Author: Serkadis

Square Enix’s Yohinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama may think that an HD remake of Final Fantasy VII is a humongous undertaking, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to have a crack at it. Well, Toriyama anyway. The

An off-duty Chicago Police officer exchanged gunfire with a man in the West Ridge neighborhood early Wednesday on the North Side.

The shooting happened about 1:10 a.m. when an off-duty officer exchanged gunfire with a man in the 2800 block of West Devon Avenue, police said.

Initially, police said nobody was struck but a man later arrived at Swedish Covenant Hospital and told emergency personnel he was shot early Monday near North Mozart Street and West Devon Avenue — about a block west of the police exchange, police said.

Police said early Monday they have not yet confirmed if the man who arrived at the hospital is the person who fired shots at the officer, police said.

Circumstances surrounding the exchange were not immediately available.

Belmont Area detectives and the Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates all police-involved shootings, are investigating.

Read the original article from FOX Chicago News.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Officials in Lockport Township High School District 205 need to do a better job communicating how much building a new school will cost homeowners, according to several residents who spoke at a summit last week designed to address the district’s overcrowding problem.

Residents said they understand the schools are overcrowded and that the method of staggering shifts so juniors and seniors begin their day at 6:44 a.m. is not a good long-term solution.

Still, they said, they are feeling overburdened on their property tax bills, and with high unemployment and foreclosure rates and a weak economy, a tax hike to pay for a new school would not be easy.

More than 100 people attended the summit Thursday in Homer Glen, which brought together leaders from the high school and the three communities it serves.

Homer Glen Mayor Jim Daley hosted the summit, with another planned for April 22 at Lockport Township High School.

Residents were able to voice their concerns and offer suggestions on how to alleviate overcrowding, which now is at about 300 students over capacity.

Many residents were concerned about higher property taxes, especially for senior citizens and those facing hardships in tough economic times, if voters were to approve a tax increase to build a new high school.

School officials believe building a second four-year high school on district-owned land in Homer Glen would be the best solution, yet five referendum proposals have been voted down since March 2006.

This year staggered shifts were implemented at a cost of about $500,000 a year to clear up hallway and classroom space, but the staggered shifts have caused low morale among teachers, students and parents, according to an independent study released in December.

“It breaks my heart to think these children have to go in shifts,” Homer Glen resident Paul Passolano said. “It doesn’t seem like a fair and reasonable quality of life for these kids.”

Passolano urged leaders to come up with a solution to the overcrowding problem.

“I share everyone’s concern about tax overload,” he said. “But I see (a new school) as an investment in my children.”

Other residents said they see the district’s failed referendum measures as a problem that will extend far beyond the schools.

Property values will fall, and businesses and new homeowners are not going to build in these neighborhoods, they said.

“I moved here to be a part of something that was growing,” Lockport resident Sean Sweeney said. “I’m disappointed. … I implore you to put the finances out there to build the school, maintain it and retain the teachers. In my opinion, you guys have to build the school. If you don’t, I’m out.”

Some residents said they were concerned how the district would draw new boundaries and which high school their children would attend.

They suggested the district leave it up to individual parents on whether to send their children to the East Campus in Lockport or to a new school in Homer Glen.

Others suggested that if Crest Hill and Lockport taxpayers were opposed to building a school in Homer Glen, then Homer Glen could deannex from the district and form its own high school district.

The scenario stems from the 1970s, when the former Lockport West High School was removed from the district and became Romeoville High School.

A similar situation would be nearly impossible today, school officials said.

They are now in a listening mode, and no decisions have been made on when the next referendum will be.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Here it comes.

After plunging during the deflationary crisis of 2008-2009 average US gas prices have been steadily inching up, and are now in spitting distance of the $3/gallon level.

In fact, in the EIA’s own Short-Term Energy Outlook, the government agency predicted that gasoline would hit $3/gallon at some point at various points in the spring and summer.

For the full year, prices are expected to average $2.84 in 2010, and then $2.97 in 2011.

---

Get This Delivered To Your Inbox

You can get this dropped in your inbox every afternoon as The Chart Of The Day. It’s simple. It’s convenient. It’s free. All we need is your email address (though we’d love your name and state, too, if you’re willing to share it).  Sign up below!

