Saudis Delay Measure Affecting Foreign Workers

Abstract: CAIRO — Almost two weeks after Saudi Arabia started deporting thousands of foreign workers from Yemen and other countries in a crackdown that drew protests from local business owners and foreign diplomats, Saudi officials on Saturday reversed course and announced a three-month grace period for the workers, according to the official Saudi news agency. In late March, Saudi officials announced changes to the country’s employment code, promising tough measures, including deportation, for foreigners found to be violating the work-visa sponsorship system. The statement on Saturday said the workers had three months to conform with the new regulations. It was not immediately clear whether workers who had already been deported — including up to 20,000 from Yemen, according to officials there — would be allowed to return. Saudi officials have framed the crackdown as part of a continuing effort to lower the country’s staggering youth unemployment rate, in part by shifting the balance in hiring practices for private-sector jobs, which are overwhelmingly occupied by the kingdom’s 10 million foreign workers. In November, the government started penalizing private companies that hire more foreigners than Saudi citizens as part of a plan to create six million new jobs for Saudis by 2030. The policy also reflects fears of political instability among the monarchies of the Persian Gulf region, where the authorities have combined inducements with repression to contain the discontent among young people that helped propel the Arab uprisings more than two years ago. Officials in Kuwait also recently announced a policy to reduce its high proportion of expatriate workers over the next decade. After the crackdown was announced, some Saudi employers reported that their businesses had been raided and said that employees fearful of the authorities were staying away from work. A lawyer in Saudi Arabia said that “an army of women law enforcers” had descended on women-only shops and salons to find people in violation of the law. At one of the country’s largest ports, in Jidda, workers said that the handling of shipments had slowed because most of the port’s foreign workers were staying home, according to a report on Saturday in The Saudi Gazette. Workers told the newspaper that the labor force had dwindled to about 200 workers from more than a thousand before the government announced its new enforcement policy. Yemen, Saudi Arabia’s neighbor and the region’s most impoverished country, was perhaps hardest hit by the policy. Rajeh Badi, a media adviser to Yemen’s prime minister, said in an interview last week that 18,000 to 20,000 Yemenis had been deported from Saudi Arabia since the authorities started enforcing the new regulations, cutting off a critical source of remittances. The deportations led to protests in Yemen’s capital, Sana, last week. In Yemen, “there are no jobs,” Mr. Badi said. “Those returning Yemenis will be joining the lines of unemployment.” At least a million Yemenis are believed to be working in Saudi Arabia, mostly as laborers who remain with their original sponsors for only a few months before trying to find other work, Mr. Badi said. He added that it was often difficult for workers to switch to other sponsors, raising questions about whether the grace period would be able to help Yemeni workers in Saudi Arabia legalize their status.

Saudi Arabia
Foreign Workers
Jobs
Immigration
Remittances
Ships and Shipping
Deportation
Yemen


Kazakhstan: Leader’s Long-Term Lease

Abstract: Kazakhstan ’s senate, generally considered a rubber-stamp chamber, voted unanimously on Thursday to ask President Nursultan Nazarbayev to extend his current term in office until 2020 by holding a referendum on continuing his rule rather than a scheduled election. Mr. Nazarbayev, who has already ruled for almost 20 years, would be 80 years old in 2020.

Kazakhstan
Nazarbayev Nursultan A
Appointments and Executive Changes


In Eastern Ukrainian City, a Tug of War for More Autonomy

Abstract: DONETSK, Ukraine — Pro-Russian demonstrators demanding greater independence from the central government overcame riot police in this eastern Ukrainian city and poured into the regional administration building here on Wednesday evening, retaking it for a second time this week in a tug of war with the local police. Led by Pavel Gubarev, the founder of a local self-defense militia who has declared himself “the people’s governor,” demonstrators pushed past rows of police officers with riot shields in less than a minute, stormed inside through a broken window in the lobby and raised the Russian flag over the administration building. They demanded a referendum to give the region greater autonomy from the interim central government in Kiev that seized power from President Viktor F. Yanukovych last month. Some called for secession and a decision to become part of Russia. The police on Wednesday morning evicted the protesters on the basis of a bomb threat, a claim that Mr. Gubarev called “a provocation” to force them out of the government building. As 2,000 of Mr. Gubarev’s supporters gathered outside Wednesday evening, the police said they would resist any new attempts to capture the building, signaling a growing resistance to Mr. Gubarev’s group. On Monday, police officers calmly stepped aside after negotiations with Mr. Gubarev and allowed his supporters to occupy the building. In an interview before the building’s recapture, Sergey V. Bogachev, the secretary of the City Council, which has called for a referendum to extend the city’s authority, condemned Mr. Gubarev’s actions as possibly criminal. However, the protests, Mr. Bogachev said, reflected public fear that the interim government would limit the rights of ethnic Russians, who are a majority of the population here. In the darkened building, demonstrators sought to extend their control, fiddling with electrical boxes and trying to use a circular saw to cut their way into an access stairway. Organizers tried to control the protesters, telling them not to attack the police or journalists. The police did not appear to make any arrests and did not use nightsticks during the clash.


Boys Choir of Harlem Vows That Eviction Will Not Be Its Finale

Abstract: With their burgundy uniforms and studied poise, the young singers have become a familiar presence on the streets of Harlem, venerated like celebrities and cherished for their determination to surmount daunting odds. But come Jan. 31, the Boys Choir of Harlem will become a globe-trotting chorale without a home. After more than a decade based at a public school at Madison Avenue and 127th Street, where it helps run the Choir Academy of Harlem, the Boys Choir and its lesser-known sister chorale are being evicted by the city's Department of Education for what the agency describes as a host of financial and managerial improprieties. Although it has always had difficulty raising funds, the choir now faces its most serious crisis since it was founded in the basement of a Harlem church nearly four decades ago. In addition to a lack of money, which has led to almost all of the organization's staff members being laid off, the choir has yet to fully recover from a scandal involving the molestation of a 14-year-old student by a guidance counselor. The counselor, Frank Jones Jr., was sentenced to two years in prison in 2002, but the organization and its founder, Dr. Walter J. Turnbull, have been unable to put the episode behind them. "We feel like we're under siege," said Keira Busher, a member of the choir's board of directors, whose son sings alto in the choir. "All this turmoil is very frustrating for us but even more so for the kids." In the two weeks since the eviction notice, was made public, there have been signs of hope. Former Mayor David N. Dinkins raised the possibility last week that he might take a leadership role with the organization, and the Department of Education relented slightly by proposing that the choir provide after-school instruction to students who attend the Choir Academy of Harlem, the school that had been jointly run by the city and the choir. In an interview, Mr. Dinkins said that his role would most likely be temporary, but that he was awaiting a full accounting of the choir's problems. "All I know is I want to be able to see these kids to continue to be able to perform," he said. Representative Charles B. Rangel of Harlem, one of the group's most prominent backers, has also vowed to do whatever he can to make sure the choir survives. "We're trying hard to help them pick up the pieces," he said. "I love these kids. They are an inspiration to their peers and to the entire world." Despite a series of meetings between Mr. Rangel and education officials, and a spirited City Hall protest last week by choir supporters, Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein appears to be committed to ending the city's 13-year-old collaboration with the organization. The academy's 600 students will continue using the building in East Harlem, but it remains unclear whether the curriculum will include the strong musical focus that had long been provided by the choir's staff. In severing its links to the group, education officials blame Dr. Turnbull for violating an agreement between the city and the choir that was supposed to help guide the fabled institution through its recent spate of troubles. The choir's free use of city property, including utilities, is valued at more than $550,000 a year. In his first public comments since the eviction was announced, Dr. Turnbull accused education officials of manipulating the facts to punish him and his choir for refusing to fully conform to the education agency's bureaucracy. He also said racism played a role in the city's campaign against him. "These charges are without basis," Dr. Turnbull said. "They want to marginalize me as a black man." Although he insisted that the choir would ultimately survive, he said that the agency's decision would hurt hundreds of students who had made it through auditions to gain a coveted spot in the academy. Keith Kalb, a spokesman for the department, denied that racism played any role. He said that the chancellor stood by the reasons in a five-page letter sent to the choir's board of directors late last month. "We're going to let the letter speak for itself," he said. Among other things, the letter said that Dr. Turnbull had failed to hire a new executive director and that he was essentially running the choir, a violation of the year-old agreement that allowed him to stay on as artistic director in exchange for changes at his organization. Additionally, it claimed that his staff was inadequately supervising students and that the choir had failed to communicate with school administrators about its finances, staff changes and concert tours. Education officials painted a picture of a formerly robust music program that had been all but eviscerated by budget woes. The final eight members of what was once a staff of 25 accompanists, choreographers and vocal coaches were let go in September. The organization remains $5 million in debt. The Boys Choir of Harlem "has been unable to provide any assurance that it will be able to solve its problems and be a partner upon which the D.O.E. can rely in educating our children," wrote Michael Best, a lawyer for the Department of Education. "The Department needs to ensure that the school serves the needs of its students, not the needs of the B.C.H." Dr. Turnbull denied the claim that he still had a hand in the choir's operations, and insisted that students were well taught and well supervised. "They make us sound like a bunch of bumpkins, that we don't know what we're doing," said Dr. Turnbull, 61, who started the choir in 1968 with a group of 20 boys. Still, he acknowledged that the choir, long beset by financial troubles, had suffered a steep drop in donations after the sex-abuse scandal. A report released in 2004 by city investigators blamed Dr. Turnbull and his brother, Horace, for mishandling the abuse allegations. As part of the agreement that allowed Dr. Turnbull to stay on as artistic director, Horace, the choir's vice president, agreed to leave the choir. "It's never been easy to raise money, but it makes it that much harder when people are talking negatively about the choir," Dr. Turnbull said. In interviews, parents, students and staff members described a school that has been plagued by an atmosphere of uncertainty and frustration marked by book shortages, overcrowded music classes and the instability of having had four principals in three years. Ms. Busher, the choir board member who is also the president of the academy's PTA, blamed education officials for trying to force too many changes. "They want to take their boxed system and impose it on a unique kind of school," she said. Mr. Rangel said he was particularly upset by when and how the eviction was announced, just a few days before Christmas and through the press. "Whatever problem the mayor has with the choir's management, it seems to me that the children should not be kicked into the street," he said. Although many parents and teachers have rallied behind Dr. Turnbull, some staff members said he deserved a fair amount of blame for the choir's current troubles. Keith Burton, who was music director for 14 years, said that even when the choir was months behind in paying its staff, Dr. Turnbull would hire new conductors and administrators at generous salaries. "We could never do direct deposit because you could never be sure of your paycheck," said Mr. Burton, 39, who was let go with the remaining staff in September. "It had been so stressful there for a long time." Many students and their parents, however, enthusiastically support Dr. Turnbull and the model he has created, even if it is imperfect. Emily Sheppard, whose son, Moussa Sy, is a 10th grader at the academy, said the choir had turned his life around. His confidence level has soared and the frequent concert tours have taught him independence and discipline, she said. "When you walk around this neighborhood, you see a lot of unsuccessful stories, but at this school you hear a lot of success stories," said Ms. Sheppard, whose son commutes from Brooklyn. "If you cut out the choir, you cut out the heart of this school. Sure my son could go to another school, but then the dream would die."


