LONDON (AP) — A former Miss Canada finalist has become the first graduate of a Liverpool university's groundbreaking degree program based on analyzing the Beatles' music and their impact on Western culture.
Liverpool Hope University officials believe the master's program offers the first advanced degree based on the life and times of the Fab Four.
Mary-Lu Zahalan-Kennedy …
Thousands of Coptic Christians clashed with police during a funeral procession Thursday for the seven people killed in an attack on churchgoers leaving a midnight Mass, security officials said.
The protesters pelted cars with stones. Earlier, they smashed ambulances at the hospital in frustration over delays in turning over the bodies for burial. A security official says police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.
The official and witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The riots follow an attack the previous night, in which three gunmen in a car sprayed automatic gunfire into a crowd leaving a church …
Studies show that hanging on to anger and resentment increasesyour chance of a heart attack fivefold. It also increases your riskof cancer, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a host ofchronic illnesses.
Forgiveness, on the other hand, short-circuits that processentirely, according to Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons, a psychiatrist insuburban Philadelphia. It fosters healthful changes in both yourattitude and your body, boosting your self-esteem and feelings ofhope, as it lowers your blood pressure and heart rate. It can evenhelp you sleep better.
If your spouse cheats on you or your best friend betrays aconfidence, forgiving them may take time - and it probably …
WASHINGTON (AP) — US consumers spend more on cars and …
A Turkish official says delegations from Israel and Syria have arrived in Turkey for a fourth round of indirect peace talks.
Turkish mediators have been shuttling between the Israeli and Syria negotiators during three previous rounds of indirect talks since May.
The talks have been conducted in secret in Istanbul and results have not been made public.
…
Come January and Vijay Govindarajan, Professor of StrategicInnovation and Management at Tuck School, Dartmouth, US, will be inIndia with a group of 50 USbased executives. His mission?
I have arranged for Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev to spend a day withthe executives. The Sadhguru teaches spirituality. I want westernexecutives to understand how spirituality informs leadership,saysGovindarajan, who feels there is a need to temper capitalism andindividual gains with compassion.
We celebrate individual financial success. But I have seenexecutives who are successful on the outside they have multiplehomes, fancy cars, etc. but these same executives are not happyinside. …
The growing demand for electricity in the U.S. is fueling an interest in building new power plants. Although there is some activity in developing renewable resources, such as wind and solar energy, the more traditional energy sources are likely to be relied on for the majority of large increments in power generation. Yet, volatile natural gas prices, tightening emission regulations, and an abundant world coal supply provide an ideal backdrop for integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) to be a mainstream "clean coal" commercial offering.
Gasification is a commercially proven method of efficiently converting coal and other hydrocarbons into a clean gaseous fuel called synthesis …
The U.N. agency leading the fight against AIDS says preventive health programs in the Caribbean must be strengthened.
Karen Sealey is the chief of UNAIDS Caribbean. She says prevention needs to improve "to achieve an increase in knowledge about HIV," the virus that causes AIDS.
Sealey made the comments Thursday night in Port-of-Spain as …
Denis J. Goulding Sr., 93, a retired stationary engineer whofought in the Irish Republican Army early in this century, diedFriday at Swedish Covenant Hospital.
Mr. Goulding, of the North Side, was born in Knockanure, CountyKerry, Ireland. He fought in Ireland's struggle for independencefrom Britain in the early 1900s and was imprisoned for two years bythe British.
He migrated in 1926 to Kansas …
SAN FRANCISCO - Thousands of people called for a swift end to the war in Iraq as they marched through downtown on Saturday, chanting and carrying signs that read: "Wall Street Gets Rich, Iraqis and GIs Die" or "Drop Tuition Not Bombs."
The streets were filled with thousands as labor union members, anti-war activists, clergy and others rallied near City Hall before marching to Dolores Park.
As part of the demonstration, protesters fell on Market Street as part of a "die in" to commemorate the thousands of American soldiers and Iraqi citizens who have died since the conflict began in March 2003.
The protest was the largest in a series of war protests taking place …
From Price Conscious to Quality Conscious
For apparel imports to Japan, a shift has begun from a vigorously pushing the pursuit of volume and low price in the past to one of quality and value. The competition in overall apparel imports has begun to show a change from competition for price to competition for value.
Apparel Imports
Decreasing
The pursuit of volume and low price has begun to give way to the pursuit of quality and value. It is a logical conclusion that apparel imports to Japan in 2002 directly represented consumer's preferences shifting from the low price-oriented position to the value-oriented one.
Because of changes in consumers to the pursuit of value, as well as the stagnant market condition, the volume of Japan's apparel imports in 2002 sank below the preceding year. In the ensuing present situation without any encouraging signs in Japanese domestic business, it is highly likely that apparel imports in 2003 will also remain flat or fall slightly below the year-ago level. Its contributing factors are: (1) the completion of the first stage of shifting to overseas production; (2) changes in consumers fed up with low-priced products; and (3) signs of a shift to competition for value above the mere competition for price.
Priority on sensuousness rather than on prices also characterizes retail sales. Most probably, the industry is experiencing a fatigue arising from long-continued requirements for lower prices. Naturally enough, retailers are also working as hard as they could not to repeat the same items every year. The development of materials for value adding will become increasingly important in the future. Merchandising, which has returned to the basics, will also determine the results in the future.
Shift to Overseas
Production
Approaching Turning
Point
Shifting production overseas has definitely approached the end of the current stage. Overseas production, which has advanced during the past 5-10 years, particularly a shift of production to China, is finally approaching a turning point.
Under the pressure of Japan's deflationary economy, falling unit prices have been remarkable every year during the past three years. To satisfy the requirements for lower prices, retailers have reduced their selling prices. As a result of falling margin rates, apparel manufacturers and trading firms have shifted production overseas in order to cope with this situation. Apparel imports have formed their trend on this vicious cycle of moves. But it now appears that the tide has begun to turn.
The volume of apparel imports in the January-October 2002 period fell by 6% from the preceding year. On a single month basis, these imports continued to dip until October 2002 for eight consecutive months. Looking backward, it is clear that made-ups exerted an overwhelming influence of flood-- like imports until eventually apparel imports exceeded 3 billion units in 2000.
Among typical import items with large volumes, annual imports of sweaters and cardigans continued to keep the levels of slightly less than 0.5 billion units. However, they are estimated to have fallen by 5% in 2002 from the same period of the preceding year. T-shirts, a typical commodity item, began to sag as early as in 2000. Its imports are estimated to have dropped by nearly 20% in 2002. Imports of men's suits increased by more than 30% in 2000 and again 2001. Their growth rate, however, slowed down in 2002 to nearly 15%. (Fig.)
Response to
Individuality
For the past two or three years, unit prices of imported men's suits continued to fall, while increasing the import volume at a rapid pace. Such items, however, have reached a brief pause. This fact suggests that consumers have begun to become weary of cheap sales. This trend is easily understandable from the emerging two-price suit stores as well as increasing personal responsiveness by pattern orders and easy orders under the environment of stagnant men's wear business. Some apparel-related people have pointed out: "Suits are now sold at a unit price of less than 10,000 yen by mass merchandisers. Low prices of casual wear have sparked repercussions in suits. But, we absolutely refused to call this a successful case of suit business." Firms which filed for the application of the Civil Rehabilitation Law are in the process of coming back to the market by shifting their business status to booking pattern orders or easy orders only. We cannot overlook these moves as well.
Even trading firms burdened with the background function for retail firms and apparel firms have found that the supply of good products made from characteristic materials rather than prices has become increasingly imperative. Such requirements were the same whether the final channel is mass merchandisers, department stores or specialty stores. To achieve reasonable prices, retailers had intensified their direct buying from overseas sources, but, now, they have begun to purchase directly from domestic sources as well in order to deal with value-oriented consumers. This kind of rebound faithfully reflects a radical difference from the old days when consumers reacted to prices sensitively.
