It took WWE almost two years to release an iPhone App, but here we are. That’s right, today the company, which fancies itself as some sort of catch-all, cutting-edge entertainment juggernaut, has bequeathed upon the world WWE Latest [iTunes link], a 99 cent App for the iPhone and iPod touch. It’s fairly basic, but should help those of you itching for, I don’t know, Diva photos or Raw results. You do know your iPhone has a perfectly viable Web browser, right?

No, 99 cents isn’t a lot of money—it’s pretty much free, guys—but what would compel someone to pay one cent for something that’s freely available via Safari (or Opera Mini)?

There’s not too much going on in the App. You’ve got News, Photos, and Videos to choose from, and that’s it. Again, you can find news, photos, and videos on the Internet just fine.

For something that took two years to come out, it’s sure a little lackluster.

You look at other sports Apps, most notably the MLB App [iTunes link], and think, “Well, now this is something that I can show my friends.” It really makes use of the iPhone’s hardware, whereas WWE Latest seems like WWE.com in a self-contained window.

Push the cruiserweights, etc.

Slipping in just before the tax deadline, I was able to squirrel away close to $19,000 in various retirement accounts. Because almost all my income was 1099 last year, a good portion of it was via a SEP-IRA. The rest of it was via Roth IRA.

Now it’s time to start investing that. I’ve decided that I’m going to focus on PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund (NYSE:DBA). I consider that ETF a way to broadly track quite a few commodities – something that most people have limited exposure to. The rest of the money will likely be split into my old standby ETFs – VTI and VEU. I’m contemplating adding some bonds (via symbol BND), but I’m still thinking that at age 34 I want to be very aggressive.

With that said, here is some good reading to keep you busy for awhile.

The Money Writers:

• Brip Blap writes on recurrent greed.
• Digerati Life posts wipe away debt problems with debt snowflakes.
• Frugal Dad blogs your coupons are making you poor.
• Generation X Finance says don’t treat your 401(k) like a savings account.
• Million Dollar Journey discusses the secret world of private banking.
• Money Smart Life shares how not to miss a connecting airline flight.
• My Dollar Plan asks can you have a 401k and an IRA at the same time?
• The Sun’s Financial Diary gives 10 ways to save money and Earth.

Top PF Posts:

• Free Money Finance presents retirement lessons: sail away into the sunset years.
• The Real Estate Bloggers ask was Andrew Cuomo responsible for the mortgage crisis?
• The Trend Rida wonders if Google will be a major player in mobile computing?
• Uncommon Cents on borrowing from Mmyself.
• A Penny Save writes avoiding spending temptation.
• Saving to Invest posts good debt vs. bad debt – taking charge of your finances.
• Get Rich Slowly shares a reader story: I was drowning in debt.
• The Smarter Wallet posts how to get out of debt in four easy steps.
• Wise Bread talks about the Work Exchange way to see the world.

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PhoneDog just can’t cram every bit of analysis, in-depth coverage, and tip/trick/how-to goodness onto our home page. So we’ve built a few more home pages to hold it all.   Whether it’s Android, BlackBerry, or Apple stuff that makes you tick, we’ve got the goods.

Here’s what’s going on right now on PhoneDog Media’s network sites: Today’s iPhone, BBerryDog and DroidDog.

iPad 3G shipping on May 7th

Games my kids can’t live without, and I would (sometimes) like to

Listen in on cops, NASA for $0 with iScanner app (Sunday only)

BlackBerry Bold 9650 to be available on Verizon by May 27th?

BlackBerry Bold 9700 in white coming to T-Mobile USA

US Cellular getting the Bold 9650?

App Review: Font Size (for root users)

HTC DROID Incredible review

HTC DROID Incredible on video

Luke Timmerman wrote:

Big cuts are happening at Mukilteo-based CombiMatrix (NASDAQ: CBMX). CEO Amit Kumar is stepping down, expenses are being cut, and the board is betting the future of the company on diagnostics, not on its traditional business of selling genetic analysis instruments to researchers.

The company’s statement today is vague, but the news is clearly bad for people in Mukilteo. Operating expenses are being cut by 40 to 60 percent relative to its cash spending rate of $10.6 million in 2009. While CombiMatrix isn’t saying specifically what that means for Mukilteo, it did say that its Irvine, CA-based operation is being shielded from the cuts because it is involved in developing its technology for diagnostics, which is the future of the company.

Kumar didn’t immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment, but I’ll update this story if he responds with some clarification on what this means for the Mukilteo operation. I wrote a detailed feature last June on the company’s plan to transform into a cancer diagnostics player after it was essentially crushed by bigger competitors like Santa Clara, CA-based Affymetrix and San Diego-based Illumina, which also make DNA microarray tools that help researchers examine which genes are turned on or off in a biological sample.

By last August, CombiMatrix said it intended to hire an investment banker to evaluate options to “unlock shareholder value,” which might mean a sale of the company, or the signing of a partnership. At the time, it said it had a year’s worth of cash left on hand. Now it says it had $13.5 million left in the bank as of March 31.

“CombiMatrix is at a major inflection point in its development,” stated Dr. Amit Kumar, President and CEO of CombiMatrix Corporation. “We have developed and launched a number of valuable diagnostic testing services, and we believe the best use of shareholder capital is to focus on selling and increasing the utilization of those tests.

Kumar will stay as CEO until the company finds a replacement, which it hopes to do before the end of June, the company said. More specifics on the company’s plan will be available by the company’s second quarter conference call on May 11.

CombiMatrix said it had 69 employees companywide as of December 31, with roughly half, or 34 of them, in Irvine, CA, according to its annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS

Subaru says that it plans to increase production capacity at its Indiana plant by 40 percent this year to meet high demand for the Outback and Legacy. The move comes as owner Fuji Heavy Industries targets U.S. sales of 230,000 vehicles for 2010.

Click here to get prices on the 2010 Subaru Outback.

Subaru’s Lafayette, Indiana plant currently has the capacity for 100,000 vehicles annually, but the company wants to increase output to 140,000. Subaru did not say whether it would add a line, increase the speed of production or take capacity that it is currently allocating to Toyota’s Camry.