A 4-Legged Fire Alarm Graces the Field

Abstract: When Julia Haight leads her prize entry into the ring at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on Monday, judges will see a shiba inu who is athletic, alert and pert. The dog, Tomi, also helped save Haight’s life. Haight cannot be certain what would have happened that day in October. How could she? Five people were in the house on Long Island, sound asleep, when the fire started. What she knows for sure is that Tomi (pronounced TAH-mee) smelled the smoke enveloping Haight’s second-floor bedroom. He jumped hard onto the bed, pounced on Haight from head to toe and kept slamming his 25-pound body into her face. “He’s normally catlike, very graceful, but he was violently shaking,” Haight said. “It wasn’t like him at all.” Awakened by this living alarm, everyone escaped. The home was heavily damaged. “It could have been so, so different,” she said. More than 2,700 dogs will be coming to the Westminster show, America’s most prestigious dog event, and all of them are special. Charlie, a Skye terrier, was second to the now-retired Miss P, a beagle, for best in show last year. Rumor, a German shepherd, is ranked as the nation’s No. 1 show dog. There is a Berger Picard who detects when the owner’s son has low blood-sugar levels. There is a pharaoh hound who needed medical and emotional aid after neglect. “These are real dogs and real people,” said David Frei, the longtime Westminster television host. “They’re not dogs that just sit around all day on doggy cushions eating doggy bonbons.” Judging at the 140th annual show will start Monday morning in the exhibition space on two piers that jut into the Hudson River. Shortly before 11 p.m. Tuesday, on the green carpet at Madison Square Garden, Richard Meen of Canada will choose America’s top dog. Image Five people escaped the burning house. “He’s normally catlike, very graceful,” Haight said, “but he was violently shaking.” Credit Julia Haight, via Associated Press There are seven new types of dogs this year, increasing the total to 199 breeds and varieties. That includes 51 Labrador retrievers and one neapolitan mastiff but not a single Norwegian lundehund. All 50 states are represented, along with entries from Thailand, Brazil and Slovenia. There was also to be an agility competition Saturday and a first-time obedience event Monday. Dog fanciers watching Monday on CNBC and Tuesday on USA Network can compete, too. Purina Pro Plan is offering a $1 million prize for correctly picking the winners of the hound, nonsporting, herding, sporting, toy, working and terrier groups, as well as the overall champion. Tomi is among the 14 shiba inus entered. Spirited and on the smallish side, they are the pride of Japan; come in shades of red, white, sesame, black and tan; and are highly focused on keeping their coats clean. Tomi is back for his third Westminster show, but his greatest feat came at dawn on Oct. 19 in Hicksville, N.Y. Haight was asleep, along with her husband, her brother, his girlfriend and a family friend. That is, until Tomi jumped on her. “He was telling me something was wrong,” Haight said. “Somehow, he knew.” At first, she thought she smelled the heating system coming on. She quickly realized it was much worse. An electrical fire had broken out, and the smoke was starting to pour through the hallways. Haight and everyone else scrambled outside to safety. Three other dogs in the house, three birds and some fish were also saved. Minutes later, fire trucks and an ambulance rolled up. The blaze was extinguished, but because of the smoke, water and fire damage, the house was uninhabitable. During the past four months, the Haights have lived in a pet-friendly hotel and a rental home. Haight has continued to work in retail management for PetSmart, a company that sells pet supplies and services. Tomi, for all he did, enjoyed some treats. “Nothing but people food for a week,” Haight said. The family plans to return to its rebuilt home this month. “I know he misses his yard,” Haight said of Tomi. “And thanks to him, we all get to go back and enjoy it.”


Live Nation Reports Lower Profits on Higher Revenue

Abstract: Live Nation Entertainment, the concert industry giant that includes Ticketmaster, reported lower profits for its third quarter, but higher revenue as attendance to its concerts and festivals grew around the world. The company reported $43.8 million in net income for the three months that ended in September, down 24 percent from the same period last year. It earned 22 cents a share. The profit decline was mostly the result of a $36 million payment related to a recent debt refinancing. The third quarter is historically the busiest time of the year for the concert business, and a litmus test for the health of the business overall. With an improved economy and a growing portfolio of electronic dance festivals around the world, Live Nation reported $2.3 billion in revenue for the quarter, up 15 percent from last year and higher than the $2.1 billion that analysts had expected. Live Nation drew 21.2 million people to 5,068 events during the quarter; last year 16.7 million people attended 5,165 events. The most popular tours this summer included Rihanna, Pink and Maroon 5, and in a conference call with investors, Live Nation executives attributed much of the quarter’s success to the growth of dance festivals, the music industry’s latest craze. The company will present 18 dance festivals this year, up from 10 last year, and it expects that more than 2.5 million people will attend its dance events by the end of 2013. Live Nation has competed with SFX Entertainment and other companies to acquire dance festivals and promoters. This year Live Nation bought a controlling share in Insomniac, the company behind the popular Electric Daisy Carnival festivals, for an estimated $50 million. SFX, which is devoted to electronic dance music, went public last month and as has completed a number of acquisitions using the proceeds from its initial public offering. On Monday it announced that its latest deal was for Made Event, the promoter behind the annual Electric Zoo festival in New York. The makeup of SFX shows how small the concert industry can be. Its chief executive, Robert F. X. Sillerman, assembled much of Live Nation’s core concert infrastructure in the 1990s; he later sold it to Clear Channel Communications, which spun off Live Nation in 2005. Live Nation’s stock — which has more than doubled over the last year — closed at $19.40 on Tuesday, down 1.1 percent for the day. The company announced its earnings after the close of the market, and its stock fell another 2.6 percent in after-hours trading.

Music
Earnings Reports
Live Nation Entertainment


UConn Holds Off L.S.U.

Abstract: Maya Moore scored 18 of her 29 points in the second half to lift No. 1 Connecticut to a 74-69 victory at No. 6 Louisiana State on Monday night, ending the Lady Tigers’ 14-game winning streak. Tina Charles added 18 for UConn (27-1), converting clutch shots over the 6-foot-6 L.S.U. center Sylvia Fowles. Charles’s last basket gave UConn (27-1) a 72-66 lead with a little over a minute to go. Fowles finished with 26 points to lead L.S.U. (23-4). U.N.C. 85, N.C. STATE 79 Erlana Larkins scored 18 points and No. 2 North Carolina (26-2) clinched a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference title by beating visiting North Carolina State (17-10). INDIANA 69, OHIO STATE 61 Jamie Braun scored 19 points, lifting host Indiana (16-12) to an overtime victory against No. 20 Ohio State (20-7). Men MARQUETTE 85, VILLANOVA 75 Dominic James scored 25 points and Lazar Hayward added 15 points and 9 rebounds to lead No. 21 Marquette (21-6) to a victory against host Villanova (17-10). IN OTHER GAMES D. J. Augustin scored 24 points, helping No. 5 Texas (24-4) win, 74-65, at Kansas State (18-9). ... Diamon Simpson and Tron Smith scored 15 points each, helping No. 23 Saint Mary’s (24-4) win, 61-54, at home against San Diego (16-13).

