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Wildfire warning as mercury rises
Britain is braced for an outbreak of wildfires as the country continues to swelter in its longest heatwave for seven years.
Researchers have estimated that the hot weather may have caused up to 760 premature deaths after six consecutive days of plus-30C temperatures. And with rainfall at only around 15% of average monthly totals so far, the Met Office has warned that there is an "elevated risk" of fires in the countryside.
A spokesman said: "I can confirm that the advice given to our governmental partners is that there is an elevated risk of fires in the next couple of days."
Karl Kitchen, the Met Office scientist with responsibility for wildfires, told The Independent that soon-to-be harvested crops such as wheat and winter barley are looking particularly vulnerable to fire.
Firefighters in London have already warned of the dangers posed by grass fires. On Thursday a blaze burned through grass and gorse the equivalent of four football pitches in Mitcham, south London, before it was brought under control. London Fire Brigade (LFB) says it has dealt with twice as many grass fires in this summer's heatwave compared with last year.
On Wednesday the country experienced the hottest day of the year so far, with the mercury hitting 32.2C (90F). On Thursday it hit highs of 30.5C in Bournemouth in Dorset and Lee-on-Solent in Hampshire.
South-west England and the West Midlands were elevated from level two to level three heatwave health warnings by the Met Office, putting them on a par with the South East and London. The East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the East remain at level two. The North East and North West remain at level one.
Health officials have advised people to stay cool, drink lots of cold fluids and keep an eye on those they know to be at risk.
Dr Angie Bone, heatwave plan leader for PHE, said: "In this continued hot weather, it's important to remember that high temperatures can be dangerous, especially for people who may be vulnerable such as older people, young children and those with serious illnesses. During very hot weather, pregnant women and people who have chronic illnesses, including cardiovascular, respiratory, renal conditions, diabetes or Parkinson's disease, may experience discomfort if indoor temperatures are particularly hot and in using public transport."
Gemma Plumb, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said there was no sign of temperatures dropping significantly in the coming days. "(On Friday) the West Midlands, central southern England and the West Country could see maximums of 28-30C," she said. "On Saturday and Sunday it looks like we will have temperatures of around 28C but by Monday we have temperatures of 29C and 30C again, with an increased risk of getting some showers. There is a likelihood of thunderstorms from Sunday and into Monday, initially in the west of England and South Wales and then heading into the south of England, but these would not necessarily bring temperatures down."


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Howell left with 'terrible feeling' in loss
Missteps in ninth inning negate Kazmir's strong start
By Bill Chastain / MLB.com
The Rays took a 2-1 lead into the ninth and came away 3-2 losers after the normally dependable J.P. Howell allowed a game-tying homer, walked the bases loaded and threw a wild pitch to allow the winning run to score.
"Terrible feeling," Howell said. "This is as bad as it gets for a relief pitcher."
The Blue Jays' win snapped a two-game Rays winning streak and dropped the Rays to four games behind the Red Sox in the American League Wild Card race.
Howell entered the game with two out in the eighth and stopped a Blue Jays rally by striking out Travis Snider to end the inning. Thursday being an off-day, coupled with the fact Howell had not pitched a lot lately, persuaded Rays manager Joe Maddon to send the left-hander out to pitch the ninth with the Rays protecting a 2-1 lead.
After retiring John McDonald on a popup, the Rays needed just two outs to earn a three-game sweep over the Blue Jays. But Toronto manager Cito Gaston elected to go to his bench for pinch-hitter Rod Barajas, who had a good idea about what he would be looking for from Howell.
"He's able to throw any pitch at any time, and he has full confidence in all of his pitches, so I figured he's going to try to get me out with his out pitch," Barajas said. "He did throw something soft -- he threw me a curveball, and it ended up being right where I like it."
Barajas deposited the pitch over the left-field wall to tie the game at 2.
He was "sitting on it, obviously, and he crushed it," Howell said. "That's what the problem was. Location and he was sitting on it -- bad combo.
"After you give up a home run like that you need to move on. I think I did, but the results didn't come."
Howell walked the next hitter, Marco Scutaro, on four pitches, but retired Aaron Hill on a deep fly ball to center field for the second out; Scutaro moved to second on the play, representing the winning run. Inexplicably, Howell continued to struggle with his control at this point as Vernon Wells and Kevin Millar drew two-out walks to load the bases. Howell had a 2-2 count on Randy Ruiz when he uncorked a wild pitch that ricocheted high into the air off catcher Gregg Zaun's shin guard. Scutaro scored easily.
"A really, really short curveball," Zaun said. "I'm not sure how short it was, but it was a really short one. I did all I could to get body on it. It hit off my shin guard, popped straight in the air. Unfortunately it just seemed to hang there for about six seconds. I had no chance to make a play.
"I hate losing games like that. It's a quirky thing. I'd rather see a guy earn it with a base hit. And we had the guy down two strikes. We had a chance to get out of the inning and get back in the dugout to try and score us a run."
Historically speaking, Wednesday night produced the third loss in Rays history on a walk-off wild pitch. Victor Zambrano's wild pitch against the Tigers on April 17, 2002, was the first time it happened. Al Levine also did it against the Cubs on June 3, 2003.
Wednesday night's contest began as a pitching duel between a pair of left-handers, Scott Kazmir and Marc Rzepczynski.
Rzepczynski held the Rays hitless for 5 2/3 innings before Pat Burrell laced a single to right field. Gabe Kapler followed by hitting a 1-1 pitch over the left-field wall for his fifth home run of the season and a 2-0 Rays lead.
Meanwhile, Kazmir held the Blue Jays scoreless on two hits through five innings before Jose Bautista's two-out double in the sixth drove home Millar to cut the Rays' lead to 2-1. Kazmir finished with a season-high 10 strikeouts while giving the Rays his fifth quality start in his last six outings.
But Wednesday night's loss brought a haunting reminder that it's not about how you start a game, rather how you finish.
Bill Chastain is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

subset: commoncrawl


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Mobile Telcos Face Depreciation Conundrum
Introducing Paul Sharma of Dow Jones Investment Banker (http://www.dowjones.com/banker)
The faster technology changes the faster you need to write down the asset on your books. But this isn't happening in the mobile industry, and that seems odd.
So, when the writedowns start to appear, as they inevitably will, industry profits are set to decline.
Let's assume Inmarsat, Mobistar, Telenor, ASA, TeliaSonera and Vodafone had a single balance sheet. The annual depreciation and amortisation rate has actually slowed in the past five years from 15.8% in 2005, to 15% currently. Tangible fixed assets represent only around a quarter of the total, but it is still surprising that depreciation rates aren't on the rise.
Surprising because the speed of network change is accelerating – fast. Companies are planning 4G rollout while many customers are still on 2G, for example. And there are new types of equipment forever being deployed, such as internet-based technology rather than conventional telco switches and transmission gear, which would normally result in declining asset lives.
But decreasing the average lifetime of assets would likely result in a declining asset base, unless capital expenditures climbed, given the asset base has been roughly constant in the past five years.
It could well be that a declining net asset base would prompt another significant turning point for the industry, as it was after the big write-downs that followed the TMT boom of the late nineties, so putting further pressure on an underperforming sector.
For when technology is changing fast, the rate at which assets should be depreciated becomes a moving target. For the mobile industry, as networks get upgraded and become more data-centric, its depreciation policy is in need of a makeover which could end up with lower reported profits for the industry.


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Alicia Keys laughed and giggled the night away with pal La La Anthony at the annual Bronx Charter School for the Arts auction.
The ladies were joined by their husbands – Carmelo Anthony and Swizz Beatz – and an onlooker tells us, "Alicia and Swizz looked more in love than ever, gazing into each other's eyes and kissing like no one was watching."
But their affectionate demeanor didn't stop the duo, who attended with 6-year-old song Kaseem Jr. (from Swizz's previous marriage), from bidding against each other for a guitar signed by the Rolling Stones during the Ciroc Vodka-sponsored event.
In the end, though, Keys ended up taking home a penguin drawing created in collaboration between her husband and some schoolchildren, and Swizz took a turn spinning tracks behind the deejay booth at the party.


