Nuke You

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and his family are in the midst of an emotionally wrenching and deeply personal crisis. I feel sorry for them. I especially pity Sanford's four sons, caught up in a scandal they did nothing to create.

I'm willing to grant elected officials -- including those who hold the highest office in the land, the presidency -- a zone of privacy, as long as their personal peccadilloes don't interfere with the public's business. (Sanford seems to have violated that standard when he flew off to Argentina, secretly, without formally turning the state's business over to the lieutenant governor.) I don't expect politicians to be priests.

Among some constituencies, there is the naive view that a person's fitness for public office can be ascertained in his or her marital fidelity. But that simply isn't so. Life is too difficult and complex for such judgments.

Franklin Roosevelt, deemed one of the nation's best presidents, carried on a years-long affair with Lucy Mercer. By contrast, Richard Nixon is believed to have been the very soul of marital propriety, but he raped the Constitution.

Still, if politicians are going to get a zone of privacy and the respect accorded to full-grown adults, then they must be willing to offer that to others. Those who live in glass houses, etc., etc.

Unfortunately, Sanford belongs to that cadre of politicians, mostly hard-core Republicans, who have been unwilling to stay out of other folks' personal business. That group includes Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., who admitted adultery earlier this month.

Like Ensign, Sanford opposes same-sex marriage, which opponents claim would undermine heterosexual marriage. (It's not at all clear how that's supposed to work. Did gay couples have something to do with Sanford's infidelity?)

Like Ensign, Sanford was a harsh critic of former President Bill Clinton. Then a congressman, Sanford called Clinton's conduct with Monica Lewinsky "reprehensible" and insisted that Clinton resign. He voted for impeachment, citing the need for "moral legitimacy."

Actually, I agree that Clinton's conduct was reprehensible. But Sanford joined his GOP colleagues in making Clinton's reckless behavior a national crisis by pushing impeachment, which distracted from far more important matters. While the president's personal behavior was appalling, it didn't affect the public's business.

And that's where the line should be drawn: Does the private behavior impinge on public performance? Does it jeopardize state affairs?

Jim McGreevey, former Democratic governor of New Jersey, was right to resign because his behavior was well over the line. McGreevy's public sin lay not in his same-sex love affair -- that's a personal matter -- but in putting his spectacularly unqualified lover on the public payroll. He gave a top state job in homeland security to a foreign national who couldn't even get a security clearance.

Eliot Spitzer, former Democratic governor of New York, needed to go because he not only hired a prostitute, an illegal act, but he had also prosecuted prostitution as the state's attorney general. That level of hypocrisy could hardly be tolerated.

Mark Foley, former GOP congressman from Florida, resigned after he was caught sending sexually suggestive e-mails to teenagers serving as congressional pages. Never mind that the middle-aged Foley was chasing young men. He deserved to be kicked out of office for inappropriate contact with youngsters, no matter their gender.

Issuing an abject apology last week, Sanford said he had resigned as head of the Republican Governors Association. He has likely put an end to any presidential aspirations, and he's imperiled his governorship, as well.

But Sanford may have learned a very valuable lesson (besides the pain caused by adultery): Stay out of other folks' private business. You've got enough to manage.

(Cynthia Tucker can be reached at cynthia@ajc.com.)

LOWER HELMAND RIVER VALLEY, AFGHANISTAN (Reuters) –
U.S. Marines launched a helicopter assault early on Thursday in the lower Helmand river valley in southern Afghanistan, spokesman Capt. Bill Pelletier said.

A Reuters correspondent in the valley saw flares in the sky over the town of Nawa, south of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah.

Nearly 4,000 Marines and U.S. sailors are taking part in the assault, code-named Operation Khanjar (Strike of the Sword), along with about 650 Afghan troops and police, a Marines press statement said.

"What makes Operation Khanjar different from those that have occurred before is the massive size of the force introduced, the speed at which it will insert and the fact that where we go we will stay, and where we stay, we will hold ..." it quoted Brigadier General Larry Nicholson, commanding officer of the Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, as saying.

The valley of irrigated wheat and opium fields along the Helmand river is largely in the hands of Taliban fighters who have resisted British-led NATO forces for years.

The United States has sent 8,500 Marines to Helmand province in the last two months, the largest wave of a massive buildup of forces that will see the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan rise from 32,000 at the beginning of this year to 68,000 by year's end.

President Barack Obama has declared the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan to be the main security threat facing the United States.

Helmand province is one of the Taliban's main heartlands in southern Afghanistan and produces the largest share of the country's opium crop which supplies 90 percent of the world's heroin.

Attacks by Taliban fighters are at their highest levels since the strict Islamists were driven out of Kabul by U.S.-backed Afghan opponents in 2001 after refusing to turn over Osama bin Laden in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States.

U.S. and NATO commanders have said they intend to deploy American reinforcements to seize Taliban-held territory in the south in time for Afghanistan to hold a presidential election on August 20.

(Reporting by Peter Graff, editing by Tim Pearce)

To form the top of the diaper cake, roll up a diaper, starting at the 'open' top end. Wrap a rubber band around the rolled diaper to stop it from unrolling. This will form the center of the layer; an alternative is to use a baby bottle instead. Add 7 more diapers to the rubber band. For the middle layer, make another top as instructed in the previous steps and then add about 15 more diapers around it using a big rubber band. For the base, make another middle layer and then add about 30 more diapers around it using a big rubber band. Now that you know how big your cake will be, cut a circular base out of cardboard. Place the largest layer of the cake on the cardboard base. Or, use a decorative plastic tray or even a pizza pan from the dollar store. Remove one or two diapers and replace with a gift. Inside each layer, hide a surprise such as a coupon, a doll, some cream, or a piece of baby clothing.

An alternative to rolling up each diaper is to use the diapers as they come, placing them side by side and forming a rolling circle. Place a large rubber band or ribbon or both around each "tier". Most packages have a see through side panel or a picture of the diaper on which you can see the design on the diapers. If the design colors are really busy it might detract from the overall look. Larger size diapers allow the mom to enjoy the diaper cake longer before needing to take it apart. Be sure to let them know if any of the gifts are perishable. On the other hand, using size 1 diapers will allow the mom to have some on hand to use right away. You could also make the top 2 layers out of one size and the bottom layer out of a larger size, depending on the number of diapers in the bag you buy.

Baby Boy Diaper Cake

Swinging, sometimes referred to as the swinging lifestyle, is "non-monogamous sexual activity, treated much like any other social activity, that can be experienced as a couple." The phenomenon of swinging (or at least its wider discussion and practice) may be seen as part of the sexual revolution of recent decades, which occurred after the upsurge in sexual activity made possible by the prevalence of safer sex practices during the same period. Swinging has been called wife swapping in the past, but this term has been criticized as androcentric (taking a male-oriented point of view) and inaccurately describing the full range of sexual activities in which swingers may take part.

The term hot wife refers to a married woman who has sex with men other than her spouse, with the husband's consent. In most cases the husband takes a vicarious pleasure in watching the pleasure of his wife and the man or men, or enjoys watching, hearing, or knowing about his wife's adventures. Husbands may also take part by engaging in threesomes, or arranging dates for their wives.

