Bruno’s Quick Bites

Recently reviewed restaurants by dining critic Pat Bruno. (Star ratings: ★★★★ Extraordinary; ★★★ Excellent; ★★ Very Good; ★ Good; Zero stars: Poor)

The Bedford, 1612 W. Division; (773) 235-8800; bedfordchicago.com. The Bedford serves modern contemporary cuisine in what once was the lower level of a bank. The vault door and other bank fixtures are part of the restaurant decor, and the atmosphere is modern and quite nice. Can you bank on the food? Yes, but it's not going to light up the night sky with culinary fireworks. Try the fava bean crostini, mussels, seasonal soup and pork chop. ★★ (Reviewed Aug. 5)

Porkchop, 941 W. Randolph; (312) 733-9333; pork chopchicago.com. …

CLYDE THE CAMEL

With his 'parents' Gary and Renae Drake

Clyde is a pretty popular attraction in December. For most of his 11 years, he has been a regular fixture at living nativities and holiday festivals across the Treasure Valley. His owners, Gary and Renae Drake of Nampa, transport Clyde in a makeshift wagon to dozens of events each year (almost always for free). Gary, a metal fabricator and self-professed "jack of all trades," loves his one-on-one time with Clyde and sharing him with his kids and grandkids. But when the holidays come around, he and Renae are passionate about sharing their "family member" with the young and the young-at-heart.

Do you have an array of …

Ronald Reagan's son seeks memorial for 1987 speech urging the Berlin Wall be torn down

Former U.S. presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan both made landmark Cold War speeches in Berlin, but while Kennedy is remembered with a city square, a museum and a school, traces of Reagan are harder to find.

Michael Reagan, his son, hopes to change that.

Reagan wants Berlin to build a memorial to his father, who as U.S. president from 1981-1989 exhorted Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.

In a June 12, 1987 speech at the Brandenburg Gate, Ronald Reagan stood before throngs of West Berliners in front of the wall and implored Gorbachev to end the Cold War.

"Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate," …

Footfalls aren't falling ; Soaring inflation hasn't quite transformed mall rats into house mice not yet.

Last fortnight, Noel Tata, Managing Director, Trent Ltd, flaggedoff its 4th hypermarket format, a Star Bazaar flagship store, insuburban Mumbai. This is the second such store in Mumbai.

Spread over 75,000 sq. ft, the store will stock everything fromessentials to niche items like exotic cuisines at an internationalfood section, a live bakery and a deli section. The Tata company'sStar Bazaar is, doubtless, yet another gleaming temple of modern-day India. Yet, at a time when inflation is raging and consumersentiment isn't at its zenith, the timing of the launch could bequestioned. Tata, for his part, doesn't see any cause for shilly-shallying. It is not risky to open a store …

Carl G. Stockholm, Businessman

Carl G. Stockholm, 99, a businessman and bicycle racingchampion who helped bring the U-505 submarine to Chicago, died Sundayat his vacation home in Walnut Creek, Calif.

A River Forest resident, he founded Stockholm Cleaners, whichat one time had two plants and more than 20 stores throughout thearea, in the 1930s. For Chicago's Century of Progress World's Fairin 1933, he designed a glass-enclosed state-of-the-art dry cleaningplant.

He sold the business in the 1960s but bought a small chain,O'Connor Cleaners, in the River Forest-Oak Park area. He sold thatgroup in the 1980s. In later years, he concentrated on real estateinvesting and developing.Along with …

China hikes bank reserves in move to cool lending

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese banks were ordered to set aside more reserves Wednesday in a new move to curb lending as Beijing tries to cool rising inflation.

The central bank's order came on the eve of Thursday's release of figures that are expected to show inflation surged past 4 percent in October, above the government's 3 percent target. September inflation was 3.6 percent.

Consumer prices are especially sensitive in a society where poor families spend up to half their incomes on food. Rising incomes have helped to offset price hikes, but chronic inflation erodes the value of savings and raises the prospect of unrest.

While other governments try to shore up weak growth, …

How states fared on jobless claims, at a glance

The Labor Department said Thursday that new claims for jobless benefits fell modestly last week, a sign the job market is slowly healing as the economy recovers.

Here's a look at the states with the biggest changes in initial jobless claims, and some of the reasons for the shifts. The state data is for the week ending April 24, one week behind the nationwide figures.

States reporting the largest increases in claims:

California: up 6,418, due to layoffs in the service industry

Massachusetts: up 4,526, due to layoffs in the transportation, warehousing, and service industries

Oregon: up 3,117

…

Electrician opened Horan's Snug, other taverns

AENEAS HORAN

1940-2007

Aeneas Horan was a master storyteller who knew a joke for everyoccasion.

His signature ending was "enough said."

The youngest of nine children, he left Ireland at 16 to make hisfortune in America. Over the years, he also made a lot of friends.

He settled in River Forest, opened a series of taverns and workedas an electrician with Local 134. Horan's Snug, a restaurant andtavern in Forest Park that he sold seven years ago, still bears hisname.

"There was always a drink, always a story and always an opendoor," said his daughter Mary Seavey of Forest Park.

Mr. Horan died April 23 at his home in Fort …

Poll: German president should stay despite scandal

BERLIN (AP) — A poll shows Germans believe the president's credibility has suffered due to a loan scandal and a furious call to a newspaper editor — but many don't think he should resign.

Christian Wulff has faced questions for weeks over a loan from a businessman's wife.

Pressure intensified with revelations Wulff called a newspaper's editor before it broke the story. The …

Senators say US nuclear detection plan is flawed

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Homeland Security Department is wasting time and money on its current plan to develop technology to detect nuclear material at U.S. borders, two senators said Wednesday.

Sens. Joseph Lieberman, an independent, and Susan Collins, a Republican, slammed the department for not having a strategic plan to develop critical technology that could prevent a nuclear terrorist attack on the U.S.

Congressional investigators have criticized the program since 2006. The Obama administration blames most of the program's problems on the Bush administration. But Lieberman and Collins say the current administration is not working fast enough to fix them.

"We're not …

Participants reflect breadth of the church

Pastors, professors, conference ministers

A first-year pastor from a Canadian congregation ... a conference minister from the west coast ... a Hmong congregation in the south ... the pastoral team of a city congregation ... a cluster of pastors from different denominations in a region ... Hispanic pastors in a Dallas, Texas, class. All of these have become partners with AMBS professors through Engaging Pastors.

The program includes ten components that give pastors and professors different ways to learn from each other. Now four years into a five-year plan, Engaging Pastors has a significant record both in the variety and in the number of participants. (See page …

Memphis dad guilty in killing, dismemberment

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A jury has convicted a Memphis man of murder after his three children gave vivid testimony about how he stabbed and strangled their mother and then dismembered her body.

It took less than two hours for the jury to return the verdict Friday against 33-year-old James Hawkins.

His 15-year-old daughter testified that her father had sexually abused her before killing her …

Extra help for smokers who want to quit

An extra helping hand is being given to people wanting to give upsmoking in Bath.

New sessions have started at a children's centre in the city,while advice and free nicotine patches will also be given out atBath City's home game with Bognor Regis this afternoon.

Sessions will be held every Thursday at 9am at the St Martin'sGarden Children's Centre in Odd Down.

They are aimed at people who want to stop smoking, but organisersare also encouraging successful quitters to attend, to share adviceand support. Tea and coffee will be provided and people can stay forjust five minutes or for an hour.

