The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday accorded approval for acquisition of defence equipment for about Rs 3,000 crore.
As a follow up of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) decision in October 2018 for procurement of four P1135.6 Follow-on Ships, the DAC granted approval for procurement of indigenous BrahMos Missile for two Indian Navy ships to be built in Russia. The indigenously designed BrahMos Missile is a tested and proven supersonic cruise missile and will form the primary weapon on-board these Ships.
The DAC also approved the procurement of Armoured Recovery Vehicles (ARVs) for the Indian Army’s Main Battle Tank Arjun. These are designed and Developed by DRDO and would be manufactured by M/s BEML. ARVs ensure efficient and speedy repair and recovery operations during combat.


The software, called gRPC, handles remote procedure calls (RPC) between servers and clients, such as browsers or mobile applications. It is based on HTTP/2, which was ratified as a standard earlier this month by the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).
"gRPC is based on many years of experience in building distributed systems," wrote Mugur Marculescu, Google product manager, in a blog post announcing the code.
The gRPC framework powers most of Google's services today, fielding tens of billions of Web calls every second.
In development for a number of years, HTTP/2 could goose Web performance in a variety of ways, such as through header compression and the ability to send multiple requests at once over a single connection.
Based on Google's own Spdy protocol, HTTP/2 could speed web traffic as well as significantly reduce power consumption on battery-reliant mobile devices.
The gRPC platform can be integrated into multiple languages, including C, C++, Java, Go, Node.js, Python, and Ruby. Google is also working on libraries for Objective-C, PHP and C#.
In addition to Google, HTTP/2 also found a home in the latest Firefox browser: Firefox version 36, released earlier this week, also supports the fresh protocol.
Not everyone is on the HTTP/2 bandwagon, however. Poul-Henning Kamp, the developer of the FreeBSD operating system, has said that HTTP/2 is overly complex, provides no additional user privacy checks, and, despite Google's claims otherwise, probably isn't any faster than the original HTTP.


Our first look at a power supply from Fractal Design leaves us rather impressed. If you're in the market for a mid-range PSU, your wallet begs you to check this out.
Those who enjoy our case and cooling content will be familiar with Fractal Design and some of the products that they have to offer. Chad has always spoken highly of them with few complaints when writing about their products. So, I was quite interested in seeing what they had to offer when he told me they had power supplies. Fractal Design uses a minimalistic design approach where less is more, but do so without compromising the important factors of quality, functionality and pricing.
That philosophy can certainly be seen in today's product on the test bench, the Integra R2 750W power supply. Sometimes it is the subtle differences that you see right away in a product and that can be seen with the rounded edges on the power supply. On the surface, the Integra R2 is just a simple 750W unit without modular cabling, but there are a few details that help it stand out amongst the crowd of 80 PLUS Bronze units on the market today.
The I/O specifications aren't anything over the top, but there are a few things worth noting. While most manufacturers have gone to a single rail design, especially with lower wattage units, the Integra R2 utilizes dual 12V rails. Each are rated for 30A and have a maximum combined output of 672W. As for the minor rails, the 3.3V rail is rated for 24A, while the 5V rail is rated for 20A. Together they have a combine maximum output of 150W. This is quite a bit for a 750W unit. The 5VSB rail is rated for 3A or 15W. Maximum combined output for the Integra R2 is 750W.
Being an entry level power supply, it is typical that we don't see the feature summary full of green check marks. Most of the protections are present, but the Integra R2 is lacking Over Temperature Protection. While the unit does not feature modular cabling, all of the native cables are fully sleeved with nylon mesh. The Integra R2 manages to score an 80 PLUS Bronze rating for efficiency. While Fractal Design does not certify the unit for 100% continuous output at 50C, they do guarantee the unit at 40C.
Fractal Design has an MSRP of $79.99 on the Integra R2 750W model. It is currently available at Newegg for $89.99 and Fractal Design says they will have additional partners carrying the product line in the near future. This should alleviate the inflated price a little bit. Warranty for the Integra R2 is a rather short three years.


Your preschool students may gleefully chime in when singing the "ABC Song," but may not know each and every letter yet. Roughly 60 percent of 4-year-olds know half of the upper case letters and 30 percent can identify all of them, according to the PBS Parents website. You can help your preschoolers to build their letter identification skills through reading, playing naming games, using manipulatives such as puzzles and artsy activities.
Involve your preschoolers in the reading process, encouraging them to look at the books, point out the letters and talk about the pictures. Help alphabet identification with letter-themed books. Try a classic such as "Dr. Seuss's ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book!" Go with a character tale such as "Thomas' ABC Book" by Rev. W. Awdry or combine letter learning with another concept such as nutrition with Lois Ehlert's "Eating the Alphabet." Point out the letters in the books, asking the children to name them and make the sound out loud.
Play an entertaining, yet educational, game that encourages your preschool-aged students to pick out and name letters. Start by choosing a letter and asking the children to say words that begin with it. For example, M is for mop, mommy, mud or marble. Write the words on a piece of poster board or a white board. Ask the children to point to the letter -- in this case M -- in the word. Build on this by asking the preschoolers to find items in the room that begin with the letters -- in an "Eye Spy" type of format. Every time a students "spies" a letter object, write the word on a piece of paper and tape it to the object. Have the children go back and identify the letters around the room.
If you think that puzzles are only for math or fine motor skill building, think again. You can use puzzles, and other similar manipulatives, to help preschoolers develop their letter identification abilities. Use large-scale floor puzzles that feature pictures of the alphabet or smaller-sized versions that fit on a play table. As the child builds, ask her to say the name of the letter. By piecing together the puzzle she'll become more familiar with the shapes of the letters. If you're looking or other manipulative-type options, try letter stacking blocks or felt alphabet pieces on a flannel board.
Instead of dull worksheets that include rote letter-writing activities, spice up alphabet identification with an artsy adventure. Your preschoolers can copy or trace letters, or you can add imagination to your plan and up the creativity factor. Start simple with markers and crayons and then move on to other art materials. For example, have each child paint the first letter of their names with tempera and a craft stick or use sponges to dab color over letter lines. You can also take the learning outside and have the children draw their "first letter" with sidewalk chalk.


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Cameras usually have the primary function of taking pictures, but one, just released by Casio has the primary function of improving your golf swing. Rather than holding your arms and talking about posture to you in the manner of a more traditional coach, the Exilim Hi-Speed EX-FS10 videos your swing and then analyses it.
Capturing up to 1000 frames a second, it gathers very detailed information about how you move, then using simple augmented reality graphics it layers lines on top of your image showing how you are and should be moving.
Playback can be super-slow allowing you to see what you couldn’t with the naked eye.
With an AV cable you can plug this into the TV and rewatch your golf swings there. You might get dumped if you do this too often, so think carefully about it.
Top Japanese players and coaches have contributed to the advice and analysis parts of the program, said to be ideal for beginners.
The Exilim has three video modes with the higher resolutions capturing fewer framer per second (fps), the three modes are: 224x64px at 1000fps, 224x168px at 420fps, 480x360px at 210fps-30fps.


Ariana Grande is really in full-on sorry mode. The singer has apologized for a second time for licking donuts and saying “I hate America.” In a video clip posted late Thursday, the 22-year-old said she’s “disgusted” with herself, adding that she didn’t clearly convey her true feelings in her first apology — a written statement in which she ranted about obesity in America.
“Seeing a video of yourself behaving poorly that you had no idea was taken is such a rude awakening. It’s like you don’t know what to do. I was so disgusted with myself, I wanted to shove my face in a pillow and just disappear,” she said, with puffy cheeks from recent oral surgery.
Her second apology had more than 1 million views on YouTube by Friday afternoon.
A New Zealand judge sentenced AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd to eight months of home detention on Thursday after the musician pleaded guilty to threatening to kill a man who used to work for him, along with possession of methamphetamine and marijuana. The Australian drummer had faced up to seven years in prison on the threatening-to-kill charge, but his lawyer had argued for the conviction to be set aside.
Rudd has been out on bail since pleading guilty to the charges in April, when he acknowledged in a court summary of facts that he’d offered large amounts of cash, vehicles and a house to an associate after asking him to have the victim “taken out.” He also acknowledged that he’d directly said to the victim he was going to kill him. Prosecutors had also originally charged Rudd with murder-for-hire, but later dropped it, citing lack of evidence.
Sophie B. Hawkins welcomed a baby girl named Esther on Tuesday, the 50-year-old singer confirmed to Us Weekly. It is the second child for Hawkins, known for such '90s hits As I Lay Me Down and Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover. In February, the single mom told Us why she had no issue being an older mom: “I am more wise, calm, humorous, appreciative, simple and clear,” said Hawkins, who froze 15 embryos when she was 31 and conceived with in vitro fertilization.
A Scottsdale, Arizona, restaurant that gained reality TV notoriety after an appearance on Kitchen Nightmares will soon close its doors. Co-owner Amy Bouzaglo says she and husband Samy Bouzaglo are in final negotiations to sell the property. The couple drew outrage and ridicule after being featured on a May 2013 episode of chef Gordon Ramsay's reality restaurant makeover show. In the segment, they were seen yelling at customers and pocketing employees' tips. Bouzaglo says negative publicity had nothing to do with the closure, adding they had issues with the building's former landlord.
A comedian who plays an inexperienced president on Ukrainian TV looks poised to reprise the role in real life after an exit poll indicated he received nearly three out of every four votes cast in a runoff election Sunday.


