WASHINGTON -- David Duke announced today he will run for the Republican presidential nomination next year in most states, including Maryland.
The former Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi leader criticized President Bush and predicted immigration would be the "big issue" in the campaign.
"We've got to begin to protect our borders," Duke said. "We've got to begin to protect our Christian values."
Duke, a Louisiana state legislator, also emphasized the themes -- criticism of welfare and affirmative action hiring programs -- he used when he ran unsuccessfully for governor this year and for U.S. Senate last year.
The U.S. should tell Japan, he said in a mocking imitation of a Japanese speaking English, "You no buy our rice, we no buy your cars."
While Duke spoke inside the National Press Building, protesters demonstrated outside. One got close enough to the press conference to be heard shouting "Nazi! Nazi!"
Maryland Republican Party leaders said they wouldn't welcome Duke in the party primary, which will be held March 3.
"I wish he would stay in Louisiana," said W. Blan Harcum, an Eastern Shore Republican leader. "There's no way for him to win and he's just going to distract from the real issues. It'd just be a nuisance."
Maryland Secretary of State Winfield M. Kelly Jr. already has decided to place Duke's name on the Republican ballot alongside that of Bush and columnist Patrick Buchanan, who has indicated interest in running for president.
State law gives the secretary of state authority to place on the ballot the names of candidates "generally advocated or recognized in the news media throughout the United States or in Maryland," according to V. Onzell Ward, assistant secretary of state.
MIAMI -- Two financial powerhouses from Japan took possession of Calder and Gulfstream racetracks Friday in a deal that freed Virginia horse breeder Bertram Firestone of $168 million in debt he couldn't repay.
Operations of the tracks, two of the biggest in the country, will not change immediately, said representatives for the new owners and state officials. Gulfstream will reopen on Jan. 8, as scheduled.
The deals were completed in New York at 5 p.m. Friday. In public statements shortly thereafter, nothing was mentioned of Firestone's well-publicized financial problems.
In a prepared statement from their farm in Upperville, Va., Bert and Diana Firestone said they gave up the tracks to devote themselves to breeding and racing horses.
"While I have enjoyed the racetracks, one cannot fall in love with any business," the statement said. "The offers we received made it more attractive for us to sell than to remain in these businesses."
The sale to two leading Japanese lenders brought a subdued reaction from racetrack executives in South Florida, including Hialeah Park owner John Brunetti, who had tangled with Firestone over racing dates ever since Firestone came on the scene nearly four years ago.
"It's unfortunate for the industry, and regardless of our differences I'd hate to see any extreme hardship exerted on the Firestones," Brunetti said. "This is not a high-five, thumbs-up, slam-dunk time. We've got a long way to go. We've got to go ahead and expand the industry."
Said Douglas Donn, who will be retained as president at Gulfstream: "I'm very fond of Bert and Diana Firestone. I'm not familiar with the circumstances involved and I'm not going to speculate on it."
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Arizona Cardinals coach Buddy Ryan, intent on restructuring his team's offense before next season, plans to make three prominent veterans available to the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL expansion draft in February.
Two days after the Cardinals ended their season with a 10-6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Ryan informed quarterback Steve Beuerlein and wide receivers Gary Clark and Ricky Proehl in private meetings yesterday that he plans to include them among the six players the team exposes in the veteran allocation draft.
"I was not surprised at all," Proehl said in a telephone interview from Phoenix. "I have had no contact with Buddy all year. As far as the offensive side goes, nobody has had much communication with him."
Sr. Mary Florence Lawrence SUSC in Fall River March 26, 2003 formerly known as Sr. Joseph Winifred. Daughter of the late Paul Lawrence and the late Mary (Hebert) Lawrence. Survived by several nieces and nephews, grand nieces and nephews among whom is Sr. Mary Margaret Rommal SUSC of Attleboro, MA and Marie Scheile of Baltimore, MDHer funeral will take place on Tuesday, April 1, 2003 at 4 p.m. from the Holy Union Convent, 570 Rock St. Fall River followed by a funeral mass at 5 p.m. in St. Mary's Cathedral Spring St. Fall River. Relatives and friends invited. Visiting hours Tues. 2-4:30 in the Holy Union Convent 570 Rock St. Fall River. In lieu of flowers, Memorial Contributions can be made to the Holy Union Sisters, P.O. Box 410, Milton, MA 02186-0006. Burial will be in the New Cathedral Cemetery in Baltimore, MD on Monday, April 7, 2003 at 9 a.m. Relatives and friends invited. Arrangements are in the care of the Jeffrey E. Sullivan Funeral Home, 550 Locust St., Fall River, MA.
Description - The dog is mostly black, but has a white patch on its chest. It looks like a pit bull but is a Lab mix. The 3-year-old is male and was wearing a thin black nylon collar. It answers to then name Hawk. A reward is offered.
SAN DIEGO — Carol Phinney thought nothing could be as painful as the death of her 2-year-old son--until the county said she killed him.
Phinney, a 28-year-old former Oceanside resident, was found innocent this week by a San Diego Superior Court jury of felony child abuse, a charge prosecutors pursued after a judge dismissed a murder charge against her in May.
After the jury returned its verdict, Judge Lawrence Kapiloff said the state owed Phinney an "abject apology" and that her ordeal "cries out for a civil action, and I hope you bring one."
"The pain was so deep I couldn't see," Phinney said of her feelings when she learned she was suspected of killing her son, Travis, whom she says she found unconscious in a bathtub five minutes after leaving him alone. At one point during her six-month ordeal, Phinney said she even tried to kill herself.
Now she is free, and she is suing the county for $1 million--in part because of what she contends was a careless autopsy on Travis that led the district attorney's office to prosecute her.
