Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
World markets down as focus turns to US consumer
World stock markets fell Monday as investors took advantage of a light financial news day to book profits made over the last couple of weeks and turned their focus towards the state of the U.S. consumer.
By mid afternoon London time, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 33.88 points, or 0.8 percent, at 4,428.21, while Germany's DAX fell 50.24 points, or 1 percent, to 4,863.66. The CAC-40 in France was 81.82 points, or 2.5 percent, lower at 3,230.77.
And on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 104.34 points, or 1.2 percent, at 8,470.31 soon after the open while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 14.15 points, …
Matilda Allweiss
Matilda Allweiss, 89, who once operated a West Rogers Parkdelicatessen with her husband, died Monday in Glenview TerraceNursing Home in Glenview.
A native of Hungary, she was influential in bringing severalfamily members to this country from their homeland. She and her latehusband, Morris, operated …
Sudan tribal chief threatens vote in border region
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — A powerful Sudanese Arab tribal chief has warned that his tribesmen could derail a crucial January vote in a contested oil-rich region if they are kept from the polls.
Abyei, rich in oil and grazing fields, straddles the north-south Sudanese boundary. Its residents are to vote Jan. 9 whether they want to be part of northern or southern Sudan. On the same day, the …
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Philips sells TPV stake for $133 million
Royal Philips Electronics NV said Friday it has agreed to sell most of its equity stake in Hong Kong-based TPV Technology Ltd. for euro95 million ($133 million).
Philips said it will sell a 9.47 …
Building set to start on pounds20m scheme
Work begins this month on a pounds20 million office development inthe North-east.
Gladman Developments has been given planning permission for the150,000sq ft scheme on a 10-acre site at Arnhall Business Park,Westhill.
Work on the first phase of the Abercrombie Court project startsthis month.
Greg Limb, development manager and head of Gladman's Scotlandoffice, said: "The city's …
Leasing may bite the auto industry
The downside of leasing could be very ugly, as finance companies try to dispose of millions of late-model used vehicles Into a cooler economy.
Leasing could get very ugly as the new millennium dawns. It's a volatile situation that has every financial institution that unites leases on cars and trucks worried. The automakers should be concerned, too. Leasing has helped bolster earnings to record levels, as has the robust economy. But it's possible things will slow down in 2000. If they do, costs will rise and so,will incentives.
The problem is, it's going to be difficult to maintain residual values for these off-lease vehicles.
Used-vehicle values are a function of …
Never on Sunday? Not anymore for Orioles, who beat Santana and Angels 5-2 to end 15-game skid
The Baltimore Orioles ended their run of 15 straight losses in Sunday games, defeating Ervin Santana and the Los Angeles Angels 5-2 behind a sharp pitching performance by rookie Garrett Olson.
Olson (7-5) allowed two runs and seven hits in six-plus innings, helping the Orioles end a five-game losing streak.
Just as important, it provided Baltimore with its first win on Sunday since April 6. Since that game, the Orioles were outscored by a combined 83-43 in compiling the longest skid on one day of the week since Arizona dropped 15 successive Saturday games in 2004.
Santana (11-5) gave up five runs and seven hits in five-plus innings, the …
OBITUARIES
Peyton M. Bowlin
Peyton Marie Bowlin, infant daughter of Charles Lee and Lori DawnBowlin of Kanawha Two-Mile, died Saturday, Feb. 27, 1999, in Womenand Children's Hospital.
Also surviving: brother, Charles Hunter Bowlin at home; paternalgrandmother, Margaret Bowlin of Chesapeake; maternal grandparents,Larry and Carol Sigmon of Kanawha Two-Mile.Graveside service will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at White Oak Cemetery,Kanawha Two-Mile, with the Rev. Robert Fields officiating. Therewill be no visitation. Cunningham-Parker-Johnson Funeral Home is incharge of arrangements.Alden J. CalesOAK HILL - Alden Jerry Cales, 60, of Oak Hill, Fayette County,died Saturday, Feb. 27, 1999, in …
Battle of the bugs
It's that time of year again-the time when the little ones bring home all sorts of nasty bugs and viruses. Are there any preventative measures a parent can take? According to a recent study in the British Medical Journal, drinking probiotic milk may help prevent respiratory infections among children in day care.
In the study, 571 healthy children were divided into two groups; one group received …
Juventus block Amauri call up
Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli won't allow striker Amauri to play for Brazil in its friendly against Italy on Feb. 10.
The 28-year-old Amauri was a late call up by Brazil coach Dunga to replace Luis Fabiano for the match at Emirates Stadium in London.
"Amauri will not go to the national team. It is the club's decision," Cobolli Gigli said Sunday on the team's Web site. "For a start we haven't yet received notice of his call up and now we are outside the time …
Tucker car mostly sluggish nightmare
Get a bunch of car crazies together late at night and someoneeventually will bring up one of the biggest oddball autos of all time- the Tucker.
The bizarre-looking, mechanically inept Tucker car and itscreator, the flamboyant, fast-talking, nattily attired PrestonTucker, soon will be on the lips on many.
That's because they're the subject of a new movie, "Tucker: TheMan and His Dream." The movie, directed by Francis Ford Coppola andproduced by George Lucas, is benefiting from some of the bestHollywood hype in years.
Only 51 Tuckers were built in 1948 at a war surplus plant onChicago's South Side before the project collapsed. By that time,Preston Tucker …
White House emphasizes job as Obama to visit Asia
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is about to embark on a nine-day trip to Hawaii, Australia and Indonesia that will take him away from Washington at an important time, but White House officials said Wednesday it's all about U.S. jobs.
The trip also will underscore the economic, political and security importance of the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region, which the U.S. sees as critical to American interests in coming years.
"The president's No. 1 priority is job creation, and our efforts to create American jobs are tied very directly to our engagement in the Asia-Pacific," said Ben Rhodes, a White House deputy national security adviser.
"Increasingly the center of …
MOTOR SHOOTERS
What's worse than an unethical hunter?
All-terrain vehicles aren't good or bad in themselves; it's all about context. When my son was lost for an entire night in the mountains of northeast Oregon, search and rescue volunteers from Union County showed up on their ATVs and set out to bring him home. I was never so glad to see machinery in my life. They helped find him later that morning.
Then there are those other occasions. A few years ago, I was slogging through deep snow near the Malheur River east of Juntura, Ore., in search of chukars-Eurasian partridges-when I heard the distinctive growl of ATVs. I looked up to see two of them cresting a hill above me.
I had a bad feeling about their presence in a place with no established trails. My concern was proven justified a few minutes later when I cut across their track. The two machines had simply driven straight uphill from the river, taking advantage of the deep snow to drive on top of sagebrush and bunchgrasses. The weight of the machines crushed the sagebrush, leaving a trail of shattered branches and trunks. Where the snow was shallow, tires had cut through to the soil, gouging it out and spraying it across the snow.
By the time I headed back that evening, the ATVs were gone. They had, for the most part, followed the same track down the hill. At least they hadn't carved a new track across the virgin desert, but their second trip completed the destruction of the sage-brush, breaking it down so completely that when the snow melted, it would no longer be high enough to prevent ATV travel. Predictably, ATV drivers began using the track regularly, and now it is a deeply rutted scar from which hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds of dirt wash directly toward the Malheur River.
Another time, after I had killed an elk near Enterprise, Ore., and was hiking back to my vehicle to pick up a backpack to begin hauling the meat, I met the rancher who owned the land on which I'd been hunting, and he offered to help bring the animal out-an offer I quickly accepted. We hauled the elk up to an established trail, loaded it onto his ATV trailer and pulled it back to his house. The rancher and his machine saved me four roundtrip hikes of three miles each. It would have taken me a long, exhausting day.
Last year was a different experience. I was hunting chukars on the Owyhee River down in southeastern Oregon. I came up out of the canyon far from any road and worked along the rim into the wind with my pointer, Sadie. The dog became almost. immediately "birdy" and began moving slowly and carefully. Her careful approach didn't help. A covey of 25 birds flushed almost 100 yards away and bailed off into the canyon. Bad luck, I thought. Two hundred yards later, a second covey of similar size flushed wild, this time nearly 125 yards away. Over the next mile the same thing happened again and again.