Subaru’s sales goal represents a 6 percent increase over the 216,652 vehicles it sold in 2009.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

by Tom Philpott

An April 13, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) announced the four winners of its second annual “Growing Green” awards, which
honor leaders in the sustainable-food world in four categories:
“thought leader,” “producer,” business leader,” and “water steward.”
I interviewed “thought leader” Fred Kirschenmann here. Now I turn my attention to Karl Kupers of Shepherd’s Grain, who harvested the “business leader” honors.

——————

Karl Kupers of Sheherd’s Grain: leading his region’s wheat farmers out of the commodity trap. Imagine launching a career as a wheat farmer in the 1970s. As the decades wore on, you’d be excused for wondering if you hadn’t stumbled into a scene from the Book of Job.

You’d have seen the price of your prized commodity fall steadily since you started out—until, by 2000, a bushel of wheat was trading at less than a third of the inflation-adjusted average price it fetched in the 1970s, according to this FAO report. Of course, the biofuel boom pushed up prices of all ag commodities since starting in 2007; but even today, wheat prices hover at less than half of what they were in the 1970s—even as prices of inputs like fertilizer and seeds have surged.

With wheat prices in the dirt, you’d have two obvious choices: 1) drop out of the business and find a more profitable use for your time; or 2) or scale up, buy more land, and try to make up on volume what you’re losing on price. Of course, if you take the second option, you’ll also want to squeeze as much out of each acre as possible—and that means bigger and more gas-guzzling machines, more agrichemicals, etc.

But there are other choices, too. One is to opt out of the commodity market, which only really cares about cheapness, and create a product that distinguishes itself by its quality. Rather than obsessing about producing more, you’d think hard about producing better—and find people willing to pay a little more for food grown with ecologically sustainable practices. And instead of the constant struggle to scale up, you’d reach out—building market power by joining forces with like-minded growers.

In 1999, Dean Kupers and his partner Fred Feming did just that, launching Shepherd’s Grain flours in Spokane, Wash. Today, 33 certified-sustainable farmer-owners market their wheat through Shepherd’s Grain, which has earned reputation for its top-quality flours among bakers in the northwest.  Soon after news of his Growing Green award emerged, I caught up with Dean on the phone.

——————

Q. Tell us a little bit about Shepherd’s Grain.

A. The basic philosophy of Shepherd’s Grain is to reconnect the producers to the consumer, and provide an economic mechanism to support farmers who want to preserve and even improve their land for the next generation. The thing that struck me was that high levels of tillage, which was eroding our soil, had become became very the least sustainable thing we were doing out here. So that;s the first thing we focused on: giving farmers a way to transition to a system that relied much less on tillage.

Q. Can you explain to me what your growers are doing to reduce tillage?

A. The method is simply no till. Nature doesn’t till. Unfortunately, when people came to these parts [the Northwest] they were able to till the soil and release all of that natural nutrient capacity. And we just kept at it for the next 140 years. And using tillage, you eventually reduce and in some cases eliminate the growing capacity of the soil.

When we first tried no-till here in the ‘70s, it struggled—primarily because it was still being dealt with in a monocultured system. And we now know that to be successful, no-till needs much greater diversity in the system.

Q. By diversity, are you talking about cover crops or other species besides wheat?

A. Yes, the latter. We’re actually working towards developing more along the cover crop idea as well.  But the key is diversity. It’s simple. You go to your ecosystem where you live and you go find a native piece of ground that’s never been touched and you do an inventory of the plant material there. Nature’s telling you what works well in the rotation. So that’s all you’re doing is mimicking nature at that point with your rotation and you select species that do well in your ecosystem.

Q. When I think of no-till today, I think of “chemical no-till”—the practice of using crops genetically modified to withstand herbicides. Instead of tilling to control weeds, you just douse fields with agrichemicals. Of course, there is no GM what. How do you guys avoid tillage?

A. Well, we still use herbicides, but we focus in minimizing them. We’re very aware of the resistance problem with Roundup. We don’t want to use it anymore than necessary. We also know that in addition to rotating crops, you also have to rotate your herbicides; you can’t rely on just one.

But the real key in a natural system is understanding that your soil is your true resource and the microbes in the soil are your lifeblood. That’s the first thing. You make sure you’re doing nothing to harm the microbial population, and you’re doing everything to enhance that microbial population.

Q. I’m guessing Shepard’s Grain flour sells at a premium to faceless, place-less commodity flour.

A. Well, I’m always hesitant to use the word “premium.” But with Shepard’s Grain, we went from being a “price taker,” which is what farmers are in a commodity market, to having a little more power to set our prices in the marketplace. If you’re truly going to be sustainable, you’ve got to cover your cost of production, and the commodity market has no correlation to that today.

Related Links:

The Climate Post: Why isn’t the Keeling Curve more famous?

Fred Kirschenmann, winner of NRDC’s Growing Green “Thought Leader” award

Ask Umbra’s Book Club: Is eating animals eating you?

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Ill., participate in a groundbreaking ceremony for a $670 million Mississippi River bridge connecting Illinois and Missouri Monday, April 19, 2010, in St. Louis. Construction is being paid for by a mix of state funds and $239 million in federal cash for the four-lane bridge which is expected to open by 2014 and carry about 40,000 vehicles a day. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)” width=”164″ height=”240″ />

Dignitaries, from left to right, Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-Mo., Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Ill., participate in a groundbreaking ceremony for a $670 million Mississippi River bridge connecting Illinois and Missouri Monday, April 19, 2010, in St. Louis. Construction is being paid for by a mix of state funds and $239 million in federal cash for the four-lane bridge which is expected to open by 2014 and carry about 40,000 vehicles a day. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Top politicians from Missouri and Illinois joined the nation’s transportation chief in ceremoniously breaking ground Monday on the first new Mississippi River bridge at congestion-plagued St. Louis in some four decades.

Monday’s event largely was anticlimactic: Construction on the main span of the $670 million project got under way weeks ago after a ground-breaking ceremony first planned in February was foiled because dignitaries from Washington were snowed in and couldn’t make it to St. Louis.

But given another chance, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood heralded the new span as vital in easing snarls at one of the nation’s busiest crossings — and proof that two neighboring states, despite years of bickering over financing that delayed the project, ultimately could make it happen.

“It takes a long time to get big things done,” LaHood said during the pomp staged at the state line on the Eads Bridge, where a dump truck from each state flanked dignitaries including Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, Republican Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri and Rep. Jerry Costello, a Democrat from nearby Belleville, Ill., widely considered the project’s catalyst.