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SAO PAULO – Sao Paulo state officials have launched what they say is Latin America's first passenger bus with an electric engine powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
Gov. Jose Serra says the bus will start test runs on the streets of South America's biggest city in August and will be joined by three similarly powered vehicles next year.
In a fuel cell, hydrogen reacts with oxygen to produce electricity and water.
"Brazil is one of five countries in the world that have mastered this technology and that has developed a hydrogen-powered bus," Serra said at Wednesday's launching ceremony. Among the others are the U.S. and China.
The state government has not provided information regarding investment or future production plans.

The European Union has dramatically slashed the rates that wireless carriers can charge consumers roaming across the EU's member states.

Previous rate reductions introduced in 2007 cut the cost of voice roaming calls within the EU by 70 percent. Under the new rules that went into effect Wednesday, noted EU Telecommunications Commissioner Viviane Reding, EU roaming charges have been reduced by a further 60 percent.

"The roaming rip-off is now coming to an end, thanks to the determined action of the European Commission, the European Parliament, and all 27 EU member states," Reding said. "From today, all Europeans making calls or sending texts with their mobiles can experience the EU's single market without borders."

The Downside for Carriers

Though the new EU rules are limited to reducing the rates that wireless operators charge each other, Reding expects the changes will make it much cheaper for roaming consumers to place and receive calls, send text messages, and surf the Web on mobile phones.

"I call on the mobile industry to pass these savings on to data roaming customers swiftly," Reding said. "The commission and national regulators will monitor data roaming charges very carefully and assess next year whether the roaming market is finally becoming competitive."

The new rules come at an inopportune time for the region's wireless carriers. The EU's earlier roaming cuts have already had a negative impact on the carriers, which previously had "made margins on inter-country calls, and particularly on data roaming," said Jessica Ekholm, a Gartner principal research analyst. T-Mobile said earlier this year that "lower roaming revenues and newly introduced regulation on roaming and termination charges had a negative impact on revenues."

Due to foreign-exchange fluctuations, the recession, and higher unemployment, there has been a decrease in the number of people traveling, which has led to lower roaming revenues as well, Ekholm observed. However, the carriers are likely responsible for at least some of the revenue shortfall.

"I just recently saw research saying that consumers avoid calling and using data while being abroad, as they do not know the cost of calling and using data," Ekholm explained. "They would consider increasing their voice and data usage if operators make billing more transparent to the customers."

Avoiding 'Bill Shock'

Beginning Wednesday, holiday travelers and road warriors roaming the European Union will be able to surf the Web, download movies, or send photos without fear of receiving future "bill shocks," thanks to the EU's wholesale download cap price of EU1 (US$1.41) per megabyte. By contrast, the previous average wholesale download price was EU1.68 (US$2.38) per megabyte, with price peaks of EU5.10, EU5.30 or even EU6.82 (US$7.22, $7.50 or $9.66) in countries such as Estonia, Greece and Ireland.

The new roaming rules also introduce a cutoff mechanism once a consumer's wireless bill reaches EU50 (US$70.87), unless the user establishes a different cutoff limit. The goal is to eliminate cellular horror stories such as the EU46,000 (US$65,149) bill recently incurred by a German downloading a TV program while roaming in France.

EU-wide text-messaging costs are now almost three times cheaper than the previous EU average. What's more, outgoing call charges are now capped at EU0.43 (US$0.60) per minute when roaming, with billing incurred by the second after the first 30 seconds instead of by the minute. Additionally, received calls are being charged at a maximum rate of EU0.19 (US$0.27) per minute.

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In 1895, one year later, the first real race was staged in France, from Paris to Bordeaux. First over the line was Émile Levassor but he was disqualified because his car was not a required four-seater.

Touring car racing is a style of road racing that is run with production derived race cars. It often features exciting, full-contact racing due to the small speed differentials and large grids.

WASHINGTON – The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved rules requiring greater transparency for executive compensation at bailed-out firms and all public companies.
In an open meeting, the panel voted 5-0 for a rule requiring firms that received government bailouts to let shareholders vote on executive pay. The SEC also voted to make all public companies give shareholders more information about pay policies, risk management and corporate governance.
Congress mandated the rule for participants in the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the $700 billion financial bailout. Known as "say-on-pay," it gives shareholders the opportunity to vote on companies' compensation practices, although the votes can be nonbinding.
The new rules must go through a two-month public comment period before they can be enacted.
The broader rule includes a range of requirements: Companies would have to describe how compensation policies relate to risk; explain the qualifications of directors, executives and nominees; and state whether compensation consultants might have conflicts of interest.
The aim is to create "better, more timely disclosure, not simply additional disclosure," SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said at the meeting.
Responding to commissioners' concerns that proxy statements already are too long and complex for most shareholders to understand, SEC staff members said the benefit of greater transparency outweighs the problem of slightly longer filings.
The commission last approved an overhaul of executive compensation disclosure rules in 2006. That move required companies to disclose their executives' pay and perks in greater detail and required noting the date of stock option grants. At the time, corporate America was gripped by a scandal over the backdating of option awards.
Those rules took effect in late 2006 and forced much greater disclosure starting with companies' annual statements for that year.
The proposal approved Wednesday likewise addresses concerns related to current concerns in the securities markets. The financial crisis has highlighted the danger of compensation practices that reward excessive risk.
Investors also are clamoring for more transparency from boards of directors, and about risk management practices. Both would be required under the new rule.
In a separate vote, the SEC accepted a proposed New York Stock Exchange rule to prevent brokers from voting shares on behalf of their clients, since brokers do not have a direct financial interest in the companies.
Some commissioners expressed concerns about the unintended effects of the rule. They suggested that it could disenfranchise investors who are accustomed to letting brokers represent their interests.
The proposal eventually gained approval from the SEC, which must clear all stock exchange rule changes.

ANNANDALE, Va. – President Barack Obama hugged a cancer patient Wednesday at an emotional forum before a supportive audience and vowed to bring greater efficiency and accessibility to the nation's health care system.
Debby Smith, 53, of Appalachia, Va., a volunteer for Obama's political operation, fought tears as she told the president of her kidney cancer and her inability to obtain health insurance or hold a job. Obama embraced her and called her "exhibit A" in what he said was an unsustainable system that is too expensive and complex for millions of Americans.
"We are going to try to find ways to help you immediately," he told Smith as hundreds looked on at a community college forum — and countless others watched on television. But the nation's long-term needs require a greater emphasis on preventive care and "cost-effective care," he said.
Smith obtained her ticket through the White House. Aides said she was a volunteer for Organizing for America, Obama's political operation within the Democratic National Committee. Among the other questioners were a member of the Service Employees International Union and a person with Health Care for America Now, which recently organized a Capitol Hill rally for overhauling health care.
Also questioning the president — via the Internet — was Republican Rep. Michael Burgess of Texas, an obstetrician.
Obama aides said half the tickets were distributed through the community college, with the balance handled through the White House.
The president said the best way to drive down health care costs is to persuade doctors and hospitals to emphasize quality of care over the quantity of procedures.
Health experts have long criticized formulas that tie Medicare payments to tests and other services that may not always be the best way to treat a patient. Obama said the formulas must change as part of his bid to overhaul U.S. health care delivery.
"The biggest thing we can do to hold down costs is to change the incentives of a health care system that automatically equates expensive care with better care," the president said. He said the formula system drives up costs "but doesn't make you better."
Obama did not make specific recommendations for changing the incentive formulas. Nor did he offer new proposals or details for other tough issues, such as whether to limit medical malpractice awards or to tax employer-subsidized health care benefits.
He repeatedly said the current health care system is not acceptable and must be overhauled this year. He urged the audience, which included people following on Facebook and YouTube, to reject critics who say his plans are too costly or a step toward socialized medicine.
Obama gave a nearly 20-minute introduction and answered seven questions.
Obama said a government-run "single-payer" health care system works well in some countries. But it is not appropriate in the United States, he said, because so many people get insurance through their employers working with private companies.
But he again called for a government-run "public option" to compete with private insurers, a plan that many Republicans oppose.
Obama said the public option would provide "competition and choice" and "keep insurers honest."
Obama also said his health care plan would benefit small businesses and people who are self-employed, by giving them more leverage in dealing with insurance companies. He would do it through a health care exchange for employers who have too few workers to get a good health insurance package, and for people who are self-employed.
Obama said they would be able to look at the plans available and join with others in the same situation. They would become part of a "big pool" with the leverage to drive down costs, he said.
When a man from Texas said limits on awards from medical malpractice lawsuits would bring down health care costs, the president replied, "I don't like the idea of an artificial cap" on such awards for injuries suffered. He also said there is little evidence that various states' efforts to limit such awards have uniformly brought down costs.

