a social network for Hawaii's technology industry. "The community is very excited about Google's project, but there are varying opinions on whether or not we'll be able to muster the substantial coordination that's needed."
___
On the Net:
Speed Matters: http://speedmatters.org/
Hawaii Broadband Task Force: http://www.hbtf.org/
NEW YORK (AP) — Visitors to Disney World and Disneyland resorts can now use their smart phones to "check in" to the parks, earn digital badges and go on custom-designed tours.
It's part of a new partnership between the Walt Disney Co. and Gowalla, one of a growing number of startups that lets users broadcast their location to friends and strangers using a phone application.
As part of the Disney promotion, Gowalla has also created custom trips its users can take as they make their way through Walt Disney's empire. Families with kids "under 44 inches" at the Magic Kingdom in Florida, for example, are guided to "Mickey's PhilharMagic," Dumbo the Flying Elephant and Peter Pan's Flight, among other attractions.
WASHINGTON Lawyers for Marine Sgt. Clayton Lonetree, convictedof swapping secrets for sex and money as a guard at U.S. embassies inMoscow and Vienna, lashed out Saturday at the military judge as an"animal" and vowed to appeal the guilty verdict to the end.
William Kunstler, Lonetree's chief defense lawyer, said themarine, who was found guilty of espionage by an eight-officercourt-martial jury Friday night, probably would receive a life termwhen the jury sentences him tomorrow.
The 25-year-old Navajo from St. Paul, Minn., the first marine tobe convicted of spying in the 38 years the corps has guardedembassies, was convicted on 13 counts of espionage, conspiracy andfailing to report contacts with Soviet nationals during his two yearsat the Moscow and Vienna embassies.
"We're going to appeal it to the end," Kunstler said in atelephone interview from his New York office. "It's just a shame thata poor, naive kid is going to be socked with a lot of prison time."
Kunstler said that after sentencing he planned to follow twomain avenues of appeal - first to the Navy Court of Military Review.If that failed, he said, he would turn to a civilian appeals court.
He said the process could take up to two years.
Kunstler lashed out at the judge, Navy Capt. Philip Roberts, forblocking some attempts to call defense witnesses.
"The judge was an animal as far as we're concerned," he said."He refused to let in anything that would benefit Lonetree."
The prosecutor, Maj. David Beck, said in his closing argument atthe court-martial at the Quantico, Va., Marine base that Lonetree wasa "traitor to his country" who was motivated by "money, intrigue,sex, ego and ideology" to spy for Moscow.
Kunstler, in his closing statement, argued that Lonetree hadbeen "stupid" and "naive" in his contacts with Soviet citizens buthad tried to act as a double agent in a bungled attempt to trap aSoviet KGB agent known as "Uncle Sasha."
Lonetree admitted having an affair with a Soviet translator atthe Moscow embassy, Violetta Sanni, from January to March, 1986. Itwas Sanni who introduced him to "Uncle Sasha."
Lonetree gave the KGB agent the names of nine U.S. intelligenceoperatives and information including embassy floor plans and was paid$3,500, the prosecutor said.
The defense contended the Soviets already knew the intelligenceoperatives' names.
Lonetree, who was arrested last January, originally was accusedof escorting Soviet agents into the embassy. That charge was droppedafter another marine, Cpl. Arnold Bracy, 21, recanted a statement inwhich he said he had participated in the activity.
Bracy's charges were dropped.
Their arrests prompted a major investigation by the Pentagon andState Department into alleged leaks in Moscow, Leningrad and otherdiplomatic missions.
Two other marines have been charged with fraternizing withSoviet women and one with lying to investigators.
Clifton-based estate agents and auctioneers, Hollis Morgan ismaking an impact on the West Country property scene with their firstauction due to take place at All Saints Church, one of Bristol'sfamous iconic churches in Pembroke Road, in Clifton, on WednesdaySeptember 22.
From its new boutique-style office, situated in the heart ofpicturesque village, Andrew Morgan and Oliver Hollis, together witha team of experienced property people, intend to ignite the somewhatdormant world of residential auctions in West Country cities andtowns.
They are already working with famous names such as Hydes ofBristol and Knight Frank, the prestigious international firm, inselling three properties in their next auction and they are seekingto work closely with other well-respected firms to offer theirunique auctioneering services.
"We live in an area where there is an exceptional amount ofproperty suitable for selling by public auction," says auctioneerAndrew Morgan, who added: "Both sellers and buyers are becomingincreasingly attracted to this very positive way of carrying outbusiness.
"An auction also satisfies the seller that he has achieved thebest possible price, while the buyer is seen to be happily payingthe market value, uniquely leading to two satisfied parties.
"After the last few years of uncertainty, the market is nowslowly gaining momentum and an auction will stimulate action andprove to be the catalyst enabling all parties to move on quickly.
2-4 Wellsway, in Bear Flat, Bath, represents a high yieldinginvestment with potential for further development and improvement inincome, he said. It is in a vibrant commercial spot with many peopleliving nearby and, said Andrew, "this property presents a goodopportunity for a discerning investor seeking a secure returndifficult to achieve in present-day money markets". Staff at HollisMorgan will be happy to discuss how an auction opportunity can be ofbenefit.
Contact Andrew or Oliver Hollis 0117 973 6565 or long on towww.hollismorgan.co.uk.