Travel insurance is a must-have. It is often left until the last minute, but don’t forget about it, because if you suddenly have to cancel, you won’t be covered.
Check the exact wording of your policy. Don’t assume all holidays are covered: for example, if you’re going on a cruise you might need to pay extra because emergencies at sea cost more to resolve.
If your travel insurance comes with your bank account be aware most policies only cover holidays in Europe.
As with all things, be wary of any policy that seems to be a bargain.
Check to see if it covers all your costs if you need to cancel, provides you with at least £2million of medical cover, includes third-party liability protection and will pay to replace the contents of your suitcase if it goes missing — and make sure you don’t underestimate the value of your belongings.
Check your policy for age restrictions and be honest about medical treatments. If you’ve been referred to a consultant or are awaiting further tests then tell your insurer before you sign up.
If you haven’t booked a package holiday, ensure your cover includes ‘end supplier failure’. This will protect you if a company you’re booked with goes bust.
And if you’re travelling in Europe, don’t forget to order your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). This entitles holidaymakers to the same treatment at public hospitals as residents in that country, although it is not a substitute for a good insurance policy.
Never wait until the airport or hotel to get your holiday money. You get a much better exchange rate by ordering it in advance.
It is worth thinking about top credit cards for spending abroad. Halifax’s Clarity Credit Card allows you to withdraw cash or spend anywhere in the world free of charge. You pay interest even if you clear your balance in full at the end of the month.
For those who prefer a debit card, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society’s Gold Classic and Gold Light accounts have no foreign exchange or cash withdrawal fees. Gold Classic customers must pay in £500 a month, while Gold Light members must make five or more transactions a month. It can take some weeks to sort out these cards, so don’t delay.
Another option is to take out a pre-paid credit card, which you can load up with foreign currency.
Firms such as FairFX and Caxton FX offer good exchange rates and do not charge to top up by debit card or bank transfer.
Watch out for the small print. Some cards charge for cash withdrawals or if you don’t top up a certain amount, and make it difficult to get back leftover money.
When ordering cash, moneysavingexpert.com has a comparison tool called travelmoneymax.com to help find the best rate, whether you collect your money or have it delivered.
Think carefully about what bags you need. It may cost more to book more hold luggage but it is cheaper than paying at the airport. For example, on easyJet it costs £7 to buy an extra kilo of luggage in advance, but £11 at check-in.
Finally, put a reminder in your diary to print off your boarding pass before you fly. Budget airlines hit those who forget with hefty check-in fees. Ryanair, for example, charges £60 per person – £240 for a family of four.


CAMERON, Texas The Zimmerman Law Firm Marquee Matchup in week 9 is a rivalry game between Rockdale and Cameron Yoe. It's the Battle of the Bell and this week it's also the game chosen as our feature game of the week.
Cameron Yoe is at the top of the district standings and perfect in district play so far this season. Rockdale is one game behind the Yoemen with just the one loss to Troy. So the winner on Friday is in position to win the district championship a couple of weeks later.
Cameron Yoe head coach Tommy Brashear says this game is just different. His players, the coaches, and the community get up for this game more than any other on the schedule.
Which game should be the week 11 Zimmerman Law Firm Marquee Matchup?


By mutual agreement, Inter Parfums SA and Balmain have decided to end their licensing agreement, initially set to last until 2024.
ON THE SCENT: Balmain’s fragrance license could soon be up for grabs. By mutual agreement, Inter Parfums SA and Balmain have decided on an early termination of their licensing agreement, initially signed for 12 years starting from January 2012.
Despite the celebrity favorite being hot property in fashion land right now, thanks to creative director Olivier Rousteing, its fragrance sales have declined over the past two years, falling 21 percent to 3.8 million euros, or $4.2 million at average exchange, in 2016, and declining 5.8 percent the previous year.
Nevertheless, Philippe Benacin, chairman and chief executive officer of Inter Parfums SA, denied that the reason behind the early termination was its failure to gain traction in the category. “Balmain had an exit option from 2018 that was part of the contract when the license was initially signed,” he told WWD.
He said that at the time, Alain Hivelin — Balmain’s former majority owner, who died in 2014 — had told him that if the label was ever sold, he would like to be able to get the license back in exchange for a fee.
Mayhoola for Investments, the Qatar-based parent of Valentino and Pal Zileri, bought a majority stake in Balmain last July, as reported. “They confirmed in July when they bought Balmain that they wanted to advance the option and take back the brand from 2017,” said Benacin.
Inter Parfums is set to cease deliveries of Balmain products at the end of March.
Since the Paris-based subsidiary of U.S.-based Inter Parfums Inc. took over the license, it had introduced three new scents to the lineup: Ivoire in 2012, Extatic in 2014 and most recently Balmain Homme in July 2015.
The portfolio also includes Vent Vert, launched in 1947; Monsieur Balmain, introduced in 1964; Ambre Gris, from 2008, and Carbone, which hit the market in 2010.
The brand’s fragrance sales in 2012, the first year of their integration, were 1.5 million euros, or $1.9 million, rising to 5.1 million euros, or $6.8 million, in 2014.
All dollar figures have been calculated using average exchange rates for the period to which they refer.
According to Benacin, Balmain’s new owners are likely to take advantage of buzz around the brand to reinvigorate its fragrance business in the future. “I think they will do something with it, they will probably take a break for a year to clean up the brand and come back with new projects,” he said.
Officials at Balmain were not immediately available for comment.


DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "GPS Tracking Device Market by Type (Standalone Tracker, OBD Device & Advance Tracker), Deployment Type (Commercial Vehicle, Cargo), Industry (Transportation & Logistics, Metals & Mining, & Construction) & Geography - Global Forecast to 2023" report to their offering.
The GPS tracking device market is expected to reach USD 2.89 Billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 12.91% between 2017 and 2023.
The key driving factors for the growth of the GPS tracking device market include the increase in sales of commercial vehicles, smaller size, affordable price, and high ROI. Moreover, the advent of cellular technology reduced the service cost, while the decline in GNSS/GPS IC makes inroads in cell phone that provide the scale of economies to GNSS/GPS module supplier.
GPS tracking device is widely used in commercial vehicles such as trucks, trailers, buses, and light commercial vehicles for tracking purposes. According to International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA), the global commercial vehicle sales have surged by 3.27% and 4.37% in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Concern related to safety and security of high-value assets and valuable data generated by these devices engine diagnostics drive the growth of transportation & logistics industry.


MURPHYSBORO, Ill. (AP) — Southern Illinois prison inmates are training dogs from a local animal shelter, and officials say it’s helping both the dogs and the offenders.
WSIL-TV reports St. Francis Community Animal Rescue in Murphysboro has teamed up with the Vienna Correctional Center.
St. Francis sent six dogs to the prison for a 12-week basic training program. Inmates are helping the dogs learn basic commands and how to walk on a leash.
Kay Creese of the St. Francis Community Animal Rescue says “everybody wins.” She says the inmates are learning skills, and the dogs become better behaved and more prepared to go to a home.


Here is food for thought: while economic pundits are talking about recoveries induced by stimulation packages, there will be no recovery.
In my article 'Globilization is not the answer' ( http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=8275 ) I saw the scraping of Bretton Woods as a way of removing control of the world economy away from America and getting rid of the IMF. I did not look deeply at what would replace it.
I would be interested in a more information of how you see a new Bretton Woods ageement operating. Would there be an overall world system apart from exchange rates, or would it be up to each country to manage it's own affairs in its own way?
'To look at finding a solution we need to correctly diagnose the disease."
Somewhere among Keynes' vast writings there is a comment that people will be trying to apply his Depression solutions when the problems are different.
I agree with your diagnosis but in 1972/3 Neil McInnes wrote a series published in the AFR, "What do we do with these worthless American dollars?"
Keynes at Bretton Woods wanted a trading currency based on a basket of the currencies of major trading nations but the strength of the USA in the aftermath of WW2 could not be restrained. That ended when the production of oil from USA fields peaked in the early seventies. The Basle Agreements mainly served to push out the day of reckonning and as always happens such action make the ultimate problem worse.
I made the following comments in a letter to the Bulletin in July 1999.
"The world really is upside down when many of the worlds leaders think it is reasonable for the largest and most prosperous economy to be seen as the consumer of last resort. We seem to have forgotten Keynes’ exhortation to look at the problems of the day and find solutions to them."
And "America is consuming, for example, Arabian oil (a real asset), paying for it by creating bank balances in American banks for Arab princes and claiming that these balances can be on lent as if they were real capital. At current oil prices Saudi reserves ($10 per bbl) have about the same value as all USA farms at about $US8000 per hectare. When their oil is gone will the oil exporters own and occupy all USA farming land or will they own pseudo capital which can be wiped out at the stroke of a pen backed by a few aircraft carriers?
Adam Smith was adamant that capital should not be allowed to move across borders (meaning between different currencies). Politicians need to institute a different exchange system for genuine international trade."
i.e. We need a new Bretton Woods but have we got a Keynes?
In my previous post for some reasom I gave the title of my article as 'Globilization is not the answer' when it should have been 'Globilization is not the real problem'. I agree we need another Keynes, and it may be worth while looking again at his 'Bancor' world currency suggestion. It seems to me that the root cause of the world economic problems is that our system is geared to the conditions that existed at the end of the World War when America was the only game in town. Whatever replaces Bretton Woods it must not be dominated by one country or currency.
If we start with the wrong theory, we’ll end with the wrong conclusion.
Google also Peter Schiff. These are the only school with a sound theory with real explaining power.
All the other schools of economics, the Keynesians, the neo-classical, the institutionalists, the monetarists, all the policy advisers, all the central banks, the Federal Reserve, were and are clueless. They do not make the connection between their policy prescriptions and the disaster that followed. What credibility do they have?
Underlying your argument is the establishment premise: if the market is left to its own devices, the economy will fall into a recession (polite word for depression). The price mechanism does not operate to clear the unhampered market. Government spending is necessary to stimulate the economy.
But the more this belief system causes massive disasters, the more its proponents externalize the blame and insist that the solution is more of the same. The belief system is unfalsifiable: superstition replaces science.
At root the idea is that, if we can just give government more control, replace voluntary action with compulsory action, we can make bread out of stones, we can create real wealth just by printing paper. How does this miracle work? By (forcibly) taking money from A and giving it to B (‘stimulus package’); by paying people to dig holes and fill them in again (‘public works’); by building pyramids to the glory of Pharaoh.
But that is exactly what the state destroys by taxation and inflation!
The problem is fiat money. Got that?
While ever governments are addicted to inflationary finance, we will continue to have these disasters and injustices.
Inflation is theft. It is governments stealing from the whole population, and calling it social justice.
*Government* causes both the booms and the busts. The other explanations ignore sound theory of money.
If the establishment economists were right, the problem would not have occurred in the first place, either that, or total government control of the economy would make us better off. Your premises are mistaken, and so is your conclusion. It is not just a matter of ideology. Reality kicks in. Sound theory, and sound money, are necessary, and you stand for neither.
If we give John Jones a monopoly power to print and spend money, you can see that that is inherently inflationary, can’t you? He will just print and spend, print and spend, even while the whole economy collapses (post-revolutionary France, continental USA, Weimar Germany, Zimbabwe 2009, USA 2009). Well that’s what governments are doing! Would you give someone else a power to go into your bank account and take what he likes without your knowledge or consent? Of course not! Well guess what? There is no more reason to trust government with this power than anyone else!
The history of government control of money and banking is one of nothing but abuse and fraud. The flaw in establishment economics is to ignore the clear conflict of interest between government and everyone else over control of the money supply.
The current ineffectuality of government bespeaks their cluelessness.
Government intervention can only make the problem worse.
The solution is to abolish governmental control of the money supply. You can’t repeal the law of gravity by throwing stuff up in the air. And governments can’t repeal the laws of economics, and make society better off, by printing paper. This is just voodoo and political fraud: a denial of economics.
Peter Hume - "The solution is to abolish governmental control of the money supply."
The Australian Government has had not created money for many years but it has stood idle while the private deposit takers, mainly he banks, have created money at the rate of about 13% average compound since 'the depression we had to have' and Westpac was saved from disaster. The Howard Government with Costello as treasurer had a 'let it rip' attitude.
Use of Capital Adequacy Ratios was a scheme that could only have been dreamed up by bankers. CAR's are responsible for the massive increase in charges to bank customers when bankers realised that any excess profit over and above that necessry for dividends flowed directly to a bank's capital adequacy base. They even devised ways to borrow foreign funds to add these to their CA base. With the Australian dollar now much lower it is no wonder banks are concerned at the prospect of having to refinance those borrowings. Banks have been caught by their own version of the Swiss Loans.
The CAR scheme, a part of the Basle Agreements, is the major culpable factor in all of the asset bubbles of the last ten years and could only have one outcome, the debacle we now have.