Phinney, her father, Donald Ozburn, and her attorney, David R. Thompson, said they hope her case will end the county coroner's practice of allowing doctors from Children's Hospital and Health Center of San Diego to perform autopsies on victims of suspected child abuse. Thompson says the hospital's doctors are overzealous in their pursuit of prosecutions.
"We think there's a need for the public to know the cost in human terms of something like this happening," Ozburn said. "The child abuse laws are being abused. It's like putting a gun in the hands of a kid."
"Child abuse is . . . obviously something that all of us should take seriously and want to remedy, (but) it still is no excuse for people not exercising their discretion in a more appropriate way," Kapiloff said. "I find it disgraceful that a woman has to be subjected to a case like this because of speculation on the part of too many people who are looking after their own jobs and their own economic interests."
Phinney's ordeal began last Labor Day, 10 days after she moved from Kansas City to an Oceanside condominium to "begin a new life" with Travis and her fiance, a moving-company truck driver.
That day, Phinney placed Travis in the bathtub after he had soiled his pants. She returned five minutes later to find her son face down and unconscious in three inches of water.
She called paramedics, who revived Travis and took him to Tri-City Hospital in Oceanside. Eventually, he was transferred to Children's Hospital, where he remained on a respirator in a medically induced coma until he died a month later from pneumonia, a complication of his treatment.
"Travis was my life," Phinney said in an interview after the verdict, her voice faint and cracking. "Not a day goes by that I don't think about him. He was bright. He sang. I taught him Spanish. He had rarely given me any problems. He was just one great big bundle of love."
Travis suffered from seizures the first three months of his life and took medication during that time. Doctors called as expert witnesses by the defense during the trial said the boy could have had a relapse in the bathtub.
Even before Travis died Oct. 9, pediatricians at Children's Hospital suspected that Phinney had struck or shaken him.
Although his body showed no bruises or other signs of mistreatment, the doctors said they wondered about the alcohol on Phinney's breath the day of the accident--which she says was from one glass of wine--and they said she told them she was irritated when Travis soiled his pants.
County social workers, nurses and doctors questioned the mother, but after she left for Missouri with her son's body on Oct. 12, she heard nothing more of the investigation.
Then, five months later, Phinney's former fiance--they had just separated--was stopped in Houston by police searching for her. A warrant had been issued for her arrest--on charges of murder and felony child abuse.
"She went overnight from a grieving mother to a fugitive from justice," said Ozburn, Phinney's father.
Phinney said she was seized by hysteria when she learned of the charges, and she hid with friends and relatives for two weeks. But after hiring an attorney she surrendered and returned to San Diego for trial.
Her parents mortgaged their house to raise money for legal fees, and Phinney, who returned to Kansas City after she was released on $10,000 bail, secluded herself in a bedroom--sulking, sobbing and wondering when, or if, she would ever be free.
"I kept myself away from people," Phinney said. "I wondered what people thought of me. I was very frightened."
Charges May Be Filed in '72 Death of Boy : Old crimes: Three-year-old Jon Gerrick died of head injuries. The death was listed as a possible homicide; the case was never closed.
December 20, 1987|James Ragan | Ragan, poet and author of "In the Talking Hours," directs USC's Professional Writing Program. and
If we adopt the view that the artist must "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable," then Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darweesh ranks as perhaps the most inspired of contemporary Arab poets.
A refugee at age 6, he relocated from his birthplace at Al-Birwa to Haifa, then to Beirut after repeated jailings, and finally to Europe. "Sand," his 11th volume, is a poignant chronicle of passage by a poet some call the heart and mind of the Palestinian people.
In the same way that Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai sees his own poetry as being "political by the nature of its affection," Darweesh, afflicted with the universal pain of exile, synthesizes bloodline nationalism with the sonorities of lyrical verse. Passion informs eloquence. As Darweesh says repeatedly in "Al-Mutanabi's Voyage Into Egypt," "My country is my latest poem."
Unlike the metaphor of shiftiness that the book's title exalts, "Sand" is a tribute to permanence, as monumental a study of nomadic identity as Seamus Heaney's "Station Island" is of Ulster's native-born one. For readers, a collective journey through Middle East dissolution; for Darweesh, a personal pilgrimage of endurance. The blessings of hope are not lost on the dead but endure in the living, he says in his long poem "Beirut." "Are we finished?/ No./ We will survive like ancient ruins do/ Like skulls we will keep shape."
And again in "The River Is the Stranger," irony, searing like a cut tongue, is soothed by lyrical images:
Suffering self-incrimination, Darweesh offers the panegyric, "On Fifth Avenue he greeted me," for a poet, once victimized by political torture, now imprisoned by the sterile comforts of Manhattan:
He laments the inconstancy of the peacemaker, who lacking will, is freer "in the prison cells of Nazareth" than in the Fifth Avenue world of ambivalence where "dawn does not sting/ Nor any star burn in this crowding."
His wasted lands are Baalbek, Beirut, and Jaffa where the "details of war" desensitize not only the transgressors but the transgressed.
"We use art as a moral statement," South African Nadine Gordimer says, "not morals as an artistic statement." Darweesh uses poetry to lift morality out from under "the cloak of desolation." "We seek rhythm in a store/ But cannot find it." This at a time when so few poets seem to be searching at all.
R.E.M., Aerosmith Biggest Winners at MTV Awards : Music: Michael and Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson open the show hosted by Roseanne. The late Kurt Cobain is remembered by Nirvana band mates. - latimes
R.E.M., Aerosmith Biggest Winners at MTV Awards : Music: Michael and Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson open the show hosted by Roseanne. The late Kurt Cobain is remembered by Nirvana band mates.
