ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's state-run television says visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has met with 11 Palestinian prisoners who arrived in Turkey after being freed in a prisoner swap deal with Israel.
The 11 were among 1,027 prisoners released in two phases in exchange for the return of Israeli soldier Gidad Schalit, who was captured by Gaza militants in 2006. The group was …
| Montreal 0 0 0_0 | |||
| Philadelphia 1 1 1_3 | |||
| First Period_1, Philadelphia, Briere 9 (Giroux, Timonen), 4:16 (pp). Penalties_Krajicek, Phi (slashing), 2:02 | Gomez, Mon (hooking), 2:55 | Leino, Phi (holding), 7:11 | Philadelphia bench, served by Asham (too many men), 15:52. |
| Second Period_2, Philadelphia, Gagne 6 (Leino, Richards), 15:49 (pp). Penalties_Gionta, Mon (holding), 14:32. | |||
| Third Period_3, Philadelphia, Leino 3 (Krajicek, Pronger), 10:24. … |
When "Lost" actor Matthew Fox attended a press conference inHuntington last week, it was like his television character, Dr. JackShephard, had entered the room.
Sure, Fox was dressed in a warm denim jacket rather than a raggedwhite T-shirt, and it looked like he'd recently had a shave.
But still the aura of the complicated, unofficial leader of theOceanic Flight 815 survivors seeped through.
Fox is currently in Huntington filming scenes for the MarshallUniversity plane crash movie, "We Are...Marshall."
Last week, the 39-year-old actor took a day off from filming tomeet with members of the media at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
When it came time to ask my …
LIMA, Peru (AP) — Every time Alex Herhuay sets out in his Lima fire brigade's 36-year-old Isuzu hook-and-ladder truck for a rescue, his worries aren't just about the mission ahead.
"We are thinking: 'I sure hope the engine doesn't quit,'" the young firefighter said.
Peru's economy may be booming, but there is scant evidence of the export-driven mineral bonanza in Herhuay's fire company, nor in the other 191 citizens brigades in this rugged Andean country of 29 million people.
Peru's firefighters are so cash-strapped and ill-equipped that vital lifesaving equipment too often fails at a burning building or at a crash scene where people are pretzeled in mangled …
Iranian newspapers are quoting Mojtaba Hashemi Samareh, a top advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as saying the country has converted its financial reserves into gold.
The papers did not specify how much of Iran's estimated $120 billion in reserves would actually be converted …
Jeff Goldblum plays a scientist who turns into a 185-pound flyand Geena Davis plays a science reporter who falls in love with him.And they look very much as if their relationship is as closeoff-screen as their characters are in the exciting sci-fi horrorfilm, which was the top box-office draw in its first two weekends.
It is not the first time Goldblum and Davis have appeared in thesame movie. They co-starred in "Transylvania 6-5000" last year. Andalthough they didn't do any scenes together, they did …
MINNEAPOLIS - The NL East-leading New York Mets neatly filled a big hole at second base, acquiring three-time All-Star Luis Castillo from the Minnesota Twins for a pair of prospects Monday.
The 31-year-old Castillo will give the Mets three switch-hitters at the top of their lineup when injured Carlos Beltran returns and brings speed and a .304 average to a batting order already topped by major league stolen base leader Jose Reyes. Castillo twice was the NL steals leader, though bad knees have limited his running in recent seasons.
A three-time Gold Glove winner who still has above-average range, Castillo also should solidify the defense in a standout infield with Reyes at …
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt says he doesn't use marijuana.
On Sunday, the Jamaican sprinter was quoted in a German newspaper as saying he smoked marijuana when he was very young and learned how to roll a joint.
Bolt released a statement Monday through his manager admitting he tried marijuana at a "tender …
The Pet Shop Boys presented musical theater without a plotThursday night at the Chicago Theatre when they performed atwo-hour-plus set that was as high gloss as it was devoid of passion.
Like their female English compatriots, Bananarama, the Pet ShopBoys have built their career on a couple of catchy dance hits theyproduced in the '80s. But rather than touring to promote theirmusic, the duo has churned out a stream of videos. On this, theirmuch-hyped debut tour of America, vocalist Neil Tennant andkeyboardist Chris Lowe aimed at displaying a theatrical production,complete with a 15-minute intermission. What they ended uppresenting was a show that was little more than a …
NEW YORK (AP) — A leading biographer of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida has a deal for a book on the killing of the terrorist leader.
Peter Bergen has an agreement with Crown Publishers for "an immersive, definitive account" tentatively called "The Manhunt." Crown announced the book Tuesday. No publication date …
Jeff Probst is sticking with "Survivor" next season as host and an executive producer.
CBS announced an agreement Tuesday with Probst, who has been host of "Survivor" since its debut in 2000. He'll be back for the 21st and 22nd installment of network TV's longest-running reality competition series, …
The dollar edged down against the yen on Friday as investors stayed on the sidelines awaiting the outcome of a two-day Group of Eight finance ministers' meeting.
The dollar was quoted at 107.76 yen mid-afternoon in Tokyo, down from 107.89 yen in New York late Thursday.
"The dollar was moving in a narrow range as investors were awaiting the outcome of the G8 meeting," said Mitsuru Sahara, senior currency manager at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd.
"Investors were carefully monitoring comments from the ministers," he said.
The two-day meeting, which began Friday in Osaka will address pressing global issues including towering oil and food prices, as well as global warming, according to Japanese Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga, host of the meeting.
Sahara said the Bank of Japan's unanimous decision to keep its key interest rate unchanged at 0.5 percent had little impact on the currency market as the move was widely expected. "There were no surprises in the decision," he said.
The euro stood at US$1.5446 mid-afternoon in Tokyo, compared with US$1.5438 in New York late Thursday.
In other Asian currencies, the dollar was little changed at 33.13 to the Thai baht and at 1.3776 Singapore dollars, down from S$1.3782.
GRAND ISLE, La. (AP) — A hundred days ago, shop owner Cherie Pete was getting ready for a busy summer serving ice cream and po-boys to hungry fishermen. Local official Billy Nungesser was planning his wedding. Environmental activist Enid Sisskin was preparing a speech about the dangers of offshore drilling.
Then the oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded off the coast of Louisiana, and in an instant, life along the Gulf Coast changed for good.
Pete spends her days worrying that the fishing industry may never recover. Nungesser has put his wedding on hold while he sits in meetings and argues with federal officials. And Sisskin continues to talk about the dangers of drilling — only now, people are listening.
The 100 days since the April 20 explosion have been a gut-wrenching time for folks who work, play and live along the Gulf Coast. The Gulf is a sanctuary for some, an employer for others, and now, a tragedy.
These are their stories.
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The Restaurant Owners
A hundred days ago, business was booming at Barrios Seafood Restaurant in Golden Meadow, La., during Lent, when many of the Roman Catholics in south Louisiana forgo meat on Fridays or altogether. Customers were lined up for meals of crab, shrimp, fish and other seafood delivered hours after being pulled from the Gulf.
Alicia and Thomas Barrios believed their years of struggling to get the business going were finally paying off.
