Author: Serkadis

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) —  Six U.S.-bound orphans seized by Haitian officials as they prepared to board a flight to Miami were to resume their journey to American homes on Wednesday after being handed over to the U.S. Embassy.

Jan Bonnema, the Minnesota-based founder of the Cap-Haitien orphanage where the children lived, said the orphans were to fly to Miami in the afternoon on a charter and their adoptive parents will be able to take their children home on Thursday.

Sara Vanzee and her husband, Tim, are waiting for their 13-month-old son, Albert, to arrive.

The couple says the situation has been stressful even though they understand the suspicions surrounding adoptions given recent cases in Haiti.

“Our hope is that they’re OK with it, that they can see that we absolutely love these children and that we want to provide for them,” Vanzee, who is from the U.S. Midwest, told The Associated Press.

The case of the six orphans seized Saturday at the Port-au-Prince airport echoed that of 10 Americans caught last month trying to take youngsters out of the earthquake-ravaged nation. But this time things turned out differently, with the six children being handed over to the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday.

The two cases highlight the perils of trying to remove youngsters from this desperate country.

At the very moment when Haiti’s impoverished children are in greatest need – and well-meaning foreigners are most willing to help – fears of child trafficking are making it harder than ever for them to leave the Western Hemisphere’s poorest land.

Fears were exacerbated by the case of 10 U.S. Baptist missionaries who were stopped in late January trying to take a busload of 33 children to the Dominican Republic without proper documentation.

Thousands of desperate Haitian parents, unable to care for their own children, have shown themselves eager to give the youngsters away in hopes of giving them a better life. But they are terrified they will be tricked by predators who will enslave or sexually abuse the children.

Haiti’s government immediately halted new adoptions in the chaos that followed the Jan. 12 quake, allowing only those already approved to move forward.

That chill hardened into a freeze after Saturday’s incident. A U.S. State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity, said the latest drama held up the departure of 50 orphans approved for U.S. adoption.

It took the U.S. ambassador and Haiti’s prime minister to iron out on Tuesday what turned out to be an ugly misunderstanding.

Four women including an adoptive mother from Minnesota arrived at the airport with six children ages 1 to 5 from the Cap-Haitien orphanage. The U.S. Embassy official carrying the documents needed to usher them through immigration was running late.

Suddenly, a group of 20 men rushed to block them, cursing them and screaming “‘You can’t take our children!”‘

The women were briefly detained, but the children wound up spending three days sleeping on the ground in a tent-city social services home, according to their escorts from the Children of The Promise orphanage.

Still in detention were two of the 10 U.S. Baptist missionaries. Their eight associates were released last week and flew back to the United States.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

WATSEKA – An Iroquois County judge on Monday sentenced a Watseka man to nine years in prison for his role in the death of a Watseka man.

Chad Walwer, 25, had pleaded guilty in December to unlawful possession of weapon by a felon, admitting that he brought a gun to McSki’s Lounge in Watseka on April 14 that Jeffrey Hite, 31, is accused of using to fatally shoot Roger McVay.

Walwer had been charged with Mr. McVay’s murder on a theory that he was accountable for the actions of Hite. That charge was dismissed when Walwer pleaded guilty to possessing the weapon.

Because of prior convictions for residential burglary and aggravated battery, Walwer had to be sentenced as a Class X felon. He faced a maximum of 30 years in prison. Judge Gordon Lustfeldt sentenced him.

Hite is charged with murder. He is due back in court March 26 so that a jury trial can be scheduled.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

CHAMPAIGN – City officials are hoping the community will take advantage of a new awards program created to recognize those who have led or improved Champaign in some way.

The city’s Neighborhood Services Department is accepting nominations until March 1. Nominees and winners of awards in six categories will be recognized during the city’s annual Neighborhood Leaders Meeting, this year on April 14.

“That recognizes the limitations of the city to do all things as a governmental agency,” said Neighborhood Services Director Kevin Jackson. “To promote quality of life, it’s just a necessity that we promote the involvement of other people in the community.”

The department is accepting nominations for individuals in six categories: neighborhood leadership, neighborhood of the year, neighborhood-community building, business-neighborhood partnership, good neighbor award and community partner.

“These acts don’t have to necessarily be connected to a particular neighborhood as much as they have some benefit to the Champaign community at large,” Jackson said.

The city is hoping the program will catch on with residents and promote more community building in the future. Jackson hopes to make the so-called STAR awards an annual event – STAR is an acronym for Service Together Achieves Results.

Jackson already is looking to add to those categories and said an award for elementary- to college-aged individuals will be introduced next year.

For more information or to make a nomination, visit the city’s Web site or call the Neighborhood Services Department, 217-403-7070.

“I know it will take some time for it to gain visibility here, but I know it will work,” he said.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Emergency crews are on the scene of a four-vehicle crash at 87th Street and Harlem Avenue in Bridgeview. A dispatch report indictated one of the vehicles involved is an ambulance.

