NEW DELHI (AP) — An Indian court has ruled that a powerful minister will not have to stand trial in a multibillion-dollar telecommunications scandal, giving the beleaguered government a reprieve.
Judge O.P. Saini on Saturday dismissed opposition politician Subramanian Swamy's request that Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram face prosecution in the …
A Nike Inc. executive says the U.S. sports outfitter is cautiously optimistic about overall trading prospects for the year, with sales of its football-related kit already up dramatically ahead of this year's World Cup.
Brand president Charlie Denson said Thursday that total revenue growth will likely mirror a global economic recovery, with the 32-nation World Cup in South Africa …
All week the vast majority of callers to Pittsburgh sportstalkradio shows focused on the Steelers, the resurgence of KordellStewart and their team's long-shot playoff hopes.
As of Thursday morning, all the talk was about Penguins ownerMario Lemieux planning to play again after a 44-month retirement.
"We had callers joking: `What's the name of the football team inthis town?' " producer Bob McLaughlin said. "It was Mario calls non-stop."
As news hit the hockey world, it was received with the same blendof shock and excitement.
"This is probably the biggest story we've seen since Wayne Gretzkywas traded (from Edmonton to Los Angeles in 1988)," former NHL …
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis coach Josh Pastner has signed a five-year contract extension after leading the Tigers to the NCAA tournament in his second year on the job.
The university said Tuesday that Pastner's extension is worth $1.7 million annually and runs through the 2015-2016 season.
Pastner was hired in April 2009 to replace John Calipari when he took the Kentucky job. The …
Needing wins in a tense pennant race, the free-falling New York Mets can't find a way to beat the lowly Washington Nationals. Sounds the same as last September.
Odalis Perez shut down the slumping Mets and scored the only run of the game, sending Washington to a 1-0 victory Tuesday night that put New York's NL East lead in jeopardy.
The Mets, who began the day with a half-game edge over Philadelphia, lost for the fourth time in five games. The Phillies played at Atlanta.
Willie Harris made another key catch against New York, which went 1-5 versus the Nationals over the final two weeks last season _ a big reason for its massive meltdown. The Mets held …
Young women from Bath are proving you can have brains as well asbeauty as they battle it out to represent the city in the MissEngland pageant.
The organisers of the traditional competition are searching forgirls to buck the stereotype of the beauty queen and bring it up todate for the present day.
One of those hoping to represent Bath in the national finals is17-year-old Lina White, who is studying for A-levels in maths,further maths, economics, chemistry and Spanish at Ralph AllenSchool.
Over the summer she picked up 12 A*s in her GCSEs and is hopingto show people a new side to her in the contest.
Lina said: "My parents were the people who …
WASHINGTON - Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., acknowledged Sunday that he asked a U.S. attorney …
A graduate student this month photographed what some thought was a remarkable find: A complete tusk of a prehistoric pygmy mammoth.
It turned out to be something far older.
A team of researchers spent two days on Santa Cruz Island excavating and determined it was a jawbone from an extinct whale species.
Lotus Vermeer of the Nature Conservancy …
I have asked myself many times what I would have done if I'ddiscovered my husband and I couldn't conceive children. I've alwayssaid we would have adopted. I have a daughter who looks a lot likeme and two sons to whom I do not look remotely related, and I knowwithout question that my love for them has nothing to do with thefact that my blood runs in their veins.
Sometimes I will notice and take pleasure in the way Charlie'swalk resembles Steve's or the way Willy's cowlick matches my own. Itmay be that there are certain connections built into our chromosomes,but those things are only interesting oddities to me, notrequirements for our love. I think what I love best about …
DETROIT - Opponents are criticizing a key backer of a ballot initiative to end public affirmative action programs in Michigan after he made comments that appeared to welcome the Ku Klux Klan's support.
Ward Connerly, a California businessman who is pushing the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative and helped to get similar measures passed elsewhere, was quoted in a documentary examining affirmative action. The measure on Tuesday's ballot would ban the use of race and gender preferences in state government and university admissions.
In a video posted to the Web site YouTube.com, Connerly is shown saying, "If the Ku Klux Klan thinks that equality is right, God bless them. Thank …
Italy's financial police visited 76 Italian branches of Swiss banks and related offices Tuesday to ensure they are correctly reporting their financial transactions, officials said.
The police and Italy's tax authority said the effort was part of the country's fight against illegal tax havens and international tax evasion.
Some 100 financial police agents checked the offices "particularly at risk" in a first wave of visits to guarantee the "precise and punctual" reporting of financial transactions to Italian authorities.
Switzerland has recently been forced to relax its venerated banking secrecy laws …
The HTVYAEDS Atlas, unveiled at a June 22 news conference, offers a new online tool for advocates to look at the burden of disease within their communities and how it breaks down along standard demographic and political lines.
It visually makes clear that 40 percent of the national HTV caseload is found in just 20 of the nation's 3,225 counties; 80 percent is found in 200 counties. After the largest cities, the epidemic is spread most broadly across the south.
"We believe that every community ought to know its status ... to make appropriate interventions as well as to advocate," said Gary Puckrein, president of the National Minority Quality Forum, which created the tool using existing health data. The group already maps other chronic conditions such as diabetes and kidney disease.
"We can begin to ask questions about prevention issues, access issues, quality of care issues, making sure that our resources are in alignment" with the caseload, he said, adding that it is hard for community-based organizations to collect and analyze that type of data on their own.
The interactive map uses 2006 data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and county public health officials. The Forum hopes to add to that as new data becomes available, and overlay it with additional information provided by Medicare and Medicaid.
The information can be searched down to the zip code level in New York City but is broader in many other jurisdictions where the caseload is lighter. That is because of privacy concerns for the confidentiality of those living with HIV.
GouldaDowner, with the National Minority AEDS Education and Training Center at Howard University, applauded the effort. "The number of people living with HEV continues to climb," she said, "therefore the population in need of prevention services continues to grow as well."
The HEV/AEDS Atlas is available at www.maphiv.org. Registration is required but the site is free.
Hamburger SV has signed midfielder Anton Putsilo on loan from Dinamo Minsk of Belarus until the end of the season.
The Bundesliga club said Wednesday it had the option to sign Putsilo on a longer contract.
DRIVING DISTANCE
1 J.B. Holmes 332.2
2 Tiger Woods 324.3
3 Davis Love 317.5
4 Geoff Ogilvy 309.0
5 Jason Gore 308.2
FAIRWAYS HIT
1 Heath Slocum 37 (88%)
2 Fred Funk 35 (83%)
3 Olin Browne 34 (81%)
Chris Riley 34 (81%)
5 7 tied 31 (74%)
Greens in regulation
1 Tiger Woods 44 (81%)
2 Mike Weir 43 (80%)
3 Shaun Micheel 42 (78%)
Geoff Ogilvy 42 (78%)
Retief Goosen 42 (78%)
PUTTS
1 J.B. Holmes 77
2 Ryan Palmer 78
3 Davis Love 80
Anders Hansen 80
5 5 tied 81
The traditional dinner of champions was less than a success.Defending champion Sandy Lyle, who picked the menu and paid the tab,showed up in kilts and provided haggis, a dish traditional in hisnative Scotland but not as well received by the former winners. Mark Calcavecchia, who finished second last year, believes GregNorman may be trying too hard. "He seems so intense, slower than I'veever seen him," said Calcavecchia. "He's grinding so hard. That'snot Greg." Norman concedes Calcavecchia may be right.
