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“It was their written promise–guaranteed in writing by Wisconsin attorney Sheila G. Kolbe on her letterhead–that we would receive not $40,000 promised, but $56,000 which convinced me to continue wiring the money,” he admitted in a tone of voice that was seconds away from sobbing. “I am so embarrassed,” he said. The “charges” were all bogus. Just like in the States, in Mexico, sellers do not pay fees. And the real Sheila G. Kolbe was the victim of identity theft, her name used as part of the con. But Don didn’t need my article to confirm that he was scammed. If he had merely Googled the phone number which appears on the so-called Sheila G. Kolbe’s letterhead–(920) 931-0176, guess what appears? Not a lawyer in Appleton, Wisconsin, but Costa Marina Timeshare, in Mexico!

While the dream of a Los Angeles connected by quick and seamless rail lines is not quite here just yet, Metro is hard at work building trains all over the county to make that dream materialize. And to prove it, Metro released some new renderings, on Friday, of three stations along its upcoming Crenshaw/LAX line. The Crenshaw Line is scheduled to open sometime in 2019, and will run from the present Expo Line station at Crenshaw Boulevard, all the way down to the Green Line, connecting at the Aviation/Century station. Most notably, the Crenshaw line will eventually include a stop that links L.A.’s Metro system directly to LAX itself, via the planned Airport People Mover. Although the people mover will not be finished by the time the Crenshaw Line opens, it will connect to the line at the planned Aviation/96th station. That station will be constructed in tandem with the people mover, and will not be opened until the people mover is ready for service, supposedly sometime around 2023. While all of this sounds pretty far off, it’s important to remember that the Crenshaw line is one the projects made possible by Measure R, a ballot measure passed in 2008 increasing sales tax by half-a-cent to pay for several Metro projects. 2008 was eight years ago, and 2023 is seven years from now. And we are only now just beginning to see the fruits of the billions raised by the sales tax with the Expo and Gold Line extensions opening very soon. If we want to start looking more into the future, the Crenshaw line will eventually connect north from the its current terminus with the Expo Line, to the Purple Line extension’s Wilshire/La Brea station. This phase II of the Crenshaw line is currently in the pre-construction phase, but will eventually manifest as funding is found. Looking even farther ahead, a 2010 feasibility study also hints at how this phase II extension could one-day grow into a line that runs from the Fairfax district to Hollywood. That extension would run along La Brea and Santa Monica Boulevards, eventually connecting to the Hollywood/Highland Red-Line Station. That's the dream: a Los Angeles where you can take a single train from Hollywood to LAX, and then get whisked into the airport to your terminal by an automated people-mover. It’s certainly possible, and the plans are all there. Note: We previously said the people mover would be completed in 2024. The goal is actually one year prior, sometime during 2023. We'll see how that goes.

ANN ARBOR - Winter has officially arrived, so what better way to celebrate it than by witnessing the beautiful art of ice carving? The fourth annual Washtenaw County Ice Carving Festival is coming back to County Farm Park on Feb. 9. From noon to 4 p.m., come out, enjoy refreshments and watch college ice carving teams from across southeast Michigan put their skills to the test. The event is free and open to the public. Get ready to be amazed as the carvers use flamethrowers and chainsaws to craft their creations. Location: County Farm Park, 2230 Platt Rd. For more information and updates, check the event's Facebook page.

TRANSPORT and Mining Minister Robert Montague says that mining continues to play an important role in the country's economic growth and development. He noted that gross domestic product (GDP) for the July to September 2018 quarter grew by 1.8 per cent, bolstered by significant improvement in mining and quarrying. Real value added for the mining and quarrying industry grew by an estimated 54 per cent, reflecting the increased output of alumina, which outweighed a decline in crude bauxite production. Alumina production increased by 65.7 per cent to 689 kilotonnes. “We're not done yet,” the minister said. He was speaking to JIS News ahead of a tour of the mines and refinery operations of bauxite/alumina company Jamalco in Halse Hall, Clarendon, last Thursday. He said that the Government has put measures in place to ensure the viability of the sector. These include the launch of a mining school, which has been training quarry operators, crafting a national mining policy, which is now before Cabinet, and the establishment of a quarry advisory committee to extend licences for on-land mining activities from one to 10 years. Montague noted that since taking office in March last year, he has signed a total of 26 exploratory licences for semi-precious minerals such as copper, cobalt, zinc, gold and silver. He further advised that he has given a mandate to commissioner of Mines and Geology, Roy Nicholson, to examine mud lakes to unearth their usefulness. In a JIS News interview, Nicholson said a desk study is being undertaken, which will then be followed by the testing of the lakes. Montague was joined on the tour by state minister in the National Security Ministry and Member of Parliament for Clarendon South Eastern Rudyard Spencer; Managing Director of Jamalco Austin Mooney; Board Chairman Dennis Morgan; and members of the Jamaica Bauxite Institute.

The price tag on corporate data breaches is soaring: The rise in cybercrime is costing hundreds of billions of dollars each year. When corporations are attacked, the costs are tremendous and rising fast. This year, U.S. companies will spend more than $130 billion as a result of data breaches, according to the Ponemon Institute, a cybersecurity research organization. That's more than triple what companies spent combating breaches in 2006. "The ability of bad guys to enter, steal, exit and do it in a way that's undetectable is rising," said Larry Ponemon, chairman of the Ponemon Institute. "It's a big problem and it is getting worse."

An Italian official said last week that Rome would sign a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Beijing to officially support Xi’s massive $1 trillion Belt and Road initiative, also known as the New Silk Road. Beijing has financed infrastructure, maritime, rail and road projects in Asia, Africa and Europe, but critics warn that it mainly benefits Chinese firms while setting up a “debt trap” in more financially vulnerable countries. Following Italy’s announcement, French President Emmanuel Macron said last week that European Union countries should have a “coordinated approach” regarding China. “It’s a good thing that China is participating in the development of many countries, but I believe in the spirit of equality, reciprocity. The spirit of equality means respecting the sovereignty of nations,” Macron said.

The presence of Ben Roethlisberger on the Pittsburgh Steelers contributed to Le'Veon Bell's desire to leave when the opportunity presented itself. In an interview with Sports Illustrated's Jenny Vrentas, the New York Jets' new running back admitted "it was a factor." He added he wished he shared a "more open, more genuine, more real" partnership with his former quarterback. "The organization wants to win. (Coach Mike) Tomlin wants to win," he said. "Ben wants to win - but Ben wants to win his way, and that's tough to play with. Ben won a Super Bowl, but he won when he was younger. Now he's at this stage where he tries to control everything, and (the team) let him get there. So if I'm mad at a player and I'm not throwing him the ball - if I'm not throwing (Antonio Brown) the ball and I'm giving JuJu (Smith-Schuster) all the shine or Jesse (James) or Vance (McDonald) or whoever it is, and you know consciously you're making your other receiver mad but you don't care - it's hard to win that way." Bell sat out the entire 2018 season amid an extended contract dispute. The 27-year-old watched from home as the relationship between Roethlisberger and Brown, one of the top quarterback-receiver tandems in the league, deteriorated. Brown threw a football at Roethlisberger during practice in Week 17 as their simmering feud reached a boil. The star wideout later accused Roethlisberger of carrying himself with an "owner's mentality" and lacking accountability. "When I was there, there were no major problems like that, maybe little things like being on Facebook (in the locker room), being uncomfortable," Bell said. "I know Ben and AB personally. I know how personalities can get. I can see where things went wrong. A lot of things AB said, it had a lot of truth to it. I've had some of those interactions. I don't react like AB does. AB isn't the only bad guy in the situation. Ben isn't the only bad guy, either. It's not just one person. It ain't just me. It's everybody." The trio of Bell, Brown, and Ben were known as the "Killer B's" in Pittsburgh. Despite each player's individual success with the Steelers, the group never got to a Super Bowl together. Bell signed a four-year, $52.5-million deal with the Jets in free agency after five seasons with the Steelers.

A Celebration of Advising—The 2018 recipients of the Eleanor and Harry Walker Advising Award were honored at a campus reception May 3. Back row: Staff Advisor Danielle Huddlestun, Associate Dean Sue Ebeler, Food Science and Technology Professor Ned Spang, Executive Associate Dean Mary Delany, and Peer Advisor Thalia Badger. Front row: Eleanor Walker (center), flanked by granddaughter Jennifer Gaub and great grandson Chandler Gaub. Professor John Eadie, Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, is a recipient of the Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award in the undergraduate category. Cooperative Extension Specialist Richard Snyder, Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, is the recipient of the Academic Federation Distinguished Service Award. Professor emeritus Calvin Qualset, Department of Plant Sciences, is a recipient of the Academic Senate Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award. Cooperative Extension Specialist Tina Saitone, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, is the recipient of the Academic Federation Excellence in Research Award. A campus reception honored award recipients on April 30. Read more about their accomplishments and the other award recipients here. The 2018 recipients of the Eleanor and Harry Walker Advising Award are Danielle Huddlestun, Ned Spang and Thalia Badger. They were honored May 3 at a reception in the Plant and Environmental Sciences building on campus. Danielle Huddlestun is the staff advisor for the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology (WFCB). She provides quality academic advising to undergraduate students and mentors her staff of student peer advisors. She is known for her enthusiasm, problem solving skills, and innovations such as hosting a course for incoming WFCB students and developing a guide for second-year students. Ned Spang is an assistant professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology. He was selected for the faculty advising award because of his strong commitment to student mentoring and his efforts to create new opportunities for multidisciplinary collaborations among students, faculty and staff. Through his encouragement, students also have been able to build networks with industry collaborators. Thalia Badger is a peer advisor for the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology. She is known for being a positive, welcoming and proactive advisor who excels in building a sense of community within the department. She implemented “Wildlife Vet Career Night” to introduce students to the wildlife veterinarian profession. Harry O. Walker, a highly regarded professor in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources for more than 40 years, was a strong advocate for undergraduate advising and also served as a master advisor himself. Through their generosity and commitment, Eleanor and Harry Walker created the award to celebrate excellence and innovation in academic advising because of the important role it plays in helping students succeed. anization’s 2018 Global Awards Program for Academic Advising. Yang, of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, is a winner in the outstanding academic advising faculty category. Ebeler, a professor in the Department of Viticulture and Enology, leads Undergraduate Academic Programs for the college. She received a certificate of merit in the outstanding advising administration category. Both received similar awards in NACADA’s 2017 regional competition. Yang is dedicated to helping students link their academic studies to research and other careers. He has developed innovative mentoring programs that help students progress as scholars and scientists, and is committed to enhancing diversity and retention in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. relationships among advisors in college departments and the CA&ES Dean’s Office. She increased faculty, staff and peer advisor participation in Decision Day so that new students and their families could get firsthand answers to their questions about the UC Davis experience. She also created opportunities for students to interact with their support network in an informal setting. NACADA is the National Academic Advising Association, an international association of more than 10,000 members in higher education who are engaged academic advising. Award recipients will be honored in Phoenix at the NACADA annual conference in fall 2018. Anne Visser, a community and regional development professor in the Department of Human Ecology, is among the finalists for the British Sociological Association’s 2018 SAGE Research Prize in Excellence and Innovation. The SAGE Prize is awarded annually to one paper in each of the association’s journals. Visser’s research article, “A Floor to Exploitation? Social Economy Organizations at the Edge of a Restructuring Society” was published in the journal Work, Employment and Society in April 2017. The article explored how the informalization of work has led to a rise of precarious working conditions in the U.S. labor market and the efficacy of social organizations in supporting workers. The article specifically analyzed the impact of U.S. day labor worker centers on employment outcomes and found these organizations improve working conditions in the labor market. Visser is the most junior scholar to be nominated this year and one of the few non-British scholars ever to be nominated for this award. The winner will be announced in September. Catherine Brinkley, an assistant professor in the Department of Human Ecology, will deepen her research into the form and function of cities and neighboring agricultural areas with a recently awarded National Science Foundation CAREER grant. These are one of the NSF’s most competitive and prestigious awards in support of junior faculty. Brinkley’s research applies ecological principles of structural complexity to urban and agricultural studies. She is testing the hypothesis that farms that are more intertwined physically with urban lands will also be more intertwined socially through direct and local marketing, thereby changing diet-related health, job diversity, farm tenure and land-use patterns for urban and agricultural communities alike. Learn more about her project at the NSF website. Professor Jay Rosenheim of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, and doctoral candidate Jessica Gillung of the Lynn Kimsey lab, Bohart Museum of Entomology are recipients of two major awards from the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America (PBESA). Rosenheim won the Distinction in Student Mentoring Award, and Gillung, the Student Leadership Award. They will be honored at the PBESA meeting June 10-13 in Reno. PBESA represents 11 states, seven U.S. territories, and parts of Canada and Mexico.

Last week, judge ordered a prosecutor to give the recordings to the Associated Press. HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut state prosecutor said Monday he is dropping his bid to continue withholding recordings of 911 calls from the mass shooting last year at a Newtown elementary school. The tapes are expected to be released to the public Wednesday. Last week, a judge ordered the prosecutor, State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky III, to provide the recordings to The Associated Press, affirming a ruling by the state's Freedom of Information Commission that the calls are not exempt from public information laws. Sedensky, who led the investigation into the massacre, said Monday he decided not to appeal the ruling after consulting with the office of the chief state's attorney and an attorney for the town of Newtown. The tapes to be released Wednesday include seven calls that were made to Newtown police, and do not include calls that went to state police dispatchers. The tapes will be made available at the Danbury offices of attorneys for the town of Newtown, according to a statement from the first selectman's office. The AP has sought the recordings in part to examine the police response to the massacre. The AP will review the content and determine what, if any, of it would meet the news cooperative's standards for publication. The gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, shot his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School on the morning of Dec. 14 and gunned down 20 children and six women with a semi-automatic rifle. He also killed his mother in their Newtown home before driving to the school and committed suicide as police arrived at the scene. Tapes of 911 calls are routinely released, but the Newtown police department and Sedensky sought to keep the Sandy Hook calls secret, arguing initially that they could jeopardize the investigation. Sedensky also has argued that releasing the tapes could violate survivors who deserve special protection as victims of child abuse and make people reluctant to call 911 for fear of having their cries for help later broadcast by news outlets. Sedensky's argument were rejected first by Connecticut's FOI commission, which ruled in favor of the AP in September, and then New Britain Superior Court Judge Eliot Prescott, who last week denied a request by Sedensky for a stay of the FOI commission's ruling as he pursued an appeal. Prescott said the release of the tapes will help the public gauge the appropriateness of law enforcement's response. A report on the investigation that was released by Sedensky last week concluded that Lanza's motives for the massacre may never be known.

Beyond Good and Evil 2 is Made By Ubisoft, Joseph-Gordon Levitt, and You! Well one of my irresponsible E3 2018 predictions is already wrong. Ubisoft really is committed to making Beyond Good and Evil 2, a pre/sequel to an overlooked 2003 game originally announced in 2008, an actual game. The new E3 trailer showed open-world space action, pig people, and a look at a younger possibly villainous version of the first game’s heroine Jade. So far so good? Well there is one little detail about Beyond Good and Evil 2, coming who knows when on who knows what platforms, that has folks a little concerned. While Ubisoft has an infamous empire of studios to call upon, instead they are outsourcing a bunch of the work to you, the player, and you might not even get paid. BG&E creator Michel Ancel sort of teased this user-generated content component last year when the game was re-revealed, but this was as vague as the game itself. It gave us vibes of Mega Man Legends 3, another awaited follow-up to a beloved series but with a niche audience. That game also asked passionate fans to contribute assets while the game was still in shaky development, and the game was ultimately cancelled anyway so who knows what happened to that work. At this E3 though Ubisoft recommitted to the crowdsourcing plan with way more detail. How much detail? They got freaking Joseph Gordon-Levitt to come out on stage and announce that BG&E 2’s user content will be handled through his nebulous HitRecord “online collaborative production company.” It works like this. You submit whatever art you think would be cool in the game, whether it’s a synth music track or rad piece of grungy sci-fi poster art, and there’s a chance it could show up in the finished game. If you’re a Beyond Good and Evil fan (who is already super stoked this sequel even exists) the idea of being able to contribute directly to the game sounds like a dream come true. But the dream has some troubling implications if you get woke. You’re doing the work of a developer without the benefits or even guaranteed pay of a developer. And even if your work is chosen and you do get paid, it’s unclear how much you’ll. At the moment, $50,000 (less than a single employee’s salary) will be paid out in total for all assets combined, sliced out arbitrarily depending on how much the team thinks each individual piece is worth. The opacity aids exploitation in an industry already fraught with labor issues. We think Beyond Good and Evil 2 will turn out pretty neat. Sure the space open-world will feel inevitably Ubisoft ™ to expand appeal beyond the tiny original fanbase, but that’s not the worse thing. However, the crowdsourced content could be very concerning if not handled correctly. So we’ve got our eyes on you, Harry Solomon.

An amazing moment between a Virginia couple is going viral, showing a husband sobbing uncontrollably at the news that his wife - after 17 years of marriage - is pregnant. The woman, Dana Griffin-Graves, gave the backstory to Buzzfeed: she and her husband, Arkell, began trying to have a baby nearly two decades ago, after they got married. She delivered one stillborn baby at six months and suffered another four miscarriages through the years. The couple gradually accepted that they would not have children. “It just didn’t work out, so we kind of gave up,” she said. But recently, noticing a suspicious weight gain, she went to her doctor and found out she was unexpectedly expecting. She's almost five months along and is due to have a boy February 16. Grab some tissues and watch the video above. Dana cleverly placed the ultrasound picture next to some buns in the oven and asked Arkell to look inside.

Over the weekend, Nike presented the latest generation of the Air Force 1 with the unveiling of the brand new Special Field Air Force 1 High. Previewed during a special 35th Anniversary event for the AF 1, the high top silhouette will hit retailers in the months to come in a slew of colorways. The new and updated SF Air Force 1 High sneaker will feature a rip stop ballistic nylon and premium tumbled leather upper with a one-of-a-kind lacing system that allows users to lace the sneakers in multiple ways. With a new knee-high cut look, inspired by the military boot, the pair of sneakers also include a zipper on tongue of each shoe that extends from the very top of the silhouette all the way to the shoes toe front. To close out the sneakers look, the Swoosh features the signature Air Force 1 midsole and outsole, to give the sneakers the authentic AF1 aesthetic. After unveiling last November the Special Field Air Force 1 shoe, Nike continued the release of the SF sneaker with other iterations of the SF Air Force 1 in mid-cut and original models. The new Nike Special Field Air Force 1 High will be available starting Thurs., Nov. 2, at select Nike retailers and online at nike.com. Look for the Swoosh to announce the price p9int of the shoes within the days of the sneakers release.

The question has long plagued fans of Harry Potter: Why did the boy wizard name his son after Severus Snape, a teacher who hated Harry's father and had been so cruel to him. On Friday, author JK Rowling took to Twitter to answer the enduring question in an exchange with a fan who asked why one of Harry's children received the middle name of Severus. The acclaimed author wrote: "Snape died for Harry out of love for Lily. Harry paid him tribute in forgiveness and gratitude." Her response set fans into a frenzy of squabbling over the much-debated character, who many loathe for his treatment of Harry. Rowling says that by honoring Snape, "Harry hoped in his heart that he too would be forgiven. The deaths at the Battle of Hogwarts would haunt Harry forever." The series of tweets have gotten tens of thousands of likes and retweets. This morning I've been thinking a lot about the appeal of simple dichotomies in our messy world, then you raise Snape! Highly appropriate. In honouring Snape, Harry hoped in his heart that he too would be forgiven. The deaths at the Battle of Hogwarts would haunt Harry forever. The name choice is revealed in the final book of the mega-best-selling series. In "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," Harry sends his second son off to Hogwarts with these words: "Albus Severus, you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew." In the book, each of Harry and Ginny's children is named in tribute to family and friends. His first son is named James Sirius and their daughter is named Lily Luna. Rowling's seven Harry Potter novels have sold more than 450 million copies and been made into eight films. Colleen Kelly guides the Star Tribune's digital content and strategic efforts on the home page, mobile platforms, social media and reader engagement. She also teaches editing as an adjunct at the University of Minnesota. A Colorado community changed forever by the attack that killed 13 people at Columbine High School moved ahead Thursday with ceremonies marking the anniversary of the tragedy while awaiting more details on what led a Florida teen "infatuated" with the shooting to buy a shotgun and kill herself in the snowy foothills nearby. The home had a starring role in the 1993 film comedy and its sequel. A private cargo ship brought food galore to the International Space Station on Friday.

The comprehensive meta-analysis covered mental disorders overall, as well as specific diagnoses such as schizophrenia, mood disorders, depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety disorders, and included studies both of people who were hospitalized and those treated in the community. The authors describe a mortality gap between people with mental disorders and the general population that has been increasing since before 1970. The relationship between mental health disorders and mortality is complicated because most people with those disorders do not die of their conditions; instead, they die of chronic diseases such as heart disease, infections, suicide or other causes. In addition, people with mental health disorders tend to have higher rates of chronic disease risk factors, including tobacco smoking, substance abuse, physical inactivity and poor diet. The authors conclude that a variety of approaches are necessary to address the different causes of death, ranging from suicide prevention to prevention and care of chronic medical conditions. Coauthors for this study are Benjamin Druss, MD, MPH, professor of health policy and management at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health, and graduate student Robin McGee, MPH. The research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (5K24MH07586703) and a National Institute of General Medical Sciences career development award (K12GM00680).

Director Wayne Wang has spent much of the past decade wandering in the wilderness of inconsequential fem-coms such as Maid in Manhattan and Last Holiday. With A Thousand Years of Good Prayers he returns to his indie origins. This is the Wayne Wang we admire: helming a small-scale story that is intimate in its scope but universal in its themes. In a generic condo block outside of Spokane, Washington, elderly Chinese man Mr. Shi (Henry O) is reuniting with his adult and fully Americanized daughter Yilan (Fiehong Yu) for their first visit together in a long time. Although Mr. Shi is a stranger in a strange land, he is eager to improve his English and learn about American culture. Yilan, however, is having none of it. Though she goes through the motions of being happy to see her father, she is clearly distressed by his arrival, leaving him alone most of the time and dismissing his attempts at conversation. Something's not quite right between these two. As some critics have pointed out, there are echoes here of Ozu's gut-wrenching Japanese masterpiece Tokyo Story, in which elderly parents from the sticks come to the city to visit their grown children only to be patronized, ignored, and ultimately disposed of.

Two cars were burglarized while parked outside a business in the 2400 block of Brickvale Avenue, police said Wednesday. A compact disc player was stolen from a 1997 Nissan, but no signs of forced entry were reported. Meanwhile, a purse was stolen from a 1993 Plymouth coupe, whose window was broken.

In the digital era, business executives are becoming more involved in acquiring corporate technologies. But the CIO still largely has the final say for most technology purchasing decisions. CIOs still control the purse strings for most corporate IT, owing to the complexity of broad technology implementations. But other business executives play an ever-larger role in acquiring digital tools, underscoring technology’s growing importance, according to new reports from Forrester Research and CompTIA. To what degree business executives buy technology or influence tech purchases is tough to pin down. What is certain, however, is that it's a natural and necessary shift at a time when companies are increasing investments in business technology intended to win, serve and retain customers, according to Forrester Research analyst Andrew Bartels, lead author of the report, “C-Suite Tech Purchasing Patterns." Over the past decade, CIOs have anxiously watched as leaders in marketing, sales, and HR purchase cloud software without consulting them. The concerns are valid; technology that hasn't been properly vetted or tested poses cybersecurity threats or integration challenges, forcing CIOs to step in to fix problems or assist with implementation, Bartels tells CIO.com. Bartels says the degree to which business executives are putting CIOs in such precarious positions is up for debate because surveys don't paint the whole picture. In short, the statistics vary based on who is telling the tale, with respondents excluding some forms of technology from their consideration.

At 11 years of age, Emma was raped by a stranger in a park. At 16, she jumped off a bridge onto a busy motorway to try to kill herself. Now 18, Emma says she's well on the way to recovery. Emma says that she wanted to kill herself because she couldn't cope with the after-effects of being raped. "I'm constantly having flashbacks back to what happened. It's not being able to go out socially and be OK with my friends, or boys," she explains. "I broke both my back and my feet. And I survived, which I thought I wouldn't do." Emma is a fake name, as Newsbeat is protecting this young woman's real identity. Her physical injuries took months to heal. For her mental health recovery though, she spent more than a year at Bristol's specialist Riverside Unit. Specifically for 13 to 18-year-olds, it's a treatment centre for people with severe mental ill health, like eating disorders, psychosis, or Emma's post-traumatic stress disorder. "We would go down to 'Start of Day' which is held in the dining room," Emma recalls. "We would just touch base with the staff and the other young people." "Then we might have dance therapy, chucking balls everywhere or playing musical statues. "It's a great way to release all the anger, or the sadness, or any of the feelings that you've got." Teachers at the unit help people keep up with school and college work. There's also a chill out area with a TV, pool table and sofas. Emma walks to an upstairs room with Family Therapy Suite written on the door. "I dreaded family therapy," she remembers. "It was really, really hard. "I got to hear, in this very room, my mum and dad's experiences of what happened. "It was difficult for me to hear those things. But they needed to be shared and this was a safe environment." Caroline Mercier was in charge of Emma's treatment at Riverside. "It's the person who does the work," she says. "I'm there to guide and support. "I use the metaphor of mountaineering. You might be showing them the way and stopping them fall down the abyss but they're climbing. "They get to where they need to go." Emma's time at Riverside was far from easy. Even while she was there, she made a second attempt to kill herself. Now though, she says she's looking forward to a positive future. "It all just gradually came together," she says. "It all just started being OK. You learn so much here about ways to manage it. "It was important for me to learn those things otherwise I'd still be trying to end my life now." Visit the BBC's advice pages if you're affected by any of the issues in this story.

