Author: Serkadis

New York Times: The evening call to prayer here is like a summons, for everyone on the island. As the sun dives toward the ocean, the Muslim residents stream into the mosques, little boys wearing impossibly bright white skullcaps, their mothers in diaphanous, black head-to-toe gowns. The last of the bikini-clad tourists pick themselves up from the beach, dust off the powdery sand and head back to the hotel for a drink.

Lamu has been like this for decades, a historic seafaring place where modernity has been gracefully folded into traditional culture without completely spoiling it. The snaky alleyways of the island’s old town (which the United Nations recognizes as a World Heritage site), the omnipresent smells of donkey dung and sweetly rotting fruit and the crescent-sailed dhows plying the sea make the island feel like a glass museum case — one with a living culture inside.

But all that may be about to change.

To the dismay of many residents and tourists, the Kenyan government is planning to build the biggest port in East Africa here. It is an ambitious, multibillion-dollar project that could transform trade in this region and knit together Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, eastern Congo and southern Sudan as never before.

Pipelines, rail lines, highways, airports, an oil refinery and extra-deep berths for 21st-century supertankers are all in the blueprints, though it is hard to imagine such infrastructure rising up along this long-neglected stretch of the Kenyan coast, dotted by crumbling ruins and impenetrable mangrove swamps.

The Chinese government, one of the most aggressive investors in Africa, is backing the project and has already begun feasibility studies.

“This is real,” said Chirau Ali Mwakwere, Kenya’s transport minister. “We’ve made tremendous strides toward the realization of what you might call a dream.”

Not a historian’s dream, however.

Read more>>

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Lt. Vic Tamositis of the Arlington Heights Fire Department (AHFD) presented a program on Fall and Fire Prevention at Faith Lutheran Church Wednesday, Jan. 20.

Those attending learned about practical steps that can be taken in and around the home to reduce the risk of falling.

Fire prevention tips as well as services offered by the AHFD were also shared.

Packets, to be placed on refrigerator doors, containing emergency health and contact information generated lots of interest both at the program and on subsequent Sundays at the church. Packets are available, for free, from the AHFD.

In addition, the AHFD can be contacted if residents are interested in purchasing a secure lockbox that can be accessed by the fire department in case of an emergency to avoid the need to break down a door.

The program included a soup and salad lunch organized by Faith Lutheran Church parish nurse Margie Mayfield.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Filed under: Hybrid, Geneva Motor Show, Japan, Hatchback, Lexus, Luxury

Another Lexus hybrid is coming, and it’s coming soon. Remember that solid gold Lexus LF-Ch Concept we saw last year at the Frankfurt Motor Show? We referred to it as something of a deformed puffer fish with some nice Lincoln Concept C cues. Well guess what? It’s a concept no more and it’s coming to the Geneva Motor Show in just a few short weeks so that us and the rest of the automotive press can ooh, ah and head scratch in unison.

Not only that, but Lexus has dropped the silly LF-Ch name and replaced it with the not-quite-as-meaningless but equally clunky moniker CT 200h. We know, we know – 200h means the car has a 2.0-liter engine plus an electric motor. How exciting! That is, unless it’s like the LS 600hL, where the 600h means the 5.0-liter V8 combined with the electric motor is theoretically as powerful as a 6.0-liter V12. There we go again, attacking overused alphanumerics…

As for the CT 200h, here’s your de rigueur teaser shot. We know next to nothing about the car, other than that Lexus views the gas/electric compact luxury hatchback as a “gateway model” to its other hybrid vehicles. These include the RX 450h, GS 450h, the aforementioned LS 600hL and the HS 250h that Lexus oddly left out of the CT’s press release. Does that mean the CT could be replacing the HS? 99.9% no, but we’re grasping at straws here, trying to sex up this post. Perhaps it’s best for us just to say, “we’ll know more in Geneva.” Tiny little information-free press release after the jump.

[Source: Lexus]

Continue reading Geneva Preview: Lexus CT 200h gets teased

Geneva Preview: Lexus CT 200h gets teased originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Founded in 1902 as the Cadillac Automobile Company, the brand we’ve come to know today was purchased in 1909 by General Motors, eventually becoming America’s premier luxury car maker. Lincoln, which today is Cadillac’s crosstown rival, was founded in 1917 by Henry M. Leland (Leland named the brand after his longtime hero Abraham Lincoln) and acquired by FoMoCo in 1922.