The move is part of the expansion of the services being offeredby children's centres run by Bath and North East Somerset Council.

Its cabinet member for chidren's services, Cllr Chris Watt (Con,Midsomer Norton Redfield), said: "These new stop smoking sessionsare representative of the sort of service children's centre servicesare trying to achieve. The council wants to help develop healthiercommunities and provide services which are responsive to what localfamilies want. At the centres, children can make friends and learnas they play, and parents can get professional advice on health andfamily matters, learn about training and job opportunities or simplyjust socialise with other people."

A gazebo is being been set up at the Twerton Park ground thisafternoon, at which staff from NHS Bath and North East Somerset'sStop Smoking Team will be on hand to give out free nicotine patches,gum and advice.

The event is being held in the run-up to No Smoking Day whichtakes place on Wednesday.

Smoking cessation adviser Ruth Lander said: "There are a lot ofpeople who want to quit smoking but are not quite sure how and ifthey will be successful.

"We want to get out and about and to show people so they can seefor themselves exactly what we have to offer."

Research shows that around 22 per cent of people in the Bath areasmoke, and of these, around 70 per cent want to quit.

The advisers are also staging a free smoothie day at St Martin'sHospital on Wednesday when visitors will be offered a free drink inthe cafe and a chance to talk to some of the team. The event will bestaged between 11am and 12.30pm.

The Stop Smoking service offers ongoing free face-to-face advice,support and information, including one-to-one meetings and groupdiscussions with trained advisors.

For more details on how you can quit smoking, contact 01225831852.

Study: H.S. Football Players Overweight

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Heavy tackles and 300-pound nose guards are common in pro and college football. Now a study shows the trend toward beefier, overweight linemen is emerging at the high school level.

Researchers at Iowa State University found nearly half of the offensive and defensive linemen playing on Iowa high school teams qualify as overweight, and one in 10 meet medical standards for severe obesity.

"These are 15- and 16-year-old boys that have a weight and body-mass ... that as they enter adulthood puts many at a very adverse health condition," said Dr. Joe Eisenmann, co-author of the study and a professor in pediatric exercise physiology at Iowa State.

The study appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

For years at the pro and college level, teams have sought bigger, stronger linemen who are harder to budge. Players have responded by adding weight and muscle mass, making the 300-pound lineman fairly common, sports medical experts said.

Recently, however, the National Football League and players have taken greater note of health risks for heavy athletes because of two high-profile NFL player deaths and a 2005 study, which concluded that 56 percent of NFL players fit medical standards for obesity.

The size, bulk and ever-widening girth of the pros apparently has not gone unnoticed by those dreaming of one day playing at the next level.

"Sure I look at college players and pro players a lot and size them up," said Chad Wilson, a junior who started at center last season for Iowa City West High School. He wants to add at least another 20 pounds before next season.

Pressure to get bigger, stronger, heavier may come from parents and coaches, but there is also a desire from within, players said.

"You want to have the weight to be able to compete in the conference we're in," said Thomas Reynolds, a junior linebacker hoping to switch to the defensive line next season.

The study's researchers began by gathering height and weight data of 3,686 varsity linemen available from rosters from all classes of Iowa high school football teams. They used that data to calculate a body-mass index, the same tool used for the NFL study.

Of the players analyzed, 28 percent were deemed at risk of being overweight and 45 percent fit the standards for being overweight, including 9 percent who met adult severe obesity standards.

Researchers believe the study is one of the first - and most comprehensive - appraisals of obesity in high school football.

"We don't suspect, though, that Iowa is unique in any way," said Kelly Laurson, a graduate assistant and co-author of the study. "I suspect that states with an even richer high school football tradition, like Florida and Texas, may have an even bigger problem."

But the researchers and sports medicine experts acknowledge the study is not perfect.

The roster data was obtained in the preseason before athletes had a chance to get in shape, and the BMI formula can, in some cases, be deceptive, they said.

Dr. Edward Wojtys, an orthopedic surgeon and chief at the University of Michigan Sports Medicine Service, said the BMI fails to account for muscle mass and lean tissue and is less accurate than more sophisticated measuring techniques.

"On the other hand, there is still an obvious and growing problem of obesity among football linemen," Wojtys said. "The rules have changed in ways that favor larger and larger-sized bodies rather than smaller, athletic ones. It's not a good trend and one we should be concerned about."

Health experts also said the results are no surprise in a society dealing with high rates of child and adolescent obesity. Overweight children and teens face higher risks for heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and weight problems through adulthood.

They said it's impossible to lay blame on any single source or factor.

"But I think if we're honest about it, at least in this case, we'd have to look at the role models for these young athletes," said Dr. George Phillips, a pediatrician at the University of Iowa's Sports Medicine Center.

"Most of these kids aren't going to play professionally or even at the college level. So what we need to do is to make sure if they're going to add weight, muscle mass, that they do it in a healthy way."

Trotter urges all to seek financial aid

Because February is Financial Aid/Admissions Awareness Month, Illinois Senator Donne E. Trotter (D-16th) is asking all to seek information on these programs.

"Now is the time that most high school seniors are deciding what to do after graduation," said Trotter. "That's why it is important for those who are college-bound to know where to get the financial aid they need to continue their education."

According to Trotter, there are 57 free workshops available across the state.

Attendees should bring their 2001 income tax forms with them which are needed to complete the free application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

This is a form most commonly used for federal Pell grants, Illinois MAP grants, educational loans and numerous other scholarships and grants.

Trotter said there will be representatives on hand to help in the completion of the forms and to answer questions applicants may have.

Illinois Student Assistance Commission officials say almost $1 billion in financial aid is awarded to 250,000 students annual. "There are millions of dollars out there...," he said, adding: "it's just a matter of finding it."

For further information, call: 1-800-899-4722.

Article copyright REAL TIMES Inc.

Ranjani Shettar

NEW DELHI

Ranjani Shettar

TALWAR GALLERY

Ranjani Shettar's recent solo show, containing two sculptural installations and four woodcut prints, dressed the mundane in the garb of the mysterious. In Touch Me Not, 2006-2007, creamy-colored wooden beads are attached to a snow-white wall; their carefully fashioned, lacquered spheres balance on silvery metal rods. Like the bashful plant for which it is named, Shettar's beadwork seems acutely sensitive to the viewer: The beads form undulating lines on the wall that seem to meet and merge while casting tiny, shuddering, bubblelike shadows.

For the second installation, viewers meandered down a staircase into the gallery's dimly lit basement. Me, No, Not Me, Buy Me, Eat Me, Wear Me, Have Me, Me, No, Not Me, 2006-2007, lives up to its riddling title. Thin strips of multicolored steel are woven together to create five basketlike forms, their squat shapes suggestive of both rusty machinery and crouching animals. The viewer is trapped and enveloped by grid-patterned shadows. The silhouettes of these pseudovessels are as fearsome as those of Touch Me Not are fetching.