University of Connecticut
Basketball
Louisiana State University


Junta Leader Is Named New Premier of Thailand

Abstract: The army general who led the overthrow of Thailand’s elected government in May was named prime minister on Thursday by a rubber-stamp legislature, sealing the military’s acquisition of near-absolute power in a country once considered a regional beacon of political freedom. Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha was chosen as prime minister by the National Legislative Assembly, whose members were handpicked by the junta last month. There were no dissenting votes, and General Prayuth, who was attending a military ceremony outside of Bangkok and was not present, was the only candidate. Thailand has a long history of generals seizing power, but the military this time has been more aggressive in rooting out democratic institutions than after the last coup in 2006. All forms of popular elections have been suspended, including those for local councils that first appeared well over a century ago when Thailand was still an absolute monarchy. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who is 86 and ailing, has endorsed the junta and was expected to formally approve General Prayuth’s selection as prime minister. The ascendance this year of military power in Thailand goes against a recent trend of greater democratization in Southeast Asia. In Indonesia, which for decades was ruled by a military strongman, a populist governor, Joko Widodo, defeated a former general in the July presidential election. Meanwhile, Thailand’s western neighbor, Myanmar, is embracing multiparty democracy after five decades of harsh military dictatorship. Thailand’s military says it will eventually restore democracy. But the junta has not provided a firm timetable for elections, and an interim constitution introduced by the military says that democracy, when it is restored, will be “suitable for a Thai context,” a vague qualification that has yet to be defined. Surachart Bamrungsuk, a professor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok and an expert on the Thai military, describes the current system as a “soft dictatorship” and says that the top generals are trying to cement their place in the country’s future. “What they want is a kind of guided democracy where the military has a supervisory role,” Professor Surachart said. Although martial law is still in effect and more than 500 people with links to political activism have been detained since the coup — most of them since released — the junta’s political repression is scarcely felt on the streets of Bangkok, which remain lively despite a 10 percent drop in the number of foreign tourists visiting the country this year and an economy that shrank in the first half of 2014. Even those skeptical of the bloodless coup admit that the military has significant support, especially among the urban middle class. The military seized power on May 22 after six months of political stalemate brought on by protests backed by the Bangkok establishment. The coup achieved the ultimate goal of the protesters, the removal from power of the governing party founded by the billionaire former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose movement has strong support in the provinces and has repeatedly won national elections but antagonized the Bangkok elites. “A lot of people who supported the coup see it as a necessary pause for democracy; they are buying into what the coup leaders are saying,” said Sarinee Achavanuntakul, an investment banker turned blogger who has been critical of the coup. Military rule is popular with Thais who are tired of street protests and polarized politics, she said. “I think there’s a false normalcy now,” she said. Political rancor has been pushed underground. The normally divisive and cacophonous process of passing an annual budget was dispensed with in a few hours this week when members of the National Legislative Assembly, most of whom are either current or retired soldiers, voted unanimously to pass it. Politicians — defined as anyone who has held a position in a political party in the last three years — are barred from membership in the assembly. Thongchai Winichakul, a professor of Southeast Asian history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says the junta is harnessing disdain for politicians and a yearning, among some Thais, for virtuous authoritarianism. “Buddhist political philosophy has always featured an enlightened despot,” he said. But Professor Thongchai predicts that ultimately the generals will be unable to manage the country, the second largest economy in Southeast Asia, and will meet resistance to their rule. “Paternalistic dictatorship won’t work anymore,” he said. “The society is too complex.” Previous military strongmen in Thailand operated during a time when the country was poor and agrarian, he said; Thais today are much more politically aware and demanding. General Prayuth has decreed an expansion of spending on railways and roads, and regularly makes pronouncements on matters well beyond the normal duties of a career soldier. In a recent speech he addressed the Ebola outbreak in Africa, trash management, begging syndicates, education, tourism, household debt and surrogacy. The military says its mission is to bring “happiness back to the people” and has announced a number of populist policies since coming to power, including a raise for civil servants, free movie tickets and putting World Cup soccer games on free television channels. General Prayuth, who gives weekly addresses to the country, speaks in a folksy style and often brushes off serious issues with attempts at levity. Unlike previous Thai military strongmen, he had a relatively low profile before becoming the chief of the army in 2010. Even a military officer who researched a book with him says he knows little about General Prayuth’s career and personal life. “Very few people know his background,” said the officer, Col. Khajornsak Thaiprayoon, a lecturer at the Command and General Staff College in Bangkok who helped publish the book, “The Royal Thai Armed Forces and Non-Traditional Threats.” A military spokesman said no résumé was available for General Prayuth. The general does not appear to have ever served in battle, but he was instrumental in organizing the crackdown against protesters in Bangkok in 2010 that left more than 90 people dead. General Prayuth, who is 60, faces legally mandated retirement from the military next month; his appointment as prime minister will allow him to continue to lead the junta. Professor Surachart, the military expert, says the junta’s acceptance by the public will depend in large part on whether the ruling generals keep their hands clean. “The big question is will they revert to the corrupt practices of the past,” he said. Previous military strongmen in Thailand amassed staggering levels of wealth. The estate of Sarit Thanarat, who seized power in a coup in 1957 and ruled for six years, was valued at $140 million when he died, a sum equivalent to more than $1 billion in today’s dollars. The general’s fortune became public after 20 people who claimed to be his wives, mistresses and children sought legal action after his death.

Thailand
Prayuth Chan-ocha
Coups D'Etat
Military
Politics
National Council for Peace and Order


Cellphones That Track the Kids

Abstract: Let’s face it: we’re in love with the idea of secret location trackers. In “The Da Vinci Code,” the bad guys slap a location-tracking button onto Tom Hanks’s clothing. In “The Matrix,” a location-tracking scorpion robot crawls into Keanu Reeves’s abdomen. In “Total Recall,” a tracking device is implanted into Arnold Schwarzenegger’s nose. Many parents may have fleetingly harbored the fantasy of equipping their children with such tracking devices (though perhaps not through their noses or navels). You could find out instantly where your teenager was, or find out that your middle-schooler didn’t come home after school because of a rendezvous you forgot about. But this is one sci-fi gadget that’s no longer fi, thanks to advanced sci — satellite-based tracking based on Global Positioning System (G.P.S.) technology. At least five companies — Wherify Wireless, Guardian Angel Technology, Disney Mobile, Verizon Wireless and Sprint — have built G.P.S. tracking into something children carry voluntarily: cellphones. The super-simplified Wherifone ($100), for example, is intended for very young or old customers. Because it has no number pad, it’s probably the smallest cellphone you’ve ever seen — about the size of a Fig Newton. On the company’s Web site, wherifywireless.com , you can program three of its four speed-dial buttons to dial Mom, Dad and Gramps, for example; the fourth summons an address book containing 20 more numbers. The phone can receive calls from any number, although you, the wise parent, can restrict incoming calls using the Web site. The phone comes in five colors. The plans range from $20 a month (60 minutes of talking) to $47 (200 minutes); checking a phone’s location counts as one minute of calling. To pinpoint the phone’s location, you call up the Web site, enter your password, click “locate,” and presto: an icon appears on a map — either a street map or actual satellite photo. In the photo view, you can zoom in enough to see individual buildings. These are existing satellite photos —you won’t actually see your child standing there — but this feature is still creepy and awesome. You can even watch “bread crumbs” appear on the map as the phone moves around (cost: one talk-time minute apiece). That could be helpful if you’re trying to assist someone lost on the road, or in the kinds of emergencies encountered primarily in your nightmares. The Wherifone is not, however, a full-blown cellphone. It looks and acts more like a “Star Trek” communicator. Its screen is crude, tiny and black-and-white. There’s no Internet, ring tone downloads, games, camera or text messaging, though some parents might consider that a bonus. The phone has a hissy quality that makes all calls sound as if they’re coming from the seashore. The phone from Guardian Angel Technology ( guardianangeltech.com ) is quite a collaboration; the company makes neither the phone (Motorola), the cellular network (Nextel), nor even the billing plan (Boost Mobile). Instead, what this company brings to the table is the G.P.S. software. The company offers three phone models, none of them cutting edge, and one of them (the $75 base model) looks as if it’s from 1994. You can also buy any phone from the greater selection at boostmobile.com , and send it to Guardian Angel for G.P.S. enhancement. Many of these phones offer Nextel’s walkie-talkie feature. On the upside, the G.P.S. tracking on the Guardian Angel phones is more sophisticated than its rivals’. For example, you can see a full 30 days’ worth of “bread crumbs,” which could settle the occasional argument about your teenager’s whereabouts the last few weekends. And you can opt to have street names superimposed on the satellite-photo view (just as in Google Maps, which powers this feature). The downside is the pricing: $30 a month just for the tracking. You can start and stop this service as needed, but it’s still much more expensive than its rivals. Then again, the Guardian Angel phone is prepaid, so there’s no annual contract, monthly bill or credit check. You buy minutes in advance. Such a plan makes sense for many young consumers, although the minutes are pricey (20 cents each, 10 cents at night and weekends). If you’re worried that classmates will make fun of the weird-looking Wherifone and Guardian Angel phones, consider Disney Mobile. Its flagship phone ($50 each after rebates and with a two-year commitment), looks like a cutting-edge sleek flip-phone — because it is one. This phone, made by LG and dressed in red and silver, has a camera, video capture, text messaging, Bluetooth, speakerphone and voice dialing, plus Disney-themed ring tones, wallpaper options and phone themes. You get five free location checks a month; additional checks cost 50 cents each. No bread crumb feature is available, and you see only street maps — not aerial photos. You can make a location check from a Web site ( disneymobile.com ) or, better yet, from your other Disney cellphone. (Most people get two Disney phones, since the monthly plans include two phone numbers.) Your own phone’s screen might say, for example, “Casey’s Phone. Near 18 Whippoorwill Ln, Chicago, IL 60609; accurate within 20 yards” — and you can summon a map right on your phone’s screen. Performing location checks from your phone is a huge benefit not available to the Wherifone; you can do it with Guardian Angel phones only if your own phone has a full-blown built-in Web browser. Disney also offers the best parental controls. You can establish allowances for calls, text messages and downloads, for example, and you can limit calling by time period. You can set up whitelists (lists of approved phone numbers) or blacklists (not permitted). You can also blast “family alerts” to the screens of all of your family’s phones at once; a menu offers ready-made phrases like “Running late. Be there soon!” Unfortunately, these premium services command a premium price. Plans range from $60 a month (450 minutes) to $250 (4,500 minutes). That’s much more expensive than, say, Sprint, which provides Disney’s service. With Sprint, you get twice as many minutes for the same $60. No text messages are included in Disney plans, and calls to Disney phones outside your family aren’t free, either. Each specialty-phone candidate offers something unique: Wherifone’s four-button simplicity; the pay-as-you-go feature of Guardian Angel; Disney’s parental controls. Each entails some compromise, though — like inflated rates, a microscopic selection of phones and, perhaps, the need to switch carriers. For many people, two newcomers to the track-your-kid market may offer less severe trade-offs: Verizon Wireless and Sprint. For $10 a month, you can add either company’s tracking feature to any regular calling plan. Sprint’s Family Locator feature offers 58 trackable phone models for your children; Verizon’s Chaperone plan offers four phones, including the Wherifone-like four-button Migo for younger children. You, the parent, can perform unlimited location checks either from a Web site or your own Sprint or Verizon phone (30 models from Sprint, 12 from Verizon). Sprint’s map Web page is far more sophisticated than Verizon’s — it offers aerial views, reports of past locations and the ability to add landmarks to the map (like “Robin’s house”), but it’s incompatible with Safari, the Macintosh browser. Verizon offers, for yet another $10 monthly, another equation-changing feature called Child Zone, in which a text message notifies you every time your child strays beyond geographical boundaries that you’ve set up. It’s like a more humane version of the electric doggie fence. With all of these phones, your main frustration is likely to be coverage. Guardian Angel’s phone, for example, uses the Nextel network, which is smaller than those of the major carriers. In every case, consult the companies’ coverage maps before you buy. It’s also worth pondering the moral implications of this technical advance. What these companies are selling you is, in effect, a spying tool. How comfortable are you playing Big Brother — or, rather, Big Momma or Big Daddy? Only Sprint informs your youngster, by text message, each time you perform a location check, so you can’t snoop around undetected. The other companies permit spying with total stealth. Maybe that’s a good thing. After all, remember what always happens in the movies once the hero discovers the tracking device. Arnold Schwarzenegger extracts the circuit from his nose, Carrie-Anne Moss sucks the scorpion from Keanu Reeves’s belly button, and Tom Hanks confuses his pursuers by tossing his G.P.S. button into a passing truck.

