Almanacs “The Almanac - Nov. 5 - Post Chronicle” plus 4 more |
- The Almanac - Nov. 5 - Post Chronicle
- Benitez on the brink? - BBC
- Auto Almanac - Owen Sound Sun Times
- Opinion: Roads, highways and bridges are in dire need - MLive.com
- On Native Ground - American Reporter
| The Almanac - Nov. 5 - Post Chronicle Posted: 05 Nov 2009 05:08 AM PST Today is Thursday, Nov. 5, the 309th day of 2009 with 56 to follow. The moon is waning. The morning stars are Venus, Mars, Saturn and Mercury. The evening stars are Neptune, Jupiter and Uranus. Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include Socialist presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs in 1855; historians Ida Tarbell in 1857 and Will Durant in 1885; inventor and industrialist Raymond Loewy, the "father of streamlining," in 1893; band leader Jan Garber in 1894; movie singing cowboy star Roy Rogers in 1911; entertainers Ike Turner in 1931 and Art Garfunkel in 1941 (age 68); actresses Vivien Leigh in 1913, Elke Sommer in 1940 (age 69) and Tatum O'Neal in 1963 (age 46); dramatist/actor Sam Shepard in 1943 (age 66); and pop singer/songwriter Bryan Adams in 1959 (age 50). -0- On this date in history: In 1605, Guy Fawkes and fellow conspirators attempted to blow up the English Parliament and failed. They were beheaded. In 1733, German-born publisher John Peter Zenger began printing The New York Weekly Journal in opposition to the British colonial administration. In 1854, combined British-French forces scored a decisive victory over the Russians in the Crimea. In 1930, the first commercial television broadcast was aired. In 1940, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was re-elected to an unprecedented third term. In 1990, an Egyptian-born gunman, apparently acting alone, assassinated Meir Kahane, the U.S. native who founded the militant Jewish Defense League. Also in 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand an order requiring the U.S. Army to permit homosexuals to re-enlist. In 1991, the body of British media mogul Robert Maxwell was found floating in the Atlantic Ocean off the Canary Islands. Also in 1991, Kiichi Miyazawa was formally appointed prime minister of Japan, succeeding Toshiki Kaifu. In 1992, former U.S. world chess champion Bobby Fischer triumphed in his $5 million rematch against Russian arch-rival Boris Spassky. In 1996, U.S. President Bill Clinton was re-elected, defeating Republican challenger Bob Dole. In 2002, Republicans seized control of the U.S. Senate and retained their hold on the House, giving President George W. Bush a historic victory in mid-term elections that traditionally go against the incumbent president. In 2003, fearing a regional military imbalance, the United States supplied Thailand with air-to-air missiles. In 2004, Saskatchewan became the seventh Canadian province to allow same-sex couples to marry. In 2005, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said there was no doubt the United States had been given false information in order to support the war in Iraq. Also in 2005, thousands of U.S. and Iraqi forces engaged in a fight against al-Qaida terrorists in Iraq near the Syrian border. In 2006, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, 69, faced death by hanging after his conviction in Baghdad in a yearlong trial for the 1982 slaughter of 148 Shiite boys and men in the village of Dujail. In 2008, the day after Barack Obama was elected U.S. president, he was alerted by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that short-range missiles would be deployed near Poland that could reach NATO countries if the United States installs a missile defense system in Europe. -0- A thought for the day: inventor and industrialist Raymond Loewy said, "Between two products equal in price, function and quality, the better looking will out sell the other." (c) UPI This content has passed through fivefilters.org. | |
| Posted: 05 Nov 2009 05:43 AM PST Rafa's not given up hope and certainly they should hammer Debrecen, whose keeper Pantic sounds a bit like an intimate fungal infection and is about as useful between the sticks as a mushroom. In the meantime there'll be renewed calls for the head of the coach, and while he has 11 players that contain only half a goalscorer amongst them, it's not surprising. Trouble is, who's available to take the bearded apologist's post? Southgate? Keegan? Phil Brown come Sunday? Maybe Hansen'll get off the couch for a month-and-a-half after Shearer set the standards last season. Nah, they'll stick with Rafa. And maybe this lad Hernia can turn the tide for them after the January transfer window. There couldn't be a greater contrast with United's derring-do the night before. At 3-1 down you just knew they'd got a couple of goals left in them. Wazza came on, fresh from the arrival of his new son. We like the Rooneys a bit more than your average Lad and Wag: childhood sweethearts, who insisted on using the local NHS hozzie rather than some fancy private job. Of course, United's last gasp point-grabber came via the latest kind deflection. It was so inevitable I almost expected Zat Knight to pull on a Moscow shirt and turn it in to the Russian