Wilson earns pole for Toronto IndyCar race

Justin Wilson of England has earned the pole position at the Honda Indy Toronto.

Wilson emerged on top from three-stage qualifying on Saturday with a …

Why Blacks don't vote Republican

The recent votes in the House of Representatives to block reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act and in the Senate to reject an increase in the minimum wage, give powerful voice to the reason why Blacks respond by saying no to Republican candidates.

In this case, we see clearly the politics of the economic and social wings of the party at play.

The current Republican Party was created in the Nixon landslide of 1972 when a substantial portion of the South joined it, adding to its growing economic conservatism a group that was deeply conservative on social values. In combined form, it constituted a political rejection of the government's values and spending at that time …

UK grocer Sainsbury says 3Q like-for-like sales up 3.7 percent

J Sainsbury PLC, Britain's third-largest grocer, on Thursday reported that sales rose 3.7 percent in the third quarter, a point better than the market consensus.

Sainsbury said total sales, including fuel, rose 5.9 percent in the 12 weeks ending Dec. 29 as the company notched its 12th consecutive quarter of sales growth. Total sales excluding fuel were up 4.7 percent, and like-for-like sales including fuel were up 5.1 percent.

"We are pleased to report like-for-like sales growth of 3.7 percent, excluding fuel, for the third quarter," said chief executive Justin King. "This is a good result for the Christmas quarter, and is particularly …

We're happy and we know it

Youngsters are often portrayed as being moody and miserable.But the reality is far from Harry Enfield's tortured TV teens Kevinand Perry.

The pair were always arguing and moaning about life.

But Scotland's young people have never been so happy.

That's according to research carried out by the University ofEdinburgh into the mental health of the country's children.

The Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children study revealedalmost half (49%) of children aged between 11 and 15 say they are"very happy".

Children were asked to rate their happiness. They were also askedto rate their life satisfaction by marking a place on a ladder. Thehigher up the …

Edison chief to U.S.S.R. for nuclear parley

Commonwealth Edison Chairman James J. O'Connor will travel inMay to the Soviet Union, the site of the world's worst nucleardisaster, to meet with operators of commercial nuclear plants from 29countries.

The plant operators are forming the group, the first of itskind, to set common standards for safe procedures and exchangetechnology, O'Connor said. The group, which is calling itself theWorld Association of Nuclear Operators, will include many Soviet bloccountries, including Cuba, Hungary and Czechoslovakia.

"This is a great step forward," O'Connor said Wednesday, afterEdison's annual meeting. "In this industry, we're all held hostage tothe worst performer …

Republican gains foretell national security battle

WASHINGTON (AP) — Big Republican gains in Congress from this week's elections could make it harder for President Barack Obama to keep his pledge to start bringing U.S. troops home from Afghanistan by next summer and dim prospects for several of his administration's centerpiece military and diplomatic initiatives.

The Republican victories Tuesday seem likely to derail congressional efforts to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" ban on gays serving openly in the military, thwart efforts to curb the growth of Pentagon spending and frustrate hopes for quick ratification of a nuclear arms control agreement with Russia.

More Republicans in Washington may also mean trouble for Obama's …

Stock futures push higher amid latest earnings

U.S. stock futures are pushing higher Thursday amid news of dealmaking and a barrage of earnings reports.

The rise in futures comes after gains in Asia and amid relatively flat markets in Europe.

A wave of merger-and-acquisition activity gave investor confidence a boost early Thursday. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said late Wednesday it is buying Medarex Inc. for about $2.1 billion in cash, the latest in a string of acquisitions by the drugmaker.

The New York-based company said it will pay $16 a share for Medarex _ a 90 percent premium over Medarex's closing share price Wednesday of $8.40. Medarex shares nearly doubled in premarket trading, jumping $7.48 to …

Merchandisers Race To Jump on `Gump'

HOLLYWOOD Executives at Paramount Pictures knew they had a hit in"Forrest Gump" long before its July 6 opening.

But they didn't think the baby-boomer film had anymerchandising potential, which is usually reserved for youth-orientedaction and adventure pictures.

Now the studio is scrambling to fuel the nation's retailerswith "Gump" products, which will debut this week.

At the time of its $24.5 million debut opening, "Gump" had zerolicensees - no merchandise ready to roll.

That news, according to several Paramount insiders, angeredViacom Entertainment Group Chairman Jonathan Dolgen, sending studiomarketers scurrying to make "Gump" deals.

…

Kenya to set up election violence tribunal

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The International Criminal Court prosecutor on Tuesday commended Kenya's political leaders — and even four suspects accused of orchestrating mass violence — for cooperating with the international tribunal, saying that Kenya is "showing a 21st-century model to manage conflict."

Luis Moreno-Ocampo said it could take 18 months or more to bring to trial four Kenyans charged with crimes against humanity for violence that followed the country's 2007 presidential election. More than 1,000 people died.

Kenya will hold elections this year or early in 2013, and the trial timeline set out by Moreno-Ocampo sets up the possibility Kenya could elect a president who …

US: World Bank members agree to capital increase

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says members of the World Bank have agreed to increase the funds it uses to lend for development projects by $3.5 billion.

He also said the bank's steering committee decided to give developing countries more of a voice in running the 186-member …

Two lay Christians justify war against Iraq, Pope, churches do not support 'just war' argument

President Bush has been trying for months to make the case forusing force against Saddam Hussein, but he has won little supportfrom leaders of American and European churches.

Yet after heavy, perhaps unprecedented, church agitation and peaceappeals from the likes of the pope and archbishop of Canterbury, twoprominent lay Christians have emerged to provide intellectual supportfor those who believe war with Iraq would be moral.

Jean Bethke Elshtain, a Protestant professor of social ethics atthe University of Chicago Divinity School, and Michael Novak, a RomanCatholic philosopher at the American Enterprise Institute, eachopposed the Vietnam War.

But each has …

2 murder charges for honeymoon death suspect

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An American who served prison time in Australia for his wife's drowning death during their honeymoon returned Thursday to the U.S., where he faces murder charges that could carry a much stiffer punishment.

Gabe Watson, 33, arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday morning after he was deported on a commercial flight from Melbourne, Australia. Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said Watson was accompanied by two Immigration Department staff and three Queensland state police officers. Watson cleared customs within an hour and was taken away in handcuffs.

He was booked at a local police substation after his arrival, said Los Angeles police Lt. Aaron McCraney. Watson …

Top of the 2nd

Power * Today: vs. Rome, 7:05 p.m. * Fri: vs. Hagerstown, 7:05p.m. * Sat: vs. Hagerstown, 7:05 p.m. * Sun: vs. Hagerstown, 2:05p.m.

Reds * Today: Off * Fri: at Cardinals, 8:15 p.m. * Sat: atCardinals, 4:10 p.m. * Sun: at Cardinals, 2:15 p.m. Indians * Today:at Mariners, 10:10 p.m. * Fri: at Mariners, 10:10 p.m. * Sat: atMariners, 10:15 p.m. * Sun: at Mariners, 4:10 p.m.

Pirates * Today: Off * Fri: vs. Nationals, 7:05 p.m. * Sat: vs.Nationals, 7:05 p.m. * Sun: vs. Nationals, 1:35 p.m.

WVU * Sat: vs. Coastal Carolina, 3:30 p.m.

Marshall * Thu: at Ohio State, 7:30 p.m.

Charleston * Sat: vs. Mars Hill (N.C.), 1 p.m. State * Sat: atCentral State, 7 p.m.

WVU Tech * Today: at Glenville State, 7 p.m.

Lucente continues scoring tear in GW win

Lucky Lucente scored four goals, with three coming in the first20 minutes of the game, to lift the George Washington girls soccerteam to a 6-1 victory over Riverside.

Cris Eddy and Alex Thistlethwaite added goals for the Patriots,who improved to 5-0. Riverside fell to 3-2.

Haley Claudio had two assists and Charlie Lucente one for GW.Lucky Lucente has 13 goals this season.