Norman said Seton Hall's Andrew Gaze, a fellow Australian, inspiredhis interest in the NCAA tournament. "I'm not a fan, but I watchedbecause of him," said Norman. "He looks a couple of years youngerthan I am, and when I grew up basketball wasn't that strong inAustralia." Six-time winner Jack Nicklaus has an aching back again. "I spent allMonday on the floor and wasn't sure I could play," he said. But hecarded a 34 for nine holes Tuesday and expects his back to improveeach day of the tournament. Tournament chairman Hord Hardin admitted he was bothered by FuzzyZoeller's criticism of the course last year. "When one of our formerchampions shoots 66 and is that critical of us, I have to worry," hesaid. "The players have been complimentary so far this year.Hopefully they'll remain so after they've three- or four-putted underthe strain of the tournament, but I know better." Lee Trevino, perhaps playing in his last Masters, always has beencritical of the tournament. Hardin hasn't taken it personally. "Iadmire the guy," said Hardin. "He's talented, funny and I like theway he handles his job on TV. It would be nice if he had a goodtournament because he's never had his best game here. Even if hewon, that would be fine with me." Rain hit the course Wednesday, but Seve Ballesteros echoed thethoughts of most of the players in saying, "I've never seen thecourse in better condition." Ballesteros is playing in his 13thMasters, but his first as a married man. His wife of four months iswith him. Bob Gilder parred the first extra hole to win a playoff from AndyMagee and capture the par-3 contest. The bad news for Gilder is thata par-3 winner never has won the Masters the same year.
Apple Inc.'s newest iPhone was in hot demand Thursday as hundreds lined up outside stores in Tokyo, Berlin, New York and elsewhere to become among the first to own the device.
The iPhone 4's launch began in Japan and moved across France, Germany and the U.K. before going on sale in the U.S. at 7 a.m. in each time zone.
Unlike past launches, there were worries about limited supplies after more than 600,000 people rushed to pre-order iPhones on the first day they were available, prompting Apple and its U.S. carrier, AT&T Inc., to stop taking orders for shipment by Thursday's launch. On Apple's website, new orders weren't promised for delivery until July 14.
AT&T stopped taking pre-orders entirely and won't have any iPhone 4s for people who didn't reserve them until June 29. That means people who didn't place an iPhone 4 order had to line up outside Apple stores Thursday in the hopes of snagging one on a first-come, first-served basis. Apple won't say whether it believes it has enough iPhones on hand to avoid disappointing those would-be buyers.
In Paris, 24-year-old shoe salesman Julien Remy went to buy one during his lunch break, only to learn the store had run out of the higher-capacity model he wanted.
"Either I'll look elsewhere or come back later," he said.
Long lines formed from early morning across the city at Apple stores and retail outlets across Tokyo. At the Apple store in the city's swanky Ginza shopping district, staff handed out bottled water and loaned black umbrellas with the company logo. A man dressed as a giant iPhone danced and waived his arms as he made it to the front of the line.
"I like the design. It's sleek _ I think it's cool!" said Yoko Kosugi, 41, a graphic designer, who took her new phone out of her bag to show it off, plastic wrapping still on the screen.
In Apple's newly opened store in the Georgetown section of Washington, employees handed out free pastries to people in line.
Beth Henriksen, 30, of Washington, was the first person in the pre-order pickup line at the Georgetown store. She got in line at 2:15 a.m. Henriksen, a sign language interpreter, said she is upgrading her old iPhone to the new model because of the Facetime application allowing face-to-face video calls.
"This is revolutionary in the U.S. for deaf people to have a mobile device they can use to communicate in their native language."
Maria Powell, 41, of Hollywood, Fla., made it a family affair. Her nephew, her son, his girlfriend and a friend had camped outside of the Apple store in Aventura, Fla., since 4:30 p.m. Wednesday _ more than 14 hours before the phones went on sale.
"My eyes are twitching, my body is going into shock ... but I am getting the newest gadget," said Powell's nephew, Steven Casillas, 25, of Miami Lake, Fla.
In Germany, exclusive carrier Deutsche Telekom AG allowed customers to order the phone starting June 15, so many who lined up at stores were assured of getting a device.
Frank Moravietz, a project developer in Berlin, stopped by a Telekom shop on the capital's main Unter den Linden boulevard around midday to pick up his new iPhone _ a birthday present for his wife.
"I ordered it in advance and everything has gone off without a problem," Moravietz said. "I only had to wait about 45 minutes."
Dirk Wende, a spokesman for Telekom, said that enough phones were also available for customers who did not pre-order them. Wende said one store in Germany _ Telekom's flagship store in Berlin _ opened ahead of the official launch at midnight to offer the phone.
"Hundreds of customers showed up to buy the new iPhone," Wende said.
In London, 23-year-old Ben Paton described his 16 hours in line to get one as "absolutely incredible, amazing. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity."
Alex Lee, a 27-year-old customer who flew in from Dubai to join the 500-person-long line along London's Regent Street, said his journey and hours of waiting had been worth it. "It's so thin, maybe five or six credit cards thick _ it's amazing," he said, clutching his new handset.
In the trendy Tokyo shopping district of Harajuku, over 300 people were lined up at the flagship store of Softbank, Japan's exclusive carrier, when its doors opened in the morning. That store ran out of phones by early afternoon, said company spokesman Naoki Nakayama.
"We've been selling out at each launch, it's the same conditions," he said, declining to release any numbers.
When the initial version of the iPhone was released in Japan two years ago, some questioned whether it could succeed without many of the advanced hardware features common on Japanese models. But the phone's addictive touch screen and broad selection of downloadable applications have made it a runaway hit in the country.
Yet some in Japan say the phone has become a victim of its own success, causing the network to slow down, as more people use them.
Motoki Sato, a university student waited through the night before the launch along with dozens of others at a store in Shibuya, to get "a birthday present for myself" when he turned 24 on Thursday.
The newest model is thinner with a better-resolution screen and longer battery life. It features a new operating system that can also be installed on some older models, such as the 3GS.
Some customers, though, weren't buying a new iPhone for its features.
"I have the 3GS, but my friend dropped it in a pitcher of beer last week," said Julia Glanternik, 28, a medical student in New York.
_____
Associated Press writers Jay Alabaster and Jun Stinson in Tokyo, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, David Stringer in London, Rafael Mesquita in Paris, Lauren Sausser in Washington, Annie Greenberg in Aventura, Fla., and Joel Schectman in New York contributed to this report.
