Report: US judge lets inmate reports languish

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge in Los Angeles allowed reports indicating inmates might have been wrongly convicted to languish for years, saying he was either drafting an opinion or there were many documents to review, it was reported Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson has had the opportunity to rule on three cases in which evidence could exonerate the inmates, but he failed to do so, The Daily Journal said.

An email message left for Anderson's clerk was not immediately returned.

Habeas corpus petitions allow state prisoners to seek review in federal court. There is no set time frame in which a judge must rule, but legal experts interviewed by the newspaper …

World stocks rise on improved US confidence

Stocks rose Friday after a key indicator of U.S. consumer confidence improved more than expected, suggesting the world's largest economy is on the mend.

Investors also were cheered by strong Chinese economic data, a raised outlook by FedEx and comments by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that the financial sector no longer required some government support measures.

Germany's DAX rose 0.8 percent to 5,640.82, while Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.9 percent to 5,032.07. France's CAC-40 was up 1.1 percent at 3,748.10.

After most indexes in Asia closed higher, Wall Street also was rising. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.1 percent to …

Resorting to Rental May Be Best Bet For Family Trips

Sally Geisse was supposed to be in paradise - a luxuriousHawaiian resort with lovely swimming pools, lush tropical gardensand plenty for her children to do. But with a baby, a toddler and a5-year-old crammed into one hotel room, it sure didn't feel anywhereclose to heaven.

"Someone was always napping in my room," sighed Geisse, wholives in San Francisco. "And just getting to breakfast with the kidstook 15 minutes. In retrospect, maybe a beachside condo, where thefamily could have comfortably spread out, would have been a betterbet.

As Stephanie Bass discovered in Orlando, however, even plenty ofroom and a kitchen don't necessarily make for a perfect …

Canucks slip past Oilers 4-3

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Raffi Torres had a hat trick against his former team Tuesday and the Vancouver Canucks withstood a late charge to beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 for their fourth straight win.

Daniel Sedin also scored for the Canucks (6-3-2), who won for the first time on the road this season. Vancouver plays seven of its next eight away from home.

Dustin Penner, Ryan Jones and Gilbert Brule scored for the Oilers (3-5-2), who have one win in their past eight games after a 2-0 start.

After Vancouver blew a three-goal lead, Torres completed his hat trick with a backhand that surprised Oilers goalie Nikolai Khabibulin with nine minutes to go in the third.

The …

Fourth Test Scoreboard

Scoreboard at the end of the fourth cricket test Monday between India and Australia at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium:

India, 1st Innings 441

Australia, 1st Innings 355

India, 2nd Innings 295

Australia, 2nd Innings

(Overnight: 13 without loss)

Matthew Hayden lbw Harbhajan 77

Simon Katich c Dhoni b Sharma 16

Ricky Ponting run out 8

Michael Clarke c Dhoni b Sharma 22

Michael Hussey c Dravid b Mishra 19

Shane Watson c Dhoni b Harbhajan 9

Brad Haddin c Tendulkar b Mishra 4

Cameron White not out 26

Jason Krejza st Dhoni b …

$9 mil. punitive damages in N.J. Vioxx case

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- A jury awarded $9 million in punitivedamages Tuesday to a man who blamed his heart attack on Vioxx,finding that manufacturer Merck & Co. knowingly withheld informationabout the risks of its arthritis drug from federal regulators.

Saying Merck's conduct showed a "wanton and willful disregard ofanother's rights," the state court jury added to the $4.5 million ithad awarded last week to John McDarby, 77, of Park Ridge, N.J., andhis wife, Irma.

Last Wednesday, the same panel found that Merck failed to warn ofthe drug's risks and committed consumer fraud in misrepresenting themto prescribing physicians.

"This is a victory for all of the …

Base Technologies; For the past decade, Philip Morris International and Philip Morris USA have used a select group of applications to manage their supply chains.

For the past decade, Philip Morris International and Philip Morris USA have used a select group of applications to manage their supply chains.

Application Product Supplier

Enterprise resource planning, supply chain management / MySAP suite / SAP

SAP diagnostics and management / NetProcess / IntelliCorp

Additional supply chain systems / NetWorks Monitor, NetWorks Collaborate, Demand Management, Fulfillment Management / …

Obama to meet with McCain at transition office

Once campaign rivals, President-elect Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain are ready to talk about how they can collaborate on issues facing the United States.

A private meeting, slated for Monday at Obama's transition office in Chicago, will be the first since Obama beat McCain, the Republican candidate, in the Nov. 4 election.

Obama, who resigned his Senate seat on Sunday, has been interviewing some of his one-time political opponents to help him run the country, but advisers to the former candidates have said they don't expect Obama to consider McCain for an administration job when the new president takes office on Jan. 20.

The two will be joined …

3 top-security prisons urged by Thompson

SPRINGFIELD Citing overcrowding at Illinois' maximum-securityprisons, Gov. Thompson yesterday proposed building three 750-inmatepenitentiaries.

Under the governor's plan, construction would begin on onefacility each year for three years at a cost of about $41 millioneach. He doubted that any of the three new prisons would be built inCook County.

A Corrections Department report released last month said thestate's oldest maximum-security penitentiaries - Joliet, Stateville,Pontiac and Menard - are "dangerously overcrowded."

"They are the places where violent acts are occurring and wherethey are likely to continue to occur, not because of bad …

Cordero Shows How It's Done As Nats Win

BALTIMORE - After Daniel Cabrera experienced difficulty in getting the third out during a frustrating performance, Chad Cordero needed only seven pitches to record the game's final two outs and earn a milestone save.

The Washington Nationals hit three home runs off Cabrera, and Cordero notched his 100th career save in a 7-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.

Ryan Church hit a solo shot, and Ryan Zimmerman and Brian Schneider both connected with a man on for the Nationals. Felipe Lopez ended an 0-for-19 skid with a two-run double and received three of the 10 walks allowed by Baltimore pitchers.

Cabrera (5-7) gave up seven runs and seven hits in 4 …

Red Cross: Many Afghans dead in US bombing

The international Red Cross says its officials have seen dozens of bodies in each of two villages in western Afghanistan following a U.S. bombing run that villagers say hit civilians.

Jessica Barry, a spokeswoman in Afghanistan for the International Committee of the Red Cross, says its team traveled to Bala Baluk district of Farah province, where bombs fell late Monday.

Barry …

Terra Museum exhibition tells story of Lady Liberty

Right about now - in her centennial - the Statue of Liberty seems tobe suffering from commercial overexposure.

It may be impossible to have too much liberty, but the LadyLiberty hype has reached critical mass. One bright spot seems to beat the Terra Museum of American Art. Terra's "Liberties withLiberty" exhibition explores the statue not solely as a symbol offreedom, but as a synthesis of symbols (some dating to the OldTestament) as well.

The exhibit includes 85 paintings, sculptures, weathervanes,coverlets, trade signs and examples of needlework and scrimshaw artcreated between 1750 and 1984. The show, sponsored by the XeroxFoundation, displays the many ways the …

Lawyer: Assange is being persecuted in Sweden

LONDON (AP) — The lawyer for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says that the decision to add the 39-year-old Australian to Interpol's most wanted list shows that his client is being persecuted.

Media lawyer Mark Stephens says Assange and his attorneys have not been provided with any information beyond what has been reported in the press about the sexual misconduct case against him in Sweden.