Shettar's exhibition was called "Epiphanies"-a word the artist says expresses her feelings when method and material combine to produce the desired effect. Though she was born in Bangalore and is still based there, there is nothing obviously Indian about Shettar's work, and she has shown more extensively abroad (most recently, at the Biennale de Lyon 2007) than at home. But, appearances notwithstanding, India's rapid urbanization and the consequent erosion of rural traditions find their way into her art. Me, No, Not Me . . . deals with consumption and production. The work was fashioned by hired laborers from the bodies of old cars in Bangalore's junkyards. Each steel strip retains the partially rusted color of the original vehicle-red, blue, green, slathered over with white metal paste-reflecting Bangalore's recycling industry, which is powered by low-wage laborers. India's transition from a rural to an industrial society, evident in Bangalore's construction boom, is evoked in the work's semiorganic, semi-industrial shapes. Touch Me Not is the plaintive cry of nature under threat. In the handpainted woodcut River Dance, 2007, soft blue and golden streaks suggest partially evaporated smears of liquid. The aquatic allusions of the prints accord well with the environmental themes of the installations, though it is all too easy to bypass these delicate, small-scale works for the latter's shadowy seductions.

Shettar's ambiguous installations are unusual in the contemporary Indian art scene, where figuration reigns supreme, but they aren't without precedent. The Baroda-based Valsan Kolleri's site-specific installations are similarly preoccupied with the ways in which the rural order is yielding to industrialization. Like Shettar's installations, Kolleri's copper-wire meshes play games with light and shadow, though they often operate with a more muted palette. Given Talwar Gallery's support of site-specific work by artists such as Shettar and Kolleri, it is sad that the weakest part of this exhibition was the space in which it was displayed: Talwar's Delhi quarters, unlike many Mumbai galleries, feel more like a home than an exhibition space, and while Touch Me Not was given plenty of air and light to work its magic on the first floor, Me, No, Not Me . .. was less fortunate. Positioned in a dingy drawing room-like area, its interlacing metallic strips lost some of their rainbow-hued glory.

-Zehra Jumabhoy

Phil Leeds, veteran character actor

LOS ANGELES Phil Leeds, 82, the character actor with therecognizable face and unknown name who said casting agents alwayscalled "when they want a funny old man," has died.

Mr. Leeds, who appeared in the final or season-ending episodesof four popular series during network sweeps week last May, diedSunday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of pneumonia.

Mr. Leeds was seen that single week in May as Uncle Mel on"Everybody Loves Raymond," as a wizened old man on "Murphy Brown," asan old comic on "Ellen" and as Judge Boyle on "Ally McBeal."

"Here's how I describe myself: I am the guy who people say,`Here comes what's-his-face,' " Leeds said with customary humor in1995. "No one ever knows my name, just my face."

At the time, he was seen weekly as the Kid, the oldest messengerwho moved through crowded Manhattan streets faster on foot than hisyoung colleagues pedaled on bicycles in the television series "DoubleRush." Leeds quipped that the single-season series was his mostsuccessful since his first, "Front Row Center" on the old Dumontnetwork in 1949.

His most recent series role was playing Ned on Tom Selleck's"The Closer" earlier this year.

Leeds appeared in memorable motion pictures, including roles asthe mute mean wizard (his description) in "Rosemary's Baby" and theemergency room ghost in "Ghost."

And he performed in not-so-memorable films such as RichardDreyfuss' "Krippendorf's Tribe" earlier this year.

Leeds attended City College of New York and served in the Armyspecial services during World War II.

He started doing stand-up in New York clubs in his 20s,supplementing his income as a peanut vendor at Yankee Stadium and thePolo Grounds.

Leeds made his Broadway debut in 1942 opposite Betty Garrett in"Of V We Sing." When he wasn't busy on Broadway, he continuedworking in clubs during the 1950s and 1960s.

Outside New York, he had major roles in "Bells Are Ringing,""Song of Norway," "Oklahoma" and in San Francisco in 1973 in "TheSunshine Boys."

That year he moved to Los Angeles to appear in "Two Gentlemen ofVerona" - and stayed on to work in television.

Among the well-known series featuring that well-known face were"All in the Family," "Maude," "Barney Miller," "The Golden Girls,""Night Court," "Roseanne" and "The Larry Sanders Show."

Leeds' wife, the former Toby Brandt, died in 1987.

Tree-lighting ceremony honoring former mayor today

Chicago is gearing up for the holiday season, starting with Thanksgiving on Thursday. The annual State Street Thanksgiving Parade that morning is an obvious choice for Chicagoans looking to celebrate in a big way, however, many smaller neighborhood functions are scheduled with just as much heart as the larger parade - and no street-closing floats.

In the Third Ward, Ald. Dorothy Tillman is organizing the 17th annual Tree Lighting ceremony today at 4 p.m. The ceremony also serves as a tribute to the late Mayor Harold Washington, who died of a heart attack days before the first ceremony was to take place.

"Harold said he wanted to have a simultaneous tree-lighting ceremony in the 'hood at the same time he lit the tree at Daley Plaza," said Tillman. "That was how the ceremony started."

The tree was lit in tribute to Washington for the first four years -- over 1,000 showed up the first year in a show of solidarity for the former Chicago mayor. Tillman said at one point, a younger person showed up at the ceremony asking who Harold Washington was. After that incident she decided to make children an integral part of the ceremony.

"I knew we had to begin again to make sure the children didn't forget Harold," she said. "It's important that as a community we celebrate our heroes so that we don't forget what they've done."

A student essay contest was incorporated into the ceremony. All public and private school students in the Third Ward are invited to participate and winners are given $50 savings bonds. Even the tree-lighting part of the evening has become child-centered, choosing a child to light the tree every year while different high school bands provide music.

Ophelia Daugherty, 72, says the children's participation in the event is what makes her the happiest. Daugherty, who also sings Silent Night during the ceremony every year as the tree is lit, says her four grandchildren have also attended the tree-lighting ceremony over the years.

"It brings so much happiness back to the 47th street neighborhood," Daugherty said.

The holiday spirit of fellowship will also be present at the West Garfield community's Thanksgiving Feast on Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Rev. Dr. Marshall Hatch Sr., of the New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, helped organize the event four years ago, and says it has evolved from a food handout to an event for anyone in the neighborhood, regardless of need, who has nowhere to go on Thanksgiving.

"Our goal is the spirit of the village in the heart of the city," Rev. Hatch said.

Illustrating those sentiments are the dozens of church members who will be cooking and serving homemade meals for those in the neighborhood that want to come. The minister has eaten his Thanksgiving dinners there for the last four years and says that anyone who wants to come should be prepared to have as much turkey, sweet potatoes, corn, dressing, and peach cobbler as they can handle.

"It's a family setting for everyone," he said. "That's the important thing to know."

The village theme is also present in Dolton, where the small suburb's residents will hold their annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

Dolton's ceremony, which is over 60 years old, will feature entertainment from the village's dance teams, Christmas carols from the New Zion Ensemble, and Santa Claus.

"Our mayor is very Christmas-oriented," said Sean Howard, spokesman for Dolton Mayor William Shaw. "It's his favorite time of year. His family and grandchildren are there and it's like one big family reunion for Dolton."

And, for those who cherish tradition, the State Street Thanksgiving Parade will make its way down State Street for the 71st time. Over 300,000 people usually line the streets -- some even earlier than the 8:30 a.m. start time to get a good spot -- and the event is televised to an estimated 1.7 million people nationwide.

Spokeswoman Bonni Pear reminds parade-watchers that downtown lots will be open for those who need to park but that State Street and many of the cross streets from Roosevelt to Randolph will be closed that morning.

"It is the official start to the holiday season in Chicago," Pear said.