There is a belief that the import volume dropped as a result of the worsened domestic market in Japan after a shift to overseas production advanced at an accelerating pace. Now, there is a lot of re-thinking that eventually products consumers wanted so much were not made available to them. In the fall/winter 2002-03 season, down wear sold like hot cakes, because of a favorable fashion factor. Fleece wear was favorable as well. As for fleece wear, products in the price zone of one or two higher ranks were better selling items than cheap products. So the sluggishness in consumption is not necessarily responsible for the decline in import volume. A thorough understanding of "market-in" concepts should create a potential demand. This would show a real turning point in apparel imports.
Change to
Competition for Value
Trading firms acting as an intermediary in supplying apparel have worked hard to offer to sellers satisfactory materials at more reasonable prices in both price and value aspects. Nevertheless, their accumulated efforts at cost reduction through OEM (original equipment manufacturer) deals eventually arrived at a point that an efficient physical distribution is the only way to further sharpen costs. Requirements for lower prices have forced all these things. Even so, if the products do not sell at the retail level, there is no choice for stores but to find a way to become value-- oriented. In the future, the development and procurement of materials capable of coping with this situation will become increasingly critical.
In 2002, signs of change were noticeable in apparel imports because a revised tax reduction system for re-imported products after overseas processing on a commission basis came into effect in April 2002. Between trading firms, there are frequently increasing cases of using materials for shipment back to Japan after processing for sweaters in the better zone, for example. One customer has disclosed its stance toward increasing this kind of operation to differentiate itself from others by saying, "At this point, we are not fully taking advantage of the merits of this revised tax reduction system." A trading firm has decided to organize a new division involved exclusively in the development of materials to intensify the digging-up of good-quality materials domestically and abroad. Measures to deal with the final stronghold, an efficient physical distribution in the competition for cost reduction, are presently in the process of being boiled down. The competition being carried on in overall apparel imports has changed the appearance of competition for price to competition for value.
Trading firms involved with many apparel imports face both winds, favorable and unfavorable. Particularly, as for products with many of commodity items in the volume zone such as underwear, dress shirts and suits, the wind is against trading firms because of a direct connection between apparel manufacturers and apparel firms, leaving trading firms behind. In this particular arena, trading firms and apparel firms are certainly competing against each other.
In contrast, department stores and specialty store-affiliated apparel firms have increasingly intensified their dependency upon trading firms for manufacturing because they want to concentrate on planning and sales. Now these firms can depend on imports without anxiety in the quality aspect partly because of the improvement in the technological standards and the QR (quick response) in China.
At the apparel level, major general apparel firms offering new brands have entered the market and gained market acceptance in sportswear and children's wear sectors. There are no longer any traditional industrial barriers between "specialty" and "general" and the industry has plunged into an age of mega competition.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a world where people are paid handsomely to create make-believe drama that mimics real-life horror, the true-crime story of a Hollywood publicist killed by a fusillade of bullets as she drives home from a movie premiere has left her friends stunned and searching for a script that can somehow help them make sense of a senseless act.
Officials in Beverly Hills, where veteran publicist Ronnie Chasen was gunned down shortly after midnight Monday, have offered few theories about her death other than to say police believe someone opened fire on her late-model Mercedes from another vehicle.
But that hasn't stopped Chasen's friends in Hollywood's tight-knit community of publicists and other behind-the-scenes people who help bring us the movies we watch from working overtime to develop their own theories:
Was Chasen's killing the result of a bungled carjacking by someone who stalked her through a rougher neighborhood until she reached a quiet Beverly Hills street? Or did Chasen, with fatigue setting in after attending a premiere and party for the movie "Burlesque," simply cut off the wrong person in traffic?
"I'm not a detective, I'm a songwriter. But I can't see it being road rage," said Carol Connors, a two-time Oscar nominee who co-wrote the theme to "Rocky," and who was a friend of Chasen's for more than 30 years.
"Who would you really aggravate in traffic at that hour?" Connors asked, her voice breaking. "Maybe it was a gang thing and one of the initiations is to find a really pretty blonde lady in a really high-powered car and take her out."
Laugh Factory nightclub owner Jamie Masada said Chasen's killing was the subject of dinner-table conversation when he met with TV executives earlier in the week. Others put forth road-rage theories, but he disagrees.
"Maybe I'm watching too much television, but you see all those shows like '48 Hours' where someone hires a hit man to kill their wife," he said. "Maybe someone hired a hit man. He says, 'My wife drives a Mercedes, she comes by here.' And the hitman mistook her for his wife."
With all the speculation, it's likely that sometime after Chasen's funeral on Sunday at Hillside Memorial Park — final resting place for such Hollywood notables as Milton Berle, Jack Benny and Al Jolson — her killing will be the subject of a crime show.
The producers of "Law and Order: Los Angeles" declined to comment about that possibility Friday out of respect for Chasen's family. But the show's executive producer, Dick Wolf, did note that the case "sure is a fascinating headline."
The 64-year-old Chasen, who was unmarried and had no children, was a virtual unknown outside the Hollywood community. But within it she was a celebrity of the magnitude of Morgan Freeman or Sylvester Stallone — people she represented over the years.
"In its way, it's almost like a Princess Di story," publicist David Brokaw said of her death. "She was a princess if not a queen in this community and to the people she worked with, and she was someone who met her demise way too early."
Her relentless promotion of her clients, in a way several reporters described as pushy but never rude, was credited with creating the buzz that resulted in much Oscar, Grammy and Emmy recognition for them.
"Ronni was my very first publicist and paramount to the success of my career," said actor John Travolta.
On the night she died, Chasen had been working the premiere and after-party for the movie "Burlesque," trying to build Oscar buzz for its soundtrack and also getting a word in for an Oscar nomination for Michael Douglas' performance in "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps."
"She had called me five times in the past five days," said veteran Hollywood reporter Nikki Finke, who recalled she spoke with Chasen by phone for an hour that night, making small talk and hearing pitches for Douglas and "Burlesque."
But despite that aggressive attitude, Chasen seemed to have no enemies, even among reporters she pestered.
"When it happened, when it was confirmed, I just burst into tears," said Finke.
That it happened in Beverly Hills — a city whose name is synonymous with wealth and where murders rarely occur — was all the more baffling.
Although authorities will say little about their investigation, retired Beverly Hills police detective Kieron Foley, who is not involved in the case, said the evidence released so far points to a professional hit. He discounted the Hollywood scenarios of gang-initiation killing, drive-by shooting or road rage.
Although street gangs from the neighboring Hollywood district have sometimes been a problem for Beverly Hills, he said, it's notable that no one in the multimillion-dollar mansions that line the street where Chasen was killed heard a car speeding away.
"Typically, those guys step on the gas and they get the hell out of there," he said.
Chasen was shot multiple times in the chest, at an intersection near a park where her killer could easily have hid in the bushes waiting for her, Foley said, adding that a partner following her could have alerted the shooter by phone to her approach.
"If she is the target and I am a bad guy, that is a great place for me to be," he said.
Afterward, Foley said, the killer could easily have fled quietly in a car, on a motorcycle or even on a bicycle.
That still leaves Chasen's friends with no end to the story, however. Why, they ask, would anyone do that to her?
"It just makes no sense whatsoever. It makes no sense. That's what nobody can understand," said publicist Kathie Berlin, a friend of 40 years.
"How do you go down a street in Beverly Hills that she's gone down a million times ... and you're shot dead?"