Even today, there are a couple of things that truly differentiate one from the other. Here are some things we came up with:

• Lincoln offers a 7-seater crossover with the MKT – Cadillac doesn’t.
• Cadillac offers a sporty sedan with the CTS – Lincoln doesn’t.
• Cadillac offers a sporty coupe with the CTS Coupe – Lincoln doesn’t.
• Lincoln’s MKS is much more appealing than the Cadillac STS and DTS (both long overdue for a redesign).
• Cadillac offers a “hybrid” with the Escalade – Lincoln has no hybrid in its lineup.
• Cadillac offers high-performance luxury with the CTS-V Sedan and Coupe – Lincoln doesn’t.
• Cadillac is working on a BMW 3-series rival with the ATS – Lincoln has no plans for the segment.
• Cadillac is working on a large-luxury sedan with the XTS – Lincoln’s Town Car desperately needs upgrading.

With those facts out on the table – it seems like Cadillac is leaning more towards competing with dynamic European luxury while Lincoln is staying true to its American roots.

So, with that in mind, if you were to purchase an American luxury vehicle today, what brand would you shop? Let us know in the comments section below.

– By: Omar Rana

American Grammy-Award winning superstar, Beyonce will be performing on the largest stage ever produced in Trinidad and Tobago (TT) and the Caribbean on February 18 at the Queen’s Park Savannah (QPS), Port-of-Spain. This was revealed yesterday during a press conference at the QPS on the progress of preparations for the concert.
Sean Burkett, manager of production and artiste’s elements, said Beyonce intends on keeping with the entire concept which she has used throughout her ‘I AM’ tour. ‘The stage is going to be 64 feet wide, 56 feet deep, 60 feet high off the ground and in terms of the additional pieces, we started with a local vendor,’ he said.

Local vendor Advance Scaffolding Company Limited has been working around the clock making sure the specifications are met, while the extra materials were brought in from Unisson Structures in Quebec, Canada. Burkett also revealed they initially started with a local stage but they had to extend it to meet Beyonce’s requirements.

‘Some of her requirements will be an LED video wall, that is somewhere in the vicinity of 56 feet by 27 feet. There is no stage right now that accommodates that kind of structure, we had to set up a lot of technical counter weights, around the stage there is 120 tonnes of counter weights supporting the roof structure and all of the additional lighting and infrastructure,’ he explained. He noted there will be two stages, Stage A and B, for Beyonce’s performance.

‘The major part of the production will be on stage A but she wants to come forward and feel the crowd and interact with the people. It brings her a lot closer to the public and to the audience in terms of presentation,’ he said.
Patrons in the VVIP area will be situated seven feet away from Stage B, the VIP area will be 170 feet from the barrier that separates from Stage A while general admission patrons will begin from 100 metres away from Stage B.

Beyonce will land in Trinidad on Ash Wednesday, a day before her performance. Burkett revealed her production manager has expressed interest in tasting local foods. ‘She wants to be exposed to some of the local cuisine, so we have sent her options of that which they have signed off on, so they are coming to Trinidad to try the curry,’ he said.

TSTT vice-president legal Lisa Agard addressed rumours that Beyonce’s production team was not pleased with the original structure. ‘A minor challenge that was encountered was the fact that the dimensions were larger. We acquired additional extensions for the roof and they have signed off on the design of that,’ she said.
Agard also reassured the VVIP tickets that were stolen from cricket star Brian Lara’s residence on February 2 have been cancelled and new tickets have been reissued.

With today’s release of the Opera 10.5 beta, HTML5 video is again moving one step closer to becoming the default way video is served online. There’s a lot of ground to cover yet, but with four of the five major browsers supporting the feature, it’s definitely on the right track. But, while any support for the upcoming standar… (read more)

from gipfelsoli, 12 February 2010: “The upcoming G20 summit will reportedly be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on what may already be one of the busiest weekends of the summer in the city. International delegates and their entourages will be gathering in the financial district on June 26 and 27th 2010…” more

Article Tags: ClimateGate, You could not make it up

Advocates for climate legislation don’t want their cause to get buried along with everything else by the record levels of snowfall in Washington.