Obama said, however, that he is working with the American Medical Association to explore ways to reduce liability for doctors and hospitals "when they've done nothing wrong." He offered no specifics.

Congress will return to debating health care when it returns Monday from a one-week recess. Obama's agenda calls for reducing delivery costs even as insurance coverage is extended to virtually all Americans.

Obama says the government will not borrow money to carry out the plans, but many Republicans are dubious if not outright hostile to his proposals.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is dispatching top administration officials and Cabinet members on a "rural tour" this summer to explore ways to strengthen rural America.
The tour starts Wednesday in Wattsburg, Pa., where Vice President Joe Biden, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will discuss rural broadband service.
The White House says other events will be held in Alaska, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin. In addition, Vilsack will hold "listening sessions" in other states with local and state elected officials.
Obama says "a healthy American economy depends on a prosperous rural America."
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White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov

WASHINGTON – U.S. troops are out of Iraq's cities but not its future. Even a best-case scenario is likely to feature an American role there for years — militarily as well as diplomatically.
That does not mean a permanent large U.S. troop presence in Iraq. Under a security deal struck with the Bush administration, American forces are to be out by the end of 2011.
But it's no secret that Iraq's security forces are not fully ready to handle even a diminished insurgency on their own.
Some senior U.S. military officers say privately they anticipate Iraqi setbacks in coming months, particularly if the insurgents regroup. But by partnering with American forces, the Iraqis stand a good chance of succeeding. That is why a number of U.S. troops will remain in the cities to assist and advise.
But most were gone Tuesday as Iraqis marked National Sovereignty Day with military parades and marching bands in Baghdad. In a sobering reminder the violence was not over, a car bombing in a crowded food market in the northern city of Kirkuk killed at least 27 people.
It's not possible to know how long Iraq will need American help, but it could be well beyond President Barack Obama's current term. Much will depend on the pace of progress toward Iraqi political reconciliation. That is because the success of the Iraqi security forces depends as much, if not more, on their willingness to operate in a nonsectarian, evenhanded way as on their technical competence.
Diplomatically, the U.S. role will be less visible but still crucial. Even with declining levels of violence since 2007, progress toward political reconciliation among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds has been minimal.
Obama made clear Tuesday that while he expects violence to persist, the final outcome is an Iraqi responsibility.
"Iraq's future is in the hands of its own people," he said at the White House. "And Iraq's leaders must now make some hard choices necessary to resolve key political questions" and to provide security.
There are still about 131,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. They won't be fighting in urban areas any more, unless the Iraqi government asks for their help. Instead they will focus on securing Iraq's borders, keeping insurgents on the run in rural areas and conducting training with Iraqi security forces.
Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said Tuesday he was hopeful, in part because Iraqis have embraced the U.S. urban withdrawal as a confidence booster.
"They're not ready for us to go yet, but they are ready for us to allow them to attempt to exercise their security responsibilities, and to me that's very encouraging," Odierno said.
Even in the most optimistic of circumstances in which Iraq muddles through its political and ethnic problems — and keeps chipping away at the insurgency — it will still need U.S. support. And the Obama administration has said it wants to build a long-term relationship with a key Arab state in a volatile region.
But if today's relative peace in Iraq unravels within the coming year, Obama will face tough choices, including whether to push back his announced timeline for ending the U.S. combat role in the country by September 2010.
Obama could not reinsert U.S. combat forces in Iraqi cities without Iraqi government permission, under terms of the security deal negotiated by the Bush administration last year. And he could not change the 2011 deadline for removing all U.S. troops from Iraq without renegotiating that deal.
Nor might he want to, even with the prospect of Iraq spinning into a new cycle of sectarian warfare. Obama came into office promising to end U.S. involvement in the war, arguing that Iraq's remaining problems are primarily of a political nature and cannot be solved by continued U.S. military force.
And more recently, Obama announced that his administration was refocusing on what he considers a bigger problem — increasing instability in Afghanistan and a growing insurgency in neighboring Pakistan. In that context, U.S. troop reductions in Iraq are a one-way ticket; once out, they are unlikely to return.
Qubad Talabani, son of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and the Washington representative of the semiautonomous Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq, believes that if security deteriorates in coming months and hot-button political issues are not settled, the 2011 deadline should be renegotiated.

"Regardless of whether things go well or things deteriorate, there is going to be a strong connection between the United States and Iraq," Talabani said in an interview Tuesday. "The nature of that relationship will depend on whether things improve or deteriorate. The U.S. has invested too much in this effort just to walk away."

What would Obama do if Iraq reverted to major violence?

Stephen Biddle, an Iraq watcher at the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in a recent analysis that a full-scale civil war could mean a civilian death toll in the range of 600,000 to more than two million.

"Given its role in precipitating the war in Iraq, the United States would bear special responsibility for such a catastrophe," Biddle wrote. He added that if the conflict spread beyond Iraq's borders it would risk a disruption of world oil markets and might derail prospects for successful Israel-Palestinian peace talks.

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EDITOR'S NOTE — Robert Burns has covered national security and military affairs for the AP since 1990.

LOS ANGELES – The life of "Charlie's Angels" star Farrah Fawcett is being celebrated at a private funeral in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles.
Her longtime companion, Ryan O'Neal, was among pallbearers who accompanied the casket, covered in yellow and orange flowers, into the Roman Catholic cathedral Tuesday afternoon.
Fawcett's friend Alana Stewart and "Charlie's Angels" co-star Kate Jackson were among early arrivals before the hearse arrived, accompanied by 10 motorcycle officers.
Fans and news media are watching from across a street.
Fawcett died Thursday at age 62 after a public battle with cancer. O'Neal and Stewart were at her side.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The life of "Charlie's Angels" star Farrah Fawcett is being celebrated Tuesday at a private funeral held, fittingly, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
Her longtime companion, Ryan O'Neal, and her friend, Alana Stewart, both wore black as they entered the service, which was closed to media and the public.
Fawcett died Thursday at age 62 after a public battle with cancer. O'Neal and Stewart were at her side.
"After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away," O'Neal said in a statement last week. "Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world."
Diagnosed with a rare cancer in 2006, Fawcett's battle with the disease was documented in "Farrah's Story," which aired last month on NBC.
Stewart, a producer of the documentary, said Fawcett was "much more than a friend; she was my sister."
"Although I will miss her terribly, I know in my heart that she will always be there as that angel on the shoulder of everyone who loved her," Stewart said in a statement.
Fawcett and O'Neal, 68, have a son, 24-year-old Redmond, who has been jailed since April 5 on drug charges.
Last week, a judge granted his request to attend Fawcett's funeral. The order by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jane Godfrey allows Redmond O'Neal to be released for three hours and wear street clothes to attend the funeral.