___
AP writers Lynn Elber and Thomas Watkins contributed to this story.
100 years ago
At the Glastonbury police court on Thursday, a Sharpham man wascharged with failing to comply with the provisions of an ordercompelling him to maintain his wife and two children.
Defendant, who admitted that he had failed to pay the sumdemanded weekly, said that he was unable to do so, and was sent toprison for three weeks.
A man from West Pennard was summoned for allowing four horses tostray on the public highway on June 16.
Defendant pleaded not guilty to allowing them to stray, butadmitted that they were out, having broken through the fence. PCPriddle proved the case.
Defendant said that he had turned then in the field, and was onthe way to look for them when the constable brought them in.
He had kept the horses for a long period, and had never beforehad a complaint of that kind made against him.
50 years ago
Glastonbury magistrates imposed fines totalling Pounds 5 on a manof Glastonbury on Monday for failing to pay National Insurancecontributions as a self-employed person and for failing to returnhis insurance card to the ministry.
It was stated that a sum of Pounds 34 7s. was owing to theministry, but a check to cover this amount was paid into court.
He was said to have been fined Pounds 3 for a similar offence in1959.
Butleigh Fete has the reputation of bringing rain, but this yearthe weather was perfect, with just enough cloud to prevent the heatfrom becoming too great, and no rain.
The proceeds of this year's fete, which was once again held inthe beautiful garden at Butleigh House, were to be given to the NewOrgan Fund.
The stalls were soon besieged by an eager crowd of buyers and thecoconut shie and "Mr Krushev" attracted a more or less continuousrain of missiles. Stickers-up were kept busy at the skittles, andthe roundabout was in more or less a perpetual motion.
There were races for children and tea and refreshments were ingreat demand.
25 years ago
A musical treat not to be missed is due to take place at StJohn's Church, Glastonbury, on Saturday, July 26.
Das Junge Bach-Collegium chamber orchestra from Osnabruck, WestGermany, comprising of some of the finest music students from allover Germany, will be performing a Handel Overture and Suite fromAlcina, Bach Cantata No 170, and Oboe D'amore Concerto in A majorand a Handel Concerto Grosso.
Television personality Tom O'Connor visited Meare at the weekend.
Gloria McClurg, warden of the village's sheltered home scheme, isthe national secretary of Tom's fan club.
She invited Tom to meet her elderly residents when she knew hewas in the area. Mrs McClurg once took part in his quiz show NameThat Tune and won the Pounds 1,000 jackpot.
Residents at the home presented Tom with a painting ofGlastonbury Tor, which he said he would hang in his billiard room.
10 years ago
After winning 25 awards and nominations for their pantomime DickWhittington last year, Strode Productions are preparing to hold aworkshop and auditions for their December 2001 show Aladdin and hisWonderful Lamp.
The director will again be Barry Squance who said: "We werethrilled by everyone's comments and the accolades received for DickWhittington, we have already put together the same production teamand are now preparing to get the cast and chorus in place."
The Holmes Report, a national public relations industrynewsletter, has named Chicago-based Dome Communications its creativeagency of the year.
In citing Dome, the newsletter noted the agency, founded in 1997,has experienced strong billings growth in each year since the companyopened. In 2001, Dome's revenues climbed to $6 million, up 50 percentfrom the previous year. New clients brought in during 2001 includedAlberto-Culver, ConAgra Foods, Kraft Foods, Sears, Roebuck and Co.and ServiceMaster.
Rick Sutcliffe may be making one of his last starts as a Cubtonight when the Astros come in for three games.
But the Cubs say a contending team will have to tie a ribbon'round a pretty package to get the man who won the 1984 Cy YoungAward and was runner-up last year.
General manager Jim Frey has assured Sutcliffe the club is nottrying to trade him.
"But baseball is business," Frey told Sutcliffe. "Contendingteams are asking about you and we have to listen if we feel we canhelp the club in two or three places."
Sutcliffe said he appreciated Frey's stance and honesty.
"He still couldn't tell me what I wanted to hear, but yes, itwas nice of him," Sutcliffe said. "I don't want to go, but Icertainly don't want to stay where I'm not wanted. I hope it doesn'tcome to that."
It came to no runs and only five hits for the Cubs Sunday off22-year-old Pete Smith of the Braves.
The only run in the 1-0 defeat of Mike Bielecki was manufacturedby the game's first three hitters.
Terry Blocker drew a walk, hurried to third on Ken Oberkfell'shit-and-run single through a hole created by shortstop ShawonDunston's having to cover second, then scored on Gerald Perry'ssacrifice fly.
That was it for both sides.
Smith (6-12), drafted No. 1 by the Phillies in 1983 but tradedin 1985 with Ozzie Virgil for Steve Bedrosian and Milt Thompson,allowed only one Cub to reach third base and retired the last nine.
Bielecki (2-1) pitched seven innings of five-hit ball followedby two no-hit innings from Drew Hall.
"I told (pitching coach) Bruce Dal Canton I had a slider acouple of weeks ago and he said, `Well, go ahead and use it,' " saidSmith, who also shut down the Cubs for seven innings late in May.
"I mixed 'em up pretty well today. Everything was working nice.I made the pitches when I really needed them."
Bielecki had equal success, but only after the first inning.
He has a 2.49 ERA since being recalled from Class AAA Iowa July24, including 2.84 in three starts.
"He's throwing a lot better now," manager Don Zimmer said. "He'sthrowing strikes and keeping it down, and he's gaining confidence."
The Cubs were hitting .301 in their last 11 games at WrigleyField before Smith cut them off.
Bielecki's failure to sacrifice Dunston to third base in the fifth cost the Cubs their best chance.
Dunston led off with a single and stole second, but Bieleckiwent out by fouling off the third strike, and Mitch Webster and Ryne Sandberg flied out.
"Mitch's was deep enough to score Shawon," said Bielecki, upsetat himself. Dunston led off with an infield single in theseventh, too.
This time, the Cubs did gain a sacrifice - from pinch hitterManny Trillo. But again Webster and Sandberg failed as the crowd of33,097 sat in silence.
A wind blowing in from the north at 17 m.p.h. did not help.Webster, Andre Dawson and Damon Berryhill each appeared to lose homeruns.
The Cubs continue to make fine defensive plays. Third basemanVance Law started a double play off a sharp, bad-hop grounder by DaleMurphy in the sixth inning and Dawson made a running, reaching catchon Blocker in the seventh.
The loss prevented the Cubs from going over the .500 mark forthe first time since July 18.
But the victory did not help the Braves escape the infamousdistinction of being tied with the Baltimore Orioles for the worstrecord in baseball at 42-81.
"I don't worry about the Orioles any more than they worry aboutus," manager Russ Nixon said. "What I worry about is us, but a gamelike Smith pitched today makes it all tolerable."
Over 200 individuals representing more than 75 community-based and non profit organizations throughout the Northeast will come together for the seventh annual Grassroots Use of Technology Conference Saturday, June 17. Sponsored by Organizers' Collaborative (OC) and the CTC Vista Project at UMass Boston, this national conference will provide valuable training and information to nonprofit professionals and activists on how they can best use technology to effect social change.
This year's conference theme is Making Technology Relevant to Nonprofit and Social Change Groups, with a focus on helping community organizations to better server their constituents.
"We are really excited about this year's program," said OC's founding director Richard Cowan. "It will feature 15 different workshops and panels geared towards nonprofit organizations, techies and activists at all levels of expertise."
The conference will take place at UMass Boston from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The conference will be followed by a benefit dinner at South Kitchen & Wine Bar. Tickets can be obtained on OC's website: www.organizerscollaborative.org or by calling (617) 720-6190.
Japanese pitcher Hideo Nomo isn't ready to give up on his career in the major leagues just yet.