Over sized corner lot in North Port looking for a new home to be built on. We have many wonderful floor plans that this lot can accommodate that also include pools! Please do not hesitate to reach out. All offers welcomed!


A day after actor Simbu urged his fans to do milk abishekam to his cut-outs on the day of the release of his movie Vandha Rajavathaan Varuven, an agitated State president of Tamilnadu Milk Dealers Welfare Association, S A Ponnusamy, is all set to file a police complaint against the actor for his remarks.
Actor simbu is currently shooting for the Tamil remake of hit Telugu film Attarintiki Daredi. It is directed by Sundar C. He will begin his next for Venkat Prabhu’s Maanadu, which is touted to be a political thriller.


BERGER‐Dr. and Mrs. Dirk M. (nee Bran denburg) joyfully announce the birth of their son, Matthew Adam, on Oct. 20, 1970. Proud grandparents are Mrs. Mat thew H. Brandenburg and Mr. and Mrs. Murray Berger of New York City and great‐grandmother, Mrs. Rose Cohen of Long Beach, N. Y.
BRESTIN‐Mr. and Mrs. Lewis R. announce the birth of their second daughter and fifth child, Helena Pearl, on Sept. 21, 1970.
COLEMAN‐Dr. and Mrs. Stephen J. Cole man (nee Barbara Baruch) of Brooklyn, N. Y., announce the birth of a daughter, Rebecca Lynn, on Oct. 19.
DUBIN‐Arthur and Pat (nee Richman) hap pily announce the birth of Matthew David's sister, Melissa Faith, on Oct. 26.
FEUERMAN‐Ricky and Carole (nee Acker man) joyfully announce the arrival or Lauren Stacy and Sari Kim's brother, Craig Robert, on Oct. 19. His proud grand parents are Mrs. Julia Feuerman and Mr. and Mrs. Milton Ackerman.
FUCHS‐Dr. and Mrs. Louts A. Fuchs (nee Barbara Measelle) announce the birth a daughter, Meghan Elizabeth, on Oct. 26, sister of Jack Jordan Leland.
GOLDMAN‐Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth (nee Rosalind Benus) happily announce the birth of Michelle and Jonathan's sister, Andrea Lynne, on Oct. 27, 1970.
HALEMAN‐Edward and Laura Heiman (nee Rand) fortuity announce the birth of Deb orah's brother, Robert Neil, Aug. 23, 1970.
HERSHKOWITZ‐Paul and Nancy (nee Orin gel) Joyfully announce the arrival of Mat thew Adam on Monday, Oct. 12, 1970.
ITZLER‐Ronny and Ronnie (nee Lubell) Itz ler ecstatically announce the birth of Jason's sister, Jane Lubell, on Oct. 17, 1970.
LEWIS‐Dr. and Mrs. Robert S. Lewis (nee Phoebe Lynn Boxer) Joyfully announce the birth of their daughter, Deborah Ann, Michelle Gail's sister, on Oct. 15, 1970, at University Hospital. The proud grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Boxer and Mr. and Mrs. Henry Lewis.
SCHWEITZER‐Dr. and Mrs. Laure?????? Schweitzer (nee Miriam Weisdorf) of Tea neck, N. J. announce the birth of Sarah Anne, Oct. 5, 1970.
SMILEY‐Mr. and Mrs. Alan M. Smiley (nee Marcia Sacks) proudly announce the birth of their son, Seth Randall, Oct. 23. Proud grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Herman Sacks and Mrs. Ruth Smiley. Named in memory of paternal grandfather, Sidney S. Smiley and maternal great‐grandmother, Rose Cohen.


Surreal Japanese chart-topping, pants-tightening, platform-puzzler Catherine is coming to the US in the summer.
Amazon lists a July 26th release date for both PS3 and Xbox 360.
No word on a localized demo, but hopefully we won’t get the crazy hard version of the game when it's released.


I’m not sure the team at Shopify’s experimental Garage product development group knows this, but their latest app is basically made for me: It’s a package tracking tool called Arrive that consolidates all your consumer shopping shipments in one place and makes it easy to get updates on your status, and deal with customer service if you need to.
The Arrive app’s basic premise might be familiar if you’re already a fan of consolidating shipping info for your online purchases. I use Deliveries, for instance, the package tracking app by Junecloud that works with a companion desktop app for macOS and syncs your delivery status via iCloud. There are plenty of other options out there, too, for iOS and Android.
Arrive offers some features it hopes will help it make your go-to when it comes to purchase tracking, including email account integration so that it can automatically add your shipments to its list of tracked items. It also provides rich notifications, which give you insight into your shipment’s progress at every step of its journey so you basically don’t even have to open the app to use it.
You’d be missing out if you never did open the app, however, since it’s a beautiful looking product with a smart, intuitive and elegant design. Plus, Arrive automatically adds direct contact options for both the retailer and the shipper for your package, making it easy to get in touch in case you have any issues or want to set up a return.
Arrive is retailer-agnostic, so it’s not like it’s limited to purchase you make at retailers using Shopify’s commerce platform. And it has map-based location tracking, too for seeing where your stuff is when it’s on its way to you.
As of right now, Arrive is on iOS only, and also works with Gmail exclusively at launch. The team is working on broadening support to additional email providers in future, however.


Any Russian who regularly watches television knows full well that this country is surrounded by enemies. That gives special relevance to former Soviet leader Josef Stalin's bygone call to industrialize and step up military production, and his argument that "Either we do this, or they will crush us."
Heeding this sage utterance, the Kremlin decided in 2010 to spend more than 20 trillion rubles (then $650 billion) rearming Russia's military. And now, President Vladimir Putin announced this week that "the pace of implementing state defense orders as of the end of 2014 has exceeded planned targets."
The progress is apparently so great that, for some reason, Putin finds it necessary, every six months, to meet personally for several days at a time with defense industry chiefs responsible for fulfilling state contracts. Putin has also approved the creation of an interagency system for controlling the use of state funds during the allocation and implementation of state defense orders.
The authorities plan to create an extremely complex system coordinating the databases of the Russian Defense Ministry, Federal Anti-Monopoly Service, Federal Financial Monitoring Service and the Bank of Russia. That supervisory Medusa will stand poised to strike the moment any ultra-patriotic defense industry manager transfers state funds allocated for weapons production into an unauthorized bank account.
For some mysterious reason, some of the top managers responsible for implementing defense orders seem to be agents of the U.S. State Department and Britain's MI6. How else to explain why workers at the construction site of Russia's future Vostochny Cosmodrome did not receive their salaries for several months running? Those workers first went on strike, and then declared a hunger strike in order to receive their back pay.
Of course, that news did nothing to strengthen the authority of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, whom Putin had made responsible for that project and for overseeing defense contracts in general. Rogozin hastily traveled to the Far East and ensured the proper payment of wages, dismissed some officials and arrested others, and, of course, put the construction process back on track.
And as to the reason for the widespread theft and corruption — with one manager issuing a monthly salary to his wife of 800,000 rubles ($15,000) — Rogozin said the problem stemmed from "the managers whom the former Defense Minister appointed, and who, instead of carrying out very important strategic orders from the president and government, often engaged in embezzlement."
Perhaps former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who was dismissed from his post long ago, was also to blame for the fact that even after Rogozin had restored justice at Vostochny, the men who had organized the strike and hunger strike were fired from their jobs.
In fact, the story of the Vostochny Cosmodrome is just one of many examples of how budgetary funds get plundered under the cover of defense contracts. The new cosmodrome — on which work began in 2011 — is intended to replace Russia's reliance on the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan that Moscow pays $110 million annually to use.
The authorities set a firm deadline: The new cosmodrome must execute its first launch by the end of this year. As usual though, construction on the numerous facilities in the new complex is lagging far behind schedule.
But the authorities have known that for some time already. Reports of blatant theft had plagued the construction process from the very beginning. The Audit Chamber calculated that project officials had stolen approximately 16 billion rubles ($300 million) of the 400 billion rubles ($7.5 billion) budgeted for construction.
Several months ago, the authorities arrested the chief of construction at Vostochny after he had successfully transferred approximately 500 million rubles ($9.4 million) into a third-party account.
Back in September of last year, Putin expressed surprise that construction chiefs continued to brazenly steal despite knowing that the Kremlin was paying particular attention to the cosmodrome project. It was then that he sent Rogozin to Vostochny with strict instructions to restore order.
The Kremlin also announced that the National Defense Management Center in Moscow would monitor work on the Vostochny Cosmodrome in real time.
Interestingly, Rogozin was unable to stop the runaway levels of audacious theft. Video surveillance of the construction site did nothing to reveal the source of the violations and even the clear and present threat of punishment did not stop the misappropriation of budgetary funds.
Almost one year ago, Rogozin threatened to give hell to anyone found guilty of corruption at Vostochny, and yet the stealing went on unabated.
Because every large-scale government project draws embezzlers like flies, the federal authorities first imprisoned corrupt officials responsible for construction on the APEC summit in Vladivostok, and then went hunting for those who illicitly pocketed billions of rubles during the construction of ski jumps for the Sochi Olympics.
Now the authorities are pressing charges against those responsible for building the cosmodrome — that is, senior officials at Spetsstroy, a military-related federal agency subordinate to the Defense Ministry that carries out its duties in complete secrecy. The staff of that agency answers only to its immediate superiors, whom they can either bribe or mislead.
Nobody — not parliament, the media or civic organizations — has any means of controlling the agency. It is therefore obvious that they will embezzle at an unimaginable scale. And all against the backdrop of Rogozin's lamentations and video surveillance from Moscow.
Moscow considers nuclear weapons the basis of ensuring national security, writes columnist Alexander Golts.


