UNIX/Linux tools

Tools needed for the exercise: sort, uniq –c (count duplicates), tr (translate characters), head, tail, > “output to a file”, < ”input from a file”, | “pipe”, and man pages.

Given input text (see attached):

Count words in a text and output the list of words in the file with freq counts

algorithm:

Tokenize (tr)Sort (sort)Count duplicates (uniq –c)

After merging upper and lower case by downcasing everything (hint: Put in a second tr command), how common are different sequences of vowels (e.g., the sequences “ieu” or just “e” in “lieutenant”)?

KBR said Friday the global economic downturn so far has
had
little effect on its business but warned some projects on its books
could be in jeopardy if the headwinds persist into next year.
“With the economic outlook remaining uncertain, it is possible
that
customers may cancel or delay projects that are under way,” said
William
Utt, chief executive of the Houston-based engineering and
construction
giant and government contractor.
He did not predict how much of the company’s $15.3billion in
future
business commitments could be affected but downplayed the potential
of
any significant impact as “limited.”
The remarks came during a conference call to discuss KBR’s
third-quarter
financial results, which showed a 35percent improvement over the
same
period in 2007.
KBR, which was spun off from Halliburton Co. last year, posted
better
numbers and beat analyst expectations after a new acquisition
helped
boost sales and offset losses because of Hurricane Ike.
Net income rose to $85million, or 51 cents per share, from $63
million,
or 37 cents, in the July-September period of 2007. Income from
continuing operations totaled 44 cents per share, including
Hurricane
Ike-related costs of 4 to 5 cents a share.
Revenue climbed 39 percent to $3.02 billion from $2.18 billion,
on the
back of big gains in the company’s government and infrastructure
unit
and services division.
Investors liked what they saw, boosting KBR shares 77 cents to
$14.84 in
New York Stock Exchange trading.
In commenting on third-quarter earnings in recent days, oil and
gas
executives have made clear that the industry is entering a more
challenging era, given the extreme volatility in the credit,
financial
and commodity markets.
They have cut capital spending budgets for exploration next
year,
revisited generous stock buyback programs and tried to reassure
investors that their balance sheets are strong enough to endure the
current credit crisis.
Utt, like the others, said the long-term fundamentals of the
industry
remain strong.
He suggested KBR could even benefit from the fall of oil prices
into a
more sustainable range, which has helped lower the costs of raw
materials and other project costs. That could encourage customers
to
place more orders.
“Just based on the change in oil price only, we still are at a
point
where our customers are making an affirmative investment decision
for
projects,” Utt said, explaining that crude prices near $150 this
summer
likely spurred customers to delay investments until prices cooled.
Jeff Tillery, an industry analyst with Tudor Pickering Holt &
Co.
Securities in Houston, said if KBR sees projects canceled or
delayed, it
would be those in early engineering stages where final investment
decisions haven’t been made.
“The cost structure has changed so much that a number of these
projects
the customer is just going to have to go back and re-evaluate,” he
said.
But he doubts “big projects have much risk because there’s
already so
much capital that’s already been put into them.”
KBR’s biggest business is designing and building large-scale oil
and gas
projects, including refineries, offshore platforms and liquefied
natural
gas terminals.
It also takes major infrastructure projects in the U.S. and
abroad, from
repairing airfields in Iraq to building embassies in other
countries.
But it receives more attention for its exclusive
multibillion-dollar
contract with the Pentagon to provide non-military support to the
U.S.
Army in the Middle East.
Beginning next year, however, the work will be spread among
several
contractors, and KBR expects to receive roughly 40 percent of the
work
under the new contract, Utt said.
If the new U.S. president decides to pull out of Iraq sooner
than
expected, KBR could see a short-term increase in work to mobilize
people
and equipment before Iraq operations wind down, Utt said.
As part of a broader diversification effort since leaving
Halliburton in
April 2007, KBR has been trying to bulk up other divisions,
including
its domestic construction business.
In May, KBR announced a $550million deal to buy Birmingham,
Ala.-based
engineering and construction firm BE&K.
That deal closed in July and in the third quarter helped KBR
boost
revenues by 600percent at its services unit.
But KBR took a hit of 4 to 5 cents per share in the quarter
after
Hurricane Ike knocked out windows and damaged the company’s
downtown
Houston office building, resulting in lost billable work hours. KBR
also
had to shell out for repairs to operations in the Gulf of Mexico.
KBR said Friday the global economic downturn so far has
had
little effect on its business but warned some projects on its books
could be in jeopardy if the headwinds persist into next year.
“With the economic outlook remaining uncertain, it is possible
that
customers may cancel or delay projects that are under way,” said
William
Utt, chief executive of the Houston-based engineering and
construction
giant and government contractor.
He did not predict how much of the company’s $15.3billion in
future
business commitments could be affected but downplayed the potential
of
any significant impact as “limited.”
The remarks came during a conference call to discuss KBR’s
third-quarter
financial results, which showed a 35percent improvement over the
same
period in 2007.
KBR, which was spun off from Halliburton Co. last year, posted
better
numbers and beat analyst expectations after a new acquisition
helped
boost sales and offset losses because of Hurricane Ike.
Net income rose to $85million, or 51 cents per share, from $63
million,
or 37 cents, in the July-September period of 2007. Income from
continuing operations totaled 44 cents per share, including
Hurricane
Ike-related costs of 4 to 5 cents a share.
Revenue climbed 39 percent to $3.02 billion from $2.18 billion,
on the
back of big gains in the company’s government and infrastructure
unit
and services division.
Investors liked what they saw, boosting KBR shares 77 cents to
$14.84 in
New York Stock Exchange trading.
In commenting on third-quarter earnings in recent days, oil and
gas
executives have made clear that the industry is entering a more
challenging era, given the extreme volatility in the credit,
financial
and commodity markets.
They have cut capital spending budgets for exploration next
year,
revisited generous stock buyback programs and tried to reassure
investors that their balance sheets are strong enough to endure the
current credit crisis.
Utt, like the others, said the long-term fundamentals of the
industry
remain strong.
He suggested KBR could even benefit from the fall of oil prices
into a
more sustainable range, which has helped lower the costs of raw
materials and other project costs. That could encourage customers
to
place more orders.
“Just based on the change in oil price only, we still are at a
point
where our customers are making an affirmative investment decision
for
projects,” Utt said, explaining that crude prices near $150 this
summer
likely spurred customers to delay investments until prices cooled.
Jeff Tillery, an industry analyst with Tudor Pickering Holt &
Co.
Securities in Houston, said if KBR sees projects canceled or
delayed, it
would be those in early engineering stages where final investment
decisions haven’t been made.
“The cost structure has changed so much that a number of these
projects
the customer is just going to have to go back and re-evaluate,” he
said.
But he doubts “big projects have much risk because there’s
already so
much capital that’s already been put into them.”
KBR’s biggest business is designing and building large-scale oil
and gas
projects, including refineries, offshore platforms and liquefied
natural
gas terminals.
It also takes major infrastructure projects in the U.S. and
abroad, from
repairing airfields in Iraq to building embassies in other
countries.
But it receives more attention for its exclusive
multibillion-dollar
contract with the Pentagon to provide non-military support to the
U.S.
Army in the Middle East.
Beginning next year, however, the work will be spread among
several
contractors, and KBR expects to receive roughly 40 percent of the
work
under the new contract, Utt said.
If the new U.S. president decides to pull out of Iraq sooner
than
expected, KBR could see a short-term increase in work to mobilize
people
and equipment before Iraq operations wind down, Utt said.
As part of a broader diversification effort since leaving
Halliburton in
April 2007, KBR has been trying to bulk up other divisions,
including
its domestic construction business.
In May, KBR announced a $550million deal to buy Birmingham,
Ala.-based
engineering and construction firm BE&K.
That deal closed in July and in the third quarter helped KBR
boost
revenues by 600percent at its services unit.
But KBR took a hit of 4 to 5 cents per share in the quarter
after
Hurricane Ike knocked out windows and damaged the company’s
downtown
Houston office building, resulting in lost billable work hours. KBR
also
had to shell out for repairs to operations in the Gulf of Mexico.
Three states — Massachusetts, California and Connecticut — have
legalized same-sex marriage. And now, three states, California
among them, have proposals on their ballots this month to ban gay
marriage.
But given that the federal government views same-sex married
couples as perfect strangers, ineligible for the many federal
rights given to opposite-sex married couples, the question for gay
couples is this: Is it worth it to tie the knot?
For many couples, the answer is a resounding yes: The word
“married” itself instantly conveys something that civil unions
and domestic partnerships do not.
Yet purely from a financial perspective, it’s hard to come to
any sweeping conclusions. For couples living in states that offer
marriage or civil unions — which provide many of the same rights as
marriage — it definitely makes sense for them to be married if they
have children, according to financial planners and estate planning
lawyers. Those who make their relationship official may pay
significantly less in state estate taxes. They will also gain
important privileges, including hospital visitation rights and the
ability to make medical decisions for a partner in emergencies.
Still, the many rights that marriage confers vaporize the moment
couples step into a state that does not recognize their unions.
It is a tricky path to navigate, given the patchwork of state
laws and varying grades of benefits they provide. Besides the three
states that allow marriage — Connecticut made it legal in October -New Jersey, New Hampshire and Vermont allow civil unions, which
generally approximate marriage. Oregon provides something similar,
but calls it domestic partnership. The District of Columbia,
Hawaii, Maine, Washington and other jurisdictions provide certain
rights under domestic partnership laws. The constant state of flux,
as illustrated by this year’s ballot, makes it all the more
complicated.
“It really depends on where you are standing,” said David
Buckel, marriage project director and senior counsel at Lambda
Legal in New York. “More than 40 states have passed statutes to
confirm that same-sex couples are not allowed to marry.”
There are also certain reasons not to marry. It could ruin your
chances of adopting a child from abroad, for example, because many
countries do not allow openly gay couples to adopt.
Many couples make the leap, even knowing their legal standing
will not be equal to that of opposite-sex couples. Jeff Friedman
and Andrew Zwerin, both 40 and residents of Rockville Centre, N.Y.,
decided to marry as soon as California legalized it in May. They
were wed in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., on Oct. 12.
Their new status means they can qualify for lower car insurance
premiums because they are no longer considered “single males.”
And they hope their marriage will give them more legal standing if
their son, Joshua, 5, lands in the emergency room because of his
asthma. The last time he was admitted, the pediatric nurse told the
two dads that she needed to speak with the child’s mother.