"We were saying, 'If business is this good now, just think what it will be like in the summer,'" Alicia Barrios said. "It was more money than we had ever made before in our lives."
They began sprucing up the restaurant, even adding a patio with visions of customers lingering there this summer. Then the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and the oil began filling the Gulf.
"I'd say about 50 percent of our business was tourist, and they stopped coming immediately," Alicia said. "Seafood got hard to get, the price went up and people are worried about eating it."
These days, Thomas Barrios is working in the Vessels of Opportunity program, helping BP clean up the spill. Alicia Barrios has had to lay off two of her employees and the adjacent market is only open two days a week.
She's also thinking about how to change the menu if the price of seafood keeps going up and it remains scarce.
"I guess we could start serving pasta and hamburgers," she said. "But I'm afraid to spend the money on a new sign and menus. To be honest, if it wasn't for the BP check, we'd already be closed."
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The Oil Worker
A hundred days ago, Joey Rojas was in a training session for his job as an oil pipeline production operator when he heard about the rig explosion. He figured it would be cleaned up in a few days, but soon he was worrying about the future of his entire industry.
Two weeks after high school graduation, Rojas, 24, bucked a long family tradition of commercial fishing to take a job in south Louisiana's oil country. He hasn't looked back — until now.
He worries about a push by federal officials to impose a deepwater drilling moratorium and new regulations.
"I'm starting to wonder what my future will hold. Will I have to look at another job? Will I be paying $5 or $6 at the pump?" he asked. "If a plane crashes, you don't stop flying."
Every so often, he thinks about another line of work. But there's little chance he'll find one that would pay as much while allowing him to live near his family in the fishing village of Port Sulphur.
"I think about looking for another job. And then I think about where I can make the money that I make now, unless I'm a lawyer or a doctor," he said. "You just can't go anywhere and make $80,000 a year."
He's confident the oil industry will survive, but he's afraid there won't be as many jobs. His 2-year-old son, Joey Jr., might not be able to follow in his footsteps.
"The jobs will be here, and the oil industry will outlast me," he said. "But my son is going to have to go to college and be something else."
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The Sandwich Maker
A hundred days ago, Cherie Pete and her husband, Alfred, were expecting another steady stream of customers at the little store they used her life savings to build on the main road to Venice, La.
Everyone in town calls the 45-year-old mother of three "Maw" anyway, so she decided to name the place Maw's Sandwich and Snack Shop.
The store opened last year, attracting a devoted group of locals who came for po-boys and ice cream, plus weekenders who showed up from New Orleans in droves to rent campsites and charter fishing trips.
"And all of a sudden, we don't have them coming in," she said.
She's still doing decent business, still working 14 hour days, but it's not the same. Now most of her customers are contractors and cleanup workers.
"We've met people from all over the country, but it's not happy meetings. It's people coming in for work," she said. "It's not a typical exciting day at work for me any more, it's just another day at work."
Pete knows the business won't last when the cleanup ends.
"I'm just afraid the bottom is going to fall out," she says. "I'm not sure when. You don't know if it's today, or tomorrow or five years from now."
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The Seafood Broker
A hundred days ago, Darlene Kimball was getting ready for a busy summer at her family's docks in Pass Christian, Miss., waiting for the buyers who would snap up hundreds of pounds of shrimp from the backs of boats, loading them into ice chests and hauling them back to giant freezers.
Now the place is empty, and the only boats she sees are the ones used by BP contractors cleaning up the spill.
Kimball's family has been in the Mississippi seafood industry since 1930, and she's never wanted to do anything else. But recently the 43-year-old had to do the unthinkable — draft a resume so she could look for another line of work.
"Everything's different," she said. "My life has gone from a fast-paced to nothing."
She misses the excitement of fishermen calling from the water announcing their latest haul, the awkward tourists trying to negotiate with boat captains for a piece of the catch. Most of all, maybe, she misses the sound of the seagulls circling the boats long before they come into town.
"There's nothing around me," she said. "My culture is gone, my livelihood is gone. What my grandfather and father have worked so hard to accomplish is in jeopardy."
__
The Activist
A hundred days ago, Florida environmental activist Enid Sisskin was scanning through oil spill data from the Minerals Management Service, preparing a speech on the dangers of offshore drilling.
Then the rig exploded, and she ended up rewriting the entire thing. She even told a halfhearted joke, about how future discussions of offshore drilling would have to begin with "a noun, a verb and the words Deepwater Horizon."
But Sisskin, who teaches in the public health program at University of West Florida, hasn't laughed much these past 100 days. She lives in the coastal community of Gulf Breeze and has long been a vocal opponent of Gulf drilling rigs.
"There's a constant knot in the pit of my stomach," she said. "I'm afraid for the future. Are we going to come back? Are our waters going to be clean enough? Are we going to have the sea birds? Can we comfortably say to tourists, come on down and get in the water and eat the fish?"
She's been busy this summer, teaching classes and giving talks to groups on the effects of oil and dispersants on public health.
There is one thing she doesn't say in her speeches: I told you so.
"This is something I never ever wanted to be able to say," she said. "It's vindication, but what a horrible way to be vindicated."
___
The Tourism Mogul
A hundred days ago, Frank Besson was raking in money at the tourism empire he's built on Grand Isle, a spit of land along the coast where vacationers have flocked for decades. What started with his father's souvenir shop expanded to a daiquiri bar across the street and a restaurant next door.
On a good day, he used to make $1,600. The shop's take last Saturday, when the island hosted a benefit concert? A measly $28.18, he says, pointing to the day's receipt.
His little monopoly is in shambles these days. The restaurant, known for a homemade pecan glaze that's perfect for chicken fingers, is closed indefinitely. The daiquiri bar opens late each night to a trickle of customers. And most days you can find Besson inside his locked souvenir shop, watching a tiny TV.
The only thing that's keeping the business afloat, he said ruefully, is that BP leased two of his rental homes and signed a catering contract with his shuttered restaurant.
Besson, 61, is still optimistic that business will turn around and he'll be able to reopen his restaurant. But for now, he's found himself in an unusual position. He's actually hoping for a storm.
"We want some rough weather so we can disperse and dissolve some of that stuff," he said. "I hate to say it, and I never thought I would say that, but that's what we want."
___
The Local Official
A hundred days ago, Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser was busy with blueprints of fire stations, schools and community centers damaged during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and still in need of rebuilding. He was planning his wedding to his longtime fiance, which they postponed after the storm.
"I had a life," Nungesser says.
Now, his life looks like this: Endless meetings with the Coast Guard. Endless arguments with federal officials and BP workers. And countless media appearances — he's been on Anderson Cooper so often alongside fellow Cajun James Carville that the trio are like the holy trinity of nighttime cable TV.
The new fire stations, schools and community centers have been put on hold. He's seen his mother twice in the past few months — and she lives right in the coastal Louisiana parish. And then there's the matter of the wedding. That's not happening anytime soon, not until life calms down and the fight is over.
For now, he's got a war to wage. That's how he characterizes his region's fight against BP, the federal government, the oil.
