A trove of dispatches made public by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks paint a vivid picture of the delicate dealings between the United States and Egypt.
WASHINGTON — It was Hillary Rodham Clinton’s first meeting as secretary of state with President Hosni Mubarak, in March 2009, and the Egyptians had an odd request: Mrs. Clinton should not thank Mr. Mubarak for releasing an opposition leader from prison because he was ill.
In fact, a confidential diplomatic cable signed by the American ambassador to Egypt, Margaret Scobey, advised Mrs. Clinton to avoid even mentioning the name of the man, Ayman Nour, even though his imprisonment in 2005 had been condemned worldwide, not least by the Bush administration.
The cable is among a trove of dispatches made public by the antisecrecy group WikiLeaks that paint a vivid picture of the delicate dealings between the United States and Egypt, its staunchest Arab ally. They show in detail how diplomats repeatedly raised concerns with Egyptian officials about jailed dissidents and bloggers, and kept tabs on reports of torture by the police.
This balancing of private pressure with strong public support for Mr. Mubarak has become increasingly tenuous in recent days. Throngs of angry Egyptians have taken to the streets and the White House, worried about being identified with a reviled regime, has challenged the president publicly.
It is not known what Mrs. Clinton said to Mr. Mubarak in their first meeting, at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheik. But she set the public tone afterward, when she was asked by an Arab television journalist about a State Department report critical of Egypt’s human rights record.
“We hope that it will be taken in the spirit in which it is offered, that we all have room for improvement,” Mrs. Clinton said, adding that Mr. Mubarak and his wife, Suzanne, were friends of her family, and that it was up to the Egyptian people to decide the president’s future.
The cables, which cover the first year of the Obama presidency, leave little doubt about how valuable an ally Mr. Mubarak has been, detailing how he backed the United States in its confrontation with Iran, played mediator between Israel and the Palestinians and supported Iraq’s fledgling government, despite his opposition to the American-led war.
Privately, Ambassador Scobey pressed Egypt’s interior minister to free three bloggers, as well as a Coptic priest who performed a wedding for a Christian convert, according to one of her cables to Washington. She also asked that three American pro-democracy groups be granted formal permission to operate in the country, a request the Egyptians rejected.
However effusive the Americans were about Mr. Mubarak in public, the cables offered a less flattering picture of Egypt’s first lady, Suzanne Mubarak. During a visit to the Sinai, one reported, she commandeered a bus that had been bought with money from the United States Agency for International Development and that had been meant to carry children to school.
Egyptian state security was concerned enough about American activities in Sinai, according to another cable, that it surreptitiously recorded a meeting between diplomats and members of a local council.
Yet many more of the cables describe collaboration between the United States and Egypt. In her 2009 visit, Mrs. Clinton was trying to revive the moribund peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Mr. Mubarak was central to this: the cables detail his efforts to broker a cease-fire between Israelis and the militant group Hamas in Gaza, as well as American pressure on him to curb the smuggling of weapons to Hamas from Egypt through tunnels.
Like other Arab leaders, Mr. Mubarak is depicted in the cables as obsessed with Iran, which he told American diplomats was extending its tentacles from “the Gulf to Morocco” through proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah. He views these groups — particularly Hamas, a “brother” of Egypt’s banned Muslim Brotherhood — as a direct threat to his own rule.
In a meeting with General Petraeus on June 29, 2009, Mr. Mubarak said the Iranian government wanted to establish “pockets” of influence inside Egypt, according to a cable. General Petraeus told him the United States was responding to similar fears among Persian Gulf states by deploying more Patriot missiles and upgrading its F-16 fighter jets stationed in the region.
Another cable, dated March 2009, offered a pessimistic analysis of the prospects for the “April 6 Movement,” a Facebook-based group of mostly young Egyptians that has received wide attention for its lively political debate and helped mobilize the protests that have swept Egypt in the last two days. Leaders of the group had been jailed and tortured by the police. There were also signs of internal divisions between secular and Islamist factions, it said.
The United States has defended bloggers with little success. When Ambassador Scobey raised several arrests with the interior minister, he replied that Egypt did not infringe on freedom of the press, but that it must respond when “people are offended by blogs.” An aide to the minister told the ambassador that The New York Times, which has reported on the treatment of bloggers in Egypt, was “exaggerating the blogger issue,” according to the cable.
American diplomats also cast a wide net to gather information on police brutality, the cables show. Through contacts with human rights lawyers, the embassy follows numerous cases, and raised some with the Interior Ministry. Among the most harrowing, according to a cable, was the treatment of several members of a Hezbollah cell detained by the police in late 2008.
Lawyers representing the men said they were subjected to electric shocks and sleep deprivation, which reduced them to a “zombie state.” They said the torture was more severe than what they normally witnessed.
To the extent that Mr. Mubarak has been willing to tolerate reforms, the cable said, it has been in areas not related to public security or stability. For example, he has given his wife latitude to campaign for women’s rights and against practices like female genital mutilation and child labor, which are sanctioned by some conservative Islamic groups.
Still, Mr. Mubarak generally views broader reforms as an invitation to extremism. “We have heard him lament the results of earlier U.S. efforts to encourage reform in the Islamic world,” said a cable, noting that he often invoked the shah of Iran — a secular leader who came under pressure from Washington, only to be replaced by an even more repressive, hostile government.
Even the private encounters with Mr. Mubarak have layers of sensitivity. While Mrs. Clinton was advised to steer clear of mentioning Ayman Nour, the cable signed by Ambassador Scobey suggested she might broach the topic of Saad Eddin Ibrahim, an Egyptian-American author and critic of Mr. Mubarak who fled Egypt after being found guilty of defaming the country.
It is not clear whether Mrs. Clinton did so.


Hear for yourself why rising Gospel stars Trey McLaughlin & The Sounds of Zamar have millions of YouTube views. This concert will inspire with Trey McLaughlin at the piano leading this group of superbly talented Gospel singers in fresh adaptations of contemporary gospel, pop, and musical theater hits. Internationally recognized for their rich harmonies, emotion-filled vocals, and complex arrangements of classic gospel hymns, the group has performed with many of today’s Gospel greats, such as William McDowell, Kierra “Kiki” Sheard, Richard Smallwood, Earnest Pugh, and James Fortune. Savor the inspiring sounds of Georgia’s hottest new Gospel ensemble on their first ever North American tour.


Mikaela Shiffrin won her 15th World Cup race of the season on Saturday, breaking a 30-year-old record for most wins.
Vreni Schneider of Switzerland set the previous record of 14 in the 1988-89 season.
Shiffrin, 23, set the record with a win in the slalom, her sixth victory in that discipline this season.
Even before the Saturday’s race in the Czech Republic, Shiffrin had locked up her third overall World Cup title.
After the first run of the competition, Shiffrin led Wendy Holdener of Switzerland by 0.37 seconds. A strong second run left her 0.85 seconds faster than Holdener and gave her the record and her 58th World Cup career victory.
Shiffrin attempted to break the record Friday in the giant slalom but fell short, finishing in third place behind Petra Vlhova of Slovakia.
“Yesterday in the second run I was pushing really hard,” Shiffrin said after Saturday’s race. “It was enough to get on the podium and I was really happy about that but felt disappointment from the first.


Carl Landry's contract really isn't that bad. He signed a 1-year/$9 million deal with New Orleans once the lockout was over. He's a good player and he plays bigger than his 6'9" frame, often playing center. Although, with that kind of money and playing for the lowly Hornets, Landry should be starting. Carl will be a hot commodity once the off-season begins and if he doesn't reach for the money, he'll be able to contribute to an elite team.


