Tributes to Hip-Hop Pioneers Help Cultivate New Messages

Abstract: Whenever Victor Arzu approaches the corner of East 169th Street and Franklin Avenue in his grandmother’s neighborhood, Morrisania, in the South Bronx, he usually takes a moment to check out some posters on a wall depicting the hip-hop artist Grandmaster Flash. Right underneath the image, in stencil-like lettering, the poster tells him: “Grandmaster Flash played the records they clapped for/ back when the dancefloor was packed at the Black Door.” “I was like, wow, I didn’t know he was from around here,” said Mr. Arzu, who, at 19, is too young to remember the days in the ’70s when that artist first started entertaining crowds at a small club on Boston Road, just a block away, called the Black Door. The poster did not exactly announce where the Black Door had been, but Mr. Arzu gathered it must have been nearby. Mr. Arzu, who lives in the Forest Houses, a public housing project in the Bronx, had seen similar posters of the hip-hop artist Fat Joe in his own neighborhood, where he knew that artist had grown up. He figured the posters in his grandmother’s neighborhood were doing the same thing, commemorating a local legend. Mr. Arzu had no idea who had put the posters up, but he was glad they did. “It goes to show that when hip-hop started, that a lot of greats came from here in the Bronx,” he said. “It makes me proud.” The origin of the posters, which were posted last November in 10 historical hip-hop sites around the city, is not exactly what you would call street. Claudia Bernett and Masha Ioveva, two multimedia artists at R/GA, a digital advertising agency near Times Square, were inspired by a request from the Bronx Council on the Arts (which ultimately had no hand in their project) to generate a digital experience for the borough that would celebrate its culture. They decided to create posters that would showcase the hip-hop history of the Bronx, and that would also invite passers-by to add their own rhymes by text message to Bronxrhymes.org , creating a virtual space for rhyming battles. The two women, using funding they received from a digital arts organization, hired a designer to work up the posters, and asked a work colleague, an informal hip-hop obsessive named Steve Caputo, to work up the rhymes. The two women had approached a few hip-hop artists, and one did deliver a few. “But Steve’s were better,” said Ms. Bernett. The humor in their devotion to the project wasn’t lost on Ms. Bernett. “There we were one Saturday morning, three white girls, two of whom are Bulgarian” — Ms. Ioveva, who is Bulgarian, brought a friend — “out there wheat-pasting posters, driving around in some Mazda rental car,” she recalled. The making of history is one thing; the memorializing of it is another, and the people responsible for each contribution often have little to do with each other, except, ideally, a mutual appreciation. But it can be a tricky, redundant business, bringing history to the people who lived it. A sign in Morrisania pointing out that Grandmaster Flash used to live there must feel, to a lot of its 40-something residents, a little bit like a sign on Pennsylvania Avenue pointing out that President Reagan used to work nearby. Did Hakim Milton, a 44-year-old man walking down Boston Road, know that Grandmaster Flash used to play at the Black Door down the street? “Yeah, and he lived right down there,” he said, pointing to an apartment building a block or two away. “And I used to see him play in the park.” Near the Franklin Avenue Armory shelter, some Bronx Rhymes posters, now tattered, commemorate the time that the rap artist KRS-One spent living at the shelter. A man sitting in an S.U.V. down the street on Saturday afternoon — “Call me Mr. Smith,” he requested — was asked if he had known that KRS-One used to stay there. “Yes, I did,” he said. How did he come to learn this bit of hip-hop trivia? “I used to see him walking in and out of it,” he said. “I live right down the street.” As much as he admired KRS-One’s work, he wouldn’t say if the posters had moved him one way or the other. “Doesn’t change my life one bit,” he said. “He got out, God bless him. I’m still here.” The Web site hasn’t exactly taken off the way that Ms. Bernett and Ms. Ioveva imagined it might. So far, they’re not sure that even one passer-by has been inspired by one of their posters to text-message a rhyme. But because of some percolating buzz in the blogosphere about their project, people interested in the subject have sent in a few rhymes. Ms. Bernett and Ms. Ioveva expect the interest will only continue to grow, long after the last of the posters has been torn down or beaten down by weather. The project may have its physical grounding in the Bronx, where the history is familiar to a lot of the locals, but the hope is that the information it disseminates will go mainstream, much like hip-hop itself, informing, however subtly, the way that people think about the Bronx, about art, and the recent past. “Keeping it real, homeless was his deal,” reads one rhyme posted on the site, about KRS-One. Another reads, “This site is wack, gotta get back, to what is real, ya know the deal?” Call it historical discourse, hip-hop style.

Bronx (NYC)
Rap Music
Posters
Text Messaging


Pakistani Journalist Speaks Out After an Attack

Abstract: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — An investigative reporter for a major Pakistani newspaper was on his way home from dinner here on a recent night when men in black commando garb stopped his car, blindfolded him and drove him to a house on the outskirts of town. There, he says, he was beaten and stripped naked. His head and eyebrows were shaved, and he was videotaped in humiliating positions by assailants who he and other journalists believe were affiliated with the country’s powerful spy agency. At one point, while he lay face down on the floor with his hands cuffed behind him, his captors made clear why he had been singled out for punishment: for writing against the government. “If you can’t avoid rape,” one taunted him, “enjoy it.” The reporter, Umar Cheema, 34, had written several articles for The News that were critical of the Pakistani Army in the months preceding the attack. His ordeal was not uncommon for a journalist or politician who crossed the interests of the military and intelligence agencies, the centers of power even in the current era of civilian government, reporters and politicians said. What makes his case different is that Mr. Cheema has spoken out about it, describing in graphic detail what happened in the early hours of Sept. 4, something rare in a country where victims who suspect that their brutal treatment was at the hands of government agents often choose, out of fear, to keep quiet. “I have suspicions and every journalist has suspicions that all fingers point to the ISI,” Mr. Cheema said, using the acronym for the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, the institution that the C.I.A. works with closely in Pakistan to hunt militants. The ISI is an integral part of the Pakistani Army; its head, Gen. Shuja Ahmed Pasha, reports to the army chief of staff, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. Officials at the American Embassy said they interviewed Mr. Cheema this week, and sent a report of his account to the State Department. In response to an e-mail for comment, a spokesman for the ISI said, “They are nothing but allegations with no substance or truth.” Mr. Cheema had won a Daniel Pearl Journalism Fellowship to train foreign journalists in 2008 and worked in The New York Times newsroom for six months at that time. He has worked at The News since 2007. In interviews, he said his car was stopped near his home in the capital by men with the words “no fear” inscribed on their clothes. Once he was blindfolded and driven to the safe house, he was handed over to another group of men who carried out the abuse, he said. After six hours, he was dumped on a road 100 miles from the capital, Islamabad. Mr. Cheema says he wrote more than 50 articles this year that questioned various aspects of the conduct of the military and the government, including corruption accusations against the president, Asif Ali Zardari. But it was three articles in particular, in June, July and August, on delicate internal army problems that appear to have angered the military. One article reported on the sensitive issue of the courts-martial of two army commandos who refused to obey orders and join the assault on a radical mosque and school in Islamabad in 2007. The attack was believed at the time to be unpopular in the army ranks because many soldiers were reluctant to fire on fellow Muslims. Moreover, courts-martial are rarely mentioned in the Pakistani news media, and reporters have been warned not to write about them. In his article, Mr. Cheema reported that two members of the Special Services Group, an elite commando squad, were being denied fair justice during the court-martial proceedings. In another article, Mr. Cheema wrote that the suspects in a major terrorist attack against a bus carrying ISI employees were acquitted because of the “mishandling” of the court case by the intelligence agency. In an article in early August, the reporter described how Army House, the residence of the chief of army staff, was protected by 400 city police officers and not by soldiers, as required by law. In its political coverage, The News is vociferously against the civilian government of Mr. Zardari, but the opinion pages publish a cross section of views, including pro-military columnists. While Mr. Cheema has chosen to publicize his case, he is not the only journalist or politician to come under the apparent harassment of the security services. The law minister in Punjab Province, Rana Sanullah Khan, said that in 2003, when he was an opposition politician and had criticized the army during the presidency of Gen. Pervez Musharraf, he was kidnapped and brutalized in a similar manner. In January, in Islamabad, the home of Azaz Syed, a reporter for Dawn, the main English-language daily, was attacked by unknown assailants days after he was threatened by supposed ISI agents over an investigative article he was researching related to the military. Kamran Shafi, a leading columnist and himself a former army officer who writes critically of the military, was harassed and his house was attacked last December by “elements linked to the security establishment,” according to his own account. In the last several years, journalists in the tribal areas, where the army is fighting the Taliban, have faced special risks and found it increasingly difficult to work for fear of offending either side. In September two journalists were killed in or near the tribal areas, under circumstances that remain unclear. Pakistan has developed a rambunctious news media spearheaded by round the clock television news channels in the last decade. The military and the ISI are treated with respect by the powerful television anchors, and by newspaper reporters who extol the deeds of the army in battling the Taliban. The ISI is rarely mentioned by name but referred to as “intelligence agencies.” One reason for the deference, according to a Pakistani intelligence official who has worked with the media cell of the ISI, is that the agency keeps many journalists on its payroll. Unspoken rules about covering the military and its intelligence branches are eagerly enforced, Babar Sattar, a Harvard-trained lawyer, said. A journalist who trespasses over the line is told to behave, Mr. Sattar said. Earlier this year, Mr. Cheema said he was called to a coffee shop in Islamabad by an ISI officer and warned to fall into line. At a journalists’ seminar in Lahore, the editor of a weekly newspaper, Najam Sethi, said it was up to the ISI to declare who had attacked Mr. Cheema. “If the ISI hasn’t done it, they should tell us who did it because they’re supposed to know,” Mr. Sethi said. “If they don’t tell, the presumption remains they did it.” But in a column titled “Surprise Surprise” in Dawn, Mr. Shafi said, “We will never find out what happened to poor Umar Cheema because the Deep State does not want us to find out.”