NEW YORK — R.E.M. won four MTV Video Music Awards and Aerosmith took three, including video of the year, during Thursday night's program that opened with Michael and Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson making their first live TV appearance as husband and wife.
Nirvana won the art direction and alternative music prizes, and upon getting the second award, Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl referred to singer Kurt Cobain's suicide earlier this year:
Later in the show, bassist Krist Novocelic introduced a special video montage shown as a paean to Cobain's work.
Aerosmith also won the group award as well as the viewers' choice award for "Cryin'," while the dance and R&B awards went to "Whatta Man" by Salt-N-Pepa, featuring En Vogue. And Counting Crows were selected best new artist in a video for "Mr. Jones."
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were voted best male video for "Mary Jane's Last Dance" and Petty himself took home the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for his overall career.
As the 11th annual program went on the air, the announcer intoned: "Please welcome Mr. and Mrs. Michael Jackson."
"I'm very happy to be here. And just think, nobody thought this would last," said Jackson, who then planted a big kiss on his wife to the squealing delight of the crowd.
They kept it in the family for the night's first award. Jackson's sister Janet snagged the female video prize for "If." She resisted any temptation she may have had to comment on her brother and new sister-in-law's kickoff to the show, just offering the usual thanks instead.
The night ended with another unlikely couple--late-night talk show host David Letterman and Madonna. She had left Letterman nonplussed when she had to be bleeped at least a dozen times during a guest spot on his show earlier this year. He has taken jokey jabs at her antics many times since.
Their joint appearance made it look like things were patched up, though he left her to present the video of the year award by herself.
The presenters of the rap prize--which went to Snoop Doggy Dogg's "Doggy Dogg World"--injected some politics into the affair.
With Flavor Flav's gyrating help, Chuck D averred that rap was no fad--as some people suggested--and that it offers a political forum.
Chuck D said the United States had its own political prisoners and they should be freed. Among those he named: former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, who's serving time in an Indiana prison for rape.
In presenting a lifetime achievement award to the Rolling Stones, Rolling Stone magazine publisher Jann Wenner talked about how much the enduring rock band had meant to him throughout his life.
"They've inspired me in word and deeds. I took their name for my magazine. And they mean more to me now than ever. I'm a total stone-cold Stones fan, and proud of it," Wenner said.
He then offered heartfelt thanks, concluding: "We've been doing this now for 30 years. It's a good way of making a living. I think we'll just keep on doing it."
Performing between the acceptance speeches was a musical smorgasbord: the Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Petty, the Beastie Boys, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Stone Temple Pilots, Boyz II Men, Salt-N-Pepa, Green Day and Smashing Pumpkins.
Best Video from a Film: Bruce Springsteen, "Streets of Philadelphia" (from the movie "Philadelphia")
Who Pays for Repairs Inside Rental Units? KEVIN POSTEMA, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES; Postema is the editor of Apartment Age magazine, a publication of the Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles, an apartment owners' service group
Get Cooling System in Shape for Summer GARY ABRAMS, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES; Abrams, a general contractor, has written on home improvement topics for The Times for six years
Sharing your living space with a child, while staying sane, can require some ingenuity SHERI ROSS GORDON, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES; Writer/editor Gordon is making room for baby in Culver City
Screechless in Seattle : And now for someone completely different: Pete Droge emerges from the hotbed of alternative rock with a troubadour's style. (He still wears plaid, though.) Robert Hilburn, Robert Hilburn is The Times' pop music critic
Seattle Troupe's Glass Slipper : Taking a break from its home base to fill in for the Joffrey Ballet, the Pacific Northwest Ballet brings 'Cinderella' to Orange County. Zan Dubin, Zan Dubin is a staff writer for The Times' Orange County edition
The Angriest Actor : Native American activist Russell Means focused his fierce will at Wounded Knee. Can a revolutionary co-exist with 'Pocahontas'? Elaine Dutka, Elaine Dutka is a Times staff writer
ART : An Artist Finds His Place in the World : Obsessed with maps, Guillermo Kuitca makes self-scrutinizing works that are leading art mavens to his Buenos Aires base. Leah Ollman, Leah Ollman is a free-lance art writer based in San Diego.