net for them. Didier Drogba won't be shaking in his boots at the thought of facing Brown and Evans this weekend, mind you. When he's perpendicular there's no better centre-forward in the world. And frankly now that teams just play on when he rolls around the turf like a bloke on fire trying to put himself out, even that part of his game is way less irritating. In the meantime, Arsenal continue to be the team that most of us would support if we had no local allegiance. But I think when Pele called it the Beautiful Game, this is what he had in mind. I know some of you are getting tired of blokes like me going into sycophantic raptures about the Gooners but unless you support Spurs with the kind of fundamentalism that would make the Spanish Inquisition blush, you have to agree that the way they knock it about right now is the dog's doodahs. Wenger was asked whether he thought Andrey Arshavin was being over-confident in saying that they could win the Premier League and the Champs League... what a stupid question! I can't wait till some Boro lad expresses such self-assurance. But I guess I'm going to bloomin' well have to. Arshavin, Fabregas, Van Persie, Nasri, Rosicky, Eduardo, Diaby, hell even Bendtner's learnt to trap it. Worth 40 quid of anyone's money. The Emirates Stadium has been a success too, save for the deathly quiet that sometimes overcomes the place. But who will be Mike Ashley's Emirates? The current name is sportsdirect.com @ St James' Park Stadium. Hmmm, punchy! You can't blame big Mike for taking the opportunity to remind the world that he is actually a successful businessman in his real life. (No lads, supporting Newcastle United can hardly be called Real Life). It's hard to guess which company might come in to sponsor St James's. The fact that Northern Rock was on the shirts until a while back seemed wholly appropriate, but now? In the meantime I think Newcastle United should remind its fans of its great heritage. The quickest road out of there could be renamed Kevin Keegan Walk. If they ever need to build a temporary terrace that could be the Alan Shearer Stand. The best stand of the lot should be The Sir Bobby Robson Stand. And surely it's only a matter of time before Cheryl Cole has enough to cash to buy into the whole place herself. The 'Britain's Favourite Geordie Stadium' has a nice ring to it. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. | |
| Auto Almanac - Owen Sound Sun Times Posted: 05 Nov 2009 05:15 AM PST Posted By WHEELBASE COMMUNICATIONSPosted 1 hour agoDRAWING BOARD Volkswagen E-Up: The German automaker has announced that a production version of the E-Up concept will hit the North American market sometime after it rolls out in Europe in 2013. In production form, the all-electric E-Up is a small city car that's slightly larger than a Smart Fortwo and is expected to have a range per charge of about 130 km. IT'S HISTORY * Here's food for thought. Inventor Thomas Edison developed his new nickel-alkali "wonder battery" for automobiles nearly a hundred years ago, claiming it would eventually put all gas-powered cars out of business. * The Takuri, Japan's first gasoline-powered car, was built from 1907-09. EBAY WATCH 1966 Plymouth Belvedere II HP2, reserve not met, high bid $35,100 US: Of a mere 531 Plymouth models manufactured for 1966 fitted with the 425-hp 426-cubic-inch (7.0-litre) Hemi engine, only the first 50 or so came with HP2 (Hemi Powered Plymouth) badges attached to the front fenders. However, the designation's meaning apparently confused buyers, so the label was changed to read "Hemi" for the remainder of the run. This particular 40,000km four-speed, manual-gearbox car, however, failed to generate bids anywhere near the seller's $119,900 US asking price. Visit ebaymotors.com. PARTS BIN Auto Zip Line pet "seat belt," Kurgo, about $40-$47 U. S., 877-847-3868, www.kurgo.com: This simple-to-use product consists of a plastic-coated tension cable that attaches at one end to one of your vehicle's grab handles, and a special harness that fits around your pooch at the other. Your canine companion can still sit, sleep or move about the rear seat, but, in a heavy braking situation, it will be held in place in a manner similar to a regular seatbelt for humans. Included is an adjustable leash that you can use when it's time to take your dog for a walk. Available in small, medium, large and extra-large. Advertisement This content has passed through fivefilters.org. | |