Cheema Umar
Pakistan
News and News Media
Politics and Government
Inter-Services Intelligence


Once a Leading Foe of Tobacco, New York Lags Under de Blasio

Abstract: In the 12 years that Michael R. Bloomberg spent as mayor of New York, he became known for pushing far-reaching health initiatives to curb smoking and change eating habits — challenging Big Tobacco, big sodas and, at times, the will of New Yorkers. The first three years of Bill de Blasio’s tenure as mayor have brought a different approach. Mr. de Blasio has championed other types of public health initiatives — most notably to promote mental health — but for the most part, he has not advanced Mr. Bloomberg’s legacy. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the city’s approach to curbing tobacco use. “Clearly the evidence is still there that tobacco is a big problem in New York City, and it’s also clear there are more things we could be doing,” said Kevin O’Flaherty, the director of advocacy for the Northeast region for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, “so I’m at a loss to give a logical reason for why these things aren’t being addressed as aggressively perhaps as they were in the past.” Anti-tobacco advocates point to a series of potential initiatives, some of them already taken in other cities, that could extend New York’s fight against tobacco use. They include measures to limit the number of stores where cigarettes are sold, increase taxes on small cigars and other cheaper types of tobacco, ban tobacco sales in pharmacies and put a brake on the proliferation of hookah bars. “The previous administration did everything it could, and unfortunately, for whatever reasons, we’re at a period right now where we’re leaving some opportunities on the table,” Mr. O’Flaherty said. Instead, leadership on the tobacco issue has come from the City Council, where several members have proposed bills targeting tobacco use and sales. In March, the City Council passed a bill, introduced by Corey Johnson, a Manhattan Democrat who is chairman of its health committee, to ban the use of tobacco products, including the smokeless tobacco popular with baseball players, at ticketed sporting events. Mr. de Blasio signed the law and promised further action. “We intend to put in even more measures to reduce the use of all types of tobacco,” Mr. de Blasio said at the time in an interview on ESPN. “We’re putting forward another package of measures in the coming weeks.” Image A smoke shop in Brooklyn. A City Council committee will consider steps to reduce the number of stores that sell tobacco. Credit Stephen Speranza for The New York Times But nearly 10 months later, the promised measures have not materialized. “We’re hopeful that package is coming together, but it’s hard to know for certain what’s the holdup,” said Michael Seilback, the vice president for public policy and communications for the American Lung Association of the Northeast. Advocates said they were told that city Health Department officials had presented a set of tobacco policy proposals to the mayor in late 2015. It is not clear why the proposals became stalled, but many former and current officials across city government complain that Mr. de Blasio can be painfully slow to make decisions. “Addressing smoking and obesity are top priorities for the Health Department,” a spokeswoman, Maibe Ponet, said in a written statement that also cited the city’s campaign to publicize programs to help people quit smoking. She said the department was close to announcing new “tobacco reduction efforts.” “This is something that might sound like a long process, but policy making can be long,” Ms. Ponet said in an interview. Mr. de Blasio’s health commissioner, Mary T. Bassett, was a deputy commissioner in the Bloomberg administration and helped fashion the city’s aggressive tobacco policies. Some advocates voiced frustration because they said further steps to fight tobacco use could easily mesh with Mr. de Blasio’s central concerns of addressing inequality, poverty and high housing costs. Some have suggested a ban on smoking in affordable housing built with city subsidies. Advocates say tobacco companies have long marketed aggressively in poor communities. Smoking rates in the city are much higher among adults with only a high school diploma than among those who have a college degree, an indication of economic status. City Councilman Brad Lander, a Brooklyn Democrat, has proposed a measure to bar pharmacies from selling tobacco. But other cities have gone much further to limit sales. Philadelphia, where smoking rates are higher than in the country over all, approved rules in December setting a cap on the number of stores that can sell tobacco. While stores that currently sell tobacco can continue to do so, new sales permits will be restricted in order to reach a goal of one tobacco outlet for every 1,000 people in the city’s 18 planning districts. The poorest districts have the highest concentration of stores, about three per 1,000 people, while some wealthier districts have less than one per 1,000, according to the health commissioner in Philadelphia, Dr. Thomas Farley. Image Newport advertisements at a deli in Brooklyn. The de Blasio administration has defended the anti-tobacco policies of its predecessor, but advocates say more could be done. Credit Stephen Speranza for The New York Times “This should be the next big area for health advocates to focus on around smoking prevention,” said Dr. Farley, who served as a health commissioner in New York under Mr. Bloomberg. In 2002, when Mr. Bloomberg took office, 21.5 percent of adult New Yorkers smoked, according to the Health Department. The number fell rapidly amid policies that increased the cost of cigarettes, restricted where people could smoke and promoted programs to help people quit. The rate reached 14 percent in 2010 and has fluctuated since; in 2015, it was again about 14 percent. Youth smoking rates in New York City dropped to about 6 percent in 2015 from about 17 percent in 2001. Mr. Johnson, the city councilman who sponsored the ban on all forms of tobacco in sports stadiums, praised Mr. de Blasio’s handling of public health issues, like the city’s brush with Ebola and an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. “But we also have to continue the incredible work that the previous administration did on antismoking measures, on obesity prevention,” Mr. Johnson said. As the chairman of the council’s health committee, he said, he will hold a hearing this year on a group of antismoking measures, including a pharmacy sales ban and steps like those taken in Philadelphia to reduce the number of stores that sell tobacco. The de Blasio administration has gone to court to defend aspects of Mr. Bloomberg’s anti-tobacco policy, most recently turning back a challenge to a rule that included electronic cigarettes in the ban on smoking in bars, restaurants and other locations. And in 2015 the city Board of Health passed a requirement that chain restaurants place warning icons next to menu items that contain elevated levels of salt — a measure aimed at reducing sodium intake, which can lead to heart disease. The labeling rule recalled similar initiatives by Mr. Bloomberg. But after a state court in 2014 knocked down a Bloomberg-era effort to limit the sale of extra-large sugary drinks, Mr. de Blasio did not push the City Council to enact a measure that could withstand court scrutiny, even though as a candidate he had supported the limit on sugary drinks . “There’s no doubt those issues were a higher priority for the previous mayor,” Mr. Lander said. But he noted Mr. de Blasio’s push to increase services relating to mental health, saying, “This administration is leading on public health issues, in this case a different public health issue.”

Smoking
Bill de Blasio
Mike Bloomberg
NYC


Six-Game Suspension for Broncos’ Miller

Abstract: Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller, the N.F.L.’s 2011 Defensive Rookie of the Year and runner-up last season for the Defensive Player of the Year, will serve a six-game suspension under the league’s substance-abuse policy. Miller’s suspension, without pay, begins Aug. 31. He can return to the team Oct. 14 and be eligible for Denver’s Oct. 20 game at Indianapolis, according to the N.F.L. He is eligible to play and practice through the last two preseason games. The N.F.L. has two drug policies — one that covers use of performance-enhancing substances and another “policy and program for substances of abuse,” which applied in Miller’s case. After being notified of the decision, Miller released a statement saying that “although my suspension doesn’t result from a positive test, there is no excuse for my violations of the rules.” The Broncos must scramble to replace Miller, whom the team’s executive vice president, John Elway, recently called the most talented football player he had seen. Shaun Phillips, a 10-year veteran the Broncos signed in free agency during the off-season, will probably take over Miller’s spot as a pass-rushing linebacker. Image Von Miller cannot play in regular-season games until Oct. 20 against the Colts. Credit Jack Dempsey/Associated Press VICK TO START FOR EAGLES Philadelphia Eagles Coach Chip Kelly has named Michael Vick as starting quarterback. Vick has been solid in two preseason games, and the backup Nick Foles, in his second season with the Eagles, has struggled to grasp Kelly’s multifaceted offense. Vick has thrown for 199 yards and has a 113.2 quarterback rating this preseason. REDSKINS ON MEND The Washington Redskins now have two quarterbacks hoping to be cleared in time to play in the regular-season opener. Kirk Cousins, the backup to Robert Griffin III, sprained his right foot when he was tackled from behind by linebacker Lawrence Timmons in the second quarter of Monday’s 24-13 win over Pittsburgh. X-rays taken after the game were negative, although the Redskins also ordered a magnetic resonance imaging exam. For now, the Redskins are left with two healthy quarterbacks: the veteran Rex Grossman and Pat White. Griffin, coming back from knee surgery, is aiming to return for the team’s Sept. 9 opening game against the Eagles. BILLS LINEBACKER DUE IN COURT The police in the Buffalo suburb of Tonawanda issued an appearance ticket to Bills linebacker Nigel Bradham for unlawful possession of marijuana after he was stopped about 2 a.m. Saturday and an officer smelled marijuana, police said. Doug Whaley, the Bills’ general manager, said that the incident amounted to a violation of the personal-conduct rule and would be addressed by the N.F.L. RETIREES SUE NFL FILMS Curley Culp, John Riggins and eight other retired players have sued NFL Films, saying they should have been compensated for the use of their images. The complaint, filed in United States District Court in New Jersey, is similar to a case brought by Fred Dryer and other retirees against the N.F.L. and NFL Films. The league has offered to settle that case by providing $50 million to create a new fund to help retirees, who have until Aug. 30 to approve or reject the proposal. The suit would cover retirees who opted out of that settlement. KEN BELSON


Trail Blazers Rally Late to Push Depleted Clippers to the Edge

Abstract: LOS ANGELES — C J McCollum scored 27 points, Damian Lillard added 16 of his 22 in the fourth quarter as Portland pulled away, and the Trail Blazers capitalized on the absence of the injured Chris Paul and Blake Griffin to beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 108-98, on Wednesday night in Game 5 their first-round series. The Blazers are up by three games to two and could close out the best-of-seven series on Friday in Portland. If Game 7 is needed, it would be on Saturday back at Staples Center. Maurice Harkless added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Mason Plumlee had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Portland. The Blazers made six 3-pointers in the fourth, with Lillard hitting five of his six as they outscored the Clippers, 37-27. J. J. Redick led the Clippers with 19 points. Jamal Crawford, the sixth man of the year, added 17 points starting in Paul’s place. Jeff Green also had 17 off the bench, and DeAndre Jordan had 16 points and 17 rebounds. Try as they might, the Clippers could not overcome the double whammy of losing their two biggest stars. Paul is out indefinitely after breaking his right hand on a freak play in Game 4. In the same game, Griffin aggravated a left quadriceps injury that had kept him out for three months during the season. He will not be back in the postseason. Lillard, who had 6 points through the first three quarters, led the Blazers in the fourth. He opened with a 3-pointer, hit another one and then dunked off his steal from Pablo Prigioni. The Blazers ran off 7 straight points, capped by Allen Crabbe’s 3-pointer, to go up by 90-77 for their first double-digit lead of the game. “I’ve always been able to put the first three quarters behind me and come up big when my team has needed it,” Lillard said. “It wasn’t even so much missing the shots that were bothering me, it was just that I couldn’t get any attempts because they were so aggressive. But I stayed with it, kept my mind right and I saw one go in. That was it.” They were not done. Lillard and McCollum, the league’s most improved player, combined for an 8-0 run, with both hitting 3-pointers that extended Portland’s lead to 102-86. McCollum scored 10 points in the third as the Blazers took a 71-62 lead. The Clippers answered with a 9-0 run, getting a dunk and 3-pointer from Green, to tie it at 71-71 going into the fourth. “We’ve got a unique opportunity to play an elimination game at home, and now we want to make sure we take full advantage of it,” McCollum said. The Clippers controlled the second quarter, leading by 50-45 at the half with six players scoring. Without Paul to control the offense, they kept the ball in motion. They rallied for an 18-18 tie to end the first quarter on Austin Rivers’s dunk. “We just made some simple mental mistakes, and with Blake and Chris out, we cannot really afford to make mistakes,” Rivers said. “We played pretty good defense over all. I just think we need to be better offensively.”

Basketball
Clippers
Trail Blazers
Playoffs


Shanghai Bobby Is Early Triple Crown Series Nominee

Abstract: Shanghai Bobby, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner, and the Delta Jackpot winner Goldencents led the list of 369 early nominees for the Triple Crown series for 3-year-olds. Shanghai Bobby is trained by Todd Pletcher, who led all trainers for the fourth straight year with 29 nominees.


Donald Sterling’s Impairment Expedited the Clippers’ Sale to Steve Ballmer

Abstract: LOS ANGELES — At 7 on a Saturday morning, four weeks after her life had erupted in scandal, Rochelle Sterling was awakened by a ringing phone. The voice at the other end was a high-energy buzz. But the man, a stranger, made it clear that he wanted to bid on the Los Angeles Clippers, the basketball team she owned with her estranged husband, Donald Sterling. The man on the phone offered to fly from Seattle to speak with her that afternoon. Mrs. Sterling agreed to meet him the next day. Then she hung up and went back to bed. When she got up later that morning, the conversation was fuzzy. She called a friend and asked, “Who is this man Bomber from Washington?” The friend explained that his name was Ballmer, Steve Ballmer, and that he used to run Microsoft. Five days later, Mrs. Sterling had an agreement to sell the Clippers to Mr. Ballmer for a record-setting $2 billion. The deal allowed her to remain involved as “owner emeritus.” With the title, she gets two floor seats for all home games and five stadium parking spaces, according to people involved in the negotiations. And if the Clippers win their first N.B.A. title, three championship rings will go to Mrs. Sterling. There was just one big problem that threatened the deal: Donald Sterling. As a co-owner of the team, he had to be persuaded to sell. This account of the last-minute negotiations behind the sale, much of which has not been previously disclosed, was assembled from nearly a dozen interviews with people involved in the deal on various sides. Because the sale has not been finalized, many of the people spoke on the condition of anonymity. The hurried negotiations took place against the backdrop of the Sterlings’ deeply strained marriage and involved some of the wealthiest people in Los Angeles jostling for a coveted property from their perches in private jets, Malibu mansions and Ritz-Carlton penthouse suites. And while Mr. Sterling had long been seen as the principal actor in the Clippers’ saga, he was reduced to a bit player in the deal’s final stages. It was Rochelle Sterling, his wife of 58 years, who emerged from the billion-dollar negotiating table with the terms she wanted. On May 29, the day Mrs. Sterling and Mr. Ballmer agreed in principle on the deal, Mrs. Sterling and her advisers gathered in a conference room at the law offices of Greenberg Glusker in Los Angeles. Mr. Sterling was on speakerphone. He told the room that he refused to sell — at any price — and vowed to fight the N.B.A., which had barred him for life for making racist statements on recordings, according to participants in the negotiations. With little else to say, Mr. Sterling hung up. Pierce O’Donnell, Mrs. Sterling’s lawyer, turned to a roomful of lawyers, investment bankers and financial advisers and said, “Time to go to Plan B,” according to advisers who were in the room. Image Steve Ballmer agreed to buy the Clippers. Credit Robert Galbraith/Reuters It was a reference to a provision in the trust that controlled the Clippers that stipulated that if Mr. or Mrs. Sterling was found to have a cognitive impairment, the other had a fiduciary responsibility to become sole trustee. That legal maneuver, so closely held that some of Mrs. Sterling’s advisers were unaware it existed, capped a hectic, weekslong effort to wrest control of the team from Mr. Sterling. N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver publicly discussed the tactic that cut Mr. Sterling out of the trust. “It’s not necessary that he sign the trust agreement because Shelly went through this process outlined in the trust,” Mr. Silver said during a news conference Sunday night. “Donald was found incapacitated and unable to sign on his own behalf.” Mr. Sterling and his lawyer declined requests for an interview. Mrs. Sterling has maintained that she was unaware of the provision until late in the process, according to her advisers. But on May 13, the day after she watched her husband give a rambling interview to Anderson Cooper of CNN, she called Mr. Sterling and urged him to undergo neurological testing, according to people with knowledge of the conversation. She told friends that she was motivated by concern for her husband. Mr. Sterling agreed to an appointment for that Friday, May 16, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Mr. O’Donnell, her lawyer, was well aware of the legal ramifications of the hospital visit, according to participants in the negotiations. Medical documentation of Mr. Sterling’s condition could allow Mrs. Sterling to take control of the trust. This was “Plan B.” They had already tried persuading Mr. Sterling to sell the team voluntarily. At one meeting, Mrs. Sterling told her husband and his lawyers that the Clippers could fetch $1.5 billion or more, according to people in attendance. She argued that suing the league would devalue the team and would leave the Sterlings stripped of the Clippers and without any perks. The N.B.A. had been pushing the Sterlings to sell as well, according to several people involved in the negotiations. At a meeting in New York on May 13, Mr. Silver made it clear to Mrs. Sterling and Mr. O’Donnell that he wanted to avoid a legal showdown that could potentially ensnarl other owners. The league provided Mrs. Sterling with a list of potential buyers, which included Mr. Ballmer, who had been involved in the bidding for the Sacramento Kings in 2013. Bob Baradaran, the managing partner of Greenberg Glusker, soon established the parameters for a private auction, which called for a cash sale of the team to beat the league’s deadline — a hearing regarding Mr. Sterling that was scheduled for June 3. Image The N.B.A. chief Adam Silver sought to avoid a showdown with Donald Sterling. Credit Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press The N.B.A. also sent Jason Cahilly, the league’s chief strategic and financial officer, to Los Angeles to work as an emissary for the league, according to several people involved in the negotiations. Over the next four days, Mr. Cahilly was in constant communication with suitors, including Patrick Soon-Shiong, a billionaire physician from Los Angeles; a group headed by the entertainment mogul David Geffen; a group that included the former N.B.A. player Grant Hill; and Mr. Ballmer. Mr. Ballmer understood that in order to prevail, he would have to offer enough money from the outset that the choice was clear, according to a person who advised him on the bid. The plan worked. Mr. Ballmer, a gregarious billionaire who is well known in Seattle for his love of sports , quickly emerged as a front-runner. He spent the afternoon of May 25 at Mrs. Sterling’s home, where he described his passion for basketball. He told stories of his time as the statistician for Harvard’s basketball team when he was a student there, according to participants in the process. “He’s just a tenacious, dynamic guy, and he’s got a lot of charisma,” said Joe Maloof, a former owner of the Kings. “And one thing about Steve is that he doesn’t like to lose.” One of the first questions Mrs. Sterling asked Mr. Ballmer was whether he would move the team to Seattle, according to people briefed on the negotiations. That had been his intention with the Kings. Mrs. Sterling told him that keeping the team in Los Angeles was a condition of the sale. Mr. Ballmer assured her that he would keep the team in Los Angeles. He has since said that it would make little sense for him to land a team in a major market — at no small cost — and move it elsewhere. Bids were due May 28. Mr. O’Donnell set up a special room at his office to handle the sale, and he wanted to move fast. The N.B.A. had told Mrs. Sterling that if a sale was completed in principle by June 2, the league would cancel the June 3 hearing. Mrs. Sterling received three final offers, according to people involved in the process: $1.2 billion from the Hill group, $1.6 billion from the Geffen group, and $1.925 billion from Mr. Ballmer. (She had met with both Mr. Ballmer and members of the Hill group over separate dinners at the same restaurant, Nobu.) By the next afternoon, Mrs. Sterling’s team had settled on Mr. Ballmer. They pushed him to increase the offer to $2 billion, and he agreed, according to participants. Despite Mr. Ballmer’s assurances that the team would stay in Los Angeles, there was no clause in the term sheet that would bar him from moving it, according to people briefed on the discussions. However, the league could require that the team stay in Los Angeles before it approves the sale. Image Donald Sterling Credit Danny Moloshok/Associated Press Finally, with Mr. Ballmer committed to spending $2 billion, Mrs. Sterling tried one last time to persuade her husband to sign off on the deal. He refused. That is when Mr. O’Donnell invoked Plan B. At his wife’s urging, Mr. Sterling had visited doctors for neurological exams. The doctors’ conclusions were clear, according to participants who have reviewed the records: A neurologist affiliated with U.C.L.A. Medical Center and another from the San Fernando Valley found Mr. Sterling to be affected by cognitive impairment. From the perspective of her legal team, that documentation was the weapon they needed to strip the team from Mr. Sterling. (He will still get his share of proceeds from the sale.) Mr. O’Donnell faxed papers, along with the doctors’ reports, to Mr. Sterling’s lawyer, Maxwell M. Blecher, that informed him that Mrs. Sterling was now the sole trustee, according to people briefed on the negotiations. Mr. Blecher has since contested Mr. O’Donnell’s characterization of the doctors’ reports, telling CNN that Mr. Sterling was affected by only a mild “slowing down.” At 6 that evening, Mr. O’Donnell informed Mr. Ballmer of Plan B: Mrs. Sterling was the sole trustee and did not need Mr. Sterling’s blessing. Mr. Ballmer was unaware that the maneuver had been even a possibility until then, according to a person who advised him on the bid process. Mr. O’Donnell then called Richard Buchanan, the N.B.A.’s general counsel. Mr. Buchanan and other league officials had reviewed the doctors’ reports, according to people briefed on the negotiations. With Mrs. Sterling agreeing to indemnify the league against a potential lawsuit by her husband, Mr. Buchanan said he would recommend that the N.B.A.’s executive committee accept her new role in the trust as well as the sale agreement between Mr. Ballmer and Mrs. Sterling, those people said. The transaction is still not complete. Mr. Sterling could challenge his wife’s assertion that she is the sole trustee. Mr. Sterling also has a $1 billion lawsuit pending against the N.B.A. And the league has yet to approve the sale; the owners are expected to vote next month. The night of the sale, Mrs. Sterling and her advisers had dinner at B. J.’s Restaurant and Brewhouse in the Century City section of Los Angeles. An N.B.A. playoff game was on, and news of the sale was moving on the ticker. The mood at the table was one of bittersweet relief. Mrs. Sterling returned to the law office afterward. Shortly before midnight, Mr. Ballmer, clad in a striped polo shirt, bounded off the elevator and greeted her with a hug, according to participants in the negotiations. “Hello, partner!” he said. Mr. Ballmer and Mrs. Sterling signed the term sheet, took photographs and sent the document to the league for formal approval.

Basketball
Clippers
Rochelle Sterling
Steven A Ballmer
Donald Sterling
NBA
Brain
Greenberg Glusker
Pierce O'Donnell
Mergers and Acquisitions


Equatorial Guinea: A Vice President Is Ordered to Forfeit Assets in the U.S.

Abstract: A federal judge in California announced a $30 million settlement on Friday between the United States and a vice president of Equatorial Guinea that requires him to forfeit his assets in the United States, including a collection of six life-size statues of the singer Michael Jackson. The official, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, Equatorial Guinea’s second vice president, amassed more than $300 million in the United States through corruption and money laundering, federal prosecutors said in court documents. Mr. Obiang, the son of the president, must also sell his mansion in Malibu, Calif., and his Ferrari, which the Justice Department said were bought with money looted from his country. The United States was blocked from forcing Mr. Obiang to forfeit his assets in Equatorial Guinea, including a Gulfstream jet and Mr. Jackson’s famous white, crystal-encrusted glove. Much of the money from Mr. Obiang’s forfeitures will go to charities that aid people in Equatorial Guinea, officials said.

Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue
Equatorial Guinea
US
Money laundering


Don't Ask Bonds, and He Doesn't Tell

Abstract: SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - THIS was Dr. Jekyll with just a touch of Mr. Hyde sprinkled in. This was Barry Bonds talking about himself -- his baseball self, not the other self, the one that is being besieged again about steroids. This was Bonds speaking amiably, even joking and laughing, with a crowd of reporters in the San Francisco Giants' spring clubhouse after he played his first exhibition game yesterday. He was the designated hitter against the Los Angeles Angels in Tempe, Ariz., batted twice and struck out and singled. With Bonds, reporters never know if he will listen to and answer their questions. Covering him can be a demeaning process, but readers do not care about these difficulties, so reporters persist and push ahead in their attempts to speak to Bonds, the hitter of 708 home runs. This was a potentially perilous day because of the coverage of the new book, "Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, Balco and the Steroids Scandal That Rocked Professional Sports," in which the authors, two San Francisco Chronicle reporters, detail what they say was Bonds's use of performance-enhancing substances. Bonds made it clear that the book and the allegations were off-limits. Five times during the interview, Bonds stated his position. Asked, for example, about Commissioner Bud Selig's reaction to the book, he said, "Do you want to talk baseball, or do you not want to talk at all?" Another time, he was asked if not talking about the book was his decision or his lawyer's. "Is that a baseball question? That's not a baseball question the last time I checked. You want to talk baseball?" And yet another time he said, "Baseball or nothing." Bonds sits in a corner of the clubhouse in his black reclining lounge chair, and aides stand as bodyguards, preventing anyone -- make that read reporters -- from coming too close. The scene is not duplicated in any other clubhouse in baseball. Rather than address his spring debut in Tempe after he left the game, he returned to Scottsdale and sat in his chair, quickly eating a sandwich. "I thought I was going to die out there," he said. "I was so hungry." He answered questions for 20 minutes before doing more work on his right knee, the one that was operated on three times last year and limited him to 14 games and 52 plate appearances. He said it felt good, and he would continue to test it tomorrow, again as the designated hitter. "If that goes well," he said, "hopefully I'll play Sunday in the field." Playing left field the rest of spring training and throughout the season will be the real test for Bonds, he said. It's his feet, he explained. Asked about opposing managers' strategy of often walking him, he said, "If they walk me this year, I may not play three innings. Staying on my feet, that's going to be hard. "I have to work real, real hard to overcome that adversity if that's what it's going to come down to. That's when I'm going to have to dig deep inside myself and really try to gut it out. "You can hit and run or strike out or whatever and go to the bench and rest, but if you walk and you're standing out there watching at-bats, at-bats and at-bats and you're having to move constantly, and the next minute I go to the staircase and get my glove and go stand out in the outfield, that's a lot of wear and tear on you, especially at my age now. Even if I was healthy, that's still a lot for anyone my age." Bonds is 41, and he turns 42 in July. He apologized to any older players he ever questioned when they said they were sore. "Believe me, I'm sorry," he said. Bonds goes through daily drills to strengthen his knee, and he does not seem to mind them. "It's not the drills," he said. "They're fine because I'm moving all the time. It's standing around waiting to move again. That's the part I have to get through. It's waiting an inning, standing around and having to turn it back on." This spring, after he has taken a round of swings in the batting cage, Bonds has sat on a folding chair next to the cage, an unusual practice for a player. He will not be able to take the chair to left field with him. "I'll just run over to Steve," he said smiling, referring to center fielder Steve Finley, "say hi and run back to left field. I'll keep myself loose." Whatever he feels about his aching feet, his right knee remains his biggest threat. Would Bonds come back again if he sustained another injury that required surgery? "I won't," he said. "I want to be able to play with my kids. There's more to life than baseball." He said he never had any question about returning to play this season, but he thinks about retiring every year. He said he would know by July or August if he would play next season. Bonds has said he does not want to move to the American League and be a designated hitter, but asked about that possibility for next season, when he is no longer under contract to the Giants, he said: "I don't know yet. That's something I have to tackle during the off-season. If that's what I have to do, that's what I have to do. San Francisco is my home; that's the place I'd like to retire at. But if it doesn't work out that way, it doesn't work out that way."

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
BONDS BARRY
BASEBALL
STEROIDS
DRUG ABUSE AND TRAFFIC
NEWS AND NEWS MEDIA


Mistrial Declared in Murder Trial of David Tarloff

Abstract: The murder trial of David Tarloff, a schizophrenic man accused of killing a psychologist in her Upper East Side office five years ago, ended in a mistrial on Tuesday, as a jury told a judge that it was hopelessly deadlocked. Lawyers for Mr. Tarloff, 45, did not challenge that he killed the psychologist, Kathryn Faughey, on Feb. 12, 2008; they waged an insanity defense that, had it been successful, would have resulted in his being sent to a secure psychiatric facility, possibly for the rest of his life. Prosecutors will retry Mr. Tarloff, adding yet another phase to a case that has dragged on for years as his mental health waxed and waned. But the outcome of this trial suggests that it may be difficult to convince a jury that he was not sufficiently mentally ill on the day of the attacks. Most jurors were inclined to accept the insanity defense, according to one, who offered condolences to Dr. Faughey’s relatives after the mistrial, saying he could not persuade others to convict Mr. Tarloff. “I tried very hard,” the juror, Brian Ferrari, told the family, his eyes welling up. Mr. Ferrari later said that some jurors had switched sides during the course of deliberations, which lasted 10 days and became heated at times. Image David Tarloff in court last year. His murder trial ended on Tuesday with a deadlocked jury. Mr. Tarloff’s lawyers waged an insanity defense. Credit John Marshall Mantel for The New York Times He said that for only a few hours did they reach any unanimity, on a lesser charge of attempted robbery, but that the moment passed and the positions hardened. By the end, he said just he and two female jurors believed Mr. Tarloff should be found guilty of murder. During deliberations, the jury sent out two separate notes indicating that it was deadlocked; each time, Justice Edward J. McLaughlin of State Supreme Court in Manhattan urged the jury to press on. But after the judge on Tuesday issued a third instruction to the jurors, resulting in yet another jury note saying nothing had changed, he had changed his mind. “I’m willing to say that we’re finished,” Justice McLaughlin said. Mr. Tarloff had intended to rob Dr. Kent D. Shinbach, a psychiatrist who treated him 17 years earlier, when he went to the office suite that Dr. Shinbach shared with Dr. Faughey. Mr. Tarloff hoped to get enough money to take his mother from a nursing home to Hawaii and care for her himself. His lawyers said he was operating under the delusion that the plan had been sanctioned by God. He told the police that he had been surprised to encounter Dr. Faughey, 56. He beat her in the head with a mallet and stabbed her in the chest with a knife. She died on her office floor; Dr. Shinbach nearly died when Mr. Tarloff attacked him as he went to her aid. Mr. Tarloff’s court-appointed lawyers, Bryan Konoski and Frederick L. Sosinsky, sought to convince jurors that Mr. Tarloff, who had been in and out of psychiatric hospitals since 1991, was too mentally ill on the day of the attacks to understand the wrongness of his actions. Image The siblings of Dr. Kathryn Faughey exited the courthouse after the judge declared a mistrial on Tuesday. Credit John Marshall Mantel for The New York Times Evan Krutoy, an assistant district attorney prosecuting the case, countered that Mr. Tarloff carefully planned the robbery, sought to hide his intentions and escaped after the attacks, all showing he knew what he had done was wrong. Charles P. Ewing, a forensic psychologist, lawyer and professor at the University at Buffalo Law School, said he was surprised that hung juries did not happen more often in insanity defense cases, given that jurors are put in the difficult position of deciding between conflicting experts. “A hung jury may simply mean that the jurors could not agree on the morality of punishing someone who is clearly mentally ill, regardless of whether he meets the high legal standard for insanity,” Dr. Ewing said. After the mistrial declaration, four jurors left together — two, including Mr. Ferrari, pausing to talk with Dr. Faughey’s siblings and offer apologies for their fellow jurors, a crowd of whom left by a side elevator. Owen Faughey, one of Dr. Faughey’s brothers, told reporters outside the courtroom that the family was devastated by the outcome after the lengthy trial and deliberations. “It’s been a tough six weeks — a tough five years,” he said. Video This videotape of David Tarloff’s confession to the 2008 killing of Kathryn Faughey, an Upper East Side psychologist, was played at his trial. His brother Michael added: “We will be back. We will seek justice.” The next court date was set for May 21; a spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., said the “office will retry the case.” Mr. Konoski, a lawyer for Mr. Tarloff, said that the jury’s leanings were “encouraging for his retrial,” in which he said he would present the same arguments regarding Mr. Tarloff’s mental state. “Statistically it rarely succeeds,” he said. “But if there was ever a case that truly justified an insanity verdict, this is the case.” Mr. Ferrari, the juror, said the scene in the jury room often became contentious; people talked over one another or broke off to deliberate in groups. From the start, he said, one juror “thought he was mentally ill, period.” Over time, a majority shifted away from conviction, as jurors focused on the level of mental illness required for Mr. Tarloff to be held not responsible for his actions. Mr. Ferrari, 44, said he had gone back and forth before deciding that Mr. Tarloff, while mentally ill, had not been psychotic at the time of crimes and could therefore be found guilty. He said some who favored a not-guilty verdict challenged him. He recalled being asked, “How can you say he’s held responsible when he’s schizophrenic?” Mr. Ferrari added: “It wasn’t all civilized. Look, I yelled at an old lady, and I feel bad about it.”

David Tarloff
Kathryn Faughey
Kent D Shinbach
Murders
Mental Health
NYC
Jury


Jarritos, the Mexican Soda, Tries to Move Beyond Its Base

Abstract: JARRITOS, a Mexican soft drink popular among Hispanics in the United States, is introducing new advertising to win over non-Hispanic young men in the hope that they will spread the brand’s message even farther. The campaign, which began rolling out in stages on Sept. 6, focuses primarily on the Los Angeles market, where Jarritos has commissioned three murals and is doing consumer sampling. The brand also has a new Web site, Jarritos.com , and is advertising on Pandora, the Internet radio service, and elsewhere online. All initiatives of the campaign — which is by GSD&M, an agency based in Austin, Tex., that has previously done work for Coca-Cola and RC Cola and is part of the Omnicom Group — are aimed at 18- to 24-year-old, non-Hispanic, trend-setting males. Jarritos is made with granulated natural sugar — not high-fructose corn syrup as are many mass-market soft drinks — and is sold in glass bottles at grocery and convenience stores, as well as some Super Target and Wal-Mart stores, in the United States. It comes in 11 flavors, including guava, tamarind and mango. According to Beverage Marketing, a consulting company that specializes in the beverage industry, Jarritos is sold in almost half of United States grocery stores that have annual sales of over $2 million. Beverage Marketing also estimates Jarritos’s retail sales in the United States were from $150 million to $200 million last year, making it a leading niche soft drink. Those sales are minuscule, however, compared with 2010 retail sales of $14.4 billion for Coca-Cola, $7.1 billion for Pepsi, and $5.2 billion for Dr. Pepper, as estimated by Beverage Marketing.  Novamex, a private company in El Paso, Tex., owns the Jarritos brand and the rights to market it outside of Mexico; it has been selling Jarritos in the United States for 25 years. “Three years ago, we decided to broaden our reach,” said David Flynn, marketing director for Novamex. “We saw opportunities elsewhere. We had pretty good awareness in non-Hispanic Los Angeles, the market is very integrated. It only makes sense that we talk to a wider audience particularly in a market like Los Angeles, where people know the brand.” Mr. Flynn said the new campaign was aimed specifically at trend-setting young men because they were “independent thinkers, with a more bohemian lifestyle. We want to focus on one single group that will influence all around them, including women.” Duff Stewart, chief executive of GSD&M, said “you can’t talk at” this group, and added: “We’ve tried to create a platform that reaches the target audience in ways they like to engage.” To spread Jarritos’s message — summed up by the campaign’s tagline, “We’re not from here” — GSD&M hired Federico Archuleta, a street artist who is based in Austin. Mr. Archuleta painted murals on buildings in Hollywood, Silver Lake and Venice Beach, Calif., with designs like a skull wearing a sombrero and surrounded by Jarritos bottles. Novamex is also handing out samples of the soda in select neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area. The samples are transported by large tricycles driven by luchadores, or masked wrestlers, and a food truck. Painted with a Jarritos bottle and flames, the truck also carries a wooden sign with a wrestler’s mask design that has a functioning bottle-opener in the wrestler’s mouth. Jarritos’s new Web site features 10 playful videos aimed at young men. One shows a Jarritos taste test with a boomerang-carrying Australian aborigine. In another, a young female artist summons an eagle to pry the cap off her Jarritos bottle. Jarritos also is advertising on Federated Media’s network of independent Web sites; and Revision 3, a special-interest Internet video network. Mr. Flynn said Jarritos would extend the Los Angeles campaign to one additional market next year, either Austin, Chicago or New York. GSD&M said the campaign’s budget is $3 million to $5 million, through March 2012, a significant increase over Jarritos’s recent advertising expenditures. According to Kantar Media, Jarritos spent $550,000 on advertising last year and $64,000 in the first half of this year, compared with $341,000 in the same period last year. Mr. Flynn said previous advertising, created in Mexico, was primarily on American Hispanic radio stations.  Industry experts said Novamex’s strategy could face some obstacles, though Larry Finkel, director of food and beverage research for Marketresearch.com , a market research company, praised Novamex’s decision to pursue young men, who he said were “less loyal to brand identity, and change brands more often for the sake of variety.” Genaro Gutierrez, an associate professor at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, said Novamex must have sufficient distribution of Jarritos for the campaign to succeed. “If you convince me to buy something and then I don’t find it, I’ll forget it in five minutes,” Mr. Gutierrez said. “If you don’t have the right distribution channels, you are wasting your money.” Ann Hanson, executive director of product management of the NPD Group, another market research company, said the Jarritos campaign could be thwarted by declining consumption of soft drinks at home. According to NPD, Americans consumed carbonated soft drinks with 13 percent of in-home meals and snacks last year, down from 19 percent in 2001. Consumption of sugared soft drinks with in-home meals and snacks fell similarly, to 10 percent last year from 16 percent in 2001. Another challenge, Ms. Hanson said, was consumers’ growing sensitivity “around products with high amounts of sugar in them, even if it’s natural.” Brian Sudano, managing partner of Beverage Marketing who has advised Novamex on Jarritos’ marketing, said the company also faced the challenge of “getting the crossover consumer to pick up its brand and adopt it. Very few ethnic brands have actually penetrated the general market.”

Soft Drinks
Advertising and Marketing
gsd&m


Hewitt and Hingis, Past Champions, Roll and Reminisce

Abstract: Martina Hingis walked into the new players gym at the United States Open and did a double take when she saw herself on the wall, grinning and winning in 1997. She had short hair then, brashly unaware of how the game and its bigger hitters would break her body down from a champion to a two-dimensional memory. Lleyton Hewitt was on the wall with short hair, too, a brazen 20-year-old celebrating his first major title at the 2001 United States Open. Cut to 2007. Hewitt and Hingis each pumped their fists throughout their straight-set victories during the first-round day session at Arthur Ashe Stadium, a pair of 26-year-olds trying less to recapture their past than to keep pace with their future. Hewitt punctuated his pumps with his trademark “Come on!” cry in his Australian accent while dismantling Amer Delic, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. Minutes later, Hewitt peered into the stroller holding his sleeping 22-month-old daughter, Mia. His wife, the actress Bec Cartwright, was holding a Dora the Explorer baby bag. How distant did 2001 seem? “It feels quite a while ago,” Hewitt said. “In other ways, it doesn’t feel that long ago. It’s a strange feeling.” While Hewitt, seeded 16th, is trying to transition back with the top players in the world, third-seeded Novak Djokovic, 20, of Serbia, is virtually there. Yesterday, he quickly dispatched Robin Haase, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3, while James Blake, at No. 6, knocked out the American journeyman Michael Russell, 7-6 (6), 6-3, 7-6 (4). Hewitt was once the youngest No. 1 player in men’s tennis, at the end of the year he won the United States Open. Hingis was the undisputed No. 1 in 1997, when she won three of her five major titles. After her 6-0, 6-3 victory over Mathilde Johansson, she reflected on young players like the 18-year-old Nicole Vaidisova, the No. 13 seed, and the 20-year-old Anna Chakvetadze at No. 6. Each won yesterday, but ninth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova, a relative veteran at 24, lost to Julia Vakulenko of Ukraine, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. “I see the freshness, the hunger, all that; that’s how I used to be,” Hingis said, shocked by how young she looked in the 1997 photo. “Sometimes the older you get maybe sometimes priorities change. “You look at life differently,” said Hingis, who is here for the first time without her mother and coach, Melanie Molitor. Two weeks ago, her fiancé, the men’s player Radek Stepanek, announced that they had called off their engagement. “There’s nothing to talk about,” Hingis said. “We’re both professionals and trying to have a good U.S. Open.” After her first and only Open title, Hingis could not out-think the booming games of Serena or Venus Williams, or Lindsay Davenport, falling in consecutive finals, two semifinals and then the fourth round in 2002. She retired for three years because of injuries. “There’s days you think that was kind of a nice lifestyle when I didn’t have to train every day six hours,” Hingis said. “But on the other hand, right now I feel like I don’t want to miss a minute off, being out there, being able to compete.” She returned last season and rocketed to No. 6 in the world before sustaining hip, back and femur injuries. “I’m not really thinking about what number I want to be, I want to play the best tennis I can at the moment and work myself back from injury,” she said. Hewitt, who had knee tendinitis last year, said that despite the dominance of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, he believed he could win another major, adding to his 2002 Wimbledon trophy. In New York, he has advanced to at least the quarterfinals every year since beating Pete Sampras in 2001. Tennis has offered a constant during six years of personal change, from his split with his former fiancée, the 2005 Open champion Kim Clijsters, to his marriage to Cartwright, an Australian actress. Seeded 16th, Hewitt had a solid summer, losing twice in late rounds to Federer. Coached by the Australian legend Tony Roche and Darren Cahill, a Davis Cup captain who used to coach Andre Agassi, Hewitt has adapted to the bigger hitters by adding more versatility to his counter-punching game. “If he becomes a little more aggressive at certain times and try to shorten the points by coming in or hitting a bigger ball, then he can work on it,” Cahill said. “I feel like his game is getting back to a level where if he steps on the court, he’s not afraid of anybody.” Hewitt is always undaunted, sometimes to a fault. His 2001 title here came with controversy he has put behind him. During an intense moment of his second-round match against Blake, Hewitt shouted what could have been interpreted as a racially charged criticism of a line official. Hewitt was not fined after a review. “It was life changing to win your first Grand Slam, for me, it was just focusing on the positives,” he said. His opponents respect his fire. “He fights for every point like it’s a match point,” said Djokovic, who beat Hewitt at Wimbledon. “This thing that he has — being competitive, battling for every ball makes him dangerous on any surface against any player in the world.” Hewitt insisted he had not mellowed now that he is a father, arranging his schedule around Mia. “I play with my heart on my sleeve, every time I go out there, nothing’s changed,” he said. “I like to get fired up, that’s when I play my best tennis.”

United States Open (Tennis)
Hingis Martina
Hewitt Lleyton
Tennis


When Texas Judges Get Raise, Legislators Increase Pensions

Abstract: Twenty-three dollars is not a lot of money, but that small figure could have big political consequences. Lawmakers’ pensions are tied to the salaries set for state district judges. Every $1,000-per-year increase in those salaries adds $23 to the amount paid to retired lawmakers for every year they served in office. The Legislature is quietly considering a $26,909 raise for those judges. Quiet consideration is a term indicating something that is buried well inside something else, so that senators and representatives never vote on it out in the open, all by itself. Judicial salaries can be changed with a line in the enormous state budget; the vote here will be on a budget that happens to include a raise for the people who wear black robes at the office. Almost everybody votes for the budget, even though each has at least one thing he or she disagrees with in the state’s two-year spending plan. Judicial salaries, even if linked to the lawmakers’ own pensions, are probably not a big enough issue to trigger a vote against the whole budget. It is an all-or-nothing vote. As a matter of politics, however, it is a vote that opens officeholders to criticism of fluffing their own financial pillows while leaving other things without enough money. The other side to this is a pretty good argument coming from the judges. Their current salaries were set in 2005. Counties are allowed to supplement the state minimum, but that doesn’t affect state lawmakers’ pensions. Judges make less doing their jobs than the private practice lawyers who work in front of them, according to a salary study completed before the session by the state’s Judicial Compensation Commission . That is true, to some extent, all over the country. But Texas judges rank on the low end for judicial pay when compared with their counterparts in the six most populous states. Based on inflation alone, the commission said, the base salaries ought to be around $140,000. That panel recommended raising salaries to $151,909, a number based on comparisons with private sector pay and with judicial salaries in other big states. That would be an increase of 21.5 percent. It would increase pensions for lawmakers by the same percentage. To figure the basic benefit, you multiply the average salary of a state district judge by a lawmaker’s years in office by 0.023. Judges currently make $125,000, so a retired lawmaker with 20 years of service would get $57,500 in annual retirement. Not a bad pension for a job that paid only $600 a month. Lawmakers have embraced the recommendation to increase pay, which would make the judges happy and eventually pay off big for the legislators, too. The recommended increase — to $151,909 — would add $12,378.14 to the pension of that hypothetical 20-year lawmaker. That’s what happens with that little $23 per $1,000 number when you run it through the formula. To qualify for a pension, legislators have to be in office for at least eight years, and if they serve for at least 12 years, they can begin collecting their pensions at age 50 instead of waiting until age 60. Increases in pay for judges affect not only future retirees but also current ones. It is probably worth pointing out that some of those current retirees are lobbyists, hanging around the Capitol, where it would not be entirely out of line to mention support for those hard-working jurists. The state’s budget is being worked out by a small conference committee dispatched to settle differences between what the House and Senate have already approved. They’ve got big fish to fry, with hanging controversies over public education spending and money for the state’s water and transportation infrastructure, and steady inquiries from the governor’s office about leaving something aside for tax relief. The salary issue is relatively minor, given those worries. There have been efforts to disconnect judicial pay from legislative retirement, to remove the built-in conflict of interest. But they have fallen short. Senator Robert L. Duncan, Republican of Lubbock, tried — again — to break the link, but he now says that won’t fly. “I thought I had a pretty good idea,” he said. He just couldn’t get his colleagues to go along. Wonder why?

Texas
Judiciary
Wages and salaries
Pensions and Retirement Plans
Legislature


Extending the Drama of Track and Field Year Round

Abstract: Later this week athletes will converge on Eugene, Ore., for the United States track and field trials, which begin in earnest on Friday. An estimated 1,000 athletes will compete for roughly 135 spots on the United States Olympic team in what some call the greatest 10-day drama in sports: a concentration of great athletes in a competition where every step, every throw, every jump has no margin for error. “The Olympic trials are better than the Olympics or the world championships,” said E. Garry Hill, the executive editor of Track and Field News. “It’s just a delightful 10 days of nothing but track and field; that’s all anyone thinks about multiple times a day,” said Hill, who has been with the magazine since 1969 and has covered Olympic Games since 1972. “There is joy there, sadness, just the full gamut of emotions.” But even with such a glamorous showcase in a sport that is a highlight of the Summer Games, track and field, with all of its history, will probably not raise its profile beyond the closing ceremonies. The sport will suffer the fate of swimming and gymnastics, which produce Olympic stars but little in the way of lasting illumination for their sport. Max Siegel wants to change that. He is the new chief executive of USA Track and Field, the national governing body for the sport. “I believe that there are things we can do on a year-to-year basis to keep the sport relevant and not have it viewed by the general public as a once-in-every-four-year sport,” he said last week. Siegel previously served as president of global operations at Dale Earnhardt Inc., where he sold millions of dollars in sponsorships. “I’m not naïve enough to think that we can go head to head with the N.B.A. or the N.F.L., but I certainly think we can create a lot of awareness, increase our viewership significantly,” Siegel said. In fact, the drama around the sport is made for TV. Track and field is a battle of stamina and will waged in close quarters by fierce competitors. The rivalries that emerge have created many lasting moments — triumphant or agonizing — that appeal to the general public. Stephanie Hightower was involved in such a dramatic moment during the 1984 Olympic trials. Hightower, a past president of USA Track and Field and now the executive director of the Columbus Urban League, was one of the dominant hurdlers of her era. After an outstanding career at Ohio State, Hightower was primed to compete in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow when President Jimmy Carter called for a boycott. Four years later, Hightower was favored to win a gold medal at the Los Angeles Games. But in the finals of the trials she finished in what appeared to the naked eye to be a four-way tie. After an agonizing review, Hightower, the American record holder, was judged to have finished fourth — one spot short of making the team. “I feel the anxiousness when people don’t make the team that I think should have or we thought were going to,” Hightower, who is chairwoman of USA Track and Field’s board, said. “I cry just like they do. My heart is just as low and painful as theirs is because I’ve been there, done that.” Hightower, understandably distraught, made some angry comments at the time that in today’s 24-7 news cycle would have been turned into a tempest. If a controversial result like Hightower’s unfolds in Eugene or in London, USA Track and Field should use it as grist for a reality-style, made-for-TV rematch. If LeBron James could pull great ratings for “The Decision,” track and field should be able to sell grudge matches that exist or can be manufactured. For a marketing maven like Siegel, track and field is at an ideal place in time. We are in a period of American history when shamelessness and vanity sell. If track and field hopes to raise its profile, the sport should exploit the rancor, the tension, the seething need for revenge and retaliation that have become intrinsic parts of our national character. In a star-driven nation like the United States, any sport that hopes to succeed needs a star or a high-profile villain. But the challenges facing track and field in the United States are greater than merely finding a star. Track and field, like boxing and horse racing, is trying to find a place for itself in a complex, competitive American sports marketplace. Unlike boxing and horse racing, track and field is connected to contemporary culture. We are a nation of runners. The challenge for track’s leadership is how to fit all runners — and the enthusiasm for running — under one gigantic roof. In a 2010-11 survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations , outdoor track and field had the second highest participation among high school boys (579,302). For girls, outdoor track and field was the top sport with 475,265 participants. “What we don’t do a very good job of is, once we get them is how we keep them,” Hightower said. “How do we engage people, keep them engaged, in the sport? The sport is not holding their attention.” Hightower said that when she was coming up, there were numerous running clubs and the national federation helped build them. “Somewhere along the way, and I don’t know where it happened, clubs just went away,” she said. “We’ve been operating in too many silos in the sport,” Hightower said. “You have your track and field people and then you have your weekend warrior kind of folks. It’s time for us to figure out how we can all come together and collaborate as opposed to working in silos. We’ve got to come up with new, creative ways and ideas to present the sport to the American public.” Siegel agrees with Hightower that a primary focus of USA Track and Field must be community and youth development. Young arms and legs are part of the sport’s salvation. “From a marketing platform and a commercial partnership standpoint, I think the economy has shifted where people are really getting back into grass-root support and connecting their message at a local and a regional level,” Siegel said. Track and field needs stars and spectacle. “People identifying with the competitor and the star elevate the whole sport,” Siegel said. But the sport needs American stars. Usain Bolt is the only star name in track and field in this country, but you can’t sell the sport in the United States with an athlete who is not American. Track in the United States needs a contemporary Carl Lewis, although just as a Triple Crown winner won’t be enough to prop up horse racing, a star in track may not be enough by itself to make track a must-see event. The truth may be that no amount of marketing will restore track and field to its past place of primacy in the American psyche. “The reality is that we’re a niche sport,” Hill, the Track and Field News editor, said. “Do what you do well, find your target audience, which is small, and give them a good product.” USA Track and Field has set a lofty goal for itself in London — to win 30 medals , an increase from the 23 the United States won at the 2008 Beijing Games. Can the London Games produce a hero or heroine whom USA Track and Field can sell to the American public? More to the point, can track and field put the public in the mood to buy?

Track and Field
Olympic Games
Siegel Max
Stephanie Hightower


Marriage Falls in China, Transforming Finances and Families

Abstract: HONG KONG — Liu Zhenfeng got married at 25. The usual trappings of family life followed — a daughter, a home, furniture, toys. That daughter, Song Zongpei, now 28, is taking a different path. Ms. Song shares a rented apartment in Beijing with two roommates and is focusing on her career and her finances. She does not see marriage or motherhood in her immediate future. “At this stage, the most important thing for me is personal development,” Ms. Song said. Fewer Chinese people are getting married, a shift with profound implications for China’s economic and social life. The decline in marriages means a decline in the number of babies, and potentially less spending on homes, appliances and other family-related purchases — the kind of spending China needs to drive economic growth. Already some businesses are thinking single. Jewelry makers are offering cheaper baubles for unmarried sweethearts. One appliance maker is selling smaller rice cookers. Foreign fertility services are advertising for Chinese women who want to freeze their eggs — a process that is prohibited for single women in China — to have children later. Image Ms. Wu, left, shopped with a friend in Beijing. A drop in marriage in China has raised fears of less spending on homes and other family-related items, threatening economic growth. Credit Gilles Sabrie for The New York Times But the marriage slump — caused in large part by China’s aging population and the legacy of its harsh one-child policy — has a silver lining. It also stems from the rise of an educated population of women. Specialists in economics, demography and sociology say some of those women are delaying marriage to build careers and establish financial footing, resulting in a more empowered female population that no longer views marriage as the only route to security. “Because they are highly educated, they hold well-paid jobs, they lose the financial incentive to get married,” says Zhang Xiaobo, a professor of economics at Peking University’s National School of Development. China continues to emphasize marriage in its official media, entreating women not to wait for Mr. Right. But demographics and changing social mores make that a tough sell. Last year, 12 million Chinese couples registered for marriage, making it the second consecutive year the number has declined. Divorces, which stem from some of the same trends, reached 3.8 million last year, more than twice the level of a decade ago. Much of the marriage decline results from China’s one-child policy. Ended formally in January after 35 years, the policy accelerated a decline in the country’s birthrate. As a consequence, people between 20 and 29 — prime marrying age — make up a declining share of the population compared with two decades ago. And because families often preferred male babies, China has a surplus of men , further complicating marriage prospects. Those trends test cultural notions of family that go back hundreds of years. While arranged marriages have largely faded in China, parents remain deeply involved in the nuptials of their offspring, chasing down leads on potential suitors and hounding their children during holiday visits about marriage plans. Ms. Liu, Ms. Song’s mother, agrees that her daughter should wait for the right match, but she still hopes that she finds someone. “I want her to have a happy life,” Ms. Liu said, “and I think it’s more secure to have a family.” On the economic front, the impact could be double-edged. Single people generally buy fewer houses, have fewer children and buy fewer toys and gadgets than married couples. That could complicate China’s efforts to turn its traditionally tightfisted population into American-style spenders , to offset its economy’s dependence on exports and big-ticket government projects. It could also lead Chinese consumers to put more money away in the bank or under mattresses. Families of prospective grooms in China often save money for years to buy a home for a couple before they marry to give them financial stability. Families save more, to buy bigger homes, if brides are hard to find, said Mr. Zhang, the Peking University professor. But Chinese consumers could simply spend money on something else — with single young people leading the pack. Some of the decline in marriage stems from the growth of a group of young, educated urban women who no longer need to wed to achieve financial security. Image A display at a jewelry show in Shenyang, China. The jewelry industry expects sales growth to slow in China as the number of marriages declines. Credit Wu Hong/European Pressphoto Agency China still faces yawning gaps in wages and employment between men and women, according to surveys . But women made up more than half of undergraduate students in 2014, compared with about 46 percent a decade earlier, and accounted for nearly half of graduate students, government figures show. Cheng Guping, a 30-year-old from Hangzhou in eastern China who works at a start-up and is pursuing a doctorate in economics, is one of those women. She cited her professional and educational obligations as the reason she and a recent boyfriend broke up. “I felt that our level of affection wasn’t enough yet,” she said. “I want to see how far I can go on my own.” Suitable mates are simply hard to find, said Ms. Cheng, who describes many men her age as “not mature or irresponsible.” Referring to another former boyfriend, she said: “When we wanted to do something, or go for food, he only liked to act cute and say with a smile, ‘We’ll do whatever you like.’ It made me feel like I had a son.” Businesses are preparing for the shift. The jewelry industry expects sales growth to slow in China as marriage declines. In response, many stores are offering a greater variety of jewelry, such as cheaper gems to entice dating couples who have less money. “Even though they are not getting married,” said Annie Yau Tse, the chief executive of Tse Sui Luen, a jewelry chain based in Hong Kong, “people still need someone to be with them, and they still want love.” Image A bride at the Bund, the waterfront in Shanghai. Last year, 12 million Chinese couples registered for marriage, making it the second consecutive year the number has declined. Credit Johannes Eisele/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Jiajiashun, an online property agent, said it was planning to sell less expensive housing to cater to single buyers. Midea, a Chinese appliance maker, has been expanding its range of smaller rice cookers — giving singles a way to make fresh rice and avoid the refrigerated leftovers that leave many Chinese cold. “We are concerned about the changes in family structures in China,” according to Huang Bing, chief product manager of Midea’s small domestic appliances division. In Chinese homes, the shift raises questions about family ties and filial responsibilities. For example, married couples in China traditionally care for aging parents. Wu Jingjing, 29, can see the burden that the aging population could be for her generation. “There’s a group of people who will feel very much crushed by being in the middle layer, being the pillar of a family while raising both the children and their parents,” said Ms. Wu, who works for an internet company. “I think that sense of collapse will happen in 10 or 20 years.” Her mother worries about who will care for her daughter if she does not marry. “We can still care for her now, but we won’t be here forever,” Zhai Liping, 53, said. “We hope she will find someone who cares for her, so we can feel more reassured.” Still, Ms. Wu is single and she said she is still determined to wait until she meets the right person. “Back in the old times, many people met because they were introduced and just wanted to find a partner to live through everyday life,” she said. “There were very few people who had a free relationship based on love. Now lots of people reject that kind of old attitude and want to find the suitable person.”

China
Marriage
Single People
Social Trends
Economy


A Captive of His Own Fantasies

Abstract: PARIS — Late last week, Nicolas Sarkozy said, “The question of a possible second presidential term while I’m at the halfway point is laughable if you consider the concerns preoccupying the French people and myself. I forbid myself even to think about it.” In a world of wishful and untenable declarations of political creed, that one had a startlingly short shelf life. An extremely strong performance by the left in the first round of nationwide French regional elections over the weekend opened the door to the 2012 presidential campaign in a way that will color everything Mr. Sarkozy does, at home and abroad, for the next two years — even though he says he won’t decide whether to run again until late 2011. The weekend results brought credibility as a potential presidential candidate to Martine Aubry, leader of the Socialist Party. They strengthened the role of Daniel Cohn-Bendit as the voice of an ecological movement that could complement the Socialists in an eventual national government of the left. And, intriguingly, the scores also gave form to a kind of French political deus ex machina. The missing imam is Dominique Strauss-Kahn, now the managing director of the International Monetary Fund and a former Socialist finance minister. In some French minds, he represents a kind of capitalist expertise backed by social concern best able to deal with an economy now lugging a deficit of more than 8 percent and joblessness in excess of 10 percent. The potential candidate has a delicious irony working for him. Much more than Mr. Sarkozy’s assertions of immunity to thoughts of getting re-elected, Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s job in Washington provides real cover and believability for staying away from in-person presidential positioning. Bosh, comes the reply from the Sarkozy camp to what looks like the emergence on the left, after years of ineffectual squabbling, of legitimate figures who can confront the president eye-to-eye. The explanation: These new circumstances will let the president be the president until 2012, while, for the first time since his election in 2007, public attention obligatorily turns to scrutinizing the strength and coherence of those who contest his leadership. A second irony, this time more malicious than delectable, fits in here: Mr. Sarkozy’s great strengths — his willfulness, energy and frankness — can catch him out. Last week, while stressing his distance from and contempt for re-election politics, he could not resist outlining his strategy for winning a second term. In an interview with Le Figaro Magazine, the president made clear that after ruling this spring on the suitability of Muslim women wearing garments masking their faces (an issue that he as described as a challenge to French identity), and overhauling the country’s retirement system (a plan that might extend workers’ lives on the job until age 67), he is planning to take “a pause” from legislation during 2011. Essentially, that means asking for nothing that sounds new or like sacrifice from the end of 2010 until Election Day. At the same time, Mr. Sarkozy is casting himself for a role next year as a Master of the Universe, saying he would use France’s yearlong chairmanship of the G-20 and G-8 consultative groups of leading economic nations to revise the international monetary system. What’s the target? The United States and its undervalued dollar as the world’s reserve currency. There is really no other way to read Mr. Sarkozy’s roadmap-to-victory interview, where he said: “It’s not up to Europe to pay others’ debts. Monetary dumping is no longer acceptable.” For a man who would want to be president of France again, and who has told the French that their competitiveness is smothered by a cheap U.S. dollar, that is perfect domestic politics. Mr. Sarkozy has indicated that in organizing this mega-production he can count on Brazil and Russia, and possibly China, in supporting roles. If international showmanship also neutralizes Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s reservoir of appeal and authority, so much the better. And since it sets up a possible mano-a-mano with Barack Obama in a pre-election year for both presidents, then Mr. Sarkozy must sense that the guy in Washington’s supply of shock and awe, holding the rest of the world in sway, would be diminished to the point of undermining his defense of an advantageous exchange rate for the dollar. But there are big problems en route. One involves weaker backing for the president within his Gaullist Party. Another is that some of the opinion-makers who gave Sarkozy-the-candidate their support to move France out of what he once described as its torpor, self-delusions and general ineffectuality have made plain the president hasn’t delivered. In January, Jacques Marseille, a historian and economist who initially heralded Mr. Sarkozy as an agent of “rupture” or profound change, found there had been almost none. “The recession did Sarkozy a favor,” Mr. Marseille said two months before his death. “It allowed him to designate a series of scapegoats — Anglo-Saxon finance, bankers, C.E.O.’s bonuses — without developing the structural reforms France requires.” Last week, a leading intellectual of the left, André Glucksmann, who regarded Mr. Sarkozy as able to reorient France toward a more realistic world role, criticized the president’s decision to negotiate the sale of four naval attack vessels to Russia by asking, “Is it serious or realistic to contend that arms sales encourage reform and inhibit imperialistic passions?” Mr. Glucksmann answered the question with a warning about a president who risks “finding himself a captive of his own fantasies.” But Mr. Sarkozy’s biggest problem may be that his game plan for the run-up to 2012 does not jibe with the closer-to-home economic reality. Nicolas Baverez, an essayist and economist who once served as an inspiration for Mr. Sarkozy’s notions of changing France, has written that long-term joblessness, with unemployment compensation running out in 2010 for more than a million French workers, is going to dig a deep hole of exclusion for many households that had lived with relative ease. The circumstance, he said in a commentary, “creates a high risk of tension, injustice and political extremism.” In response to this kind of social shock, Mr. Baverez argued, “the state’s classic means of intervention have a limited effect.” Nowhere in his warning did he suggest that the government was ready to deal with the consequences. Or mention Mr. Sarkozy’s name.

Vinocur John
France
Sarkozy Nicolas
Politics and Government
Elections


Livery Cab Passenger Shot in Brooklyn Robbery Attempt Dies

Abstract: A livery cab passenger who was shot in the head last weekend during a failed robbery attempt in Brooklyn died on Thursday after being taken off life support, the police said. The victim, Nikita Grebelsky, 23, was shot early Saturday and was taken to Kings County Hospital Center. The police arrested Michael Magnan, 19, shortly after the shooting. The attempted murder charge against him will most likely be upgraded to murder, the police said. According to an account given by the police, Mr. Magnan approached the driver of a livery cab as the car idled at a traffic light around 2:30 a.m. and demanded money. The driver refused, and Mr. Magnan drew a gun and fired into the car. The bullet struck Mr. Grebelsky in the head, according to the police. Another passenger in the car was unharmed.

Murders and Attempted Murders
Car Services and Livery Cabs
Police Department (NYC)
Brooklyn (NYC)
New York City
Robberies and Thefts


Polish Minister Fired After Accusations That He Leaked Data

Abstract: BERLIN, Aug. 8 — Prime Minster Jaroslaw Kaczynski of Poland fired his interior minister on Wednesday over accusations that he had hindered a corruption investigation by leaking delicate information. The ouster was one more in a series of problems for the conservative government of Mr. Kaczynski, who is struggling to remain in power, and it could force him to call early elections. He can no longer rely on the full support of the two small radical parties, the Self-Defense Party and the League of Polish Families, that have given him a parliamentary majority. Elections are due in 2009, but Mr. Kaczynski said early elections might be unavoidable. Mr. Kaczynski said at a news conference in Warsaw that he had fired Interior Minister Janusz Kaczmarek because of suspicions that he had leaked information in a way that could have undermined a bribery investigation at the Agriculture Ministry. Mr. Kaczmarek was the second interior minister to be dismissed in six months. The dismissal underscored the turmoil inside an increasingly fragile coalition government elected in October 2005. Mr. Kaczynski, who has led an anticorruption drive since then, has tried to prove that he is prepared to act against ministers even if they are important to the stability of the government. Mr. Kaczynski has replaced several moderate ministers who were considered competent, including a defense minister. A foreign minister, Stefan Mellor, resigned over the direction of policies, in particular those toward the European Union and the government’s anti-German stances. The finance minister was dismissed last year over charges that she had been an informer for the Communist secret police, but she was soon reinstated. Several senior policy advisers in the Foreign Ministry have resigned over policy differences, and the chairman of foreign affairs committee in Parliament, a leading member of Mr. Kaczynski’s Law and Justice Party, was suspended for questioning the competence of Anna Foytga, the foreign minister. Mr. Kaczmarek’s dismissal appeared to be related to Mr. Kaczynski’s ouster last month of Andrzej Lepper, the deputy prime minister and agriculture minister, after corruption charges were brought against him by the Anticorruption Bureau that Mr. Kaczynski established after taking office. The charges against Mr. Lepper are said to relate to a case in which the Agriculture Ministry tried to change zoning rules for land, a move that would affect the selling price. Mr. Kaczmarek was reported to have had access to investigation files and is under suspicion of leaking information about them to the ministry. Mr. Lepper, leader of the Self-Defense Party, has threatened to withdraw his party from the coalition. That would leave Mr. Kaczynski without a working parliamentary majority.

Poland
Politics and Government
Suspensions Dismissals and Resignations
Kaczynski Jaroslaw
Bribery


Outlook Versus Outlook Express?

Abstract: Q. What does Outlook do that Outlook Express doesn’t do? Is there any reason to buy Outlook? A. They may have similar names, but Outlook Express and Outlook vary widely in what you can do with them besides sending and receiving e-mail. Microsoft has a detailed explanation of its own at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/257824 . Outlook Express is a free e-mail program that came loaded on just about every Windows-based PC. Intended for home users with simple mail needs, Outlook Express has an address book and can also be used to read messages from Internet newsgroups. On Vista, the free e-mail program was renamed Windows Mail and given an instant search function and the ability to filter junk mail. Outlook, or as the latest version is called, Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, costs about $110 and is also included in the Microsoft Office suite. It is designed for business users. It includes an integrated to-do list, contact and calendar features, as well as better search and security tools and the ability to send text messages to phones right from the program. If you want to see if you’re missing anything with Outlook, Microsoft has a browser-based “test drive” version, and a free 60-day trial edition of Office 2007 available to download; both are at http://office.microsoft.com .


Another Day, Another Homer: Pujols Beats Cubs Again

Abstract: Albert Pujols hit a game-ending home run in extra innings for the second straight day when he gave St. Louis a 2-0 victory over Chicago on Sunday with a leadoff shot in the 10th inning. Pujols hammered a belt-high fastball from Rodrigo Lopez (0-1) an estimated 446 feet to left for his 10th career game-ending homer. It was his fifth homer during a seven-game homestand and his 13th of the season. Pujols became the 11th major leaguer to hit game-ending homers in consecutive games, according to Stats LLC. Albert Belle was the last to accomplish the feat, for Cleveland against Toronto in 1995. The Cardinals were down to their last strike before Ryan Theriot tied it with a run-scoring double off Carlos Marmol in the ninth. Theriot extended his hitting streak to 19 games, the Cardinals’ longest streak since Pujols hit in 30 straight in 2009. Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano ripped his team after pitching seven crisp innings in which he gave up one run and five hits. “We’re playing like a Triple-A team,” he said. “This is embarrassing.” PHILLIES 7, PIRATES 3 Roy Halladay pitched seven effective innings and Philadelphia won at Pittsburgh and ended its season-high four-game losing streak. DODGERS 9, REDS 6 Los Angeles pitcher Chad Billingsley drove in a career-high three runs with a home run, a double and a bases-loaded walk at Cincinnati. Billingsley (5-4) hit a solo homer in the second inning off Travis Wood (4-4), drew a bases-loaded walk during the Dodgers’ three-run third and chased Wood when his R.B.I. double to the warning track in the fifth made it 8-4. NATIONALS 9, DIAMONDBACKS 4 Rick Ankiel drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out walk in the 11th inning and Mike Morse followed with a grand slam, leading Washington to a wild victory at Arizona. Managers Jim Riggleman of the Nationals and Kirk Gibson of the Diamondbacks were among four ejections. Washington batters were hit by pitches four times; second baseman Danny Espinosa was hit twice. BREWERS 6, MARLINS 5 Josh Wilson homered with two out in the 11th inning for visiting Milwaukee, which beat Florida by a run for the third day in a row. GIANTS 2, ROCKIES 1 Ryan Vogelsong (4-1) matched his career high with eight innings, giving up a run and four hits to lead San Francisco at home. He has allowed one run or no runs in each of his past six starts. PADRES 7, ASTROS 2 Chase Headley extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a run-scoring double and San Diego won three straight home games for the first time this season. RANGERS 2, INDIANS 0 C. J. Wilson and two relievers combined for the Rangers’ sixth shutout in their last 20 games, and Texas completed its first four-game sweep in Cleveland in nearly 33 years. Mitch Moreland and Elvis Andrus homered as Texas, which leads the American League West, wrapped a 6-1 trip to Tampa Bay and Cleveland. The slumping Indians still lead the A.L. Central despite dropping 9 of 12. Texas’s last four-game road sweep was at Minnesota in April 1999, and its only other four-game sweep in Cleveland came in August 1978. RED SOX 6, ATHLETICS 3 Carl Crawford hit a three-run homer and Adrian Gonzalez added a two-run shot, powering John Lackey and host Boston. After blowing a four-run lead in the ninth the day before and needing 14 innings to win, the Red Sox welcomed the wire-to-wire victory that completed their three-game sweep of Oakland. Crawford hit his homer in the second and Gonzalez added one in the fourth. That was plenty of offense for Lackey (3-5), who was coming off a stay on the disabled list with a strained elbow. TIGERS 7, WHITE SOX 3 Ryan Raburn hit a grand slam and Miguel Cabrera homered for the second straight day to power Detroit at Chicago. The White Sox right-hander Jake Peavy left with a strained right groin after allowing six runs in the fourth. BLUE JAYS 7, ORIOLES 4 Playing his second game since returning from a lengthy stay on the disabled list, Adam Lind went 4 for 4 with two homers and three runs batted in to carry Toronto at Baltimore. Lind missed nearly a month with a sore back before being activated on Friday. TWINS 6, ROYALS 0 Brian Duensing pitched eight sharp innings, and Jason Repko snapped an 0-for-14 skid and drove in three runs for visiting Minnesota, which completed its first four-game sweep in almost four years. MARINERS 9, RAYS 6 Miguel Olivo hit a tie-breaking three-run homer off Joel Peralta in the bottom of the eighth to lift host Seattle. Brandon League pitched a scoreless ninth for his 16th save, completing the Mariners’ 15th come-from-behind victory.

Baseball
St Louis Cardinals
Chicago Cubs
Pujols Albert