TGIF Editon 25 Sept 09

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EDITION

11

www.tgifedition.com

ISSN 1172-4153 | 46 || 1172-4153 | Volume 2 2 | | Issue 45

| | 25 11 September 2009 2009

Health Min. seeks vitamin D report

By Ian Wishart TGIF newsroom

on the

INSIDE NZPA/Ross Setford

AUCKLAND - Health Minister Tony Ryall has asked officials at the newly-established Cancer Control Council to brief him on a flood of medical studies suggesting New Zealand’s ‘slip, slop, slap’sunsmart campaigns may be costing thousands of lives.

For two decades, prompted by strong lobbying from skin specialists and officials within the Ministry of Health, New Zealand has heavily pushed an official ‘stay out of the sun’ line in order to reduce the number of lethal melanoma cases each year.

But for the past three years the Ministry and its supporters in the Cancer Society have been under seige as thousands of new scientific and medical studies cast massive doubt on the wisdom of continuing the slip, slop, slap campaigns.

Two new scientific studies published this week have conclusively shown that the ‘cover up’message every summertime may actually be killing hundreds more New Zealanders every year than it saves.

The reason is vitamin D, the so-called sunshine vitamin. The studies are showing people with low vitamin D levels - because they’ve obeyed the ‘sunsmart’ message - are much more likely to die of cancer than people who sunbathe.

In the most bitter twist for the Ministry of Health, one of the studies published this week shows that sunbathers who get melanoma are 30% more likely to survive than people who stayed out of the sun..

“A research team from the University of Leeds working with the US National Institutes of Health found a high level of vitamin D - suggestive of high sun exposure - protected patients with malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, reported Britain’s Independent this week.

“Those with the lowest levels of vitamin D in their blood at diagnosis were 30 per cent more likely to suffer a recurrence of the disease after treatment

BIG EAGLE THE BILL

New data emerges English expenses

Page 3 Page 2

FAST PIGEON HAERE RA faster than broadband Sir Howard gone Page 52 Page

New scientific studies are causing governments overseas to abandon sunsmart campaigns, after revelations that sunbathing may offer one of the biggest protections against cancer and heart disease known to medical science. Altopress

than those who had the highest levels.

“Patients with the highest levels of the vitamin also had the thinnest tumours at diagnosis. Results of the study, funded by Cancer Research UK and the National Institutes of Health, are published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.”

Another study found people who obey the sunsmart rules have double the risk of dying from bowel cancer.

TGIF Edition was told at the start of this year that the Ministry of Health is aware of the growing evidence that people need around 10 minutes a day of direct sun on their face and hands without sunscreen or hats. However, a Ministry spokeswoman said the scientific data was still being considered at the time.

Thousands of New Zealanders die of cancer each year, whereas only 250 die of melanoma.

LOVE ME DO? CAMPION Beatles re-released WINS

Page 14 Critics wowed Page 13

John Key, stand-up comic

By Peter Wilson and Maggie Tait of NZPA

WELLINGTON, SEPT 25 NZPA - Prime Minister John Key had just over four minutes to persuade millions of Americans to visit New Zealand, and he had a fair go at it.

Appearing today on the Late Show with David Letterman, Mr Key had to read out 10 reasons for visiting New Zealand,prepared by the show’s writers.

Apart from a risky promise to personally pick up tourists at the airport, they gave him an easy ride.

Letterman set the scene after Mr Key walked into the studio with a cheery wave.

“How many years ago did you get on the plane to come here?”Letterman asked.

Mr Key admitted“I’ve aged a lot”and then had to confirm that mail actually did reach New Zealand.

By pigeon, he said.

As the show ran through the top 10 Mr Key was relaxed and chatty with a host who sometimes gives his guests a hard time, although Mr Key admitted later he had been “a little bit nervous” before he went in.

Letterman questioned his producer at one point: “Why is he here, Dave?” and was told the prime minister’s mission was to read out the Top 10.

“It’s prime time viewing for promoting New Zea-

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land,”Mr Key said after the show.

The show is watched by between three and four million viewers in the US, as well as having a worldwide audience.

Tourism New Zealand lobbied to get Mr Key on the show while he was in New York for the opening of the UN General Assembly, and chief executive Continuedreading on P2 Continue Continued on P2

NEW ZEALAND

2

off BEAT

WOMAN SMUGGLES LIVE FISH IN SAUCE ATLANTA, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Authorities said a woman was arrested in Georgia for allegedly trying to smuggle live endangered fish from Vietnam in bottles of fish sauce.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said inspectors at the Atlanta International Airport searched the boxes being carried by Bich Phuong Truong Phan of Charlotte, N.C., on her return trip to Charlotte from Vietnam and discovered that two bottles appearing to contain fermented fish in fish sauce or paste each also held a live Asian bonytongue fish protected by plastic bags, the Charlotte Observer reported.

Phan, who told authorities the bottles were a gift from her mother-in-law and she did not know about the live fish, was charged with a violation of the Endangered Species Act after the fish were confiscated July 18.

Authorities said the Asian bonytongue fish can sell for $1,000 to $3,000 in the United States. She could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

VIRGINIA POLICE SEEK URINAL VANDAL FREDERICKSBURG, Va., Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Police in Virginia say they are searching for a vandal who damaged urinals and posed as a plumber in at least seven Fredericksburg restaurants.

Natatia Bledsoe, a police spokeswoman, said the man damaged urinals in at least seven restaurants in the Central Park area Friday and posed as a plumber in an attempt to get the eateries to pay him to fix the toilets, The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star reported Thursday.

Bledsoe said only one restaurant, Carlos O’Kellys, paid the man between $250 and $300 to fix a urinal, but the work was later found to be faulty.

The spokeswoman said police are searching for suspect Timothy Banks, 39, of Fort Washington, Md., who was identified through pictures obtained after a witness took down his license plate number. She said Banks has been charged with similar offenses in Virginia’s Prince William and Fairfax counties.

VULTURE FLOCK MESSY GUESTS IN FLORIDA BAYTREE, Fla., Sept. 24 (UPI) -- A Florida trapper said a flock of vultures returning to Brevard County for the winter tore up a pool cover, allowing one of the birds to take a dip.

Chris Gangraw of The Critterman trapping service in Rockledge, Fla., said vultures are rapidly appearing in the area in great numbers, and he was called to catch a group of the scavengers holding an unauthorized pool party Monday in Baytree, Florida Today reported. He said the birds were captured and set free away from the pool.

Gangraw and other experts said the large birds, which typically return to the area in September and October, are causing messes all over the county by damaging property and covering clay roof tiles with their excrement.

“They’re everywhere,” Gangraw said.

NUDE GARDENER CHECKING HIS WEEDS FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Police in Texas said a 71-year-old man seen gardening nude in his back yard was cited for disorderly conduct.

A police report said a Fort Worth deputy city marshal on bike patrol spotted the man working in his yard Sunday while wearing nothing but his shoes, the Fort Worth StarTribune reported.

The report said the man dropped his weed trimmer when he noticed the deputy and ran inside his house. The deputy asked the man to come back outside, and he re-emerged wearing a pair of shorts.

The deputy issued the man a citation for the Class C misdemeanor after checking the man’s record to ensure he was not registered as a sex offender.

September 2009 25 September

Dust reaches land of long white cloud WELLINGTON, SEPT 25 NZPA - Monash University scientists in Melbourne say they want to collect some of the Australian dust raining down on New Zealand for analysis.

A picture shot by Nasa’s Terra Earth-observation satellite yesterday morning, and processed by Australian meteorologists, showed a monstrous brown cloud riding on a swirling low pressure system off New Zealand’s west coast.

It earlier blanketed much of New South Wales and Queensland.

“We have been watching it come across the Tasman and it looks a lot thinner than it was (in Sydney),”said MetService spokesman Chris Noble.

“People have seen it on their cars and their windscreens.”

Another meteorologist, Philip Duncan of WeatherWatch, said dust falls had been reported in Auckland, Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Taranaki.

PHOTO: EOSNAP.COM

The dust was orange and clearly visible on car windows and further north, where it was heaviest, it was clearly visible on outdoor objects.

“It appears the thickest dust cloud crossed Northland and the Far North overnight,”he said.

At Pukekohe, Dale Small told WeatherWatch he went into town for an hour and a layer of dust coated his car, while a New Plymouth man said the dust was difficult to budge and buildings with flat roofs were covered in a burnt orange, very fine, silt.

Tadhg O’Loingsigh, from Monash University’s school of geography and environmental science, said his team hoped to“fingerprint”the dust by analysing its minerals.

“If we can fingerprint it, we can trace where it came from,”he said.

The university has already collected dust samples that arrived on South Island skifields from another storm in the Lake Eyre Basin earlier in the month, with a particular focus on bacteria carried by the dust.

NZer ill with swine flu in Greece WELLINGTON, SEPT 25 NZPA - New Zealand diplomats are providing help for a 23-year-old New Zealand woman reported in a serious condition in a Greek hospital, after being diagnosed with swine flu.

The Kathimerini newspaper reported she was transferred to the intensive-care unit of an Athens hospital with serious respiratory problems, having

tested positive for the H1N1 virus.

“The New Zealand tourist brings the number of serious cases of swine flu recorded in Greece to 15 with just one death linked exclusively to the virus,” the newspaper reported.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Wellington said the New Zealand

embassy in Rome and its honorary consul in Athens were providing support for the New Zealander, and a family member travelling with her.The woman’s name has not been released.

The northern hemisphere is on the brink of its winter flu season, and Greece has just reported its first swine flu infection in a child,Back to the front page

4. Visit in the next 30 days, I’ll pick you up at the airport.

5. Get the whanau together, stay in a bach, crack open the chilly bin and slap on your jandals.

6. Down there Leno’s on at 9 o’clock (a reference to Jay Leno’s competing chat show).

7. It’s like England without attitude.

8. It’s only a convenient 20-hour flight away.

9. We have the loosest slot machines in the Pacific rim.

10. Auckland Airport now has a Cinnabon (a chain store specialising in sweet Danish pastries).

Life in the US spotlight - John Key uses up five of his 15 minutes of fame.

PHOTO: CBS video BackBack to the to front the front pagepage

George Hickton was at the scene.

“It’s great to get that sort of profile,” he told reporters.

“It’s very hard to get noticed in this country and it’s a very popular show ... we just try to keep New Zealand’s profile up as much as possible.”

Mr Hickton was sure of success.

“We’ll be noticed, and people will be talking about New Zealand.That was the whole aim of it.”

Knowing Letterman was a motor racing fan, Mr Key presented him with an Indy 500 champion Scott Dixon T-shirt.

The top 10 reasons for visiting New Zealand were: 1. Unlike most of the world, we still like Americans.

2. We drive on the left side of the road, like the British and Lindsay Lohan.

3. 70 percent of our energy is generated through renewable hydropower -- look, these don’t all have to be jokes.

Auditor gathers intel on Bill English WELLINGTON, SEPT 25 NZPA - The AuditorGeneral’s office is seeking more information before deciding whether to investigate a complaint against Finance Minister Bill English over housing allowances.

Progressive Party leader Jim Anderton has written to Auditor-General Lyn Provost asking for an inquiry into whether Mr English meets the criteria for being an out-of-town MP. Mr English considers the Southland town of Dipton, in his electorate, to be his primary residence under parliamentary rules.

Mr Anderton argues that since his family is in Wellington, he should be treated as a Wellingtonbased MP and should not have received any allowances for living in the capital.

A spokeswoman for the Auditor-General told NZPA that no decision had been taken about whether told hold an inquiry, but it was seen as appropriate to gather background information.

“Once we have had an opportunity to consider that information we will decide whether any further action by this office, such as beginning a formal inquiry, is warranted,”the spokeswoman said.

This is expected to take a fortnight.

Deputy Auditor-General Phillipa Smith said in a letter to Mr Anderton that when he first raised the matter, her office had encouraged him to take up the matter with Parliamentary Service as it was the responsible organisation.

Mr Anderton had not done that and the Auditor General would now gather background information on how MPs and ministers were paid accommodation benefits.

A decision on whether a formal inquiry was needed would be given priority as there was a “measure of public interest in this issue”.