"A hundred days later, I can't look you in the eye and tell you who's in charge," he said. "I would not want to go to war with this team. Looking back, it's very sad that a lot of marshes and wildlife could have been saved if the federal government and BP had just listened to local people."
___
The Priest
A hundred days ago, the Rev. Mike Tran was busy ministering to his flock at the lone Catholic church on Grand Isle.
When he was first assigned, he dragged his feet. It was too small, too isolated and there was too little to do. Boy was he wrong.
He arrived in July 2005, weeks before Hurricane Katrina demolished much of the island. Parishioners at Our Lady of the Isle weathered that storm and the others that followed, but the spill has presented a new challenge. It threatens their way of life.
Church attendance has been cut in half. Weekly donations are down $1,000. Yet more people than ever are walking up the stilted church's stairs to seek food and money.
The morning after the rig explosion, Tran held a mass to honor the 11 victims. Most church members hadn't even heard the news.
The last three months have been a whirlwind of prayer, charity and counseling.
"People are constantly in fear," he said. "They like to work, not to rely on a business for help. They were able to go out on the Gulf whenever they wanted to feed their families. They were living a worry-free life, knowing that the Gulf would provide."
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The Dolphin Cruise
A hundred days ago, the website for Blue Dolphin Cruises in Orange Beach, Ala., beckoned visitors to come join the fun.
Cruise operators promised amazing sights: Ono Island's exclusive celebrity homes, stunning sunsets and, of course, dolphins.
On board the 47-passenger pontoon boat, tourists could buy soft drinks, water, beer, wine, snacks, as well as film, T-shirts, stuffed dolphins, visors, necklaces, and other souvenirs. Dolphin sightings were guaranteed, but guests were warned not to feed or swim with the sleek animals.
The website still says "Come join the fun."
The summer of 2010 has been anything but.
"Thank you for calling Blue Dolphin Cruises," the company's voicemail message now says. "We are currently closed due to the oil spill."
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Foster reported from Golden Meadow and Lush from New Orleans.
BELFAST Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher broke off her annualvacation Saturday and called an emergency security meeting to respondto the Irish Republican Army bombing that killed eight Britishsoldiers in Northern Ireland Friday night.
The bombing was part of a new IRA terror campaign that has left21 British soldiers dead in Northern Ireland this year.
Thatcher returned to London amid increasing calls to reviveinternment, the policy of detaining known terrorists without trial, acontroversial move that failed as a deterrent in the 1970s.
Saturday night, she summoned her senior minister for NorthernIreland, Ulster Police Chief John Hermon and the British Armycommander in the province to her London office for emergency talks.
Northern Ireland Secretary Tom King, who also interrupted hisvacation to fly here before heading for Downing Street, saidinternment was under constant review but that the 1970s experiencehad demonstrated the problems it could pose.
Thatcher previously has ruled out internment in the belief thatit would be counterproductive, giving the IRA a propaganda coup andcreating instant martyrs among the terrorists, as it did before.
The latest IRA attack left 28 soldiers injured alongside sevendead comrades - another died later - after a bomb exploded beside thebus taking them from Belfast airport to their base in County Tyrone.
It was the deadliest single blow by the IRA against the Britisharmy in Northern Ireland since 1982. It brought to 26 the number ofBritish military personnel killed in a summer IRA blitz in NorthernIreland, mainland Britain and continental Europe.
The IRA claimed responsibility Saturday for the latest bombingin a statement to the Irish media and declared, "We will not lay downour arms until the peace of a British disengagement from Ireland isgranted to our nation."
In recent weeks, terrorist strikes have been launched againstoff-duty troops or low-security military bases on the Continent, inLondon and here. Security officials responded by declaring a stateof heightened alert for all military personnel.
They began a major inquiry into the IRA strike, focusing on twomajor questions: How did the terrorist organization know that an ordinary 52-seatcivilian bus was carrying off-duty troops returning from furlough? How was the IRA able to place a massive explosive device beside themain road from Omagh to Ballygawley, one of the busiest in theprovince, frequently used by military and police and under particularsecurity surveillance? Police said Saturday night that they wereunaware of the military bus trip.
UPCOMING COVERAGE FOR SATURDAY, APRIL 2:
SPAIN-BASQUES
BILBAO, Spain — Up to 50,000 people expected to protest to demand that government legalize the new Basque pro-independence party, Sortu. Demonstration starts late afternoon.
TOP STORIES SENT FRIDAY:
LIBYA DIPLOMACY
LONDON — A key Libyan official involved in negotiations on the future of Moammar Gadhafi's regime said Tripoli was attempting to hold talks with the U.S., Britain and France to find a mutual end to the crisis. By David Stringer.
BRITAIN-ROYAL WEDDING SPOOF
LONDON — The streets of Piccadilly Circus were crowded as usual when Russian tourist Olga Yershevich did an unexpected doubletake: Right in front of her, in a horse-drawn carriage, were three people who looked very much like Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William, and, in a wedding gown, Kate Middleton. She was fooled, for a flash, then realized she was looking at professional actors expertly dressed and made up to look like three of the most famous people in the world. By Gregory Katz. AP Photos.
IRELAND-BANKING CRISIS
DUBLIN — Ireland still wants to force foreign bondholders to bear losses in debt-crippled banks but is being blocked by the European Central Bank, which has the lenders on life support, Finance Minister Michael Noonan said. By Shawn Pogatchnik. AP Photo.
BUSINESS & FINANCE:
PORTUGAL-FINANCIAL CRISIS
LISBON, Portugal — Debt-stressed Portugal got some respite from its financial troubles when it managed to borrow €1.645 billion ($2.3 billion) in a bond auction. By Barry Hatton. AP Photos.
WORLD MARKETS
LONDON — Better-than-expected U.S. jobs data boosted world stocks and the dollar as hopes that the world's largest economy is on the mend offset the uncertainty over the conflict in Libya. By Pan Pylas.
___
AP's Europe Desk in London can be reached at +44 207 427 4300.
RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES
* About 4,200 rechargeable battery packs, imported by ClearOneCommunications, because they can short circuit, overheat and melt theprotective plastic covering, posing a burn hazard to consumers.
ClearOne Communications has received nine reports of incidentswith the recalled battery packs. No injuries, fire or property damagehave been reported.
The battery is a power source for the MAX Wireless ConferencePhone Models 910-158-001 and 910-158-070. The battery pack is greenand is on the underside of the Max phone pod. The recall is for theTWD rechargeable nickel metal hydride battery pack with model numberTH-AA2200, which is printed on the side of the battery along with TWDNI-MH Battery and 7.2v AA2200mAH.
They were sold at the ClearOne Communications direct order deskand by distributors and dealers nationwide from April 2005 throughDecember 2005.
Consumers should stop using the phones with recalled batterypacks. For more information, call (800) 283-5936 or visitwww.clearone.com/support or www.cpsc.gov.
TRAMPOLINES
* About 668,000 InMotion Trampolines, manufactured by StaminaProducts Inc. of Springfield, Mo., because the outside rail mayrelease during assembly. The company has received 13 reports ofinjuries including two concussions, a rotated disc and two reports offacial bone fractures. The recalled round, black mini-trampolinesbear model numbers containing 35-1625. Model units 35-1625C and 35-1625CW are not included in the recall.