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• CHART OF THE DAY: Dr. Copper Is Telling You To BUY
• CHART OF THE DAY: Asia Killed Us With Low-End Labor, And Now They’re About To Finish The Job
• CHART OF THE DAY: All It Took Was a Few Bad Trading Days To Get Investors Terrified Of Stocks Again

CLINTON — The curbside garbage and recycling pickup program in Clinton that had been delayed is about to begin.

“The main delay was with the 95-gallon garbage totes, which are being delivered to residents during the first two weeks of February,” said Joe Roberts, a municipal sales representative with Area Disposal.

“The company that provides the totes for us had some issues with getting enough parts for the axles and wheels on the bottom. That has been resolved, and we are confident that everyone will have a tote prior to the start of the program.”

After Thursday, residents may place trash in the tote and push the tote to the curb in front of their residence. Crews will pick up trash in the normal spot until then, Roberts said.

To sign up for recycling, call 935-5652. Area Disposal will deliver 65-gallon totes to those residences and collect on the first and third Thursday of the month.

In November, the city council approved a change to the Area Disposal contract, which added a recycling service and changed trash pickup from alleys to curbside.

“This will help with the wear and tear on our alleys,” Mayor Ed Wollet said.

Streets and Public Improvements Commissioner Bryan Hickman estimates the city spends up to $20,000 per year on alley maintenance.

An empty garbage truck weighs about 32,000 pounds, according to officials with Area Disposal.

Read the original article from Herald & Review.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

By Loris Schumann NEW YORK, Feb 15 (IPS) Bashe Abdi Yousuf, a U.S. citizen, was a young businessman in Somalia when he was detained, tortured, and kept in solitary confinement for over six years. Aziz Mohamed Deria, also a U.S. citizen, lost his father and brother when they were abducted and killed by officials and never seen again.

The crimes occurred in the early 1980s during the dictatorship of President Siad Barre, at a time when the Somali military made use of torture, rape, and summary execution to eliminate members of disfavoured ethnic groups and political opponents.

Mohamed Ali Samantar, a former defence minister of Somalia and prime minister at the time, now lives comfortably in Fairfax, Virginia, since fleeing Somalia when the government collapsed in 1991.

In a case headed to the U.S. Supreme Court, the right of foreign government officials accused of war crimes to find haven in the U.S. could be decided.

The case at issue, Samantar v. Yousuf, was filed by Somali and naturalised U.S. citizens who claim they were tortured and their relatives extra-judicially executed by Somali soldiers under Mohamed Ali Samantar's command.

Samantar claims immunity from a lawsuit for damages by the Somali victims, citing the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), which provides a foreign state with immunity from lawsuits in the U.S.

The victims, for their part, have raised the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA), under which alleged torturers can be held accountable under U.S. civil law if the subject has chosen to live in the United States and an effective judicial system is unavailable in the country where the crime has been committed.

Attorneys with the Centre for Justice and Accountability (CJA), a non-profit organisation in San Francisco, California, further maintain that the Alien Tort Statute applies in this case. This statute allows non-citizens to bring suits in U.S. courts for violations of international law.

The CJA is representing five victims – the two U.S. citizens and John Doe I, whose brothers were summarily executed by soldiers; Jane Doe, a university student who was detained by officials, raped 15 times, and put in solitary confinement for over three years; and John Doe II, who was imprisoned for his clan affiliation and shot by a firing squad, but who miraculously survived by hiding under other dead bodies.

"In this case, the Court will determine whether or not former foreign government officials who come to America and enjoy the benefits of being and living in America are above the law in a way that nobody else is in this democratic country," wrote Pamela Merchant, CJA's executive director, on the group's website.

They are representing the plaintiffs pro-bono.

The suit has drawn interest from a wide range of groups, including four Jewish organisations – The Zionist Organisation of America, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, Agudath Israel of America and the American Association of Jewish Lawyers Jurists – who are named in a friend of the court brief.

"There will be a rash of lawsuits of this kind against Israel" if the court rules for the plaintiffs, warned Alyza Lewin, an attorney with the firm of Lewin & Lewin, which has filed the friend-of-the-court brief in favour of Samantar and against making foreign officials vulnerable to civil lawsuits.

"It would be very difficult, if not impossible, for an American court to evaluate what happened in a foreign country," said Susan Tuchman, legal director of ZOA, the Zionist Organisation of America, a joint signatory of the brief.

The Saudi government has also filed a petition on behalf of Samantar.