Nomo said Friday on his official Web site that he has signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals.
"I want to hang in there no matter what, hoping that I won't get injured," the 39-year-old veteran said on his home page.
Nomo will take part in the Royals' spring training camp next month as a non-roster invitee in his bid to return to the major leagues, where he has compiled a 123-109 record over 11 seasons.
In his first major league season with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995, Nomo was named to the National League All-Star team and won the NL Rookie of the Year award after posting a 13-6 record with a 2.54 ERA.
Nomo last made a major league appearance in July 2005 with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He pitched in the Venezuelan Winter League last year. He has also played for the New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox.
The Royals will be managed by Trey Hillman, who spent the last five seasons managing the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan's Pacific League.
A 73-year-old man shot and killed his 36-year-old daughter andthen fatally shot himself in their Alsip home, police said Friday.
Edward DeYoung, of 3614 120th Pl., shot his retarded daughter,Annie, once in the head with a .38-caliber revolver and then shothimself in the head, said Alsip Police Chief Warner Huston.
DeYoung, a widower, left a suicide note, the chief said.
The bodies were found Thursday evening by DeYoung's son, James,who lived with his father and sister, Huston said.
The son found his sister's room darkened, turned on a light anddiscovered her body on the bed, with a stuffed animal clutched in herarms, the chief said. She apparently had been shot while sleeping,he added.
The son found his father's body next to her bed. Police foundthe handgun DeYoung had apparently used beneath his body, the chiefsaid. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
President Bush's decision to override the law by opening a crackin the immigration wall against AIDS sufferers is a political movedemanded by, but not satisfying, the homosexual lobby and the medicalprofession.
After months of battling inside the administration, Secretaryof Health and Human Services Louis Sullivan convinced the presidentto ease requirements for a U.S. visa. That will permit people whoare infected with the HIV virus to attend the international AIDSconference in San Francisco June 20-24, averting disturbances therethat Bush aides said would be politically embarrassing.
But in attempting to keep San Francisco cool, they may havebought worse political trouble. The tightly held decision wasreleased by an unhappy Justice Department bowing to the White Houseon Friday afternoon of Easter weekend with Congress in recess, thepresident in Bermuda and Washington half empty. Senior officialsconfided that Bush may suffer for once again taking the unpopularside in the culture war. Worse yet, the gays won't even give himcredit for it.
Popular opinion was reflected in August, 1987, when the Senatevoted 96 to 0 for Sen. Jesse Helms' amendment to exclude HIV carriersfrom entering the country by listing AIDS as an excluded contagiousdisease. The international campaign against this exclusionthreatened to boycott the San Francisco conference, which otherwisewould attract more than 12,000 people. But no effort was made to getCongress to change the law.
That's what bothers even administration officials who thinkthe Helms amendment too Draconian. Public Health Service officers,furious that laymen from Congress should exercise theirconstitutional responsibility, were determined to get their way - butto do it out of public view.
That resulted in a secret meeting Dec. 12, 1989, in Atlanta.The HHS Centers of Disease Control hosted officials of HHS, State,the Justice Department and the Immigration and Naturalization Service(INS). They reached a compact for relaxing the AIDS restrictionsthat involved a prearranged exchange of letters.
On Feb. 15, Assistant Secretary of State Frederick Bernthalwrote HHS asking whether "it would constitute a threat to publichealth" if the HIV carriers were permitted to get specialnon-immigrant visas - for the San Francisco conference, for example.
The prearranged response came Feb. 23 from Assistant HHSSecretary James O. Mason, who said it would not and "will ease theinternational embarrassment being generated by our current policy" (apolicy which in fact is set by law). To maintain confidentiality,the special HIV carriers' visa would be separate from the passport.
That decision was soon leaked to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy'shealth staffers, and the word soon came back from gay leaders: notgood enough. Their cause was taken up by the Public Health Service,which applied tremendous pressure on Sullivan, a physician himself.
Citing "experts" who say entry into the country should beprohibited only for infectious tuberculosis, Sullivan pleaded withBush to "ease the international tension caused by the currentsituation."
After a meeting with Sullivan, the president signed on. ByWednesday of last week, an administrative directive was draftedcalling for 10-day visas for anybody attending internationalconferences designated by HHS without having to say they were HIVcarriers.
To many of the president's subordinates, he had offendedcultural conservatives without beginning to satisfy the homosexuallobby and its allies.
The Iraqi military says five civilians were killed when a suicide car bomber targeted a military convoy carrying a top Iraqi commander.
The attack happened Wednesday in Mosul, a city in northern Iraq. Lt. Gen. Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq, chief of operations in Ninevah province, escaped unharmed.
But the military says five civilians were killed and 22 people, including seven of the commander's guards, were injured.
Brig. Gen. Khalid Abdul-Sattar, an Iraqi military spokesman, described the attack as an attempt to assassinate the commander.
REGION
PAY DIRT
Waste from drilling Marcellus Shale gas wells in the northern and western parts of the state will likely become an important revenue stream for some Central Pennsylvania landfills, companies and municipalities.
The Cumberland County Landfill already is accepting drill cuttings - dirt and pulverized stone from the gas wells - and another midstate landfill is poised to accept such waste this year. Drilling companies have been shipping the waste to New Jersey-based Interstate Waste Services' Cumberland County Landfill in Hopewell Township since November.
Modern Landfill in York County, a property of Arizona-based waste company Republic Services Inc., is negotiatingwith companies to accept drilling waste this year, local executives said.
The Cumberland County Landfill is accepting about five to six trucks with a total of 60 tons of drill cuttings a day, said Bill Neidigh, a spokesman for Interstate Waste Services. The landfill is licensed to take a total of 1,950 tons per day for all wastes and averages 1,500 tons per day, he said.
The landfill is permitted to take up to 2,000 tons of Marcellus drill cuttings per well from two companies, East Resources Management and Talisman Energy USA Inc., said Dusty Hilbert, the landfill's compliance manager.
East Resources is part of Shell Appalachia, a division of Houston-based Shell Oil Co. Shell acquired oil and gas company East Resources in IuIy as part of its expansion in Marcellus gas drilling. It owns drilling rights to 700,000 acres in the Marcellus play, according to the company.
Talisman Energy USA is a natural gas exploration company based in New York. It has more than 100 wells in New York and Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale and drill leases on more than 1.2 million acres of land in those states, Ohio and West Virginia, according to the company.
Some days, more than 100 tons of material is shipped to the landfill, Hilbert said. He did not have revenue information for the contracts. It's still early to say what the total impact of Marcellus waste will be to the revenue of waste companies, he said.
"There's been a lot of rush to get wells drilled, and I think that will slow down in time," Hilbert said. "As it does, it could slow down for us, too. But I can't say for certain."
Others see a significant industry trend, which could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars for landfills.
"A lot of companies are shopping price right now," said Tim O'Donnell, general manager of Modern Landfill in Lower Windsor Township. "You're going to see Marcellus Shale drill cuttings in most landfills around the state soon."
Modern Landfill has been approached by several companies looking for space to deposit an unspecified amount of residual waste from Marcellus drilling, he said. He declined to release the names of the companies.
How much waste Modern Landfill takes depends on howmuch drill companies want to truck to York County, he said. Moving 500 tons a day would take about 25 truckloads, which could be an enormous expense for a company, he said. Costs for drivers and fuel make trucking expensive, which is why the south central and southeastern landfills are just now beginning to see drilling waste, he said.
If drill companies have more waste than they can ship to closer landfills under contract, the material has to be shipped elsewhere even if it's more expensive, Hilbert said. That's more opportunity for trucking companies as well, he said.
