MetroPCS fires up cutting-edge wireless network

TURN IT UP: MetroPCS on Tuesday became the first U.S. phone company to turn on a network that uses LTE, a new wireless technology that promises faster data speeds.

THE COMPETITION: MetroPCS, the fifth-largest wireless carrier, …

Get A Grip! Overcoming Stress and Thriving in the Workplace

Get A Grip! Overcoming Stress and Thriving in the Workplace by Bob Losyk. 2005. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 215 pages, Softcover, $19.95

Intended Audience: AU

Major Headings from Table of Contents: Get A Grip! Covers 1 1 main areas: Why Are We So Stressed Out; Get a Grip or Burn Out; Shaping Up to Keep Stress Down; The Mind-Body Connection; De-stressing Tools for Mind, Body, and Spirit Fitness What's Food Got to Do with It? Tackling Stress with a Tickle; Staying Sane While Traveling at Warp Speed; Get a Grip on Time; Fifty Ways to Leave Your Stressors; Getting and Keeping Your Grip.

How is the book most useful for its intended audience?

Stress …

Merkel gets warm welcome at Israeli parliament

Israel's parliament has literally rolled out the red carpet for visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Merkel is being welcomed by an honor guard and Israeli leaders outside the parliament building. Later Tuesday, she is to deliver the first address to the parliament by a visiting head of …

Home truths

B&nes:television's favourite property experts are asking residentsof Bath and north east Somerset for their opinion of the region.

B&NES has been shortlisted for the Channel 4 programme LocationLocation Location: Best and Worst LIVE.

The show, hosted by Phil Spencer and Kirstie Allsopp, aims touncover the most popular places to live in the UK - and the worst.

They will judge on six categories: crime, environment, lifestyle,health, education and employment.

B&NES has been shortlisted …

Artoflosing.ca

Inspired by the Elizabeth Bishop poem "One Art" that reads, "The art of losing isn't hard to master; so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost that their loss seems no disaster," this website catalogues all manner …

Staff says to reject U2 guitarist's proposal

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Officials for the state agency that oversees coastal development has for a second time recommended denying a controversial development proposal led by U2 guitarist The Edge for a cluster of mansions overlooking Malibu.

California Coastal Commission staff on Friday recommended that the board reject the project's application at its June meeting. In February, officials made the same recommendation before the item was pulled from the agenda at the request of the musician and his partners. At the time, project manager Jim Vanden Berg expressed surprise but said he believed they could work with staff to "clarify misunderstandings."

The proposal involving the …

UMKC holds off Western Illinois 61-57

LaTreze Mushatt and Jay Couisnard scored 14 points each and UMKC held off Western Illinois 61-57 Thursday night to end a three-game losing streak.

Spencer Johnson had 10 points and 10 rebounds and Bakari Lewis also had 10 points for the Kangaroos (9-9, 3-4 Summit). The game was close throughout, with UMKC leading by 10 late in the …

Spielberg's legacy

Steven Spielberg celebrates his 50th birthday today. If he neverdirected another film, his place in movie history would be secure.It is likely that when all of the movies of the 20th century are seenat a great distance in the future - as if through the wrong end of atelescope - his best will be in the handful that endure and areremembered.

No other director has been more successful at the boxoffice. Few other directors have placed more titles on various listsof the greatest films. How many other directors have bridged the gapbetween popular and critical success? Not many; one thinks ofChaplin and Keaton, Ford and Hitchcock, Huston and de Mille, andalthough the list …

Photographer: Cops ordered no photos of slain body

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A news photographer who witnessed some of the aftermath of a deadly police shooting in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina testified Wednesday that he was ordered by an officer not to photograph the victim's body.

Alex Brandon was working for the Times-Picayune newspaper when he said he walked up to a makeshift police headquarters at a school and saw the body of 31-year-old Henry Glover, who had been shot.

Glover's charred remains were later found in the back seat of a burned car, and five former and current police officers are being tried in Glover's death and an alleged cover-up. The shooting happened on Sept. 2, 2005, four days after Hurricane Katrina …

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox protest in Israel

Tens of thousands of black-clad ultra-Orthodox Jews staged mass demonstrations on Thursday to protest a Supreme Court ruling forcing the integration of a religious girls' school.

Protesters snarled traffic in Jerusalem and another large religious enclave, crowded onto balconies in crowded city squares, and waved posters decrying the court's decision and proclaiming the supremacy of religious law. There were no reports of violence.

The showdown shined a spotlight on a wide array of social issues Israel has been grappling with for years, including discrimination inside the Jewish community, the disproportionate clout of the country's ultra-Orthodox minority and …

Dr. Winona Lee Fletcher: The Touch of an Angel

On Saturday, July 29, 2006 at the opening program and exhibition of her professional and personal papers, Kentucky State University's Center of Excellence for the Study of Kentucky African Americans (CESKAA), in conjunction with the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Black Theatre Network (BTN), will honor Dr. Winona Lee Fletcher for her lifelong contributions to theatre. It is only fitting that this celebration take place at Kentucky State where Dr. Fletcher began her career as a "one-woman academic unit" in 1951, for a monthly salary of $300. On this commemorative occasion an assembly of people inspired, encouraged, and ignited by this noted educator, administrator and designer will …

Trevor Berbick nephew convicted of killing former heavyweight champion

A nephew of Trevor Berbick has been convicted along with another man of killing the 54-year-old former heavyweight champion.

A jury Thursday found 21-year-old Harold Berbick guilty of murder and 19-year-old Kenton Gordon guilty of manslaughter in the death of the former boxer following a four-week trial.

The judge ordered both men jailed pending their Jan. 11 sentencing.

Authorities said the nephew and Gordon beat Berbick to death in October 2006, leaving his body in a church courtyard …

Bloomberg blasts use of movie during NYPD training

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says police used terrible judgment when they showed a film about Muslims during counterterrorism training seminars.

Bloomberg said Tuesday that police had stopped showing the movie, "The Third Jihad." It discusses extremists and their plans for establishing an Islamic regime.

Police documents obtained by a think tank at New York University say the movie was shown on a continuous loop while officers were signing in for counterterrorism training in late 2010. Nearly 1,500 officers may have seen the movie. Police originally said only a few officers had seen it.

Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne says that the movie was not approved for training courses and that the decision to play it was made by a sergeant. He said she had been reprimanded.

Iraq: McCain Visits Baghdad

Sen. John McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee who has linked his political future to U.S. success in Iraq, was in Baghdad on Sunday for meetings with Iraqi and U.S. diplomatic and military officials, a U.S. government official said.

Details of McCain's visit, which had been anticipated, were not being released for security reasons, the U.S. Embassy said. It was unclear who he met with; no media opportunities or news conferences were planned.

McCain, a strong supporter of the U.S. military mission in Iraq, is believed to be staying in the country for about 24 hours.

"Senator McCain is in Iraq and will be meeting with Iraqi and U.S. officials," said Mirembe Nantongo, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

This is the senator's eighth visit to Iraq. He's accompanied by Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., two of his top supporters in the race for president.

Before leaving, McCain, who is the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the trip to the Middle East and Europe was for fact-finding purposes, not a campaign photo opportunity.

He last met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki during the Thanksgiving holiday.

"We were informed that John McCain landed in Iraq Sunday morning. A meeting will take place with the Iraqi government," said Ali al-Moussawi, an official in the prime minister's office.

McCain was to meet Sunday with Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh. Later in the day, he and Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, were to talk. It also was thought McCain would meet with al-Maliki.

McCain's weeklong trip also includes stops in Israel, Jordan, Britain and France.

