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Editorial Roundup: Excerpts From Recent Editorials

2012-03-15T16:38:00.000+04:00

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:

Dec. 12

China Today, Beijing, on China and the World Trade Organization:

Ten years ago, when China officially became the 143rd member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), wolf crying was pervasive.

The one conspicuous fact, acknowledged by leaders of the world's major trade establishments and reiterated by President Hu Jintao yesterday at the forum commemorating the 10th anniversary of the country's WTO membership, is that China committed far more for its admittance than other emerging economies. This was hardly mentioned at home then.

And it was not clear at the time whether …

NBA guard Deron Williams wins on Turkish debut

2012-03-15T14:11:00.000+04:00

ISTANBUL (AP) — Deron Williams scored 11 points and had five assists to help Besiktas to a 107-69 victory over Bandirma Kirmizi on Sunday in the NBA player's Turkish league debut.

New Jersey Nets guard Williams — a two-time NBA all-star — is among a number of players from the North American league signed to overseas clubs until the end of the …

Russian made cold weather forwarder

2012-03-15T11:48:00.000+04:00

Chetra Industrial Machinery JSC has introduced what they say is the first Russian-made forwarder. The KS 421 is fitted with a Cummins engine and the chassis is equipped with an …

Malaysian leader unveils market reforms, pledges to boost economy

2012-03-15T09:27:00.000+04:00

Malaysia's leader on Tuesday unveiled measures to liberalize the capital markets and pledged to step up economic reforms to restore confidence in his government after recent electoral losses.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi also said fuel prices would not be raised, an apparent attempt to ensure he doesn't antagonize Malaysians further.

The government had earlier warned it may cut fuel subsidies after global oil prices shot past US$100 a barrel earlier this year. Retail prices have been unchanged since February 2006.

"The result of the elections was a strong message that I have not moved fast enough in pushing through with the reforms …

German job market misses out on spring recovery

2012-03-15T07:07:00.000+04:00

Germany's labor market missed out on a traditional spring recovery in April as government figures showed Thursday that unadjusted employment levels got little help from the usual seasonal pickup.

Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted unemployment figures were up for the sixth straight month.

The unadjusted jobless rate was unchanged at 8.6 percent in April, with 3.585 million people out of work _ only 1,000 fewer than in March _ the Federal Labor Agency said. Compared with last April, 171,000 more people were jobless.

"The recession in German industry is increasingly having effects on the labor market," labor agency chief Frank-Juergen …

Point Guards Provide Excitement in 1992-93

2012-03-15T04:46:00.000+04:00

Summer basketball wrapup:

Nobody is surprised that King, Westinghouse, Marshall andtwo-time defending Class AA champion Proviso East emerged as theteams to beat for 1992-93. But what separates the haves from thehave-nots is what coaches, talent scouts and other observers say isthe best crop of point guards in memory.

Virtually every highly rated team is led by a blue-chip pointguard or boasts an outstanding backcourt tandem. However, collegerecruiters are complaining about a lack of quality big men in theChicago area. The top 10 teams:

1. King; 2. Westinghouse; 3. Marshall; 4. Proviso East; 5. MountCarmel; 6. Thornton; 7. Leo; 8. Young; 9. St. Francis …

Dubai's Abraaj snags Amundi's N. Africa business

2012-03-15T02:26:00.000+04:00

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Mideast investment firm Abraaj Capital says it has bought French asset manager Amundi's private equity business in North Africa.

The Dubai-based private equity house said Sunday the deal includes assuming control of …

Cheney FBI interview: 72 times of can't recall

2012-03-15T00:06:00.000+04:00

Federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald famously declared in the Valerie Plame affair that "there is a cloud over the vice president." Last week's release of an FBI interview summary of Dick Cheney's answers in the criminal investigation underscores why Fitzgerald felt that way.

On 72 occasions, according to the 28-page FBI summary, Cheney equivocated to the FBI during his lengthy May 2004 interview, saying he could not be certain in his answers to questions about matters large and small in the Plame controversy.