Colorizing a Classic in San Diego : With a black 'Hedda Gabler,' director Sheldon Epps pursues his goal of bringing more artists of color to the Old Globe. Jan Breslauer, Jan Breslauer is a regular contributor to Calendar
TECHNOLOGY : Erasing Our Videotape Waste : Recycling videocassettes may not be the biggest moneymaker, but green-minded entrepreneurs have found that keeping all that plastic out of landfills can be priceless to the environment. Jerry Crowe, Jerry Crowe is a Times staff writer
ART : A Private World of Women : Annette Messager makes art about women's rituals, the secrets they develop in a world of male privilege. Just don't call her a feminist. Kristine McKenna, Kristine McKenna is a regular contributor to Calendar
COVER STORY : Common Cos : Every year, one of the most powerful men in show biz relinquishes the spotlight to a few of his musician friends. Hey, hey, hey, it's Bill Cosby, your humble Playboy Jazz Fest host. Don Heckman, Don Heckman is The Times' jazz writer
More Mr. Nice Guy : Chris O'Donnell is having quite a year. First 'Circle of Friends,' then 'Mad Love,' and now 'Batman Forever.' How can the Caped Crusader's high-flying sidekick be so down-to-earth? David Kronke, David Kronke is a regular contributor to Calendar
Unsinkable Molly Brown's Legacy Lives On in Leadville : Colorado: Old mining town is used to ups and downs, and currently is on its way up from one of its worst depressions. But, like the woman of local legend, it refuses to quit. These days, it's struck a rich vein--urban flight, with a dash of tourism. ROBERT WELLER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Time for Growth and Anticipation : Thousand Oaks: James Azevedo's sixth-graders at Park Oaks have been put to the test as they move toward the challenges that lie ahead. TRACY WILSON, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Simi Trustees Appear to Favor School Conversion : Education: Board votes Monday on a plan to add ninth-graders to four-year campuses by making Sequoia Junior High a magnet high school. IRA E. STOLL, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
NEWS ANALYSIS : Decision on Chief Puts Riordan in Tough Bind : LAPD: Upholding Police Commission's rebuke of popular Williams could hurt mayor politically. Rejecting it could undermine panel's credibility. JEAN MERL and JOHN SCHWADA, TIMES STAFF WRITERS
Bill Would End Mayor's Raid on DWP to Expand Police : If Senate approves the measure, already passed by the Assembly, there will be no more donations to the city of 5% of the utility's revenues. LEON FURGATCH, Leon Furgatch is a retired manager of community relations and educational services for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Allen, on Home Turf, Affirms GOP Commitment : Politics: New Assembly Speaker, whose deals with Democrats have enraged some fellow Republicans, addresses a placid crowd at a Los Alamitos fair. LISA RICHARDSON, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Crackdowns on Speeders Only the Start : Checkpoints and enforcement in West Valley are not enough; self-policing may be needed
COMMENTARY ON COUNTY GOVERNMENT : 'R' Is for Recovery but Don't Neglect Restructuring and Reform : The ballot measure is necessary for short-term fiscal health. After that, we need to tackle the long-term task of reshaping bureaucracy. But it will take guts and fresh thinking. KEITH BOYUM and SID GARDNER, Keith Boyum is a professor of political science, and Sid Gardner is director of the Center for Collaboration for Children at Cal State Fullerton. and
Much at Stake in Bill to Kill 'Hidden Tax' : Impact of eliminating utility's 'surplus' transfer to L.A. needs to be scrutinized in Senate
Class Takes First Steps on Road to College : Learning: An after-school program in Boyle Heights tries to guide inner-city elementary students toward higher education. STEPHEN GREGORY, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
A behind-the-scenes look at Orange County's political life : Allen Is No Puppet, Onetime Opponent Gil Ferguson Contends
A Recycler Wonders: Whose Trash Is It, Anyway? : The weekly theft of curbside newspapers by a scavenger prompts one resident to examine the city's shifting attitude toward its garbage. JANET BERNSON, Janet Bernson is a free-lance writer who lives in Sherman Oaks
Class of '95 Experienced a Period of Much Change : CSUN graduates move on, better prepared for life's realities, having seen a regional recession, a dramatic upheaval in campus diversity and much more. VEDA WARD, Veda Ward is professor of leisure studies and recreation at Cal State Northridge. The university's spring commencement ceremonies were held May 31 through June 2.
Police Thinking First About the Fourth : Law enforcement: Huntington and Newport are already making plans to avert holiday violence. LEE ROMNEY, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Mexican History With French Accent : Culture: Architecture and baguettes hint at Santa Rosalia's past. Such sights are unexpected on this peninsula, where fishing villages and desert flora are the norm. ERNEST SANDER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Equipping Playgrounds for the Big Kids on the Block : Recreation: Brightly colored facilities in Palmdale and one opening soon at a Santa Clarita park are designed specifically for teen-agers. MAKI BECKER, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Bankruptcy Will Have Subtle Effect on Schools : Education: Fallout won't be as severe as first feared, but it will hurt curriculum development, supplies and other areas. SHELBY GRAD and RUSS LOAR, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Gauging Success as School Year Ends : Education: A dedicated teacher feels pride as she realizes her fifth-graders have met her high expectations and are ready for middle school in the fall. FRED ALVAREZ, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Woman Slain on Her Morning Jog : Violence: Flight attendant is shot in the face less than a block from her Fountain Valley home when she refuses to get into the gunman's car. LILY DIZON, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Clinton Seeks Strict Drunk Driving Laws : Public safety: He urges states to get tough with teen-agers who hit the road under the influence. His crusade is latest in political contest on family values. ELIZABETH SHOGREN, TIMES STAFF WRITER
COLUMN ONE : Wilson's Growing Payroll : Despite claims to shrink government, he has boosted the number of political appointees since his predecessor. His aides say the increase is in response to new demands. PAUL JACOBS and MARK GLADSTONE, TIMES STAFF WRITERS
NBA Stars, Legends Lead Hoops Camp : Recreation: Three-day workshop for inner-city youths will mix basketball with education. LA TEEL FRIERSON, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Team Granville : Ever Since He Was in Grade School, Michael Granville and His Father and Coach, Michael Sr., Have Charted a Careful, If Unorthodox, Course For the Budding Track Superstar. Will the Next Stop Be the '96 Olympics in Atlanta? KIRBY LEE