Then I found the cause: ATV tracks running along the canyon rim. Hunters using ATVs were busting through the desert, creating their own trails so they didn't have to walk while they hunted some of the best chukar ground in North America. And it was flat. What incredible laziness. The birds had been harassed into a level of paranoia I'd not seen anywhere else in the state, even where hunter numbers were much higher.
It's true that most of the habitat damage done by ATVs isn't caused by hunters, but by a small percentage of recreational riders. Their concept of the outdoors is a warped desire for a place where they can go fast without regard for laws or for anyone else around them. But hunters are far from innocent. Far too many have made the unethical use of ATVs the linchpin of their hunting experience, and instead of confining their driving to established trails as the laws require, they've succumbed to the lure of the easy way.
"The hill is too steep, I'll just make my own trail." "I'll just ride along until the dogs point the birds. Then I'll get out and walk." In following rationalizations like this, they damage both the game animals they pursue and the land on which wildlife depends.
In their slimy devotion to laziness, these hunters make one thing crystal clear: The only thing worse than an unethical hunter is an unethical hunter on an ATV. And hunters like that are too stupid to know what they have lost.
[Author Affiliation]
Pat Wray is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News (hcn.org). He is an avid hunter and outdoor writer who lives in Corvallis, Ore.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Official: 2 hostages' bodies handed over in Iraq
The bodies of two British hostages kidnapped in Iraq in 2007 have been handed over to U.K. officials, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Saturday. He said the government feared three other Britons taken hostage with them were in grave danger.
Miliband said in a televised statement that "late last night we received the bodies of two hostages."
Information technology consultant Peter Moore and his four bodyguards were kidnapped May 29, 2007, by heavily armed men outside the Finance Ministry in Baghdad. Since then the hostages have been seen only on a few videos, and the British government has released little information about efforts to free them.
The bodies have not been formally identified but "our immediate thoughts are clearly with the families" of the five men, who were kidnapped by Shiite militants, Miliband said.
Moore's father, Graeme Moore, said the family was "clinging on to hope" that he was still alive. Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office said the British leader was "saddened and dismayed by the news."
Miliband said it was "a terrible moment of uncertainty and fear" for the men's families, and called for the release of the three remaining hostages.
"But I also have to say that the threat to them remains very high indeed," he said.
In a written statement, Miliband referred to "the remains of two bodies," suggesting the men had died some time ago. He said forensic tests are being conducted to identify the bodies.
The British government has been criticized for not seeking publicity for the case, preferring a low-key negotiation strategy.
Last year a British newspaper reported a claim by the kidnappers that one of the hostages had committed suicide, but that was never confirmed.
In March, a videotape showing Moore arrived at the British Embassy in Baghdad, giving the hostages' families some hope.
Miliband said the government was "working intensively" with Iraqi authorities to secure the release of the remaining hostages.
Hopes had risen after the release earlier this month of Laith al-Khazali, a Shiite militant who had been held in U.S. custody. The kidnappers had demanded the release of nine militiamen, including al-Khazali and his brother Qais al-Khazali, in exchange for the hostages.
Moore was working in Iraq for BearingPoint, a U.S.-based management consulting firm. The four other men _ identified only as Alan, Alec and two men named Jason _ worked for Canadian security firm GardaWorld. The full names of the four bodyguards have not been released at their families' request.
GardaWorld spokesman Joe Gavaghan said the company was "not giving up hope that Peter and our four security people are still alive."
Suspended minister waits for decision
A decision on the Rev. Gregory Dell's appeal of his suspension bythe United Methodist Church for marrying two gays will come in 30 to60 days, officials announced Monday.
Church attorney Stephen Williams said "the odds are long" againstDell, suspended pastor of Broadway United Methodist Church, 3344 N.Broadway, after both sides presented their cases to a church appealspanel at a public hearing.
Dell would not predict the outcome, but said the struggle tominister to gays, lesbians and bisexuals will continue. "It can't beput to rest as long as real human beings are suffering," he said.
In a request made public at the hearing in the Radisson Hotel inRosemont, Dell's attorney asked that if Dell loses, a date be set toend his suspension, which is indefinite. But Williams said thesuspension won't end until Dell pledges never to perform anotherhomosexual wedding ceremony.
The dispute has thrown the church into turmoil and is beingwatched by other denominations grappling with issues aroundministering to homosexuals.
Williams said gays are welcome to join the church in the hope thatits "redemptive and transformative effect" will persuade them to giveup homosexual practices.
Dell officiated at a marriage of two men last September at theBroadway church, where about a third of the congregation's more than200 members are gay. He was suspended after being found guilty ofdisobedience during a March church trial.
Dell's counsel, the Rev. Larry Pickens, said there was no clearevidence that violation of a rule against performing same-sexmarriages constituted disobedience. He also argued that the terms ofDell's suspension were "tantamount to a revocation of hiscredentials" as a minister.
"If you prove the violation, you prove the disobedience," Williamsresponded.
Talking to kids beats texting
Building bridges with young people is a vital part of modernpolicing.
But modern methods - like setting up a text line for children -are no replacement for good, old-fashioned police work.
We need officers out and about in our communities at nights andweekends talking to kids.
They need to get to know them, know their names, what they areup to, where they live, who their parents are.
More importantly, kids need to meet officers face-to-face to getto know, trust and respect them and the work they do to keep us allsafe.
Human contact, rather than hi-tech gimmicks, is still the bestway to build relationships.
UK reporter, US Marine killed in Afghan blast
An explosion outside a small village in southern Afghanistan killed a veteran British war correspondent, officials said Sunday. It was the British media's first casualty in the conflict.
The blast, which also killed a U.S. and an Afghan soldier with whom Sunday Mirror journalist Rupert Hamer was traveling, brings the number of reporters who have died in Afghanistan since the Sept. 11 attacks to 18, according to figures kept by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.
"Tragically it was a matter of time," former British forces commander Col. Richard Kemp told Sky News television. "Our journalists, the same as other journalists, our British journalists deploying on operations with forces in Afghanistan or Iraq face exactly the same risks as our soldiers face out there."
Hamer, 39, and photographer Philip Coburn, 43, were accompanying a U.S. Marine patrol Saturday when their vehicle was hit by a makeshift bomb near the village of Nawa in Helmand, the Defense Ministry said.
An U.S. Marine was also killed in the blast, the ministry said, as was an Afghan solider. Coburn was seriously wounded in the explosion but remains in stable condition, the military said. Four U.S. Marines were also left badly hurt. No further detail was provided on their condition.
The past year has been particularly deadly for those fighting the war and those covering it. Canadian journalist Michelle Lang died late last year while embedded with Canadian troops in Afghanistan. An Afghan translator for The New York Times, Sultan Munadi, was killed in September during a rescue operation.
The Sunday Mirror said that Hamer and Coburn had flown to the region on New Year's Eve and were embedded with the American military. Their trip was to have lasted for a month, the paper said.
Both were veterans of reporting from conflict zones. It was Hamer's fifth excursion to Afghanistan, while Coburn had previously reported from Afghanistan, Iraq and Rwanda.
"Rupert believed that the only place to report a war was from the front line, and as our defense correspondent he wanted to be embedded with the U.S. Marines at the start of their vital surge into southern Afghanistan," Sunday Mirror Editor Tina Weaver said in a statement.
The Sun's Tom Newton Dunn, who used to serve as the paper's defense correspondent, said he and Hamer often spent time together in the field.
"He was extremely good at getting news, and he really understood the armed forces," Newton Dunn told the BBC. "And was never afraid to go out to places like Afghanistan or Iraq."
Government officials lined up to offer their condolences, with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown saying Hamer and Coburn brought "courage, skill and dedication to reporting from the front line," something he said ensured that the world could see and read about what international forces were achieving in Afghanistan.
British defense minister Bob Ainsworth said the pair accompanied him on his most recent trip to Afghanistan and that he was "impressed by their hard work and professionalism.
"My thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the families, friends and colleagues of both men at this extremely distressing time," Ainsworth said.
Hamer is survived by his wife Helen and three young children, his newspaper said.
___
On the Net:
Committee to Protect Journalists: http://cpj.org/killed/asia/afghanistan/
Elim seeks new leadership
Now that a successful camping season is over, conference-supported Camp Elim is searching for new leadership. Former camp managers Cam and Marlis Bartsch have moved to Nova Scotia where Cam is beginning a master's degree in geology.
The camp manager earns a half-time salary and lives rent-free. Director duties add four months of full-time pay to the position, which needs to be filled as soon as possible.
Camp Elim, which accommodated 176 campers this past summer, requires a used pickup truck. Although the camp would prefer a compact truck, a full-sized one would be considered. Call Ben Dyck at (306) 773-7063 or Grace Funk at (306) 773-9616.
Office-Supply Firms in School Market
Office-supply companies look at parents weighed down withnotebook paper and crayons and see gravy.
While other retailers plan the remainder of the year aroundtheir August and September sales, office-supply stores have no suchgrand plan. They've got four to six weeks to cash in on studentsstocking up for school.
After mid-September, the parents trickle away and the smallbusinesses that are the core customers for this retailing nichereturn.
But there's good money to be made in the meantime. For the pastfew years, school-related sales are picking up at office-supplystores, thanks to the growth of chains and superstores in the localmarket and their increased advertising.
"This gives us a big kickoff to our fall," said Lynn Young, acustomer service representative at Budde's Office Supply Stores, inSchaumburg and East Dundee. "Without it, we could survive but not asnicely."
To better serve back-to-school customers, retailers are puttingsupplies in smaller packages and moving them to the front of storesto make shopping more convenient. Office-supply stores also arekeeping a keen eye on the prices of similar products at supermarkets,general merchandisers and drugstores.
"Every mass merchandiser features back-to-school," said BobO'Hanlon, marketing vice president for Arvey Paper & Office Products,which operates eight Chicago-area stores. "We're in competition witheverybody. I don't think anybody dominates the thing anymore. Thebusiness is spread out among the stores."
But there may be another reason why office-supply stores arecatching on with consumers.
"A lot of parents do it because they can charge it to theircompany's account," Young said.
Ivory Coast marks stadium disaster anniversary
People injured in a fatal stadium stampede in the Ivory Coast gathered on its one-year anniversary Monday to commemorate the tragedy, but say they still haven't received compensation donated by FIFA.
Nearly 30 Christian and Muslim leaders led the ceremony outside Abidjan's Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, where 22 people were killed and 130 injured on March 29, 2009, before a World Cup qualifier against Malawi.
Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) president Jacques Anouma laid a wreath at Gate 23, where the tragedy occurred.
"We've taken every precaution to see that this type of event will never happen again," Anouma said.
He also unveiled a plaque above the gate featuring the words "In memory of the victims of 29 March 2009".
After the ceremony, dozens of those injured _ as well as relatives of the dead _ protested that $93,000 donated by FIFA had not been redistributed by the Ivory Coast government.
"We've been promised compensation, but now it's been a year and we still don't know if, when and how much we'll receive," said Tairou Ouattara, a member of the parents of victims association.
FIFA fined the FIF $46,800 last July and donated money to support the families of victims.
Eric N'Dri said he had only received about $300 from the Ivorian National Team supporters club, which went toward his hospital bills. "I spent two days in hospital with injuries to my foot and knee after the crowd pushed me down a flight of stairs," N'Dri said. "The money for us is there _ I don't understand why we can't have it."
Pierre Douh of the Ministry of Sports said the risk of fraud had forced the government to delay payment. "Here in Ivory Coast, you've got every kind of association popping up whenever there's money to be had," he said.
"We're not paying anyone until we get a definitive list of victims _ and one that isn't doctored by these so-called victims associations."
Francois Akatia lost the use of his legs in the stampede. He followed the ceremony sitting in a wheelchair at Anouma's side.
"The President told me that he would personally see if he could push my case forward," Akatia said. "I haven't been able to work since, and I've got mouths to feed."
A must-buy list for smart shoppers
Here are some basic foodstuffs that give you the most bang foryour buck. They're all nutritious and can easily become part of asatisfying meal. (I've omitted really basic ingredients like flour,vegetable oil or dried milk.)
The price I quote for each item is based on what I've found inmy local supermarket; the price may be higher or lower in yours.Some prices are given as a range because sales vary week to week;bananas, for example, can cost anywhere from 29 cents to 59 cents apound.
Bananas: 10 to 20 cents a serving. Bananas satisfy a sweettooth and cost a lot less than commercial baked goods. They're agood source of potassium. Mashed, ripe bananas can be used in placeof part of the fat in cakes, breads and muffins.
Beans: less than 10 cents a serving. To save money, buy driedbeans, lentils or peas instead of meat. They provide iron, as wellas a wealth of other nutrients. They're great as fillings fortortillas, mixed with rice or pasta in a salad, turned into a heartysoup, or just baked Boston style and served as a main course withcornbread.
Cabbage: 15 to 25 cents a serving. Roll it around rice and topwith a tomato sauce. Shred it into slaw. Cook it with tomatoes,vinegar and sugar for a nutritious soup. Stir-fry it with a tiny bitof meat. Cabbage is a good source of vitamin C.
Carrots: 10 cents a serving. One carrot provides more than 200percent of the U.S. RDA for beta-carotene (vitamin A). Besides beingcut into sticks for lunches or steamed and served as a sidevegetable, carrots also can be grated into sauces (they're especiallynice in tomato-based spaghetti sauces), mixed with cabbage in a slaw,pureed with onions and spices for a quick soup, or used to addmoistness and nutrients to cakes and breads.
Chicken drumsticks and thighs: 35 to 50 cents a serving. Nowthat chicken breasts are so popular, the other parts of the chickenare often available at bargain-basement prices. They're not as leanas breasts, of course, but if you remove the skin and yellow stripsof fat, thighs and drumsticks are fairly lean.
Baste with a homemade barbecue sauce, bake or pan-fry them andtop with salsa, spaghetti sauce or chutney, or poach them and use thecut-up meat in rice or pasta salads.
Eggs: 5 to 8 cents a serving. Eggs frequently go on sale, buteven at full price they're a bargain. Eggs have gotten a bad rap inrecent years, but they pack a lot of protein and other nutrients(such as vitamin B12 and folacin) into that compact shell (most ofthe nutrients are in the yolk). They're not overly high in fat,about 5 grams an egg, and they cook quickly. Chop up a hard-cookedegg or two and add to plenty of potatoes and other vegetables for amain-course salad. Scrambled eggs aren't just for breakfast -accompany with potatoes and a green vegetable for a quick dinner.
Greens (for cooking): 15 to 20 cents a serving. Dark, leafygreens - kale, turnip, mustard, collard - are good sources of calciumand beta-carotene. They're easy to cook and almost always cheap.Besides slow-cooking them with pork, try tearing them into smallpieces and putting them in soups and pasta dishes.
Oats: 10 to 15 cents a serving. Compare the price of oats - orfor that matter, just about any hot cereal, from grits to cornmeal -with the price of packaged cold cereals. The difference - due mostlyto the advertising and packaging poured into cold cereals - is quitean eye-opener. Oats are nutritious, loaded with fiber and easy tocook. Besides being a good breakfast cereal, they can be used incookies and muffins, and even tossed into soup to thicken it.
Pasta: 10 to 15 cents a serving. What can't you do with it?Toss it with cheese for macaroni and cheese. Cook it in broth withbeans, carrots and celery for a soup. Top it with tomato sauce.Just toss it with garlic, onion, oil or margarine, and leftovervegetables or meats for a quick dinner. Ironically, imported Italianpastas tend to be cheaper than the American brands - maybe becausethey don't have the advertising budgets.