Modern is applying with the state Department of Environmental Protection to accept Marcellus waste, O'Donnell said. The landfill's license allows it to take up to 5,000 tons per day of municipal or residual waste and it's operating at 90 percent capacity, he said.
Before DEP approves a residual permit, landfill companies have to include a physical and chemical characterization of the Marcellus waste and it has to fit into the landfill's existing plan, said Steve Socash, chief of the municipal and residual waste division of DEP's Bureau of Waste Management.
Drill companies and landfills test the soil for contaminants, including radioactive isotopes, he said. Because of the large investment that landfill companies have, they're thorough in testing, he said. If a landfill doesn't want residual waste, it doesn't have to accept it, he said. The DEP also monitors air quality, runoff and leachate contents at all landfills for contaminants, he said.
The department has cleared 20 of the state's 48 landfills to acceptMarcellus waste, he said. Today, most of the Marcellus drill cuttings are going to western and northern landfills closest to drill sites, he said.
"It's just a fraction of the residual waste thatlandfills are taking, andmost are capable of handling it with the capacity they have," Socash said.
Transportation costs have reduced out-of-state waste going to Pennsylvania's landfills, which frees up capacity, he said.
"The farther you are away from the core area where they're drilling, the more expensive it becomes to truck it to the landfill," said Robert Zorbaugh, chief operating officer of the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority, which manages the Frey Farm Landfill.
The site, above the Susquehanna River in Manor Township, can accept Marcellus waste, but no drill companies have proposed contracts, Zorbaugh said. Frey Farm is capable of accepting 2,000 tons a day, he said. The landfill is operating at less than 1,000 tons a day.
The landfill accepts residual waste and contaminated soils on a case-bycase basis, according to its fee schedule. However, it assesses a minimum fee of $30 per ton, along with a $4 per ton Growing Greener fee, which goes backto the state for waste and recycling programs.
Marcellus drill cuttings could become a significant revenue stream depending on howmany tons companies are willing to ship this way, Zorbaugh said.
New residual wastes also mean more money for townships, said Thomas Imphong, executive director of the Cumberland County Recycling & Waste Authority. Landfills have to pay a minimum of $1 per ton to municipalities for all waste accepted, he said. Landfills are not required to pay fees to counties, he said.
While many landfills are open to the option of taking Marcellus drill waste to help pad the bottom line, others will not accept imported waste.
The Greater Lebanon Refuse Authority's landfill in North Annville Township will remain on the sideline of the Marcellus waste trend, Executive Director Michael Pavelek said. Since 1986 when a lined-landfill expansion was planned, Greater Lebanon only accepts waste from Lebanon County, he said.
Even with those fewlandfills that do not accept outside waste, the business of Marcellus waste will be competitive in coming years, waste companies said.
"We're all gearing-up to deal with this process," O'Donnell said.
[Sidebar]
Marcellus Shale drill cuttings, in the foreground, wait to be comingled with other waste at the Cumberland County Landfill. Marcellus waste could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars for landfills in Central Pennsylvania.
[Author Affiliation]
BY JIM T. RYAN
jimr@journalpub.com
Junior Bernal and Malachi Teay had 12 points each and Maine beat Stony Brook 64-54 on Thursday night.
Mark Socobi had 11 points and Gerald McLemore added 10 for the Black Bears (6-9, 1-1 America East), who led 36-25 at halftime.
Muhammad El-Amin had 22 points for the Seawolves (8-7, 1-2), while Demetrius Young added 14 and Dallis Joyner 10. Tommy Brenton had six points and 10 rebounds for Stony Brook, which finished with a 46-31 advantage on the boards.
Maine opened the game with a 13-4 run and the lead reached 30-12 on 3-pointer by McLemore with 6:44 left in the half.
El-Amin had seven points in an 11-0 run that got Stony Brook within 55-49 with 2:11 to go.
CLEVELAND (AP) — A federal judge in Ohio says he won't consider a renewed defense move for pretrial release of a breakaway Amish leader charged in beard-cutting attacks on fellow Amish.
The defense told the judge on Monday that the government is trying to demonize 66-year-old Samuel Mullet Sr. and invoke the memory of a deadly 1993 Waco, Texas, standoff in opposing pretrial release.
But Judge Dan Aaron Polster rejected the request to reconsider release on bond.
Prosecutors say Mullet is a risk to flee and poses a danger to the community.
Mullet and 11 followers are charged in five beard- and hair-cutting attacks on other Amish last year in a feud over church discipline. They have pleaded not guilty.
Princess Diana's former butler injected an element of mystery into the inquest into her death Monday, refusing to publicly disclose which member of the royal family had warned her about surveillance and what secret he shared with her.
Paul Burrell lapsed into silence at times as attorney Michael Mansfield pressed him to disclose private papers and diaries Burrell was keeping in his home in England. The papers formed the basis of Burrell's book, "A Royal Duty," published in 2003.
The coroner, Lord Justice Scott Baker, also pressed Burrell to turn over the materials on the basis that he would review them first to determine if they have any relevance to the inquest into the death of Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, on Aug. 31, 1997.
When he was asked which member of the royal family had warned Diana about surveillance, Burrell wrote the name and then handed it to Baker, who said he believed it had no relevance to the inquiry.
As for the secret he shared with the princess _ a secret he referred to in "A Royal Duty" _ he first refused to say what it was, and then said he did not remember. Regardless, he said it had nothing to do with Fayed.
Burrell, Diana's confidante for a decade, said the princess gave no indication that she intended to marry Fayed and made no arrangements to announce an engagement before she died as Fayed's father claims.
Burrell described Diana's romance with Fayed as a "30-day relationship," saying she was still recovering from the end of a secret two-year relationship with heart surgeon Hasnat Khan. In an interview published in British newspapers Sunday, Khan declined to discuss the reasons for the end of his relationship with Diana.
"The princess had just finished a long-term relationship with someone she cared deeply about," Burrell said. "I know that, because I was there. I saw it."
Burrell described Diana as being "on the rebound from that relationship when she met someone who was very kind and attentive and generous."
Under pressure from Baker, Burrell reluctantly disclosed a harsh conversation between Diana and her mother, the late Frances Shand-Kydd.
Burrell said Diana invited him to listen in on the call, and he heard the mother say Diana was "a whore" who was messing around with Muslim men.
"She said some very nasty things," Burrell said.
Burrell has previously disputed claims by Fayed's father, Mohamed Al Fayed, that Diana was pregnant with Fayed's child and that the couple were on the brink of announcing their engagement when they died after their car slammed into a pillar in the Pont d'Alma tunnel in Paris.
"'I want another marriage like I want a bad rash,'" Burrell quoted Diana as saying in a telephone conversation when she was with Fayed in France.
Al Fayed has also claimed that his son and Diana were the targets of a conspiracy directed by Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II.
Burrell said he had seen correspondence between Diana and Philip in 1992, when efforts were being made to save her marriage to Prince Charles.
Diana's friend, self-described "energy healer" Simone Simmons, testified last week that she had seen two letters from Philip that were "derogatory" and cruel, and upsetting to the princess.
"Yes, they were sharp," Burrell said of the letters he saw. "Prince Philip doesn't mince his words; he says it as it is, but he is not a nasty man."
He added that Diana "didn't particularly like sometimes what she was told, but Prince Philip was always frank."
"The princess fired off equally as robust words to Prince Philip," Burrell said.
Burrell has said that after Diana's death, the queen warned him to be careful and told him, "There are powers at work in this country of which we have no knowledge."
He testified that he was unsure whether she referred to the media, the "Establishment," or the secret services.
"One doesn't ask the queen what she means by something," Burrell said.
"I just think it was a general 'be careful' warning over many issues."