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Before Norfolk Island, There Was ALM980
Reading the ATSB accident report on the Norfolk Island ditching I blogged about on Monday gave me a case of d�j� vu about another eerily similar accident in 1970. Being a student of aircraft ditching and survival, I've known about this accident for years as the "National Airways" ditching near St. Croix. But I never researched the details until I chanced upon an excellent book on the subject: 35 Miles from Shore: The Ditching and Rescue of ALM Flight 980 by Emilio Corsetti III.
Like the Pel-Air accident, the ALM ditching was the result of a long string of errors, but the fundamental one was flying an airplane for a route for which it wasn't suited. ALM�Antilliaanse Luchtvaart Maatschappij, the Dutch Antilles National carrier�had wet leased a DC-9 from Overseas National Airways to fly the route between New York and St. Martin, in the Leeward Islands, a direct distance of 1650 miles�coincidentally the same distance the Pel-Air Westwind had to cover between Samoa and Norfolk Island.
At the time, Douglas had broken into the mid-haul market with the DC-9 and while it was suitable for flying city pairs up to 1000 miles apart with profitable load factors, it was never envisioned as a long-haul, oceanic airplane. Recognizing that the DC-9 could fly the route with the thinnest of margins if everything went right, the FAA approved the ALM/ONA routing if Bermuda was used as a waypoint, meeting the-then required one-hour drift-down limits in the event of an engine failure. Bermuda required a jink in the route that increased the flying distance, but it also offered a contingency fuel stop. But as is always the case, adding a fuel stop would mean the flight would lose money, so the crews tried to avoid it. ONA had also arranged with Douglas to add a fuel tank to the DC-9, but it never got done because the airline put it off until the end of high tourist season.
Another problem never addressed was significant inaccuracy in the DC-9's fuel gauge and totalizer systems for its two main and one aux tank. Douglas said the system shouldn't show errors greater than 800 pounds, but on the ONA DC-9, errors were in the plus or minus 2000-pound range. This was thought to be due to condensation on the fuel probes. In any case, the ONA airplanes continued to burn more fuel than the Douglas charts said they should. Just two weeks before the accident flight, an ONA airplane landed on St. Martin with minimum fuel, flown by the same captain who would later perform the ditching.
As Dom James did following the Pel-Air ditching, ONA's pilot, Balsey DeWitt underwent intense investigatory scrutiny about his fuel planning, especially given the fact that he had landed with barely 30 minutes of fuel two weeks before. Why, investigators asked, had he chosen FL290 when passing Bermuda rather than a higher, more fuel-efficient altitude? He later descended twice more looking for a turbulence-free altitude, increasing the fuel burn and encountering unfavorable winds.
What finally did ALM980 in was weather substantially worse than forecast. Apart from daily thunderstorms and occasional tropical storms and hurricanes, the Leewards enjoy mostly fair weather, so much so that the only instrument approaches in those days were non-precision VOR or NDBs. There simply wasn't much need for anything better. The forecast called for 2500 scattered to broken, 10,000 overcast and 6 miles in haze. Nothing in that forecast would raise concern for most instrument pilots with experience in the islands. What the forecast didn't say, says Corsetti's book, is that the haze was caused by a Saharan dust cloud, providing rich condensation nuclei for all that Caribbean moisture.
And that's exactly what happened. When ALM980 came in range of the St. Martin's tower, the controller reported 1000 broken, 5000 overcast and 2 to 3 miles in showers. It was marginal for an NDB approach, but legal. Moments later, San Juan Center advised ALM980 that St. Martin was below minimums and Captain DeWitt turned for a diversion to San Juan. Then the tower called again, reporting a slight improvement in the weather to 1000 broken and 4 to 5 miles in rain, well above the 600-foot MDA and 2 miles needed for the NDB approach.
ALM980 turned back toward St. Martin, but DeWitt believed they would land with 4400 pounds of fuel, 100 pounds more than the required 4300. When the airplane arrived over the beacon for the procedure turn, the weather turned out to be far worse than reported and when it broke out, it was too close and too poorly aligned to try to land. The airport's short runway�5200 feet�left no margin for error. After two circling attempts, the crew gave up and struck off for the alternate, St. Thomas, with 3800 pounds of fuel left�about 38 minutes. Minutes later, St. Martin tower closed the airport due to poor visibility and low ceilings.
They never made St. Thomas, or St. Croix, which was deemed a little closer. With fuel dwindling, DeWitt realized he would have to ditch miles short of St. Croix. While all of the occupants of the Pel-Air survived, sadly, that wasn't the case for ALM980. After impact, the airplane remained on the surface for 10 minutes; 40 of the 63 people aboard survived. It's almost certain that more would have, but in one those seemingly innocuous twists on which survival can turn, the cabin PA wasn't working. The flight crew couldn't warn the cabin crew that touchdown was imminent. Although they used the ONA method of three chimes to warn the cabin, the ALM-trained cabin crew didn't know what three chimes meant; it was accustomed to only two. Many passengers were standing or were otherwise unsecured during the impact. The ditching occurred in late afternoon light in moderate seas and rain. In a stroke of good fortune, a Navy helicopter ship was anchored nearby and rescue efforts began quickly.
The post-flight investigation revealed some of the same problems James encountered off Norfolk Island. The procedure for handling liferafts was flawed; vests rode too high and blocked the survivors ears, funneling water into their faces. There were unconfirmed reports that the St. Martin tower operator was pressured to report better weather than actually existed. Witnesses varied on what weather existed at the time of the initial approaches, but some said it was as little as a quarter mile. The NTSB took some lumps, too. It was too slow in assembling a maintenance records group and during the ensuring delay, the airline destroyed the DC-9's records, hiding possible improper work done on the fuel probes, according to Corsetti.
On March 31, 1971, the NTSB issued its probable cause: fuel exhaustion due to repeated attempts to land at St. Martin until not enough fuel remained for flight to an alternate. Mis-reported weather was also a factor.
Some positives emerged from the accident. Captain Dewitt was at least cited for exceptional airmanship in ditching the aircraft in trying conditions. The NTSB also recommended eliminating the old automotive-style metal-to-fabric seatbelts and this was adopted. Today, you fly behind metal-to-metal seatbelt buckles as a result. Also, better communications were installed in parts of the Caribbean to improve flight handling.
In the end, both the Norfolk Island and ALM ditchings owe their origins to aircraft being pressed into missions they simply weren't able to fly with suitable safety margins. I suspect the management at Pel-Air had never heard of ALM980 and didn't realize they risked repeating it.


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I'm just a girl, not much to tell. I hope to be an author some day, so I'm starting now!
After a few months of writers block about A Black at Heart I am finally writing again. It shall be finished in a few days and up shortly!
Upcoming (eventually):
- A Letter to Anyone; A chapters story about Rose and Scorpius
- Bedtime Stories; I don't want to give this one away!
- Narcissist; Title should be self-explanatory


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Brawl in Ottertail leaves man unconscious
A brawl involving multiple people outside The Otter Supper Club in Ottertail on Friday night ended with a man being sent to the emergency room.
The Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office received a report of a fight involving 15-20 people in The Otter's parking lot at about 11:30 p.m.
An officer with the Perham Police Department was the first official to arrive on scene, where 31-year-old Jay Richard Monson was found unconscious, according to police records.
Witnesses at the scene said Monson had been assaulted by two unknown men, who fled the scene in a silver sedan, heading south on Highway 78. One of the men was reportedly wearing a white sweatshirt.
Monson was later transported to Perham Health, where he refused treatment.
As of Monday, the sheriff's department had no further information on the incident, and the two suspects had not been located.


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|© 2005
Ensberg: 'Stros thrive on adversity10/24/2005 5:50 AM ET
Perspectives Archive:
I don't want to sugarcoat it. This was a very difficult loss. But there's nothing a team can do to us that we haven't been through before. We're not affected so negatively by tough losses. We're not going to dwell on it. We'll just refocus on what we need to do to win back in Houston.Actually, I'm really proud of the way our team responded in the top of the ninth, getting two big runs off their closer to come back and tie the game following Paul Konerko's grand slam. We're always going to fight and we're going to make it tough on you. Then, just when you think you're OK, we're going to come back with two runs in the ninth inning like we did tonight. I don't think they'd acknowledge it, but going into the ninth inning, the White Sox had to be fairly confident that they had the game won. But we fought back. There are very few predicaments this club hasn't encountered over the course of the season. We've been in much deeper holes than this. In May, we were already facing elimination from the NL Central race. Adversity makes you stronger, and that's what's happened to our club this season. In fact, we were in this position in the NLCS last season against the Cardinals. We lost the first two games in St. Louis and then went back to Houston and won three. We're very resilient and the World Series is far from over. We're going to make it really difficult for the White Sox before this is settled. We just need to get back to Houston and regroup. We've played extremely well at home. The sound of our crowd at home is unlike anything I've heard in my life. It's a big distraction. You can't even hear each other on the field it's so loud. Morgan Ensberg had the best of his three full seasons in the Majors in 2005, achieving career highs with 36 home runs and 101 RBIs. His .945 OPS was eighth-best in the NL.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Area Sales Managers To Lead Efforts in U.S. Northwest and Upper Midwest
Advanced Animal Diagnostics (AAD), a developer of technologies for the rapid diagnosis of farm animal diseases, has added experienced sales and customer service professionals to its team in preparation for the commercialization of its first technology platform.
Paula Bell has been hired as area sales manager for the Northwest U.S. region and Tim Griswold is named area sales manager for the Upper Midwest region.
"We're excited to continue to build a sales team with strong dairy backgrounds and connections to dairy producers. Paula and Tim's expertise and experience will be essential as we prepare to launch our most advanced technology platform," said Gary Winter, VP North American Sales.
Paula Bell will focus on building a sales network and introducing AAD's technology platform to dairy farms in the northwest U.S. Bell comes to AAD from Standard Dairy Consultants. She also served in sales roles for both MWI Veterinary Supply and Pfizer/Pharmacia Animal Health where she was responsible for developing, implementing and managing sales and marketing programs. Bell was an instructor for Animal Sciences courses at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Bell earned a bachelor of science and masters degrees at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.
Tim Griswold will be responsible for AAD's sales efforts and product introduction in the upper Midwest. He comes to AAD from Sexing Technologies, where he developed and managed the dairy heifer export business and was responsible for communications with agricultural lenders and academia about financial implications of sexed semen. He also served in sales roles at Elanco Animal Health and Monsanto, where he managed sales territories and built relationships with producers, veterinarians, lenders, nutrition consultants and other industry professionals.
Griswold served as the executive director for the Wisconsin Dairy 2020 Initiative, and the board of directors for the Dairy Business Association. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Jolyn Crane has also been hired as manager, customer service and supply chain.
Crane will be responsible for leading the customer service and supply chain management team at AAD. She managed a customer service team at Cheminova, including responsibilities for distributor relationships and sales/rebate programs for the company. She also held customer service and management roles at several leading North Carolina companies, including Misys Healthcare Systems, Danka Business Machines, RBC Centura, and First Federal Savings and Loan.
Crane is a graduate of Atlantic Christian College (now Barton College) in Wilson, North Carolina.
AAD's first technology, the Milk Leukocyte Differential (MLD), identifies and counts the different leukocytes (white blood cells) in the milk of each quarter , to detect the presence of subclinical mastitis, thus before symptoms are visible to the producer. Performing the MLD at optimal time points during the lactation cycle such as in the first 2 weeks after calving and at dry-off, allows for informed intervention strategies resulting in better animal health, milk quality and economic outcomes.
AAD started with a USDA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant. It received funding from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center including a Collaborative Funding Grant for research at North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. In March 2011, the company closed an $11.3 million Series B round of equity financing with Intersouth Partners, Novartis Venture Funds and private investors.
About Advanced Animal Diagnostics
Advanced Animal Diagnostics (AAD) is an innovative company designed to enhance the profitability of livestock production and ensure a safe, abundant supply of animal protein by developing highly accurate, rapid diagnostics to detect and manage disease states, reproductive, nutritional and overall health status of production animals. The firm's first product is a rapid, on-farm diagnostic test for the early, accurate detection of subclinical mastitis in dairy cows. For more information about Advanced Animal Diagnostics, please visit www.aadiagnostics.com.


