Ex-major's loyalties embody Pakistan's jihad woes

A former major who trained fighters for war in Afghanistan and Kashmir keeps cropping up in terrorism investigations in Pakistan. But police say the gray-haired grandfather is shielded by his links to the army and powerful intelligence agencies.

The case of Ahsanul Haq shines a light on a murky side of the militancy infecting Pakistan: the extent to which retired members of the security agencies allegedly support or tolerate Islamist militants they once nurtured for foreign policy aims.

The recent arrest of another former army major with alleged links to the suspect in New York's Times Square bomb plot rekindled these concerns. The man has since been released, …

Angolan government, rebels sign cease-fire agreement

LUANDA, Angola - The Angolan government and the UNITA rebel groupsigned a cease-fire agreement today as a first step toward ending theAfrican nation's protracted civil war.

The agreement includes a pledge by the foes to abide by the termsof …

UN chief hopeful rebel visit to Uganda capital will spur end to conflict

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed hope that the first visit to Uganda's capital by delegates from the Lord's Resistance Army will create momentum to settle the brutal conflict between the government and the rebel group.

"He commends the government of Uganda and the LRA leadership for their continued commitment to the peace process," U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said Friday.

Ban also called on international and regional actors who have been assisting the peace process "to continue their crucial support until an acceptable solution is found for this longlasting conflict."

The Lord's …

Keane, Jacobsen spark WW South

It didn't take Wheaton Warrenville South girls soccer coach Guy Callipari long to respond Saturday when he was asked to size up his team's performance this season.

``I'm very pleased,'' Callipari said after the Tigers knocked off No. 9 Fremd 1-0 in pool-play

action of the Naperville Invitational at Neuqua Valley. ``To be 6-2-2 with what we've gone through with injuries is a great accomplishment.''

Those injuries have taken their toll on Wheaton Warrenville South's defense, but you wouldn't know that by watching the game Saturday.

The foursome of Lauren Carroll, Anna Carey, Sarah Langlas and Kalyn Jones came up big when needed to help junior goalie Kristen …

Central Pennsylvania manufacturers have tradition, strategy

REGION

While the ranks of national and state manufacturers have slimmed over the decades, Central Pennsylvania's industrial facilities have kept tradition and strategy at the heart of their operations.

Some Central Pennsylvania companies find that their traditional home in the Susquehanna Valley is a good strategic fit. Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation Inc. in York County, is one of those companies, Jim Kepler said. The West Manchester Township location is the German company's North American headquarters and production facility. Kepler is the business development manager.

S. Morgan Smith founded the company in the 1880s. It made water turbines for mills in Central …

Vick Pleads Innocent in Dogfighting Case

RICHMOND, Va. - Michael Vick pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal dogfighting charges and was released without bond until a Nov. 26 trial.

The Atlanta Falcons quarterback and three others entered their pleas in U.S. District Court to conspiracy charges involving competitive dogfighting, procuring and training pit bulls for fighting, and conducting the enterprise across state lines. Federal prosecutors say the operation - known as Bad Newz Kennels - was run on Vick's property in Surry County.

Among the conditions set for all the defendants is that they surrender their passports, that they not travel outside their immediate area without court approval, and that they do …

West Indies rallies against South Africa

South Africa set West Indies a challenging target after scoring 183-7 in the World Cup Twenty20 match at The Oval.

Herschelle Gibbs smashed 55 from 35 balls, including eight fours and one six, while openers Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith contributed 45 and 31 respectively in the Super8 game.

But Jerome Taylor took 3-30 as West Indies belatedly slowed the scoring rate by taking five wickets for 35 runs in the final five overs.

Chris Gayle won the toss and asked South Africa to bat first on an excellent wicket with a fast outfield.

Taylor conceded just two runs in his opening over, but his next went for 16, which included a towering six …

Board Decides to Close City-Wide College

The Chicago City Colleges board voted Thursday to close itsCity-Wide College, which runs an array of non-traditional academicand vocational programs at sites throughout the city.

The board said most functions of the college would be taken overby Harold Washington College at Wabash and Lake.

City-Wide was accredited as a separate college in 1976, takingunder its umbrella many programs then offered by Washington College,then known as Loop College.

Board Chairman Ronald Gidwitz said the closing will becomplicated because of procedural notices to licensing andaccrediting agencies, labor negotiations and difficulty in shiftingadministrative responsibility for …

Makau breaks world record in Berlin Marathon

BERLIN (AP) — Patrick Makau of Kenya broke the world record to win the Berlin Marathon on Sunday.

Makau pulled away after 27 kilometers (16.8 miles) and finished in 2 hours, 3 minutes, 38 seconds.

Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, who held the previous record of 2:03.59, pulled up after Makau's breakaway and seemed on the verge of giving up when he stopped running and bent over, but resumed the race.

For several kilometers (miles) he was second, about two minutes behind Makau, but appeared to have finally given up before the finish.

Gebrselassie had won four successive Berlin marathons from 2006 and set his world record in 2008.

Makau also won last year's race …

Greek farmers urged to end 8-day roadblock protest

The Greek prime minister urged protesting farmers to end their eight-day roadblock campaign, saying Friday that Greece's debt crisis left no room for handouts.

Prime Minister George Papandreou said it would be "a crime against Greeks' prosperity and security" if the government caved in to demands from pressure groups.

The farmers are blocking highways and border crossings to demand payment of delayed aid and new subsidies, in …

Raymond Gorski, bank officer

Raymond J. Gorski, an officer at the Pulaski Savings Bank for 47years, died Thursday at his West Elsdon home after a short cancer-related illness. He was one week shy of his 82nd birthday.

Mr. Gorski was born and raised in Bridgeport. He served in theU.S. Army during World War II and was stationed in Hawaii andGuantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Mr. Gorski was a graduate of John Marshall Law School and went towork for Pulaski Savings Bank as an attorney and director in 1957. Healso served as vice president of the bank before his retirement in1994.

"The bank …

Living-long paper withdrawn after data questioned

WASHINGTON (AP) — The authors of a widely reported study that offered an early glimpse into factors leading to long life are withdrawing the paper after some of the data they used in the analysis was questioned.

The study, published last July in the journal Science, said that by looking at genetic markers the researchers were able to determine which gene groups came from people over 100. They …

Utica bar 'should have been the safe place. But it wasn't' Seeking shelter in basement, 8 die in tornado

A basement is supposed to be the best shelter in a tornado. Butfor eight people in Downstate Utica, the cellar of the Milestone Tapwas not good enough.

"It should have been the safe place. But it wasn't," said UticaMayor Fred Esmond, who watched Wednesday as Utica residents -- aidedby workers from Chicago and the suburbs -- tried to put their town,and their lives, back together after the worst twister strike inIllinois in a decade.

Miraculously, nine did survive in the basement of the century-oldMilestone, which collapsed after its roof was ripped off by a tornadoand its sandstone walls gave way.

The National Weather Service rated Tuesday night's tornado an F-3, meaning wind speeds were between 158 and 206 mph.

The Milestone was a cowboy-themed place where kids could munchburgers while their parents sipped beer and jawed over small- towndoings. It was also considered a haven from storms by some residentsof a nearby trailer park, who rushed there after hearing tornadosirens Tuesday night.

"If you weren't in just the right spot, you pretty much didn'thave a chance," said Esmond, whose town of 1,000 is about 90 milessouthwest of Chicago near the popular Starved Rock State Park.

Richard Little was in the right spot and got that chance.

The 37-year-old truck driver was in the bar Tuesday night, and heran to the basement with the other patrons as the sirens went off. Hecredits a freezer and fallen wood for saving him from being crushed.

"I was awake for the whole thing. It sounded like a cross betweena freight train and a jet engine, like a high-pitched scream," saidLittle, who was hospitalized with an arm injury. "It sounded like theplace exploded, like a bomb had gone off."