On June 23rd, a vote will be held in the United Kingdom to determine if Britain will stay in the European Union or not. This is most commonly known as the “Brexit” vote, and that term was created by combining the words “Britain” and “exit”.
We just got more evidence that global trade is absolutely imploding. Chinese exports dropped 25.4 percent during the month of February compared to a year ago, and Chinese imports fell 13.8 percent compared to a year ago.
The 7th largest economy on the entire planet is completely imploding. I have written previously about the economic depression that is plaguing Brazil, but since my last article it has gotten much, much worse.
Guess What Happened The Last Time The Price Of Oil Plunged Below $38 Dollars A Barrel?
On Monday, the price of U.S. oil dropped below 38 dollars a barrel for the first time in six years. The last time the price of oil was this low, the global financial system was melting down and the U.S. economy was experiencing the worst recession that it had seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
One of the most important banks in the western world says that the 7th largest economy on the entire planet has entered a full-blown economic depression.
The worst stock market crashes in U.S. history have come during the month of October. There is just something about this time of the year that seems to be conducive to financial panic.
Where Are The Jobs In America?
The federal government uses very carefully manipulated numbers to cover up the crushing economic depression that is going on in this nation. For the month of September, the federal government told us that 142,000 jobs were added to the economy.
As Greece plunges even deeper into economic chaos, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says that his government is prepared to respond to the demands of the EU and the IMF with “the great no” and that his party will accept responsibility for whatever consequences follow.
How do you fix a superpower with exploding levels of debt, that has a rapidly aging population, that consumes far more wealth than it produces, and that has scores of zombie banks that could collapse at any moment.


Microsoft is now expanding the distribution of its Windows Phone 7.5 update to all eligible users, but some owners of phones including Samsung's Omnia 7 will have to wait a bit longer.
The upgrade process has been running smoothly, with a few exceptions, some of which are now being sorted out, Microsoft said. It has now begun delivering the Windows Phone 7.5 update to LG Optimus 7 phones on Telefonica in Spain, and is also now scheduling it for Samsung Omnia 7 phones on Deutsche Telekom, Eric Hautala , general manager for customer experience engineering at Microsoft, wrote in a blog post on Thursday.
At the beginning of October, the German operator said that Samsung was still working on some problems with the Mango update on the Omnia 7, and hinted that it would be ready by the end of the month. The distribution is now expected to start at the beginning of November, a spokeswoman said via email, so it looks like the wait for German, Dutch and U.K. T-Mobile subscribers that own the Samsung device will soon be over.
However, owners of the Omnia 7 in Spain are less lucky. The upgrade is still being tested, which is the first step in the upgrade process. Telefonica, the operator that sells the phone, did not reply to questions about when the upgrade will finally be ready.
The other remaining holdouts are Samsung Focus version 1.4 and the Dell Venue Pro on AT&T in the U.S.
Just because Microsoft has started distributing Mango to all eligible users doesn't mean everyone will get an upgrade at once. It might still take several weeks before a user receives notice that an update is available for their phone, Microsoft wrote on its "Where's my phone update?" website.
Microsoft is also sending out firmware updates to some phones around the world, according to Hautala.
He didn't elaborate on the details, but added that firmware updates "are designed to do things like improve your phone's performance, fix bugs, or even activate new features."
The last few days have been important for Microsoft and the future fortunes of its smartphone operating system.
On Wednesday, Nokia announced the Lumia 800 and 710, its first two phones based on Windows Phone.
In February, Nokia chose Windows Phone over MeeGo and Symbian. The latter two OSes are not completely dead yet: Owners of the Symbian-based N8 this week started receiving a service pack that is supposed to improve camera and messaging performance. Nokia has also announced the next version of Symbian, called Belle.


NEW YORK (IDN) – China’s influence in Africa has some leaders trying hard to please their new, rich and seemingly generous foreign partners.
Authorities said they considered Prof. Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, a Kenyan, a “security threat”.
Outrage was fast and furious from many directions.
“Zambia is about to pop off,” she continued. “There’s a revolution coming. It can’t be stopped. The government thought that Lumumba’s speech would just be that match stick that would make everything blow up.
Zambia’s main opposition leader, Hakainde Hichilema, decried the decision to deny Lumumba entry as humiliating and irresponsible. He was echoed by the Council of Churches in Zambia whose general secretary called President Edgar Lungu “notorious for muzzling dissenting voices” in what was once a safe haven for peace in the region.
Earlier, the state-owned newspaper of Zambia caused social media outrage after it published a front page story in the usual English and in Chinese. The information minister said it was part of plans to boost readership and advertisements.


The Dark Knight's villain may be a psychopath, but his tools are all too chillingly familiar: the thirsty knife, the patient bomb. (This is not a film for children, and the MPAA should be ashamed of its PG-13 acquiescence.) ... Nolan wisely minimizes the use of CGI (even when the semi is flipped), and the difference is palpable.
In the end, The Dark Knight is less a film about good versus evil than about order versus chaos, a morality play into which a wild card, the Joker, has been inserted to devastating effect. ... But despite the tensions between its form and its function, The Dark Knight succeeds far more than it fails, and lingers provocatively in the mind.


Head-Human Resources, MarketAxess Holdings, Inc.
Presently, Cordelia M. Boise occupies the position of Head-Human Resources at MarketAxess Holdings, Inc.
In the past Ms. Boise held the position of Director-Human Resources at BondBook Holdings LLC and Director-Human Resources at Arrow Electronics, Inc.
She received an undergraduate degree from Lehigh University.


THURSDAY The city of Portland is small and manageable with European-size blocks and a great train service -- the Max -- that brings me into the centre in 40 minutes for two bucks.
The streets have something of San Francisco's world-championship collection of homeless men, although less menacing. The city's signatures include its food carts, its bicycles and the best bookshop in the USA, Powell's. Oregonians are proud of how environmentally aware they are, so somebody got an entire hotel and recycled it. The Ace Hotel is now one of the trendiest in town, despite the fact that it looks as if it has been furnished out of a skip.
FRIDAY Oregon has had two inches more than its annual average rainfall already. The rivers are full. My cycle-tour guide asks me to lift my bike up to get on the floating bridge that has risen a foot above its access ramp.
I stop by the Crystal Hotel to meet Mike McMenamin, a hotelier and philanthropist with a Tyrone grandfather who owns 58 properties, 24 of which have their own brewery. He shows me the music venue and talks enthusiastically about his trips to Ireland.
Later in the week, I worked my way through his wines at Edgefield and the whiskeys that are distilled there (the Devil's Bit, is only available on St Patrick's Day).
SATURDAY The guys at Enterprise Rent a Car give me a Dodge with a stern-voiced GPS. She doesn't lead me astray. Driving around a corner on Santiam Pass my breath is taken away by the beauty of the panoramic volcanic stage-show. The snow snuggles on Mount Washington's sugar-loaf summit.
SUNDAY The lifts are closed on Mount Bachelor but Cathy Carroll in the High Desert Museum says I should hike up and ski down. Her museum has the best volcano room I have ever seen and debris that tells the story of the Oregon Trail. The Oregon Trail wasn't as romantic as the movies showed it she says: "They walked 2,000 miles from Missouri."
MONDAY Bill Willits is my host at Five Pine Lodge in Sisters. The air is clear, the view stunning.
TUESDAY Bend, Oregon is a tasty little town in a beautiful part of the world. There is also a championship collection of breweries, so I stop by four of them -- real beer with real ingredients as opposed to the rice sugar they use in many mainstream beers.
WEDNESDAY On the way back to Portland, I drive over Mount Hood and stop by the Columbia River Gorge, where the water is thundering over the Multnomah Falls. I can stand in the dew of one of the great natural wonders of the world. Someone said there is a water shortage at home.


