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Heard around the West
A Squaw Valley ski instructor with mechanical moxie and a $950 rope tow has created a backyard ski area. The Vail Daily says Ken Wittel's rope tow is powered by a 5 horsepower gas engine that can pull skiers up Wittel's 300-foot-high hill at 11 to 18 mph. If your backyard lacks the white stuff, don't despair: The Connecticut company Snow at Home sells mini-snowmaking machines for less than $500, reports Hemispheres, the magazine of United Airlines.
A new breed of young singles is evolving in big cities, and they're sniffily demanding about things environmental. That's because they're "ecosexuals," reports San Francisco magazine, with green standards for everything from clothes and cars to potential mates. "I won't date a guy who doesn't recycle," insists San Francisco designer Rachel Pearson, 33. Another woman says: "I can tell instantly if he's my type by the deodorant he uses." Food preferences quickly separate the greens from the ones who don't get it. "I shopped at Rainbow; she shopped at Safeway," recalls Monte Gores, a Berkeley acupuncturist who was once a stock trader. After his girlfriend told him she'd eaten half a chocolate cake for dinner, he was on the way to ditching her: "If you're thinking about a long-term relationship," he concluded, "that's a red flag." Passion may still triumph over ideology, writer Stefanie Olsen observed. A landscape construction worker had been scrupulously green and even celibate for a year and a half, until he met a woman "who corrupted me with her wonderful ways," which included wine, sex and the occasional burger.
Thanks to a cell phone, a 75-year-old Oregon veteran was reunited with his "prescription dog" after the man's car — with the dog inside — was stolen from a gas station in Nebraska. Bliss Green had been given a written prescription for a dog by a nurse practitioner, who hoped a pet might ease his suicidal depression. The remedy was unorthodox, but it worked. Green said, "If (the dog) was with me and knew I was upset about something, her head would come on my lap. I haven't been depressed since I got her." Because the car thief used Green's cell phone, police were able to track his vehicle through Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and, finally, Oregon, where a suspect was arrested. Meanwhile, the dog, Melody, had been abandoned in Wyoming, where a couple found her huddled under their pickup. After a week with the couple, the dog's next home was an animal shelter, where authorities were able to connect Melody to the stolen car. Green was thrilled to hear Melody was safe, saying of their upcoming reunion: "I'm worried, but I have no reason to believe it won't be perfect. This is just like a person-to-person relationship. I'll handle it gently."
Since 1991, Salt Lake City's basketball arena has been called the Delta Center, named for the now-bankrupt Delta Air Lines. But in November, Delta lost a naming battle for the arena to EnergySolutions, an amalgam of companies that includes Envirocare of Utah. Envirocare runs a nuclear waste dump on public land and is probably looking to clean up its image, reports the New York Times, especially since its founder, Khosrow Semnani, pleaded guilty to charges of tax evasion. Image-polishing won't happen overnight. One Utah Jazz basketball fan said she'd already heard the arena called everything from the "Tox Box" and "Radium Stadium" to "Half-Life Arena" and "HazMat Center." Another disgusted basketball fan said, "Utah's always been the 'stick-it' state; whatever you don't want in your state, stick it here. We're not tree-huggers, but these guys lend credence to bringing all this stuff to Utah."
It sounds like a joke, but it's not: The company hired to build a huge fence to block illegal immigrants from crossing into America from Mexico has agreed to pay nearly $5 million in fines for hiring illegal immigrants to do the job, reports The Week magazine. A recent investigation found that of Golden State Fence Co.'s 750 employees, about a third were in this country illegally.
What a difference a letter makes. A 21-year-old German booked a ticket for Sydney, Australia. Or so he thought, until his plane landed in Billings on the way to Sidney, Mont., population 5,000 and considerably colder than the antipodean port city. Tobi Gutt, wearing clothes fit for an Australian summer, was routed from Portland, Ore., to the oil town of Sidney, only learning of his error when his plane landed in Billings. "I did wonder, but I didn't want to say anything," he told the German paper Bild. "I thought to myself, you can fly to Australia via the United States." Gutt hung around the Billings airport for three days before his family and friends sent him the money for a new ticket for Sydney, Australia.
Betsy Marston is editor of Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News in Paonia, Colorado. Tips of Western oddities are always appreciated and often shared in the column, Heard around the West.


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"Pirates of the Caribbean 47/Johnny Depp stars as the robot pirate who loses his wife in a game of poker and tries to win her back with hilarious consequences."
These are lyrics to "Robocop 4: [Bleep] Off Robocop" by Future of the Left, who appears Monday at Bottom Lounge. The song's message comes through loud and clear: As Hollywood churns out sequel after sequel, plots only get more and more ridiculous, but, hey, who cares? They make money, so there's no reason to stop making them, right?
By sheer coincidence in relation to the band's Chicago show next week, yesterday it was announced that, in fact, more "Star Wars" sequels are on the way thanks to Disney's $4.05 billion purchase of Lucasfilm, with the seventh episode of the franchise expected in 2015. On the surface, even to someone who really doesn't care about the "Star Wars" series, this is clearly blasphemy. George Lucas has long denied any interest in continuing beyond his original trilogy and more recent, um, prequelogy, and most who saw those newer movies would agree that's for the best.
What makes this curious, however—and I realize no one who loves the first three movies, I mean episodes 4-6, will agree—is the suggestion that a different filmmaker will be taking the reins for the new "Star Wars" installments. These days it's common for giant hit franchises to spin through a revolving door of filmmakers; from "Harry Potter" to "Twilight" to the "Bourne" films, a different director (and often different writers) continually attempts to put his or her own spin on widely beloved material. Usually this leads to a box set of related movies of wildly varied quality and the sense that no one in particular owns the on-screen translations.
"Star Wars" is different. It's George Lucas' baby. Its visual imagination and clunky writing is the embodiment of Lucas as an artist. And yet if he's comfortable, at least to the tune of $4 billion, turning over the controls of his historic, influential series, it might actually turn out to be for the best. Or at least lead to a more distinctive, relevant new effort than Lucas himself would have turned out.
This, of course, depends on who takes over in the director's chair. Clearly someone like (and I'm not saying this would ever happen) Ridley Scott ("Blade Runner") would be a better choice than Adam Shankman ("Rock of Ages"). But very simply, it just needs to be someone who wants to bring something of themselves to "Star Wars," rather than taking over just because they can or because they've always wanted to mimic Lucas.
In another coincidence, this week also brings "Flight," the latest from Robert Zemeckis, who told me in an interview that he will never make another "Back to the Future" movie and doesn't believe in going back and changing films after they're made (such as re-releasing them in 3-D).
However, he also says there's a finished script for a sequel to "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" waiting for the go-ahead from Disney, so never say never. Speaking of "Never Say Never": I'm now terrified that "Roger Rabbit 2" will plop in Justin Bieber as the voice of Roger and Angelina Jolie as Jessica Rabbit. Ignore me, universe!
Watch Matt on "You & Me This Morning," Friday at 6:55 a.m. on WCIU, the U
Want more? Discuss this article and others on RedEye's Facebook page.

subset: commoncrawl


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The Nautical Archaeology Society is able to offer the chance for your child's school, scout/brownie group, Young Archaeologist Club or afterschool club to have an activity session on Nautical Archaeology.
In recent years have run an 4 week afterschool club for Burseldon Junior School in Southampton, an evening for Towester Scouts Group and sessions for the Southampton and the West Wiltshire branches of the CBA Young Archaeologist Club.
All these sessions involve interactive fun where the children can learn about archaeology, shipwrecks and scuba diving. Practical sessions can involve drawing, measuring, excavating mock up sites and trying on scuba diving equipment to feel what it is like to dive underwater.
Photographs of our childrens activities can be found on our Flickr page, a online photograph album.
If you would like to arrange an activity session for your school or club please contact the NAS Office who will be happy to discuss the session options with you.