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Peter Beagrie
Football League Expert & Columnist
Centres of excellence
The Championship's best centre-halves, the takeover at Leeds and in-form Watford... here's Beags!
Last Updated: 02/12/12 2:08pm
Peter Beagrie is here every week on skysports.com answering YOUR Football League questions.
The former winger, who played over 770 games, representing clubs in all four tiers of the English footballing pyramid, including Manchester City, Everton, Bradford, Sheffield United, Scunthorpe, and Grimsby, forms part of the Sky Sports punditry team for all the big matches in the Championship, League One and League Two.
So if you have a poser for Peter, whether it's about your team, a player, match or incident that has caught your eye, or a wider point on the Football League, make sure you send it in.
Read below for this week's column where Beags gives his take on in-form Watford, the takeover at Leeds and the finest centre-backs in the second tier...
Send your question to Beags
1. Mail them to firstname.lastname@example.com
2. Use the feedback form at the bottom of this page
Hi Peter, I was feeling pretty low after watching Leeds lose to Millwall on Sky last Sunday, but since then news of the takeover and a win over Crystal Palace have really boosted my mood! What do you think of the proposed takeover and what impact do you think it will have? And after our win over Palace, how far off are we from competing for a play-off spot or better? Cheers Sam Gilligan (Leeds United fan)
BEAGS SAYS: Leeds were on a losing run and had the saga of the takeover of the club but what a difference a week makes. Successive wins against high-flying Crystal Palace and Leicester, a completed takeover and a couple of quality players through the door and the glass is not just full but is positively overflowing. If United get three more players to bolster the squad and put in a few more performances like this week, the play-offs are accessible as the club are only six points off sixth place. The fact that Ken Bates is staying on to oversee the takeover is a good sign, too; it would have been easy for him leave and enjoy a total retirement in the Monaco sun, but he has taken so much stick that he wants to make sure that his rescue act at Leeds is not undone by any mismanagement. If I was a Leeds fan I would take the fact that Ken hasn't done a runner as a sign that he has pulled a rabbit out of the hat by getting GFH on board and before he gets his calling his name will ring out around Elland Road in a Premier League match against Chelsea. Now, that would be a comeback!
Hi Peter, My club Watford had an indifferent start to the season and are now starting to gel after all the changes in personnel. Do you think they are ready to challenge for promotion or is it a season too soon? Steven Vigar (Watford fan)
BEAGS SAYS: After putting Sheffield Wednesday to the sword 4-1 in midweek to take their unbeaten run to six games and playing equally exciting football at home and away, it would be easy for Watford to get carried away. The Hornets have registered five away wins, scoring 10 goals in their last two, and that speaks volumes for the organisation, spirit and application that Gianfranco Zola has instilled, while there is no doubting the ability that Watford's foreign influx has brought. Watford flirted with the upper echelons of the division last year but fell away, mainly due to a lack of options, and I don't think Sean Dyche, one of the managers of the season if not THE manager of the season, should have lost his job, but Gianfranco, because of the foreign invasion from Udinese and Granada, was the right man to succeed Sean and club owner Giampaolo Pozzo will feel justified for the managerial change if Zola takes the Hornets to higher than their 11th-placed finish of last season. Can Watford make the play-offs? Yes. Will they? I don't think so, but they are certainly punching above their weight and entertaining us all, which after their recent financial problems is refreshing to see.
Hi Peter, Who do you think is the best central defender in the Championship? I may be biased but I think Charlton's Michael Morrison has to be up there. Thanks, Michael May (Charlton fan)
BEAGS SAYS: Michael, your namesake Mr Morrison is certainly up there and is a player I have held in high regard ever since I saw him develop at Cambridge and, latterly, at Leicester, under the tutelage of ex-centre-half Nigel Pearson. Morrison played in a back five when he was with the Foxes and was also switched to right-back, such was his versatility and ability on the ball; he is not the biggest but he attacks the ball brilliantly, has very good distribution and is an organiser, too. But I have to say that the player who has completely changed my opinion from ordinary to outstanding is Leicester's Wes Morgan. He was brilliant at Nottingham Forest and reached a level of performance that had a lot of club clamouring for his signature, something City captured in January. He has matured into the most consistent Championship centre-back.
Hi Peter, Sheffield Wednesday manager Dave Jones has been given the vote of confidence from Milan Mandaric. How long before he gets sacked? Cheers, Billy Hopkirk (Sheffield Wednesday fan)
BEAGS SAYS: After a five-game losing run throughout September, Milan Mandaric backed Dave Jones, saying: 'Above all else we need to have patience and trust in each other', and now, after another five successive losses, I would remind Mandaric of that statement if I was Jones. The Owls boss overhauled his squad in the summer but it is still not stacked with household names or an abundance of quality; Mandaric has stabilised Wednesday but must realise that to keep them in the Championship he needs to release funds for some loan signings. It is imperative that Wednesday stay up after spending a relatively long time in the wilderness, and you, Billy, and your fellow fans need to see, at the very least, desire, passion and drive on the pitch as well as vision off it. Michail Antonio and Ross Barkley have been the shining lights on the field, but after scoring eight goals in your first three games you have failed to score in seven of your next 16 - and recorded just one clean sheet. It could be a long hard winter, especially as teams around you are making acquisitions on the playing front.
Hi Peter, Jamie Cureton is still banging in the goals for Exeter at the age of 37. Why do you think he has been able to prolong his career, a bit like the way you did? Mark Hall (Reading fan)
Hi Beags, Crewe manager Steve Davis is apparently on the verge of signing a new contract with the Alex, but are you surprised he has not been lured away by a bigger team? Not that I think there are any! Luke Clarkson (Crewe fan)
BEAGS SAYS: I like your totally impartial view, Luke! Steve has undoubtedly done a magnificent job filling what some believed was an impossible position as Dario Gradi's replacement. An incredible run of results last season took Crewe from the relegation zone and into the play-offs and culminated in promotion. Steve has got Crewe playing a good brand of football; he has added a bit of steel without curtailing the attacking flow too much and the team is definitely his and not Dario's. A couple of the young talents were sacrificed for the greater good of the club - Nick Powell, who joined Man United, being one - but in Mathias Pogba, Max Clayton, AJ Leitch-Smith and Byron Moore, Crewe have enough to comfortably stay in League One. Davis has rightly been linked with various Championship jobs, including his old club Burnley, but his future at Alex looks secure now as my understanding is that after working on a three-month rolling contract, a new 18-month deal has been agreed in principle.