Herd men's soccer team ties Xavier

HUNTINGTON - Despite outshooting Xavier 21-3, the MarshallUniversity men's soccer team was unable to score in a 0-0 tie winthe opening match of the 2010 season, played at Sam Hood Field.

The Herd has one day off before its next match when Marshalltravels to Rochester, Mich., to take on Oakland. Game time is setfor 3 p.m.

Three homers lead Power to home win

The West Virginia Power scored in all but one inning and usedthree home runs to rout visiting Rome, 12-4, on Wednesday afternoon.

Second baseman Jarek Cunningham and outfielder Rogelio Noris hadthree hits apiece, and the Power received homers from three unlikelysources: Elevys Gonzalez, Benji Gonzalez and Andy Vasquez.

Elevys Gonzalez homered for the fourth time this season, whilethe home runs by Gonzalez and Vasquez were firsts for the eighth andninth hitters in the order.

The Power (61-73) fell behind in the top of the second, 1-0, butscored in the bottom of every inning thereafter.

Cunningham finished a homer short of the cycle and scored threeruns. Outfielder Jose Hernandez had two hits and drove in threeruns. West Virginia concludes its home series with Rome tonight at7:05.

Hurricane's O'Dell earns spot in U.S. Mid-Am

Hurricane's Sam O'Dell shot a 5-under 66 at the Edgewood CountryClub on Wednesday to win the U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifier, earning thedentist a spot in the 2010 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship.

O'Dell finished four strokes ahead of the two alternates -Brandon Lacroix of Roanoke, Va., and Robert Leckie of Charleston.

This year's U.S. Mid-Amateur is being held at the Atlantic GolfClub in Bridgehampton, N.Y., Sept. 25-30.

Fellow West Virginian Pat Carter also will be playing in the Mid-Amateur, earning an exemption after finishing as a semifinalist atlast year's event.

National sports

Young golfer disqualifies self, gives up medal

MILWAUKEE - Zach Nash was shocked when he discovered he had onetoo many golf clubs in his bag a couple hours after winning a juniorWisconsin PGA tournament.

But rules are rules, and the 14-year-old from southern Wisconsinmade a decision that might surprise some people: He disqualifiedhimself and surrendered his medal.

"I knew right away I couldn't live with myself if I kept thismedal, so it was pretty instantaneous," Nash said during a phoneinterview from his home in Waterford on Wednesday, his first day ofhigh school.

Nash shot a 77 to win the boys 13-14 age division at theMilwaukee County Parks Tour Invitational, which is run by theWisconsin PGA Section, on Aug. 11.

U.S. earns top seed in basketball championships

ISTANBUL - The United States earned a top seed in the knockoutround of the world championship with an 88-51 victory over Iran onWednesday in the first meeting between the countries with a historyof contentious relations.

The U.S. team, which downplayed the political aspect of the game,methodically pulled away in the first half, wearing down the Asianchampions with its depth and athleticism.

Kevin Love scored 13 points and Kevin Durant had 12 for theAmericans (4-0), who will meet the fourth-place team from Group A inthe round of 16.

The Americans shot 58 percent from the field and scored 23 pointsoff turnovers.

Hamed Haddadi scored 19 points for Iran (1-3) and Arsalan Kazemihad 14.

BYU football signs television deal with ESPN

PROVO, Utah - BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe says the Cougars'move to independence in football has plenty of risks and he hopeseven bigger rewards.

By leaving the Mountain West Conference, BYU was able tonegotiate its own broadcast rights for football. BYU announced thatthe school has an eight-year deal with ESPN to televise the Cougarson one of the network's channels.

Azarenka collapses, wheeled off court at U.S. Open

NEW YORK - Victoria Azarenka collapsed and had to be taken offthe court in a wheelchair a half-hour into her second-round matchagainst Gisela Dulko at the U.S. Open.

It was 90 degrees with 42 percent humidity when the 10th-seededAzarenka took to the court Wednesday morning for a second straightsteamy day of play at Flushing Meadows.

Azarenka was trailing 5-1 in the first set and not moving wellwhen she fell to the ground, not appearing to twist or strainanything.

Medical personnel rushed out and yelled to the sideline to bringwater. After a few minutes on the ground, Azarenka was helped intothe wheelchair and moved off the court, with a trainer placing hishand on her neck to check her pulse.

There was no immediate update on her condition.

COMPILED FROM STAFF, WIRE REPORTS

Emanuel hosts town hall meeting on Facebook

Defender Staff Report

Mayor Rahm Emanuel reached out to Chicagoans in a virtual sort of way Thursday, hosting a town hall meeting using the popular social media, Facebook.

#AskChicago, as the event was called, allowed the mayor to chat and communicate directly with citizens all over Chicago. It was the first time a sitting mayor used a live online chat to converse with his constituency, the Mayor's Office reported.

A statement from the Mayor's Office which detailed some facts from the town hall indicated that 598 people were online watched live, 708 people participated online prior to the event and 517 questions were submitted online.

For those people who didn't have Internet access, interactive viewing locations were set up at Kennedy King College in Englewood, Instituto del Progreso Latino in Pilsen and Association House of Chicago in Humboldt Park.

[Sidebar]

Residents were online at Kennedy-King College to watch Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Facebook.

Noteworthy Collections: Jamaica and Dominica

Heterotis rotundifolia (Sm.) Jacq.-F�l. (MELASTOMATACEAE)-JAMAICA, Portland Parish: S foothills of Blue Mountains, N of Bath, at the Bath Fountain, along trail to Bath Hotel, and just above springs along Sulfur River. Disturbed forest, 120 m elev. 15 January 2011, judd 8312 (FLAS, IJ, NY). DOMINICA, St. David Parish: Along road from Pont Casse to Castle Bruce. Lat. 15�23.49'N, Long. 61�18.66'W. Tropical montane rainforest, secondary forest, 430 m elev. 29 May 2000, Penneys 1304 (FLAS, U).

Significance. The collection Judd 8312 represents the first documented naturalized occurrence in Jamaica of this commonly cultivated herbaceous melastome, while the Penneys 1304 specimen represents the first documented naturalized occurrence of the species in the Lesser Antillean island of Dominica. The species, until recently, was commonly known under the name Dissotis rotundifolia (Sm.) Triana, but it is now placed within Heterotis (Almeda 2009). Heterotis rotundifolia is native to tropical Africa but has naturalized in several islands of the South Pacific (United States Forest Service 201 1), Hawaii (Wagner et al. 1990), and tropical areas of Australia and adjacent islands (Hyland et al. 2010). It has not, however, been documented as being widely naturalized in the New World, having previously been reported only from Puerto Rico (Liogier 1995) and Costa Rica (Almeda 2009; specimens Araya et al. 397, Knebel 433, and Mayfleld 1042-27 7 -4SI, all at MO; data available in Tropicos). In Jamaica, WSJ, GMI and JDS observed Heterotis rotundifolia in the vicinity of the stream near the Bath Hotel, and the first two authors also saw it a few miles away, in an open, disturbed area in the vicinity of Hayfield (near the entrance of the Cuna Cuna pass trail; Lat. 17�59'27.4''N and Long. 76�22'52.7''W) at 680 m elev. In the open disturbed areas along the stream behind the Bath Hotel it grows with the following other species of Melastomataceae: Clidemia erythropogon DC, C. hirta (L.) D. Don, Miconia impetiolaris (Sw.) DC, and M. laevigata (L.) DC. The record from Dominica was collected by DSP on a grassy embankment along with Pterolepis glomerata (Rottb.) Miq.