The Cheney interview reflects a team of prosecutors and FBI agents trying to find out whether the leaks of Plame's CIA identity were …

Married man enjoys flirting with attractive co-worker

2012-03-14T21:45:00.000+04:00

Dear Zazz: A co-worker keeps hitting on me in a big way. She isgreat-looking and I love flirting with her, but I'd never act on myattraction because I'm married.

Still, flirting with her helps keep work interesting and gives mesomething to look forward to.

Also, after a day at work with "Shelly" I'm even moreinterested in my wife when I get home. What should I do?ENJOYS ITDear Enjoys: Flirting is a dangerous hobby for married people.If you need more stimulation to get motivated at work, get a morestimulating job.I'm not saying we can't have fun with co-workers of the oppositesex. And often when men and women interact, there's a sexualundertone.But you're …

McCaw in running for Player of the Year award

2012-03-14T19:25:00.000+04:00

DUBLIN (AP) — New Zealand captain Richie McCaw is in the running to win the IRB's Player of the Year award for the third time after being included in a six-man shortlist for the 2010 accolade.

The All Blacks flanker, who won the award last year and in 2006, faces competition from teammate Mils Muliaina, South Africa lock Victor Matfield, Australia internationals Kurtley …

Will stocks keep rising? Profit reports may tell

2012-03-14T17:04:00.000+04:00

Investors cast aside worries of another recession last week and bought stocks by the bucketful. This week brings hard evidence of whether they were right.

A new earnings reporting season kicks off Monday with Alcoa Inc., followed by dozens of other companies over the next few days. A question on everyone's lips: Will these second-quarter reports show that companies are feeling better about the future, too?

"We'll find out soon enough what the reality is," says Howard Silverblatt, a senior analyst at Standard & Poor's.

After dumping stocks since late April, investors last week drove the Dow Jones industrial average up 5.3 percent, …

Our Industrial Members--The Backbone Of AIChE

2012-03-14T14:40:00.000+04:00

AIChE currently is in the middle of a new corporate campaign to raise support for the Institute from industries that employ our chemical engineers. In the course of this campaign, a number of us have been surveying and meeting with upper management to not only acquaint them with the campaign, but also to get feedback from them on what the Institute can do to help industry.

The majority of our membersabout 75 percent-work in industry. Clearly this group is vital to the Institute, and it's important that the Institute do all it can to help these industrial chemical engineers in their careers. However, we have been quite surprised to find that many CEOs and top executives of companies that hire our members aren't aware of the many AIChE programs available to their companies and employees. While we try to publicize our various activities, it's essential that individual members also do all they can to pass on to their upper management information on Institute activities in which they are involved and how these activities are valuable to them and their companies.

Working with our academic members, AIChE tries to ensure that the highest quality students enter the profession and benefit from chemical engineering's historically strong core curriculum. Our many continuing education and training courses are of great value to industry in keeping employees up to speed in this rapidly changing technological world. Equally important are the many national and international meetings we sponsor that provide forums for disseminating the latest technology, safety, and environmental information. Our industrially sponsored research efforts, such as the Center for Chemical Process Safety and Center for Waste Reduction Technologies, can be valuable not only to our members, but to the companies that employ them. Our many divisions and forums typically sponsor focused programs of use to industry in the areas of their interest.

You, as individual members, are our most effective tool for informing corporate management of the vital role AIChE plays in helping provide industry with the highest quality chemical engineers who have access to the latest technology. Keeping your boss and his/her boss informed of your involvement in AIChE will go a long way towards getting the message up the line. Clearly it is a win-win-win-win situation, with employees getting more recognition for their AIChE involvement (with more access to Institute activities), companies taking more advantage of the Institute's programs, and AIChE benefiting in turn from more industrial support.

Family: US school snared thousands of Web images

2012-03-14T11:47:00.000+04:00

A suburban Philadelphia family claiming school employees spied on students through school-supplied laptops says tracking software captured thousands of images of students.

The motion filed Thursday by the family of Harriton High School student Blake Robbins says the records provided to them by Lower Merion School District also asserts that staff members viewed the images as a window into a school "soap opera," according to the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper.

Robbins filed a federal lawsuit in February claiming the district spied on students in their homes.