Mr. Hiroshi Ishino resigned from the position of Representative Director in KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD. effective June 27, 2019. He joined the Company in March 2003. His previous titles include Senior Managing Director, Deputy Director of Paint Materials Business, Chief Director of Global Supply, Chief Director of International Affairs, Senior Managing Executive Officer and Manager of Product Planning Office in the Company. Prior to joining the Company, he worked for Mitsubishi Corporation. He obtained his LLB's degree from The University of Tokyo in March 1975.
Mr. Harishchandra M. Bharuka has been serving as Director in KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD. as well as President and Director of a subsidiary, Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. since June 2017.
Mr. Kunishi Mori was named President and Representative Director in KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD., effective April 1, 2019. He joined the Company in April 1981. He previously served as Chief Director of Sales Planning in the Company.
Mr. Shinji Asatsuma resigned from the position of Director of KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD. effective June 2019. He was named Director in KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD. effective April 1, 2019. He joined the Company in April 1984. His previous titles include Executive Officer, Manager of Business Planning Office and Chief Director of International in the Company.
Mr. Hidenori Furukawa was named Senior Managing Executive Officer and Representative Director in KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD. effective June 2019. He was also named Senior Managing Executive Officer and Director in KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD. effective April 1, 2019. He joined the Company in April 1983. His previous titles include Executive Officer, Deputy Chief Director of Production, Manager of Business Center and Chief Director of Production in the Company.
Mr. Koji Kamikado resigned from the position of Director of KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD. effective June 2019. He was named Director in KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD. effective April 1, 2019. He joined the Company in April 1980. His previous titles include Executive Officer, Chief Director of Research and Development and Director of AT Research Institute and Director of SR Research Institute in the Company.
Mr. Jun Senoo has been serving as Managing Executive Officer, Chief Director of Corporate Business and Director in KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD. since April 2018. He joined the Company in April 1983. His previous tiles include Executive Officer, Deputy Chief Director of Administration and Manager of Operation Center in Main Production Unit in the Company.
Mr. Masaru Tanaka resigned from the position of Director of KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD. effective June 2019. He was named Director in KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD. effective April 1, 2019. He joined the Company in April 1981.
Ms. Yoko Miyazaki resigned from the position of Independent Director of KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD. effective June 2019. She used to work for Osaka Bar Association.
Mr. Keiji Yoshikawa has been serving as Independent Director in KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD., since June 2018. He used to work for Nippon Sheet Glass Company.


MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca, and Abpro, an integrated life sciences company at the forefront of synthetic biology, today announced they have entered into a collaborative agreement to advance the development of a preclinical, novel bispecific antibody targeting angiopoietin-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor (Ang2-VEGF). The agreement is structured as a spin out, benefiting from both companies' scientific expertise and Abpro's day-to-day leadership as it oversees the new company, AbMed.
Several potential therapeutic areas will be explored where inhibition of the Ang2 and VEGF pathways with this unique bispecific antibody may provide clinical benefit.
Scientists at MedImmune leveraged the company's significant experience with bispecific antibody development, engineering a novel bispecific antibody that demonstrated potent activity in animal models, which may be useful in targeting disease indications with high unmet needs. Abpro will bring strong scientific, technical and clinical expertise to the new company moving forward, and its core technology platform, DiversImmune, will be used to further refine the antibody.
Under the terms of the agreement, AbMed, which will operate as a subsidiary of Abpro, will receive majority global development and commercialization rights to the program, and MedImmune will receive development, regulatory and sales milestones and royalties, as well as hold a minority equity stake in AbMed.
"This agreement arises out of MedImmune's culture of entrepreneurship and innovation - both in science and in business," said Jane Osbourn, Vice President of R&D, MedImmune. "We believe partners like Abpro can help us maximize our extensive pre-clinical portfolio to advance therapies for patients."
Ian Chan, CEO and Co-founder of Abpro said: "Abpro's collaborative agreement with MedImmune creates an opportunity to work with one of the world's leading biopharmaceutical companies to advance novel therapeutics into the clinic. This collaboration further validates our platform's ability to develop therapeutic antibodies against traditionally difficult targets, with compelling prospects for potential clinical utility."
MedImmune is the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca, a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule and biologic prescription medicines. MedImmune is pioneering innovative research and exploring novel pathways across Oncology, Respiratory, Cardiovascular & Metabolic Diseases, and Infection and Vaccines. The MedImmune headquarters is located in Gaithersburg, Md., one of AstraZeneca's three global R&D centres, with additional sites in Cambridge, UK and Mountain View, CA. For more information, please visit http://www.medimmune.com.
Abpro is the pioneer of industrial biochemistry. Through its core technology, the DiversImmune[TM] platform, Abpro leverages synthetic biology and immunology to accelerate antibody discovery and development in the life sciences industry. The company creates novel bio-molecules to improve human and animal health by developing products in the research, diagnostic and therapeutic markets. Abpro partners with some of the leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies globally and retains its own broad pipeline of therapeutic programs. For more information, visit http://www.abpro.com.


(Newser) – If you were impressed by Steph Curry's shooting skills, get ready for what may be coming now that he can actually see. The NBA star revealed this week to the Athletic, via the San Francisco Chronicle, that he recently got long-needed contact lenses due to blurry vision. Fox News notes the 31-year-old's eyesight issues are tied to a progressive eye disorder called keratoconus, which results in the cornea thinning out and becoming cone-shaped, which can then lead to an astigmatism and blurry vision. Curry notes he's long compensated for his condition, which made the "keep your eye on the ball" part of the game a bit more challenging.
So he couldn't see me flipping him off all those times he was beating my Cavs? Maybe I should have used one of those giant foam hands.
His shooting skills were developed and fine tuned for the vision he had previously. Now, he has to learn a different way. It's too early to say anything for sure but the new results may not be any better than his old ones.


Technical meeting on Technical meeting on "Tax treaty administration and negotiation"
Despite some progress in a number of countries, many developing countries are still a long way from actually adjusting their supporting collections of economic statistics for implementing the System of National Accounts (SNA).
Taking place at UN Headquarters, the event is organized with the view to identifying pressing issues for developing countries in this area and to informing the work of the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters during its next annual session (Geneva, 21-25 October 2013).
The objective of the meeting is to agree on priorities and work arrangements for international classifications work over the next years.
At the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), world leaders acknowledged the vital importance of an inclusive, transparent, strengthened and effective multilateral system to better address the urgent global challenges of sustainable development.


RIYADH: The tallest camel in the world attracted the attention of visitors to the King Abdul Aziz Festival for Camels in its second edition, which is being held in the Sayaheed in the southern part of Ad Dahna desert around Riyadh.
The six-year-old camel is about three meters long, and from the top of the shoulder, it is 2.4 meters tall.
The tallest camel display was one of the activities of rare camels in the festival, which included the shortest camel, two-hump camels, and two-color camels.
The King Abdul Aziz Camel Festival has been dedicated to presenting camel heritage and educating visitors about names and colors of camels, as well as everything related to this animal.