Wireless Communications
Children and Youth
Global Positioning System


‘We’re an Easy Target’: Taken In by the Trump Brand

Abstract: The sales pitches seeking to separate Cheryl Lankford from her money began during the recession as she struggled to get back on her feet after the death of her husband, an American soldier serving in Iraq. Two of them were from companies that have boasted the Trump name. One was Trump University , the real estate sales seminar that Donald J. Trump promoted as a way for average people to profit from opportunities in the housing market. Ms. Lankford said she spent $35,000 from an Army insurance payment to learn Mr. Trump’s secrets. Another was Cambridge Who’s Who, a vanity publisher promising “branding services” that seemed to complement the real estate business she hoped to create. She paid thousands of dollars to Cambridge, whose spokesman and “executive director of global branding” was Mr. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Jr. Six years later, Ms. Lankford, who is 44 and has a son, has little to show for the money she spent, aside from a nagging sense that she was taken advantage of. Several friends in her community in San Antonio fell for similar offers, she said, but most are not eager to talk about it. “As a widow, you find you were so dependent on your husband, and when you make a mistake because of predatory businesses, it’s embarrassing,” Ms. Lankford said. “We’re an easy target.” “Easy target” might describe the audience for several enterprises stamped with the Trump brand that have been accused of preying upon desperation, inexperience or vanity. Some are well known. Trump University has most recently gained notice because of Mr. Trump’s attacks on the Mexican heritage of the judge overseeing a fraud lawsuit brought by former students. There was also a multilevel vitamin-selling enterprise, the Trump Network, that Mr. Trump had said would give hope to people looking to “opt out of the recession.” But intersecting with these was another, largely unexamined, business venture, Cambridge Who’s Who, which generated hundreds of complaints that it deceptively peddled the promise of recognition in a registry, as well as branding and networking services of questionable value. Dozens of people who paid Trump-endorsed businesses were also sold products by Cambridge, which benefited from its partnership with Donald Trump Jr. through “leveraging relationships built by the Trump empire,” according to Cambridge. Cambridge was not a Trump company; it was operated by Randy Narod, a Long Island, N.Y., nightclub and bagel store owner barred from the securities industry for having had an impostor take his licensing exam. However, Cambridge gained the Trump imprimatur when the younger Mr. Trump came on board in 2010 and began promoting its services as a way for people to distinguish themselves in a tough economic climate. He worked in plugs for Cambridge during interviews on the Fox Business Network and TheStreet.com, did a promotional video and appeared in photos with Mr. Narod. Among them was one with another Trump executive at Trump Tower in New York, where, according to a news release, the three men discussed “strategies to expand the personal branding and professional networking services offered by Cambridge Who’s Who.” Mr. Narod’s company said on its website that it had embarked on a “global expansion with the Trump Organization.” “Branding is the best way to gain recognition and exposure, and nobody knows this more than the Trump Organization,” the younger Mr. Trump said in a promotion for Cambridge. Video The son of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee appeared in a 2010 promotional video for Cambridge Who’s Who, a vanity publisher promising “branding services.” Cambridge employees played up the Trump association when pursuing customers. “We had scripts to read when we made our calls to people, and when Donald Trump Jr. came along, our scripts were changed to include him in it,” said Joy Debono, a former Cambridge telemarketer. “We would basically say that Cambridge was a good company because Trump was involved in it.” Donald Trump Jr. declined to answer questions about his work for Cambridge. His father’s presidential campaign issued a statement saying the younger Mr. Trump’s role at the company “was an arrangement made totally outside of the Trump Organization and there was never any commingling of the two corporations at any level.” Mr. Narod said that the younger Mr. Trump worked with Cambridge for a year while also continuing as a top executive with the Trump Organization, and that he had been aware of the complaints against Cambridge, as well as Mr. Narod’s censure by the securities industry. “Don Jr. was hired for a very short time as a spokesperson to help our members with their personal branding, since he and his family build one of the biggest brands in the world,” Mr. Narod said. “We believed that he could be essential to enhance their online presence.” Costly ‘Honors’ The “who’s who” industry has a long and dubious history. There are some well-established companies that publish directories of professionals in various fields, such as lawyers and top corporate executives. But there are many others that target people of little distinction, shower them with accolades and then try to sell them costly “honors” such as placement in a directory or wall plaques. Cambridge and its subsidiary, Worldwide Branding, took the model a step further, adding the promise of branding — news releases, video biographies and a personalized web page — and networking with other Cambridge customers who paid a membership fee to join. When Donald Trump Jr. joined Cambridge, the company had already had about 400 complaints filed against it with the Better Business Bureau since 2006. Scores more appeared in online consumer forums like Ripoff Report, where customers vented about misleading sales calls, worthless products and difficulties getting refunds. Many of the complaints describe a similar pattern of aggressively steering people into ever more expensive products. A 69-year-old woman from Kansas reported that she had paid $788 for services she claimed were “not worth $50 collectively” while she was going through a divorce and “looking for a way to make a living, build a new life and expand my career through this organization.” After she complained to the New York State attorney general’s office, she eventually received a refund. Image Website of Cambridge Who’s Who. “I felt so stupid,” the woman, identified only as “Pepper,” wrote in an online posting. “My takeaway is this: all is not gold that glitters, and that includes the Trump name. Buyer beware!” In Oregon, Phyllis Fread was in her 80s, dealing with Parkinson’s disease and had been retired from teaching for almost two decades when Cambridge started calling her at home, where she lived alone. Cambridge salespeople telephoned Ms. Fread — who did not use the internet — 42 times trying to sell her networking services, a website and other products she did not need, according to an investigation by the Oregon attorney general’s office. Over a two-year period, Cambridge charged her $14,593 for a video biography, calendars, a plaque and other items, including a news release in June 2010 titled “Phyllis J. Fread Reveals Her Secret to a Long Career in Education.” The release included a mention of Donald Trump Jr., saying he “was eager to share his extensive experience” with Cambridge clients. Eventually, Ms. Fread reached her credit card limit and her son disconnected her telephone to stop Cambridge from calling. In a recorded interview with an investigator from the attorney general’s office, Ms. Fread became emotional as she recalled how “there were all kinds of things they’d push and I’d say, ‘I don’t want it at all.’” “I remember saying, ‘Wait a minute, I don’t need anything, I don’t want anything.’ And then you couldn’t get a word in edgewise. I probably should have hung up,” she said. “But I didn’t.” Cambridge was accused by the state of “unfair, deceptive and unconscionable practices” and settled without admitting guilt, issuing a refund to Ms. Fread in 2012. She died 18 months later. Mr. Narod said many complaints about Cambridge stemmed from early “growing pains” before it transitioned from just a book-and-a-plaque vanity publisher to one that added branding services. Cambridge — which in recent years has shifted its focus to finding customers outside the United States through a related venture called Worldwide Who’s Who — has worked to improve its sales techniques and to better address complaints, he said. The latest Better Business Bureau records show close to 100 complaints in the last three years about Cambridge and Worldwide. “It has been quite some time since Cambridge has received negative comments, and we believe that is a testament to the strength of our products and the work that we did to make necessary operational improvements,” Mr. Narod said. A search of online records, as well as interviews, turned up dozens of members who also paid other companies licensed or endorsed by the Trumps, although Mr. Narod denied that the businesses exchanged customer leads. “We have never shared or sold our data with the Trump Organization, Trump University or Trump Network,” he said. What they did have in common were sales appeals that had a similar theme of offering help navigating the recession. Ads for Trump University referred to government bailouts for banks, and asked the question, “Who’s helping you?” Similarly, Donald Trump Jr. went on Fox Business and said Cambridge clients “are people that the stimulus should be benefitting.” “It’s a very difficult economy out there, a very difficult job market,” he told TheStreet.com while discussing Cambridge. “And you really have to position yourself so you can take advantage of all those things properly.” Ms. Lankford, who heads her local Texas chapter of Gold Star Wives, which represents spouses of fallen soldiers, said she had lost money in the stock market collapse and decided to use an insurance payment from her husband’s death to try to start her own business. Her husband, Jonathan M. Lankford, a command sergeant major in the Army, died in Baghdad in September 2007. Image Dog tags and a photo of Jonathan M. Lankford, a command sergeant major in the Army, who died in Baghdad in 2007. “We’re an easy target,” his wife said of widows. Credit Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times In late 2009, she responded to an appeal from Trump University, which promised to “turn anyone into a successful real estate investor” and paid for the full package of seminars. Soon, however, she found they were of little practical value and she began “calling them and asking for help.” “They ended up putting me in touch with some fellow out in California who tried to talk me into investing in trailer parks,” she said. “It was a joke.” Cambridge, meanwhile, was supposed to help Ms. Lankford “create my brand” to promote her real estate efforts, and in some of the many calls she received over several years, the company’s representative cited Donald Trump Jr.’s role, she said. But after spending several thousand dollars — which got her, among other things, a wall plaque, a news release and a hard-to-find web page — she said she received no meaningful benefits. Ms. Lankford never filed complaints or pursued refunds, saying that it probably would have been fruitless, and that she was too busy raising her young son on her own and trying to rebuild her life. She came away from her experience believing both businesses were “all about taking money from people who don’t have much to begin with.” The Promise of Profits Besides Trump University, there were other Trump-connected enterprises that resonated with Cambridge members struggling to get ahead. On one of several Cambridge websites for its members, a chat group created in 2010 titled “Making Money in a Recession” contained an appeal to join ACN, a multilevel marketer of telecommunications and energy services that was “endorsed by Donald Trump and was featured in an episode of ‘Celebrity Apprentice.’” Mr. Trump’s financial disclosure shows that he has collected more than $1 million in speaking fees from ACN, which charged people $499 to sell its products with the promise of profits for bringing in additional members, and has been the subject of numerous complaints. There was also an appeal for the Trump Network, the marketer of vitamins and nutritional supplements to which Mr. Trump licensed his name. Originally called Ideal Health and rebranded in 2009, the Trump Network and its top salespeople lured those hit by the economic downturn, suggesting they could become rich through commissions for bringing in new recruits. Christine Turner, a disabled nurse in upstate New York, said a friend persuaded her to spend “close to $500” to get started with the Trump Network, but that it “didn’t pan out” after she struggled to get others involved. She also paid to join Cambridge, attracted to the prospect of networking with other members, but that did not work either. “I didn’t have any good experiences with members coming or approaching me or asking for products,” Ms. Turner said, adding that she did not hold her bad experiences against the Trumps. “I was fine with it, even with losing a little bit of money,” she said. “I really think that Donald Trump is a powerful businessman and I’m actually for him, I’m not afraid to say that.”