Inside Microsoft’s effort to solve the world’s data storage capacity problem. The continued growth in information we’re trying to store (from IoT sensor data to log files and photos) has already outpaced the capacity of some systems. CERN stores only a tenth of the 15PB of data it gets from the Large Hadron Collider each year on disk. For many organizations, capacity may not be such a large problem; hard drive technology continues to improve, and much of the world’s data is still stored on tape. The storage issue we haven’t yet tackled is longevity – and that’s where storing data on artificial DNA may really shine. A smear of DNA small enough to scrape up with your fingernail could store exabytes of information, but it’s the fact that it remains readable after thousands of years that really makes it interesting. Paper and microfilm can last 500 years or more, but digital media are hard to keep for even a few decades. Accelerated testing at higher temperatures shows that DNA will stay readable for 2,000 years if it’s stored at ten degrees centigrade (and for up to 2 million years if it’s frozen); encapsulating it in spheres of silica means that humidity doesn’t affect it. The format won’t get out of date like digital storage either. “We'll always be interested in reading DNA so we can be sure we'll always have the capability of reading it in the future -- because if we don't we'll have a real problem,” Karin Strauss, senior researcher in computer architecture at Microsoft Research and associate professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at University of Washington, told Data Center Knowledge. In the lab, researchers have been able to write and read text, photos, videos, and other files with 100 percent accuracy, and last year Microsoft bought ten million DNA molecules from Twist Bioscience to experiment with. But what does it take to turn that research into a real storage system, and when might you think about putting one in your data center? Storing data in DNA means turning the bits in a file into the four bases in DNA -- mapping 00 to A, 01 to C, 10 to G, and 11 to T every time -- then synthesizing DNA molecules with those bases in the right order. Reading it means putting those molecules in a DNA sequencer, reading out the sequence of bases, and turning that back into bits. Today, there are some manual steps in that process, Strauss explained. Microsoft and Twist are working with the University of Washington to turn that into a fully automated system. Strauss predicted the end result would be something that looked like a tape library, complete with the same kind of robotic arm (and maybe with cartridges of reagents you change like toner in a laser printer). Depending on how much parallelism you need – which comes down to how much data you want to write or read at the same time – “that’s likely to look like a few racks in the data center” she said. Small as the DNA itself is, you can save more space by encapsulating more than one file in the same silica shell, which means chemically separating the DNA to get the file you want. Because sequencing is a batch process, you’re going to be reading back multiple files on the same sequencer anyway. Files are also encoded on multiple sequences of DNA, so the sequences are clustered together to get the full result. There’s a sequence number on each molecule; think of it like numbering the different sections that make up a large ZIP archive. Reading DNA destroys it, but that’s only because that’s what the medical and biotech applications need. “When you sequence DNA, you don't want to reuse it, you don't want contamination; you just throw the whole thing away including all the reagents.” It would be possible to recover the DNA instead, but it's probably easier just to make more copies with the standard polymerase chain reaction, which is already used in the process to make sure you have enough copies of the different sequences to read; picking which sequences to copy gives you random access to the right section of a large file. How Big and How Soon? The cost of DNA sequencing and synthesis are dropping faster than the price of digital media, especially when you factor in needing to rewrite tapes every five to ten years, but it’s still going to make sense only when you need to store data for a long time rather than a few years. Cloud providers will be interested, but so will some organizations who run their own data centers. Currently the throughput of reading DNA isn’t that high. Of the two systems Strauss has worked on, one produces around 2 million reads in 24 hours (with most of the reads done in the first few hours), the other, more parallel system delivers around 400 million reads in 24 hours. But the density means you could get excellent bandwidth at a very low cost if you need to send the data a long distance, because you could fit an exabyte on something the size of a postcard.

DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) — A horse was injured on the new turf course in the seventh race at Del Mar on Thursday, prompting the seaside track to discontinue racing on the surface for the rest of the week. Nine horse deaths have occurred since the summer meet began on July 16. Serious was pulled up on the far turn by jockey Francisco Duran. The 4-year-old filly sustained injuries to her left front leg and she was being taken to Los Alamitos in Orange County to be evaluated by her owner's veterinarian on Friday. Four deaths occurred as part of racing on the turf course, one happened on the synthetic Polytrack surface while racing, two came on Polytrack during training hours and two were the result of heart attacks, according to a track spokesman. Crews worked on the turf Monday and Tuesday before racing resumed Wednesday. The turf course was approved by safety officials from the California Horse Racing Board on Tuesday. "We continue to be of the belief that Del Mar's turf course is safe for our horses and riders," the track said in a statement. However, there will be no turf racing the rest of the week and the track said it will continue to work on the course during the down time. The track hopes to resume racing on the turf in the near future.

On April 22nd, the top Slam Poets in Salt Lake City will compete for a chance to be the 2019 Salt City Slam Team! We’re talking the best of the best-spoken word artists in Utah. The top 5 from the competition will be representing Salt Lake City as they compete internationally in regional tournaments and tour America. This year Follies, our local lampoon of all things Park City, will be used as a final push to raise funds for our capital campaign for the expansion under Main Street. Follies is always a sell out, but this year Cabaret & Balcony seats are open to the public sold at a premium–first come first serve! Premium seats include Tax Deductible Letter & Other Great Perks! On Sunday, May 5, 2019, WestSide Dance will host a party for it’s 21st birthday in the SLC WestSide community. Our dance group has been a consistent collective that honors culture and shares the joy and vibrancy of dance. Come participate and watch our dancers perform as they bring their neighbors and families together in celebration. We invite everyone to come out and enjoy a day of food, fun, games and dancing! To be included in marketing materials, sponsorship payment must be submitted by Sunday, March 31. Vendor sign-up deadline is: Sunday, March 31. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is transported to 1950’s New York City as two young lovers find themselves caught between warring street gangs. Their struggle to survive in a world of hate, violence and prejudice is one of the most innovative, heart-wrenching and relevant musical dramas of our time.

On Tuesday, the chief executives of the world’s largest public companies will be receiving a letter from one of the most influential investors in the world. And what it says is likely to cause a firestorm in the corner offices of companies everywhere and a debate over social responsibility that stretches from Wall Street to Washington. It is a refrain that we’re hearing more and more from various pockets of the business community, and in fact last year company leaders found themselves taking stands on issues like immigration policy, race relations, gay rights and more. But for the world’s largest investor to say it aloud — and declare that he plans to hold companies accountable — is a bracing example of the evolution of corporate America. Mr. Fink says he is adding staff to help monitor how companies respond; only time will tell whether BlackRock truly uses his firm’s heft to influence new social initiatives. Companies often talk about contributing to society — sometimes breathlessly — but it is typically written off as a marketing gimmick aimed at raising profits or appeasing regulators. Mr. Fink’s declaration is different because his constituency in this case is the business community itself. It pits him, to some degree, against many of the companies that he’s invested in, which hold the view that their only duty is to produce profits for their shareholders, an argument long espoused by economists like Milton Friedman. Until recently, companies like BlackRock have traditionally been passive investors and have done little to pressure the leaders of companies they invested in; in fact they were known for rubber stamping management’s plans. It was active investors who sought to hold companies accountable — either by agitating for change or by selling their shares to express their displeasure. Indeed, Mr. Fink has in the past denounced “activist” shareholders as too focused on the short term. “If you asked me if activism harms job creation, the answer is yes,” he told me back in 2014. Now he is changing his stripes. Over the past two years, for example, BlackRock quietly became a thorn in the side of Exxon. In 2016, the firm withheld support from two directors as a protest against Exxon’s “non-engagement” policy, which barred independent board members from meeting with shareholders like Mr. Fink. Then, in 2017, BlackRock supported a shareholder proposal to enhance the company’s disclosures on climate, in part because Exxon’s policy prevented the firm from getting a full understanding of its long-term strategy and risk exposure. The climate disclosure proposal ultimately passed, and just last month Exxon agreed to publish climate impact reports. Perhaps even more notably, Exxon also changed its policy of non-engagement, and now permits meetings between shareholders and independent directors. BlackRock has even begun siding with activist investors themselves, something it hasn’t publicized. One of its funds voted in favor of the activist Nelson Peltz last year in his proxy fight with Procter & Gamble. It also voted in favor of Bill Ackman against ADP. BlackRock voted in favor of activist-led proposals in 19 percent of proxy fights last year and that number is likely to rise. In a surprising twist, even activist investors are taking up social causes. Jana Partners and Calstrs, the huge California retirement system that manages the pensions of the state’s public schoolteachers, wrote a letter to Apple last week demanding that it focus more on the detrimental effects its products may have on children. Despite Mr. Fink’s insistence that companies benefit society, it’s worth noting he’s not playing down the importance of profits and, while it’s a subtle point, he believes that having social purpose is inextricably linked to a company’s ability to maintain its profits.

Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Edward Snowden all launched tech careers without four-year college degrees, and that may be true for a large percentage of techies. A study of New York City's tech workforce found that 44% of jobs in the city's "tech ecosystem," or 128,000 jobs, "are accessible" to people without a Bachelor's degree. The category covers any job that is enabled by, produced or facilitated by technology. For instance, a technology specific job that doesn't require a Bachelor's degree might be a computer user support specialist, earning $28.80 an hour, according to this study. That job requires an Associate's degree. Tech industry jobs that do not require a four-year degree include customer services representatives, at $18.50 an hour, telecom line installer, $37.60 an hour, and sales representatives, $33.60 an hour. Those jobs offer on-the job training. The estimated number of jobs that require an Associate's degree, or on-the-job training, is based on what the job requires. The study did not look at "who is actually sitting in those jobs and whether people are under-employed," said Kate Wittels, a director at HR&A Advisors, a real-estate and economic-development consulting firm, and author of the report The New York City Tech Ecosystem. About 75% of the 25 employees who work at New York Computer Help in Manhattan have a Bachelor's degree, according to Joe Silverman, who owns the Manhattan-based repair and IT services firm. Of those with Bachelor's degrees, about half have IT-related degrees. The balance hold degrees in a broad range of disciplines, including businesses and liberal arts. Silverman said he looks for experience first, and tends to hire people with at least 15 years in the business, enough to handle any type of customer problem. While he acknowledges that many employees have either a four or two-year degree, he doesn't believe one is critical. "When they have the degree it helps, it adds credibility," and shows discipline, said Silverman, "but I feel that the experience plus direct certifications speaks higher than just the typical general degree." Within the support industry, Silverman said today more people without a four-year degree are seeking work. Applicants are likely to just have certifications and experience because the work has gotten much more specialized, he said, citing Web design. "I think it's more important nowadays to look for direct experience as well as certifications more so than a generalized degree," said Silverman. The reason for focusing on building the tech ecosystem jobs concerns wages, said Wittels. Workers in New York City's tech ecosystem earn 49% more in hourly wages than the average worker in the city. A retail service clerk and a help desk person may have the same educational attainment, whether it's on-the-job training or an Associate's degree, but a retail worker "is paid significantly less on average," said Wittels. Overall, the report found that nearly 300,000 people in New York are employed in the tech ecosystem. That includes people with technical skills who work in non-tech industries, such as health care, financial services, and retail. Citi, which along with Google, were among the groups backing the report, directly employs nearly 17,000 people in New York City, of which 1,860 were part of tech ecosystem as defined by the study. The study's assessment of education needs also matches national trends. Web developers, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, only require associate's degree, but earn $62,500. Computer support specialist don't necessarily need a post-secondary degree, and pay ranges from $46,400 to nearly $60,000 for computer network support specialists, according to federal data. Employment of computer support specialists -- 722,500 in 2012 -- is expected to grow 17% to 845,000 jobs by 2020, according to government data.

Beverly Hills real estate firm Starpoint Properties said it plans to invest $100 million in California marijuana companies over the next 12 months. The news catapults Starpoint CEO Paul Daneshrad, a figure previously unknown in the industry, into the first tier of cannabis investors nationwide. Daneshrad’s announcement, and a similar pledge out of Florida this week, come as the industry is both expanding and trying to keep off the radar of weed-hating U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Daneshrad said he’s not especially worried about the legal situation. While medical and recreational weed remain federally illegal, in a few years, he said, medical marijuana will be available in 35 or 40 states. “Trump and Sessions are going to come in and say, ‘OK, 40 states, we don't agree with what you and your citizens want. No, you gotta listen to us’? I don't see that happening,” Daneshrad said. If anything, Daneshrad sees the chilling effect Sessions has had on the market as tilting the field in his favor. "If you're Goldman Sachs, or GE or Procter & Gamble, you can't play, which we don't mind,” he said. “I don't mind barriers in the marketplace. It keeps some of the competition out." Daneshrad started his real estate company, Starpoint Properties, about 30 years ago in his sister’s garage. It has since grown into a $1 billion portfolio of apartments and commercial space. His vehicle for cannabis investing, Stargreen Capital, is a subsidiary of the original business, drawing on the same assets, investors and expertise. Alongside Privateer Holdings in Seattle, Stargreen is one of a handful of U.S. companies that can credibly claim to be investing tens of millions of dollars in legal weed. "We're unique from the standpoint that our capital is raised and in place,” Daneshrad said in his penthouse office, near an enormous sneaker that once belonged to Shaq. “We're a 30-year-old firm. It's not like we're entering the market de novo." The firm is looking to invest up to $15 million in companies that "have a mindset to really get aggressive and capture market share," Daneshrad said. "Our deployment of capital will be quick and swift. We just need to find the opportunities." Cannabis companies are looking for some green cash to help grow their bud business. Also this week, a wealthy Florida personal injury lawyer and cannabis activist, John Morgan, said he was “prepared” to invest $100 million in the industry. Evidently, Sessions doesn’t have everyone scared.

These are photos from Joe Dunaway's Grow For Me model kit. The perfectly detailed Little Shop of Horrors' Audrey II has a moving mouth but remember: Don't Feed the Plants. More photos at Dunaway's site.

The Department of Transportation’s payouts to states for work done under the 2009 economic stimulus law went above $28.4 billion as of May 20, the government reported, a $241 million increase from a week earlier. So far in 2011, the DOT disbursed nearly $3.7 billion in payments for transportation infrastructure projects, out of its funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It was authorized $48.1 billion in all, so it has nearly $20 billion left to spend. Almost all the remaining funds are already spoken for, either in projects already under way or those planned with backing from ARRA obligations. The DOT reimburses states to pay off project bills for design, materials and labor once a project is completed, but the work can start soon after funds are formally obligated. The Federal Highway Administration, which is handling most of the DOT’s stimulus projects, said 13,300 road or bridge projects were approved and more than 8,200 have been completed. Another 4,700 are currently under way. Stimulus projects through other DOT agencies range from intercity passenger rail expansions to freight rail intermodal terminals, airport runway improvements to marine highway services. -- Contact John D. Boyd at jboyd@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @jboydjoc.

This earning of the logo is simply another tool the Dolphins are using to try to establish a team culture — yes, still — that should have everyone within the organization understanding there is no entitlement allowed here. That’s it. That’s all this is. Gase wants everyone thinking logos have to be earned. Starting positions have to be earned. Snaps have to be earned. Days off have to be earned. If players haven’t gotten the message by now, there are problems because reminders about how they have to earn practically everything are everywhere. When rookies first reported to the Dolphins’ facility about a month ago, the first thing they heard from Gase was a speech about how they had earned nothing by being drafted. Being drafted was what they earned by playing up to a certain level in college. And now, on their first day on the job in South Florida, it was time to start earning their … spot on the roster, reputation, respect and place on the depth chart. Last season when Andre Branch, making about $2 million, played better than Mario Williams, making about $8 million, the team benched Williams and played Branch. When $7-million-per-year Byron Maxwell was not playing up to standards in the first month of the season, the Dolphins benched him for Tony Lippett even though the second-year cornerback clearly wasn’t ready and was making about $525,000. Receiver Leonte Carroo was drafted in the third round last season and cost the Dolphins three draft picks in a trade. And by the end of the year, coaches put undrafted rookie receiver Rashawn Scott on the game day roster while Carroo was inactive for the final three games. The Dolphins drafted Laremy Tunsil in the first round last season. Coaches knew, without a doubt, he would be their starting left guard when the season began. They knew this. But when training camp began, Tunsil opened at the bottom of the depth chart and was told to work his way up if he could. This year, defensive end Charles Harris is the first-round draft pick. Coaches know he’s going to play a lot of pass-rush snaps immediately because he’s already showing signs of being a premier pass rusher. You think anyone has told Harris that? Harris has no clue what the plan is for him, and he’s working as a reserve player during OTA drills because he has to earn his snaps. The Dolphins’ war on entitlement is not limited to spots on the roster or starting jobs or playing time. Obviously, some players have already earned those. In the spring of 2016, star safety Reshad Jones believed he had earned a new contract extension. And when he didn’t get it, Jones stayed away from the voluntary portion of offseason conditioning and OTAs. The Dolphins refused to reward Jones for staying away from workouts because they believed it sent a message they were rewarding a player who felt entitled. Jones didn’t get his $60 million contract extension with $35 million in guaranteed money until this spring — one year later. The same rules are currently in play for receiver Jarvis Landry. He’s already earned his spot on the roster, his starting job, his respect within the organization. He deserves a contract extension. But the Dolphins weren’t going to give him one if he didn’t report to the voluntary offseason work this spring. Or if he skipped OTAs or the upcoming minicamp. Landry has not only had to play right during the season but act right in the offseason to earn his extension. Landry has responded well, showing up to everything. And so far he and the team are on course on the contract front. Why this approach? Why such an all-out assault on entitlement when it seems some from the current generation of millennials that make up the roster want success served on a plate? The reason is Gase and the Dolphins face a stiff challenge when the coming regular season comes. It is human nature that following a good season in which the team made the playoffs, some players might think taking another step will come easier. Some might think taking the next step is promised. Well, the NFL does not entitle 2016 playoff teams to make the 2017 postseason.

Lazaro Collazo, the former University of Miami pitching coach and one of seven defendants in the federal Biogenesis case, was formally arraigned Tuesday in Miami federal court, where he entered a not guilty plea. Collazo has been charged by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida with one count of conspiracy to distribute testosterone. Suspended Yankee Alex Rodriguez's cousin, Yuri Sucart, and Biogenesis founder Anthony Bosch are also defendants, and Bosch has agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with the feds. Collazo appeared before Magistrate Judge Barry Garber Tuesday, and Garber signed a standing discovery order, which permits the defendant to view the government's evidence. U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia Altonaga is overseeing the case and ordered the criminal trial to begin Sept. 22, but Collazo's attorney, Frank Quintero Jr., told the Daily News that he will likely argue for a motion of continuance at the Sept. 16 calendar call. "My offices just got a bill for discovery that was $2,600, and it is for 120 CDs," said Quintero. "If the judge wants to deny the motion, she can deny it." Collazo posted a $50,000 bond last week when he surrendered to authorities. Collazo was never jailed and is free unless he violates any of the bond conditions. During the U.S. Attorney's press conference announcing the arrests and charges Aug. 5, prosecutor Wifredo Ferrer labeled Collazo "a customer of Bosch's who recruited high school athletes and other individuals" for Bosch at the now defunct Biogenesis anti-aging clinic. The Drug Enforcement Administration special agent, Mark Trouville, went further, saying Collazo represented a "particularly disturbing part of this investigation." "He utilized his close to 30 years involvement in South Florida baseball. He used these connections to actively recruit underage high school athletes for Mr. Bosch," said Trouville. Quintero said that he had spoken with one of the prosecutors, who told him the government has no evidence that Collazo provided performance-enhancing drugs, illegal medication or banned substances to professional baseball players. A-Rod was one of 14 players (Major Leaguers and minor leaguers) suspended by baseball commissioner Bud Selig last year in connection with baseball's investigation. Rodriguez's suspension is for the entire 2014 season.

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION) In a statement made before departing the White House for California, President Obama said the attack on a South Carolina church, where nine people died, is a tragedy. He said "There is something particularly heartbreaking about the death happening in a place in which we seek solace and we seek peace." Police say the suspected shooter, identified as Dylann Roof, was brought into custody on Thursday (June 18). He's accused of killing nine people in a historic African-American church including a black state senator, in an attack the U.S. Department of Justice called a hate crime. "We don't have all of the facts, but we do know, once again, innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun... it is in our power to do something about it," Obama said.

The 25-year-old has been in fine form for the Reds since he moved from Inter Milan back in 2013. Pele said to Marca: “No. You don't necessarily have to change teams all the time to prove you are good. Coutinho is currently on international duty with Brazil but is expected to return to Liverpool later this week. Jurgen Klopp will then have to decide whether to re-introduce the midfielder to his squad immediately or not. The Reds return to Premier League action on Saturday when they travel to the Etihad to take on Manchester City. Pele also thinks Neymar was right to leave Barcelona for PSG this summer. He added: “At the moment the best player in Brazil is Neymar and I think the move for him was very good because there was huge competition with Messi at Barcelona. “I think it's a good opportunity for him and he needed to move because now he can really play and show what he's capable of.

An elderly man with believed ties to neo-Nazi groups opened fire today at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, killing one guard. James W. Von Brunn, 88, who hails from Maryland, reportedly entered the museum shortly before 1 p.m. EDT, took out what appeared to be a rifle and fired at a security guard. Two other security guards returned fire, striking the shooter, according to reports. A third person was injured from flying glass. One of the security guards, Stephen Tyrone Johns, died after being taken to nearby George Washington University Hospital. The museum, which immediately closed its doors to the public, said it will remain closed Thursday in honor of Johns. A popular tourist destination with 1.7 million visitors per year, the Holocaust Memorial Museum is located on the National Mall, near the Washington Monument and the White House. The gunman's car was found parked near the museum by police who said that the vehicle was filled with explosives. The museum normally has guards positioned inside and outside the building. Visitors must pass through metal detectors and have their bags screened after passing through the lobby, where the shooting took place. Von Brunn created an anti-Semitic website called Holy Western Empire, which had been taken down by this afternoon. Read the full L.A. Times story about the shooting here.

“I don’t remember how it all started,” says Anna Rekhviashvili, the international grand marshal of this year’s WorldPride Parade, when asked how she became a human rights activist in her home country of Georgia. At age 26, the former journalist has ended up right in the middle of the high-stakes battle over the place of LGBT people in the former Soviet country. Anna Rekhviashvili , an activist from the country of Georgia, is International Grand Marshal. Rekhviashvili became interested in LGBTQ issues while getting her M.A. in gender studies at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. When she returned to Tbilisi, her hometown and the capital of Georgia, she started collaborating with a group of people who were establishing a new LGBT human rights organization. Launched three years ago, Identoba has become Georgia’s largest and most visible LGBT organization. As director of Identoba’s community centre, Rekhviashvili works to create safe spaces for LGBT people to meet, and reaches out to other institutions, such as universities, to give a better understanding of LGBT issues. “I’m passionate and I genuinely care. It’s what I love to do,” she says in a telephone call from Stockholm, Sweden, where she was meeting with other human rights organizations before her arrival in Toronto. Almost 23 years after Georgia’s transition to democracy and 14 years after the country legalized homosexuality, pro-Russian sentiment in some quarters of Georgian society, which looks favourably on Vladimir Putin’s demonization of LGBT people, is combining with the strong influence of the Georgian Orthodox Church to make life hard for them. When the government moved to include sexual orientation and gender identity in a new anti-discrimination bill, conservatives attacked the draft bill, claiming it would threaten Georgian national values. “Even the parliamentarians would make homophobic comments when they were defending the bill,” says Rekhviashvili. The law was finally adopted in May, and, at least in part because of the efforts of Identoba, its preamble includes sexual orientation and gender identity. But the legislation provides no mechanism to act against cases of discrimination. “The law is not actually effective to implement. That part is very weak and we have to see if it will become functional in the next few years. We have to work on that,” says Rekhviashvili. Social attitudes in Georgia are proving even harder to change. This year, LGBT activists abandoned efforts to rally on May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, which commemorates the day in 1990 when homosexuality was removed from the International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization. Last year, thousands of anti-gay counter-protesters, including orthodox Christian priests, surrounded a few dozen LGBT activists in Tbilisi’s Pushkin Park, attacking marchers and tearing up their placards. Dozens of people were injured and the police were criticized for failing to protect the LGBT marchers. “It was a terrible day, really,” says Rekhviashvili, who was one of the organizers. This year, while LGBTQ activists kept a low profile on May 17, anti-gay protesters took to downtown Tbilisi with a poster proclaiming “Homosexuality is a sin and pathology;” “Stop filthy LGBT propaganda!” and “May 17 is Family Values Day.” The following day, LGBT activists left more than 100 shoes in Pushkin Square to represent all the people who had been silenced. As she leads the June 29 WorldPride parade in Toronto, Rekhviashvili will be joined by all seven previous international grand marshals. The international grand marshal program was established in 2007 as an effort to use the parade to draw attention to the struggles of LGBT people around the world who may not be able to celebrate Pride themselves. Happy to lead the parade and act as a global ambassador for LGBT rights during the WorldPride festival, Rekhviashvili is especially eager to meet her peers from other countries. “We will have a lot to talk about,” she says.