On the other side of the issue, attorneys for Notre Dame Law School's Centre for Civil and Human Rights (CCHR) have submitted an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief on behalf of 26 former U.S. diplomats and State Department officials. The brief argues that former foreign officials sued for torture and extrajudicial executions in U.S. courts are not entitled to sovereign immunity from suit.

"Our collective experience teaches that amicable international relations do not require that foreign former officials be given blanket immunity from suit in our courts for alleged torture and extrajudicial executions," the former diplomats wrote.

On Jan. 27, Senators Arlen Specter, Russ Feingold and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee filed a brief supporting the fourth circuit's original decision that allows the plaintiffs to sue Samantar. Sen. Specter helped author the TVPA in 1991.

The case is scheduled for oral argument beginning Mar. 3.

“The Southern Avenger” Jack Hunter interviews Ron Paul. They discuss the Tea Party movement, GOP and neoconservative attempts to co-opt it, National Review’s Daniel Pipes suggestion that President Obama should “bomb Iran” to boost poll numbers, and the importance of addressing foreign policy when discussing spending and limited government.

Show: The Southern Avenger
Host: Jack Hunter
Station: 1250 AM WTMA, Charleston, South Carolina
Date: 02/15/2010

Transcript coming soon

Related posts:

1. Ron Paul on Healthcare, Yemen, Ben Stein and Israel Date: 12/31/2009 Host: Jack Hunter Station: 1250 AM WTMA,…
2. Ron Paul on the Tea Party Movement, CPAC 2010, Ron Paul 2012 Date: 1/8/2010 Show: Anderson Cooper 360 Channel: CNN Transcript…
3. Ron Paul and the Tea Party Ron Paul discusses the Tea Party and politics with Rachel…

Filed under: Sedan, Truck, Recalls, Safety, Toyota

With its upcoming Capitol Hill hearings only about a week away, Toyota appears to be attempting to tie up any loose ends with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The government agency has just announced a new recall for the 2010 Camry, and the embattled automaker is apparently taking a second look at unintended acceleration cases with its Tacoma pickup while deflecting more unintended acceleration death allegations as well.

Today, NHTSA has announced that it is recalling 7,314 four-cylinder Camry sedans because the power steering pressure hose might be “insufficient.” According to the government agency’s official verbiage (available after the jump), “the cap between the crimp on the pressure hose and the brake tube for the left rear brake may be insufficient,” a condition that could lead to the brake tube interfering with the crimp, resulting in perforation. If said tube cracks, a brake fluid leak can occur – and we all know what can happen from there. Affected units will have their brake tubes adjusted and/or replaced as necessary.

In other Toyota/NHTSA developments, Automotive News reports that the Japanese automaker is re-investigating complaints of unintended acceleration in its Tacoma pickup. The renewed probe reportedly arrives on the heels of “a congressional query about the unusual number of unintended acceleration reports since 2005.” The previous investigation covered some 514 reported incidents in which 2004-2008 Tacomas allegedly experienced unintended acceleration episodes that resulted in 71 accidents and 17 injuries.

Automotive News notes that Toyota’s previous 2008 investigation concluded with the finding that a majority of cases “are related to minor drivability issues and are not indicative of a safety-related defect.” NHTSA apparently conducted its own seven-month probe into 2006-2007 Tacomas in 2008, but never took any action, noting that “the information suggesting a possible defect related to motor vehicle safety is quite limited.” Just last week, Toyota recalled 8,000 Tacomas to fix an unrelated driveshaft malady.

Finally, in related Toyota safety news, the Associated Press reports that new complaints lodged with the federal government bring the automaker’s alleged sudden acceleration toll up to 34 since 2000. That’s an increase of 13 in three weeks, with the alleged deaths stemming from nine accidents occurring between 2005 and 2010. The AP notes that between 2000 and 2009, the government had received complaints alleging 21 deaths tied to unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles. The AP suggests that the spike in new complaint filings likely stems from “the heightened awareness of the massive recall among the public and underscore a flurry of lawsuits on behalf of drivers alleging deaths and injuries in Toyota crashes.” Thanks for the tip, David!

[Sources: NHTSA, Associated Press (via El Paso Times), Automotive News – subs. req.]