Donald Trump
Trump University
Fraud
Cambridge Who's Who
2016 Presidential Election
Trump Organization
Better Business Bureaus


Where Manual Labor Is the Price of Academic Excellence

Abstract: Scott James is a columnist for The Bay Citizen . For parents at Miraloma Elementary School in San Francisco, the quest for academic achievement means getting their hands dirty. On a cold, foggy Wednesday morning recently, seven parents huddled around an outdoor table scrubbing stalks of organic celery for snack time. They had just finished cleaning and portioning a mound of Gala apples. Inside, three vacuum cleaners stood sentry in the hallway, at the ready for parents to tidy classroom carpets. “You need to pick up where the state falls off,” said Rossana Rossetto, the mother of a first grader. Welcome to the New Math of education: chores equal scores. Parents are involved in nearly every level of school operations at Miraloma — from academics to the grunt work of food preparation, gardening and cleaning. The results could have parents in other schools grabbing mops and heading to classrooms: In a few years, Miraloma has gone from being one of the poorest performing and least desirable schools in the city to being one of the highest scoring on academic tests and the most coveted. In 2005, Miraloma scored 651 out of 1000 on California’s Academic Performance Index. Results released last week show a score of 865, among the city’s best. “There were 450 parent requests for 37 open kindergarten spots this year,” said Ron Machado, the school’s principal. On a recent visit to one of the school’s kindergarten classes, a half-dozen parents were assisting children alongside a teacher and one teacher’s aide. Most parental involvement entailed learning, but the manual chores are indicative of how far families will go to help a school succeed. The extra hands have also been important during the recession when public schools must cope with budget issues. Miraloma, with 362 students from kindergarten to fifth grade, employs two custodians and two kitchen workers for maintenance and meals. To get beyond those basics, parents work in the school’s educational garden (complete with two chickens), prepare and provide organic snacks, and even do landscaping. Ellie Rossiter, executive director of Parents for Public Schools, a nonprofit group that advocates for families in the school system, witnessed Miraloma’s transition firsthand. “Seven years ago when my child enrolled there, no one thought it was a good school,” she said. Ms. Rossiter and a dozen other parents credited the turnaround to the school’s most recent principals, including Mr. Machado, a charming and creative former teacher who took charge five years ago. He once inspired students by promising to shave his hair into a Mohawk if test scores improved — a photo of him with that resplendent pink hairdo is on the school’s Web site. “He makes it his job to make the family part of the school,” Ms. Rossiter said. Miraloma is just one example in San Francisco’s public schools where parental involvement is having an impact. Standing at the celery-scrubbing table, parents easily rattled off the names of 10 other schools with high parental participation and correspondingly high test scores. GreatSchools.org , a nonprofit organization that independently monitors school quality, recently ranked San Francisco as having the best public schools in California and No. 8 nationwide for cities with populations of 300,000 or more. It is a ranking that defies conventional wisdom here. It is not unusual for San Francisco residents to bemoan the public schools — a reputation that experts say has developed due to the city’s complex system that requires parents to apply for schools, rather than to have their children attend whichever school is closest. Fears of ending up in a poor-performing school have unfairly tainted the whole system, experts say. Matthew Hardy of the United Educators of San Francisco, the teachers’ union, said that the belief that the public school system is a failure was “one of those truths that isn’t true.” What is true, however, is that not all parents can donate their days. The schools that tend to have the most parental participation also have more middle-class families. Miraloma’s success has come at a price: fewer children from working-class homes. Still, there is a feeling that any school can improve if the parents get involved. Monica McGee has had children at Miraloma for nearly a decade and remembers what failure looked like. “Eight years ago there was no parental participation,” Ms. McGee said. “It was like a ghost town.” Now, with grades soaring, pass the celery brush.

Education (K-12)
Parenting
Children and Youth
Labor and Jobs
San Francisco (Calif)


N.B.A. Playoffs - 76ers Bring Back Memories of ’99 Knicks

Abstract: BOSTON — Watching the Philadelphia 76ers push the Boston Celtics to the limit in their Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series harks back to another team that defied the odds more than once: the 1999 Knicks . The similarities between the teams are more of a statistical nature than of a personnel one. But like the ’99 Knicks, the 2012 Sixers entered the playoffs in a lockout-shortened season as the eighth seed and proceeded to upend the No. 1 seed in the first round. In 1999, the Knicks outlasted the Miami Heat on Allan Houston ’s rim-roller in the closing second of Game 5. This postseason, the Sixers outlasted the top-seeded, injury-ravaged Bulls, closing them out in six games when Andre Iguodala, a terrible free-throw shooter (61.7 percent), coolly drained two at the end of Game 6. Only five No. 8 seeds have beaten a No. 1 seed since the N.B.A. adopted its 16-team playoff format for the 1983-84 season. Two of those five have come in the two seasons that were shortened by labor strife. The 1998-99 season lasted 50 games. The 2011-12 season went 66 games. The 1999 Knicks, however, are the only one of the five No. 8 seeds to win more than one series, getting all the way to the finals. The 1994 Denver Nuggets lost in the second round to the Utah Jazz. The 2007 Golden State Warriors lost in the second round to Utah. And the 2011 Memphis Grizzlies lost in the second round to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The ’99 Knicks finished 27-23 and were six games behind No. 1 Miami, so the divide was not that great. The 2012 Sixers finished 15 games behind the Eastern Conference’s top seed, the Chicago Bulls. “Lockout seasons are strange,” the former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy recalled. “We never looked at ourselves as being a No. 8 seed or being a big underdog. I think if we had played an 82-game season that year, we would have won 48 to 50 games. It wasn’t a huge upset to us that we beat Miami. I don’t think Miami saw it that way, either.” In the second round, the Knicks beat the No. 4 seed Atlanta Hawks, sweeping them in four games. This year, the Sixers will face the No. 4 Boston Celtics in Game 7 on Saturday night at TD Garden. Asked if he thought a Philadelphia win would classify as an upset, Van Gundy, now an analyst for ESPN, said: “Yes, I think it would be. But at the same time, I don’t think the talent differential is so great between the teams that I wouldn’t be shocked if Philadelphia won. But I don’t expect that to happen.” Should Philadelphia prevail, the Sixers would move on to face the No. 2-seeded Heat. In 1999, the Knicks advanced to face the No. 2-seeded Indiana Pacers in the conference finals and ousted them in six games, despite losing Patrick Ewing after the second game because of an injury. The Knicks took Game 3 of that series on Larry Johnson’s famous 4-point play with 5.7 seconds left. The ’99 Knicks went on to play the No. 1 seed in the West for the league championship. That would be the same team that is the No. 1 seed in the West this year: the San Antonio Spurs. The Knicks finally ran out of gas, losing in five games. Van Gundy said he looks at this year’s 76ers and does not see the same kind of talent that he had on his team. But the 76ers have been good enough to extend favored Boston to the maximum. The Sixers, who have an “ignorance is bliss” attitude going for them, know they are playing with house money and have proved to be a handful for the older, slower Celtics. KNICKS KEEP WOODSON Mike Woodson’s interim tag as coach of the Knicks was removed Friday as the team said it had given him a multiyear contract extension, rewarding him for a terrific finish to what had been a turbulent season. Woodson led the Knicks to an 18-6 record after replacing Mike D’Antoni on March 14. The Knicks lost a first-round playoff series to the Miami Heat but snapped a league-record, 13-game postseason losing streak. (AP)

Philadelphia 76ers
Basketball
New York Knicks
Houston Allan
Sprewell Latrell


Breakaway Party Leader Stays Mum on Where He’ll Throw Support After Israeli Elections