Support Sluggish for O.C. Tax Hike : Bankruptcy: A June 27 ballot proposal to generate bailout funds does not have a majority, a Times poll finds. But 15% remain undecided. REBECCA TROUNSON and PETER WARREN, TIMES STAFF WRITERS
Accord Close on N. Korean Nuclear Pact : Asia: U.S. negotiators in Malaysia confirm breakthrough in stalled deal on reactors, weapons program that was signed last year. Agreement would avert threatened confrontation. ART PINE, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Fears for Security All But Push Public's Art Out of Public View : Washington: Many federal buildings are themselves treasures of art and architecture. Murals both stark and ennobling adorn walls and ceilings, but the days when people could stroll in are gone. CALVIN WOODWARD, ASSOCIATED PRESS
San Diego Court Calls Halt to 'International' Child Molester : Crime: He was a collector of lewd photographs of young men and boys, and an American who became a Canadian citizen despite a pending U.S. arrest warrant. Then he crossed the border to get a good price on film developing. ERNEST SANDER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kidnaped Youths Returned to U.S. Mother : Balkans: She never gave up hope. Children are found in Yugoslavia 6 years after Serbian father lost custody. CHRISTINE SPOLAR, THE WASHINGTON POST
Youngsters Falling Prey to Seducers in Computer Web : Crime: Once candy was the lure. Now strangers are using cyberspace e-mail to attract minors into harm's way. KIM MURPHY, TIMES STAFF WRITER
THE TIMES ORANGE COUNTY POLL : Measure R Still Falling Well Short of Majority : Survey of both all voters and likely voters shows tax increase in trouble. Undecideds could make difference. REBECCA TROUNSON and PETER M. WARREN, TIMES STAFF WRITERS
Early Alzheimer's Diagnosis Lets Its Victims Call Devil by Name : Disease: Once-full lives slip away, and knowing why isn't always comfort. But support groups can help patients retain their dignity. ANDREA HAMILTON, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Right Medicine for Sick Animals : Pets: About 500 trauma centers treat victims of car accidents, poisonings, shootings and sudden life-threatening illnesses. Care is often superior, but costs can be steep. MICHAEL PEARSON, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Simpson Case Already Is Rewriting the Rule Book : Law: In a year since the murders, trial's impact is seen in juries, courtroom TV and the legal system itself. HENRY WEINSTEIN and TIM RUTTEN, TIMES STAFF WRITERS
Lima's Wetlands Park Is Facing an Urban Siege : Peru: Developers and landowners try to grab pieces of 'Little Everglades.' Surrounding poverty also has an impact. LYNN F. MONAHAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Giant 'Tinkertoy' to Come Together in Orbit : NASA: International space station will be launched bit by bit, by various nations. Project is to be completed in 2002. MARCIA DUNN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Foam Sticks to It When It Counts Most : Weapons: The gooey substance forms barrier between combatants and is one of several non-lethal tools. Police, military could be customers. SUE MAJOR HOLMES, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Plugged In to Learning : Museum's Education Director Expands Programs to Spark Youths' Interest in Science As director of education at the California Museum of Science and Industry, Carol J. Valenta shares with children the excitement of learning about science. She tells writer Catherine Gewertz how she has expanded student programs and what is still to come at the museum in Exposition Park. and
Victorious Holden Makes a Pledge on Own Terms : Elections: 10th District councilman promises to be more responsive to constituents during last tenure. But some residents remain skeptical. PETER Y. HONG, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Hollywood Helps to Polish a Local Diamond : Recreation: The baseball field at Helen Keller Park in Athens has been restored, thanks to a TV producer who enlisted financial help from his industry colleagues. STEPHEN GREGORY, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
TRACK AND FIELD : Scott, Pentecost Win After Taking Setbacks in Stride : State championships: The Fremont junior wins long jump title despite a groin injury. And the senior from Loyola captures shotput event after failing to qualify for the discus. KIRBY LEE, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
The Simpson Trial : Will There Be Life in Court After the Jury Dwindles to 11? Charles L. Lindner, Charles L. Lindner is former president of the Los Angeles County Criminal Bar Assn.
Livermore Lab to the Rescue. . . Next for Ward Valley? : Babbit breaks a promise, but a bad deal may not yet be a done deal
Gays Won't Take Clinton's Betrayal Lightly : Gay rights: He will pay for refusing even a 'friend of court' gesture in Colorado case. ROBERT DAWIDOFF, Robert Dawidoff is the co-author with Michael Nava of "Created Equal: Why Gay Rights Matter to America" (St. Martin's Press). He is a professor of history at the Claremont Graduate School.
The Business of Culture : A Moral Crusade Better Aimed at Old Hollywood Joel Kotkin, Joel Kotkin, a contributing editor to Opinion, is a fellow of Pepperdine University and business-trends analyst for KTTV
Campus Correspondent : Squeezing the Middle Class Out of Private Universities Julie Salamunovich, Julie Salamunovich is a sophomore majoring in public policy at the University of Chicago. She attended Alexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles
PERSPECTIVE ON MEXICO : Hands-Off President Is in a Bind : In shedding the traditional role as head of his party, Zedillo has left local politicos to run amok. WAYNE A. CORNELIUS, Wayne A. Cornelius is director of studies and programs in the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at UC San Diego.
In the '90s, Prisons Come Before Schools : The young, who know trends, see that the only jobs in social services will be behind bars. Ruth Rosen, Ruth Rosen, a professor of history at UC Davis, writes regularly on politics and culture. and
The Dream of a Central City : The Gateway project seeks to re-energize Downtown Los Angeles as a commercial and transportation hub for the next century. But will the city rediscover its center? Kevin Starr, Kevin Starr, a contributing editor to Opinion, is the state Librarian of California and a teacher at USC. His new book "The Dream Endures: California Through the Great Depression" will be released this fall by Oxford University Press.
Stimulating Japan's Economy, Not Tariffs, Will Open Up Its Markets Charles Wolf Jr., Charles Wolf Jr. is dean of the RAND Graduate School of Policy Studies.
How to Live With a Hobbesian Choice Henry A. Kissinger, Former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger frequently writes for The Times.
Kelly Slater's the World-Champion Surfer With All the Perks. So, Why Isn't He Having More Fun? : Different Office, Different Stress DAVID SHEFF, David Sheff, who lives in Northern California, is a free-lance writer and a contributing editor to Playboy. He is also a bad but dedicated surfer.