The following is the contact information for the various parades:

Harold Washington Tree Lighting Ceremony, (773) 373-3228.

West Garfield Thanksgiving Feast, (773) 287-5051.

Dolton Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony, (708) 935-0470.

The State Street Thanksgiving Parade, www.chicagofestivals.org.

Article copyright REAL TIMES Inc.

Photograph (Harold Washington)

THE IRON LADY IS WEAK

THE IRON LADY IS WEAK

Underestimating Margaret Thatcher

I didn't know Margaret Thatcher; she wasn't a friend of mine. But Meryl Streep, you're no Margaret Thatcher.

Streep, considered by many to be the finest actress of her generation, portrays Thatcher in The Iron Lady. But the film is a pretender to the throne inhabited a year ago by The King's Speech. No doubt, producers of The Iron Lady drooled over accolades and golden statues accumulated by last year's Anglophile biopic, but they have overreached for an Oscar with neither style nor substance to keep them upright. In fact, The Iron Lady is a celluloid masquerade ball, with the primary focus on Streep 's imitation of Thatcher. The film, meanwhile, is a mess.

Director Phyllida Lloyd (who directed Streep in Mama Mia!) unfortunately paints one of the 20th century's most complex individuals as an unrecognizable .cartoon. Streep is surrounded by secondary characters - not much more than window dressing- to frame her performance rather than advance the narrative.

My personal, yet remote, experience with Thatcher decades ago confirmed for me that the lady was never to be underestimated. While staying in London's Park Lane Hotel in July 1982, 1 was awakened in the middle of the night by a cordial, yet rather urgent staffer. I was told the hotel had been "regrettably targeted by a nasty bit of business" due to an Irish Republican Army bomb threat. The IRA had detonated two other bombs earlier that month in London's Hyde and Regent's parks. As we huddled on the sidewalk in our pajamas, a limousine rolled up to the hotel and out stepped Thatcher to greet bleary-eyed hotel patrons, describing the would-be bombers as "these callous and cowardly men." Thatcher glad-handed each of us, as if she was soliciting votes in the midst of an urban war.

Seven years later, during another London visit, I witnessed Thatcher's political sinew again, this time facing off against labor unions that had brought the United Kingdom to a halt with three weeks of transit strikes, shutting down subways, trains and buses. Thatcher did the unthinkable - turning Hyde Park into a parking lot. Refusing to bow to the transit unions and knowing that more commuters would drive automobiles into London and cause gridlock in the inner city, Thatcher dug in her high heels and ordered the British army to serve as traffic cops, allowing people to park their cars on the grounds of the 300-year-old landmark.

Now, that's the iron lady that I and countless others remember. And it's the iron lady I desperately hoped to see in Streep's new movie. All politics aside (much of Thatcher's ultra-conservatism was pretty draconian), the real iron lady was never to be disregarded. Unfortunately the movie The Iron Lady comes across like an over-extended, and quite tedious, SNL skit.

At the recent Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D. C., comethenne Tracey Ullman asked Streep, her good friend and co-star in Plenty, "Is there anything you're crap at, Meryl?"

The line got a big laugh - there is little that the two-time Oscar winner doesn't excel at on screen. And for all I know, Streep's performance in The Iron Lady may have been swell, but I hated the movie too much to notice.

[Sidebar]

Even Meryl Streep couldn't save this underwhelming Anglophile biopic.

THE IRON LADY (PG-13)

Directed by Phyllida Lloyd

Starring Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent and Richard E. Grant

Opens on Friday at Edwards 22

Internet marketing keeps hotels busy

Although travel throughout the United States has decreased since Sept. 11, Central Pennsylvania hotels are doing relatively well. According to Phil Guarno, general manager of the Harrisburg-Hershey Marriott, business did decrease, but it only lasted a couple weeks.

And some area hotel managers said that the Web, generally, is helping them draw business. "I think we're fortunate to be in Central Pennsylvania that's mostly a drive-in location and is not as affected by the decrease in travel nationwide," Guarno said. "Many people restructured their vacation plans after Sept. 11."

The change in previous plans turned out to be a plus for many Central Pennsylvania locations, including Guarno's Marriott, the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center, Lancaster Host Resort & Conference Center, and the Clarion Hotel and Convention Center in Carlisle. All reported an increase in room rentals. Guarno attributes this to the location.

"Besides it being the state capital, [Harrisburg's] got a very strong tourism industry," he said, adding that the hotel's proximity to the Hershey attractions helps business.

According to a state study of tourism, there were more than 5 30,000 jobs generated by tourism in 1999, the most recent year for which information was available.

The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development recently initiated a program named "Rediscover Pennsylvania," designed to stimulate tourism in the state. It began in November. The program highlights discounts and travel packages throughout the state from hotels, attractions and shopping centers, and can be found on the Internet at www.experiencepa.com.

In addition to providing travel information and special prices for users, the Internet has become another source of business for Pennsylvania hotels, many of which have reservation abilities on their Web sites.

The Marriott's site (www.marriott.com) allows guests to search for hotels and book rooms through a central reservation system.

The Lancaster Host Resort also receives online reservations and has tracked business to its site (www.lancasterhost.com). The Host Resort's regional director of sales and marketing, Kevin Bergman, says that Web users have definitely increased in the past few years.

"At first, the Web site was mainly used by people to check out the place," he said. "Not so much for reservations. No one trusted the Web to secure their reservations."

However, with the changing times and increase in Internet users, Bergman says that the lack of trust with e-commerce is no longer as prevalent.

"People now feel safer about reserving online."

With a new travel-incentive program throughout the state and a boost in hotel business generated from the World Wide Web, feelings are optimistic for the tourism and hotel industry in the coming year, especially from Marriott's Guarno.

"Central Pennsylvania, in general, is doing well. As the Marriott Corp., we're proud to be a part of it."

Wade's Season Over

Dwyane Wade needs time to heal, and the Miami Heat saw no reason to further postpone the inevitable.

Wade will miss the remainder of the season so he can further rehabilitate his surgically repaired left knee, which has bothered him for about a year. He will undergo a powerful shock-wave treatment later this week, and hopes he will be pain free in time for next season.

"I'm doing what's right," Wade said Monday night. "I would love to be out there with my teammates, but in the long run, I think my teammates would love for me to be healthy and be out there with them when we're fighting to get in the playoffs again."

There's no chance of that this year _ Miami entered Monday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers with the NBA's worst record, 11-50.

So, with all hope of saving this dismal season gone, Heat coach Pat Riley agreed that the time has come to shut down his All-Star guard.

"There's no doubt it's a function of the record. My God, it didn't take a news bulletin for that," Riley said. "Yes, we aren't going to make the playoffs. It's a lost season. We know that. We don't want it to be a lost career. That's how I look at it."

Wade finishes the season averaging 24.6 points, fifth-best in the NBA.

He will miss Miami's final 21 games, and essentially get about 3 1/2 months off before the U.S. Olympic men's basketball team reconvenes to resume training for this summer's Beijing Games. Riley clearly has some concerns about seeing his franchise's best player expose himself to potential injury, but indicated he won't bar Wade from playing for his country, either.

"That's Dwyane's decision," Riley said. "He wants to be an Olympic champion."

Wade still wants to be part of that, yet acknowledged that playing in China isn't his primary goal right now.