Mr English has been embroiled in a row over housing allowances for the past two months after it was revealed he was claiming a much higher allowance for living in the same house as a minister than he lived in as an opposition MP. He admitted that was“a bad look”and paid back the $12,000 difference in allowances.

Prime Minister John Key has since reformed the rules around ministerial housing to a series of oneoff payments.

Since then opposition MPs have argued Mr Eng-

lish is not entitled to any ministerial housing allowance as his family home is in Wellington.

They contend Mr English has arranged his affairs to get the entitlement by declaring he has no pecuniary interest in the house he lives in.

Mr English says he has followed all the rules.

PHOTO: NZPA

NEW ZEALAND

25 September September 2009

3

Big drug bust sweeps up stoners Auckland, Sept 25 NZPA - Nearly 60 people have been arrested in two separate North Island operations targeting drugs, police said today.

Northland police arrested 32 people during a two-day operation, while their Hawke’s Bay counterparts arrested 22 during raids today.

In Northland, 25 addresses were searched in Kaitaia, Kaikohe, Kawakawa, Kerikeri, Paihia, Cable NZPA/FILE

Bay and Whangarei.

More than 40 police staff were involved in the seizure of 149 cannabis tinnies, 900 cannabis seeds, 15 cannabis clone plants, three bags of methamphetamine and $4000 cash.

Those arrested would appear in Kaitaia, Kaikohe and Whangarei district courts.

They would face charges of selling cannabis, possession of cannabis for supply, cultivation of cannabis, possession of methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine for supply, selling hashish and possession of hashish for supply.

Detective Sergeant John Miller, head of Northland police’s organised crime unit, said police recognised the impact that drugs had on communities.

He urged members of the public to contact police if they suspected someone was involved in growing or dealing drugs.

In Hawke’s Bay, police began executing more than 25 search warrants on properties in Napier

and Hastings at 7am as they targeted the supply and sale of cannabis and other drugs.

Detective Senior Sergeant Sean Hansen described the operation, codenamed Rattle, as highly successful and said its effects would be felt in the province for some time.

The 16 men and 10 women arrested would appear in the Napier and Hastings District Courts to face more than 60 drug dealing, cultivating, manufacturing and possession charges.

The alleged offences related to methamphetamine and to the possession, cultivation and sale of cannabis.

Mr Hansen, head of the Eastern District’s organised crime unit, said more arrests were likely.

He said the operation followed months of intelligence gathering, and covert and proactive policing activities.

Some of those arrested were affiliated to local gangs.

Four indoor cannabis growing operations were uncovered, Mr Hansen said.

More than 150 well-established cannabis plants were seized along with a small amount of methamphetamine, cannabis oil and dried leaf.

Mr Hansen said the cultivation was hidden and well set up with lighting and heating.

He said the availability of cannabis and other drugs in the community should concern everyone.

“Tinnie houses spring up at the drop of a hat,” he said.

“We will continue to put the pressure on drug dealers and suppliers, and encourage the public to tell us if they have information about drug dealing and the availability of drugs in their neighbourhood.”

Trade deficit balloons out thanks to dollar WELLINGTON, SEPT 25 NZPA - Export prices were sharply lower last month compared with a year earlier as New Zealand posted a worse than expected trade deficit of $725 million.

Imports were a little above expectations at $3.47 billion, while exports came in at $2.74b, below the $3.1b median expectation in a Reuters survey of economists.The median forecast for the trade deficit was $273m.

Publishing the data today, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) said the trade deficit for August amounted to 26.4 percent of the value of exports, compared with an average August deficit of 34.1 percent of exports for the previous five years.

Exports were down $830 million, or 23.2 percent, from a year earlier, the largest percentage fall in exports from 12 months earlier since 1986.

ASB economist Jane Turner said the seasonal wind-down of agricultural exports revealed an underlying weakness in export demand, particularly prices.

Dairy volumes were likely to stay subdued this year, as low returns would discourage additional spending by farmers to increase volumes.

Meat volumes could also prove subdued as farmers may choose to focus on herd rebuilding, Ms Turner said.

While manufacturing exports may start to stabilise along with world demand, after having already fallen considerably, the relative strength of the New Zealand dollar would continue to put pressure on export returns.

“The weakness in August’s export receipts serves as a reminder of how fragile New Zealand’s economy recovery remains,”she said.

SNZ said export values fell across most of the top

40 commodity categories, with the largest decline in crude oil which fell $177m or 50.9 percent mainly due to lower prices.

Meat and edible offal was down $125m or 32.2 percent last month from August 2008, led by exports of frozen beef and sheep cuts. Overall quantities of meat and edible offal were down about a third from a year earlier, SNZ said.

Despite overall quantities being almost 30 percent higher, the value of milk powder, butter and cheese fell $118m or 24.8 percent.

Increases in exports were fewer and smaller, with fruit showing the largest rise, up $11m or 7.8 percent from a year earlier, led by an $8m or 5.8 percent increase in kiwifruit.

Exports last month were back to a level similar to August 2007, before the large value rises seen in dairy and crude oil exports in the latter half of 2007 and during 2008, SNZ said.

Imports were down $953m or 21.6 percent last month from August 2008, with crude oil imports down $360m or 56.7 percent, mainly due to lower prices.

Capital goods imports were down $292m or 35.4 percent, led by transport equipment and a one-off import of large aircraft a year earlier. Passenger cars were down $71m or 26.6 percent.

For the year to August the country had a trade deficit of $2.37b or 5.6 percent of exports.As a percentage of exports, that was about a third of the average of 16 percent for the preceding five August years.

In the three months to August exports were down $1.4b or 13.6 percent from a year earlier to $9.2b, while imports were down 16.7 percent to $10.4b.

NZPA/MAGGIE TAIT

Kiwi dollar eases WELLINGTON, SEPT 25 NZPA - The New Zealand dollar fell today as weak equity markets again had investors favouring US dollars.

But it found support at lower levels and recovered to end little changed.

It was trading at US71.89c at 5pm, off the US71.06c session low, and compared to US71.95c at 5pm yesterday.

The NZ dollar had company because sterling, Canadian dollar, Australian dollar and other currencies were weaker.

Dealers said sterling was particularly hard hit and that allowed the NZ dollar to rise to 44.92p, its highest for 13 years.

Sterling fell after Bank of England Governor Mervyn King told a regional British newspaper a weak pound was helping British exporters and the economy cope with a sharp downturn.

The US dollar rallied today on short-covering and as central banks scale back liquidity injection

programmes.

Dealers asked if the currency markets might be at a turning point but the answer remains elusive.

A decline in hard commodity prices further weighed on growth sensitive currencies, like the NZ dollar.

BNZ Capital strategist Mike Jones said fears about the global outlook and waning risk appetite had weighed on the NZ dollar.

Much weaker than expected US home sales spurred fears about the outlook for the US economy, Mr Jones said.

By 5pm the NZ dollar was at 0.4897 euro, from 0.4888 euro at 5pm yesterday, and was 65.23 yen from 65.33 yen yesterday.

Against the Australian dollar it was A82.76c after briefly squeezing to an eight-month high at A83.17c on Thursday night.

The trade weighted index was 65.61 from 65.46 yesterday.

Korean stabber still thinking of appeal AUCKLAND, SEPT 25 NZPA - The lawyer for a South Korean student jailed for stabbing his teacher said today that a decision on whether to apply for bail ahead of an appeal against the sentence was still being considered.

Tae Won Chung, 17, was sentenced in Auckland District Court yesterday to 18 months in prison.

Chung had earlier admitting injuring Avondale College teacher Dave Warren with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in March.

His case had been due back in court today for a bail hearing, after the defence indicated yesterday that there would be an appeal against the sentence.

However, the bail hearing did not proceed.

Chung’s lawyer, David Jones QC, said whether there would be a bail application was still being determined.

He declined to comment on the status of an appeal against conviction, saying:“We didn’t have the bail hearing today and that’s where it sits.”

Mr Warren, who taught Japanese, was stabbed in the back while he was writing on a whiteboard during a lesson.

The court was told yesterday that the incident happened after Mr Warren made a comment about Chung’s returning home for compulsory military service.

Mr Warren woke Chung as he dozed in class and

warned him that “you’ll be dead” if he slept while the North Korean army attacked.

Chung took a knife to school the next day, and stabbed Mr Warren.

Mr Jones told the court that the comments were “culturally insensitive” and “the catalyst for what happened the following day”.

He said Chung had been anxious about going into the army and the volatile situation between North and South Korea.

Prosecutor Deb Bell, who had sought a jail term of about six years, said Mr Warren wanted to stress that he was not racist.

If Chung was upset, he could have sought counsel-

ling or help, but didn’t, she said.

Judge Roderick Joyce said Chung’s attack had been“gravely reckless and could have proved lethal”.

He didn’t accept there was a strong argument for provocation.

Psychiatric assessments revealed Chung had a problem with authority, low tolerance and poor impulse control.

Mr Warren told the court he would forever remember Chung “straddling” over him with a “bloody knife protruding and threatening me with the words `Don’t ever f*** with me’.”

He was attending counselling, was on light duties at work and had on-going leg problems.

Back to the front page

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EDITORIAL

25 September September 2009

Editorial Editorial

Family Matters Matters

By Bob McCoskrie

The passing of an era I remember, as a child, watching the many variety shows on TV, as it was in the late 60s and early 70s. In those halcyon days there was only one TV channel, so you could guarantee we’d all be talking about the same programmes at school or work the next day.

One channel meant massive ratings for shows like Happen Inn, or Star Trek, or The Waltons on a Saturday night. The Henry Ford style choice (you can have any channel you like, as long as it is One) helped forge a sense of unity and common reference points for the wider community, ironically.

But the lack of any other channels also meant New Zealand entertainers got a real prime-time airing on national TV. Thus it was with Sir Howard Morrison, a consummate entertainer and icon.

He was much loved, and much respected, and his passing does indeed leave a monumental hole in our cultural fabrice.

-Foreign Students Exploited by Greed By Bob McCoskrie

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Comment

Nuclear hot air?

Warren P. Strobel ByWalker’s World McClatchy Newspapers

5

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi didn’t attend, although Libya is currently a member of the council.

Obama has pivoted sharply from the policies of former President George W. Bush, whose administration disdained arms control treaties and emphasized

UNITED NATIONS - With President Barack Obama in the chair at an unprecedented meeting of the U.N. Security Council, major world powers on Friday endorsed his goal of a nuclear weapons-free world and pledged to strengthen the shaky international system for preventing the spread of nuclear arms.

The Security Council unanimously passed a U.S.drafted resolution that endorses the eventual goal of “a world without nuclear weapons.” It lays out steps for nuclear powers to trim their arsenals, while making it harder for other nations to convert civilian nuclear programs to military ones.

While it isn’t clear how fast this will come about, diplomats and private security experts called it the most significant U.N. action on nuclear weapons proliferation in years.

U.S. officials said the council’s endorsement significantly boosted the disarmament agenda that Obama laid out last April in Prague. Among his goals are new cuts in U.S. and Russian nuclear warheads and missile launchers; U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which bans nuclear weapons tests; and a major effort to secure “loose” nuclear materials.

The six-page resolution mentions neither Iran nor North Korea, both the focus of major proliferation concern, because other nations rejected U.S. building an anti-missile shield that Obama downattempts to include the two. sized and reoriented last week.

However, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Today’s Security Council action strengthens the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who joined 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the corother world leaders at the Security Council summit, called for tougher sanctions on the two if they don’t abandon their nuclear weapons programs.

“We live in the real world, not in a world of postures and communiques.And the real world expects us to take decisions,”Sarkozy said.“What these two nations are doing undermines the very rules on which our collective security is based.”

Diplomats from the U.S. and five other nations are to meet Iranian officials next Friday, and Sarkozy said Iran had a last chance to halt uranium enrichment before an end-of-the-year deadline. If the talks fail, Iran must be penalized with“massive sanctions in the financial and energy sectors,”he said.

Iran asserts that it’s developing nuclear technology only for civilian purposes, and Tehran’s U.N. mission fired back with a statement calling Sarkozy’s remarks“totally untrue and without any foundation.”