The crash was reported about 10:45 a.m.

Check back for updates as they become available.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

WHEATON, Ill.  – A DuPage County jury convicted Edward Tenney on Wednesday morning of killing an Aurora man in 1992, the Sun-Times is reporting.

Tenney, 50, who already is serving two life terms for two other killings, now potentially could face a death sentence.

Jurors deliberated for about five-and-a-half hours before convicting him of gunning down 24-year-old Jerry Weber on April 16, 1992, in a robbery that netted him $6.

Tenney previously was convicted of murder for the 1993 killings of two Kane County women.

Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

A Crystal Lake teen could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison after admitting guilt Wednesday to allegations he struck a man in the face with a brick last year during a failed robbery at a Metra station.

Kenneth S. Nepras, 18, of the 7300 block of McHenry Avenue, pleaded guilty to charges of attempted armed robbery and aggravated battery for the Oct. 17 assault at the Woodstock train station.

The charges allege Nepras hit the victim with a brick and tried to take his property. The attack left the victim with facial bruises and cuts to his nose and forehead that needed stitches to close.

Under the terms of the plea deal Nepras made with McHenry County prosecutors Wednesday, he will face a prison term of 4 to 15 years or probation when sentenced April 8. Prosecutors dismissed two other aggravated battery charges as part of the agreement.

Assistant McHenry County State’s Attorney Simeon Kim said prosecutors likely would seek a prison sentence, but Nepras’ attorney said his client – who has been in custody at the county jail since November – is hoping for probation.

“We’re going to ask for probation because we believe he’s a good candidate for that,” defense attorney Richard Kelly said.

McHenry County court records indicate Nepras has no prior felony convictions but was found guilty of misdemeanor battery three times between February and August 2009. He also has two more misdemeanor battery charges pending in connection with an August incident, records show.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

The new Lexus CT 200h is just one of the many hybrids in the works from Toyota. Sources say that Toyota will continue to expand its range of hybrids with a Prius based wagon, sporty coupe and an MPV in spring 2011. That will be followed by a Lexus IS-based rear-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid Toyota sedan and a hybrid version of the RAV4 by 2012.

Toyota’s 1.8L VVT-i hybrid system will soon become the company’s core powertrain, aimed at helping it sell more than one million hybrid units globally by the early part of this decade.

Click here to get pricing on the 2010 Toyota Prius.

The Toyota FT-CH previewed a sporty Prius coupe that will go head-to-head with the Honda CR-Z. Insiders are also talking about another hybrid plug-in sports car that will use the next-generation rear-wheel-drive Lexus IS platform.

Continuing to add hybrids to its existing model, Toyota will offer a gasoline-electric powertrain on the new RAV4 by spring 2012, only available in the 5-door RAV4.

2010 Detroit: Toyota FT-CH Concept:

All Photos Copyright © 2009 Stephen Calogera – egmCarTech.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: AutoCar

Published Feb. 23, 2010
By the Tri-City Herald editorial staff

Call it chance, call it luck or call it serendipity, the Mid-Columbia Literary Festival folks have stumbled across a great new venue for their Lit Fest 2010 opener.

Well, not stumbled, exactly; they went looking for it, so the serendipity idea probably is not accurate. (But it’s such a pretty word!)

Tonight the first event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at Bookwalter Winery, 894 Tulip Lane in Richland.

It’s a twist on the usual and continuing practice of Lit Fest, bringing celebrated authors to Columbia Basin College to talk about their works.

Why not, wondered Lit Fest board member Ed Frost and Michelle Price, Barnes & Noble Booksellers’ community relations manager, have a session built around book readers?

“About the Book” was born.

Lit Fest recruited speakers who’ve each shown a lifetime of respect for the printed word.

Moderator will be Chris Sivula, a member of the Lit Fest board of directors and editorial page editor of the Tri-City Herald.

In order of presentation, the presenters, talking about books they love, will appear in this order:

1. Bonnie Taylor, who has a background in journalism, mostly in Florida with the Orlando Sentinel, Miami Herald and Rollins College. She is co-author of several mysteries published in the 1980s and 1990s. She helped found the Herald’s book page as a volunteer in 1988. She is on the Lit Fest Committee and still writes book reviews for the Herald.

2. Amanda Workman is the librarian at Desert Hills Middle School — which she loves! She has worked in libraries for over 10 years, including the central libraries of Portland, and Olympia, and is currently the Benton-Franklin Reading Council secretary. A young adult book enthusiast, and self-proclaimed nerd, she loves all types of books but finds herself gravitating toward fantasy and graphic novels.

3. Pam McDonald and her husband, Ted, and their 19-year-old son have lived in the Tri-Cities since 2001. Pam is a contract specialist for Dade Moeller & Associates in Richland. She has been a contract administrator for over 25 years. Pam belongs to two book clubs in the Tri-Cities and has been an avid reader since she was 8 years old.