LaHood said he hoped the event illustrates “that when people put down their agendas and put aside their egos and do what the people want, great things can happen.”

Scheduled for completion in the middle part of this decade, the four-lane, cable-stayed bridge will divert Interstate 70 traffic from an existing bridge that’s one of just two in the nation that accommodate three freeways. The plan also allows for the bridge, designed to be two lanes in each direction, to be expanded by a lane each way.

The project, meant to relieve the 47-year-old Poplar Street Bridge now used by more than 120,000 vehicles daily, is being funded by a mix of state funds and the $239 million U.S. taxpayers are kicking in.

Until both states struck a deal in early 2008, the project was consistently downsized and stalled by chronic haggling between Illinois and Missouri over financing even as traffic across the river continued to mushroom.

In the early 2000s, the new span was conceived to be eight lanes, cost $1.6 billion and be named the Ronald Wilson Reagan Memorial Bridge, ideally becoming a “signature bridge” and possible tourist draw near St. Louis’ towering Gateway Arch.

That price tag later got chopped to $910 million, but the project still got snagged because of Missouri’s insistence that it be a tollway — something Illinois flatly rejected as potentially onerous on the tens of thousands of Illinois residents who commute daily to work in St. Louis and its Missouri suburbs.

Illinois later proposed a sister bridge to an existing span between the states, calling it affordable at half the price at as much as $450 million. That structure would carry four lanes of traffic — all westbound — after crews turned all lanes on the existing bridge to eastbound ones.

Missouri panned that as no long-term solution.

Both states ended the impasse in February 2008, announcing a $640 million compromise after Missouri relented on the tolls. The cost has since grown to $670 million because bids came in higher than expected.

The new bridge is expected to carry about 40,000 vehicles a day initially, up to 55,000 vehicles daily by 2030.

Mississippi River Bridge Project, http://www.newriverbridge.org

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Filed under: Car Buying, Hatchback, Nissan, Electric

We found an email in our inbox today that should make a lot of long-term plug-in vehicle fans happy. For the first time in about forever, a major OEM is taking orders on an all-electric passenger vehicle. Yes, Nissan is about ready to take your money in exchange for a purchase or a lease on the new Leaf, starting Tuesday. That’s when Nissan will open the doors to accepting refundable $99 reservations from people who signed up on NissanUSA.com. Once these hand-raisers are taken care of, anyone interested can send in the reservation money. Actual pre-orders for the Leaf begin in August.

We did notice something interesting. In our email, the image announcing the reservation fee was divvied up into two parts, with our specific reservation time listed separately:

Did anyone get a different time? Maybe Nissan is staggering the reservations a bit? In any case, weʻre getting close to a time when all of the prognostications weʻve heard about this car (it’ll flop! it won’t!) will be firmly locked in the past. Either people will want to drive the Leaf or they won’t. The time for proof is (almost) here. Official press release after the jump.

[Source: Nissan]

Continue reading Officially Official: Nissan sending out Leaf registration emails, will take money Tuesday

Officially Official: Nissan sending out Leaf registration emails, will take money Tuesday originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 Apr 2010 15:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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On Friday second-generation biofuel developer Amyris filed an S-1 Initial Public Offering registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The document provides a first, ruff glimpse of the company’s overall strategy and what it believes are hurdles that could derail the execution of that strategy.

Amyris seeks to raise about $100 million and has hired a team of underwriters to go down their client list and sell the deal to the investor community. Lead underwriters are Morgan Stanley and Goldam Sachs. Also underwriting the IPO are J.P. Morgan, San Francisco-based Thomas Weisel Partners and Brazilian bank Banco Itau.

The company doesn’t have any clients and as accumulated a $120.4 million deficit over the past three years. The company is poised to loose more money in the next few years, having so far not signed any clients. “We do not currently have definitive agreements with customers and may not be able to enter into supply, Amyris says in the filing. The company warns: “We may not be effective in negotiating the terms of our relationships with these companies, which could adversely affect our future results of operations.”

Amyris plans to use IPO proceeds to scale production to go commercial with its biofuel, which is distilled from sugar-based hydrocarbon molecules, in 2011.

Now, for the more interesting information, who get paid what and who owns what.

Amyris CEO, BP veteran, John Melo, was paid $829,950 in 2009. The compensation includes a $408,333 base salary; a $200,000 bonus and $221,617 in “other compensations,” including $145,907 in housing and relocation expenses. Seperately, Were Melo, to leave the company he also stands out to make up to $4,371,034. Research and operations head, Joel Cherry got a $1,094,420 total compensation last year, largely boosted by $709,737 he made selling shares.

Compensation Table

Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers are Amyris’s largest shareholders, each owning 15.4 percent of the company. TPG Biotechnology Partners is a 12.1 percent owner. CEO John Melo holds a 4.3 percent stake and Kleiner Perkins’s partner John Doerr has a 14.4 percent equity stake.

Shareholders

On securing sugar, which is the feedstock of its second-generation biofuel Amyris writes: “If we are unable to decrease our production costs, we may not be able to produce our products at competitive prices and our business will not succeed.” Another hurdle — one shared by many cleantech companies — is its ability to even transition out of the lab and scale production. It writes: “We have no experience producing our products at the commercial scale needed for the development of our business, and we will not succeed if we cannot effectively scale our technology and processes.”

Amyris has 22 issued U.S. and foreign patents. Specific to Brazil and protecting its IP there. Amyris said it “may employ approaches to trade secret protection that are novel and untested under Brazilian law and we cannot guarantee that we would prevail if our trade secrets are contested in Brazil.” It does not provide details on what “novel” IP protection measures the company are.

Joseph Romm is the author of ClimateProgess.org and was voted the “Web’s most influential climate-change blogger” in 2009. His new work is titled Straight Up-America’s fiercest climate blogger takes on the status-quo media, politicians, and clean energy solutions.

Straight Up is well-researched, provides insightful political analysis, and showcases compelling data on the economic benefits of climate change solutions. As Joe notes:

“So the bottom line is that the economic cost of action is low, whereas the cost of inaction is incalculably greater-what exactly is the ‘price’ of 5 feet of sea level rise in 2100…and losing all of the inland glaciers that provide a significant fraction of water to a billion people? Or the price of losing half the world’s species?”