Friday’s two-hour meeting was the first time that a U.S. president had chaired a U.N. Security Council session, and only the fifth time in 64 years that heads of government, rather than foreign ministers or ambassadors, have sat around the table.

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nerstone of efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

The treaty, which is up for review next year, calls on nations with nuclear weapons to reduce their arsenals. Nations without nuclear arms pledge not to acquire them and are guaranteed access to nuclear technology for civilian power, medical and research purposes.

One aim of the new resolution is to make it harder for Iran and other nations to withdraw from the NPT after they’ve used it to gain access to nuclear technology, and then proceed to develop nuclear arms. In that case, the countries that supplied nuclear technology could, at least in theory, repossess it.

Joseph Cirincione, the president of the Ploughshares Fund, a foundation that focuses on nuclear weapons policy, called the U.N. meeting a significant advance for disarmament, and for Obama’s agenda.

“It obviously depends on countries implementing the steps they now agree to,”Cirincione said.“(But) you can’t take a trip without a map.The major countries have just agreed on a map.”

Obama plans to host a summit next April in the United States on securing nuclear materials. He’s pledged to seek ratification of the nuclear test ban treaty, which the Senate rejected in 1999, though U.S. officials say it won’t be resubmitted to the Senate until next year at the earliest.

Precisely how the new system will combat rogue states, secret weapons development or terrorism is unclear.

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ANALYSIS

25 September 2009

US Banks fight proposed consumer protection agency

By Kevin G. Hall McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON – If you doubt that U.S. banks long to return to the days of impotent regulation, you need only look at one of the financial sector’s top legislative priorities: killing a proposed new agency that would be dedicated solely to protecting consumers’financial interests.

The Obama administration is asking Congress to create a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency to regulate consumer financial products ranging from credit cards to mortgages, and to simplify disclosure about them all.

Though virtually every cause of the nation’s recent financial crisis was rooted in weak consumer protection, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is leading the fight against the proposed agency on grounds that it would make credit less available and more costly.The American Bankers Association, the Independent Community Bankers of America, and the Financial Services Roundtable also oppose the measure.

“We have no argument that regulation failed.

Consumer protection is just one of the many areas where it fell down,” said David Hirschmann, the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Capital Markets, which opposes the panel.“It just simply adds a new layer of regulation without fixing ... our outdated, broken regulatory structure that was a contributing factor in our crisis.”

The Chamber said it’s spending about $2 million on ads, educational efforts and a grassroots campaign to kill the agency. It said that the grassroots effort has led to more than 23,000 letters sent to Congress to date.

The Center for Responsive Politics said that for the 2010 election cycle, commercial banks have donated almost $3.7 million to lawmakers – 54 percent of it to Republicans. Companies that provide credit have given about $1.4 million, 59 percent to Democrats. Mortgage bankers and brokers have given $581,423.

“Maybe instead of making government BIGGER, we should focus on making government BETTER,” reads one Chamber ad.

The Chamber warns that the agency could morph into a monster regulator.

“If you look at this actual bill, the powers are so broad and so ill-defined that the scope of who is covered is incredible. They’ve managed to create

When economic times got tough last year, banks began padding their balance sheets by socking surprised consumers with new credit card fees that were hidden in contractual fine print a proposed new regulator for anyone who directly or indirectly provides credit to consumers,” Hirschmann said. “If you allow people to give gift cards for your store ... you’ve got a new regulator.

It’s amazingly broad in scope, scale and power.”

The administration scoffs at those charges.

“Contrary to some advertisements you may have seen, we have no desire to interfere with Main Street retailers’ability to provide credit to their customers.

That argument is to the financial regulation debate what the Death Panel argument is to the health insurance debate,” Lawrence Summers, the chief economic adviser to President Barack Obama, said in a recent speech.“We have become convinced that it is essential that consumer financial regulation be

carried on by an independent body whose mandate is uniquely and exclusively consumer and investor protection.”

Until the current crisis, responsibility for these consumer protections fell to several separate regulators, who made consumer protection subservient to their core mission of regulating institutions for safety and soundness.

Predatory lending and no-documentation loans helped spawn the housing crisis.Weak oversight by federal regulators allowed mortgage bonds to be sold to investors as the safest of investments when they were far from it.

When economic times got tough last year, banks began padding their balance sheets by socking sur-

prised consumers with new credit card fees that were hidden in contractual fine print.

“In practice, nobody really took it seriously. ...

I think clearly you have had a lot of abuses, and whatever was on the books wasn’t being enforced,” said Morris Goldstein, a former top official at the International Monetary Fund and a researcher for the Peterson Institute of International Economics.

“I think it makes sense to try to wrap it together and give someone the responsibility to deal with the great bulk of it.”

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the chairman of the House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee, said Tuesday that he intends to exempt most non-financial businesses from oversight by the new agency.At a congressional hearing on Wednesday, the Chamber’s Hirschmann said that while he appreciated Frank’s modifications, the Chamber still opposes the bill.

Some Democrats, such as New York Rep. Nydia Velazquez, who heads a House committee on small business, are concerned about the bill’s potentially broad sweep. In a statement to McClatchy Newspapers, she warned that,“if these proposals are not crafted correctly, they could ensnare small businesses we don’t think of as financial institutions. In addition, we need to consider how new regulations will impact small firms in the financial sector, like community banks and credit unions.”

The proposed agency appears to have broad Democratic support in the House of Representatives. In the Senate, which has been slower to deal with financial regulation, support is harder to gauge.

Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., the chairman of the Banking Committee, has voiced support for the idea, but he’s breaking with the administration and the House by proposing to consolidate half a dozen bank regulators into a single unified agency.

A consumer protection agency could be folded into it, or it could be separate.

Advocacy groups say that the financial sector’s opposition underscores the need to act.

“I don’t see why people don’t understand that this should be a measure of why to pass it,”said Barbara Roper, the director of investor relations for the Consumer Federation of America.“If you assume, as I do, that they fear anything that threatens the way they do their business, their ability to profit through the abuse of their customers, then this (legislation) should be taken seriously.”

Palestinians go for de facto state RAMALLAH, West Bank, Sept. 24 (UPI) – Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad says the Palestinian Authority plans to proclaim a de facto state by 2011.

A vital component in that historic undertaking will be the U.S.-trained Palestinian security forces fanning out across the West Bank to re-establish order.

But some Israelis see this new force as a threat.

Palestinian leaders say they can no longer sit and wait for the U.S.-driven peace process to stumble forward.Taking a leaf out of the Israelis’ book, they are seeking to establish their own facts on the ground – and a functioning security apparatus is one of the most important.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s refusal to halt settlement-building in the West Bank, as requested by U.S. President Barack Obama in a bid to kick-start the moribund peace process, has dismayed the Palestinians.

Under the so-called road map for peace,a U.S.-brokered document adopted in 2003,Palestinians pledged to crack down on militant organizations and in return, the Israelis would freeze settlement activity.

A key element of the state envisaged by Fayyad, an independent Palestinian figure untainted by the murky dealings of the late Yasser Arafat, is a reformed and accountable security apparatus.

An independent Palestinian state can only emerge

with Israel’s approval but Fayyad’s unilateral initiative represents a departure from established Palestinian political thinking still rooted in the Arafat era and the objective of a negotiated settlement.

It also reflects swelling Palestinian frustration with Israel’s continued refusal to make significant concessions to achieve a comprehensive settlement, and thus could end up impeding Obama’s efforts.

But the emergence of a cohesive and effective Palestinian security establishment seems to be real

begun to re-establish the PA’s authority.

These units, trained to conduct police-style operations and enforce law and order, are drawn from the mainstream Fatah movement and have also killed or rounded up large numbers of Hamas rivals bent on taking over the West Bank as well as the Gaza Strip.

Most importantly, they are accountable to the Palestinian Authority and not the cluster of competing security chiefs-cum-warlords that existed under

In recent months, four 500-man battalions of newera Palestinian security personnel, trained by the Americans in Jordan, have deployed in the West Bank enough and this could yet influence events over the coming months.

In recent months, four 500-man battalions of new-era Palestinian security personnel, trained by the Americans in Jordan, have deployed in the West Bank.Three more battalions are being trained and equipped.All personnel were vetted by U.S., Israeli and Jordanian security services.

To a large degree, the Palestinian force has eliminated the criminal gangs that had taken over the territory during Arafat’s Palestinian Authority, riddled by corruption and clan-based rivalries, and has

Arafat’s rule of keeping potential challengers busy plotting against each other.

There is now a palpable sense of order emerging in the West Bank but the important element in all this is that these security units have also eliminated attacks on Israel by militant groups.

This means in effect that the PA, under U.S. tutelage, has turned its back on armed resistance against the Israelis.

That has put Israeli hard-liners, who want at all costs to avoid a peace settlement in which Israel gives up the West Bank, in an awkward position – to

the point that the see the new Palestinian security apparatus as a threat.

U.S.Army Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, the officer who heads the Palestinian security restructuring program, said recently that their actions have made a positive impression on senior Israeli commanders.

But the Israeli military has refused to allow these U.S.-trained personnel to have any heavy weapons or advanced communications.The new force is also considered to be dangerously under-resourced.

Still, commanders are considering letting the Palestinian Authority form an elite unit of counterterror commandos to hunt down Hamas die-hards, leaving everyday police operations to regular police trained by the European Union.

Dayton, the mastermind behind the new PA force, was appointed the U.S. security coordinator in March 2005. His mandate expired recently.

But it is interesting that he signed up for an extension – two years, which neatly fits in with Fayyad’s time frame for a de facto Palestinian state. That suggests that Fayyad’s declaration had a deeper resonance, and probably U.S. approval, than has been generally appreciated.

The Palestinians feel it is time for the Israelis to respond to the improvement in security by the PA and start pulling out their troops. Fayyad – and Dayton – appear to have given them a timetable.

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WORLD WORLD

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in 60 seconds ARREST IN US TERROR PLOT SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Sept. 25 (UPI) -A 29-year-old Illinois man has been arrested on charges of planning to detonate a truck bomb to blow up a federal building in Springfield, authorities said.

Michael C. Finton, who also goes by Talib Islam and aspired to be a jihadist fighter, drove a truck he believed carried nearly a ton of explosives yesterday to the Paul Findley Federal Building and Courthouse in Springfield, the state capital, federal authorities said. Finton, of Decatur, Ill., then got into a waiting car with an undercover FBI agent and, when the car got a few blocks away from the building, used a cell phone to try to set off explosives, authorities said.

The truck contained inactive explosives and Finton was arrested immediately after allegedly trying to detonate them.

He made his initial court appearance today on charges of attempted murder of federal officers or employees and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

Federal authorities said Finton idolized John Walker Lindh, an American who fought with the Taliban.

An affidavit alleges Finton suggested to an undercover FBI agent this year bombing the Findley building, conducted surveillance of the building and proposed a remotely detonated car bomb for the attack. In August, the affidavit says, Finton made videos and said in two of them he believed America was at war with Islam.

On Sept. 1, the affidavit said, Finton met with the undercover agent, was told the vehicle would be carrying nearly a ton of explosives and acknowledged the attack would cause civilian casualties but said they were justified.

This alleged plot drives home the stark reality that we must avoid complacency and remain ever vigilant to the threats that violent extremists may pose to public safety, Jeffrey Lang, an acting U.S. attorney, said in a statement.

Federal authorities said the arrest is not connected to the investigation of an alleged terrorism plot in New York and suburban Denver.

BRITISH LAWMAKER’S TONGAN MAID NICKED LONDON, Sep. 25 (UPI) -- A Tongan woman fired from her job as a maid for the British attorney general was arrested today as an illegal immigrant.

Police had been searching for Loloahi Tapui, 27, for a week, The Times of London reported.

Attorney General Patricia Scotland dismissed Tapui last week.

Border Police arrested Tapui and her husband, Alexander Zivancevic, a solicitor, in the London neighborhood of Chiswick. Both were granted bail.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has supported Scotland through the scandal. The Times said Scotland not only employed an illegal immigrant but said she had not kept copies of the documents Tapui gave her when she was hired. The documents would have shown Scotland had checked Tapui’s immigration status, the Times said.