The Mayor's Midterm Exam : How Far Has Richard Riordan Moved the City Since he Became Mayor? An Evaluation of L.A. Inc. After Two Years. Jean Merl, Jean Merl covers the Riordan Administration for The Times. Staff writer John Schwada contributed to this story
'The Old Boys Network Mentality' : Golf: Twenty of 42 private courses in Los Angeles and Orange counties deny women tee times on Saturday mornings, an AP review reveals. DAVID KLIGMAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Monroe Steals Show in Cameo : Auto racing: Malibu racer's starts are infrequent but he makes an impact in rare appearance at Saugus. BRYAN RODGERS, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
West Passed in Second Half : All-star football: Two touchdown throws by Spruill help East overcome 9-0 halftime deficit. VINCE KOWALICK, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Wraps Taken Off Training Center : Olympics: At a cost of $65 million, 150-acre site near San Diego joins Lake Placid, N.Y., and Colorado Springs as training facilities. BOB WOLF, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Graf Fit Enough in Paris : French Open: She confirms her recovery from injury and illness by running around Sanchez Vicario in final. JULIE CART, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Horry Powers Rockets Forward : NBA finals: Still bothered by failed Piston trade, he says Houston "wouldn't be in this position now without me." SCOTT HOWARD-COOPER, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Thunder Gulch Gives Lukas First Quintuple Crown : Belmont Stakes: Winner's time is slow, but it's five in a row for trainer in Triple Crown races. BILL CHRISTINE, TIMES STAFF WRITER
It's Title Time for the Titans : Baseball: Kotsay hits two homers and pitches final five outs of 11-5 victory over USC in College World Series. GARY KLEIN, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Weekend Escape: Morro Bay : A family trip to the Central California Coast in a rented motor home goes off without a hitch ROBIN GREENE, Greene is a free-lance writer based in Thousand Oaks. and
Scouting the islands for unusual treats-to-go, from guava grilling sauce to Maui champagne RITA ARIYOSHI, Ariyoshi is a Honolulu-based free - lance writer. and
A Pooch in Paradise : Living it up at Oahu's quarantine station JEANNE APOSTOL, Apostol, a television producer, commutes between Los Angeles and Kiev. Beaumont will spend the summer in Kiev and retire, at age 11, to Malibu. and
Destination: Oahu : Inside Tracks : A local family's favorite hiking trails, with a waterfall and shave ice as rewards MARY KAYE RITZ, Ritz is an assistant features editor at the Honolulu Advertiser. and
Hawaii's Best Beaches : Longtime Island Residents Reveal Their Sentimental Favorites SUSAN ESSOYAN, Essoyan, a Honolulu-based writer, is a second-generation Hawaii resident. and
Oklahoma City: A Different Story JUDITH FREEMAN, Judith Freeman's new novel will be published by Pantheon next year
General Hood's Road to Golgotha : The last doomed offensive mounted by the South : SHROUDS OF GLORY: From Atlanta to Nashville: The Last Great Campaign of the Civil War, By Winston Groom (Grove/Atlantic: $23; 308 pp.) Paul Hemphill, Paul Hemphill's "Leaving Birmingham: Notes of a Native Son," is now out in paperback from Penguin
An Island Just Jiving in Place : Novel of tropical city's decay teems with desire : CUBA AND THE NIGHT, By Pico Iyer (Alfred A. Knopf: $22; 256 pp.) Andrew Coe, Andrew Coe is the author of the new "Passport Guide to Cuba" (NTC) and a recent article in the Los Angeles Times Magazine on the Cuban numbers racket
Women Who Run With Virginia Woolf : A rich, frank appraisal of the writer and her eclectic circle : VIRGINIA WOOLF, By James King (W.W. Norton & Co.: $35; 720 pp.) Lucinda Irwin Smith, Lucinda Irwin Smith is the author of "Women Who Write," Volumes I & II (Simon & Schuster)
An Act of Silence : Jewish poet expresses himself in the language of his tormentors--his language : PAUL CELAN: Poet, Survivor, Jew, By John Felstiner (Yale University Press: $30; 344 pp.) RICHARD EDER
Lytton Strachey Redux : Is yet a third version of the writer's biography really necessary? : LYTTON STRACHEY: The New Biography, By Michael Holroyd (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $35; 780 pp., color and black and white photos) Peter Stansky, Peter Stansky teaches British history at Stanford University. Next year, Harvard University Press will publish his " On or About December 1910: Early Bloomsbury and Its Intimate World. "
A Whole Life in a Shoe Box : Stops at the moral crossroads along life's bumpy road : CHOICES, By Mary Lee Settle (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: $24.95; 376 pp.) Valerie Cornell, Valerie Cornell lives in New York and is completing a novel
TEL AVIV — The saddest and perhaps most telling moment came even before the Labor Party vote that denied former Prime Minister Shimon Peres an honorary position as party president.
In a bitter speech just before party convention delegates voted this week on whether to discuss appointing him to the new post, Peres, who led Labor to five election defeats, asked rhetorically: "Am I a loser?"
"Yes," came the humiliating response, shouted by a handful of delegates throughout the crowded auditorium.
Party members then effectively killed the presidency proposal, voting overwhelmingly to put off debate on it until well after a new party leadership is chosen next month. Peres had said earlier that unless the vote was held during the party's three-day convention, which ends today, he would not accept the position.
The loss, underscored by the insult from party members, marked an ignominious end to Peres' formal leadership of Labor, which will choose its new chairman and candidate for prime minister June 3. The decisive vote was also a key victory for former army Chief of Staff Ehud Barak, the man heavily favored to succeed Peres as party leader.
To some extent at least, Peres brought the rejection upon himself, stubbornly struggling to hang on to a policymaking role after being turned out of office in last year's election loss to Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
"I have a title and I have a job," he said Wednesday. "The title is Shimon Peres, and the job is to fight for peace."