(Reuters Health) - Infants who get a taste of eggs and peanuts starting when they're as young as 4 months old may have a lower risk of developing allergies to those foods than babies who try them later, a research review suggests. With eggs, giving babies that first spoonful between 4 and 6 months was associated with 46 percent lower odds of egg allergies than waiting to introduce this food later. For peanuts, offering infants a sample between 4 and 11 months was associated with 71 percent lower odds of peanut allergies than waiting longer. These findings suggest that for most babies, eggs and peanuts should be among their first foods, said senior study author Dr. Robert Boyle, a pediatric allergy researcher at Imperial College London. But that's not what many doctors recommend, he said. Feeding guidelines have moved away from telling parents to avoid introducing some foods that can cause allergies until kids are 2 or 3 years old, but most recommendations still stop short of urging parents to give babies eggs and peanuts early in life. "Infant feeding advice may need to change," Boyle said by email. To see how the timing of babies' introduction to certain allergenic foods influences their risk of allergies, Boyle and colleagues reviewed data from 146 studies published over the past 70 years. When 5.4 percent of the population has egg allergies, early introduction could avoid 24 cases for every 1,000 people, a review of data from five of those studies with 1,915 participants found. For peanuts, when about 2.5 percent of the population has allergies, early introduction could avoid 18 cases for every 1,000 people, a review of data on 1,550 participants found. Researchers didn't find enough evidence to determine whether early introduction of fish might reduce the likelihood of allergies in general and nasal allergies in particular. They also looked at whether giving babies gluten early might increase the risk of celiac disease. But the timing of gluten introduction didn't have any impact on whether kids developed celiac disease. In addition, researchers found no evidence that the timing of introduction of allergenic foods like eggs, peanuts and fish influenced the odds of developing other autoimmune disorders such as type 1 diabetes. One limitation of the analysis is that individual studies had different designs and populations, making it hard to draw broad conclusions that could apply to all children, the authors note in JAMA September 20. Most infant feeding guidelines consider exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months to be ideal, but few women meet that goal, and many who do breastfeed their babies for six full months still introduce solids starting around age 4 months. Early introduction of potentially allergenic foods may not be a panacea in preventing allergies, Dr. Matthew Greenhawt, a researcher at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora writes in an accompanying editorial. Still, for most children, parents probably don't need to consult a doctor before introducing these foods, Greenhawt said by email. "Most children are not at risk for developing food allergy and thus, they wouldn't need any specific intervention or supervision," Greenhawt said. The picture is different for kids who have a high risk of developing food allergies, which can include children with severe eczema, an existing food allergy or a sibling with a peanut allergy. At-risk kids should be seen by a doctor or allergy specialist before parents introduce foods that can trigger an allergic reaction, Greenhawt added. The current research review doesn't address how much egg or peanut to give kids, or how often, for optimal allergy prevention, Boyle noted. The current study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that early introduction of eggs and peanuts can help at least some children develop a tolerance to these foods who would otherwise be allergic, said Dr. Sandra Hong, an allergist at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio who wasn't involved in the study. "I do think that the findings suggest a need to consider changes to clinical practice," Hong said by email. "Food allergies have the potential to result in life-threatening reactions."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a surprisingly pragmatic case for legalizing marijuana during the Economist magazine’s Canada Summit in Toronto on Wednesday. When conference participant Alan Gertner said that “Canada could be to cannabis as France is to wine,” noting the possible economic and revenue boosts and job potential from pot legalization, Trudeau offered a different rationale for legalization — a focus on regulation. The Canadian leader noted that he had two guiding principles in his push for legalizing pot that focused on reducing harm as opposed to maximizing benefits: to minimize underage access to marijuana and to reduce criminal activity surrounding illegal marijuana trade. “I have no doubt that Canadians and entrepreneurs will be tremendously innovative in finding ways to create positive economic benefits from the legalization and control of marijuana, but our focus is on protecting kids and protecting our streets,” Trudeau said. In January, Trudeau took first steps towards legalizing marijuana in Canada with a mandate letter to create a legal framework for it.

Why is Big 12’s best game of the year buried on Fox schedule, in favor of middling Big Ten matchup? Fox has Oklahoma-Oklahoma State is in the afternoon, while Michigan-Minnesota is in prime time. The 6.4 overnight was Fox's best regular-season college football rating ever, and their best non-bowl rating other than the 2013 Big Ten Championship Game. She took two great photos before Karan Higdon ran into her. Jim Harbaugh's Michigan is now literally a content generation program. Not a good start to Fox's new Big Ten deal. That's a pretty bad mix-up. The next in-season all-access Amazon documentary will be an eight-episode series on Michigan football, premiering in January 2018. Michigan denied a roster request and then said they'd have to look for a list of scholarship athletes. This is not something you see every day from either side of the exchange. You don't see the Michigan to Ohio State switch much! Michigan's coach hates the idea of playing on Friday nights. Austin Hatch was involved in two small-plane crashes, losing his parents and siblings.

GRAPHIC: A Syrian rebel is shot in the leg by a Syrian Arab Army soldier during a firefight. Looks like it may have been an indirect shot as is appears to ricochet off the wall. What do you think?

UPCOMING musician Farai Nyamushamba (20) has slammed politicians who exploit young people for political gains in his new track titled Zimbabwe, which is part of a four-track extended play (EP) titled To the Empire. Nyamushamba told NewsDay Life & Style that he named the track Zimbabwe, which is set to be released tomorrow, to express his patriotism. He condemned politicians for allegedly causing the deaths of seven people during the August 1 shootings in post-election violence in Harare. “This track is a call for people to exhibit patriotism politically, economically or socially. The love for one another is an act of patriotism, but when politicians play games, sacrificing youths like what happened on August 1, that’s exploitation,” he said. Nyamushamba, whose stage name is PHiL NixX, also slammed the recent hiking of prices of basic commodities as exemplifying lack of patriotism. “I love my country and it hurts me to see fellow Zimbabweans taking the unpatriotic route. Right now we are trying to build our country (but) prices of commodities have been hiked. How can we achieve this when we are fighting ourselves? Price hikes affect the common people,” he said. He said the track was all-encompassing and a social outcry that simultaneously carried the message of hope. “It advocates for reformation at individual level to nation and lays the path for fellow Zimbabweans,” he said. The forthcoming EP also carries the tracks My People, Wakapenga and Never Take featuring Tony Fresh.

Less than a month after its release, the Apple Watch has gotten an OS update with performance improvements, bug fixes and new language support. Watch OS 1.0.1 improves performance for Siri and for health and activity tracking, according to Apple Insider. It also includes display support for new emoji characters and new language support for Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, Russian, Thai and Turkish. Issues involving accessibility and third-party apps are also addressed. The Apple Watch released on April 24 and Watch OS 1.0.1 marks its first software update.

Quentin Tarantino, the writer and director of “Django Unchained,” narrates a scene from his movie. “It’s better than ‘Lincoln,’ ” my teenage daughter said, as the end credits rolled at a screening of Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained.” She was teasing me — it’s a sad fact of my life that some of the people I’m fondest of do not seem to share my fondness for Steven Spielberg’s latest movie — but also suggesting an interesting point of comparison. “Lincoln” and “Django Unchained,” the one a sober historical drama and the other a wild and bloody live-action cartoon, are essentially about different solutions to the same problem. You could almost imagine the two films, or at least their heroes, figuring in the kind of good-natured, racial-stereotype humor that used to be a staple of stand-up comedy (and was memorably parodied on “The Simpsons”): “white guys abolish slavery like this” (pass constitutional amendment); “but black guys, they abolish slavery like this” (blow up plantation). A more substantive contrast might be drawn between the approaches of two filmmakers — both steeped in the history of popular cinema and both brilliant craftsmen whose skill inspires admiration, as well as a measure of suspicion — to a subject full of pain and fraught with peril. Mr. Spielberg, in his ambitious, history-minded projects, hews to the proud (though sometimes mocked) tradition of the Hollywood A picture, in which big themes are addressed with appropriately sweeping visual and emotional gestures. Mr. Tarantino finds inspiration in what are still frequently seen as less reputable genres and styles: Asian martial arts movies, spaghetti westerns, blaxploitation. Not that you need, at this point, to choose. Among Mr. Tarantino’s achievements has been his successful argument that the maligned and neglected B movies of the past should be viewed with fresh eyes and unironic respect. His own tributes to the outlaw, outsider film tradition — flamboyant in their scholarly care and in their bold originality — have suggested new ways of taking movies seriously. “Django Unchained” is unabashedly and self-consciously pulpy, with camera moves and musical cues that evoke both the cornfed westerns of the 1950s and their pastafied progeny of the next decade. (The title comes from a series of Italian action movies whose first star, Franco Nero, shows up here in a cameo.) It is digressive, jokey, giddily brutal and ferociously profane. But it is also a troubling and important movie about slavery and racism. As such, “Django Unchained” is obviously a companion to “Inglourious Basterds,” in which Mr. Tarantino had the audacity to turn the Nazi war against the Jews into the backdrop for a farcical, ultraviolent caper. He did not simply depart from the facts of history, inventing, in the title characters, a squad of mostly Jewish-American killers led by a United States Army lieutenant from Tennessee; he rewrote the past in the vivid, visceral language of film fantasy. The point of “Inglourious Basterds” was not to engage in counterfactual speculation about a successful plot to kill Hitler, but rather to carry out a vicarious, belated and altogether impossible form of revenge, using the freedom of cinematic make-believe to even the score. Like “Inglourious Basterds,” “Django Unchained” is crazily entertaining, brazenly irresponsible and also ethically serious in a way that is entirely consistent with its playfulness. Christoph Waltz, who played the charming, sadistic SS officer Hans Landa in “Basterds,” here plays Dr. King Schultz, a charming, sadistic German bounty hunter (masquerading as an itinerant dentist) whose distaste for slavery makes him the hero’s ally and mentor. Over time the traditional roles of white gunslinger and nonwhite sidekick are reversed, as the duo’s mission shifts from Schultz’s work to the rescue of Django’s wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington). After the couple tried to run away from their former plantation together, they were whipped and branded (the horrific punishment is shown in flashback), and Broomhilda was sold. Django and Schultz’s search for her leads them to Candyland, a Mississippi estate whose debonair master, Calvin Candie, is played with almost indecent flair by Leonardo DiCaprio. Candie is assisted in his savagery by Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), a house slave who may be the most shocking invention in “Django Unchained.” He is an Uncle Tom whose servility has mutated into monstrosity and who represents the symbolic self Django must destroy to assert and maintain his freedom. The plot is, by Mr. Tarantino’s standards, fairly linear, without the baroque chronology of “Pulp Fiction” or the parallel story lines of “Inglourious Basterds.” But the movie does take its time, and it wanders over a wide expanse of geographic and thematic territory. In addition to Mr. Tarantino’s trademark dialogue-heavy, suspense-filled set pieces, there are moments of pure silliness, like a gathering of hooded night riders (led by Don Johnson), and a late escapade (featuring Mr. Tarantino speaking in an Australian accent) that perhaps owes more to Bugs Bunny than to any other cultural archetype. Of course, the realm of the archetypal is where popular culture lives, and Mr. Tarantino does not hesitate to train his revisionist energies on some deep and ancient national legends. Like many westerns, “Django Unchained” latches onto a simple, stark picture of good and evil, and takes homicidal vengeance as the highest — if not the only — form of justice. But in placing his story of righteous payback in the Old South rather than the Wild West, and in making its agent a black former slave, Mr. Tarantino exposes and defies an ancient taboo. With the brief and fascinating exception of the blaxploitation movies and a few other works of radical or renegade art, vengeance in the American imagination has been the virtually exclusive prerogative of white men. More than that, the sanctification and romanticization of revenge have been central to the ideology of white supremacy. Broomhilda and Django certainly fit those roles, and yet the roles, historically, were not intended for them. Some abolitionist works like “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” could paint slavery as a form of captivity, but the canonical captives of antebellum American literature were white women kidnapped by Indians, who after the Civil War were often replaced by freed slaves as objects of superstitious terror. The idea that regenerative violence could be visited by black against white instead of the reverse — that a man like Django could fill out the contours of the hunter — has been almost literally unthinkable. But think about that when the hand-wringing starts about “Django Unchained” and ask yourself why the violence in this movie will suddenly seem so much more problematic, so much more regrettable, than what passes without comment in “Jack Reacher” or “Taken 2.” Mr. Tarantino is a virtuoso of bloodshed, that is for sure, and also more enamored of a particularly toxic racial slur than any decent white man should be. But decency in the conventional sense is not his concern, though in another sense it very much is. When you wipe away the blood and the anarchic humor, what you see in “Django Unchained” is moral disgust with slavery, instinctive sympathy for the underdog and an affirmation (in the relationship between Django and Schultz) of what used to be called brotherhood. So maybe it’s not so different from “Lincoln,” after all. And if “Django Unchained” is not better, it is arguably more radical, both as cinema and as (fanciful) history. A double feature might be just the thing, if you have five and a half hours to spare. By any means necessary! “Django Unchained” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). Grisly violence (both comical and horrible); vile language (ditto).

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Never has pink and brown so perfectly blended together as when 3,500 female participants walked, jogged and ran in support of cancer awareness in the Dirty Girl Mud Run at MacNair Farms near Raleigh on March 23. The non-competitive 5k challenge took brightly colored teams of runners through various womanly themed obstacles - utopian tubes (an 8-foot high wall) and PMS (Pretty Muddy Stuff), for example - and placed them squarely into the thick of the mud. The Dirty Girl organization has already raised more than $500,000 this year for cancer research related to women's health issues. It holds events in major U.S. cities with a travelling, carnival-like atmosphere as large steel and inflatable structures, complete with pink mud troughs, dot the landscape. Twelve events are placed around a 5k route, and staggered starts keep racers moving all day long. The Raleigh event drew participants from all over the Carolinas and Virginia. Motivated participants moved through physical hurdles while they thought of those overcoming challenges with a disease. "Cancer has touched all of us at some time," said Erin Bruner of Sanford. "I can't pass on a 5k, and the proceeds benefit crucial research." The run started on the cool side, as some obstacles had iced over in the sub-30 degree weather the night before. "The ice in the mud pits was a problem and we had to get rid of a few obstacles for safety reasons," said Amy Lessner, race organizer for Dirty Girl. "The venue was great with the wide-open spaces here on the edge of Raleigh, but we are always at the mercy of the weather." Some runners desired more dirt and grime as they pounded the horse pastures, saying they looked forward to a complete head-to-toe mud bath. The Dirty Dancing obstacle provided much of the initial christening into the muck, as participants climbed a huge slide the ended in a slurry mess. Even that wasn't enough to satisfy the diehards. "I could have done with much more mud," said Cozy Teasley, a Fayetteville resident. Teasley's crew from Fort Bragg, named Chocolate Fyah, participated for the first time in this event and plans to do more in the future. "This is a great cause, but you have to get down and dirty as this is no time to be cute." This event is not intended for only the most athletic people, as participants of many walks of life and differing fitness levels come out to move against cancer. "You really can't train for this sort of thing and there is no time limit," Teasley said. "The most important thing is to get off your rear and do something."

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Derek Carr knew there would be growing pains adjusting to a new offense for the Oakland Raiders under coach Jon Gruden. The surprising part for Carr and the Raiders is instead of showing steady progress throughout the year, the offense instead has regressed. The Raiders (1-8) head into Sunday’s game at Arizona (2-7) having gone back-to-back games without a touchdown for the first time since 2012, with the nine combined points in losses to San Francisco and the Chargers marking the lowest two-game output for Oakland since 2009. “It gets frustrating because I know how hard some of our guys work and you expect it to continue to go this way,” Carr said about the early season progress that hasn’t been maintained. “But this league, it’s tough man, and it’ll humble some guys really quick. … When you turn the film on it’s like, dang, if I just had that, or if I just would have checked to this or done this. The Raiders will try to improve the production this week despite possibly missing several key pieces on offense. Receiver Martavis Bryant is out at least a couple of weeks with a knee injury and receiver Jordy Nelson didn’t practice Wednesday with a knee injury that has put his status in doubt this week. Oakland already is without injured running back Marshawn Lynch, who is on injured reserve with a groin injury, and traded away No. 1 receiver Amari Cooper last month to Dallas. That will likely give an opportunity this week to rookie Marcell Ateman, who began the year on the practice squad and has been inactive since getting promoted to the 53-man roster last month. Undrafted rookie Saeed Blacknall was promoted from the practice squad Wednesday and also could play a role. Carr has been impressed with Ateman’s hard work at practice and attention to detail. “One thing that really stuck out is during games, he’ll come up to me and ask questions, not in a bothersome way or anything like that just, ‘Hey, what did you see here? What if they ran the route like this?'” Carr said. Ateman showed flashes in training camp, as he was able to use his size and jumping ability to make contested catches even when going up against the first team. Ateman said the past few months of practice have made him even more ready to perform on Sunday. NOTES: C Rodney Hudson (ankle), G Kelechi Osemele (knee), CB Gareon Conley (ankle), CB Daryl Worley (shoulder) and LB Kyle Wilber (knee) were all limited in practice. … The Raiders also signed WRs Rashard Davis and WR ArDarius Stewart to the practice squad.

It has been revealed that Graham Norton broke the BBC’s rules by wearing an AIDS ribbon on his late night chat show at the end of last month. Norton was told by station bosses “repeatedly” that he was not allowed to wear the World Aids Day red ribbon on The Graham Norton Show – broadcast on November 29 – but decided to anyway, reports The Guardian. BBC bosses have now criticised the host and and his production company So Television for breaching their guidelines.

September 11, 1959: The Mercury Capsule dropped in free-flight within Langley’s Spin Tunnel so researchers could observe how it gyrated and tumbled during descent. The Spin Tunnel remains in use today to study aerodynamics during unconventional maneuvers. NASA’s Langley Research Center is home to the Spin Tunnel, a chamber designed to simulate descent conditions to test scale models of planetary capsules. The chamber was built as part of escalating attempts to properly investigate the aerodynamics tailspin. The 20-foot free-fall spin tunnel replaced an earlier catapult that damaged fragile models, a 5-foot tunnel driven by an electric motor, and a shorter 15-foot free-fall spin tunnel. At the start of each test, a technician hand-launched the model into the tunnel while an operator continually tweaks airflow so the model flutters at eye level. The model’s control surfaces were shifted by clockwork into anti-spin settings, with researchers noting its spin characteristics, resistance to tumbling, and recovery from out-of-control behaviour. When the test was completed, the operator decreased the windspeed until the model gently settled into a large net covering the tunnel’s floor. Since the 20-foot spin tunnel started operations in 1941, it’s been continuously testing aircraft models. Testing included everything from simulating the sticky descent through thick atmosphere of Pioneer Venus probe in the 1970s through the countless Mars spacecraft burning through the barely-there atmosphere of the red planet. The tunnels are also used for the aerodynamics of slowing these craft down in more controlled situations, testing drogue parachute design for the Mercury capsules up to the modern Orion capsule. The tunnel is a 12-sided test chamber stretching 6 meters (20 feet) in diameter and 7.6 meters (25 feet) tall. The vertically rising airstream varies from 0 to 26 meters (85 feet) per second, driven by a 3-bladed fan powered by a 400 horsepower direct current motor. The tunnel has been used to test over 600 aircraft, spacecraft, capsules, munitions, and parachute systems.

The first week didn't bother me - quite the opposite: I thought it might just slow the onset of the drinker's puffy face and broken thread veins of which I live in terror. The second week made me a little nervous, though. And in the third, when, despite exerting myself considerably, I still couldn't find a glass of wine that interested me even half as much as a cup of tea, I went into tailspin. It was only when a colleague made a sniffy remark about my lunchbox and its contents (two homemade cheese scones) that I realised what was going on: I have recession-itis. This chameleon-like condition, whereby the sufferer adapts to find increased austerity a pleasure not a sacrifice, is not necessarily a bad thing. I had never imagined my appetite might be so pathetically influenced by fashion: what I now crave are not unusual or detailed or rhapsodic or even very interesting wines, but either no wine at all, or a cheap, hearty red that feels cosily inexpensive and serves like a fuel against the recession and winter. I am not the only one changing my habits. According to Tesco's Dan Jago, 200,000 households who this time last year were buying wine, at least sporadically, at the supermarket have now given it up. "It's a discretionary purchase, so some people are cutting it out. Others are being less aspirational - not so long ago, people were adventurously switching from merlot to ribera del duero; now they're hunkering back down to the basics. I think any shop trying to trade on aspiration alone is going to walk very hard into a large wall." Recession apart, if the pound's position against the euro does not improve, we may see still more shifts in our vinous landscape. "Just thinking about it makes me go all cold and shivery," says Jago. Like many other shops, Tesco buys most of its wine in local currency; as a result wine from France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the like now costs them at least 40% more than it did a few months ago. The pound's slide against the dollar has not helped, either. Reading between the lines, we can expect to see fewer promotions on wines from such countries, as a way of masking any price rises, and new cuvées and producers turning up to fill gaps left by wines that can't reasonably be sold for less than a fiver, say. Such a climate "makes South Africa look very good value", says Jago. Virgin's Andrew Baker concurs: "With only one major currency, the rand, even vaguely presentable, I think our business model will have to change to accommodate the calamitous state of the pound." The effects may take some time to feed through, but in the meantime here's a handful of respectable, sturdy - but not boring - reds for hard times: Merlot Vin de Pays de la Cité de Carcassonne 2007, France (£3.99, Sainsbury's; 13% abv), which sings with the scent of currant leaves and deserves a stout tumbler; Terra Vecchia Merlot-Nielluccio 2007, Corsica (£5.19, Somerfield; 12.5% abv), which is soft and easy, but has a tinge of earthiness courtesy of the native nielluccio; La Sabrosita Old Vines Garnacha 2007, Spain (£4.39, down from £5.49 until January 31, Marks & Spencer; 14.5% abv), which has lovely, spreading perfume and a tiny seasoning of oak; and the spicy, peppery but nicely acidic Pilgrimage Mazuelo 2007, Spain (£6.98, Asda; 14% abv), which I'd drink with slow-roast lamb and date couscous. Ardbeg Ten-Year-Old Single Malt (£27.97, Tesco; £31.99, Oddbins) Tomorrow is Burns Night, but I've been eating haggis and drinking whisky all winter. This smoky Islay single malt is one of the best - it has immaculate balance, and tickles the nostrils like kippers fresh from the smokery.