Greg Simms, 20, who lives near the Milestone, raced to the tavernshortly after it was destroyed by the tornado.

"Underneath the building you could hear people knocking andyelling that they were in there. I saw one person come out, about 14[years old.]. He stuck his hands up, the fireman pulled him out andhe walked away to the ambulance," Simms said.

Four people were listed in good condition Wednesday night atIllinois Valley Community Hospital in Peru.

Those killed ranged in age from 18 to 81. The last body wasremoved from the rubble Wednesday.

Josh Cain, 25, an ironworker who helped clear the debris from theMilestone, said one dead body was found on the first-floor of thethree-story building and the others were huddled in the center of thebasement.

"It looked like they were sitting down and everything fell onthem," Cain said. "The center beam gave out, and the post wentthrough the floor and it caved right in the middle. If they had justgotten 10 feet over against the wall, they'd be fine."

Utica suffered the worst of a series of tornadoes that churnedfrom Nebraska to Indiana and caused millions of dollars in damage inJoliet.

The tornado kicked Utica's downtown around like a kid in a tempertantrum.

A little red wagon was wrapped around a tree stripped of all butits thickest branches. Pants, shirts and socks were strewn about, andat the local elementary school, a basketball net and its thick steelstanchion was yanked from the ground and hurled 20 feet. Pickups werecrushed by falling trees and cars were surrounded by the shards ofblown-out windshields.

The trunk of one vehicle was peeled back like a half-open tuna canand a metal grain tower, dented in its center, slumped wearilyforward. One house, with its back wall missing, revealed a kitchen,compete with ceramic jars still sitting undisturbed on their shelves.

Utica resident John Devore had just seconds to rush his family tothe basement of their home and then look outside.

"It was like my brain wasn't comprehending what my eyes wereseeing. I said, 'Well, it looks like the car's OK,' and then, a splitsecond later, 'Wait a minute, I'm not supposed to be able to see mycar. Where the hell's my garage?' "

Most of the tornado touchdowns were in LaSalle County. Other townshit included LaSalle, Peru and Oglesby. Granville, in Putnam County,saw 30 homes suffer major damage and another 30 with minor damages.

Gov. Blagojevich declared the area a disaster area, making iteligible for state assistance. He called the damage "a reminder ofhow uncertain [life] is."

The tornado that hit Utica was the deadliest in Illinois since1990, when 29 people were killed in Plainfield, said a spokesman forthe National Severe Storms Laboratory.

Contributing: AP, Art Golab

THE TOLL IN UTICA

Eight people were killed Tuesday in tornadoes spawned from violentspring storms. All the victims were seeking shelter at the MilestoneTap in Utica, but the destruction was felt from Nebraska to Indianawith more than 50 tornadoes, hail and strong winds reported:

u JOLIET: One home destroyed, store roof collapsed

u GRANVILLE: About 60 homes damaged

u JAMESTOWN, IND.: Tractor-trailers blown off the road

u KOKOMO, IND.: Roof torn off skating rink

Sources: National Weather Service, National Severe StormsLaboratory, staff reports

tornado blitz Locations of tornado strikes in Tuesday's storms:

TIME (P.M.) LOCATION (COUNTY)

2:00 Tuscola (Douglas)

2:10 Pesotum (Champaign)

2:32 Philo (Champaign)

5:14 Camp Grove (Marshall)

5:21 Henry (Marshall)

5:40 Victoria (Knox)

5:47 Granville (Putnam)

5:58 LaSalle (LaSalle)

6:03 Oglesby (LaSalle)

6:09 Peru (LaSalle)

6:12 LaSalle (LaSalle)

6:20 Ottawa (LaSalle)

6:48 North Utica (LaSalle)

6:48 Ottawa (LaSalle)

6:52 Seneca (Grundy)

6:52 Marseilles (LaSalle)

7:00 Paxton (Ford)

7:00 Sheridan (LaSalle)

7:05 Paxton (Ford)

7:05 Utica (LaSalle)

7:24 Gilman (Iroquois)

7:25 Sheridan (LaSalle)

7:26 Fairmont (Vermilion)

7:27 Channahon (Will)

7:32 Minooka (Will)

7:38 Kankakee (Kankakee)

7:40 Piper City (Ford)

7:45 Joliet (Will)

8:06 Ottawa (LaSalle)

Illinois' deadliest tornadoes

DATE LOCATION DEATHS

March 1925 Southern Illinois 613

May 1896 East St. Louis 118

May 1917 Mattoon, Charleston 101

March 1948 Bunker Hill 33 DATE LOCATION DEATHS

April 1967 Oak Lawn 33

August 1990 Plainfield 29

April 1967 Belvidere 24

March 1896 St. Clair County 24

Tiger Woods fumes at personal questions in Ireland

Tiger Woods has responded to questions about his marital break up and personal turmoil with terse, tense answers and finally sad-eyed silence at an Irish charity golf tournament.

Woods made his first appearance overseas this week at the J.P. McManus Invitational Pro-Am, where he shot a 3-under-par round of 69 on Tuesday despite gusting winds and sporadic heavy rain.

He wasn't as prepared for the press conference turbulence afterward.

When asked why he was flying home to Florida rather than head to Scotland to prepare for next week's British Open, Woods descended to staccato half-sentences.

"I need to get home," he said. Why? "See my kids."

A final question asking whether he could focus solely on golf produced sad-eyed silence.

Indonesia: Economic Growth Rate at 5.5%

The Asian Development Bank has revised Indonesia's economic growth rate downward from 5.7% in its September report to 5.5%. There was no change in the expected growth rate for 2006.

The Indonesian economy recorded high growth in the first half of 2005, but the growth slowed down in the second half with the declining momentum of consumption and investment. Contributing factors are higher prices resulting from a big increase in oil and fuel prices as well as an increase in key interest rates for monetary policy.

Data Replication: Make a Copy, Stay in Business

It could be a looming threat, like a powerful hurricane - or an unexpected one, like a fire in a data center. But when disaster strikes, data replication tools can help businesses survive.

Sept. 11, 2001, provided a wake-up call for both information-technology managers and corporate executives who hadn't invested in disaster recovery processes like data replication, which allows companies to copy applications from one computer to another by transmitting data across a local-area or wide-area network.

For years, a large number of companies used tapes as their primary backup, typically having them transported off-site nightly to a separate facility. Businesses then turned to disks and, most recently, to storage-area networks, which, by connecting storage devices, decrease a company's reliance on its local data center.

But today, businesses in hurricane alleys, earthquake corridors and major population centers - and those far from them - are deploying disaster recovery plans complete with software tools that allow them to replicate, or back up, their mission-critical applications to sites away from their primary data centers. In the case of a disaster, companies can transmit vital accounting, project management or transactional systems and records to their disaster recovery facilities, limiting downtime and data loss despite an outage at the primary location.

Technology industry giants such as Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Oracle offer replication programs, but a handful of other players - Double-Take Software (formerly NSI Software), EMC, Network Appliance, Veritas (acquired in 2005 by Symantec) and XOsoft (acquired last month by CA) - grew up through aggressive market consolidation and unveiled a steady stream of new products, giving businesses a wide range of tools to tackle even the worst catastrophe.

Tragic Beginnings

For some companies, it takes a disaster to make them realize they need a data replication system.

Severe building damage kept New York-based reinsurance broker Folksamerica out of its headquarters at 1 Liberty Plaza, across the street from the World Trade Center, for more than three months following 9/11. At the time, Folksamerica had a client/server environment at Liberty Plaza backed up on tapes. After the attack, it took 10 days to get the tapes loaded and the company up and running.

When Phil Marzullo joined the firm as chief information officer in 2004, Folksamerica decided, for safety precautions, to move its data center out of the Northeast, where it had been after 9/11, to Littleton, Colo., and reconstruct its storage network. "I think it became apparent that the [disaster recovery] plan was really lacking," he says, adding that he wanted more remote access included into the system.