“China has a excellent track record of achieving gains in energy efficiency and has begun to ramp up its efficiency efforts and aggressively expand its carbon-free electricity targets(recently committing, for instance, to triple its wind goal to 100,000 MW by 2020).”

"…will the United States be a global leader in creating jobs and exports in clean energy technologies or will we be importing them from Europe, Japan, and the likely clean energy leader in our absence, China."

"A 20 percent reduction in global emissions might be possible in a quarter century with net economic benefits!"

Purchase Straight Up by Joseph J. Romm

When it rains leaks, it pours leaks – and the information on the myTouch Slide is no exception.  Not only have new pictures surfaced, but we’ve picked up a few new specifications as well.  Those that enjoyed the myTouch 3G but secretly hoped for a physical QWERTY keyboard have received their wish.

According to the gang at AndroidAndMe, the myTouch Slide will offer:

• A screen that’s similar in size to the iPhone 3GS (they’re pegging it at around 3.2-3.5 inches)
• A 5.0-megapixel camera with flash and autofocus capabilities
• A 600 MHz ARM11 processor (unfortunately, the model number could not be confirmed)
• 512 MB ROM/512 MB RAM as seen in the Nexus One
• A 1300 mAh battery (here’s to hoping that the battery life is strong)
• Android 2.1 installed, with HTC’s Sense UI
• A microSD card slot, with 8 GB pre-installed

All in all, quite the nice device.  Be sure to check out TmoNews’ gallery of pictures, and stay tuned for more coverage.  Who’s gunning for a myTouch 3G Slide when they’re available?

Via TmoNews, AndroidAndMe

CHICAGO, April 19 /PRNewswire/ — Harris today announced its support of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s annual Money Smart Week, a series of free classes and activities designed to help consumers better manage their personal finances. From April 17 to 24, Money Smart Week events take place locally in Chicago and throughout Illinois.

Last year, Harris helped increase the number of Money Smart Week events in the Chicago suburbs. This year, Harris is participating in more than 65 events, and with the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit expiring soon, many of Harris’ sponsored sessions offer tips for prospective homebuyers. Other classes will help consumers understand credit and credit scores, avoid identity theft, prevent foreclosure, and increase their knowledge of money matters.

“This economy proves the importance of sharing our expertise as bankers to help strengthen the financial literacy of individuals we serve,” said Judy Rice, senior vice president of Community Affairs and Economic Development. “Informed, empowered consumers make our communities healthier and more successful, and that’s a goal we can all support.”

For a full list of workshops and activities during Money Smart Week, visit the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Web site at chicagofed.org.

About Harris

Harris is an integrated financial service organization providing more than 1.2 million personal, business and corporate clients with banking, lending, investing and wealth management solutions. The organization is a member of the BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO), which also provides corporate and investment banking services in the U.S. under the BMO Capital Markets name.

Harris® is a trade name used by various financial service subsidiaries of Harris Financial Corp. Banking products and services are provided by Harris N.A., The Harris Bank, N.A. and their bank affiliates, Members FDIC. Brokerage products are offered through Harris Investor Services, Inc. (HIS), a registered broker/dealer, member FINRA/SIPC, and SEC-registered investment adviser. Insurance and annuities are offered through Harris Bancorp Insurance Services, Inc. (HBIS). Investment banking services are provided by BMO Capital Markets Corp. (BMOCM), a registered broker dealer and member NYSE, FINRA and SIPC. HIS, HBIS and BMOCM are affiliated companies and are wholly owned subsidiaries of Harris Financial Corp. Products offered by HIS, HBIS and BMOCM are Not Insured by the FDIC or any Federal Government Agency, Not a Deposit of or Guaranteed by Any Bank or Bank Affiliate, May Lose Value. The purchase of insurance or an annuity is not a condition to any bank loan or service. Financial planning and investment advisory services are provided by Sullivan, Bruyette, Speros & Blayney, Inc., an SEC registered investment adviser. Family Office Services are provided by Harris myCFO, Inc. Investment advisory services are offered by Harris myCFO Investment Advisory Services LLC, a SEC-registered investment adviser and wholly-owned subsidiary of Harris myCFO, Inc. Investment advisory services to institutional clients are provided by Harris Investment Management (HIM), a SEC-registered investment adviser. Not all products and services are offered in every state and/or location.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

When is a tiny, mint-flavored tablet that dissolves in the mouth not a breath mint? When it’s a Camel Orb “dissolvable tobacco” pellet, that’s when. And that has health advocates — who worry that children may mistake the nicotine pills for candy — smoking mad.

According to a study published today in the journal Pediatrics, Orbs, and similar products being test-marketed by R. J. Reynolds, are “a major concern, with their discreet form, candy-like appearance, and added flavorings that may be attractive to young children.” Speaking to The New York Times, the study’s lead author, Gregory N. Connolly of the Tobacco Control Research Program at the Harvard School of Public Health, added: “Nicotine is a highly addictive drug, and to make it look like a piece of candy is recklessly playing with the health of children.” According to the study, there were nearly 7,000 tobacco-related poisoning cases involving children under five in 2007.

The tablets are being marketed by Reynolds as an alternative to going tobacco-free in places where smoking is off-limits. A Reynolds spokesman, David Howard, told The Times that fears of tobacco poisoning are overblown: “Virtually every household has products that could be hazardous to children, like cleaning supplies, medicines, health and beauty products, and you compare that to 20 to 25 percent of households that use tobacco products,” he said, provoking a response from Dr. Jonathan P. Winickoff, chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics Tobacco Consortium. “The difference here is that kids potentially will be watching grown-ups ingesting these products,” he said. “The last time I checked, we don’t have adults drinking toilet bowl cleanser in front of their kids.”

The argument may become moot within two years, which is when the Food and Drug Administration is required to complete a study on dissolvable tobacco products. At that point, the agency could ban or severely limit their sale. In the meantime, if these things really sound appealing to you, keep them away from the kids. And, while you’re at it, lay off the toilet bowl cleanser, too.

