This is the news due wednesday.
Facebook's chief privacy officer has spoken out defending the company's controversial decision to change its terms of use, saying the entire story was a beat-up and Facebook never intended to use people's personal information outside of the site.
It was the latest in a series of privacy rows for the social networking site as its 175 million users wise up to the dangers of publishing their personal details on the internet through a commercial entity.
In a telephone interview, Chris Kelly said despite Facebook rolling back the changes, which gave the company "irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid worldwide license" to users' information even after they deleted their account, the social network did not believe it had done anything wrong.
Kelly said the license was only intended to cover the site against legal action under copyright law and only allowed the company to use people's photos and other information on the Facebook site and within the privacy settings chosen by each individual.
"License is different to ownership ... So the speculation about people's faces showing up on billboards or Facebook owning the photos that they uploaded was just completely false," Kelly said.
"If you had only agreed to display a photograph for instance to five users, which you can do under your Facebook privacy settings, Facebook's license only extended far enough to allow us to display that photograph to those five users."
The issue flared up after consumer advocate blog Consumerist wrote that Facebook had tweaked its terms of service to give it more control over users' information, even after a user deleted their account.
It led to thousands of news stories all over the world and many Facebook users vowed to delete their account in protest. People who attempt to delete their account today are first shown a message from the site apologising for the terms of use "mistake".
Speaking to The New York Times, Consumerist co-executive editor Ben Popken said that the original blog post had been viewed more than 580,000 times by Wednesday - the site's most popular post ever.
But Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Kelly, said the changes were only made to make the site's policies clearer to users. The clause stating that Facebook could use user information even after they deleted their account was meant to ensure messages left on friends' Facebook pages would not disappear.
Kelly said Facebook only rolled back to the former terms of service to make it clear that the site's intention was not to own users' information. People are now being invited to join the Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities group to share their thoughts on Facebook's privacy policies. ( http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=69048030774)
"I think we're at an interesting time in the history of the world when a lot of things that weren't recorded or captured in any form are being captured [and shared] - and people are understandably nervous about that," Kelly said.
"I think that people are by and large very concerned about online privacy and with having more control over their data and their information, and we think that's very important and we've always recognised that by investing a great deal in building an infrastructure that allows them to choose who gets to see their information, as opposed to saying either you put it up on the internet or you don't."
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Rihanna's Family Opens Up About Chris Brown Arrest
This is the news that due wednesday.
Rihanna's family is opening up about the relationship between Rihanna and Chris Brown after an alleged altercation before the Grammy Awards that left Rihanna injured and Brown arrested.
One family member told People.com that Brown "flew so far under everyone's radar that we just didn't think he was that [abusive] type." The relative added that the news comes as a surprise because "he was always looking after her needs making sure she was happy."
The relative agreed with Rihanna's dad, Ronald Fenty, who thinks his superstar daughter should "move on" from the relationship. "I don't want her to go back to him," the family member said. "I don't think anyone does."
Earlier this week, Kimora Lee Simmons, who was showing her line Baby Phat during New York Fashion Week, spoke about the incident with The Associated Press, saying she saw the pair earlier in the night before news broke.
"I saw them that night ... and I think it's a very unfortunate situation," she said. "And I wish them both all the best and I send them my love and I'm very personally attached to both of them. And sometimes I think young lovers go through things and I really don't know what happened, so I wish everybody the best."
Ray J, who was at the fashion show supporting Simmons, said he and Brown are good friends and sends prayers out to the pair. "I've got a chance to hang out with them a couple of times, and, you know, they're cool people. Keep your head up," he told the AP. "You know things like this happen in life. And in life, sometimes these are the tests and obstacles that you got to overcome."
Rihanna's family is opening up about the relationship between Rihanna and Chris Brown after an alleged altercation before the Grammy Awards that left Rihanna injured and Brown arrested.
One family member told People.com that Brown "flew so far under everyone's radar that we just didn't think he was that [abusive] type." The relative added that the news comes as a surprise because "he was always looking after her needs making sure she was happy."
The relative agreed with Rihanna's dad, Ronald Fenty, who thinks his superstar daughter should "move on" from the relationship. "I don't want her to go back to him," the family member said. "I don't think anyone does."
Earlier this week, Kimora Lee Simmons, who was showing her line Baby Phat during New York Fashion Week, spoke about the incident with The Associated Press, saying she saw the pair earlier in the night before news broke.
"I saw them that night ... and I think it's a very unfortunate situation," she said. "And I wish them both all the best and I send them my love and I'm very personally attached to both of them. And sometimes I think young lovers go through things and I really don't know what happened, so I wish everybody the best."
Ray J, who was at the fashion show supporting Simmons, said he and Brown are good friends and sends prayers out to the pair. "I've got a chance to hang out with them a couple of times, and, you know, they're cool people. Keep your head up," he told the AP. "You know things like this happen in life. And in life, sometimes these are the tests and obstacles that you got to overcome."
Friday, February 13, 2009
Scientists create genetic blueprint of Neanderthal
An international team Thursday said it has completed a draft of the genome (or genetic blueprint) of Neanderthals, which shows that our extinct cousins made "very little, if any" contribution to human genes.
Team chief Svante Pääbo of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig described the work as a 63% complete gene map. This genome was stitched together from fossil DNA samples taken from four Neanderthals found in Europe.
Neanderthals occupied Europe from about 800,000 to 30,000 years ago. Scholars have long argued over their extinction, and their relationship to people.
"We still have lots of gaps, but we also now have a good overview of the (Neanderthal) genome," said Pääbo, in a webcast from Germany. The announcement previews a presentation scheduled for Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago. "We see this as a tool for future biologists (looking for) what's really unique to modern humans."
"I think it is spectacular, to get something out of bones 40,000 years old, absolutely stunning," says anthropological geneticist Henry Harpending of the University of Utah, author of The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution.
--------
The Neanderthals, "represent the last diverging branch on the bush of human evolution," said Max Planck's Jean-Jaques Hublin, who spoke at the briefing. "Study of Neanderthals tells us what made modern humans really modern."
The results suggest that the primitive human ancestors of Neanderthals and modern humans separated, to Europe and Africa respectively, about 800,000 years ago and that Neanderthals became genetically distinct from that common ancestor only about 300,000 years ago. The genes of Neanderthals and modern humans are more closely related than chimps and humans, Pääbo says, but Neanderthal genes differ 50% more than the differences between the most distantly-related humans. The researchers have sampled Neanderthal bones for DNA since 1997. Only last year did researchers produce a gene map of Neanderthal "mitochondrial" DNA, genes found outside the center of cells. The draft genome of "nuclear" DNA found in the center of cells required mapping 3.7 million gene elements to find:
• Humans and Neanderthals share a speech gene, but not a gene that regulates brain size in humans.
• A "tiny" possibility of interbreeding between humans and Neanderthals, although European genes lean slightly closer, in a statistical sense, to the extinct race; researchers think that may signify trace contamination of their samples with lab researchers' DNA.
• Uniformity suggesting the Neanderthals, like modern humans, arose from a small population.
Paleontologist Christopher Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London, says the genome suggests "while interbreeding was probably possible, it may have occurred only rarely, with trivial impact on modern humans"
The draft genome relied on state-of-the-art gene sequencing machines and techniques, including the radioactive tagging of verified Neanderthal genes, to produce results only a decade after the completion of a draft human genome. The researchers relied on a 37,000 year-old thigh bone found in Croatia, as well as 43,000-year-old from El Sidron, Spain, a 41,000 year-old-bone from Germany and a 70,000-year-old bone from Mezmaiskaya Cave in the Caucasus. They hope to have a 100% complete Neanderthal gene map within three years.
Gene maps of extinct creatures, such as the woolly mammoth and cave bear, have served as tune-ups for the Neanderthal effort in recent years. But Pääbo threw water on the question of whether the genome would enable cloning of Neanderthals. "I would say starting with just DNA, it is and will remain impossible. But we can all speculate as much as we like."
Team chief Svante Pääbo of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig described the work as a 63% complete gene map. This genome was stitched together from fossil DNA samples taken from four Neanderthals found in Europe.
Neanderthals occupied Europe from about 800,000 to 30,000 years ago. Scholars have long argued over their extinction, and their relationship to people.
"We still have lots of gaps, but we also now have a good overview of the (Neanderthal) genome," said Pääbo, in a webcast from Germany. The announcement previews a presentation scheduled for Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago. "We see this as a tool for future biologists (looking for) what's really unique to modern humans."
"I think it is spectacular, to get something out of bones 40,000 years old, absolutely stunning," says anthropological geneticist Henry Harpending of the University of Utah, author of The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution.
--------
The Neanderthals, "represent the last diverging branch on the bush of human evolution," said Max Planck's Jean-Jaques Hublin, who spoke at the briefing. "Study of Neanderthals tells us what made modern humans really modern."
The results suggest that the primitive human ancestors of Neanderthals and modern humans separated, to Europe and Africa respectively, about 800,000 years ago and that Neanderthals became genetically distinct from that common ancestor only about 300,000 years ago. The genes of Neanderthals and modern humans are more closely related than chimps and humans, Pääbo says, but Neanderthal genes differ 50% more than the differences between the most distantly-related humans. The researchers have sampled Neanderthal bones for DNA since 1997. Only last year did researchers produce a gene map of Neanderthal "mitochondrial" DNA, genes found outside the center of cells. The draft genome of "nuclear" DNA found in the center of cells required mapping 3.7 million gene elements to find:
• Humans and Neanderthals share a speech gene, but not a gene that regulates brain size in humans.
• A "tiny" possibility of interbreeding between humans and Neanderthals, although European genes lean slightly closer, in a statistical sense, to the extinct race; researchers think that may signify trace contamination of their samples with lab researchers' DNA.
• Uniformity suggesting the Neanderthals, like modern humans, arose from a small population.
Paleontologist Christopher Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London, says the genome suggests "while interbreeding was probably possible, it may have occurred only rarely, with trivial impact on modern humans"
The draft genome relied on state-of-the-art gene sequencing machines and techniques, including the radioactive tagging of verified Neanderthal genes, to produce results only a decade after the completion of a draft human genome. The researchers relied on a 37,000 year-old thigh bone found in Croatia, as well as 43,000-year-old from El Sidron, Spain, a 41,000 year-old-bone from Germany and a 70,000-year-old bone from Mezmaiskaya Cave in the Caucasus. They hope to have a 100% complete Neanderthal gene map within three years.
Gene maps of extinct creatures, such as the woolly mammoth and cave bear, have served as tune-ups for the Neanderthal effort in recent years. But Pääbo threw water on the question of whether the genome would enable cloning of Neanderthals. "I would say starting with just DNA, it is and will remain impossible. But we can all speculate as much as we like."
Deadly Plane Crash Near Buffalo Kills 49
Sholnn Freeman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 13, 2009; 1:44 AM
Authorities say 49 people are dead after a regional commuter plane, carrying at least 44 passengers and 4 crew members, crashed into a home in suburban Clarence, N.Y., near the Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
State police spokeswoman Rebecca Gibbons confirmed early Friday the 48 deaths aboard Continental Connection flight 3407, operated by Manassas, Va.-based Colgan Air.
Clarence emergency control director Dave Bissonet says the crash also killed one person on the ground.
The airplane, a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400, apparently was set to land on a specified runway at the airport under weather conditions that include light snow. Video from local television reports showed fire fighters battling blazes at a crash site. The flight was bound to Buffalo from Newark's Liberty International Airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board is preparing a team of investigators to leave from the Washington region at 6 a.m.
Colgan Air, is a subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines. Colgan operates planes under the Continental Connection, United Express and US Airways Express names. It has operations in Boston, Houston, New York, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 13, 2009; 1:44 AM
Authorities say 49 people are dead after a regional commuter plane, carrying at least 44 passengers and 4 crew members, crashed into a home in suburban Clarence, N.Y., near the Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
State police spokeswoman Rebecca Gibbons confirmed early Friday the 48 deaths aboard Continental Connection flight 3407, operated by Manassas, Va.-based Colgan Air.
Clarence emergency control director Dave Bissonet says the crash also killed one person on the ground.
The airplane, a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400, apparently was set to land on a specified runway at the airport under weather conditions that include light snow. Video from local television reports showed fire fighters battling blazes at a crash site. The flight was bound to Buffalo from Newark's Liberty International Airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board is preparing a team of investigators to leave from the Washington region at 6 a.m.
Colgan Air, is a subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines. Colgan operates planes under the Continental Connection, United Express and US Airways Express names. It has operations in Boston, Houston, New York, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Phil Predicts Another Six Weeks of Winter
· The world's most famous groundhog saw his shadow yesterday, predicting that winter will last for six more weeks.
The annual ritual in the Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney took place just after dawn on a tiny hill called Gobbler's Knob when the groundhog named Phil emerged in front of an estimated 13,000 witnesses.
According to legend, if a hibernating animal wakes up and casts a shadow on Feb. 2, winter will last six more weeks. If there is no shadow, spring will supposedly come early.
Early American farmers relied on groundhogs, though there is no scientific evidence that the animal has any weather-predicting skills.
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!
· Would you ever consider taking a swim in water that was only about 40 degrees?
Well, on Sunday, more than 2,700 people did just that in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
These folks -- including Delaware Gov. Jack Markell -- took the chilly plunge in the Atlantic Ocean to raise money for Special Olympics.
This year about $490,000 was raised for the state's program, which provides sports training and competition for people with disabilities.
The annual ritual in the Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney took place just after dawn on a tiny hill called Gobbler's Knob when the groundhog named Phil emerged in front of an estimated 13,000 witnesses.
According to legend, if a hibernating animal wakes up and casts a shadow on Feb. 2, winter will last six more weeks. If there is no shadow, spring will supposedly come early.
Early American farmers relied on groundhogs, though there is no scientific evidence that the animal has any weather-predicting skills.
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!
· Would you ever consider taking a swim in water that was only about 40 degrees?
Well, on Sunday, more than 2,700 people did just that in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
These folks -- including Delaware Gov. Jack Markell -- took the chilly plunge in the Atlantic Ocean to raise money for Special Olympics.
This year about $490,000 was raised for the state's program, which provides sports training and competition for people with disabilities.
Many Kids Don't Need the Vitamins They're Taking
MONDAY, Feb. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Many healthy U.S. children and teenagers may be popping vitamins and mineral supplements they don't need, researchers report.
The experts note that vitamin and mineral supplements are not considered necessary when a person eats a varied diet.
On the other hand, children who actually need these supplements -- those with poorer nutrition, less physical activity, and from low-income households -- may not be getting the dosage of vitamins and minerals they require, according to researchers reporting in the February issue of the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine.
For its part, the supplements industry views the findings as a "call to action" to get vitamin and mineral supplements to this underserved population, said Duffy MacKay, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs at the Center for Responsible Nutrition, in Washington, D.C.
The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend supplemental vitamins for most children over the age of 1. The supplements are recommended for children with chronic diseases, eating disorders and certain other conditions.
In fact, supplement overdose or poisoning can be an issue, especially in younger (2-to-4-year-olds) children; overdoses can lead to vomiting, or to more serious problems such as kidney or liver damage.
"We were curious about why certain parents may choose to use over-the-counter multivitamin supplements for children, and some might not," said study author Dr. Ulfat Shaikh, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of California Davis School of Medicine and pediatrician at UC Davis Children's Hospital. "We hypothesized that supplements might be used to reduce adverse effects if parents thought their child wasn't eating right or were wondering where their next meal was coming from."
The authors reviewed data on vitamin and mineral supplementation as well as diet, exercise and health insurance factors on almost 11,000 children and adolescents aged 2 to 17 from the 1999-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
About a third (34 percent) of young people had used vitamin and mineral supplements in the month before being interviewed.
As expected, underweight children used vitamins and minerals the most.
Surprisingly, however, these supplements were more likely to be consumed by children who did not need them as much, i.e. white children from families with higher incomes, more food security and, overall, better nutrition and physical activity levels. Thirty-seven percent of these children (who were also less likely to be obese) took vitamins, compared to 28 percent of those in less privileged situations.
Cost seems to be the biggest obstacle to lower-income households adding supplements to their children's diet, the team found.
"One of the things that we thought was responsible for this was the possibility that income and parental education status might override other factors," Shaikh said.
And, indeed, the data showed that 22 percent of children in households below the federal poverty line used vitamins, compared with 43 percent in households above the poverty line.
Thirty-eight percent of children in households without food stamps used vitamins, compared with 18 percent of youngsters in households that did use food stamps.
The Center for Responsible Nutrition has been lobbying to get vitamins and mineral supplementation covered by the food stamp program and WIC (Women Infants Children), Duffy said.
The experts note that vitamin and mineral supplements are not considered necessary when a person eats a varied diet.
On the other hand, children who actually need these supplements -- those with poorer nutrition, less physical activity, and from low-income households -- may not be getting the dosage of vitamins and minerals they require, according to researchers reporting in the February issue of the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine.
For its part, the supplements industry views the findings as a "call to action" to get vitamin and mineral supplements to this underserved population, said Duffy MacKay, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs at the Center for Responsible Nutrition, in Washington, D.C.
The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend supplemental vitamins for most children over the age of 1. The supplements are recommended for children with chronic diseases, eating disorders and certain other conditions.
In fact, supplement overdose or poisoning can be an issue, especially in younger (2-to-4-year-olds) children; overdoses can lead to vomiting, or to more serious problems such as kidney or liver damage.
"We were curious about why certain parents may choose to use over-the-counter multivitamin supplements for children, and some might not," said study author Dr. Ulfat Shaikh, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of California Davis School of Medicine and pediatrician at UC Davis Children's Hospital. "We hypothesized that supplements might be used to reduce adverse effects if parents thought their child wasn't eating right or were wondering where their next meal was coming from."
The authors reviewed data on vitamin and mineral supplementation as well as diet, exercise and health insurance factors on almost 11,000 children and adolescents aged 2 to 17 from the 1999-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
About a third (34 percent) of young people had used vitamin and mineral supplements in the month before being interviewed.
As expected, underweight children used vitamins and minerals the most.
Surprisingly, however, these supplements were more likely to be consumed by children who did not need them as much, i.e. white children from families with higher incomes, more food security and, overall, better nutrition and physical activity levels. Thirty-seven percent of these children (who were also less likely to be obese) took vitamins, compared to 28 percent of those in less privileged situations.
Cost seems to be the biggest obstacle to lower-income households adding supplements to their children's diet, the team found.
"One of the things that we thought was responsible for this was the possibility that income and parental education status might override other factors," Shaikh said.
And, indeed, the data showed that 22 percent of children in households below the federal poverty line used vitamins, compared with 43 percent in households above the poverty line.
Thirty-eight percent of children in households without food stamps used vitamins, compared with 18 percent of youngsters in households that did use food stamps.
The Center for Responsible Nutrition has been lobbying to get vitamins and mineral supplementation covered by the food stamp program and WIC (Women Infants Children), Duffy said.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Study: 50 Percent of Smokers Keep Puffing After Cancer Diagnosis
A West Virginia University survey published in the Journal of Oncology Practice found that 44 percent of smokers quit after being diagnosed with cancer.
Less than two thirds, 62 percent, say they received advice from doctors or nurses about quitting the habit.
Dr. Jame Abraham, the study's lead author, says the survey shows there's a need for intervention programs to help cancer patients quit tobacco.
In addition to being a risk factor for cancer, smoking can complicate common cancer treatments like surgery and radiation therapy.
Less than two thirds, 62 percent, say they received advice from doctors or nurses about quitting the habit.
Dr. Jame Abraham, the study's lead author, says the survey shows there's a need for intervention programs to help cancer patients quit tobacco.
In addition to being a risk factor for cancer, smoking can complicate common cancer treatments like surgery and radiation therapy.
Serena moves on; Venus ousted in Oz
Melbourne, Australia (Sports Network) - Second-seeded American Serena Williams was among Thursday's second-round winners, while her sixth-seeded big sister Venus Williams was a big upset victim at the 2009 Australian Open.
The Wimbledon champion Venus was stunned by scrappy 46th-ranked Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 on Day 4 at Melbourne Park. The American wasted a match point while leading 5-4 in the final set before exiting the draw.
A sluggish Venus was broken while serving for the match and wound up losing the last five games of the bout en route to defeat.
"She was super consistent and aggressive and just went for her shots," said Venus. "Probably one of her best matches she's ever played."
The 20-year-old Suarez Navarro was a quarterfinalist at last year's French Open.
"I wasn't in control of the points," the 28-year-old Venus added. "I'm definitely used to dictating the points a little bit more. It was kind of a pattern that wasn't the best for me."
The seven-time major titlist and former world No. 1 Venus has never won the Aussie Open. She was the 2003 runner-up here to Serena
The former top-ranked Serena, meanwhile, fired eight aces and overcame 29 unforced errors in order to beat Argentina's Gisela Dulko 6-3, 7-5.
The nine-time major champion Serena, who owns three Aussie Open titles, took advantage of 38 unforced errors by Dulko and saved six set points in the second set before advancing. She won the final five games of the match to set-up a third-round meeting with Chinese Peng Shuai.
"Today I was at like a D-minus at best," said a smiling Serena. "That's pretty far away. But it's good that I was able to win, too, when I wasn't playing my best. I definitely will try to do better."
Red-hot fourth-seeded Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva beat Czech Iveta Benesova 6-4, 6-1. The Russian Dementieva, who has never made it past the fourth round in Melbourne, stretched her 2009 season-opening winning streak to 12 matches.
"I feel like I had a very good start to the year," said Dementieva. "Right now it's the most important moment. That's why we're coming here to play the Australian Open. I just hope to play well here."
The two-time major runner-up Dementieva already owns titles in Auckland and Sydney this month.
Meanwhile, eighth-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Tatjana Malek of Germany 6-2, 6-2. Kuznetsova is a former U.S. Open champ and has appeared in three major finals for her career.
Flavia Pennetta, the 12th seed from Italy, blitzed Aussie favorite Jessica Moore 6-4, 6-1, while Victoria Azarenka, the 13th seed from Belarus, was leading 4-1 in the first set against Tathiana Garbin when her Italian counterpart retired due to injury.
In another upset, France's Virginie Razzano knocked out 14th seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 6-3, 6-1.
No. 18 seed Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia and 20th-seeded Amelie Mauresmo of France also won their second-round matches. Mauresmo, the 2006 champion and 1999 Aussie Open runner-up, rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Great Britain's Elena Baltacha, while Cibulkova whipped Taipei's Yung-Jan Chan 6-0, 6-2.
Other seeded winners on Thursday were No. 21 Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain, No. 22 Zheng Jie of China and No. 31 Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine.
Additional wins came for non-seeds Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain, Aussie Samantha Stosur, Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko and Chinese Peng Shuai. The heavy crowd favorite Stosur stopped promising German Sabine Lisicki 6-3, 6-4.
The Wimbledon champion Venus was stunned by scrappy 46th-ranked Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 on Day 4 at Melbourne Park. The American wasted a match point while leading 5-4 in the final set before exiting the draw.
A sluggish Venus was broken while serving for the match and wound up losing the last five games of the bout en route to defeat.
"She was super consistent and aggressive and just went for her shots," said Venus. "Probably one of her best matches she's ever played."
The 20-year-old Suarez Navarro was a quarterfinalist at last year's French Open.
"I wasn't in control of the points," the 28-year-old Venus added. "I'm definitely used to dictating the points a little bit more. It was kind of a pattern that wasn't the best for me."
The seven-time major titlist and former world No. 1 Venus has never won the Aussie Open. She was the 2003 runner-up here to Serena
The former top-ranked Serena, meanwhile, fired eight aces and overcame 29 unforced errors in order to beat Argentina's Gisela Dulko 6-3, 7-5.
The nine-time major champion Serena, who owns three Aussie Open titles, took advantage of 38 unforced errors by Dulko and saved six set points in the second set before advancing. She won the final five games of the match to set-up a third-round meeting with Chinese Peng Shuai.
"Today I was at like a D-minus at best," said a smiling Serena. "That's pretty far away. But it's good that I was able to win, too, when I wasn't playing my best. I definitely will try to do better."
Red-hot fourth-seeded Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva beat Czech Iveta Benesova 6-4, 6-1. The Russian Dementieva, who has never made it past the fourth round in Melbourne, stretched her 2009 season-opening winning streak to 12 matches.
"I feel like I had a very good start to the year," said Dementieva. "Right now it's the most important moment. That's why we're coming here to play the Australian Open. I just hope to play well here."
The two-time major runner-up Dementieva already owns titles in Auckland and Sydney this month.
Meanwhile, eighth-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Tatjana Malek of Germany 6-2, 6-2. Kuznetsova is a former U.S. Open champ and has appeared in three major finals for her career.
Flavia Pennetta, the 12th seed from Italy, blitzed Aussie favorite Jessica Moore 6-4, 6-1, while Victoria Azarenka, the 13th seed from Belarus, was leading 4-1 in the first set against Tathiana Garbin when her Italian counterpart retired due to injury.
In another upset, France's Virginie Razzano knocked out 14th seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 6-3, 6-1.
No. 18 seed Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia and 20th-seeded Amelie Mauresmo of France also won their second-round matches. Mauresmo, the 2006 champion and 1999 Aussie Open runner-up, rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Great Britain's Elena Baltacha, while Cibulkova whipped Taipei's Yung-Jan Chan 6-0, 6-2.
Other seeded winners on Thursday were No. 21 Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain, No. 22 Zheng Jie of China and No. 31 Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine.
Additional wins came for non-seeds Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain, Aussie Samantha Stosur, Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko and Chinese Peng Shuai. The heavy crowd favorite Stosur stopped promising German Sabine Lisicki 6-3, 6-4.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Peanut Butter Suspected In Salmonella Outbreak
An Ohio company recalled its creamy peanut butter after Minnesota health authorities identified the sandwich spread as the likely source of a wave of salmonella infections in the state.
Minnesota investigators found that every one of the 30 people with recent salmonella infections in that state had eaten peanut butter before falling ill, and confirmed in the "overwhelming majority" of those cases that the victims had eaten King Nut brand, according to state Department of Health spokesman Doug Schultz. The Minnesota salmonella strain matches the bacteria that have sickened at least 369 people in 41 other states since early September, although Minnesota authorities haven't connected the peanut butter to the national outbreak.
Minnesota officials, who are working with the federal Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, expect further test results as early as Monday. CDC spokeswoman Lola Russell identified peanut butter as "one of the major hypotheses" for the source of the outbreak.
Martin Kanan, chief executive of King Nut Cos., Solon, Ohio, which issued the recall, said in a release, "We are very sorry this happened. We are taking immediate and voluntary action because the health and safety of those who use our products is always our highest priority."
One salmonella-infected Minnesota woman in her 70s died. State health authorities are unsure whether other medical conditions caused or contributed to her death, Mr. Schultz said.
King Nut said it had purchased the peanut butter from Peanut Corp. of America of Lynchburg, Va., and sold it under the King Nut and Parnell's Pride brands. King Nut distributed it to universities, restaurants, hospitals and other institutional food services. The brands aren't sold in retail stores. Investigators discovered the salmonella in a five-pound container of King Nut-labeled peanut butter at a nursing home. All of the Minnesota cases occurred in people who had eaten at institutional facilities, Mr. Schultz said.
Peanut Corp. of America issued a statement expressing its "deep regret" over the "apparent finding" of salmonella in its product. But the company said the contamination was in an open container "in a large, institutional kitchen," raising the possibility of cross-contamination.
Minnesota investigators found that every one of the 30 people with recent salmonella infections in that state had eaten peanut butter before falling ill, and confirmed in the "overwhelming majority" of those cases that the victims had eaten King Nut brand, according to state Department of Health spokesman Doug Schultz. The Minnesota salmonella strain matches the bacteria that have sickened at least 369 people in 41 other states since early September, although Minnesota authorities haven't connected the peanut butter to the national outbreak.
Minnesota officials, who are working with the federal Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, expect further test results as early as Monday. CDC spokeswoman Lola Russell identified peanut butter as "one of the major hypotheses" for the source of the outbreak.
Martin Kanan, chief executive of King Nut Cos., Solon, Ohio, which issued the recall, said in a release, "We are very sorry this happened. We are taking immediate and voluntary action because the health and safety of those who use our products is always our highest priority."
One salmonella-infected Minnesota woman in her 70s died. State health authorities are unsure whether other medical conditions caused or contributed to her death, Mr. Schultz said.
King Nut said it had purchased the peanut butter from Peanut Corp. of America of Lynchburg, Va., and sold it under the King Nut and Parnell's Pride brands. King Nut distributed it to universities, restaurants, hospitals and other institutional food services. The brands aren't sold in retail stores. Investigators discovered the salmonella in a five-pound container of King Nut-labeled peanut butter at a nursing home. All of the Minnesota cases occurred in people who had eaten at institutional facilities, Mr. Schultz said.
Peanut Corp. of America issued a statement expressing its "deep regret" over the "apparent finding" of salmonella in its product. But the company said the contamination was in an open container "in a large, institutional kitchen," raising the possibility of cross-contamination.
Israel pounds Hamas leaders' homes as troops edge closer to urban areas
Israel sought to deliver a knockout blow to Hamas in the Gaza Strip today, pounding the homes of Hamas leaders and edging troops deeper into populated urban centres.
Israeli security officials said that the move was both tactical and psychological.
“We want to send a clear message to Hamas that we can keep going as long as it takes. We will do whatever we need to protect our citizens from rocket attacks,” said a member of the Israeli security council.
The council has already voted to approve the use of reserves in Gaza, thousands of whom entered Gaza last night. Defence officials said that those units had been taking over areas cleared by the regular troops, allowing those forces to push forward toward new targets and sending a strong signal that Israel is planning on continuing its offensive.
Israeli officials said that the Government was torn on whether to continue expanding the offensive, with Ehud Barak, the Defence Minister, and Tzipi Livni, the Foreign Minister, pushing for the army to end the operation in the coming days and Ehud Olmert, the outgoing Prime Minister, arguing for an expanded offensive.
“Israel is a country that reacts vigorously when its citizens are fired up, which is a good thing. That is something that Hamas now understands and that is how we are going to react in the future, if they so much as dare fire one missile at Israel,” said Ms Livni.
Hamas, at least publicly, has vowed to continue fighting, though senior Hamas leaders in Gaza have signalled that the Israeli operation has dealt them a severe blow.
In 17 days of fighting, Israel has moved from targeted air strikes to a massive ground operation aimed at combing the Gaza Strip for Hamas rocket-launching stations. Military analysts said that troops were edging into the populated areas slowly, avoiding the numerous booby-traps that Hamas had prepared.
Israel has accused Hamas of endangering civilian populations by launching rockets from mosques and schools and using them to hide weapons. Israel also said that Hamas fighters were wearing civilian clothes and using ambulances to move around the Gaza Strip.
Since Israel began its offensive, Gaza health officials have counted nearly 900 dead, at least half of them civilians. The Israeli military said that troops had killed some 300 armed militants. Thirteen Israelis have died, three of them civilians.
German and British envoys have pressed efforts to negotiate an end to the war, even though Israel and Hamas have ignored a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate and durable ceasefire.
Israel’s conditions for a ceasefire include a complete stop to Hamas rocket fire and weapons smuggling from Egypt. Hamas wants Israel to open all border crossings with Gaza and implement an international border to monitor the crossings.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
The Boston Globe Good sign for Yankees - Sabathia
LAS VEGAS - Have the New York Yankees gone back to being . . . you know, the Evil Empire New York Yankees?
They are the richest, most powerful entity in sports. They have built a $1.3 billion stadium with all the bells and whistles. Good economy, bad economy. No matter. CC Sabathia, Derek Lowe, A.J. Burnett, Manny Ramírez, and/or Mark Teixeira.
The Yankees, who agreed to terms with Sabathia on a seven-year, $161 million deal yesterday, can and may sign more than a couple of the other prominent free agents.
They have always been on an island by themselves in terms of what they can afford. They have tried to scale back that approach, trying to go the farm system route, but at the end of the day they revert to what they do best - they buy the best available players, partly because some of their homegrown players (Melky Cabrera, Phil Hughes, and Ian Kennedy, to name a few) haven't made the splash they'd hoped.
So it came as no surprise to Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein that the Yankees opened the vault, and they may open it once or twice more for Lowe and/or Burnett and perhaps Ramírez when all is said and done.
"Nothing surprises me anymore," said Epstein. "[Sabathia is] clearly the top pitcher on the market. He pitched great and he deserves to be rewarded. What he did down the stretch with Milwaukee was really admirable and great for baseball. He pitched his team to the playoffs. He took the ball on three days' rest and that was fun to watch. I have a lot of respect for what he did."
In the end the Yankees gave Sabathia $61 million more - and two more years - than the Brewers offered. It was the only other offer on the table. The Giants had decided Sabathia was too rich for them despite his hometown interest. The Red Sox met with him Monday and came away impressed, but an offer was never made, according to major league sources. Epstein said that even before the winter meetings here, he felt Sabathia would be a Yankee.
"Yeah, any time a team offers, which at the time was more than $40 million more and could go up to more than $60 million more than anyone else, there's a pretty good chance he's going to sign," said Epstein. "It was a strong signing by the Yankees."
Has it always worked out? No. Take the years 2001-08, for example, when the Yankees were shut out of the world championship. And last season marked the first time in 14 years they didn't make the playoffs. When that happens, you know the Yankees are going to spend money. Sabathia's deal is downright crazy for a guy whose weight was listed by the Brewers as 311 pounds.
They are the richest, most powerful entity in sports. They have built a $1.3 billion stadium with all the bells and whistles. Good economy, bad economy. No matter. CC Sabathia, Derek Lowe, A.J. Burnett, Manny Ramírez, and/or Mark Teixeira.
The Yankees, who agreed to terms with Sabathia on a seven-year, $161 million deal yesterday, can and may sign more than a couple of the other prominent free agents.
They have always been on an island by themselves in terms of what they can afford. They have tried to scale back that approach, trying to go the farm system route, but at the end of the day they revert to what they do best - they buy the best available players, partly because some of their homegrown players (Melky Cabrera, Phil Hughes, and Ian Kennedy, to name a few) haven't made the splash they'd hoped.
So it came as no surprise to Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein that the Yankees opened the vault, and they may open it once or twice more for Lowe and/or Burnett and perhaps Ramírez when all is said and done.
"Nothing surprises me anymore," said Epstein. "[Sabathia is] clearly the top pitcher on the market. He pitched great and he deserves to be rewarded. What he did down the stretch with Milwaukee was really admirable and great for baseball. He pitched his team to the playoffs. He took the ball on three days' rest and that was fun to watch. I have a lot of respect for what he did."
In the end the Yankees gave Sabathia $61 million more - and two more years - than the Brewers offered. It was the only other offer on the table. The Giants had decided Sabathia was too rich for them despite his hometown interest. The Red Sox met with him Monday and came away impressed, but an offer was never made, according to major league sources. Epstein said that even before the winter meetings here, he felt Sabathia would be a Yankee.
"Yeah, any time a team offers, which at the time was more than $40 million more and could go up to more than $60 million more than anyone else, there's a pretty good chance he's going to sign," said Epstein. "It was a strong signing by the Yankees."
Has it always worked out? No. Take the years 2001-08, for example, when the Yankees were shut out of the world championship. And last season marked the first time in 14 years they didn't make the playoffs. When that happens, you know the Yankees are going to spend money. Sabathia's deal is downright crazy for a guy whose weight was listed by the Brewers as 311 pounds.
Mets Add a Setup Man, the Mariners’ Putz
LAS VEGAS — The Mets officially welcomed their new closer, Francisco Rodríguez, on Wednesday, giving him a team jacket and parading him around Citi Field. Accomplishing his primary off-season objective excited General Manager Omar Minaya, whose promised remodeling of his pitching staff is coming quickly and in reverse order.
On Wednesday night, Minaya completed a three-team, 12-player trade with Seattle and Cleveland that netted Mariners closer J. J. Putz. The right-handed Putz, who will be 32 in February, will set up Rodríguez to form one of the most imposing late-inning combinations in baseball.
“All I kept hearing on the streets of New York when I go get bagels in the morning, ‘Omar, address the bullpen,’ ” Minaya said. “Well, to you, Mets fans, we’ve addressed the bullpen.”
The Mets also received Jeremy Reed, an outfielder, and Sean Green, a right-handed reliever, from Seattle. In the first step of their bullpen purge, the Mets sent relievers Joe Smith to Cleveland and Aaron Heilman to Seattle, which will also receive from the Mets outfielder Endy Chávez, pitcher Jason Vargas, the minor league first baseman Mike Carp, the minor league pitcher Maikel Cleto and the minor league outfielder Ezequiel Carrera.
In less than 48 hours, the Mets have secured the American League West’s two most dominant relievers to significantly reshape a bullpen that was their leading weakness last season — for a (relative) pittance. They dealt the underperforming Heilman, who could benefit from a change of scenery; a right-handed specialist in Smith; a reserve outfielder in Chávez; and a first-base prospect in Carp who had been passed by Daniel Murphy in the organizational hierarchy.
Heilman, a dominant setup man during the Mets’ playoff run in 2006, symbolized their bullpen problems last season. He struggled from the outset and never found his rhythm, allowing 10 homers and posting a career-high earned run average as a reliever, 5.21. Chávez, who will forever be adored by Mets fans for his spectacular catch in Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series, had trouble consistently cracking the outfield rotation despite an abundance of injuries to Mets outfielders.
Since Billy Wagner’s absence in parts of the past two seasons exposed their lack of late-inning depth, the Mets have been seeking another reliever who has closing experience and would not feel unappreciated by assuming a less-glamorous — but just as vital — role. The team feels that Putz, who recorded 76 saves in 2006-7 before being limited by injuries last season, would thrive in that spot. Minaya spoke with Putz on Wednesday night and said Putz sounded excited.
The addition of Putz, who is owed $5.5 million next season, would also allow the Mets to occasionally rest Rodríguez, who is coming off a strenuous season in which he recorded 62 saves to set the single-season record and, in a rarity for a closer, led the A.L. with 76 appearances.
“To get one closer like Frankie would have been a good winter,” Minaya said of Rodríguez. “I think to get two guys like this is a great winter.”
In his first two seasons in the majors, Putz worked mostly as a setup reliever. He lowered his E.R.A. to 3.60 from 4.71, but it was not until he assumed the closer’s role in 2006 that he began to excel. That season, he struck out 104 batters in 78 1/3 innings, posting a 2.30 E.R.A. and 36 saves.
In 2007, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Putz was perhaps the best closer in baseball, allowing 37 hits in 71 2/3 innings while saving 40 games and posting the lowest E.R.A. (1.38) among major league relievers. Last season, though, he struggled with injuries, starting with a rib-cage injury in April that sent him to the disabled list. He also spent time on the disabled list over the summer with a hyperextended right elbow, and finished the year with 15 saves and a 3.88 E.R.A.
Moving forward, the Mets planned to meet with Scott Boras, who represents Derek Lowe and Oliver Pérez, but believe their financial commitment to Rodríguez has taken them out of the bidding for Lowe. Pérez, though, remains a possibility, especially if the Yankees look elsewhere.
The Mets are wary of giving Pérez a four-year deal, but remain interested in re-signing him. They are open to letting Jon Niese and potentially Bobby Parnell compete for the No. 5 starter’s job, but could bring in another established veteran to push them. Minaya also expects to speak with Fern Cuza, the agent for Pedro Martínez, but Martínez’s return appears to be a long shot.
As soon as he learned that Wagner would be unavailable in 2009, Minaya zeroed in on the free-agent closers, making Rodríguez a priority because of his combination of age (27 on opening day) and results (208 career saves).
“I think he has a good mind-set for pitching there,” Minaya said, referring to New York. “I think he wanted to be there, the challenge to be there. He’s been in a big market like Anaheim and New York. He likes the adrenaline of being there.”
Paul Kinzer, Rodríguez’s agent, said he tried impressing that point on Minaya during negotiations — that Rodríguez could benefit from pitching on a grand stage. Those negotiations, Kinzer said Wednesday, took an interesting turn Sunday night. During a dinner meeting that initiated their sincere interest, Johan Santana, apparently unaware the team was meeting with Rodríguez, called the Mets. Minaya passed the phone to Rodríguez, who was delighted to hear a recruiting pitch from Santana, his Venezuelan compatriot.
Like Santana, Rodríguez, who will wear No. 75 — the inverse of his former number — was present for the final few hours as the sides eventually completed the terms at about 5 a.m. Tuesday. The Mets wanted to finish the deal quickly because Jeff Wilpon, the team’s chief operating officer, planned to board his private jet back to New York for an 8 a.m. flight. Soon after, Rodríguez followed. And now Putz will join him, another piece in the Mets’ off-season makeover.
On Wednesday night, Minaya completed a three-team, 12-player trade with Seattle and Cleveland that netted Mariners closer J. J. Putz. The right-handed Putz, who will be 32 in February, will set up Rodríguez to form one of the most imposing late-inning combinations in baseball.
“All I kept hearing on the streets of New York when I go get bagels in the morning, ‘Omar, address the bullpen,’ ” Minaya said. “Well, to you, Mets fans, we’ve addressed the bullpen.”
The Mets also received Jeremy Reed, an outfielder, and Sean Green, a right-handed reliever, from Seattle. In the first step of their bullpen purge, the Mets sent relievers Joe Smith to Cleveland and Aaron Heilman to Seattle, which will also receive from the Mets outfielder Endy Chávez, pitcher Jason Vargas, the minor league first baseman Mike Carp, the minor league pitcher Maikel Cleto and the minor league outfielder Ezequiel Carrera.
In less than 48 hours, the Mets have secured the American League West’s two most dominant relievers to significantly reshape a bullpen that was their leading weakness last season — for a (relative) pittance. They dealt the underperforming Heilman, who could benefit from a change of scenery; a right-handed specialist in Smith; a reserve outfielder in Chávez; and a first-base prospect in Carp who had been passed by Daniel Murphy in the organizational hierarchy.
Heilman, a dominant setup man during the Mets’ playoff run in 2006, symbolized their bullpen problems last season. He struggled from the outset and never found his rhythm, allowing 10 homers and posting a career-high earned run average as a reliever, 5.21. Chávez, who will forever be adored by Mets fans for his spectacular catch in Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series, had trouble consistently cracking the outfield rotation despite an abundance of injuries to Mets outfielders.
Since Billy Wagner’s absence in parts of the past two seasons exposed their lack of late-inning depth, the Mets have been seeking another reliever who has closing experience and would not feel unappreciated by assuming a less-glamorous — but just as vital — role. The team feels that Putz, who recorded 76 saves in 2006-7 before being limited by injuries last season, would thrive in that spot. Minaya spoke with Putz on Wednesday night and said Putz sounded excited.
The addition of Putz, who is owed $5.5 million next season, would also allow the Mets to occasionally rest Rodríguez, who is coming off a strenuous season in which he recorded 62 saves to set the single-season record and, in a rarity for a closer, led the A.L. with 76 appearances.
“To get one closer like Frankie would have been a good winter,” Minaya said of Rodríguez. “I think to get two guys like this is a great winter.”
In his first two seasons in the majors, Putz worked mostly as a setup reliever. He lowered his E.R.A. to 3.60 from 4.71, but it was not until he assumed the closer’s role in 2006 that he began to excel. That season, he struck out 104 batters in 78 1/3 innings, posting a 2.30 E.R.A. and 36 saves.
In 2007, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Putz was perhaps the best closer in baseball, allowing 37 hits in 71 2/3 innings while saving 40 games and posting the lowest E.R.A. (1.38) among major league relievers. Last season, though, he struggled with injuries, starting with a rib-cage injury in April that sent him to the disabled list. He also spent time on the disabled list over the summer with a hyperextended right elbow, and finished the year with 15 saves and a 3.88 E.R.A.
Moving forward, the Mets planned to meet with Scott Boras, who represents Derek Lowe and Oliver Pérez, but believe their financial commitment to Rodríguez has taken them out of the bidding for Lowe. Pérez, though, remains a possibility, especially if the Yankees look elsewhere.
The Mets are wary of giving Pérez a four-year deal, but remain interested in re-signing him. They are open to letting Jon Niese and potentially Bobby Parnell compete for the No. 5 starter’s job, but could bring in another established veteran to push them. Minaya also expects to speak with Fern Cuza, the agent for Pedro Martínez, but Martínez’s return appears to be a long shot.
As soon as he learned that Wagner would be unavailable in 2009, Minaya zeroed in on the free-agent closers, making Rodríguez a priority because of his combination of age (27 on opening day) and results (208 career saves).
“I think he has a good mind-set for pitching there,” Minaya said, referring to New York. “I think he wanted to be there, the challenge to be there. He’s been in a big market like Anaheim and New York. He likes the adrenaline of being there.”
Paul Kinzer, Rodríguez’s agent, said he tried impressing that point on Minaya during negotiations — that Rodríguez could benefit from pitching on a grand stage. Those negotiations, Kinzer said Wednesday, took an interesting turn Sunday night. During a dinner meeting that initiated their sincere interest, Johan Santana, apparently unaware the team was meeting with Rodríguez, called the Mets. Minaya passed the phone to Rodríguez, who was delighted to hear a recruiting pitch from Santana, his Venezuelan compatriot.
Like Santana, Rodríguez, who will wear No. 75 — the inverse of his former number — was present for the final few hours as the sides eventually completed the terms at about 5 a.m. Tuesday. The Mets wanted to finish the deal quickly because Jeff Wilpon, the team’s chief operating officer, planned to board his private jet back to New York for an 8 a.m. flight. Soon after, Rodríguez followed. And now Putz will join him, another piece in the Mets’ off-season makeover.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
K-Rod will have to step up his game in the NL East
LAS VEGAS - The New York Mets are about to complete a deal for record-setting closer Francisco Rodriguez. The Mets could spend up to $51 million on him and not have the best closer in the National League East.
That distinction still belongs to Philadelphia's Brad Lidge, whose perfect season for the World Series champions has not received its proper due. Lidge made the difference in the East this season and was more dominant than Rodriguez.
With Lidge converting all 41 save chances in the regular season, the Phillies went 79-0 when leading after eight innings. The Mets, unsettled at closer all season, went 78-7 when leading after eight innings.
The Phillies won the division by three games over the Mets. Four Lidge hiccups, and Philadelphia misses the playoffs.
Here's why adding Rodriguez does not mean the Mets have closed the narrow gap with the Phillies:
Margin of error: For Rodriguez to be successful, the Mets will have to tack on runs to their leads. Rodriguez had a record 62 saves with the Los Angeles Angels this season. That included 38 saves in 40 chances when given a lead of two or more runs.
Rodriguez was less successful on the tougher save chances. He went 24-of-29 when asked to protect a one-run lead.
Lidge converted 20 save chances when working with a one-run lead.
Level of competition: The Angels' early exit in the playoffs suggested the 100-win regular season was tainted by playing in the West. The Angels went 36-21 against Oakland, Seattle and Texas.