"I'm still committed to the Olympic team," Wade said. "But right now, my focus is on getting healthy."

That's been his focus for some time.

Injuries have been a constant throughout Wade's five NBA seasons, especially since the Heat won the title in 2006. He dislocated his left shoulder last February, returned for the final few games of the regular season, but was so hobbled by knee pain that the high-flyer could barely dunk.

Surgery on both joints followed on May 15, and doctors told Wade it would take a year for the knee to feel normal again. He hasn't been at full strength since, and of late, the pain has been so severe that he could barely get out of bed on Friday.

"It's time to just move on and get him the rest he needs," Riley said. "If it's another 30 days, so be it."

Wade and the Heat have decided he'll undergo OssaTron treatment _ a high-tech, high-powered form of shock wave therapy. The non-surgical procedure lasts about 30 minutes, and afterward, Wade will be limited to passive exercise (such as swimming and bicycle work) for the first 30 days. After that, he may return to basketball-related activity.

Riley, who consulted with team physician Dr. Harlan Selesnick about the treatment, said the Heat will have the OssaTron machine delivered "in the next day or two."

"The knee will be hit with shock waves, electrical shock waves," Riley said. "It's actually a pretty painful procedure."

Chris Quinn agreed with that assessment. The Heat guard had OssaTron treatment after last season on the bottom of both feet to relieve heel and arch pain.

"It hurts a little bit," Quinn said. "It felt like if you were to stick your finger in a socket and get shocked."

OssaTron has been used to treat injuries such as plantar fasciitis and tennis elbow when other more conventional treatments fail to bring as much relief as a patient would like. Heat center Alonzo Mourning has undergone the same procedure in the past to alleviate tendinitis, Riley said.

"It's had a lot of great results," Riley said.

Wade becomes the third Heat player who's out for the season because of injuries, adding to a litany of roster woes in Miami. Mourning and forward Dorell Wright both have knee injuries and will not play the rest of the year.

A number of other Heat players are also nicked up right now, including forward Udonis Haslem (ankle), guard Marcus Banks (hamstring) and center Earl Barron (knee). Banks will miss at least a week and possibly more, said Riley, who had eight players _ the NBA minimum _ at his disposal Monday night.

"It's like one thing after another," Heat forward Shawn Marion said.

A roster spot became open Monday when Miami waived guard Smush Parker, who has been inactive most of the season because of a legal matter. Riley has said that he's considering signing a player or two to a 10-day contract, and one possibility could be guard Brian Chase, who was with the Heat in training camp.

"I can still go out there and play," Wade said. "But I can't be as good, or as whatever I am, as I want to be."

Google: Critics of Vietnam mine face online attack

Google Inc. says malicious software has been used to spy on Vietnamese computer users opposed to a controversial bauxite mine in the Southeast Asian country. Computer security firm McAfee said the perpetrators may be linked to the communist government.

The "malware" has targeted "potentially tens of thousands" of people who downloaded software allowing users to type in Vietnamese, a posting on Google's online security blog said Tuesday. It said the malware has been used for "damaging purposes" _ to attack blogs containing messages of political dissent.

"Specifically, these attacks have tried to squelch opposition to bauxite mining efforts in Vietnam, an important and emotionally charged issue in the country," Google engineer Neel Mehta wrote in the posting.

The Chinese-built mine is planned for Vietnam's Central Highlands and has attracted strong opposition _ including from Vietnam's most famous military hero _ because of fears it would cause major environmental problems and lead to Chinese workers flooding into the strategically sensitive region.

McAfee, which has investigated the malware, also discussed the attacks in a blog posting Tuesday.

"We believe that the perpetrators may have political motivations and may have some allegiance to the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam," wrote George Kurtz, McAfee's chief technology officer.

Vietnamese officials could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

Last week, Google shut down its search operations in China, Vietnam's northern neighbor, after complaints of cyberattacks and censorship there. Google redirected queries from China's mainland to the freer Chinese territory of Hong Kong.

Vietnam also tightly controls its flow of information and has said it reserved the right take "appropriate action" against Web sites it deems harmful to national security.

Last fall, the government detained several bloggers who had criticized the bauxite mine, and in December, a Web site called bauxitevietnam.info, which had drawn millions of visitors opposed to the mine, was hacked.

The malware apparently began circulating at about that time, according the McAfee blog. It said someone hacked into the Web site run by the California-based Vietnamese Professionals Society and replaced a keyboard program that can be downloaded from that site with a malicious program.

Google's blog said the incident underscored the need for Internet users to run regular antivirus checks, and for the international community to take cybersecurity seriously "to keep free opinion flowing."

Among the bauxite mine's opponents is the legendary 98-year-old Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap, who led Vietnamese forces in victories against French and U.S. troops. Giap's photograph is prominently featured on the bauxite Web site.

Suspicion of China runs deep in Vietnam, which has a long history of conflict with its northern neighbor.

The two countries fought a bloody border war in 1979 and they have ongoing disputes about two archipelagoes in the South China Sea, the Spratlys and the Paracels.

_____

On the Web: http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.com/2010/03/chilling-effects-of-malware.html

Indonesia wants to change drug tests for pilots

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Pilots should be tested for drugs a few hours or days before they fly, rather than undergoing the routine testing every six months as they do now, Indonesia's transportation minister said Monday.

Testing them every six months may not be effective because drug users could prepare for the tests, Minister Evert Ernest Mangindaan said.

The ministry is revising regulations after the arrests of three pilots and a co-pilot from budget airliner Lion Air since September for using illicit drugs.

The arrests have raised concern over security and safety in aviation, a main mode of travel in this sprawling nation of 17,000 islands.

"Airlines should carry out strict urine tests for all their pilots few hours or days before they fly aircraft," Mangindaan said in Surabaya, where one of the pilots was arrested this month.

Lion Air pilot Syaiful Salam was arrested Feb. 4 three hours before he was to fly a plane. Authorities said he had a small amount of crystal methamphetamine, known locally as "Shabu-shabu."

Another colleague was arrested in South Sulawesi in January, and a pilot and co-pilot were caught with Shabu-shabu and ecstasy pills last September, two months before the airliner signed the biggest order ever from Boeing — 230 planes with a list price of $21.7 billion.

Last week, a co-pilot failed a random drug test at Jakarta's airport and three others failed to show up for the testing, transportation ministry officials said, without identifying them.

Simeon slaughters Prosser

Simeon's Michael McSmith cruised to a two-hit shutout Wednesday as Simeon routed Prosser 16-0 in a second round Public League playoff game.

While McSmith was strong on the mound, the Wolverines bats were hot as they cranked out 10 runs in the first inning against the overwhelmed Falcons pitching staff.

Simeon will play the winner of Whitney Young-Northside Prep today at UIC (The results of the game were not available by Defender press time).

Simeon head coach Leroy Franklin says he was hesitant about using two freshman in a critical game.

"I have no problem with playing them because they are very good ballplayers, no matter what grade they are in," he told the Defender.

Showing the poise of a senior, McSmith, who missed five games this season because of a broken hand, was in control of the game from the outset.

"I don't feel any pressure because I know I have a good team behind me," McSmith said. "I know that if they hit the ball, my fielders are going to make the play."

Simeon took the suspense out of the game early by roughing up Prosser starter Rich Smorow. The big hits in the inning were a pair two-run doubles by Florence and Charles Lott.