Non-bank foreign exchange companies offer currency exchange and international payments to private individuals and companies. These are also known as Foreign Exchange Brokers but are distinct from Forex Brokers as they do not offer speculative trading but currency exchange with payments. i.e. there is usually a physical delivery of currency to a bank account.

A spot transaction is a two-day delivery transaction (except in the case of the Canadian dollar, which settles the next day), as opposed to the futures contracts, which are usually three months. This trade represents a “direct exchange” between two currencies, has the shortest time frame, involves cash rather than a contract; and interest is not included in the agreed-upon transaction. The data for this study come from the spot market. Spot has the largest share by volume in FX transactions among all instruments.

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BRADENTON, Florida (AFP) –
Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, two cricket hopefuls from India who found their way to baseball thanks to a reality television show, are ready to make their debuts as minor-league professionals.

Patel and Singh, neither of whom had ever seen a baseball game in their lives, are expected to take the mound this week for the Bradenton Pirates of the Florida-based Gulf Coast League, a rookie-level development league.

Both players are prospects for Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates who had never held a baseball until last year, when they became the winners on Million-Dollar Arm and received a chance to make a career in America's national pastime.

Kyle Stark, the Pirates director of player development, said Patel and Singh are likely to play this week.

"It's going to be fun," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said. "It's going to be a little different from the typical first professional outing. This is really their first outing.

"It will be different, but we're not trying to get too caught up in it. We want to let them become part of the routine as much as possible."

Singh and Patel, both 20, have received instruction on fitness, throwing techniques and styles and adjusted to life in the United States as well as sparking curiousity about what they might be able to offer the Pirates.

Each signed for 10,000 dollars and spent months working out with Tom House, a former major league pitcher whose prior pupils included 30-game major league winner Randy Johnson.

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Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the statutory title of qualified accountants in the United States who have passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and have met additional state education and experience requirements for certification as a CPA. In most U.S. states, only CPAs who are licensed are able to provide to the public attestation (including auditing) opinions on financial statements. The exceptions to this rule are Arizona, Kansas, North Carolina and Ohio where, although the "CPA" designation is restricted, the practice of auditing is not.

Many states have a lower tier of accountant qualification (below that of CPA), usually entitled "Public Accountant" (with designatory letters "PA"). However the majority of states have closed the designation "Public Accountant" to new entrants, with only about 10 states continuing to offer the designation. Many PAs belong to the National Society of (Public) Accountants. Many states prohibit the use of the designations "Certified Public Accountant" or "Public Accountant" (or the abbreviations "CPA" or "PA") by a person who is not certified as a CPA or PA in that state. As a result, in many circumstances, an out-of-state CPA is restricted from using the CPA designation or designatory letters until a license or certificate from that state is obtained.

Early pacifiers were manufactured with a choice of black, maroon or white rubber, though the white rubber of the day contained a certain amount of lead. One of the best-known brands was the Binki, which became a general name for pacifier in the US. Binky (with a y) was first used as a brand name for pacifiers and other baby products in about 1935.

Dentists recommend brushing infants' teeth as soon as they appear. It is not necessary to wait for the teething process to complete. Dentists may recommend against the use of fluoride toothpaste during teething.

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SAN'A, Yemen – A passenger jet from Yemen with 153 people on board crashed in the Indian Ocean early Tuesday as it tried to land during heavy wind on the island nation of Comoros, and search teams rescued a child from the sea, officials said.
There were 142 passengers and a crew of 11 Yemenis on board when the Airbus A310, which had set off from the Yemeni capital of San'a, went down shortly before landing in Moroni, on the main island of Grand Comore, Yemeni civil aviation deputy chief Mohammed Abdul Qader said.
Most of the passengers were from Comoros, returning from Paris. Those on board included families with children and there were at least three babies on the flight, he added. France said 66 on board were French nationals.
Comoros immigrations officer, Rachida Abdullah, told The Associated Press that a child was rescued from the sea. She said that three bodies have also been retrieved, along with debris from the plane, but that no other survivors have been recovered so far.
Abdul Qader, the Yemeni official, said the child was 5 years old. He said it was too early to speculate on the reasons for the crash, adding that the flight data recorder hadn't been found.
"The weather was very bad ... the wind was very strong," he said, adding the windy conditions hampered rescue efforts. Abdul Qader said wind speed was 40 miles per hour (61 kilometers per hour) as the plane was landing.
Gen. Bruno de Bourdoncle de Saint-Salvy, the senior commander for French forces in the southern Indian Ocean, said the Airbus 310 crashed in deep waters about 8 nautical miles (9.2 miles) north from the Comoran coast and 18 nautical miles (21 miles) from the Moroni airport.
And on the Indian Ocean island of Ile de la Reunion, an official statement from the French prefecture said the crash occurred at 02:50 GMT Tuesday (10:50 p.m. EDT Monday).
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said French aviation and naval support was heading to help in search operations at the Comoros government's request.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy "expressed his deep emotion" about the accident and asked the French military to help in the rescue operation, particularly from the French islands of Mayotte and Reunion, according to a statement from his office.
Kouchner expressed "sincere condolences" and said the French Embassy in Moroni was "fully mobilized" to help families. The French junior minister for cooperation, Alain Joyandet, is heading Tuesday to Moroni, the statement said.
The Comoros is an archipelago of three main islands situated about 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometer) south of Yemen, between Africa's southeastern coast and Madagascar.
Christophe Prazuck, French military spokesman, says that patrol boat, the Rieuse and fregate Nivose, a reconnaissance ship, were being sent to crash site as well as Transall, a military transport plane. The French were sending divers as well as medical personnel on the plane, he said.
In Paris, a crisis cell was set up at Charles de Gaulle airport. Most of the passengers on board were from the French city of Marseille, which has a large Comoros community.
Another crisis cell has been established in Marseille, according to Stephane Salord, the consul general of the Comoros in the Provence-Alps-Cote d'Azur region of France.
"There is considerable dismay," Salord said. "These are families that, each year on the eve of summer, leave Marseille and the region to rejoin their families in the Comoros and spend their holidays."
In France, this week is the start of annual summer school vacations.
An Airbus statement said the plane that crashed went into service 19 years ago, in 1990, and had accumulated 51,900 flight hours. It has been operated by Yemenia (Yemen Airways) since 1999.

Airbus identifies the plane's serial number as 535, and said it was sending a team of specialists to the Comoros.

The A310-300 is a twin-engine widebody jet that can seat up to 220 passengers. There are 214 A310s in service worldwide with 41 operators.