Heterotis rotundifolia (pinklady, Spanish shawl) is an attractive ground cover due to its prostrate habit and large magenta flowers. In Jamaica, the naturalized populations likely originated from ornamental plantings made near Bath Fountain, in an attempt to further beautify this tourist spot. It may have been introduced to the Hayfield region as a garden ornamental via nodal rooting of cuttings made from the plants near the Bath Fountain, and subsequently spread into the surrounding landscape. Heterotis rotundifolia was not included in the treatments of Melastomataceae in the published Floras for either Jamaica (Proctor 1972) or the Lesser Antilles (Howard 1989), possibly indicating that this popular ornamental may only now becoming widespread and subsequently naturalizing in the Neotropics. This taxon was found in Jamaica during the course of fieldwork focused on the systematics of Miconieae (MeIastomataceae), and supported by NSF Grant DEB-0818399. We thank Rebecca Cotteleer for her assistance in the field.

[Reference]

LITERATURE CITED

Almeda, F. 2009. Melastomataceae. p. 164-338. In: Davidse, G, M. Sousa-Sanchez, S. Knapp, and F. Chiang (eds.). Flora Mesoamericana. Volume 4. Universidad Nacional Aut�noma de M�xico, M�xico City, Mexico.

Howard, R.A. 1989. Flora of the Lesser Antilles. Volume 5. Dicotyledoneae - Part 2. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.

Hyland, B.P.M., T. Whiffin, F.A. Zieh, S. Duffy, B. Gray, R. Elick, F. Venter, and D. Christophel. 2010. Australian tropical rainforest plants, ed. 6, version 6.1. http://keys. trin.org.au:8080/key-server/data/0e0f05040103-430d-8O04-060d0708OdO4/media/Html/ index.html. Center for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Canberra, Australia. Accessed: 22 March 2011.

Liogier, H.A. 1995. Descriptive flora of Puerto Rico and adjacent islands. Volume 4. Melastomataceae to Lentibulariaceae. Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico.

Proctor, G.R. 1972. Melastomataceae. p. 529549. In: Adams, CD. Flowering plants of Jamaica. University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.

United States Forest Service. 2011. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER), http:// www.hear.org/pier/. Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, Hilo, Hawaii. Accessed: 22 March 2011.

Wagner, W.L., D.R. Herbst, and S.H. Sohmer. 1990. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i. University of Hawaii Press, Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawaii.

[Author Affiliation]

Walter S. Judd,1* Gretchen M. Ionta,1 J. Dan Skean, Jr.,2 Keron C. St. E. Campbell,3 and Darin S. Penneys4

1 Department of Biology, 220 Bartram Hall, PO Box 118525, University of Florida, Gainesville,

Florida 32611

2 Albion College, Department of Biology, Albion, Michigan 49224

3 The Institute of Jamaica, Natural History Museum of Jamaica,

10-16 East Street, Kingston, Jamaica

4 Department of Botany, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California 94118

[Author Affiliation]

* email address: wjudd@botany.ufl.edu

Received March 31, 2011; Accepted May 23, 2011.

Gore suspends his campaign; won't endorse Jesse, Dukakis

WASHINGTON Sen. Albert Gore Jr. halted his campaign forpresident Thursday, but kept his candidacy formally alive to preventany of his delegates from going to the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson orMichael S. Dukakis before the Democratic National Convention.

Gore insisted he was not interested in the vice presidency andhinted he might run again for president.

He said he had "no present plans to endorse before theconvention," adding that either Massachusetts Gov. Dukakis orJackson, the remaining two challengers, "is going to be and ought tobe the nominee."

"Technically, I shall remain a candidate for the nomination, butonly to enable my delegates to go to the convention so they canrepresent my point of view," Gore said.

He said Jackson and Dukakis "are quite comfortable" with hisdecision. Neither would benefit by his withdrawal, he maintained.

"I want no part of a Stop Jackson or Stop Dukakis movement,"Gore said. "The only man I want to stop is George Bush."

Of the 490 delegates and super delegates Gore claims to havewon, only 78 at-large delegates would be affected if he officiallywithdrew, he said. And they would be divided "almost exactly evenly"between Jackson and Dukakis, he said.

The Tennessee senator sought to distinguish his situation fromthat of Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.), who was criticized by Jacksonbackers after similarly suspending his candidacy. The Jacksonsupporters have pressured Simon to pull out of the race completelybecause their man would get all 47 Illinois at-large delegatesalloted to Simon but yet to be chosen.

Though Gore's announcement occurred two days after his dreadfulthird-place showing in the acrimonious New York primary, his campaignmanager conceded only one error: Gore's decision to invest heavily inthe Illinois primary to beat Simon.

Fred Martin, the Highland Park, Ill., native who ran Gore'scampaign, said his decision to spend substantially on televisioncommercials in Illinois was "a miscalculation by us." Simon won inIllinois, and Gore got only 5 percent and no delegates.

Several Gore advisers thought "there might be an opening inIllinois and the support for Paul Simon might not be as sustainableas his campaign thought," Martin said. "We were wrong about that, andso was the Dukakis campaign. In hindsight, we could have saved somemoney and some time."

On the other hand, Martin defended the decision to skip for themost part the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, and not jumpinto the race until the March 8 Super Tuesday states, largely in theSouth. Gore won five Southern states and Wyoming and Nevada.

His withdrawal speech was sprinkled with humor, and he even madea little fun of his youth. "Now I know how a lot of folks in Americafeel," he said. "I was doing great until I turned 40," a reference tohis recent birthday.

"I lost this race and it was a disappointment," he said. "Butsome things matter to me more than winning: helping my party, servingmy country, knowing when to keep fighting and knowing when I've beenlicked."

Asked whether he might run again, Gore said, "Oh, I don'tknow." He said it would be "arrogant" to rule out taking thevice-presidential nomination, but he said he "genuinely andsincerely" has no interest in it.

The presidential nominee should have "a free hand" to pick hisown running mate, Gore said.

Marshall, Von Steuben, Westinghouse, Simeon vie for city championship

One of the most exciting Public League boys basketball seasons in recent memory will have a fitting climax this weekend as the semifinals and championship game take place.

The semifinals will be at the DePaul Athletic Center Friday with Simeon taking on Marshall at 6:15 p.m. followed by Westinghouse taking on Von Steuben at 8:30 p.m. The two winners will advance to the Public League championship game Saturday at the United Center at 7 p.m. The title game will be televised live on Ch. 26

Although the winner of the Public League championship no longer receives an automatic bid to the state tourney, it still is something every school in the city shoots for.

"Winning the Public League title is still a big deal," says Marshall head coach Lamont Bryant. "You win this and you have bragging rights for the rest of the year. Winning the city title says that you are the best high school basketball team in the city."

Westinghouse enters the Final Four as the defending champion and odds-on-favorite to repeat.

Led by All-American 6-8 center DeAndre Thomas and a cast of outstanding players, such as Cory Custon and Marquis Johnson, the Warriors have rolled to a 23-3 record this season.

"We want to repeat as city champs, "Westinghouse head coach Quitman Dillard said.

"We feel we are the best team and will be disappointed if we don't do it."

The Warriors will be facing an upset-minded Von Steuben squad that is making its first Final Four appearance in three years. Guard Angel Santiago leads the 19-6 Panthers,

"Reaching the Final Four was one of our goals we set at the start of the season," Von Steuben head coach Vince Carter told the Defender. "Winning the city title was another goal. We want to accomplish that."

Marshall, behind the play of guard Patrick Beverly and forward Jerwin Calloway, are 20-6 coming into the Final Four, but the Commandos just might be playing the best of any team.

"The kids are tasting it now," Bryant said. "Before it was 32 teams, it was wide open. Now, with just four teams left, they are realizing just how close it is."

Simeon also has been on a roll. The Wolverines with a 23-4 record reached the semifinals with a big victory over Julian.

Sophomore star Derrick Rose, along with forward Tim Green and guard Tim Flowers, have led the way for head coach Robert Smith's squad.

"We're getting outstanding contributions from a lot of our players," Smith stated.