Camel Orbs May Lure Young Users, Study Warns [NYTimes.com via Consumer Reports on Safety]

The Solar Energy Industries Association reports on the solar photovoltaic market, including residential and solar water perspectives. Venture capital continues to invest in the solar industry. And, the installed solar capacity is growing. …

… “A doubling in size of the residential PV market and three new CSP plants helped lift the U.S. solar electric market 37 percent in annual installations over 2008 from 351 MW in 2008 to 481 MW in 2009. Solar water heating (SWH) installations managed 10 percent year-over-year growth, while the solar pool heating (SPH) market suffered along with the broader construction industry, dropping 10 percent. ” …

Via Solar Energy Industries Association: US Solar Industry, Year in Review (PDF)

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is just starting to impact solar growth and that channel of investment should begin to accelerate, as capacity comes onstream.

Tax credits are being targeted to create domestic solar manufacturing jobs.

The solar industry value chain is estimated to have grown to approximately 46,000 jobs in the U.S.

California, New Jersey, and Nevada lead in cumulative solar capacity, while Florida and Arizona are accelerating their solar installations.

The ODF (Other Document Plugin) plugin was first launched for Microsoft Office by Sun Microsystems in 2007. It can extend the Open Document Format capabilities to Microsoft Office 2010. With this plugin, we can store open and edit files as belonging to one of the standard Open Document Formats.

Now that Sun has been acquired by Oracle, the Open Document Format plugin for Microsoft Office is managed by Oracle. Oracle has recently released a new version of the plugin as a free software.

However, although the official page of ODF at Sun says its free, it still does not explain everything because in reality, the software is not free anymore.

Now, Oracle is charging a sum of $90 per user for a right to use the license for a year and another $19 for support throughout that year. The customer also requires a minimum order of 100 licenses to make a purchase. This needs a purchase of $9,000 before you can think of starting with ODF. Clearly, they did not at all care about personal computer users because they would have no reason to buy keys in mass.

One interesting fact here is that the plugin in this case costs even more than the application itself.
Get the plugin here.
(Via: HOnline )

Don’t miss these Related Posts:

• Is Oracle the world’s largest Open Source Company?
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• James Gosling, the Java Founder Resigns From Oracle
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Is There a Difference between Organically and Conventionally Grown Food? A Systematic Review of the Health Benefits and Harms
  
Background: Global sales of organic 
food have surged in the past five years despite costing from 10-300% more than conventional food and without detailed evidence of its nutritional content or safety. Recent outbreaks of food-borne illness, some including organic produce, have raised questions about whether organic food is “healthier” than conventional food.

Methods: We systematically reviewed the published evidence in the medical and agricultural literature on the nutritional content and level of pesticide, heavy metal, mycotoxin, and bacterial contamination of organic and conventional foods and also searched for studies in humans consuming organic versus conventional diets. Searches were limited to English language articles from 1/1966- 08/2009 involving unprocessed, fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, meats and milk reporting outcomes of interest that compared organic with conventional foods or organic versus conventional food consumption. Summary risk difference of contamination and difference in mean nutrition or contamination levels were calculated using random effects models when possible.

Results/Conclusions: We identified more than 5,371 citations and included approximately 220 studies. Overall, sample sizes were small and study methods heterogeneous. The best evidence came from large governmental monitoring programs rather than small research studies. Organic produce had a significantly lower risk of contamination with pesticide residues, though this difference was of unclear clinical significance as the level of pesticide contamination in conventional and organic food was low, below maximum recommended levels. Organic produce did not appear to have superior safety or nutrition quality in any other outcome measured, including risk of bacterial, heavy metal, or mycotoxin contamination. Studies suggested that other factors, such as geography, seasonal weather, local ambient pollution, ripeness at time of harvest, and storage and other agricultural practices unrelated to organic label were better predictors of nutritional quality or contamination with harms. Evidence from human studies suggests that children who consume organic fruits and vegetables and adults who consume organic cereal may significantly reduce their pesticide exposure compared with groups consuming conventional diets, although the levels of pesticide exposures in both groups is within accepted safety standards. There is no evidence of any other benefits of consuming organic food based on human dietary studies. Finally, although rates of bacterial contamination did not differ significantly between organic and conventionally grown meats, eggs, and milk, the antibiotic resistance of bacteria cultured from conventional meats, eggs, and milk was significantly greater than for organic products.
  
CHP/PCOR Conference Room117 Encina Commons, Room 119
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305

Research in Progress Seminar
Date and Time

April 21, 2010
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM  
Speakers
Crystal Smith-Spangler – Stanford University
Margaret L. Brandeau – Stanford University
Dena M. Bravata – Stanford University
Vandana Sundaram – Stanford University
Paul Eschbach – Research
Assistant Clay Bavinger – Stanford University

WASHINGTON, April 19 /CHICAGOPRESSRELEASE.COM/ — Eighteen Members of Congress, from both parties, expressed “concern over continuing reports of abductions, forced marriages, and exploitation of Coptic women and girls in Egypt”.

Writing on the 16th of April to Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, Director of the State Department’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Office, the Members noted that they had received disturbing reports documenting “a criminal phenomenon that includes fraud, physical and sexual violence, captivity, forced marriage, and exploitation in forced domestic servitude or commercial sexual exploitation, and financial benefit to the individuals who secure the forced conversion of the victim.”  

The Members concluded by urging the TIP Office to “investigate whether the cases of abduction, forced marriage, exploitation and other financial benefit to individuals who secure a forced conversion should be included in the forthcoming 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report.”

The Congressional appeal follows publication of several reports documenting this element of human trafficking in Egypt. Among them is The Disappearance, Forced Conversions, and Forced Marriages of Coptic Christian Women in Egypt by Christian Solidarity International (CSI) and the Coptic Foundation for Human Rights. (csi-int.org/pdfs/coptic_report_master-final_report_pdf.pdf)

The pioneering report documents 25 cases, including that of a 15-year old Christian victim, identified as “M” for security reasons. M was drugged and raped in her hometown of El Menya, after which she gave birth, was forced to marry an older Muslim man, was physically scarred, converted to Islam, and forcibly prostituted.

In his Preface to this report, Dr. John Eibner, CEO of CSI-USA, called on human rights institutions, especially those whose mandate includes women’s rights and trafficking in persons, to undertake further research into gender and religious-based violence against Coptic women and girls in Egypt.

Addressing reports of the disappearance, forced conversions and forced marriages of Coptic women, the late Grand Shiekh Sayyed Al-Tantawi of Cairo’s prestigious Al-Azhar University, Egypt’s highest Islamic authority, stated that “these actions are contrary to Islam and we hope to receive more information concerning alleged kidnappings and would like to have an open dialogue with our Christian brothers and sisters in this country.” (http://bikyamasr.com/?p=5694).