Sons fan Fraser Clarke shares his views on all the action at Dumbarton FC in his weekly blog for the Lennox Herald. It was difficult to know how to feel after Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Hibernian on Saturday. On one hand Sons had fought valiantly for an unlikely point against the Champions elect, on the other hand they had came within seven minutes of a famous victory, and seen their rivals at the foot of the Championship close right up. Despite last week’s dominant 4-0 victory over Raith Rovers I doubt I was the only one in the 190 strong away support hoping, rather than expecting, to take something from Neil Lennon’s outfit. Arguably Hibs aren’t as good a side as they were last year, however they have quietly gone about building a dominant lead at the top of the table, and that - combined with Sam Stanton’s ineligibility, left Dumbarton’s chances of a result looking very slim. Surprisingly given the dominance of last week’s showing Stevie Aitken made one, unenforced, change to the starting lineup. Tom Lang, who had absolutely strolled his full senior debut against Rovers dropped out, for the suspension free Gregor Buchanan. Unless Lang has picked up an unreported injury I can’t quite understand Aitken’s reasoning for that. The former Rangers defender had to wait for his chance, but he grabbed it with both hands last week producing a hugely impressive showing. He worked well alongside Darren Barr, and the two players complimented each other. Barr as a solid, no-nonsense, centre-half, and Lang as a more modern ball playing defender. Dumbarton players celebrate Robert Thomson's goal to put the away side 2-1 up. I’m not sure what message it sends out either if a player is guaranteed a start when they are available, no matter how strong their replacement’s performance. Buchanan’s selection certainly didn’t weaken the team, but it did look like a strange decision on paper. Hibernian loanee Stanton meanwhile was replaced by Ross McCrorie, making his first start for the club alongside Stuart Carswell in a deep midfield role. The first 35 minutes of the game were very much as expected. Hibs totally dominated proceedings, penned Dumbarton in, and fizzed plenty of dangerous balls into the penalty area. Fortunately Sons defended admirably. The team were perfectly organised, kept their shape and discipline and rarely looked like conceding. On the odd occasion where the Edinburgh side did find gaps in Sons back, erm, ten, Alan Martin was on hand to deny them. The former Hamilton ‘keeper has been Dumbarton’s player of the year this season, no doubt about it, and once again he was producing another highly impressive showing. Keeping (pun intended) him at the club next season would be a massive coup. Martin played a role in the goal that handed the Sons a shock lead too. His colossal clearance was flicked on by Robert Thomson. Actually, that doesn’t do it justice. The soon to be Morton man backheel volleyed the ball, taking all the power and spin off it, straight to Andy Stirling. Dumbarton's Gregor Buchanan (L) and Hibernian's John McGinn in action. It was a sublime piece of play from Thomson, who is suddenly starting to look like the player we thought we had signed in the summer. Stirling drove in side with the ball, before turning back on the byline. As he sized up his options he was needlessly clattered by Marvin Bartley right on the edge of the penalty box. It was a crazy tackle from the experienced former Bournemouth man, and it was one that handed Dumbarton a glorious opportunity to take a shock lead. Only one man was ever going to take the penalty. Christian Nadé has a habit of scoring against the green half of Edinburgh, and he was evidently desperate to add to his collection of goals against Hibernian. As the Sons fans watched through their fingers Nadé was the coolest man in the stadium. He strolled up, sent Ofir Marciano the wrong way, and rolled the ball into the net for his first goal since the opening weekend of February. His pleasure was evident and, as Hibs’ fans stumbled over their seats to abuse the Frenchman, his grin will have made for a potentially iconic photo. Just before half-time Sons could, quite easily, have found themselves two goals up. Darren McGregor conceded a cheap free-kick right on the edge of the area, and from it Daniel Harvie curled the ball inches wide of the post with Marciano beaten. The second period started in a similar way to the first. Hibernian dominated possession, created openings, but failed to find a way past the inspired Martin. First he made a stunning reaction stop to deny James Keatings what looked like a certain goal following strong play from Grant Holt. Before reacting sharply to squeeze a heavily deflected Andrew Shinnie effort inches wide. When Martin was beaten it wasn’t even by a player in green and white. John McGinn ghosted in behind David Smith before smashing a powerful ball into the penalty area, which bounced off the helpless Daniel Harvie and into the net. Most inside the stadium would’ve expected Hibs to kick on and score four or five from that point, however the goal looked to rejuvenate Dumbarton. Dumbarton's Christian Nade (bottom) celebrates his goal with Callum Gallagher. In fact Hibs were level for just five minutes. Nadé demonstrated incredible strength to hold off Efe Ambrose, and flick Martin’s kick into Robert Thomson’s path on the edge of the box. Before anyone had time to admire the header Thomson half-volleyed the ball low beyond Marciano and into the bottom right-hand corner of the net. Was it better than his volley against Raith Rovers last weekend? That’s a matter of opinion, personally I can’t decide. Dumbarton were now half an hour from a hugely famous and memorable victory. In keeping with the frantic nature of the game however the home side were handed a glorious chance to equalise just a further six minutes after falling behind. Referee, Kevin Graham, again pointed to the spot after an alleged infringement by Darren Barr on Grant Holt. It was hard to tell from the other end of the pitch, however it looked similar to the penalty Holt ‘won’ against us earlier in the season. Whether or not it was a penalty proved irrelevant however, as Martin produced another stunning stop - this time to his left - from Keatings’ driven effort. At that moment I started to wonder if, maybe, it could just be our day. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be. As Hibernian continued to force everyone forward they finally managed to get the ball into the net. Martin looked to be fouled by Brian Graham as he attempted to collect a high ball on the edge of the penalty box. As he hit the ground Martin Boyle did enough to squeeze the ball just outwith the reach of Darren Barr, and over the line for a painful late leveller. It was harsh on Martin too, who clearly blamed himself for costing the team a victory. He may well have done something differently if he was given the chance to replay it, however that shouldn’t take away from one of the most impressive goalkeeping performances I’ve seen in a long time. In fact I’d go as far as to say that only Stephen Grindlay’s ‘go-go gadget arms’ performance against Arbroath in the playoffs bettered Martin’s showing on Saturday. Dumbarton's Christian Nade celebrates his goal. He underlined his importance in the dying minutes of the game, with another sensational stop that denied Graham what looked set to be a sickening late winner. It may not have been a memorable victory, however it was certainly a memorable, and potentially vital, point. Unfortunately the scores from around the country leaving the ground couldn’t have been much worse. Raith Rovers, Ayr United and St Mirren had all managed to win (I wonder what the odds would’ve been on that pre-match), meaning that Dumbarton have been sucked right back into the relegation mix. Those scores make next week’s match with Ayr United even more crucial, which makes it especially disappointing that we’ll have to do without two players who, almost certainly, would’ve been starting. Daniel Harvie has cemented the left-back slot this season with a string of hugely impressive showings, whilst Ross McCrorie marked his birthday with his first Sons start. It was an opportunity the on-loan Rangers man seized. He worked well alongside Stuart Carswell in the midfield’s engine room, with tireless running, forceful tackling, pace, and even some impressive footwork for a guy who is naturally a defender. He may have had to wait for his first start, however, Martin aside, he was arguably Sons’ standout performer at Easter Road. The two loanees have both been called up to the Scotland U19 squad for their games against Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Of all the weekends for the matches to fall on, the organisers couldn’t have picked a worse one for Stevie Aitken. I’ve never seen Dumbarton win at Somerset Park. It feels as if that really has to change this weekend if we are to retain our status as a Championship team for a remarkable sixth straight campaign. We’ve yet to beat ‘The Honest Men’ this season, and memories of their 2-2 draw at the Rock in February still haunt me in the night. Revenge for that would be beyond sweet.

Machines are getting good at imitating speech, so soon we won't know who's human and who's not. I had a phone call from a salesman with a monotone voice who said his name was Murray, and then tried to sell me an insurance plan. I refused again and Murray thanked me, then repeated the offer in exactly the same words, in the same flat tone — and I got suspicious. I hung up. I figured I wouldn’t hurt Murray’s feelings because machines don’t have any. As it happens, I’d recently read a story about robo-impersonators in Time magazine, which had investigated a sophisticated popular telemarketer named “Samantha,” who was at least part machine. When pressed by reporters, Samantha’s company said she was a speech-capable machine, but with real human operators sometimes pushing her buttons. Customers who dealt with her were talking to a robot. I heard a recording of Samantha and she was way bubblier than Murray. She even laughed occasionally, in a robotic manner. We’ve worried for decades about robots stealing our jobs in banks and factories. Now, apparently, they’re going after telephone sales. Robots are getting good at imitating human speech, so soon we won’t know who’s a robot and who’s a human. That could get confusing when you’re on the phone begging your bank (robo)manager for a loan, or next time you’re set up for a blind (robo)date. The situation works both ways, because we humans increasingly have to prove we are not robots. That happens when we’re buying stuff online and get asked to decipher those distorted, squiggly letters that say something like Manuakrtc Castle38. Apparently machines have difficulty with distorted letters, so reading them proves I am not a fraudulent robot up to no good. Unfortunately, humans can’t read these letters either after 40, so we go get our glasses and try again. If we’re lucky we identify the third set of letters and get to complete our purchase. It’s pretty weird that in the 21st century our most sophisticated method of proving we are humans is to be able to read bad handwriting. Last week I faced my first one. I was buying something online, but before checkout I had to tick off a box that said “I am not a robot,” and then pass a quiz. It was probably run by a robot, and it showed several small photos. “Which of these are NOT bodies of water,” I was asked. I looked carefully at photos of a lake, canal, ocean, river and a sandy beach with no water. I chose the waterless beach and passed security. But it won’t be long before robots can identify photos of water too — and what then? The trouble is skill-testing questions will fool many people, too, probably more than they do robots. So what else can we do to prove we’re flesh and blood? That raises a deeper question: What makes us human and not robots? How do you know I’m not a robot writing this column, and how do I know you’re not a robot pretending to reading it? What innately human things can we do that robots can’t? Spontaneous, genuine laughter is something only people can do, unlike Samantha the robot. So next time you think a robot is calling, tell it a joke and see if it laughs. Robots don’t have opinions, either. So say: “Hey, whaddya think of that Trump guy?” Any opinion, no matter how idiotic, will prove they’re human. Only humans have curiosity about what you’re saying, unlike Monotonic Murray. Robots don’t wonder about things, or get awed by the stars. They can’t weep uncontrollably in bed at night after a breakup. They don’t even have beds. They can’t feel fear, shame, greed or grief. But how do we test for those? For now we are caught between robots that try to trick us into thinking they are human, while we humans try to prove we are not robots. Who will win? I can’t say for sure. I’m not programmed to know.

Data centre as the computer of the future, IT resources as the next utility, and cloud computing as a source of innovation and competitive advantage. OpenNebula 4.8 Lemon Slice Is Out! Looking for Alternatives to vCloud for Your VMware Infrastructure? Which Are the Top Cited Publications and Authors in Cloud Computing?

Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks as Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Hillary Clinton listens during their first presidential debate at Hofstra University. Sunday night's presidential debate kicks off at 9 p.m. ET at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. The whole affair will cost the university a ton of money — between $4 million and $5 million, to be exact. However, $2 million of that goes directly to the Commission on Presidential Debates, a representative for Washington University told KMOV. The rest of the cost goes to things like security, crowd control, and providing the equipment and space necessary for the hordes of campaign operatives and journalists who descend on the campus. Taylor Reveley, the president of Longwood University — which hosted the vice presidential debate on October 4 — told PBS that the entire affair cost the school around $5.5 million. Reveley said that the money came from specifically earmarked fundraising, and not from students' tuition. While hosting the debates is an expensive endeavor, for these universities, it's all about the pay-off in free advertising. More than 80 million people watched the first presidential debate at Hofstra University, so it's a big opportunity for lesser-known universities to represent their brand. Universities that have hosted presidential debates in the past estimate that it's equivalent to $45 million to $50 million dollars of advertising, as well as a huge opportunity for students to see the democratic process up close. "The general election season is like a Super Bowl buy," Reveley said, per PBS.

About to release their first LP, Winston Audio is a rock band out of Atlanta. If you’re tired of looking for new rock and only finding hipsters and blipsters this is for you. Co-written with her truck-driving husband James after a haul through southern Michigan at dawn, “There’s a Light” straddles gospel and rockabilly…” Spotted at Gorilla Vs Bear. This beat is so nice.

Four-and-a-half years ago everything changed for the Nicholls family. On December 10 2012, 16-year-old Danny Nicholls collapsed and died at his Chorley home. Doctors were unable to explain what caused his death, but it was likely he suffered a seizure. Every year since, on his anniversary and his birthday, the Nicholls family have held charity events in his honour. So far they have raised more than £8,000 and are hoping to smash their £10,000 target by holding one last celebration to mark what would have been his 21st birthday. The fun day will take place on Sunday June 25, at Coppull Leisure Centre, starting at 12.30pm, with stalls, a beer tent, refreshments, trampoline, chocolate and bottle tombolas and a raffle. All funds raised will go towards Derian House Children’s Hospice. Those in attendance will include his parents, Lorraine and Eric, as well as his sisters Louise Brookes and Leanne Clarke, and his nieces and nephews Harry, seven, Isabel, three, Jacob, four, and Max, two. Lorraine says: “We feel it is Danny’s legacy to help people. He was always there to support others, so we want to help people just like he did. Lorraine admits the family is looking forward to the fundraiser on Sunday, but they will find it tough. There will also be events at Danny’s former schools on Monday, June 26 – Danny’s birthday. Lorraine says: “There will be penalty shoot-out at Danny’s former school, Duke Street Primary, in Chorley, where I work as office manager; Southlands High School will hold a non-uniform day and Runshaw College held a collection at the Leyland Festival. Danny was also at Coppull Parish School for a short while and I know they are also doing something for him. I play netball with Chorley Magpies with Whitton Netball League and members will be wearing silly socks during games. I also work in one of the lounges at DW Stadium, so Wigan Warriors are also arranging a collection.

All of which makes Murray the perfect star for Barry Levinson’s vaguely-based-on-a-true-story would-be uplift movie Rock The Kasbah, a comedy that’s openly afraid to seem too sincere or too mawkish, and doesn’t fully commit either to its comedy or its uplift. Like Murray, it’s wry and presented largely in air quotes, with an accompanying eye-roll. Screenwriter Mitch Glazer (who also scripted Scrooged) was inspired by the story of Setara Hussainzada, a Muslim woman who defied the ultra-conservative post-Taliban culture in Afghanistan by singing and dancing on the American Idol equivalent Afghan Star in 2008. In an era following shortly after a complete ban on music or dancing—let alone women entertaining on television—Hussainzada dealt with death threats, extensive personal harassment, and widespread condemnation, as documented in the Sundance-award-winning documentary Afghan Star and its much more intimate follow-up, Silencing The Song. Given such an outspoken, humorous, iconoclastic real-life character, Glazer finds the least interesting possible angle on her story: the question of how her bravery affects a down-on-his-luck American scam artist who hopes to ride her burka-train to glory. Murray plays scammy Van Nuys talent agent Richie Lanz, a divorced deadbeat dad who’s reduced to working out of a low-rent hotel and cheating talentless wannabes for pocket cash. Not that any of this stops him from making up stories of how he discovered Madonna, or urged Stevie Nicks onstage when no one else could. A drunken encounter with a USO booker prompts Richie to take his gal-Friday singer Ronnie (Zooey Deschanel) to Afghanistan on tour: “We’re at war, dude!” the booker crows, when asked whether it’s a lucrative job. “The faucet is open!” But circumstances leave Richie stranded, broke, and without a passport, so he takes on an odd job for a couple of yo-bro ammo merchants (Danny McBride and Scott Caan), which leads him to a remote Pashtun village where a woman named Salima (Leem Lubany) watches Afghan Star and sings to herself in a cave. Naturally, he thinks he’s found his new meal ticket. But mostly, the problem with Rock The Kasbah is that it doesn’t have any sort of consistent idea or ethos, even a consistent goal as minor as “be funny” or “be moving.” It pours on the treacle when Richie deals with his shockingly young daughter, and manages real emotion during the Afghan Star performance scenes, but otherwise, it tends to undercut its would-be serious moments with deadpan gags. Levinson was successfully light and scathing at the same time with Wag The Dog, thanks to a David Mamet script, but his other attempts at topical, timely comedies, like An Everlasting Piece and Man Of The Year, have fallen much flatter. In this case, it’s more the script than the direction: The film’s idea of ultimate hilarity is the craggy, weary-looking Murray in a blonde wig, lipstick, and diaper, tied to a bed. This is a movie about people who believe in their causes—political, cultural, and artistic—enough to kill or die for them, as channeled through a guy who mostly cares about convincing a Blackwater-style mercenary (played with a squint and a shrug by Bruce Willis) that he once dated Danielle Steel. It’s Ishtar with the passion and sincerity replaced with a surface-level shrug.

GALESBURG — Galesburg's boom in electronic gaming has brought a much-needed increase in tax revenue. Before 2012 would-be gamblers had to hit Interstate 74 and drive to the Quad Cities or Peoria to feed money into the nearest slot machines. Since the legalization of local electronic gambling, the number of video gaming terminals in town has grown from 10 machines in a handful of locations to 150 machines in 33 establishments. The relatively easy access to slot machines generated $7.3 million in net terminal income during 2018, which is the difference between the amount of money put in the machines and what is paid out. Essentially, gamblers in Galesburg lost just over $7 million last year. In 2018 the tax revenue generated from video gambling and returned to the city was $366,471. It became part of the city’s $23.2 million general fund. Gamblers lost $2,228,979. The city collected $111,449 in tax revenue off the losses. How significant is the revenue generated from local gaming? And how is it spent? “The revenue from video gaming could be viewed as not significant when you look at the the city’s overall budget, or even seen as a small part of the general fund,” said Gloria Osborn, the city’s director of finance. “But it is by no means insignificant. And the revenue has steadily increased. Osborn said the general fund pays for a variety of services including city council, city manager, legal services, human resources, payment for some of the contractual services such as Prairieland Animal Center and Special Service Area Maintenance property tax collection/disbursement. Further, all financial services for internal and external customers, information services, planning, inspections, engineering, fleet services, some of the street, bridge and sidewalk maintenance, police, school crossing guards, fire, 911 dispatchers and police communications, fire, and emergency services are covered in the general fund. In fact all of the various public safety departments, activities, as well as police and fire pensions accounted for $15.6 million of 2018’s general fund budget of $23.2 million. The city’s administration expects the tax revenue from video gaming to grow in 2019 — it is budgeted at $379,000. By comparison fines are projected to generate $364,940 in revenue, while licenses and permits are slated to generate $341,650. The city’s budget for 2019 stands at roughly $23.7 million, a increase of $500,000 over last year. The growth in tax revenue from gaming is not based on greater expansion in the number of establishments offering gaming machines, but on the continued popularity of gambling in the existing establishments. City Manager Todd Thompson explained which establishments can have machines, and how many machines can be hosted by individual bars, restaurants, or gaming parlors. According to the city liquor code, the best chance to host video gaming terminals is to own a restaurant with a Class D liquor license — there is no limit on the number of Class D licenses the city can grant. There is a limit of 24 Class A licenses, those held by bars or taverns that do not derive significant revenue from food. Gaming parlors are considered Class A-2 liquor permits. Ward 3 Alderman Russell Fleming said he welcomed the legalization of local gaming — and not just for tax revenue. Fleming also would like to see cities across Illinois get a greater share of the tax revenue from video gaming. Currently, the state takes 30 percent of the gambling revenue and gives municipalities 5 percent. Thompson agreed. So did Mayor John Pritchard and Ward 5 Alderman Peter Schwartzman. Schwarzman did have a number of concerns. “Honestly, at first I was shocked by the idea people in Galesburg spent $26 million dollars gambling last year and lost, what, just over $7 million of that? That is a huge amount of money,” he said. “I don’t want to ban gambling, or the machines. “The tax revenue from this gambling really is vital — and I think the cities should get even more of it then what they do now,” Schwartzman said. “And what we know now is gambling is one of the major economic activities in this town. That number — $26 million put in gaming machines. That’s about a quarter of what the entire population of the city spends on food each year.

Stillwater, Okla.- During the homecoming parade Saturday morning a car slammed into the spectators at the intersection of Hall of Fame Ave. and Main St in Stillwater. Adacia Chambers, 25, was driving the car and is in custody under the suspicion of Driving Under the Influence. Her first court appearance could be Monday in Payne County. Investigators are still waiting on toxicology reports. Four people died and dozens injured in the incident. The investigation continues.

Black Canadians who are convicted of crimes should not automatically receive the same special consideration in sentencing as Indigenous offenders, a judge ruled on Monday. But in sentencing Jamaal Jackson, 33, on a gun charge, Ontario Superior Court Justice Shaun Nakatsuru encouraged Canada’s judiciary to give thorough consideration to how racial discrimination may have contributed to the criminality of individual black offenders before them. He then took that history of discrimination − including slavery, which ended in Canada in 1834 − into account in sentencing Mr. Jackson. Although he might appear to be a “caricature” of a hardened criminal, Justice Nakatsuru said, racism and the hardships Mr. Jackson had faced as a black young man had shaped his choices in life. The judge said he believes Mr. Jackson can be rehabilitated. Although Justice Nakatsuru did not go as far as Mr. Jackson’s lawyers had urged him to − by making special consideration mandatory − his ruling reinforces a trend in which criminal-court judges, particularly in Nova Scotia and Ontario, have taken into account racism suffered by black Canadians. “I find that for African Canadians, the time has come where I as a sentencing judge must take judicial notice of such matters as the history of colonialism (in Canada and elsewhere), slavery, policies and practices of segregation, intergenerational trauma and racism both overt and systemic …,” the Toronto judge wrote in his ruling. Judicial notice means judges have accepted something as a fact that offenders do not need to prove. “These social and historical facts are beyond reasonable dispute,” he said, adding that judges have the authority to order that a sentencing report be prepared on the racism and disadvantage experienced by an offender. Mr. Jackson’s lawyers called the ruling’s affirmation of the role race can play in sentencing a major step forward. “This ruling recognizes that in criminal justice, the distinct black experience matters. The mistreatment of black people in criminal sentencing can no longer be ignored,” Emily Lam said. Mr. Jackson had committed crimes since his youth, the judge said. In 2008, as an adult, he committed three robberies, including an armed robbery of a Petro-Canada station, for which he was sentenced to 81 months. He was out for just a few months when police caught him in a public place with a handgun, with a single bullet in its chambers, in his waistband. At the time, he had three lifetime weapons bans against him. A report from a Nova Scotia social worker − Mr. Jackson spent his teens years in Cole Harbour, N.S. − found that he grew up in a community with a well-documented history of racial tension. And his father had been absent while away in the military. The Crown recommended a sentence of 7½ to nine years, plus one year for violating the weapons bans. The defence asked for four years total. Justice Nakatsuru, who began his ruling by quoting from Martin Luther King, and closed with Atticus Finch, the hero of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, sentenced Mr. Jackson to six years in prison, and said the Canadian public still needs to be protected from him. As Atticus Finch told his daughter, “in order to really get to know someone you are judging, you must put yourselves in the shoes of that person,” said Justice Nakatsuru, whose Japanese-Canadian father was interned by Canada during the Second World War. Mr. Jackson, who had listened intently and looked respectfully at Justice Nakatsuru as he read from portions of his ruling, grumbled loudly as a police officer escorted him from the court. The Criminal Code already permits judges to take into account the individual circumstances of any offender when deciding on an appropriate sentence. But it also says judges must pay “particular attention to the circumstances of Aboriginal offenders” in sentencing. Justice Nakatsuru said Parliament had sought to recognize the unique circumstances of Indigenous peoples, although black people, too, are disproportionately incarcerated. Indigenous peoples account for 27 per cent of offenders in federal prison, but just 5 per cent of the Canadian population; black people make up 8.6 per cent of federal prisoners, and just 3 per cent of the overall population. In 2003, the Ontario Court of Appeal declined do what Justice Nakatsuru was now being asked to do, he said, adding that he is bound as a judge to follow the higher court’s edict. But he also said it is unnecessary to treat the two groups in lockstep, because of the flexibility of existing sentencing rules. Justice Nakatsuru cited six cases from Nova Scotia from 2014 to 2017 and a handful of Ontario cases dating back to 2003 in which racial discrimination had been discussed in sentencing offenders.

SAN MATEO (03/13/2000) - THE RISING TIDE of e-business is lifting the hopes of yet another market as application service providers (ASPs) work to expand their offerings to provide a complete e-business platform upon which companies can build, thus avoiding the commoditization that many felt would afflict their industry. What is driving that need to diversify, said Daryl Plummer, vice president of Internet application development at the Gartner Group in Atlanta, is the realization that, in the future, successful applications will have to work across many enterprises and many geographies while providing a core set of functionality, including personalization, commerce capabilities, and support for Web standards. The convergence of those facts will mean ASPs must provide three basic features if they are to survive: an all-encompassing e-business platform, global class computing, and software as services. "Application servers are becoming a commodity, and ASPs have to make themselves into a company that can address those three things or they'll be toast," Plummer said. Two vendors Plummer feels have already done a good job of recognizing the need for such far reaching solutions are Allaire and Bluestone, both of whom have just announced new roadmaps that demonstrate their strategies to meet those demands. Allaire's roadmap calls for a variety of product enhancements and new products that should allow the company to meet most enterprise-level e-business platform needs. The company also announced Monday the latest in a string of acquisitions targeted at stepping up the breadth of products it is able to offer and the speed with which those products are delivered. The difference between this acquisition, though, and the three it carried out last year is that Allaire this time has simply purchased a new technology, Open Sesame, from Bowne Internet Solutions, a Web consultant and developer for the financial services industry. Open Sesame will provide Allaire with profiling and personalization capabilities, two of the features Plummer said are necessary in future solutions and which the company plans to integrate with its Spectra line of packaged applications. Another company riding the e-business wave and pushing itself past the application server bounds is Bluestone, which has also announced an e-business focused roadmap for the coming year, including five new editions of its Total e-Business platform and a new product, Bluestone Syndication Server for Total e-Business. The first Total e-Business Platform offered by the company will be the B2B Edition, which is targeted at companies who wish to expand their supply chain by more easily sharing enterprise information with trading partners. The other four Total e-Business Platforms will be available toward the end of the second quarter. They will include the Application Server Edition and Wireless Edition targeted at providing a platform for companies extending their legacy applications to the Web and wireless worlds respectively. The two most robust Total e-Business Platform offerings will be the B2C and Global Editions, both of which will contain at least fifteen different components. The B2C Edition will be designed to enhance customer interactions over the Web, and include software for customer interaction management, personalization, and marketing interaction management. The Bluestone Total e-Business Platform Global Edition will contain virtually all of Bluestone's technologies and is designed to provide an all-encompassing, Web-enabled e-business platform for enterprise customers. Those last two offerings will be bolstered by the third quarter release of Syndication Server, which is based on the ICE (Internet Content Exchange) standard and designed to automate the integration and coordination of syndicated, business-to-business information between trading partners. Of course, while the roadmap announcements from Allaire and Bluestone demonstrate clear understanding of where the market is headed, and could give the companies a leg up on the competition, the two are far from being alone at sea. In fact, both companies seem to be following in the footsteps of the WebSphere strategy IBM set forth earlier this year whereby Big Blue will begin to package broader solutions on top of its application server. In addition, Plummer said, Microsoft and BEA have positioned themselves well to provide the three-masted ship necessary for sailing the e-business seas, and Oracle is slowly but surely waking up to the notion that they will have to expand their offerings to compete. A dark horse in the race to move beyond the application server, Plummer noted, is the Sun/Netscape Alliance, iPlanet, which currently has all of the pieces required to compete, but has failed to demonstrate a clear vision for delivering them in the way customers need. Allaire Corp., in Cambridge, Mass., is at http://www.allaire.com. Bluestone Software Inc., in Philadelphia, Penn., is at http://www.bluestone.com. Michael Lattig is an InfoWorld senior writer.