Wal-Mart, Play It Again Sports and other retail and online storessold the product nationwide from August 2000 through March 2006. Formore information, call the company at (800) 375-7520 or visitwww.staminaproducts.com or www.cpsc.gov.
COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS
Stephen Curry scored 33 points and Davidson remained undefeated in the Southern Conference, routing Wofford 79-56 on Saturday night.
Andrew Lovedale and Will Archambault had 12 points each for the Wildcats (16-3, 9-0), who extended their regular-season league winning streak to 39 games.
Junior Salters scored 16 points and Brad Loesing had 12 for the Terriers (7-9, 3-4), who never led and trailed by as many as 26 points in the second half.
Curry, who also had seven rebounds and seven assists, scored 23 points in the first half as Davidson overcame a late Wofford rally to build a 17-point halftime lead.
The Wildcats then extended their lead in the second half, going up 77-51 on Steve Rossiter's layup with 3:01 remaining.
CHARLESTON, South Carolina (AP) — British sailor Chris Stanmore-Major has finished third in the fourth leg of the around-the-world Velux 5 Oceans yacht race.
Stanmore-Major crossed the finish line off Charleston Harbor about 9:45 p.m. Thursday after sailing 5,700 miles from Punta del Este in Uruguay. He was at sea for 25 days and almost 10 hours on the fourth leg of the solo yachting race.
Stanmore-Major finished third behind second place Derek Hatfield of Canada. The leader, Charleston resident Brad Van Liew, won the leg and arrived late Tuesday.
The fifth and final leg of the race leaves next month for France where the Velux 5 Oceans began last year.
Credit card company Discover Financial Services said Tuesday that it posted a loss for the first three months of the year as it bolstered the amount of money it set aside to cover continuing defaults by consumers.
Discover said it lost $104 million, or 22 cents per share, for the three months that ended Feb. 28. That compares with a profit of $120.4 million, or 25 cents per share, in the period a year earlier.
The issuer of Discover and Diners Club cards said it set aside an additional $305 million in the quarter to cover loan losses, a move that puts it in better shape for the future but pushed its books into the red.
Also skewing the comparison with last year's first quarter was a one-time $475 million payment Discover received then from Mastercard Inc. and Visa Inc. to settle an antitrust lawsuit. Excluding that payment, Discover lost 41 cents per share in last year's first quarter.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude one-time items, on average predicted Discover would earn 12 cents per share.
Shares of Discover fell 24 cents to $15.06 after hours. They gained 10 cents to close the regular session at $15.30.
Discover's net charge-off rate was 8.51 percent in the first quarter, up slightly from the rate of 8.43 percent the quarter before. That rate reflects the share of all the company's outstanding loans that are at least 180 days late and that the company no longer expects will be repaid.
The company's over-30-day delinquency rate, a good predictor of future charge-offs, eased slightly to 5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2009.
Discover believes delinquent loan balances peaked at the end of last year. It expects a charge-off rate for the second quarter of 8 percent to 8.5 percent.
Discover also said it received regulatory approval to repay the $1.2 billion in federal bailout money it received last year. As part of the repayment process, the company said it will issue $350 million of new debt during the second quarter.
There were some positive signs in the results.
_ Card sales volume rose 5 percent to $22 billion.
_ Expenses were down 15 percent from the previous year.
_ Deposit balances originated through direct-to-consumer and affinity relationships were $14.8 billion, up from $12.5 billion the prior quarter.
DAILY MAIL CAPITOL REPORTERS
A state Senate committee approved a House-passed bill today thatwould permit sales tax increment financing for the Wheeling Victorianoutlet mall and other downtown redevelopment projects.
But Senate leaders said it would look much different by the timethey get through with it next week. They anticipate the result willblend the two plans for funding the outlet mall.
"I think that final bill will probably take care of the needs ofthe funding of the Wheeling Victorian project and very well couldinclude the ability for some other projects throughout the state,"Government Organization Chairman Ed Bowman, D-Hancock, said.
Although he said he didn't want to be more specific, when askedwhether those other projects might include a new ballpark inCharleston and the Pullman Square project in Huntington, he replied,"I would suggest that your suggestion could very well have merit toit."
The Senate's Government Organization Committee approved the Housebill this morning.
The Senate has its own bill to come up with the $80 million neededfor the Wheeling project by using infrastructure funds resulting fromvideo lottery revenue.
It would put $20 million into the project each year for four yearsand during each of those years, $13 million of consumer sales taxrevenue would be put back into the infrastructure fund, so the netloss to the fund would be only $7 million each year or $28 millionover the four years.
The House bill would allow Wheeling to divert the extra sales taxrevenue generated by the outlet mall into paying off bonds sold tofinance the project, but Senate leaders don't like that proposalbecause they're worried that sales tax revenue is already declining.
"I don't think we'll end up embracing the sales tax," said SenateFinance Chairman Oshel Craigo, D-Putnam. "There are too many peoplealready jumping on it and that's the real risk you run with that."
But the House is so committed to the sales tax increment financingmethod that, even though it passed the bill once last month, it wasset to vote on the same legislation again today. This time, thelanguage was attached to a larger bill containing legislationproposed by Gov. Bob Wise to overhaul the state's tax incentivesystem.
"Rather than build safe water supplies the Senate would sell Polosweaters," said Delegate Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson.
The way he sees it, the Senate's proposal would involve riskingstate money on a "very expensive, risky project." The House proposal,which would let the project fund itself is much more prudent, hesaid.
Carmichael argued that lower-income West Virginians are the oneswho play lottery games, filling up the infrastructure fund inquestion. So taking money from the infrastructure fund and spendingit on an outlet mall amounts to taking from the poor and giving tothe rich, he argued.
The money would be better spent on water and sewer projects acrossthe state instead of an outlet mall in one city, Carmichael argued.
"These projects, not an outlet mall, will promote real economicdevelopment," he said.
Delegate Sam Cann, D-Harrison, disagreed. Spreading the moneyacross the state on a lot of little infrastructure projects - asCarmichael advocated - isn't the right thing to do, Cann said.
"I think it's time to go after something significant," he said.
But that's not the real issue, Cann said. It's the project, notthe method of funding it that's important, he said.
"We have an opportunity to put ourselves on the map and dosomething positive," he said.
Craigo said he expect the final bill to be a combination of theHouse and Senate plans. Bowman indicated it might also include atleast one other, still-unspecified funding method.
"At this time, I don't believe there's a really definitivedecision made among the Legislature as to what method of funding willbe used," he said. "I believe that the two most mentioned sources, aswell as possibly another alternative, could still be open fordiscussion."
Writer Jim Wallace can be reached at 348-4819 or by e-mail atjimw@dailymail.com.
Around 100 members of the Black Pink Triangle Association in Izmir, Turkey, staged a candlelight vigil April 28 following the killing of transgender member Azra.
Azra "was murdered by a gunshot to the back of her head ... in what seems to be a serial murder," said Hossein Alizadeh of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.