Emanating from the office of Congressman Frank Wolf (R-Va), the Congressional letter to Ambassador CdeBaca was additionally signed by the following Members of the House of Representatives: Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Ileana Ros-Leathin (R-FL), Donald Paine (D-NJ), Dan Burton (R-IN), Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Eleanor Holmes-Norton (D-DC), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Joseph Cao (R-LA), Aaron Schock (R-IL), Bob Inglis (R-SC), Michele Bachman (R-MN), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), and Ted Poe (R-TX).

Media contact: Elliott Daniels  919-440-9729 [email protected]

SOURCE Christian Solidarity International

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Toxic chemical exposure and mountaintop removal coal mining are two environmental issues that don’t get much press these days, but both are the subjects of positive attention after major steps forward in recent weeks. It sometimes seems that every energy and environmental issue from clean water to public transit has taken a back seat to climate change this Congress. However, this may be about to change.

The presence of potentially toxic chemicals in our food, cleaners, and other consumer products that we encounter daily is a particularly disturbing environmental health challenge, and one that our current laws don’t deal with strongly enough. Luckily, both House and Senate overhauls of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the law that largely governs chemical health in the U.S., were introduced last week by Senator Lautenberg and Congressmen Rush and Waxman.

TSCA was first passed in 1976 and the need to reform this vital but outdated law is clear; of the over 80,000 chemicals that we interact with on a regular basis, only a few thousand have been tested by the EPA and only 5 classes of chemicals have been banned. Reforming TSCA will allow the EPA and FDA to more effectively monitor the chemicals on the market and ensure their safety. It is well past time that we reform chemical policy to protect human and environmental health, and we’ll be closely monitoring the TSCA reform bills in the months to come.

In another positive development, the Obama administration also turned its attention to environmental health issues this week, launching an investigation into mining safety following the tragic accident at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia. One aspect of coal mining that will definitely get a second look is the controversial and ecologically disastrous practice of mountaintop removal mining (MTR). This follows a recent EPA decision to revamp the guidelines around MTR, focusing on ensuring that practices that endanger local water supplies do not continue undeterred. Some in the environmental community even consider this decision more important for our long-term environmental health than the new auto efficiency standards announced the same week.

While it remains critical to pass comprehensive climate legislation (more to come next week on this!), we must not lose track of other environmental challenges. We need not just renewable energy, but also clean water and safe alternatives to toxic chemicals to achieve a vision of environmental health and sustainability. After all, it’s not just our carbon emissions but also the chemicals we use and the way we draw energy from the earth that have massive implications for human health today and for decades to come. We can do better for ecological and human health, and the events of the last few weeks are an important start.

Apple is known for dramatically lowballing its profit guidance, and then miraculously blowing out “expectations.”

Since Sept. 2006, Apple has topped its quarterly EPS guidance by an average 39%, and its revenue guidance by an average 7%.

So what does that mean for this quarter, which will be reported Tuesday afternoon? (Join us for LIVE coverage.)

It’s hard to tell, because Apple significantly changed its accounting practices last quarter.  It now recognizes iPhone revenue almost all at once, instead of spreading it over 24 months. So we won’t know for a few quarters just how much Apple is lowballing its guidance using the new numbers.

But running the old formula, based on Apple’s midpoint March quarter guidance of $2.12 EPS and $11.20 billion in sales, history suggests Apple should report EPS of about $2.95 on $11.98 billion of revenue.

Wall Street expects lower earnings but even higher revenue: Consensus stands at $2.44 of EPS on $12.06 billion of revenue.  So Apple is set up to once again “surprise” on earnings, but, possibly, disappoint on revenue.

Follow the Chart Of The Day on Twitter: www.twitter.com/chartoftheday

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• CHART OF THE DAY: Here’s Why The Mobile Ad Market Is Still Small
• CHART OF THE DAY: How Will The iPad Sell Compared To Other Mobile Gadgets?
• CHART OF THE DAY: Email’s Reign Is Over, Social Networking Is The New King

 Below are links to news stories of interest from newspapers that came up during a search today.  These links were active at the time of this e-mail, but should you want to save a story, printing it or cutting and pasting the entire article and saving it to your computer is recommended.  

 Rally Day is April 21.  IEA has partnered with several other organizations and rally day is proving to be a fairly large event. We’re encouraging everyone to wear pink to the rally in support of those who have been RIF’d.  Click here for a list of things to keep in mind as you’re planning your trip: 

The tentative schedule of events for the day, which is subject to change:

9 to 11 a.m.   Buses arrive at IEA HQ-visit legislators (time permitting)

11 to 11:30 a.m.   Walk to rally staging point at 2nd and Capitol

11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.   SOS rally speakers at 2nd and Capitol

12:15 p.m.   Beginning of march

1 p.m.   Visit legislators (time permitting)

(Lunch will be available at noon and served throughout the day. Members may eat at their leisure.)

State News 

Illinois Statehouse rally for tax increase could be largest in history
Quad City Times – The cost of hiring substitutes to fill in while the teachers are in Springfield will be covered by the Illinois Education Association at about $90 a day … 

Springfield lobbying trip planned for final UI furlough action day
Champaign News Gazette – Clerical and service workers, graduate employees and union faculty at the University of Illinois will meet with thousands of teachers, parents and students in Springfield Wednesday to lobby legislators for adequate support of public education. The event is the last of four Common Furlough/Action Days planned 

State has wide gap between high teacher pay and results  Elementary students in Bannockburn had the fourth-highest test scores in Illinois last year, but that achievement wasn’t reflected in the pay of their teachers, whose average salaries ranked 242nd among elementary school districts statewide. The school district is one example of the wide disparity between teacher pay and student achievement.   

New pensions: bane of teachers or needed reform?
The Courier News – The law increases the age of retirement for newly-hired teachers to 67 after 10 years of service, and caps the salary at which benefits are calculated at about $107,000. It also discontinues compounding cost-of-living increases and bases benefits on the highest eight consecutive years of salary of the last 10 years worked instead of the current four.   

Lawmakers, don’t create pension loopholes  Southtown Editorial – Talk already is emerging that some members of the General Assembly would support dropping the retirement age for teachers. Teachers, they believe, hold a special position and deserve an earlier retirement than, say, state office workers, highway maintenance workers or university employees.   