Nonetheless, the convention vote spells "the end of the prolonged end" for Peres, said Avraham Burg, a Peres confidant and former parliament member. "Shimon Peres' political end came with the results of the election last year, but he tried to hold on to the leadership. It didn't work."
In his own convention speech, Barak praised Peres for his "experience, inspiration and greatness" but argued that naming him to Labor's presidency would create rival centers of power in the party.
Many attending the convention here, even some who voted with Barak, appeared ill at ease with the infighting that preceded the vote and with the decision to close the door on a distinguished party elder.
"Why is Shimon humiliating himself like this?" asked Barak delegate Yudit Gal, 40. "I love him very much, but it's time for him to go."
Lawmaker Ophir Pines, who wore a Barak sticker, called the episode a tragedy for Peres and the party.
"Shimon Peres is a great man, but he doesn't know how to draw the lines for himself, when to leave political life," Pines said. "We want to give him all the honor, all the influence, but we cannot give him any more the leadership of this party."
Even as it turns to a new generation of leaders, however, the Labor Party signaled it will continue on the peace-making course set by Peres and others.
For the first time, delegates approved adding to its platform a statement recognizing the Palestinian right to self-determination, including the establishment of a Palestinian state with limited sovereignty.
Such a state, the party said, would not be allowed to have an army, to establish military alliances with other nations or to control its own airspace. That platform plank was similar to statements made in recent months by Netanyahu and other senior officials within his Likud-led government.
Peres, 73, an architect of the Israeli-Palestinian peace accords, won a Nobel Peace Prize for that achievement, sharing the honor with the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat. Peres served twice as prime minister, first in a power-sharing arrangement with the Likud Party in the 1980s, then again after Rabin was assassinated in 1995.
But he never led the party to victory in his own right, marring his illustrious political and diplomatic career with the stigma of a perennial also-ran.
He waited until September to announce that he would not run again for prime minister and then flirted openly for months with the idea of joining Netanyahu in a national unity government to rescue the flagging peace process.
After Netanyahu's government was tainted this spring by an influence-peddling scandal, Peres, prodded by other Labor Party leaders, finally said he would no longer consider a partnership.
His supporters, chiefly Labor Party General Secretary Nissim Zvili, then came up with the plan to create the new position for him.
But Barak sought to ensure that the post would hold no real power, and Peres said he would not consider a role without authority.
Supporters insisted after the vote that Peres could continue to contribute, particularly to the peace process that he nurtured with creativity and passion.
"The world belongs to the young," delegate Avraham Levi, 62, said sadly as he sat alone during a break. "Not to me and not to him."
Rabin, Peres and Arafat Share Nobel : Honor: Peace prize awarded for historic agreement between Israel and Palestinians. But soldier's abduction creates strain between parties.
Errors: Floridians drew stars, circles and Xs. They used pens instead of pencils. Many tried to pick two, three or all 10 presidential candidates.
WASHINGTON — One Florida voter penned a plaintive plea on a presidential ballot: "I forgot my glasses and cannot see this. Please put Bush down for my vote."
That Bay County ballot wasn't counted last year. Nor was a Jackson County ballot on which someone had circled Al Gore's name, aimed huge arrows at it and wrote Gore in the "write-in" slot. That voter's mistake: not darkening the oval beside Gore's name.
Floridians wrongly drew stars, circles and Xs on ballots. They used pens instead of pencils, or red ink instead of blue. They tried to erase errors, or fix them with tape or staples. They tried to vote for pro golfer Tiger Woods and Cuban shipwreck survivor Elian Gonzalez. Many tried in vain--and in error--to vote for two, three or even all 10 presidential candidates.
Bizarre ballots, creaky machines, cranky officials and vague laws all contributed to Florida's nightmare election. But a detailed review of 175,010 uncounted ballots by The Times and other media organizations shows how many voters simply messed up.
Researchers from the National Opinion Research Center reviewed 61,190 "undervotes"--ballots rejected by machines or canvassing boards because no clear choice for president was evident. They also inspected 113,820 "overvotes"--ballots tossed aside because more than one presidential candidate appeared to be marked.
A surprising number of people--28,340, or nearly half the undervotes--chose no one for president. A few explained why on the ballot by writing, "None of the above," or even, "Terrible choice!"
But the vast majority of the uncounted ballots suggest people tried to vote. Most, in fact, tried several times.
A Franklin County voter, for example, marked nine of the 10 ovals for president on an optical scan ballot, leaving only the Bush selection blank. Was this voter trying to choose anyone but Bush? Or trying to omit everyone but Bush?
Either way, he or she was not alone: 3,616 uncounted Florida ballots had nine filled ovals and a blank for Bush. And 725 others showed nine filled ovals and a blank for Gore.
Florida law last year required county officials to consider a voter's "intent" when reviewing a disputed ballot but gave little guidance about how to do so. The result: Counties disagreed wildly or even changed rules in mid-count.
Take "double-bubble" votes. Optical-scan tabulating machines automatically rejected paper ballots on which a voter properly darkened an oval by a candidate's name but then filled in a second bubble and wrote in the same name on the ballot in the space for write-in candidates.
Although officials in 34 counties subsequently decided the voter's intent was clear in such cases and counted such votes, officials in at least seven counties did not. The result: 1,344 double-bubble ballots were discarded, with Gore the net loser of as many as 288 valid votes.
Escambia County, a Republican stronghold near the Alabama border, went both ways. County machines rejected double-bubble ballots cast in the precincts, costing Gore as many as 67 votes. But county officials later decided to count the same type of marks as valid on absentee ballots, many from military personnel, who tended to favor Bush.