Whitney Dagg, of Dunedin, traverses the Harris Saddle during the annual Routeburn Classic on Saturday. Photo by MMPRO PHOTOGRAPHY.
Bevan Stevens capitalised on perfect conditions to break a long-standing record in the Routeburn Classic on Saturday.
Stevens smashed multisport great Richard Ussher's record in the eighth running of the event.
The former New Zealand junior enjoyed the sun on his back and finished the rugged 32km course in 2hr 49min 37sec, more than 2min inside Ussher's mark.
Auckland's Nick Hirschfeld (2hr 52min 38sec) was second and defending champion Grant Guise (Christchurch, 2hr 55min 27sec) was third.
Dunedin's Whitney Dagg took the honours in the women's race, finishing in 3hr 34min 34sec, nearly 4min outside Elina Ussher's record.
Wanaka's Kristina Crane (3hr 35min 39sec) was second and Auckland's Leah Hirschfeld (3hr 38min 52sec) was third.
Nearly 330 runners took part in the tough adventure race, which started at the Divide on Milford Rd, crossed the Fiordland National Park, over the 1127m Harris Saddle, and finished in the Mt Aspiring National Park near Glenorchy.
Organiser Evan McWhirter said the day was "magnificent" and the course "majestic".
"The track was in prime condition, clear, dry and fast. We enjoyed clear blue skies with not a breath of wind. It was absolutely stunning and I think the best conditions we've ever had for this race."
The results were testament to the amazing conditions, he said.
McWhirter made special mention of Crane, who returned after winning the women's title in 2009 and having her first baby on the day of last year's event.


MANILA, February 11, 2005 (STAR) President Arroyo has named former labor and employment secretary Nieves Confesor as the new chairwoman of the five-member panel negotiating peace with communist rebels.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Mrs. Arroyo has also appointed two other women as negotiators after reorganizing the peace panel.
They are former presidential spokeswoman Annabelle Abaya and veteran journalist Paulyn Sicam.
Other panel members are lawyer Rene Sarmiento, who was retained as vice chairman, and Prof. Sedfrey Candelaria.
Mrs. Arroyo reorganized the peace panel upon recommendation of Teresita Deles, presidential adviser on the peace process, Ermita said.
Deles said the new panel members can each contribute distinct talents to the peace negotiations, having served in academe and in various fields of conflict resolution.
"The balance between three women and two men in the team is expected to provide important gender perspectives," she said.
"Being younger than previous panel members and coming from diverse background, they will be able to bridge very divergent viewpoints."


First of all, I want to assure all of you that little Booboo is OK. After the big excitement caused by that goofy family in Fort Collins and their kid in the balloon, we decided it might be fun to try something like that with Booboo, so the whole family could get famous and be on TV.
Since we didn’t have a Flying Saucer/Balloon, we thought it would be just as good to use a kite, so we strapped ol’ Booboo to this huge paper kite and took it out and got a strong wind, and sure enough, ol’ Booboo was up there flyin’ in the sky just like Balloon Boy.
Only, as we know now, Balloon Boy wasn’t really in the balloon. But our little Booboo was on the kite, strapped up there with Duck Tape at about 500 feet and tryin’ to grab geese as they flew by.
Well, after about an hour, no news people came up to interview us, so we brought Booboo down, and except for when the kite overturned and went nose-down into the garbage truck, li’l Booboo was mainly unhurt. Didn’t smell too good, but he wasn’t hurt.
You probably read about Grandma Crinkle and the famous Exploding Bedpan Incident. Well, you’ll be happy to know that there will be no prison time for Grandma Crinkle this time. And, Ronald McDonald wasn’t really hurt much at all, but it’ll be awhile before he volunteers to entertain at the Nursing Home again.
We all got a big vacation this year, when we went to visit Uncle Bunch in Florida, and he was able to get out in the Rec Yard for a couple of hours and we got to see his new tats. It was pretty interesting. I didn’t think you could get tattoos in those places, but Uncle Bunch said it didn’t hurt very much at all. He said he should get out in about 20 years with good behavior.
As you know, our good friend, Brett Reese, (we call him “Cousin Brett” even though we’re not related. We think.) got elected to the School Board, and the first thing he does is tell everybody he won’t talk to reporters.
What a joker! That’ll show them reporters who’s the boss and he won’t get in the news and pretty soon everybody will forget him and it’ll go just like our Favorite Mayor, Big Ed. Everything worked out so well for him, didn’t it?
Well, you’re probably wondering how Cousin Benny is doing, now, aren’t ya? As you know, Benny is a distant relative of ours, and he and his buddy Johnny Rebel got to drinkin’ a little beer and playing with their guns and pretty soon Johnny told Benny to light a cigarette and hold it in his mouth, and Johnny would shoot it right out of Benny’s mouth.
Well, as we was sayin’ they’d been drinking a little, and no one quite remembers what exactly happened. Except most everybody in town agrees that Cousin Benny looks a lot more handsome without a nose.
As you can tell, out family has had a heckuva 2009, and we plan on even more excitement in 2010. And we’re all looking forward to what goofy thing Cousin Brett will do next.


The 2010 season shouldn’t be filled with lots of highlights for the Broncos’ Josh McDaniels, left, and the Redskins’ Mike Shanahan.
Broncos coach Josh McDaniels has formally asked permission from the Buffalo Bills to interview their running game coordinator/running backs coach Eric Studesville.
Even though the Bills recently released their entire coaching staff, many assistants like Studesville are still under contract with the Bills and permission is still needed to interview.
Studesville would become only the Broncos’ second running backs coach in 16 years. Bobby Turner, the Broncos’ running backs coach for the previous 15 seasons, recently left to become associate head coach for the Washington Redskins and head coach Mike Shanahan.
Prior to his six seasons with the Bills, Studesville was the New York Giants’ running backs’ coach from 2001-03. His 1,000-yard runners include Tiki Barber, Willis McGahee, Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson, who has developed from an undrafted rookie from Division III Coe in 2003. Jackson spent two years playing in indoor football leagues, and a third year in NFL Europa before getting his chance with the Bills in 2007.


When Zuma appointed Magashule as premier of the Free State, "King Ace" got unfettered access to the poor province's largesse, writes Adriaan Basson.
A character in Yewande Omotoso’s exquisite novel, The Woman Next Door, waxes lyrical about her 65-year-old maid, who has been pivotal in raising her children. She adds that she has reciprocated by sending the maid’s child to a good school and building her a house.
When I read that bit I threw the book across the room – because the anger expressed by the interlocutor, Hortensia James, resonated with me.
It called to mind recent occasions in which I had sat with white people who, upon introducing themselves to me, would immediately put their nonracial credentials on the table.
It is a mantra that has been wafting in the air for some time. But Steven Boykey Sidley has been brave enough to write an article in the Daily Maverick, asking: Are white people still welcome?
It is so crass and cheap, this attempt at emotional blackmail. It is also rude because it assumes I can afford to pay the ransom.
I am guilty, the narrative suggests, because I am part of those who are making white people feel unwelcome. I refuse to be emotionally blackmailed. I am in huge debt as it is.
I am reminded every day that I owe my being to the masses who pushed me to the pedestal which I now occupy – if being a buffer between the starving masses and the rich, predominantly white people can be called a pedestal.
Steven, you are an intellectual, a writer. You have skills, you have connections; you know how the world functions.
Instead of wasting everyone’s time and valuable space in newspapers, perhaps write essays that suggest ways of how we get ourselves out of the university-funding imbroglio.
Contribute to such think-tanks as Save SA. Use your brain cells to examine practical subjects that will contribute to society. No contribution is too small. Don’t be a sponge, draining all of us emotionally.
Ignore the lunatic fringe and the pigs with their snouts in the trough. There are South Africans, black and white, doing things for the betterment of society. They are not looking over their shoulders to see if their deeds are being noticed and appreciated. They just get on with it, as should you.
You do know, don’t you, that the whole notion of the black-white social construct served as an ideological underpinning for all that happened during colonialism and apartheid. To absolve himself from possible guilt stemming from what he intended doing – killing and enslaving blacks – the white man first had to denude the black man of his humanity.
Having done so, he could then proceed to exploit blacks whichever way he pleased, secure in the knowledge that he was not dealing with fellow human beings, but creatures undeserving of human mercy.
This is a country still dazed by more than 200 years of colonialism and apartheid. The profligacy displayed by the new elite is not helping.
This is a country in pain, and we know why.
Human emotions are not like a water tap that you can turn on and off on a whim. That is because human emotions are informed by many forces, including memory and history.
Like Baldwin’s butterfly, those whites who have the temerity to ask if they are still welcome paradoxically expect to emerge unscathed from the furnace of history.
To them I say: The truth is, white people, there will be occasions where you will be singled out for your whiteness. For in the popular imagination, whiteness still represents privilege. But to burst your bubble: the majority of the people being singled out for victimisation – through structural impoverishment, which leads to all manner of social ills – are black.
When I was born, there was a plateful of crap already waiting for me. No one was there to help me eat the crap that was shrugged off as the inevitable result of history.
Because of their whiteness, when Steven and company couldn’t stand the stench of this country’s sh*tstory, they could run to Perth, Toronto and wherever else they chose.
Those of my complexion could not leave. They had to simply sit down and chisel away at the mountainload of crap also known as sh*tstory.
When 1994 came around, the smelly plates were swept away. We were a buffet menu in all the colours of the rainbow. The highlight of the meal was the dessert. It had a uniquely South African flavourant called Menthela.
A tasty dessert, that Menthela. Sadly, it was in limited supply. And now no chef in the world can conjure another Menthela. The cloying smell of sh*tstory is back.
And I know why: Steven and company haven’t finished eating their share. Now they are asking me to help them eat.
No, no, brothers. I have my own work cut out for me in the culinary department. The powers that be have just foisted upon me some pills that I am expected to swallow. The pills – very bitter, I might add – are labelled Clever Black, Zulu-in-Denial and Anti-patriotic Counter-revolutionary.
White man, you are on your own. Eat your share, until your stomach is bulging. Then perhaps you will vomit out the poison of the past, because it is that venom that still gives you the gall to think you are so grand and special, and that your suffering is deeper than that of everyone else.
Eat, my white brother, eat.
Do you agree that white people have no right to express their feelings of marginalisation? If so, what should they be doing instead?