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2000-01 Undergraduate Catalog College of Education
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Quotes From Sunday's Political Shows
On Sunday talk shows, several Republicans criticized the Obama administration for not taking a harder line with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the wake of the Malaysia Airlines disaster. John Kerry, meanwhile, appeared on all five shows to lay out the U.S. case on the shootdown. Here are five quotes:
"[T]here are an enormous array of facts that point at Russia's support for and involvement in this effort. … Russia has armed the separatists. …Russia continues to refuse to call publicly for the separatists to engage in behavior that would lend itself to a resolution of this issue. And the fact is that only a few weeks ago, a convoy of 150 vehicles – of artillery, armored personnel carriers, multiple rocket launchers, tanks – crossed over from Russia into this area and these items were all turned over to the separatists." (ABC's "This Week")
"[T]he facts could not be more clear. The United States of America has never been more engaged in helping to lead in more places than we are now. … And I think the American people ought to be proud of what this president has done in terms of peaceful, diplomatic engagement, rather than quick-trigger, deploying troops, starting or engaging in a war of choice. I think the president's on the right track and I think we have the facts to prove it." (NBC's "Meet the Press")
"So, the issue is, where is Putin? And I would say, Putin, you have to man up. You should talk to the world. You should say if this was a mistake, which I hope it was, say it. Even if it was a mistake, it's a horrendous mistake to make." (CNN's "State of the Union")
"Secretary Kerry… gave the most ridiculous and delusional summary of American foreign policy that I can imagine. It scares me that he believes the world is in such good shape. America is the glue that holds the free world together. Leading from behind is not working. The world is adrift. President Obama has become the king of indecision." (NBC's "Meet the Press")
"We have to protect ourselves. So we try to target the rocketeers. We do. And all civilian casualties are unintended by us, but intended by Hamas. They want to pile up as many civilian dead as they can, because somebody said they use — it's gruesome. They use telegenically dead Palestinians for their cause. They want the more dead the better." (CNN's "State of the Union")


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Fresh cup of Joe: Girardi embraces unity
Skipper sheds Torre's shadow in second year, wins with cohesion
By Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com
And while his trademark haircut was still intact, it was in many ways a different Girardi who went to Tampa in the spring, worry lines softened and jersey No. 27 -- worn purposely to signify what he hopes will be the Yankees' next World Championship -- broken in.
Yankees at a glance2009 record: 103-59
2008 record: 89-73
AL champions
World Series matchup:
Phillies at Yankees
Postseason tix: Information
• Girardi: Confident in moves
• Vet quartet: On the verge
• Damon: Got his groove back
• Teixeira: D offsets slump
• Rivera: Has no equal
• Robertson: Invaluable
• Jeter: Legend grows
• Teixeira: Dependable
• Girardi: Fresh cup o' Joe
• Damon: What, me worry?
• Rivera: Stoic and steady
• Gardner: Finds his niche
• Teixeira: Fully adjusted
• Hughes: Difference-maker
• Chamberlain: Happy in 'pen
• Jeter: Ready to lead
• Sabathia: Deserves Game 1
• Swisher: A year wiser
• A-Rod: Nothing to lose
"I know he's been here as a coach [under current Dodgers manager Joe Torre in 2005], and as a player, but it's a little different as a manager," said Yankees captain Derek Jeter. "I'd have to assume he's probably more comfortable [with one season under his belt]."
Newcomer Mark Teixeira, who along with pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett constitutes the majority of the Yankees' offseason splurges, noticed the message from his new manager right away: Enjoy your teammates.
"He set the tone in Spring Training, he really did," Teixeira said. "Every team meeting we had was all about staying together and pulling for each other."
It's a mantra that has worked wonders for the Yankees. Whether they are on the field or shooting pool -- Girardi organized a tournament in place of one day's spring practice -- the 2009 Yankees have been cheering, smiling and doing a whole lot of winning.
After a 13-15 start, New York posted a Major League-best 90-44 mark to cruise to an American League East title and secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Their 103 wins were the most for a Yankees team since 2002, making Girardi just the fifth manager in franchise history to reach 100 wins in his first or second season with a club.
"He has done tremendous with this team," closer Mariano Rivera said. "It's not easy to fill in for a guy like Joe Torre."
Considering Torre's legend of having managed the Yankees to four World Series and 10 AL East titles, one of Girardi's greatest challenges last year might have been stepping out of Torre's shadow.
"It's very hard [to succeed Torre]," said Rivera, one of four Yankees who had played almost their entire careers under Torre before Girardi took the reins. "But Joe [Girardi] has done a tremendous job keeping us together since Spring Training. He trained us his best and it worked. He kept us together and now we fight. We fight together for the same cause, and we're here."
Here is the American League Championship Series against the Angels that opens on Friday night. A sweep of the Minnesota Twins in the Division Series has New York among the final four teams in baseball for the first time since 2004.
But the first round wasn't without controversy, as last Friday's Game 2 drew significant buzz given that Girardi decided to have Jose Molina catch Burnett instead of veteran Jorge Posada. It's a decision that will come into play again in the ALCS, and once again, it figures to draw raves if the Yankees win and ire if they lose.
In other words, it's another day on the job for Girardi.
"He doesn't want the credit but he will also take the blame, and as a player [playing for Girardi], that's great," Teixeira said. "It's a tough job for him but that's why we all love him."
Indeed, ask Yankees players to discuss their relationship with the second-year skipper and there is one underlying constant: their appreciation.
"I think he should probably get more credit," Sabathia said, "definitely in that Manager of the Year discussion. I mean to not make the playoffs last year and bring in a bunch of new guys and end up having probably one of the better teams in the league, he has to be in that discussion."
Added Jeter: "He's got a good rapport with the players, communicates well, and I think he's done a tremendous job this year."
Like most managers, Girardi shies away from any talk about the future, preferring to take one day, and one game, at a time. But a man as shrewd as Girardi knows his place in Yankees lore won't be judged on his smashing success in the regular season, but rather, what his team does come October.
It's the reason Girardi chose to wear No. 27 on his back, as a daily reminder to the Bronx faithful that his priorities are focused on one thing: bringing New York its first world championship since 2000.
"He has the right equipment, and I think he has the right mind," Rivera said. "I think he has everything."
Brittany Ghiroli is a contributor to MLB.com This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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The rate of new HIV diagnoses among Latinos in the United States decreased by more than 4 percent annually between 2006 and 2009, according to a new report by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers published in the June 1 issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
It is not clear if this is necessarily an encouraging finding—it could be that fewer Latinos living with HIV are accessing testing programs. What is clear, however, is that the collected data show cultural and regional disparities, and that educational programming is needed to address these challenges.
Also of concern, the CDC researchers note, is that many Latinos who test positive progress to AIDS within a year. Specifically, those who are foreign born—compared with those born in the United States—are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced HIV disease within 12 months.
It is well established that in the United States, HIV disproportionately affects Latinos. As an ethnic group, they account for 15 percent of the country's population, yet they accounted for 21 percent of new AIDS diagnoses in 2009. That same year, the rate of new HIV diagnoses among Latinos was about three times higher than the rate for non-Latino whites.
Little is known, however, about the epidemiology of HIV infection among U.S. Latinos, notably their countries of origin and where they lived in the United States when they tested positive. Similarly, it hasn't been clear if foreign-born Latinos are more or less likely to progress to AIDS within 12 months of their HIV diagnosis—a telltale sign of delayed HIV testing and access to care—compared with Latinos born in the United States.
To shed light on these questions, Lorena Espinoza, DDS, MPH, and her colleagues at the CDC turned to national surveillance data, notably those from Puerto Rico and 40 states where names and at least some demographic information are collected at the time of diagnosis and subsequently reported to the agency.
Roughly 33,500 Latinos were diagnosed with HIV between 2006 and 2009, the four-year interval analyzed by the CDC researchers. Birthplace information was available for more than 80 percent.
Across the board, the annual rate of HIV diagnoses among Latinos decreased by 4.3 percent. Among men, the rate decreased by 2.8 percent per year; among women, the rate decreased by 9.8 percent per year.
Among U.S.-born Latino men, the annual rate of new diagnoses remained relatively stable, decreasing by less than 1 percent each year. Conversely, among U.S.-born Latino women, the HIV diagnosis rate decreased by 6.8 percent every year.
Among foreign-born Latino men, the overall HIV diagnosis rate decreased 3.5 percent annually, with the most substantial drop (13.1 percent) found among men born in Puerto Rico. There was a 6.6 percent annual increase among men born in Central America, and there was a 0.6 percent annual increase among men born in Mexico.
Among foreign-born Latino women, the overall HIV diagnosis rate decreased more than 10 percent annually, with the most substantial drops—13.2 and 12.2 percent—found among women born in Puerto Rico or Central America, respectively. The only annual increase in this group—4.6 percent annually—was among women born in Cuba.
In terms of area of U.S. residence—broken down into three categories: urban, suburban and rural—the greatest declines, among Latino men and women, were in rural areas.
Espinoza and her colleagues also noted a high proportion of Latinos diagnosed with HIV in the United States who progressed to AIDS within a year. This was documented in 33 percent of all U.S.-born Latinos diagnosed with the virus, compared with 43 percent of foreign-born Latinos—a 20 percent difference between the two groups after adjusting the data for other demographic differences.
The authors note that the significance of their findings, notably the annual decrease in HIV diagnoses among Latinos, isn't clear. An optimistic interpretation, they explain, is that the data reflect a decrease in new infections among Latinos, potentially as a result of prevention measures. But a more pessimistic interpretation is also possible—that fewer Latinos are getting tested for HIV and, by extension, more of them are living with HIV and unaware of their infection.
The more optimistic interpretation is possible, Espinoza and her colleagues argue, considering that HIV testing rates are high among Latinos in the United States. According to one study, they write, roughly 48 percent of Latinos have been tested for HIV at least once, compared with 41 percent of whites. The authors note, however, that Latino immigrants living with HIV, who might not access health care services because of costs or fear of deportation, may be underreported.
As for the short HIV-to-AIDS interval, Espinoza and her colleagues stress this "can indicate a delay in testing until late in the course of HIV disease, when symptoms are likely to have developed. It also may reflect inadequate care and treatment for [Latinos] who may not be getting antiretroviral treatment at an earlier stage in their infection when medication could produce better health outcomes."
As for the disparities between U.S.- and foreign-born Latinos, the CDC researchers suggest that HIV prevention and testing programming may not be equally effective, "thus educational efforts should address the important cultural, behavioral and regional differences among [Latinos]." They caution that the Latino population is projected to triple in the United States by the year 2050—constituting 30 percent of the nation's population—"so it will be necessary to continue to address the impact of HIV on [Latinos]."
In support of these efforts, Espinoza and her team stress that the CDC has broadened its expanded HIV testing program to include Latinos and to fund a variety of programs that direct prevention and treatment services to Latino populations. "The programs will enhance capacity building assistance services delivered to community-based organizations and community stakeholders providing HIV prevention services, support the development and implementation of effective community-based HIV prevention programs, and build partnerships with leading national [Latino] organizations to help fight the HIV [epidemic among Latinos]."
New HIV Diagnoses Among Latinos Decline in U.S.
The rate of new HIV diagnoses among Latinos in the United States decreased by more than 4 percent annually between 2006 and 2009, according to a new report by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers published in the June 1 issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.