Abstract: The Israeli political leader who could prove key to determining who becomes the next prime minister is a popular right-leaning former member of Parliament, and was a longtime member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s party. But Moshe Kahlon, 54, was holding his cards close Tuesday night, saying he had spoken with leaders of the two top parties and would only make his decision after all the votes were counted. Mr. Kahlon may be a career conservative, but he also broke with Mr. Netanyahu in a public spat and started his own centrist party, called Kulanu , in December. In the election on Tuesday, according to the YNet news site, Mr. Kahlon’s slate won 10 seats in the Knesset, or Parliament. Although Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud Party won a solid victory, with 29 or 30 seats to 24 for the center-left Zionist Union, he still needs the support of other parties to form a government. That’s where Mr. Kahlon’s 10 seats can make the difference. Mr. Netanyahu and Isaac Herzog of the center-left Zionist Union both called Mr. Kahlon on Tuesday night to ask for his support. “There is bad blood between the two, but not a complete breakdown of communication,” Nadav Peri, a television commentator, said of Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Kahlon. “There is great optimism among Netanyahu’s associates regarding the ability to quickly establish facts on the ground.” The left, of course, is also vying for Mr. Kahlon’s support. In televised remarks, Zehava Galon, a member of Parliament and chairwoman of the left-leaning Meretz party, called on Mr. Kahlon to team up with Mr. Herzog as a partner in a center-left government. “And if that doesn’t work, then go to the opposition,” she counseled. Israel’s political leaders will now begin the complex choreography of assembling a coalition government. The president will poll party leaders and then ask either Mr. Netanyahu or Mr. Herzog to try to assemble a government that represents a majority of the 120 seats in Parliament. “Through the campaign, it was quite clear that Kahlon is the key person,” said Avraham Diskin, a political scientist, suggesting that he would most likely join Mr. Netanyahu. “Kahlon does have the power to say, ‘No, I don’t want to go with you,’ ” Mr. Diskin added. “Israel, as you know, is a political system full of surprises. We’ll have to wait and see what comes next.” A smiling Mr. Kahlon appeared on Israeli television on Tuesday night. “I will recommend whoever will solve the social crisis,” he said, referring to whom he would support for the premiership. On Israel radio, Mr. Kahlon said: “This election campaign, to my regret, reached levels that we don’t remember. It created rifts and polarization among our people. We stand here on this stage, I stand here as your representative. And I say: Now is the time to heal, to unite; it is not the time for rifts. Now is the time to do what is best for all of us. This evening is about recognizing the good — an evening of modesty and good conduct. I am not arrogant, and I certainly won’t gloat.” Mr. Kahlon was first elected in 2003 and became communications minister six years later. He also served as minister of welfare and social services. His campaign focused on the high cost of housing, unemployment and corruption, issues that resonated with the Israeli public. Earlier this week, Mr. Netanyahu offered him the post of finance minister, which he at least initially rebuffed. At a polling station in south Jerusalem, Shlomo Ben-Gur, 55, who owns a chain of food stores, said he normally voted for Likud but found it hard to do so this year because he had soured on Mr. Netanyahu. “There’s only one issue in these elections: the socioeconomic issue. Nothing else,” he said. During the campaign, Mr. Kahlon spoke infrequently about foreign policy, including negotiations with the Palestinians . His platform promised to safeguard the main blocs of settlements and not allow the return of Palestinian refugees to Israel. But in December, Israeli news outlets reported that he had told a young audience in Tel Aviv that he was not opposed to land concessions if they would bring about peace. Moshe Cohen, a 24-year-old student at Ariel University, said he had decided to vote for Mr. Kahlon because he was disappointed with the other candidates. Mr. Cohen said it was nearly impossible to survive as a young adult or as a newly married couple without parental assistance because of the high cost of living. “Bibi did nothing. On everything,” Mr. Cohen said, referring to Mr. Netanyahu by his nickname. He said he had decided to give Mr. Kahlon a chance because he liked his financial approach. “I have to say that I am voting for him because I am disappointed in the others, not because I believe he is the best,” Mr. Cohen said.

Israel
Moshe Kahlon
Benjamin Netanyahu
Isaac Herzog
Election
Polls


California: Deal Reached in Suit Over Animal Abuse

Abstract: A slaughterhouse, a meatpacking facility and two companies that provided loans to the operations have agreed to settlements after accusations of inhumane treatment led to a huge recall that included beef sold to the National School Lunch Program. The parties settled the lawsuit for $155 million, but the Justice Department determined the defendants could only afford to pay a total of about $3.1 million because they were financially devastated by the recall. In 2008, the Humane Society of the United States released grainy video taken by an undercover investigator posing as an employee that showed crippled and sick cows being kicked, shocked and shoved with forklifts at the Chino-based Westland Meat Company and Hallmark Meat Packing Company. The video led to the record-breaking recall of 143 million pounds of beef. The so-called downer cows are not supposed to be slaughtered for human consumption because of the risk of disease. The lawsuit alleged that the businesses had run afoul of the federal False Claims Act because the man who provided the loans, Aaron Magidow, who has since died, had previous felony convictions, including one for lying to a federal inspector. His two companies, M&M Management and Cattlemen’s Choice, and his estate agreed to pay $2.45 million in the settlement.

Animal Abuse
Meat
Recalls and Bans
California
Westland/Hallmark Meat
Justice Department
HSUS
Aaron Magidow


Dynegy to Sell 8 Power Plants to LS Power for $1.5 billion

Abstract: Dynegy said on Monday that it would sell eight power plants to the private equity firm LS Power for around $1.5 billion, ending a two-and-a-half-year collaboration between the companies. Dynegy also posted a wider second-quarter loss as lower power prices offset higher production. Dynegy will receive just over $1 billion in cash in return for the power plants, allowing it to pay some of its debt. LS Power also will return 245 million Dynegy Class B shares it received when the companies formed their venture. The firm’s remaining 95 million Class B shares will become common shares, leaving LS Power with a 15 percent stake in Dynegy. In addition, the private equity firm will receive Dynegy’s remaining interest in a power plant under construction in Texas as part of the deal. In 2007, Dynegy gave LS Power a 40 percent stake in the company in return for LS Power’s portfolio of 10 power plants, and the two jointly started a development company. But independent power producers, which sell at competitive rates into the wholesale market, have struggled as the economic downturn has sapped demand for electricity. Dynegy’s shares have lost about 80 percent of their value since the deal with LS Power closed in 2007. Dynegy posted a loss of $345 million, or 41 cents a share, for the second quarter, compared with a loss of $272 million, or 32 cents a share, a year earlier. Dynegy said it planned to cut costs by $400 million to $450 million during the next four years. It expects to take a restructuring charge of less than $5 million in the third quarter related to job cuts associated with its cost-saving program. Shares of Dynegy rose 30 cents, or 15.5 percent, to close at $2.23 on Monday.

Factories and Manufacturing
Dynegy Incorporated
Company Reports


Celtics’ Defense Again Stands in Bryant’s Way

Abstract: BOSTON — This is Kobe Bryant ’s gift and curse. Each time he grabs the carrot tied on a rope in front of him, it is quickly replaced with another. There is always another step on the path to a higher pedestal. Last season, he claimed his fourth championship and held his first trophy without his former running mate Shaquille O’Neal and equaled O’Neal’s total number of titles. This year, he is trying to repeat as a champion without O’Neal, an accomplishment O’Neal has not managed since the pair fractured. A title this year would bring another feat into Bryant’s crosshairs: six championships would equal Michael Jordan’s output. Standing firmly in Bryant’s way are the players who denied him two years ago — Ray Allen, Tony Allen and a suffocating unit that constitutes the Celtics ’ defense. As the finals continue, memories of 2008 have crept into the series, which is tied at 2-2. In the 2008 finals, the Celtics’ defense caged Bryant. They allowed him to amass points but forced him into taking a high number of shots. Bryant’s attempt to win the series by himself became a losing mission against the team-oriented Celtics. Throughout the years, the self-proclaimed Bryant stoppers have come and gone. With time, Bryant usually figures a way to leave a scorched net in his wake. But the Celtics’ defense presents difficulties that Bryant has yet to completely overcome. Bryant is rarely complimentary — of his own game, his teammates or the opposition. Yet, there he sat at the lectern after the Lakers ’ 96-89 loss in Game 4, flowering green-hued compliments. Of Tony Allen, Boston’s reserve defensive specialist, Bryant said, “He does a great job.” Of the Celtics’ defense as a whole , he said, “Oh, it’s right up there with the best of them.” This series has shown little rhythm from one game to the next. In Game 1, Bryant picked up where he left off against the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference finals, scoring 30 points on 22 shots in the Lakers’ win. Boston’s All-Stars Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo paced the Celtics in Game 2. Afterward, the role players became the stars, first the Lakers’ Derek Fisher in Game 3 followed by Boston’s Glen Davis and Nate Robinson . “It’s a lot of teeter-totter here, despair and elation, but we’re going to try and establish the fact that we’re going back to L.A. with a 3-2 lead,” Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. Anyone, it seems, can be a star in this series. There is little telling who will rise in Sunday’s Game 5, but whoever does, his play will have large implications for the rest of the series. There have been 25 N.B.A. finals tied at 2-2. The Game 5 winner has won the series 19 times. Against the Suns, Bryant averaged 33.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 8.3 assists. After concerns that age had finally gotten to his legs, the 31-year-old Bryant appeared fresh and primed. Now, Jackson is concerned that Bryant will grow weary as the finals enter their deeper games. With each game, it seems Bryant is having more difficulty getting to his sweet spots on the court. Bryant is getting his points in the finals, averaging 28.3 a game. But some of his statistics resemble those from the finals two years ago. He scored 29 points while going 10 for 29 in Game 3, which is similar to two games from 2008 (7 for 22 for 22 points and 8 for 21 with 25 points). He scored 33 points in the Lakers’ Game 4 loss, but many of the points originated on contested 3-pointers. Bryant drained six 3-pointers in the game, but shot 5 for 14 in the second half. The Celtics closed the gaps on his drives and made him detour before he got near the lane. Bryant’s closest field goal came from nine feet. In the process, Bryant turned the ball over seven times, calling the total “horrible.” “They’re a great scheming team,” Bryant said. “They have a strategy in place, and they execute extremely well.” Bryant attempted more 3-pointers in Game 4 (11) than in any games over the last two regular seasons. He also shot 11 3s in a Game 3 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round. Celtics Coach Doc Rivers is using Tony Allen as Bryant’s primary second-half defender. Allen has already received eight stitches from Bryant in the series, but is playing capably. Allen stays high on Bryant’s right side. Only when Bryant drives will Boston’s post players offer help. Rivers likened Allen’s role to that of the Lakers’ Ron Artest, who has mostly played against Boston’s Paul Pierce in the series. “That doesn’t mean you’re going to stop anybody,” Rivers said. “There’s nobody, by the way, that’s stopping Kobe Bryant.” If there is, he said, “I haven’t met him or it, because I don’t think it would be a person. “But you know, Tony’s job is to come in, and his main focus is defense, just be a defensive player, and that allows you to guard the big guys because you don’t have any other worries, about offense or rebounding. You’re worried about your assignment. Whenever you pick somebody to do that, it gives them a chance to be a better defender, and I think that’s what Tony is doing.” Bryant would be helped by Andrew Bynum’s presence, because the Celtics would not leave Bynum alone when Bryant drove. In 2008, Bynum did not play, and his troublesome knee has limited his minutes in this series. As the memories continue to stir, Bryant said he remains unbothered. “I’m more concerned about getting rebounds and getting the loose balls and stuff like that,” Bryant said. “When push comes to shove, I can always get a bucket.”