He says Assange has repeatedly sought meetings with Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny. Stephens said Wednesday that it was bizarre that Ny sought an arrest warrant after having ignored or rejected Assange's offers of voluntary cooperation.

Stephens said that this appears to be "a persecution and not a prosecution."

Mi amigo! Archie Comics plans Spanish editions

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — After 70 years in English, Archie Comics is poised to start offering some of its titles in Spanish through its digital storefront, making it the first major publisher to expand its language offerings.

Jon Goldwater, co-chief executive of Archie Comics told The Associated Press the titles — Archie, Veronica & Betty and Jughead, among others — will be available and online later Monday and Tuesday as part of its digital offerings.

"We have an incredible number of fans, not just domestically, who speak Spanish," he told AP, adding that the traditional print versions of the comic, in English, have been strong sellers in central and south America, as well as in Spain, too.

But with more and more publishers, Archie included, embracing digital downloads, Goldwater said it made sense to expand its offerings to more than just its comics in English.

"The great thing about our company is that we're not just domestic, we're a global company," he said. "We have made incredible inroads, so we have tremendous fans all throughout that part of the world."

The comics will be available through its digital comics subscriptions at www.archiedigital.com , though iTunes and the iVerse app, the Sony PSP and, in the next few weeks, Android-powered smartphones.

Goldwater said the comics are just the same as they are in English — "The gags seem to translate well," Goldwater said — and that means the adventures of those characters can be told while preserving the sense of story. While Spanish is the first language being offered, plans are in the works to offer editions in French and Hindi, too.

"People really do get the humor behind it," Goldwater said, adding that readers outside of the U.S. can experience a traditional American art form.

"It really is, in a certain sense, the American Dream. I know it sounds corny, but it's the typical small-town America where the kids all get along and everything is working well and there's plenty of food and everyone is sheltered," he said. "It translates very, very well."

___

Online:

http://www.archiecomics.com

Kotex, Kleenex, Huggies: Kimberly-Clark and the Consumer Revolution in American Business

Kotex, Kleenex, Huggies: Kimberly-Clark and the Consumer Revolution in American Business. By Thomas Heinrich and Bob Batchelor. Columbus: University of Ohio Press, 2005. xiv + 263 pp. Index, notes, bibliography, figures, illustrations, tables. Cloth, $48.95. ISBN: 0-814-20976-9.

If Kimberly-Clark had stuck to its original industry-papermaking-it would today be of far less interest to business, let alone cultural, historians. But World War I steered the papermaker into developing Cellucotton, a cellulose-based product used for bandages. Cellucotton, in turn, led to the development of Kotex, the first successfully mass-produced, mass-distributed feminine-hygiene product. Kotex transformed Kimberly-Clark into a diversified manufacturer of industrial and consumer paper goods. The company would eventually claim three entrants in the pantheon of consumer megabrands: Kotex, Kleenex, and Huggies.

Thomas Heinrich and Bob Batchelor use the three brands to structure the book's narrative. Kotex began Kimberly-Clark's transformation. Then, in 1923, a lab assistant suggested using Cellucotton as the base for a makeup-removal tissue, and Kleenex was born. The company later repositioned Kleenex as a disposable handkerchief, when it found that consumers used the tissue that way. It worked, and by the 19303, 78 percent of consumers said they preferred Kleenex tissues to competitors' brands. Heinrich and Bachelor draw two lessons here. First, because Kotex and Kleenex drew on extant capabilities, Kimberly-Clark was spared the massive costs of investing in wholly new technologies. second, during the interwar period the manufacturers of consumer products were well placed to improve their competitive position, whereas those in older industries (such as papermaking) had no option but to cartelize. Diversification into consumer products thus allowed Kimberly-Clark, still primarily a manufacturer of printing papers, to survive the cyclical dips in newsprint prices and ride out the Great Depression in strong financial shape.

The book's central theme is that the willingness to invest in innovation was critical. Even as a pure-play papermaker, Kimberly-Clark had spent heavily on research and development, and it paid an unusual amount of attention to its trade customers. That early focus on innovation and marketing makes the company's performance from the end of World War II to the early 19703 look much less impressive by comparison. Like many of its peers, Kimberly-Clark spent these decades expanding and consolidating. It built new mills, integrated them (in hindsight a disaster, because this raised transportation costs), moved quickly into new domestic markets, established beachheads abroad, and made acquisitions. In the early 1960s, Kimberly-Clark joined the Fortune magazine list of the five hundred largest industrial companies.

Yet Kimberly-Clark's share in sanitary pads and tissues fell, as aggressive competitors introduced their own products and slashed prices. The company failed to develop a single brand comparable to Kotex or Kleenex, which might have compensated for the relentless commodification of its older products. Because the authors use the development of new megabrands as the benchmark for success, Kimberly-Clark inevitably looks like an underperformer during this period. (Indeed, by that measure, the company's performance since the 1980s has been lackluster, too.) Heinrich and Batchelor are especially critical of Kimberly-Clark's failure to invest in tampons, which later emerged as the era's most important new feminine-hygiene product. By contrast, Procter & Gamble, a relative newcomer to the consumer paper-products business, introduced its revolutionary Pampers disposable diaper and created a mass market where none existed.

Kimberly-Clark redeemed itself in the next two decades with its own disposable diaper, Huggies-like Kleenex, a product that drew on the company's extant capabilities. Manufacturers of consumer paper products continued to compete on price; the disposable diaper and tampon aside, they were less successful in creating truly new mass-market products. Yet the making of a megabrand, Heinrich and Batchelor argue, can occur through incremental product innovation. Kimberly-Clark did not invent the disposable-diaper market-Procter & Gamble had already done that with Pampers. Instead, Kimberly-Clark staked a claim to the premium end, which, as it turned out, was the one to which consumers migrated. After one failed entrant (Kimbies), the company once again invested heavily in design and in research and development, beating the competition with improvements such as adhesive tapes and a contoured shape. By the late 1980s, Huggies had replaced Pampers as America's leading disposable diaper. Although Kimberly-Clark did not create a new market with Huggies, it managed to do the next-best thing: unseat a competitor that had seemed invulnerable.

One could argue that there is another part to this story: not only did Kimberly-Clark execute well, but, equally important, Procter & Gamble uncharacteristically fell on its own sword by failing to understand where the market for disposable diapers was heading. Instead, P&G embarked on a two-brand strategy (Luvs as the higher-priced premium diaper, Pampers as the lower-priced one), which blinded its managers to the reality that "premium" features were in fact becoming generic. Kimberly-Clark, in contrast, had only one brand, containing all the best features and priced to compete with Pampers. For many consumers, the choice was a no-brainer.

This work is aimed at business historians and management strategists interested in history. But because Kimberly-Clark was a pioneer in the market for feminine-hygiene products, the book should also appeal to gender and cultural historians. One-half of the world's population menstruates for about one-half of the time they are alive, yet it was not until a large corporation exploited this mysterious market that cultural taboos shifted in the United States, and a light finally was shone on a basic humanfemale-bodily experience. Corporations like Kimberly-Clark fundamentally altered the cultural meaning of menstruation through massdistributed and heavily advertised sanitary pads, belts, and tampons. They produced instructional films that have since been viewed by several generations of junior-high and high-school students. The book contains fascinating material on how Kotex was first marketed, and the bizarre linkages made between menstruation and war, patriotism, and science.