But, Friedman said, they are well aware that their marriage
carries no weight when it comes to, say, filing their federal tax
return (though they can file a joint state tax return, which will
allow them to keep more of their earnings). And the marriage
certificate is flimsy when the couple leaves New York, which honors
same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. On family vacations, the
pair will continue to bring along a slightly torn manila folder,
stuffed with documentation — birth certificates, health care
proxies, powers of attorney and all of their son’s adoption records
— that proves they are a family.
“Our hope is that also providing a marriage license might help
provide additional documentation for proof of how we are all
related,” Friedman said. “I want to make sure my son is taken
care of if something were to happen to me.”
The list below outlines the benefits same-sex married couples
(and those with civil unions) generally receive, as well as what
they still need to be concerned about. These issues are not as
complicated for opposite-sex couples, because they receive many
more rights when they marry, regardless of where they live, and
those rights are broadly recognized.
MEDICAL POWER OF ATTORNEY
Married or not, all committed same-sex couples should consider a
power of attorney for health care or medical matters, which
appoints a person to make medical decisions for you when you cannot
do so. It is also known as a health care proxy, among other things,
depending on where you live. The document should include an
authorization under the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act to provide access to medical records. You may
also include a hospital visitation directive to specify who can
visit you in the hospital.
Another important document is a living will, which specifies
which medical procedures may or may not be done. “It is an
important document for anyone, but more so for same-sex couples
because we could have family members come in and say, ‘No, I know
better and this person has absolutely no standing,”‘ said James
Tissot, a New York financial planner.
DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY
If one partner becomes incapacitated, a durable power of
attorney gives the other partner authority to handle financial and
legal affairs, like paying bills.
WILLS AND TRUSTS
Being married in a state that recognizes your union does not
guarantee that all your assets will go to your partner. (This goes
for heterosexual couples as well.) A will directs how your assets
will be distributed after you die and allows you to name a guardian
for your children. A revocable living trust, on the other hand, is
viewed as more difficult to contest than a will, and it avoids the
sometimes lengthy and expensive legal process to settle a deceased
person’s estate. With a revocable living trust, you basically put
all your assets in the trust, and the trustee you name distributes
them according to your directions after you die.
“People just assume they don’t need to have legal documents
drafted if they are in a civil union or a marriage, and that is an
entirely wrong assumption,” said Debra Neiman, a financial planner
in Arlington, Mass.
RETIREMENT
Since same-sex married couples are not eligible for Social
Security survivor benefits, they may need to save more or make
special arrangements — like purchasing life insurance — to be sure
the survivor has enough financial resources if one partner should
die. For instance, if one partner is a stay-at-home parent, that
partner will not qualify for the wage-earning spouse’s higher
Social Security benefits if the wage earner dies first, said Peter
Berkery, author of two books on financial planning for same-sex
couples.
PROPERTY OWNERSHIP
Same-sex couples, married or not, need to take extra care when
titling their property, especially their homes. Heterosexual
married couples can transfer real estate and personal property to
each other with no gift taxes and no estate taxes until the second
spouse dies. Same-sex married couples and those with equivalent
rights living in states that recognize them have this benefit only
on the state level. But property passing to a same-sex spouse is
still subject to federal estate taxes upon the first spouse’s
death. In 2008, federal estate taxes apply for assets valued at
more than $2 million. Adding a same-sex spouse to the title of your
home may also have tax implications because it would be considered
a gift.
INSURANCE
Same-sex couples, married or not, should consider what types of
insurance they need to make up for benefits that go only to
straight married couples. Life insurance can be used to compensate
for certain retirement benefits or to cover federal estate taxes.
Disability insurance may also be a wise purchase. Normally,
married people qualify for some Social Security benefits if their
spouses become disabled, especially if their children are young.
But same-sex spouses do not qualify. Likewise, long-term-care
insurance should be considered, typically at around age 50, because
it is unclear how same-sex spouses will be treated by Medicaid, a
federal program administered by the state, Neiman said.
SECOND-PARENT ADOPTION
Your marital status does not matter here. If only one spouse is
the birth parent, it is best to conduct a second-parent adoption.
That will allow both parents to make decisions about the child and
will ensure custody in the event that one parent dies, as well as
parental rights should the couple split. Adoption will also give
the child access to health insurance and Social Security disability
or survivor benefits from either parent.
If you live in a state where you cannot get a second-parent
adoption, your next-best option is to create a co-parenting, shared
custody or guardianship agreement, according to Lambda Legal.
GIFTS
Same-sex spouses are subject to federal gift taxes for items
that add up to more than $12,000 annually. But partners, married or
not, can directly pay for medical or education expenses for one
another without consequences. Rick Kraft, a Boston estate-planning
lawyer who works with same-sex couples, recommends a joint account,
as long as it is used for regular household expenses and not
extravagant gifts. Technically, if one partner makes a big deposit
in a shared account and the other makes a big withdrawal, it is a
taxable gift. “It’s a sticky area, and there is no definitive
guidance out there about how to apply this in the day-to-day
operation of a household,” he said.
Given the tangle of terminology and rights, it is best to sit
down with a financial planner, and perhaps an estate planning
lawyer, to work through your individual situation. Unless the
federal government recognizes same-sex marriage, the complexities
will continue. “It’s like seeing someone out in the water drowning
and saying, ‘I will give them a lifesaver, but I won’t let them on
the boat,”‘ said P. Louise Halloran, a vice president in wealth
management at Smith Barney in Connecticut, who has several same-sex
couples as clients.
David Pratt, a transfer student to American
University here, was ready to settle for almost anything after a
month-long housing search. So, when he visited a row house in the
Georgetown neighborhood, he overlooked the peeling paint, the
splintered floorboards, the shattered windows and the washing
machine that drained onto the floor.
“I didn’t notice all those things,” Pratt said. “I was just
happy to have found the place.”
In August, when Pratt and his housemates moved in, the previous
tenants were gone, and the 140-year-old house’s problems were
glaring. Disenchanted, Pratt, 22, began looking for help.
A quick Internet search found thisshouldbeillegal.com, a Web
site set up in August by city housing officials as part of a
campaign for students and others looking to rent legal and safe
housing.
The city set up accounts on free Web sites, including Facebook,
Twitter and WordPress, with links to housing codes, an inspection
checklist used by the city, and a searchable database of landlords’
business licenses. Renters can also use the sites anonymously to
report violations or to request inspections.
“Too often, students are the target of off-campus landlords
trying to make a quick buck at your expense,” Linda Argo, the
director of the program, said in a videotaped introduction to the
Web site. “So we want to put the power in your hands.”
More than 9,000 users have visited, and a third of them have
used the database, said Michael Rupert, the city official who works
with the student housing campaign.
Rupert, who lists his cell phone number and e-mail address on
the Web site, said he had taken more than 200 inspection requests
from students, at least 50 of which led to investigations.
Many students are unaware of their rights as renters. Relying on
first impressions of housing or descriptions from online listings,
they can be easy prey for unscrupulous landlords.
Argo said the city wanted a new tool to ease students’ concerns
about retaliation and even eviction for reporting illegal rentals
or unsafe properties. Officials said the program could help deal
with problems like those that led to the 2004 death of Daniel
Rigby, a 21-year-old Georgetown University senior.
Rigby died of smoke inhalation, trapped inside his burning
basement apartment blocks from campus. Investigators said metal
bars welded over windows and a furnace blocking a rear exit
prevented him from escaping the fire, which they said was ignited
by a candle or cigarette.
Campus Firewatch, an online publication that tracks student fire
fatalities through news reports, said that 108 of 129
campus-related fire deaths since 2000 occurred in off-campus
housing.
After Rigby’s death, fire officials said students turned them
away as they went door-to-door inspecting houses and installing
smoke detectors.
“The traditional methods of outreach were not reaching enough
students because there was too much hesitation about contacting
government,” Argo said. “There were too many unknowns.”
Across the country, colleges and universities have tried with
varying degrees of success to mediate landlord-tenant
relationships. Many provide rental listings, inform students of
their rights as renters and refer students to the proper
authorities to settle housing disputes. Few colleges provide legal
representation for students who have problems with off-campus
housing, although several give legal advice.
“A lot of people listen, but a lot of people don’t,” said
Esther Pratt, coordinator of the University of Illinois Student
Tenant Union, which spends more than $20,000 a year to advertise
its services on campus.
Since Rigby’s death, Georgetown University officials have
organized an annual safety day featuring housing authorities and
the Fire Department. Julie Battaile, a university spokeswoman, said
the university welcomed the city’s new approach.
“The biggest thing is that students didn’t know there was such
a thing as a housing inspection that they could get,” Battaile
said. “They want to know that kind of information.”
When Pratt, the American University senior, and his roommates
got no response to their complaints from the property manager, a
private company called the Student Housing Association, Pratt
called Rupert.
Within two days, an inspector checked the house, and a week
later, the landlord was cited for 17 violations. The city also
opened investigations of the owner of the house, Lewis D. Brown,
who did not have a license to rent the property, and the property
management company.
Brown, the Student Housing Association and its parent company,
Metropolitan Housing, did not respond to repeated calls for
comment.
Pratt said that a month after he contacted the city, the
property manager had completed several repairs, including the
windows and washing machine, and was working on others.
“I’m looking forward to settling this,” he said.
Some newspaper editors are wringing their hands over Garry
Trudeau’s decision to pen several Doonesbury strips for next week
depicting Barack Obama as the winner of the election.
But for the politically pugnacious cartoonist, banking on an
Obama win a week in advance had zero downside.
“I never considered NOT writing about the election, but to
avoid lameness, I had to predicate it on an outcome,” Trudeau
wrote in an e-mail to the St. Petersburg Times.
“If Obama wins, I’m in the flow and commenting on a genuine
phenomenon. If I’m wrong, there’ll be such a global uproar that a
goofy call in a comic strip isn’t going to be much noticed.”
But Trudeau may be overly modest. Already, the Chicago Tribune
has decided to take the Nov. 5 strip off its regular comics pages,
which will be printed before the election results are known .
Some newspapers worry that if Sen. John McCain wins, they’ll be
stuck with at least four strips that read like an ongoing “Dewey
Defeats Truman” headline touting a victory that didn’t happen and
ticking off some readers.
“If Obama is elected president in (Doonesbury’s) world,” said
Tim Bannon, editor of the Chicago Tribune’s daily features section,
“will he stay president for the next four years?”
Possibly, according to Trudeau, who said it would be a “great
idea” to keep Obama president in Doonesbury even if he loses.
At the St. Petersburg Times, features editor Mike Wilson said
the newspaper will run Trudeau’s strips as he wrote them.