District officials have acknowledged secretly activating Webcams to locate 42 missing laptops. They say Robbins' Webcam was activated because he wasn't authorized to take the laptop home.

A school attorney says there's no indication that images were misused.

A route to safer driving

2012-03-14T08:55:00.000+04:00

Bob Parmacek, 78, was beginning to wonder if he was as sharp behind the wheel as he used to be.

"Night driving, particularly, bothered me a little bit," said Parmacek. "Before I started having a problem, I wanted to see what could be done."

Parmacek heard about a new brain-training computer software program called "DriveSharp," which claims to reduce crash risk for older drivers. Parmacek said he started doing the DriveSharp computer exercises and believes his driving has gotten better.

"I live in Highland Park, and we get deer on the road every so often, and I'm able to see them much quicker than I did before," said Parmacek, who says he also feels more comfortable merging onto the Edens Expy. "I don't want to give up my driving, so anything I can do, I'm all for it."

People over the age of 65 are mostly safe drivers -- they're less likely to drive drunk or drive while using a cell phone.

However, per mile traveled, crash and fatality rates start rising at age 70 and jump markedly after 80, as health conditions and declines in visual and cognitive skills start affecting some older drivers. Problems may include difficulty negotiating left turns and driving too slowly.

DriveSharp works with the idea that cognitive skills needed for driving can decline with age and can be strengthened with training, as muscles can be built by lifting weights.

DriveSharp is not like a classroom driving simulator, or one of those arcade games where you drive an imaginary race car. The Posit Science product consists of two computer games that, on the surface, don't seem to have much to do with the physical act of driving.

One game involves tracking jewels hidden behind moving fish. The other has the player locating road signs and identifying cars within a circle.

The games are designed to improve reaction time and your ability to notice things on the edge of your peripheral vision, according to Steven Aldrich, CEO of San Francisco-based Posit Science.

"It focuses on your divided attention, which is a key piece of driving because you have cars around you and cars behind and in front of you," said Aldrich.

Aldrich said independent research studies have shown DriveSharp improves users' "useful field of view" -- or the area from which one can extract visual data in a brief glance. Ten hours of useful field of view training can cut risk of an at-fault car crash in half, Aldrich said.

DriveSharp caught the interest of Allstate. To test the product, the Northbrook-based insurer offered Posit Science's InSight program, which includes the DriveSharp games, to 100,000 Pennsylvania customers 55 and over.

Allstate saw "a significant improvement" in driving in customers who used the product, compared with those who didn't, according to Tom Warden, manager of Allstate's research and planning center. "We saw fewer accidents and losses," Warden said. Allstate is looking into offering DriveSharp at a discount to customers. "We'd love to just be able to give it away for free," Warden said.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, a nonprofit research arm of AAA, recommends DriveSharp to AAA members, offering it at a discount for $69 instead of the retail $89. Foundation CEO J. Peter Kissinger admitted he thought the product was "too good to be true" when he first heard about it, but was convinced by the research.

"We think it's a fantastic product," said Kissinger. As baby boomers age, it has become more important to help keep older drivers fit for the road, since not being able to drive limits people's lives, Kissinger said. "Driving is an incredibly important part of their well-being."

Anne Hegberg, a senior driver rehabilitation specialist at Marianjoy Rehabilitation Center in Wheaton, who is not familiar with DriveSharp, said one drawback she can see is that some older people aren't computer savvy.

"But if they are, anything you can do to increase the use of your brain couldn't hurt," Hegberg said. However, she noted that some problems that affect older drivers -- such as medication that causes dizzy spells -- couldn't be helped with a product like this.

To try DriveSharp, go to positscience.com/our-products/demo. Go to drivesharpnow.com at the AAA Foundation to measure your accident risk.

CITY WATCHES AS DENVER ROLLS OUT BIKE-SHARING PROGRAM

Bike sharing comes to Denver this week: Starting Thursday, 500 bicycles will be available at 50 stations around the mile-high city, offering an alternative to cars for short commutes.

Denver is the first of three U.S. cities to set up citywide bike-sharing programs this year, with Minneapolis and Boston planning to install systems in the coming months.