Scholars frustrated by the dearth of recent corporate histories in the consumer-products industry must surely appreciate the observation about city buses: you wait for ages, then several show up at once. In addition to this study, 2004 saw the publication of a commissioned book on Procter & Gamble by the Winthrop Group; and a commissioned history of Unilever by Geoffrey Jones of Harvard Business School is due out in 2005. The topic of brand building has become a cottage industry among scholars. Yet the consumer-products firms that create and maintain brands are notoriously secretive, even about events and processes that occurred decades ago. With the publication of these detailed histories, more robust generalizations and theories about the brand-building activities of consumer-products firms may soon be rounding the corner.

[Author Affiliation]

Rowena Olegario is assistant professor of history at Vanderbilt University. Along with Davis Dyer and Frederick Dalzell, she is coauthor of Rising Tide: Lessons from 165 Years of Brand Building at Procter & Gamble (2004). She is currently writing a book on the history of trade credit reporting.

Decorating magazines can put you on rack

The newsstands have no shortage of home-decorating andremodeling magazines.

From kitchens to bath ideas, country clear through to Victorianstyling, one thing never ceases to amaze me about these publications:How in the world can these homeowners afford to redecorate theirhomes and replace every solitary thing they own?

"Well," Mr. and Mrs. Average Homeowner confided to the editorsat Home Extraordinaire, "we decided that we wanted a 700-square-footfamily-room addition with cathedral ceilings and skylights to let thesunshine in."

Don't we all.

Unfortunately, daydreaming in these beautifully photographedpublications gives me a headache as I reconcile caviar tastes with aK mart budget.

Remodeling in the real world means a lot of things that themagazines neglect to mention: Eating plaster dust for three years. Replacing just one kitchen appliance at a time. A nifty newalmond-color fridge often has to co-exist with an avocado green ovenand a harvest gold dishwasher. And that's if you're lucky enugh to have such a contemporary colorscheme; I'm living with turquoise and powder pink. Disguising nail-hole marks with tartar-control toothpaste andspringing for new paper for the kitchen shelves. Financing necessary home improvements that no one will ever notice.Few visitors comment, "What fabulous new pipes you've installed."

Not only do these dreamy magazine layouts make remodeling lookso picture-perfect, they also make it look so incredibly easy.

If I ever attempted such a project, it would take me 6 1/2 yearsto finish, during which the rest of my housework would go to pot andI'd have captured the look of assorted pet hair tumbleweeds undereach successive coat of varnish.

I'll have to cancel my subscription to Condo Magnificent andtake it one decorating step at a time. Who knows? Maybe avocadogreen and harvest gold will make a comeback in the 1990s.

Obama, Medvedev hail nuclear treaty ratification

HONOLULU (AP) — President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev are hailing the Senate's ratification of a nuclear arms pact between their nations as a historic event.

The two leaders spoke by phone Thursday, a day after the Senate ratified the New START treaty. The White House says Obama and Medvedev agreed to continue cooperation on a range of critical issues.

Obama made the treaty's final passage a top national security imperative during the lame-duck session of Congress that ended Wednesday. The White House said it was crucial for the U.S. to ratify the treaty in order to maintain positive relations with Russia.

Obama spoke with Medvedev from Hawaii where he is vacationing with his family.

`Seats are limited': Fighting words in the airfare battles

We've all seen the advertisements. Airlines announce incredibly lowfares, followed by: "Seats are limited."

Do you ever wonder how many seats qualify for the low fares?Earlier this year in Denver, during a notorious airfare-war shootout,the question was asked by the state's attorney general.

At one point, Frontier Airlines lowered its fare between Denverand Colorado Springs to $9, between Denver and Albuquerque to $19,between Denver and Los Angeles to $39. Of course, the seats at thisfare were "limited."

The fare war drove travel agents, and competing airlines, alittle crazy. Donald Burr, chairman of People Express, later labeledthe war "a spasm of competitive excess."

Lots of folks in Denver tried to get seats at these fares, onlyto be told the seats had been sold. Some complained to the state'sattorney general. "We got lots of complaints about the unavailabilityof advertised fares," said Garth Lucero, Colorado's assistantattorney general. "Even people working here at the state capitol haddifficulty getting those seats."

State investigators started clipping ads. They called theairlines. Sure enough, the seats had been sold out at the low fares.The next day, they bought the newspapers as soon as they wereprinted and immediately called the airlines.

"It was incredible," said Lucero. "The airlines told us thefares were already sold out, even though the newspapers had beencirculated for only an hour. We decided to intervene because it wasa matter of significant public interest."

Attorney General Duane Woodward sent letters to 14 airlinesserving Denver, questioning the appearance of a potentialbait-and-switch situation - the possible deliberate attempt toadvertise a fare that doesn't exist in order to get passengers tocall and make a reservation for a higher fare.

The state wanted to know if these fares actually existed. Ifso, it wanted the exact number of seats available at those fares.The airlines balked at the request.

The reason: It's all part of something the airlines call"capacity control" - their ability to raise or lower the number ofdiscount seats on each flight on a daily, and sometimes even anhourly, basis.

"How can we list the number of available discount seats on everyflight?" asked Chuck Novak, United Airlines spokesman. "It's animpossibility for us. The numbers change all the time. Besides,nobody requires a theater to show how many discount tickets they soldto groups or up in the second balcony."

Airlines study projections of reservations by time of day, dayof week and time of year. "As a result," said Novak, "it's no greatsecret that we have more discount seats on Tuesdays and Wednesdaysthan we do on Fridays at 5 p.m."

"The key for us has always been full disclosure," said PaulJasinski, chief counsel for Republic Airlines. "You can only offerwhat you have to sell, and on the buying side, the passenger is onlyreally interested in the one seat he'll occupy. We're trying to keepour airplanes full, and so we manage our inventory in off-peakperiods to fill seats. No one is out to fool anyone on this."

In the hot Denver-Los Angeles market, Bruce Hicks of ContinentalAirlines said that during peak travel periods, between 10 and 25percent of all coach seats are offered on deeply discounted "Q"fares. During off-peak periods, according to Hicks, the discountedratio can jump as high as 60 percent of all coach seats.

"Everyone tries to control their capacity," said David Palmer,Alaska Airline's assistant vice-president of marketing. "Thisfloating inventory becomes a crap shoot for the passengers - and forus. However, if people are the least bit flexible in their travelplans, they can usually get the discount seats."

In the Colorado case, many airlines have agreed to change theiradvertising tactics. "And," said Lucero, "our preliminary conclusionis that it seems the airlines have allocated a significant number ofdiscount seats for their flights."

When it comes to the art of buying a discount seat, the onlyrule is that there may be no rules at all. Since the level ofavailable discount seats on each flight rises and falls based ondemand reflected in an airline's computers, don't just take "I'msorry, that fare is sold out" as the final answer. It's verypossible that the "Q" fare you wanted for the flight next month thatwasn't available yesterday may be available today or tomorrow.

Sales are begun at Darien Lake

Town & Country Homes has started sales at Darien Lake, a developmentof 90 town houses in west suburban Darien.

Models will be ready in September, but several homes have beensold. The two-bedroom models have 2 1/2 baths and a fireplace.Air-conditioning and patios are among other standard features.

The Carlton unit, with a base price of $82,500, will have agalley-style kitchen that opens to the dining area.

A powder room, utility and laundry room and an attached garagecomplete the lower level.

(Prices are subject to change without notice.)

The Easton, priced from $94,500, has two bedrooms and a loftden. An L-shaped living-dining entertainment area is accented by afireplace. The adjoining kitchen has a pantry and a breakfast area.

Darien Lake is on Plainfield Road just west of Cass Avenue.

Smooth selling: Ticket sales for 2008-09 a huge success

The Blackhawks considered Monday's opening of single-game ticket sales a rousing success with more than 57,000 sold.

More than 200 fans stood in line at the United Center, with the first arriving at 5:30a.m. Tickets went on sale at 10, and the early arrivals were greeted by former first-round draft choices Cam Barker and Jack Skille, who passed out doughnuts, hats and T-shirts and thanked the fans for coming.

At day's end, the Hawks announced that full-season-ticket sales had topped 12,000 and Monday's sales, coupled with the season-ticket purchases, accounted for more than 500,000 single-game tickets sold. That represents an increase of more than 300 percent from this time last season, the team said.

Tickets, however, remain available for every game. Monday's customers could buy up to eight per game, and a limited number of two-for-one $15 tickets was available for select games in October and November.

Tickets will remain on sale at Ticketmaster locations, the United Center box office, HawkQuarters and chicagoblackhawks.com. The Hawks begin training camp Sept. 19, with the first of four preseason home games scheduled for Sept. 23. The first of 41 regular-season home games is Oct. 13 against Nashville.

Monday's sale didn't include tickets for the Jan. 1 Winter Classic against the Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field. Those will go on sale at a later date, with the NHL determining seating options and ticket prices.

Comment at suntimes.com.

Photo: Rich Hein, Sun-Times / Heather Marsala, 26, proudly wears her Hawks jersey while waiting in line for tickets. ; Photo: Rich Hein, Sun-Times / Jack Skille (left) and Cam Barker sign autographs for fans Monday. ;

ANIMAL WASTE TO ENERGY OPPORTUNITY

Annapolis, Maryland

The state of Maryland is seeking proposals for renewable energy generated from animal waste. Gov. Martin O'Maliey announced the program as part of the Clean Bay Power project to promote use of renewable energy, reduce Maryland's contribution to agricultural runoff in the Chesapeake Bay and encourage job creation. The State's renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS) requires that electric suppliers purchase 20 percent of their power from clean energy sources by 2022. Maryland is seeking to purchase electricity from manure-based fuels in order to reduce the amount of nutrients, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus, entering the Chesapeake Bay.

The Clean Bay Power project is an undertaking of the Maryland Department of General Services in coordination with the Maryland Departments of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, the Maryland Energy Administration and the University System of Maryland. The successful supplier must have an electric generating capacity of up to 10 MW from animal waste - such as poultry fitter or livestock manure - and must be directly connected to the regional electricity grid. The selected supplier must begin providing electricity to the state by December 31, 2015.

Energy solicited through this RFP is limited to projects consuming animal waste as their primary fuel and which also qualify under the current definition of a "Tier I" renewable energy resource under the Maryland RPS. For the Clean Bay RFP: https://ebidmarket place.com. Deadline for proposal submission: November 30, 2011.

South Africa elects to bats first in second one-dayer against West Indies

South Africa captain Graeme Smith won the toss Friday and elected to bat in the second of five one-day internationals against West Indies.

South Africa made three changes to the team which won the first match on Jan. 19 by six wickets going into the game at Newlands Stadium. Herschelle Gibbs returned for the injured Justin Ontong, fast bowler Morne Morkel replaced Andre Nel and offspinner Johan Botha came in for Albie Morkel.

West Indies brought in Sewnarine Chattergoon for opening batsman Devon Smith, while fast bowler Daren Powell was replaced by Daren Powell.

__

Teams:

South Africa: Graeme Smith, A.B. de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, J.P. Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Mark Boucher, Albie Morkel, Shaun Pollock, Johan Botha, Dale Steyn, Charl Langeveldt.

West Indies: Sewnarine Chattergoon, Brenton Parchment, Marlon Samuels, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Runako Morton, Denesh Ramdin, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Sammy, Ravi Rampaul, Jerome Taylor, Fidel Edwards.

Umpires: Daryl Harper, Australia, and Brian Jerling, South Africa.

TV umpire: Marais Erasmus, South Africa. Match referee: Javagal Srinath, India.

UN officials concerned about Haiti's displaced

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — United Nations officials say a Haitian mayor's closure of a camp that housed several hundred families displaced by last year's earthquake ignores their rights to adequate housing.

A Thursday statement from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights says the more than 400 families relocated from a soccer stadium are more vulnerable now because they'll lack basic services.

Mayor Jean Yves Jason began to evict families from the Sylvio Cator Stadium in downtown Port-au-Prince last week by paying them about $250 a piece.

The U.N. and advocacy groups have urged President Michel Martelly to develop a clear strategy to house the 634,000 people who are still living in flimsy settlements after the January 2010 earthquake.

Influence and Autonomy in Psychoanalysis

Influence and Autonomy in Psychoanalysis, by Stephen A. Mitchell. Relational Perspectives Book Series, Volume 9. Madison: Analytic Press, 1997. 304 pages.

In Influence and Autonomy in Psychoanalysis the author says he wants us to think-to think more about what we are doing in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. Mitchell says that late twentieth-century thought places the individual in a social, linguistic, and ecological context, and that psychoanalytic literature increasingly regards self-experience as comprising multiple and shifting selforganizations and self-states, states that are generated in interpersonal and social fields. Personal autonomy is seen by interpersonal analysts as an emergent property of interactive processes.

In this book Mitchell reworks the traditional ideal of autonomy, and confronts the traditional ideal of autonomy. He sees psychoanalysis as grounding meaning in the rich tapestry of experience that is generated in the dialectic between past and present, the conscious and the unconscious, the fantastic and the real, the given and the constructed. This grounding "entails a deepening of our understanding of the analytic relationship and its lasting residues that acknowledges rather than denies its deeply interactive nature." Mitchell goes on to say that what we need now is a comprehensive framework for thinking about analytic interaction, that encompasses both intrapsychic and interpersonal dimensions. In actual fact, the material with which the analyst works is "always the analyst's construction of the patient's construction of the patienf s point of view."

Mitchell traces the history of psychoanalysis from the focus on the one-person psychology of Freud, where transference is seen as a temporal displacement, to the Kleinian notion of transference that involves a displacement from internal to external. Contemporary views include the idea of projective identification, which has become elaborated, particularly by some American object relations theorists, extending projective identification beyond the merely intrapsychic to include a mode of operation in interpersonal relationships that can be both normal and pathological. The Kleinian approach can lead to a tension between a two-person understanding and a one-person technique. Mitchell says that the one-person model led to the image of the generic analyst who is thought of as an invisible person, and that analysis proceeds with its own momentum. The interpersonal model takes into account the complexity of possible meanings and the context of the interaction. Mitchell explores countertransference from many different angles and has included many innovations of technique.

Mitchell explores the work of a number of authors from the point of view of the impact and influence of the interaction between analyst and analysand. If the analyst is aware of the patient's material and its impact on him or her, the countertransference productions, thoughts, feelings, actions, and somatic states give a clue to dissociated affective states in the analysand. This fact has been known for some years but has been further elaborated on in present-day theorizing, sometimes to the exclusion of the intrapsychic. Mitchell does not exclude the intrapsychic. One has the sense in reading the book that the intrapsychic is always in the back of the author's mind, but for the novice therapist there is a danger that it may become lost in undue focus on the complexities of meaning and understanding in the interaction between analyst and analysand. As Mitchell says, in his own clinical work he keeps in mind Renik's idea of "the irreducible subjectivity of the analyst's participation." This focus does not easily move back and forth between the interaction and its complexities and the intrapsychic level from the perspective of the effects of inner-generated intrapsychic conflicts which involve the wishes, needs, desires and fantasies of the individual, which can lead to anxieties, inhibitions, and symptoms. These issues in turn can be either exaggerated or relieved by the analyst's participation in the current context of the dyadic interaction.

The dyadic approach, as so clearly elucidated by Mitchell in this admirable book, has opened the door for us to progress into the triadic, the three-dimensional world of competitiveness and rivalry in the family, the community, and the transferencecountertransference domain. If we can come to understand this triadic dimension better in the transference-countertransference, then perhaps this will guide us to a better understanding of group dynamics in the social world. These dynamics include those within our psychoanalytic institutions, which currently reflect the tensions and dynamics we fail to understand in our dyadic relationships because of a displacement from the inner world of the analyst to the outer world. The complex incompatibilities between the needs of the intimate relationship and the needs of the larger group-family, community, country, and society-continue to be expressed in the cultural arena. Psychoanalytic theorizing has some catching up to do. As Mitchell says, "At its best psychoanalysis can assuage painful residues of childhood, release thwarted creative potentials, heal fragmentation, and bridge islands of isolation and despair." One can also add that it is necessary to consider the triadic world of competitiveness and rivalry and what it takes psychologically to collaborate in a civilized world.

[Author Affiliation]

Margaret Huntley

1407 Yonge Street, #301

Toronto, ON M4T 1Y7

Branson rewards cycle business

A cycling business in Bath is flying up the fast lane afterreceiving an award from Sir Richard Branson in recognition of itsrapid growth.

Directors from Brock Street firm Cyclescheme picked up thefastestgrowing company award at the 13th annual Sunday Times VirginFast Track 100 event.

The celebration of the country's entrepreneurial flair was hostedby Sir Richard at his Oxfordshire home.

Over the past three years, sales at the company have grown nearly350 per cent a year, to Pounds 23m.

Cyclescheme provides bikes for Government-backed cycle-to-workschemes, linking employers with a network of partner bike shops.

Directors Richard Grigsby and Gary Cooper received the award fromMr Branson. Mr Grigsby said: "Receiving our award as the number onegrowing private UK business from Richard Branson at the Fast Track100 was an absolute privilege.

"The whole event was particularly refreshing and a total lack ofmanagement speak, acronyms and corporate bull was a real pleasure towitness. It seems that small to medium-sized businesses don't learnthat stuff until they get bigger."

Mr Cooper was similarly thrilled at landing the award. "Winningthe Fast Track 100 was a very proud moment in our lives and businesscareers," he explained.

"This was a great accolade and acknowledgement for all the hardwork the Cyclescheme team and our partner shops have put in over thelast five years."

Explaining the key to a successful enterprise, Sir Richard toldbusiness people at the event: "If the owner of a business ispassionate, it will ricochet all the way down the organisation."

An after-dinner charity auction at the event benefitingunderprivileged students at the Branson School of Entrepreneurshipin South Africa raised Pounds 210,000.

First-Time Buyers Make Their Mark

First-time buyers purchased 54 percent of all resale homes soldin Illinois last year.

Illinois and Wisconsin were the only Midwestern states to showincreases in first-time buyers since the beginning of 1989, accordingto a study by Century 21 Real Estate Corp.

Illinois recorded the highest activity with a 10.5 percentincrease in the proportion of first-time buyers since 1989, and a 4.8percent increase in 1992. Declines in first-time buyers werelisted for the four other Midwestern states in the survey - Ohio,Kentucky, Michigan and Indiana.

According to Century 21 President and CEO Dick Loughlin, theleveling off of first-time activity may be attributed to an increasein the proportion of move-up buyers.

"The move-up market is growing in this area because of itsrelatively stronger economic situation, which has created more stablereal estate conditions," Loughlin said.

"First-time buyers will continue to be an important part of themarket in the 1990s," said Loughlin. "But move-up buyer activitywill eventually expand as conditions stabilize and buyers takeadvantage of low interest rates while they last."

First-time buyers represented 40.8 percent of all residentialreal estate transactions nationwide in the Century 21 system's 1991study, compared with 38.4 percent in 1990 and 38 percent in 1989.

"First-time home buyers now represent the largest portion of allhome buyers in the national residential real estate market," saidLoughlin.

Apple's CEO jokes about rumors about his health

Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs joked about the speculation on his health Tuesday, kicking off an Apple event by flashing a message on a screen that "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."

Jobs played off the famous Mark Twain quote in referring to obituary preparedness on him that was accidentally posted by Bloomberg News and then retracted. News outlets regularly prepare obituary material on famous people.

Questions about Jobs' health swirled after he appeared gaunt at a recent Apple event. Apple has since said Jobs, 53, a survivor of pancreatic cancer, suffered from a bug and is better.

He appeared thin but energetic Tuesday as he detailed changes in Apple's lineup of iPods and the iTunes music service.

Austrian tourist questioned for allegedly spying in Sudan

An Austrian tourist has been questioned in Sudan on allegations of spying near the country's eastern sea coast after police found articles about local rebels in his luggage, Sudanese media reported Monday.

Thomas Hirschvogel was detained on Dec. 31 while trekking around the Red Sea Hills near the coastal town of Port Sudan, the independent Sudan Tribune reported. He did not have the proper permits to travel through the area, the paper's Web site said. The paper did not cite any sources, but Hirschvogel confirmed in his online Web blog that he had been interrogated.

Sudan's Foreign Ministry was not immediately available for comment.

On his blog, Hirschvogel, 20, wrote that he was interrogated because security services found articles on the former eastern Sudanese rebels in his possession. "They interrogated me for a few hours, and they believe that i'm (sic) either a journalist or a spy," a posting on Hirschvogel's blog, dated Saturday, said in English.

He said he can only move around in Port Sudan accompanied by a national security official and that police had told him he would probably be expelled from the country.

Attempts to reach Hirschvogel via his blog were not immediately returned.

In Khartoum, Austrian consular services confirmed they were trying to get in contact with Hirschvogel, but they declined to provide more details.

In Austria, Foreign Ministry spokesman Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal said officials have been trying to establish the facts surrounding the matter, and efforts were under way to contact Hirschvogel via e-mail and through his hotel.

"We are in touch with the minister of state for foreign affairs in Sudan and have asked him to help us in establishing the facts," he said.

"All facts need to be verified and confirmed," Launsky-Tieffenthal said, adding Hirschvogel may have had problems with his travel documents.

Sudan tightly controls the movements of foreigners outside its capital, especially in regions where rebellions have erupted.

A low-level insurgency in the eastern region pitted the Beja tribesmen against the central Khartoum government over accusations of discrimination. A peace deal ended the fighting in late 2006, but some rebel factions turned down the agreement and the area remains volatile.

MSHA ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF FEBRUARY IMPACT INSPECTIONS.(Financial report)

ARLINGTON, VA -- The following information was released by the U.S. Department of Labor, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA):

The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 166 citations and orders during special impact inspections conducted at seven coal mines and one dimension stone quarry last month. The seven coal mines were issued 127 citations and four orders; the quarry operation was issued 27 citations and eight orders.

Special impact inspections, which began in force last April following the explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine, involve mines that merit increased agency attention and enforcement due to their poor compliance history or particular compliance concerns, including high numbers of violations or closure orders; indications of operator tactics, such as advance notification of inspections that prevent inspectors from observing violations; frequent hazard complaints or hotline calls; plan compliance issues; inadequate workplace examinations; a high number of accidents, injuries or illnesses; fatalities; and adverse conditions such as increased methane liberation, faulty roof conditions and inadequate ventilation.

"MSHA has been conducting these targeted inspections for nearly a year and, while some operators have been responsive and showed a willingness to change, others continue to commit the same serious violations," said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. "We are using all the enforcement tools at our disposal, but Congress has the capability to enhance those tools."

On Feb. 18, 2011, an inspection party arrived during the evening shift at D and C Mining Corp. in Harlan County, Ky. The inspectors captured and monitored the phones to prevent advance notification of their arrival and, as a result of the inspection, issued 17 citations and one order. Two-thirds of those issuances were designated as significant and substantial violations. This visit marked the fourth impact inspection conducted at this mine since April 2010.

A 104(b) order, which closed an entire section of the mine, was issued because the mine operator failed to provide a refuge alternative for miners on the active working section to use in the event of a mine fire, explosion or other emergency. D and C Mining also was cited for an inoperable emergency communications system in the primary escapeway, as well as for a number of violations that presented a fire or explosion risk, including failure to comply with the dust controls portion of its ventilation plan, electrical violations such as inadequate electrical exams and failure to follow its approved plan to prevent smoking articles from entering the mine.

In some cases, follow-ups to impact inspections have shown significant compliance improvements. For example, in September 2010, MSHA conducted an impact inspection at the Fulkroad Quarry, a limestone quarry in Juniata County, Pa. MSHA issued 35 citations and one imminent danger order. During the next regular inspection in January 2011, MSHA issued just four citations, an 89 percent decrease.

In October 2010, during an impact inspection at WW Manchester Construction Co.'s WW Manchester mine in Hartford, Conn., MSHA issued 17 citations. MSHA found no violations during a subsequent spot inspection one month later.

Other mines have not been as responsive in fixing problems. At Left Fork Mining Co. Inc.'s Straight Creek No. 1, a coal mine in Bell County, Ky., MSHA found serious violations during both regular inspections and two impact inspections conducted in April and September 2010. On Nov. 19, Straight Creek received a notice that it had a potential pattern of violations. A notice provides warning that the mine will be placed on a pattern of violations, requiring MSHA to issue closure orders for all significant and substantial safety violations, if necessary improvements are not made within the required timeframe.

From Nov. 19 until Dec. 7, 2010, during another impact inspection, Straight Creek was issued 94 citations and orders, including 10 104(d) withdrawal orders and four 104(b) withdrawal orders for failing to abate prior violations. The 104(b) orders prohibited any work except that necessary to abate the prior violations. Straight Creek ceased production on Dec. 8, 2010. Since that time, Straight Creek has been issued more than 50 additional citations and orders, including 23 more 104(b) orders for failing to fix previously cited violations. Straight Creek's potential pattern of violations evaluation period has been suspended until production resumes.

This mine previously had been cited for notifying mining personnel that MSHA inspectors were on-site and subsequently received an injunction in federal court.

Since April 2010, MSHA has conducted 228 impact inspections. These inspections have resulted in 4,268 citations, 396 orders and 13 safeguards.

Editor's note: A spreadsheet containing the complete results of all impact inspections since April 2010 accompanies this news release

MSHA ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF FEBRUARY IMPACT INSPECTIONS.(Financial report)

ARLINGTON, VA -- The following information was released by the U.S. Department of Labor, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA):

The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 166 citations and orders during special impact inspections conducted at seven coal mines and one dimension stone quarry last month. The seven coal mines were issued 127 citations and four orders; the quarry operation was issued 27 citations and eight orders.

Special impact inspections, which began in force last April following the explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine, involve mines that merit increased agency attention and enforcement due to their poor compliance history or particular compliance concerns, including high numbers of violations or closure orders; indications of operator tactics, such as advance notification of inspections that prevent inspectors from observing violations; frequent hazard complaints or hotline calls; plan compliance issues; inadequate workplace examinations; a high number of accidents, injuries or illnesses; fatalities; and adverse conditions such as increased methane liberation, faulty roof conditions and inadequate ventilation.

"MSHA has been conducting these targeted inspections for nearly a year and, while some operators have been responsive and showed a willingness to change, others continue to commit the same serious violations," said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. "We are using all the enforcement tools at our disposal, but Congress has the capability to enhance those tools."

On Feb. 18, 2011, an inspection party arrived during the evening shift at D and C Mining Corp. in Harlan County, Ky. The inspectors captured and monitored the phones to prevent advance notification of their arrival and, as a result of the inspection, issued 17 citations and one order. Two-thirds of those issuances were designated as significant and substantial violations. This visit marked the fourth impact inspection conducted at this mine since April 2010.

A 104(b) order, which closed an entire section of the mine, was issued because the mine operator failed to provide a refuge alternative for miners on the active working section to use in the event of a mine fire, explosion or other emergency. D and C Mining also was cited for an inoperable emergency communications system in the primary escapeway, as well as for a number of violations that presented a fire or explosion risk, including failure to comply with the dust controls portion of its ventilation plan, electrical violations such as inadequate electrical exams and failure to follow its approved plan to prevent smoking articles from entering the mine.

In some cases, follow-ups to impact inspections have shown significant compliance improvements. For example, in September 2010, MSHA conducted an impact inspection at the Fulkroad Quarry, a limestone quarry in Juniata County, Pa. MSHA issued 35 citations and one imminent danger order. During the next regular inspection in January 2011, MSHA issued just four citations, an 89 percent decrease.

In October 2010, during an impact inspection at WW Manchester Construction Co.'s WW Manchester mine in Hartford, Conn., MSHA issued 17 citations. MSHA found no violations during a subsequent spot inspection one month later.

Other mines have not been as responsive in fixing problems. At Left Fork Mining Co. Inc.'s Straight Creek No. 1, a coal mine in Bell County, Ky., MSHA found serious violations during both regular inspections and two impact inspections conducted in April and September 2010. On Nov. 19, Straight Creek received a notice that it had a potential pattern of violations. A notice provides warning that the mine will be placed on a pattern of violations, requiring MSHA to issue closure orders for all significant and substantial safety violations, if necessary improvements are not made within the required timeframe.

From Nov. 19 until Dec. 7, 2010, during another impact inspection, Straight Creek was issued 94 citations and orders, including 10 104(d) withdrawal orders and four 104(b) withdrawal orders for failing to abate prior violations. The 104(b) orders prohibited any work except that necessary to abate the prior violations. Straight Creek ceased production on Dec. 8, 2010. Since that time, Straight Creek has been issued more than 50 additional citations and orders, including 23 more 104(b) orders for failing to fix previously cited violations. Straight Creek's potential pattern of violations evaluation period has been suspended until production resumes.

This mine previously had been cited for notifying mining personnel that MSHA inspectors were on-site and subsequently received an injunction in federal court.

Since April 2010, MSHA has conducted 228 impact inspections. These inspections have resulted in 4,268 citations, 396 orders and 13 safeguards.