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Production Milledge's forte
Mets outfielder making music for his own record label
By Marty Noble / MLB.com
And his baseball career would prosper there, too.
New York, New York. Appropriately, the city so nice they named it twice has dual significance for Milledge. Baseball is first and foremost in his life. It's his profession. Music is an alternative, a passion and, now, a profession as well. The city will serve him in either arena. He hopes it serves him in both.
Milledge already understands the game is the vehicle to get him where he wants to go. The sooner he finds work in the Mets' outfield -- that is, the sooner he gets to New York City -- the sooner he can begin his move toward his other destination, a career in music. That's when he'll really produce.
Actually, he already has. Milledge is a record producer, not a wannabe, an "is." At age 21 -- Milledge turns 22 next month -- he is the president of Soulja BoI Records, Inc. Hip hop, R&B and gospel for the masses, he hopes. He has the material -- he has written two songs and produced 13 others -- the capital, the equipment, the inclination, the motivation and, after taking a course in music engineering, some expertise.
"I'm getting there. I don't have everything yet," he says. "But I'm working on it. I just don't sit around all day, I actually get stuff accomplished."
And he says he has an ear. "I think I'll be good at what I do."
Milledge has foresight, too. "I'm already doing what I want to do [baseball]," he says. "If that [music] doesn't work out, I'll still have a job here."
It can work the other way, too. If baseball doesn't work, Milledge may have music as his fallback. "I'd rather have both," he says. For now, to an extent, he does.
All he needs is time, and a few contacts wouldn't hurt.
In due time, Milledge says. First, he must tend to baseball, which is to say he must produce before he can produce. "I know which comes first," he says. But Milledge thinks one can help the other. The game may give him entrée and contacts. Music will give him a necessary diversion.
MLB.com coverage | Schedule | Ballpark | Tickets
Indeed, he batted .313 in a 48-at-base sequence -- interrupted by a 12-day return to Triple A -- from Aug. 14 through Sept. 23. He had batted .233 in 86 at-bats from May 30-June 29.
Soulja BoI Records -- the "I" in BoI is upper case, he says, because it looked too small in lower case -- is all his. He put out $20,000 to purchase equipment, including music-production software for his laptop that allows him to shape and "clean up" the music. The laptop makes occasional visits to the clubhouse. It makes bus rides to Kissimmee, Fla., wrapped in an orange Mets towel and placed in a bag. Headphones in place, Milledge can produce anywhere. A more traditional studio is at his home in Bradenton, Fla.
The talent is in Bradenton, too, provided by Milledge's friend from home. When the CD the friend is working on, as yet unfinished, is released, the name on it will be Manny D; the name on his birth certificate is Immanuel Dent. He and Milledge go back almost as far as guys in their early 20's can. "It would be great if he had a career," Milledge said.
Milledge is already looking for more talent. He's courting Jose Reyes, who he thinks could become a reggaeton artist.
Milledge plans to remain behind the scenes, even though he thinks he has a performer inside. "What people will look at ... my image, I want to keep that clean," he says.
Milledge's baseball image suffered last summer because of a few missteps. It already has improved this spring. Teammates and staff have noticed an openness and a more engaging presence. Staff members, particularly Sandy Alomar and Jerry Manuel, seem to focus on him. They've all seen more smiles and have cut him more slack. One teammate, encouraged by the changes he has witnessed, last week said "It looks like he's changed his tune."
That's what a producer does.
Marty Noble is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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The Ocean City Police Department this week received a generous donation from Macky's Bayside Bar and Grill totaling $5,000, which will be earmarked for the OCPD K-9 and Mounted units. The money donated by Macky's was collected as a cover charge at the Life is Good Music Festival in May. The funds will be used for the care, training and gear for the canines and horses of the OCPD. Pictured above, Pam and Macky Stansell present the donation to Police Chief Ross Buzzuro, center. Submitted Photo
Missing Del. Teen Traced To Resort
OCEAN CITY — A Delaware teen missing since April has been connected to Ocean City after calling family members from a resort convenience store last Friday.
Delaware State Police and allied agencies have been searching for Tiffany T. Cornett, 17, of Camden-Wyoming, Del. since she was last seen by her family on April 2 at her residence on Homestead Drive. Cornett left her residence on her own free will and had not been in contact with her family in over four months. However, investigators got a break in the case late last week when Cornett called her mother and brother from a 7-Eleven store in Ocean City on Friday.
Cornett is described as 5'8" tall and roughly 180 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes, although she may have changed her hair color and style. She has also been known to fake a British accent, according to Delaware State Police. Anyone with information about Cornett's whereabouts is urged to contact DSP Detective Jones at (302) 741-2817 or by using the DSP mobile crime tip application at http://www.delaware.gov/apps/. Information may also be provided by calling Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333, or via the Internet at www.tipsubmit.com.
Prostitution Arrest
BERLIN — A Seaford, Del. man was arrested on charges of solicitation of prostitution of a minor after allegedly engaging in sexual intercourse with a juvenile in Worcester County this week.
Around 10 a.m. on Tuesday, the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI), with assistance of the Criminal Enforcement Team, the Worcester County Sheriff's Office, the Maryland State Police and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested Carlos O. Mejia, 34, of Seaford, Del., and charged him with solicitation for prostitution and sexual solicitation of a minor. The joint investigation revealed Mejia had traveled from Seaford to an undisclosed location on northern Worcester County in order to engage in sexual intercourse with a 12-year-old juvenile.
On Tuesday, the Delaware State Police assisted WCBI in executing a search and seizure warrant on Mejia's residence in Seaford. During the warrant execution, several items were seized to assist with the investigation. Mejia was held initially on a $25,000 bond on Tuesday. A preliminary hearing has been set for Sept. 9.
Hit-and-Run Shoplifter
Gets 13-Year Sentence
SNOW HILL — A Salisbury man arrested last December on assault and other charges after numerous citizen tips connected him to a hit-and-run involving a store employee at the White Marlin Mall in West Ocean City was sentenced last week to a combined 13 years in jail.
Last Dec. 10, the Maryland State Police and the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI) were called to the White Marlin Mall in West Ocean City for a reported assault that had just occurred. During the investigation, it was revealed a store loss prevention employee at Marshall's attempted to stop a shoplifter from fleeing the business.
The shoplifter took unknown items from the store and was followed by the loss prevention employee. The employee attempted to convince the suspect to return the items he had taken from the store. The suspect refused and entered a vehicle described at the time as a newer model "boxy-style" lime green vehicle, possibly a Kia Soul or Scion XB. The suspect then fled the scene, striking the store employee with the vehicle in the process.
The MSP and WCBI broadcasted a description of the vehicle along with a fairly good surveillance photo of the suspect. During the subsequent investigation, WCBI received numerous phone calls and other tips regarding the identity of the suspect. Using the information collected, WCBI detectives were able to positively identify the suspect as Mark Lee Donoway, Jr., 33, of Salisbury.
Based on the investigation, an arrest warrant was obtained charging Donoway with first- and second-degree assault, theft less than $1,000 and multiple traffic violations. Donoway was later apprehended in Wicomico County by members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force.
In May, Donoway entered Alford pleas to multiple counts including second-degree assault, theft and leaving the scene of an accident involving property damage and a pre-sentence investigation was ordered. In an Alford plea, a defendant does not plead guilty, but acknowledges the state has enough evidence to prosecute. Back in court last week, Donoway was sentenced to 10 years for the assault charge and three more years for the lesser charges, netting him a combined 13-year sentence.
Sex Assault on Minor
SALISBURY — A 25-year-old Mardela Springs man was arrested on sex offense and assault charges this week after allegedly having intercourse with a 15-year-old juvenile.
On Monday, the Wicomico Bureau of Investigation (WBI) met with the parent of a 15-year-old juvenile after they has learned their daughter had engaged in sexual contact with a 25-year-old man. An investigation was launched, which identified the suspect as Michael Marini, 25, of Mardela Springs. Information collected during the investigation provided sufficient probable cause that Marini had engaged in sexual intercourse with the minor. An arrest warrant was obtained on Monday and Marini turned himself in to the WBI on Tuesday. Marini has been charged with multiple sex offenses and second-degree assault.
Attempted Murder Sentence
SALISBURY — A Wicomico County man was sentenced last week to life in prison after attacking another man with a liquor bottle while the victim slept back in May 2013.
On May 16, 2013, a man identified as Brian Keith Hensley, 43, attacked an 18-year-old victim with a vodka bottle while the victim was asleep in a house on Ohio Ave. Hensley fractured the victim's skull with the vodka bottle. He also robbed the victim of his wallet, cell phones and other personal property. Hensley was later arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder and numerous other charges.
In February, a Wicomico County grand jury found Hensley guilty of attempted first- and second-degree murder, first-degree assault, armed robbery, reckless endangerment and related illegal drug counts and a pre-sentence investigation was ordered. Back in court last Thursday, Hensley was sentenced to life in prison for the attempted first-degree murder count. He also received concurrent sentences for the other convictions.
Swerving Leads To Bust
BERLIN — A Willards woman was arrested on marijuana possession charges last week after getting pulled over when a Worcester County Sheriff's Deputy observed her swerving on Route 50 near Berlin.
Around 11 p.m. last Thursday, a Worcester County Sheriff's deputy on patrol on Route 50 near Old Ocean City Blvd. in Berlin observed a vehicle swerving within its lane. The vehicle, driven by Miranda Bohn, 19, of Willards, then crossed the center line and the shoulder line several times.
The deputy stopped Bohn and detected an odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. A search resulted in the location of a multi-color smoking device and a small glass jar containing marijuana. Bohn was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia.
Bike Thefts Reported
SALISBURY — Salisbury Police this week are calling for the public's help to stem a rash of bicycle thefts in certain areas of the city over the last few months.
In the southern portion of the city alone, there have been 43 reported bicycle thefts since April. The incidents have been clustered around student housing areas near S. Division Street and Smith Street as well as residential areas in Princeton Homes, Presidents and Camden neighborhoods. In all, 13 suspects have been arrested, 10 of which were juveniles.
While some offenders have operated alone, most often the crimes have been committed by groups of two or more. In some of the incidents, concerned community members noticed the suspects behaving suspiciously and notified police, resulting is an arrest and the recovery of the stolen property.
This week, the Salisbury Police Department is asking the public to report suspicious persons or activity to law enforcement. Citizens are urged to pay particular attention to strangers traveling on foot or on bicycle in their neighborhoods, groups of juveniles loitering in residential areas where they do not live and a person or group traveling with extra bicycles. Community members are urged to report suspicious persons and activity to the Salisbury Police Department at 410-548-3165.
Driver Realizes Too
Drunk To Drive Too Late
BERLIN — An Elkridge, Md. woman was arrested for DUI last week after pulling over on the side of Route 90 near Route 113 after coming to the realization she had too much to drink to be safely driving.
Around 2:20 a.m. last Friday, a Worcester County Sheriff's deputy was on stationary patrol monitoring traffic on Route 90 in the area of Route 113 when the officer observed a vehicle approaching from behind pull off on the shoulder, turn off its headlights and activate its emergency flashers. The deputy approached the vehicle and made contact with the driver, identified as Stephanie Ward, 30, of Elkridge.
When the deputy opened the door to speak to Ward, he immediately detected the strong odor of alcohol coming from her breath and person. When the deputy asked Ward if everything was okay, she told the officer she suddenly realized she was too intoxicated to drive, so she pulled over. Ward did poorly on field sobriety tests and was placed under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol.