Until Nancy Dubuc arrived and made History improbably hot, the TV network was little more than a place for old men to watch war movies. Now Dubuc is trying to freshen Lifetime, another cable outlet with a moldy reputation.
The corporate parent of both networks assigned Dubuc, one of its top executives, to see if the once-mighty network for women can be a player again. Dubuc takes over a strong brand that's not exactly destination viewing _ just as History was when she assumed control three years ago.
This summer, the tandem of "American Pickers" and "Pawn Stars" is making Mondays on History one of the hottest nights on cable TV. The treasure-trawling shows are barely a year old, have inspired at least one imitator and just led History to its most-watched three months ever.
"Did we think these would do quite as well?" Dubuc said. "I'd be lying if I said yes."
She was struck by how easy and fun it was to watch both series when she first saw them. The memorably titled "Pawn Stars" follows Rick Harrison, his father and his son as the three generations run the real-life "Gold & Silver Pawn Shop" outside of Las Vegas. Each episode shows the Harrisons negotiating with customers over buying all kinds of oddities, and lets viewers decide who is ultimately being ripped off.
The antiquing series "American Pickers" is a well-matched companion. Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz prowl the country in a van, trying to spot values amid junk stuffed away in barns and garages.
The shows are a long way from documentaries on the War of 1812.
"We knew that bringing a level of entertainment value to the subject of history was the key to our success," said Dubuc, who worked at a handful of other jobs at the A&E Television Networks before taking over History.
"Ice Road Truckers," History's series about dangerous winter driving in northern Canada, signaled the new direction when it premiered in June 2007. It's entertaining, but really could be shown anywhere. "Pawn" and "Pickers" feel right at home. Along with fun character studies, viewers learn a little about history, of companies and products that once dominated a market but disappeared.
In one "American Pickers" episode, you learn why boys' bicycles are more valuable antiques than girls': Because, boys tended to wreck their bikes and girls didn't.
It's probably not a coincidence that Spike next month will premiere "Scrappers," a series about the Brooklyn scrap metal business, where "our heroes scour the streets to find their treasure, from old appliances to abandoned cars and discarded building materials," the network said.
History has its own competition show: "Top Shot" features 16 marksmen showing who is best with weapons used through history, from sling shots to muskets. Dubuc describes the new series "Chasing Mummies," which debuts July 14, as a "docu-soap" that follows the famed Egyptologist Zahi Hawass as he tries to find meaningful Egyptian relics.
War of 1812 documentaries still have their place, though, usually during the day or on weekends. The network also filmed an expensive American history project this spring and has another in the works on the Civil War.
History appears to have pulled off the delicate job of adding new fans without alienating the old ones. The network's audience is still about two-thirds male, but the median age has dropped four years since 2006, the Nielsen Co. said.
"Anything that attracts people to historical subjects, unless they contain truly distorting and disturbing messages, is good in my opinion," said Joyce Appleby, co-director of the History News Service.
Dubuc is light on specifics, but she's bringing to Lifetime the same mindset and creative team _ the one that molded a four-minute video that Wolfe and Fritz shot of themselves into a successful series.
The A&E Television Networks last year bought Lifetime, previously a joint venture among The Walt Disney Co., Hearst Corp. and General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal. Dubuc became president of the Lifetime Networks this spring.
It was only eight years ago that Lifetime, with an average of 2.25 million viewers in prime time, was America's most popular cable network. This year, Lifetime is ranked No. 17 with 1.1 million viewers (History is No. 6 with 1.56 million), Nielsen said.
Where did all those viewers go?
Lifetime became stagnant, said Tim Brooks, who was head of research at the network before leaving in 2007. Competitors Oxygen and We TV chipped away at young women viewers, making Lifetime seem more dowdy.
"Women were beginning to say, 'There's too much heaviness here. We want lightness,'" Brooks said. "Lifetime wasn't going there and others were."
Lifetime's signature movies, the ones that showed empowered women fighting off disease, predators and just plain bad taste in men, dimmed in quality and began to seem more cheaply produced, said Margaret Loesch, a veteran television executive and Lifetime viewer.
Lifetime's schedule now is dominated by reruns of "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy." Its best-known reality series, "Project Runway," was taken from Bravo in a bidding war and its viewership is plummeting. Lifetime's top-scripted series, "Army Wives," is in its fourth season. Conspicuously absent are the snappy, nonfiction series such as "Pawn Stars."
So, Dubuc has plenty of room in which to work.
The first three series she ordered in development are each scripted women cop shows, but Lifetime will likely just pick one of the three to move forward. She would not discuss other ideas.
"I admire what History has done," said Loesch, who launched the Hallmark Channel and is president of the Hub, a new children's network beginning this fall. "They've presented their genre in very relevant terms for the audience, and that's the opportunity that Lifetime has."
The A&E Television Networks can only hope that History repeats itself.
___
___
EDITOR'S NOTE _ David Bauder can be reached at dbauder(at)ap.org
A Japanese woman brewed up an unusual escape plan to free herself and her 6-month-old daughter from a suspected armed robber: a cup of tea and a chat.
A man who appeared to be a laborer in his 60s allegedly pulled a knife and demanded money from a 30-year-old housewife as she was walking in a hallway at a downtown Tokyo apartment building Monday morning, a Tokyo Metropolitan Police official said Tuesday on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.
The woman told her assailant that she had no money but he followed her and forced his way into her apartment, police said.
But rather than screaming, the woman served the man a cup of tea in hopes of calming him down.
Police said her move seemed to work.
The man put his knife away and began telling the woman about his financial hardship and asked her to lend him 10,000 yen (US$94), police said.
Police said the woman put a 10,000 yen (US$94) bill and a wallet containing about 30,000 yen (US$280) on the table. When the man was looking the other way, she grabbed her daughter and ran out the door to call police from a nearby public phone.
When she returned with the police to her apartment, the man and the money were gone, police said.
Police said the woman told investigators that she couldn't believe how she could act so calmly and bravely.
But police aren't recommending the tea defense for everyone.
"I think she was very lucky," the official said. "The suspect might have eased up because of the baby's presence. I don't think serving tea always works with robbers."
Police are still looking for the man.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Nearly everywhere Rod Brind'Amour looked this offseason, he saw the famous photo of his screaming, smiling self finally hoisting the Stanley Cup.
The defending champion Carolina Hurricanes opened preseason camp Friday, and Brind'Amour said the focus is no longer on that first title, but the pursuit of another one.
"You've got to move on. That's the new challenge," he said. "The switch has got to be, it felt so good and we want to do that again. That's the goal now. We want to relive that. We know how exciting it was and how great it felt. That's the carrot now, to have that feeling again."
The Cup has been put away, and those celebrations along Tobacco Road are memories. Now, as Carolina begins the defense of its championship, the players realize that the elliptical hurricane logo on their jerseys might as well be a target.
"With the label of being the Stanley Cup champs, you get looked at maybe in a different manner than you did at the start of last year," coach Peter Laviolette said. "That shouldn't change the way we play the game. It shouldn't change the way we prepare. It shouldn't change how hard we work. All those things remain constant.
"How other people view us is not really something we can control," he said. "We can only control what we do and how we play."
Brind'Amour was the face of the franchise during his first full season as the team's captain and inspirational leader of the Hurricanes' magical run, which culminated with a 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the Cup finals. The photograph of the 17-year veteran rejoicing as he finally held the Cup was splashed across front pages during the offseason.
Now Brind'Amour says the Hurricanes are chasing a new goal - becoming the first team to repeat as Stanley Cup champs since the Detroit Red Wings won it in 1997 and '98.
"There's no reason why you can say that (any) team has an advantage over us right now," Brind'Amour said. "No one does. We have a leg up because we know what it took to get it. That's huge."