Editor's note: A spreadsheet containing the complete results of all impact inspections since April 2010 accompanies this news release

First minister's seat to lose its famous name

Gordon district - First Minister Alex Salmond's constituency -could be swept away by the next election.

The Boundary Commission for Scotland has put forward provisionalchanges for 2011.

The Gordon name would vanish with part of its area absorbed bythe new constituencies of East Aberdeenshire and West Aberdeenshire.

The Buchan Coast constituency will have much of what is now Banffand Buchan.

Aberdeen North, Aberdeen Central and Aberdeen South would bereplaced by Aberdeen East, Aberdeen West, and Aberdeen South andNorth Kincardine. Other constituencies would be Moray, East Angusand Mearns, and West Angus.

An SNP spokesman said: "We are …

Foreign women married to Saudis abuse the system.

Byline: HassnaOa Mokhtar

JEDDAH: A group of sociologists and a lawyer are currently studying the issue of non-Saudi women who marry Saudis and apply for divorce after obtaining Saudi citizenship.

Wail Joharji, 36, a lawyer and legal consultant, believes foreign women divorce their Saudi husbands as soon as they get citizenship for many reasons, which include their eligibility to claim social security, the right to take substantial business loans from the Centennial Fund or the Saudi Credit and Saving Bank, and the opportunity to marry non-Saudis who wish to have a Saudi sponsor to run businesses in the Kingdom.

"Divorce harms women and children. We have to maintain a smooth and just mechanism for …

FATAL SHOOTING EXPOSES CRACKS IN THE SYSTEM.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: CAILIN BROWN Staff writer

The three .45-caliber bullets that ended John Kelly's life last month merely culminated two decades of manipulating the criminal justice and mental health systems, ultimately to the point of paralysis.

An examination of police, court and probation records in the weeks following his death reveals a troubled man in constant conflict with the law.

On March 21, the 37-year-old real estate salesman was chased by Colonie police who had linked him to a hit-and-run accident. At 9:06 a.m. that Thursday, he was shot dead in the driveway of his mother's house on Pinehurst Avenue in Albany, seconds after he pinned an officer between his car and a police cruiser.

Kelly's psychiatric treatment began in 1975, at age 16, when he threatened his mother with a knife. In the year before he died, Kelly filed a flurry of lawsuits that effectively choked the very system designed to protect both him and society. His legal efforts to overturn a 1994 guilty plea for …

Summary Box-India hikes rates more than expected

THE NEWS: India's central bank hiked one of its two benchmark interest rates by a bigger-than-expected half percentage point to combat inflation. It raised the other by a quarter point, as expected.

WHY THE BANK ACTED: The bank is confident about economic growth _ and raised its growth forecast to 8.5 percent for the fiscal year through March 2011 _ but five …

Shady Hill serves diverse student body

Shady Hill serves diverse student body

Sharon Jones Pittney

In the last few years, public schools have been legally challenged because of the manner in which they have resolved to maintain racial balance in their schools. Good public schools, which are meant to educate all, have been thrust into the affirmative action fight, and excellent educational opportunities in those schools are at risk for people of color. Judge Garrity is dead, and the work he and others did to set right the injustices of segregation is being dismantled bit by bit.

What does this mean for children of color in the city of Boston? Will the backlash against busing be so great that the city …

Situations: A Book of Short Stories.(Brief Article)

by Lunise "QueenPen" Walters QP Publications, January 2002 $15.00, ISBN 0-971-42460-8

From hip hop to "reality" fiction

A collection of eight urban stories, Situations is the kind of real-life account that many readers can relate to. "Even though my stories are considered fiction, life inspired me to write. [There's] so much that comes with life, I can't help but write about it," says Walters.

Once she came up with the idea to write short stories, it didn't take long for her to make the decision to self publish. "I wanted the control," QueenPen says of her …

Huntsman is also to receive $1.73bn of cash and financing from Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank in settlement of Huntsman claims.(Companies, technology & environment)

Huntsman is also to receive $1.73bn of cash and financing from Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank in settlement of Huntsman claims and thereby ending its lawsuit …

Bear caught near site of girl's killing.(Main)

Byline: Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A black bear was caught in a forest recreation area Sunday and was being sent to a veterinary school to determine if it was the same animal that attacked a family, killing a 6-year-old girl.

Authorities found a bear in the same trap where they detected paw prints on Saturday in the remote Cherokee National Forest Chilhowee Recreation Area, Forest Service spokeswoman Sharon Moore said.

The bear, which was captured near the site of the attack, looked to be the same weight as the 350- …

RITE AID TO CLOSE 200 STORES TO BOOST PROFITS.(BUSINESS)

Byline: TED DUNCOMBE - Associated Press

Rite Aid Corp. will close 200 of its drugstores, sell its auto parts, book and dry cleaning outlets and buy back 22 million shares of stock as part of a restructuring designed to improve profits.

The actions will prompt a charge against earnings of $149.2 million, RiteAid said Friday.

"We do not want to continue to spend time and money in businesses that weren't making a major contribution to the entire business," Martin L. Grass, president and chief operating officer, said, from the company's headquarters in Camp Hill.

The 200 stores represent about 8 percent or Rite Aid's 2,681 drug outlets …

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate selectively induces apoptosis in prostate cancer cells.

2003 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Epigallocatechin-3-gallate selectively induces apoptosis in prostate cancer cells.

"Chemical inhibitors of fatty acid synthase (FAS) inhibit growth and induce apoptosis in several cancer cell lines in vitro and in tumor xenografts in vivo," researchers in Belgium report.

"Recently the green tea component epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) was shown to act as a natural inhibitor of FAS in chicken liver extracts. Here we investigated whether EGCG inhibits FAS activity in cultured prostate cancer cells and how this inhibition affects endogenous lipid synthesis, cell proliferation and cell viability," wrote K. Brusselmans …

Zimbabwe's main party: opposition started violence

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — The party of Zimbabwe's authoritarian president blamed their opponents' supporters for a recent spate of politically motivated violence.

Scores of families were displaced from their homes near the capital of Harare when violence surged in January.

The nation's sole broadcaster, which is controlled by loyalists of President Robert Mugabe, on Wednesday cited top Mugabe officials who denied their supporters started any violence. They said supporters of the former opposition leader, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, are to blame.

Police cited nine alleged cases of violence by Tsvangirai's party since Jan. 6.

But witnesses have reported that …

Stella's Column

THE SCOOP: Oprah Winfrey has graciously accepted the invitation tokeynote the Sept. 27 luncheon for the two-day Women's BusinessDevelopment Center's 20th annual "Entrepreneurial Woman's" Conferenceat Navy Pier. Hedy M. Ratner and Carol Dougal are the founders and co-presidents of this prestigious organization that has been in theforefront of encouraging and inspiring women to own businesses. Thisis wonderful news . . . given Oprah's super-busy schedule.

THE LA RAZA Newspaper will honor five of Chicago's top Latinobusiness leaders at a luncheon on Tuesday at the Galleria Marchetti.The deserving individuals who will receive the Premio Empresarialaward are Arabel Alva …

The future of Black radio: facing a rapidly changing industry and brutal competition, this medium can survive through syndicated programming and bold entrepreneurial moves.(SPECIAL REPORT)(Cover story)

ON A HUMID SEPTEMBER DAY, GROUPS OF AFRICAN Americans--most wearing black as a sign of solidarity--filled the streets of a rural Southern town. They came from coast to coast. They were entertainers such as legendary rappers Salt-N-Pepa; hip-hop artist, actor, and producer Ice Cube; and rising Hollywood power Tyler Perry. They were everyday citizens--teachers, entrepreneurs, students. And they all--more than 15,000 strong--descended upon Jena, Louisiana. They came to march in support of six African American teenagers standing trial, accused of beating a white teenager, in arguably one of the most racially charged cases in recent memory.