High teacher pay no guarantee of results  Chicago Sun-Times – It ranked third in teacher pay — averaging $92300 — even though students’ test scores placed the district 368th among high school districts statewide, …   

Schools turn to voters, fundraising amid cuts
Chicago WBBM 780 Radio – School districts battered by state budget cuts are turning to referendums and even private fundraising to pay for the basics of public education. Several school districts have referendums on the May 4 primary ballot, and other districts are considering fundraising foundations as a way to preserve teacher jobs and programs   

Forum: State tax increase would help preserve education, other key priorities
Peoria Journal Star – Bob Darling – President, Peoria Federation of Teachers – Illinois is facing the greatest financial crisis we’ve ever seen. Over 20,000 teachers and other school employees could be laid off. Tuition is skyrocketing in higher education. Our state budget projects a $12 billion-plus deficit.   

Dance teachers’ pay soars over all others  You might think that the highest-paid high school teachers would be in fields such as math and science — but that’s only partly correct.   In Illinois, the top-paid high school subject is dance, a Chicago Sun-Times analysis found. Dance teachers make an average of nearly $79,000 a year.   

District 45 one of many hurt by state’s payment delays
Wood Ridge Reporter – “We’re paying the things that have to be paid every month,” Henry said, and education funding has to compete with other state priorities, including debt payments, Medicaid reimbursements and a working state government.   

Pontiac elementary parents trying to save sports, band programs
Bloomington Pantagraph –  all extracurricular activities were among $2 million worth of budget cuts for 2010-11 approved by the school board last month. Graham said school officials previously met with the Pontiac Education Association to ask for cost-saving concessions, but the union declined to adjust the contract. These concessions would have included: reducing pay rate for coaches; forgoing pay for   

High school suspensions up sharply in Springfield
Springfield State Journal Register – One of the goals the Springfield school board gave School Superintendent Walter Milton this year was to decrease suspensions. Milton said that requires a careful balance. “We want to send a message to our schools   

OUR VIEW: Four-day school week is option that should be considered
Journal&Gazette Times-Courier – In Custer, S.D., where a four-day week has been in place for 15 years, about $50,000 to $70,000 has been saved annually — enough to hire two teachers.The proposal isn’t without its negatives, but neither are the other measures being adopted by local school districts to trim costs, such as cutting teacher and aide positions   

School official: Withhold tax funds from state
Suburban Chicago News – Calling the state a “deadbeat entity,” the president of the Indian Prairie school board is proposing the district not send the state the money it withholds from its employees for income taxes as long as Springfield continues to be delinquent on the money it owes the district  

Area school districts push for county sales tax vote in November
Springfield State Journal Register – A committee of representatives from area school districts has decided to push for a Sangamon County school sales tax referendum on the November ballot. However, the Springfield school board, representing roughly half of the county’s students, must back the initiative in order for the effort to move forward. Springfield school board President Art Moore,   

St. Charles schools chief readies for busy summer of budget shuffling
Chicago Daily Herald –  The only thing Schlomann said he feels he knows for sure is that it will be less state money than the district currently receives. “Even if we restore school funding, even at a flat level, you still have increased expenses,” Schlomann said. “So you are still losing money. Nobody is planning on state funding being at the same amount of money   

‘This year, the forecast is worse’: Quincy School District, parents brace for cuts to pre-kindergarten, special education programs
Quincy Herald-Whig – budget includes a $54 million cut to preschool programs. Districts around the state are braced for drastic reductions, with some districts eliminating their pre-K program entirely. In Quincy, three teachers were reassigned to other schools, and one is retiring. Four paraeducators were released, as was one staffer who provides family support. The school’s only physical education teacher position   

Local parents learn lesson on lobbying
Glen Ellyn Sun – We really didn’t know what to expect when we decided to make the trek to Springfield. Hundreds of parents around the state and locally have let us know they are supportive of our efforts. People have been thanking us in person and online.   

Evanston Students Turn Cyber-Bullying Upside Down
WBBM TV CBS 2 Chicago – High school Students Launch ‘Evanston Mice’ Facebook Page Filled With Cyber-Praise To Counter Mean-Spirited ‘Evanston   

Plains grad elected to student post with teachers’ group
Springfield State Journal Register – A 2005 Pleasant Plains High School graduate attending Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville will spend the next two years helping fellow students who plan to pursue a career in education.  Michael Ruggless, 22, has been elected the Illinois Education Association’s Student Program Chair-elect. He will start his job in mid-July and will serve a two-year term.   

U of I, SIU Presidents Speak at Capitol
WGIL AM Radio 14 (Galesburg) – as interim president following an admissions scandal. He and his Southern Illinois University counterpart, Glenn Poshard, said they are having to deal with financial stresses that include Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed 6.2 percent cut in state funding. Ikenberry told representatives Illinois has a bright future but must prepare to cut expenses and increase revenues.   

Report says targeted campus violence, such as Virginia Tech shootings, grew in last 2 decades
Chicago Tribune – violence on college campuses, from serious assaults to the mass shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007, is up sharply over the last two decades. The study by the FBI, Secret Service and education Department found that targeted campus violence is hardly a new phenomenon, citing for example a campus murder-suicide in 1909.   

Few stand up for custodians in District 140   A public hearing Thursday to discuss the possibility of outsourcing custodial services in Kirby School District 140 was not attended by officials from the union that represents the district’s custodians. Only two of the district’s 37 custodians attended the meeting. They pointed out, however, that the majority of the custodians work nights and could not attend.  Neither custodian could explain why representatives from Service Employees International Union Local 73 were not in attendance.  