He is expected to meet with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for the first time, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy for the third time. He met and corresponded with Sarkozy both before and after the French president was elected. They last saw each other last summer.

McCain has relationships with every leader in Israel he plans to see, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and hawkish opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

McCain told U.S. reporters last week that he would be visiting Iraq, and expressed worries that insurgents might try to influence the November presidential election by stepping up their attacks in Iraq.

"Yes, I worry about it," he said Friday in Springfield, Pa. "And I know they pay attention, because of the intercepts we have of their communications."

McCain told reporters later that al-Qaida remains smart and adaptable despite an increase of U.S. troops in Iraq.

A defiant supporter of the 2003 invasion and President Bush's troop increase last year, McCain is likely to focus in Iraq on the drop in sectarian violence and U.S. and civilian casualties since last summer.

In Washington, two of McCain's colleagues who support Democrats for president, said senators _ including presidential candidate McCain _ have the right to visit various parts of the world.

"He's entitled to go as a member of the Armed Services Committee, in fact its ranking member. I think it would have probably have been better if he took members who were not so closely identified with his campaign. But this is indicated to be a congressional visit," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who supports New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for president.

"Obviously the world's going to watch it, and we'll know whether it's exploited for other reasons. I don't believe it will be, but we'll see," added Feinstein, who appeared on CNN's "Late Edition" with Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who supports Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for president.

Canadian Songwriters Honoured at 6th Annual Gala

* The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF) has revealed its 2010 inductees, which include 11 influential songwriters, 16 songs, and two Legacy Award recipients. It was also announced that the CSHF and the Toronto Centre for the Arts have established a strategic partnership that will help expand the CSHF mandate by presenting regular music programming, ongoing educational initiatives, and a permanent home for the Hall of Fame located at the TCA.

The 2010 inductees will be honoured at the CSHF s 6th annual Gala, presented by BMO Nesbitt Bums on March 28, 2010, at the George Weston Recital Hall Toronto Centre for the Arts. "We are honoured to welcome this year's inductees into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. Each of these artists have helped define Canada's musical legacy and we look forward to recognizing and celebrating their effort at this year's Gla." says Sylvia Tyson, President, CSHF. Nominees include Rush, Robert Charlebois, and others. Visit www.cansong.ca for more information.

A Sweet Duet

Gays and straights play - together! - to promote awareness on LGBT issues during three-day Michigan concert series

The name, even the frothy glam-rock beats suitable for a roller-skating romp, could fool a gay-dar ace. But for all their fruity foundation, My Dear Disco is pretty straight. Sixth-sevenths, exactly We're accounting for the lead singer and band's sole female Michelle Chamuel, who has queer tendencies. Not for the guitarist, Robert Lester, who identifies as straight, but is an equal-opportunity flirt. So, has the band's gay appeal led to some guy crushing on him?

"Yes," the 24-year-old admits, deadpanning after a long pause. "But that was happening before I was playing in this band, so maybe it's just something about me."

The Ann Arbor-based group is one of over a dozen acts - including several recognizable speakers - raising awareness for LGBT rights this weekend during We Are Michigan, a three-day concert series from April 30-May 2 in Ferndale, Ann Arbor and Traverse City, respectively. And many of them - including Chris Bathgate, Who Hit John? and Moon Beam - are straight allies. Meefers.com knows LGBTs can't fight these equality issues alone; we need support from our pals, which is why, besides the two gay founders, the online-only queer news site also has an ally.

"The role of the allied community is to not just assist in moving the straight community from tolerance to acceptance but toward the overall embracement of the LGBT community," says Matthew DeWitt, vice president and co-founder of Meefers, LCC.

Lester wholeheartedly agrees that he's an instrument, bridging the two communities together. "Without sounding arrogant, and definitely with humility, I think that people like me have a definite role in the gay rights movement," he says. "It helps to show (heterosexual) people that the gay community is not really a marginal community - and that their issues are as important as any issues that face any straight people.

"So I'm certainly proud of my involvement with it, and I feel strongly in my support for it and genuinely disappointed when I meet people that don't share that support."

Miss California might've let him down then recentry-when she lost her crown, some say, because of her gay marriage beliefs, but it gives My Dear Disco more of a reason to make their pro-gay views visible. And, before their show tonight at the Magic Bag in Ferndale, they did just that in February with a gig at Homo/Sonic, a big dance party in Washington D.C., where they tossed in some gay-loved anthems like "It's Raining Men." In June they'll do Kentucky Pride: "That's gonna be sweet, man," Lester says, stoked. "We're, like, playing between Tiffany and the Indigo Girls."

The bubbly tunes on their latest disc, "DanceThink LP," lay off blatant political and social references, dabbling mostly in relationships, but Lester won't deny music's power to unite and send strong messages: "It's very powerful. Your opinion is going to be taken very differently if you just stand up on a soap box in the middle of the street and start shouting your opinions, but when your opinions and experiences form a foundation for the creation of your art, people become interested in that."

Music connects regardless of who you are, says Micah Middaugh, 27, of Breathe Owl Breathe, an indie- Americana threesome - who makes "music to play Frisbee to," he kids that'll perform with lesbian-duo Nervous But Excited on May 1 at Ann Arbor's The Ark.

"Underneath all of us there's hurt and love and people who are insecure and people who are bursting with creativity," he says, "and that can't be divided into any sort of groups of people. We're all in this together."

Maybe Madonna was onto something then when she said that music makes people come together. DeWitt adds, "A musical note is a musical note regardless of whether that note is being sung or played by a straight person or a member of the LGBT community."

The Breathe Owl Breathe trio (which also includes cello player Andr�a Moreno-Beals and Trevor Hobbs, percussionist) have befriended many in the LGBT community, including Nervous But Excited's Kate Peterson and Sarah Cleaver. Middaugh met many of them while attending art school at Grand Valley State University - "there's so much character" in the gay and lesbian community, he says. Bringing light to our issues only seemed natural.

"I think a lot of straight people recognize the need to raise awareness about these kinds of issues, so this is one way to be involved in it," says Hobbs, 25. Middaugh learned tolerance from his late grandfather - a reverend who always exercised open-mindedness for all, he says, and believed strongly in gay rights.

As does Lester, who says, "A big part of it is just disappointment over this legislation. I think everybody in the band would agree it's politically and culturally regressive."

The members of My Dear Disco, who met while studying music at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, haven't faced resistance because of Chamuel's sexuality. Just 'cause her pants.

"It's interesting to see how these things pan out in different parts of the country," says Lester, who's known Chamuel for five years (and found out a year into their relationship that she has lesbian tendencies, though she doesn't care to label herself). "There are different attitudes about a woman who pretty much only wears pants and is not super feminine in that way, and so we have a lot of conversations about that."

Working closely with her for so long has opened Lester's mind to the queer perspective, including clueing him in to what he calls the unique emotional and interpersonal situations of LGBT folks.

Says Lester, "Being creative with somebody who's in the process of sort of coming out of the closet, to a certain extent, has been fascinating."

With that, and their music's gay appeal, he feels like a relative of the LGBT family: "We feel pretty close to the gay community in many ways," he says.

For him, close enough to flirt, at least.

[Sidebar]

Tyler Duncan, Robert Lester, Christian Carpenter, Michelle Chamuel, Theo Katzman, Mike Shea and Joey Dosik comprise Ann Arbor-based My Dear Disco, who will play April 30 at the Magic Bag in Ferndale.

We Are Michigan

April 30-May 2

Ferndale, Ann Arbor and Traverse City

For complete details, including the music roster, visit www.meefers.com or www.foxonahill.com. And for the 411 on My Dear Disco and Breathe Owl Breathe, check out dancethink.com and breatheowlbreathe.com.