Basketball
Los Angeles Lakers
Bryant Kobe
O'Neal Shaquille
Boston Celtics
Rondo Rajon


Q. and A.: Doing Business in China

Abstract: HONG KONG — The Chinese market is as vast as it is complex, warns James McGregor of APCO Worldwide. A journalist turned consultant, Mr. McGregor has been following the China story for 20 years. In his 2005 hit, “One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China,” he charted the perils and possibilities of doing business in the Middle Kingdom. He spoke to the IHT about the situation today: Q.You’ve written recently about the deterioration of the business climate for foreign firms operating in China. What’s going on? A. The foreign business community in China is pretty confused right now because they see so many signs of future opportunities narrowing. Many of them are now making a lot of money in China and the amount of money they make in China matters more than ever, because this is the world’s best growth market, right? They don’t want to do anything to upset the government. So, they’re stuck between making money today — and being quiet about the problems they see coming in the future — and looking out for their long-term business interests. Q.What are the problems they see coming? A. Well, there is this whole drive in the government, that is quite understandable, to build national champions, strong global companies and create their own technology. Everybody understands that. It’s a necessary and intelligent goal. The problem is, the way they seem to be going about it will not only cause them lots of trade problems with the rest of the world but also won’t achieve their goals. There are all these various rules and regulations and all these obstacles that are protecting local industry now. At the same time, there is this consolidation toward state industry. Private entrepreneurs are feeling a bit left out — both on being able to get financing and on business opportunities being blocked to protect state industry. That’s a reversal of past trends. Q.Given these challenges, what advice do you have for people looking to enter the market? A. People looking to enter the market, as has always been the case in China, need to enter with both eyes wide open. Don’t think you can come in here and do a partnership and run your business by remote control. Don’t think you can build a big business really quickly. It takes a lot of work in China to build a business and you’ve got to be here yourselfand roll up your sleeves. Q.Any tips on how to pick and work with a local partner? A. Finding a local partner is like getting married. You don’t do it in a day, you don’t do it in one drunken evening. You’ve got to really spend time getting to know the people you are going to partner with. You also really need to think through whether you really need a partner. What will that partner bring? Q.Getting in is one thing; getting out is another. Are there any specific withdrawal issues to be aware of? A. This can be very delicate. Don’t make enemies. Always leave that person as a friend. Figure a way to give the individuals that are important what they need. Do they need a way toward retirement? Do they need to move into another industry? Do they need an advisory role in your new company? Whatever. Take care of them. Q.Those are the risks. How about the rewards? Is this a good time to do business in China? A. There are a lot of good Chinese companies out there. So, if you are just coming in now — and I wouldn’t say don’t come in — realize you are not coming into a raw, underdeveloped market. You are coming into one of the most competitive situations in the world. Q.You've written about the challenge of negotiating in China. Any tips for would-be deal makers? A. When you are negotiating in China, just have endless patience and always be willing to walk away. Culturally, we are always in such a hurry to get things done. I’ve seen it in consulting. You’re busy, you’re flying all over the world, you think ‘China problem, let’s fix that next week.’ But you may want to spend a year fixing it. The Chinese will have a year to fix it. This is a place where haste makes incredible waste. Q. What are the sectors to watch in 2010? A. The things that are on the move here are consumer goods, health care and infrastructure. That doesn’t mean everybody has a great opportunity — you have to figure out where those opportunities are. Q.What’s next? A. At this point, I am pretty optimistic about the Chinese economy. The government of China has excellent financial and economic managers. They go off into excess sometimes, but they know they are doing it — and they are doing it for a reason. I am very worried about China’s trade relations with the West and, really, with everybody. I think we’ll see some strong trade actions coming, unless there are more enlightened, balanced policies. America has to realize that China is now an equal. We need them as much as they need us. And with them funding the American government, the balance is different.

China
International Trade and World Market
Partnerships


The Philippines: Blast on Manila Bus

Abstract: A powerful blast from a suspected bomb ripped through a bus in Manila on Tuesday, killing 4 people and wounding 14. Officials have not identified specific suspects but suggested that they included Abu Sayyaf militants linked to Al Qaeda, who have been blamed in past attacks on passenger buses.

Philippines
Manila (Philippines)
Buses
Terrorism
Bombs and Explosives


Supreme Court Weighs Power of Congress

Abstract: WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday in a case that touched on the most pressing constitutional question of the day: just how much power does Congress have to regulate matters ordinarily left up to the states? The fate of President Obama’s health care law will turn on how that question is answered. But based on the justices’ comments, the lurid facts of the case and the odd posture in which it reached the court, the eventual decision will probably offer only limited guidance on the health care law’s prospects. The case heard Tuesday, Bond v. United States, No. 09-1227, arose from a domestic dispute. Carol A. Bond, a Pennsylvania woman, did not take it well when she learned that her husband was the father of her best friend’s child. She promised to make her former friend’s life “a living hell,” and she drew on her skills as a microbiologist to do so. Ms. Bond spread harmful chemicals on her friend’s car, mailbox and doorknob. The friend suffered only a minor injury. Such matters are usually handled by the local police and prosecutors. In Ms. Bond’s case, though, federal prosecutors charged her with using unconventional weapons in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993, a treaty concerned with terrorists and rogue states. At the argument, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. suggested that Congress had gone too far. Suppose, he said, that Ms. Bond had “decided to retaliate against her former friend by pouring a bottle of vinegar in the friend’s goldfish bowl.” “As I read this statute, Justice Alito said, “that would be a violation of this statute, potentially punishable by life imprisonment.” Ms. Bond’s lawyer, Paul D. Clement, said that a chemical used by his client was not much more exotic than vinegar. “There is something sort of odd about the government’s theory that says that I can buy a chemical weapon at Amazon.com,” he said. In her appeal to the federal appeals court in Philadelphia, Ms. Bond argued that Congress did not have the constitutional power to use a chemical weapons treaty to address a matter of a sort routinely handled by state authorities. She cited the 10th Amendment, which says that “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” The appeals court ruled that Ms. Bond did not have standing to raise a 10th Amendment defense. Only states, it said, can invoke the amendment. Federal prosecutors initially embraced that line of argument, but the Justice Department abandoned it in the Supreme Court, now saying that Ms. Bond was free to try to mount a defense based on the amendment. Since Ms. Bond and her nominal adversary agreed on the central issue in the case, the court appointed a lawyer, Stephen R. McAllister, to argue for the position the government had disowned. The outcome of the case on the standing point did not seem in much doubt on Tuesday. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., for instance, said it would be “pretty harsh” to forbid Ms. Bond from challenging her conviction on the ground that the law under which she was convicted exceeded Congressional authority. But the justices struggled with two other distinctions. One was how to disentangle claims that Congress had exceeded its enumerated powers in Article I of the Constitution from ones based on the 10th Amendment. The other was whether there were at least some 10th Amendment claims that could be pressed only by states. Justice Elena Kagan suggested that the case could be decided simply on the ground that Congress had exceeded the powers listed in Article I of the Constitution. “Are there any peculiarly 10th Amendment claims that you’re making?” she asked Mr. Clement. He replied that Ms. Bond relied “principally” on the argument that Congress had exceeded its powers but that it was possible the 10th Amendment played a role as well. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy added that individuals had a role to play in cases that at first blush seem to implicate only a clash between federal and state sovereignty. “Your underlying premise,” Justice Kennedy told Mr. McAllister, “is that the individual has no interest in whether or not the state has surrendered its powers to the federal government, and I just don’t think the Constitution was framed on that theory.”