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

Continue reading Toyota issues fresh 2010 Camry recall, reexamining Tacoma unintended acceleration as alleged death toll mounts

Toyota issues fresh 2010 Camry recall, reexamining Tacoma unintended acceleration as alleged death toll mounts originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

A light anti-tank rocket launcher was among 14 guns recovered during searches Friday on Chicago’s West Side.

One person was charged in crackdown in th city’s Austin community.

Andre Tatum, 41, of the 800 block of North Lawler Avenue, was charged with 11 counts of misdemeanor firearms possession and one count of misdemeanor possession of ammunition, Chicago police said.

Tatum is a member of a Chicago street gang, police said.

Officers, armed with several search warrants, found five semi-automatic handguns, four rifles, two shotguns and 15 boxes of live ammunition of various calibers at Tatum’s home, police said.

The arrest was part of a multi-warrant search that led to the recovery of 14 guns including a light anti-tank weapon, a large one-shot launcher, and a pistol crossbow, police said.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Beyonce and Lady Gaga have just been revealed as nominees for this year’s Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards! Both up for awards in the music category, the duo joins Mario, Miley Cyrus, Nick Jonas, Ne-Yo, Joe Jonas, The Black Eyed Peas and Taylor Swift as nominees.

Favorite Female Singer:
Beyoncé
Miley Cyrus
Lady Gaga
Taylor Swift

The 2010 Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards are set to air March 27 at 8/7c.

A Gary, Ind., man was convicted Friday of murdering one teen and wounding two others during a 2007 drive-by in the northwest Indiana city.

Corey Smith, 28, of Gary, was convicted Friday on one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder after a Lake County (Ind.) jury deliberated for about four hours, according to a release from the Office of Lake County (Ind.) Prosecutor Bernard A. Carter.

Smith faces a maximum term of 160 years in prison when he is sentenced March 12. Carter said that on April 13, 2007, three Gary teenagers sitting in a car in the 1400 block of West 16th Avenue in Gary when a gray Buick drove by, made a U-turn and pulled up next to the teen’s car.

Smith, a passenger in the approaching car, then opened fire and wounded all three teens.

A teen who covered a female passenger with his body was killed, the release said.

The driver, 25-year-old co-defendant Brandon Hunter, also of Gary, pled guilty to assisting a criminal and will be sentenced Feb. 26, according to the release.

Read the original article from FOX Chicago News.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Article Tags: Satire, YouTube

For those of you who enjoyed MUST SEE FOR FUN: Glaciergate: Hitler’s Last Straw. You will enjoy this latest addition, yet another German film with wrong English subs.

(Note: over 18’s only as content is explicit, YouTube may well pull this one)

Read in full with comments »   

PEORIA, Ill. — With just a bit of pomp but enough circumstance to fill several volumes, Richard Basso and Bill Hyde finally got their Spalding Institute diplomas on Feb. 5.

Perhaps they didn’t throw their graduation caps quite as high as they might have 58 years ago, but the tosses were heartfelt just the same.

“They even backdated everything,” said Hyde, laughing as he examined his new piece of parchment dated 1952. “I’ve been waiting 60 years for this.”

Basso and Hyde left Spalding as sophomores in 1950 to serve their country in Korea.

Basso joined the Marines, returning after the conflict to pick up his life in Peoria with a family and a business, Midstate Terrazzo and Tile. He’s buried two wives and suffered a stroke six months ago.

“His parents were both immigrants from Italy, so I think he felt more of a call to serve his country, to be an American,” said his daughter, Val Coletta of Dunlap.

He never returned to school. His lack of a diploma has been “almost a badge of honor,” since he chose country over education, she said. But he had tears in his eyes as he gripped his diploma.

“This means everything to him,” Coletta said.

Hyde, now of Lincoln, joined the Navy, serving as a crew chief on a search and rescue helicopter. Though he did receive some education through the Navy, it wasn’t a Spalding diploma.

Life may have gone on, but their classmates never forgot. One of them, Peorian Bud Murphy, brought the men up at a lunch with a few classmates at the Lariat Steakhouse about six months ago.

He’d heard state law now enables high schools to confer diplomas on people who left school to serve in Korea.

Jim Flynn and Gene Schierer loved the idea, and the men approached Peoria Notre Dame High School Principal Charlie Roy and asked him to look into it. Spalding merged with Academy of Our Lady to become Peoria Notre Dame.

Flynn’s wife, Trisha, dug out his diploma, and Roy took it to the graphic arts teacher, who went to work. The finished product was sent to a printer, and shortly after, the school had two authentic 1952 diplomas to award.

A date was set, and classmates began calling one another to spread the word. A few dozen, most now 77 years old, showed up to watch the small ceremony, held in front of the entire Notre Dame population after a Catholic Schools Week Mass.

“This sure is nice,” Schierer said. “It really came out good.”

All of the planning went on without the would-be graduates’ knowledge.

“They sprung it on me about two or three days ago,” Basso said. “I couldn’t believe it. I was shocked. The people in my class are nice people.”

Among the classmates in attendance was Eileen Ayers, who remembers missing Basso most at dances for Spalding and Academy of Our Lady.

“Dick was everybody’s hope to get asked to dance,” she said. “He was a heck of a dancer.”

Watching him and Hyde finally accept their diplomas and officially take their place among the class of 1952 was truly special, she said.

“This was just wonderful,” she said.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Ed Dugard of Peoria, who remembers meeting Basso on the playground at St. Bernard’s School in eighth grade. “A long time.”

The only mishap in the planning was Murphy’s – he was in Florida the day the ceremony happened. But he called minutes after the ceremony had ended to congratulate the new graduates by cell phone.

Hyde already has decided to take the step many recent high school graduates take – college. He doesn’t even need the G.I. Bill to do it.

“Senior citizens in Lincoln go to Heartland Community College for free,” he said. “I want to do physics and math and whatever else goes with it.”

Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

BRUSSELS — A commuter train ran a stop light during morning rush hour and collided head-on with another train in a Brussels suburb Monday, killing at least 18 people and injuring 55 in Belgium’s deadliest train wreck in decades, officials said.

The impact peeled away the front of one train car and threw at least one other off the tracks, causing amputations and other severe injuries, witnesses and officials said.

Train service across Western Europe was disrupted.

The Flanders provincial crisis center said in a statement carried by the Belgian media that at least 18 people were killed.

Thirty survivors remained hospitalized, several of them in a “very serious” condition, the statement said.

Lodewijk De Witte, the governor of the province of Flemish Brabant, told reporters that one train “apparently did not heed a stop light.”

The trains collided in light snow just outside of the station at Buizingen around 8:30 a.m. (0730GMT).

The force of the collision smashed one train deep into the front of the other, tearing back the metal sides. The trains tipped high into the air and broke overhead power lines.

One of the front cars appeared to have careened across the tracks, demolishing a small maintenance shed next to the rail line.

A high concrete wall around the train yard seemed to have kept debris from hitting nearby houses.

It appeared to be the country’s worst train wreck since 1954, when a crash near Leuven killed 20 German soccer fans and seriously injured 40 others.

In March 28, 2001, eight people died when a crowded train plowed into an empty train driving on the wrong tracks.

Belgian National Railways spokesman Jochen Goovaerts said his agency was awaiting the outcome of the investigation before discussing the cause of Monday’s accident.

“It was a nightmare,” Christian Wampach, 47, told The Associated Press after medical workers bandaged his head at a sports complex where the less seriously injured were treated.

Those hurt more badly were taken to several hospitals in and near Brussels. The Red Cross appealed for blood donations.

“We were thrown about for about 15 seconds. There were a number of people injured in my car but I think all the dead were in the first car,” said Wampach, who was in the third car of a Brussels-bound train.

Photos from the scene showed rescuers pulling the wounded from a car that appeared to have tipped onto its side. Other emergency officials rushed victims on stretchers along the tracks.

“When we came out we saw dead bodies lying next to the tracks, some mutilated,” said Patricia Lallemand, 40, who was in the same car as Wampach, and was unhurt.

Wira Leire, 20, said he was woken by a loud crashing sound and leapt to his bedroom window to see two cars jackknifed directly in front of his home.

“There were people lying on the ground next to the train, so I grabbed some blankets and ran into the back garden,” he said. “But I but couldn’t climb over the concrete wall, so I just threw the blankets to the rescuers who were already gathering.”

Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme canceled a trip to Kosovo, turning around his plane minutes after landing at Pristina’s main airport, the Kosovo prime minister’s office said.

Eurostar reported on its Web site that its high-speed trains had suspended service in and out of Brussels and could remain shut down all day.

The international high-speed network Thalys, which links major cities in Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands, temporarily halted all traffic because its trains use the same rails as commuter lines near Hal, said Patricia Baars, a company spokeswoman.