Notes: Up until Wednesday, the Julian Jaguars were 22-3 and were planning for next week's Class AA Thornridge sectional. But after center Nyal Koshwal was determined by Chicago Public Schools officials to have been out of elementary school five years - athletes are allowed to play up to four years after finishing - the team had to forfeit 19 of their victories, dropping their record to 3-22. The team will remain in the Class AA title picture because the Illinois High School Association ruled that the team is still eligible to play.

Article copyright REAL TIMES Inc.

Net navigation revisited: resources

When we covered Internet Navigation a couple of years ago, the Internet was a much smaller and more friendly place. With the explosive growth of users has come a tremendous growth of Web sites, now numbering in the millions. Finding exactly what you are looking for takes patience, persistence, imagination and improved search techniques. To illustrate the glut of information, a search for "harmonica", not the most common search term, yielded 150,384 pages.

Search Engines like altavista are indexed and maintained by computers and generally do not limit the number or quality of the sites submitted. Searches here generate the largest number of results but many of dubious quality. Use specific keywords to narrow your search and most require you to use quotation marks or the plus sign to specify a multi-word phrase. For example, "electric guitar" will yield pages with both words whereas electric guitar will yield sites with either electric or guitar. Use your imagination in choosing key words -- remember that the Webmaster of the site you are trying to locate has used key words that make sense to him.

Meta search engines such as http://www.dogpile.com search several other search engines at the same time and return composite results. There are also many subject-specific search engines.

Directories, like Yahoo, are maintained by humans and tend to be smaller with higher quality results. There are also many directories geared to special interest groups.

Topic-specific Sites

Other special interest sites such as those operated by schools, associations, or publications have generally well organized lists of resources that may aid in your search.

You can also use dedicated search software you install on your computer that searches the major search engines and organizes the results in a logical fashion. I highly recommend Copernic ( http://www.copernic.com). It returns a controllable number of results according to your instructions and finds sites that don't turn up elsewhere. The result can be saved to use later and also exported to various file formats. The basic version is free and the Pro version is $79.95 US.

If you spend a little bit of time improving your search techniques and tools, you will be rewarded with saved time and more successful results.

Music Online is a regular department of CM, featuring news and highlights of music online including the Internet, the major online sevices and music related BBSs. If you have questions, comments, news, or suggestions, please e-mail them to jnorris@nor.com, FAX (905) 641-1648 or mail them to our St. Catharines office.

... Martinsound has relaunched its Web site at http://www.martinsound.com. The site includes downloadable brochures in PDF format, equipment reviews, user comments, case studies, staff-written articles and press releases.

... Sibelius Software introduces Scorch music.com. The Scorch browser plug-in allows users to view and play Sibelius scores on the Internet regardless of whether they own Sibelius. Composers can publish and sell their scores on the Internet and the site also provides reviews of scores and bios of composers and arrangers. Check out their site at http://www.scorchmusic.com.

... For help on building and promoting your Web site, visit JimTools at http://www.jimtools.com. This great site will assist you in submitting to search engines and directories, help you choose key words, improve your HTML and so much more. His free newsletter on Web promotion is invaluable.

... If you are looking to freelance your musical, writing, pro audio or recording skills or are looking for any of those services, visit elance at http://www.elance.com. You can list yourself as a buyer or provider of services and bid on projects that are listed on the site.

... GAMA, the Guitar and Accessories Marketing Association has launched its new Web site at http://www.discoverguitar.com. The site includes advice on how to start a school guitar program, how to sponsor teachers and information on becoming a GAMA member.

... AKG Acoustics has launched a US Web site at http://www.akgusa.com. The site includes AKG product information, customer service info, corporate news, an AKG dealer locator, endorser news, promotions and contests.

... Music Books Plus has greatly expanded their catalogue and now features online over 4,000 books, videos and CD-ROMs on music, recording, audio, songwriting, MIDI, multimedia and the Internet. You can join the electronic newsletter or request a printed update or download a PDF version online at http://www.musicbooksplus.com.

... Norris-Whitney Communications operates The Music & Audio Connection, the international online resource for music enthusiasts, musicians, music and audio professionals. Included are classified ads, products for sale, company showcases, discussion forums, associations, music education, music & audio resources, career information and file libraries. New additions are the Calendar Plus personal information systems and Music News, updated daily. Updates to the site are available by electronic newsletter. Visit at http://www.musicandaudio.com. For more information, e-mail to info@nor.com, FAX (905) 641-1648 or call (905) 641-3471.

Bear Stearns Bailed Out by Fed, JPMorgan

Bear Stearns Cos., one of the most venerable names on Wall Street, turned to a rival bank and the federal government for a last-minute bailout Friday to prevent it from collapsing.

The Federal Reserve responded swiftly to pleas from Bear Stearns that its coffers had "significantly deteriorated" within a 24-hour period as rumors about the bank's situation fueled the Wall Street version of a run on the bank. Central bankers tapped a rarely used Depression-era provision to provide loans, and said they were ready to provide extra resources to combat an erosion of confidence in America's biggest financial institutions.

Nearly half the value of Bear Stearns, or about $5.7 billion, was wiped out in a matter of minutes as investors felt the bailout signaled that the credit crisis has reached a more serious stage, and now threatens to undermine the broader financial system _ and the U.S. economy.

"My guess is by next week, there will be rumors of other large, familiar institutions" that might be in financial trouble similar to Bear Stearns, said Anil Kashyap, a professor at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago.

No one has disclosed how large the financing offered to Bear Stearns is.

Bear Stearns, the nation's fifth-largest investment bank, made its fortune dealing in opaque mortgage-backed securities _ a strategy that backfired amid the worst housing slump in a quarter century. The bank has racked up $2.75 billion in write-downs since last year, and releases first-quarter results on Monday that could show more losses.

Alan Schwartz, Bear Stearns' chief executive, said the bank had enough money to keep operating at the start of the week. However, market speculation swelled Thursday _ leading investors, customers and lenders to withdraw their business or rescind credit lines.

By that night, Schwartz said the bank recognized that the pace of withdrawals could outstrip the company's resources. He then contacted JPMorgan Chase & Co. _ the third-largest U.S. commercial bank _ for help.

JPMorgan, which has been hurt far less by the mortgage morass than other investment banks, is providing secured funding to Bear Stearns for 28 days, and those loans will in essence be insured by the Federal Reserve. Schwartz said this will buy Bear Stearns time _ allowing it to "convince customers and counterparties that we have the ability to fund ourselves every day, to do business as usual."

Schwartz confirmed, as many on Wall Street suspected, that Bear Stearns could now be up for sale. He told analysts during a conference call that the short-term funding "is a bridge to a more permanent solution." Bear Stearns is working with investment bank Lazard Ltd. to explore its options.

Top executives from Bear Stearns and JPMorgan were discussing the outright sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan, according to a person familiar with the talks who was not authorized to speak on the record.

The next 28 days could provide JPMorgan with the time needed to complete due diligence on Bear Stearns before buying the company, giving detail about how much risk is on the books.

JPMorgan is considered to have one of the strongest balance sheets among Wall Street banks, and is not already involved in a rescue like Bank of America's purchase of Countrywide. In a memo sent to employees, Schwartz said the temporary financing would allow the company to "get back to business as usual."

Bear Stearns, which has about 14,000 employees worldwide, has struggled since two hedge funds under its control lost billions of dollars after investing heavily in securities backed by pools of subprime mortgages.

"They were the dominant firm for repackaging mortgages," said Andrew Wilkinson, senior market analyst at Interactive Brokers Group LLC. "That's where all earnings came from. They had the least diversified earnings stream of all of Wall Street securities firms, and as a result, they're paying the price today."

As delinquencies and defaults swelled among subprime mortgages _ given to customers with poor credit history _ investors shied away from purchase securities backed by the troubled loans. Those fears expanded to encompass all but the safest bonds and securities, forcing investment banks to significantly reduce the value of their holdings and drying up liquidity throughout the market. The broader financial services sector has amassed nearly $160 billion in write-downs since the middle of last year.