[Sidebar]

Indie-Americana band Breathe Owl Breathe play for LGBT rights with Nervous But Excited on May 1 at The Ark in Ann Arbor.

Agriculture chief aims to ease fear on dust rules

DENVER (AP) — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday that farmers shouldn't be overly concerned that new federal air regulations will hurt their livelihoods.

Farms frequently produce dust clouds during harvests, and farmers are waiting nervously to hear whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to clamp down on dust and dirt.

The American Lung Association and others have called for tougher dust controls when the EPA revises air pollution standards.

But members of Congress from rural areas have asked the EPA not to tighten rural limits on the so-called coarse particulate matter. Tighter controls could require farmers to pave more gravel roads or use costlier no-till farming practices.

Vilsack tried to ease the worries of farmers.

"I don't think that farmers should presuppose that there's going to be a significant amount of regulation" about farm dust, Vilsack told reporters after he spoke to the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Vilsack said he was confident the revised air-quality standards won't burden farmers.

"I'm reasonably certain that the EPA understands — by virtue of my conversations with Lisa Jackson, the administrator — that they have to make them reasonable," Vilsack said.

A farming group that sued over farm dust rules five years ago reacted cautiously to Vilsack's assurances.

"We've learned not to take anything for granted from any agency and not to believe what any agency says until it happens," said Richard Krause, senior director of congressional affairs for the Washington-based American Farm Bureau Federation.

The group sued the EPA in 2006 during its previous review of airborne pollutant standards. The lawsuit was unsuccessful, but the environmental agency ended up not changing rural standards.

Krause hopes the agency makes the same decision this time. Draft rules are expected later this year.

"We want to make sure they understand the concerns of rural America," Krause said.

Vilsack told the business group that the nation would set a record this year with $136 billion in agricultural exports. He also repeated his plea for Congress to ratify a free trade agreement with South Korea to boost exports by an additional $1.8 billion a year.

Members of Congress have indicated they would hold off on the South Korea agreement until they see similar accords with Colombia and Panama.

Brooks named Saints' starting QB Cops blasted for dropping Tyson case

Aaron Brooks was selected the starting quarterback for the NewOrleans Saints today, beating out veteran Jeff Blake. "A number ofthings came into the decision," coach Jim Haslett said. "Jeff iscoming off an injury, and it takes time to get back to 100 percent.

"We weren't trying to replace Jeff. He was the guy we signed lastyear to be our quarterback. It just so happened he got hurt. Aaronstepped in and did a great job and he really took over the job." TheSaints acquired Brooks in a trade with Green Bay during training camplast summer. Brooks became New Orleans' starter after Blake broke hisright foot against the Oakland Raiders in the 11th week of theseason. He passed for a team-record 441 yards against Denver and ledthe Saints to their first playoff victory, beating the defendingSuper Bowl champion St. Louis Rams.

The attorney for a woman who claims she was raped by Mike Tysoncriticized prosecutors for dropping the case, saying authoritiestreated her client more like a suspect. Gloria Allred said theinvestigation to determine whether to press charges against Tysonraised disturbing questions about the sensitivity of San BernardinoCounty investigators.

Serena to Face Sharapova in Aussie Final

MELBOURNE, Australia - No one should doubt it any longer: Serena Williams is back. Unseeded after an injury-plagued 2006 that limited her to four tournaments, Williams reached her first Grand Slam final in two years Thursday, beating Nicole Vaidisova 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the Australian Open semifinals.

Standing in the way of an eighth Grand Slam title - she already has two here - is top-seeded Maria Sharapova. Sharapova turned her semifinal against No. 4 Kim Clijsters into an Australian farewell match for the 23-year-old Belgian, who is retiring at the end of the year, with a 6-4, 6-2 victory.

Williams and Sharapova have split four previous matchups. Williams won their last encounter after saving match points in the semifinals here two years ago before going on to win the title.

In a men's semifinal night match, top-ranked Roger Federer was taking on No. 6 Andy Roddick, who beat him in an exhibition tournament less than two weeks ago.

Ranked No. 81 coming into the tournament after dropping out of the top 100 last year while dealing with a bad knee, Williams guaranteed herself a return to the top 20.

"I can't believe it," the former world No. 1 said. "That's awesome. I'm like a chameleon. I can kind of change and get my game going to whatever the situation is. If I play well, which I don't think I've even reached yet at all in this tournament ... it's really hard for anyone on the women's tour to beat me."

Sharapova certainly isn't taking Williams lightly.

"I'm going to be playing against a player that didn't really expect too much coming into this tournament," she said. "She's playing some really good tennis. I think she has nothing to lose going into the match. Those are always dangerous opponents."

As she has throughout the tournament, Williams took time to heat up. Although she didn't look as sluggish as in her last match, she still watched a number of Vaidisova's stinging groundstrokes whiz by for clean winners.

Williams sprinted ahead 4-0 in the tiebreaker, then doubled-faulted on consecutive points as Vaidisova rallied to tie it at 5. Grunting louder with each shot, Williams whacked a backhand cross-court winner to get a set point, then growled loudly when Vaidisova then hit a forehand into the net.

Williams ran off four straight games to pull ahead 5-1 in the second set. A quick finish seemed certain.

Then came the comeback that fell just short.

Vaidisova broke Williams as she served for the match to pull within 3-5, then fell behind 0-40 for triple match point in the next game. The Czech fought back to deuce, fended off another match point, then held to a thunderous ovation.

"I almost did a gagarooney there," said Williams, explaining: "Basically, you know gagging."

Serving again to finish it off, Williams had match point No. 5 at 40-30, only to see Vaidisova whip a backhand cross-court winner. Williams thought the ball was out and started to celebrate, then clearly wanted to question the no-call but had no challenges left after using up her allotment earlier.

Her 10th ace of the match, on a second serve, set up match point No. 6, and Williams finally converted this one, throwing her hands in the air and leaning back to look at the sky.

"She's definitely a great champ," Vaidisova said. "She played the tight points very well. I had my opportunities. I didn't use them. That was the big difference. I was trying to go for a winner or easy shot too early."

Sharapova, last year's U.S. Open champion, wasn't at the top of her game either, committing eight double-faults, missing badly on a number of easy putaways and finishing with six more unforced errors (33) than winners (27). But she was at her best under pressure, fending off seven break points in the second set.

"I felt like I played a much better match all around today," Sharapova said. "Couldn't quite get the serve and return together in the beginning. But overall I was really focused. I did the right things at the right time. I was patient when I had to be patient, played a smart game."

It helped that the normally solid Clijsters was even more inconsistent, and her worst errors came at the worst times as she squandered opportunity after opportunity. She frequently forced Sharapova to hit two or three good shots to win a point, but had only two winners of her own in the last set.

Sharapova broke Clijsters to go ahead 2-0. The Belgian could never get back into it with mistakes that had fans groaning. She double-faulted while serving at 2-5 to set up match point. Sharapova finished it off with a crisp forehand winner, then blew kisses to the crowd.

Clijsters got two standing ovations as she said goodbye to Rod Laver Arena.

"I have so many great memories from here," she said. "I'm going to come back tomorrow and take my time to say goodbye to everybody, just get everybody's e-mail address, number."