It is hard to appreciate the technical challenges involved in putting a man on the moon, but 1960s computer technology played a fundamental role. By today's standards, the IT Nasa used in the Apollo manned lunar programme is pretty basic. But while they were no more powerful than a pocket calculator, these ingenious computer systems were able to guide astronauts across 356,000 km of space from the Earth to the Moon and return them safely. The lunar programme led to the development of safety-critical systems and the practice of software engineering to program those systems. Much of this knowledge gleaned from the Apollo programme forms the basis of modern computing. The lunar mission used a command module computer designed at MIT and built by Raytheon, which paved the way to "fly by wire" aircraft. The so-called Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) used a real time operating system, which enabled astronauts to enter simple commands by typing in pairs of nouns and verbs, to control the spacecraft. It was more basic than the electronics in modern toasters that have computer controlled stop/start/defrost buttons. It had approximately 64Kbyte of memory and operated at 0.043MHz. The instruction manual for the AGC shows the computer had a small set of machine code instructions, which were used to program the hardware to run various tasks the astronauts needed. The AGC program, called Luminary, was coded in a language called Mac, (MIT Algebraic Compiler), which was then converted by hand into assembler language that the computer could understand. The assembler code was fed into the AGC using punch cards. Amazingly, the code listing for the AGC program can be downloaded as a PDF file. There is also an equivalent program for the lunar lander. The AGC was designed to be fault-tolerant and was able to run several sub programs in priority order. Each of these sub programs was given a time slot to use the computer's sparse resources. During the mission the AGC became overloaded and issued a "1202" alarm code. Neil Armstrong asked Mission Control for clarification on the 1202 error. Jack Garman, a computer engineer at Nasa (pictured below, left), who worked on the Apollo Guidance Program Section, told mission control that the error could be ignored in this instance, which meant the mission could continue. Apollo 11 landed a few seconds later. Experts cite the AGC as fundamental to the evolution of the integrated circuit. It is regarded as the first embedded computer. The importance of this computer was highlighted in a lecture by astronaut David Scott who said: "If you have a basket ball and a baseball 14 feet apart, where the baseball represents the moon and the basketball represents the Earth, and you take a piece of paper sideways, the thinness of the paper would be the corridor you have to hit when you come back." While the astronauts would probably have preferred to fly the spacecraft manually, only the AGC could provide the accuracy in navigation and control required to send them to the Moon and return them safely home again, independent of any Earth-based navigation system. Along with the APG, mainframes were also heavily used in the Apollo programme. Over 3,500 IBM employees were involved, (pictured below). The Goddard Space Flight Center used IBM System/360 Model 75s for communications across Nasa and the spacecraft. IBM Huntsville designed and programmed the Saturn rocket instrument unit, while the Saturn launch computer at the Kennedy Space Center was operated by IBM. An IBM System/360 Model 75 was also used at Nasa's Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston. This computer was used by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to calculate lift-off data required to launch the Lunar Module off the Moon's surface and enable it to rendezvous with Command Module pilot Michael Collins for the flight back to Earth. At the time, IBM described the 6Mbyte programs it developed, to monitor the spacecrafts' environmental and astronauts' biomedical data, as the most complex software ever written. Even the simplest software today would far exceed the technical constraints the Apollo team worked under. The Apollo programme was pre-Moores's Law: in 1965 Intel co-founder Gordon Moore wrote his vision of how the performance of computer hardware would double every 18 months for the same price. That a USB memory stick today is more powerful than the computers that put man on the moon is testimony to the relentless pace of technological development encompassed in Moore's Law. However, the Apollo programme proved that computers could be entrusted with human lives. Man and machine worked in unison to achieve something that 40 years on, has yet to be surpassed. Are there really over 3,500 IBM employees in that picture? Amazing. Wow, given that I wasn't even alive back then, that is pretty amazing to think how far computer technology has advanced in mere decades. 64KB on a computer that helped guide people to the moon. It may have been one of the first times that human lives were trusted to a computer, but today there are many lives which that is true of, every day. Just saying this is great information and this helped me write my History Fair paper. It's always been this way. We make astonishing use of the technology at hand, then look back amazed that we did so much with so little. And do it again and again anyway. The wheel, the automobile, the airplane. Nice observation as I totally agree. Makes us in awe of the creative power of humankind. I recently stumbled upon your article on the Apollo Guidance Computer, and frankly, I was horrified about the level of misinformation you present. As an introduction, I’m Frank O’Brien, author of “The Apollo Guidance Computer, Architecture and Operation” (Springer, 2010). Your comments are wrong on so very levels, I’m compelled to address them in detail. In particular, I’m curious mostly about where you obtained your information from? References, please. Hardly. The Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) was a fully multiprogrammed, priority scheduled, fully fault-tolerant computer that was years ahead of its time. I can’t think of many calculators that have a similar capability. Citations, please. The AGC did not pave the way for “fly by wire” aircraft. It was the *original* “fly by wire” vehicle. Indeed, the very first fly by wire aircraft, an F-8 years later, used an Apollo Guidance Computer to control it. "It was more basic than the electronics in modern toasters that have computer controlled stop/start/defrost buttons" Oh really? Since when did a toaster run several programs at once, each with an interface with the user? The AGC provided guidance, navigation and a *digital* autopilot (not to mention the recently invented Kalman filter). Sorry, my toaster knows nothing of these. I’m lucky to have my bagel toasted correctly. These are interesting numbers. Where did you get them? The AGC had 32K of 15 bit (16 with parity) words of ROM, and 2K of RAM. That doesn’t add up to 64K of anything. And the clock speed is interesting. Where was that obtained? Clock speed on the AGC was 2 MHz. Depending on the processing, it might have been 1 MHz (issues with microcode). 43KHz - Where does that come from? What is the source of this? All coding was in hand-coded Assembly – high level languages were never an option. Oh, someone might have used a higher level language for initial studies, but memory was so terribly tight (typically only a dozen or so words were available when they were done) that anything other than hand-crafted machine language (assembler) would work. Oh, and Luminary was only the Lunar Module software. The Command module code was called "Collossus" "Neil Armstrong asked Mission Control for clarification on the 1202 error. Jack Garman, a computer engineer at Nasa (pictured below, left), who worked on the Apollo Guidance Program Section, told mission control that the error could be ignored in this instance" I know Jack Garman. Jack had nothing to do with the call on Apollo 11. It was Steve Bayles, a back room engineer who made the call. In summary, it troubles me that your research is so lacking. I wonder if your other coverage of computing is so lacking. No reply from anyone? Thank you Frank! Some people just run and hide I guess? "That doesn’t add up to 64K of anything." Two 8 bit bytes comprise one 16 bit word, thus "32k (16 bit) words" really does add up to "64kbyte (8 bit)". I got the book. Frank, you are my new hero! I assume the "32K words" above is a publishers' typo. The book states "38K words". Thank you for getting into the gory details of the system development, must have created more than 1 alcoholic. I am motivated to go write some assembler (elegantly unreadable, of course). It's been almost 2 decades. Thanks again for writing that book. anon4292: not guide the computer hal....not input commands............JUST BASIC BALANSE OF THE LAM HAL, CAUSE ONCE IT GOES SIDEWAYS IT'S OVER COWBOY!!! While I'm impressed by how quickly we've come so far, I'm stunned that we were able to do so much with (what now seems like) so little. Then again, it was about 14 years after the moon landing that I bought my first Kaypro with a massive 64Kb RAM and two 191Kb 5" floppy drives. It seemed utterly amazing, did everything I could imagine and seemed incredibly advanced. It's now available for about $150 on eBay. Photos taken on the moon can be had for $7. Yeah, progress arrives quickly. Apollo 11 to N reached a maximum only in Earth's orbit! have been necessary in order to achieve the second Cosmic speed. According to NASA -indications but only 18.5 t rocket fuel in CSM were abgebunkert. With the amount of fuel the Luna module were a total of only 29 t rocket fuel available! So NASA has impressively refutes itself. In other words: A moon landing never tired found! just a question here,, could the AGC be more classified as a clock timer than a computer??? You kind of glossed over the IBM 360 model 75 computers that operated in the Real Time Computer Complex on the bottom floor of building 30 at NASA JSC. I am sure there are many good papers written on those computers and the software. I wrote the Telemetry software that did the unpacking, calibration and limit sensing of the telemetry downlink for Apollo 11. Plus a few of the "special comps" including one that monitored the PLSS (Portable Life Support System) or backpack the crew wore when walking on the moon. The code was real time in the sense that it had to process around 2000 down linked parameters once per second. The downlink was 128 kbps. The 360/75 had 1 megabyte of "real" memory and could process around 1 million IBM 360 assembler language instructions per second. Each Mod 75 had a single CPU and a custom realtime OS. We had 5 of them. Two were used during critical phases of the mission with one being a hot standby. The others were used for next mission development and simulations. As I recall there were only around 300 IBMers working at the Space Park Drive facility in Houston, most of us in our 20's. Our team also developed the command uplink subsytem and network control subsytem. Our requirements came for the NASA Ground Data Systems Division, which supported the needs of the Flight Control Division.

State lawmakers and city activists rallied Wednesday in support of a bill that would require black history studies in every New York school. State Sen. Jesse Hamilton and Assemblywoman Diana Richardson, both Brooklyn Democrats, said they want to see the legislation reach the governor's desk in the coming weeks. "We will not allow black history to be erased, to be denigrated, or to be put to the sidelines by ignorance," Hamilton said during the demonstration outside Dr. Betty Shabazz School in Brownsville. "We are here to make sure that our educational system embraces the accomplishments of people of color." The push for the new bill comes amid a troubling spate of racially tinged controversies at city schools. Intermediate School 224 Principal Patricia Catania has come under fire for ordering an English teacher not to give lessons about the Harlem Renaissance and abolitionist and statesman Frederick Douglass. The Bronx principal ignited a new round of outrage this week when she confiscated a student-made poster celebrating the pioneering black singer Lena Horne. In addition, a PTA co-president of Public School 118 in Park Slope apologized last week for using an image of people in black face to advertise a 1920s-themed fund-raiser. And Christ the King High School student Malcolm Xavier Combs, 17, made headlines after an assistant principal at his school rejected a request to print his first name and middle initial on a school sweater. The lawmakers, who were joined Wednesday by Combs, said they were spurred to action by the Daily News' coverage of the disturbing incidents. "The truth is African-American history is American history," Richardson said. "Now is the time for this bill to come alive."

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday that he would shield President Donald Trump’s tax returns from Congress, during remarks that could signal the administration’s approach to an expected request from congressional Democrats. During testimony in the House of Representatives, Mnuchin told the House tax committee that he would follow the law upon receiving a request for tax returns but would also protect Trump’s privacy rights. Committee Chairman Richard Neal, the only member of the House authorized by law to request the president’s returns, is expected to ask Mnuchin for the documents. A Democratic member of the committee said earlier this month he believed the panel would ask for Trump’s returns in a few weeks. Democrats view the documents as a potential linchpin for oversight investigations, saying they would show whether the president has complied with U.S. tax law, profited from his own tax cuts, or has conflicts of interest from his vast business holdings. Neal’s committee could seek both his personal and business returns. Trump defied decades of precedent as a presidential candidate by refusing to release his tax documents and has continued to keep them under wraps as president, saying his returns were under audit by the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS has said that Trump can release his tax returns even while under audit. Interest in Trump’s returns has soared since his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen told a House panel on Feb. 27 that the president has altered his value of assets and slashed the wages of his employees to lower his tax bills. Section 6103 of the U.S. tax code allows the chairs of three committees — Neal’s House panel, the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation — to request confidential tax returns, and says the Treasury secretary “shall furnish” the documents. But requesting the tax returns of a sitting president is unprecedented. Fearing a lengthy court battle for the documents, Neal’s committee has spent months working to develop a winning legal argument that could base the quest firmly within the panel’s jurisdiction to oversee the U.S. tax system. Senator Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is also expected to seek Trump’s taxes if Democrats obtain them. “There’s an awful lot of interest in 6103 today,” Mnuchin said. He said he would not speculate on a specific strategy for handling a request from lawmakers because he has not yet received one.

CHICAGO — Investigators probing the Monday morning Blue Line train crash at O'Hare Airport said the automatic emergency brakes on the tracks activated as they were supposed to, and the train was moving at the appropriate speed as it entered the station, leaving open questions about how the train blew past the end of the platform and ended up on top of an escalator. Ted Turpin, investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, on Tuesday said he could not provide details on what role the train's operator might have played in the crash, and said authorities will interview her at 1 p.m. But Turpin did say the train entered the station at about 25 mph., a safe speed to do so, and at some point automatic emergency brakes were triggered. "It activated. That's all we know factually," Turpin said. "Now whether it did it in time or not, that's an analysis that we have to figure out, and we haven't gone there yet." Investigators were pulling video from more than 44 cameras that captured the crash, which happened just before 3 a.m. Monday and injured 35 people, as well as beginning to pull the maintenance history on the train and the station's tracks. On Monday, a union official said the operator was so tired it appeared she nodded off while driving the train and "wasn't as coherent as she should have been." Robert Kelly, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308, said the operator had worked more overtime than usual in recent days "and she was very tired." Investigators could not comment on that claim as of Tuesday morning. "We always take into consideration a fatigue factor," Turpin said. "We will gather the evidence on that." Reyna Acosta, a Back of the Yards resident who works at the airport, was one of the passengers injured in the crash. "There was a large boom and everyone in my car jerked backwards," the 25-year-old said via email, a day after being released from Swedish Covenant Hospital. "Once someone manually opened the door in our car, we also opened a second one. We saw what had truly happened." On Tuesday, multiple lawsuits were filed in connection with the crash. Dalila Jefferson, a security officer at O'Hare, filed a lawsuit against the CTA, according to a statement from law firm Corboy & Demetrio. Jefferson, who was traveling in the front car, suffered from a broken foot as well as neck and back injuries, according to her lawyer. In another lawsuit, 22-year-old Niakesha Thomas, who works at an airport newsstand, claimed negligence on the part of the CTA in the crash. Officials said the train did have emergency brakes that activate when an operator takes his or her hand off the control handle. Turpin said he would not speculate as to what exactly caused the train to derail. "I can't give you theories today. I'm sorry," Turpin said. Turpin said he hopes the NTSB's investigators will finish examining the crash site Tuesday so CTA crews can begin removing the train. The car that crashed into the escalator will have to be cut and removed in pieces, Turpin said. A spokeswoman for CTA said a timeline for when the cleanup will finish will not be clear until investigators finish with the scene. The O'Hare Blue Line Station will remain closed Tuesday. Blue Line trains will run between the Rosemont and Forest Park stations, according to the CTA. Shuttle buses will be provided at the Rosemont station for riders trying to reach O'Hare, CTA officials said. The Federal Transit Administration and the Regional Transportation Authority are partnering with the NTSB and CTA to investigate Monday's crash.

Betting on Ben S. Bernanke has been the most profitable trade for government bond investors in 16 years, defying lawmakers in the U.S. and abroad who said the Federal Reserve chairman’s policies would lead to runaway inflation and the dollar’s debasement. Treasurys due in 10 or more years have returned 28 percent in 2011, exceeding the 24.4 percent gain in all of 2008 during worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes. Not since 1995, when the securities soared 30.7 percent, have investors done so well owning longer-dated U.S. government debt. The rally continued last week, driving yields to record lows, as the Fed said it would exchange $400 billion of short- term Treasurys for those maturing in more than six years. The move, dubbed Operation Twist by traders, is designed to lower borrowing costs and keep the economy growing. Previous Fed efforts unlocked credit markets and helped ward off deflation. With the U.S. budget deficit exceeding $1 trillion, this year’s rally caught investors by surprise. The lowest forecast among 71 economists and strategists surveyed by Bloomberg News from Jan. 3 to Jan. 11 was for 10-year yields to end this quarter at 2.35 percent, and the median estimate was 3.63 percent. They closed at 1.83 percent last week. While a financial model created by Fed economists that includes expectations for interest rates, growth and inflation indicates 10-year notes are the most overvalued on record, investors say they can’t afford to not own government bonds. That’s because stocks and other assets are falling as Europe’s debt crisis deepens, the global economy slows and the Fed commits to keep its target rate for overnight loans between banks at a zero to 0.25 percent through mid-2013. Treasury 10-year yields fell 21 basis points, or 0.21 percentage point, last week as the price of the benchmark 2.125 percent security due August 2021 rose 1 30/32, or $19.38 per $1,000 face amount, to 102 20/32. The yield touched a record low of 1.6714 percent on Sept. 23. Thirty-year rates tumbled 41 basis points to 2.90 percent. Ten-year notes yielded 1.85 percent and 30-year rates were 2.92 percent at 8:06 a.m. in New York. Almost all of the rally in long-term Treasurys this year has come since the end of June, with the securities returning 24.9 percent. That’s the biggest quarterly gain since at least 1978, when the Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes began tracking the debt. Treasurys of all maturities have returned 9.3 percent this year, including reinvested interest, beating 2010’s 5.9 percent as Bernanke led the Fed in a second round of bond purchases, buying $600 billion of debt from November 2010 through June in a process known as quantitative easing. That’s more than the 5.2 percent return for the global bond market, 3.9 percent for company debt and 5.6 percent for U.S. mortgage securities, Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes show. Gold has gained about 19 percent, while the MSCI AC World Index of stocks has lost 14.2 percent, including dividends. The term premium, which Bernanke cited in a 2006 speech in New York as a useful guide in setting monetary policy, shows Treasurys may be poised to fall. The measure declined to negative 0.67 percent on Sept. 22, indicating the notes are expensive when compared with the average 0.84 percent this decade through mid-2007, just before credit markets froze. “These low yields spook investors,” said Larry Milstein, a managing director of government and agency debt trading at R.W. Pressprich & Co., in a telephone interview Sept. 23. The New York-based firm is a fixed-income broker and dealer for institutional investors. Republicans sent Bernanke a letter last week, asking him not to do “further harm” to the economy by adding more monetary stimulus. After cutting rates, the Fed started buying bonds to inject cash into the economy, purchasing $2.3 trillion of government and mortgage-related securities from November 2008 through June. “Although the goal of quantitative easing was, in part, to stabilize the price level against deflationary fears, the Federal Reserve’s actions have likely led to more fluctuations and uncertainty in our already weak economy,” according to the message signed by House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia. The letter is similar to one Boehner and three other Republicans sent Bernanke about a year ago expressing “deep concerns” about the Fed’s plan to print money to buy bonds, saying the central bank risked weakening the dollar and fueling asset bubbles. While the Fed failed to reduce the unemployment rate below 9 percent, the second round of quantitative easing, or QE2, warded off deflation, which can damage an economy by discouraging investment. Consumer prices excluding food and energy rose 2 percent in the 12 months ended Aug. 30, compared with 0.6 percent in October 2010, the smallest increase since at least 1958, government data show. Rather than collapsing, the dollar has risen 2.6 percent to 78.501 against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners including the euro and yen, since the Fed announced QE2 in November, based on IntercontinentalExchange Inc.’s Dollar Index. QE2 followed QE1, which was designed to inject money into the financial system to help unfreeze credit markets. Corporate bond sales worldwide soared to $3.9 trillion in 2009, from $2.9 trillion in 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Demand for Treasurys has been fueled by data showing the economy almost stalled in the first half of 2011, and added no jobs in August, keeping unemployment at 9.1 percent. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cut its forecast for growth in the U.S. on Sept. 8 to 1.1 percent this quarter and 0.4 percent in last three months of the year. Its prior estimates were 2.9 percent and 3 percent. At the close of its two-day meeting Sept. 21, the Federal Open Market Committee cited “significant downside risks” in the U.S. economy and said it will buy bonds due in six to 30 years through June while selling an equal amount of debt maturing in three years or less. The purchases “should put downward pressure on longer-term interest rates and help make broader financial conditions more accommodative,” the Fed said in its statement. Policy makers last week also announced a measure to support the mortgage market by reinvesting maturing housing debt into mortgage-backed securities instead of U.S. government debt. Even with the rally, the difference between 10- and 30-year Treasury bond yields, at 1.07 percentage points, remains wider than its average of about 0.5 percentage point during the past two decades. That suggests the gains in longer-term debt have scope to continue, said Michael Materasso, senior portfolio manager and co-chairman of the fixed-income policy committee at Franklin Templeton Investments in New York, in a Sept. 22 telephone interview. The firm oversees $298 billion of bonds. “There’s more than one fund manager that wishes they had a lot more allocated to Treasurys,” said Jeff Given, part of a group that manages $18 billion of bonds at MFC Global Investment LLC in Boston, in a Sept. 23 telephone interview. “They did much better than anybody would have predicted."

Cleanup week is set for April 14-18 at the Galva Cemetery. All grave blankets, artificial flowers, potted flowers and all other plants should be removed from the Galva Cemetery by Sunday, April 14, if relatives wish to save them. No more flowers should be placed on the graves until after Thursday, April 18.

The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) announced the appointment of Lisa Kelley as Operations Manager. IAATO Executive Director Dr. Kim Crosbie said, “Lisa has a strong background in polar operations and has actively contributed to IAATO for many years. The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and two member operators, Oceanwide Expeditions and Heritage Expeditions, took part in a live Search and Rescue (SAR) Exercise in collaboration with Maritime New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) on Feb. 12.

Heavy Snow Axis Stalls over MSP Metro. It's snowing a little harder (for longer) and that may result in snowfall totals closer to 8", even 10" by the time the deformation zone swings east of the the Twin Cities after 10 PM or so. Snow totals will be in the 5-10" range for the downtowns and most suburbs, with an outside shot at a foot. 7:38 PM Doppler radar mosaic: NOAA and AerisWeather. Warnings. Most of the metro area is still under a Winter Storm Warning, with Blizzard Warnings posted southwest of a line from Mankato to New Ulm and Granite Falls, where white-out conditions are still being reported. I would stay off the roads tonight, if at all possible. Complicating Factor. Sustained winds are 20-30 mph in the Twin Cities, just below blizzard criteria, but we are seeing (sustained) winds over 35 mph across much of south central and southwestern Minnesota, resulting in near-zero visibiliity and treacherous to impassable driving conditions.

Witnesses in Burma say there have been new protests in the main city, Rangoon, despite a crackdown by the military government. Authorities this week arrested at least 13 activists following demonstrations that have been going on in Rangoon since Sunday over rising fuel prices. VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from our Southeast Asia bureau in Bangkok. State-run media in Burma say the government arrested the activists, who are members of a student group. Newspapers quote authorities as calling the activists agitators, accusing them of using fuel price increases last week as an excuse to incite unrest. Chaiyachoke Chulasiriwongs is a professor of international relations at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University and an expert on Burma. He calls it unusual that students, or anyone, would protest under the military leadership. He says the military is showing signs it is ready to suppress any further uprisings, as it has in the past. "It's so used to controlling the people, suppressing the people," said Chaiyachoke. "I think the military mentality is it cannot allow any protest or violent demonstration in the country because that would affect the security of the country. I think they are afraid that it would destabilize its position as ruler." The protests began on Sunday, and witnesses say as many as 300 demonstrators marched again in the outskirts of Rangoon Wednesday in anger over fuel price increases. Reports say the protesters clashed with government supporters. Government-mandated fuel price hikes have in some cases caused transportation costs to double, making life harder for people who are already struggling with double-digit inflation in the impoverished country. Prices over the past week doubled for diesel. Residents say the price of cooking gas increased in some cases by 500 percent. Burma's government has a monopoly on the energy sector. Critics say the military junta is looking after its own financial interests as world demand for oil rises and prices continue to climb. Professor Chaiyachoke says the Burmese leadership in this case is, in his view, showing little regard for its people. "I believe that with the demand of fuel around the world, the Burmese junta would like to increase its fuel price so that it can gain more money," he said. "You can see that it's not just China that are running after fuel in Burma but India also … therefore those who benefit would [be] the junta. In that sense they don't care about the people." Burma's military has a long history of suppressing uprisings since it took control of the country in 1962. The government has come under strong international criticism for jailing dissidents and its suppression of the media. International human rights groups quickly condemned the arrests of the activists following this week's protests. Demonstrations are rare in Burma. The last major protests were in 1988, when the army staged a massive crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators. The violence killed an estimated 3,000 people.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Wide receiver Gary Jennings had a prolific 2017 season between the end zones for West Virginia with little else to show for it. Jennings figures his touchdown chances will improve a year after he scored just once despite amassing 97 receptions that ranked him fourth in the Bowl Subdivision. Jennings’ 1,096 receiving yards in his first full season as a starter led the Mountaineers and were the sixth most in school history. The 6-foot-2 Jennings enters his senior season with just four career TDs. His lone touchdown in 2017 came in the season opener against Virginia Tech, when he had 13 catches for 189 yards. Jennings matched those 13 catches against Kansas State but surpassed 100 yards receiving just three times over the final 12 games. The Mountaineers struggled in their last three games on offense after quarterback Will Grier went down with a broken finger. Jennings isn’t the type of player to show his frustrations about his lack of scoring. He certainly doesn’t feel that there was a lack of luck on his side, although he has a right to feel that way. Teammate David Sills IV caught 18 TDs a year ago as a junior and was named a second-team all-American, while senior Ka’Raun White had 12 scoring catches. As an inside receiver, Jennings benefited from teams focusing more on White and the 6-4 Sills, especially on third downs when Jennings had a team-high 18 catches, converting 15 of those for first downs. With more receivers in the mix, West Virginia opens the season Sept. 1 against Tennessee in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Mountaineers have added Alabama transfer T.J. Simmons, who played on special teams for the Crimson Tide in 2016 as a freshman. West Virginia offensive coordinator Jake Spavital wants all of his receivers to be able to deliver in the high-scoring Big 12. “That’s kind of been the ongoing joke around the locker room — Gary has a million catches and one touchdown,” Spavital said Tuesday. “And then yesterday in practice he does a remarkable play and he goes out on the half-yard line.