France's transport minister Dominique Bussereau said French aviation inspectors found a "number of faults" during a 2007 inspection of the plane. He told France's i-Tele television that the Airbus A310 was inspected by France's civil aviation agency DGAC and "they noticed a certain number of faults."

On May 31, an Airbus A330 operated by Air France ran into thunderstorms after leaving Brazil and crashed into the Atlantic. Fifty-one bodies were recovered from that flight, which was carrying 228 people.

___

Associated Press Writers Deborah Seward and Angela Charlton in Paris, Sarah El Deeb in Cairo and Yoann Guilloux in Saint-Denis de la Reunion, Reunion Island, contributed to this report.

ADELPHI, Md. – Government experts are scheduled to vote on whether Nyquil and other combination cold medications should be pulled from the market to help curb deadly overdoses.
The Food and Drug Administration has assembled more than 35 experts for a two-day meeting to discuss and vote on ways to prevent overdose with acetaminophen — the pain-relieving, fever-reducing ingredient in Tylenol and dozens of other prescription and over-the-counter medications.
Despite years of educational campaigns and other federal actions, acetaminophen remains the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S., sending 56,000 people to the emergency room annually, according to the FDA. There are about 200 acetaminophen-related deaths each year.
"It can happen to anybody, but it's very rare," said Dr. Lee Simon, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, who attended Monday's meeting. "Obviously it's important that we improve the communication about these products because they are ubiquitous, and we still see people inadvertently overdosing."
The drugs that could be pulled off shelves are combination medications, such as Procter & Gamble's NyQuil or Novartis' Theraflu, which mix acetaminophen with other ingredients that treat cough and runny nose.
The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its panels, though it usually does. The panel vote is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
Manufacturers could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in sales if combination drugs are pulled from the market. Total sales of all acetaminophen drugs reached $2.6 billion last year, with 80 percent of the market comprised of over-the-counter products.
The FDA says patients often pair the cold medications with pure acetaminophen drugs, like Tylenol, exposing themselves to unsafe levels of the drug.
But the industry group that represents Johnson & Johnson, Advil-maker Wyeth and other companies defended the products Monday, saying they pose a relatively small risk to patients.
Only 10 percent of deaths linked to acetaminophen medications involved over-the-counter combination cold medications, according to the Consumer Healthcare Products Association.
The majority of deaths were caused by either single-ingredient drugs or prescription strength combination drugs like Endo Pharmaceutical's Percocet, which combines oxycodone and acetaminophen.
"We believe there is a clear health benefit of over-the-counter combination products containing acetaminophen," said Linda Suydam, the group's president.
Tylenol-maker Johnson & Johnson also pushed back against a proposal to lower the maximum daily dose of acetaminophen, which is currently 4 grams daily, or eight pills of a medication like Extra Strength Tylenol.
While taking more than 4 grams per day can cause liver injury, J&J argued that taking the exact dose is proven to treat osteoarthritis pain.
The FDA panel also will vote on a series of other proposals, including changes to the packaging and labeling of medications. Both ideas are designed to prevent patients from taking more than the recommended dose of the drug.

NEW YORK – Media coverage of Michael Jackson's death began receding following an extraordinary worldwide outpouring, with the shock wearing off and the pace of new developments slowing.
The Bernie Madoff sentencing, a presidential speech on energy, U.S. combat troops withdrawing from Iraqi cities and a cable news staple in Dallas — a high-speed car chase — took time away from the drumbeat of speculation Monday on the cause of Jackson's death and the future of his children.
Still, producers at CBS News were hurriedly putting together another prime-time special for Tuesday night on Jackson. NBC News bought the rights to journalist Martin Bashir's lengthy 2003 interview with Jackson for a Monday-night show, after MSNBC showed it several times over the weekend.
"We had a lot of viewers over the last three or four days and that suggests to us there's a tremendous amount of interest," said Bart Fader, senior vice president of current programming at CNN. "Journalistically, it's a fascinating story. He was one of the most famous people on the planet, and there are a lot of tentacles to the story."
Fader said he expected interest to remain high at least until there's a funeral for Jackson, which was still unscheduled.
CNN was one of the biggest beneficiaries of interest in the story, both right after it broke and throughout the weekend, when its audience remained at twice its normal level, he said. More than 2,200 viewers had also sent in their own video reports to the network, most offering personal recollections about the pop star.
More than 20 million people appeared to watch television in the United States specifically to find out about Jackson's death in the hours after the story broke last Thursday, according to Nielsen Media Research.
NBC had 5.8 million viewers for its two-hour prime-time special on the deaths of Jackson and actress Farrah Fawcett, according to Nielsen Media Research. A CBS News special at 10 p.m. on Jackson had 7.5 million viewers and an ABC Jackson recap had 5.7 million viewers at 9 p.m. (ABC's 10 p.m. hour on Fawcett, which had more advance notice, had 8.2 million viewers Thursday.)
The three biggest cable news networks — CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC — averaged 8.2 million viewers in prime-time Thursday. That compares with almost 4.7 million on a typical weeknight, Nielsen said. The vast majority of those new viewers turned to CNN, which had 3.9 million viewers compared with its 1.1 million average.
CBS News producer Susan Zirinsky said she initially expected to be done with the story after last Thursday's prime-time special.
"Every place I turned to (over the weekend), it was all anybody was talking about," she said. The network's upcoming special will deal with several aspects of the story, she said.
The news was equally big overseas, where the BBC saw a record 2.5 million users for its service providing headlines to mobile phone users Friday, a network spokesman said. The network's Web site had a volume of visitors second only to the night Barack Obama was elected president of the United States.
"The BBC's coverage of Michael Jackson depends on the news agenda so while coverage has reduced, it may well increase again," said the spokesman, who declined to be identified in line with BBC policy.
News channels and major newspapers in Germany continued to devote much of their attention to the Jackson story Monday, with TV showing clips of Janet Jackson's tribute to her brother on Sunday night's BET Awards in the U.S.
Meanwhile, news coverage of the death slipped in Asia and, in South America, Sunday's coup in Honduras took the story off newspaper front pages in much of South America. Colombia's El Tiempo newspaper found the space for a photo of a Jackson likeness being painted on a topless model in Cali, Colombia.
Mexican TV and newspaper reports tracked angry reactions to Mexican President Felipe Calderon's claim that Jackson had died because of an "excessive use of drugs."
"With all due respect for our beloved president, I think he should limit himself to governing the country," said Marcos Renteria, bassist for the Mexican rock group Jaguares.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California faces a $24 billion budget shortfall, an eye-popping amount that dwarfs many states' entire annual spending plans.
Beyond California's borders, why should anyone care that the home of Google and the Walt Disney Co. might stop paying its bills this week?
Virtually all states are suffering in the recession, some worse than California. But none has the economic horsepower of the world's eighth-largest economy, home to one in eight Americans.
California accounts for 12 percent of the nation's gross domestic product and the largest share of retail sales of any state. It also sends far more in tax revenue to the federal government than it receives — giving a dollar for every 80 cents it gets back — which means Californians are keeping social programs afloat across the country.
While the deficit only affects the state, California's deepening economic malaise could make it harder for the entire nation's economy to recover.
When the state stumbles, its sheer size — 38.3 million people — creates fallout for businesses from Texas to Michigan.
"California is the key catalyst for U.S. retail sales, and if California falls further you will see the U.S. economy suffer significantly," said retail consultant Burt P. Flickinger, managing director of Strategic Resource Group. He warned of more bankruptcies of national retail chains and brand suppliers.
Even if California lawmakers solve the deficit quickly, there will likely be more government furloughs and layoffs and tens of billions of dollars in spending cuts. That will ripple through the state economy, sowing fear of even more job losses.
Californians have already been scaling back for months as the state's unemployment rate has climbed to a record 11.5 percent in May. Increases to the income, sales and vehicle license taxes approved by lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in February acted as a further drag on spending.
Personal income declined in California in 2008 for the first time since the Great Depression, and income tax revenue fell by 34 percent during the first five months of this year.
The decrease in spending is especially evident in automobiles. California is the nation's largest single auto market, and sales are down 40 percent from last year. Auto dealers see little hope of a quick turnaround, especially after a 1 percentage point increase in the state sales tax and hike of the vehicle license fee.
State agencies also canceled contracts for hundreds of new vehicles, retroactive to March, said Brian Maas, director of government affairs for the California New Car Dealers Association.
Because California's $1.7 trillion annual economy is so important, the state's treasurer has asked for federal help — in the form of a guarantee that would allow California and other states to take out short-term loans at lower interest rates.
A federal guarantee would cut the interest rate on the state's borrowing by as much as half, saving California taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
"It's not that California got itself into trouble and wants the federal government to bail it out," said Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Los Angeles. "California wants the federal government to do for a fee that which Wall Street would do for a fee if Wall Street wasn't broken."
But some members of Congress worry about setting a precedent for bailing out local governments.
"You've got many states throughout this country, you've got many cities that are in tough financial problems, so they will all come for help," explained Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield.
Any extra federal assistance is sure to be a hard sell in Washington and elsewhere because of California's free-spending image.