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The Big Move that the 76ers made during the summer – remember that one – is the one they are apparently sticking with (or stuck with) at least for the time being.
The NBA trade deadline came and went Thursday afternoon and with the exception of giving up a second round pick to the Golden State Warrriors for backup combo guard Charles Jenkins, all was quiet. Though Evan Turner's name was apparently brought up to and by general manager Tony DiLeo, the third-year swingman is still here, as is everyone else on the roster, including Andrew Bynum.
The offseason move that brought Andrew Bynum and sent away Andre Iguodala, Nikola Vucevic, Moe Harkless and a draft pick apparently is still the deal the Sixers are banking their future, at least somewhat. Bynum, of course, has yet to slip on a Sixers uniform due to his aching knees. Which means after the season the team will have to make the decision whether to let him loose (thus having paid more than $16 million for, basically, a distraction) or sign him to some kind of a deal with the hopes he can return to his form of a year ago when he averaged 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds for the Los Angeles Lakers.
So at 22-30 and playoff chances fading like the possibility of Bynum suiting up, the Sixers will stand pat with what they have now, with the addition of Jenkins.
The 6-3 Jenkins started 28 of the 51 games he played for the Warriors his rookie season, averaging 5.8 points and 3.3 assists. In 47 games this season he averaged 1.7 points while getting just 6.2 minutes a contest, compared with 17.5 his rookie season.
Jenkins will basically be auditioning for a role with the team next year as they still try to find a true backup for All-Star Jrue Holiday. Along with Thaddeus Young, those are the only two with long-term contracts on the roster. So moves this summer should be plentiful. That is why Thursday's trading deadline came and went so quietly.
Sixshots: The team had an optional practice but was not made available to the media Thursday…It will be quite a weekend for the Sixers as they host the defending champion Miami Heat on Saturday and travel to New York to play the Knicks on Sunday.


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A dinosaur smuggler turned informant will spend only a few weeks in prison, about two years after Mongolian authorities realized Tyrannosaurus fossils had been pilfered from the Gobi Desert.
Eric Prokopi, 39, pleaded guilty last year to three counts related to the smuggling of dinosaur fossils into the U.S. His biggest find was a 2-ton Tyrannosaurus bataar, about 8 feet tall, 24 feet long and 70 million years old. Prokopi enlisted a New York auction house to put the dinosaur up for bid, but the quirky offering caught the eye of paleontologists, including an advisor to the Mongolian president.
The fossils had a grayish-sand hue, which indicated they could have come only from Mongolia. Officials there worked with U.S. authorities to halt the million-dollar sale and prosecute Prokopi. Mongolian authorities even uncovered photos of Prokopi working at an excavation site in the Gobi Desert.
But prosecutors eventually requested leniency for him because he shared details about the fossil smuggling world that helped them recover several other items, according to court files. Every fossil-smuggling investigation since Prokopi's arrest has been made possible in part by information he provided, prosecutors said.
Prokopi had faced up to 17 years in prison, but a federal judge on Tuesday sentenced him to three months in prison and about a year of probation.
Still, Prokopi had sought to avoid prison altogether because his reputation as a professional fossils dealer already has been tarnished, according to his attorney. He must turn himself in by September.
Prosecutors said Mongolia plans to open a natural history museum, beginning with the fossils recovered from the Prokopi case.
Times staff writer Joseph Serna contributed to this report.


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April 21. 2013 12:14AM
State has detailed emergency response plan in place
By SHAWNE K. WICKHAM
New Hampshire Sunday News
New Hampshire has a detailed emergency response plan in place for every venue and major event in the state, according to the state's top emergency management official.
"Obviously, after 9/11 our whole world changed," said Perry Plummer, acting director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. "We've made a lot of changes on both hard and soft targets across our state."
And what happened last week at the Boston Marathon will likely change those plans once again, he said.
After every large-scale event, whether a natural disaster or a terrorist attack, the Federal Emergency Management Agency puts together an "after-action" report that goes out to emergency planners in every state, Plummer said. "We are always trying to get better by learning from other people's disasters."
Plummer, a former Dover fire chief, said New Hampshire residents should know the state has plans for "mass-casualty" incidents that would bring emergency medical personnel, police and a host of other resources to the scene.
There are mutual aid agreements among towns, states and even internationally, bringing help from Canada if need be. "We have agreements to get resources here should we need them in a timely manner," Plummer said. "So those plans are in effect and they are exercised on a pretty regular basis."
The events that unfolded in and around Boston last week have left many shaken, and asking: Is New Hampshire safe?
"I think we're as safe as we possibly can be," Plummer said.
"The truth of the matter is you can't protect for everything, nor would I think the general public would want us to," he said. "There's a balance between my freedom and openness to move around and have a happy life, and keeping me safe. We try to walk that line very carefully."
Despite what happened at the Boston Marathon, Plummer said Granite Staters shouldn't be afraid to attend a big event this summer, whether an outdoor concert or a race in Loudon. "The truth of the matter is, if there is a true, bona fide threat, someone is going to shut the venue down," he said.
"If you are scheduled to go somewhere and you haven't heard there's a threat or a problem, then go and enjoy it."
"Live your life and enjoy, because these incidents are few and far between."
And Plummer said there are law enforcement agencies, both state and local, working every day to prevent things from happening and keep the state safe.
"The fact that you and I can go downtown on a Saturday night, have dinner with friends, go home and never worry about it speaks to the effectiveness of our law enforcement service in the state," he said. "Just that fact right there tells you the job they're doing."


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David Villa made his case for returning to Barcelona's starting lineup by scoring twice in a 5-0 win over Cordoba on Thursday that sealed a place in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals.
The Spain striker has struggled to find minutes since returning from a broken leg. But he again proved he hasn't lost his scoring touch with two fine goals to follow Thiago Alcantara's opener at Camp Nou stadium.
Barcelona beat its second-division opponent 7-0 on aggregate after Alexis Sanchez added two goals in the second half.
Villa's quest to regain his prominent role in Barcelona's attack may have suffered another blow, however, when he retired late after apparently pulling a muscle in his right thigh.
Barcelona now faces three games in the next two weeks against Malaga. The two teams play on Sunday in the Spanish league and then twice more in the Copa.
Atletico Madrid will meet Real Betis in another quarterfinal after they both wrapped up their last-16 ties on Thursday.
Barcelona star Lionel Messi, who was awarded his fourth straight Ballon d'Or on Monday, never left the bench. He had already scored Barcelona's two goals in the first leg.
Barcelona also rested first-choice midfielders Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta while Sergio Busquets was reserved as a substitute.
Thiago opened for the hosts in the 17th minute when he ran onto Alex Song's chipped pass and slotted a right-footed shot past goalkeeper Mikel Saizar.
Villa doubled the lead four minutes later with a beautiful slalom down the left flank to dribble by a defender before he gently lofted the ball over the onrushing Saizar. He netted again in the 26th with a hard blast that hit the far post before nestling into the back of the net.
Despite not enjoying much playing time this season, Villa has scored 10 goals in all competitions.
Alexis, who had missed two clear chances in front of an open net, headed in a corner kick in the 55th and tapped in his second in the 85th. The Chile forward had only scored one goal previously this campaign.
Villa appeared to hurt his right thigh after a sprint and had to go off after trying to continue, leaving Barcelona with 10 men for the final 13 minutes having made all there substitutes.
Earlier, Atletico drew 0-0 with 10-man Getafe to go through with a 3-0 victory on aggregate.
Atletico had little trouble protecting its lead from the home leg. Getafe was lackluster in attack and was reduced to 10 men in the 33rd minute after defender Rafael Lopez was red carded for fouling Radamel Falcao with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Getafe forward Angel Lafita was carried off with an injury early in the match.
Betis eliminated second-division club Las Palmas with a 1-0 win to advance 2-1 over the two legs.
Ruben Castro scored his second goal of the tie in the 85th to seal Betis' place in the quarterfinals.


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Activities occurring in and around forests impact the forest environment in many different ways. A main focus of these guidelines is the quality of the water flowing from forest lands. Because the reduction in water quality from forest activities can't be seen flowing from a pipe but is spread across the land, the term nonpoint source pollution (NPS) is used. Overall, forestry practices are a very minor NPS pollution contributor. Forests have long been recognized as the best protector of watersheds. The fact that other land uses contribute more to total pollution, although true, is not important. Improvement of water quality requires reduction of NPS pollution from all sources--including forestry.
Additionally, these guidelines consider worker safety, aesthetics, and forest productivity concerns.
Logging has the greatest impact of the typical forestry activities. The use of best management practices (BMPs) by loggers, landowners and land managers offers the greatest potential to reduce NPS and reach water quality and other forest health goals. This online guidebook summarizes BMPs for logging and forestry practices. It's a guide for everyone involved in logging and forestry activities.
Organization of this Guidebook
This guide does not contain all the specifics and background of each BMP. To do so would require many more pages. The BMP's contained in the guide are arranged to fall logically in the sequence of a logging operation and are followed by non-logging BMP's. See the Index for a list of topics.
These guidelines for logging and forestry best management practices represent the cooperative effort of representatives from logging, sawmilling, forestry, environmental, university, and regulatory agencies and interests. This guidebook was compiled by the Forest Practices Working Group, a group organized by the Indiana Woodland Steward Institute under a grant from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. These funds were matched by forest industry and conservation organizations and public agency contributions. The guidebook was edited by Purdue Cooperative Extension Service and published by the Division of Forestry, Indiana Department of Natural Resources. This is a substantial achievement of the forest community in Indiana and serves as a model for other land uses. It is hoped that others will undertake similar approaches to control soil erosion and non-point source pollution.