“If he’s right, the people who like him still like him, and the
people who hate him still hate him,” Wilson wrote in an e-mail.
“If he’s wrong, everybody gets a ‘Dewey Defeats Truman’ keepsake,
and the people who hate him are happier than ever. It’s a no-lose
situation.”
Here are Trudeau’s responses to questions from the Times:
What inspired you to write this strip, knowing you might be
wrong?
Fivethirtyeight.com, which is probably the most respected of the
poll analysts, has the likelihood of a McCain victory at 3.7
percent. That was risk assessment I could live with.
What do you think of editors who are deciding not to run the
strip?
I think more of them. It means they’re reading their own comics.
What would it say about American voters if you are wrong?
Obama would graciously say that the voters have spoken. Someone
like Bill Maher would call them idiots. I’d split the difference
and say the idiots have spoken.
Eric Deggans can be reached at degganssptimes or (727)
893-8521.
Life has become a little easier for some customers of the
Reserve Fund, the money market fund company whose shareholders have
waited more than six weeks for their money. But it has become
harder for the fund company’s regulators.
After freezing withdrawals from most of its money funds in the
wake of a panicky run on Sept. 15, the Reserve Fund mailed out
checks on Friday to shareholders of its giant Primary Fund,
returning half their original stake and promising substantial
future payments as more portfolio assets are sold.
Before the fund can send out the last of those future checks,
however, its regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission
have to choose sides in a backstage battle between two groups of
Primary Fund investors — one of which includes an investment arm of
the Chinese government.
That choice will determine how big those final checks will be
and how big a loss shareholders will ultimately incur, at least
until the courts work through the growing docket of lawsuits facing
the fund and its managers.
On one side of the SEC fight are the lawyers for shareholders
who submitted redemption orders after the fund “broke the buck”
on Sept. 16, reporting a per-share value below a dollar — 97 cents,
to be exact. That team is urging that all shareholders who
submitted redemption orders anytime during or after the week of
Sept. 15 share equally in the liquidation proceeds.
The other legal team represents investors who applied to
withdraw their money on Monday, Sept. 15, when the fund was still
posting a price of a dollar a share, but who did not actually get
paid before redemptions were suspended.
Among those “Monday shareholders” is the Stable Investment
Corp., a subsidiary of the state-sponsored China Investment Corp.,
which has more than $5 billion frozen in the fund.
The corporation “has communicated with the SEC through our
legal counsel, highlighting the fund’s promise of full repayment,”
it said in a recent statement. “We reiterated our points to the
SEC with regards to the full recovery of CIC’s investment.”
Lawyers for the opposing side say they are concerned about the
political pressure that China, one of the nation’s major creditors
and trading partners, is putting on the commission — although the
large institutional clients they represent are generally not shy
about “reiterating” their points to regulators either.
“Generally, we do not comment on whether or not we’ve been
contacted by outside parties,” said John Heine, a spokesman for
the SEC, on Friday. Nor would he indicate when the commission would
make its decision, although lawyers on both sides said a decision
could come as early as next week.
Some Reserve Fund customers who have been unable to tap
much-needed cash for more than a month are getting some of their
money back, even if it is 50 cents on the dollar.
Peggy Lucero, a fund investor in Bethesda, Md., said she was too
angry about the handling of the crisis, both by the fund management
and by government regulators, to take much pleasure in the news.
A check for half her life savings “is not exactly causing me to
jump jubilantly around the cold room in my house,” she said.
“When one’s checking account is frozen for weeks on end, one is a
bit paranoid about turning the heat up.”
But another investor, Michael Rosenbaum, an independent
television producer in Manhattan, said he took “some solace” from
the distribution, after weeks of uncertainty. “It certainly seems
like a great step forward,” he said.
The checks mailed on Friday totaled $26 billion. An adviser to
the fund said Friday that it expected to make “substantial
additional distributions” when its remaining $25 billion in assets
were liquidated.
But 17 other Reserve money funds remain frozen, including its
large US Government fund, and the company has not indicated when
those shareholders might expect their money.
WEST PALM BEACH
on Friday.
The favorite son returned to the troubled home
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. came back to Palm Beach County and the
bitter memory of butterfly ballots and hanging chads that helped
doom his presidential bid in 2000.
“Sooooo, where were we? It’s been a long eight years,” Gore
told a crowd at a convention center about a mile from the former
elections office where the confusing ballot was conceived.
His wife, Tipper, at his side and a Barack Obama banner
stretched across the stage, Gore engaged in a subtle game of
what-if: What if he had won and not George W. Bush?
“The economy started going downhill when the policies were
changed and it started on Jan. 20, 2001. I know, I was the first
one laid off,” he said. “But seriously, right now we are in the
final days of this historic election. Don’t let anyone take your
vote away from you or talk you into throwing it away.
“Take it from me, elections matter. Every vote matters.”
The former vice president was making his first appearance for
Obama in Florida, with stops in West Palm Beach and Pompano Beach.
Before modest but enthusiastic crowds, he issued an urgent plea for
voters to head to the polls before Tuesday. The crowd paid homage
in return.
“You’re our president,” a man shouted at Broward College in
Pompano Beach. Gore smiled, but kept on making the case for the new
Democratic star.
Gore praised Republican Gov. Charlie Crist’s “leadership and
statesmanship” for issuing an executive order adding four more
hours a day to early voting. He denounced Sen. John McCain as a
Bush clone, telling an afternoon audience in Broward County that
McCain has overwhelmingly supported the president’s policies.
But as much as Gore dutifully played the role of surrogate, the
stain of 2000 permeated the day.
“We know it was the curse of the butterfly ballot that brought
the chaos to the world. It started here and it must end here,”
West Palm Beach Mayor Louis Frankel said before Gore took the
stage.
The ballot was confusing to many Palm Beach County voters
because it listed the names of presidential candidates on opposing
pages, apparently leading many in the heavily Democratic county to
mistakenly select right-wing, third-party candidate Pat Buchanan
instead of Gore.
It was one of a string of mishaps that transfixed the country
indeed, the world as a recount ensued, only to be stopped by the
U.S. Supreme Court.
In the end, Gore lost the Florida vote to Bush by 537 votes.
“I’m just keeping my fingers crossed it’s going to be better
this time,” said Blanche Vrooman, 83, who came to hear Gore speak
in West Palm Beach. “A lot of us who have voted already wonder if
the votes are going to count or not.”
Gore, now 60, was an early favorite to run again this year but
rebuffed the calls. Since his spectacular defeat he has become one
of the leading voices about the threat of global warming, earning
him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
“Certainly this will always be part of Palm Beach’s and
Florida’s history as well as his history,” said Mitchell Berger, a
prominent Democratic fundraiser in Florida and friend of Gore. “He
has shown us all how to get up from a defeat and move on and
rebuild your life.”
When the Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, a member
of the royal family of Abu Dhabi, swooped in last month to buy the
British soccer team Manchester City, the club’s fans were
titillated by the bravado of the oil-rich emirate’s front man.
Sulaiman al-Fahim, a property developer who managed the purchase
for the family, vowed to lure soccer’s biggest stars and win a
European championship, and socialized with Pamela Anderson and Demi
Moore.
But when it came time to appoint a chairman to run the team’s
business side, the flashy Fahim was replaced by one of the royal
family’s most trusted advisers, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, the
32-year-old director of Abu Dhabi’s high-profile development fund,
Mubadala.
With his designer stubble and perfectly tailored suit, Mubarak
cut a figure of suave aplomb as he watched his new team from the
stands. Later, he issued a soothing statement about developing the
younger players and the 10-year plan for the club, then he
discreetly returned to Abu Dhabi, which is part of the United Arab
Emirates.
The message from the sheiks: no need for bluster and starlets;
Abu Dhabi’s money — all 200 million pounds, or $330 million, of it
— speaks for itself.
It spoke again on Friday, as Sheikh Mansour, who is also
chairman of the International Petroleum Investment Co., invested
almost 3.5 billion pounds ($5.77 billion) in Barclays, one of
Britain’s largest banks — for a stake that could reach 16 percent
of the bank.
Qatari investors will hold up to another 15.5 percent.
With markets in turmoil and some big sovereign wealth funds
losing billions on Western bets, one of the questions hanging over
the new world economic disorder has been whether sovereign wealth
and other state funds will continue to slosh around the world. The
new Barclay’s investment offered a resounding yes.
“We are not going to be running away when the market is down,”
Mubarak said in a brief interview last month. “There are a lot of
interesting opportunities out there.”
There are also calls for greater regulation of state-run funds,
fears of a global recession and oil’s fall from $145.29 a barrel to
just $67.81 on Friday. But Abu Dhabi sits atop about 9 percent of
the world’s oil reserves and still has the cash to spare.
Unlike its larger-than-life neighbor Dubai, it has been until
recently hyperdiscreet about how it deploys its windfall. But now
that it is emerging from the shadows, it is looking for attention -but not the kind of flash-and-dash that Dubai is known for.
And Mubarak is the perfect avatar. He had a meteoric ascent from
a sales executive for Abu Dhabi’s oil company to a powerful seat on
Abu Dhabi’s governing executive council and oversight of Mubadala,
the emirate’s aggressive development fund, which has recently made
several highly visible strategic investments.
These have included stakes in the private equity fund Carlyle,
the American computer chip maker Advanced Micro Devices and more
recently General Electric.
The emirate’s sovereign fund, the Abu Dhabi Investment
Authority, is recognized as the world’s largest. It has an
estimated $600 billion, compared with Mubadala’s more than $10
billion, and operates behind a thick veil of secrecy. The
authority’s mandate is to invest Abu Dhabi’s oil surplus abroad as
a hands-off portfolio investor; Mubadala’s charge is to invest in
joint ventures that promise both a commercial and a strategic
payback for the emirate.
“Mubarak has become Abu Dhabi’s interface with the rest of the
world,” said Christopher Davidson, a professor at Durham
University in Britain, who has written an economic history of Abu
Dhabi. “He has the ear of the crown prince and he can step in
whenever he is needed.”
Mubarak appeared this summer on CNBC with GE’s chief executive,
Jeffrey R. Immelt, to promote an $8 billion joint venture focused
on commercial finance in the Middle East and Africa, and he openly
signaled Mubadala’s plan to become one of GE’s 10 largest
shareholders.
By July, Mubadala is expected to have completed its planned
accumulation of GE stock, a financial commitment that could surpass
$3 billion.