Taiwan: Zig Sheng Concentrates on Nylon Chip Production

Zig Sheng Ind. Cov Ltd. plans to shift its business from nylon filament yarn to nylon chips and caprolactam. A new plant will be equipped with four lines (one line for films and the other three for carpets, engineering plastics and apparel). The plant is slated for operation at the end of 2005. Zig Sheng increased its production capacity for high-quality nylon chips in order to cope with serious price competition in the sector of commodity items. 25% of production (18,000 ton/year) at the new plant will be for nylon films. The current market price is at US$5 per kg, the highest among nylon-related products. Supply is very tight in contrast to the slump of other products such as textured yarn, while the price of CPL has climbed to US$2,050 per ton.

Zig Sheng is expected to achieve sales of NT$8 billion and ordinary profits of NT$500 million in 2004, due to the sharp increase in CPL prices on the international market.

Prison Fight Sends 18 to Md. Hospitals

BALTIMORE - A fight broke out among inmates in a prison yard Friday, injuring 18 prisoners, three of them critically, prison officials said.

Authorities said that no employees were hurt in the brawl at the Metropolitan Transition Center in east Baltimore, but that the prison was being locked down.

Details about the cause of the disturbance were not immediately available, but it involved several groups of inmates, some of whom were armed with homemade weapons, corrections spokeswoman Major Priscilla Doggett said.

Emergency crews found inmates with injuries ranging from lacerations to stab wounds, Baltimore Fire Chief Kevin Cartwright said.

"Our paramedics arrived here in quite a chaotic situation," said. Paramedics had to wait for correction officers to secure the yard before they could treat the injured, he said.

The entire facility will be searched for contraband, Doggett said. All inmates were returned to their housing area by Friday afternoon.

The facility will remain on indefinite lockdown, and the emergency operations command center has been activated, she said.

The transition center, a minimum-security facility, houses more than 1,700 inmates with two years or less to serve on their sentences. It is in part of the former Maryland Penitentiary, an imposing, gothic structure built in 1811 that was once a maximum-security prison.

Algerian media: Niger says Libyan convoys arrived

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algerian state media report that Niger's foreign minister has confirmed several Libyan convoys have entered his country, but that none carried ousted Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi.

Algeria's state news agency APS was quoting Niger's Mohamed Bazoum. According to the report, Bazoum says that Niger would consider handing Gadhafi over to Libyan rebels who pushed him out of power.

Bazoum is in Algiers for a conference on security in the Sahel desert region.

APS quotes Bazoum as saying that "several convoys of 10 vehicles each" reached Niger in the past four days.

Earlier in the week, Niger officials confirmed that Gadhafi's security chief had crossed the desert into the country Niger on Monday.

What Determines the Public's Health?/Qu'est-ce qui détermine la santé du public?

The Canadian Public Health Association's 97th Annual Conference focussed on this difficult question. The question remains difficult not in terms of knowledge but in terms of action. Speakers focussed on people, places and social change, pointing out that despite Canada's having one of the healthiest populations in the world, major health disparities continue to persist, especially for some population groups. People in low socio-economic situations, those of Aboriginal descent, those living in certain regions and communities across the country, women and children, the homeless and the under-housed, tend to be more disadvantaged than others. At the national level, the gap between rich and poor is growing. However, disparities are produced in whole societies and do not just occur among the obviously deprived.

Our health is influenced by the places in which we live, work, learn, and play. Settings such as the communities and neighbourhoods where we reside, the home, daycare and recreation settings, workplaces, schools, and so on all have profound effects on our health. Understanding the impacts of these environments on our well-being and at what times they have a critical role to play throughout the life course are paramount.

The Honourable Monique Begin, the respected former Minister of Health and Welfare, pointed out that while Canada has a generous medical care system, Canada's welfare system is parsimonious at best... rebalancing of the health budget is what is needed.

In his column in a recent issue of the Globe and Mail,1 Andr� Picard highlighted the comments of Sir Michael Marmot, admonishing attendees to deal with "the causes of the causes of poor health" - the social determinants of health.

Mr. Picard went on to quote a recent report from the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which "underscored just how frayed Canada's social safety net has become... In Canada, only 17.8 per cent of public expenditures are on social programs other than health; in Sweden, by contrast, that figure is 36.8 per cent. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 21 European countries spend more on social programs than Canada... Not coincidentally, all those countries spend less than Canada on health."1

The implicit message is that we ignore the welfare side at our peril. "We can pay now with decent social programs or pay later with increased health costs."

Elinor Wilson

Chief Executive Officer

REFERENCE

1. Picard A. Untreated social ills make for higher medical costs. Globe and Mail June 22, 2006; pg. Al 5.

Qu'est-ce qui d�termine la sant� du public?

La 97^sup e^ Conf�rence annuelle de l'Association canadienne de sant� publique a port� sur cette question qui demeure difficile, non parce que nous manquons de connaissances, mais parce que nous n'agissons pas. Les conf�renciers ont parl� de gens, de lieux et de changement social, en faisant remarquer que m�me si la population canadienne pr�sente l'un des meilleurs bilans sant� au monde, d'importantes disparit�s de sant� continuent d'affliger certains groupes. Les personnes en milieux d�favoris�s, de descendance autochtone ou vivant dans des r�gions et des collectivit�s particuli�res du pays, les femmes et les enfants, les sans-abri et les mal log�s ont tendance � �tre plus d�savantag�s que les autres. A l'�chelle nationale, l'�cart entre les riches et les pauvres s'accro�t. Toutefois, les disparit�s se produisent au sein de soci�t�s enti�res et ne se limitent pas seulement aux milieux d�favoris�s les plus �vidents.

Les milieux dans lesquels nous vivons, travaillons, apprenons et jouons ont tous une incidence sur notre sant�. La communaut� et le quartier o� nous vivons, la maison, la garderie, les lieux de travail et de loisirs, les �coles, et ainsi de suite, ont un effet consid�rable sur notre sant�. C'est pourquoi il est essentiel de bien comprendre quels effets ont ces milieux sur notre bien-�tre et � quel moment de notre vie ils se manifesteront.

L'honorable Monique B�gin, ancienne ministre respect�e de la Sant� et du Bien-�tre social, a soulign� que le syst�me de soins de sant� canadien est g�n�reux, mais que notre syst�me d'aide sociale est parcimonieux, pour ne pas dire minimal... et qu'un r��quilibrage du budget de la sant� s'impose.

Dans l'une de ses chroniques pour le Globe and Mail1, le journaliste Andr� Picard reprend les observations de Sir Michael Marmot, lequel a engag� les d�l�gu�s � s'occuper des � causes des causes de la mauvaise sant� �, c'est-�-dire des d�terminants sociaux de la sant�.

M. Picard cite ensuite un r�cent rapport du Comit� des droits �conomiques, sociaux et culturels des Nations Unies � qui souligne � quel point le filet de s�curit� sociale canadien s'effiloche. Au Canada, on consacre seulement 17,8 % des d�penses publiques aux programmes sociaux autres que la sant�; en Su�de, par contre, ce chiffre est de 36,8 %. Selon l'Organisation de coop�ration et de d�veloppement �conomiques, 21 pays europ�ens consacrent davantage d'argent � leurs programmes sociaux que le Canada... Ce n'est pas une co�ncidence si tous ces pays d�pensent moins que le Canada pour la sant�1. �

Sous-entendu : il est dangereux de n�gliger l'aide sociale au profit de la sant�. � Si nous n'investissons pas maintenant dans des programmes sociaux d�cents, il y aura in�vitablement un prix � payer, car les co�ts des soins de sant� vont augmenter. �

La chef de direction,

Elinor Wilson

REFERENCE

I. PICARD, Andr�. � Untreated social ills make for higher medical costs �, Globe and Mail (22 juin 2006), p. Al5.

$1M fine for carbon tax price gougers in Australia

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia's government warned businesses Wednesday that they face fines of up to $1 million if they indulge in price gouging using an unpopular tax on polluting industries as an excuse.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission "will keep a watchful eye out for any shonky attempts to jack up prices and falsely claim it is related to the carbon price," Treasurer Wayne Swan told reporters.