The program, provided by B-cycle, is similar to bike rental programs in European cities such as Paris and Barcelona. People who want to use the bikes must sign up for membership and use special access cards to unlock bikes. They can return bikes to another station anywhere else in town.

How about Chicago? Mayor Daley is a fan of the Paris program, and Bob Burns, B-cycle president, confirms that Chicago is "very interested'' but he couldn't say how soon a program could be set up here.

VOTE NEAR ON REQUIRING STOP FOR PEDESTRIANS

The Illinois Senate could vote this week on a bill that would require drivers to come to a complete stop for all pedestrians in crosswalks.

Current law requires drivers to only yield and stop when necessary. The measure, already passed by the House, will make the law clearer to drivers and easier for police to enforce, according to the Active Transportation Alliance, which supports the bill.

More than a dozen other states have similar laws.

RIDE TRIVIA QUIZ ANSWER

The Chicago mayor who promoted himself on campaign posters as "the Cyclists' Champion" was Carter H. Harrison II. He attributed his victory to strong support from cyclists and created a bike path along Sheridan Road. Walter Brzeski of Chicago was the winner.

Color Photo: (See microfilm for photo description). Color Photo: The DriveSharp software helps improve reaction time and perception, research has shown.

M&S and YSL in row

2012-03-14T06:04:00.000+04:00

NATIONAL: One of the world's bestknown fashion labels, Yves SaintLaurent, is in dispute with high street store Marks & Spencer overthe use of three initials.

The French fashion company objected after Marks & Spencer tried toregister the name MSL which it used for the trial of a lingeriecollection on the continent.

Yves Saint Laurent is understood to be annoyed that the MSL nameis too similar to its own YSL abbreviation.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

2012-03-14T03:10:00.000+04:00

Will the paranoid streak that runs broadly through contemporary cultural life ever lose its intensity? "The enemy is clearly delineated: he is a perfect model of malice, a kind of amoral superman-sinister, ubiquitous, powerful, cruel, sensual, luxury-loving." So Richard Hofstadter described in Harper's in 1964 the particular frame of thinking that made up the "paranoid style" of American politics. The historian famously traced this thread of anti-intellectualism throughout the country's history and sized up the damage it had done to our political culture: "We are all sufferers from history," he wrote, "but the paranoid is a double sufferer, since he is afflicted not only by the real world, with the rest of us, but by his fantasies as well." Hofstadter's target then was the conspiracy-minded Right of the John Birch ilk, but what's changed perhaps most radically since the time of his analysis is the leftward migration of the paranoid style.

More than any other book, Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow captured the very moment at which the paranoid worldview seemed to settle like a damp fog over American culture at large. In that sense, no writer was more of his time-or ours-than Pynchon. In this issue of Bookforum, we look behind the scenes at how this novel, which emerged as a cultural phenomenon, came to fruition-and how a difficult, spiraling 768page book, and its Greta Garbo of a reclusive author, galvanized a reading audience that included many future writers. Gerald Howard's text, presented on page twenty-nine, masterfully relates the hows and the whys-a story that includes far-seeing editors, marketing coups, and awards-banquet shenanigans around the publication of Pynchon's epic. As we considered the force of Howard's own opinion concerning Pynchon's influential shadow, we invited twenty other writers to weigh in on the novelist and his thirtytwo-year-old tome. (Our fiction editor, Albert Mobilio, deserves singular praise for the vision behind this selection.) The diversity of our respondents, in age, gender, and genre, speaks volumes about the gravity of Gravity's Rainbow. One virtue of the responses we have gathered here is that they make the case for Pynchon the writer-in some cases even when they are less interested in his picture-perfect reflection of paranoia as a cultural condition. It is what makes him so much more than a novelist of ideas-and makes his writing crucial even today.

Editorially yours, Eric Banks

Mexico: Starbucks owes for pre-Hispanic images

2012-03-14T00:16:00.000+04:00

The Mexican government says it has notified Starbucks Corp. that Mexico is owed intellectual property rights for a line of coffee mugs showing pre-Hispanic images.