Folksamerica built a storage-area network with Citrix and Microsoft SQL and Exchange servers, and FAS940c and 960c storage appliances from Network Appliance (NetApp), with matching hardware in New York and Colorado. To transmit vital applications such as accounting, claims processing and e-mail systems from New York to Colorado, Marzullo used NetApp's SnapMirror, a software program that replicates data across the storage system.

Marzullo cited NetApp's flexibility to customize products and its easy-to-manage operating system for its storage-area network and network-attached storage, a system that connects multiple computers to storage devices over a network. If another disaster strikes, Marzullo says Folksamerica can recover its entire infrastructure in four hours instead of 10 days. "The whole purpose of this was to put the business in a position where it could continue to operate," Marzullo points out. "It was kind of a no-brainer."

James Zeller rejoined Chaffe McCall, New Orleans' oldest law firm, as senior network manager just days before Hurricane Katrina struck in late August 2005. His first job was helping to assemble backup tapes and disks that held the firm's e-mail records and business and law documents, so that a manager could take them to the firm's Baton Rouge, La., office.

Buts the drives in Baton Rouge weren't compatible with the tapes at company headquarters. It took Zeller and his team a week to get the firm up and running after Katrina.

Everybody knew the city was below sea level, but no one thought something as horrific as Katrina could actually take place, Zeller says. So, two months after the storm, when the firm reoccupied its headquarters, Zeller and his team investigated options to better protect, back up and access critical applications like document management and e-mail.

The law firm purchased XOsoft's WANsync to copy applications and records to the organization's Baton Rouge office, which Zeller and his team chose as the backup facility. Zeller looked at a few vaulting software tools, which back up and encrypt data at an off-site location, but favored XOsoft because he and his team were able to install the data replication program without any setbacks and learn the commands quickly.

While he hasn't analyzed the firm's return on investment, Zeller says the capability to replicate vital applications off-site helps the firm feel confident it will weather the next storm. "What it removes is the uncertainty of 'what now?'" he says. "The reality of it is, until you're in the shadow of a disaster, things can get cut from budgets and hardware gets older, and your plan starts to fall apart."

Hunkering Down

Technology managers are usually the first to recognize the importance of - and push for - replication capabilities, says Tom Pettibone, managing partner of Transition Partners, a management consultancy.

But taking on disaster recovery projects isn't just something for technology managers, he says. Top officers like chief executive and financial officers need to take responsibility, as do board directors.

According to Pettibone, a former chief information officer of Philip Morris and New York Life, "The question for CIOs becomes: Are you willing to stand up and defend [the cost]?"

Israeli `Archie Bunker' grapples with Arabs

JERUSALEM Itzik Harouv is an ordinary Israeli who has just movedinto an ordinary Israeli apartment building - or so he thinks untilhe reads the name on the door across the hall: "Muna and BassamMidawa." In a panic, he rushes to tell his wife the news.

"Do you see what's written there?" he asks as the two standstaring at the Midawas' front door. "Our neighbors are ARABS!"

"Well, we live in a country with Arabs, right?" his wiferesponds calmly. "We eat in the same restaurants, go to the samehealth clinics, work in the same offices. And you even sell themlife insurance," she adds, appealing to her husband's businessinstincts if not his sense of humanity.

Itzik is not won over. "Why do I have to be the living exampleof coexistence?" he demands.

This scene opens the pilot episode of "Neighbors," a comedyseries that the Arabic division of Israel Television plans to beginproducing in September. Unlike any other entertainment show aired bythe state-run station, "Neighbors" directly - and humorously -addresses the gravest challenge facing Israeli society today:Arab-Israeli coexistence.

Though "Neighbors" will be shown during the time-slot designatedfor Arabic-language programs, those involved in its productionanticipate the show will reach both sides of the country's vastpolitical divide. Arabic and Hebrew are spoken on the show, andsubtitles translate each language into the other.

When the director-general of Israel's broadcasting authority,Uri Porat, previewed the pilot episode, he delightedly proclaimedItzik "Israel's Archie Bunker." But Gadi Yagil, the comedian whoplays Itzik, cautions against taking the analogy too literally.

"Here the argument is Israel-Palestine," said Yagil. "There isno problem like this in America."

Bassam Zu'mot, the Arab actor who plays Itzik's neighbor, agreeswith Yagil. "I see the building (in "Neighbors") as the land we areliving in," he said in an interview. "The Jewish apartment is Israel,the Arabic apartment is Palestine." The central question posed bythe show, he says, is, "Can they live peacefully side by side?"

Zu'mot, a 38-year-old Christian, grew up in Jerusalem's Old Citywhen it was still under Jordanian rule. "I am not an Arab whobelieves that the Jews must be thrown into the sea," he said. "Ibelieve that Jews . . . must have a right to live in a country thatis their own, just as I . . . must force them to believe that I havethe right to live here and make my state here."

"Neighbors" avoids dealing explicitly with political issues suchas the Palestinian demand for a separate state. Its message is amore general one - that peaceful coexistence between Jews and Arabsis, with courage and creative effort, attainable.

"I hope people will see that living together is not impossible,"said scriptwriter Dalia Cohen. "We can live together and we do livetogether. It's not a fantasy."

But while Jews and Arabs here often do work together, it isprecisely because they rarely find themselves living next to eachother that "Neighbors" is seen by all involved in its production as apolitical minefield.

"Nobody will make peace because of `Neighbors,' " said Yagil."For a moment, though, they will relax a little bit and laugh at thesituation."

Queen Elizabeth II opens new UK Supreme Court

Queen Elizabeth II formally opened Britain's new Supreme Court on Friday in a ceremony attended by high court justices from the United States and around the world.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and top judges from Canada, Australia, India, South Africa and Europe attended the ceremony for a court the government says will make the workings of justice visible and accessible to the British public.

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts and justices Stephen Breyer and Antonin Scalia watched the ceremony, which included prayers led by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and a verse for the new court by former poet laureate Andrew Motion.

U.S. justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg also had been scheduled to attend, but she became ill just before her plane took off from Washington late Wednesday and was briefly hospitalized. U.S. court officials said Ginsburg, 76, became drowsy because of a reaction to medicine.

For hundreds of years, Britain's highest court of appeal was the Law Lords, a group of justices who sat in Parliament's upper chamber, the House of Lords.

Earlier this month the judges shed their wigs and ermine-trimmed robes and moved to a new home in a renovated 100-year-old courthouse across Parliament Square from the Houses of Parliament. The court began hearing cases Oct. 5.

The government says the new court corrects one of the quirks of Britain's ancient and unwritten constitution, separating the country's judicial and legislative powers after hundreds of years of muddled compromise.

Brown said that, with the formation of the court, "a separation of powers once only guaranteed by convention is now cemented by statute."

The new court also is equipped with cameras and microphones so proceedings can be broadcast. Recording is prohibited in most British courts.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw said Friday that the Supreme Court underlined the independence of the judicial system.

He said the work of the Law Lords had been "opaque and was obscured from public view."

"In this place we now have this court _ public, accessible, visible _ situated in this square at the heart of our nation's history over a millennium," Straw said.

Bancffosfelen & Crwbin

Bancffosfelen & Crwbin Keith Evans 43 Brandyway, Pontyberem 01269871955 Kjevvv@aol.com Capel Pisga Dydd Sul nesaf oedfa gweinidogcymun am 10.30yb. Clwb Hamdden Leisure club members meet nextTuesday from 6.30pm when the speaker is Stephen Piece, of theCarmarthenshire Cheese Company. A wine and cheese party will beheld. This is an open meeting where members and non-members fromCrwbin and Bancffosfelen can take part in the evening events.