The ACCC "will be the cop on the beat out there to ensure false claims are dealt with, and dealt with the full force of the law," he said.

Although the so-called carbon tax, which comes into effect next July 1, has pulled down public support for Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her Labor Party, it is unlikely to take a political toll immediately because elections are not due until late 2013.

"In 2013, people will have lived under the system, direct experience, real experience ... and then they will be able to decide," Gillard said Wednesday.

Besides the 1.1 million Australian dollar ($1.2 million) fine on industries, individuals caught profiteering face maximum penalties of AU$220,000.

The carbon tax will force the country's 500 worst polluters to pay AU$23 for every metric ton of carbon they emit. Critics say the polluters will pass the higher costs to ordinary Australians and that it will lead to job losses, particularly in the mining industry.

The government disputes that and says it will lead to a rise of only 0.7 percent in the cost of living because of a proposed assistance package worth AU$9.2 billion in compensation for industries affected by the tax. Nine out of 10 households will also receive some kind of assistance in the form of income tax cuts and payments.

But Gillard's credibility has taken a huge hit given that the Labor Party had vowed before the August 2010 elections, when it was elected by a narrow margin, not to impose the tax. The party has a single-seat majority in Parliament with the support of three independent lawmakers plus a member of the minor Greens party, which is the main proponent of the carbon tax.

Gillard's popularity is down to an all-time low of 27 percent, according to a recent opinion poll. The opposition Liberal Party has seized on the carbon tax, currently Australia's most hot-button issue, and its leader, Tony Abbott, has traveled from city to city to whip up public opinion.

Abbott said that while the government is vowing to crack down on misleading and deceptive conduct by businesses, "the most misleading conduct is by the prime minister herself. ... Every day the deception deepens."

The government hopes the tax will prompt companies to seek out clean energy alternatives to avoid the higher bills. Australia is one of the worst greenhouse gas polluters in the world because of its heavy reliance on coal to generate power. Coal is also the country's biggest export.

Many scientists say global temperatures are rising due to carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases emitted by industry, transportation and agriculture. Scientists have warned that without massive reductions in emissions, melting polar ice caps will inundate islands and coastal areas, certain plant and animal species risk extinction and extreme weather conditions will increase.

"We will be powered into the future with clean energy," said Swan, the treasurer. He said Australia owes it to future generations to produce clean energy.

"I don't know what I will say to our children and grandchildren after 20 years ... that we were afraid of electoral loss? That's not leadership," he said.

Australia's government is not the first in the world to introduce a carbon tax. The European Union, several U.S. states and New Zealand also make polluters pay for carbon emissions.

US paratroops stage massive jump

HOHENFELS, Germany (AP) — More than 1,000 U.S. paratroops have jumped out over the Hohenfels training area in Germany in a massive airborne training operation.

The exercise Wednesday pitted soldiers from the Vicenza, Italy-based 173rd Airborne Brigade in a mock-battle scenario with a battalion of Slovakian soldiers and other American troops.

The Army says not only are its soldiers now training with former Eastern bloc enemies now in NATO, but the operation also represents a change from exercises designed to prepare for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

As the operations in those countries draw down, the military says it's starting again to focus some training on fighting conventional enemy forces instead of counterinsurgency operations.

It's the 173rd's first brigade-sized operation since they parachuted into Iraq in 2003.

Oil dips below $100 on demand outlook, dollar gain

Oil prices tumbled more than $6 a barrel Monday, briefly slipping below the $100 level as traders bet that global demand for petroleum products will keep falling despite a planned $700 billion U.S. financial bailout.

A stronger dollar also weighed on crude prices as investors who bought oil and other commodities as a hedge against inflation sold their contracts.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell as low as $99.80 a barrel in morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange before edging up slightly to $100.28, down $6.61. In London, November Brent crude fell $5.73 to $97.81 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

The contract fell Friday $1.13 to settle at $106.89. Crude has now fallen 31 percent since surging to an all-time record of $147.27 on July 11.

Monday's sell-off was tied to anxiety over the pending U.S. rescue plan. Following a week of intense negotiations, lawmakers could hold a final vote on the emergency measure Wednesday. But investors are doubtful whether the plan will be enough to unfreeze global credit markets and restore calm to the financial system.

Global credit markets remain extremely tight, crippling companies' ability to raise capital and cover basic costs like payroll. If the economy weakens further, consumers and businesses around the globe would likely cut back on energy use even more, analysts say.

"The market is clearly questioning whether the bailout will be enough to prevent a stronger economic downturn. That obviously has potentially negative implications for oil demand growth," said Michael Wittner, global head of oil research at Societe Generale in London.

In another sign of declining U.S. demand for fuel, pump prices kept falling Monday. A gallon of regular slipped about a penny overnight to a new national average of $3.643 (96 cents a liter), according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.

The rescue plan would give the administration broad power to use hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to purchase devalued mortgage-related assets held by cash-starved financial firms.

Congress insisted on a stronger hand in controlling the money than the White House had wanted. The government would take over huge amounts of devalued assets from beleaguered financial companies in hopes of unlocking frozen credit.

Oil prices were also pushed down by a stronger dollar. Investors often buy crude futures as a hedge against a weakening dollar and inflation, and sell when the dollar strengthens.

While dollar gained as details of the bailout package become known, analysts said the euro was weaker also because of growing economic problems in Europe.

"It is also a question of the euro losing ground due to a continued deterioration in the euro zone," said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix in Switzerland. "With the rate of bank failures increasing in Europe and the economy slowing more rapidly than expected, pressure will continue to mount on the (European Central Bank) to lower (interest) rates."

The 15-nation euro fell Monday to $1.4437 from $1.4614 on Friday.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell 14.51 cents to $2.8732 a gallon, while gasoline futures dropped 15.57 to $2.5094 a gallon. Natural gas futures lost 40.7 cents to $7.221 per 1,000 cubic feet.

___

Associated Press writers Pablo Gorondi in Budapest, Hungary and Alex Kennedy in Singapore contributed to this report.

Bookmarks

Featured Excerpt

One of the most moving injunctions in the Torah is that "the stranger in your midst shall be as the native. For, remember, once you were a stranger in the land of Egypt." This call is a central part of every Passover seder. Alienated for so long from other Jews, deeply divided about my own homosexuality, I have felt myself doubly strange Jewish in the gay community, gay in the Jewish community - in each feeling lesser, ashamed. But living with and loving a Jewish man, exploring our Jewishness and gayness together, has made it possible for me to exceed what Evelyn Torton Beck has called "the limits of what is permitted to the marginal."

-from "My Germany, " by Lev Raphael

"My Germany," by Lev Raphael. Terrace Books, 216 pages, $26.95 hardcover.

There is an easy grace to this profoundly intense memoir about Raphael's life of reconciliation. Born to survivors of the Holocaust, he shied away from their past, and for years loathed anything German - even a coffeemaker. Born to eastern European Jews, he shied away from the German Jews of his New York boyhood neighborhood - and for years suppressed his religious heritage. Born to be gay, he shied away from his sexuality - in his late teens and early twenties, he slept with girls and defined himself for a spell as bisexual. With age came wisdom, introspection, and, most importantly the love of another man, a fellow Jew - a process that saw the author peel away the prisons of his past and emerge as a proud gay man, a proud Jew and, equally as liberating, a comfortable traveler to the country that decades earlier enslaved his parents. Part genealogical study, part book tour travelogue and part coming-out account, Raphael's stark portrayal of his religious, sexual and literary evolution is a compassionate record of one man's several liberations.