"I think I stuck with Rich too long today," Prosser head coach Jay Thompson told the Defender. "All season long he has worked his way out of problems, but he just couldn't do it today.

"I tried some things today that just didn't work out. We're really a much better team than the final score indicates."

Prosser's record falls to 12-10 with the loss. Their only hope to playing more ball this season is if they are chosen to participate in the state Class AA playoffs.

Simeon continued the assault against Prosser reliever Anthony Koski, scoring two runs in each of the second, third and fourth innings. The game was called after five innings because of the "slaughter rule."

The win improved Simeon to 25-7 on the season. After struggling late in the season, Franklin feels his team is peaking just at the right time.

"We really played a good game today," Franklin said. "We've been struggling a bit, but I think we're finally starting to get it together."

In other Public League playoff action. Harlan edged Von Steuben, 15-13; Hyde Park got past Lake View, 10-3; Lane Tech denied Mather, 8-3; and Clemente defeated Taft, 12-3.

Article copyright REAL TIMES Inc.

Photograph (Michael McSmith)

Philippine president warns another 'people power' revolt will damage her country's image

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Sunday she knows she's not perfect but warned her rivals that an attempt to oust her in a "people power" revolt would damage her country's image and repel foreign investment.

Arroyo's comments came as opposition and left-wing groups prepared to commemorate Monday a 1986 popular uprising that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The groups planned to stage protests in 15 cities to demand Arroyo's resignation following a slew of corruption scandals that have rocked her seven-year rule.

Police, troops and tanks assembled in central Manila to ensure security during the protests, amid fresh rumors of a possible coup. Military and police leaders have reiterated their loyalty to the chain of command and warned their men from backing any anti-government activity.

In 1986, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos massed along a major highway through the heart of Manila to protect mutinous soldiers from a convoy of tanks and troops loyal to Marcos.

Nuns and unarmed civilians holding rosaries and flowers knelt before tanks to halt their advance in iconic images broadcast around the world. Marcos, who ruled with an iron fist for 20 years, was forced to flee into exile in Hawaii, where he died in 1989.

Arroyo was one of the leaders of a 2001 uprising that ousted her predecessor, Joseph Estrada, who was accused of massive corruption and misrule.

In a televised speech Sunday, Arroyo said the world had "embraced" the 1986 people's power uprising as a harbinger of nonviolent political change, and that it had "tolerated" the second revolt in 2001.

But, she warned, a third such revolt would "condemn the Philippines as a country whose political system is hopelessly unstable" and discourage foreign investment just as the government grappled with steep oil price hikes and a global economic slowdown.

Arroyo stressed she would not relinquish power until the end of her term in 2010 and that she would pursue reforms to bolster the economy.

"We all know I am not perfect," Arroyo said in the speech. "But I have worked hard every day to achieve positive and lasting change for the nation."

The prominent left-wing group Bayan, one of the organizers for the anti-Arroyo protests, said the president was discouraging a new uprising because she would be its target.

"The greatest irony is that the person who benefited from `people power' is the first one to condemn it now," Bayan Secretary-General Renato Reyes said.

In the courts

These are among the latest cases to be heard at Bath Magistrates'Court.

David Stannard, 28, of Belgrave Crescent, Bath, was fined Pounds525 and given six penalty points for failing to give a driver'sidentity to the police.

Steve Hill, 43, of Station Road, Keynsham, was fined Pounds 600and given six penalty points for failing to give a driver's identityto the police.

James Doman, 28, of Hobbs Wall, Farmborough, was fined Pounds 200for making off without payment.

Steven White, 28, of Coronation Avenue, Bath, was fined Pounds135 for making off without payment.

Helen Johnson, 42, of The Brambles, Keynsham, was fined Pounds 35and given a restraining order for using threatening and abusivewords or behaviour while subject to a conditional discharge.

Tamra Lewis, 34, of High Street, Twerton, was given a 28-dayprison sentence for shoplifting.

Victoria St John Howe, 39, of Monksdale Road, Bath, was given a12-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months and ordered to payPounds 400 compensation for three counts of assaulting a policeofficer and assault by beating.

Daniel Kent, 19, of Catherine Way, Batheaston, was fined Pounds180 and ordered to pay Pounds 75 compensation for criminal damage.

Claire Hedges, 20, of Dominion Road, Bath, was given a communityorder for assault by beating.

Stephanie Myatt, 28, of Rivers Street, Bath, was fined Pounds 225and given four penalty points for speeding.

Don't let expenses eat fund holdings

You see a pair of pants at one store for $75. They're $50 atanother. Which do you buy?

Most people look carefully at the price tag on a pair of pants.But when it comes to mutual funds, they ignore the price.

The price tag on a mutual fund includes not only the load, orsales charge. Just as important are a fund's expenses - what itcharges shareholders each year to run the fund. Of course, lowexpenses don't necessarily mean a fund is a good buy. But a fundthat keeps a close watch on its expenses has a better chance of doingwell.

The easiest way to compare expenses is to look at a fund'sexpense ratio. That shows the percentage of assets that managementtakes each year to pay expenses. Funds must show the expense ratioin their prospectus, the legal document you get when you firstinvest.

The expense ratio includes rent, salaries and 12b-1 fees, whichpay certain marketing expenses. It doesn't include salescommissions, or loads, that you pay a broker or financial planner.

The average expense ratio for diversified U.S. stock funds is1.42 percent of assets, says Lipper Analytical Services.

Why worry about expenses? Performance: Funds with high expense ratios tend to be long-termlaggards. The average stock fund has risen 230 percent over the last10 years.

In contrast, funds with above-average expense ratios have risen190 percent on average; funds with below-average expense ratios areup 242 percent.

Expenses are vital to bond funds, too. The average U.S.government securities fund has a 1.22 percent expense ratio. Thelast 10 years, the average government bond fund has risen 98 percent.

Funds with above-average expenses have risen 89 percent onaverage, compared with 103 percent for funds with below-averageexpenses. Principle: Funds argue - rightly - that services to shareholdershave increased dramatically. If you want 24-hour customer service,someone has to pay the salaries of the people who answer the phonesat 3 a.m.

On the other hand, "Our service costs have come down as our sizehas increased," says John Brennan, president of Vanguard, thenation's second-largest mutual fund company.

Vanguard has a rock-bottom 0.35 percent average expense ratiofor its general stock funds.

So why are fees rising? A large percentage of expenses gotoward marketing a fund.

Mutual funds argued heavily for 12b-1 marketing fees, sayingattracting more shareholders would mean larger funds and lower costs.

Funds got larger, all right, but expense ratios at many fundsdidn't go down.

Where does all the extra money go? Straight to fund companies'profit margins, which can average 20 percent to 30 percent aftertaxes - some of the highest of any industry.

If your fund company raises fees, write a warm note to the boardof directors.

And if that's not pointed enough, you can use your proxy powerto vote against fee increases. That may not stop the increases, butit will deliver a message.

From time to time, I hear about whoppers unscrupulous brokerstell customers to sell shares. The most recent whopper: Load fundsare cheaper in the long run. The argument goes like this: No-loadfunds have higher expense ratios than load funds. So even countingthe sales charge, a load fund is a better deal in the long run.

"Basically, it's not true," says Amy Arnott, editor ofMorningstar Mutual Funds, which tracks fund performance.