JPMorgan Chase said the financing would not expose its company to any material risk, though its shares dropped 3.6 percent, or $1.37, to $36.74. Bear Stearns plummeted 39 percent, or $22.50, to $34.50. The news rattled investors around the world, pushing the Dow Jones industrial average down about 225 points and pulling other indexes lower.

___

AP Business Writers Madlen Read in New York and Martin Crutsinger in Washington contributed to this report.

German state bans smoking at Oktoberfest

Smokers heading to Germany's famous annual beer festival, Oktoberfest, will be stuck lighting up outside after voters Sunday supported a total smoking ban in Bavarian for restaurants, bars, cafes and beer tents.

Although voter turnout for the referendum was relatively low, at 37.7 percent, a full 61 percent of those casting ballots favored a complete ban on smoking, according to Bavarian election officials. The ban overturning an existing law will take effect on Aug. 1 _ with an exception allowing limited smoking at this year's Oktoberfest.

Bavaria once had some of the toughest smoking restrictions in Germany. But it eased them last year, allowing smoking in one-room bars of up to 800 square feet (75 square meters) and in beer tents _ a nod to Munich's annual Oktoberfest. Larger bars can have a separate room for smokers.

The left-leaning Greens and Social Democrats lobbied for a referendum in hopes of returning to a complete ban.

4 dead, 1 survivor in small plane crash in Canada

NORTH SPIRIT LAKE, Ontario (AP) — One person has survived a Canadian charter plane crash that killed all four others aboard.

The plane belonging to Keystone Air Service crashed around 10 a.m. on ice close to homes of the North Spirit Lake nation in northern Ontario.

A community official told the Canadian Press that the lone survivor was being treated at a clinic. She said the community was in shock following the crash.

Pierre, Beckham try to find their grooves

With another 2-for-4 on Wednesday, former White Sox outfielder Scott Podsednik is putting on a clinic for the Kansas City Royals through the early part of the season, hitting .457 with six stolen bases in the No. 2 spot.

The Sox' top of the order? Not so good.

Juan Pierre is hitting .176, while an RBI double from Gordon Beckham in the third inning at least gave the Sox' No. 2 hitter some much-needed life.

''I'm still searching a little bit,'' Beckham said of his slow start. ''I feel like I'm not 100 percent there. I'm getting some hits when I don't feel very good, and that's a positive. I'm not worried about it, but I just hope to get that swing back soon.

''The last few days, it's been about really concentrating on seeing the ball. That's the struggle right now.''

Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said Pierre is trying to do too much.

''I'm not going to point fingers at Juan,'' Guillen said. ''It's still early, and he's trying to do too much, put pressure on himself. He's done it in the past, and he should go out and play the game the way he knows how to play.''

HOLD ON, HUDSON

Guillen disagreed with the assessment of Minnesota Twins second baseman Orlando Hudson that racism is keeping Jermaine Dye and Gary Sheffield off rosters.

''I don't know if Hudson wasn't talking about himself, like, 'Look, I'm a free agent every year and no one wants to sign me,''' Guillen said. ''There's a lot of non-African-American players without a job, and that's because of the economy. I know J.D. was offered a contract, and he didn't want it. That's not Major League Baseball's fault.''

Guillen said Dye is a good friend and one of only three players whose number he keeps in his cell phone, along with Carlos Zambrano and Alex Cora.

DAY OF REST

Paul Konerko was the latest regular to get a day off, with Guillen giving Mark Kotsay the start at first base and Carlos Quentin the designated-hitter spot. Alexei Ramirez also was rested.

Comment at suntimes.com.

TONIGHT'S GAME 6:07, CSN, 670-AM

White Sox (4-5) at Blue Jays (6-3)

Freddy Garcia

0-1, 2.57 ERA

'09 vs. Jays:

Did not face

Career vs. Jays:

6-4, 5.50 (13 GS)

Blue Jays vs. Garcia

Jose Molina: 8-for-20, .400

Vernon Wells: 5-for-14, .357, 3 RBI

John Buck: 7-for-22, .318, 2 HR

Lyle Overbay, Jeremy Reed: 4-for-9

John McDonald: 1-for-6

Jose Bautista: 1-for-3

Dana Eveland

1-0, 0.00 ERA

'09 vs. Sox:

Did not face

Career vs. Sox:

0-1, 5.79 (1 GS)

White Sox vs. Eveland

Carlos Quentin: 1-for-1, HR, 3 RBI

Andruw Jones: 1-for-1, RBI

Alexei Ramirez: 1-for-2, 2B

Mark Teahen: 1-for-5

Juan Pierre: 1-for-3

Alex Rios: 0-for-6

Photo: Dana Eveland Photo: Freddy Garcia Photo: With two hits Wednesday against the Blue Jays, Sox leadoff man Juan Pierre boosted his average to .176.

Scapholunate interosseus ligament tears in elite gymnasts

Gymnastics requires conversion of the upper limb into a load-bearing extremity, leading to upper extremity, especially wrist, injuries. The "gymnast's wrist" or the Madelung-like deformity involves repetitive excessive loading of immature bones leading to premature closure of the distal radial physis with associated ulna-plus variance and wrist pain.1-3 The significant physical demands of gymnastics and the frequency of injuries especially in elite gymnasts has led some to state that chronic gymnastic injuries should more properly be referred to as consequences of participation in the sport, implying the inevitability of chronic injuries.4

Up to 88% of gymnasts experience wrist pain.1 This is associated with older age, increased training hours and higher skill level.5 Elite gymnasts have a significantly greater rate of injuries than lower level gymnasts.6 Therefore they need to be considered as a separate group from casual participants in terms of sport-specific stresses and resulting injuries.

The scapholunate interosseus ligament (SLIL) is involved in maintaining the stability of the complex structure of the wrist. Wrist injuries commonly involve the SLIL.7 However, there is no reported literature on SLIL injuries in gymnasts. It may be that these injuries have been overlooked in the past. The wrist pain associated with these injuries is usually chronic and is less severe than a fracture, so athletes may interpret it as a nonsignificant sprain and may not seek medical attention. Physicians may overlook these injuries for similar reasons.

The mechanism of injury is generally believed to be impact loading with the wrist in extension and ulnar deviation,8,9 resulting in the capitate being driven between the scaphoid and lunate bones. This can occur with either a fall on an outstretched hand or repeated loading with weight bearing through the upper extremities. Clinical presentation is usually pain over the dorsal and radial aspects of the wrist with associated loss of motion or grip strength, or both.

Radiologically, scapholunate diastasis is defined as greater than 3 mm with a normal scapholunate distance of 2 mm or less on the other wrist. Diastasis is present in static scapholunate dissociation but is not visible in dynamic instability unless elicited on stress views, which can be performed with fist clenching or ulnar deviation of the wrist. Additional radiographie signs include the cortical "ring" sign due to the volar flexion of the scaphoid, a scapholunate angle greater than 70� (normal 30�-60�), and a radiolunate angle greater than 5�, which indicates a dorsal intercalated segmental instability (DISI) pattern with a dorsiflexed lunate. Radiographs in most scapholunate injuries appear normal, the radiographic findings already described being seen mostly in complete ligament tears or chronic partial tears.

Further evaluation can include MRI, which can better visualize scapholunate diastasis, ligament tears, occult fractures, and bone bruising. Arthrography has been used but often now is bypassed in favour of arthroscopy, which continues to be the standard method for evaluating SLIL injuries.

We describe 3 patients who had tears of the scapholunate ligament.

Case reports

Case 1

A 21-year-old right-hand dominant man from the Canadian national gymnastics team presented with a 3-month history of pain over the dorsal aspect of his right wrist that made training impossible. The pain was worsened by activities that axially loaded his wrist, such as the pommel horse. Physical examination revealed ulnocarpal joint tenderness. No effusion was palpable. CT showed a small minimally displaced fracture on the dorsal aspect of the triquetrum. Wrist radiographs appeared normal.