But the Hurricanes' deep playoff run had an unwanted side effect - it gave them a shorter offseason than most teams, and that lack of recovery time partly was blamed for injuries to some key players.
Forward Cory Stillman could miss up to 40 games after having surgery on his right shoulder. Defenseman Frantisek Kaberle - whose power-play goal in Game 7 helped clinch the Cup - is out for at least four months after also having shoulder surgery.
And fellow defenseman Bret Hedican had hip and hand surgeries and isn't sure whether he will be ready for the Oct. 4 opener against the Buffalo Sabres.
Veteran defenseman Glen Wesley, an alternate captain, said he'd rather the Hurricanes deal with it now rather than after the season starts.
"You've got to battle through those type of things," Wesley said.
The Hurricanes had a busy offseason, trading for forward Scott Walker and signing forwards Jesse Boulerice and Shane Willis along with defenseman David Tanabe. But perhaps the most important moves kept intact the nucleus of last year's Cup-winning team - including Brind'Amour, Wesley and forwards Justin Williams, Erik Cole and Eric Staal.
"I'd like to think that the commitment the organization showed a lot of the guys that are back here proves that this group's going to be together for a while," Laviolette said.
SEATTLE - John Anderson has discovered just about everythingduring the 30 years he's combed Washington state's beaches - glassfishing floats, hockey gloves, bottled messages, even hundreds ofmismatched pairs of Nike sneakers that washed up barnacled butotherwise unworn.
The biggest haul may come in one to three years when, scientistssay, wind and ocean currents eventually will push some of themassive debris from Japan's tsunami and earthquake onto the shoresof the U.S. West Coast.
"I'm fascinated to see what actually makes it over here, comparedto what might sink or biodegrade out there," said Anderson, 57, aplumber and avid beachcomber who lives in the coastal town of Forks,Wash.
The floating debris will likely be carried by currents off ofJapan toward Washington, Oregon and California before turning towardHawaii and back again toward Asia, circulating in what is known asthe North Pacific gyre, said Curt Ebbesmeyer, a Seattleoceanographer who has spent decades tracking flotsam.
Ebbesmeyer, who has traced Nike sneakers, plastic bath toys andhockey gloves accidentally spilled from Asia cargo ships, is nowtracking the massive debris field moving across the Pacific Oceanfrom Japan. He relies heavily on a network of thousands ofbeachcombers such as Anderson to report the location and details oftheir finds.
"If you put a major city through a trash grinder and sprinkle iton the water, that's what you're dealing with," he said.
As to whether any of the debris might be radioactive from thedevastation at Japanese nuclear power plants, James Hevezi, chair ofthe American College of Radiology Commission on Medical Physics,said there could be.
"But it would be very low risk," Hevezi said. "The amount thatwould be on the stuff by the time it reached the West Coast would beminimal."
Only a small portion of that debris will wash ashore, and howfast it gets there and where it lands depends on buoyancy, materialand other factors. Fishing vessels or items that poke out of thewater and are more likely influenced by wind may show up in a year,while items like lumber pieces, survey stakes and household itemsmay take two to three years, he said.
If the items aren't blown ashore by winds or get caught up inanother oceanic gyre, they'll continue to drift in the North Pacificloop and complete the circle in about six years, Ebbesmeyer said.
"The material that is actually blown in will be a fraction" ofthe tsunami debris, said Curt Peterson, a coastal oceanographer andprofessor in the geology department at Portland State University inOregon. "Some will break up in transit. A lot of it will miss ourcoast. Some will split up and head up to Gulf of Alaska and (BritishColumbia)."
"All this debris will find a way to reach the West Coast or stopin the Great Pacific Garbage Patch," a swirling mass of concentratedmarine litter in the Pacific Ocean, said Luca Centurioni, aresearcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego.
"The dispersion is pretty large, so it's not like a straight shotfrom Tokyo to San Francisco," said Centurioni, the principalinvestigator for the Global Drifter Program funded by NOAA. Theprogram deploys about 900 satellite-tracked drifting buoys each yearthroughout the world to collect sea surface temperature and otherdata.
Much of the debris will be plastic, which doesn't completelybreak down. That raises concerns about marine pollution and thepotential harm to marine life. But the amount of tsunami debris,while massive, still pales in comparison to the litter that isdumped into oceans on a regular basis, Ebbesmeyer said.
Ebbesmeyer and retired NOAA researcher Jim Ingraham are using acomputer program to plot the path of debris from the March 11tsunami to add to growing knowledge about ocean currents. Themodeling relies on weather data collected by the U.S. Navy, and theresearchers are waiting for the monthly release of that data to maketheir first projections.
Ingraham developed the program to figure out the effects of oceancurrents on salmon migration, but the two also have been using it toplot the path of a multitude of floating junk.
Ebbesmeyer first became interested in flotsam when he heardreports of beachcombers finding hundreds of water-soaked shoes inWashington, Oregon and Alaska. An Asia cargo ship bound for the U.S.in 1990 had spilled thousands of Nike shoes into the middle of theNorth Pacific Ocean. He was able to trace serial numbers on shoes tothe cargo ship, giving him the points where they began drifting inthe ocean and where they landed.
The oceanographer also has tracked plastic bath toys - frogs,turtle, ducks and beavers - that fell overboard a cargo ship in 1992in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and were later found in Sitka,Alaska.
Anderson says he constantly scans the beaches watching forsomething that catches his eye. He's found about 20 bottledmessages, mostly from schoolchildren, and the several hundred Nikesneakers, which he cleaned up by soaking in water and eventuallygave away, sold or swapped.
"In two years, there's going to be stuff coming in (from Japan),and probably lots of it," he said. "Some of it is bound to come in."
Debris from Japan's tsunami to hit West Coast in year or soSEATTLE - John Anderson has discovered just about everythingduring the 30 years he's combed Washington state's beaches - glassfishing floats, hockey gloves, bottled messages, even hundreds ofmismatched pairs of Nike sneakers that washed up barnacled butotherwise unworn.
The biggest haul may come in one to three years when, scientistssay, wind and ocean currents eventually will push some of themassive debris from Japan's tsunami and earthquake onto the shoresof the U.S. West Coast.
"I'm fascinated to see what actually makes it over here, comparedto what might sink or biodegrade out there," said Anderson, 57, aplumber and avid beachcomber who lives in the coastal town of Forks,Wash.
The floating debris will likely be carried by currents off ofJapan toward Washington, Oregon and California before turning towardHawaii and back again toward Asia, circulating in what is known asthe North Pacific gyre, said Curt Ebbesmeyer, a Seattleoceanographer who has spent decades tracking flotsam.
Ebbesmeyer, who has traced Nike sneakers, plastic bath toys andhockey gloves accidentally spilled from Asia cargo ships, is nowtracking the massive debris field moving across the Pacific Oceanfrom Japan. He relies heavily on a network of thousands ofbeachcombers such as Anderson to report the location and details oftheir finds.
"If you put a major city through a trash grinder and sprinkle iton the water, that's what you're dealing with," he said.
As to whether any of the debris might be radioactive from thedevastation at Japanese nuclear power plants, James Hevezi, chair ofthe American College of Radiology Commission on Medical Physics,said there could be.
"But it would be very low risk," Hevezi said. "The amount thatwould be on the stuff by the time it reached the West Coast would beminimal."
Only a small portion of that debris will wash ashore, and howfast it gets there and where it lands depends on buoyancy, materialand other factors. Fishing vessels or items that poke out of thewater and are more likely influenced by wind may show up in a year,while items like lumber pieces, survey stakes and household itemsmay take two to three years, he said.