At least four Thalys trains were stopped en route, and the railway operator deployed staffers to stations where they were rerouted to provide assistance to travelers on board, she said.

“No (Thalys) train is moving for the moment … it’s very hard to know today when services will resume,” she said. “It appears this was a very severe accident.”

Thalys has at least 25 round-trip trains operating between Paris and Brussels each day, plus seven linking Brussels and Amsterdam and six from Belgium to Cologne, Germany.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

SAER introduces the new catalogue for multistage pumps and electric pumps series MK, 50 and 60 Hz.
The catalogue includes the reviewed and updates datas of the entire range of SAER multistage vertical pumps, with outlet from DN32 to DN80, up to 37 kWs of power.
The series comprises 4 types:
MK32 and 32R with outlets DN32 and hydraulic parts in pressed stainless steel.
MK40 and 40R with outlets DN40 and hydraulic parts in pressed stainless steel.
The new MK50 with outlets DN50 and hydraulic parts in precision casting
MK65 and the new series MK65R with outlets DN65, always with hydraulic parts in precision casting
SAER vertical multistage pumps are completed with the series CWM201, unchanged in comparison to the past but with the addition of a new type, CWM201-X (Qmax = 40 m3/hs. H (Q =0) = 329 ms. 2900 rpms). Versions with parts to contact with the water in AISI316 are availables too and those with inverter integrated up to 5,5 kWs.

BCM announces its enhanced Fanless Mini ITX industrial motherboard with six serial ports showcasing the benefits of the Intel Atom low-processor and 945GSE chipset with dual display via VGA and 18/24-bit LVDS
BCM is an industry leader specializing in industrial motherboard design and manufacturing since 1990. We are an active member of the Intel® Embedded and Communication Alliance.
Does your application require two or more devices using serial (or COM) ports connections? Due to overwhelming demand, BCM is proud to announce the MX945GSE, one of our most popular Intel® Atom™ based Mini ITX motherboards, has been enhanced to support up to six serial ports versus the previous version with only two. This add-on feature will benefit applications requiring multiple serial devices. The new change MX945GSE with six serial ports will be available for purchase in Q1 2010.

The MX945GSE first launched in January 2009 and has become one of our bestselling Atom™ based mini ITX products usually in stock at one of our distributors or in our Irvine warehouse. Its special features include the onboard Intel® Atom™ N270 1.6GHz low-power processor and the Mobile Intel® 945GSE Express Chipset supporting 18/24-bit dual channel LVDS output. This combination enables the system to perform fanless operation while delivering outstanding 3D video content. This board supports up to 2 GB DDR2 SO-DIMM system memory and provides two RJ45 connectors for Gigabit Ethernet communications. There is one PCI and one Mini PCI Express expansion interfaces to support additional add-on cards. Six USB and two SATA ports are provided. There is one VGA output which can be used with LVDS for dual display presentations.

The new version of the MX945GSE adds four additional serial ports for a total of six to support up to six serial port devices. These devices include Point of Sale (POS) devices, bar code scanners, bill-pay accepters, computer terminals, ticket printers, modems, LED and LCD text displays, GPS receivers, satellite phones and more. Although modern computing systems have gradually replaced serial ports with USB and firewire connections, the serial ports are still commonly used for their stability in applications such as Self-Serve Kiosks, Self-Checkout stations, Point of Sale, industrial automation systems, server computers, and network equipment for diagnostic and console analysis. This is because most of the industrial applications require long life cycles and stable platforms.

Some of the older applications still require serial ports for connections to peripheral devices. “As a leader of long life industrial motherboards supplier, BCM needs to take good considerations for these customers when adopting new technologies and designing a multi- purpose platform.” said byTom Skibinski, the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at BCM. “It’s our mission to continue developing and supplying the best solutions with cutting edge technologies but also being a responsible partner to our loyal customers keeping their legacy requirements in mind”. The MX945GSE is truly designed to meet the needs of both the older legacy platforms that desire stability and little change as well as the newer applications looking to get the most out of the latest and greatest technologies. If you need more information regarding this motherboard or if you need custom design services, please contact us at [email protected] or visit our website at www.bcmcom.com.