Romm was joined on the conference call by Jeff Masters, director of meteorology for the Weather Underground. Masters called the storms “truly extraordinary.”

Source: thehill.com

Read in full with comments »   

Filed under: Budget, Hatchback, Mazda, Misc. Auto Shows, Canada

The biggest event in the automotive world this week may be the Chicago Auto Show, but that isn’t stopping Mazda from once again going north to reveal product at the Canadian International Auto Show. The Japanese automaker has a significantly larger portion of the Canadian market pie than it does in the U.S., so it makes sense that it would show off an upgraded Mazda2 interior in Toronto instead of in The Windy City.

The 2011 Mazda2, which is earmarked to go on sale in North America beginning in late Summer, will benefit from higher quality seat fabric (with piping) along with a better audio system and more robust HVAC controls, among other changes. It is not immediately clear if the changes for the NA car will matriculate back into European market models, but the alterations should help give the Mazda2 a fighting chance against competitors like its platform-mate, the Ford Fiesta, as well as the next-generation Chevrolet Aveo and models already on sale like the Hyundai Accent, Nissan Versa and Honda Fit. Check out both the interior and exterior in our high-res galleries below.

[Source: Mazda]

Continue reading Upgraded North American Mazda2 interior revealed in Toronto, car to launch late summer

Upgraded North American Mazda2 interior revealed in Toronto, car to launch late summer originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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My name is Carl and I am a 6-time Republican office holder currently serving my fourth term as a Republican committeeman.

Regular readers of PA Pundits have seen my articles linked here from The Freedom Medium. 

And recently I set up a sub-domain for the site: Vote 2010

in an effort to help conservative candidates running in gubernatorial races as well as the House and the Senate in the hope of taking back Congress and saving America from the socialist evil that is Obama.

Please visit the site and e-mail any information you have on conservative candidates running for national office, and working together, we can put a stop to Obama’s socialist agenda.

Filed under: 111th Congress, 2010 Elections, America (USA), Blogs for a Free Market America, Blogs for Smaller Government, Blogs in Support of Our Constitution, Conservatives, Crimes Against American Taxpayers, Democrats, Flag, Freedom, GOD, Legislative Branch, Liberals, News, News and Views, Old Glory, Patriotism, Politics, Power Hungry, Reagan Democrats, RINO (Republican In Name Only), US Government Tagged: 2010 Elections, 2010 Governor Races, 2010 House Races, 2010 Senate Races

Matthew Bishop, U.S. Business Editor, The Economist

 The Road From Ruin: How To Revive Capitalism And Put America Back On Top

Is The Stock Market Going To Crash? (4 min)

• Will the stock market crash?
• The Economist: Stocks are overvalued
• How low will we go?

Produced By: Kamelia Angelova & William Wei

Don’t miss this Matt Bishop clip:
• The Road From Ruin: This Was A Global Crisis And No One Has The Slightest Interest In Doing Anything About It >

• Matthew Bishop: Spending Will Be Curbed After The Mid-term Elections >

More Video: Click HERE >

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• The Road From Ruin: This Was A Global Crisis And No One Has The Slightest Interest In Doing Anything About It
• DOW Crashes Through 10,000, Closes Down 104
• Last Week’s Jobs Reports Show Economy Is Recovering!

After all the rumors of a production version of the LF-Ch Concept, Lexus finally confirmed today that its new CT 200h compact car will debut at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. Lexus says that the CT 200h is the first and only full hybrid model in the premium compact segment.

“Created for motorists who want to lower their emissions, but not their standards, the CT 200h will be the first full hybrid vehicle in the premium compact segment,” Lexus said in a statement. “It will offer new levels of refinement, sophistication and attention to detail, without compromising style or driving pleasure.”

The Lexus CT 200h will be equipped with the second-generation Lexus Hybrid Drive technology. More details will be released next month.

2009 LA: Lexus LF-Ch Concept:

All Photos Copyright © 2009 Kap Shah – egmCarTech.