The Border Police fined Scotland 5,000 pounds (almost $8,000).

Scotland backed a law penalizing employers for hiring illegal immigrants.

The case has parallels to former New Zealand Immigration Minister David Cunliffe, who was revealed last year to have unwittingly had illegal overstayers working as domestic staff at his Auckland home.

SYDNEY TOLD: MORE DUST COMING SYDNEY, Sep 25 (UPI) -- Australia’s largest city cleaned up after one massive dust storm as forecasters warned another one may be on the way.

The Bureau of Meteorology described the storm that hit Wednesday morning as the worst in at least 70 years. The dust cloud’s impact was greatest in Sydney but it darkened the skies over most of the east coast of the country from Melbourne to northern Queensland.

Water Minister Phil Costa eased restrictions in the Sydney area so residents and business owners could get the dust off cars and houses, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The city deployed 100 sweepers Thursday morning to clean the streets.

The storm cost businesses in Sydney millions of dollars,.

25 25 September September 2009 2009

Pittsburgh seige fails to deter G-20

By Margaret Talev and Kevin G. Hall McClatchy Newspapers

PITTSBURGH - As leaders of the world’s most developed nations inched closer to consensus in Pittsburgh today on how best to restrict compensation packages for financial executives, masked protesters and police in armored vehicles clashed in what’s become a familiar ritual at such meetings.

In a chaotic scene near downtown, police in riot gear quashed an unauthorized march by an estimated 2,000 protesters, some clad in black and carrying posters with anarchist symbols. Police responded with tear gas and arrests. However, the streets around the meeting site were well secured and generally peaceful.

President Barack Obama arrived in town this morning for the start of a two-day summit of the Group of 20 leaders. It marks the third time this year that the leaders of the most developed nations have gathered to take stock of what now appears to be a waning global financial crisis.

Leaders will announce this weekend that the G-20 will replace the smaller Group of 8 nations as the body for international cooperation, according to a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the decision hasn’t yet been made public.

The shift is a recognition of the growing influence of developing nations, including China and India.

The G-8, which includes the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Russia, Italy, France, Germany and Japan, will continue to meet to discuss foreign policy and security issues.

By the meeting’s adjournment tomorrow, the leaders expect to mutually commit to major changes in financial regulation, and to adopt a common approach preventing the outsized executive bonuses and other forms of compensation for bank chief executives, received in spite of the nearcollapse of the financial system last year.

The U.S. appeared late today to have defeated efforts to impose hard and fast caps on executive compensation - a position championed by France.

Instead, the G-20 leaders appear ready to embrace standards for pay that more closely link compensation to performance.

Adding to outrage over bank pay, the New York Post reported this week that Goldman Sachs, which earlier this year repaid $10 billion in taxpayer bailout funds, expects to have a bonus pool this year approaching $16 billion.

G-20 leaders - representing the U.S., the European Union and 18 other nations - also are expected

to call on nations to try to harmonize “rules of the road”for finance so that banks and other financial firms can’t avoid regulation.

“We need to see competition for stronger standards not weaker standards,”Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said during a Pittsburgh news conference.

Added White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs, “We do know that unless we all have greater rules for the road, money can fly and transfer anywhere.

So if there are weaker rules in one place but everybody else is taking concerted efforts, you don’t have a defense ... because money can always go to a place very quickly.”

There were plenty of other flashpoints as the meeting got under way.

Several European nations are upset about a proposal from Geithner that would give developing nations a greater say in global financial institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Geithner wants to transfer another 5 percent of voting shares in the IMF to developing nations such as China, India and Brazil, to reflect their growing importance in the global economy. Europe isn’t opposed per se, but European leaders don’t want this greater influence to come in the form of reducing voting powers for developed nations.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh was secured by road barricades and a heavy police presence. Many residents who could telecommute did. Some businesses were closed.Schoolchildren planned to stay home tomorrow.

A few miles from the convention center Victoree Johnson,14,and her mother,who declined to give her name,stopped at a bakery.Suddenly,protesters in black T-shirts surrounded a nearby bank. One whipped a hammer from his pocket and smashed the bank window and two ATMs.Then, more protesters came.

“They were throwing tomatoes at people,”Victoree said.

Added her mother,“The SWAT team came in buses.They just rushed out. It was crazy.There were alarms going off.”

Besides those protesting the economic summit were opponents of abortion, supporters of Tibet and a group of teenagers with a sign that said:“Smoke weed every day.”

The president this afternoon arranged a working dinner with leaders at the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. First lady Michelle Obama and leaders’spouses had other dinner plans, at Fox Chapel farm, owned by philanthropist Teresa Heinz,

the wife of Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.The first ladies are also to receive a special porcelain tea set that includes honey made from a beehive located near Michelle Obama’s White House garden.

(Margaret Talev reported from Pittsburgh; Kevin G. Hall, from Washington.)

Eminem vs Apple: lawsuit could hit fans

By Ben Schmitt Detroit Free Press

DETROIT - A trial that could reshape the music-downloading industry began Thursday, pitting the music publisher of hip-hop megastar Eminem against computer giant Apple Inc. The case in U.S. District Court in Detroit is being watched closely by music industry and copyright experts.

Eight Mile Style LLC contends in its lawsuit against Apple that the computer company earned $2.58 million from downloads of Eminem songs.

Eight Mile attorney Richard Busch said during his opening statementThursday that Eminem’s contract with record company Aftermath Records did not give the company the right to make his songs available for download on Apple’s popular iTunes service.

Aftermath Records, founded by rapper and producer Dr. Dre, also is a defendant. Eight Mile Style is claiming copyright infringement, alleging Apple did not have a license to reproduce and sell 93 songs at issue.

Apple attorney Glenn Pomerantz countered that Eight Mile Style made money off the download purchases. He said Eight Mile made 9 cents off

each song that customers downloaded from iTunes.

Despite the lawsuit, Eight Mile continued cashing royalty checks, Pomerantz said.

“They’ve been paid a lot of money,”he said.“But they’re not entitled to that money and Apple’s profits.”

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor is presiding over the trial without a jury.Testimony is expected to last a week. Eminem is not expected to appear at the trial.

Ben Sidbury, a copyright attorney with Alston & Bird law firm, said the verdict will have major ramifications.

“If the court finds that Apple does not have a license to distribute the songs, the court could order Apple to cease from making the songs available through iTunes and to pay damages for the unlawful use of the songs,”said Sidbury of Charlotte, N.C. Sidbury added that a verdict in favor of Eight Mile “would likely cause Apple and other online distributors of music to rethink their protocols for obtaining permission to make the music available online.”

WORLD

25 September 2009

Lunar seas really exist Washington – Water is present on the surface of the moon, scientists said today in a series of articles to be published in the journal Science.

Separate analyses by scientists using data from India’s Chandrayaan-1 satellite and two US spacecraft, Cassini and the Deep Impact probe, found evidence of water in the moon’s soil and showed it was widespread across its entire surface.

“Widespread water has been detected on the surface of the moon,”said Carle Pieters, lead scientist for the instrument used on the Indian spacecraft to make the finding.“This is not what any of us expected a decade ago.”

The finding blows away accepted beliefs that water could not exist on the moon’s surface, especially in very hot areas near the equator. In fact, trace amounts of water found in rocks brought back by the Apollo astronauts were dismissed as contamination once back on Earth.

Ironically, many of the moon’s best known features are prefaced ‘Mare”, which is Latin for ocean (marine), but the presence of real water was long believed impossible.

A NASA instrument called the Moon Mineralogy

Mapper on Chandrayaan used the data from light reflecting off the lunar surface to determine the make-up of the soil and found the water as well as hydroxyl. Hydroxyl is composed of one hydrogen and one oxygen atom, while the well-known composition of water is two hydrogen atoms to one oxygen atom.

When the initial data showed evidence of water, the scientists tried to dismiss it as water residue on the spacecraft that had been picked up on Earth, Pieters said.

“It’s not possible, the moon doesn’t do this,”she said, but the Chandrayaan data were then compared with decade-old data from Cassini’s 1999 fly-by and recent data from Deep Impact.“It’s completely conclusive, there’s no question whatsoever,”she said.

The Cassini data had never been examined to check for water on the moon, in part because it took years to calibrate its instruments to counteract the effects of Earth water on the spacecraft.

The moon’s water is located within 2 millimetres of the surface, but the moon is still quite dry, amounting to about a litre of water for every ton of soil.

“Even the driest deserts in the Earth have more beneath the surface. Astronomers had hoped to water than are at the poles and surfaces of the determine whether water could be hidden in the moon,”NASA scientist Jim Green said. shadowy craters of the moon near its poles, where Water is more widespread across the moon’s sur- a lack of sunlight would prevent ice from evapoface than scientists had expected rating. but appears to be concentrated An earlier lunar satellite The finding nearer the poles. found high levels of hydrogen The instrument’s data will in the atmosphere near the blows away also give scientists a more coma hint that water could accepted beliefs poles, plete image about what kinds be present. of minerals make up the moon’s that water could Also today, another analysis soil. found that water is also more not exist on the The US space agency NASA widespread on Mars than previis in the midst of another year- moon’s surface, ously thought. long look at the lunar surface to especially in very Photos by NASA’s Mars prepare the way for a planned Reconnaissance Orbiter found return of humans to the moon. hot areas near ice closer to the planet’s equator Last week, in their first findings, the equator than previously thought, about they said the element hydrogen halfway between the equator – a key component of water – is more widespread and the north pole. The ice was also much purer than expected at the moon’s south pole. than expected, about 99 per cent water.

Today’s announcement is seen as complementing Water was first confirmed on Mars by the Phoenix the ongoing mission, which next month will crash lander last year. dpa aw ar a satellite into the moon to look for water further – DPA

US Muslim teen at centre of religious battle

By Rene Stutzman The Orlando Sentinel

ORLANDO – A Muslim girl who gave her heart to Jesus and then ran away to Christian evangelists in Orlando is not just any Christian. She is driven to save souls and prays God will make her a prophet.

That’s according to writings she left behind when she fled.

“Lord is preparing me and He has me hidden . . . until the time is right,”Fathima Rifqa Bary wrote in a computer entry obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.

“I am called to the nations. Send me to the deepest darkest places into the pagan land.”

Rifqa, 17, lives with a foster family in the Orlando area. She fled there, she insists, because her father threatened to kill her for abandoning Islam.

There’s no evidence of that, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and child welfare officials in Columbus, but her claim – and her wrenching, tearful YouTube video – have prompted a firestorm of response. Thousands of people have weighed in, most insisting if Florida officials send her back to Ohio she’ll face certain death.

After Rifqa disappeared July 19,her family searched for clues about why she left.They found a computer flash drive and were stunned by what they read.

Contents of the flash drive were given by her father Mohamed Bary to the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Columbus, Ohio, who shared parts of it with the Orlando Sentinel. Bary authorized publication.The writings reveal a young woman who has embraced fundamentalist Chris-

tianity, who has stood outside an ist who turned Rifqa against her abortion clinic, duct tape across family and put lies in her head. her mouth, alongside other proWilliams said that’s not true. testers, and who has dreamed Rifqa, he said, is the one who about Armageddon. convinced him that because her She must convert her family to father was a Muslim, Mohamed Christianity, she wrote, including Bary must kill her to preserve the her older brother, Rilvan, 18, who family’s honor. worships “demonic music.”

“I really appreciate Rifqa’s She must approach strangers courage, and she’s been an inspiand talk about Jesus. She saved a ration to me,”Williams said in a list of tips on how to do that: phone interview this week from “Do NOT be sneaky,”she wrote.

Kansas City.

“Sit down . . . get to know them . . .

Rifqa’s attorney, John Stem(Ask) would you mind for 5 min if berger, and her guardian ad litem, I share the gospel with you.”

Krista Bartholomew, were proShe compared herself to the hibited from commenting on the Old Testament heroine Esther writings because of a gag order and wrote out or saved religious issued by Orange (Fla.) Circuit pep talks.

With tears running down her cheeks, Fathima Rifqa Bary, 17, gets a hug from her DCF case worker Max- Judge Daniel Dawson.

“What does it take to be a ine Kisimbi during a hearing before circuit Judge Daniel Dawson in Orlando, Florida. (Ricardo Ramirez In the past week, Rifqa’s parprophet?” she wrote. “If I am a Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/Pool/MCT) ents have launched a new strategy friend of God I can be prophetic. . to get their daughter returned to . .You have to want it. Everyday pray for prophesy.” liams wrote. He calls the founder of Planned Par- Ohio and placed in its foster care system.There are Also on the flash drive is 250 pages of Facebook enthood a racist Nazi, does not believe in evolution, now two juvenile court cases pending in Columbus. preaching and blogging by a young Columbus evan- speaks in tongues and criticizes mainstream Chris- Last week, her father filed one, asking a judge to gelist,Brian Michael Williams,23,a former Ohio State tians as following a “demonic doctrine” for being declare his daughter “incorrigible for repeatedly University sociology student and Rifqa’s religious spiritually lethargic and failing to evangelize. being disobedient”. mentor, according to Mohamed Bary, her father.

Williams baptized Rifqa in a creek near her home Someone else on Monday filed a separate petition Those are the writings Mohamed Bary said trou- in June, he said, and helped her run away – unwit- naming Rifqa,something that could give a Franklin bled him most. tingly, he insists – by driving her to the Greyhound County judge the authority to determine where and Williams prays with people by“laying my hands bus station in downtown Columbus. with whom she lives.The Franklin County,Ohio,clerk on the (computer) monitor and prophesying,”WilTo Rifqa’s father,Williams is a Christian extrem- of courts office would not identify the petitioner.

A story of buried treasure London – An amateur treasure hunter who unearthed Britain’s largest-ever amount of gold and silver from the Anglo-Saxon period said Thursday he had seen “gold in his sleep”and felt that the rewards from his hobby were“more fun than winning the lottery.”

Terry Herbert,55,who is unemployed,came across the massive hoard as he searched fields near his home in Staffordshire in England’s West Midlands in July, using his trusted 14-year-old metal detector.

“People laugh at metal detectorists,”he said, adding they people ridiculed them for searching for pennies.“Well, no, we are out there to find this kind of staff and it is out there.”

“As soon as I closed my eyes I saw gold patterns, I didn’t think it was ever going to end,”said Herbert about his find on July 5.

The discovery of 1,345 items – most of it taken from weaponry, was officially declared a treasure by the authorities in Staffordshire Thursday, meaning that Herbert and the farmer on whose land they were found will share the sevenfigure-sum museums are expected to pay to put them on display.

The hoard, which includes five kilos of gold and 2.5 kilos of silver, is believed to date back to the 7th century and could have belonged to Saxon royalty in what was once the Kingdom of Mercia.

“This is absolutely phenomenal. It is a hugely important find. ...The volume and size and range of material is amazing and there are things here that we have not seen before,”said Duncan Slarke, finds liaison officer for Staffordshire.

Experts believe that the find is of greater archaeological significance than the 1939 discovery of the Sutton Hoo ship burial site near Ipswich, in the south-eastern county of Suffolk.

“This is going to alter our perceptions of AngloSaxon England as radically, if not more so, as the Sutton Hoo discoveries,”said Leslie Webster, former keeper at the British Museum’s Department of Prehistory and Europe.

The find was“absolutely the equivalent”of finding a new Lindisfarne Gospels or Book of Kells.

Kevin Leahy, an archaeological expert who catalogued the hoard, praised the extraordinary craftsmanship it revealed.

“This was the very best that the Anglo-Saxon metalworkers could do, and they were very good.

Tiny garnets were cut to shape and set in a mass of cells to give a rich, glowing effect; it is stunning.”

“Its origins are clearly the very highest-levels of Saxon aristocracy or royalty. It belonged to the elite,”he said.

“It looks like a collection of trophies, but it is impossible to say if the hoard was the spoils from a single battle or a long and highly successful military career.”

A selection of the items went on display at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Thursday where they will be shown until October 13.

Meanwhile, Herbert, who said he was going to build a new home with his new-found wealth, said: “Maybe it was meant to be, maybe the gold had my name on it all along, I don’t know.”

SPORT

25 September 2009

11

Henry says technology ruining rugby Wellington, Sept 25 – All Blacks coach Graham Henry says advancements in boot and ball technology is making rugby a less attractive spectacle.

Henry – who also recommends the value of a penalty goal be reduced to one – said the increasing preponderance of kicking at the top level of the sport was also a disadvantage to the natural running instincts of his side and Australia.

He told Britain’s The Independent newspaper that the game has “undoubtedly” transformed because of the length of kicks players can make – both at goal and kicking for territory.

“The quality of the ball, like everything else such as the quality of the boots, is constantly improving,” Henry said.

“Guys are kicking the ball 60m these days because the ball has improved so much. Kicking is a skill but it is transforming the game and I don’t think that was in the original ideas of rugby. “ We can’t increase the length of the field; there might be opposition to that at places like Twickenham and Eden Park. But on the same size field as long ago, you can now kick the ball 10m-15m further.

That changes both the nature of the game and the nature of the penalty.”

The shift in emphasis would impact most on the All Blacks and Wallabies, Henry believed, not only on the field but off it, where interest levels could wane.

“People that have been traditional fans are now questioning the game because of the laws,”Henry said.

“There is nothing Australia and New Zealand can do about it.We wanted to make the ELVs permanent but we got out-voted.

“But the consequences of doing nothing about this in this part of the world are serious. It is a real problem because we do not have the population numbers in this country. Getting bums on seats is a big challenge, especially in a recession.”

Henry said the current rules promote safety-first rugby.

South Africa dominated the Tri-Nations on the back of a kicking strategy which reduced the chances of being penalised. ` `Because of the rules, sides don’t take risks and don’t pass the ball very often,”Henry said.

“They are wary of playing a wider, more expansive game and scared of giving away penalties. It is becoming even more of a chessboard game than

it ever has been. The way the game is played now is often like a tennis match with the ball kicked downfield so much.”

Henry said reducing the value of a penalty would be a radical move but suggested its impact would be positive.

“Wouldn’t that create widespread cheating?”he said.

“It may do but it gives the possibility to the other side that if they get the ball there are ways of winning the game other than kicking goals.”

Henry also suggested allowing a mark to be called when the ball is caught and play then taken back to where the kick was made.

“It is a matter of the people that have got the power making the correct decisions.

“But the problem at the moment is, what is the correct decision in one country isn’t necessarily the correct decision in another. So I think you need impartial people to make these decisions for the good of the game.

“I do think the rulemakers have got to re-visit this.The game under the ELVs last year was much more enjoyable to play and much better to watch.”

– NZPA

NZ face uphill battle in cricket Wellington, Sept 25 – New Zealand face an uphill task to continue a proud record in one-day cricket after South Africa outclassed them at the Champions Trophy tournament in South Africa overnight.

South Africa won by five wickets with nine overs to spare at Centurion after a bottom order collapse saw New Zealand, sent into bat first, muster just 214 in 47.5 overs.

They now need to beat Sri Lanka, who dominated the Black Caps on their recent tour to the subcontinent, and England to progress from group B to the knockout phase.

New Zealand have been unable to repeat the crowning glory of their Champions Trophy final victory in 2000,but were semifinalists in the last tournament in 2006 and at the World Cup in 2007. Since then their form in the 50-over format has slumped.

South Africa looked in control throughout, apart from when Ross Taylor and Grant Elliott combined for a 71-run stand for the fourth wicket before New Zealand’s last five wickets fell for just 11 runs.

New Zealand may have done a better job of defending an inadequate total had Jeetan Patel been employed as a second specialist spinner on a pitch offering turn and inconsistent bounce.

Skipper Daniel Vettori defended the decision to play backup wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins as a

specialist batsman instead of Patel, saying he would have played had allrounder Jacob Oram been fit.

“Jake offers us that balance.Without him, we felt we needed an extra batsman,”Vettori said.

Oram missed the match due to a hamstring strain and his fitness is being monitored ahead of the next group match against Sri Lanka on Sunday.

Taylor toiled to hold the New Zealand innings

together, topscoring with 72 off 106 balls, his 11th one-day half-century, while Brendon McCullum, with 44, and Elliott, 39, were best of the rest.

McCullum played within himself as he guided his side towards 100 inside 25 overs but fell when well set after top-edging a sweep off spinner Johan Botha.

His 68-ball innings featured three fours and two sixes, before the onus went on the middle order with

Burmester keen to get his groove back Wellington, Sept 25 – Swimmer Moss Burmester is keen to get his 2010 Commonwealth Games aspirations back on track. Along with New Zealand’s other leading swimmers, Burmester will be in action at the national short course championships starting in Christchurch on Sunday.

The 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medallist and placed fourth at last year’s Beijing Olympics, he admitted his world championships campaign this year had been a speed bump amid the continuous progress he has achieved over the past five years.

Burmester missed the final of his specialist event, the 200m butterfly, in Rome in July, a result which has impacted negatively on his funding.

“My funding is based off of the results achieved at the worlds. I will have to sort out my options and how I can address this shortfall now without compromising my future ongoing swimming goals,” Burmester said.

“I know that in the end Rome wasn’t an indicator of what I was capable of doing,as all my training and times leading up to it had been better than ever before.

“At the time it didn’t feel like it but in the end the learnings I have made could well be a breakthrough experience for me.”

Among those looking to advance their claims in Christchurch are Kurt Bassett and the North Shore trio of sprinter Hayley Palmer, Daniel Bell and Andrew McMillan.

There will be a welcome return for Melissa Ingram, a former world short course championship medallist, who has been training well since coming back after missing out on the world championships.

One notable absentee is Glenn Snyders, who is recovering from knee surgery.

Swimming New Zealand high performance manager Jan Cameron was also looking to a number of developing swimmers to push themselves into early calculations as they built towards next year’s Commonwealth Games in India.

The championships run from Sunday until Wednesday, with heats in the morning and finals in the evening.

– NZPA

New Zealand 92 for three in the 24th over.

Taylor and Elliott looked to turn the tide and were progressing well before their stubborn fourth wicket stand ended when South African-born Elliott played the wrong line and his middle stump was pushed back by a deceptive delivery from left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe.

Taylor’s innings ended when he missed a low full toss and was trapped leg before by left-arm fast bowler Wayne Parnell, who later helped mop up the tail to finish with career-best figures of five for 57 to pick up the man-of-the-match honours.

“Our batsmen got bogged down as we sought a competitive score of about 250 runs,”Vettori said.

“Ross and Grant handled the spinners well but the partnership did not last long enough.”

South Africa were untroubled chasing a small target with AB de Villiers proving the matchwinner as he sealed success with a four having topscored with an unbeaten 70 in 76 balls, including nine boundaries.

Hashim Amla, with 38, and Jacques Kallis, 36, earlier helped keep the score ticking over.

The glovework of McCullum was the highlight in the field for New Zealand as he took three catches off pace bowlers Shane Bond, Daryl Tuffey and Kyle Mills.

– NZPA

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WEEKEND

25 September 2009

13

TV & Film

Fame

0Cast: Asher Book, Kristy Flores, Paul Iacono, Paul McGill, Naturi Naughton 0Director: Kevin Tancharoen 0Length: 97 minutes.

0Rated: PG (vulgar language, sexual situations, adult themes)

Though it takes place in 1818 and the language is of the period, thanks to superb performances the reallife characters are as timely today as they were nearly 200 years ago that “a poem should not mean, but be.”

Through Campion’s eyes, there is never the sense that Keats expressed to Brawne poetically what he could not physically. Here is a movie that believes that verse and image are physical expressions. In a word, it’s ravishing.

Watch the trailer

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Where words fail, poetry triumphs. Bright Star, Jane Campion’s ecstatic couplet to John Keats, tubercular Romantic poet, and Fanny Brawne, robust Regency fashion plate and muse next door, conveys desire in an ode, consummation in a sonnet.

Intimate as a whisper, immediate as a blush, and universal as first love, the PG-rated film positively palpitates with the sensual and spiritual.

Though it takes place in 1818 and the language is of the period, thanks to superb performances the real-life characters are as timely today as they were nearly 200 years ago.

There is the ethereal Keats (Ben Whishaw, feverish with longing), awakened as from a reverie by the substantial and spirited Fanny (Abbie Cornish, rosebud-fresh). It is not love at first sight.

She is a seamstress of considerable originality (look at her three-ply strawberry collar!), but Keats has eyes only for nature, not for clothes. He is a poet of controversial reputation (listen to his allusions!), but Brawne has ears only for the language of flirtation, not of verse. Poetry, she tells him, is a strain.

He dismisses her as a minx; she sizes him up as sickly and penniless – not desirable qualities in a suitor. And yet. When they are in the same room, each feels more deeply.“You always concentrate my whole senses,”Keats would write Brawne, who inspired his best-known works.

As Campion tells it, in imagery as rhapsodic as that of any Romantic ode, when the two are together, colours are more vivid, smells more pungent, feelings more profound.

Campion did not film her movie in Smell-OVision, it only seems as though she has. In a woodland sequence where the pair trip lightly across a carpet of bluebells, I nearly swooned from the fragrance – not to mention the erotic vibrations – emanating from the screen.

Too often figures in costume dramas are arranged like statuary in a museum. Campion sees the

extraordinary in the ordinary, casually presenting her characters like fresh cuttings from the garden.

As Keats,Whishaw (Perfume) is a frenzy of hair atop a twiglike trunk. As Brawne, Cornish (Stop-Loss) plants herself next to him as if to furnish protective windbreak.Together, they flourish; apart, they languish.

And, as in any great romance, there are many forces driving them apart. Chief among them are Keats’ ill health and abject poverty.

Close behind is Keats’ meddlesome friend and patron, Charles Brown (Paul Schneider, wonderful as this sarcastic and self-important swan), who rents quarters from Brawne’s widowed mother (Kerry Fox). At first, Keats and Brown live next door to the Brawnes. Then the poets share a house with Fanny’s family, bringing the lovers in even closer proximity.

Campion, who both wrote and directed, tells their story elliptically and soaringly.The filmmaker’s offbeat dialogue has a unique cadence, and her oblique compositions observe Archibald MacLeish’s faith

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0Cast: Ben Whishaw, Abbie Cornish, Paul Schneider, and Kerry Fox 0Director: Jane Campion 0Length: 119 minutes 0Rated: PG (chaste, but erotic)

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The new Fame is practically identical to Alan Parker’s 1980 original – I mean, it’s the same damn movie – except for all the parts with heart and humor and poignancy and soul and fun.

The main difference between the two films – aside from the fact the original was rated R, to reflect the reality of New York City teenagers, and the new one is rated PG, to reflect the reality of Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers fan clubs – can be summed up in one scene.

In Parker’s version, a dance student is devastated after she’s told she doesn’t have the talent to cut it at the New York High School of Performing Arts, and appears to be contemplating suicide as a subway car approaches. But when the train hurtles past, she’s still standing on the platform, shrugs and says ‘Screw it. If I can’t dance, I’ll change to the drama department.”

In the new Fame, which was directed by music-video veteran (and apparent “telenovela” buff) Kevin Tancharoen, the dejected dance student, now a boy, still opts not to jump in front of the train. But he collapses in a heap of melodramatic sobs into the arms of his worried pals. Oh, the tragedy!

Oh, the headache this movie gave me! The mostly-unknown actors who make up the cast of Fame are an undeniably talented song-and-dance bunch, blessed with grandly photogenic faces, lovely voices and the moves to go along with them. But the movie does them no favors.

For example, Naturi Naughton belts out a beautiful rendition of “Out Here On My Own” (one of only two songs from the original to survive the jump to 2009, along with the title track, which is wasted over the end credits). But she has been directed to overemote and overact horribly during the performance, instead of allowing her singing to carry the scene, and she comes off like an early-round loser on American Idol, the sort that makes way too many funny faces to be taken seriously.

There are other odes to the original Fame, including a recreation of the impromptu cafeteria jam/dance session (although set to a different song), which gives the film its sole moment of genuine musical juice. But most of this remake, which was written by Allison Burnett, chucks out the multi-layered characterizations and interwoven storylines of Christopher Gore’s 1980 screenplay.

In their place, we get a dishearteningly rote romance between two students (Asher Book and Kay Panabaker) which could have been lifted out of any teen-oriented TV serial, and an angry, brooding kid (the musically gifted Collins Pennie) waiting for a teacher to step up and break through to him.

The instructors in Fame are all played by familiar TV actors (Megan Mullaly, Kelsey Grammer, Bebe Neuwirth), but with the exception of Mullaly, who at least gets to belt out a number, the roles are all thankless. Debbie Allen, who played the dance teacher in the 1980 film, returns here as the school principal, presumably as a nod to fans of the original.

A better tribute would have been to make a movie that didn’t condescend to its intended teen audience and coddle them with hollow fairy tales about how, if you do your homework and try really hard, all your dreams will come true, no matter what your lot in life happens to be. Better still, they should have just left Fame alone.

Parker understood that just because you’re making a musical doesn’t mean you have to coat it in sugar and candy hearts.

Forget about living forever: This new Fame will be lucky to hang around for a month.

Watch the trailer – By Rene Rodriguez

REVIEWS

14

25 September 2009

Music

No longer in a jam

Pearl Jam rediscovers itself with the upbeat, rocking new album ‘Backspacer’

By Evan Sawdey PopMatters.com

You’ve heard the rumours, and the rumours are true: Pearl Jam has finally released a “pop”album.

Yet the phrase“pop”doesn’t mean what you think it does in the world of Pearl Jam. For certain purists, “pop”is just another way of saying that Pearl Jam has“sold out,”a theory that’s only furthered by the fact that “Backspacer” – the group’s ninth studio album – is getting its physical release only through corporate retailer Target, a sure sign that the group is now chasing the Almighty Dollar instead of its values, lurching forward as if its infamous battle with Ticketmaster never even happened.

As if that isn’t enough, there are some that gladly point to lead single “The Fixer”as undeniable evidence that the grunge pioneers have shed their white-knuckle trademark rock sound for something infinitely more accessible and upbeat, as if Eddie Vedder & Co. are now desperate for a gigantic radio hit.

To which the following response is generated: So what?

When Pearl Jam released its iconic debut album “Ten” in 1991, few would have guessed that the group would become unintentional godfathers of the ‘90s grunge explosion, entering the gigantic world of mainstream rock radio before Kurt Cobain even had a chance to let the door shut behind him (which is ironic given that “Ten”came out a whole month before Nirvana’s “Nevermind”did).Though Pearl Jam soldiered on – racking up No. 1 albums

and radio hits in equal measure – things began winding down as the millennium came to a close, and the 2000 release “Binaural” was arguably the moment when the group hit rock bottom, having finally released a disc that tried to sound like what the group thought people wanted to hear in a Pearl Jam album, instead of making the record that the band actually wanted to make.That’s a theory that gains traction when you look at the rejected songs from the “Binaural”sessions that wound up on the 2003 rarities compilation“Lost Dogs”– tracks like “Sad”and“Hitchhiker”that proved to be some of the poppiest songs Pearl Jam had penned in years.

Yet it seems that Pearl Jam was very conscious of the fan reaction to“Binaural,”and it is from this point onward that the group began getting a bit looser with its legacy, starting with the release of 72 “official”live bootlegs from its corresponding European and U.S. tours from that same year. In 2002, the group released “Riot Act,”a solid if not truly spectacular album, failing to reach the heights of“Ten” or “Vs.,”but still showing the group taking steps in the right direction, opening up its sound a bit more instead of letting itself get weighed down by its own legacy.This was soon followed by a contribution to the “Big Fish”soundtrack, a two-disc career retrospective called“rearviewmirror,”the aforementioned “Lost Dogs”rarities set, and two more rounds of live bootlegs. It’s as if Pearl Jam’s members had finally embraced who they were, and were doing nothing but celebrating that discovery.

As such, their 2006 record – simply titled “Pearl Jam” – was nothing short of a revelation. For the

first time in their career, guitarist Mike McCready was the principal sonic architect, and McCready made his intentions clear: He wanted to reconnect with the band’s early sound, penning powerful rockers that were more melodic than angst-ridden, more soulful than distortion-fueled. It was, in short, the album that patient Pearl Jam fans had been waiting for, and boy did it deliver. Shortly thereafter, Eddie Vedder released his first solo album in the form of the “Into the Wild” soundtrack, and the group’s crowning achievement (“Ten”) was given the deluxe reissue treatment, not only reminding everyone just how influential that record was, but also showing that group had now officially moved beyond it – as great as“Ten”was, Pearl Jam was not going to let that disc define it any longer.

Which leads us to the novel thing about “Backspacer”:There isn’t a single disc in the group’s entire back catalogue that it can even be compared to.

Though individual songs can be referenced in order to give one an idea of what“Backspacer”sounds like (“Last Exit” from “Vitalogy” and “Wishlist” from “Yield”being chief among them),“Backspacer”is its own unique entity: a scrappy little rock record that barely lasts 37 minutes, making it the shortest and most upbeat album in Pearl Jam’s cluttered discography.Yet,more critically than that,“Backspacer”is the sound of Pearl Jam actually having fun again,and it’s hard not to picture Vedder sporting a huge goofy grin on more than a few of these tracks, here rocking out with more passion than he did during his three-song stint as the Doors’guest vocalist during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 1993.

Sure, some songs fall back on tired rock cliches (“Force of Nature”relies on that wah-wah pedal just a bit too much, just as how“Johnny Guitar”feels like a pastiche of other, less-interesting early-Pearl Jam rockers), but these moments are often over before they even have time to register, instead allowing us to just sit back and enjoy the six-string spectacle all around. Lyrically,Vedder focuses less on worldly woes and instead tackles relationship issues, getting caught up in his own contradictory promises to his lover during the lush folk-pop ballad“Just Breathe,” wanting to make things better for everyone during “The Fixer,”and then suffering the pangs of sexual inadequacy during“Johnny Guitar.”

In short, Vedder has become vulnerable again, and for a record that’s so musically outgoing and forceful, the dichotomy between these two sides works extremely well.

Which leads us to why“Backspacer”is such a contradictory little album. Make no bones about it:This will not go down as Pearl Jam’s best release by any measure, but that’s because it’s not supposed to be.

This is Pearl Jam’s“fun”record, a disc that was likely just as exciting to record as it is to listen to.Tracing things from“Riot Act”onward, it’s become apparent that Vedder & Co. have truly rediscovered their passion for what they do, and even when“Backspacer” missteps, it never feels like it’s going to fall: It will just steady itself and then crank the guitars back up to 11 all over again.

PopMatters is an international magazine of arts and culture. Find more PopMatters content at http://www.popmatters.com.

The Fixer

REVIEWS

25 September 2009

OBITUARY

15

Books

Blood’s a Rover creates a parallel history Blood’s a Rover 0James Ellroy 0Knopf

Gobillot, a Frenchman who lives and works in England, looks at the big picture, focusing on the ongoing shifts in culture and commerce that have changed the world. One of the biggest changes, he points out, is the virtual democratization of data and how it affects leadership, as open collaboration becomes the norm.The flattening of traditional hierarchies presents opportunities, he declares, but there are also serious challenges that can and should be handled in a proactive manner.

A speaker and consultant, Gobillot is also a fine writer.Though based“over there,”his frame of reference is global and he cites plenty of U.S.businesses and other cultural touch-points, so even the most xenophobic among us shouldn’t feel alienated or confused.

In addition to his own thoughts on leadership and its continuing importance to the success of organizations and enterprises, Gobillot wisely offers a very worthwhile list of resources and references that reflect and amplify his observations and admonitions.Along with notes at the end of each chapter (which are much more useful there than stuck in the back of the book), this smart and readable volume was a very pleasant surprise. I hadn’t previously heard of Gobillot (my bad!), but I’ll be sure to keep track of him henceforth.

Leadership – not just management – is more important than ever, and this book proves it by showing the difference between the two.

Revisionist history that roars off the page, James Ellroy’s Blood’s a Rover is fevered pulp fiction spiked with real nightmares.

The final installment of Ellroy’s Underworld USA trilogy (1995’s American Tabloid and 2001’s The Cold Six Thousand begat Rover), this stand-alone work is conceptually bound to the preceding volumes, but features very few overlapping characters.

Of course, once you’ve paged through this“political noir,”you’ll want to immediately devour the other two novels, if you haven’t previously.

By placing historical figures – Howard Hughes, Richard Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover all figure prominently here – in seedy new situations, Ellroy takes a cynical look back at some truly dirty deeds.

Rover spans the years 1968 to 1972 (with a brief, modern-day coda), assessing the fallout from Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy’s assassinations, as well as the gathering storm for Chicago’s Democratic convention.

Amid these turbulent events, Ellroy weaves in the FBI’s attempts to bring down black power organizations from within; a violent, mysterious armored car heist; radical extremists fulminating about Cuban revolution and forbidden love shared by the radicals on both sides of the political equation.

Ideologies clash and shift, as do alliances and allegiances. Many of Ellroy’s sturdiest themes – honor, loyalty and a strong sense of morality – are at play, revealing themselves in unexpected ways. Blood’s a Rover is, above all, a testament to the restless pursuit of principles; Ellroy deftly bends the narrative away from its early concerns (a murder with ties to the occult) only to circle back with a vengeance during his tragic yet triumphant finale.

The principal protagonists – stoic FBI veteran Dwight Holly; brilliant but troubled chemist Wayne Tedrow Jr.; hapless and hungry private eye Don Crutchfield and the seemingly omnipresent “Red Goddess”Joan Klein – are spectacular,vivid creations that burst to life over the course of Ellroy’s novel.

Adept at conveying generous detail in unsparing,clean sentences, the worlds these characters inhabit become tangible,although their roots in reality do help.

From covert operations on Dominican Republic beaches and boozy after-parties in presidential suites to hastily arranged surveillance and high-stakes romance, Ellroy convincingly builds a plausible“what-if”for one moment of American history after another.

Nixon is on record as being obsequious and crude; Ellroy exploits that fact to make the 37th president a vile guest star in this sweeping tale.Equally unnerving is the FBI’s supposed fixation on racial instigation; Ellroy paints the aging J. Edgar Hoover as a mincing bigot who derives incredible joy from humiliating and harrassing blacks from all walks of life,but particularly the Eldridge Cleavers of the world.

For all the ugliness, Ellroy never shies away from depicting cruelties – be they verbal or physical – in all their rawness. Some may be troubled by the book’s casual embrace of blunt language that’s long since fallen out of favor (or, sadly, is just hidden more carefully), but its usage is true not only to the times, but the men and women inhabiting them. Blood’s a Rover is rough from start to finish, although fans of Ellroy’s are well-versed in his inability to pull punches.

History is refracted and reflected through Ellroy’s peerless paragraphs, lending a fresh urgency and a thrilling sense of re-discovery to events thoroughly analyzed. Blood’s a Rover commands your attention from the first page and, thanks to its heft, makes reading in piecemeal fashion daunting.

Ellroy’s latest is American fiction writing at its finest – a dexterous, astounding achievement.

By Richard Pachter

By Preston Jones

Walk the Walk: Say it, Look at leadership mean it and then do it from front lines Walk the Walk: The #1 Rule for Real Leaders 0Alan Deutschman 0Portfolio, 208 pages.

THANKS MARY TRAVERS, FOR INTRODUCING ME TO BOB DYLAN

By Jim Abbott The Orlando Sentinel

Like a lot of folks of a certain age, I imagine, I originally came to the music of Bob Dylan though Peter, Paul & Mary. It was on a greatest hits collection that I first heard“Blowin’in the Wind,”“Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright”and other seminal songs of the folk movement.

While I likely would have found Dylan anyway, the memory of listening to Peter, Paul & Mary is on my mind today, reflecting on the passing Wednesday night of singer Mary Travers at age 72.The trio was Dylan’s first avenue to the mainstream, before the Byrds would introduce his music in the same way to the rock ‘n’ roll crowd. Those Dylan songs are priceless to me now and I’m appreciative of the others that helped introduce them to me.

Travers had been battling with leukemia for the past few years, a challenge that bandmate PeterYarrow told the press she had handled with bravery and generosity, showing her love to friends and family “with great dignity and without restraint.”

Noel “Paul” Stookey, who rounded out the trio, praised Travers for inspiring activism: “I am deadened and heartsick beyond words to consider a life without Mary Travers and honored beyond my wildest dreams to have shared her spirit and her career,”he said.

If you want a sense of the 1960s folk movement, I’d recommend checking out Martin Scorsese’s Dylan documentary “No Direction Home.”There’s footage of Peter, Paul & Mary and a look at how others in the folk realm reacted to the band’s big marketing push by manager Albert Grossman, sort of the Lou Pearlman of his day.

In the film, John Cohen of the New Lost City Ramblers recalls talking to Travers in the early days about the band’s trip to Florida, saying to her that it must have been nice to do some tanning in the sunshine.Travers replied that Grossman didn’t want her getting too much sun because she was supposed to be the pale, waifish-looking member of the group.

Image manufacturing, circa 1963.

Rest in peace, Mary Travers.

Each of us may be the star of our own movie, but that doesn’t guarantee an intriguing plot.In a similar fashion,most war stories recounted by business leaders are dull cautionary tales rather than inspiring works offering useful examples and actionable instructions.

In many cases, the problem is that deeds fail to match words.These captains of industry may be legends in their own minds who can glibly talk the talk, but may not walk the walk.No one is perfect,of course, but most leadership failures can invariably be ascribed to the disconnect between the walk and the talk.

We see it all the time in Washington and in our local governments.Two-faced politicians, for example, call for austerity, slash spending on important programs yet reward allies, cronies and lackeys at the expense of the public. But when other supervisors fail to follow their own rhetoric, especially in business, there’s a ripple effect.“Leaders”are supposed to lead, and their behavior is far more revealing and meaningful than mere words.

Alan Deutschman’s short and readable book looks at a number of people and the failure and success they achieved for themselves and their organizations based on whether or not their actions aligned with their words. Military leaders, coaches – even companies – that were consistent in their rhetoric and practices are profiled, as well as those who failed to live up to their own responsibilities and standards.

You may not cheer for his team, but there’s no way that you can read Deutschman’s observations about University of Florida football coach Urban Meyer and not admire his integrity and behavior.

His actions communicate more about his values and expectations than any hackneyed half-time speech or sideline exhortation.

Historical figures including Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Eleanor Roosevelt are profiled along with business people such as Berkshire Hathaway’sWarren Buffet,Southwest Airlines’Herb Kelleher, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, politicians Al Gore and Mike Bloomberg, and a bunch of unknown figures whose behavior demonstrated unambiguous leadership and set examples for the people they led – or fell short.

It’s an interesting and absorbing set of stories, sure, but invariably, while reading these exemplary tales, one immediately is reminded of all the moralizing political hacks who condemn the behavior of others while cheating on their wives, lying to their staffs and defrauding the public.

Also springing to mind are thoughts of the more mundane managers who demand standards they fail to achieve. It’s especially telling in tough times when bosses expect employees to trim budgets, endure salary cuts and take on additional work, yet somehow those same budgets still accommodate the leaders’ high salaries and perquisites.

Deutschman does a terrific job of portraying the deleterious effects of failure with examples from General Motors’plants to failed military campaigns, plus politicians who preached what they failed to practice. It’s a lesson that transcends business but is especially important in it, where trust and integrity can ultimately determine failure or success.

By Richard Pachter

Usually, I’d choose another subject for the next book review; finance, sales, marketing; anything other than leadership. But I’m breaking my own rule because the paucity of leadership is all around us. In government and business, we see people who not only fail to walk the walk but also are unable to genuinely lead and inspire others to do their best for themselves and their stakeholders. I don’t think that any book is going to fix this epidemic of venality, duplicity and cowardice, but here are two recent attempts to provide a better understanding of what’s at stake and how to remedy the situation.

Fierce Leadership: A Bold Alternative to the Worst ‘Best’ Practices of Business Today 0Susan Scott 0Broadway Books, 336 pages.

Scott is what my mother-in-law would call “a pistol.”She’s blazingly intelligent, shoots from the lip and is unafraid to call it like she sees it. She also recognizes the enormous gap between words and deeds, theory and practice, and every other thing that businesses and other organizations espouse and make an integral part of their mission statement – but not necessarily their mission.

It’s a provocative book and could aid managers who require a shot of reality and possess the courage to examine what they’re doing and how their actions resonate through their organizations.The problem, however, is that the people who would benefit most would probably never consider reading this, making for a self-perpetuating cycle.

Leadershift: Reinventing Leadership for the Age of Mass Collaboration 0Emmanuel Gobillot 0Kogan Page.,189 pages.

SCIENCE & TECH 16

25 September 2009

Windows 7 - installation tips WASHINGTON (DPA) - With Windows 7 just over the horizon, lots of people are going to be wondering how to transfer their files, settings, and e-mail to the new operating system.

The goal, of course, is a complete transfer with minimum hassle. The reality, often, is a bit more complicated. Read on for some solutions.

Q: I’m using Windows Vista and will be buying a new computer with Windows 7 on it as soon as I can.

What’s the easiest way to transfer my files? Should I buy a cable and use Windows Easy Transfer?

A: As you know,Windows Easy Transfer is a file and settings transfer wizard that comes with both Windows Vista and Windows 7.

It’s also available as a free download for XP users (http://tinyurl.com/2tabn5 ).

Both Microsoft and other vendors sell a special Easy Transfer Cable that can be used to connect and transfer files between two computers. This is a bi-directional USB cable designed especially to work with the transfer wizard. The cable can cost anywhere from US20 to 40 dollars, depending upon the source.

You don’t need to buy the transfer cable in order to use Easy Transfer, however. Easy Transfer will also allow you to connect the old and new computer over a network and transfer files that way. Or you can have Easy Transfer create a transfer file on an external disk or USB drive that you can then open on the new computer.

The latter method of transfer, in fact, seems to work the best.

It’s not uncommon for transfers using the special cable or using a network to stall or to require an inordinate amount of time - overnight, in some cases - to complete. Having Easy Transfer create the intermediate file, by contrast, will probably get your files and settings onto the new computer in less than an hour, start to finish.

Q:Will Easy Transfer also copy my programmes and programme settings?

A: By default it will copy your favourites, desktop icons, public documents, music, pictures, videos, windows settings, and some programme settings.

In the “Choose what to transfer”dialog box that appears in the course of the transfer, however, you can click a Customize link that will allow you to determine exactly which files will be copied.

You’ll need to know where your most important programmes reside, however, in order to select the folders in which they’re installed.

Q: Can I simply install Windows 7 over my existing Windows installation?

A:Yes, you can use the Upgrade option during installation to upgrade an existing copy of Win-

dows Vista with Service Pack 1 or Service Pack 2 installed.

You cannot perform such a simple upgrade of Windows XP, however.

Your best option in upgrading XP will be to download and use the Easy Transfer Wizard and, with it, create a transfer file that you then open on the Windows 7 computer with the Easy Transfer Wizard.

You may wish to do a completely fresh installation of the new operating system without any automated utility, however.The reason:You’re sure that way that your new operating system will be uncluttered by any unnecessary files or settings from the old operating system.

The downside is that a reinstallation of everything will take you much longer, and you may be worried about losing important files or settings along the way.

If you can install the new operating system onto a new hard drive or computer, however, you should not have too much to worry about. If you find that you’re missing something on the new PC, you can always go back to the old one, not retiring the old machine or drive until you’re sure everything you need is available on the new system.

Q:When I move to Windows 7, I’m going to try the 64-bit version instead of the 32-bit version.Are there any special considerations that I should be concerned about?

A:The 64-bit version of Windows 7 will run most of the applications that the 32-bit version will.You may find that you need special 64-bit drivers for some of your peripherals, but with Windows 7, Microsoft has done a better job of supplying drivers for existing hardware than with any previous version of Windows, so you may be pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to transfer to a 64-bit operating system.

With the 64-bit version of Windows, you’ll be able to install more than 4 gigabytes of memory (RAM), which should open up the possibility of running more applications simultaneously and of taking advantage of the growing number of 64-bit programs.