Bone scanning showed mild uptake of radoactive material at the radiocarpal junction and mild-moderate uptake in the triquetrum/pisiform region and the radial intercarpal region of the right wrist. Subsequently, magnetic resonance arthrography showed a scapholunate ligament tear, with contrast material extending into the midcarpal joint and associated DISI. Contrast material also extended along the medial aspect of the distal ulna consistent with an ulnar collateral ligament tear. A small avulsed bone fragment was confirmed dorsal to the triquetrum.

Arthroscopy of the wrist (Fig. 1) revealed that the scapholunate ligament was approximately 50% torn, with a scapholunate distance of approximately 4 mm. Osteoarthritis of the scapholunate joint and synovitis were debrided. Joint debris was removed. The triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) was not torn.

Wrist exercises were prescribed and the man subsequently obtained a full range of motion of his wrist. Recommendations were made to wait 3 months before resuming training.

Case 2

A 19-year-old man from the Canadian national gymnastics team presented with pain over the dorsal aspect of his left wrist. There was dorsal tenderness on the ulnar side but not over the TFCC. Radiographs appeared normal.

Magnetic resonance arthrography indicated a possible focal tear within the mid- or volar portion of the scapholunate ligament. A minute amount of contrast material entered the mid-carpal joint. Ultrasonography confirmed that the dorsal portion of the scapholunate ligament was intact.

He continued to have symptoms and was unable to continue his training. Arthroscopy was performed for diagnostic reasons. A partial scapholunate ligament tear was discovered along with chondromalacia of the scaphoid, lunate and distal radius (Fig. 2). Therefore, arthroscopic debridernent was performed.

His symptoms improved and he was able to resume training.

Case 3

A 15-year-old boy from the Canadian national gymnastics team presented with ulnar-sided left wrist pain. His pain was worsened with activities such as the pommel horse that axially loaded his wrist. There was tenderness and a full range of motion of the wrist. Radiographs appeared normal.

Magnetic resonance arthrography showed an area of altered signal within the lunate that could not exclude a small bone bruise or avascular necrosis. A subsequent bone scan appeared normal.

He continued to train and compete but his significant wrist pain persisted. Arthroscopy detected a partial full-thickness tear of the scapholunate ligament, chondromalacia of the lunate and fraying of the ulnar collateral ligament.

After arthroscopic debridement his wrist symptoms improved and he was able to continue training.

Discussion

The high physical demands of elite gymnastics on the upper extremity produce the potential for significant injuries. In addition to acute wrist injuries, skeletally immature athletes can suffer chronic wrist injuries, ranging from stress fractures through the physis of the distal radius to ulnar-plus deformities related to premature growth arrest due to excessive loading through the physis. Ligamentous injuries can occur either acutely or chronically and affect either the extrinsic or intrinsic ligaments of the wrist. These injuries are considered as minor injuries or overuse syndromes.

We hypothesize that the ligament injuries and degenerative changes we have reported in our 3 cases are related to twisting, dismount-type activities in gymnastics that place maximal stress on the radial column of the wrist.

All 3 athletes were managed with arthroscopy and debridement after appropriate imaging had been conducted. Wrist supports limiting excessive dorsiflexion of the wrist were recommended and worn by each athlete for training and competitions. All athletes were able to return to full training. Given the likely mechanism of injury of dorsiflexion and ulnar deviation of the wrist and the frequent upper extremity loading occurring in this posture in gymnastics, it may be advisable in the future to consider the use of dorsiflexion-limiting wrist supports to prevent scapholunate ligament tears.

Competing interests: None declared.

[Reference]

References

1. Dobyns JH, Gabel GT. Gymnast's wrist. Hand Clin 1990;6:493-505.

2. De Smet L, Claissens A, Fabry G. Gymnast wrist. Acta Orthop Edg 1993;59:377-80.

3. Tolat AR, Sanderson PL, De Smet L, et al. The gymnast's wrist: acquired positive ulnar variance following chronic epiphyseal injury. J Hand Swg [Br] 1992;17: 678-81.

4. Gabel GT. Gymnastic wrist injuries. Clin Sports Med 1998;17:611-21.

5. DiFiori JP, Puffer JC, Mandelbaum BR, et al. Factors associated with wrist pain in the young gymnast. Am J Sports Med 1996; 24:9-14.

6. McAuley E, Hudash G, Shields K, et al. Injuries in women's gymnastics. The state of the art. Am J Sports Med 1987;15:558-65.

7. Jones WA. Beware the sprained wrist: the incidence and diagnosis of scapholunate instability. J Bone Joint Surg Br 1988;70: 293-7.

8. Mayfield JK, Johnson RP, Kilcoyne RK Carpal dislocations: pathomechanics and progressive perilunar instability. J Hand Surg [Am] 1980;5:226-41.

9. Johnson RP. The acutely injured wrist and its residuals. Clin Orthop Relut Res 1980; (149):33-44.

[Author Affiliation]

Matthew G. Snider, MD;* Khalid A, Alsaleh, MB BS;[dagger] Jung Y. Mah, MD[double dagger]

[Author Affiliation]

From the * Department of Surgery, University of Western Ontario, London, the [dagger] Department of Surgery, McMaster University and the [double dagger] Division of Orthopaedics, McMaster University Medical Centre, Hamilton, Ont.

This study was conducted at McMaster University Medical Centre, Hamilton, Ont.

Accepted for publication Apr. 19, 2005

Correspondence to: Dr. Jung Mah, 674 Upper James St., Hamilton ON L9C 2Z6; fax 905 575-1799

Football gets winter meeting for transfer deals

Football clubs around the world have been offered their own version of Major League Baseball's winter meetings to make trade deals under the same roof.

The inaugural Globe Soccer conference launched on Friday will be staged in Dubai on Jan. 4 _ at the start of the monthlong, midseason transfer window for clubs in Europe.

Organizers hope their event will meet the needs the clubs, players and agents when most of Europe's leagues shut down for a winter break.

"What the media is looking for from us is 'Beckham going to Milan,' and similar events," Globe Soccer founder Enrico Bondoni said through a translator.

Bondoni said the event is supported by FIFA, which is working to eliminate rogue agents from the annual billion-dollar business of transfers.

Football's global governing body is creating an online monitoring system to record the flow of money to all parties involved in a deal.

Rob Jansen, representing the European Football Agents' Association, said unlicensed middlemen had given honest agents a bad reputation.

"We need a place where operators can come together on a fixed date every year," Jansen said. "It is the creation of transparency in the transfer market, both financially and legally."

Dubai already is a popular training base for Italian and German teams playing friendly matches each January.

"This conference is a big opportunity for other clubs to come and discuss the perfect deal for both sides," said Rashid Al-Kamali, marketing director for Dubai Sports Council.

Barry Bonds no Tiene Equipo

Hablando de Deportes

El propietario de los Gigantes de San Francisco declar�) que si la estrella jugador del equipo Barry Bonds regresa para el 2007 este "no ser�a la pieza principal del equipo".

Los Gigantes recientemente nombraban a Bruce Bochy nuevo dirigente del equipo bajo contrato de 3 a�os y $2 millones por temporada. Bochy (quien dirigi� a los Padres de San Diego por 12 a�os) Dijo que estar�a contento de contar con Bonds en su equipo del 2007.

Sin embargo los Gigantes de San Francisco no le van ha ofrecer $18 millones al a�o a Bonds, como era el antiguo contralo del Superestrella hasta concluida esta temporada.

Bonds ten�a un contrato total de $90 millones desde que lleg� a los Gigantes. Barry Bonds se declar� Agente Libre y su agente-representante Scott Boras dijo que "Bonds esta recibiendo ofertas de otros equipos".

�Pero cuales son esos "otros equipos"? Los Orioles de Baltimore han dicho que tienen inter�s en Barry Bonds como Bateador Designado. Pero no parece que hay mucho inter�s por Bonds. �La raz�n? Es muy simple, los negativos de Bonds superan a los positivos.