That may have been true before the recession, but the state cut $15 billion in government spending in February and plans to solve most of the $24 billion deficit through even more cuts.

Government workers face the possibility of three-day-a-month furloughs, teachers are being laid off, lower-income college students stand to lose their grants and hundreds of thousands of poor children could go without health care.

The recession is behind this fiscal turmoil. Some 1 million jobs are expected to be lost in California in two years and unemployment is estimated to peak at 12.3 percent in early 2010, said Jeff Michael, director of the Business Forecasting Center at the University of the Pacific in Stockton.

Schwarzenegger has repeatedly stressed that he hasn't asked for a bailout and doesn't want any special treatment for California — though he likely wouldn't reject more stimulus funding if it came his way.

Economist Stephen Levy, director of the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto, has argued for another nationwide stimulus package to help all states avoid further cuts to social programs intended to help vulnerable people.

"If we are the bellwether, I would have Californians reach out to other states and really make a plea for national assistance," Levy said. "The recession is not our fault."

___

Associated Press writers contributing to this report include: Anne D'Innocenzio in New York; Kevin Freking in Washington, D.C.; and Kimberly Johnson in Detroit.

WIMBLEDON, England – The first match played entirely under Wimbledon's new retractable roof produced a five-set marathon that finished later than any previous Centre Court encounter in history.
They might as well have called it Wimbledon's first "night session."
What's more, it ended with a British winner celebrating in front of a raucous home crowd.
Andy Murray and Stanislas Wawrinka battled for nearly four hours Monday under the translucent roof and stadium floodlights before the third-seeded Scot closed out a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 victory with a forehand winner at 10:39 p.m.
Murray sank to his knees and bowed his head on the grass. He then stood up and smacked a ball that hit the roof above.
"It was pretty special," said Murray, who is bidding to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936.
Previously, no Centre Court match had lasted later than 9:35 p.m.
And at a tournament that began in 1877, not a single point had been played indoors until earlier Monday, when a light sprinkle interrupted Dinara Safina's 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over champion Amelie Mauresmo — the first rain break of the tournament after a dry first week.
After the fifth game of the second set, the roof was closed, and Safina and Mauresmo finished up — even though by the time they resumed, the rain had stopped.
Organizers decided to keep the roof closed for the Murray-Wawrinka match in case of more rain. In the end, the rain stayed away but the roof allowed the match to reach its completion while it was dark outside.
Murray was surprised by the decision and found the playing conditions hard to get used to.
"We were warming up outside," he said. "It was dry. Was expecting to play without the roof, and then obviously it came. I had never played a grass court match indoors before and it made a difference."
"It's very, very heavy and very humid," he said. "Sweating so much. From the start I noticed it very early. ... When I finished, it was like I'd been in a bath."
The closed conditions helped magnify the partisan support from Murray's fans in the arena.
"At the end, that was probably the noisiest crowd I played in front of," he said.
Murray, who will face Juan Carlos Ferrero in the quarters, could now enjoy an advantage over other players who haven't experienced the indoor conditions yet.
"Now I know how I'll have to change my game if I do play under the roof, and I'll know the way that the court plays," he said. "In my opinion, there's quite a big difference."
The pressure on Murray will continue to build as Britain's long-suffering fans wait for him to end the country's 73-year-old men's title drought.

"I believe I can win Wimbledon," he said. "That's not changed since the first match. But I'm going to have to play great tennis to do it. I had to play some great tennis tonight to come back, because Stan was playing some unbelievable tennis at the start."

The momentum swung back and forth, with Wawrinka seeming to grab the edge when he served an ace to close out the fourth set and send the match to a fifth-set decider.

Murray then ran out to a 3-0 lead, but Wawrinka responded by winning three straight games.

The match turned for good when Murray broke for 5-3 with a clean forehand winner down the line. He served out the match in the next game.

"I tried everything but it was not enough," Wawrinka said. "It was very special, a nice atmosphere. It was very nice to play with the roof closed."

The women's quarterfinals were set for Tuesday. Due up first on Centre Court was top-ranked Dinara Safina against 19-year-old German Sabine Lisicki, followed by No. 2 Serena Williams vs. 19-year-old Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

On Court 1, five-time champion Venus Williams was matched against 20-year-old Agnieska Radwanska of Poland, with No. 4 Elena Dementieva against Francesca Schiavone.

The men's quarterfinals are set for Wednesday. The other matchups are five-champion Roger Federer against 6-foot-10 Croat Ivo Karlovic; 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt vs. two-time finalist Andy Roddick; and No. 3 Novak Djokovic vs. Tommy Haas.

Djokovic and Murray are relative youngsters at 22 compared to the other quarterfinalists: Roddick (26), Federer (27), Hewitt (28), Ferrero (29), Karlovic (30) and Haas (31).

Roddick and Hewitt have met 11 times, including at the French Open, U.S. Open and Australian Open, but never at Wimbledon. Hewitt holds the overall edge of 6-5, but Roddick has won the past four, including a 7-6, 7-6 win in the third round at the Queen's Club grass-court Wimbledon warmup.

"I have loads of respect for Lleyton, what he's been able to accomplish," Roddick said. "Everyone knows he's certainly capable of playing very, very, very well on this surface. It will be a tough one."

Karlovic has won 128 straight service games dating to the Queen's tournament and has served 137 aces at Wimbledon.