KANO – Kano state Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has presented an aggregate Budget of N219, 281,273,481 for the 2014 fiscal year to the state House of Assembly.
Tagged “Budget of Consolidation”, the proposed 2014 appropriation bill is slightly lower than the 2013 budget with N19.2billion, which translates to 8%..
In a two hours presentation Tuesday night, Governor Kwankwaso described the appropriation bill as a balance budget with revenue matching the same expenditure.
Kwankwaso stated that the 2014 budget has a projected recurrent revenue N126, 960,422,861 and capital receipt of N81, 526,211,850. It also has a recurrent allocation of N70, 621,425,720 and capital estimates of N148, 659,847,767, stressing that “this represents a total of 68% capital and 32% recurrent estimate”.
He disclosed that the direction of the 2014 budget will remain on the Infrastructural development, aggressive revenue generation and strategic exit from debt finance by expanding and exploiting our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) potentials.
The Governor revealed that 2014 appropriation bill would also focused on Youth/Women empowerment through capacity building and wealth creation, adding that Health and educational development, Development of the real sector of the economy, Continuation/strengthening of expenditure rationalization, Strategic partnership between State and Local Government to finance long-term investment are all part policy direction of the proposed bill.
In his response, the Speaker of the Kano House of Assembly, Alhaji Gambo Salau while apluding the bill promised on behalf of his colleague to give accelerated hearing “to allow Kano enjoy the good package”.


Anyone who collects posters has heard of Mondo. They’re the Austin, TX-based company making some of the best limited-edition, collectable posters in the world. Next month, they’re hosting their second convention: MondoCon.
MondoCon takes place October 3-4 in Austin, and will feature two days of pure awesome for collectors. There will be panels on the creation of various posters, artists talking about their process, designers discussing limited release vinyl pressings, and screenings of classics like Batman and The Goonies (complete with exclusive posters)—not to mention two huge rooms filled with brand new art, posters, vinyl, toys, and anything else you can imagine.
Oh, and there’s a bar in there too.
This year, MondoCon has its own gig poster by The Dude Designs and we’re stoked to exclusively debut it here. It’s a completely hilarious take on The Warriors, but reimagined with the Mondo staff and some of the artists who’ll be on hand. Check it out.
For more on MondoCon, including the full schedule, tickets and more, visit www.mondo-con.com. And check back on io9 after the event for a glimpse at some of the madness.


In many ways, America deserves Ted Cruz. After all, it's been nearly eight years since voters (and the Supreme Court) elected a cocksure, right-wing adopted Texan, long on discredited ideology but short on wits, who plunged the United States into a sinkhole of economic and foreign policy chaos from which it has yet to fully emerge. The American political attention span is notoriously short.
Thus, when the bumptious junior senator from Texas announced his 2016 presidential bid at Liberty University — the late Rev. Jerry Falwell's brick-and-mortar attempt to reverse the entire Western Enlightenment — pundits across the political spectrum weren't exactly surprised. In typical Republican fashion, his announcement was larded with plenty of patriotic fanfare, an inordinate amount of unearned chutzpah, and carefully staged, color-coded, gender-designated patriarchal family posing. Moreover, students expressed palpable support, especially since they were forced to attend the event. Taking a page out of the Barack Obama playbook (but without the critical thinking), the Texas senator with only a few capital years under his belt cultivated his star-power within his party via pointless filibusters that weren't really filibusters and carefully calibrated pandering to the Tea Party base to emerge as the GOP's most starry-eyed White House hopeful.
Cruz's White House run is disturbing, and not just because it involves Ted Cruz. Rather, he embodies the modern conservative propensity toward a fundamentalist American civil religion and its attendant, overly simplistic myths. As the English political activist George Monbiot observed during the dawn of the second President Bush's Iraq War, to America's conservative subculture "the United States is no longer just a nation. It is now a religion... It is not just that the Americans are God's chosen people; America itself is now perceived as a divine project." American civil religion hinges on what Ted Cruz defined in his Liberty University speech as "the promise of America," embodied in "the American exceptionalism that has made this nation a clarion voice for freedom in the world, a shining city on a hill." The religion of America is a civil religion that casts the United States as a divine world power shaped by a series of comforting myths that, in the eyes of fervent believers like Cruz, make it the ultimate political Promised Land.
The term "civil religion" goes back to the writings of French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau, who ruminated on the tensions that arise when church and state become separate entities. In American discourse, the term is most closely associated with sociologist Robert Bellah. In 1967, Bellah characterized civil religion as "a set of beliefs, symbols, and rituals" that was "neither sectarian nor in any specific sense Christian" but nonetheless constituted a shared experience of being American that was inspired by Christian notions of redemption and spiritual fulfillment. Civil religion casts America as a beacon of secular and sacred hope in a fallen modern world. In this context, Bellah wrote, "Europe is Egypt" and America was the Promised Land to which "God has led his people to establish a new sort of social order that shall be a light unto all the nations." And if this concept seems open-ended and ripe for abuse, that's because it is.
In his book "God and War: American Civil Religion Since 1945," historian Raymond Haberski Jr. observes that civil religion is a "strange beast" that can be appropriated by anyone for any purpose. "As a hybrid of nationalism and traditional religion, civil religion has an ideological flexibility that is intoxicating because it is so evocative, elastic, and deceptively complex," Haberski writes. Moreover, civil religion is "not a set of laws but a collection of myths" such as the idea that America is "the last best hope for mankind," and these myths can't be empirically confirmed. Myths are indeed the key elements in American civil religion. Religious scholar Richard T. Hughes identifies six core myths that Americans live by: the myth of the Chosen Nation, of Nature's Nation, of the Christian Nation, of Manifest Destiny, of the Capitalist Nation and of the Innocent Nation. These myths have been sources of American strength and unity. But they’ve also been abused by those who would "absolutize the righteousness of the United States," confuse the ideals of the American creed "with the realities of the present moment" and stifle all dissent. Enter Ted Cruz.
Cruz packed his Liberty University speech with simplistic — and often historically inaccurate — myths that so often define American conservatives' approach to civil religion. Of course, civil religion isn't the sole property of the right. As sociologist Philip Gorski notes, Barack Obama has always filled his rhetoric with "the promise of America." However, just as they are wont to do with Christianity, conservatives boil civil religion in a steaming pot of moral absolutes, anti-intellectualism and redemptionist history until all nuance and context is burned away, leaving a distilled political elixir of fundamentalist dogma that absolves America of any of the human faults that plague other nations.
Cruz had the myth of the Chosen Nation down pat when he claimed that America is "an indispensable nation, a unique nation in the history of the world." As for the myth of Nature's Nation, he evoked America as the cultivated political garden of God Himself that, "from the dawn of this country, at every stage... has enjoyed God’s providential blessing." The myth of the Christian Nation? Cruz parroted the now standard (but historically bogus) right-wing claim that the U.S. "was founded upon" the idea that rights come from a very specific “God Almighty." Cruz’s reference to the myth of Manifest Destiny was more veiled, but he name-dropped key historical figures such as Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (no doubt for good bipartisan measure) and, of course, Ronald Reagan to reiterate his point that God has blessed every step in America's development. The myth of the Capitalist Nation came via his railing against standard conservative government bogeymen like "regulators," "tax collectors" and Obamacare that despoil the purity of the Free Market. Finally, Cruz touted the myth of the Innocent Nation when he claimed that political change will only come from "lovers of liberty" who realize that "God isn't done with America yet." Bless their liberty-loving souls.
Cruz's speech was a prime example of how the right wing promotes a deeply fundamentalist American civil religion that relies on time-honored myths to characterize the United States as a nation guided by providential destiny. Cruz and other conservatives don't see America as one nation that is a part of world history; they see it as one nation apart from world history, one that exists free of the flawed human agency and historical contingency that — contrary to Cruz's claims — has shaped all of the human experience.
An America as defined by a future President Cruz is an America that sees itself as blindingly perfect, naively innocent, incapable of critical reflection over both its strengths and weaknesses and utterly convinced of its capacity to shape the world in its own image. Cruz's version of civil religion is the ultimate example of how conservatives "absolutize the righteousness of the United States." When you believe that God has blessed America from the beginning, you ignore the times that Americans have invoked God to justify the evils of Indian removal, slavery, racism, sexism and environmental destruction. More importantly, you undervalue the times when Americans have overcome those sins to demonstrate what Abraham Lincoln called "the better angels of our nature." When you worship capitalism and tout the United States as the world's only hope, you ignore the false idols that led to the Great Recession and the bloody folly of the Iraq War that’s left the Middle East in tatters. When you develop a false sense of American innocence, you view national self-reflection as a weakness.
In the recent past, voters elected a conservative Texas politician who genuflected at the altar of fundamentalist American civil religion, who famously valued faith and ideology over critical examinations of the world's complexities — and they paid a stiff price. Here's hoping that the electorate won't repeat recent history by elevating Ted Cruz as High Priest of the American civil religion temple.
Jarret Ruminski is a writer and historian who blogs at That Devil History, where he discusses the intersection of U.S. history, politics, and culture. Follow him on Twitter at @TheDevilHistory.