| Opinion: Roads, highways and bridges are in dire need - MLive.com Posted: 05 Nov 2009 03:06 AM PST By Jared Rodriguez for Business ReviewNovember 05, 2009, 6:00AM RodriguezIn 2008, Regional Policy Conference attendees voted to set a business agenda for the region. The outcome included a directive to "Update Funding Mechanisms for Transportation Infrastructure" as a critical measure for turning our economy around. With this past winter being one of the worst in recent history for potholes, and the Farmers' Almanac saying 2010 is not looking any better, we need long-term investment now to prevent our roads from turning to gravel. Unfortunately, the need to improve our roads is apparent to every citizen and visitor to this state. The RPC recognizes that the efficiency and quality of our state's transportation-infrastructure systems are critical to the health of Michigan's economic development, tourism, and interstate and intrastate commerce. Our roads consistently rank as some of the worst in the nation. Decades of underinvestment in maintenance and repair and the erosion of purchasing power brought on by inflation in construction costs have contributed to the crisis. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, Michigan has ranked among the bottom 10 states in per-capita state and local road funding for more than 40 years. To compete now and in the future, we have to learn from states that are experiencing a robust uptick in their economy and hold many advantages over Michigan outside of road-funding disparities. For example, it is no secret we are a peninsula and largely inconvenient for businesses to efficiently move their product to market. Michigan is not a well-traveled "through" state with easy access to the 80/90 East/West thoroughfare. That being said, businesses looking to invest, expand or relocate to a region do look at a variety of factors when making critical business decisions. The overall tax burden, regulatory structure, ease of permitting processes, climate and access to land and water all play a role. While we may lag behind in most categories, we have to be a leader in our infrastructure systems or we will continue to lose out on jobs and opportunities. In addition to the business impact, our poor infrastructure system has inhibited our state's ability to attract talent. Often, new talent operates by seeking out a place to live first, then looks for a company for which to work. Some key characteristics attractive to the new generation of talent that we seek are the climate, urban-core centers, arts and culture, and a world-class transportation-infrastructure system at its foundation. We have a lot of work ahead to reach world-class status. Current funding primarily consists of a flat fee added to each gallon of fuel purchased, which is insufficient, highly inelastic, and reactive to the health of the economy. Other sources of funding include vehicle-registration taxes, federal aid and a small amount of local taxes. The reality is that Michigan's funding is relatively low compared to other states. According to a July 2008 report by the Citizens Advisory Committee on Transportation Funding, Michigan's roads and bridges will require an estimated annual investment of $6.1 billion, nearly twice the current level of funding, purely for maintenance and basic improvements. Why has funding decreased? Changing consumer behavior in a tough economic climate has had the most impact. With rising fuel prices, individuals drive fewer miles, purchase vehicles with higher gas mileage and engage in less interstate/intrastate shipping via truck and trailer transport. The end result is fewer units of fuel being purchased, resulting in a continuous decline in revenues for investment. Furthermore, as revenue from gasoline and diesel purchases decline, the cost of construction has increased with inflation, drastically decreasing the purchasing power of the state and local units of government charged with maintaining and developing our transportation-infrastructure systems. The February 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has only provided a Band-Aid solution for this year. Long-term funding depends largely on a reauthorization of the current federal legislation for transportation funding, known as SAFETEA-LU, which is set to expire Dec. 31, 2010. Michigan's ability to match available federal funding is in jeopardy. This is the immediate concern, as our state stands to lose nearly $1 billion in federal funds each year if we do not have enough state and local funding to provide the required matching funds. Thirteen bills have been introduced to provide a sustainable future for our state's ability to provide the necessary matching funds to leverage federal resources. So far, Lansing has failed to act. The RPC task force working to update funding mechanisms for transportation infrastructure has been actively advocating that the Legislature and governor take action to enact the recommendations of the Transportation Funding Task Force, created by Public Act 221 of 2007, raising the current funding to a "good" level. Acting now to increase investments in our transportation infrastructure and systems is a must if Michigan is going to build a welcoming foundation to attract and retain world-class businesses and talent. If you would like to get involved in our Regional Policy Conference movement to change Michigan, please contact me at policyconf@grandrapids.org. Jared Rodriguez is senior vice president of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. This is one of a series of columns on behalf of the West Michigan Regional Policy Conference. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. | |
| On Native Ground - American Reporter Posted: 05 Nov 2009 02:37 AM PST On Native Ground | MY BACK PAGES: WATCHING MY CRAFT CHANGE OVER 30 YEARS by Randolph T. Holhut American Reporter Correspondent Dummerston, Vt.