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High Intensity Interval Training
August 28, 2017 @ 7:15 pm - 8:15 pm
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FREE! HIIT class is a total body, heart pumping, high intensity workout. This class is interval based and combines full-body workout with cardio, designed to improve your overall wellness and take all the worries of the world off your mind. Modifications for all fitness levels are provided.


text: In this seminar we will examine a broad overview of research on American politics. The readings will include classic writings, overviews of the state of the literature, and a sampling of the best recent empirical work in each subfield. Students will be asked to prepare bi-weekly memos on the literature assigned, to write two analytical papers on a topic in the week's readings, and to take a final exam in prelim-type format.


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text:
Hey, I'm making a game called 'Ed's Dreamland', and don't know if I should stop with it or keep going. My friend keeps on telling me to keep going...which is the only reason I still am. Anyway, to control the sprite you use the arrow keys, where up is jump and down is nothing. left and right is just move. The point is to get through the level with the least steps possible, where you get more tired and hungry with each step. If you take too many steps, the game keeps you back a level. The plot is totally insane, I made it up when I was programming it. To get to another level you have to have the sprite touch the very left of the door, and with 1ups you have run right thorugh them(not jumping). The game stops when you are able to use the town map and choose your own location. Right now I feel really stupid, having you test my game when this is a programming board.
the game isn't even a meg.
Please tell me what you think.
Thank you(for using AT&T)!


text:
Eric Schmidt says Android will close the billion devices mark towards year-end
0. phoneArena posted on 16 Apr 2013, 09:06
Eric Schmidt is currently having a fireside chat a the Dive into Mobile conference, and he brought the G1 to stage to show it still works, spitting out some statistics on the incredible Android growth afterwards...
This is a discussion for a news. To read the whole news, click here
1. xperiaDROID (banned) (Posts: 5629; Member since: 08 Mar 2013)
Wow! Android is getting bigger! I love you Android!
By the way, wish all the best to Windows Phone and BlackBerry, keep the apps and games coming! :)
12. omar300 (Posts: 209; Member since: 24 Jun 2012)
i dont know about blackberry but windows is defiantly a great platform.
it can be called androids step brother.
i hope android brings live tiles sort of thing soon.
i like how person can see messages missed calls without opening an app through live tiles, but my complain is that they dont have a good music player. and because its closed system no one can make one.
15. xperiaDROID (banned) (Posts: 5629; Member since: 08 Mar 2013)
Hey me too, that's what I thought! I also hope that Android brings live tiles soon!
But, we also can say that Windows Phone and BlackBerry is Android's stepbrothers! :)
2. maier9900 (Posts: 272; Member since: 17 Dec 2011)
Im glad iOS is not open source. It would bring in all the malware possible, just like android currently does. Sad. Oooh, and if iOS was open source for all the manufacturers (like android is) it would've reached 2 billion devices long ago.
9. taikucing (unregistered)
that's why Mac OS X got virus last year asked for kaspersky's help. Kaspersky also said that mac security is 10 years behind microsoft.
Google this: "Apple Strips Mac OS X Website of Virus Statements" or "Mac security is 10 years behind Microsoft".
I wonder why Linux has the biggest market share in servers & supercomputers, not only because it's free, powerful, more stable, but also its security is though.
Yeah dude, open source is not bad. People can contribute for the better OS. The browser I'm using now is open source (firefox). It's better, faster, safer, more features than IE & safari. I can't Ctrl + Enter in safari, it sucks.
10. zekes (Posts: 229; Member since: 14 Aug 2012)
ur dumb as hell lmao i got 3 macs and 1 being very old never got a virus running OS tiger its years ahead Microsoft in the pc field win 8 has how many virus over 10000 and that's being nice come on dude u hate apple y r u mad at them
13. WHoyton1 (Posts: 1635; Member since: 21 Feb 2013)
2 billion devices!!... Mate your a joke...yes because a third of the world's population would have a iPhone or ipad.... Get real mate and stop being a pointless isheep
3. pokharkarsaga (Posts: 453; Member since: 23 Feb 2012)
Android is Unstoppable
4. addicted2088 (Posts: 53; Member since: 25 Sep 2012)
"As long as memory requirements don't massively increase, these devices will trickle down."
Considering both ICS and JB increased RAM usage, which was already quite high thanks to the Java core, I can see RAM requirements increasing even more, making low-end devices a poor experience. Compare that to OS like Symbian and MeeGo where RAM usage was low and multitasking was awesome, and I wish Google finds a way to reduce RAM usage and increase performance. :/
6. taikucing (unregistered)
I think that's caused by too much bloatwares that occupy the memory, or the apps are heavily skinned. Uninstall the bloatwares or install the custom ROM which takes less memory. The qwerty BB OS7 has 512 MB RAM, sometime BB freezes, takes long time to boot. As a comparison, my phone with 512 MB RAM & JB still runs fine, still has 200 MB free memory, no lag problem. BB Z10 takes a lot of memory too IMO, that's why it has 2 GB RAM
7. addicted2088 (Posts: 53; Member since: 25 Sep 2012)
I have a Nexus device so there isn't any bloatware installed. It's a fact that stuff takes more RAM on Android (especially when enabled with hardware acceleration, Google points that out). And the main reason is the use of Java. I'd like to point out that I'm not talking about how much RAM my system is taking at any point, rather how much an app takes compared to other OS versions. And it's quite a lot (the settings app itself takes 40MB, that's too much).
8. addicted2088 (Posts: 53; Member since: 25 Sep 2012)
Oh, and as for your OS running quite well on 512MB, it's because while I curse the high RAM usage, Android's system of clearing out memory when needed, caching etc makes it otherwise a good system. It's just that at any moment the number of apps that are actively paused in the background and can be resumed is low due to high RAM usage, before Android starts killing them. Blackberry (and Symbian too) had no setting for closing older apps as new ones were opened, so meeting freezes and lags were much more common.
11. Aeires (unregistered)
I think the point he was trying to make was people in those parts of the world aren't likely to be buying high end games and whatnot. What they will be primarily doing is using their phones for calls, texts, and other ways to communicate, which shouldn't take that much memory use.
5. porter_ (Posts: 8; Member since: 15 Apr 2013)
He was referring to one billion Android activations, not one billion Android apps.
Edit - Ah, headline changed now
14. Edmund (Posts: 656; Member since: 13 Jul 2012)
I'm one of those billion, yet haven't used android (actively) in over 2 years. Schmidt is dreaming if he thinks affordable handsets like the Lumia 520, 620, and 720 won't have an impact on sales of mid-range android models.


text:
Web Link
Town Square
HSR Creating Battles Between Union and Non-union Contractors
Original post made by Menlo Voter, Menlo Park: other, on Feb 21, 2013
Web Link
Comments (8)
a resident of Woodside: other
on Feb 21, 2013 at 8:55 pm
There's gambling in the casino?
a resident of Menlo Park: Downtown
on Feb 22, 2013 at 5:04 pm
"Your winnings, sir."
a resident of Woodside: Emerald Hills
on Feb 22, 2013 at 8:08 pm
Fattening up the unions and then skimming contributions back is pretty much the entire reason that the financial and environmental disaster of HSR has been foisted upon the long suffering Californian citizen.
a resident of Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park
on Feb 23, 2013 at 3:48 pm
We can run buses between SF-SJ-LA for 1/20 of the cost of HSR which will be a big scar on the state. Plus they'll be more convient, can be implemented right away and won't burden tax payers. Everyone should think about this.
a resident of Woodside: other
on Feb 23, 2013 at 4:21 pm
Last I looked, we had these contraptions called airplanes that fly from several Northern California airports to about a dozen different Southern California airports. They leave about every 10 minutes, cost about $100, take about an hour, are very efficient, and most importantly, require no taxpayer money. Compare any of those metrics to HSR.
So what a great idea it is for our government to spend $120 BILLION to replace that. They can't think of a better use of our taxpayer money?
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on Feb 23, 2013 at 7:38 pm
they can't think of a better reason because what Mr Davis said is true. It's all about paying back the unions for their "support." The unions have priced themselves out of any "real" competition so they need the politicians to rig the system for them That's what "prevailing wage" work is. It's based upon what the going UNION rate of pay PLUS BENEFITS is in a particular area. What that means is that we could be getting the work done for LESS. Should we be paying higher cost because the unions demand it? If it wasn't for "prevailing wage", unions would be toast. They don't provide anything worth what they cost.
a resident of Menlo Park: Park Forest
on Feb 25, 2013 at 12:58 pm
We can only understand this high-speed rail project if we stop focusing on the trains and all the broken promises, lies, distortions, illegalities and the rest of the mismanagement.
What we should focus on is the money. This project is not about the trains; it's about the money.
California has been 'promised' $3.3 billion from the Federal Railroad Administration. They (Governor and Legislature) are working to collect those funds. What the rail authority actually does and doesn't build is irrelevant. (Except to us, the taxpayers, of course.)
The whole point is to push the free federal funds (and state bond funds) through the bureaucratic pipe lines. The funds lubricate state politics. The Unions aren't the only beneficiaries. There are zillions of contractors, their sub-contractors and their sub-contractors. Then, there are the lawyers, consultants, lobbyists, PR companies and all the rest. It's government political pork at its best.
This project has been and will continue to be a major black hole in the universe of the American and state economies.
a resident of another community
on May 2, 2013 at 10:24 am
Wi-Fi included 1 hr under $100
No taxpayer money required
Web Link
Couples: When Wrong Admit It; When Right; Shut Up
By Chandrama Anderson | 0 comments | 866 views
One-on-one time
By Cheryl Bac | 0 comments | 611 views


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Tim Byrdak: Wife is mom, motivator
Astros pitcher's wife has been ballast throughout career
My wife, Heather, deserved a special Mother's Day. Not only does she look after our four children, but she's also been a motivating voice in my career.
Heather is anything but ordinary. She's the driving force behind our family. She's made personal sacrifices just to give me the ability to pursue a career in baseball. She worked two jobs while she was pregnant with our second child and I was playing independent ball. She does such a great job with our four kids. Sometimes I wonder how she does it.
Heather always tells me she would never let me use her or our kids as an excuse to quit baseball and that I can quit on my own terms once my career is over. She's an amazing woman.
It hasn't been easy, either. I made by big league debut with the Royals in 1998 and played parts of three seasons with Kansas City, but a few years later, following an arm injury, I found myself working the night shift at a local Target.
I applied for the job when we went to the store to pick up some things and noticed the job opening sign. We thought the hours would fit well with the kids' schedule. Noticing the big league service on my application, my future boss didn't think I was serious at first. But I told him we had bills to pay. I grinded it out for 6-8 months, and I worked with people who work really hard.
To get back to the Majors I've had to scratch and claw. In 1997, Dr. Frank Jobe told me I needed ligament replacement surgery in my elbow. I hadn't blown my arm out or anything but there was so much in the joint that wasn't structurally sound that I needed the surgery.
Unfortunately, I decided to scope it instead. But without the stability in the joint, I couldn't be the consistent pitcher I needed to succeed at this level. During this time, I watched guys at the Minor League level make it to the big leagues and I was still scuffling. A large part of that was because the joint wasn't strong. Finally, in 2001, I blew out the elbow completely and had the surgery.
That was a point in my life when Heather and I really had to talk. We knew that 85 percent of pitchers come back from ligament replacement surgery and pitch normally, but I didn't want to be part of that other 15 percent. We decided I wouldn't end my career on a failing note, which meant working at Target to keep the bills paid while trying a comeback in independent ball.
The most satisfying phone call I ever got came in 2005 when the Orioles called me up. Even though I had pitched in the Majors before, this meant more because of all the turmoil we'd gone through. It gave me goose bumps to say to Heather, "We did it. We're going to the big leagues." It still gives me goose bumps when I think about it. She cried and she's not ordinarily an emotional person.
It remains a battle to stay here. I've worked through some more injuries since then. But I'm that guy who always keeps fighting and fighting to stick around and stay. I'm fortunate to have had four chances at this level, but I also know that it wouldn't have happened without Heather's support and sacrifice.
Left-handed reliever Tim Byrdak is 1-0 and hasn't allowed a run in eight appearances since being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock on April 20. He pitched parts of the past three seasons with Baltimore and Detroit. He got his first win in 2006 -- eight years after his Major League debut.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text:
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Better Than Google
While reading through my past blog entries, I was surprised that I had never written about one of our oldest and best used databases, ReferenceUSA. This database has been around since 1992, and we were one of their earliest subscribers. Here are some of the reasons why we continue to subscribe.
If you've never used RefUSA, it is a leading provider of business and consumer research. Patrons can find much more than mere directory information. You can find financial data, contact information of key employees, even news articles. Custom searching can provide you with lists of companies by any parameter you choose. Looking to open a bakery in New City, and want to check out the competition? You can find that by selecting the appropriate parameters. There are records of more than 24 million U.S. businesses in this database. They also compile residential information from over 520,000 white page directories. Anyone looking for an old friend or relative will be particularly glad to use this last feature. After all, phone books are almost non-existent in today's public libraries.
Other features of the database are Canadian white pages and Canadian businesses. There is also a U.S. Healthcare module featuring physicians and dentists. For marketers, there is a U.S. New Movers/Homeovers and U.S. Consumers/Lifestyles, which can help craft a targeted list of potential customers. A multitude of search options can assist in creating a specific and customized list.
However, my favorite new add-on is U.S. Jobs/Internships, an invaluable source for those jobseekers. Besides the 2.5 million job postings, they also include job help with tips on resume writing, interviewing and salary estimates. They also include test tips for the LSAT, MCAT. SAT and ACT. This is a very easy database to use, something I did not find with their competitors. So, ease of use plus fair price equals a happy relationship between ReferenceUSA and the New City Library. So, direct marketers, job seekers, and anyone trying to locate an out-of-town telephone book, come try ReferenceUSA, you'll know it is better than Google!


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Needless to say, President's Bush's budget proposal for fiscal 2008 was dead on arrival on Capitol Hill. This is not a criticism, because instant pointlessness is almost a procedural requirement. But it does have implications. Don't ask whether the budget makes sense on its own terms. All one can intelligently ask about these Washington set pieces is whether they advance the discussion of what needs to be done and move the likely outcome in the right direction.
The budget did both, though that was probably not Bush's intention. With a tight grip on spending, the president tells us, the country can have his tax cuts, and then some, and still balance the books by 2012. This is so misleading that, for anybody paying attention, it isn't really misleading: It has the virtue of being fully incredible. Is there anybody in Washington who does not understand by now what keeps the deficit falling in the administration's projections? The answer, not counting the usual fixes, is the alternative minimum tax.
You will have heard of this, because the chances are you are either paying it or soon will be. Because of inflation and rising incomes, the number of households caught by the AMT is growing. If the president gets his way, it will grow much faster. Suppose the budget were passed as it stands and that the tax cuts of 2001 to '04 were made permanent. Then, according to the Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, the number of taxpayers caught by the AMT would rise from 3.5 million (4 percent of taxpayers) in 2006 to nearly 40 million (38 percent of taxpayers) in 2012. This massive expansion of the AMT's base is what brings the budget into balance, using the administration's own arithmetic.
True, the White House wants to halt the AMT's reach down the income scale. But the budget includes no long-term proposal to accomplish that. (The administration blandly calls for a "revenue-neutral" solution. But any revenue-neutral alternative to a widening AMT would, by definition, be just another tax increase.) In effect, the administration's outlying fiscal forecast assumes that AMT-creep will continue—and it takes full fiscal credit for this, even as Bush continues to proclaim his tax-cutting zeal. If your taxes go up because the AMT bites—which the White House is implicitly relying on—then that is a still a tax increase, isn't it? What am I missing here?
In short, even the White House is recognizing, albeit not very frankly, that higher taxes are going to be needed to balance the books. And that is the useful purpose that this budget serves. So far as the need for additional revenue is concerned, we are now, apparently, all on the same page.
Where ought we to find this revenue? One possibility might be to let the AMT crawl down the income scale until it has entirely taken over the tax code and the ordinary income tax can be repealed. You can make a case for this, in fact, since the AMT has some nice features, especially when you compare it with the ordinary tax code. But unless it is your intention to drive millions of taxpayers to the point of nervous breakdown, the prolonged transition would leave much to be desired.
When I lived in the United Kingdom, I imagined that American taxpayers had an easier time of things. They pay lower rates at the margin, or so I supposed, and they keep the Internal Revenue Service on a tighter leash than the Brits do with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs—so calculating one's taxes was bound to be simpler in the United States. Ho. Living in the District of Columbia, I face a higher consolidated marginal rate than I did in the U.K. and higher property taxes as well. (In return, of course, the government here supplies first-rate schools and world-class health care; but I digress.) That is nothing—nothing—compared with the distress induced by calculating my American taxes. The code is insanely complex, of course, as I now appreciate.
But the final capping absurdity, the insult that really lets you know where you stand, is to be told, after hours of grinding through the endless forms, to start over. No, you have not misunderstood, says the IRS: Please calculate your taxes a second time, on an entirely different basis, for AMT purposes. We are concerned that the figure we first thought of is not high enough. Simply compare the two and pay us the bigger sum. Oh, and if you have any suggestions about how we might streamline this process, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act, which we take very seriously, be sure to drop us a line. America, I ask you, is this why you fought the Revolution?
TurboTax notwithstanding (think about this: is it right that calculating your taxes should require a computer, or a professional adviser with a computer?) the docility of the American taxpayer surprises me. The compliance costs of the tax code have been estimated at 20 cents per dollar collected, and to me that feels like an understatement. Simplification surely ought to be a priority if the opportunity for meaningful tax reform should arise. Allowing the AMT to take over by degrees, rather than all at once, scores very low on that scale. Come on. Isn't one tax code enough?
An appealing step toward an outright AMT takeover—remembering that the need to collect more revenue is motivating this discussion—would be to abolish virtually all exemptions and deductions in the existing code, except for one standard deduction. The AMT would no longer be needed. Together with some spending restraint, this would raise more revenue than is required, in fact, to balance the budget. The surplus could be shared among lower rates, a bigger standard deduction, an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (a necessary exception), and a means-tested health insurance subsidy.
A reform like this would so simplify the system that it would spare tens of millions of households the bother of filing a tax return in the first place. Too radical? Another milder possibility, a midpoint between a zero-exemption regime and where we are now, would be to convert all deductions into fixed-rate credits (so that tax breaks would be worth the same to middle-income earners as to people with very high earnings).
All kinds of blue-sky tax-reform blueprints are perpetually in circulation. Such has been the accretion of distortions and anomalies since the last big tax reform (in 1986) that almost any of these would constitute a huge improvement over what we have. But radical reform is a mighty political challenge—and even when it works (as in 1986) it can veer unpredictably out of control. Where you end up can be a matter of luck.
Radical systemic reform would be great if we could get it. The appetite for change seems to be growing, but a root-and-branch redesign may be beyond the country's political capacity. Short of that, one must hope for piecemeal improvements that push in the direction of fairness and efficiency. Abolishing or limiting some deductions is one such avenue. Another, again remembering that more revenue is needed, is a carbon tax. As I have previously argued, this would attack two significant forms of pollution—greenhouse-gas emissions and traffic congestion. It would make sense to levy such a tax even if additional revenue weren't needed (you could instead use the money to cut other taxes).
If Washington does gird itself to take on tax reform, one avenue is especially worth avoiding. This is the line of thinking, popular with some Democrats, that says, let businesses pay. Raise corporate taxes; shift public spending onto companies, with mandates of one kind or another; tax capitalists more so that hard-pressed workers can pay less. The first two ideas are based on a straightforward misconception—that corporations, as opposed to people, can be made to carry part of the fiscal burden. They cannot. The burden always gets divided between owners, workers, and customers. The third idea is based on the unrealistic hope that you can tax owners of capital more heavily than workers without discouraging investment. Discouraging investment really does, in the end, make everybody worse off.
Fairness and efficiency require that capital and labor be taxed at the same rates. What does that principle say about the Bush tax cuts on dividends and capital gains? It says they should be tweaked, but not abandoned altogether. If, but only if, profits have already been taxed at the corporate level, the distribution of those profits in the form of dividends and capital gains should not be taxed in full as ordinary income. The basic idea is simple: Tax people with high incomes at higher rates than you do people with low incomes. That is good policy. But it is bad policy to discriminate—in either direction—between income from capital and income from labor.


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Tagged: Lara Logan
A Poorly Defined Tool
February 11th was not a joyful day for everyone in Egypt. Sure, the protesters in Tahriir Square appeared jubilant on the TV but the dark side of the celebration became clear a couple days later when news outlets began covering the sexual assault of CBS News correspondent, Lara Logan. Instead of celebrating the overthrow of Mubarak's oppressive regime, some of the people gathered that night wielded one of the greatest tools known to oppressors everywhere: rape.
Sadly, it's not just in chaotic Middle Eastern countries or war-torn African countries that rape has become a tool. Even here in the US where rape has become politicized, it serves as a tool for various agendas. If the current Congress has its way, it will become even harder to define and that much more difficult to punish. I'll let Kristen Schaal help me clarify here:
Yep, the way we're going, it won't actually be rape unless you explicitly state that you're raping someone during the act.
However, this is good news for some people. For instance, Ben Roethlisberger. No longer will he have to worry about getting young ladies drunk and then forcing himself on them in the bathroom of a bar. According to Congress, this isn't really rape. Or, as Ms. Schaal explained, it's merely rape-ish. I think both Roethlisberger and the Congress might have a hard time explaining that one to Ms. Logan, though.


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" Brand: Tesco "
---Why I Buy This---
Like most people I enjoy a tasty treat from time to time. I also like to try and avoid very fatty and sugary snacks such as crisps and chocolate bars but I do feel that if I am buying a 'good' dark chocolate it is a reasonable compromise.
---Dark Chocolate---
Dark or plain chocolate is made by adding fat and sugar to cocoa. It is chocolate with no or much less milk than milk chocolate.
---Health Benefits---
Various claims are made on the interent and in the press regarding the health benefits of dark chocolate and it is sometimes classed as one of the 'super foods'. The Telegraph, Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent 07 Feb 2011.
---The Product---
This bar is produced by Tesco.
The bar consists of ten thinnish chunks of chocolate which have criss/cross decoration on them.
The bar is wrapped in silver foil and then comes inside a sturdy cardboard sleeve/box.
The box is mostly dark brown with orange writing on the front proclaiming 74% Cocoa Ivory Coast Plain Chocolate. There is also an image of a pile of chocolate chunks.
Two squares contain 110 calories.
The chocolate has a long shelf life - my bar has over 15 months.
On the reverse of the packaging is more detailed information.
Produced in France.
Suitable for vegetarians.
Allergy advice - contains soya, may contain milk, cannot guarantee nut free.
95p for 100 grams.
Some comparisons -
Tesco Value 100 grams - 35p (40% cocoa solids)
Ryelands Plain Chocolate 200 grams - 89p (50% cocoa solids)
Tesco Finest Swiss Plain Chocolate 100 grams - £1.29 (72% cocoa solids)
Lindt Excellence Noir Cacao Chocolate 100 grams - 31.74 (85% cocoa solids))
---My Opinion---
These days, like many others, I try and avoid fatty and salty foods so I do not have many conventional snacks such as crisps, cakes and biscuits.
However some chocolate is always nice to have and I find these Tesco bars very reasonable for what I would class as good quality chocolate with a high cocoa content, when you would pay 70p or more for a bar of sugary rubbish.
The box packaging is a nice touch and is reminiscent of the Lindt chocolate bars.
The sturdy box/packet keeps the chocolate clean and fresh if you only eat a little at a time - and you can slide what is left back into the packaging and the chocolate is much better protected than if it only had a paper or plastic covering.
The chunks of chocolate are reasonably thin but quite large and square. There are ten chunks per bar and I would usually only have one chuck at a time - so one bar will last me about a week - so I do not think that that is too indulgent.
The chocolate itself is very tasty and smooth - it is not sweet as you would expect - but it is not harsh and bitter as some high cocoa content bars are. it also snaps with a very satisfying 'snap' - which I like and which you do not get with more sugary chocolates.
It is also not sickly as some milk chocolate bars are - and you do not feel 'naughty' after eating some - which is a bonus!!
---Star Rating---
5 Stars.
---Would I Recommend?---
Yes definitely.
---Full Ingredients---
Cocoa Mass,
Cocoa Butter,
Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder,
Emulsifier (Soya Lecithins),
Natural Flavouring,
Cocoa solids 74% minimum.