Potatoes: 30 to 70 cents a serving. Although they're usuallymore expensive this time of year than they are in the fall, potatoesare always a good buy. They're a rich source of vitamin C andpotassium, and very versatile. Cut into dice and browned in askillet with whatever meat and vegetable scraps you have on hand,they're good for a quick dinner. They can be mashed, seasoned andused as a filling for tortillas. Turn a baked potato into anutritious meal by topping it with vegetarian chili and a little cheese.
Rice: 10 cents a serving. It expands to three times its sizeand provides a perfect foil for all sorts of vegetables, meats andanything else you feel like adding to it. Leftover cooked rice canbe turned into rice pudding, stir-fried with vegetables, used tostuff peppers, or combined with chopped carrots, celery, onion, tunaand a vinaigrette-type salad dressing for rice salad.
Tomatoes (canned) and tomato paste: 10 to 25 cents a serving.If you have a couple of cans of tomatoes and some tomato paste in thehouse, you can make just about any sauce you like.
Add garlic and herbs to tomatoes and a bit of tomato paste fora meatless spaghetti sauce. Zip up a side dish of rice by addingchopped tomatoes and spices. Combine tomatoes with beans, onions andgarlic and use as a filling for tortillas. Mix some chopped tomatoesand tomato paste with brown sugar, vinegar and hot sauce for a simple, inexpensive barbecue sauce. Cook tomatoeswith beans, carrots, garlic, onions and lots of spice for avegetarian chili.
Tortillas: 10 cents or less a serving. Tortillas can be wrappedaround beans, potatoes, chicken or rice; cut into wedges and baked tomake nonfat tortilla chips; or layered, lasagna-style, in a bakingdish, with a bean or potato filling and cheese between them, to makea hearty casserole. Corn tortillas generally taste fresher and haveless fat than flour ones, which are made with shortening or lard.
Tuna (canned): 30 to 45 cents a serving (based on two servingsin a 6 1/8-ounce can). You can't beat tuna for convenience. Itmakes a good sandwich filling, of course. Or, toss it with pasta andbeans and dress with oil and vinegar for a simple salad, stuff intopita bread or tortillas, or just toss with some freshly cooked pastaand peas.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Bulls Edge Past Pistons
For a playoff-bound team, the Bulls will be happy with everyvictory they can get so that they can secure home-court advantage inthe first round.
As for winning a fourth consecutive championship, don't holdyour breath. Not by the way the Bulls (47-24) are playing.
The Bulls' 102-95 victory over the lottery-bound DetroitPistons (20-50) Friday left a lot to be desired. You'd expect abigger margin when you consider the Bulls outrebounded the Pistons52-32 and outshot them 48.7 percent to 44.6 percent.
But those edges were offset by 18 turnovers to the Pistons' 11.
"It was an April Fools' Day game, and I guess we were trying toplay the fool," coach Phil Jackson said. "We made some very unusualand irrational choices in the first half.
"We let the game get away from us in the second quarter, and wehad to really display some hustle and defense in the third to getback into it. That's how bad a slide we made. Turnovers and secondshots really hurt us. We just could not control the ball."
In a game that saw 14 lead changes and six ties, the Bulls nevercould pull away from the Pistons. A Scott Williams free throwearly in the fourth quarter gave the Bulls the lead for good, andthey grabbed their biggest lead 94-84 after Steve Kerr's 19-footjumper with 5:30 to play.
The Pistons chipped away, and Sean Elliott's two free throwswith 33.3 seconds left made it a four-point game at 99-95.
The Pistons missed their last three shots, while the Bulls gota free throw from B.J. Armstrong and two from Kerr.
Armstrong led the Bulls with 23 points. Horace Grant had 22points and 10 rebounds. Scottie Pippen, who suffered an eye injuryThursday, finished with 13 points on 5-for-18 shooting but added agame-high 15 rebounds and a team-high seven assists.
Jackson felt the biggest shot was Kerr's three-pointer with6:55 to play after the Pistons had closed within 86-84 on two Elliottfree throws.
Elliott led all scorers with 26 points and Terry Mills added 16.
Bulls reserve guard Jo Jo English left after injuring his leftthigh early in the second quarter and did not return.
Joe Dumars, the Pistons' leading scorer, played only the firstthree minutes of the fourth quarter and left the game. He had sevenpoints on 2-for-10 shooting.
Down the stretch the Pistons used rookie shooting guard AllanHouston with veteran playmaker Isiah Thomas.
"We played good enough to be in a position to make a run and winthe game," Dumars said. "We just could not make the run."
Thomas, a 13-year veteran, probably played his last game inChicago. He missed his last shot, an off-balance, 12-foot baselineeffort with 92 seconds to play.
When the game was over, Thomas asked a ballboy for the balland made a simple layup. Earlier, Thomas was booed whenintroduced.
"The home team always boos the other guys," Thomas said."They're supposed to. I got paid to win championships and I did(two). I just wanted to make my last shot. I have great memories ofthis building."
NOTES: Veteran Bulls starting center Bill Cartwright sat out his 31st game of the season with backspasms.
With the playoffs just about four weeks away, Cartwright said itwas not so urgent for him to be a regular player as far as preparinghim for the playoffs.
"All I really need is three or four games before the playoffs toget ready," Cartwright said. "I should be OK with that."
While Cartwright sat out all of 1984-85 and all but two games of1985-86 with a broken foot, the previous highest number of games hemissed when he was a regular player was 24 in 1986-87. Most of the Bulls and Pistons pick Arkansas to win the NCAAchampionship.
Favoring Arkansas are Horace Grant, Scottie Pippen, Jo JoEnglish, Corie Blount, John Paxson and Scott Williams of the Bulls;Greg Anderson, Charles Jones, Joe Dumars, Lindsey Hunter and AllanHouston of the Pistons.
Favoring Duke are Bill Cartwright, Toni Kukoc, Luc Longley andBill Wennington of the Bulls; Terry Mills and Isiah Thomas of thePistons.
Favoring Arizona are alumni Steve Kerr of the Bulls and SeanElliott of the Pistons.
PSA Peugeot Citroen adds 900 jobs to Slovak plant
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen says it plans to invest more than €120 million ($173 million) in its Slovak plant to increase its output.
PSA Peugeot Citroen Slovakia says the investment will create an additional 900 jobs that will staff a third shift in the plant in the western town of Trnava.
The plan was announced Monday in Trnava by PSA Peugeot Citroen CEO Philippe Varin.
The company says it plans to introduce the third shift in the spring of 2012 to increase the plant's annual output to 300,000 cars. Last year, it produced over 186,000 cars.
As part of the new investment, the company will make a new model, but declined to give details. It now makes the Peugeot 207 and Citroen C3 Picasso.
Man puts feelings for W.Va. into print: Huntington native launched magazine that focuses on; Greenbrier Valley
For publisher Josh Baldwin, the Greenbrier Valley Quarterly is acelebration of the artists who make southern West Virginia special.
The magazine made its debut in June and focuses on art, culture,and the heritage of the Greenbrier River Valley.
"We've created a forum to celebrate our cultural heritage in thearts, from painters, to musicians to bakers," said the 28-year-oldBaldwin. "These are the people who make this part of the country sospecial."
The Huntington native relocated to Greenbrier County seven monthsago to pursue his vision of a fresh, new publication that would toutwhat southeastern West Virginia has to offer. It was an extension ofthe master's thesis he was completing at the University of NorthCarolina at Wilmington.
"My thesis was about the attachments West Virginians have to ourstate," he said. "Although many of us are forced to leave foreconomic reasons, we still yearn to come back home to West Virginia.
"The magazine is an extension of my thesis: It constructs apositive image of southern West Virginia."
His West Virginia roots brought Baldwin home again after one yearabroad and three in North Carolina. In 2001, he and his wife lived inPrague, Czechoslovakia, where the Marshall University graduate usedhis just-earned bachelor's degree in English to teach English in theCzech Republic.
"I taught negotiating skills and business presentations toemployees of Levi Jeans, Wrigley Gum and the Czech Department ofDefense," said Baldwin. "In 2002, we returned to Wilmington where Ipursued my master's degree."
While living in North Carolina, the 1850s farmhouse his parentshad purchased in Greenbrier County in 1995 became Baldwin's "homeaway from home."
It's what finally brought him home again.
"The Greenbrier Valley area is a sleeping giant," said Baldwin."The baby boomers made a mass exodus from West Virginia, but as theybegin to retire, they're coming back home. They may keep a home inFlorida, but they want one here, too."
For his first issue, Baldwin relied on old friends from college tosupply much of the editorial content, along with a few local writers.The infancy of the publication requires Baldwin to wear all of themany hats associated with the endeavor.
"In addition to being the publisher and a contributing writer, Ido the business end of selling advertising, putting all the storiestogether as managing editor, and acquiring the photos, which I see asa key component to the magazine," he said.
To ease the burden, Baldwin has enlisted the assistance of hiswife, Mary, to handle subscriptions, edit and write.
In the summer edition, Mary submitted a piece on the Moxie Cafe inUnion. There, diners from France to Florida enjoy the flair of aformer chef from The Greenbrier in a moxie - or daring - atmospherewhere patrons may wear overalls or their Sunday best.
"We're not the New York Times where we do reviews that butcher ourrestaurants and businesses," said Baldwin. "Yet it's not fluff,either. We're here to help our businesses, showcasing them in a full-color format with eloquent, passionate writing."
For the fall issue, Baldwin said he was inundated with writers andphotographers wanting to contribute their skills.
"I'm fortunate to have a pool of talented folks," said Baldwin."I'm not worried about having a lack of stories for future editions.Although some of the stories may have been told in other mediaoutlets, we look at them with a fresh angle."
J. Preston Smith, a Harley-Davidson enthusiast and author of twonovels, wrote a travelogue of his Harley ride from Charleston withGov. Joe Manchin to the kickoff for the West Virginia HOG (HarleyOwners Group) rally at Snowshoe Mountain Resort.
"Preston's first-person narrative of his ride with the governorand his trek through the Greenbrier Valley drew readers into hisworld and into the world of motorcycles," said Baldwin.
Graphic design artist Erica Bell also brings a unique flavor tothe magazine.
"She uses a very colorful palette rather than your standard blacktext on a white background," said Baldwin. "The pictures explode offthe pages yet the text sinks into the page without an unpleasantbrightness. The layouts themselves are a form of art."
The Greenbrier Valley Quarterly enjoys an audience of localresidents along with readers who have migrated elsewhere but stillhave an attachment to the Mountain State.
"We have subscribers from California, to Boston, Florida andTexas," said Baldwin. "The response to the first two issues has beenoverwhelmingly positive. It's a unique product; one I believe ranksright up there with other top-quality West Virginia publications."
The 5,000-copy winter edition of the GVQ will be released in earlyDecember. It features the art of Jonathan Jessup, a little-knownphotographer who has been snapping shots of West Virginia mountainsfor more than 15 years. "All Things Coffee," by Bev Pauley, offersreaders a look at three cafes and the emergence of a coffee culture.
The spring issue will encourage outdoor enthusiasts to explorebirding in the Mountain State, and visitors to enjoy dining in ahistorical setting at The Tavern 1785 in Lewisburg.
"We appeal to tourists as well as the local residents," saidBaldwin. "Greenbrier Valley Quarterly portrays the area as itcontinues to evolve in a way that protects our environment and thesocial and historical aspects that make this area special."
The Greenbrier Valley Quarterly may be purchased at Taylor Booksin Charleston.
Firefighters battle roof blaze at Connecticut hotel casino; no injuries reported
A roof fire forced hundreds of guests and gamblers to evacuate a hotel and casino, the second such blaze at a U.S. hotel-casino in less than a week.
The fire at Foxwoods Resort Casino was reported around noon Tuesday, and the roof of the eight-story Great Cedar Hotel smoldered through mid-afternoon. No one was injured, said Saverio Mancini, a spokesman for the casino, which is run by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe.
The fire was out by early evening, and crews began peeling back the steel roof where authorities believe it started, Mancini said.
Hotel staff evacuated the top three floors of the hotel, one of three at Foxwoods, then evacuated the entire 312-room building. As a precaution, officials ordered people out of the Great Cedar Casino, on the hotel's ground floor.
The fire broke out between a mechanical equipment room near the roof and an exterior hall, Mancini said.
Foxwoods officials were not speculating about the cause, tribal spokesman Arthur Henick said. Tribal and state fire officials were investigating.
More than 50 firefighters from the tribe and nearby towns responded. More than 280 guests were given complimentary rooms at other Foxwoods hotels, as well as at a hotel in nearby North Stonington.
The fire follows a Friday blaze at the 32-story Monte Carlo casino-hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, in which foam building material lining the roof caught fire. The Monte Carlo was closed until repairs could be made.
Book day gets stars' backing
CARMARTHENSHIRE rugby stars George North and Rhys Priestland arethe faces of the upcoming World Book Day in Wales.
The Scarlets players will be on more than 15,000 posters in therun up to the day, which takes place on Thursday, March 1. Fly-halfPriestland said: "It's a great privilege to be chosen for the WorldBook Day 2012 poster campaign.
"As sportsmen we spend a great deal of time training for a matchor tournament but in my own time I enjoy reading."
Former Llandovery College pupil North added: "Reading is animportant skill whichever job you choose, but it is also a great wayto relax after a hard day's training."
The posters will be distributed to every school in Wales, as wellas libraries, book shops, prisons and workplaces.
The day itself will be marked in more than 100 countries, tohighlight the importance of reading and celebrate the best of books.
Powering Potential in China
As a leader in the safety and protection market with globally recognized performance fiber brands such as "Kevlar" and "Nomex", DuPont Advanced Fiber Systems (AFS) is making the New DuPont a reality by improving its growth capabilities in growth markets such as China.
In June, AFS held its annual Global Leadership Meeting in Shanghai with the theme of "Powering Our Potential in China". The meeting focused on seeking new ways to accelerate growth in China in order to achieve the AFS vision.
The meeting detailed the investment, technologies, business models and resources driving growth in China. Leaders from General Motors, Deutsche Bank, Llinks Law Office and Kurt Salmon Associates spoke to the AFS leadership team about areas of imminent growth, including the automotive industry, financial business modeling and consumer retail.
During the meeting, DuPont Advanced Fiber Systems Vice President and General Manager Bill" Harvey announced plans to expand global production capacity for "Kevlar". AFS expects to invest more than US7 $70 million in the project, which will increase global "Kevlar" capacity by more than 10% by the end of 2005 and into 2006. The specific expansion locations will be finalized as required to meet the projected start-up dates.
AFS also has invested in the DuPont China Technical Center, which will become a center of excellence for testing products and serve as a focal point for existing and new customers. The center is currently under construction with a formal. opening expected in March 2005.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Iran tied to '94 car bombing in Argentina
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- An Argentine prosecutor on Wednesdaysought the arrest of former Iranian President Akbar HashemiRafsanjani, accusing him of approving the 1994 car bombing thatkilled 85 people at a Jewish community center in the Argentinecapital.
Prosecutor Alberto Nisman charged that six other Iranians and aLebanese were involved in the attack, including a top Hezbollahfigure, Imad Fayez Mugniyah. Mugniyah is already wanted by the UnitedStates for allegedly plotting the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marinebarracks in Beirut and the 1985 hijacking of a TWA airliner, whichresulted in the murder of U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem.
Nisman said the accused met on Aug. 13, 1993, in Mashad, one ofIran's holiest cities, to approve the attack. He charged that theplot involved not only top political officials, but also lower-leveldiplomats in the Iranian Embassy in Buenos Aires.
"It wasn't a decision taken around a coffee table one day to thenext by five or six gentlemen," said Nisman. He called it a well-calculated plan that was part of a "terrorist matrix" that includedassassinations in France, Germany and Switzerland.
Nisman is the first Argentine official to publicly accuseofficials in Tehran of involvement in the attack, which many hereconsider the Argentine equivalent of Sept. 11, and his charges lendcredence to longstanding American claims that Iran and Hezbollah aresponsors of international terrorism.
But they aren't likely to result in arrests anytime soon. JudgeRodolfo Canicoba Corral must first approve Nisman's findings andissue arrest warrants. Then Argentina would have to seek thesuspects' extradition from Iran -- a request Iran is unlikely tohonor.
Warrants could, however, prevent the suspects from travelingfreely outside Iran; they'd be subject to arrest under internationalpolice agreements.
Nisman, who spoke to reporters in Buenos Aires, released fewdetails of his investigation. A full report was given to Canicoba ona CD because of the volume of the material. It's unknown whenCanicoba will rule on the matter.
How Nisman traced the bombing to a specific meeting attended byRafsanjani is also unknown. In Washington, Vincent Cannistraro, aformer head of counterterrorism operations and analysis for the CIA,said he doesn't know of anyone who can confirm the meeting.
"From an intelligence point of view, we know Mugniyah directed theoperation," Cannistraro said. "There's been no confirmation of anymeeting. ... No one has that precise intelligence. I do know there isnot a hard source that is credible and attended that meeting."
Rafsanjani was the president of Iran from 1989 to 1997 and remainsa powerful political force there. He ran for president last year, butwas defeated by the current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Hecurrently serves as chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council, apowerful body that attempts to resolve policy differences between thegovernment and the clerics who must approve all government actions.
In 1997, German prosecutors said they believed Rafsanjani orderedthe murder of an Iranian-Kurdish leader there, but Rafsanjani wasnever charged.
Rafsanjani also was the go-between in the arms-for-hostages dealsthat gave rise to the Iran-contra affair during Ronald Reagan'spresidency.
Mugniyah has an extensive terrorist resume. He was indicted in theUnited States for Stethem's murder and is on the European Union'slist of most wanted terrorists. He's variously described asHezbollah's head of security and a founder of the organization. Inaddition to the Marines barracks bombing, he's thought to have beeninvolved in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut and thekidnapping of journalist Terry Anderson there.
The United States has offered a $5 million reward for his capture.
The bombing of the AMIA Jewish center here has remained an openwound, with accusations of bungling and cover-ups being leviedagainst successive Argentine governments. The only people tried inthe case were two Argentine police officers accused of helpingterrorists obtain a van used to carry a hidden bomb. Both werecleared.
Adding to the mystery, a former Iranian spy alleged in 2003 thatCarlos Saul Menem, Argentina's president at the time of the bombing,received $10 million in a secret Swiss bank account as payment fromIran to quash the investigation. Menem, of Syrian descent,acknowledged the secret account but denied the hush money.
Later that same year, as Argentina tried to have Great Britainextradite Hadi Soleimanpour, Iran's former ambassador to Argentina,news reports emerged that the chief Argentine judge investigating thebombing -- Juan Jose Galeano -- paid a witness $400,000 for testimonyand that he was writing a book on the case. He was removed from thecase in 2004, and Nisman was appointed to investigate.
Against that backdrop, families of the victims had their doubtsWednesday.
"After more than 12 years, we had hoped for more results," saidSofia Guterman, whose 28-year-old daughter, Andrea, perished in theattack, which also injured more than 200. "I don't think it'll bevery easy to extradite those people."
Lawyers representing the victims were a bit more upbeat. MartaNercellas, who's investigated the Iranian connection even when hergovernment wouldn't, told McClatchy Newspapers that there's newevidence in Nisman's case.
Nercellas said Nisman's report includes testimony from formerIranian spies and ex-Hezbollah fighters who now reside in Europe.
"There are new and different testimonies," she said.
Iran tied to '94 car bombing in ArgentinaBUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- An Argentine prosecutor on Wednesdaysought the arrest of former Iranian President Akbar HashemiRafsanjani, accusing him of approving the 1994 car bombing thatkilled 85 people at a Jewish community center in the Argentinecapital.
Prosecutor Alberto Nisman charged that six other Iranians and aLebanese were involved in the attack, including a top Hezbollahfigure, Imad Fayez Mugniyah. Mugniyah is already wanted by the UnitedStates for allegedly plotting the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marinebarracks in Beirut and the 1985 hijacking of a TWA airliner, whichresulted in the murder of U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem.
Nisman said the accused met on Aug. 13, 1993, in Mashad, one ofIran's holiest cities, to approve the attack. He charged that theplot involved not only top political officials, but also lower-leveldiplomats in the Iranian Embassy in Buenos Aires.
"It wasn't a decision taken around a coffee table one day to thenext by five or six gentlemen," said Nisman. He called it a well-calculated plan that was part of a "terrorist matrix" that includedassassinations in France, Germany and Switzerland.
Nisman is the first Argentine official to publicly accuseofficials in Tehran of involvement in the attack, which many hereconsider the Argentine equivalent of Sept. 11, and his charges lendcredence to longstanding American claims that Iran and Hezbollah aresponsors of international terrorism.
But they aren't likely to result in arrests anytime soon. JudgeRodolfo Canicoba Corral must first approve Nisman's findings andissue arrest warrants. Then Argentina would have to seek thesuspects' extradition from Iran -- a request Iran is unlikely tohonor.
Warrants could, however, prevent the suspects from travelingfreely outside Iran; they'd be subject to arrest under internationalpolice agreements.
Nisman, who spoke to reporters in Buenos Aires, released fewdetails of his investigation. A full report was given to Canicoba ona CD because of the volume of the material. It's unknown whenCanicoba will rule on the matter.
How Nisman traced the bombing to a specific meeting attended byRafsanjani is also unknown. In Washington, Vincent Cannistraro, aformer head of counterterrorism operations and analysis for the CIA,said he doesn't know of anyone who can confirm the meeting.
"From an intelligence point of view, we know Mugniyah directed theoperation," Cannistraro said. "There's been no confirmation of anymeeting. ... No one has that precise intelligence. I do know there isnot a hard source that is credible and attended that meeting."
Rafsanjani was the president of Iran from 1989 to 1997 and remainsa powerful political force there. He ran for president last year, butwas defeated by the current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Hecurrently serves as chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council, apowerful body that attempts to resolve policy differences between thegovernment and the clerics who must approve all government actions.
In 1997, German prosecutors said they believed Rafsanjani orderedthe murder of an Iranian-Kurdish leader there, but Rafsanjani wasnever charged.
Rafsanjani also was the go-between in the arms-for-hostages dealsthat gave rise to the Iran-contra affair during Ronald Reagan'spresidency.
Mugniyah has an extensive terrorist resume. He was indicted in theUnited States for Stethem's murder and is on the European Union'slist of most wanted terrorists. He's variously described asHezbollah's head of security and a founder of the organization. Inaddition to the Marines barracks bombing, he's thought to have beeninvolved in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut and thekidnapping of journalist Terry Anderson there.
The United States has offered a $5 million reward for his capture.
The bombing of the AMIA Jewish center here has remained an openwound, with accusations of bungling and cover-ups being leviedagainst successive Argentine governments. The only people tried inthe case were two Argentine police officers accused of helpingterrorists obtain a van used to carry a hidden bomb. Both werecleared.
Adding to the mystery, a former Iranian spy alleged in 2003 thatCarlos Saul Menem, Argentina's president at the time of the bombing,received $10 million in a secret Swiss bank account as payment fromIran to quash the investigation. Menem, of Syrian descent,acknowledged the secret account but denied the hush money.
Later that same year, as Argentina tried to have Great Britainextradite Hadi Soleimanpour, Iran's former ambassador to Argentina,news reports emerged that the chief Argentine judge investigating thebombing -- Juan Jose Galeano -- paid a witness $400,000 for testimonyand that he was writing a book on the case. He was removed from thecase in 2004, and Nisman was appointed to investigate.
Against that backdrop, families of the victims had their doubtsWednesday.
"After more than 12 years, we had hoped for more results," saidSofia Guterman, whose 28-year-old daughter, Andrea, perished in theattack, which also injured more than 200. "I don't think it'll bevery easy to extradite those people."