Barry Bonds continua jugando bajo una nube negra de investigaci�n sobre el posible uso de esteroides.

El amigo de por vida y entrenador de Bonds el Se�or Greg Anderson ha servido en la c�rcel por negarse a testificar contra Bonds.

El Comisionado del B�isbol Mr. Bud Selig no est� muy entusiasmado porque Barry Bonds hoy est� a solo 21 jonrones del record de 755 jonrones que todav�a pertenece a Hank Aaron. El record de 755 jonrones es el record m�s famoso entre todos los deportes profesionales de Estados Unidos, sin embargo el b�isbol de Grandes Ligas no esta haciendo grandes planes ni demuestra gran entusiasmo por Barry Bonds.

En 1976 este servidor entrevist� al gran Hank Aaron cuando visitaba Oakland con su �ltimo equipo los Cerveceros de Milwaukee, Aaron era la envidia del b�isbol, todo el mundo quer�a Hablar con el. Recientemente Hank Aaron declar� que el no piensa estar en asistencia si Bonds esta apunto de romper su record y tambi�n dijo (Aaron) que el "no quiere teuer que contestar preguntas de esteroides y esas cosas".

Esto es una verguenza para el b�isbol, pero as� est� la actual situaci�n con Barry Bonds.

Todo el mundo me pregunta: �Estar� Bonds de vuelta con los Gigantes el a�o que viene? Mi respuesta es muy simple: La �nica manera es si Bonds y su agente aceptan una oferta muy baja de los Gigantes que aunque han dicho que estar�an contentos de retener a Bonds tambi�n han dicho que estar�an haciendo una oferta.

La oferta ser� m�nima. Si el quiere jugar con los Gigantes ser�a por solo unos cuatro � cinco millones por el 2007 y yo dudo que Boras el agente de Barry Bonds acepte dicha oferta.

Bahrain: Civilian court retrial ordered for 20 medical staff convicted of aiding protesters

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Bahrain: Civilian court retrial ordered for 20 medical staff convicted of aiding protesters.

Contingency in Capital Cost Estimation

How much of a contingency factor should be included in a captial cost estimate?

Contingency is a key component of all cost estimates, from the conceptualization of a technology or project to its final implementation. Among project managers, financial managers and project owners, the connotations of contingencies may differ, depending on the potential impacts to a capital project and the resources needed to address them. Proper contingency assessment is required for capital projects to achieve their technical and business objectives.

Contingency is defined as an amount added to a cost estimate for an established project scope to account for items, conditions and/or requirements that experience has shown will likely result in additional project costs.

What does contingency usually include? Conceptual or early-stage capital cost estimates are initiated prior to the expenditure of resources on process development and detailed engineering. As a project moves through successive stages of development, its scope is defined with more and more detail, and project elements that are not depicted on the conceptual-stage process flow diagrams are identified. The requirements for the project's implementation are identified and then detailed in an evolutionary way.

What should not be covered by contingency? Contingencies are not intended to account for major changes that do not add detail to the project scope, such as changes in overall process flows and unit operations, capacities, end product specifications, facility sizes, major demolition work, start-up expenses, accelerated construction schedules, cost escalation, currency effects, and extraordinary events such as major strikes, terrorism and natural disasters.

What's the difference between scope definition and major scope changes? Scope definition refines the process flowsheets by adding detail to the already-identified unit operations with attractive economic returns, such as material recycle, energy and utilities conservation, process instrumentation and controls, and buildings and infrastructure requirements. In contrast, previously unidentified unit operations are considered major scope changes, and are not included in the contingency for the defined project scope and corresponding cost estimate.

How should extraordinary events be anticipated? Such events are uncertain and the probability that one will affect a single project is low. But across a portfolio of projects, there is a real probability that one or more might occur. Such "unique" events can be addressed through risk analysis, and are best managed separately from capital project cost estimates by a corporate finance function. Often specified as an owner management reserve or an event risk contingency, these reserves or insurances are not expected to be spent unless these events actually occur.

What aspects of cost estimating are accounted for in a project contingency? Implicit in the preparation of progressive cost estimates is that the cost-estimating detail corresponds to the stage of technology or project development. Technology and project development is typically managed through two to five stages, depending on the business market, implementation timeframe and organizational structure of the owner. In the process industries, project development may include up to five stages: conceptual, feasibility, front-end engineering, definitive and contractor's estimates.

In brief, a conceptual or order-of-magnitude estimate (�50% accuracy) requires a process flowsheet and cursory definition of major items of equipment, whereas a definitive estimate (�10% accuracy) requires the final detailed-engineering packages, including construction schedule, material take-offs, labor sourcing, and site-specific tie-in requirements. (The optimal resource utilization for the technology development, information requirements, and cost estimating technique for each stage is beyond the scope of this article.) If a project has a substantial contingency remaining upon its completion, either the level of engineering exceeded that required for the stage of development or an excessive contingency was assigned.

How should contingencies be assigned? Techniques ranging from straightforward to very sophisticated are used to assign contingency in different sectors of the construction industry. All of these methods have limitations.

Experience in the development and execution of relevant technology and construction projects enables the most realistic contingency assessments. The technology or project type is another consideration - for example, a fast-track biotechnology product requires a higher estimating contingency than an expansion of a well-established hydrocarbon steam reformer.

Contingencies are assigned as a percentage of the base estimate; the summation of the base estimate and contingency comprise the total fixed capital cost estimate. The table summarizes estimation accuracies and contingency assignments for the process industries.

Assignment of a project contingency for capital cost estimates should be approached in a rational and informed manner, from the conceptualization of a technology to its final implementation. Clarification and communication of the characteristics of cost estimating contingency is useful for project engineering, management and corporate finance.

[Author Affiliation]

JOHN A. WILLIAMS, PhD. P.E., (E-mail: jwilllams@e-p-s.nel) is the general manager of EPS, LLC. a design engineering firm specializing In the process industries (www.e-p-s.net). He has more than 25 years of experience In R&D. design engineering, manufacturing, and construction, and is the instructor for the AlChE/ASME courses on Conceptual Development and Detailed Cost Estimating (#139). and Practical Project I Economical Evaluation (#140). He holds a PhD in chemical engineering and an MBA In finance From the Univ. of Chicago.

Free Burning

URBAN FICTION Free Burning by Bayo Ojikutu Three Rivers Press, October 2006 $13.95, ISBN 1-400-08289-7

Free Burning, the follow-up to Ojikutu's debut novel, 77th Street Black, takes readers into the grim realities of lives so bound up in cycles of poverty and degradation that often the only escape might well be to burn one's way free.

Tommie Simms-college-educated, husband and father-is laid off from his job at a prestigious insurance company in downtown Chicago following the 9/11 attacks. As his job prospects get increasingly bleak and bills mount up, he gravitates toward the lifestyle of his hustling cousins and other nefarious characters.

Ojikutu's images are …

New Zealand house, retail sales slow

New Zealand's economy showed further signs of slowing Friday as statistics revealed house sales in January dropped to the lowest level in 17 years and retail sales in the December quarter suffered their largest drop since 1997.

Quarterly quarter retail sales fell 1.1 percent, driven downward by an 8.4 percent fall in fuel sales and a 5.3 percent decline in the sale of motor vehicles, the official data agency Statistics New Zealand said. That's the biggest drop since the March quarter of 1997.

Quarterly retail sale volumes have fallen 4.2 percent since September 2007, the agency said.

Meanwhile, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand said 3,706 …

Cavaliers Roll Past Sluggish Knicks

CLEVELAND - LeBron James tilted his head slightly to the right, just enough to catch the score of the Detroit-San Antonio game winding down on one of the giant big-screen TVs in the locker room. The Cavaliers aren't supposed to be watching the standings or the scoreboard.

"I am," James said. "I want a division championship banner for this team and for the city of Cleveland."

James had 21 points and 10 assists and the Cavaliers led for all but 13 seconds in a less-than-enthralling 90-68 victory over the sluggish and sloppy New York Knicks on Friday night.