4. Robert Ingersoll works for Goodwill Industries. He says he loves to read, and his favorite author is Mark Twain. He also likes memoirs, biographies, history, science fiction and other genres.

5. Aaron Schroeder says he has been interested in literature since discovering Charles Bukowski in eighth grade. His love of reading was encouraged by many of his high school teachers who would frequently allow him to read books in class rather than pay attention to their lectures. When Aaron began working at Barnes & Noble in Kennewick five years ago, he believed that the only good authors were dead Russians. With a little curiosity and encouragement by Barnes & Noble customers and employees, Aaron soon found himself interested in a much broader range of authors.

6. Allison Stormo is the Sunday features and book editor of the Herald where she has been working for nearly 10 years. She’s an Oregon native and lives in Richland. She is a graduate of the University of Oregon with a journalism degree. Her book collection well surpasses her bookshelf space and includes all her books from her childhood. She tries to attend Wordstock book convention in Portland every year.

7. Carol Berry was a school librarian for 33 years, now enjoying retirement. She is a member of the Lit Fest planning committee and president of The Literacy Connection, a nonprofit organization coordinating author visits to schools in the region. She first started working with authors while a member of the executive board for Mid-Columbia Young authors from 1983-90.

8. Ed Frost is a member of the Lit Fest steering committee. He loves short stories. His favorite fiction author is Kurt Vonnegut, his favorite nonfiction author is David Halberstam and his all-time favorite book is A Confederacy of Dunces.

Programs with authors begin in March and run through May. Most events take place at Columbia Basin College, a principal sponsor of Lit Fest. Other current and past sponsors are Barnes & Noble, Battelle, Baker Boyer Bank, Louise Foskett Estate, The Children’s Reading Foundation of the Mid-Columbia, Humanities Washington and the Tri-City Herald.

For more information, call 542-4772 during business hours or visit the website at www.columbiabasin.edu/litfest at any time.

Additional news stories can be accessed online at the Tri-City Herald.

Published Feb. 2010
By Mary Hopkins, Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

As an associate professor at Columbia Basin College, Gene Holand, is creative and edgy.  Holand, who is in his 30th year at CBC, is a teacher and speaker whose expertise in sales, marketing, personal development and innovation has produced several award winning achievements.

He is known for presentations and seminars that are funny, insightful, and in your face.

He is real world and irreverent.  His students refer to him as the “polisher” or the “finisher”, because he demands that they become the “architects of their own destiny” and to use passion, commitment and dedication to build their life’s vision.

Holand teaches sales, marketing, management, innovations and human relations and creative marketing.

The Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business recently quizzed Holand to find out more about his marketing classes and how local businesses might find value in using the CBC students.

TCAJoB:  What is Creative Marketing Consultants?
Holand:  CMC is a practical and student-centered project oriented class, utilizing marketing skills to develop marketing campaigns and plans, graphics and image packages for Tri-Cities-area businesses and charitable organizations.

TCAJoB:  What type of services does CMC offer?
Holand:  Graphics, image packages, light photo work, conceptual work including product design, trade show booth design, business cards and flyers.  Our only exception is heavy duty research projects which take a great amount of time and dollars.

TCAJoB:  How did it get started?
Holand:  This course was designed and developed as an in-class project.  We were asked by General Motors to do a local, on-campus project.  The students designed and executed a marketing plan to create awareness of General Motors vehicles to a buying population that was virtually untapped.

Working with McCurly Dealership and a $2,500 budget, we amassed a $35,000 promotional plan.  after the project completion and execution we began, with our local advisory committee developing Creative Marketing Consultants, which brought the real world into the classroom.  From that day forward we have three classes each quarter — BUS 267, 268 and 269 Marketing Special Projects.

TCAJoB:  What is your goal with the class?
Holand:  That each student experience and explore innovation and leadership.  All student develop their creative skills through challenging projects and team participation working for a common goal.  And that each student find their own strengths and potential.

TCAJoB:  What are some of the most creative, successful campaigns your students have come up with?
Holand:  We had the opportunity to work with Kestrel Winery of Prosser in the concept and design of the ‘The Lady in Red’ and Platinum Series, taking them from 6,000 cases a year to 36,000 cases.

We also worked with the Washington Restaurant Association to develop a food show, ‘Food, Wine and the Bottom-line,’ bringing both suppliers and restaurants together. 

We have done two successful years with the ‘Nutcracker Bullet.’

We re-imaged the CBC logo and tagline; created an image packaging for Dolly’s Cupcakes, a handmade children’s tea set, sold at Nordstrom’s, and designed the logo for the Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.  We’ve also done graphics and poster design work for the Tri-Cities Wine Festival.

During the past two years we have been working with New Horizons High School’s marketing class on a statewide campaign for high school dropouts titled ‘Destination Graduation.’  Their instructor Sue Edmonds is one of my graduates.