The Iona Prep grad and Virginia star made sure to remind the Sports Pope of his completely wrong prediction. After winning the NCAA Tournament national title with Virginia on Monday, New Rochelle native Ty Jerome has been getting more attention from the media. The former Iona Prep standout was interviewed by Mike Francesa on his WFAN radio show Wednesday. Before the tournament, Francesa explained to a caller that Virginia "can't play offense" and would not win the national title. Obviously, he was very wrong on that, and Jerome made sure to remind him. "Our offensive efficiency, I think we were in the top five in the country, we have been all year," Jerome told Francesa. "I'm sure a lot of people don't do their proper research of college basketball before they speak," he added. "Oh, that's for me," Francesa acknowledged. Later in the interview, Jerome got one more shot in on the Sports Pope. When Francesa brought up the team blowing late leads to both Auburn in the Final Four and to Texas Tech in the title game, he implied that Virginia didn't play the toughest of schedules during the regular season. "I don't worry about what you do against some team that you beat by 40, those numbers are skewed," Francesa said. "I want to see it in the big games, and you guys miraculously made some shots. "The lead that you blew against Auburn, versus the lead against Texas Tech, which one was more surprising to you that is dissipated so quickly?" Francesa asked Jerome. "I mean, real quick, we play in the ACC, so we don't beat those teams by 40," Jerome responded. As Virginia's starting point guard this season, Jerome played a huge role for the national champions, finishing the year with per-game averages of 13.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, and was also the team leader in assists (5.5 per game) and steals (1.5 per game).

Tributes have been paid to The Walking Dead actor Scott Wilson, who has died aged 76. The US actor was best known for his role as Hershel Greene in the drama series. The show said in a statement posted on Twitter: “We are deeply saddened to report that Scott Wilson, the incredible actor who played Hershel on The Walking Dead, has passed away at the age of 76. Actor Khary Payton, who plays Ezekiel, said on Twitter: “The time I met Scott Wilson, he gave me a big hug and said that this thing I had become a part of… was a family. Wilson’s credits also included roles in The Great Gatsby and In Cold Blood.

THE LOCAL ELECTIONS are fast approaching and while some old familiar faces are back on those campaign leaflets, there are a significant number of younger candidates putting themselves out there. The focus of their campaigns vary but all of them agree that more needs to be done to get younger people more engaged with politics so that their interests can be represented. We spoke to a selection of young candidates from across the country. 29-year-old Hopkins is an occupational therapist at St James’ Hospital in Dublin whose key reason for running in the Boyle area of Roscommon is that she believes this country needs an action plan to support the economy in smaller towns like her own. “I am one of those young people that wasn’t able to live in rural Ireland and I see so many people leaving,” she said. “It’s important for us to get that education and broaden our horizons with travel but it’s also important that we create opportunities for those who wish to return. The biggest challenge is employment – if there is not employment, young people aren’t going to live there and raise their families, even if they want to. Hopkins, who has been involved in the youth wing of Fine Gael for a number of years, said she feels that we need more young people involved in politics – particularly young women. This candidate in Limerick City North is 24-years-old and has been politically active for ten years having joined a campaign against the war in Iraq while he was in secondary school. He said the main issue he is focusing on is unemployment in Limerick. His experience on the doorsteps has also been positive as the 24-year-old said his age “doesn’t really ever come up”. People are more concerned about what you’re about – I don’t think people are looking at the age or the face of the person – they are looking for the policy of the candidate. On the topic of young people’s hunger for politics – or lack thereof – Prendiville said he thinks “there’s a disdain towards politicians”. 27-year-old Gannon is running in Dublin’s north inner city and has recently worked with early school leavers to help them to get back into education and gain employment. As Gannon is a first time candidate and doesn’t have a large party budget backing his campaign, he’s made an ambitious promise to knock on every door in his constituency before the election and he said he is “slowly and methodically getting through it”. The Dublin candidate said the topic of his youth does come up on the doorsteps but “only in a negative sense from people who are affiliated with other politicians”. Most people see it as refreshing because if you keep voting for the same old politicians you keep getting the same old politics. Political interest among Irish youths has moved away from party politics and has become more issues-based, according to Gannon, who said he would be “mortified being in the youth wing of a party”. He also said he would be in favour of lowering the voting age to 16, pointing out that at that age himself, he was working and paying taxes as many teens are today. This is the second time the young Sinn Féin candidate is running in the Ballincollig/Carrigaline area of Cork, having come seventh in a six seat race the last time. The 25-year-old said he had not planned to get involved in politics when he was in college but Sinn Féin’s policies spoke to him and reflected his experience of growing up in Ireland. “I still see ferocious evidence of disadvantage and that motivates you to get involved and work for a more equal society,” he told TheJournal.ie. Ó Laoghaire said that with 71,000 people living in his constituency, there are a variety of experiences from both an urban and rural perspective. My generation were led to believe that Ireland was thriving and there would be great opportunities but so many people I grew up with have emigrated to Australia and Canada and there’s not much in the way of employment. Access to education is also becoming increasingly difficult, particularly if you’re from a low income background because the amount of grants has been reduced. The Cork candidate has the advantage of having run in the area in the past and said he is well known for the work he’s done in the community in the last few years so his age is not an issue for prospective voters in his constituency. This 28-year-old music teacher is already sitting on the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Council and is running in the Dundrum area in this election. She comes from a family that has always supported the Labour party and joked that she “couldn’t really get away from it”. What’s the best way to get more young people interested in politics? It’s simple according to Tallon – just talk to them. When you engage with them they realise there’s so much we can do at a local level and we can do lots more as a group and that’s what’s encouraging younger candidates to get involved. “We have little powers in the council but there are huge things you can do,” she said, referencing a campaign she headed encouraging people to shop locally which has already helped businesses in the area. “The thing is, you’re very much on your own as a councillor, obviously I work with Labour and get lots of help from colleagues but you’re doing all your own stuff,” she explained. Wyse took his place on the council representing Waterford City East following the sudden death of his father, Councillor Gary Wyse last year. For him, this election is not just about representing his community, it’s about continuing the work his father did in the area for many years. The 19-year-old is the youngest Fianna Fáil candidate and one of the youngest candidates running in the election but he said there was always a plan for him to take his father’s seat – he just hadn’t expected it to happen so soon. I remember when I was in sixth year and dad would be driving me to school and we’d listen to what was being said on the radio and talk about it afterwards so I always had an interest in it and what he was doing. There are two other boys in my family but my dad always said that if someone was going to take his place it would be me. Wyse said his age is mentioned by people when he’s out canvassing but most people tell him they think he’s “brave to be out doing this”. “There are some people who might think, you know, I haven’t the experience but that’s nothing without dedication and action and you could have ten or twenty or thirty years of experience but if you’re not taking action you won’t get anything done,” he said. Encouraging younger people in his area to vote is a priority for Wyse as he said there are 170 people under the age of 21 in his area who haven’t registered to vote yet – including some of his own friends. Currently studying Law and Irish at UCC, the 21-year-old first time candidate says he decided to run because there are “so many things being done wrong” that he thought need to be changed. He also thinks the 70,000 people living in his constituency of Ballincollig-Carrigaline should have the option of voting green. Manning believes his party is offering something different that is particularly attractive for younger voters – policies that look to the future. “We don’t just look towards the short-term or the next election, we’re looking towards the next generation,” he told TheJournal.ie. I suppose because of what happened in the last general election, we have a lot of first time candidates or people who ran limited campaigns before so we’ve got a mix of fresh ideas and people with experience. Manning said some people on the doorstep have been “skeptical” because of his youth but he has been pointing out that with 55 people to represent the interest of everyone in Cork, diversity is needed in the council. “There’s a whole generation of different experiences of life going unrepresented,” he said. Like the other young candidates we interviewed, he’s hoping his presence on the council will help foster equality in his community. “If you walk down any street or call around any estate you can see social inequalities and gaps between rich and poor at the moment and I think that it’s horrible and needs to be addressed,” he added. Will you be giving new and younger candidates a chance in the upcoming local elections or will you be sticking with familiar faces?

It's widely known that Samsung is working on a smartphone that folds — the company has told us as much. What's less clear are the particulars about the phone, such as how exactly it will fold. A new report out of South Korea suggests that Samsung is still working out the details. But one possibility is that the Galaxy X won't necessarily fold in half. It sounds like the Galaxy X won't fold in half as this earlier Samsung prototype does. (Credit: Samsung)Instead, according to a report from ETNews, the screen on the Galaxy X would fold about two-thirds of the way. That design decision would leave a portion of the display always visible. Doing so allows the phone to display things like the time and incoming calls without requiring users to flip it open. The phone is expected to feature a 7-inch display. That's larger than the biggest phone in Samsung's lineup, the 6.3-inch Galaxy Note 8. It would also be larger than the ZTE Axon M, another foldable phone that forms a 6.5-inch display when you fold out that phone. This report on how the Galaxy X might fold is part of a larger look at the manufacturing efforts going into the new phone. ETNews says that Samsung is beginning trial production of foldable OLED panels with a goal of cranking out 100,000 units by the end of the year. Eventually, Samsung hopes to produce 1 million units by 2019, according to the report. Samsung's success at producing the foldable panels at scale will have a clear impact on just when the Galaxy X makes its long-awaited debut. Right now, rumors have the phone debuting early next year, either at CES in January or more likely at February's Mobile World Congress. The manufacturing timeline laid out by ETNews would fit that schedule, assuming no delays in production.

The MOBILE NOW Act may have to be renamed the MOBLIE LATER Act since it has been pulled from a list of bills being marked up (amended and reported out [or not]) in the Senate Commerce Committee Nov. 18. It was still listed as leading off the executive session on the committee website at press time, but Committee press secretary Lauren Hammond confirmed consideration of the bill was being postponed. Industry sources said it was being pulled because committee members, notably Democrats but also Republicans, had not gotten sufficient notice and were not ready to amend and vote out the bill, a draft of which was only first circulated two weeks ago. One industry source speaking on background called it an unnecessarily aggressive move to schedule the markup, saying the Democrats had not been consulted on the substance or timing. Hammond said they had been working with the Democrats, so would not characterize it as a surprise. But she did say that it was being rescheduled, perhaps in December, "to give folks more time to look at it" and provide more time for feedback. The Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless (MOBILE NOW) Act would codify that the 500 MHz of spectrum for wireless broadband President Obama has directed the government to free up by 2020 would still happen under a new President. The bill would flesh out the Spectrum Pipeline Act, a bill that was passed by the House, then the Senate as an amendment to the omnibus budget bill. MOBILE NOW would also provide federal agencies with up to 25% of the net auction proceeds from spectrum they are directed to give up for auction in the Spectrum Pipeline Act, but only if that payment is likely to boost the net proceeds from auctioning that reclaimed spectrum. The bill would 1) allow for leasing, rather than auctioning, federal spectrum, in some circumstances; 2) put shot clocks on federal agency permission to private entities to use federal lands for broadband facilities including towers and antennas; and 3) potentially include a "dig once" provision that would require broadband conduit to be deployed during "below-ground" infrastructure work. That would expand the pipeline bill's "dig once" provision, which requires that conduit when federal highway funds are used for road projects.

Tell the interviewer about the job you forgot to list on your application. 1 Can I Be Fired if My Employer Is Not Able to Verify Previous Employment? 4 Do I Have to List Every Job I've Ever Had When Filling Out a Job Application? Many employment applications require so much information that it's possible you'll forget a previous job, especially if your work history is lengthy or includes several employers. However, it's imperative that you submit a complete employment application. Regardless of whether it was an oversight or an inadvertent omission, this can jeopardize your chance of being hired. Most applications contain a disclaimer that an applicant can be denied employment or an employee could be terminated upon the employer discovering discrepancies on application materials. If you inadvertently omitted a previous employer on your online application, check your options for revising it. Many online application processes give candidates an opportunity to edit their profiles or submit a replacement resume. If there's not an option to edit your profile, read the fine print about the online process and contact the company's help desk for assistance. Whenever you complete a paper application, always double-check your entries to ensure that you've included your complete work history. Otherwise, as soon as you realize that you forgot to include an employer, ask the human resources department if you can amend your application. The recruiter or HR coordinator you contact might look favorably upon your effort to provide accurate information and give you a chance to correct your application. It may be a bit trickier for you to correct an emailed resume or application where you've forgotten to include a previous employer. Write a brief note to the recruiter or hiring manager to explain that you inadvertently omitted a previous employer. Attach a replacement application or resume and ask the recipient to swap the correct application for the one you submitted earlier. If you're completing a hard copy, for future employment applications make a photocopy of the blank application. Before you submit it, review it at least twice to ensure it accurately reflects your entire work history. Also, it could be helpful to create a list of employers, addresses, employment dates, supervisors' names, titles and telephone numbers on a cheat sheet to use when you fill out employment applications. This is different from your resume since resumes often don't contain such details. This type of comprehensive list of your previous employers could help tremendously in your job search by ensuring that you put every previous employer on your job applications. When you're interviewing with a recruiter or hiring manager and see that you forgot to include a previous employer, raise the issue right away and apologize for the omission. Importantly, don't wait for the interviewer to ask if you have additional work experience or about a gap in your work history. Offer to provide a corrected application for the company to put in your file. Mayhew, Ruth. "I Forgot to Put a Past Employer on an Application." Work - Chron.com, http://work.chron.com/forgot-put-past-employer-application-16188.html. Accessed 18 April 2019.

ORLANDO—Video game giant Electronic Arts didn’t decide overnight to buy media in-house across more than 40 countries. Building an in-house capability can start with baby steps, dipping your toe into the waters and, along the way, nurturing your talent so as to avoid “tissue rejection,” says EA Global Head of Media Belinda Smith. After buying media in-house in one capacity or other for about six years, “We were pretty surefooted that we knew how to do it and we knew how this was going to play out,” Smith explains in this Beet.TV interview at the recent Association of National Advertisers’ In-House Agency Conference. “And we said, like, ‘Hey let’s triple down on this and let’s really build out a global presence in media buying and planning.’” Along the way came the realization that EA had ended up “competing with Google and Facebook for talent” and that media buying and planning is “still really regionalized,” not just in the United States but also abroad. “And that influenced which hubs we were going to hire out of,” Smith says. A key hiring question was how to bring “a new organ into the body” without experiencing “tissue rejection.” In other words, “How do we onboard all of these people to what makes EA special and give them a really good experience, and make sure that we’re growing people within our company as opposed to just hiring random onesies, twosies.” Hence the small steps a company can take as opposed to trying to assemble a team ASAP. “Don’t be afraid to baby step it,” Smith says. “I would say plan as much as you can and know that while you’re planning, those plans are going to change constantly.” She advises not to get caught up “on having enough people in seats and having this one perfect discipline, but really think about it from how is this going to transform my business, who do I need to bring along for that journey and what are the steps I can take to get there. Because you don’t have to do it overnight.” Asked to comment on the traditional status of agency of record, Smith, whose background includes AT&T, PubMatic, the Internet Advertising Bureau and 360i, suggests it comes with limitations. “We buy media across more than 40 countries, and I can’t think of an agency of record situation that would allow us to be as nimble, as fluid, as reactive and as experimental as we would want to be. I think there are definitely certain businesses that it makes sense for, but for me, personally, I don’t think I really resonate with agency of record.” This video is part of Beet.TV’s coverage of the ANA In-House Agency Conference. This series is sponsored by Extreme Reach. For more videos please visit this page.

Gotham’s recent episode “The Blind Fortune Teller” featured a young man named Jerome, played by Shameless actor Cameron Monaghan, who was revealed at the end of the story to have murdered his own mother, a circus snake charmer. That’s creepy enough on its own, but things kicked up several notches when the teen started laughing manically and let his sadistic personality surface, implying to fans that this is who will one day become Batman’s arch-nemesis The Joker. The question now is whether this insane youth will be popping up again or if this was a one-time appearance. According to the actor, the former is certainly a possibility. Monaghan was asked by Comic Book Resources whether the writers have any plans for Jerome to come back, and he mentioned that there have been discussions. When I was on set, we discussed the possibly of me coming back in the second or third season. Nothing is set in stone yet. I think the producers have a firm plan for what they want to do, but I was not privy to it while I was filming. I would love to come back and do some more. Despite the uncertainty of whether he’ll return, Monaghan said he is interested in exploring more of Jerome’s psychology and whether Gotham’s Joker will have his skin bleached white like in the comics, or will put on white makeup like Heath Ledger’s Joker. Jerome is currently in juvenile detention, so if he were to show up on Gotham again, perhaps it would be either from a jail break or someone from the GCPD visiting him in prison. Unlike the other villains introduced on Gotham so far, the show is being cagey about which individual may one day become The Joker. Jerome is certainly the prime candidate at the moment, with his horrific laugh and dark humor, but there’s still a chance we could see other contenders in future installments. For instance, the episode “Red Hood” featured the Red Hood Gang, which in the comics was strongly implied to have been led for an indeterminate period of time by the man who would eventually become Joker. At the end of that episode, a child picks up the titular hood worn by the gang member that was shot by the cops and puts it on, so there's always the chance that kid will be the future Clown Prince of Crime. If you missed Monaghan’s chilling performance, give the clip below a watch. Gotham will return with new episodes on April 13 at 8/7c on Fox. Keep an ear out for hysterical laughter.

We have linked up with RSPCA animal home Mount Noddy at Chichester to highlight some of their dogs looking for new homes and to publicise the work of the centre. Here, Mount Noddy reveals the vital work involved with fostering. Last year RSPCA Mount Noddy took care of over 200 cats and dogs, and this year we are looking to expand the ways in which we are able to care for our animals. At the beginning of the year the Branch employed a Foster Coordinator for the first time, and now we are ready to build a network of welfare focused volunteer foster homes. Fostering is a truly unique and rewarding experience. It provides some of our most in need animals with some rest bite from the rescue centre. Despite the attentive and highly knowledgeable staff at the centre, it can still be a highly stressful experience for some cats and dogs. When animals are stressed they do not show us their true character. Some animals become withdrawn from activities they previously enjoyed and retreat into themselves, whilst others display their stress in a more outward fashion. Fostering volunteers can reduce, if not totally alleviate this stress by providing a home environment for our animals to stay in. Opening your home to an RSPCA can really aid the rehoming process. It allows the staff to understand their true character, and therefore match up animals to new homes with more accuracy. Fostering is a truly unique way to get involved and help. We are looking for a variety of homes willingly to temporarily care for both cats and dogs. Our animals come with a variety of needs, so we are looking for a variety of people to get involved. Some animals may simply need a cuddle on the sofa, others may need time to recover from surgery and younger animals will benefit from consistency that a home environment can provide. If you would like to be part of this exciting development, or would like more information please get in contact with Leah via email at leah.carey@rspcamountnoddy.org.uk. See also: Can you provide a home for any of these West Sussex dogs?

Baptistown Baptist Church is located at 1040 County Road 519, Frenchtown, NJ. This business specializes in Religion & Spirituality. Baptistown Baptist Church can be found at County Road 519 1040. The following is offered: Churches. The entry is present with us since Sep 8, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 14, 2013. In Frenchtown there are 3 other Churches. An overview can be found here.

One season after it all went wrong for Victor Cruz, everything is going well for the Giants star, both on and off the field. On the field, the receiver, who is recovering from the torn left patellar knee tendon that sabotaged his 2014, is expected to be ready at the start of training camp, according to Tom Coughlin. While the coach didn't rule out Cruz starting camp on the physically-unable-to-perform list, he said that is "not the intent." "It is my understanding that he will be ready to participate," Coughlin said. He added that Cruz may be ready for action, but the team has no plans to push him too early. "How limited, I can't tell you," Coughlin said. "We will see. We aren't going to throw him right out there, I can tell you that." Off the field, Cruz has seen his television profile grow. He makes several appearances in HBO's much-anticipated football series "Ballers," which stars Dwayne Johnson and debuts Sunday night. "It's been fun," Cruz said. "It's different for me obviously because it's my first time working on that scale of television. It was fun. Working with the Rock (Johnson) makes it easy as well. I had a blast." Cruz said he will appear in three episodes, and he wouldn't mind if this is the start of a second career as an actor. Eli Manning is coming off a career season in which he threw 30 TD passes, but there's a chance he could be even better in 2015. Somehow, at age 34, the franchise quarterback has showcased a more powerful arm in minicamp. "It is lively, very lively," Coughlin said of Manning's arm. "He has worked very hard on that. Obviously, you see it here, but he has worked hard and has a very nice routine going. He is very comfortable and very confident of his routine." Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo said he spoke with Manning before the offseason about things to improve but he credited the veteran with making the adjustments. "We had some collaboration before he left, but the credit goes to Eli," McAdoo said. "Eli's put a lot of time and effort into his footwork and his strength there. I like the look in his eye right now." Manning had special reason to showcase all of that on Thursday; his father, Archie Manning, was in attendance at the workout. Ereck Flowers, the ninth pick in this year's draft, has impressed the Giants enough throughout the offseason program to largely secure the left tackle job. While McAdoo stressed that "nothing is ever set in stone," the coordinator seemed pleased with Flowers, who has played almost exclusively at left tackle ever since veteran Will Beatty was lost to a pectoral injury. Flowers typically saw extra reps, working with both the first team and second team during minicamp drills. "We like him as the future left tackle of the New York Giants," McAdoo said. "I am very comfortable with him being out there right now." Flowers also signed his contract on Thursday. Safety Landon Collins, the Giants' second-round pick, is their only unsigned rookie.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to eliminate a code that required certain Newport Beach residents to acquire a permit if they own three to six horses for non-commercial use. The vote comes several months after a letter was accidentally sent to Santa Ana Heights residents in May warning them that the horse permitting might soon be enforced. Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach said the permit code, which rolled over from when the area was unincorporated, was inconsistent with city policy that limits the number of horses one can own to six. The vote serves largely to reduce unnecessary burden, he said. "It kind of extracts government bureaucracy out of the lives of these people," Moorlach said. The decision to eliminate the code will return to city officials for review, but Mayor Keith Curry said he agrees with the supervisors' move. The more permissive policy on horse ownership has been in place for at least several years, he said. "Now the county is just cleaning up its paperwork on the same issue," the mayor said. "We're not going to require horse permits."

Nearly 70 MPs have written to the home secretary, Sajid Javid, urging him to act over proposed legislation that would relax restrictive rules for reuniting refugees with their families. Current immigration rules only allow adult refugees to apply for their married or civil partners and dependent children under 18 to join them. They are unable to submit applications for their parents, grandparents, siblings or children over 18. Children who are in the UK alone and have refugee status do not have the right to be reunited with even their closest family members. The refugee family reunion bill, a private member’s bill put forward by the SNP MP Angus MacNeil, seeks to broaden the definition of a family member. The proposed legislation received overwhelming backing at its second reading in the Commons a year ago, but the passing of the bill has since stalled and under parliamentary rules that govern private members’ bills, time is running out to pass it into law. Nearly 70 MPs, including the Conservative chair of the justice committee, Bob Neill, have written to Javid, calling on him to prevent further delays. The letter reads: “Almost a year ago, MPs from across the political spectrum united behind a common cause as they overwhelmingly voted to introduce a law that would help reunite refugee families. “The current rules condemn child refugees fleeing conflict and persecution to live in the UK without their parents. It also prevents parents from bringing their children over the age of 18. At a time when refugees need their families the most, they are being forced to be without them indefinitely. “They say a week is a long time in politics, but a year is a long time to wait. For refugee families it means a year of missed birthdays, Christmases, Mother’s Days, Father’s Days and Eids. Campaigners say the government has deliberately delayed the passing of a money resolution, a requirement if a new bill proposes spending public funds on something not previously authorised by an act of parliament. Money resolutions are normally put to the Commons for agreement immediately after the bill has passed its second reading, but this has not happened. MacNeil’s bill would broaden the definition of a family member to include parents and adoptive parents, and children and siblings who are under 18, or who are under 25 but were under 18 when the person granted asylum left the country of their habitual residence. MPs, charities and campaigners have said the changes could also be brought in through the government’s post-Brexit immigration bill. A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are following the passage of the private member’s bill closely and will continue our productive discussions with partners on this complex and sensitive issue.

Could we really plant our way out of climate change? Hi, I was wondering how much carbon is locked up in the huge amounts of timber that have been cut and used for building, furniture etc. Likewise with paper. What are the major problems with planting more trees to use as carbon sinks? As a rough guide, carbon makes up 50% of the mass of dried timber. So if your wooden desk weighs 20kg, it's storing 10kg of carbon. Timber only starts losing carbon when it starts to rot, and the carbon is converted to greenhouse gases - CO2 if it rots in the open air, or methane (CH4) if it rots underground. In terms of using trees as carbon sinks, there's only one real problem - it takes a lot of trees and a lot of land. To soak up the carbon dioxide that the average Australian produces (24.5 tonnes/yr) you'd have to plant about 90 trees every year. And those trees have to be maintained and replaced when they die. Multiply that by 20 million Australians and you're talking 1.8 billion trees being planted on a different 3 million hectares of land every year - and maintained indefinitely. Australia's only got about 800 million hectares of land and half of that's desert, so even if we stop growing food we'll have planted out all our arable land in just over a century. It's not what you'd call a long term solution.

Xiaomi has largely focused on markets in Asia. The company’s strategy of aggressively pricing its devices has paid dividends as it has been one of the fastest growing smartphone vendors on the planet. Xiaomi is now focusing on expanding its international presence and it has taken a big step today by launching in the United Kingdom. The Mi 8 Pro is its first flagship device for the UK. Xiaomi got its foot in the door in Europe last year when it officially launched its products in Spain. It has since expanded to France and Italy earlier this year. It’s now heading to the United Kingdom. The company has not only launched its Mi 8 Pro flagship smartphone in the country, it has also launched an authorized Mi Store in London’s Westfield shopping center. The Mi 8 Pro flagship will be accompanied by the Mi 8 Lite in the United Kingdom. Xiaomi has confirmed that it will be launching other products in the country as well. They will include its smart devices, accessories, and even backpacks. This flagship smartphone from Xiaomi has a 6.21 inch 2248×1080 pixel resolution display. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 845 processor with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. UK carrier Three will be offering its smartphones to customers. Xiaomi hasn’t launched its products in the United States as yet. It has a teaser event planned for December 8th in New York City and Xiaomi has previously said that it remains committed to expanding to the U.S. in the future.