With 64-bit versions of Windows, you will find that you have two Program Files folders on your C drive. One is called Program Files and the other is called Program Files (x86). The (x86) folder is where older 32-bit applications are installed. 64-bit applications are installed in the regular Program Files folder.

Don’t worry about having to choose which Program Files folder to use when you install applications.

The correct choice is typically handled by the operating system,and installations should proceed normally.

Nano-changes not so small

By Etan Horowitz The Orlando Sentinel

THERE REALLY WASN’T much Apple needed to do to its iPod nano, which the company claims is the world’s best-selling MP3 player.

It has been able to display photos and play video for a few years, and part of the reason it’s so popular is because it’s small enough to use while you work out, but big enough to include a screen for song information, video viewing and other features.

Yet despite all that, earlier this month - as in the previous three Septembers - Apple CEO Steve Jobs stood onstage in California and introduced the latest enhancements to the nano and other iPods. As usual, prices were dropped and features were added.

The new, fifth-generation iPod nano saw the biggest changes, with Apple improving the device by making it more of a Swiss army-like gadget that could replace other gizmos you own.The nano can now record video and audio, and serve as an FM radio and pedometer. The screen is slightly larger (2.2 inches), and it has a more polished look.

To be sure, adding an FM radio isn’t exactly a thrilling new feature, but the nano’s radio is different from many others.You can set favorite stations and pause live radio for up to 15 minutes. Many stations display the artist name and song title, and if you hear a song you like, you can “tag” it so you can buy it on iTunes the next time you connect your nano to your computer.

Being able to record video on a device roughly the size of two fingers is pretty amazing.You can record in either portrait (vertical) or landscape (horizontal) orientation, and there’s a built-in microphone to capture sound.The video quality is surprisingly good, even in low-light situations, but I wouldn’t throw out your pocket video camera (like the Flip

Science Matters

or Kodak models) just yet.

That’s because it’s not very comfortable to hold the iPod to record video. The video camera and microphone are in the bottom backside of the nano, which is the most natural place to grasp the device when holding it vertically. Rotating the iPod moves your fingers away from the camera, but I tended to place my thumb on the screen, making it hard to see what I was recording.

One great thing about the video camera is that it includes 15 video effects you can apply when you shoot video, including black-and-white, security cam, X-ray and, my personal favorite, an effect that gives your video that old-time grainy-film look.You won’t find built-in video effects like this on the Flip cameras or even the iPhone 3GS.You can play recorded videos on the iPod or connect the device to your computer to e-mail or upload your movies to Facebook,YouTube and other sites.

The voice recorder is similar to the one on the iPhone and iPod touch, which lets you record voice notes, interviews or lectures and play them back on the device or on your computer.The pedometer lets you keep track of how much you are walking and set daily goals. If you have a Nike+ account, you can upload the nano’s pedometer data to your online account.

To let you play back your recorded videos and voice memos,Apple had to add a speaker, something missing from all iPods (except the iPod touch) for years. And though the speaker quality isn’t nearly good enough to fill a room with sound, it’s nice to not have to always use headphones or external speakers to listen to music or watch videos.You cannot play the FM radio through the nano’s built-in speaker

because the device requires a headphone or speaker cord to tune in stations.

Despite’s Apple’s claims, I don’t think the iPod nano will pose a serious threat to the Flip Video cameras; it’s not a good choice for recording long videos because it’s hard to hold.

However, there is no other device on the market that is so small and has so many features, so it’s a great choice for a multiuse gadget to carry in your pocket that won’t take up a lot of room and will keep you entertained and allow you to record some fun videos. (c) 2009, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).

New teeth, grown to order

Someday soon, dentists may be able to grow new teeth by using stem cells, matched to the DNA of people who need them.

A HEALTHY TOOTH

FUTURE DENTISTRY Ordinary metal filling

Enamel Hard material made of clear mineral rods

Stem cells

Dentin 60 percent calcium crystals; gives tooth its color

stem cells 1 Adult – which can grow into any kind of tooth or gum cell – are extracted from tooth

cells are 2 Stem grown in culture container

to 3 Attached polymer that will later dissolve

with 4 Mixed growth

Pulp chamber Blood vessels, nerves

chemicals, then implanted and grow into new tooth

Root canal More blood vessels, nerves

Aldrin, along with fellow Apollo Implanted 11 astronauts stem cells Armstrong and Michael Collins, received the Japanese researchers grew a new mouse tooth, a huge step toward bioengineering new organs Presidential Medal of Freedom from Mouth cells were 2 Richard Nixon in grown for 5-7 days, then implanted 1969

A living example 1

after 37 2 Tooth days of growth complete 3 Growth in 49 days

3 New tooth

© 2009 MCT Source: Peter E. Murray of Nova Southeastern University, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) Graphic: Cindy Jones-Hulfachor and Amy Beth Bennett, Sun Sentinel

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DISCOVERY

18

25 September 2009

Zermatt is an Alpine village made for dreamers

By Alan Behr McClatchy-Tribune News Service

ZERMATT, Switzerland – Richie Richter grew up in what was then Karl Marx Stadt, East Germany, works as a night clerk in Switzerland and dreams only of getting back to Canada.

Richie is a robust man with spiking sandy-brown hair.Alone each night, he tends the darkened lobby at the Hotel Matterhorn Focus in Zermatt, wearing a cotton shirt with the red maple leaf front and center. Some nights, I come down to join him, and Richie explains how he isn’t really a German in spirit but Canadian. He serves me meat, cheese and bread sticks and tells me about Halifax and how, next time over, he is going to travel the route from New Brunswick to Vancouver, and it’s going to be fantastic.

Zermatt is a place for dreamers like Richie. It pulls in workers from Portugal, from Germany and behind, each bringing a longing for Alpine gentility, fresh air and a touch of glamour.They help incubate the dreams of the visitors who come each winter to experience the unique pleasure of skiing in a region too remote even for pollution, anchored by a village where cars are banned and everyone moves on foot, in tin-can electric taxis or, weather permitting, on skis.

Each morning, the first golden sunlight reflects from the chiseled east face of the Matterhorn.

At some angles and in some lights, the mountain looks like a seated Buddha.At other times, it mimics the Great Sphinx. At night, as the dark Alpine sky becomes a sea of stars, the black, silhouetted mountain seems to nod off, once more a slumbering giant.

It was the allure of the mountains that turned Zermatt from a poor village without regular medical care, cut off in the winter even from the rest of Switzerland, into an international destination. First came the British climbers – for the Matterhorn (first ascended in 1865) and the other major peaks – then those who simply wanted to look at the mountains and take in the healthy Alpine air and then, starting in earnest in 1960, the skiers.

You can ski the Alps from France to Slovenia, but there is only one Matterhorn. When you add the fact that, because it sits at 5,346 feet, Zermatt always has snow, and the fact that, although it caters to an affluent crowd, it is down to earth and has accommodations almost anyone can afford (such as Sparky’s, a popular hostel), you understand a fascination that is one part practical but that borders at times on the mystic. People like St. Moritz and they enjoy Grindelwald, but a devotee of Zermatt is committed – a believer.

Daniel Dehling and Bruno Schmid are dreamers with wings.Whenever the winds are right, they unfold their paragliders from backpacks, harness up and fly off the side of a mountain. Nine years ago, I flew from the Rothorn (10,341 feet) hitched to a paraglider with Bruno, an experience so thrilling, yet so obviously treacherous, the first thing I say when I see him this time is,“Bruno, I’m amazed you’re still alive.”

Bruno, now 45, smiles and says,“There are no bad old paraglider pilots.”

I decide to test that, but rather than chance fate twice, I volunteer my lovely wife to fly with Bruno.

She in turn nominates me as her wingman, and one minute after she runs off the mountainside, harnessed to Bruno, I follow, dangling in front of Danny.We fly in formation and swoop low to harass and amuse the skiers, then we climb to glide by the Matterhorn, glowering in eternal indifference to our left.After 20 minutes, we land in tandem in a garden of fresh snow above the village railroad station.

Whenever Heinz Julen dreams, things soon happen.A descendent of one of the original families of Zermatt, a 44-year-old who remembers walking through the mountain pasture of his father’s cattle and goats in order to get to school, Heinz crafts his dreams as fine art, as interior design, as architecture (he created our hotel, the Focus), and as pure theater: in his bar/art gallery,Vernissage, Heinz slips into the

It was the allure of the mountains that turned Zermatt from a poor village without regular medical care, cut off in the winter even from the rest of Switzerland, into an international destination

glass-walled projection booth, and like the Wizard of Oz, sets in motion the special effects: the chandeliers swing away in the theater below, the curtains open, the blinds come down and the room is ready for a showing of the latest James Bond film.

Zermatt breeds passions like those of Heinz, and passions are nothing if not dreams turned into ambition. Heinz began as a ski instructor, and he, like nearly everyone who lives in Zermatt and visits it, takes his skiing and his mountains seriously.

Each morning, from even the oldest and most stately hotels, such as the Zermatterhof, which is owned by the community, and the Mont Cervin Palace, which belongs to another old Zermatt family, a great migration takes place. Masses of visitors and off-duty inhabitants, their ski boots clanking, the snow crunching under their feet, head toward the lifts.As the village empties, the mountains become crisscrossed with their tracks.

Regular upgrades to the lift system have finally linked all the mountains, so unlike our last visit, it is now possible to ski from one end of the Zermatt slopes to the other – straight into neighboring Italy, where you can get a good and relatively inexpensive Italian lunch. It’s quite an international adventure, and many of us do it, though we have to forgive the fact that, at two of the Italian stations we visit, the women’s bathrooms are broken and everyone must commune together in the men’s rooms.

As with all Alpine resorts, the snow bars of Zermatt, positioned just before the final runs end, pick up the skiers on their way home from slopes fallen into blue shadow.A joyful, inebriated noise continues until after dark, but gradually, even the stragglers return to the village.

There is nightlife, but in the main, the village goes to bed early. Nighttime is made for dreamers, of course – and here it leaves them in peace until the sun arrives once more to throw its band of gold across the east face of the Matterhorn.

IF YOU GO GETTING THERE Swiss International Air Lines and the Swiss trains continue to run like as they do nowhere else: just as the schedule promises. The new first class is amazing, but we flew coach both ways and (are you sitting down?) we completely enjoyed the experience; 1-877-359-7947 1-877-359-7947 ; www.swiss.com. An eightday Swiss Pass buys rides on all trains and postal buses; www.myswitzerland.raileurope.com.

STAYING THERE The Hotel Matterhorn Focus is located up a road that hugs the east bank of the Vispa, the river that runs through Zermatt. It sits just above a ski lift and a shop where you can rent and then store your skis at no extra charge. For the typical Zermatt winter guest – an avid skier – it just doesn’t get any easier: +41-27-966-2424 +41-27-966-2424 ; www.matterhorn-focus.ch.

On a budget? Consider La Couronne, +41-27-966-2300 +41-27-966-2300 ; couronne@zermatt.ch.

DINING THERE At Heimberg, the chef cooks from a purposely limited menu, unless you ask him to dream up something special for you – in which case, sit back and watch the magic happen. Reservations: +41-27-067-84-84 +41-27-067-84-84 . Sonnmatten is a bright and charming hotel restaurant with a sophisticated menu, offered by a particularly gracious host, Rene Foster. Reservations: +41-27-967-3030 +41-27-967-3030 .

Swiss winter resorts are renowned for their mountain restaurants. Chez Vrony, a hangout for locals, is so festive, you need to reserve for a ski-day lunch: +41-27-967-25-52 +41-27-967-25-52 . At the Fluhalp, you may find a band playing pop favorites to those dining al fresco in ski boots, some of whom may start to sing along. Reservations: +41-27-967-597.

SKI INFORMATION Each year we run the numbers, and it is still a bargain to ski Switzerland, in part because it is a matter of national pride that the mountains remain affordable to all Swiss. From our home in New York City, selecting our usual options, it remains cheaper to ski for a week in Zermatt than in Vail or Aspen. To help with your itinerary, visit the Web site of the Tourist Office of Zermatt: www.zermatt.ch.

FURTHER INFORMATION Switzerland Tourism, 608 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10020; 1-877-794-8037 1-877794-8037 ; www.myswitzerland.com.