We did the design and image creations for two businesses, one in the Dominican Republic that sells cigars and an African company that sells tea, that involved out of country communications to create the packaging necessary for U.S. retail sales.

During the 2009-2010 school year we had several new clients with huge projects, including Tri-Cities Rotary Duck Race and The Pasco Downtown Development Association.

We’re working with Last Chance Distillers of Prosser, naming and designing its new whisky, gin, vodka and moonshine bottles and labels.

And we are designing a series of wine labels to be distributed over the next five years for the Washington State FFA Foundation.

TCAJoB:  How has the class changed, if at all, since you started?
Holand:  Our client list has grown, providing a large variety of opportunities for my students.  And we have moved into a new building – going from 800 square feet to 1,200 square feet.  The classroom was designed and laid out by my students and myself.  We have 12 foot ceilings for photography work, a printing lab where we can print anything from standard 8.5 x 11 to 44” wide posters of photo quality.  We can print one sample for the client and then send them to several high quality printing shops in our area to have quantities printed.

And last we have added a series of classes on Innovation better known as the Innovation Institute, where we take your creative thinking and processing to new and exciting levels.  This class has been taught to several area businesses as well as my students.

TCAJoB:  What are the most important things your students learn through the class?
Holand:  That the phrase “fail often to succeed sooner” is ingrained in them and their work, because I believe that this is the place to make your mistakes.  They sometimes refer to me as the polisher or the finisher, because I will not let anything out of that classroom as a finished project that I would not be proud of.  Please understand that I will not do the work, but I will make suggestions for changes.

TCAJoB:  What type of feedback do you receive from the business owners who use Creative Marketing Consultants?
Holand:  Everything from ‘Great job, I can’t believe this came from a community college class” to ‘Not exactly what we needed.”  We realize that we cannot satisfy every client that comes to us.  But we also do our best with every client.

TCAJoB:  How much do clients pay Creative Marketing Consultants?
Holand:  We do not and cannot charge.  We are not in the competitive market place.  We use our clients as learning experiences.  Several clients have made donations to the CBC Foundation in the name of CMC, which we use for scholarships.

TCAJoB:  How can business owners get help from Creative Marketing Consultants?
Holand:  All they have to do is call my cell number 948-1300 or come by our classroom in the B building room 108 any day Monday through Thursday at 11:30.

Over the last decade or so, there’s been something of an… well… addiction to calling any sort of overuse of a product an addiction. So we’ve seen email addiction, web addiction, online porn addiction, video game addiction, internet addiction, and mobile phones or other gadget addictions among other things. More often than not, it seems that the calls to label these things as an addiction isn’t fueled by any actual addiction, but by psychologists or psychiatrists looking to build a practice treating people who play too much World of Warcraft, rather than drug addicts. When you dig deeper, nearly all of these “technological addictions” don’t really appear to be addictions to the technology, but rather a symptom of some other issue (such as depression) that manifests itself by focusing an inordinate amount of time on some technology. Focusing too much on the symptom, by falsely labeling it an addiction, could lead to poor treatment, as the focus is on treating the symptom, rather than the actual problem.

Yet, some psychiatrists have been pushing hard to have internet addiction officially classified in the psychiatrist’s bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). We had thought that these silly ideas had been shot down, but apparently not. The American Psychiatric Association recently proposed its new changes for DSM-5, the first update since 1994. And, unfortunately, internet addiction is being considered — though almost no one thinks it will make it in (gambling addiction, on the other hand…). What’s troubling is that the door is being opened to classifying such behavioral issues as addictions.

Thankfully, at least some in the profession are quite worried about this. An opinion piece at Psychology Today worries about this decision to append the addiction label, noting that even though it offers an opportunity for him to make more money, it may make it harder to actually help people:

As someone who makes his living as a psychotherapist I know I should shout, “Bravo DSM-5 addiction workgroup!” After all, if “behavioral addictions” makes it through field trials into the eventual manual it will open a a whole new market. Maybe I could even franchise “Internet addiction” clinics to funnel tons of insurance money into my pocket–after all, once “Internet addiction” is in the DSM insurance companies will pay to “treat” and I am sure there are lots of panicked well-insured parents out there who don’t like that junior spends so much time playing World of Warcraft.

But I can’t bring myself to come close to anything like that. Making “Internet addiction” an official diagnostic category is just wrong on so many levels, including, I believe, making it more difficult to get the right kind of help to those who have actually become painfully stuck online. Many people are turning from life lived to life online and they need help, but real help for real problems, not newly-minted addictions.

By sanctioning behavioral addictions the new DSM opens the diagnostic door to the full menu of confessional daytime TV problems: gambling, shopping, eating, playing World of Warcraft, visiting porn sites, chatting online, having sex with dozens of women with teased blonde hair (hello Tiger), getting too many tattoos, hoarding newspapers (addicted to print!), or whatever else comes along. Who knows, should the political tide turn Republican Senators might successfully plead they were not ruining the country, they were just suffering from “Anti-American Filibuster Addiction Disorder.”

Medically sanctioning the category of “behavioral addictions” also changes how we will think about freedom and responsibility. Making bad choices, developing destructive habits, and attempting solutions to problems in living that then become serious problems themselves will all become less important as the locus of responsibility shifts from the person doing something to the something being done.

Let’s hope common sense like the above prevail…

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In response to a Congressman’s question, Ben Bernanke said that he would look for a severe market reaction after the Fed stopped its purchases of mortgage-backed securities.

In other words: If stopping buying them really causes problems, he’ll probably go back to buying them.

And in other words: He doubts it’s really having a huge impact either way right now.

The bottom line is that nobody has to worry that the government will let mortgage rates go up anytime soon.

As we pointed out yesterday, Fannie and Freddie have a blank check to underwrite mortgages, so even if Bernanke stops (and stops for good) another organ of the government will simply fill that void.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Watch Ron Paul Just Shred Bernanke
• BofA/Merrill Lynch: Hedge Fund Managers Suddenly Think It’ll Be A Long Time Before Bernanke Raises Rates
• Why You Should Completely Ignore Any Discussion Of Whether The Fed Will Still Buy Mortgage-Backed Securities

Filed under: Etc., Buick, Cadillac, Hummer, Jaguar, Jeep, Lexus, Mazda, Saturn, Suzuki

Lexus and Hummer took top honors in their respective categories in the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Consumer Service Index (CSI) Study. Released this time each year, the CSI rankings (based on a 1,000-point scale) measure satisfaction among vehicle owners who visit a brand service department for maintenance or repair work during the first three years of ownership – that wonderful honeymoon phase when factory warranties are still in full effect. The study is designed to focus on five measurements: service quality, service initiation, service advisor, service facility and vehicle pick-up. The results are tabulated, and then presented as a score on a 1,000-point scale. Unlike previous years, where all brands were lumped into one single category and only three made it to the podium, JDPA broke things into two segments: luxury brands and mass market brands.

Lexus, with a score of 837, was at the top of the luxury brands, again – the automaker won last year as well. It was followed by Cadillac (827), who showed a big improvement over the previous year, and Jaguar (822). If you recall, Jaguar was at the top of the list in 2008 and finished second in 2009 (this is more indicative of a bar that continues to be raised rather than a decrease in service). Hummer (815) was top dog among mass market brands, followed by the now-discontinued brand of Saturn (808) and Buick (805). General Motors holds six of the top seven spots on the mass market category. At the bottom of the list are Suzuki (693), Mazda (717) and Jeep (720).

Overall, the industry is showing improvement as customers have expressed satisfaction with the ease of driving in and out of dealership facilities, parking convenience, thoroughness of work performed, the speed of repairs and flexibility of accommodating schedules. While that sounds like great news, experts say it most of those improvements may be attributed to the lower volumes of service bay traffic as sales slump in the new car showroom. Full release after the jump.

[Source: J.D. Power and Associates]

Continue reading Lexus and Hummer top 2010 J.D. Power Customer Service Index Study

Lexus and Hummer top 2010 J.D. Power Customer Service Index Study originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Volvo acaba de ricibir el premio ADAC de seguridad. Este importante galardón ha recaido sobre su modelo Volvo XC60. Para escoger al ganador de dicho premio, se realizarón un total de seis tests a diferentes velocidades automáticas y un sistema de control de distancia en los diferentes vehículos.

En los tests el Volvo XC60 se tuvo que ver las caras con el Audi A4, Volkswagen Passat CC, Honda Accord, Lexus IS y el Ford Mondeo.

Por último, os dejo con el informe del ADAC: 

El sistema de Volvo puntúa por encima del resto debido a que pone mucho énfasis en evitar el accidente. El conductor es informado del peligro con un piloto rojo proyectado en el parabrisas. En velocidades bajas, menos de 30 kilómetros a la hora, el sistema City Safety integrando, consistente en tecnología láser, es capaz de detectar vehículos en situaciones potencialmente peligrosas para frenar el coche de manera automática.

Related posts:

1. Volvo S60, imágenes oficiales
2. Volvo apoya los híbridos enchufables
3. Volvo S60, nueva recreación

Lexus is working on a competitor to the BMW M5, Jaguar XF-R, Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG and the Cadillac CTS-V. Known as the GS-F sedan, the model will arrive sometime in 2013 with a detuned version of the Lexus LFA’s 4.8L V10. The capacity of the 4.8L V10 will be reduced to 4.6L, helping it produced 450-hp.

The GS-F will be followed by a new Lexus SC that will hit markets in 2014. The current model is due to finished production this July. Sources say that the new Lexus SC will be a hybrid model powered by a 5.0L V8 with an electric-motor delivering power to the rear-wheels.

Click here for pricing on the Lexus GS.

Before the new SC and the GS-F arrive, Lexus will bring to the market the new CT 200h hybrid hatchback. Scheduled to go on sale in Europe in 2011, the model is not planned for the North American market.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: AutoCar

By now you know I have a biased point of view that rigorous endurance training is antithetical to health. Yes, I competed and loved it for 20 years, so I get the appeal it has for so many, but these days my personal focus is on maintaining the highest level of fitness and health on the least amount of work and sacrifice. I want to play and have fun. Still, I get asked a lot by endurance athletes whether there’s any chance they can continue to compete at a high level while eating and training Primally. I used to think it probably wasn’t feasible if you wanted to be world class, assuming as I did (erroneously) that you just couldn’t overcome the need for copious amounts of carbs on a daily basis without crashing and burning. However, recent research into the concept of “train low-race high” (vis a vis glycogen) and modified approaches to low level aerobic training that focus largely on reprogramming genes to more preferentially burn fat AS WELL AS the use of techniques like HIIT and barefoot training now all seem to show that training and eating Primal could not only maximize performance, but extend your career. If that’s your choice and if you approach it carefully (like Gold and Silver Olympic medalist Simon Whitfield). Since the book came out last June, I have heard from several elite athletes who have not only adopted Primal styles but have improved their performances (and reduced injury, and decreased body fat). Today I thought you might be interested in this “testimonial” from my good friend Jonas Colting (of last week’s Cocoa and Coconut Snacks), a long-time professional triathlete who has gradually incorporated Primal techniques into his training style.

__________________________________________________________________________

As to the main question I would say that I’m living as primal as I can, given my profession. I’ve always been a huge advocate for developing health along with fitness but I’ve also accepted that professional endurance athletics (triathlon) is not a health contest per se. In its rawest form pro triathlon is a contest in resilience, pain and fatigue with a lot of stress on body and mind.

Naturally, my training load is way and beyond what’s recommended in the “Primal Blueprint” and I’m surely guilty of being a chronic cardio participant. However, a big part of my distance training would be on the intensity level of that which a normal person would have on a hike or similar. I’m not spending an inordinate amount of time in a carbo burning or lactic acid laden state which so often is the case among many endurance athletes. Rather, after 25 years of endurance training my fat burning capacity enables me to stay primal even at relatively high efforts and speeds.

I’m from a swimming background and now favor rather intense sprint- and stroke challenging workouts to get the most from time in the water. Running is otherwise my favorite discipline of the three and especially in the forest and on the trails with an asymmetric and varied stride that promotes overall strength and a stride with a full range of motion, hence not requiring as much stretching post running.

Over the years I’ve been working a lot on functional strength and posture through various programs and have over the recent years taken this a step further by developing the “Primal Walk”, done in the forest with a mix of barefoot walking in the Vibram shoes and primal strength exercises such as lifting, pulling, pushing, squatting, throwing, hitting, sprinting and so forth.

(click to enlarge)

I always run in very thin shoes and low to the ground and will increase my barefoot running even more with regular runs in the Vibrams, besides doing the Primal Walks.

Nutrition wise I do eat some carefully chosen processed carbs, which is inevitable given the high amount of exercise I’m doing. However, it’s a far cry from the standard among Swedish nutritionist that recommend athletes to eat 10 grams of carb per kilo of bodyweight which for me would mean amounts in excess over 800 grams per day, levels that could be described as downright toxic in my estimation!

I eat loads of eggs (I love the banana-almond butter-egg pancakes featured on MDA), red meat, salmon, avocados, leafy greens, nuts and seeds. I eat sparingly with dairy but I´m generous with butter and drink some whole fat milk as well as some occasional yoghurt. I´m a big fruit eater with my favourites now being pomegrenate, blueberries, mango, citrus and bananas.

I also eat a fair bit of raw foods as in red meat, eggs, fish, milk straight from the farm. I eat some bread, mostly because I’m not really sensitive to gluten and bread is quite easy for me to digest. I can have a bowl of pasta sometimes as well as veggies like potatoes, carrots, red beats and turnips. I love sweets and pastries but mostly refrain from eating them but I’m weak for temptation so I’m terrible at hotel buffets and parties but I’m not into making life hard for myself. I’ll use self control when it’s necessary but I also know when to relax and purely enjoy the taste and feel of a savory dessert or treat.

I stay way clear from the typical athletes’ addiction to sports nutrition like bars, powders, gels and drinks which in most cases really is just candy in a more sophisticated package. I do use some electrolyte drinks on long and hot sessions and obviously for races all rules are off. When applying a “train low-race high” philosophy it would be foolish not to maximize both fat burning and carb utilization. For really long sessions or on the run portion of triathlons I find that Red Bull or soft drinks works wonders with the simple formula of sugar and caffeine.

I work closely with Organic Food Bar, and their products are a great option for athletes to use while training or racing.

I use the Damage Control Master Formula and take two capsules of Quercetin/Vitamin C every day and no other supplements.

My first influence that showed me the right way was the books of Phil Maffetone which I read during the mid-90´s, and they promoted the use of good fats and the dangers of sugars, stress and exercising too hard. Following MDA has further widened my knowledge and added to what I believe is the right way to approach eating and exercising and the framework of these philosophies is what I believe is the answer to having a +15 year pro triathlon career without hardly any injuries or illness and a continued improvement and enjoyment.

This is the message I talk, lecture and write about in Sweden.

Jonas Colting, Sweden
37 years old

2 medals, ITU World Championships, Long Distance
2 medals, ITU European Championships, Long Distance
Ironman-winner
2 times winner of Ultraman World Championships, Hawaii
Several times Swedish Champion Triathlon
Swedish Champion, Open Water Swimming
2 times winner of Island to Island, hardest one-day race in Sweden
Only person ever to complete the Swedish Classic nonstop in 25 hrs (3 k swim, 90 k roller-skiis, 300 k cycling, 30 k cross country run) including transports between venues.

__________________________________________________________________________

I’d love to hear from all the endurance junkies out there. Is it possible to be both Primal and a triathlete? Share your thoughts and stories in the comment board. Thanks everyone and Grok on!

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Related posts:

1. Dear Mark: Primal Compromises for Athletes
2. The Primal Blueprint Carbohydrate Curve

I was talking with Keith Krach, founder of Ariba and self-made billionaire, about the number one trait for successful leadership.

“Guess this trait,” Keith challenged me.

“Be a visionary? A risk taker? Brave? Tough?”

“No,” Keith said. “Tell you what. Envision someone you feel is a good leader.”

I did: a creative director I worked for at Nickelodeon.

(By the way – you reading this – yes, YOU. Join along and think of a leader you respect.)

“Are you ready?” asked Keith. “This trait is: be FUN.”

Yes, fun. It made sense. Employees are more inspired to be productive when they work in a fun work environment – than in a tough, serious space which operates on fear and stressful internal competition.

Sure enough, my leader from Nickelodeon: fun. Those under-30 billionaires at Google: fun. And Keith? Fun.

(Was your chosen leader fun? Write me and tell me if you want: [email protected])

Two psychological studies at Cornell University support Keith’s theory.

#1. People shown a funny movie were afterwards tested and proven to be more capable of creative flexibility and problem solving than those who shown a serious, dark moviie.

#2. Radiologists who received a small fun present before work, made more accurate diagnoses.

Interestingly a huge premise in Jim Collins’ best selling book GOOD TO GREAT is also that great leaders are fun. According to Collins, leaders at the biggest and best companies were consistently shown to be fun, likeable, humble people – not narcissistic tough tyrants. His theory? Not only were employees more inspired to make a kind, fun boss happy, employees were less afraid to reveal difficulties. As a result this increased communication increased the companies speed at curtailing problems before they spun out of control.

The lesson learned: Create a more fun work environment, and you’ll laugh your way to the bank.

MOST PEOPLE settle for an average life. If you’re not MOST PEOPLE and want to LOVE YOUR LIFE be sure to sign up for my famous and FREE Be Happy Dammit newsletter by clicking this line, right here, right NOW.

Seeking fun, motivational, empowering connections and friends to help you live your happiest life? Join me at my FAN PAGE on FACEBOOK clicking this line right here, RIGHT NOW.

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Since emerging from bankruptcy in July, GM has invested $1.4 Billion into over a dozen plants and created about 5,500 jobs. GM emerged with about $50 billion in federal aid. Most recently, the company recalled 1,200 laid-off hourly employees and added a third production shift in Lordstown, Ohio in order to build the 2011 Chevy Cruz, set to go on sale in third quarter.

One avenue GM has to look at is filling the positions with lower-paid union workers should they not be able to fill them witht he 5,000 − 6,000 laid off union workers. Under the terms of the UAW bargaining agreement reached in 2007, new hires are paid at a rate $14 per hour less, and with a less enticing benefits package. It is expected that most of the 1,200 jobs will be filled by laid-off workers.

Before it is in the position to hire large numbers of lower-paid workers, GM will need to see a major increase and improvement in the economy.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Detroit News

By John F. Terzano

On the last day of 2009, federal district court judge Ricardo Urbina dismissed homicide charges against five former Blackwater security guards involved in a shooting that killed fourteen Iraqi civilians in 2007. Judge Urbina’s decision cites egregious prosecutorial misconduct by the federal prosecutors handling the case as the reason for the dismissal. The dismissal comes at the end of a year that saw at least a dozen cases of federal prosecutorial misconduct, including the well known Ted Stevens fiasco. These cases and others reinforce an emerging consensus that we must do more to ensure that our prosecutors live up to the standards of professionalism and fairness on which our system depends.