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It was only the other day when we looked at Sprint announcing the Samsung ATIV S Neo, stating the Windows Phone would be available Friday 16th. Today's the day and the handset is now listed on the Sprint website, available for order. Priced at $149.99 with a 2-year agreement (new line or eligible upgrade), the Samsung ATIV S Neo brings a premium experience to the US network.
This price is including a mail-in rebate reward card, but $150 for a high-end smartphone is a solid price for those on Sprint who have eagerly waited for such a Windows Phone to launch. Running Windows Phone 8, the Samsung ATIV S Neo also supports 4G connectivity and comes with numerous other goodies.
So, who's picking one up?
Source: Sprint; thanks, AlexanderJJJ, for the tip!


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532-533. Πάρις γὰρ οὔτε συντελὴς πόλις ἐξεύχεται τὸ δρᾶμα τοῦ πάθους πλέον.
Raeburn-Thomas: "'For (neither) Paris nor his city, which jointly paid the due, boasts that his action (was) greater than the suffering.' Understand οὔτε before Πάρις and εἶναι in 533."
But how can you just "understand" οὔτε? Are there any parallels for this? Any explanation?
Loeb translates similarly, and according to Denniston-Page this is how it was already interpreted by the scholiasts (ἀπὸ κοινοῦ τὸ οὔτε). (LSJ, κοινός VI.4.)
Another thing: I'm still a bit puzzled by these terms relating to the structure of the play (First/second episode, parodos, stasimon, etc.) Have you read a simple introduction to these? Everything I've run into seems to assume I already know a lot more than I do about the structure of Greek tragedy.


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- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The wool carder bees (Anthidium manicatum), so named because the females collect or "card" plant fuzz for their nests, move quickly. The males, more aggressive and very territorial, move even faster.
The wool carder bee is an Old World bee introduced into the United States (New York) in 1963. It was first discovered in California (Sunnyvale) in 2007.
Today we spotted one in our Vacaville yard that didn't seem to be in much of a hurry.
In fact, it sidled up to the catmint (Nepeta) and appeared to be having a conversation. No, not with an empty chair. With a mint leaf.
Girl bee?
No, said native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis, and one of the instructors at the annual Bee Course at the Southwestern Research Station, Portal, Ariz.; this year's course takes place Sept. 10-20.)
"This one is a boy bee," Thorp said. "Note the prominent golden fringe hairs along the side of the abdomen and the edge of the tooth-like processes at the tip of the abdomen. Also the lower part of the face (the clypeus) is mostly yellow."
So there you have it, a boy bee!
I'm still wondering why he wasn't body-slamming the honey bees and engaging in other aggressive and territorial escapades.


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Concord man injured when home catches fireBy PAT GROSSMITH
New Hampshire Union Leader
October 07. 2013 12:54PM
CONCORD - A Downing Street homeowner was rushed to Concord Hospital after he suffered smoke inhalation and an injured ankle in a fire Monday morning that heavily damaged his residence.
The fire was reported at 11:11 a.m., and when firefighters arrived, flames were coming out the windows and the roof of the house at 23 Downing St.
Fire Chief Dan Andrus said the homeowner, whom he did not identify, said he had hurt his ankle as he fled his burning home.
"He was very cold and very disturbed about his house being on fire," the chief said.
According to the city's assessor database, the home is owned by Ronald K. Paige, who just bought it on May 31 for $114,000. The 1 1/2 story home was built in 1870.
The first report called into the fire department said smoke and fire were showing on the first floor, but in the time it took for firefighters to arrive, the fire had spread throughout and flames were coming out the roof.
Andrus said the single-family residence was heavily damaged. The stairway to the basement was destroyed in the blaze and the first floor was pretty much gutted.
Fire crews had the fire under control in about 45 minutes but remained on scene to check for hot spots.
Fire department marshal Sean Brown was on the scene trying to determine where and how the fire started.


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Amazon announced this week that they were added "Kindle Singles Interviews" to their popular Kindle Singles repository, adding a whole new dimension to the short-form book offerings. In case you have never seen them, Kindle Singles are basically shorter than a typical book but longer than a typical article.
The firstin the Kindle Singles series is an interview from Israeli President Shimon Peres. President Barack Obama's interview with David Blum, editor of Kindle Singles, is coming soon and is already getting a lot of attention (my guess – that was the point. Thy knew interviewing Obama would be controversial, whether you love or hate him. It will probably get all kinds of attention.)


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How to Save Money on Airfare
A couple of economists report in a new paper that the vastness of airline price discrimination appears to extend even to when you purchase your ticket. They find that tickets purchased on weekends are 5% cheaper. And they conjecture that price discrimination is at work.
If airlines believe that weekend purchasers are more likely to be price-elastic leisure travelers, then they may offer lower prices on weekends when the mix of purchasing customers makes demand more price elastic. This conjecture is supported by the finding that the weekend purchase effect is distinctly larger on routes with a mixture of both business and leisure customers than on routes that disproportionately serve leisure customers.


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The class will focus on conversational Spanish, but will also include reading, writing and grammar, according to a news release from MVMC.
Those interested in learning to speak Spanish are invited to attend a meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at 6 p.m. at the Multicultural Center, 156 North 100 West, to discuss developing a schedule for the class and to sign up for the first session.
For more information, call 435-259-5444, or email Katlyn at email@example.com.


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Job Description
4Healthcare are currently recruiting for Personal Support Assistant (PSA) to work within Milton Keynes.
Overall Aim of the Job:
To be aware of the philosophy and general policy of Schemes you are working in and to be committed to its aims and objectives within the Scheme. To ensure the provision of the day to day assistance to the frail elderly residents with due respect for their individual needs and independence.
Night staff: To ensure the provision of the night care assistance to the residents who are in need.
- To provide all aspects of personal care to residents in accordance with their individual needs
- To promote the physical, emotional and intellectual well-being of each resident in all aspects of personal care, e.g. dressing, washing, bathing, mobility assistance where necessary and administration of medicine
- To encourage each resident to be as independent as possible in all aspects of living
- To assist in the provision of day care/night care facilities
- To work closely with family, friends and volunteers for the general wellbeing of the resident
- To assist with day to day housekeeping and laundry duties. Provide a personalised housing related support service to older people with an assessed need which will help them to remain as independent as possible
The service must be outcome based with 5 key objectives to enable people to:
- achieve economic well-being
- be healthy
- stay safe
- enjoy and achieve
We will offer you Excellent Rates of Pay, Local Interviews, Free Uniform, Dedicated Consultants, Efficient Compliance Service, Contactable 24-hour support and a dedicated Umbrella Company.
Requirements we will need from you is to have relevant experience gained in a similar role (Care Assistant, Care Worker or Support Worker), Hold an enhanced DBS and have 3 years' references.
We supply into a range of Care Homes, Supported Living Units and Retirement Villages in and around Milton Keynes, so we can offer you a variety of placements if this role is not right for you.
At 4HealthCare we take pride in providing the highest quality of care from our healthcare professionals. We offer great rates of pay and professional growth opportunities which is why a large proportion of our staff have worked with us for a long time.
If you are a Personal Support Assistant (PSA) and would like to express your interest, please contact us for this great opportunity by calling on 0808 178 4445 or emailing on Enquiries@ 4healthcare.co.uk.
To stay safe in your job search we recommend that you visit SAFERjobs, a non-profit, joint industry and law enforcement organisation working to combat job scams. Visit the SAFERjobs website for information on common scams and to get free, expert advice for a safer job search.
Recruitment is done in line with safe recruitment practices. We are an equal opportunities employer.
Who Cares? We Do.