Rodriguez had his way in intra-division games. He was 29-of-31 in save chances against the West and 33-of-38 against all other teams.
The East will present more of an offensive challenge to Rodriguez, with Philadelphia alone a greater test than anything in the AL West. The Mets' bullpen went 3-6 with only six saves in 11 chances against the Phillies this season.
Lidge did benefit from not having to face a Phillies lineup loaded with left-handed hitters. He had 21 saves within the division this season.
Stuff: Lidge buries hitters with a fastball-slider combination. He had 92 strikeouts in 69 1/3 innings this season.
Rodriguez is undergoing a transition. He can no longer pump a steady stream of fastballs past hitters. In the view of two major-league scouts attending the major-league meetings, Rodriguez has become more of a breaking-ball pitcher whose stuff and command can go haywire.
"I know he got the record, but he's not as good for me as a lot of other guys in that role," said one of the scouts, with an AL West club.
The problem is Rodriguez does not always throw strikes. Sometimes, he cannot command the breaking pitch. Sometimes, the delivery comes apart. He allowed 4.48 walks per nine innings this season.
All of that figured in the Angels' decision not to make keeping Rodriguez a priority even after a 62-save season. The Angels are content, for the moment, with giving ninth-inning leads to righthanders Scot Shields and Jose Arredondo.
Rodriguez also failed to cause a commotion on a free-agent market flooded with closers. Several clubs that need a closer were apprehensive about Rodriguez.
He settled for less than his reported expectations of a five-year deal worth $51 million. Rodriguez is guaranteed $37 million over three seasons, with a fourth year at $14 million kicking in if he meets appearance thresholds.
Francisco Rodriguez has the single-season saves record but still must prove that he can do it in the NL East. Until further notice, Brad Lidge is the best of that division's closers.
Rodriguez can get strikeouts. He averaged 10.14 strikeouts per nine innings, a high rate but also the lowest of his career.
That distinction still belongs to Philadelphia's Brad Lidge, whose perfect season for the World Series champions has not received its proper due. Lidge made the difference in the East this season and was more dominant than Rodriguez.
With Lidge converting all 41 save chances in the regular season, the Phillies went 79-0 when leading after eight innings. The Mets, unsettled at closer all season, went 78-7 when leading after eight innings.
The Phillies won the division by three games over the Mets. Four Lidge hiccups, and Philadelphia misses the playoffs.
Here's why adding Rodriguez does not mean the Mets have closed the narrow gap with the Phillies:
Margin of error: For Rodriguez to be successful, the Mets will have to tack on runs to their leads. Rodriguez had a record 62 saves with the Los Angeles Angels this season. That included 38 saves in 40 chances when given a lead of two or more runs.
Rodriguez was less successful on the tougher save chances. He went 24-of-29 when asked to protect a one-run lead.
Lidge converted 20 save chances when working with a one-run lead.
Level of competition: The Angels' early exit in the playoffs suggested the 100-win regular season was tainted by playing in the West. The Angels went 36-21 against Oakland, Seattle and Texas.
Rodriguez had his way in intra-division games. He was 29-of-31 in save chances against the West and 33-of-38 against all other teams.
The East will present more of an offensive challenge to Rodriguez, with Philadelphia alone a greater test than anything in the AL West. The Mets' bullpen went 3-6 with only six saves in 11 chances against the Phillies this season.
Lidge did benefit from not having to face a Phillies lineup loaded with left-handed hitters. He had 21 saves within the division this season.
Stuff: Lidge buries hitters with a fastball-slider combination. He had 92 strikeouts in 69 1/3 innings this season.
Rodriguez is undergoing a transition. He can no longer pump a steady stream of fastballs past hitters. In the view of two major-league scouts attending the major-league meetings, Rodriguez has become more of a breaking-ball pitcher whose stuff and command can go haywire.
"I know he got the record, but he's not as good for me as a lot of other guys in that role," said one of the scouts, with an AL West club.
The problem is Rodriguez does not always throw strikes. Sometimes, he cannot command the breaking pitch. Sometimes, the delivery comes apart. He allowed 4.48 walks per nine innings this season.
All of that figured in the Angels' decision not to make keeping Rodriguez a priority even after a 62-save season. The Angels are content, for the moment, with giving ninth-inning leads to righthanders Scot Shields and Jose Arredondo.
Rodriguez also failed to cause a commotion on a free-agent market flooded with closers. Several clubs that need a closer were apprehensive about Rodriguez.
He settled for less than his reported expectations of a five-year deal worth $51 million. Rodriguez is guaranteed $37 million over three seasons, with a fourth year at $14 million kicking in if he meets appearance thresholds.
Francisco Rodriguez has the single-season saves record but still must prove that he can do it in the NL East. Until further notice, Brad Lidge is the best of that division's closers.
Rodriguez can get strikeouts. He averaged 10.14 strikeouts per nine innings, a high rate but also the lowest of his career.
Math Gains Reported for U.S. Students
American fourth- and eighth-grade students made solid achievement gains in math in recent years and in two states showed spectacular progress, an international survey of student achievement released on Tuesday found. Science performance was flat.
The results showed that several Asian countries continued to outperform the United States greatly in science and math, subjects that are crucial to economic competitiveness and research.
The survey, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or Timss, found that fourth-grade students in Hong Kong and eighth-grade students in Taiwan were the world’s top scorers in math, while Singapore dominated in science at both grade levels.
“We were pleased to see improvements in math, and wished we’d seen more in science,” said Stuart Kerachsky, acting commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics at the Education Department, which carried out an analysis of the performance of American students on the test.
The latest Timss study, the world’s largest review of math and science achievement, involved testing a representative sample of students in each country in 2007, the first time the tests had been administered since 2003. The results included fourth-grade scores from 36 countries and eighth-grade scores from 48 countries. The tests cover subjects taught in all the participating countries, including algebra, chemistry, geometry and physics.
The study is directed by the International Study Center at Boston College.
Asia’s continuing dominance in math and science, first demonstrated in the 1990s, was especially apparent in the latest results, which showed rising percentages of high-scoring students there.
Nearly half of eighth graders scored at the advanced level in math in Taiwan, Korea and Singapore, compared with 6 percent of American students.
Comparing educational performance in the United States, a diverse country of 300 million people with 50 state educational systems, with city-states like Singapore and Hong Kong, which have populations of 4.5 million and 6.9 million people, respectively, is a bit of apples and oranges.
Still, experts said the Timss study again confirmed the tremendous gains those societies had made in just a few decades.
“It was good to see that the United States has made some progress in math,” said Ina V. S. Mullis, co-director of the Boston College center, “but I was surprised by the magnitude of the gap between us and the highest performing Asian countries, and that should cause us some concern.”
Students in Massachusetts and Minnesota, which participated in a special study that attributed a score to the states as if they were individual countries, also demonstrated stellar achievement, outperforming classmates in all but a handful of countries.
In eighth-grade science, for instance, Massachusetts students, on average, scored higher than or equal to students in all countries but Singapore and Taiwan.
And in Minnesota, which has worked to improve its math curriculum, the proportion of fourth-grade students performing at the advanced level jumped from 9 percent in 1995 to 18 percent in 2007, a gain that was one of the world’s largest.
But on average, the results showed several Asian countries increasing their dominance.
In the fourth-grade math survey, scores in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia, England and Latvia were higher than in the United States.
Average scores were equal to the United States in the Netherlands, Lithuania, Germany and Denmark. Scores in 23 other countries were significantly lower.
The results showed that several Asian countries continued to outperform the United States greatly in science and math, subjects that are crucial to economic competitiveness and research.
The survey, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or Timss, found that fourth-grade students in Hong Kong and eighth-grade students in Taiwan were the world’s top scorers in math, while Singapore dominated in science at both grade levels.
“We were pleased to see improvements in math, and wished we’d seen more in science,” said Stuart Kerachsky, acting commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics at the Education Department, which carried out an analysis of the performance of American students on the test.
The latest Timss study, the world’s largest review of math and science achievement, involved testing a representative sample of students in each country in 2007, the first time the tests had been administered since 2003. The results included fourth-grade scores from 36 countries and eighth-grade scores from 48 countries. The tests cover subjects taught in all the participating countries, including algebra, chemistry, geometry and physics.
The study is directed by the International Study Center at Boston College.
Asia’s continuing dominance in math and science, first demonstrated in the 1990s, was especially apparent in the latest results, which showed rising percentages of high-scoring students there.
Nearly half of eighth graders scored at the advanced level in math in Taiwan, Korea and Singapore, compared with 6 percent of American students.
Comparing educational performance in the United States, a diverse country of 300 million people with 50 state educational systems, with city-states like Singapore and Hong Kong, which have populations of 4.5 million and 6.9 million people, respectively, is a bit of apples and oranges.
Still, experts said the Timss study again confirmed the tremendous gains those societies had made in just a few decades.
“It was good to see that the United States has made some progress in math,” said Ina V. S. Mullis, co-director of the Boston College center, “but I was surprised by the magnitude of the gap between us and the highest performing Asian countries, and that should cause us some concern.”
Students in Massachusetts and Minnesota, which participated in a special study that attributed a score to the states as if they were individual countries, also demonstrated stellar achievement, outperforming classmates in all but a handful of countries.
In eighth-grade science, for instance, Massachusetts students, on average, scored higher than or equal to students in all countries but Singapore and Taiwan.
And in Minnesota, which has worked to improve its math curriculum, the proportion of fourth-grade students performing at the advanced level jumped from 9 percent in 1995 to 18 percent in 2007, a gain that was one of the world’s largest.