And it was done, in large part, because of a parish in Florida. Religious history is set to be made in Cuba thanks to the efforts of Tampa’s St. Lawrence Catholic Church. On Jan. 26, the first new Catholic church will be inaugurated on the island since the Cuban Revolution 60 years ago ushered in an era of atheism. St. Lawrence, at 5225 N. Himes Ave. in Tampa, led the effort to raise the $95,000 needed to build the church in Sandino — a town of 40,000 people in the far-western coastal province of Pinar del Rio. “It’s been beautiful to watch a project come to be, through the efforts of individuals who care and take initiative to accomplish something good,” said Father Chuck Dornquast, parochial vicar at St. Lawrence. The venture began in 2010 when Father Tom Morgan, then pastor of St. Lawrence, expressed interest in a spiritual partnership with Cuba. Father Ramon Hernandez, a native of Cuba and also a priest at St. Lawrence, got the ball rolling by reaching out to Father Cirilo Castro, then a priest in Sandino. With no church, people who lived there worshipped in homes. A partnership was formed. The Cuban government approved construction and sold land to the Sandino parish. St. Lawrence started a fundraising campaign that brought in money from its own parishioners and from people throughout the country. The Sandino church is named the Sagrado Corazon de Jesus, Spanish for Sacred Heart. It was originally to be called Divina Misericordia de Sandino — Divine Mercy of Sandino.

The Enforcement Directorate said the attachment of Mehrasons Jewellers' assets was the first such action it has taken after the Foreign Exchange Management Act was amended recently. New Delhi: Bank deposits worth Rs 7 crore of a jeweller in Delhi has been attached by the Enforcement Directorate or ED in connection with its probe into alleged foreign exchange law violation in the Panama Papers case, officials said. The ED in a statement said it has seized Rs 7 crore of Mehrasons Jewellers. The funds parked in bank accounts in India "relate to AK Mehra, Deepak Mehra, Shalini Mehra and Naveen Mehra of Mehrasons Jewellers of Delhi", the ED said in the statement. The ED said this was the first attachment of assets after the Foreign Exchange Management Act was amended recently. The amendment gave power to the ED to take action in cases where it has determined an accused has stashed illegal assets. The ED said the four accused sent cash out of India by allegedly misusing the Liberalised Remittance Scheme or LRS of the Reserve Bank of India under the pretext of making investments in other countries. Under LRS, people can send money abroad for certain purposes without seeking specific approvals. "The amount remitted outside India was given as interest-free loan in individual capacity by the persons to two companies in the British Virgin Islands and later on transferred to a company in the UAE which is owned by one of the persons," the ED said in the statement. The ED said Rs 10.54 crore is still "parked outside India illegally by the persons". Mehrasons Jewellers has four stores in Delhi. The Panama Papers are financial documents collated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists or ICIJ that allegedly showed how people hid black money in offshore accounts. The documents belonged to Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, according to the ICIJ. Investigators say some 500 Indians are in the Panama Papers.

The college basketball season gets underway in Great Falls Thursday night at 8 as the UGF Argos of second-year coach Anthony Owens take on Concordia-Alberta at McLaughlin Center. The Argos were 17-12 overall and 6-8 in Frontier Conference play last season. The Argos are picked to finish sixth in the league this season. Among the returners are Darren Lockett who averaged 8.6 points and 3.8 rebounds, and Sigmond Farmer, who averaged 8.4 ppg. The other returners for UGF are junior forward Steven Daho, who averaged 6.5 ppg last season, sophomore guard Sergio Berkley, and 6-foot-9 senior center Daniel Arcau. Guards Michael Harris and Jarrett Givens redshirted last year and will be counted on this season. Among new players in the program are transfers Malik Barnes from Skagit Valley Community College, Lamar Falley from University of Texas – Permian Basin, and Braylon Spicer from Philander Smith College. There are a few rule changes in college basketball this season: the shot clock is now 30 seconds and the defense can no longer force a five-second call on the dribbler. MEANWHILE, the UGF Lady Argos also open the season Thursday. The Lady Argos of coach Bill Himmelberg meet Northwest Indian College at 4 p.m. in the first round of the Montana State-Northern tournament in Havre. The Lady Argos, coming off arguably the best season in program history, are led by All-American point guard Erin Legel, the Frontier’s preseason Player of the Year. She led the league in scoring (17.7) and assists (4.9). Legel made 86 3-pointers and shot 81 percent from the foul line. Other standouts returning for Himmelberg include Nneka Nnadi who came off the bench to average 10.6 points and 5.1 rebounds last season. Junior forward Kendalyn Brainard and sophomore guard Stephanie McDonagh are also back for the Lady Argos. “We’re excited to get going. The girls look pretty good,” Himmelberg said. Brainard will be one of many UGF forwards and centers helping to replace the production of graduated All-American forward Lindsey Abramson. To help in that cause, the Lady Argo’s roster features three players 6-foot-2 or taller with 6-foot-4 junior transfer Whitney George, and 6-foot-3 freshman Kalani Ulafale joining 6-foot-2 returning junior Brice Henning. The Lady Argos also play Friday afternoon at 2 against Concordia of Alberta and Saturday at 8 p.m. against King’s University. Senior guard Elyce Donaldson, and sophomore guard Molly Herron bring experience and depth to the UGF backcourt. They will be joined by freshmen guards Sidney Arant and Desirea Danner and junior transfer Morgan Grier. The Lady Argos finished 24-10 (8-6) in 2014-15 and ended the year ranked 12th in the country. The season opening tournament in Havre will last three days with UGF playing NIC at 4 p.m. on October 8, Concordia University College of Alberta at 2 p.m. on October 9, and King’s University at 8 p.m. on October 10. MEANWHILE, the University of Great Falls soccer games are both home on Thursday afternoon for games against Trinity Lutheran. The UGF women play at 1 p.m. and the men take the Siebel Soccer Pitch at 3 p.m. The University of Great Falls volleyball team is in Phoenix next week for a tournament. The Lady Argos of coach Arunas Duda will play twice on Monday and twice on Tuesday in Arizona. The Lady Argos' next home match is Oct. 17 against Montana State-Northern at McLaughlin Center.

With the resignation, the district currently does not have a superintendent or assistant superintendent. The district is searching for an interim superintendent, the district says. Correction: This story was updated to reflect the correct date that the school board plans to appoint a replacement for a school board seat. The York Suburban School Board accepted Supt. Michele Merkle's resignation Monday night, less than two weeks after she went on medical leave. The board voted 8-0 to accept her resignation. Board member Cathy Shaffer thanked Merkle for her service. Lynne Leopold-Sharp, president of the board, started the meeting by saying the board would not be responding to personnel questions or comments. All the information the board can share was detailed in two letters issued by the district in recent days. With Merkle's resignation, the district currently does not have a superintendent or assistant superintendent. Dr. Patricia Maloney, the assistant superintendent, retired on Sept. 15, according to board minutes. During the interim, the district will be led by an administrative team, which includes building principals and Corinne Mason, director of finance and board secretary, one of the letters and Leopold-Sharp said. The district has been searching for an interim superintendent since Merkle went on medical leave on Sept. 14. Five prospective candidates have been contacted and a sixth one has been identified, one of the letters states. The district anticipates naming a replacement in the next two weeks. Merkle has worked in the school district since 1990, the district said. She started as a guidance counselor and moved up in the district. She became the superintendent of the district in March 2014. The letter announcing the superintendent's intent to resign came one day after the district issued a letter about the superintendent taking a leave of absence for health reasons. "Over the past week, the District has accepted Dr. Merkle's request for a leave of absence to address health issues," the letter issued on Sunday states. The school board also accepted the resignation of school board member Scott Eden. It will be looking for someone to fill the remainder of his term, which runs through November 30, 2019. The board will be posting the opening on its website, and it plans to appoint someone on Oct. 9 to fill the seat.

Nguyen Van Minh is shown following his release from prison on Aug. 11, 2016. Vietnamese authorities released a Hoa Hao Buddhist follower from prison this week after he served a two-and-a-half year sentence for disrupting public order in a case that saw two other activists also jailed. Nguyen Van Minh, a member of a branch of the religious group that operates outside government control, was freed on Aug. 11 and returned to his home in Phuoc Hong village in the An Phu district of southwestern Vietnam’s An Giang province. “I’m on my way home now. I’m a bit tired,” Minh told RFA’s Vietnamese Service in a telephone interview on Thursday. “My family told me on the phone this morning that the police were all around my house,” he said. Minh, along with fellow Hoa Hao follower Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh and rights activist Bui Thi Minh Hang, was arrested in February 2014 on charges of having created a “serious obstruction to traffic” while they were on their way to visit a former political prisoner. Hang, a prominent blogger, was handed a three-year prison term, while Quynh was sentenced to two years and Minh received a two-and-a-half year term. Vietnam’s government officially recognizes the Hoa Hao religion, which has some 2 million followers across the country, but imposes harsh controls on dissenting Hoa Hao groups that do not follow the state-sanctioned branch. Rights groups say that authorities in An Giang routinely harass followers of the unapproved groups, prohibiting public readings of the Hoa Hao founder’s writings and discouraging worshipers from visiting Hoa Hao pagodas in An Giang and other provinces. Reported by Cat Linh for RFA’s Vietnamese Service, Translated by Viet Ha. Written in English by Richard Finney.

Nextbit makes the bold claim that its smartphone will actually get better over time thanks to software tweaks. It plans to sell it for $300 to $400. You would normally laugh off any no-name company's attempt to jump into the brutally competitive smartphone business. But given the pedigree of the members at startup Nextbit, you have to at least be curious. Nextbit, which began life as a secretive software startup focused on a cloud-based tool that allowed you to move files and settings between Android devices, has shifted gears into hardware and intends to launch its own smartphone. The company, which boasts Google Ventures as a backer, Android veterans Tom Moss and Mike Chan and former HTC design chief Scott Croyle, plans to unveil its smartphone on September 1, Moss said in an interview. "It's going to be friggin' awesome," said Moss, the chief executive of Nextbit. Nextbit is bucking the trend and taking a bet on smartphones at a time when Microsoft is drastically cutting its mobile devices operation and Samsung continues to see falling profits from its once powerhouse smartphone business. In an industry where seemingly only Apple can turn a consistent profit, Nextbit hopes to stand out through its staff's intimate knowledge of Android and its HTC-inspired design chops. "Phone fatigue is a real thing," Moss said. "That's why we're doing something different." While Moss wouldn't comment on the price, he said the device would cost in the new "premium tier" of Android smartphones, which he said ranged between $300 and $400. Nextbit's biggest boast is that its smartphone will actually get better over time. That's a bold claim considering that the current crop of smartphones seem to become obsolete weeks after you purchase one when the next flashier smartphone arrives. The company believes it will be able to achieve its goals by noodling through the Android operating system. "Your phone will perform better over time and function at a higher level because of this software enhancement." While the Nextbit team was short on details, Chan, the chief technology officer of Nextbit, said the first smartphone would address the annoyance of storage limits. The company will use cloud technology to boost the storage level, allowing you to carry as many apps, photos and videos as you want. "We're focusing on a device that can adapt to you," Chan said. Future products will tackle other issues, including the potential for a longer lasting smartphone, through software, he said. Moss and Chan were among the early members of the Android team, and they believe they're the best-suited to use the operating system to enhance the hardware. But that doesn't mean going so far as to radically alter Android so that it won't have access to key Google apps, like the approach Amazon took with its Fire tablets and smartphone. "We're supercharging it," Moss said, adding that it was the vision of the original Android team for handset makers to tinker with the software for a better experience. Another thing Nextbit has going for it is Croyle, one of the key HTC designers behind the successful metal-clad HTC One (as well as its follow-up, the well regarded One M8). Chan pointed to Croyle's hiring last year as proof that Nextbit had planned to move into hardware all along. "Hardware is not an all-of-a-sudden thing," he said. "It's been in the plans for some time." How does Nextbit hope to stand out in a sea of me-too Android smartphones? The company was vague on specifics. "There's a lot you have to do to have a provocative design," Moss said, noting that Croyle helped drive the current wave of metallic smartphones. That trend, however, has gotten stale, Moss said, and the company is looking to move forward with a different kind of premium device. A move into the smartphone business can be far costlier than software. The company will have to work with manufacturers to build up inventory, as well as retailers and carrier partners to offer its products. The Nextbit brand isn't well known either; the company would have to spend a fortune to get its name out to the public. Nextbit will be able to establish more of a relationship with potential customers using the Internet and social media, Moss said. The shifts in the smartphone business present an opportunity for new brands to emerge, he added. Beyond the startup funds, Nextbit generated a few million dollars in revenue by shipping its software back-up tool to millions of Android devices sold by Japan's NTT Docomo, according to Chan. Nextbit will likely go after consumers directly, similar to China's hot startup Xiaomi, or more recently, Motorola and its Moto X Pure Edition in the US. Nextbit enters a crowded field, occupied by Chinese vendors such as Huawei, ZTE and Alcatel, which are each trying to breach the mid-tier market with affordable smartphones with quality parts. They're also all going after consumers directly with their own websites and ties to retailers such as Amazon. Nextbit hopes to standout because it's so different from the rest of the pack. "We're trying to push the boundaries," Moss said.

Washington, DC — Three weeks ago, "the first meeting ever" between the chiefs of defense of North African states and Sahel states took place at the Stuttgart, Germany headquarters of the United States European Command (Eucom). Although they are next door neighbors it was "the first time that the chief of defense of Chad and the chief of defense of Niger talked to each other in their life," Eucom Deputy Commander, Charles F. Wald told an audience at the American Enterprise Institute on Tuesday. The defense chiefs participating in the meeting came from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Chad and Niger. "When we talked to them about regional security challenges," Eucom's chief of counter terrorism in the Plans Division, Lt. Colonel Powell Smith, told allAfrica.com, "to a man they identified the greatest security challenge facing their nations as 'religious extremism' -- that's how they termed it not how we termed it and they want to combat it." Out of that Stuttgart meeting came plans that led to a Eucom-Niger-Chad "coordinated" military operation against the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, known as the GSPC. The group, led by Algerian-born Abderrazak le Para, is said to be associated with al-Qaeda and was held responsible for the kidnapping of 32 tourists in southern Algeria last year. After successful government crackdowns on the group in southern Algeria and Mali, members fled through Niger to Chad. In Niger, according to Defence Minister Hassane Bonto, the GSPC was working hand-in-hand with armed bandits and was using hideouts and arms caches left over from a rebellion in the 1990s by Tuareg nomads. Forty-three of the GSPC were reported killed in the combined operation, including, possibly, le Para, although that has not been confirmed. "This was a real terrorist threat," said Wald. "Part of this group were Nigerians, Nigeroise, Chadians, Malians and some Algerians," he told the AEI meeting: "Libya is terrified of them. This is a bad group of people...They have declared allegiance to al-Qaeda. And I'll tell you one thing. I think the United States learned a lesson in Afghanistan. You don't let things go." Eucom's campaign against the GSPC, in partnership with Chad and Niger, is an example of the growing importance of Africa to the security concerns of Eucom, Wald said. Until September 11, he acknowledged, Africa was not part of any strategic plans of Eucom, whose official area of operations includes 43 African countries. Another seven - Djibouti, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Kenya - fall under the responsibility of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). "[Africa] was always there but it wasn't a strategic there." Oil is an important part of the strategic concern. Without African crude oil, "each year the U.S. would need an additional 10 billion gallons of gasoline," the president of ChevronTexaco Overseas Petroleum, George Kirkland, told the AEI meeting. "That's about enough for fourteen and a half million cars and trucks," he said - "more than the total number of registered vehicles in the state of New York." In 10 years, thirty percent of U.S. oil will come from the Gulf of Guinea, Wald said. "We will also become very dependent on natural gas from Africa." Europe's vulnerability is another part of the concern. Much of Sahelian Africa is "a belt of instability," said Wald. Islamists use vast empty or sparsely-populated spaces for transit into Europe and sometimes for terrorist training. Alienation because of failed government policies in many nations makes fertile recruiting ground as well. "Terrorists training in the Sahel can be in the United States or Europe in a matter of hours," retired General Carlton W. Fulford, Wald's predecessor at Eucom who now directs the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, told the AEI meeting. At the heart of the new strategic thrust of Eucom is working with African regional organizations: the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) in the west, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the south, the Maghreb Union in the north, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) and the East African Community in the east and the Central Africa Economic and Monetary Community (Cemac). But encouraging a new political/military geography is also necessary, said Wald. One symbol of this is the Eucom partnership with Algeria, Mali, Niger and Chad known as the Pan Sahel Initiative (PSI) that transcends the traditional north Africa - sub Sahara distinction that still divides the continent at the U.S. Department of State. In Wald's mind, thinking outside of the box seemed to include how Eucom itself needed to be described now that it is paying strategic attention to the south. Africa is so big that Eucom breaks it up into regions, Wald said. "The United States European Command is a misnomer," he said. "One of the things we are working on is trying to figure out what should the name of the command be because this is not Europe, I guarantee you." It is not clear whether Nato has also shifted its view on Africa and is extending its mission southward too. "De facto, Nato has a mission in Africa because we have a mission in Africa," said Wald. "Nato's interests are not now sitting in garrisons in Germany or France or UK waiting for a million Russians to come across the border. Europe needs to get out, go forward and do some prevention." Wald thinks they inevitably will. "Everybody's going to come to the same conclusion at some point. Some will get there faster than others."

One of Estonia’s members of the European Parliament, Social Democrat Marju Lauristin, confirmed to BNS on Monday that she will resign and return to Estonia to serve on the Tartu city council. Lauristin announced this step already during the campaign leading up to the 2017 local elections on Oct. 15. The election in Estonia’s second-largest city was won by the Reform Party, who are now about to enter into coalition negotiations with the Center Party. Reform gained enough seats on the council to be able to do with a single coalition partner. Up to the elections, Reform, Center, and the Social Democrats ran the city together, now it looks like Lauristin’s party will be in opposition. Still, Lauristin is coming back: “I’ve already burned my bridges,” she told BNS on Monday. She added that she made up her mind already during the campaign. She will have to wait a little longer before she can resign, as the results of the Tartu election haven’t been announced officially, and Lauristin is planning to give her election to the city council as the reason for her resignation. “Then I’ll have three days to officially notify the management of the European Parliament about my resignation,” she said. Lauristin said she notified her group in the European Parliament, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats (S&D), as soon as she made the decision to run in local elections. She is also planning to spend more time on teaching at the University of Tartu. In the election on Oct. 15, Lauristin got 1,888 personal votes, which makes her the second most popular politician with the city’s voters behind mayor Urmas Klaas (Reform), who got 4,699 votes.

BRADENTON � A 21-year-old man was shot twice in the parking lot of Cortez Apartments around 1:20 a.m. Saturday, according to a Manatee Sheriff�s report. There are no suspects in the shooting, which authorities said appears to be drug-related. The victim, Michael Reid, lives in the apartment building in the 4500 block of Ninth Street West. He was flown by emergency helicopter to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg with non-life-threatening injuries.

What happened at secret Kushner meeting? Congress is going to decree that the president has the power to order private citizens to break the law, as well as to spy on our telephone calls and e-mails with no warrants. (B) the subject of a written request or directive . . . indicating that the activity was (i) authorized by the President; and (ii) determined to be lawful. So all the Attorney General has to do is recite those magic words -- the President requested this eavesdropping and did it in order to save us from the Terrorists -- and the minute he utters those words, the courts are required to dismiss the lawsuits against the telecoms, no matter how illegal their behavior was. That's the "compromise" Steny Hoyer negotiated and which he is now -- according to very credible reports -- pressuring every member of the Democratic caucus to support. It's full-scale, unconditional amnesty with no inquiry into whether anyone broke the law. In the U.S. now, thanks to the Democratic Congress, we'll have a new law based on the premise that the President has the power to order private actors to break the law, and when he issues such an order, the private actors will be protected from liability of any kind on the ground that the Leader told them to do it -- the very theory that the Nuremberg Trial rejected. I'll post more in just a bit on the new warrantless eavesdropping powers George Bush is going to have under this law. They're vast and precisely the kind of powers that were abused by our Government for decades prior to FISA. Returning to that era is going to be part of the legacy not just of George Bush, but of this Democratic-controlled Congress. Our fund-raising campaign has just exceeded $200,000. So the only solace is that this hefty (and still growing) fund provides some real ability to target those responsible and do everything possible to remove them from power and end their political careers for good (the list thus far includes Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Rep. Chris Carney and Rep. John Barrow). It is also worthwhile to continue to call Barack Obama's campaign to demand that he intervene with meaningful action to stop this (though you'd be advised not to hold your breath while waiting for that to happen). As noted earlier today, Obama is conspicuously missing as his party is on the verge of enacting a radical bill to give the President vast new warrantless eavesdropping powers and retroactive amnesty to an entire lawbreaking industry. We're in the process of creating a new PAC in order to oversee campaigns of the type we're conducting against those responsible for this FISA/telecom travesty, and Jane Hamsher has a poll up asking people to identify the best name. If the Democrats enact this bill, and it looks increasingly like they will, it's vital to direct the resulting rage towards constructive purposes. WASHINGTON – Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman John "Jay" Rockefeller (WV), Senate Intelligence Committee Vice-Chair Kit Bond (MO), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (MD), and House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (MO) announced today that a bipartisan compromise has been agreed to that will modernize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. . . . "This bipartisan bill balances the needs of our intelligence community with Americans' civil liberties, and provides critical new oversight and accountability requirements," said Hoyer. "It is the result of compromise, and like any compromise is not perfect, but I believe it strikes a sound balance. Furthermore, we have ensured that Congress can revisit these issues because the legislation will sunset at the end of 2012." It's outrageous of anyone to suggest that the Democrats capitulated here. They stood firm for you and made sure that this bill will only last for five years. Jay Rockefeller celebrated this "historic, bipartisan agreement to modernize FISA [which] is about providing an essential tool in the fight against terrorism." We're going to be slaughtered by the Terrorists unless the President can listen to our calls and read our emails with no warrants and unless the telecoms are immunized for their lawbreaking. UPDATE II: The full text of this bill is where it belongs: on Steny Hoyer's website, here (.pdf). Perhaps the most repellent part of this bill (though that's obviously a close competition) is 802(c) of the telecom amnesty section. That says that the Attorney General can declare that the documents he submits to the court in order to get these lawsuits dismissed are secret, and once he declares that, then: (a) the plaintiffs and their lawyers won't ever see the documents and (b) the court is barred from referencing them in any way when it dismisses the lawsuit. All the court can do is issue an order saying that the lawsuits are dismissed, but it is barred from saying why they're being dismissed or what the basis is for the dismissal. So basically, one day in the near future, we're all going to learn that one of our federal courts dismissed all of the lawsuits against the telecoms. But we're never going to be able to know why the lawsuits were dismissed or what documents were given by the Government to force the court to dismiss the lawsuits. Not only won't we, the public, know that, neither will the plaintiffs' lawyers. Nobody will know except the Judge and the Government because it will all be shrouded in compelled secrecy, and the Judge will be barred by this law from describing or even referencing the grounds for dismissal in any way. Freedom is on the march. This bill allows for mass and untargeted surveillance of Americans' communications. The court review is mere window-dressing –- all the court would look at is the procedures for the year-long dragnet and not at the who, what and why of the spying. Even this superficial court review has a gaping loophole –- "exigent" circumstances can short cut even this perfunctory oversight since any delay in the onset of spying meets the test and by definition going to the court would cause at least a minimal pause. Worse yet, if the court denies an order for any reason, the government is allowed to continue surveillance throughout the appeals process, thereby rendering the role of the judiciary meaningless. In the end, there is no one to answer to; a court review without power is no court review at all. I'd like to underscore the fact that in 2006, when the Congress was controlled by Bill Frist and Denny Hastert, the administration tried to get a bill passed legalizing warrantless eavesdropping and telecom amnesty, but was unable. They had to wait until the Congress was controlled by Steny Hoyer, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to accomplish that. And isn't it so odd how this "compromise" -- just like the Military Commissions Act, the Protect America Act and all the other great "compromises" from the Bush era which precede this one -- is producing extreme indignation only from those who believe in civil liberties and the rule of law, while GOP Bush followers seem perfectly content and happy with it? I wonder if that suggests that what the Democratic leadership is supporting isn't really a "compromise" at all. The proposed FISA deal is not a compromise; it is a capitulation. . . . The House and Senate should not be taking up this bill, which effectively guarantees immunity for telecom companies alleged to have participated in the President's illegal program, and which fails to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans at home. Allowing courts to review the question of immunity is meaningless when the same legislation essentially requires the court to grant immunity. And under this bill, the government can still sweep up and keep the international communications of innocent Americans in the U.S. with no connection to suspected terrorists, with very few safeguards to protect against abuse of this power. Meanwhile, has anyone seen Barack Obama? The two presumptive presidential nominees have differed over the issue. A senior aide to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., recently indicated the senator would support granting immunity to the phone companies. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was among the most vocal opponents of immunity in the Senate debate last year. . . . A spokesman for the Obama campaign didn't return phone calls or emails seeking comment for this article. If Obama remains missing much longer, it may be necessary to issue an Amber Alert for him. Finally, D-Day reports that the House leadership is working to vote tomorrow on the war funding bill and the FISA "compromise" at the same time. As he puts it: "The final indignity. Funding for endless war AND etching out the 4th Amendment will be combined into the same bill to force enough compliance from [Blue Dogs] to get this bill passed." Did I mention that the Democrats currently control both houses of Congress? UPDATE IV: Several readers have emailed to say that they called the Obama campaign and were told that Obama and his staff are "literally reviewing the bill right now and will make a statement shortly." This Kos diarist reports the same thing. Tomorrow, we will be taking up the FISA bill. As you probably know, the bill has been filed. It is a balanced bill. I could argue it either way, not being a lawyer, but nonetheless, I could argue it either way. But I have to say this about it: it's an improvement over the Senate bill and I say that as a strong statement. The Senate bill is unacceptable. Totally unacceptable. This bill improves upon the Senate bill. . . . And it is again in Title II, an improvement over the Senate bill in that it empowers the District Court, not the FISA Court, to look into issues that relate to immunity. It has a strong language in terms of an Inspector General to investigate how the law has been used, is being used, will be used. So that will be legislation that we take up tomorrow. We will have a lively debate I'm sure within our caucus on this subject and in the Congress. It has bipartisan support. I commend Steny Hoyer for his important work on this legislation, working in a bipartisan way. She doesn't have the courage to say if she supports it -- that is superb and strong leadership -- but in praising the bill, she invokes the justification so obviously misleading that it should insult anyone who hears it: namely, that we should all be grateful because this bill "empowers the District Court, not the FISA Court, to look into issues that relate to immunity." Indeed. What a wonderful concession that is. Instead of ordering the FISA court to give amnesty to the telecoms in secret, the bill orders the District Court to give amnesty to the telecoms in secret. What a very significant and meaningful improvement that is. But, as Pelosi says, she "could argue it either way." Maybe she'll flip a coin before tomorrow's vote in order to figure out whether she's for or against this bill. What's particularly amazing about this whole process is that the House leadership unveiled this bill for the first time today -- and then scheduled the vote on it for tomorrow. No hearings. Nothing. They all have less than 24 hours to "read" the bill and decide whether to eviscerate the rule of law and the Fourth Amendment. I recall Democrats long complaining that they were only given one day before being forced back in September, 2001 to vote on the Patriot Act, yet here they are -- even without the excuse of the 9/11 attack -- doing that to themselves. I'm sure their votes tomorrow will be the by-product of a very conscientious, thoughtful and diligent review of this lengthy bill -- just as thoughtful as Pelosi's review was before she whimsically pronounced that it's all just six of one, half dozen of the other. With some AT&T and other telecommunications companies now facing some 40 lawsuits over their reported participation in the wiretapping program, Republican leaders described this narrow court review on the immunity question as a mere "formality." "The lawsuits will be dismissed," Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri, the No. 2 Republican in the House, predicted with confidence. The proposal -- particularly the immunity provision -- represents a major victory for the White House after months of dispute. "I think the White House got a better deal than even they had hoped to get," said Senator Christopher Bond, the Missouri Republican who led the negotiations. The White House immediately endorsed the proposal, which is likely to be voted on in the House on Friday and in the Senate next week. "The White House got a better deal than even they had hoped to get." The administration should know better by now than to underestimate the Democratic leadership's complete cravenness and eagerness to please the White House.