Library service The Memorial Hall library, operated by the countycouncil, is open Mondays from 10.30am to 12.30pm and 5pm to 7pm;Wednesdays, 3pm to 7pm; and Fridays, 10.30am to 12.30pm. Inquiriesto Andrea Evans on 01269 870891.

Cylch Ti a Fi Cylch Ti a Fi cyfarfod bob Dydd Llun, 1.30yp i 3yp,yn Ysgol Bancffosfelen. Croeso i fabis a phlant bach, a mamau,tadcu, mamgu, tadcu, gwarchodwr. Am fwy o wybodaeth, cysylltwch aSian am 871609.

Broadcom co-founder aims to clear name

Broadcom co-founder Henry Nicholas III is speaking out in hopes of clearing his name after federal prosecutors accused the billionaire of throwing drug parties and slipping ecstasy into the drinks of business associates.

Nicholas told The Orange County Register in an interview published Friday that there was no so-called secret lair beneath the mansion where he lived, except a room his children used for band practice.

"Enough is enough," he told the newspaper. "There have been some pretty preposterous allegations made about me which have been reported in the media. While we have, can and will demonstrate that these allegations are false, what I have found is that if you don't respond, the stories are going to keep snowballing."

Nicholas has pleaded not guilty to drug charges and to conspiring to backdate $2.2 billion in employee stock options while at the helm of the Irvine-based computer chip company.

Prosecutors have accused Nicholas of keeping a warehouse where he stashed and distributed cocaine, methamphetamine and ecstasy. They say he also hired prostitutes and escorts for himself, his employees and customers.

Nicholas' attorney James Brosnahan said the drug allegations would not stand in court because witnesses made them in the pursuit of money.

A trial is scheduled for next year.

Two earlier civil lawsuits filed against Nicholas by a personal assistant and construction crew accused him of drug use and hiring prostitutes.

___

Information from: The Orange County Register, http://www.ocregister.com

Belgian arrested in Thailand on child sex charges

Thai police arrested a Belgian man on pedophilia charges and a Thai national accused of supplying him with underage children in an illegal trafficking ring, an officer said Thursday.

Philippe Francois, 41, was arrested Wednesday evening at his apartment in the northern city of Chiang Mai, where he had allegedly engaged in sexual acts with at least three teenagers, two of whom were minors, said police Lt. Col. Chaichan Penchaiya.

Police also arrested Suchai Beowtoo, a 21-year-old Thai man who allegedly procured boys for the Belgian for a fee of 1,000 baht (about $30) each. He faces charges of luring minors for sexual exploitation, Chaichan said.

The two men would allegedly meet at bars in Chiang Mai where Francois would choose boys from pictures brought by Suchai.

The case was brought to police attention in April when a 13-year-old filed a complaint against Francois. An arrest warrant was issued for the Belgian in May. He is also accused of sexual relations with a 14-year-old and a 17-year-old, who is not a minor but could be part of an eventual human trafficking case, Chaichan said.

"We believe that his agent Suchai is part of a larger network of human trafficking groups," Chaichan said. Police arrested a British national and two Thais in April that were part of the group Suchai allegedly works with.

"They were caught providing boys mostly to tourists," Chaichan said.

An organization called the Anti-Trafficking Coordination Unit Northern Thailand says there are at least a half dozen known child trafficking units in the northern provinces of Chiang Mai and neighboring Chiang Rai.

"These agents lure homeless children to their homes and sometimes violate them themselves," said Duen Wongsa, of the Anti-Trafficking Coordination Unit. "Then they look for Thai and foreign buyers."

Red Sox rout Blue Jays 16-4

TORONTO (AP) — No. 9 hitter Jason Varitek homered and drove in four runs to lead the Boston Red Sox's 16-4 rout of the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League on Saturday.

John Lackey (4-5) delivered six strong innings in his second start since going on the disabled list, striking out a season-high eight.

David Oritz hit a three-run homer and Dustin Pedroia drove in three runs as Boston amassed 18 hits. The Red Sox batted around twice and every starter drove in at least one run in piling up the most runs allowed by the Blue Jays this season.

Yankees 4, Indians 0

At New York, Alex Rodriguez was hit by a pitch after he homered and Bartolo Colon pitched two-hit ball into the seventh inning before he hurt himself in New York's win.

Curtis Granderson hit his 20th homer of the season and Rodriguez got plunked by Cleveland starter Mitch Talbot a day after the teams' benches cleared, adding another chapter to what has been a testy homestand for the Yankees.

It was the sixth time a Yankees batter has been hit this homestand. Talbot was ejected.

The Yankees said Colon (5-3) strained his left hamstring. He struck out six over 6 2-3 innings to win for the third straight start.

Tree care firm becomes custom grinder and mulch marketer

Purchase of grinder starts the (wooden) ball rolling for Indiana company that now works with municipalities and waste haulers - and is buying a composting facility.

AN UNWANTED pile of wood inspired a tree care company in northwestern Indiana to start a custom grinding business for municipalities and then find ways to market the product as mulch. It all happened in 1997 when Russell and Jeremy Hodge took over the reins of the 50-year-old Hodge Tree Service from their father. "We inherited three to four years' worth of wood that was stockpiled on someone else's property," notes Jeremy Hodge, marketing director of the Hobart, Indiana-based firm. "My dad had agreed to help get rid of the wood but had to retire for health reasons before he could do it."

The Hodge brothers decided to make landscape mulch out of the logs. "We're 30 miles from Chicago and there is more lawn product sold in the Chicago to Fort Wayne area than anywhere in the world, so we were in the perfect location," says Russell, company president.

The logs were too large to run through their brush chippers. "We found that it was cheaper to buy a grinder than to hire someone to grind the wood," he explains. The company selected a used Vermeer tub grinder (at a cost of $140,000). "The horizontal grinders we looked at were great for brush and compost facilities but couldn't handle the large logs we had," says Jeremy Hodge. The Vermeer grinder has a 27-foot grapple loader to directly feed materials in, or it can be loader-fed.

"Once we saw how well the machine worked, we realized that there would be nothing for it to do in several months and it would sit around unused eight or nine months of the year," he continues. The brothers decided to approach local municipalities and offer to custom grind their wood residuals. "We went straight to the public works director, recycling coordinator, mayor, city council, or whomever was in charge and got a feel for what they were doing," he adds. "We broke down the municipality's costs and showed them that we could save them time and money."

The tree service now is working with seven municipalities in northern Indiana as well as several waste haulers. "We have enough confidence in our program that municipalities don't have to sign a contract with us," says Hodge. Adds Russell: "We've developed a long-term comprehensive plan, so municipalities don't have to end up dealing with their wood waste on a last-minute, emergency basis."

TIP FEE COSTS ELIMINATED

The municipality unloads wood and brush on its own site and Hodge Tree Service grinds the material there. "Some municipalities were landfilling the wood and our program eliminates their tip fee costs," explains Hodge. "The municipality can dump the wood they collect on its site for free instead of paying to haul it to the landfill. This also saves manpower because it doesn't have to grind it up first at the homeowner's site or at curbside. The municipality just has the costs of collection and grinding." Municipalities that don't want to store the wood residuals at their own site are charged an additional fee.

The tree service met with the state Department of Environmental Management and obtained letters of exclusion for the municipal wood residuals sites. "We didn't want to have to register them as compost sites because we're dealing with untreated wood waste and there's no leachate," says Hodge. "This increased the number of sites that could be used because some city sites don't meet the requirements of a compost facility."

Hodge recommends that the municipalities stockpile brush, chips, and logs in separate piles. "If you have brush over here and wood over there, they'll look different and provide two different products - and even more products if you double grind the material," he explains. "The more products you have, the more money you'll make."