But on average, the results showed several Asian countries increasing their dominance.
In the fourth-grade math survey, scores in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia, England and Latvia were higher than in the United States.
Average scores were equal to the United States in the Netherlands, Lithuania, Germany and Denmark. Scores in 23 other countries were significantly lower.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
The price of our oil addiction
The story
Addiction exposes the deepest forms of physical and psychological dependency. It is typically considered a personal affliction or an individual failing. But the deadly solicitations of any addictive substance -- cocaine, alcohol, nicotine -- rely upon a social, economic, and political infrastructure.
The great behavioral scientist Gregory Bateson, who studied addiction at the Langley Porter Institute in San Francisco during the 1950s, drew an analogy between the addict and a runaway car precisely to highlight the "system of addiction."
He wrote: "The panic of the alcoholic who has hit bottom is the panic of the man who thought he had control over a vehicle but suddenly finds that the vehicle can run away with him. Suddenly, pressure on what he knows is the brake seems to make the vehicle go faster. It is the panic of discovering that it (the system, self plus vehicle) is bigger than he is. ... He has bankrupted the epistemology of 'self-control.'"
Here is the vidio of the story:
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/11/10/what.matters.niger/index.html
Addiction exposes the deepest forms of physical and psychological dependency. It is typically considered a personal affliction or an individual failing. But the deadly solicitations of any addictive substance -- cocaine, alcohol, nicotine -- rely upon a social, economic, and political infrastructure.
The great behavioral scientist Gregory Bateson, who studied addiction at the Langley Porter Institute in San Francisco during the 1950s, drew an analogy between the addict and a runaway car precisely to highlight the "system of addiction."
He wrote: "The panic of the alcoholic who has hit bottom is the panic of the man who thought he had control over a vehicle but suddenly finds that the vehicle can run away with him. Suddenly, pressure on what he knows is the brake seems to make the vehicle go faster. It is the panic of discovering that it (the system, self plus vehicle) is bigger than he is. ... He has bankrupted the epistemology of 'self-control.'"
Here is the vidio of the story:
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/11/10/what.matters.niger/index.html
Obama takes Shinseki for Cabinet, sources say
President-elect Barack Obama will nominate retired Gen. Eric Shinseki to be secretary of Veterans Affairs, two Democratic sources said Saturday.
Obama was expected to make the formal announcement Sunday -- Pearl Harbor Day -- at a news conference in Chicago. Veterans groups appeared to support the selection.
"I am excited. I don't know him personally but this is a huge move," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
For years, Shinseki, a highly decorated Vietnam veteran, has been the patron saint of Pentagon critics who say the former Army chief's sage advice was ignored in 2003, resulting in too few U.S. troops being sent to Iraq after the invasion.
Shinseki testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee in February 2003 that "something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers would be required" to pacify the country. The comment infuriated some Bush administration officials, and he retired just a few months later.
Shinseki has never spoken publicly about his testimony, which has often been cited by critics as evidence that then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld ignored the advice of one of his key generals.
But as Army chief of staff, Shinseki was not in the chain of command, and played no direct role in drawing up the war plans.
Pentagon sources say that, in fact, Shinseki never advocated higher troop levels for Iraq, in part because it was not his job to
do so. And sources say that just before the invasion, when asked by then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Richard Myers if he agreed with the war plans, Shinseki voiced no objections.
Still, Rieckhoff said, "Shinseki is a guy who had a career putting patriotism above politics. He is a wounded veteran so he understands the plight of veterans."
He said Shinseki would have to make key connections with the veterans community, adding, "This is a big name and it shows that he (Obama) is not going to treat the Veterans Affairs secretary as a low priority."
John Rowan, president of Vietnam Veterans of America, called the reported pick an "interesting choice."
"I am satisfied with it," Rowan told CNN on Saturday, adding that the choice seems to be in the Obama transition team's pattern of "bringing in strong personalities into all the positions who aren't going to 'yes' him to death."
"When Shinseki had his disagreements with the administration, he wasn't afraid to speak up," Rowan said.
Veterans for Common Sense also weighed in, issuing a statement "strongly" supporting Shinseki.
"In February 2003, General Shinseki honestly and correctly assessed our nation's military needs before the invasion of Iraq in March 2003," the statement said. "This same level of candor and honesty will serve President-elect Obama well so he can quickly and accurately identify VA's many challenges and then implement responsible solutions that take into consideration our veterans' needs and concerns."
Like Obama, Shinseki was born in Hawaii. He was the first Asian-American to reach the top spot in the U.S. Army.
When a gallery to honor Shinseki was opened at the U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii in 2006, Shinseki was humble while addressing the audience.
"I asked my Grandma Shinseki what I should say before I came here," he said at the time. "She told me, 'tell them you come from a good family ... and tell them you're a good American soldier.' "
Before he took over the Army's top post in November 1998, Shinseki spent his career with U.S. armored forces.
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He served two combat tours in Vietnam and commanded the Army's 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas.
He also served as commander of Army forces in Europe and as chief of NATO's SFOR peacekeeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Obama was expected to make the formal announcement Sunday -- Pearl Harbor Day -- at a news conference in Chicago. Veterans groups appeared to support the selection.
"I am excited. I don't know him personally but this is a huge move," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
For years, Shinseki, a highly decorated Vietnam veteran, has been the patron saint of Pentagon critics who say the former Army chief's sage advice was ignored in 2003, resulting in too few U.S. troops being sent to Iraq after the invasion.
Shinseki testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee in February 2003 that "something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers would be required" to pacify the country. The comment infuriated some Bush administration officials, and he retired just a few months later.
Shinseki has never spoken publicly about his testimony, which has often been cited by critics as evidence that then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld ignored the advice of one of his key generals.
But as Army chief of staff, Shinseki was not in the chain of command, and played no direct role in drawing up the war plans.
Pentagon sources say that, in fact, Shinseki never advocated higher troop levels for Iraq, in part because it was not his job to
do so. And sources say that just before the invasion, when asked by then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Richard Myers if he agreed with the war plans, Shinseki voiced no objections.
Still, Rieckhoff said, "Shinseki is a guy who had a career putting patriotism above politics. He is a wounded veteran so he understands the plight of veterans."
He said Shinseki would have to make key connections with the veterans community, adding, "This is a big name and it shows that he (Obama) is not going to treat the Veterans Affairs secretary as a low priority."
John Rowan, president of Vietnam Veterans of America, called the reported pick an "interesting choice."
"I am satisfied with it," Rowan told CNN on Saturday, adding that the choice seems to be in the Obama transition team's pattern of "bringing in strong personalities into all the positions who aren't going to 'yes' him to death."
"When Shinseki had his disagreements with the administration, he wasn't afraid to speak up," Rowan said.
Veterans for Common Sense also weighed in, issuing a statement "strongly" supporting Shinseki.
"In February 2003, General Shinseki honestly and correctly assessed our nation's military needs before the invasion of Iraq in March 2003," the statement said. "This same level of candor and honesty will serve President-elect Obama well so he can quickly and accurately identify VA's many challenges and then implement responsible solutions that take into consideration our veterans' needs and concerns."
Like Obama, Shinseki was born in Hawaii. He was the first Asian-American to reach the top spot in the U.S. Army.
When a gallery to honor Shinseki was opened at the U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii in 2006, Shinseki was humble while addressing the audience.
"I asked my Grandma Shinseki what I should say before I came here," he said at the time. "She told me, 'tell them you come from a good family ... and tell them you're a good American soldier.' "
Before he took over the Army's top post in November 1998, Shinseki spent his career with U.S. armored forces.
advertisement
He served two combat tours in Vietnam and commanded the Army's 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas.
He also served as commander of Army forces in Europe and as chief of NATO's SFOR peacekeeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Kenya PM calls for troops to 'dislodge' Zimbabwe's president
The prime minister of Kenya Sunday called for troops to "dislodge" Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe as the country's humanitarian crisis worsens.
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said the international community must "respond to the call of the African people, and must help end the murderous reign of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe."
The United Nations has said more than half of Zimbabwe's population is in dire need of food and clean water.
The country is suffering from a cholera outbreak that has killed close to 600 people since August.
"The crisis in Zimbabwe has now reached a point where further lack of action by the African Union and the international community will constitute nothing less than a crime against humanity," said Odinga, a long-time critic of Mugabe.
The African Union "must formulate a resolution to send African Union troops into Zimbabwe," he said. "If no troops are available, then the AU must allow the U.N. to send its forces into Zimbabwe with immediate effect, to take over control of the country and ensure urgent humanitarian assistance to the people dying of cholera and starvation."
If Zimbabwe's president does not cooperate, Odinga said, international troops should "dislodge Mugabe from power."
Cholera, a water-borne disease, is on the increase in nine of Zimbabwe's 10 provinces, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). It blamed "poor water and sanitation supply, a collapsed health system and limited government capacity to respond to the emergency."
Many of those afflicted with the disease have fled to neighboring countries to seek medical health -- which risks spreading the outbreak still further.
Last week UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown branded the crisis "an international emergency."
Brown called on the international community to tell the 84-year-old Mugabe "enough is enough," and suggested that the U.N. Security Council meet to discuss the issue. He said the most pressing issue was to ensure that testing and rehydration equipment and packs reach the right people, as well as for aid agencies to set up a organizational structure in the capital Harare to confront the disease.
"The people of Zimbabwe voted for a better future. It is our duty to support that aspiration," Brown added.
Brown's comments came one day after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the outbreak is the latest sign that Mugabe's rule over the country must end.
"It's well past time for Robert Mugabe to leave. I think that's now obvious," Rice said during a visit to Denmark.