Is Obama Hijacking—Or Reinforcing—the GOP’s One Big Idea? With a major speech, Obama tries to leapfrog the GOP on deficit reduction and rewrite the narrative, but the Rs may have the home field advantage. The Republicans declare, Slash the government now to save the economy. President Barack Obama’s response: Yes, we must cut, but we must cut in precisely the right fashion to preserve the crucial investments that drive economic growth in the long run and strengthens the health and economic security of the nation’s seniors and most vulnerable. Who wins this debate—which is, at the moment, transpiring on the anti-government home field of Republicans? With an afternoon speech in Washington on Wednesday, the president tried to swipe the mantle of Cutter-in-Chief from the GOP’s clutches—at least, the title of Adult Cutter-in-Chief—and to steer the larger political discourse in a different direction. His aim is to position himself as the fellow who understands the public freak-out (such as it is) over government spending and to persuade Americans—read: independent voters—that he can be trusted more than the GOPers to do this tough job responsibly. The message: do you want Obama the careful surgeon with a sterile scalpel or the Republican amputators with rusty meat-cleavers? Moreover, he’s asking, do you buy the GOP’s vision of a broke-down America that has to squeeze the poor and the elderly and neglect necessary investments in education, R&D, and infrastructure, while granting generous tax breaks to the rich, in order to move ahead toward better days? With plenty of political and policy calculations in mind, Obama felt compelled to release his own deficit-reduction plan—a proposal that would shave $4 trillion over the next 12 years—even if it appears (accurately) that he has been maneuvered into reacting to Ryan and accepting, to a degree, the basic operating premise of the Republicans. His proposal—full of promised future cuts in non-security discretionary spending ($770 billion over 10 years), Pentagon spending ($400 billion), and mandatory programs like agricultural subsidies ($360 billion), and savings in Medicare and Medicaid ($480 billion)—attempts to trump the GOP plan in seriousness with a guarantee: a debt failsafe. If by 2014, budget projections do not show that the debt-to-GDP ratio has stabilized and is declining, there will be automatic across-the-board spending cuts to ensure that deficits average less than 2.8 percent of gross domestic product. How adult, though, is such a stop-me-before-I-spend-again mechanism that doesn’t allow for adult discretion? Social Security, Medicare, and low-income programs would be exempt from this anti-spending Doomsday Machine—as will any spending necessary to deal with an economic downturn or a national security emergency. No doubt, GOPers will point to the exemptions as a sign that Obama is not sufficiently serious about deficits and the debt. These are the kind of cuts that tell us we can’t afford the America we believe in. And they paint a vision of our future that’s deeply pessimistic. It’s a vision that says if our roads crumble and our bridges collapse, we can’t afford to fix them. If there are bright young Americans who have the drive and the will but not the money to go to college, we can’t afford to send them. Think about it. In the last decade, the average income of the bottom 90% of all working Americans actually declined. The top 1% saw their income rise by an average of more than a quarter of a million dollars each. And that’s who needs to pay less taxes? He vowed that such cuts won’t “happen as long as I’m President.” He said he would refuse to renew the Bush tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. In fact, he called for increasing taxes on the wealthy, as part of a “balanced” deficit-reduction plan. This was liberal tonic in a conservative bottle. Obama also took a step the chattering class won’t fancy: he didn’t say the sky is falling regarding Social Security. He reiterated his established position: Social Security is not in crisis or the cause of near-term deficit problems. So he proposed no specific action—but offered principles (no privatization, no reduction in benefits for current beneficiaries, no slashing in benefits for future beneficiaries). He has called for bipartisan negotiations to shore up Social Security separate from bipartisan negotiations he has urged for dealing with the deficit. So Obama is ticking off the boxes—cuts in government (including the military), taxes on the wealthy, and Medicare and Medicaid savings (details to come)—as he tries to leapfrog over the GOP in this deficit-reduction chase and rewrite the overarching narrative. This is not about the numbers, he’s insisting, it’s about the values and aspirations of this nation. But he’s attempting this sophisticated and tricky maneuver on GOP turf—and in doing so, he runs the risk of reinforcing the Republicans’ basic message that the name of the game is deficit-reduction. The speech showed that Obama realizes that to win the debate, he must change the debate.

RESIDENTS and visitors to Bratislava have a unique opportunity to see an exact replica of the famous Crown of Saint Wenceslas starting on April 14 at the Pražská Mincovňa / Prague Mint gallery at Michalská Brana (Michael's Gate) in the Old Town. The replica, the original of which is domiciled in St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle, has arrived in Bratislava from Vatican City, where it was displayed at the commemoration of the 660th anniversary of the coronation of Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor. It will be on display until May 1. Goldsmith Jiří Urban from the town of Turnov in the Czech Republic is also known for producing a replica of the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, considered the most faithful by the experts in the field. Along with the Wenceslas crown, several other rare artefacts are coming to the Slovak capital, including exclusive minted coins devoted to the imperial coronation of Charles IV, Jan Hrubý, executive director of Pražská Mincovňa, told the TASR newswire. Visitors can also preview a new minting of commemorative coins made from gold and silver – each having a diameter of 50 millimetres and weighing 42 grams. The coins depict the Wenceclas crown on the obverse and the Imperial crown on the reverse. The attractiveness of the mintage is enhanced by its limited minting and unique numbering on the edge of each coin.

Archives|BILLIE BURKE AND ZIEGFELD SAIL TODAY; His First Visit to London in 14 Years -- He and A.L. Erlanger Deny Business Breach. BILLIE BURKE AND ZIEGFELD SAIL TODAY; His First Visit to London in 14 Years -- He and A.L. Erlanger Deny Business Breach.

Los Angeles Times Mexico City bureau chief James Smith examines the fledgling administration of Mexican President Vincente Fox. And tonight our correspondent is James Smith, Mexico City bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times. He's been reporting from Mexico for the last four years. Welcome, Jim. Tell us about this new president Mexico has, this guy, Vicente Fox, who came in last year and upset the ruling party that had been in power for seven decades. What kind of a difference has he made? Well, Vicente Fox is literally larger than life. He's a 6′-4″ cowboy-boot president, and he has really shaken up Mexican politics very dramatically. He has brought a new style. He travels around the country. He's much more visible than past presidents. He's… He's been less presidential in the classic Mexican sense. Presidents always in Mexico were extremely powerful. Fox, of course, retains that power, but uses it in very different ways. Is he very… Does he use the media a lot? Is he very media savvy? He certainly uses the media a lot. That's how he got elected. He knew that he had to create a presence for himself, a personality, and he does that very aggressively. He's very driven, and so far he's used the media very well. Now, one thing that definitely seemed a style departure happened earlier this month, when one day he announced that that morning he'd just married his press secretary. Tell us about this. Who is this woman? How was this received? Well, his press secretary is Martha Sahagun, who is, has been throughout the campaign, throughout his presidency, has been much more than a press secretary, very obviously: One of Fox's closest aides during the last four years; one of the architects of his campaign, in terms of public relations strategy. She's from Guanajuato State, his own state, and they had had a close relationship for a long time, and in Mexico… I think Fox was very clever to marry her quickly in a private ceremony at the presidential residence. He didn't let it become an issue. It's not a Carlos Menem marrying a beauty queen. It's very personal, he kept it personal, and I think she'll be more effective as a first lady than perhaps she was as a press secretary. So this style of his, how effective is he with this style? In other words, he promised revolutionary change; how much has he been able to deliver? Well, the challenges are immense in Mexico for any president who's replacing the former ruling party, which was entrenched in power for 70 years, in which corruption became an enormous problem, and beyond corruption, where the systems didn't work, and that's the real challenge I think that Fox has to address now, is to fix the systems that are broken — because it's more than corruption; it's that the civil service doesn't exist. I mean, basic boring things, but things that really are very fundamental to create the kind of modern Mexico education that works, and beyond those issues, he's got plans. He's got plenty of plans. There's no shortage of crusades in Vicente Fox's government, and I think that's good and healthy, but deliverables at this point are fairly minimal. You wrote actually about six weeks, two months ago, you said that the honeymoon is definitely over. What are the problems? Well, his first major problem is economic. In the past, every Mexican presidency since –1970, '76 has ended in an economic crisis. He has the advantage of not having had to face a serious economic, a full-blown economic crisis with devaluations and the kind of recessions that past presidents have had to deal with, but on the other hand, he's got a big U.S. downturn to deal with. Economic downturn. The economies have become so intertwined in the last 20 years, and especially since NAFTA in 1994, that any slowdown in the U.S. economy has a huge impact on Mexico– 90% of Mexican exports go to the U.S.– and that's being felt dramatically. The growth is likely to be 2% at best this year, down from 7% last year, and that means fewer jobs for young Mexicans and more unemployment, and it's a real dampener for Fox. But you've said he's also had trouble… You wrote that he's also had trouble getting through the Congress some of the things he wants. Well, part of the challenge of the new Mexico is that democracy has run amuck, in healthy ways. The Congress never mattered. Now you have a Congress that does matter, that has very diverse views and is not a rubber stamp for the president, and Fox has battled to build the kind of relationships that he needs with the new Congress and even with his own party, which is a center-right party, a fairly conservative party, it's by no means totally behind him, and that's a big problem, and he recognizes it, his cabinet team recognizes it. I think they're starting to try to mend those fences, but without that, it's going to be very hard to achieve what he wants to achieve. Let's look at the U.S.-Mexico relationship. The two new presidents had a meeting at Fox's ranch, President Bush and President Fox in February. They pronounced themselves amigos. Has that had practical results? Well, certainly it's been comfortable for Bush, who knows Mexico well from Texas, to build this relationship with Fox. It's very much in Fox's interest because the relationship is complex and it's enormously complicated, and so far I think delivering some results. That's probably one of the areas where some of the most concrete results, and I think a lot of it has to do with Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda, who has also built a good relationship with Colin Powell, and they plunged right in on very tough issues. Migration and drugs are the two obvious examples. Now migration, the plight of Mexican immigrants here, is a big issue to Fox. He talked about that, in fact, when he was on this program. What changes has he been able to institute there? I mean, he calls these migrants heroes. Well, there are two broad areas that the Mexicans want to deal with: One is border safety, because hundreds of Mexicans die crossing the border illegally every year. The Mexicans say 491 people died last year, which is an enormous loss of life, and the deaths of 14 migrants in the Arizona desert in one group a couple weeks ago really catalyzed, I think, the will to do something, and the U.S. and Mexico signed a big border-safety agreement. The other half of that is creating legal flows of migrants that meet U.S. needs for labor through a guest-worker program, and that meet Mexico's needs to offer job possibilities to people at home, and that is now the subject of I think quite intense negotiations this summer, and the two presidents want to get to a deal by September. Certainly the Mexicans do. How anxious the Americans are to sign a deal I think depends on the details. Well, the Americans say at least that the tradeoff would be, would it not, that more legal flows of guest workers here, but in turn the Mexican government would try to stop the illegal flows. Is that something Fox could really deliver on? It's very hard to say whether Fox could deliver on that. I think for the first time the Mexicans are saying that, that they would be willing, if there's a package deal– not if there's just a guest-worker program, but if there's a comprehensive deal increasing the legal flows– that they would discourage the illegal migration, and that would be the first time that that ever happened, and it's not clear that merely asking people to stay home when they're hungry and they need work is going to be effective. Finally, is Fox still as popular with the public as he was, at least immediately after his election? People are still willing to give Fox a good bit of time to do more. The honeymoon isn't yet over publicly. It's over with the media. The media is much more critical, and that's healthy, too, that the Mexican media is no longer a pushover for the president, but the public is still willing to give him a chance. All right. Well, Jim Smith, thanks so much. Thanks for being with us.

THOUSANDS of spectators are expected to arrive in the city to see which band is named overall winner. THE final rounds of the world's biggest piping competition will take place in Glasgow today. Around 8000 pipers and drummers will have competed for the top spots in their respective categories by the time the 2013 World Pipe Band Championships finish tonight. Yesterday the winners of three sections were decided, with two Irish ensembles and one Scottish being crowned champions. St Colmcille's, from Tullamore, County Offaly, won the 4A Grade, New Ross and District, from County Wexford, took the 3B title and Buchan Peterson, from Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, were top of the Grade 2 table. The finals of the ultimate Grade 1 title, as well as Grade 4B and 3A, will take place today at Glasgow Green. This is the first time the annual gathering is being held over two days, with 225 bands taking part. The event, which is expected to be attended by thousands of spectators, involves competitions across all grades, as well as a novice/juvenile contest. Last year's overall winner was the Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band from Northern Ireland, who also won the 2011 competition. The championships, known as The Worlds, have been associated with Glasgow for more than 60 years. The event is organised by Glasgow Life and the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association.

The Assistance League of Laguna Beach is looking for some friends. Folks are invited to attend a Friend Raiser from 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 29 at Madison Square and Garden Café, hosted by Jon Madison. The event will include musical entertainment by Ken Garcia and a fashion show modeled by local celebrities, including Mayor Pro Tem Elizabeth Pearson. Hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, desserts and beverages will be served. Reservations are not required. Admission is one item for the league's Thrift Shop, which reopened on Sept. 3. A $25 donation will also get you in. "The Friend Raiser is a huge help to our thrift shop," said Ann Hyde, event chair. "Please attend and bring a Treasure." Sales of the donated items at the Turnabout Shop or cash will support the league's many philanthropic programs. League philanthropies include the free Early Intervention Program, begun in 1976, which helps parents of developmentally delayed babies through the difficult first year. Parents are provided with the "hands-on" experience to guide them in furthering their child's developmental opportunities. Professionals make specific recommendations for each child to ensure his or her optimal development. A parent support group meeting follows each session, facilitated by a marriage and family therapist who leads discussions of issues involved in parenting and caring for a child with special needs. League members care for the babies while the parents meet. Members also commit to working in the Turnabout Shop twice a month and with the Early Intervention Program three times a year — bringing snacks or rocking the babies. "EIP" meets from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesdays. For more information about the program, visit websiteALLaguna@verizon.netor call (949) 494-6097. Laguna's chapter is also considering ways it can support the recently opened facility on South Coast Highway for developmentally delayed young adults. The facility is filled to its capacity of 50 and there are 25 on the wait list. "We will be meeting with representatives of Glenwood House to discuss what they need and how we can help," said Judy Soulakis, chapter president. •Teddy Bears are supplied to the Laguna Beach Community Clinic and Fire Department for children in traumatic situations. •* Operation School Bell provides backpacks filled with school supplies and jackets for children at the Boys and Girls Club of Laguna Beach. •* Arrangements for underprivileged children to attend suitable performances at the Laguna Playhouse. •* Eye exams and glasses for children at the Boys and Girls Club and Even Start, with the hope of expanding the program to elementary schools. •* Headsets for Top of the World Elementary School students. •*Scholarships for Laguna High School Students and scholarships for therapeutic horseback riding programs at Shea Center for children with exceptional needs. •* Clothing for Friendship Shelter residents who are ready for new jobs or job interviews. •* Technology equipment for San Onofre Elementary School on Camp Pendleton Marine Base. "Every class got computers for school work and to make contact with their deployed parents," Hyde said. The Laguna Beach chapter is one of seven that provides complete school outfits and school supplies for more than 700 needy children who live on the base, Hyde said. The chapter also sponsors Assisteens, the teenage auxiliary open to high school students. The girls earn credit toward their community service requirement for graduation. They work in the Turnabout Shop on Saturdays, stuff socks with toiletries for the military, play Bingo with seniors at The Susi Q and cook and serve dinners once a month at Friendship Shelter. Laguna's Assistance League was founded in 1952 as the Las Amigas Guild by a group of 14 original members. It was chartered in 1962 as the 29th chapter of National Assistance League. The group is a nonprofit, nonsectarian, and nonpolitical corporation, run entirely by the volunteers. Former Councilwoman Verna Rollinger and the Rev. Colin Powell will be honored as the Villagers of the Year at a garden party on Oct. 5. Henderson has lived in Laguna since 1985. His legacy to Laguna is Friendship Shelter, the culmination of a program he and others established as a temporary shelter for the homeless. Transitional housing in San Clemente for graduates of Friendship Shelter was named Henderson House in his honor. Although retired as the director of the shelter, Henderson is a board member and a tireless advocate for Laguna's homeless population. He served on the city's Homeless Task Force, created at the suggestion of council member Kelly Boyd and on the Advisory Committee on Homelessness, created in 2009 to oversee implementation of the Task Force recommendations. Rollinger shared Henderson's concern for the homeless and served as a founding member of Friendship Shelter. Her involvement with city issues began soon after she moved to town and became part of Yes On 3 Committee which initiated the successful vote in 1970 on 36-foot height limitations in Laguna. The committee, headed by Arnold Hano, morphed into Village Laguna, of which Rollinger is a member and which endorsed her runs for the City Council. Rollinger served for more than 30 years as the City Clerk and for one term on the City Council. She is still active in community affairs. She opposes the proposed project at the Village Entrance and is a member of LetLagunaVote. The party honoring Rollinger and Henderson will be hosted by Village Laguna at the home the home of Bill and Lynda Sharp. The event will include dinner, wine and live music. Tickets are $85, and can be purchased on PayPal or at http://www.villagelaguna.com.

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) - The New York Philharmonic became the most prominent U.S. cultural institution to visit isolated, nuclear-armed North Korea today, and orchestra members said they hoped their musical diplomacy could bring the two nations closer together. North Korea made unprecedented accommodations for the orchestra, allowing a delegation of nearly 300 people, including musicians, staff and journalists, to fly into Pyongyang on a chartered plane for 48 hours. The Philharmonic's concert tomorrow will be broadcast live on North Korea's state-run TV and radio, unheard of in a country where events are carefully choreographed to bolster the personality cult of leader Kim Jong Il. The Philharmonic accepted the North's invitation to play last year, with the encouragement of the U.S. government, at a time of rare optimism in the long-running nuclear standoff involving the two countries. After successfully testing an atomic bomb in October 2006, North Korea shut down its main nuclear reactor in July and is working to disable it in exchange for aid and removal from U.S. terrorism and sanctions blacklists. But disarmament has stalled this year because of what Washington says is North Korea's failure to give a full declaration of its atomic programs to be dismantled, something it pledged to do. Music director Lorin Maazel said despite the political overtones of the trip, it was the right decision to go. "I think it would have been a great mistake not to accept their invitation," he said. "I am a musician and not a politician. Music has always traditionally been an arena, an area where people make contact. It's neutral, it's entertainment, it's person to person."

Appleton schools don't pay for all coaches to attend state tournamentA booster club might cover the costs, including that of substitute teacher. Campaign handbill doesn't disclose full cost of Neenah school referendumThe school district is seeking approval to spend $130 million on improvements, including the construction of a new middle school for grades 7 and 8. Dams on Lake Winnebago don't affect flooding in New London, ShioctonWatershed chief says there's a 95 percent chance that the Wolf River will reach flood stage this spring. Appleton requires removal of snow and ice from sidewalks within 36 hoursThe city can complete the job and bill the property owner for the work. Kaukauna, Little Chute reach fundraising goal for Fox River BoardwalkMore than 80 percent of the $3.3 million cost has been secured through grants and donations. Appleton anticipates quieting train whistles by summerThe government shutdown delayed the Federal Railroad Administration's review of the city's application. Pipes along College Avenue for underground, navigable streamThe tributary starts north of Wisconsin Avenue and flows south into Mud Creek. Appleton library project promises shared costs, added tax baseCommercial Horizons, a private developer, has plans for 304 apartments or condos. Vote on Appleton library needs 4,900 signaturesAn advisory referendum could be ordered by the Common Council, but it has rejected two previous proposals. DOT says I-41 Bergstrom signs violate lawLocal approval doesn't replace or guarantee approval from the state. Appleton hires firm to manage crossing guardsThe 2018-19 contract with All City Management Services totals $251,674. Gas prices must be posted in conspicuous placeA station in Little Chute was in compliance with state law despite having an inoperable electronic sign. Menasha asks Canadian National to fix crossingThe city uses the PASER system to grade the condition of its streets. Neenah spends $25,000 for new sign along I-41The city has money left over for a sign at the entrance to the Southpark Industrial Center. Bits of Menasha's Brin Building will be savedThe historical society will receive 100 decorative bricks from the facade. Appleton police can use squad cars off dutyThe program has been in place since the 1970s and helps to raise the profile of police in the community. Neenah panhandler refuses help from policeThe woman was ticketed for soliciting donations on private property. Neenah sled hill rises from leftover materialAerial photographs show that construction started in 1981. Oneida Street too big to complete in one yearThe project cost more than $13 million and involved underground utilities. Neenah, DNR work to control invasive phragmitesThe common reed crowds out native plants and animals. Investigation delays cleanup of house explosionIf no action is taken, the village could step in to do the work and bill the property owners. Absentee ballots must arrive by Election DayIn the past, absentee ballots would be counted if they were postmarked by Election Day, but the law was changed starting in 2016.

A man who used a hammer and knife to carry out four robberies in the space of two weeks – including at the same sandwich shop twice – is being hunted by detectives. Officers said they are “determined” to bring the raider to justice after he subjected his victims to terrifying threats – with Gazette readers urged to contact police if they recognise the man captured in these CCTV images. Det Insp Eric Halford said: “These are serious incidents where threats of violence have been used. We have launched an investigation and are determined to find out who is responsible. “The incidents have been confined to a small geographic area and have been very similar in nature, with similar descriptions given for the offender. At this stage, we believe they are linked. The first robbery happened in Mansfield Road, close to Layton Cemetery, at around 5.30am on Monday, April 1, when a man was threatened with a knife and ordered to hand over his belongings. He escaped unhurt and without having anything stolen. He struck at the same Subway twice in two days. The second robbery was at Subway in Westcliffe Drive, Layton, at around 7.30am on Friday, when the man waved a hammer at workers and stole “a small amount of cash” from the till. The third robbery took place at 10pm the same day, at Bargain Booze in Talbot Road, Blackpool, but the brave staff refused to hand anything over and the robber fled empty handed. The last robbery happened at 9.10pm on Sunday, again at Subway in Layton. The man used a knife to again threaten staff and emptied £300 into a carrier bag before fleeing. Andrew Beardall, Subway’s area manager, said: “My partner Angela Torr was working in the Subway during the first robbery, when he threatened her with the hammer. She was badly shook up but fortunately wasn’t hurt. Information can be reported to police by calling 101, quoting log number 1390 of April 14.