YORBA LINDA, CA, January 26, 2010 – B&K Precision’s new XLN series of DC Power Supplies provide up to 1440 watts of power in a compact 1U, full-rack case for rack mounting in an ATE environment, or for bench top use. The XLN series contains four base models to choose from with various output voltage and current selections and optional GPIB/LAN interface. All units include free application software for remote control capability without the need for computer programming.

These power supplies simplify the building and operation of custom ATE systems for a broad range of applications. Their compact size, and high power density with fast processing times below 50ms, make for easy integration, while front to rear airflow circumvents interference with other mounted devices.

Bench top users of the XLN series can interact with a full keypad and rotary encoder knob for easy interface, and precise voltage and current adjustments. The additional list mode feature lets users create up to 150-step test sequences, which are executed from internal memory.

All models use standard USB and RS485 interfaces with SCPI protocol, while optional GPIB and LAN interfaces are available to make the XLN series flexible for any test situation. This option includes a built-in web server, which allows users to control basic power supply settings through a web browser. Another noteworthy feature is the master and slave mode, which greatly simplifies configuration and control of several power supplies connected in series and parallel while using the RS485 interface for synchronization.

Clean power, low ripple, and low noise qualify these new B&K Precision power supplies for the most rigorous test situations; i.e., product design and development, product QC and burn-in testing, production, or any application requiring large amounts of clean power. Each XLN unit includes a comprehensive protection design for safe interfacing with any unit under test.

These new versatile DC power supplies have a wide range AC input voltages for use in any region. All of the XLN series Power Supplies ship with a full two-year warranty and are priced at $2275 for the base models and $2495 for the GL versions with GPIB/LAN interfaces added. With this new series, B&K Precision now offers a full range of quality power supplies from basic to system power supplies for demanding ATE applications without the expense of higher priced brands.

Filed under: Geneva Motor Show, Crossover, Hatchback, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Fiat

Late last year, Alfa Romeo previewed the all-new Giulietta ahead of its reveal at next month’s Geneva Motor Show. While the five-door hatch is enough to make Stateside consumers weak in the knees – particularly in Quadrifoglio Verde trim – the impact in the U.S. figures to be much more substantial.

According to a new report by Automotive News, the underpinnings of the Giulietta are set to proliferate throughout Fiat‘s range in the coming years, and of the one million vehicles the automaker plans to build off the new architecture annually, the Chrysler group will account for around 700,000.

Fiat and Chrysler are currently working on a widened version of the platform – appropriately dubbed “Compact Wide” – and seven new models for Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep will use the new underpinnings, including the replacement for the Chrysler PT Cruiser and Dodge Caliber in 2012. And judging by Fiat’s description, it’s a helluva platform.

Aimed to compete with the new Audi A1 and BMW 1 Series, the platform uses 84 percent high and ultrahigh strength steel, a McPherson front and a dual-link rear suspension, both of which will use aluminum components (front and rear arms, along with the crossmember).

The platform comes in around 10 percent lighter than its predecessor thanks to the use of aluminum and magnesium, and is designed to fit a transverse engine and can be adapted for either front- or all-wheel drive applications.

On a related side note, during last week’s Economic Club of Chicago luncheon in which Ralph Gilles, Dodge CEO and Chrysler Group design head, dropped a a handful of interesting tidbits about the future of the automaker, he also showed a few teasers of upcoming products. Included in the presentation were images of the new 300C and Jeep Grand Cherokee, along with the the rendering above, a new subcompact product from Dodge, almost assuredly the next Caliber. Combined with the new platform and Fiat’s Multiair engines, we may finally have a credible contender in the compact arena from Chrysler. And it’s about damn time.

[Sources: Automotive News, AutoBird]

Report: Two Fiat-based small cars to replace PT Cruiser, Caliber in 2012 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

A source says Sen. Evan Bayh, whose name has been mentioned prominently in recent years in connection with White House sweepstakes, is ready to announce he will not seek re-election.

A senior Democratic official said Monday that the 54-year-old Bayh was ready to appear at a news conference in Indiana to reveal his plans.

The official divulged Bayh’s plans on grounds of anonymity because the announcement was not yet official.

Bayh is serving his second six-year term in the Senate, and is a centrist Democrat from a Republican-leaning state.

His departure continues a trend in which several senators and members of the House from both parties have decided to retire.

Polls have shown rising public dissatisfaction with both parties and with Congress in the face of continuing high unemployment, mounting deficits and lucrative bank executive bonuses.

Read the original article from FOX Chicago News.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services