"Turkish authorities believe that the murder weapon used in this case was the same that took the lives of two other transgender people in Izmir," he said.
For more information, see http://siyahpembe.org/?p=578.
Meanwhile, a local court on April 30 rejected an official attempt to close down the Black Pink Triangle Association.
Judge Mursel Ermis declared that "homosexuals are free to found associations like all other people."
Izmir officials had targeted the group for dissolution on the grounds that it violated morals and harmed Turkish families.
Two other leading gay organizations - Lambda Istanbul and Ankara's KAOS GL - also have beat back local governments' attempts to shut them down.
A ruling last week by an international commission settled a five-year-old border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea, putting an end to a costly and deadly war.
But for Esayas Zekarias, the reverberations of the border conflict will likely continue to bring pain.
"I was born in Ethiopia," explains the student over lunch at the South End Cafe, an Eritrean restaurant in Lower Roxbury. "I used to have a lot of Ethiopian friends."
Zekarias' family members, like tens of thousands of Eritreans living in Ethiopia, were forcibly repatriated at the outbreak of the war. Their property was confiscated by the Ethiopian government.
Here in the United States, the conflict between the two East African communities is reverberating on a personal level.
"My Ethiopian friends, they never asked me about how my family is," Zekarias said.
The war broke out in 1998, when Eritrean troops overran a disputed border town called Badme, where the residents spoke Tigrean, but considered themselves Ethiopian citizens.
Ethiopia retaliated, re-taking Badme and engaging the Eritrean army in an all-out war along the countries' 620-mile border.
"The Eritreans really thought that the Ethiopian government was in a weak position and couldn't mobilize resources to the battlefront," said Boston University History Professor James McCann, who directs the school's African Studies Center. "They guessed wrong."
The Ethiopian army overwhelmed the Eritrean army in the two-year armed phase of the conflict, in which 80,000 soldiers and civilians were killed.
After United Nations intervention, both sides agreed to a cease fire and an independent commission based at The Hague.
In the wake of the ruling by the independent commission both sides claimed victory.
"As a people and a nation, we have been vindicated," said Roxbury Community College Professor Tesfay Aradom. "We believe there was a serious effort by the Ethiopian government to claim territory that was not theirs."
The independent commission's ruling essentially stuck to the borders between Ethiopia and Eritrea that were carved out by Italy when it invaded the latter area. Although Italy attempted to invade Ethiopia, it was never able to obtain a foothold in the country.
With the war now over, the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments are now focusing on the demobilization of troops. Eritrea has more than 200,000 soldiers who must now re-integrate into civil society and is seeking $200 million in international aid.
The cessation of the conflict will force both governments to tackle economic issues as well, according to Aradom.
"Now we can actually direct our attention on social and economic development," he said. "The government no longer has an excuse for their political problems. They will have to stay in office based on their policies, rather than on the pretext of a patch of land."
A greater challenge for Eritrea may be in rebuilding a relationship with Ethiopia, a major trade partner on which it depended for much of its commerce. While Ethiopia during the war solidified trade relations with neighboring Djibouti, gaining access to a port city, Eritrea now no longer benefits from the transshipment of Ethiopian goods.
"Eritrea can't live without Ethiopia, in spite of what they say," McCann said. "Eritrea needs Ethiopia much more than the other way around."
Photograph (Tresfay Aradom)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A former anorexia patient is suing a treatment center, claiming one of its psychologists implanted horrific memories while she was hypnotized so that she'd extend her stay and run up a huge bill.
Lisa Nasseff accuses Castlewood Treatment Center psychologist Mark Schwartz of making her believe she had been part of a satanic cult that committed unthinkable acts and that she had been raped several times and had multiple personalities.
She stayed at the center for 15 months and racked up a $650,000 bill. Her attorney says he has been contacted by other clinic patients who make similar claims and are considering suing.
Schwartz and the treatment center's director, Nancy Albus, deny the allegations. She says the center will vigorously defend itself.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former Dodger CEO Jamie McCourt was more concerned with protecting the couple's luxurious homes than dealing with baseball matters and didn't want to take the risk associated with buying one of baseball's most storied franchises six years ago, her estranged husband said.
Frank McCourt is scheduled to take the stand again Friday for his fourth day of testimony in the couple's divorce trial.
He testified Thursday that Jamie McCourt only started representing herself as a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers last summer when her marriage was on the ropes. He told the court that a postnuptial agreement signed by the couple in March 2004 was created to give his wife protection from his creditors, while giving him the ability to run his businesses — one of which was the then-recently purchased Dodgers.
McCourt bought the Dodgers in what he called a risky deal for about $430 million, a majority of which was funded with loans that needed to be refinanced within two years.
"She said to me repeatedly, 'You can make a billion dollars, you can lose a billion dollars. I want my own nest egg,'" McCourt, 57, said.
His testimony cuts to the heart of the dispute that could decide who owns the team. He contends that the agreement gives him sole ownership of the Dodgers, the stadium and the surrounding property, worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Jamie McCourt believes the agreement should be thrown out and those assets should be split evenly under California's community property law.
Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon will have to decide whether the 10-page agreement is valid. He also could order the sale of the Dodgers.
Jamie McCourt eventually became the team's CEO, but her husband fired her last year. In court documents, he accused her of having an affair with her bodyguard-driver and not meeting job expectations.
McCourt also said he never told anyone that his wife was co-owner, a claim she began making last summer. Around the same time, McCourt was considering changing the agreement to make the Dodgers community property, but held off for nine months before deciding against it.
"I love my wife. It's simple as that," said McCourt, recounting a July 2009 conversation with an estate-planning attorney. "She was trying very hard to convince me to sign the documents. She basically put the marriage on the line."
To make matters confusing, three copies of the agreement list the Dodgers under McCourt's separate assets, while three other versions do not. Her attorneys have alleged that a family attorney, at some point, replaced the three versions that excluded the Dodgers from McCourt's assets with the three that included the team as his property.
Her lawyers have even suggested McCourt knew about the switch and committed fraud, something he vehemently denied Thursday.
"Needless to say, I was extremely upset about that allegation," he said.
They met at the White Palace Grill in late October for a finalwalk-through.
The papers were signed. The lawyering was done. All 77-year-oldArthur Bookman had to do was walk away from the venerable diner he'downed at the corner of Roosevelt and Canal since 1939.
Bookman, frail and nearing death, hesitated before turning overthe keys.
"He had tears in his eyes," said George Liakopoulos, a friend andbusiness associate who took over the grill, a Chicago institutionknown for its hominy grits and its hospitality.
"The White Palace Grill is Arthur Bookman," said Liakopoulos, 35."I promised him I'd take care of it."
And despite growing pressure to dump the diner, Liakopoulos isn'tcaving. With Home Depot planning to open a 142,000-square-foot storebehind the White Palace, the offers to buy are pouring in.
Home Depot tried to woo Liakopoulos this winter, as did realestate agents eyeing the corner lot for a Dunkin' Donuts or a 7-Eleven. But Liakopoulos said no to them all. Instead, he plans toupgrade the 24-hour diner, one of Chicago's oldest, and double itssize.