Members of the embattled polygamist sect said life was relatively normal on their West Texas ranch at the center of one of the United States' largest child-custody cases.
The Yearning for Zion ranch is owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that state authorities raided two weeks ago in search of a 16-year-old girl who claimed her husband beat and raped her.
Child welfare officials have removed all 416 children living there from the custody of their parents. The 16-year-old has yet to be found.
Members gave a few tours Wednesday to show their lives _ isolated from what they regard as a hostile and sinful outside world _ center on family and faith.
A gleaming, white limestone temple is the center of the 1,700-acre (688 hectares) ranch with large, log-style homes, a school, a dairy, a rock quarry and a community garden planted with vegetables, fruit trees and a grape arbor.
Set back some three miles (about 5 kilometers) from a state highway, the ranch sits behind two locked gates, which outsiders and excommunicated members suggest is a symbol of the control church elders have over the lives of the faithful.
No one who lives here calls it a compound.
"All of us say the ranch. It's the ranch. It's home," said Rozie, a 23-year-old married member of the sect. Members won't allow their last names to be used because they worry about the effect on their children in state custody.
Each family begins and ends the day with prayer, said Dan, 24, whose wife remains housed in the San Angelo Coliseum complex 45 miles (72 kilometers) to the north with their 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son.
"It is lifeless here without our kids around here" he said.
On Thursday, a custody hearing starts in the Tom Green County Courthouse to decide whether the children, who range in age from six months to 17 years, will be in permanent state custody. State officials alleged a pattern of abuse by adults, including marriages between young girls to older men.
Sect members deny children were abused.
"It's the furtherest thing away from what we do here," Dan said of the abuse allegations. "There's nothing that's more disliked and more trained against.
Under Texas law, the Child Protective Services, an attorney for each child and attorneys for the parents must be given a chance to weigh in on whether the children should remain in state custody.
Typically, each child also is given a separate hearing, but given the number of cases, it's likely the judge will have the state, the children's attorneys and the parents' attorneys make consolidated presentations, at least initially, said Harper Estes, the president-elect of the state bar.
"You can't go one-by-one," Estes said.
A parade of attorneys appointed to represent each child _ many volunteers recruited by the bar association _ met with the children being housed in shelters and filed notices with the court on Wednesday. A separate group of attorneys arrived at the compound in Eldorado to meet with their parents.
The children have been held in shelters, first in Eldorado and then in San Angelo since they were removed from the sprawling compound nearly two weeks ago. All but the youngest children are being cared for by state workers and child care providers.
The FLDS came to West Texas in 2003, relocating some members from the church's traditional home along the Utah-Arizona border.
The faith traces its religious roots to the early theology of the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which now denounces polygamy and excommunicates members found practicing it.
___
Associated Press writer Michelle Roberts contributed to this report from San Angelo.
REGION
Say you're a small business owner with a line of credit at the community bank you've used your whole career. You knowthe bank took some hits in its real estate loan portfolio recently, but your lending officer has assured you the problem is well in hand.
On tonight's 11 o'clock news, you learn the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. seized your bank after hours and shut it down, transferring its assets to a bank you know nothing about.
Well, everyone knows deposit accounts of up to $250,000 are insured, so those are safe. Butyou had a lending relationship that was vital to your business. What do you do about that?
The main thing is to be proactive, said George Millward, a longtime banker who now runs Millward Consulting, an industry advisory firm based in Berks County.
Call the new bank and find out if it acquired your loan, he said. Bank closures can be chaotic, and information may be limited for a few days, but be persistent and you should soon get answers, he said.
If the new bank has your loan, talk to the lending officers, he said. Set up a meeting and begin building a new banking relationship.
"I'd be pretty aggressive about that," he said. "If I'm a new customer, I want to make sure my story is heard and understood."
As was widely predicted, bank failures haverisen in 2010. Therewere 149 nationwide through last week, compared with 140 in 2009 and three in 2007, according to the FDIC.
In general, Pennsylvania's banks have been healthier than many other statesi experts said. The commonwealth saw its first closure of the year Nov. 19, when Allegiance Bank of North America, basedinLowerMerionTownship, Montgomery Countyt, closed.
The FDIC transferred its assets to Vist Bank, based in Wyomissing, Berks County. Vist officials declined to be interviewed for this article.
As a rule, the state Department of Banking advises clients of failed banks to continue making payments, spokesman Ed Novak said.
"As a regulatory agency, our concern is that both parties treat each other fairly and according to the law," Novak said.
Clients with loans at failed banks have little to worry about as long as they have stayed current on their payments, Millward said.
"If you're a good customer and you've been paying off your note ... the bank that buys the failed institution will probably pick up your note as well," he said.
Still, the acquiring bank has the right to change loan terms, decline to renew them, and even shut down lines of credit, FDIC spokeswoman Laluan Williams-Young said.
That's why it's so vital to present your case as soon as possible, Millward said.
If the new bank does want to change or end loan terms, businesses have to be ready to find new lenders, Millward said.
Business customers with credit problems may not have the option of dealing with the acquiring bank at all, Millward and Williams-Young said. The acquiring bank has no obligation to accept a given loan, in which case the FDIC will take it.
If that happens, "you are strongly encouraged to seek a new lender that will refinance your loan and serve as a replacement source of funding," the FDIC says in its "borrower's guide" to bank failures on its website.
"In some instances, the FDIC may offer borrowers an incentive to refinance by offsetting some or all of the associated closing costs," the FDIC says.
Borrowers who cannot find new lenders have to make payments to the FDIC. The agency hires contractors to service its loans until it packages them for resale on the open market, Millward said.
In other words, you are no longer dealing with a local bank that knows you well and has a stake in your long-term success, but with organizations with a primary incentive to maximize the payout of the loan, he said.
Under those circumstances, a business that needs to renegotiate a loan will have very limited leverage, he said.
"Conversations on the workout side will be a whole lot more difficult," he said. "Those are just ugly conversations."
Unfortunately for borrowers, the FDIC never announces bank takeovers in advance. That means all negotiations and decisions about apportioningloans between the FDIC and the acquiring bank are made in advance and in secret, without borrowers' input.
Nor can businesses influence those decisions retroactively, WilliamsYoung said.
Once the FDIC decides to shut a bank, "we put out some feelers" to see who might be interested in acquiring its assets, she said. Prospects are given information about the bank's size and business model, although details are kept vague so it cannot be identified.
The FDIC then solicits bids and accepts the one that will cost the deposit insurance fund the least, WilliamsYoung said. The whole process can take a few days to a few months, she said.
The FDIC typically sellsfailedbanks' assets through a loss-share agreement. That means the FDIC absorbs a fixed portion, usually 80 percent, of the loss on the assets of the failed institution, with the acquiring institution absorbing the remainder.
The agreements limit the acquiring banks' risk, while still giving them an incentive to salvage bad loans, the FDIC says. Loss-share agreements have saved the FDIC an estimated $35.6 billion compared with straight sales of assets, the agency said.
This year's bank failures are the most since the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s.
And in a possible sign of troubles to come, the number of "problem" banks on the FDICs watch list grew from 829 to 860 in the third quarter, according to the agency.
That's also the highest number since the savings and loan debacle. The FDIC does not reveal which banks make its list.
Mostbank closureshaveoccurredin the areas of the country most affected by the housing bubble and subprime crisis, places like Florida, Arizona and California.
The U.S. has more than 7,800 FDICinsured banks and savings institutions. Many analysts believe hundreds more community banks will fail due to commercial and residential real estate loan losses in the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis.
The FDIC is budgeting more than $50 billion for banklosses over the next four years.
[Sidebar]
'Conversations on the workout side will be a whole lot more difficult. Those are just ugly conversations."
George Millward, Millward Consulting
[Sidebar]
YOUR TAKE
Have an opinion about this issue?
E-mail us at editorial@journalpub.com.
[Author Affiliation]
BY TIM STUHLDREHER
tims@journalpub.com
Joe Branch lost two of his best friends on the Northwesternbasketball team this year. He lost his starting job last week.
The junior forward from Houston, however, has no intentions ofjumping ship with the Wildcats (3-2) heading into Saturday'snon-conference battle with Seton Hall (3-2) at Welsh-Ryan Arena(noon, SportsChannel).
Branch came to NU with high school teammate Darreion Dean. Asseniors they led Kincaid High School to the championship of theSouthwest Preparatory Conference, which encompasses all privateschools in Texas and Oklahoma.Dean had limited playing time as a freshman and appeared in onlyone game during an injury-marred sophomore season. He has sincetranferred to a Texas community college.Two weeks ago Geno Carlisle, whom Branch calls "one of my bestfriends in school," made his exit. Last year's star guard, facingtrial on a battery charge next month, leaves NU as soon as thisweek's semester exams are over and plans to transfer to anotherschool next month.That leaves Branch as the only member of coach Ricky Byrdsong'sfirst recruiting class left on the roster."It feels different without Darreion and Geno, but I'm here tostay," Branch said. "I love Northwestern. The last two years havenot gone well basketball-wise, but academic- and social-wise I'mhaving a great time."The basketball part picked up last week, after Byrdsong benchedBranch in favor of freshman Carvell Ammons. It was a move thatinspired a 58-56 victory over DePaul, as Ammons grabbed 15 reboundsand Branch finally found his shooting touch coming off the bench. Hescored 10 points and hit his first three-point shot after going0-for-6 in four games as a starter.Branch started 24 of 27 games last season, when he averaged 6.7points and 3.7 rebounds. Those numbers dropped to 4.6 and 2.6,respectively, in Big Ten games, and didn't pick up in NU's first fourgames this season."Joe played his best game against DePaul," Byrdsong said."When he plays well, we can play well. Much of our problems a yearago had to do with him. We need him to play well, but he's beenthinking about his shooting so much, and practicing so much. Maybehe needs to get away from it."Branch doesn't agree."I hit them all in practice, but in games I'm not sure," hesaid. "I think I'll get better the more shots I put up. The bigthing is that I come in and produce. It's not who starts, but whofinishes. I've kept my confidence. If I lose it, the coaches won'thave any confidence in me."
I disagree with Tom Fitzpatrick's column "It's money-maniafor Fridge" (April 8).
I see nothing wrong - as does Fitzpatrick - in William Perry"prostituting" himself in a "pro-wrestling" ring. Whether it wasright or wrong is actually a moot and subjective point. If promoterswaved a half million dollars in front of Fitzpatrick to wrestle TomWicker, I'm sure he'd feel differently.
Fitzpatrick writes of Perry's reputation and career advancement,and I have to wonder if being paid to wrestle is any different thanhawking hamburgers, automobiles or bacon. Are we talking aboutdegrees of prostitution here, or what? Exactly what is Perry'sreputation or special image that Fitzpatrick is referring to? Themedia helped create the image of William Perry as a fat, happy blackman who was playing football for the fun of it - a compliantcharacter that was safe to embrace. When he hires an agent andcharges fees for personal appearances and endorsements, Fitzpatrickis saddened, as if he's just discovering that there's no tooth fairy.
The truth is that Perry took advantage of a situation thatFitzpatrick and his colleagues created. He has made, and willcontinue to make, money from his name and fame - nothing more orless. It's not a situation that can be categorized as right orwrong. Let's not be hypocritical in condemning anyone in Americansociety who does the same. David Rubin, Hyde Park Roeser frightening
Thomas F. Roeser's April 2 Personal View, "Rightist dictatorshipor communism: which?," is frightening in that it parrots the verypropaganda fascists themselves have used to justify their existence.Roeser tries to get around this with the astonishing "logic" thatfascism is actually the same as communism so it isn't a form ofrightist dictatorship at all, a claim that Hitler, Mussolini andFranco would find amusing. But given that fascism is the 20thcentury's most pronounced and common form of rightist dictatorship,what Roeser is actually saying is that yes, if it comes to that, weshould support fascism because at least it is anti-communist.
This is precisely how fascists get to power in the first place,by riding the fear of communism straight into power. They presentpeople with the argument that only strong, authoritarian regimes canstand up against communism and that they stand for saving Christiancivilization from godless Bolshevism or, today, secular humanism.But where is the logic in a fascist police state protecting us from acommunist police state?
In reality, fighting communism with fascism is always a losingproposition. Democracy is the only way to fight communism. Tyrone Walls, West Rogers Park Injustice to Indians
On Saturday at 1 p.m., WTTW (Channel 11) will air the PBSprogram, "Trouble on Big Mountain." This program deals with theforced relocation of Dineh (Navajo)-Hopi traditional people from theBig Mountain/Joint Use Area in northeast Arizona.
Congress in 1974 passed a law for this relocation. If it is notrepealed (Public Law 93-531) the relocation is to be completed onJuly 8.
Over 10,000 native Americans remain on these sacred ancestrallands. Their history goes back before the formation of this country.
I urge Chicago area residents to watch this program and sharetheir feelings with their elected officials. Jerry Rees, Illinois Big Mountain/JUA Support Group, Lombard Bad taste
On April 4 the Sun-Times exhibited extremely bad taste with theprinted photo of a dead dog in mid-air, having been murderedsenselessly and thrown out of a window afterward.
Not only was the creature an innocent victim whose life wasended without mercy, but its existence was treated with no respect byits murderer. On top of that, a photographer was there ready to"capture the moment" of the degradation. While the situation thatprecipitated this killing is in itself a matter not to be takenlightly, the photo was not necessary and should not have beenprinted.Margi Domme, Country Club Hills Cunning GM
Your editorial (April 2) regarding GM's price increases shows afirm misunderstanding of the American way of doing business.
Haven't you seen the prices in the Ward's or Sears catalogues?They are generally higher than the items can be had for in manystores around the country. Some have a huge markup over the currentmarket prices in the discount stores.
A goodly number of people buy these items at those inflatedprices either for lack of understanding of the situation, lack oftransportation to shop or because of the credit offered.
Then, after the first wave of buying is over, these stores starttheir sales catalogues hitting those who were reluctant to pop forthe inflated price. Then another and another wave until, just beforea new catalogue is due, the price gets down to what they could havepurchased the item for at the outset, at the discount stores.
This, essentially, is what GM is doing. Oh, they may knock off1 percent of the sticker price to keep the naive customer thinking heor she is getting a real deal, but it is mainly a ploy to get theunwary or uneducated to pop for the big sticker price. It also,nowadays, enables them to offer the interest discount without losingmoney.
Things will really start popping if and when the Japanesemanufacturers have trouble selling their better-made cars and chopprices. Sam Thompson, Manhattan What a yack!
Berke Breathed, who created the cartoon strip "Bloom County,"says he sometimes makes airport security people go bananas with thesteel rods in his body and by wearing an "I love Khadafy" button.
If anyone in his family is ever a victim of Libyan-trainedterrorists he'll probably laugh all the way to the morgue. Delbert Bixler, Sarasota, Fla. Wonderful!
Ah! The Sun-Times and a cup of coffee in the morning - life iswonderful! Marcella Florzak, West Ridge
Six people were confirmed dead and nearly 50 others were still missing Friday, two days after a massive fire swept through a supermarket in downtown Nairobi, officials said.
Brian Kahiga, a mortuary attendant who was helping retrieve bodies, told The Associated Press he had seen six bodies so far. Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe confirmed people had died, but did not know the number.
Joseph Mwangi, spokesman for Kenya's Disaster Management Center, said 47 people have been reported missing since the blaze at the Nakumatt supermarket. Red Cross workers were sifting through the rubble.
The debris has continued to smolder, making it difficult to properly search parts of the store, police said. Authorities have said an electrical fault might be to blame for the fire.
The blaze started in the middle of the day when the streets were packed with people. Thousands streamed out of nearby buildings as plumes of black smoke billowed into the air. The fire was fueled by gas canisters that popped like gunshots as they exploded.
Ann Wanaina, 39, said she has not heard from her 23-year-old sister, Angela, since Wednesday afternoon.
"I am praying hard for her well-being," Wanaina told The Associated Press. "Her phone is off, which never happens."
Local newspapers accused firefighters of a shoddy response to the blaze. The Daily Nation said Nairobi's 3 million people are served by just one fire station situated close to a traffic-choked business district.
"Ours is a modern city with an 18th-century firefighting infrastructure," the newspaper said in an editorial.
Brazilian Marcos Daniel is being investigated by Australian Open organizers for an alleged altercation with a spectator following his first-round loss to Colombia's Alejandro Falla.
The Age newspaper reported Wednesday that Daniel had a dispute with Colombian spectators, and that a woman was caught in a disagreement between her brother and the 31-year-old player. No further details were available.
"The referee's office is looking into it," a Tennis Australia spokesman confirmed Wednesday.
The No. 87-ranked Daniel, a cousin of Brazilian football referee Carlos Eugenio Simon, has only been past the first round once at 14 Grand Slam events.
International Tennis Federation rules bar competitors from "the unauthorized touching of an official, opponent, spectator or other person." Violations can result in fines of up to $10,000.
TOP STORIES:
TURKEY-IRAQ
ANKARA, Turkey _ Iraq's president visits Turkey a week after Turkish forces ended a ground incursion against Kurdish rebels based in Iraq. The visit of Jalal Talabani, himself a Kurd, reflects diplomatic efforts by Iraq and Turkey to lower tension after an operation that some had feared could spill into a wider conflict between two U.S. allies. Developing. By Suzan Fraser. AP Photos.
SERBIA-GOVERNMENT
BELGRADE, Serbia _ Serbia's nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica says he no longer trusts his pro-European Union coalition government partners, heralding the likely collapse of his Cabinet. Moved. By Dusan Stojanovic.
SPAIN-ELECTION-IMMIGRATION
MADRID, Spain _ Sami Salhi of Morocco boasts a resume as long as his arm: myriad menial jobs that Spaniards shunned and he jumped at. That kind of toil by him and millions more immigrants helped make Spain one of Europe economic success stories. But with that once-hot engine now cooling, immigration has become a flashpoint issue for Sunday's general elections. By 1330GMT. By Harold Heckle. AP Photos.
UN-CHAD-CHILDREN
GENEVA _ The U.N. children's agency says it will hand over 103 children caught up in a child smuggling tug-of-war between Chad and France to their relatives. Developing. By Frank Jordans.
GEORGIA-BREAKAWAY REGIONS
SUKHUMI, Georgia _ The Georgian breakaway region of Abkhazia is appealing for the world to recognize it as an independent nation, citing last month's decision by Kosovo to declare independence from Serbia. Developing.
MALTA-ELECTIONS
VALLETTA, Malta _ Malta holds parliamentary elections this weekend after a hard-fought campaign rife with accusations of corruption and dominated by one question: whether this tiny Mediterranean island wants change after two, practically uninterrupted decades of rule by the same party. By 1300GMT. By Alessandra Rizzo. AP Photos.
UN-RIGHTS CHIEF
GENEVA _ The United Nations' top human rights official, who has criticized many countries and been attacked by them in response, says she is quitting after only one term. Moved. By Alexander G. Higgins.
UN-US-RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
GENEVA _ A U.N. panel on racism criticizes U.S. handling of the war on terror. Developing. By Eliane Engeler.
RUSSIA-BALCONY DEATHS
MOSCOW _ Russian news reports say a man has thrown his two daughters from the ninth floor of a building in southern Siberia, then jumped himself after an argument with his wife. Moved.
BUSINESS & FINANCE:
EURO-DOLLAR
FRANKFURT, Germany _ The euro exceeds US$1.54 for the first time, after the European Central Bank left its benchmark rate unchanged a day earlier and signaled that rate cuts are not expected in the near term. Developing.
FINLAND-NOKIA-CHINA POSTEL
HELSINKI, Finland _ Nokia Corp. announces a deal to sell handsets worth a total US$2 billion (1.3 billion) to China Postel during 2008, in the company's largest market. Moved.
ITALY-TELECOM ITALIA
MILAN, Italy _ Telecom Italia's new chief executive outlines a three-year business plan that calls for investing 15 billion to help the company fully exploit the industry's trend toward mobile and fixed line convergence, while reducing debt and compensating shareholders. By 1300GMT. By Colleen Barry.
BRITAIN-CARLYLE CAPITAL
LONDON _ Carlyle Capital Corp. Ltd., a listed mortgage-bond fund managed by private equity firm the Carlyle Group, says it is considering "all available options" after lenders started liquidating securities from its US$21.7 billion portfolio. Moved.