Political News

 Quinn Says Legislature Will Take Up Tax Increase Proposal  Chicago Public Radio – Illinois Governor Pat Quinn says he still expects lawmakers to take up a proposed income tax increase before the end of the current legislative session. …   

Tax Increase to Save Education Not Gaining Steam  WIFR – Governor Pat Quinn proposed an income tax increase from three to four percent to plug the $1.3 billion in cuts to education, but some local lawmakers don’t …   

What Quinn should be doing, but isn’t  Southtown Star – Pat Quinn may not be sending his Republican rival, Bill Brady, flowers. He’s not singing him love songs. “You hardly talk to me anymore when I come through   

Statehouse Insider: Quinn’s managers not helping his cause
Springfield State Journal Register – Gov. PAT Quinn ought to consider taking executive action and giving a dope slap to some of the people around him. He needs to do something, because right now those people don’t seem to be thinking clearly  

Talking Politics: Governor’s Race  WSIL TV – ?The latest polls in the race for Illinois governor spell trouble for Pat Quinn. The Democrat incumbent trails Republican challenger Bill Brady by seven to … 

Bernard Schoenburg: No Dem foes for 3 GOP county officials   State Journal-Register – ?PAT QUINN ended that program, but had to defend it during the Democratic primary election for governor against Comptroller DAN HYNES. Delgado backed Hynes. …     

Brady Unveils New Website
WGIL AM Radio 14 (Galesburg) – Republican candidate for governor Bill Brady is unveiling a new Web site that blasts Gov. Pat Quinn’s call for an income tax hike. Brady says the last thing Illinois needs is a tax hike, and says his plan to reduce state government spending by 10 percent over 10 years is a better idea   

Boiling mad in Illinois
Chicago Sun Times – These two faces represent the fledgling Tea Party movement in Illinois. It is driven by disdain for deficit-riddled government, a love for Fox Television personality Glenn Beck and a hatred of if not the man, at least the policies of — President Obama, who ascended to the White House use last year with 3.3 million Illinois votes.   

Quinn dumps plan to hire aide as $85K kayaking czar
Bloomington Pantagraph –  Gov. Pat Quinn quickly dumped a plan Wednesday to hire a longtime aide as the state’s $85,000-per-year canoe czar. Just hours after the hiring of Claude Walker was made public in a story   

Our View: How can Illinois go on without a canoeing czar?
Peoria Journal Star – when he talks about the cuts he’s making in the budget? The relentless drip, drip, drip of things like this simply undermine what little confidence people have left in state government. What was Quinn thinking? Sure, DNR is recovering from years of neglect under Rod Blagojevich, who was notoriously disdainful of Illinois’ state parks and other recreational opportunities.

National News

Status Quo 1, Kids 0
Chicago Tribune – Florida Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday vetoed an education reform bill that would have eliminated tenure protection for teachers and based their pay on student achievement. From all the backslapping and breathless relief that followed, you’d think Crist had spared the children of Florida like Gretel saved Hansel.

TIME.com’s Top Stories

David Cameron: Britain’s Next Prime Minister?

Britain’s Conservative leader, David Cameron, is ahead in the race for 10 Downing Street. But the electorate still isn’t sure who he is or what he stands for

Thailand Tourism Devastated by Political Unrest

The country’s key foreign exchange earner faces massive losses as the battle between the authorities and protestors show no sign of abating

Built for Blahniks: A Chevy for the High-Heel Crowd

Chevy tweaks its SUV for the stiletto crowd

Who Will Get the Stevens Seat?

After a 35-year run, John Paul Stevens gives Obama a second chance to reshape the court

How Not to Raise a Bully: The Early Roots of Empathy

State laws and school-district rules may help curb bullying on campus, but many researchers suggest a better way is not to raise a bully in the first place

Apollo 13 at 40: Houston, We Have a Miracle

There’s a reason that during training the astronauts never simulated the kind of emergency they encountered — because everyone assumed you’d surely wind up dead

Iceland Fallout: Why a Minor Volcano Causes Major Disruptions

The eruption in Iceland hardly compares with some of the major ones in history. But in our interconnected modern world, the impact can be massive

Why Pakistan’s Military Is Holding Back in North Waziristan

Islamabad’s forces aren’t pursuing the Taliban in North Waziristan, despite American pleas, because it says it is heeding the lessons of Iraq

Let Me Eat Cake: A Night of Culinary Luxury

What better time than a recession to explore the heights of culinary luxury. Pass the caviar, please!

Dems Prepare for Election-Year Health Care Fight

The party now realizes health reform is not going to sell itself. It’s not going to become instantly popular, even with the immediate benefits Democratic leaders have been touting.

How the Goldman Case Sheds Light on Hedge Funds

The SEC suit against Goldman Sachs accuses the firm of working with a huge hedge fund to create a toxic security that defrauded investors, generating new questions about the largely unregulated hedge-fund industry

Ahmadinejad Struts His Stuff in the Nuclear Showdown

Unmoved by threats of new U.N. sanctions, Iran’s leaders try to turn the tables on Washington with a nuclear summit of their own

From Poland’s Tragedy, Hope for Better Ties with Russia

The death of many Polish leaders in a plane crash may yet lead to a reconciliation with Russia

Heeding the Warnings of Another Oklahoma City

Many liberals and analysts believe a mass continuous loop of antipathy and anti-Washington vitriol has created an environment ripe for the creation of another Timothy McVeigh

Box Office: An Old Dragon Rises to Nick Kick-Ass

Labor groups break off from N.C. Democrats
RALEIGH, N.C. — A political rebellion is brewing inside an old funeral home near the state Capitol here. Frustrated liberals and labor organizers are taking aim at the Democratic Party, rushing to gather enough signatures to start a third party that they believe could help oust three Democratic…
(By Philip Rucker, The Washington Post)

With W.Va. coal politics, a new edge
In southern West Virginia, it used to look as if three Democrats, who have served in Washington for a combined 115 years, had figured out the delicate, occasionally violent politics of Appalachian coal.
(By David A. Fahrenthold, Frank Ahrens and Steven Mufson, The Washington Post)

Armed and angry, and demonstrating on the capital’s edge
Daniel Almond, a three-tour veteran of Iraq, is ready to “muster outside D.C.” on Monday with several dozen other self-proclaimed patriots, all of them armed. They intend to make history as the first people to take their guns to a demonstration in a national park, and the Virginia rally is…
(By Ann Gerhart, The Washington Post)

Europe’s aviation officials urged to drop flight bans
LONDON — Civil aviation authorities in Europe came under heavy pressure Sunday to ease flight restrictions as airlines and government officials sought to limit the economic fallout from a crisis that is disrupting the global trade in goods as varied as precious gems and tropical fruit.
(By Anthony Faiola and Karla Adam, The Washington Post)

Word of the Day for Monday, April 19, 2010

scapegrace \SKAYP-grayss\, noun:

A reckless, unprincipled person; one who is wild and reckless; a rascal; a scoundrel.