Of the 15 fund groups with the most stock-fund assets, the groupwith the lowest expenses for its diversified U.S. stock funds isVanguard, a no-load group. Fidelity, T. Rowe Price and TwentiethCentury, no-load groups completely or partially, have below-averageexpenses.

Putnam and Merrill Lynch - load groups - have some of thehighest average expenses on their U.S. stock funds.

You can, however, get top-notch performance and below-averageexpenses from both load and no-load funds. Just shop carefully.

California Inventor Develops Ornamental Design for Computer Corner Desk

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 18 -- James S. Sexton of San Ramon, Calif., has developed an ornamental design for a computer corner desk, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office announced.

The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. D580,684 on Nov. 18.

The patent has been assigned to Z-Line Designs Inc., San Ramon.

The original application was filed on Oct. 9, 2007, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D580,684.PN.&OS=PN/D580,684&RS=PN/D580,684.

For more information about US Fed News federal patent awards please contact: Myron Struck, Managing Editor/US Bureau, US Fed News, Direct: 703/866-4708, Cell: 703/304-1897, Myron@targetednews.com.

Call 800/786-9199 (in the U.S. or Canada) or 703/308-4357 for assistance from a U.S. Patent & Trademark Office Customer Service Representatives and/or access to the automated information message system.

California Inventor Develops Ornamental Design for Computer Corner Desk

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 18 -- James S. Sexton of San Ramon, Calif., has developed an ornamental design for a computer corner desk, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office announced.

The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. D580,684 on Nov. 18.

The patent has been assigned to Z-Line Designs Inc., San Ramon.

The original application was filed on Oct. 9, 2007, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D580,684.PN.&OS=PN/D580,684&RS=PN/D580,684.

For more information about US Fed News federal patent awards please contact: Myron Struck, Managing Editor/US Bureau, US Fed News, Direct: 703/866-4708, Cell: 703/304-1897, Myron@targetednews.com.

Call 800/786-9199 (in the U.S. or Canada) or 703/308-4357 for assistance from a U.S. Patent & Trademark Office Customer Service Representatives and/or access to the automated information message system.

Diamondbacks 9, Padres 6, 18 innings

Arizona @ San Diego @

ab r h bi @ ab r h bi

FLopez 2b 8 1 2 1 Gwynn cf 7 0 1 0

GParra lf-rf 7 0 2 0 EGnzlz 2b 7 0 2 0

J.Upton rf 5 1 2 0 AdGnzl 1b 6 1 1 0

RRorts lf 3 1 0 0 Headly lf 8 1 1 1

S.Drew ss 8 1 4 0 Giles rf 6 1 0 0

Rynlds 3b 7 2 1 3 …

Columnist's Words Used in WWII Film

LUVERNE, Minn. - Al McIntosh saw his weekly newspaper column in this prairie town as nothing more than a fleeting record of history, a view reflected in its name: "More or Less Personal Chaff."

Yet nearly 30 years after the publisher's death, his writings have been revived as part of the narrative backbone of "The War," a new World War II documentary by the celebrated filmmaker Ken Burns. Read by the actor Tom Hanks, they reflect one American town's solemn determination.

Burns called "Personal Chaff" perhaps "the single greatest archival discovery we have ever made."

"There's just something about his sense and understanding that came from this amazing perspective …

Korean M&A Disappoints.(mergers and acquisitions in the chemical industry)(Brief Article)

Few Major Combinations Emerge

CONSOLIDATION IN THE Korean chemical industry has been slow during the last three years, despite the heavy debts that still afflict most chemical companies--a legacy of the Asian economic crisis. The need for restructuring is as urgent as ever in 2001 because improving domestic and regional consumption is being swamped by overcapacity, sources say. One big M&A deal was completed, an olefins merger and polyolefins asset swap between Daelim Industrial and Hanwha Chemical at the start of 2000. Only smaller deals have taken place since then, however.

The Korean government is becoming impatient with the slow pace of industry …

A sentimental journey made in 'floating art' A Cayuga County man's gondola odyssey ends as trip begins for international team of gondoliers.(Capital Region)

Byline: CATHY WOODRUFF - Staff Writer

Autumn in New York this year looks a bit like it might if DeWitt Clinton and Henry Hudson had been Italian.

Instead of mule-hauled barges and the Halfmoon's full sails, perhaps our iconic images of the Erie Canal and Hudson River would feature Venetian gondolas gliding along serenely, propelled by striped-shirted gondoliers in straw hats.

Joe Deverell says it's the only way to go.

The 41-year-old Cayuga County industrial engineer spent two weeks traveling from his home on Cross Lake to Waterford on a retired Venetian gondola he purchased five years ago.

"It's been the greatest," he said as he sat at a picnic table at the Waterford Visitor Center shortly after finishing the 180-mile trip. "The gondola is like the pinnacle - the most ornate and artistic. …

ALBANY WOMAN PINES FOR RELATIVES.(MAIN)

Byline: CAILIN BROWN - Staff writer

In her 77 years, Esther Luna has had her share of pain.

Her son was murdered in her homeland of Puerto Rico, so she moved to New York City with her family. There her husband committed suicide. Then she moved to Albany to be close to another son, who is very sick.

Although she has been in New York state for 35 years, Luna speaks almost no English and depends on her son and a friend for translation.

She lives in the South End in a second-floor apartment with her sister, who rarely speaks, and a pet gerbil, some birds and fish. Esther Luna was referred to the Times Union Christmas Fund for the Elderly in …

The Nation's Weather

A Pacific storm system was making for a messy morning in the Northwest early Monday, while rain clouds swirled over the Carolinas. Much of the middle of the nation was to see temperatures in the 70s.

Showers along the West Coast were to span from Washington to central California, with the heaviest rain expected over the central coast of Oregon and northern California.

A frontal system over the Great Basin was to push eastward across the Rockies and into the Plains, triggering rain and snow showers. Cooler temperatures were expected for the majority of the West, with highs across the Northwest ranging in the 40s to 50s. The Southwest was to see temperatures in …

Women's British Open would be excellent substitute for du Maurier

The LPGA Tour could be facing a major void on its schedule nextseason, as efforts to keep one of women's golf's biggest events inCanada appear to be going up in smoke.

The du Maurier Classic, which begins today, probably will cease toexist after this year. Legislation passed three years ago in Canadaprohibits tobacco companies from sponsoring sports events-du Maurieris a brand of cigarette produced by Imperial Tobacco-and no newsponsor has stepped forward.

LPGA commissioner Ty Votaw denied a report last week that herejected an offer to keep one of the tour's four major championshipsin Canada. He said the guaranteed prize funds were insufficient evento call it a …

(H-O) BI DIRECTORY OF ALTERNATIVE RISK-FINANCING FACILITIES.(Directory)(Illustration)

Heritage Warranty Mutual Insurance Risk Retention Group Inc.

Heritage Administrative Co. Inc.

1550 S. 70th St., Suite 101,

Lincoln, Neb. 68506;

402-489-7777; fax: 402-489-7153

Domicile: Hawaii.

Risks: contractual liability from extended service contracts.

Policy form: occurrence.

Access: direct.

First policy: January 1999.

Membership: dealers of new or used automobiles and administration obligors who issue and are obligors under new or used car and/or truck warranties.

Contact: Rod Beery.

(I)

Intergovernmental Risk Management Agency

1 Oakbrook Terrace, Suite 412,

Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. 60181;

630-932-4762; fax: 630-932-7378

Domicile: Illinois.