SPORTS:
ENGLISH PREVIEW
LONDON _ Manchester United is up against Portsmouth on Saturday in the latest step of its attempt to emulate its famous treble of 1999. Second in the Premier League and having reached the Champions League quarterfinals this week, United could win three trophies this season _ if it beats Portsmouth in the FA Cup. Moved. By Stuart Condie.
FRENCH PREVIEW
PARIS _ Having failed to reach the Champions League quarterfinals for the second straight season, French champion Lyon is in danger of losing its customary grip on the domestic title if it loses to Bordeaux on Sunday. Moved. By Jerome Pugmire.
DUBAI CHAMPIONSHIPS
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates _ Third-ranked Novak Djokovic faces Andy Roddick in the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships, while Feliciano Lopez faces fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko. By 1500GMT. By Alfred de Montesquiou.
WORLD INDOORS
VALENCIA, Spain _ Returning from a doping suspension, Dwain Chambers seeks to get into the final of the 60-meter dash on the opening day of the athletics world indoor championships. By 1300GMT. By Raf Casert.
F1-SEASON PREVIEW
MADRID, Spain _ Ferrari's back on top, Lewis Hamilton is a title contender and two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso is back with Renault. Add night racing to all that and one of F1's most exciting seasons is set for a worthy follow-up in 2008. Moved. By Paul Logothetis.
FEATURES & ARTS:
SERBIA-DIVIDED GENERATION
BELGRADE, Serbia _ Many young urbanite Serbs say they are horrified at the nationalist fervor sweeping their land, while other youths have flocked to the ultranationalist cause. What they have in common is a sense of confusion and drift as eastern European neighbors move rapidly toward EU membership while Serbia appears ever more marginalized. Moved. By Katarina Kratovac. AP Photos.
POLAND-JEWISH PURGE
WARSAW, Poland _ After the horrors of the Holocaust, Poland's Jews suffered once again under the anti-Semitic policies of the new communist regime. This week, Poland marks the 40th anniversary of a purge that drove an estimated 15,000 Jews _ survivors of the Holocaust and their children _ from Poland. Moved. By Ryan Lucas.
For more features, please see the AP World Features Digest.
___
YOUR QUERIES: The Europe & Africa Desk in London can be reached at +44 207 427 4300.
President Evo Morales says he is nationalizing all assets of the gas pipeline company Transredes, which had been half-owned by Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Houston-based Ashmore Energy International.
Morales says the current majority owners had failed to agree on terms to sell a majority stake to the government's own company _ as he ordered on May 1.
Morales said Monday that the government will now take over full ownership of Transredes SA, which transports Bolivia's natural gas. Terms of the nationalization were not announced.
Miami Herald Executive Editor Anders Gyllenhaal has been named the new chairman of the Pulitzer Prize Board.
Herald staff members have won several awards during his tenure, including two Pulitzers.
Gyllenhaal also has been editor of the Star Tribune in Minneapolis and executive editor of The News & Observer in Raleigh. He has been lauded for an innovative approach to online news.
Gyllenhaal has been a member of the board since 2001. He replaces Richard Oppel, former editor of the Austin American-Statesman.
The Pulitzers are given out annually by Columbia University on the recommendation of the board.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's military intelligence chief says Iran possesses enough enriched uranium to build one nuclear bomb and soon will have enough to produce a second.
Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin's statement coincides with previous assessments from both the CIA and the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog.
But any Israeli commentary on Tehran's nuclear program is significant because Israel has not ruled out a military strike to try to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Israel, like the West, does not believe Tehran's claims that it is developing nuclear technology to produce energy.
Yadlin spoke to parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee Tuesday. His remarks were reported by meeting participants who spoke on condition of anonymity because the testimony was delivered behind closed doors.
NEW YORK - A lawyer for TV talk-show host Maury Povich has asked an arbitrator hearing a sexual-harassment complaint against him to issue a gag order, a request opposed by the lawyer for the female employee who made the charge.
Povich's lawyer, Kathleen McKenna, requested the confidentiality order in a letter Tuesday to the arbitration case manager. McKenna said Bruce Baron, lawyer for the woman, was attempting to try the case in the news media.
Baron, who made McKenna's letter public Wednesday, said he objected to a person who made his living by getting people to embarrass themselves on TV requesting a gag order and trying to hide his own embarrassment.
Baron's client is Bianca Nardi, 28, of Fort Lee, N.J. A former producer for "The Maury Povich Show," she filed a lawsuit in April saying some of her supervisors barraged her with sexual remarks and made her watch porno movies, wear revealing clothing and expose her body.
Nardi's lawsuit, filed in Manhattan's state Supreme Court, says she had an unfairly heavy workload because she did jobs assigned to a producer who had an intimate relationship with Povich and often refused to do her own work.
The case was sent to arbitration by a judge who ruled that a clause in Nardi's contract required it in the event of an employer-employee dispute.
McKenna's letter said she would raise the confidentiality issue during a telephone conference on Wednesday. Baron said the arbitrator said she would consider McKenna's request.
Povich Seeks Gag Order in Harass CaseNEW YORK - A lawyer for TV talk-show host Maury Povich has asked an arbitrator hearing a sexual-harassment complaint against him to issue a gag order, a request opposed by the lawyer for the female employee who made the charge.
Povich's lawyer, Kathleen McKenna, requested the confidentiality order in a letter Tuesday to the arbitration case manager. McKenna said Bruce Baron, lawyer for the woman, was attempting to try the case in the news media.
Baron, who made McKenna's letter public Wednesday, said he objected to a person who made his living by getting people to embarrass themselves on TV requesting a gag order and trying to hide his own embarrassment.
Baron's client is Bianca Nardi, 28, of Fort Lee, N.J. A former producer for "The Maury Povich Show," she filed a lawsuit in April saying some of her supervisors barraged her with sexual remarks and made her watch porno movies, wear revealing clothing and expose her body.
Nardi's lawsuit, filed in Manhattan's state Supreme Court, says she had an unfairly heavy workload because she did jobs assigned to a producer who had an intimate relationship with Povich and often refused to do her own work.
The case was sent to arbitration by a judge who ruled that a clause in Nardi's contract required it in the event of an employer-employee dispute.
McKenna's letter said she would raise the confidentiality issue during a telephone conference on Wednesday. Baron said the arbitrator said she would consider McKenna's request.
Povich Seeks Gag Order in Harass CaseNEW YORK - A lawyer for TV talk-show host Maury Povich has asked an arbitrator hearing a sexual-harassment complaint against him to issue a gag order, a request opposed by the lawyer for the female employee who made the charge.
Povich's lawyer, Kathleen McKenna, requested the confidentiality order in a letter Tuesday to the arbitration case manager. McKenna said Bruce Baron, lawyer for the woman, was attempting to try the case in the news media.
Baron, who made McKenna's letter public Wednesday, said he objected to a person who made his living by getting people to embarrass themselves on TV requesting a gag order and trying to hide his own embarrassment.
Baron's client is Bianca Nardi, 28, of Fort Lee, N.J. A former producer for "The Maury Povich Show," she filed a lawsuit in April saying some of her supervisors barraged her with sexual remarks and made her watch porno movies, wear revealing clothing and expose her body.
Nardi's lawsuit, filed in Manhattan's state Supreme Court, says she had an unfairly heavy workload because she did jobs assigned to a producer who had an intimate relationship with Povich and often refused to do her own work.
The case was sent to arbitration by a judge who ruled that a clause in Nardi's contract required it in the event of an employer-employee dispute.
McKenna's letter said she would raise the confidentiality issue during a telephone conference on Wednesday. Baron said the arbitrator said she would consider McKenna's request.
Povich Seeks Gag Order in Harass CaseNEW YORK - A lawyer for TV talk-show host Maury Povich has asked an arbitrator hearing a sexual-harassment complaint against him to issue a gag order, a request opposed by the lawyer for the female employee who made the charge.
Povich's lawyer, Kathleen McKenna, requested the confidentiality order in a letter Tuesday to the arbitration case manager. McKenna said Bruce Baron, lawyer for the woman, was attempting to try the case in the news media.
Baron, who made McKenna's letter public Wednesday, said he objected to a person who made his living by getting people to embarrass themselves on TV requesting a gag order and trying to hide his own embarrassment.
Baron's client is Bianca Nardi, 28, of Fort Lee, N.J. A former producer for "The Maury Povich Show," she filed a lawsuit in April saying some of her supervisors barraged her with sexual remarks and made her watch porno movies, wear revealing clothing and expose her body.
Nardi's lawsuit, filed in Manhattan's state Supreme Court, says she had an unfairly heavy workload because she did jobs assigned to a producer who had an intimate relationship with Povich and often refused to do her own work.
The case was sent to arbitration by a judge who ruled that a clause in Nardi's contract required it in the event of an employer-employee dispute.
McKenna's letter said she would raise the confidentiality issue during a telephone conference on Wednesday. Baron said the arbitrator said she would consider McKenna's request.
Forestry Commission Live Music takes place every summer atWestonbirt Arboretum providing valuable revenue that is reinvestedin a variety of Forestry Commission environmental and socialprojects.
Three concerts will take place in the spectacular woodlandlocation in July.
One of the most influential contemporary pop artists, BryanFerry, is among a handful of performers that have enjoyed a highlysuccessful career as a solo artist dovetailed with that as part of aband, being the singer, lyricist and principal composer for RoxyMusic.
A visionary musician, his contribution to a pioneering sound hasgenerated a catalogue of chart hits including: Love Is …
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Somalia's fragile government says last week's decision by the country's parliament to extend its term for three years was aimed at averting a political vacuum.
Cabinet ministers met in Mogadishu on Tuesday and said that while they respect the international community's concern about the extension, the final decision should be made by …
Byline: DON MACKAY and RICHARD SMITH
A MISSILE attack was the main suspect in the downing of an RAF Hercules yesterday.
Up to 15 servicemen, including eight SAS troops, plus the crew, died when the C130 aircraft broke up over Iraq and plunged to the ground.
The Hercules had taken off from Baghdad airport for Balad, 40 miles to the north and was 25 miles into the flight when disaster struck.
Experts fear it was the "spectacular" attack the rebels had threatened as Iraqis went to the polls to elect a new government.
Planes taking off from Baghdad and Balad have come under ground to air fire in the past.
The Hercules …
WAS IT DOWNED BY A MISSILE? Wreckage strewn over wide area Plane one of safest in the air Disaster came on day of Iraq poll.(News)Byline: DON MACKAY and RICHARD SMITH
A MISSILE attack was the main suspect in the downing of an RAF Hercules yesterday.
Up to 15 servicemen, including eight SAS troops, plus the crew, died when the C130 aircraft broke up over Iraq and plunged to the ground.
The Hercules had taken off from Baghdad airport for Balad, 40 miles to the north and was 25 miles into the flight when disaster struck.
Experts fear it was the "spectacular" attack the rebels had threatened as Iraqis went to the polls to elect a new government.
Planes taking off from Baghdad and Balad have come under ground to air fire in the past.
The Hercules …
It's in our homes. It's in our offices. Mold is everywhere.
Most people pay little attention to it, but insurers across the nation are watching it closely.
In Texas, a court awarded a woman $32 million in actual and extracontractual damages for mold in her 22-bedroom mansion. A California homeowner was awarded $18.5 million for moldrelated damages.
Numbers like these are raising concerns within the insurance industry, which is still feeling the sting from asbestos liability claims. Claim payments for asbestos totaled $26.7 billion between 1991 and 1999, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
In addition to insurance companies, toxic-mold liability …
BioWorld Today Contributing Writer
Two biotech companies are headed to the bank to raise funds for advancement of peptide-based biological therapies. Versartis Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., completed a Series B financing round worth $21 million to advance its recombinant human growth hormone product into human trials, and Discovery Laboratories Inc., of Warrington, Pa., priced an underwritten public offering of 10 million units for gross proceeds of $23.5 million to funnel into its program of developing surfactant and aerosol therapies for lung diseases.
Protein-based therapies were once thought to be unworkable, but the two companies are showing that the unique properties of peptides can be exploited to deliver powerful therapeutic effects.
Versartis will use its $21 million to begin Phase I trials of VRS-317 for adult growth hormone deficiency. VRS-317 is a form of recombinant human growth hormone (HGH) modified with a sequence of hydrophilic amino acids to extend half-life in the body. The technology was licensed from Amunix Inc.
The company …
Byline: WALTER TUNIS Knight Ridder
Listen to any of the early Capitol albums by Leo Kottke, and you will hear a guitar voice in full bloom.
The sound is youthful but learned. The tone is inviting, driving and clear. The technique? Simply monstrous.
Then comes the assimilation of references that swell to the surface in his playing. You discover the mix of beautifully brittle picking inspirations passed on by the late guitar maestro John Fahey as well as melodic invention and dynamics Kottke developed on his own. The presentation abounds in intuition, informality and, at times, humor.
Now put on "Try and Stop Me," a 2004 Kottke recording that …
May 9
Biotechnology: Planning for Prosperity in Eastern North Carolina
LOCATION: SBTDC, 300 E. First St., Greenville
TIME: 8 to 11 a.m.
MORE INFO: Cheryl S. McMurry speaks on technology commercialization. A breakfast buffet and networking opportunities will be available.
REGISTER: www. biobreakfast.com/ or call 828-254-1921 (ext. 5844).
May 10
Biotechnology: Planning for Prosperity in Southeastern North Carolina
LOCATION: UNC-W, Madeline Suite, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington
TIME: 8 to 10:30 a.m.
MORE INFO: Cheryl S. McMurry speaks on technology commercialization. A breakfast buffet …
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Blackburn Rovers defender Ryan Nelsen has had his fears over the club's future allayed after a meeting at which its owners spelled out their vision to senior players.
Nelsen had been strongly critical of the decision of the owners, Indian poultry industry giant Venky's Group, to sack manager Sam Allardyce and complained players were being kept in the dark over the club's future.
But Nelsen told the Christchurch Press newspaper on Saturday senior players had held a "refreshing" meeting with owners and he felt their plans for the club were exciting.
Nelsen also said he was ready to return the captaincy to fellow defender Christopher Samba as …
A Pounds 129 million scheme to improve police stations whichincludes a new custody centre at Keynsham has been approved byministers.
Avon and Somerset Police Authority has been granted permission bythe Home Office and the Treasury to appoint the Blue LightPartnership consortium as its private finance initiative partner.
The opening of the new cells at Ashmead Road in Keynsham willmean the closure of the custody suite at Bath police station.
The new custody and crime investigation centre will be the firstport of call for officers when they arrest people who need to …
1. INTRODUCTION
As a result of recent technological progress, the environments and conditions under which rolling bearings (hereafter referred to as bearings) are used and becoming severe and diverse (Takebayashi, 2001). As a result, many industrial customers want to get bearings that can be used in these special environments or under such severe conditions. The applicability of all types of ceramic materials for ceramic bearings for example of silicon nitride ([Si.sub.3][N.sub.4]), zirconium oxide (Zr[O.sub.2]), silicon carbide (SiC) and aluminium oxide ([Al.sub.2][O.sub.3]) was discussed in international references (Fujiwara et al, 2001).
This paper well focuses an alumina, which shows characteristics of being the most superior bearings material amongst various ceramic materials, and will present its basic performance for application to bearings. Specifically, such subjects as static load carrying capacity, rolling contact fatigue life, influence affecting the life of surface scratches and flaking will be discussed.
2. ALUMINIUM OXIDE MATERIALS (Al2O3)
2.1 Characteristics
Table 1 shows a comparison of the characteristic of aluminum oxide and high carbon chromium bearing steel.
…
World War IV
By Norman Podhoretz
230 pages, Doubleday, $24.95
Leading neoconservative thinker and Commentary editor Norman Podhoretz takes a provocative and controversial stand on what he calls the war on Islamofascism. While reasonable people can disagree on the etymological, historical and philosophical accuracy of the term, Podhoretz makes an intriguing and thoughtful argument in defense of an …
ALBANY -- Stephen J. Daniels, 84, a former resident of Albany, died on Sunday, April 18, 1999 at the Villa Mary Immaculate. He was born on August 15, 1914 in Reading, PA and was the son of Joseph and Anna (Regis) Daniels. Mr. Daniels was predeceased by a brother, John Daniels and a special friend, Elizabeth Rodford and her children. Prior to his retirement, he was employed by the state of New York Department of Taxation. He was also the owner/operator of Dan's Meat Market in Troy and Newtonville and Hamele's on Delaware Ave. Mr. Daniels was also very active in running the Bingo concession at St. Patrick's Church in Albany. He was a member of the Slovak Society, the Zaloga …
Octel says it has changed its name to Innospec Specialty Chemicals (Cheshire, UK) to reflect its "growing emphasis on researching and developing new and innovative specialty chemicals." The company's petroleum specialties business will be renamed fuel specialties; its tetra ethyl lead business will be called …
President-elect Barack Obama has waded into Georgia's U.S. Senate runoff, recording a radio ad supporting Democrat Jim Martin, but there's still no word on whether the president-elect will make a personal appearance.
In the spot, Obama thanks Georgians who voted for him Nov. 4, then urged support for Martin.
"The elections aren't over," Obama said. "I want to urge you to turn out one more time and help elect Jim Martin to the United States Senate."
Martin is locked in a hotly contested Dec. 2 runoff with first-term Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss. The Georgia race has taken on national significance as one of two unresolved …
Tf you are finding rising regulatory requirements are chewing up time and staff, you are not alone. A KPMG survey of 170 Canadian CEOs, presidents and chief operating officers found top executives believe regulatory requirements have drawn their financial department's attention away from other areas of responsibility. The consulting firm found 73% of surveyed executives think concentration on regulatory issues has hurt both the growth and profitability of their companies during the past 18 months.
The good news is that most of these companies intend to ease the burden by investing in new technologies and in additional training for financial personnel and by restructuring their …
BioWorld International Correspondent
Prosensa Therapeutics BV and GlaxoSmithKline plc are moving forward with three additional exon-skipping antisense oligonucleotides as part of their alliance in Duchenne's muscular dystrophy (DMD).
London-based GSK had gained options on the three compounds, PRO044, PRO045 and PRO053, under the potential [pounds sterling]428 million (US$675 million) alliance it entered with Leiden, the Netherlands-based Prosensa almost two years ago. (See BioWorld International, Oct. 14, 2009.)
The lead compound from that pact, PRO051, began a 48-week Phase III trial earlier this year. PRO051 addresses about 13 percent of the DMD …
Compared to other PCs around $1600, the MiTAC's biggest letdown is that it doesn't include a monitor. Instead, MiTAC throws in a media card reader and a pair of small speakers.
A Gigabyte GA-945GM-S2 motherboard houses the Core 2 Duo E6300 1.86GHz CPU and 1GB of DDR2 667MHz RAM. MiTAC scored an overall 96 in the WorldBench 5 test, which shows that the machine will be capable of handling current software and should continue to be a good performer over the next few years, as long as your computing needs don't get too extravagant.
The 64-bit CPU can run either the 32- or 64-bit version of Windows Vista. The ATI Radeon X5500-based graphics card, which is DirectX …
Byline: John Caher Staff writer
The chasm separating Catskill from Hudson is more than a river, as the planned closure of Greene County's only emergency room and intensive care unit has sparked a legal, medical, ethical and emotional debate.
On Thursday, an already tense situation became critical when a state judge ordered that the Columbia-Greene Medical Center's Catskill facility continue accepting emergency patients, and the medical center issued a statement informing medics that patients would be better treated elsewhere.
Greene County residents are fighting a plan by Columbia-Greene Medical Center to close the acute- care portion of its …
Celebrity birthdays for the week of Dec. 28-Jan. 3:
Dec. 28: Actor Lou Jacobi is 95. Comic book creator Stan Lee is 86. Actor Martin Milner is 77. Actress Nichelle Nichols is 76. Actress Maggie Smith is 74. Rock singer-musician Charles Neville is 70. Rock singer-musician Edgar Winter is 62. Rock singer-musician Alex Chilton is 58. Actor Denzel Washington is 54. Country singer Joe Diffie is 50. Country musician Mike McGuire is 50. Actor Chad McQueen is 48. Country singer-musician Marty Roe is 48. Actor Malcolm Gets is 44. Actor Mauricio Mendoza is 39. Comedian Seth Meyers is 35. R&B singer John Legend is 30. Actress Sienna Miller is 27. Actor Thomas Dekker is 21. …