The Papua New Guinea trial regarding the MV Rabaul Queen, which sank in 2012 killing more than 170 people, has been adjourned until June.
23 prosecution witnesses have so far testified against Rabaul Shipping managing director Peter Sharp and the captain Anthony Tsiau, who are charged with manslaughter and sending an unseaworthy vessel to sea.
The witnesses include survivors and family members of those who went missing at sea during the sinking off the coast of Morobe on February 2nd, 2012.
The managing director of Rabaul Shipping in Papua New Guinea, Peter Sharp, has pleaded not guilty to the charges of manslaughter and for sending an unseaworthy vessel out to sea.
The trial of the owner of the inter-island ferry the Rabaul Queen, which killed at least 170 people when it sank off Papua New Guinea in 2012, is due to begin today.
The owner of the ill-fated MV Rabaul Queen Peter Sharp has again been arrested in Papua New Guinea.


Amazon’s European originals chief Georgia Brown and Bodyguard creator Jed Mercurio are among the A-list names added to Keshet’s INTV conference.
Ari Greenburg, President of WME, Steve Golin, founder and CEO of Anonymous Content and COO Matthew Velkes, Erin Keating, Senior Development Manager of Snap Originals, Liza Chasin, Founder of 3dot Productions, Jonathan Baruch, Founding Partner, Rain Management and Sally Riley, Head of Scripted, Australian Broadcasting Corporation have also been added to the line-up.
There will be a CBS panel – From the Good Wife to Star Trek – CBS Executives Discuss the Power of Programming in a Multi-Platform Universe – where David Stapf, President, CBS Television Studios, Julie McNamar, EVP, Original Content, CBS All Access and Deborah Barak, President, Business Operations, CBS Entertainment, CBS Television Studios and CBS News will talk to Deadline co-editor Nellie Andreeva, while co-editor Mike Fleming is talking to RBG director Julie Cohen and CNN Films chief Amy Entelis about the The Rise of Documentary.
Amazon’s Brown is giving a keynote – How Amazon is Forging a New Global TV Strategy – moderated by Deadline’s International Co-Editor Peter White.
Mercurio, the British television writer, producer and director behind Line of Duty and Bodyguard, joins The Flash and Riverdale producer Greg Berlanti to share personal experiences, knowledge and insight into their craft and illustrious careers, moderated by WME’s Head of Television.
Elsewhere, Netflix’s Head of Original Programming, Cindy Holland, Wonderhood Studios’ David Abraham, C4 CEO Alex Mahon, Starz’ Carmi Zlotnik, eOne’s Peter Micelli and Annapurna Pictures’ Sue Naegle will be speaking at the event.


Voices pro and con at Planning Commission Public Hearing.
Restonians fill the auditorium and side room for the County of Fairfax Planning Commission Meeting Jan. 23. Photo by Mercia Hobson.
Dennis Hays: "The key for Reston's continued success is found in the guiding principles of the Reston Master Plan.” Hays said community participation had not been honored in the development of proposals.
Given the number of speakers at the County of Fairfax Planning Commission Meeting Jan. 23, 2019, Zoning Amendment-Article 6- Density Provisions for the Reston PRC District (Hunter Mill), here is just a sample of remarks by individuals who represented a cross-section of thoughts, ideas and concerns.
Mark Ingrao, President and CEO of the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce (GRCC) said he supported the PRC Amendment and his remarks represented the 600-plus member companies that, through the chamber board, supported the PRC Amendment. "Once the Reston community went down the path of funding the Metrorail extension, the paradigm in Reston was going to change. ... Our founder (Robert Simon) knew this Master Plan would support his vision. … Stable residential neighborhoods, as one moves from the Transit Station Areas are protected. The plan calls for the highest commercial and residential density be at the TSAs. … A diverse housing stock is expressly protected under the plan. ... The concern of the Task Force was not that we would have too much residential but that we might not get enough to achieve optimal jobs-to-household ratios. … Adequate transportation infrastructure and programs, and other infrastructure components such as schools, parks and other public facilities should occur with development. … $2.4B of transportation-related infrastructure is planned, and dedicated revenue streams are already in place. ...It took Reston over 50 years to reach its current population, and it will likewise take decades to achieve anything close to full build-out under the Plan."
John Mooney spoke as a representative of Hampton Pointe Condo Association in Reston. He urged not to adopt the proposed PRC amendment but instead that the consideration of any PRC ordinance change be coupled with the next review of the Reston Master Plan. "The County has very likely underestimated the amount of traffic generated by the new development in the Transit Station Areas...The County’s 2018 Reston Network Analysis: Final Report modeled how new TSA-generated trips will impact TSA Reston but did no modeling of their impact on non-TSA Reston. Those new trips will very likely create significant cut-through traffic as mounting TSA congestion leads drivers to find new routes through non-TSA Reston into and out of the TSAs."
Sherri Hebert, a member of the Board of Directors of the Reston Association, and the immediate past president urged the Commissioners to reject the proposal to increase the population density of the PRC areas of Reston. "RA is convinced that no genuine community planning process would endorse 50 dwelling units per acre over the entirety of the non-residential portions of these village centers (Hunters Woods, South Lakes and North Point) ... RA believes that any change to the PRC zoning must be done concurrently with a review of the Master Plan. We believe this Commission was right when you raised concerns about having “uncoupled” planning and zoning for the PRC when the Commission approved Phase 2 of the Reston Master Plan revisions in 2015."


July 5. 2011 (Alpine) -- On the morning of July 9th 2011 get rattlesnake aversion training for your dog in Alpine at Natural Instincts Pet Store. Natural Instincts is partnering with High On Kennels to offer rattlesnake aversion training in Alpine. Besides the hiking trails, rattlesnakes are often found in backyards and even while out walking your dog.
July 2, 2011 (San Diego County) -- The owners of two pit bull dogs that attacked and seriously injured a 75-year-old woman were arrested this evening for owning dogs that caused serious bodily injury, a felony. Carla and Alba Cornelio (ages 19 and 39 respectively) were taken into custody after an arrest warrant was issued following an investigation by County animal control officers into the June 18 incident.
July 1, 2011 (La Mesa) – Two alleged gang members have been arrested and charged with attempted murder of a 16-year-old boy who was shot in the head while riding his skateboard in La Mesa. The youth, who was from Arizona, was robbed and shot around 1:49 a.m. on June 27 outside a motel where he was staying with his family.
July 1, 2011 (Washington D.C.) - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc. yesterday announced a voluntary recall of about 300,000 Hamilton Beach classic chrome 2-slice toasters. The heating element in these toasters can remain energized indefinitely when an item is placed in the toaster which may ignite the contents, posing a fire hazard if the toaster is near flammable items.
July 1, 2011 (Alpine) -- East Count Magazine editor Miriam Raftery will be a guest this evening on Billie Jo Jannen's "TGIF" radio news show from 6-7 p.m.
Livestream at www.my1079.com wherever you are, or listen live at 107.9 on your FM radio dial (heard in parts of East County).
Hot topics to be discussed include today's court ruling on the Sunrise Powerlink, the new state budget and how it may impact your, smart meters, Senator Joel Anderson's bill to eliminate Cal-Trans, and where to find fireworks and family fun this 4th of July weekend.
June 30, 2011 (Spring Valley) -- The Mount Miguel Covenant Village has come to the rescue, helping to save the San Miguel Fire District's Tactical Paramedic program. The continuing budget crisis has impacted District funding for this critical program.
June 30, 2011 (San Pasqual)--A talented troupe of Tanzanian acrobats is the newest attraction at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, performing Saturdays starting this weekend through late August.
June 30, 2011 (San Diego’s East County)--ECM World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflecting all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views.
June 30, 2011 (San Diego County) -- On June 29th between the hours 8:30 a.m., and 10:00 a.m., the Sheriff's Bomb Disposal people held its annual fireworks disposal day. Local fire marshals, Burn Institute personnel, and news media were invited to the event. The yearly event reminds all of the dangers posed by using fireworks. In the East County area, the vegetation is especially dry. So that in addition to causing injuries from using fireworks, there is an additional danger due to the dryness of the vegetation.
June 27, 2011- State Senator Joel Anderson (R-El Cajon) is revved up over his new bill to cut state spending by eliminating the California Transportation Department (Caltrans). SB 851 would shift responsibilities for highway building and maintenance onto local cities and counties, also allowing local governments to outsource to private companies.
Can local communities afford those cost? How will motorists and taxpayers be impacted?
Supporters say the bill would save money and cut waste. Opponents question whether public safety could be jeopardized, particularly in San Diego--where a Grand Jury investigation found roadway conditions "appalling" and where local agencies have relied on Caltrans for quick highway repairs during major wildfires and other disasters.
June 29, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Expect traffic delays if you are traveling on I-8 through east County this afternoon. A two-car rollover on I-8 east at Pine Valley Road sparked a brush fire, forcing 150 cars to be turned around at Sunrise Highway and diverted onto Old Highway 80. The U.S. Forest Service is currently mopping up that blaze.
In addition, on I-8 near Crestwood Drive, further east, a vehicle has rolled three times and is on its side in the center divider, according to the San Diego SIG Alerts website.
WILL POWER REPORT: SUPREME COURT ON DRUGS?
June 29, 2011 (San Diego)--The US Supreme Court made two important health care rulings last week.
The first ruling was that consumers harmed by the use of a generic drug cannot sue the drug manufacturer. Generic drugs are copies of drugs which are out of patent. This means anybody can manufacture these copycat drugs, and often quality control can become a problem. Another problem is because many of these drugs are made in India or China, issues of counterfeit drugs become an issue.
Read more about WILL POWER REPORT: SUPREME COURT ON DRUGS?
June 29, 2011 (San Diego) -- Last week, 150 elementary school children in San Diego County were attending a new kind of summer camp -- the “Summer Engineering Experience for Kids” (SEEK) Camp, a concept designed by the National Society for Black Engineers (NSBE) in 2007 to build a pipeline to careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for African-American and other under-represented minority children.
June 29, 2011 (El Cajon) – An injured man who called 911 after falling down an embankment last night has been found following an intensive search and will be transported to a hospital, Melissa Aquino, public affairs officer with the San Diego Sheriff’s Office, advises.
June 29, 2011 (San Diego)—The California Citizens Redistricting Commission heard input from area residents this month, including some residents of East County and Imperial County who objected to the redrawing of Congressional and state leglsiative district lines to lump the two regions together.
Update 2:55 p.m.: The fire is now 5-10 acres, burning at Otay Truck Trail.
June 29, 2011 (Otay Mesa) – A brush fire that originated in Mexico has burned three to five acres in Otay Mesa along Alta Road, Cal Fire reports. Currently one air tanker, one helicopter, one air attack plane, three engines and two handcrews are at the scene.
June 29, 2011 (La Mesa)--William Warnock, 59, is under arrest for assault with a deadly weapon and felony criminal threats after an eight hour standoff with police. La Mesa Police responded to a call at 6100 Blain Place, La Mesa, around 10 p.m. last night after Warnock's wife reported that her husband had threatened to hurt her and also threatened to kill their 20-year-old son with a large screwdriver.
June 28, 2011 (El Cajon) --On Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 at approximately 11:00 a.m., the victim was exiting the Wells Fargo Bank at 250 N. Second, El Cajon after just making a deposit when the suspect approached. The suspect physically assulted him, grabbed the victim's bank deposit bag, and fled on foot. The victim did not sustain any injury.
June 28, 2011 (La Presa) -- A near fatal mistake on June 15, 2011 put the lives of seven family members in danger. Sheer luck in the actions of a 13 year old girl saves them all from death.
June 28, 2011 (San Diego) -- Executive Chef Jeff Rossman’s farm-to-table cookbook-come-love story to local growers, From Terra’s Table: New American Food Fresh From Southern California’s Organic Farms (Chefs Press, 2010), adds a new honor to its list of accolades.
June 28, 2011 (Padre Dam) -- Padre Dam Municipal Water District’s Mountain Top Reservoir Retrofit Project recently received the 2010 Project of the Year Award from the San Diego & Imperial County chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA) and the 2010 Award of Merit in Water Treatment by the San Diego Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).