The regulars at the diner-and there are hundreds-are breathingsighs of relief. "You don't see too many places like this," said acustomer named Frank, who did not give his last name. He sat on a redstool at the diner's counter, taking a break from his job at the railyards on the other side of Roosevelt Road.
As he sipped his coffee, Frank chatted with one of the waitressesand peered at the yellowing signboards advertising rib eye steaks for$3.85, liver sausage for $1.85 and oatmeal with milk for $1.70.
"This place eases my mind," he said.
Up and down the counter, taxi drivers, teachers, students and copspraised the diner's food and its comfortable feel, fostered by thewaitstaff and its oldtimers.
"Anyone can come here," said Anabela Vasconcelos, a 24-year-oldteacher. "It's a place where you lose your sense of class."
David Bourne, a 69-year-old limousine driver, knows that betterthan most. He has been coming to the White Palace three or four timesa week since 1956.
"It's our meeting place," said Bourne, who shared his meal with ahousekeeper he met at the diner a few weeks ago. "Anywhere that makesyou feel comfortable and wanted, you'll go out of your way for."
Liakopoulos, who bought the Hollywood Grill at North and Ashlandfrom Bookman in 1990 and recently sold the Golden Apple diner in LakeView, knows what he's getting himself into.
"This place is like a landmark," said Liakopoulos, who runs thediners with his father, 72-year-old Odysseas, a Greek immigrant whoopened his first diner at 18th and Wabash in the 1950s.
Liakopoulos says an upgrade will make the business more profitableand help it fit into the gentrifying South Loop neighborhood. But hesaid he won't betray Bookman, who died three weeks after selling thediner.
"It's important to keep the character," Liakopoulos said. "I madea promise."
A rights group says Asian boys are still abused as jockeys in camel races in the United Arab Emirates, even though the practice has been banned.
Anti-Slavery International says it has photographs showing boy jockeys _ some apparently only 10 years old _ in Abu Dhabi's 12-race competition on Feb. 9.
The London-based group, which issued the statement on Wednesday, campaigns for eradication of slavery.
In 2005, the oil-rich Emirates banned those under 18 from racing. It has since repatriated hundreds of South Asian boys who were trafficked to the Gulf to be used as camel jockeys.
The rights group says unnamed Emirates officials it spoke with claimed no laws were broken and that jockeys in the February race were Emiratis who raced with their parents' consent.
Monday evening, and I'm still working my way through the phonemail. Not since I opposed the Persian Gulf War have so many of youfelt compelled to reach out and telephonically touch me. The callspoured in all day; I stopped counting at 200.
You wanted to talk about Larry Hoover, the convicted murdererwho has gained the backing of many prominent community leaders whowant to see him released from his 150- to 200-year sentence. Withhim or against him, you spoke your piece with passion, anger and(most of the time) intelligence.
In Monday's column, I provided the office telephone numbers ofmany of the aldermen, politicians and community activists who havecome out in support of Hoover. Many of you worked your way throughthe list and then called me to share your experiences. Hoover'ssupporters - who comprised less than 10 percent of the calls Ireceived - also weighed in loud and clear, and often displayed animaginative talent for using multiple obscenities.
One of Hoover's fans said I copped out: "You should haveincluded one more telephone number. Yours."
Didn't need to. First of all, I'm not hard to reach; even thedimmest bulbs should be capable of dialing the Sun-Times and askingfor me. And anyway, I figured that at least one of the offices Ilisted would attempt to turn the tables on me by giving out one of mydirect lines and saying the person on the list could be reached atthat number.
Sure enough, that's what happened, but I didn't mind. See,anyone who was calling a name on the list agreed with me - so whywould I care if they were put in touch with me so they could showerme with compliments?
Some of those I named contacted me to say they'd beenmisrepresented, but none denied supporting Hoover's release. Ifanyone does so, I'll let you know.
A sampling of the calls I received: Lu Palmer: "You defined me as a staunch ally of Larry Hoover. Thatis a lie. Yes, I support his release on parole - because there issome possibility he might return to the community, and acting inconcert with several of us who care about the future, he may be ableto turn this carnage around. No one else I have been able to come upwith has demonstrated this potential. I'm willing to take the gamble- for Mr. Hoover to join with us to help stop the insanity and thecarnage. I do not appreciate white people trying to define me. Youcannot do that." A black, female Chicago police officer: "This was a great idea.I've been making calls on my lunch hour, and I won't stop until I'vespoken with everybody you named. They should be ashamed ofthemselves." U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds: "Sometimes I don't know what some of theseleaders of the African-American community are thinking. Mygrandmother had to live the last years of her life behind lockeddoors because she feared people like Larry Hoover. I am adamantlyopposed to his release, and my constituents also do not want this manout of jail." A white, suburban man: "I'd like to know where (Attorney General)Roland Burris stands on this issue. He's the highest-ranking lawenforcement officer in the state, and he's running for governor - buthe's neutral on Larry Hoover? I happen to have a positive opinion ofMr. Burris, but I want him to take a stand on this, or I won't beable to vote for him in good conscience." Prince Asiel Ben Israel: "The African-American community is matureenough in 1993 to have the spirit, intelligence and political powerto make its own decisions. The white community ought to respect theability of black leadership to make these decisions. Larry Hoover isnot going to be released into a Polish-American community or an Irishcommunity, he's going to be released into our neighborhoods. If hedoesn't do the things he has said he will do, if he violates the law,send him back to jail. I have spent time with Larry Hoover and haveasked him many pointed questions, and I believe he is committed toworking for peace and the end of murder and death in theAfrican-American community." A black, female corporate attorney: "I just wanted to say thank you,thank you, very much. As a succesful black woman, I'm ashamed of theway these black men are bowing to Larry Hoover." A black minister: "As a white male, Mr. Roeper, you cannotunderstand the plight of the black community, no matter how honorableyour intentions. Look at that distinguished list of leaders andplease understand their strength and integrity. They will notabandon Mr. Hoover if he is released from prison - they will keep awatchful eye on him. That is more than can be said of the many othermurderers who are released into the streets." A black, male insurance executive: "I'm disgusted by these so-calledleaders. They're a disgrace."
THOSE who know me well will often tell you that I talk a lot,particularly when I stray onto a favourite topic.
The fortunes of the Welsh rugby team and the subject of food anddrink are two cases in point. But, there again, I think we've allgot a lot to say about those!
A popular third topic concerns the Sage accounting softwarepackage.
For those who haven't enjoyed one of my monologues on the topic,here are some key points about Sage -- Sage is the brainchild of aprinter, a Nasa scientist and a computer student.
It is now a global business valued at Pounds 3.5bn and has 6.3million customers worldwide.
The company -- originally called …
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Airborne NATO and Afghan soldiers expelled Taliban fighters Wednesday from a government building they occupied in a remote eastern district and forced them to flee to surrounding mountains, a local official said, the latest fighting in a region bordering Pakistan's lawless tribal area.
The quick strike came in the Nuristan province in the country's east. The NATO-Afghan force pushed Taliban fighters back after they seized control of half of the district, kicking them out of the government building just a few hours after they overran it, Gov. Jamaludin Badar said.