Like the Ted Stevens case, the Blackwater case has received considerable media attention. A recent Washington Post article examined in detail the actions of the experienced and well-respected lead prosecutor Kenneth Kohl. The Post reported that despite documented warnings of a consulting prosecutor about the inadmissibility of statements made by the defendants, Kohl utilized the statements to obtain search warrants of the defendant’s homes and referred to them during grand jury proceedings. Because the case was mishandled from the start, Judge Urbina was forced to dismiss the charges before a trial could take place to determine the guilt or innocence of the Blackwater guards and bring finality and justice to a sensitive and tragic case.

The prosecutorial misconduct in the Blackwater case goes to the heart of a nationwide problem described in The Justice Project’s policy review, Improving Prosecutorial Accountability. In the face of enormous pressure to obtain convictions, prosecutors at the state and federal level all too often abuse their power and deliberately violate their obligations with impunity. Prosecutors’ offices regularly fail to provide prosecutors with clear guidelines on the appropriate use of their broad discretionary powers, judges seldom report acts of misconduct, and when reports are made, sanctions are rarely, if ever, imposed. As a result, prosecutors face almost no incentive to uphold their legal and ethical duties when seeking convictions. Nowhere is this “convict at all costs” culture more apparent than in the actions of the federal prosecutors responsible for the Blackwater case.

It is critical for the Department of Justice to respond with a prompt investigation by the department’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and appropriate sanctions for the offending prosecutors. Only through enacting an effective system of accountability can the Department of Justice—or any prosecutor’s office in the nation—hope to ensure prosecutors uphold their legal and ethical obligations. In spite of promises OPR made nearly one year ago to investigate the misconduct in the Ted Stevens case and possibly impose sanctions against the prosecutors at fault, none of the prosecutors involved in that case have faced any sanctions, nor have the results of any investigation been released.

To their credit, DOJ has recently taken some measures to prevent prosecutorial misconduct through increased training and oversight of prosecutors. For example, DOJ released several memos earlier this year providing more direction to prosecutors on their obligations to disclose evidence during the discovery process. Inadvertent misconduct can be significantly curtailed through this kind of increased guidance and training at the front end of criminal cases. However, holding prosecutors accountable for the kind of intentional violations of legal and ethical obligations apparent in the Stevens and Blackwater cases can only be achieved through meaningful sanctions and effective disciplinary mechanisms.

Prosecutors are the most powerful actors in the criminal justice system; they have enormous control and discretion over the course and outcome of criminal cases. The Blackwater case reveals the far-reaching consequences that the actions of just one prosecutor can have on the fair and accurate administration of justice. In order to prevent cases like this from occurring in the future, the Department of Justice must take more steps to improve prosecutorial accountability by investigating and imposing meaningful sanctions on the prosecutors responsible for the breakdown of this important case. Failing to do so only invites more misconduct by overzealous prosecutors.

After yesterday’s drubbing, Toyota is getting some of its mojo back, with the stock up 3.3%.

CEO Akio Toyoda is speaking today, so there could still be some fireworks, but perhaps investors are cheered by the fact that Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is the one in the hot seat, taking heat for the NHTSA’s failure to do anything about the car company’s safety issues.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Here’s How Safety Problems Savaged Toyota Shareholders
• A Quick Guide To Destroying $21 Billion Of Shareholder Value, And Decades Of Reputation
• Toyota Dealers Outraged By ABC News Death-Pedal Reports, Pull Ads From ABC

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Videos, Toyota

In June 2006, Koua Fong Lee was driving his pregnant wife and other family members home from church when he says his 1996 Toyota Camry accelerated on its own and the brakes stopped working. Lee struck another vehicle, killing three people in that car. A Minnesota jury convicted Lee of vehicular homicide and the native of Laos was sentenced to an eight-year prison sentence even though there was no evidence of alcohol or drugs involved in the incident.

Fast-forward to over three years later, and Toyota’s recall woes for unintended acceleration are casting doubt on the jury’s decision to convict Lee. But while the 1996 Camry isn’t involved in the current recall, some 1996 models were recalled for unintended acceleration. Further, ABC News says that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received at least 17 other complaints of unintended acceleration in 1996 Camrys with comments like “couldn’t stop” and “had to crash into a tree and another car to stop.”

Brent Schafer, the lawyer for Lee, has asked for a new trial, and for his client to be set free until the time of a new hearing. The prosecution in the case told ABC News that it supports examining the 1996 Camry involved in the crash to determine if the car is at fault instead of Lee. For its part, Toyota has chosen not to comment to ABC News due to the fact that there could be a future lawsuit brought against the company. Click past the jump to watch the network’s video coverage of this story (*Warning: videos may be slow to play – if they fail to load, please click here).

Tired of Toyota recall news? Try out the recall-free version of Autoblog.

[Source: ABC News]

Continue reading Will Toyota’s unintended acceleration woes help free imprisoned Camry driver? [w/videos]

Will Toyota’s unintended acceleration woes help free imprisoned Camry driver? [w/videos] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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