He wants the City Council to invite Aquaria representatives and the city’s public works commissioner to a future meeting to discuss the desalination plant’s efforts to find other water customers.
Almost three years after the Aquaria desalination plant came online, Brockton remains its only paying customer. The city is charged $5.02 million a year under contract, but has bought no Aquaria water since May.
Now, Councilor-at-large Thomas Brophy wants the council to invite Aquaria representatives and public works Commissioner Michael Thoreson to a future meeting to discuss the city’s plans for Aquaria water and Aquaria’s efforts to market itself to other communities.
John Condon, the city’s chief financial officer, said $5.02 million was budgeted for the fiscal year that began July 1 to pay the fixed costs in the Aquaria contract. Under the 20-year contract signed in 2002, the city must pay the fixed costs whether it buys water or not.
Another $546,850 was budgeted to pay for the actual purchase of water, but no charges have been incurred because the city has not bought any water from Aquaria since May, Water Systems Manager Brian Creedon said Monday.
Aquaria water comes to Brockton through a 16-mile pipeline from the Taunton River in North Dighton. The plant was completed in August 2008, and the city made its first buy of desalinated water in February 2009.
Costs are paid by water customers in Brockton, Whitman and parts of Hanson through a 60 percent water rate hike imposed in 2008.
Aquaria’s contract calls for the company to actively seek other customers to help offset costs to Brockton. Brophy said he would like to hear from Aquaria about those efforts.
“That’s not a bad idea,” said Creedon, adding that the water commission has also met with Aquaria to discuss the issue.
Brophy said he is concerned about reports that Advanced Power, the company proposing a power plant in the Oak Hill Industrial Park, wants to use Aquaria water for cooling.
Advanced Power has been denied permission by the city to use effluent from the sewer plant for cooling, so is asking state permission to use city water instead. The issue is before the state Energy Facilities Siting Board, Brophy said.
The desalination plant, built as a joint venture of Inima USA Corp. and Bluestone Energy Services, was conceived more than a decade ago as a solution to the city’s chronic water shortages. But by the time it came online, Brockton had ample water, thanks in part to conservation and main replacements.
City officials said it was a safeguard against future water shortages and a guarantee of water for future development.
Last fall, about 300,000 to 400,000 gallons of the 10 million gallons used in Brockton every day came from Aquaria.
The plant has the capacity to supply 5 million gallons a day, or 10 million when expanded.


Jackie Trahan, 46, passed away Sunday, Jan. 16 in Beaumont.
Services will be at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011 in the chapel at Claybar Funeral Home in Orange. Interment will follow at Autumn Oaks Cemetery.
A gathering of family and friends will be Tuesday from 4 to 9 p.m. at the funeral home.
Jackie was born April 16, 1964 in Jacksonville, Ark. to Jack Ray Trahan, Sr. and Cynthia (Phillips) Trahan. He graduated from Lamar University in 1984 and worked for Xerox Corporation for 26 years. Being an outdoorsman, he really loved to hunt, fish and ride four-wheelers.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents, “Gramps” and Joseph W. Trahan and Jewel Phillips and aunt, Ginger Rigby.
Jackie is survived by his loving wife of 24 years, Johna Trahan of Brookeland; parents, Jack and Cynthia Trahan of Orange; son, Alex Trahan and daughter, Emily Trahan both of Brookeland. He is also survived by his sister, Kelly Showers and her daughter, Amber both of Groves; mother-in-law, Verda Mae Barnes of Bronson; sister-in-laws, Rhae Jones of Marshall, Charlotte Jean Hamilton of Bridge City, Linda Oswalt of Bridge City and Shelah Way of Port Arthur; and numerous nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and friends who all love Jackie.
? In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Trahan Family Benefit Fund at any branch of DuPont Goodrich Federal Credit Union.


Did readers actually read a story about reading?
The above graphic is the answer to a riddle for our digital times: Did readers actually read a story about reading?
The story in question — about how scanning and skimming our way through the Internet appears to be messing with how we read deeper, longer works — went viral earlier this week, with insane numbers of page views, a gazillion tweets, and even a starring role in Craig Ferguson’s late-night TV monologue.
So we decided to actually test this. The good folks at Chartbeat, which tracks how people read digital content, performed an analysis and found that 25 percent of readers stopped reading this story before they even reached the article text. A smaller percentage of other readers dropped off somewhere toward the middle. And 31 percent made it all the way through. I have a lollipop for all of them.
As the writer, should I be happy about those numbers or deeply, deeply sad? I asked Josh Schwartz, Chartbeat’s chief data scientist. Then I held my breath.
“Anytime I talk to journalists they always ask that question,” Schwartz said.
Not an answer. This felt not good.
And then: “Those are very good numbers, though,” he said.
This felt great! But perplexing. If, say, only 31 of 100 readers made it to the end of my piece, how is that good?
Schwartz said that, on average, about one-third of news readers never start reading the page after they open it. The worst-of-the-worst articles see up to 90 percent of visitors saying goodbye without reading.
They do what my original story said. They bounce around. They look for key words, and if something excites them, they read. If not, they scamper around. There is, apparently, a lot of scampering. This is how we deal with the superabundance of information online. The problem that I’ve found in my own reading life — and with readers I interviewed — is that I am beginning to read this way with novels and other longer works.
Cognitive neuroscientists are worried about this. I think they are on to something.


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While people love to generalize and assume all Latinx dress, act, eat, and talk the same, we all know that's not true. But we also can't deny that there are customs that tie us together, and those are the ones that when spotted in meme form, you immediately share.
Those humorous moments (i.e., the fact that Vicks VapoRub reigns supreme in most households) are the ones you want to spread like wildfire while you giggle, even tapping the people next to you IRL and showing them your phone for a good laugh. We've rounded more than 50 of those memes here — get ready to flood your friends' feeds.