Supreme Court
Federal-State Relations (US)
Law and Legislation
Tenth Amendment (US Constitution)
Biological and Chemical Warfare
Chemical Weapons Convention
Bond Carol A


At a Helen Keller Center, a Worker Retires After 49 Years

Abstract: SALLY DIMICELI’S CAREER began 49 years ago at the Helen Keller Services for the Blind on Willoughby Street in Downtown Brooklyn, when, at age 18, she got a job as a cashier. She worked in that capacity until 1994, when she was promoted into the fund-raising and development position she has now. Ms. DiMiceli retired on Friday, along with her best friend, Mimi Simonetti, 83, who has worked at the center for 66 years, mostly as payroll manager and cashier. Ms. DiMiceli, 67, a native of Brooklyn who now lives in Queens, is legally blind and cannot drive. For the past few decades, she took a bus and two trains to work each morning, but was driven home by Ms. Simonetti, who lives on Long Island. The two women, both single and childless, formed a strong bond and have been best friends for 45 years. Ms. Simonetti, who said she met Helen Keller many times, could have retired years ago but waited until Ms. DiMiceli’s departure. “Leaving this job is like leaving a family, so it helps to do it together,” Ms. DiMiceli said. But she is not ready to totally cut ties just yet. “I’ll probably still volunteer at the office,” she said. SHRIYA BHARGAVA-SEARS , 34, has taken over Sally DiMiceli’s job, although her background is very different. She is an Indian immigrant with a master’s degree in communications; many of her previous jobs were administrative positions at advertising agencies. Ms. Bhargava-Sears was attracted to the Helen Keller Services — which offers a range of rehabilitation, employment and educational services for all ages — because it reminded her of the volunteer work she did as a teenager in orphanages in Calcutta. “I was exposed to outreach at an early age,” she said. “In India, children with challenges are in the streets — kids begging without a leg or without an arm — it’s in your face.” “Sally has been here so long and formed these long-lasting friendships,” she added. “I think the older generations tended to stay in one place longer, the same job, the same company. I’m looking forward to staying here a long time, but taking over for someone who has put in 49 years — wow, I hope I can retire before that long.”

Keller Helen Services for the Blind
Downtown Brooklyn (NYC)


The Market Is Back, and So Are Investment Books

Abstract: HERE are three ways to know that things are improving in the stock market: • The personal finance magazines stop running articles about why you should invest in gold, natural resources and other alternative investments and return to writing about how average couples you have never heard of are making a fortune in the market. • You are no longer petrified to look at the value of your personal and retirement holdings online — and you actually open the paper statements when they arrive in the mail. • The nation’s publishers bring out a new crop of investing books, as they have started to do recently. Among the new books, at least two are intriguing. The first, by a couple of Yale professors, calls for investors — especially young ones — to borrow or go into debt to buy stocks, to have a longer investing timeline. The second, by the best-selling author Phil Town, says it is virtually impossible to become wealthy by buying mutual funds , so you should concentrate your investment efforts on finding the best individual stocks. We’ll deal with Mr. Town’s book, which doesn’t break a lot of new ground, in a moment. But let’s begin with “ Lifecycle Investing ” (Basic Books, $24.95), by the Yale professors Ian Ayres and Barry Nalebuff. Mr. Ayres teaches at the law school and Mr. Nalebuff at the business school — and they begin with what they say is a fundamental, but overlooked, premise: You need to widen your investment time horizon to minimize risk. “In its simplest form, diversification across time is an intuitive idea that’s a lot like asset diversification,” they write. “Just as it would be a mistake to invest all your savings in a single stock, it would be reckless to concentrate all your exposure to the stock market in a single year. You’re much safer spreading your stock investments across decades.” So far, so good. And, as the authors point out, most people fail to spread out that exposure — simply because, as young investors, they didn’t have much money to invest. Their solution, which they concede is radical is to “use leverage to buy stocks when you are young.” More specifically, they suggest buying stocks with 50 percent down, either by buying on margin — that is, taking a loan from a stockbroker — or buying stock index futures. The authors say extensive back-testing shows that this idea works. They add that “while it may seem paradoxical, exposing yourself to more market risk by leveraging stocks early on actually reduces overall investment risk” and that “you could increase your expected retirement savings by 50 percent.” When the authors proposed a truncated version of their argument in Forbes magazine in 2005, they acknowledged receiving what they describe as “hate mail.” And it’s easy to see why their view would draw some criticism: the idea of going into debt to buy stocks may strike just about everyone as inherently risky. If you buy a stock on margin, your stockbroker could require you to put up more cash — cash you may not have — if the stock tanks. That’s what a margin call is all about. The broker wants to guarantee that your loan to him is repaid. And if you buy futures, you could lose money if the price of the underlying investment doesn’t react as much as you expect. And the concern only increases when you say that it’s young investors — people who are less likely to have stock-market experience — who should commit to this strategy. Still, the underlying premise that you should diversify across time will strike most people as sound. And the authors are correct in saying that most investors in their 20s and 30s don’t have a lot of money to put in the stock market. Unless they are lucky enough to have a rich uncle or a trust fund, the only way to increase their exposure is through leverage. The authors say that sticking to their rule of putting at least 50 percent down limits the potential downside. It will be intriguing to see whether their idea catches on. IN Mr. Town’s book, (Crown Business, $26.99) , there is no doubt that the overarching messages will resonate with readers — and that is exactly the problem. There is almost nothing here that registers as new. Mr. Town, who’s previous book, “Rule #1,” was a best seller, criticizes mutual fund companies as charging too much, pointing out that if you are earning 8 percent a year on your actively managed funds and your investment company is charging you 2 percent for its advice and service, your return as been cut by one-fourth. That’s fine. But many, many investors know about index funds and their dramatically smaller investment fees. The author goes on at length about how you should “buy a business, not a stock” and acquire shares of companies that you can understand and believe in. That’s also fine. We like motherhood and apple pie, too, it but as an investment idea it has been around for at least 20 years, since Peter Lynch wrote “One Up on Wall Street.” Then there is Mr. Town’s central investment argument: “stockpiling,” as in piling up stocks. “The essence of stockpiling,” he writes, “is to buy stock in a business you would be excited to own all of, then hope the price goes down so you can ‘stash,’ ‘accumulate’ and ‘collect’ as much as you can afford at as low a price as possible.” Again, you have heard this investment idea before. It is called “value investing,” and it has made Warren E. Buffett and countless others very, very rich. It’s a solid strategy to follow, especially after stocks have dropped sharply. But it is not new. Yet that may be a good thing. Perhaps the fact that authors are reintroducing proven investment strategies, like value investing, is another sign that the market is on its way back.

Books and Literature
Mutual Funds
Ayres Ian
Buffett Warren E


2 Volcanoes Erupt in the Americas

Abstract: GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Explosive eruptions shook two huge volcanoes in Central and South America on Friday, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes and disrupting air traffic as ash drifted over wide regions. The Pacaya volcano, about 25 miles south of Guatemala City, began spewing lava and rocks on Thursday, blanketing the capital with ash and closing the international airport. A television reporter was killed and three children were missing, a spokesman for the national disaster committee said. The volcano’s eruption lost some intensity on Friday, according to the country’s Geophysical Research and Services Unit. Meanwhile, strong explosions rocked the Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador , prompting the evacuations of hundreds of people from nearby villages. The National Geophysics Institute said that ash plumes soared six miles above the 16,479-foot crater. An institute researcher, Sandro Vaca, told Radio Sonorama that the eruption “seems to be growing rapidly,” but that there were no immediate reports of deaths.

Volcanoes
South America
Guatemala
Ecuador


Austin Delaney, Co-Owner of Rosie O’Grady’s, Arrived With 5 Shillings and Left With 20 Friends

Abstract: They say he arrived with five shillings in his pocket and a union card. It was 1963 and Austin Delaney was in his early 20s, the son of farmers from County Mayo in western Ireland . He had traveled alone and, like so many other immigrants before and after him, carried little more than his ambitions to make something of himself in New York. In the ensuing decades, some would come to know Mr. Delaney, who died of cancer on Friday at 70, as an owner of several popular bars and restaurants, most recently the Rosie O’Grady’s saloons in Midtown Manhattan and the Harbour Lights Restaurant at the South Street Seaport. But for many New Yorkers, hundreds of whom mourned him at a wake on Sunday and a funeral on Monday, he was a low-profile yet crucial benefactor to generations of Irish immigrants. “He didn’t believe you should pull the ladder up after you,” Ciaran Staunton, co-founder and president of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform , said after the funeral at the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus on the Upper West Side. “It was not only about leaving the ladder for others to climb but reaching down with a hand to help.” In every immigrant community in New York, a few people emerge as linchpins — part fixer, part rescuer, part counselor, part diplomat. They are the leaders you might be directed to for help when you first arrive in town or when you need a loan or a job. They make connections between strangers that lead to new businesses and romances. They mediate disputes. They can quickly raise money to cover someone’s medical or legal bills or to ship a body home. “A lot of people who came here felt like they were adopted by Austin,” the Rev. Frank O’Shannon, a close friend, said in a brief eulogy on Monday. In a story that echoed many others told over the weekend, Father O’Shannon recalled how cousins of his visited New York one summer and found jobs through Mr. Delaney. “They were lousy waitresses,” he said, “but they had a great time.” At fund-raisers for Irish causes, Mr. Delaney was munificent but demure, Mr. Staunton said. “ ‘Don’t say where it came from,’ ” he recalled Mr. Delaney’s saying. “That was his thing.” Niall O’Dowd, a prominent Irish-American journalist, wrote on Irishcentral.com that “it was always done quietly: a nudge in the direction of a certain premises, a quiet word in the ear of a well-known Irish businessman that maybe this young lad out from Ireland deserved a chance.” On his arrival in New York, Mr. Delaney, who dropped out of school at age 10, found work as a laborer in the construction trade, relatives said. He opened his first pub, in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx, with his brother, who had also immigrated to the United States. In 1969, Mr. Delaney entered into a partnership with Mike Carty, another Irish-American bar owner, and the two began a 40-year business relationship that lasted until Mr. Delaney’s death. In the 1970s, the partners opened up the first of the Rosie O’Grady’s saloons in Manhattan. Mr. Delaney, who lived on the Upper East Side and had three children and several grandchildren, also became a passionate devotee of the racetrack, breeding and running winning horses. “He did very well for himself,” said Patrick Lane, manager of the Rosie O’Grady’s on 46th Street. “If you asked him about how he did what he did, he’d say, ‘It’s all just a bit of luck.’” About 20 of Mr. Delaney’s friends and family in New York accompanied his coffin on a flight back to Ireland on Monday night, Mr. Carty said. “We’ve been with him this long,” Mr. Lane said. “We’re going to go to the end with him.”

Irish-Americans
New York City
Funerals
Immigration and Emigration