MARKETING GROUND MATERIAL

In most cases, according to the Hodges, the amount of mulch produced is twice as much mulch as the municipalities need. As a result, Hodge Tree Service markets the excess mulch; half of the net revenue goes back to the municipality. "The municipality can recover the grinding cost by having us sell it for them," says Hodge. He estimates the operating costs of the grinder is $125/hour including labor.

Once shredded, the mulch is left to sit on the lot for three to four weeks. "We're not going to grind it on Monday and sell it on Tuesday," he notes. "When you grind the wood it comes off the belt blond and needs a few weeks to brown down." Bulk mulch is shipped directly to buyers from the site.

"The more you move material around, the more hauling expenses are," he explains. "There's only enough profit margin to move the material once."

The company currently markets the mulch in-house but is considering hiring a marketing group that represents manufacturers of lawn and garden products. "We're revamping," notes Hodge, "and are in the process of changing our production practices and how we package and sell our products." The primary marketing methods are cold calling, direct mail, and word of mouth bv landscapers. Plans are in the works to begin selling the mulch in bagged form within the next year to big box stores like Home Depot and Wal-Mart.

Hodge Tree Service contracts out the mulch deliveries, which are limited to an hour's drive from the Hobart office. "We only sell.

it regionally," says Hodge. "There are seven million people in the metro Chicago area, so there are plenty of potential customers."

The contract grinding and mulch businesses have been so promising that the company is purchasing the Fertile Earth compost facility in neighboring Gary, Indiana from First Energy, an Ohio-based utility. The compost facility has been in operation since November, 1997 and is located four blocks from the tree service's current location.

"It's a relatively unique situation for a tree service to operate a compost facility," explains Hodge. "One of the many reasons we're buying it is because we didn't have enough space in our one-half acre yard to store any material. It's just barely big enough for our fleet, storage and maintenance." The compost facility has 15 acres and there is the potential to purchase an adjacent property with 30 acres. "It allows us to take all of our tree service waste and run it through the compost facility, including our large wood and chipper chips," he adds.

"We'll also offer a discount tip fee for local tree services who want to bring wood waste to our yard."

The tree service started composting in early June. "In anticipation of selling it,

First Energy let some processing functions lag and we didn't want the site to be out of material when we acquired it," says Hodge.

The facility is processing logs, municipal wood waste, pallets, grass, and leaves. The feedstocks are composted in windrows 200 to 300 feet long and eight feet high, and are turned with a pay loader. The finished compost will be screened with a rented trommel or star screen.

This year, the brothers expect to process 70,000 to 80,000 cubic yards (cy) of material at the compost facility and 120,000 cy next year. There are plans to expand the company's product line to several types of soils and shredded mulch, as well as wood chips. The tree service also generates 50,000 cy/year of one-inch chipper chips which will be processed and marketed through the compost facility.

Spinning 'Potter' into Bible lessons

When Connie Neal first read the Harry Potter books, she waslooking for examples of how the best-selling series ran counter toher family's Christian values.

To her surprise, Neal discovered that the books by J.K. Rowlingactually could be used to illuminate traditional biblical precepts ina culturally relevant way.

Instead of explaining to her three children why they couldn't readthe Potter series, Neal, a Christian author and activist, createdBible study lessons for them from the books.

Each week, her family would gather with friends and neighbors toread the Potter books and discuss how the actions of variouscharacters highlighted the Bible's teachings on right and wrong.

Now Neal has collected these discussions in a thoughtful new book,What's a Christian to Do With Harry Potter? (WaterBrook Press,$12.95). Laced with references to the Bible, it celebrates "thetremendous opportunities afforded Christians by the Harry Potterbooks and the worldwide interest they have generated.

"I propose that the Harry Potter books are deeply moral and can behighly instructive as 'training in righteousness' if one rightlyaligns these stories to Scripture," Neal writes. As one example, Nealcompares Lord Voldemort, the champion of evil in the Potter books, toSatan. She points out that Voldemort's effort to kill the baby Harrywas thwarted by his mother, who gave her life to save her child's.

"Voldemort's power was broken when Mrs. Potter willinglysacrificed her life for Harry; Satan's power was broken when Jesusdied on the cross to sacrifice his life for us," Neal writes.

In her book, Neal writes that other Christians might see danger inRowling's series.That's the position of Richard Abanes, author ofbooks warning of the dangers of the occult for Christians. In his newbook, Harry Potter and the Bible: The Menace Behind the Magic(Horizon Books, $11.99), Abanes argues that the Potter seriespresents a psychological and spiritual danger to Christians.

Chesney Wins Entertainer of Year Award

LAS VEGAS - Kenny Chesney collected his third consecutive entertainer of the year trophy Tuesday as the Academy of Country Music also paid tribute to a youngster and some oldsters. The academy honored veteran George Strait, newcomer Carrie Underwood and gave an unprecedented 14th vocal duo award to Brooks & Dunn.

Brooks & Dunn were up against some stiff competition from Sugarland, Montgomery Gentry, Big & Rich and The Wreckers, and Ronnie Dunn fretted before the show that the pair had to lose "sooner or later."

"Not this year," an exuberant Kix Brooks said as the duo claimed the trophy. "It's still as much fun as it's ever been, and we're going to keep doing it."

A few minutes later, a subdued Chesney, wearing a black cowboy hat, accepted the top award, paying tribute to fellow musicians Keith Whitley and Strait.

"When I first started playing music, I was in college and I would go rent all my equipment and put it in the back of a pickup truck. The only thing I wanted to do was cut a record as good as Keith Whitley did, and I listened to that music over and over again," he said.

Strait, who came into the competition with a leading eight nominations, claimed the first award of the night, winning song of the year for "Give It Away."

As he collected his trophy, he seemed particularly touched that as an older performer he wasn't forgotten.

"I'm old enough to be Carrie Underwood's grandfather," the 55-year-old said of his 24-year-old fellow singer.

Underwood, the 2005 "American Idol" winner, won album of the year for her debut CD, "Some Hearts," and was honored as top female vocalist.

"I would not be here if it were not for 'American Idol,'" she said as she collected her vocal award. "Thank you, fans. God bless you."

Strait was also nominated for entertainer of the year, along with Chesney, Brooks & Dunn, Rascal Flatts and Tim McGraw.

Miranda Lambert won new female vocalist, beating out former "American Idol" contestant Kellie Pickler and teenage country star Taylor Swift.

During the show, Swift performed her hit song "Tim McGraw," as its namesake and his wife, country star Faith Hill, sat in the audience beaming.

Lambert attended the ceremonies with boyfriend and fellow country singer Blake Shelton, but he missed her victory.

"He went to the bathroom just as I was winning, so I had nobody to hug," she said.

Brad Paisley was named male vocalist of the year, the only category in which he was nominated. Rascal Flatts captured best vocal group.

Underwood, whose dark hit "Before He Cheats" dominated the video awards at last month's fan-voted Country Music Television Music Awards, was also up for best female vocalist, single of the year, song of the year and video of the year at the ACMs, where winners are picked by the 4,500-member academy.

The entertainment-driven program, hosted by Reba McEntire, was slated to hand out just a dozen awards. The show aired live on CBS from the MGM Grand hotel-casino, with a tape-delayed broadcast for the West Coast.

Along with the top nominees, performers were to include Martina McBride, Josh Turner, Toby Keith, Sugarland and Paisley.

Brooks & Dunn earlier were named recipients of the Home Depot Humanitarian Award, joining past honorees McEntire, Vince Gill, Lonestar, McBride and Neal McCoy. The group will be honored with two playgrounds to be built in cities of their choice.

"It's a pretty cool thing. I told them we're a duo, so they should give us two. They didn't blink an eye," Dunn said. He is looking for a playground spot in Nashville. Partner Kix Brooks has chosen Shreveport, La.

Other artists whose awards were announced before Tuesday's show include: Producer Dann Huff; bass, Glenn Worf; drums, Eddie Bayers; fiddle, Aubrey Haynie; guitar, Brent Mason; keyboard, John Hobbs; specialty instrument (fiddle, mandolin), Stuart Duncan; steel guitar, Michael Johnson.