Washington has long called for Mugabe to leave office, with President Bush calling Zimbabwe's runoff presidential election in June a "sham" and instructing Rice and other U.S. officials to develop additional sanctions against Mugabe's "illegitimate government."
"The United States will always do anything and everything that it can to help innocent people who are suffering," Rice said. "And we are not going to deny assistance to people in need because of their government. But if this is not evidence to the international community that it's time to stand up for what is right, I don't know what will be. And frankly, the nations of the region have to lead it."
The country, once a breadbasket of Africa, is also in the midst of an economic crisis, with its official rate of inflation at 231 million percent -- the world's highest.
Zimbabwe has had no Cabinet since the March presidential election. Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party has held on-again, off-again talks with the opposition led by Morgan Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai is Zimbabwe's prime minister under a power-sharing agreement negotiated by former South African President Thabo Mbeki.
Kenya's Odinga is himself a former opposition leader who came to office as part of a power-sharing agreement negotiated by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Critics of Mugabe link hyperinflation to his policies on land distribution and unbudgeted payments to people who call themselves "war veterans," who have forcibly occupied white-owned farms.
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said the international community must "respond to the call of the African people, and must help end the murderous reign of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe."
The United Nations has said more than half of Zimbabwe's population is in dire need of food and clean water.
The country is suffering from a cholera outbreak that has killed close to 600 people since August.
"The crisis in Zimbabwe has now reached a point where further lack of action by the African Union and the international community will constitute nothing less than a crime against humanity," said Odinga, a long-time critic of Mugabe.
The African Union "must formulate a resolution to send African Union troops into Zimbabwe," he said. "If no troops are available, then the AU must allow the U.N. to send its forces into Zimbabwe with immediate effect, to take over control of the country and ensure urgent humanitarian assistance to the people dying of cholera and starvation."
If Zimbabwe's president does not cooperate, Odinga said, international troops should "dislodge Mugabe from power."
Cholera, a water-borne disease, is on the increase in nine of Zimbabwe's 10 provinces, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). It blamed "poor water and sanitation supply, a collapsed health system and limited government capacity to respond to the emergency."
Many of those afflicted with the disease have fled to neighboring countries to seek medical health -- which risks spreading the outbreak still further.
Last week UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown branded the crisis "an international emergency."
Brown called on the international community to tell the 84-year-old Mugabe "enough is enough," and suggested that the U.N. Security Council meet to discuss the issue. He said the most pressing issue was to ensure that testing and rehydration equipment and packs reach the right people, as well as for aid agencies to set up a organizational structure in the capital Harare to confront the disease.
"The people of Zimbabwe voted for a better future. It is our duty to support that aspiration," Brown added.
Brown's comments came one day after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the outbreak is the latest sign that Mugabe's rule over the country must end.
"It's well past time for Robert Mugabe to leave. I think that's now obvious," Rice said during a visit to Denmark.
Washington has long called for Mugabe to leave office, with President Bush calling Zimbabwe's runoff presidential election in June a "sham" and instructing Rice and other U.S. officials to develop additional sanctions against Mugabe's "illegitimate government."
"The United States will always do anything and everything that it can to help innocent people who are suffering," Rice said. "And we are not going to deny assistance to people in need because of their government. But if this is not evidence to the international community that it's time to stand up for what is right, I don't know what will be. And frankly, the nations of the region have to lead it."
The country, once a breadbasket of Africa, is also in the midst of an economic crisis, with its official rate of inflation at 231 million percent -- the world's highest.
Zimbabwe has had no Cabinet since the March presidential election. Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party has held on-again, off-again talks with the opposition led by Morgan Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai is Zimbabwe's prime minister under a power-sharing agreement negotiated by former South African President Thabo Mbeki.
Kenya's Odinga is himself a former opposition leader who came to office as part of a power-sharing agreement negotiated by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Critics of Mugabe link hyperinflation to his policies on land distribution and unbudgeted payments to people who call themselves "war veterans," who have forcibly occupied white-owned farms.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thai cabinet in emergency meeting
Thailand's embattled Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat has been meeting members of his cabinet to discuss the intensifying political crisis.
Mr Somchai is holding the session in the city of Chiang Mai, after he was prevented by airport protests from returning to Bangkok following a trip.
Protesters have now shut down all civilian air traffic into the capital.
Reports say Bangkok is awash with rumours of an impending military coup after months of political stand-off.
On Wednesday Mr Somchai rejected a call by army leader Gen Anupong Paochinda for new elections to end the political deadlock.
The prime minister says his government is legitimate and that he will continue to work for the country.
But the government has been reluctant to confront protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), who are demanding not only the overthrow of the current government but an overhaul of Thailand's entire political system.
Mr Somchai is holding the session in the city of Chiang Mai, after he was prevented by airport protests from returning to Bangkok following a trip.
Protesters have now shut down all civilian air traffic into the capital.
Reports say Bangkok is awash with rumours of an impending military coup after months of political stand-off.
On Wednesday Mr Somchai rejected a call by army leader Gen Anupong Paochinda for new elections to end the political deadlock.
The prime minister says his government is legitimate and that he will continue to work for the country.
But the government has been reluctant to confront protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), who are demanding not only the overthrow of the current government but an overhaul of Thailand's entire political system.
Fresh blasts rock Mumbai hotels as death toll climbs
Fresh explosions have rocked Mumbai hotels as Indian police battle to release hostages the day after gunmen carried out attacks across the city, killing more than 100 people.
A standoff continued at the Oberoi Hotel, where about 100 members of a specialized unit of the Indian police undertook an operation to rescue four to five foreigners hostage on the 19th floor.
CNN producer Phil O'Sullivan reported a "very loud explosion came from right deep in the hotel."
At the nearby Taj Mahal hotel, CNN's Sara Sidner reported another blast had rocked the building. Police there said they had rescued most of the hostages and evacuated dozens of guests.
As concerned family members stood outside, medics took stretchers into the hotel and brought out bodies covered in white sheets. Police were going floor to floor to flush out gunmen. About five of them were believed to be holed up in the Taj; another three in Oberoi, Maharashtra state officials said.
The death toll from the series of coordinated attacks was at 101, including at least six foreigners, by Thursday afternoon authorities said. The Italian Foreign Ministry confirmed one of its citizens had been killed. The nationalities of the others was still being checked.
Another 314 people were wounded in the attacks, including seven British and two Australian citizens.
I am sad to here that.I hope they can be better soon.
A standoff continued at the Oberoi Hotel, where about 100 members of a specialized unit of the Indian police undertook an operation to rescue four to five foreigners hostage on the 19th floor.
CNN producer Phil O'Sullivan reported a "very loud explosion came from right deep in the hotel."
At the nearby Taj Mahal hotel, CNN's Sara Sidner reported another blast had rocked the building. Police there said they had rescued most of the hostages and evacuated dozens of guests.
As concerned family members stood outside, medics took stretchers into the hotel and brought out bodies covered in white sheets. Police were going floor to floor to flush out gunmen. About five of them were believed to be holed up in the Taj; another three in Oberoi, Maharashtra state officials said.
The death toll from the series of coordinated attacks was at 101, including at least six foreigners, by Thursday afternoon authorities said. The Italian Foreign Ministry confirmed one of its citizens had been killed. The nationalities of the others was still being checked.
Another 314 people were wounded in the attacks, including seven British and two Australian citizens.
I am sad to here that.I hope they can be better soon.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
US shares up on 'Treasury choice'
US shares have risen sharply, following a report that US President-elect Barack Obama has chosen his treasury secretary, reassuring investors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 494 points or 6.5% to end at 8,046.66. The Standard & Poor's 500 climbed 6.3%.
The NBC television network reported the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Timothy Geithner, would be nominated as treasury secretary.
Mr Obama is expected to announce his economic team on Monday.
The NBC report was welcomed by investors in what has been yet another volatile week of trading amid ongoing fears over the scale of the economic contraction.
"It is a bit of good news in that it takes the uncertainty out," said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading.
Mr Geithner has worked closely with outgoing Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in addressing the credit crisis and finding ways to boost the economy.
The 47-year-old played a crucial role in talks with Lehman Brothers before the investment bank went bankrupt.
He was also instrumental in the deals involving insurer AIG and JP Morgan, another bank.
The NBC report was enough to counter concerns over the finance sector and in particular the future over banking giant Citigroup, which saw its shares plummet 20% as board members met.
Rising commodity prices helped boost mining and energy firms.
Aluminium company Alcoa added 23% while Exxon climbed 10%, after the price of oil recovered from its lowest level in more than three years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 494 points or 6.5% to end at 8,046.66. The Standard & Poor's 500 climbed 6.3%.
The NBC television network reported the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Timothy Geithner, would be nominated as treasury secretary.
Mr Obama is expected to announce his economic team on Monday.
The NBC report was welcomed by investors in what has been yet another volatile week of trading amid ongoing fears over the scale of the economic contraction.
"It is a bit of good news in that it takes the uncertainty out," said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading.
Mr Geithner has worked closely with outgoing Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in addressing the credit crisis and finding ways to boost the economy.
The 47-year-old played a crucial role in talks with Lehman Brothers before the investment bank went bankrupt.
He was also instrumental in the deals involving insurer AIG and JP Morgan, another bank.
The NBC report was enough to counter concerns over the finance sector and in particular the future over banking giant Citigroup, which saw its shares plummet 20% as board members met.
Rising commodity prices helped boost mining and energy firms.
Aluminium company Alcoa added 23% while Exxon climbed 10%, after the price of oil recovered from its lowest level in more than three years.
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