To a large extent, Mubadala’s increasingly public profile
tracked the rise in the price of oil to a peak of $145.29 a barrel
this summer. Falling oil surpluses will most likely create a rising
need for money to support local economies and markets. The federal
government of the United Arab Emirates has already disbursed more
than $30 billion to support local banks.
But Waleed al-Mokarrab, the chief operating officer for
Mubadala, points out that last year the average price of oil was
$80. “We do not expect a massive change for next year,” he said,
suggesting the deals will keep coming.
So far, Mubadala has invested in sectors like aerospace, health
care, gas and aluminum production, water purification, computer
chips and, with GE, commercial finance.
“We are literally a development company,” said Mokarrab. Like
Mubarak, he was educated in the United States and has a fondness
for American-style business school jargon.
To wit, they call the Abu Dhabi government their shareholder,
refer to investments as “game changers” and speak fluently of
internal rates of return.
“We take money from our shareholder and we create businesses on
the ground,” Mokarrab added. “We are building a country
together.”
Unlike the investment authority, Mubadala uses debt to help
finance some projects — crucially, with the guarantee of Abu
Dhabi’s cash reserves. The portfolio is financed on a ratio of 60
percent equity to 40 percent debt.
While Mubarak’s smooth Western ways and his acumen have
impressed investors, his close relationship with the crown prince,
the younger half-brother of Abu Dhabi’s ruler and his expected
successor, is behind Mubarak’s increasing prominence. He heads an
elite advisory group called the executive affairs authority that
advises the crown prince, who is considered the leading voice for
cautiously modernizing the emirate, on a range of economic,
financial, social and communications issues. Compared with to its
two flanking neighbors, Saudi Arabia and Iran, Abu Dhabi has made
bold strides, yet its disposition remains secretive and its outlook
cautious, a reflection of the conservative spirit of its ruler,
Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
All of which makes Mubarak all the more crucial. “If you have
his leadership skills and you can speak for the crown prince and
you have money, that is a very effective combination,” said David
Rubenstein, a co-founder of the Carlyle Group.
Still, with oil prices continuing to fall and the Persian Gulf’s
own economies showing strains, many analysts expect the busy
deal-making of the last year to slow — somewhat.
Even with oil around $60 a barrel, Abu Dhabi clears a healthy
surplus and the emirate is likely to move cautiously but
purposefully toward a more active role in the international
financial community, with Mubarak and Mubadala front and center.
“He has a lot of bandwidth for his age,” said Immelt, GE’s
chief, who calls Mubarak a friend. “He is a great public face for
Abu Dhabi as well as being one of the great young business leaders
in the world.”
Hexion Specialty Chemicals suffered a serious legal blow on
Friday when a New York state court judge refused to extend the
lending commitments from the company’s banks for its proposed
merger with Huntsman.
The decision throws the fate of the $6.5 billion deal into
doubt, and could leave Hexion and its parent, the private equity
firm Apollo Management, on the hook for billions of dollars in
legal damages.
The financing commitments of the banks, Credit Suisse and
Deutsche Bank, are scheduled to expire on Saturday.
In her court ruling on Friday, Justice Eileen C. Bransten of the
state Supreme Court ruled that the banks were entitled to their
original contract.
Friday’s decision is the latest blow to Hexion, which was found
by a Delaware court judge to have intentionally breached its
agreement with Huntsman.
In its Delaware lawsuit, the company argued that forcing the
deal’s completion would leave the combined Hexion-Huntsman
insolvent. But the Delaware judge ordered Hexion to make its
“reasonable best efforts” to obtain the necessary financing to
close the transaction.
Hexion said it intended to pursue a lawsuit at a court hearing
Monday seeking to force Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank to finance
the deal.
Huntsman is pressing forward on other fronts as well. The
chemical maker has sued Apollo and two of its top executives, Leon
Black and Joshua Harris, in Texas, arguing that the three
fraudulently lured it away from another proposed merger. Huntsman
recently sued Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank in Texas as well.
“Hexion remains obligated to use its reasonable best efforts to
obtain the necessary financing and to consummate the transaction,”
Russ R. Stolle, a Huntsman spokesman, said. “Huntsman has been
harmed by both Hexion’s and the banks’ actions. We will vigorously
pursue our claims for damages in our suits pending in both Delaware
and Texas.”
The state education commissioner, Richard P. Mills,
will be stepping down in June after 14 years of overseeing 700
school districts and 3 million students.
Mills, 63, said in an interview on Friday that he had decided it
was time for a change after leading the Education Department
through a critical period that has brought higher standards for
academic achievement and, for the first time, has held school
districts accountable for student performance on standardized
tests.
“I don’t want to get to a point where I’m tired and out of
ideas and then say ‘I’m leaving,”‘ he said. “I want to leave at
the top of my game and help the Board of Regents up until the
end.”
Mills, who is paid $195,000 a year, was appointed in 1995 by the
Board of Regents, whose 16 members are selected by the state
Legislature for five-year terms. Mills was previously the education
commissioner of Vermont for seven years. Robert M. Bennett, the
chancellor of the Board of Regents, said that a national search
would be held this winter to find Mills’ successor.
Under Mills’ tenure, the state has raised high school graduation
rates while making college preparatory courses known as Regents
courses a requirement, and making the Regents diploma, which is
granted to students who pass Regents exams in core subjects, the
standard for all students. In addition, the number of credits
required for graduation rose to 22.5 from 20.5.
“His goal was that every district would have a 100 percent
graduation rate, and I think, by and large, you see improvements
across the board,” said Henry L. Grishman, superintendent of the
Jericho district on Long Island and former president of the New
York State Council of School Superintendents. Jericho’s graduation
rate has averaged between 98 percent and 100 percent in each of the
last three years, up from about 85 percent in the mid-1990s.
With the Regents’ backing, Mills in 1999 began holding districts
accountable for student performance on state achievement tests, a
practice that later became mandatory under the 2001 federal law
called No Child Left Behind. The state also established a system of
state report cards to help parents and community members evaluate
their local schools.
In particular, Mills and state education officials made it a
priority to close the achievement gap for poor and minority
students by advocating for more financial resources for districts
with large numbers of poor and disadvantaged students, and by
eventually developing a new school aid formula that allocated more
money for high-needs districts, including New York City’s.
“What we’ve learned is that the direction set by a state leader
matters a lot in terms of whether kids learn or don’t,” said Kati
Haycock, president of the Education Trust, an advocacy group based
in Washington. “If you judge this man by the improvement in
achievement, especially among minority and poor students, you would
have to say that he helped bring about some of the biggest gains in
the country.”
But some educators and parents have said that Mills placed too
much emphasis on standardized testing — with the result that many
schools focused on drilling students on basic skills in English and
math that were covered on tests at the expense of more creative
forms of instruction in poetry and writing as well as in enrichment
activities like art, music and even field trips.
Mills has also been criticized for his oversight of the
2,800-student Roosevelt school district on Long Island, which
struggled with financial problems and weak student performance for
years after it was taken over by the Education Department in 2002.
In January, the state Legislature approved an $8 million bailout
for the district to settle an accumulated debt that had threatened
to cripple its daily operations.
Mills said he wished that he had known about Roosevelt’s recent
financial problems sooner, but moved quickly to address them once
he did. He pointed out that the state had built new buildings in
the district and sent in some of the state’s top administrators to
oversee improvements.
He said that while standardized testing was necessary as a way
to gauge student achievement fairly and consistently, he had also
emphasized the need for art and music and other creative pursuits.
Mills got his start in education as a history teacher at the
Dalton School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan from 1967 to
1971, after earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from
Middlebury College and Columbia University. He subsequently helped
establish and run the Elizabeth Seeger School, an alternative
public high school, on West 12th Street.
Mills said that he planned to continue working in the education
field and would be considering his options after stepping down as
commissioner.
“It will be hard to leave in June, but there’s time to get a
lot of work done between now and then,” he said. “This experience
has been exhilarating — even the hardest day has had a clear
purpose. I’ve never tired of it.”
Is Hollywood’s next big adventure “Tintin in
Culver City”?
After months of deal-making turmoil, the elaborate, two-film
“Tintin” series planned by the directors Steven Spielberg and
Peter Jackson may find its financiers in a partnership being forged
by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Paramount Pictures.
Sony, the Culver City, Calif.-based parent of Columbia Pictures,
is in advanced negotiations toward a deal to co-finance the films
with Paramount, its Hollywood-based rival. The talks were described
by people who were briefed on them, and who spoke on condition of
anonymity to avoid conflict among the parties.
Kathleen Kennedy, a producer of Spielberg’s project, did not
respond to a query. Peter Nelson, a lawyer for Jackson, declined to
comment, as did a Sony Pictures spokesman, Steve Elzer. A
spokeswoman for Paramount also declined to comment.
The negotiations began after Universal Pictures backed away last
month from an arrangement under which it would have shared the
project, based on the long-running Belgian comic strip about a
globetrotting young reporter, with Paramount.
Spielberg has been eager to begin shooting the first movie as
early as this year. Using motion-capture technology that combines
live actors with computer animation, he has already filmed parts of
the picture. But Universal, which had an option to become involved
because Spielberg started the project there 25 years ago, shocked
many in Hollywood by declaring it too risky, despite the
participation of Spielberg, who has kept his offices on Universal’s
lot for decades.
The first film’s budget of about $130 million is not
exceptionally large by contemporary standards. But Spielberg and
Jackson, as two of the industry’s most prestigious directors, were
demanding nearly a third of the movie’s gross receipts — terms that
proved difficult at a time when studios were tightening belts.
Paramount later offered to make the movie on terms it found more
favorable, but the directors’ representatives pressed for
alternatives. Sony offered to take the movie under a deal more to
the filmmakers’ liking, but Paramount was reluctant to let go
entirely and began discussing a partnership, according to one of
the people briefed on the discussions.
Under the deal now being discussed, Paramount would distribute
the “Tintin” movies in North America and some English-speaking
territories, while Sony would distribute the pictures in various
foreign territories, including Europe and Latin America, according
to a person briefed on the talks. In recent years, studios have
routinely split some of their more expensive movies, usually by
leaving one studio with foreign distribution rights, and another
with domestic.
Thus, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” a coming film
directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, will be
distributed by Paramount in the United States and by Warner
Brothers abroad.
For Sony, a deal would be the first time Spielberg has worked
with the studio as a director since 1991, when he made “Hook” for
the company’s TriStar Pictures unit. In 1977, Spielberg made
“Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” one of his biggest hits,
for Columbia, long before the studio was acquired by Sony.
The first “Tintin” movie is expected to be ready for release
in 2010. Jackson’s installment would come some time after, but does
not yet have a completed script.