Avid users of Tweetdeck should log out and revoke access now, as an XSS exploit seems to have granted hackers access to the platform.
Buffer is a small startup that began with the idea that users want to space out the publication of their tweets. Now it’s a profitable business that’s trying to become a solution for how people share to social media.
Tweetdeck has a new look, bringing it more in line with the rest of Twitter’s apps and brightening the overall visual appearance.
Twitter released updates to Tweetdeck on Tuesday allowing users greater flexibility in how they display content and media within Tweetdeck columns on web apps, demonstrating Twitter’s continued commitment to keeping Tweetdeck up and running.
Entrepreneur Bill Gross is launching a content-focused social network called Chime.in that will compete with Twitter, Facebook and Google+, as well as link-sharing sites like Digg. He says there is a need for a better way of filtering content, but the odds are stacked against him.
If you’re struggling to keep up with a noisy Twitter stream, you should check out Twimbow. It’s a free online Twitter client, now out of private beta, that can help to keep your stream organized by color-coding and filtering tweets.
Build the product, nevermind the business model. That’s been the mantra for many a successful startup.
A string of libel lawsuits in the U.K. have put Twitter’s approach to user privacy on the stand — the company is getting a bashing for its treatment of “Mr Monkey.” But should it be applauded for its approach to privacy, rather than pilloried by the media?
Twitter officially confirmed its long-rumored acquisition of TweetDeck on Wednesday morning. Twitter/TweetDeck rumors have been flying around for weeks now, so lots of folks have had time to form opinions about the tie-up. Here are some of the more interesting takes on the situation.
Twitter is rumored to be acquiring TweetDeck, and one of the big questions is whether it will keep the app alive or not. But if it does decide to kill it, the company could do further damage to the already tense relationship it has with developers.
TweetDeck Tuesday introduced a brand new, completely redesigned iPhone app that sports a completely new interface and additional features. The changes are good reason for Twitter power-users, who may have given the app a pass previously, to take a second look.
Recently, I’ve been trying different Twitter clients. Obviously different applications have different features and capabilities, but I was surprised by the difference in focus between these tools; I began to wonder if the tools we use shape our expectations of how we can use the service.
The startups that have teamed up to build a transmission hub to connect the U.S.’s three major grids are adding another startup player for energy storage. Tres Amigas has partnered with Xtreme Power, which provides groups of batteries for energy storage for the power grid.
There are TweetDeck clients for the desktop, iPhone and the iPad; Android owners listen up as a beta version will be out tomorrow. I’ve been running it on my EVO 4G for a while, and here’s my quick take on TweetDeck for Android.
The near-ubiquitous access to collaborative communities, social networks and communications tools that my iPhone apps provide is actually improving my ability to network more frequently with my friends, fans, followers and contacts. Here’s a handy list of community and communications iPhone apps to help you network.
Tweetdeck, a London-based startup that builds software to consume rapidly updating information streams, has raised $3 million in funding in what is an internal round, according to John Borthwick, co-founder of Betaworks. With this Series B round, the company has raised a total of $3.5 million.
It’s Friday and we know what that means boys and girls. Time for another look at the week in Mobile Tech Manor. This is one of those weeks when I can’t believe it’s almost over already. This week I went from four phone carriers to two.
Betaworks, a New York City-based Internet company, has raised $20 million in new venture funding in a round led by Intel Capital and RRE Ventures. Softbank, Founders Collective, DFJ Growth, AOL Ventures and the New York Times are new investors in the company.
Twitter and Facebook Updates to Show in Search Engines — Are You Prepared?
What Do App Developers Think About Twitter's Upcoming Changes?
As a freelancer, I spend most of my time trying to manage information overload. However, despite this obsession with efficiently gathering information, there are also times when I actively seek out that overload. While a fire hose of notifications and feeds can be too distracting when I am working on client work, if I am looking for inspiration, I want to see as much information as possible in the hope that something will catch my eye and provide the inspiration that I need to kick start a new blog post or some other effort.
Here are a few of my favorite tools for embracing information overload.
In earlier posts, I provided some tips for improving your Twitter efficiency and mining Twitter for information. While both of these provide useful ways to use Twitter, you also need to be prepared to respond to other people quickly. Twitter is a short attention span medium where tweets that are minutes old may already be obsolete. You don’t want to skip over any important information or miss the chance to respond. Here are my top three real-time monitoring tools for Twitter.
Tracking Twitter by Topic: What's the Best Solution?
Web working increasingly means having to read up-to-the-nanosecond trending topics and conversations across the social web, and Twitter in particular. With the huge and growing number of Twitter apps and related services that are now available, it can be confusing to figure out the best way to quickly and easily extract those keyword-based threads that you need.
It is possible to do this, as it turns out, but it takes a little work.


QUINCY — A Quincy man with a history of drug dealing charges is behind bars after police said they searched his girlfriend’s Quincy Center home and seized more than $300,000 worth of drugs, including more than 50 pounds of marijuana and 4 pounds of cocaine.
Robert Cooley, 35, was arraigned Tuesday in Quincy District Court on 10 drug and firearms charges, including individual counts of cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana trafficking. Judge John Stapleton set Cooley’s bail at $100,000 cash and revoked his bail in a pending cocaine distribution case out of Middlesex Superior Court. He is due back in court May 1.
Police said officers searched the Quarry Street home of Cooley’s girlfriend, Shamieh Wall, at about 11 p.m Monday and collected 77 individual bags of what they believed to be marijuana, more than 4 pounds of cocaine, more than half an ounce of methamphetamine and more than 500 cartridges filled with THC, a marijuana derivative. Police said they also seized a loaded pistol, 38 rounds of ammunition, $30,000 in cash and a collection of tools and material used for drug sales.
“The commonwealth’s position, your honor, is it’s clear that Robert Cooley deals drugs, that he continues to deal drugs and that his record is entirely distribution of controlled substances, mainly cocaine,” Farley said. Cooley had been out on probation for a previous cocaine distribution charge out of Suffolk Superior Court, Farley said.
Police said officers obtained a warrant to search Wall’s Quarry Street home Monday evening after watching what looked like a drug deal between Cooley and a known crack cocaine dealer, Jeffrey Wilson, 35, of Boston. When Wilson was later pulled over in Boston, police said a woman in the passenger seat had about 8 grams of crack cocaine hidden in her pants and told officers that Wilson had told her to hide it and threatened to kill her if she spoke to police. Police suspected that the crack cocaine had been purchased from Cooley.
Cooley’s defense attorney, Joseph McDonough, questioned whether police had enough evidence to support the warrant to search Wall’s house or to justify the police stop, saying police never saw a drug transaction.
“It was based on the Quincy police officer’s suspicions or hunches,” McDonough said.


JOHNSTOWN, Pa. -- Students at Westmont Hilltop Middle School couldn't really focus on what their teachers were going over in class on Tuesday. They couldn't keep their minds off the visitors scheduled for the end of the school day.
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Beau Bennett and Tampa Bay Lightning center Alex Killorn visited the school as part of the Kraft Hockeyville USA celebration prior to the preseason game between their teams at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN).
The students piled into the gym, which was covered in signs made by students for the Penguins, and started chants well before anyone arrived.
"It was great. We had a page and a half of absentees this morning. They were all at the morning practices, but of course they all ran back to school to be here for the players," said Tom Callihan, the athletic director of the school.
Pittsburgh's mascot, Iceberg, and his Tampa Bay counterpart, Thunderbug, arrived first to pump up the kids and offer up a few dance moves. Once Bennett and Killorn arrived, the players immediately jumped in on a hockey game with students and faculty on the gym floor with the mascots in net.
One faculty member had a genetic advantage while playing with the pros.
Seventh-grade teacher Hollis Hall is the daughter of local legend Don Hall, who played for the Johnstown Jets in the Eastern Hockey League for 11 seasons from 1950-62; he had 424 goals and 1,056 career points.
"It was very fun playing with Beau and Alex," Hall said with a laugh. "I don't think I have the skills my father does, but I did block a shot with my foot. My eyes were closed when it happened, but I'll just pretend it was Alex Killorn who shot it."
After the game, which Bennett's team won 4-3, the players answered questions students had prepared on notecards. Many of the students were proud of their town's history as the home of the movie "Slap Shot" and were curious to know what it was like for the players to be here.
"It was pretty cool to play in the same place the greatest hockey movie ever was made," Killorn said to one giddy student.
Other students were more interested in what players do off the ice. When Bennett told them he likes to play "Call of Duty," the students erupted in one of their loudest cheers of the afternoon.
Callihan said having the visit from the players was worth sacrificing an afternoon of lesson plans for his students.
"Our kids, they look up to athletes. To have two NHL players here answering their questions, playing hockey with them, those are the types of people we want our kids to emulate," Callihan said. "They certainly are good role models. This is a day our kids are not going to forget."


Photo: Antigua and Barbuda’s prime minister, Gaston Browne, leads the CARICOM delegation on a tour of Barbuda’s devastated capital, Codrington.
Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana – CARICOM’s chairman, Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell of Grenada, and Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque carried out a tour of hurricane-devastated islands Wednesday, indicating that arrangements are being made to convene an international donors conference to mobilise the “significant resources” required for the recovery effort.
The touring CARICOM delegation included Ronald Jackson, executive director of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), which is the CARICOM Institution coordinating the regional hurricane disaster response; and Captain Errington Shurland, executive director of the Regional Security System (RSS).
Antigua and Barbuda’s prime minister, Gaston Browne, joined the delegation for the tour of Barbuda, where the government’s assessment shows more than 90 percent of the buildings on the island were destroyed. Browne confirmed that all Barbuda residents have been relocated to sister island Antigua, with just a contingent of military personnel remaining to provide security.
In the British Virgin Islands, where the delegation toured affected communities and met with Premier Dr. Orlando Smith and government and disaster management officials, the focus is on meeting critical immediate needs such as water and food supplies and restoring access to electricity and telecommunications, while simultaneously working on arrangements for getting students back into schools and getting critical sectors of the economy such as tourism and financial services back up to speed. Smith noted that the government headquarters building is among the those destroyed and his office has had to be relocated to the main hospital building.
Anguilla’s chief minister, Victor Banks, who joined the CARICOM delegation on the tour of his island where the main hospital, schools and 90 percent of the homes were damaged, said he is also working to address the pressing need for food, water, building supplies and electricity and confronting any challenges to the critical tourism sector.
Mitchell acknowledged “the extremely high level of devastation” in these and the other affected islands, and said substantial international support is required to build on the ongoing financial and other contributions by Caribbean governments, individuals and organisations.
He said the requested support must include psychological counselling to help affected people overcome the trauma of the hurricane Irma experience. “We will use our regional and international contacts to leverage the required support” he added.
Secretary-General LaRocque said given the scale of the destruction, countries and institutions in the international community must be willing to build on the current relief efforts by the Caribbean community and he said invitations are already being sent to development partners for the soon-to-be convened donors conference.
“The governments can’t do it alone,” the secretary-general said. “We need to mobilise international help from partner countries in the international community. We hope to have this donor meeting as soon as possible and the mobilisation has started.” He added that a representative of the UN Offices in Barbados who was included on the tour has already been in contact with his head office.
In the meantime, CDEMA has been facilitating much of the regional collaboration through a hub in Antigua for the affected Eastern Caribbean islands, and one in Jamaica for the Western Caribbean, including the Turks and Caicos Islands, Haiti and The Bahamas. CDEMA, working in conjunction with national disaster management offices, has been coordinating the provision of required personnel, relief supplies and other support in the run-up to, during, and after the passage of Irma.