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Academy of Country Music: http://www.acmcountry.com

Ellis Island to give Springsteen heritage award

Everyone knows he was born in the U.S.A.

On Thursday, Bruce Springsteen's European roots are being celebrated as the rocker receives an Ellis Island Family Heritage Award.

The honor is presented by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. It's for immigrants or their descendants "who have made a major contribution to the American experience."

Also being honored are investment banker Peter G. Peterson; Avon Chairman and CEO Andrea Jung, and NBA All-Star Dikembe Mutombo.

Springsteen's relatives came through Ellis Island from Italy in 1900.

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On the Net:

The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.: http://www.ellisisland.org

Brady and Bundchen have baby boy

National Football League star quarterback Tom Brady and Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen have welcomed a baby boy.

Brady, who plays for the New England Patriots, announced the birth Wednesday. He said the boy was born Tuesday and that he and Bundchen had not chosen a name. He called it "a wonderful experience in my life."

"Everyone's great," Brady said. "I didn't get much sleep."

Brady also has a 2-year-old son, Jack, with actress Bridget Moynahan. Bundchen is a mother for the first time. The birth was first reported by People.com.

Brady and Bundchen were married in February in Los Angeles in a small ceremony. In April, they held another wedding ceremony in Costa Rica for friends and family.

On Wednesday, Brady showed up 16 minutes late for his weekly media availability. Asked what was new, he said, "a normal week," and smiled.

The Patriots have lost three of their last four games to drop to 7-5. They lead the AFC East by one game and play at home Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. Brady said it was important for him to come to work Wednesday.

"I owe it to the guys in the locker room to really focus on what I need to do for this team," he said, "and put all these emotions aside and kind of come in here with a great sense of determination on what we have to do as a team. So, as a captain and a leader of this team, the last thing they need from me is to be really not focused on the job at hand. There's plenty of things for me to really be doing here this week."

Moynahan released a statement Wednesday.

"I wish them the best with their baby and I'm sure my son will enjoy having a half sibling," Moynahan said. "I ask the press to respect our privacy while we are welcoming this new addition to our extended family."

Bannister Helps Royals Take I-70 Tilt

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Brian Bannister failed to make the club in March and now he's Kansas City's best pitcher. He's the hottest, at least. The right-hander pitched seven scoreless innings Tuesday night - stretching his shutout string to 17 in a row - and led the Royals to an 8-1 victory over St. Louis for his third win in his last three starts.

"I used to throw a lot of cut fastballs and now I'm a four-pitch pitcher," said Bannister (3-3). "And the changeup has really come along this year. That stint in Triple-A really did help. I'm kind of a new pitcher, and the progress is coming through."

Esteban German had three hits and three RBIs and Mark Teahen singled, doubled and tripled as the Royals enjoyed a big game on offense for the third time in four outings. Struggling rookie Alex Gordon also had three hits as the Royals hiked their interleague record to 5-2.

"I think we're feeling good at the plate," Gordon said. "It seems like when somebody gets us going, everybody starts following their lead. Teahen got us going with that triple and everybody followed after that."

Teahen had an RBI triple in the first inning, doubled and scored in the second and singled home a run in the third, going 3-for-5. He and German keyed a five-run outburst in the first inning against Brad Thompson (4-2), who had his worst outing since joining the rotation May 8.

Thompson allowed 10 hits and eight runs in only 4 1-3 innings, with a season-high four walks and, for the first time in seven starts, no strikeouts.

"I can't remember a time I was this frustrated," Thompson said.

After Teahen tripled into the left-field corner past a diving Chris Duncan in the first, Thompson loaded the bases by hitting Mike Sweeney and Gordon.

Two runs scored on German's single, then two more came home when Jason LaRue doubled down the line just past third baseman Scott Rolen.

Gordon and German had RBI singles in the second and Mark Grudzielanek tripled and scored on Teahen's single in the third. Grudzielanek left the game in the fourth with tightness in his left knee.

Bannister, who was recalled from Triple-A Omaha on May 13, gave up seven hits, walked two and tied his season-high with six strikeouts.

In his last three starts covering 22 innings, the son of former major league pitcher Floyd Bannister has allowed only one earned run and 14 hits.

"We tried to throw everything," he said. "We were going in and out, hard, slow. I threw every pitch I had to those guys. They're a tough team."

Ryan Ludwick hit a pinch-hit homer leading off the ninth against David Riske to help the Cardinals avoid being shut out for the seventh time this season.

With a great chance to get to Bannister early, the Cardinals stranded five runners in the first two innings. He struck out Juan Encarnacion with the bases loaded and two out in the first and got Scott Spiezio on strikes with two on and two out in the second.

"I got out of my jam and then we came out and did a great job of getting him in a jam, and that was the difference in the game," Bannister said.

Bannister stopped a seven-game losing streak on June 1 by beating Tampa Bay 4-1, then beat Cleveland 4-3 in his next start to halt a three-game slide.

"He's been unbelievable the last couple of starts," Gordon said. "The last three starts, he's been unbelievable."

Rolen singled in the sixth for the Cardinals, his 1,500th major league hit. Encarnacion's single in the eighth stretched his hitting streak to 12 games.

"You got the ground ball by German and a ground ball by LaRue and the fly by Teahen in the corner there, so based on the contact they made, it should have been something less than what they got," said Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. "But that's baseball."

Notes:@ Royals pitching coach Bob McClure was back after a five-day absence with what manager Buddy Bell described as a viral infection. ... Cardinals OF Preston Wilson underwent knee surgery on Tuesday and will be out for the year. Wilson, 32, batted .219 in 25 games this season with a homer and five RBIs. ... Bannister's father, Floyd, was a combined 16-14 for the Royals from 1988-89.

PLUS NEWS

5 WHITES IN MANDELA GROUP: Five white members of South Africa'sParliament joined the African National Congress today to give NelsonR. Mandela's group what amounts to its first seats in government.The move followed a bitter clash between the five and their white,liberal Democratic Party, which objected to the efforts to align itwith the nation's main black movement. "We join the ANC to promotenon-racialism in practice," Jan van Eck, David Dalling, PierreCronje, Jannie Momberg and Rob Haswell declared in a joint statement.But Zach de Beer, leader of the Democrats, said the five lawmakerswould be expelled from the third-largest party in Parliament'sdominant white chamber. FBI, BLACKS IN ACCORD: Lawyers for more than 300 black agents todayannounced an agreement in principle with the FBI to settle complaintsof racial bias. The agency does not admit any discrimination in theaccord, which headed off a potential class-action lawsuit, but itdoes agree that "disparities" existed in some areas of its personnelsystem. Six blacks will be promoted to supervisory positions and getback pay, and another 80 will be given new positions or trainingunder the agreement. 2 ABORTION FOES SEIZED: Two anti-abortion ministers were arrestedtoday at a demonstration outside a women's clinic in Buffalo, N.Y.,and police confiscated a purported human fetus that one of thempushed in the faces of abortion-rights protesters across the street.The Rev. Robert Schenck, 33, was charged with disorderly conduct, andpolice sought to learn from a medical examiner whether the object wasa real fetus. Schenck's twin brother, the Rev. Paul Schenck, wasarrested on a trespassing charge. The Schencks are Assembly of Godministers at a church in suburban Tonawanda. About 200 activists oneach side of the issue took part in rallies in steady rain outsideone of four clinics targeted for closing by Operation Rescue. EQUALITY IN TAXATION: States may not tax military retirement paywhile exempting the pensions of their own retired government workers,a unanimous Supreme Court ruled today. It struck down a Kansasincome-tax provision that collected some $91 million from about14,000 military retirees. The ruling presumably will force the stateto refund the money, and could have a wider impact. About 1.2million military retirees nationwide receive $20 billion in pensionbenefits. Justices also heard the Census Bureau defend its decisionto count U.S. citizens overseas as residents of their home states ina case that will determine whether Massachusetts loses a House seatand Washington gains one. ITALY GETS PEACE TALKS: Italy will be host to the sixth round ofMiddle East talks under an agreement between the Israelis and Arabs,the State Department announced today. The United States and Russia,co-sponsors of the process, will be in touch with the parties to setthe date, department spokeswoman Margaret Tutwiler said. Peace talksopened in October in Madrid, Spain, and resumed for three rounds inWashington, where the fifth round is to begin Monday. The parties sofar have made little progress on the key issues of arrangements forlimited self-rule for Palestinian Arabs in the occupied areas andArab recognition of the Jewish state. BUSH BELITTLES CHARGES: President Bush today shrugged off aDemocratic report that his administration has compiled the worsteconomic growth of any presidency since World War II. "I never reactto the liberal Democrats' tax and spend charge. It comes up everyyear," he said. The Democratic Study Group said the U.S. economy hasexpanded by only 1.8 percent after adjustment for inflation duringBush's three years as president. DRUNK CHECKS VOIDED: Letting police set up roadblocks to stopdrivers and check them for drunken driving violates citizens' rightsto be free from unreasonable searches, a split Michigan Court ofAppeals panel ruled today. The 2-1 majority said the check lanes setup May 17 and 18, 1986, in Saginaw County violated the stateconstitution.