"I mean maybe it's not the most fun match to go through," Federer said. "But I like to beat this guy because he makes it hard on us. He's become an excellent player. Not only just his serve, he's got to have something more or otherwise he wouldn't be ranked where he is and he wouldn't be beating all those good players. He's not to be underestimated."

Ferrero, a former No. 1-ranked player in 2003, is the first wild card to reach the Wimbledon quarters since Goran Ivanisevic won the title in 2001.

"I would like to repeat what he did," Ferrero said.

LOS ANGELES – Andre Ethier hit a two-run homer in the 13th inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 4-2 on Monday night in the opener of a suddenly significant series between NL West teams.
Rockies closer Huston Street wasn't available to pitch, having saved all three victories at Oakland last weekend, so manager Jim Tracy had to scramble for the right combination out of the bullpen.
Joel Peralta, the sixth Colorado pitcher, began his third inning of work by giving up a single to Casey Blake in the 13th. The next batter was Ethier, who drove the right-hander's 39th pitch to right field on a 1-2 count for his team-high 15th homer and 14th at home. Three of those came last Friday night against Seattle.
Peralta (0-1) had made 11 straight scoreless appearances since May 25 against the Dodgers at Coors Field, when he gave up an RBI single to Russell Martin. The Rockies remained the only team in the majors without an extra-inning victory, dropping to 0-4.
James McDonald (2-1), the eighth Dodgers pitcher, struck out two in a perfect inning for the win. Los Angeles improved to 9-1 against the Rockies this season.
The Dodgers had a 14-game lead over Colorado at one point, but it had shrunk to 7 1/2 going into Monday night.
The Dodgers left the potential go-ahead run in scoring position five times in a span of six innings starting with the seventh. They couldn't cash in until Ethier came through with his fourth walk-off hit of the season and the team's ninth.
It was the 14th time the Dodgers won in their final at-bat, and they improved the best record in the majors to 49-28.
Jeff Weaver came on in the 10th for the Dodgers, and Ryan Spilborghs — who homered earlier against Randy Wolf — greeted him with a leadoff double before advancing to third on Chris Iannetta's single to left. But the right-hander struck out the next three batters, including Dexter Fowler and Clint Barmes with runners at second and third.
The Dodgers, coming off back-to-back losses to Seattle in their final interleague series, are the only team in the majors that hasn't lost three a row. The last time that happened was Aug. 29, when they dropped their eighth straight before winning the next eight.
Wolf gave up two runs and four hits over six innings, including Spilborghs' sixth homer and first since June 4. The left-hander has allowed 15 home runs in 102 1-3 innings.
Wolf tied it at 2 with a two-out, two-run single in the fifth after a balk by Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez advanced two runners.
Jimenez yielded five hits over seven innings. The right-hander lost his previous three starts against the Dodgers this season, allowing 17 earned runs, 24 hits and 10 walks in 15 innings, after going 4-0 in his first six starts against them. His lifetime ERA against Los Angeles is 6.31.
NOTES: Manny Ramirez, eligible to return from his 50-game drug suspension Friday night when the Dodgers are at San Diego, had his fifth and final dress rehearsal in the minor leagues and was 1 for 3 with two strikeouts for Class-A Inland Empire against Rancho Cucamonga. In five minor league games, he went 3 for 10 with a homer. ... Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton, pitching for the first time in six days, struck out the side on 19 pitches in the ninth. ... Wolf's no-decision was his 11th in 17 starts this season. ... Wolf is 3 for 30 at the plate with five RBIs. ... Blake turned Garrett Atkins' line drive to third base into an inning-ending double play in the fourth, diving to the bag to tag it just before Fowler could scramble back.

Lighting is the deliberate application of light to achieve some aesthetic or practical effect. Lighting includes use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and natural illumination of interiors from daylight. Daylighting (through windows, skylights, etc.) is often used as the main source of light during daytime in buildings given its low cost. Artificial lighting represents a major component of energy consumption, accounting for a significant part of all energy consumed worldwide.

Artificial lighting is most commonly provided today by electric lights, but gas lighting, candles, or oil lamps were used in the past, and still are used in certain situations. Proper lighting can enhance task performance or aesthetics, while there can be energy wastage and adverse health effects of lighting. Indoor lighting is a form of fixture or furnishing, and a key part of interior design. Lighting can also be an intrinsic component of landscaping.

Outdoor Lighting

WASHINGTON – Foes of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor celebrated the high court's reversal of her decision in a reverse discrimination case.
The 5-4 ruling Monday, backing of reverse discrimination claims by white firefighters, is unlikely to derail Sotomayor's nomination — and it may not even sway a vote. Reaction to the decision fell almost purely along partisan lines, with Republicans cheering the decision and saying it raises serious concerns about the judge, and Democrats condemning the opinion and arguing that Sotomayor had acted appropriately.
Still, the Supreme Court's decision in the case of Ricci v. DeStefano highlighted the competing ideological strains that will shape the debate over confirming Sotomayor.
Conservatives who cheered the reversal as a blow in favor of evenhanded application of anti-discrimination laws said it deepened their questions about the judge's ability to keep her personal opinions and background out of her decisions.
"This case will only raise more questions in the minds of the American people concerning Judge Sotomayor's commitment to treat each individual fairly and not as a member of a group," said Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Liberals who denounced the ruling as potentially damaging to workplace diversity efforts countered that the decision should in fact end questions about whether Sotomayor is an "activist judge."
Sotomayor and her panel "did what judges are supposed to do, they followed precedent," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the Judiciary Committee's chairman. He called the overturned appeals court decision an example of "judicial restraint."
Sotomayor's supporters noted that the appeals court decision followed well-established legal precedents — something conservatives routinely say judges should do. They also pointed out that she did not actually write the appeals court decision but was rather one member of a three-judge panel that rejected the white firefighters' claim of discrimination.
At issue in the case was a decision by New Haven, Conn., to throw out a promotion exam for firefighters because virtually no minorities scored well enough to qualify. The Supreme Court ruled that the city's fear of a racial discrimination lawsuit by minority firefighters wasn't by itself enough to allow it to discriminate against the white candidates who did well enough to get promotions.
But Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, joined in her dissent by Justice David Souter — whom Sotomayor would replace if confirmed — said civil rights laws were never meant to prevent employers from trying to avoid discriminating against minorities. They said no firefighters were entitled to a promotion, nor were minority firefighters given preferential treatment.
Conservatives pounced on the decision to amplify their case against Sotomayor. They have criticized her harshly for saying she hoped a "wise Latina" would usually reach better conclusions than a white male without similar experiences.
"It's just one more data point that she thinks it's OK to make decisions as a judge based on your own personal preferences, gender, race, background, political agenda — instead of being a servant of the law," said Wendy Long of the Judicial Confirmation Network.
Critics also faulted Sotomayor for dispensing of the case in a short, pro forma opinion that did not discuss the merits or the precedents of the case — a move they argued was calculated to bury the decision and dodge the controversial issues it raised.
Sotomayor's allies said the panel ruling, known as a "per curiam" opinion, was typical of cases where there were clear precedents to guide the court.
Democrats seemed unconcerned about the potential fallout from the case.
The White House said there was "little political significance" to what the court decided.

Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music and literature. The meaning of art is explored in a branch of philosophy known as Aesthetics.