Lawyers representing the victims were a bit more upbeat. MartaNercellas, who's investigated the Iranian connection even when hergovernment wouldn't, told McClatchy Newspapers that there's newevidence in Nisman's case.
Nercellas said Nisman's report includes testimony from formerIranian spies and ex-Hezbollah fighters who now reside in Europe.
"There are new and different testimonies," she said.
Today on the presidential campaign trail
IN THE HEADLINES
Obama announces support and expansion for Bush's faith based programs ... McCain to visit Colombia, Mexico to show support for free trade ... McCain to visit Colombia, Mexico to show support for free trade
___
Obama to expand Bush's faith based programs
CHICAGO (AP) _ Reaching out to evangelical voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is announcing plans to expand President Bush's program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups and _ in a move sure to cause controversy _ support some ability to hire and fire based on faith.
Obama was unveiling his approach to getting religious …
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Nursing home owners charged in 35 deaths
CHALMETTE, La. (AP) -- The owners of a nursing home where 35patients died in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina were indictedWednesday on charges of negligent homicide and cruelty to the …
Nursing home owners charged in 35 deathsCHALMETTE, La. (AP) -- The owners of a nursing home where 35patients died in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina were indictedWednesday on charges of negligent homicide and cruelty to the …
Monday, March 5, 2012
Can the Koreans Crack Europe?
Hyundai and Kia watch market share rise as they break ground for a new European assembly plant.
What is the fastest growing car brand in Europe? Humble Kia took the honors in 2003 with growth of 48.4 percent to 107,631 sales.
So far this year, it's Daewoo, up 41 percent to 46,784 sales with Kia seeing a 15 percent increase to 42,517 and Hyundai a 17 percent rise to 103,434.
Hyundai ended last year with close to 280,000 sales in Europe and the business plan sees that more than double to 600,000 by 2010. Dial in the contribution from Kia (close to 110,000 units 1 ast year and promising a lot more this year) and the Hyundai-Kia double act begins to look very …
Consumer-owned community flour and bread societies in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.(Special Issue: The Emergence of Modern Retailing, 1750-1950)
In the period from 1759 until 1820, at least 46 flour and bread societies were established in parts of England and Scotland to provide bread and flour at retail to the public below the local 'market price'. These societies were owned directly by consumers or operated indirectly through a friendly society. Flour and bread were sold as near to 'prime cost' as possible, covering the costs of raw materials, conversion costs and capital rather than at market prices. The articles of one society comprehensively stated the objectives of most societies: 'established... for the Purpose of Reducing the Unexampled Prices of Bread and Flour, and to Prevent the Adulteration of these Articles with Materials of Inferior and Pernicious Qualities." The societies attempted to serve community interests and their members' interests by intervening directly in the market by retailing, baking and flour milling. Some societies passed on the benefits to members of consolidating retail purchases to obtain 'wholesale' prices. Most societies, and all the large societies, believed that in order to derive full benefits for consumers they should use vertical integration to attempt to control the processing and distribution of grain and flour products for their families. Smaller flour clubs were not able to do this.
The research underlying this essay has covered England and Scotland, although most societies were concentrated in Yorkshire, the naval ports of the south of England, the East and West Midlands, East Anglia, and central Scotland.: Like the great majority of retail organisations in this period, only basic data are available for most companies.(3) The main source of information about these organisations is their rules, the Privy Council examination of the Birmingham Flour and Bread Company (BFBC), memories collected by Jones, Potter and others writing towards the end of the nineteenth century or brief comments in newspapers or gazetteers.(4) Philanthropic activity such as the corn mills provided by subscription committees in Barham and Chislehurst are excluded from this survey.(5) The words 'society' and 'company' are used here interchangeably.
This paper discusses the origins of communal flour and bread societies (section II) and the economic and social factors surrounding their formation (section III). Their legal status as unincorporated joint stock companies with large amounts of freely transferable stock in breach of the 1720 Bubble Act(6) is considered in section IV. The sales and marketing methods used by societies are the subject of section V, whilst VI covers their organisation and management control.
The combination of community business practice with high ideals makes them an early form of co-operative endeavour although it is an oversimplification to call these mixed and diverse organisations 'cooperatives'. Historians of the pre-Rochdale co-operative movement have tended to concentrate on Owenite experiments and King-type co-operative stores.(7) The extensive nature of eighteenth-century flour and bread societies has only been recognised recently, partly as a by-product of industrial archaeology research relating to the flour industry. The creation of these societies may indicate a further, practical, self-help dimension of the 'moral economy' in response to the privations of the late eighteenth century.(8)
II
Four main categories of flour and bread society have been identified. These are shipwright societies, flour clubs, friendly society clubs and mills, and joint stock flour and bread societies.
Shipwright flour mills and bakery societies were the earliest known flour and bread societies, the earliest dating from 1759. There were smock corn mills with bakeries built by shipwrights in Chatham (Middlesex) and Woolwich (Kent).(9) Local bakers were alleged to have been involved in burning down the Woolwich mill on 16 March 1760. The controversy was still going on in 1763 when Pitt offered a free pardon for anyone turning King's Evidence.(10) Bread societies were established by shipwrights in Portsmouth (the United Society - H.M. dockyards) on 10 May 1796" and at Brixham Quay, Devon (Unity and Amity Society) in 1798.(12) Following concern about the adulteration of flour with china clay, dockyard workers at Sheerness (Kent) formed the Economical Society in 1816 'for obtaining for themselves and their families a supply of Wheaten Bread and Flour, and Butcher's meat',(13) and, in 1817, the Devonport Union Mill, near Plymouth, was established by dock workers, initially as a wholesale bread supply society: it bought its own mill and bakery following a boycott by local bakers.(14) All the available evidence shows that these organisations were organisationally separate from any dockyard friendly societies that also existed.