For Paramount, a deal would be one more step in the readjustment
of its relations with Spielberg and his new DreamWorks company. The
studio had acquired DreamWorks in 2006, but Spielberg and his
associates left to form a new venture under the same name last
month.
Spielberg is expected to remain involved with a number of
Paramount projects in coming months. He has a producing role, for
instance, on “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” a sequel set
for release in June.
Meanwhile, his new company remains entangled with Paramount
through their mutual interest in dozens of development projects
that are owned by the big studio, but may be produced and
distributed through collaborative arrangements between them over
the coming years.
Heated political debates. Dramatic anti-testing videos. Disputes
over prime poster placement in the gym.
Campaign season is in full swing at suburban Sylvester Middle
School south of Seattle–and it’s intense.
Each student in Ellyn Roe’s social studies/language arts class was
assigned to campaign on campus for a candidate for president,
governor or state school superintendent.
The eighth-graders threw themselves into the project with fervor,
and ballots in the school’s mock election already have started to
trickle in.
The Washington Assessment of Student Learning is a hot topic,
particularly in the race for state school superintendent, Roe said.
Students campaigning for incumbent Terry Bergeson have played up
her plans to shorten the test this spring, while members of
challenger Randy Dorn’s crew have been running an in-house
television ad with the tagline “A vote for Randy Dorn is a vote
against the WASL.”
“That one definitely hits close to home,” Roe said. “There’s
been a good, healthy debate.”
They are among the thousands of Washington students who can’t
legally vote, but are expressing their political views by
campaigning for candidates in school or participating in national
or state mock elections.
Nearly 14,000 Washington students already have voted in the Youth
Leadership Initiative’s 2008 Mock Election, run by the nonprofit
Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.
There was last-minute campaigning as students at Seattle’s Chief
Sealth High School filed into the library Thursday to cast online
ballots.
“O-bam-a!” a few chanted softly, while others urged, “Vote for
McCain or you’re insane!”
“They’re always surprised by the number of presidential
candidates,” said Noah Zeichner, who teaches Spanish and social
studies, and got Sealth involved in the election. “They don’t hear
much about third-party candidates in the media.”
Sealth’s results Friday: An overwhelming majority of students voted
for Barack Obama, re-elected Gov. Christine Gregoire and U.S. Rep.
Jim McDermott by large margins, and named the economy as the most
important election issue.
Even kindergarteners cast ballots in a mock election organized by
the Washington Secretary of State. That balloting ended Friday
afternoon with a majority of students statewide selecting Obama,
while challenger Dino Rossi appeared to edge out Gregoire for
governor.
That ballot included several state initiatives, although the ones
for elementary-schoolers were made up.
Not surprisingly, they shot down an initiative that called for
students to eat at least a serving of vegetables at lunch, or risk
losing recess time.
While parents often shape students’ political views, many secondary
school teachers have used the election to encourage students to
form their own political identities.
At the Puget Sound Skills Center in Burien, social studies
specialist Michael McSweeney spent weeks discussing the election
with his students.
He has urged them to compare the presidential candidates’ stances
on various issues and helped eligible students register to
vote–all without giving away his own political views.
It has had a profound effect on Mt. Rainier High School student
Michael Anderson, who said he grew up in a Democratic-leaning
family and had supported Obama.
But in McSweeney’s class, he’s studied both candidates and finds
himself drawn to John McCain because of his views on abortion and
gay marriage.
“I’m still kind of confused, in the middle,” he said. “But I’m
realizing you really have to look at both sides.”
At Pacific Middle School in Des Moines, teachers challenged
students to rethink their political views by reading articles
written by Obama or McCain, with the candidates’ names removed. The
teens shared what they liked about each piece and what inspired
them–without knowing who wrote what.
Some students were surprised to find out they liked “the other
guy,” said Jennifer Christenson, who teaches social studies and
leadership.
“A lot of them hear things at home and that’s their primary source
of information,” she said. “This helps them see the bigger
picture.”
The school will hold a mock presidential election early next week,
followed by another election Thursday to choose student-body
officers.
Student candidates submitted brief biographies and photos, which
were compiled into a voters’ pamphlet.
Top finishers in the school’s primary last week were allowed to
hang one campaign poster in the cafeteria and will deliver a speech
to classmates Thursday morning.
The timing is perfect, Christenson said: “We can mirror what’s
going on in the real world.”
The cosmetic company Avon Products traces its roots to the horse
and buggy days of the late 19th century, when sales representatives
sold perfume door-to-door, often to women who lived far from big
department stores.
This American frontier model has translated well to countries
like Brazil and China, where large populations are dispersed across
a vast countryside. Today, more than two-thirds of Avon’s sales are
outside the United States.
The direct-selling model — where independent sales
representatives do not work directly for Avon — makes it easier to
break into new markets, says Avon’s chairwoman and chief executive,
Andrea Jung. About 5.5 million sales representatives now sell Avon
products, be it lip gloss in Shanghai, China, or face powder in Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil.
The company, reporting its third-quarter earnings Thursday, said
the only region where sales fell was North America, which it
defines as the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. By contrast,
revenue rose 25 percent in both Latin America and China and 8
percent in Western Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Jung, who was born the daughter of Chinese immigrants in Toronto
and moved to a suburb of Boston when she was 10, recently discussed
how she thinks the company’s direct-selling model can improve the
lives of women in developing countries and where the next big
growth opportunities are for Avon.
Q: Since you became the chief of Avon in 1999, the company has
expanded into emerging markets. Why do you think your
direct-selling model works so well in developing countries?
JUNG: It is part of a movement around the world for women to
have more economic independence. From her very first order, a
representative does not have to pull the money out of her pocket.
We send her the products, and she pays us after she sells them. The
direct-selling model does not have to be centered around where
there is heavy retail infrastructure, either. For example, China is
going to be one of Avon’s largest market opportunities. It has a
large geographic expanse, with hundreds of thousands of women in
small villages really striving to make an earnings opportunity for
themselves.
Q: And the majority of your independent sales representatives
are women?
JUNG: Well over 95 percent are women and the men are often in
Avon couples. I love those conversations, where the husbands tell
me that they quit their jobs because their wife’s business was
doing so well, so they’ve joined forces to run the business as a
couple.
Q: Given the fact that your sales representatives are not
employed by Avon, how do you establish new markets?
JUNG: We hire recruiting managers, who are Avon employees. They
start canvassing for representatives in work places, in religious
gatherings, in school fundraisers. We also run recruiting
advertisements in a dozen markets today. And we train our
representatives how to manage their businesses online. For example,
in Turkey, where there is not much Internet penetration, we have
close to 100 percent of our sales representatives entering their
orders online. They go to Internet cafes or libraries.
Q: How do you deal with economic uncertainty in emerging
markets?
JUNG: With what’s going on the last couple of weeks, it reminds
me of the very difficult time we had in Russia. I recall in the
late ’90s, with the massive devaluation of the ruble, our Russian
business really became quite challenged. Some companies were
retrenching, but we looked across Russia and saw 11 time zones,
with women in every small town and village who wanted the
opportunity to be economically independent. So we were committed to
staying.
Q: Do you feel that your experience growing up as the daughter
of Chinese immigrants has influenced your career?
JUNG: It has given me a global vantage point, being the daughter
of immigrants from China, who had nothing when they came here. And
now I am leading a company. It speaks to something deep in me, the
concept that you don’t have to start with anything. The
direct-sales opportunity allows people to change their lives.
Q: Many of your customers are familiar with the work of the Avon
Foundation, but they might not know that you have similar programs
in countries like Mexico and Malaysia. How global is your
philanthropy now?
JUNG: We’ve got programs in around 50 different countries.
Together, we have raised $580 million, mostly for breast cancer
research, diagnosis and treatment.
A couple of years ago, we added a second issue: violence against
women. We have made educational pamphlets about breast self-exams
and about domestic violence, which our representatives can give to
their customers. We have donated mammography units to underserved
hospitals in Spain and created mobile mammography units in China.
Recently, I had one of those amazing experiences where life and
work intersect. My maternal grandmother, who was from mainland
China, died of breast cancer in Singapore in the 1970s. It was
diagnosed at a late stage and she just passed away. It was
something that wasn’t talked about back then. It was the “C”
word. About a year ago, my mother discovered that she had breast
cancer. She was diagnosed at an Avon breast cancer center, which
our people worked so hard to donate to Mass. General. It was
detected at a very early stage, with digital mammography, and one
year later she is cancer-free. When I look at the two generations
in my own family, it shows the progress that has been made on this
issue over the last 30 years.
TAMPA All agreed that the new chief at U.S. Central Command
needs no introduction.
Gen. David Petraeus, widely feted as the architect behind the
Iraq troop surge, took the helm at CentCom on Friday in an hourlong
ceremony under fluttering flags off Hillsborough Bay.
Petraeus comes to CentCom headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base
with enormous political capital and the kind of military reputation
seldom seen in the days since World War II.
As the outgoing CentCom commander, Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey,
joked, “You probably need less introduction than anyone I know.”
Petraeus comes to CentCom with the challenge of stemming the
rising violence in Afghanistan.
Petraeus, 55, shook Dempsey’s hand the pair are from the same
West Point class of 1974 and offered a few quiet words as he took
official responsibility for CentCom’s area of responsibility.
That responsibility is one of the largest in the U.S. military:
nearly two dozen countries, including oversight for the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan and other hot spots such as Pakistan.
Petraeus, who has served three tours in Iraq including one as
commander of the 101st Airborne Division, is credited with policies
helping curb violence in Iraq.
And expectations that he will do the same in Afghanistan could
hardly be higher.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates praised Petraeus and Dempsey, who
had been the acting Centcom commander for seven months after Adm.
William Fallon was forced to resign.
Speaking of Petraeus, Gates said “history will regard him as
one of our nation’s great battle captains. He is the preeminent
soldier, scholar, statesman of his generation. And he is precisely
the man we need at this command. … Now he will take aim at our
adversaries in Afghanistan.”
Petraeus, who had served as the overall ground commander in Iraq
since early 2007, is expected to quickly travel back to CentCom’s
area of responsibility in the Middle East.
The general warned all: “The way ahead will be difficult.”
Never thought I’d see the day when those two drama kings of the
hemispheres, David Beckham and Diego Maradona, would be
overshadowed by a second-string goalkeeper from Major League
Soccer.
But that is exactly what happened recently, as one soaring free
kick by Danny Cepero, making his league debut for the Red Bulls,
bounced into the opposing goal. Bend that, David and Diego.
Goals by goalkeepers happen to be one of my favorite
man-bites-dog events — even more than home runs by pitchers or
touchdowns by lumbering 350-pound linemen.
I’ve always loved the sight of feral keepers like Rene Higuita
and Jose Luis Chilavert and Jorge Campos, Renaissance men from the
Americas. Now Cepero, out of the University of Pennsylvania, has
become an instant legend.
Cepero will be in goal Saturday at 4 p.m. when the Red Bulls
open the playoffs against Houston at Giants Stadium. He promises no
such fireworks like the 81-yard goal he unleashed on Oct. 18 — a
freakish bounce on the home artificial turf, the first keeper’s
goal in 13 years of the league’s existence.
The goal managed to eclipse the latest buzz from the peripatetic
Beckham and the erratic Maradona.
Beckham arranged to take the winter semester in Italy, on loan
from the Los Angeles Galaxy to AC Milan, so that he can keep sharp
for possible duty with the English national team.
Maradona’s odyssey is far more bizarre. Bounced out of world
soccer because of his drug habit, nearly dead from his appetites,
he is becoming the coach of Argentina — the equivalent of the
United States putting Jose Canseco in charge of the U.S. team for
next year’s World Baseball Classic.
However, Beckham’s and Maradona’s pursuits pale compared with
Cepero’s awesome kick. Cepero got his chance because two teammates,
including the resident keeper, Jon Conway, were each suspended for
10 games because of a positive drug test — from an over-the-counter
supplement they had considered safe, they said. Cepero, 23, had
played two reserve games for the Red Bulls.
“He’s one of the more cerebral chaps on the team,” Des
McAleenan, the team’s goalkeeper coach, said. “He reads, he’s very
likable, never too high, never too low.”
In fact, Cepero is earning the last credits toward his degree at
Penn, driving down to Philadelphia each week for a course, “The
End of European Empire,” which he said was about decolonization,
concentrating on Britain.
He also studies his arcane craft. McAleenan, who has trained
international keepers like Tony Meola and Tim Howard with this
franchise, has encouraged Cepero to produce long goal kicks to give
the offense a chance to work mischief at the far end. McAleenan
noted that Cepero was not among the strongest kickers he had
coached.
Some keepers insist on taking free kicks and penalty kicks.
Rogerio Ceni of Brazil has produced more than 80 goals in domestic
competition, according to FIFA.com, Chilavert of Paraguay has
produced more than 60, and Higuita of Colombia more than 40. (The
exact totals are obscured by various league matches over the
years.) Then there was the flamboyant Campos of Mexico, who not
only took the occasional kick but also would take the ball upfield
with his dancing feet or even play striker when the mood struck.
“My mother is from Mexico, and she is a big fan of Campos,”
Cepero said, adding that many Latino keepers have an admirable
flair for the dramatic. He did score a few goals as a teenager in
Baldwin, N.Y., playing the field, but he is hardly a free-kick
candidate.
Pressed into duty with two days’ notice on Oct. 18, Cepero had a
2-1 lead in the 83rd minute. Given a direct kick, he lined up the
ball on the left side, about 25 yards upfield, motioning his
teammates to move forward, and he let fly. From three-quarters of
the field away, he saw the ball take a high bounce over the
Columbus keeper, also a backup, then he saw a flutter in the cords
of the net. Cepero’s vision was so obscured that he did not see the
ball go in, but he received a context clue when teammates rushed
upfield and hugged him.
“I expected it to happen on this field,” McAleenan said,
referring to the artificial turf. “That is carpet over concrete.
It just happened to be Danny.”
Since that stunning moment, Cepero has received messages from
strangers from as far away as Croatia and Cyprus as well as from
old friends, but no endorsements and no re-creation of the kick,
straight down Broadway, for the Letterman show. At least not yet.
Reality hit home in the next game when the Red Bulls lost, 5-2,
at Chicago, McAleenan blaming their nonexistent defense. The Red
Bulls were lucky to squeak into the playoffs when DC United
stumbled in its final game.
This has been a star-crossed franchise since its first home game
as the MetroStars when a hapless defender (from Italy’s top league)
bumbled in an own goal. Now Danny Cepero has overshadowed David
Beckham and Diego Maradona. Could this franchise’s dismal karma
finally be changing?
TAMPA Jon Gruden made a certain observation about new return
man Clifton Smith on Sunday at Dallas.
The Buccaneers coach noticed Smith has a particularly good sense
of direction, knowing the best way to get up the field is going
north and south.
“I like that. A lot of guys go backward,” Gruden said. “I’m
not saying Dexter (Jackson) did or does. I’m just saying that a lot
of guys retreat because there’s no one there.”
Jackson is the guy whose job Smith, an undrafted rookie, appears
to have taken. One of Jackson’s flaws as the primary returner
during Weeks 1-7 was a tendency to cut back in an effort to gain
yards laterally.
Conversely, Smith charged forward each time he handled a punt or
kickoff against the Cowboys, making for an impressive pro debut
that was marred slightly by a lost fumble. Smith’s first touch was
a 20-yard punt return, the Bucs’ longest of the season.
There’s a fearlessness about Smith that makes him appealing.
“It’s a hard thing to come by to go out and find a player who
will sacrifice his body to run up and catch a ball, hit a hole and
be able to give the offense what it needs and keep the defense off
the field,” Smith, 23, said.
You don’t have to remind Gruden how rare a breed he is.
“When you go forward, there’s everybody coming at you,” he
said. “It’s not a job that everybody is after. There aren’t a lot
of guys that want to return kickoffs and punts in the National
Football League.
“You stand down there on the sidelines, and I stand behind
players. It’s a bizarre scene. These guys are flying down there.
It’s not for everybody.”
Smith was a regular returner at Fresno State and had great
success. As a sophomore, he set an NCAA record with three punt
returns for 189 yards and two touchdowns against Weber State. And
he attended a school that is renowned for its emphasis on special
teams.
“We led the country in blocked kicks and other special teams
categories,” he said. “(Playing special teams) taught me to be a
versatile player.
“I can run down on a kickoff and know what I’m doing. I can
come off the edge and be a punt rusher and block punts. It helped a
lot.”
How did the experience translate to the NFL? Smith said he
believes he made an impression in Dallas, and it’s hard to argue.
He was unspectacular on kickoffs, averaging 20.7 yards on three
returns. But on punts, he was a significant upgrade, averaging 16.4
yards to Jackson’s 4.9.
But Smith worries what he will be remembered for more: his
decisive running or his fumble of the second-half kickoff that
Dallas recovered.
“I felt like I opened some eyes,” he said. “But then again,
I’ll have that question mark over my head like, ‘Well, he might be
a fumbler,’ which is a stigma I don’t want on me at all. It’s not
my game to put the ball on the ground.”
The good news for him is he likely will get another shot Sunday
in Kansas City. After spending seven weeks on the practice squad,
Smith has learned to wait his turn.
“It’s always tough to be patient,” he said. “But that’s the
name of the game. They always say it’s a long season and something
is bound to happen. And before you know it, it’ll be on you to go
out there and take advantage of your opportunities.”
Sure enough, Smith’s time is now.
Stephen F. Holder can be reached at sholdersptimes.com.
CINCINNATI USF’s Matt Grothe said Monday that Nippert Stadium
was his favorite place the Bulls had visited, if only for the
old-school design of the Bearcats’ homefield.
But the quarterback can’t be as happy with his performances at
Nippert, where the Bulls have seen two lopsided losses and the two
lowest-rated performances of his USF career.
“They had us tonight. That’s all I can say,” Grothe said after
Thursday’s 24-10 loss. “We couldn’t do anything. They did a good
job of stopping us, and we did a good job of stopping ourselves.”
Grothe, selected as a game captain for the first time in his
Bulls career, went 13-for-31 on Thursday with no touchdowns and
three interceptions. It marked the lowest completion percentage of
his 35 career games, and his passer rating of 20.8 is also his
lowest ever.
The junior’s previous low rating was his last game at Nippert, a
23-8 loss in 2006 that saw him pass for 47 yards in 21 attempts.
Grothe has had only three games at USF in which he failed to pass
or rush for a touchdown; two of them have come at Nippert.
Thursday’s statistics weren’t all Grothe’s fault, as his
receivers consistently failed to bring in catchable passes, with at
least five drops on a night in which Cincinnati’s receivers had
several highlight-reel catches. Grothe’s third interception came on
a pass that TE Cedric Hill juggled into the arms of CB DeAngelo
Smith.
Asked what has changed about USF from the team that opened 5-0
and was ranked No. 10 just a month ago, Grothe said he didn’t have
an answer.
“I have no idea,” he said. “That’s a good question.
Something.”
BIG CHANGE: Before Thursday, Cincinnati hadn’t converted a third
down in its previous two games, going a combined 0-for-25, but the
Bearcats had no such troubles against the Bulls.
QB Tony Pike converted on third and 10 in the first quarter with
a 48-yard pass to WR Marty Gilyard. The Bearcats went 4-for-5 on
third downs in the first half in building a 17-7 lead.
THIS AND THAT: The 49-yard field goal by freshman Maikon Bonani
is a season long for him by 5 yards. It’s the fourth longest in USF
history and the longest since Delbert Alvarado hit a Big East
record 56-yarder against Syracuse in 2006. DE George Selvie, who
saw some action as a roving “spy” linebacker, said the Bulls
tried the defensive strategy after seeing Oklahoma use it against
the Bearcats this season.
Greg Auman can be reached at (813) 226-3346 and at
aumansptimes.com. Check out his blog at blogs.tampabay.com/usf.
TAMPA The Bucs second-guessed their decision to play Warrick
Dunn in their previous game. They will have another decision to
make on the 33-year-old running back Sunday at Kansas City.
Dunn, who played sparingly Sunday against the Cowboys, has a
pinched nerve in his back and did not practice this week. It’s
likely he will be held out against the Chiefs and replaced by
Michael Bennett. In the end, it will be a game-time decision.
“These guys that play seven, eight, nine, 10, 12 years, there’s
a reason why they do that,” coach Jon Gruden said. “The guys who
have had the kind of careers that Warrick has had, they all play
through so many different things.
“If he can go based on our eyes and our visual evaluation,
we’ll certainly let him play. But for the time being, we’ve got to
do what’s right, too. And that’s wait until we see it happen.”
More injuries: Starting LG Arron Sears has a back strain and
sustained a mild concussion in practice Wednesday even though it
was supposed to be noncontact and players weren’t wearing helmets.
He also will be a game-time decision.
If Sears can’t go, rookie Jeremy Zuttah will start.
“You try to reduce contact, and you have a collision,” Gruden
said. “That just shows you a little about our team. You have a
tendency to go a little too hard all the time.”
FB B.J. Askew, who did practice this week, is not expected to
play. WR Maurice Stovall also will be out. Both are recovering from
hamstring injuries.
fines: LB Cato June was fined $5,000 by the league for throwing
a punch at Dallas RT Marc Colombo, and Bucs RT Jeremy Trueblood was
fined $7,500 for throwing his helmet at the end of the game.
TRAP GAME: At 1-6, Herm Edwards’ Chiefs appear to be circling
the drain. They have a second-year quarterback in Tyler Thigpen
from Coastal Carolina who is making his third NFL start.
But Edwards is rebuilding with high draft picks on defense, and
their lone victory came at home against a Broncos team that now
leads the AFC West at 4-3.
That’s enough for Gruden to channel Lou Holtz, the former Notre
Dame coach famous for building up opponents.
“If you look at the film, they’re a good defensive team,”
Gruden said. “They’ve yielded some big plays, and a lot of the big
plays they’ve given up have been at the end of games where they’re
frantically trying to get the ball back. They played Denver
extremely well. They had the Jets (beat on Sunday before losing
late). They’re a hard team to throw the ball against.
“I’ve been to Arrowhead (Stadium) enough times. It never
matters what their record is or what the stakes are. They play
their butts off in their stadium, and we’ve got to know that.”
When Proposition K was added to Tuesday’s
ballot, many people likely snickered at the possibility that San
Francisco might take its place alongside such prostitute-friendly
havens as Amsterdam and a few rural counties in nearby Nevada.
But this week, it became readily apparent that city officials
are not laughing anymore about the measure, which would effectively
decriminalize the world’s oldest profession in San Francisco. At a
news conference on Wednesday, Mayor Gavin Newsom and other
opponents seemed genuinely worried that Proposition K might pass.
“This is not cute. This is not fanciful,” Newsom said,
standing in front of the pink-on-pink facade of a closed massage
parlor in the Tenderloin district. “This is a big mistake.”
Supporters of the measure say it is a long-overdue correction of
a criminal approach toward prostitutes, which neither rehabilitates
nor helps them, and often ignores their complaints of abuse.
“Basically, if you feel that you’re a criminal, it can be used
against you,” said Carol Leigh, who says she has worked as a
prostitute for 35 years and now works as an advocate for those who
trade sex for money. “It’s a really serious situation, and ending
this criminalization is the only solution I see to protect these
other women working now.”
The language in Proposition K is far-reaching. It would forbid
the city police from using any resources to investigate or
prosecute people who engage in prostitution. It would also bar
financing for a “first offender” program for prostitutes and
their clients or for mandatory “re-education programs.”
One of the measure’s broadest prohibitions would prevent the
city from applying for federal or state grants that use “racial
profiling” in anti-prostitution efforts, an apparent reference to
raids seeking illegal immigrants.
The fight over the ballot initiative has become an awkward test
of San Francisco’s dual attitudes of live-and-let-live and
save-the-world. In the campaign’s closing days, the rhetoric on
both sides has heated up. Supporters of the measure accuse the city
of profiting from prostitution through fines. They also imply that
laws against prostitution are inherently racist because minorities
are disproportionately arrested.
Proposition K, they say, will increase safety for women, save
taxpayer money and cut down on the number of murders of prostitutes
at the hands of serial killers.
But opponents dismiss the notion of legions of prostitutes
happily romping through the city’s neighborhoods. “This isn’t
‘Pretty Woman,”‘ was how one put it.
Anti-Proposition K forces paint grim pictures of girls and women
from across the country held against their will in dark and
dangerous brothels here, forced into unsafe sexual behavior, and
often beaten, intimidated and raped.
“You’re going to have young girls recruited and brought to San
Francisco, and they are going to be standing on these corners,”
said Norma Hotaling, the founder and director of Standing Against
Global Exploitation, an outreach project here. “And there’s not
going to be any services for them to go to, and the police are not
going to have any means of investigating the cases.”
The measure seems particularly abhorrent to San Francisco’s
district attorney, Kamala D. Harris, who has made fighting human
trafficking a priority.
“I think it’s completely ridiculous, just in case there’s any
ambiguity about my position,” Harris said. “It would put a
welcome mat out for pimps and prostitutes to come on into San
Francisco.”
Central to Harris’ objections is the theory that prostitution is
a victimless crime. Instead, she said, it exposes prostitutes to
drug, gun and sexual crimes, and “compromises the quality of life
in a community.”
She also dismisses the argument that prostitutes would be more
likely to come forward if their business were not illegal.
“We’re in the practice and habit of protecting victims, not
criminalizing victims,” Harris said, adding that she often reminds
juries that the law protects people even if they are prostitutes or
drug users. “Our penal code was not created just to protect Snow
White,” she said, noting that 65 percent of cases handled by her
department’s sexual assault unit involved sex workers as victims.
Officials with the state attorney general’s office would not
comment on the measure.
The city’s Board of Supervisors, several of whom have expressed
support for the measure in the past, would have the power to amend
Proposition K if it passed. San Francisco, which has an exotic
dancers union and a well-established history of sexual freedom, is
not the first liberal outpost to mull legalizing prostitution. A
decriminalization bill was defeated by voters in Berkeley, Calif.,
in 2004.
Heidi Machen, a spokeswoman for the opposition, said her side
was hoping for a solid defeat. “We want this to fail by a
landslide,” she said. “So it doesn’t come back.”
A local CBS poll released Thursday found that 35 percent of
likely voters supported the measure, while 39 percent were opposed.
But 26 percent were still undecided.
On Thursday night, about 50 supporters of the measure gathered
at a church to press their case. One of them, Patricia West, 22,
said she has been working for about a year as an “independent,
in-call escort.”
West said that she enjoyed her work and believed that
Proposition K would allow prostitutes to organize into collectives
and negotiate for safer working conditions and better wages.
West concedes that what she does for a living “can be
dangerous.” But she hoped Proposition K would make her occupation
safer and more legitimate. “Working in a coal mine can be really
dangerous, too,” she said, “but it pays a lot of money so you’re
compensated for your risk.”
Lightning coach Barry Melrose knows exactly how the media game
is played.
Twelve years as an analyst for ESPN provides such insight.
So, when reporters took shots at his team for its stumbling
start, Melrose reminded it was early. When columnists speculated
his job already is in jeopardy (Sports Illustrated incorrectly
predicted he would be the first coach fired), he shrugged.
“That’s their job,” Melrose said. “I know all those guys.
When we win a couple, I’ll be the greatest coach in the world, so I
don’t worry about stuff like that. If you worry about stuff like
that, you shouldn’t be in the business.”
It is difficult to imagine a coach with a shorter honeymoon.
Chicago’s Denis Savard was canned after four games, but that was
the final act of a scripted drama. Melrose is a new hire in a
situation that screams for patience: 15 new players learning a new
system while their coach, out of the game since he was fired by the
Kings in April 1995, tries to re-establish his credibility and that
of a team that last season was the league’s worst.
But given the money owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie have put
into the roster, even Melrose said, “I don’t think we have a year.
I’m under no illusion I have a five-year plan.”
If there is a timetable, general manager Brian Lawton isn’t
saying. “We’re still in the earliest stages of evaluation,” he
said of a process he stressed is focused on the entire team.
“We expect a lot from our players. We expect a lot from our
coaches, so thus, my comments would be we still have a lot of work
to do. We’re not where we want to be or expect to be.”
But heading into tonight’s game with the Senators at the St.
Pete Times Forum, things are better. Tampa Bay (3-3-3) has won two
straight, and three of four, and Thursday dominated the
then-Northeast-leading Sabres 5-2 in Buffalo.
“The guys better know their roles now and understand what it’s
going to take for us to be a good team, and a lot of that has to do
with him,” left wing Mark Recchi said of Melrose. “Has everyone
done the right things? No. We haven’t as players. But he cares.
He’s passionate about it and wants us to do the right things.”
Recchi said that Melrose had instant credibility with the
players “because he is a hockey person and we know he’s a good
coach, so he had respect coming in.”
Melrose, 52, said the only way for him to earn self-respect was
to get behind the bench.
“If I wouldn’t have taken the job, I would have been a
hypocrite,” Melrose said. “I’m sitting up there (at ESPN) and
criticizing other people and talking stuff, and if you have a
chance to get back in the fight and don’t take it, I would have
been very disappointed in myself for not having the courage to do
that.”
Asked if coaching is different from when he led the Wayne
Gretzky Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup final, Melrose dragged out
what he admits is an old line that exaggerates to make a point.
The Kings, he said, had three players who were millionaires.
“Now, I have three who aren’t.”
Seriously, have new defensive strategies and antiobstruction
rules made it a different game?
“That’s the easy answer,” he said. “But the good teams still
win with character, they still win with competition, they still
outwork you. Goaltending is still the most important position of
any position in sports, and hockey is still a game of passion.”
And I-told-you-so’s.
Shortly after beating the Sabres, Melrose was asked if the
Lightning’s two-game winning streak qualified him as a genius.
“No, just smart,” he said. “For a genius, you have to win,
like, four in a row.”
Damian Cristodero can be reached at cristoderosptimes.com.
Follow his blog at blogs.tampabay.com/lightning.
TONIGHT
Lightning vs. Senators
When/where: 7:30; St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa
Radio: 620-AM
Injuries: Tampa Bay F Ryan Craig (groin) and RW Radim Vrbata
(groin) are day to day. Ottawa None.
Key stats: Lightning centers Steven Stamkos and Vinny Lecavalier
each have two goals, two assists in their past two games. Ottawa’s
Filip Kuba, right, a former Lightning, entered Friday tied for the
league lead among defensemen with 11 points, all assists. … The
Senators, who have scored with the man advantage in nine of 10
games, had the league’s No. 3 power play at 24.5 percent and was
No. 2 on the road at 29.4 percent.
Before the season began, Florida’s depth chart at running back
consisted of a senior with an up-and-down career (Kestahn Moore), a
transfer who hadn’t played in nearly 18 months (Emmanuel Moody), a
redshirt freshman coming off 2007 shoulder surgery (Chris Rainey)
and Jeff Demps, a true freshman with world-class speed .
It was Demps who intrigued coach Urban Meyer most. He thought
with time lots of time the young man from South Lake High in
Groveland could be a great player at Florida.
But running backs coach Kenny Carter saw things a little
differently. During his first full meeting with Demps, who arrived
on campus in July, the veteran assistant sensed quick impact
potential.