Cleveland's ninth win in 11 games, coupled with Detroit's 90-89 loss to the Spurs, pulled the Cavaliers within …

Rep. Mike Oxley (R-Ohio) last week tried to amend spending measure to reduce the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's appropriation by 1%.(Brief Article)

CPB is scheduled to receive $365 million in fiscal year 2003, is the amount requested by the Clinton administration. At press time, the House had defeated the Oxley amendment and was still …

New prisons will cost the taxpayer more than R5.3bn.(News)

BYLINE: SIBUSISO NGALWA

FIVE new prisons, to be built in June next year, will cost the taxpayer well over R5.3 billion.

This excludes risk costs and staff accommodation.

The Department of Correctional Services gave the portfolio committee on correctional services a snap preview of a feasibility study for the new prisons yesterday.

Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour spoke of the need to "run with it" in the building of the new prisons.

The construction of the new prisons has been a bone of contention since 2002, and has resulted in a stand-off between the committee and the department over unnecessary delays.

…

CLINTON TAKES LEAD, BUT RACE JUST BEGUN.(Main)

Byline: R.W. Apple Jr. New York Times

It has been a remarkable seven days for Bill Clinton.

Beset by fate and his own mistakes early in the presidential campaign, written off by his peers, the 45-year-old Arkansas governor entered July sensing a turn for the better but still trailing President Bush and Ross Perot.

He will leave New York and the Democratic National Convention with his prospects transformed.

Consider: Clinton has recast his party's platform and its image in a fresh, more moderate mold, avoiding damaging splits in the process. His unorthodox choice of a running mate, Al Gore, has won broad acceptance by the Democratic Party and by the electorate as a whole.

Clinton has taken the lead in …

Canada PM: Troops home from Afghanistan in 2011

Canada's prime minister vowed Wednesday to pull troops from Afghanistan in 2011, the first time he has said Canadian forces will leave the country.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that Canadians do not want to keep soldiers in Afghanistan beyond then and that 10 years of war is enough.

"You have to put an end date on these things," Harper told reporters during a breakfast briefing. "We intend to end it."

Harper's comments go beyond the agreement Parliament passed in March, which only stipulated that Canada would remove troops from Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar in 2011.

The prime minister's vow to …

It's all about exercising options

I drove the eight blocks to the train station this morningbecause I was running late. Literally.

After smacking the snooze alarm button one too many times, I hada decision to make: Hit the treadmill for my pre-breakfast jog anddrive to the train. Or skip the run, which would leave enough timeto walk.

I had to run. So I couldn't walk.What's wrong with this picture?Last Saturday, I drove 20 minutes to take a spin class. Youknow, one of those exercise classes where you ride like mad on astationary bike, never going anywhere. I signed on for this45-minute adventure even though it was a clear, crisp spring morning.And even though I have a bicycle in my garage. And …

GUYANA: SUPPORT FOR RAINFOREST PROJECT.

The first meeting, in London, of international donors to the Iwokrama International Rain Forest Program in Guyana brought pledges of financial support totaling US$8.2 million, the Commonwealth Secretariat reported January 16. This is more than half of the US$13 million required for the first phase of the program (1998-2002). …

City exec a finalist for job in Missouri.

HOT SPRINGS - City Manager Kent Myers said Thursday that he is one of three finalists for the city manager's position in Springfield, Mo. (Arkansas …

PHOTOS POSE A HISTORICAL MYSTERY.(CAPITAL REGION)

``Could this be you? Please help us identify?'' is Dianne Tarity's plea to those strolling through the Antiques Building at the Saratoga County Fair.

Carefully checking over the old Cooperative Extension photographs, Jean Gatzendorfer of Ballston Spa noted, ``I was in 4-H when I was a kid. My Dad was too, when he was younger, maybe I'll see someone I know.''

Tarity, records management officer for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Saratoga County, is depending on retirees, farmers and former 4-Hers to help solve the mysteries of who's in the pictures.

At the fair booth, some of Cornell Cooperative Extension's old photographs are enlarged and on …

FROM EGG TO APPLE ARTEE GOES TO ALBERTS A GROWING BALLET SUPPORT YOUR MUSIC HALL COULD YOU KEEP IT DOWN?(Show)

Byline: Winifred Yu

Jeffrey Hatcher's "Two Nikita," which had a staged reading in June as part of the Empire Center's Writer's Block, will have continued life in Manhattan.

It will have a reading tomorrow at the Writers Theater, directed by Empire Center Executive Director Terry Lorden, and featured locals Mark Heckler, Judy Spevack and Jim Leonard, who are returning from the original project.

According to the center's programs manager, Gram Slaton, the purpose of the Writer's Block is exactly that: to get exposure for aspiring playwrights like Hatcher.

"If we can get one of our guys exposure down there, and not just with some kitchen sink …

Farmer sees divine sign in cow born at US dairy

A holy cow in Connecticut, perhaps? Or maybe a divine bovine?

A calf with a white marking on its forehead in the approximate shape of a cross was born last week at a dairy farm in Sterling, a small rustic town on the Rhode Island border.

Owner Brad Davis tells WFSB-TV he thinks the marking may be a message from above, though he's still trying to figure out what that …

Dirk Outduels LeBron As Mavs Beat Cavs

DALLAS - Dirk Nowitzki scored 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and LeBron James missed two free throws and two 3-pointers in the final 13.7 seconds, letting the Dallas Mavericks slip by the Cleveland Cavaliers 95-92 Thursday night for their franchise record-tying 14th straight victory.

The Mavericks already had come close to the mark twice this season, winning 12 in a row then 13 straight. They've lost only twice since Dec. 11 and just came off a perfect February that earlier Thurday earned Nowitzki and Avery Johnson honors for Western Conference player and coach of the month.

Dallas led since late in the first quarter until James sparked a late rally - on both …

PARAMOUNT NETWORK TV NAMES RUSSO SVP.(Paramount Network Television senior vice president Tom Russo)(Brief Article)

Tom Russo was named senior vice president of current programs for Paramount Network Television. …

John Lang: Australia's Larrikin Writer, Barrister, Novelist, Journalist and Gentleman.(Australia Imagined: Views from the British Periodical Press 1800-1900)(Book review)

John Lang: Australia's Larrikin Writer, Barrister, Novelist, Journalist and Gentleman, by Victor Crittenden. Canberra: Mulini Press, 2005. Hardback, $50.

Australia Imagined: Views from the British Periodical Press 1800-1900, edited by Judith Johnston and Monica Anderson. Perth: University of Western Australia Press, 2005. Paperback, $38.95.

In the first book of the John Lang Project, John Lang: Australia's Larrikin Writer, Barrister, Novelist, Journalist and Gentleman, author Victor Crittenden claims that Lang is 'the most important of our first novelists' (xii) because Lang wrote Australia's first 'international' bestseller, Violet the Danseuse. A Portraiture of Human Passion and Character (1836). Violet was written by a young Lang who had been dabbling in poetry and short stories for some time. While the novel enjoyed overseas success (it was reprinted in Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt and the USA), Lang could not enjoy the success publicly because too many of the characters were suspiciously similar to colonial identities, not the least being his employers, the Wentworths. Lang even went so far as to name one protagonist D'Arcy (after William Charles Wentworth's father). …

PETE'S KID ONE STEP FROM BIGS.(SPORTS)

Byline: Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS -- Pete Rose Jr. scribbled the letters HK and the number 4,256 in the dirt with his bat and circled them.

They signified ``Hit King,'' and the record number his father had during his career.

``It's my way of paying tribute to my father,'' said the younger Rose, newly promoted to play third base for the Indianapolis Indians.

Rose, in his ninth season in the minor leagues, was promoted earlier this week by the Cincinnati Reds from Chattanooga of the Southern League to Indianapolis of the American Association.

It's his first stint in baseball's Class AAA and puts him one step away from the …