A former employee inside a Donald Trump-owned building is using photography to protest the presidential hopeful's comments about Mexican immigrants.
Ricardo Aca is launching a photo exhibit in response to Trump's immigration policy. He's an undocumented immigrant who used to work as a busboy at Koi restaurant in the Trump SoHo hotel.
Aca traveled to Harvard University and Mexico's Gold Cup Soccer Final to help capture the essence of the Mexican community through a series of portraits being showcased at LaGuardia Community College.
His story first received recognition in August, when he was featured in a YouTube video responding to Trump's comments that Mexicans were bringing drugs and crime to the U.S.
Aca says the exhibition gives him a voice.
"We take this issue very personal. So when some makes like racist comments about our community, it is like if they were offending someone in our family," he said. "You know, we're not going stand back and then watch it all happen. We need to take action."
The exhibit opens to the public Thursday and will be open through the end of year.


From left: Kathy Whitlow, Truckee River Watershed Council, Green Bucks program manager; Rob McCormick, director of sales, PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn; Travis Weber, sales manager, Squaw Valley Lodge; Amy Berry, Tahoe Fund CEO; Andy Wirth, president and CEO of Squaw Valley Ski Holdings; Rebecca Lincoln, Tahoe Fund coordinator; and Christy Beck, general manager for The Village at Squaw Valley.
Olympic Valley businesses have raised $75,000 since 2012 to preserve and restore Lake Tahoe and the region’s watersheds through the Green Bucks program and direct contributions.
Green Bucks is a dollar donation program designed to harness the passion of visitors and residents to help care for the region’s environment. In Olympic Valley, Squaw Valley Ski Holdings, Squaw Valley Lodge and PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn have committed to collecting dollar donations on room nights and season passes to raise funds.
Starting winter 2014-15, Squaw Valley Ski Holdings will also add its food and beverage program to the list of Green Bucks contributors. To date, Squaw Valley Ski Holdings has raised $66,500 through direct contributions as well as Green Bucks donations raised through Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows season pass purchases and reservations at The Village at Squaw Valley.
Green Bucks is a win-win for residents and visitors by creating a simple way for those who love the Lake Tahoe/Truckee area to help restore the environment and enhance recreational opportunities, ultimately helping to drive more tourism and business to the economy.
Local businesses may call 530-550-8760, ext. 7 to sign up to participate in the Green Bucks program.
Visit http://www.tahoefund.org, http://www.truckeeriverwc.org, http://www.squaw.com or http://www.skialpine.com.


More lawmakers on Tuesday threw their support behind former Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez—who is running again for office in May—as the next speaker of the House.
Among them were party-list Reps. Catalina Pizarro of Arts, Business, and Science Professionals (ABS), Mariano Piamonte of A-Teacher, Jesulito Manalo of Angkla, Anthony Bravo of Coop-Natco, and Cecilia Chavez of Butil.
In a statement, the leaders said Romualdez would make a good speaker because he is good at gaining a consensus, and as such, can push President Rodrigo Duterte’s legislative agenda forward.
“We have worked with FMR in Congress. He is not only a principled and compassionate leader but a unifying presence who can actively steer [the President’s] legislative agenda for change and development in the country,” their statement read.
Romualdez, both president of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats and the Philippine Constitution Association, is running for the Leyte congressional seat to replace his wife, Yedda.
Several lawmakers earlier expressed confidence that Romualdez, whom the President’s daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio declared will be the next speaker, will be able to steer “a more productive and responsive” House under the 18th Congress.
Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice on Sunday supported Romualdez as the next House Speaker in the incoming 18th Congress.
“He has no corruption issue, and that will work to his advantage,” said Erice, a member of the House opposition.
House Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said Duterte’s endorsement of Romualdez would mean a more productive and responsive House of Representatives supportive of the President’s legislative agenda.
“We need a competent and honest man like congressman Romualdez. He has good public relations and no derogatory issue. Congress will be very interesting with his leadership. He is good, responsible, very bright and intelligent,” he said.
Buhay Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza said Romualdez has never been tainted by allegations of corruption and said he was an effective and independent opposition leader when he was last in Congress.
“We should elect a Speaker untainted by corruption,” Atienza said.
Former Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. cited Romualdez’s good record as a constructive critic when he headed the independent bloc in Congress.
“During my speakership, he headed the independent minority group, yet proved to be supportive and helped me in pushing important measures,” he said.
“He is a good and brilliant lawyer who never lost a case. He is also fair and a charming gentleman,” Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano said.


The NBA is taking a rare day off on Thanksgiving, which should at least satisfy Stan Van Gundy. But for diehard fans, getting through the holiday will be a struggle.
At ThePostGame, we are doing our part to entertain you ... by matching Thanksgiving foods with the personality of NBA players. That means entrees, sides, desserts -- we're putting on a full-court press. Maybe consider reading this after your big meal. It'll make you hungry -- hopefully not to eat LeBron James or Stephen Curry.
LeBron is still the face of the NBA. Yes, he can sometimes be bland, but no good NBA argument can be made without mentioning LeBron in the same way that there's no good Thanksgiving meal unless you have turkey.
Green is a great complement to a great team. Stuffing is the most important role player on Thanksgiving. You can't rely only on stuffing for a meal, but you'll move it around your plate and let it cover a ton of ground. It has a firm texture and can get messy.
Just so smooth and sweet. Nothing makes your palate tingle like sweet potatoes.
This will slice up your Thanksgiving plate. Mashed potatoes will find their way to every crevice.
Harder than sweet potatoes, but still gets the job done. Squash definitely has its moments, but it can be inconsistent.
No, not everyone likes Durant, but he doesn't care. Those who do like him think he's one of the most important players in the NBA. Cranberry sauce isn't for everyone, but those who like it won't do Thanksgiving without it.
There isn't much on the surface of a roll, but forget Thanksgiving. What holiday meal is complete without traditional bread to complement the whole meal (well, Passover, but that's neither here nor there). The roll can defend against anything from too much wine to too much gravy.
Sweeter and a bit softer than a roll, but still a great two-way player.
Klay Thompson or gravy would have a tougher times on their own. But with stars like Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant or turkey and stuffing, they are an crucial part of the offense. Thompson is gravy for the Warriors. On top of having two MVPs, Golden State has a lights-out spot-up shooter to rain all over the opponent.
Older generations might scoff at Antetokounmpo's lankiness, but in today's health-focused generation, he's a rising star. There are a lot of nutrients in there and look at that length!
Not necessarily a common Thanksgiving dish, but Harden is cooking up something special right now. Unless Lil B curses him again, Harden is going to keep stirring that pot.
Most people don't get excited about DeRozan, but he's a consistent star for one of the NBA's most consistent teams. He delivers night-in, night-out even if he's not the most marketable face. And besides, his hometown of Los Angeles would love this.
You're not sure how good he actually is, but as time goes on, it's hard to keep Wall out of the discussion for best players in the NBA. Brussel sprouts sound bad when you're young, but over time, you realize just how legit they are.
You're not sure if you need this until you eat it and realize even though summer barbecues are long over, corn can complement anything. Corn has been doing it for so long in so many situations. The same goes for Horford, who is at the forefront of the Celtics' surprising 2017-18 despite the loss of Gordon Hayward.
Everyone overlooks the green beans. Some people don't even think it deserves the spotlight of the Thanksgiving meal. But green beans keep coming back for more every year and are on a mission to prove they belong.
You're never sure if these ingredients are going to line up. You're not sure if anyone will like it. But mixing all these things sounds amazing, so you're going to do it anyway.
The unicorns who aren't quite ready for the main course. However, we can't wait to watch them play and indulge in them as much as possible. We like to joke we can eat a whole pie the same way we'd be happy only watching these guys play.