” And I’ll tell you why,” Carter said emphatically. “The
first time I got a chance to sit down with him and talk about our
pass-protection scheme and the things that we do he understood it
and could spit it back at me immediately. When he did that, I was a
happy man. Because I knew that if he could do that, he was ready.
That was right when we started being able to do football stuff. He
just took off and could do it all. So we were really excited about
that.”
Along with excitement, Demps and Rainey have brought a
legitimate running game to the Gators, something Meyer didn’t have
in his previous three years at Florida, outside of wide receiver
Percy Harvin. Gators running backs have accounted for 896 yards on
127 carries and 10 touchdowns. They totaled 761 yards on 136
carries last season.
Demps and Rainey emerged after the loss to Ole Miss, in which
senior Moore and transfer Moody were injured.
In the past three games, Demps and Rainey have carried 52 times
for 487 yards and four rushing touchdowns. Demps had consecutive
100-yard games (Arkansas, LSU), and his 11.9 yards-per-carry
average leads Division I-A (minimum 25 attempts). His average
touchdown run is 47 yards.
“I’m working as hard as I can, just trying to do whatever I can
to help my team,” the soft-spoken Demps said. “I still have a lot
to learn.”
In the Arkansas game Oct. 4, the Gators set a single-game record
for rushing yards under Meyer (278) and followed with the
second-best mark against then-No. 3 LSU.
At “5-foot-nothing” as Meyer jokingly refers to Demps (5 feet
8, 176 pounds) and Rainey (5-9, 185), the two pose a threat because
of their speed. Demps has run 100 meters in 10.01 seconds and just
missed qualifying for the final at the Olympic trials this year.
Rainey has run sub-4.4 for 40 yards and 10.23 in the 100. Demps is
more tough to defend in the speed-option because once he breaks
free, he has the potential to make huge gains.
“(The option) allows me to get into space, and when I get into
space, I can do a lot of things and get upfield,” he said. “When
you get the pitch, you’re looking at your blocker first, just
trying to make a read off the block. Once you get past the block,
you start looking downfield.”
Meyer said when he sees Demps or Rainey break free out of the
backfield, “I become like a fan. It’s a beautiful thing to
watch.”
It’s also a tremendous help to quarterback Tim Tebow, broadening
the offensive game plan.
“Having them in the game just opens things up,” the junior
said. “Their speed allows them to get to the edge. We can put them
in open space to try to create one-on-one matchups. They are so
fast and athletic, we can stretch the field horizontally.”
In the first seven games, Demps has averaged 12.1 yards every
time he touches the ball, Rainey 6.8. And according to Carter,
their potential is limitless.
“I told Jeff and Chris (this week) they have kind of a
Tiger-Woodish deal,” Carter said. “Because they are so fast, they
are at another level than everybody else. So if they play at their
level, they can really do some great things. But if they don’t play
at their level, then they are just average.”
In a game in which teams are so evenly matched, having the duo
play at “their level” could be the difference between winning and
losing for the Gators in today’s rivalry game against Georgia in
Jacksonville.
Today’s state games
No.??5 UF vs. No. 8 Georgia
3:30, Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. TV/radio: Ch. 10; 970-AM.
Line: UF by 6?. Weather: 71, 30 percent chance of rain, wind
from northeast 12-15 mph.
No.??16 FSU at Ga. Tech
3:30, Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta. TV/radio: Ch. 28; 1040-AM.
Line: Tech by 2?. Weather: 69, sunny, 10 percent chance of rain.
Miami at Virginia
Noon, Scott Stadium, Charlottesville, Va. TV/radio: Ch. 44;
1470-AM. Line: Virginia by 2. Weather: 64, sunny. Today’s state
games
No.??5 UF vs. No. 8 Georgia
3:30, Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. TV/radio: Ch. 10; 970-AM.
Line: UF by 6?. Weather: 71, 30 percent chance of rain, wind
from northeast 12-15 mph.
No.??16 FSU at Ga. Tech
3:30, Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta. TV/radio: Ch. 28; 1040-AM.
Line: Tech by 2?. Weather: 69, sunny, 10 percent chance of rain.
Miami at Virginia
Noon, Scott Stadium, Charlottesville, Va. TV/radio: Ch. 44;
1470-AM. Line: Virginia by 2. Weather: 64, sunny.
As the government makes taxpayer funds available to banks
weakened by the financial crisis, the criteria being used to choose
who gets money appears to be setting the stage for consolidation in
the industry by favoring those most likely to survive.
But while the measures, closely guarded by Treasury Department
officials, accommodate banks with top safety and soundness ratings,
they also allow the government to apply a looser definition to some
banks with lower ratings, according to two people briefed on the
process. Some of those banks may have lost money over the past
year, however, and should they fail the taxpayers’ investment would
be wiped out.
Analysts said that giving capital to such weaker banks could run
against the spirit of Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr.’s
suggestion that the program was for healthy institutions.
So far, at least 22 small and regional banks have been awarded
more than $38 billion in capital.
The Treasury is concerned that publicizing its selection
criteria would lead to speculation about which small and
medium-size banks may not be qualified to receive the aid, said the
people with knowledge of the process.
Some lawmakers are upset that the capitalization program, which
the government described as a way to jump-start lending, will end
up culling banks in their districts.
Regulators are applying a short list of criteria based on a
secret ratings system they use to gauge a financial institution’s
health. These yardsticks, known as Camel ratings, classify the
nation’s 8,500 banks into five categories, where a ranking of 1
applies to those in the best shape and a 5 to those in the worst.
Under the program, banks with a rating of 1 or 2 are essentially
guaranteed to qualify for the investments, according to the people
briefed on the process.
Those in the bottom categories are unlikely to receive capital
injections. As of June 30, that group included at least 117
financial institutions, mainly small banks and savings and loans,
on the Federal Insurance Deposit Corp. list of problem banks.
Approximately 2,500 to 3,500 banks, which likely have midtier Camel
ratings, are on the cusp of qualifying for the cash if they choose
to apply, analysts said.
Of those banks, those that have been profitable over the last
year are the most likely to receive capital. Banks that have lost
money over the last year, however, must pass additional tests.
Federal banking regulators are also applying additional
criteria, like assurances that banks are lending in low-income
communities, to determine eligibility.
They are also asking if a bank has enough capital and reserves
to withstand severe losses to its construction loan portfolio,
nonperforming loans and other troubled assets.
Banks that fail to meet two of the guidelines are unlikely to
receive the money, said a person with indirect knowledge of the
process. But banks that have only one strike against them can lobby
regulators for the cash.
Several advisers to financial institutions also said that they
were aware of banks that received capital with the understanding
the banks would try to find a merger partner. They said other banks
were urged to slash their dividend if they sought cash. The
advisers were not authorized by their clients to speak, and did not
name the banks.
Both actions suggest that the government may be loosely defining
what constitutes healthy institutions.
Banks are required to provide a specific business plan for the
next two or three years and explain how they plan to deploy the
capital. Regulators, however, say that they will not examine how
the financial institutions actually use the cash.
“There is no express statutory requirement that says you must
make this amount of loans,” John C. Dugan, the comptroller of the
currency, one of the major banking regulators, said in a recent
interview. “But the economics work so that it is in their interest
to do so” and that their actions would “be open to the court of
public opinion.”
Still, many lawmakers are concerned that some banks appear to be
holding on to the capital instead of immediately making loans to
spur economic growth. “Any use of these funds for any purpose
other than lending — for bonuses, for severance pay, for dividends,
for acquisitions of other institutions, etc. — is a violation of
the act,” Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House
Financial Services Committee, said in a statement on Friday.
Justice Antonin Scalia has a reputation as an
intimidating jurist who poses withering questions during arguments
before the Supreme Court. But on Friday afternoon, when the soprano
Leontyne Price entered the West Conference Room at the court to
attend an honorary luncheon hosted by the National Endowment for
the Arts, Scalia, an avid opera fan, visibly melted.
“It’s a great honor to meet you,” he told Price, his face
crinkling with warmth and delight. When Price complimented him on
the elegance of the luncheon’s setting — a paneled salon, its walls
lined with portraits of past chief justices — he replied, “Yes,
these are pretty nice rooms,” adding, “And they’re yours today.”
There had been a similar greeting moments earlier when, before
the luncheon, Price entered the chamber of Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsburg, another passionate and highly informed opera buff. When
the justice opened the doors to her office, Price, who at 81 seemed
ever the prima donna, knelt on one knee before her. It was a
gesture Price mastered decades ago, when she would appear before
the curtain to thank audiences for their ovations.
“What a joy,” Ginsburg said, beaming and taking Price’s hand.
“My, this magnificent woman.”
The occasion was the inauguration of a series of awards from the
endowment acknowledging lasting contributions to opera. Called the
NEA Opera Honors, they are the first new awards from the federal
government for individual achievement in the arts in 26 years.
Along with Price, the other honorees in this first year are the
conductor James Levine, the composer Carlisle Floyd (best known for
his operas “Susannah” and “Of Mice and Men,” which have become
repertory works) and the English-born impresario Richard Gaddes,
who has had long and pivotal tenures directing the Opera Theater of
St. Louis and the Santa Fe Opera, where he recently stepped down as
general director.
The day represented “a meeting of art and justice,” said Dana
Gioia, the chairman of the endowment, in welcoming the honorees,
their guests and other invitees to the luncheon.
The endowment has come under criticism in recent years by
legislators who seek to influence its policies and priorities. And
its budget, which last year was $148 million, has risen and fallen
with the times. In a brief interview, Gioia said he hoped that the
strong public reception to these awards would be seen “as an
expression of the regard in which the NEA is still held.”
Perhaps the most fascinating aspects of the luncheon were the
revealing glimpses of the justices as smitten buffs. Gioia invited
the court’s opera lovers — Scalia, Ginsburg and Justice Anthony M.
Kennedy — to serve as hosts for the luncheon; all three readily
accepted. As Ginsburg said, in welcoming the guests, “When Dana
Gioia asked us, I took a cue from Nancy Reagan and just said, ‘May
we?”‘
Great sopranos have long dominated the opera world, and Price
was the center of attention on this day. Touring Ginsburg’s
temporary chambers (the justices’ permanent offices are being
renovated), Price, accompanied by her younger brother, George
Price, a retired United States Army general, was visibly overcome.
“What would our parents say?” she asked her brother, thinking
of their origins in Laurel, Miss., where her mother was a midwife
and her father a handyman.
Ginsburg, 75, told Price that she and her husband, Prof. Martin
D. Ginsburg, who also attended t…