Printable version of this story DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- I got my first job in journalism at the age of 18 in the spring of 1980. I was a freshman in college and landed a night shift gig at WSPR, a radio station in Springfield, Mass. News came over an Associated Press teletype machine at 65 words a minute. Changing the heavily inked ribbons was always a chore, not to mention making sure the paper didn't run out. Stories were typed on battered old manual typewriters that dated back to the 1940s. Computers? Still a new-fangled technology that hadn't yet seeped down to this level of the business. The Internet? There were only a few hundred people using it. If you needed to look up an address, you got a phone book or a city directory. If you needed to confirm a stray fact, you pulled out The World Almanac. They were still using reel-to-reel tape recorders, and a razor blade and Scotch tape were your tools for editing audio. It was still an analog world, with dials and meters and black telephones with dials. In the fall of 1985, when I started working in newspapers, video display terminals were cutting edge technology. Two years later, I went out and got my first computer - a Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 100 laptop. With its built-in 300 baud modem, I could file a story anyplace I could find a pay phone. Cellphones? That was as futuristic as the communicators they used on "Star Trek." There were still a few smokers in the first city room I worked in. The barroom downstairs was still a place where you could find reporters between shifts. The building also shuddered just a little from the giant presses when they fired up, and the stairwells were coated with a thin film of ink. That first newspaper company I worked for - the Worcester (Mass.) Telegram and Evening Gazette - had four morning and six afternoon editions and a dozen bureaus in the county it published in. There were two separate news staffs, and even though they worked for the same company, the competition was still fierce. One of my several jobs was working in the morgue - the newspaper's library - where we still clipped stories out of each day's edition and filed them away in envelopes. When a reporter or editor needed background on a subject, my job was to retrieve the right folders with the right clippings in a room filled with hundreds of cabinets with files that went back decades. Pneumatic tubes brought pictures up to the composing room, and page proofs came down to the copy desk the same way. The darkroom was just that, a dark room filled with a dozen photo enlargers and photographers rushing make prints on deadline. I eventually learned how to do darkroom work and how to go from taking the film out of the camera to producing a finished print in under 30 minutes. The photos from the AP came one at a time from a LaserPhoto printer, in 8 minute intervals. Waiting for photos was a constant hassle. The old photographers I encountered then were old enough to have used Speed Graphics - the bulky, hard-to-focus 4 x 5 inch cameras that were the newspaper standard from the 1920s to the 1960s. The old compositors I encountered then were old enough to remember linotypes and the smell of melting lead. The old editors I encountered then were old enough to remember pastepots and black pencils and making and remaking a newspaper on the fly with a few written instructions and a lot of teamwork in the mechanical departments. Pagination - making a pages on a computer - was just starting to creep into use. I remember the first such unit - a Mac Plus - which was used to make graphic. Within 10 years of seeing that Mac for the first time, I would be making pages on a computer. The compositors - the wizards with Exacto knifes that could do just about anything you asked, just don't touch the type, please - were out of a job. Automation changed lots of things. I was replaced by a computer terminal in the paper's morgue. Indexing was now done with a few keystrokes, not with a heavy steel straight edge tearing pages. Digital photography made the darkroom obsolete. The teletype printers disappeared, and wire service news came flying into the mainframe computers at thousands of words a minute. And now I feel as ancient as the people I met when I started out, the tribe that started out in the 1940s and 1950s, when newspapers were king and the work that reporters did was the stuff of movies. Twenty years ago this month, I went through my first buyout. The T & G had been sold two years before, and changes were in the works. Being a junior member of the staff who lashed three part-time jobs into something of a living, I was thrown overboard immediately. But I was struck by how many people, the elders of the paper that I looked up to and learned from, chose to take a buyout and leave than stick around and face an uncertain future. Most of that generation left, and I got my first education on the harshness of the newspaper business. The morning and evening papers merged the following year. The T & G's bureaus started to disappear. The presses moved out of the hulking old building on Franklin Street and went to a remote site a few miles away. The papers were sold again, this time to The New York Times Co. They eliminated zoned editions this year and the paper is struggling to survive. Since that bleak Yuletide two decades ago, I've been through three more newspaper sales. I've become an elder, talking about the old days of afternoon papers, pasting-up pages, teletypes and darkrooms to a generation that Googles phone numbers and needs MapQuest to find an address. And I've watched my profession go from fat and sassy to threadbare and dying in one generation. I'm still young enough to be a bridge between the analog and digital eras, and still looking forward to the shape of journalism to come. The tools we have now to tell stories were barely dreamed of when I started out, but I recognize how important they are and working to master them. We just have to remember that the need to tell stories is primal, and that storytellers will always be needed. What will the young reporters I work with now be saying when they look back at their careers 20 years from now? Will they be talking about that gruff and crabby gray-bearded editor they had as their first mentor? The rickety first-generation iMacs that they have to use to write their stories on? The lack of reliable Internet and cellphone service? Or will they talk about working in newspapers at a time when they became quaint relics of a bygone age? My love for the printed page is still abiding, but it's hard to remember what it was like before the Internet, before desktop computers, before digital cameras and voice recorders, before the avalanche of data that pours from the Web each day, before the 24-hour news cycle, before all the changes that I have seen in nearly three decades of broadcast, print and online journalism. The past is a nice place to visit, but the future is still the place I hope to see. Randolph T. Holhut has been a journalist in New England for nearly 30 years. He edited "The George Seldes Reader" (Barricade Books). He can be reached at randyholhut@yahoo.com.
Copyright 2009 Joe Shea The American Reporter. All Rights Reserved.
This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Almanacs - Bing News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment