| Another day, another death
Or we can take a stand to change the conditions that make such violence, though not common, much too frequent. Police and prosecutors have shown that after one of these horrible crimes is committed, they can find suspects, arrest them and ensure they are brought to justice. But our efforts at prevention — before the attack, when kids reveal problems in school, at home, in their neighborhoods — have been abysmal. If we're ever going to change the environment that permits such horrendous violence to take root, that's where we need to work. Especially since the victims of that violence, and the suspects, seem to be growing younger with each incident. Most recently, 15-year-old Dominic Young was gunned down during a restaurant robbery in Norfolk. The suspects — ages 13, 14, 15 and 18 — were arrested this week.
Sound Studio 3.5
The Mac has more than its share of capable sound editors, but until now, not one has stood out to me as a go-to tool for everyday tasks. The free Audacity can be buggy and feels unintuitive, while Bias's Peak ( ) and Apple's Soundtrack ( ) are powerful, but with steep learning curves and hefty price tags. Falling squarely in between those products, Sound Studio 3.5.5 finally fills the role of the long abandoned and much loved Macromedia SoundEdit 16 (which never made it to OS X). Sound Studio is an easy-to-use program for recording, editing, and applying effects to digital audio that can be used for everything from podcasting to digitizing those old cassette tapes and vinyl records you have lying around in the basement. Sound Studio 3 records audio in either stereo or mono and takes advantage of Apple's Core Audio to provide low-latency recording.
Florida Democrats split over rerun of primary
Questions about Florida's primary could be moot if Clinton's losing streak extends to Ohio or Texas on Tuesday, creating pressure on her to bow out. The poll also showed that independent voters in Florida would help Republican John McCain trump either of the Democratic contenders, according to a Mason-Dixon sampling of 625 registered voters that included a proportional cross-section of Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated voters. In a potential general election matchup, McCain wins by 47 to 37 percentage points over Obama, and 49 to 40 over Clinton, according to poll results. McCain got at least half of the independent vote in both contests. The margin of error for the entire sample in the survey, which was conducted Feb. 21-24, is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Pat LaMarche: Xenophobe: Warrior Princess
I know this pretty little lady. She's got a hot little husband and an adorable little boy. They are a sweet Maine family — picture perfect — including the little bun she's got growing in her oven. I call them little because they're diminutive. She barely clears five feet and he's maybe six inches taller. I don't know, maybe I'm "sizeist" but their smaller-than-average stature just adds to their allure. It adds to the surprise factor, too, when you find that they're xenophobic. Well, I'm not sure about the husband and the 2-year-old, but she definitely is. The other day she struck up a conversation with me about wanting to send the immigrants home. I asked her what tribe she was from, like the Penobscot or maybe one from away like the Cherokee. Mind you, I don't smile when I ask this — my standard rebuttal question — but for some reason every time I ask it, the person I'm asking laughs like I'm kidding.
Food Prices Straining U.S. Aid
The Bush administration's 2008 USAID budget request calls for $1.2 billion in food aid with a supplemental $350 million to cover assistance in Darfur and critical situations in southern Africa, Kenya and other hot spots. USAID officials said the administration, facing a tight budget year, was not planning to request funds to cover the projected $200 million shortfall from the price increases. USAID purchases grains in the same domestic commodities market as the U.S. companies that serve up Wonder bread or Big Macs, meaning they pay the same high market rates. As a result, officials said, the program cuts are necessary. "At this point, this is the administration's request," Borns said yesterday. Aid groups said they would press USAID and the Bush administration to pursue more funds from Congress to cover the shortfall.
Heath Ledger was a lonesome cowboy
I met him six times in nine years and for the most part he was awkward about being in the spotlight. He worried about his roles and fretted over the consequences. When I last saw him, at the Ven-ice film festival in September, he looked shattered. He could have been 50, with lines etched deep in his face and the weight of the world on his 6ft frame. He complained to The New York Times in his last official interview in November of getting only two hours’ sleep a night. Film acting in the premier league is not supposed to be like this. In the hellraising days, rip-roaring Brits such as Peter O’Toole, Richard Burton and Richard Harris worked out their frustration on the bottle – and on their leading ladies. Now, Hollywood’s top ranks seem to be riddled with those who agonise: young men who take tablets with unpronounceable names in private.
Welcome To Starpulse.com Contests!
So with the Presidential election heating up and MLB Spring Training games scheduled to start in less than three weeks, the timing couldn't be better.
Notable names in the "Presidential Predictor" set include, from the Democratic side, Barack Obama and John Edwards; and from the Republicans: John McCain, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson. A few other surprise candidates and political personalities are also showcased in the collection including Al Gore being tagged out by reigning U.S. President George W. Bush in a funny portrayal of Yankee second baseman Chuck Knoblauch's phantom tag of Boston's Jose Offerman during the '99 American League Championship Series.
Other parodies include John McCain and Ted Williams, a pair of decorated war veterans who served their country proudly; John Edwards' portrayal of Archibald "Moonlight" Graham, both healthcare advocates, the latter who appeared as a right fielder in a single MLB game for the New York Giants (June 29, 1905); Fred Thompson blending with Babe Ruth, two larger-than-life characters who have appeared on the silver screen; and Rudy Giuliani as overzealous Yankee fan Jeffrey Maier whose infamous eighth-inning catch of Derek Jeter's long fly ball in Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS tied the score, 4-4, before the Yankees went on to win the pennant and their first World Series title since 1978.
MOST POPULAR
Glenna (Ditto) Kelly will celebrate her 80th birthday on Feb. 5. She owned and operated Glenna's Beauty Shop for many years in Delphos before moving to Continue » Annual race to be held in MarchLocal News (64 words) The 29th annual BBO race will begin at 2 p.m. March 10 in downtown Columbus Grove. The four-mile race will take place on paved roads and Continue » Child's reaction can prevent abductionLocal News (1092 words) According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, approximately 203,900 American children are abducted each year by a family member, while 58,200 are kidnapped by a stranger. The center also reports more than 2,000 children are abducted on a daily basis. Tie-breaks not good for 'CatsSports (703 words) Jefferson head wrestling coach Jeff Rex definitely does not like tie matches — or the sixth tie-breaker.
Inflation figures make case for rates rise: analyst
There is further fuel for the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates this week, with an unofficial measure of inflation blowing out to well above the central bank's target range. The TD Securities-Melbourne Institute Monthly Inflation Gauge rose by 0.3 per cent in February, boosting underlying inflation to 4.1 per cent. TD Securities senior strategist Josh Williamson says inflationary pressures are running even hotter now than last month, when the Reserve Bank increased rates by 0.25 per cent. He says that will be weighing on board members' minds when they meet in Sydney tomorrow. "The Reserve Bank at the end of the day is going to have very little choice but to raise interest rates another 25 basis points," he said. And he says the central bank is likely to tighten monetary policy even further in the months ahead.
|