To ease voting lines and save the cost of extra ballots--at 23 cents apiece--Escambia County officials turned off a counting machine feature that spits out spoiled ballots so voters can correct their mistakes. As a result, 3,680 ballots that were marked more than once were accepted but not counted. However, county officials hand-copied absentee ballots that were torn or not properly marked so that they could be counted. Such actions were legal but show how arbitrary decisions affected the race for the White House.
Some inspected ballots that were rejected by machines. Others inspected only clearly damaged ballots. Some counted absentee ballots without postmarks. Others rejected them. At least two counties put white stickers over obvious mistakes. But as many as two dozen boards declined to examine any of the uncounted ballots.
Twenty-four counties, including the five most populous, used punch card ballots. Most had tiny numbers, but no names, beside pre-cut ballot perforations called chads. The voter was supposed to slide the ballot into a metal sleeve with the candidates' names, then poke out the corresponding chad with a metal stylus. Several counties used a variation with the candidates' names printed beside the chads.
The counties using punch card systems saw the greatest number of spoiled or under-marked ballots--143,235--as voters failed to poke out a chad properly or poked out too many. Some apparently forced ballots upside-down into sleeves. Many ignored the sleeve and poked out chads with no corresponding candidates. Some ignored the stylus and used pens to circle the numbers.
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan — U.S. troops have destroyed the largest cache of explosives yet found in Afghanistan: hundreds of 500-pound bombs buried in a dry riverbed near Kandahar, the military said Friday.
The cache of 420 air-to-ground bombs was found in the Dori River channel last month, but it took munitions experts weeks to examine the explosives and decide how to proceed, Air Force Maj. Steve Clutter said at Bagram air base, the U.S. military headquarters in Afghanistan.
After evacuating residents, demolition teams used 30,000 pounds of C-4 explosive to destroy the bombs in a single blast Thursday. Army photos of the explosion showed a huge mushroom cloud.
Experts determined that the bombs were not stable enough to be moved and decided to string them together with explosives to destroy them all at once, Army Maj. Richard Patterson said. Troops warned village elders about the demolition, and an aircraft was sent to patrol the area around the blast, he said.
Would you want to watch professional gamers play the games that they are best at? Most people wouldn’t be interested in this kind of voyeurism, but the 50 million people that use Twitch are more than interested in doing just that - watching gamers play. Amazon has just purchased Twitch for a cool $1 billion too, so there’s definitely something to Twitch that many are missing.
Twitch lets gamers film themselves playing various popular video games via live stream. That stream is then shared with the millions of people that use Twitch. Granted, this is a very small and targeted market - mostly competitive gamers - but seeing how a champ plays a game like Dota 2 could mean picking up some important moves.
The other advantage to seeing how competitive gamers play is that Twitch allows competitors to study the competition - much like an NFL team would study the movements of another team. But, why would Amazon want to spend so much money on a company like Twitch?
Amazon has recently started a division called Amazon Game Studios. Amazon’s Game Studios solely makes video games for Fire tablets. Aligning with the Twitch team would mean having a broader audience for various Fire games down the line. There’s another reason why Amazon wants Twitch too - advertising.
Amazon can now advertise to millions of Twitch viewers, and that’s big money for the company. Amazon is looking to compete with Google head-on by purchasing Twitch, since all the ads currently running on Twitch are Google ads, but this won’t be the case for long. According to various resources, Google was actually going to purchase Twitch, but the company pulled out of that race citing something to do with security issues (though some rumours point to the fact that Google couldn’t own Twitch and YouTube due to monopolization issues).
For the most part, Twitch will stay intact, though Amazon will be making some changes to the ad structure and to other parts of the service. The team, format, and other details won’t change. Buying Twitch certainly gives Amazon a strong foothold when it comes to getting in front of online gamers - Google already has YouTube, which is also a popular arena for competitive gaming videos, and now Amazon will have Twitch, which is the second most popular way of checking out gaming video details.
If you do use Twitch currently, you have nothing to really worry about. The ads that Google once ran on the site are now going to be replaced by Amazon ads, but most people won’t notice the difference. As stated, Amazon doesn’t plan to change Twitch around too much, so most of what you already know and love will remain as is. If you haven’t checked out Twitch yet, you can do so by visiting the company’s site - only, now the young startup is owned by Amazon, which payed off well for Twitch developers to say the least.
Alex J. Wasowski, 88, formerly of South Bend, passed away at 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1, in Valley View Health Care Center, Elkhart, Ind.
Alex was born on July 17, 1917, in South Bend, to Jacob and Mary (Grzeskowski) Wasowski. His parents and brothers, Casimer, Leo and Nick, have all preceded him in death.
On Sept. 14, 1946, in South Bend, Alex married Loretta H. Cwiklinski. She survives along with daughters, Peggy (Dennis) Jarusewic of Granger and Joan (Gregory) Wittner of Mishawaka; sons, Larry (Mary Ellen) of Pineville, N.C., and Jerry (Tami) of Granger; grandchildren, Bridget Wasowski of Pineville, N.C., Bryan, Missy and Erin Jarusewic of Granger, Lindsay and Karly Wasowski of Granger, and Ryan (Brandy Thompson) Wittner of Mishawaka; and a sister, Dorothy Taylor of South Bend.
Alex was a steel fabricator at Industrial Metal Fab in South Bend before retiring in 1982. He was a member of St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr, served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II, and belonged to American Legion Post 357.
A memorial service will be celebrated on Saturday, Feb. 4, at 10 a.m. in St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr. A private burial will take place at a later date at St. Joseph Cemetery, South Bend. ST. JOSEPH FUNERAL HOME, 824 S. Mayflower Road, South Bend, is assisting the family with the arrangements.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Service of Northern Indiana, 922 E. Colfax Ave., South Bend.
For those who are unable to attend the memorial service for Alex, condolences for the family may be sent to www.sjfh.net.
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