Starbucks says it is working with Mexico to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. It says the mugs have been removed from its shop shelves pending the discussions.

The mugs show images of the Aztec calendar stone and the Pyramid of the Moon from the pre-Aztec ruins of Teotihuacan, near Mexico City.

The government archaeological agency said Wednesday it will decide by next week whether Starbucks should pay any fees.

A company statement says the supplier of the mugs felt it made good faith efforts to offer payment and obtain permits.

Jays erupt, tip Rangers

2012-03-13T21:18:00.000+04:00

Willie Upshaw and George Bell hit consecutive two-out home runsin the eighth inning to lift the Toronto Blue Jays to an 11-10victory over the Texas Rangers last night at Arlington, Texas.

Reliever Greg Harris (0-1) was the victim of the rally, whichbegan when Garth Iorg singled with two out. Upshaw then homered totie the game and Bell hit the game-winner over the wall in left.

Tom Henke (1-0) pitched the last two innings for Toronto. Theofficial scorer credited him with the victory rather than a save.

The Rangers had taken a 10-8 lead in the bottom of the seventhon Don Slaught's two-run double off Steve Davis. Texas rookie BobbyWitt, making his major league debut, lasted only 3 1/3 innings,walking six and yielding five hits and six runs, including a two-runhomer by Cecil Fielder.

Toronto starter Jimmy Key lasted just one-third of an inning,trailing 5-1. YANKEES 6, ROYALS 5

Pinch hitter Dale Berra's bases-loaded suicide squeeze buntsingle with one out in the 10th inning scored Mike Easler as host NewYork rallied from a five-run deficit to top Kansas City.

Easler led off the 10th against rookie reliever Al Hargesheimerwith a double to the base of the center-field wall. Easler went tothird on a grounder and Mike Pagliarulo and Butch Wynegar were walkedintentionally to load the bases.

Berra then dropped a 2-1 pitch between the mound and home platefor a single, Easler scoring without a throw home.

The winner was Dave Righetti, who came in after Frank White ledoff the top of the 10th against Rod Scurry with a double. Headvanced on an out. But when Lynn Jones missed a squeeze buntattempt, catcher Wynegar chased White toward third base and taggedhim out. A's 3, TWINS 0

Rookie slugger Jose Canseco escaped a 1-for-9 slump with atwo-run homer, leading Oakland over Minnesota for the host's firsttriumph of the year.

Veteran right-hander Moose Haas went 7 2/3 innings for thevictory. Jay Howell finished for his first save. John Butcher tookthe loss.

With the A's leading 1-0 in the seventh, Carney Lansford doubledinto the left-field corner. Canseco then hit a fly that barelycleared the wall in left-center for his first homer of the year.

The A's scored their first run in the fourth. Dwayne Murphysingled up the middle and moved to second on a bunt single by DaveKingman. Kingman was 0-for-8 this season before the surprising bunt.Murphy later scored on an error. MARINERS 5, ANGELS 2

Alvin Davis went 3-for-4 with three RBI and a homer and GormanThomas homered to back the six-hit pitching of Matt Young as hostSeattle beat California.

Young struck out four and walked two. George Hendrick homeredfor California. ORIOLES 5, INDIANS 1

Fred Lynn drilled a three-run homer in the seventh inning andRick Dempsey added a pair of solo home runs to power host Baltimoreover Cleveland.

Ken Dixon (1-0) scattered six hits and struck out five overseven innings. Rich Bordi pitched the final two innings for hisfirst save.

Reporter Appeals Judge's Contempt Order

2012-03-13T17:48:00.000+04:00

A former USA Today reporter has asked an appeals court to block daily fines levied by a judge who wants her to disclose confidential sources about anthrax attacks.

Toni Locy (LOH-see) has been ordered to pay up to $5,000 a day out of her own pocket until she identifies her sources for news stories about a former Army scientist under scrutiny in the 2001 attacks.

Lawyers for Locy filed an appeal Monday saying that a judge is making demands that are overbroad and financially ruinous.

U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton says Locy must reveal many confidential sources in hopes that some might recall that they were sources for two stories Locy wrote about scientist Steven J. Hatfill.