If the items aren't blown ashore by winds or get caught up inanother oceanic gyre, they'll continue to drift in the North Pacificloop and complete the circle in about six years, Ebbesmeyer said.
"The material that is actually blown in will be a fraction" ofthe tsunami debris, said Curt Peterson, a coastal oceanographer andprofessor in the geology department at Portland State University inOregon. "Some will break up in transit. A lot of it will miss ourcoast. Some will split up and head up to Gulf of Alaska and (BritishColumbia)."
"All this debris will find a way to reach the West Coast or stopin the Great Pacific Garbage Patch," a swirling mass of concentratedmarine litter in the Pacific Ocean, said Luca Centurioni, aresearcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego.
"The dispersion is pretty large, so it's not like a straight shotfrom Tokyo to San Francisco," said Centurioni, the principalinvestigator for the Global Drifter Program funded by NOAA. Theprogram deploys about 900 satellite-tracked drifting buoys each yearthroughout the world to collect sea surface temperature and otherdata.
Much of the debris will be plastic, which doesn't completelybreak down. That raises concerns about marine pollution and thepotential harm to marine life. But the amount of tsunami debris,while massive, still pales in comparison to the litter that isdumped into oceans on a regular basis, Ebbesmeyer said.
Ebbesmeyer and retired NOAA researcher Jim Ingraham are using acomputer program to plot the path of debris from the March 11tsunami to add to growing knowledge about ocean currents. Themodeling relies on weather data collected by the U.S. Navy, and theresearchers are waiting for the monthly release of that data to maketheir first projections.
Ingraham developed the program to figure out the effects of oceancurrents on salmon migration, but the two also have been using it toplot the path of a multitude of floating junk.
Ebbesmeyer first became interested in flotsam when he heardreports of beachcombers finding hundreds of water-soaked shoes inWashington, Oregon and Alaska. An Asia cargo ship bound for the U.S.in 1990 had spilled thousands of Nike shoes into the middle of theNorth Pacific Ocean. He was able to trace serial numbers on shoes tothe cargo ship, giving him the points where they began drifting inthe ocean and where they landed.
The oceanographer also has tracked plastic bath toys - frogs,turtle, ducks and beavers - that fell overboard a cargo ship in 1992in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and were later found in Sitka,Alaska.
Anderson says he constantly scans the beaches watching forsomething that catches his eye. He's found about 20 bottledmessages, mostly from schoolchildren, and the several hundred Nikesneakers, which he cleaned up by soaking in water and eventuallygave away, sold or swapped.
"In two years, there's going to be stuff coming in (from Japan),and probably lots of it," he said. "Some of it is bound to come in."
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Several doctors and nurses who treated injured anti-government protesters during the months of unrest in Bahrain will be tried in a military court on charges of acting against the state, the justice minister said Tuesday.
Khaled bin Ali Al Khalifa said the charges against 23 doctors and 24 nurses include participating in attempts to topple the island's Sunni monarchy and taking part in illegal rallies.
The announcement is the latest in the Sunni rulers' relentless pursuit of Shiite opposition supporters after weeks of street marches demanding greater freedoms, equal rights and an elected government in Bahrain.
During the unrest, medical staff …
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. - Ten Republicans, one stage, 90 minutes - just enough time for Rudy Giuliani, John McCain or Mitt Romney to make a major gaffe as underdog rivals scramble for relevancy during the first GOP presidential debate Thursday.
The three heavyweights were expected to boast of their own past accomplishments and outline their visions for the future, mainly playing it safe as they seek to start distinguishing themselves from one another eight months before the first GOP primary votes are cast.
"This is batting practice," said Rich Galen, a GOP strategist who offered the trio a bit of advice: "Don't get hurt."
Giuliani, McCain and Romney all kept their public campaign schedules relatively light over the past few days, opting to spend as much time as possible huddling with aides to rehearse their responses to expected questions on top issues such as Iraq, immigration, taxes, abortion, gay marriage and terrorism.
Lesser-known candidates like Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas and former Govs. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin and Jim Gilmore of Virginia were simply looking for respect, hoping to be seen as serious contenders in the jam-packed field.
Reps. Tom Tancredo of Colorado and Duncan Hunter of California were sure to use the gathering as a platform to plug their signature issues: immigration and national security, respectively. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas also was to be on stage for the debate, scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. EDT at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library north of Los Angeles.
MSNBC and The Politico were co-sponsoring the debate, moderated by MSNBC's Chris Matthews. Library officials said the former president's widow, Nancy Reagan, would attend.
Missing will be three Republicans still weighing whether to run - Fred Thompson, the actor and former Tennessee senator, Newt Gingrich, the ex-House speaker from Georgia, and Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. They also weren't slated to participate in two more debates - in South Carolina and New Hampshire - over the next month.
The Reagan library was a fitting setting. Most, if not all, of the Republican candidates have embraced Reagan's legacy and called for their party to return to the small-government, low-tax, strong-military ideals he espoused. California also is fertile ground in the GOP primary fight now that the state has decided to hold its primary on Feb. 5, far earlier than in elections past.
With 10 candidates answering a wide range of questions in such a limited amount of time, Republican operatives say Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, McCain, a four-term Arizona senator, and Romney, an ex-Massachusetts governor, probably won't have much of a chance to make significant impressions that could help them break out of the leaders' pack and shake up the race.
"It's going to be very short," Romney told Jay Leno on Wednesday on "The Tonight Show." "Get on, get off, keep your hair from getting messed up."
"It's mostly a matter of sticking to the talking points that you've been saying," Galen said. "The good news for any of the top three is not to make any news."
Nevertheless, the seven second- and third-tier GOP hopefuls could prove dangerous to the trio, providing numerous opportunities for missteps.
Asked how a candidate gets ready to face nine opponents, McCain told reporters last week aboard his campaign bus in New Hampshire: "You just prepare your own answers. You probably know most of the questions."
"I'm not sure how you manage 10 people. It's awfully hard logistically," added McCain, who lost the nomination to George W. Bush in 2000. "It's not like it was with me and Bush."
Other candidates are looking to earn a seat at the head table.
"The key thing is just to be able to show there's a capacity to stand with those others and there's a misconception about what a front-runner looks like," said Huckabee, who trails several rivals in fundraising, polls and organization. In an interview, the ex-governor said he also is focused on avoiding mistakes - "like falling off the podium or looking at my watch."
As the 10 prepare to take the stage, questions abound:
-Will Giuliani, the former mayor of ultraliberal New York who is known to ramble on the campaign trail, project a focused message and adequately answer for his moderate stances on social issues?
-Will McCain, linked to the unpopular war in Iraq and fighting the perception that he's tired, broaden his pitch and show energy?
-Will Romney, fighting the label of flip-flopper and scoring low in the polls, come across as sincere in his beliefs and prove he deserves his top-tier spot?
Perhaps the biggest unknowns are whether any of the front-runners make a fatal misstep and will any one of the underdogs emerge.
---
On the Net:
Tsunami in Asia. Pandemic influenza worldwide. SARS in Toronto. Obese North American populations. HIV/AIDS in Africa. What's the link?
The capacity of public health systems connects these events. The widespread devastation from the South Asian tsunami and the global response to it reminds us that public health issues are never distant from reality. They should also continue to stir us from complacency.
Canada's ability to deal with predictable issues such as HIV/AIDS, heart disease, influenza, diabetes, and obesity, among others, is limited because of under-investment in public health capacity. The Canadian Public Health Association, in partnership with the Canadian …
(ADPnews) - Jan 28, 2011 - KPMG Switzerland, part of accounting consultancy KPMG International, announced today the appointment of Marc Goessi as head of the Performance & Technology service group.
Goessi, 40, will assume the post on February 1, 2011. He …