And black radio led the way. Through their daily talk shows and ubiquitous presence, syndicated radio personalities Michael Baisden, Steve Harvey, and Tom Joyner rallied thousands in a demonstration reminiscent of the civil rights movement. Shining a bright light on a case largely ignored by mainstream media, they used the airwaves to become powerful voices of advocacy and empowerment. "I felt it on the radio. My manager and I got together and came up with the whole concept," says Baisden, the demonstration's chief architect, whose talk show runs on 64 radio stations and reaches 4 million listeners. "I could feel people's passion that they felt the same way I did about the situation. The march gave me faith. As long as we're talking about something that's universal, like our kids, we'll all get behind it."

Approaching the first anniversary of the Free Jena Six march, it's only fitting BE explore the role of black radio not only as a powerful force to inform and move the masses, but as a segment within a rapidly changing industry besieged by fierce competition. Five years ago, BE reported on the radio industry (see "Battle of the Airwaves," May 2003) and cited that government deregulation in the mid-1990s served to shrink the number of independent black radio stations--a viable business segment of the BE 100S and champions for progress in the 1970s and 1980s. These companies were unable to effectively compete with broadcast leviathans such as Clear Channel and Infinity Broadcasting for black and urban listeners.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"The 1996 Telecommunications Act removed restrictions on ownership of broadcast properties, allowing one entity to own as many stations across the country as desired and as many as eight radio stations in a single market," says James Winston, executive director of Washington-based National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters.

So today, to reach this coveted market, large broadcasters use nationally syndicated radio shows in an attempt to expand audience reach and market share and to increase revenues. As a result, local programming, once an indispensable staple of black radio, is quickly becoming a distant memory. And since syndicated radio provides a platform for national advertising, the stations with local programming can only compete for local advertising.

Black radio, for the most part, has morphed into a new creature. The question yet to be answered: Will this generation of content producers provide a new …

`MAID' BY FORMULA THERE'S LITTLE THAT'S NEW IN THE LATEST JENNIFER LOPEZ FILM, YET IT'S A GOOD TRIP TO THE MOVIES.(LIFE & LEISURE)(Movie review)

Byline: ROGER EBERT Universal Press Syndicate

``Maid in Manhattan'' is a skillful, glossy formula picture, given life by the appeal of its stars. It has a Meet Cute of stunning audacity, it has a classic Fish Out of Water, it works the Idiot Plot Syndrome overtime to avoid solving a simple misunderstanding, and there won't be a person in the audience who can't guess exactly how it will turn out. Yet the movie (opening today) goes through its paces with such skill and charm that, yes, I enjoyed it.

We go to the movies for many reasons, and one of them is to see attractive people fall in love. This is not shameful. It is all right to go to a romantic comedy and …

Company listings: all listings in this directory are paid listings, with information provided by each company.(INSURANCE & FINANCIAL SERVICES DIRECTORY 2005)(Directory)

Advanta Bank Corp.

Welsh & McKean Roads

P.O. Box 844

Spring House, PA 19477-0844

Georgeana R. Neff, Vice President

800-238-2682; fax: 215-444-5215

gneff@advanta.com

www.advanta.com

Advanta, one of the largest issuers (through Advanta Bank Corp.) of MasterCard business credit cards, offers customized business credit and business solutions for association members. Advanta's priorities include providing personal attention to association needs and excellent servicing for members. Cardholder benefits include cashback and travel rewards, merchant services, and more.

Affinity Marketing Group

30 Washington St.

Wellesley Hills, MA 02481

Douglas Furbush, Chief Executive Officer

781-416-5105; fax: 781-239-9645

dfurbush@affinitymg.com

www.affinitymg.com

AMG develops endorsed insurance, credit card, and loan programs for membership groups. Our programs are backed by innovative marketing campaigns that create a steady stream of royalty income for the sponsor.

AHP-Association Health Programs

6319 W. 110th St.

Overland Park, KS 66211

Stuart Pase, President

888-450-3040; fax: 913-341-2803

stuart@associationpros.com

www.associationpros.com

Association Health Programs provides associations with the highest quality health insurance programs. We offer one-stop shopping for health, life, long-term care, dental, disability, and critical illness insurance and retirement, financial, and estate planning. We serve both individuals, families, and small and large groups of members. AHP provides all marketing and accounting. We have programs for associations for the uninsurable. We pride ourselves on personal customer service with all members. Choosing us means you will receive the best source of membership building, membership stability and loyalty, and nondues revenue.

Allianz/Fireman's Fund

1101 Connecticut Ave., N.W.

Washington, DC 20036

Russ Smith, National Association Sales Executive

202-775-0906; fax: 202-785-3023

russ_smith@ffic.com

www.ffic.com

Fireman's Fund is a national property and casualty insurer and the underwriter of over 100 association and franchise programs. Fireman's Fund distributes products through 3,400 independent agents in the United States Coverages include property, general liability, marine, automobile, workers comp, professional liability, and other specialty coverages.

American Fidelity Assurance Co.

2000 N. Classen Blvd.

Oklahoma City, OK 73106-6013

Barry Koonce, Special Markets Manager

877-967-5748; fax: 888-485-1346

barry.koonce@af-group.com

www.afadvantage.com

American Fidelity Assurance Company (AFA) has been rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best* since 1982 and has been an association worksite-focused company for over 40 years. Servicing more than 200 trade associations nationwide, AFA offers disability income, cancer, accident and life insurance, health reimbursement arrangements, Section 125 administrative services, and health savings accounts. *Best's Insurance Reports: Life and Health, 2003 Edition (A+ is 2 out of 15 with 1 being the highest).

Americana Program Underwriters, Inc.

355 N. 21st St.

Camp Hill, PA 17011

Ben Francavilla, Senior Managing Director

717-214-7601; fax: 717-214-2801

ben.francavilla@amwins.com

www.amwins.com

Americana is a nationally recognized program manager specializing in the creation and distribution of a broad catalog of property, casualty, life, and health products for associations and their members. Americana leverages its relationships with national insurance carriers to create innovative insurance solutions for association-sponsored programs that are distributed effectively through Web-based solutions as well as members' local insurance agents.

Amica Mutual Insurance Co.

100 Amica Way

Lincoln, RI 02865

Amy Boudreau, Manager of Affinity Operations

800-652-6422; fax: 401-334-9765

aboudreau@amica.com

www.amica.com

Amica is a personal lines insurance carrier that has been providing award-winning customer service to our clients since 1907. As a direct-writing mutual insurance carrier, we offer auto, home (including renter and condominium), marine, personal excess liability, and life insurance coverage through 42 offices across the country.

Aon Affinity Insurance Services, Inc.

200 E. Randolph St., 18th Fl

Chicago, IL 60601

Mike McCarthy, Vice President

312-381-2808; fax: 312-381-6555

mike_mccarthy@asg.aon.com

www.aon.com/affinity

Aon's Affinity Insurance Services is a full-service affinity marketing and operations specialist that …