In south Derbyshire and the surrounding areas 'Associations of Working Men'(15) organised flour clubs to buy grain wholesale, had it ground and sold to members at 'prime cost'. By the mid-1790s there were a number in south Derbyshire, Long Eaton (Nottinghamshire) and Quorndon, Sileby, Mountsorrel and other places in Leicestershire.(16) Several of them may have used the funds accumulated by friendly societies.(17) The Long Eaton Club sent grain to Batch Mill at Toton, Nottinghamshire, paying the miller 3/(15p) per quarter (1.58kg), and saving 4d-6d (1.7p-2.5p) per stone (6.3kg) for members, and a club in Rothley based on a friendly society used [pounds]50 of its funds to purchase corn, have it ground and retail to members at prime cost.(18) Although these clubs were in three different shire counties, the sites mentioned are not more than 25 miles apart. In Manchester, a union of friendly societies was reputed to save its members [pounds]5,000 through bulk purchasing.(19)
In Scotland, the Fenwick Weavers' friendly society (near Kilmarnock, Ayreshire) started dealing in oatmeal on behalf of its members in 1769 and continued until 1800. The amount invested in oatmeal fluctuated: [pounds]4.4.0d ([pounds]4.20) was invested in the first year and it had risen to [pounds]40.0.0d by the time the society ceased trading. Maxwell, writing in 1910, argued that many villages had oatmeal clubs and bakeries but had left no records. Other oatmeal societies are known to have been established in Arbroath (pre-1790) and Bridgeton (1800). Several specialist bread and flour societies were set up in Glasgow on or after 1801, Bannockburn, and Leven (1828).(20)
Friendly society-owned corn mills were established by one or more friendly societies mainly in Nottinghamshire and Sheffield. The Mansfield Sick Club Mill dated from 1779, undercut local millers by 3d per stone (1.25p per 6.3kg). In 1782, an abortive attempt was made by 16 Nottingham friendly societies to set up a mill of their own. The Greyhound Society in Mansfield Woodhouse had taken a postmill in 1783, which it operated until at least 1799 and possibly 1832.(21) Other mills followed in Newark, Hucknall, Chesterfield and Sheffield. The Newark mill ('Clubbers' Mill') involved at least eight of the town's ten friendly societies with 800 members.(22) The Hucknall Postmill was bought by the Sick Benefit Club in 1795.(23) The Chesterfield Club Mill was first mentioned in 1796, but was put up for sale in 1806.(24) The Sheffield Club Mill (1795) founded by the Masons' Society and 15 or 16 other friendly societies was eventually supported by 43 societies, which were expected to subscribe 20/- ([pounds]1) for each member. It cost [pounds]10,000 to set up the water mill with eight pairs of millstones, bakeries, dressing machines, granaries, drying kiln and 12-13 acres of land. As such it was amongst the largest cornmill and bakery undertakings in the country. The business collapsed in 1811.(25)
In the years following 1795 there were at least 16 societies set up as unincorporated joint stock flour and bread companies in Yorkshire and the West Midlands. These were significant enterprises, each with a large number of shareholders. Three societies were prosecuted as monopolists by local bakers and millers.(26) The proposers of the Hull Anti-Mill petitioned the corporation as 'We the poor inhabitants o f the said town' in 1795, raised 81 donations, recruited 1,435 members, and the mill was opened in June 1797 at a cost of [pounds]2,200.(27) Other flour and bread companies were established at Beverley (1799, costing [pounds]2,000), Bridlington (Anti-Mill, 1800), Newport (Anti-Mill, Yorkshire), and Whitby (1800, costing [pounds]2,534), and a second company in Hull itself (Hull Subscription Mill, 1799, costing [pounds]2,000). All these used the Hull Anti-Mill as the organisational prototype. The Bridlington Society was unusual in being donated to the community by a single individual.(28)
In 1795, it was proposed to establish a Birmingham Flour and Bread Company (BFBC) and by February 1796 more than [pounds]6,000 had been promised in donations and share capital to build a 16 hp steam mill. The articles of the BFBC stated that 'unless some proper and effectual means are taken, the evil attending the high price of grain and the shameful adulteration of flour will continue'.(29) By 1800 there were 1,360 shareholders in what was probably the largest flour and bread company in the country (the Albion Mills in London had burned down in 1791) and in which …
Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon.(Brief article)(Book review)
Arabesque
Claudia Roden
Alfred A. Knopf
c/o Random House
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
030726498X $35.00 www.aaknopf.com
ARABESQUE: A TASTE OF MOROCCO, TURKEY & LEBANON revisits three countries the author first explored back in the 1960s: Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon, providing more depth and insight into their history and culture as she …
MALTA ROUNDUP BOARD RULES RODEO PREDATED '67 TOWN ORDINANCE.(Local)
Byline: Tim Beidel Staff writer
The Double M Rodeo won't go the way of the Wild West, as the town Zoning Board of Appeals ruled TNesday that the business existed prior to its 1967 zoning ordinance.
The board declared the rodeo a non-conforming use, but asked Ron and Kathy Martin to come back with a traffic study, a schedule of the rodeo and its plans to handle people on the Route 67 site.
Mark Rider, a Ballston Spa attorney who represented the Martins, said the couple wanted to cooperate but he would not concede "that they are subject to the review you are talking about."
He argued that once declared a non-conforming use, the Zoning Board …
Billups ready for Game 1 of Eastern Conference finals
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Sunday, March 4, 2012
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The impact and effectiveness of pneumococcal vaccination in Scotland for those aged 65 and over during winter 2003/2004.(Research article)
Authors: John D Mooney (corresponding author) [1,2]; Amanda Weir [1,3]; Jim McMenamin [1]; Lewis D Ritchie [4]; Tatania V Macfarlane [4]; Colin R Simpson [4]; Syed Ahmed [5]; Chris Robertson [1,3]; Stuart C Clarke [6,7]
Background
The current pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23vPPV), which consists of 23 serotype antigens corresponding to over 90% of all invasive disease isolates, has been available since the early 1980's [5]. Its efficacy was first established against pneumococcal pneumonia in randomized controlled trials conducted amongst novice gold-miners in South Africa [6]. The balance of the evidence from a subsequent wealth of prospective and retrospective studies in immuno-competent older adults [7] together with cost effectiveness evaluations in the US [8] and Europe [9] tends to support the targeting of older age groups for vaccination as a worthwhile and cost saving intervention. The most recent Cochrane review also concluded that 23vPPV was effective against IPD although the evidence was not sufficient against pneumonia [10].
In winter 2003/2004, 23vPPV was recommended for all those aged 65 and over in Scotland and promoted in parallel with an influenza vaccination programme for the same age group [11]. This approach was at variance with the phased three year introduction programme for ten year age-bands (beginning with those aged 85 and over) that was adopted in England and Wales and completed in 2005/2006. The experience seen in Scotland may therefore serve as an early indication of the UK wide impact of the programme. Previous to the age targeted campaign, 23vPPV vaccine had only been recommended for all persons over the age of two years who were at increased risk of IPD due to any of the following underlying medical conditions: asplenia or splenic dysfunction; chronic renal disease or nephrotic syndrome; immunosuppression resulting from disease or treatment; chronic heart disease; chronic lung disease; chronic liver disease including cirrhosis and diabetes mellitus [12]. The two principal outcome measures by which the impact of the vaccination campaign was assessed in this evaluation were firstly the extent to which there was a reduction in the expected winter incidence of invasive disease in the target age-groups, since this was the major rationale behind the policy and secondly, the estimated vaccination effectiveness for those age 65 and over. During the time period of this evaluation, 23vPPV was the only population level age-targeted intervention against pneumococcal disease in Scotland since the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Prevenar) was not introduced into the childhood vaccination programme until September 2006 [13].
Methods
Study design, population and time period
The impact of the pneumococcal vaccination campaign in winter 2003/2004 was evaluated using a retrospective cohort design which looked at vaccination effectiveness and the age-specific incidence of IPD. The principle outcome measures were observed changes in the 2003/2004 winter season incidence rates of IPD in the vaccine targeted population of those aged 65 and over (divided into males and females aged 65-74 and 75 and over). For comparison, the incidence rates of invasive disease in younger age bands (0-4, 5-34, 35-49 and 50-64) were also examined for the same winter season. Figure 1 gives an overview of the study design and data sources.
IPD incidence
Reports of all pneumococcal laboratory isolates from every diagnostic laboratory in Scotland are collated at Health Protection Scotland (HPS). In an ongoing collaboration with the Scottish Meningococcus and Pneumococcus Reference Laboratory (SMPRL), surveillance for invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) involves obtaining laboratory confirmation, serotype identification and antibiotic resistance profiling for all blood and CSF isolates. There were no changes in culture procedures or in the criteria used by diagnostic laboratories to submit isolates over the period of the study. Laboratory reports of pneumococcal infection for the winter seasons (weeks 40 of preceding year to week 20 of the following year) were extracted from the national HPS database for 1999/2000; 2000/2001; 2001/2002; 2002/2003; 2003/2004. Total IPD isolates (i.e.: blood and CSF) for these time periods were used to derive winter season incidence rates by age-band (0-4, 5-34, 35-49, 50-64, 65-74 and 75+) and sex. For ease of comparison with other published studies, crude annualised incidence rates were estimated by assigning a two-thirds weighting to the winter season total (according to the mean proportion of annual cases which occur during weeks 40 to 20).
Population totals were obtained from the General Register Office for Scotland Statistics Library [14], the midyear estimates preceding each winter season being used as denominators. To verify any continuing trends, incidence rates for winter 2004/2005 were also determined. A Poisson regression model, using the log (population) as an offset variable was used to predict the expected number of cases for winter season 2003/2004, from which were derived standardised incidence ratios (SIR). The Poisson model used data on the incidence rates of the four preceding winter seasons and included the following terms: winter season (continuous variable), age group, sex and the interaction term of sex and age. The 95% confidence interval (CI) for the SIR was calculated using the error factor and a Chi-square test was used to compare numbers of observed and expected cases.
Vaccine uptake
Estimates of 23vPPV vaccine uptake in winter 2003/2004 across the whole population were assessed through a sentinel surveillance network called the continuous morbidity record (CMR), which covers a seven percent representative sample of the Scottish population [15]. In contrast, influenza vaccine uptake data is not …
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