"Body Surfing," by Dale Peck. Atria Books, 420 pages, $26 hardcover.

Two best-friend teen boys are at the heart of this sex-driven gorefest from the author of the queer classic "Martin and John," but they aren't destined to get into each other's pants. Into each other's bodies? Sort of. In Peck's savagely gory, gleefully lusty horror story horror story, millennia-spanning demons, the Mogran, hop from one human to another, temporarily taking possession while wreaking emotional, physical and sexual havoc. The action starts in high gear, when Q., possessed by demonic Leo, slams his father's Porsche into a cliff as his girlfriend gives him a blowjob, enabling Leo to jump from Q. into Jasper, his best bud in the back seat - it seems the Mogran exit hapless hosts only at the instant of orgasm. Peck has crafted a complex mythology of evil and populated it with a dizzying cast of characters - most of whom Leo possesses. After he exits Jasper, young Q. and Jasper join forces with mysterious Mogran hunters to end Leo's reign of visceral terror. This labyrinthic literary thriller is monstrously original.

"Shaming the Devil," by G. Winston James. Top Ten Press, 160 pages, $14.95 paper.

James, with two collections to his credit, brings a poet's ear for resonance, a poet's eye for detail and a poet's voice for characters to his first collection first collection of short stories, a dozen powerful, unflinching tales depicting a black gay cultural and sexual landscape. In "Rahen," a desperately lovelorn schoolboy lusts for both a star athlete and a best friend; in "The Embrace," a hesitant young man opens himself to gay sexual variety; in "Sick Days," a 42-year-old man with a graduate degree and a Fortune 100 day job finds himself in a holding cell when he's charged with public lewdness for subway sexual pickups; and in "Confining Rooms" - crafted with rhythmic Southern black dialect: "I on't go to school no more. . . on't nobody wanna hire you if you black" - a high school dropout with a devoted girlfriend is enthralled by a boy whose sexual suggestiv enes s both arouses and terrifies him. On one level a collection of s ame- sex loving erotica, James' stunning, vulnerable stories also consider issues of racism, class and violence with clear-eyed candor.

"E-MaIe," by Scott & Scott. Palari Books, 236 pages, $14.95 paper.

Computer wizardry meets online dating meets circuit party pecs meets bruised hearts meets love-ever-after in this latest lively romance (their seventh) by writing (and coupled) partners Scott Pom fret and Scott Whittier. Mus cui ari y lithe Kory Miles is a waiter at the queeny queer hangout Whine ' n' Dine by day, but come night he's a matchmaking m aven for lonely, single gay guys, manipulating true love for everyone - except himself. Brawny Zac Djorvzac runs his gay travel agency with an iron fist, forbidding his employees to flirt with each other - the embittered legacy of his own sad romantic past. Brought together by a business deal, emotionally needy Kory and emotionally wary Zac have nothing in common: oil, meet water. But this is a romance, so eventually the two latch on to each other, mutual lust and eventual love abetted by the Internet, though both are physically present at a rowdy tropical circuit party where Zac' s one-time lover still holds sway as a box-dance champ. The over-complex plot slows the pace, but this is nonetheless a sweet story.

[Author Affiliation]

Richard Lab onte has been reading, editing, selling and writing about queer literature since the mid- 70s. He can be reached at BookMarks@qsyndicate.com.

In-form goodrich helps Corsham to close win

Tamlyn Goodrich was Corsham 3rd's star man last Saturday, hitting71 to set his side up for a nail-biting two-wicket, final-overSurridge Wiltshire League Division 2 win over Wroughton Wranglers.

Wroughton kipper Rob Peyman won the toss and they posted acompetitive 193 for nine, led by Peyman himself (55) and Mike Evans(66), while Corsham captain Simon Acornley took 5-3 with his off-spinners.

Among his victims was Peyman, caught by Liam Sumsion to end an 84-run second-wicket partnership with Evans.

When Corsham stared their reply, they lost early wickets, butGoodrich and Gavin Salter took Corsham to the 97-run mark beforeSalter (33) was caught behind.

Goodrich powered on until he edged South African Johan Cloete toshort third man and Sumsion then weighed in with 25 before JohnSiggins hit eight off four balls in the final over to see Corshamhome with two deliveries to spare.

Wroughton's defeat left them 15 points behind table-toppersHighworth, while Corsham shortened the odds on them finishing in thetop three.

The only other Division 2 game to survive saw Swindon 3rd's AlanPayne grab a hat-trick in a 19-ball, 3-4 spell to wrap up a thumpingwin over Buscot Park.

Paul Baden had earlier hit 45 in Swindon's 156 for nine andPayne's blitz helped to reduce Buscot Park to a mere 40 all out.

Only one Division 1 game was played and that saw Cooper AvonTyres eke out a two-run win over Avebury, posting 164 all out andthen limiting their opponents to 162 for six in reply, despite 87not out from Dan Hollister.

In Division 3, Paul Merrett's 104 not out in 151 for three helpedBathford chalk up an unlikely win over promotion hopefuls Lacock,who could only muster 127 all out in reply thanks to James Stables'spell of 5-13.

Mickey Spong hit 91 not out for Beehive Bradford chasing the 198posted by Wilcot, but Mike Campion's 4-44 made sure Spong's sidecame up 16 runs short of victory.

Beckington mustered 151 all out against Swindon United Churches,who cruised past that to 153 for two with Kevin Thomas hitting 97not out.

In Division 4, Biddestone 3rd defied the indifferent weather torattle up 247 for nine and then bustled Burbage & ER out for just69, with Andy Marsh (4-32) and Brian McElminney (4-16) doing thedamage.

While the rest of the Division 5 programme was washed out, BathCivil Service 2nd posted 185 for nine on their way to a six-wicketdefeat to table-toppers Keevil.

Biddestone 4th beat Highworth, Warminster 4th saw off SwindonUnited Churches 2nd and Trowbridge B beat Beanacre in the threecompleted Division 6 games.

In Division 7, Dave Jenkins (67) helped Marshfield 3rd post 167 all out before they skittled Warminster 4th out for just 58, withBishop (5-9) and Dixon (5-45) cleaning up.

Frankly, GOP may have to give a damn

Fortunately for George W. Bush, the first issue of Talk Magazinefeatured Hillary Rodham Clinton blaming her husband's glandular lifeon his grandmother. The resulting hilarity distracted attention fromTucker Carlson's profile of Bush in the same issue.

Carlson, a writer for the conservative Weekly Standard, admiresBush, but his article has dismayed some Republicans, who understandhow heavily invested their party is in Bush. They are not sufferingbuyer's remorse, but they are unsettled by what the profile suggestsabout the candidate's frame of mind and judgment.

Bold type over Carlson's article says: "George W. Bush doesn'tgive a damn what you think of him. That may be why you'll vote forhim for president." But few will think more of Bush after readingthe article.

Regarding Carlson's reporting of Bush's several uses of the f-word, Karen Hughes, Bush's communications director, who travels withhim, says, "I don't remember those words being used." She says Bushagrees with those who say such language is inappropriate. Carlson,who says he remembers the words, quotes a Bush aide who says Bush"used to say `f---' a lot more before this all started."

Dwight Eisenhower could turn the air blue with barracks profanity.Ronald Reagan, too, knew the pleasures of salty language. But not infront of the children, meaning the press.

The most disquieting aspect of Carlson's report of Bush's languageis not what it says about Bush's ability to dignify politics afterClinton's squalor. Rather, it is that Bush may have been showing offfor Carlson, daring to be naughty. He may be proving hisindependence, which Carlson likes, but it is independence fromstandards of public taste.

Carlson reports asking Bush whether he met with any people whocame to Texas to protest the execution of murderer Karla Faye Tucker.Bush said no, adding: "I watched (Larry King's) interview with(Tucker), though. He asked her real difficult questions, like `Whatwould you say to Gov. Bush?' " Carlson asked, "What was heranswer?" and writes:

" `Please,' Bush whimpers, his lips pursed in mock desperation,`don't kill me.' "

Hughes, who says Bush's decision not to commute Tucker's sentencewas "very difficult and very emotional," says Carlson's report is "atotal misread" of Bush. Carlson, who describes Bush as "smirking,"says: "I took it down as he said it."

Nothing resembling the King-Tucker exchange that Bush describesappears in the transcript of King's hourlong Jan. 14, 1998, program.And it is difficult to imagine anything Bush said that Carlson mayhave "misread" that could do Bush credit.

Again, what is troubling to Republicans who have plighted theirtroth to this man is not that they think he is a coarse or cruel man.Rather it is that Carlson's profile suggests an atmosphere ofadolescence.

Bush recently has referred to Greeks as "Grecians," Kosovars as"Kosovians," East Timorese as "East Timorians," conservatism as"conservativism" and confused Slovenia with Slovakia. Such slips areunderstandable; none is a flogging offense. However, havingcommitted them, Bush should take care not to exacerbate the suspicionthat he has a seriousness deficit.

"You get the sense," Carlson writes, "that if Bush had chosen hisown campaign slogan he would have printed bumper stickers that readGEORGE W. BUSH: SO SECURE, HE DOESN'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK OF HIM."But Jefferson, who knew something about declaring independence,recommended a "decent respect" for opinion.

Bush is taking a political party along on his ride. He and itwill care if on Nov. 7, 2000, people think of Al Gore or Bill Bradleyas an unexciting but serious professor and of him as an amiablefraternity boy, but a boy.

Madonna gives Chicago a third show

Madonna is tacking an additional Chicago date on to herConfessions Tour.

After selling out June 14 and 15 concerts at the United Center,Madonna is adding a third show on June 18.

Tickets for the June 18th concert will go on sale at 10 …

One more Mister Twice Guy

Another victory against an elite American League team was nice, but White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has set the bar.

A .500 record won't get it done in the AL Central, and neither will a handful of wins above .500.

"Right now, the way our division plays, you don't know how many games you have to be over .500, but .500 is not going to win it,'' Guillen said Wednesday. "Five games over .500 is not going to win it. You've got to be better than that. I truly believe that.''

So rather than pat his team on the back after a 6-2 victory against the Los Angeles Angels, Guillen played philosopher.

''Every time I look at the team we play across, I don't go, 'Wow, that's a team we can't beat,''' Guillen said. ''I think I feel pretty comfortable with the team we have, the way we compete. Sometimes we lose against teams that we're supposed to beat, but [I feel] pretty good, very good.''

The Sox (56-52) improved to 32-30 against teams with winning records. No easy feat against the Angels, who began the week as winners of eight in a row on the road and 17 of their last 20.

''It's just one of those things when you look at the game, it's just nice to contribute, especially against a team like this,'' said Jim Thome, who hit two home runs in a game for the 44th time in his career.

The fact that the Angels (63-42) had been red-hot didn't seem to matter to righty Gavin Floyd, who has gone from early-season staff enigma to second-half ace. Floyd has beaten Minnesota, Tampa Bay, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Angels since June 24, so it isn't like he has been feasting on the bottom feeders, either. Just don't ask him to explain his roll.

''I don't worry about rolls,'' Floyd said. ''Whether it's a good outing before or a bad one, I kind of ignore it and move on, knowing you've got to do a job and try to just forget what happened the start before. I just try to be consistent and whatever I have that day, go out and battle.''

Floyd went eight-plus innings and allowed two runs (one earned) and six hits.

''When he's attacking the strike zone, he's one of the best guys out there,'' Guillen said. ''He's got a great arm. When he throws strikes, he's pretty tough.''

And Thome's powerful performance didn't hurt.

Angels righty Sean O'Sullivan entered the game 3-0 with a 3.72 ERA and looked strong through the first three innings, but he didn't hold up.

With the Sox down 1-0 in the fourth, Thome connected on his first homer. After an RBI single by Jayson Nix in the fifth, Thome gave Floyd (9-6) some breathing room, connecting on a three-run shot in the sixth that put the Sox up 5-1. It was Thome's 20th of the season and the 561st of his career, leaving him two behind Reggie Jackson for 12th on the all-time list.

''Jimmy, everyone knows that he can carry a ballclub,'' Guillen said. ''When he's on, there's no doubt he can carry any club in baseball.''

Comment at suntimes.com.

THE RECAP

At the plate

Paul Konerko hit his 21st home run and Jayson Nix contributed an RBI single, but the night belonged to Jim Thome, who had his 44th career multihomer game. Thome has hit three homers on this homestand.

On the mound

Right-hander Gavin Floyd was dominant. He went eight-plus innings and allowed two runs (one earned) to win his third consecutive decision.

Pivotal point

With the Sox nursing a 2-1 lead going into the sixth, Thome turned the game around with his second homer.

Photo: Tom Cruze, Sun-Times / Jermaine Dye congratulates Jim Thome after his three-run homer in the sixth inning. ; Photo: Tom Cruze, Sun-Times / Righty Gavin Floyd picked up his ninth victory. ;

US breeder scours roadsides for wild grapes

CHAMPAIGN, Illinois (AP) — Wine-grape expert Bill Shoemaker has taken to the roadsides of Illinois in search of wild grapes that he hopes can be crossed with their more refined cousins to create a tastier and hardier crop.

The University of Illinois researcher has begun a years-long project that includes plenty of wild grape tasting. Much of it is not pleasant.

"After a while you get sore tongues because you taste a lot of acidic grapes," Shoemaker said. "You spit out an awful lot of grapes you don't like."

What those wild grapes lack in taste, though, they make up in the ability to thrive in cold Midwestern winters and survive plant diseases that can decimate wine grapes with better pedigrees bred to grow elsewhere.

Shoemaker hopes to breed better grapes someday that will offer more opportunities for the growing Midwestern U.S. wine industry.

Interest in winemaking has soared in the Upper Midwest, and last year Minnesota hosted the first International Cold Climate Wine Competition. The number of wineries in Illinois and Michigan has grown from a few dozen in the mid-1990s to more than 150, according to industry groups in both states.

"People throughout the country have been pushing the envelope as to what can be produced in their region," said Linda Jones, executive director of Michigan's Grape and Wine Industry Council.

In Illinois, Shoemaker said, thousands of people drive every day past the grapes he is interested in.

"You can find them easily driving up and down any interstate highway," he said from the university's St. Charles Horticulture Research Center, about 45 miles (70 kilometers) west of Chicago. "You'll see wild grapes all over the state of Illinois. Some of my better specimens have been found along fence rows."

French settlers who moved into what is now Illinois as early as the 1600s ate the grapes and tried to make wine with them, Shoemaker said.

The region's wild grapes, however, never would be confused with cultivated grapes, he said. They rarely taste very good.

Some question the point of producing wine in the Midwest.

Robert Moody, chairman of the Sommelier Society of America, has nothing against the region, but he wonders why people should work to grow grapes in such an inhospitable climate.

"You can grow much better grapes in other areas," said Moody, whose group is dedicated to the appreciation of wine.

Mossbach Ridge winery owner Peggy Harmston would not argue with that, but she still is dedicated to growing grapes for wine on 18 acres (7 hectares) in Elizabeth, in the far northwest corner of Illinois. She said she likes the idea of having a locally produced wine.

Elizabeth sits amid compact hills that roll in from the Mississippi River, just to the west. The area looks like wine country; the winters suggest anything but. Harmston's grapes have to be tough.

"These can take negative 20, negative 30 degrees," she said of the varieties she grows, including the popular St. Pepin, developed in Wisconsin. "We had negative 40 (-40 C) for the past two years."

It is tough in a climate that cold, Harmston said, to grow many grapes with high levels of tannin, a compound found in grape seeds, skin and stems that help give wine some of its flavor and feel.

Shoemaker said he is focusing on one wild grape in particular, the vitis aestivalis bicolor, that grows wild over a wide range of the American Midwest and even eastward into the Adirondack Mountains region of New York.

The vitis aestivalis has high tannins and relatively low acids, he said, and thrives in the wild.

"The fruit in it is very similar in some respects to the kind of grapes we use in wine making," Shoemaker said.

Crossing grape varieties is relatively easy, Shoemaker said, just a matter of controlling the flow of pollen from one plant to another.

But the results take time, lots of time.

The first grapes show up on the vine in three years, after which it takes another year before the grower has a real crop to work with.

That may well be followed by years more of crossing one of the new hybrids with still more varieties, looking for something that works just right.

"If you have short-term success, you're just lucky," Shoemaker said. "It could be 15, 30 years."

Harmston would love to have another variety that is not bothered by the diseases found in northwestern Illinois that can be so hard on most grape varieties, but she knows Shoemaker and understands his work may take a while.

"I don't know if it'll be my lifetime, necessarily," she said, laughing. "Or at least while I'm managing the winery; maybe my kids, I guess."

Online:

St. Charles Horticulture Research Center: aces_research(at)aces.uiuc.edu.

Guys still want to be the breadwinner

Ifigured that by the late '90s, therewouldn't be a twenty-something guy in the world, who'd have aproblem with this.

The this I am referring to is the following question: Howwould you feel if you married a woman who earns more money than you?

I have been asking that question of twenty-something guys allweek. And I was amazed at their responses.I mean, I figured that these guys had been so deprogrammed bytheir moms and their girlfriends that this would be a colossalnon-issue.I thought that by 1997, your average twenty-something guy mighteven see this as a plus. You know, sort of as a great way to takethe pressure off.Man, was I way off base . . ."In …

The impact of public management over the population of Resita City.

1. INTRODUCTION

It's well known that in Romania, after 1989 has been initiated an administrative reform meant to lead at it's adaptation at economical and social changes, but the situation remained the same, because of the budgetary restriction and the absence of political determination and experience regarding the alternative administration structures (Mustacila et al., 2005). The efficiency of managerial processes in public institutions is determined by the quality of public functionaries and their labor conscription mainly depends by knowing and applying public management. This assume the possibility of understanding the characteristics whom with it identifies, the analysis of organizational structures in public area, knowing the relationships between it's components, knowing the role, competence, task and responsibility witch every civil servant has it (Drucker,2001). With the object of knowing the impact of public management over the population, in this case Resita city population, it has been made a research appealing to interrogation of this population with the help of a questionnaire that contains questions connected by the main activities of the most important institutions in public administration. This investigation is very important for the decisional factor in order to understand the population's attitude regarding public area, because the public manager has to take care about population when fundaments institution's objectives. Researches and studies in this area has been made, but they concerns the efficiency of human resources in public administration and they have …

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Physiological testosterone stimulates tissue plasminogen activator and tissue factor pathway inhibitor and inhibits plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 release in endothelial cells (1).(Clinical report)

Abstract: There is a striking gender difference in atherosclerotic vascular disease. For decades, testosterone was considered detrimental to the cardiovascular system. Recent studies, however, have presented some alternative results. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of testosterone, using physiological and supraphysiological concentrations, on antigen and mRNA levels of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1), and tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) released by human umbilical vein endothelial cells and to investigate the cellular mechanism. Cells within 2-3 passages were cultured in 25 [cm.sup.2] flasks or plated onto 96-well plates with a density of about 1 x [10.sup.5] cells/mL as recommended. The cells were incubated in the presence or absence of testosterone (3, 30, 3 x [10.sup.3], 3 x [10.sup.4] nmol/L) for 48 h. Levels of tPA, PAI-1, and TFPI antigen were assayed with ELISA kits. Reverse transcriptase PCR was carried out to detect tPA, PAI-1, and TFPI mRNA levels. Cells were incubated in androgen-receptor antagonist (flutamide 10 [micro]mol/L) or aromatase inhibitor (aminoglutethimide 50 [micro]mol/L) for 3 h, and then the experiments were repeated. Testosterone at a physiologic concentration (30 nmol/L) increased the antigen levels of tPA and TFPI significantly (P < 0.05). However, tPA and TFPI levels were markedly reduced (P < 0.05) at a larger dose (3 x [10.sup.4] nmol/L). On the other hand, PAI-1 antigen levels decreased significantly at the testosterone concentrations ranging from 3 to 3 x [10.sup.4] nmol/L (P < 0.05). The change in the levels of tPA and TFPI were reflected in the corresponding change in mRNA levels. Flutamide attenuated the effect of testosterone at physiological concentration (30 nmol/L). The results demonstrated that testosterone at physiological concentrations may have a beneficial influence on the haemostatic system through enhancement of anticoagulant activity, resulting from stimulation of TFPI and tPA expression and inhibition of PAI-1 secretion by the endothelium.

Key words: coronary heart disease (CHD), testosterone, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1), tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC).

Resume : Il existe une difference de genre importante relativement a l'atherosclerose vasculaire. Depuis des decennies, la testosterone a ete consideree dommageable pour le systeme cardiovasculaire. Des etudes recentes, cependant, ont presente quelques resultats differents. Le but de cette etude etait d'evaluer l'effet de la testosterone en concentrations physiologiques et supra-physiologiques sur la quantite de tPA, de PAI-1 et de TFP1 liberes et d'ARNm produit par les cellules endotheliales du cordon ombilical (HUVEC) et d'investiguer le mecanisme cellulaire qui en est responsable. Les cellules de moins de 2-3 passages ont ete cultivees dans des flacons de 25 [cm.sup.2] ou ensemencees dans des plaques a 96 puits a une densite d'environ 1 x [10.sup.5] cellules/mL, tel que recommande. Les cellules ont ete incubees en presence ou en absence de testosterone (3, 30, 3 x [10.sup.3], 3 x [10.sup.4] nmol/L) pendant 48 heures. Les quantites de tPA, de PAI-1 et de TFP1 ont ete mesurees a l'aide de trousses ELISA. Une RT-PCR a ete realisee pour mesurer la quantite d'ARNm de tPA, de PAI-1 et de TFP1. Les cellules ont ete incubees avec un antagoniste du recepteur des androgenes (flutamide 10 [micro]mol/L) ou un inhibiteur d'aromatase (Aminoglutethimide 50 [micro]mol/L) pendant 3 heures et les experiences ont ete repetees. Une concentration physiologique de testosterone (30 nmol/L) a augmente les quantites de tPA et de TFP1 de facon significative (P < 0.05). Cependant, la quantite de tPA et de TFP1 etait fortement reduite (P < 0.05) a plus forte dose (3 x [10.sup.4] nmol/L). En revanche, les quantites de PAI-1 ont diminue de facon significative a des concentrations de testosterone allant de 3 a 3 x [10.sup.4] nmol/L (P < …