Shuttle analysis lacked key details: investigators Snafu over taking photos in space led to incomplete model

HOUSTON--A computer model that convinced NASA the Columbiaastronauts were in no danger from damage done to the shuttle by apiece of falling debris was outdated and lacked the rightinformation, the accident investigators said Tuesday.

The analysis by Boeing Co. engineers concluded that little harmwas done to Columbia's left wing by a chunk of hardened foam thatcame off the fuel tank during liftoff. It was a crucial element inbelief by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration that theseven astronauts would return safely.

But the analytical model had never been used before to predictdamage from falling debris during an actual shuttle flight, saidformer astronaut Sally Ride, one of the board's newest members.

What's more, a team of engineers involved in the study realizedthey needed more data. They asked NASA officials to seek pictures ofthe orbiting shuttle, but no pictures were ever taken, Ride said.

In the two months since the disaster, attention has focused onflyaway foam insulation as a major suspect in causing the breach inColumbia's left wing. Superheated gases entered the wing, causing theshuttle to break apart over Texas on its way to a Florida landing.

NASA's video of the launch debris striking the wing was not clearenough. The engineers needed to know more about the speed andlocation of where the falling foam hit on the wing and the size ofthe foam itself, in order to properly assess the potential damage.

"If you had given them good information to start with, they couldhave given you an answer," she told reporters, referring to theanalytical program used by engineers to assess damage. "But therewasn't enough information. So you're asking them to predict wheresomething's going to hit but you can't tell them how it started."

All the unknowns "led this whole group to say, 'Get us more data,get us some photos."'

Speaking after Tuesday's hearing into the cause of the accident,Ride said the request for photos came out of a meeting that occurredJan. 21--just five days after Columbia was struck by foam.

"It looks as though it was literally a miscommunication," Ridesaid, "where one group was saying, 'Let's wait until the analysis iscomplete to see whether we need photos' and then that was interpretedas, 'There will be no photos.' In other cases, it was for differentreasons. It's a pretty complex story. It's a real web ofinterpersonal communications."

Ride said this web apparently stretched even up to the astronautsaboard Columbia, who accepted the engineers' conclusion that theywould be in no danger during their descent through the atmosphere onFeb. 1.

That conclusion by Boeing engineers, after just a week or so ofanalysis, was accepted by virtually everyone. But other companyengineers testified earlier Tuesday that the space shuttles' outerthermal protection layers were never meant to be struck by anythingstronger than perhaps bugs or rain--certainly not a 2-pound piece offoam.

NASA became accustomed to the more than 140 debris strikes thatoccurred on every flight. Such damage was viewed as a nuisance thatcalled for more maintenance, these engineers told the board. But thedamage wasn't always caused by flyaway foam. AP

Shuttle analysis lacked key details: investigators Snafu over taking photos in space led to incomplete model

HOUSTON--A computer model that convinced NASA the Columbiaastronauts were in no danger from damage done to the shuttle by apiece of falling debris was outdated and lacked the rightinformation, the accident investigators said Tuesday.

The analysis by Boeing Co. engineers concluded that little harmwas done to Columbia's left wing by a chunk of hardened foam thatcame off the fuel tank during liftoff. It was a crucial element inbelief by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration that theseven astronauts would return safely.

But the analytical model had never been used before to predictdamage from falling debris during an actual shuttle flight, saidformer astronaut Sally Ride, one of the board's newest members.

What's more, a team of engineers involved in the study realizedthey needed more data. They asked NASA officials to seek pictures ofthe orbiting shuttle, but no pictures were ever taken, Ride said.

In the two months since the disaster, attention has focused onflyaway foam insulation as a major suspect in causing the breach inColumbia's left wing. Superheated gases entered the wing, causing theshuttle to break apart over Texas on its way to a Florida landing.

NASA's video of the launch debris striking the wing was not clearenough. The engineers needed to know more about the speed andlocation of where the falling foam hit on the wing and the size ofthe foam itself, in order to properly assess the potential damage.

"If you had given them good information to start with, they couldhave given you an answer," she told reporters, referring to theanalytical program used by engineers to assess damage. "But therewasn't enough information. So you're asking them to predict wheresomething's going to hit but you can't tell them how it started."

All the unknowns "led this whole group to say, 'Get us more data,get us some photos."'

Speaking after Tuesday's hearing into the cause of the accident,Ride said the request for photos came out of a meeting that occurredJan. 21--just five days after Columbia was struck by foam.

"It looks as though it was literally a miscommunication," Ridesaid, "where one group was saying, 'Let's wait until the analysis iscomplete to see whether we need photos' and then that was interpretedas, 'There will be no photos.' In other cases, it was for differentreasons. It's a pretty complex story. It's a real web ofinterpersonal communications."

Ride said this web apparently stretched even up to the astronautsaboard Columbia, who accepted the engineers' conclusion that theywould be in no danger during their descent through the atmosphere onFeb. 1.

That conclusion by Boeing engineers, after just a week or so ofanalysis, was accepted by virtually everyone. But other companyengineers testified earlier Tuesday that the space shuttles' outerthermal protection layers were never meant to be struck by anythingstronger than perhaps bugs or rain--certainly not a 2-pound piece offoam.

NASA became accustomed to the more than 140 debris strikes thatoccurred on every flight. Such damage was viewed as a nuisance thatcalled for more maintenance, these engineers told the board. But thedamage wasn't always caused by flyaway foam. AP

Ruling on Airbus-Boeing dispute expected Friday

The World Trade Organization is expected to release a long-awaited decision Friday on whether Airbus received an unfair boost from billions of dollars in European government aid as it moved past Boeing to become the world's top producer of commercial airplanes.

A decision by the WTO on one of the largest commercial trade disputes the global trade monitor has overseen will be released confidentially to trade representatives of the U.S. and European Union in Geneva.

At stake is financing provided by Britain, France, Germany and Spain that helped Airbus develop big new passenger jets that compete directly with Boeing Co.'s line of planes. The United States argues that they are illegal subsidies that gave Airbus an unfair edge in its heated rivalry with Boeing over what is projected to be a $3.2 trillion global aviation market over the next 20 years.

A second ruling expected in the next six months will address European claims that the United States also improperly helped Boeing by funneling aid to the company's commercial jet business through work it did for NASA and the Defense Department.

Analysts don't expect the WTO's decision to have much short-term impact on either company or their firm hold on the global market for large commercial aircraft.