– By: Omar Rana

from occupied london, 12 February 2010: “It’s been making headlines the world over: the greek economy is in crisis, the times call for unity, the nation is in trouble, there is a debt lingering and this is somewhat a “national” one as well. What an image: the revolted of December 2008 to be showing the way of obedience, succumbing to austerity plans, to the economists’ expertise…” more

Is it plausible that Ken Lewis believed in October of 2008 that John Thain might try to wiggle out of Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch?

With hindsight, this seems far-fetched. We now know that Merrill Lynch would report epic losses that would have bankrupted the firm if it had remained independent. As it was, the Merrill losses put such a huge hole in Bank of America’s balance sheet that Lewis had to ask the government for tens of billions of additional TARP aid. In fact, it was Lewis who seems to have attempted to get out of the deal—or at least been willing to bluff an exit attempt to secure more government support.

But in David Wessel’s reading of Paulson’s book we learn that Lewis was indeed telling the Treasury Secretary that he was worried Thain might try to reneg.

In October 2008, after the government had pumped money into BofA, Merrill and other big banks, Lewis confided to Paulson that he was worried Merrill CEO John Thain would try to wiggle out of the deal; he wanted Paulson to insist that Thain go through with it. Paulson says he never mentioned the call to Thain. Less than three months later, of course, Lewis would talk about backing out of the deal, completing the purchase under pressure from Paulson and Bernanke.

Derek Thompson at the Atlantic is surprised by this.

I’ve covered this topic for a few months now and I spoke with a source close to Thain at the time of the deal, but I’ve never heard that story. There are at least two reasons to question either Lewis’ statement or Paulson’s recounting. First, Merrill was days away from bankruptcy when Bank of America agreed to buy the company for a rather generous $50 billion, 86 percent of BofA’s stock price. Merrill’s precariousness was no secret, especially to Thain who had been brought in to save the company from its increasingly likely demise.

We’re less skeptical. In October of 2008, many on Wall Street believed they were in the midst of a temporary dislocation, a liquidity crisis that would be resolved once the alleged panic was over and the alleged short-selling attacks were stopped. Lewis might very well have worried that Thain would try to reclaim Merrill’s independence once things had settled down.

What’s more, those epic losses had not yet occurred. Indeed, there are indications that the trades that triggered those losses were not yet in place. Merrill was at the time positioning itself for a recovery in the values of various assets linked to real estate—a recovery that eventually did occur, if several months too late to save Merrill. This seems to indicate that Merrill also viewed the crisis as a temporary panic.

Inside of Merrill, the prospect of being acquired by Bank of America was dramatically unpopular. Many long time Merrill veterans dreaded the vanishing of the MER symbol from the stock ticker and worried about what would happen to their firm when it was swallowed by the monster of Charlotte. No doubt there were voices whispering to Thain that he should look for a way out of the deal if it were possible.

So we’re not sure Lewis or Paulson are remembering things wrong. Or that they would have been all that far off-base in suspecting that Thain was scheming to nix the deal.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Hank Paulson Accidentally Reveals How He Fostered The Bailout Mentality
• Lehman Book Author Bashes Hank Paulson
• Hank Paulson: God Got Me Through The Financial Crisis

John Major has been caring for his wife Helen for the past 14 years.  Helen has Alzheimer’s, and John spends a lot of time and energy caring for her, and navigating the system to find helpful information.  John is positive about the changes happening in his area, but would like to see further improvements to better join-up services and ensure people get the information they need. 

John first realised something was wrong when Helen, then aged 54, started to have difficulties making decisions and was not coping well with change.  She had previously been a matron in a position of responsibility so they knew something was not right.

“Possibly because of her background, everybody was rather upfront with the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s,” John says.  

Gradually over time they realised they would not be able to manage the small hotel they owned and ran together.  They moved to a one bedroom flat and John became Helen’s full time carer as her condition developed.

“I was feeding her, I suppose physically doing everything for her,” John says.  “Progressively she lost her mobility, so I was having to take care of everything.  All these things were just kicking in progressively.  Allied to the communication problems, she couldn’t take her own weight.  I couldn’t look after her by myself.  Everything suddenly became a two-person role.”