Risks: general liability; auto liability; public officials; workers comp; property; crime.

Limits: $10,000,000 primary.

Minimum retention: $1,000.

Policy form: occurrence.

Access: direct.

First policy: January 1979.

1998 premium volume: $18,900,000.

1998 assets: $117,800,000.

1998 capital/surplus: $45,300,000.

Policyholders: 77 in 1998; 79 estimated in 1999.

Membership: local government; municipalities; fire protection districts; library districts; special service districts.

Contact: Sal M. Bianchi.

(J)

Joint School Districts Workers Compensation Self-Insurance Pool

RiskCap

1655 Lafayette St., Suite 200,

Denver, Colo. 80218;

303-388-5688; fax: 303-388-5586

Domicile: Colorado.

Risks: workers comp.; employers liability.

Policy form: occurrence.

Access: Colorado School Districts.

First policy: July 1986.

1998 premium volume: $3,400,000.

1998 assets: $10,900,000.

1998 …

Blooming wonderful win all thanks to town's spirit.

COMMUNITY involvement played a pivotal role in helping Buxton sweep the board at last week's East Midlands in Bloom awards.

The spa town topped the Large Town Category with a Silver Gilt Medal, beating the winners for the last three years, Market Harborough, into second place.

And the 168 points awarded to Buxton meant they were only two away from receiving a coveted Royal Horticultural Society Gold Medal.

"I can assure you we will be going for the Gold Medal next year," said Cllr Jane McGrother, Chair of the Buxton in Bloom committee.

"We really have had a good range of community projects this year, and thanks must go to everyone who has …

GINSBURG, GRAHAM NAMED TO WOMEN'S HALL OF FAME.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: Associated Press

ROCHESTER -- Ruth Bader Ginsburg, only the second woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and Katharine Graham, who built The Washington Post into a leading force in American journalism, will be inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame on Oct. 5.

The honor roll of 19 women unveiled Thursday includes 13 whose enshrinement in 2001 was postponed by the Sept. 11 terror …

BRESLIN TARGET PLEASED.(Main)

Breslin A Newsday reporter said she was gratified that the paper turned a reprimand into a suspension for Jimmy Breslin after the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist went on a radio show Tuesday and spoke flippantly about his racial and sexual tirade against her.

Don Forst, the editor of New York Newsday, announced the two-week suspension without pay late Tuesday.

Ji-Yeon Yuh, a Korean-American reporter who was the target of the columnist's epithets, said Wednesday that the punishment was appropriate. …

New abuse cases surface at German Catholic school

The director of a prestigious Catholic high school in Germany says the number of students who have reported past sexual abuse by their teachers, two Jesuit fathers, has risen to 20.

Father Klaus Mertes said Monday that after he sent out 500 letters to alumni of Berlin's private Catholic Canisius Kolleg last month, more students reported abuse by the two, who taught in the 1970s and …

1 Dead, 66 Hurt in Kentucky Bus Crash

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - A bus crashed on Interstate 65 in southern Kentucky early Monday, killing one person and injuring 66 others, a hospital official said.

Four people suffered critical injuries, said Randy Fathbruckner, director of Emergency Medical Services at Bowling Green Medical Center.

The bus had been rented by a family returning to Alabama from a reunion in Buffalo, N.Y., said Clarence Williams, president of C & R Tours.

This is a breaking news update. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) - A bus crashed on Interstate 65 in southern Kentucky early Monday, killing one person and injuring …

Islam is militant.(military roots of Islam)(Brief Article)

A month has passed since the shocking and horrible event of September 11, but American reaction has been cautious. The idea of justice has been promoted and that of revenge rejected; military action is seen as only one of many measures; its application--up to the time of writing, October 10--has been restrained; humanitarian aid on a large scale has been initiated; a distinction between the terrorists and the Taliban on the one hand, and the general population of Afghanistan on the other is recognized; as is the conviction that the terrorists do not represent true Islam. But what about Islamic militancy?

As the British Catholic Times of September 23 points out, 'in …

Essay elevates her mom to finalist for award.(Life-Health)

Byline: JENNIFER GISH - Staff writer

Of course, Christine Barach cried. What mother wouldn't?

You've got three kids. One of them is a 14-year-old serious gymnast, who practices for at least four hours daily six days a week and runs you all over the state and beyond on weekends heading to meets. Your boys are 12 and 16, and for all intents and purposes, you live in a teenager's world all the time.

Somehow you work full-time and manage all of this, and even with kids as good as yours, you still put up with eye rolls and snarky comments. You keep an emergency stash of Calgon under your bathroom sink in case you get to one of those "take me away" moments.

And then, one day, you realize that they think more of …

SLUGGISH GEORGES PACKS LINGERING PUNCH.(MAIN)

Byline: JERRY SCHWARTZ Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS -- Hurricane Georges pummeled the Gulf Coast on Sunday, bringing high wind and heavy rain to Mississippi and Alabama as New Orleans held its breath in hopes it had dodged a catastrophe.

Waves from the Gulf of Mexico leaped across beachfront roads along U.S. 90 in Mississippi, and thousands crowded into almost 250 shelters along the state's coast. Georges' 25-foot waves clipped off fishing piers along Alabama's coast, where there were reports of waves smashing over concrete walls to demolish a pier. No deaths or injuries were reported from the storm, which earlier killed more than 300 in the Caribbean. …

Stores push summertime 'Christmas' sales

Santa in the summer?

Retailers are pumping still more energy this year into trying to get shoppers to loosen their purse strings early for Christmas with sparkly ornaments, holiday music and special prices. In July.

Target Corp. is entering the game for the first time, with a one-day online sale starting Friday morning on 500 items from clothing to …

Keith McCullough, CEO, Hedgeye Risk Management

(This is not a legal transcript. Bloomberg LP cannot guarantee its accuracy.)

KEITH MCCULLOUGH, CEO OF HEDGEYE RISK MANAGEMENT, TALKS ABOUT INVESTMENT OUTLOOK AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY ON BLOOMBERG TV

AUGUST 26, 2010

SPEAKERS: KEITH MCCULLOUGH, CEO, HEDGEYE RISK MANAGEMENT

DEIRDRE BOLTON, REPORTER, BLOOMBERG NEWS

07:03

DEIRDRE BOLTON, REPORTER, BLOOMBERG NEWS: Well, joining me now, someone who was right on the way down, Keith McCullough, CEO of Hedgeye Risk Management and Bloomberg contributing editor, making the call to short the S&P 500 on April 16th, also to short the U.S. dollar on June 7th. Those two calls would have …

Oil Spill Threatens Toothy Marine Predator That Is Cultural and Historic Icon.

Byline: University of Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla., May 27 (AScribe Newswire) -- The BP oil blowout in the Gulf of Mexico threatens the existence of a critically endangered sawfish and its relative that recently has been proposed to join it as the only two marine fish in United States waters to receive such federal protection, says a University of Florida researcher.

The largetooth sawfish, a popular curio item known for its sawlike snout, was proposed as a federally endangered species on May 7, less than three weeks after massive amounts of oil started gushing into Gulf waters, said George Burgess, a UF ichthyologist and sawfish expert.

"The oil spill will not only have very dire effects on such highly visible creatures as seabirds and dolphins, but also threatens a multitude of …