Dodoma — The government is planning to revive its fisheries corporation (Tafico) to supervise the sector.
Deputy Minister for Livestock and Fisheries Mr Abdallah Ulega said on Wednesday that reviving Tafico needs Sh45 billion that will include buying two fishing ships as promised in the 2015-2020 manifesto of the ruling party, CCM.
Mr Ulega was responding to a question asked by Mr Mattar Salum (Shaurimoyo-CCM) who wanted to know what the government was doing to promote fishing in the main sea.
Mr Ulega said his ministry was talking with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and other public and private sector institutions to invest in the fisheries sector.
"We have got a consultant to conduct feasibility study for the construction of the fishing port in Tanzania," added Mr Ulega.


UAE is one of the greatest examples of tolerance, according to the newly appointed UAE Minister of State for Tolerance, Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, also President of Zayed University.
Delivering the ‘Giving Back’ keynote address on the second day of the Global Women’s Forum Dubai, Sheikha Lubna said UAE’s tolerance is reflected in the weave of the society – both nationals and foreign residents – “everything reflects tolerance”.
Sheikha Lubna, who has previously held four ministerial portfolios, and was UAE’s first woman minister with the portfolio of Economy, was asked by Henry Bonsu, Broadcaster, Conference Host and Analyst with BBC News, UK, about her new job as Minister of State for Tolerance.
She explained that the UAE has service ministries like Social Welfare, ministries with international roles like Foreign Affairs, policy-making ministries… and then two new and ‘odd’ ministries were added – those of ‘Happiness’ and ‘Tolerance’.
“But these reflect the values that are integral to all of us. Tolerance is acceptance – accepting and rejoicing differences. We have to be interactive with the community. It is a challenging job, but an exciting ministry. Hopefully we will see great results,” Sheikha Lubna said.
What makes the UAE different is its way of life. “Who you are and where you come from is really irrelevant. You can come from anywhere, but when you come here, you integrate – for this is the land of dreams – where enterprise and business is established, careers made.
“The UAE is open and when we talk of issues like gender balance, we talk of all women – nationals and expatriates.
Elaborating on the theme of ‘Giving Back’, Sheikha Lubna said it’s in the national psyche to give back.
Before the UAE was founded, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development was set up – which “helped development not only for our nations, but for other countries as well.
“In 44 years, UAE has given some US $47 billion to 120 countries mostly in development aid. We are the most generous nation in terms of aid per gross national product.
“Domestically, we have projects, especially in remote areas to provide development.
“Giving is part of the community too. We have talkathons where people contribute millions in a few hours for those in need,” Sheikha Lubna said, while commending the Sheikha Manal Initiative on ‘Step Up for Girls’ Education where Dh1 is donated for every 5 steps a participant takes after downloading the Forum app.
Sheikha Lubna said her concept of leadership is “not about power, but about what a leader can give to people. The essence is building loyalty,” she said while giving the example of her former CIO whose mother was ill while the project was in a critical stage. She told him to go and be with his mother.
“When he came back after two weeks, she passed away. When I told him to go back, he said he had said goodbye to her already. That was in 2002 and till today – this is 2016 – he is still the most loyal officer I had,” she pointed out.
“It is about who you are… are you kind, are you reachable, are you modest. I’m compassionate, but I’m also a tough boss,” Sheikha Lubna said.
Sheikha Lubna said she grew up as a ‘total geek’ – but was fully supported by per parents. A science student, in 1975 as a 17-year-old, she wanted to go and study in the US to be a computer engineer. “They let me.
“I studied in UK, the US and Japan, and when I came back I was one of the first Emirati computer engineers. I worked for an Indian engineering firm, sometimes from 8 am to 8pm, on a salary of Dh5,000 per month. It was one of my best experiences,” Shekha Lubna said.
She thanked the Forum organisers.
“I have attended the Forum in France. I am elated to finally have it here in Dubai,” said Sheikha Lubna.
The Global Women’s Forum Dubai 2016 took place at the Madinat Jumeirah from February 23-24, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; and led by Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, President of Dubai Women Establishment and wife of HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, UAE. The Forum is organized by Dubai Women Establishment in cooperation with the Women's Forum for the Economy and Society.


Community colleges are a vital part of America’s opportunity structure, not least because they often provide a way into higher education for adults from less advantaged backgrounds. Each year there are around 10 million undergraduates enrolled at public, two-year colleges. Among first-generation students, nearly 38 percent attend community colleges, compared to 20 percent of students with college-educated parents.
Credentials from community colleges—whether short vocational courses or two-year associate degrees—can be valuable in the labor market. In theory, community colleges also provide an on-ramp for those seeking a bachelor’s degree; in fact, four out of five students enrolling intend to get a 4-year degree.
But the potential of community college is often unrealized. Many students are not ready. Quality varies. Pathways are often unclear and/or complex. Only about 40 percent of those enrolling earn a degree within six years. Just 15 percent acquire a 4-year degree, according to analyses by Doug Shapiro and Afet Dundar at the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
The degree of alignment and integration between community and four-year colleges is much greater in some states than others. Some use common course numbering for 2- and 4-year institutions, which helps students find the classes they need without racking up costly excess credits. In others, universities and community colleges have tried to align their curriculum to ensure that students’ transfer credits will be accepted.
Individual institutions like Queensborough College (part of the CUNY system) and Miami-Dade College have streamlined course sequences to help their students stay on track to transfer into 4-year schools, as Thomas Bailey, Shanna Jaggers, and Davis Jenkins describe in their book, Redesigning America’s Community Colleges. There’s some indirect evidence that these initiatives increased retention and graduation rates.
Florida tops the list, partly because of state legislation requiring that community colleges grant eligible transfer students degrees—but also because of concerted investments at the state and institutional levels to improve 2-year institutions.
Since community colleges serve so many more students from poor backgrounds, the importance of the transfer pathway for social mobility is clear. Many who struggle at high school may begin to flourish in the first year or two of post-secondary education. As their skills are upgraded, so their opportunities should widen. But too often they become trapped in the silos of post-secondary education. We should continue to support efforts like pathway programs that explicitly attempt to build bridges between community colleges and high-quality four year institutions through the creation of clear and consistent major-specific program maps. Such programs allow students starting out at community colleges to easily chart out the specific, clear, and coherent set of steps needed to eventually finish their post-secondary education with a four-year degree.
The mission of community colleges since their inception a century ago has been to broaden access to education. Today that means providing a solid education to all students, but also providing opportunities to move on to other institutions.


In an extraordinary interview with the New York Times, Donald Trump unleashed an avalanche of caustic attacks on American’s top law enforcement officers, some of whom he had personally appointed.
In each case, the source of Trump’s ire was related to the ongoing investigation into his campaign and potential collusion with Russia.
Trump dismissed the entire notion of FBI independence, saying that the FBI Director only reports to the Justice Department “out of courtesy,” blaming the practice on Richard Nixon.
Taken together, Trump’s comments amount to a full scale assault on the rule of law from an increasingly paranoid president.
Trump blasted Attorney General Jeff Sessions, one of his earliest supporters, for recusing himself from the Russia investigation. Trump cast Sessions as a traitor and said that, had he known Sessions would recuse himself, he would have appointed someone else to the job. He blames Sessions for starting a chain of events that resulted in the appointment of the special prosecutor.
TRUMP: Look, [Attorney General Jeff] Sessions gets the job. Right after he gets the job, he recuses himself.
Trump dismisses Rosenstein as a partisan Democratic hack. He also has apparently forgotten that he personally appointed Rosenstein to this position.
In a May interview, Trump said that Rosenstein is “highly respected. Very good guy, very smart guy. And the Democrats like him. The Republicans like him.” Now that Rosenstein appointed a special counsel to investigate Russia and the Trump campaign, things have changed.
TRUMP: Yeah, what Jeff Sessions did was he recused himself right after, right after he became attorney general. And I said, “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” I would have — then I said, “Who’s your deputy?” So his deputy he hardly knew, and that’s Rosenstein, Rod Rosenstein, who is from Baltimore. There are very few Republicans in Baltimore, if any. So, he’s from Baltimore.
According to Trump, McCabe is another partisan hack out to get him.
TRUMP: McCabe’s wife. She got $700,000, and he’s at the F.B.I.
Trump describes Mueller, who served as FBI Director under two presidents and received a purple heart as a captain in the Marine Corps, as having a vendetta against him because he did not select him to replace Comey.
Trump also warned Mueller not to extend his investigations into his company’s financial dealings.
TRUMP: We were interviewing replacements at the F.B.I. Did you know [Robert] Mueller was one of the people that was being interviewed?
Trump also attacked former FBI Director James Comey, who he already fired, as a liar and a leaker.


Southland temperatures again will reach triple-digit territory today amid a heat wave characterized by strong Santa Ana winds and very low humidity.
A red flag warning indicating a strong risk of wildfire will be in force through Thursday evening in mountain, forest and valley areas of Southern California from San Diego to San Luis Obispo County.
Some Southland areas will be swept by offshore winds gusting as high as 45 miles per hour this morning, and humidity levels in some spots away from the ocean will fall below 10 percent, according to the National Weather Service.
“The combination of very low humidities, weak offshore winds, hot temperatures and extremely dry fuels will produce critical fire weather conditions for portions of the Southland through Thursday,” according to an NWS advisory.
The red flag zone includes the Angeles National Forest, where firefighters have been battling the Station Fire since Aug. 26.
Northeast winds of between 15 and 30 miles per hour will blow through Angeles National Forest areas today, gusting to 50 mph in some passes and canyons, according to an NWS advisory. Temperatures at lower elevations will be in the 90s.
The NWS forecast highs today of 78 at LAX; 79 in Newport Beach; 82 in Avalon; 91 on Mount Wilson; 95 in Long Beach; 96 in Palmdale and Lancaster; 97 in downtown L.A.; 99 in Anaheim; 100 in San Gabriel; 101 in Burbank; 102 in Pasadena and Newhall; and 105 in Woodland Hills.


The Big Bang Theory bosses recently revealed that the sitcom would be crossing over with Young Sheldon – and fans are divided over the move.
Iain Armitage, Lance Barber and Montana Jordan will all cameo as their characters in one episode, that’s due to air next month, although it so far remains under wraps how they’ll manage to time travel to the show that’s set 30 years later.
Viewers weighed in on the bridge, which will broadcast just a few months before The Big Bang Theory ends forever, by sharing their opinions on Twitter, with some unimpressed by the decision.
However, others are over the moon about the two shows coming together and are patiently waiting for the episode to air.
So far it remains to be seen just how the crossover will take place, with some fans predicting a flashback or a dream.
Showrunner Steve Holland has previously teased that a videotape could be used as a plot device and teased what the episode will bring, telling a panel at Comic-Con 2018: ‘There’s an episode we’re writing now where we’re going to be introducing Tam, who is his best friend on Young Sheldon.
Both shows have crossed over before with Sheldon’s best friend Tam, played by Robert Wu and Ryan Phuong, appearing on both shows. Showrunner Steve Holland has previously teased that a videotape could be used as a plot device.
The Big Bang Theory season 12 continues at 8pm on Thursday 15 November on E4.


“THE political nightmare that has faced my colleague,” said Mark Hatfield on September 7th 1995, “is coming to an end.” The colleague was Bob Packwood, his fellow senator from Oregon, who was resigning. The “nightmare” was a Senate Ethics Committee investigation that found Mr Packwood had been sexually harassing subordinates since the 1960s. Mr Packwood battled the committee for three years, destroying evidence and appearing “perplexed or confused…about what actually constituted sexual harassment”. When he resigned, he won praise from senator after senator—not one of whom managed a single word of concern for his many victims.


stations that had gone dark there due to a retrans fight with TWC.
nothing wrong, and Judge Jorge Solis appeared to agree.
Time Warner's abilities to retransmit the signals to any particular region.
has that right, otherwise the limitation would be superfluous.
Nexstar had no comment on the judge's decision, but is expected to appeal it.


Here's how you can join the Google's experiment to show offers at the top of the search results for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
To help retail advertisers increase their exposure for their Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals this year, Google has launched a new experiment with promotion extensions in Google Ads.
What’s the experiment? Now through Nov. 27, Google may serve a specific Black Friday promotion ad format when people search for the following Black Friday and Cyber Monday related keywords and their variations: “black friday deals”, “black friday <product name> deals”, “black friday <company name> deals” and their variants.
The ads are powered by promotion extensions, which debuted around this time last year.
The ad unit, like the example below, will display at the top of the search results for English speaking users. Users will see a list of offers that link to each retailer’s website.
How to participate. It’s pretty easy to get in on this experiment. What’s less easy is guaranteeing your promotion will display in the list. There are really just two steps to getting started.
First, add promotion extensions under the Black Friday or Cyber Monday labels in the Google Ads interface.
Then, create ad groups to target the Black Friday or Cyber Monday keywords listed above and include relevant ad copy.
Why it matters. Google says 100 percent of searches for “Black Friday” happened between Nov. 19 (Sunday) and 25 (Saturday after Black Friday) last year. This experiment could help new potential customers discover your brand and offers in the highly competitive days leading up to Thanksgiving when consumers start searching for deals.


After a 15-month-long absence from the airwaves, Donald Glover’s acclaimed comedy-drama “Atlanta” has finally returned, but the eponymous city is much colder than when we saw it last. Summer and all its awkward Juneteenth celebrations have now passed. Instead, Christmas is coming to Atlanta, and with it, “robbin’ season” — a spike in crime looming over the city during the holidays. From the very beginning of the second season premiere, Glover casts the shadow of robbin’ season to take the series in a new, decidedly darker direction.
Echoing the cold open of series’ first episode, “Alligator Man” leads with a shooting. Earn (Glover), Al (Brian Tyree Henry), and Darius (Lakeith Stanfield) are noticeably absent from the scene, however. In their place, we’re introduced to Curtis (Jasun Jabbar Wardlaw Jr.) and Droop (Frederick Williams), two young men who stick up a drive-thru for a drug stash rumored to be hidden in the back of the restaurant. The boys are well-armed, but so is the employee working the drive-thru register, which they soon realize as he unleashes a barrage of bullets onto their getaway car. Although the car stops for a brief moment during its escape, it is only to unload an unknown young girl from the back seat, who steps out screaming and covered in blood as she’s abandoned in the parking lot. Unlike the series’ first shooting, the scene lingers on after the bullets fly, revealing the horrified faces of the victim and the shooter in their aftermath. And as the title credits roll, “Atlanta” confirms with its new subtitle that robbin’ season is, indeed, upon us.
After showing how the city has changed with the seasons, “Atlanta” shows us how our characters have as well. When we return to Earn, he’s exactly how we left him: sleeping in a storage unit. But now it’s time to wake up. Although his storage unit home had been a small victory in his season-long struggle to be independent, it’s clear that Earn must move out to move forward, whether he wants to or not.
As the episode progresses, it’s clear that change has already come to Earn in big and small ways. For one, he’s cut his hair much shorter, so he certainly looks different. He’s been acting differently, too, as we learn from his parole officer that he’s been charged with narcotics possession with intent to sell. This recent addition to his criminal history also harkens back to the last conversation he had with his on-and-off girlfriend, Van (Zazie Beetz), in the previous season’s finale. Earn handed her a roll of cash, Van jokingly asked if he had become a drug dealer, to which he replied with an unchanged serious face. Before she could go on a full tirade about his irresponsibility as the father of their child, Earn stops her and laughs, “No, come on. You think I could really do that? I’d be so bad at it.” Having been caught, Earn was right that he’d be bad at it, but in doing so, he’s also proven that he really could do that. Van isn’t mentioned or in appearance at any point in “Alligator Man,” so it’s certainly possible that Earn’s relationship with her has been damaged by his most recent arrest.
Earn and Van aren’t the only ones with a seemingly damaged relationship this season. Earn learns soon enough that Al and Darius are on the rocks. They still share the same house, but it’s much more somber now. Their silence around each other speaks louder than words, especially when the only thing Earn can get out of them about their current falling out is, “I don’t want to talk about it.” Although the show has never been heavily story-focused, the past and all its mystery have played a part on “Atlanta”, and there’s a chance that the specifics of their situation will remain unclear, just as Earn’s dropping of Princeton has. Towards the end of the episode, though, Al and Darius do share a laugh together over Earn’s embarrassment, giving them common ground to reconnect on for a least a few moments.
But all of these details are simply context to the main plot of the episode, where Earn visits the house of the titular Alligator Man as a favor to Al, who believes his friend might be held captive there. It’s a textbook example of an “Atlanta” story, using its signature blend of surreal and awkward situations to explore very real emotions and experiences. Yes, Earn eventually finds himself in a house where only a few doors stand between him, a fully-grown alligator trying to get out, and four flustered cops trying to get in and control the situation, but the ridiculous escalation of it all only raises the personal stakes. He cannot afford to violate his probation with another arrest nor can he lose his good standing with Al, who seemingly needs Earn less and less now that his rap career is really taking off. It’s a story about the struggle of proving your worth in a situation that constantly limits your choices and ability to succeed. Most importantly, however, it’s a story worth watching, and I’m looking forward to where Glover and his wonderfully talented cast and crew take us next.
It’s good to be back in Atlanta.


Asia-Pacific ministers are increasingly worried about eurozone's worsening debt crisis before economic summit.
Asia Pacific countries have pressed Europe to act more forcefully to quell its debt crisis, setting the tone for a summit overshadowed by growing alarm over the fallout from eurozone upheaval.
The 19th Informal Leadership Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC), scheduled to take place in Hawaii on Saturday, will look closely at regional economic growth, integration, green growth, energy security and regulatory co-operation.
"It is crucial that Europe move quickly to put in place a strong plan to restore financial stability"
Timothy Geithner, the US treasury secretary, and other APEC finance ministers have agreed to shore up their own economies against Europe's debt crisis, warning in a statement of "heightened downside risks to the global economy".
The Asia-Pacific ministers have pledged to take decisive action if necessary to prevent the spillover from Europe's financial woes from further undermining growth and financial stability across the region.
"The crisis in Europe remains the central challenge to global growth," Geithner said after ministerial talks in advannce of the summit that encompasses economic heavyweights such as the US and China, and small nations including New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
His remarks reflected mounting concern among the 21 APEC members about the spillover from Europe that already is starting to slow the pace of growth in one of the world's most economically dynamic regions.
Against this backdrop of eurozone uncertainties and worldwide stagnation, Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, arrived in Honolulu on Thursday to meet fellow leaders in the Asia-Pacific region and discuss ways to ensure regional prosperity.
The annual meeting will bring China and other regional economies to the table with the US, which has deemed the region to be a place of great interest in its economic and political policies.
At the meetings, Hu will discuss China's positions on world economic governance, economic development in the Asia-Pacific region and the multilateral system of trade, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday.
He is also expected to hold meetings with leaders from other members of the organisation, including Barack Obama, the US president; Yoshihiko Noda, the Japanese prime minister; and Truong Tan Sang, the Vietnamese president.
The summit, to be hosted by Obama in his native Hawaii, has been presented as an effort to make progress on forging a new free-trade area and an environmental technology pact, steps that could eventually foster global growth.
reassert US leadership in a region where China poses a growing competitive threat. He will tout Pacific rim ties as a way to create jobs, considered crucial to his 2012 re-election chances.
Geithner also made clear that the APEC summit would pressure China to let its currency, which the US says China keeps artificially low for competitive advantage, to appreciate further.
the region, on everything from trade practices to human rights.
that the US would be a counterbalance to Beijing's economic and military influence and would demand it play by trade rules.
"US firms want fair opportunities to export to China's markets and a level playing field for competition," she said in a speech shortly after Hu arrived.
She vowed a US "pivot" towards the fast-growing region and asserted renewed US leadership in what she called "America's Pacific century".
Portugal and Greece has shown alarming signs of spinning out of control.
A European recession would be felt sharply in the US, where growth is already anemic, and in Asia, which relies on Europe as a big market for its cars, clothing, consumer electronics and other exports.
"It is crucial that Europe move quickly to put in place a strong plan to restore financial stability," Geithner said on Thursday. "They're moving ahead, but we just need them to move ahead more quickly and with more force behind it."
The best thing APEC economies could do to protect themselves was to take steps to increase their domestic demand, he said.
"These economies, including the United States, have the capacity to do things now to make growth stronger - both to offset some of the pressure we're facing from Europe, but also because the world as a whole needs it," Geithner said.
"Even when Europe stabilises, you're going to see growth damaged by the magnitude of the crisis so far."
The finance ministers from the 21 economies that make up the APEC forum discussed ways to re-energise economic growth and create jobs through practical measures such as investment in infrastructure and reforms aimed at providing more access to financing for the poor.
The APEC statement largely agreed with Geithner's view, noting that downside risks for the global economy had been heightened.
"Growth and job creation has weakened in the region, particularly in advanced economies," the group said in a statement that outlined a consensus on the need for quick, short-term measures and longer term reforms.
offer any direct measures to help the eurozone cope with its crisis.
Rather, the focus was buffering themselves against the fallout.
The ministers also reaffirmed a G20 commitment to move more rapidly toward "more market-determined exchange rate systems and enhance exchange rate flexibility" - a clear reference to China's yuan valuation.
Chinese officials have already expressed doubts about US goals at APEC, including a green growth initiative that would cut tariffs on environmental goods and services, such as solar panels and wind turbines.


ATHENS – It doesn’t matter what Rulon Gardner does in these Olympics, or for the rest of his life, because he will forever be attached to the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2000, the day he attached himself to an unbeatable wrestling machine and wouldn’t let go.
Aleksandr Karelin still shadows Gardner, and will until the day Gardner takes off his singlet, walks away from Greco-Roman wrestling and heads back to Wyoming for good.
Karelin was the sport’s undisputed king, a man who hadn’t lost a heavyweight match in 13 years when he showed up for work in Sydney four summers ago, looking to bring home a fourth medal. Karelin was the modern incarnation of Milo of Croton, the ancient Greek wrestler who won six championships, some because his opponents were too terrified to face him.
Then the farmboy from Wyoming showed up. Karelin wrapped his arms around Gardner that day, broke the grip ever so slightly, and that was that. Gardner won the match 1-0. The reverberations were everywhere. The mighty Russian had lost! To a kid from Wyoming!
For four years, Gardner rode the roller coaster of fame. He was on “The Tonight Show.” He was in ad campaigns. Those were the highs.
But he also suffered a snowmobile accident in Febuary 2002, was stranded in the snow for a day and a half and lost a toe. His hometown complained that maybe he’d grown a little too big for his XXXXL-sized britches.
“I’ve heard some of that,” Gardner said yesterday, and he tried to dismiss the sting by switching subjects. Which is understandable. He is back at the Olympics. Karelin is here, too, watching the Games, retired from the sport, a member of Russia’s Parliament. And yet he hovers around Gardner still.
The spectator as a permanent specter.
Gardner has been a good sport about all of this. He came back from a mountain of injuries to qualify for these Games to defend his gold medal. He needs two more victories today to get there, starting with a match against Georgiy Tsurtsumia of Kazakhstan. And even if he does, there is one thing he understands: He will never outrun the single greatest moment of his life.
You don’t think so? Yesterday, Gardner’s wife and brother were wandering the upper floor of the wrestling hall, when they spotted a familiar face, stopped him, and asked if he would take a picture with them.
Aleksandr Karelin was puzzled by the request. But he took the picture anyway.


What's Up with Neil Diamond?
Australian television is having a love affair with the 1970s right now. That glorious era of big moustaches, Chiko rolls and ham steaks is being celebrated in shows such as Paper Giants, Puberty Blues and the upcoming Howzat.
Those who were there will remember there was one artist who appeared in almost every suburban record collection around the nation, whose songs could be heard at just about every backyard barbie and neighbourhood party.
Neil Diamond's Hot August Night spend almost 30 weeks at number one in the Aussie charts, and he did a triumphant tour of Australia in 1976 ending in a massive farewell concert that was filmed and broadcast on television.
That show broke attendance records at the Sydney Sports Ground.
Diamond, 71, was recently given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, only fitting for an artist who has sold more than 125million albums worldwide.
More than 50 of his songs appear on Billboard's Hot 100 list of the most-heard songs, and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year.
He's considered the third most successful adult contemporary artist ever, behind Barbra Streisand and Elton John.
His eight number-one singles include Cracklin' Rosie, Song Sung Blue, Desiree and his duet with Barbra, You Don't Bring Me Flowers.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Hot August Night, and a deluxe edition has just been issued.
In 1972 Diamond played 10 sold-out concerts at the Greek Theatre in LA, and the August 24 performance was recorded and became the classic release.
The live double album includes number-one hits such as Song Sung Blue, as well as the intensely personal I Am ... I Said, which took more than four months to complete.
The song addresses his feeling of not really belonging anywhere after leaving his home in New York to move to LA.
Neil Leslie Diamond was born into a Jewish family in Brooklyn in 1941.
Despite having a name seemingly made for show business, he bizarrely considered changing it to Noah Kaminsky or Eice Charry!
At high school Neil was so good at fencing he received a scholarship to NYU, and maintained his skills into adulthood, even warming up with fencing exercises before his concerts.
Diamond initially planned to study medicine, with ambitions to work as a cancer researcher after his grandmother died from the disease.
But a music publishing company offered him a job writing songs for $50 a week, and he found himself working in the legendary Brill Building alongside the likes of Carole King.
After some early disappointing efforts at establishing a singing career, Neil's biggest success came as a songwriter for others, with the Monkees having big hits with I'm a Believer and A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You.
Contrary to popular belief, he didn't write these songs specifically for the band but for himself, however the cover versions were released first.
Over the years many artists have had hits with his songs, including UB40 with Red, Red Wine and Urge Overkill with Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon.
Neil's performing career finally kicked into gear in the mid-60s with his first hit, Solitary Man, and he continued with smashes like Cherry, Cherry and Kentucky Woman.
A turning point came in 1970, when he moved to Los Angeles, and his sound mellowed.
This was the era of hits such as Sweet Caroline, Holly Holy, Cracklin' Rosie and Song Sung Blue.
Sweet Caroline is probably his best-known song, but never reached number one.
Diamond has said it was inspired by a photograph of Caroline Kennedy on a magazine cover, and took only an hour to write in a Memphis hotel room.
In the mid-70s he had success with the soundtrack to Jonathan Livingston Seagull, despite the film being a flop, and the Beautiful Noise album.
In 1980 what looked like a great opportunity for Neil became a setback, when he starred in the remake of The Jazz Singer, which was poorly received.
However, it did produce several hit singles, including Love on the Rocks and Hello Again.
During the 80s and 90s Diamond's record sales slumped, although he continued to be a very successful touring artist, and to this day audiences rave about what a wonderful live performer he is.
Only last year he played in the Hunter Vineyards, to glowing reports.
It's amazing he's still been able to perform on stage, after spinal surgery in 1979 to remove a tumour left him with severe and chronic back pain.
Even in his seventies he's maintained a youthful zeal, marrying his 41-year-old manager, Katie McNeil, earlier this year.
It's his third marriage, and he has four children with his former wives.
In recent years Neil Diamond has continued to do what he does best, writing and recording songs then performing them live on tour.
His 2005 album, 12 Songs, was well received and his 2008 release, Home Before Dark , became his first chart-topping album.
With this year's 40th anniversary of Hot August Night and plans for a series of return concerts at the Greek Theatre, Neil Diamond is likely to be in the spotlight again.
And he'll probably be bringing back a lot of memories for those of us who remember his music as the soundtrack to those Aussie summers of the 1970s.
In the "What's Up?" segment each Thursday at 3pm on 1233 ABC Newcastle's Drive program, Jeannette McMahon looks at aspects of popular culture including music, film, television and fashion. You can also listen via our website on abc.net.au/newcastle.
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