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Actor Cory Monteith died Saturday afternoon in Vancouver of an apparent drug overdose, Vancouver police said at a press conference Saturday night.
The 31-year-old "Glee" star was found dead in his room at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel Saturday afternoon.
Police said Monteith was due to check out of the hotel Saturday, where he had been staying since July 6. When he missed his noon checkout time, hotel staff went to his room and found him.
A coroner said Monteith had been dead for several hours when his body was found. While he was with other people Friday night, video footage showed him returning to his hotel room alone. Police do not believe foul play was involved.
Police have not officially determined a cause of death.
BREAKING: Police CONFIRM #Glee star Cory Monteith found dead in #Vancouver hotel room. Just after noon today.— CTV British Columbia (@CTVBC) July 14, 2013
Born in Calgary, Canada, Monteith had a history of substance abuse and checked himself into a treatment program earlier this year. He had previously checked into rehab when he was 19.


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WASHINGTON (AP) — At age 15, Paul Ryan was already feeling isolated from his father, who had grown distant from his family and leaned heavily on whiskey. Then one morning the future congressman found his alcoholic father in bed, dead from an apparent heart attack at age 55.
It's a formative story the Republicans' 2012 vice presidential nominee has not fully told publicly before now. In an interview with The Associated Press, Ryan said the event shaped him as a politician and as a family man — and figures heavily into whether he will seek the presidency in 2016.
"Having not had a dad for a long time, it brings you much closer to your kids and your family," Ryan said from New York as he begins a tour to promote his new book, "The Way Forward: Renewing the America Idea."
As Ryan weighs a presidential campaign, talk turns to his three children. The oldest, Liza, is about to turn 13. Ryan says he is not eager to spend even more time away from Janesville, the small Wisconsin town where he grew up and where he and his wife, Janna, have raised their own family.
"One of the reasons why I've always passed elected leadership positions up in the House — you know, speaker, leader, all the things people ask you to run for — is because it takes you away from your family even more," Ryan said. "I've made career decisions based upon family balance and part of that is because of my own upbringing and my own childhood."
During his turn as Mitt Romney's vice presidential nominee, Ryan often returned to Janesville on weekends. In the final weeks of the campaign, Janna and the kids joined him on the plane or on bus tours that went for hundreds of miles each day.
Ryan's stint as Romney's No. 2 lasted 87 days. A two-year presidential campaign would be tougher as well as longer, keeping his family traipsing through early nominating Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. And that's before the frenetic head-to-head race against the Democratic nominee if he were to win the nomination.
But in his new book, Ryan lays the policy-heavy groundwork for a presidential campaign — or perhaps an expanded role in the House. He is expected to give up the gavel of the House Budget Committee and shift to the powerful Ways and Means Committee early next year.
While there is plenty of partisan criticism of President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies — he calls the Obama administration "lawless" — the book's personal revelations are the ones that could soften his image as a hard-nosed budget negotiator. None is more personal than his father's drinking.
Ryan describes a morning phone call from his father's assistant during the summer of 1986. The unexpected call roused the younger Ryan after a late night working at the local McDonald's. The assistant said Paul Murray Ryan, a lawyer, had clients waiting for him at the office.
Ryan went looking for his father around their Janesville home and checked his parents' bedroom.
"It was obvious I wouldn't be able to save him," he writes in the book. "His heart had stopped and he was gone."
Years of drinking had taken their toll, Ryan said. Paul Murray Ryan had struggled with alcohol addiction and at one point checked himself into an in-patient treatment program. He stayed sober for more than 20 years, but then slipped back into a pattern of whiskeys from the time he came home until the time he went to bed.
"I've never talked about it before," Ryan said in an interview.
Ryan said the relationship with his father had "atrophied," especially during the two years before the heart attack.
"While he certainly tried to fight it, my dad's addiction eventually won out," he writes. "Over time, it made him more distant, irritable and stressed. Before I lost him to a heart attack, whiskey had washed away some of the best parts of the man I knew."
His mother was visiting Denver when the elder Ryan died. The high school sophomore started planning for funeral services before his mother returned home and learned her husband had died.
"I grew up real fast," Ryan said.
Why, after not discussing his father's struggles during previous campaigns, did Ryan write about it now?
"It would have been incomplete had I not discussed it," he said in the interview. "I thought it would have been too whitewashed had I not talked about it."
Jackson reported from Chicago.
Follow the writers on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/philip_elliott and http://www.twitter.com/ hjacksonAP


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'Dreaming in Blue' is a haunting piece which walks the fine line between a cinematic ballad and chilled electronica. A fragile melody builds though out with strings, piano and electronic elements.
. It would lend itself very well as the underscore to a trailer, feature film or the backing track for a pop ballad.
I have supplied the track in two versions – the original as well as one without percussion so that you can use it in the most flexible way possible.


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January 29. 2013 10:45PM
Pawnshop tracking to change in Salem
By APRIL GUILMET
Union Leader Correspondent
SALEM - Salem police officials are hoping to begin automatically tracking all purchases made at the town's pawnshops by early March.
During Monday night's selectmen's meeting, Deputy Police Chief Shawn Patten discussed changes under way for town ordinances related to how secondhand dealers and pawnbrokers conduct business.
Patten said there are more than 20 such businesses in Salem right now, which makes it tedious and time-consuming for local police to manually monitor transactions and make sure all of the items being sold arrived there legitimately.
In early November, Salem police initially approached the board seeking an amendment to Salem Municipal Code 251. The ordinance requires pawnshops to put a 30-day hold on items before placing them up for sale. This past fall, town officials agreed it would make sense to raise the annual licensing fee for pawnshops from $1,000 to $1,250, which would allow the town to subscribe to an online tracking program.
Patten said Business Watch International could track all pawn transactions almost instantly, though the program costs around $5,000 annually. Further changes to the ordinance are intended to address earlier concerns that time and resources would be spent monitoring the sales of such low-ticket items as CDs and movies.
Minors wouldn't be permitted to sell items to the pawnshops and those of age would have to show photo identification prior to all transactions. Patten said the sales of items like office furnishings, used clothing and used automobiles wouldn't be subject to electronic monitoring.
"These are things that aren't typically taken during the residential burglaries we've seen," he said.
The ordinance also would make an exception for trade-ins for items "of equal or lesser value," like DVDs.
Police are currently in the process of meeting with staff at every pawnshop in town to discuss the pending changes, Patten said, and officers are being trained to use the new software properly.
"If everything goes as planned, the changes are targeted for March 1," he said.
Longtime Salem resident John Lydon said he supported the changes.
"The police are doing a great job, but there are lots of hurdles," he said. "These regulations will help them get over those hurdles."
Discussion on the topic will continue during the Feb. 11 meeting, with a final vote on the matter to be taken Feb. 28.


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A Visit to Peter Follansbee's Shop
I spent the afternoon with Peter Follansbee at his shop at Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts – watching him work for a profile I'm writing about him for Popular Woodworking Magazine.
"The Peter Show" – as some Plimoth employees refer to it – consists of Peter working in his shop as visitors pepper him with questions ("What do you do with the shavings?" "I throw them out!"). Then Peter gently teases some of the visitors to get them engaged in the work at his bench ("OK, you want to learn carving? The first lesson is free – after that, you have to pay.")
I also received a tour of the site by Peter and we got to see how his furniture – some of it 20 years old – is faring in the reproduction houses. It's quite amazing how quickly the new oak furniture gets dark thanks to the smoke from fires and some linseed oil.
I have to wrap up this blog entry quickly. Both Peter and I will be at the Lie-Nielsen Open House in Warren, Maine, on Friday and Saturday. So I have to get up with the chickens to make the drive back from Plymouth, Mass., to Warren, Maine.
If you are in New England, the Lie-Nielsen Open House is definitely worth the drive. Lots of toolmakers, demonstrations and fun. Read about it here.
— Christopher Schwarz


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The Delaware State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police hosted its Biennial Conference in Ocean City, Md. from Oct. 11-13, during the conference several members were elected to the board of directors for a two year term.
The Delaware State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police hosted its Biennial Conference in Ocean City, Md. from Oct. 11-13, during the conference several members were elected to the board of directors for a two year term.
The following members were elected to the board of directors:
President – Fred Calhoun, Lodge 5 New Castle County Police
Vice President - Doug Watts, Lodge 10 Probation and Parole
Secretary - Jeff Gates, Lodge 7 University of Delaware Police
Treasurer - Curtis Davis, Lodge 4 Newark Police
2nd V President – Mike Lawson, Lodge 1 Wilmington Police
3rd V President - Mike Konnick, Lodge 15 Dover Police
Financial Sec - Ralph Hauck, Lodge 1 Wilmington Police
Editor - Matt Kent, Lodge 11 Capitol Police
Chaplin - Frank Cooke, Lodge 5 New Castle County Police
The following political endorsements were approved by the delegates present from the seventeen local lodges, representing approximate 2,400 members of active and retired law enforcement officers throughout the State of Delaware.
US Senator - Thomas Carper
US Congress - John Carney, Jr.
Governor - Jack Markell
Lt Governor - Matthew Denn
State Senate
State Senate District 1 - Harris McDowell III
State Senate District 2 - Margaret Rose Henry
State Senate District 3 - Robert Marshall
State Senate District 5 - Catherine Cloutier
State Senate District 7 - Patricia Blevins
State Senate District 8 - David Sokola
State Senate District 9 - Karen Peterson
State Senate District 10 –Bethany Hall-Long
State Senate District 11 –Bryan Townsend
State Senate District 12 - Dorinda Connor
State Senate District 13 – David McBride
State Senate District 14 – Bruce Ennis
State Senate District 15 – Dave Lawson
State Senate District 16 – Colin Bonini
State Senate District 17 – Brian Bushweller
State Senate District 18 – Gary Simpson
State Senate District 21 – Robert Venables, Sr.
House of Representatives
2nd District - Stephanie Bolden
3rd District – Helene Keeley
4th District – Gerald Bradley
5th District – Melanie Smith
7th District – Bryon Short
8th District – Quinton Johnson
9th District – Rebecca Walker
10th District – Dennis E. Williams
11th District – Lynne Newlin
13th District – John Mitchell
14th District – Peter Schwartzkopf
15th District – Valerie Longhurst
16th District – James Johnson
17th District – Michael Mulrooney
19th District – Kimberly Williams
20th District – Stephen Smyk
21st District – Michael Ramone
22nd District – Joseph Miro
23rd District – Paul Baumbach
24th District – Edward Osienski
26th District – John Viola
27th District – Earl Jaques
28th District – William Carson, Jr.
31st District – Darryl Scott
32nd District – Ellis Parrott
35th District – David Wilson
36th District – Harvey Kenton
37th District – Ruth Briggs King
39th District – Daniel Short
41st District – John Atkins
Other offices endorsements were issued:
Delaware Insurance Commissioner – Karen Weldin Stewart
New Castle County Executive – Thomas Gordon
New Castle County Council President – Christopher Bullock
New Castle County Council 12th District – Bill Bell
Mayor City of Wilmington – Dennis Williams
City of Wilmington Council District 7 – Robert Williams


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Davis' blooper leads to Orioles' extra-inning victory over Red SoxBy Eduardo A. Encina
The Baltimore Sun
June 14. 2013 2:27AM
BALTIMORE -- Last season, the Orioles and Boston Red Sox played four extra-inning games against each other, including games of 17, 13 and 12 innings.
The Orioles won all four of those games, mainly because their stellar bullpen kept compiling scoreless innings until the bats could do their job _ except for that 17-inning game last May in Boston, when the Orioles needed a little help from Chris Davis on the mound.
This time, Davis -- who has become a star this season with incredible run-production numbers - helped the Orioles bullpen with his bat, hitting a walk-off single with two outs in the bottom of the 13th inning to give the Orioles a 5-4 win over the Red Sox on Thursday night at Camden Yards to end a four-hour, 35-minute marathon.
Not only did the Orioles (38-29) gain a game on American League East-leading Boston in the opener of this important four-game series, but they also moved into second place in the AL East after the New York Yankees' 3-2 18-inning loss in Oakland.
"I think we have a newfound confidence in our division," Orioles center fielder Adam Jones said. "We know that this division is going to be tough. We were cellar dwellers for some years, and now we just want to come out and give it our all every day, especially against the division."
The Orioles continued their recent dominance of Boston, beating the Red Sox for the 12th time in their past 16 meetings. The Orioles have also won nine of their past 13 games against the Red Sox at Camden Yards.
The Orioles used seven pitchers on the night, and the final five combined to throw 6-1/3 scoreless innings of relief, retiring the final 10 hitters they faced and 18 of 19. Perhaps more important was will be the carry-over through the rest of the series as both bullpens were drained.
Before scoring the winning run, the Orioles stranded 14 baserunners on the night, including five in scoring position, and were 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
But Nick Markakis drew a two-out walk in the 13th, then moved to second on Adam Jones' opposite-field single to right.
That set the stage for Davis, who had struck out in three of his previous four at-bats. He took a 1-1 fastball from Alex Wilson and dropped a game-winning single in front of Jonny Gomes in left, sparking a celebration near first base.
"It was a lot of fun, Davis said. "Obviously both teams were battling out there to get a run and both bullpens (were) pretty stout late in the game. Honestly, I was just trying to get jammed out there, took a few swings late in the game where I was just swinging way to hard, trying to win it with one swing instead of just trying to put the ball in play. Good things happen when you simplify it."
The O's bullpen kept Baltimore in the game through the late innings and into extras. Tommy Hunter retired all six batters he faced through the eighth and ninth innings and Darren O'Day tossed a scoreless 10th, striking out Shane Victorino on a 3-2 pitch to strand the go-ahead run at second base.
Jim Johnson needed just 10 pitches to retire the Red Sox in order in the 12th and long-relief lefty T.J. McFarland threw a scoreless 13th to earn his first major-league win.
"You've got two teams with great bullpens," Markakis said. "You look at any good team and good teams are going to have good bullpens. You know it's a battle after that. You know after the ninth inning it's hard to come by hits. We were fortunate. We got a nice bloop two-out hit there, good placement and we won the game."
The Red Sox came back from a two-run seventh-inning deficit to tie the game at 4. Boston opened the inning with three straight singles off left-hander Brian Matusz. They scored one run on Stephen Drew's sacrifice fly to center and tied the game when Jacoby Ellsbury beat out a double-play throw to first. Ryan Flaherty's toss to second to start the potential double-play was wide and slowed J.J. Hardy's throw to first.
Through five big league starts, Orioles rookie pitcher Kevin Gausman has saved his best for his toughest opponents. The 22-year-old right-hander has struggled at times, but has thrown his two best games against the top two hitting lineups in the American League.
Opening up an important four-game series against the Red Sox, Gausman held them to two runs on six hits over 5-1/3 innings.
Gausman allowed seven runs in 4-1/3 innings on Saturday in Tampa Bay in his last start, but held a heavy-hitting Detroit lineup to one run on five hits in his previous outing.
But Gausman managed to keep the Red Sox offense off balance, utilizing a devastating split-fingered changeup that tailed down and away to left-handed hitters. Four of Gausman's five strikeouts came on the split-change.
Gausman left the game with one on and one out in the sixth, but Matusz preserved the lead by inducing a popup from David Ortiz and striking out Mike Carp looking. Ortiz is now 1-for-16 in his career with four strikeouts against Matusz.
The Orioles orchestrated a three-run rally in the third inning to open the scoring, fueled by Danny Valencia's solo homer to open the frame off Boston starter Felix Doubront.
Valencia's homer was his fourth this season in 13 games with the Orioles this season. He had just three homers in 44 games with the Twins and Red Sox last season.
Ryan Flaherty immediately followed with a bloop double to left field and following Nate McLouth's sacrifice bunt, Manny Machado hit a broken-bat single up the middle off the fists to score Flaherty.
Three batters later, Davis drove in his 55th run of the season with two-out single that brought in Machado from third.
The Red Sox rebounded with back-to-back solo homers off Gausman in the fourth inning. Ortiz took a 1-1 delivery for a ride into the center-field bleachers for his 14th homer of the season when Gausman left a 97-mph fastball waist-high and over the plate.
Carp, who entered the game for Mike Napoli (illness) in the bottom of the third, hit a 2-2 changeup beyond the center-field fence for his seventh homer of the season.
The Orioles tacked on another run in the fifth on Matt Wieters' two-out single, but left the bases loaded when Valencia popped up to short to end the inning off reliever Franklin Morales.


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In the tense days of this nation's twin gas crises in the 1970s, one automaker dominated U.S. roads with diesel cars: Mercedes-Benz. The automaker says that between 1975 and 1985, a majority of its cars sold here were diesels, hitting a peak of 80%.
Since then, that number has shrunk to a modest 6%. Yet the diesel engine has come a long way since the soot-stained versions from 30 years ago. Although many still have a distinctive idle not unlike your kid's school bus, they are unquestionably cleaner, quieter, and more efficient.
Mercedes is now looking to boost interest by making these oil-burning engines more affordable. It's in the process of bringing to the U.S. market for the first time a smaller, four-cylinder diesel engine that's been selling well throughout Europe since 2009.
PHOTOS: First drive of the 2013 Mercedes GLK250 BlueTec
The first of its vehicles to get this power plant is the 2013 GLK250 BlueTec, Mercedes' compact crossover SUV. Highway 1 recently spent a day testing one on the freeways and scenic back roads of Malibu to get a sense of this motor's viability. After 80 miles of testing, it's clear that if you've had your eye on the GLK, the diesel model is the one to choose.
The evidence is in the numbers. The all-wheel-drive GLK250 BlueTec starts at $39,495, a cool $500 less than its AWD gas counterpart, the GLK350. Yet the BlueTec gives you 33% better combined fuel economy despite weighing about 250 pounds more.
The GLK250 is rated at 24 mpg in city driving and 33 mpg on the highway. Mercedes says drivers can go up to 515 miles on a single tank of gas; enough to drive from Los Angeles to Tucson with a smidge left over. In our day testing the model in mixed driving, we averaged a healthy 27 mpg.
What's encouraging about those numbers is the BlueTec never felt underpowered. Yes, its 200-horsepower rating is 102 less than the V-6 in the GLK350. And the diesel is a second and a half slower from zero to 60 mph.
But the BlueTec benefits from that tasty side effect of diesel engines: torque. It has a stout 369 pound-feet, nearly 100 more than the V-6.
These numbers are courtesy of the GLK250's 2.1-liter, twin-turbocharged inline four-cylinder diesel engine. It's the same engine that Mercedes will introduce this fall in the recently refreshed E-Class sedan. Like the GLK orientation, the E250 BlueTec will be the lowest priced version of the E-Class available.
This engine is a smooth-running delight. It has ample power whenever you need it, and from the plush, leather-lined cockpit of our loaded tester (yours for an eye-watering $57,635), you'd be hard pressed to know what was under the hood was anything other than the gas engines us 'Mericans are so used to driving.
The rest of the diesel driving experience was near identical to that of the V-6 powered GLK. The BlueTec model comes with the same seven-speed automatic transmission that matches its engine for silky performance. Though no sports car, the GLK handles its mass as well as any of its buyers need it to.
The vehicle's dimensions don't change at all, so you're still riding in a tidy but practical package. The back seats fits those 6'2" and under with plenty of head and legroom, though the small door openings make access a bit tight. The rear seats fold flat for extra room, though interior and cargo space trail competitors like the Audi Q5, Lexus RX, and BMW X3.
The GLK's exterior also remains unchanged, save for the different badging and a set of unique wheels. Mercedes gave the entire GLK -- which has been on the market since 2009 -- a thorough makeover for 2013. The updates included new front and rear bumpers, wheels, headlight and taillight designs, and a slightly modified cabin.
Buyers seem to have noticed. Despite selling a respectable 29,364 units in 2012, sales of the new version are up 26% year to date from the same period last year, according to Mercedes. And this doesn't include the interest in the diesel GLK250 BlueTec, which went on sale in April.
Mercedes said it expects about 10% of GLK buyers to opt for the BlueTec model. Given how this model only adds to the GLK experience with negligible compromises, color us surprised if that number doesn't end up higher. This is the GLK you want.


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Home ·
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BBA Students
The BGS Department is in the process of developing a certificate program for undergraduate business majors. BGS plans to offer undergraduates a certificate, "Public and Governmental Affairs," which will consist of a sequence of courses focusing on business-government relations, regulation, ethics and corporate social responsibility.
Watch this space for more information about this certificate.
Page last updated: 12/14/2016
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A WFP-chartered ship has delivered life-saving food, medical supplies, and other relief items to the Libyan port of Misrata, opening up a new humanitarian lifeline to civilians trapped in the Libyan conflict. "This is a breakthrough for the UN humanitarian operation in Libya," said WFP Executive Director, Josette Sheeran.
ROME -- A WFP humanitarian vessel carrying life-saving food, medical supplies, doctors and other relief items reached Misrata port last week, opening up a new humanitarian lifeline to civilians trapped in the Libyan conflict.
"This is a breakthrough for the UN humanitarian operation in Libya and allows us to reach tens of thousands of people who are caught in one of the fiercest areas of conflict," said WFP Executive Director, Josette Sheeran. "It is vital that we get these relief supplies to the vulnerable – especially women and children – and we are working with local partners, including the Libyan Red Crescent, to ensure their needs are met."
Building the aid pipeline
WFP is using its logistics expertise to help the humanitarian community in North Africa assist the people fleeing -- and remaining in -- conflict-torn Libya. Learn more
The WFP-chartered vessel arrived in Misrata carrying more than 600 metric tons of WFP food including wheat flour, vegetable oil and High Energy Biscuits – enough to feed more than 40,000 people for a month. The ship also delivered medical supplies on behalf of UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO). The UNICEF and WHO emergency health kits and surgical material will cover the urgent needs for 50,000 people for a month. Other materials will enable thousands of children to play in the relative safety of indoors. Two doctors are on board and will disembark at Misrata.
Urgent situation
"The situation is urgent for tens of thousands of children in Misrata and across Libya, who are potential victims of the fighting or who have already paid a terrible price," said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. "These supplies are a lifeline to them and all those trapped in the fighting."
"WHO is supporting the relief efforts with its partners, and has provided medicines and medical supplies to to those affected by the violence in Libya. These efforts have been carried out despite the great challenges hindering the work of medical teams in some areas. "WHO is committed to meeting the health needs of the people affected by the violence against civilians and continues to work to ensure the right to health for all without discrimination based on religion, race or political affiliation," said Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director General.
"These supplies will meet the immediate needs that are inevitable after more than a month of almost total isolation," said British International Development Secretary, Andrew Mitchell, whose government funded UNICEF supplies aboard the ship. "But it also sends a message to the people of Misrata that they haven't been forgotten by the rest of the world – to that end, we must continue to explore every avenue to keep getting aid to those in desperate need."
"Complex and dangerous"
WFP began moving food supplies into Libya soon after the conflict erupted and has pre-positioned more than 17,000 metric tons of food stocks inside the country and across the region, as part of a US$42 million emergency operation that will provide food assistance to more than 1 million people in Libya and neighbouring countries. Working with partners such as the Libyan Red Crescent, WFP plans to provide food to more than 600,000 people inside Libya over the next three months. "The operation in Libya is complex and dangerous, but we are exploring every possible avenue to get food to the hungry," Sheeran added. "This means moving food assistance and other relief supplies by road from Egypt, and by sea into the main ports along Libya's Mediterranean coastline."
As the lead logistics and telecommunications agency in the UN humanitarian system, WFP is providing transport and communications support for the entire humanitarian community in Libya.