Two years ago, Helen moved into a nursing home.  John visits his wife every day and has spent a great deal of time and effort over the past fourteen years looking for information and advice about Helen’s condition. 

John also plays an active role in the Alzheimer’s Society, giving advice to others about where to go for support, and how to avoid some of the problems the couple faced when Helen was initially diagnosed.

“The fact is that in those days the NHS and Social Services were not a seamless service at all.  People were left in limbo.  There was a total lack of help, of guidance.  In those days you were not pointed in the right direction,” says John.

Left in a financially difficult situation after having to retire early, further challenges were presented in accessing funding for Helen’s care.  John found it was up to him to navigate his way through these processes.

“No one was informing me as to what was required and what we should be doing,” he says.  “But with people now accessing information more easily online about Alzheimer’s, in the last few years you’ve seen dramatic change.”

John speaks favourably about the National Dementia Strategy and feels it has moved on dramatically. 

“The best thing about the National Dementia Strategy is that appointment of Dementia Advisors,” he says.  “This is an essential role because that person can be the gatekeeper.  That is the continuity, the link and I think it would be tremendous.  It could save a great deal, and would help people to be able to continue to live in their own homes longer.  It’s a contact, somebody that they can ring, somebody that can point out services, somebody that can arrange an occupational therapist to come in and help, if you’ve got a lifting problem, or if you need some equipment.  It’s that link.”

John also highlights the importance for Alzheimer’s patients to be dealing with familiar people:  “The same district nurse or whatever is so important.  Continuity of the social workers is terribly important.”

John now gives regular talks about caring for Dementia and Alzheimer’s patients through his work for the Alzheimer’s Society in the South West and has visited a number of Primary Care Trusts to speak to them about the Dementia Strategy.  He also speaks about the needs of carers as part of local Dementia Awareness training courses.

In his role with the Alzheimer’s Society, John has realised the enormous amount of information that is available and is keen to see it shared even more widely.  He is keen to encourage others to speak out and seek help where it is needed.

“I’ve tried to ensure there are services, and help, and guidance available.  There is no shame in recognising the condition, be prepared to seek help.”

What exactly is a smoke test? Basically, its a test conducted by GM engineers to ensure a quiet ride by filling a pressurized 2010 Chevrolet Equinox with smoke to test for leaks.

And for a little fun they fill it with some other stuff. Weird stuff. Stuff their bosses wish they hadn’t.

Check out the video after the jump.

Click here for our review of the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox.

Review: 2010 Chevrolet Equinox 1LT:

All Photos Copyright © 2009 Omar Rana – egmCarTech.

Review: 2010 Chevrolet Equinox 1LT:

The whole Google Books legal affair doesn’t sound that glamorous and certainly not that important, but the outcome of the lawsuit and the fundamental changes it is likely to set in motion make it one of the most important issues involving the web today. The settlement between Google, authors and publishers criticized by competitors and recent… (read more)

Filed under: Aftermarket, Coupe, Performance, Bentley, Luxury

GTOs come, and GTOs go. Although the Pontiac GTO may be long gone, Ferrari is working on a new 599 GTO. Now Irish tuning house Onyx Concept – which previously worked up the Range Rover Sport and Vogue – is releasing a GTO of its own.

Based, as you can see, on the Bentley Continental GT, the Onyx Continental Platinum GTO packs a host of visual and performance modifications in an effort to take what is widely known as the “Camry for rich folks” to GTO levels of performance. That includes boosting the power from the W12 engine from 553 horsepower to beyond 640, although Onyx hasn’t disclosed exactly how that’s been done. The suspension has also been dropped to the ground like the pants on an American Idol contestant. 22-inch matte black alloys compliment a body kit comprising of a new front bumper with LED daytime running lights, wider wheel arches and carbon fiber splitter, decklid spoiler and rear diffuser.

Onyx says the Platinum GTO will be available beginning next month. Along with the pair of images (which we’ve posted to the gallery below), those are all the details available at this point in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Onyx Concept]

Continue reading Onyx gives the Bentley Continental the Platinum GTO treatment

Onyx gives the Bentley Continental the Platinum GTO treatment originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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