Traditionally, the term art was used to refer to any skill or mastery. This conception changed during the Romantic period, when art came to be seen as "a special faculty of the human mind to be classified with religion and science".[2] Generally, art is made with the intention of stimulating thoughts and emotions.

Oil On Glass

http://www.stonewear.com/

Concrete is a construction material composed of cement (commonly Portland cement) as well as other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate (generally a coarse aggregate such as gravel, limestone, or granite, plus a fine aggregate such as sand), water, and chemical admixtures. The word concrete comes from the Latin word "concretus" (meaning compact or condensed), the past participle of "concresco", from "com-" (together) and "cresco" (to grow).

Concrete solidifies and hardens after mixing with water and placement due to a chemical process known as hydration. The water reacts with the cement, which bonds the other components together, eventually creating a stone-like material. Concrete is used to make pavements, architectural structures, foundations, motorways/roads, bridges/overpasses, parking structures, brick/block walls and footings for gates, fences and poles.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) –
Although the legions of actors and writers dreaming of their big score won't have much sympathy for Nia Vardalos, her predicament can't be easy. When your very first movie (that would be "My Big Fat Greek Wedding") becomes perhaps the biggest sleeper hit in history, with worldwide grosses topping $360 million, what can you possibly do for an encore?

Vardalos realizes she never will top that movie's success, as she's acknowledged with refreshing candor in interviews. Her subsequent ventures, including "Connie and Carla," the TV version of "Greek Wedding" and this summer's box-office disappointment "My Life in Ruins," only proved the obvious truism that blockbusters are notoriously difficult to duplicate.

"I Hate Valentine's Day," which had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival and which IFC Films releases Friday (July 3) in theaters, will not mark a sudden change in Vardalos' fortunes. This time she not only stars and wrote the screenplay but also makes her directorial debut. She will not be a threat to Woody Allen anytime soon, but some of her fans will find this romantic comedy endearing. Vardalos reteams with "Greek Wedding" co-star John Corbett, and they demonstrate that their chemistry in that earlier movie was no fluke.

As the title hints, Vardalos set out to undermine the commercialization of romance that makes so many people feel inadequate. Her character, Genevieve, runs a flower shop in Brooklyn, and while she makes her living catering to people's romantic fantasies, she is not buying the mythology. In her personal relationships, Genevieve has a "five-date" rule, which means she breaks off every budding romance after five dates, before the fun has gone out of the fling and anyone gets hurt. Of course, her rule is tested when she meets Greg (Corbett), a disenchanted lawyer who is opening a tapas bar in the neighborhood. Greg has a rather melancholy history with women, so he's receptive to Genevieve's happy-go-lucky formula. Eventually, both have to break their self-destructive patterns before they can connect.

What is the reason for Genevieve's refusal to commit? Any student of Psychology 101 will guess it has something to do with an untrustworthy father, and indeed Dad is the movie's Rosebud. Although the Freudian back-story is simplistic, the scene when Genevieve finally confronts her philandering father is one of the movie's most effective because it's surprisingly understated.

Directing herself, Vardalos isn't objective enough about her own performance. Although she's inherently likable, she smiles too incessantly during the first half of the movie; a more rigorous director might have convinced her that less is more. Although "Ruins" was slammed by critics, director Donald Petrie actually did a good job of making the most of Vardalos' innate charm by encouraging her to be more bedraggled and less perky.

The strength of Vardalos' movies is that she loves all of her fellow actors and allows large ensembles to flourish. The supporting players in "Valentine's Day" are delightful: Zoe Kazan as Genevieve's dreamy young friend, Jay O. Sanders as a weary delivery man with his own wisdom about relationships, and Gary Wilmes as Greg's piggish pal deserve special praise. All in all, Vardalos conveys a most appealing sense of community.

Although the movie was clearly made on the cheap, cinematography, sets and costumes belie the modest budget. No one will be thunderstruck by the insights buried in "Valentine's Day," but couples seeking romantic fluff probably will find just enough humor and heart to satisfy them.

MORONI (Reuters) –
An airliner with 150 people on board belonging to Yemeni state carrier Yemenia crashed in the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros Tuesday, a senior government official said.

"We don't know if there are any survivors among the 150 people on the plane," Comoros vice-president Idi Nadhoim told Reuters from the airport at the main island's capital Moroni.

Nadhoim said the accident happened in the early hours of Tuesday, but could not give any more details.

"There is a crash, there is a crash in the sea," said an unnamed official who answered the phone in the Yemenia office in Moroni. He declined further comment.

An airline official in Yemen declined to comment.

Yemenia, which is 51 percent owned by the Yemeni government and 49 percent owned by the Saudi Arabian government, flies to Moroni, according to flight schedules on its Web site.

1996 CRASH

Yemenia's fleet includes two Airbus 330-200s, four Airbus 310-300s and four Boeing 737-800s, according to the site.

The location of the crash was not immediately known, but a medical worker in the town of Mitsamiouli, on the main island Grande Comore, said he had been called into the local hospital.

"They have just called me to come to the hospital. They said a plane had crashed," he told Reuters.

A Comoran police source said the plane was believed to have come down in the sea. "We really have no sea rescue capabilities," he said.

The Comoros covers three small volcanic islands, Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli, in the Mozambique channel, 300 km (190 miles) northwest of Madagascar and a similar distance east of the African mainland.

A hijacked Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767 crashed into the sea off the Comoros islands in 1996, killing 125 of 175 passengers and crew

(Reporting by Ahmed Ali Amir; Additional reporting by Richard Lough in Antananarivo; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne and David Clarke; Editing by Jon Hemming)

Girls Christening Gowns

"O Thou who, through holy Baptism, hast given unto Thy servant remission of sins, and hast bestowed upon him (her) a life of regeneration: Do Thou, the same Lord and Master, ever tgraciously illumine his (her) heart with the light of Thy countenance. Maintain the shield of his (her) faith unassailed by the enemy [i.e., Satan]. Preserve pure and unpolluted the garment of incorruption wherewith Thou hast endued him (her), upholding inviolate in him (her), by Thy grace, the seal of the Spirit, and showing mercy unto him (her) and unto us, through the multitude of Thy mercies..."

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dress in white clothing to perform and to undertake baptism. Traditionally, the proselyte wears a white jumpsuit, white socks and white underclothing. The person performing the ordinance wears either a white jumpsuit or white slacks and white shirt. Historically, women and girls wore white dresses with weights sewn in at the hems to prevent the clothing from floating during the ceremony.

Dancing has evolved many styles. Breakdancing and Krumping are related to the hip hop culture. African dance is interpretive. Ballet, Ballroom, Waltz, and Tango are classical styles of dance while Square and the Electric Slide are forms of step dances. Every dance, no matter what style, has something in common. It not only involves flexibility and body movement, but also physics. If the proper physics is not taken into consideration, injuries can and are likely to occur. Choreography is the art of creating dances. The person who creates (i.e., choreographs) a dance is known as the choreographer.

Dance (from French danser, perhaps from Frankish) is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music,[1] used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting. Dance is also used to describe methods of non-verbal communication (see body language) between humans or animals (bee dance, patterns of behaviour such as a mating dance), motion in inanimate objects (the leaves danced in the wind), and certain musical forms or genres. In sports, gymnastics, figure skating and synchronized swimming are dance disciplines while martial arts kata are often compared to dances.

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