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U.S. air travelers terrified of disasters like the crash of Asiana Flight 214 face a frustrating dilemma when trying to avoid airlines with scary safety records.
That's because the Federal Aviation Administration refuses to publicly rank air carriers on safety. The agency does list countries with substandard aviation-safety rules. But it still allows their airlines to fly into the U.S. and offers no guidance on their relative risk to passengers.
Consumer advocates contend the flying public deserves better.
"It's maddening," said John King, an air-travel safety advocate and former airline mechanic who blew the whistle on problems at now-defunct Eastern Airlines. "What the heck is the public supposed to do," he added, "if the cop on the beat isn't doing its job?"
Yet the FAA sees no reason to issue carrier-safety ratings.
"There currently is no evidence in accident data that would support the ranking of individual airlines based on their safety records," the agency insists on its website. And because air accidents are rare, it adds, they provide no guide "to consumers seeking to make safety-enhancing comparisons for current or future travel choices."
Asked why the agency couldn't rate airlines by combining accident data with such factors as maintenance and training deficiencies, the relative age of their planes and how often they have near misses with other aircraft, an FAA spokeswoman who said she was forbidden from being quoted by name dismissed the idea out of hand.
Passengers shouldn't worry, she said, since "most airlines operate well above FAA standards." And because FAA inspectors monitor carriers, she added, "we know exactly what's going on in each airline."
For the 600-or-so foreign airlines that fly in the U.S., the FAA does evaluate the "safety oversight standards" of the countries where they are based. A total of 24 "category 2 countries" — including Bangladesh, Guyana, Serbia and Nicaragua — fail to meet FAA guidelines. But those nations' airlines can still fly in the U.S. "under heightened surveillance" by the FAA, according to its spokeswoman.
No airlines from those 24 countries currently fly into Bay Area airports.
Richard Kebabjian, whose website planecrashinfo.com tracks airline disasters, acknowledges it's a tough task to advise consumers which carriers to avoid.
"There are many factors that contribute to the safety rating of an airline that include accident history, maintenance and operational procedures, types of training programs, age of fleet, specific routes flown and just plain luck," he said. "Then there are different ways to calculate risk. Is it number of flights, number of passenger miles flown or number of hours in the air? How many years do you go back? Five years, 10 years, 20 years?"
Others note that airlines aren't always at fault when their planes crash, as was evident during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Some air-travel websites offer safety rankings.
Airlineratings.com uses stars to rate airlines — with the best getting seven — based on whether they've been grounded by authorities, had fatalities, are banned by the European Union and other factors.
A private German website (www.jacdec.de), run by the Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre, offers different rankings based on "thousands of entries of all kinds of safety occurrences since the beginning of commercial aviation." Of the 60 airlines it ranks for safety, China Airlines is dead last. But, in an illustration of the lack of uniform standards for airline safety rankings, China Airlines gets the top seven stars from Airlineratings.com.
Similarly, South Korea's Asiana Airlines — whose crash in San Francisco on Saturday killed two and injured dozens — ranks a relatively low 46 on the German site, but gets six stars from Airlineratings.com.
Todd Curtis, founder of the website AirSafe.com, said all carriers generally "have to have their stuff together" when operating in other counties. But he said it can be precarious flying foreign-based airlines that operate solely within their own borders, because some countries lack even rudimentary safety standards for domestic flights.
Comparing those airlines is especially difficult because it's hard to obtain safety records for many foreign carriers, said Mary Schiavo, an aviation lawyer and former U.S. Transportation Department inspector general, who also favors having the FAA publish such ratings.
Trying to rank airlines herself a few years ago, she discovered "there was no one database of all the international accidents." So Schiavo advises travelers to stick with airlines flying out of regions with the most rigorous regulations, such as Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Canada and the United States.
But some consumer advocates say passengers shouldn't assume U.S.-based airlines are risk free. They contend the carriers often fail to report potential maintenance or other dangers involving their planes to the FAA and are rarely punished for such omissions because the agency is cozy with the industry.
Although the FAA denied the accusation, "this issue is something FlyersRights.org has fought to change since its inception," said Kate Hanni, who founded the Napa-based group in 2006. Contending the agency too often leaves it to airlines to self-report safety concerns, she added, "does anyone see a problem with the fox guarding the henhouse?"
Contact Steve Johnson at email@example.com or 408-920-5043. Follow him at Twitter.com/steveatmercnews.
Here's a list of the world's 10 safest airlines as rated by the Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre, a private German website, www.jacdec.de. These rankings don't always agree with those from other websites, such as www.Airlineratings.com.
1. Finnair
2. Air New Zealand
3. Cathay Pacific
4. Emirates, of the United Arab Emirates
5. Etihad Airways, of the United Arab Emirates
6. EVA Air, of Taiwan
7. TAP Portugal
8. Hainan Airlines, of China
9 Virgin Australia
10. British Airways


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Purdue breast cancer prevention symposium to draw researchers from 15 countries
September 26, 2012
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A global symposium in October at Purdue University will join the research worlds of public health, medicine and advocacy with research scientists in biology, engineering, nanotechnology and nutrition to discuss models for primary prevention of breast cancer.
The Oct. 10-12 event, offered annually as part of the Purdue-led International Breast Cancer and Nutrition Project, is titled "Models for Breast Cancer Prevention: From Innovation to Action."
Sophie Lelièvre
Experts from North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa will be featured in biology, epidemiology, medicine, nutrition, communication, education and public policy. This year's symposium also will include researchers, policymakers and public health representatives from Canada, Chile, Lebanon, Netherlands, Qatar, Uruguay and other counties.
"At the heart of any advancement in medical research is a better understanding of how a disease starts and grows. Discussing models necessary for research on primary prevention and implantation of the results is an essential tool to help researchers from many different disciplines in that understanding," said event co-organizer Sophie Lelièvre, an associate professor of basic medical sciences in Purdue's College of Veterinary Medicine and associate director of Discovery Groups for the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research.
Chaired by Lelièvre and Connie Weaver, a distinguished Purdue professor and head of the Department of Nutrition Science, the event is organized by the Purdue International Breast Cancer and Nutrition (IBCN) group.
"This symposium will highlight the advancements we believe we can make by bringing together public health experts and researchers in breast cancer prevention with the brightest minds in biological, engineered and animal models, nanotechnology, tissue banks, data hubs, nutritional models, behavioral models, economic and business models, health-care policy models, and communication," Weaver said.
Connie Weaver
Activities for the three-day event are scheduled in the Purdue Memorial Union and the nearby Stewart Center. To register or for more information, go online to: http://www.purdue.edu/breastcancer/registration.html#register
A look at the schedule and the key participants:
* Wednesday, Oct. 10, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - Status of Breast Cancer Prevention from Around the World. Keynote speaker is Leslie Reinlib of the National Institute of Environmental Health Science at the National Institutes of Health. Other speakers include Philippe Kadhel of the University Teaching Hospital, Pointe-A-Pitre (Guadeloupe), France; Meghan McDonough of the Department of Health and Kinesiology at Purdue; Tam Truong Donnelly of the University of Calgary, Qatar; and Emma Brew Abaidoo of Peace and Love Hospital and Breast Cancer International, Kumasi, Ghana.
* Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2-5:45 p.m. Models in Biology from Tissue Samples to Epigenetic Analysis. Speakers include Leena A. Hilakivi-Clarke of the Department of Oncology at the Lombardi Cancer Center, Georgetown University; Brittney-Shea Herbert of the Department of Medicinal & Molecular Genetics at Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis; and Emily Ho of the College of Public Health and Human Science, Oregon State University.
* Thursday, Oct. 11, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Health-care and Policy Models. Symposium keynote speaker is Ricardo Uauy, University of London. Other speakers are Silvana Luciani, Cancer Control Program, World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization; Dr. Graciella Sabini, Cancer Control, Ministry of Health, Montevideo, Uruguay; Temeika Fairley, Center for Disease Control & Prevention; and Sandra Liu of Purdue's Department of Consumer Science and Retailing.
* Thursday, Oct. 11, 3-6 p.m. Nutritional Models for Diversity. Speakers are professor Weaver and Reinlib of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences as well as Lindsay Allen, director, Western Human Nutrition Research Center at the University of California Davis; and Farah Naja of the Department of Nutrition at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
Susan Clare of the Indiana University Simon Cancer Center in Indianapolis and Reinlib will deliver the Catherine Peachey Lectures, beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11. Their talks are free and open to the general public.
* Friday, Oct. 12, 9-11:15 a.m. Global Health Venture. Session keynote is Angela Brand of the Institute of Public Health Genomics at the University of Maastricht, Netherlands. Other speakers are Dr. Nora Arta Gaveytia, Tumor Bank, Faculty of Medicine, Montevideo, Uruguay; and Nolwenn LeMeur of the French School of Public Health, France.
The IBCN, involving the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer, is focusing initial efforts on the United States and Ghana as well as France, Japan, Uruguay and Lebanon.
Through the project launched in 2010, each country has a dedicated research team focused on a number of milestones and allows scientists to study worldwide diversity in breast cancer rates, dietary patterns and cultural contexts. These teams were assembled thanks to a 2010-11 project sponsored by the Purdue Global Policy Research Institute.
The 2011 IBCN conference was in France, and Purdue hosted the inaugural conference in October 2010. Lebanon is scheduled to host the conference in 2013.
The project is bringing together experts in nutrition, basic medical sciences, statistics, cancer epidemiology, communication, public policy, economics, health law, anthropology and medicine to study a variety of factors such as how cellular mechanisms in breast cancer development link to diet, as well as the role public policy plays in a population's available food source and disease prevention.
Writer: Phillip Fiorini, 765-496-3133, firstname.lastname@example.com
Sources: Sophie Lelièvre, 765-496-7793, firstname.lastname@example.com
Connie Weaver, 765-494-8237, firstname.lastname@example.com
Related websites:
Discovery Park
Department of Nutrition Science
Department of Basic Medical Sciences


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More good news for Jolla and Sailfish. On the Finnish carrier DNA, the only carrier currently selling the device, Jolla outsold the iPhone 5S, 5C, Galaxy S4, and every Lumia except the 520. Jolla ended up as number five, preceded by the Lumia 520 in fourth place, the Galaxy SIII 4G in third, and two cheap Galaxy phones as two and one. Sales cover the holiday period.
Of course, with Finland having a small population and Jolla having the home team advantage, this isn't exactly representative for, well, anything, but it's still impressive and good news for the young platform. The fact that Jolla outsold the flagships of iOS, Android, and Windows Phone holds promise for the future. On top of that, out of that top five, the Jolla is the most expensive phone (save for perhaps the Galaxy SIII).
I'm curious to see if they'll be able to maintain this momentum. It's not going to be easy.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.