As coalition forces came under fire, they called in airstrikes, killing at least 10 …
Under the new policy, the Forest Service and Interior Department would not need an environmental before cutting or burning excess trees on as many as 190 million acres of federal land considered to be at-risk for a catastrophic wildfire.
"These new tools will reduce the layers of unnecessary red tape and procedural delay that prevent agency experts from acting quickly to protect communities and our natural …
Rules Focus on Fire Prevention in Forests00-00-0000Under the new policy, the Forest Service and Interior Department would not need an environmental before cutting or burning excess trees on as many as 190 million acres of federal land considered to be at-risk for a catastrophic wildfire.
"These new tools will reduce the layers of unnecessary red tape and procedural delay that prevent agency experts from acting quickly to protect communities and our natural …
THE TAX HAVEN RACKET:
The tax haven racket is the biggest scam in the world. It's run by the international banks with the cooperation of the world's financial powers for the benefit of corporations and the mega-rich.
Tax havens-also known as offshore financial centres-are places that operate secret bank accounts and shell companies that hide the names of the real owners from tax authorities and law enforcement. They use nominees, front men. Sometimes offshore incorporation companies set up the shells; sometimes the banks do it. Often someone will use a shell company in one jurisdiction that owns a shell in another jurisdiction that owns a bank account in a third. They call …
Summary: Agadir - The 16th International Festival of the University Theatre of Agadir opened Wednesday in the Atlantic city, with the participation of several troupes from Morocco, Germany and Spain.
The festival's opening ceremony featured a play entitled "Second Hand Cities," jointly performed by students from the Faculty of Letters and Humanities of Agadir and the University of Applied Sciences of Frankfurt.
"The theatrical play is the fruit of a partnership between two universities in the framework of a cooperative agreement," Hassan Hamaiz, professor at the University Ibn Zohr and member of …
Byline: Rob Streeter
There is a mystique to hunting big game with a muzzleloader, given the special set of skills necessary. Those who hunt with a modern replica of the firearms carried by Daniel Boone or the mountain men need even more savvy.
With a muzzleloader, there is only one chance for success. If you participate in the state's special muzzleloader seasons, which get going in the Northern Zone next weekend, or simply choose these particular firearms for hunting during the regular deer season, blackpowder guns only allow one shot. If you miss, there is no second chance, just the white tail of a nice buck running away.
If it is raining and the …
La presente recherche s'inscrit dans un important contexte de reforme. En effet, la modernisation de la gestion des ressources humaines presentement en cours est censee transformer la fonction publique federale. L'objectif vise consiste a creer une fonction publique moderne et professionnelle qui travaille dans l'interet du public et offre une prestation de services de qualite aux citoyens. (1) Meme si les changements apportes au cadre legal constituent les elements les plus apparents de la modernisation, il n'en demeure pas moins que cette derniere implique aussi de repenser les modes et les approches de gestion des ressources humaines en fonction des orientations strategiques de l'organisation et de ses contextes internes et externes. La modernisation des structures, des modes de regulation des rapports collectifs de travail et du regime de dotation en personnel contribuera certes a ameliorer l'efficience systemique. Mais les reformes visent plus. Elles convoitent explicitement des changements au niveau de la culture et des valeurs et, implicitement, une motivation et un engagement accru des employes a l'egard de leur travail et du service qu'ils dispensent. En somme, on cherche par les changements proposes a modifier les attitudes au travail des employes.
La prochaine decennie sera marquee par un exode d'une partie de l'expertise actuelle avec la retraite de dizaines de milliers de Baby Boomers conjugue, a une concurrence accrue sur le marche pour attirer et par la suite <
En parallele, se pointent des annees cruciales dans le domaine de la gestion des ressources humaines. Il est bien connu que la prochaine decennie sera marquee par un exode d'une partie de l'expertise actuelle avec la retraite de dizaines de milliers de Baby Boomers, conjugue a une concurrence accrue sur le marche pour attirer et par la suite <
Toutes les entreprises, qu'elles soient privees ou publiques, doivent ameliorer leur gestion des ressources humaines ... Plusieurs defis se posent dans ce domaine, l'exode important de fonctionnaires experimentes auquel on s'attend au cours des annees a venir fait de la dotation et du recrutement des activites d'une importance cruciale. La concurrence pour la recherche de travailleurs et travailleuses du savoir, dont depend la fonction publique, devient de plus en plus acharnee. (2)
Le probleme depasse evidemment le simple cadre de la dotation en personnel et affecte directement ou indirectement toutes les activites de la gestion des ressources humaines. C'est sur cette toile de fond, dans le bouillonnement de changements profonds, que s'inscrit l'analyse ici presentee. Certes, cet article implique d'importantes considerations theoriques sur les liens entre les attitudes au travail et la carriere des fonctionnaires. Mais il vise aussi a nourrir la reflexion des strateges et des gestionnaires preoccupes par l'engagement organisationnel des employes, leur retention en emploi et leur degre de satisfaction au travail ; autant d'elements essentiels a l'atteinte des grands objectifs des reformes en cours et des strategies d'ensemble de la fonction publique.
La problematique specifique
Dans une perspective de gestion organisationnelle de la carriere, plusieurs auteurs (3,4) soulignent que les entreprises ont interet a tenir compte de la progression de carriere de leurs employes si elles veulent attirer, motiver et conserver une main-d'oeuvre de qualite. Une meilleure comprehension des attitudes au travail aux differentes etapes de la carriere devrait permettre aux employeurs de developper des politiques adaptees aux besoins d'une maind'oeuvre heterogene en terme de progression de carriere. (5) L'impact des etapes de carriere est d'autant plus considerable dans notre contexte actuel de vieillissement de la population, combine a une penurie croissante de maind'oeuvre. En effet, comme c'est le cas pour la plupart des pays industrialises, le Canada fait actuellement face au phenomene de vieillissement de sa population. Lorsque le recrutement de la main-d'oeuvre devient plus difficile, la retention du personnel devient un facteur determinant. Les employeurs doivent donc faire preuve d'imagination pour attirer et, surtout, maintenir en emploi une main-d'oeuvre de qualite et experimentee. Gerhart et Milkovich (6) affirment qu'ignorer l'impact de la progression de carriere peut faire en sorte que les programmes mis sur pied ne correspondent pas aux besoins de certains groupes, les rendant ainsi possiblement inefficaces.
Il devient imperatif de mieux comprendre les particularites attitudinales des travailleurs aux differentes etapes de leur carriere, afin de pouvoir mettre en place les mesures aidant a structurer ces attitudes
Une meilleure comprehension de l'evolution des attitudes au fil de la carriere prend donc toute son importance devant cette nouvelle realite demographique, puisque la main-d'oeuvre sera composee de moins de jeunes et de plus d'employes vieillissants. (7) Ainsi, dans ce contexte, il faudra convaincre une partie des travailleurs vieillissants de demeurer plus longtemps en emploi afin de pallier a la penurie de qualification et de favoriser le transfert des connaissances. (8,9,10) Il sera donc essentiel de menotter (golden handcuffs), selon l'expression consacree par Capelli, (11) ces travailleurs afin de les convaincre de retarder leur retraite. Compte tenu de la flexibilite tres limitee que possedent les employeurs publics au niveau des incitatifs financiers, il leur faut concentrer leurs efforts sur des pratiques de retention novatrices. Ces pratiques visent a favoriser un report de la prise de retraite d'employes, parfois desabuses et moins motives, qui sont peu enclins a continuer le travail pour un mince supplement salarial compare a la retraite.
Dans un marche ou la concurrence entre les organisations pour une maind'oeuvre qualifiee devient feroce, cette difficulte est tout aussi grande en ce qui a trait aux jeunes. En effet, les transformations recentes de la carriere ont entache grandement le contrat psychologique liant particulierement les jeunes travailleurs a leur employeur. (12) Ainsi, la nouvelle generation a grandi et evolue dans un contexte de carriere sans frontiere (13) mettant en scene une entente psychologique transactionnelle. Cette strategie organisationnelle permettant de s'offrir une flexibilite numerique et fonctionnelle a eu plusieurs effets collateraux dont celui de miner le lien relationnel avec les travailleurs; ces derniers favorisant aujourd'hui davantage une loyaute professionnelle plutot qu'une loyaute organisationnelle. (14)
Meme si les chercheurs s'entendent pour reconnaitre les liens correlationnels entre l'etape de carriere et les attitudes au travail, force est de constater que la forme ou la direction de la relation carriere-attitudes ne fait pas consensus
Dans le secteur …
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The FBI has confirmed that one of two suicide bombers in last week's attack in Mogadishu, Somalia, was a Minnesota man.
The FBI said Thursday one of the bombers has been identified as Farah Mohamed Beledi. Authorities believe the 27-year-old left Minnesota in October 2009 for Somalia.
The FBI used fingerprints to confirm Beledi's identity. Investigators are still trying to identify the other suicide …
Some Chicago area builders say 40 percent to 50 percent of theirsingle-family home buyers want wood decks.
And few are settling for a simple 10-by-10-foot wood-slab patioentered from the house only through sliding glass doors in the familyroom.
Today's decks often are elaborate affairs, stretching the entirewidth of the back of the house and perhaps wrapping around it a bit as well.
The demand for decks and builders' willingness to meet it wasmuch in evidence at two recent extravaganzas sponsored by local homebuilding …
Amvest is a boutique investment banking firm specializing in mergers, acquisitions, public and private divestitures, management buyouts, acquisition searches, private equity, financing, including real estate, turnarounds and other corporate finance matters. Amvest professionals are dedicated to providing our clients with the finest investment banking services available. Having completed hundreds of transactions in almost every industry with sales from $5 million to over $5 billion, our professionals have the in-depth knowledge and experience to assist our clients. Amvest professionals are experienced in all areas of merger and acquisition investment banking including: finance, …
Byline: Joseph Templin
I got terminated.
So if you do a Web search and try to reach me at my old e-mail address, it won't work. Anyone who wants to contact me to go celebrate can do so at jrrtmdrt@yahoo.com.
Yes, I did say celebrate . Because as my friend and fellow WorkBytes writer John Vero pointed out, this was the kick in the pants I needed.
There is a school of Zen thought called Rinzai that seeks sudden enlightenment, the quantum leap of insight. In the moment of the thunderbolt, everything becomes clear.
It might be during a car accident, while shaving or when your world is turned upside down that you gain true perspective …
TROY -- James V. Harley, Sr., 80, long time resident of Troy, died Tuesday after a brief illness. Born in Troy, he was son of the late Edward S. and Clara Lewis Harley, and husband of Margaret Hildebrandt Harley. He was educated at St. Francis de Sales School and Catholic Central High School, Class of 1936. He trained for the insurance business at the Life and Casualty Insurance School in New York City. Mr. Harley was office manager for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company for 43 years. He spent three plus years in the US Air Force during World War II in the European Theatre. He was a member of Special Services and active in the American Review, a show which appeared in the US, …
GLASTONBURY, Conn. -- Two more CUs have moved to Open Solutions. The $240-million Shell FCU in Deer Park, Texas has selected OSI's The Complete Credit Union Solution to address its in-house enterprise-wide data processing needs. In addition to The Complete Credit Union Solution, Shell FCU will also implement Open Solutions' Investor Reporting; Loan Participations; Loan Origination (consumer and mortgage), Business Intelligence tools (cView); Safe Deposit Module; Asset Collection Management System; Real- time ATM/Debit; Financial Accounting Suite; Maxxar voice response technology (touchtone and speech); Premium Overdraft; Interaction Management Center (IMC); Training …
About 400 supporters of Taiwan's former president held a candlelight vigil outside a suburban Taipei prison Wednesday, a rare gesture of sympathy for a man whose detention on graft allegations has provoked little public condemnation.
A three-judge panel ordered Chen Shui-bian jailed Nov. 12 to allow prosecutors to investigate the allegations, which include money laundering, looting a special presidential fund and accepting bribes.
Under Taiwanese law, Chen can be held up to four months without indictment to prevent him from colluding with alleged conspirators.
Chen has consistently professed his innocence and says he is being persecuted by …
ABRN STAFF REPOBTS Someone backed into the headlamp of your customer's Mercedes-Benz without damaging the lens, but the impact broke the mounting fixture that secures the headlamp to the body. The headlamp is functional, but loose. The customer prefers a repair to a replacement, so what do you do?
Depending on the year and model of the vehicle, Mercedes-Benz offers a headlamp repair fixture that allows techs to restore the headlamp to "like new" condition.
Mercedes-Benz offers repair fixtures that can be installed onto the headlamp housing to existing mounting points, replacing the original mounting fixture. Headlamps for most current model Mercedes-Benz vehicles are …
<strong>EAST MENS LEAGUE</strong>
<strong>DIVISION TWO NORTH EAST </strong>
<strong>Rutland 2 Bury Men's 1st XI 1</strong>
RUTLAND opened the scoring half an hour into the game after a long spell of pressure, against the stretched Bury defence of Tom Rash, Dan Tasker, Whitebottom and Swan.
Bury raised their game just before the break and equalised when captain Steve Jackson tucked home a Nik Ciappi cross
After the break, it was a scrappy end to end affair with neither side taking the advantage until the last four minutes of the game when the home team snatched the lead and victory with a well worked …
AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2007 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD
Delta Air Lines (Other OTC:DALRQ.PK) has said that it will add two new cities and four more domestic routes to its network in addition to the more than 19 new destinations already announced for this summer.
The airline is planning to add services from its United States hubs and gateways in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and New York City.
…
Byline: James Denn Business writer
Future construction contracts in the Capital District and surrounding counties dropped 42 percent in the first three months of the year compared to the first three months of 1991.
According to F.W. Dodge, a division of McGraw-Hill Inc. that publishes authoritative reports on the construction trade, $83.2 million worth of contracts were signed in 1992's first quarter, compared to $142.92 million in the comparable period a year ago.
Local construction activity bucks the statewide trend. According to the industry trade group's report released Friday, statewide future construction contracts jumped 22 percent in the …