Passengers are also unlikely to see changes to ticket prices as a result of the dispute, though consumers could feel some effects in other ways. Those could include higher prices for handbags and oranges as the EU and United States seek to penalize each other's exports after the decisions.

But the ruling could lay the groundwork for how far governments can go to aid plane manufacturers, including in nations like China that hope to build their own aviation industries to rival Boeing and Airbus.

Chicago-based Boeing and Airbus, a subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. headquartered in France, have been pillars in the industrial economies of the U.S. and Europe. Boeing long held the No. 1 industry position. But Airbus surpassed it earlier this decade.

Boeing employs about 64,500 workers in its commercial jet division, mostly around its big factories in Washington state and Kansas. About 52,000 people work for Airbus, spread across Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Spain.

Both enjoy a healthy dose of government aid, which is the crux of the trade dispute. Boeing blames European subsidies to Airbus for what it said was a 20 percent drop in market share from 1999 to 2003. Boeing and the U.S. estimate Airbus has received, in total, government help worth $205 billion. Airbus argues that the estimate is sharply over-inflated.

Boeing especially worries about European aid for the Airbus A350 XWB. The A350 is a mid-size jet that will rival Boeing's 787 plane, a project that's been beset by delays and problems. Britain, France and Germany have already pledged funding of more than $4 billion for the A350. The overall development cost for Airbus is expected to be nearly $16 billion.

Airbus is downplaying the effect of any WTO decision on its current line of jets, including the A350, or its overall business, saying the case involves only funding from 2005 or before. It says the WTO case won't affect its operations or the prices it charges for planes.

The decision could have the greatest effect on potential competitors that may seek to use subsidies to protect their own commercial plane industries.

China announced plans last year to build jumbo jets under a partnership between two planemakers that were split off from state-owned China Aviation Industry Corp. in 1999. It hopes to unveil a new engine for the planes by 2016. Analysts don't expect such projects to challenge Airbus and Boeing for several decades. But Beijing wants a domestic aviation industry to lessen its reliance on those two plane makers.

Boosted by state subsidies, the Brazilian company Embraer and Canada's Bombardier already have cut into the market for smaller regional jets designed for shorter flights. Over the past decade, Brazil and Canada have defended themselves in WTO disputes over government aid for their industries.

Boeing is looking to the WTO to set guidelines for how the long-term competition over planes will proceed.

"We are hoping these rules will give clear guidance to all companies that want to develop large civil aircraft," said Ted Austell, a vice president for Boeing.

But even a decision against Airbus likely wouldn't dampen the efforts of the European and U.S. government to protect the two companies.

"Governments support their citizens and industries for a living," said H. Deen Kaplan, an international trade lawyer in Washington who has worked on several WTO cases. "They are going to act on what they perceive to be their overall strategic interest, and then deal with the trade implications later."

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AP Business Writers Donna Borak in Washington, Daniel Lovering in Pittsburgh and Emma Vandore in Paris contributed to this report.

Rallies held after funeral for late SKorean leader

Hundreds of South Koreans joined anti-government protests in Seoul on Saturday, one day after an emotional funeral for ex-President Roh Moo-hyun.

The demonstrators accused the conservative government of President Lee Myung-bak of pushing an aggressive corruption investigation that they believe prompted Roh to commit suicide one week ago. Several scuffles broke out between protesters and riot police, but there were no police reports of major clashes.

In another part of the capital, about 2,000 people _ some chanting anti-government slogans _ paid their final respects to Roh at a makeshift mourning station, police said.

Prosecutors had recently questioned Roh and his family members over allegations they took $6 million in bribes from a businessman during his presidency from 2003 to 2008. Roh denied the allegations, but prosecutors were expected to soon announce whether they would seek to arrest him.

On Friday, hundreds of thousands of people, many weeping, flooded into the streets of downtown Seoul after Roh's state funeral. It was one of the biggest outpourings of public grief in recent years.

Hardware Chain Makes Self at Home

Illinois is home to thousands of hardware retailers, from cornerstores to sprawling chains in suburban shopping centers. But thesign outside Home Depot's first Chicago-area store proclaims it as"Illinois' home improvement warehouse."

The phrase atop the bright orange building in Niles shows justhow much moxie Home Depot has as it enters the local market.

The Niles store, which officially opens Thursday, will befollowed by store openings in Darien in October, Broadview and OrlandPark in November and Evanston and Chicago near the Brickyard ShoppingCenter early next year. Altogether, the Atlanta company plans toopen 12 stores in the Chicago market within a year …

Moody's mulls possible upgrade of Linde.

(ADPnews) - Mar 22, 2010 - Moody's is examining for upgrade German gases and engineering company Linde AG (FRA:LIN) on the back of its sound cash flows and operating results and the favourable outlook for industrial gases.

In particular, the agency may raise the Baa1 senior unsecured and the Baa3 subordinated ratings on Linde and its unit Linde Finance BV. Moody's Baa rating zone implies "moderate credit risk".

"A clear management focus on cost efficiency allowed Linde to materially improve its relative positioning in key credit metrics compared to its main competitors in the highly concentrated industrial gases industry. Despite the headwind of the global …

RECURRENCE OF CANCER SIDELINES CUNNIFF AGAIN.(SPORTS)

Byline: TOM CANAVAN Associated Press

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Recently fired coach Larry Robinson is returning to the New Jersey Devils as an assistant coach while John Cunniff undergoes treatment for a recurrence of throat cancer.

Cunniff, who became an assistant under Kevin Constantine when Robinson was fired on Jan. 28, spent the past two weeks as an assistant coach for Herb Brooks and the silver medal-winning U.S. Olympic hockey team. Cunniff is a former River Rats coach.

Devils president Lou Lamoriello said Cunniff was told about the cancer before the Olympics, and that he wanted to go to Salt Lake City, anyway.

``That's the way he …

Organic growth: don't promise what you can't deliver. Charlie Dawson outlines two of the barriers stopping companies achieving organic growth.(Brand Papers)

Achieving long-term organic growth means doing more than buying of merging with another company of cutting costs to increase profit. It's persuading more customers to buy your offer, and attracting them back. Achieving this sustainably and making enough money to fuel the process, is at the heart of business.

Companies should think in terms of promises and delivery. A brand's a set of promises made to customers on several levels, and a business continually delivers on those promises in ways it can control, affecting customers future expectations.

In some industries this is easier to achieve. There's a difference in providing products versus services. Only a small part of soap powder manufacturers' efforts, and workforce, are visible to customers. In banking of retailing there's far more on display, and achieving consistent delivery of a promise is tougher.

It's a virtuous cycle (see diagram below). Customer insight must be continually refreshed to inform management of the brand and its promises. The resultant …

Jamie Lee Curtis Is Done With Acting

LOS ANGELES - Jamie Lee Curtis said she has closed the book on her acting career. "I'm not an actor anymore," she told "Access Hollywood" host Nancy O'Dell. "I really don't imagine I'll do that again."

Curtis, 46, went on to say, "I'm just focused on my family and just can't imagine anything that's …

SCORE ONE FOR THE LITTLE GUY Mike Weir's Masters victory defied the theory that a longer Augusta National eliminates the shorter hitters from contention

Golf has a grand tradition of pint-sized champions. From PaulRunyan to Ben Hogan, Jackie Burke to Gary Player, the game hasdiffered from other sports in that size and strength usually took aback seat to precision and nerves.

As courses get longer and longer to keep up with improvedtechnology, though, those days are said to numbered. Stand next toTiger Woods or Ernie Els or Vijay Singh, and you'll quickly seetoday's stars are athletes in the classic sense: tall, broad-shouldered, with lean but sculpted frames.

When Augusta National, already known as a long hitter's paradise,added almost 300 yards before the 2002 Masters, the conventionalwisdom said only the big …