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CUMMING, Ga. (AP) - Authorities say a man who shot and wounded a deputy outside a courthouse in Georgia was heavily armed and planned to take hostages.
Forsyth County Sheriff Duane Piper says suspect Dennis Marx was shot and killed Friday. He says Marx drove a vehicle up to the courthouse steps, threw out homemade "spike strips" designed to flatten car tires and fired at a deputy who came out of the courthouse, shooting the officer in the leg. Police say the deputy is OK.
Piper says Marx had homemade and commercially made explosives inside his vehicle and on his body. He says authorities don't know a motive.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and federal authorities were helping to ensure there were no explosives inside the courthouse. Piper says authorities have found Marx's home and believe it could be booby-trapped.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Always-On Protection for Linux
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Quickly test new kernel versions to see if McAfee VirusScan for Linux will operate on these versions.
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While other anti-virus products are fooled by viruses hidden within archived files, McAfee VirusScan for Linux archive scanning function detects and blocks such threats providing a more complete anti-virus protection for Linux.
McAfee VirusScan for Linux automates the update process, ensuring the most current updates are always in place; updates are behind-the-scenes and don't require a server restart.
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Award-winning McAfee antivirus technology enables heuristic scanning, which identifies new viruses before a patch is available, and archive scanning, which detects viruses hidden inside archived files.
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Quickly test new kernel versions to see if McAfee VirusScan for Linux will operate on these versions.
- Minimum Hrdware Requirements for 32-bit PlatformsIntel Pentium II, 266 MHz, with 128 MB RAM, and 40 MB free space on the hard driveTypical Hardware Requirements for 32-bit PlatformsIntel Pentium 4, 1 GHz, with 256 MB RAM, and 200 MB free space on the hard driveSupported Distributions for 32-bit Platforms/64-bit PlatformsRed Hat Enterprise 6.x Advanced Platform, DesktopRed Hat Enterprise 5.x Advanced Platform, DesktopRed Hat Enterprise 4.0 Advanced Server, Workstation, Enterprise ServerSuSE Linux Enterprise Server/Desktop 11.xSUSE Linux Enterprise Server/Desktop 10.xSUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9.xUbuntu 8.04, 9.04, 9.10, 10.04, 10.10, 11.04 (Desktop/Server Edition)CentOS 4.x, 5.x, 6.xFedora Core 10, 11, and 12Novell Open Enterprise Server 2Novell Open Enterprise Server 1Novell Linux Small Business ServerNovell Linux Desktop 9.xSupported BrowsersMicrosoft Internet Explorer 5.5, 6.0, 7.0 and 8.0Konqueror 3.5.1, 4.1.3, 4.2.x and 4.3.xMozilla 0.9.9, 1.0.1, 1.2.1, 1.4, 1.6, 1.7.8, 1.8.x and 1.9.xFirefox 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 3.6, 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0


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Poketo: Art For Your Everyday
If you're not familiar with Poketo, let us introduce you to the husband and wife team of Ted Vadakan and Angie Myung on the occassion of their collection for Target. This collaboration, which includes totes, water bottles and umbrellas, is only the tip of the iceberg for the couple. Skip on over to their site and check out the array of items they have for sale. Designed by their incredible stable of young, talented artists, it ranges from plates to vases to lamps as well as a great selection of beautiful and affordable prints. Their vow to take art off of gallery walls and bring it into your home is one which they take very seriously...while having a lot of fun in the process!
When it's time to incorporate art into your home and your life, you might want to start with the prints. Sold in small enough editions that you won't see them at every house you visit, they're priced so that you can have an original piece by a young artist for about what you'd pay for your share of a really good dinner out.
If you're a little more adventurous, you might try a unique set of dishware, a colorful lamp, a mug for your morning coffee or stickies for your bare walls. Figure out your week in one of their planners, paste your decor tear sheets into one of their dreambooks, flag a picture in a favorite tome with one of their colorful bookmark tabs or tote your groceries home in one of their totes.
As the name (Angie's grandmother's corruption of the word "pocket") implies, it's hard not to walk away from their site with your virtual pocket literally bulging from wanting to take home one of everything. At these prices, you can. Click here to check it out for yourself. If you'd like to see their collection for Target, click here.


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New Manchester school board member not talking about lawsuit against districtBy TED SIEFER
New Hampshire Union Leader
November 13. 2013 11:36PM
MANCHESTER — The newly elected school board member who filed a lawsuit against the district shortly before the election is not responding to questions about the case.
Constance "Connie" Van Houten filed the suit approximately a week before the election, according to documents at Hillsborough County Superior Court. She did not indicate that she planned to file or had filed the lawsuit during her campaign for the Ward 12 school board seat.
Since the New Hampshire Union Leader first reported the case, Van Houten has not returned repeated calls.
Van Houten's attorney, John Skinner, said he was handling inquiries about the case. "We're naturally concerned about the adverse and strange media reaction to what we thought was a pretty routine matter," he said. "As far as that's concerned, I'm here to handle that, but naturally as a newly elected representative, she's available to respond to other concerns her constituents may have."
The lawsuit against the Manchester School District alleges that Van Houten, who taught in the district for more than 30 years, was retaliated against in the spring of 2012 when she raised concerns about a colleague not working a full shift. At the time, Van Houten was teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) part-time at the Manchester Adult Education Center, which is run by the district. The suit charges that after she made the complaints, Van Houten's work was made more difficult and that she was not rehired for the fall term.
Skinner said the district's actions were a violation of the RSA 275-E, the "Whistle Blowers Protection Act."
He said Van Houten only took legal action reluctantly after efforts to resolve the matter with the district did not work out.
"I tried my best to resolve this prior to litigation," Skinner said, adding that when this effort was unsuccessful, Van Houten "insisted that it be done before the election."
Skinner maintained that the lawsuit didn't represent a conflict-of-interest for a sitting school board member.
"There's sort of a misunderstanding about what conflict-of-interest actually is," he said. "If the suit came before the board, there would be a conflict, and she would recuse herself... Beyond that, the heart of the suit is about the waste of taxpayer dollars. That's the kind of thing the school board is going to be concerned with."
School Superintendent Debra Livingston said the suit would be handled by the district's attorney and that she couldn't respond to the allegations.


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Philip E. Auerswald - The Coming Prosperity: How Entrepreneurs Are Transforming the Global Economy
In his new book, Philip E. Auerswald envisions an optimistic future in which forward-thinking entrepreneurs emerge from cultures around the world to tackle challenges like climate change, water scarcity, and rapid urbanization. By introducing new goods and services while challenging established business interests, these visionaries will improve the lives not only of the previously excluded global majority, but also of the citizens of the industrialized nations.
Auerswald is an associate professor of public policy at George Mason University and a senior fellow at the Kauffman Foundation.


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DALLAS, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Ninety percent of U.S. singles say they want to get married but 51 percent of women and 33 percent of men say they don't want a virgin, a survey found.
Biological anthropologist Helen Fisher of Rutgers University and evolutionary biologist Justin R. Garcia of The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University said the 2012 study was based on a survey of 5,481 U.S. singles and 1,095 married people ages 21-65.
The survey, sponsored by Match.com and conducted by MarketTools, found 47 percent of married people achieved orgasm 91 percent to 100 percent of the time when having sex, versus 38 percent of singles who reported reaching orgasm at that level.
More than 80 percent of married men and women said they would marry the same person again and 76 percent of married men and 73 percent women said they were still very much in love with their spouse.
Fifty-two percent of singles and 46 percent of married people go out one to three times a week, while 78 percent of married people and 55 percent of singles prepared home-cooked meals on a typical weeknight.
No further survey details were provided but Fisher said the sample was representative of the United States and was not of the match.com membership.